M. L
GEMEALCrv COLLECTION
HISTORY OF
FRESNO COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and IVotnen of the County Who have
bee?t Identified with its Growth a?id
Development from the Early
Days to the Present
HISTORY BY
PAUL E. VANDOR
ILLUSTRATED
COMPLETE IN TWO VOLUMES
HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1919
Vd
>
INDEX
1154031
«
Q
V
\
A
Page.
Abbott, Andrew 800
Abbott, Frank Edgar 2303
Abbott, Franklin 1415
Adams, Grant A 1955
Adams, H. A 2199
Adolfson, Erik 1745
Adoor, Barsam 2553
Adoor, Paul 2549
Aggers, Henry 2357
Ahlberg, Gustav E 1545
Aikin, John W, 1270
Akers, LeRoy 2297
Akers, Win. Albertus 1842
Akers Family 40
Albrecht. A 2138
Albright, Arthur N., D. D. S 1496
Allen, Arthur W 969
Allen, Jesse Buell 1542
Allen, Thomas J 2237
Allen, William H... 2369
Amador, Benjamin 2052
Andersen, Andreas H 2232
Andersen, Mrs. Anna M 1794
Andersen, Jes 2482
Anderson, Arthur J 2113
Anderson, Fred 1838
Anderson, Garrett E H90
Anderson, Harvey G 2031
Anderson, Nils A 2514
Anderson, Otto 2346
Andrews, S. M 906
Annigoni, Menotti 2547
Anthony, William James 1371
Apperson, William L 260
Appling, David F 1000
Arbios, Peter L 2295
Ardohain, Martin 2539
Arieta, Arthur 2546
Ariey, Marie 1082
Armstrong, John A 1759
Armstrong, John W 1823
Armstrong, Robert Franiclin 1425
Arnaudon, Alfred Joseph 1927
Arnold, Edwin L 1892
Arnst, Christian 2582
Arostegny, Jean 2546
Arrants, John G. S 732
Arrants, Leander J 1602
Arrants, Mrs. Mary A 765
Arriet, Angel 2484
Arriet, Pedro 2465
Ashton, John E 1634
Asmussen, Mathias 757
Atkins, Oscar D 23S1
Atkisson, John Marshall 2419
Augustine, Eouis 1580
Austin, John R 975
Autsen, Hans 2493
Avenell, Charles P 2465
Axt, Rudolf 2591
Azzaro, John 2541
Page.
Babcock, A. Lorenzo 2164
Baber, E. 1 2386
Bachtold, Christian 818
Backer, August H 1721
Backer, Henry H 1121
Bacon, Charles 2216
Bacon, Oscar F 2362
Badasci, Delmo B 2597
Bader, Frederick 1555
Bahrenfus, John 2436
Bailey, Frank T 2361
Baird, Alfred 1424
Baird, Edson Emmet 1928
Baird, Morgan 1048
Baird, Mrs. Morgan 1053
Baird, Robert 760
Baker, A. A 2214
Baker, James Edward 1949
Baker, Ray W 1135
Baker, R. C 1254
Baker, Sands 1263
Baker, Steve Todorovich 745
Baley, Gillum 124, 623
Baley, John 1502
Balfe, John Hilton 2522
Ball, Frank Hamilton 236, 629
Ballard, Edward L., D. C 2489
Banks, Jasper A 2074
Barcus, William Milton 2398
Bareford, Henry F 1171
Barker, Mrs. Frances T 692
Barnes, George W 2397
Barnes, James F 1208
Barnett, William 2190
Barnett, William F 1604
Barnum, Charles E 2355
Barnum, Horace E 1321
Barnwell, Robert W 1416
Barr, George W 1124
Barr, Wallace L 1128
Barrett, Charles W 2143
Barrett, Thomas T 967
Barringer, Alexander Hamilton 1017
Barstow, Richard Nason 702
Bartels, Edward F 1199
Basey, Harry Clyde 1627
Bazterra, George 2514
Beall, J. W 791
Beall, Lee S 1280
Beatty, Harry W 2221
Beaty, W. C 994
Beauchamp, William Perry 2380
Beaumont, C. E 1431
Beck, J. P. 1 2534
Beck, N. P 2584
Becker, William 2201
Beekwith, B. H 1712
Beckwith, William D 1712
Beesemyer, A. W 1975
Begole, Frank 2108
Benadom, William 0 1022
Page.
Edwards, Edward Darnall 665
Eichelberger, J. Lee 1541
Eisner, Henry 2590
Einstein, Louis 250
Eklund, John E 1722
Elam, Henry Edward 2120
Elam, Joel Thomas 1352
Elam, Taylor M 859
Elder, Harland E 1589
Eliceche, Mariano 2570
Emerzian, Karl 2545
Engelman, Henry J 2593
Engelmann, Henry 2596
Enlow, William Harrison 2239
Ensher, K. E 2125
Erickson, Carl 0 2201
Erickson, Theodore E 2064
Erro, Matias 915
Errotabere, Andres 2497
Erskine, James R 1218
Eskesen, Karl Marinus 2594
Espitallier, Francois 2423
Eversoll, William 2343
Everts, Olen Lee 1391
Ewing, A. D 857
Ewing, David S 851
F
Fabris, Nick 2424
Fallgren, Palmer A., D.D.S 2037
Faretta, Antonio 2589
Farley, James Patrick 705
Farlinger, James 1913
Farmer, L. B 1765
Farmers' Savings Bank of Selma 1558
Farris, Richard 1 2250
Fearon, Joseph 2173
Feaver, Cecil 2216
Feaver, George, Sr 998
Ferguson, Andy D 1085
Ferguson, James G 1641
Ferguson, James M 1072
Ferguson, John C 1212
Fett, David 1700
Filian, Rev. George Harootune 2567
Finch, James E 1451
Fincher, Levi Nelson 1098
Fincher, James Patrick 1859
Fincher, Vital Bangs 1817
Fine, Alexander Campbell 958
Fink, Mrs. Eliza 616
First National Bank of Del Rey 804
First National Bank of Fowler 1358
First National Bank of Eaton 1820
First National Bank of Selma 1775
Fisher. William S 2220
I'leming, John M 742
Fleming, Miss Julia Ellen 1234
Fleming, Russell H 741
Flint, T. H 1678
Fly, John Wesley 1552
Forbes, Charles Thomas 2158
Foristiere, Antonio 2043
Forsyth, George 1158
Forthcamp, Ernest August 1907
Fosberg, C. Edward 235 1
Foster, Ernest Winterton 1916
Foster, Joe E 1028
Foster, John 2135
Fowler, Edmund Wesley 624
Frame, George Ehner 1157
Page.
Frederick, L. M 1151
Freeland. William C 1557
Freitas, Geraldo J 1462
Freman, Giles N 724
French Cafe 2407
Fresno Dairy 2550
Fries. Henry 1764
Frikka, James G 1176
Fritzler, Rev. F. Felician 827
Froelich, Otto 252
Frowsing, Andrew J 1466
Fuchs, John Peter 1686
Fugelsang, N. H 2428
Fuller, William Nelson 2240
Punch, John H 1674
G
Gallaher, M. G 1217
Gallaher, Marvin A 2362
Galloway, C. J 2119
Gammel, Elias 2599
Gandrau, Augustine 2106
Garbarino, G-. B 2521
Garcia, Antone 2571
Gardiner, Fred O , 1735
Garison, William Reess 1278
Garman, John Dunkel 1112
Garrigan, William 2068
Caster, Stephen A 135
Gatchell, Lewis G 2440
Gatewood, Charles 2407
Cattie, John 2503
Gearhart, Bertrand W 1751
Gearhart, John W 1323
Gebhart, Sylvester A 1488
Geer, Prof. Charles L 1867
George, S 2488
Georgesen, Arthur C 2483
Georgesen, Harvey H 2250
Gerner, John 860
Gerringer, Christoph .' 2574
Gianinni, Peter G 2468
Giardina, Joseph 2560
Gibbs, Albert Grant 1047
Gibbs, Jonathan C 1130
Gibson, F. C 2208
Gilardoni, Philip 2595
Gilbert, Nathan D 729
Gilbertson, John H 2245
Gillespie, J. A., M.D 2033
Giraud, Marius and Harry 16/0
Glass, William 719
Glaves, William Michael 2167
Gleim, George Andreas 2497
Glossbrenner, Abram F 1973
Glougie, Albert V 2064
Glougie, John R 885
Gobby, Louis E 1862
Gobby, Mrs. Mary J 1153
Gobby, Rocco S 2564
Goehring, John G 1993
Goldsmith, Du Val P 1945
Gonser, N. P 2415
Good, James Henry 1329
Goode, Herbert 2411
Goode, Robert E 2410
Goodell, Levi C 632
Goodrich, Charles Frederick 1363
Goodrich, Edward J 1123
Googooian, G 2504
Gordon, W. R 1801
Cower, Edwin, Sr 863
Page.
Goyette, William M 2432
Graepp, Albert R. J 1515
Graff, Hans 666
Graff, John C 183S
Graham, Joseph Martin 806
Granger, Mrs. Helen Langworthy. . . . 1860
Grantham, Arthur B 2045
Granz, Herman 1824
Greenup, William L 1159
Greenwood, William Edwin 1861
Greer, William Allison 2352
Gregory, James G 1 146
Gregory, James P 2246
Greve, Harry Henry 2296
Greve, Martin S 1164
Greve, Herman H 2308
Gries, Henry 982
Griffin. Wade 2058
Grimes, Wilbur Willis 2038
Grounds, Ha T 2102
Gruwell, Joseph E 2269
Guernsey, Geo. P 1866
Guglielmoni, Charles 2599
Guler, Stephen 1600
Gunn, John and Emma L 909
Gust, Peter 2081
H
Hagen, William C 1010
Hagerty, Harry W 1320
Hagopcan, Albert 2533
Hain, I. R 2439
Hain. S. H 1243
Halemeier, Henry Rudolph 2255
Halemeier, August H 2356
Haliburton, Clair E 2251
Hall, Col. Josiah 789
Hamilton, James 1979
Hamilton, Loman Ward 2418
Hamilton, _L,ot ' 1581
Hamilton, Samuel 1805
Hamilton, W. T 2126
Hampton, William R 258
Hancock, Henry M 1873
Hanke, William F 764
Hansen, Andres C 992
Hansen, Chris L 1914
Hansen, Chris L 935
Hansen, Chris Thompson 2096
Hansen, E. M 1324
Hansen, Ernest T. S 2340
Hansen, Fred H 2501
Hansen, Fred W 1228
Hansen, Hans C 2420
Hansen, Hans 843
Hansen, Hans 2107
Hansen, Hans 892
Hansen, H. J 1005
Hansen, Hans J 1592
Hansen, J. C 1776
Hansen, J. P 1658
Hansen, James 2101
Hansen, Jes 2526
Hansen, Jorgen 771
Hansen, Knud Madsen 2222
Hansen, Niels 1286
Hansen, Niels 2404
Hansen, Niels Jorgen 2114
Hansen, R 1843
Hansen, Thomas 2453
Hanson, Nels 1308
Hanson, Olof 1787
Page.
Harder, Claus 1769
Hardwicke, C. S 858
Hare, William S 1939
Harkness, Charles Berchum 1104
Harman, Caleb 1599
Harman, C. E 2039
Harrell, Reuben G 663
Harris, Amos and Antoinette 660
Harris, Frank B 1136
Harris, Howard A 904
Harris, Milus King 691
Harris, Morris B 1366
Hart, Hon. Charles A 122, 646
Hart, Charles Franklin 657
Hart. Finney Miller 1734
Hart, Truman G 648
Hartigan, James P 1530
Hartigan, Lester F 1488
Hartwick, August 2420
Harvey, Bart 1539
Haslam, A. E 2252
Hatch, Mrs. Mary J 642
Hawson, Henry 1139
Haycraft, Charles S 1109
Hayes, Ruth L 1152
Hayhurst, Leonidas B 1450
Hays, Nathan Henry 1403
Hechtman, Henry Albert 2430
Hedges, Elwood C 1915
Hedrick, Roy 2256
Heerman, Lee W 1991
Heiberg, S. John 2316
Heidenreich, John 1723
Heims, R. C 924
Heinz, Frederick 2099
Heinzer, Felix 2363
Heisinger, Carl F 886
Heiskell, John M 1202
Heiskell, R. J 2327
Helm, William 1547
Helmuth, John Phillip 2569
Hemmingsen, Otto P 2590
Henderson, James D 2045
Henderson, Mrs. Mary E 1375
Henry, Simon William 258, 631
Hensley, George Washington 1073
Herman, Bonie Benjamin 1678
Hielscher, John G. 2147
Hill, Albert Burton 1867
Hill, Clarence John 2427
Hill, Harry 2184
Hill, John 2101
Hill, John Felix 753
Hilton, A. R 2350
Hines, John Newton 879
Hinsberger, *Jacob a.... 1166
Hinton, J. C 1529
Hitzl, Carl 2494
Hively, Charles A 2328
Hoddinott, Richard 2083
Hogan, Joseph William 1071
Hoglund, Peter 2117
Hogue, Samuel L 688
Hokanson, Gust 2095
Hole, Mrs. Elizabeth 1957
Holland, Frank 949
Holm, Falle P 2174
Holm, John 2408
Holmes, Judge Samuel A 853
Holmgren, Frank G 1487
Holstein, Nicholas 2557
Hongola, John 2540
Hoop, J. R., D.V.S 1807
Page. >
Hoover, Thomas A 1879
Hopkins, H. St. George, M.D 2310
Hopper, Samuel D 2475
Horch. Fred 2565
Hon?. Fred 2595
Horn, George Wampole 986
Hospool, George Edward 1471
Houghton, Emmons William 2461
• Houser, Mrs. Lucinda 2298
Howard, Caswell B • 1201
Hoxie. Clark 124
Hoxie, John C 609
Hoyer, N. L 1724
Huber, John Peter 2597
Huddleston, C. B 1231
Huffman, Milton D 1061
Hughes, Thomas E 244
Hulbert, Henry Stephen 872
Humphreys, John W., Sr 1103
Humphreys. John W 2537
Humphreys, Miles 0 2021
Hunt, Ben 2472
Hunt, Elihu B 1667
Hurley, Jeremiah 1257
Hurley, Timothy 1872
Huss, C. Irvin 2601
Hutchinson, Barzilla E 1377
Hutchinson, John L 1494
Hutchinson, L. M 2422
I
Imperatrice, Domenic 2396
Imrie, Mrs. Mary A 1088
Ingram, Ralph C 2088
Ipsen, M. A. and L. P 1644
Irigaray, Martin 2581
Irwin, Frank L 1508
Iversen, Iver 1003
J
Jacobs. Mrs. Julia Ann 935
Jacobsen, Carl M 1110
Jacobsen, Henry J 1635
Jacobsen, Lewis 1181
James, Jefferson J 253
James, Noah E. . 1506
James, William T 1169
Jensen, Albert 1934
Jensen, C. B 2462
Jensen, Chris 1932
Jensen, Christian 2228
Jensen, Jesper 1718
Jensen, L. M 1673
Jensen, N. Peter 2304
Jensen, P. C 2046
Johansen, Rev. Jens 1594
Johnson, A. G 1477
Johnson, Aubrey R 1980
Johnson, August 2202
Johnson, Ben 1685
Johnson, Carl Einil 2137
Johnson, Mrs. Christina 1689
Johnson, Eddie A 1679
Johnson, Edward 2228
Johnson, Frank T 2237
Johnson, J. A 2355
Johnson, J. R 2531
Johnson, Jacob Ulrich 1698
Johnson, Robert M 2349
Johnson, William 1183
Johnston, E. Melvin 1558
ohnston. Harry M 1134
ohnston, Septer E 14S9
ones, George W 1061
ones, John W 1842
ones. R. M., M.D 2357
ones, William A 1878
ones, William F 1472
onsen John 1092
orgensen, Carl 1896
orgensen, Chris 817
orgensen, Chris, Jr 2345
orgensen, Hans J 1376
orgensen, James H. A 2257
osc-ph, Antone 1245
anche, Lucas 2471
ry, Riley 2561
Martin J.
1790
1624
Kaiser, John 878
Kartozian, Rev. H. A 1955
Kastner, Chris 2388
Kazarian, H 2502
Kearney, Theo 218
Kellar-Thomason-Fleming Company... 1546
Kellas, Henry 2170
Kelley, Edwin V 1418
Kelly, John H 880
Kerber, Henry 2507
Kern, John J 857
Kerner, Carl 2364
Kerr, Ford F 2034
Kerstetter, A. R 1383
Kevorkian, Albert 2505
Keyser, Abram H 1116
Khazoyan, A. H 2069
Kilby, Benjamin W 2028
Kilby, W. J 799
Kindler, Paul 1872
King, Roberson J 2163
Kinney, Wilson 2264
Kinsman, Joseph M 38
Kinzel, Conrad 2587
Kirkman Nurseries 1586
Kirkman, William T., Jr 1586
Kirkorian, V 2511
Kirmond, Charles 1848
Kittrell. Erroll C 2062
Klein. Sandor 2408
Kleinsasser, D. J 2488
Klette, Ernest 924
Kliewer, Rev. Cornelius E 1778
Knepper, Hugh 752
Knittel, Max 2433
Koeneke, Thomas H 1871
Kohmann, Bernhard 930
Koller, Marius L 1253
Konkel. William H 2123
Kopp, Adolph 1963
Kovacevich, John, Jr 2400
Kovacevich, Pete 2511
Kramer, Henry H., Jr 2494
Kreyenhagen, Adolph 825
Kreyenhagen, Emil 1671
Kreyenhagen, Hugo 1246
Kruse. August 1608
Kruse, George 2426
Kruse. Mrs. Helen 1039
Kruse, Henry 1193
Kruse, L 1919
2209
Ma
L
Page.
Lacy, Thomas B. and Jack L 2081
Ladd, F. G 1563
Lagudis, Stephen M 2543
Laisne, Dr. Eugene W 1348
Lamers, George 1548
Lamkin, Burt B., M.D 2431
Landry, George E 1812
Lane, Frank M 834
Lanfranco, Samuel 2425
Lang, James A 1449
Langescheid, Carl 1961
Lanse, Frank 1940
Lanse, Henry 1969
Larsen, Anton 1100
Larsen, Jorgen 1195
Larson, C. Felix 2496
Larson, Nils E 1672
LaRue, Hugh William 751
LaRue, Jabez H 664
LaRue, Samuel Robert 665
Laugesen, Lauge ' 2262
Lauridsen, Frank 2207
Lauritsen, Bertel 1683
Lauritzen, Lauritz 1040
Laval, Claude C 1438
Leach, Lewis, M.D 232, 654
Le Blanc, Joseph R 1252
Lefever, Besley 1357
Le Fevre, A. R 2322
Leisman, Frank Peter 918
Leoni, Camillo R 2022
Leplat, Gustave 2556
Lesher, Albert C 1969
Levis, John 1100
Levis, Mahlon 714
Levy, M 1021
Lewis, Allie T 1885
Lewis, Mrs. Nellie 2262
Lewis, William H 1148
Lillis, S. C 259
Lindgren, A. T 1405
Lindman, Edward 1939
Lindquist, Mrs. Anna 1426
Lindrose, Charles 1853
Lindsay, E. W 903
Lindsey, Fred Eugene 1521
Linshoft, Hans 2496
Lisenby, Carl A 1054
Little, H. M 1642
Livingston, Northman C 1670
Lochead, Robert 1383
Lockie, James Franklin 1742
Lockie, John Knox 1656
Lockie, Margaret B 1877
Lockie, William A 1432
Lockie, William S 1733
Loescher, Otto 1410
Loescher. E. F 1410
Lohman, William Joseph 1704
Loper, John W 1264
Lowe, Aden A 1431
Lowther, Ross B 2346
Lugea, Jose Michael 2558
Lundell, Robert 2418
Lung, John, Jr 2577
Lynch, William 1484
Lyon, O. D 1618
M
McBride, Charles 1849
MacDonald, Rev. G. R. Edward 1133
Page.
McCabe, Dallas B 1931
McCarty, Emanuel Marion 1880
McClarty, David Carmi 1576
McCord, Hugh Robert 1354
McCourt, Robert 1006
McCoy, Arthur Howard 2267
McCray, Ira 139
McCreary, William 973
McCullough, H. W 1921
McCutch'eon, Cyrus Bell 991
McDonald, James Marshall 987
McGuire, Luther Roy 1495
Mclndoo, Ivan Carter 1637
Mclndoo, William 1637
McKamey, James H 1279
McKay, Scott 723
McKean, A. D 1885
McKean, Charles Franklin 1111
McKenzie James 609
McKenzie, William H 122, 1091
McKinlay, George 1766
McLane, Harry Elmer 1458
McLaughlin, Daniel C 2394
McLaughlin, Jerome A 2284
McLennan, H. M 1105
McLeod, William D 1813
McMurtry, M. S., M.D 1760
McNab, Allan 1226
McNeil, Alexander 1033
McSwain, Walter S 997
McVey, A. C 1522
Mace, Capt. R. P 38
Mackay, Donald 1854
Mackay, James 1850
Madsen, H 834
Madsen, Karl 1709
Madsen, Mads 2503
Madsen, Mads Peter 2481
Madsen, Rasmus 1684
Madsen, Robert K 1 789
Main, Eugene F 2162
Malanca, Giovanni 2382
Malter, George H 72S
Maneely, Alexander 1480
Maneely, Mrs. Gertrude 1591
Maneely, John 2340
Manning, Elisha Arnold 726
Marcel, Ilhero 2575
Marriott, George Clyde 2303
Marshall, Charles A 854
Marshall, Edwin C 854
Marshall, John B 1314
Marshall, James McConnell 1925
Martin, Henry F 1736
Martin, Joseph 1796
Martinto, Dominique 2576
Maselli, G 2539
Massey, R. W., V.S 2375
Mathews, Roy P 2007
Mathison, Peter 2338
Mattei, Andrew 937
Mattei, Andrew, Jr 1489
Mathiesen, Rasmus 21S5
Matthews, George R 1118
Matthews, J. C 2399
Matthews, Thomas Bettis 895
Maxson, B. D 758
Maxwell, James Nathan 1046
Maxwell, John Franklin 2574
Medley, Joseph 40
Meisner, Henry 2586
Mercy, John J. and Henry N 2530
Merritt, Hiram P., M.D 932
Page.
Metcovich, Martin 2476
Metzler, Adam 2587
Metzler, August 2322
Mikkelsen, E. M 1799
Miles, Elbridge 1036
Miles, Virgil S 2044
Milla, Caesar 2385
Miller. George W 18S4
Miller, Henry 254
Miller, Henry C 2174
Miller, Peter 2141
Milnes, Alan D 1891
Mitchell, Arthur Prentice 2424
Mitchell, Jasper E 1322
Mitchell, John L 1629
Mitchell, Ralph F 1813
Mitrovitch, Stephen N 1621
Modine, Alfred 2075
Moffitt, William Jordan 2334
Moline, William 0 2406
Moller, William 2056
Molloy, Rev. Edw„ C.S.S.R 2528
Momson, Henry A 1499
Moncrief, E. J 1784
Monson, Hans 1575
Montgomery, Cloyd Burton 2002
Montgomery, Litchfield Y 869
Moody, Thomas F 772
Mooney, Stephen Francis 2208
Moore, Prof. J. W 1490
Moran, George P 1326
Morgan, Harry C 1771
Morgan, John D., Jr., M.D 2452
Morgan, Peter M 1260
Morrison, Isaac Dossey 1758
Mortensen, Andrew 24S7
Morrow, Jesse 126
Mortensen, Morten 1968
Morton, Charles H 2429
Mosesian, Moses Paul 2061
Mouren, Joseph 2457
Mower, Eugene A 2137
Mulligan ,Mrs. Margaret 1177
Mullins, Thomas H 1895
Munger, Warren Sanford 1561
Murphy, John R 1513
Murray, Clarence 1456
Musick, Jasper Newton 35, 1045
Mutchler, Mr. and Mrs. Charles H.... 1277
Myer, Isaac 2005
Myers, J. W 200S
N
Nares, Elewelyn Arthur 957
Nash, Warren G 1187
Neal, John. 950
Nederhouse, Z. D 2175
Neikirk, B. F 1129
Nelson, Albert 1970
Nelson, Andrew 2537
Nelson, Carl August 2344
Nelson, Emil 1841
Nelson, Fred 2515
Nelson, Jonas Peter Alfred 1981
Nelson, Peter Otto 1612
Newman, Bernard A 1455
Nelson, J. H 2280
Nicklason, John August 2100
Nidiffer, James Murray 1569
Nielsen, Anton 1748
Nielsen, Hans A 1771
Nielsen, Hans Jorgen 999
Page.
Nielsen, Iener W 2558
Nielsen, Niels Hansen 2552
Nielsen, N. P 1388
Nilmeier, Conrad 2458
Nilmeier, Conrad H 2319
Nilmeier, Conrad 0 2594
Nilmeier, Henry P 2580
Nilmeier, Phillip 1944
Nieswanger, J. Franklin 1958
Nishkian, Garabed M 2325
Niswander, J. F 763
Nolan, Frank J 1545
Nord, E. M 1016
Nord, Fritz E 1799
Nordstrom, Rev. Magnus Anders 1493
Norman, Horace E 1795
Norman, J. L 1898
North, Benjamin 1835
Norlhrup, Ellsworth M 1550
Norton, H. E 1378
Nutting, W. R 1997
O
O'Neal, Edward. i 2382
Oed, John 2387
Olinger, W. E 1837
Oliver, Mrs. Mary 1938
Oliver, Orie Odell 1699
Olmstead, Charles H 2376
Olsen. Gustav 2554
Olsen, Lorenz 2586
Olsen, O. A 2520
Olson, Abram 2029
Olson, Albert Julius 1124
Olson, Gus 1904
Olson, Peter 1238
Olufs, Oluf Bernard 711
Orr, William 2495
Oslund, John 1962
Ostendorf, Mrs. Johanna 673
Otis, George Buell 783
Oussani, Joseph 2129
Owen, Richard Thomas 706
P
Packard, Oren Fred 11S7
Page, John 1520
Parret, August 2568
Paulsen, Soren 2451
Payne, E. Roy 2527
Peak, John H 1067
Pearce, Martin W 2169
Pearson, Emil 1122
Pearson, Olof 2516
Pedersen, Axel 2120
Pedersen, Peder S 2118
Pellissier, Hippolyt 2580
Perez, Rudolph J 2027
Perrin, Robert 259
Perry, James Abner 2427
Peters, A. B 2022
Petersen, Mrs. Christine A 1802
Petersen, Dagmar, M.D 2255
Petersen, John T 2190
Petersen, Louis 827
Petersen, Nicolai 2531
Petersen, Niels 1528
Petersen, Peter M 2512
Petersen, Thomas J 2055
on Carl Gustat 1272
Peterson, C. V 1381
Page.
Peterson, E. Ed 2052
Peterson, Joseph A. T 1739
Peterson, Oscar E 2124
Pettit, Hon. Melvin 1335
Pfister, John Rudolf 1933
Pfost, G. W 2040
Phelan, James C 1307
Phelps, Z. L 1868
Phillips, Charles C 1S82
Phillips, Charles E., D. D. S 1479
Phillips, Mrs. Elizabeth 694
Phillips. Perry Commodore 694
Pierce, Charles S 645
Pierse, Rev. Patrick 2373
Pilegard, Christen A 2263
Pilegard, Mrs. Carrie 2268
Pilegard, Peter A 2403
Pimentel, John 1 2518
Pinninger, Frederic William 1200
Plate, Willard F 2193
Piatt, Sidney L 1512
Plunneke, Charles 1140
Polito, S. L 1593
Pomeroy, F. K., M.D 2033
Porta, Emanuel 2602
Porter, Evan Doyle 1776
Porter, George E.. D.C 1496
Possons. William J 1788
Potter. Joseph Webster 1508
Potter, M. R 1636
Poulsen. Morten 2525
Potter, Zane 1437
Powers, Aaron Hubbard 1412
Powers, Lucius 1412
Poytress. J. A 2544
Prandini, Joe 2592
Prather, Joseph L 2270
Prather, Robert R 1536
Pretzer. Henry, Sr 1769
Pretzer, Henry, Jr 2195
Preuss. Charles 1225
Price. Oscar E 1777
Price. R. L 1741
Proodian. H 2210
Puccinelli, Louis 2600
Puckhaber. Charles R 2291
Pugh Brothers 1692
Pugh, John M 630
Pugh. John Sallee 1633
Pugh. Sarah Frances, D.0 1435
Q
Quails, Tohn M 1372
Ouick. Herbert B 2188
Quist, A. J 2433
R
Ramacher, Henry 1097
Ramacher, Leonard D 1165
Ramacher, Leroy 1850
Randrup, George 2405
Randrup. James B 2389
Rasmussen. Axel H 1662
Rathgeber, Philipp 2374
Rathmann, Theodore 2602
Rauscher. Henry 1490
Rawson, Mrs. Eva H 1314
Rebensdorf, Fred 2524
Reese. Edgar Orlando 2090
Reese, Thomas J 2542
Rehorn, Frank 1551
Vol. Page.
II Rennie, William 831
II Retallick, Richard G 2083
II Reyburn, Clarence James 777
II Reyburn, James John 685
II Reyburn, Joseph Davidson 731
II Reyburn, Leslie Devoe 929
II Rhea, Robert W 1127
II Rhodes, Stephen Walton 2189
II Rice, Rozell W 2399
II Richardson, Charles Henry 2278
I Richardson, Thomas E 1819
I Richmond, Emmett G 1360
I Richmond, William Sherman 2279
II Riggins, Emmett 1400
II Riggs, Don Pardee 1062
II Ring, Theodore J 1662
II Risley, E. W 1669
II Roberts, Victor 2307
I Robertson, James MacGregnr 1715
II Robinson, T. H., M.D 1830
II Robinson, Raymond D 2232
II Robinson, Winfield Scott 1055
II Rodrigues, Frank V 2196
II Roeding, Frederick C 256
II Roessler, Fred M 2523
II Rogers, E. B 1086
IT Rogers,. James J 42
II Rohr. H. G 2462
II Romain, Frank M 963
II Rorden, John C 1567
II Roscelli. Charles 2561
II Rose, Anthony G 2391
II Rose, Dale 2276
II Rosendahl, Frank D 1232
II Rosenthal, Jacob 2234
II Ross, James 1147
II Rougny, Albert 2579
II Rougny, Eugene 2556
II Roullard, Fred P 1740
II Rowell, Albert Abbott 641
I Rowell, Dr. Chester 237
II Rowell, Chester Harvey 942
II Rowell. William Franklin 884
II Ruble, John W 2309
IT Rucker, Miss Maggie P 910
II Rudolf, Adam 2589
IT Rudolph. Henry. Jr 2551
I Rusconi, Louis 2175
IT Rusconi. Peter 2507
II Russell. Capt. Ezra M 700
Russell, Mr. and Mrs. H. W 2326
Rusten. O. C 1902
Ruth. William 1170
II Ryan, Jerry 303
IT Ryan, William H 302, 718
II
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Sabroe, Carl 0 1987
I Sagniere, Joseph 1211
I Sahargun, Jean 2562
II Sallaberry, Brothers 2578
II Samelson, Samuel 970
II Sample, Cowan A 1535
II Sample, David Cowan 651
II Sample. Samuel C 1891
II Sandberg, David 1946
II Sandeson, Charles N 2444
II Sanford, Louis Childs, Rt. Rev. D.D.. 805
II Santen. Henry 1258
II Sassano. Aniello 2580
II Savage, H. A 2421
II Saxe, Christian 746
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Say, Grant D. G 993
Say, James H 993
Say, Mrs. Laura J 1081
Say, Lyle H 1382
Say, William Henry 1079
Scales, William L 1451
Scharer, Charles 923
Scheidt, Fred 2067
Scheidt, George 2576
Scheidt, Henry 2563
Scheidt, J. Henry 2157
Schell, Mrs. Louisa Dumont 968
Schlotthauer, J. A 2316
Schmall, John Peter 2118
Schmidt, John A 2489
Schmitz, Ernest 2591
Schneider, Conrad 2575
Schcneider, Henry 2548
Scholler, Louis 2386
Schuknecht, Theodore H 2500
Schultz, Barney 1919
Schultz, Mrs. Mary 2012
Schwabenland, Alexander P 2601
Schwinn, George 1534
Sciacqua. Leopoldo 2560
Scoggins, John Lee 1733
Scott, David 1727
Scott, Jay .... i 707
Scott, Hon. L. D 2443
Scott, Phil 898
Scott, Ralph H 2002
Scott, Robert 1555
Seacord, David 2367
Self, J. A 1843
Selma Irrigator (The) 1783
Selma National Bank 1558
Selma Savings Bank 1775
Sempe, Charles 2403
Semper, Natalio 2337
Sequeira, Antone George 2468
Sequeira, Louis George 1844
Serian, Harry S 2498
Serimian, A. S 2598
Serrano, Florencio 2429
Serrano Matias , 2505
Sessions, Capt. Herbert A 1529
Setchel, W. Flanders 2314
Setty. Rev. Sanford E 1890
Seubert, Rev. George P 1628
Shafer, John 1562
Shafer, W. H 1574
Shannon, Albert Sidney Johnston 1336
Shannon, Jefferson M 1436
Shannon, L. S 1347
Shannon. Scott A 2291
Sharer, John William 797
Sharer, Marques Monroe 766
Sharp, Ivy Watson 1616
Shaver, Charles B 1305
Shaw, A. Clifford 1592
Shell Company of California 2283
Shimmins, Mrs. Myra 845
Shipp, George R 1417
Shipp, John M 2289
Shishmanian, G. N 2538
Short, Frank H 615
Short, John W 686
Shuey, John W 780
Sides, Major M 813
Siering, Herman F 1029
Silva, Frank 922
Silveira, Joseph J 2585
Sime, Alexander 2274
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Simerly, Clarence G 2219 II
Simerly, John B 2215 II
Simpson, Albert P 1456 II
Simpson, James William 1501 II
Simpson, John Greenup, Sr 2008 II
Simpson, Thomas Jackson 1836 II
Sims, Benjamin L 2425 II
Sims, James William 1630 II
Sinclair, John G. C 1283 I
Sininger, William H 2057 II
Skoonburg, J. L 1184 I
Slater, Edward Earl 1396 II
Smelley, Christopher 2070 II
Smith, Chris H 1240 I
Smith, Edwin Herbert 1319 II
Smith, Flora W., M.D 1213 I
Smith, George E 2017 II
Smith, George W 747 I
Smith, James W 976 I
Smith, John E 2429 II
Smith, John W 1747 II
Smith, Lewis Howell 1549 II
Smith, Thomas D„ M.D 1717 II
Smith, Thomas P 1207 I
Smoot, Guy Thomas 2392 II
Snow, Alva E 852 I
Snyder, C. Ross 1650 II
Snyder, George 2435 II
Snyder, George H 2233 II
Soderberg, Andrew 2566 II
Soper, Mrs. Sadie Elizabeth 1829 II
Sorensen, Christian 2500 II
Sorensen. Hans William, D.D.S 1690 II
Souza, Ed. J 1818 II
South, N. Lindsay 2016 II
Spear, E. R 2275 II
Spence, David A 1703 II
Spence, Harry Edward 2024 II
Spence, John Young 2070 II
Spencer, Wright H 1896 II
Spires, H. E 2412 II
Spomer, Rev. August 2395 II
Staley, William S 1365 II
Stammers, Clarence L., M.D 2286 II
Stange, Hugo S 1528 II
Stange, Paul T 2391 II
Stanton, M. E 1326 II
Statham, Bert A 2285 II
Staub, Arnold Humboldt 1897 II
Stay, Andrew H 1922 II
Stay, Ole H 2375 II
Steitz, H. P., Jr 2270 II
Steitz, John August 2111 II
Stephens, Lewis O S46 I
Steward, George Wallace 1664 II
Steward, Nehemiah W 1564 II
Stieglitz, Michael 2183 II
St. John, Enos Frost 652 I
Stockton, Guy 1339 II
Stone, Charles J 1903 II
Stone. W. T 1690 II
Stowell, Henry Oakley 2213 II
Strader, William Franklin 1364 II
Stranahan, John H 2213 II
Stratton, John J 2028 II
Stricklin, James Henry 2030 II
Strid, Charles 1237 I
Stump, Allen Everett 1580 II
Sturtevant, Andrew Judson, Jr 1536 II
Suglian, John 1465 II
Sulprizio, Deuta 2524 II
Sunderland, Al E 1145 I
Sutherland, William 708 I
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Swanson, John August 2598 II
Swanson, Nels 2057 II
Sward, Axel W 1285 I
Sweeney, Albert Hamlet, M.D 1141 I
Sweezey, E. B 1332 II
Swift, Harvey W... 659 I
Swift, Lewis P 740 I
Swift, Reuben James 2156 II
Swigart, Edward Cooper 1680 II
Swiss Supply Company 2597 II
T
Taft, George W 618 I
Taft, Mrs. Emma M 618 I
Tangney, P. D 2195 II
Taylor, Alexander 754 I
Taylor, George H 1452 II
Taylor, Marion H 2156 II
Teague, Charles 828 I
Teilman, Ingvart 692 I
Telin, C 982 I
Thiede, Rev. K. A. Herman 1219 I
Thomas, Benjamin Cassius 1042 I
Thome, Eugene P 2508 II
Thompson, A. E 1627 II
Thompson, Georgia Emily, M.D 2389 II
Thompson, James Wallace 2358 II
Thompson, William P 658 I
Thomsen, Jens Christian 1160 I
Thomsen, Mathias 1706 II
Thornton, Philip Burt 2570 II
Thorwaldson, Horace 1514 II
Thurman, William C 1656 II
Tobiasen, Bendiks 1770 II
Toccalini, Jack 2517 II
Todd, Clayton Wesley 2149 II
Tomasetti, Eugene 2595 II
Toreson, August 2490 II
Traber, Charles H., M.D 1594 II
Traber, Prof. John W 739 I
Trabing. Charles Willard 1239 I
Tranberg, James J 2132 II
Traweek, Cecil Calvert 1661 II
Trout, William Arthur 1814 II
Trucchi, Annibale 2564 II
Tuck Brothers 2148 II
Tucker, F 2321 II
Tucker, Steve 2344 II
Tufenkjian, Sarkis, M.D 1056 I
Tupper, Henry Clay 626 I
Turner, George A 2412 II
Turner, William 2093 II
Tuttle, George M ■.. 2074 II
Tuttle, John E 2037 II
Twining, Frederick E 1449 II
U
Uhd, Hans A 1 142 I
Uhler, Russell 1470 II
Underwood, Olin C 1711 II
Urrutia, Juan Miguel 2258 II
V
Vanderburgh, John Jay 1172 I
Vandor, Paul E 1311 II
Van Meter, Edgar Snowden 1112 I
Van Ness, William H 1004 I
Van Ronk, Lewis E 2333 II
Venard, William F 1423 II
Venter, Otto 2076 II
Page.
Verble, H. E 2368
Verwoert, Mrs. Alfreda 2082
Vignola, Angelo 1668
Vignola, Guy R 1668
Villanueva, Miguel 2490
Vincent, Manuel 1710
Voenes, George J 2547
Vogel, Frederick Karl 2395
Vogel, Herbert E 778
Vogel, Jacob 778
Vogelsang. Edward D 1099
Voice. Charles E 2409
Voorhees, Truman L 2315
Vntaw, A. S 2379
Vought, Lawrence 865
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Wagner, Fred 2593
Wahl, Mrs. Louis 2379
Wal.lberg, Arthur G 1691
Walder, William U 2319
Walker, James N 40
Wall, Elmer Thomas 1783
Wallace, Duncan, A. B„ B. D„ A. M. . 866
Wallace, Miles 975
Wallers, John 2493
Walley, Granville Hartman 1442
Walsh, John J 1847
Walter, Charles Lewis 2571
Walter, John W. 1926
Walton, John T 1194
Waltz, S. W : 1607
Ward, H. L 1S20
Ward. John Allison 2434
Ward, W. W 2131
Warlow, George L 844
Warner, Anna S 1074
Warner, Beldin J 1074
Warner, Percy N 1847
Watkins, John W 1551
Weaver, Willis D 974
Webb, Arthur E 1404
Webb, Hon. James Ransom 2445
Weber, Henry, Jr 2049
Webster, John 1698
Wehrmann, Fritz 1012
Weitz, George H 1015
Welch, W. A 1212
Weldon, Robert W 2073
Wells, Absalom 1141
Wells, Charles 1369
Wells, Charles Prather 2296
Wells, Earl J 2413
Wells, Francis Asbury 1220
Wells, Hon. F. E 962
Wertz, William 1326
White, T. C 1430
Whiteside, Olney 1330
Wickliffe, Alfred 2370
Wickliffe, William P 1772
Wiesbrod, G 2541
Wiggenhauser, Joseph 2111
Wildermuth, H 2506
Wilkins, James P 2405
Wilkins, Reuben Franklin 2416
Williams, Charles Elliott 2023
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Williams, Edward A 956
Williams, Harold Clyde 2150
Williams, Henry H 2314
Williams, Jess L 2095
Williams, Samuel B 2301
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Williamson. Charles 1763
Williamson, David 1469
Williamson. George F 838
Williamson, Simeon Edgar 1811
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Wilson, Eugene 2219
Wilson. Henry Thomas 1909
Wilson, J. D 1196
Winblad, Sig 1564
Winchell. Anna Cora 679
Winchell, Hon. Elisha C 127 635
Winchell. Laura C 638
Winchell. Ledyard F 678
Winchell, Lilbourne A 674
Winter, Conrad 2585
Winter, Karl 24S3
Winter, Peter 2087
Wishon. A. G 1306
Wistrom, Fred 2096
Witten, Kinza P 2161
Wolf, Peter J 2440
Wolfe, G. A 2030
Wolgamott, Zenas 1034
Wolter, Rev. Carl W 1117
Wood, Robert M 1443
Woodall. EH 2112
Woodworth. Joseph E 921
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Wormser. Sigmund 964
Wny, Martin Luther 944
Wristen, William David 999
Wulf, Andreas 1985
Wulf, Peter 1988
Wyllie, Bunnie Lawrence 1353
Y
Yancey, America Frances 1387
Yeretzian, Arsen 1651
Yerington, William 2397
Yoakem, James Marion 1908
Young, August J 2583
Young, John and Alice 1511
Youngquist, Mr. and Mrs. John A 2297
Yraceburu, Joe 2273
Yraceburu, Jose M 2563
Yzurdiaga, Firmin 2588
z
Zandueta, Jose 2542
Zanolini, Silvio 2321
Zediker, David S 18S9
Zimmer, William T 1200
Zinn, Thomas H ' 1429
Zwang, Jacob 2196
BIOGRAPHICAL
CHARLES B. SHAVER. — A very important factor in the promotion ot
the Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company, was the late Charles B. Shaver,
who located in Fresno in 1892. Being a man of extensive experience in the
lumber business he foresaw the possibilities of the Fresno Flume and Irriga-
tion Company, an enterprise which had just been organized, and immediately
bought an interest in the company and at once assumed charge of the con-
struction, completing the surveys and building the flumes from Stevenson
Creek, where the company built a dam sixty feet high, to Clovis, Fresno
County, the flume being forty and one quarter miles in length, and requiring
9,000,000 feet of lumber to "construct and an expense of $200,000. At the
same time the construction of mills in the mountains was begun and carried
to completion, two years being occupied in preparation for this extensive
work. The planing mills, box factory and dry kilns of the company are
located in Clovis, to which place the lumber is brought down by the flume.
The output of this great enterprise is shipped to all parts of the world. To the
energy, enterprise and experience of Charles B. Shaver, is due the culmina-
tion of this important undertaking, which has proved of such great impor-
tance in the development of this section of Fresno County.
Charles B. Shaver was a native of Steuben County, N. Y. where he was
born in 1855, a son of John L. Shaver who was a native of Delaware County,
of the same state. John L. Shaver was a miller in New York state until
1864, when he removed to St. Louis, Gratiot County, Mich, where he engaged
in farming and continued to make his home until his death, which occurred
at the age of seventy-four years. His wife, who in maidenhood, was Mary
Rose, has also passed away. Charles B. Shaver was next to the youngest
child in a family of four and received his early education in the public schools
of Michigan, to which state he moved with his parents when a lad of nine
years. At the age of nineteen he engaged in lumbering and was employed
by Whitney and Stinchfield of Detroit, Mich., later becoming a foreman in
the woods and in which position he remained until 1882, when he resigned
and accepted a position with A. B. Long and Son of Grand Rapids, Mich.
While in their employ he assisted in the building of the logging railway and
became interested in their mills and lumber plant until 1889, when he re-
signed and became associated with the White Friant Lumber Company,
with whom he continued two years and during which time he constructed
fourteen miles of logging railway and put in over one hundred million feet
of logs. In 1891 he went to Missouri where he built a mill for Boyden and
Wyman Lumber Company, at Neelysville, Mo. In 1892, he migrated to
California and located at Fresno, where he was instrumental in the building
and the development of the Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company, becom-
ing the president of the organization in 1894. He was also a member of
the Pine Box and Lumber Company, of San Francisco, and the California
Sugar and White Pine Agency, in both of which companies he served as
a director.
In Grand Rapids, Mich. on. December 6, 1883, Charles B. Shaver was
united in marriage with Lena A. Roberts, a native of Pennsylvania. This
union was blessed with three children : Grace, who is the wife of Captain
H. J. Craycroft, U. S. A. medical detachment; Mrs. Ethel Hoover; and
Doris who is the wife of Harold McDonald, of Fresno.
1306 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
After a very active and successful career, Charles B. Shaver passed
away on Christmas day, 1907. Fraternally, he was a Mason, having joined
the organization in Edmore, Mich., later becoming a member of Fresno
Lodge, No. 247, F. & A. M. ; he also belonged to Trigo Chapter No. 69,
Fresno Lodge No. 29, K. T., Lodge of Perfection at Fresno and Islam
Temple A. A. O. N. M. S. of San Francisco. He was a member of Fresno
Lodge No. 439 B. P. O. Elks, the Chamber of Commerce and the Sequoia
Club.
A. G. WISHON. — Prominent among the citizens of widely-felt influence
in both the commercial and financial circles of Fresno, and one whose contri-
butions to the development of the resources of the San Joaquin Valley have
proven of inestimable value and are generally recognized, is A. G. Wishon,
the worthy representative of a family that traces its ancestry with justifiable
pride through the history of the State of North Carolina, back to the ro-
mantic days of la belle France. He was born in Phelps County, Mo., on No-
vember 6. 1858, the son of Marion Wishon, a native of East St. Louis, 111.,
who was a farmer and merchant at St. James, in, Phelps County, and a man
of unusual ability. He interested himself for years in fostering the best move-
ments for the community, and consented to serve as the first Sheriff — and
an intrepid one, too — of that county. He married Miss Mary Coppedge of
Missouri, a daughter of Lindsay L. Coppedge, a Virginian and an honored
member of an old and distinguished family of that State. He came to be a
pioneer settler of Pulaski County, Mo., and for sixty years resided at Cop-
pedge Mills, a place named from the mill he established there. Seven chil-
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Marion Wishon. among whom the subject
of this review is the eldest ; and five of whom, and also the mother, are now
residing in California.
After completing his education at the Missouri School of Mines, at Rolla,
Mo., a branch of the well-endowed University of Missouri, A. G. Wishon at
the age of eighteen became dependent upon his own resources and was for a
while employed in the office of the wholesale grocery firm of Moody, Michel
and Company of St. Louis. Later, he traveled through the South for the Ad-
ler Goldman Company, cotton brokers and commission merchants of the same
city, and after that he engaged in mercantile business for himself and suc-
cessfully conducted stores at Sullivan and Stanton, Franklin County, and at
St. James, Mo. When he disposed of his stores, he became chief of "office for
Captain R. M. Peck, superintendent of bridges and buildings of the Missouri
Pacific Railroad at Pacific, a town in Franklin County ; and on resigning from
that trust in 1888, he migrated to California with so many thousands of others
who were attracted here through the great land boom of the late eighties.
Arriving in the Golden State, he associated himself with the old San Joa-
quin Lumber Company at Tulare, at that time under the general management
of T. G. Yancey, and local management of E. Lathrop, and subsequentlv he
filled the position of cashier and bookkeeper for the Tulare County Bank.
Still later, he opened an office in Tulare for the promotion of various enter-
prises and the disposition of lands, and he became a notable factor in the pro-
motion of pump irrigation in the San Joaquin Valley, a scientific enterprise
that soon rendered highly productive vast areas of land which hitherto could
not be profitably cultivated.
Mr. Wishon's first extensive project was the building of the Exeter Ditch,
for which the water was brought from the Kaweah River above Lemon Cove,
and along the base of the hills almost to Lindsay, Tulare County, a distance
of about twenty miles. At the time when this difficult and expensive task
was undertaken, there was not an orange or lemon grove in the region de-
signed to be supplied by the canal, but through his successful completion of
the work he transformed the country into one of the best citrus-fruit pro-
ducing sections of the State. He financed the enterprise and after its com-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1307
pletion sold his lands at a handsome, deserved profit; and some of the acreage
then disposed of includes today some of the finest California groves.
Another important enterprise which was fostered and developed by A.
G. W'ishon, and which has brought to so many incalculable returns, was the
organization of the Mt. Whitney Power Company, which was the pioneer
in electrical pumping in California. Having secured the rights to the head-
waters of the Kaweah, he then associated with him as partner William H.
Hammond, brother of John Hays Hammond, the famous mining expert, and
installed a power plant, and not only did he bring the project to a reality, but
he himself managed the enterprise until its success was assured. This plant
distributes power and light to Tulare, Visalia, Exeter, Porterville and Lind-
say.
In May, 1903, Mr. Wishon became the General Manager of the San Joa-
quin Power Company of Fresno, and soon after Vice-President, Director
and Manager of the Fresno City Railroad, and Vice-President and Manager
of the Fresno Water Company. In 1904, foreseeing the increasing appeal of
Nature's wonderland and the rapid advances in population, he was active
in the organization of the Fresno Traction Company, with a capitalization of
$5,000,000, to absorb the Fresno City Railroad and to construct a line to the
Yosemite Valley, a distance of eighty miles through a most picturesque sec-
tion of the State, and he has gradually become associated with many other
California enterprises, a number of which he helped to found.
On October 5, 1881, Mr. Wishon was united in marriage with Miss Hen-
rietta Emory, a native of Steelville, Mo., and the daughter of Azro Emory of
St. James, Mo., members of the Emory family that has already given to the
advance intellectual guard of America a leading bishop, an educator, a sol-
dier of prominence and a naval official who distinguished himself while com-
manding the Bear of the Greely Relief Expedition. The ceremony was sol-
emnized at St. James, Mo., and of that happy union two children were born,
Emory and Jenny.
Fraternally, Mr. Wishon is a Mason and a charter member of Las Palmas
Lodge, F. & A. M., at Fresno, and also of other branches of the order. He
belongs as well to the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, where he is never
found wanting when expected to put his shoulder to the wheel, and to the
Sequoia, Commercial, University and Sunnyside clubs of Fresno, the Cali-
fornia Club of Los Angeles, and various other representative organizations
throughout the state.
JAMES C. PHELAN. — The automobile garage owned by James C.
Phelan, and named after him, is cleverly planned, well built, and managed
according to up-to-date methods. Mr. Phelan's father, who was an honored
veteran of the Union Army in our Civil War, is D. F. Phelan, and he is
still living at Los Angeles. Prior to casting his lot in the Golden State, he
was a pioneer in Colorado. Mrs. Phelan, who was Annie Donahue before
her marriage, is deceased.
Born in the Centennial State on October 25, 1867, James C. Phelan was
educated at the public schools in Colorado and New Mexico, and also, as
he likes to put it, in " the great school of experience." As a young man, he
ventured in both the grocery and butcher business, having a store when
only nineteen years of age, at Albuquerque, N. M. For fourteen years, too,
his business at Williams, Arizona, was one of the most progressive and prof-
itable establishments in that town.
On September 9, 1893, Mr. Phelan was married to Miss Myrtie Dickin-
son, and this union was blessed with three boys and four girls, viz : Mary M.,
Chris E., Roy N., Jimmie J., Ruth E., Bernice L., and Leoma C, all of whom
were educated in the public schools of Fresno, the two eldest studied at
Heald's Business College, while Roy N., is a student at the University of
California at Berkeley. Mr. Phelan has accepted the doctrines of the Chris-
1308 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
tian Scientists, socially he finds recreation in the circles of the Woodmen of
the World, the Knights of Pythias, and the Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation.
In May, 1916, he built the finest and most complete auto establishment
in California, spending $90,000 upon the same. He then became agent, for
the San Joaquin Valley, of the Maxwell, Mitchell and Marmon automobiles,
and the Kleiber and Maxwell Trucks. He employs from forty to fifty men to
man the several departments, each of which is complete in itself. When he
first came to California, in 1905, he worked for three years on the Fresno
ranch ; and then, getting into the automobile business in a modest way, he
has made success after success. Mr. Phelan sold out in August. 1919.
Mr. Phelan is a stanch Democrat, but always something more than a
political partisan. In advocating and working for good roads, for example,
his public-spiritedness has been particularly shown.
NELS HANSON. — Everybody in Kingsburg has a kind thought and
a good word for Nels Hanson, who was born at Lund, Skaarn, Sweden, on
December 8, 1858, and reared in the old university town, where he began his
education at the public schools. His father was Hanson Hanson, a farmer
in modest circumstances who lived to be only thirty-three years of age
and died in Sweden. His mother, Elna Peterson before her marriage, also
lived and died where she was married. As a lad of seven, Nels, while attend-
ing the Lutheran Church, in which faith his parents brought him up, worked
in a woolen mill at Lund, continuing there for five and a half hard years.
After that he served a three years' apprenticeship to the tanners' trade, work-
ing for the well-known tanner and capitalist, Thelander, and becoming a
journeyman in 1879.
Having thus equipped himself for a definite line of labor in life, Nels,
in the latter part of 1880 sailed from Copenhagen for New York, and once
safely within the borders of the United States, he made his way to Chicago
where, for three months, he worked at the tanner's trade. Then he joined a
construction gang on the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Railway in Iowa,
but in a short time he came back to Chicago and in the fall of that year
went with some companions to Ishpeming, Mich., and there undertook to
work in the mines. In time he became foreman and inspector, and received
the highest wages paid to anyone there. After several years he became an
independent mine contractor; and while saving his money, he sent it to a
partner, Charles Carlson, at Kingsburg, now deceased, with whom he had
purchased some eighty choice acres, which Carlson was farming to grain.
As a result of this investment, Nels arrived in Kingsburg early in the
spring of 1888. He liked the town from the very first, although he was fated
to suffer heavily in the panics during the Cleveland administration. In May,
1888, Mr. Hanson, longing to see the scenes of his native land, made a trip
back to his old home at Lund. He wished also to meet again his fiancee,
Cecelia Hanson (of the same name, but of no kinship), to whom he had been
engaged for ten years; and the result of this meeting was that Miss Hanson
came out to America, and they were married at Kingsburg on September
25, 1888. Now they are the parents of four children: Frank, who was in
Company B, Three Hundred Sixty-fourth Regiment, Infantry. Washington,
and at Camp Lewis, later served with the Ninety-first Division in the Ar-
gonne in France, became automatic gunner, was gassed, arrived home and
was honorably discharged at Camp Kearney and reached home April 26,
1919: Alfred, who married Emma Peterson of Kingsburg, and is a rancher:
Victor, who lives at home ; and Henry, a graduate of the Kingsburg High
School, Class of 1916, and who was in the military police at Camp Fremont.
When Messrs. Hanson and Carlson sold the eighty acres referred to,
they accepted, as part of the sale price, a note for $1,800. but the purchaser
having defaulted in his payments, Mr. Hanson had to take back part of the
• land — for him a disappointment through which, at the time, he saw only mis-
t e*^Ui&ye^i*^vLirY*-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1311
fortune and the necessity of his remaining at Kingsburg. Instead of a loss,
however, it has proven a most valuable holding; half of it lies within the
incorporated limits of Kingsburg, and such is the location that it is con-
stantly advancing in worth. For six months Mr. Hanson remained at Kings-
burg making improvements, and then he went to Portland, Ore., and became
a bridge carpenter.
At the termination of three months, Mr. Hanson came back to Cali-
fornia and Kingsburg, and continued improving the land. He planted twelve
and a half acres to muscats, and the balance to alfalfa. He put up the cus-
tomary outbuildings, and erected a comfortable, ornate residence, so that
as a home-place he has succeeded in evolving a choice country property.
Mr. Hanson also owns a vineyard of twenty acres one and a half miles
north of Kingsburg, which he has set out to zinfandels, and twenty acres
set out to Thompson's seedless grapes ; and he has forty acres four miles
west, all in muscats, planted by himself and now ten years old.
As a public-spirited citizen, Mr. Hanson has done his full duty in serv-
ing on federal and trial juries ; while he has contributed to the social life
of the community in his activity within the circles of the Masons and in
particular within the Traver Lodge, No. 294, at Kingsburg. He is well-
informed, progressive and withal a man of large heart; and his excellent
wife is a true companion.
PAUL E. VANDOR.— The life career of Paul E. Vandor, writer of this
History of Fresno County, is typical of the varied experiences and activities
common to that remarkable product of American institutions, the newspaper
writer — that restless, indefatigable worker that is ever in touch with the
popular pulse, that aids in directing public opinion and while wielding an
invisible but conscious power yet sinks individuality in the impersonality of
his work, that contributes to and encourages the development and permanent
exploitation of communities, and that, while giving the best years of life
and an unimpeachable loyalty to a chosen vocation, seldom reaps personal
reward for his unceasing efforts in behalf of the public weal. This newspaper
class or body of journalists has humorously perhaps been named the Fourth
Estate to distinguish an acknowledged power in the state body politic, dis-
tinct from the three recognized political or social orders. The subject of this
sketch was born at Milwaukee, Wis., June 13, 1858, and is the eldest son of
three living children. His father, who died in San Francisco in the seventies,
was Joseph Vandor, a Hungarian nobleman, who was a major in the Austrian
army. He cast his lot with Kossuth and the Hungarian revolution of 1848-49,
but with its collapse and the loss of ancestral estate, escheated to the Crown,
fled proscribed to America, sailing from Glasgow, Scotland, as the last port
of embarcation. On December 4, 1849, he arrived in the United States in such
an impoverished state that, with ignorance of the English language, life for
him in the new land was beset by many vicissitudes, and he was reduced to
manual labor for a livelihood. Gaining after a time a working knowledge of
the language, the while economizing strictly to meet the demands of his
necessities, he gave instruction in German, French and fencing, and also did
amanuensis work and so worked his way through Harvard Law School,
from which he was graduated. Eventually, he moved to Wisconsin to engage
in the practice of law at Milwaukee.
On August 22, 1857, in that comfortable city, Joseph Vandor was mar-
ried to Miss Pauline Knobelsdorf, who had come to America in childhood,
and whose family had settled at Milwaukee. She was of gentle birth, a lineal
descendant of the Major von Knobelsdorf who was distinguished as the royal
architect of Frederick the Great and who planned and constructed for him
the first edifices that marked the Unter den Linden in Berlin. This bit of
ancestral history is the more interesting in our story because Mr. Vandor's
grandfather on the paternal side was a tutor and mentor of the Duke of
1312 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Reichstadt — Napoleon II., son of Napoleon Bonaparte. His grandmother was
a lady-in-waiting of the duke's mother, Marie Louise of Austria. Mrs. Pauline
Yandor was one of the pioneer settlers of West Park Colony in Fresno. She
died in Fresno City, May 7, 1907. She was a woman of indomitable energy,
and an intensely loyal American of the type so often found among those of
favored birth in foreign lands who have chosen the American republic as their
home.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Joseph Yandor was commissioned a
Colonel by Alexander Williams Randall (the plucky governor of Wisconsin
who had called a regiment into existence without authority of the legislature),
to organize the Seventh Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, later a unit of the
historic Iron Brigade, but as the outgrowth of a cabal in the regiment, nur-
tured by jealousy of his military proficiency as evidenced by his being called
upon to act in the capacity of brigade commander, an attempt was made upon
his life. Under cover of night, he was shot in the shoulder by an unknown
assassin, who fired at him through his tent and inflicted a wound which de-
veloped into a malignant cancer. He resigned his military command, and with
the helpful recommendations of such influential men as Governor Randall,
Carl Schurz, Governor Salmon Portland Chase, the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, and William H. Seward, Secretary of State, President Lincoln appointed
him American Consul at Papeiti, chief town of Tahiti, for the French pro-
tectorate in the Society Islands, and in those days station of the New England
whalers in the Southern Pacific.
Colonel Vandor's loyalty to the country of his adoption was intense, and
the American flag such an object of veneration for him that our subject recalls
how he quelled a native insurrection on the island of Huaheine by the dis-
play of Old Glory from the masthead of the little Tahitian schooner aboard
which was the consular party. The flag was run up while the insurgents on
the beach fired on the craft and refugees swam out or canoed to the schooner
for protection. Speaking of these romantic but exciting days, Air. Yandor
says: "My father knocked me flat upon the deck, to escape the bullets he
heard whistling on their flight toward us. but for which and being in the line
of range. I might not have survived to tell the tale. I can recall, also, that
often he emerged from the consulate at Papeiti to liberate American sailors
from the custody of Kanaka policemen, indignant at their practice of tving
prisoners' wrists behind their backs for want of handcuffs, and then roundlv
castigating the policemen. At that time, as a small boy. I was familiar with
the Kanaka language of the Islands, and could read it as printed in the French
Jesuit or English Episcopalian missionary books ; and although only a child
in years I was the interpreter for the consulate. I accompanied my father
on official tours of the islands in the archipelago, and rendered the translations
of Kanaka into the German or French, as I had only an indifferent knowledge
of English."
• The serious nature of the Colonel's wound, and the education of his three
children, prompted him to resign the consulship, and the family arrived in
San Francisco, in April, 1869. Colonel Vandor took up the practice of law.
became prominent in the Grand Army of the Republic, and a leader in the
German-speaking colony, still including many of the most loyal and most
efficient citizens of the state. Because of the evil effects of the wound upon
his health, he declined the political preferments from time to time offered
him. Before his death in the middle seventies, and after the Franco-German
War. he returned to Europe and journeyed to Paris and Vienna, to consult
eminent surgeons; and after submitting to operations, he made a last pathetic
visit to the estates at one time his ancestral possessions, and the grave of his
mother in a closed Yienna cemetery, and returned home, never again to
leave his bed. His remains lie in the family plot in the G. A. R. reservation
of the Odd Fellows' Cemetery at San Francisco.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1313
Paul E. Vandor grew and thrived under somewhat disordered educa-
tional conditions. He was taught French by the Jesuit Fathers in the South
Sea Islands, and, on return to his native land at the age of eleven, was French
in spirit and habit, although German was spoken in the home circle. Attend-
ing the cosmopolitan public schools and a private collegiate institute in San
Francisco, he began the study of English, of which he had only a smattering,
gathered from an American school teacher, a protege of the family while in
the Islands. Being a voracious reader, he learned of himself to read and to
write, delving into classic literature from the time when he read his first
English book, Robinson Crusoe.
Newspaper work had for him its fascination even during boyhood, and as
a school lad in the late seventies he was a publisher in San Francisco, when
amateur journals were a juvenile fad. He once had the questionable credit,
while in college, of being held to answer, with two older companions, on two
charges of criminal libel lodged by a rival boy editor. The grand jury gave
all concerned a lecture on the enormity of their offence, and then, after treat-
ing them to a good scare, made heroes of them all by ignoring the accusation.
Mr. Vandor studied law in San Francisco, thinking to make that his profes-
sion ; but with the loss of family fortune following collapse of the mining-
stock gamble of the late seventies in San Francisco, abandoned the law to
take up newspaper writing. Today, he is the second oldest newspaper writer
in point of continuous service in Fresno County. In his career he has been
dramatic critic of the old Golden Era, a reporter for the Chronicle, the Even-
ing Post, the Examiner, and the Morning Call, in San Francisco. He has
also been a reporter on the Morning Telegram, the Argus and the Encinal
of Alameda, and he has served in like capacity in Fresno with the Evening
Expositor and the Democrat, the Morning Republican and at present is
with the Evening Herald. Alternately, Mr. Vandor has also been assistant
city editor of the San Francisco Call and Editor of the Fresno Democrat. He
has spent the major part of a busy life in the ever interesting city of San
Francisco, of whose marvelous growth he was an eye-witness, and he has
wept amid her devastated streets, when he beheld the aftermath of the earth-
quake and the big fire. While in San Francisco, he was a charter member of
the first Press Club of 1880, whose supporters hobnobbed with and welcomed
many of the notable literary men of the world as they sojourned in or passed
through the Bay Metropolis and sipped of a life now largely a memory.
From January, 1885, until the Spanish-American War, Mr. Vandor was
in the California National Guard, having enlisted in Company G, First Infan-
try, Second Brigade, which with Company C as the mother organization dated
from the days of 1856 and the San Francisco Vigilance Committee, and he
held transfer memberships in Company G, in Alameda, Fifth Infantry, Second
Brigade, and in Company F. in Fresno, of the Sixth Infantry and Third Bri-
gade. Having been color-sergeant in the First Regiment, he was in his own
company first sergeant, but he was rejected for service in the Spanish-Amer-
ican AYar on account of physical disability. A veteran member of the Na-
tionals, Mr. Vandor was a charter member of the Veterans" State Association
of the National Guard. In national politics a Republican, Mr. Vandor is
locally decidedly non-partisan. A charter member of Pitiaches Tribe. No.
144, I. O. R. M., of Fresno, Mr. Vandor is also a member of Manzanita Camp,
No. 160, AY. O. \V. of Fresno. He also belongs to the Shaver Lake Fishing
Club.
A Californian to the backbone, although compelled sincerely to regret
that he was not born within the limits of the Golden State, Mr. Vandor has
made the study of California history a labor of love, and is recognized as an
authority on Fresno County history. He has contributed on historical sub-
jects to local publications, and has the honor of being a charter member of
the Fresno County Historical Society. A member of no established church,
Mr. Vandor leans to Unitarianism.
1314 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JOHN B. MARSHALL. — Among the pioneer residents of Fresno County
who have resided here for a quarter of a century, particular mention is made
of John B. Marshall, now retired and living at 164 Echo Avenue, Fresno. He
has devoted many years of his life to the development of this county, and is
an enthusiastic booster and supporter of those movements, that have as their
aim, the upbuilding of the county's best interests.
John B. Marshall was born March 6, 1845, in Hunterdon County. New
Jersey. He attended the public schools of his native state, was reared on a
farm, and when old enough, learned the trade of a blacksmith. Afterwards
he was employed by Captain Shields, a railroad contractor in New Jersey,
helping in the construction of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and at one time
followed farming in his native state. In 1878 Mr. Marshall migrated to the
Great West, where he worked on railroad construction, as a blacksmith, for
a contractor named Wolf, operating in the states of Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin
and Illinois. He also worked for the Santa Fe Railway Company in Canyon
City, Colo. In 1882 he returned to New Jersey and engaged in farming; after-
wards he was employed by his first employer, Mr. Shields, in railroad work.
After his return to the east, he felt the insistent call of the Golden West, with
its great attractions and unbounded possibilities. His second journey west-
ward terminated on July 25. 1892, when he arrived in the Golden State and
soon thereafter located in Fresno County, where he has resided ever since.
During his long residence in the county Mr. Marshall has bought, sold, devel-
oped and traded many different pieces of property, and acquired quite an
extensive holding of real estate; at present owning one-half section of land
on the West Side of the county, two houses and five lots in the City of Fresno,
six lots and one house in Sanger, two lots in Fresno Heights, two lots in
East Richmond ; he has also owned the following real estate, which he has
sold or traded: twenty acres six miles northeast of Sanger; forty acres on Mc-
Kinley Avenue ; fifty-five acres in the California Poultry farm tract ; and forty
acres near Clovis. For three years he has farmed his West Side ranch to grain.
Mr. Marshall has done his share in the developing of the county, and now
in the afternoon of his life is living retired and enjoying the fruits of a life of
industry and frugality.
MRS. EVA H. RAWSON.— A California woman who has won for her-
self an enviable name as a successful viticulturist, and who has a host of
friends among those who admire her qualities as a cultured, refined and sym-
pathetic fellowcitizen, is Mrs. Eva H. Rawson, a native of Woonsocket. R. I.,
the daughter of Captain William E. Hubbard, who was born near Franklin,
Mass. Grandfather Elisha Hubbard died in Massachusetts, and the father,
who was an architect and builder, settled at Woonsocket, where he became
a contractor. He was one of the prominent builders of Woonsocket and
among its most leading citizens ; and ten years before his death he was able
to retire. William E. Hubbard served in the Civil War as captain of Com-
pany F of the Twelfth Rhode Island Regiment, and saw plenty of hard cam-
paigning. Later he was a prominent Mason. He had married Ruth Scott, of
Scott Hill, Mass., and she was able to trace her family back to the May-
flower and then back to Europe. The mother died in Rhode Island.
Four of the five children are still living, and Mrs. Rawson is the third
in order of birth. She is also the only one of the children living in California.
Her full name was Eva Hortense Hubbard ; she was reared in Woonsocket,
and was graduated from the Woonsocket High School in 1884 and is a mem-
ber of its Alumni Society. On August 22, 1888, she was married to Malcolm
Augustus Rawson, who was born in Uxbridge, Mass., the son of James A.
Rawson, who married Louisa Scott, of Massachusetts. The father was a
stonemason and contractor, and both he and his wife died in Massachusetts.
Mr. Rawson was educated at the common and high schools, and Worces-
ter Academy, and he became a pharmacist and followed the drug business
for over forty years. He spent six years learning the business and as an em-
(q^hj M-^Ji^&Koijij^a,
yH«/<c</**i )±*aM™swl rfe*~a~c+s^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1319
jloye of the Fenner Drug Company in Providence, and then for seventeen
years was with the James McCord wholesale drug house of La Crosse, Wis.-,
during which time he bought a drug store at Viroqua, Vernon County, the
same state. He continued there until he went with Noyes Bros! & Cutler of
St. Paul and also Meyers Bros, in St. Louis ; and then, from the time of its
organization, he became interested in the Iowa Drug Company of Des Moines,
acting as vice-president of the concern. When he sold out, he located in Port-
land, Ore., and for twelve years, or until his death, he was traveling salesman
of the Blumauer-Frank Drug Company. He died suddenly in Portland, on
September 16, 1917, in his sixty-second year.
Meanwhile, as early as 1912, the Rawsons became interested in California
by the purchase of twenty-one acres in the Vinland Colony, and in 1913 Mrs.
Rawson began the improving of the property by erecting the usual buildings.
In 1914 she set out a vineyard, sunk wells and installed a pumping-plant for
irrigation, in connection with which she put in a cement pipe-line ; and since
that year have been planted all the Thompson seedless vines that make the
tract such a good commercial ranch. It is conveniently located at the corner
of Woodburn and Thompson Avenues, and the north line is on the San Joa-'
quin River. The soil, therefore, is heavy rich bottom-land of white ash de-
posit, pronounced by experts the very best of all soil for Thompson seedless
grapes. During the latter part of March, 1919, Mrs. Rawson added eighteen
acres to her holdings, six acres being full bearing Thompson's and the bal-
ance she and her son have set to Thompson's.
Amid this superior vineyard Mrs. Rawson built her residence ; and there,
with the aid of her son, Malcolm Hubbard Rawson (born May 4. 1890. at La
Crosse, Wis.), she personally superintends the farm-work. This one child was
educated at the public schools, taking also the high school course, and also
attending the Business College at Portland ; he enlisted for service during the
World War as a private and became Sergeant; was stationed at Camp Lewis,
Wash., until discharged. Mrs. Rawson has adopted a child, Donald Dudley
Rawson.
Mr. Rawson was a Mason, a Knight Templar and a Shriner, and belonged
to the Episcopal Church. Mrs. Rawson and her son also belong to this same
communion and continue their residence on White Crest Ranch (appropri-
ately named by her husband) although she still owns valuable property in
Portland. In national politics she is a loyal Republican, and she actively sup-
ports the California Associated Raisin Company.
EDWIN HERBERT SMITH.— A well-situated and prosperous Califor-
nia couple, both of whom are proud of their enviable relation to well-known
pioneer families, who are still doing all that they can to improve that part of
Fresno County in which they are especially interested, are Mr. and Mrs.
Edwin Herbert Smith. Identified with the Golden State since birth, Mr.
Smith was born at Cayucos, in San Luis Obispo County, on January 7, 1876,
the son of C. A. Smith, a native of Calaveras County, Cal., where he was born
in 1852. The grandfather, Edwin Herbert Smith, was born in Illinois and
crossed the plains with ox teams about 1849, going to the Calaveras gold
fields. In that vicinity and in San Luis Obispo, the father was reared, and he
became a stockman and farmer, transacting a cattle business in different parts
of the state and along the coast, and later he settled at Cayucos. He was in
business for many years there, and now he is in Kern County, ranching at
McKittrick, where he is opening up a new ranch. He married Ella Bailey, a
native of Illinois, the daughter of William Bailey, who came to California
when a child with her parents, and settled in Calaveras, and then moved to
San Luis Obispo, homesteading east of Paso Robles. Mrs. Smith died in
Santa Maria in 1892. Two children, a boy and a girl, were born of this union,
and Edwin is the older of the family.
Edwin H. was brought up on a farm near the coast, and attended the
public school there, and at the same time he learned farming and stock-rais-
1320 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ing. His mother died when he was sixteen years old, and then he began to
paddle his own canoe. He was for some time employed at ranching, but in
1898 came to Fresno County where he leased land and engaged in stock-
raising. He introduced the brand, a combination of the figure 4 and the letter
B, resembling together the figure 8, and such was his success, that he made
the brand have a distinctive value.
On April 16, 1904, E. H. Smith was married to Miss Nannie Manning,
who was born at Hanford, the daughter of Elisha Arnold Manning, a native
of Boston, Mass. Mrs. E. H. Smith, the youngest of five children now living,
was educated at the common and high schools in Fresno. Soon after the mar-
riage, Mr. Smith bought a half interest with his father-in-law in both land
and the stock business. Following the division of their interests, Mr. Smith
came to have, what he now controls, 760 acres in alfalfa and devoted to cattle-
raising, and he also has a dairy. In 1918 he bought a ranch at Kerman, four-
teen miles west of Fresno, consisting of 440 acres, and this he will use for
stock-raising and alfalfa. He has many improvements there, including three
pumping-plants.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one child, Adalene Manning. Mr. Smith was
captain of the liberty loan and other drives in the Manning district, and did
splendid work in supporting the Government in its war program. He is a
Republican in national politics, and is especially interested in local move-
ments that advance and build up the neighborhood.
HARRY W. HAGERTY.— When Harry W. Hagerty first opened his
eyes to the light of the world, in Sierra County, in 1887, his parents, James
and Hilca (Backer) Hagerty, planned a successful future for him. and his
early training and education were along the lines of usefulness. His father
was born in Pennsylvania, and came to California when a young man, hoping
thereby to better his condition. He began farming in Nevada County, and
while there married a native daughter of the state, Hilca Backer. Her father,
Henry 1 lacker, was a pioneer who lived for a time in Eureka, Sierra County,
and then settled in Fresno County and bought two hundred acres of land.
He was one of the very first settlers of Temperance Colony, where he raised
potatoes, grain and stock. His land was all subirrigated. He did not live long
to enjoy his new surroundings, for he died soon after he settled here. His
widow was married again, to August Heringlake. and they continued farm-
ing, setting out vineyards and in other ways keeping abreast of the times.
Mrs. Heringlake died about 1903. She was the mother of six children, of
whom Mrs. Hagerty is third in order of birth. After his marriage, Mr. Hag-
erty opened a general merchandise store in Sierra City and conducted it very
successfully for several years. He then came to Fresno County, bought a
tract in Temperance Colony, and followed ranching until he began railroad-
ing, in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railway. For a time was sta-
tioned at Sacramento, until he returned to private life, and he is now living
at Penryn. His wife died in Fresno, leaving two children, Harry W., of this
review; and Ernest, of Los Angeles.
From the age of five, Harry W. Hagerty was raised in Fresno County,
where he attended the public schools of Temperance Colony, and the Fresno
High Soli' hi], from which he graduated in 1905. Reared in a county where
viticulture is one of the principal sources of revenue, from an earl)' age he
was familiar with that branch of agriculture. After his graduation, he en-
tered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railway as a clerk in the office. In
time, however, lie decided that in order to get ahead and accomplish some-
thing worth while he would buy some land and take up the culture of vines:
so he purchased forty acres at Mt. Campbell, set out a vineyard, and sold it
in 1912 at a good profit, lie then accepted a position with the Wallace Trust
Company, which owns S70 acres in Fresno County, 540 acres in one body be-
ing devoted to vineyard, orchard and alfalfa ; forty acres in oranges is situated
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1321
at Centerville, and 160 acres of farming land is located on the San Joaquin.
He is superintendent of the entire tract, and supervises the conduct of the
various branches of ranching carried on, which include, besides those above
mentioned, the raising of wine grapes, cattle and horses. He gives his per-
sonal attention to his work and is making a name and place for himself in
Fresno County.
Mr. Hagerty was married, in Fresno, to Maybelle Bitzer, a native of San
Francisco, and they have two children: Jane Helen and William Jerome.
Mr. Hagerty is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and
is a stockholder, director and vice-president of the Backer Vineyard Company.
The Backer estate consists of 760 acres of land in the county, of which 205
acres are in vineyards of table and raisin grapes, the remaining acres being
devoted to grain' farming. He also owns a twenty-acre vineyard in Eggers
Colony, which is well improved, with a large modern residence. He is a pop-
ular and progressive young man, and a bright future is predicted for him
by those who know him best.
HORACE E. BARNUM. — Probably no other state in the Union may
boast of such a large number of pioneers, such as the late Horace E. Barnum,
whose ancestry reaches back to the good old days of New England and has
to do with the foundation of our great republic. He was born on May 9, 1854,
near Hastings, Mich., the son of Philander Barnum, whose father, Elijah
Barnum. was a New Englander who early removed to the wilderness of Barry
County, Mich. He cleared a space in the forest and built a log cabin, and
among the maple and beech trees, he created an attractive homestead, and
there closed his days, having enjoyed life to the full with his family.
Philander Barnum grew up a farmer to succeed his father, and when
he retired, he removed to Battle Creek whose climatic attractions were already
being felt. He had married Harriet E. Bidwell, a native of Albion, Mich.,
who also came of a long line of New Englanders. They had five children. Mr.
Barnum died at Battle Creek, and Mrs. Barnum at Hastings, and both were
widely lamented.
Horace was the fourth child in the order of birth, and the only one to
come to the Pacific Coast. He attended the public schools of Battle Creek
and Albion, and in the middle of the seventies, just when California was
getting ready to make its bow to the nation at the Philadelphia Centennial,
he came west to the Golden State. He passed three years in the Sacramento
Valley, then went to Washington, and after a year returned to California and
located at Woodland. In Yolo County he followed agriculture for several
years.
With T. L. Reed Mr. Barnum came south to the San Joaquin Valley in
1885, and leased the South Mountain tract. He had to break seven or eight
sections of the land, and needed to employ from eight to ten horses on a plow ;
but he was rewarded by a large crop of grain, although he had to haul it six-
teen miles to market. In time, Mr. Reed offered him 160 acres of land in
Tulare County for his interest in the firm, and in Tulare Mr. Barnum farmed
for a year.
Removing then to Lemoore, Mr. Barnum embarked in the hotel business
for a year, but was burned out. He resumed hotel management in Reedley,
however, and also invested in twenty acres of land for an orchard. He had
just entered upon the contract and made the first payment, when he met with
a frightful accident that might easily have cost him his life, and that would
have robbed most men of courage and the stuff needed to go forward. A
gun placed in the buggy in which he was returning from hunting fell and
discharged its contents into his side and shoulder, causing such a wound that
the surgeon had to amputate the arm. Nevertheless, Mr. Barnum prepared
his land for irrigation, made a park on the river bank, set out an orchard and
went ahead with his projects in hotel management.
1322 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Not so long after, Mr. Barnum was appointed constable, and at the end
of a year, he entered on a two-year term as roadmaster. His conscientious
and able discharge of duties in these offices led to his being called for as Re-
publican candidate for County Auditor in 1894, and he was elected by a plu-
rality of six hundred votes for a term of four years. In 1898, was renominated
for the same office, and was elected over the fusion candidate by a majority
of one hundred eight votes, being one of two Republicans to reach office that
year. In 1902, a majority of seventeen hundred votes, the largest vote in the
county, enabled him to lead his ticket and again to be reelected. In 1906 and
in 1910 he was again elected, each time without opposition, and he had an-
nounced his candidacy for 1914, when sickness and death interfered. He died
on June 15, 1914. To permit himself to reside near his office, Mr. Barnum
removed from his ranch to Fresno, and for years lived in this city.
While in Yolo County in 1894, Mr. Barnum was married at Woodland
to 'Miss Mary Eva Dearing, daughter of John and Ellen Dearing, among the
sturdiest and most honored pioneers of that county. She was born in Morgan
Valley, Lake County, and two children blessed their union — Ida May, Mrs.
F. F. Minard; and Charles E. Mrs. Barnum, who has been a consistent Bap-
tist, is living in Fresno.
Besides being active in Chamber of Commerce work, and in national pol-
itics under the banners of the Republican party, Mr. Barnum was an Elk, a
Knight of Pythias, a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, a
Forester, and a Woodman of the World. He had a strong, impressive person-
ality, a large heart, high ideals and a winning disposition ; was a good citizen
and a good friend.
JASPER E. MITCHELL.— In these days of strenuous effort the man
who hopes to acquire success in any calling must be one of brains and per-
sistency, with a thorough knowledge of the work to which he is devoting his
attention, and such a man is Jasper E. Mitchell of Fresno. He was born in
Kansas, October 12, 1876, a son of Edgar R. and Cynthia (Hayes) Mitchell,
natives of Illinois and Missouri, respectively, and who became the parents
of three children. The family left Kansas in 1877, emigrating westward and
for about sixteen years resided in Colorado, then in 1893 continued their
journey to the Pacific Coast and settled in Tulare County, Cal. It was about
eighteen months later that they made their way into Fresno County, where
the elder Mitchell engaged in the liver}' business, with the other two sons,
E. R.. jr., and F. H. Here they continued four years, then left and the father
now resides in Fresno where he is engaged in the real estate business.
At the age of one year Jasper E. Mitchell was taken bv his parents to
Colorado, where he grew up and received his schooling until he was about
seventeen, when he accompanied the family to California. Here he began
to learn an entirely new business, then in its infancy in this state, that of
fruit-growing, buying, packing and selling. So well did he succeed that he
went into partnership with J. Ed. Mitchell, remaining in this business for
two years, until 1907, under the name of Mitchell & Mitchell, and were well
known and successful.
In 1907, T- E. Mitchell quit the fruit business and became a general
contractor, specializing in roads and bridges, and he has handled road con-
struction work in various sections on the state highways. Some of his con-
tracts are : The Kings River state highway in Sierra County ; the Sierra
and Downieville road ; the Humboldt and Trinity state road ; Redwood Park
road in Santa Cruz County; and one of the finest pieces of concrete work
in the state, which was under his supervision, the Burrel bridge. In Fresno
County alone he has executed over 2,300 contracts ranging from a 10-inch
pipe to Lane's Bridge, the largest in the county. Among the more important
contracts handled by Mr. Mitchell are the following: Lane's Bridge, over the
San Inaquin : the rebuilding of the large concrete bridge east of Sanger
over Kings River; the bridge north of Reedley; Centerville bridge; Burrel
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1323
bridge, all three over the Kings River ; and the rebuilding of the Herndon
bridge over the San Joaquin. These are all in Fresno County. Some of the
outside contracts are the concrete bridge over Eel River; one over Mad
River in Humboldt County ; and the bridge over the South Fork of the Eel
in Trinity.
It must not be inferred that Mr. Mitchell has devoted his time to business
affairs alone, for he has done his share of public service and as a deputy
county clerk became well known throughout the county; he also served as
a deputy sheriff and in other ways has been of service to his fellow citizens.
There has been no movement put forward to bring Fresno County before
the world at large but what he has always been found in the van.
The marriage of J. E. Mitchell with Miss Bessie Rutherford was cele-
brated December 10, 1903, and they have two children, Dwight Elbert and
Elva Lenona, to brighten their home circle, and who with their parents en-
joy the esteem of a wide circle of friends. Mr. Mitchell is a member of the
Woodmen of the World ; the Fraternal Order of Eagles ; the B. P. O. Elks ;
the Commercial Club ; and the Chamber of Commerce. He is a Republican
in national affairs but is non-partisan in local issues, always seeking what is
best for the majority. Their home at 206 Strother Avenue, Kearney Boule-
vard Heights, built on modern lines, is ever open with that true hospitality
known only to the Californians.
JOHN W. GEARHART.— In the arduous yet interesting field of court
reporting, we find John W. Gearhart. who was born in Fairmount, Luzerne
County. Pa.. June 1, 1852, son of Wesley R. and Sarah (Millard) Gearhart.
His father, a graduate of Girard Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa., took up
the practice of his profession in Winnebago, 111., in the Rock River Valley,
in 1854. Dr. and Mrs. Gearhart came to Fresno, Cal, in 1886. and there
resided until the time of the death of Dr. Gearhart in 1889. Mrs. Gearhart
thereafter lived in Pacific Grove until her decease, in 1906, her remains being
interred with those of her husband and son Charles in the Masonic Cemetery,
Fresno.
The subject of this sketch received his education in the public schools
of Illinois. After acquiring some proficiency as a shorthand writer, Mr.
Gearhart, in 1872, obtained a position as secretary of Allan Pinkerton (Chief
of the United States Secret Service during the Civil War"), in the Chicago
offices of Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, later being transferred
to the New York office and still later to the Philadelphia office of the agency.
In 1873 Mr. Gearhart returned to Chicago and accepted a position as
stenographer in the law offices of Messrs. Aver, Beckwith & Kales. Coming
to California in the winter of 1874-75 he entered the employ of Dun's Com-
mercial Agency, and in the latter part of 1875 commenced his life work as
a court reporter with the firm of Osbourne & Jones, official court reporters,
San Francisco. In the fall of 1875. Mr. Gearhart was appointed official
reporter of the District Court of the Third Judicial District of California by
Hon. James B.' Campbell, then judge of said court, thereafter receiving
appointments as official reporter of the county courts of Tulare, Fresno,
Merced and Mariposa Counties, comprised in the Third Judicial District,
later being appointed reporter of the Kern County Superior Court, after the
adoption of the New Constitution of California, as well as of the Superior
Courts of the four counties of Tulare, Fresno, Merced and Mariposa.
With the increase of population, wealth and, consequently of litigation
in the San Joaquin Valley, Mr. Gearhart perforce relinquished the practice
of his profession in one county after another, retaining his position of reporter
of the Superior Court of Fresno County. His duties of later years as official
reporter of Department No. 1, under appointments by Judges Campbell,
Harris, Webb, Carter and Austin, together with the reporting of trials in the
District Court of the Southern District of California, Northern Division, as
Special Examiner for the United States Circuit and District Courts, and mis-
1154031
1324 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
cellaneous business in the line of his profession, have constantly kept him
busy.
Among the more notable civil cases reported by Mr. Gearhart were
those of Carr & Haggin vs. Miller & Lux, in the Superior Court of Kern
Count}', involving riparian rights with reference to properties of great value,
and Jeremiah Clark et al vs. Poly, Heilbron & Co., regarding title to the
Rancho Laguna de Tache, comprising some 30.000 acres of land along Kings
River, the litigants in these cases being represented by many of California's
then leading lawyers — Hall McAllister, Judge John Garber. R. E. Houghton,
Judge Flournoy, Judge Denson, Hon. P. D. Wigginton and others, the trial
of each case covering a period of about three months. As these trials occurred
before the introduction of the use of the phonograph or dictaphone and the
reporter was required to furnish daily to counsel for plaintiffs and defendants
transcripts of his notes of the testimony, the amount of labor required of one
reporter and one typewriter operator may be easily understood.
Trials of criminal cases of more than ordinary interest reported by Mr.
Gearhart include those of The People vs. Chris Evans, noted train robber,
People vs. Heath and Polley, for the murder of Louis B. McWhirter and
that of the People vs. W. A. Sanders, for forgery, the disappearance of one
Wm. Wooton — believed to have been murdered and his remains disposed of
— being involved, the first and second trials being presided over by Judges
J. R. Webb and Carrol Cook, respectively in the Superior Court of Fresno
County.
On July 17, 1882. Mr. Gearhart was married to Miss Mary E. Johnson,
of Visalia. Fresno has been their home for the thirty-five years last past.
In the same city now reside all of their children — Clara L. (now Mrs. Wm.
J. Cleary), James W. (also a court reporter), and Bertrand W., a member of
the legal profession, at present deputy district attorney of .Fresno County.
E. M. HANSEN. — An early settler who, having made a success of one
venture, that of the butchering and retail meat business, has now succeeded
in another field, viticulture and dairying, is E. M. Hansen, who has improved
a fine place and, with the assistance of his good wife, has come to enjoy
prosperity and to command a comfortable competency. He first came to
California in 1881 and within a year had fortunately found his way to Fresno
County.
He was born in Lykonkloster, Slesvig, Denmark, on August 4, 1854, the
son of Hans Hansen, a farmer who owned his own place, had an active and
honorable part in the War of 1848-50, and who died in 1915, aged over
ninety years. He had married Christene Jaocumsen, who died there over
eighty-four years of age, passing away in 1912. There were seven children
in the family, and five are living: Mat is in Brooklyn, N. Y. ; E. M. is the
subject of our review; Andrew is in West Park, Fresno County; Christen
resides in Slesvig; and Mathilda lives in Nebraska.
E. M. was brought up on the old homestead, and attended the local
public schools, assisting on the farm until he was nineteen or over. On
account of the military oppression, he determined to come to the United
States; and in 1874 he left Hamburg for New York. He located at Perth
Amboy, and as an apprentice learned the butcher's trade, continuing there
until December, 1880. when he came west to San Francisco, and for a while
he drove on the old horse-car line in the Bay metropolis. On February 21,
1881. he came to Fresno and here found employment as a butcher. For a
time he was engaged in business for himself, and ran a wagon through the
country east of Fresno, to Red Banks and vicinity. When he sold out, he
ran a wagon west of the town, until 1897, meantime preparing for his real
future by buying twenty acres in Fresno Colony. At the end of a year, he
sold out and bought another twenty which he improved to alfalfa and after
two vears also sold.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1325
In 1891, Mr. Hansen bought his present place, consisting of forty acres
on Jensen Avenue, ten miles west of Fresno. It was raw land, but he leveled
and checked it and set it out as a vineyard ; and there he has continued ever
since. He set out Thompson seedless grapes, but later took up the vines and
devoted the land to alfalfa. For the last eight years he has run a dairy there.
He built a residence, barns, windmill and installed a gas-engine ; and he
became a stockholder in the Danish Creamery Association. He also joined in
every raisin association movement, and is a member and a stockholder in
the California Associated Raisin Company.
At Fresno, Mr. Hansen was married to Miss Christene Madsen, born
at Varde, Jylland, Denmark, by whom he has had five children, three of
whom grew to maturity: Harry is the butcher at Kearney Park; Martha is
at home, and so is Amy. The family attends the Lutheran Church, and
they adhere to the principles of the Republican party. Mr. Hansen is a
member of the Danish Brotherhood of Fresno, and has been president of
that excellent organization. In 1906 he made a trip to New Jersey and New
York, to visit old associations, and returned better satisfied than ever with
California, and more than ever confident as to its future.
MRS. MALISSA CLAYTOR.— A hard-working, sensible woman who
has borne the burden and heat of the day, often under disappointing and at
times distressing circumstances, is Mrs. Malissa Claytor, widow of the late
Thomas Claytor who, in 1906, built their beautiful farmhouse two miles
east and one-fourth of a mile south of Selma. He was born in Ray County,
Mo., in 1857, and grew up at Hardin, in the same county. On December 5,
1879, he was married in Caldwell County to Miss Malissa Myers, a native
of that county, who grew up there. She is a daughter of G. W. and Lottie
(Myers) Myers, who sent her to the public schools of her locality. When
eighteen, she was married. For a while they farmed rented lands in Missouri,
and then, in 1883, they came to California, settling four miles west of Selma,
where he worked for two years on the A. A. Webber ranch. Then they
bought a place three miles west of Selma, where they lived for five years.
A fire, however, destroyed their house, household goods and wheat crop ;
and since they had no insurance, they sustained heavy loss. In 1906 they
bought the present place, and here they have had two fires, but more for-
tunately they carried some insurance.
For fourteen years Mrs. Myers conducted a millinery shop on the ranch,
her display room being in her residence, and she and her husband prospered
until they owned a well-improved ranch of forty acres, all of which is now
planted, sixteen and a half acres being devoted to peaches, six and a half
to apricots, five acres to Thompson seedless, eight to muscats, and one acre
to young Thompson vines. The balance was devoted to the house-plot,
drying yards and other customary features. Then Mr. Claytor died on
July 23, 1915, mourned by many. Four children were born to them, three
now living. The first-born died in infancy ; Ella is the wife of J. E. Hedges,
and resides on their ranch near Selma, with their two children, H. Leon and
Ray; Grover is a rancher who owns twenty acres two miles north of here,
and who married Bessie Todd of Selma, and they have four children —
Dorris, Roxy, Grover E. and Amelia ; Thomas, the youngest, is an invalid
at home.
Mrs. Claytor, who is a member of the Peach Growers Association and
a Democrat in matters of national politics, is about to be handsomely re-
warded for long, persistent work, as the 1919 crop she has raised will
undoubtedly pay off the last of the mortgages on her property, and then
she will have clear title to house and land worth from thirty-five to forty
thousand dollars. She is consistent in her life and character, likes to see
others prosper and the general welfare advance, and with her family is
highly respected.
1326 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
GEORGE P. MORAN. — Prominent among the progressive, influential
and highly-respected ranchers who have helped to make Riverside Colony
what it is, is George P. Moran, a native of San Francisco, where he was born
in 1874. Growing up in that city, he attended the public schools there, and
when he pushed out into the world, he became a clerk in the San Francisco
Post Office. Later, he was engaged in the grocery business, so that his com-
bined experience in the bay metropolis was of such a nature as to prepare
him well for his later ventures.
In 1912 Mr. Moran removed to Fresno County, and here he embarked in
ranching. He took charge of a farm, settled at an early date by M. E. Stanton
and still the property of Mrs. Moran, who was Miss Elizabeth Stanton before
her marriage. Mr. Stanton had long been' a pioneer at Yisalia, being in the
boot and shoe business in Tulare County, but in 1885 he removed to Fresno
County. He married Miss Margaret McCarty, and by her had two children —
Elizabeth, already referred to, and Richard Stanton. The Moran ranch con-
sists of sixty acres in the Riverside Colony and a quarter section in the River
Bend Colony, all of which is set out to vines and fruit trees. Mr. Stanton died
in December, 1902, his devoted wife having died in August of the same year.
He was mourned as a man of that sterling character which always makes for
the best in citizenship.
Mr. Moran and Miss Stanton were united in matrimony in 1907. and
their union has been blessed with the birth of three children— George, Joyce
and Ruth. Mrs. Moran is an attractive hostess and Mr. Moran is an exceed-
ingly painstaking and accurate rancher, who keeps well abreast of the times,
follows only the most scientific methods, and operates in the most up-to-date
manner.
WILLIAM WERTZ.— A successful dealer in hardware and farming
implements, whose previous experience as a practical farmer assists him
every day to understand the problems of the agriculturist and to forestall
his wants, is William Wertz, a native of Streator, 111., and the son of John
Wertz, a farmer, for a while in Livingston Count}', that state, who even-
tually returned to Streator and now resides there. Flis mother was Jane Reed
before her marriage, and she was a native of Illinois. She is still living, the
mother of four children.
Born the second eldest of the family, on January 9, 1878, William was
fortunately a "home boy," and was reared at Streator, where he attended the
public schools. Later, having finished with his books, he began to work on
the farm and then, desiring a handiwork that would be some guarantee for
the future, he learned the plumbing trade, apprenticing himself to a Streator
plumber. Once more he returned to the farm, this time in Livingston County;
and when he had finished there, he was probably as well-informed a farmer,
for his vears and length of practical experience, as any man in the Middle
West
Having had his attention, fortunately, attracted to California and its
wonderful resources, and especially to the many advantages Fresno County
has to offer, Mr. Wertz in 1913 came to Clovis and located here, buying a
forty-acre vineyard where, for a couple of years, he engaged in the science
of viticulture. Then he sold out and bought a twenty-seven-acre vineyard
which he ran for a year, finally disposing of that.
Prior to selling out the second time, Mr. Wertz had purchased the bus-
iness of Hawkins Brothers, the hardware dealers, and now he embarked in
that line. He not only bought their extensive stock of hardware and agricul-
tural implements, pumping plants, steel, tanks and plumbing, but also the
building they had occupied ; and he prepared for a larger business along the
same lines. Now he installs, among other outfits, pumping plants, and sells
the Waterloo Boy engine ; he carries a full line of P. & O. implements and
belting, etc., and his establishment on Front Street makes an excellent display.
&-&&(/
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1329
While in Illinois, Mr. Wertz was married to Miss Gertrude Clark, a na-
tive of Mr. Wertz's birthplace ; and their union has resulted in two promising
children — Gladys and Blanche. The family attend the Methodist Church ;
but far beyond the circles of that live religious organization Mr. and Mrs.
Wertz are known for their loyal citizenship, their qualities as friends, their
capacity as neighbors. Clovis has no more successful business man, and it
has no more devoted couple.
JAMES HENRY GOOD.— The bright prospects held forth by the fertile
valleys of California have allured many an ambitious young man to the "land
of sunshine and flowers."' Prominent among these valleys is that of the great
San Joaquin, unexcelled for salubrity of climate, beauty of situation and
fertility of soil. About the center of this valley lies the county of Fresno.
Among the enterprising young men who came to Fresno County while
the country was new, is James Henry Good, who came from his native
state of West Virginia, where he was born at Hamlin, Lincoln County, on
December 3, 1873. His father, Samuel Henry Good, was a son of the "Old
Dominion," born in Franklin County, and served at the age of sixteen as
volunteer in the Southern army during the trying days of our great civil
conflict. Upon returning to his home at the close of the war, he married
one of the fair daughters of that state, Adeline M. Davis, removing after his
marriage to Lincoln County, W. Va., where he followed the occupation
of farming until he removed to Lexington, Dawson Cotmty, Nebr., where he
resided until his death. Adeline Davis Good, who died in April, 1916, was
the mother of seven children, of whom our subject was the third child.
James Henry Good attended the Simon Branch log schoolhouse in Lin-
coln Count}' until sixteen years of age, then removing to Nebraska, where he
worked on his father's farm until 1894, when he came to the Pacific Coast,
arriving in Fresno County October 10th. He was employed in the Tarpey
vineyard for eighteen months, afterwards settling east of Clovis in the
employ of others for one year. He then leased 640 acres of land from J. W.
Potter, and followed ranching.
.On October 15, 1898, Mr. Good was united in marriage with Rachael
Kuhn, a native of Dearborn County, Ind., a daughter of Michael and Mary
(Berg) Kuhn. Before her marriage, Mrs. Good, with her parents, removed
to Missouri, where her father died ; her mother is still living. Rachael Kuhn
was educated in the schools of Queen City, Schuyler County, Mo. She came
to Fresno, in 1893, where she met and married Mr. Good. Two children
have blessed their union : Glen J., who graduated at the Clovis High School
in 1918 ; and Velma May, attending Clovis High School, class of 1920.
After his marriage Mr. Good continued grain-farming on the Potter
ranch, at first harvesting with a twelve-horse team by headers, and later
with a combined harvester drawn by thirty-two head of horses and mules.
Seeing the great opportunity for intensive farming, in the fall of 1900 he
purchased twenty acres of land, the nucleus of the present home place, set-
ting part of it to peaches and raisin grapes, and the remainder in alfalfa.
In 1901 he purchased another twenty acres, planting it to raisin grapes and
alfalfa, working in addition other people's land. In 1903 he purchased
another twenty acres, improving this also. In 1907 he added to his acreage
forty acres of partly improved land, altogether 100 acres. Seventy acres of
this land is set to vineyard, of muscat, sultanas and Thompson seedless;
twenty acres to orchard, and ten acres in alfalfa.
In 1904, Mr. Good built his present commodious and modern residence,
where he resides with his family. He was one of the original stockholders of
the Clovis Farmers' Union, and one of the directors. This company built
a raisin-packing plant and operated it until they sold to the California As-
sociated Raisin Company, of which he is a stockholder and member. He is
also a member of the California Peach. Growers, Inc. For a number of years
he was Council Commander of Pine Burr Camp, Woodmen of the World, at
1330 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Clovis, and his wife is an active member of the Neighbors of Woodcraft.
Mr. Good is a member and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church South,
and is ex-president of its board of stewards, and has been president of the
Epworth League, and is teacher of the young people's class. Always inter-
ested in having good schools, he has served acceptably as trustee of Jefferson
School District and has been clerk of the board.
Mr. Good made his first trip back to Nebraska to visit his mother and
relatives, in 1900, and in 1904, with his family, he went back to Missouri
and then went on to his old "West Virginia home. Again, in 1908. he made
a trip to his old home in West Virginia, and in 1919, with his family, he
made an extended trip east, visiting Nebraska, Missouri, and West Virginia,
and also the interesting points in various eastern cities.
Mr. Good has seen Fresno County develop to its present position of
importance in the commonwealth, and in his untiring efforts to assist in
that development he has been instrumental in bringing many new settlers
to the county.
OLNEY WHITESIDE. — Great honor is due the courageous pioneers
of tjie Golden State, and in view of the great hardships they experienced,
the perils they braved and their untiring efforts to blaze a path for a later
civilization, their names should be perpetuated in such a manner that their
labors, in the days of trial, may remain an inspiration and encouragement
to the toilers of today.
Olney Whiteside is a pioneer of California and one of the few remaining
survivors of those early days, having arrived here on January 1, 1856. He
was born in Jackson County, Mo., while his parents were enroute from Illi-
nois to Iowa, June 23, 1838, a son of Alexander Whiteside, a native of To-
ronto, Canada, who came to the United States when nineteen years of age
and made his home for a while in New Hampshire with a Air. Sherman,
whose daughter, Electa, afterwards became his wife. Grandfather White-
side was born in Ireland, while the Shermans were descendants of an old
American family. Alexander and Electa Whiteside, the parents of our sub-
iect died in Los Angeles, the former at seventy-two, and the latter at sev&nty
years of age.
Young Whiteside was brought up and attended school at Kainesville.
Iowa, where his father and uncle followed the occupation of well digging,
and the father was also engaged in teaming and lumbering, there being no
railroads in Iowa at that time.
In 1852 the Whiteside family crossed the plains to Salt Lake City, Utah,
and Olnev drove one of the ox teams. That fall the father returned to Kaines-
ville. purchased a threshing machine and in the spring of 1853 returned to
Salt Lake, hauling the machine all the way across the plains. It was one of
the first threshing machines used in the vicinity of Salt Lake City. At that
time money was very scarce and Air. Whiteside was obliged to accept wheat
as pay for his threshing outfit, but this he disposed of to the emigrants pass-
ing through Salt Lake City.
Olney Whiteside remained in Salt Lake City until the fall of 1855, when
he. and an Indian agent named Irvin, drove 600 head of cattle to Montana
and during their trip were among the Flathead Indians who were at war
with the Crows and Blackfeet. The Indians secured the cattle after which
voung Whiteside, then only a boy of seventeen, sensed danger and showed
his remarkably sound judgment by returning at once to Salt Lake City, a dis-
tance of 300 miles, traveling alone on horseback and every night stopping
with Indians. He arrived home in safety, but it is reported that Air. Irvin,
together with eight white men that remained, were all murdered.
LTpon arriving home he found his father ready to make a trip to Califor-
nia, so he joined the party and they landed in San Bernardino, going on to
San Gabriel Mission where the father leased the Santa Anita Ranch, and ran
a dairv (this is the same ranch that became the property of E. J. "Lucky"
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1331
Baldwin). Mr. Whiteside says that they could have bought the place for
twenty-five cents per acre, but they had come to California to dig gold and
were not content with operating a dairy, so during the summer they sold
the lease and dairy and started for Sacramento. On July 4, 1856, they were
at Stockton, where they witnessed a bullfight. During the fall of 1857 Olney
Whiteside owned sixteen head of oxen and lived in Yuba County and ran an
ox team freighting outfit from Sacramento to Grass Valley, Nevada County ;
and he has the distinction of having hauled material for the first quartz mill
to Virginia City, Nev., the mill is known as the "Old Spanish Mill." To trans-
port it required thirteen wagons, with four yoke of oxen to each, the route
being through the old Geiger Canyon. After the quartz mill was delivered to
Virginia City, the party loaded 8,000 feet of lumber, which they hauled to
Fort Churchill, Nev. In the fall of 1864, Olney's father and uncle went over
Silver Mountains, into Alpine County. Cal. They bought a quartz mill at
Nevada City, which was torn down and hauled by Olney Whiteside over to
Alpine County during the winter of 1863-64, and it required three teams of
eight mules each and took several trips. This enterprise proved a failure and
the father and uncle lost all they invested, in addition to which Olney lost
$2O,CO0 that he had put into the project. Undaunted by failure he returned to
Yuba County, where he had a ranch of 400 acres which he farmed in partner-
ship with a cousin.
On September 15, 1869, Olney Whiteside was united in marriage with
Miss Ellen Bradshaw, a native of Illinois, who was a babe in arms when her
parents brought her across the plains to Oregon and in that state she was
reared to young womanhood. Her father was the Rev. Charles Bradshaw. a
minister of the Christian Church in Oregon, and later of California, the family
having moved from Oregon to Sutter County. Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw are
buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles. Soon after marriage Mr. White-
side sold his ranch in Yuba County and removed to Saticoy Springs, Ventura
County, then a part of Santa Barbara County, and here he leased and operated
a ranch of 320 acres. Later he farmed the Briggs Orchard place for several
years. On account of his wife's failing health he removed to the Conejo Ranch,
on the county line between Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, and purchased
4,000 acres, later selling 1,000 acres to Mrs. Riley. Mr. Whiteside remained
here until 1887, when he rented his ranch and removed to Los Angeles, so as
to provide better educational advantages for his children. He sold his 3,000-
acre ranch to his oldest son for $20,000. During the three years that Mr.
Whiteside lived in Los Angeles he helped grade some of the streets. After
leaving the City of the Angels he was superintendent of the construction of the
Turlock Irrigation Ditch, but while living there contracted malaria and it was
thought he could not live. In 1890 he sent his teams over to Lemoore, and
returned to Los Angeles. The sunshine and balmy air soon restored his lost
health, then he returned to Lemoore and from there moved over the line into
what was then Fresno County and rented 1,200 acres, but on account of a
flood, that season, was unsuccessful in his undertaking and subsequently
moved to the Summit Lake district where he broke 640 acres of land and
planted it to wheat, but again he was destined to disappointment for the levee
broke and his crop was washed away. Renting a combined harvester, al-
though he had never seen one, he contracted to harvest 2,000 acres of grain,
and his undertaking proved very successful. At the same time he rented 1,400
acres of the Boll & Hague ranch. Later Mr. Whiteside became superintendent
of the Jeff James ranch of 73,000 acres. At the same time ( 1902) he purchased
his present ranch consisting of 640 acres located four miles southeast of Helm,
Fresno County.
Mr. and' Mr. Whiteside are the parents of nine children: Eva, is the
wife of Dr. W. C. Yates, of Coalinga ; Alexander Lyman, is a rancher in Ven-
tura County ; Almond Elijah, married Miss Mattie Goff, they reside in Los
Angeles ; Robert Olney, lives at Helm and farms all of his father's land and
1332 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
rents other acreage; Lena, is the wife of Samuel B. Williams, a rancher at
Helm; Charles O-, married Miss Campbell and they reside at Orland, Glenn
County: Melvina, died in 1890, at Los Angeles, aged eight years; John B.
married Miss Williams and they live in Glenn County; Edward Sherman,
who passed away on October 18, 1918, was manager of his father's place.
Mr. Whiteside, now past eighty years of age. is vigorous and active, is a man
of splendid character, a leader'in matters pertaining to the upbuilding of the
best interests of the county and his community. He and his wife are members
of the Christian Church.
E. B. SWEEZEY. — A rancher who has had a valuable experience both
in developing his own properties and in assisting other ranchers to develop
theirs, and who, retired and able to place his savings at the disposition of
those who need them, is still helping others to succeed, is E. B. Sweezey,
who resides at 2946 Grant Avenue in Fresno, to which comfortable head-
quarters he withdrew, after years of strenuous exertion, in July, 1919. He
was born on Long Island, at Peconic, near Greenport, in the eastern county
of Suffolk, the son of Samuel Sweezey, a native of Middle Island, the same
county, and the grandson of the Rev. Azel Sweezey, a Presbyterian minister,
who farmed 400 acres of land on Long Island. Samuel Sweezey married Miss
Mary Maria Haynes, who died when our subject was only three years old;
she was the daughter of an early settler on the Island, and a member of a
family that originally came from England.
Through his second marriage he had one child that grew up, Samuel C.
Sweezey. still single and a farmer on Long Island. Samuel Sweezey, Sr.,
met with an accident to his hand that caused blood poisoning, and he died
at his home in his sixtieth year.
Edwin Beecher — for that is the full name of this only offspring from the
first union — was born at Peconic, L. I., on October 11, 1853, and attended
the public school of his district, where he received that thorough instruction
which proved such a foundation for him in later life. He grew up on his
father's farm, and wljen he left home he worked out by the month for a
neiglibi r, resuming work for monthly wages from his father when he was
twenty. Meanwhile, between his eighteenth and twentieth years, he had
clerked in a general merchandise store at Peconic. He continued to work for
a time, then decided to follow Horace Greeley's advice and "Go West." He
first located at Edgar, Clay County, Nebr., where he was married to Miss
Cora E. Cline, a native of Rochester, N.Y., and the daughter of William B.
and Louisa (Garrett) Cline ; and in Nebraska he remained for four years.
In 1884 with his wife and two babies he came out to the Coast and directed
his course to Selma, where Mrs. Sweezey had two uncles named Cline, who
were prosperous wheat-growers, and Mr. Sweezey worked on farms. He
planted the Tremper vineyard of 160 acres set out to muscats, four and a
half miles east of Selma, known at that time as the Cline Place, and that was
one of the first large vineyards created east of Selma. For four years, too,
he ran that vineyard, and then he took the vineyard of William T. Sesnon
and managed the eighty acres for twenty-two years.
During part of this time he engaged extensively in raising wheat, oper-
ating a ranch of 1,500 acres now known as the Great Western Vineyard five
miles north of Reedley; and although he sold wheat as low as seventy-four
cents per cwt., he paid his debts on the basis of 100 cents on the dollar. He
did not clear any profit, however, on wheat : so he bought ninety acres directly
across the road north of the Sesnon place, and planted that to trees, vines
and alfalfa. He also bought and improved other lands and sold them.
From 1904 to 1906 Mr. Sweezey managed 8.000 acres of a ranch of 16,000
acres in Monterey County, inherited by Mr. Sesnon and badly run down;
and so well did he handle the estate that he brought it up again to a high
state of cultivation. He conducted general farming and raised thoroughbred
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1335
Hereford and Durham cattle, producing the first herd of thoroughbred Here-
fords in that part of the county.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sweezey's lives. H. C.
Sweezey married Amy Sane, a rancher living east of Selma ; F. E. Sweezey
is also a rancher, and resides on and operates the Sesnon Vineyard, assisted
by his wife, who was Ethel Johnson of Selma. Eva Alberta, called Birdie,
is the wife of Alvin King, a rancher who lives southeast of Selma. Shirley
married Claude Grimes, a rancher northeast of Selma; and resides in that
town. Mr. Sweezey owns some fine residential property at Long Beach ;
belongs to the Woodmen of the World, and is a Republican
In 1916, soon after he bought his present place, Mr. and Mrs. Sweezey
took an auto trip to the Empire State and his old home on Long Island. He
also visited Florida, and on his wide tour from San Francisco to New York,
and Canada to Mexico, he motored through thirty states. None the less,
these loyal people were glad to get back to the state of their adoption.
HON. MELVIN PETTIT. — A thoroughly responsible and well-known
citizen of Fresno County who has worked unceasingly for every interest
that would add to the upbuilding power of the community in which he lives,
as well as the county at large, and who has been able to contribute some
share to the sum-total of forces making for the good, is the Hon. Melvin Pet-
tit, a Canadian bv birth, he having been born in the great Dominion on
August 13, 1859. "He is the son of S. T. and Abigail (DeWitt) Pettit, and
one of a family of ten children. All of these grew to maturity, and three
are living in Fresno County.
Reared and educated in the environment of his own country, Mr. Pettit
came from Canada to Michigan, where he engaged in the lumber business
for five years, removing after that to California. In 1899 he located at
Fowler, and at once bought twenty acres ; and being more than pleased with
his investment, he added another twenty and finally purchased until he owned
120 acres. He was proud enough of what he had, but like a wide-awake
settler of the developing kind, he was ready to consider something better.
Seeing a good chance to become two-thirds owner, with W. D. Wilson,
on a ranch containing 270 acres near Parlier, he sold his Fowler property in
1912, and moved to his new home. In the fall of 1918, he bought Mr. Wilson's
interest in the property mentioned. Now his product is raisins, peaches, and
Thompson grapes ; and such is his splendid success, that he has obtained
as high as two and a quarter tons to the acre. This success is doubtless due
in part to the fact that Mr. Pettit is a scientific and up-to-date farmer, an
extensive reader, and one who endeavors to keep abreast of the times.
But Mr. Pettit does not live to succeed alone as an horticulturist. He
has a healthy interest in practical religion, and is a member of the executive
board of Fresno County Young Men's Christian Association, on which he
has served for a number of years. He also has a keen interest in the popular
education, and has served with a definite purpose on the school board. He
is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has been its
Sunday school superintendent, besides holding other offices of trust and
responsibility.
Mr. Pettit has also taken an active part in civic affairs and political life.
In 1916 he was nominated by the Progressives, and supported by the Demo-
crats and Prohibitionists as a candidate for the State Assembly, and was
elected by a satisfactory majority. In 1918 he was reelected without op-
position. " He had the honor of casting his vote, at the forty-third session,
for national prohibition. During his two terms in the legislature Mr. Pettit
served as a member of the Educational Committee ; the last session he was
chairman of the Normal School Committee. It was during this session that
he introduced a bill for the protection of vineyards by stopping the spread
of Phylloxera : the bill passed and was signed by the governor and is of
especial interest to vineyardists throughout the entire state.
1336 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
During the Centennial year, Mr. Pettit was married to Miss Anna A.,
daughter of W. W. and Caroline A. (Cross) Kenny, by whom he has had
several children who have grown to eventful careers. A daughter, Caroline
W., married Rev. James F. Nelson, a minister of the Presbyterian faith :
A. Almeda, is the wife of Fred Aden, a missionary in Argentina: Hermon
D., graduated from Occidental College at Los Angeles, studied for the minis-
try and just as he had finished his course he entered the service of the United
States Government during the World War, trained a month at Camp Kearney,
then was ordered overseas with the Fortieth Division, reaching the front
when the armistice was signed and was one of the fortunate boys to be
selected for a college training and is now attending New College in London,
still in the service of his country; Ruth O., graduated in June, 1919, from Oc-
cidental College, having completed a teacher's course ; Clare N., intends to
devote himself to scientific farming.
Mrs. Pettit is by no means behind her husband in a life of usefulness
and responsibility. For eight years she has been connected with the Woman's
Christian Temperance LTnion and has done her share to advance the splendid
work of that notable organization. Now she is serving as President of the
local Union. She is also President of the County W. C. T. U. and is the
First Vice-President of the W. C. T. U. of Northern California. A pleas-
ing and convincing speaker, she is well-known for her fidelity to the cause
of temperance, the total abolition of the traffic in alcohol and tobacco.
ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON SHANNON.— Named in honor of the
Civil War general, Sidney J. Shannon is a true type of the manhood of Fresno
County, where he is now ably holding the office of Deputy United States
Marshal in and for the northern division of the southern district of the State
of California, his office being located on the second floor of the Post Office
Building in Fresno, while he and his family are nicely domiciled at his resi-
dence at 951 Devisadero Street.
IU- was born at Millerton, Fresno County, on August 27, 1868, and is
the third child and second son of the late Jefferson M. and Rebecca Margaret
(Baley) Shannon, and a grandson of the late Gillum Baley. He was six
years old, when with his parents, he came to the new town of Fresno, then
in its infancy. He was one of the first generation of Fresno boys and girls
to attend the public schools of Fresno, the schoolhouse being then located
at the corner of L and Tulare Streets. In 1881, while a mere lad, he began
working for Miller & Lux as chore-boy, doing general all-around work-
clerked in their store, rode the range, etc., until after his parents had moved
to Alameda where he joined them in July. 1888. He there entered and took
a commercial course at a branch of Heald's Business College, located at
Oakland.
January 1, 1889. he went to work for the Pacific Improvement Com-
pany, entering their general offices in San Francisco. He began as office-boy
and ended as chief accountant and paymaster, serving continuously until
April 30, 1901, when he went back to work for Miller & Lux as their general
auditor. He became well and personally acquainted with the late Henry
Miller, who appointed him to take charge of the land department for his
great firm, and for many years Mr. Shannon had charge of the buying and
selling of lands, particularly the colonization and upbuilding of the follow-
ing Miller & Lux colonies: Dos Palos ; Los Banos; Volta; Gustine; Madera:
Mendota ; Firebaugh and Newman, looking after all the townsite and coloni-
zation projects of the corporation from Mendota in Fresno County to New-
man in Stanislaus County. On April 15. 1910, he retired to private life in
Fresno. On March 12, 1914. he was appointed Deputy United States Marshal :
he is also deputy sheriff of Fresno County.
The epidemic of fire which threatened to destroy Fresno City in the
summer of 1918 was stopped by the vigilant and vigorous efforts of Mr.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1339
Shannon, who dealt very promptly and severely with the I. W- W. element,
and the city was saved. As a reward for his strenuous efforts of the past
years of application to business, Mr. Shannon has acquired considerable
property. He is furthermore interested with his brothers Scott A., and L. S.
as a one-third owner of the Shannon Estate, which owns a large and very
valuable vineyard, producing malagas and emperors, choice varieties of
table-grapes, in the production and shipping of which the Shannon brothers
are experts and their product is eagerly sought in the eastern markets and
the markets of the Middle West, where the "Shannon Estate" brand of table
grapes are at a premium.
They also own and operate the celebrated Shannon Estate stock ranch
at Wheatville, Fresno County. The 'latter property has been acquired by
the Shannon brothers since their father's death.
An able officer and an excellent business man, Mr. Shannon is well-
known throughout California. He is particularly well-known among the
Native Sons of the Golden West, in which order he is the oldest member in
good standing in the state, having been a member for thirty-two years. He
is now a member of Fresno Parlor, No. 25, and is past president of Halcyon
Parlor at Alameda. He is also an oldtime and valued member of the Fresno
Lodge, No. 439, B. P. O. Elks; he is a Thirty-second Degree Scottish Rite
Mason, a Knight Templar, both at Fresno, and is a life member of Islam
Temple at San Francisco.
Mr. Shannon was married to Miss Johanna M. Brock, an Alameda girl,
and a daughter of C. C. and Johanna M. (Ankerson) Brock of Alameda.
C. C. Brock was a retired ship-master and well-known at the Bay. Mr. and
Mrs. Shannon have one daughter, Marie Margaret Shannon, who was mar-
ried September 4, 1919, to Merrill Ostrom, of Fresno.
The Shannon home continues to be the center of hospitality where the
oldtime Fresno cordiality continues to greet young and old friends and
strangers alike.
GUY STOCKTON.— Now one of the successful promoters of Fresno,
Guy Stockton has gained that position through sheer enterprise and grit.
The genealogy of the Stockton family can be traced back to Sir Richard
Stockton, a Scotch-Irish nobleman, the progenitor from whom all of that
name have descended. The Stocktons have played a prominent part in the
history of California, the city of Stockton being named after one of the family.
Guy Stockton was born on January 26, 1880, in New Mexico, on the
divide between that country and Colorado. His father died when he was
but a small child, and his mother later married N. C. Caldwell, an attorney-
at-law, and moved to Fresno in March, 1887. Guy attended the Fresno public
schools as far as the seventh grade, when he called his education com-
pleted and started on his up-hill climb toward success in life. As early as
seven years of age he began selling papers on the streets of Fresno, the Ex-
positor and the Fresno Republican. Afterwards he worked at odd jobs to
earn a living; in the Clovis Planing Mill for seventy-five cents per day;
in a dairy for eight dollars per month and board; then as delivery boy and
clerk for Melvin & Blaney ; for H. Graff, the grocer; for Kutner-Goldstein
Company ; and in the fruit packing houses. His first real start up the ladder
came when he entered the bee business. He went into Kern County and
leased an apiary on shares, making $500 the first season. With this as his
capital, he came to Fresno and bought 100 hives of bees and ten acres of
land, on Church Avenue, paying $300 for his first real estate, which he still
owns. Here he set to work with enthusiasm and produced, bought and sold
honey on a lapge scale. He was a member, from its organization, of the local
Beekeepers' Association, and at one time its secretary.
In 1907, Mr. Stockton started in the real estate business, his first sale
being a forty-acre orange grove at Centerville for $26,000, which opened his
eyes and gave him an insight into what could be accomplished in that line.
1340 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
He was the first man to develop north-end property. Buying five-acre lots,
he subdivided these and sold them off in one-acre lots. He sold lots in Sunny-
side Gardens, Baker Heights, Recreation Park Tract, and Boyd's Addition.
In 1917, Mr. Stockton built sixteen houses in Fresno. They were sold before
being completed, and the call for houses has continued as good since. One
five-acre piece of land near the Normal School is full of houses erected
bv Mr. Stockton. He became exclusive agent, in September, 1917, for the
Peerless Orchards Company, and has sold 400 acres of their properties in
twenty-acre to forty-acre lots. The Peerless Fig Orchards are located near
Clovis. The soil is especially adapted to the growing of Calimyrna figs, now
one of the important industries of Fresno County. Mr. Stockton is the owner
of an eighty-acre Calimyrna fig orchard in the Peerless tract; and he also
owns eighty acres of unimproved land situated one mile east of Lane Sta-
tion, and 160 acres on the west side, besides the ten acres where he originally
had his bees. In addition to these real estate, holdings, he owns valuable
city property in Fresno. A man of unusual enterprise and vigorous energy,
Mr. Stockton has been remarkably successful in his work as a promoter of
real estate in the county. He specializes in suburban property, and can
without exaggeration be called one of the real builders of Fresno. It is to
such men as Mr. Stockton that the county owes its phenomenal growth of
the past decade, and its rank as one of the most prosperous counties of
California.
Mrs. Stockton was in maidenhood Florence Brocklebank, a native of
Freehold, N. J. She is a cultured and refined woman, possessed of rare
business acumen, and is actively assisting her husband in his enterprises. By
his former marriage Mr. Stockton has two sons, Frank R. and Norman.
DR. WM. TILLMAN BURKS.— The notable career of Fresno's pioneer
physician, Dr. Till Burks, as familiarly known, who for nearly forty years,
had been identified with the life of Fresno City and County, came to a very
sudden close October 21, 1918, after an illness of only one day from influenza.
Dr. Burks was born at Shelbina, Mo., October 7, 1858, and after completing
his education in his native town, he entered Boone College, from which he
was graduated. He came to Fresno in 1880 and joined his brother, Charles
F. Burks, who had established the first drug store in Fresno, at the corner of
Mariposa and I Streets where for some years Dr. Burks acted as a drug clerk.
He completed his medical education at the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons of San Francisco from which he graduated in 1899 with the degree of
M. D. and engaged in practice in Fresno. He married Miss Annie J. Wil-
liams of Fresno, sister of E. A. Williams, the well-known attorney of Fresno,
and W. R. Williams, bank commissioner for the state of California. She was
born in Redruth, England. By her he had one son, Dr. Floyd L. R. Burks, who
has established a practice in Fresno. There was an estrangement which led
to Mrs. Burks securing a divorce and she now resides in Sacramento. For
a short period in his early manhood Dr. Burks served as ship's surgeon on
a Pacific liner, and in this capacity visited the South Sea Islands on a cruise
which extended over a year. While returning from this cruise in 1890, the
ship touched at a Mexican port, and President Diaz of Mexico enlisted him
to stamp out a plague of yellow fever that was then raging in Mexico. Pres-
ident Diaz gave Dr. Burks unlimited authority to overcome the scourge, and
placed the army and navy at his disposal, to be utilized in making conditions
more sanitary. It is stated that in three months he had the epidemic under
control, and after a residence of ten months in Mexico he returned to Cal-
ifornia.
Dr. Burks resumed his practice in Fresno, and from that time on took
an active interest in matters pertaining to public health, and was for some-
time president of the board of health and county health officer. While con-
nected witli the board of health. Dr. Burks is reported, by his friends, to have
insisted on the observance of the public health laws without fear or favor.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1343
In 1898, Dr. W. T. Burks' second marriage occurred, when he was united
in marriage with Miss Bessie Croft, by whom he is survived.
As an evidence of the high esteem in which Dr. Burks was held by his
Alma Mater, special exercises were held in honor of his memory at the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons at San Francisco, Dr. Charles Boxton, dean
of the college, delivering the eulogy, the unit of student-soldiers in the Stu-
dent Army Training Corps at the college stood at attention during the cer-
emonies.
Dr. Burks was a prominent Mason, a Knight Templar and Shriner and
was also a charter member of Fresno Lodge of Odd Fellows.
R. W. BRISCOE. — There is no question but that success depends upon
energy directed by intelligence, and courage undaunted by adversity. It is
often that the plans of men are thwarted by circumstances over which they
have little or no control, but if they could through industry and perseverance
overcome the seemingly insurmountable difficulties, as R. W. Briscoe has
done, success would come to them as it has come to him.
He was born in Lewis County, Mo., in 1863. His parents were natives of
Kentucky, but were married in M'issouri. The father was a farmer in Mis-
souri, but in the fall of 1886 came to California with his family and settled
west of Malaga, buying land of the Briggs Estate. The family at this time
consisted of the father, Walter H., and mother, Mary E. ("Wallace) Briscoe,
and four children : James W., now an oil man in the Kern River field ; Robert
W. ; Eliza, unmarried, a milliner in Porterville ; and Gertrude, now Mrs. Mel-
vin Stone. When they came to California the father became a fruit-grower
and soon interested himself in the oil business, and owned wells in Kern
County. He died eight years ago at the age of seventy-three years. The
mother is living at Bakersfield, and is in good health at the age of seventy-
nine.
R. W. Briscoe grew up on a farm in Lewis County, Mo., and attended
the common schools and a graded private academy at Gilead, Mo. He came
with his father's family to California in 1886. He followed farming and cattle
feeding in Missouri for two years. On coming to California he bought forty
acres of land from the Briggs Estate, one and a quarter miles southwest of
Malaga, improving it and planting it to vines, fig and prune trees, and alfalfa.
On December 25, 1888, Mr. Briscoe went back east to Indiana and was
married at Kokomo to Miss Elizabeth Caroline Mugg, daughter of Tames and
Catharine (Ingels) Mugg, and who is a descendant of Daniel Boone, the
great Kentuckian. She attended Franklin College, Franklin, Ind., one year,
and two years at La Grange College, Mo., and it was in her college days that
the acquaintance began that led to their union. Their honeymoon trip ended
in Fresno County, Cal., where Mr. Briscoe resumed his farming and fruit-
raising.
In the early nineties Mr. Briscoe was hard hit by the panic that landed
so many men high and dry. He had purchased heavily in land, could not meet
his payments and lost his possessions. Here is where grit and determination,
backed up by the optimism of his wife, came to the rescue. He started again,
and now he owns 1,100 acres in various localities. The home ranch consists
of forty acres in muscat grapes; 120 acres near Skaggs Bridge, close to Ker-
man, in vineyard ; 100 acres in the De Wolf District, in vineyard ; also he has
730 acres near Sanger which he bought last year, which he uses as a stock
ranch. In 1917 he had planted 100 acres in corn and built three silos, and he
also had 100 acres in corn in 1918. To use up all this feed he has 240 head of
cattle mostly feeders, 300 hogs, 20 mules and horses. He has sold 160 acres of
land to his four oldest sons. In his time, Mr. Briscoe has planted over 500 acres
to vineyards. In 1909 he raised twenty-three carloads of raisins, all his own,
seven cars of which he shipped to Minneapolis. He is actively interested in
the Raisin Growers Association.
1344 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In the cultivation of his vast holdings, Mr. Briscoe has used all of the
latest improved farming implements, and brings to his aid three tractors, the
Moline, the Case and the Fitch. He finds them invaluable in the cultivation
of his vineyards as they do most excellent work, and as more than half of his
land is in vineyards, it is necessary that he use such machinery as will do the
work among the vines. He has resisted the temptation to go largely into the
oil business, but did venture into that field a few years ago, and came out
about even. Mr. Briscoe has kept aloof from politics, but is greatly interested
in education, and has served on the election board for fifteen years. Having
so many interests and they being somewhat scattered, Mr. Briscoe does bus-
iness in Sanger, Fowler, Malaga, Fresno and Kerman, and as a consequence
has a large acquaintanceship among the business men of these communities,
and is highly esteemed by all of them.
Mr. Briscoe and W. R. Nutting, now of Fresno, got the first one hundred
members to the Raisin Growers Exchange, and this was the foundation of the
California Raisin Growers Association which has been of such benefit to
raisin-growers in the San Joaquin Valley.
Mr. Briscoe is an untiring worker, and since the war began has been do-
ing almost double duty, putting in at times as much as twenty hours a day.
He is a man of excellent judgment and has great executive abilitv. He is
kindly considerate, and public-spirited. His wife is an accomplished woman.
a devoted mother, and a worthy helpmeet. Their home is surrounded with
the things that make for high standards of living, and abounds with good
books, farm periodicals and papers. Their family is most interesting, and
consists of seven children : Ernest, married to Margaret Weimert. of Fresno,
ranchers, living near the De Wolf school ; Elmer, married to Delcie Barr,
lives in the same vicinity ; Walter married Gladys Wells, of the same vicinity :
James, a soldier in France ; Roy, now at home ; Beryl, a senior in Fowler
High School ; and Fred, in the grammar school. All the older boys attended
Heald's Business College at Fresno.
Most highly esteemed by all who know them, it was a happy day indeed,
when in 1886, the Briscoe family cast their lot in Fresno County. Fresno
and Fresno County will ever extend a hearty welcome to men of Mr. Briscoe's
character.
HON. L. B. CARY. — That adverse conditions build up the strong has
found convincing evidence in the life of L. B. Cary, whose dauntless .spirit
has surmounted many obstacles, and drawn helpful lessons from disheart-
ening circumstances. He was born in Ohio, June 26, 1848, and at the age
of five years he removed with his parents to Iowa. His father, Rev. J. R.
Cary, was one of the pioneer ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and with his little family went through all the hardships incident to itinerant
pioneering in that then far-western state.
In spite of poverty and privation, L. B. secured an academic and col-
legiate education, and later taught school for a few years and studied law.
This he abandoned to take up newspaper work, in which he continued till
coming to California, in 1902. In 1912, Mr. Cary was elected to the State
Legislature as representative from the Fifty-second District in Fresno
County. He distinguished himself as a champion of the agricultural interests
of the state, and was notably instrumental in defeating the measure to bring
farm labor under the eight-hour law, which would have proved of great in-
jury to the agricultural, stock and fruit interests of the entire state.
In 1914, he was reelected and became noted as one of the leading cham-
pions in the movement against corrupt practices, and in securing legislation,
and later was instrumental in securing the passage of an amendment to the
constitution making it unlawful for a member of the legislature to hold any
other office, trust or employment under the state during the term for which
he was elected or for two years thereafter.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1347
During the session of 1915 a measure was passed having for its aim the
abolition of party lines in California. A protest against this measure in the
form of a referendum was carried to the people. Mr. Cary at once became one
of the leading champions of the referendum, which was approved by the
people with no uncertain majority. At a special session of 1916 the same
measure was again forced through the legislature in spite of its repudiation
by the people. Mr. Cary was made chairman of the legislative committee
to carry a second referendum of the question to the people. He made a
thorough organization of the state and after a brilliant and heated contest
had the satisfaction of seeing the measure for the destruction of party lines
in California again rejected by the people by an overwhelming majority, all
but four counties in the state registering their protest against the destruc-
tion of party integrity.
Asa platform orator and read)' forum fighter, Mr. Cary has few superiors.
He was never known to flinch from any contest in which he saw imperiled the
cause of justice and right. Being a man of intense conviction, and having
once decided as to the justness of the cause, he took his stand accordingly,
without fear or favor, and regardless of who might be against him. Through-
out his whole life he has had but one rule to guide his line of action — that of
humanity, justice and right. Policy never entered into his calculation. For
this reason he has made a name for himself in California which will live
after him in connection with the history of the causes he has championed.
L. S. SHANNON. — Prominent among the interesting men of Fresno
County whose acknowledged ability in their chosen fields makes it perfectly
natural that they should be entrusted with important affairs and attain to
a leadership meaning much to themselves and the community in which they
reside, is L. S. Shannon, one of the owners and the superintendent of the
famous Shannon Estate vineyard," a son of the late J. M. Shannon, long the
well-known townsite agent of the Pacific Improvement Company, and grand-
son of Hon. Gillum Baley, a distinguished pioneer. Few men had greater
foresight, or a higher sense of honor combined with aggressive, executive
power, than J. M. Shannon, who was an acting director under A. N. Towne,
president of the Pacific Improvement Company — the holding company for
the Southern Pacific — and had such influence with Messrs. Stanford, Hunt-
ington, Crocker and Hopkins, that he secured the valuable donation of sev-
eral blocks in Fresno for the site of the Court House and Court House Park.
Judge Baley was the presiding judge when the county seat was removed
"from Millerton, and was widely esteemed as a man both of native ability
and great brain power. Elsewhere in this work the lives of these historical
personages are very properly presented in detail.
L. S. Shannon was born at Millerton, at that time the county seat of
Fresno County, on Independence Day, 1871 ; but since he was only three
and a half years old when his parents moved to Fresno, he has only faint
recollections of his birth-place. His father, as the student of local history
may recall, had served as under sheriff; and when the county seat was moved,
in 1874, he brought his family with him to Fresno where our subject grew
up and attended the public schools. When a mere lad, in the middle of his
teens, he knew every business man and every prominent farmer in the city
and the county ; for he was entrusted with the deliver}' of telegrams, and
this service for the Western Union Telegraph Company compelled him to
move about with his eyes and ears wide open.
Having finished his course of study at the White School, where the late
D. S. Snodgrass, afterward the banker at Selma, was his last teacher, young
Shannon attended the Alameda high school, and then went to a business
college at Oakland. About the same time he became chainman for a party
of surveyors employed by the Pacific Improvement Company, and his ability
coming to the attention of his superiors, he was taken into the company's
1348 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
main office at San Francisco, where he remained for eight years. Next he-
accepted a responsible position with the Oakland Gas Light & Heat Com-
pany, and he was with that concern for six years.
On August 2, 1903, Mr. Shannon was married at Alameda to Miss Jane
Lawrence, a native of Napa and the daughter of Charles and Ann (Willis)
Lawrence, natives of Stockholm, Sweden, and England, respectively. Mr.
Lawrence came to San Francisco as a cabin boy on a ship and in the Bay
City became a ship carpenter. Mrs. Lawrence came to California an orphan,
and was brought up by an older sister, with whom she remained until she
married at San Francisco, in 1868. The other children in the Lawrence family
were Catherine, Willis and Mary. Mrs. Shannon was reared at Alameda
and was graduated from the Alameda high school, in the Class of '94; after
which she attended the San Jose Normal School, graduating with the Class
of '98; and teaching in the city schools of Alameda until she was married.
Mr. and Mrs. Shannon have two children, Milam Tefferson and Lawrence
Dudley.
Mr. Shannon's particular responsibility, in helping to manage the Shan-
non Estate owned by the several brothers, is for the most part the raising
of table grapes and in this field he has been signally successful. Through
many years of work and study he has become a specialist in both the grow-
ing and marketing of table grapes, and at present has ninety acres in malagas.
Their products are packed and shipped from Miley, on the Santa Fe. and
are marketed under the label of the "Shannon Estate Brand," and they com-
mand high prices, and find a ready market in New York City, Boston and
Philadelphia. There are also eight acres in emperors, a table grape maturing
very late in the season, and eighteen acres of muscats and sultanas. He has
thirty-five acres in peaches, while the balance of the land is in alfalfa and
pasture. The Shannon Estate Vineyard us.es eight horses and employs live
men all the year around, and as many as twenty-five men during the harvest-
ing season.
Although a Republican, and one with live ideas as to national political
reform and progress, Mr. Shannon has loyally supported the administration
in its difficult war work. For six years he served as trustee of the Walnut
school district, while he lived in that section, and he has maintained a live
interest in popular education ever since. He is a member of Halcyon Parlor
of the Native Sons of the Golden West at Alameda, and he also belongs to
Fresno Lodge, No. 439, B. P. O. Elks.
DR. EUGENE W. LAISNE.— One of Fresno's most promising profes-
sional men. Dr. Eugene W. Laisne, was surely destined, by virtue of his
natural ability, to be a genius among Optometrists. Unusually gifted as a
mechanical manipulator and inventor, the human eye has been to him an
open book. His intellectual perception also amounts to a real intuition, by
which he is able to discover the actual visual condition of his patients, apart
from their own statements regarding their eye troubles. Dr. Laisne obtained
his training and experience in optical work in that great center of world life,
New York City, and in several other leading cities of the East, where he
studied and practiced under some of the most noted men in the profession,
and became familiar with the latest apparatus and methods. In 1909 he came
to California and in July of that year graduated from the Los Angeles College
of Optometry and Ophthalmology.
Dr. Laisne chose Fresno as the place in which to build himself up in his
rising profession, and in 1910 he opened an office in the Republican Building,
and began the practice which has placed him — in the opinion of those most
familiar with his work — among the very best Optometrists and Opticians
in California. After the death of Dr. Rowell in 1912, Dr. Laisne was able to
occupy the well known rooms in the corner of the second floor of the Repub-
lican Building, which Dr. Rowell had used for so many years. Here he re-
mained until May. 1918. when his increasing business and growing reputation
^.wsfa^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1351
demanded a more commodious and accessible location. He leased and fitted
up his present admirably equipped offices and work shop, adjoining the Bank
and Trust Company of Central California, at 1054 J Street, and exactly
opposite that old landmark, the Grand Central Hotel. Since removing to this
prominent location, his business has more than doubled, and will undoubtedly
increase rapidly from year to year.
If we add to his genius for Optical work and invention, a rare philo-
sophical insight and an intense desire to be thorough in all his professional
work, together with an unusual amount of industry, we have the causes of his
remarkable success in treating the eyes of thousands of people in this city
and county, and in the valley at large. In many of his cases, Dr. Laisne has
been wonderfully successful in restoring and strengthening vision, and in
removing the source of various nervous disorders, as well as that of various
other organic troubles which (the medical profession now asserts) are largely
due to defects of vision, and are amenable to correcting lenses. The writer
confidently predicts that Dr. Laisne's fame as an eye specialist will extend
throughout the State of California, and probably throughout the country.
LORENZO B. CHURCH.— Among the worthiest representatives of
well-known pioneer families of California must be mentioned Lorenzo B.
Church, the son of the founder of the canal system in Fresno County, and a
native of Lake County, Ind., where he was born in 1845. His father was
M. J. Church, a native of Illinois, who removed to Lake County and there
married Sarah Whittington. He was a blacksmith by trade ; but he gave up
his business connections in the East and in 1852 crossed the great plains
with his family, coming to California with the conventional ox teams and
wagons. He settled on a ranch near Stockton, where he again opened a
blacksmith shop ; but after a year he removed to Napa County, near Middle-
ton, in what is now Lake County, not far from the head-waters of Putah
Creek, and there embarked in the stock business. He continued there as a
stockman for eight years, and then he took up his residence in Napa City,
built a large blacksmith shop and conducted that for a couple of years. When
he sold out, he located in Fresno County at Centerville, and there he en-
gaged in sheep-raising for another two or three years ; and in 1870 he started
the canals that made Fresno County famous. He began about three miles
above Centerville, and took the water needed from the Kings River, calcu-
lating, as he progressed, on gravity ; he bought lands and traded water rights ;
and as is more definitely set forth in the historical portion of this work, he
constructed a system much needed and of the greatest value to the communi-
ties they sought to serve. Finally, he sold all of his interest in the canals,
and in the transaction was cheated out of about one-half of what he was en-
titled to, so that the matter is still in the courts. Lorenzo's father then went
to Oakdale and bought the Lane Mineral Springs; and he kept that resort
and a cattle-ranch near-by until he died. When Mrs. Church died in Fresno
she was the mother of eight children, only three of whom are still living.
The oldest are Lorenzo B. and a twin sister, Mrs. Lodema Fanning of Fresno,
and Amanda, Mrs. M'unn of Fine Gold, Madera County.
Coming to California across the plains in his eighth year, Lorenzo was
reared in Napa and educated in its public schools, and from a boy learned
the blacksmith trade. As early as 1870, he came to Fresno County, remain-
ing about nine months, then went to Lake County and engaged in sheep
raising in Napa and Lake Counties ; homesteaded and preempted also near
Middletown, on Putah Creek. He bought more land, until he had over 800
acres, and continued there until the spring of 1879, when he sold out and
located in Fresno County.
He immediately went to work constructing canals, and for five years
he was foreman under his father, after which he was superintendent of the
company that bought his father out. This was the firm of Perrin & Cheek,
1352 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and under them and their successors he continued for about twenty-two
years. Then he resigned, to look after his own interests.
Soon after he located here and bought 320 acres just west of Fresno.
There be built a home and engaged in grain ranching, later laying out 100
acres in a vineyard and orchard. Still later he began renting for gardens, and
for twenty years he ran the Church Dairy. He laid out Church Avenue,
planting the beautiful shade trees there, and he also plotted out Fruit Ave-
nue, as the eastern line of the ranch. He built a store on the corner and
commenced the well-known mercantile business, which is now the property
of his granddaughter, Mrs. J. D. Quick. In addition to these holdings, Air.
Church owns valuable residence and business property in Fresno. A man
of affairs in the commercial world, he is also influential in politics, working
for national issues under the banners of the Republican party.
At Lower Lake, October 3, 1868, Mr. Church was married to Miss
Josephine Springston. who was born in the East and died July 13, 1913,
the mother of five children : Carrie, was Mrs. Hickok and she died in Fresno
County February 14, 1900, the mother of two children — Estella, now Mrs.
Ben Brophy, who lives in Fresno; and Ina, now Mrs. J. D. Quick, of the
same city; Rena, Mrs. Turnbull of Fresno, mother of three children, one
still living. Lorilla. Mrs. A. T. Doore, also of Fresno; Lola died when she
was twrenty years of age ; Leona, wife of M. Brophy of Fresno, and Lorenzo,
a babe, survived only his first six months.
JOEL THOMAS ELAM.— A resident of California since 1852. Joel
Thomas Elam, or "Tom" as he is called by his friends, was born on March
15. 1851. in Bell County. Texas, and from the Lone Star State was brought
to California by his parents, Joel Elam, a native of either Tennessee or Vir-
ginia and a member of an old Virginia family, and Sarah Frances Callis,
a native of Kentucky, whom he married in Tennessee. The happy couple
came to Texas, where Mr. Elam followed his trade of a machinist ; but as he
was in very poor health, he was advised by physicians to remove to the
Pacific Coast, in the hope that a milder climate might renew his constitution.
With that yearning in view, he started with his wife and five children across
the plains in an ox team train ; but he was destined never to see the blue
waters of the Pacific, for he died en route and was buried on the trackless
plains.
His widow brought the little children through to El Monte, the young-
est a baby and the oldest a boy in his ninth year ; and from El Monte they
moved to San Juan. There she was married again to a Mr. Presley, a farmer
and a stockraiser, and four children were born from this second union. After-
wards Mr. and Mrs. Presley removed to San Joaquin County, then to Stanis-
laus County, and then to Mariposa County, and at Mormon Bar Mrs. Presley
kept a boarding house, rearing and schooling her children as best she could.
When they were old enough to farm, they moved to Pea Ridge, and later
to Chowchilla ; and here the children, while farming and raising stock,
cared for their mother in return, until she became very ill, and was taken
to Stockton for treatment, where she died, in her sixty-fourth year. She was
a wonderful woman, full of energy and ambition, a devout Methodist, rear-
ing her family in the ways of honesty and truth, and she had the satisfaction
of living to see the children stand by her to the end.
Of the five children by her first marriage. Joel Thomas was the young-
est, and his earliest recollections are of the Golden West. He attended school
in the wilds of Mariposa County, and as early as his eighth year went to
work in a dairy at Chowchilla, where he continued until he was fifteen. Then,
for four years, he raised hogs on shares, meeting with reasonable success,
and after that, for eighteen months, he worked on a farm for Frank Twitch-
ell. During that time, he drew only ten dollars of his wages ; and when
Twitchell failed, he lost all that he had earned. He then worked for other
ranchers until 1876 when, with his brother, Taylor M. Elam, he bought
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1353
some cattle and engaged in stockraising. The year 1877, however, proved
one of the terrible "dry years" of Coast history, and they were compelled to
drive their cattle far back into the Yosemite Valley, in order to save most
of them. After that, the brothers ran their stock at Pea Ridge for seven
years.
In 1879 Mr. Elam was married in Mariposa County to Miss Mary E.
Mullins, a native of that county, and after that he dissolved partnership with
his brother, and farmed alone at Chowchilla until 1886. There, ten years
later, his wife died. In his farming operations he was successful, especially
as a raiser of grain, for which he used three big teams and a combined har-
vester ; but selling his outfit, he engaged in raising cattle, mules and horses.
He also owned a good ranch, while he rented a stock range.
In 1901 he brought his cattle and stock to Fresno County, and leasing
from AT. Theo. Kearney, started a dairy on the Kearney ranch. Then, in
1902, he married a second time, choosing for his wife Mrs. Elizabeth Frances
(Beevers) Mullins, a native of Mariposa County. Her father, John Beevers,
had crossed the plains in pioneer days, was a good miner and then a stock
raiser, making a specialty of fine horses ; and by her union with Mr. Mullins
she had had one daughter, Ida, now Mrs. Russell, who since her mother's
death, on August 24, 1917, presides over Mr. Elam's home.
Mr. Elam bought a ranch of fifty-five acres, in 1904, on North Avenue,
four miles southeast of Kerman, taking into partnership again his brother,
Taylor M. Elam. This they leveled and improved to alfalfa, and then con-
tinued dairying and stock-raising. They also own forty acres on Kearney
Avenue, which they have improved to alfalfa, where they have installed a
pumping plant for irrigating; and they have 700 acres for pasture. Here
they maintain a dairy herd of sixty cows, besides many stock cattle. Ever
since 1904 Mr. Elam has made his home in Fresno, superintending the
ranch from there.
He is a stockholder in the Danish Creamery Association, a member of
the Methodist Church. South. He has been very active in church work, liberal
and enterprising, and gives his support gladly to every movement that has
for its object the building up of the county, and the enhancing of the com-
fort and morals of the people.
BUNNIE LAWRENCE WYLLIE.— An enterprising and popular citi-
zen, and the son of a prominent early settler who had the distinction of first
advocating irrigation for the Helm district and of planting some of the first
alfalfa there, and who was therefore a true up-builder of Central California,
was Bunnie Lawrence YVyllie, a man of affairs wisely following in his father's
footsteps. He was born at Fresno, on June 18, 1887, the son of Franklin
Pierce Wyllie, a native of Missouri who was reared there. Grandfather YVyllie
was born in Scotland, so that the family may be well-satisfied with its Scotch-
American origin and blood. F. P. Wyllie was a farmer who came out to
California about the middle eighties, and settling at Fresno, became a horti-
culturist and viticulturist. Later he moved to Burrel, Fresno County, and
leased the Burrel Estate, where he raised grain until 1900, when he bought
a ranch at Helm, which he improved, planting alfalfa. He had 160 acres,
and he was the first to demonstrate that this section was well adapted to the
growing of alfalfa. He was prominent in the projects to irrigate Helm and
the surrounding country, and built both the weir that dammed the slough
and the headgate of the Stinson canal. He died there in 1910. He had mar-
ried Elizabeth Harris, a native of Missouri., the ceremony taking place at
Sedalia, and she now resides in San Francisco.
Seven children were born to this pioneer couple. Hattie is Mrs. Sudden
of the Bay metropolis; Delta, who became Mrs. Brawner, died in Texas;
Bertha is Mrs. Keep, of Ogden, Utah; Bunnie Lawrence is the subject of
this sketch ; Clarence, is deceased ; Ruth is Mrs. Rodgers of Arizona ; and
Hazel is Mrs. Miller of San Francisco.
1354 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Dannie Lawrence was brought up in Fresno County, and attended the
public schools at both Burrel and Helm, and finally graduated from the
Fresno High School, being a member of the Class of '08. After graduation,
he entered the Bank of Coalinga as bookkeeper, and continued there for five
years. He was receiving teller and in 1914 was promoted to be assistant
cashier; and when the two banks were consolidated, he continued with the
First National Bank about six months, when he resigned, to engage in
ranching.
In April. 1916. he leased the old house on the home place and the land
adjoining and started to raise hogs ; later became a wheat farmer operating
on modern lines. In January, 1917, Mr. Wyllie bought an interest in Spear
Bros., the Dodge motor agency; but in March. 1918. he sold out to his
partners. With Mr. Diltz he then bought out the Kratzer Service Station
on E Street, which also has a fine garage in connection.
On November 29. 1911, Mr. YVvllie was married at Fresno to Miss Stella
Jenkins, a native of Salinas, Cal.. and the daughter of Louis B. lenkins, a
native son of the state, who was born at Hanford. Grandfather Jenkins came
from Kentucky, and was a pioneer who settled at Stockton, where he was an
attorney and a justice of the peace. L. B. Jenkins popularly known as Judge
Jenkins, engaged in farming at Salinas, and was also an attorney and justice
of the peace. He died at Salinas. He had married Carrie Pursell, a native
daughter, whose father was James Pursell ; he was born in Iowa and crossed
the plains to California in 1852, and later he made several trips back and
forth across the continent, and he also traveled widely over the state. Mrs.
Jenkins, who remarried and is now Mrs. Barber, resides at Chico. She was
the mother of four children, three of whom are living: and of these Mrs.
Wyllie is the oldest. She is a graduate of the Hanford high school and of the
San* Jose State Normal, where she was a member of the Class of 1910; and
later she taught school at Coalinga.
Mr. Wyllie served for two terms as city treasurer of Coalinga, and his
administration of that office was such as to reflect creditably both on him-
self and the constituency that placed him there. Air. Wyllie died January
5, 1919, of influenza and was mourned by his family and many friends who
admired him for his manliness and worth as a citizen.
HUGH ROBERT McCORD.— One of the early settlers of the West
Side who by perseverance and close application has made a success of farm-
ing is Hugh Robert McCord, a native of New York, born near YVarrensburg,
Warren County, December 17, 1850. His father was a farmer at Omro,
Winnebago County, Wis., and served in the Fifth Wisconsin Cavalry in the
Civil War until he was killed at the battle of Vicksburg, Miss., in 1863. Mr.
McCord's grandfather was a native of Vermont and served in the War of
1812, while great-grandfather McCord, who was of Scotch descent, served in
the Revolutionary War and experienced the terrible winter at Valley Forge.
Mr. McCord had two brothers in the Civil War: Thomas, who was killed at
the Battle of Perryville, Ky., while James served through the war in the
Twenty-first Wisconsin Regiment, and after the war was an engineer on the
Wisconsin River until his death. Mr. McCord's mother died when he was six
weeks old, leaving five children, two of whom are living, he being the young-
est. He was reared in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Allen Saville, where he grew
up on a farm and received a good education in the public schools. In 1865 he
came out to Omro, Wis., and lived with his oldest sister. Mrs. Jane A. Nye,
who is still living and is now making her home in California.
He immediately apprenticed as a flour miller at Omro learning the trade
in the old Burr mill run by water power. In 1868 he removed to Albany.
Green County, Wis., where he met with an accident in the mill which neces-
sitated his laying off and he went to school for two years. In 1871 he came
gradually west, working in flour mills in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1357
In the fall of 1874 he came to San Francisco and in the spring of 1875
he came to Murrays mill on the Merced River where he was manager of
the mill for two years ; then to Dixon, Solano County, where he ran a mill
a season and in the fall of 1877 he came to Sperrys mill in Stockton where he
was stonedresser until the spring of 1878, when he accepted the place as
manager of the Paradise mills near Modesto, a position he filled for fourteen
years. He remodeled the mill, putting in the full new roller process and
built up a big business and a good trade.
As early as 1887 he located a homestead of 160 acres on the West Side,
where his family resided while he continued in his position to make the
money for their living expenses and homestead improvements. In 1892, how-
ever, he gave up his position and turned his attention to farming. When he
came here there were no water wells in the vicinity and he purchased a well
rig in Stanislaus County and brought it to his home and drilled a well, then
drilled for his neighbors. Then a sheep man concluded he wanted to summer
on the West Side and Mr. McCord drilled a well for him, and then others
caught the same fever and he continued in well drilling for twenty-two years,
drilling hundreds of wells on the different farms on the West Side. He
added to his holdings and now has 500 acres here where he engages in stock-
raising.
Mr. McCord was married in Modesto to Miss Mary A. Baldwin, born
in Manchester, England, who came with her parents to New Harmony, Ind.,
and in 1876 came to California. He was bereaved of his wife on July 30,
1919. She was a devout Presbyterian.
Mr. McCord became a member of the Odd Fellows in Waterville, Kans.
Then was a member of the Modesto Lodge of Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and now is a member of the Coalinga Lodge. He helped organize
the Idlewild school district of which he was a trustee for many years. Politi-
cally he is a Social Democrat.
BESLEY LEFEVER.— The efficient superintendent of the Confidence
Oil Company, the oldest company in the west side oil field of Coalinga, is
Besley Lefever, who has been a resident of this section of the county since
1898. He was born in Ellenville. Ulster County. N. Y., June 25, 1858, a son
of Alfred and Susan (Frear) Lefever, the father being of French descent,
but a native of Esopus, N. Y., the mother a native of Ellenville, the same
state. The original spelling of the name was La Fevre, meaning in French
"the smith," but later generations changed the spelling to Lefever.
During the Civil War the father was a member of the Fifty-sixth Regi-
ment, New York Volunteer Infantry, and was killed in the Battle of Honey
Hill, Ya. The mother was left a widow with five children, and through all
of her hardships she kept the family together, reared them to useful lives
and gave them the best educational advantages she could under the circum-
stances. Later in life she was affectionally cared for by her loving children,
her last years being spent in Coalinga, where she passed away in 1913, at
the advanced age of ninety-five years. The family consisted of: Huffman,
who died about 1865; William, who died in Denver, Colo., November 28,
1918; Charles, who passed away at Livermore, Cal., in 1917, was one of the
pioneer oil men of Coalinga; Besley, the subject of this sketch; and Mary,
who is now Mrs. Hamm of Coalinga.
Besley_ Lefever was brought up in Ellenville, N. Y., and at an early age
he was obliged to go to work to help his mother support the family, there-
fore his educational advantages were limited. Before he was thirteen years
of age he was working on a packet, running down the Hudson River from
Ellenville to New York City, and when a little more than fourteen years
old had risen to be a captain of one of these boats. In that capacity he con-
tinued until 1876, being then about eighteen, when he resigned and left for
Mound City, Kans., where he arrived in 1877.
66
1358 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In 1878 he continued his journey further westward, locating at Lead-
ville, Colo., arriving there about the beginning of mining developments in
that section. With his brother William in 1879, he went to Garfield, Chaffee
County, Colo., where they helped start the Monarch mining district and
mined until 1883. Upon the discovery of oil at Florence, he made his way
to the new old field, where he gained valuable experience as an oil driller.
He and his brother Charles engaged in contract drilling, and in addition to
the Florence field they operated their business at Santa Fe, N. M. In
December, 1897, Besley Lefever came to California and worked for a while
in the Los Angeles oil field. It was in 1898 that he made his advent in the
Coalinga field, and at first he was engaged with the New York Oil Company,
drilling for oil on the hill above Oil City, where oil had already been dis-
covered. About the same time James Gilbreath drilled for the Selma Oil
Company, on the hill which was located on section 20-19-15, but when the
drilling was finished it proved to be a dry hole. Mr. Gilbreath then went to
the east side and drilled a well for the Independent Oil Company on section
28, which is now the property of the Standard Oil Company. Mr. Lefever
was at this time engaged in drilling on the west side for the Confidence Oil
Company, on section 31-19-15 and was successful in obtaining oil. This was
in 1900, and marks the beginning of the west side oil field. The Confidence
Oil Company continued their developments on their property which con-
sists of 160 acres, and now have many good, producing wells, the original
well being still in operation. Mr. Lefever is a stockholder in the company,
and among the original stockholders were the following : Judge Risley, E. A.
Walron. Frank Clairy, James Vincent, and David S. Ewing. Besley Lefever,
in* point of service, is one of the oldest operators in the Coalinga oil field
and is regarded as one of the best posted oil men in this section. His ser-
vices in behalf of the Confidence Oil Company all these years have been
appreciated by the officers of the company, because in 1919. the Call Oil
Company (composed of practically the same personnel) made him super-
intendent of their property in the Coalinga field. This mark of appreciation
and confidence is a distinct compliment to Mr. Lefever.
At Florence, Colo., June 4, 1890, Besley Lefever was united in marriage
with Lillian M. Widerfelt, a native of Springfield, 111., and daughter of
William and Margaret (McNelley) Widerfelt, natives of New Jersey. Mrs.
Lefever went to Florence, Colo., in 1888, to visit her brother William, and
there she met Mr. Lefever, an acquaintance that resulted in their marriage.
They are the parents of two children : William Arnet, who served in the
LTnited States Army in the World War, is now in the Texas oil fields ; Irene,
is now the wife of Karl Lewis, the cashier of the First National Bank, at
Dinuba, Cal.
Mr. Lefever has been a member of the Knights of Pythias since 1888,
and is now a Past Commander; while his wife is a member of the Pythian
Sisters of which organization she is a Past Chief, and is also past president
of the Welcome Club, and chairman of the Welcome Club Auxiliary of Coal-
inga Chapter of the Red Cross. Mr. and Mrs. Lefever were very patriotic
and intensely interested in forwarding every movement that aided in winning
the war. Religiously they are both members of the Presbyterian Church,
and in Coalinga social circles are very popular and highly esteemed.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF FOWLER.— Xo town in California is
more fortunate than Fowler in the character and caliber of the men entrusted
with its financial interests, as will be seen alone from the history of the First
National Bank which was organized on August 25. 1904. Another bank
was organized at Fowler in January, 1913, .having also been created under
the Federal laws, and that was called the Fowler National Bank, an insti-
tution that built the beautiful two-story brick building occupied by the First
National since 1913.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1359
In 1914 there was a merger of the two banks mentioned, an achievement
made possible by the purchase of the stock in the First National Bank by
the Fowler National, whose interests were thereupon transferred to the First
National Bank, which has ever since occupied the banking offices and con-
tinued a general banking business under the corporate name of the First
National Bank.
It is a solid financial institution, as may be seen by the examination of
any of its recent official reports. On December 31, 1917, for example, it had
for its resources loans and discounts to the amount of $337,580.46; United
States bonds worth $96,106; municipal and other bonds totalling $59,876.67;
$1,800 worth of Federal Reserve Bank stock; banking house and fixtures
worth $27,700 ; $500 in other real estate ; a five per cent, fund amounting to
$2,500; and $162,855.82 in cash and due from other banks. Its liabilities are
included in a capital stock of $50,000; a surplus fund of $10,000; undivided
profits to the amount of $5,843.44; a dividend (No. 14) of $5,000; a circula-
tion of $50,000, and deposits to the amount of $568,075.31, the debits and
credits balancing at the sum of $688,918.75. The bank pays four per cent,
interest on' time deposits, and rents its safe deposit boxes at $2, $3 and $5
per year.
The officers of this institution for 1917 were: President, Fred Nelson;
Vice-president, C. V. Peterson; Cashier, L. J. Harriman ; Assistant Cashier]
R. E. Giffen. Directors, Fred Nelson, C. V. Peterson, L. J. Harriman, J. H.
Weinberg, C. A. Rigby. and H. W. Wrightson. Among the bank's stock-
holders are many wealthy men of Fowler and Fresno County, and these,
with the officers, endeavor in every way to iurther the best interests of the
bank's patrons.
THOMAS A. COWAN.— Enjoying the distinction of being the oldest
living resident rancher in the Summit Lake country, and one of its foremost
and highly-respected citizens, Thomas A. Cowan also enjoys the prestige of
both a thoroughly practical wheat and grain farmer— using only the most
up-to-date machinery — and one of the largest and most successful growers
on the West Side. Living on his home ranch of 320 acres four miles west
of Lanare, and half a mile to the south of that town, he also operates two sec-
tions of the Kings County Development Company's land ten miles north of
Huron.
He was born in 'McDonough County. Ill, on February 11, 1859, the son
of William Cowan, a native of Scotland, who came to America with his
parents and grew up to be a coal miner. He came to McDonough County,
111., to work at coal mining. In time he became the owner of a farm of 160
acres. His wife was Mary Ann Bright, before marriage and was born in
England. Thomas Cowan worked both in the mines and on his father's farm,
turning to the latter in summer, and busying himself at mining during the
winters. As a boy at home, he attended the public schools of McDonough
County. In that county, at the ripe old age of eighty-four, William Cowan
passed away ; but the mother still lives at Colchester, eighty-four years old.
Seven children — four boys and three girls — were born to this worthy couple ;
and Thomas is the second oldest son and child. A brother, Charles Cowan,
lives four miles north of Modesto, and is a dairy farmer.
It was the fall of 1880 when Thomas Cowan first came to California, and
began working near Grangeville, in what is now Kings County, hiring out
as a farm hand. He spent from 1882 to 1884 in Washington Territory, and
in Whitman County proved up a claim of 160 acres. Then he returned to
Grangeville and for several years worked for his uncle, "Wash" Bloyd, the
pioneer farmer and "wheat king." In 1886, he and three of his cousins, sons
of Mr. Bloyd, came up to the Summit Lake country, then a new district in
Fresno County, and each bought a tract of eighty acres, improving the land
and farming.
1360 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In 1892, Mr. Cowan was married to Miss Beulah Beatty, a native of
Clayton County, Iowa, who had come to California with her parents ; and
as the only one of the Summit Lake party to remain here, he settled on his
present place, then consisting of 160 acres, which he had bought and partially
improved. Later he added another 160 acres by purchase, and he has made
the ranch his home ever since.
In 1917 Mr. Cowan bought a forty-five horsepower Holt caterpillar trac-
tor, and in 1919 he purchased a Steward truck of one and a half tons, on
which he hauls loads of three tons each to Lanare, his shipping point. On
July 26, 1919, he thus transported 181 sacks of grain from his Huron ranch
to Lanare. thirteen miles distant, in four trips covering 104 miles, and load-
ing and unloading, or "bucking" the sacks all alone without exhausting
himself or having a breakdown — a showing, at sixty years of age, for which
no one need be ashamed. As a self-made man, he is well-muscled, powerfully
built physically, and bright and able mentally. The war-draft left him very
short of help, and there was little to do, but knuckle down to the situation
uncomplainingly. The year 1919 was very dry, yet such was Mr. Cowan's
continued mastery of problems that his crops were very fine. From the
Cowan home ranch of 320 acres, Mr. Cowan took in 1919, 2,500 sacks of
barley and 300 sacks of wheat; while from the Huron ranch in the same
season he harvested 3,700 sacks of barley and 2,750 sacks of wheat. He is
still the sole proprietor of one of the two sections of rented land in the
Huron district, while in operating the other, he is in partnership with Dick
Miles of Hanford.
Mr. and Mrs. Cowan have* two children, of whom they may well be
proud. 'William T. served in France, and returned on July 21, 1919, honor-
ably discharged from the hospital service. Charles E. also served in France
with the Forty-second Balloon Company; was honorably discharged and
reached home on May 3, 1919.
Mrs. Cowan is a bright, cheerful and interesting woman who shares
with her husband an agreeable popularity ; he belongs to the Odd Fellows at
Lemoore.
EMMETT G. RICHMOND. — A successful California rancher who not
only has been a close observer and an untiring student in endeavoring to learn
how best to care for vines and orchards, but through mastering a knowledge
of Fresno County soils has become well posted as a horticulturist and viti-
culturist, is Emmett G. Richmond, the son of Theodore W. Richmond. The
father went from Indiana, where he was born, to Iowa, where he home-
steaded; and when the war broke out between the North and the South,
he was among the first to volunteer to stand by Lincoln, and he was made
captain of Company H of the Nineteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, which
he had organized. He did valiant service at the siege of Vicksburg, and was
later laid up through exposure to malaria. Returning to the avocations of
peace, he farmed in Scotland County, Mo., and there he died, aged sixty-
seven years. The familv originally came from New York State, wdiere the
name is most favorably known.
Theodore Richmond married Elvira Irish, a daughter of the Hoosier
State, whose parents, of the long line of Mayflower stock, came from Con-
necticut. She died in Missouri, greatly honored, the mother of ten children;
six of whom have grown to maturity. The youngest of those still living is
Emmett.
He was brought up on a farm, and attended the public schools, and with
his parents, he remained, assisting at the farm work, until he was twenty-
three years of age. On February 4, 1891. he was married near Memphis to
Miss Minnie N. Easterday, who was born in Columbus, Ohio. She came to
Scotland County, Mo., with her parents D. L. and Nancy ('Warren) Faster-
day. After his marriage Mr. Richmond began to farm for himself. He bought
a farm, but sold it again in 1904, when he came to California.
%
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1363
The first purchase consisted of twenty acres three miles west of Fresno
on California Avenue, where he engaged in viticulture and horticulture, but
promising as was the outlook, circumstances led him to return to Missouri
at the end of three years, when he bought a farm there. At the end of two
years, however, he had sold out and was back again in California — like so
many thousands of other folk, who have once fallen under the charm of the
Golden State ; and it was then that he secured his present place of twenty
acres on Clinton Avenue in the Montpelier tract. The land needed much
improvement, and Mr. Richmond, through his experience and industry, gave
it just what was needed.
He later bought twelve and a half acres in the Roeding Villa Colony
on Clinton Avenue. He leveled it and set out a peach orchard and vineyard,
planting Thompson seedless, peaches and olives; and although he disposed
of some of the property in 1916, he still owns twenty acres, and a fine resi-
dence built in the fall of 1918. He also owns some valuable property in
Fresno, consisting of a residence and several lots. He is a member and a
stockholder of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and also of the California
Associated Raisin Company.
Two children were born to bless this happy union ; but one, Anna Idell,
died in her eleventh year — in the fall of 1904. Edna Pearl, the other daughter,
is now the wife of Adam Robbins of Fresno. The family attend the First
Methodist Episcopal Church in Fresno ; and Mr. Richmond belongs to Lodge
No. 158 of the Odd Fellows in Fresno.
A Republican in matters of national political import, Mr. Richmond has
shown his desire to cast party lines aside in the support of local movements,
and has served two terms as school trustee in the Roeding district.
CHARLES FREDERICK GOODRICH.— One of the most prominent
and successful ranchers in the vicinity of Tranquillity, Fresno County, is
Charles F. Goodrich, the son of a California pioneer and himself a native son,
born May 26, 1867, in San Juan, San Benito County. His father, Charles
Henry Goodrich, was a native of Maine, who in 1852, came to San Francisco
via Cape Horn. At first he was engaged by Flint & Bixby, large landed pro-
prietors in San Benito County, and being very industrious and thrifty he
saved his money until he had sufficient capital to engage in the sheep-raising
business on his own account. He purchased land and ranged his sheep in
Pleasant Valley, near what is now the Coalinga oil district, Fresno County.
In 1879, he located at Riverdale, and at one time owned a ranch south of
Selma where he followed farming and stock-raising. He died in 1893, while
on a trip to the mountains in the Kings River district, and at his passing the
county lost a public-spirited citizen. The mother of C. F. Goodrich was Maggie
McCarthy, in maidenhood, a native of Ireland who came with her parents to
San Francisco when she was a child, and it was in the city by the Golden
Gate that she grew to young womanhood, afterwards she going to San Juan,
San Benito County, where she married Mr. Goodrich. She passed away in
1877, the mother of five children.
Charles F. Goodrich was the oldest of the five children and was reared
in San Benito County until 1879, when he accompanied his father to Fresno
County where he attended school in Central Colony, afterwards attending
school at Lemoore. At the early age of fifteen years he was obliged to make
his own living and at first he was employed at teaming, to and from the
mountains, for Mr. Jacobs. Being very ambitious to get a start in business
for himself, he saved his money and by the time he was twenty-two he had
accumulated enough cash to purchase an outfit and, with his younger brother
Edward, leased land at Caruthers where they raised grain and here they
continued to farm until the unusually dry year of 1898, when they were
obliged to abandon their enterprise and dissolved partnership. After this
Charles F. leased swamp lands of Jeff James, above San Joaquin, and here he
1364 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
operated 1,000 acres, used four big teams and had a combined harvester to
cut and thresh his crops. After he had disposed of this lease he purchased his
present ranch of eighty acres in 1910, and later bought forty acres located one
mile farther east. He improved these ranches by leveling and checking, and
engaged in raising alfalfa. On one of his ranches he sunk an artesian well,
going down 1,100 feet, and to conserve the water for irrigation purposes he
constructed a reservoir. His land is especially good for raising grain and
alfalfa. In addition to operatng his own ranches, Mr. Goodrich leases other
land and altogether operates about 900 acres, 200 being devoted to alfalfa and
700 to grain. He helped to build the old Joaquin Ditch and reclaimed about
700 acres of swamp land for Jeff James, the land being known as the old
Goodrich Ranch, on the San Joaquin River. He did this work while leasing
the land and raising grain. In 1916, C. F. Goodrich, accompanied by his
brother and others, went to Lower California, where they engaged in reclama-
tion work of about 62,000 acres below Calexico. They seeded 8,000 acres to
wheat and installed two steam pumps for irrigating the land. This concern
was composed of ranchers and sheepmen of Tulare, Kings and Fresno Coun-
ties, and was known as the Chinn Gravell Company. They remained there one
season and it is now leased as fast as water can be supplied.
In 1891, C. F. Goodrich was united in marriage with Miss Mary Elizabeth
Forsyth, a native of Scotland, who came to California when a girl, with her
parents. The ceremony was solemnized at Caruthers, Fresno County and
this happy union was blessed with five children: Naomi, who is a graduate
of the San Benito high school, lives with her parents; Ralph, who served
in the Seventieth Balloon Company, Aviation Department, U. S. Army:
Charles, who also served his countrv as a member of Company A One
Hundred First Engineers, Twenty-sixth Division, and was stationed in
France for one year, and saw service through all the battles, going over the
top twelve times ; Fred, a student at the Caruthers high school and assisting
his father on the ranch; Ellsworth, a graduate of the Easton high school,
also attended the University of Southern California, and who is now em-
ployed bv the Standard Oil Company at San Joaquin.
Mr. Goodrich is a very progressive and public-spirited citizen and is
especially interested in the advancement of the educational interests of his
community, being a trustee of Tranquillity School District, as well as a mem-
ber of the board of trustees of Tranquillitv Union High School. He is also
a director of the Tranquillity Irrigation District which embraces over 11,000
acres of land. In national politics he supports the Republican ticket and in
earlv davs served as a member of the countv central committee. He is one
of the directors of the First National Bank of Tranquillity.
WILLIAM FRANKLIN STRADER.— -Many of Fresno County's cit-
izens have come from east of the Rockies, but there are others who are native
to California, and these have taken care that the reputation of the State has
not suffered. Bv their sterling qualities and progressive tendencies, thev
have but added to the advancement of this section, and the countv is noted
for its splendid citizenship. Among those who have given a good account of
themselves, is William F. Strader.
He was born in San Francisco. Cal., Januarv 4. 1876. His father, William,
was a native of Ohio, who crossed the plains in the early sixties, locating in
San Francisco. There he engaged in teaming, contracting and grading with
Charles 'Warren as a partner. They followed this work fur a number of years,
and were vitally connected with the growth of the Golden Gate city in the
davs when the people were living in tents. In 1SR4 Mr. Strader came to
Fresno Countv. and was one of the founders of the Pleasant Valley Stock
Farm, located near Coaliiiga. At that time most of this ranch was devoted
to grain-raising. Following this. Mr. Strader homesteaded eighty acres south-
east nf Coalinga, and engaged in grain-raising. He was a man who made
many friends, and was always loyal to California and to Fresno County. He
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1365
was married to Amelia Correll, who died in 1914, and he died on the ranch in
the spring of 1918. There were five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Strader:
Mrs. Lena Wallace, of Dinuba ; William Franklin of this review ; Mrs. Lillian
Kurtz of Lemoore ; Mrs. Jessie Walker, deceased ; and John J. of Coalinga.
Wm. F. Strader came to Fresno County in 1884 and received a good
education in the public schools. He started in when a very young man to
farm, and has continued in that same business ever since. For awhile he
engaged in teaming to the oil fields between seasons in early days of oil
development. He has farmed from two to five hundred acres of rented land
on the plains to grain, and has also done a lot of contract work for other
grain farmers. In 1918 he had 160 acres in Egyptian corn, which averaged
one ton to the acre ; and forty acres in barley, which averaged sixteen sacks
to the acre. He leases about 1,000 acres which he devotes to grain farming
and also owns 180 acres of range land southeast of Coalinga. He makes his
home on the old home ranch. He is very loyal to Fresno County, where he
has lived since a boy of eight years of age, and is a successful farmer and
a good citizen.
WILLIAM S. STALEY. — A pioneer citizen whose life story will ever
be of peculiar and instructive interest, and in whom the student of local lore
will find additional attraction because of his relationship to the owner of the
land on which Selma was originally laid out, is William S. Staley, the son
of Stephen Staley, a Virginia farmer born in 1808. His father was Jacob
Staley, and he moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia in 1796. The Staleys
originally came from Germany, and were among the sons of the German
Fatherland who, following Baron Von Steuben and others, came over to help
the Yankee colonists found a free republic. Stephen Staley came to California
in 1880, settled at Selma, and died here, at the age of seventy-seven, and was
buried in the Selma Cemetery. William's mother was Anna Rebecca Metcalf
before her marriage ; she, too, came to California, and here she ended her
days. One of her daughters is Ellen R. Whitson, the widow of the late J. E.
Whitson, on whose 160 acres Selma had its beginnings.
William was born on July 20, 1844, in what was then Jefferson County,
Virginia, but has since become a part of West Virginia, and growing up in
that corner of the undeveloped country, he had but meager educational ad-
vantages. At sixteen he quit school, and six months later he went into the
Confederate Army, serving under Lee for four and a half years, and experi-
encing all the dangers and privations attending the engagements at Bull Run,
Chancellorsville. and Gettysburg, as well as numerous minor battles and
skirmishes. Though serving a lost cause, the experience enabled him, as well
as thousands of others, to display that fortitude of soul and body that pos-
terity has willingly accorded all honor to, as essentially American.
In 1872, Mr. Staley was married to Miss Fannie Hursperger, of Tefferson,
Md., after which, for three years, they continued to farm in Virginia on the
old Staley homestead. In that year they came to California, bringing a baby
boy two years old. Mr. Staley really came to California first alone, leaving
his home in Shepherdstown, W. Va., on April 18, 1875, and making for Colusa
County, where he remained until the third week in December, 1876. when the
party reached Selma. Mrs. Staley had joined her husband in Colusa County,
but in Selma she found her first California home. When Mr. and Mrs. Staley
and family first reached this section, they went to Kingsburg and stopped
there over night ; and the next day Mr. Staley went out and bought a claim
of railway land, securing not only the original settler's rights, but his house
and barn. When this land was thrown open for settlement, the eighty acres
sold for five dollars an acre, and later Mr. Staley bought twenty acres five
miles west for five dollars an acre. In 1916. he sold this for $13,000.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Staley was blessed with six children : Robert
T. is a miner at Barstow, Cal. ; Edith Harley is the efficient librarian at the
Selma Carnegie Library; Harry B. and Hattie V. are twins; Grace Anna is
1366 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the fifth child, and William O., the Selma grocer, is the youngest born. All
have attended the Episcopal Church, Mr. Staley having belonged to that
church for the past forty years, during which time he helped build the Episco-
pal Church at Selma. The faithful wife and mother who so long watched over
their welfare, was taken from this life on October 20, 1914, in her sixty-second
year, beloved by all who knew her.
Mr. Staley has never failed to show his interest in public affairs, par-
ticularly those of the community with which he has been identified during
so many years, and he has left an enviable record for civic performance. For
fourteen years he was a member of the Board of School Trustees, and he
served when the first two grammar school buildings were erected, and had
a part in creating the beautiful high school structure. From 1892 to 1896,
also, he was postmaster of Selma, and old-timers will recall with pleasure his
efficient and courteous service. For the past twenty years, Mr. Staley has
lived retired, residing at his Selma home, 1827 Sylvia Street, with his two
accomplished daughters, Edith H. and Grace A. Staley. There the old-time
hospitality, typical alike of California, early Selma and the Staley family, is
still a lode-stone to many.
MORRIS B. HARRIS. — A citizen of whom any community might well
be proud, and a distinguished representative of the California Bar to whom
Fresno City and County have frequently looked for the performance of difficult
and responsible public service, is the Hon. Morris B. Harris, State Senator of
California, long identified with most important educational interests. He was
born at Albion, Edwards County, 111., on September 10, 1866, the son of Lu-
cius Harris, also a native of Albion, who traced his ancestry back to old,
heroic English days, the founder of the family in America coming to Massa-
chusetts in 1620. Senator Harris's forebears were represented in every war
from the French and Indian to the Civil War; his grandparents came west to
Illinois from Connecticut in 1830, and Lucius Harris served as sergeant in
an Illinois regiment during the Civil War. When the war was over, he be-
came a merchant at Albion, but in 1887. during the great boom in California
realty, he located in Fresno County and purchased a ranch near Oleander,
where he farmed until his death.
He had married Miss Constance B. Thompson, a native of Illinois, and
also a member of an old Massachusetts family, of Scotch descent, an accom-
plished lady, who lived her life of usefulness to a wide circle and passed
away on the ranch. She was the mother of three children: Morris B.. the
subject of our review, is the eldest'; Ronald is farming at the old home-
stead ; and E. M. is an attorney who is practicing law with the Senator.
Morris B. Harris was educated at the public schools, after which he at-
tended the University of Indiana at Bloomington for two years. In 1887 he
went to Springfield, Ohio, and spent a year at Wittenberg College, where
he became a leader in the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. After that he was em-
ployed on the "New Era" of that city for another year. While at Springfield
he met the lady who consented to be his wife, and on Washington's Birth-
day, 1889, he was united in marriage with Miss Jessie Boggs, a native of that
city, by whom he has had two children: Marjorie Muenter and Ronald B.
The same year, Mr. and Mrs. Harris came to California: and arriving in
Fresno, he engaged in teaching school in the county, continuing in that field of
desirable endeavor for four years.
At the same time, Mr. Harris studied law; and upon examination in 1895,
he was admitted to the bar. He practiced law in Fresno, and was later a
partner with Judge M. K. Harris, but in 1907 they dissolved the partnership
and then Mr. Harris made his brother, E. M. Harris, his partner. The two
gentlemen made an exceptionally good team, and it is doubtful if any mem-
bers of their profession in the county both merited and received a more flat-
tering patronage. One of the honors coming to Mr. Harris at this time was
the presidency of the Fresno County Bar Association.
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1369
Mr. Harris has taken an active and prominent part in politics, and has
been privileged to serve his fellowmen in manners and at times not accorded
even all the ambitious, and as a Progressive Republican in particular he has
also been highly honored. In 1904 he was chosen a Republican elector on
the Roosevelt ticket, and in 1912 he was again selected a Progressive Repub-
lican on the same ticket. He was appointed by Governor Johnson a member
cf the State Board of Education, but after holding the post a year, he found
that he had too much to do, and could not give the duties the required atten-
tion, and he resigned. He was president of the Board of Trustees of the
Fresno State Normal from its inception until January, 1919, and resigned
only on taking his seat as State Senator.
In 1918, Mr. Harris was a candidate for State Senator from Fresno
County, and at the primary he received the nomination by the Republican,
the Democratic and the Prohibition parties ; in consequence of which at the
November election lie had no opposition. He has thus far served ably and
conscientiously, and will no doubt continue to give his best efforts to his
office during the coming session. As evidence of what he has done to justify
the confidence of his constituency, it may be pointed out that Senator Harris
introduced what is called the Harris Enforcement Bill, a measure to enforce
the National Prohibition Amendment in California, which was passed and
signed by the Governor. He also introduced the California Irrigation Act,
which became a law and is now about to be used in the plans for the Pine Flat
Reservoir. He also introduced and secured the passage of other needed legis-
lation of a high character. He was a member of the Free Conference Commit-
tee that framed the community propertv bill, which was passed and signed by
the Governor. He was a member and chairman of the Constitutional Commit-
tee which passed out an amendment for calling a constitutional convention for
framing a new constitution for California. He is now a member of an edu-
cational committee for the purpose of revising the educational laws of the
State, and reporting revised laws and an educational system to the next
State legislature. During the World War he was chairman of the Fresno
County Four Minute Men, and was associate State Director of the Four Min-
ute Men of the State of California.
From the foregoing it will be seen that few names are more inseparably
associated with the history of Fresno County than that of Morris B. Harris,
State Senator and one of the most scholarly, versatile and influential attor-
neys not only in Central California but along the Pacific Coast.
CHARLES WELLS. — A member of the board of supervisors who has
worked hard and successfully for both good roads and the proper care of the
worthy poor, is Charles Wells, the representative of the fourth supervisorial
district of Fresno County, and an experienced rancher who has greatly im-
proved several farm-properties. He was born at Osceola, Clarke County,
Iowa, on July 19, 1872, the son of Abraham Wells, a native of Columbus, Ohio,
who married Mary Jane Ray, of Young America, later Niles, Mich. Abraham
Wells was a student of Kalamazoo College and there met his future com-
panion. After the marriage, he served four years as a Union soldier in the
Civil War, joining the Twenty-fifth Michigan Infantry, and doing duty, be-
sides that of the regular soldier on the fighting line, as chaplain of his regi-
ment. When the war was over, he and his wife moved to Illinois, taking with
them their two children ; and later he engaged in preaching in Iowa, having
by that time four children in his family. When another couple of children had
been added, he pitched his tent at Hastings, Nebr., where one more child
was granted them, and whence, for the first time, in 1891, he came to California.
Charmed with Selma, he settled there ; and having joined the Christian
Church, he served that congregation as its pastor until his death, which oc-
curred in 1905. He died at his farm-home of twenty-five acres, two miles
northeast of Selma, on the Mill Ditch Road, a ranch that he bought when
he first came to this section, and through which he earned his livelihood ; for
1370 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
he never took a dollar for preaching, and thus carried out the spirit of a free
Gospel consistently. He lived to be seventy, and was honored and mourned
by many.
Mrs. Wells, who is now eighty-three years old, is still living at Selma,
bright and active, and the beloved mother of seven children: Allie R., who
died in 1919, was the wife of Frank Borin, a farmer of Stockton, Kans., and
the mother of fourteen children, all of whom are living and all of whom, save
one, have families of their own. Cassius M. is one of the buyers for Libby,
McNeill & Libby, and lives at Selma; George E. resides at Selma, and also
applies himself to ranching; Harm J. is another rancher in the same place, and
Frank E. is a farmer and the Mayor of Fowler. Warren is a rancher at Selma,
and there is Charles, next to the youngest, the subject of this sketch.
Charles Wells grew up mainly in Nebraska, and early learned how to
raise corn and livestock. He kept up his schooling, and passed the examina-
tions for a second-grade certificate. When he was eighteen, he began to teach
for a year ; and in 1891 he joined his parents at Selma, having remained be-
hind in Nebraska to finish his year's teaching.
From the first Mr. Wells liked California. He went to work on a ranch ;
but having a strong inclination for music, he took instruction in the piano,
under Professor Bonelli, at the San Francisco Conservatory, and became a
first-class pianist. He taught music and worked at the carpenter's trade, and
finally travelled with Rev. E. B. Ware, the evangelist, assisting him to hold
meetings in various places in the San Joaquin Valley, and having charge of
the singing.
While thus engaged he met the young lady who became his wife. She
was Miss Maggie Winkelman, of Sanger, the daughter of Joseph and Mollie
L. (Burnett) Winkelman, who were among the best known pioneers of Fresno
County. Her father was a native of California and died in 1903 at the age of
forty-seven, at Academy. He was born at Sacramento, and was well-known
as a mountaineer, stockman and teamster. Mrs. Wells' mother is still living in
Sanger, and has had five children, three girls and two boys, one of whom,
Edward, was accidentally killed. William, the third-born, resides on a ranch
west of Selma arid is road overseer for the Fourth District; Bertha is the
wife of Roy Jewell, and lives at Stockton ; and Gertrude is the wife of Seth
Cowan of Fresno.
Mr. and Mrs. Wells were married on July 1, 1894, by his father, and they
have three children : Leo R., who is with the Third Army of Occupation in
Germany ; Willie, and Howard. Mrs. Wells is a model mother and housewife,
and with her children attends the Christian Science Church.
Leo. R. is twenty-four years old and is married to Leta Cook of Selma.
He volunteered in July, 1918, in the Tank Service. He trained at Gettysburg,
Pa., and there had the influenza, and on his recovery he was ordered to France.
He drove a tank in France until the signing up of the armistice, and after that
he served as military police in Rome, Italy, for several months and was then
transferred to the Third Army of Occupation in Germany, where he is now
serving as corporal.
Since their marriage Mr. Wells has bought and improved several places,
and has greatly prospered. He has just sold his forty-acre place, four miles
north of Selma on the McCall Road, and will probably move into Selma.
He owns another ranch of 160 acres four miles west of Selma: and this, set
out with vines and trees, was operated by his oldest son before his enlist-
ment. He helped to organize the California Raisin Growers Association and
the California Peach Growers Association, and has always identified him-
self with movements for the advancement of California husbandry.
Supervisor Wells is especially interested in the matter of good roads —
improved highways, of course, for Fresno County — and the result is that the
boulevards in the county are above the average. He advocates permanent
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1371
concrete thoroughfares, and feels that a county out of debt — for Fresno
County recently bought $200,000 worth of bonds to help win the war — should
be able to do even better with its highways than it has. It has $60,000 of
San Joaquin bonds, $150,000 of State Highway bonds, and $200,000 of school
district bonds, and is therefore in the best financial standing.
Supervisor Wells is chairman of the committee on hospitals for the poor,
for which Fresno County has just appropriated $100,000. and to him is due
much of the credit for the "Fresno Way" of welfare work which is attracting
such wide attention among students of sociology, and which gives neither em-
barrassment nor pain to those who are aided. The County has 140 acres which
it uses to enable the unfortunate to help themselves, and at present there are
450 inmates in the County Hospital, while the old county orphanage has been
converted into an Old Folks' Home, and the orphan children are now being
reared in private homes, under the eye and custodianship of the Welfare
Committee of the Welfare Department which derives its authority by a special
ordinance duly enacted by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
WILLIAM JAMES ANTHONY.— Among the old-timers in Fresno
County pleasantly remembered and not likely to be soon forgotten is Wil-
liam J. Anthony, who deserves especial honor as one of the builders of Bars-
tow, in laying the foundation for which he showed that foresight which has
always characterized the pioneers who founded the great commonwealth. He
was born at the Napa Soda Springs in Napa County, on October 7, 1866, the
son of John Anthony, who came from Philadelphia. Pa. As a young man he
crossed the plains in 1852 to California, and followed mining at Plumas.
When he returned east he journeyed by way of the Horn, and on his arrival
home he was. married to Sarah Jane Beckham, also a native of Philadelphia.
Once more he turned his face toward the distant west, and this time he reached
San Francisco via Panama. As soon as he was able he made his way inland
to Plumas, and there resumed mining; and he continued his search for fortune
in Napa County until he abandoned mining for farming and located near
St. Helena. Still later he settled near Healdsburg, Sonoma County, and there
he died. Mrs. Anthony passed away while they were still living at St. Helena,
the mother of four children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the
second oldest.
William was brought up at St. Helena, attended the local public schools
and worked on a farm, and there he remained until he was eighteen years
of age, when he went to Sonoma County. In 1886 he struck out with a team
which he drove into Fresno. His object was to look around and he secured
employment in a vineyard ; he remained and made his headquarters in the
vicinity. He worked in a vineyard at Malaga, and then at Fowler, then for
seven years was in the employ of James Jamison. He went over to the West
Side on the James ranch, leased land and engaged in the raising of grain. He
had two partners, Tom Mullins and Tim Hurley, and they farmed 3,000 acres.
They raised big crops, and he hauled his barley to Sunnyside six miles east
of Fresno and sold it for eleven dollars a ton. He also stored barley in the
Kutner warehouses, and sold the same for ten dollars a ton in 1896, and thus
he continued farming until 1905.
Then he bought his present place of 160 acres at Barstow, to which
he moved in 1907. It was the usual stubble field, but he set to work energet-
ically ; leveled it, checked it off, and planted 120 acres to alfalfa, and he set
out seven acres as an orchard and thirty-two acres as a vineyard with muscat
and Thompson vines. He also engaged in the dairy business, and stocked
his ranch with thirty milch cows of the finest Holstein breed. He built a
residence, substantial barns and out-buildings.
It is in connection with the founding of Barstow that Mr. Anthony de-
serves special mention. When the school-house was built he donated two
acres of the land, and he early put up a store building there which he leases.
1372 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
He built a blacksmith shop and a garage, and gave the site for the United
Presbyterian Church ; and in every way possible he encouraged the establish-
ing, developing and beautifying of the place. He was not only a school trus-
tee there for seven years, but he made the community a present of the site
of Barstow Hall, which was erected by the people. He took a live interest
in the affairs of the Hall Association, and for many years was its director.
A Republican in national politics, Mr. Anthony has long been prominent
in public affairs. He is a member of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany, the California Peach Growers, Inc., the California Prune and Apricot
Association, and the Fresno County Dairymen's Association ; and he is a
trustee of the Fraternal Brotherhood.
At Healdsburg, Mr. Anthony was married May 8, 1901, to Miss Rosa
Moes, a native of Cary, Ohio, a daughter of Lawrence and Elizabeth (Legill)
Moes born in Paris, France, who came to Ohio and then to Minnesota. In
1887 they came to Fresno. Cal., but later to Sonoma County. Her father is
dead but he is survived by his widow. Mrs. Anthony was educated prin-
cipally in the schools of Fresno County. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony have four
children: Gladys, Clara, Alice and Violet. The hospitality of the Anthony
household is proverbial, and parents and children alike participate actively
in the social life of the neighborhood.
JOHN M. QUALLS. — The honor of being a descendant of one of the
old pioneers, as well as that of having been born in California, belongs to
Sanger's popular postmaster, Tohn M. Quails, who was born in Ventura
County, Cal., May 10, 1872.
He is the son of Nicholas Quails, a native of the Old Dominion, and
Ann ( Fahey) Quails, who was born in the Emerald Isle. The father, Nicholas,
removed from Virginia to Missouri in early days when the latter state was
one of the frontier states of the West, and in 1850. lured by California's
treasure of gold, wended his way still further westward across the plains
that intervened between that fair land of promise and his Missouri home.
Three years were spent in the gold mines of California before the elder
Quails again returned to Missouri, where he remained for the succeeding
thirteen years ere he again crossed the plains with ox teams in 1867 and
located in Ventura County, Cal, engaging in the bean-raising industry for
the next two years, and being one of the pioneer bean-raisers there. He
then located in Fresno County and ranched and raised sheep seven miles north
of Sanger on the Academy Road. In the early eighties he sold this ranch
and moved to a ranch three miles north of Sanger, now known as the Karren
ranch. Here he purchased 320 acres of land for $1,200 — in those days land
was cheap. This he sold later for thirty dollars per acre. He afterwards
owned a ranch of 480 acres, two miles north and one-half mile west of
Sanger, part of which he planted to vines. His death occurred in November,
1906, and Mrs. Quails died on May 13, 1919. He was a member of the Pres-
byterian ChurcrTand held the office of school trustee of the Fairview district.
His widow was his second wife, and he was the father of eleven children by
the two marriages, namely: James M.. of Seattle; William B., of the state of
Washington ; Mrs. W. J. Bonnifield, of Salinas, Cal., children by the first
marriage. Edward, a rancher of Clarks Valley, Fresno County; Mrs. F. T.
Eaton, of Williams, Cal.; Mary E., single, of Sanger; John M., postmaster at
Sanger; Daniel B., deceased; Mrs. Frank Perry, of Sanger; Robert: and
Maude, a teacher in the Fresno schools, children by the second marriage.
Tohn M. attended the public schools in Sanger and completed his educa-
tion in a business college at Stockton, and was with his father on the ranch
until twenty-five years of age. He then started farming on a forty-acre
ranch deeded him by his father, in the Fairview district. His ranch was
finely improved and planted to Thompson seedless, Malaga and Muscat
vines and peaches, with a border of fig trees, all of which he developed him-
self. This he sold in April, 1919.
a^u^CUc, (A^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1375
For four years he was field deputy for County Assessor Cummings. In
politics he is a Democrat. An active worker for his party, he worked in the
interests of the Democratic Central Committee and was indorsed by that
body for postmaster of Sanger. He was appointed by President Wilson and
took office in July, 1913. He has made a very competent official, conducting
his office in a business-like manner, and has many friends.
John M. Quails was united in marriage, on July 3. 1915. with Miss Elsie
Tippett, a native of California and a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth
(Jones) Tippett, the latter also a native daughter of the Golden State. Mrs.
Quails was a teacher in the grammar schools in Sanger prior to her mar-
riage. Mr. Quails is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South ;
has served as a member of the board of Fairview school district ; and also
served on the election board of that district. He was a member of the first
cooperative raisin-growers association and still has stock in the California
Associated Raisin Company, also in the California Peach Growers, Inc. He
is public-spirited, and much interested in the future possibilities of Fresno
County, and is held in high esteem by all who have the pleasure of his
acquaintance.
MRS. MARY E. HENDERSON.— A native daughter of the Golden
West, who has -many friends who appreciate her character and high ideals,
is Mrs-. Mary E. Henderson, the oldest daughter of the late Jasper Newton
Musick. She was reared on the old Musick ranch, in the happy and generous
environment typical of "the good old California days," and educated at the
Academy School, long one of the best-conducted institutions of its scope in
the State, under the able guidance of Prof. J. D. Collins.
On June 23, 1887, in the great boom year of California when the Pacific
Coast began to look up at the dawn of a new era, Miss Musick was married
to William H. Henderson, a native of Kansas who came to Fresno when a
young man and engaged in the mercantile business on Pine Ridge. After
their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Henderson continued in business there for a few
years, and then, selling out, they purchased land at Dinuba, which they im-
proved and made into a fine vineyard and orchard.
Selling out again, they came to Fresno, in which city Mr. Henderson
entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad ; and with that company
he continued until his health failed, and he had to give up his position. In
the prime of life, he passed away on February 11, 1911.
Four children blessed their union — one of whom, the third in the order
of birth, Lloyd, died at the age of fourteen. Pearl, Mrs. Dow, resides with
her mother ; William E. is a musician in Fresno ; and Ethel has become Mrs.
Johns, of the same city.
Mrs. Henderson makes her home at her old residence on Inez Street
where she is the center of an admiring circle. She is the administrator of the
old Musick ranch of 800 acres, her father's property, owned by her and
her sisters, which they lease for a stock ranch. She attends the Grace Meth-
odist Episcopal Church.
WILLIAM LUMLEY DAWSON.— A well-posted horticulturist and
viticulturist who is successfully discharging the double responsibility of oper-
ating both his father's ranch and his own, is William Lumley Dawson, who
was born in Arena, Iowa County, Wis., on July 6, 1872, since which time he
has been familiarly known to his many friends as Lumley. His grandfather,
William Dawson, came from Yorkshire, England, and was a pioneer of 1845.
He was a farmer and later served in the Union Army, where he was the head
bugler in his regiment. He fought well, and yielded his life during service
in defence of his adopted country. He had a son, John A. Dawson, and he
became the father of the subject of this sketch. William L. was born in the
same house as was his father, and reared in Wisconsin until the fall of 1891,
when he left for California. In the spring of the following year, he came to
1376 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Fresno County, and with this section his steady progress as rancher and cit-
izen has ever since been identified.
While attending school as a lad in Wisconsin, he had served his ap-
prenticeship at farming, and very naturally he gravitated toward the same
activity here. He bought twenty acres of land from the Vincent tract, which
he set out as a vineyard. He adapted himself to the new problems, and in
a short time had something worth seeing to show for his labor. The ranch
is located three miles southeast of Clovis and upon it he has built himself a
fine residence, and set out a small orchard. He is also leasing his father's
place of forty-five acres, which he runs as a vineyard and a peach orchard.
Mr. Dawson is also owner with his father and manager of eighty acres
one and a half miles east of his place, and there they are raising hay. The
son divides his time between the two undertakings ; but he never neglects the
interests of the California Associated Raisin Company of which he is a mem-
ber.
In the Garfield district, Mr. Dawson was married on November 16, 1899,
to Miss Edna Parkes, a native of Salida, Stanislaus County, and the daughter
of B. F. Parkes, the well-known California pioneer born in Burlington, Iowa,
1841. About 1861 B. F. Parkes braved the dangers and bore the hardships of
a trip across the plains. He was married at Salida to Elizabeth Elmore who
was born in Missouri and he farmed at Salida, then located in Garfield district,
Fresno County. Mr. and Mrs. Parkes now reside west of Fresno. Mr. and
Mrs. Dawson have one daughter, Alma, who has become a general favorite.
Mrs. Dawson has long been active in religious work, particularly in circles
of the Presbyterian Church ; but the attitude of both her husband and her-
self toward moving questions of the day is well known to all. Identified as
they are with the pioneer history of the state, they are strong advocates of
preserving such records where posterity may read and learn.
HANS J. JORGENSEN. — Two important facts are illustrated in the
life-story of Hans J. Jorgensen, who died in the fall of 1916, widely lamented
because of his sterling character and his successful and most useful career.
The one is that no man should neglect to provide for the rainy day which
may overtake his family if not himself, and that it is the part of highest wis-
dom to do what Mr. Jorgensen did — acquire something of value and put it in
that shape that others may find it serviceable. The other suggestive fact is
the desirability of every housewife who is the companion of a practical man
becoming experienced and practical also, and so being able, as Mrs. Jorgen-
sen has proven herself to be, to take charge of an estate, maintain it at a
high standard, and in the end realize even more than was formerly obtained
through the investment and its working.
Born in Fyen, Denmark, on December 24, 1865. the son of Peter Jorgen-
sen, a business man of Melleinhagen noted for his sagacity and sense of
honor, Hans was educated in the excellent public schools of his country,
and arriving at manhood, served his full time in the Danish army. In Den-
mark, too, on April 3, 1888, he was married to Miss Anna K. Hansen, a
native of Horslev, Fyen, Denmark, and the daughter of Jorgen and Marie
( Tensen) Hansen. Her father was a brick manufacturer who did service in
the Danish-German War of 1864-66, and who came to California, about May,
1892. The next year he died, survived by Mrs. Hansen, who made her home
with her daughter, Mrs. Jorgensen. until her death December 19, 1918, almost
eightv-one vears old. Of her children three boys and three girls grew up,
although but one boy and two girls are now living.
Having come to America and Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Jorgensen located
at Jackson, in May, 1888, and there they remained until the following August,
when they moved west to California and chose Fresno for their home. Their
decision was due to the presence here of one of Mrs. Jorgensen's brothers,
who assisted Mr. Jorgensen to make such connections that he easily entered
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1377
the vineyard business. He bought twenty acres in Wolter's Colony and
at once improved it so that he might grow vines and have an orchard of
pears and peaches ; and in the exploitation of that property he was engaged
for ten years. During this time he was also in the employ of the Fresno
Flume and Lumber Company, and it was then that his devoted and practical
wife showed her ability by running the ranch in her husband's absence. He
was really in the service of the aforesaid company nineteen years, and in
that long period Mrs. Jorgensen acquired an experience and knowledge of
the greatest possible value, while her husband demonstrated his fitness in
filling the post of tallyman for the company.
After selling the Wolters Colony place Mr. Jorgensen bought the prop-
erty now owned by his widow, twenty acres in the Helm Colony, three miles
southwest of Clovis, and there he built a fine residence and serviceable build-
ings, adding much to the worth of the home-place. Mrs. Jorgensen super-
intended the setting out of the malaga, Thompson and zinfandel vines. She
is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
Five children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Jorgensen, and all have
done well in their start in life. Marie, Julia and Laura are all graduates of
Heald's Business College at Fresno, and all are engaged in Fresno as stenog-
raphers ; while Ellen and Clarence are at home.
On September 2, 1916, Mr. Jorgensen died, in the fifty-first year of his
age, a consistent Lutheran, as is also his faithful companion. Since then Mrs.
Jorgensen has continued to manage the vineyard, and with marked business
ability she has made it more than ever an excellent producer. Mrs. Jorgensen
does not confine herself, however, to business affairs ; but she takes a proper
leadership in the ladies' society of the Dania, and never neglects an oppor-
tunity to do her full duty as a patriot in supporting every civic endeavor
worthy of endorsement.
BARZILLA E. HUTCHINSON.— A highly interesting pioneer who
came to Central California in the middle eighties and had such wonderful
success in horticulture that he soon became famous as "The Peach King,"
receiving wide recognition and various awards for his superior products, is
Barzilla E. Hutchinson, who was born near Cleveland, Ohio, on June 19, 1836,
where he attended the country schools. When he was thirteen years of age,
his parents moved to Lafayette, Ind., in which place his father established
a large market garden ; and while working there, Barzilla continued to attend
school. After that the Hutchinsons went to Mishawka, Ind., and from there
Barzilla moved to Big Rapids, Mich., and in that town for twelve years car-
ried on a furniture and merchandise store with a Mr. Van Lew as partner.
During his residence in Mecosta County, Mich., he served for five years as
under-sheriff, and he was the first city marshal of Big Rapids. He was ap-
pointed a charter member of Big Rapids Lodge of Masons, and he is now the
only living charter member of that organization.
After living in Iowa for a year. Mr. Hutchinson came to Fresno County,
in 1884, and took charge of "The Iowa Loan and Trust Co.," who owned a
half-section of land near Fowler. He developed that property, set out a vine-
yard and orchard, and began to buy land, acquiring by degrees until he
owned 160 acres. He was in time known as "The Peach King," and raised
the largest fruit in the State. He holds the record for raising the largest crop
of peaches and the largest peaches in size on a given piece of land in all Cal-
ifornia. Some of the peaches, for example, sent to Chicago for exhibition
weighed one pound each. He furnished the Fresno Chamber of Commerce
with exhibits of fruit and especially with grapes, although he raised oranges,
lemons, prunes and plums, as well as table grapes. Rather naturally, he be-
came a director and stockholder in the Fresno Fruit Growers Company, and
shipped through them ; and such were their relations on both sides that, dur-
ing all the years of their dealings, there was never a word of dissatisfaction.
1378 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
After living on his ranch near Fowler for over thirty years, he sold out
his interests and took up his residence at 1435 N Street, Fresno, on April
6, 1917. His first wife died, after two sons had been born to them: Charles C.
Hutchinson, who is with the Santa Fe Railway, and William Hutchinson,
now deceased. His second marriage occurred on October 10, 1896, the cer-
emony taking place on his ranch near Fowler, when he was united to a widow,
Mrs. M. L. Van Lew, a native of Pennsylvania; her husband had been Mr.
Hutchinson's partner in the furniture business at Big Rapids, and in that
way they had become acquainted. She took a very active part in the affairs
of Big Rapids, and for seven years she was under-sheriff (without pay) in
the benevolent department, doing good work. She came to Michigan in
pioneer days, and was an active member of the First Methodist Church, and
sang- in its choir. While in Fowler she was also one of the live members in
the women's club, "The Fowler Improvement Society."
In former years Mrs. Hutchinson invested largely in ranch land in Fowler,
and at one time owned five fruit ranches totalling over three hundred acres.
These were her own, and fortunate speculations ; but she has recently dis-
posed of her holdings, and being a good business woman, has done so to ad-
vantage. Her son, Kingsley Van Lew, is a resident of Oakland and was
for a number of years a prominent fruit grower on his ranch of 100 acres near
Malaga, Fresno County. Mr. Hutchinson, by-the-way, was at one time super-
intendent of the Briggs Canal Company, a position of responsibility in which
he was well able to show both his initiative and his power to develop on
rational lines.
In 1913 in Los Angeles Mr. Hutchinson fell from a street car, while in
the act of getting on. His spine was injured and he grew worse and worse
and never was a well man afterwards. He died at Livermore, May 11, 1919,
and was buried in the Cypress Lawn Cemetery beside his wife and oldest
son.
H. E. NORTON. — A successful farmer, operating according to the latest
scientific methods, and an able business man evidencing a good knowledge
of the world and every-day life, is H. E. Norton, who came to California in
January, 1893. He was born at Twinsburg, Summit County, Ohio, November
8. 1871, and his father, N. N. Norton, was born in the same place in 1844, and
so was the grandfather, Horace Norton, who was a farmer there, while N. N.
Norton became a wheelwright. During the Civil 'War he served in the
transportation department, and after that went in for farming. In 1878 he
removed to Schoolcraft. Kalamazoo County, Mich., where he engaged in the
hardware and implement business, but in lS^S he sold out and located in
Fresno County, Cal. He took up viticulture and had a vineyard of sixty
acres on White's Bridge Road and Johnson Avenue; and there he died, in
December, 1911, aged sixty-seven years. He had married Mary Cox, a native
of Ohio, and she passed away in June, 1912, at the old home here, the mother
of four children. Alta, now Mrs. Frank W. Stuart, resides in Schoolcraft,
and Alma, her twin-sister, lives in Fresno; Herman Earl is the subject of
this review; and Bernice is Mrs. W. S. Hinch of Fresno.
Brought up in .Michigan, H. E. attended the public schools at School-
craft and also the excellent high school there, from which he was graduated
in 1890, when he entered the Michigan Agricultural College at Lansing. At
the end of the year, he engaged in teaching, but soon after came west to
California. In January, 1893. he located in Fresno.
When he bought his first land, lie secured twenty acres on White's
Bridge Road, which he improved and farmed for six years ; and he also leased
lands and vineyards, and engaged in the raising of grain and grapes. In
1899 he entered the employ of the Pierce Lumber Company, for whom he
'^pAs
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1381
acted as officeman and bookkeeper; but in 1902 he resigned and entered into
partnership with Mr. Pierce in the purchase of a saw mill, forming the Peck-
inpah Lumber Company at North Fork, Madera County, and manufactured
lumber, which was hauled to Friant and shipped to Fresno.
In 1907 Mr. Norton sold his interest to the Pierce Lumber Company,
to engage in ranching; and having leased a ranch of 1,080 acres for two
years, he undertook the raising of grain, in which he was very successful.
He became interested in a tract which was called Tuttle's Colony, developed
water, put in a pumping plant, subdivided the land and sold it in small
parcels. It is now devoted mostly to the growing of figs and peaches.
In 1910 Mr. Norton moved back to Fresno County, and soon after he
purchased his present place of eighty acres on Kearney Avenue, ten miles
west of Fresno, which he has improved to alfalfa and peaches. He also has
charge for his sister, of the old home ranch. His long experience has given
him an enviable position among other successful ranchers, and with them
he has great faith in the future of Fresno County.
Mr. Norton was married in Fresno to Miss May Pierce, a native of
Iowa and the daughter of the late C. S. Pierce of the Pierce Lumber Com-
pany. She was reared and educated here, and has reared and helped educate
six of her own children — Mary Ellen, Charles N., Jack Earl, Robert Pierce,
James D. and Blanche Elizabeth.
A Republican in matters of national import, Mr. Norton has shown his
public spirit by serving as trustee of the Dunkard school district. He is
ruling elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Fresno, which he and his
family attend.
C. V. PETERSON. — Among the large number of self-made men in
Fresno County, few hold a higher place in the estimation of their fellowmen
than C. V. Peterson, usually called "Vic" Peterson, the rancher and vice-
president of the First National Bank of Fowler. He was born in Sweden,
the son of P. G. and Margaret Peterson, who immigrated to California and
settled one and a half miles west of Fowler where they bought land which
they immediately began to improve. C. V. Peterson was then barely eighteen
and he went to work, in a portion of the county which was then devoted to
grain. Having helped his parents plant their holdings, he became actively
engaged in developing and setting out vineyards for others. In this way,
he met Judge Stephen G. Nye of San Francisco, and J. B. Eliot, at that time
the business manager of the Chronicle, both owning large vineyards near
Fowler. He helped to set out the Nye Vineyard and continued to look after
that property for Judge Nye for fourteen years, and was an equally trusted
employee of Mr. Eliot during the same period.
When C. V. Peterson first came to Fresno there was not a paved street
in the city, while the farming land was mainly devoted to grain. By nature
he was well-qualified for the arduous task of establishing a home in a new
and untried environment.
The parents are now both deceased, but are remembered at Fowler as
generous, kind-hearted folks, who worked unremittingly for the welfare of
their children and community, and who, as consistent Christians, made no
effort to become wealthy, regarding life and good character as above the
so-called "Almighty Dollar." They encouraged all their children to start
in business for themselves even before reaching their majority ; and when
they laid down the responsibilities of life — the father died in 1911, at the
age of seventy, — and the mother in 1916, when seventy-three years old, after
she had continued, as the sole owner according to her husband's wish, to
manage their modest estate — she had the great satisfaction of seeing her
children well-established and living the lives of useful and honorable citizens.
When he was able, C. V. Peterson bought in 1889, a piece of raw land
situated west of Fowler. He soon had it planted to muscats and peaches
1382 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and thereby he became one of the pioneers in the fruit and raisin industry
at Fowler. In 1905, he bought his present home ranch situated one and a
half miles south and east of Fowler, upon which he resides and in 1906 he
began improving it to orchard and vineyard. He has continued to improve
it by constructing ditches for irrigation, digging wells, installing pumping-
plants and planting nut-trees on the outside.
In the important work of building a home, Mr. Peterson has been ably
assisted by his wife, who was formerly Miss Elsie May Pond, of Fresno,
and a daughter of Thomas Pond, one of the well-known residents of that
city. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have five children: Evelyn M., Victor Delmas,
John Darwin, Thomas Sherman and Luis M. They all attend the Presby-
terian Church at Fowler, of which they are members.
Mr. Peterson has become a principal stockholder of the First National
Bank of Fowler, and while interested in the success of said institution, and
serving as its vice-president, his greatest attachments are for his home and
the proper cultivation of his ranch. He delights in the growth and prosperity
of his district, and is ever ready to contribute in every way to the advance-
ment of the viticultural and horticultural interests here. One of the results
of his hard work is a healthy progressive spirit, which leads him to look far
ahead and makes him aggressive, as well as wisely conservative, in all that
he undertakes.
Mr. Peterson gives due credit to his talented wife for his success and
prosperity. In 1918 they built a fine country residence of brick and concrete,
in architectural beauty expressing the well-considered ideas of Mr. and Mrs.
Peterson, — ideas further evolved and materialized by E. AY. Peterson, archi-
tect and builder of Fresno. The "Vic" Peterson home is one of the hand-
somest, as it certainly is one of the best and most hospitable in Fresno
County.
Mr. and Mrs. Peterson are active and industrious, self-reliant and orig-
inal in their ways. Selfishness is kept in restraint, while the helping-hand,
actuated by a real desire to assist and uplift is ever-extended. They are
especially interested in the boys and girls. For more than ten years, Mr.
Peterson has given his best efforts to the up-building of the Fowler schools.
He is serving on the grammar school and high school boards, being chair-
man of the latter. He is chairman of the Y. M. C. A. at Fowler and also
chairman of the board of trustees of the Presbyterian Church. He can be
found in every good work, and wields a very positive influence for good.
He stands uncompromisingly for a dry and decent town and during the
World War served as Home Civilian in Red Cross work and took an active
part in each of the Liberty and Victory Loan drives.
LYLE H. SAY. — A popular citizen of Fresno County, and one who
may feel a natural pride in his association with, a pioneer family, is Lyle H.
Say, son of William Henry Say and grandson of the late James H. Say, both
of whom are referred to in greater detail elsewhere in this work. Thus it
has developed that the history of the Say family has been very closely inter-
woven with the progress of Selma.
Lyle Say was born on December 7. 1803. grew up on his father's ranch,
and in 1809, when six years old, accompanied his mother by the way of the
White Pass to the Klondike, where his father was then interested in mining,
with Clarence Berry and other Selma and California young men. He stayed
in the Klondike fourteen months, and then came back to Selma. where he
began to attend the Selma grammar school. Having pursued the courses of
study at the Selma High School, he was graduated with the Class of '13,
and then he spent three months at the Agricultural School of the Lniversitv
of California at Davis.
In January. 1014. he started to ranch, taking charge of one of his father's
farms; but when the call for volunteers came on August 15. 1017. he was
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1383
among the first to enlist in the Naval Reserve. He was sent to San Pedro
and assigned to the Light House tender "Sequoia," and later was transferred
to Mare Island, where he entered the mechanical school for machinists. On
August 23, 1918. he was placed in the regular submarine service, and in the
following October he was assigned to duty. He remained stationed at San
Pedro until February 1, 1919, when he was released subject to call.
Mr. Say was married on June 3, 1914. to Miss Ethel M., daughter of
Frank H. Stoker, of Parlier, whose sketch is to be found on another page
in this history. She has proven a valuable helpmate who has taken an active
part with her husband in war activities and in the purchase of liberty and
victory bonds. Mr. Say is a member of the Odd Fellows, in which order
he is a past noble grand, and is at present the Senior Warden in the Selma
Encampment. He is also past president of Selma Parlor, No. 107, N. S.
G. W., and acts as its treasurer. Mr. and Mrs. Say live on a fine ranch of
160 acres, devoted to a vineyard and apricots, four miles southwest of Selma,
and besides managing that place, he also cares for the extensive interests
of his father.
ROBERT LOCHEAD. — Freedom from ostentation combined with the
sterling qualities that are characteristic of his Scotch lineage are marked
characteristics of Robert Lochead, Fresno County's supervisor of the Second
District. The son of James and Jean (Walker) Lochead, the former a Pais-
ley shawl weaver, both are now deceased, Robert was born in Scotland,
November 12, 1855, in the County of Ayrshire, a section of country made
famous throughout the civilized world because of its association with the
name of Scotland's peerless poet, "Bobby" Burns, who so aptly said: "O,
wad some power the gif'tie gie us, to see oursels as ithers see us."
Robert Lochead acquired a good education in the schools of Scotland
and learned the trade of wood turning in that country. As a young man of
eighteen, he left home and traveled extensively, coming to the United States
in 1884, and locating in Iowa, he remained there three years. In 1887 he came
to California, and attracted by the possibilities of Fresno's future, located
here, and worked in the planing mills. In 1908, with others, he established
the Fresno Planing Mill Company, of which he was president until March,
1916, when he disposed of his interest in the plant. In November, 1916, he
was elected county supervisor from the Second District and is discharging
his official duties with his usual efficiency.
He established domestic ties by his marriage, December 31, 1890, with
Miss Carrie Fisher, and they have two children, son and daughter, James
and Inez. In politics Mr. Lochead affiliates with the Republican party and
fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
the Woodmen of the World. He has served as a school trustee in Fresno
and is a member of the Commercial Club and the Chamber of Commerce.
A. R. KERSTETTER.— As manager of the Grant Rock and Gravel
Company, with plants located at Friant, Fresno County, and Visalia, Tulare
County, A. R. Kerstetter, who was born at Elkhart, Ind., in 1882, has made
a name and place for himself in the world of business in California. His in-
terests are those of the company he is representing.
Mr. Kerstetter came to California in 1912, as a representative of the
Stone-Webster Company, of Boston, at Fresno, and after he had looked over
the country for a time, he saw the possibilities of building up a wonderful
business in his line. The Grant Rock and Gravel Company was incorporated
September 20, 1915; although it had been doing business in Fresno since
April of that year. Mr. Kerstetter was made secretary and manager of the
new corporation.
Their plant was started at Friant in April, 1915, and when completed
represented an expenditure of $150,000, and the output of the company found
ready market; in fact, such a demand for it grew that the company bought
1384 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and rebuilt another plant at Visalia, at a cost of $75,000. Over 300.000 tons
of rock was crushed by the company and disposed of in Kings, Tulare, Kern,
and Merced Counties in the construction of the State Highway. They fur-
nish rock and gravel for all kinds of building, among some of the structures
for which they furnished material are the Fresno State Normal School : the
Cory, Mason, Olender, and Federal buildings. On May 1, 1919, Mr. Kers-
tetter resigned his position and organized the Piedra Rock and Sand Com-
pany, manufacturers and dealers in crushed rock and sand, their business
extending -throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Mr. Kerstetter is president
and manager of the company, and has offices in the Mason Building.
Mr. Kerstetter was married in Montana to Miss Katherine Walters. He
is a member of Fresno Lodge, No. 439, B. P. O. Elks ; the Chamber of Com-
merce ; the Rotary and Commercial Clubs of Fresno.
R. W. EDMISTON. — A very successful rancher who has become a
large landowner with a fine record for developing and improving the same,
and who has contributed much toward the development of Fresno County
is R. W. Edmiston, a native of Arizona, where he was born on February 2,
1864. His father was Robert Edmiston, who was born in Chilicothe, Ross
County, Ohio, on January 16. 1836, and was a college graduate with a diploma
for civil engineering. After working as a railroad surveyor, he crossed the
plains to California in 1850, and for a time followed surveying and farming.
Then he returned East and, wishing to support the Federal Government in
its crisis, enlisted in the regular army and fought throughout the Civil War,
attaining the rank of lieutenant. During the latter part of the war he was in
the Indian campaigns, and was in charge of an Indian reservation in Arizona
until about 1865, when he came to Napa County, Cal.. and there established
himself as a civil engineer and farmer.
In April, 1869, Mr. Edmiston came to Fresno County and almost im-
mediately he discerned the great possibilities of the plains of Central Cali-
fornia if only water could be taken out of the Kings River and used for
irrigation. He confided his convictions to M. J. Church, whom he had known
in Napa County, and advised him to build what became the Church canal
system, for which Mr. Edmiston did all the early surveying.
Mr. Edmiston became the first settler on the plains in the Fairview
district, first as a grain farmer, and later as a horticulturist and a viticulturist.
he became a very important factor in the early development of this part of
the Golden State. He spent his last days with his son, the subject of our
sketch, and died on December 17, 1918. Mrs. Edmiston was Miss Anna
Magee before her marriage, and she was a native of Sugar Loaf, Orange
County, N. Y. She is still living at the home of her son, R. W. Edmiston.
and as one of the oldest settlers who did her part, she is the recipient of
the esteem and good will of all who know her. A daughter, Mrs. Anna A.
Barr of Fresno, is the other child.
R. W. Edmiston came to Fresno in 1869, although he had come to
California with his parents four years before. He was educated at the public
schools, and also at the San Jose State Normal, from which he was graduated
in 1884, and he finished with a course at the San Jose Business College, where
he was graduated in 1886. After that he returned to Fresno, took up farming
with his father, making a specialty of fruit raising, and remained at home
until he was twenty-three years of age.
Striking out for himself, Mr. Edmiston was a foreman in charge of
several large ranches; and then he bought a ranch near Academy. Selling
that, he bought in Kutner's Colony, then in Auberrv Valley, next in Round
Mountain and later in the Clovis district. He has been so active in the suc-
cessful manipulation of various properties that he has improved seventeen
different ranches, and has owned besides about fifteen others that had already
been improved. Among these was an orchard and vineyard in Round Moun-
tain that was a particularly attractive place. He has owned places not only
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1387
in Fresno County, but also in Merced, Madera, Tulare, and Kern Counties,
and from January to September, 1919. he bought and sold four different
ranches. He has title to a ranch of 320 acres in Madera County that he
intends to set out to malagas and Thompson seedless grapes. He is now
making his residence on his California Avenue vineyard three miles west
of Fresno, and it is his desire to improve his 320 acres so as to have it set
out to trees and vines. Mr. Edmiston is also active in establishing an irriga-
tion district in Madera County, to take the water from the San Joaquin River
by damming the river and so conserving the overflow.
At Round Mountain in 1908, Mr. Edmiston was married to Miss Mattie
Bacon, a native of Tonganoxie, Kans., by whom he has had four children:
Margery Alice, Ida Amelia, Robert Roosevelt and James Oscar Edmiston.
He believes in cooperation for fruit men, and is a member of the California
Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc. ; he
has never sued anyone, nor has he himself been sued. In national politics,
Mr. Edmiston is a Progressive Republican, but he is non-partisan in matters
of local import, and has found pleasure in serving as a trustee of the' schools
in every district where he has been a resident, and believes in physical, as
well as mental education. Fraternally, he is a Woodman of the World.
Mr. Edmiston believes in the future of the great San Joaquin Valley
lands and takes pleasure in producing crops to aid in the maintenance of
the peoples of the world. He believes that parents should so shape their
affairs as to give their children encouragement and inducement to stay at
home on the ranch ; he does not believe they should wait until they are of
age to be given, or promised a piece of land, but as soon as they can under-
stand and appreciate it, they should be given every encouragement in order
that they may become better men and women.
MRS. AMERICA FRANCES YANCEY.— That women have made a
positive success in practically every field of life, and even in those under-
takings requiring capacity and experience for which men used to be regarded
as alone equipped, is demonstrated in such a story as that of Mrs. America
Frances Yancey, long identified with one of the well-known hostelries of
California. She is the daughter of Judge Gillum Baley, a native of Illinois,
where he was born not far from Springfield, on June 19, 1813. He died in
November, 1895. Her mother was Permelia Eleanor Meyers before her mar-
riage, and she was born in West Tennessee on June 22, 1819. Their marriage
took place in Missouri, and in that State, before he came West to California,
Mr. Baley was engaged in farming and stock-raising. He was also judge
there for a couple of years ; and the reader will recall that Missouri court
decisions in those days generally meant a short-cut to justice.
In 1849 her father crossed the great plains with two of his brothers, and
at once went to mining, continuing in that hazardous enterprise until 1851,
when he returned to Missouri. After seven years more in the Iron State, he
started again to cross the continent hoping once more to enjoy the good
things of this promised land. He started in a caravan of ox teams, but when
the party reached the Colorado River, they were robbed by the Indians. He
therefore put back to Albuquerque, N. M., and remained there ten months.
A new mule-team party was later made up and, joining it, Mr. Baley came
to California by way of Yuma.
In December, 1860, he reached Visalia, and soon came on to Fort Miller
in Fresno County. He located at the town of Millerton, and again tried his
luck at mining—this time along the San Joaquin River. He- followed mining
up to 1866, when he was elected County Judge, and that high office he held
for twelve years, serving the last term in Fresno where both he and his wife
passed away. He was also County Treasurer for a couple of years. At one
time he bought a grocery store, but in the spring of 1898 he sold it again. In
1388 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the same town he ran a boarding house for a number of years, Mrs. Baley
being an experienced housewife and manager.
Airs. Yancey was born in Platte County, Mo., on September 30, 1840, and
came with her parents to California and Fresno County; and while en route
to California she was married in New Mexico, on September 9, 1859, to Au-
gust Block, a native of Nockel, Prussian Poland, who was journeying to Cal-
ifornia with the Judge Baley train. Mr. Block died on March 15, 1864, having
followed farming until his death, leaving two children : Minnie, who married
Thomas Dean, and died in San Francisco; and William, who makes his home
with Mrs. Yancey.
Later, in July, 1865, Mrs. Block married Charles Abraham. Yancey, a
native of Yirginia who came to California in 1854 and followed mining and
teaming, continuing in that line until 1868. The first of August in that year,
Mr. and Mrs. Yancey opened the Toll House, the first hotel in that section;
and while managing that he also engaged in farming and stock-raising. Mr.
Yancey passed away on July 23. 1911, and the responsibilities he had cheer-
fully borne then devolved upon the brave woman who had been so truly a
helpmate. Like Mr. Block and. indeed like Mr. Pialey. Mr. Yancey left behind
him an enviable record as citizen, neighbor and husband.
Mr. and Mrs. Yancey, through their generosity and kindness, endeared
themselves to every one and were familiarly known as Uncle Abe and Aunt
Frank, and to this day Mrs. Yancey is addressed as Aunt Frank. By her
marriage to Mr. Yancey she had two children: Mrs. Virginia E. ALUs, who,
with her husband, now runs the Toll House; and Alax LL, engaged in gen-
eral merchandising at Tollhouse.
Since her husband's death. Airs. Yancey continues to live at Tollhouse,
having turned the management of the hotel over to her daughter. Airs. Vir-
ginia Mills. Aside from her Tollhouse ranch of over 700 acres, she with ATrs.
ALUs and her nephew, Robert AI. Johnson, own the Johnson ranch of 1.000
acres in the Pine Ridge School district, which is well watered and wooded
and an ideal ranch for stock-raising, and on this place Airs. Yancey enjoys
spending her summers. She is an old-timer, and it is interesting to hear her
tell of early-day events.
N. P. NIELSEN. — To the permanent settlement of California, the
citizenship of European countries has made heavy contributions, especially
is this true of Denmark.
N. P. Nielsen, the subject of this sketch first saw the light of day near
Viborg, Jutland, Denmark, on July 28, 1872, his parents being P. C. and
Hannah Nielsen, also natives of .Denmark, and whose family consisted of
eight children, six of whom are living, two being residents of Fresno County:
N. P., and his brother P. C. His parents were farmers, the father being
deceased, while his widow is still living. N. P. Nielsen was reared to a
farmer's life, receiving a good education in the public schools. Having com-
pleted the local schools he learned the grocery business at Sparkar. con-
tinuing for a period of five years when, having decided to come to California,
he quit and made his way, arriving at Fresno on September 1. 1801. Here
he worked in both vineyard and orchard and soon learned the art of viti-
culture and horticulture and then became superintendent of ranches which
he followed for three years, and then he purchased twenty acres which he
improved and sold in 1904.
Air. Nielsen then bought his present forty-acre ranch on which he has lived
since 1904; at that time it was unimproved, but today it is a highly culti-
vated and productive ranch, improved with appropriate buildings and is
devoted to raising- grapes that yield on an average one and one-half tons of
raisins per acre of malaga, Thompsons and muscats as well as peaches
and. oranges. Air. Nielsen is an enterprising rancher and by hard work, per-
sistency of purpose, thrifty habits and a definite aim, he has surmounted
difficulties and gained substantial success.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1391
In 1900, Mr. N. P. Nielsen took a trip to his native land which proved
a pleasant respite after years of hard toil in his adopted country. His vaca-
tion lasted a year and the most pleasant remembrance of it was the winning
of the affections of Miss Katie Andersen, born in Copenhagen, who immi-
grated to the United States the following year and became his wife in 1902.
Of this happy union two sons were born : Earl C. and Carl J. June 16,
1914, Mr. Nielsen was bereft of his loving companion and the children of a
devoted mother.
Fraternally, N. P. Nielsen is a member of the Danish Brotherhood, and
is highly respected by a large circle of friends in his community.
P. C. Nielsen is also a native of Denmark, where he was born in 1877,
and came to California in 1901. In the year 1904 he was united in marriage
with Miss Metha M. Sorensen, a native of Schlesvig, who immigrated to the
United States in 1902. One daughter, Allie has come to bless and brighten
the home circle of Air. and Mrs. P. C. Nielsen.
N. P. Nielsen has always supported all cooperative movements of the
fruitmen and is a member and stockholder of the California Associated Raisin
Company and California Peach Growers, Inc. He is a trustee of the Fairview
school district.
OLEN LEE EVERTS.— The Everts family, represented in Fresno by
Olen Lee Everts, a prominent attorney, was a distinguished one of New
England. The first of the name to seek a new location was Gustavus Everts,
St., who came as far west as Indiana, settling at La Porte, where he followed
farming. He was also a resident of Ohio for a time, and in that state his
son, Gustavus A., the father of Olen Lee, was born. Gustavus A. settled in
Putnam County, 111., in young manhood, and was engaged in farming until
his removal to La Porte, Ind., where he continued the same calling. In
1884 he removed to California, and at Fresno engaged in the real estate
business until a year before he died, in 1897. at the age of sixty-three years.
He was a Mason and politically adhered to the policies of the Democratic
party, in whose interests he served one term as public administrator of
Fresno County. His wife, formerly Rena Newport, was born in Bureau
County, 111., the daughter of P. N. Newport, an extensive farmer and large
landowner of that county. Mrs. Everts died in Illinois early in life.
The only child of his parents, Olen Lee Everts was born in Putnam
County, 111., February 11. 1870, and, after the death of his mother, went to
Kewanee, 111., where he made his home with an aunt, Mrs. H. E. Woodruff.
He attended the public schools and in time was graduated from the Kewanee
high school. In 1887 he came to Fresno County, Cal., and was engaged in
the real estate business with his father. Before he came west, Mr. Everts
had read law during his vacations and the desire to make that profession his
life-work was so strong that in 1889 he returned east, and became a student
in the law department of the University of Michigan, two years later
graduating with the degree of LL.D. The year previous he had been ad-
mitted to the bar of Michigan. During his college life he was a member of
the Phi Delta Phi fraternity. Upon his return to California, Mr. Everts was
admitted to the bar of the Golden State and at once opened offices in the
First National Bank Building at Fresno and ever since then has practiced
law in this city. In 1893 he formed a partnership with David S. Ewing, the
firm being known then as Everts & Ewing, the same as it is today, and as
such has won distinction at the bar of the state, and a place among the prom-
inent attorneys of Fresno ; it is one of the earliest established law firms
in the San Joaquin Valley.
A Democrat in his political convictions, Mr. Everts was elected to the
office of District Attorney of Fresno County in 1898, he took the oath of office
the following January and served until January. 1903. During his term in
this important position more than 500 criminal cases in the superior court
of the county, many of them bitterly contested, were handled by his office,
1392 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and the court records, showing the percentage of convictions in the number
of cases tried, bespeak the ability and energy displayed by Mr. Everts in
the interests of the people. The discharge of his duties was so efficient
that he won the commendation of the citizens of Fresno County, regard-
less of party affiliations. Mr. Everts thereupon resumed his practice with
his partner. Mr. Ewing. For three successive terms, he has, with his partner,
represented the public administrator of Fresno County. This enterprising
firm is attorney for various banking institutions in the San Joaquin Valley,
and for other corporations of like character. A great deal of oil litigation
also has been handled by this firm.
The law firm of Everts & Ewing easily ranks as one of the foremost
in the San Joaquin Valley. In the case of Zibbell vs. the Southern Pacific
Railway Company, they secured a verdict for $100,000 damages, the largest
amount ever recovered for personal injuries anywhere. This verdict was
settled for $92,745.65 on the 24th of July, 1911. 'Mr. Everts has conducted
defenses in many noted murder cases, among these the case of People vs.
Orlean Howe, which attracted nation-wide attention. While this firm
numbers among its clients many banking, oil, and other large corporations,
it does a general law-business, and the individual client obtains the ad-
vantage of its long and successful experience in legal matters, as well as the
careful personal attention of the members of the firm.
In Kewanee, 111., Mr. Everts was united in marriage, on November 1,
1892, with Flora Maul,' a daughter of Frank Maul, a merchant of that city.
One child has blessed this union, Frank Gustavus Everts, now a young man
twenty-two years of age. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
He had taken one year of law in the University when, in April, 1917, he volun-
teered for the United States Armv, and received a commission as First
Lieutenant in Companv C. 145th Machine Gun Battalion of the Fortieth
Division, and while in France received his Captaincy of that Company, and
at this time is still serving in France.
Fraternally O. L. Everts is a Mason, having been made a Mason in
Kewanee Lodge, No. 159, A. F. & A. M. ; he belongs to Trigo Chapter, No.
69, R. A. M., having served as High Priest, and also belongs to Fresno
Commandery, No. 29, K. T. ; Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S"; and is also
a member of Fresno Lodge, No. 186, I. O. O. F., the Modern Woodmen of
America, and the Independent Order of Foresters. As an enterprising and
liberal citizen, Mr. Everts takes a most active interest in all that tends to
promote the general welfare of the people and county. He is a member of
the Commercial, Sequoia, University, and Country Clubs, also of the
Chamber of Commerce, and of the County and State Bar Associations.
JOHN HENRY BURNETT.— An esteemed citizen of Fresno who has
made his influence felt in manufacturing circles of the state, is John Henry
Burnett, owner and proprietor of the Burnett Iron Works, the largest foun-
dry and structural steel plant in the San Joaquin Valley. He was born at
Hellston. Cornwall, England, December 10, 1859, a son of Evan Burnett, a
native of Truro, England. His grandfather, Evan Burnett, was a native of
Wales and an iron moulder by trade, being engaged in that business at Truro.
John Henry's father, also named Evan Burnett, was engaged in the foundry
business at Truro, and later at Hellston. He came to the United States in
1867, and for three years followed his trade in Chicago, then came to Cal-
ifornia in 1870 and was engaged with the L^nion Iron Works at San Francisco
for several years. He died at his home in Alameda at the age of seventy-six
years. His wife, formerly Catherine Rule, was a native of Red Ruth, England,
a daughter of Captain Jack Rule, who was superintendent of the gas plant at
Red Ruth, where his death occurred. Mrs. Burnett died in Alameda on Jan-
uary 25, 1905, aged eighty-five years. There were fifteen children born of
this union, eight of whom reached their majority, and three boys and one
girl are living as follows: Mrs. J. J. Atkins of Alameda; Evan, proprietor
ui^o^^c ($£• /<d^4>^c&^y
1396 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
their four children, but two grew up : Mrs. J. A. Darby of Stockton, who had
two sons in the World War ; and Mrs. Burnett. The latter was educated at
the Academy and is well-versed in the early history of Fresno County. She
is an active member of the Fresno County Pioneer Society.
Mr. and Mrs. Burnett became the parents of two daughters, Maude E.,
Mrs. Roy Pugh of Fresno, and the mother of a son, Jack Montgomery Pugh ;
and Winnifred, who died at the age of seven years.
Mr. Burnett is prominent in fraternal circles and is a member of the
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He
was made a Mason in Las Palmas Lodge, F. & A. M., Fresno, and is a mem-
ber of the Royal Arch Chapter; the Commercial Club, Chamber of Com-
merce, and is an officer of the Humane Society. Politically he is a stanch
Republican. Mr. Burnett is recognized as one of the upbuilders of Fresno
County where the most active years of his life have been spent, and where
he has won a large circle of friends and business associates. He is fond of
hunting and fishing and each year he goes into the mountains and is familiar
with every part of the county. He built his residence at Ninth and Mono in
1898 and improved the grounds, which comprise a city block.
EDWARD EARL SLATER.— An enterprising Californian who has be-
come deservedly prominent because of his leadership in various movements
for the building up of his section, and especially on account of his beneficent
activity in favor of an irrigation project whereby the people may handle the
business of their own water-supply, is E. E. Slater, president and manager
of the Kern Pucheu Oil Company, who resides at Tranquillity. He was born
at Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio, March 4, 1878, the son of Joseph Slater,
a native of Staffordshire, England, from which country the elder Slater came
with his parents, when he was fifteen years old, to the United States and
Ohio. Grandfather Slater was an early settler in the Hocking Valley, where
Joseph grew up in the coal region and became a self-made man interested in
the coal industry. In time he became one of the largest coal operators, as
well as one of the oldest in the Hocking Valley, having his headquarters for
many years at Nelsonville. There he was one of the organizers of the John-
son Bros. Coal Company ; and when he sold his interest in that concern, he
started the Maple Hill Coal Company, which became one of the most exten-
sive coal managements in all that region. He was also interested in the
Keever Starch Company, of Columbus, Ohio, and the Scioto Stone Company,
at the same place ; and he was a partner with C. L. Kurtz in mining in
Guanaxuato, Mexico. An energetic Democrat, he was a councilman in Nel-
sonville, and a member of the Water Commission ; and he was a prominent
Mason, Knight Templar and Shriner. He chose for his wife and life-compan-
ion Barbara Ann Coulter, and she was born at Logan in Hocking County,
the daughter of John A. Coulter, a native of Pennsylvania, and a manufac-
turing cooper. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Slater are still living, the parents of
five boys and a girl, among whom Edward Earl is the second eldest.
Alter graduating from the Nelsonville high school. E. E. Slater entered
the Ohio State University at Columbus and there studied until he joined his
father in business. He was made superintendent and manager of the coal
mines and stores at Nelsonville. ami in that capacity he served with excep-
tional ability until his father sold out and located in Columbus. Then he
entered the employ of the Keever Starch Company, as a traveling salesman
in the East, introducing starch, and later solicited for the Columbus Public
Service Electric Light and Heating Company, established by his father,
purveyors of electric light and heat. After that, for several years, he was a
wholesale coal merchant at Columbus.
In 1910, Mr. Slater became interested with his father in 163 acres of
land at Tranquillity, Cal., and he sold his Ohio holdings to move to Califor-
nia. He leveled and checked the land for alfalfa, and erected the necessary
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1399
buildings and made other improvements. He also leased land and raised
grain. The property owned by Mr. Slater was reclaimed land at time of
purchase, and it was owing to his short residence in this state and his igno-
rance of irrigation laws of California that led him to sign up with the San
Joaquin Valley Farm Lands Company to put their land into a reclamation
district, thus subjecting them to frequent assessments. Upon investigation
he found that conditions were different than he had been led to believe and
he got out a remonstrance, took the matter before the board of supervisors,
who set the reclamation project aside and gave him permission to organize
an irrigation district, which he did. The result was, after careful study, that
he originated the idea of a water-supply project and was successful in getting
the irrigation district established under the Wright Law. He carried the
election to go on with the work, and was elected by the people as their asses-
sor, collector and treasurer. This project has been the making of the district,
so that Mr. Slater feels well repaid for all the labor in connection with the
matter.
Mr. Slater was also clerk of the board of trustees of the Grammar School
for six years, and he first proposed that a Union High School be established,
and a building therefor be erected. Indeed, he was made president of the
board of directors. He was always interested in the Pine Flat scheme for
the conservation of water, and was elected a member of the executive com-
mittee having the matter in charge. In 1918 he was the candidate for super-
visor against the present incumbent, and he came within twenty-four votes
of being elected.
Mr. Slater promoted and sold the stock in the new bank, known as the
First National Rank of Tranquillity, which opened its doors for business on
August 20. 1919, in temporary quarters until their new and modern bank-
building, costing $20,000, is completed. The community felt the need of a
local bank to handle the business, which had grown to such proportions that
it was very unhandy to handle transactions at long distances, which caused
delay and expense to the customers, and in consequence Mr. Slater put his
shoulder to the wheel and started an institution that will reflect to his credit
in the future. The bank is capitalized at $50,000. and the officers of the
concern are : E. E. Slater, president ; J. E. Tuttle, first vice-president ; W. J.
Williams, second vice-president; A. S. Fuqua, cashier. These gentlemen,
together with J. N. Daniel, C. F. Goodrich, K. O. Whitson and John Davis,
make up the efficient board of directors. All of these men have been promi-
nent and progressive citizens of this section for a number of years and have
the entire confidence of the people of this part of Fresno County.
During the various Liberty Loan drives of the war period Mr. Slater
was chairman of the committee for the Tranquillity district, and it was
through efficient organization of his forces that the district went "over the
top" in record time in each drive,' as they did in the Thrift Stamp sales and
all other allied drives in Fresno County.
While at Nelsonville, Mr. Slater was married to Miss Celia Anna Dane,
a native of Hocking County, and a charming lady who has done much to
make him successful. Mr. and Mrs. Slater attend the Methodist Church.
Mr. Slater brought his nephew, Donald C. Slater, out to California, sent him
to the Fresno High, from which he graduated. He then enlisted in the
United States Navy, and was one of the boys from the Fresno High that
was selected to go to Stanford, where he studied under the direction of the
government, until the armistice was signed and he received his discharge.
Always popular in whatever circle he has moved, Mr. Slater is a member
of the Knights of Pythias of Mendota, and the Columbus Chapter. No. 37.
of the B. P. O. Elks, and he belongs to the Fresno Eagles. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Slater have a host of friends who are glad that they were drawn, as
by the beckoning of Destiny, to Tranquillity.
1400 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
WILLIAM A. COLLINS. — Aside from the honors associated with the
office of county supervisor, Mr. Collins has the distinction of being a native
son of Fresno County. Not only has he been instrumental in the upbuilding
of the county, but his father, J. D. Collins, was also actively identified with
public work, being well known as an educator and a former sheriff of the
county, a sketch of whom will be found on another page in this history.
William A. Collins was born August 6, 1877, at Dry Creek, Fresno County.
His education was gained in the public schools and the high school, after
which he pursued a business course. Upon the completion of his schooling,
he tried a venture in which only a young man of pioneer grit and determina-
tion could have succeeded. Out near Sanger he took up a tract of 800 acres
of raw land. To the hard task of improving it, he devoted all of his time and
the energy and ambition with which he was abundantly blessed. Years of
industry have carried the days of worry into a remote past, and now Mr.
Collins can view with pleasure his successful achievements. Instead of bar-
ren waste, he now owns a fine tract of cultivated ground, producing grapes
and various fruits.
Since making a study of political questions, Mr. Collins has been identi-
fied with the Democratic party, and while he personally superintends the
management of his ranch, he is still able to devote the necessary time to the
office of county supervisor, to which he was elected, first in 1912. and re-
elected, in 1916, for a second term of four vears. This honor demonstrates
how capably he has looked after the interests of the people. Since being a
member of the board he has been chairman of the County Farm and Fair-
grounds committee, during which time the Farm has been brought to its
present high state of efficiency. He is a charter member of the California
Associated Raisin Company, and representative of the commissioners in the
Raisin Day Festival since 1913. The Methodist Church receives his hearty
support.
Mr. Collins' marriage occurred December 4, 1901, when Miss Myrtle
Nelson became his wife. She is the granddaughter of Major T. P. Nelson,
a well-known citizen of Fresno, and is proud of the fact that she is a native
daughter. They have four children: James P., Thelma, Myrtle and Mary E.
EMMETT RIGGINS.— A building contractor who believes in doing
things, and whose work, therefore, evident on every hand in the leading
structures of Fresno and vicinity, speaks for him in no uncertain terms, is
Emmett Riggins. who was born in Missouri on January 10. 1862. His father
was George W. Riggins, and he married Miss Ann Dean. Both parents,
having faithfully completed their earthly tasks and enjoyed the measure of
days allotted them, in which they had the highest esteem of their fellow-
townsfolk, are now dead. Growing up in Missouri, Emmett was sent to the
public schools of his district, and later, to satisfy his ambition for learning,
he attended the State University at Columbia, and there prepared himself for
his later success in the world.
Putting aside his books for a while, he was apprenticed to the coach-
building trade; and having served his time, he worked as a journeyman for
several years. In 1886, however, he cast loose from his Missouri moorings and
came West ; and landing on both feet at the start, in a couple of years, he was
well-established as a contractor.
The year 1888 found him moving into Fresno, then only a village, and
yet even at that time an attractive place that anyone could see was full of
promise. He at once engaged in building, and many of the early structures
of the town, particularly the building blocks, were erected by him and after
his designs. For a while he was in partnership with a Mr. Rehan, now de-
ceased, and then he joined E. A. Palmer of Fresno and assisted him in carry-
ing out his notable work in the San Joaquin Valley.
Among the edifices he thus built, adding much to the architectural
attractiveness and modern convenience of the neighborhood, mav be men-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1403
tioned the Hughes Block, the Braly Building, the Chance Building, the Kut-
ner Building, the Fulton Hotel, and the Cory Building. He remodelled the
First National Bank, working there a very agreeable renovation, and he
had the contract for the new six-story, reenforced concrete Mason Block.
But Mr. Riggins has done much more than erect some of the most strik-
ing business structures in this and neighboring towns. Repeatedly his taste
and experience have been called for to help create of Fresno the City Beauti-
ful. He has therefore designed and put up many of the most ornate private
residences in Central California ; nor can one doubt, who has followed the
steady display of his ability, that his resources in invention or execution ever
will fail, however rapid or extensive may be the development of the city.
NATHAN HENRY HAYS.— A California vineyardist who resides near
Clovis, one of the most promising sections in Fresno County, is Nathan Henry
Hays, whose career has been advanced through the companionship and in-
spiration of his wife. He was born in Stephenson County, 111., December
2, 1850, the son of Amos Hays, who came from Ohio and in his native state
married Mary Howe, also an Ohioan, whose ancestors had an honorable
part in the Revolutionary War. In time the father removed to Stephenson
County, and in 1856 to Mineral Point, Wis., where he was a farmer. Then he
removed back to Ohio for five years, and returning to Wisconsin died there
at the age of eighty-six. Mrs. Hays had passed away in Wisconsin, the
mother of two boys and four girls, of whom one boy and two girls are living.
A brother of our subject, D. J. Hays, settled in Fresno County and bought a
vineyard at Easton ; and returning to Fresno he died there in 1915.
Brought up in Wisconsin, Nathan Henrv attended the public schools
there and when seventeen returned to Bethel, Claremont, County, Ohio, where
he continued his schooling. Arriving at the age of twenty-two he found him-
self once more in Wisconsin, and there he engaged in farming.
On December 19, 1877, Mr. Hays was married at Willow Springs, La
Fayette County, to Miss Emily Cork, a native of Staffordshire, England, and
the daughter of Hugh and Ann (Brough) Cork, who had been born in that
section. Her father was a tailor and later a Methodist minister, and in 1869
he brought his family across the ocean to Mineral Point. There he was a
clergyman and also at Shullsburg and other places, and in time he came to
California. He died at Modesto in his seventy-sixth year. Mrs. Cork died
in Wisconsin. The couple had nine children, five of whom are still living.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hays remained in La Fayette County for
twelve years, during which time they were actively engaged in farming. De-
siring, however, to live in a milder climate they sacrificed what they had and,
in 1889 came west to California ; and being impressed with the superior ad-
vantages of Fresno, three months later they bought forty acres of alfalfa land
in Easton and made plans to settle there.
In the fall of 1890 Mr. Hays bought his present place of sixty acres. It
was stubble land when he entered upon it, but he immediately began im-
provements and set it all out as a vineyard. He had built a residence on the
Easton ranch in 1895, but he later disposed of that and now resides here. In
1900 he built a fine residence on his present place, and now he has forty acres
of vineyard with muscat and Thompson vines and the balance is in peach
orchards and alfalfa, the whole conveniently situated three miles southeast
of Clovis. He is an active member of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany and the California Peach Growers, Inc.
Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hays, and eight have
reached maturity. Mabel, who is a graduate of a business college at Fresno,
is now Mrs. O. C. Coddington. and lives in Los Angeles ; Ressie, who grad-
uated from the San Jose State Normal school and was a teacher, is the wife
of C. R. Reyburn, of Enterprise Colony ; Ray W. Hays was a Captain of a
Company in the 362d Regiment, 91st Division and served through all the
1404 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
campaigns in France and Belgium. He has been a well-known attorney of
Fresno, having graduated from the school of law of the State University:
Gertrude was also a teacher, a graduate of the Fresno Normal, and is now
Mrs. W. C. Schlein, of Fresno ; John was in the United States Army, stationed
at Schofield Barracks, Honolulu, then was at Camp Dodge, Iowa; when mus-
tered out he was a sergeant; Loverne, having graduated from the Clovis High
School, is now a student in the University of California ; while Pearl is a
graduate of the Clovis High School. Percy died April 23, 1901, aged twenty.
Mr. Hays is a Republican in national politics and has shown his advo-
cacy of serving his fellowmen in local civic work by acting as trustee, for
nine years, of the Jefferson School district ; and during that time the school-
house was built. He is a member of the Christian Church at Clovis, and also
of the Fraternal Brotherhood. He was made a Mason in Mineral Point Lodge,
No. 1, A. F. & A. M., thirty-three years ago, and is now connected with the
Clovis Lodge, No. 417 F. & A. M. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hays are members of
Concordia Chapter, No. 320, O. E. S., in which Mrs. Hays is worthy matron.
He joined the Odd Fellows in Ohio forty-seven years ago, and is still a mem-
ber of Mineral Point Lodge, No. 1, in Wisconsin. Search where you may it
would be difficult to find two more useful members of developing society
than Mr. and Mrs. Hays who have entered so heartily into Central Califor-
nia life.
ARTHUR E. WEBB. — A prominent banker of Fresno County, who
has always had the best interests of his community as his first consideration
is Arthur E. Webb, president of the First National Bank of Coalinga, who
came to the town in 1890. He was born in London, England, and was edu-
cated in the public schools of that city. Then he entered a jewelry house in
the metropolis, with which he continued until 1890.
Stirred with the spirit of adventure, Mr. Webb struck our for the United
States, and after a short time spent in New York, crossed the continent to
California. A relative of his, A. P. May. had located in Coalinga a few years
before, and that led Mr. Webb to come here, also. He located on a home-
stead of 160 acres on the West Side, and there he continued for three years.
Then he accepted a position as clerk in the store of Simon Manasse, a
pioneer merchant of Coalinga, commencing in the period before oil was dis-
covered in commercial quantities, and he worked through January, 1896,
when Chanslor & Canfield started their oil development. Mr. Webb then
started as a merchant on Front Street, the business being conducted under the
name of A. E. Webb ; and when, six months later, A. P. May became a part-
ner, the firm name was changed to Webb & May. At a later date Mr. Webb
sold his interest to Mr. May, after which, for two years, he became an oil
operator, and was interested in the Kreyenhagen Land & Oil Company,
giving it his personal attention ; but it did not prove a financial success, and
he lost what he had accumulated.
Once more Mr. Webb turned to the sale of merchandise ; and again he
made such a success that he purchased the northeast corner of Fifth and E
Streets and erected there a frame store building, stocked it with merchandise.
and soon had built up a large business and developed the enterprise into a
modern department store. He was in business for twelve years, and during
that time built the Webb Block, a two-story brick structure, 100x150 feet
in dimension. In 1912 he sold his goods and quit the merchandise trade, to
devote his time to real estate and banking interests.
Mr. Webb was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of
Coalinga, in 1908, served as a director and vice-president from the start;
and in 1914 he became president and manager, a position he now fills to
the satisfaction of all having both the interests of that institution and the
town at heart. The bank was originally located in the Webb Block, but
in 1916 it was consolidated with the Bank of Coalinga, retaining the name
of the First National Hank, but occupying the quarters of the Bank of Coal-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1405
inga, at the northwest corner of Fifth and E Streets. Its capital stock is and
always has been $50,000, and its surplus now amounts to over $30,000. In
January. 1916, both banks had deposits to the amount of $785,000. and now
the First National Bank's deposits are over a million and a half dollars.
Undeterred by his former experiences, Mr. Webb is now interested in
the Lucile Oil Company, and also the Elaine Oil Company, being president
of the latter ; and he is also concerned in the development of other oil proper-
ties, and has been engaged in buying and selling oil lands, in which he has
met with gratifying success for himself and others.
In Fresno, Mr. Webb was married to Miss Clara Ochs, a popular lady
of that city, and two children have blessed their union — George Arthur and
Dorothy. The family attend the Christian Science Church. Mr. and Mrs.
Webb actively participated in war work; he has been chairman of the Coal-
inga Chapter of the Red Cross from its organization, and was chairman of
all the Liberty Loan drives here, and in each case Coalinga went over and
beyond the top. He served as district chairman here for the Fuel Adminis-
tration. Mr. Webb is a Republican in national politics ; for six years he
served as a non-partisan member of the board of city trustees, and for two
years of that time was president of the board. He was made a Mason in
Coalinga Lodge. No. 347, F. & A. M.. and is a member of the Chapter and
Commandery in Hanford, and Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. in San Fran-
cisco, and is a member of the Eastern Star in Coalinga. He is a member and
a director of the Coalinga Chamber of Commerce.
A. T. LINDGREN. — How impossible it would have been for any young
and struggling municipality such as Kingsburg to develop and permanently
and successfully establish itself without the advice and substantial aid of
such institutions as its banks only those can realize when they know what,
through the wise and generous cooperation of such concerns, has at last
been accomplished. It is safe to say that nothing has proven so much the
heart and mainspring of a new and ambitious community as has a live bank ;
and since the establishment here of the First National Bank of Kingsburg,
this city has been reenforced to an extent not accorded every would-be city
trying to get onto the map. This admirable financial institution owes its
success, aside from the cordial welcome and support given it by the public
since its start, largely to the exceptional staff of officers with which it has
been manned ; and none among them, perhaps, deserves more credit for
hard, steady work in the building up of both bank and, consequently, the
town, than A. T. Lindgren. its cashier and one of the directors.
He was born in Lindsborg, McPherson County, Kans., on February 10,
1872, the son of S. P. Lindgren, who was one of the three founders after
whom Lindsborg was named. He was born in Sweden, and there married to
Miss Martha Olson, of the same place, who came with him to Chicago and
then to Kansas. There, with two partners, Mr. Lindgren organized at
Smoky Hill Valley a land association, which developed into cooperative
store-keeping ; and from that movement came the establishing and naming
of the town. Mr. Lindgren died in California in February, 1902, leaving five
children, all of whom are now in California. A. T. Lindgren, the subject of
this review; S. O. is a rancher of Kingsburg; M. E. farms at Turlock ; Emma
resides with her mother at Kingsburg; and Christine, now Mrs. L. O.
Homstrom, is on a ranch at Kingsburg.
S. P. Lindgren, besides being a merchant at Lindsborg, was also a hotel
proprietor there and a merchant in Chicago, and it will be seen that he must
have bequeathed to his son certain qualities and aptitudes likely to be of
the greatest service to him in the field in which, as it has transpired, he chose
to cast his lot. After attending the public schools at Lindsborg, he spent a
year very profitably at Bethany College in 1887, and then, in 1889, he came to
California and settled on a ranch at Kingsburg. From his seventeenth year
he shifted for himself, and before long he became one of the organizers of
1406 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the Linnea Cooperative Packing Association, which was established in 1900,
when he became its manager. He was also the first secretary of the Mutual
Fire Insurance Company of Kingsburg. also organized in 1900. He helped
organize, too, the First National Bank of Kingsburg in 1904, and was its
first, as he has been its only cashier.
The first officers were : President, D. S. Snodgrass, of Selma ; Vice-presi-
dent, Levi Garrett ; Cashier. A. T. Lindgren ; and its first Board of Directors
were: D. S. Snodgrass, Selma; Levi Garrett, Kingsburg; M. Vincent. Selma;
and Alfred Nelson, Kingsburg. Its present officers are: President. Levi
Garrett; Vice-president. Alfred Nelson; Cashier, A. T. Lindgren: Assistant
Cashier, B. C. Nelson ; and its present Board of Directors consists of Messrs.
Garrett, Nelson, Lindgren, D. E. Brown and N. Vincent.
The condition of this popular bank could certainly not be better, all
things considered. Its resources are: Loans and discounts, $390,000; U. S.
Bonds, $43,500; other bonds, $3,500; stock in Federal Reserve Bank. $1,650;
banking house, furniture and fixtures, $23,650; cash and sight exchange,
$75,000; while its liabilities are: capital stock. $50,000: surplus, $5,000;
undivided profits, $3,000; circulation. $25,000: deposits, $450,000; and other
liabilities, making an impressive total of $600,000.
Mr. Lindgren was married at Kingsburg in 1906 to Miss Selma Snorin,
a native of Olivia, Minn., and the daughter of A. Snorin. Four children have
blessed this union, and their names are Ira Whitney. Kenneth Theodore.
Rosalie Annette and Ruth Eloise.
Mr. Lindgren has shown his good qualities as a citizen in many move-
ments for the betterment of the community. He was chairman of the board
that undertook the incorporation of Kingsburg, and the city, since it was
incorporated, has been dry as a bone ! Otherwise he has kept out of politics.
He helped to organize the Swedish Mission Church. He resides at the corner
of South and West Streets, in a pretty, comfortable and hospitable bunga-
low home, and he has a farm of ten acres, set out to vines and trees. He also
owns as town property five acres planted to vines in the Carlson Addition.
JESSE AUGUST BLASINGAME.— Any list of the pioneers of Fresno
County, and especially of those men who have been successfully engaged in
the stock-raising business would be incomplete without the name of Jesse A.
Blasingame, a Mexican War veteran and an early settler near Academy. He
was a native of Talladega County, Ala.
Becoming enthused with the interesting reports of the discovery of gold
in California, Jesse A. Blasingame decided to try his fortunes in the Golden
State and in that memorable year, 1849, came by the Isthmus of Panama to
California, bringing with him several men to help in the mines. For awhile
he engaged in mining for gold, but like many other men endowed with keen
business acumen, he discovered that there were other ways and means of
securing gold, or its equivalent, that were not so uncertain and hazardous.
Subsequently he entered into the stock-raising business and by the exercise
of his innate good judgment and wise management he achieved a satisfactory
success.
In 1862 or 1863 he located in Fresno County and purchased land near Big
Dry Creek, in the vicinity of Academy, and engaged in raising cattle, hogs,
sheep and horses. As he prospered he purchased more land until in time he
became one of the largest land owners in that section. His holdings extended
about nine miles in one direction, reaching almost from Friant to Academy,
and included about 12,000 acres.
In 1870, J. A. Blasingame with his wife and two children returned East,
going to his old home state, Alabama, to settle an estate. Later the family
went to Texas, where they spent one winter in Bell County. The next spring
Mr. Blasingame began to purchase cattle to drive across the plains. His
first purchase was at San Antonio, Texas, where he secured 1.200 head, he
kept on adding to his purchases until he had about 2,000 head which he and
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1409
his sons brought safely across the plains and mountains until they reached
Humboldt Wells, Nev. From this point they shipped the cattle to San Fran-
cisco, Sacramento and Colfax, receiving such good prices for the stock that he
netted a handsome sum for his hazardous undertaking, and demonstrated his
splendid business ability. That his keen business judgment and wise council
in financial matters were soon recognized in the community, is recorded in
the fact that he was one time the vice-president of the Fresno County Bank.
About 1878, he retired from active participation in business affairs and
removed to the city of Fresno, where he spent his last days. He built the
Ogle House, one of the first good hotels in Fresno and after his death, his
widow built the Blasingame Block, now known as the Commercial Block at
H. and Tulare Streets. J. A. Blasingame was interested in educational mat-
ters and helped to build the Academy school house, which was one of the
first in Fresno County. He also gave his aid to church work in the commun-
ity.
Jesse A. Blasingame was united in marriage with Mary Jane Ogle, a
native of Missouri. She crossed the plains when she was about fourteen years
of age, with her parents in an ox team train. Mr. and ft^rs. Blasingame be-
came the parents of seven children : Alfred H., a stockman who resides at
Clovis ; Albert A., is a resident of Fresno ; Lee A., is a viticulturist and stock-
man seven miles northeast of Fresno ; Nannie, is Mrs. N. H. Peterson, of Los
Angeles ; W. O. is a stockman and viticulturist of the Kutner Colony ; J. A.
Jr. is a rancher at Lone Star ; Gertrude, is Mrs. Aten, residing in Fresno.
Jesse A. Blasingame passed away in 1881. at the age of sixty-one; his wife
continued to reside in Fresno until her death in 1908, at the age of seventy-
two years.
JOHN N. DANIEL. — An enterprising and progressive Californian, of
liberal-hearted tendencies pleasantly shown in his varied intercourse with
others, is John N. Daniel, one of the oldest settlers and most prominent of
the men identified with Tranquillity and its vast irrigation interests. He was
born in Honey Lake Valley, Lassen County, on April 20, 1865, the son of
James H. Daniel, a native of Mt. Vernon district, Ky. He removed with his
parents to Ralls County, Mo., where Grandfather Daniel died. Grandmother
Daniel spent her last days in California, having come here by way of Panama,
and died in Woodland. The father was about nineteen years old when he
came by ox team across the pathless plains; and about 1851 he settled in
Yolo County. There he married Margaret Briggs, a native of Ralls County,
Mo., whose family had come with Grandmother Daniel across the Isthmus.
The father was long engaged in farming at old Buckeye, Yolo County, but he
took his family back to Missouri in 1873, and died in a railroad accident
while on a trip to Texas. The mother and the family were in Missouri at
the time ; and after this accident, they stayed there, and in that state the
mother died in 1880, having had four children, three of whom are living. John
N. is the second eldest, and the others are : Mrs. Davidella Hart of Fresno ;
and Mrs. Bessie Miller of Los Angeles.
Brought up in California, except ten years when he lived in Ralls County,
Mo., and always anxious to get back to California, John came to Fresno, on
his return to the state, in May, 1885, and for about five years, was foreman
for Jeff James on his ranch at Fish Slough, now Tranquillity, being engaged
especially in stock-raising. He then located at West Park and improved a
vineyard ; and soon after located a homestead of 160 acres just west of
the James ranch. This was about 1892 or 1893, and he also leased land and
engaged in grain-raising, his landlord being Mr. James. All in all, he man-
aged about 800. and sometimes 1,000 acres a year. He had a big outfit and
a combined harvester, and ran it till the place was subdivided for colonization
purposes.
Meantime, while grain-farming, he improved his homestead, turning the
first furrow in what was then a wilderness. He improved it for alfalfa, and
1410 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
grew about the first alfalfa raised here. He and other renters built the ditch
from the slough for twelve miles to irrigate their crops ; and as it reached
his land, he was one of the original owners of the ditch. As he built about
twenty-five and a half per cent, of the ditch, he has in it valuable priority-
rights. He also helped build the Joaquin ditch and the Pump ditch. Now
he is raising both alfalfa and stock, and he still owns the vineyard at the
corner of Church and Marks Avenues, in West Park, near Fresno.
Mr. Daniel was married, at Fresno, to Mrs. Annie (Tagger) Daniel, a
native of New Jersey, who was reared in San Francisco. By her first union
she had three children: John Nelson, now in San Francisco; Frank James,
in Tranquillity; and 'William Arthur, who was in the United States Army.
All of these children were educated at the usual common schools and also
at the Fresno high school.
For sixteen years Mr. Daniel has been overseer of roads in this district,
serving first under C. W. Garrett and of late under Chris Jorgensen, and
for years before he was working on the roads in various parts of the county.
He is a Democrat, and has been a delegate to the county and state conven-
tions ; he is also a member of the Democratic County Central Committee.
For years he was a school trustee of the original Artesia school district, and
has of late been a member of the Tranquillity school board. From its organi-
zation until March 4. 1919. he was chairman of the board of directors of the
Tranquillity Irrigation District, which has charge of over 11,000 acres; and
he is also a member of the executive committee of the Pine Flat Conservation
Project, which has for its aim the building of a great dam, above Piedra, in
Pine Flat for a large reservoir to store the waters and give a longer irrigation
season by having a great supply. He was one of the organizers and is a
director of The First National Bank of Tranquillity, and in this enterprise,
as well as all others of merit and uplift, he is ready to give the best that is
in him to make them successful.
E. F. LOESCHER. — Few among the present-day men of affairs who
have long worked and are still laboring for a greater California of the future
deserve more honorable mention than E. F. Loescher, president and manager
of the Action Brokerage Company, of Fresno. He is the son of Otto Loescher,
the well-known pioneer of Fresno, who was born in Germany, December 29,
1859, the son of General Loescher, who was killed while stationed in China.
Otto Loescher attended the public schools, and then was apprenticed and
learned the trade of miller. Crossing the ocean in 1886, he went to Indiana
and followed his trade there for two years. He found the climate unattractive,
particularly in view of the stories told about California, so he came on fur-
ther west and selected Selma, in Fresno County, for a home. He worked as
miller in the Bachtold mill there, and later in a flouring mill at Reedley.
While busy at his trade he invested his earnings in a forty-acre ranch near
Selma, which he improved and later sold.
In 1901 he took up his residence on the place that came to be known
as his home ranch. This property he improved in many ways, erecting a fine
country home and otherwise making of it a valuable property. This place
was located north of Fowler and comprised forty acres. At the same time
that he bought this place he bargained for forty acres to the south. On his
properties he set out about seventy acres to vines. The first ranch that he
owned in the county was on the West Side. It was a government claim of
half a section of land, which he devoted to grain ; but he could see greater
possibilities in viticulture.
After coming to Fresno County, Mr. Loescher married Miss KatieVietor,
a daughter of Frank Yietor, who was born in Germany in 1838, and came to
the United States with his parents in 1848. Frank Vietor came from Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, to the Sacramento Yalley in 1861, and became superintendent
of farming and stock-raising on several large islands in the Sacramento
River. He came down to Fresno County in 1881. In partnership with his
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1411
father-in-law, Otto Loescher leased over 2,000 acres of land near Selma, which
they farmed to grain and where they ran a threshing outfit, at that time
something of a novelty in this section. Mr. Loescher was a pioneer in grow-
ing Thompson seedless raisins. He was an active member in the German
Lutheran Church at Selma, and a member of the Odd Fellows there. After
a successful career, made happier by a wide circle of friends, he sold out his
interests in 1915 and moved to Orange County, where he now resides. Their
three children are: Eda, the wife of C. L. Caine, who is a partner in the
Action Brokerage Company ; Agnes, who became the wife of E. Benson, also
associated with the Action Brokerage Company; and E. F., of this review.
E. F. Loescher was educated at the public schools in Fowler, and in
1910 was graduated from the Portland Academy, at Portland, Ore., after
which he took a commercial course at the Vancouver Institute, fitting him-
self for a business career. While in Vancouver, B. C, he was for three years
secretary to the Imperial Rice Milling Company. In 1913, before returning
to California, he married Alice Katherine Stevinson, a native of Vancouver,
by whom he has had two sons, Jack and Burt.
Upon returning to California in 1913, Mr. Loescher went to work for
the California Associated Raisin Company, at the Phoenix plant at Fowler ;
and on leaving that concern at the end of six months, he worked for a like
period for Hans Graff in Fresno. Then he became office man for the Amer-
ican Vineyard Company, and was later promoted to buyer. He resigned on
December 31, 1916, to look after his own vineyard in Barstow Colony; but
on May 1, of the following year, he returned to the company as the Fresno
district manager, succeeding F. A. Seymour. On December 31, 1918, he
resigned from this position to become associated with C. L. Caine and Harry
Berndt in the Action Brokerage Company, in which he was chosen president
and general manager. The company is incorporated for $50,000. It is the
first real estate firm in Fresno to handle farmers' supplies, nursery stock,
grape stakes, etc. ; and it is also engaged in buying and selling green and
dried fruits. The firm specializes in country property ; and its members,
being well-known and reliable, are building up a large clientele extending all
over the state.
Mr. Loescher owns the finest ranch in Barstow Colony, 160 acres, 100
of which are devoted to raising Thompson seedless raisins, while the bal-
ance is set to Sultanas, Malagas, peaches and figs. He also owns eight head
of finely matched, well-bred mules, black in color, which took the first prize
at three fairs in 1917 — the State Fair, the Kings County Fair and the Fresno
County Fair. His mule "Sue" took the sweepstake prize as champion of the
state at the State Fair in 1917. In addition he owns a standard-bred, three-
year-old mare, a pacer, named "Katherine C," that bids fair to make a record.
His stables contain all modern improvements, and he also has a Holt and a
Wallace tractor on his ranch. He is also engaged in breeding registered
pure-bred Persian sheep of the red-faced type, without any mixture. He is
one of three breeders of Persian sheep on the Pacific Coast, and one of but
seven in the United States. The care and study he has given to the breed-
ing up of his stock have resulted in what is said to be the finest flock of
Persians in the United States. Mr. Loescher is an authority on the growing
of Thompson seedless raisin grapes, as well as a soil expert ; and his opinion
is often sought by prospective buyers, who have confidence in his judgment.
He has contributed articles to the local papers and farm journals on grape
culture, methods of cultivation, fertilizing, and curing the grape, and his
articles have received favorable comment. He is a member of the Sequoia
Club and the Commercial Club of Fresno.
1412 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
LUCIUS POWERS.— Ever since the stirring days of '49, the Powers
family has been identified with the history of California. The founder of the
family on the coast was Aaron Hubbard Powers, a native of Xew Hamp-
shire, but from early childhood a resident of Boston, Mass. At the time of
the discovery of gold in California, he took passage on a sailing vessel and
after a long voyage, by way of Cape Horn, landed at the Golden Gate in 1849,
whence he proceeded with other Argonauts, to the mines. Eventually he be-
came engaged in business in Sacramento, where he continued for twenty years.
Upon retiring from commercial life in 1887, he purchased 250 acres of land
west of Centerville, Fresno County, and soon afterwards planted 100 acres of
the tract to fruits of various kinds ; also set out a large vineyard.
In 1898, he took his son Lucius into full partnership with him, Lucius at
that time becoming active manager of the property. When Aaron H. Powers
married, he chose for his wife Emma Louisa Sweasy, a native of London,
England, whose death occurred at the home ranch near Centerville, July 24,
1902. at the age of sixty-five years. Aaron Hubbard Powers, the founder of
the family in California, while making a trip around the world, died in the
city of Venice, Italy, April 17, 1907. There were six sons and three daughters
in the family of this pioneer couple, seven of whom are living; Lucius, the
subject of this sketch, being next to the youngest.
Lucius Powers was born in Sacramento, January 11, 1872, and attended
school there until fifteen years of age, when he removed with his parents to
Centerville, Fresno County, where he completed his school days. An inci-
dent of his youth indicates his progressive and enterprising disposition: in
1889, when seventeen years of age, he established the Kings River Xews. a
four-page sheet, six by eight inches in size, published every week. The peo-
ple of the community around Centerville, which had no publication of its
own, appreciated his efforts to give them the news of current interest, their
support encouraged him to increase the paper to eight pages, but after he
had published it for two years, other matters required his attention and he
discontinued the little publication. After completing a course in a business
college in San Francisco, he returned to Fresno County and began his career
as a horticulturist, viticulturist and fruit shipper, in which he has become
eminently successful.
Entering into partnership with his father, Mr. Powers became the active
manager of the Powers vineyards and orchards, and after the death of A. H.
Powers, the family incorporated the property in 1909, as the Powers Orchard
and Vineyard Company, with a capital stock of $50,000, at which time
Lucius Powers was made president and manager. This tract of land under
his wise supervision, has become a wonderful producer, and is one of the
largest orchards and vineyards in the Centerville district, comprising in all
370 acres; there are about 150 acres in raisin grapes, fort}' acres in emperors,
eleven acres in oranges, 100 acres in nursery stock, principally oranges,
twenty-five acres in figs, and the balance in other fruits and alfalfa. In 1909,
Mr. Powers established the L. Powers Fruit Company in Fresno. In 1913 he
was chosen manager of the San Joaquin Valley district for the Pioneer Fruit
Company, which has packing houses in different cities throughout the state.
At present he is vice-president of the concern. In 1912 Mr. Powers moved
from the ranch into Fresno, where in Palm Villa Tract he has twenty acres in
vineyard, the largest vineyard in the city of Fresno. In 1915 Mr. Powers
bought out the interests of his brothers and is now sole owner of the Powers
Orchard and Vineyard Company's property.
In 1917 Mr. Powers added to his holdings by purchasing half a section
of improved land ten miles east of Fresno, on Belmont Avenue, and in 1919
increased his holdings still further by buying a highly improved malaga vine-
yard of 100 acres at Clotho, for which he paid $1,000 an acre. Mr. Powers'
extensive experience has demonstrated to him that improved land is the best
kind of an investment, as he well knows that with care and good management
c5^?-^l^/Jw
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1415
the income from the crops will pay for the land in a few years. He assisted
in the organization of the Commercial Bank of Sanger, of which he is vice-
president ; for several years he served as a director of the First National
Bank of Sanger, and in many other ways has shown his deep interest in the
development of the best interests of Fresno County, believing that it offers
hetter inducements for the homeseeker than any other part of California.
The marriage of Lucius Powers with Miss Abbie Viau, who was born at
Colusa, was celebrated on July 3, 1900. Four children have been born of this
union : Lucius, Jr. ; Mary Louisa ; Martha Kate ; and Aaron Hubbard. Fra-
ternally, Mr. Powers is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows ;
Woodmen of the World ; Benevolent Protective Order of Elks ; and the Re-
"bekahs. His social relations are with the Commercial Club, Sequoia Club and
Sunnyside Country Club, and his business associations are with the Chamber
of Commerce. Other personal interests that claim his attention and manage-
ment are : L. Powers Fruit Company ; L. Powers Orange Company ; L. Pow-
ers Wood Company ; L. Powers Tree Company ; L. Powers Home Ranch ; L.
Powers B Ranch ; and the Shoemaker Orchard Company of Lindsay.
Lucius Powers has contributed greatly to the substantial and permanent
development of scientific horticulture and viticulture in Fresno County, and
there is no man more deeply interested in the progress made in the develop-
ment of the State of California than this native son. He is always ready to
co-operate in any worthy project which has as its aim the advancement of
public interests, either commercially, financially, educationally or socially,
■and in both county and state Mr. Powers holds an enviable position as an
eminently successful business man.
FRANKLIN ABBOTT.— An old settler who has passed through the
■hardest of hard times, experiencing the failure of grain crops, and starvation
prices for that upon which much time and fatiguing labor had been expended,
and who, having borne his trials manfully, has won success as a viticulturist
is Franklin Abbott, the subject of this review. Mr. Abbott is also an expert
teamster and judge of land and cattle, and has raised horses and mules for
twenty-eight years, having come to Fresno in the early eighties. He was
"born near Bloomington, McLean County, 111., on February 10, 1864, the son
of Milo J. Abbott, a native of Maine, who came to Illinois and there settled
as a farmer, about 1881 removing to Kansas, and while living at Garden
City he died. Milo's wife was Adeline Burt before her marriage, and her
native state was New Hampshire. She proved the best of helpmates to her
husband, and ended a useful career in Illinois, the mother of thirteen children,
six of whom are still living. One of the sons, Andrew, came to Fresno about
1880, and is a rancher at Del Rev.
Franklin was the seventh eldest and grew up on a farm in Illinois. He
attended the country schools and remained at home until he was sixteen.
Then he went to work for his brother, so that, fortunate in such an advisor,
he secured an excellent start for the great tussle with the world. In 1882
the young man came west to California and made his way to Fresno County.
Fresno itself was then only a small place with two stores, and the whole
country about was a wide stretch of plain, with cattle and sheep, so he went
to work in a vineyard and orchard in Washington Colony, where he remained
"busy until spring, when he went to the mountains with a band of sheep for
his cousin, George Rowell. He spent two summers in the mountains in
caring for herds, and even if he had gotten nothing else out of the experience,
he built up his health and intensified his love for California outdoor life.
Then Mr. Abbott started for himself as a farmer. He bought an outfit
and a ten-mule team, and for two years leased land from Dr. Rowell in the
Washington Colony. Then he leased 1,200 acres of the Simpson ranch near
Academy, and later the Dickinson ranch of 1,500 acres on Dry Creek. For
fourteen years he continued there, and in that time raised some big crops.
1410 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
He had some failures, due to the low selling prices, being compelled to dis-
pose of his barley at times at only ten dollars a ton, White Australian wheat
at seventy-three cents a cental, and Sonora wheat at sixty-three cents, so
that when he came to balance up, at the end of that time, he found that if
he had worked out in the service of others, at twenty-five dollars a month for
the fourteen years, he would have been better off than he was through his
own enterprise. He raised mules and horses, as many as seventy to 100
head a year, and also cattle, and was rated as doing considerable business.
Whatever his luck, he never grumbled ; nor did he resort to the "flowing
bowl" to drown his disappointment. He found that nothing paid better than
to cheerfully peg away.
Reflecting on his past experience, Mr. Abbott determined to buy a small
place. In the fall of 1905, therefore, he purchased his present holding of forty
acres in the Barstow Colony, and at once began to improve it. He set out
twenty acres in peaches and the next year a vineyard and a fine tract of
alfalfa; but until the California Peach Growers, Inc., was formed, the price
paid for peaches was so low that it was impossible to realize a profit. Now
he belongs to that association, and through collective marketing his orchard
enterprise is a success, as also are those of his fellow members. He has ten
acres of alfalfa and eleven acres of Thompson and Malaga grapes, and is
acknowledged to have one of the finest vineyards in the vicinity. This suc-
cess must be the result, in part, of Mr. Abbott's excellent judgment in select-
ing his land which also is well watered from the Herndon canal. He has built
a fine building, and set around the whole a border of figs.
While at Academy, Mr. Abbott was married to Miss Maud Balev, a
native of Oregon, but reared in this state, and the daughter of Henry Balev,
a pioneer farmer of Fresno who made a specialty of raising fine standard-
bred horses. Nine children make up the family of Mr. and Mrs. Abbott: they
are: Gladys, Milburn. Beulah, Frances. Walter, Doris, Marie, Frank and
Helen, and all are at home assisting in dispensing that welcome and hos-
pitality for which the Abbott household has long been famous. They attend
the Presbyterian Church at Barstow, of which Mr. Abbott is a steward,
and contribute to the social-center life in the Barstow school, where Mr.
Abbott served for three years as a trustee.
Independent in politics, Mr. Abbott has performed much service for the
common weal, and has twice served as deputy sheriff, under Sheriffs Chit-
tenden and McSwain. He is an instructive talker and has many interesting
reminiscences of the days that are gone, and remembers well when he hauled
lumber from the mountains to Fresno, and also hauled provisions from
Fresno to the mountains, a livelihood being maintained under anything but
convenient circumstances.
ROBERT W. BARNWELL.— The growth and prosperity of Fresno is
largely due to its diversified industries, although for more than thirty years
its principal source of revenue has been and still is that of fruit raising in
its various branches, among which the raisin industry is foremost.
One of the most prominent fruit growers and shippers of Fresno is
Robert W. Barnwell. He was born in Gilmer, Texas. July 5, 1872. the son
of D. M. and Martha (McGee) Barnwell. His father was a native of
Georgia and a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. after which he
settled in Texas, where he was for a number of years a pioneer farmer and
stock raiser, and was also engaged quite extensively in railroad contracting.
He arrived in Fresno January 1, 1888, where he purchased forty acres of
unimproved land in the West Park Colony Tract which lie planted to a
vineyard. From time to time he increased his holdings until he now owns
220 acres of vineyard, being one of the large raisin growers of Fresno. He
still resides on the forty acre tract which he bought in 1888. His wife is
dead. He has been a Mason since twentv-one years of age and is now a
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1417
member of Fresno Lodge, No. 247, F. & A. M. Robert W. received his
education at West Park School, Fresno, under the tutelage of the well-known
educator E. W. Lindsay, the former county superintendent of schools. As
a young man he worked for a short time for his father in his vineyard,
after which he became the first fruit buyer for A. L. Hobbs, which position
he retained for six years. Later he was a buyer for J. K. Armsby for five
years, then went back to Rosenberg for two years and afterwards went in
business for himself buying and shipping green and dried fruit, in which
business he has been very successful. The yearly shipments of dried fruit
run from 1,000 to 1,500 tons, and green fruit from 200 to 300 cars; the total
value of the fruit being $500,000.
Mr. Barnwell also owns a dried and green fruit plant in Parlier, and a
green fruit plant in Clovis. He has a twenty-acre fig orchard, twenty-acre
vineyard and 320 acres of grain land, all in Fresno County. In January,
1919, he sold his fruit business to Kelley and Simpson, and for the time
being retired from active operations in the fruit business to look after his
own and father's ranch interests. Mr. Barnwell's father and a brother, D. M.
Barnwell, Jr. (the present County Clerk of Fresno County), are the only
members of the Barnwell family now living. Two sisters and the mother
are deceased.
His wife was in maidenhood Miss Arah B. Holcomb of Texas, and
they have one daughter, Achsah.
Mr. Barnwell has a large circle of acquaintances and is one of Fresno's
well known and highly respected citizens, always to be found at the front
in anything that pertains to the welfare and prosperity of the city of his
choice. He is a prominent Elk, also a Shriner and a thirty-second degree
Mason.
GEORGE R. SHIPP. — A Californian with many interesting memories
of the past, particularly of some of the efforts made to secure a right of way
for the Santa Fe Railroad, is George R. Shipp, whose father once offered the
company 160 acres for a town site, but years later, when they finally built
they chose another route. He was born in Holmes County, Miss., on Octo-
ber'29, 1865, and his father was William W. Shipp, also a native of Missis-
sippi, where he first saw the light in 1834. He was reared in Holmes County
and became a farmer ; and he served throughout the Civil War. Grandfather
Shipp was born in Kentucky, and later he removed to Mississippi. In that
state William Shipp was ma'rried to Mary J. Strother, a daughter of Missis-
sippi ; and in 1868 he brought his wife and three children to California.
Leaving his family in Solano County, he made a trip down the coast
and into the San Joaquin Valley, which he reached in the spring of 1868;
and being impressed with Fresno County, he decided to locate here and took
a preemption on Dry Creek. He returned to Solano County for his family,
and then he and Major Nelson purchased a flock of sheep and drove them
to Dry Creek, where he engaged in stock-raising.
He also homesteaded 160 acres and rapidly improved the land, and little
by little he added more acreage ; later he dissolved partnership with Major
Nelson and they divided their band of sheep. The Major in 1877 (the dry
year), drove his sheep to Arizona, but he lost them all. Mr. Shipp ranged his
flock in the mountains and lost only 600 head out of 6,000. He prospered,
bought more land, and finally had a ranch of 2,300 acres in a body. Aside
from sheep-raising, he also engaged in the raising of grain.
In the fall of 1887 Mr. Shipp sold the land and turned the entire stock
over to his son George R. to run them on another ranch he owned on the
San Joaquin River, and then he moved to Fresno where he lived retired for
a time. Later, however, he again engaged in sheep-raising on his San Joaquin
River ranch, although he died at his home in Fresno in 1900. He was a
prominent Mason and the father of ten children, two of whom died in Mis-
sissippi, while five are now living. Eliza C. has become Mrs. Ambrose of
1418 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Phoenix, Ariz.; George R. is the subject of this sketch; John N. lives at
Fresno; Lela M. is Mrs. Neil of the same city; and near by dwells Mary E.,
Mrs. Hopkins.
Educated at the public schools in Mississippi district in this County and
at a private school in Fresno, George assisted in caring for flocks from the
time when he was eight years of age and soon became a well-posted and
expert sheepman. When fifteen he took charge of the sheep on the range,
and in 1887 he bought an interest in them. He also purchased an interest
in the stock and took charge of them and the farm on the San Joaquin
River, eighteen miles northeast of Fresno. Still later he leased land from
the Bank of California, situated near Kerman, where he also ranged his
sheep, in the summers taking them to the mountains.
Mr. Shipp also bought ranches near Reedley, and after that he bought
in the Scandinavian Colony a vineyard ranch of thirty acres. Next he
purchased 3,200 acres, the old home on the San Joaquin River, which he
ran for five years and then sold. When sheep were excluded from the
Forest Reserve, he started in the cattle business, and his brand, P. P.,
is one of the oldest in the county.
In 1913 Mr. Shipp sold his ranch and located in Fresno, and later he
bought his present ranch of 160 acres on Blackstone Avenue, sixty-five acres
of which are in peaches. He is setting out the balance in Calimyrna and
white Adriatic figs, and bids fair again to make a great success of his enter-
prise. At 305 Clark Street he built his residence.
At the City of the Angels in 1891, Mr. Shipp was married to Miss Abbie
W. Webster, a native of Vacaville, Solano County, Cal., and a daughter of
G. W. and Jane (Smith) Webster, born in North Carolina and Tennessee
respectively, California pioneers of the intrepid company that crossed the
great plains with ox teams in 1852 and was a farmer in Vacaville, where
Mrs. Shipp was reared. Two children blessed the union : Georgia, who is
Mrs. Rheiner, and Harold W., a graduate of the high school, who was a
despatch rider in the United States Army serving overseas, he is now
ranching near Fresno.
Mr. Shipp is a democrat in national political affairs, and always an
energetic supporter of non-partisan movements for the public weal. He be-
longs to Fresno Lodge, No. 439, B. P. O. Elks.
EDWIN V. KELLEY. — The part played by science in industry, com-
merce, finance and even politics, is a subject of absorbing interest. Cali-
fornia has for some time past employed a small army of chemists in almost
every conceivable field, whose contributions to present-day progress it would
be difficult to estimate, and without whose services it would not have been
possible, in numerous cases, to reach the goal attained. Edwin V. Kelley
belongs to this group of professional men to whom California owes much,
and whose valued services she generously recognizes. He was born at
Cadillac, Mich., on August 8, 1875, the son of William and Nancy (Van Ness)
Kelley. He attended the grammar and high schools until he was sixteen,
and after that he matriculated at the University of Michigan. He studied
science at Ann Arbor, and spent three years profitably, concluding his
courses of study. Leaving Michigan he went to Illinois, and at Joliet took
service as a chemist with the Illinois Steel Company, with which concern
he remained for a year. At the end of that time the company transferred him
to their South Chicago plant; and there, for another year, he was active in
the same capacity.
Mr. Kelley then came to Fresno and established a dry-fruit packing
business, which at first met with reverses, due largely to the unsettled
financial conditions of that time. This business he managed until 1CK)2. and
then moved to Fowler, attracted by an offer to become the manager of Chad-
dock & Company, the fruit packers. He was in charge there for six vears. Re-
turning to Fresno, he became manager of the dried-fruit department of the
^
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1423
California Fruit Canners' Association, a post he held for a year and four
months.
Having now gained a reputation for ability of a high order, and ex-
perience obtainable only in a practical way, Mr. Kelley was made manager
<of the J. K. Armsby Co., dried-fruit packers, in which position he was active
until the first of November,' 1916, when the company was merged with
several others into the California Packing Corporation, and he became as-
sistant manager of all their sixteen San Joaquin Valley packing houses.
Since then, Mr. Kelley has been one of the most progressive and most in-
fluential leaders in his field, and now enjoys an enviable reputation through-
out the state. On April 1", 1919, he resigned his position with the Cali-
fornia Packing Corporation, and embarked in business for himself. He is
now the senior member of the firm of Kelley & Simpson, who recently pur-
chased the fruit-packing business of R. W. Barnwell.
While in Chicago, on August 1, 1900, Mr. Kelley was married to Lillian
Frances Schoonmake, a charming woman whose life was closed all too
early — in June, 1915. By her he had one child, Richard V., who is attending
the Fresno high school. Mr. Kelley is active in civic affairs, doing his bit
politically, generally under the banners of the Republican party. He is a
member of the University Club, the Sequoia Club, and the Sunnyside
Country Club of Fresno, as well as the University of Michigan Union ; and
he also belongs to the Elks.
WILLIAM F. VENARD.— Born near Havana, Mason County, 111., on
February 5, 1863, William F. Venard is the son of G. W. Venard, a native
of Ohio, whose parents came from New Jersey. He moved to Kansas in
1857, then back to Illinois, and once more came to Kansas. In that state he
settled in 1869, at Burlington; and there he still lives. Mrs. Venard was
Anna E. Marshall before her marriage ; she was born in Terre Haute, Ind.,
and in 1874 died in Kansas. She was the mother of four children, two of
whom are still living.
The oldest child in the family, William F. was brought up in Kansas,
and attended the public schools and Baker University at Baldwin City;
and until 1885 he studied dentistry at Burlington. For three years he prac-
ticed dental surgery in Nebraska, and then he removed to Florence, Colo.,
where he continued his professional work. In 1889 he began in the oil busi-
ness and worked up in it at Florence. Ten years later, he removed to Cali-
fornia and Coalinga and for two months worked for L. L. Cory and associates
on the New York lease. Then he was with Captain McClurg on Sec. 33-20-31,
drilling for him for four and one-half years. In 1904, he returned to Colorado
and worked as a driller until 1910, when he came back to Coalinga.
In February of that year he joined the Good Luck Oil Company as driller,
and on the first of the following November, he was made field superintendent,
and this responsible position he has held ever since. When he took charge,
the company had only two wells, but since then they have put down six
more, so that they now have eight first-class producers.
Aside from the oil business, Mr. Venard is greatly interested in viticul-
ture. Some years ago, with his son. Charles E., he purchased seventy acres
of raw land in Fresno County, between Reedley and Dinuba, which they set
out to vineyard and orchard, and brought into bearing, when they sold it
at a good profit. Since then he has bought other ranches and sold all but
one which is devoted to orchard and vines.
At Burlington, Kans., on June 5. 1889, Mr. Venard was married to Miss
Mary A. Throckmorton, a native of Kansas and the daughter of Job Throck-
morton, who was born in Ohio and had married Catherine White and who
was Provo Marshal during the Civil War. In 1857 they located at Burling-
ton, and he was not only a successful farmer, but the county clerk of Coffey
County, Kans., and a member of the assembly of the Kansas State Legisla-
ture. He died on his farm, survived bv his widow who lives at Burlington.
1424 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Four children brightened the home of Mr. and Mrs. Venard, and three grew
up: Charles E., at Reedley ; William, assisting his father; and Eleanor, a
graduate of the Coalinga High School and Heald's Business College, and
head bookkeeper in the First National Bank at Coalinga.
Mr. Yenard was made a Mason in the Lemoore Lodge. F. & A. M.,
in 1903, and he is now a member of Coalinga Lodge, No. 387, F. &. A. M..
and a member of Coalinga Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons. He and his
wife are also members of the Eastern Star at Coalinga, and there, as else-
where, are highly esteemed by many friends.
ALFRED BAIRD.— An authentic history of Fresno County would be
very incomplete without the life story of one of its most honored and success-
ful pioneer settlers and extensive land owners, the late Alfred Baird.
Great honor is due these courageous pioneers who endured the hardships
incident to life on the frontier and risked their lives crossing the Indian in-
fested plains, to blaze the way for later civilization and the establishment of
homes and ranches. The descendants of these early settlers possess an in-
heritance of which they mav well be proud and should speak the names of
these valiant forerunners of civilization with pride and unbounded respect.
Alfred Baird was born in Richland County (now Ashland). Ohio, on
November 16. 1829. a son of Josiah and Sarah (Ryland ) Baird. natives of New
York and Ohio respectively. The pioneer log home of Alfred's parents among
the sturdy oak trees of the Ohio forest, was among his earliest recollections.
His early schooling was received in a log building whose furniture consisted
of slab benches, which afforded the children but little comfort, while the
text books were very inferior to those used in the schools today and often
the teachers were illy educated, yet children who were anxious to learn had
no difficulty in acquiring a knowledge of the three Rs.
At the age of sixteen Alfred Baird became an apprentice to the carpen-
ter's trade, in Ashland. Ohio, and after the expiration of two years' service
as an apprentice he became a journeyman carpenter. In the spring of 1850.
he left Ohio for McGregor, Iowa, where under the employment of a Mr.
McGregor, he aided in the construction of some of the first houses in different
towns in that section of Iowa, continuing in the building business for eight
years.
Each day he earned enough to buy an acre of land and continued to
invest in property until he had acquired 800 acres of land. Although prosper-
ous to an unusual degree, Mr. Baird found the climate of Iowa too cold to be
agreeable, so he sold out and in April. 1859. accompanied by his wife and two
children, he started to cross the plains to California, and on October 8, they
arrived safely at Kings River, Fresno County, subsequently settling in the
Upper Kings River Valley, where he built a log cabin fourteen feet square.
For a while he followed his trade of a carpenter in this locality, eventually
taking up a homestead claim, building a comfortable house, and bringing a
ditch from the mountains seven miles away. The terrible flood of 1861 de-
stroyed his orchard and his new house, the barn being carried away by a
strong current. Afterwards he engaged in the sheep business on shares, but
the Civil War having caused a great depreciation in the price of wool, it was
utilized in San Francisco for upholstering purposes: when the railroad was
completed he was enabled to sell his wool for forty-five cents per pound. In
1868, Mr. Baird removed to Letcher, where he homesteadcd a ranch and em-
barked in the sheep business and by good management his flocks increased
until he owned at one time 5.000 head of sheep. Selling out his sheep in 1887,
he entered the cattle raising business, also devoting considerable attention
to raising grain. In those early days no one supposed that the grazing lands
were adapted for grain, but by accident some barley hauled to the cattle was
tramped into the ground and the rains caused it to sprout, producing as fine
a crop of barley as if it had been regularly planted on cultivated ranch land.
People quickly realized the possibilities of the grazing lands and soon grain
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1425
raising was supplanting the grazing of cattle. In other places where the land
was almost too barren for sheep culture, it was found that it could be profit-
ably utilized for vineyards and orchards, hence these occupations began to
attract new settlers to this locality. By gradual purchase Mr. Baird acquired
6,000 acres of land in a body, situated fourteen miles east of Clovis, 3,500 acres
being fine grain land. On section nineteen he erected a residence and the
other buildings necessary to a model ranch. In addition to this vast tract
he owned 640 acres known as the old Hughes place and another ranch near
Visalia which contained 1,000 acres.
The first oranges in this part of the state were raised on his ranch. The
pioneer work accomplished by Mr. Baird in stock-raising, ranching and hor-
ticulture was a great aid in the development of this region of Fresno County
where he resided for so many years.
At Washington Prairie. Winneshiek County, Iowa, on February 17, 1853,
occurred the marriage of Alfred Baird and Lydia K. Baird, a native of Yellow
Springs, Greene County, Ohio, who was born on December 2. 1829. Her
father, Benjamin Beard, a native of Pennsylvania, who had been a prominent
farmer in Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa, and had officiated as an elder in the Pres-
byterian Church for fifty years, passed away in California at the home of his
daughter, Mrs. Alfred Baird, having reached the advanced age of ninety-
three years, and his wife, who in maidenhood had been Mary Ann Knott, a
native of New Jersey, also came to California and spent her last days with
her daughter, passing away at her home at the age of seventy-one years.
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Baird were the parents of six children : Benjamin
Morgan, now deceased ; Addison, who died in Visalia at the age of twelve
years ; Lewis Edwin, also deceased ; Mrs. Sarah A. Rutherford ; Matie Ellen,
who is also deceased ; Florence G., who is Mrs. Rollo Keeler, of Tulare County.
Mr. Alfred Baird was an ardent admirer of Abraham Lincoln and cast
a ballot for him in 1860, at Scottsburg, but the returns showed no Republican
votes cast. In religious matters he contributed to the support of the Pres-
byterian Church, of which his wife has long been a member.
Mr. Baird and his wife lived to advanced years and spent their last years
in the home of their son Morgan Baird, where they were tenderly cared for
by Morgan and his wife. Mrs. Baird, who had been blind for many years,
died in August, 1911, eighty-two years of age, and Alfred, after a long and
useful life, passed away November 22, 1914.
ROBERT FRANKLIN ARMSTRONG.— Mr. Armstrong is one of
the early settlers in the Lone Star district, having come here in 1889 with
his father, and in 1891 having begun improving and planting the home ranch
a half mile east of Lone Star. He was born in Madison County, Iowa,
April 6, 1870, the son of William Armstrong, who was born in Holmes
County, Ohio, four miles from Millersburg on Black Creek, May 2, 1849.
and came to Iowa with his parents in the fall of 1852. The mother, Millie
Stover, was a native of Iowa. The grandfather, John Armstrong, was
born in Ireland and in his eighteenth year came to the United States ; he
was married in Ohio to Julia Bird, a native of Ohio.
R. F. Armstrong was fourteen years of age when his father settled in
Fresno in 1884. He farmed with his father, raising grain near Fresno and
Caruthers. He has always been loyal to his father, cooperating with him in
every possible way. For five years they worked together, improving and
planting, and then, in 1896, the son bought his first twenty acres, on which
there are fifteen acres of muscat grapes. In 1901 he bought his second
twenty, and in 1910 his third twenty, one mile east of Lone Star. This last
is now in young vines and will soon be in full bearing. Ever since 1892 he
has been engaged in growing raisin grapes.
On July 30, 1902, Mr. Armstrong was married, in Fresno, to Miss Myrtle
L. Doyle, daughter of H. H. Doyle, an editor and newspaper man well
1426 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
known in Fresno, and his wife, Jennie ( Long) Doyle, who live in Los
Angeles. - Mrs. Armstrong was born in McPherson County, Kans., and was
brought to California when but a child of four months. She came to Fresno
with her parents in August, 1880. In 1882 the father was publishing the
Daily Mirror in San Luis Obispo. The family lived in various localities
where he followed the newspaper business, but they always liked Fresno
County best. Here he was connected with the Fresno Republican. He is
prominent in the counsels of the Republican party. Mr. and Mrs. Doyle
had seven children, six of them girls, and only four are living, of whom Mrs.
Armstrong is the oldest. She attended the grammar and high school in
Santa Barbara County. She is now, and has been for the past four years,
librarian at the Lone Star branch of the Fresno County Library. Mrs.
Armstrong is a niece of the late Dr. B. W. Doyle, the pioneer dentist of
Fresno County. She is prominent in the work of the Red Cross, and had
charge of the work in Lone Star, while Mr. Armstrong took an active part
in the Thrift Stamp Drive. They have three bright, heartv children living—
Arylie E., Hugh M., and Wilma Frances — and two children died in infancy.
Mr. Armstrong is a stockholder and member of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company, and of the California Peach Growers, Inc. He holds
membership with the I. O. O. F. in Fresno, and is an ex-trustee of the
Lone Star school district. He has a younger brother, Leslie P.. in France,
a member of the Twentieth Regiment of Forest Engineers ; and four sisters.
MRS. ANNA LINDQUIST.— A noble-hearted woman of exceptional ac-
complishment in her work for the general betterment of the world, who adds
to most excellent womanlv and motherlv qualities rare executive force and
■unusual business ability, is Mrs. Anna Lindquist. widow of the late Peter
Lindquist, who owns, operates and resides upon the Lindquist home place of
sixty acres on Harrison Avenue, three miles northeast of Kinsrsburg. She
was born in Sweden, on March 25. 1848. the daughter of Erick and Anna
("Larson) Erickson, who had a small but very comfortable farm. When her
father died, he was fiftv-six years old ; although her mother reached the ad-
vanced age of eighty. Her father had been previously married and had two
sons; and by his second marriage he had, besides the subject of our sketch, a
son and a daughter. She was brought up in the staid Lutheran Church of
Sweden, and when fourteen was dulv confirmed.
In 1869 she came to America and settled for a while at Ishpeming. Mich..
and four years later she married Peter Lindquist. a native of West Mollond,
Munk Torp, Sweden, where he was born on Tulv 23, 1843. He came to Amer-
ica as early as 1870, and went to Marinette. AYis. ; and later he came to Ish-
peming, Mich. He was a shoemaker by trade and established himself in that
business ; and in that line he continued until 1875 when, finding his occupation
too confining, he decided to take up farming. He moved to Henry County,
Iowa, and in 1877 to Xew Sweden, the same state; and the following year he
took up a homestead in Phelps County, Xebr.. and in time proved it up. In
1887 he and his good wife moved still further west, to California : and having
looked over Kingsburg and come to appreciate the advantages here, he bought
the ranch land where Mrs. Lindquist now lives. After improving it hand-
somely, he lost it through a mortgage; but he bought it back later and ac-
quired another eighty acres, so that he owned at one time 120 acres.
In addition, Mr. Lindquist owned a section of 640 acres in Tulare County,
on the other side of Kings River, which he bought for colonization. He sold
some, and had he lived, he would have become wealthy. As it was. he was
forced to borrow; and when he died, on November 22. 1904. and his widow
became the administratrix, she had no option but to sell all of the Tulare land;
WVW tiw446 j&.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1429
after which the 120 acres was divided, sixty acres going to Mrs. Lindquist,
and ten to each of the six children then living.
Eight children really blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Lindquist
and honored the name of their lamented father: Charles G. married Anna
Carlson, and is a rancher ; and they have three children — Burt, Irene and
Margery. Alfred T. married Christine Plote, a native of Minnesota ; and he is
ranching near Kingsburg. Tilda O. married Thomas F. Gardner, and lived
for a while at Selma ; she had two sons, Marion and Laurence ; and both of
them, while attending the Kingsburg high school, now reside in Kingsburg.
Victor is farming near Kingsburg, on the west. Albert, who owns with Victor
the ranch of 160 acres west of Kingsburg, married Lillian Lightheart. Fritz
died when he was twelve years of age. George A., who graduated from the
Kingsburg high school and also attended the College of the Pacific at San
Jose for a couple of years, ordinarily makes his home with his mother, but
is now serving his country in the United States Army.
Mrs. Lindquist, who endeavors to be a Christian and lets her light shine
particularly through the organized work of the Swedish Methodist Episcopal
Church, of which she is a member, as was her devout husband also, is known
as an uncompromising Prohibitionist, and no one who understands the shadow
cast by strong drink and gambling over her family circle will question the
propriety of her views and acts in endeavoring to banish from society one of
the worst curses that has deranged and enchained man.
THOMAS H. ZINN.— As superintendent of the Sanger Lumber Com-
pany, T. H. Zinn became closely identified with the interests of Fresno
County during the ten years that he held that responsible position. A native
of Missouri, he was born in 1862, the son of George and Martha Zinn, na-
tives of Indiana. They were parents of eight children : Nancy J., who was
the wife of G. W. Finks, and who died in 1918: Lovis, who died when young;
Jerome V., associated with his brother Thomas H. in the Sanger Feed and
Fuel Company; Clara E., who became Mrs. G. M. Zinn; Richard, who died
in early childhood ; Lillian the wife of William Rhodes ; Thomas H., our
subject ; and Joseph P.
T. H. Zinn was reared and educated in Missouri. The major portion of
his life has been spent in the lumber business in one way or another. In 1903
he migrated to the Golden State and in 1909 he located in Fresno County.
For ten years he held the important position of superintendent of the Sanger
Lumber Company, whose extensive plant covers sixty acres situated in the
city of Sanger. While with this firm he had under his supervision from ninety
to one hundred men. The superintendent of such an extensive business has
a multitude of duties and great responsibilities, and that Mr. Zinn for so
many years successfully managed the affairs of the company proves him
to be a man of force of character and business acumen.
In 1888, T. H. Zinn was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Peyton,
a native of Texas ; and of this union three children were born : Edna T.r
wife of a Mr. Clark who is now in the service of the United States as a
civil engineer, during the World War ; and George P. and Thomas H., Jr.
Mr. Zinn owned a small ranch which was devoted to a vineyard, located
within the city limits of Sanger, and this he sold in 1918 at a good profit.
On June 1, 1918, he resigned from his position with the lumber company,
and has since given his entire time to the interests of the business of the
Sanger Feed and Fuel Company, which he and his brother have owned for
some years. Thomas H. Zinn is an active member of the Baptist Church,
which he serves as a deacon. He is greatly interested in the upbuilding of
the prosperous and growing city of Sanger, and has had the honor of serv-
ing as a trustee of the city and also of the Sanger High School.
1430 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
T. C. WHITE. — Something more than ordinary business sagacity is
needed to attain to the success reached by T. C. White, the capitalist, and
more than the good will of his fellow men is deserved by him for his con-
tribution to the establishing here of the soundest commercial and financial
conditions. Born in 1850 at Essex, four miles from Lake Champlain, Chit-
tenden County, Vt.. he was the son of Calvin and Hannah (Furman) White,
both of good old New England stock; and in the public schools of Essex
he obtained his elementary education. Later he attended Burlington College
in the same state.
Coming to California in 1877, he located in Fresno County, soon pur-
chased land, and in time, developed Central California's first raisin vine-
yard. As a raisin grower, he came to occupy offices of responsibility and also
gained an international reputation. He was once president of the old Pro-
ducers Packing Company, the first co-operative raisin association in the
state, and a prime mover and organizer as well as a director and treasurer
of the California Raisin Growers Association. His products have taken many
premiums, among which may be mentioned the special gold medal of the
Mechanics Institute Fair at San Francisco. He also received a special gold
medal from the San Joaquin Valley Fair, and diplomas and awards from
state and world fairs. In 1893 he was chosen as the judge for the State of
California to award the premiums for all products at the World's Fair at
Chicago, and such practical knowledge of fruit culture as has been necessary
in his own fortunate growing, made him the best of judges at well-known
fairs — an honorable appointment frequently conferred upon him. Mr. White
is more or less familiar with every phase of the fruit industry as thev are
represented in California, and has also grown deciduous fruits.
On November 27, 1877, Mr. White was married to Miss Augusta Fink,
born in Wisconsin, by whom he has had one son, Harry F. White, for some
time past associated with his father in business.
In 1892, Mr. White entered the real estate field, and in realty he is now
making new conquests. He has bought and sold thousands of acres, and by
helping to secure better transportation facilities, has enabled the settler
more rapidly to realize from his investment, and the community to sooner
build up. As a firm, T. C. & H. F. White are extensively interested in San
Joaquin Valley lands, while the son also represents the North River and City
of New York Fire Insurance Company. Mr. White owns the corner of I and
Merced Streets, 150x150 feet, 50x150 feet having been improved with a
three-story building many years ago. Seeing the need for a modern theater
building, and the time being ripe, he improved the balance of the lot with
the New White Theater, 100x150 feet. This is one of the most modern
theaters in the state, special attention having been given to ventilating, cool-
ing, heating, safety and fire escapes. The theater has a seating capacity of
1,500, and is the largest in the Valley. The front is built four stories and is
fitted up especially for the University Club, of which Mr. White is an hon-
orary member. He also owns other valuable business and resident property
in Fresno, and also valuable ranch property in Fresno, Kings and Madera
Counties.
Mr. White has for years been an important factor in the civic life of
the county, has served several times as a member of the board of super-
visors, and now and then as chairman of that body. While acting as the
chairman, the old canal or ditch on Silvia Road and Fresno Street had be-
come a nuisance, and dangerous as well. Silvia Road was in his road dis-
trict and he gave orders to the overseer to fill it in above Fresno Street out-
side of the city. It was begun and finished on a Sunday, thus stopping the
water from running into Fresno Street. The people of the city at once be-
gan to fill in the ditch in town, thereby doing away with the nuisance and
Fresno Street has become a leading thoroughfare. Mr. White has been a
director of the Twenty-first Agricultural District many years. In 1889 he
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1431
helped to organize the first National Bank of Fresno, and has been a member
of the board of directors ever since, also served as vice-president and secre-
tary; he is also interested in other Central California banking institutions.
He is a large stockholder and a director in the Fresno Hotel Company, a
corporation which, in 1913, erected at a cost of about $350,000 and today
worth over half a million dollars, the fine Hotel Fresno, and this last invest-
ment is but a fair illustration of the manner in which Mr. White has always
sought to build up the city. As a wide-awake, untiring "booster," he has
served as president of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.
C. E. BEAUMONT. — Among the leading lawyers of the Fresno Bar is
C. E. Beaumont, who was born at Mayfield, Ky., August 27, 1883, a son of
E. S. and May V. (Wortham) Beaumont, the former a well-known news-
paper man in his locality. C. E. Beaumont attended private and public
schools in his native state and also the Kentucky State University, and later
took the study of law at Cumberland University, in Lebanon, Tenn., from
which he was graduated in 1910. He then came direct to Fresno and for a
time was employed in the office of S. L. Carter, and later with the law firm
of Harris and Harris. Going then to Fort Worth, Texas, he was admitted
to practice law and spent one year in that city. His previous residence in
California, however, had given him an opportunity to get in close touch
with the people, and he liked the country. He felt the call to return so
strongly that he came back to Fresno and had an office with E. A. Williams
for two years, when he entered the office of the district attorney on March
1, 1914, as a deputy. He performed the duties of his office with much satis-
faction to all concerned, and at the same time was widening his circle of
friends in various parts of the county. Being familiar with the duties of his
office, he decided to become a candidate for district attorney of Fresno
County, made a vigorous canvas of the voters, and at the primary election
held in August, 1918, received a majority of the votes cast, which eliminated
his two opponents and elevated him to the office, a signal honor. His suc-
cess in office is the result of hard work, good business management and
judgment, and his selection of able assistants.
C. E. Beaumont was married on December 6, 1915. to Miss Lucy Mad-
den, of Fresno, who shares with her husband the good-will and esteem of
all who know them. They are members of the First Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Beaumont is a member of the Masons, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias,
the University Club and the college fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilom. Politi-
cally he is a Democrat. He is a supporter of the various movements for the
advancement of the state and county where he has elected to make his home.
ADEN A. LOWE. — Aden A. Lowe, the enterprising agent for the
Willys Overland automobiles and the former accommodating proprietor of
the Kerman Garage, was born in Parnell, Mo., in 1891, the son of George
S. Lowe, a native of Illinois. His father was a thorough-going farmer, who
did his part in maintaining the reputation of the Iron State for bumper
crops ; but having become convinced that California offered inducements
not to be found in the East, he brought his family West in 1907, and settled
at Kerman. From the beginning he engaged in ranching, and with a couple
of well-selected vineyards he went in for viticulture. Later, giving up farm-
ing, he sold and bought business properties ; and in that field he is now en-
gaged, making Kerman his headquarters. Mrs. Lowe was Frances Glaze
before her marriage. Of her union with M'r. Lowe eight children were born,
of whom six grew to maturity. Aden was the sixth of these, in the order of
birth. He attended the well-organized schools in Missouri, and with his
folks came to Kerman in 1907. For three years he assisted his father, under
whose guidance he learned to cultivate foresight and to be conservative
while at the same time willing to venture.
1432 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
When he was nineteen, Mr. Lowe started out for himself, opening a
barber-shop in Kerman. Of pleasing personality, he never wanted for patron-
age; and in the barber-business he remained until 1915. Then he sold out
and began in the business wherein he has been so exceptionally successful —
the auto trade. He became agent for the Willys-Overland automobile, for
the Kerman section of Fresno County, and also opened a garage. He formed
a partnership with Mr. Patterson, under the firm name of Patterson &
Lowe, and became one of the proprietors of the Kerman Garage. This busi-
ness was carried on successfully until January 1, 1919, when, desiring a
wider field, he dissolved partnership with Mr. Patterson and secured the
agency for the same car for Madera County. He secured the lease of a new
brick fire-proof garage, 55 by 150 feet, on C and Sixth Street, Madera, where
he is now located and where, by his assiduous attention to every want of his
many patrons, he has the satisfaction of offering thoroughly reliable service
and convenient accommodation to the touring public and local car owners.
In Fresno Mr. Lowe was married to Miss Bertha Leisman, a native of
Missouri, by whom he has had one son, Raymond. Few men could boast
of a happier home. Mr. Lowe is a member of the Woodmen of the World.
In politics he is a Democrat.
WILLIAM A. LOCKIE.— When the real history of the State of Cali-
fornia comes to be written, and credit is given to the rank and file of those
who laid the foundations of this great commonwealth, and especially to the
few who had such foresight and courage that they naturally became leaders
and had much to do with guiding the ship of state, then will the historian
not fail to record the simple but eloquent story of the late William A. Lockie,
whose life closed on March 8, 1918, in his seventy-second year. "Death has
again invaded our community," wrote the local newspaper chronicler of that
time, "taking one who has long resided here, who has witnessed a remarkable
change in the growth and transformation of this section, and who now, in
the sunset of his life, passes on, leaving a memory of kindly deeds and noble
aspirations."
Mr. Lockie was born in Woodstock, Canada, on January 4, 1846, and
when only nineteen years of age he was united in marriage to Miss Margaret
Leithead, who was his constant, loving and devoted companion for forty-six
years, when she was called to the bourne from which no traveler returns.
The value of her life to him is best shown in the fact that, after her natural
but still untimely death, on March 29, 1912, Mr. Lockie had suffered from
inconsolable loneliness, and seemed to lose interest in earthly affairs. He
suffered an attack of apoplexy a week previous to his demise from which he
did not rally, for although he was apparently in robust health, the arteries
had hardened, and his vitality was impaired. Nothing could be done to relieve
him, and he yielded to Nature the great debt expected, sooner or later, from
us all. This taking-off bereft especially the following sons and daughters:
Thomas S. ; Robert M. ; John K. ; Lillie I., Mrs. J. W. Pugh : William S. ;
Frank J.; Jessie M.. Mrs. W. A. Wilkins ; Margaret B. ; Laura I., Mrs. G. A.
Rigby ;' and Mattie A., Mrs. John Wilkins.
Mr. Lockie was long looked upon as an exemplary citizen, and the local
chronicler already referred to reflected the sentiments of the neighbors and
friends of the deceased when he further wrote : "During his residence of
twenty-six years in Fowler community, Mr. Lockie had proven to be an hon-
orable and upright man. highly respected by all who knew him, and a noble
and indulgent father to his family of five sons and five daughters, all of whom
survive him, together with sixteen grandchildren. The community has lost
a man of sterling qualities in the death of Mr. Lockie."
After his marriage in Canada, Mr. Lockie came to California in 1870,
settled in Solano County, where for several years he rented land, and then
moved to Oregon. For seven years he raised sheep and stock in Lake County,
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1435
and then he went into cotton culture in Texas, choosing Weatherford, thirty
miles from Ft. Worth, as the most favorable ranch land. Returning to Cali-
fornia in 1887, Mr. Lockie rented the Brown ranch, two miles north of
Fowler, but after a year he bought the first instalment of his home ranch,
now so widely known as a model farm. He began with twenty acres, but
came to own nine times that area of highly-cultivated farm land. His fine
residence, built in 1907, cost $6,000, and his ranch was made the more valu-
able through a full complement of farm buildings.
SARAH FRANCES PUGH, D. O.— An osteopathic physician of un-
usual ability, who has been successfully practicing her profession in Fresno
since 1904, is Sarah Frances Pugh. the subject of this sketch. She is a de-
scendant of a pioneer family of California, although a native of Lewis County,
Mo.
When California caused the world to vibrate with the news of its wonder-
ful wealth, and caravans of prairie schooners drawn by slow going oxen
were crossing the trackless plains, in the "days of old, the days of gold, the
days of '49," it was then that Jane Pugh, the grandmother of Dr. Pugh,
accompanied by the doctor's two uncles. Aaron and John Pugh, and two
aunts, Esther and Eleanor Pugh, made her advent into the state of Cali-
fornia. Grandmother Pugh returned to her old home in Missouri in 1875,
where she passed to her' reward in 1881. Four sons of the above pioneer
John Pugh, are now numbered among the prominent men of San Joaquin
Valley. Sarah Frances Pugh is the daughter of Matthias and Hannah (Mc-
Williams) Pugh, natives of Ohio and Kentucky, respectively, who were
pioneers in Lewis Co., Mo. The father entered government land and re-
sided on it till he died at the age of eighty-two and one-half years. His wife
having preceded him several years, passed away at the age of sixty-five.
Matthias Pugh served in a Missouri regiment in the Civil War.
Dr. Sarah F. Pugh received her early education in the common schools
of Missouri, after the completion of which she became a teacher of in-
strumental music. Being possessed of a kindly and sympathetic nature, she
took up nursing the sick, which experience no doubt was a potent factor in
leading her to the decision to become an osteopathic physician. Her first
course in this interesting and helpful science, which has accomplished such
wonderful and restorative results and alleviated the sufferings of humanity,
was taken in Dr. Ward's School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, Mo. It was in
this town that the late Dr. A. T. Still, the discoverer of the science, formerly
resided. In 1902, Dr. Pugh graduated from Dr. S. S. Still's College of
Osteopathy at Des Moines, Iowa. Later she pursued a course in bacteriol-
ogy and gynecology. Before locating in Fresno, Dr. Pugh practiced her
profession in St. Louis.
In 1916 Dr. Pugh took a post graduate course at Kansas City, Mo., in
diagnosis and treatment of the eye, ear, nose, and throat; and in 1917 she
supplemented her knowledge on these subjects by a course of study at Los
Angeles, Cal. She is at present specializing on these treatments, for which
she has been so thoroughly prepared. Dr. Pugh has built up a large practice
in Fresno and other sections of the San Joaquin Valley. She is a member of
the State and National Association of Osteopaths, also of the American
Osteopathic Society of Ophthalmology and Oto Laryngology. Dr. Pugh is
considered an expert on these subjects and is the author of several articles
on these special treatments.
Dr. Sarah F. Pugh is fast winning an enviable reputation as a skilful
and conscientious practitioner, and can look forward to a long and useful
career.
Fraternally, she is a member of the Daughters of Veterans of the Civil
War, and is Past Department President of California and Nevada. She is
a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and belongs to the Baptist Church.
1436 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JEFFERSON M. SHANNON.— When the great history of California
shall have been written, in which men and women of note receive their true
place in the high lights of a larger perspective according to real shadow that
each casts, then will there loom large, as of commanding stature, the late
Jefferson M. Shannon, a man of great foresight, executive power and sterling
integrity, well-known in his day to Millerton and Fresno as an undersheriff
and politician of high order. The Shannon family goes back to Ireland, and
includes, in its various ramifications in this country, Wilson Shannon, the
governor of Ohio and later of Kansas, and once United States Minister to
Mexico ; Effie Shannon, the actress, and James J. Shannon, the portrait paint-
er long distinguished in the art circles of Europe. The earliest records of this
particular branch of the Shannon family go back to the date of the birth of
Nathaniel Shannon, Jefferson's grandfather, and these records, so very inter-
esting, are found in the Shannon family Bible, which has been handed down
from generation to generation, until it is now in the possession of Miss L.
Danie Shannon, late of Palmyra, Mo., and now at Fresno. There is an entry,
"Nathaniel Shannon was born 22nd Feby., 1763." and another, "Isabelle Shan-
non, wife of N. Shannon, was born 22nd Febv.. 1772" — a curious coincidence,
by the way, as to Washington's Birthday. From the same records we learn
that Nathaniel Shannon. Jr., the father of our subject, was born on December
31. 1800. in Kentucky, and that he there married Mary Nail, also a Kentuckian,
after which he came out to Hannibal, Mo., the town destined to be made
forever famous as the boyhood haunt of Mark Twain. Later, he settled near
Palmyra on a farm of several hundred acres, where he brought up his family.
There were eight children, named Warren, Maletia, Jefferson Milam.
Daniel Johnson, Cynthia Ouinn, Martin Alexander, Isabella Lucy and Laura
Dulcena, called L. Danie, the only child now living ; and these, with their
mother, Mr. Shannon left in Missouri, .while he came overland with oxen in
1849, reaching Sacramento in the fall. He engaged in mining at Placerville
or Hangtown as it was then called ; but while butchering a beef accidental}'
cut his hand so that he died from lock-jaw. on March 1. 1852. at Diamond
Springs, Cal. Grandmother Shannon, who had remained in Missouri with
her three daughters and two sons, eventually died in that state.
Jefferson Shannon, who was born on November 8. 1831. grew up in
Missouri long enough to attend the common schools; but in the great year
of the Argonauts, when he was eighteen years old, he engaged to drive a
team across the great plains. The company he was with was detained on the
Donner Trail, which proved impassable, and they were so badly delayed that
they did not get through to Fort Sutter until the spring of 1850. He thus
came to the Golden State at a somewhat later time than his intrepid father:
but like the latter, he mined, and also engaged in butchering, selling meat
and groceries to the mining camps. He also took up farm work, spending a
couple of years at Yacaville on the Wilson ranch.
lie came to Millerton about 1850 and went into blacksmithing : and it
was while he labored there at the forge that he became acquainted with Gil-
lum Baley and his family, and married his daughter. Miss Rebecca Margaret
Baley, who was the first school teacher at Millerton. At the time of his mar-
riage, Mr. Shannon, besides being a blacksmith, was deputy sheriff of Fresno
County, under the late Scott Ashman, his brother-in-law. and he served in
that office of responsibility until 1867. Upon the advent of the first railroad
to Fresno he became the first station agent.
Mr. Shannon early became acquainted with Leland Stanford. Collis P.
Huntington. Mark Hopkins and Charles Crocker who were popularly known
as the "I tig Four" of the Central Pacific and the Southern Pacific railways,
and through them, in the beginning of the seventies, was connected with
the Pacific Improvement Co.. the holding company of the Southern Pacific
railway, lie sold the town lots for the Pacific Improvement Company at
about the time when the road was being built from Stockton to Fresno, the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1437
sales taking place in Fresno. In 1873 choice corner lots in the downtown
business district sold for $500 each ; other lots sold at $125 ; while lots lying
further out went for $62.50, and the residence portion was sold in blocks.
Through Mr. Shannon's influence with the Pacific Improvement Com-
pany the Court House Park was donated by the company to the county, and
so were the sites for the first Catholic Church at the corner of M and Fresno
Streets, and of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, at the corner of L
and Fresno Streets. In his capacity as representative of the land department
of the Pacific Improvement Company, Mr. Shannon laid out and sold off sites
of the various cities and towns on the Southern Pacific system throughout
California and even into Arizona, being general townsite agent for the said
Pacific Improvement Company from El Paso, Texas, to San Francisco.
As a proper reward for such years of strenuous and faithful service, Mr.
Shannon became well-to-do. He owned eight lots in Fresno at the corner of
J and Fresno Streets, between- Fresno and Mariposa, and there he built the
far-famed, if modest Shannon residence, whose hospitable doors swung open
to high and low, rich and poor, and where children in particular were very
welcome. There are still living those who will recall the pleasure of Mr.
Shannon in handing out to the young folks watermelons and other fruit
grown on his property now in the very heart of Fresno. He set out an orange
grove, and the old Church Canal furnished water for irrigation, flowing down
Fresno Street.
Mr. and Mrs. Shannon were married at old Fort Miller, and all of their
four children were born at Millerton. The elder is Mary Idria, now the wife
of W. E. Thorns, and resides at 1547 North N Street; the second in the order
of birth is Scott A., familiarly known as "Fred" Shannon, well-known in
Fresno County ; Sidney J. is deputy United States Marshal at Fresno ; and
Leland Stanford Shannon, manager of the Shannon Bros, ranch. In 1888, Mr.
Shannon moved to Alameda, and there the boys were schooled. Mr. Shannon
became the owner of 480 acres four miles north of Selma, where he set out
a vineyard of about ninety acres, mostly of malaga grapes, for he was a pio-
neer planter of the malagas. In addition to their own four children, the
worthy couple reared a niece. Miss Jane Eleanor Ashman, now Mrs. James
Ferguson of Coalinga.
Mr. Shannon died at Alameda on June 8, 1902, and his good wife passed
away there, also, on September 5, 1906. Roth lie buried in the Mountain
View Cemetery at Oakland.
ZANE POTTER.— Born in Pike County, 111., August 28, 1860, Zane
Potter is a descendant of pioneers of that county. His father, John Potter,
of Irish descent, was an early settler there, and there his death occurred,
at the age of sixty-six and one-half years. John Potter married Lucretia
Cochran, born either in Ohio or Virginia, of German ancestry and to this
pioneer couple eleven children were born, seven boys and four girls. Of
these, four boys and three girls are living, and Zane Potter is the only one
in California.
Zane Potter grew to manhood on his father's farm in Illinois, close to
the small town of Baylis. In 1886 he came to Fresno County, from Missouri,
and settled in Fresno, where he lived until 1890, after which he became fore-
man of the A. Sach's vineyard of 160 acres, a position he held for four years.
He then went to San Francisco and visited the Midwinter Fair, after which
he went back to Illinois and Missouri to visit relatives. In 1895 he returned
to California and again settled in Fresno County, buying forty acres of land
in the Lone Star district, which he improved and planted, and finally sold.
Later he bought forty acres of land again, upon which he erected a com-
fortable home, and in 1908 added an adjoining ranch of twenty acres to his
holdings, and now owns sixty acres with two sets of buildings. For five
vears he leased the ranch out and made his residence in Fresno, at 2815
1438 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Madison Avenue. He prefers a ranch home to a city one, however, and
moved back to his ranch in January, 1918.
On October 14, 1883, in Pike County, 111., Mr. Potter was married to
Martha A. Rutherford, and soon after their marriage they went to Pike
County, Mo., where Mr. Potter rented a farm for two years, before coming
to California. He attributes much of his success to his estimable wife, who
is one of the best of mothers. They have had three children, but two of
these have died, one at eleven years and five months, and the other at eight
months. The daughter living is now the wife of A. N. Dillingham, jewelry
salesman for A. S. Shaddow, of Fresno.
Since coming to Fresno County Mr. Potter has taken a place in the
musical circles of this section as a singer in Walberg's Male Chorus. He
taught singing in both Missouri and California, and ever since boyhood his
voice has been heard in church choirs in the different communities where
he has lived. Mr. Potter is a member of the Odd Fellows, and of the Raisin
Growers' Association.
CLAUDE C. LAVAL. — In Claude C. Laval, expert commercial photog-
rapher, Fresno possesses a citizen who stands in the front rank in the
State of California in his chosen profession. He was born in New York-
City, November 8, 1882, and received his education in the schools of New
York, Brooklyn and Chicago. He began to make his way in the world at
the early age of fifteen, and was in the employ of the J. C. Barr Engineering
Company at Pittsburgh, Pa., as architect and civil engineer. He was also
foreman in charge of the steel mill erected at Monongahela, Pa., for the
Cochocton Iron Works. In 1901, at the age of nineteen, he took up his life
work of photography, being employed by the R. W. Johnston Studios of
Pittsburgh, the second largest firm of its kind in the state. During the
five years he was with the firm he devoted his entire time to the commercial
branch of the business and received a thorough training in the art.
In October, 1906, Mr. Laval came to Fresno and was for a time in the
employ of Dr. Chester Rowell. He then formed a partnership with C. H.
Atkinson in the Angelus Studio, still devoting his time to commercial
photography. After one year of partnership he started in business for him-
self in that branch of the work, with his studio and developing room at 656
N. Van Ness Avenue. He is the pioneer in modern commercial photog-
raphy in Fresno, brought the first circuit camera and the first smokeless
flash apparatus to the city, and was also the first to successfully photograph
banquet gatherings. He has been very successful in his chosen line of
work and is probably the best-known and most expert outdoor commercial
photographer in Central California. His reputation, indeed, has spread to
all parts of the state. He was exclusively the photographer at the famous
Jennie Crocker wedding, being specially called to San Francisco for that
occasion, and took forty-two pictures of the affair in the pavilion and church.
He was also called to San Francisco to photograph the meeting of the
Federation of Woman's Clubs at the Cliff House. He holds the record in
Fresno for taking flash-light pictures of a banquet, having brought back the
finished picture in thirty minutes' time. He brought the first motion picture
camera to Fresno, and took and developed 50,000 feet of films for the San
Francisco and San Diego Fairs in 1915. He is the official photographer
for the San Joaquin Valley Counties Association, which represents eight
counties. He is the photographer for the Gaumont Weekly, taking motion
pictures for it in the valley from Stockton to Bakersfield. These are shown
at all the leading picture theaters in the country, and in doing this work he
has been the means of giving much publicity to Fresno County, spreading
its fame all over the world. He does all the commercial work for the
California Raisin Association and the California Peach Growers' Associa-
tion, and all of the Fresno Republican's work, photographing all fires and
t^tf ' ^r /&<^^^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1441
accidents for that paper. He also specializes in making enlargements.
Sixty-four of the largest enlargements on exhibition at the San Francisco
fair in 1915 were made by him. These were forty inches by eight feet in
size. His enlargements for a window display for the Wonder Store in
Fresno attracted much attention ; they were six feet by nine feet in size, the
largest ever made in Fresno County. He has taken motion picture views
in mountain and valley in the San Joaquin Valley and filmed pictures on
the top of Mount Keyser, 10,300 feet above sea level. These were on ex-
hibition at the San Francisco and San Diego fairs in 1915 as official pictures
from Fresno County. He has also done the motion picture work for the
Fresno County Horticultural Commission, photographing the grape leaf
hopper and fig wasp, giving enlarged views of these pests that destroy the
fruit and vine. This was his own idea.
In August, 1918, F. C. Ninnis became associated with Mr. Laval, the
firm name becoming Laval and Ninnis. The latter has been engaged in
commercial photography in California since 1895, and in Fresno County
since 1904. The equipment of the laboratory of this enterprising firm is
conceded to be the most modern and complete of its kind in the entire state.
Mr. Laval married Miss Sadie M. Cheesman, a native of Pennsylvania,
and they are the parents of two children, Claude C, Jr., and Virginia May.
Mr. Laval is a member of the Fresno Lodge of Knights of Pythias.
BENJAMIN F. COTTON.— A pioneer of Fresno County of 1881, B. F.
Cotton has been very closely identified with the section now within the
vicinity of Sanger and has won a place for himself in the esteem of the citi-
zens of the county by his integrity of character and public spirit. He was
born on July 31, 1862, near the town of Cottontown. Tenn., which place was
named in honor of his ancestors, who were early settlers in Sumner Countv
and were slave-owners. The family originally came from North Carolina.
His parents were John and Patience (Edwards) Cotton, who had seven chil-
dren, three of whom are now living: M. A., who came to California in 1875
and is now living in Visalia ; W. C, still living near Cottontown, Tenn. ; and
B. F., of this review.
B. F. Cotton was educated in the grammar and high schools of his native
state, and after his school days were over came to Fresno County, Cal., to
join a brother who had pioneered it here since 1875. At that time there were
but a few vineyards in the entire county, the area being given to grain-farm-
ing, with little thought of the possibilities for viticultural development. He
first located on some land three miles from what is now the site of Sanger,
no thought having been given to the possibility of a town in this location
at the time. He devoted himself to farming, and in 1887 was elected to the
important office of justice of the peace, serving two years So closely has
he been identified with the interests of this part of the county that he is
properly considered a pioneer, having had to do with every project that has
been put forth to build up the locality. The confidence of his friends was
again expressed when he was recently elected to the office he had held in
1887, this time for a four-year term, which he is now serving, dealing out
justice with the impartiality so characteristic of him.
On May 1, 1888, Judge Cotton was united in marriage with Miss Anna
Cody, daughter of Truman and Mary Cody. Truman Cody is a cousin of
the famed "Buffalo Bill" Cody of Wild West fame. Of this union of Mr. and
Mrs. Cotton three children were born, two of whom are now living : William
E., who married Anna Zinn, by whom he has a son, Elmer Thomas ; and
Mrs. Grace V. Brumbaugh, the mother of two children, Helen and Benjamin.
The ludge is a member of Court Sanger, No. 617, I. O. O. F., at Sanger, and
of the Sanger Chamber of Commerce. He is an active member of the Chris-
tian Church, is a man who is considered one of the dependable citizens of
the growing town of Sanger, and is esteemed by all who know him.
1442 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
GRANVILLE HARTMAN WALLEY.— Among the pioneer contrac-
tors of Fresno, who. by far-reaching foresight, an unusual spirit of enterprise
and the employment of only the most up-to-date methods and devices, have
contributed much to the development of both Fresno and Central California,
must be rated, in the first rank, George H. Walley. who was born near
Valley Forge in Chester County, Pa., on January 6, 1850, and when only
sixteen started to learn the carpenter's trade in Philadelphia. While work-
ing there, he helped erect the Falmouth Market, long one of the notable
landmarks in the City of Brotherly Love. In 1870 he removed to La Salle
County, 111., and for three years worked in Ottawa at his trade. He also
owned a ranch of eighty acres in Iroquois County, and farmed the same
himself. Catching the gold fever in 1876, he started with a party of thirteen
on saddle horses and pack animals for the Black Hills; but before they
reached the mines, they were attacked by Indians and several of the com-
pany were killed. Mr. Walley himself, after a vigorous fight, was shot in
the leg and so badly wounded that he was laid up for eight months. The
party kept the Indians at bay and retreated for three days after he was
wounded, making Deadwood in safety. It was very difficult in those days
to get medical or surgical attention, and such as could be secured was none
of the best ; and the result was that the sick and wounded languished and
suffered in a way that is but faintly realized by those who have come after
and reaped the benefits of their pioneering.
In 1877 Mr. 'Walley went to Colorado and located in Denver, being
employed at his trade: and in 1878 he went to Leadville, and mined for
five years. He swung the pick in the Monarch Mine and at Bonanza Creek
and suffered many hardships; and later he worked at his trade in Maysville,
Colo., where his cleverness in solving problems of the moment and incidental
to the raw conditions of the times was much appreciated.
In the fall of 1879 Mr. Walley arrived in California, and having looked
over the ground and rapidly sized up the advantages of the several sections,
he was ready to settle in Fresno by the following spring. It was then but a
small and not particularly ambitious town, as one may well imagine from
the fact that lots on Fresno Street sold for sixty dollars, while corner lots
commanded only $125. This condition of realty attracted Air. Walley, and
he both bought and sold much unimproved property. He also bought a
couple of ranches — one of eighty acres on the east of Fowder, and the other
of twenty acres, three-fourths of a mile east of Selma. Both were raw
land ; but with his usual enterprise, Mr. Walley set out a peach orchard and'
planted alfalfa, and when he was ready to make a good showing, at the
end of three years he sold out.
During this time, he did contracting and building, and in both Fowler
and Selma erected a number of brick structures for store purposes. Finding
that he was better adapted for that line of undertaking, he settled in Fresno
and followed his trade with vigorous competition. He became both a builder
and a contractor, and since then he has erected over two hundred buildings.
This brought him into nearly all the cities and towns of Fresno County,
and into many places in the San Joaquin Valley. In Fresno he erected the
Meade, Ball and Fisk blocks, the Tubercular Ward, County Hospital, and'
numerous fine residences. In Coalinga he put up the Akers Block and the
Skating Pavilion, and the best of the town's store buildings. In Kerman
he built two hotels and two apartment houses. Each and every one of these
buildings probably would have done credit to places and periods supposed to
have been much in advance of these growing California towns.
Mr. \\ alley has also built a number of houses of his own in Fresno, and
at present he is the owner of seven, among which is a fine apartment house
on Illinois and Second Streets, of from two to five rooms. He owns an
apartment house in Coalinga, and also four lots at Fifth and D Streets in
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1443
that town. Lately he retired from active work and builds only to serve some
old friend, who knows the class of work he is accustomed to do and will
not accept no for an answer.
While in Colorado Mr. Walley was married to Mary Kraft, a native of
Illinois, who has proved a most excellent wife and mother. One of their
daughters is now the wife of George Donohue, the agent of the Southern
Pacific at Armona, and has three children ; and another daughter, Katie, is
the wife of John Simpson, an engineer of the same railway company. In
Colorado, Mr. Walley joined the Knights of Pythias, affiliating with Cava-
naugh Lodge, at Maysville.
In the semi-leisure hours of these later years, Mr. Walley entertains his
friends with many interesting stories of adventure and of his remarkable
experiences while searching for fortune. Not only did he suffer many hard-
ships during his mining days in Wyoming and Colorado, but in 1898 he took
a trip to Alaska, borne along by the rush of gold-seekers to Nome ; and
while traveling many hundreds of miles in the eighteen months that' he was
in the frozen North, he endured much that others would not live to tell. So,
too, he has passed successfully through hair-raising brushes with the Indians,
and with some of the worst that the pioneers and the American government
have ever had to contend with, and today he has yarn after yarn about the
red man well worth the telling anywhere or at any time.
ROBERT M. WOOD.— It would have been strange indeed if Califor-
nia, unrivalled in its various climatic advantages, and with a soil so well
adapted for almost any kind of agricultural enterprise, and particularly with
conditions so very favorable for fruit-culture, should not have become one
of the most famous parts of the earth, to say nothing of the United States,
for the growing of raisin and table grapes, apricots, peaches, plums, berries,
oranges, lemons and olives. The American in particular was quick to see
what might be done here, and ever since men once began to get away from
the idea that land was worth little except for a "cow country," the progress
of development has been rapid.
Among those who once operated on a large scale in other fields of im-
portant endeavor and have now become noted for more intensive develop-
ment of the resources of the state is Robert M. Wood, a horticulturist, and
the son of James and Elizabeth (Koontz) Wood, so well known in their
day as worthy pioneers. The elder Wood was a farmer who crossed the
plains to reach the northwest, and located for a while at Harrisburg in Linn
County, Ore. In 1869 he came to California, and the longer he stayed here,
the better he liked it. The following year he moved once more, this time to
Fresno County ; and at last he was convinced that he had found the ideal
spot he had been looking for. He bought the old Powers place, and by the
time that he died, in 1873, he had greatly improved his acquisition.
Robert M. was born on October 18, 1848, in Wapello County, Iowa, and
crossed the plains in 1852 with his father. When he first came to Fresno
County, he went into the sheep and stock business at Centerville ; and there
he lived until the time when the town of Sanger was started, there he moved,
but continued in the sheep business.
In 1904, notwithstanding the fact that he had operated so extensively
with sheep that at one time he rented as much as 40,000 acres of land for
his bands, he sold out and embarked in vineyard, orange and other fruit
growing. He set out the first vineyard in the Mt. Hammell country, keep-
ing the same until 1916, when he disposed of it.
He now has 100 acres of his 420-acre ranch, four miles south of Reedley
set out to prunes. Nowhere does a more orderly, promising prune orchard
greet the eye of even the widely-experienced traveler, and Mr. Wood is
recognized as an authority in the field in which he is now an intensely pro-
gressive leader.
1444 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
At Fresno, in 1883. Mr. Wood married Emmye Heydcliffe, a native of
San Francisco, in which metropolis, with its many educational advantages.
she was reared. One child. Birdie Wood, has blessed their union. Mr. Wood
is a popular member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and
he is a leader in the councils of the Republican party, although broad-minded
enough to treat all local political questions irrespective of party prejudices.
ALVIN A. CHANNELL. — A man of quiet, meditative temperament,
whose studious and hard-working life has enabled him to become a real fac-
tor in helping to build up Central California, is Alvin A. Channell, the first
man to install a pumping-plant in this section. He first came to California in
1889. but it was not until 1898, that, with a fuller knowledge of what the state
as a whole had to offer, he chose Fresno County as the most promising field.
Alvin A. was born near Montreal. Canada, on August 15, 1870.
the son of J. W. Channell. who was also born there. The father was a farmer;
he married Ellen Sargent : and in 1889 he came west to California and located
in Contra Costa County, where he began ranching with a fine orchard and an
equally good vineyard. Six years later he moved to Lodi, where he engaged
in horticulture, profiting by his previous experience in the growing of peaches
and pears; and in that line he continued until 1915. when he sold out and
moved to Santa Cruz. In 1918, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Channell took up their
residence in Fresno County, where Mr. Channell died on May 31. 1919. aged
eighty years. They were the parents of five children, four living: Edna, who
is Mrs. George Cooper, of Santa Cruz; Alvin A., the subject of this sketch:
Alice, who is Mrs. Albert Babel of Easton ; and Robert M.. living at Lodi.
Brought up on a farm near Montreal until he was nineteen, during which
time he attended the public schools and the Knowltonville High School, Al-
vin A. Channell came west to Contra Costa County, Cal.. in 1889, and there,
as well as at Lodi, followed horticulture. In 1898 he located at Del Rev,
Fresno County, where he became foreman of the Kimball Peach Orchard and
was given charge of 370 acres ; but in 1903 he came to Rolinda and bought
his present place. It comprised 320 acres on White's Bridge Road, extending
back to Belmont, nine miles west of Fresno, and. with from sixty to eighty
milch cows, he engaged in the dairy business, making a specialty of the cream.
He used electric power and had a Sharpless milking machine and he improved
the land to alfalfa. In 1917 he sold 160 acres on Belmont Avenue, and the
balance he has improved with alfalfa and a vineyard, and also maintains a
small dairy, with high-grade Holsteins and Guernseys. He is a stockholder in
the Danish Creamery Association. In 1918 he completed a modern residence
of ten rooms.
Mr. Channell was married in Fresno on November 20, 1901, being united
with Miss Florence Wells, a native daughter born in what was then Tulare
Count}', but now the site of the Lucerne Vineyard near Hanford. Kings
County. Her parents were A. J. and Sarah (Underwood) Wells, who were
born near Wheeling, W. Va., and who migrated to California in 1880, and
after residing a while at Yacaville, came to Tulare County, but soon after-
wards bought a ranch of eighty acres at Del Rev. which they improved to a
splendid vineyard and orchard, and where they still make their home. Mrs.
Channell's grandfather. Benjamin Wells, also came to California in 1880. be-
coming a prominent upbuilder of the Del Rev section and interested in the
Church ditch and being for many years superintendent of the canal until he
retired to his ranch, where he resided until his death. Of the five children
born to Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Wells, four are living, of whom Mrs. Channell is
the eldest. The others are: Emery A., of Del Rev; Bessie, who is Mrs. B. M.
Hopper of Fresno; and Frank R.. who served in the United States Army
overseas, and now resides at Del Rey. Florence Wells Channell's entire life has
been spent in Fresno County and she has witnessed its wonderful develop-
ment.
\A&ru-*^~<ZJi~ (5 , ^*-&-*_*^^e^s£--
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1449
Mr. and Mrs. Channell have nine children: Alvin J., Eva Merle, Pauline
Mildred, Edwin Martin, Bessie Edith, Gordon Linwood, Kenneth Wells, Bar-
bara Elizabeth, and Francis Sargent.
Mr. Channell is a Republican in national politics, but is non-partisan in
local matters. Among other civic responsibilities, he is clerk of the Houghton
School District. When Mr. Channell put in the first pumping-plant here-
abouts, he sunk a 12-inch well to a depth of 101 feet and set up a gas engine
of twenty-five horsepower with a pumping capacity of 1,500 gallons a minute.
His object was to irrigate his alfalfa, and so well did it work that eight or niffe
years later he installed an electric motor. In 1918 he sunk a well on his home
place, sixty feet deep, bringing the water within ten feet of the surface ; and
then, having laid down cement pipe lines, he installed an electric pumping-
plant ample for distributing water to the different fields in the quarter-section.
Mrs. Channell is a cultured and refined woman, presiding gracefully over
their magnificent country home, where she and her husband welcome their
many friends. Of an amiable and pleasing personality, Mrs. Channell has
proven herself a splendid wife and mother, and is also deeply interested in
popular education.
FREDERICK E. TWINING.— The up-to-date and progressive charac-
ter of the civic life of Fresno has attracted men of all callings, scientific and
otherwise, to its center, and in the Twining Laboratories, whose headquar-
ters are in the Grifnth-McKenzie building, Fresno has an institution which
has become one of the leading enterprises of its kind in the state.
Its founder, Frederick E. Twining, was born in Croton, Ohio, May 28,
1874. He received a liberal education in the public schools and in the Deni-
son University at Granville, Ohio, where he took a course in chemistry. He
also took a medical course in a medical college at Columbus, Ohio, afterward
returning to Granville, where he conducted one of the leading drug stores
in that place. California's allurements enticed him to dispose of his inter-
ests in the east, and in 1898 Dr. Twining came to Fresno and established the
Cutter Laboratories on Mariposa Street. In 1900 he was appointed State
Sanitary Inspector for five counties in the San Joaquin Valley, retaining the
position for twelve years. His well known ability as a chemist won for him
the appointment of City Bacteriologist of the city of Fresno, and in 1913
he established the Twining Laboratories, whose business has grown and ex-
panded until it has a state wide reputation and has become one of the lead-
ers in this line of work in the state of California, conducting all kinds of
scientific investigations, microscopic, bacteriological, chemical and physical.
Its branch laboratory on Amador Street contains all the heavy machinery
for physical testing ; the Laboratories include X-ray plant, grinding outfit,
machine shop and an electro-chemical outfit, where any kind of test is made.
Professor Twining has recently been in the East engaged in special mining
work for the copper and steel interests. He also does agricultural laboratory
work, conducting . special work for the farmers and fruit growers of the
valley, and is constantly branching out in his field of labor.
He established domestic ties by his marriage with Maude M. Wolverton of
the state of Ohio, the fruit of the union being a son, Fred W., now an officer
in the United States Army, who received his training at Camp Kearny, Gal.
JAMES A. LANG. — To retain a responsible position with a large rail-
way company for twenty years bespeaks sterling character and business abil-
ity of a high degree and of especial adaptability to one's work. Such is the
honorable record of James A. Lang, a pioneer employee of the Southern
Pacific Railway Company, for twenty years in the baggage department, and
during the last fifteen years of his service was in full charge of the baggage
department at the Fresno depot.
James A. Lang is a native of the Hoosier State, born January 7, 1871, at
Corydon, Indiana, and when one year old his father moved to Sherman
1450 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
County, Xebraska. where he took up the first government claim in the county
and was one of the pioneers of that section of the state. James A. Lang was
reared on a farm in Xebraska, in which state he followed farming until he
migrated to the Golden State, where he arrived February 2, 1894, and at
first stopped at Fresno, then a small town of about 12,000 inhabitants. For
the first five months he worked on ranches, after which he secured employ-
ment in the baggage department of the Southern Pacific Railway Company at
Fresno. Air. Lang has witnessed marvelous changes in the business affairs
of the railroad during his long term of service, and mentions the interesting
fact that the storage charges averaged about $3.50 per month, when he first
entered the baggage room, but the business had so greatly increased by the
time he severed his connection with the company, in 1912, as to amount to
$600 per month for storage charges. The same relative increase was also
noticeable in the number of pieces of baggage that were handled per month,
the total number at first being from 2.000 to 3.000 and at the time he left
the employ of the railroad the department handled from 30,000 to 40,000 pieces.
For the past six years J. A. Lang has been conducting an auto express
and delivery business in Fresno and being so widely known and a general
favorite with the traveling public, his motor delivery is always in demand
and the public realize that Lang's express can be relied upon for prompt and
efficient service.
Fraternally Air. Lang is a charter member of Sunset Lodge Xo. 7199
Modern 'Woodmen of America, at Fresno, has been very active in securing
members for this organization and has passed through all the chairs. He
was also a charter member of the order and was a delegate to the national
convention of the order held at Chicago and Buffalo. He is a member of
the Red Men, also of the lodge of Eagles at Fresno, and is very proud of a
watch charm that was given him by the lodge of Eagles for securing a
large number of new members. He was made a Mason in Porter Lodge Xo.
106 in Xebraska, and is now affiliated with Fresno Lodge Xo. 247. F. &
A. M. Besides the above fraternal orders Mr. Lang is an honored member of
the Teamster's Union, and at one time was a candidate for the office of
sheriff of Fresno County, at the primary election, but failed to receive the
nomination.
Mrs. Lang was in maidenhood Ethel Dunn, a native of California and
daughter of R. P. Dunn, a pioneer citizen of Fresno, where he was for many
years a contracting painter and member of the old volunteer fire depart-
ment, but is now a resident of Chico, Cal. By a former marriage Mr.
Lang has a son, Austin Lang, who is serving in the L'nited States Navy.
LEONIDAS B. HAYHURST.— The junior member of the law firm of
Harris and Hayhurst, and the subject of this sketch, Leonidas B. Hayhurst.
is a native of Carroll County. Ark., where he was born January 31, 1878.
His father, S. Leonidas Hayhurst, was a native of Indiana and died when
his son, and namesake, was a small child. His mother, who in maidenhood,
was Sarah Jane Gibson, a native of Missouri, being left a widow with two
children, decided to raise her children in California, and in 1886 located in
Fresno County.
Leonidas B. Hayhurst received his early education in the grammar
schools of YYildflower and Kingsburg, which was supplemented by attend-
ance at the high school of Selma. Afterwards he took up the study of law
at Fresno. To assist in the payment of his law course he acquired a knowl-
edge of stenography, the financial receipts from the practice of which aided
greatly, in a material way. the completion of his law studies. He quickly
acquired a knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and possessing a re-
tentive memory passed his examinations and was admitted to the bar in
September. 1000. In the year 1902 he became associated with Judge M. K.
Harris, and during the year 1912 the partnership of Harris and Hayhurst
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1451
was formed. They are the legal representatives of allied interests of the
Bank and Trust Company, of Fresno; the Commercial Bank of Sanger; also
the First National Bank of Parlier.
Mr. Hayhurst is an attorney of high principles and of strict integrity and
prepares all of his briefs with the utmost thoroughness and care, to which
may be attributed his growing clientele. Aside from his professional duties
Mr. Hayhurst is interested in undeveloped land in Fresno County.
Leonidas B. Hayhurst was united in marriage with Cecil C. Burroughs,
a native of Fresno County. Mr. Hayhurst has never sought public office and
being of a home-loving disposition finds his greatest pleasure and surcease
from the cares of professional life in the enjoyment of his home circle.
JAMES E. FINCH.— A highly esteemed resident of Fresno County is
James E. Finch, a native of the Buckeye State, where he was born on Feb-
ruary 7, 1856. near Greenfield, Fayette County. His father, Joseph A.
Finch, was a farmer and died in Ohio when James was twenty-five years
old ; his mother, who in maidenhood was Amanda Collier, passed away four
years after her husband. James E. Finch was the fourth child in a "family
of six, and was obliged to make his own living from the age of sixteen
years. He hired out to work on farms, which precluded his attendance at
school : but undaunted by adverse circumstances, and being an untiring
worker and ambitious to get ahead in the world, he has neverless succeeded
and became the owner of a twenty-acre vineyard near Lone Star.
In 1882, James E. Finch left his native state to try his fortune in the
West, locating near Grand Island, Nebr. Six years later he was united in
marriage with Mrs. Malinda Baldwin, daughter of Harvey Murdock and
widow of Lindley Baldwin, by whom she had two children, one of whom
is Mrs. Charles McBride, a sketch of whose husband appears on another
page of this history. Mrs. Baldwin had proved up on a Nebraska home-
stead, and after her marriage to James E. Finch he continued farming in
Nebraska until their removal to California in 1894. After their arrival in the
Golden State, Mr. Finch purchased twenty acres of land, one-half of which
was in vines, and the remainder in trees. This property he eventually sold
and in 1908 bought his ranch of twenty acres near Lone Star, which he
owned until he sold it in March, 1919.
Mr. Finch is a conscientious and industrious rancher, and is highly
esteemed in his community for his irreproachable character and high prin-
ciples in all business transactions. In political matters he supports the
Republican platform ; and he is an honored member of the Raisin Growers'
Association. Mr. and Mrs. Finch are the owners of a residence in Fresno,
situated on Coast Avenue.
WILLIAM L. SCALES. — Fresno County is indeed fortunate in having
as its Sanitary Inspector, William L. Scales, a man of up-to-date ideas in
sanitation and one who, by efficient efforts, through the installation of the
latest appliances, and by an educational campaign along sanitary lines, has
accomplished excellent results throughout the county.
William L. Scales is a native of the Prairie State, born at Farmington,
Illinois, February 24, 1876. When he was a small boy his parents moved to
Leadville, Colo. While living in Colorado the mother passed away, leaving
four children, which the father, Levi Scales, brought to Fresno in 1881. For
a while the father followed ranching, but owing to ill-health gave up that line
of endeavor and retired. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Levi Scales includes:
Frank Scales of Oilfields, Cal. ; Charles, a rancher in Hills Valley, this
county; Mrs. Flora Gibson, who resides at Fowler; and William L., the
subject of this sketch.
William L. Scales, the youngest member of the family, received his edu-
cation in the schools of Fresno County. His business endeavors have led
him into various lines; for two years he rented a vineyard five miles east of
1452 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Selma ; five years he was in the employ of the United States Government as
postmaster, during the summer time at Bartlett Springs, Cal., a summer
resort in Lake County. At one time he was bookkeeper and collector for the
Jersey Farm Dairy, Fresno. In 1906 Mr. Scales went to Siskiyou County,
Cal.. where he was employed as bookkeeper for the McCloud Lumber Com-
pany, remaining there three years. In 1910 he was with the Hume-Bennett
Lumber Company, where he helped in constructing their flume from Hume to
Station Xo. 4, Fresno County. One year of his life was spent in Portland,
Ore., and for three years he operated an alfalfa and stock ranch in Los
Angeles County.
The year 1913 marks the beginning of Mr. Scales' work in the Fresno
County Sanitary Department. The cattle in Los Gatos Canyon having be-
come infected with rabies, W. L. Scales was assigned to that section to inspect
the herds and take measures at once to eradicate the disease. So thoroughly
did he understand his work that in six months he had mastered the situa-
tion and cleared up the condition. Mr. Scales has given especial attention
to the improvement of sanitary conditions of the country schools. He had
septic tanks, flush toilets and sanitary drinking fountains installed in the
schools and has also inspected the water supply for camping parties and
picnic grounds. This work has been followed up by an educational campaign
through the daily newspapers, calling attention to the danger in drinking
from streams. Mr. Scales has made a special study of his line of endeavor
and his work has met with the most satisfactory results throughout the county.
A work like his, that has the health of the community at heart, is certain to
be commended by all.
GEORGE H. TAYLOR.— A man of long experience in the milling busi-
ness in the San Joaquin Valley, and elsewhere, is George H. Taylor, who
occupies the responsible and lucrative position of estimator at Madary's
Planing Mill, Fresno. A native of Yorkshire. England, born July 28, 1860,
he was reared in his native country and educated in the public schools. He
served a seven-year apprenticeship in the lumber business, including all
branches of the industry, from mill work and bench or cabinet work to esti-
mating. ^Yhen a young man twenty-one years of age he arrived in Montreal,
Canada, in 1881, and became associated with bridge construction work for
the Canadian Pacific Railroad. In those days wooden bridges were con-
structed. After one year there he gradually worked west in bridge construc-
tion for the company, and became superintendent of construction work. His
last work for the company was in the Rocky Mountains at Yale. B. C. He
next located on Vancouver Island. B. C, and became superintendent of con-
struction for the Xew Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company, Limited.
This was the largest company in the Dominion, owning over 1.000.000 acres
of land. Besides being superintendent of construction on their plants, he
erected over 100 homes for the employees of the company. He served the
company faithfully, and his fine letters of recommendation from them as well
as from the Canadian Pacific Railroad testify to his proficiency as a workman
and the esteem in which they hold him.
Mr. Taylor next located at Santa Clara, Cal., where for four years he
was associated with planing mill work. In 1904 he came to Fresno and
entered the employ of the Hollenbeck-Bush Planing Mill Company as fore-
man of their cabinet department. In 1911 he became estimator at the Ma-
dary's Planing Mill, which position he still retains. The company appreciate
his exceptional ability, and his forty years' experience in the business makes
his assistance of incalculable value to them.
Mrs. Taylor was before her marriage Elizabeth Adams, a native of
Hampshire, England. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are the parents of six children,
named respectively George A.; Richard: Maude; Ruth; Margaret, the wife
of ' teorge V. Bruten, who is a son of the former Lord Mayor of Gloucester,
England, and who was formerly a rancher west of Fresno, but is now a
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1455
sergeant in the Canadian Army, serving over seas; and Edna E., a student in
the Fresno High School. Mr. Taylor owns his own home, a comfortable and
attractive modern bungalow at 3228 Illinois Avenue, and takes intense inter-
est and pleasure in his spare time, in the culture of his beautiful flowers and
ornamental trees. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows in British Columbia. He is highly esteemed by all.
BERNARD A. NEWMAN.— Reared and educated in Fresno County, and
a resident here since a lad of seven years, Bernard A. Newman has made good
in his home county and risen to an assured position in both the social and
business life of the community. Born in Otweclaberg, Sweden, August 1, 1881,
he is a son of Gustaf and Sophie (Adahl) Newman, both natives of Sweden.
Gustaf Newman was born in the Province of Otweclaberg October 30, 1855,
and on reaching maturity followed railroading in his native land. He emi-
grated to the newer world in 1883, arriving in New "York on March 3, of that
year. Going to Peoria, 111., he worked in the car repair shops of the Wabash
Railway Company, and later was employed in a pottery works. Deciding
to continue his journey across the continent, he came to California and in
1888 located in Fresno. After his arrival, he worked for a few months in the
Minnewawa Vineyard, and was next in the employment of the Fresno Gas and
Electric Company, up to 1898. The following three seasons he was engaged
as engineer in the sawmill at Pine Ridge, and then became janitor in the First
National Bank of Fresno. In 1902 Mr. Newman entered the employ of the
United States government as janitor of the Fresno postoffice and is now
head janitor of that building. Fraternally, he is a member of the Fresno
Lodge of Red Men, and is Guardian of the Forest in that order, also being
a member of the Fraternal Brotherhood. To himself and wife two sons were
born, Bernard A., of this review, and Harold, of Oakland, both successful
plumbers, owning their own business. The mother passed away in 1903.
Bernard A. Newman came to Fresno with his parents in 1888, and
attended the Fresno schools. After finishing his education he became an
apprentice to the plumbing trade, with Donahue & Emmons Company, of
Fresno, remaining with them five years ; his first work of any importance
being on the Patterson Block. In 1901 he went to Los Angeles and followed
his trade in that city, in the employ of Howe Bros., and also with the Thomas
Haverty Company. While there he worked on some of the finest buildings
in the city, among them the Angelus Hotel, Hayward Hotel, the Auditorium,
5th and Olive Streets ; the St. George Hotel, the Maryland and Raymond
Hotels of Pasadena. In 1907 Mr. Newman went to San Francisco and en-
tered the employ of the United Builders Construction Company, and while
with them he was foreman on the plumbing and heating of the Butler Build-
ing, having forty-five men under his supervision. He also worked on the
Pacific Building, Fourth and Market Streets. Returning to Fresno, he was
in the employ of Barrett-Hicks Company one year, at the end of which time
he formed a partnership with Nudt Johnson, under the firm name of Newman
& Johnson, Plumbers ; during their partnership they made a specialty of
fine residence and country work. In May, 1913, the partnership was dis-
solved and Mr. Newman entered into business for himself, and has, among
other work, installed the plumbing and heating in the following residences and
business blocks : The B. F. Shepherd and W. A. Jones residences ; rebuilt the
plumbing and heating in the Minnewawa Vineyard residence; the John Sho'rt
Building ; the stores of the J. M. Ruth estate on J Street ; the Pacific Coast
Grocery Company building; the new San Joaquin Bakery, at San Benito and
P Streets ; and the school buildings in the towns of San Joaquin and Herndon.
In the midst of his many business interests Mr. Newman has found time to
devote to horticulture, and is the owner of a twenty-acre ranch on Pierce
Avenue, improved with Thompson seedless grapes, figs and peaches. Mr.
Newman stands high in the Master Plumbers' Association of the state, and
1456 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
served as its president in 1918-1919 and for three years prior to this was on
the executive board. He is treasurer of the San Joaquin Valley Association
of Master Plumbers, and fraternally is a member of the Knights of Pythias,
the D. O. K. K., the Woodmen of the World, the Red Men, and also belongs
to the Rotary Club of Fresno. He was a director of the Fresno Material
Dealers' Association. Preeminently a man of action and energy, he has
always done all in his power to further the best interests of Fresno, city
and county, and has aided materially in the upbuilding and progress of this
section of the state.
The marriage of Mr. Newman united him with Kathleen Helen Lynch,
a native of Arizona, and five children have been born to them: Harold E..
Elleanor; Bernard A., Wesley J. A., and Lucile.
CLARENCE MURRAY.— The present incumbent of the responsible
position of city engineer' of Fresno, Cal., Clarence Murray, is a native son
of the Golden State and was born in Visalia, Tulare County, November 13.
1880. His parents were both pioneers of this state. His father, J. H. K.
Murray, was a native of Missouri and crossed the plains in the early fifties
and made a settlement in Tulare County, near Visalia, where he engaged
in ranching and soon became identified with the development of his adopted
count)', taking a prominent part in all forward movements of both state and
county for the balance of his life. His wife was in maidenhood Amanda
Roark and a native of Tennessee, and she, too, came to Tulare County at
an early day where she met and married Mr. Murray.
The high standing attained by Clarence Murrav in his chosen pro-
fession of civil engineer is the result of special training for his life work,
accompanied by natural ability and energetic efforts. After his graduation
from the grammar and high schools of Visalia he entered the University of
California at Perkeley, where he received the excellent advantages afforded
by that institution. He was graduated from the University's scientific course
in 1903 with the degree of P). S. and at once began his career as a civil
engineer and -worked in various parts of the state for the ensuing six years.
In 1909 he located in Fresno and began the practice of his profession, con-
tinuing successfully until in April. 1917, when he received the appointment,
by the mayor, to the office of city engineer, which he still holds, carrying on
the duties of the office with phenomenal success.
Mr. Murray was united in marriage with Ethel F. Scott, born in Visalia.
and a daughter of pioneer parents who settled in Tulare County in an earl}'
day and became identified with the upbuilding of that county. < >f this mar-
riage two sons have been born, Clinton and Ralph. Fraternally, Mr. Murray
is a member and past noble grand of Fresno Lodge No. 186, I. O. O. F.. and
in every movement tending to promote the welfare of Fresno he is ever
found to be a loyal supporter and his circle of friends and well wishers is
ever widening.
ALBERT P. SIMPSON. — Quickness of perception, prompt action and
ready wit. prime essentials for a successful auctioneer, are possessed by Albert
P. Simpson, Fresno's leading auctioneer and commission merchant.
Although he was born in Ohio, August 23, 1868, he was reared from in-
fancy in Adams Count}. Iowa. Educated in the public schools of Iowa he
entered the mercantile business after completing his schooling, and was in
general merchandise stores at Corning and Mount Etna, Iowa. He also
had experience in the milling business. In 1888 he went to Los Angeles,
where he was in the employ of the Earl Fruit Company five years. He then
returned to Corning, Iowa, and engaged in farming, but the experience that so
man] testif) to who have once made their home in California, was his dissat-
isfaction with the East after their return thither and a longing for the West,
with its broader life and greater opportunities for an ambitious, energetic
young man desirous of attaining the top of the ladder of success, The year
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1457
1912 found him again on his way to California. He went to Madera County
and in partnership with E. P. Piper bought 1,200 acres of the Jones ranch,
located in- the southern part of the county, near the San Joaquin River. This
they subdivided and sold off in from one to forty acre tracts. They laid
out the town of Trego, built a store and home and sold all off in two years'
time to people, nearly all of whom came from Iowa. This town which Simp-
son and Piper put on the map is now a thriving little place, with school,
post office and irrigation plants. Mr. Simpson and his partner paid $32,000
for the land and sold it for $75,000. This was the largest deal made in Madera
County in recent years. This land, formerly a grain ranch, is now planted
to alfalfa and fruit. In 1914 Mr. Simpson came to Fresno and opened an
auction and commission house. He has been very successful and today
stands as a leader in his line of business. In addition, he auctions live stock
in the valley, and in 1917 sold $95,000 worth of live stock at auction. His
largest sale, for $10,635, was turned in five hours on the F. M. Helm ranch.
He has done auction work for the Red Cross during the late war, giving his
services free.
Mrs. Simpson was before her marriage Martha Morton, a native of
Montgomery County, Iowa, and a daughter of one of the pioneers of that
state, a miller bv trade and the founder of the town of Morton Mills, which
was named for him. The seven children born of their union are by name:
Cloyd J., Jr. ; Mrs. Ethel Johnson ; Glenn : Beuhla, wife of Floyd Knox ; Merle ;
Mildred; and Ruth, the wife of Stanlev Hopkins.
Mr. Simpson is a great booster for Fresno County and thinks there is
no place in the world that compares with it. He is a progressive citizen
whose identification with Fresno has been of untold value to its growth and
development.
JOHN BRAVES. — How effective is the amalgamation of the Armenian
with the American, that is, at least in those cases where the Armenians have
thrown in their lot with tis and contributed their "bit" to the historic
development of the country, and by so doing have participated to a great ex-
tent in our political, social and intellectual activity, ma)- be seen in such
cases of successful professional careers as that of John Braves, the energetic,
talented and popular editor of the Armenian weekly, "Asbarez," who is a
native of Turkey and the son of Elias Braves, a grain exporter and vine-
yardist. He died at Rochester. X. Y., in 1898, survived by his good wife
(who was named Anna), who is now making her home at Fresno with the
subject of our interesting sketch.
Born at Smyrna on January 30, 1872, Mr. Braves grew up under the
wise and kindly supervision of some Americans interested in facilitating
Christian education there, and attended the American College at Constanti-
nople, from which he graduated with honors in 1892. 'What these educational
advantages meant in that benighted land, Mr. Braves will tell you, and how
well he profited by both the courses and an intimate contact with his learned
and large-hearted teachers, acquaintance with the gentleman himself will
soon discover. Having received his diploma, he sought to pay back to
some extent the moral debt he owed for his education, and so taught for
three years in the International College at Smyrna.
Then transpired something in the patriotic Armenian's life which only
one inspired by love of his native country can fully fathom. Because of
political disturbances and the extreme danger to life, to say nothing of prop-
erty—more of the dark chapters in the misrule of the beautiful Armenian
lan'd — Mr. Braves had to flee from the country, leaving under conditions of
privation and great loss. He made his way to Greece and then to France :
and from the hospitable territory of the French Republic he pushed on to the
United States merely because he felt that in the newest of all the free lands
a greater destiny awaited him. He landed in America on July 7, 1895; and
1458 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
having learned the cabinet maker's trade, he supported himself in that field
until 1906, when he decided to come west to the Pacific Coast. The thought
was father to the act ; and it was not long before he was basking in the genial
sunshine of Fresno.
Soon after his arrival here. Mr. Braves was married to Miss Susie Mar-
karian, an unusually attractive woman representing a prominent family.
Ever since, Mr. and Mrs. Braves have been identified with most movements
for the bettering of local social and religious conditions. By a former mar-
riage Mr. Braves is the father of a son, Harold.
Xot onlv is Mr. Braves the editor of the Journal referred to, "Asbarez,"
meaning "arena," but he was the principal founder of the paper, which was
established in 1908. Since then the weekly has passed into the hands of
the Armenian Federation, whose interests it particularly fosters. As man-
ager and editor, Mr. Braves has discharged his responsibility so well that
the "Asbarez" now has a circulation of 2.200. Its influence is potent with
the Armenians ; and, as a journal constantly striving to create a higher degree
of American patriotism, it is a valuable asset among the publications of
California, and an honor to the foreign press in the United States. Mr. Braves
is naturally identified with several literary organizations, and he is, besides,
a popular member of the Odd Fellows and the Eagles and, with his good wife,
enjoys the social life of those circles.
HARRY ELMER McLANE. — Prominent among the men who have
achieved success in the California oil fields largely because they have been
experienced men in the industry in the East, having worked and studied in
tevery department, becoming conversant with its every detail, is Harry Elmer
McLane. field superintendent of the Standard Oil Company in Coalinga. who
doubtless owes some of his recent prosperity to his wisdom in deciding, when
at the turning in the road, to cast his fortune solely with the Standard and
their future development. He was born in Derry township. Westmoreland
County, Pa., March 12, 1863, the son of George McLane, who was born near
Glasgow, Scotland; from which it will be seen that the family originated
in a countrv that has undoubtedly given us some of its brainiest and most
enterprising citizens. The father came out to America with his parents and
settled at Derry ; and later, during the Civil War, he enlisted in a Pennsyl-
vania regiment and was killed during the Battle of Gettysburg, in 1863.
Harry McLane lived with an uncle, his mother's brother, a Mr. \\"m.
Best, from 1873 to 1876, and having received a good education in the public
schools, when fourteen years of age he started for the oil fields at Petrolia,
Butler County, Pa., and there began, at the bottom rung of the ladder, to
learn the business. In 1879 he was in the service of the Standard Oil Com-
panv in different fields, Clarion. Venango, McKean, Butler and Warren
counties, Pa., choosing the construction department: and it so happened that
his first task was to assist in installing the first supply of natural gas used
for domestic purposes and sold commercially. This gas was piped to Petrolia
and Parker's Landing, and excited great interest and hopes.
He was next engaged by the company at Maxburg and North Baltimore,
Ohio, but after a while was transferred from the construction to the produc-
tion department, and in 1888 was made production foreman in the Mount
Morris Oil Fields of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. While his district
was on the West Virginia side of the Mason and Dixon line, he made his
residence at Mount Morris, Pa. In 1892 he was transferred to the McDonald
oil field in Pennsylvania where he continued in the same capacity with dili-
gent care and faithfulness, so that wherever he went, and whatever he under-
took he was able to demonstrate capability above the average and so made
both an enviable reputation and many friends.
Wishing to engage in the oil business on his own account, he resigned
his position with the Standard Oil Company on January 1, 1900, and for ten
.d.^'^vUL
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1461
years he was engaged as an oil operator and producer in the Pennsylvania
fields, making his home and headquarters at McDonald, Pa., and during the
time was very active and energetic. However, unfortunate investments and
the drilling of too many dry holes, decided him to seek a new field, so choos-
ing California, he came hither in 1910 and after a period of six months was
so well impressed with conditions and possibilities that he decided to locate.
Returning to Pennsylvania he shaped his affairs and brought his family to
Coalinga in 1911.
Desiring to again engage his services with the Standard Oil Company,
with which he had already served so many years, he applied for a position
with them on Section 28, and found that the only opportunity was a place
as pumper. He knew full well it did not make any difference where he
started, he only wanted a chance to show his ability and work up, for he
had controlled hundreds of wells and managed hundreds of men in the East
for the Standard, as well as for himself, and had such confidence in the
Standard's disposition to reward merit and fidelity that he decided to accept
the offer and began his duties. From pumper he was advanced March, 1912,
to be production foreman, and then, in January, 1914, he was made assistant
superintendent of this division. Finally, on March 1, 1916, he was made field
superintendent of the Coalinga division of the Standard and he has held
that responsible position ever since. He is in charge of all the properties
in the producing department of the Coalinga field, and as 300 hands are
employed, it will be seen that much depends upon his fidelity and common
sense management. At camp there are machine and blacksmith shops and
an ice plant, and natural gas is used for fuel for the boilers as well as for
cooking and heating in the camp.
Besides section 28, there are three other camps of the Standard in this
division — Section 20, Section 22, and Section 2. The Standard, in this division,
have their own school for the education of the children of their employees
which is maintained by the company. The management of this school is a
part of the duties of Mr. McLane as superintendent of the division. At first
the county school authority did not recognize this school so the graduates
had difficulty in entering the high schools of the county. Mr. McLane saw
to it that their school had the same uniform textbooks and grades as the
public schools of the county, so through his efforts it is now accredited and
the graduates of the school on Standard 28, have no difficulty in entering
the intermediate school and the Coalinga High School.
Harry McLane is endowed with much native ability and business
acumen which, coupled with years of valuable experience, makes it but
natural that he presides successfully over large affairs. He is a very busy
man, but finds time to look after the comfort and higher interests of the em-
ployees for whose welfare he is very solicitous and leaves nothing undone
to provide for their health and happiness. In this sensibly beneficent work,
so important to the employer as well as to the employed, he has the hearty
cooperation of the Standard Oil Company, whose fair attitude toward its
workmen and representatives, the world over, is proverbial. During the
war, when personal solicitation for funds for patriotic purposes had its
objectional sides, as was shown in many communities, and perhaps even
thwarted the good efforts of many to swell the campaigning funds, Mr. Mc-
Lane originated the much preferred system of providing a general fund, to
which each workingman would be invited to subscribe according to his
means, and authorizing a committee, when the Red Cross and other approved
agencies wished the sinews of war, to distribute according as the general
fund subscribed permitted at the time. This resulted in the organization of
the Coalinga War Fund Association, which accomplished the purpose desired.
While at Petrolia, Pa., Mr. McLane was married to Miss Mary Keigh-
ron, by whom he has had ten children, seven of whom grew to maturity. Leo,
1462 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Victor, and Harry, in the United States Navy, the heavy artillery and the
army overseas, are all experienced oil workers, and Frank is in the aviation
section of the army that went to France. Loretta and Bernadette are at
home; while Marion, next to the youngest, is Mrs. Richard B. Flynn of
Fort Worth, Texas, the wife of a first lieutenant in the United States Army.
Besides being chairman of the organization committee, and a director
of the association having charge of the collection and distribution of war
funds, Mr. McLane is both a member and a director of the Growler's Club.
In Pennsylvania he was prominent in politics as a Democrat and a member
of the county and state Democratic committees ; and in McDonald, where he
resided during his active oil operations, he was elected justice of the city
several terms, although the community was a Republican stronghold. He
is also a vigorous member of the Chamber of Commerce at Coalinga.
HOMER E. BUTCHER.— Born on a farm in Houston County, Minn.,
February 28, 1882, Homer E. Butcher attended the country schools of his
native state, and when eighteen years of age went to Winona, and there
attended the Toland Business College, taking a commercial and stenographic
course. He then went to La Crosse, Wis., where he taught one term in the
Toland Business College, and at the expiration of that time removed to
Oelwein, Iowa, where, with a partner, he conducted the Oelwein Business
University in that city for two years, and then sold out the business. Com-
ing to Fresno in June, 1904, Mr. Butcher entered the employ of the Fresno
Home Packing Company, in the office and sales department of that concern.
He later went with the J. K. Armsby Company. In 1913 he entered the em-
ploy of the Guggenhime Company, and now holds the position of auditor of
all the plants of this company in the San Joaquin Valley, Mr. Butcher being
located at the Fresno plant.
In the midst of his other business interests, Mr. Butcher has found
time to do some real estate developing in Fresno, having purchased five acres
in North Fresno, the Wapella Tract, which he subdivided and sold off in
lots. Fraternally he is a Woodman of the World, and has been through all
the chairs in that order.
The marriage of Mr. Butcher united him with Miss Ethel Davison, a
native of Winona, Minn., and one daughter has been born to them, Wilma,
a native of Fresno, and now a student in the high school.
GERALDO J. FREITAS.— Whoever studies the early history of Cali-
fornia pertaining to pioneer days must be impressed not only with the fact
that many who engaged in the rougher, more difficult and sometimes less
remunerative enterprises then necessary to paving the way and laying the
foundations for a riper and richer civilization, either themselves survived to
venture into other fields, or bequeathed to their immediate posterity that
enviable blessing, but that among the empire-builders were no small number,
during generation after generation, of those who first saw the light of day
in a distant clime and often those who came from what might truly be called
a corner of the earth. Numerous and successful among these have always
been the natives of the far-famed, balmy Azores, who brought with them both
a certain definite knowledge of how to do things and also the capacity for
hard, willing, persistent work ; of which estimable citizens resident in Central
California must be mentioned Geraldo J. Freitas, one of the big sheep raisers
of the early, romantic days, who is now a wholesale liquor dealer as famed
for the high standards in his business methods as for the choice quality of
his wares. He was born in the beautiful Azores Islands on November 1,
1862, and there grew up until near the end of his teens. What he attempted
to learn, he learned thoroughly well; so that when he was ready to set out
into the world, he was also prepared to grapple with its many problems and
batter down some of the obstacles found insurmountable bv others.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1465
In 1880 he arrived in Fresno, and soon after embarked in the sheep busi-
ness, in which he was destined to continue for twenty years, running- his sheep
herds through the valley, and sometimes having as high as 6,000 sheep. So
early did he pitch his tent here that he has seen Fresno grow from a very small
town. Now he is active among a large population, and has many warm friends
all over the county.
After selling his sheep, he engaged in the transfer business in Fresno ;
but in the spring of 1917 he opened a wholesale liquor store at 1836 Fresno
Street. Air. Freitas is a widower and has one daughter — Mrs. Margaret Mello,
of Fresno. He belongs to the I. D. E. S., the U. P. E. C. and the Eagles,
and there are few more popular men in either organization.
JOHN SUGLIAN. — Again and again America has thrown out the chal-
lenge of success to the foreigner, and often the foreigner has accepted and
made good. Woven into the warp and woof of our civilization, the foreign-
born citizen adds strength to the whole fabric. Among those who have thus
entered upon the privileges and responsibilities of loyal American citizenship
is John Suglian, of Fresno, who was born in Austria, October 28, 1873, of
Slavonian parents. His father, Marin Suglian, was a sailor, whose home was
in Dalmatia, on the Adriatic Sea, when the son was born, but who died when
John was only three months old. John was the youngest of five children,
four boys and one girl. The mother remained a widow, and although poor
she reared her family nobly. She died in Dalmatia in 1912.
John Suglian grew up in Dalmatia until he was eighteen years of age,
attended the native schools and learned the Slavonian language. At the age
of eighteen he sailed from his native land for America, landing at New York
and coming direct to Fresno, Cal., where he had some relatives. For nine
months he worked in a restaurant in Fresno, and then he went to San Fran-
cisco and learned the barber trade, remaining there one year. Returning
then to Fresno, he soon became the proprietor of what is now the Oak Bar-
ber Shop, 1055 I Street, which he operated for twenty-four years, and in
which he is still interested.
Being desirous of owning some real estate, Mr. Suglian purchased an
eighty-acre ranch, which he has in alfalfa and vineyard, and this he rents out.
Some five years ago he added to his holdings by the purchase of 125 acres,
and upon this sanch he lives and runs a dairy, and raises hogs, chickens and
horses. This ranch is situated two and a half miles south of the city limits
of Fresno. He loves his stock, and fully enjoys rural life.
Mr. Suglian came to America to avoid German militarism. His mother
was very sorry to see him go, but provided him with $250 with which to
make his journey comfortable. He was naturalized twenty-two years ago,
became a Democrat, and entered politics in Fresno. He served on the board
of trustees three and a half years, under the W. Parker Lyon administration,
during which time the new city hall was built and the subway, sewers, and
antiseptic tanks constructed. He has traveled extensively in the. United
States, but has never found any place that suits him quite as well as Fresno
and Fresno County; and he is proud of the progress the city and county
have made, and of the industries he has seen established and their growth.
He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. A genial man and justly
popular, he has many friends, and is a member of the Eagles, Foresters and
Knights of Columbus. He belongs to the Catholic Church.
October 28, 1897, Mr. Suglian married Miss Bertha Bernhauer, of Rock
Island, III, who came to Fresno in 1891. To them have been born six chil-
dren: Eva D., Tack M., Fred V., Francis J., George W. and Florian Virginia.
1466 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
PETER A. BORG.— In the life of Peter A. Borg, the skilled machinist
and successful proprietor of the well-known general repair and machine shop
at 1928 Mono Street, Fresno, is illustrated the results of perseverance, energy
and intelligently directed efforts in his chosen line of endeavor. He is a
native of Sweden, born September 30, 1866, a son of Olof and Martha (Olson)
Borg, who were both natives of that country. In 1868, when Peter was two
years old, the parents emigrated to the United States. The family lived in
Iowa about twenty years, where four daughters were born, of whom only
one is now living, Mrs. Amanda Peterson, of Fresno County. Mrs. Olof Borg
died in Kingsburg, Cal., and Mr. Borg, now aged about eighty, makes his
home with his daughter.
For twenty years the father farmed in Hamilton County, Iowa, and in
1889 migrated to the Golden State, locating near Kingsburg, Fresno County,
Cal.. on January 21. At first he purchased twenty acres, which he planted
to grapes, and later bought twenty acres more, where he made his home
for ten years, after which he moved into Kingsburg where he lived two years.
The mother passed away two years after reaching California.
Peter A. Borg did not remain long in Kingsburg, but soon went to
Fresno, and in 1890 opened a small blacksmith shop in partnership with N.
Peterson, which he operated for three years, when he sold his interest and
entered the employ of Kieldsen and Hall, and after four years with this
firm, he purchased their blacksmith department and, with John Hjort as
partner, opened a blacksmith shop on Fresno Street, between H and I Streets,
where they conducted the business for three years. Afterwards he entered
into partnership again with N. Peterson, for three years. After selling his
interest he was employed in the Central Blacksmith Shop for about two
years. For the next six years Mr. Borg was engaged as foreman of the
machine shop of the Woodward Company. In 1916 Peter A. Borg opened
his present well equipped shop at No. 1928 Mono Street, where he is busily
engaged in conducting a general repair and machine shop. He is a thor-
oughly experienced machinist, an enterprising and progressive business man,
who has by untiring efforts and conscientious workmanship built up a splen-
did business. His successful business management is evidenced by his
realty holdings in the city of Fresno, where he has, besides his home at No.
317 Effie Street, twenty residence lots.
In 1892 Peter A. Borg was united in marriage with Chfistena Peterson,
a native of Sweden, and this happy union has been blessed with two children:
Edith, who is deceased; and Hilma, who is associated with the Neil-White
Company of Fresno. Religiously, Mr. Borg is a conscientious member of the
Swedish Lutheran Church, and he and his family are highly esteemed in
their social circle and community.
ANDREW J. FROWSING.— Among the popular business men of
Fresno is Andrew J. Frowsing, who, as a member of the firm known as the
White . Meat Packing Company, wholesale and retail dealers in meat and
meat products in Fresno County, is achieving much in a business which re-
quires tact and judgment. Mr. Frowsing was born in Fresno County on
August 27, 1886, a son of Martin M. Frowsing, who was a merchant in
Fresno. Andrew J. obtained a good education in the public schools of the
Fresno Colony and the Artesia districts, which was supplemented by attend-
ing the schools of the city of Fresno, until 1895, when he entered "the Palo
Alto Meat Market, which was owned by his father and remained with him
for a year perfecting himself in the trade, with which he had become so
familiar from a mere lad. He then spent eighteen months attending the
Fresno high school, after which he was employed in the Anderson and Moore
butcher shop for a year, and two years were spent in the Yeitor Market.
Equipped with a thorough knowledge of the butcher business, Mr. Frowsing
formed a partnership with W. A. White, under the name of White and
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1469
Frowsing, their business grew in volume and in 1910 they incorporated under
the name of the White Meat Packing Company, Mr. Frowsing being elected
vice-president and appointed manager of the wholesale department. They
own a fine market at 1027 I Street, and a large slaughter-house on Fig and
North Avenue. In both shop and slaughter-house their equipment is of the
most modern and they do a large business as wholesalers and retailers of
meats. A force of about fifty employes is necessary for the conduct of their
growing business.
Mr. Frowsing was married at Visalia, February 4, 1911, to Miss Hazel
Pinkley, an estimable and popular young lady. She died in Fresno on Novem-
ber 1, 1918, and was mourned by a large circle of friends. Mr. Frowsing is a
member of the Woodmen of the World and of the Eagles. He is also a very
welcome member in Fresno Parlor No. 9 Native Sons of the Golden West
In politics he is a supporter of Republican principles. He is a liberal and
helpful citizen of whom any community might well feel proud.
DAVID WILLIAMSON. — An honored pioneer of, and one of the most
successful raisin growers in the Lone Star District of Fresno County is
David Williamson, the owner of two valuable vineyards. He is what is
commonly termed a self-made man, and one who has by perseverance and
intelligent and industrious efforts become a prosperous vineyardist. David
Williamson was born May 21, 1865, in the Shetland Islands. His parents were
Henry and Janet (Isbister) Williamson, both natives of the Isle of Unst,
one of the group forming the Shetland Islands. The father followed fishing,
and the family consisted of three boys and one girl.
In 1872 the Williamson family emigrated to St. John, New Brunswick,
and it was here that David was reared and received his education, being
brought up on a woodland farm where he learned farming and lumbering.
In the fall of 1887 the parents moved to California, locating for two years in
the Temperance Colony, Fresno County. In 1889 the family settled in the
Lone Star District, where the father purchased twenty acres, which with
the aid of his son David he improved. At this time there were very few
vineyards in the Lone Star District, wheat being the principal crop raised.
At first, David worked on grain ranches, but later on he went into the moun-
tains, where he was engaged in lumbering. He was a very industrious and
persevering young man and soon became interested in planting vineyards,
and he has planted over three hundred acres for himself and others. He has
planted, improved and sold several ranches in the vicinity of Lone Star and
now owns an excellent raisin ranch of forty acres east of Lone Star, and
other valuable vineyards, including a half interest in the "old place," the
original twenty acres purchased by his father. Mr. Williamson's mother
passed away on September 23, 1918, at Ashland. Ore., on her eighty-third
birthday. His father is still living at Ashland and is in his eighty-second
year.
In 1898, David Williamson was united in marriage with Miss Catherine
E. McFarlane, a native of Kansas, daughter of John and Susie E. McFarlane,
both natives of Canada and pioneers of 1880 in Fresno County, who now
reside on U Street, Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. David Williamson are the parents
of five children : Frank, now twenty years of age, who registered for the
United States Army, but was not called for duty; Harry, who is at home
helping his father; Max, now nine years old; Doris: and the youngest,
David B., Jr., now two and a half years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Williamson and
their excellent familv are very highly respected in the Lone Star District,
and are members of "the First Presbyterian Church at Fowler. Mr. William-
son is very progressive in business affairs. He was one of the organizers,
and helped to build, the packing house at Lone Star which is now owned
and operated by the California Associated Raisin Company, of which he is
a member and enthusiastic supporter.
1470 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
HAROLD E. DWELLE.— None other of the leading- professions, it is
safe to say, was so early recognized as of necessity and almost unlimited
possibility of good, or has been so often honored by the State of California
as that of the law. Prominent among the members of the California bar is
the Hon. Harold E. Dwelle, assistant district attorney of Fresno County,
who was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., while it was still the City of Churches.
on December 17, 1882. His father was James C. Dwelle, and he married
Miss Mary A. White, a lady widely esteemed in her youth as both a beauti-
ful and an accomplished woman. In 1887 the family came west to the city
of Fresno, and finding Fresno an attractive place. Mr. Dwelle located there,
and for a few months worked as a wood engraver. Then he bought a place
laid out as an orchard and vineyard on Cherry Avenue, which he operated
for the period of one year ; then moved to a twenty-acre ranch on Elm Ave-
nue, near Easton. In 1914, however, he was injured and after three years of
painful suffering as an invalid, he passed to his eternal reward on January
23. 1917. A hard worker according to the most progressive methods, straight-
forward in all his dealings so that he scorned to take advantage of anyone,
kindly and helpful in his relations to others, he was mourned by the entire
community. His good wife is still living.
Educated at the public school at Easton, Harold pushed on through the
Washington union high school at Easton, and still determined to reach a
greater and more difficult goal, he entered the University of California and,
in 1907, was graduated with honors and the coveted B. L. degree. Pushing
out into the world, he became a clerk in Department No. 2, of the Superior
Court, and while holding that important position he also became law librarian
and so systematized it as to greatly increase its value to the bench and bar
of Fresno County. In 1911 he matriculated at the University of California
Law School and graduated, with the class of 1912, with the degree of LL.B.
Throughout his courses in the lecture-rooms, he was favored by a close per-
sonal acquaintance with a number of his instructors, who were men of large
calibre, with a profound knowledge of law, so that his superior training is
at all times apparent in his own life and work. An active Democrat, but
something much more — a loyal, public-spirited citizen — Attorney Dwelle was
appointed, in February, 1913, deputy district attorney of Fresno County, he
having already opened an office and begun to evidence the kind of stuff that
is in him. He entered at once on the discharge of his complex and responsible
duties, and ever since he has been making good. Neither pains nor expense
is spared by him to come up to the full measure of his calling; and when
there is work that should be done, the clock plays but a small role in his
routine. On January 1, 1918, he resigned as deputy district attorney in order
to give his entire time to his private practice, and since January 1, 1918, his
offices have been 409 Cory Building, and his clientage is constantly on the
increase.
On June 27, 1912, in the town of Fowler, Mr. Dwelle was married to
Miss Edith M. Blayney; and then and there he took to himself a mate who
has indeed proven the greatest of possible helps. Five children have blessed
this marriage — Harold E., Jr., Dorsey K. and Vernon R., Mary A. and Allan
K.. all of whom contribute life and warmth to the hospitable Dwelle home.
The family worship as Protestants, and Mr. Dwelle is a Woodman of the
World. He is also a charter member of the University Club.
RUSSELL UHLER. — Of particular historic interest as a public official,
because of the fact that he is the first to occupy his position as county
purchasing agent since his department was created, is Russell Uhler, a native
of the Golden State and the son of J. Clement and Emma (Conkling) Uhler.
His father was a banker and stockbroker, who settled in San Francisco in
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1471
1865. Both parents left behind them enviable reputations as citizens, neigh-
bors and friends.
Born in San Francisco on June 1, 1875, Russell was educated at the
William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, and at the University of Penn-
sylvania, and while yet a young man engaged in stock-raising in Wyoming,
continuing in that strenuous field of activity for eight years. There, too, he
got his first touch with public life, serving in the Seventh and Eighth Wyom-
ing legislatures which opened their sessions in 1902 and 1904. Alert and
watchful for the best interests of both his district and the state, Mr. Uhler
soon made a wide and desirable reputation for unselfish service to his con-
stituency. Disposing of his cattle interests in 1907, he took up his residence
at Fresno, and for one and a half years engaged in the wholesale grain and
seed business.
On January 8, 1903, Mr. Uhler married Miss Emily Robinson ; and the
result of this marriage has been the birth of two attractive children — Harry
and Maurice. Active as a Woodman of the World, Mr. Uhler is equally
popular in Commercial Club circles. A Democrat, and chairman of the Demo-
cratic Central Committee since 1912, Mr. Uhler served for a couple of years
as clerk of the court, and he is now completing, to everybody's satisfaction,
his sixth year as county purchasing agent.
GEORGE EDWARD HOSPOOL.— A thoroughly trained and ex-
perienced farmer and stockman who has thereby become one of the most
representative of Oregonians in the Golden State and a scientifically equipped
ranchman whom the supervisors did well to make the superintendent of the
county farms, is George Edward Hospool, who came to Fresno at the be-
ginning of the last decade, and who has worked hard to advance the interests
of Fresno County ever since. He was born near La Grande, Union County,
Ore., December 11, 1872, the son of George Hospool, a native of London,
England, who had been apprenticed to a butcher and, after completing his
trade, came to America and to the state of Iowa. In the fifties he crossed
the plains with the usual ox-teams over the Oregon trail and settled in Grand
Ronde Valley, where he and a couple of others were the first three settlers.
The valley was named by a comrade, La Grande, and so the first town was
named after him. George Hospool there took up a ranch, and when the
population of the district increased, he built the first store there, and pro-
vided the first stock of goods for the convenience of the neighborhood. He
engaged in butchering and made trips east across the plains; and on his
first return trip to the Pacific Coast brought out his wife and her parents.
Having sold his ranch, he continued in the butcher business ; and when he
retired" in 1892, he had three shops. He died, widely known and genuinely
respected, in 1898.
Mrs. Hospool was Eliza Lewis before her marriage in Iowa, and she
early shared the pioneer life of her husband by crossing the plains with
him at a time when such a journey was as full of inconvenience as it was
fraught with bodily danger. .She died when the subject of this sketch was
only fifteen months old, passing away in 1874, the mother of two children.
One of these, Ida, now Mrs. Richardson, resides in Pendleton, Ore. ; and
the other is George Edward, who was the younger.
Brought up at La Grande, he attended the public school there, and next
went to the excellent high school at Colfax, Whitman County, Wash. He
assisted his father in the butcher trade until he was nineteen or over, and
then he began for himself. Having been associated with his father, he had
received one of the most thorough trainings ; and coupling his own natural
enterprise to what he had thus acquired, he was soon ready to make himself
properly heard from. He went to Willow County, Ore., and entered the em-
ploy of a ranchman, for whom he rode the range. Next he moved to Harney
County, and there, continuing to roam the range, worked for Pete French
1472 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
for a couple of years. After that he pushed on to Boise City, Idaho, where he
opened a meat market, which he ran for a year, and then sold out. In 1900
Mr. Hospool showed his practical discernment and acute appreciation of
values in respect to the future when he came to Fresno and located. He en-
tered the employ of Kennedy and Owen, and for six years was foreman of their
cattle ranch. He also established the Union Market at the corner of O and
Stanislaus Streets ; and when he sold the same, he bought a ranch of forty
acres on Jensen Avenue. Mr. Hospool entered the dairy business, but after
a year sold out. He then gave his services to the Consumers Ice Company,
and for three years continued with their wholesale department.
About October, 1916, Mr. Hospool became superintendent, through ap-
pointment from the board of supervisors, of the County Farms, and soon had
full charge of the two hundred acres on Ventura Avenue. As may be imag-
ined, it was a responsible position, with a herd of thirty-four fine dairy Hoi-
stein cows ; but he was just the man for the place, and soon demonstrated his
peculiar fitness. A Democrat in politics, his personality together with his
natural and developed ability have always attracted his fellow-citizens and
those having business dealings with him, regardless of political lines or creed.
At Elko, in Nevada, Mr. Hospool was married to Miss Gertrude David-
son, a native of Oakland, Cal., by whom he has had one child, Edna; and
Mrs. Hospool has more and more shared her husband's popularity, while
contributing immeasurably, as every such good housewife does, to his success.
WILLIAM F. JONES.— A native son, William F. Jones, the popular
sheriff of Fresno County, was born in Tehama County, July 31, 1874, a son
of William Z. and Helen (Supan) Jones, natives of New York and Missouri
respectively. The parents were pioneers of California, the father having
been engaged in the stock business in Tehama County for many years. He
died in 1879, respected and admired as an exemplary citizen of the state.
On reaching his thirteenth year, and after he had received a common
country school education, William F. began to work in the woods of his
native county making shakes. His boyhood had not been devoid of those
experiences that demonstrate the pitfalls for lads of his years, and he thus
early learned the necessity of "holding his own" on all occasions. He worked
faithfully at the tasks given him to do, winning the respect of his employers,
and was advanced from one position to another through merit. He worked
for the Sierra Lumber Company in Tehama County for seven years, and for a
time was employed in Terry's Mill in Shasta County. He became a leader
of men and had the faculty of getting the average of accomplishment out of
their labors with but a small amount of friction. Thus the years he spent
as manager of the logging camps in Shasta, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties
enabled him to gain a firm grasp on the business he was following and make
a place for himself in the world.
In 1907 Mr. Jones came down to Fresno County. The first two years
of his stay here he helped build the mills at Hume; in fact, he put the first
axe in the timber when the mill was started, and from that time until he
relinquished his position he had charge of all the work except that of the
sawyers. He built over a hundred miles of railroad, miles of wagon roads in
the mountains, stores, schoolhouse, hospital, and such other buildings as
were required in a lumber and mill town and camp. His greatest success in
his labors was in working for the interests of his employers and the men in
conjunction, thus bringing harmony between labor and capital. Many times
he had over 500 men under his supervision, and the confidence they had in
him was such that he acted as arbitrator, settling their many personal diffi-
culties, and thereby was able to get a larger amount of work out of them
than is usual, and at the same time the work was done cheerfully by them.
After living at the camp two years. Mr. Jones went to Sanger and there
bought a home and soon was interested in various movements for the develop-
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1477
ment of the little town. He was a partner in the Sanger Plumbing House,
and in 1912 was one of the organizers of the Kings River and Hume Auto
Service Company. However, he did not let these interests interfere with his
superintendency of the work at Hume for the lumber company.
An epoch in his life opened to him in 1918, when he was prevailed upon
to become a candidate for sheriff of Fresno County. From a small lad he
had entertained aspirations of such an honor, and he decided he would enter
the campaign. This was the first time he had ever entered into politics in
any way. For seven months he conducted a personal canvas throughout the
county, and by his straighforward manner easily convinced the people he
met that he would administer justice as it was called for in such a position.
He organized a "Jones-for-Sheriff Club" and at the primaries had received
the votes necessary to place his name on the ticket at the election to be held
in November. It must not be inferred that Mr. Jones did not meet with op-
position, for he was unknown to the great majority of the voters of the
county and his contest was bitterly opposed by other candidates. He was
elected by a safe majority and assumed the duties of the office on January 6,
1919. It is safe to say that no other officer has ever gone into that office with
less friction on all sides than has Mr. Jones. He is discharging the duties
of the office without fear or favor, upholding the majesty of the law as his
conscience dictates, and has won commendation from all parties. The suc-
cess that he has attained only goes to show what a man can do when he once
sets a goal for his ambition.
The marriage of William F. Jones united him with Estella Moss, a
native daughter of Tehama County, whose parents are numbered among the
pioneers there. One daughter has been born to them, Ina L. Jones. Mr.
Tones is a member of Sanger Lodge, No. 316, F. & A. M. and of Las Palmas
Lodge, No. 343, F. & A. M., and Fresno Parlor, No. 9, N. S. G. W., both
of this city. Since assuming the duties of his office, he has removed the
family home to Fresno. A hale fellow well met and always fearless in the dis-
charge of his duties, he is heartily in accord with every movement for advanc-
ing the public welfare of the county of his adoption.
A. G. JOHNSON. — A successful rancher who has risen, step by step, to
become a leader in his field of endeavor, and who, with broad-minded vision,
has become an enthusiastic and guiding booster, is A. G. Johnson, who for
the past eleven years has resided in the Mendocino district on his ranch of
forty acres. This is on the old Kingsburg-Centerville road, six miles due north
of Kingsburg, and six miles south and half a mile east of Sanger, and one and
a quarter miles northwest of Parlier. He was born at Palmyra, Marion
County, Mo., about twelve miles west of the Mississippi River, the son of
Albert Gallatin Johnson, who was a native of Pennsylvania and a descendant
of Dutch pioneers who migrated from Holland in the early part of the
eighteenth centur}'. Born in 1804, the father came to Missouri when a young
man, and died at the age of sixty-seven years, nine miles northwest of Pal-
myra, on the old Johnson home farm of 640 acres. A successful farmer, he
was also a splendid provider, and always had plenty in the larder for his large
family. He was married three times. By his first wife he had one child, a
girl. His second wife was the mother of our subject, and her maiden name
was Elizabeth Turner. She was of Scottish descent, and transmitted the in-
fluence of an exceptionally strong character to her children. These numbered
eleven, eight of whom grew to maturity. When she died our subject was only
seventeen years old, and his father married two years later for the third time,
and soon after that marriage he died.
Born on November 4, 1851, the ninth child in the family, A. G. Johnson
lived in Missouri through the very troublous days of the Civil War, in a
period when no person's life was really safe. As a boy he saw more than one
man run for his life, and on more than one occasion saw a man carrying a
1478 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
fire-arm or other weapon run after another for the purpose of taking life;
slavery was the constantly debated theme, and while his father objected to
slavery, he remained loyal to the South. When he was ten years old the lad
started to work on the farm, and even at that age he proved his father's
only support. He and an adopted boy, a year younger, raised thirty-five
acres of corn that yielded eighty bushels to the acre. His education, therefore,
was very limited. After his father's death he continued to work on the estate
until all was settled and the property was distributed, then the sales were
made to Fielding M. Johnson, who now lives retired at the corner of Fulton
and Angus Streets in Fresno.
At nineteen years of age Mr. Johnson came west to California, traveling
by way of the Central Pacific Railroad and arriving in San Francisco on
October 8, 1870. He went to Santa Rosa, where he stopped, for fifteen days,
and thence to Colusa, where he worked for J. T. Marr, the grain and stock
farmer, for a couple of years. He next went back to Missouri, visited there a
short while, then went to Texas in the days of the "Texas steer," and so be-
came a cow-boy and cattleman. He grew to be an adept with the lariat, and
at one time was in the saddle for forty-six days, getting out of it only long
enough to catch a little nap and take a bite to eat. That was on the rodeo or
round-up. He followed the cattle business for five years in Texas, and made
money, but lost it all in a year of excessive drought.
Once again he went back to Missouri, this time with a definite purpose.
On February 6, 1879, Mr. Johnson and Miss Mary Garrard were married, nor
could a union have been more fortunate. Mrs. Johnson was born in Marion
County. Mo., the oldest of the five children of Edward Hector Garrard, a na-
tive of Bourbon County, Ky.. and Susan (James) Garrard, born in Accomac
County, Va. Mrs. Johnson is a grand-daughter of Massena and Elizabeth
(Fry) Garrard, the former born in Bourbon County. Ky., and the latter in
New York state. The grandfather married in Kentucky and moved to Marion
County, Mo., where Mrs. Johnson's father was reared. Mrs. Johnson's great-
grandfather was Gen. James Garrard, born in Kentucky, and who served as
a general in the War of 1812, and he was a son of Gov. James Garrard, gov-
ernor of Kentucky, and who was born in Virginia, of French Huguenot stock,
who fled from France to England in 1640, and one of whom, William Garrard,
settled in Wharton Parish, Stafford County, Va., about the year 1700, the
said William being the progenitor of the Garrard family in America, a family
distinguished for its strong, able men ; wealthy stockmen and horsemen, and
for its handsome women. Mrs. Johnson can therefore trace her lineage to
the earliest and most brilliant periods of old Virginia. She was reared and
educated at Van Rensselaer Seminary. Missouri, and later she attended Col-
lege Mound Presbyterian College, pursuing a modern classical course.
Mr. Johnson remained in Texas three years after his marriage, when
he closed out the cattle business, and with his wife and child returned .to
Nevada City, Vernon County, Mo., his wife's home, with only $750 in his
pockets. That small sum of money meant much to him then, and he invested
it rather gingerly in sheep and shorthorn cattle in the Ozark Mountains ;
but he soon sold out and came to Houston, Texas County, Mo. There he
farmed for three years, and became the owner of a ranch of eighty acres ; but
after a couple of years he sold his farm and for a second time came to Cal-
ifornia. This was the first trip, however, for Mrs. Johnson, and proved to
her a novel experience. The couple at first went to Fort Bragg, in Mendocino
County, and there Mr. Johnson worked in the saw mills for three years, after
which he went to Bear Harbor, the same county, where he worked for Colonel
Stewart for a year making railway ties. Thence he proceeded clown the coast
to Usal, Mendocino County, and there they stopped for another three years
while Mr. Johnson again worked in the saw mill. He next moved on to Cleone.
three miles north of Fort Bragg, where he farmed and for a couple of years
worked in a saw mill.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1479
In 1900, Mr. Johnson and his family pitched their tent in Fresno, and the
following year he rented land about a mile and a half north of this place.
Then he went to East Oakland, and rented 160 acres and was there for three
years, and after that he migrated from place to place until he settled more
permanently in this section. On taking up his present estate, he was con-
fronted with the problem of a tract of wheat stubble. At first he bought
eighty acres, raised grain for two seasons, and then decided on fruit culture ;
so he sold about forty acres, twenty at each end, and has planted the center
that he retained. He has set out trees and vines, and made many improve-
ments, including the erection of a neat bungalow, and now he has twenty-
eight acres of muscat vines, seven acres of peaches, four acres of alfalfa, and
an acre in buildings and yards. He obtains water from the Consolidated Ditch
Company, and has two acres devoted to stock and domestic use. Search where
you may, it would be difficult to find a more attractive home ranch of the size.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have had seven children : Lillie May is the wife'
of James Wilson, a farmer of Mendocino County ; Russell, the second child,
died when he was a year old ; Alberta, a Red Cross nurse, is in France ; Albert
is in Tampico, on the Gulf of Mexico, engaged in the oil business ; Annie is
the wife of Charles Bride, a successful oil-well driller at Coalinga, and re-
sides on the Dutch Shell Lease; Lulu is the wife of L. E. Smith, the electri-
cian, and lives near San Francisco ; and Arthur went to the Philippines, en-
listed in the United States Army and is now a corporal, in service at Vladi-
vostok, Russia.
A stockholder and active member of the California Associated Raisin
Company, and of the Peach Growers Association, Mr. Johnson is also very
keenly interested in civic affairs and the great political questions of the day.
In national politics he follows the standards of the Democratic party, but in
matters of local import he proves his good citizenship by voting for the best
men and the wisest measures.
CHARLES E. PHILLIPS, D.D.S.— Prominent among the professional
men of Fresno, in which city he has been engaged in the practice of dentistry
for the past seventeen years, Charles E. Phillips has achieved success in his
chosen profession and ranks among the leading dentists of Central Califor-
nia. Born in Garrett County, Ky., July 26, 1878, he received his education
in the graded schools of Lancaster, that state. On finishing his general school-
ing, he entered the Louisville Dental College, at Louisville, Ky., and after
finishing his course at that institution, entered the Cincinnati Dental College,
at Cincinnati, Ohio. On completing his studies, Dr. Phillips worked as an
assistant in dental offices in Lancaster, Ky., and Cincinnati, Ohio. With the
West beckoning him to a land of greater opportunity, he came to California,
arriving in Fresno April 29, 1902. Here he worked as assistant in the office
of Dr. B. B. Cory for four years. He then took the state board examination,
in the sprijig of 1907, was admitted to practice, and has since that date
practiced for himself, with a large clientele in Fresno and the surrounding
country, his offices being at 508 Rowell Building. He is an associate member
of the Southern California Dental Association, and is a charter member of
the X-ray Dental Association of Fresno. This association was formed in 1917,
and has seventeen members, the organization owning a complete X-ray dental
outfit, which appliance is now universally used in modern dentistry and is of
inestimable benefit to suffering humanity.
Dr. Phillips has taken an active part in athletics during his residence in
the city. For seven years he was one of the leaders in athletics in the Fresno
Y. M. C. A., and was senior leader in classes. He has a gold medal received
for leading in five events in the athletic sports of the Y. M. C. A., no small
honor, for any man. Besides his professional duties, Dr. Phillips has been
interested in horticulture here, owning a peach orchard in Fresno County,
which property he later disposed of. He is a member of the Merchants' Asso-
1480 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
ciation, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Commercial Club, among- busi-
ness orders ; and fraternally he belongs to the B. P. O. Elks, the Woodmen
of the World, and the Red Men. A well-met and universally liked man, he is
a popular figure in the life of the community, always ready to do his share
in furthering the march of progress which is making Fresno one of the most
prosperous cities in the state.
Dr. Phillips' marriage united him with Verna E. Stickles, a native of
Oklahoma, and one child has been born to them, a daughter, Dorothy Allene.
ALEXANDER MANEELY.— A railroad man widely experienced in the
construction of railroad facilities, and who has cleverly solved the problem,
during an unusually busy life, of little by little improving a farm and gradu-
ally acquiring for himself and family one of the most desirable of home places,
is Alexander Maneely, a native of Canada, the neighboring land that has
supplied so much brain and brawn for the development of the American Re-
public. He was born at Blenheim, Ontario, on April 25, 1859, and there
reared on a farm, while he attended the Canadian public schools.
Alexander's father was John Maneely, a native of County Cavan, Ireland,
who grew up there under favoring conditions and first came to Ontario when
he was thirty years of age. He was thus able to make a good start in the
New World, and one of the first steps of importance in the right direction was
his marriage, in Ontario, to Catherine Johnston, like himself of Irish birth.
She came from Enniskillen, one of the most romantic of all parts of Erin's
Isle; and her sunnv temperament had its beneficent influence on husband
and family. John Maneely was a weaver, and in Ontario he followed the
manufacture of cloth. There, too, he died, survived by Mrs. Maneely. the
mother of six children, who now lives in Manitoba.
After he had finished school, Alexander left farm work for that of a
saw-mill, and when almost sixteen years old, a young age for such responsi-
bility, he began to work for the Great Western Railway on one of their
sections in Ontario. After five years' service, when his ability and fidelity
were duly recognized, he accepted a still better post with the Canadian
Pacific, with the crew in charge of construction work in Manitoba, as far as
Swift Current; after which he worked back to Winnipeg on the southwestern
branch. He then returned east and next spring went out again on the Mani-
toba and Northwestern as foreman of construction, and then he was made
roadmaster on the same line from Portage la Prairie to Yorkton. the end of
the line. A year later they discontinued the extra roadmaster and Mr. Man-
eelv returned to the vard as foreman at Portage la Prairie, where he remained
until 1900.
At the beginning of this momentous centurv, Mr. Maneely came to Cali-
fornia and located in Los Angeles County, where he secured an excellent
position with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. For three years he
was their foreman at Ravena : but, attracted by Fresno County an,d its won-
derful advantages, he came to Fresno in 1903. and engaged with the old
Fresno City Railway, contracting to construct the streetcar line under Griffith
& McKenzie. He had charge of the construction until the railway was com-
pleted, when he was made general foreman, and put in charge of the con-
struction work needed from time to time ; and in that office he continued until
about 1910, when F. W. Webster took the road over for the Southern Pacific.
and then he sub-contracted under him and had charge of double-tracking the
city lines. He continued general foreman until seven years ago. when he
went to Stockton to take charge of the construction of extensions of the
Stockton Electric Railway: then he was a season in P.akersfield. double-track-
ing the car-lines there; after which he returned to Stockton, on the con-
struction of the street-car lines to Exeter, for the Yisalia Electric Railway,
and having successfully completed that work. Mr. Maneely returned to his
ranch, in 1917.
<2&f«~X. ^<— ^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1483
He had bought this place of 100 acres on the San Joaquin River, about
fourteen miles north of Fresno, in Barstow Colony, in 1905, and with the aid
of his son, he rapidly improved it. He built a fine residence and the neces-
sary farm buildings, and located his family there, leaving them in charge
while he was away on railway construction. He planted forty acres to alfalfa,
and set out thirty-five acres in Thompson seedless and four acres in apricots,
while he also provided for twelve acres of peaches. His son, Lawrence Man-
eely, has long had the care of the ranch, and to him is due much of the credit
for the trim appearance of one of the finest farm-properties of its size in
Central California. Both father and son are represented in the California
Associated Raisin Company and the California Pea"ch Growers, Inc.
At Portage la Prairie, Mr. Maneely was married in 1888 to Miss Eliza-
beth Johnson, a native of Ontario, and they have five children: Ethel is
Mrs. G. P. Dunham of Fresno ; Ida has become Mrs. St. Clair of the same
city; Lawrence is in charge of the Maneely ranch; Irene is a graduate of
Heald's Business College at Fresno ; and Hazel is attending the Kerman
union high school. The family attends the Baptist Church in Fresno.
Mr. Maneely is a Republican in the great national issues, but works for
local civic improvement regardless of party lines. In fraternal matters, too. his
sympathies are broad ; he was made a Mason at Paisely, Ontario, although
he is not active now; and while in Ontario he used to be an Odd Fellow.
He was also, while there, a member of the Knights of Pythias. Today his
family and his home-place and his part in civic life so engross him that he
has turned aside from what was once a pleasant social affiliation.
J. C. CHRISTENSEN. — Success has characterized the various business
enterprises undertaken by J. C. Christensen, the subject of this review, ever
since his coming to California in the spring of 1890.
J. C. Christensen is a native of Esbjerg, Denmark, where he was born
November 19, 1864. His father, Christ Petersen, was a Danish farmer, his
mother, in maidenhood, was Marie Westersen, and they were the parents of
twelve children, eleven of whom are living, J. C. being the third oldest. He
received his early education in the public school of his native country and
after completing his studies at the Copenhagen high school attended the
agricultural college at Herning, for one year. Following his school days he
became the manager of a dairy farm at Als, Schlesvig, where he remained for
two years.
In the spring of 1890, he emigrated to San Francisco, Cal. where he
learned the trade of a cook. After following this line of work until 1895, J. C.
Christensen decided to start in business for himself, and opened a restaurant
on East Street, where he continued for fifteen months when he sold his busi-
ness and again followed his trade of a cook. Later he opened another restau-
rant, this one was known as the Fourth Street Cafe, located on Fourth Street
near Market Street, where he successfully operated the business for three
years when he disposed of it at a good profit. Afterwards he purchased a
restaurant on Sixth Street, known as the Walkaway Restaurant, and this
place he continued to operate for three years until he sold out Januarv 1,
1903, when he spent some time traveling about the state until he reached
Fresno, March of the same year. Possessed of sagacious and far-sighted
business judgment, Mr. Christensen soon realized that the city of Fresno
needed a first class restaurant, which he at once established, on J Street, under
the name of the Fresno Cafe, and where he continued to successfully operate
the business for ten years when he sold out. During the ten years that he
conducted the restaurant Mr. Christensen built up a very large and lucrative
business making the handsome sum of $30,000.
In 1911 Mr. Christensen bought a vineyard of forty-seven and a half
acres located at Oleander, Fresno County, naming it, after his little daughter,
Dora's Vineyard. This property was devoted to muscat vines and the rais-
1484 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ing of alfalfa, and he continued to operate it until the spring of 1917, when
he sold it and purchased ten acres of land on White's Bridge Road, which he
improved and set out to Thompson seedless grapes. In 1908 Mr. Christensen
purchased an apartment house at 1703 J Street, Fresno, which he remodeled
and leased out all the apartments, except the one where he makes his home
with his family.
J. C. Christensen was united in marriage with Miss Thora Hansen, a
native of Denmark, the ceremony being solemnized in San Francisco. This
happy union was blessed with one child, a daughter, Dora Marie. Fraternally,
Mr. Christensen is a Mason, member of Crocker Lodge, No. 139, F. & A. M.,
San Francisco, Cal. and is also a member of both the Danish Brotherhood
and of Dania, at Fresno, having served as president of the Dania at San
Francisco for three terms. In national politics he is a Republican and is a
member and stockholder of the California Associated Raisin Company. Mr.
Christensen is very public spirited and liberal hearted, a genial and com-
panionable citizen who has the happy faculty of making and retaining friends.
WILLIAM LYNCH. — A fine old man. unusually interesting as a pioneer
who crossed the great plains in the early fifties and, despite many hardships,
has been an upbuilder in every community in which he has cast his lot, is
William Lynch who was born near Huntsville, Madison County, Ark., on
December 27, 1842, the son of Daniel Lynch, a native of Virginia. His mother,
who was Nancy Sharp before her marriage, came from Alabama. The par-
ents were farmers and assuredly belonged to that most valuable class of
forerunners who laid the foundations of our great country. Daniel Lynch
died in 1850, and Mrs. Lynch passed away the following year, the mother of
ten children. One of these children, Edwin, served with honor in the Mexi-
can War ; while a sister Mary married George W. Gibson, and with him
William came across the plains when he was only ten years of age, and drove
some cattle. William had a horse and helped drive the cattle, of which there
were over two hundred head, with some horses. The party traveled with
ox teams and wagons, and was six months making the trip. This was in
1853, and it was necessary to proceed up the Arkansas River for 400 miles
to the Rocky Mountains, then by way of the Sublette cut-off, past Fort Ben-
ton, then south of Fort Laramie, next across the Platte River, cutting their
way through the pinery; and then across the Green River, and after that to
Fort Bridger. The company, large, strong and well-armed, then proceeded
north of Salt Lake on Bear River, past Soda Springs and then on to the
Humboldt River, then across the desert to Carson River, and there they
left the cattle with two of Gibson's sons. William accompanied the wagons,
riding his horse through to California. He entered the state by way of Fid-
dletown, and passed on to Stockton.
The Gibsons settled on the San Joaquin River, and then went to Hills
Ferry. Gibson sold cattle and bought sheep. William Lynch went to school
there until, in 1856, they went to Sonoma County, when he attended school in
Santa Rosa. He resided with his sister until he was sixteen, and then he
struck out for himself. Returning to the San Joaquin, he entered the employ
of Major McMichael. a cattleman and butcher, with whom he remained a
year. Then he removed to San Juan, then Monterey County, and went to
school there, and then to Santa Clara, where he also attended school, in 1859.
The next year, employed as a cattleman. William came to Visalia, in com-
pany with George Caldwell, in charge of a herd of cattle, and after that he
worked in the mines in Calaveras County.
In 1861, Mr. Lynch began to drive a team for Mr. Folgem, freighting
for the New Idra quicksilver mines, and there he continued for two years.
Then he entered the employ of Colonel Hollister, on the old ranch where the
town of Hollister now stands ; and after another year he went to Nevada, to
work in the mines. Five months there fully satisfied him, and in 1863 Mr.
°)T^ dCLuJL-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1487
Lynch returned to California. He went to Ukiah, in Mendocino County,
where Mrs. Gibson lived, and worked at ranching and farming until 1867,
when he moved south to Los Angeles. After a year he returned to Gilroy,
farmed there awhile and took up a homestead on the San Benito River, which
he ran for two years; then, selling out, he engaged in the sheep business in
San Benito County. He started with 900 sheep, and later had 4,000. He
finally drove his flock into Fresno and sold them to Jeff James.
In 1887, Mr. Lynch bought a vineyard in Fresno Colony, but the price
of- his commodity went down to one and a fourth cents per pound and he"
failed and lost ail that he had made. He then began to work by the month
and soon got ahead sufficiently to be able to buy a few cows. He rented a
dairy farm and continued in that line for several years. His family remained
in the Central Colony when he went to Alaska in 1899, accompanied by his
son, Thomas K. Lynch. He passed over the Chilcoot trail, and reached Atlan,
B. C. With his son and Herbert Reese and Thomas Patterson, he took a
lease on a mine, but after a year he returned to California, and once more
embarked in the dairy business.
Two years later Mr. Lynch bought a ranch of twenty acres in the Cen-
tral Colony, on Fig Avenue, and in this enterprise he was very successful.
When he sold out, he bought from Mrs. Jaggers twenty acres in the Fresno
Colony, on Walnut Avenue, put it in alfalfa and continued the dairy business.
He was in time regarded as a progressive leader in dairying, and rather
naturally became an important stockholder in the Danish Creamery. In 1918
he sold his well-improved place, and bought a ranch of five acres near Kear-
ney Avenue, where he now resides.
While in Mendocino County, Mr. Lynch was married to Mary S. Garner,
a native of Arkansas, who came to California on a stage with her uncle, J. F.
Todd, and settled in Mendocino County. They have had five children, all of
whom have reflected creditably on the parents: Edwin F., the eldest, is
deceased; William H. lives at home with his father; Marietta has become
Mrs. Noyes of Fresno ; Thomas K. is in Los Angeles ; and Frederick M. re-
sides on Kearney Avenue. Mr. Lynch belongs to the Baptist Church, and
he was made a Mason in the San Benito Lodge, but is now a member of
Fresno Lodge, No. 247, F. & A. M.
FRANK G. HOLMGREN.— In the life of this successful citizen of
Fresno, are illustrated the results of perseverance and energy, coupled with
judicious management and strict integrity in all his various business enter-
prises.
Frank G. Holmgren was born March 8, 1860, at Ystad. in the southern
part of Sweden. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a carpenter
for three years where, as is customary in European countries, he received no
salary while learning the trade, but was provided with his board. Frank G.
Holmgren was ambitious to better his condition financially, and like so
many of his fellow countrymen, he emigrated to the United States, in 1880,
and settled at first in Brockton, Mass., where he worked at his trade of a
carpenter, and -while living there was also employed on the construction of
the well known shoe factory of W. L. Douglass, in which he also worked for
a time making shoe lasts.
After a residence of seven years in Brockton, Mr. Holmgren had a
desire to see more of the great United States, particularly the Golden State,
so in 1887 he migrated to San Diego, Cal., where for a while he worked at
his trade, and on January 2, 1889, located at Fresno. Mr. Holmgren, being
a first class workman and ambitious to succeed in his chosen line, soon found
plenty of work and today can point with pardonable pride to some of Fresno's
best buildings as an example of his high-class workmanship. His first employ-
ment was upon the construction of the well known Temple Bar Block, he
also helped in building the Farmers' National Bank Block, the People's Loan
1488 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and Savings Bank Building, and the Barton Opera House. Afterwards he
started in business for himself and erected the Swedish Lutheran Church,
in Fresno. Later he abandoned contracting and engaged in the furniture
business on J Street, Fresno, and also conducted a cigar store.
In 1909 he purchased twenty acres of raw land on Belmont Avenue,
which he improved by planting to muscat grapes and building a fine resi-
dence, where he lived for several years, and in 1913 disposed of the property
at a good profit. In addition to these he has built and sold several houses
in the city of Fresno, and at the present time is engaged in following his
trade. Mr. Holmgren is thorough and conscientious in all his work, and is
a member of the Carpenters' Union.
In 1889 F. G. Holmgren was united in marriage with Louisa Larson, a
native of Sweden, and this happy union has been blessed with one daughter,
Ida, who is now the wife of Erick Anderson, of Madera. They are the parents
of three children. Mr. Holmgren is a member of the Swedish Lutheran
Church. He is highly esteemed for his integrity of character and his success
in business has been due entirely to his own well directed efforts.
LESTER F. HARTIGAN. — A young man of enterprise and business
ingenuity, is the efficient superintendent of machinery for the California
Associated Raisin Company. Lester F. Hartigan is a son of James and
Margaret (Douglas) Hartigan. He first saw the light of day May 4, 1887,
at Oleander, Fresno County, Cal. His education was received in the grammar
and high school at Fresno, which was supplemented by a special course in
Heald's Electrical and Engineering College, at San Francisco. After leaving
college, Mr. Hartigan spent three years in the Central California Machine
Shop, at Fresno, where he gained valuable experience as a machinist ; after-
wards he was in charge of the seeding department of the J. B. Inderrieden
Packing Company, of Fresno, for two years.
In 1914 L. F. Hartigan accepted a position with the California Associated
Raisin Company as a machinist, and so efficiently did he discharge all of
his duties, that, after only one year, in recognition of his superior ability, he
was promoted to the responsible position of superintendent of all the ma-
chinery in the great plants of the California Associated Raisin Company.
His maternal grandfather, Frank A. Douglas, a pioneer of Fresno County,
invented the first machine used in stemming raisins. Mr. Hartigan has in-
herited the inventive genius of his grandfather, and has introduced into the
plant a number of important changes in the machinery, among which especial
mention is made of steel paddles used in the recleansing department, and
has also made a number of minor improvements in the raisin machinery.
Lester F. Hartigan was united in marriage on September 29. 1910. with
Isabel Birmingham, a native of Fresno and daughter of Thomas Birmingham.
Fraternally, Mr. Hartigan is a member of the Red Men and Native Sons of
the Golden 'West ; and is a man of high moral character and unquestioned
integrity.
SYLVESTER A. GEBHART.— Born in Henry County, Ind.. December
6, 1876, Sylvester A. Gebhart was raised on a farm and received his education
in the country schools of that district. At the age of twenty years he left
home and started in life for himself, first finding employment on a farm
in Missouri, going thence to central Iowa, where he worked for three and
one-half years on farms and stock ranches. From there he went to South
Dakota, and spent one season in the harvest fields of that state.
Mr. Gebhart arrived in Fresno, Cal., November 26, 1901, and here en-
tered the employ of the Fancher Creek Nurseries, since which date he has
remained with the firm. He started to learn the nursery business from the
bottom, drove team for a while, and later looked after the growing stock,
learning every branch of the work. He had charge as foreman of two nursery
plants near Sanger for eight years, one located on Kings Bottom, below
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1489
Sanger, and the other two miles south of Sanger, during the busy seasons
having charge of 160 men and fifty-six head of horses and mules.
A man of broad sensibilities and progressive in his business methods,
Mr. Gebhart has established a fine system in carrying on his work, and is
always looking for further improvements to better facilitate the business.
His success has been so marked that in 1912 he was made superintendent of
all the plants of the company, and he brings to his larger field of work the
same attention to detail and progress which made his beginning so success-
ful. A self-made man in every sense of the word, Mr. Gebhart has risen to
his present position solely through his own efforts and enterprise and well
deserves the success which has come as a result. He is the oldest employee
but one with the company, in point of service. With a keen appreciation of
the growing prosperity of Fresno, he has backed his judgment by investing
in Fresno real estate, and is a ready contributor to all movements which have
for their object the further advancement of the county.
Mr. Gebhart's marriage united him with Bertha Sand, a native of Indiana,
and two children have been born to them: Albert, born in 1909; and Luella,
born in 1912.
SEPTER E. JOHNSTON.— Although the present population of Fresno
is made up, to a considerable extent of the younger generation, there are
quite a number of the old timers among its successful business men. Among
these we note the name of Septer E. Johnston, born in Ray County, Missouri,
October 22, 1859. His father, James L., brought his family across the plains
in 1864 by ox team express, the usual method of transportation at that time,
and located at Healdsburg, Sonoma County. In 1866 he returned to Missouri
with his family via the Isthmus.
Septer E. lived in Missouri until 1874 when he removed to Cowley
County; Kans., where he farmed until 1881, when he went to Washington
County, Ark., where he farmed until 1883, and in that year made a trip to
Arizona and returned to Arkansas in the fall of 1884, and continued farming
in that state until 1887 when he came to Fresno, Cal. Upon his arrival at
Fresno he took up mechanical engineering, working first for the Fresno
W'ater Company. He helped to bore the first well at the Central Station
and set the first pump. Afterwards he entered the employ of the Fresno Gas
and Electric Company, in whose service he remained for six years. In 1894
he began work in the shops of the Southern Pacific Railroad, where he re-
mained for four years as a repairman. He was then transferred to the rail-
road yards as an inspector. Since October 30. 1911, he has been in the em-
ploy of the California Packing House where he is now chief engineer of Plant
No. 6, Pacific Coast Seeded Raisin Company. In 1885 S. E. Johnston married
Rose Dees, a native of Arkansas, and they are the parents of six children,
namely: Dr. E. Melvin, Monroe Ezra, Effie V., Viola, Forest E. and Theodore,
all of whom were born and educated in Fresno.
Mr. Johnston is a member of the Methodist Church, South, and a Modern
Woodman.
ANDREW MATTEI, JR. — In the earlier years of Los Angeles, the
metropolis of Southern California, while the city was yet in the throes of
the real estate excitement of the eighties, one of Fresno County's rising
vounsr business men, Andrew Mattei, Jr., was born in that citv, September
26, 1887.
Mr. Mattei was educated at the Horace Mann School in the Malaga
district of Fresno County, and supplemented his early education with a course
at Santa Clara College, at Santa Clara, and St. Mary's College, at Oakland,
graduating from the latter institution in 1908. Civil engineering and a com-
mercial course were included in his curriculum, and he afterwards engaged in
viticulture and the wine-making industry with his father, with whom he has
been associated ever since, his special line of development work being the clari-
1490 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
fying of wine and placing it on the eastern market, selling direct to dealers
instead of through local agencies, as in former years.
Energetic and versatile, Mr. Mattei exhibits an unusual capacity for
business achievement. He has made a success of his work in whatever line
he has been engaged. He is general manager of the Union Sales Company
and also general manager of the General Tire and Rubber Company of Cali-
fornia, with headquarters in Fresno and branch offices throughout the state.
He has a chain of ten oil-filling stations located in San Francisco, Fresno,
Merced. Tulare, Yisalia and Porterville. He is also president of the Center
Mercantile Company, located at 1151 J Street, Fresno.
Mr. Mattei's marriage united him with Miss Julia Eddy, one of Califor-
nia's native daughters, and they are the parents of two children, Andrew. Jr.
and Elleanor. In his fraternal associations he is a member of the Fresno
Lodge of Elks, and of the Fresno Parlor of Native Sons of the Golden West.
In 1917 he was vice-president of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. Mr.
Mattei makes his home on the ranch at Malaga and ably assists his father
in caring for the various interests connected with their business.
HENRY RAUSCHER.— Of good old Pennsylvania stock, Henry
Rauscher was born January 27, 1849, in Beaver County, in the state named
for that unique figure in the annals of history, William Penn. He received
a common school education and at the age of eighteen removed to Ten-
nessee. As a young man he followed the business of photography before the
day of the dry plate, when tin types were the only kind of pictures taken.
In 1870 he came to Santa Rosa, Cal., and was one of the first men in
Sonoma County to take photographs. After following this profession for
nine years he located in Fresno in 1879 where he was also one of the first to
take photos. The early inhabitants of Fresno recall his portable gallery on
the corner of J and Mariposa Streets on the spot where the Grand Central
Hotel now stands. Later he changed his location to J Street.
He followed this profession for a number of years, then turned his
attention to mining and prospecting in the hills of Fresno and Merced Coun-
ties. Not finding a bonanza, as a few of the more fortunate have here and
there, after a time he turned his attention to other lines of business and at
present conducts a confectionery and cigar store at 1601 Tulare Street in
Fresno. He is one of the, well known pioneers of the county and was in
earl}' days a famous crack shot with a forty-four calibre rifle. In fact his
skill as a marksman was so well known that he was barred from the popular
turkey shoots of those days, as the bird was quite certain to fall at the crack
of his rifle. He was fond of hunting, and is full of reminiscences of those
early days when antelope and other wild game were abundant on the plains in
the country when he first came to the state, and when there were only four
brick houses in Fresno. He has never aspired to any political office of any
kind and is not affiliated with any social organization.
PROF. J. W. MOORE. — Fresno offers vast opportunities for the business
and professional men who have been attracted from abroad and near, due
to its marvelouslv rapid growth within a comparatively short time. This
city affords rare advantages in all educational avenues, chief among which
might be mentioned the fine arts, and has been honored with the establish-
ment of the institution known as "The Fresno Academy of Music" by Prof.
J. W. Moore, 1302 N Street, corner of Merced, where he installed for musical
students a pipe-organ, piano, violin, voice, theory and harmony department,
since the year 1916.
Professor Moore was born in Yorkshire, England. May 1, 1870, and was
reared in a refined and religious home. His father being a pipe organist and
choir director, J. W. Moore was given every advantage for a thorough
musical education, for which he demonstrated rare talent and aptitude,
having played a pipe-organ in church at the early age of eight years. He grad-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1493
uated from the Royal Academy of Music in London, and Royal College
of Organists, London, after which he traveled extensively in musical
centers of Europe, studied the organ under Professor Guilmant of Paris, one
of the world's leading organists ; also Sparks of London, Dr. Crow of Ripon,
and the late Prof W. T. Best of Liverpool. After completing his studies
Professor Moore resided some years in Bradford, England where he was
Municipal Organist, also engaged in teaching, specializing in voice culture,
piano and pipe-organ.
In 1906 Professor Moore visited Southern California where the rec-
ognition of his rare ability was so marked that he was induced to yield to
the public's enthusiastic appeal for his permanently locating here where his
talent was so needed and keenly appreciated by minds capable of recognizing
his artistic efficiency. Since then many large audiences of California have
recognized, with keen appreciation, Professor Moore as a talented musician
and composer of no mean ability.
Professor Moore's Organ Recitals at the Auditorium in Fresno, as well
as his work at the local churches have added superlatively to the reputation
this city enjoys far and near as a musical center where rare talent may be
found, and here such artists will find, in the growing tide of population, a
fertile field for the inculcation of their talents upon the rising generation.
REV. MAGNUS ANDERS NORDSTROM.— A man of forceful charac-
ter, pronounced business ability, extreme conscientiousness and deep religious
convictions, and altogether a striking personality, who loves Fresno County and
particularly one corner of it, where he has developed a splendid ranch, is the Rev.
Magnus Anders Nordstrom, the pioneer of Vinland, who organized the Swedish
Lutheran Church there, was its first pastor, and is now again in charge of that
congregation's spiritual welfare. To him also is to be credited the organization
of the first school district of Vinland. He was born in Vermland, Sweden, on
Tune 7, 1856. in a community near Carlstad, the son of Anders Anderson, a
farmer, and Anna Anderson, the mother of eight children, among whom our sub-
ject was the third youngest. He remained at home and attended school until he
was fourteen, and then he spent three years in Norway, one year in Eswold and
two years in Christiania, in the manufacturing of shoes. When twenty, how-
ever, he decided to study for the ministry.
Whereupon, Mr. Nordstrom entered the Oerebro (Sweden) Mission School
and studied for three years, preparing for the life of a clergyman, and then, for
a year, he studied at Westeras ; and there he took the name Nordstrom. After
four years he received a call from the Augustana Synod to continue his studies
at the Augustana College and Seminary, at Rock Island, 111., and hither he came
in 1884. In 1887, when he had completed his course, he was ordained in Chicago,
and then he accepted a call to Kane, Pa., as well as to Wilcox, in the same state,
to serve two congregations. He soon traveled as a missionary pastor over a large
territory, developing the field, and organizing congregations which are now
directed by eight pastors. He built three churches and parsonages, and organ-
ized congregations at Dubois, Smithford and Bradford, Pa. He labored in that
field for five years, and then accepted a call to Woodhull, 111. At the end of two
years, in 1894, he moved to Minnesota as pastor of the Lutheran Church at
Hoffman ; and he also took up missionary work. During ten years, he organized
three congregations, and built four churches and a parsonage.
In the fall of 1903, on account of ill-health, the Reverend Nordstrom sought
a milder climate, and came to California ; and it was not long before he took up
his residence in Fresno County. He had been here the spring before, and, after
looking over the ground, had decided that this was the best place in which to
locate. Eight friends from Minnesota accompanied him, and they made a small
settlement. Each bought according to his ability or needs, and Mr. Nordstrom
bought forty acres at the corner of what is now Madera and Shaw Avenues. He
donated the site, and helped build the Congregational Church, after organizing
1494 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the congregation, and was the first pastor. He continued in that pastorate for
four years.
In 1908, the Reverend Nordstrom accepted a call to Riverside, Cal., as
pastor and was there for two. years, and then he came back to his ranch, which
he improved with a vineyard and an orchard, growing Thompson seedless and
malaga grapes, and peaches. He was a pastor in charge of work at Fresno,
Turlock and Berea for about three years, while he made his home in Vinland;
and after that he was pastor, for about one year, of the Fresno and Vinland
churches. When he resigned, in the Fall of 1914, he temporarily accepted the
pastorate of the Ebenezer Lutheran Church in San Francisco, and after fifteen
months when they had secured a permanent pastor, he returned to his Vinland
ranch. A call from Los Angeles to take charge of the Angelica congregation
took him there for eight months, but in June, 1918, he withdrew from that charge
to become the permanent pastor of the church he originally built. Now he resides
on his own ranch, and in his own home.
While in Minnesota he served as chairman, in the Alexandria District, of
the Minnesota Conference; in California he has served several years as chair-
man in die Central District of the California Conference.
In national politics the Reverend Nordstrom is a Republican, but he sup-
ports good local issues regardless of any partisanship. He has been instrumental
in locating nearly all the home-makers of Swedish extraction, in the Vinland
Colony, Fresno County.
In New York City, on Oct. 10. 1889, Mr. Nordstrom was married to Miss
Hildur Runstedt, a native of Stockholm, who was educated in the Guttenburg
High School. Two daughters have been born to this very worthy couple:
Magnhild, who resides with her parents ; and Lillie Hildur, the wife of Arthur
J. Anderson of Vinland, and the mother of a son, Gerald. Mrs. Nordstrom and
her daughters were active in Red Cross work, in Los Angeles and at home.
JOHN L. HUTCHINSON.— A native of La Salle County, 111., John L.
Hutchinson first saw the light of day on January 5, 1854, on a farm near
Tonica. In his native state he received a good education, having attended
both high school and college, the latter being located at Eureka. When he
reached his majority, Mr. Hutchinson went to Chatsworth, 111., where he
taught school and engaged in farming for seven years. In 1882 he migrated
westward, locating at York, Nebr. Here he bought a farm containing 169
acres, and followed grain-farming for three years, after which he sold the
place and moved to Indianola. Nebr., where he purchased a section of land.
After remaining there three years, he removed to Edgemont, S. D. Mr.
Hutchinson, being a very enterprising business man, soon realized that
Edgemont needed a water supply, and at once installed pipes and a complete
system, whereby he supplied the town with this indispensable necessity.
During the great rush to the Alaska gold fields, in 1898, John L.
Hutchinson joined the great host in quest of the precious yellow metal in
the Klondike, where he was quite successful. In 1900 he came to San Fran-
cisco, Cal. There he pursued a course in civil and mining engineering,
in the Van Dernailen School of Engineering, after which he went to James-
town, Tuolumne County, and for ten years was an engineer on the Sugar Pine
Railroad from Oakdale to Stockton, the road being operated into the moun-
tain lumber camps. In 1911 Mr. Hutchinson located at Fresno, where for one
year he was engaged in the real estate business. He then left, in 1012, for
Sangamon County, 111., to settle an estate, and remained five years, until
Tanuary 1, 1917, when he returned to Fresno County. Since that time he
has made many important investments in ranch property, among others forty
acres southeast of Clovis and forty acres northwest of Clovis. In the spring
of 1918 he purchased forty acres at Orosi, Tulare County, and later twenty
acres southeast of Orosi. All of these tracts were partially improved with
vineyards and orchards, but with his characteristic enterprise Mr. Hutchinson
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1495
started at once to further improve his properties and bring them all up to a
high state of development, planting new vines and improving the buildings.
His various ranches are devoted to peaches, figs, apricots and grapes. As
an example of the high state of cultivation to which he has brought his
peach orchards, mention is made of the 1918 crop from eight acres, for which
he received a $2,500 check. He is intensely interested in the permanent
development of scientific horticulture and viticulture, and is an influential
member of the California Peach Growers' Association and the California
Associated Raisin Company.
In October, 1917, Mr. Hutchinson purchased his beautiful modern home
in the City of Fresno, on the corner of Wishon Avenue and Peralta Way,
and has since improved the grounds with flowers and shrubbery, making it
a very attractive home place. Mrs. Hutchinson was in maidenhood Alma
Trumbo, a native of Chatham, Sangamon County, 111. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchin-
son have reared a boy, Stewart Hutchinson, who is now seventeen years of
age. Mr. Hutchinson is a man of unquestioned integrity and high ideals.
He was a charter member of Edgemont Lodge, No. 63, K. of P. Religiously,
Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson are members of the Christian Church.
LUTHER ROY McGUIRE.— The memories associated with the child-
hood and young manhood of Luther R. McGuire have their setting in the Old
Dominion. He was born in Augusta County, October 16, 1886. Brought up
on his father's farm, he attended the country schools of his native state
and worked on the farm until he attained his majority, after which he went
to Washington, D. C, and took charge of the farm of the National Training
School for Boys — an agricultural and business school for 400 boys who
were in attendance. During the three and a half years that Mr. McGuire
was in charge of the farm he made many improvements in the way of clear-
ing up timber land, increasing the acreage for planting, enlarging the herd
of dairy cows, etc.
After relinquishing charge of this farm he returned to his Virginia home,
and for one year was engaged in the grocery business with his brother at
Herndon, Va. He came to California in the fall of 1913, and desirous of
learning the fruit growing and packing business entered the Malaga Packing
House. Later he became fruit buyer for the packing house. Afterwards he
superintended the improvement and development of land for his uncle. J. F.
Niswander, planting a vineyard near Clovis, and in the fall of 1916 he entered
the employ of the California Peach Growers' Association. He installed ma-
chinery in the Valley plants and later was made inspector of plants, after-
wards being made manager of Plant No. 9, in Fresno.
Mr. McGuire has dealt in unimproved land quite extensively, improving
and selling the land, and has also dealt in Fresno real estate. He was the
owner of a fifty-five acre ranch on Belmont Avenue, part of which is planted
to peaches and apricots and is now producing.
Mrs. McGuire, before her marriage, was Miss Lucia Haber, a native of
Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. McGuire are the parents of one child, a son named after
his father, Luther Roy, Jr.
CHARLES M. CHALUP. — As an example of a self made man who has
overcome insuperable difficulties and satisfactorily solved many of life's per-
plexing problems, especial mention is made of Charles M. Chalup, the pro-
prietor of one of Fresno's up-to-date groceries. He is a native of the Buckeye
State, born in Cleveland, Ohio, September 3, 1873. He was educated in the
very excellent public schools of his native city and had practical experience
in his line of business through working in various groceries in Cleveland.
In 1900, at the age of twenty-seven, he sought the advantages offered by the
west to young men of enterprise and energy and tried his fortune in Nevada,
in the occupation of mining for one year. Meeting with indifferent success
he came to Fresno, Cal., in 1901, and secured employment in the grocery
1496 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
department of Einstein's department store, remaining with the firm for two
and one-half years. While thus employed he decided to open a grocery of
his own. selecting the west end of town, at the corner of Fresno and C
Streets, as a suitable location for the venture.
At that time this section was quite in the country, surrounded by grain
fields and sparsely inhabited. He purchased a shack twelve by twelve feet
in dimension and a two room cottage adjoining on a lot thirty-seven by one
hundred feet, for which he paid $675. Later he added twelve feet to the side
of his store. In this small space he and his wife opened their first store on
a capital of seventy-five dollars. For two years bis faithful help-mate kept
the store while he worked for Mr. Einstein. From this small beginning
evolved their present up-to-date grocery in which they have made money
and prospered beyond their most sanguine expectations, large credit for the
success of the enterprise being due to Mrs. Chalup's good judgment and
faithful efforts. Air. Chalup has been very successful in buying and selling
real estate, and also served for one year as city trustee under appointment
by Mayor W. P. Lyon.
Mrs. Chalup, before her marriage, was Miss Ellen New, a native of
Illinois., Mr. and Mrs. Chalup are the parents of two interesting children,
Mary Louise, and Alice Ellen both of whom were born in Fresno.
Mr. Chalup is a member of Fresno Lodge, No. 247. F. & A. M. ; is a
thirty-second degree Mason and Past Wise Master of Rose Croix, No. 8. of the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry. He is also a member
of the Fresno Lodge of Eagles.
GEORGE E. PORTER, D. C. — Few in the practice of Chiropractic
science have made such rapid strides towards success as has characterized
the career of Dr. George E. Porter, of Fresno. He was born in Portage
County, Ohio, June 21, 1885, the son of a miller and his education was ob-
tained in the public schools of the town adjacent to their farm. After
graduating from the Alliance high school, young Porter secured employment
in the sales department of the Morgan Engineering Company at Alliance and
remained with them for seven years. Then desiring to enter a new field he
took up the study of chiropractic and was graduated from the Universal
College of Chiropractic, at Davenport, Iowa, in June, 1912. The month
following he was in Fresno, Cal., and had begun the practice of his pro-
fession and since that time he has built up a wonderfully successful clientele.
Dr. Porter is a member of the Federated Chiropractic Association of Califor-
nia and is licensed to practice in California by the State Medical Board.
The marriage of Dr. Porter, at Warren. Ohio, June 17. 1908, united him
with Willa P.. Marshall, a native of Pennsylvania. The Doctor and Mrs.
Porter are members of the First Methodist Church in Fresno. While kept
unusually busy with his professional work, Dr. Porter has found time to
take an active part in the social life of Fresno and to further the progress of
his home city. He is a Thirty-second degree Mason and holds membership
in Fresno Lodge, No. 247, F. & A. M. ; he is a member and Past Chancellor of
the Knights of Pythias, and possesses a jewel given him in recognition of
services, by members of the order. He is also a member of the Stags of
Fresno, and is physician for that order.
ARTHUR N. ALBRIGHT, D. D. S.— The state of Kansas claims Dr. A.
N. Albright, as a native son, as it was at Hutchinson, that state, on June 17.
1888, that he first saw the light of this terrestial sphere. His early education
was received in the grammar and high schools of his native city. Having
decided upon a professional career, Arthur N. Albright, entered a dental
college at Kansas City, Mo. where he carefully pursued the prescribed course
in preparation for the practice of his chosen profession, and was graduated
from this institution in 1911. Dr. Albright felt the call of the far Wot and.
believing that the Golden State offered splendid opportunities for young men
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1499
possessed of good character, untiring energy, and a determination to succeed,
and particularly to those who have specially equipped themselves for their
life work, he migrated to California and in the fall of 1911 located at Fresno.
Here he was associated with Dr. G. W. Gilbert in the practice of his pro-
fession until the year 1914, when he opened an office for himself in the Rowell
Building, where he is meeting with deserved success. His growing clientele
is attributed to the able and careful treatment of his many patients coupled
with his comprehensive knowledge of his profession. While attending college
in Kansas City, Dr. Albright clerked in a drug store in order to earn suffi-
cient funds to defray his expenses while in school. He is very fond of
athletics and while attending college he was instrumental in organizing a base
ball nine.
Arthur N. Albright, was united in marriage with Maybelle Hubbard, a
native of Missouri. This union has been blessed with one son Richard Lloyd
Albright. Dr. Albright is a member of The San Joaquin Valley Dental Asso-
ciation and the California Dental Society. He manifested his patriotism by
enlisting in the Dental Reserves of the United States Army, in which arm of
the service he was commissioned a First Lieutenant, but was not called into
active service.
HENRY A. MOMSON. — There are few, if any, more inspiring ex-
amples of self-won success, in the history of Fresno County farmers, than
that furnished by the career of Henry A. Momson, the pioneer rancher of
the Summit Lake country, near Riverdale, and owner of 960 acres situated
eight miles west of Riverdale. His ranch is regarded as one of the best
and most highly improved in the west side district and is located within
the Crescent Reclamation District, which embraces 6,000 acres of reclaimed
swamp land, protected by levee. The land is very fertile and produces
enormous crops of grain and alfalfa.
The owner of this splendid ranch, H. A. Momson, was born in Schleswig-
Holstein, October 15, 1863. When but three years of age his father brought
him to America and his boyhood days were spent in Clinton and Crawford
counties, Iowa. At the early age of eleven he started to work, and in the
spring of 1881 he accompanied his father to California. The father re-
mained in Tulare and Kings Counties, and passed away in 1906, near Porter-
ville.
Mr. Momson followed grain-farming near Hanford and Grangeville,
where he rented land until 1888, when he located in the Summit Lake
country, near Riverdale, Fresno County. For the first ten years he rented
land, farming about 1,500 acres to grain. In 1897 he purchased his present
ranch consisting of 960 acres, located eight miles west of Riverdale. Of this,
320 acres are devoted to alfalfa, the balance being sown to wheat and barley.
The land is all under the Crescent Canal, the main canal being twenty-
seven miles long, and 12,000 acres being irrigated by this company. His
crop of alfalfa averages one ton to an acre and four cuttings a year; the
wheat averages ten sacks to an acre and the barley twenty sacks, although
during the season of 1917 some of the barley averaged forty sacks. The
yearly total number of sacks is from six to seven thousand.
In 1906, Mr. Momson started a dairy and has at present sixty head of
milch cows, including many pure Holsteins. The ranch is equipped with
a large modern barn, 56 x 100 feet, and 24 feet in height. In addition to
his dairy interests, he raises Poland-China hogs of a fine strain, having
sold, during 1917, $4,200 worth of pork, he also sold that same year 150 head
of beef cattle. Mr. Momson is regarded as one of the leading and most
successful dairy and grain farmers on the west side of Fresno County. His
home, comprising a half-acre lot, is located at 145 Glenn Avenue, Fresno,
and in addition to this he owns other valuable real estate in Fresno.
Mr. Momson was united in marriage on September 4, 1888, with Emma
Batty, a native of Iowa, and this happy union was blessed with three chil-
1500 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
dren : Christopher, who was in the aviation service of the United States
Army returned home in December, 1918, having been honorably discharged ;
he was married in February, 1919, to Miss Elisa Hall of San Francisco,
whom he met at the University of California, and he is now in charge of the
farm. Eleanor is the wife of H. L. Daily, of Fresno and they have a son,
Harry Lee. Dorothy graduated from the Fresno High School and is now
a student of the California Art Institute of San Francisco, a department of
the University of California. Mrs. Momson and the children are active
members of the Presbyterian Church in Fresno.
Fraternally Mr. Momson is a Mason and member of Center Lodge, No.
465, F. & A. M., at Fresno, and is a Knight Templar. He is now a thirty-
second degree Mason. He is also a member of the San Joaquin Milk Pro-
ducers Association and the State Alfalfa Growers Association. He is highly
esteemed in the community and always ready to give his aid to all move-
ments for the advancement of Fresno County.
WILLIAM H. COX.— Born in Chattanooga, Tenn., June 20, 1882, Will-
iam H. Cox was raised and educated in Dalton, Ga. He later returned to
Chattanooga, and became an apprentice to the plumbing trade, with the firm
of Williams & Wood, plumbers and steam fitters. After remaining in their
employ several years, Mr. Cox came to California, in the spring of 1906, and
first located in Sacramento. He worked for Henry Seiferman, the plumber,
for three years, then formed a partnership with H. Dixon, under the firm
name of Dixon & Cox, with a shop at Eighteenth and L Streets, specializ-
ing in cottage and bungalow work. This partnership was dissolved in 1912,
and Mr. Cox then went into business for himself at 516 K Street ; among other
work he installed the plumbing and heating in the dormitory building of the
State University Farm at Davis, Yolo County ; in the Carnegie Public Library
and the Placer Hotel at Auburn, Placer County; also doing flat and residence
work in Sacramento.
In the fall of 1914, Mr. Cox located in Fresno, and soon after his arrival
here opened a plumbing shop at 2547 Tulare Street, and engaged in the
plumbing and heating contracting business, and from the beginning met with
the success due his experience and reputation for reliability, his field of
operations extending over the entire San Joaquin Valley. He installed the
plumbing in the Liberty Market, and the steam heating plant in the Liberty
Theater ; the plumbing and heating in the Wormser Furniture Company
Building; in the new Warner Jewelry Store, on J Street; the James Porteous
Block at Tulare and P Streets. Mr. Cox has installed plumbing in over fifty
cottages and bungalows in Fresno, many for the Fresno Home Builders, and
homes in the Alta Vista tract. He also installed the gas plant, plumbing
and heating in the Jacob Hansen ranch home ; also supplied homes in Bar-
stow and Perrin Colonies, Fresno County; installed the plumbing in the
Manual Training School of Madera, and the Alpha grammar school at Alpha,
Madera County ; also in the Madera Municipal Swimming Baths, and the
Cutler School at Cutler, Tulare County; also the plumbing and heating in
the Newkirk School in the city of Fresno, and the swimming baths in the
State Normal School at Fresno. Since January, 1919, his plumbing shop has
been located at 2555 White Avenue, Fresno.
The marriage of Mr. Cox, which occurred in Sacramento, Cal., united
him with Maude Pauline Clark, a native of Utah, and two children have
been born to them: Clark, born in Sacramento, and Mary, born in Fresno.
Mr. Cox is a member of the Master Plumbers' Association, and of the national,
state and local plumbers' association. Fraternally, he is a Mason and a
member of Center Lodge, No. 465, F. & A. M., of Fresno. A man of sterling
character and with progress for his watchword, he has been an active par-
ticipator in the growth and development of Fresno, city and county, and
stands ready at all times to aid in advancing the county still further on its
march toward prosperity.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1501
JAMES WILLIAM SIMPSON.— A very successful general contractor
who is doing a large business is J. W. Simpson, who has the good fortune to
have in his wife a person of real natural ability and pronounced energy. The
couple are known for their hospitality, and they enjoy the esteem and good
will of everyone.
Mr. Simpson was born in Coleman Valley, Sonoma County, Cal., on April
26, 1875, the son of J. F. Simpson, whose birthplace was Medora, Macoupin
County, 111. In 1852 the father crossed the great plains to California, driving
an ox team, and here he first followed mining and then lumbering. He settled
in Sonoma County, ran a dairy, and about 1876 went to Salinas Valley. In
1882 he came to Fresno City, then a small burg, and worked awhile as a farm
hand. Later he engaged in farming on his own responsibility, and leased some
of the Bank of California lands. He engaged in grain-farming on a large scale,
and ran sixty head of mules and two combined harvesters and reapers. He
raised and lost big crops, but later he succeeded in getting water onto his
tract, and this saved him from disaster. It was while working with his father
that J. W. Simpson helped to improve 580 acres of the Laguna De Tache
Grant into an experimental muscat vineyard, the first one on the entire grant
of 62,000 acres. Their next venture was the Little Sharon vineyard, 120
acres of the Sharon estate, twenty miles northwest from Fresno, into a muscat
vineyard. After this endeavor the elder Simpson retired to private life and
now resides on his home ranch, contented and happy in the thought that he
has done his full share towards developing the resources of Fresno County.
He owns a ranch of forty acres, five and a half miles south of Fresno, on Fig
Avenue, known as the home place, which has been his residence for years.
He has operated from this point, putting out vineyards on contract. He owns
eighty acres in the Kerman district, and 160 acres on Summit Lake.
Mrs. J. F. Simpson was Margaret M. Frazer before her marriage, and
she was a native of Illinois. She crossed the plains to California when she
was a little girl ; and with her husband she is still enjoying life. Six children
blessed their union, and five of them are living.
James William was the second oldest of the family, and was brought up
in Fresno County from his seventh year. He attended the public schools,
and recalls with affection his first teacher, H. Hadsell, as well as the second,
A. M. Drew. He was reared on a farm, and he learned to drive the big teams
in the grain-fields. At the age of fourteen, he began to haul wood out of the
fields to Fresno, using an eight-mule team. He remained with his father until
he was twenty-three, and then he began for himself.
He began dry farming and summer-fallowing, first in 1900, on the site
of Roeding Park ; and then he cultivated the Bank of California lands, in the
Kerman district, also according to the dry method. His results were varying
and not always satisfactory, but when irrigation came, he at once began to
make a success of his enterprises. This encouraged him to expand in contract-
ing to improve lands ; he leveled and checked, built ditches and graded, and
later he gave up farming to give all his attention to contracting. He more
and more built up a reputation that was capital in itself, and improved to a
high degree thousands of acres, so that many ranchers were able to start
successfully.
In the meantime Mr. Simpson bought forty acres on Jensen Avenue,
thirteen miles west of Fresno, which he improved to alfalfa and where he
established a good dairy. He set out Thompson seedless grapes and built
for himself a nice residence. He undertook contracts all over Fresno County
and throughout the San Joaquin Valley, and he even went into the Bay dis-
trict around San Francisco. He accepted railroad contracts from the Ocean
Shore Railroad Company and the San Francisco Railroad, and built the cop-
per mine road from Gordon Switch. For about twenty years he was a general
contractor in California, and was successful from the start. One large piece
of development work undertaken by J. W. Simpson, in which he was asso^
1502 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
dated with J. F. Kennedy, was that of improving 1,000 acres in what is now-
known as the Rolinda section. They leveled and checked and sowed alfalfa
on the entire tract, and this tract was sold off in small holdings just twenty
months from the time they began their important work. During the entire
time that Mr. Simpson has been engaged in contracting he has farmed to
grain, generally on a large scale. The last big venture was 4,000 acres of the
Collins estate, six miles northeast of Clovis, where he raised grain.
At Hanford, Mr. Simpson was married to Miss Ellen Trabucco, a native
of Mariposa County and the daughter of John Trabucco, who was also a
native. Her grandfather was Louis Trabucco, a pioneer who very early came
to Mariposa County, where he was one of the earliest miners and merchants.
There, after being the proprietor for years of a well-known store, he died, re-
spected by all who knew him. His wife is still living in Mariposa County.
The father, John Trabucco, was educated at the public schools and married
Nancy Choisser. who was born in Illinois, and came with her parents, when
she was three years old, to Mariposa County; her father was engaged in
farming and in the raising of stock, and they still reside in Bear Valley. Mrs.
Simpson was the oldest of nine children, was educated at the public schools
as a child, and later graduated from the Notre Dame College.
Mr. Simpson is a loyal Democrat, and few citizens work more intelli-
gently and consistently to raise the standards of citizenship and to make the
community more prosperous and the locality more attractive.
JOHN BALEY. — A farmer and dairyman with an intensely interesting
family history, interwoven with the most stirring chapters in the formation
of the Golden State, is John Baley, a native son who first saw the light at
Visalia on June 29, 1864. His father was William Wright Baley, of Illinois,
who was reared in Nodaway County, Mo., and crossed the plains in 1849
with two brothers, Caleb and Gillum. The latter was later a judge in Fresno
County for fourteen years, while Caleb died in the mines on Feather River
the same year that he came to California. After mining for three years,
W. W. Baley returned to Missouri, where he had married, years before, Miss
Nancy Funderburk, a native of Tennessee, who grew up in the Iron State.
In 1859, in the same train with Rev. Joel Hedgepeth and his parents, W. W.
Baley and his brother, Judge Baley, again crossed the plains with oxen and
wagons. Along the Colorado River the Indians attacked them and killed
and wounded many. Judge Baley killed the chief, but the Indians stole their
cattle, or killed what they could not lead off. Captain Rose wras in charge of
the train; the Rev. Hedgepeth as a lad was there; and so was Mrs. McCardle,
then Ellen Baley, who was lost but later was found. All the party, including
the children, had to walk back to Albuquerque, a tramp of six weeks ; and
when they had sojourned there for ten months, recuperated and gathered
together some stock, they continued their overland journey to Visalia.
For some time thereafter Mr. Baley was engaged in teaming from Stock-
ton to Visalia, hauling provisions and supplying the wants of the settlers
along the way ; and in the fall of 1864 he came to Fresno County and located
some land at Academy. He had been assisted in the work of teaming by
his son Henry, and the latter now helped him in the raising of stock and
grain after he had handsomely improved his property. Comfortably situated
a mile from town, Mr. Baley continued there until he died, on November 18,
1882, aged sixty-two years. At the same place later Mrs. Baley passed away,
on March 6, 1900, in her eightieth year.
Eleven children made up the interesting family of Mr. and Mrs. Baley,
and seven of these grew to maturity : Sarah Margaret, who became Mrs.
John G. Simpson, died at Exeter on May 3, 1918; Nancy Jane passed away
at Visalia on August 6, 1861 ; Henry Gillum is in Fresno ; Bertheney Eliza-
beth, died on December 1, 1846; William Washington passed away in Exeter,
on July 6, 1915; George Pierce died at Tollhouse, on June 3, 1913; Caleb died
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1505
at Sentinel, on August 8, 1912 ; Mary Patience passed away on the plains ;
Benjamin Baxter bade good-bye to earthly scenes at Academy, on November
22, 1867, and he was the first person buried in the Academy cemetery; John
is the subject of this sketch ; and Isabell Catherine, who was born at Acad-
emy, is the wife of the Rev. J. M. Parker of the Methodist Church South,
and resides at Corning in Tehama Count}'.
Reared at Academy, John Baley attended the local public school there
and at the same time served his apprenticeship at farming. He assisted his
mother, and while having a good time, for a lad, learned all about raising
grain and stock. When ready for the more serious responsibilities of life,
he was married near Woodville, in Tulare County, on December 29, 1886,
his bride being Miss Filora Odom, a native of Cass County, Ga. Her father
was the Rev. Alex Odom, who was born in Forsyth County, that state, and
who, having duly studied theology, entered the ministry of the Methodist
Church South. Before taking holy orders, he joined the Confederate Army
in the Civil War; and when he began to preach, in 1868, he first occupied
the pulpit in Georgia. In 1874 he came to Fresno County as a pastor; and
while at Academy the following year, he organized St. Paul's Methodist
Episcopal Church in Fresno. He also organized other churches throughout
the state, from Shasta to Kern County. He was forty years in the ministry,
and during that time he was for three years elder of Colusa district, when he
made his headquarters at Chico. He spent his last years at Clovis, and died at
the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Baley. Mrs. Odom was Elizabeth Fendley
before her marriage, and she was born in Gordon County, Ga. Now she
makes her home with Mrs. John Baley, and she is the honored mother of
nine children, eight of whom grew up : S. Oscar is in Roseville ; Filora is
Mrs. Baley ; Mary is Mrs. Moutrey of Oakland ; George M. is in Clovis ;
William R. is in Fresno ; Bessie is Mrs. Lester of Clovis ; Ethel has become
Mrs. Henry Ambrosia of Clovis; Atticus resides at Rutherford, Cal, and
Maggie J., who died at the tender age of eight.
After his marriage, Mr. Baley continued farming, and operated the old
homestead at Academy, where he had resided from the time he was six
months old. For a while he leased lands from the Simpsons, utilizing as
many as 600 acres ; and there he came to have some three thousand or more
head of sheep. He also went in for grain-farming, and employed from two to
eight horses in the work.
In 1915 Mr. Baley sold out and located at Barstow, where he engaged in
raising alfalfa. He bought eighty acres eleven miles from Fresno, checked
and leveled the land and prepared it for alfalfa of which he can get several
crops a year. His land was under the Herndon canal, and having installed an
electric pumping-plant, with a ten-horsepower motor, and a four-inch pump
feeding into a reservoir of half an acre, he had the best of facilities for irriga-
tion. He ran a dairy of twenty cows, and his two sons, William Odom and
Thomas M., were associated with him in managing the farm. Having brought
it to a high state of cultivation he sold it in 1919, and purchased eighty acres
on Belmont Avenue, west of Madera Avenue — an alfalfa farm where he now
resides. Aside from the canal he has two large pumping plants ample for
irrigating the whole tract. It is his intention to set it to Thompson seedless.
Five children have come to Mr. and Mrs. Baley: Leona is Mrs. F. C.
Simpson of Sanger ; William Odom, is serving as a member of the United
States Marines at Mare Island, is an expert marksman and is instructor of
rifle range ; Thomas Marvin, assists his parents on the ranch ; and Bessie
Belle, graduate of Sanger High, is at home. The memory of one son Elmer
H., is affectionately treasured. They are members of the Methodist Church
South, at Academy, of which Mr. Baley is a trustee ; and he has also served
as a school trustee in that district for years. He is a member of the Wood-
men of the World, and in national politics adheres to the principles of the
long-established Democratic party.
1506 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
NOAH E. JAMES. — The rapid growth of Fresno, city and county, has
brought to this section of the state men expert in the different lines of busi-
ness involved in the upbuilding of a growing community, and each has done
his share toward making it one of the show places of California. None more
so than Noah E. James, one of the best known men in the building line in the
San Joaquin Valley. Born in Logan County, 111., November 14, 1870, he is
a son of Benjamin F. and Eliza (Bowman) James, the former a native of
Iowa and the latter of Illinois. The mother died in the East, and the father,
with his three sons, came to California in 1876. A carpenter by trade, he
located in the San Joaquin Valley and followed contracting and building all
his life. He now resides in Los Angeles and is eightv-four years of age.
Noah E. James, now the only one living of the children, finished his
education in the public schools of Oakland, and on its completion, became
associated with his father in building contracting, working in Tulare County,
at Tulare, Tipton, Exeter, Lindsay and Porterville. They built many flumes
in the orange section around Porterville and Exeter.
In 1900 Noah E. James located in Fresno and engaged in contracting and
building; some of his work includes: the Bert Harvey residence; the Staples
home ; the Ml Cahn residence ; the machine shop and annex to the Fresno
High School ; the Crematory ; many cottages and bungalows and, besides
his local work, he contracted" for building in other parts of the county. He
has been foreman of construction for many contractors, among them, E. J.
Farr, James Smith, Frank Rehorn, and Emmet Riggins, in fact, there is hardly
a building erected in Fresno, in recent years, in which he has not had a hand
in the construction.
The marriage of Mr. James united him with Ida Lillian Haney, a native
of Macon County, 111., and eight children have been born to them, all natives
of California, as follows: Helen M. ; Grace E., wife of Robert York; Marie;
Lurene ; Elmer ; Russell ; Mildred ; and Frank. Fraternally Mr. James is
a member of the Central California Lodge of Odd Fellows, in which order
he is a Past Grand, having passed all the chairs ; he is a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America and for the past three years served as Chief
Forester of the lodge. He is also a member of the Carpenters' Union, No. 701,
of Fresno. In April, 1917, Mr. James was appointed by the county board of
supervisors superintendent of construction of buildings, for Fresno County.
This is one of the most inportant positions in the county, and he is superin-
tending the work in his usual highly satisfactory manner. An expert builder,
Mr. James has aided materially in giving Fresno the type of buildings in
keeping with the prosperity and progress of the county, and has been an
important factor in the life of the community.
WILLIAM C. BERKHOLTZ.— The very efficient chief of the Fresno
City Fire Department, William C. P.erkholtz, is a native of Illinois. He was
born in Chicago, November 15, 1876, and was educated in the public schools
of that city until his twentieth year. During his vacations he assisted his
father with his business and when his school days were over he became a
fireman on the Illinois Central Railroad, running out of Chicago. Later he
went to San Marcial, N. M., where he worked in the same capacity on the
Santa Fe Railroad. He was promoted to the position of locomotive engineer
on the Albuquerque Division of the Coast Lines, running from Albuquerque
to Gallup, N. M., continuing until 1907. This year marked his advent in
California and Fresno, and for the next twelve months he was in the employ
of the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific Railroads, when he resigned.
On July 1, 1908, Mr. Berkholtz became a member of the Fresno City
Fire Department as driver of Engine No. 5. He entered into the duties of
his new position with a desire to please those in authority and he soon
attracted the attention of his superiors and was appointed lieutenant of Engine
No. 1, and afterwards to the position of captain, and still later to outside
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1507
captain. So well did he perform his duties that he was promoted to assistant
chief of the department on October 1, 1917. Still greater honors came to him
and on November 1, of that year, he was made Chief of the department,
which position he now holds. He is ever on the alert for the betterment of
the department, both in maintaining the most modern apparatus and in the
safety and comfort of the firemen. The department consists of sixty-nine
men, including Chief Berkholtz, first assistant chief, J.- E. Caldwell, and
second assistant chief, William A. Washburn. There are six modern fire-
houses, arranged for convenience and comfort of the men, and all the equip-
ment is motor driven. This move eliminated thirty-five horses and was made
possible by the mayor and council without calling for a special bond issue.
Fresno is now placed in the front rank of the cities of the Coast in prepared-
ness. The entire change from horse drawn to motor driven apparatus has
covered a period of six years.
In the spring of 1918 Chief Berkholtz was sent to San Francisco by the
city authorities of Fresno to study conditions of the department of that city
and while there he was made a member pro-tem of the department and at-
tended several fires besides inspecting the fire houses and equipment whereby
he gained valuable information and upon his return to Fresno he began
putting into execution the ideas he had evolved from his experience while in
San Francisco. While he was in attendance at the Pacific Fire Chiefs Con-
vention in Oakland, September, 1918, he learned of the movement that was
being put in operation to prevent fires. He made a special study of the
matter and upon his return home at once set about to interest the citizens of
Fresno in the movement with the result that Jay W. Stevens, formerly Chief
of the Fire Prevention Bureau of Portland, Ore., and now Chief of the Fire
Prevention Bureau of the Pacific, and his assistant, J. H. Schiveley, came to
Fresno with reels of pictures and slides showing what constitutes fire hazards
and how to safe-guard against danger of fires and to remove fire-breeding
hazards, as well as methods of fighting fires. These pictures were shown at
all the theaters, various clubs, the State Normal School and in the public
schools of the city. Lectures were given with a view of enlisting the citizens,
club members and the school children in particular, that they might be more
thoughtful in preventing the accumulation of combustible matter and in
eradicating to a large degree the danger of fires by a systematic cleaning-up
of the entire city. In other words each person was made to understand his
or her special duty of "what I can do to prevent fires." The movement gained
ground and the clean-up will be vigorously prosecuted by second chief, W. A.
Washburn, who will be in complete charge of this department. Every home
and business house in Fresno will be carded, the places inspected at regular
periods and a complete record kept of conditions as found with the result that
the rates of insurance will be lowered and the fire hazard reduced to a mini-
mum in Fresno. The showing of these pictures is a strictly western idea and
is rapidly spreading to various parts of the United States.
Chief Berkholtz is an indefatigable worker for the building-up of the
department and for the welfare of the firemen under his direction. He is not
satisfied with anything but the very best in all departments and has reduced
the management to a strictly business basis. He has the respect of all the
men in the department and is fast winning a name and place for himself in
the Fire Chief's Association of the Coast, as well as in his home city.
Chief Berkholtz was united in marriage with Miss Neste Albertson, a
native of South Dakota, and this union has been blessed by the birth of two
children, Helmer U. B. and Frederick. Chief Berkholtz is a member of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen and of the Loyal Order
of Moose. He holds a prominent position among the progressive men of
Fresno and is proving himself worthy of the confidence reposed in him by the
city authorities and his fellow citizens.
1508 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
FRANK L. IRWIN.— Fresno's popular young city trustee, Frank L.
Irwin, was born in Springfield, 111. on November 3, 1876, and is the son of
Washington and Maria (Mosely) Irwin. His father's occupation was that of
builder and contractor. Both parents are living, and number among their
children five boys and three girls.
Frank L. received a good public school education and learned the brick
laying trade as a young man, working at that business for some years in
Illinois. Afterward" imbued with the thought that there was a larger sphere
in the West for an active, energetic young man, he came to Berkeley^remain-
ing there for one year and going thence to Fresno, in January, 1907, where
he engaged in the contracting and building business. Among other important
public buildings erected under his supervision were the Fresno High School,
Lincoln annex and the Lowell annex, the Emerson and numerous other build-
ings. He had charge of the masonry at the State Normal.
Frank L. Irwin was married 'in November of 1898 to Miss Ethel C.
Crowder. They are the parents of three children, Edna, Lyle and Charles.
In the spring of 1913 Mr. Irwin was elected to his present office, city trustee,
for a term of four years.
Fraternally he is a member of the I. O. O. F. and W. O. W. In religion
he is a member of the First Methodist Church of Fresno, and politically is
a Republican. He is active in public work, particularly in the labor move-
ment being president of Fresno Labor Council, and Fresno Building Trade
Council, and always has the interest of the community at heart. Mr. Irwin
has many friends and is highly respected as well as much liked by his fellow
citizens. He resides with his family at 403 Fresno Avenue.
JOSEPH WEBSTER POTTER.— Coming from a long line of sturdy
pioneers, Joseph Webster Potter, who is now in the prime of life, has taken
advantage of the splendid and unusual opportunities afforded him through
having been born and reared in the great West. His birthplace was only
three-quarters of a mile from his present residence northeast of Clovis,
Fresno County, where he was born on December 31, 1876.
His father, John Wesley Potter, was a native of Cooper County. Mo.,
born near the town of Boonville, January 5, 1837, and coming to California
with his parents in 1853, when he was sixteen. They located in San Joaquin
County, where his father and brother took up a homestead preemption and
engaged in farming and stock-raising. They remained there until 1871. then
purchased a herd of sheep, which they drove to Fresno County, locating near
Clovis. For nearlv twenty vears thev continued in this industry, until about
1892.
It was here that John Wesley Potter, father of Joseph Webster, even-
tually purchased five sections of land, and followed the occupation of farm-
ing. In 1891 he set out one of the first vineyards in this section. Later
he was one of the first to see the possibilities in growing figs, and devoted
twenty acres to this productive fruit, setting them out first in 1906. He was
among the successful pioneers of Fresno County, and not only did he dem-
onstrate his ability in agriculture, but for two years in the early days he
followed mining with no small returns. His wife, Martha Jane Webster,
was born in Napa County, Cal., in 1852, she being the daughter of pioneers
who crossed the plains that same year and settled in Napa County. She
married Mr. Potter in Yacaville. Solano County, and they were the parents
of three children: Mrs. Kate Clark of Kingsburg; Joseph Webster Potter,
the subject of this sketch ; and Mrs. Lizzie Russell, of Clovis.
Joseph W. received his education in the public schools of the Mississippi
school district, later attending the Pacific Methodist College of Santa Rosa
for four years, from which he was graduated in 1898 with the degree of
A. B. Filled with enthusiasm and new ideas, the young man started practi-
cal everyday life, well fitted for any position which might open for him, and
fKJa^G^.
<y^<e^>
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1511
he has found many opportunities to put to good use his earlier years of
preparation.
He joined his father in working on the home place, making a specialty
of raisins, figs and peaches. At the present writing he has under cultivation
forty acres of grapes, ten of peaches, thirty acres of figs, and fifteen acres set
out to olives, all under both ditch and pumping plant. He became connected
with the First National Bank of Clovis, of which his father was a stock-
holder and vice-president, and after his father's death on April 15, 1915, he
was elected director and president of the bank at the same time. He also
took charge of his father's estate.
On January 5, 1903, Miss Bertha Frances Allen became the bride of J. W.
Potter, the marriage ceremony being performed near Upper Lake, Lake
County, Cal. They have four children : Marjorie Dorothy, John Allen,
Russell, and Donald. The family are members of Grace Methodist Church
of Clovis. Mr Potter is not only active in the church, holding the office of
trustee, but he is superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is a member of
the board of trustees of Clovis Union High School. His father was not only
a pioneer member of this church, but an ardent supporter of all movements
for public good. So likewise is the son — a citizen of sterling qualities claim-
ing the highest esteem and respect of the community.
JOHN AND ALICE YOUNG.— For the past twelve years this popular
couple have been residents of Fresno County where Mr. Young is well and
favorably known as the foreman of Thompson Brothers Construction Corn-
pan}' who maintain offices at"1514 Fresno Street, Fresno. He was born in
Bluffton, Ind., near the Wabash River on November 21, 1872. He received
a public school education and fitted himself to be a mechanic and as an
engineer he has had charge of steam engines for various companies in the
different parts of the country where he has lived. Soon after he was married
Mr. Young located at Bay City, Mich., where he was in the employ of a large
lumber company, afterwards he held the position of engineer in the Fort
Wayne Knitting Mills at Fort Wayne, Ind., and remained there until on
account of ill health it was decided that he should come to California for
an entire change. This was in 1907, and soon after Mr. Young became
engineer for the Fresno By-Products Company for two years. He then was
associated with Worswick Paving Company and worked in several of the
growing towns in the San Joaquin Vallev until he became connected with
the present concern and went to live at the O. M. Thompson ranch, located
about two and one-half miles southeast from Fresno.
In all his operations since his marriage at Fort Wayne, Ind., Mr. Young
has had the hearty cooperation of his wife. She was in maidenhood. Miss
Alice E. Richardson, born in Fort Wayne, the daugther of Austin and Ellen
(Grayless) Richardson, natives of Southern Indiana. On the maternal side
Mrs. Young represents some pioneer stock in California, whither an uncle,
Charles Grayless, who was owner of 10,000 acres near where the present city
of Fort Wayne stands, and had large bands of horses and cattle there and was
rated a very wealthy man for that period, came to the gold fields to increase
his fortune and possibly for adventure. He became well-known among the
earlv stockmen and miners, was a highly respected and wealthy man, made
his home in Stockton, where his good wife died, and soon afterwards he went
back to Indiana where he passed away. The Grayless people were sturdy,
vigorous and active people and it was from them that Mrs. Young inherited
her physical strength and love for the great out door life and to care for
stock. At the ranch over which she has supervision she cares for a dairy
herd of over twenty milch cows and a band of nearly seventy-five horses.
It is interesting to note that after the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Young
they went to Bay City, Mich., where Mrs. Young took a position as chief
cook in a lumber camp and fed more than thirty men for over three years and
1512 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
at the same time looked after the comfort of her husband. She has never
shirked a duty that would tend to aid her husband and on the ranch she has
reared her family of children to lives of usefulness. To this worthy couple
seven children have been born, three of whom died in infancy. The four
living are Harry R., now at home assisting his mother and trying to regain
his health, lost after he had joined the United States Army, in which he
became a sergeant. He was strong and robust when he left for camp but by
being inoculated by army surgeons he became ill and was discharged from
the service; John N., was also in service and received his training at Camp
Lewis, Wash., and saw service in the Hawaiian Islands, where he held a
responsible position during the great "World War; Helen and Rebecca are
both at home. Mrs. Young is intensely devoted to her family and her first
consideration is how best to help her husband and children. She is generous
to a fault and commands the respect and esteem of her community. She is
a patriot and is proud of the gallant sons who have served their country in
its trying times. She is a woman of good sound business judgment and
has been an invaluable assistant to her devoted husband in all his business
ventures.
SIDNEY L. PLATT. — Among the substantial and enterprising citizens
of Fresno is Sidney L. Piatt, secretary and treasurer of Madarv's Planing Mill
Company of Fresno, occupying quarters at No. 1805 Anna Street. Mr. Piatt,
who is of English parentage, was born in Africa, May 25, 1864. His father
was a missionary, and when Sidney L. was a child three years of age the
family removed to Boston, Mass., going thence to Atchison County. Kans.,
where young Sidney was brought up on a farm. He experienced the usual
lot in life that falls to a farmer's son, attended the country schools, and later
supplemented his schooling with a business education obtained at Emporia,
Kans. He came to Fresno in January, 1888, intending to make a visit of a
few weeks, but like many other of California's Eastern visitors, was so fasci-
nated with Fresno's wonderful beauty, the salubrity of her climate and the
bright prospects of her financial future, that he has been there ever since.
He secured employment in the office of the Mechanic's Planing Mill, at the
corner of H and Inyo Streets. A year and a half later the mill burned, and
Mr. Piatt became deputy tax collector for one season under tax collector A. D.
Ewing. The company rebuilt the mill one block south of the old location, and
Mr. Piatt returned to their employ. Some time later he entered the employ
of Mr. M. A. Madary in his planing mill, as chief of office, and in 1905, when
Madary's Planing Mill was incorporated, became secretary and treasurer of
the company, the position he now holds. He is one of the owners of the mill,
of which Mr. Madary is president and A. M. Loper vice-president; and he is
also part owner in a valuable fruit ranch owned by the company, consisting
of forty acres of orange trees in full bearing, ten acres of two-year-old trees,
and thirty acres of peaches in bearing.
Mr. Piatt married Miss Irene Thayer, a native of Minnesota. They have
two sons. Lawrence T. aged twenty-one, passed through the Fresno public
schools and the Military Academy at San Rafael and entered Stanford
University. Shortly after the United States entered the World War. he en-
listed in the Naval Reserves, and in November, 1917, became attached to the
special dispatch boat U. S. S. Broadbill. He saw service in the Pacific and
assisted in the capture of the German raider in those waters. He then went
to Seattle and became attached to the LT. S. S. West Ekonk, and sailed to
San Francisco and New York City via the Panama Canal, going thence to
Brest, France, in convoy. He returned to New York, and on November 4,
1918. sailed for Genoa, Italy, as captain of the gun crew. He is now on his
second trip. The second son, Kenneth Lloyd, aged seventeen, was a student
in the Fresno public schools, and is now a student in the Fresno high.
HISTORY. OF FRESNO COUNTY 1513
Mr. Piatt has always been much interested in music. He helped to
organize the Fresno Male Chorus, and has been an active member and served
as vice-chairman for five years, and is now chairman. He has been active
in choir work in the First Methodist Church of Fresno, of which he has
been a. member and in which he has held various offices. At present he is
one of the trustees of said church. Mrs. Piatt is also very active in church
work, and for fifteen years was organist of the church. She is also past presi-
dent of the Parlor Lecture Club and is very active in war work, in the inter-
est of the Red Cross, Thrift Stamps, etc.
Mr. Piatt is a member of Las Palmas Lodge, No. 343, as well as Chapter
69, F. & A. M., and of the Fresno Lodge, No. 186, I. O. O. F. He is also
a Past Commander of the Fresno Commandery, and a member of Islam
Temple of the Shrine.
JOHN R. MURPHY. — Among the large corps of experienced and able
dairymen of California, few men are better known than John R. Murphy,
the progressive commissioner, whose father was James Murphy, a native of
Ireland and a pioneer dairyman in California, who died on March 21, 1896.
His mother, Bridget Murphy, died in 1893. He was educated in the public
schools of Novato, Marin County, having been born in Hartford, Conn., on
March 21, 1865, and been brought west to the land of greater opportunity-
Just when he attained his majority, he lost his father, and there devolved
upon him the support of a family of eight, all of whom he reared and edu-
cated.
For a while Mr. Murphy was in the dairying business, but in 1893 he
sold out his interests and entered the employ of the Western Refrigerating
Company, at Petaluma, later making an engagement with the Danish
Creamery at Fresno. There his experience, enterprise and fidelity to duty soon
made him known much beyond the confines of the county.
At Petaluma, in November, 1896, Mr. Murphy married Mary Early, the
daughter of the well-known pioneer, James Early, who crossed the plains
with an oxteam in 1852 ; and as the result of this exceptionally happy mar-
riage, one daughter, Mary Alice Murphy, now an attractive girl of twelve
years, was born. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy are devoted Catholics, and the
family attend that growing church.
A Republican always active in the campaigning of that party, Mr. Murphy
was appointed State Dairy Commissioner, on July 1, 1909, by Governor James
Norris Gillett, and so well has he handled the trust committed to his care, that
he still holds that position. It seems natural that he should be a leader in
the Commercial Club.
JAMES MALCOMB CRAWFORD.— One of the leading optometrists
in the state, James Malcomb Crawford, has met with wonderful success in
the practice of his profession in Fresno. Locating here in 1905, he has since
that date been identified with the best interests of the city and county, and
has taken an active part in the upbuilding of his profession in California.
Born in Bell County, Texas, December 20, 1871, he received his early educa-
tion in the public schools of his native state. He took up the study of optom-
etry in 1898, attending the South Bend College of Optics. After graduating,
he began the practice of his profession in his home town, Temple, Texas,
afterwards taking post graduate work at the Chicago Ophthalmic College and
Hospital. In 1900, Dr. Crawford removed to Denison, Teyas, and practiced
there until 1905, when he located in Fresno.
Dr. Crawford is a member of the State Optometry Association, and a
charter member of the National Association. In 1911 he was appointed by
Governor Johnson a member of the State Board of Optometry, which office
he now hjlds, being secretary of the board. There are only three members
on this br>ard, and to be appointed one is an honor and distinction accorded
to few in his profession.
1514 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Besides his large practice, Dr. Crawford has found time to devote to
agricultural development in the county. He is the owner of a large dairy
ranch at Caruthers, where he has a herd of pure-bred Holstein registered
cattle. His bull is Segis Pontiac Count, registered, son of King Segis Pon-
tiac Count. Two heifers, sisters of his bull, but owned in New York state,
have taken world's records in more than a hundred different tests. He also
has on his ranch fine blooded Duroc-Jersey hogs, and white leghorn chickens.
Fraternally Dr. Crawford is a Mason and has taken his Thirtieth degree ;
he is a member of Las Palmas Lodge of Fresno. He is also a member of
the Knights of Pythias, and is Past Chancellor of that order, having passed
all degrees in the order. Dr. Crawford's marriage united him with Annie
L. Dickey, a native of Tennessee, and four children have been born to them :
Edwin D.. a member of the Aviation Corps of the U. S. A., and in partner-
ship with his father; Harriett; James M., Jr., attending the Agricultural Col-
lege at Corvallis, Ore. ; and Ellen.
JAMES A. BURNS. — We do not know that the senior member of the
well known law firm, Burns and Watkins, of Fresno, is any relation to the
renowned poet, Bobby Burns, but he has a good old Scottish name that he
may well be proud of.
James A. Burns is a native of Richville, Washington County, 111., born
August 12, 1852. Quiet, unostentatious, and of studious inclinations, he at-
tended the Washington Seminary in his native city and followed the occupa-
tion of a pedagogue in his native state and eastern Missouri, then, his inclina-
tions leading in the direction of the law, he became a law student in the
office of John M. Breeze at Richville, 111., and was admitted to practice No-
vember 6, 1880. Allured by California's charms and the possibilities of a
future, in that state, in his chosen profession, on December 5, 1880, one month
after his admission to the bar, he arrived at Lemoore, Kings County (then
Tulare County"), where he began the practice of law. He met with success,
and after serving for two years in that place as Justice of the Peace, removed
in 1884 to Hanford, where he continued the practice of his profession until
1886, when he came to the bustling town of Selma, in the center of the fruit
section of Fresno County. In 1902 he removed to his present home, Fresno,
and again opened a law office.
His marriage with Annie Lewis, a native of Kentucky, was consummated
August 12, 1879, two children being the result of this union: Nannie, who
is the wife of Mr. Burns' law partner, W. J. Watkins ; and Robert, well known
in Fresno musical circles as an excellent cornetist.
Fraternally Mr. Burns is a member of the B. P. O. Elks, and the Inde-
pendent Order of Foresters. Mr. Burns has built up a large practice in the
valley and is familiarly known among his intimate friends as "Jimmy" Burns.
He has never aspired to any public office.
HORACE THORWALDSON.— The early scenes in the life of Fresno
County's estimable ex-sheriff, Horace Thorwaldson, were set in the land of
ice, snow and the reindeer — the outpost of Danish dominion in the Western
Hemisphere. He was born at Dupivog, on the eastern coast of Iceland, Feb-
ruary 4. 1869. His ancestors for the past thousand years were Norsemen of
pure Scandinavian stock, speaking the old Norse language.
The success in life which Mr. Thorwaldson has attained, is due entirely
to his unaided efforts, for he is, in the broadest meaning of the term, self-
made, possessing the characteristic thrift and frugality of his Northern an-
cestry, combined with unfaltering determination of purpose which has re-
sulted in his becoming a prosperous citizen of the country.
He is the son of Thorwald and Vilborg Thorwaldson. His father was
a farmer and died in Denmark when Horace was a lad eight vears of age.
leaving a widow with ten children. Three years after the death of the hus-
band and father, the mother emigrated to the United States with her family.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1515
the oldest a boy twenty-one years of age, and the youngest aged four, going
to North Dakota in territorial days. In the Red River Valley the family
bought an ox team and wagon and going forty miles out upon the prairie
located in Pembina County, September, 1880, where they squatted upon the
virgin soil. The family was poor and lived in a log house, suffering the
hardships that inevitably fall to the lot of pioneer families. Horace hired out
at the age of twelve, breaking prairie land, barefooted, with a yoke of oxen,
earning money in summer to enable him to attend school in winter in the
log cabin school house. He acquired a common school education and in
1886, when sixteen years of age, in quest of a larger field of activity, sought
his fortune farther west, going to Seattle, Wash., where he remained until
1891, learning in the meantime the saddler's trade. In 1893 he visited the
World's Fair and various places and states, then returned to Seattle for a
short time, going thence to San Francisco and finally locating, that year,
at Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, Cal., where he conducted a saddle and
harness business until December 29, 1898, when he located in Fresno and
engaged in the same line of business, which he continued until January, 1910,
when he sold and retired from commercial life. He then purchased 340 acres
of land on Elkhorn Slough, west of Riverdale, which he still owns. He im-
proved this land, and also engaged in stock raising. On January 1, 1911, he
was appointed field deputy sheriff under and by Sheriff Walter S. McSwain,
serving under him until Mr. McSwain's death, December 6, 1915. when by a
unanimous vote of the supervisors he was appointed to succeed Mr. McSwain
as sheriff of Fresno County. This, his first political office, was an unqualified
success; his term of office expired January 1. 1919.
At Watsonville, June 10, 1896, he was united in marriage with Miss
Cornelia E. Peckham, a member of the well known pioneer family of Peck-
hams, prominent early settlers of California. Two children were the result
of this union ; Wilma Abbie, born March 5, 1897, and Elis Oliver, born
May 1. 1899.
• In his religious views Mr. Thorwaldson is a Protestant. In his fraternal
relations he is a member of several orders, namely: Fresno Lodge, No. 247,
F. & A. M. ; Fresno Lodge, No. 439, B. P. O. Elks ; the Eagles ; the Woodmen
of the World; Fresno Lodge, No. 138, K. of P., and the Odd Fellows.
PROFESSOR ALBERT R. J. GRAEPP.— While Fresno has advanced
with phenomenal strides in civic and commercial growth she has also kept
pace in the cultivation of the arts and is most fortunate in numbering among
her citizens Prof. Albert R. J. Graepp, teacher of music, whose studio
is at his residence, 2747 Mariposa Street. Professor Graepp is a native of
Germany, the country of renowned musicians whose names are recorded in
the annals of fame, and was born June 11, 1859, in Pomerania, Northern
Germany. Possessed of a naturally beautiful voice he sang alto in school
before he could read, and at the age of eight years began studying the violin
and pipe organ, also learning thoroughly the construction of the latter instru-
ment. In his youth he attended the higher citizens' school, and in 1876, at
the age of seventeen, crossed the water to America, finishing his education
in this country. For two years he was a student at St. Jerome College,
Kitchener, Ontario, where he continued his musical education. He next
attended Thiel College at Greenville, Mercer County, Pa., and while there
instructed the college band. He graduated from that institution with the
degree of bachelor of arts, in 1882, afterwards locating in Philadelphia, Pa.,
where he took a course in theology and philology at the Evangelical Lutheran
Theological Seminary, at that time located at Franklin Square, but later
removed to Mount Airy. This institution was affiliated with the University
of Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1885 with the degree of master of arts.
He next took up missionary work in the churches of New Jersey and was
afterward instructor of music in Ivy Hall Seminary, a school for girls, at
1516 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Bridgeton. X. J., teaching piano and violin and instructing students from
other academies who came to him. He then accepted a call to take charge of
the musical department and assist in teaching the German language in his
Alma Mater, Thiel University. Accepting the position he remained at the
university until 1893, while there doing most excellent work in the musical
department, among other things organizing a college band and college or-
chestra. Afterwards he located near Halifax, Nova Scotia, and engaged in
missionary work.
In 1897 he accepted a position as instructor of music in Sacred Heart
College at Prairie du Chien, Wis. For five years he devoted his energies to
building up the musical department of the college, doing a grand work.
In the meantime organizing a band and teaching singing. In 1904 he received
and accepted a call from Laramie, Wyo., to take charge of the choir and or-
chestra work in the musical department of the University of Wyoming. Pro-
fessor Graepp came to Fresno, Cal., March 8, 1906, where he is a very success-
ful teacher of the piano, violin, and languages, standing at the head of his
profession. He was also the founder of the Philharmonic Conservatory and
the Italian Band of Fresno, is organist of the Emanuel Lutheran Church.
and has had charge of the repair work and tuning of the pipe organ in St.
John's Catholic Church, at Fresno. He is an expert in the construction of
pipe organs and has repaired and rebuilt many.
Professor Graepp was twice married, his first wife being, in maidenhood.
Miss Leonora Snyder, who is now deceased. His second wife, who is still
living, was Mrs. Anna R. Coleman of Wisconsin, a widow with three chil-
dren by her former husband, Charles Coleman, namely: Edna, Clarence, and
Arthur. By his last union Mr. Graepp became the father of two children :
Clara, who died at the age of three vears, and Albert Frederick, a sophomore ■
at California Concordia College, at Oakland.
THOMAS L. BERG.— On the island of Fedje, off the north coast of
Norway, near the city of Bergen, Mr. Berg was born November 2, 1870.
His father, was Lars Sjurson, and his mother Breta Thompson. They owned
a small place which they farmed, doing all the work by hand on account of
the limited areas. Fishing at this place is excellent, and the father, in com-
mon with the majority of the island inhabitants, depended mainly upon the
products of their fisheries. This country would be a bleak Arctic waste were
it not for the thermality of the great Gulf Stream, which not only tempers
the climate of northern Norway, but carries with it elements of nutrition
that sustain all kinds of aquatic life.. It was in such a world and under such
conditions that Mr. Berg was born, and he inherited the qualities of physical
and mental strength from the sturdy and honorable ancient Norse race.
Mr. Berg was educated in the public schools of his native land : as he
grew up he helped his father fish and farm. Nicolina Koppen, his wife, was
born upon the same island, where they were schoolmates. They were brought
up in the Lutheran Church, and were both confirmed the same day. The
wife's parents were the largest land owners on the island, her father like-
wise following the occupation of fishing and farming.
When Mr. Berg reached his seventeenth year, he took to sailing before
the mast, and for two years he sailed along the coast and in the Ninth and
Baltic seas. On one of his voyages to England he was taken severely ill
and for weeks his life was despaired of while he was being nursed in the
hospital at Cardiff. LJpon his recovery he returned home and quit the sea.
He resolved to try the United States, and at the age of twenty-two he came
to America, reached Chicago April 30. 1893, and continued to his destination
— Council Bluffs, Iowa. Here he found a condition of great industrial unrest
and unemployment. One of the first sights that he saw was Coxcv*s Army
in it- march across the continent. No work could be had at more than $1.10
per day. and only half time at that. After working about two years in
'AsOtcnr
^T^^^^i^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1519
western Iowa, Mr. Berg came to San Francisco, arriving there June 15, 1895,
he went down to the Leland Stanford Stock Farm at Palo Alto, and stayed
about a month, then came to Fresno. Labor conditions were bad here, but
Mr. Berg took work on a farm near Fresno at five dollars per month. He
liked Fresno County from his first visit and he resolved to become a rancher,
and when he could, in 1897, he bought the twenty-acre place that is now his
home and began to cultivate and improve it. He was a bachelor here for
three years ; then in 1900 he went back to Norway, and on July 2, 1900, was
married, and on July 4 started on their honeymoon for the land of his adop-
tion and to the home he had prepared in Fresno County.
Mr. Berg is also the owner of three different ranches aggregating ninety
acres in the neighborhood of Oleander — a splendid result of twenty-five
years' work. His wife has been a good helpmate, and their holdings are
the result of their own unaided efforts. In 1901 he bought a place of ten
acres on South Maple Avenue, and after bringing it into bearing sold to good
advantage in 1907; in 1908 he bought a place of twenty acres on Maple
Avenue, near Oleander; in 1911 he bought ten acres on Lincoln Avenue,
three-quarters of a mile from his home place and in 1915 he bought forty
acres on Orange Avenue three-quarters of a mile southwest from his home
place. He is raising raisin grapes and peaches. In 1908 Mr. Berg built a
fine home at a cost of $5,000, and here himself and family are noted for their
hospitality. There are eight children in the family: Lawrence, is a freshman
in the Fresno high school; Thomas; Johanna; Bertha; Marie; Bjerney;
Herald ; Norma ; all going to school. The family are members of the Danish
Lutheran Church, and in politics are Republican though enthusiastic sup-
porters of the present administration.
VICTOR FRANZEN.— To the man who makes a success of life, en-
tirely unaided and with many obstacles to overcome in the struggle, much
credit is due, and where he has helped in the development of a district, while
building up his own fortunes, he can rest content in the knowledge that he
has done his share in the interest of the commonwealth and that of his own
family. Such a man is Victor Franzen, who came to Fresno County a poor
young man, of foreign birth and language, with no other resources than a
healthy body and the will to succeed. He is the son of Frans and Gustava
Franzen, and was born in Sweden, March 10, 1869, the youngest in a family
of six children. He received his early education in his native land, and when
he reached his twentieth year, in 1889, he immigrated to the United States
and first located in Iowa, remaining there three years, working as a farm
hand.
In 1892, Mr. Franzen came to California and worked for wages five years,
and then, deciding to settle here permanently, in 1897 he purchased forty
acres of raw land in the Wahtoke district, Fresno County, and proceeded to
cultivate it. He was obliged to work out in order to earn the money with
which to buy food for himself and family, as well as to make improvements
on his ranch, and in this way he succeeded in subduing the soil and com-
pelling it to yield him returns for his labors. As time passed, his efforts
were crowned with success, and he later purchased an additional twenty
acres, and now owns one of the finest ranches in the Wahtoke district, and
the handsomest dwelling house in his section of the county. His residence,
which was completed in 1917, contains six rooms on the ground floor, and
a room on the upper floor, and cost about $4,000. While the exterior is
beautiful, the interior is surpassingly so. His ranch is set to white Adriatic
and Calimyrna figs, twenty acres, and a vineyard of eighteen acres of muscats,
the latter yielding him thirty tons.
The marriage of Mr. Franzen, which occurred in 1897, united him with
Miss Frances Mayes, and five children were born to them, four of whom are
living, as follows : Marion, who served about six months in the United States
1520 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Marines: Annie, deceased; Carl; Stella; and Cleta. Mrs. Franzen departed
this life in 1915.
While kept well occupied with his agricultural duties, Mr. Franzen
has never been too much so to take an interest in the welfare of his home
county, and has been found ready to help in all projects for the advance-
ment of his community. He has served as a trustee of Wahtoke School
District for twenty years. Fraternally he belongs to the Court of Honor.
In politics he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Fig and the Raisin
Associations.
HUGH JAMES CARLING, JR.— Born in Dayton. Lyon County, Nev.,
September 7, 1886, Hugh James Carling, Jr., is a son of Hugh James Carling.
a native of New Jersey, and of Nancy Jane (Newman) Carling, born in
Iowa. The father "came to Nevada in 1870, and there engaged in the cattle
business. On coming to California, he located in Fresno, in 1892, and has
since made this his home.
Hugh James Carling, Jr., came to Fresno with his parents, in 1892, and
obtained his education here, attending the grammar and high schools. On
completing his schooling, he worked as a reporter on the Fresno Republican,
and engaged in other clerical work. In 1910, he entered the county recorder's
office as deputv and one year later began reading law, first studying alone,
and later he read law with Carl E. Lindsay, of Fresno.
Mr. Carling was admitted to the bar in San Francisco, in October, 1916.
After seven years in the county recorder's office, he entered the office of the
county clerk, as clerk in department one, of the Superior Court. In February,
1918. Mr. Carling was appointed deputy district attorney, which office he now
holds, with credit to both himself and to the county in which he was reared.
Fraternally, he is a member of Fresno Lodge, No. 186, I. O .O. F. He is
also a member of Fresno Lodge, No. 138, K. of P., of which he is the present
Chancellor Commander. Mr. Carling's marriage united him with Elnora E.
Elder, a native of Fresno County, and daughter of a pioneer.
JOHN PAGE. — It requires not only a special aptness for the detailed
and varied work of the industry, but years of steady application to scientific
research and hard, troublesome labor to arrive at the enviable position of
John Page, very properly regarded as one of the most experienced viticul-
turists and wine-makers in all California, and whose exceptional ability has
been recognized by the California Wine Association in their appointment of
him as superintendent of their Fresno vineyard and winery.
John's father was James Page, a native of Fifeshire, Scotland, where he
was a stonemason when he married Jane Hunter, also born in the land of
Bobbie Burns. When he left for New Zealand, he was forced to travel nine
months in a sailing ship ; but once established in his new homeland, he en-
gaged in contracting and building for many years. In this field he became
prominent: but having had enough of that enterprise, he bought and im-
proved a farm, to which he eventually retired. There, too, he died, as did his
devoted helpmate, the mother of eight children, six of whom are still living.
Born at Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1868, the sixth eldest in the family
and the only one destined to come to California, John Page was brought up
on a farm and attended the New Zealand grammar schools, finishing his
studies at the Otago High School in Dunedin. On graduating, he entered
the grocery trade, taking a clerkship in the spice department of a well-known
establishment, where he remained for two years. It was not what he was
reallv aiming at. but he put into practice there the rule of his life, to make
a success of every work he undertook, and when lie left the grocery trade
there were good reasons for his remaining in it.
The lure of California began to attract him at that time, however, and in
1888, at about the top of the great boom, he landed at San Francisco. He
was not yet satisfied, and shortly afterwards went to Oregon, where he en-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1521
tered the employ of a contractor engaged in building the breakwater at the
Columbia River Bar. Oregon did something for John, and John did a lot
for Oregon ; but the longer he stayed there, the more he concluded that
California was the place for him. He returned, therefore, to the Golden State,
and came directly to Fresno ; for he had sufficiently informed himself to
judge of its superior attractions. He was lucky in securing some work on the
best of acreage, and with that experience, he set out vineyards and went in
for viticulture. He was also foreman for Captain Neville's vineyard, and
then foreman of the Margherita Vineyard ; and in discharging his duties in
both of these places, he made his mark, first as a man with helpful insight
into the problems peculiar to California wine-making, and secondly as a
tireless worker accomplishing the maximum possible through the most
approved methods.
In the spring of 1901 Mr. Page made a trip to the Klondyke, and spent
a year and a half in the frozen North. He prospected out from Dawson and
followed mining; but not being over-infatuated with the country, he returned
to California and Fresno. He entered the employ of the California Wine
Association, serving that concern first in the Smith Mountain Winery and
then in the Eisen Vineyard ; and next he was made superintendent of the
Fresno vineyard and winery, distinguished for its manufacture of sweet
wines, especially sherry and port.
At San Francisco, on August 24, 1911, Mr. Page was married to Mrs.
May (Roland) Cooper, a native of San Jose, where she was born the daughter
of Irish parents — Patrick and Mary Fogarty — who early settled in California,
and became prominent in Santa Clara Valley. Mr. Fogarty went in for
farming and horticulture, and in that undertaking was eminently successful
when he was killed in a runaway. His wife, aged seventy-nine years, makes
her home with Mrs. Page. The latter was educated at the Notre Dame Acad-
emy and the Academy of the Immaculate Heart at Hollister, from which
institutions she graduated with honors. Her three children are : James Hun-
ter, Jack Roland and Mary Jane Page. By her former marriage, Mrs. Page
had one child, Claire Cooper, who attends the Fresno high school.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Page take a lively interest in national politics, he
espousing the platform of the Republican party, and she the Democrats ;
but in local affairs, they are naturally very much devoted to the best interests
of the section in which they live and so always vote for the best man and
the best measure, thereby making for the best citizenship.
FRED EUGENE LINDSEY.— An enterprising old-timer in the Scan-
dinavian Colony who has greatly improved a ranch and now owns valuable
property is Fred Eugene Lindsey, a resident of Fresno County since the
early nineties, who was born at Antigonish, Nova Scotia, on February 27,
1856. His father, Thomas S. Lindsey, was born on the Penobscot River, near
Bangor, Me., where he was reared a member of a Massachusetts family. He
married Mercy Longfellow, who could trace her lineage two hundred and
fifty years back to William Longfellow ; and after thus establishing him-
self domestically, he removed to Nova Scotia, where he entered the stage
business. He prospered until the advent of the railroad, and then the com-
petition compelled him to retire and in 1868 he moved to Rockland, Me., where
he was prominent as one of the investors and directors of the steamboat lines
operating in that section, being general manager of the Rockland, Mt. Desert
& Sullivan Steamboat Company. He died in Nova Scotia, at his summer resi-
dence. Mrs. Lindsey also died in Nova Scotia, the mother of four children,
three girls and one boy, three of whom are still living.
Fred, the only one in California, was educated at Rockland, Me., and after
finishing with the public schools, attended Eastman's Business College at
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Thus equipped, he secured the position of purser on
the steamer Ulysses, of the Rockland, Mt. Desert & Sullivan Steamboat Com-
1522 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
pany, an ill-fated vessel that was lost two years later. Next he officiated for a
vear on the steamer Mt. Desert ; but resigning, he returned to Nova Scotia,
where he associated himself in the general merchandise business with L. C.
Archibald & Co. When that firm dissolved and divided its holdings, Mr.
Lindsey took the Amherst, N. S., store, having a partner and doing business
under the firm name of J. B. Gass & Company, and he remained there in busi-
ness until 1892.
In that year he sold out and came to California; and on his arrival in
Fresno County, he bought the forty acres he now owns in the Scandinavian
Colony, and engaged in viticulture. A few years later he bought another
forty acres adjoining; eleven acres of which he set out with Calimyrna figs,
and the balance with Zinfandels. His home place is devoted to muscat,
feherzagos and Zinfandel grapes ; and for years he superintended the work
himself, leasing it out to others for the first time in 1917.
Having thus so long been active as a practical and highly successful
viticulturist, it is a matter of some pride to Mr. Lindsey that he attended
the first meeting of a raisin association held in Armory Hall in 1892; since
which time he has always been interested in and an active supporter of every
similar movement. He was a member of the original raisin association and
is now a member and a stockholder in the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany. He has seen the county grow from a few sections to its present strength
and importance as a part of the very prosperous Central California ; and all
that he has seen he could and did prophecy, for it was evident from the first
that Fresno and its environs had an exceptional and promising destiny.
A public-spirited citizen always desirous of doing his full share of civic
work, and a Republican who has served on the county central committee,
Mr. Lindsey was for several years school trustee in the Scandinavian school
district, and most of the time was also clerk of the board. In every way.
he has done what he could to raise the standard of social life in the com-
munity, and it is safe to say that he enjoys the esteem of his fellow-citizens
to a high degree.
During his sojourn at Rockland. Me., Mr. Lindsey was made a Mason
in Aurora Lodge, No. 50, F. & A. M., and on the night when Jewel Lodge
No. 42, I. O. O. F., was instituted at Antigonish. N. S.. he joined that order.
A. C. McVEY. — A member of the managing board of directors of the
Anchor Line Auto Stages, Mr. McVey may be found at the depot of this
organization, 1031 I Street, Fresno, at any time during business hours. This
organization is duly incorporated, and was formed for the convenience of the
public in order to have one office where all the stages might arrive in
Fresno and whence they might depart for all important points in any direc-
tion from that city. It cooperates with the Western Auto Stage Company,
at P.akersfield. The Inter-Urban Auto Stage Association was incorporated
December 28, 1915. the officers being: President, J. C. Walling, of Madera;
vice-president. C. C. Allen, Sanger; secretary, F. Roberson, Fresno; treas-
urer, Union National Bank of Fresno. The board of directors are : A. C.
McVey. Fresno; J. C. Walling; C. C. Allen: F. Roberson; W. R. Miles.
Fresno. Mr. McVey ran his busses for three years independently before join-
ing the association, and even now all the members own and operate their
own stages.
Mr. McVey comes from a prominent family. His father. W. TI. McVey,
a farmer near Sedalia, was born in Georgetown, Mb., in 1840. He married
Miss Katherine Elliott at Sedalia. Her people came from Kentucky about
the year 1840. She was born in Missouri in 1843. His grandfather, Absalom
McVey, was born in Maryland, and went to Missouri about 1833. being one
of the pioneers of the country west of the Missouri River. At one time he
was the owner of 1,300 acres of land near Sedalia, upon a part of which the
city of Sedalia was built.
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1527
A. C. McVey was born at Sedalia, June 21, 1882, and grew up on his
father's farm. He attended the country school and Sedalia high, from which
he graduated in 1901. He farmed for two years thereafter and then entered
the employ of the Missouri Pacific as clerk in the office at Sedalia. On May
28, 1906, he came to Brawley, Cal., and after working on a ranch for six
months went to Selma, Cal., where he engaged with the Selma Fruit Com-
pany for three years under the superintendency of his cousin, T. H. Elliott.
The next three years were spent with the Elliott-McVey Company, of Selma,
as a partner. This firm was burned out, and Mr. McVey quit the fruit busi-
ness and bought a ranch of twenty acres, which he still owns. It is a fine
fruit farm, and this he now rents out. He lived here for two years, when he
went to driving bus for S. E. Roberts, of Selma. In August, 1915, he began
business on his own account, running stage from Selma to Kingsburg, later
to Fresno and then another from Fresno to Sanger.
Mr. McVey married Miss Chloe Good, of Selma, a graduate of Selma
high and of the Normal of San Jose. She was a teacher at Selma, and is the
daughter of W. B. and Carrie E. Good. Mr. and Mrs. McVey have two
children ; Laurell and Claire. The family are members of the Christian
Church, at Selma.
ALBERT BOSWORTH.— From early life identified with the oil indus-
try, and at the youthful age of sixteen years employed by the Standard Oil
Company, at Bradford, Pa., Albert Bosworth, has gained a broad and varied
experience and is one of the best posted oil superintendents in the Coalinga
field. A native of the Empire State, Albert Bosworth was born at Limestone,
Cattaraugus County, N. Y., a son of Lon and Sarah (Adams) Bosworth. The
father was a farmer and sawmill man and passed his last days in New York
State; the mother was a native of Olean, N. Y., and is also deceased.
Albert Bosworth was brought up at Limestone, and attended the public
school of his district. At the early age of sixteen he was employed by the
Standard Oil Company at Bradford, Pa., in the pipe-line department. Later
he was engaged in lumbering for L. D. Whitmore. in Wayne and Warren
Counties, Pa. When he quit lumbering it was to take up work in the oil
fields, entering the employ of Mr. Shear of Sheffield, Pa., when he became a
driller and by loyal and efficient service he was promoted to the position of
superintendent, having three different properties under his charge, with forty-
three producing wells. As proof of Mr. Bosworth's capability, dependability
and satisfactory service, it is with pride that he points to the fact that he held
this position for nearly fifteen years, or until 1906, when he resigned and
took a trip to California, visiting the Coalinga oil field, but remaining only
two weeks, when he returned to Warren, Pa. In 1908, Mr. Bosworth made
bis second trip to California, coming again to Coalinga, where he secured a
position with George D. Roberts of the Stockholders 28 Company, where
be filled the responsible position of superintendent for seven years. When
Mr. Roberts sold his stock in the Stockholders 28 Company he became inter-
ested in the United Development Company, which is now the Oil Exploration
Company, and Mr. Bosworth came with Mr. Roberts to the new concern,
where he was placed in charge as general superintendent of the property,
which now has seven producing wells on Sections 17 and 19-15-20.
In San Francisco, Albert Bosworth was united in marriage with Emma
Ingram, a native of Mason City, Iowa, but reared and educated in the Golden
State. Mr. Bosworth has been an active member of the War Fund Association
and active in its work, and with his wife is also a life member of the Red
Cross.
Mr. Bosworth is a man of executive ability, a very enterprising and prog-
ressive oil-man, with an enviable reputation as an oil superintendent. Mr.
and Mrs. Bosworth are justly popular and have many friends in Fresno
County.
1528 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
HUGO S. STANGE. — Though not a native son, Hugo S. Stange has
spent most of his life in Fresno County since reaching the age of maturity,
and has been identified with the business life of the community since that
time. Born in Berlin, Germany, September 26. 1880. he is a son of Godfrey
and Ann (Teal) Stange, both natives of Germany, the father now passed to
his reward. In 1883 the family emigrated to America and located in Neills-
ville, Clark County, Wis., and Hugo S. was educated in the public schools
of Neillsville. He later worked in a furniture factory there. In 1900 he
came with his mother to Fresno, his father and brother, Paul T., having
arrived the year previous. Here he secured work in the logging camp at
Millwood, and later worked on the construction of the Northern Pacific Rail-
wav between Ukiah and Willits. Mendocino County. Returning to Fresno
Mr. Stange learned the plumber's trade, with the firm of Donahue & Emmons.
In 1908 he went to Oakland and worked at his trade there with GrofF &
Leonard, and also with E. O. Dryer of that city. On his return to Fresno,
in 1909, Mr. Stange again entered the employ of Donahue & Emmons,
remaining with them until 1911, when he was employed by Nudt Johnson and
Kutner-Goldstein, for a few months.
At this period Mr. Stange formed a partnership with George T. Elli-
thorpe, and engaged in the plumbing business under the firm name of Flli-
thorpe and Stange. with shops at the corner of N and Fresno Streets. They
installed plumbing in fine residence buildings, principally. In September,
1914, this partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Stange has since that time been
in business for himself. Among other work he installed the plumbing in the
Hotel "White, a three-story brick building on I Street; two residences for
H. B. Ashton; a number of fine homes in North Fresno: the Peach Growers
Packing Plant, Reedley ; the Brewer Hotel, Selma ; Arwandon Hotel and
Yarrington Hotel, Mendota ; a fine residence for A. A. Channell on White's
Bridge Road. He was foreman in charge of the plumbing on the first addi-
tion to the high school building, also in the pumping plant of the Associated
Oil Company at Coalinga.
The marriage of Mr. Stange united him with Mrs. Alice Elkins. Mrs.
Stange has two children by a former marriage, Clara, and Phylis. Fraternally
Mr. Stange is a member of Fresno Lodge. No. 343, I. O. 6. F.. and of the
Hermann Sons.
NIELS PETERSEN.— The life of Niels Petersen, which this narrative
sketches, began on October 30, 1869, in Hadeslev. Schleswig. His early
childhood was spent on a farm, and when but a boy of fifteen years he was
apprenticed for four years to a blacksmith, during which time he received
no salary for his hard labor, but board only, as is the custom in that section
of the world. Having an aversion to the military oppression of that country
and a desire to seek a home under a flag of freedom, Mr. Petersen emigrated
to the United States in June, 1888, and located at Woodbridge. X. J., where
his brother and sisters were living. While residing there, working at his
trade, he studied the English language diligently evenings, and soon learned
to speak and read English, continuing thus employed until 1894, when he
journeved farther westward, arriving at Fresno, Cal., in June of that year.
After locating at Fresno. Mr. Petersen secured employment at his trade
with H. Ahrensberg; but after only two weeks he became sick and was
obliged to leave his w^ork. and went to the mountains for a month's rest.
Upon returning to Fresno he resumed work as a blacksmith, being employed
by George Larsen for two years. Later, he formed a partnership with Peter
A. Borg and they opened a shop at the corner of I and Inyo Streets, con-
tinuing the' business there for about three years, when he purchased his
partner's interest. Mr. Petersen conducted the business in the same location
until 1912. when he entered in partnership with H. Ahrensberg. On January
13. 1917, Mr. Ahrensberg passed away and Niels Petersen bought his in-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1529
terest and became the sole owner of the establishment which is located at
702 I Street. In addition to conducting a general repair shop, Mr. Petersen
does wagon-making, horseshoeing and various kinds of machine work. He
is very enterprising and industrious, and by hard work and satisfactory
service has built up a large and paying business.
Mt. Petersen owns an alfalfa ranch of fifteen acres, located on Pierce
near White's Bridge road, three and a half miles west of Fresno. On this
ranch he now resides with his family, where he is engaged in dairying.
In 1898, at Fresno, Mr. Niels Petersen was united in marriage with
Andrea Schmidt, also a native of Hadeslev, and of this happy union six
children were born, all of whom are natives of Fresno County: Roy, asso-
ciated with his father in business; Harry, Walter, Edna and Erna (twins),
and May. Religiously, the family are Lutherans, and fraternally Mr. Peter-
sen is an honored member of both Dania and the Danish Brotherhood. He is
a man of sterling integrity and worth, and is held in high esteem by his
many friends and business associates.
J. C. HINTON. — Every branch of business has its representatives in
the prosperous and progressive city of Fresno. J. C. Hinton, manager of
the Fresno Plumbing Supply Company, is one of Fresno's energetic business
men. He is the son'of J. S. and Margaret (Hobbs) Hinton, and was born in
Missouri, Januarv 15, 1888.
Educated in" the public schools of his native state, his good judgment
appreciated the benefits of a high school education, of which he availed him-
self. After leaving school his life was spent on the farm until he reached his
majority, when he came to Fresno, following the occupation of farming for
a time, afterwards being in the employ of the Santa Fe Railroad.
His next business venture was with Mr. Cox in the plumbing business.
He made rapid strides in his chosen occupation, taking his present responsi-
ble position in August, 1914.
On August 27, 1913, Mr. Hinton married Miss Catherine McAlpine, who
has borne him two children : Catherine Margaret and Virginia R.
Mr. Hinton is a member of the Christian Church ; has been identified with
politics ; and fraternally is an Odd Fellow and a member of Las Palmas
Lodge, No. 366, F. & A. M. He is also associated with the Chamber of
Commerce, the Merchant's Association and the Traffic Association.
CAPT. HERBERT A. SESSIONS.— A worthy descendant of his fore-
bears of early Colonial days, Herbert A. Sessions, Fresno County's very com-
petent probation officer, was born in Berkshire County, Mass., July 17, 1866.
He was the son of Samuel Alanson and Olive (Hibbard) Sessions, who, after
leaving the old Bay State, lived in the states of Ohio and Michigan. Both
are now deceased. On the Sessions' side of the house his ancestry in America
dates back to 1633, the year that Connecticut Colony was founded and three
years before Roger Williams founded Providence. On the maternal (Hib-
bard) side his ancestors came to America in 1631, eleven years after the
Puritans landed on Plymouth Rock. His forebears on both paternal and
maternal sides were prominent in the Revolutionary War, in which they
served with distinction.
Herbert A. Sessions received the best education the common schools
and high schools of Michigan afforded, and afterward taught school for six
years in that state. His inclinations then turned toward newspaper work, in
which he successfully engaged in Michigan and Iowa. During the Spanish
War he served as a volunteer in Company F, Fifty-first Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, for one and one-half years, part of this time in the Philippines ; at
the end of that time he returned to the United States and was honorably
discharged from military duty at the Presidio. In 1904 he came to Fresno,
and in July of that year he was united in marriage with Miss Gertrude Steele.
Their union has been blessed with the birth of four children, three boys and
1530 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
one girl. He has three children by a former marriage, two girls and one boy.
Mr. Sessions was instrumental in the organization of the Juvenile Court
in 1904, serving as its officer without pay until 1911, and was then appointed
on a salary for four years. For three years, while out of probation work, he
took care of his own farming interests, improving over a section of tree and
alfalfa land, and at the same time was manager of the Riverside Vineyard
Company, after which he was appointed to his present position. The Parental
Home was built under his supervision, and after its completion he was given
charge of it. The new detention house was built according to his plans and
designs, and he was a member of the Citizen's Relief Committee which built
shelter for the unemployed, as well as a member of the Municipal Employ-
ment Bureau. For two years he was a director of the Fresno County Fair
Association, and inaugurated the Better Babies Contest exhibits, for children.
He also inaugurated the stock-judging contest for boys in connection with
said Fresno County Fair. Mr. Sessions is now serving in his ninth year as
probation officer. In the performance of his official duties he has three able
assistants: Oliver M. Akers, Ella M. Towle and Mrs. O. S. Hecox, all of
the city of Fresno. Some 500 cases are on record each year. Of this number
about 100 deal with adults and 400 with juveniles. As a probation officer
Mr. Sessions is guided by the voice of Him who said: "Go, and sin no
more." That his lofty idealism is bearing good fruit is attested by the fact
that ninety-five percent, of those paroled "make good."
During the recent war Mr. Sessions organized the Fifty-eighth Company
of California Military Reserves, sometimes known as the Home Guards, and
is Senior Captain of the Fresno Battalion, consisting of three companies.
During the war he was also appointed and served as an associate member
of the Military Training Camps Association of the United States, the field
of his activities being the San Joaquin Valley. This board selected many
candidates for the Officers' Training School.
In his religious views Mr. Sessions is an Episcopalian, in politics a Re-
publican. He is a Mason, and has passed the third degree in that order. He is
also a member of the Woodmen of the World, and a charter member of the
Commercial Club.
JAMES P. HARTIGAN. — Through his long association with the
various phases of the raisin industry, James P. Hartigan has gained an en-
viable reputation as an expert judge of the products of the vine and is known
as the "quality man" in the extensive packing houses of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company. James P. Hartigan passes judgment on the quality
and grade of the raisins packed by this large corporation, and is careful that
nothing is shipped that will not maintain the established high reputation of
the brands packed by the California Associated Raisin Company. He is the
superintendent of warehouses for the company and is regarded as one of the
best posted men on the raisin industry in the San Joaquin Valley.
James P. Hartigan was born in Brooklyn. X. Y., on April 25, 1864, a
son of John and Ann (Trainor) Hartigan, who were both natives of the
Emerald Isle. In 1869. John Hartigan brought his family to California by the
Isthmus of Panama, and after his arrival located in Davis, Yolo County,
where he followed farming and in 1878 passed away. James P. Hartigan
received his education in the schools at Davis, Cal., and it was in the same
town that he gained his first experience in the raisin industry, while lie was
in the employ of G. G. Briggs. at Davis. Tn 1885. he located at Oleander.
Fresno County, where he was employed in the packing house of the Curtis
Fruit Company for three years. Afterwards he engaged in contracting for
the planting of vineyards and orchards in the San Joaquin Valley and in which
business he continued up to 1898. Many of the famous vineyards and orchards
in Fresno County were planted under the instruction of Mr. Hartigan. In the
year 1900, he entered the employ of the J. B. Inderrieden & Company, fruit
r
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1533
packers, at Fresno and continued with this company until 1912, when the
California Associated Raisin Company was formed and he was offered by
the corporation the important post of superintendent of their packing plants.
By his long and varied experience in the fruit packing business, Mr. Hartigan
is especially fitted to fill this important position, and is performing the many
responsible duties that devolve upon him in a very efficient manner and to
the satisfaction of the managing stockholders of this large corporation.
In the Poppy Colony, Mr. Hartigan is the owner of a five-acre vineyard
of Thompson seedless grapes, which he planted and developed. Near Olean-
der he also planted a vineyard of muscat grapes, containing ten acres, which
after developing he sold. On Blackstone Avenue, in Fresno, he has fifteen
acres, ten of which are planted to apricots and the remaining five to Thomp-
son's seedless grapes. Mr. Hartigan has bought, developed and sold other
orchards in the county. He served as constable of Oleander and was a deputy
sheriff of Fresno County, under W. S. McSwain until his death, and then
under Horace Thorwaldsen until the close of his term. He has contributed
to the development of the residence section of Fresno by building three
houses on Washington Avenue.
Mr. James P. Hartigan was united in marriage on May 1, 1887, with
Margaret S. Douglass, a native of Canada, who came when a small child to
California, with her parents. Her father, Frank Douglass, was one of the
early settlers of Fresno County and purchased land in the Washington
Colony. At one time he was the master mechanic of the Pacific Wooden
Mills at San Francisco.
Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Hartigan became the parents of one son : Lester F.,
who was born in Oleander, Fresno County, and received his education in
the public school of Fresno, supplementing his early education with a special
course in electrical engineering, at Heald's Business College, San Francisco.
He is now in the employ of the California Associated Raisin Company, hav-
ing charge of the installation and the repair work of all their various plants.
Fraternally J. P. Hartigan is a member of the Odd Fellows, Red Men
and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Hartigan's first wife died in 1916. The second marriage of Mr.
Hartigan was solemnized on August 10, 1917, when he was united with Miss
Margine Sorensen, a native of Skive, Denmark, where she was reared and
educated and in 1908 came to the United States.
ADOLPH BUTTNER. — Among the public-spirited citizens who have
aided in the building-up of Fresno County and is counted as a representative
and progressive business man we find Adolph Buttner, general manager of
the California-Fresno Oil Company. He was born on July 21, 1875, the son
of Christoph and Wilhelmina Buttner, who located in San Francisco in
1884 and in that city passed the remainder of their days. When they settled
in the metropolis, Adolph was but nine years of age and his schooling was
obtained in the public schools there. When he was twenty-one years of age
he began business for himself by establishing a meat business in San Fran-
cisco, this he continued successfully until 1910, when he sold out and became
interested in the oil refining industry in Fresno County.
The California-Fresno Oil Company is a corporation, organized in 1901,
under the laws of California. The officers of the company at that time were
A. C. Ruschhaupt, president; K. W. Ruschhaupt, treasurer, and Adolph Butt-
ner, secretary and general manager : upon the death of the treasurer, Decem-
ber 22, 1917, Mr. Buttner was made treasurer, along with his other offices
in the company. The company is a strictly refining concern and was started
in 1901, by Hart Brothers and a Mr. Spinks, on a small scale on land located
about one mile south of Fresno on the main highway that is now known
as the State Highway. In 1902 the concern was taken over bv the present
company and under the efficient management of Mr. Buttner the output has
1534 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
been trebled. The company uses about 100,000 barrels of crude oil annually,
which is shipped in tank cars from the Coalinga fields. The oil is refined
and-sold under the brands of California-Fresno Gasoline; Bright Light Kero-
sene; No. 1 Engine, White Top, and Stove distillates; and other fuel and
lubricating oils, and by discriminating buyers and users these products are
considered of a superior quality. The oils are delivered by motor trucks to
all parts of 'Fresno County in a radius of forty miles of Fresno city. There
are fifteen men employed the year round, working full time six days of the
week. A filling station is also maintained at the plant, which is situated on
five acres of ground, and is the only refinery in the county outside of the
Coalinga fields. There is a complete machine shop and garage maintained
also.
The marriage of Adolph Buttner, which occurred in San Francisco, in
1906, united him with Miss Clara Ruschhaupt, a native daughter, born in
Los Angeles into the family of A. C. Ruschhaupt and his estimable wife.
Of this happy union there has been born a daughter, Clarice W., a student
in the Fresno State Normal School. The family home, erected by Mr. Butt-
ner, is located at 1130 College Avenue. Mr. Buttner is a Scottish Rite Mason,
and holds membership in Las Palmas Lodge No. 366, F. & A. M. in Fresno;
and both he and his wife belong to Fresno Chapter No. 295, O. E. S. In his
political affiliations he is a Republican on national issues but in local matters
supports the men he considers best qualified for the office rather than adher-
ing to party lines. In all matters pertaining to the public welfare he has
always given his cooperation and support. The position he holds in business
and social circles has been of his own making and among those who know
him best he is considered a man of unquestioned integrity.
GEORGE SCHWINN.— A public-spirited and progressive pioneer, who
was one of the earliest settlers at Huron, Fresno County, the first man suc-
cessfully to grow grapes, fruit and beans in Auberry Valley, and the father
of the oil industry in Coalinga, is George Schwinn. He was born in Frank-
fort-on-the-Main, on December 20, 1860, and after finishing his education,
worked in a general merchandise store for three years for his board. There
he learned the business thoroughly, and also sound business methods ; so
that when he was ready to set forth into the world, he was well prepared to
cope with the world's problems.
In 1880 he came to the United States and to California, and for a while
worked on a ranch near Merced. Two years later he went to Hanford. Kings
County, and for about two years worked in the general merchandise store of
Silas Simon and Bros., commencing at twenty-five dollars a month and his
board. Notwithstanding this modest wage, he had saved seven hundred dol-
lars when, in 1886, just before the great boom in California real estate, he
decided to remove to Huron, which was the end of the branch line of the
Southern Pacific Railroad to the western side of Fresno County. The year
of 1886 proved to be one of the best seasons and they had the most abundant
feed known to the stockmen of the West Side. The grass had grown so tall
the sheepmen had to make a trail to drive their sheep through to the shipping
place. There he preempted a claim of 160 acres of government land, and so
early had he arrived on the scene, that he built the first store there. He was
also the first postmaster at Huron, and for twenty-two years held that re-
sponsible office under the United States government — the longest term served
by any man in the valley. He had all the trade of the stockmen for fifty
miles around, there being no other store in the entire district. At Huron,
also, Mr. Schwinn planted the first vineyard of twenty acres, and he soon
came to have one of the show-places of the section. In 1888 he promoted the
first oil companv in the Coalinga district, known as the Fresno Oil Company.
He brought in a surveyor, had the land laid out in twenty-acre tracts, and
surveyed and built road's into what is now Oilfields. All this he did with the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1535
cooperation of only seven other men. Later the oil property was exploited
by Canfield and Chanslor and became Oil City, and now Oilfields, the center
of the East Coalinga oil fields. After that, Mr. Schwinn homesteaded 160 acres
in the East Coalinga field adjoining the Shell Company on the east, which is
valuable oil land. While at Huron he located several people on homesteads
that afterwards proved to be oil land and they became very wealthy, among
them Herman Brix, who was clerking for him while he was improving his
homestead. Mr. Brix also obtained options on other land from customers of
the store, and it made him independently wealthy.
In 1907 Mr. Schwinn sold his ranch and store at Huron, and bought
eighty acres of vineyard and orchard on McKinley Avenue, west of Fresno,
a place scientifically and beautifully improved. There were a well-set vine-
yard, fields of alfalfa, and a fruitful orchard, with new and beautiful buildings.
After selling this he bought 1,600 acres in Auberry Valley. He cleared it
of timber and brush, fenced and cross fenced it, has planted apricots, plums,
prunes, peaches and a vineyard. The balance is devoted to raising grain, hay
and stock. There are two new bungalows with farm buildings and pumping
plant, and it is now the best-improved ranch in the foot-hills of Fresno. On
the ranch are a station and a public school. Mr. Schwinn was the first man
to develop the above-named fruits in Auberry Valley. When he proposed to
do so, his neighbors said he couldn't succeed ; but he followed out his own
ideas, and in the end accomplished what others had declared impossible.
Fraternally, Mr. Schwinn is an Odd Fellow, and belongs to the Fresno
Lodge. He is also a member of the Commercial Club of Fresno, and co-
operates in every way in extending commercial interests. He belongs to
the German Lutheran Church and has many fond recollections of the Father-
land ; but he is a most loyal American, is devoted to his adopted country,
and thoroughly sympathizes with the United States and its part in the pres-
ent war, giving definite and practical support to the administration through
thick and thin.
It is to such men as George Schwinn that Fresno County owes much of
its present greatness ; for without the optimism and energy they displayed,
its lands and mineral resources would not have been so early exploited and
the development of the county would not now be so far advanced. He is
well satisfied with the result, and is very well content that he was so for-
tunate as to cast in his lot in Fresno County.
COWAN A. SAMPLE. — An unusually foreseeing and prosperous real
estate and insurance agent, whose experience and judgment have been as
valuable to his clients as to himself, is Cowan A. Sample, a native of Holmes
County, Miss., where he was born on December 17, 1869, the son of A. D.
and Anna Maria Sample. As early as 1874 his father came out to California,
but returned to Mississippi and remained there until 1907, when he brought
his family to the Coast. He is now living retired.
Cowan Sample's elementary education was obtained in the Mississippi
schools, and was completed at the Normal School at Buena Vista, Chickasaw
County, in that state. For a while he worked in a general merchandise store
in Mississippi, but suffering from broken health at the end of three years, he
determined to come West. In April, 1890, he located at Fresno, and for ten
years was with an uncle, D. C. Sample, in the sheep business. Then he
formed a partnership with G. R. Shipp, but sold out after two years. For
a year and a half he was manager of the California Ranch, and then he came
to Fresno as the manager of the packing plant of the Fresno Meat Company.
Severing his connection with the Fresno Meat Company, Mr. Sample
went on the road as cattle and sheep buyer for O. M. Henry, and in that
line of activity he continued until the latter's death. Then he bought for
himself for a year, until the earthquake and fire in 1906 devastated San Fan-
cisco. After that he joined S. C. Sample in the City Livery Stables, but in
1536 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
nineteen months sold his interest to his brother. Next he engaged in the min-
ing business, and for five years was president and general manager of the
Klamath River Mining Company.
Once more disposing of his interests, Mr. Sample embarked in real
estate, putting on the market the Howard Tract of five acres, which he very
successfully sold out. Since then he has dealt in many ranches, vineyards
and orchards, and in August, 1917, he formed a partnership with J. D. Mor-
gan under the name of Sample & Morgan, and they do a general real estate
business.
July 22, 1903, witnessed the marriage of Mr. Sample to Miss Maud
Brown.' They are the parents of four charming daughters: Anna, Grace,
Virginia and Catherine. The Samples are Episcopalians. Mr. Sample is a
favorite in the fraternal life of the Elks.
ROBERT R.. PRATHER. — California has every reason to be proud of
her native sons, and Fresno County shares in that pride, numbering among
her citizens men of native birth who have made their influence felt in both
the business and professional life of the state. As vice-president and sales-
manager of the Lauritzen Implement Company, Robert R. Prather is one of
the rising young business men of Fresno. Born in Los Angeles, January 1,
1886, he is a son of Joseph L. and Mary (Hedrick) Prather, the former a
native of North Carolina and the latter of South Carolina. When Robert
was six weeks old the family settled on a ranch thirteen miles south of
Fresno, on Elm Avenue, and he received his education in the country schools
of that district, and later in the Fresno grammar and high school.
In the fall of 1906 Mr. Prather entered the employ of the Lauritzen Im-
plement Company, as bookkeeper, and gradually worked his way up to secre-
tary- and treasurer of that concern, and is now vice-president and salesmana-
ger, a demonstration of ability and application which is worthy of mention, as
is all honest striving toward success in life, and fortunate indeed is the man
who succeeds as early in life as has Robert R. Prather.
The marriage of Mr. Prather united him with Miss Josephine Sequeira,
a daughter of Antonio G. Sequeira, a pioneer of the county. Four children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Prather, as follows : Robert ; George ; Berna-
dine ; and Lester. Fraternally Mr. Prather is a member of the Fresno Lodge,
No. 247, F. & A. M. A resident of the county practically since his birth,
he has always taken a keen interest in its development, and has aided in all
movements tending toward advancing its resources.
ANDREW JUDSON STURTEVANT, JR.— One of the rising and
successful young business men of the San Joaquin Valley is Andrew Judson
Sturtevant. Jr., whose enterprising and executive ability have led to success in
every branch of business that he has undertaken. Mr. Sturtevant is a native
son of California, born at Vallejo, September 15, 1886. He was a student at
the Oakland High School and also attended the University of California at
Berkeley, graduating with the class of 1911 from the agricultural depart-
ment of that institution with the degree of B. S.
Coming to Fresno County, Mr. Sturtevant rented a 200-acre alfalfa and
stock ranch near Sanger for two years, and then took up research work for
the California Development Board, making an agricultural survey of the
crop conditions of Fresno County in detail, covering all the varieties of
products. When the peach growers resolved to form their own marketing
organization, he became active in securing members and funds with which to
finance the proposed association. Later, when success was assured, he went
East for the purpose of developing a sales organization, after which he was
appointed general sales-manager for the California Peach Growers, Inc. He
is himself one of the large peach growers of the San Joaquin Valley. He rents
two peach orchards in Stanislaus County, of twenty-four and forty acres
O^o^^^^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1539
respectively, and is the owner of a ninety-four-acre peach orchard near Mo-
desto and a 200-acre peach orchard eighteen miles from Fresno, at Borden.
The marriage of Mr. Sturtevant united him with Miss Roda M. Mitchell,
a native of North Dakota, who was brought up at Oakland. Two children
are the result of their union, Andrew J., Jr., and Robert Mitchell. Mr.
Sturtevant is a member of the Commercial Club of Fresno, and during the
Liberty Loan campaign in that city was an active worker for the cause,
being one of the four-minute men who made speeches in the theaters and
other public places.
BART HARVEY. — One of the progressive business men in Fresno,
and a merchant widely known for his straightforward ways and pleasing
personality, is Bart Harvey, the proprietor of the leading clothing and gents'
furnishing store in Fresno, centrally located at the corner of J and Tulare
Streets. He was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, on April 19, 1874,
the seat of many of the most interesting events in English history, and a
town famous for its situation on the summit and declivities of three lofty
eminences, rising from the north bank of the Tyne, about ten miles from its
mouth. Amid the ancient piles of donjon-keeps and church spires, there are
ranges, along the banks of the river, one above another, of dim and dingy
buildings, that have stood for centuries. Bart's father was Rodger Harvey, a
mining man, who married Miss Mary McGee and then came to the United
States in 1874 and located at Barclay, Pa., where he became superintendent of
coal mines. They had seven boys and three girls, and now live retired in
comfort at Pittsburg.
Bart, the second oldest, was educated in the public schools and later
received a thorough training in one of the best business colleges of Rochester.
For several years, he worked as a salesman in a mercantile establishment, and
then, in 1889, he came West, locating first at Trinidad, Colo. In 1891, he
went to Salt Lake City, Utah, and there engaged as a traveling salesman,
after which he was made manager of a company store for three years. He
next spent four years in Oregon. In 1901, Mr. Harvey dropped anchor in
Fresno and at once became manager of the clothing department of Messrs.
Radin & Kamp, and within the short period of four years thereafter he estab-
lished himself in business, opening on J Street. In March, 1908, he founded
his present enterprise, and there by methods sure to meet the approval of
patrons, he has built up such a good business that he employs regularly no
less than fourteen persons.
A live member of the Chamber of Commerce, in which he was a director
for many years, and a member of the Merchants' Association, the Traffic
Association and the Commercial Club, of which he was the first secretary,
Mr. Harvey has been closely identified with the upbuilding of Fresno, giving
freely of his time and personal means. With Dave Newman, Ralph Woodard
and John W. Short, Mr. Harvey began the Raisin Day movement for adver-
tising, asking Americans all over the LJnited States to use more raisins as
a part of their daily food, and naming a Raisin Day. They obtained the
cooperation of all Fresnans, and their work resulted in much good, and there
is now, besides the local raisin celebration, the successful organization known
as the California Associated Raisin Company. Mr. Harvey has been active
in every movement started in Fresno for the advancement of the city and
county.
In 1895, at San Francisco, Mr. Harvey was married to Miss Belle Isbell,
a native of California and a member of an old Southern family. She is the
daughter of Ewing and Sarah (Price) Isbell, born respectively in Missouri
and Kentucky. Her father comes of an old Virginian family, a near relative
of Robert E.Lee. However he did not countenance slavery, so he freed his
slaves and migrated across the plains in an ox team train. He engaged in
mining in Calaveras County and was the discoverer of the Isbell mine near
1540 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
Murphy's Camp. Later he removed to near Flagstaff. Ariz., where he became
a large cattle-man until his death. Mrs. Sarah Price Isbell is a niece of General
Sterling Price, the Virginian soldier who died at St. Louis in the late sixties.
He raised the Second Missouri Cavalry for the Mexican War, becoming its
colonel, and marched his men over a thousand miles, under General Stephen
W. Kearney, to Santa Fe, when they were reduced to subsisting on the wild
country, the tramp continuing fifty days. When Kearney went to California,
Colonel Price was left in charge of New Mexico; and having put down an
insurrection, he was made a brigadier general of volunteers, and afterward
became military governor of Chihuahua.* Still later, he was governor of
Missouri, and then he underwent the hard campaigns of the Civil War as a
Confederate officer.
A daughter, Edith Isbell Harvey, has attained distinction as a gradu-
ate of Stanford University, where she finished her course with honors, and
she is a talented vocalist. She has a pleasing, beautiful mezzo-soprano voice,
and has favored the music-lovers of Fresno on various occasions. At present
she is studying music under Percy Rector Stevens.
J. B. DALY. — A general broker who believes in the old adage. "Nothing
dare, nothing share," and who is always ready to venture in the realty field
when the prospects of the game are at all good, is J. B. Daly, the well-known
real estate agent. He is a native son, born in Mariposa County in 1870.
His father, Tudge R. H. Daly, brought his family to Fresno in 1874. There
the lad was educated in the public schools. After attaining his majority he
served six years as deputy county recorder. For eight years he was in the
grocery business, and for some years he traveled widely as a salesman.
In 1909 he entered the real estate field, and from the first showed his
marked ability for that work, which requires so much foresight and common
sense, as well as a deep knowledge of human nature. He placed on the
market the McCoon Colony of 400 acres, organized the Glen Park Stock
Farm sale, and has also negotiated other important deals.
Mr. Daly is a member of the Fresno Realty Exchange, and has served
as a director in the same. He also participates in a wide-awake manner in
the work of the Chamber of Commerce, and takes a just pride in the develop-
ment of Fresno County and the State of California, lending a hand in the
furtherance of its material upbuilding, and in supporting the common welfare.
LORENTZ C. DUUS. — Lorentz C. Duus. a prominent member of Fres-
no's Danish colony, was born in Schleswig-Holstein (then a part of Den-
mark), July 6. 1857, ten years before these provinces were ceded to Prussia.
He was" reare*d and educated in his native land, and learned the trade of a
miller. After serving twenty months in the Danish army as a volunteer and
working for some time at his trade in the old country, he came to the United
States, in May, 1879, and joined his brother, who lived in Marysville, Cal.
He worked on a ranch at Yuba City for one year then went to Monterey
Countv and worked for a time in a warehouse at Moss Landing. From thence
he went to Oakland, Cal.. where he ran a grocery store on Telegraph Avenue
for three years. After this he conducted a billiard hall at Eighth and Broad-
wav. Oakland, for two vears. and then went to Sutter Countv and. renting
160 acres of land near Live Oak. successfully engaged in raising grain for
one season. In 18S7. on his way to Los Angeles, he stopped one week in
Fresno, and then continued his journey southward. He conducted a restau-
rant, for a time, on San Fernando Street near the Southern Pacific Railroad
station in Los Angeles; but Fresno had favorably impressed him ami in 1889
he journeyed back again and engaged in the plumbing business, with Louis
Thyc as partner. Their shop was on K Street, between Fresno and Merced
Streets. In the fall of 1880 he closed out the business and purchased a forty-
acre unimproved ranch. He planted the land to muscat and malaga grape
vines and alfalfa, leveled and fenced it, lived on the place five and one-half
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY. 1541
years, and then lost it through a defect in the title. Undaunted by fortune's
vicissitudes, he next went to San Francisco and for three and a half years
was employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad in their freight department.
Returning then to Fresno, he opened a cigar store on Mariposa Street, where
the Union National Bank is now located. He met with much success in
the new venture, and after ten years in that location moved to his present
place at 933 J Street. He owned a twenty-acre vineyard on Cherry Avenue
and Jensen Streets, which he sold in 1913, and he is the owner of valuable
real estate lots and four houses in Fresno. His business experiences prove
what industry, coupled with intelligence and frugality, can accomplish when
directed in the right channels.
In 1888, Mr. Duus was united in marriage with one of his country-
women, Clara Christiansen, and they are the parents of three children, all
of whom were born in Fresno : Arthur C, later Quartermaster Sergeant,
U. S. A., now deceased; Anna, the wife of H. Campbell, of Fresno; and
Viola, a professional stenographer in Fresno.
Quartermaster Sergeant Arthur C. Duus died at Douglas, Ariz., Novem-
ber 30, 1918, following an attack of influenza. He was born in the city of
Fresno, October 6, 1889, and was educated in the Fresno public schools. He
graduated from the Fresno High School with the class of 1907, and after
leaving school he entered the service of the Union Savings Bank at Fresno.
He later became assistant cashier in the First National Bank of Fresno and
held that position when he enlisted in the army at San Francisco in 1917.
He first went to the Presidio, but was soon transferred to Jacksonville, Fla.,
where he attended the quartermaster's school. After graduating from the
finance department in April, 1918, he was transferred to Fort Sam Houston,
Texas, where he received his commission as sergeant in the quartermaster's
corps. Soon thereafter he was again transferred to Douglas, Ariz., and was
placed in charge of the finance department, and on the 17th of October,
1918, he was duly commissioned quartermaster sergeant, still serving at Fort
Douglas. On November 11, 1918 (the day of the armistice), he was taken ill
and was brought to the hospital. The influenza terminated in pneumonia,
from which he died. Word of his illness was telegraphed home, and the
mother and two sisters started immediately. His two sisters, Mrs. Anna
Campbell and Miss Viola Duus, were at his bedside one day before he died.
His mother, who started for his bedside from Fresno with her two daughters,
was taken severely ill en route, and had to stop off at Los Angeles. Military
funeral services were held at Camp Douglas ; and his remains were escorted
to Fresno by his comrades. On December 4, 1918, the funeral was held, and
interment was made in Liberty Cemetery at Fresno.
Mr. Duus is a member of the Dania Society of Fresno, of which he is
past president. He became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows in Oakland in 1883 and is now a member of the Fresno Lodge of that
order, and has passed the Encampment.
J. LEE EICHELBERGER. — The manager of the Fresno division of
the Sperry Flour Company, J. Lee Eichelberger is well known in Central
and Northern California. He was born in Christian County, 111., November
15, 1876, and received his education in the public school and the Northwest-
ern University at Chicago, graduating from the pharmaceutical department
in 1891. For eight years thereafter he followed the drug business in Chicago,
after which he went to Macomb, McDonough County, III, and engaged in
the general merchandise business until 1905, when he sold out to locate in
California.
Air. Eichelberger came direct to Fresno and secured a position as bill
clerk in the office of the Sperry Flour Company; after a term of service he
was promoted to the position of traveling salesman. In 1910 he was made
manager of the Sacramento division of the company and for six years made
1542 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Sacramento his headquarters and home and gave of his best efforts to the
development of the business of the Sperry Flour Company in his district.
In 1916 he was transferred to the Fresno division, where he is now located.
Mr. Eichelberger has traveled up and down the San Joaquin and Sacramento
Valleys and has made many friends who hold him in high esteem for his
business ability and good management. Interested in the development of
the natural resources of California, Mr. Eichelberger has improved a twenty-
acre orange grove at Strathmore, Tulare County, a very fine citrus section
for navels and valencias.
In 1901 Mr. Eichelberger was united in marriage with Miss Daisy
Spickler, a native of Illinois. Their marriage was celebrated at Kewanee,
that state. Two children have blessed their marriage, Meredith and Robert.
As a diversion from business cares and to bring him more closely in touch
with the up-to-date men of affairs of Fresno, Mr. Eichelberger holds mem-
bership in the Rotary Club, the Commercial Club and the Sunnyside Coun-
try Club. He is a member of Fresno Chamber of Commerce, Merchants Asso-
ciation and the South Pacific Millers Association. He is a public spirited
citizen of California and believes that the future prosperity of the state is
yet an unknown quantity. He is a booster for Fresno County and is always
ready to assist any projects that will bring settlers within the borders of
the county.
JESSE BUELL ALLEN. — To be successfully engaged in one line of
business in the same city for sixteen years is in itself a recommendation for
first-class workmanship and service. This is the record possessed by Jesse B.
Allen, Fresno's leading interior decorator and painter. Mr. Allen is a native
of the Hoosier State, having first seen the light of day at Greencastle, Ind.,
January 3, 1843. His father, Robert D. Allen, was born in Cumberland Coun-
ty, Ky., of an old Virginia family which is traced back to Ephraim Allen,
a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and the tallest man in the army at
the time. Robert Allen was a contractor and helped to build the Asbury
University Building at Greencastle. When Jesse was five years of age his
parents moved to Texas, where his father died, and afterwards his mother,
Marv Ann (Ritchey) Allen, also born in Cumberland County, moved back
to Cumberland County, in 1848, and in this state he finished his education,
following which he engaged in farming.
During the Civil War Mr. Allen saw service in the Confederate Army,
being a member of Company I, Gen. John Morgan's famous scouts, and took
part in all of the most important battles in Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia.
He was also a member of General Forrest's body-guard at the battle of
Chickamauga, and at the close of the war surrendered at Mt. Sterling, Ky.
After the war Mr. Allen followed farming in Mississippi County. Mo.,
later moving to Temple, Texas, in which section he was one of the pioneer
settlers. In 1887 he sought the salubrious climate of California for the bene-
fit of his health. After arriving in Fresno County, he first purchased ten
acres of raw land in the West Park district, later increasing his acreage by
buying twenty additional acres, which he improved. He developed his prop-
erty and brought it to such a high state of cultivation that at that date
it was regarded as one of the best vineyards in the county. In those early days,
however, the price of grapes was so small that it did not pay vinevardists
enough to justify picking the grapes; so in 1890 he sold his ranch and moved
to Fresno.
While living in Hickman. Ky., Mr. Allen learned the trade of a paper-
hanger, painter and interior decorator, which he followed in Kentucky and
Texas. Upon moving to the city of Fresno, he bought a lot on the corner of
Inez and Ventura Avenues, where he erected his home and has resided ever
since 1902. In Fresno, Mr. Allen has succeeded in building up an enviable
tf t.AlM^a
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1545
reputation in his chosen line, as well as a large and profitable business, all
unsolicited which is the best advertisement.
Jesse Buell Allen has been twice married ; his first wife was Maggie E.
Nunn, a native of Kentucky, in which state they were married in 1867.
She passed away in 1873, having been the mother of three children, all of
whom are deceased. Mr. Allen's second marriage took place in Troy, Texas,
August 5, 1879, and united him with Anna Hand, a native of Shelby County,
Ala., and the daughter of Rev. J. C. Hand and his wife Martha (Smith) Hand,
natives of Georgia. Her father was a minister in the Baptist Church. He re-
moved to Texas, where he was a pioneer minister in Bell County, Texas,
and later he returned to Alabama, where he died. This union was blessed
by six children, four of whom are living: Lawson J. is the secretary of the
Fresno Merchants' Association ; Harry is ranching west of Fresno ; Mary is
the wife of George Wachold, of Fresno ; Glennroy is associated with the
moving-picture business in Los Angeles. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are members
of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
GUSTAV E. AHLBERG. — A pioneer rancher of the Fowler district who
has developed forty acres from a stubble-field to a very productive vineyard,
and assisted by his two able sons has made substantial improvements, is
Gustav E. Ahlberg, a highly respected citizen, once broad-shouldered, strong
and healthy, but now partially paralyzed. He was born at Halmstad, Sweden,
on January 6, 1858, and when twenty-three years old first came to Fresno
County. His father was Bernhart Nicholas Ahlberg, who was the chief
executive officer, or sheriff, of the province of Halland in Sweden, where he
owned forty acres. His mother died when he was only two years old, and he
was brought up by his stepmother.
He grew up on the home farm, became a member of the state church,
attended public school, and at the same time took care of his father's farm.
He served one year of two terms in the king's military service, and then
bidding good-bye to his father and brother and sisters, came to America,
arriving in Fresno County in 1881. He was influenced to take this momentous
step by the letters of his sister and brother-in-law, P. O. Lindstrom, who
came to Fresno County from Sweden over forty years ago. Mr. Lindstrom,
who died on July 16, 1882, was the pioneer blacksmith of Easton, and a man
of experience. Mr. Ahlberg liked Fresno County from the start, and was
not long in accepting an engagement to work on farms. His ability was soon
appreciated, and he was made manager of Judge Stephen S. Nye's vineyard,
one of the extensive and important holdings of this region.
In 1889, Mr. Ahlberg was married to Miss Matilda Thelander, and soon
after he bought his forty-acre vineyard from Mr. Marden of the Nye-Marden
Colony. He became active in American civic life, affiliating himself with the
Republican party. In 1904 his good wife died ; and since then he has remained
a widower. Three children were granted this happy couple. Carl G. has
charge of the ranch ; William died in April, 1914, when he was about twenty-
one years old ; while Edward is at home and helps his brother Carl.
FRANK J. NOLAN. — A skilful captain of industry who, as president
and manager of the Fresno Cooperage Company, has well guided the affairs
of one of the city's most important business organizations is Frank J. Nolan,
who was born in Santa Cruz in 1877, was educated in the public schools of
San Francisco, and in the Pacific metropolis learned the cooper's trade. In
April, 1903, he came to Fresno, and for some time made barrels by hand, for
which he became locally famous. Few craftsmen were more needed in the
early days of Fresno than a first-class cooper ; and Mr. Nolan's ability, to-
gether with his steady, conscientious application to the work of each day,
and his desire to leave nothing undone to please his customers, speedily told
in favor of the new enterprise.
1546 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
When the steady increase in patronage warranted the move, the business
was incorporated in 1007, for $50,000, and a fully equipped barrel machine
plant was installed. Teri years later the business was reincorporated for
twice the former amount. Located on a tract of fifteen acres at California
and East Avenues, the cooperage plant has a capacity of from 800 to 1,000
barrels per day and employs from sixty to eighty men ; and it keeps the
special sidings of both the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific railroads busy
handling over $750,000 worth of business that is done there annually. Bar-
rels to the number of 150,000 are shipped annually to different points in
California; and the concern receives annually 150 carloads of staves and
forty carloads of headings from the southern states, and about twenty-five
carloads of steel from Pennsylvania.
KELLAR-THOMASON-FLEMING COMPANY.— Born in Darke
County. Ohio, on October 18, 1872. Rolla C. Fleming, the local company's
secretary, treasurer and manager, was taken at the age of six years to Sulli-
van County, 111. At the age of twenty-two he entered the employ of the
Wabash Railroad, taking a post in the passenger department, and as a rail-
road man worked his way through the different departments until he was
made division passenger agent. "Wherever he labored, whatever he under-
took, the result was the same : his employers found in him an intelligent,
conscientious worker, whose aptness, experience and fidelity made him de-
pendable under all circumstances.
In October. 1912, Mr. Fleming arrived in Los Angeles and entered the
employ of the Kellar-Thomason Company, traveling for them on the mad
for five years. In November, 1917, he settled in Fresno, and immediately
began to build up the business which has made the first year of the company
here so successful. Mr. Fleming is a member of the Chamber of Commerce
of Fresno, the Commercial Club of Fresno, and the Merchants' Association of
Fresno ; and he is thus able to exercise a beneficent influence in various
channels.
For centuries the methods of irrigation remained unchanged : but during
the past two decades there have been great developments, and the associates
in the Kellar-Thomason-Fleming Company were privileged to share largely
in the honors for the reforms and advancement. More than twenty years ago
in Southern California two men, George E. Kellar and E. O. Thomason of
Covina, both of them practical ranchers and orchardists. were irrigating
their lands by the then prevalent mud-ditch method. That method was, to
say the least, wasteful of both water and physical energy, and realizing its
inadequacy and crudeness, they helped to bring into practical use what is
now known as the "KT" system. Their idea, briefly, was to use some sort of
pipe to overcome the loss of water occasioned by evaporation and seepage
and, further, to make practical irrigation easy by equipping the pipe-line
with improved outlets. Thev first took up the manufacture of concrete pipe
for their own use, finding that the making of this kind of pipe was within
the range of possibilities, and that concrete pipe met two important require-
ments: cheapness and durability. There were at that time exceptional cases
where some sort of pipe, either concrete, vitrified or iron, was in use to con-
vev water over some specially porous or gravelly stretch of land, but irrigat-
ing water was usually permitted to flow through weedy mud ditches. The
use of concrete pipe put the water under control to a certain extent, but the
first method employed for releasing and distributing it was quite crude, con-
sisting of a slide gate operated in the pipe-line at every stand-pipe where
water was to be turned out. This always gave trouble; for when the gate
was closed at a stand-pipe, in order that the water might overflow there.
several stand-pipes on about the same level would also overflow at the same
time. This svstem was therefore superseded by the "valve system," which
was adopted after several years of experimenting and actual practice, and
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1547
which led to the inventing and patenting, in 1904, of the "KT" valve, and
in 1905, of the "KT" gate, and later of other useful appliances. The immedi-
ate advantage of the "KT" system is that, instead of first using the mud
ditches and afterward installing some better arrangement, the best system is
at once put in, thus from the beginning guaranteeing additional crops, which
quickly return the apparently heavy investment. How great a saving to the
progressive rancher such an advanced method is may be seen from the fact
that an experienced engineer has recently declared that of the millions of
dollars annually expended by our irrigation districts for water and for apply-
ing it to cultivated crops, fully seventy percent, is wasted. The "KT" system
of irrigation is essentially superior to all others on the market, as is shown
by the constantly increasing demand for it.
The plant of this now famous company is located at 1218-1236 East
Twenty-eighth Street, Los Angeles, and is the largest in the world given
solely to the manufacture of irrigation appliances. The officers are : George
C. Martin, president, Los Angeles ; R. Coffsen, vice-president. Los Angeles ;
and Charles Montgomery, secretary and treasurer, Los Angeles. The Kellar-
Thomason-Fleming Company, which has its offices at 2031 Kern Street,
Fresno, was incorporated in November, 1917, and at once started business
with these officers: George C. Martin, president, Los Angeles; R. Coffsen.
vice-president, Los Angeles ; and Rolla C. Fleming, secretary, treasurer and
manager, Fresno.
WILLIAM HELM.— The interest which attaches to the biography of
California pioneers is not that of curiosity, but a visible expression of grati-
tude which all men feel towards those forerunners of civilization in the far
West. Not only as a pioneer of the state, but also as one of the earliest resi-
dents of Fresno County. William Helm held a high position among the
people of the city and county of Fresno.
A native of Canada, William Helm was born in the province of Ontario,
about forty miles above Montreal, on the St. Lawrence River, on March 9,
1837, a son of George and Mary (Oliver) Helm, both of whom were born
in Scotland, the latter of English parentage on the paternal side. George
Helm lived in Scotland until he was a young man, then emigrated to America
and settled in Gait, Ontario, where he farmed until his death. After the
death of her husband, Mrs. Helm came to California and made her home in
San Francisco where she died at the age of about eighty-two years. Mr.
and Mrs. George Helm were parents of nine children, of whom William be-
came a pioneer of Fresno County.
Reared on the home farm and educated in the public schools of his com-
munity, William Helm early learned the rudiments of farming and of the
stock business under his father. In 1856, then only nineteen vears of age,
he left home and came to Wisconsin, where he was engaged in lumbering on
the Chippewa River, and in operating a sawmill, for three years. He then
made up his mind to come to California. Going to New York, he sailed
from that city in 1859 to Panama, crossed the Isthmus and took passage on
a vessel that landed him in San Francisco. He went at once to the Sacra-
mento Valley and in Placer County found his first work with a butcher,
remaining for some time and learing the butcher business and following it
at Forest Hill and in Todds Valley. And still later he was engaged in the
sheep business in Bear Valley, Placer County, where he had a good range
for his increasing bands. In 1865 he brought his sheep down into Fresno
County, which at that time was a vast open space, with no improvements
and not a mile of railway. At Dry Creek, on section four, six miles north-
east of what is now the city of Fresno, Mr. Helm purchased 2,640 acres of
land from Mr. Chapman, paying one dollar per acre for it. Here his bands
of sheep increased rapidly and he added to his landed interests until he owned
some 16,000 acres and 22,000 head of sheep, being for many years the largest
1548 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
sheep-raiser in this part of the country. He established winter quarters on
what is now the site of Fresno courthouse, little dreaming that in a few years
there would be a city, unsurpassed by few others in the entire state, located
on the spot. When the wool was sacked it was hauled to Stockton for ship-
ment, necessitating three wagons, each drawn by ten mules, and the journey
required twelve days to make the round trip.
Mr. Helm established his residence in Fresno and continued his opera-
tions, and in time he brought water from Kings River and began to develop
his land. He was one of the stockholders that built the Gould ditch. As
settlers came to the county he sold off his land at advantageous prices, re-
taining several thousand acres which he used for sheep-raising and on which
he set out vineyards, until he had about 700 acres. Mr. Helm erected the
Helm block, at the corner of J and Fresno Streets, and built up other prop-
erty here. He was interested in the Farmers' National Bank of California,
also was one of the organizers and vice-president of the Bank of Central
California until his death. After an unusually busy and useful career Mr.
Helm lived retired from all labors, spending part of his time in San Fran-
cisco. He died at the home of his daughter, April 10, 1919, just past eighty-
two years of age.
The marriage that united William Helm with Miss Fannie S. Newman
occurred in Placer County. Mrs. Helm was born in England, but was reared
and educated in New York. Of their union seven children were born : Jessie,
Mrs. C. S. Cox, of Fresno ; George I., a vineyardist of Fresno County ; Frank
M.. a resident of Fresno, also interested in a vineyard: Fannie, Mrs. E. A.
Walrond, of Fresno ; Mary, Mrs. Dr. J. L. Maupin, of Fresno ; Agnes, Mrs.
Dr. Montgomery Thomas, also of Fresno ; and Maude, Mrs. M. M. Dearing,
at home. Mr. Helm was a stanch Republican, a member of the Chamber of
Commerce, and at all times was ready to give substantial encouragement for
the upbuilding of the city and county of Fresno, where the busy years of
his life were spent. Mrs. Helm died in Fresno, April 22, 1906, in her sixty-
fifth year.
It is difficult to overestimate the beneficent effect upon the growth and
prosperity of the San Joaquin Valley which the work of William Helm had.
Not only was he an eye witness to practically every step in the great scheme
of development of the agricultural and horticultural resources, but he bore
a conspicuous part in transforming a vast region, that was but little more
than a desert waste, into one of the most productive sections of the entire
state of California. Throughout his career he was ever mindful of the rights
and privileges of others and earnestly cooperated with his fellow citizens in
all efforts to advance the welfare of the community. The remarkable success
that rewarded his labors was the result of perseverance and indefatigable
industry. Mr. Helm belonged to that strong type of pioneer citizen who sur-
vived despite the obstacles constantly presented in the earlier days of state-
hood. The brief record of his life history, which was so closely interwoven
with the history of the San Joaquin Valley, will prove of increasing interest
to the younger generation and students of history as the years pass.
GEORGE LAMERS. — It isn't what a man has, but what he does with
what he has that determines his standing in a community. A man may be
possessed of the brightest of minds, or an abundance of wealth, but if he
does not develop his brain, or if he uses his money for his own selfish ends,
he has reflected no credit upon himself nor upon the community. A man
with less of either brain or money, rightly expended, will reflect a greater
luster. With what respect do we look upon the man who has come to the
top knowing every step of the ladder.
Such a man is George Lamers, who was born at Nykobing, Jylland, Den-
mark, September 21, 1882. His father, Edward Lamers. was a native of Den-
mark, a carpenter by trade, who died when the son was only four years of age.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1549
His mother, Elise Marie (Nielsen) Lamers, since her husband's death has
married again and lives on the old home place in Denmark. Her name now
is Andersen.
George Lamers attended school in his native land, and remained there
until he was twenty years old. In 1902 he came to America, locating in
Chicago where he worked at the carpenter trade for two years, and then
came to Hornbrook, Siskiyou County, Cal., and engaged in railroad work.
Soon becoming bridge carpenter for the Southern Pacific, he was later
transferred to the car repair shops of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Duns-
muir, Cal., and stayed there four years. In 1909 he resigned from his work
at Dunsmuir and came to Fresno, taking employment with the Santa Fe
Railway Company. He is an able workman and the company has recognized
his worth by making him foreman of the car repair shops at Fresno, where
there are thirty-eight men employed.
He was married in San Jose, to Mary Jensen, a native of Denmark. They
live in one of the companies' houses at Calwa, a suburb of Fresno, are
members of the Danish Lutheran Church at Fresno, and are highly respected
by all who know them. And so, perhaps never thinking of doing it, he is
illustrating the truth of what a poet has said, "Honor and fame from no con-
dition rise, act well your part — there all the glory lies."
LEWIS HOWELL SMITH.— A thoroughly successful man and an
attorney who occupies a prominent place at the bar of California, bringing to
the practice of his profession an active brain, a well trained mind, commend-
able zeal and habits of industry, Lewis Howell Smith, of Fresno, has attained
an honored place among the leading lawyers of that city. A native of Illinois,
he was born at Peoria, November 3, 1872, a son of the late John Boyd and
Lucetta (Howell) Smith, natives of Pennsylvania and Illinois respectively.
John Boyd Smith was born at Sunbury, Pa., where he attended the
public schools. When a young man he went to Illinois and was engaged in
the banking business, becoming one of the founders, and the cashier, of the
Mechanics' National Bank, which afterwards became the Merchants' Na-
tional Bank of Peoria. In 1889 he removed to Fresno, Cal., with his family,
and here he became associated with the Fresno National Bank, remaining as
cashier until his death, in 1893, at the age of sixty-four years. For more than
forty years he was engaged in the banking business and was widely known
as an able financier. Mrs. Smith's father, Lewis Howell, an early settler of
Peoria, was a man of great financial ability, and for many years was presi-
dent of the Peoria National Bank. Mr. and Mrs. Smith became the parents
of six children, four of whom are living: Boyd; Mrs. W. E. Stone, of Peoria;
Lewis Howell, of this review ; and Elsie. One son, Archie A., became the
cashier of the Fresno National Bank in 1895, and remained in that position
until his death, in 1899. Mrs. Smith survived her husband until May, 1917,
when she passed away in Fresno.
Lewis Howell Smith attended the grammar and high schools at Peoria,
111., until he accompanied his parents to Fresno, Cal., in 1889. Soon after he
arrived here he was in the employ of the United States government as a
mail carrier for a year or more. In 1891 he entered Stanford University and
was graduated from that institution in 1895, with the degree of LL.B., hav-
ing the distinction of receiving the first law diploma issued by that univer-
sity. The ensuing year Mr. Smith worked in the office of Judge Carter, then
superior judge of Fresno County, later, from 1896 to 1898, he was in partner-
ship with Judge Carter, under the firm name of Carter & Smith. For the
next three years Mr. Smith carried on an independent law practice, then, in
July, 1901, he became associated with Judge Ostrander, under the name of
Smith & Ostrander, with offices in the Forsyth Building. This partnership
continued in force for five years, during which time the firm was associated
with many of the prominent cases tried in Fresno County. At the end of
1550 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the five years, Mr. Smith once more carried on an independent practice.
In 1897 he was elected city attorney and served a two-year term. Mr. Smith
is recognized as a most skilled lawyer and has been one of the leading mem-
bers of the bar in Fresno, and as such he has been associated with many
important cases. In the case of the People vs. McDaniels, a copy of which
is transcribed in the California Reports and in the American State Reports,
he served as attorney for the defendant and won the case in the supreme
court, to which it was appealed, the supreme court reversing a former deci-
sion and establishing a constitutional precedent that has since been taken up
in law journals throughout the land. In 1913, Mayor Snow appointed Mr.
Smith city attorney and he served until 1917.
In Georgetown, Cal., L. H. Smith was united in marriage on April 20,
1899, with Miss Maude Shepherd, a native of California and a daughter of
B. F. Shepherd, one of the '49ers in California, who was a prominent merchant
in Georgetown. When he retired he made his home with Mr. and Mrs.
Smith in Fresno. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Smith four children were
born: Archie A., who volunteered on his eighteenth birthday for radio
service in the United States Navy; serving from July, 1918, to February,
1919. when he was honorably discharged and returned home ; Merilyn Maude,
Barbara and Dorothy. Mr. Smith is a member of the Chamber of Com-
merce, of which he served as president at one time. He belongs to the
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Eagles ; the Commercial Club ;
the Sequoia Club; and the University Club, all of Fresno; and the Sigma
Nu Society of Stanford University. He is a member of the County Bar
Association. As a stanch Republican. Mr. Smith has taken a prominent place
in the councils of the party and has served on county and state committees.
He is public-spirited, progressive and an active upbuilder of the city, county
and state, ready at all times to give substantial encouragement to all worthy
projects. With his family he enjoys the good will and esteem of an ever
widening circle of friends and business associates.
ELLSWORTH M. NORTHRUP. — An industrious, self-made man who
has become a prosperous rancher and enjoys the reputation for a man of
good judgment and generous impulses, is Ellsworth M. Northrup, popularly
called "Cap*' Northrup. His twenty-acre ranch adjoins Laton, Fresno County.
Cal, on the west, and there he and his good wife and children have a home
of genuine hospitality. Mr. Northrup was born in New Jersey, on March 20,
1865, the son of Joseph Northrup who had married Ella Ward. The latter
died in New Jersey when Ellsworth was a child, and the youngest of four
children, of whom two lived. The other, a sister, is now Mrs. Josie E. John-
son, and she resides at Santa Cruz. Soon after his mother's death, his father
moved with his family to Clark County, in northeastern Missouri, and having
been a druggist by profession in New Jersey, he opened a drug store at
Peaksville, Mo. Later, however, he became a farmer; and on his ranch he
died at the age of seventy-seven.
"Cap" Northrup attended the common schools, grew up on a farm, and
was married in Iowa, whither he went when he was twenty-six. He was
twenty-nine when he took Miss Alma J. Washburn for his bride, the lady be-
ing a 'daughter of Ebenezer and Mary Washburn ; and in the meantime he
had been emploved in the powder works at Keokuk and on a farm.
In 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Northrup came west to Laton. His wife's uncle
was the late J. O. Hancock, a prosperous rancher who wrote Ellsworth and
advised him to come to California ; and when he moved west, he brought a
car-load of stock and implements, having made up the contents of his load in
Iowa. He at first bought and improved a piece of forty acres southwest of
Laton, from which he cut 2,000 cords of wood, all of the second growth. This
involved a great deal of hard labor, but the proceeds was enough to pay for
the first cost of the land, and in this way he got the good start which has
ever since spelled prosperity. Anyone visiting the Northrup estate will ob-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1551
serve at once that he is a careful, industrious, and frugal man. He has built
a handsome bungalow and desirable farm buildings and has equipped himself
with whatever he needs. The convenient location of his ranch, at the fork
of the road a short distance west of the town, has also assisted him forward.
There he and his family enjoy the fruits of an industrious and well-ordered
life. There are four children who gather at times around the Northrup fire-
side : Audrey May is the wife of Roy Miller, the rancher at Tranquillity,
and she is the mother of two children ; Eula Lee, Anna Dean, and Glen Arthur
are still under the paternal roof.
Mrs. Northrup was formerly Alma J. Washburn. Her maternal grand-
mother was a Hancock, — an own sister to the above mentioned late J. 0.
Hancock. Mrs. Northrup's mother advanced him the money with which to
come west to California for his health, his life being despaired of. Here he
recuperated and became one of the most prosperous as well as most highly
respected citizens on the Laguna de Tache. It should be mentioned that Mrs.
Northrup is a direct descendant of the immortal John Hancock, signer of
the Declaration of Independence.
The name "Cap" was given our subject by his grandfather while he
was a likable little tot playing about his grandfather's knees.
FRANK REHORN.— A striking example of the value to himself, his
friends and the community in which he lived, of a well-planned and well
rounded-out career, is afforded in the life of Frank Rehorn, the widely-known
contractor and builder, who closed his eyes to this busy world on August
31, 1916. leaving name, fame and a modest fortune. He was born in New
York City on November 18, 1862, the son of H. W. and Margaret (Shields)
Rehorn, and moved to Tennessee with the family, when he was fourteen
years old. His school education was obtained, therefore, in New York and
Tennessee. On attaining to his nineteenth year, he left home and began to
make his way alone. He went to Kansas and then worked at the builders
trade. When twenty-five years old he came to California and settled in
Fresno. Mr. Rehorn's ability for both initiative and fortunate consummation
were soon recognized, and one by one he built the principal houses in the
town. These included the Patterson business and office block, and also the
Fresno Republican and the Telephone buildings.
On November 24, 1890, Mr. Rehorn married Miss Myrtle Conrad, and
in time he built his own beautiful home. A son, Ralph L., is in the Union
National Bank, having graduated from the University of California ; and
•there is a daughter, Helen M. Rehorn.
Frank Rehorn was as exemplary as a Republican, working hard for clean
politics, as he was a model Christian with Protestant preferences. He loved
Masonry and was a good soul with the Shriners, while he also participated
cordially in the social life of the Woodmen of the World and the Elks. When
he came to lay aside earthly cares and earthly pleasures, he was deeply
mourned by all who knew him.
JOHN W. WATKINS. — A recent and valuable addition to the profes-
sional circles of Fresno is found in the person whose name heads this review,
John W. Watkins, the popular attorney and junior member of the law firm of
Burns & Watkins, of Fresno. He is a native of Ralls County, Mo., where he
was born on November 8, 1870. His early education was received in the pub-
lic schools of his native state, and was supplemented by a course at West-
minster College, at Fulton, Mo., which institution he attended for two and
one-half years.
Mr. Watkins' father was an attorney, and it is quite natural that we
find the son, in his early manhood, in his father's office, studying the inter-
esting intricacies of jurisprudence, and by associating with his father absorb-
ing many practical lessons from his extensive experience, which no doubt
John Watkins, the Fresno attorney, finds invaluable today in the prosecution
1552 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of his profession. While living in Missouri, Mr. Watkins was quite active in
politics.
Like all young and vigorous Americans, John, as a young man, was
especially fond of the great American game ; so in 1893 we find him as a
semi-professional ball player in Fresno County, Cal., where for one year he
was a member of the Selma team. He also played ball in the Texas league
and at Jefferson City, Mo., as also through the Middle West.
In 1904, he came again to California, where he was engaged for three
years as a traveling representative of an insurance company.
Mr. Watkins was admitted to the bar in 1911, and became a partner
of his father-in-law, the well-known attorney of Fresno, James A. Burns,
whose life is sketched on another page of this history.
On May 21, 1908, John Watkins was united in marriage with Miss Nan
Burns. The domestic felicity of Mr. and Mrs. Watkins has been greatly
enhanced by the addition to the family of a little daughter, Ann Catherine,
now one year of age.
Fraternally, Mr. Watkins is an Odd Fellow, and is a member of Central
California Lodge No. 343, of Fresno ; he is also past district grand master.
JOHN WESLEY FLY.— A brave old soldier with an enviable war
record, and a citizen equally esteemed for his virtues as a man and father, and
one who is glad and proud to acknowledge in his devoted wife one of the
most loyal and efficient of helpmates, whose influence and foresight have had
much to do with his success, while she has contributed to the betterment
of the community in which she lives, is John Wesley Fly. who was born
near Cassville, Barry County, Mo., in 1844. His grandfather, Jerry Fly, was
born in England and settled in Tennessee ; from which circumstance it hap-
pened that his father, A. P. Fly, was born in Tennessee. The latter married
Miss Rillia Cantrell, a native of Tennessee, who came of Irish ancestors, and
he then moved to Arkansas and finally to Missouri, where he established
himself as a farmer, and in Missouri the good parents died. Fourteen
children made up the family, and John W. and A. L. Fly, two of the sons,
served in the same regiment during the Civil War.
Brought up on a farm, John Wesley enjoyed but limited educational
opportunities at the public school, and on January 3, 1863, demonstrated
his patriotism at Fayetteville, Ark., when he volunteered for service in the
Union Army, and joined Company H, First Missouri Cavalry. He was in the
Battle of Little Rock and also the Battle of Camden, and with his regiment
went through many severe engagements as well as minor skirmishes, stick-
ing to the dear old Flag for two years and nine months, or until the close
of the war, during which time he never received a scratch. In September,
1865, he had the great satisfaction at St. Louis of being honorably dis-
charged from the service.
At the conclusion of the war Mr. Fly came home to the farm, having
also previously, in 1864, had the benefit of a furlough ; and then began
seriously to think of establishing himself in domestic comfort. He had been
engaged for some years to a lady whose family were Southerners, and under
the circumstances, this might have proved a barrier; but she remained true
to him and to the Union, and on June 11, 1864, he was joined in wedlock to
Miss Charioty Clark, a native of Arkansas who was brought up in Missouri,
and a daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Comes) Clark, natives of Tennessee;
she was the eighth child in a family of twelve children, ten of whom are
living.
Mr. and Mrs. Fly engaged in farming in Missouri, and bought a ranch in
Barry County, which promised all they could desire. In 1883, however,
they sold out and moved to Routt County, Colo., where they engaged in the
cattle business. They began at the bottom, and studied the industry
thoroughly, and in time made his brand, 4/5, a trade-mark of enviable value.
They took up land, and for twenty years continued in the cattle business.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1555
When Mr. Fly had reached his fifty-sixth year he broke down in health
and sold his stock, thinking that cessation of labor and responsibility would
contribute to his cure ; but having been advised by physicians to change to
a lower altitude he sold his ranch, and in 1904 came to California. A careful
investigation into the merits of the various sections of the Golden State im-
pressed him with the advantages offered by Fresno County, and here he
bought the place, three-quarters of a mile from Clovis, now widely known
as the result of his management. Originally it contained about fifteen acre's
set to peaches ; but he found that this involved too much care and so he sold
ten acres and retained five for himself. He also found the land unfavorable
for peaches, and cutting down the peach trees he planted the acreage to
sultana grapevines.
Five children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Fly: Fountain E.
is a rancher at Gridley, Cal. ; Miranda has become Mrs. Voice, of Clovis ;
Gertrude, her sister, better known as Mrs. Sellers, lives near by in the same
town ; Ellen is Mrs. Ducy, of the Barstow Colony, in Fresno County ; and
Allie is Mrs. Jones, and lives at International in the same county. The
estimable couple have twenty-two grandchildren and fourteen great-grand-
children. They attend the Methodist Episcopal Church in Clovis, where Mr.
Flv has been for years a member of the official board ; and Mr. Fly is a mem-
ber of Atlanta Post No. 92, G. A. R., at Fresno.
FREDERICK BADER. — An enterprising business man of many-sided
experience, who has contributed valuably to the solution of good-roads prob-
lems, is Frederick Bader, the president and manager of the Warswick Street
Paving Company. As a youth he pursued the usual elementary courses, and
studied mechanical engineering. He followed his profession in St. Louis,
Mo., and afterwards in Philadelphia until he engaged with the Bradford Oil
Company and went abroad to do engineering for them while they were ex-
ploring their lands in Galicia.
On his return to the United States, Mr. Bader came to Butte County,
Cal., in 1885, where he purchased land, and while improving it was in the
employ of the South Feather River Mining Company in the colonization of
their lands. Selling out in 1889, he located in Fresno County and purchased
forty acres near Fowler, which he improved to vineyard. Selling this in
1893, he engaged in merchantile business in Hanford for a time. He then
became interested in the oil business both as a developer of oil and as a
contractor for oil wells, operating in Coalinga and the Kern River field.
About the same time he started contracting -for street paving and incor-
porated the Warswick Street Paving Company, with headquarters in Fresno,
of which he has been president and manager for the last fifteen years. The
company has constructed sixty miles of the State Highway, and has built
eighty miles of paved streets, as well as erected many bridges. This financial
and industrial leadership has made Mr. Bader an influential member of the
Chamber of Commerce and the Merchants' Association.
Mr. Bader was married, in 1909, to Miss Marie Markfelt ; and with his
wife he enjoys the' social life of the Elks.
ROBERT SCOTT. — Preeminent among the cornerstones of commerce
in Selma is the Walter Scott Company, dealers in groceries and hardware,
whose store is at 2014-16 Second Street, under the direction of Robert Scott,
the company's president and manager. His father, the late Walter Scott, was
the founder of the firm and was rated as one of Selma's most important busi-
ness men. A Canadian by birth, he was born at Paris, that country, on
January 24, 1835. and when a young man came to Michigan to work in the
lumber camps. There he married Miss Martha Scott, who, though of the
same name was of no kinship with him, and in 1869, with their first child,
Mary (now the wife of G. W. Woods of Selma), they moved to Lancaster
County, Nebr., where he took up a homestead of 160 acres. He also there
1556 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
availed himself of his preemption and timber-claim rights, and proved up
480 acres in three different tracts near Bennett. He eventually became the
owner of much Nebraska land and engaged extensively in the stock business.
In 1873, the elder Scott diversified his work by engaging in the general
merchandise business at Bennett, Nebr., and soon built up a good trade,
but for three or four years in succession the grasshoppers destroyed crop
after crop and that whole section of the country was devastated, so much so
that even the Indians hurried away to keep from starving. Under the fearful
stress of these awful conditions, Mr. Scott's business was utterly ruined, and
the holder of a mortgage took his homestead, upon which, at great labor and
expense he had put out an extensive apple orchard, one of the first in Lancas-
ter County. This apple orchard contained some very choice fruit trees, which
were sheltered and protected by three rows of cottonwoods. and this Mr.
Scott had to sell in order to save himself. The very next year was an excel-
lent one for apples, and such a bumper crop did the buyer of the homestead
harvest that when he had boxed the apples and shipped them to Lincoln he
was able, from the proceeds, to pay for the entire 160 acres. Mr. Scott had
been a teamster and freighter when he first came to Nebraska, and he hauled
from Nebraska City to the new settlement in Lancaster County before Lin-
coln was founded, and before the Union Railway was in full operation. After
the grasshopper scourge he reengaged in the stock business, and owing to
the plentifulness of free ranges, he prospered ; he bought heavily of rail-
road, school and other lands and was soon on the road to prosperity again.
His next move was to Stromberg, Nebr., where he and his son-in-law. G. W.
Woods, engaged in the general merchandise business for about twelve years.
Eventually they sold out and bade goodby to scenes with which they had
been so closely identified, and came to the Pacific Coast.
Here they settled in the Lewis River Valley, in Washington, and again
engaged in the general merchandise business, at Woodland. Realizing, how-
ever, that that place was too small for him. Mr. Scott made a trip to Central
California, visiting the vicinity of Selma, and he was so well pleased with
all that he saw, and what his prophetic vision enabled him to forecast, that
he bought land for himself and his son-in-law, three miles north of town.
Then, having decided to come to Selma for the purpose of improving his
purchase, he brought from Washington his entire family, and the party
arrived on November 1, 1891. He at once started to improve his ranch, and
a few months later, in March. 1802, started in business as well, buying out
J. F. Hall, of the firm of Ross & Hall, dealers in general merchandise, the
firm becoming Ross & Scott. In 1805. Mr. Ross also sold out to Walter
Scott, and the firm name was changed to Walter Scott & Co. The firm
continued to prosper and business increased so rapidly, that in 1901 the com-
pany was duly incorporated under the name of the Walter Scott Company,
with the following officers: Walter Scott, president; Hattie M. Gill, vice-
president ; Charles Schweandt. secretary ; and Walter G. Scott, treasurer
and manager.
In a side-hill dugout on the homestead near Bennett, Nebr., Walter G.
Scott was born, October 8. 1870, as was also his second sister. Hattie M.,
now the wife of S. H. Gill. Their mother died in Nebraska, and was buried
near Palmyra in that state. The father later married again, taking for his
second wife Mrs. M. J. Mitchell, a widow, her maiden name being Martha J.
Thomas, and by his second wife Mr. Scott had one son. Robert. Mrs. Scott
was the widow of M. J. Mitchell of Nebraska, and she had two sons and one
daughter by her first husband: Mrs. A. E. Williams, of Los Angeles: H. M.
Mitchell, machinist of Hanford ; and Ernest, who died when twenty-one years
of age. On the death of Mr. Scott, in 1000, Mrs. Scott moved to Los Angeles,
and has since made her home there.
Walter G. Scott continued to manage the business until 1906, when he
sold out his interest. Robert Scott and Mrs. Gill continued to conduct the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1557
store under the name of Walter Scott Company until 1914, when they divided
the establishment, Mrs. Gill taking the dry goods and organizing the firm
of S. H. Gill Company (Inc.), and Robert Scott taking the grocery and hard-
ware departments and retaining the firm name of Walter Scott Company.
The present officers of the incorporated company are : President and mana-
ger, Robert Scott; vice-president, Mrs. M. J. Scott, the mother of Robert
Scott; second vice-president, Mrs. Adah Scott, wife of Robert; secretary and
treasurer, Alice S. Bemusdaffer; director, L. L. Cory of Fresno. The firm
occupies a large double store and a large warehouse at the rear, also owning
and operating still another large warehouse.
Robert Scott was born in Selma, February 2, 1893, and attended the
public and high school of his native town, later taking a course at Heald's
Business College at Los Angeles, graduating from that institution in 1910.
He early began to work in his father's store, first as messenger and delivery
boy, then clerk, and finally rising to the position of president and manager
of the establishment, and now devotes his time to the business his father
founded. Fraternally he is a member of the Native Sons, and past president
of the Selma Parlor. He is an active member of the California Raisin Grow-
ers Association and also of the California Peach Growers, Inc.
The marriage of Robert Scott, which occurred in Los Angeles, in 1911,
united him with Miss Adah C. Conklin, of that city, and one child has been
born to them, Norman Hugh. On September 4, 1917, Robert Scott volun-
teered in the Lmited States Navy for service during the World War ; he
trained for two months at Goat Island, then was ordered to Norfolk, Va.,
where he studied and trained as chief gunner in the Ordnance Department
for three months, graduated, and was appointed instructor of recruits, which
position he held four months, then was transferred to Washington, D. C,
remained there until December, 1918, when he was sent back to Goat Island,
and received his honorable discharge on December 24, 1918, and arrived
home on Christmas eve.
WILLIAM C. FREELAND.— The cashier of the allied banks, the
First National Bank and the Selma Savings Bank, of Selma, William C.
Freeland, is known among his associates as a financier of ability and a man
of unimpeachable integrity, possessed of force of character and good executive
ability. Self-made, he has worked his way up from a clerkship to the highest
place in the active operation of Selma's foremost financial institution. While
Selma claims him as one of her boys, he was born in Ayrshire, Scotland,
March 28, 1877, and came to America with his parents, James and Mary A.
(Cunningham) Freeland, when he was a lad ten years of age. His father, a
blacksmith by trade, lived in Soquel, Santa Cruz County, from 1887 to 1890,
and in the latter year came to Selma, where he died, in 1895. His mother is
living in Selma. and became the wife of the late John G. S. Arrants, of Selma.
William C. Freeland received his primary education in the schools of
Scotland, completing it in the public schools of Santa Cruz County and
Selma, graduating from the Selma high school with the class of 1895. He
acquired bookkeeping in the high school and was afterwards with the Selma
branch of the Kutner-Goldstein Company in the capacity of bookkeeper for
a year and a half. A vacancy occurring in the clerkship of the First National
Bank in 1897, he took the position and gradually worked himself up until
in 1905 he became cashier. Of excellent judgment, and unusually swift and
accurate as a cashier, he has held the position up to the present time with
credit to himself and the bank.
In 1902, Mr. Freeland was united in marriage with Miss Joanna Heaton,
daughter of Joseph and Margaret A. Heaton of Selma. He is the owner of
one hundred acres two miles east of Selma which is planted to peaches, apri-
cots, and Muscat and Thompson seedless grapes. A Presbyterian in his reli-
gious convictions, he is a member and chairman of the board of trustees of
1558 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the church of that denomination at Selma. Fraternally he is prominent in
Masonic circles. He is a member of the Blue Lodge Chapter in Selma and
of the Commandery at Fresno. He is a Scottish Rite and Thirty-second De-
gree Mason, and a member of Islam Temple at San Francisco. He is also
a member of the Selma Lodge of W. O. W., the largest lodge in Selma.
For eight years Mr. Freeland was a member of the Board of Trustees
of the City of Selma and for four years of that time was chairman of the
board. For the past five years he has been City Treasurer. He and his good
wife are highly respected in business, social and church circles in Selma.
SELMA NATIONAL BANK AND FARMERS SAVINGS BANK OF
SELMA. — Among the banking institutions of Selma which have given the
city an impetus and placed business on a solid foundation, are the two allied
banks, the Selma National Bank and the Farmers' Savings Bank of Selma.
The younger of the two institutions, the Selma National Bank, was estab-
lished January 2, 1913. These banks have the same officers and directors
and do business in the same building and office.
Centrally located, with roomy space, beautiful furniture and bank fix-
tures, ample vaults and perfect appointments, together with the gentlemanly
attention their patrons receive, these banks are rapidly forging to the front.
Their aim, to render their patrons every service and accommodation consist-
ent with sound finance, has won the confidence of the entire community,
among whom their officials are known to be the most substantial and suc-
cessful men of Selma, whose personal integrity and business ability are
beyond question. Under the efficient management of their officers — W. T.
Forkner, president ; Edward Poulson, vice-president ; C. W. Christensen,
cashier; Milton Allison, assistant cashier; and Directors W. T. Forkner,
Edward Poulson, Scott Manlove, E. S. Hobler, H. S. Hulbert, Dr. F. H.
Williams and C. W. Christensen — the banks are rapidly gaining in deposits
and volume of business, and are of great assistance in the transaction of the
heavy business of the celebrated fruit section of Selma.
Thev have a combined working capital of $100,000, combined deposits
of $600,000. and combined resources of $750,000.
E. MELVIN JOHNSTON, D.D.S.— In professional life as well as in
other lines of business Fresno is well represented by native sons. E. Melvin
Johnston is one of these. Born in Fresno, October 22, 1887, he attended the
grammar and high schools of his native city, graduating from the Fresno
High in 1907. He had set his mind on a course in college and in order to
secure funds to do so he went into the oil fields in Kern County to earn the
necessary money. In the fall of that year he entered Vanderbilt University
at Nashville, Tenn.. where he remained for a year studying dentistry. He
then returned to Fresno and became an assistant in the office of B. B. Cory
and remained two years, when he returned to his Alma Mater for another
year of study. Young Johnston was energetic and industrious and anxious
to complete his course and in consequence he once more came back home and
found employment with the San Joaquin & Eastern Railroad Company at
construction work for six months. With his earnings he then entered the
College of Physicians & Surgeons in San Francisco and was graduated from
the dental department in 1912 with the degree of D.D.S. His first location
was in San Luis Obispo where he was an assistant in the office of Dr. O. M,
Polin for eighteen months. With his several years of practical experience,
Dr. Johnston felt able to launch out for himself and in January, 1914, he re-
turned to Fresno and opened an office and began to build up an independent
practice and to reap the returns he knew awaited him.
The war in Europe made a change in the plans of this rising dentist and
on Tanuary 10, 1918. Dr. Johnston was commissioned First Lieutenant in
the Dental Reserve Corpsof the United States Army. On June 6 of that
year he was called into active service and ordered to report at the dental
officers training camp at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. After two months' training
C . /'^^^^T^/iy-^S^^-c^^'^^r
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1561
he was assigned to Camp Grant, 111., where he had charge of the dental
work of the Eight Hundred Twelfth Infantry. From there he received over-
seas orders as Dental Surgeon of Base Hospital No. 75. He arrived at
Hoboken on November 11, the day thearmistice was signed and remained in
that city five and one-half weeks before he received his honorable dis-
charge. Dr. Johnston returned to Fresno and on December 25, 1918, opened
new offices in the Forsyth Building and resumed his practice. He was the
only dentist from Fresno who saw more than four months' active service in
the army.
Dr. Johnston was united in marriage with Miss Ethel L. Thomas of
San Francisco, and they have one son, E. Melvin, Jr., of whom both parents
are justly proud. But for the fact that the child was two pounds over-weight
he would have ranked as a one hundred percent, perfect baby. During the
service of Dr. Johnston in the army he had his wife and son with him at
the different camps until he received orders for overseas duty, when they
returned to California.
Dr. Johnston has been prominent in his profession and served as presi-
dent of the San Joaquin Valley Dental Association for one year. He is now
serving as councilman to the California State Dental Association as the repre-
sentative of the San Joaquin district. He attended the meeting of the Na-
tional Dental Association held in Chicago in August, 1918, and while there
he was a member of the company that gave an exhibition drill before the
Association and was reviewed by Major General Gorgas, Surgeon General
U. S. A. and Brig. General Noble, U. S. A. Dr. Johnston is second vice-
president of Fresno Parlor, N. S. G. W. ; is a member of the University
Club of Fresno ; and is a charter member of the "World's War Veterans and
a member of the local executive committee.
WARREN SANFORD MUNGER.— An enterprising viticulturist,
famed both for his own success and for his activity in promoting movements
for the building up of the County, is Warren Sanford Munger, than whom
few if any so well deserve a large circle of friends — Mr. Munger's agreeable
personality drawing many to him. He was born near Paw Paw, Van Buren
County, Mich., on March 11, 1870. the grandson of Luke Munger, who was
born near Canton, Ohio, settled in Michigan as a farmer and died there. His
father was Lafayette Munger, a native of Boston and a naval constructor
who came west to Ohio and made his home there. Warren's father, A. M.
Munger, was a farmer and merchant at Schoolcraft, Mich., who engaged in
the hardware and implement trade, and was also a stockman and drover.
While in Michigan he was married to Olivia Corey, a native of Ohio, who
was born in Van Buren County and became a pioneer of Michigan.
In 1889 Mr. Munger came to California, settling for a couple of years
in San Francisco, and two years later he removed to Fresno County, where
he bought a ranch on White's Bridge road, near Johnson. He made numer-
ous improvements, laid out the forty acres as a vineyard, and resided there
until 1901. Then he sold out and removed to Ignatia Valley, Contra Costa
County, where he set out one of the first and finest walnut orchards in the
state. Now he resides in Oakland, still actively looking after his orchard,
and each year celebrating, as a hale and hearty man of seventy-six, his
far-away birthday — February 7, 1842. Mrs. Munger died in 1877, the mother
of three children : The eldest was Charles E., a mechanic, who died in North
Dakota; then came the subject of our review; and the youngest is Al Mun-
ger, of Fresno.
Educated in the common and high schools of his neighborhood, Warren
became a graduate of the Morgan Park Business College of Chicago, after
which he entered the employ of the Grand Trunk Railroad, and for six
years was assistant train dispatcher at Schoolcraft. In 1891 he obtained a
furlough and came to Fresno County for the summer; and although he sub-
sequently returned to Schoolcraft and continued with the Grand Trunk until
1562 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
1896, what he had seen of the wonderful opportunities afforded by Central
California was a revelation that he never forgot.
Having permanently resigned from the railway service, Mr. Munger
made haste to remove to California and bought forty acres of his present
place, effecting the transaction with his brother Al as a partner. A year
later, he bought his brother out, and then he continued alone to make ex-
tensive improvements on the place. He built a handsome residence and good
outbuildings, and since then he has bought twenty acres adjoining. Now
his sixty acres, at the corner of Belmont and Johnson Avenues, constitute
one of the choice ranches, of its size, in the county. Mr. Munger also
owns forty acres on Belmont Avenue, two and a half miles to the west.
This property he has improved, fenced and 'cross-fenced, and sown to
alfalfa and grain ; and he has installed a fine pumping-plant — one of the
first in that section. He was one of the builders and is now the owner
of the Forsey warehouse at Forsey station. The main Munger ranch is
about four miles west of Fresno, and there the sixty acres is devoted to
vineyards, with a pretty and profitable border of figs. Muscat and Thomp-
son seedless grapes flourish under the direction of the experienced viticul-
turist. From the time when the first efforts were made to form a raisin asso-
ciation here Mr. Munger supported the movement: and he is today active
in the California Associated Raisin Company.
At Schoolcraft, April 17. 1895, Mr. Munger was married to Miss Nellie
M. Kohl, a native of the old Kalamazoo County, by whom he has had two
children. Dorris is a graduate of Fresno High School, and Duane is the
younger. "While in the East, also, Mr. Munger was made a Mason, joining
the F. & A. M. order at Schoolcraft.
A Republican in national politics, Mr. Munger served for many years as
a member of state and county committees. He has also done good civic duty
as a school trustee of the McKinley school district, where he has been clerk
of the board, and as a member of grand juries, sometimes acting as chairman.
In business circles Mr. Munger is quite as favorably known as a man of
affairs, being interested in particular in the Pacific National Fire Insurance
Company, of which he has been for some time a director.
JOHN SHAFER. — It would be difficult, perhaps, to find a more profit-
able subject for entertaining study than the lives of those early pioneers who,
having set out for a promised land and weathered all the obstacles and ad-
versities' of a stormy career, lived to participate in the founding and develop-
ment of the great commonwealth of the Golden State, and thereby entered
into a reward for their toil and good works not always granted even the
most meritorious. Among such Americans of the enviable class may well
be enumerated John Shafer, now deceased, a man of insight and great force
of character, who was born at Everett, Bedford County. Pa., then called
Bloody Run. on February 14, 1824. He grew up in Pennsylvania, attending
the first public schools of his section, and himself taught school for several
vears in Bedford County. The Shafers, of most respectable German origin,
had lived in Pennsylvania from early Colonial times, and members of the
Shafer family still dwell in the house made of heavy solid red cedar logs
where John Shafer was born. He became a drover, and bought and sold
cattle for an important firm in the East. In their interest, he went to Texas.
Arizona and New Mexico, purchased cattle for the market, and drove them
to Philadelphia and New York before there were any railroads in the
Southwest.
In 1852. he tame across the great plains, as captain of an ox team train
that outfitted on the Missouri River, and he walked most of the way and
was three months in crossing the continent. Arriving in California the same
fall. Mr. Shafer bought swamp and overflow land on the Sacramento River,
and cut off the timber for wood for the steamboats plying from Sacramento
to San Francisco, before the advent of railroads ; and when food and pro-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1563
visions were scarce, he planted the cleared land to vegetables, and went in
for truck farming as onions, etc. sold for fifty cents apiece, later putting his
application to the cultivation of grain, alfalfa, apples and fruit, being one of
the first to engage in the important industry of market gardening in the
Sacramento Valley.
On February 22. 1860, John Shafer was married at Stockton to Miss
Matilda Thankful Humphrey, a native of Rochester, N. Y.. who had been
reared in Michigan. She crossed the plains in 1854 with her parents in an
ox team, and like her husband, walked nearly all the way. Four children
blessed their union. The eldest is W. H. Shafer, the civil engineer at Selma,
a leader in his profession, who has long been connected with irrigation proj-
ects in Fresno County, and whose life is elsewhere sketched in detail in this
work. The second in the order of birth is the physician and surgeon, J. E.
Shafer, of 2815 Woolsey Street, Berkeley. He was born at Stockton on Sep-
tember 28. 1863, and passed his boyhood in Sacramento County, where he
attended the public schools. Later, he taught school in different parts of
California and then studied medicine, and was graduated from the Hahne-
mann Medical College at San Francisco, a member of the Class of '97; in
1889 he was married in Santa Barbara County to Miss Jennie Harman, by
whom he has had three children. Since then he has lived in and practiced at
Berkeley. The third son is Frank E. Shafer, the retired oil man, who is resi-
dent in Pasadena. The youngest child was John A. Shafer, who died, un-
married, when he was twenty-one years of age.
John Shafer was a public-spirited, high-minded man, and it is not sur-
prising that the Shafers have become among the most illustrious of Cali-
fornia pioneers. He organized the first reclamation district and built the
first levee on Brannan Island; in 1873. He was particularly interested in
public schools, and erected the first school house on that island, forty miles
below Sacramento. He stayed in Sacramento County from 1852 to 1882,
when he moved to the Mendocino district in Fresno County, and there
bought a farm of 160 acres, the McClanahan place. Later, he purchased
railroad lands in the same vicinity, which he also improved, planting grain
and alfalfa, and afterwards vines and trees. He became well-to-do, but not
rich, and was influential, so that his death — from an accidental injury — on
December 7. 1893, seven months after the demise of his devoted wife, on
May 6, 1893, was widely and sincerely deplored. He left in his descendants
men and women of virility and force of character, a brainy family with a
proper appreciation of historical detail, as one might expect of pioneer blood,
and a strong grasp on the essentials of business procedure.
F. G. LADD. — A native son of the Golden West is F. G. Ladd who was
born at Stockton, April 6, 1862. His father, Ira W. Ladd, a native of Ver-
mont, came via the Isthmus of Panama about 1852 to California where he fol-
lowed ranching, teaming and saw-milling. He was married in Stockton to
Miss Emily J. Sutherland, a native of New York state. Her father. Jacob
Sutherland moved to Chicago and then, about 1851, brought his family across
the plains in wagons drawn by ox teams. Ira W. Ladd teamed from Stockton
into the Sierra Mountains and into Nevada. He was a good driver, having at
times twenty-two mules in a team. He afterwards farmed on a ranch near
Stockton, and here he died in 1916, his wife having preceded him in 1908.
They had a family of four children. F. G was the only son and he received a
good education. He chose farming for his life work, and went to work at
ranching. In Stockton he married Miss Ella Learned, born in Alameda
County, the daughter of D. A. Learned, born in Oxford, Mass.. who crossed
the plains to California in the fall of 1850. After mining in Siskiyou County
for a time he went to Idaho where he also mined and then returned to Cali-
fornia, engaging in dairying in San Lorenzo, Alameda County. He was mar-
ried in San Francisco to Gennis D. Hall, born in Chester Countv, Pa., who
1564 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
came via the Isthmus of Panama to California in 1860. D. A. Learned and
his wife later moved to San Joaquin County and farmed east of Stockton
and there they spent their last days.
In 1886, F. G. Ladd came to Fresno County and became a pioneer home-
steader and grain-grower of the Cantua district. Mr. and Mrs. Ladd had
three children. Elmer is ranching in San Joaquin County; Georgia died at
fifteen years of age; and Fred is ranching near the old home. Mr. Ladd is
an enterprising man and has been an upbuilder of the county. Fraternally.
he is a member of Coalinga Lodge No. 187, I. O. O. F., and is also a member
of the Hanford Encampment of Odd Fellows. Mr. Ladd is a well read and
much travelled man and is an interesting and instructive talker.
NEHEMIAH W. STEWARD. — A life of well-directed toil, inspired
by the principles of the Golden Rule, is exemplified in Nehemiah W. Steward,
who came to Selma over a score of years ago and at once established himself
in his present business, and who is today one of Selma's best-known and
most highly respected business men. He was born in York County. Pa.,
the son of I. M. Steward, a native of that State, who married Hannah Urey,
also a Pennsvlvanian. The former came from English and Welsh blood:
the latter of good old German stock. Nehemiah's boyhood was passed on
his father's farm, and there, at an early age. he began to work hard, to learn
to plow, and to do many other useful things.
In 1873. the lad moved with his parents to Iowa, and there he reached
his majoritv. From his fourteenth year he had taken charge of his father's
fifty-seven acres in Pennsylvania, while his father, who was a mechanic,
worked at his trade; and now that his father' found it more profitable to do
skilled manual labor, Nehemiah continued to farm. Thrown on his own
responsibility not merely for himself but in the care of the business of
others, the young man soon developed that shrewd business sense which he
has since displayed. Hearing that there were free homestead lands in York
County, Nebr., Mr. Steward left the Hawkeye State when he was twenty-
one, and took up 160 acres in the new country. He also set to work to im-
prove it and he built a neat home there. His parents migrated with him and
shared his home ; but from that time he was head of the farming operations.
Four children there were in the family, one having died in infancy;
and one of them, now Mrs. George Rickard, resides on a ranch a mile south
of Selma.
As soon as possible, Mr. Steward proved up on his fine little homestead,
and having continued to make improvements on the farm, he tilled the land
and lived upon it nine years. Then he moved still farther westward, and
eventually settled in California, first choosing Santa Cruz County. For five
years he ran a pack train for the Santa Clara Valley Mill and Lumber Com-
pany, and then moved back to York County, Nebr., resumed farming and put
in another seven years.
"Once a Californian, always a Californian," however, proved true with
Mr. Steward, as it has with so many thousands of other pioneers, and selling
out, he came again to the Coast, and this time pitched his tent at Oakland,
where he lived a year and a half. In 1896, he came to Selma for the first
time. He continued to own and rent out his farm of 160 acres until four
years ago when he returned to Nebraska and sold the property. He re-
ceived the fancv figure of $100 dollars an acre, and taking the proceeds, he
reinvested in twenty acres of highly improved land three miles east of Selma,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1567
planted with Thompson's seedless and now in full bearing. Since then Air.
Steward has acquired another ranch of twenty-four acres six miles south
of Selma, a considerable portion of which is in peaches. He also owns 100
acres in the eastern part of Riverside County, and he has an undivided
quarter interest in 360 acres at Bowles, Cal., which he and John C.
Rorden, M. Vincent and C. C. Snyder have improved and own jointly, it
being so successfully planted to trees and vines that, as full bearing land,
it is now a valuable estate. Besides, he owns his store building at 1814 East
Front Street, Selma, where he has transacted business for the past twenty-
four years, and in addition, he owns some superior Selma residence property.
While he was in Nebraska, during the Centennial year, Mr. Steward was
married to Miss Susan Brown, an native of Pennsylvania, who died at Selma
in 1911, the mother of six children. Five of these grew up and four are still
living: Mrs. Lillie M. Ballard resides at Selma; Charles is married and in
the piano business at Selma ; Lee is a partner in Byron & Steward, grocers,
of Selma ; Willie is a farmer near Selma ; while Mrs. J. L. Hamilton passed
away in the same town.
Mr. Steward comes of sturdy lineage, three of his forebears having
passed the age of one hundred. His father lived to be ninety-eight years,
six months and five days, and his mother was eighty-two years old when
she died. Mr. Steward when resident in Nebraska joined the United Breth-
ren Church, and ever since has been a consistent member of that church
and has served as trustee. He is also a public-spirited citizen who believes
in associating the church with all the general movements looking to the
uplift of the community. He is a member of the Workman of Selma, the
Degree of Honor, the Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Aid. Mr.
Steward enjoys the esteem, confidence and good-will of his fellow men.
JOHN C. RORDEN.— It is brain and brawn, together with the ad-
vantages of soil and climate, that have placed the Selma district of the San
Joaquin Valley in the front rank. It is through the efforts of such leaders
as John C. Rorden, president and manager of the Selma Land Company,
Inc., that the city of Selma, with all her natural advantages of soil, climate
and beauty of situation, has reached the zenith she has attained.
John C. Rorden was born May 28, 1864, on the Island of Fohr, near
Schleswig. At the early age of fourteen he began a seafaring life, working
at that vocation for the munificent sum of four dollars per month, as a sailor
before the mast on a sailing vessel starting from Greenock, Scotland. He
followed the calling of the sea for four years, and in that time visited the
principal English, Scottish and North European ports, as well as the princi-
pal ports of North and South America, doubling Cape Horn four times.
Travel is a liberal education in itself and doubtless his early life left its
impress on his mentality, broadening his viewpoint and strengthening his
determination to make the most of his natural ability.
No place in all his travels appealed to him as did California, and at the
age of nineteen he renounced a seafaring life and became a resident of the
Golden State, where he has since made his home. He is now one of the most
highly respected and prosperous citizens of Selma. From small beginnings
he has advanced steadily — from sailor, lumber-jack, cook and barber, to finally
become a foremost real-estate man. In 1883, when he first settled in Cali-
fornia, he worked in a lumber mill in Mendocino County. He was taken
seriously ill with diphtheria while there and after his recovery went to San
Francisco where he worked in a restaurant on Third Street. In 1885 he
came to Fresno and accepted a position in the Grand Central barber shop
on Mariposa Street. In 1888 he came to Selma and from 1888 to 1901 was
proprietor of a barber shop in that city. He is now president and manager
of the Selma Land Company, whose offices are in the busy center of the city,
on the ground floor in the Selma Land Companies Building on Second Street.
1568 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
The Selma Land Company was organized in 1900 and was then a partner-
ship owned by Walter L. Chapel. W. McClurg and W. McDaniels. Mr.
Rorden was induced to buy out two of the partners, later becoming sole
owner of the business which has continued as a corporation. Its present
officers are John C. Rorden, president and manager; Georgia Rorden, vice-
president, and Bert Statham. secretary.
John C. Rorden is a booster who has promoted Selma by taking un-
improved land, subdividing, planting, and inducing settlement by the right
kind of people, in the favored section known as "Selma, the Home of the
Peach." He has also been interested in organizing the raisin-growers and
peach-growers of Selma. His first venture was the purchase and sub-
division of a 960-acre tract near Caruthers. He has bought, subdivided and
successfullv disposed of 320 acres near Selma, preparing it for the settler
and selling on easy terms. He managed the subdividing of a tract of 880
acres for the Selma Improvement Company in the usual satisfactory and
successful way. He is a leading man and official in the California Peach
Growers, Inc., which he helped organize. He has twice visited his native
country since coming to Fresno County. His' parents are now dead.
Mr. Rorden has built several residences in Selma and sold them. To ac-
commodate the rapidly increasing demand for homes in this fast growing
community, he is now. 1919, building six new bungalows. He recently
purchased two blocks on North McCall Avenue, which will be called Rorden's
Stucco Addition. It is one of the most available as well as desirable resi-
dence locations of Selma. It will be a restricted district and is finding
favor among discriminating buyers of homes. Mr. Rorden is erecting these
houses in units of six, and will continue to build and sell until the tract is
fully built up. Perhaps no man in Selma or Southern Fresno County has a
larger circle of friends. He is a square-dealer and delights in serving and
benefitting his fellow men.
I Hi May 28, 1890, Mr. Rorden was married in Selma to Miss Georgia
Levis, bora in AYiseonsin, the result of the union being three daughters.
Dora. Cleo. and Helen. The family resides in the comfortable, commodious
and homelike residence which Mr. Rorden owns at 2324 Selma Street. In
his political views Mr. Rorden is a Democrat and an ardent and patriotic
supporter of the administration and its war measures.
LYMAN L. DAVENPORT.— The pioneer of auto electrics in Fresno,
Lyman L. Davenport, vice-president of the Electric Laboratories. Inc.. is prob-
ably the best informed man in- this line of work in the entire San Joaquin
Valley. He is a specialist and an expert in the business.
Mr. Davenport was born in Dewitt County, 111., October 31, 1861. His
father was engaged in the manufacture of brick and tile, and Lyman L.
studied steam engineering and was engineer in his father's tile plant at
Waynesville, 111., for about seven years. He afterwards followed the vocation
of steam engineering in other parts of Dewitt County, and also in McLean
County, 111. For one year he was assistant engineer at the Illinois State Re-
formatory at Pontiac, 111., and for thirteen years lived in Bloomington, 111.,
where he followed the vocation of steam and gas engineering and machine
work, becoming an expert machinist. AYhile in this connection he became
familiar with electric storage batteries, and with years of experience he be-
came an expert in this line of work also.
May 2. 1003, he came to Fresno County, Cal., where he continued to
work at his trade. Later he was engineer in the Chaddock Packing House.
In 1905 he became associated with 'Waterman Brothers as auto electric spe-
cialist, and had charge of their electric storage batteries for several years.
In 1013 he formed a partnership with C. W. Reiser under the firm name of
Davenport & Keiser, and opened an electric shop at 1242 Van Ness Avenue.
In the spring of 1917, at the opening of the war, Mr. Keiser joined the United
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1569
States Navy, and the firm sold out to the Electric Laboratories. Inc., and Mr.
Davenport secured capital to finance the corporation in order to take care of
the greatly increasing business. In the summer of 1918 a site was secured
and the modern building that is now the home of the Electric Laboratories,
Inc., at 1347 Van Ness Avenue, was built. It is one of the largest, most up-
to-date battery and auto electrical repair and testing plants in the state. Its
owners are dominated by the one thought — the best and most efficient service
for their patrons.
For thirty-five years Mr. Davenport has been a member of Prairie State
Lodge, No. 104, I. O. O. F., at Waynesville, 111. For many years he was a
member of the National Association of Stationary Engineers, and he was a
delegate at two national conventions, one at Rochester, N. Y., and another
at Milwaukee, Wis.
His marriage united him with Miss Cora Mattocks, a fair daughter of
Illinois. The children born of the union are: Clyde L., manager of the
Electric Laboratories, Inc., at Fresno; Elmo M. ; and Hazel May, a native
daughter of the Golden State, born in the city of Fresno.
In their religious associations the Davenports are members of the First
Methodist Church at Fresno.
JAMES MURRAY NIDIFFER.— Four miles west of Laton, about one-
quarter of a mile off from Mt. Whitney Avenue, is the home of James Mur-
ray Nidiffer, one of the oldest pioneers of the Laguna de Tache. He came
to the "Grant" July 8, 1878, and has been actively and extensively engaged
in the cattle-business and in farming ever since. He and his good wife live
very unostentatiously. Their experiences reach back to the days when the
Laguna de Tache was being operated on a very large scale by competent and
influential people, who were English and American and who applied up-to-
date American business principles, and raised the stock business on the
Laguna to a plane of real dignity and sound financial successes, undreamed
of by the native inhabitants of the celebrated Spanish grant.
The occupants of the Nidiffer home are cultured and well informed, de-
spite the fact that the boyhood days of its proprietor were passed under con-
ditions of poverty and a general absence of educational advantages which in
some portions of the South followed in the wake of the great Civil War.
James Murray Nidiffer was the eleventh child of a family of twelve chil-
dren of whom six were boys and of whom eleven grew up to maturity. He
was born in Carter County, Tenn., on May 13, 1857. His parents were John
and Margaret (Jenkins) Nidiffer, both East Tennesseeans, who scorned the
idea of slavery. When the father prayed "Give us this day our daily bread"
his supplication went up to God, free from all desire to eat the "other fel-
low's" bread, although the other's skin might be black. He worked and sweat
at the forge, in the iron region of Tennessee, and in common with a majority
of its mountaineers he resolved that this nation should not remain half slave
and half free, and it must be said to the everlasting credit of Carter County
that it remained loyal to the Union. But Tennessee as a state seceded, and
the strifes, contentions and ravages of war, which obtained in that district,
can be more easily imagined than described. The father died in 1863 and the
courage and nobility of the mother in keeping together and rearing the fam-
ily under these trying circumstances were commendable indeed. It goes with-
out saying that our subject as a boy had to knuckle down to real work. His
education was confined to the rudimentary schools of his district, for a short
time during winters. It is only by wide reading and extensive business ex-
periences, extending over many years, that he came to be the well-informed
man that he is. Five of the Nidiffer brothers and sisters now live in Califor-
nia. Besides the subject of this review, these are: Mrs. Eliza Hodgdon. a
widow residing in Fresno ; Mrs. Tilda Lewis, also a widow, residing on a
ranch three and a half miles southeast of Lemoore ; Perkins Nidiffer, a well-
1570 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
to-do rancher of the same place ; and Mrs. Laura Hansen also a widow, who
resides in Fresno.
While yet a boy, our subject moved with his mother to Council Grove,
Morris County, Kans., and from nine to ten years of age rode the trail, driving
cattle which had been brought up by Simcox-Terwilliger & Company, bank-
ers and cattlemen, from Wichita, Kans., to Missouri. These cattle had been
raised in the Indian Nation and were of the Spanish long-horn variety.
He, therefore, lived the life of the real cowboy, and he there learned the
business very thoroughly, an accomplishment which later was the means of
securing him a good position on the Laguna de Tache Grant.
He received letters from some friends at Yisalia, Cal., and in consequence
was taken with the idea of coming to California. In company with his brother,
Perkins Nidiffer, he came out and stepped off the train at Visalia, on April
16. 1875. He went to work immediately on a Tulare County ranch for $45
per month. Later he entered the employ of John Creighton who during the
term of the employment sold 1.100 head of cattle to Granville Furnish,
who was then the buyer for Poley Heilborn & Company, who at
that time held the Laguna de Tache Grant under lease with the right to
buy. Being an adept with the lariat, young Nidiffer was sent up, by Mr.
Creighton, to "vent" the cattle, — a branding operation that served the practi-
cal purposes of a bill of sale, with the additional advantage of a positive
means of identification. Poley Heilbron & Company were so well pleased
with him and his work that they engaged him in their employ on the Grant.
This resulted in a fifteen years' engagement with the firm, and he was soon
placed in full charge of their cattle department. He looked after the fences
as well as the cattle. It is therefore safe to say that he knows all about the
soil and other conditions of the great Laguna de Tache country, having
been over every portion of it, before it was divided up. He well remembers
the building of the stately "Grant House" which still raises its majestic two
and a half stories, on Mount Whitney Avenue, about three miles west of
Laton. It was built by Jeremiah Clark, in the year 1879.
During the time of his employment with Poley Heilbron & Company,
Mr. Nidiffer was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Canaday, originally
from Sedalia, Mo., where she was born and reared, the event being solem-
nized on June 4, 1883.
Later on there were several transfers and changes in the ownership of
the "Laguna" which we cannot go into in this review: but S. C. Lillis, after
whom Lillis station was named, had become interested in the Poley Heilbron
& Company concern, and in the early '90s, he and our subject secured a lease
on 18.000 acres of the Grant and succeeded to the cattle business, and for the
next eight years ran on an average of 6,000 head of cattle on the Laguna.
Lillis and Nidiffer branched out, became the owners of 42,00 acres of range
land, bought and sold cattle on a large scale, and became the third largest
cattlemen on the Pacific coast at that time. After eight years of the Lillis-
Nidiffer partnership, Mr. Nidiffer bought out Mr. Lillis' interest in the cattle
and lease. He had just brought up 6.300 cattle for the firm, which he had
bought in Nevada. He was really in very good financial circumstances at
that time, having SI 15.000 in gold coin: a 320-acre stock ranch in Madera
County, and other property. But four months after becoming the sole owner he
met with a severe reverse. The dreaded cattle disease, known as "Anthrax"
broke out and took the major portion of his herd. Of the number that
survived the scourge he sold 1.600 head for $5 per head less than he had paid
for them at Winnemucca. Nev., from six to nine months before. Pie suffered
a loss of $63,000. He has remained in business and paid his debts, 100 cents
on the dollar, but the loss was a severe blow.
In 1898, there were still other changes in the ownership and management
of the Laguna de Tache. Nares and Saunders then became the selling agents
for the great English syndicate which owned it. The cattle business was
A/I#uaAjA?Q
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1573
then dwindling before the oncoming agriculturist, dairyman and fruit-raiser
on the small irrigated farm, and Mr. Nidiffer himself bought the sixty acres
which now constitute his home-ranch. Later he bought forty acres two
miles to the north, on Murphy Slough, which he still owns. In addition to this
he is leasing fourteen sections of range, in the Coast Range section of Fresno
County, a part of this being government range and a part deeded land. He
is still conservatively engaged in the cattle business, owning 200 head at the
present time, and has been in the cattle business on his own account ever
since he bought out S. C. Lillis.
Few men have raised, bought, sold and handled as many cattle as has Mr.
Nidiffer. Soon after the Anthrax epidemic he became a buyer for Miller &
Lux, and for the next six years bought extensively in Western Texas, Old
and New Mexico and Arizona. After that he bought for the J. G. James Com-
pany. He has a very extensive acquaintance among cattlemen in Mexico, as
well as in the mountain states and in California, especially in the states of
Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico, where he and his former partner were ex-
tensively interested.
Reviewing Mr. Nidiffer's career, one is forcefully reminded of Jacob of
old, who according to sacred history, kept cattle on ten thousand Judean
hills. It would be safe to assert that Mr. Nidiffer would run the revered
patriarch a close second if indeed he would not excel him.
Mr. and Mrs. Nidiffer are exponents of the simple life. They observe
the old rules and virtues and strive to keep up to the standard of the Golden
Rule. They are consistent Republicans and stand for the square deal in busi-
ness and politics.
FLOYD L. R. BURKS, M.D.— It would be a strange thing if the recent
World War did not bring in its wake some decided blessings, and an indication
of the advancement of science through human experience is afforded in the
return from Europe and the fields of conflict of Dr. Floyd L. R. Burks, the
physician of whose surgical skill Fresno had already been proud. His father
was William Tillman Burks, a practicing physician well known to old-timers
in Fresno, and from association with him the lad inherited his father's bent.
Dr. William Burks had married Miss Annie Williams, daughter of Richard
and Elizabeth (Cocking) Williams, natives of England who were early settlers
of Fresno, and from her superior character the lad Floyd received the most
ennobling impulses. He was born at Fresno, on August 4, 1883, and was
educated at the local grammar and high schools.
After a pre-medical course of a very thorough .nature in San Francisco,
Mr. Burks entered Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, from which
he was graduated with the Class of '08, when he received his M. D. degree.
Then he served as interne at the Fresno County Hospital. He joined the
American Medical Association, the State Medical Association and the County
Medical Society, and opened a suite of well-equipped offices in the Forsyth
Building at Fresno, where his fast-increasing practice soon necessitated two
skilled assistants. His previous experience for three years as Emergency
Hospital surgeon had contributed to that public confidence essential for one
wishing to stand as a specialist in such an important field as surgery.
In April, 1918, Dr. Burks made application for a commission in the medi-
cal department of the United States Army, and reported for service on July
31. Then he was made lieutenant, and sent to Camp Kearney; after which
he was ordered to Camp Shelby, in Mississippi, to join Evacuation Hospital
No. 33. In September, he was promoted and commissioned captain, and was
sent overseas in November. He was fortunate in having service at Rimau-
court Base Hospital center, and then at Vichy. On completion of his services
there, he requested his discharge in France ; and this having been granted
him by the authorities, he went to England to study at the leading hospitals,
after which he returned to Fresno and resumed his practice.
1574 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In San Francisco, Dr. Burks was married on September 2, 1911, to
Miss \dclaide Granz, also a native daughter of Fresno, whose father was
] [erman Granz, a prominent viticulturist of the county. She and her husband
are members of the Eastern Star. Dr. Burks was made a Mason in Fresno
Lodge, No. 247, F. & A. M. when he was twenty-one; he belongs to the
Fresno Chapter, R. A. M. ; Fresno Commandery. Knights Templar; Fresno
Consistory of the Scottish Rite; and Islam Temple. A. A. O. X. M. S., of
San Francisco. His public-spirit and his interest in civic and social affairs
have associated him with such organizations as the Commercial Club, the
Chamber of Commerce, the University Club and the Sunnyside Country
Club.
W. H. SHAFER. — Among the men who have been instrumental in the
development of the county's irrigation projects, W. H. Shafer is known as a
man who has ever had the best interests of the community at heart. Born at
Stockton, San Joaquin County, Cal., March 15, 1861, he is a son of John
Shafer, who was born in Bedford County, Pa. His grandfather, Abram Shaf-
er, was a contractor on the old Government Pike, the military road from New
York to Chicago, 111., before the advent of the railway, and was identified
with the development of the country west of the Alleghanies. He was a
Pennsylvanian, as was also his great-grandfather. The Shafer family were
German Lutherans who sought refuge in America from persecution under
the benign wing of "William Penn. because of their religious views and love
of political freedom. Mr. Shafer's father, John Shafer, was among the influx
to California in 1850, journeying down the Ohio River and up the Missouri
River to St. Joseph. Mo., where he and four or five other sturdy young men
outfitted and crossed the plains to California with ox teams; all the available
mules and horses had been purchased by earlier argonauts. Arriving in Cali-
fornia Mr. Shafer sought his fortune in the placer gold fields. Owing to ill
health and failure to make a stake in mining he abandoned that business and
became a wood contractor, taking contracts to furnish fuel for the steamers
on the Sacramento River. He cleared the land, sold the wood and planted the
cleared land to vegetables and orchard and soon established a good trade for
his products. He built up a commercial business, established a fresh vege-
table market at Stockton and continued to raise vegetables on his cleared
land, selling his own produce and that of others.
Mr. Shafer was married at Stockton to Mrs. Matilda Fish, a native of
Michigan, of English and Scotch ancestry. Her mother's maternal grand-
father, Samuel Roundy, was born in Scotland; the Roundys were pioneers
and saw-mill men in the East. In a family of four children Matilda was the
oldest daughter. Mr. Shafer's father was a leader in establishing some of
the early schools in California. He built the first school house near Isleton,
Sacramento County, before the school district was organized ; going down
into his own pocket for the money, he purchased the lumber, worked himself
and hired others, doing this to fill a much needed want, which was demon-
strated at that period in California. He became a well-to-do business man of
Stockton, and later resided in Sacramento County. In 1869 he removed with
his family to Fresno County, Cal., and the family came to Selma in the fall
of 1881. In May. 1894, Mrs." Shafer died and Mr. Shafer did not long survive
her. for he died in December of that same year.
W. H. Shafer was one of the first schoolboys in Sacramento County:
his mother, who had a college education, gave her son his first lessons in
reading and writing, and imparted to him a love for scientific knowledge. He
was particularly fond of mathematics, civil engineering and surveying.
While vet a boy he obtained a practical knowledge of the latter, as chain-boy
under J. W. Prentice, surveyor of Sacramento County. He also caught in-
spiration and enthusiasm from the late Will S. Green, surveyor general of
California. Learning from his mother's instructions, attending the public
schools, surveying, helping in and around his father's business, he shared the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1575
common experiences of the first generation of California youth and grew up
and developed a great liking for the work of the irrigationist and surveyor.
He entered Van der'Nailen School of Engineering, 24 Post Street, San Fran-
cisco, pursued a special course in civil engineering and at twenty was a
civil engineer, and early established the old levee grades on the Sacramento
River.
Locating at Selma, Mr. Shafer was employed by the directors of the
Centerville and Kingsburg Canal. Becoming interested in irrigation here he
was soon chosen to superintend the water distribution and the maintenance
of the Centerville and Kingsburg Irrigation canal. The first ditch built in
Fresno County was the Sweem Ditch ; the Fresno Canal was the second
ditch, and the Centerville and Kingsburg Irrigation Canal the third ditch.
Work on this ditch commenced in the fall of 1877, and water was run as far
as Selma in 1878. Mr. Shafer has been connected with some phase of irriga-
tion since a young man, most of the time on the Centerville and Kingsburg
Canal. The water right for this canal was obtained January 12, 1876 ; articles
of incorporation were filed May 11, 1877; there were fifty original shares, five
of them were paid for in cash and the others were worked out by their holders.
This canal is now a part of the vast irrigation system known as the Consoli-
dated Canal Company. Mr. Shafer is resident engineer and has charge of the
ditches for Selma and vicinity, his work extending to the laying out, survey-
ing and maintenance of canals, with a supervising oversight and management
of the actual work of irrigating the adjacent land. He personally superin-
tends 150 miles of the 220 miles comprised in the Consolidated Canal Com-
pany's system. The water for irrigation costs not over seventy-five cents per
acre per annum, and is the cheapest irrigation water in the San Joaquin Valley.
Mr. Shafer has made this his life work, has attended most of the important
irrigation conventions, has appeared before the Legislature and done much
committee work in regard to the improvement of irrigation facilities for this
section of California. He is an earnest advocate of the Pine Flat project.
It is due largely to Mr. Shafer's efforts that Selma has an excellent high
school with artistically grouped buildings and ample playgrounds. He was
chairman of the board of High School Trustees during the erection of the
Selma high school building. He is the owner of a well-improved seventy-
eight acre ranch adjoining Selma on the northwest, upon which he has built
substantial buildings including a commodious residence. In his political sen-,
timents Mr. Shafer is a Progressive. He attended the first meeting at Sacra-
mento, September, 1907, of California Progressives and assisted in organiz-
ing the Lincoln Roosevelt League. He is a firm friend and stanch supporter
of Senator Hiram W. Johnson.
HANS MONSON. — To those who have succeeded in life solely by their
own efforts, much credit is due, and of such Hans Monson is an example
worthy in every way of the success which has come to him through years
of continuous work and persistent efforts to attain his goal, which he has
accomplished without help from others.
Hans Monson first saw the light of day on September 25, 1867, on a
farm, in the southern part of Sweden. At the very early age of seven years
he began working, in the summer time, on a farm where he herded sheep and
through all his life time he has never had an idle day. In 1887 he emigrated
to the United States and worked on his uncle's farm in Missouri, for nine
months. On January 27, 1888, he arrived in Fresno with but fifteen cents
as his cash assets, but possessed with a strong constitution, reliable charac-
ter and a determination to succeed. He soon found work in the vineyards,
his first employer being Hector Burness, later he worked for Benjamin Wood-
ward on the Las Palmas Ranch, and afterwards for F. M. Russell.
For a number of years after coming to Fresno he sent a part of his
earnings each month to his father and brothers in Sweden. On June 15,
1891, Mr. Monson started to work on the Helm Ranch, located east of Fresno,
1576 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and continued in the employment of the Helm family for twenty-five years,
serving as foreman of the ranch during the latter years. While employed on
the Helm ranch he planted over 800 acres to vines and for five years con-
tracted for harvesting the crop of grapes. Later he purchased eighty acres
of raw land in the Helm tract, which he improved by planting to vines, and
in 1917 he traded forty acres of this vineyard for his fine new two-story resi-
dence, located at 475 Glenn Avenue, Fresno. Mr. Monson still owns forty
acres of full bearing grapes.
When Frank M. Helm started his modern dairy in Kearney Park, con-
sisting of registered Holstein cows, Hans Monson took charge of the dairy,
in addition to his other duties.
Mr. Monson is a very progressive citizen and greatly interested in all
movements that have as their aim the upbuilding of the best interests of the
county. It was but natural, therefore, that Robert Lockhead appointed him,
in 1916, as road superintendent of his district, which position he still retains.
During his term of office he has been instrumental in having a number of
cement bridges built as well as several miles of new road.
On February 15, 1895, Hans Monson was united in marriage with Sophia
Lindberg, of Fresno, and this happy union has been blessed with five chil-
dren: Alice, a teacher of music in Fresno and a talented pianist; Oscar,
Lillian, Alma, and Harold, who are at home. Mrs. Monson was born at
Otvidaberg. Sweden, and is a daughter of Gustav and Charlotte fOdahl)
Lindberg. The father died when Mrs. Monson was only fifteen years old.
Of twelve children eleven are still living, Mrs. Monson being the sixth child.
Fraternally Mr. Monson is an Odd Fellow, and he is also interested
greatly in educational matters, having been clerk of the school board of the
Scandinavian Colony for five years.
DAVID CARMI McCLARTY.— One of the old pioneers of the Parlier
section, who settled in the country before the Santa Fe built its branch
through Reedley and Sanger to Fresno, and who helped in the grading and
building of the road, is D. C. McClarty. Public-spirited in the most com-
prehensive sense of the term, he has taken great interest in the building of
the ditches and laterals for irrigation purposes and has watched with intense
interest the development of the raisin industry since Mr. I. N. Parlier planted
the first large eighty-acre vineyard in this section in 1880. Mr. McClarty
championed cooperative marketing and was an able second to such men as
Theodore Kearney and Messrs. Butler and Forsythe, in laying the foundation
for such efficient agencies of present-day cooperation as the California Raisin
Association and the Prune, Peach and Apricot Associations.
Mr. McClarty was born in the Province of Quebec, sixty-five miles east
of Montreal, December 23, 1853. His father, David, a brick and stonemason
by trade, and the owner of a farm in Canada, was a native of Ireland of
Scotch-Irish ancestry, and his mother, Jane (Xongeway) McClarty, was
born in Canada of French and German extraction. The Longeways were one
of the early French families of the Province of Quebec. The family was well-
to-do, and his parents lived, married and died in Canada. David Carmi was
the youngest child in a family of five children. Nicholas, the eldest, came
to the United States and served in the Civil War. George, James Augustus
and Jane Augusta, twins, were the other children of the family.
David Carmi's efiforts in obtaining a limited schooling were arduous in
the extreme. In the rigors of that northern country he frequently walked the
two miles to school waist deep in snow. He worked on his father's farm
until seventeen years of age, plowing and harrowing with oxen. When
seventeen he sought to better his condition, and removed to Salem, Wash-
ington County, N. Y., where he worked by the month on a farm for six
vears.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1579
During this time Mr. McClarty returned to the Province of Quebec
and in 1875 was united in marriage with his betrothed. Miss Annie Niblock,
daughter of Alexander and Agnes (Wilson) Niblock. Mr. Niblock was born
in Glasgow, Scotland, and when his daughter Annie was an infant six months
of age her mother died. Four years later Mr. Niblock married again. Mrs.
McClarty had five own brothers and sisters, and three half brothers and sis-
ters. She married at the age of seventeen.
In 1880, Mr. McClarty came to California, locating in Sonora, Tuolumne
County, where he worked in the lumber woods and around the saw mills,
his wife and children remaining in Canada and joining him later at Sonora,
the mining camp. In 1884 he came to Modesto. He was foreman of the G. W.
Hopper three-section grain-ranch during the year 1884-85. In 1886 he came
to Fresno and purchased his first piece of land from M. J. Church — twenty
acres with one acre of peaches on the place. He owned the place a year and
sold it in 1887, and then came to his present place, one and one-half miles
west and one-half mile south of Parlier. While in Fresno, Mrs. McClarty
worked in the old Meade packing-house, the first packing-house built in
Fresno. Mr. McClarty's ranch is planted to twenty acres of muscats, five
acres to Thompson's Seedless and four acres to orchard. The rest of the
property is in yards and raw land.
Mr. and Mrs. McClarty are the parents of two children : Gertrude is
the wife of J. P. Hughes, the owner of a forty-acre ranch near Parlier, and
they have three children, Emery, Raymond and Ona. Jasper married Dolly
Venter, a native of Missouri. He is the owner of a ten-acre ranch four miles
south of Parlier and he and his wife have four children, Fay, Jessie, Hazel
and David.
In his political views Mr. McClarty inclines to the Republican party, but
votes for the man best fitted for the office and whose principles are correct,
regardless of party affiliation. He is a loyal supporter of the administration.
In 1918, Mr. and Mrs. McClarty retired to Selma, where Mr. McClarty
purchased a place on Washington Avenue, which he immediately proceeded
to improve by building a comfortable bungalow where they now live and
where the latch-string continues to hang out and to welcome their many
old-time friends and neighbors. They are there enjoying the fruits of use-
ful and well-spent lives, and have the satisfaction of knowing that Fresno
County is far better fitted for the abode of man than it was when they first
came here, and that they have had a worthy part in so making it.
LEW W. CLARK. — While too much praise cannot be given the pioneer
settlers of the Golden State, the men who braved the trials and hardships
incident to the life of the frontiersmen, and overcame seemingly insurmount-
able obstacles in laying a sure foundation for the building of this great and
glorious commonwealth, yet the citizens of California owe much to the native
sons and daughters of these honored pioneers who have taken up the work of
development, where their fathers laid their burdens down, and are building
both wisely and well upon their sturdy foundations, and are making marvel-
ous developments in all lines of industry, especially in Fresno County.
Lew W. Clark is proud of the fact that he is a native son, having been
born in Riverside County, August 8, 1887, a son of Peter T. and Elizabeth
C. (Tune) Clark, natives of Ohio and Missouri, respectively, who migrated
from Dent County, Mo., to California, in 1886, locating in San Jacinto Valley,
Riverside County. P. T. Clark was an extensive stockraiser and agricultur-
ist there for eighteen years, where he leased land. In 1904 he moved up into
the San Joaquin Valley and eventually owned 4000 acres in Tulare County,
where he was well known as a successful rancher with business-like methods.
He met an accidental death, on his ranch east of Orosi, on June 3, 1919. The
children of P. T. Clark were: Burt, who is a business man of Fresno; Porta
Ethel, Mrs. J. H. Huntoon of Visalia ; John, who is engaged in the stock
1580 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and commission business in Visalia : and Lew \Y., the subject of this review,
who was reared and educated in Riverside County, where he attended the
grammar and high school. After his school days were over he chose for
his lifework the vocation of a rancher, a pursuit that, when successfully fol-
lowed, usually brings independence and affords many opportunities for closer
communion with nature, which no doubt Mr. Clark enjoys in the operation of
his fine ranch of thirty-one acres, devoted to the growth of oranges and lemons,
which he bought in March, 1916, his place being the original Reese ranch,
which was one of the first fruit ranches to come into bearing in the Center-
ville district in Fresno County. L. W. Clark is an up-to-date and successful
rancher whose friends predict for him a still greater measure of prosperity in
the future.
On October 14, 1916, Lew W. Clark was united in marriage with Miss
Catherine R. Colvert, a daughter of William P. and Catherine (Tice) Col-
vert. Fraternally, Mr. Clark is a member of Orangedale Lodge, Xo. 221
1. O. O. F., at Sanger, and Visalia Lodge, No. 1298, B. P. O. Elks.
LOUIS AUGUSTINE.— Louis Augustine was born in Peoria. III. 1858.
the second oldest of twelve children born to Aloise and Mary ( Stiner') Augus-
tine, natives of France, who were successful farmers, who when they retired
moved to Los Angeles where the father died, the mother still making her
home in that city.
Louis was reared on the farm in Peoria, 111., and Franklin County. Mo.,
receiving a good education in the public schools. From Franklin County, he
removed to Carroll County, Ark., engaging in farming. Next he went to In-
dian Territory and in the Cherokee Nation, he followed stock raising until
the opening of the Cherokee strip in Oklahoma. He made the run for a claim,
and having been over the country he was desirous of obtaining a homestead
on Black River with its rich bottom land, but he found even after an early
start and swift horse that others already camped there and not caring for
other locations, he returned to Arkansas, and there farmed until 1907 when
he migrated to California, coming soon afterwards to Coalinga and began
work in the oil fields. Later he leased the Coalinga Homestake which he
operated successfully until the lease expired. Meantime he had purchased a
ranch on Los Gatos Creek and after he quit the oil business he began cattle-
raising on his ranch and is meeting with deserved success, his brand being
the L. A. combined.
He has always been a Democrat and fraternally is a popular member of
the Lodge of Eagles in Coalinga. Mr. Augustine is a very pleasing and af-
fable gentleman who is well known and highly esteemed by a large circle of
friends.
ALLEN EVERETT STUMP. — A prosperous viticulturist and one of
the most highly respected and substantial citizens of Fresno County, who
resides northeast of Parlier, is A. E. Stump. He is a native of Iowa, where
he was born in 1869, the son of Jeremiah P. and Elmira (McCloskey-) Stump,
natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively.
Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Stump were the parents of seven children, five
of whom are living, four being residents of Fresno County: Paul M. : Mrs.
Sophie Zediker: Mrs. Fannie Vance: and A. E.. the subject of this sketch.
The Stump family migrated to California in 1881. Jeremiah Stump was a
rancher of considerable means and ability.
A. F. Stump was reared in Iowa until he was about twelve years of age.
when he accompanied the family to California. His education was received
partly in Iowa and was finished in the public schools of California. Ever
since March 18. 1881, A. E. Stump has been a resident of Fresno County, and
has been identified with the ranching interests of the county for many years.
He is an expert viticulturist and understands the scientific methods of pro-
ducing an abundant yield of grapes. He is the owner of forty acres of highly
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1581
improved land, where he has lived since 1904, and upon which he has made
many expensive improvements, having set out all the trees and vines seen
today. His splendid ranch is located one mile northeast of Parlier. Mr.
Stump devotes his entire efforts to the one product, raisin grapes. That it
pays to specialize is proved by the returns of one season, which netted him
$6,200. His land yields from two and one-half to three tons of grapes per acre.
A. E. Stump was united in marriage with Miss Emma Zediker, on May
10, 1898. Mr. Stump is justly entitled to the high degree of success he enjoys
as a prosperous rancher, which he has attained through untiring energy and
the diligent study of the details of viticulture. He was one of the members of
the original raisin association.
LOT HAMILTON.— The generous-hearted rancher, Lot Hamilton, en-
joys with his faithful and hard-working wife a delightful home, where they
dispense a liberal hospitality. He was born at Seneca, Crawford County,
Wis., on November 13, 1868, the son of Henry Hamilton who had married
Catherine Fairfield. His grandfather, Lot Hamilton, was born near Man-
chester, in Lancashire, England ; on the death of his wife he came out to
America, obtained work in St. Louis, and then sent back to England for his
two sons. These sons, Henry (the father of the subject of this sketch)
and James were children by the grandfather's second wife ; and being a
widower when he came to the LTnited States, he never remarried.
Having thus helped his two sons to come to America, he took up govern-
ment land near Seneca, and there Henry Hamilton became a farmer. At
the outbreak of the Civil War, James enlisted and died in the army service ;
and later Henry, who married in Wisconsin, entered the Union Army in
1864, and served to the close of the war, after which he returned to Grand-
father Hamilton's farm in Crawford County. Several years later Lot Hamil-
ton traded for a larger acreage and at one time he farmed very extensively
in Crawford County. In time he so.ld all his land and made his home with
his son, Henry, with whom he was living when he died on January 15, 1905.
He was born on March 21, 1812, and was therefore ninety-two years, nine
months and twenty-five days old.
Henry Hamilton was born at Nutla in Lancashire, England, on February
3, 1840, and died at the general hospital in Madison, Wis., on July 24, 1915.
He arrived in America in 1856 and settled near Seneca, Wis., and he became
the father of eight children. The eldest was James, who is mentioned
elsewhere in this historical work. Then came Hugh who migrated to Cali-
fornia, went back to Wisconsin, and later made a trip to the gold fields
in the Klondike ; finally becoming a citizen of the Golden State, he married,
and died at Newman, Cal., on June 6, 1916, leaving a widow and a step-son.
Lot was the third in order of birth. Then came Stephen, a grain-farmer
at Courtney, N. D., who married and has a large family. Henry, un-
married, lives at Lot's home. Anson died at eighteen years of age; he was
unloading hay on his father's farm in Wisconsin when a whiffietree broke
and hit him in the side, and he died from the internal injuries received.
Mary, the seventh child, became the wife of Mark Foley, a carpenter and
builder of Los Angeles. Sylvia is the wife of Robert Felts and lives at Los
Angeles with two children by a former husband, James Compton.
Growing up on the Wisconsin farm of his father, Lot Hamilton was
early introduced to hard work, and at home at hard work he stuck until
he was twenty-four. He never received a cent from his father's estate ; and
beginning to work out at the age referred to, he had saved out of his earn-
ings, by the time he was twenty-nine, about $1,800. Half of this hard-
earned money had to be paid out to a doctor for an operation on his right
foot; yet eventually the member had to be amputated in 1898 at the West
Side Hospital, in Chicago. When he recovered, he went to North Dakota
and ran a traction engine for a threshing outfit, and in the fall of 1899 he
1582 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
removed to Day County, S. D., and there bought land. Prior to that, on
July 26, he was married at Boscobel, in Grant County, Wis., to Miss Rose
Young, daughter of Alonzo and Caroline (Byers) Young. She was born in
Scott township, Crawford County, attended the Boscobel high school, and
at eighteen became a teacher, and taught in Crawford County till she was
married. She had been left an orphan, for her father died when she was
three, and her mother died when she was six. She was then taken by her
Grandmother Byers of Crawford County, and brought up. Her father left
a farm, and J. R. Hurlburt of Scott Township became guardian to her and
an only brother, Henderson Young, thirteen years older.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton bought a grain and stock
farm near Webster, Day County, and later Lot Hamilton became a partner
with his brother James, and the two brothers farmed on a very large scale,
operating some 2,100 acres as a grain and stock farm. Fortune seemed to
smile upon whatever our subject now undertook, as if to make amends for
what had been previously denied him.
In February, 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton came out to California and
bought a ranch of twenty acres at Parlier, which he improved and sold after
four years at a handsome profit. In 1914, he removed to his present place
and bought the home ranch of forty acres. This he has greatly improved,
and in doing so has become a very successful farmer and raisin-grower.
Twenty acres are given to muscats, three to Thompson seedless grapes,
about three acres to apricots, four acres to Lovell peaches, three acres to
Muir peaches, one and six-tenths acres to orange cling peaches, two and
four-tenths acres to Wheatland peaches, and the same area to Elberta
peaches. The balance of the acreage is dry ground and has been devoted to
a building spot. For irrigation purposes alone Mr. Hamilton put in 800
feet of fourteen-inch pipe and now his ranch is unusually well supplied with
water. Besides this ranch, one of the finest areas of forty acres to be seen
anywhere for miles around, Mr. Hamilton owns other ranches, each of which
reflects most creditably upon him and those associated with him in their
management.
Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton are greatly respected by all who know them,
and few men deserve more good will than this sturdy character. In Novem-
ber, 1913, he was taken with appendicitis, but he was successfully operated
upon at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, and the following February had
sufficiently recovered that he was able to come back to Fresno County. That
he was satisfied with what he saw is evident from the fact that he bought
land at once, to make California his home.
CHARLES C. PHILLIPS. — In all sections of the world the pioneer is
held in honor, but especially is this true in California, where the present
generation realizes that the wonderful development of the Golden State, which
are so much appreciated now, are due to the indefatigable determination of
those brave souls that endured the hardships incident to the transformation of
an unknown and sparsely settled region into one of the greatest common-
wealths of the nation.
Charles C. Phillips is the son of an honored pioneer who crossed the
Indian infested plains with the slow moving ox-cart, in that memorable year,
1849. His father, Bonepart Phillips, was born in Tennessee, in about 1827,
grew up there, and becoming enthused by interesting reports of the discovery
of gold in California, decided to seek his fortune in the new Mecca. He made
the long journey across the plains in an ox-drawn wagon, and after his ar-
rival engaged in mining for a short time. Like many other men, however, he
found mining unprofitable and the results uncertain, so he abandoned that
occupation and engaged in ranching, locating in the vicinity of Hayward,
Alameda County, where he owned and operated 800 acres of land devoted to
general farming. Later he went to San Mateo County, and from there down
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1585
into Santa Cruz County. In 1860, he married, and six children blessed the
union : Edward, and George, both deceased ; Jackson ; Charles C. ; Minnie ; and
Frank, all living in California. The father, Bonepart Phillips, died in 1895,
aged about sixty-eight years ; the mother passed away in 1903.
Charles C. Phillips was born in Alameda County, November 29, 1869,
but was reared and educated in Santa Cruz County, and had always con-
fined his efforts to agricultural pursuits there until June, 1917, when he
purchased his present ranch of 150 acres in the river bottom, east of Center-
ville, Fresno County. It is very fertile land, having previously been a vege-
table garden but now devoted to grain, alfalfa, prunes, summer crops and
pasture. Mr. Phillips is an experienced California rancher and thoroughly
understands the best methods of modern agriculture.
The marriage of Charles C. Phillips, in 1896, united him with Rosa
V. Morehouse, also a native Californian, and this union has been blessed with
seven children : William ; Roy ; Glenn ; Carrie ; Wayne ; Dick ; and Neva. Like
all native sons, Mr. Phillips is a public spirited citizen and ready to assist in
all worthy enterprises.
JOHN BIDEGARAY.— Through his native ability, perseverance and
industry, John Bidegaray has achieved the success which he rightfully enjoys,
as one of the leading business men and financiers of Fresno County. A native
of France, he was born in the state of Basses Pyrenees, September 26, 1874,
the son of Peter and Grace (Grenade) Bidegaray, to whom four children were
born, of whom he is third in order of birth. Reared on a farm where hard
work was the rule, there was neither time nor opportunity for schooling, al-
though many were the lessons gained through observation and experience,
which in after years were an aid to the study of conditions and men in a
foreign country.
When but a youth of eighteen, Mr. Bidegaray determined to better his
condition, so coming to the United States, and California, in 1892, he stopped
first in Huron, Fresno County. From there he went to Coalinga, where he
obtained employment on a stock farm. During the next seven years he
worked for different stockmen, driving cattle and sheep all over the state.
Not only did he gain knowledge of the country during this period, but he
learned the possibilities in this line of industry, besides accumulating some
capital through hard labor. He had $2,200 coming to him, but he was able
to collect only $800 of it (the balance he lost), and with this he concluded
to enter business for himself.
His first venture in 1899, was a small hotel and store located on the
west side of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks in Fresno. Later, he went
into the live-stock business, making a specialty of buying sheep and wool for
the San Francisco market. Besides engaging in general farming, Mr. Bidega-
ray owns many thousand head of sheep, for which he rents thousands of acres
of range land on the West Side as well as stubble fields around Fresno, where
he ranges his flocks. In 1915 he bought 30,000 lambs for the San Francisco
market, and each year since then has largely increased his purchases and
sales in that line. He travels over a great portion of the state, buying stock
and wool for the San Francisco and Los Angeles markets, and continues to
increase and extend his stock industry, until at present he is one of the most
extensive individual stockmen in the Valley. His years of experience have
made him an exceptionally good judge of stock, and he has established a
strong financial standing, being rated as one of the best payers in the Valley.
Aside from his extensive stock business, Mr. Bidegaray has a large gen-
eral merchandise establishment on Tulare Street. He was the prime mover
and organizer of the Growers National Bank of Fresno, of which he is pres-
ident. He long saw the need of an institution that would make a specialty
1586 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of taking care of stock-growers and large land owners, furnishing them funds
until they sold their stock or crops. The bank was organized on September
8, 1919, with a capital stock of $220,000, and was opened for business at I and
Tulare Streets that same month.
Mr. Bidegaray's first marriage was to Miss Grace Villanueva who left
him one child, John Peter, attending school in San Francisco. His second
marriage was to Miss Julia Larrea, a native of Spain, the ceremony occurring
at San Jose, Cal. Of pleasing personality, Mr. Bidegaray has many friends
who esteem him for his sterling worth, integrity and dependable qualities.
A man of energy, enterprise and business ability, he is never idle and in his
vigorous way drives his business. He has aided materially in the progress
and development of the county and is held in the highest esteem by his fel-
low citizens. It is to men of his stamp that Central California owes its pres-
ent wonderful development.
The Growers National Bank of Fresno, of which Mr. Bidegaray was the
principal organizer, was organized September 8, 1919, with a capital stock of
$200,000, all paid in, and a surplus of $20,000, all paid in. Mr. Bidegaray pur-
chased the furniture and fixtures in the former Bank of Italy, leased the quar-
ters occupied by them at the corner of Tulare and I streets for ten years and
there the new bank was opened for business on September 25, with Mr. Bide-
garay as president.
Mr. Bidegaray has had a most interesting career, beginning at the lowest
rung of the ladder he has steadily climbed to the top by his own efforts, ac-
quiring property and stock and establishing a credit large enough to handle
the large volume of business he has today. He has never abused this credit
and is noted all over the State as the best pay of any stockman. He is very
popular with all with whom he meets and has a large circle of friends among
ail classes with whom his word is as good as his bond. As a man of influence
he stands very high.
WM. T. KIRKMAN, JR.— Established Kirkman Nurseries, Inc., in
Fresno in year 1906.
Son of W. T. Kirkman, pioneer nurseryman, and Dora Akridge Kirkman.
Family came to Merced from Arkansas in 1888.
Father and son both nurserymen from boyhood.
Parents now living retired life in Pasadena.
Son still at nursery business. Main office, corner O and Tulare Streets,
Fresno City.
Mr. Frank P. South, formerly associated with Kirkman Nurseries, was
secretary and treasurer of the organization from 1910 until his death in 1917.
F. A. CORTNER. — An excellent illustration of the rewards to be gained
through a life of industry, economy, and good management, together with a
definite goal in life, is found in the career of F. A. Cortner, the successful
horticulturist and viticulturist, who owns and resides on a highly cultivated
forty-acre ranch near Del Rey, Fresno County. He was born in Tennessee
in 1863, and was reared and educated in his native state, his parents being
Alexander and Mary Cortner, both natives of Tennessee. They were the
parents of ten children, five of whom are living. F. A. Cortner, the only
one who migrated to California, arrived in the Golden State in 1884. He
secured employment with Alfred Baird and became the foreman of his
1,000-acre grain ranch, a position he filled satisfactorily for sixteen years.
He spent six years working for other ranchers, and by economical habits
and judicious management of his financial affairs in due time had saved
enough money to purchase a ranch for himself, which he did in 1906. At
2TSI/<
&L£^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1589
the time he bought his present ranch of forty acres, the land was in its
virgin state. By persistent and intelligent effort he has brought it up to a
high state of cultivation and greatly enhanced its value. Nine acres are
devoted to peaches, seven acres to muscat grapes, thirteen acres to Thomp-
son's Seedless grapes, and five acres to alfalfa. The ranch is well kept and
evidences the thrift and enterprise of its owner. It is conveniently located
on the Santa Fe Railroad about five miles southwest of Sanger.
In 1887 F. A. Cortner was united in marriage with Miss Edith Brown,
a native of Ohio, and of this union five children were born: Ella, Robert,
Henry, May, and Ray. Mrs. Cortner is a member of the Seventh Day Ad-
ventist Church. Mr. Cortner is energetic and progressive, a splendid ex-
ample of what is commonly termed a self-made man, and is regarded as one
of the successful and substantial ranchers of his section of Fresno County.
HARLAND E. ELDER. — A farmer blessed not only with a choice
ranch of forty acres in the Prairie school district five miles northeast of
Fowler, but also with a happy home, where goodness, refinement and good-
will hold sway, is Harland E. Elder, popularly known as Hal Elder, who is
also the efficient ditch-tender of the district. As a well-to-do agriculturist he
lives on his well-improved ranch, and also serves as superintendent of the
Malaga Extension of the Fowler Switch Ditch, now a part of the Consolidated.
He was born in Monroe County, Iowa, on August 23, 1863. the son of
Alexander Elder, who had married Mary McKissick, the latter still living
at Fowler, seventy-six years of age, although her husband died in 1918.
almost eighty-one years old. Both grandfathers, that is John Elder and
William McKissick, were born in the north of Ireland, and both grand-
mothers, Esther Elder and Grandmother McKissick, were born in Scotland.
Alexander Elder was an Ohioan, and his wife came from Indiana. They
were married in Iowa, for Grandfather McKissick had moved out from In-
diana to Monroe County, Iowa, before the Civil War, and the ceremony
took place in that county just before the outbreak of the war. Alexander
Elder farmed there and enlisted in Company A, Thirty-sixth Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, and served through the last two years of the war, being wounded
at Mark's Mill, Ark. After the war he resumed farming in Iowa. In 1890 he
moved with his family to Fowler, Cal.
Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Elder had six children, five boys and one girl.
All are living except the third eldest, Perry Elder, who served as deputy
sheriff under Jay Scott in Fresno County, and who died in Fowler, in 1901.
The five living are : Thomas, a farmer of Holt County, Nebr. ; Harland E. ;
Carrie, the wife of W. W. Hicks, of Orosi ; J. F., who lives two miles north-
west of Fowler ; and Charles, who is southeast of that town.
Harland E. attended the common schools and Amity College, at Col-
lege Springs, Iowa, and grew up in that state until he was twenty-one. Then
he moved with his parents to Holt County, Nebr., and there for seven years
raised stock. He went back to Tingley, Iowa, and married Miss Carrie
Brown, a childhood companion. She is a daughter of the Rev. William Brown
of the Presbyterian Church, and they remained near her home for a year.
In 1900, Mr. Elder came to Fresno County and rented a wheat-ranch at
Caruthers, on which he farmed. Thence he moved to Kern County and
raised stock for twelve years. When he came back to Fresno in 1903, he had
only $500, and with that he made the initial payment on his home-place of
forty acres.
Mr. and Mrs. Elder have had five children: Eula B., a graduate of the
Fowler High School, died when she was twenty-three years old. Lucile is
a graduate of the same institution and the Fresno State Normal, and she now
teaches in the seventh grade in the Fowler grammar school. Hazel and Helen,
twins, are both graduates of the Fowler High School, and Helen is a grad-
uate of the Fresno Normal and is a teacher in the sixth grade of the Fowler
1590 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
grammar school ; Hazel married Dale F. Butler and they reside at Orland,
Glenn County. Harold Charles is a graduate of the Fowler High School, and
also had one year at the State agricultural college at Davis. He enlisted in
June, 1918, in Headquarters Company, Eighty-first Field Artillery, and was
honorably discharged in Camp Knox, Ky., having spent two months in
France.
Mr. Elder has served five years as trustee of the Prairie School District,
which employs four teachers. He was ten or twelve years in Kern County,
where he was a trustee of the school board. In national politics he is a
Republican. He is a member of the California Peach Growers, Inc., the Cal-
ifornia Associated Raisin Company, and gives his aid to all worthy projects
that have for their object the advancement of Fresno County.
N. C. CHRISTENSEN.— A splendid example of what good character,
high intelligence and unflagging industry will accomplish in a comparatively
short time is afforded by the rancher, N. C. Christensen, and his excellent
wife, the prosperous peach and raisin growers residing half a mile east of
Selma on the Canal School Road, where they own a well-improved and finely
cultivated fruit ranch of thirty acres. Mr. Christensen is a Dane, and so is
his sturdy wife : and they are both proud of the fact that they came from
families of working people.
For some time in Denmark, they worked for small wages and with
little prospects of getting ahead : and when an opportunity offered, they sailed
to Australia, and there engaged in grain farming for several years. When
another opportunity presented itself, they again crossed the wide ocean and
pushed west as far as Dakota, settling on a farm in the territorv near Dell
Rapids in Minnehaha County — near where now stands Sioux Falls. S. D.
After eight years of considerable hardship, hearing of the promised land in the
Golden State, they came to California, in 1892, and settled at Selma, where
they have prospered. By hard work, and paying close attention to their
interests, at the same time that they wasted no time as to other folk's business,
they have not only raised a large family of children, but have become well-to-
do. All the children, too, are now married and highly respected.
Though a man of but few words, Mr. Christensen is a virile and philo-
sophic thinker, and, being well read, takes an active interest in the political
issues of the times. He realizes, however, that much of his success is due
to his faithful helpmate, who is a woman of clear intellect and great force
of character, and who never failed him in his most strenuous days and now
enjoys with him the fruits of an industrious and consistently conservative life.
Mr. Christensen was born at Mou. Denmark, on February 1. 1854. where
he was brought up in the state church of Denmark and attended the public
schools. His father, Christen Christensen, was a blacksmith, while he also
rented and cultivated a small piece of land in Denmark, where the father was
married to Anna Christine Jacobsen. a native of the same locality, and
they had three children : The eldest, Ole C, died in Denmark, while the next-
born, Shoren C, lives in that country, and the subject of this sketch. Nils
Christian. At seventeen he hired out to work by the year at farm work, and
at twenty he was married to Juliana Sorensen. who was born near Hjoring,
Denmark, and is a daughter of Soren and Martha Marie (Hensen) Nelson.
Mr. and Mrs. Christensen went to Australia from Denmark, arriving at
Queensland with two children and about ten shillings, and some clothing,
but without the ability to speak English, and for a while suffered great pri-
vations. After five and a half years of raising corn and potatoes, they came
to the United States. They have had eight children. Christian, born in
Denmark, married Harriet Jessie Nicol. and is a rancher residing near Selma:
Annie K. married Milton Bigelow, another rancher near Selma. and she
died, leaving three children. Grace E.. Louise E. and Eunice: Marie married
Alton Bigelow, missionary to the Philippines, and died and left three children,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1591
Harriet, Mildred and John H. ; Martha is the wife of Noah Jacobsen, a rancher
near Selma ; Marcus married Lulu Williams, and is ranching in the vicinity of
the same town ; Alfred J. is another rancher near Selma who married Anna
Donald; Elmer Adolph is the postmaster at Selma, and married Lucy Sweet;
and Walter C. married Sophie Sorensen, and is a grammar school teacher
near Modesto.
Mr. and Mrs. Christensen are members of the Danish Baptist Church of
Selma, and are consistent Christians. Their religion is a matter of everyday
strength and consolation, for they can see where a kind Providence has led
them. They are now living comfortably, in their new bungalow home, built
1918-19, at 2222 Keith Street, in Selma, and are sincerely esteemed by all
who know them.
MRS. GERTRUDE MANEELY.— A very estimable lady, whose family
is creditably associated with the pioneer history of California, is Mrs. Ger-
trude Maneely, a native of St. Louis, Mo., and the daughter of Nathaniel
Kelly, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, and who came alone to America
and New Orleans when he was only seventeen years of age. There he began
clerking, and in time became a merchant at Seguin, Texas. He next removed
to St. Louis. Mo., where he clerked for Crawford & Co. ; and leaving their
employ and that state, he returned to Texas and again established himself
as a merchant at Dallas. In Houston and at Waco he also, at one time or
another, had stores.
In 1896, Mr. Kelly removed to San Francisco where he was again busy
as a merchant, and at the beginning of the new century, when more than
ever Central California was awakened to its natural destiny, he came to
Fresno County and started in business at Herndon. Later he bought Mr.
Yount's store at Barstow, and, with his long and varied experience, he was
able to make of it still more of a general merchandise establishment that
that district had ever before enjoyed. In 1917. at the end of the year, he sold
out and retired, conscious of having both merited and won the good wishes
of his patrons and friends. Mrs. Kelly was Sarah T. Mansfield before her
marriage, and is a native of San Antonio, Texas. She was left an orphan at
five years of age, but was fortunate in being reared and educated in her
native state. She is the mother of two children : Gertrude, who married John
Maneely, a rancher at Barstow ; and Lillie, who is Mrs. Smellie of Madera.
Gertrude Kelly came to California with her parents, and was educated
at the famous convent of St. Joseph at San Francisco. She was married, at
Fresno, first to James Emery, a native of Ohio, who came to California in
the boom period of 1888, when he was twenty, and for a while was in the
employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, leaving that system to
assume a responsible post offered by the Fresno Irrigation and Canal Com-
pany, at Empire. There, for sixteen years, he was in charge of their ditch,
and a better superintendent the company never had. In 1909, Mr. Emery
embarked in viticulture and bought eighty acres at Barstow which he greatly
improved. He took pleasure and pride in his work, and continued to operate
his ranch until his death, on January 13, 1917. During the last seven years
of his life, which he devoted to farming, he had eighty acres, twenty-five of
which were devoted to an orchard of peaches, and twelve acres to a vineyard
of muscat and Thompson grapes, while considerable of the land produced
alfalfa.
Thirteen months after Mr. Emery's death his widow became the wife of
John Maneely, a native of Canada, whose interesting life story is elsewhere
given in some detail in this work. As a practical, progressive woman of im-
portant affairs, who has shown exceptional executive ability, Mrs. Maneely
belongs both to the California Associated Raisin Company and to the Cali-
fornia Peach Growers, Inc.
1592 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
A. CLIFFORD SHAW. — A native of Annawan, Henry County, 111.,
A. Clifford Shaw was born on July 10, 1880, the son of Emery E. Shaw, a
native of Terre Haute, Ind., and a grandson of Jonathan J. Shaw, a pioneer
of Henry County who became a large farmer. Emery Shaw was also a
farmer, and five or six years ago, having sold out, he retired to life in town.
In February, 1896, he came west and located at Fresno, later leasing a vine-
yard at Fowler. Once more he lived at Fresno and still later, on 'Whites
Bridge road; and eventually he died at Fresno on May 15. 1902. Mrs. Shaw
was a favorite in Columbus, Ohio, where she was widely known as Annie
Davison ; and she died at Los Angeles, on October 24, 1908. the mother of
six children, two of whom are still living.
The second oldest of these children, and the only son living (two having
died in Illinois), Clifford was among the four that reached California. Burpee
died on November 19, 1901 ; Mattie is Mrs. Ruggles of Fresno ; and June,
who became Mrs. Baker, died in San Francisco. Clifford attended school in
Illinois until he was fifteen, and in February, 1896, he came with his parents
to Fresno. For six and a half years he worked in the T. J. Hay vineyard,
where he was made foreman, after which he continued in Mr. Hay's service
in Squaw Valley, on a stock ranch, remaining there until the latter died.
He remained another six months, in fact, working for Mrs. Hay.
When he came again to Fresno, Mr. Shaw bought forty acres in the
Barstow Colony, effecting the purchase in August, 1907. and having improved
the property in the usual manner, he built a residence and set out sixteen
acres of Thompson seedless. He joined the California Associated Raisin
Company and worked for the general progress of California viticulture. In
June, 1918, he sold it at a big advance and then purchased his present forty
acres one mile south of Barstow, which he is devoting to raising alfalfa, and
setting out Thompson seedless, and where he has built a comfortable resi-
dence and also suitable ranch buildings.
While sojourning at Visalia, Mr. Shaw was married to Mrs. Dollie
(Hogan) Butler, who was born near Reedley in this county, the daughter
of J. W. Hogan, a Reedley pioneer ; and they have had one daughter, Anna
May. Mrs. Shaw had two children by her former marriage, David and Eva.
Thoroughly at home in, and in sympathy with the institutions of Cali-
fornia, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw take an active part in all movements for the better-
ing of the community, the state or the nation, and in particular they loyally
supported the government in the World War. Mr. Shaw is an Independent
Republican; while in social life he participates in the activities of the Wood-
men of the World, Manzanita Camp, No. 160.
HANS J. HANSEN. — An enterprising, reliable and successful viti-
culturist, who thoroughly appreciates the unrivaled opportunities of Fresno
County, is Hans J. Hansen, who came to California at the beginning of the
nineties, bringing with him, as part of his capital, some of the best traditions
of Denmark's intelligent and progressive agricultural folk. He was born at
Kolding, in Jutland, Denmark, on May 30, 1865, the son of Hans Bang, an
industrious and extensive farmer who later, with equal success, applied him-
self to carpentry and building. There were two children in the family, and of
these Hans J. was the younger. Having attended the public schools of his
neighborhood, he learned the miller's trade and followed it for some time,
after which he took to teaming. At the end of two and a half years, he
enlisted with a Copenhagen artillery regiment, in which he served seventeen
months, or until he was honorably discharged, in the fall of 18S5. when he
took up some work at which he continued until he was twenty-three years
of age.
Crossing the Atlantic in the spring of 1888, Mr. Hansen stopped in New
York State and found employment at farming, butchering and in a brick-
yard. Two years later he located in Fresno County, bought some mules, and
went in for teaming, and later he tried his hand at farming. After another
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1593
two years, he leased some land west of Fresno, which he sowed to grain.
In 1896 he returned to Denmark for what proved to be a two-year visit;
and while there he ran a hack. There, too, he was married to Miss Christene
Nielsen, a native of that country and section.
In 1899 Mr. and Mrs. Hansen crossed the ocean and the continent.
Choosing Fresno County as their home, he leased land at Academy, and in
the operation of the ranch ran two big teams and a combined harvester.
The returns for the labor and investment, however, were insufficient to
reward and encourage, as he sold wheat for less than one dollar a sack, and
barley still lower; and after a while he quit the venture altogether and dis-
posed of his outfit. After this he bought 160 acres from the San Francisco
Savings Union in Redbank, and engaged in farming there. He kept that
land two years and then sold it. Then he bought his present place of forty
acres in the Enterprise Colony — at that time a stretch of hog-wallow and
the rawest land — which he improved, planting alfalfa and setting out wine
grapes. He also built a fine residence and sunk a well. The property is under
the Enterprise Ditch and has proven a fine investment. He has there three
acres of peaches, a vineyard of twenty-seven acres of muscat, Malaga, Zin-
fandel and Thompson grapes, and the balance sown to alfalfa. Intensely in-
terested in every movement that advances the welfare of the rancher gen-
erally, Mr. Hansen has long been active in the California Peach Growers,
Inc., and the California Associated Raisin Company.
There are four children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Hansen : Amelia
is at the Clovis High School, and Anna attends the Fresno High; while
Mary and Edward study in the grammar schools of the neighborhood. The
family attend the Lutheran Church. Mr. and Mrs. Hansen support the poli-
cies of the Republican party. Mr. Hansen is a popular member of the
Woodmen of the World at Clovis, and he and his circle supported in every
way possible all the activities that helped to win the great war.
S. L. POLITO. — Fresno is fortunate in having so talented a musician
and instructor in music as S. L. Polito, teacher of the plectral string
instruments, harmony and theory of music. Mr. Polito was born at Vaca-
ville, Solano County, Cal., September 4, 1881. He is of Italian descent, his
father, Louis L. Polito, being a native of the sunny clime that has produced
so many talented musicians of world-wide reputation. This young native
son of California was five years of age when his parents brought him to
Fresno. Here he received his first schooling, and for about three years
attended the old White school on Fresno Street, which in those days was
practically on the bank of the old mill ditch that ran through the town. At
the age of nine he was taken to San Francisco, and at about that time began
the study of music, which he continued until he developed professionally the
playing of the banjo, mandolin and guitar. He is a finished musician, and
his twenty years of musical experience, as well as his diplomas and certifi-
cates, bear testimony to his ability as a musician and teacher of music.
To Mr. Polito, more than to any other one person in this vicinity, is
due the credit for the popularity of the plectral string instruments. He
introduced the banjo in the dance orchestra in Fresno, and also the now
popular Gibson mandolin and guitar. These instruments are in vogue
musically and are well represented in all musical gatherings and in different
instrumental combinations throughout the country.
As a teacher of the banjo, mandolin and guitar, Mr. Polito has been
remarkably successful, having established a large clientele of pupils on
these instruments, a number of whom he has developed to the rank of
professional musicians. He is the author of several original musical com-
positions, and is a member of the American Guild of Banjo, Mandolin,
and Guitarists, the American Federation of Musicians, the Musical Alliance
of the United States, and several other musical organizations.
1594 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
REV. JENS JOHANSEN. — One of the pioneer ministers of the San
Joaquin Valley, Rev. Jens- Johansen has accomplished much good work in
his chosen field, and is now rounding out his years of service as pastor of
the Church of Our Savior, located in Central Colony, Fresno County and of
the Danish Lutheran denomination. Born in Denmark, October 16, 1851,
Reverend Johansen came to America with his parents, in 1860, and was reared
in Missouri and Illinois. He lived in Arkansas during the Civil War period
and has vivid recollections of those stirring and thrilling times, though he
was but a lad at the time.
After finishing his early schooling, Reverend Johansen attended Decorah
College, at Decorah, Iowa, for six years, and also spent three years in Ger-
mania Concordia Theological Seminary, at St. Louis', Mo. His first call was
a dual one; he being assigned to two congregations, namely: the Trinity
Church in the city of St. Louis and also the Webster Groves Church, which
was in a suburb of St. Louis, where he remained five years. He was next
called to Franklin County, Iowa, and held his charge there for six years.
In 1891 Reverend Johansen received his third call, and came to Fresno
County. In early days of the county's development he was a circuit rider,
holding services at Rolinda and Fairview school districts. He also had
charge of Missions at Newman, Modesto, Los Banos and Waterford, continu-
ing this branch of his work until 1903. With unremitting zeal he worked
early and late in pioneer days in the valley, taking hard long drives by team
through the undeveloped valley and plain, with but little to lighten his
burdens.
The Church of Our Savior is one of the oldest in the valley, founded
in November, 1879, by Rev. L. Carlsen, of San Francisco. In 1881 Rev. Diet-
ricksen took charge, and in 1891 Reverend Johansen was called to the charge
which he has most ably filled since that year. Sunday, July 19, 1916, he
celebrated his twenty-fifth anniversary as pastor in Fresno County, on which
occasion the members of his church presented him with an automobile, the
membership comprising fifty families. He was for six years secretary of
the Pacific District of Norwegian Lutheran Synod, which was organized
in 1893, when he became secretary, remaining in the office until 1899.
Reverend Johansen was married in Albert Lee, Minn., to Hannah Larsen
a native of Denmark ; her death occurred in 1912, after a full and useful life,
during which she had been of inestimable help to her husband in his life
work. Their children are as follows: Laura, wife of Roy Cole of Fresno,
was born in St. Louis, Mo., July 9, 1882 ; Amelia, wife of Harry Ericksen of
Fresno, was born in St. Louis, August 20, 1884; Theodore, born in Iowa,
September 23, 1886, married Marion Damkier ; Clara, died at one year of age;
Martin, born in Iowa, October 10, 1891, married Blanch Goodrich, and is the
owner of a ranch near Lone Star; Hannah, born in Fresno, November 15,
1892; Helen, born in Fresno, February 14, 1895, now the wife of E. G. Cart-
right, a rancher on Orange Avenue, Fresno; Ernest, born in Fresno, March
8, 1898, with the Union Pacific Railway in Fresno. During early days in
the county Reverend Johansen bought four lots on South J Street, and erected
his present home, one of the first to be built in that section.
CHARLES H. TRABER, M.D.— There is no profession to which a man
devotes himself which brings him into such close relations with his fellow-
man as does that of the conscientious physician. Among practitioners of this
class the name of Charles H. Traber, M.D., of Reedley, stands out in bold
relief. He is a native son of California, born in Mendocino County, January
4, 1874, a son of John W. and Anna (Kane) Traber, mention of whom is
made on another page of this work. John W. Traber is one of the best-
known educators in the county, and has taught longer than any other of its
teachers.
aA/yncuv^i^
^Scui&h & ^SaA^ri^^y
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1599
Reared on his father's ranch and educated in the public grammar and
high schools of Fresno County, graduating from the latter with high hon-
ors, Charles H. Traber began teaching school at an early age and for ten
years followed that profession in Fresno County. During all those years his
one great ambition was to become a physician. Not having the means by
which this ambition could be satisfied, he went to Alaska in the hope that
he would be able to make enough to put him through medical school ; but
his venture was a failure, although he remained in Alaska from 1898 until
1902. He returned to Fresno County again and resumed teaching, saving
every dollar that he could, and in 1913 he was able to enter the Chicago
College of Medicine & Surgery from which institution he was graduated
four years later with the degree of M.D. He later returned to his native
state and opened an office at Reedley, and so successful has he been that he
derives a practice from many miles around.
In 1910 Dr. Traber was united in marriage with Miss Clara Brose, a
daughter of Samuel Brose; and to this union one daughter, Marjorie, has
been born. The doctor is a member of the County and State Medical Socie-
ties, and fraternally is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is always in
favor of the best schools obtainable. During his career as an educator he
served for a time as a deputy in the superintendent of schools' office at
Fresno. Dr. Traber is a self-made man, a successful physician and a true
friend. He and his wife have a wide circle of friends throughout this section
of the county.
CALEB HARMAN. — Two decidedly intellectual pioneers, whose lives,
animated by lofty moral ideals, have made them benefactors to many, and
whose influence for good will be felt for generations to come, were Mr. and
Mrs. Caleb Harman, long so fondly esteeemd by the early settlers of Fresno
County. He was born in Morgan County, Ohio, on September 20, 1836, the
son of John Harman, whose folks came from Pennsylvania and were un-
doubtedly related to that branch, the Harmons, later distinguished in jour-
nalism and the law, in the history of Ohio, and which has given a governor
to that state. In Ohio, John Harman married Miss -Hannah Stephens, a lady
whose ancestors belong to the best of South Carolina stock. In their union
there was one of those happy blendings of Northern and Southern virility
and culture that have contributed something definite and valuable in the
elevating of American society.
Caleb attended, the public schools in Ohio until he was twelve, when his
family removed to Van Buren County, Iowa, after which he continued his
schooling in his new home district. He also grew up on a farm in the pioneer
days of Iowa, and there he farmed for himself. During the Civil War he
served in the Home Guards.
In 1874 he came to California from Iowa, and spent the first winter at
Santa Rosa, coming down to Fresno County the next spring. This whole
section was then a desert-like wilderness. He went out to the Mendocino
Settlement, however, and bought land ; he encouraged and helped to build
the Church Ditch, which was the first ditch for irrigation in that part of
Fresno County, became a stockholder and secured a perpetual water-right
in the canal. People said that he must starve to death, for there was nothing
but horned toads and jack-rabbits that could live there ; yet the Church
Ditch proved the making of the country.
On October 18, 1861, at Milton, Iowa, Mr. Harman was married to Miss
Sarah Carr, daughter of Jonathan and Margaret Jane (Weatherington) Carr,
both of whom came from Virginia families, migrated to Ohio, and as early
as 1853 removed to Iowa. Sarah was born near Columbus, Ohio, on Febru-
ary 25, 1838, and Jonathan Carr, who was a farmer, died in Illinois, when
she was only seven years of age. Mr. Harman was an intelligent, indus-
trious and large-hearted man ; and his wife was in all respects his equal,
and assisted to make the Harman home the center of abounding hospi-
1600 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
talitv and good-cheer. They had four children: Lizzie became the wife
of O. W. Rudolph, of Santa Barbara, where she died in 1903 and left
four children, all still living in California; Jennie is the wife of Dr. J. E.
Shafer, of Berkeley, and they have two children ; the third child is C. E.
Harmah, while Daisy, the younger daughter, resides at 737 Wilson
Avenue, Fresno.
Interested in politics only so far as they aided in the upbuilding of the
community. Mr. Harman, although an active Democrat all his life, never
sought nor held public office for any benefit for himself. He was school
trustee in the Mendocino district for many years, and was a worker for good
schools. He donated the site for the Mendocino school, and also the land
for the original plot of the Mendocino cemetery near Miley Switch on the
Santa Fe Railway. And he planted the first vineyard in the Mendocino
district.
Having been advised to seek a change of climate, Mr. Harman rented
out his large ranch of 480 acres and moved down to Lompoc in Santa Bar-
bara County, and then in 1905 he and his wife removed to Berkeley. There
Mrs. Harman died on March 9, 1907, and Mr. Harman passed away on June
2, 1915. Both rounded out such careers of exceptional usefulness that it may
truly be said of them — "their works do live even after they have departed :
wherefore they have not gone, but in their works live on and on."
STEPHEN GULER. — It is no wonder that Stephen Guler likes Califor-
nia, and the Barstow district of Fresno County in particular, for since coming
here and getting well started, he has accomplished much both for himself
and the state of his adoption, with which he first became associated over
a decade ago. He was born at Monbiel, Graubunden, Switzerland, on March
21. 1S77. the son of Hans Guler, an experienced farmer of that section who
brought his wife and four sons to the United States in 1884. He located
near New Rockford, Eddy County in the James River Valley, in what is
now North Dakota, and homesteaded 160 acres which he devoted to grain-
farming ; and assisted by his boys he attained such success that he bought
more land, coming in time to own about 1,120 acres, all used for grain-farm-
ing; and before Mr. Guler left the scenes of this world, he had the satisfac-
tion of knowing that he had brought his farm to a high state of cultivation,
and had thus enriched the country which had extended to him and his family
a cordial welcome. Mrs. Guler, who was Catherine Grass before her marriage,
and who also was born in Switzerland, still resides in North Dakota, the be-
loved mother of six children, each of whom has "made good" in some field
of activity.
The third oldest in the family, and the only one in California, Stephen
Guler crossed the stormy Atlantic when he was seven years of age and soon
after began his American schooling in Dakota. From a lad also he began to
work on his father's farm, and he continued to break the prairie with the
use of oxen until as late as 1893, when he and his neighbors used horses in-
stead. In 1905, Mr. Guler dissolved partnership with his brothers and struck
out for himself. He bought 320 acres in the same vicinity, three miles from
New Rockford, the county seat, and worked hard to improve the land, devot-
ing the ranch to grain and stock. He farmed there for four years, and in
that time demonstrated what Swiss agriculture, under the favoring natural
conditions, could do with American soil, seed, and cattle.
Curious as to the much talked-of Pacific, Mr. Guler in 1909 made a trip
to California; and coming to Fresno County, with which he was fascinated
from the beginning, he bought twenty acres in the Barstow Colony. The fall
of that vear found him a resident of the Golden State, and he was not long
in buying twentv additional acres near by. He began to raise fruit, and for
some years he ran a dairy, twelve miles from Fresno, and so he grew alfalfa
for his own use. The balance of his land he laid out as an orchard and a
vinevard, where he had ten acres set out with Thompson seedless grapes.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1601
seven acres planted to peaches, and four acres given up to apricots. He uses
a team and a tractor, and has a fine pumping-plant, so that his ranch, which
is under one of the best of California ditches, is very well irrigated. Scientific
in his temperament and methods of farming, and possessing artistic taste,
Mr. Guler has developed a ranch that many persons come to see and that
certainly is model in more than one respect.
While in North Dakota, Mr. Guler was married to Miss Anna Christ, a
native of that state, and the daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Kobel) Christ,
born in Arcadia, Wis., and Switzerland, respectively; they were pioneer
farmers in Eddy County, and the father died there, while the mother is
still living. Mr. and Mrs. Guler have three children: Margaret, Elvin, and
Nina, all favorites in the circles in which they move.
Those who know Mr. Guler find in him an affable, kindly man, filled with
the social spirit. It is not surprising, therefore, that he is popular among
the Odd Fellows, with whom he is affiliated through Lodge No. 343, I. O.
O. F., at Fresno. He is also an ever welcome member of the Fraternal
Brotherhood. In politics Mr. Guler is a Socialist, and with his keen interest
in the welfare of society, he has served enthusiastically as trustee of the
Barstow district. He belongs to the California Associated Raisin Company,
and is a representative from the Barstow district. He is also a member of
the California Peach Growers, Inc.
GEORGE CHRISTIAN. — Born at Tardekopfka, Russia, on September
22, 1865, George Christian is the son of Peter Christian, a farmer who died
there. He had married Sophia Reinhart, also a native of that place, who is
still living. She is the mother of six children, all living — three boys and three
girls; and our subject and one sister are the only ones in America.
The third in the order of birth, George was brought up at the old home,
educated in the public schools, and from a boy learned farming. He also
learned to speak, read and write the German and the Russian languages.
When twenty he began work at the wagon-maker's trade, and a year later
he entered the Russian Army. As a member of the 160th Infantry of the
Fortieth Division, he served in Pense a year, and was honorably discharged.
Then he completed the trades of a wagon-maker and a cabinet-maker,
and for a while worked alone at his trade. He next formed a partnership with
his brother Gotfried in wagon-making, and at the same time engaged in farm-
ing. They manufactured about forty wagons a year, and they also made
buggies.
At his native place, Mr. Christian was married on January 30, 1886. to
Miss Marie Bell, who was born there, a daughter of George and Alexandra
(Wulf) Bell, farmer folk, both of whom are now dead. The fourth eldest in
a family of seven children, she is the only one that came to America and the
only one now living.
After awhile, feeling the irresistible lure of America, Mr. Christian sold
out and brought his wife and two sons to Fresno, where he arrived on April
14, 1900. He started to work on a ranch, and then went into a brick yard ;
and in 1905 he commenced to learn the carpenter's trade, at which he worked
under different contractors.
In 1904 Mr. Christian first undertook to contract and build in Fresno, and
ever since that date he has here followed this line of activitv, although twice
he has been engaged in mercantile lines. For eighteen months he was a part-
ner in Kohl & Christian, general merchandisers, when he sold out and re-
turned to contracting; and then he bought a store on F Street with Jack P.
Christian, and together they set up as merchants. Later he bought out his
partner and managed the store alone and then, in 1913, he sold to Fred Scheidt
and George Hoepner. Returning to his trade, he has busied himself as a first-
class contractor and builder to the present time. He draws his own plans,
and thus more nearly succeeds in carrying out the exact ideas and wishes of
1602 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
those for whom he builds. As a Republican, he is influential in the councils
of that party. In 1912 he made a trip back to his old home, visiting his mother
and relatives and friends.
Three children of Mr. and Mrs. George Christian are still living. Jacob,
a sergeant in the United States Army, is over-seas in France ; he served for
three years in the National Guard, was mustered out, and when war was
declared, he hurried to enlist, and is now with the One Hundred Fifty-seventh
Infantry. Fred Christian is at home, and Mollie is attending the high school.
The family attend the Free Lutheran Cross Church, and Mr. Christian is
president of the congregation.
LEANDER J. ARRANTS. — An inspiring story of enterprise, reverses,
toil, sacrifice, and final, deserved reward is that of Leander J. Arrants, the
popular and efficient superintendent of the Fowler Switch Canal and a repre-
sentative of one of the substantial families of the South, who hails from
Scotch ancestry, as his folks were among the earliest settlers of Eastern Ten-
nessee, having first pitched their tents in what is now Sullivan County more
than 125 years ago. His paternal grandfather, William Arrants, was born in
Sullivan County in 1802 and lived to be eighty-two years old. His father was
William Henderson Arrants, and his mother was Polly Ann (Reilly) Arrants.
All of the Arrants were true to their native state during the troublous times
of the Civil War, and his father fought in the Confederate Army throughout
the Rebellion. Two children were born from the union of William Henderson
and Polly Arrants : Leander J., the subject of our sketch, and Mollie. who is
now the wife of G. L. Hicks, a farmer and stockman in Sullivan County, Tenn.
The husband of Leander's mother, before she married Mr. Arrants, was
Andrew Geisler, who served in the same company with Leander's father, and
fell in battle, leaving one child, a daughter, Hettie, now the wife of J. A. Bov,
a school teacher and farmer in Sullivan County. After Mr. Geisler's death,
Mrs. Geisler married Mr. Arrants, and she died when Leander was only
three years old, and through a second marriage he has had nine children.
Mrs. Maggie Arrants is still living and makes her home with her son Walter
on the twenty-acre ranch three miles west of Selma.
The nine children are: AYalter, just referred to; Mvrtle, the wife of
Walter Woods and living in Sullivan County, Tenn. ; William, who resides
in the same county; Samuel, living two and a half miles west of Selma;
Conley, living four miles north of Selma : Addie, the wife of Mr. Dempsey,
a farmer in Sullivan County; Bessie, who is single and lives with her mother
and Walter: Emily, the wife of Walter Huff, farming four miles north of
Selma ; and Annie, the wife of Arthur Armstead, a teacher at Fresno.
Born in Sullivan County, Tenn., on August 19, 1870, Leander Arrants
was reared on a farm in the eastern part of the State, and where the educa-
tional advantages were so limited that he was able to attend school but three
months in the year, during the winter. Being the oldest boy he had to work
very hard, and so he remained at home until he was almost twenty-one. At
that time a circumstance — the residence of a relative on the Pacific Coast —
had a determining influence on his life and destiny. A third cousin, John G. S.
Arrants, also a Confederate soldier in the Civil War, had become, as the
pioneer grocer at Selma, a prosperous business man. He encouraged young
Mr. Arrants to join him. and the latter arrived at Selma on April 21, 1891.
He went to work on the ranch of H. H. Dewitt. and served there eight
months at twenty-six dollars a month. All in all, he continued working out
for others for three years.
Mr. Arrants then rented some forty acres planted to alfalfa, bought a
team and some hogs. The hog cholera, however, took most of his herd, and
then the price of pork fell to four cents, as against six cents when he bought.
He had paid $400 cash rent, and at the end of the year had a team of horses.
but with a good-sized debt hanging over him.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1603
He then took to teaming and rented from the Selma Bank another
ranch of ninety acres, for $150 per year. He bought more hogs, continued
his teaming, herded his hogs, cooked and batched, and worked sixteen hours
per day, making two eight-hour shifts ; and he had an experience never to be
forgotten.
Perhaps it was just that particular experience which caused him to think
of getting married, for he needed help — help of the kind he was soon to
secure. He rented an additional ranch of eighty acres, the J. A. McCleary
place, upon which there was a house, with a forty-acre vineyard ; and in the
meantime, on May 30, 1897, he married Miss Sarah Stephens, the daughter
of B. F. and Emily (Stapp) Stephens. The latter is now deceased, while
the father lives with Mr. Arrants at Selma.
That year Mr. Arrants made some money, and with the proceeds he
bought thirty-eight acres south of the Selma city limits, and also five acres of
unimproved land, all of which he improved and disposed of to advantage.
His next purchase was the twenty acres, all in trees and vines, to which he
has added a beautiful family residence which he built in 1904 — one of the
finest in that section near Selma. He has bought the twenty-, sixty- and
seventy-acre ranches in five different purchases, improved them, and owns
them all to this time. The twenty acres where he lives was a tract of stubble
when he bought it.
On the sixty-acre ranch, there are twenty acres of peach trees, most of
which he has grubbed out on account of getting too old, and replanted to
vines. On the seventy acres there were twenty-five acres in vines. All his
lands are now in full bearing ; and he has Emperor, muscat and Thompson
seedless grapes, with the latter predominating, seventy-five acres in all being
devoted to that variety. He also has three acres of prunes and eighteen
acres of peaches. The two ranches nearest Selma are rented to his son ;
while the seventy-acre ranch is leased by a Japanese tenant.
Mr. Arrants is a member of the California Raisin Growers' Association,
as well as of the company of California Peach Growers, Inc. He and his
relative, the late G. S. Arrants, were among the prime movers for the better-
ment of the fruit-growers of this valley. They were leaders in the first co-
operative effort which resulted in the organization and establishment of the
Cooperative Packing House at Selma, which later became the Selma Fruit
Company, Inc., with fifty or sixty stockholders, and which in time sold out to
the California Raisin Growers' Association.
Eighteen years ago Mr. Arrants became canal tender for the Fowler
Switch Ditch, and he has served acceptably ever since. This ditch has lately
become a part of the property of the Consolidated Canal Company. The
Consolidated Canal Company embraces the original Church system, the
Fowler Switch Canal, and the Centerville & Kingsburg Canal. Mr. Arrants
tends, therefore, about eighty miles of canals.
Mr. and Mrs. Arrants have been blessed with three children : Eugene is
a single farmer who lives at home and rents the twenty- and sixty-acre
ranches; Maud graduated from Selma High School, class of 1918, and is now
taking postgraduate work, and Ralph is in the grammar school. Mrs. Arrants
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, while Mr. Arrants
belongs to the Woodmen of the World and the Foresters.
GEORGE F. BICKEL.— A highly-esteemed pioneer, who is also widely
known in Fresno County .because of his many years of successful enterprise
here, is George F. Bickel, the efficient and popular superintendent of the
Herndon Canal, owned and operated by the Fresno Irrigation and Land
Company. On May 26, 1889, Mr. Bickel first came to Fresno County; nor
has he at any time since regretted the step that he then took, which afforded
him the privilege of helping to develop one of the fairest portions of one of
the greatest of all these United States.
1604 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Born at Troy, Mo., on February 9. 1865, a date made historic by the
landing of the Federal forces at James Island, S. C, George enjoyed the
usual public school education of that section and period ; and having an aunt
and a sister in California, he came west in his twenty-fourth year. Arriving
in Central California, he entered the employ of his uncle, J. H. Clark, the
vineyardist, and later took service with Messrs. Cook & Langley, working
in their packing-house, where he became foreman of one of their depart-
ments. He was next appointed by Mayor Cole to the Fresno Fire Depart-
ment, as driver of Engine No. 2. when there were only three paid men in
each house, and three different fire-houses, and there he continued from
1891 until 1893, or the close of the administration.
For ten years following Mr. Bickel engaged in the hack business, and
had a stand in front of the Grand Central Hotel on Mariposa Street, but in
1902 he sold out, accepting a position for two years with the Fresno Traction
Company as conductor. His prompt and willing service made him many
friends, but when his present engagement was offered him, he could not do
otherwise than resign to accept the advancement. For three years he was
with the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company, now the Fresno Canal and
Land Company, in charge of their old Enterprise ditch. Resigning, he en-
gaged in the butcher business at Wheatville, and when he sold out there, he
removed to Oakland where he was with the wholesale drug house of O. P.
Downing & Co. When he left this employ, it was to become a special officer
for two and a half- years for H. H. Hart.
On his return to Fresno, in 1911, Mr. Bickel again accepted an appoint-
ment for canal work with the Fresno Canal and Land Company, at Barstow
Colony, in charge of the Herndon Canal. He was made superintendent, and
was given the considerable responsibility of the works from the Arizona
Colony to Barstow, with all the numerous side ditches as well. Since then
he has resided at Barstow, and so has naturally taken an interest in local
educational affairs that led to his serving as school trustee there.
At Fresno, Mr. Bickel was married to Miss Mabel K. Bunney, who was
born in Amador County, Cal., and they have one daughter. Esther L. He
belongs to the Red Men of Fresno, and also to Fresno Lodge, No. 186. of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of Manzanita
Camp, No. 160, of the Woodmen of the World, of Fresno. In national politics
Mr. Bickel is a Democrat, and in former years he was active in the county
conventions.
WILLIAM F. BARNETT. — A dairyman who is a good judge of cows
and in every respect thoroughly understands his business, and who is
always interesting as a conversationalist, is William F. Barnett, who came to
Fresno County soon after the middle of the nineties, and who has the honor of
having sown the first alfalfa grown at Centerville. He was born in Georgia
in 1860, the son of Rial Barnett, a native of Alabama who served in the
Confederate Army during the Civil War. When that unfortunate conflict
was over, he removed to East Tennessee, and near Knoxville he became
a very successful planter. In 1890 he removed to Oregon, to which state
his son, W. F. Barnett, had already gone ; and there, honored by all who
knew him, he resided until he died. Mrs. Barnett was Nancy Patterson be-
fore her marriage ; she, too, was born in Alabama, and she died in Kansas.
The second youngest of seven children, and the only one now living, the
subject of this sketch was brought up in Tennessee on a farm, and there
he attended the public school. He remained home until he was seventeen
vears of age, and then, removing to Indiana, he accepted employment at
Newport as a farm laborer. Later he engaged in agriculture on his own
account, and in 1884 removed to Hutchinson, Kans., locating a preemption
of 160 acres in Pratt County. He bought adjoining land until he had 480
acres, which he sold in 1888. He then settled in Multnomah Count}". Ore.,
and contracted to build bridges for a railroad company, but at the end of
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1607
two years he located a homestead on the Nehalem River, Clatsop County,
where he improved a farm and started a dairy. The same foresight and
care that had always characterized 'Mr. Barnett's operations, here resulted
in such continued success that his many friends were surprised when he
again sold out.
In 1896, Mr. Barnett had come to Fresno County and, two years later,
having disposed of his Oregon ranch, moved here permanently. The first
year he had a vineyard and orchard east of Fresno, but in 1897 he located
at Centerville and there formed a partnership with an aunt, Mrs. Darius
Reese. While thus occupied, he sowed the first alfalfa seen at Center-
ville ; and having well irrigated the land, his labors were crowned with
success. He started a dairy, developed it until he had ninety cows, and
built a creamery — the first thereabouts — and otherwise expanded. During
this time, he was one of the organizers of the Sanger Creamery; he built the
first creamery there, and was its first president.
Soon after Mr. Barnett dissolved partnership, he sold his holding and
located in Fresno. Here he engaged in plumbing and pipe-fitting under
the firm name of Barnett, Rock & Co. ; but at the end of two years he
disposed of that business to again take up farming. He leased a dairy ranch
on East Avenue, and managed it, with some twenty cows. Out of this
grew the Fresno Cooperative Stock and Dairy Company, of which Mr.
Barnett was president and manager. They leased a ranch on the slough,
twenty-three miles southwest of Fresno, and there they had nine sections
of upland, with 700 acres in alfalfa. They milked 200 cows and raised high-
grade cattle. This dairy business the company continued until 1911, when it
sold out and dissolved the concern.
Mr. Barnett then came to Barstow and leased an alfalfa farm ; and there
for three years he engaged in the dairy business. In 1914, however, he saw
the opportunity to buy his present place, and now he has thirty-two and a
half acres near the Barstow school-house. He has three acres of peaches,
and the balance planted to alfalfa, under the Herndon canal. He has a
finely-appointed dairy of forty-seven milch cows, mostly of the Holstein
breed. With eight others, Mr. Barnett organized the Fresno Coopera-
tive Dairy Association for the purpose of running a truck to deliver their
products in Fresno. Mr. Barnett owns the truck, and the venture has been
successful.
In Kansas, Mr. Barnett was married on February 22, 1887, to Miss Cora
Moorhead, a native of Indiana, the daughter of Henry D. and Elizabeth
(La Rue) Moorhead. Mrs. Barnett's parents were natives of Ohio, who
migrated to Indiana and farmed there ; her father served in the Civil War
in an Indiana Regiment. Mr. and Mrs. Barnett have a daughter, Bessie.
Mr. Barnett was a member of the local board of education in Kansas
for a couple of terms, and was also twice constable. Popular everywhere,
Mr. and Mrs. Barnett are especially so in the circles of the Fraternal Brother-
hood, of which they are members.
S. W. WALTZ. — A successful, highly respected farmer and viticultur-
ist, who has a fine ranch property and knows how to take good care of it,
is S. W. Waltz, who came to Fresno County in the great boom year of 1887.
Thirty years before, on February 20, he was born at Vevay, Switzerland
County, Ind., the son of Joseph Waltz, a native of Pennsylvania, who settled
in Indiana and grew to be one of the prosperous farmers there. He married
Burry A. Courtney, a daughter of the Hoosier State, a woman of character
and amiability, who became the mother of ten children, seven of whom are
still living. Joseph Waltz died in 1885, and Mrs. Waltz died later.
The voungest in the family, and the only one in California, S. W. Waltz
was brought up on a farm and attended the public school. When he was
twelve years of age he began to do farm work in earnest, driving the teams
1608 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and helping get in the harvest; and after the death of his father he continued
to work on the home farm and to assist his mother, until she died.
Before coming to California, Mr. Waltz was married in Indiana to Miss
Australia Chittenden, a native of that state, who had relatives here. On his
arrival he went to work in the vineyards, and in 1891 he bought his present
place of twenty acres in the Scandinavian Colony, six miles northeast of
Fresno, which he improved in many ways. He built a residence and barn,
set out a fine vineyard of Malaga, Thompson, Sultana and wine grapes, and
planted some of the land to alfalfa. The ranch is under the Gould Ditch,
and profits from almost perfect irrigation. Mr. Waltz takes a keen interest
in all that pertains to his departments of agriculture, and is one of the
livest members of the California Associated Raisin Company.
In February, 1892, Mr. Waltz' wife breathed her last. Later, Mt. Waltz
married a second time, his bride on this occasion being Mrs. Nellie (Hender")
Trevathan, a native daughter born near Solbyville, Merced County. By her
Mr. Waltz has had two children — Harry Roy and Dorris. By her first mar-
riage Mrs. Waltz had one child, Clifford Trevathan, who resides near Ker-
man. Mr. Waltz belongs to Fresno Lodge. No. 186, I. O. O. F. He is also
a member and Past Chief Patriarch of the Encampment and belongs to the
Canton ; and both Mr. and Mrs. Waltz are members of the Rebekahs.
Public-spirited and ever interested in all that makes for the improve-
ment of the neighborhood, and particularly for the advancement of the cause
of education. Mr. Waltz has for three years served as a school trustee of
the Scandinavian district. In national politics he is a Republican, but in
local administration and civic improvements he knows no party lines and
endorses and supports the right man for the right place.
AUGUST KRUSE. — Despite his natural love for the country of his
birth, August Kruse believed that he saw in America still greater freedom
and opportunity, and so crossed the seas and threw in his lot with California.
He is the son of Henry and Frederika Kruse, well-known farmer-folk of West-
phalia. His father began to farm as a boy. and when he was ready to ask for
the heart and hand of Frederika Brinckmann, a member of another of the
substantial families of that section, he had a farm to go to, and one of
which he could well boast. Both father and mother lived to be considerably
past the proverbial four score years, and when they died they left their chil-
dren that most blessed heritage — a good name.
Like his brother Henry, August Kruse was born at Enger, in West-
phalia, but four years later, in 1863. being the next to the youngest in the
family. He went to school until he was fourteen, getting all the hard drill of
the local schools and enjoying the usual benefits, and then, for three years,
he worked at farming in that vicinity, mastering as thoroughly as he could
the various stages of agriculture as practised in Germany. When he was
seventeen, he concluded to come to America, and having so decided, took
passage and soon arrived in New York. He caught a glimpse of the Ameri-
can metropolis, and then made his way west to Chicago, later coming on to
Nebraska, where, at Fremont, in Dodge County, he labored as a farm hand
and, in order to acquire English more rapidly, attended school part of the
first winter.
In 1886, Mr. Kruse made his first trip back to the old homestead in
Germany ; and such were his descriptions of the advantages and possibilities
of life in America that his two brothers. Henry and Gustav, together with
August Halemeier and ten others, all friends, came with him on his return
to Nebraska. He continued farming there with success, laid aside money.
and in 1892 made a second trip back to his old home, later returning to
Nebraska.
In 1899 Mr. Kruse came to Fresno County. Cal., where he bought fifty
acres of land on National Avenue. It was raw land ; but he leveled and
(JHasMiLamJ^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1611
staked it, setting out vines and caring for them, and at the same time work-
ing for several seasons in the Bon Ton Winery. Finally, when he had greatly
improved the place, he built his large residence and barns. He had now
a model farm, which he operated until 1915, when he sold it at a highly com-
plimentary figure, making a good profit by the transaction. In 1917 he bought
his present ten acres near Clovis, and there he has since made his home, car-
ing for his vineyard of Malagas and muscats. The same year that he bought
this place he made a trip to Arizona and there purchased some 600 acres of
land near Pearce, some way out from Yuma.
Mr. Kruse is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and
takes a live interest in general local affairs. He is a loyal member of the
German Lutheran Church.
W. R. CARTER. — An enterprising ranchman, whose fine place reflects
most creditably his scientific and practical knowledge of viticulture and horti-
culture, is W. R. Carter, a native son hailing from the Bay Metropolis where
so much of California history was made, and who is much interested in the
preservation of local history. He was born on Van Ness Avenue, San Fran-
cisco, on May 20. 1873, the son of Bernard Boucher Carter, who first saw
the light in London, England. When only twenty-one the elder Carter left
England and went to sea ; and for fifty or sixty years he followed a sea-faring
life. Finally he came round the Horn in a sailer to San Francisco, and for
a while he remained here ; then he sailed from the Golden Gate on a long
voyage around the world. He was steward on a government transport, and
at the time of the Russian-Japanese war, he was held in Yokohama. He
followed the sea until he quit to engage in the bakery business on Van Ness
Avenue, but his love for the ocean drove him forth again, and he continued
to sail until he had to retire. Now, in his eighty-ninth year, he resides with
his son, W. R., where he was for some years engaged in viticulture in Fresno
County, and on the ranch where his family lived when he roamed the sea.
Mrs. Carter was Margaret Isabelle Gill before she became the wife of B. B.
Carter, and she was born in Ireland. Twenty years ago she died in Fresno,
the mother of three boys and four girls, of whom two daughters are now
dead. W. R. Carter is the second oldest.
Having resided in San Francisco until 1881, W. R. then came to Fresno,
where the parents bought twenty acres in the Scandinavian Colony. They
improved the land and made it into a vineyard, and while this was going on,
the lad went to school in the district. From a lad, therefore, he was fortunate
in learning how to care for a vineyard ranch ; .and remaining home he was
able to take care of the estate and manage it for his mother. When the proper
time came, however, he pushed out for himself, and having learned both
viticulture and horticulture, he leased a vineyard near Kearney Park and,
striking a luck}' year, he cleared $1,500 at the first stroke. After this success,
he wanted a place of his own ; and so he bought twenty acres in the American
Colony, ran it as an orchard for eight years and during that time cleared
it of debt, after which he sold it for a thousand dollars in advance of the price
that he had paid.
At Kearney Park, Mr. Carter was married on February 3, 1909, to Miss
Kittie Burnham. who was born in Coffey County, Kans., the daughter of
F. M. and Lucinda (Foote) Burnham, who came to California in 1890 and
had a fine vineyard at Kearney. Mr. and Mrs. Carter have two children:
Margaret Lucinda and Gladys Verna.
After this, Mr. Carter became superintendent of the Pleasant Valley
Stock Farm near Coalinga, owned by A. G. Wishon & Son. He continued
in that responsible position for a year, but then returned to business for
himself. In 1912. therefore, he bought twenty acres of alfalfa in the Barstow
district and engaged in the raising of that commodity and stock ; but suc-
cessful as he was in the double undertaking, his desire was still ungratified.
He preferred, above all, a good vineyard, and a good vineyard he soon set
1612 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
about acquiring. A year later, having sold his stock and alfalfa ranch, he
bought his present place of forty acres one mile west of the Barstow school,
and there, with his usual enterprise, he is now engaged in horticulture and
viticulture. Most of his property is set out to Thompson seedless grapes, but
he has fifteen acres of peach trees, and in addition he leases twenty acres of
Thompson grapes. All in all. Mr. Carter has one of the really fine ranches
in the neighborhood, which makes it natural that he should be a stockholder
in the California Peach Growers, Inc., and in the California Associated, Raisin
Company.
Always interested in the cause of popular education, Mr. Carter has
served for four years as a member of the board of school trustees of his
district, and for the same length of time as clerk of the board. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Carter lend their aid in any local movement for the welfare of the com-
munity generally; and both are members of the Fraternal Brotherhood.
PETER OTTO NELSON. — A viticulturist who is a hustler and has
always made a success of whatever he has undertaken, and who is not only
absorbed in his own plans but is greatly interested in the development and
prosperity of Fresno County, is Peter Otto Nelson, a native of Oeland, Sweden,
where he was born on February 6, 1870. His father was Nels P. Peterson,
a farmer there. Peter was reared a farmer's boy, and attended the public
schools; and he continued to work on a farm, acquiring a most practical
training in the usual lines of agriculture, until he was seventeen, when he
made the decision to leave Sweden and make his way as best he could to
America and far-famed California. He crossed the ocean and the continent
in safety, and reached San Francisco, in December, 1887. From there he
went to Greenwood or Elk, where he entered the employ of the L. E. White
Lumber Company. Later he worked in the shingle mill of the same con-
cern, and after six months secured a position in the service of Jim Poland, on
Salmon Creek, where he remained for two years. He then went to Caspar
and began work for the Caspar Lumber Company, where he became an ex-
pert sawyer, and for fifteen years he was a valued employee of this firm.
While there he served as a trustee of the Caspar school district. On leaving
the Caspar interests he accepted a position as sawyer with the Albion Lum-
ber Company, which he continued to fill for four years.
In 1907, Mr. Nelson removed to Fresno County with the ambition to
engage in viticulture ; and for that purpose he bought a twenty-acre vine-
yard in the Granville district. He secured some three-year-old vines, cared
well for them, and added others; built a fine residence and several additional
outbuildings ; and made many desirable improvements. Later he bought
twenty acres adjoining his property, and now he has a fine pumping plant
and a home place of forty acres, set out to muscat, Malaga, Empire and
Thompson Seedless grapes. He also has a twenty-acre vineyard of muscat
vines, a half mile to the south on Ventura Avenue, and owns besides forty
acres of land in the Kutner Colony on McCall Road. This he is setting out to
vineyards of grapes for shipping, and to figs. He is a member of the Cali-
fornia Associated Raisin Company and of the California Peach Growers, Inc
While at Caspar, Mr. Nelson was married to Miss Louise Anderson, a
native of Oeland, by whom he has had nine children. Walter is in the United
States Service ; Ellen, now Mrs. Parker, lives on Belmont Avenue ; Archie
is at home, as are Mabel, Ruth, Harry, Harriette, Arna and Roy. The famih
attend the Lutheran Church. In matters of national politics Mr. Nelson is
a loyal Republican, and has done good service in party lines; but he is oiu
of those citizens who cast party politics to the winds when local issues are
at stake, and who support the best men and the best measures. He has done
good service as a trustee of the Granville district. Fraternally, he is a mem-
ber of the Eagles.
zitLA*. e^ /3>wl e&>c<^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1615
GEORGE DANIELSEN. — A successful horticulturist and viticulturist,
and a man who has been very active in the development of his section of
Fresno County, inasmuch as he has owned several places and through his
intelligent efforts converted them from unimproved to productive ranches,
is George Danielsen, who has been a resident of Fresno County since 1893.
He was born in that portion of Denmark which was wrested from the little
nation by the Germans. He is the son of George and Mata Danielsen, who
were the parents of eight children : Helen ; Christina ; George ; Annie ;
Andrew ; Ros ; Enger ; and Catherine. Seven of the children and the parents
came to this country, and the father and mother passed away in Fresno
County.
George Danielsen first saw the light of day on February 2, 1868. being
born under the German flag, a fact which he thoroughly regrets, as he is
now a loyal citizen of the United States of America, having been naturalized
in 1894, and liberally contributes his bit to the furtherance of all enterprises
to build up county, state and nation. In 1885 he immigrated to the United
States and after his arrival located for one year in Michigan and later moved
to Texas. He joined the United States regular army and after serving one
year he was discharged because of his being a minor. In 1893, he came to
Fresno County, Cal., where he soon purchased sixty acres of land and
besides owned an interest in eighty acres. He improved part of each ranch
and when they were in good condition he placed them on the market and sold
them, then he purchased his present ranch, which is a highly improved place
both in land and buildings. In 1915, he built an attractive and comfortable
residence which is an ornament to the neighborhood. His ranch is located
four and one-half miles south of Sanger and is devoted to apricots, peaches,
vines and other small fruit. He is a stockholder in both the Raisin and Peach
Growers Associations.
In 1902, Mr. Danielsen was united in marriage with Miss Mary Nielsen,
the daughter of S. Nielsen of Denmark, and this union has been blessed
with two children: George J. and Caroline G. An agriculturist who lives
in close touch with the true source of all things good, and sees His wonderful
power manifested in nature, is George Danielsen. He and his family are
members of the Danish Lutheran Church.
PIERRE BOUCAU. — A very successful viticulturist, whose studious
habits, years of hard work and self-denial, foresight, and willingness to invest
in order that he might reap have at last been rewarded with a comfortable
independence, is Pierre Boucau, who was born near Pau, Basses-Pyrenees,
France, on June 3, 1862, the son of Pierre Boucau, a native of that same re-
gion and for over a score of years a soldier in the French army. He served
with distinction at Sebastopol, and also went through the campaigns in
Mexico ; and only at the expiration of twenty-one years did he return to his
home. In that vicinity he became the superintendent of a large farm, and
having rounded out a very useful life, he died in 1882. His devoted wife, who
was Rose Mendau before her marriage, was also born in the neighborhood,
and there she died, the mother of seven children, of whom our subject is
the only one living.
Pierre Boucau was fortunate in being reared in sunny France and there
acquiring both a knowledge of and liking for certain lines of work ; for when
he was only eight years old he began making his own way on farms. His dis-
advantage was his limited chance for schooling; but this handicap he has
made good, in part, since coming to America. For a year he also served in
the French army; and when he had secured an honorable discharge he left
France and Europe to cross the wide ocean.
In December. 1882, he arrived in Fresno, and went to work on Birkhead
Ranch, dividing his time, for four and a half years, between ranching and
working in town. At the end of that period, he bought 1,700 ewes for sixty
1616 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
cents a head ; but the next spring, pasturage being scarce, he started to cross
the mountains and was caught and penned in by a snow-storm, and lost every
sheep that he had. This gave him a serious set-back, but it by no means de-
stroyed his courage or prevented him from pushing forward again. He
bought five acres in the Easterby Colony and began to try his hand there at
viticulture. He also worked for others, and took contracts for pruning. This
outside service extended over a period of twenty years, and in that time he
was in the employ of John Dickie at his Margherita vineyard, and at St.
George's vineyard, where he sometimes had charge of seventy-five hands.
He bought more land, until he had a vineyard of forty acres, which by hard
work he made one of the attractive properties on Tulare Avenue.
In 1905 Mr. Boucau bought his present ranch of sixty acres. It was raw
land when he took hold of it; but he saw there what others had failed to dis-
cover, its possibilities for the growing of the grape, and with his experience
of years in the service of others he set it out with vines. Now he has five
acres sown to alfalfa ; but the most of the acreage is devoted to grapes,
and most of the grapes grown are for wine. He also owns twenty acres ad-
joining, and this he purposes making of equal or greater value by wise hus-
bandry. He has supported every movement tending to develop the state's
industries, and has been particularly devoted to the interests of the Califor-
nia Associated Raisin Company, of which he is an active member. One in-
vestment has fostered another, and he also owns valuable property in Fresno.
Mr. Boucau has been twice married. In 1888. at Yisalia. he was joined
to Miss Eulalia Huntas, who came from the same town in France that claimed
her husband's birth ; and by her he has had three children: Marie, now Mrs.
Domesta, who lives near Caruthers ; Rosa, or Mrs. Ellis, residing in Kern
County: and Victory, now Mrs. Valentine, of Fresno. Mrs. Boucau died in
March. 1906, on their home place, in which she had come to take such a
fond interest. While he was on a visit to his old home in France, some eight
years ago, where he remained amid the scenes of his youth for ten months,
he married a second time, choosing Leontine Changuett, a native of the same
vicinity, for his wife.
As far as he has been able, Mr. Boucau has familiarized himself with
American ways, and few if any of his fellow citizens surpass him in a love
for his adopted country and a live interest in its political welfare. Generally,
he votes with the party which, in his independent view, he believes most
likely to accomplish the greatest good ; but in local politics he never con-
siders party, and only regards the man and the issue of the hour.
IVY WATSON SHARP.— A viticulturist who has been successful be-
cause of his varied experience in all departments of his field, and because he
studies ordinary, every-day details, is Ivy Watson Sharp, the superintendent
of the Rogers vineyards, where he has some 700 acres under his supervision.
He was born in Shelbyville, Tenn., September 17, 1878, the son of William
Sharp, a native of Scotland, who sailed from that land for the United States
when he was six years of age but lost his parents on the voyage, and so
arrived in Tennessee an orphan. There he was reared by his grandmother
Sharp, and in time he married Mary Raby, a native of that state, of Scotch
descent. The father is now dead, while the mother resides on the old farm
near Petersburg, Tenn. There were ten children in the family, one of whom,
Clifford, was accidentally killed in the San Francisco railroad disaster in 1917.
The second eldest in the family. Ivy W., was reared on a farm and
attended the public school. After the death of his father, who passed away
while the son was in his twentieth year, he continued to help his mother on
the farm. Later he went to Alabama ; but finding it so malarial there that his
health suffered through the change, he looked for relief in California. On
September 3, 1903, he arrived in Fresno. For a while he was employed in
the Wallace vineyard in Temperance Colony, and there he learned the art
of setting out and propagating vines, and caring for them generally. He liked
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1617
the work and for nine years continued with the same ranch, then resigning
to associate himself with the Sperry Flour Mill in Fresno.
As early as 1906 Mr. Sharp made his first trip back to Tennessee, and
five years later he returned there again, this time bringing his mother, two
sisters and a brother to Fresno, where the mother lived until in 1917, when
she returned to Tennessee. The pleasure she derived from this filial act
has ever since given him the greatest satisfaction.
Following his engagement with the Sperry mill, Mr. Sharp became a
motorman for the Fresno Traction Company; but at the end of six weeks
he resigned and accepted his present post as superintendent of the Rogers
vineyards. He makes his headquarters on the ranch near the Belmont and
McCall roads, and from there goes out to survey the three ranches for which
he is responsible. In 1917-1918 he set out about 200 acres in a new vine-
yard, and he has also grafted 125 acres to different varieties. In 1919 he
bought twenty acres of unimproved land, a part of the Waverly ranch.
At Fresno, in 1912, Mr. Sharp was married to Miss Vertie Arnold, a
native of Shelbyville, Tenn., and a lady of talent and charm ; and by her he
had one child, a daughter named Mary Louise. Mrs. Sharp died in March,
1915. Mr. Sharp belongs to Fresno Lodge, No. 343, I. O. O. F. In politics
he is a Democrat.
ERNEST T. WILSON.— A self-made man who has become an influen-
tial leader, is Ernest T. Wilson, the longest resident in his vicinity in the
Barstow section, who returned to his native home in 1907 only to appreciate
more than ever his California home and all the advantages of Fresno County.
He was born on May 3, 1878, in Ralls County, Mo., the son of J. Henry Wil-
son, a native of that state, who is still a prosperous farmer near New London.
He had married Margaret Farrell, another Missourian, who is also happily
still living, the mother of seven children, six of whom are spared to her.
The second oldest of these, Ernest T. is the only one in California, and
his success in recent years is due in part to the good grounding he received
in the public school of his neighborhood, and the practical training that was
his on his father's farm. By 1895 he began to work at agriculture for him-
self, but hearing that the extreme West afforded better opportunities, he
moved to Wyoming in 1899. Eight months of life and work there, however,
led him back to Missouri, but convinced that California had something to
offer that he had not yet discovered, he came West once more, and in October,
1900, reached Fresno County.
He was fortunate in having here a former friend, J. F. Myers, foreman
on the Sharon estate, and for eighteen months he worked there under him
in the dairy. Then he engaged with Myers & Emery to farm for grain and
for a year took charge of their ranch ; and having given entire satisfaction,
he put in a second year in the same place. He was next in the employ of
the Southern Pacific Railroad, pumping water at Kerman, but tiring of the
loneliness of the place at that time, where he saw only the depot and the
section house, for three and a half miles round about, he quit and came to
Barstow district.
Here Mr. Wilson bought from Ben Epstein thirty-two and a half acres
of raw land along the San Joaquin River, and set out six acres of orchard
and five acres of vineyard. He put in alfalfa and continued the development
for three years ; and then he sold his place at a profit. He next bought his
forty acres in the Barstow Colony, and soon made a fine orchard and a vine-
yard. He had fifteen acres of alfalfa, and engaged in dairying for some years.
Seven acres of peaches and twelve acres of vines made a picture decidedly
pleasing to the eye. In 1918, he also bought twenty acres on Valentine and
Church Avenues in the Madison district, which he set out as a vineyard. On
the forty-acre tract he built a residence, made all the needed improvements
in yard and other buildings, and after creating a valuable property he sold
1618 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
it at a big profit in the spring of 1919, and moved to his Madison ranch
where he is improving another vineyard.
In the Empire Colony, Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Ellen Esbjorn-
son. a native of Fowler, Cal., and the daughter of Ole Esbjornson, a farmer
in the Madison district, and they have had three children : Lewis Henry,
Edwin Lloyd, and Ruth Evelyn. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson belong to the
Fraternal Brotherhood.
Read}' at all times to aid in any good cause for the advancement of the
community. Mr. Wilson is a Republican in national politics, and has done
good service in raising the standard of civic ideals. He also gives hearty
support to the California Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Associated
Raisin Company.
O. D. LYON. — Perhaps no man in California has done more to induce
homeseekers to migrate from the Southern and Mid-Western states and
locate in Fresno County, especially that section adjacent to Reedley, than
Judge O. D. Lyon. He is a native of West Virginia, where he was born in
1860. His parents, Thomas D. and Mary (Clark) Lyon, migrated to Illinois
in 1864 and settled near Bloomington. afterwards removing to Nebraska.
Their home was blessed with eight children, O. D. Lyon being the seventh
in order of birth. His preliminary education was supplemented by attending
the Mount Morris Seminary at Mount Morris, 111., from which school he was
graduated in 1882. In his early manhood he taught school for a while, and
afterwards held several important and responsible positions in Nebraska.
For two terms he was the county superintendent of schools of Cheyenne
County : twice he was appointed postmaster at Sidney, Cheyenne County ;
and he also served as assessor and deputy county clerk.
Judge Lyon has been very active and enthusiastic in promoting the
growth and development of Fresno County since 1904, the year of his coming
to Reedley, which was then but a hamlet of seventy-five souls. He is espe-
cially interested in the development of unimproved lands and has been
actively engaged in intensifying the interest of the ranchers in a more
extensive range of agriculture. In this movement he has been successful,
but not to the degree of his highest desires. Having been closely connected,
in a business way, with both the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe Railways,
he was instrumental in securing special terms and profitable inducements
for homeseekers contemplating location in the Golden State. As a result of
these arrangements the county of Fresno, and especially the town of Reedley,
have made rapid strides in population, and with the growth in population
have come its attendant and beneficent results, increased wealth and im-
proved lands. Cultivated ranches are now to be seen reaching nearly to the
foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Judge Lyon continued in the
land improvement business until 1910, at which time he was persuaded by
his many friends to seek election as justice of the peace for Reedley. He was
elected by a large majority and is the present incumbent of that important
office. Judge Lyon is well and favorably known in the county, and is highly
respected for his integrity of character.
O. D. Lyon was united in marriage in 1883, with Miss Catherine A.
Suavely, the daughter of M. Y. and Sarah Suavely. This union was blessed
with four children. Myrtle F. is now Mrs. Cree. Ruby C. is Mrs. Caskey.
Carleton B. responded to the call of his country and served as second lieu-
tenant and later as captain, in the United States Army. Captain Lyon was
honorablv discharged in December, 1018, and is retained in the Reserve
Corps. He is now again with the Standard Oil Companv at Porterville.
The other of the four children is Catherine. Fraternally, Judge Lyon is a
member of the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, and
ili. Woodmen of the World. Religiously, he is an Episcopalian; and politi-
cally, he supports the Republican party.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1621
STEPHEN N. MITROVITCH.— Prominent among those Californians
by adoption, who worked hard to usher in the horticultural and viticultural
era of Fresno County which first assumed importance in the eighties and
which since then has become the principal industry of the county, bringing
millions annually to the producers, is Stephen N. Mitrovitch. who came to
Fresno from his native Jugoslavia, when he was twenty-one years old, and
has since then toiled to improve conditions here and to build up the export
trade. He was born in Dalmatia, on January 7, 1859, and through his birth
and earh' training, inherited an experience and a fund of knowledge that
proved of great value when he took his part in the development of the Golden
State.
Arriving just before the great "boom" in California, Mr. Mitrovitch was
employed as assistant superintendent by George \Y. Mead, father of the raisin
industry in this State — for it was Mr. Mead who induced the importation of
vine-cuttings from Smyrna and the planting of the first vineyards. Later Mr.
Mitrovitch suggested that fig-cuttings be imported from Dalmatia and planted
as borders around the vineyards, and also that mulberry trees be so brought
in and distributed, and soon a few vineyards were enriched by the ever-pro-
ductive White Adriatic Figs. Among the first vineyards so treated were those
of Colonel Forsyth, Logan, John Pugh. Alex. Gordon, Archie Grant, Eotler,
Denikey's Del Monte, as well as Roeding's vineyard and orchard, and Frank
Ball's ranch.
Later, when the raisin vines commenced to bear, both Mr. Mead and Mr.
Mitrovitch personally directed the picking and drying of the fruit. About this
time. Mead's Packing House was erected at the corner of G and Ventura
Streets, and Mr. Mitrovitch superintended the packing and grading of the
raisins — then the only fruit-packing in that vicinity; for Mead's was the only
packing house in the county until 1888. The raisin industry, however, grew
rapidly, and each spring additional vineyards were planted. In 1889 a new
departure was made when Mr. Mitrovitch, in response to his home-folks in
Dalmatia, received an ounce and a half of silk-worm eggs, and Mr. Mead
allowed him the use of the packing-house for the purpose of raising silk and
introducing sericulture — for the first time — into this State. In April and May
of that year. Mead's packing-house was turned into a real cocoonery, and
twelve girls were employed to feed the worms, while two teams were kept
busy gathering mulberry leaves, to feed the stock. As soon as the worms
began to spin themselves into cocoons, the event was heralded by the news-
papers, and thousands of visitors, from throughout the Valley and even from
Los Angeles and San Francisco, came to see the wonderful sight. Mr. Mi-
trovitch produced six hundred pounds of very best raw silk in 1889, but as no
one in the United States would buy raw silk cocoons, the experiment was a
commercial failure.
In course of time, the young fig trees already mentioned were ready to
bear, however small the crops, and naturally Mr. Mitrovitch turned his" at-
tention to the fig industry, then in its infancy. He offered to buy Colonel
Forsyth's crop, but the Colonel declined to sell, saying that Mitrovitch would
greatly oblige him if he would take the fruit away from his vineyard, because
the preceding year's crop had caused trouble after the Fall rains, even produc-
ing pestilence in his neat vineyard, and declaring that he would soon uproot
every tree, and plant shade-trees in their place. Mr. E. Kennedy, the Colonel's
northern neighbor, said the same thing. Despite these refusals, Mr. Mitro-
vitch bought and harvested the fig-crops that year on Kennedy's, Forsyth's,
and Egger's vineyard, as well as at John Pugh's, Gordon's, Grant's, Frank
Ball's and Botler's.
And here may be related a special chapter of the vicissitudes of the early
fig industry in California. Martin Denikey refused to negotiate for his crop
of figs on the Del Monte vineyard, stating that he had a man who would
1622 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
harvest, cure and pack them for him, working on salary. This man, Prof. V.
Vlahusich, gathered in the Del Monte figs at a cost of 6 cents a pound, cured
them at a cost of 2y'2 cents a pound, and then packed them at a cost of 5 cents
a pound, making a total cost to pick, cure and pack of \2>l/> cents a pound.
They were picked when mature enough to be eaten green, and each picker
was furnished with a step-ladder and a specially made basket, and special
trays were made for sulphuring and drying them. The figs were picked with
difficulty and caution, often under the personal direction of Professor Vlahu-
sich, who even pointed "out the figs to the pickers, who brought them into the
yard, spread them out, one by one, in symmetrical fashion, with the mouth
sky-ward, and the trays were left in the sulphur for twelve hours. While
these figs were drying, men went over the trays twice daily, and turned
each one over ; but as they had not been mature enough when picked, the
figs turned pink and dark — a good deal like liver — and they became rocky-
dry. The Del Monte production of that year had been consigned by Denikey
to John Demartini & Co., commission merchants in San Francisco, at a
limited price of 25 cents a pound ; while the famous silky Smyrna figs, im-
ported from Asia, were being sold at only 10 cents a pound. A few months
after these Denikey figs were on the market, and unsold, they fermented and
the dark syrup of figs ran out everywhere ; on which account Martin Denikey
lost the entire crop, as well as the money spent in picking, curing and pack-
ing in a way that no one ever heard of before. On the other hand. Mr.
Mitrovitch harvested and packed his figs at a cost of 3l/i cents a pound,
and he shipped them to Jonas Erlanger & Co., of San Francisco, uncondi-
tionally consigned ; and they were all promptly sold at the price of the im-
ported Smyrnas — 10 cents a pound. The Fresno papers boomed the enter-
prise, and Mr. Mitrovitch was proclaimed the "Fig King," which title he
maintained for many years. Farmers, instead of uprooting their trees, planted
more 'White Adriatics. Especially during four years, when he had no com-
petition, Mr. Mitrovitch packed the figs on each farm where they grew, and
in the way in which the celebrated figs from abroad are treated, using no
grader, steam or any kind of machinery, and quite unlike the steaming method
of the big packing-houses, where the fruit is spoiled both in look and taste.
Such was his success, in fact, that when, in 1893, he exhibited his Adriatic
figs at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the AA Gold Medal
was awarded to him for the best cured and packed White Adriatic figs, in
competition with the world, and later he was awarded the AA Premium
Gold Medal by the Midwinter Exposition in San Francisco.
Serious competition, however, began in 1893, when certain persons
bought from Mr. Mitrovitch the part of the crop injured by the first rain in
the harvesting season — a lot of some twenty tons, which he had condemned
and abandoned, claiming, when they made the purchase, that they intended
to use them for hog-feed. Just prior to this, Mr. Mitrovitch had erected his
fig-packing house on Mono, near H Street, and as it was a novelty in the
town, it was visited by many persons, including those who made the afore-
said purchase. A few days later, some girl packers quit their job, together
with a man overseeing the work ; and they were immediately employed by
the new competitors, who opened a supposed "carpet-cleaning shop" and
there packed the "hog-feed" for the fig market. Even the boxes and the rib-
bons were imitated, and the output was surreptitiously smuggled into San
Francisco by the great "Borax Smith mule team" passing through Fresno
and supposed to be engaged in another business. These inferior figs were
offered the San Francisco public at 35 cents a box of ten pounds, while
Mitrovitch's figs were selling at $1 per box. The doctored-up figs, it was
reported, could not be sold at any price and the board of health ordered that
they be dumped into the harbor or returned to Fresno for real hog-feed ;
but it is declared that the manipulator cleverly saved himself from total
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1623
loss by palming off the cargo as an imitation of chickory and a substitute
for coffee.
For a good while Mr. Mitrovitch held seventy per cent, of the total fig
products hereabouts, and had bought land and planted his own fig orchard ;
and by hard work in and out of the Chamber of Commerce, he alone saved
and developed the California fig industry, and introduced the cured figs
1 into the eastern markets by systematizing the harvesting and packing meth-
ods, thereby diminishing the expense. Disaster overtook him, however, in
the well-remembered hard times when Coxie's "Army" marched upon Wash-
ington. D. C. Mr. Mitrovitch had bought three hundred tons of figs on the
trees, and had paid for them, and laid out the harvesting and packing ex-
penses of the laborers, but, owing to the business depression, the figs, like
the grapes on the market, could not be sold that year, and when he tried to
make fig brandy, the government would not issue him a license. His losses
that year, therefore, were over $30,000 — a sum large enough to crush many
a less resolute soul. What kind of first-class citizen-stuff, however, is in this
naturalized American may be seen from some of the subsequent events in
his career.
Mr. Mitrovitch was married in 1891, and two boys and two girls — making
now six voters in the family — blessed the union. He also came to have his
own home in the city of Fresno, but when, in 1912, the Balkan War was de-
clared by Montenegro in her move against Turkey, Mr. Mitrovitch left his
wife and children here and volunteered to campaign against the Turks. In
1914 he returned to Fresno, and the Morning Republican, among other news-
papers in the state, gave him this most flattering notice : "When twenty-
one members of the local Serbian colony left for the Balkan War in October,
1912, they were joined by S. N. Mitrovitch. a well-known Fresno resident,
who had seen service before in the War against Turkey in 1877. Mr. Mitro-
vitch returned to Fresno last Thursday, after having served throughout the
late war, and he is the first of the local Serbians to return. Because of his
knowledge of languages, he gained many distinctive honors while in the
service of Montenegro, and was decorated with the Cross of the Order of
Prince Danilo I. for bravery and patriotic service rendered to the people of
Montenegro. During the greater part of his time in the war he acted as an
interpreter for General Martinovich, Minister of War for Montenegro ; and
his duties under the Minister of War brought him in constant touch with
the military attaches of different nations, including the son of General Nelson
A. Miles, who was present as the representative of the United States. Mr.
Mitrovitch, who was with the battalion of American volunteers for about
three and one-half months, was on the firing line under the very walls of
the Turkish stronghold at Scutari, when he was suddenly taken ill with
pneumonia. Later, he was assigned to the general staff as interpreter. He
also acted as post-office censor for all Italian and English mail."
Six months after Mr. Mitrovitch's return from the war, he finished a
manuscript of about two hundred thousand words, in English, narrating his
experiences in the exciting campaigns in which he participated ; and the book
was to have been published by Macmillan & Co., at New York. The title
was, "An American Citizen Volunteer in the Balkan War," but the outbreak
-of the great European War, overshadowing all else, led the publishers to
decline what otherwise they would have bidden for.
In 1917, when the United States declared war against Germany, and the
call for volunteers was issued by the president, Mr. Mitrovitch, although
fifty-eight years of age, promptly offered his services to the Secretary of
War, pointing with pride to his record in two wars against the Turks, and
his citizenship of thirty years in America ; and this offer was gracefully
acknowledged by the government. He also volunteered to campaign with
Roosevelt against the enemy, and his generous and heroic willingness was
looked upon with pleasure by the hero of the Spanish-American War. Al-
1624 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
though he himself could not go to the front, two of his sons — Milan, in his
twenty-seventh year, an electrician of note, serving in the engineering corps,
and Stephen, Jr., aged twenty, who went with the aviation forces — bore the
good name of Mitrovitch to the firing line, along with the colors they fought
to defend.
Mr. Mitrovitch is also known for his patriotic political writings con-
tributed not only to the American press, but to the leading Serbo-Croatian ,
newspapers in this country and abroad. He has held a forceful brief for the
Jugo-Slavs, and he has been active in organizing two societies, the "All-
Slavonic," in 1904. and the "Wreath."' three years later, for the purpose of
uniting all Slavs in America into one benevolent association, to help the
sick and bury the dead, to promote love and peace, to improve their social
relations, to stimulate a love toward this great country of their adoption, to
keep alive the love toward the country of their origin, to advance the intel-
lectual, moral and material welfare of the members, and to assist them to
get and hold property, and to borrow or lend. When a lecture was given
against the King of Montenegro at the Serbian Congress in San Francisco,
in May. 1910. Mr. Mitrovitch fearlessly took issue with the lecturer, Simo
Skobaitch, and even carried the matter into the courts, so that the Serbian
Herald was obliged to retract and publish one of the strongest editorial
apologies ever printed on the Pacific Coast. As the result of so much cam-
paigning for political freedom and for what he regards as truth, Mr. Mitro-
vitch numbers among his political enemies many chauvinistic Serbs — but that
is one of the matters of which this doughty Serbian-Californian is very proud.
EMIL F. KAISER. — A progressive and prominent orchardist and vine-
yardist who has contributed much toward the advancement of horticulture
and viticulture in Central California is Emil F. Kaiser, a native of France,
where he was born in 1867, and where he spent much of his childhood. He
is the son of Emanuel and Christina Kaiser, worthy parents who did the
best they could for their family, and who enjoyed everybody's esteem. In
1879, the Kaisers left the continent for America, and after arriving at Xew
York City the first serious separation took place. Emil and his brother Guss
set out on horseback across the great American Continent, investigating the
possibilities in different states, and did not pull rein until they reached
California. In Fresno they purchased land in the Kearney tract. On their
report of being pleased with the soil, climate and conditions in California,
their brother John joined them, and soon became superintendent for M.
Theodore Kearney. The brothers assisted in leveling and grading the
Kearney lands, as well as in sowing alfalfa and planting orchards and vine-
yards. To Emil Kaiser fell the lot of setting out all the trees on one side
of Kearney Avenue and for half of the distance on the other side : and there
is nothing in which Mr. Kaiser takes more keen enjoyment than in his fre-
quent trips out Kearney Boulevard, now grown to be famous as one of the
most beautiful country drives, not only in California, but in the United
States. Besides this, the brothers farmed and improved their ranch.
In 1900 the brothers made the trip to Alaska, where for a time they
were mining at Nome. On his return from the frozen North. Emil F. Kaiser
again took to ranching. Still later he set up in business in Fresno, and he
yet maintains his commercial interests there. He is actively identified with
the Chamber of Commerce, leaves no stone unturned to "boost" everything
that it endorses, and never tires of advancing the interests of the city.
Politically, though long a live-wire Democrat. Mr. Kaiser never limits his
support, especially in local issues, to purely Democratic measures-
On April 18. 1895, Mr. Kaiser and Miss Elizabeth Wendt became husband
and wife, and now three boys and three girls enliven their family hearth:
Leona, a graduate of Heald's Business College; Emil J., of the automobile
repair firm of Kaiser & Willever; Guss. who has just returned from service
in the United States Navy; Vera, attending Fresno High School; and Florian
^&^if^/fz*-\
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1627
and Lawrence. All of the children make their home under the parental roof,
excepting Emil J., who is married and resides in his own home.
In 1890 the Order of the Sons of Herman was started here, and it has
ever since maintained a place of influence in the community, while greatly
adding to its strength. Mr. Kaiser is now Grand President of the State of
California division, an honor he duly appreciates. He also belongs to the
Eagles, the Owls, and the Foresters.
HARRY CLYDE BASEY.— A young man who has demonstrated his
ability as a viticulturist and horticulturist, is Harry C. Basey, a native of
Iowa, where he was born near Oskaloosa, January 27, 1880. His father,
George Basey, was also born in Iowa, where he was a farmer ; he removed
to Fillmore County, Nebr., 1884, and in 1891 to Nuckolls County, the same
state, being active as a farmer until he retired; he now lives in Edgar, Nebr.
The mother of Harry C. was Louisa Delpha Jordan, born in Iowa and de-
scended from an old Southern family; she is still living, the mother of eight
sons and one daughter, the latter being deceased.
Harry C. is the fifth in order of birth, and from the age of four was
reared in Nebraska, reciving a good education in the public schools. When
twenty years of age he began for himself, being employed on farms in
Nebraska. He was married in Nuckolls County, in 1904, to Miss Garnett
Norwood, who was born in that county. Her parents, John and Alice
(Cody) Norwood, were early settlers and homesteaders in Nuckolls County,
as was also grandfather Norwood, as early as 1872.
After his marriage Mr. Basey farmed one year in Nebraska and then re-
moved, in 1905, to Pulaski County, Mo., where he purchased a farm in the
Ozark Mountains. Three years later he sold this and removed to Audrain
County, Mo., where with his father-in-law, Mr. Norwood, he purchased a
farm and successfully engaged in farming and stock-raising.
On account of his wife's health, they sold out and came to Fresno
County, Cal., in 1912, and Mr. Norwood and himself bought thirty acres in
Round Mountain District. It was unimproved, but by energy and care they
now have a beautiful ranch. Twenty-five acres are in white Adriatic figs,
and the balance in Thompson seedless grapes. The ranch is well improved,
being equipped with a pumping plant ample for irrigating the whole tract.
With his wife, Mr. Basey is a member of the Christian Church in Sanger
he being a member of the Board of Deacons.
A. E. THOMPSON.— A veritable "hustler" who has done much to build
up Central California, and in doing so has well built up himself, is A. E.
Thompson, the well-known viticulturist and horticulturist, who believes that
Fresno is the best county in the State, and that Clovis and vicinity are the
best section in the flourishing county. Born at Hamilton, Ontario, as was his
father, E. J. Thompson, he is the son of a farmer who came into the United
States and Michigan, then moved to Missouri and later went back to Ontario.
In the late eighties he reached California and Fresno, and soon after he bought
a ranch on Millbrook Avenue. His wife, who was Elizabeth Rolstin before
her .marriage, died in California, the mother of eight children, three of whom
settled in this state.
A. E. Thompson, the eldest in the family, was brought up in Canada,
and educated in the public schools there. He remained at home until he was
twenty-one, and then he went to Brandon, Manitoba, where he followed
farming for a year. Meanwhile, however, he was hearing and thinking about
the wonderful commonwealth by the Pacific. In 1888 he came to Fresno.
He was a stranger, and without means, but he went to work on various
ranches, part of the time for twenty dollars and board, and sometimes for
only fifteen. He also worked eleven hours. He got ahead, however, and, as
soon as possible, he bought five acres on Millbrook Avenue. He improved the
1628 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
land and sold it, and then he bought twenty acres and some city lots, which
he also improved and sold.
By the year 1913, Mr. Thompson had bought his present twenty acres
of vineyard and orchard, upon which he located; and now he has a fine place,
with an attractive residence and well-built and commodious barns, the most
of the land set out as a vineyard or planted to alfalfa. To make his vine-
yard, he had to take out the orchard. The Enterprise canal affords a good
supply of water. He has ten acres of Thompson's seedless, two acres of
other vines, two and a half acres of peaches, and the balance in orange trees.
Mr. Thompson leases ten acres of vineyard adjoining, with which he has ex-
ceptional success, as may be judged from the fact that he was one of the
first, in the vicinity of Fresno, to set out Thompson's seedless — the vines of
which, in excellent condition, are still growing.
Mr. Thompson was married at Fresno to Miss Sarah Buck, a native of
Ontario ; and by her he had six children : Edwin, who assists his father on the
ranch; Dorothy, Annette, Leslie, Joseph, and Pauline. Mrs. Thompson is a
member of the Baptist Church of Clovis.
Successful, and a leader in the field in which he has made his modest
fortune, Mr. Thompson is a member of the California Peach Growers, Inc.,
and also of the California Associated Raisin Company. He is a Republican,
but in local issues he votes for the candidates most suitable.
REV. FATHER GEORGE P. SEUBERT.— The beloved and devoted
pastor of the Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church at Reedley, Cal., is
a native of Lebanon, Pa., where he was born on January 19, 1875, a son of
Francis A. and Margaret Seubert. He attended the parochial school at
Lebanon until he reached the age of fourteen, after which he entered the Saint
Vincent College at Beatty, Pa., from which institution he was graduated in
1896. To complete his studies for the priesthood, he went to Europe, where
he attended the University at Innsbruck, Austria, the capital city of the
Tyrol. He remained at Innsbruck three years to finish his course, and then
returned to the United States, and was ordained a priest on March 7. 1899,
at Baltimore, Md. After holding various pastorates in Pennsylvania, Father
Seubert came to California in 1905; and on November 15, 1906, he was in-
stalled .as pastor of the church at Reedley.
At an early period in the history of Fresno County, the congregation of
Saint Anthony of Padua was formed as a mission under the guidance of the
priest at Fresno. From the year 1890 until 1900 it was under the care of
the priest stationed at Hanford, and from 1900 until November 15, 1906, it
was still a mission and was supplied from the church at Visalia. The latter
date is a memorable one in the history of this church, for it was then that
the Right Rev. T. J. Conaty, D.D., Bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles,
appointed the present efficient and consecrated priest as pastor. At that
time there was no church building and the congregation was obliged to
meet in halls or private homes. Subsequently a spacious site for a church
building was purchased comprising ten lots situated on the corner of Elev-
enth and F Streets. On October 8, 1907, excavation for the foundation was
commenced, and on November 24, 1907, the corner-stone was laid by the
greatly beloved Bishop Conaty, who. after the lapse of four busy years,
which were marked by intense activity on the part of the zealous pastor,
also dedicated the building on May 21, 1911. The edifice is regarded as one
of the finest specimens of church architecture in Fresno County, and com-
pares favorably with many of the churches found in larger cities. It has a
seating capacity of 400 persons. At a very low estimate the cost of the
structure is placed at $35,000. An interesting feature of the building, by
which is shown the high regard in which the pastor. Father Seubert, is held
by the citizens of Reedley, is the large clock, which was donated by non-
Catholic citizens of the town. The gift renders a splendid service to the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1629
inhabitants of this enterprising little city, as the clock strikes the hours,
as well as the half hours, throughout the day and night. The dial of the
clock is four and one-half feet in diameter and is visible all over the town.
Father Seubert erected a rectory, constructed from the same kind of
stones as were used in the church building. This structure, now completed
at a cost of about $10,000, is an attractive addition to the permanent buildings
of Reedley. Much credit is due both to the loyal members who, by their
sacrifices of both money and time, have made possible the consummation of
this worthy work, and also to the pastor who, with untiring zeal and con-
secrated devotion, has led his people to the triumphant completion of so
great an undertaking.
JOHN L. MITCHELL. — How much Selma and vicinity owe to such
men as John L. Mitchell, the popular real estate and insurance agent, and
notary public, may be estimated only when one is familiar with the personal
character and exceptional equipment of the subject, factors which have made
him, as well as his esteemed wife and family, acceptable as leaders or prime-
movers in all circles wherein they take part. His father was Benjamin
Mitchell, a native of Tennessee, who lived for years in Missouri as a farmer
and died there, aged eighty-five. His mother, who was Matilda Looney be-
fore her marriage, was a native of Alabama and came to Missouri, where she
was married. She lived to be two years older than her husband, and when
she passed hence, she also was mourned by a large group of friends. The
worthy couple had fourteen children, of whom thirteen grew to maturity.
Born at Morrisville, near Springfield, Mo., on May 9, 1853, the seventh
son in the family and the ninth child, John attended the schools in the
vicinity of his home, and later took a six-years' classical course at Morris-
ville College. Having thus prepared himself with all thoroughness under the
best of teachers for pedagogical work, Mr. Mitchell taught for a while in
Missouri and next in Texas ; and having carried out a plan of getting some
first-hand acquaintance with the Pacific Coast, he came to California in 1887
and after visiting the Sacramento Valley for three months, he returned to
Missouri on account of the death of his youngest brother.
Mr. Mitchell has been twice married, death depriving him in the first
instance of his gifted bride. She was Miss Sadie Scott of Oakland before her
union, and she passed away about a year later, leaving no children. It was
1906 when Mr. Mitchell, at Selma, chose for his wife Mrs. S. A. Wenty,
widow of Fred Wenty, a rancher of that neighborhood. Her maiden name
had been Sallie A. Richards, and she had come from St. Louis, where she
was born. At the time of her second marriage, she had a daughter, Edith ;
and this attractive young lady, who in 1917 graduated from the Selma High
School, is now a Sophomore at the Baptist University of Redlands.
A member of the Selma Blue Lodge of Masons, Mr. Mitchell has become
Past Master, and he is also Past High Priest of the Chapter, and Inspector
of the district. Mrs. Mitchell is Past Matron of the Eastern Star of Selma.
Mr. Mitchell belongs to the Methodist Church South, while Mrs. Mitchell
subscribes to the articles of belief of the Selma Baptist Church.
Long a stalwart Democrat, Mr. Mitchell has served as city clerk and
recorder of Selma two times, and both while in office and since he retired to
take care of his numerous interests, he always has proven alive and active for
the public good.
In 1890, Mr. Mitchell came to California for a second time, settling at
Selma, and a year later he bought a ranch of some forty acres and planted
it to muscats. By a very natural process, he developed into a 'first-class
booster, and among other organizations, he cheerfullv gives the California
Raisin Growers' Association all possible support. In 1901 he went to Alaska
and mined at Nome and Teller, but the irresistible lure of California drew
him back to the happiest of all his happy hunting-grounds.
1530 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Several years previously he had opened his well-known real estate and
insurance office, and lor a long time he has dealt with great success in
improved lands. He has also built a number of bungalows for residential
purposes, and these he has always sold to the advantage of both himself and
the buyer. He represents the following fire insurance companies: London
Assurance, New Zealand, Continental, Fidelity, Phoenix, American Eagle,
American, Glens Falls, Agricultural, Boston, and other standard old lines.
Giving the closest attention to details, taking the most unselfish interest in
the needs of his many patrons, and sparing no pains both to aid and to please,
it is no wonder that John L. Mitchell succeeds in his undertakings.
JAMES WILLIAM SIMS. — A resident of Fresno County, who inherits
many of the characteristics of his father, Phillip W. Sims, one of the early
and highly-honored settlers, is James William Sims, who was born in Graves
County, Ky., on August 20, 1868, and came to Fresno on June 11. 1887. His
father was born in Tennessee of an old Eastern family, and lived in his native
state until his marriage. He served in the Civil War as a corporal in the Con-
federate Army, after which he engaged in farming in Graves County. In
1874, the family removed to Bell County, Texas, and there he raised grain
and cotton ; then he moved to Bosque County, of the same state, and con-
tinued farming. In 1887 the family located in Fresno city, and Mr. Sims
followed the carpenter's trade. Now he resides near Fresno. Mrs. Sims was
Martha J. Blythe before her marriage, and she also was born in Graves
County, Ky., a member of an old Virginia family. Grandfather Blythe came
from Virginia, and her mother was an Adair, of a prominent Kentucky fam-
ily. The mother is still living and the mother of seven children, all sons, five
of whom are living.
J. W. Sims, the oldest of the children, spent his first six years 'on a farm
in Texas, while he attended the public school. He learned to raise grain and
cotton, so that when he came to Fresno he at least knew how to work. He
assisted in the construction of the Hughes Hotel, and then for five years he
worked for a coal and wood dealer.
In 1892 he was married at Fresno to Miss Lucy Behunan. a native of
Santa Rosa and the daughter of P. M. Behunan who crossed the plains in
1848, and became a contractor and builder in Fresno, and later embarked in
the coal and wood business.
After marriage, Mr. Sims entered the employ of the Southern Pacific
Railroad Company and for a while worked in the car shops : later he was
made inspector, and five years later he was in charge of a part of the Santa
Fe shops. At the end of three years he came back to the Southern Pacific,
and he was nearly twelve years in all in railroad work. In the meantime, in
1892. and while working for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, Mr.
Sims bought his present place of twenty acres at the corner of Clinton and
Chittenden avenues, in Montpelier tract, located upon it and began improve-
ments during his spare time. Besides Elberta and Muir peaches, he raises
Thompson seedless grapes.
Since 1909 Mr. Sims has also done much spraying. He began with a
Myers hand pump, but three years later he bought a power machine, now he
has three power machines, and he is busy doing spraying all over Fresno
County and even in Madera County. The season runs from November until
April of each year. For five years he has engaged in operating a power ma-
chine mounted on a truck, for whitewashing buildings. He belongs to the
California Associated Raisin Company, and he has been a member and stock-
holder of the California Peach Growers. Inc., from its origin.
Mrs. Sims died at Fresno in 1911 and left one child. W. E. Sims, a ma-
chinist in Fresno. On his second marriage, Mr. Sims took for his wife Anna
Rock, a native of Boston, where she was educated. He belongs to the Wood-
men of the World, and has long been a deacon in the Cumberland Presby-
terian Church. In national politics, Mr. Sims is a Democrat.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1633
JOHN SALLEE PUGH. — One of the successful viticulturists here-
abouts, and yet a man who is never so occupied that he has not some time
to spare for the general advancement of agricultural interests in California,
or for the extension of hospitality to the stranger, thereby maintaining pleas-
antly a fine old California tradition, is John Sallee Pugh, who owns a place
of eighty acres and leases another tract just as large on Ventura Avenue,
eleven and a half miles east of Fresno. A native son of the Golden State, Mr.
Pugh was born near Pennington, Sutter County, in 1873, the son of John M.
Pugh, who settled in California in 1858 and is represented on another page of
this work.
Brought up at Stonyford, Colusa County, where he attended the public
school until he was fourteen, John accompanied his parents to Fresno County
when they moved here, and continued his schooling at Orange Center, after
which he went to the Oakland Polytechnic, where he took a business course.
Returning to Fresno, he assisted his father and moved with him and the rest
of the family, in 1905, to a ranch of 140 acres in the Kutner Colony. Here
the father and his sons engaged in viticulture and horticulture until the death
of the former, when John pushed out for himself.
He at first purchased a forty-acre vineyard in the Kutner Colony, to
which he gave his most careful attention until, in 1915, he sold it, and then
he bought forty acres of his present ranch in the Granville district. This he
has improved and made into a fine vineyard. In 1918 he bought forty acres
adjoining, so that he now has eighty acres in a body. The new forty is planted
to alfalfa.
Since he came to Fresno County, on June 19, 1888, Mr. Pugh has seen
great improvements in the region which then had but few vineyards and
now boasts of over a hundred thousand acres. He has found pleasure in
vigorously promoting the aims of the California Associated Raisin Company.
He supports the candidates of the Democratic party; while in fraternal cir-
cles he is a Mason, having been made a Mason in Selma Lodge, No. 277,
F. & A. M.
Looking back over past years and conditions, and contrasting the present
vastly improved state of affairs, Mr. Pugh is one of the most optimistic
acclaimers of a glorious future for this great commonwealth.
HORATIO SEYMOUR CONNER.— Like many other residents of
Fresno County, Horatio S. Conner traveled over most of the states in the
Union before making his choice of a locality for agricultural develop-
ment, and he is now one of the Valley's most enthusiastic boosters.
Born in Auburn, N. Y., January 30, 1863, he is a son of Joseph and Mathilda
(Steele) Conner, the father a native of Ireland and a shoemaker by trade,
first in Auburn, N. Y., and later in Cleveland, Ohio. He answered the call
of his country at the outbreak of the Civil War, enlisting in the Forty-fifth
New York Regiment, Volunteer Infantry, and served for four years, on his
return making his home in Cleveland. Both parents are now deceased, and
of their eleven children, five are now living.
Horatio Seymour Conner was educated in the public schools of Auburn
until 1879, when he removed with his parents to Cleveland, and when sixteen
years old was apprenticed there as electrical engineer in the Brush Electric
Light Company, continuing his studies at night school in the meantime.
After three years as an apprentice, he remained with the company seventeen
years longer, as an expert electrician, and built electric light plants for them,
and also electric street car lines, all over the' United States. He put in the
big power plant in Virginia City, Nev., and one at Eldorado, Cal., also in the
old Brush Electric Light Company plant in San Francisco. His travels took
him all over the states, from Maine to New Orleans, and Boston to San Fran-
cisco.
1634 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
After thirty-three years on the road as an expert electrician, the last
five years as salesman for the Brush Electric Light Company, Mr. Conner felt
he had had enough, and decided to settle down, having always looked forward
to California since his first trip here, in 1889. In 1916 he bought his ranch
of forty acres on Belmont Avenue, Fresno, and engaged in viticulture and
horticulture, his land being planted principally to muscats and malagas,
with a border of fig trees. He has put in modern improvements, installing
an electric motor for lighting and power, and a pumping plant, also run by
electricity, and he devotes the same energy and thoroughness to his land
cultivation which made him so successful in the world at large. He is a mem-
ber of the California Associated Raisin Company and at all times favors proj-
ects for the advancement of Central California.
The marriage of Mr. Conner united him with Mrs. Clara (Mitchell)
Andrus, a native of Michigan, in which state the ceremony occurred. Both
Mr. and Mrs. Conner are members of the First Presbyterian Church, Fresno.
JOHN L. ASHTON. — A successful business man who is associated with
an important industrial establishment of Selma, and who is one of the repre-
sentative commercial men of this progressive town, is John L. Ashton, owner
and manager of Ashton's Bakery, at 1947 High Street. His father was William
S. Ashton, a native of England, who came to America with his parents when he
was five years old, and was a teacher of vocal music in Kentucky and Ten-
nessee, organizing old fashioned singing classes. His mother, whose maiden
name was- Artelia Early, belonged to a well-known family of Kentucky, in
which state she was born, and was always proud of the fact that her
mother. Mrs. Mary Early, liberated all of her slaves at the outbreak of the
Civil War.
Born at Lamasco, Lyon County, Ky., on June 24, 1879, the fifth in a
family of six children, John attended the schools of his native section and
grew up on his father's farm. He learned to turn a furrow, raise corn and
tobacco, and to attend to live stock. He took up some of the more useful
branches of study, such as commercial arithmetic, algebra and geometry, and
made such progress that he was ready, when twenty-one years of age, to
make his own way in the world.
On attaining his majority, Mr. Ashton came to the Pacific Coast and,
liking California, and Fresno in particular, he stopped for three years to learn
the bakery trade at the Home Bakery. Next he went to Hanford and took
charge of the City Bakery, and in the latter town he remained about a year.
Returning to Fresno, Mr. Ashton established the Model Bakery, which
is still being conducted there. He built a larger Miodel Bakery in Kern Street
when the premises became too small, and there, by introducing the latest
machinery, appliances and methods, soon took rank as one of the best of
Fresno's bakers. Such was the encouraging response of the public that at
one time he baked 10,000 loaves of bread a day.
Disposing of this bakery in 1911 to its present owner, he went to Bakers-
field and there organized the Ashton Baking Company. At the end of a
year and a half, however, he sold out his proprietary interest, and then, for
another year and a half, he managed the establishment for the purchaser.
In September, 1915. he came to Selma, and purchased the Route Bakery;
and on February 5, 1917, he bought the Home Bakery, at 1947 High Street,
where he is now located. Determined to give Selma the very best establish-
ment he could devise, he spent $3,000 in remodelling the place, and has since
installed new machinery, including mixers, moulders and ovens, so that now,
without doubt, he has one of the most sanitary and best-equipped bakeries in
the Valley. He owns and is always improving his residence property at 2024
Grant Street, Selma, where he dwells very happily with his family. He has
also bought the building on High Street where the Ashton Bakery is located.
The products of this favorite bakery are retailed not only at the bakeshop, but
in all the groceries of the town and vicinity.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1635
At Fresno, Mr. Ashton was married to Miss Ellen Kalquest, a native of
Boston, Mass., a talented and charming woman, and both husband and wife
make and retain many friends. Their home, always hospitable, is a center of
attraction for music-lovers. They have two children, Leland and Margaret.
Mr. and Mrs. Ashton are members of the Baptist Church at Selma, where
Mr. Ashton sings tenor in the choir. Mr. Ashton is a member of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows.
In addition to his residence and business properties already mentioned, he
owns four lots at Fresno, one of which already contains a residence, and
eight lots at Richmond. He is a hard worker, and ascribes his success to his
ceaseless endeavor to please and to serve, and the invaluable cooperation of
his faithful wife. October 5, 1918, he started the California Bakery in
Tulare, Tulare County, Cal. He is now on the point of buying a one-half
interest in the Lark Bakery and Confectioner}' at Fresno.
He is of that quality of manhood which Fresno County loves to welcome
and his example clearly demonstrates what a young man of brain and brawn,
with application, can do in a few years in this locality.
HENRY J. JACOBSEN.— A young man in the real estate field of Selma
who, by not merely enterprise but by the assurance that his word will always
be as good as his bond and that every customer will meet with the fairest
of dealing, has succeeded, despite the lively competition of today, far beyond
his expectations, is Henry J. Jacobsen, of the well-known firm of Farmer &
Jacobsen. His father, Jens Jacobsen, was a farmer who married Sophie
Stephensen, like himself a native of Denmark. Both of the worthy parents
are yet living, highly honored for their integrity-
Born at Horsen, Jutland, in Denmark, on January 3, 1878, Henry grew
up to enjoy a very thorough grammar school training, at the end of which
course he was confirmed in the Danish Lutheran Church. Starting out for
himself, he learned the trade of a tailor, serving an apprenticeship of four
years. Not until he had demonstrated that he could hold his own with any
of the master workmen did he receive the congratulations of his fellows, sev-
eral of whom were sharp enough to prophecy that the young man would not
long remain a tailor.
Not long after, Henry was seized with a desire to come to America, and
in a few months he had sailed from Copenhagen for New York, landing at
old Castle Garden on October 1, 1901. His destination was Council Bluffs,
Iowa, but he soon found that although Denmark in winter is cold, it is far
colder in Iowa, and having sampled the weather to his heart's content, he
packed his trunk again, and once more moved forward to his destiny.
It happened that he had an uncle at Oleander, Fresno County, Cal.
namely, the Rev. P. J. Ostegaard, who replied to his inquiries about Califor-
nia in the only sensible way, by urging him to come out and see for himself;
hence, in February, 1902, he arrived at the Ostegaard home, and from the
first day of his experience here he has liked the fruitful region. Ambitious
to master English, he spent a year in the Oleander grammar school and the
following year in the high school ; and about that time he became acquainted
with Senator AY. F. Chandler, now of Fresno, who advised him to start a
merchant-tailoring shop in Selma. Acting on the suggestion, he was success-
ful from the beginning.
The following year Mr. Jacobsen bought out The Toggery, then owned by
Messrs. Dusy & Price ; and for ten years he managed the locally-famous
store, giving Selma a service much needed and never before supplied. In
December, 1913, however, he sold out and went to Los Angeles and for a
short time he engaged in real estate business there. In the southern metropo-
lis he lost no opportunity to thoroughly familiarize himself with the California
realty world, so that he thereby fulfilled the prophecy that tailoring would
not satisfy him forever.
1636 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
On his return to Selma, Mr. Jacobsen entered into a partnership with
L. B. Farmer, and together they went into the real estate field here. Now.
decidedly prosperous, they own several ranches, and buy and sell ranches
for others. Mr. Jacobsen alone owns a couple of ranches near Selma, and in
1917-18 built a two-story, stucco bungalow at 2519 North McCall Avenue,
which is now his home, at a cost of $6,000. He is still a young man, still a
"booster," is active in the Chamber of Commerce, the Raisin Growers' and
the California Peach Growers' associations.
On January 6, 1907, Mr. Jacobsen was married to Miss Gyda Petersen.
a native of Denmark, who came to the United States in 1906 and reached
California on August 11 of that year. They were engaged when they were
young folks in Denmark, as a result of which romance Miss Petersen came
all the way across the ocean to be joined in wedlock. In May, 1911, they
made a trip back to the old country, returning in September. They have two
children, Henry J. and Oscar C.
Prominent members of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church at
Selma, Mr. and Mrs. Jacobsen enjoy the good will of the community in whose
welfare they take such a lively interest and aid in all that gives prosperity
and social improvement.
M. R. POTTER. — A fine old gentleman endowed with clean character
and a strong mind, perhaps as the result of the strenuous times and untold
hardships he has lived through, is M. R. Potter, the son of David Potter,
a cooper who was born in Genesee County, N. Y., and married in Ohio, his
bride being Almira Post. In 1853, his parents came West, passing through
Chicago and making for Wisconsin ; and for a while they lived near Portage
City in that State, where the father worked as a cooper. At the end of two
and a half years, Mr. Potter and his family moved to what is now Rochester,
Minn., a section then inhabited by the Sioux Indians ; and they were upon
a farm in that vicinity at the time of the New Ulm massacre. The parents
had thirteen children, among them three pairs of twins; and the subject of
our interesting sketch was the fourth child. He well remembers the journey
through Chicago, with its row after row of German saloons on one side of
Michigan Avenue, and its boat-landings and warehouses on the other.
Born in Branch County, Mich., February 24, 1845, the lad worked on his
father's farm while the latter was busy at his cooperage, and also some-
times helped in the barrel-making; and when the Sioux Indians went on the
rampage he enlisted in the Home Guards and served in local defense during
the time of the Civil War. He had many narrow escapes, but he regarded
them as a matter of course in what was to him his paramount duty — the
defense of country and hearth.
In 1866, Mr. Potter went with his father and brothers to Missouri and
there they bought in common a section of school land in Schuyler County.
Fortunately, they pulled well together, each working for the good of all ;
and in the end they got as much as possible out of the venture.
His marriage, however, in 1874, to Miss Viola Mattley made some
difference in his plans as to the future. The lady was born in Jefferson
County, lnd., the daughter of William and Phoebe (Sprague) Mattley, her
mother being a relative of William Sprague. who was Governor of Rhode
Island in the Sixties and later United States Senator. Mrs. Mattley was
a native of Rhode Island, but Mrs. Potter grew up in Indiana until her
fourteenth year, when she moved with her parents to Missouri.
Immediately after their marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Potter removed to
Nebraska, and there near Ord, in Valley County, they took up a homestead
of lf>0 acres on the prairie. They lived through the three-year scourge of
grasshoppers in 1875-76-77. and what of privations and hardships they then
suffered quite beggars description. They were not able to get away; and
one time he went for three days without a bite to cat while in search of
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1637
work so that he and his family might live through the terrible ordeal. But
they subsisted and persisted until 1902, when they were able to sell out and
come to California. They came to Selma, where 'they found a good home
and a pleasant neighborhood ; and like themselves, the neighborhood and
the home have been growing sunnier every day. Mr. Potter bought fifty
acres of choice land, which he has further improved ; he has planted thirty-
five acres to muscats and nine acres to Thompson's ; putting the remaining
acreage into alfalfa and a building site. And there, one mile northeast of
Selma, on Floral Avenue, he has established the most attractive of homes.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter have had two children of their own : Iva, now the
wife of D. M. Orr, the well-known rancher who lives two miles northwest
of Selma, and Edward O. Potter, also well-known here. In addition, they
adopted a boy when he was two years old, J. H. Potter, a rancher at Burrel,
Cal., who succumbed to the influenza in January, 1919.
It is sad to relate that Mr. Potter, now suffers from astigmatism of both
eyes, and as far back as seven years ago was threatened with almost total
blindness. This does not prevent him, however from doing his duty in
civic matters. He was for years a stalwart Republican but is at present
an equally resolute Progressive.
WILLIAM McINDOO and IVAN CARTER McINDOO.— Among
the well known and enterprising families of Fresno County none have be-
come better acquainted with the natural resources than the Mclndoo family,
represented by Ivan Carter and his father, William Mclndoo, of Fresno.
William Mclndoo first came to the county in 1886, after having followed
farming and the stock business in Ontario, Canada, for many years, to take
up life's duties under different environments than found in the Province
of Ontario, where he was born at Petersboro, on April 1, 1846, the oldest
in a family of six boys and five girls, nine of whom reached maturity. The
father was named 'Mathew Mclndoo and he lived and died in Canada. His
father was named William and he was an immigrant from Ireland to Canada
in 1815. Mathew Mclndoo married Mary Carter, who also spent her life
in Canada. Besides William Mclndoo, three of her sons located in Fresno
Countv : Robert, Mathew and James, and they are still living.
William Mclndoo was educated in the public schools and the military
academy at Toronto, Canada. He assisted his father on their farm until he
was twenty-one, then he started on his own responsibility and began farm-
ing and raising stock, later he exported beef cattle to the markets in New
York and Buffalo. In 1886 he came to California and followed prospecting
and mining in Fresno County for a time but not meeting with the results
he expected he went to Oakland and engaged in the restaurant business for
about eighteen months. He was very much impressed with the resources
of Fresno County, however, and decided he would make a permanent loca-
tion here, accordingly in 1888 he was in the county engaged in the fruit com-
mission business, from that he began the dairy business and made a decided
success in that line of work, beginning with one cow, he gradually increased
his herd until he owned over 300 thoroughbred Jerseys and Holsteins and
owned a ranch of 240 acres in alfalfa, besides operating land that he leased,
all in the vicinity of Fresno. In February, 1913, the dairy business was in-
corporated under the name of the Jersey Farm Dairy, with William Mclndoo
as president and manager. They ran five delivery wagons in Fresno and
the balance of the milk was made into butter at their creamery. The dairy
business was sold to Frank Helm in 1916, but the property, 240 acres, has
been set to vines. Mr. Mclndoo also owned eighty acres east of Fresno. He
sold out and purchased 1,600 acres at Lindsay and this he put on the market
as the Caledonia Colony, selling out in ten and twenty-acre tracts. He was
one of three to organize and incorporate the Lindsay Independent Packing
Company, Mr. Mclndoo becoming vice-president. The company grow and
1638 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
pack their own fruit. Besides these properties the firm, known as Win.
Mclndoo and Son, also own ranch properties in Stanislaus County and busi-
ness property in Modesto.
William Mclndoo married, near YVingham. Canada, Charlotte Graham,
a daughter of James Graham, a blacksmith and carriage maker who lived
in Fresno for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Mclndoo had three children: Edith,
Mrs. G. A. Manheim; Ivan Carter and Claribel, Mrs. A. J. Dibert. Mr. Mc-
lndoo is a Republican ; a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; a
Royal Arch Mason ; and is looked upon as one of the most substantial and
public spirited men of the San Joaquin Valley where he is well and favorably
known.
Ivan Carter Mclndoo was born in Ontario, Canada, on January 21, 1883,
and was educated in the public schools of Fresno, whither he was brought
when he was a small child. After finishing his education he went to work
in the First National Bank, later was employed by the Union Bank, spend-
ing five years altogether, after which time he became associated with his
father in the fruit business and has assisted in developing it to its present
proportions. He is outside manager and gives his entire time to his work
and has gained a thorough knowledge of the industry.
On January 19, 1911, Mr. Mclndoo was united in marriage with Miss
Maude Potts /)f Sacramento, and a lady of many accomplishments. They
have two children to brighten their home circle: Carter G. and Mary J.
Mr. Mclndoo and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church
and are Republicans in politics. Mr. Mclndoo is a Mason, holding member-
ship in the Lodge, Chapter, Commandery and Shrine. He is deeply inter-
ested in the development of Fresno County and is held in high esteem by
all who have business or social relations with him.
JOHN T. S. CLARK. — A successful business man who has done much
to advance the technical standards of plumbing in Central California, and
who very worthily represents that large body of English pioneers who have
done so much for the development of California, is John T. S. Clark, a mem-
ber of the Sanger Plumbing Company, now recognized as one of the com-
mercial and industrial enterprises of that town. He was born at Burton-on-
Trent, England, on June 15, 1883, the son of John Clark, a detective who was
one of the ablest of the famous Scotland Yard secret police of the United
Kingdom. He used to make trips to the United States in pursuit of criminals,
and one of the trips brought him to California in pioneer days.
John T. S. Clark was educated in the schools in the vicinity of his birth-
place, and at the early age of sixteen came to the United States. He located
in San Jose, but after two years of labor on Santa Clara County ranches, he
went, in the spring of 1902, to Converse Basin and secured work with the
Sanger Lumber Company. He proved apt and willing, and advanced rapidly
through different stages of the work, and from loading cars he became chief
engineer of the plant, and finally he was appointed to the superintendence- of
the mill, the highest post at the disposition of the concern. He never asked
for promotion, but was always advanced as a recognition of his unquestioned
and marked ability.
On December 17, 1914. in partnership with William F. Jones, Mr. Clark-
established the Sanger Plumbing Company at Sanger, an enterprise now
rated among the most important of the town. The main business of the
company is installing pumping and irrigating plants on near-by ranches and
such has been the extent of their operations that in the past four years they
have installed over 400 such outfits. Among the most important of these
may be mentioned that of Dillon Bros., G. R. Hawk, August Schmidt, Pugh
Bros., and J. R. Boyer. The company employs seven men and uses three
automobiles.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1641
Mr. Clark is eminently fitted for his work, as he has had many years of
very valuable experience in the mechanical line. He was one of the organizers
and president of the Kings River-Hume Auto Service Company, and man-
aged very ably a chain of freight trucks carrying goods into and out of the
mountains.
Recognized as a leader and as one whose experience makes his coopera-
tion valuable, Mr. Clark has been welcomed in the work of the Sanger Cham-
ber of Commerce. He belongs to Sanger Lodge, No. 316, F. & A. M., and
Perfection Lodge No. 6 of Fresno, Scottish Rite Masons. One of his business
transactions was the purchase of a fine ranch at Tracy, which he improved
and then sold at a handsome profit.
In 1906, Mr. Clark was married at San Jose to May Bryant, a native
daughter and the child of one of the early pioneers who twice crossed the
plains with ox-teams. They have two attractive children, Jack Bryant and
Ashley Oliver. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bryant are interested in all movements for
the betterment of society.
JAMES G. FERGUSON. — A business man of exceptional initiative and
executive ability, a gentleman of rare personal accomplishments and splendid
attainments, a citizen glad that he is living under the Stars and the Stripes
and within the varied landscape of the Golden State, but proud also that he
represents by a worthy inheritance one of the oldest and most renowned clans
of Scotland — such is James G. Ferguson, so well and favorably known in
Fresno. His father, James Ferguson, was born in Perth and for many years
was with the Cunard Steamship Line, having his headquarters and residence
in Liverpool. The Ferguson family is traceable back to Stirlingshire, Scot-
land, and has always played an important and honorable part in that storm-
tossed but romantic country. Mrs. Ferguson was Helen Kerr Fead, also
Scotch, and a native of Dumfreshire. Both parents died in Liverpool. The
father had been married, as a matter of fact, twice, and by his first marriage
he had four daughters and a son. Rather curiously, his second wife, Catherine
Hilton, became the mother of four girls and a boy, all of whom are living.
The girls are in Los Angeles, and the boy, Robert Hilton Ferguson, is an
electrical engineer serving his country at the front in the war.
Born at Liverpool, the third eldest child by the first Mrs. Ferguson, James
G. was educated in the Northern Institute of that great harbor city, leading
on to the Liverpool College and, at the age of only fourteen, passing the ex-
aminations for the entrance to the University. Instead of commencing studies
there, however, he took up an apprenticeship in the Bank of Liverpool ; and
realizing that he was highly favored with such a prospect, he remained there
six years, during which time he passed through each department satisfactorily.
He served with James H. Simpson, now at the head and general manager of
the Bank of Liverpool, and there are few pleasanter memories of the old days
than those associated with this famous leader. Owing to close application
to his exacting duties, Mr. Ferguson's health became impaired, and his phy-
sician advised a long sea-voyage. He therefore shipped to Australia on a sailer,
and in that milder climate he roamed about and took his ease, until he could
note an improvement. Then he engaged in the shipping business in Sydney,
and it would have been strange if, with such a background of experience and
valuable preparation, he had not succeeded, as he did.
While there, in January, 1886, Mr. Ferguson was married to Miss Ada
Florence Bond, a native of Ballarat, Australia, and the daughter of Thomas
Rhodes Bond, of Cornwall, England, a pioneer miner at Ballarat. She had
been reared from childhood with care and every possible advantage at Syd-
ney, grew to be just such a helpmate as a man of Mr. Ferguson's experience
and activities would desire.
The same year, Mr. Ferguson crossed the ocean with his wife to San
Francisco, but instead of trying his fortune in the large city of keen competi-
1642 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
tion, he continued his journey to Humboldt County, and located at Areata,
where he found employment with Harpst & Spring, shingle manufacturers,
as head accountant. Eight months later he accepted a position with the Russ
Lumber Company, to perform the same responsible work'at the San Diego
branch owned by C. A. Hooper & Company of San Francisco. This was in
1887. and when he reached San Diego, he found it aflame with the great boom.
He held that post until 1889, when he was sent by Pope & Talbot of San
Francisco to their mills on Puget Sound ; and he remained manager at Utsa-
ladv until 1891 when his merit was further recognized by the Puget Sound
Lumber Company which offered him a position with the old San Joaquin
Lumber Company at Fresno, his duties to be those of head accountant.
It was now evident that James Ferguson was permanently identified with
the West, and that it was only a question of this or that development of in-
terests for him to be in general demand. When the Fresno Flume Company
was organized in 1894, he was offered the management of the office at Clovis :
and he accepted, taking charge in May of that year, and holding the position
ever since. In 1912, when the old company sold to the Fresno Flume Com-
pany of Nevada, Mr. Ferguson was elected secretary and treasurer of the
corporation, and this position he has also held ever since. Clovis being the
headquarters of the company, of which he is still the office manager.
One child, Ada H., blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson, and later
attended the Dominican College at San Rafael. Now she is the wife of Luther
William Rahney. late professor of mining at Stanford University, later hold-
ing the same position at Yale College and now head of the Scoville Plant at
Waterburv, Conn. They have two little girls, Elizabeth Ruth and Harriet Ada.
Mr. Ferguson is a member of Fresno Lodge, No. 439. B. P. O. F.. and
has been connected with that organization about twenty years. He was made
a Mason in Clovis Lodge, No. 417, F. & A. M., where he has served as treas-
urer. He is also a member of Fresno Chapter. No. 67. R. A. M.. and is a mem-
ber of the Fresno Consistory, thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Masons. He
belongs to Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.. of San Francisco, and is a mem-
ber of the Woodmen of the World, being a charter member of Manzanita
Camp, Fresno, 1894, and having been its first manager. He also belongs to
the Fraternal Brotherhood, the St. Andrew's Society of Fresno, the Hoo Hoo's,
the Episcopal Church, and the Republican party, having served the latter as
a member of the county central committee. Few men in Fresno County have
such an interesting record.
H. M. LITTLE. — A native Minnesotan who came here in the eighties,
at the time of the great boom, H. M. Little is now a resident of Tivy Yalley,
one of the most picturesque and delightful spots to be found in the foot-
hills of the great Sierras. This valley is easy of access, with but little
elevation, and yet possesses all the grandeur of the nobler mountains with
their varied scenery.
Mr. Little owns a beautiful home site, with all the buildings necessary
and suitable for the ordinary ranch. In addition to his valley land he owns
a large grazing range for his stock, in all 427 acres, which give him ample
room for his herds ; and he has a hennery of the best strain of White Leg-
horns, to the number of 600 or more. He has been operating this ranch
intensively since 1916, and besides the above-mentioned property, he has
holdings in Riverside County, an orange ranch at La Habra, Orange County,
and town property in Los Angeles County. On his home ranch he devotes
himself to stock and poultry exclusively.
Air. Little was born in McLeod Count)-. Minn., in I860, and is the son
of David and Sarah Little of Pennsylvania, who were the parents of nine
children, four of whom are still living. Two of these are in California,
and the names of the four are : Wilbur, who lives in South Dakota : George
H., a resident of Iowa; Samuel G., whose home is at Point Richmond: and
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1643
H. M., the subject of our interesting review. One other came to California,
Flaville, a sister who died at La Habra.
In early life Mr. Little learned the blacksmith trade, and this he followed
continuously until 1903, never wanting for patronage, for he was a good
smith of the old school. He came to California in 1887 and did well at
Rivera for nine years, and from there he went to La Habra where he con-
tinued his trade, and in time he accumulated the various properties already
mentioned.
In 1885 Mr. Little was married to Miss Flora Curtis, a native of Maine ;
and, as a result of this happy union, three children were born : Merritt, now
deceased ; an infant also deceased, and Herbert, who lives at La Habra, and
who is married and has two children. Mrs. Little came to California in 1888,
and has since become associated with its social life and charities.
Mr. and Mrs. Little are estimable citizens, participating in whatever
makes for the elevation of American life. They aim to inform themselves
on the issues of the day, to endorse only the best measures and to vote for
those who are above reproach.
JOHN J. BETZOLD. — John J. Betzold was born in Morrison County,
at North Prairie on Two Rivers, about twenty miles northwest of St. Cloud,
Minn., on November 11, 1870. When two years of age his parents moved
to Brainerd, Minn., where he was brought up and educated, and where he
remained until nineteen years of age. In 1889 he left his Minnesota home
for the Western Coast and sojourned for a time in Seattle and Tacoma ;
in the latter place becoming a student in the public library. Studious in his
tastes, he spent eight years in research work, intending to make literature
his life profession. With this thought in mind he made a special study of
physics, Shakespeare, economics and philosophy, the result of his study
being six books of unpublished manuscript. His health failing, in 1899 he
came to California and engaged in picking fruit in Los Gatos and San Jose,
and in the fall of that year came to Fresno. Here he started making hominy
and horseradish, which he peddled from house to house. From this small
beginning his present new, modern, sanitary pickle factory was evolved.
The building is 50 by 103 feet, with concrete floor, and is fully equipped
with all modern appliances for the manufacture of the twenty-five varieties
of condiments he has on the market, among which are olives, olive oil,
dill pickles, Mexican hot chili, mustard relish, chow-chow, and malt vinegar.
He employs five men in the factory the year round, increasing the number
from ten to fifteen during the busy season. He has several inventions to
his credit, among them being a water-filter and hominy cooking machine.
Mr. Betzold has been prominent in the development of Fresno and is
a citizen of whom she may justly be proud. His success in life is due solely
to his individual efforts. His estimable companion, who before her mar-
riage to Mr. Betzold was Miss Jennie M. Staton, of Beloit, Wis., is an able
assistant to her husband in his growing business. In his political views Mr.
Betzold is a Socialist.
PETER BERING. — A well-to-do farmer and gentleman of attractive
personality, who enjoys the proud distinction, as a descendant of Vitus
Bering, the distinguished Danish navigator, of being related to the great
scientist whom Peter the Great in 1728 sent on an expedition to the North
when he discovered the Strait now bearing his name, is Peter Bering who
came to California early in the nineties. He was born in Denmark, at Horsen,
in Jutland, October 8, 1871, the son of Henry Bering, a farmer, and so came
to be raised on a farm, while he was educated at the local public schools.
After a practical apprenticeship in agriculture he spent five years in Schleswig,
German)', in an interesting town called Gramm, and after that he served for
a year in the infantry of the Danish Army, receiving an honorable discharge.
16+4 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
While in Denmark, Mr. Bering was married to Miss Caroline Hansen,
a native of that country. He was next employed in a factory, and in time
was put in charge of the receiving department of the concern. Such was
the quality of the service that he rendered and the compensation for his
labor that he remained in that position of responsibility for eight years, and
left it only to come to California.
Mr. Bering's decision to come to the Pacific Coast was doubtless arrived
at through the fact that he had a brother-in-law in Fresno County to whom
he came on June 14, 1903. For three years he farmed, and then for a couple
of years he worked at the carpenter's trade in Rolinda. Then he bought
twenty acres of land there, and set them out as vineyards. He set out the
Thompson seedless and he planted alfalfa; he built a fine residence and use-
ful buildings, and he bought the ten adjoining acres, making thirty acres in
all. He operated this until November, 1916, when he disposed of it at a good
profit.
It was then that Mr. Bering came to Eggers Colony and bought the
twenty acres that he now calls his own. He cared for the place, and con-
tinued in business. He has four acres of Thompson seedless and three acres
of Malaga and muscat grapes. He leases the adjoining twenty acres, using
the same for a vineyard, and has five acres of muscats and fifteen acres of
wine grapes. He belongs to the California Associated Raisin Company and to
the Melvin Grape Growers' Association.
Mr. and Mrs. Bering have had four children : Henry and Vitus assist
their father ; Marie, in Fresno, and Clara is at home. Mr. Bering belongs to
the Danish Brotherhood, serving as president of the lodge for two terms,
and in national politics he is a Democrat. He never loses an opportunity to
encourage local movements for the public weal.
M. A. AND L. P. IPSEN.— A fine old Danish family with traditions
reaching far back into the heroic history of that brave little country, and
having present-day representatives who are rated among the successful and
influential men of affairs, is that of the two brothers, Marcus A. and Louis P.
Ipsen, ranchers, dairymen and stockmen, who compose the firm of M. A. &
L. P. Ipsen so widely known among California agriculturists and financiers.
They reside on their fine, large and well-improved dairy ranch three miles
southeast of Burrel, on the Elkhorn Grade Road. They are also extensively
engaged in grain-growing on the West Side, where they own a fine tract of
320 acres, ten miles north of Huron, in Fresno County. The home ranch
consists of 132*4 acres, and there they have planted trees, built commodious
barns, milk house and a comfortable residence, laid out large, clean yards,
and put up strong fences, feeding-racks and other contrivances designed to
expedite the work of the day, all presenting a very pleasant sight to the
aesthetic eye. Self-made, hard-working, it is no wonder that nowhere may
a more ideally-arranged, or better-kept dairy be found.
Both of these gentlemen were born, the sons of Jeppe H. Ipsen, on the
beautiful island of Bornholm, a Danish province in the Baltic Sea, from
which on a clear day both the shores of Sweden and Denmark can be spied
with the aid of a field-glass. The mother had been Karen Maria Dam before
her marriage, and both father and mother first saw the light on the same
island. There they married and lived, and the father died, on a small farm,
although the father relied for a living for himself and family mainly on his
work as a brick-layer, contractor and builder, working with an older brother
in that business. The mother is still living in the village of Ronne, enjoying
life at the advanced age of seventy-five. The father died in 1884 at the age of
forty-one, as the result of lifting too large a rock.
The good mother kept the family together, although they were in such
poor circumstances that all the children had to work. There were eight
children in the family, and all are living: Signe married Andrew Lindstrom,
TTlMACXX^ (X, dk^JtsrV
^
^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1649
a county commissioner and rancher in Summit County, Colo., and there she
assists her husband in stock-raising; Louis P. is the second in the order of
birth ; Jens Christian is a sea-captain at Ronne, Denmark ; then came Marcus
A. ; Hans J. is a farmer in his native land ; John M. is a tailor in Sjaelland,
Denmark; Anna Maria is married and lives at Ronne; and Otto L. is an
electrician in the same place.
Louis P., who was born on May 29, 1868, came to Pontiac, 111., twenty
years later, and in time wrote to his brother, Marcus, to join him in the New
World. The latter, who was born on March 27, 1873, had learned, however,
enough about Fresno County to center his anticipations here, and arriving
in America, after a voyage begun in March, 1891, he came straight to Cen-
tral California, arriving in Fresno in April. He began to work by the month
as a farm-laborer and continued for six years. In 1889 Louis also came to
Fresno. Louis was the first to rent a farm, but he quit when he could not
do as well, and went back to working by the month.
The Ipsen Bros, started as a firm in renting a section of land near
Caruthers, and the firm has been busy, constantly developing its connections
and increasing its activities, ever since. They bought I32yi acres here in
the fall of 1903, when it was salt grass without any improvements, and soon
had seventy high-grade Holstein cows. In 1912 they bought 320 acres of land
near Huron, then wild, and under their management it came to tell a dif-
ferent and a more attractive story.
Marcus A., who is still a bachelor, took a trip back to Denmark in 1910,
while Louis looked in upon his native land thirteen years before. At Dillon,
in Summit County, Colo., on November 16, 1903, the latter was married to
Miss Nina Jensen, from the city of Ronne, in the island of Bornholm, Den-
mark, and they have become the parents of three children : Marvin Archie,
Viola Maria, and Louis Marcus. The family attends the United Brethren
Church at Riverdale. A member of the Republican party and public-spirited
to a high degree, Mr. Ipsen, as well as his brother, worked hard to get the
railway through this section, and also helped organize the Riverdale Coop-
erative Creamery, which, as a first class establishment encouraging local
industry has proven of great benefit to this section. Both brothers are mem-
bers of the Alfalfa Growers Association.
Mrs. Ipsen's father was Jens Peter Jensen, also a native of the island of
Bornholm. He was for a while a policeman at Ronne, and later a farmer;
and now he is the postmaster at the little station of Ringeby, a post he has
ably held for the past thirty-one years, — a fact the more remarkable since
he has reached his seventy-third year. The mother, who was Kristine Caro-
line Hansen, died on Good Friday, 1910, seventy-two years old and six years
the senior of her husband. They had six children : Andreas Peter has been
a farmer for forty years in the Transvaal, South Africa ; Petra Carolina is
married and lives near the old home in Denmark ; Johannes Sextus is a farmer
near Ronne, Denmark ; Anine Marie is single and" keeps house for her father
at the old home-place ; Otto Peter is a farmer in Denmark ; and there is
Nina, now Mrs. Ipsen, who grew up in Denmark, there attended the public
schools, was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church. She is the first
member of the family to come to America, and was twenty-five when she
crossed the seas and went to Warren, Pa., worked there as a domestic for
eight months, and then came on to Dillon, Colo., where she renewed the
acquaintance with her husband, whom she first met in Denmark. She was
born on the same island with him, and the romance so developed that "it
happened in Norland." Mrs. Ipsen's father was an extensive traveler, as well
as a man of affairs, and made a trip to Iceland and Greenland, where he
hunted. Mrs. Ipsen is a member of the Red Cross, and was a liberal purchaser
of Liberty bonds.
1650 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
C. ROSS SNYDER. — Not everyone may be as justly proud of the pioneer
associations of his family, or satisfied with his own popularity, as C. Ross
Snyder, the broad-minded and efficient bee inspector for Fresno County. He
is the youngest son and the eighth child among a family of nine children of
the late Monroe Snyder, who passed away in the middle nineties and was
honored as one of the original four townsite men of Selma, the others being
George B. Otis, J. E. Whitson and E. H. Tucker. The father was a native
of Holmes County, Ohio, and in 1849, when he was nineteen years of age,
he left his home and crossed the continent with ox-teams, arriving at Sutter's
Fort for information. Then he went to Shasta where he engaged in gold
mining and then came back and purchased 160 acres of ground in the edge of
Woodland. Soon after, he returned to Ohio, sailing around Cape Horn.
In the Buckeye State he married Jane Elizabeth Lemon, a native, and
took his wife on their honeymoon trip to New York, from which city they
sailed, on an old tub of a boat, for Panama. They crossed the Isthmus and
finally entered the Golden Gate, and making their way inland, they settled at
Woodland. This was in 1861, when Mr. Snyder built the first brick build-
ing there. He served as marshal and deputy sheriff of Woodland, and be-
came a clerk at the State Capitol at Sacramento. He proved up on a home-
stead southeast of what is now Selma and bought more and more land. An
illustration of his public spirit is afforded in Mr. Snyder's efforts, crowned
with success, to secure such railway facilities as would favor the growth of
the settlement — a matter of history, as the following letter will, show:
CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY
General Superintendent's Office
"San Francisco, April 12. 1880.
"M. Snyder, Esq.
"Dear Sir: Referring to the interview this morning in my office relative
to the company's putting in a side track for the convenience of your people
somewhere about midway between Fowler and Kingsburg, I believe it better
to make my statement in writing to the end that there shall be no misunder-
standing in the future relative to the matter. First, I understand there are
different localities in that vicinity where the people desire to have a switch
located. These conflicting interests must be amicably settled and a unanimous
expression obtained from the interested parties fixing upon the locality. Then.
on conveyance of a piece of land, one hundred feet wide and sixteen hundred
feet long for depot grounds, and the payment of $700, towards defraying
the expenses of the side-track, platform, etc., the company will immediately
go to work and put in a siding after the distinct understanding that it shall
be a prepaid, non-agency station, to and from which (rates not being pro-
vided) traffic will take the rates provided to or from the next station beyond,
until such time as the company may be disposed to incur the additional ex-
pense of the maintenance of an agent. Yours respectfully,
"A. N. Towne. General Superintendent."
This worthy pioneer was sixty-five years and nine months old when
he died and was buried in the old I. O. 6. F. Cemetery at Selma. Fie was
also a Mason, and had helped to start Masonic lodges at Woodland and
Selma. He was a thirty-second degree Mason, and had the largest funeral
ever seen in Selma up to that time, brother Masons coming from Sacramento
and other parts of the State.
Mrs. Monroe Snyder is living at Selma. and is still active in her seventy-
seventh vear. Those born to her are: Richard M., who died at YYoodland,
when five years old: Ida, who died at the same place, one year younger;
Jennie M., now the wife of J. F. Crowdcr, the well-known transfer apent in
Pasadena: Charles C, the real estate man at Fresno: Anetta. the wife of P. F.
Adams of Fresno and formerly the owner of the Selma Enterprise: M. D.
Snyder, who resides at Selma; H. W., who is a driller at Coalinga ; C. Ross,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1651
the subject of our sketch ; and Myrtle, the wife of J. H. Hull, superintendent
of the Star Lease at Coalinga.
Ross Snyder was born at the old Snyder homestead on June 22, 1880,
the year in which the switch was built at Selma, and was the first baby born
there. He attended the common schools and at twelve years of age he worked
for his brother-in-law, J. F. Crowder, who kept six hundred hives of bees.
He farmed and raised bees until he was twenty-one years old.
In 1905 he was married to Miss Margaret L. Wood, the daughter of
George W. and Flora A. (Wells) Wood, then of Selma but now of Merced ;
after which he went to work for Griffin & Brown in the sheet-metal and
plumbing business ; and later, in 1912, Mr. Snyder and H. Steele, in a partner-
ship styled Steele & Snyder, engaged in the hardware, steel-metal and plumb-
ing business on East Front Street. He abandoned this, however, in July, 1915,
when he was called to a public office of peculiar trust.
In that year and month Mr. Snyder was appointed county bee inspector,
and it was the sense of the community that no man in Central California could
be found better qualified for the responsibility. He accordingly sold out to
his partner, Mr. Steele, and the latter, in December, 1918, disposed of the
hardware and plumbing and joined Mr. Snyder in the bee business. Mr.
Snyder owns about 275 hives, while Mr. Steele has about 400. Mr. Snyder
and Mr. Crowder had 1,100 hives in the town of San Fernando, but the
forest fire of 1906 destroyed all the hives, bees and honey.
Mr. Snyder now owns a fine little cottage at 2028 Grant Street, Selma,
where he lives with his family, including two children, Leslie Monroe and
Opal Leora. Mrs. Snyder, who is a member of the Women of Woodcraft,
was born in Missouri, was seventeen when she came to California, and
now has the pleasure of having both of her parents with her at Selma. Mr.
Snyder belongs to the Native Sons, being a charter member of Selma Parlor,
No. 107, and to the Independent Order of Foresters and the Knights of
Pythias. Both husband and wife belong to the Christian Church. This is
the organization started here by Monroe Snyder and A. A. Rowell.
Mr. Snyder, who will have control of over 1,000 hives in 1919, is president
of the Fresno County Bee Keeper's Association, organized at the instigation
of Dr. E. L. Phillips, when an agricultural expert came on from Washington,
on November 3, 1917. At that time, Mr. Snyder was elected temporary
chairman: and on January 5, 1918, at the annual meeting, he was elected pres-
ident. This proved the best bee-keeper's meeting in California, over two
hundred members being enrolled. Thus Mr. Snyder has not only proven a
successful man of affairs, but he has done much to advance one of the most
important, profitable and scientifically interesting industries yet fostered in
the Golden State.
ARSEN YERETZIAN.— In Armenia, that country of western Asia
whose history is closely related to the interesting events connected with the
story of the ark of "gopher wood" which the patriarch Noah was a hundred
and twenty years building, and which is supposed to have rested on famous
Mount Ararat within the confines of that wonderful country, the early scenes
in the life of Arsen Yeretzian were set. for he was born in the Turkish pashalic
of Van, Armenia, April 15, 1882. There he attended an American school
where he learned the English language, and in the year 1900, when eighteen
years of age, came to the United States, a young man poor from a financial
standpoint, but rich in enthusiasm and imbued with an indomitable will
which enabled him to conquer obstacles which would have been insurmount-
able to one less gifted in the qualities which make for success.
He located in Lowell, Mass., where he worked during the daytime and
attended night school. March 2, 1906, he left that city for the Pacific Slope,
arriving at Fresno, March 10 of that year, where he continued working and
studying. For six months he assisted in the construction of the Yosemite
Railroad, and studied Latin at night. He finally purchased twenty acres
1652 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of unimproved land near Reedley, upon which he built a house and planted
a vineyard, selling the property in two years' time at a good profit. He then
went to San Francisco, where he attended Lowell high school and took a
special course in Greek and Latin. He also took a course at the University
of California in literature, chemistry, philosophy and physiology. Going to
Los Angeles he took a correspondence school course in law for two years,
attending lectures on law, at the University of Southern California, and
trials in the courts of that city to gain practical experience in his chosen
vocation. He was examined for admission to the bar July 14, 1917, and
passed with the highest honors of the three who successfully passed the
examination out of the nine applicants. Like many others, who in choosing a
location which in their judgment seemed to be propitious for the successful
practice of the law, Fresno was the city of his choice, and he opened a law
office in the Edgerly building, where he is establishing a lucrative practice.
He is an able writer, and has written many articles for the Armenian paper
published in Fresno, as well as translating Ambassador Gerard's book, "Four
Years in Germany," into the Armenian language. He is well known as a
public speaker and lecturer and delivered a lecture before the Armenian Club
on the subject, "The Law and National Justice." This self-made man has
successfully acquired a fine education, and is an exemplification of what
rightly directed energy, with brains to back it, can accomplish in a foreign
land with neither friends nor relatives to assist him.
In his choice of a helpmate he chose a native of England, Miss Ada
Chicken, to whom he was united in the bonds of holv wedlock, March 31,
1917.
GEORGE A. CATE. — A California pioneer with an exceptionally inter-
esting career and important family historical associations, a man of attractive
personality and a most entertaining conversationalist, and an extensive opera-
tor in husbandry, is George A. Cate, who is fortunate in having associated
with him as another man of affairs his own son, Arthur B. Cate. He was
born in Ouincy, 111., on December 17, 1843, the son of Joseph Cate. a native
of New Bedford. Mass., who, as the oldest of the family, early settled near
Ouincy.
In 1849, Joseph Cate crossed the plains to California with his younger
brother, Thomas, the two traveling by ox teams, and he became a miner
and a truckster on Feather River. After while he returned East by way of
Cape Horn ; and as the two boys had become separated his folks induced him
to return to the West in order to search for Thomas. He therefore crossed
the plains again with ox teams to look for Thomas ; but he did not find him.
He returned East once more, and there located with his family near Hamil-
ton, Hancock County, 111., where he took to farming. In 1861, when the Civil
War was in full swing, Mr. Cate volunteered as a member of the Missouri
Regiment known as the Black Hawk Cavalry; and his son, Joseph H.. was in
the same regiment. During service the father was thrown from his wagon
and hurt; and having received an honorable discharge he returned home.
After this reverse, Joseph H. Cate was taken prisoner in Missouri by Ouan-
trell, but was paroled and sent to St. Louis, from which place he also returned
home. About the same time, however, a new company was being formed,
and a neighbor came to persuade our subject (George A.) to join; and al-
though he was serving an apprenticeship at the tinsmith's trade he replied
that if he could get permission from his father and mother and employer he
would enlist. These having given their consent, he enlisted in August. 1862, as
a member of Company C, One Hundred Eighteenth Illinois Volunteer Infan-
try. Soon after a particularly sad accident occurred to his brother, Joseph H.,
whom he had coaxed to join the same company with him, and who is said to
have been, with George A. himself, one of the best soldiers in that organiza-
tion. At the siege of Vicksburg, Joseph H., in his overzeal to spy upon the
J*ju>^ ort~./6>aM-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1655
enemy, looked over the ramparts to get a good view of the enemy, and he
was shot and killed.
George A. Cate was mustered in at Camp Butler and placed on guard
duty during the winter. In the spring of 1863, he went to St. Louis and on
to Memphis. Joseph H. had never been sick a day in the army, but George
was taken ill with swamp fever and was sent to the Memphis Hospital. When
the authorities attempted to clean out the quarters of the invalid soldiers,
on account of the expected attack on Vicksburg, George, who was convalesc-
ing, was sent to Cairo, then to Quincy and later to Keokuk, and in December,
1863, was placed in the hospital at Keokuk. This hospital was located so near
his home that Dr. Comer sent him to his folks for a couple of weeks, and
then he returned to the hospital where he remained until he was well. On
its way to Vicksburg, George A. joined his company, which was stationed at
Black River, and so he saw Pemberton's surrender. His regiment went on to
Baton Rouge, where he was stationed for some time, and later removed to
New Orleans. At Baton Rouge, on October 1, 1865, he was mustered out
from the service he had entered on August 12, 1862, and he returned home.
George's father, who had taken up farming after his discharge, went to
Kansas with George, but afterward returned to Illinois, where he died, a
prosperous ranchman. Mrs. Cate, who was Sarah J. Wilson before her mar-
riage, was born at New Bedford, Mass., and had a brother, George Wilson,
who was interested in whaling. He was a man of influence and served his
fellow citizens several times as mayor of New Bedford. She came to Califor-
nia after the World's Fair, traveling with George and his wife ; and having
taken up her residence awhile with them, died here in December, 1893. She
was the mother of four children, a girl and three boys, and of this family,
George is the only son still living. The daughter, Maggie, now Mrs. Morton,
resides in Chicago.
When the family removed to Hancock County, 111., George was reared
and educated there at the public schools, and worked on a farm until he was
sixteen. Then, as already mentioned, he was apprenticed to a tinsmith, but
at eighteen enlisted for service in the army. After this he farmed awhile in
Illinois with his father, but in 1870 he went to Kansas and located a home-
stead near Belleville, Republic County, which he considerably improved.
Later, he returned to Illinois.
While in Hancock County, on March 11, 1873, Mr. Cate was married to
Miss Cornelia Wilson, a native of Schuyler County, and the daughter of
William Wilson, who was born at Enniskillen, Ireland. He came to the
United States with his parents when ten years of age ; and the grandmother
having died at Liverpool, England, the family came on to Illinois. There
William was married to Susan Eiler, who was born in Ohio, and later they
moved to a place near Nauvoo where Mr. Wilson was a farmer. Both parents
died there. Eight children made up the family, and three of these are still
living. Mrs. Cate, who was reared and educated in Nauvoo, was the eldest,
and she has two brothers, Thomas H., who was a member of the Seventh
Iowa Cavalry Regiment that enlisted in 1861 ; and Robert, who was in Com-
pany D of the One Hundred Eighteenth Illinois Regiment.
Mr. Cate continued farming in Kansas until 1890, when he removed to
California, and located in Fresno County, where he bought forty acres of
stubble-fields, which he set out to vineyards; and in this business he has
continued ever since. He built a fine residence and later sold the Kansas farm.
Now he has a vineyard of twenty acres, and five acres given to alfalfa. He
gives some attention to gardening, and he has six acres of peach trees. The
whole tract is under the Enterprise Canal, and also has a pumping plant.
He belongs to the California Associated Raisin Company, and to the Cali-
fornia Peach Growers, Inc. He is also a member of Post No. 92, G. A. R., at
Fresno.
1656 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Four children have come to Mr. and Mrs. Cate : Margaret, Mrs. Stan-
hope, resides in Clovis and has six children ; Edward Melvin resides with his
family of three children in Fresno, and has a farm in Tulare; Ruth, the
youngest, is Mrs. Greaves, who lives on the home farm; and Arthur B., who
has one son, operates the home farm. He leases forty acres of his father
and owns seventy acres, and also leases other land. They also run the
cannery on the place and put up the Variety Brand of tomatoes. The ranch
is known as Variety Farm, and they work it in cooperation with others.
JOHN KNOX LOCKIE. — An industrious and successful rancher,
who is widely respected as the worthy descendant of a well-known pioneer,
and who has a talented wife and a family blessed with ideal happiness, is
T. K. Lockie, who owns twenty acres which he and his wife have acquired as
community property, and received twenty acres from his father's estate.
The management of these holdings has given Mr. and Mrs. Lockie a chance
to contribute something towards the development of the agricultural interests
of the state, and they have been second to no one in performing their civic
duties, especially to the neighborhood in which they live.
The third boy in a family of ten children, J. K. Lockie was born on
August 3, 1870. He is the son of the late W. A. and Margaret (Leitheadi
Lockie, mention of whom is made on another page in this work. He was
brought to the States from Canada when three months of age, attended the
common schools in Oregon and Texas, and was seventeen or eighteen years
old when he came from the Lone Star State. At twenty he started life for
himself with a good foundation of useful experience. Until 1906 he worked
for the United Railroads in San Francisco, as gripman on the cable-cars,
with the exception of a year in the employ of the Spreckels sugar refinery at
San Francisco and another year in the service of the United States Govern-
ment in the Quartermaster's Department in China during the Boxer troubles.
At Victoria, on the Island of Vancouver, on August 31, 1907, Mr. Lockie
was united in marriage with Miss Annie Benson, a native of Sydney, Aus-
tralia, and a daughter of William E. and Janet Lockhead (Houston) Benson.
Mr. Benson was an Englishman, and died in Sydney ; while Mrs. Benson
was of Scotch lineage and is still living in Sydney.
After their marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Lockie came to Fresno Count}' in
1907, and they have lived here continuously ever since. He bought and im-
proved his twenty acres, building a fine bungalow house on Lincoln Avenue
in 1912, on a pleasantly located knoll ; and prosperity has followed him ever
since. Besides his forty acres, he leases forty acres adjoining, half in peaches
and half in muscats. He has become a live wire in such cooperative work as
that of the raisin and peach growers' associations, and is a stockholder in the
California Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc.,
and not only seeks to avail himself of the last word of science in his work, and
the experience of others, but also endeavors by his own success to add to the
fund of valuable results.
Mr. and Mrs. Lockie have three children: William E. H., Asa Vern, and
Mabel Eugenia. The family attends the Episcopal Church at Selma.
WILLIAM C. THURMAN.— A liberal, enterprising and successful
viticulturist of Fresno County, William C. Thurman is a native son of Cali-
fornia, born at Upper Lake, Lake County, February 7, 1862. He is a descend-
ant of Revolutionary stock; his great-grandfather, William Thurman. served
in that struggle for independence and was present when Cornwallis sur-
rendered. He had a son, also named William, who was born at Lynchburg,
Va., December 22, 1776. He wrote a book on the Revolutionary War, and
on the agricultural possibilities of that section of country. He made a trip
to St. Louis, Mo., died there of yellow fever, and is buried in an unknown
grave.
°^*£
.K&*&*-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1657
The father of our subject, Leach Brown Thurman, was a native of
Lynchburg, Va. He was a second cousin of Hon. Allan G. Thurman, who
was candidate for vice-president of the United States when Grover Cleve-
land ran for president the second time. When L. B. Thurman was twenty-
one years old he left Virginia and went to Missouri, where he spent the win-
ter. The next spring he outfitted with provisions and crossed the plains to
California with an ox-team train. He located in Placer County and was the
first settler at what became known as Newcastle, where he opened a general
merchandise store and conducted it for some time. He then moved his
store and continued business at Wisconsin Hill. On account of extending
credit to the miners he failed in business. While living in Placer County he
married Sarah Jane Franklin, who was born in St. Charles, 111., a daughter
of William and Lydia (Shelby) Franklin, both natives of Kentucky. On her
father's side she is a lineal descendant of a brother of Benjamin Franklin,
and on the maternal side is related to Governor Shelby of Kentucky, and of
Revolutionary stock. The Shelby spoken of in Uncle Tom's Cabin was also
a relative. Lydia Franklin was a very intelligent and well-informed woman.
William Franklin brought his family across the plains to California and
made a settlement in Placer County.
After the marriage of L. B. Thurman he removed to Upper Lake and
began farming and developing a raw tract of land. In 1865 he sold out to
engage in the mercantile business at Lower Lake. Seven years later he
again sold out and removed to Salt Lake City, where he had charge of the
buying of ore for the Chicago Smelting Works and also for a refining com-
pany of Swansea, Wales, for six years, after which he returned to California.
For a short time he was located on a ranch near Lincoln, but upon hearing
of the possibilities of irrigation on land in Fresno County, having an oppor-
tunity to sell his ranch at a profit, he -came to this county in 1889. Here he
bought a forty-acre tract, which is now owned by his son, and began making
improvements for a permanent home. He did not live to enjoy the fruits
of his wise investment, for he died on December 5, 1889. Although he had
but very limited advantages to obtain an education, from the age of nine
vears he was a student, continually searching after knowledge. He read
law and was so well versed in it that he was often called upon to settle dis-
putes, and he was always called "Judge." He was a prominent Mason and
was Grand Lecturer in his district. His widow survived him and made her
home on the ranch until her death, in 1911, aged seventy-two years. Of their
six children, five grew to maturity: Clara, Mrs. S. S. McGarvey, who died in
Ukiah ; William C, of this review ; Carey, a resident of Fresno ; Bert, who
died in Fresno ; and Helen, Mrs. Jennings, of Fresno.
William C. Thurman received his education in the public schools and
in the Rocky Mountain Seminary in Salt Lake City, entering the latter on
the day of its opening. When he was sixteen years old he came back to
California ; and thereafter, until he was twenty-one, he assisted his father.
He then went to San Luis Obispo and for two years served as a fireman on
the Pacific Coast Railway, running between San Luis Obispo and Port Har-
ford. In 1886 he went to Placer County, and later worked as a stationary
engineer in Sacramento County, after which he spent three years around
the bav cities and then for two years ran a reclamation pump near Isleton.
In 1890 he came to Fresno to assist his mother with the work on the ranch,
and here he has since remained.
When Mr. Thurman came to Fresno County and took charge of the
ranch he at once began making improvements by setting out a vineyard,
which he has reset at different times. He now has forty acres in raisin
grapes of the muscat variety, a family orchard and ornamental trees, a
good residence, and a good irrigating system. The ranch is located some
nine and one-half miles east of Fresno and is considered one of the very
1658 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
productive places in the county. About twenty-six years ago, Air. Thur-
man's uncle came up from Texas on a visit. He brought with him some
Pecan nuts from the trees on his ranch and gave them to the Thurman
children. William C. was the only one who kept his. These were planted,
and as a result he raised twelve fine bearing trees. Two of these he had to
cut out as they were in the way of some improvement he wanted to make.
Since living here, Mr. Thurman has improved the ranch, and in the mean-
time he worked for five years as a stationary engineer at one of the packing
houses, during the busy season. Mr. Thurman was a stockholder in the Pro-
ducers' Packing Company, that erected the large packing house in Fresno ;
he also holds stock in the Las Palmas Packing Company and is one of the
original members of the California Associated Raisin Company, his mem-
bership number being forty-nine.
Mr. Thurman's first marriage united him with Alice (Baird) Reid, born
at Campbell Mountain, Fresno County, a daughter of Alfred Baird. one of
the pioneers of the county. They had a son, Fred, now residing in Fresno.
An estrangement led to a divorce. The second marriage occurred in Fresno
and united him with Mrs. Maude Lillian (Clark) Freeburg, who was born
in St. Charles, Mo., a daughter of Ryland E. Clark, a Kentuckian, who was
married in Missouri to Mary Catherine Dorsey, and now lives at Defiance,
that state. Of Mr. Thurman's second marriage one son has been born, Wil-
liam Neely Thurman. By a former marriage Mrs. Thurman had the follow-
ing children : Idell, Mrs. McNab, of Fresno County; and Fred and Florence
Clark. Mr. Thurman has always been in favor of good schools and has
served for one term as a trustee of the Kutner school district.
J. P. HANSEN. — A successful vineyardist who has not only tilled his
own acres but has helped to improve this section for the benefit of everybody
who lives hereabouts, is J. P. Hansen, who came to Fresno County at the
beginning of the epoch-making eighties. He was born at Fyen, Denmark,
on May 24, 1868, the son of Iver Hansen, who was a prosperous farmer
known for miles around on account of his trim homestead. The mother,
Marie Hansen, raised a large family and saw that they were also well
schooled. J. P. Hansen was the second eldest of the nine children, and was
one of the earliest of the Hansens to come to America and to California.
Reared on his father's farm, and having attended the public school, he swung
loose from home and fatherland and, at the tender age of twelve, made the
long journey by sea and land until he reached Fresno County, in November,
1880. His first work was in vineyards, and a couple of years later he went to
school for two winters. From the first he made his own way ; and as he
was of a somewhat studious turn of mind, he learned much by private study
and reading.
In 1884 his father and the family arrived from abroad, but J. P. Hansen
continued to work out on farms and vineyards. He early bought ten acres
of land in the West Park, but this he sold. In 1895, in partnership with his
brother, H. J. Hansen, he bought a farm outfit and then leased land near
Academy, making the deal with the Sacramento Bank Land Company, but
the third year was a total failure, and it required courage and hard, persistent
effort to make the five years contracted for even an average success. The
brothers cleared some profit, however, and having disposed of the outfit,
they again leased for a while and then dissolved partnership.
J. P. Hansen then entered the employ of the county and ran the road
grader under Supervisor Bullard and Overseer Hotaling. He next bought
twenty acres in Wolter's Colony and started in to make a success of viti-
culture, his acreage being next to that of his brother. Two years later he
sold out and leased a place for a year from George E. Taft; and while there
he bought his present place of forty acres.
-^^^rl/*-^^-*-^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1661
This very desirable property is located one-half mile west of Melvin.
In the beginning it was all weeds and sunflowers. In every way possible he
improved it, setting out twenty acres the first year, and the same amount the
second year. Having first planted wine grapes, he later grafted onto them
choice malagas. In his vineyard he now has malaga, wine, and Thompson
seedless grapes. He has sunk a well, and installed a pumping plant with a
ten-horsepower gasoline engine and a five-inch pump. He is a member of
the California Associated Raisin Company, and energetically supports the
Association's programs. Mr. Hansen was married at Fresno, on January
14, 1904, to Miss Anna Kirsten Anderson, who was born in Fyen, Denmark,
the daughter of Anderson H. and Elsie M. Anderson, farmer folk. Mr. and
Mrs. Hansen have two children living: Iver C. and Marie C. Hansen. Mr.
Hansen belongs to the Clovis Lodge of the Odd Fellows, where he is a Past
Grand, and to the Fresno Dania. He and his wife enjoy an enviable popu-
larity.
CECIL CALVERT TRAWEEK.— A man who has practically grown up
with the section of Fresno County where he now lives, in the vicinity of Dun-
lap, and a prosperous and progressive rancher, is found in the person of C. C.
Traweek, a highly esteemed citizen of California. He was born in Texas,
June 27, 1861, the son of S. T. and Nancy Traweek, who were married April
1. 1849, and who became parents of eight children, five of them now living.
S. T. Traweek was for a number of years treasurer of Angelina County, Texas,
in which county he was recognized as a man of affairs, and when he died, in
1894. he was mourned by a wide circle of friends. His widow, who was born
in Nacogdoches County, Texas, June 1. 1826, after a life of great usefulness
and loving deeds, passed to her reward on February 16, 1917, leaving a family
of five children, thirty-nine grandchildren, sixty-three great-grandchildren, and
one great-great-grandchild.
C. C. Traweek was the sixth child in order of birth in the family of his
parents, and he was reared and educated in Texas. At the age of twenty-five
he came to California and cast in his lot with the destinies of Fresno County,
stopping for a time in the section where the city of Selma is now located.
He remained there for some time and for eighteen months was employed by
A. T. Stevens as a stage-driver, carrying mail and express. Most of his years
in this county have been passed in the vicinity of Dunlap, where in 1893, he
homesteaded 160 acres, to which he has added by purchase from time to time
until he now has 640 acres of good land. Of this he devotes ISO acres to grain
and the balance is grazing and hill land. He is a practical rancher, up-to-date
in methods of agriculture, and has lived to see the wonderful changes made
in this county with the passing of the years. He has seen Fresno grow from
a small hamlet to a city of large and prosperous proportions ; has seen the
land developed from hog-wallows, sand hills and grain-fields to productive
orchards and vineyards that have made Fresno County the best-known county
in America, and "to the best of his knowledge and belief" the best county
on earth. In all of this transformation he has done his part. So closely is he
allied with the county of his adoption that he has not left it except for a short
visit back to his old home in Texas, in 1899.
On April 7, 1895, C. C. Traweek and Anna Gertrude Burk, a native
daughter of Squaw Valley, were united in marriage. Her father, Richard
Burk, was born in Clay County, 111., July 4, 1849, served as a soldier in the
Union Army during the Civil War, in Company K, Forty-eighth Regiment,
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Third Brigade. He was with Sherman in his
memorable "March to the Sea." After his discharge from the service he re-
turned to his home, but on May 1, 1870, he arrived in California and spent two
years in Tulare County. In April, 1872, he came to Squaw Valley and home-
steaded 160 acres of land, improved it and is still residing on his property.
He added to his original holdings until he owns 352 acres of good land. By his
1662 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
marriage he became the father of the following children: Anna Gertrude;
Floy : F.lva L. ; Almeda J. ; John W. ; Henry A. ; Oliver M. ; and Harold R.
I >f the union of Mr. and Mrs. Traweek there have been born four children:
Hugh J., born April 22. 1898; Gladys L.. born August 19, 1900: Edith M., born
November 5, 1902 ; and Bernice G., born October 22, 1909. They were all
born and educated in Fresno County and share with their parents in the
good-will and esteem of a large circle of friends. Mr. Traweek is a man of
much public spirit and loyally supports all measures for the upbuilding of the
county. He is a friend of education and believes in the maintenance of good
schools. He has served the people well and acceptably as constable of his
district for nearly six years, and wherever he is known he is honored for his
integrity, and his home is the center of a true Californian hospitality.
AXEL H. RASMUSSEN. — As a high-class commercial artist and card
writer, Axel H. Rasmussen is well known in Fresno. Thrift and foresight,
no less than push and enterprise, are distinguishing traits in the character of
this young business man of Danish birth. He was born at Aarhus, Den-
mark, February 5, 1887, and was brought up and educated in the land of
his nativity. He attended the Preparatory University School. In 1906, a
young man nineteen years of age, he came to America imbued with youth's
enthusiasm and hopeful of the bright prospects ever held forth by the New
World to her citizens of foreign birth. He came directly to Fresno City,
and after trying farming and other lines of work he directed his attention
to the profession that appealed to his artistic inclinations — sign painting
and illustrating. He was in the employ of Mr. Gus Olson, sign painter,
for a time.
Mr. Rasmussen is a natural artist. His first work was done as an
illustrator in the advertising matter used when the Kearney Park Boulevard
Tract was put on the market, and for one year he was illustrator for the
Berg Advertising Agency of Fresno. At present he does all the work for
four theaters in Fresno and two theaters in Oakland, the Franklin and the
Kinema. The first man to do commercial art work in Fresno, he is also
the leader in that line. He has made illustrations for the street car ad-
vertising of the Fresno Brewing Company, and the San Joaquin Baking
Company of Fresno. He generously devoted his work for the publicity of
the Red Cross Drive, the Belgian Relief and United War Work, and also did
the greater part of the illustrating for the newspaper advertising for the
Liberty Loan drives in Fresno. Since 1914 he has been in business for
himself, and has met the well-merited success that his enterprise and careful
and artistic work deserve.
In establishing domestic ties Mr. Rasmussen chose one of his country-
women by birth, who in maidenhood was Miss Sesilie Nielsen. They re-
side in their cozy, comfortable home at 1766 L Street, Fresno.
THEODORE J. RING.— The oldest resident of Raisin City is Theodore
J. Ring, a native of Winston-Salem, N. C, born August 2, 1876. The Ring
family is traced back to England ; members of the family came to North Caro-
lina about six generations ago. One ancestor served in the Revolutionary
war. Grandfather William Jackson Ring was a lieutenant in the Confed-
erate Army in the Civil War. Theodore's father was Lee Ring, a planter at
Winston-Salem and later at Elkin, where he died. The mother of Mr. Ring
was named Augusta Ridings. She was also of English descent, and her
father, Thomas Ridings, also served in the Confederate Army. Lee and
Augusta (Ridings) Ring left two children. Theodore J. and his brother
Thomas, who still own the old plantation at Elkin and have added to it until
it embraces almost 600 acres; it is operated by and in charge of his brother.
Thomas "Ring.
I'll' '"lore Ring had the advantages of the public schools at Elkin. After
the completion of his schooling he assisted on the home place until twenty-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1663
four years of age, when he entered the employ of the Southern Railroad,
having charge of the freight warehouses at Elkin for a period of two years.
While there he was married, on February 25, 1903, to Miss Carrie Sprinkle,
a native of Elkin, and the daughter of J. H. and Minerva (Messick) Sprinkle,
natives of North Carolina, of Virginian parents. J. H. Sprinkle is a tobacco
commission merchant at Elkin, and also the owner of a transfer line, being still
actively engaged in business. Of their nine children Mrs. Ring is the fourth.
Deciding to locate in California, the young couple arrived in Caruthers,
Fresno County, March 9, 1903. For two years Mr. Ring followed ranching,
and then entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Armona, and
with the use of a speeder filled the duties of track-walker for two years. In
April, 1907, he was transferred to Ormus, now Raisin City, as foreman of Sec-
tion 49, a position he has ably filled ever since. He is now using a gaso-
line motor car for transporting his crew and supplies over the section. When
he came here there was no town, but the same summer Raisin City was laid
out and in the fall the hotel and store went up and the Raisin postoffice was
established. Mr. and Mrs. Ring have made several trips back to the old
home, and as stated before still own a half interest in the old plantation,
in which they take much pride. They have six children: Muriel, Mary,
Leslie, Jack, Catherine, and Maude. Mr. and Mrs. Ring are enterprising
and charitable and always have been ready to assist others less fortunate
than themselves. Mrs. Ring is a devout Methodist. Fraternally, Mr. Ring
is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, and
the Junior Order of American Mechanics. Politically he is a Democrat.
VINTON JULIUS CLIFFORD.— A scientific viticulturist who is espe-
cially familiar with the problems peculiar to Fresno County and the extension
of the California vine industry, and who is high-principled, liberal and affable
and therefore enjoys an enviable popularity, is Vinton Julius Clifford, who
came to Fresno County in the late eighties, was for seven years a trustee of
the Jefferson school district, and long an influential member of the Demo-
cratic County Central Committee. He was born near Queen City, Schuyler
County, Mo., on March 27, 1869, the son of Nelson Clifford, a native of Athens
County, Ohio, who was married in that state and settled in Missouri, where
he was a farmer and preempted land. There he died in 1881 when the subject
of our sketch was thirteen years old. His wife was Margaret Currier, a native
of Indiana and who died in 1879, the mother of eight children: Addison re-
sides in Oklahoma; Hannah, who died June 13, 1919; Mary Olive, who was
Mrs. Cole, died at Modesto on March 28, 1916; Charles Henry, who is the Con-
stable and resides near Clovis ; Martha J., lives near Hannah ; Mrs. R. E. L.
Cobb, of Clovis; Vinton Julius, the subject of our review; and Minnie May,
now Mrs. Charles T. Reyburn of Clovis.
The second youngest, Vinton J., was brought up in Missouri and as a lad
learned to farm, at the same time that he attended the country schools of the
district. He stuck at the work until he was nineteen, and then having several
sisters who had preceded him to California, he followed and arrived in the
land of opportunity, on October 5, 1888. He at once went to work on the
grain ranch of J. Cole & Son, with whom he continued for five years.
In the meantime Mr. Clifford had bought twenty acres in the Jefferson
district which he set out as a vineyard, and this he sold in less than a year
at a good profit. Then he started working on ranches and teaming, and in
that continued until 1894 when he undertook to herd lumber in the flume for
the Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company. He was with the flume company,
and later in the mill, where he was a shipping clerk in the box department at
Clovis, for ten years ; and having saved money, he bought six lots and owned
three houses in Clovis, some of which he later sold at a profit. He then bought,
for $2,640, a quarter section of land, and afterward traded it for $3,000 cash
and twenty acres half a mile west of Clovis. Still later he sold the twenty
acres, and about the same time quit the mill.
1664 HISTORY OP FRESNO COUNTY
Starting anew, Mr. Clifford bought the Alvin Cole vineyard of twenty
acres near Clovis, and ran it for three years, when he sold it to Charles Rev-
burn. He next bought forty acres in the Reyburn tract and afterward sold
the same. Then he bought thirty acres in the Jefferson district, half a mile
west of the Jefferson school house, which he improved to vines and ran it.
During this time he was in the employ of Supervisorial District No. 2 build-
ing bridges and oiling roads; and while the job was a particular one, he re-
mained in charge of the work for eight years. For eight years, also, he bought
grapes for the Barton vineyard.
In March, 1918, he bought eighty acres in the Reyburn tract, three miles
east of Clovis and in February, 1919, he bought eighty acres adjoining and
now has 160 acres which he intends to set out as a vineyard. He has also
leased the old Boucher place of sixty acres in the Jefferson district, all in
vineyard, where he is raising muscats and Thompson seedless. Thus com-
fortably and prosperously situated, he can look back with mingled memories ;
where Clovis now stands was once a grain field, in which he ran big teams
and a header, and where he hauled grain.
In Clovis, also, Mr. Clifford was married on December 27, 1899, to Miss
Hattie E. Ploetz, a native of Houston, Texas, and a daughter of Gustav and
Mary Ploetz, who came to California in 1887 and in 1895 to Clovis, and were
noted viticulturists. Mrs. Clifford attended school in Sacramento and Mo-
desto, and Clovis grammar and High Schools.
Mr. and Airs. Clifford have two children : Gladys M., and Victor Addison,
who are both attending Clovis Union High School.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Clifford are members of the Concordia Chapter of
the O. E. S. at Clovis, she being a Past Matron, and he a Past Patron
and the present Patron. Mrs. Clifford is also a member of San Joaquin Court
of Amaranth, No. 27, at Fresno. Mr. Clifford also belongs to the Pine Burr
Camp of the Woodmen of the World, at Clovis. In this same town he was
made a Mason, in Clovis Lodge No. 417, F. & A. M., and he is a Past Master
and also member of the Lodge of Perfection and Rose Croix, in Fresno.
GEORGE WALLACE STEWARD. — A good example of what a man
with energy, intelligence and industry may do in Fresno County is to be
found in the career of George Wallace Steward, who owns a well-improved
and very productive ranch of sixty acres on the Giffen road three and a half
miles northeast of Fowler and ten miles southeast of Fresno. He is an Eng-
lishman by birth, while his good wife is a native daughter who comes from
one of the early and highly respected Danish families of California.
Mr. Steward was born on May 13, 1867, in Hampshire, England, about
fifty-two miles south of London, where his father and mother, Joseph and
Marian ( Bundy) Steward, managed a farm on a twenty-year lease. Joseph
Steward was Scotch and his wife was English. George \Y. grew up in Eng-
land on his father's farm, until he was seventeen, although he left school at
fourteen and was apprenticed to a baker. His mother died when he was
only five years of age. After he had come to America, his father followed,
and later, having never remarried, died in Indiana at the age of seventy-
six. Seven children were born to this worthy couple — four boys and three
girls, and George W. was the youngest son.
George W. Steward said good-bye to England, and sailing from Liver-
pool on the Cunard line, landed at New York on March 3, 1888. He had a
brother who was a foreman on a stock-ranch in Benton County, Ind., and
engaged to work under him for a celebrated Hereford breeder and importer,
and there lie remained for three years. In 1801 he came West to California
and, being offered employment at twenty dollars a month, settled at Fresno.
Seven years later he was married at Fresno to Miss Annie Madsen, born
October 31, 1876, the daughter of Peter Madsen of Oleander, win. married
Catherine Elizabeth Marcussen. They are honored pioneers of Fresno County
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1667
and, as successful ranchers at Oleander, are closely identified with the life
and development of that section.
For a couple of years after he had married, Mr. Steward rented land.
Then he bought fifty acres from the Kimball estate, and ten acres adjoining
it from Wylie Gift" en ; and there Mr. and Mrs. Steward have made their
home ever since. They have four children : Evelyn Elizabeth, who graduated
from the Fowler High School in 1918; Irving Wallace; George Wallace, Jr.,
born on his grandmother Steward's and his father's birthday, in 1907; and
Lillian Dorothy. Mr. Steward is a member and stockholder of both the
California Associated Raisin Company, and the Peach Growers, Inc., and
also a member of the Farm Bureau of Fowler, and of the Valley Fruit Grow-
ers' Association. All the family belong to the First Presbyterian Church of
Fowler. Mr. Steward is a naturalized citizen, and in politics is a Progressive
Republican.
ELIHU B. HUNT.— A fine old gentleman who has traveled widely,
seen much of the every-day world and real life, and derived much valuable
experience, is Elihu B. Hunt, who came to Fresno County in 1910, and has
ever since wished that he had settled here many years earlier. He was born
in Thorndike, Waldo County, Maine, on May 10, 1855, the son of Sumner
Hunt, a native of the same place. His grandfather, Ichabod Hunt, was born
in Gorham, that state, and was a farmer who served in the Revolutionary
War and the War of 1812. His father, also a farmer, died at Vassalboro,
Kennebec County, Maine. He had married Frances Elizabeth Hunt who
came from the same vicinity as her husband, and the daughter of Jonathan
Hunt of Unity, 'Maine, a member of the same family, a long way back, and
she also died at Vassalboro. There were eight children in their family:
Martha, who died in Thorndike, became Mrs. Phillip Blethen, and passed
away in March, 1900; Edith, now Mrs. Whitaker, resides at Troy, Maine;
Clara is Mrs. John Kennedy, of Vassalboro ; Mary was Mrs. G. Burrows, and
died in March, 1917, at Waterville ; Florence died when very young; Elihu B.,
who is the subject of this sketch ; William A., who is in Thorndike on the
old home farm ; and Frank P., deceased.
Brought up on one of the good old-fashioned farms, Elihu attended the
ordinary country school and the Thorndike high school, and then, from his
sixteenth year, taught school two winters. During the summer-time he
worked on a farm. Going to Lowell, Mass., he was a night watchman for
three years in a cotton mill; and at the end of that time, in 1877, he came
west to White Sulphur Springs, Meagher County, Mont., where he contracted
for getting out timber and breaking horses. After a while, he succeeded in
owning a farm and buying some cattle, but the hard winter "broke" him,
and he had to resume work for wages. He became a horseman and for two
years was made superintendent of White's ranch ; then, for a couple of years,
he contracted for carrying the mail from White Sulphur Springs to Neihart.
In 1894, Mr. Hunt moved to Salmon, Idaho, where he at first engaged
in lumbering, and then prospected and mined until 1901. Then he went to
Globe, Ariz., for a year, and in May, 1902, to Old Mexico, where he worked
for four years in mines. Attaining success, he traveled the Republic of
Mexico, and was for three years at Medina, owning a ranch and raising corn
and fruit.
In May, 1910, Mr. Hunt sold out and came to California and Fresno ; and
having looked about well, he decided to locate in Tranquillity. He at once
purchased twelve acres, improved it and put it into alfalfa ; and in 1917 he
sold it at a profit and bought his present place of twenty-two acres. This he
so improved that now he finds it best to devote it all to the growing of alfalfa.
He operates it himself, and so gets the very best results. He used to lease
acreage from the San Toaquin Land Company, and raised grain and barley,
and in 1917 he harvested eighty-six acres, in the management of which he
was more than fortunate.
1668 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In Salmon, Idaho, Mr. Hunt was made a Mason in Lemhi Lodge, No. 11,
and he is still a member there. In national politics he is a Republican, but
in issues for local growth and improvement lie is non-partisan. He is popular
with his fellow citizens and loyal to the advancement of his town and county.
GUY R. VIGNOLA. — A firm believer in the great future in store for
Fresno County, of which he is a native son, Guy R. Vignola was born in
Buchanan. Tune 11, 1884. He is a son of Angelo and Margaret (Lovaroni)
Vignola. The father landed in New York at the age of five years, and was
raised in that state. In the early fifties he crossed the plains to California,
and mined for gold in Mariposa County for a time. He later settled in
Fresno County, of which he was one of the pioneers. Here he followed
mining, and was a storekeeper, sheepraiser and stockman, owning a
large ranch near Buchanan. He also ran a store in Madera County in pioneer
days. His death occurred in. 1906. To this pioneer couple eleven children
were born, as follows: Emile and John, prominent citizens of Turlock
County: Julius and Caesar, running the old home ranch at Buchanan:
Frank: Mrs. George Wright, of Tuolumne County: Mrs. David Lockton, of
Sonoma, Cal. : Mrs. Addie Hanby : Mrs. Vera Holland: Guy R., of this
review ; and Juliet, who died when eighteen years old.
Guy R. Vignola was raised on the home ranch in Buchanan, and at-
tended the schools of that district, later finishing his education in the
grammar school at Raymond, and also taking a course at a college in San
Francisco. Always ambitious for further educational advantages, he has
continued his studies since his school days, and is at present taking a
correspondence school course in law. He engaged in the butcher business
at Raymond, and for a time was engaged in newspaper work in Fresno.
With W. W. Watson he founded the Fresno Daily Abstract, now called
the "Daily Real Estate Reporter," devoted to real estate news transfers,
court records and market reports. In 1908 he started in the real estate
business in Fresno, and has been very successful in that line. He specializes
in large ranch properties, and has sold and exchanged many large parcels
of land in the county. A resident of Fresno County since his birth. Mr.
Vignola has a thorough knowledge of conditions and values in this section,
and his success has followed as a matter of course. Meanwhile he has been
aiding in the development of the resources of his native county.
J. R. CAIN. — Success in business does not entirely depend upon financial
ability ; in the retail business especially, the courteous treatment of prospec-
tive customers and the genial smile, coupled with an intelligent and compre-
hensive knowledge of the merchandise and efficient management of the es-
tablishment, are very essential factors to success. J. R. Cain, the subject of
this sketch, possesses these qualifications in a pleasing degree, and to them
he attributes a large measure of his success in the furniture and undertaking
business. He is a native of the Hoosier State, having been born in Indiana
in 1874: but he was reared and educated in Kansas, to which state his par-
ents removed in 1881, and where they resided up to 1908, when they migrated
to California. They are now residents of Fresno County. Mr. and Mrs.
William Cain were the parents of seven children, only three of whom are
living: C. P., R. L., and J. R.
J. R. Cain migrated' to California in 1900, and for two years lived in
Sonoma County. In 1902 he removed to Fresno County, where he has since
resided and carried on a prosperous business. He has been engaged in the
furniture business for sixteen years. During twelve years of this time he
conducted business in Selma, and for five years he has been located in San-
ger. During the last six years he has conducted an undertaking establish-
ment in connection with his furniture business. I lis furniture and under-
taking room in Sanger is fifty by one hundred feet in size, and in addition
to this he has a workshop forty by forty feet. In 1016 Mr. Cain was appointed
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1669
a deputy coroner of Fresno County. While living in Selma his business
ability was recognized by the citizens of that enterprising city, by his election
to the city council.
In 1889 J. R. Cain was united in marriage with Miss Birdella M. Howard,
the daughter of F. A. Howard ; and they are parents of one daughter, Alta
Marie. They also have a foster daughter, Joybelle, who enjoys the full privi-
leges and domestic relations of a daughter.
Mr. Cain and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Cain is the superintendent of the Sunday school, and in 1918 he was made
the president of the Fresno County Sunday School Association. Fraternally,
he is a Mason, being affiliated with Sanger Lodge, No. 316, F. & A. M.
JUDGE E. W. RISLEY.— In the passing of Judge E. W. Risley. prom-
inent for many years in the political and civic life of Fresno, the city lost
one of her most highly respected and useful citizens. He was born in New
Haven, Conn., March 1, 1853, and was a direct descendent of Richard Risley,
founder of Hartford, Conn., in the year 1635. When a lad he went to Gales-
burg, 111., and at the age of twenty-one graduated from Knox College, having
also studied law during the last two years of his college life. In 1874 he
started West, his goal being California. During the silver boom he sought
a foothold in Nevada and in California, from Shasta to San Diego.
Judge Risley's name, before he came to Fresno, was woven conspicu-
ously into the story of Arizona's rapid development. At the time of the
great mineral discoveries in Tombstone, Ariz., he went over the desert by
pack train and met with the usual vicissitudes of the pioneer, sometimes a
millionaire in his mind and sometimes a pauper in fact. At one time he was
official court reporter of the entire Territory of Arizona, which necessitated
his traveling from one end of the territory to the other in the performance
of his official duties. He was also a deputy United States marshal and deputy
district attorney of Cochise County, wherein was situated the city of Tomb-
stone, and was clerk of the board of supervisors of Pina County. During his
stay in Tucson he became, in turn, deputy United States district attorney
and member of the Tucson city council, and saw the change of Tucson from a
Spanish pueblo to a modern American city. As a member of the territorial
legislature, later, he was chairman of the judicial and appropriations com-
mittees.
Judge Risley came to Fresno in 1885, and was at once admitted to the
Supreme Court of the State of California and to the United States Supreme
Court. He was deputy district attorney of Fresno County under Firman
Church and W. D. Tupper, and as city attorney under the old Spinney regime
did much to maintain order and keep the two factions from an open rupture,
insisting upon the enforcement of the city ordinances. For six years he
served as superior judge of Fresno County ; and of the many decisions he
rendered, manv of them on murder charges, not one was ever reversed by
the Supreme Court. At the close of his term, although earnestly solicited by
his many friends to continue in office, he declined, wishing to devote his
time and" energy to his private affairs. Notwithstanding this decision, he took
an active part, as a freeholder, in making the existing city charter, and acted
as police and fire commissioner for four years.
Judge Risley's wife was before her marriage Miss Eleanor Merrill, a
native of Illinois. She died in 1913. Judge Risley died on December 15,
1918, and his funeral services were conducted at the crematory by his life
long friend, fudge M. K. Harris. Judge Risley's request was that at death
there should'be'no flowers, "but dust unto dust, and unto dust to lie with-
out glory, without pomp, without end." He was eminently worthy of the
honor and respect accorded him by his friends and colleagues, who mourn
his untimely demise. The judge is survived by his son, Thomas E., of Fresno,
and a daughter, Mrs. Marguerite Rowe, of Los Angeles.
1670 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
NORTHMAN C. LIVINGSTON.— Northman C. Livingston was born
in Claremont, N. H., January 2, 1862, the younger of two children born to
Sherman and Zilpha (Keith) Livingston, natives of New Hampshire and Pom-
fret, Vt., respectively, who spent their last days in the latter state. He was
brought up in New Hampshire until eighteen years of age, and there had
the advantages of the public schools. When eighteen years of age he removed
to Pomfret, Vt., and engaged in farming until he located in Hartford, Vt.,
where for seven years he ran a harness establishment. Next he engaged in
the furniture and undertaking business in the 'same city for a time. After
selling out this business he assisted in the management of a hotel, and then
for a while was employed in the woolen mills. Returning to the farm in Ver-
mont, he operated the place for seven years.
On account of his wife's health, Mr. Livingston came to California, arriv-
ing in Pasadena in 1907. After a year in that city he came to Raisin City,
Fresno County, in 1908, where he engaged in general merchandise, pur-
chasing the location and improving the store building. A few years ago he
closed out the dry goods and groceries and now has a hardware and im-
plement store. Since 1908 he has been postmaster, and he has had the
telephone exchange since the company built their line into Raisin City.
Mr. Livingston was bereaved of his wife in September, 1916. She was a
woman of amiable disposition, and will be long mourned by her relatives and
friends. Mr. Livingston is the oldest merchant in Raisin City, and is well
liked and popular as a public official and merchant. He was made a Mason
in Woodstock Lodge. No. 31, F. & A. M. His political preference is with
the Democratic party.
MARIUS and HARRY GIRAUD.— Two very successful viticulturists,
well-liked and respected, are Marius and Harry Giraud, natives of Avancon,
the Hautes-Alpes, France, where their father, Jacques, was also born. He
was a cooper, who had his own farm and forest, and used to go himself
to get out the material for his staves and heads. He also had a finely appointed
vineyard; and on his place, a joy as well as a means of support to him, he
died, in 1908. His good wife, Angelena Senturie before her marriage, was
also a native of the Hautes-Alpes, and survived her husband three months.
Seven children were born to this worthy couple. The eldest was Marius. of
whom we are writing; then came Emil, who is still in France: the third
was Harry, who also figures in our story : and the others are Mary, Felice,
and Gabriele, also resident in their native land, and Ferdinand, who was
killed in December, 1914, while serving as a soldier at Nieuport. Belgium —
a sacrifice for the cause of freedom and justice which reflects the highest
glory on the family name. Marius was born on March 11, 1865, and Harry
on the 11th of November, two years later. They were both reared in France,
and while attending the public schools of their neighborhood, learned the
details of vineyard work.
In 1888 Marius Giraud came to Los Angeles and went to work on the
railroad. The next year he made his way to Fresno, and for a month found
employment on the Fresno sewer. At Christmas he got a job pruning vines,
and soon he formed a partnership with Mr. Telmond and for a year busied
himself with contract pruning. Then, for four years, he was with Louis
Almand, pruning in Fresno, Kings, and Tulare counties. In December,
1893. Harry Giraud came out to California from France, and thereafter the
brothers continued pruning together. From 1901 to 1905 Marius was in busi-
ness in Fresno; when he sold -out, he went in with his brother on a vineyard
of twenty acres near the mountains, in the Helm Colony, and this was man-
aged under the firm name of Giraud Bros. Harry had purchased the twenty
acres in 1902, and the following year he set out the vineyard. To this they
have given the closest attention, raising only wine-grapes. Marius also
bought, together with his brother, forty acres of raw land a mile west of
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1671
this place, and set the same out to muscatel, Malaga and Thompson grapes,
raising the vines from cuttings, and allowing five acres for alfalfa. Now the
brothers have sixty acres of as choice and rich vineyard soil as can be found
anywhere. They have always been actively interested in the various raisin
association movements, and they are supporters of the California Associated
Raisin Company. Though born in France, they are not indifferent to the
political interests of their adopted country. They generally march under
the Republican banner ; but when it comes to local issues, they are for Fresno
and Central California, the best men and the best measures.
EMIL KREYENHAGEN.— Reputed to be among the largest land-
owners and stock-raisers of Fresno County, is Kreyenhagens, Inc., one of
whom, Emil Kreyenhagen, the subject of this review, was born in St. Louis,
Mo., December 1, 1853. He is the son of Gustav and Julia (Tiering) Kreyen-
hagen, both natives of Hanover, German}'. The father immigrated to the
United States in 1846 after having received the advantages of a thorough
education in his native land. Being especially proficient in languages and
mathematics he became a professor of Latin, Greek and mathematics, in St.
Louis, Mo., where he made his home for some years and while a resident of
the metropolis of Missouri four children were born, all of whom died there,
except the subject of this review, Emil Kreyenhagen. In January, 1854,
Gustav, with his wife and infant son Emil, migrated from Missouri to Cali-
fornia, coming via the Isthmus of Panama and arriving at San Francisco.
Here, for a time, he operated a general merchandise store. In 1860 he
located on a ranch six miles east of Gilroy and at the same time he operated
the Peach Tree ranch in Monterey County, for four years. Here he engaged
in sheep-raising, but the fates seemed unpropitious, as a disastrous flood
overtook his flock and nearly all of his herd was lost. Afterwards, in the
year 1865, Gustav Kreyenhagen removed to Los Banos, in Merced County,
and while living there ran not only a store, but was the proprietor of a hotel
and kept a stage station. Los Banos was at that time a large center for
freighters who were engaged in hauling supplies through the valley with
large teams of mules and horses, this being the only means of transportation
before the advent of the railroad.
December 1, 1874, Emil Kreyenhagen had located at what was then
Posa Chena, now Kirk Station, east of what is now Coalinga, Fresno County,
and in 1875 his father and family also came and located at Posa Chena and
engaged in stock-raising. Here the father kept a store and hotel and en-
gaged in raising sheep and cattle on a large scale. After a long and eventful
career he retired from active participation in business affairs in 1887, and
three years later passed away to his eternal reward, bereaved by a large
circle of friends and five surviving children : Emil ; Hugo ; Mrs. Bertha
Welker ; Adolph ; and Charles. His widow survived him till August 2,
1906.
Emil Kreyenhagen is the eldest of the family and was reared in Cali-
fornia from his first year. He received his education in the public schools of
Gilroy and at St. Joseph's Academy, Oakland. He assisted his father in his
varied business at Los Banos until they sold out, and when nineteen years
of age, in 1874, he came to Posa Chena, Fresno County. He liked the appear-
ance of the country and in 1875 the rest of the family joined him. They
then began the stock business which has since grown to such large pro-
portions. The brothers continued in partnership all these years, working
together in harmony, and on July 14, 1916, they incorporated as Kreyen-
hagens, Inc., he being the president of the company. The company owns
10,000 acres of land and leases 37.000 from the Southern Pacific Railway
Company and from individuals. The three ranches they own are known by
their Spanish names, Los Canoas, Zapato Cheno, and Las Polvaderas, and
are located southeast of Coalinga. The Kreyenhagens are also interested in
1672 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the Hays Cattle Company, of Kirkland, Ariz., and at one time owned and
managed the Crescent Meat Market and City Market at Coalinga. In early
days they did teaming, hauling freight to and from Posa Chena to Gilroy
and Bania Station, using from eight to ten-horse teams for the freighting,
sometimes taking ten days to make a round trip and upon their return trip
bringing merchandise and supplies. The year 1918 finds these enterprising
brothers farming 1,400 acres of land, on the plains, to grain. Emil Kreyen-
hagen filled the position of postmaster at Turk Station, also at Rogers post-
office. Hot Springs. Fraternally, he was made a Mason in Welcome Lodge,
No. 255. F. & A. M. at Lemoore.
Emil Kreyenhagen was united in marriage with Lucy Hathaway at
Lemoore. on December 15, 1881. She was born in Coulterville. Mariposa
County, the daughter of Fielding and Eliza (Davis) Hathaway, natives ot
Virginia and Texas, respectively. They crossed the plains with ox teams
in 1858. locating on the Merced River where Mr. Hathaway ran a flour mill.
In 1865 they moved to Visalia where he was a contractor and builder and
built the old Visalia House. On account of his wife's health he removed to
the mountains in 1874, being engaged in stock-raising near Mineral King,
and there his wife died in 1875. He then returned to Visalia and later lived
retired at Lemoore, where he died at the age of ninety-two years. Mrs.
Kreyenhagen was educated in the public schools of Visalia and her union
with Mr. Kreyenhagen has been blessed with two daughters: Gertrude,
Mrs. C. G. Barton, who resides in Hanford, and who was educated in Easton
High School and Heald's Business College, Fresno; and Leona M.. who
was educated at Mills College and then a graduate of the Riverside Library
School, after which she taught school in Hanford, and who is now the
wife of Carrol V. Buckner of Lemoore.
A pioneer of the Valley, Mr. Kreyenhagen has in his modest and quiet
way been a real upbuilder and developer of Fresno County, and he is today
reaping the fruits of his labors, and is esteemed by all who know him, for
his integrity, worth and honesty of purpose.
NILS E. LARSON. — A sturdy old-timer who came to Fresno County in
the early eighties is Nils E. Larson, to whom there is probably no document
of more precious value than the honorable discharge which certifies that al-
though he was born in Arebre, Sweden. November 8, 1859, he served awhile
in the United States Navy and so won for himself the right to American citi-
zenship. His father was Frederick Larson, a farmer known for miles around
on account of his experience, his industry, and his honor, and as the second
youngest of six children, three of whom are still living, Nils enjoyed all of
the educational advantages that the first-class public schools of Sweden could
afford. He was reared on a farm, and he learned farming thoroughly, as it
is followed in his native land.
When he was sixteen years of age Nils enlisted in the Swedish Navy, and
for three years he followed the sea under the flag of a country long famous
for its brave and well trained seamen. He learned marine engineering, and
as a skilled mechanic and machinist made several lengthy voyages on differ-
ent ships. He visited Philadelphia and New York, and sailed around Cape
Horn ; and through his intercourse with the peoples of other countries than
his own he mastered everyday English and picked up some knowledge of
other languages as well. Having received an honorable discharge, he con-
cluded to leave Sweden and to try his fortune in the New World.
In 1878, Mr. Larson landed at New York City and immediately enlisted
as a marine engineer in the United States Navy, in which position he served
the Union for three years. He was appointed, in time, to five or six different
ships, went around Cape of Good Hope, sailed to China, and then returned to
Philadelphia by way of the same Cape. He went around Cape Horn to
San Francisco, and in that city, in 1881, he received his honorable dismissal.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1673
Thereupon Mr. Larson went to Port Costa, where he worked in a ware-
house for a year; and on the fourth of July, 1882, he reached Fresno and
soon after began to engage in grain farming. He drove the big teams in the
grain fields, and he teamed to the mountains, and from the upper regions he
hauled lumber, using at times from eight to twenty-two mules and horses
in a single team.
In 1884 he took up a homestead of 160 acres at Tollhouse, and at the
same time engaged to work for John Haskel, on whose ranch he remained
seven years. He then started grain farming twelve miles south of Fresno
on Elm Avenue, and leased 3,500 acres from A. A. Weber. He used six
big teams ; but the year proving a very dry one he harvested scarcely two
and a half sacks to the acre and lost everything except a span of horses. He
bought more horses on credit, however, came to Academy, leased land of
D. C. Sample, beginning with 600 acres, and increasing the area to 2,200,
and ran four big' teams with a combined harvester drawn by twenty-four head
of horses. He cut other grain, and sowed and reaped 1,600 acres a year,
finally meeting with success. For the first six years he could hardly make
expenses, selling wheat as low as sixty cents per hundred and thirteen dollars
a ton for barley, but he persisted and overcame the handicaps which seemed
insurmountable.
While operating there, fourteen years ago, Mr. Larson bought his present
place of ISO acres in the Gray Colony; and after he had farmed the same to
grain for three or four years he moved onto it and began to improve the
land. He had already leveled it, and had planted forty acres to alfalfa ;
then he put out a vineyard of sixty acres, and the same year set out twenty
acres in orchard. Since then he has planted more than forty acres, and has
altogether a ranch of 152 acres, twelve miles from Fresno. He has over 100
acres in vines distributed to Thompson, sultana, muscat and wine grapes, and
twenty-five acres in peaches. He has an orange avenue leading to his resi-
dence, and a small and useful orchard at the house. He holds membership
in the California Peach Growers' Inc., and the California Associated Raisin
Company.
At Oakland, in 1909, Mr. Larson was married to Miss Meta Husted,
who was born in Denmark ; and by her he had three children : Nils Frederick,
Margaret C. and Christen H. Larson. Mrs. Larson passed away in May,
1918. Mr. Larson is a Republican in national political movements.
L. M. JENSEN. — An industrious and experienced farmer and a broadly
developed viticulturist and horticulturist, making a specialty of raisin culture,
is L. M. Jensen, who was born at Fyen, Denmark, December 10, 1877, the son
of a farmer near Bogense, where he was reared and educated in the public
school. When he was only four years of age his mother died, and when he
was six he was thrown on his own resources, and thus made his own way
through the schooling period until he was fourteen, and from that time on.
Through the return of a friend, Hans Frank, he became acquainted with
the wonderful land by the Pacific and its resources, and concluded to take
the momentous step of leaving home, crossing the wide ocean, and trying his
fortunes in the New World. On April 28, 1902, he arrived in Fresno County,
and immediately found employment at ranching in the vicinity of Selma.
Soon he bought a small farm near Parlier, consisting of about twelve acres, at
the price of $600. This he set out to vines, kept it a couple of years, and
then sold it for $1,250. He continued to work on farms and with teams,
and leasing some land of D. C. Sample, he tried his hand at grain-farming.
In 1913, Mr. Jensen bought a vineyard of seventy-two acres in the Gray
Colony, which he improved considerably and built upon. He set out thirty
acres as a vineyard with muscat, Emperor and malaga grapes, and thirty
acres in figs of the White Adriatic kind, while he had ten acres of peach
orchards. He has two pumping plants, and uses two engines for pumping.
1674 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Like other wide-awake specialists in his field, he is a member of the California
Associated Raisin Company, and the California Peach Growers, Inc.
Near Academy, Air. Jensen was married to Miss Carrie M. Frikka, a
native of Kolding, Denmark, by whom he has had four children: Elna- Marie,
Louis Christian, Clarence James, and Ann Christene. For some time past
Mr. Jensen has been a trustee of the Gray school district, and in that capacity
has done good public service for the community. In national politics he gen-
erally follows the standards of the Democratic party, while in fraternal life
he is active principally in the Dania in Fresno and the Clovis Camp of the
Woodmen of the World.
JOHN H. FUNCH.— A very interesting and worthy old-timer in Cali-
fornia, the story of whose, life, with its numerous narrow escapes, runs like
a veritable romance, is John H. Funch, who came to the Golden State in
1869. He was born at Bornholm, Denmark, on August 30. 1855, the son of
P. G. Funch who was a sailor and a ship-carpenter by trade. In 1847 the
elder Funch sailed with a Spanish ship around the Horn, and at San Fran-
cisco he left the vessel and made for the interior. At Sutter's Mill he helped
construct the water wheel, and so he was present at the time when John
Marshall discovered gold in the mill-race. He engaged in placer mining with
great success, until he acquired over $30,000; his shipmate and fellow-car-
penter, Hans Munk, had as much more. The Spaniard who owned the grant
returned from Mexico, had them arrested and brought to San Francisco
where the court released them, deciding that one could dig gold where it was
found. Hans Munk sat at a gaming-table, and staked what he had, and —
unusually, perhaps — doubled his small fortune. P. G. Funch started for his old
home in Denmark, once more sailing around the Horn, but it was two years
more before Hans Munk returned. Arriving safely home, P. G. Funch bought
a large farm, and managed it until he died. In time, his good wife. Nora
Sode, also passed away in their comfortable, hard-won home, the mother of
twelve children, among whom John H., now the only one in California, was
the second oldest.
John H. was reared in Denmark until he was fourteen years of age, dur-
ing which time he attended the thorough Danish schools ; but having two
uncles in San Francisco, he left his native land, a mere boy, and crossed the
ocean and the great American continent. Arrived in San Francisco, he
resumed his schooling, but one day in the classroom proved enough for his
nerves, and so he quit and made off for Sacramento. There he commenced
to work out at different jobs, but he soon went to Virginia City, Nev., where
he secured five dollars a day at mining in the Comstock and Yellow Jacket
mines, on an eight-hour shift. Even at ten dollars a day, the wear and tear
proved too much ; he broke down and had to quit. His next work was in
Washoe upon a big flume, but there he contracted rheumatism. He then
went to LJnionville and Hot Springs and there recovered. Taking to stage-
driving, he ran the mountain stage from Unionville to Winnemucca station,
thirty-five miles, receiving for his services $125 a month. But again he was
afflicted with rheumatism, and he was forced to return to San Francisco and
resume doctoring. Fortunately, he found a physician who was able to effect
relief and he recovered, in the meantime taking a trip to Honolulu.
In 1872, Mr. Funch came to the San Joaquin Valley, into what was then
called Fresno, but is now Madera County. He worked on the Friedlander
ranch for a year, and then helped to construct a flume to Madera. When this
was completed, he engaged in farming, taking up a preemption claim near
Borden ; then he bought land and raised grain. He built up a big agricul-
tural enterprise, and had an extensive outfit. He bought additional land at
SI. 50 an acre, until he had four sections, of 640 acres each, or 2,560 acres.
The first great crop he shipped to Contra Costa, but it had no sooner arrived
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1677
there than it was burned in a big warehouse fire, and he suffered a total loss.
He therefore let the land go and abandoned farming. Then he came to Fresno
and began to contract for leveling and ditching, along with Hank Horn. He
also engaged in threshing and harvesting. He helped build the San Joaquin
ditch, and took 240 acres for pay. When the Church Canal went through, it
was located on his land, but the ditch did not pan out successfully, crops
failed, and he lost out again.
On September 25, 1891, Mr. Funch married, at Fresno, Mary Bergman,
who was born at Lulao Norlan, Sweden, and then he located on his present
place, beginning with twenty acres in the Parent Colony No. 2. Mrs. Funch
was the daughter of Adolph and Carrie (Hjemdal) Bergman, and her father
was a sea-captain, who sailed in the coasting trade and on the Mediterranean,
and who went down with his ship off the coast of Spain. The bereaved wife,
her mother, still resides at the old home, the mother of three devoted children,
of whom Mrs. Funch is the second oldest. In September, 1881, she came to
Burlington, Iowa, to an uncle, then after a stay in Illinois, moved west to
Nebraska. During the boom year she reached San Diego, and on April 10,
1891, came north to Fresno.
The land Mr. Funch bought was hogwallow, that had never been plowed,
and he first plowed and later leveled it. He improved it as a vineyard and
an orchard, and built a fine residence and the usual barns and outbuildings.
Since then he bought other land adjoining. He had seventy acres, but he
sold twenty, and now has fifty, five miles north of Fresno. About twenty
acres are laid out as a vineyard, and eight acres as orchard, while the balance
is given up to alfalfa and pasture. For a while he had a small dairy. He has
a fine pumping-plant, as well as water from the Enterprise Ditch. Always
keenly interested in everything that pertains to progress, Mr. Funch takes
an active part in the California Associated Raisin Company.
Eight children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Funch : Helga is
Mrs. Wilmath, and resides at Fresno ; J. P. was in the United States Army,
serving overseas in the Three Hundred Sixteenth Engineers Train, Ninety^
first Division, being in the battles of Saint Mihiel, Meuse, Argonne and Lys ;
Mamie is a graduate of the Fresno State Normal, and is teaching in the
Wolters school ; Allen served in the aviation and signal corps of the United
States Army ; Edward and Fred are assisting in the ranch work ; and there
are Frank and William. The family is noted for its neighborliness and its
genuine hospitality.
Mr. Funch has shown himself to be a public-spirited citizen, ever willing
to serve his 'fellow citizens, for some years serving as school trustee in the
Houghton district. In national politics, he is a Democrat, but he believes
that in local affairs party lines should be disregarded, and he has done what
he could to make a united community, wherein each is interested in its
advancement.
It may not always be easy to get Mr. Funch to talk about the stirring
events connected with himself and his adventurous father, but when he does,
he always has a good story to tell. One of these is the stage-robbery that
occurred when he was driving the bus. He recognized the robbers as Union-
ville gamblers and promptly reported them ; but political pull prevented
their getting their just deserts. The gamblers then swore that they would
"get" him on the next trip, and such a fate was averted only by the alertness
of Mr. Benson, the Wells Fargo agent, and the post master, who started
him out of town at midnight, hours in advance, so that he went through
safely. Sad to relate, the driver who took his place the next day was killed
on the run !
1678 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
BONIE BENJAMIN HERMAN.— A native son who has made an en-
viable record in the stock-raising business is Bonie B. Herman, who is a
native of Fresno City, born January 22, 1880. His father, Ezekiel Herman,
was also a native son, born in Los Angeles, who, riding the range from a boy,
became a well-posted and experienced stockman. He was in the employ of
Miller and Lux, and afterwards of Jeff James, and is now with the San Joa-
quin Farms Land Company. The mother of Bonie, Eliza Johnson before
her marriage, was born in Stockton, and died at San Joaquin, leaving six
children, of whom Bonie B. is the second oldest.
Bonie Benjamin Herman was reared in Riverdale and Caruthers, and
received a good education in the public schools. While still a youth he
began riding after cattle, on the Burrell estate. When thirteen years of
age, in 1893, he entered the employ of Jeff James at San Joaquin, and has
continued on the ranch ever since ; and he has had no time off except two
short leaves of absence. In due time he became foreman of stock under Mr.
James, a position he held until Mr. James' death, continuing in the same
capacity until the ranch was sold to B. F. Graham, who incorporated the
San Joaquin Farms Land Company, and Mr. Herman has been foreman of the
stock department ever since, having charge of about 5,000 head of cattle
and a herd of horses that range over 35,000 acres.
Mr. Herman was married in Fresno to Miss Carrie Morano, born in
Yuma, Ariz., but reared in Fresno County. They have four children : Flor-
ence, Lottie, Maggie, and Ralph. Fraternallv, Mr. Herman is a member of
Fresno Lodge, No. 186, I. O. O. F.
T. H. FLINT. — This hard-working and eminently practical rancher,
while most successfully developing his valuable property in one of the very
best raisin sections in Fresno County, has introduced a method by which he
can raise a good crop of alfalfa among his trees without lessening the pro-
duction of fruit, thus maintaining more cows and stock and incidentally
securing a greater supply of valuable fertilizer for his orchards. He owns
120 acres one mile south and one mile west of Del Rev, on Lincoln Avenue,
where he has developed one of the show-places of Central California.
T. H. Flint was born in Davis County, Mo., on November 19, 1865,
and when seven years of age was taken by his parents to Cass County, Nebr.
His father, John L. Flint, who is now living in Fowler, farmed for two years
in Nebraska and then removed with his family to Kansas, but only for a
season, after which he went back to Nebraska, this time settling in Saline
County, where he became a large landowner, having had at one time two
large stock farms; and here our subject grew up. His mother, whose maiden
name was Mary Alley, and who was born in Indiana, as was bis father, is
also still living at Fowler. She is seventy-four years of age, and the father
is two years older. Four children were born to these devoted parents, and
all are still living. Thomas H. is sketched in this review; George M. was
the second in the order of birth ; Minnie is the wife of F. E. Wells, the mayor
of Fowler, whose life-story is elsewhere given ; and the youngest is Merlie,
who resides two miles northeast of Selma.
Thomas Flint had his first schooling in Missouri, at the public schools in
Cass and Saline Counties, after which he conned his books in Nuckolls
County, Nebr., and at Fairfield, in Clay County, of the same state. At the
latter place he also attended the Christian College. He had worked a year
at the carpenter business in Saline County, and then moved to Nuckolls
County, where he lived for twelve years, working for three years at his
trade. There, too. in 1887, he was married, and for some years he farmed
rented land. His parents came to California in 1890, although two years
after they came out to Brown's Madeira Colony they moved back to Ne-
braska. They did not remain long in the Middle West, however, but sold
their holdings, and in 1894 returned to the Pacific Coast. In 1897 Thomas
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1679
decided to follow them West; and when he arrived here, he went to work
near Selma. He teamed the first year; and then, in 1899, in Kings River
Bottom, farmed corn on rented land.
In 1900 Mr. Flint moved onto his present place, which he at first rented
for a year. It was wild with Johnson grass, and the orchard and vines had
been badly neglected. Through painstaking and patient labor, he now has
thirty-five acres planted to Thompson Seedless grapes, twenty acres to mus-
cats, twenty-one acres in bearing peaches, ten acres in prunes and plums,
five acres in young peaches, twenty acres in alfalfa, three acres in Kelsey
Japan plums, and seven acres in prunes. In various ways, including his
novel method of irrigating the alfalfa, Mr. Flint has made of his ranch a
model farm.
Mr. and Mrs. Flint have been blessed with eight children. Fay is the wife
of W. W. Frame, the rancher, who resides at Wild Flower, southwest of
Selma; Doris, the third in order of birth, married F. E. Thornton, the well-
known rancher of Madera ; Ora is a farmer at Wild Flower, and took for
his wife Amada Giblin ; Goldie and Carmon are at high school in Fresno ;
and Muriel is in college at Los Angeles. Royce, the second-born, passed
away when he was at the promising age of seventeen ; and Ivan also died
young. The family attend the Christian Church at Fowler, and are active
in that society's good works.
EDDIE A. JOHNSON. — An enterprising, progressive native son, wide-
awake to every opportunity for advancement in business, and equally am-
bitious for the righteousness of the community, Eddie A. Johnson enjoyed
a pleasant and enviable popularity. He was born in the middle eighties, a
son of Eric Johnson, who was born at Carlskoga, Vermlan, on December 6,
1846. When only seventeen, Eric Johnson came to the United States and
prepared to settle in Illinois: but unable to resist the call of the Union, he
enlisted in the Civil AVar as a member of an Illinois regiment, and served
until the close of the struggle, when he received an honorable discharge.
For six or seven years he continued to farm in Illinois, near Chicago, and
then returned for a visit to Sweden. The stay in his native land lasted
a couple of years, and at its conclusion he returned to Chicago. When
California was being boomed in the East, incidental to the Philadelphia
Centennial, he came West to San Francisco and hired out as a conductor on
the old cable street-railway. Tiring at length of this occupation, and having
saved a snug sum from his wages, five years later he looked about for the
best opportunity of getting "back to the land." He came to Fresno County
to buy land and settle ; and after securing forty acres in the Scandinavian
Colony, he set to work to improve the same. Later he sold his holding and
bought the present Johnson place, taking possession in 1883. He began
with twenty acres, and a year later added twenty more ; and he set out all
the tract as a vineyard, placing there muscat and Malaga vines. He also
built himself a residence and the customary outbuildings, and set out a
variety of choice trees. On September 26, 1885 he was married at Fresno to
Miss Kate Peterson, a daughter of Sweden who was born near Carlstad,
Vermlan. In 1882 she came to California and soon after, at Fresno, met
Mr. Johnson. Four children blessed their union. The eldest is Eddie, the
subject of our sketch: Paul and Hulda are on the home farm; while David
died at the age of twelve.
The demise of Eric Johnson occurred on May 7, 1915. at which time
the Swedish Mission Church of Fresno, of which he was both a member and
an organizer, lost one of its most faithful supporters, he having continued
a trustee or deacon until his death. Mr. Johnson was for some time a mem-
ber of the G. A. R., and in politics was a Republican.
After her husband's death, Mrs. Johnson, aided by her children, con-
tinued to manage the ranch of forty acres, to which they added twenty.
1680 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
making a very valuable tract of sixty acres, six miles north of Fresno. They
have also improved and now own forty acres of the Colonial Helm tract.
Mrs. Johnson and the family attend the Swedish Mission Church at Fresno.
They have many friends, and the home is a center of hospitality.
Eddie Johnson was born in the old home on September 13, 1886, attended
the public grammar schools of his district, and finally graduated from the
Chestnutvvood Business College. He enjoyed the advantages of every lad
who has the good fortune to grow up in Central California, and from his
boyhood was acquainted with the important details of vineyarding. In
1910 he located on the place, which his father had bought without any im-
provements. He bought twenty acres of the estate, built himself a fine
residence, and set and reset his vineyard, planting sultanas, Thompsons and
wine grapes, and making a model vineyard ; and he also leased his sister's
place of twenty acres. Interested in the larger field of viticulture, he associ-
ated himself with the California Associated Raisin Company, of which he was
the local correspondent.
During a visit at Berkeley, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Pauline
Boquist, a native daughter of San Francisco, and now the mother of his
three children — Eddie Leroy, Robert Adolph and a baby. Mrs. Johnson's
father, Sven Boquist, was a native of Sweden, who came to California and
here married Hilda Sophia Nordstrom. She was born in Helsingborg,
Skam, Sweden, and came to Chicago and later to San Francisco, where
she died, aged twenty-seven years, in 1888. Pauline was the only child,
and after her mother's death she was reared by her aunt, Carrie Nordstrom,
and was educated in the grammar and high schools. She learned the mil-
liner's trade in San Francisco, which she followed there until her marriage.
In religious work, Mr. Johnson's influence was widely felt as a deacon of
the Swedish Mission Church in Fresno, while in politics he maintained
an independent, public-spirited attitude toward the questions of the day,
refusing to be bound by any party platform. He died December 19, 1918,
a victim of influenza.
EDWARD COOPER SWIGART.— A varied experience in life, giving
one a fair knowledge of human nature, becomes a valuable asset in anticipating
and supplying the wants of a community, as is shown by the life-story of
Edward Cooper Swigart, the well-known merchant at Academy, who has
built up both his reputation and his fortune by plain, honest dealing in the
face of the usual severe competition, which will, sooner or later, sift the chaff
from the grain. He was luckily born, for he .is a native son. having first seen
the light near Tehachapi, Kern County, on August 18, 1878 ; and he came to
Academy when he was six years of age, and until he was thirteen he attended
school there.
Mr. Swigart at first went into farming and mining, and then became in-
terested in stock-raising, after which he ranched for himself. In 1902 he was
elected constable of the Tenth Judicial District, and he held the office two
terms. During this period he sold his cattle, and in 1907 went into the general
merchandise business, establishing himself at Letcher ; and for six years he
served as assistant postmaster.
In 1913, having purchased ten acres on the site of Academy, with its
buildings, Mr. Swigart moved his stock of merchandise to that place and has
since continued in business there. Aside from the store, he has a blacksmith
shop and garage. He also owns sixty acres of land just above Academy where
he is installing a pumping plant preparatory to setting out an orchard and
vineyard. Since 1913 he has been the postmaster at Academy. There are
postmasters and postmasters, but Air. Swigart is of the sort that endeavors,
while doing his full duty to the national government, to secure the very best
service, and plenty of it, for the community in which he lives and thrives.
He is a Democrat, has long held an enviable position in local democratic
r
aj^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1683
councils, and has given an excellent administration of the office of deputy-
county clerk.
Mr. Swigart's general merchandise establishment, now so widely known
for miles around, is the only establishment in the neighborhood aiming to
carry such a stock, and to serve the community in that manner. Wide ex-
perience, with both local needs and the best markets from which supplies are
to come, is necessary to make a store of this kind a success ; and it is pleasing
to learn that the efforts of this California merchant to place the best of every-
thing before his customers, and at the lowest tariff that the various conditions
will permit, have been so thoroughly appreciated by the citizens of Academy,
and their patronage means that they intend to support a store that has always
so well considered their future as well as their immediate necessities.
September 6, 1899, witnessed the marriage of Edward Cooper Swigart
and Fannie L. Kirch, a union that has brought much happiness to both of the
fortunate parties. The bride is a native of the city of Fresno, and as the
daughter of well-known pioneers she will certainly always deserve the right
hand of California fellowship. Two children, Ella May and Gloria Lucile,
have come to bless the Swigart home and to share with the parents the cor-
dial good-will of all. The former is a graduate of Heald's Business College
and now the wife of W. R. Simpson who served overseas in the United States
Army; they make their home at Academy.
Mr. Swigart is a member of the Fresno Lodge of Eagles. He was chair-
man of the committees for the various war and Liberty Bond drives at Acad-
emy. He is a board member and clerk of the Dry Creek school district and
in every way does all he can to advance the welfare of his community.
BERTEL LAURITSEN. — A very progressive and successful young
man, who began the great struggle for a place in the world as an ordinary
farm laborer and today has a valuable improved ranch close to Del Rey,
ornamented by a beautiful residence built on symmetrical and artistic lines
is Bertel Lauritsen who was born at Fredericia, Denmark, on December
19, 1871, the son of Mogens Lauritsen, a mason and mechanic there, who,
on his son's invitation, has come all the way to California, and is now living
with him. The mother, whose maiden name was Marie Lauritsen, died
twenty-two years ago in Denmark, after having borne twelve children, and
brought up nine, six of whom are still living in Denmark, while three are
in Fresno County. These latter are Bertel, or "Bert," as he is popularly
called; Laura, the wife of Carl Schongaard, the rancher and butcher of
Temperance Colony; and Betty, the wife of Clarence Cleary, the head of
the seeding department of the Rosenburg Company in Fresno.
Having decided to come to America, Bertel Lauritsen sailed (from
Bremen on a Hamburg-American liner and landed at New York in June,
1890. Without much delay in the East, he made straight for Clifton, then
only a post-office and one store, and now the wide-awake, go-ahead Del Rey,
and immediately began work for J. M. Shannon, on what is now the Shan-
non vineyards. He continued there for five years, and then began to operate
for himself. First, he bought land from Mr. Shannon in the Shannon Colony,
and improved twenty acres. He also bought and improved twenty acres
on the E. F. Davis tract, and this, as well as the other lot, he sold at an
advantage. Then he bought forty acres more on section nine, and planted
and improved the same, after which he disposed of it at a good price ; and
next forty acres on section two, which he put into grain and sold.
His present fifty acres he bought from two different owners in 1911.
Two acres had been planted at the time when he made the purchase, and
fourteen he has since grubbed up and replanted. Now he has two acres in
alfalfa, three in white Adriatic figs, thirty-four in Thompson Seedless grapes,
ten acres in muscats, and one in flaming Tokays. All in all, it would be
in
1684 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
hard to find a trimmer and better cared-for ranch of the size. The ornate
bungalow is as beautiful a modest home as anyone could wish for.
In March. 1897, Mr. Lauritsen was married to Miss Annie Hansen, a
fair native daughter of Denmark who had previously come to Fresno, and
by her he has had one child, Valborg. With their daughter the parents
made a trip back to Denmark in 1906, and for eleven months revisited the
once familiar and endearing scenes of the fatherland. Attractive, however,
as the old country appeared to them again, both were glad to return to
their Fresno home. As an American, Mr. Lauritsen delights in all that
makes up the land of his adoption, and he keeps Old Glory flying all the
time in his front yard. Members of the Danish Lutheran Church, eight miles
west of Del Rev, Mr. and Mrs. Lauritsen maintain a live interest in all
religious endeavor; and they are always ready to "do their bit" in every
movement for the uplift of their community.
RASMUS MADSEN. — Prominent among the large number of Danish-
Americans, who have contributed to the permanent development of the
resources of the Golden State, must be mentioned Rasmus Madsen, who
came to Fresno County in the early nineties. He was born on the Island of
Fyen. Wesenbjerg, on April 22, 1866, a son of Madsen Mortensen, who was
also a native of the same locality and a prosperous farmer there. In early
life the father married Miss Anna Catherine Olsen, by whom he had nine
children. One of the sons, Karl, is a rancher, and now resides in the Gray
Colony, Fresno. Both parents died in Denmark.
The third eldest in the family, Rasmus was reared on his father's farm,
while he obtained a limited common-school education. As soon as he was
old enough, he began assisting his father, and thus followed farming for
the support of the family until 1885. Then he enlisted in the Danish heavy
artillery and served as a soldier for the customary two years, receiving the
coveted honorable discharge. Then for a couple of years he worked for
different persons, saving his earnings, and when he had enough for a
ticket to America, he crossed the wide ocean to the country fabled for its
opportunities.
His first two years in the United States were spent on farms in Iowa,
but the Middle West not being exactly what he was looking for. he left Clay
County and came to the Pacific Coast. He had heard about Fresno and its
expanding county, and after a few days at the Hotel Collins, then the old
Ogle House in the little county seat, he went to work. He showed himself
capable of managing a header, a harvester or a thresher; and at all-around
farm labor he continued for a couple of years. Then he determined to
have a place of his own and eventually leased a fruit ranch which he con-
ducted until he had accumulated enough money to sell his lease and leave
Oleander. Then he moved to the Lee place in the Gray Colony, and en-
gaged in grain-raising. He had about 500 acres, which soon yielded bounti-
fully, and which he ranched for three years.
In 1906, Mr. Madsen bought 480 acres of his present place in the Red
Bank district, and there he located, making improvements and erecting such
buildings as were necessary or desirable. He raised grain, leased more land,
and continued his operations on an increasingly larger scale. He bought 689
acres adjoining, and after five years he sold the same at a profit. He leased
other lands, and managed finally over 1.500 acres. At one time he had
thirty mules or more for his work; now he has a seventy-five horsepower
Holt caterpillar for plowing and putting in his crops, and he harvests with
a combined harvester. Mr. Madsen also improved a forty-acre vineyard on
the Reyburn tract which he cared for two years and then sold at a good
profit.
After vears of close application in improving his ranch, Mr. Madsen
rented the place to his sons in the fall of 1918 and retired to his home in
Fresno, located on the corner of Van Ness and Divisidero Streets. Mr.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1685
Madsen was married, at Fresno, to Mrs. Johanna (Christensen) Petersen,
a native of Viborg, Denmark, where she married Mads Petersen and where
they were well-to-do farmers until they decided to locate in California,
when they sold out, in 1891, and came to Fresno, where Mr. Petersen died
two months after their arrival, leaving four children who have been reared
and educated from the Madsen ranch. They are Christian and Peter, who
are operating the Madsen ranch ; Annie, now Mrs. Hemmingsen of Rolinda ;
and Mary, who became Mrs. Harrington and lives in Los Angeles. By Mr.
Madsen she has had one daughter, Thora. Mr. Madsen belongs to the
Danish Brotherhood, and is a leader in Danish-American affairs. But Mr.
Madsen is first, last and all the time an American, and tries to promote good
citizenship according to the principles laid down by the old, historic Demo-
cratic party. Under its banners he has done years of yeoman work, re-
fusing more than one complimentary offer to assume public office. He has
made a splendid success of his life, and he, his wife and children are highly
respected.
BEN JOHNSON. — A fine type of man and citizen — straightforward, up-
right, kind-hearted and generous — Ben Johnson has made a noteworthy
record as a stockman in the foothills and as a teamster and freighter ; and in
developing one of the show places in the county he contributed his "bit" to
the improvement of land values in this section. He was born near Stavanger,
Norway, on April 4, 1854, the son of Johann Johnson. His mother was Sigrid
Johnson, and she died when the lad was six years of age. Johann. however,
lived to attain his eighty-fourth year, the honored father of nine children, of
whom Ben was -the youngest. Two other sons came to California — Kjeron
and Jacob ; and both died at Fresno.
Ben attended the public school until he was fourteen, and then continued
to assist his father until he was twenty-one years of age. He worked for a
while on farms, but more and more gave himself up to lumbering. He did as
well as the average young man, but seeing that he could not get ahead, he
decided to leave his native land and come to the United States. In 1884, he
came to what is now North Dakota ; and at Buxton and vicinity he worked
for some years on a farm.
In 1889, Mr. Johnson moved west to California, drawn to this region
because a brother of his had already settled here. After working four years
for his brother in a vineyard, he preempted eighty acres in the foothills, in
Auberry Valley, where he began the raising of stock, establishing the brand
B. J., which he soon made stand for the highest grades; and when he was
able, he bought adjoining land, until finally he had 740 acres in a body. He
tried grain farming together with stock and cattle raising, and he also
teamed in the mountains, hauling lumber from Pine Ridge to Fresno, Sanger
and Selma, and taking freight back. He started with four horses, and finally
had a large eight-mule team, operating for nine years. All in all, he was en-
gaged for fifteen years in the stock business and teaming. Then he bought
sixty acres in the Helm Colony, in lots two, three and seven, two miles south-
west of Clovis, which he at once improved, setting out Malaga and Thompson
grapes, and making a fine vineyard. He built a comfortable and handsome
residence, arranged avenues of trees, and created one of the most attractive
places in all the neighborhood. In May, 1917, he sold the estate at a good
profit. Since then he has lived on National Avenue, on the old Milholm
place, which he leases, and there he is giving his time and attention to viti-
culture. As a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and the
California Peach Growers, Inc., he always exerts his influence to advance
the best interests of the California husbandman.
At Fresno, December 12, 1890, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Kath-
erine Hansen, a native of Stavanger, Norway, who came to Fresno in July,
1890, and of this union there are six children. Sadie has become Mrs. Ernest
1686 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Crump of Fresno; Olga is Mrs. H. M. Broody; while Jennie is Mrs. Leroy D.
Church. Messrs. Broody and Church are in the United States service, Mr.
Broody in the Aviation Section of the United States Navy and Mr. Church
in the United States Naval Reserve Forces in which he is an ensign. George
Theodore Ben is in the Aviation Section of the United States Army, serving
overseas in France. Sigurd and Ruby are at school. The family attend the
Lutheran Church.
W. F. BETZOLD, V. S.— It is fitting that the lower order of animal
life, among whom man finds loyal and devoted friends, should receive proper
medical care and skilful surgical treatment ; and in Dr. W. F. Betzold, the
expert and successful veterinary surgeon of Sanger, is found a man who has
chosen for his life's work the relief from suffering of all domestic animals.
W. F. Betzold was born in Newark, N. J., in 1879, a son of Jacob and
Catherine C. Betzold. He was one of six children, and the only member
of the family to migrate to California. He received his schooling at the
Newark public schools, and in his younger days worked at various pursuits
until 1896, when he migrated to California and worked at the grocery and
butcher business. During the Spanish-American War young Betzold proved
his patriotism by enlisting for service in defense of his country and saw
service in the Philippines. His bravery and his services were dulv recog-
nized, and he was raised from a private to a non-commissioned officer. At
the close of the war he received his honorable discharge and eventually came
back to California.
Subsequently Mr. Betzold made a trip to China, where he spent one year.
Upon his return to the United States he entered the Chicago Veterinary Col-
lege, and was graduated with his degree of V. S. in 1904. That same year
he returned to California and at Fresno began the practice of his profession,
finding here a good field for his talents, which were soon recognized by his
being made city veterinarian. He resigned from this position to enter upon
an independent career at Selma, where he remained until 1912, when he
located in Sanger. His field of operations has been widened by this move,
and he has rapidly built up a large and successful practice in the country
round about. The doctor is a public-spirited citizen and is always found
ready to lend his assistance to all worthy projects that have for their aim
-the building up of the county and the state.
JOHN PETER FUCHS. — A viticulturist whose present prominence
and prosperity are the result to a great degree of his far-seeing vision and
his industrious, untiring application to daily routine duty, is John Peter
Fuchs, who resides eleven miles east of Fresno on National Avenue. He
was born in Samara, Russia, on September 1, 1865, the son of Valentine
Fuchs, who was a farmer and stock-raiser there. Valentine Fuchs married
Marie Frisch, who became the mother of four children. Both parents are
now deceased.
Brought up on a farm, Peter attended the public schools of the neigh-
borhood, after which he remained at home to assist his father. In 1884, in
the vicinity of his birthplace, he was married to Anna Frisch, a native of
that section and the daughter of John Peter and Katherine M. (Schutz)
Frisch, farmer folk; and thereafter for a while he followed farming. In 18S7
he joined the 160th regiment of Russian infantry and served in the Russian
army for four years. As soon as he was honorably discharged, he came to
Fresno, in July, 1893. He soon got into the building trade, and for some
time was employed by different contractors in the erection of many of the
largest buildings in Fresno. He built his own residence on Elm Avenue in
the Florence Addition, and the structure may be regarded as a good specimen
of Mr. Fuchs' handicraft. Having accumulated some means, and having a
desire to engage in ranching, he bought forty acres fifteen miles east of
Fresno, in the Fair View district. It was raw land, but he set it out in a
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1689
vineyard and an orchard, and soon had thirty acres in muscat and Thompson
seedless grapes, and alfalfa, and ten acres in peaches. He built a residence
and otherwise improved the property.
About 1910 Mr. Fuchs quit working in town in order to devote all his
time to farming, and five years later he bought the August Kruse place of
fifty acres and moved onto it. In 1915 he sold the original forty acres, and
gave all his time and attention to his home place. He set out twenty acres to
new vines, and now has sixteen acres of muscats, seven acres of Thompson
seedless, two acres of Malagas, two acres of Emperors, and twelve acres of
Zinfandels, while the rest is devoted to alfalfa. He is a very active member
in the California Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Associated Raisin
Company, and leaves no stone unturned to advance agricultural interests in
California.
• Four children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Fuchs. Anna is
Mrs. Bush of Fresno; Gotleib is a rancher near home; and Peter and Alexan-
der H. are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Fuchs and family attend the German
Lutheran Church at Fresno, in which Mr. Fuchs has served as trustee. This
estimable couple are loyal and public-spirited citizens, and contribute to
help along war relief and other worthy endeavors.
MRS. CHRISTINA JOHNSON.— A most excellent woman, with two
equally estimable daughters, and one who is the center of special interest as
the worthy representative of the late Anton John Johnson, her husband,
and who suffered many privations in Fresno's early pioneer days, is Mrs.
Christina Johnson, herself the well-known rancher of the Riverside Colony,
five miles east of Reedley. When Mr. Johnson came to the Riverside Colony,
four miles south of Parlier, thirty years ago, he was the owner of fifty acres
there ; for he had been here before, and had come to know the value and the
prospects of the growing country. He was born in Oeland. Sweden, on
February 17, 1852, the son of Johan Jacobson, also a native of Oeland, who
was both a fisherman and farmer; and there Anton grew up, went to school,
and attended the Swedish Lutheran Church. At fifteen he took to the sea,
and for several years he cruised as a sailor before the mast. Reaching San
Francisco on such a sailing voyage, he stopped off and, for a couple of years
worked on the oyster beds ; and little by little he acquired both English and a
knowledge of the interior of the country.
He had a brother named William, who was a farmer at Fresno, and to
him Anton repaired and began to work at farming also. He had previously,
however, returned to Sweden for a visit and there renewed acquaintance with
the lady who was to become his life helpmate, namely, Christina Sabelstrom,
who was also born at Oeland, and so had the same background of experience.
They had really been schoolmates together, and during this visit became
engaged. Mr. Johnson returned to his farm at Traver in the fall of 1877,
and ten years later Miss Sabelstrom, in company with her brother. Otto,
sailed from Stockholm for America. She traveled via Calmar and Hamburg
to New York, and on June 24, 1888, she arrived at Fresno, and in the fall
of that year was married.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson at once took up their residence on the farm at
Traver, and there they stayed two years. The land proved to be alkali,
however, and Mr. Johnson was glad to sell the entire place of twenty acres
for fifty dollars. This would have discouraged many men, but Anton Johnson
began all over again, and on Christmas Day, 1889, he came here and bought
twenty acres of grain land ; and having improved the same, he planted it.
Later, he bought ten acres more, and still later, another twenty acres of
bare land, which he planted and improved in various ways. All in all, this
property made a fine estate; and when he died, January 17, 1914, aged sixty-
two years eleven months, the father of two children, he bequeathed the
property to his widow. The children are : Anna, who is the wife of Clarence
1690 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
McCreary, who trained at Camp Lewis in the infantry service, spent seven
months in France, went •'over the top" several times, returned to the United
states and was discharged in May, 1919; and Freda, a graduate from the
Ross Grammar School and also from Heald's Business College at Fresno.
since Mr. [ohnson's lamented death. Mrs. Johnson has sold off twenty acres,
and is renting out the other thirty. She is a member of the California
Associated Raisin Companv, and the Peach Growers. Inc.
Mrs Johnson and family are members of the Swedish Lutheran Church at
Kingsburg, and are deeplv" interested in religious and social welfare work,
and&in anything likely to advance their neighborhood. They are also in-
terested in Red^Cross and other war work. The United States is their home,
Americans are their fellow citizens, and they know of but one kind of
loyalty, that to the President and the Constitution.
W. T. STONE. — W. T. Stone, the experienced superintendent of. the
Harper ranch of eighty acres, owned by S. D. Harper of Fresno and situated
one mile west of Del Rev, was born at Wellsville, Montgomery County-,
Mo., on October 30, 1876. 'He is the son of Z. J. Stone, a well-to-do farmer,
and Mary ( McCollough) Stone, who died when our subject was only two
years old, leaving besides him two other children, an older and a younger
sister; but he is" the only one now living. His father married again, and
there are six half-brothers and half-sisters.
W. T. Stone was brought up on his father"s farm in Missouri, and
attended the district schools. At the age of twenty-two he was married to
Miss Tosie Menz, also a native of Missouri. He had decided on coming to
California, but after his marriage he remained in Missouri long enough to
raise two good crops on his father-in-law's farm before he said adieu to his
native state and journeyed westward. Arriving in Sanger, Fresno County,
on March 1. 1901. with his young wife and baby girl, he went to work in
the Sanger Lumber Company's planing mill, and for nine years he con-
tinued in the employ of that company. In 1910 he left the mill and entered
the service of M. D. Harper, with whom he continued for three years. For
the past five years, he has had charge of the S. D. Harper place, and has
been responsible for the direction of from one to thirty men in their work.
The eighty acres are devoted to muscat and Thompson Seedless grapes, as
well as to about twelve acres of peaches. The land is in a high state of
cultivation and under the liberal policy and enterprise of its owner, who
resides in Fresno, and the expert management of Mr. Stone, the Harper
ranch has become a source of pride and civic satisfaction to the community,
whose prosperity it in part represents.
Three children have blessed the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Stone, and added
to the charm of their home-circle: Mary Nellie, who is a graduate of the
high school at Sanger and now attends the Fresno Normal: and William
Toseph and Dora May, who are still at home. Mr. Stone belongs to the
Modern Woodmen of America. Mrs. Stone is a member of the Royal Neigh-
bors, and of the Methodist Church at Del Rey.
HANS WILLIAM SORENSEN.— Prominent among medical men of
Central California is Hans William Sorensen. D.D.S., whose offices are
located in the Rowell Building. Fresno. Dr. Sorensen was born on December
19, 1892. on a ranch in the Washington Colony, eight miles west of Fowler.
For nine vears he attended the Washington Colony grammar school, and
then for four years was a student in the Washington Union High School,
thus laying well the foundation of a liberal education and equipping himself
in the best possible fashion for later professional success. For some time he
was in the employ of Stephens & Bean, of Fresno, and then he went to
Nashville. Tenn., and matriculated at the Yanderbilt University. Dental
Department. His studies there were followed by a year in the splendidly
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1691
equipped dental department of the University of Southern California, from
which he was graduated with honors in 1915.
Having both by undergraduate and postgraduate work left no stone un-
turned to thoroughly master the science and technique of his chosen pro-
fession, Dr. Sorensen began the practice of dentistry in July, 1915, in the
Rowell Building, Fresno, where he has since attained to such success ,
and since then his expert services have been in great demand. After the entry
of the United States into the World War, Dr. Sorensen enlisted on June
3, 1917, was commissioned first lieutenant of the Dental Reserve of the
United States Army, and was called into active service at Camp Fremont,
where he was stationed until he received his honorable discharge, on Decem-
ber 10, 1918. He then did postgraduate work at the Carr School of Pre-
ventative Medicine and Dentistry, from which he was graduated on Feb-
ruary 14, 1919, when he returned to Fresno and fitted up a new office in the
Rowell Building. Dr. Sorensen is the secretary of the San Joaquin Valley
Dental Association, which numbers on its rolls the most distinguished repre-
sentatives of the dental profession in this part of the country. He is a mem-
ber of the University Club and of Fresno Lodge No. 439, B. P. O. Elks. He
was made a Mason in Center Lodge, No. 465, F. & A. M., and is a member
of San Jose Consistory, No. 9, Scottish Rite Mason, and of Islam Temple,
A. A. O. N. M. S., San Francisco.
ARTHUR G. WAHLBERG.— Music, in our homes, schools, churches,
and civic centers, is a stimulus to our national life, and choral singing pro-
duces both physical and moral development. With this high ideal, Prof.
Arthur G. Wahlberg, the distinguished and capable director of music in the
Fresno State Normal School, has done much to advance musical appreciation
and to cultivate a taste for the best in music. He was born in Boston, Mass.,
June 6, 1874, and received his education in the excellent public schools of
that city. As a young man, he entered the employment of the Perry Mason
Company, publishers of the Youth's Companion.
Mr. Wahlberg came from a musical family, and his musical temperament
was greatly aided by a favorable environment, with instruction under some
of the best teachers in the East. An early and rapid physical development
gave him a fine bass voice at thirteen years of age. At fifteen, he was bass
soloist in a church choir of which he became the director when but seventeen
years of age. Later, he became soloist and choirmaster of St. James Epis-
copal Church in Boston for eight years ; after which he became soloist at
St. Stephens Episcopal Church of Boston. In addition to his musical inter-
ests as singer, teacher and director, he took an active interest in the political
and fraternal affairs of his native city.
In 1903, Mr. Wahlberg came to California for a year of rest, which re-
sulted in this becoming the state of his adoption, by his connection with
the First National Bank of Fresno. Later he became associated with the
Bank of Central California of the same city.
Upon coming to Fresno, Professor YVahlberg's musical talent was recog-
nized and eagerly sought. He organized and trained a male quartet for the
Unitarian Church, which was financed by the late Dr. Chester Rowell and
Louis Einstein. In 1904, he became the musical director of the First Presby-
terian Church of Fresno, which position he still retains. In 1906, he was elected
Supervisor of Music of the Fresno City Schools, whereupon he prepared a
course of study for the grades, introduced assembly singing in the high
school ; organized Girls' and Boys' Glee Clubs, introduced courses in sight
reading, harmony, and history of music, and succeeded in having music
placed on a credit basis in the high school.
In 1911, Professor AVahlberg became the Director of Music in the Fresno
State Normal School and has recently organized a special four years' course
to train music supervisors. In 1912, he organized the Fresno Male Chorus
1692 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of fiftv voices, and has been its conductor ever since. He has been identified
with Raisin Day celebrations as chairman of the music committee, furnish-
ing choruses numbering fifteen hundred or more. He has had charge also
of the musical activities of several of the Masonic bodies of Fresno city.
and for years he was active in promoting the musical interests of the Young
Men's Christian Association. In addition to his musical work at the Normal
School, he is chairman of the finance committee of the Faculty and Student
Body : and being an expert swimmer, is also the instructor of swimming.
'Mr. Wahlberg was united in marriage in New York City, in 1897. with
Gertrude Blanche Graham, a native of Boston, Mass., a lyric choir soprano.
Four children have been born of the union : Laura, the well known soprano
singer of Fresno; Harold, who served in the United States Aviation Corps
in France; Ruth, a student in the Fresno High School, and Arthur G., Jr.
A man of practical ideas, active mentality and sympathetic, artistic tem-
perment, and endowed with much native ability and a winning personality,
Professor Wahlberg realizes that it is his mission and privilege to use his
talents for the inspiration of others.
ROBERT B. DONNELL. — Among the pioneers of Fresno County who,
through hard work and self-denial, have become, in the course of years men
and women of substantial affairs, may be mentioned Robert B. Donnell, who
has resided for fourteen years on his present ranch of eighty acres near the
promising and favored town of Reedley. He was born in Tennessee in 1865,
the son of Samuel C. Donnell, who married Sarah F. McAdoo. and with her
reared a family of four children. Robert was the youngest, and while living
at home, he enjoyed the educational advantages of his neighborhood. Crow-
ing up. he turned his attention to agriculture, and while things were not
done in those days in the improved manner of today, he served his appren-
ticeship under those who did as well as the times demanded.
In 1904, Mr. Donnell came to Kings County, Cal., where he remained
four months. Then, having been persuaded that Fresno County offered
superior inducements, he moved here and took up residence on his present
ranch. He obtained eighty acres and made many improvements, changing
the farm from a stubble field to its present state. He has twenty acres of
figs, over fifty of grapes and seven of alfalfa. His grapes, mostly muscatels,
yield him about two tons per acre. Mr. Donnell uses modern methods and
implements, and secures the best results.
Mrs. Donnell was Miss Elizabeth Osborne before her marriage, in Octo-
ber. 1893. and she was the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Bush) Os-
borne, also natives of Tennessee. They had ten children, and three are in
Fresno County. This marriage has been blessed by three children, two living.
Mary Pepper and Sarah Frances, and the Donnell household is known for its
old-fashioned California hospitality and cheer. Mr. Donnell is a member of
the fig, peach and raisin associations, and a stockholder in the peach and
raisin associations.
PUGH BROS.— The firm of Pugh Rros. consists of Edward M. and
Tames V. Pugh, sons of John M. Pugh who is elsewhere represented in this
work. Edward was born near North Butte, Sutter County, in 1872 and
Tames, at Stonyford, Colusa County in 1881. Edward was educated in the
public school at Stonyford and then in the Central district Fresno County,
while Tames received his schooling at the latter place and at the Selma
high school, from which he was graduated.
Since attaining manhood they have always worked together, renting
and operating vineyards, while making their headquarters on their father'-
ranch. For a while they operated in the Kutner Colony section, and after
their father's death they ran the home farm, as well -as other ranch-prop-
erties.
T.MaUus^
L/u/ Jf (©+JUUa/.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1697
In 1915, the two brothers bought 320 acres between Ventura and Bel-
mont Avenues, and 160 acres of this they subdivided, giving the name of
Gladiola Colony to the division, and retaining the other 160 acres. Gladiola
Ranch lies twelve miles east of Fresno.
Two years later, in 1917, they sold the old home place, and now they
are devoting their attention to improving the Gladiola vineyards. They
have erected there a residence and other necessary buildings, and have
planted muscat, Thompson, sultana and Malaga grapes.
Pugh Bros, also lease, buy and sell vineyards. Since 1912 James V.
Pugh has been in charge of the Clotho Warehouse for the Pioneer Fruit
Company, as well as that company's establishment at Blasingame, while
E. M. Pugh has been looking after the Gladiola Vineyard. Both are mem-
bers of the California Associated Raisin Company, and have been from its
organization, and they are also members of the California Peach Growers'
Inc. Their ranch is under the Hansen ditch, and in addition to this de-
pendable supply of water, they have a pumping plant of their own.
Edward and James Pugh were made Masons in Selma Lodge, No. 277,
F. & A. M., and there they still have their memberships. In matters of national
politics they are Democrats.
THEODORE DONALD BILLER.— To be able to superintend the
business of two successful oil companies requires ability of an unusually high
degree and especial adaptability for such a responsible position, but the sub-
ject of this review, Theodore Donald Biller, who is familiarly known as "Ted"
Biller, has proved himself equal to the task. Mr. Biller has been the efficient
superintendent of both the Ward and the Seneca Oil Companies since
February, 1913.
Ted Biller is a native of the Old Dominion State, born near Forestville,
Shenandoah County, Va., March 4, 1875, a son of Simon and Emma (Bowers)
Biller, both of whom are natives of Virginia. The father was born at Moores
Store, and followed farming at Forestville, where he was married and where
he and his wife and family still reside. Of their family of seven children,
Theodore is the oldest and he was reared on the farm until he was sixteen
years old when he began to make his own way in the world, working on
farms and at saw mills, also operating a stationary engine used in running a
threshing machine.
In the spring of 1896, Mr. Biller took a trip to Illinois, where he secured
work on a farm at Petersburg, Menard County, remaining there five and a
half years after which he returned East and was employed by the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad as brakeman out of Connellsville, then on the Morgan-
town and Kingswood Railroad as fireman. Later he returned to Illinois
where he went with the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad as a brake-
man, which he followed for a while, when he again resumed work on a
farm. In October, 1906, Mr. Biller took a trip to the Golden State and after
his advent in California he was employed for eight months on a ranch at
Hanford, after which he came to the Coalinga oil field on August 7, 1907. At
first he was employed by the Traders Oil Company, then by the Ward and
the Seneca Oil Companies as a pumper. In 1908, he entered the employ of
Pierson & Son and was sent by them to Coatzacoalcos Point, Mex., where
he worked as a tool-dresser for eight months, when he returned to Coalinga
and again resumed his place with the Ward and the Seneca Oil Companies.
At first he filled the position of pumper, later he became foreman and so
ably did he discharge his duties, that in February, 1913, he was promoted to
the responsible position of superintendent of both oil companies and has
retained his post ever since.
Mr. Biller is also a stockholder in the Seneca Oil Company. The Ward
and the Seneca Oil Companies together own 160 acres on which they are
operating about sixteen oil-wells. Since taking full charge of affairs Mr.
Biller has equipped the wells with twenty-five horsepower gas-engines, utiliz-
1698 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ing the natural gas from the wells for fuel to produce the power and light
to operate the business. Ted Biller is regarded as one of the most enterpris-
ing and progressive superintendents in the field and employs the most up-to-
date methods in operating the wells. He is a genial, kind-hearted man who
possesses the happy faculty of making and retaining many friends.
On December 27, 1911, in Spokane. Wash.. Mr. Biller was united in
marriage with Margaret G. Swisher, a native of Virginia, born near Staunton,
Augusta County, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Showalter)
Swisher, natives of Virginia, and who were farmers. William Swisher served
in the Confederate Army in the Civil War for four years; he and his esti-
mable wife are now both deceased. Mrs. Biller is next to the youngest of their
twelve children and is the only one in California.
Mr. Biller was a member of the Coalinga District War Fund Association
and took an active part in making a success of the various drives for war
funds and Liberty bonds, and with his wife is an active member of the Red
Cross. Mr. and Mrs. Biller are members of the Presbyterian Church, while
fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Coalinga, and the
Knights of Khorassan of Fresno. Mrs. Biller is a member of the Pythian
Sisters of Coalinga and of the West Side Welcome Club.
JACOB ULRICH JOHNSON.— Jacob Ulrich Johnson was born in the
southern part of Sweden, on May 7, 1860, and was brought up on a farm
and attended school until he was sixteen years of age. He came to this
country at the age of twenty years, made his way to Henry County, Mo., in
the spring of 1881, and then, attracted by the alluring prospect Fresno County
held forth for energetic young men of thrifty habits, located here in 1882,
working on a farm for the succeeding six years. In 1888 he bought a home
place of forty acres in Scandinavian Colony, upon which he set out and began
raising Malaga grapes. This place he owned until 1018. when he sold it.
In June, 1902, Mr. Johnson was married in Fresno to Rosa Thonen, a
native of the state of Washington, who came to California with her parents.
Two children were born of this union, Teddy and Sam.
In 1910 Mr. Johnson became associated with the Olson Winery in the
capacitv of director, having previously been a stockholder in that institution.
In 1913 he was elected its president. The old Olson Winery was founded in
1878 and was one among the first wineries in the county, operating an eighty-
acre vineyard. Starting with a few barrels for the manufacturers' own use,
it grew to such proportions that in 1896 they built their present place of
business, where in late years about 100,000 gallons of wine have been pro-
duced annually. In January, 1919, having bought out the balance of the
stockholders and having thus become sole owner, Mr. Johnson disincor-
porated the company.
In politics Mr. Johnson is independent, voting for the best man. His
success in his business ventures demonstrates what can be accomplished by
energy, thrift and attention to business.
JOHN WEBSTER. — A natural-born mechanic who is at the same time
a successful viticulturist and a lover of music, is John Webster, who came
to California in the early nineties. He was born at Stavely, Derbyshire, Eng-
land, in 1861, the son of James Webster, also a native of that section, who
was a merchant and who died there, where he had made a good name for
himself in the mercantile world. Mrs. Webster was Sarah Dewsnap before
her marriage; and she also died there. Eleven children were born of this
union, and ten are now living.
The second oldest in the family, and its only representative in the
United States, John Webster, removed with his parents to Rotherham, York-
shire, while only a child, and was there reared, receiving his education at
the public schools. He assisted his father in his store, and also learned to
be a cloth-finisher and a machinist.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1699
At Gomersal in Yorkshire, Mr. Webster was married in September,
1890, to Miss Elizabeth Sutherland, a native of Caithness, Scotland, daughter
of John and Jane (Clark) Sutherland, who passed their entire lives there. After
setting up his own household, Mr. Webster worked as a cloth-finisher and
mechanic, remaining in his native land until he concluded to come to Cali-
fornia. In 1901 he arrived in the Golden State and soon was settled in Clovis,
Fresno County. He entered the employ of the Fresno Flume and Lumber
Company, and later went into the service of the Copper King Mining Com-
pany as a machinist and engineer. Then he worked for the Fresno Copper
Mine and helped put in and start the plant.
Four years after his arrival here, Mr. Webster gave up the line of
activity he had been pursuing and came to Fresno to engage in viticulture.
He leased Miss Sutherland's vineyard of forty acres in the Scandinavian
Colony, experimented with the different phases of the work, learned all
about grafting and propagating, and finally had thirty-five acres in vines and
the balance in alfalfa. He put in a pumping plant, his own boy, John Web-
ster, Jr., having made the engine, which was of nine horse-power. Through
his participation in the viticultural industries of Central California, Mr. Web-
ster became a member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Webster. The
son, John Webster, Jr., mentioned above, is a graduate of the Fresno High
School and has concluded two years of his college course. He is now in the
United States Army, Company D, Three Hundred Sixteenth Engineers,
Ninety-first Division, serving over seas, where he participated in the Ar-
gonne campaign and later saw service in Belgium. The daughter, Maude,
is a graduate of Heald's Business College, and a bookkeeper for the Kings
County Packing Company. The family attend the Catholic Apostolic Church
of San Francisco, of which they are members, when in that city.
ORIE ODELL OLIVER.— One of the prosperous and enterprising hor-
ticulturists and viticulturists of Centerville, Fresno County, is O. O. Oliver,
whose ability as an expert has been recognized by the State of California
by his appointment to the important post of Deputy Horticultural Inspector,
under Mr. Rouillard. Mr. Oliver is a native of the Buckeye State, having
been born there on July 12, 1866, a son of William G. and Sarah Jane (Rada-
baugh) Oliver, who were also natives of Ohio but became residents of Cali-
fornia in 1893, where the father died. Mrs. Sarah J. Oliver is still living. Of
the two children that came to bless the Oliver home, O. O. is the sole
survivor.
He was reared and educated in his native state, and while other oppor-
tunities were afforded Mr. Oliver, as a means of livelihood, the vocation of
a farmer appealed to him most. From Ohio he removed to Kansas where he
remained for a time and in 1892, feeling the irresistible call of the Golden
West, he migrated to California and soon after his arrival secured employ-
ment with the General Electric Company, with which he remained until
1897, when he located at Centerville. There were but few settlers in the place
at that time and the business section of the village consisted of a store and
postoffice kept by Muller Brothers, and a blacksmith shop. Mr. Oliver
bought seventeen acres of unreclaimed land which he set out to grapes and
oranges, and ever since he has been very successful and has proven the wis-
dom of his selection of land for the development of his chosen enterprise.
He has since demonstrated his faith in this locality by purchasing 110 acres
more, which surrounds his original seventeen acres, the ranch being located
in the very center of Centerville ; the additional acreage is also devoted to
grapes and oranges. Land in this vicinity for which he paid fifty dollars
per acre has greatly enhanced in value, selling in 1919 for $1,000 per acre.
While Mr. Oliver still retains his residence at Centerville he conducts his
business operations at Sanger, where he manages the Lucius Powers Fruit
1700 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Company. He handles all kinds of green fruit and has shipped as high as
200 cars of grapes and forty-six cars of oranges in one season. The packing-
house is 50x80 feet in size with a twenty-foot shed on either side and is con-
veniently located for shipping hy the Southern Pacific Railroad.
In 1891, O. O. Oliver was united in marriage with Miss Eve Dimmick
and this union has been blessed with six children: William D. ; Harvey W.;
Leo. E. ; Firman L. ; Orion R. ; and Evelyn J. They have had the advantages
of the good schools of Fresno County and, with their parents, have the good
will and esteem of the section in which they live. Mrs. Oliver is a ladv of
many accomplishments and is a true helpmate to her husband and with him
is interested in all that promotes the social and moral uplift.
Fraternally, Mr. Oliver is a member of Orangedale Lodge, No. 211.
I. O. O. F., at Centerville, and has held the office of Noble Grand at four
different times, and served as secretary for eight consecutive years. Mr. and
Mrs. Oliver are members of the Red Cross and he has served on the grand
jury for one year. Mr. Oliver is a man of splendid business acumen and has
demonstrated his ability by the accomplishment of his aims since coming to
Fresno Countv. He is now the only one of the settlers of his dav still
remaining at Centerville.
DAVID FETT. — This gentleman, whose post office is Parlier. is one of
the early and hi^hlv-respected citizens of that town, where he has made his
residence since 1902. He has been a resident of the State since 1884. in which
year he came to Fresno County. While he spent some time in Tulare and in
Kern Counties, the major part of his California experience has been in Fresno,
and for this countv he has a devotion and fidelity that would do credit to any
native son.
His first property was purchased in Selma, where he dwelt from 1895 up
to 1902, when he moved to Parlier. Here he purchased his present ranch
consisting of 160 acres, all in its virgin state. In fact, there was no such place
as Parlier, or Reedley, or Sanger. After some years, he sold forty acres,
thinking that 120 would be quite sufficient for him ; but some time after this.
in 1907, he met with an accident on the Santa Fe Railroad through which
he lost one of his feet. This so discouraged him that he sold forty acres
more. About this time Mr. Fett was contemplating a business trip to Africa,
but this, too, was given up on account of his physical disability.
He now operates eighty acres, all in a high state of cultivation, devoted
to vineyard purposes. His soil is very productive, his farm buildings are
capacious and comfortable, and his dwelling house, a model of modern con-
veniences, is almost palatial, built as it is on the highest order of California
architecture.
Mr. Fett was born in Ohio in 1854, and was reared on his father's farm,
while attending the common schools of his native state. He lived with his
father until 1876, when he reached his twenty-second vear. Then he left
home and migrated to Colorado, where he engaged in mining and teaming
until 1881. In that year he turned his face toward the setting sun, and before
long found himself in the Golden State.
Among all the twelve children that blessed the union of his parents, Mr.
Fett is the only one who came to California. This move meant much to him.
however, in all its bearings, and much to others as well. In 1893 he wooed
and won Miss Eliza Catherine Parlier. the daughter of I. N. Parlier; and
they had three children: Mabel, now Mrs. Rigger; Roy and Raymond. Roy
died when two and a half years old. Mrs. Fett is a native of Illinois, from
which state her parents removed in very early days, locating at the site of
Parlier, where her mother now resides.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1703
This association with the Parlier family is one of which both Mr. and
Mrs. Fett may well be proud ; for Mr. I. N. Parlier, the pioneer after whom the
town was properly named, was a well-known Californian in his time, and his
name and accomplishments, which are duly recorded in the Parlier section
of this history, will be told with appreciation and pleasure for generations
to come.
DAVID A. SPENCE.— The importance of vineyarding\ and the high-
water mark to which that agricultural science may attain, is demonstrated
in the career and accomplishments of D. A. Spence, the well-known vine-
yardist who long ago entered upon productive paths for himself. A native
of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, his father was Alexander D. Spence,
a school-teacher who came to the United States in 1886 and located here.
Doubtless the fact that he had purchased a place four years before in the
Scandinavian Colony at Fresno had much to do with his coming, and once
here, he wished to see his land yielding as well as that of others about him.
He got a vineyard well under way, and then brought out his family ; and he
continued a pioneer vineyardist until his death in 1892. Alexander's wife
was, before her marriage, Christiana Young; she survived her husband about
sixteen years.
Born on July 25, 1875, under the gray but alluring skies of beautiful
Scotland, David A. Spence grew up with his brothers and a sister, and en-
joyed the best educational advantages in his native and his adopted coun-
tries that came his way. He helped his father on the home place, and after
the death of the latter took charge of, and finally sold out, the old homestead.
With his brothers, AVilliam Y. and John Y., he purchased eighty acres north-
west of Clovis, which they set to vineyard, the first in that section, which
has become splendid for grape-growing. This ranch was improved from a
stubble-field. They incorporated as the Spence Vineyard Company, Mr.
Spence being assisted in its management by his brother, John Y. Since 1913,
he has been employed in the contract department of the California Associated
Raisin Company.
A Republican, but too public-spirited to be partisan when it comes to
local issues, Mr. Spence is a veteran of the Spanish American War, having
been a member of Company C of the Sixth California Volunteers. After
being mustered out, he returned to civil pursuits. Fraternally he is a member
of the Elks, Red Men and St. Andrews Society. The latter expresses, also,
his Protestant principles and preferences.
MATT. COPPIN. — A rancher who, by close, scientific study of the many
and perplexing problems of the vineyard, has become a noted viticulturist,
and who has succeeded in developing one of the most attractive and produc-
tive vine ranches to be found anywhere, is Matt. Coppin, who came to Fresno
in the late eighties, when the great California boom was in full swing. He
was born near Eugene.. Ore., on the last day of December, 1868, the son of
Charles Coppin, a native of England, who early came to the United States
and made for the inviting Northwest. By the aid of ox teams he crossed the
plains to Oregon, which he reached after adventures with the Indians and
Mormons, and there he engaged in farming. There, too, he was married to
Miss Hettie D. Shell, a native of Iowa, who crossed the plains to Oregon with
her parents. In 1874 Charles Coppin moved to Chico, and there his good wife
died. For years he engaged in the raising of sheep and grain, but in 1886 he
came to Fresno and embarked in the vineyard business. He was living in
Long Beach in well-earned retirement where he died in September, 1918,
aged eighty-six years. He was the father of seven children, six of whom are
still living.
The eldest of the family, Matthew Coppin was brought up in California
from his sixth year, and attended private schools, topping off his education
at the Woodman Academy in Chico. For a while he assisted his father in
1704 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
teaming and farming, and then he hauled lumber for the Sierra Flume and
Lumber Company. When only twelve years of age he drove a team of eight
mules or horses into the mountains. Later he went into general ranching and
grain farming. In 1889 he came to Fresno, to help in the vineyards, and soon
after that he started in for himself. From Jerry D. Musick he rented a vine-
yard in the Wolters Colony and ran it for five years; but the low price of
raisins — onlv one and a half cents for muscats — made the venture unprofit-
able, and he rented another vineyard of forty acres in the same colony, which
he also managed for five years. In 1901 he bought his present place of ten
acres on National Avenue, two miles from the city limits, and this he has
set out to Sultanas and Thompson Seedless raisins. As the property of one
of the first settlers here, this vineyard is a source of pride to its owner. Mr.
Coppin is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and has
been active in all the previous raisin societies that have sought to advance
the interests of the ranchmen hereabouts.
On October 30. 1892, in the Scandinavian Colony, Mr. Coppin was mar-
ried to Miss Emma Anderson, a native daughter of San Francisco, whose
father was Fred Anderson, the well-known pioneer. They have one child,
Ruth, who is a general favorite and their home is a center of hospitality. They
have been active in local movements designed to uplift the communitv. and
Mr. Coppin has served as a trustee of the Wolters school district and clerk
of the school board.
WILLIAM JOSEPH LOHMAN.— The assured success of any insti-
tution is the laying of a substantial foundation upon which to build a super-
structure designed to stand the test of men and time. The principles by
which it is to be governed must be clearly defined, and of a high character.
The mind that governs, controls, directs must be clear and far-seeing and
forceful, to convince and sway other minds. When such are the conditions
attending the establishing of an institution, all signs point to deserved suc-
cess. Parlier, the center of one of the most productive regions of all Cali-
fornia, has in its First National Bank such an institution, controlled by just
such principles, and with a master mind, in the intellect and character of
W. J. Lohman, the cashier and director, to put in operation and enforce the
standards once set up; and in the daily life of this accomplished gentleman,
the citizens have an ample guarantee as to the prosperity of this bulwark of
the town.
The bank was organized in 1911 by Mr. Lowman and I. X. Parlier.
founder of the town, and on February 4. 1912, opened its doors to the public
for business. It then had a capital of $25,000, and under the careful manage-
ment of Air. Lohman now has a surplus fund of $35,000. J. F. Hayhorst was
the president, and J. C. McCord was the cashier.
In January, 1913, Air. McCord was succeeded by Mr. Lohman, and in
1918 Mr. Hayhorsl gave way to C. A. Parlier, as president. Under each suc-
ceeding administration the bank has gained more and more favor with the
public, until now, in busy seasons, it often does a business of $100,000 in a
day. It acts in part for eastern buyers. The new home of the bank is under
construction and will be one of the most modern bank buildings in the
entire Valley. It will be equipped with every safety device for the protec-
tion of the funds intrusted to its care, with up-to-date furnishings and accom-
modations for its patrons, and will cost over $40,000. The bank will occupy
'n< new home about September 1. 1919.
W. J. Lohman was born in Nevada County, Cal.. May 2, 1869, and is
one of two children, Peter H. being two years older and now city marshal
of Selma. The father was Peter Lohman. born in Hamburg. Germany. Janu-
ary If). 1826, who came to the United States and to California, where at
Forest City. Sierra County, he married Hanorah i MteBride) Feeley. She was
born in Dublin, Ireland. December 25. 1828. and died in Nevada County, in
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1705
1901. By her first marriage she had four children, three now living: Nora
Muller, of Selma ; Mrs. Nellie Goodspeed of Palo Alto ; and J. C. Feeley, of
Parlier. The latter is the father of Capt. J. C. Feeley, Jr., who was with the
First Gas Regiment in France during the World War, where he spent six
months. He is a graduate of the University of California, engineering de-
partment, and won his rank by meritorious service. He received his discharge
in May, 1919, and has entered the employ of a big mining company in Mexico.
Peter Lohman, the father, was a sailor and came to the United States in
1850, and after some wandering, arrived at San Francisco. He tarried only
a couple of years in the busy city, and then went to the mines at Downie-
ville in Sierra County. In his search for gold, he was very successful. He
helped organize the Bald Mountain Extension Mining Company, was a chief
investor in the You Bet at Nevada City but, like so many others, reinvested
what he had won and lost a good deal of his fortune. He swore hearty alle-
giance to the United States in 1865, and was made a full-fledged citizen. He
was for years fortunate in his chosen pursuit, and promoted enterprises of
great service to the miners. For years he operated a pack train from Marys-
ville to Downieville, and he had in his employ Creed Hammond, who subse-
quently became attorney general for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He re-
tired from mining in 1882, and in 1903 he came to Fresno County and located
with his son n,ear Parlier, helping him to manage the twenty acres he then
had there; and in 1917, aged eighty-eight years, he died, full of years and
honors, and widely respected and beloved. He was a prominent member of
the Masonic fraternity, and belonged to the Royal Arch Chapter since 1856.
He was buried beside his wife, in Nevada City, the Masons conducting his
funeral.
W. J. Lohman who. like his brother, was educated in the California
public schools, took a course first in the San Jose Normal School, and then
in Heald's Business College at San Francisco, from which he was gradu-
ated with honors in the Class of 1890. At San Jose he was a classmate with
Senator J. B. Sanford, of Ukiah, later and now Collector of the Post at San
Francisco; Thomas B. W. Leland, Coroner, of San Francisco; and George
Cosgrave, the attorney of Fresno. Then he went to work with the Birdseye
Quick Mining Company at You Bet, staving with them for ten years, and
after that farmed and loaned money to others to help them to farm. Follow-
ing, as it were, in the footprints of his father, he was also successful ; and
when John Muller of Selma invited him to come down and see the country,
he was not long in concluding that he liked Fresno County very much, and
Parlier in particular.
In 1915, Mr. Lohman organized the Riverbend Gas Company, of which
he became secretary and one-quarter owner and which includes the following
gentlemen in its management: W. J. Lohman, R. K. Madsen, W. W. Parlier
and Harry G. Williams. There is invested in this business $230,000 and
the company furnishes gas — of an excellent quality, superior to that often
found in large cities — to Dinuba, Reedley, Parlier and Kingsburg.
W. J. Lohman is also trustee of the Ross School district, an office of
peculiar honor that he has held since 1909. He is an efficient member of the
Chamber of Commerce of Parlier having served as its president two years,
and is an advance guard in its progressive policies.
Mr. Lohman has both made and saved quite a fortune, notwithstanding
his known generosity, owning three dwellings, office lots, two ranches, and
a quarter interest in Riverbend Gas and Water Company, bank stock, first
mortgages. United States Bonds and War Savings and Thrift Stamps, amount-
ing all told to the sum of $75,000, all made in fifteen years. He is one of
the livest men in Parlier, and what he undertakes or supports is generally
successful. He is efficient and untiring in his application to duty, however
irksome. He has the respect and good will of the community. He served
1706 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
as chairman of the Liberty Bond Committee and Parlier went over the top
in every instance, winning all honors, and, in the Victory Loan, Parlier was
one of the three towns in the entire valley which won a German helmet.
In 1904, Mr. Lohman was united in marriage to Miss Adelaide Mar-
thiesen, the daughter of Peter Matthiesen, by whom he has had five children:
Raymond Peter, Neal Joseph, Doris Hanorah, Eldred John and Virginia
Adelaide, and they constitute an interesting and attractive family.
MATHIAS THOMSEN.— One of the leading and most experienced
ranchers and raisin-growers in the Parlier section is Mathias Thomsen,
brother-in-law of N. J. Hansen, a viticulturist of scientific methods, who
has become well-to-do and who with his family is everywhere highly re-
spected. He owns twenty acres on the Kingsburg and Centerville Road,
five miles north of Kingsburg, where he has resided for about thirty years,
and these are devoted to peaches and raisin grapes. He is an active member
of the Raisin and the Peach Growers' associations, is a stockholder in the
bank at Parlier, and an ex-trustee of the Ross School district. In national
politics he is a steadfast Republican, and a Republican of the kind who. in
the present war crisis, loyally supports the Administration ; while in matters
of local administration and improvement Mr. Thomsen always favors the
best man and advocates the best measures.
He was born in North Schlesvvig (since 1864 a part of.Germanv) on
August 21, 1867, and grew up in Schleswig where he learned the Danish
language despite the German imposition of their own tongue. His father
was Soren Thomsen, who was born, married and died in North Schleswig,
where he owned a small dairy farm. The mother, Annie Christine Petersen,
was likewise born in Schleswig. The parents had eight children: Bodil
Maria: Meta Maria: Martha; Mathias ; Peter; Nielsine; and Niels, and
Ingemann.
When only eleven years of age Mathias went out to work for different
farmers, and for one farmer alone he labored for four years, and another
for five. Meanwhile he was brought up at the public schools and in the
circles of the Lutheran Church, where he was confirmed at the age of four-
teen. His schooling was really very limited, and confined mostly to a few
weeks in the winter time, on which account his later successes would seem
to redound all the more to his credit.
'When he was twenty years of age he crossed the Atlantic and pushed
inland as far west as Minneapolis, where his older and, married sister then
lived. He had sailed from Hamburg on the steamship Suavia, of the Ham-
burg-American line, in March, 1888,- and landed at old Castle Garden in
New York City, April 12, after a voyage of three weeks. An accident alone
marred the journey. The Suavia ran down a small steamer with thirteen
men aboard, and both the captain and the cook lost their lives.
Once somewhat settled here, Mr. Thomsen started to work in a dairy at
Minneapolis, undertaking to milk cows, and there he stayed for nearly a
year. Then he came on to California attracted by the fact that his sister
Martha, the wife of N. J. Hansen, already referred to, was living with her
husband in the Central Colony, four miles south of Fresno. He arrived at
Fresno on October 11, 1889, and at once engag'ed in some work for his
brother-in-law, N. J. Hansen, with whom he continued until the fourth of
July of the following year. Then he went out to the Fresno Colony, two
miles distant from Fresno, and there hired himself out as a milker on a dairv
farm, then owned by William Sherman. At the end of a month and a half,
however, he obtained other farm work which kept him busy until December,
1890. Then he came here and bought his present place, which at that time
was only wheat stubble.
1 1- -traightway started to improve the property, and has himself planted
every vine and tree on the place. He built a fine dwelling-house and roomy
/tCt HMi
i^n_
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1709
barns and other buildings and things needed, and even erected a tank-
house. The farm is served from the Kingsburg and Centerville ditch, and
because of the good water service everything planted there flourishes. There
are five acres of muscat, seven acres of Thompson's seedless, five acres
planted to trees, and two and a half acres of alfalfa, while the balance is
given over to buildings, drying yards, barnyards, and similar corners.
In 1892, Mr. Thomsen was married at the Central Colony to Miss Inge-
borg Hansina Riggelsen, a native of North Schleswig, who came to America
with Mr. Thomsen, they having been engaged to marry in the old country.
This happy union has been blessed with seven children : Frederikka, wife of
Fred Holm, the rancher and raisin-grower, owning twenty acres in the Parlier
School district, is the mother of three children ; Lawrence R. was in the
aviation service of the United States, and was with our troops in France,
he returned home safely in February, 1919, with an excellent record and
honorable discharge; Sivert A. is at home, as are Esther M., Anna Maria, and
Anna, while Johanna Margrethe is at school. The family attends the
Lutheran Church, which Mr. and Mrs. Thomsen helped to organize, and of
which Mr. Thomsen is a trustee. Their children are local favorites both
because of their personalities and their talents. One for example is a pianist
of special promise, although she is only in her sixteenth year, and critics
pronounce her accomplishment rare musical ability.
KARL MADSEN. — An energetic, far-seeing man, who believes in the
gospel of close application and hard work, and who living according to his
belief, has prospered to an extent not granted to everybody, is Karl Madsen,
well known as a fine fellow. He was born in Denmark, near Odense, Fyen,
on November 26, 1868, the son of Mads Mortensen, who farmed near where
he had been born. As a young man he had married Miss Anna Catherina
Olsen, and they were blessed with a family of nine children. Five of these
were living as late as 1905, and two had come to the American West. Rasmus
Madsen, of the .Red Bank district, whose interesting story is given else-
where in this work, is the brother of our subject.
Karl was the youngest son and next to the youngest child, and like
most of the family was brought up on his father's well-appointed if modest
farm. He attended the excellent Danish common schools and learned the
important rudiments of agriculture. He followed farming in Denmark until
he went to Australia, whither his brother Marten had emigrated fourteen
years before. As a matter of fact. Marten had not written home for years,
and when Karl sailed from London on the Duke of Sutherland, bound for
Brisbane, in 1888, he did so with some uncertainty as to his immediate future.
He sailed to Queensland, found his brother and was soon employed profit-
ably at farm work.
In 1893. however, believing that California offered still greater induce-
ments, Mr.' Madsen sailed for the Pacific Coast, this time bent on joining his
brother Rasmus, who had settled in Fresno County. After arriving here, he
worked for M. Theo. Kearney for five years ; and during the last three years
of that period he was in charge of Kearney Park and its gardens. In dis-
charging this responsibility he gave entire satisfaction, but having bought
ten acres of vineyard five miles west of Fresno, he left his employer to look
after his own property. So well did he develop this that he later sold the
tract at a good profit.
Then he rented ninety acres of vineyard in the Gray Colony and was so
successful that he bought seventy acres there, and improved twenty for
vineyard purposes. He planted alfalfa, individually built a ditch a mile from
the Enterprise Canal, and while running the place for four years amply
demonstrated his familiarity with vineyarding in California. When he was
ready to sell, he had no trouble in disposing of his property at a higher
figure than he had paid for it. He next bought a thirty-acre vineyard west
1710 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of Fresno, known as the F.strella vineyard ; set it out anew with muscats,
and ran that for five years, making it more than pay for itself, and selling
it in 1913 at some gain. Then for a while he rented and operated vineyards.
At present Mr. Madsen is leasing both the L. Jensen and the George P.
Dyreborg places, consisting of about 150 acres in Gray Colony, forty of
which he has laid out for vineyarding, while seven and a half acres are given
up to an orchard, and much of the balance to the raising of grain. Whatever
he undertakes seems to prosper under his wise management. Naturally
enough. Mr. Madsen is one of the active supporters of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc., and he has
come to be known as one of the substantial viticulturists and horticulturists
of Sanger.
MANUEL VINCENT.— No other country save the United States may
boast of such unrivalled opportunities for the man of humble birth and dis-
couraging circumstances, and in no other State of this glorious Union will
be found so large a number of those who. like Manuel Vincent, once a black-
smith and now one of the leading financiers of Selma, have climbed from the
very lowest rung of the ladder, and in climbing have raised still higher the
standard of California. Born in Flores. the most westerly of the balmy
Azores, on November 4. 1863, Mr. Vincent is the son of John Vincent, school
teacher, contractor, builder and farmer who died when Manuel was four years
old. His mother. Mary Vincent came to America and California, and died in
Mariposa County. All that the subject of our story recalls of his parents is
lovable and edifying, and what a worthy son would delight in remembering.
On account of the success attending the ventures of two of the oldest
sons in the family, who had located in Tuttletown, Tuolumne County, Cal..
Mrs. Vincent left the Azores in the fall of 1871 with Manuel, who was then
eight, two sisters and two brothers, and joined the enterprising boys. For a
while Manuel attended the public school in his neighborhood, and then he set
out on a kind of journeyman's tour through the county, his object being to
learn the blacksmith trade. Later, and while still a poor young man, he
traveled from Indian Gulch, Mariposa County, to Traver in Tulare County,
to see a friend : and passing through Selma, he had his first view of the town.
The first extensive ditch — the Centerville and Kingsburg Irrigation Canal —
had then been built and completed : the railway had put in a siding and erected
a depot : and the station was called Selma.
In 1887, Mr. Vincent closed out his business in Mariposa County and
struck out. He remembered Selma, and made haste to reach here, getting a
job, as soon as he arrived, in a blacksmith shop, where he worked by the day.
Later, in the same year, he bought an interest in the shop, succeeding \Y. H.
Harris, as the partner of W. L. Jones, the firm having been Jones & Harris,
and then becoming known as Jones & Vincent; and in May, 1889. he bought
Jones out. From that day the firm was styled M. Vincent. In May, 1890,
however, his shop was burned out. The old shop was on West Front Street,
and was owned by another person ; but the stock was a loss to Mr. Vincent :
■ >nly $600 in insurance being reclaimable. Thereupon he rented another
place, and within two weeks he had a full complement of blacksmith tools.
In 1895 he moved his shop to East Front Street, having bought out Warner
Brothers' property there the year previous ; and soon thereafter he added a
line of general farm implements, and there he continued until 1906.
In the meantime Mr. Vincent had become a stockholder in the First
National Bank of Selma. although it was not until 1907 that he closed out his
blacksmith business and continued only as a dealer in implements, remain-
ing in that line for ten years. In 1905 he helped organize the Selma Savings
Bank, going in as an original director: and in 1912 he became president of
that flourishing institution. He also became vice-president of the First
National Bank of Selma. assuming that responsibility in 1915. In many
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1711
ways, and with varied enterprises, Mr. Vincent has prospered, having been
interested at one time in several retail lumber yards in Central California.
Mr. Vincent opened his present attractive office at 1810 East Front Street,
in October, 1917, under the firm name of M. Vincent & Son ; and there he
deals with success in real estate and insurance, being ably assisted by his
son, G. Paul Vincent. The latter is a graduate not only of the Selma High
School, but of the Chicago Veterinary College, finishing his studies with the
Class of 1911. Although he then received with honors the degree of Doctor
of Veterinary Science, he has never practiced his profession.
Mr. Vincent, now widely recognized as a business man of sound prin-
ciples, is also a director in the First National Bank of Kingsburg and a
director in the First National Bank of Sanger. Always a public-spirited
citizen, he has twice served as trustee of the City of Selma. He has also
been chairman of the board, and he was second fire-chief of the city.
In the town where he has thus enjoyed so much prosperity, Mr. Vincent
was married to Miss Laura Paul, a native of Kansas, who came to Selma
when she was a young woman. Six children have blessed this union. G.
Paul, his father's partner, married 'Miss Elleanor Bellamy ; and they have
two children, Paula and Phyllis. Nellie is the wife of K. L. Self, a rancher
near Selma. They have one child, a boy, named Kenneth Vincent Self. Mil-
dred married P. D. Register, of San Pedro, Los Angeles County, where he
went into training for the United States heavy artillery. While in thjs
service his motorcycle accidentally collided with an electric car at Long Beach
and he met instantaneous death on the 28th day of September 1918. Since
then, on the eighth day of December, 1918, a baby girl, named Beverly
Duane Register, was born ; the child and widowed mother are living at the
home of Mr. Vincent, in Selma. Winnifred is in the Selma High School, as
is also Walter ; and Corinne is in the grammar school.
Mr. Vincent and family attend the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Vincent is
a member of the board of trustees of the church, and he served on its build-
ing committee, and became one of the largest donors to the fund by which
the magnificent new brick edifice was erected at Selma, in 1917. His practi-
cal Christianity has led him to espouse the principles of the Prohibition party,
and he takes especial pride in the fact that Selma was the first town in Fresno
County to declare for the abolition of the iniquitous traffic in alcohol.
Very naturally, Mr. Vincent is a fraternity man, and one enjoying an
enviable popularity. He is a member of the Blue Lodge of Masons at Selma,
and has been through all the chairs. He is a Royal Arch Mason at Selma,
a Knight Templar at Fresno and the Islam Temple at San Francisco. He
also is active in the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World* and
is a Forester. Mr. and Mrs. Vincent are members of the Eastern Star at
Selma.
OLIN C. UNDERWOOD.— As janitor of the West Side Grammar
School for the past ten years, Olin C. Underwood is a well known figure in
Reedley, Fresno County, and especially to the children of that thriving little
city. Born in McHenry County, 111., November 27, 1855, he is the son of
Honorable James and Melissa (Gardner) Underwood, the former a native
of Ohio, and the latter of Pennsylvania. They were the parents of six chil-
dren, two of whom are now living in California. The family moved from
Illinois to Iowa in 1870, and there followed farming. James Underwood, the
father, was a man of considerable ability, and served as a member of the
legislature in Iowa. He farmed in Grundy and in Greene Counties. He was
killed by the cars at Grand Junction, Iowa, while pursuing his daily work of
delivering milk to his customers.
Previous to his coming to California, Olin C. Underwood held the office
of township assessor in Palo Alto County, Iowa, for seven years. Later he
was a candidate for county auditor but failed of the nomination. For twenty
1712 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
years he was a locomotive engineer on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific
Railroad, and left of his own accord to engage in farming. In conjunction
with his duties of janitor of the grammar school, Mr. Underwood is a rancher,
now the owner of fifteen acres of fine land. He originally owned forty acres,
but he sold ten acres to his son, Byron C, and fifteen acres to another party,
retaining the balance ; twenty-five acres of this property he developed from
a stubble field.
In 1881, Mt. Underwood was united in marriage with Laura C. Cook,
a native of Iowa, born near Burlington in 1858. Nine children have been
born of this union: Bessie C. ; Minnie E. ; Byron C. : Albert E. ; Mildred E. ;
Esther L. ; William Otis : Harold C. ; and Luella. who married Edwin Greene
of Dinuba, in May, 1917, and they had a baby son, named Samuel, born
July 14. 1918. Mr. Underwood is a member of Highland Lodge, A. F. &
A. M., at Ruthven, Iowa; politically he is a Republican. Since 1911 he has
worked in the fruit industry for others as an orchard foreman and as receiver
at the warehouses.
There is one matter of interest that makes Mr, Underwood a very proud
man, and that is the service that his four sons rendered their country during
the great World War. Byron C, although a married man, entered the service
October 5, 1917, as a member of Company F, Three Hundred Sixty-fourth
Infantrv, Ninety-first Division, went to France with the latter and was dis-
charged May 25, 1919. Albert E., entered the service July 25, 1917. was
assigned to the Eighth Infantry, Medical Department, reached France on
November 9, 1918, and is still in service at Brest. William Otis entered the
United States Navy on May 20, 1917, trained at Mare Island, was assigned
to the destroyer U. S. S. Taylor, did convoy duty from July, 1918, until his
discharge on April 15, 1919, with the position of Third Quartermaster. He
was in the line and saw the surrender of the German fleet, and his was the
flagship of the convoy that escorted President Wilson into Brest on his
first trip to France. Harold C. entered the service in June, 1918, in the One
Hundred Sixteenth Engineers, trained at Norfolk, Va„ saw service in France,
was discharged April 15, 1919, as Corporal.
WM. D. BECKWITH.— Although Mr. Beckwith is living a somewhat
retired life, his fellows never forget that he was for years a leader to whom
the}- might look with confidence. He is energetic for his age, and still tries
to be useful ; and this is only natural to one who has led such a long and
useful life.
He was born in Clinton County. N. Y.. August 1, 1841, and reared and
educated there: and under the flourishing conditions of the Empire State
he early turned his attention to the cultivation of the soil. When the dark-
clouds of the Civil War arose, he promptly volunteered his services and was
attached to the First New York Engineers. He was engaged at the siege
of Petersburg and Richmond, was at Farmville and finally at Appomattox
Court House where Lee surrendered. At the close of the war he received
an honorable discharge and again took up the burden and the pleasurable
duties of civil life.
In 1871, Mr. Beckwith removed to Kansas where he farmed for twenty
years, and where, at that time, buffalo were roaming the prairies. On ac-
count of the sickness of his wife, who was Josie Norn's, in maidenhood, he
shifted to Nebraska, and there for four years he engaged in business as a
merchant. His wife's health not improving, he finally came to California,
and in 1908 took up his residence in Fresno, where Mrs. Beckwith died in
1910. She, too, was a native of New York, and she endeared herself to all
who became acquainted with her. Such has been the consistent, unselfish
life of both Mr. and Mrs. Beckwith that wherever they have lived, there
they have left an enviable record for kindly endeavor.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1715
Six children were born to Air. and Airs. Beckwith, four of whom are
still living: Mrs. G. H. Smith, of Fresno; Mrs. F. Barber, also of Fresno;
F. L. Beckwith, of Nebraska; and B. H. Beckwith of Sanger. The latter
was born in Kansas, in 1881, and was ten years of age when his folks re-
moved to Nebraska. In 1912 he married Miss Bertha, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Van Fleet, and at his marriage his father gave him a deed to his ranch
of forty acres in the Sanger district. He was a carpenter by trade, and he
contracted for building in both San Francisco and Fresno, but he has later
given his attention to the ranch, which he has set out to peaches and apricots.
In time he intends to plant the entire ranch to English walnuts, which he
believes will prove even more remunerative. Mr. Beckwith has been in the
County since 1905, having preceded his parents, and has been closely identi-
fied with Fresno's development.
W. D. Beckwith is a member of the Grand Army Post in Fresno. In
politics he is a Progressive Republican and a warm friend of Hiram Johnson.
JAMES MacGREGOR ROBERTSON.— From the sturdy Scotch
people, who have been such an important factor in the upbuilding of Ameri-
can civilization, is James MacG. Robertson, a native of Bridge of Ern, Perth-
shire, Scotland, where he was born in 1863, a son of Andrew and Ann
( Barnett) Robertson, both natives of the "land of heather," where they were
farmer folks.
James MacG. Robertson was reared in Scotland until twenty years of
age, when he emigrated to America, landing at New York City, but soon
afterwards drifted to the Pacific Coast, arriving at San Francisco. After a
short stay in the city by the Golden Gate he located at Fresno, where he
followed his trade of a carpenter and engaged in the building business in
Fresno County. Afterwards Mr. Robertson located in Hanford, where he
engaged in contracting and building, and to his credit and superior work-
manship are due some of the most substantial buildings in that city.
It was in Hanford that Mr. Robertson met and married Miss Ida Rose
Adams, the ceremony being solemnized on September 7, 1892. Mrs. Robert-
son is a native of Louisiana. Mo., a daughter of John F. Adams, a native of
Virginia who settled in Missouri before the Civil" War. During that war he
served valiantly in the Third Missouri Regiment of Cavalry, in the Union
Army, being wounded in action during battle. After his honorable discharge
from the army, Mr. Adams was united in marriage in Louisiana, Mo., with
Martha Tipton, a native of Kentucky. John F. Adams was a manufacturer of
agricultural implements, carriages and wagons in Louisiana, Mo. Afterwards
he removed to New Haven, Mo., where he ran a blacksmith and carriage-
shop and it was while living there that Mr. Adams was honored with the
office of mayor of New Haven, to which responsible position he was elected
for four terms of office. In 1888, J. F. Adams migrated with his family to
California, locating at Traver. and it was while living there that he was be-
reft of his life companion. After her death, Mr. Adams moved to Hanford
where he engaged in business and continued to reside until his death on
January 6, 1914. Mrs. Robertson was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Adams
who grew to maturity.
After his marriage. James MacG. Robertson, continued in the contracting
and building business, and, about 1905, became interested in the Coalinga
oil-field, becoming a stockholder in the Lucile Oil Company. He located
in Coalinga where he engaged in contracting and building until 1906 when
he removed to San Francisco immediately after the big fire and there fol-
lowed the building business. After a residence of one year in San Francisco,
following the great fire, he returned to Coalinga and became the president and
manager of the Lucile Oil Company. On the oil company's leased land Mr.
Robertson built a substantial residence of brick that were made and burned
on the land. He was a very successful oil operator, a liberal and kind-hearted
1716 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
man who had the happy faculty of making and retaining many friends, and
he continued as president of the Lucile Oil Company until his death, on
March 27, 1912.
After his death Mrs. Robertson assumed the responsibilities of president,
being assisted in the management of the company by her son Kenneth for
two years prior to his enlistment in the Medical Department of the Eighth
Infantry. U. S. A., serving over-seas and now stationed at Coblenz. The
Lucile Oil Company is located on Sec. 6-21-15, comprising 100 acres of land,
and at present has three producing wells.
Mr. and Mrs. James MacG. Robertson were the parents of five sons, four
of whom grew up: Kenneth, a graduate of the Coalinga High School, now
over-seas: James, who was accidentally killed at the age of fourteen, while
out hunting: Douglas, who graduated from the Coalinga High School in
1917. and had the honor of winning the second place in the interscholastic
tract meet: Frederick, also a graduate of Coalinga High School in 1917, and
who held the record for pole-vaulting, and who passed away in April. 1918.
Fraternally. Mr. Robertson was a member of Coalinga Lodge of Masons,
was affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star, and was a member of the
Fresno Lodge of Elks. Religiously he was reared in the Presbyterian Church,
and in politics was a Progressive Republican. He was greatly interested in
educational matters and was prominently identified with the work of the
Coalinga School District, having served as its trustee and was active in the
work of the board when the new grammar school was built. Mrs. Robertson
is a member of the Baptist Church, and also a member of Eschscholtzia
Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.
RALPH M. CONE. — In the vicinity of Reedley is located the productive
sixty-acre ranch owned by the firm of Dexter & Cone, of which R. M. Cone
is the resident manager. This ranch is developed to a high state of production
and is devoted to the growing of Thompson's seedless grapes. Mr. Cone is
thoroughly conversant with the propagation and cultivation of vines and
has been steadily working on his own property since 1911.
A native of Windhall, Bennington County, Vt., R. M. Cone was born on
May 10. 1878, a son of Ira and Ida (Lathrop) Cone, both born there. There
were six children in their family, of whom R. M. is the only one to make his
home on the Pacific Coast. He received his education in the public schools
of his native state, after which he worked at various tasks for some time, one
of them being a coachman for Rear Admiral H. B. Robeson, U. S. N., in
whose employ he remained for four years. Mr. Cone subsequently became
connected with the Vermont Marble Company, the largest marble works in
the world, and in time he worked his way to a foremanship, which he held
for seven years, three years of this time being spent in the plant in Vermont
and the balance at their branch plant in San Francisco. Tie worked very
diligently in the interest of his company. The years following the great
fire in San Francisco were busy ones for Mr. Cone and he had much to do
with material reconstruction there, until he resigned to come here.
In 1911, Mr. Cone purchased an interest in the ranch where he now
lives and since that date has given his entire attention to improving the
place. When he located on the ranch there were but four small pepper
trees on the place, an old house and a lean-to stable : now he has one of
the best developed ranches in the district, all the result of his own labor. He
was one of the largest alfalfa raisers in this section of the county in early
days. Five crops of alfalfa were cut each season and a ready market was
found for the output of the ranch. In this particular part of the work Mr.
Cone proved himself an adept, as he and his crew baled as high as eighteen
tons per day for others. LJnder the able management of Mr. Cone the ranch
is fast developing into a fine dividend-payer, the soil being very productive.
The fifty-seven acres now given to vines are in Thompson's seedless.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1717
On June 27, 1912, the marriage that united R. M, Cone with Miss
Mary A. Wetherbee, was celebrated at Eugene, Ore., and they have one
son, Marion. Mrs. Cone is a daughter of John F. Wetherbee and was born
in Manchester, Bennington County, Vt., on December 24, 1880. She traces
her ancestry back to a great-grandfather, Job Dean, who was with General
Washington at Valley Forge. After Mrs. Cone had completed the grades
in her home school she took a course at the Burr & Burton Seminary,
a private institution in her home town. In 1897 the Wetherbee family
moved to Oregon, where her father engaged in the milling business. In
that state the daughter attended the University of Oregon and later grad-
uated from the State Normal at Monmouth. She then took up teaching and
for one year taught in the schools in Albany. Her next location was at
Eugene, where she remained for five years as assistant principal, and one
year in another department. For two years thereafter she was connected
with the Glencoe School at Portland, as an instructor, after which she
came to California. When she took up her residence in Fresno County,
about sixteen months after Mr. Cone had been here, she was requested
to register her life certificate in order to be available as a teacher in any
grade should the exigency of the case demand. Mr. and Mrs. Cone are
highly esteemed by their many friends and a delightful hospitality is dis-
pensed at their home. Mr. Cone is an enthusiastic member and district
correspondent in the California Associated Raisin Company.
DR. THOMAS D. SMITH. — Eminently associated with the recent
development of Central California, is Dr. Thomas D. Smith, one of the pro-
gressive representatives of the medical profession in the State, and a physician
of exceptional experience and attainments even before he came to the Pacific
Coast. He was born in Hancock County, Ohio, on November 17, 1864, the
son of James P. Smith, a native of England who migrated to America during
his boyhood days, with his father, Benjamin Smith. The family located
awhile at Quebec, then came into the United States, to Wheeling, W. Va., and
from there to Hancock, County, in the Buckeye State. The father was a
farmer and became well-to-do ; and he lived to the ripe old age of eighty-
three. James Smith had married Christina McGarry, of French and English
descent, and of a prominent old family of Virginia, and to them were born
four children : Irwin H., of Marion, Mich. ; Anna L. Bunnell, of Mt. Blanchard,
Ohio; Charles C, a physician of King Hill, Idaho; and Thomas D.
Thomas' boyhood was passed on his father's farm in Hancock County
and in attending the district school, and later he went to the high school at
Mt. Blanchard. He was also a student, for a year, at Wooster (Ohio) Uni-
versity. Then he entered the offices of Drs. Gemmell & Mundy and studied
under them ; and after that he matriculated at the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical
College, where he completed the regular medical course and graduated with
the Class of '92. He then took a postgraduate course in the New York Post-
Graduate College, during 1892 and 1893, and during that time was on the
staff of physicians of the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital. These oppor-
tunities for experience and research in the metropolis of the New World,
wisely improved, have contributed much to Dr. Smith's scientific knowledge
and technical proficiency.
Very soon after Dr. Smith's graduation, in June, 1892, he was united in
marriage to Miss Flora Williams, a member of the famous Roger Williams
family, who graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the same college, and
whose life story, as his helpmate and a woman of prominence in medical,
sociological and legislative circles, is given elsewhere in this work. He then
came to California and practiced for a year at Yreka. Siskyou County, but
returned to Cleveland where he was engaged on the medical staff of the
municipality. In 1897 he went to Bremen, near South Bend, Ind., and there
engaged in general practice, until 1911.
1718 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
With characteristic Kingsburg enterprise, Dr Smith, in 1915, in as-
sociation with his equally ambitious wife, erected the imposing Smith Block,
one of the best-arranged' office buildings in the San Joaquin Valley. Besides
ample suites of rooms for both Drs. Thomes D. and Flora W. Smith, it
contains a dentist's office and well-equipped operating rooms, and an at-
tractive reception room.
Dr. Smith still follows a general practice; and being a man of the
strictest integrity and disposed to give the closest personal attention to the
wants of his patients, he has been phenomenally successful and is regarded
as a scholarly leader in his profession. Together with his talented wife he
is prominent in Masonic circles, and at the same time, like her, never misses
an opportunity to advance the public weal and to improve the health con-
ditions, as well as to support, in a substantial manner, those institutions of
particular value to Kingsburg and Fresno County. Among these are the
California Raisin Growers' Association and the California Peach Growers'
Association, in both of which he is a shareholder.
JESPER JENSEN. — A public-spirited, generous-hearted pioneer, who
has been a hard worker, and through his enterprising labors has become
closely and honorably identified with the history of Fresno County, so that
he may justly claim with modest pride that he has helped to develop the
great state in which he is an honored, patriotic citizen, Jesper Jensen is the
head of a family equally as popular as himself. He came to Fresno at the
beginning of the nineties, and in the fall of 1918 bought the ranch of thirteen
acres which he now owns and operates on the Mill Ditch Road, one mile
northeast of Selma, where he has his pretty home ; and he has become,
more and more, a force making for California ideals.
He was born on the island of Fyen, in Denmark, on January 15, 1858,
attended the Danish public schools, and at the age of fourteen was confirmed
in the Lutheran Church. His father was Jens Clausen, who had married in
Denmark, Maren Jespersen : and he was a farmer doing well on a small
estate. There were four children, only two of whom are now living: Anna,
the widow of Lars Jorgensen, living on Maple Avenue ; and Jesper, the sub-
ject of our sketch. The second in order of birth and preceding him was
also named Jesper, and died a lad in Denmark ; and Magdalene, the youngest,
died there when she was four years old.
Jesper was the first of the family to come to America, and when twenty
years of age he sailed from Copenhagen on the old Allen line, landing at
Quebec in July, 1879. Without much delay, he came west to Lincoln, Placer
County. Cal., where he had a niece, still living there, Mrs. Caroline Johnson,
the wife of Chris Johnson, the placer miner; and as soon as he had unpacked,
he encased to work on a farm by the month. He early got into the work of
running machines for threshing; and he followed threshing for seven
seasons.
The next year after reaching Placer County, Mr. Jensen sent for his
parents, and for some time he had the pleasure of their companionship in
his own home. Finally the father died, and then Mr. Jensen in 1890 came
to Fresno and worked on various fruit and raisin ranches. In time, also,
his mother breathed her last ; and when he had laid away her sacred remains,
he had the quiet satisfaction of knowing that he had fulfilled his duty as a
son.
In 1803 he was married to Sine Petersen of Fresno, a daughter of Mai-
thias Petersen, who died in Denmark, and who had married Marven Katrine
Christensen who 'is now living at the ripe old age of eighty-two, with the
Jensens. After marriage, the Jensens rented a fruit and raisin ranch in
the Scandinavian Colony. Later, they rented other farms in other places,
in each case assuming more responsibility and getting better and better
results. Finally, he bought twenty acres on Maple Avenue, and then bought
ayv^^JuAy
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1721
twenty more; and although he eventually sold these, he purchased as much
as the two ranches combined, and that purchase constituted his very desir-
able property, on Adams Avenue, four miles east of Fowler, which he sold in
June, 1918. With unusual foresight, Mr. Jensen improved his land and
brought it to a high state of cultivation.
Mr. and Mrs. Jensen have one child, Clarence, who is fifteen years old.
They attend the Danish Lutheran Church at Selma. Mr. Jensen is active in
church work and while at Easton helped to organize an Evangelical Danish
Lutheran Church. He is a naturalized American citizen, glad and proud of
the fact ; and loyal and enthusiastically, with his good helpmate, supported
the Administration and aided whenever possible in war work. Wherever
the Jensens live, they are highly esteemed.
AUGUST H. BACKER. — Among the most progressive, successful and
best-known viticulturists in California must be rated August H. Backer,
president of the Backer Vineyard Company, in Fresno County. He was the
son of Henry Hine Backer, who was born in Holland in 1824, was a sailor
for years, and after his adventurous life on the ocean made safe harbor in
the United States, landing from a sailing vessel in San Francisco Bay in
1849. Going at once to the mines in Sierra County, he mined for about twenty
years in the placers there ; but in 1877, lured by the stories he heard from
those who knew about Fresno County and its possible future, he came here
and located in Temperance Colony on sixty acres of land which he secured.
After setting out the first vineyard on twenty acres, he went back to Sierra
County to settle up some business he had left, and died there in April. 1879.
Henry Hine Backer was a Mason. The mother of A. H. Backer was Augusta
Busch before her marriage. She was born in Germany, came to California
in 1863, married Mr. Backer in Sierra County, and contributed much to his
business success as well as to his domestic happiness. She died on Septem-
ber 1, 1904, the mother of six children, all of whom grew to years of maturity,
namelv: Lena, Mrs. Bond; Hilca, Mrs. Hagerty, now deceased; and August
H., Henry H., Dora W., and George W.
August H. Backer was born in Sierra County, September 28, 1866, came
to Fresno County in 1878, attended school in Temperance Colony, and later
put in a year at Heald's Business College in San Francisco, graduating in
1891. He then took up general farming in partnership with his brothers, and
managed the home place for ten years. He increased the vineyard from the
original twenty acres to sixty acres and made of it one of the most attractive
places in the neighborhood.
In 1889 the Backer family bought land in Kutner Colony. This they im-
proved and lived there for ten years. The property is still owned by the
Backer Vineyard Company. The present home-place of Mr. Backer consists
of twenty acres of vineyard, but with his brothers he operates and owns other
vineyards and grain lands. After the death of the mother, in 1904, the other
members of the family incorporated the Backer Vineyard Company, of which
August H. is president. The company own 120 acres in Temperance and
Kutner Colonies, all in vineyard, and a tract of 800 acres of grain land north
of Sanger. Mr. Backer, with his brothers, engaged in viticulture and farm-
ing, buying, improving and selling lands. They owned 120 acres in the Mt.
Campbell Orange Tract, near Reedley. This they set to vines and sold as
well as other places they have owned from time to time. About 1910 the
Backer Vineyard Company, with George Roeding, packed a car-load of em-
peror table grapes in drums packed with redwood sawdust, shipped it to New
York and there placed it in cold storage until the Christmas market, and
then sold it. This was the first car-load lot of table grapes shipped East in
this manner, and proved a success. It established a precedent that has re-
sulted in the development of a business of large proportions in the state. In
1918 the Backer Vineyard Company shipped to the East twelve car-loads of
emperors in sawdust. One car-load sold in Washington for $3,600. One
1722 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
car-load from Mr. Hacker's home place sold in New York for $3,500. The
place of twenty acres, where .Mr. Backer erected a modern residence and
now makes his" home, has been his property for over thirty years. In 1918
the Backer brothers divided their individual property and dissolved partner-
ship, and each is now operating for himself, with the exception of the Backer
Vineyard Company, which is owned by all members of the family.
At Vallejo, October 21, 1894, August H. Backer and Mary A. Gee were
married. She was born in England in 1869, and came to the United States
with her parents. Three children blessed this union: August, a graduate
from the Fresno High and the Junior College, now serving in the American
Expeditionarv Forces in France, as a corporal in the aviation section; Harry,
attending the Fresno High: and Irene. On July 9, 1911, Mr. Backer was
bereaved of his wife, who was-mourned by a large circle of friends.
Mr. Backer is a trustee of Temperance Colony school district, and for
twelve years has been clerk of the board. He is a member of the California
Associated Raisin Company. His record is time-tested proof that well-
directed ambition and intelligent application will bring a man large returns,
especially if he be wide-awake to choose favoring conditions and a promising
field for his operations.
TOHN E. EKLUND. — Aggressive and progressive, whether as me-
chanic, business man or rancher. John E. Eklund never allows any grass to
grow under his feet, and he has such a reputation for honesty and upright-
ness that evervbodv regards his prosperity as something quite natural, and
interest in both his' romantic past and in his promising future is bound to be
doubled. Active and energetic to an unusual degree, and reaping as the re-
sult almost a phenomenal reward, Mr. Eklund recently did a business of
$56,000 a vear. and that is a matter of moment for even such a live city as
Kingsburg. He is favored, too. with an accomplished wife of strong character
and pleasing beauty, wdio shares with him a well-earned popularity for good
works.
On June 2, 1880, Mr. Eklund was born at East Jutland. Sweden, the
son of Carl and Emma Xicholson Peterson ; the difference in names being
explainable by the peculiar system of the Scandinavian people in respect to
varying family names, and the fact that John E. Peterson took the name of
Eklund when" he entered the Swedish Army. For thirty years his father
had rented a large farm, and there our subject was born and grew up, ac-
customed to the raising of grain and cattle. The elder Peterson was a very
hard working man. but he reared a family of nine children, the youngest
dying when he was nineteen years old. Two of the sons, C. O. and David
Peterson, came to America and are now farming near Kingsburg: while a
daughter. Anna, is the wife of C. E. Frickson. a farmer in Tulare and Kings
counties, who resides in Fresno County, and another daughter, Esther, is
the wife of A. E. Gustafson, a rancher also residing- in Fresno County. John
F. is the third son and the fourth child born to this worthy couple.
Attending the local public schools as a boy, John, being large and strong,
was early given hard work on the farm, while he was brought up according
to the strict tenets of the Baptist Church. At nineteen he enlisted in the
Swedish army and took the regular corporal's examination, and after doing
his full duty for two years as a loyal subject of the king, he decided to come
to America, drawn hither by the brothers and sisters already mentioned,
who had located in Chicago. For a while he worked out on a farm in Bureau
County, 111., and then he began to learn the carpenter trade. His first posi-
tion was with the McCormick Harvester Works : but the next winter he
went to St. Louis and secured employment at the World's Fair, where he
aided in erecting the imposing buildings.
Despite the many attractions of the Fast, however, especially to a me-
chanic who was s>i rapidly demonstrating his ability, Mr. Eklund came out to
California the next year, accompanied by his brother-in-law. C. E. Erickson,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1723
and stopped at Kingsburg. Finding an opening in Los Angeles, he went
to work there for six months, and when he came back to Kingsburg, he
bought forty acres in conjunction with his brother, C. O. Peterson, and he
and his brother-in-law improved it. Peterson lived and worked on the place,
while Mr. Eklund followed carpentering and put his earnings into the farm.
Three years later, he sold his interest.
He then went to Seattle and worked as a carpenter on the Alaska,
Yukon and Pacific Exposition buildings ; and again he displayed as a me-
chanic the original stuff that was in him. Before going north he had built
a house at Kingsburg. and after returning from Seattle he traded the
dwelling for an eighty-acre farm northeast of Kingsburg. Sixty acres of the
land he resold, and the balance he improved to a high state of cultivation.
Pitching his tent once more in Los Angeles, Mr. Eklund entered the
building trade, erecting and selling houses. He put up and disposed suc-
cessfully of as many as ten houses of his own. and he also built others on
contract. So well did he prosper, that he soon entered on the most im-
portant of all responsibilities — marriage. Meeting in the City of the Angels
one of the most attractive of Kingsburg girls. Miss Selma Danell, he took her
for his wife ; nor has his judgment ever served him to better advantage.
She was born in Kansas, the daughter of Charles and Anna Elg Danell,
both of whom are now living at Kingsburg ; and with her parents she came
to California when she was nine years old.
On taking up their residence at Kingsburg, Mr. and Mrs. Eklund bought
thirty-five acres on the west side of the town, and there built a bungalow
for their home. At the same time Mr. Eklund bought out G. Edward Damel-
son, the proprietor of the Kingsburg Implement Company, the transaction
taking place in 1912. He commenced to handle wagons and buggies, to sell
farm implements and to do plumbing: but later he gave up plumbing work
and made a specialty of automobiles and car accessories. In this department
of modern activity he became a leader. He had the Kingsburg agency for
the Chevrolet and Lexington automobiles, and made many sales.
Among Mr. Eklund's land operations in which he has been particularly
successful, must be mentioned the disposal of thirty-five acres that he sub-
divided. He again bought more land of which he had ten acres in grain
and four acres in town lots. He is a member and stockholder in both the
California Raisin Association and the California Peach Association.
Mr. and Mrs. Eklund are members of the Swedish Baptist Church at
Kingsburg. They have three children : Joseph Walden ; Esther Margaret ;
and Violet, born May 2, 1919.
' Mr. Eklund purchased eighty acres of raw land, four and a half miles
southeast of Kingsburg, in September, 1918. He then sold his business in
Kingsburg in order to improve his land. He put down a well, installed a
pumping plant and built a house. He bought an International (8-16) gaso-
line tractor and operates it himself. He also owns a twenty-acre alfalfa
ranch which lies one-half mile south of his eighty. He also sold his resi-
dence and other city property in Kingsburg, in order to give his whole
time to planting and improving this eighty-acre tract, which will be planted
to raisin and table grapes, mostly Thompson's seedless.
JOHN HEIDENREICH.— A fine old German-American gentleman who
turned his back on the political institutions of his native land because of his
dislike of the burden of militarism, and who is loyal and true to his adopted
country and especially pleased with California, in which state he has had such
success that he has indeed found it "Golden," is John Heidenreich, who came
to Vinland somewhat more than a decade ago. He was born in Bavaria on
Tanuary 25, 1845. the son of John Heidenreich. a farmer there who was a
leader in the Revolution of 1848 and died in the year following. His wife
had been Margaret Betz before her marriage, and she also died in Germany,
the mother of seven children, among whom John was the second youngest.
1724 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
He was brought up on a farm, attended the public schools, and in 1867 entered
the German army, enlisting with the artillery and serving such time as was
expected of him. When the war with France commenced in 1870, he was
called out and fought until the close of the war, being wounded in the left
temple, and he received an honorable discharge. Soon afterward, he decided
to try his fortune in the Xew World ; and in October, 1871, he arrived in New
York and proceeded to Illinois, where he settled for three years near Elgin.
Then he went farther west to Sac County, Iowa, and bought 160 acres of
railroad land, which he soon improved from its raw state.
In 1(X)3. Mr. Heidenreich made his first trip to California, and having seen
Fresno County, he liked the prospect so well that he bought forty acres, to
commence with, on Madera Avenue. He made arrangements to set out an
orchard and to plant to alfalfa, and then he returned East. Four years later
he left his Iowa property to be operated by his son and located on his ranch
in Fresno County, which he set out in great part with vines, mostly Thomp-
son seedless, and operates himself. He built an attractive residence, added
other improvements, made his place not only attractive to the eye but of in-
terest to the viticulturist. and joined the California Associated Raisin Co.
In Iowa, Mr. Heidenreich married Miss Mary Raab, a native of Germany,
who died in Fresno, the mother of twelve children : Anne and Rachel are
both dead ; Mathilda is Mrs. Darling of Colorado ; Barbara has become Mrs.
Rising of Wall Lake, Iowa : Kate is the wife of Chris Seib, a sergeant-major
in the United States Army in France : Maggie is Mrs. Wingert of South Da-
kota : Joseph is in Iowa on his father's farm ; Clara, who is Mrs. Winchell,
lives in Fresno: Lillie is Mrs. Glavenicht of Berkeley; John was a sergeant in
the United States Army, and served in France ; and Cecilie and Marie are at
home. The family attends the Roman Catholic Church of Fresno and Mr.
Heidenreich seeks to elevate the standards of good citizenship through ac-
tivity in national politics in the Democratic party.
N. L. HOYER. — Because N. L. Hoyer early put his shoulder to the wheel
and helped to develop and build up Central California, he himself has become
a successful rancher, distinguished for his enterprise and progressive methods,
and surrounded by well-wishing friends on account of his kindheartedness
and liberality. He was on the West Side for some years and so was fortunate
in locating oil land. He still has important interests at Huron.
He was born at Svendborg, Island of Fyen. Denmark, on July 13. 1859,
the son of Lars Mogensen, and when the government authorized the adop-
tion of family names, he chose that of Hoyer. His mother had been Maren
Larsen, and she died in 1868, followed fourteen years later by her husband.
The parents were farmer-folk and highly respected in the community in
which they lived. There were three sons, and X. L. was the second, as he
is the only one now living. He was reared on the home farm and attended
the local Danish school, and when fourteen he started to paddle his own
canoe by working out for other farmers. Seven years later he entered the
Danish navy and at the end of the required time for patriotic service he was
honorably discharged.
On June 5, 1884, he came to Fresno and went to work in a vineyard in
the Central Colony, learning horticulture and viticulture. In the fall of 1887,
he went to the West Side, and at Huron took up a preemption claim of 160
acres two and a half miles north of that place. He improved it. and proved
up on it in 1888. and then took a homestead, the northeast quarter in section
12-20-14. He built a home and fulfilled the requirements of the law. and proved
up on it, obtaining a government deed. When oil development began in that
section, he sold out at a good profit.
Fortunately, Mr. Hover had previously returned to the vicinity of Fresno
and bought the present place of forty acres at Rolinda on White's Bridge
Road. It was raw land, being under the ditch, but he set to work, leveled
^v
* 4
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1/27
it and planted alfalfa, at the same time engaging in dairying and stock-raising.
He finally sold his homestead in the Coalinga district, and then he built a res-
idence on his home-place, so that now he has a fine home-ranch. He set out
a vineyard of sultana, malaga and wine-grapes, and made a model farm-
property. He still owns the ranch at Huron.
In 1904, Mr. Hoyer made his first trip back to Denmark, to see the old
home and friends, and three years later he made a second trip to Denmark.
The same year, 1907, on his return to Fresno, he was married to Maren Niel-
sen, a native of Denmark, by whom he has had three children: Dagmar,
Walter, and Chester. He not only belongs to the Danish Brotherhood, but
he is an ex-president of that organization.
Mr. Hoyer is a stockholder in the Danish Creamery Association and was
a director in it for many years. He is a member and stockholder of the Cal-
ifornia Peach Growers, Inc., and also of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany and the California Prune and Apricot Association.
DAVID SCOTT. — The Kerman district is fortunate in having such a
public-spirited citizen as David Scott, rancher, of the Empire Colony, and
formerly justice of the peace of Township 11, and a lawyer of many years of
experience in the Middle West.
Mr. Scott is a native of the Buckeye State, having first seen the light
of day at Saint Paris, near Urbana, Champaign County, Ohio, on November
19, 1868. His parents were Rev. David and Mary J. (Lippincott) Scott, both
natives of Ohio, the father having been born in Logan County, the mother in
Lima. Rev. David Scott was an able pioneer preacher of the Baptist Church
in Ohio where he continued his faithful work until 1873 when he located in
Beloit, Mitchell County, Kans., and engaged in farming as well as continuing
his work of preaching the gospel and was instrumental in organizing churches
all over the northwestern portion of Kansas. After many years of faithful
service in the vineyard of the Lord, the Rev. David Scott retired in 1890,
and continued to reside in Kansas until his removal to Harrisonville, Mo.,
where his devoted wife passed away in 1896, after which he returned to
Ohio where he died in February, 1904. At Myrtletree, Ohio, he organized
the first Baptist Church and preached the dedicatory sermon when the first
church building was erected, and fifty years later attended the dedicatory
services upon the occasion of the completion of a new church edifice, on the
same site, when he preached the dedicatory sermon. During the Civil War,
Rev. David Scott was a first lieutenant in the Forty-second Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, which was in command of Gen. James A. Garfield, who later be-
came President of the United States of America, being inaugurated on
March 4, 1881, was shot July 2, by an assassin, and died September 19, 1881.
The Rev. David Scott and wife were the parents of nine children, three
of whom, all boys, are still living, the subject of this review. Judge David
Scott, being the second youngest; Tully Scott, the oldest brother, is Asso-
ciate Justice of the Supreme Court of Colorado ; L. W. Scott, the other
brother, is a broker, residing in Kansas City, Mo.
When about five years of age, David Scott removed with his parents
from Ohio to Kansas where he attended the public school of his district, and
also at Chillicothe, Mo., and for one year had the privilege of attending that
splendid educational institution of the Baptist Church, William Jewell Col-
lege, situated at Liberty, Mo. Afterwards he became contest clerk, in the
United States Government Land Office at Oberlin, Kans. Having decided to
enter professional circles, David Scott took up the , study of jurisprudence
and in due time was admitted to the bar, taking up the active practice of law,
which he followed at Oberlin, Kans., until 1890, when he drove overland to
Lewistown, Mont. Here he opened a law office and established a newspaper,
the Montana Democrat, later the Lewistown Democrat; also finding time
to engage in mining.
1728 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In January, 1907, Mr. Scott removed to Goldfield, Hey., where he opened
an office for the practice of his profession, also becoming interested in mining
property, and purchasing a twenty-eight-acre claim, but owing to the financial
panic of 1907 he did not develop'his mine. In December, 1909, he located at
Kerman. Fresno County, where he purchased a forty-acre ranch of raw
land, in the Empire Colony, located on Thompson Avenue, between Belmont
and McKinley. He leveled and improved the land, planted alfalfa, built a
residence, and engaged in the dairy business, continuing until August, 1916,
when he rented his ranch and located on Madera Avenue.
Having a desire to reenter professional life. Mr. Scott became a candi-
date for the office of justice of the peace, for the Eleventh Township. Fresno
County, at the primary election held August. 1914. receiving the nomination
over three opponents and later was duly elected for a term of four years,
taking the oath of office in Tanuarv. 1915, serving till January, 1919.
On December 7. 1895. in the state of Montana, Mr. Scott was united
in marriage with Miss Clara M. McKoin, a native of Helena, Mont., and a
graduate of the Helena High School. Her parents were pioneers of Oregon
and Montana, being engaged in ranching and stock-raising. This union has
been blessed with two children: Rena, a graduate of Kerman High School;
and Doris, who graduated from Fresno High School.
Fraternally, Judge Scott is a member of Judith Lodge, No. 30, Knights
of Pythias, at Lewistown. Mont., and in political matters supports the Demo-
cratic ticket. Judge Scott has won a host of friends by his just decisions, is
a highly esteemed and progressive citizen and always gives his aid to the
advancement of all movements for the betterment of the community.
ROBERT E. CARPENTER. — A man who has become posted in en-
gineering and mechanics, is Robert E. Carpenter, whose wife is the represen-
tative of an old pioneer family of California. He was really christened Robert
Edward, and was born in Brownell. Ness County, Kans.. on April 5. 1888. the
son of Reuben T. Carpenter, a native of Towa. The father came to Kansas
when a young man, and homesteaded in Ness County, where he was one of
the early settlers. He followed farming and stock-raising there, and in time
became a successful man. In December, 1918. he retired to Great Bend,
Kans., where he now resides. Mrs. Carpenter was Clara Van Winkle before
her marriage, and her grandfather crossed the plains in early days to Califor-
nia, but returned East again. She died when Robert, who was the oldest of
three children, was about six years of age. He has a brother. E. V. Carpenter,
an electrician for the Standard Oil Company of California.
Robert's childhood was passed on his father's farm until he was sixteen
years of age, during which time he received the foundation for a good educa-
tion in the public schools of Kansas. Then he followed clerking in a store,
and later was employed in the pumping department of the Missouri Pacific
Railroad. From there he went to Denver, Colo., and while there he enlisted in
the United States Navy and in January, 1908. came west to Goat Island in
San Francisco Bay, where he remained until October, 1908. Then he sailed
on the cruiser California — the same vessel that was afterward called San
Diego and which last year went down off New York City. Thus serving his
country, Mr. Carpenter remained abroad for three years and two months,
during which time he became oiler. The cruise was very educational, for he
visited various important ports of Japan, the Philippines, New Guinea, and
South America.
In December, 1911. Mr. Carpenter received his honorable discharge at
San Francisco, and he liked the coast so well that he concluded to remain in
California. In January, 1912, he came to Bakersfield and the following June
entered the employ of the Standard Oil Company. His first position was in
the pipe-line department, and he was assigned immediately to the Mendota
Pumping Station, where he rose gradually to be an engineer. Having ac-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1729
quired a special knowledge of work with asbestos, he has given the company
satisfaction by doing all that was required in that field, and in the same ex-
pert manner as engineers aboard ship are accustomed to do.
At Fresno, on August 15, 1912, Mr. Carpenter was married to Miss
Wealthy Caruthers, a native of Caruthers, Fresno County, and the daughter
of William A., the famous founder of the town called after him. He was a
doughtv soldier in the Civil War and he and his wife both died at Caruthers.
They had four children, two of whom are living, one being in the United
States Navy. The youngest in the family, Mrs. Carpenter, was educated
in the public and high schools at Hanford. They have one child, a bright
daughter named Elsie Lucile.
A Democrat in national politics, Mr. Carpenter is ever ready to help good
local movements, irrespective of party. He is a member of the Eagles, and
is affiliated with the lodge at Fresno.
JACOB P. CHRISTIAN. — A progressive and able man, one who would
make a place for himself in any country, Jacob P. Christian has weathered
both prosperity and adversity in the confines of Fresno County, and is now
building his fortunes anew from the fertile soil of this section. He is a
native of Russia, born March 17, 1872, in Dinkel, on the Volga River, Samara,
a son of Phillip and Katie (Reinhardt) Christian, both of that country, and
there the father died, January 28, 1918; the mother is still living on the home
farm. They were the parents of nine children, two girls and seven boys,
of whom Jacob P. is the oldest of three brothers now living in America, the
others being Henry, of Fresno, and Carl, of Kutner Colony.
He was brought up on the home farm, and received his education in the
public schools of his native country and also in a special advanced school.
He remained at home until twenty-one, when he entered the Russian Army,
in 1894, in a cavalry regiment, entering training school in Poland ; in his
examinations he stood second highest out of forty-eight, received second
prize and was commissioned second lieutenant, advanced to first lieutenant,
and also made maps of maneuvers. He served five years, and received prizes
for horse-breaking and for shooting. Before he obtained his honorable dis-
charge, Mr. Christian had some difficulty with the military authorities be-
cause of his expose of the misappropriation of supplies by General Tomas-
chefski, who sold them and put the money in his own pocket. Instead of be-
ing protected for his honesty, the military powers shielded the general. The
result was that Mr. Christian made an appeal to the German Emperor, under
whose flag his forefathers had been reared, and through his influence he was
given a full release as a citizen of Russia and his discharge granted. While
this was being consummated he was a resident of Germanv for seven months,
during which time he decided he would seek a new field for his talents.
In December, 1898, therefore, Mr. Christian arrived in Fresno ; he spoke
German-Russian and Polish, and soon acquired a good knowledge of Eng-
lish. He engaged in ranching near Fresno, buying a 120-acre ranch from
Balfour-Guthrie Company, for $72 an acre ; of this property he sold 100 acres
to friends for $80 per acre, and improved the balance to vineyard and orchard,
and later sold it. He then engaged in grain-farming, leasing 640 acres of
the old Hyde ranch and 320 acres of the A. S. Kellogg ranch, part of which
was in alfalfa, and a dairy was also maintained on the ranch. Later, on
account of his wife's health, Mr. Christian sold out and located in Fresno,
where he bought a grocery store on Elm and California Avenues, which he
operated for sixteen months as the Elm Avenue Grocery Company ; at the
end of that period he sold out and engaged in real estate under the firm
name of the South Realty Company, and also became a notary public. He
continued in the realty business for about five years, and then bought back
the grocery, continuing under the old name from July, 1915, to May 14, 1916,
when he was burned out and lost all he had made in years. Nothing daunted,
1730 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
however, he again began ranching, purchasing twenty acres on Floyd Avenue
which he devoted to Thompson seedless grapes. He still is authorized to do
notary public work and conveyancing.
The marriage of Mr. Christian on July 24, 1899, in Fresno, united him
with Miss Katie Klamm, born in Russia, and a daughter of Jacob Klamm,
now living retired in Fresno ; she was brought to Fresno when thirteen
years of age, by her parents. To Mr. and Mrs. Christian seven children have
been born: Lizzie; Mollie ; Alex; Henry; Fred; Emelia ; and Lydia. They
attend the Free Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Mr. Christian is secretary
of the Brotherhood of German Churches in Fresno County and Dinuba, and
during the drives collected funds for the Red Cross, of which he is a life
member, and he was active in other patriotic work during the war. He is
a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and of the Califor-
nia Peach Growers, Inc. Progress and advancement have been his watch-
words, and, always a student, he is now putting in his spare time in the
study of law. Mr. Christian organized and started what is now the California
Post, published in Fresno, and was its president and director for several
years, when he resigned for lack of time to give to the publication. He is
well read and of keen vision, and has been an active, loyal Republican.
CHARLES HENRY CLIFFORD.— An efficient and popular official
who has amply demonstrated the possibility of not only conducting a public
trust to the satisfaction of the people, but of making a commercial success
of California husbandry, is Charles Henry Clifford, the constable for whom
his neighbors always have a good word, and for whose work as a viticul-
turist fellow ranchmen are full of admiration. He was born in Queen City,
Mo., September 13, 1864, and attended the. local schools at the same time that
he was reared on a farm. In 1883, he went to Warren, Mo., then to Lucas
County. Iowa, and in 1885 he went back to Missouri. In February of the
following year he took his team to Nebraska, and there he farmed in Lexing-
ton, Dawson County, in 1887 going on to Fort Robinson. He then returned
to Lexington in 1888, and the next year he bought a ranch of eighty acres in
that section and improved it, so that it had a good market value.
Attracted by the alluring accounts of opportunities in Central Cali-
fornia, Mr. Clifford, in 1894, came to Fresno County with his sisters and,
having secured a tract of forty acres, located here. Of this area he owns
twenty acres and his sisters own the other twenty. He has improved his
ranch by planting it to muscat and malaga vines, having five acres of the
latter; he has erected the necessary buildings and thus equipped himself for
active membership in the California Associated Raisin Company, with which
he is proud to be affiliated.
At Lexington, Nebr., in 1888, Mr. Clifford was married to Miss Sarah C.
Oldham, who was born in Mount Pleasant, Utah, and grew up to be a teacher
in Nebraska. Three children have come to brighten the Clifford home : Lulu,
a graduate of the Fresno State Normal, and a teacher in one of the Fresno
schools; Luther, who served his country in the World War until honorably
discharged, and who now has charge of his father's ranch; and Hazel, who
is also a graduate of Fresno State Normal, now principal of the Wolter's
School. It will thus be seen that the trend of the family is toward education
and, in fact, Mr. Clifford has given no less than six years of service as school
trustee in the Jefferson district.
Mr. Clifford has also served his fellow citizens in still another field of the
public service. In 1898 he was elected a constable of the second judicial town-
ship of Fresno County, and took the oath of office on January 7, 1899. He
was reelected in 1902, 1906, 1910, 1914 and in 1918, and has thus served in this
responsible position, requiring so much good judgment and fidelity, for the
past twenty years. He has proven one of the best constables Fresno County
ever had, and his face and figure, identified in the beginning with horseback
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1733
locomotion and later the more comfortable transportation by team, and now
by auto, have long been familiar to thousands. In national politics. Con-
stable Clifford is a Democrat, in former days being a delegate to county con-
ventions from his district, but in local affairs he applies in particular the vir-
tues of the Golden Rule and supports the best proposition and the cleanest
candidates. He is an Odd Fellow, and belongs to the Clovis Lodge.
WILLIAM S. LOCKIE. — An industrious and progressive raisin grower
who resides four miles north of Fowler on his well-improved ranch, is W. S.
Lockie, popularly called Will Lockie, the influential and far-sighted repre-
sentative of a notable Central California family sketched at greater length
in the interesting outline of his father's life given elsewhere in this work. He
helped to organize and is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Fowler;
and all who know him look upon him as a man of the strictest integrity.
Will Lockie is the fourth child of the late W. A. Lockie, widely known
in his time and highly respected as a prosperous pioneer rancher, and was
born in Solano County, Cal., May 7, 1874. He was a boy when the family
moved to Oregon, and was twelve years old when they migrated to Weather-
ford, Parker County, Texas, where they stayed for about seven and a half
years. They then came back to California and settled in the De Wolf school
district, and the son helped to plant the W. A. Lockie place of 180 acres,
as he also planted his own sixty acres, to trees and vines, now bearing fully.
Other improvements also were made, including a good residence, barns, etc.
At the age of twenty-nine, Mr. Lockie was married in Fowler to Miss
Fine Bradley, who died in 1912, leaving two children — Margaret, who is in
the high school at Fowler, and Keith, who is attending the grammar school.
Mr. Lockie was married a second time, in 1914, to Mrs. Alice (Donahue)
Whittican, who was born in Nevada. She had one child by her first union,
Bonnie Whittican, now attending school in the state of Virginia. Mr. and
Mrs. Lockie took an active interest in such commendable work as that of
the Liberty Loan drives, Red Cross and other war activities during the
World War. They belong to the Christian Church at Fowler. Mr. Lockie is
a Republican in matters of national political import, but is one of the first
to support heartily, without partisanship, any good movement for local up-
lift. He believes that just as the citizen gives close and intelligent attention
to local problems, so will the nation as a whole be soundly organized and
developed.
JOHN LEE SCOGGINS.— A successful viticulturist who, after ex-
tensive investigation, finds the soil and climate in Empire most suitable to
raisin-growing, and also a native son who is greatly interested in California
history, is J. L. Scoggins, who was born in Colusa, Cal., on October 6, 1866.
His father, A. J. Scoggins, was born in Alabama, and when two years old
was taken by his parents to Tennessee where he was reared. Grandfather
Scoggins had an honorable part as a soldier in the Mexican War, and A. J.,
who inherited the same intrepid spirit, crossed the great plains in 1853 to
California and settled in Yolo County, where he was a farmer. His first wife
died there, and in 1856 he returned east and in Tennessee married Rebecca
Ann Cleeke, a native of that state. With his wife, Mr. Scoggins, in 1857,
started to cross the plains, but having stopped to winter in Arkansas he did
not reach California until the following year. He made his way again to
Yolo County, and soon bought a farm near Colusa, in Colusa County, and
there became a large landowner, widely known as a grain-farmer and stock-
man. In 1875 he removed to Sonoma County, but after a year took up his
residence, in January, 1877, in Tulare, now Kings County, where he engaged
in farming. He bought railroad lands and improved them, but in the fall of
1883 he removed to Texas. Four years later he returned to California and
busied himself as a viticulturist at Dinuba, in Tulare County, and there he
died. A daughter by the first marriage died in Tulare, and Mrs. Scoggins
1734 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
also passed away there, the mother of four boys and three girls, all of whom
are now living save one son.
The fifth eldest in the family, J. L. Scoggins. was brought up in Tulare
and Kings Counties and there attended the public schools, meanwhile learn-
ing grain-farming. He continued home until he was eighteen, when he went
to work on a ranch in the employ of Ed. Giddings. During a service of ten
years he was made foreman, and then he engaged with A. \V. Clark of
Messrs. Clark & Kennedy, the grain-farmers and stockmen of Dinuba. He
was with them eighteen years, and became superintendent of their stock-
raising.
During this time Mr. Scoggins improved a forty-acre vineyard at Dinuba,
which he set out to Thompson seedless and muscat grapes ; and five years ago
he quit the service of Clark & Kennedy to manage his own place. In 1916
he sold his holding and bought his' present ranch on Thompson Avenue.
Fresno County. This was a tract of forty acres in the California Bank sec-
tion, and only fourteen acres were set out with Thompson grapes; and in
1917 he set out sixteen acres more. He provided irrigation from the ditch,
sunk a well and put in a pumping-plant, and since then he has been improving
his property in many w^ays. until it is now one of the finest ranches of its
size in the locality.
On 'Washington's Birthday, 1917, Mr. Scoggins was married at Fresno
to Mrs. Emily K. (McKinsey) Liggett, a native of Columbus, Kans., and the
daughter of Samuel McKinsey. He was born in Indiana, and during the
Civil War served in an Indiana regiment known as Wilder's Scouts. He
moved to Columbus, Kans., became a farmer and died in Kansas. He had
married Anna Rash, a native of Indiana ; and she came to Fresno in 1900 and
resided here until she died, twelve years later. She was the mother of three
children, and among these Mrs. Scoggins was the second oldest. Her first
marriage occurred in San Francisco, when she became the wife of Harry Lig-
gett, who represented the New York Life Insurance Company, and who died
in Nevada in 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Scoggins attend the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and are greatly interested in all good works that make for the uplift
of the community, and he is a member of the California Associated Raisin
Company.
FINNEY MILLER HART.— An hospitable old gentleman who was one
of the first settlers in the Dakota Colony and has certainly "improved his
talent," to use Scriptural phraseology, for he has improved the land he ac-
quired and made of it a nice farm, is Finney Miller Hart, who came to the
Kerman district in the fall of 1909. He was born in Camden. Preble County,
Ohio, on March 20. 1847, the son of Silas Hart, also a native of Ohio, who was
a farmer there. Silas Hart became an Argonaut, for he came to California
as"a sailor in 1849, sailing around Cape Horn, and he was seeking his fortune
in the mines for six years. His oldest son John joined him two or three years
later, and afterward removed to Washington, where he died. Silas Hart re-
turned to Ohio, where he passed away. His wife was Hannah Slinger, a
native of Ohio, and she died in the Buckeye State. She was the mother of
seven boys and two girls; and four boys are now living.
Tile second youngest of these, F. M., was brought up in Ohio and there
attended the public schools. From a boy he learned farming, but when he
was eighteen he enlisted in the United States Arm}' and served until after
the war. On attaining his twenty-second year, he came to Missouri and
farmed for a year in Daviess County, and then he went to Marion. Linn
County, Iowa, where he bought a farm. This he improved and operated,
and then he removed to Cherokee County, Kans.. where he bought 200 acres.
He also came to own another strip of 127 acres, and still another block of
forty acres. He raised corn and hogs, added to the region's wealth, and
gained both prosperity and experience for himself.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1/35
Having spent three winters in Los Angeles, he liked California so well
that he decided to settle here, so in 1909 he sold out and came to Fresno
County. He bought in the Dakota Colony some sixty acres of land covered
with weeds, but by hard work he leveled and checked it for alfalfa and set out
a peach and an apricot orchard. He also established a high-grade dairy. Of
late he has been setting out a small Thompson seedless vineyard. These
valuable improvements have greatly added to the attraction, not only of the
property owned by Mr. Hart, but of the neighborhood in general. On fan-
uary 31, 1919, he sold off thirty acres on the west end, but still retains thirty
acres.
In Linn County, Iowa, Mr. Hart and Miss Celia Wright were married
and began what promised to be the happiest of mated lives. She was a native
of that section, but she died there. Her blessed heritage was four children:
Charles, who died in Denver; Rosalinda, who,,is Mrs. Penn and resides in
Eastern Colorado ; Clarence, a rancher in this district ; and Walter, also a
rancher here.
Mr. Hart belongs to the California Peach Growers, Inc., and vigorously
supports its cooperative work ; and in civic duties he follows the great prin-
ciples for which the Democratic party stands.
FRED O. GARDINER. — Among the educators of the state few names
are more prominently associated with the advancement of business educa-
tion in the San Joaquin Valley and the state of California than that of Fred
O. Gardiner, owner and proprietor of Heald's Business College of Fresno.
Mr. Gardiner was born in Dallas County. Iowa, January 25, 1872, a son of
J. O. and Emily (Tovey) Gardiner. The father was of Scotch-Irish and the
mother was of English descent. They were honest and industrious farmer
folk, always doing the best they could to better the conditions in their
locality.
Fred O. passed the early days of his boyhood on the home farm, but
as he has no natural inclination to follow agricultural lines, little of his
effort was spent in the performance of home duties. His one thought was to
prepare himself for the world of business, and having learned telegraphy
when a lad of ten or twelve years of age, he filled a position as operator
on the Rock Island route in Iowa. It was during this time that he recognized
his exceptional ability as a penman, a recognition which may be taken as
the turning point in his business career, for it took him from commercial
life and placed him in the educational field. His school advantages had been
only what he could obtain in the country school in the vicinity of his birth-
place. In order to perfect himself in the art of penmanship he "took a special
course in Highland Park College at Des Moines, Iowa, this was followed
by a general course in Lincoln Normal University at Lincoln, Nebr., from
which he was graduated in 1894 with the degree of Master of Accounts.
The following year Mr. Gardiner came to California and soon afterwards
began his educational career as an associate with Heald-Dixon Business Col-
lege of Oakland and San Francisco, in which he had a financial interest for
two years. Selling out his interest in 1896, Mr. Gardiner went to Stockton
wrhere he accepted a position as a teacher in the commercial department of
the Stockton Business College, which he filled with great credit to himself
and much benefit to the college and students. He held this position for eight
years, when he purchased the entire control of the institution in 1904. Two
years later, in 1906, he sold out his interest to Mr. Heald and then became
resident manager of the college. In 1905 he became half owner of the Dixon
Business College at Stockton. He was one of the founders of the Heald chain
of colleges in 1906, and was secretary of the chain, with his offices in San
Francisco, giving it his entire time till 1915, when he sold his interests and
came to Fresno in 1915 as owner of Heald's Business College at Fresno,
which institution he has had much to do from its origin, building it up to
its present high standard among the business colleges of the state.
1736 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Heald's Fresno College was established in 1894. In 1906, Mr. Gardiner,
as representative of Heald's chain of business colleges, bought it and an-
other college here and consolidated them as Heald's Fresno College. It is
now the largest commercial college in Interior California, and the second
largest in the state, numbering thousands of graduates in its alumni, many
of whom are now successfully engaged in business in the Valley. It has a
daily attendance of 300 and specializes in bookkeeping, shorthand and office
training.
Mr. Gardiner is interested in horticulture, specializing in growing
Smyrna figs. He is the owner of a 100-acre fig orchard located in a cove
above Clovis. He is very enthusiastic for the future success of the fig indus-
try in Fresno County, as well as for the county's prosperity in all lines,
and has determined to set his stake here and make it his permanent home
and the scene of his future operations.
The marriage of Fred O. Gardiner and Miss Josephine Mylotte took
place on December 25, 1898. Mrs. Gardiner is a daughter of Judge J. A.
Mylotte of San Francisco, where she was born. Three children blessed this
happy marriage : lone, Jean, and Frances. Mr. Gardiner was bereft of
his wife in January, 1918. Fraternally, Professor Gardiner is a member of
the Masons, the Odd Fellows, and the Woodmen of the World. He belongs
to the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Merchants Asso-
ciation. Mr. Gardiner's gift as an expert penman has given him a national
reputation. He is prominent in the profession and well known throughout
the United States as a teacher of bookkeeping and penmanship. Professor
Gardiner has a pleasing personality and has always been popular with his
pupils, a bond which has been a large factor in his success as an instructor.
HENRY F. MARTIN.— An enterprising Californian, who has been a
factor in* the development of Fresno for the past thirty-two years, is Henry
F. Martin, the pioneer house-mover of Fresno County, and one of the
best known men in his line in the state. He was born in Dekalb County, Ga.,
January 24, 1860, and when a lad of ten he was taken to Eastern Texas,
where he remained five years. He then moved into the western part, and
busied himself in farming and stock-raising. He was known as a far-seeing,
hard-working man, and his success, therefore, is not surprising.
During the boom year of 1887, Mr. Martin arrived in Fresno, where he
was first employed in grading Tulare Street from H to Van Ness Avenue.
After that he was employed by the Fresno Water Company, and then for the
Owens House-Moving Company. At the end of six months he rented their
equipment and ran it for two years. Then he bought the outfit and has ever
since been in the house-moving and reconstruction work in Fresno and the
San Joaquin Valley.
House-moving has passed through three periods: First, the old windlass
turned by horse-power, the house moving on wooden rollers — a tedious proc-
ess. Later, trucks were put under the house and ten to thirty horses were
used to pull it along. Finally, the present method is by the tractor caterpillar
engine. Mr. Martin has successively used these three equipments in Fresno
County and elsewhere in the San Joaquin Valley, operating from Merced to
Bakersfield.
One of his "big jobs" was the moving of the St. Mary's Sisters' Hospital
in Bakersfield, a three-story building requiring unusual caution and equip-
ment. In Monterey he removed all the old buildings before the main street
was graded. His present equipment includes a seventy-five horse-power Holt
caterpillar tractor of the latest design. In early days ropes were used but
now only steel cables are employed. In October, 1916, he raised the concrete
count v bridge of two thousand tons across Kings River, east of Sanger. This
had settled, and needed to be jacked up and permanently braced. There is
hardly a street in Fresno on which he has not moved a house. He also cleared
<s
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1739
houses from the sites of many of the large buildings, among which are the
old Hawthorne School, the Fresno Post Office, the Union Savings Bank
Building, the Parker-Lyon Building, the Patterson Building, the National
Bank Building, the Farmers Bank Building, the Fresno High School, and
the Santa Fe Depot.
At one time Mr. Martin owned, improved and managed a ranch of eighty
acres west of Fresno, where he had an orchard and also planted alfalfa. He
has acquired valuable real estate in Fresno and owns a block of houses on
Thesta and Valeria Streets, besides other valuable property. The two-story
house in which he lives at 201 Thesta Street has quite an interesting history.
He bought a ranch house, cut it into two parts and moved them six miles
to Fresno. There he jacked it up and built an addditional story underneath.
He has made a speciality of reconstructing houses, and has become an expert
in that line.
While in Weatherford, Texas, Mr. Martin was married on September 7,
1882, to Sarah Freeman of Murray County, Ga., by whom he had five chil-
dren: Barney A., superintending the house-moving department of the busi-
ness for the past ten years ; William A., a druggist at Madera ; Oscar A., with
the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation, at Fresno ; Harriett N., of
Oakland ; and Linnie, wife of C. R. Russell of Fresno.
Mr. Martin belongs to the Odd Fellows, the Woodmen of the World,
the Stags, the American Yeoman and the Fraternal Brotherhood. He has
always shown a live interest in civic afrairs, and was a member of the City
Council for four vears under Mayor Rowell's administration, representing
the Fifth Ward.
JOSEPH A. T. PETERSON.— A Wisconsin boy with unusually inter-
esting historic connections through marriage, who has made good in Fresno
County where, for the past seventeen years, he has devoted his whole time
to the boring of wells, is Joseph A. T. Peterson, who first came to Selma
in the great boom year of 1887. His father, John P. Peterson, was born in
Sweden, and so was his mother, who was Mary Charlotte Carlson before
her marriage. Five children were born to this worthy couple: Joseph, of this
sketch, and his brother Charles J. A., with their parents, constituted the fam-
ily which came from Sweden to the United States in 1866. Two girls were
born and died in Sweden, and Samuel G. was born in Wisconsin. Three
sons, therefore, grew up and all are living. Charles J. A. Peterson is in
Selma, and Samuel G., another well-borer, lives at Fowler. Charles was the
first of the family to come to California, leaving Nebraska, where he was
going to school, early in the spring of 1886.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 14, 1864, Joseph was a baby
in his mother's arms when he came to America. He obtained most of his
schooling in Door County, Wis. He came to Selma, on June 15, 1887, or
four months before his parents, and went to work on a farm. Soon after, he
engaged with D. B. Stephens, the famous well-borer at Selma, from whom
he learned that intricate and difficult business, and he bought out Stephens'
rig after the latter was accidentally killed in a train accident at Selma in
1892. He followed the well-boring business exclusively for nearly twenty
years, and in 1900 bought his first ranch. Since then he has bought, sold
and improved several pieces of valuable property.
Although so well-known as a borer of wells, Mr. Peterson has given
most of his time to ranching for the past eighteen years, and he now owns
two ranches two miles south of Selma, on the South McCall Road, which he
leases. One of these is the old Dr. McClelland ranch of 120 acres, an old
landmark and show-place, with the first large vineyard planted south of the
town, and this grand old site will provide the future home of the family. He
has another twenty-acre vineyard and alfalfa ranch just across the road.
1740 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In 1910, Mr. Peterson sold his well-boring rig to his brother Samuel at
Fowler.
The following year, on November 8. 1911, he was married to Miss La
Vinnie Boone, a lineal descendant of the immortal Daniel Boone of Ken-
tucky. She was born and reared in Missouri, and at Kirksville in that state
attended the Normal School. Her father, Joseph Boone, was born in Ohio,
but died near Kirksville, where he owned a farm twenty years ago ; her
mother, whose maiden name was Phoebe Miller, was a native of Indianapolis,
Ind., and is still living at Kirksville. Of a family of twelve children, nine
girls and three boys, Mrs. Peterson was the ninth child. Her choosing Cali-
fornia was a bit romantic. She had come here on a visit to a sister, and while
here had met and responded to the overtures of Mr. Peterson.
Mr. Peterson is ever ready to lend support to any movement making
for the uplift of the community. He is a member of the California Associated
Raisin Company and was connected with the former organizations. He is
a man of superior foresight and judgment, and so proves valuable as a
counsellor. Personally, he is of that cordial and sympathetic temperament
which is sure at all times to attract the stranger and to hold the friend. He
is just the kind of timber of which great commonwealths must be built, and
of 'which Central California is proud. He saw the first raisins that were
stemmed in Fresno, done by horsepower; also the first vineyards of any
size to be set out; and he has witnessed the transformation of sand hills,
grain-fields and hog-wallows into the most productive of ranches.
FRED P. ROULLARD. — From a horticultural as well as an agricul-
tural standpoint, perhaps no county in the State of California stands higher
than that of Fresno, whose citizenship not only comprises native sons but
claims a large quota from many other states, who have brought with them,
for the benefit of the Pacific commonwealth, more or less of the combined
scientific and technical experience and attainment of the nation. Prominent
among such Californians by adoption must be mentioned Fred P. Roullard,
the well-known and justly popular County Commissioner of Horticulture,
who was born at Eaton, Colo., on November 25, 1884. His father was Joel
Roullard. a successful rancher of Fresno County, who came to California in
1909 and settled on a ranch near Clovis, where he still lives. His wife was
Elizabeth Lyman before her marriage.
Fred attended the common and high schools of Colorado, and later the
Agricultural College at Fort Collins, in the same state, and then studied at
the State University of Idaho, where he specialized in chemistry, plant
biology and entomology, at the same time becoming active in the Beta Theta
Pi fraternity. His thoroughness and accuracy in those sciences soon secured
him a lucrative position with the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, where he
remained for two years as chemist, when he resigned to avail himself of a
more advantageous position as chemist with the Great Western Sugar Com-
pany, located at Eaton, Colo. He remained with that company until 1909
when he again resigned, this time to follow his father to Fresno County and
to settle here.
He engaged in viticulture and agriculture with his father near Clovis.
and during this time conducted lectures and laboratory work at the grammar
school in horticulture, entomology and general agriculture. He also took the
examination before the State Board of Horticulture Commissioners, and
among all the applicants in that competition, received the highest honors.
On September 8, 1914. Mr. Roullard was appointed by the. board of
supervisors commissioner of horticulture for Fresno County; and to such an
extent has his preparedness in different lines of general agriculture and
horticulture, soil chemistry and plant history enabled him to carry on the
affairs of his office with signal ability and to the entire satisfaction of every-
body, that each time since then he has been reappointed to succeed himself.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1741
Mr. Roullard was also appointed by the directors of the Fresno County
Fair Association supervisor of agricultural and horticultural products for
their district fair, a position to which he has given much time the last three
years, bringing into play his long study and experience in that line, and so
raising the standard of the Department each year that he has received favor-
able comment not only from the Association, but from the public in general.
To show how eminently satisfactory has been his research in the line of his
profession, it is only necessary to state that in 1917 Mr. Roullard was induced
by the Fresno Republican to accept the editorship of their Agricultural De-
partment, a feature he put new life into with the zeal characteristic of his
other undertakings.
Mr. Roullard has also been a liberal contributor of articles suggested by
his professional work to other journals and magazines, and he has rendered
valuable service in inducing the County Board of Education to cooperate
with him in localizing agriculture and teaching the rudiments in the schools.
He is the author of illustrated lectures and has outlined a course for schools
in agriculture especially referring to insects, plant diseases and animal pests
and their control. This is now outlined in a supplement to the manual of pub-
lic schools for Fresno County, and was adopted by the Board of Education in
June, 1918. He is also the author of "Insect Pests and Diseases of Interest to
"the Horticulturists of Fresno County," which is well illustrated.
Mr. Roullard has a most complete laboratory for the carrying out of his
work of investigation in microscopy, as well as the analysing and testing of
fruits, and a very complete cabinet of specimens in entomology. This scien-
tific status, combined with a winning personality making him approachable
and valuable for leadership and cooperation have been recognized, and as an
active member of the State Association of County Horticultural Commission-
ers, he is serving as Vice-President.
At Clovis, on July 21, 1915, Mr. Roullard was married to Miss Ruth
Naden, a native of Nebraska who was reared in Fresno County ; and he and
his able helpmate reside at their cosy home at 1240 North Van Ness Avenue,
Fresno, where a generous and typically Californian hospitality is dispensed.
Mr. Roullard is an energetic and influential member of the Fresno Cham-
ber of Commerce, well-known and highly esteemed both within and without
that wide-awake and powerful body.
Commissioner Roullard gives evidence of the faith that is in him concern-
ing the future and the bright prospects of Fresno County by having purchased
and improved an orchard of twenty acres near Clovis, which he has planted
to figs and made a neat and instructive "show place" to all interested in fig-
culture.
R. L. PRICE. — Three-fourths of a mile north from Sanger, nestling
amid flowers and shrubbery, with a background of orange trees to enhance
the beauty of the scene, the whole presenting a picture long and delightfully
to be remembered, stands a bungalow surrounded by a fine group of ranch
buildings, each designed for a particular purpose, and each so well equipped
that it fulfils its purpose admirably. Around this home are twenty-seven
acres of highly-productive land, devoted principally to fruit. Ten of the
twenty-seven acres are disconnected from the tract on which the dwelling
stands. In this charming home, surrounded by the comforts and many of
the luxuries of life, dwell Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Price who, by industry, thrift
and economy, have built up for themselves a reputation that far excels in
value houses or lands.
R. L. Price was born in Kentucky, in 1857, and is the son of George W.
and Kate (Felts) Price, who had four children, two of whom found their
way to California, the subject of this review and his brother, Joel F. R. L.
was reared in Kentucky, completed high school in Texas in 1905, in which
state he grew up until he came to the Golden State.
1742 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
When he purchased his California land, it was only wheat field, and he
paid just fifty-five dollars an acre for it. That same year, however, the land
advanced in price, and some ranches near sold at from sixty to sixty-five dol-
lars an acre. His acreage was quite unimproved ; so that its higher productive
capacity was due largely to the clearing and cultivating that he himself,
with the sweat of his brow, gave it. He at once settled on his little ranch,
and set to work resolutely to build for himself a home worthy of the future;
for he had confidence that a few years would produce great changes for the
better in Central California.
In 1888, at the height of the boom in land, he married his helpmate and
inspiration in the great pioneering before him, Miss Anna Browning,
daughter of Underwood Browning, who became the mother of two children.
Lawrence L. and George U. Lawrence enlisted in November, 1917, for the
great world war, serving in France in the United States Aviation Section.
He was honorably discharged in March. 1919.
Mr. Price is a member of the Presbyterian Church and both himself and
family are active therein and are highly esteemed in the community. He is
also a member of the Red Men at Sanger. Mrs. Price is prominent in the
Red Cross, Dorcas and Missionary Society.
JAMES FRANKLIN LOCKIE.— Another worthy representative of the
Lockie family, honorably identified with the pioneer development of Central
California, is James Franklin Lockie (usually called Frank Lockie) the
youngest son of the late W. A. Lockie, whose life story appears elsewhere
in this work. He owns forty choice acres, and is today one of the prosperous
ranchers in this section, all the result of the industry and thrift exercised in
the eighteen years since he purchased his estate.
He was born in Lake County, Ore., on September 21, 1872, and he was
ten years old when he went with his parents to Texas. There, near Weather-
ford, beginning as a boy and continuing seven years, he assisted his father at
farming, and then he returned to California, in 1889. and settled here, still
helping his father. He thus had a part in developing the great Lockie ranch
where he early contributed something definite toward advancing California
husbandry and in so doing added much to his own experience.
On October 20, 1901. Mr. Lockie was married at Fowler to Miss Lula
Lillian Hearte, a woman of exalted Christian character, who was born at
Weatherford and attended the public schools of Texas, and California ; for
she came to the Golden State as a girl of twelve years. She also became the
youngest charter member of the Fowler Baptist Church, while her mother.
Mrs. Lydia Hearte, now deceased, was the oldest charter member. Her father
was William Melbourne Hearte, a native of Pennsylvania who came to Texas
and married there. He engaged in general merchandizing at Weatherford,
and died aged about seventy. He was twice married, and by his first wife had
seven children who were all grown and married before he married a second
time. Mrs. Lockie's mother, who was Mrs. Hearte's second wife, was born in
Texas and belonged to the first generation of Texas girls; she also was mar-
ried twice. Her first husband was a Mr. Nash, and their one child died in
infancy. By Mr. Hearte she had four children: Mary, who is the wife of T.
S. Lockie. the rancher at Winton ; and Lula Lillian, who is Mrs. J. F. Lockie.
The other two children died in infancy. Mrs. Lockie passed the first twelve
years of her life in Texas, and then came north with her mother to Fowler.
Her sister. Mary Ella, was the first of the family to come out here, having met
and married T. S. Lockie in Texas. But Mr. Lockie had remained in Texas
and farmed for several years after his father, W. A. Lockie. and the rest of the
familv had returned to California.
As bride and groom, Mr. and Mrs. Lockie came here right after their
marriage and made their first purchase of twenty acres, upon which he built
his residence and home. The second twenty acres they bought in 1906. By
hard, intelligent work Mr. Lockie has added the necessary barns and other
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1745
outbuildings and has planted to trees and vines ; and their union has been
blessed with the birth of four children : Clarence Franklin, a freshman in the
Fowler high school ; Elsie May, attending the grammar school ; and William
Melbourne and Edith Lucile They are members of the Baptist Church in
Fowler, of which Mr. Lockie is a trustee, while Mrs. Lockie is a teacher in
the Sunday School. He is a Republican, of the broad and thoroughly patriotic
sort ; he loyally supported the administration of President Wilson, and both
he and his good -wife were patrons of the Red Cross and participants in other
war work.
Mrs. Lydia A. Hearte, Mrs. Lockie's mother, passed away at the Lockie
home on April 23, 1918, aged seventy-nine, having celebrated her last birth-
day only on the fifteenth of the preceding month. She was an honorary mem-
ber of the Missionary Society of the Baptist Church at Fowler, and was a
woman of exemplary Christian character. By unanimous vote, the members
of that church resolved to observe Saturday, March 15, 1919, the anniver-
sary of her birth, in commemorating her life, and on that sacred occasion
they met together and decorated her grave with flowers, thus bearing testimony
to their love for her and their esteem for her noble character.
Mrs. Lockie is recognized as a woman of the same Christian attributes.
As the baby of the family, she was never separated from her mother, during
all the long life of the latter, for more than seven and a half months. Thus
her recollections of the departed are delightful and inspiring.
ERIK ADOLFSON.— There must be an affinity between the Swedish
and Fresno County, for all who have located here have given a good account
of themselves, and one of the notable examples is Erik Adolfson. He was
born in Narke, Oerebrolan, Sweden, September 11, 1857. His father, Adolf
Anderson, was a farmer in his native country, and came to America, in
1883, with his family and settled in Red River Valley, Minn., where he im-
proved a farm, and still resides, now over ninety years of age. His mother,
who was Maria Johnson, was also born in Sweden and is yet living, at the
age of over ninety-two years. There were eight children in the family, seven
of whom are living, and Erik is the second oldest.
Erik Adolfson remained in Sweden until he was twenty years old, was
educated in the public schools and in the meantime learned farming. In
1877 he came to join a sister who had come to America in 1876, and located
in •Ishpeming, Mich., a great iron-mining community. Here he was em-
ployed in the iron mines for five years, and became a contractor to get out
ore. In 1881 he went to Minnesota and located a homestead in Red Lake
County, and the next year moved on it, improved it, proved up on it, and
made it his home for twenty-six years, where he was engaged in grain and
stock-raising.
In 1904, Mr. Adolfson made a trip to California, bought seventy acres
in Vinland Colony, and two years later located on it. He built a residence
and began to improve his place and takes great pride in the fact that he has
planted all the vines and trees that now adorn his home place. He first
set out an orchard, planted a vineyard and sowed alfalfa. He now has seven
acres in Thompson seedless, an orchard of twenty acres of peaches and
apricots, and the balance in pasture and alfalfa. When he first settled on this
place it was a grain field, but he plowed, checked and leveled it himself, and
has seen the development into a very valuable piece of property, a satisfac-
tion that only those can appreciate who. like him, love *to produce from the
soil. He has a small dairy and it, like everything else on his place, is up-to-
date. When the Skaggs bridge was built across the San Joaquin River, Mr.
Adolfson helped to build it, working as a foreman from the start until it
was completed. He also furnished the gravel for the bridge. About the
time the bridge was commenced he sold his farm in Minnesota, thereby sever-
ing all ties with that state.
1746 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mr. Adolfson was married in Michigan to Miss Johanna Soderman, also
a native of Sweden. They have eight children: Hada Alicia, now Mrs. Jerry
Long, of Kerman ; Ellen Thyresa, at home; August Selim, an assistant of
his father; Martin, who served in Battery B, Sixty-second Division, Heavy
Artillery, as a musician, sixteen months, part of the time overseas; Edith;
Henning and Levinus, both farmers in the home vicinity; and Titus, in Ker-
man High.
While in Minnesota, Mr. Adolfson was a school trustee and clerk of
the board, and he is now a member of the Union High School Board at
Kerman. He is a member of the Lutheran Church in Vinland, is a trustee
and chairman of the board, and he helped to organize the church. He has a
musical temperament and plays both the organ and piano. In Minnesota he
was the church organist, and for ten years has occupied that position in the
local church. His children inherit his musical taste and lend their aid in song
in their community. He is a member of the California Associated Raisin
Company, a stockholder in the Kerman Creamery, and helped in the initial
steps of the Kerman Telephone Company. Mr. Adolfson is a valuable man in
his section, kind and liberal, progressive in every particular, and with his
family, enjoys the esteem and good will of the community.
ROBERT C. BROWN.— Among the representatives of American man-
hood who are filling meritorious position with, and are well rewarded by
the Standard Oil Company, none is more justly popular with the workmen
whose interests he so conscientiously studies than Robert C. Brown, the effi-
cient foreman of the Mendota Pumping Station. Fie was born in Fort Lara-
mie, Wyo., on February 12, 1878, the son of Dr. T. V. Brown, a native of
Marbach, Wurtemberg, Germany. The grandfather was a physician and sur-
geon, and as ship-surgeon sailed in the Transatlantic trade. He traveled be-
tween Hamburg and New York, and died aboard ship when T. V. was only
a lad of. fourteen. The boy landed in New York and for a time lived with a
French family. He found that he had a cousin named Eminger, who was an
assistant to the Secretary of War ; and having sought him out and enlisted
his sympathetic cooperation, he received a good education and in time be-
came a graduate in medicine with the degree of M. D.
When the Civil War broke out, Eminger joined the Southern Confed-
eracy, but Dr. T. V. Brown remained true to the cause of the Union. He
served in the hospital department during the entire war, and it was his
privilege to have been with President Lincoln on some of his visits to the
front, and he became a great admirer of the heroic President. He continued
in the army and in 1890 came to the Presidio in San Francisco, where he lived
for four years, until he w-as retired. Then he was made superintendent of the
German Hospital in San Francisco, and. remained there another four years,
when he resigned.
It had been Dr. Brown's hobby to engage in the poultry business, so he
started a poultry ranch at San Leandro, which he ran for a time, or until his
extravagance in the menu he provided for his fowls compelled him to quit.
Then he engaged in the drug business in Saratoga, Santa Clara County, for
a time; but selling out, he purchased the Red Cross Pharmacy in San Jose.
and there he did so well that he continued until his death on February 12,
1914. He was a well-read man, had a retentive memory, and was a good con-
versationalist; and possessing a fine personality, he was often sought as a
speaker for special occasions in societies, clubs and schools.
By the marriage of Dr. Brown and Mrs. Pauline Lauk. a native of Stutt-
gart, Germany, five children were born : Gertrude, in San Jose ; Robert C. of
this review; Eddie, deceased; Eleanor, an employe of the San Francisco
branch of the United States Pension Bureau until it was abolished, and now
bookkeeper and assistant superintendent of Fabiola Hospital, Oakland ; and
Theodore V., a prominent pharmacist in San Jose, and a member of the state
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1747
legislature during the session of 1917, and served in the assembly. By a former
marriage of Dr. Brown he was the father of a daughter, Margaret, now Mrs.
William Minck, and the mother of one son, William B., who served over-seas
in the 363d Infantry, and who there met death bravely in the great cause
for which the United States and her Allies warred ; while on guard duty in
the trenches, on October 4, 1918, he was shot through the head and killed.
When only twelve years of age Robert Brown came to San Francisco
from Fort Bayard, N. M., and since then he has become a typical western
man. He was educated in the public schools of the Bay City, and at the San
Francisco Polytechnic, and later followed various lines of work, including
apprentice to surgical instrument manufacturer, electrical business, and the
sale of general merchandise, and manufacturing. Then he came to Turlock
during the building of the Turlock Ditch, on which he was employed, and so
had something to do with the development of that part of the State.
In 1902, Mr. Brown began his service for the Standard Oil Company on
the construction of the pipe-line from Bakersfield to the Bay; and when, in
1903, the line was completed, he worked as fireman. Then, in 1905, he was
made engineer, later assistant chief engineer, and then chief engineer. In
1907 he came to the Mendota Pumping Station as Assistant Engineer, and in
1911 he was appointed Chief Engineer and is serving as Station Foreman.
For some years, therefore, Mr. Brown has been in charge of the building up
of this place, and there one finds a well-housed group of employes for whose
personal comfort and welfare he is ever solicitous. The station is one of the
largest on the line, because it gets oil from Coalinga as well as from Bakers-
field ; and along the pipe-line Mr. Brown is the oldest official in years as well
as in service on the line.
On March 23, 1914, Mr. Brown was married at Fresno to Miss Leveian
Eleanor Moore, a native of Portland, Ore., and the daughter of Samuel and
Caroline (Howard) Moore, natives of Ohio and Oregon respectively. Grand-
father Moore is now the oldest pioneer living in Lane County, Ore., and Mrs.
Brown's parents both reside in Oregon. Mrs. Brown is a member of the
Pythian Sisters and the L. O. T. M. Mr. and Mrs. Brown had a son, Robert
V., who died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown own a ranch of forty acres seven miles south of
Mendota Pumping Station, and they also own land at Bloomfield, Cal., and
160 acres nine miles west of the pumping-station. This place Mrs. Brown
homesteaded, and they now hold a Government deed to the land. Mr. Brown,
who is a Republican, is a delegate to the Pine Flat Irrigation project, and is
also interested in oil development in other fields, and is a stockholder in the
Midway Visalia Oil Company. He is a trustee of the Tranquillity Union
High School Board, and is clerk of the board. Like his good wife, he is pub-
lic-spirited and endeavors to advance the interests of Fresno County.
JOHN W. SMITH. — An enterprising and progressive California mer-
chant, who had the honor of having erected the first store-building at Biola,
and whose wife was the first postmaster in that place and served with excep-
tional ability and to everybody's satisfaction until the office was discontinued,
was Tohn W. Smith, who first came to California in the early nineties. He
was born at Danville, in the good old state of Virginia, on April 5,1868, the son
of Levi W. Smith, a native of Maryland. Josiah Smith, the grandfather, was
a Marylander, but he removed to Virginia with his family and there became
a planter. Levi W. Smith was a wheelwright, and he ran a carriage and
wagon factory ; he was also an undertaker and made coffins. He served in the
Civil War and he continued business at Danville. He married Martha Coan,
also born in Virginia. These good parents had three boys, and John W. was
second in order of birth.
John W. Smkh attended the public schools and when fourteen began to
paddle his own canoe. He went to North Carolina with an uncle, Thomas
Smith, a farmer, and for two years was a guard in the State Prison at Raleigh.
1748 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
He resigned, and became a salesman for a wholesale tobacco house, for which
he traveled through North Carolina. Railroads were few, and the salesman
was expected to make the deliveries, usually by teams. At the end of two
years, in 1892, he came to Minnesota; then in a few months to Missouri; and
in 1893 to California.
Having spent the summer at Bakersfield, with Miller & Lux. Mr. Smith
came in the fall to Fresno and here at once engaged in farming on the West
Side. In partnership with Walter Caruthers, he leased the Jeff James place
and ran 2,000 acres, using several teams, large out-headers and threshers ; but
the dry years and poor crops set them back in what otherwise would have been
a very successful venture, and after two years, they dissolved the partnership.
Mr. Smith then went to Paso de Robles and farmed on the Estrella Plains,
raising grain; and he engaged in cattle-growing at Parkfield. on the county
line, running from three to four hundred head. When he sold out, he remov-
ed to San Joaquin County and at Escalon bought a ranch, engaging in dairy-
ing, and raising stock and alfalfa. In December. 1913, he sold out and located
at Biola, when the railroad had just been completed. He built the first store
there, which was the first structure except a small cottage and real estate
office ; and he put in a stock of general merchandise, and here he continued in
business up to the time of his recent accidental death.
At Paso de Robles, in 1902, Mr. Smith was married to Mrs. Mary
(Freeman) Fanset, a native of that beautiful town and the daughter of J. L.
Freeman, a pioneer there. By her first marriage she had four children : Elmer ;
Carl, a partner in the business with his mother; Annie, deceased; and Belle.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith had two children : Allan, who is a graduate of the Ker-
man High School, and assists his mother ; and Coan.
Mr. Smith was always a public-spirited man, and in San Joaquin County
he served for years as a school trustee. Mr. Smith passed away on January
26, 1919, meeting death in an automobile accident, since which time Mrs.
Smith and her son, Carl Fanset, conduct the business.
ANTON NIELSEN. — A worthy and prosperous rancher, Anton Nielsen
has been a resident of Fresno County since January 6, 1890, and during
twenty years out of the twenty-nine he has resided in the vicinity of Reedley.
He is a native of Denmark, where he was born in Jaaland, June 18. 1870, a
son of Niels and Dorthe Nielsen, who were the parents of six children, An-
ton, the subject of this sketch, being the youngest and the only one of the
family residing in the United States.
On January 6, 1890, Anton Nielsen became a resident of Fresno County.
As soon as he was able to do so, he became a property owner, realizing he
had found an ideal spot for a home and to become independent. His ranch
is only one-half mile from Reedley and is devoted to the production of raisin
grapes (muscat and Thompson seedless), peaches, and some alfalfa. The
ranch formerly consisted of eighty acres, forty of which were grain land,
but set to muscats and Thompson seedless by Mr. Nielsen. He sold one-half
and the portion he retained is highly improved and extremely productive,
made so by good management and hard work. Mr. Nielsen is well known for
his uprightness of character and honesty of purpose in all of his business
relations with his fellow men. He believes in using up-to-date methods in
the cultivation and propagation of his products and is regarded as a success-
ful viticulturist. In 19l9 he erected a modern home with all conveniences,
at a cost of about $9,000.
On December 16, 1902, Anton Nielsen was united in marriage with Miss
Augusta Rasmussen, who also is a native of Denmark, where she first saw
the light of day in Jaaland on July 7, 1884. Thev became the parents of five
children: Edith R.. Anton M., Dorothy M.. J. Verner and Clara M. Mr.
and Mrs. Nielsen are highly respected in the community where they reside.
Mr. Nielsen's successful career as a rancher, which has been attained bv
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1751
persistent effort and strict economy, and in which he has been ably assisted
by his good wife, is worthy of emulation by the younger generation. Mr.
Nielsen has been a strong advocate of cooperation among the fruit-growers
and is a stockholder in the California Peach Growers, Inc., and the Cali-
fornia Associated Raisin Company. In politics he is a Democrat in national
affairs. The family attends the Danish Lutheran Church. After being in
California eleven years, Mr. Nielsen went back to visit the scenes of his
youth, but returned to the land of his adoption more than ever satisfied with
his selection of a home.
BERTRAND W. GEARHART.— A native son of California, born in
Fresno, May 31, 1890, Bertrand W. Gearhart is a son of J. W. and Mamie
(Johnson) Gearhart, of whom mention is made on another page of this his-
tory. B. W. Gearhart was educated in the grammar and high schools of his
native city, after which he attended the University of Southern California
Law School, from which institution he was graduated in June, 1914, receiv-
ing the degree of LL.B. He had matriculated at the University in September,
1910, and pursued the regularly prescribed law course, but contrary to the
usual ways of the university law students, he won his admission to the
bar of the state one year before his graduation. He took and successfully
passed the regular bar examination and was admitted to practice July 21,
1913. After his graduation from the university he became associated with
Short and Sutherland, of Fresno, in the practice of his profession and con-
tinued with that firm until he received the appointment as a deputy in the
office of the district attorney of Fresno County.
When the call came for volunteers in the great World War, just ended,
Mr. Gearhart gave up his duties and entered the Second Officer's Training
Camp at the Presidio, in San Francisco and on November 27, 1917. he re-
ceived his commission as a lieutenant. He served through his enlistment
with distinction and honor and for six months saw active service in France
as the commanding officer of the Six Hundred Ninth Aero Squadron. He
was in the army eighteen months in all. He sailed from Bordeaux, France,
January 28, 1919, and was honorably discharged at Garden City, N. Y., on
March 4, of that year, and arrived home on the ninth of that month. He
found his position awaiting his arrival and he immediately doffed his uniform
and went back to his desk and his books.
Mr. Gearhart is a Republican in politics. Fraternally he is a member of
the Elks, Native Sons, and Woodmen of the World ; he also belongs to the
University Club and Surinyside Country Club. He is deeply interested in the
development and progress of Fresno County and his ability and forceful
virility will no doubt be telling factors in its growth.
CLAYTON F. DRAPER.— As banker and justice of the peace of Kings-
burg, Clayton F. Draper was born on the old Draper farm in the Franklin
school district, and attended that district school, while he grew up on the
farm. F. A. Draper, his father, was a large wheat raiser and the lad came to
have a general grain-farmer's experience. His mother was, in maidenhood,
Florence M. Livermore. As a high school boy, he rode his bicycle to the
school at Selma, and being athletic, he became a bicycle racer. He carried off
the cycling pennant, and was active in all kinds of athletics. He played on
the football team as quarter-back, and helped for several years to win the
pennant in a chain including Fresno, Bakersfield and other towns in the Val-
ley. Finally he was graduated from the Selma Union High School with the
Class of '01, popularly known as "The Naughty Ones."
An uncle, John W. Livermore, was a pioneer rancher and wheat grower
near Kingsburg, and during vacations, Clayton kept busy with him driving
a number of his father's horses. Later he engaged with A. M. McKean at
threshing, and his next venture was at the Coalinga oil fields, where he was
a tool dresser.
1752 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
While he was still in the high school, Air. Draper was asked by D. S.
Snodgrass, now deceased, to accept a clerkship in the First National Bank of
Selma, of which he was president, but he was then working with Mr. Mc-
Kean's threshing crew under an arrangement whereby he was to receive
seventy-five cents per day extra if he would stay to the end of the season.
Mr. Snodgrass, learning of this, allowed him to stay out his entire time,
and then he began as a clerk in the First National Rank at Selma until the
First National Bank of Kingsburg was organized, and he opened the first set
of books there. Mr. Draper and A. T. Lindgren. the present cashier worked
there together in 1904. After continuing for some time with the latter organi-
zation, Mr. Draper came to the Kingsburg Commercial and Savings Bank on
August 15, 1915, as assistant cashier. He served as treasurer of the Red Cross
on the various drives for war purposes, also had charge of the issuing of li-
censes for the sale of explosives. He was a member of the County Council of
Defense and the Exemption Board in Fresno County.
Mr. Draper is a member of the Republican State Central Committee, is a
personal friend of Senator Hiram Johnson, and served on the entertainment
committee when, as governor. Mr. Johnson visited Kingsburg. He was ap-
pointed Justice of the Peace to fill a vacancy in August. 1915; and in 1018 he
was elected to the same post. He is a notarv public, and has been city treas-
urer ever since Kingsburg was incorporated.
In August, 1907, at Fowler, Cal.. Mr. Draper was married to Miss
Blanche Bonoeil, a daughter of J. B. Bonoeil. a pioneer rancher, and they have
one daughter. Pauline F. Mr. Draper is Past Master of Traver Lodere, No.
294, F. & A. M., at Kingsburg, and also belongs to the Eastern Star of which
he is Past Patron : also belongs to the Woodmen of the World and the Inde-
pendent Order of Foresters.
It was in 1904 that a well-printed, but modest little value. "An Auto-
biography of Elias Johnson Draper. A Pioneer of California, containing some
thrilling incidents relative to crossing the plains by ox-team, and some very
interesting particulars of life in California in the early davs," was issued from
the office of the Fresno Evening Democrat, and placed on sale. In giving
these chatty reminiscences to the public, Mr. Draper performed a truly pa-
triotic service.
He tells of his boyhood days in Indiana, back in the thirties, and of his
growing up there and beginning as a carpenter, when wages were thirty-seven
and a half cents a dav. No wonder, then, that the return of early gold-miners
and others from California began to convince Elias that he was making scant
progress, and that if he, too, wished to get rich quickly, he would better hie
himself to this Coast. His voung wife, despite her parents' misgivings, agreed
to accompany him to the Promised Land, and having disposed of their little
property, the young couple started off on horseback, with their infant boy in
arms, (in the first stretch of the journey. Elias was instructed to inquire for
letters at St. Louis telling him of the location of a brother; Elias traveled by
sleds, railroad and inland streams to St. Louis, then on to Louisville and, get-
ting no mail, finally had to continue to Lexington, when the desired-for mes-
sage was received, saying that Brother George was still 200 miles away, and
to leave his wife, buy a horse and come to him !
In this way Draper continues his narrative of sickness by the way. with
no place to lay one's head — partly due to the sparse population, partly to fear
by the few settlers of the honest}' of strangers or the possible malignant
character of their maladies ; and he tells of danger from highway robbers,
sharpers willing to fleece those fitting out and then disposed to try bulldozing
tactics, and the picturesque role of the Freemason, who bobs up at the right
moment to aid the unfortunates recognized as fellow-Masons. He was enter-
tained by a slaveholder, and was astonished to hear him say grace at table
and thus give evidence that lie was a Christian, lie had to ford streams, at
great risk to himself and his cattle, and they encountered such a cloudburst,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1753
-with thunder and lightning, that the hail almost stunned the pilot boy, and
cattle and wagons were soon swimming about. Hard drinking and other fruits
of the unbridled saloon was the order of the day, and crime followed in its
wake and made still more unsafe such a journey. Exorbitant rates were
charged for ferrying cattle and wagons across the streams, and one had to
submit, even almost to bankruptcy, or travel for miles to another ford, or pat-
ronize less dependable transports. Thieving, drunken and quarrelsome In-
dians also menaced their paths and required sharp turning, and wild prairie
fires, the result of carelessness in dropping fire on the grass, was one of the
risks for which they themselves were responsible. Buffalo, too, shaking the
earth with their heavy tread, and stirring up clouds of dust hiding them
eventually from view, added to the excitement of the hour. Sometimes the
problem of helping themselves across a turbulent stream, whose depth was un-
known, was so serious that nothing was to be done but to remove the body
of a wagon from the axle and wheels, and caulk it so as to make a kind of
scow in which to float across, and even then they would be carried far down
the river.
Of course there were diversions, but they were due rather to the
triumphant qualities of the human being and the natural tendency of the
American toward humor. On the third of July, at a summit on the Rocky
Mountains, they found plenty of ice ten or twelve inches under the soil, and
on "the glorious Fourth" the women put on their white dresses, and they all
marched in military stvle. beating on an old tin bucket for a drum. Some
hare was also bagged and there was a steaming potpie for the feast. Not long
after, however, even death threatened them from the action of some mis-
chievous boys who had climbed up on ton of a high hill, turned loose a large
rock which came down among the cattle, causing a general stamoede, and
all but catching two men, through being interfered with by trees, and so
protected. Another redeeming bit of humor was the imposition of a two-hour
sermon on Mormonism, by a Mormon who wished to convert them, and who
insisted on that privilege in return for rendering them some aid in pointing
the way to green pastures further up the mountain, where he delivered his
harangue. Many anecdotes are given of rough border life, cowardly assassina-
tion, lynch law and summary trials and dispensing of justice, together with
shyster maneuvers by unprincipled lawyers to get their clients free, or to
hoodwink the latter out of all they had.
Finally, after all these dangers, together with exposures to wild animals
including the grizzly that often cut into their trail and traveled even between
their wagons, Elias Draper and his party arrived at Stockton on October 3,
1853, having been on the road six months. He had worn out his shoes away
back in the mountains, and arrived in the Golden State barefoot! He took an
old saddle skirt and cut out two sandals, and tied them to his feet, and thus
saved himself from being snagged.
WILLIAM DOHERTY.— An honest, upright and good-natured old Cal-
ifornian, of genial hospitality, is William Doherty, who sowed the first alfalfa
in Kings County. He was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, on April 25. 1852,
the son of George Doherty who was also born there and came of a family
originally called O'Doherty. He was married there to Margaret O'Hara,
a native of the region, and they had six children. When William was still
a baby, in the fall of 1852, the parents crossed the ocean to the United States
— an.d it was then that Mr. O'Doherty dropped the O' from his name — and
settled at Great Barrington, Mass., where he was a fanner; but in 1856 they
moved west to Madison, Wis. There the mother died in 1857, leaving eight
children ; whereupon the father moved to Kansas and settled on Walnut
Creek, sixty miles west of St. Joseph. In I860 he crossed the great plains
with his family, traveling by ox teams and wagon up the Platte River ; and
on the way he and his party were attacked by Sioux Indians. The train had
1754 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
forty-six fighting men, and when they were surrounded by Indians, the
wagons were used as corrals, and they fought the savages for thirty-six hours.
At last, '* Buffalo Bill" and a company of United States cavalry came to the
rescue, and the Indians fled. The Indians used bows and arrows; William
Doherty and his sister moulded bullets for the riflemen.
Arriving in California without any further mishap, the family settled
in the San Joaquin Valley, where George Doherty farmed Wallace Kerrick's
place. Then the father bought a ranch on Mormon Slough, but in the fall
of 1863 sold out and located in Stanislaus County, near what is now Modesto.
He built a house and was the pioneer farmer in the region between Stanislaus
and Tuolumne Rivers. He had 320 acres which he operated until he died, in
1883, at the age of eighty-four. The mother had died in Wisconsin ; and of the
eight children, five are still living. The oldest girl, Fannie, acted as mother
to the rest of the children until she was married in 1864.
The third youngest in the order of birth, William was for a while in Kan-
sas and then he crossed the plains to California, where he grew up on a farm,
attended school and remained home until his seventeenth year. Then he be-
gan to farm on his own hook on the west side of Stanislaus County, near
what is now Westley and after that he and his brother-in-law, Monroe Gar-
ner, took up land west of Grayson, plowed the raw land with eight-horse
teams, and raised grain. William took up an option on three sections of rail-
road land, improved a part by planting to grain, and succeeded well enough
to clear up all that was necessary to pay for the entire outfit. This included
two six-horse and two eight-horse teams, a header wagon and thresher ; for
the land he paid $1.25 an acre, and had about $8,000 left. The two drv vears,
1870-71. plunged him $5,000 in debt ; but in 1872 he put 2,000 acres into grain,
cleaned up sufficient to enable him to pay all he owed, and then had $10,000
over.
Selling out, William and his brother Robert removed to Kings County
where they took up homesteads and bought five sections of railroad land.
They went in for grain raising, and met with success; Robert is still on the
place, and William continued there until 1901, when he sold out to his brother
all he owned there except 160 acres ; and then he came to Fresno County.
He bought 1,200 acres on Little Dry Creek, in old Auberry Valley and went
in for stock-raising, farming and the wood business. In 1914 he traded that
property for his present place of eighty acres on McKinley Avenue, in the
Barstow district, ten miles from Fresno. He devotes this to a vineyard of
about thirty-seven acres of Thompson seedless, nine acres Feherzagos, and
a peach orchard of ten acres, and the balance in alfalfa, the whole forming
a fine place. He makes his residence at 327 Coast Avenue, Fresno, where he
has built a comfortable home. He still has 160 acres of alfalfa land at Han-
ford, and eighty acres on Little Dry Creek. He owns, too, 140 acres in the
sinks of Huron, which he rents out. He belongs to the California Associated
Raisin Company and California Peach Growers, Inc.
While at Visalia Mr. Doherty was married to Miss Annie Jessie Evans,
who was born near Madison, Wis., and came to California in 1870 with her
parents ; four children have blessed the union : Edna is Mrs. Garner and
resides in Clovis ; Margaret has become Mrs. Gibbons of Hanford ; Eva is
Mrs. Spears, of Fresno ; and William J. He was educated in the Fresno High
School and Heald's Business College and held a position in the First Na-
tional Bank until he began to assist his father on the ranch. He enlisted in
the United States Army, served with the Ninety-first Division until mustered
out at San Francisco, May, 1919. He is now on the ranch and married to
Ethel Gatewood.
When not giving his time to the social life of the Independent Order
of Foresters, of which he is a member. William Doherty takes part in the
councils of the Democratic party, having been a delagate to both county and
state conventions. He has served on the grand jury, and for two terms was
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1757
school trustee in Kings County as well as in Fresno County, where he was
trustee in the Auberry district.
At the time that Mr. Doherty sowed the first alfalfa in Kings County,
he paid fifty cents a pound for the seed. He and his brother and Perry C.
Phillips built the Lake Side ditch, which was the first ditch for irrigating in
Kings County. The Doherty brothers were the first farmers near Hanford.
Mr. Doherty has traveled much through California, and is well-posted
on early days and historical old landmarks. He is also familiar with the
wonders and beauties of California mountains and valleys. He spent four
years in Death Valley, prospecting for nitrate of soda, and found valuable
deposits. In fact, he was so lucky, that he also succeeded in selling the find
to an English syndicate ; but his partners could not be induced to sell out at
the time and they lost out. In the basin, 261 feet below sea-level he found a
vast ledge of rock salt, four miles wide and fifteen miles long; while in the
south-west corner of Death Valley is a range of what appears like a gravel
hill. On close inspection, however, one sees that the gravel forms only a
veneer from six to eight feet thick, and that the balance underneath is solid
rock salt.
JOHN HARRISON DUFF.— To have helped in the building up of a
community and to continue a worker for its further development and prog-
ress, entitles a man to a place in the annals of the county, the advancement
of which as a whole depends upon the success of the settlements within its
boundaries. Such an upbuilder is J. H. Duff, one of the contributors to
Reedley's growth and expansion into an important adjunct to the prosperity
of Fresno County. A native of West Virginia, he was born near Charleston,
July 20, 1863, the son of Dr. John H. and Margaret (Allen) Duff, of Scotland
and Virginia, respectively. Stonewall Jackson was a first cousin to Dr. John
H. Duff, their mothers being Harrison sisters ; it is on record that many a
fight was had between the two young fellows because Jackson would call
Dr. Duff a Black Abolitionist, their family all being Republicans. Dr. Duff
and his wife were the parents of fourteen children, thirteen of whom grew
to maturity and are engaged in the useful occupation of teaching, with the
exception of one son, Robert, who is an extensive farmer, and John Harrison
of this review, likewise engaged in agricultural pursuits. Among the grand-
children there are three doctors, two lawyers, and many business and com-
mercial men. The family moved from Virginia to Johnson County, 111., where
they took up land, which is still in the family, and resided in that state for
a number of years, then removed to Ohio, and finally returned to what is
now ^Yest Virginia and here bought 1,400 acres of Government land, in
Jackson County, which they improved and here the parents died, the father
at sixty-seven years of age and the mother at eighty-six.
In 1888, John Harrison Duff took up his residence in Indiana, in which
state, in 1891, he was joined in marriage with Miss Rebecca A. Heath, a
daughter of Harvey and Armenta (Finley) Heath, and a native qf Indiana.
Of this union one son, Robert C, was born, April 12, 1895, whose demise
occurred on November 30, 1916 ; the mother passed away October 26, 1906.
Their son, Robert C, was a graduate of the Reedley grammar school, com-
pleted the high school course also, and graduated from the Central Business
College in Los Angeles, where he died.
Mr. Duff migrated from Indiana to California in 1901, and settled in
Reedley, on his present ranch. He later purchased 160 acres of land, which
he put under cultivation, divided into small tracts and sold; and with others
bought 300 acres, named it the Peck Colony, and sold to settlers. His home
ranch was devoted to the production of peaches, but he supplanted them with
white Adriatic figs during 1919. He has a large and well constructed home
which, with its modern improvements and pleasant surroundings, adds to the
enjovment of life. During his younger days Mr. Duff traveled through many
1758 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
states, and after his marriage he and his wife continued traveling so that
he has the distinction of having traveled in every state of the Union but
four, and has been out of the United States four times into Mexico and
Canada. A man of foresight and progressive ideas, he has been a booster
for all cooperative associations to help the ranchers, and belongs to the Cali-
fornia Associated Raisin Company and to the California Peach Growers
Association. He has also been a liberal supporter of all projects to aid the
Government in the prosecution of the World War.
While a resident of West Virginia, Mr. Duff was a member of the board
of education in Washington township, Jackson County, and also served as
deputy marshal under George W. Atkinson, later governor of the state. Since
settling in Fresno County he has sought no public office, but has been ready
at all times to aid in promoting the best interests of his section, which he
foresaw was destined to grow into a prosperous agricultural district. Among
other business interests, Mr. Duff is a charter member and stockholder in the
Reedley National Bank.
ISAAC DOSSEY MORRISON.— A well-known man in the develop-
ment of the raisin industry, who has very naturally come to be a leader—
partly through the inheritance of ability, and partly through his own develop-
ment, by foresight and hard work — in helping to determine the agricultural
future of the Golden State, is Isaac Dossey Morrison, the wide-awake and
popular managing superintendent of the Kingsburg branch of the California
Associated Raisin Company, the leading shipping-plant of the town. His
father, the late Ezra D. Morrison, was a Kingsburg pioneer and one of the
first successful raisin growers. He moved to the vicinity of Kingsburg with
his family from Stockton in the fall of 1880, and at the time of his 'death, in
1898, he was sixty-five years old. and was one of the honored pioneers of
both Fresno County and the state, while he was pleasantly remembered in
the East as a consistent and active member of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church. He owned an excellent ranch of 160 acres northeast of Kingsburg.
forty acres of which were in vines, ten acres in orchard, thirty acres in alfalfa
and the balance in grain.
He was born at Portland, Me. He started for California in 1849, but
stopped at numerous places for two or three years, and came across the
Isthmus in company with his brother-in-law in the fall of 1852. They had to
lie by at Panama for quite a while, waiting their turn to take a steamship to
San Francisco, and so great was the rush of travel that they were offered a
premium of $250 for their turn to embark, but they pressed on to San Fran-
cisco, arriving there almost destitute, and Ezra Morrison traded his pocket-
knife for his first meal. Then he went on to the gold diggings on the Ameri-
can River and mined there ; and having struck success and made a stake, he
returned to Stockton, where he engaged in grain-farming and stock-raising.
He soon became a large operator, farming from 250 to 400 acres to wheat;
and he helped build the Mariposa Road from Stockton via Collegeville to
Escalon. Then he formed a partnership with Joseph Leighton, Isaac's uncle ;
and the}' went to San Luis Obispo County and bought ten mares which were
mustangs or Spanish ponies for breeding purposes, and bred these to stallions
of the "Copper Bottom" breed and these were soon widely recognized as
among the most successful breeders of that excellent strain.
Ezra Morrison had married Miss Laura Anna Dossey. a native of In-
diana, then of Dossey Meadows, a fertile section back in the mountains
named after her father, James Dossey, who was one of California's pioneers,
and one of the best-known of California sheepmen. He had moved from
Indiana to Missouri, and from Missouri to New Orleans, La., where he em-
barked for San Francisco by ship via Cape Horn, and arrived in the bay
city in pioneer days. They had five children, among whom were Charles
Yuba and Cynthia Eunice, twins, and Harold E. Morrison. An infant, Tohnny,
died in his third month.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1759
Isaac Dossey Morrison was born at Stockton, on November 6, 1874,
and grew up on his father's extensive grain and stock ranch, where he went
to work driving horses, plowing and handling horses while he was a mere
boy. At fifteen he drove four and six horses on header wagons, and helped
to harvest and thresh wheat and other grain. And with his parents he came
to Kingsburg in 1880, finishing the grammar schools here. He early became
interested in vineyards and raisin-growing, and now he owns and operates
a fine raisin ranch near Kingsburg, in addition to his main employment at
that city.
He became actively interested in the welfare of the Raisin Growers at
Kingsburg who organized several years ago, a company of farmers owning
their plant; and he took charge as field man in 1916, and on April 19, 1918,
became the managing superintendent of Plant No. 9 of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company, when they took over the Kingsburg plant and busi-
ness. The raisins are stemmed here and then shipped to Fresno, where they
are processed and then put up in cartons for the market ; and so important
has the industry become for the town and locality, that over 7,000 tons were
handled at Kingsburg in 1918, while 1919's output is bound to show a large
increase.
Mr. Morrison was married to Miss Louisa Edith Paulson at Kingsburg
on October 25, 1899; and now the well-mated couple reside in a beautiful
home at the corner of A and Lewis Streets, where they dispense a heartv hos-
pitality. They are both active members of, and attendants at the Methodist
Episcopal Church, in which Mr. Morrison is the organist ; for his father's
people were all musical and he inherited that gift to such an extent that he
has become an accomplished violinist and organist. Four children share this
church life with their parents : Pearl, Eunice, Hugh and Carroll. The latter
was born the day before Christmas, 1917.
Mr. Morrison is a Mason and a member of the Kingsburg Lodge, No.
294, F. & A. M. In national politics, he is a Republican.
JOHN A. ARMSTRONG.— Not every resident in California has such an
interesting record of development and building to their credit as lohn A. Arm-
strong, the successful farmer and stockman of Auberry Valley, who came to
California in the middle eighties and not only did much teaming in former
days, but built various sections of highway, including an important stretch of
the toll road recent.lv constructed. He was born in Illinois, near DuOuoin,
on February 15, 1857, the son of William Stewart Armstrong, also a native
of that state. His father was a native of Kentucky, who came as a pioneer
to Illinois and built the first mill in that vicinity for the grinding of corn-
meal, using for power the energy supplied through oxen treading. William
Armstrong was a farmer and stock-raiser, who died near his home when
about fifty years of age. His wife also died there, the mother of five children
■ — four girls and a boy.
Brought up on a farm in Illinois, John attended the public school of the
neighborhood until he was sixteen years old, or about the time that both of
his parents died. Then he struck out for himself, working here and there on
farms, and in 1880 going to Texas, where, in the vicinity of Weatherford,
he was in the employ of the Texas Pacific Railroad.
In 1884 he came to California and settled for a while at Merced where,
for a couple of years, he was employed on a ranch. Then he leased a ranch,
and in the boom year of 1887 located in Auberry Valley, where he preempted
160 acres and also homesteaded the same sized tract. Later he bought his
present place and engaged in the raising of hay and stock. He sold hav to
teamsters, and he himself freighted for twenty years. With eight and ten-
horse teams he hauled between Pine Ridge and Fresno. With the proceeds
of his enterprise he bought 880 acres in a body — thirty-five miles from Fresno ;
1760 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and as the timber had been all cut. he quit teaming. He visited a dozen little
mills, and made a trip every week or ten days.
Now Mr. Armstrong is engaged in raising grain and hay, and also in
breeding cattle and hogs. His farm is fenced and cross-fenced, and he has
many improvements, with a large capacity for irrigation. His cattle brand
is a circle, with a dot inside ; and there is no more honored member of
the State Association of Cattle Men.
While in Fresno Mr. Armstrong was married to Miss Frances Elston,
a native of Missouri, by whom he has had five children — Berdina, Philip G.,
Grace, Stewart and John. Mr. Armstrong' is a Republican in party politics,
and a long, hard-worker for the elevation of the ballot, and he has been a
consistent advocate of better schools and the best of educational advantages.
Tn his desire to help in such work in the most practical way, he has served
as clerk of the Big Sandy board of education for years.
M. S. McMURTRY, M. D. — Manifold and varied as are the lasting bene-
fits conferred on society by one profession alone, that of medical men and
women, and much as doctors have accomplished in the great early and later
pioneer work of building the magnificent commonwealth of California, it is
doubtful if the public today realizes what the splendidly trained, assiduous
and brave-hearted corps of physicians has done to make Central California
still more of an earthly paradise. Among this class of royal-blooded souls
none is more justly esteemed and popular than Dr. M. S. McMurtry, who
was born in Batesville, Ark., in 1880. the son of Dr. Milton McMurtry, a
native of Fulton, Mo. Having finished the usual collegiate studies. Milton
McMurtry graduated from the Missouri Medical School at St. Louis, receiv-
ing the degree of M. D., after which he went to Arkansas to practice. Later
he moved to Erin Springs, Okla., then to Purcell and still later to Oklahoma
City. It was in 1906 he located in Clovis, Cal., having in each place estab-
lished an enviable reputation for skill and intuition. Milton's father, Calvin
McMurtry. was a native of Kentucky, though of Scotch descent, and was for
some time the holder of a very responsible position in the United States
mail service.
The good wife of Dr. Milton McMurtry was Nellie Byers before her
marriage, and she was born at Batesville, Ark. Her father came from Phila-
delphia, and her mother from Boston ; and through their happv union she
received a very broadening culture. Both Dr. Milton and Mrs. McMurtrv
died at Clovis in 1916.
An only child, M. S. McMurtry came to Purcell in 1885 and there at-
tended school ; and with his father he made the race into Oklahoma and
located claims and lots. While his father continued his practice, the mother
and son lived on their claim. He also went to school in Batesville. and then
he entered the University of Oklahoma at Norman. He was there two vears,
when he matriculated at Westminster College, in Fulton, Mo. He graduated
in 1000. with the degree of Bachelor of Science.
Entering the University of Missouri, he attended courses in the medical
department at Columbia, and graduated in 1002 with the degree of M. D.
For two years he was an interne at Parker Memorial Hospital, and then he
began to practice in Oklahoma City, where he remained until the fall of 1004.
In that year he moved to California and located at Clovis; and here he re-
sumed his professional practice. Pie was soon an active member of the County
Medical Society of the San Joaquin Valley, the State Medical Societv and the
American Medical Association ; and having profited by postgraduate courses
at the New York Polyclinic and the New York Postgraduate College, his
learning and fitness were soon generally recognized, and he was made Health
Officer for Clovis and Deputy County Health Officer. PTe also became sur-
geon tn the Fresno Flume and Lumber Company, and local surgeon to the
HISTORY OF FRESNO 'COUNTY 1763
Southern Pacific. Taking up the general practice of medicine and surgery,
he is also surgeon in charge of the Clovis Sanatorium.
Dr. McMurtry's interests and activities are not confined to medical work
alone. With true scientific interest in all about him, he has gratified an am-
bition to have a practical part in the development of agriculture here, and
now owns a fine vineyard near Clovis. He also has ninety acres four miles
out of Clovis, sixty-five acres of which are devoted to Calimyrna fig culture.
To irrigate his land properly, and to render himself somewhat independent
in his ranch operations, Dr. McMurtry has installed his own pumping plant.
Amid the delightful environment of Clovis, the Doctor was married to
Lucretia Smith, a native of Selma, who was educated at Clovis and is the
daughter of A. P. Smith, the well-known rancher of Clovis. Two children
have blessed this marriage. Clayton and Kathleen. Dr. and Mrs. McMurtry
attend the Presbyterian Church, and the Doctor, who is indeed a prince
among fellows socially, is a member of the local Knights of Pythias, the Wood-
men of the World, and the Modern Woodmen of America. While at the Uni-
versity he was popular among the Ipsilon Beta Chi's, and this may be a cue
to his general popularity today.
CHARLES WILLIAMSON.— A rancher who is among the best-posted
viticulturists in California, and who has been of great service to others by
demonstrating the entire success of his advanced methods of planting, in-
grafting and fertilizing of vineyards, is Charles Williamson, who came to
Fresno in the early eighties and has more and more grown to be optimistic
regarding Central California and its wonderful future — an opinion of im-
portance as will be plain to everyone who knows Mr. Williamson's observing
powers. He was born at Unst, in the Shetland Islands, on June 1, 1863, the
grandson of a sturdy Scotchman who established a residence in which more
than one generation was born. Into this severely plain Presbyterian family
Henry Williamson, Charles' father, was also introduced, to grow up both a
fisherman and a farmer, and in time to marry Janet Isbister, a native of the
same section. In 1872, he crossed the ocean with his family to New Bruns-
wick, and located at Fredericton, where he was in the employ of the rail-
road. After a while he bought a farm, cleared and improved it. and there he
resided until, with his family, he joined the subject of our sketch in Fresno
County. He bought a ranch in Lone Star and, with the assistance of his
children, set out a vineyard ; and he still owns ten acres of this property.
Now, at the age of eighty-three, he resides in Ashland, Ore., his wife having
died in September, 1918. He was a familiar figure in Presbyterian circles,
and the honored father of six children, four of whom are still living: David
is in Lone Star ; Joan has become Mrs. William Lindsey, of Ashland, Ore. ;
Thomas lives at Fallon, Nev. ; and Charles is the well-known Socialist, well-
read, of retentive memory, an interesting conversationalist, and in every
reasonable respect, generously hospitable. Fortunate indeed is the man who
has the privilege of being entertained by him, and who is thus admitted to
the warmth and charm of his mind.
Until he was nine years old Charles spent his childhood in the Shetland
Islands, and then he sailed the briny deep, with his folks, finding a good
harbor in New Brunswick. For a while he attended school there ; but it
was his wide reading and private study, of his own initiative, in later years,
that enabled him to acquire his fund of information. His mother was a
wonderfully sensible woman whose delight was to instil helpful principles into
others, and from her companionship and example he profited in untold
measure.
In May. 1881. Mr. Williamson came to California and pitched his tent in
Fresno County. He had an uncle, Charles, who was at one time sheriff of
Storey Count)-, Nev., who had located in Fresno County, and to him he
came. For a year he worked on a small farm and in an orchard, then he
1764 HISTORY 'OF FRESNO COUNTY
obtained employment on a larger place, where he assisted in the care of the
stock Eor G. II. Maker, on what is now the Minnewawa vineyard. He ran
the first dairy on the place, and added some better ways of handling raw
materials for dairying and dairy products.
Still later, Mr. Williamson was engaged by A. B. Butler on his 500-acre
vineyard, and he came to superintend that important property before he was
twenty-one. Fourteen months later he quit and was then employed by the
Fresno Vineyard Company where he learned wine-making and distilling, and
acquired a knowledge of the winery business, and then he was offered
the superintendency of the Fresno Winery for the same company but he con-
cluded that, on account of the early training by and example of his mother, he
did not wish to continue his connection with the business. He therefore
took up the superintendency of different vineyards here and in Tulare
County; and near Visalia, for two years, he managed a ranch of 4,500 acres
— one of the best in California.
On his return to Fresno, Mr. Williamson started in to build up a business
for himself. He bought a ranch in Lone Star, and engaged in viticulture :
and he leased vineyards and there continued for four years. In 1897 he sold
out. and the following year bought his present place devoted to viticulture
and consisting originally of forty acres. He bought additional land, and
then sold part of his holding ; now he has twenty acres adjoining the Kutner
schoolhouse, eleven miles east of Fresno. These are set out to Thompson's
seedless grapes, and for years he has engaged in packing and shipping the
fruit of the vine.
In 1915. with his brother, David. Mr. Williamson went to Madera County
and bought 200 acres of land near Madera. The tract was an old. run-down
muscat vineyard ; but with the aid of his sons, Howard and Ward, he took
hold of it, superintended it himself, and, by proper irrigation and cultivation,
he succeeded in obtaining two such excellent crops that he had no difficulty,
in 1917. in disposing of the property at a big profit. His long experience had
shown Mr. Williamson what was the matter with the vineyard, and what
must be done to make it highly productive again.
In the fall of 1916, Mr. Williamson and his associates had one of the
worst drying seasons known ; and while most ranchmen lost their crops, he
saved their entire crop by applying his energetic method of handling.
Mr. Williamson is very active in all movements for the advancement of
the raisin industry, and in the recent work of the California Associated Raisin
Company. A loyal, broad-minded citizen, Mr. Williamson has for years
served as trustee and clerk of the Kutner school district.
HENRY FRIES.— A hard-working, reliable old-timer, who has im-
proved and developed many acres and has become a successful farmer, is
Henry Fries, who first came to Fresno in the early nineties. He was born in
Stepnoia. Samara. Russia, on January 27, 1856. the son of George Fries, a
farmer, and from a boy grew up to do farm work, while he attended the local
school.
When twenty-two. he was married to Miss Mary Katie Scheidt, a native
of that vicinity, and there began to farm for himself, and continued in agri-
cultural pursuits until he came to America. In 1891 he managed to reach Cin-
cinnati, and there he was employed until 1893, when he moved west to
California.
On December 6. Mr. Fries set foot in Fresno, and for two vears he
worked in the vineyards, learning the science of viticulture. Then he bought
six acres and a farm outfit, and rented land near Sanger, and for a year en-
gaged in the raising of grain. After that he leased some vineyards, and tried
viticulture; and at the end of three years, he bought the Grant vineyard of
160 acres. He devoted 100 acres to the vineyard, and raised raisins, and on
the balance of the land raised stock and had a dairv.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1765
This property was well situated twenty-two miles south of Fresno, on
the Laguna Grant and when he could, he bought twenty acres more of the
Grant, and 160 acres on the West Side. He had 200 acres on the Grant tract,
and set out ten acres in an orchard, and he also acquired 160 acres at Wheat-
ville, and 120 acres on the Coalinga road between Kerman and McMullen.
This he maintains as a stockfarm, which he rents out to others. He sold all
of his Grant land, however, except twenty acres.
In 1912 Mr. Fries retired and located in Fresno, where he built a hand-
some residence at the corner of C and Inyo Streets. Since then he has built
several residences and sold each of them at a good figure. He has traded
in lands, happy in his good judgment of present and future values in this
land of steadily-increasing prosperity.
Seven children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Fries. Henry ; George ;
Peter; Jacob; Katie is Mrs. Herstein; Mary is Mrs. Nielmeier; and Anna is
Mrs. Knaup. The family attend the Zion Lutheran Church of Fresno. Mr.
Fries is a Republican, but always an American particularly interested in
the community in which he lives.
L. B. FARMER. — As senior member of Farmer & Jacobsen, the well-
known real estate dealers, and also as a large fruit-raiser, L. B. Farmer is
doing his share in the development of Central California. His father, William
Kean Farmer, now deceased, was a well-fixed agriculturist of the Iron State,
who was born in Tennessee. The Civil War ruined him but with character-
istic British pluck — for his family was of English origin — and American en-
terprise, he persisted and once more became well-to-do. The mother was
Rachel Jane Amos before her marriage, and when twelve years old she
came to Missouri from Kentucky, where she was born. There she married,
reared a family of six boys and three girls, and is still living, maintaining
the old Farmer homestead and farm of 240 acres in Dade County, Mo.
Born near Lockwood in that county on September 25, 1873, the seventh
child in the family and the only one destined to come to the Golden State,
L. B. grew up on the farm and attended the public grammar school of the
neighborhood. He went farther, and graduated from the high school at Lock-
wood, a member of the Class of '95. After putting aside his school-books,
however, he did the very sensible thing of returning to the farm and topping
off his knowledge of agriculture.
In 1897, Mr. Farmer was married in Dade County to Miss Ella Dill, a
native of that region, and the daughter of J. H. and Rosa (Moore) Dill, both
of whom belong to the honor ranks of Missouri pioneer farmer folk. She,
too, had graduated from high school study, having pursued her courses at
Dayville, and no more promising helpmate could have been found.
After continuing to farm for a while, Mr. Farmer went to Lockwood and
there built a livery and sales barn ; he then formed a partnership with his
youngest brother, A. D. Farmer, for the purchasing and shipping to Kansas
City of selected horses and mules. Consignments were also made to St. Louis
and Memphis, and at the same time a good home market was created. It was
not long before the partners were busy buying for the Spanish-American and
the Boer Wars, and in that field of activity our subject continued until 1906
when he sold out to his brother, and turned his face farther westward. A
prime reason for his change was deference to the views of Mrs. Farmer, who
had begun to fix her interest on California, and to wish that she, too, were
among the thousands blessed by its favoring climate, resources and economic
conditions. Mrs. Farmer and her child had preceded him to the Coast, to spy
out the land, as it were, when Mr. Farmer, in December, 1906, arrived at
Selma, and both were delighted with the locality.
For the first four or five years Mr. Farmer engaged in various enter-
prises, and in each he demonstrated his exceptional fitness for whatever he
undertook. For three years he conducted the St. George Livery, and then
1766 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
was for a couple of years agent for the Standard Oil Company. Then he
embarked with E. S. Habler in the buying and selling of land, and in this
work he has been engaged ever since. They started at the corner of Second
and Front Streets, on what was then known as the Unger corner, and the
firm was known as Habler & Farmer. The fire of 1914 burned them out,
whereupon Habler took up ranching and Mr. Farmer continued in the real
estate business, moving over to the Rowell Block. He has owned, bought
and sold several farms, and is at present the owner of four ranches. Now
the firm consists of L. B. Farmer and H. J. Tacobsen ; their office is at 1919
High Street.
Mr. Farmer is signed up in the California Raisin Growers Association,
and is one of the boosters for Central California's prosperity. He has 120
acres devoted to grapes and as the possessor of four farms is well known as
a fruit-grower. He gives attention to every detail, believing that the mastery
of a subject is the only goal and that by individual perfection and success
the highest standard of a community is reached, and he thus sets an enviable
example of civic pride.
Mr. and Mrs. Farmer have one child, Bessie, who is a member of the
Class of '18 of the Selma High School, and everywhere a favorite as well as
the mainspring of life at the Farmer residence, 2004 High Street. The family
attends the Baptist Church of Selma and has participated in its various
activities.
GEORGE McKINLAY. — There are men to whom defeat is an unknown
quantity, opposition is swept aside, aggression is met with stubborn resis-
tance, and success finally crowns their determined efforts to win. This has
been the experience of George McKinlay, who was born in Scotland, on May
10, 1856, at Stirling. He is a son of James and Elizabeth (Morton) McKin-
lay, who were both natives of Scotland and were the parents of nine children,
George being the only member of the family in the United States. James
McKinlay was a merchant tailor who conducted an extensive business at
Stirling. George was reared in Scotland and is. a graduate of the high school
at Stirling.
On March 5, 1878, George McKinlay was united in marriage with Miss
Margaret Currie, a native of Scotland, and they had seven children: James,
who is married and has a son, James, Jr. ; George, who is married but has
no children ; Nancy, is Mrs. J. M. Macdonald, and the mother of three chil-
dren, Elizabeth, Ian and a baby; William is married but has no issue: Eliza-
beth, single ; Erick is married and has an infant daughter. These children are
all living and residents of California. Robert C. is deceased. The wife and
mother passed away in 1910.
George McKinlay immigrated to the United States and, with his family,
located on his present ranch in the Minkler district, Fresno County, Cal. At
that time the ranch contained but forty acres. Mr. McKinlay began to im-
prove the place and built a residence, also bought the necessary implements
for the operation of his ranch, but owing to the fact that his ranch would be
unable, for at least two years, to produce crops sufficiently large to support
his family, exclusive of other employment, he was obliged to move to Fresno,
where he operated a ladies' tailoring establishment which he conducted for
three years. Mr. McKinlay had learned the tailoring business in Scotland,
where he had conducted a ladies' tailoring shop. During the three years spent
in Fresno his crops had so increased in volume, and his bank account, too,
that he was able to return to his ranch with the full assurance that Mother
Earth would amply supply his wants. Since his return he has made exten-
sive improvements. His home is large and attractive and contains eleven
rooms, all elaborately furnished, having modern conveniences which include
hot and cold water and electricity. In 1917, Mr. McKinlay purchased twenty-
five acres more, which increases his ranch to sixty-five acres. It is a very
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1769
productive and profitable ranch and is planted to various kinds of grapes,
including the Emperor, Muscat, Sultana and Mission varieties. From a tract
of fifteen acres of Emperor grapes he received an average of $1,000.
Mr. McKinlay is a practical and systematic rancher and believes in using
up-to-date methods in viticulture, to which can be attributed his great suc-
cess in this enterprise. On an average he employs three men the year around
on his ranch. He has been a member of all the raisin associations since they
were started. His entire ranch is operated by gasoline motor power.
The second marriage of Mr. McKinlay was solemnized in 1911, when
he was united with Miss Effie A. Aitken, a native of Glasgow, Scotland.
HENRY PRETZER, SR.— A worthy representative of the foreign-born
resident of the State of California, one who is loyal in his support of all en-
terprises that have for their object the betterment of conditions in general
in the county of his adoption, is Henry Pretzer, St., a prosperous rancher
on Blythe Avenue, where he owns an eighty-acre ranch. He was born in the
province of Samara, Russia, November 18, 1859, a son of William and Katie
( Helmuth) Pretzer, farmers in their native Russia. The mother died in
1917, and the father makes his home with his son.
Henry was the oldest of six children and was brought up on his father's
farm, assisting with the work as soon as he was old enough. He was married
there to Katie Webber, likewise a native of that section. In 1888, with his
wife, he left the old country and came to America, settling for a year in
Yankton County, S. D., but he found the winter too cold and they again took
up their journey westward and arrived in Fresno County in 1889. Mr. Pret-
zer worked for two yeaTs, during which time he saved enough to buv a team
and wagon, then he bought twenty acres of land near Kerman and set out
vines, but found out that his water-right was not perfect, although he had
paid for it in good faith. He then left the place and bought twenty acres on
North Avenue, set it to vines, erected a house and outbuildings, and in two
years sold out at a profit. He next was a grain-raiser near Kingsburg for a
year, and, following that, leased a ranch on California Avenue and ran it
seven years.
In 1903 he bought the place that is his present home, a tract of eighty
acres on Blythe, between California and Church Avenues. This he has de-
veloped from its raw state to a fine alfalfa ranch. At first he had forty acres
in vines, but when the price of raisins went so low that it was no longer
profitable to raise grapes, he dug them out and put the ranch in alfalfa ; he
has a dairy of thirty cows, and also some hogs. He installed modern ma-
chinery, an electric motor for pumping, and has an excellent irrigating sys-
tem. With Mr. Erie, he rents 1,280 acres at Helm, which was all in wheat
in 1918, but owing to the excessively hot weather they got little more
than one sack per acre ; the year previous they planted to barley.
Seven children have been born to Mr. Pretzer and his wife : Henry, Jr.,
August and Gotlieb, are ranchers on North Avenue. Mary is Mrs. Schmidt,
and lives at home ; Lizzie is Mrs. J. Honigle ; Mollie is Mrs. Helmuth ; and
Katie is Mrs. Erie and all live in Fresno County with their husbands who
are ranchers. Mr. Pretzer is a member of the Methodist Church and in poli-
tics is a Democrat.
CLAUS HARDER.— A self-made man who has, by hard work, un-
tiring efforts and thrifty habits, become a successful fruit-grower and vine-
yardist, is Claus Harder, whose post office is Del Rey, Fresno County.
He is a native of Germany, being born on November 18, 1857, a son of Claus
and Marie Harder, who were the parents of five children: One is deceased,
three still reside in their native land, and Claus, the subject of this review,
who immigrated to the United States in 1885, settling in California.
Like so many of our worthy citizens of foreign birth, Mr. Harder came to
this countrv to better his condition financially and secure a ranch for him-
1770 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
self, but having very limited means he at first accepted various kinds of
ranch work by the day, but after following such a livelihood for some time
he decided that such a process of accumulating money was too slow for him,
so he rented a ranch and by so doing he forged ahead and by 1899 he had
accumulated enough money to purchase a ranch consisting of twenty acres
of improved land, the same being the property upon which he now resides.
By careful management and industrious efforts he continued to prosper
and in 1906 he bought twenty acres of unimproved land across the road from
his home place, which he improved with vines and fruit trees, and today
this ranch is yielding a splendid crop.
In 1890, Claus Harder applied for his first papers of naturalization and in
due time became a full fledged and patriotic citizen of the United States of
America.
On December 14, 1900 in Hamburg, Mr. Harder was united in marriage
with Miss Ortie Jokshas, from west Prussia and they journeyed back to
Fresno County and this happy union has been blessed with five children :
Gus; Marie; Elsie: Anna; and Henry. Religiously, the family are all mem-
bers of the German Lutheran Church, and in politics Mr. Harder is a Re-
publican. He also belongs to the California Associated Raisin Company
and the Peach Growers, Inc.
BENDIKS TOBIASEN.— A well-educated gentleman, who comes from
an excellent Danish family, but is heart and soul an American, loyal to the
Administration of the United States, and who gave the most intelligent
support to all war work making for the ultimate victory of Yankee colors, is
Bendiks Tobiasen, usually called Ben. He owns a fine tract in the Ross
School District, two and a half miles south of Parlier, where he has been for
sixteen years, although he has claimed residence in Fresno County a couple
of years longer.
Born at Ribe, in Denmark, on February 27, 1874, he is the son of Tobias
Hansen, who owned a good-sized farm in Denmark and was well and widely
respected. The father was born, lived and died in Ribe, and there he mar-
ried Kirsten Sorensen, who is still living in that neighborhood, at the age of
seventy-eight years. There were ten children, and only two came to Cali-
fornia. One is Bendiks, who was the fifth eldest, and the other is the
daughter, Margretha, who dwells near her brother, and who is the wife of
Peter Tomsen.
I'.endiks attended the public schools of Denmark, at the same time that he
was preparing for confirmation in the Lutheran Church, to which his family
still belong ; but in addition, he studied at the Latin School at Ribe for three
and a half years, and successfully passed all the preliminary examinations.
He had read of California, however, and had corresponded with friends in
Fresno County ; and when Mr. James Andersen (whose life-story is related
elsewhere) revisited Denmark, Ben resolved to accompany him to the New
World. Sailing on the American Line by the steamship St. Louis, he landed
in New York about the first of May, 1900; and on the sixth of that month
reached Selma.
For a couple of years he worked out on farms in this vicinity, and he
then bought twenty acres, once a stubble field, but which came to present
an entirely different appearance under his intelligent attention. In 1903 he
was married to Miss Inger Paulsen, who was born in the same place in Den-
mark, and was the daughter of Paul Paulsen of Ribe. Her mother had
been Meta Maria Sorensen before her marriage, and she is still living in
Denmark.
A member of the Danish Lutheran Church at Selma. Mr. Tobiasen is
treasurer of the congregation, and is active in church work. He belongs to
both the California Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Raisin Growers'
Association, and as a practical vineyardist delights in advancing California
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1771
husbandry. American by adoption, he outdistances many in patriotism of
the pure and unadulterated sort; and a Republican in respect to party prefer-
ences, he knows no party politics when it comes to supporting a Democratic
administration in time of war, or when matters of local improvement and
social uplift are up for discussion and support, and need unselfish and altru-
istic backing.
Mr. and Mrs. Tobiasen are the parents of four children : Tobias, Marius,
Oscar, and Christian. They are held in high esteem in the community.
HANS A. NIELSEN. — A successful vineyardist, and one of the most
reliable and substantial residents of his section of the county, southwest of
Sanger, is H. A. Nielsen, a native of Denmark, where he was born in Grenaa,
June 30. 1862, a son of N. P. and Catherina Nielsen, who were the parents
of five boys. Mr. and Mrs. N. P. Nielsen and three sons died in Denmark.
H. A. Nielsen, the subject of this review, and his brother Christ im-
migrated to the United States and both are living, H. A. in Fresno County
and Christ, in Oakland. It was in 1888 that H. A. Nielsen left his native
land for America, and after his arrival came to California locating in Fresno
County, where in time he purchased twenty acres of land which he dis-
posed of later in order to buy his present ranch, where he has lived con-
tinuously since 1901. It consists of twenty acres situated in Section 2, of
the southeast one quarter and northeast one quarter, Section 33, Township
14, Range 20, and is a well cultivated and productive ranch devoted princi-
pally to vines, three acres being devoted to Thompson's seedless grapes,
ten acres to muscats, while the remainder is given to vegetables, grain and
alfalfa. On an average Mr. Nielsen's Thompson's seedless grapes yield two
tons to an acre, while from ten acres of muscat vines, eleven tons were
raised. By hard work and careful management he has made of his property
a productive ranch and a profitable investment.
Like many another foreign-born citizen, he could not speak English
when he arrived, but possessed with that self-confidence and determination
to succeed, which are so characteristic of the men of his native land, Mr.
Nielsen soon learned enough English, by the close study of men and their
ways, so that he could transact business affairs.
On November 29, 1891, in Fresno County, H. A. Nielsen was united in
marriage with Miss Anna Jonsen, a native of the same place in Denmark,
born June 23, 1866, and of this union three children were born, two of whom
are living: Christina, born October 25, 1892, and Agnes, born July 1, 1896.
Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen are members of the Danish Lutheran Church and for
several years he has served as a trustee of the Bethel School District. He is
a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and the Peach
Growers, Inc., and supports all measures for the upbuilding of the County.
HARRY C. MORGAN. — A viticulturist of established reputation who
has seen much of our great country and is interested, as a natural result, in
its history, and especially in the preservation of Fresno County and other
California annals, and whose studies and work in general are shared by an
excellent and gifted wife, is Harry C. Morgan, the son of P. M. Morgan whose
interesting and highly-suggestive sketch also has place in this volume. Harry
C. was born at Sedgwick City, Kans., on February 13, 1871, the first white
male child to claim Harvey County as its place of birth, and was educated
at the public schools of that locality, finishing at the Great Bend Normal,
from which he graduated in 1891.
He then immediately entered the service of the Santa Fe Railroad, go-
ing into its shops as a boiler-maker apprentice, and completing the trade at
Newton, Kans. He worked at his trade in various parts of the United States,
and traveled widely in the employ of many railways, going as far east as
Ohio and west to San Bernardino, where he became assistant foreman. In
1901 he returned east in railroad work. Six years later, or soon after his
1772 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
father had located in California, he returned to the Coast and assisted the
former to improve the ranch he had acquired. They set the balance out to
vines, and he now has a vineyard in splendid bearing condition, and has
become a man of affairs in the community in which he has cast his lot. A
stanch Republican, he has been a trustee of the Garfield school district for
several years ; and he is not only a member of the California Associated Raisin
Company, but is fruit inspector from Belmont Avenue to the northern line
of the county for Fresno County.
At Xickerson, Kans., Mr. Morgan was married to Miss Jennie Weigle,
a noble woman who has proven a most devoted and helpful wife. She was
born in West Virginia, the daughter of J. M. Weigle. a native of Virginia,
who came to Kansas with his family, and who also now resides in the Gar-
field district in Fresno County. Three children have blessed their union:
Vera, a graduate of the Clovis High School and Fresno State Normal, was
a teacher but now the wife of Roy E. Pack of Clovis: Claude S.. and Vir-
ginia. Mrs. Morgan and her daughter, Vera, are members of the Order of
the Eastern Star of Clovis, and the family are members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, where Mr. Morgan was for several years a member of
the official board and now Mrs. Morgan is a member. Mrs. Morgan is also
president of the Garfield Auxiliary of the Fresno Chapter of the Red Cross.
Mr. Morgan was made a Mason at the Nickerson Lodge, No. 346, F." & A. M.,
and is a charter member of Clovis Lodge, No. 247, F. & A. M.
Travel where you will, it would be hard to find, even among- the proud
native sons and daughters of the state, a more representative California fam-
ily, whose hospitality is unbounded, and whose hearts and hands never wearv
in advancing every good work making for the uplift of the neighborhood,
the community, the county, the state and the nation.
WILLIAM P. WICKLIFFE.— One of the leading and successful fruit-
growers of the Parlier district, Fresno County, is W. P. Wickliffe, who has
made his own way in the world and won a name and place for himself among
the progressive citizens of the county. He was born in Missouri. November
22, 1881, the son of Samuel M. and Naomi C. Wickliffe. parents of four chil-
dren, three of whom are living, namely: Asa A., a machinist for a large
mining company in Arizona ; William P.. of this review ; and Henry S., a
rancher. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Wickliffe went from Missouri to Ore-
gon in the spring of 1883, remained there for about six years, then moved
to Idaho, where two years were spent, but in the fall of 1891 they decided
that the best opportunities awaited them in California and they came west
and spent two years in Stanislaus County, and three years in Calaveras
County, then settled in Fresno County in the fall of 1896.
Their son W. P. had the experience of living in various parts of the
country until settling in Fresno County, and he received his education and
training for his life work in this state, thereby having the western experience
and broad views of life as shown by his success in whatever he has under-
taken. He began as a ranch hand, working by the month ; he saved his
earnings and soon was able to invest in some land of his own, purchasing,
in 1905. forty acres of his present place, which at that time was virgin soil.
Through hard work and persistent and intelligent efforts he has transformed
the property into one of the most valuable orchards and vineyards in the
entire section. So well did he succeed that in 1914 he added thirty acres more
to his holdings, which he partly improved and sold at a profit. Everv bit of
improvements seen on his well-kept ranch has been done by himself — a
modern house, good outbuildings, dry sheds and all the equipments on the
place show a master hand in management and arrangement. In 1919 his
yield of fruit from his ranch of thirty-four acres of vines was seventv tens of
raisins, besides his peaches, of which he has ten acres. These he set out in
1905 and 1906, and since then he has had but little trouble with the spider
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1775
that infests the trees, giving as his opinion that the care taken of the trees
is the reason. Since 1912 he has never known a shortage of the crop, all due
to his scientific cultivation and care of the orchard. In June, 1919, he bought
forty acres of land in Tulare County, near Seville ; twenty acres of it is in
vines and he is rapidly setting out the balance to the same.
In 1904, Mr. Wickliffe and Miss Anna Jensen, daughter of Christian and
Dorothy Jensen, were united in marriage, and of this union three children
have been born : Margaret D. M. ; Esther M. ; and Eunice M. Mrs. Wickliffe
enjoys with her husband the good will and esteem of a large circle of friends
and they are leaders in their community. The family attends the Baptist
Church of Parlier.
When it is taken into consideration that Mr. Wickliffe began at the
bottom round of the ladder and by persistent efforts, supplemented by good
management and hard work, has reached the position he now occupies in
the county, it will be seen that others may well follow his example, for the
possibilities are just beginning to open to the home-maker in the county.
Mr. Wickliffe is a member of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and of the
California Associated Raisin Company. He is also a supporter of all move-
ments for the betterment of social and moral conditions in the county, and is
always found ready "to do his bit'' whenever called upon.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK AND SELMA SAVINGS BANK.—
Selma's growth and progress have been both phenomenal and substantial,
and her banking institutions attest the importance of her place in the finan-
cial world. The forerunner of the First National Bank of Selma, the oldest
as well as the leading institution of its kind in the place, was the Bank of
Selma, which was organized in 1887 as a state bank, with a capitalization of
$20,000, which was later increased out of the profits to $50,000, the officers
of the First National Bank at Fresno being among its first projectors and
stockholders. Among these, Mr. J. M. Braley of Fresno, then president of
the First National Bank of Fresno, became the manager of the Bank of
Selma. Other interested parties in the enterprise were O. J. Woodward, the
present president of the First National Bank of Fresno ; Mr. D. S. Snod-
grass, now deceased ; John G. Arrants of Selma, also deceased, who became
its first president; and T. B. Matthews, and the bank's present president,
Major Marion Sides of Selma, who went in as stockholders. On June 22,
1905, the Selma Savings Bank was organized as an allied interest.
These two banks are allied under the Federal and state laws, both using
the same banking office and having the same officers, except that the presi-
dent and vice-president of each exchange places. Thev have a combined
working capital of $240,000, combined deposits of $1,200,000, and combined
resources of $1,500,000.
The old bank of Selma for many years did business across the street
in the building and offices now occupied by the Selma Land Company. In
1900, when the old bank building with its graceful Mission lines was com-
pleted, it was nationalized under the title of The First National Bank of
Selma, with a capitalization of $100,000, the result of profits.
The city's finances, as well as those of these banks, are on a firm basis.
Despite the $50,000 put into sundry improvements, $125,000 for schools, and
large sums for the city water and parks, the city has a very small outstanding
debt. Selma has an assessed valuation of over $1,000,000, and there are only
$30,000 outstanding in bonded debts. In June, 1917, the First National Bank
purchased the City of Selma's park bonds, amounting to $10,700, at par.
These bonds draw annual interest at five per cent.
When the stockholders of these banks met in the month of January, 1918,
to consider business affairs and to elect officers for the ensuing year, they
found the business of the past year to have been very satisfactory. Both
banks made a nice gain over the preceding year, and for the first time in their
1776 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
history passed the million-dollar mark; and at the annual stockholders' and
directors' meeting in January, 1919, the stockholders expressed their approval
of the management by reelecting all the officers. They are: M. Sides, presi-
dent First National Bank and vice-president of Selma Savings Bank; M.
Vincent, vice-president First National Bank and president of Selma Savings
Bank; \V. C. Freeland, cashier; G. W. Glines, first assistant cashier; W. J.
Johnson, second assistant cashier.
Mr. W. II. Lemmon, who was second assistant cashier in 1917, enlisted in
the Liberty army and entered the Paymaster's Department at the Presidio,
San Francisco, Cal. Upon receiving his honorable discharge, he returned to
Selma and resumed his duties in the bank. On the 1st of July. 1919, he
became cashier and manager of the First National Bank of Caruthers, in
which institution several of the officers of the Selma banks are interested as
stockholders.
J. C. HANSEN. — Few men are better known in Fresno County or more
deservedly popular in both commercial and social circles here than j. C. Han-
sen, the wide-awake, courteous and attentive proprietor of The Toggery,
Selma's most important headquarters for men's and boys' attire. A native
son, Mr. Hansen was born in Fresno County about five miles north of Selma
on October 20, 1890, the son of Thomas Hansen, the well-to-do farmer of
the county, who first came to California in 1878 and settled in Fresno County
three years later. He is the third son and child of a family of four children,
one of the family being a girl ; and his boyhood and youth were as happy as
that of the typical Californian.
Growing up on his father's ranch, young Hansen attended the district
school and also the grammar school in the Monroe School district : then he
entered the Selma High School, from which he was graduated with the Class
of '09. On leaving school, he lost no time in getting into the real struggle of
life ; and engaging with the Selma Land Co., for three years he acted as its
Secretary.
Next he formed a partnership with T. E. Rasmussen of Selma under the
firm name of The Toggery, opening shop at 2033 Second Street, in the George
B. Otis Block. This establishment was originally started by L. J. Price and
Frank Dusy of Selma, and they sold out to H. J. Jacobson, who conducted
the business for eight years. When Jacobson retired, Rasmussen succeeded
him, and it was when he was ready to dispose of one-half of his interest that
Mr. Hansen became his partner.
In January, 1918, the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Hansen buying
out Rasmussen ; and since then the former has been the sole proprietor, the
store being known as one of Selma's most reliable concerns. What makes it
so important, aside from the principles and methods obtaining there, is the
fact that it is the only exclusively clothing, gent's furnishing and merchant
tailoring establishment in Selma. Mr. Hansen carries the best goods ob-
tainable, and courteous and careful attention is guaranteed every customer.
Mr. Hansen was married to Miss Mabel Schultz, an accomplished and at-
tractive belle of Selma. and the couple participate, as favorites, in the social
life of the progressive town.
EVAN DOYLE PORTER. — One of the successful and progressive men
in Fresno's colony of viticulture, Evan Doyle Porter has found this branch
of land cultivation a most interesting study, as well as a profitable one. Born
in Monmouth, 111., in 1876, of Scotch-Irish descent, he is a son of J. K. and
Marv (Chandler) Porter, both pioneers of the state of Illinois. Of the three
children born to his parents, Evan D. Porter is the only one of the family
making his home in California. He received his early training in Monmouth,
111., and from 1886 to 1893 lived in Denver. Colo., where he attended the
public schools. In 1893 he returned to Monmouth and there attended the
Monmouth Business College.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1777
After graduation he entered the offices of the Monmouth Manufactur-
ing Company, makers of sewer pipe, and remained four years, at the end of
that period he acted as assistant to the superintendent of the factory for
one year, then became superintendent and held that position for six years,
the concern being one of the largest of its kind in the Middle West, manu-
facturing fire-brick, flue lining, drain tile and sewer-pipe. While with this
concern he took a course in mechanical engineering in the International Cor-
respondence Schools, and became qualified to make the drawings needed in
the factory.
Resigning from his position as superintendent, Mr. Porter came to Colo-
rado and there bought an interest in the Brick and Tile Works at La Junta,
and devoted the next two years to the management of the plant. From there
he came to California, in 1908, and located in Fresno for a time, then went
to San Francisco, and for three months was with the Bay Shore Brick Com-
pany there. He then accepted a position as superintendent of the Fresno
Brick and Tile Company and when the new plant was built he made the
drawings and had charge of its construction.
At the end of three years Mr. Porter decided to turn his attention to
the development of land ; hence, resigning his position, he went to San Luis
Obispo County, where he homesteaded 160 acres on Carisa Plains, proved
up on his property, and now rents it to tenants. In 1913 he returned to Fres-
no County, and purchased forty acres on Las Palmas Avenue, in Nevada
Colony, and engaged in viticulture. Being intensely interested in his ranch-
ing enterprise, he has taken a correspondence course in viticulture in the
University of California. In February, 1918, he sold his ranch at a good profit
and bought his present property on Belmont Avenue, a fortv-acre ranch de-
voted to muscats, malagas, and Thompsons, an exceptionally fine property
which he is developing to even greater possibilities.
The marriage of Mr. Porter occurred in Monmouth, 111., uniting him
with Inez Bates, and they have one child, Dorothy.
OSCAR E. PRICE.— It has been thought by a few that gold is picked
up from the ground in California, and in years that are history many flocked
to the Golden State to pick it up. They met with varying successes and fail-
ures. It has been demonstrated by a few choice spirits that gold may still
be picked up here, though not from quartz ; that the soil contains elements
that will produce gold in proportion to the amount of intelligence and per-
sistent work a man puts into its cultivation. Hence this story of Mr. Price.
Mr. Price was born in Sumner County, Tenn., November 10, 1879, and
Tennessee is responsible for a good many mighty good men. His parents
were Nim F. and Laura (Crabb) Price, to whom eight children were born.
Of these seven are living: Oscar E. ; Mattie, now Mrs. Watson; Millie, now
Mrs. W. Colley of Fresno County; E. T., also in Fresno County; Julius A.
who served in Bakery Company, No. 308, A. E. F., with the army of occupa-
tion ; Ophelia, now Mrs. Collins ; and Corrina, now Mrs. Morris. Ernest is
deceased.
Oscar E. grew up in his native state, receiving a common school educa-
tion. In January, 1901, he came to California, his total cash footing up the
sum of five dollars. This, however, did not by any means represent his
entire capital, for while the former years went by he developed a strength of
mind and body that served well his determination. For eight years he
worked at day's wages, and by the exercise of thrift he found himself pos-
sessed of enough cash to make a considerable payment on the purchase of
his forty-acre ranch. There were seventeen acres improved, and he shortly
after sold ten acres, believing that thirty acres well cared for would be better,
and he also lightened his burden of debt. This sale enabled him to further
improve his land and beautify his place by building a home with all the
1778 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
modern conveniences, at a cost of thirty-three hundred dollars. He has been
offered and refused $30,000 for his place.
( >n March 5, 1903, Mr. Price and Miss Alice DaMant were married. She
was born in England and was brought to California by her mother, Elizabeth
DaMant, when twelve years of age, to join the husband and father, James
DaMant, at Orosi, where he was a minister in the Baptist Church. Mrs.
Price completed her education in the schools at Sanger and after her mar-
riage devoted her time to assisting her husband in developing their ranch,
and at the same time rearing her little family. They have had four children,
three of them now living, Ernest, Melba and Arthur P. The family be-
longs to the Baptist Church and supports the charities of the church liberally.
The success achieved by Mr. Price is due to an unswerving attention
to business, and to a stick-to-ativeness that :.s the answer to the question,
"How be a success in any undertaking?" Because of his fidelity and loyalty
to his calling, Mr. Price has been able to pick up the gold from California's
soil to an extent that should be highly gratifying to himself. In order to
have a place to spend the summer months, Mr. Price bought a summer
home at Palo Alto, Cal., in which town Mrs. Price's parents reside.
REV. CORNELIUS E. KLIEWER.— When we meet a man, in this busy
world of today, who has given his time and money unstintedly to the better-
ment of mankind, we feel that no praise can be too great for such an ex-
ample of unselfish benevolence. Rev. Cornelius E. Kliewer, founder of
Emanuel German Baptist Church in Fresno, lives solely to help his fellow
men, and his unusual success as a missionary is due to the sincerity and un-
derstanding sympathy shown in his work in the Master's vineyard. Born in
Warsaw, Poland, May 25, 1856, he received his education in private schools
of his native land. In 1876 he came to America, and six months later de-
clared his intention to become a citizen of the United States. He was
ordained at Hillsboro, Kans., in 1893, in the German Baptist Church. His
first charge was at Newton, Kans., where he erected a church and served for
two years. In 1898 he came to Stafford, Ore., remained there six months,
and thence went to Salem, Ore., where he remained four years ; in these
places, as elsewhere, his missionary duties were carried on with a zeal which
has never failed to meet with success. Rev. Kliewer then went to Tacoma,
Wash., and served in that city five years, building the church there and
leaving it free of debt. He also had a preaching station at Seattle, and did
missionary work in the northern metropolis.
In 1903, Rev. Kliewer came to California, his first charge in the state
being at Anaheim, Orange County, where he was pastor three years. This
concluded his fourteen years of service as a missionary of the Baptist Home
Missionary Society, and he retired from active church work for a time.
and located in Long Beach, where he engaged in buying, selling and build-
ing, meeting with success, and never failing to devote much time to church
work, though not having a public charge.
After several years spent in quietly doing the work which came to
hand. Rev. Kliewer again took up his public duties. In 1907 he came to
Fresno and here he built the Emanuel German Baptist Church, at 2203
Kirk Avenue, at a cost of $2,000, taking his own money for the immediate
building of the church, which is now free of debt, the pastor having donated
$600 as his share of the cost of the edifice. The church has 47 communicants,
with about 150 members, including the children, for whom he has organized
a Young People's Society with 30 members: and his wife, who has been of
great help to the pastor in his life work and leads the choir in the church,
has recently organized the Ladies' Aid Society. She has accomplished
much noble work, having been especially active in Tacoma, and in Salem,
( >re.. as well as, at present, in Fresno. Rev. Kliewer organized the Mission
Sunday School here and later turned that work over to the German Methodist
Church. He uses his own automobile in doing missionary work, and in tak-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1781
ing the sick to hospitals ; he also does missionary work in the Russian colony
on the west side. His church contributes to all public charities, and is prom-
inent in all missionary work in the city. Rev. Kliewer receives no salary for
his services, donating- his time and money for the good cause. He is a
member of the Ministerial Union of the San Joaquin Baptist Conference of
Northern California, and helped to organize the Pacific Baptist Conference
on the Coast, and is also a member of the general ministerial union in Fresno.
He takes an active part in revival meetings in Fresno and can always be found
at hand when the spiritual uplift of the community is being undertaken,
as well as when the material needs of unfortunate humanity are at stake.
When not busy with church and missionary- duties, Rev. Kliewer has
helped in the upbuilding of Fresno, buying lots and improving same for
sale, and has met with success in his business ventures.
Rev. Kliewer was united in marriage, at Bethany, Ore., December 17,
1893, with Miss Mary Walter, a native of Germany, and his Christian work
has been upheld by her sympathy and devotion to the cause. Three children
have blessed their union : Walter, who died when four months old ; Lorena,
wife of Alex Ramer of Fresno ; and Elmer, attending school. Rev. Kliewer
has five sons by a former marriage: Henry; Herbert; Cornelius; Edward;
and Harry.
Rev. Kliewer took a firm and uncompromising stand against the liquor
traffic, from the early stages of the fight against alcohol. He was the only
minister among the German speaking contingent in Fresno, who openly took
part in public demonstrations against the saloon. He has been fighting rum
ever since he was converted, at Hillsboro, Kans., when he joined the Baptist
denomination. At times his uncompromising stand has made him enemies,
but all true Christians will approve.
CARL W. CHRISTENSEN.— Since 1912, when the genial cashier of
the allied banks, the Selma National Bank and Farmers Savings Bank of
Selma, Carl W. Christensen, came to the favored section of Fresno County
known as "The Home of the Peach," he has forged rapidly to the front among
the business men of prominence in Selma and vicinity. Congenial, bright,
well-informed and experienced in his line of work, he is known in the busi-
ness world as a rapid and accurate cashier and an excellent judge of values.
Of Danish parentage, his father, J. P., and mother, M. (Hornbeck) Chris-
tensen, who reside in Selma, were born in Denmark. Carl W. was born at
Racine, Wis., December 26, 1877, and was eleven years of age when his par-
ents removed to Turner County, S. D., where he grew up on a South Dakota
farm. He received his primary education in the Racine and Turner County
schools. Of studious habits, by means of self-study and the assistance of a
private tutor, he acquired an excellent education, and at nineteen years of
age passed the teacher's examination. He taught school four years in Turner
County, S. D., then an opening occurring in the bank of Viborg, Turner
County, he accepted a clerkship in what is now the First National Bank of
Viborg, remaining with the bank eleven years, being cashier during the last
four years. In 1912 he came to California to take his present position, as
the successor of Mr. W. E. Street. He helped reorganize the old Farmers
Bank of Selma and takes an active interest in the business of the allied
banks, of which he is one of the directors.
He married Miss Etta M. Nielsen, of San Jose, Cal., and they are the
parents of three children: Warren N., Roger W., and Alan D. Mr. Christen-
sen is an acquisition to Selma's social circle as he is to its business world.
While of a refined and retiring temperament, he is a young man of excellent
musical attainments, coming honestly by his musical genius, as C. C. Krogh,
the well known violinist and composer of Denmark of the century just ended,
was his grandfather. While a young man at Viborg, S. D., he attained celeb-
rity as a cornetist and bandmaster, organizing four well known bands of
1782 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
which he was leader. He became one of the foremost bandmasters in south-
eastern South Dakota, playing at the state fairs, and often being called upon
to play during the state capital campaign as well as in the campaigns of ex-
Senator Crawford of South Dakota.
Mr. Christensen is the owner of eighty acres near Selma, planted to
Thompson seedless and muscat grapes, and peaches, all in full bearing. In
1913 he built his residence in Selma, which is located on Logan Street. Mr.
and Mrs. Christensen are active members of the First Baptist Church of
Selma. Mr. Christensen takes an active interest in the financial interests of
the church, as well as in the Sunday School, of which he is superintendent.
Taking a pardonable pride in the prosperity and financial standing of
his community, he rendered valuable service in the various drives connected
with the activities of the war just ended. It is needless to say that in its
Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., and other charities, as well as in the Liberty Loans
and the recent Victory Loan, Selma went promptly "over the top," with a
considerable percentage of surplus to her great credit.
J. B. CROCKER.— Of New England birth and endowed with the char-
acteristics that are supposed to belong especially to people of that section
of the United States, i. e., frugality, thrift, and unceasing activity, J. B.
Crocker is well known as a leading horticulturist of the Selma district, his
intelligence and kindly disposition making him a general favorite in the
community in which he lives. He was born at Newburyport, Mass., thirty-five
miles northeast of Boston, February 5, 1857.
He is the son of John Crocker, a ship carpenter and a native of Nova
Scotia, and Sarah (Holmes) Crocker. His father died at Newburyport, Mass.,
in 1869, at the age of seventy-four, when J. B. was a lad of twelve. His mother
had seven children by her first husband, the father of J. B. She married a
second time and had a son by her second marriage. She attained the unusual
age of eighty-eight before her demise in Massachusetts, in 1916.
A half orphan at twelve, Mr. Crocker at that time began to depend upon
his own exertions for a livelihood, removing from the place of his birth to
Maine, where he worked on a farm for four years. He then went to work in
a cotton factory at Great Falls, N. H., remaining there six or eight
months, until the panic of 1874 caused the cotton factories to close down.
Afterwards he returned to farm work, which he continued until 1882, then
went to work at the marble works at Rutland, Vt. From thence he went to
Iowa, where he worked as a farm hand in O'Brien County. In 1886 he came
to California, where he worked on a farm near Fresno. In 1889 he went to
Kingsburg and made his first purchase in the Kingsburg Colony, three miles
east and one mile south of his present place.
In 1882 he was married to Miss Mary H. Wildermuth. Of the four chil-
dren born of their union, the three sons were United States volunteers in
the recent world conflict. Clark W., a graduate of the Selma high school and
Stanford University, was in the aviation corps at Berkeley; Percy S., also a
Selma high school graduate, was a senior in the Leland Stanford University,
pursuing the geological and mining engineer's course, when he enlisted for
service in the World War ; Ernest H., a senior in the Selma high school at
the time of his enlistment; and Celia F., a graduate in the Class of 1918, is
now pursuing a post-graduate course.
In 1907, Mr. Crocker sold his Kingsburg Colony ranch and purchased his
present home place of twenty acres, three miles east of Selma on the Canal
School Reservation. He has always been particularly interested in education
and in 1015 was elected a member of the board of trustees of the Selma high
school, a school that ranks among the very best high schools in the State "of
California.
A true American and an ardent patriot. Mr. Crocker is held in the high-
est esteem. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen. Fie is a fine example
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1783
of the California rancher who denies himself much in order to properly rear
and educate his children. They are all high school and some are university
graduates, while his three sons bear the distinction of having rendered excel-
lent service to their country during the recent war. Percy S. served thirteen
months in France, while Ernest H. was in the Coast Artillery in France. They
have their honorable discharges, and came home safe and sound.
THE SELMA IRRIGATOR.— An important factor in the development
and growth of the enterprising community of Selma, Cal., is the semi-weekly,
eight-page newspaper, known as The Selma Irrigator, owned and edited by
J. J. Vanderburgh.
The first edition of the Irrigator appeared in 1886, when the paper was
founded by W. T. Lyon, who later became associated with W. L. Chappell,
and under the firm name of Chappell & Lyon the Irrigator continued to be
published for several years, in both daily and weekly editions.
In 1892, J. J. Vanderburgh, who at that time was a public school teacher,
purchased the interest of W. L. Chappell, and subsequently engaged in the
publishing of the Irrigator under the firm name of Lyon & Vanderburgh
from 1892 to 1897, when Mr. Vanderburgh became the sole owner of the
business. The business soon began to expand under the efficient manage-
ment of Mr. Vanderburgh, and in course of time he sold the little old frame
building, which had been the home of the Irrigator for a number of years,
and purchased a block consisting of twelve lots, across the street, and on
a portion of this property he built, in 1906, the present new and commodious
Irrigator Building, a two-story-and-basement brick block, 30x60 feet in size.
The first floor contains a large office and editorial room, a large room for the
accommodation of the job-printing department, which contains three elec-
trically operated up-to-date presses, and one large newspaper press and
Omaha folder. The linotype machine used by the Irrigator was shipped
through the Panama Canal, and is one of the first two machines of its kind
to pass through the canal. It is very complete, having three magazines and
nine faces of type, and is regarded as one of the best linotyping machines on
the Pacific Coast. The stereotyping room is situated away from the building
to lessen the fire hazard. The basement of the Irrigator Building is used
as a dining hall and banquet room, having accommodations for one hundred
twenty persons, and this room has often been the scene of many enjoyable
banquets. A public hall is located in the second story of the building and
is used as lodge rooms for various fraternal organizations, also as the church
home of the Christian Science Society, of Selma. The Irrigator Building is
a great credit to the up-to-date city of Selma, "The Home of the Peach," and
will be a standing monument to the enterprise and business sagacity of its
builder and owner, J. J. Vanderburgh.
The Selma Irrigator has been a potent factor in the development of this
prosperous community and has justly earned for itself an important place
in the front rank of journals of its size in Central California. It pursues a
constructive policy in regard to all that makes for the good of the community,
educationally, religiously, commercially, and agriculturally; while it is always
the uncompromising foe of evil, whether it presents itself boldly, or in some
veiled and alluring form. Mr. Vanderburgh is ably assisted in the editorial
department by his talented wife.
ELMER THOMAS WALL. — Among the leading raisin-growers in the
Selma section, Mr. Elmer Thomas Wall stands prominently forth for his skill
and success as a viticulturist. He is an example of a hard-working man en-
dowed with firmness of character and determination of purpose, qualities
that bespeak the ability and energy which have caused him to attain his well
merited success.
A native of Missouri, he was born in Johnson County, May 2, 1872, and
is the son of Lieut. James M. and Nancy B. (Gray) Wall. His father was
1784 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the owner of an 800-acre stock farm in Missouri and was a large raiser of
mules, horses and beef cattle. A native of North Carolina, he served with
distinction as lieutenant during the Civil War, on the Confederate side, was
body-guard of General Price, and was twice wounded during his time of serv-
ice. In 1888 he disposed of his business interests in Missouri and came to
California on account of his wife's health, where, four years later, in 1892,
he died. His wife, who survived him, is living in Fresno. Of the five chil-
dren of the parental home, three are living. Benjamin F., who settled near
Selma, died twelve years ago, leaving two children, Lois and Ethel by name.
A daughter, Ona B., single, died in California. The living children are: Syd-
ney Jackson, a fruit-buyer residing in Fresno ; Elmer Thomas ; and Erna
Ethel, wife of A. M. Haldeman, who is employed on the Fresno Republican
and owns a twenty-acre ranch adjoining Elmer Thomas' place.
Elmer Thomas received his education in the public and high school at
Windsor, Mo. A lad sixteen years of age when he came with his parents
to California, in 1888, he engaged with his father in the fruit-growing busi-
ness. He purchased forty acres southeast of Fresno, near Malaga, which
he improved and afterwards sold. He bought his present place in 1916.
He chose as his life partner Miss Addie J. Barr, to whom he was united
in 1894. She is the daughter of Thomas A. Barr, and is a sister of Dr. W. T.
Barr of Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. Wall are the parents of three bright and inter-
esting children : Gladys, a graduate of the Fresno high school, now sopho-
more in Redlands University; Thelma, attending the Selma high school; and
Warden, a student in the grammar school.
Mr. Wall has always taken a lively interest in educational work and was
school trustee for fifteen years at Malaga. He has also served as juryman.
While he is a Democrat politically, he votes for the man best fitted for the
position, regardless of party. Mr. Wall and his family are prominent mem-
bers of the Baptist Church of Selma. Mr. Wall is greatly interested in all
that advances his community, and he and his family are highly respected.
E. J. MONCRIEF. — Among Parlier's aggressively energetic and suc-
cessful young business men is E. J. Moncrief, dealer in hay, grain, oils and
greases, wood, and ice. He was born at Nevada, Mo., November 29, 1888. and
is the son of C. E. Moncrief, formerly of Sanger, now living with his son at
Parlier.
The father, C. E. Moncrief, was born at Madison, Ind., November 19,
1863, and lived in his native state until the age of fifteen. He then accom-
panied his parents, William and Cynthia (Montgomery) Moncrief, to Vernon
County, Mo., where they settled upon a farm and where the son grew to
manhood. He was married in 1884, became a farmer and the owner of a 160-
acre farm. He brought up a family of three children, namely: Daisy, wife of
Mr. Popney, residing at Parlier ; E. J., and R. E., the latter residing in Fresno.
He sold his Missouri farm in 1904, and came to California, settling first at
Oakland. In 1908 he came to Reedlev. He is the owner of a ten-acre
ranch at Reedlev and a twenty-acre ranch at Kingsburg. In politics he is a
Republican, and he and his good wife were members of the Baptist Church.
Since the death of his wife, in the fall of 1917, he has made his home with
his son, E. J., at Parlier.
E. J. Moncrief was sixteen years old when his parents settled at Rodeo,
Cal., in 1904, and he was in the employ of the powder company for twenty-
seven months, going thence to the oil fields at Maricopa, where he worked
for the Sunset Monarch Oil Company, one of the J. D. Spreckels interests,
until the spring of 1912. having charge of the fishing tool department and
the storehouse on the Sunset Monarch property. During this time he visited
his old Missouri home twice — in 1007 and in 1O08 — the latter year returning
with his bride, who before her marriage was Miss Olive Hogge of Nevada,
Mo., one of his schoolmates.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1787
In June, 1912, Mr. Moncrief removed to Parlier and engaged in his pres-
ent line of business on a much smaller scale. The business has grown and
prospered beyond the most sanguine expectations. Aside from being the
public weighmaster, Mr. Moncrief gets ice from the Central California Ice
Company of Fresno and distributes it to his customers in Parlier and vicinity.
He has built a cozy bungalow on his four acres east of and adjoining
Parlier, where he resides with his wife and children, Charlie and Oliver.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Moncrief is a member of the W. O. W. He
is an enterprising and substantial citizen, justly entitled to the esteem and
respect accorded him, and the family is highly regarded at Parlier, Sanger,
Maricopa, and other places where they have lived.
OLOF HANSON. — The cultivation of a barren piece of land into thriv-
ing orchards and vineyards can rightfully be called a factor in the develop-
ment of the county's resources, and Olof Hanson is numbered among the
successful fruit and raisin growers of Fresno County, who have thus added
to its development and have proven substantial and worthy citizens of the
commonwealth. A native of Sweden, he was born at Soderham, August 20,
1859. Mr. Hanson is the son of John and Kare Hanson, both natives of that
country, whose family consisted of eight children. In 1881 they and their
offspring immigrated to the United States, locating, after their arrival in
the new country, in Kansas. There Olof remained for nine years, working
at home with his father on his farm.
Olof Hanson and two brothers made a trip to California in 1890. but
Olof was the only one to stay here, and in the following spring he purchased
his present home place, a ranch of eighty acres in the Wahtoke district,
Fresno County. The land at that time was mostly in a state of wilderness —
hog-wallow and grain fields. He now has a fertile, well cultivated fruit
ranch, yielding large returns to the owner. Mr. Hanson cultivates and raises
figs, prunes, peaches, and grapes, specializing in the Thompson Seedless,
Muscats, and Sultana varieties. An experienced and intelligent rancher, he
has met with success in his chosen vocation, and commands the respect and
confidence of the community in which he has made his home for so many
years. He has been a stanch advocate of cooperation among fruit growers
and is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and the
California Peach Growers, Inc.
J. H. BREWER. — A self-made man, an especially good judge of live
stock, and one of Selma's most successful business men, is J. H.# Brewer,
senior member of the Selma Meat Company. He was born in Linn County,
Mo., on July 15, 1877, the son of William Jefferson Brewer, who was a large
farmer and stockman there, and a native of Illinois. He fought in the Union
Army and was discharged with an honorable record, which means more than
ever today; and when he died, in 1913, he had rounded out sixty-eight years.
Mrs. Brewer was Amanda Baber before her marriage, and she came from
Missouri, her native state, where she is still living, honored by many, and in
particular beloved by her four sons and three daughters, among whom the
subject of this interesting sketch is the fifth in the order of birth.
J. H. Brewer's early life was spent in working on his father's stock-
farm, and in attending the public schools of the neighborhood. Growing
up on a Missouri farm, he continued to till the land for years, and in that
state was married to Miss Alice Streets, the daughter of William and Mantia
Streets, esteemed residents of the same county. He began butchering at
twenty-one, and for a year and a half was in partnership, in the little town of
Bucklin. In 1902, however, having heard of the greater opportunities here,
he disposed of his Missouri interests and came west to California. For a
couple of years he worked around in the stock business, buying, selling and
feeding; and then, in partnership with his brother, A. T. Brewer of the Kings-
burg Market, in 1905 they started a meat business at Sanger. For four years
1788 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
they managed this enterprise and then, being attracted to the Eschol district.
they moved there and bought 220 acres. For another four years they ran a
genuine country market. Then the two brothers came to Selma and bought
the Selma Meat Company, after that owned by J. H. and A. T. Brewer; and
when A. T. sold out, in 1917, Mr. A. C. Casner became the owner of a half
interest. They have three delivery autos and make a specialty of their own
farm and meat products.
Mr. Brewer, who certainly is a hustler and one who attends strictly to
business, attends personally to the buying and the outside work, superintends
the slaughtering and makes of it the cornerstone of the market's success.
He owns 160 acres four and a half miles south of Selma, and 80 acres two
miles farther south. Mr. Brewer is a popular member of the Woodmen of
the World at Selma, and he never fails to rally to the support of his country
or community.
WILLIAM J. POSSONS. — A brilliant Easterner who made a distin-
guished place for himself in industrial, commercial, and financial circles.
thereby ruining his health by overapplication to work and duty, and who found
in California's wonderful climate a temporary relief, was William J. Possons,
who died in April, 1917, leaving a widow who, with the aid of her gifted son,
has shown marked ability and achieved success in the management of his
estate. He was born at Ballston Spa, X. Y., November 5. 1855, and reared
there until he was nine years of age. when he removed to Sterling, in the same
State, and grew up on a farm, at the same time attending the public school.
Later, he went to Auburn, and there entered the academic high school, from
which he was graduated with honors. He was foreman for Hayden & Smith.
and after a while removed to Cleveland, where for fifteen years he showed his
unquestioned ability as the superintendent of the Brush Electric Works.
Discovering that he had both a liking and a talent for financial operations,
he joined the staff of the Garfield Savings Bank, in Cleveland, and for about
eleven years was auditor of its many different branches.
On account of impaired health brought about through overwork. Mr.
Possons resigned from his position of responsibility, and in 1908 came to
California. He had made a couple of trips to the Coast on previous oc-
casions, and so had become familiar with the state, and he was not long in
selecting Fresno County as the section appealing most to his experience
and judgment. He bought what has become the family ranch, containing a
six-year-old vineyard of wine grapes, with eighty acres on Belmont Avenue.
eleven miles east of Fresno, where he located and built his home. He put up
a fine new residence in modern style, and replaced the wine grapes with
muscat. Malaga, and Thompson seedless grapes, and prepared to get what he
could out of life as a proper reward for his years of wearying activity.
Thus comfortably situated, Mr. Possons appeared to have in prospect a
fair lease of life, but on April 10, 1917, to the deep regret of his many friends,
he passed away, an honored and devoted husband, father and citizen, and a
dceplv religious man. He was always patriotically interested in civic affairs,
and as a Republican was invited to the councils of his party.
At Auburn, N. Y., December 30, 1870, Mr. Possons married Miss Mary
J. Conner, a native of that city, and the daughter of Joseph and Mathilda
(Steel) Conner, natives of Belfast, Ireland, and members of the ( Grange
party, who had married there, and come to New York, where Mr. Conner
was a boot-and-shoe-maker. Mr. Conner enlisted in the Union army of the
Civil War. and was a member of the Seventy-fifth Regiment of Xew York
State Infantry Yolunteers, and saw valiant service in the Battle of Cedar
Creek and other engagements. At the end of eighteen months, and at the
close of the war, he received his honorable discharge. Mrs. Possons was
educated at the Auburn Academic High School. Three children were horn
to this highly esteemed couple: Martha Adla died when she was ten years old:
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1789
Milton Howlet assists his mother at the home ranch, having married Gladys
McNab, by whom he has had two children, George Allen and Evelyn M. ;
and Marion Elida has been attending Mills College, from which she was
graduated with the Class of 1918. The family are members of the Presby-
terian Church.
Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Possons has operated the ranch
with the aid of her son, and has supported every movement for the advance-
ment of local agricultural interests, and, in particular, the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company.
ROBERT K. MADSEN.— Communities blessed with such men as R. K.
Madsen are the richest in the world, because they are rich in that which
cannot be measured by the dollar standard. One of Parlier's foremost citi-
zens, Mr. Madsen is president of the Parlier Winery, and also of the River
Bend Gas and Water Company. He was born in Denmark, April 4, 1860.
near Odense. He grew up there and at Aarhus, and other places in Denmark,
where his father lived after returning from California in 1857.
His father, Torgen Madsen, was a native of Denmark, and in his early
manhood learned the painter's trade, but later became a sailor. His father's
uncle, Jens Storm, a millwright in Denmark, came to San Francisco in 1846
and, in the annals of the history of California, has the distinction of having
built the first grist mill at Folsom and the first flour mill ever built by a
man other than a Spaniard in California. A Chicago publisher, a few years
ago, printed a book in English, giving the history of his life.
Jorgen Madsen, one of the early pioneers of California, while a sailor
on a voyage to the New World, left his ship at Havana, and made his way
to Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1848, and, although it was not the lure of gold that
first brought him to Vera Cruz, yet upon hearing; of the rich finds in Califor-
nia he resolved to try his fortune in the favored land, and, securing a mule,
made his way to the west coast of Mexico, where he took passage for San
Francisco. For nine years he was engaged in mining and painting, becoming
a contract painter in partnership with a man by the name of Holm, under
the firm name of Holm & Madsen, with their place of business at 58 Clay
Street, San Francisco. The business proving profitable, he remained in San
Francisco until 1857, when he returned to Denmark and was united in mar-
riage with his betrothed, Conradina Rytel. For several years he ran the hotel
at Odense, Denmark, then became interested as a sub-contractor in the con-
struction of the first railroad ever built in Denmark. He moved to Mullerup
and from thence to Skanderborg, where he became interested in a flouring
mill, and in 1869 removed to Aarhus, where he became a manufacturer and
extensive dealer in brick and lime, and where, after an active, useful and re-
spected career, he died at the age of seventy-two. He and his good wife were
the parents of Robert Kellv Madsen and Conradine Fanny, the widow of
Ankjar Heegaard, now residing in Copenhagen.
Robert K. Madsen was well prepared for a business career in a private
academy in Denmark. At the age of fourteen he left school and began a sea-
faring life ; starting as a junior sailor, he rose to the position of ordinary
seaman and then to that of a regular sailor. He followed the calling of the
sea for nine years, in the meantime attending the Danish navigation school.
He became an officer and was in the line of promotion when his hearing
became impaired, an incident which exempted him from the seaman's fate of
"once at sea always a salt," and which was providential, as he was enlisted
to go on the Jeanette, then outfitting at San Francisco for her last voyage to
the Arctic. His defective hearing caused his rejection, and thus he was
saved from going. He worked his way back to New York City as a seaman,
and thence took passage for Copenhagen in 1880 for the purpose of visiting
his old home. He learned the business of making compressed yeast and the
distillation of whiskey, then came back to California after an eight months'
1790 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
visit in Denmark. He was with the Protrero Yeast and Distilling Company
in San Francisco, acting in the capacity of superintendent. From there he
went to the Hay View Distilling Company at South San Francisco, and then
entered business for himself at the National Vinegar Works in San Fran-
cisco. Afterwards he was with the Frank Lewis Pickle Company at Oakland,
and when that partnership was dissolved he and Mr. Lewis formed the Lewis
Packing Company at San Francisco. Disposing of his interests, he went in
1896 to Parlier and purchased the eighty-acre Miller & Company vineyard
and orchard. In the spring of 1897 he moved onto the ranch and continued
to operate it until 1917, when he sold it. The winery was organized in 1900,
and Mr. Madsen's efforts made it a splendid success. It had a capacity of
850,000 gallons of brandy per annum. They made no wine. In 1913, Mr.
Madsen became president of the River Bend Gas and Water Company, in
which he had been a stockholder for many years. He was also instrumental
in helping amalgamate the Alta District Gas Company of Dinuba with the
River Bend Gas and Water Company, distributors to Dinuba, Reedley, Par-
lier, and Kingsburg.
On a second trip to his old home in Denmark, in 1887, Mr. Madsen was
united in marriage with Anna Flack of Aarhus, daughter of Carl and Maria
(Peterson) Flack, natives of Denmark, both now deceased. Of the six chil-
dren in the parental home one died in Denmark at the age of forty; the sur-
viving children are: "Willielm : Henrietta; Ann Maria; Florentine, and Marie
Mr. and Mrs. Madsen's union has been blessed by the birth of ten chil
dren. three of whom, Otto, Ellen, and Halvor, died in infancy. The seven liv-
ing children are : Georgia, the wife of E. A. Berryhill, a rancher at Del Rev
Fresno County ; Carl, who married Miss Etna Hankey of Sanger, and who
is the president of the Parlier Winery and resides in Parlier ; Anna, the wife
of Mr. George W. Wiley, stockraiser, near Orange Cove, Fresno County
Helga, a graduate of the Glenn County high school in the class of 1914, and
who also attended the San Francisco Institute of Art one year, and is well
known as an artist of merit; Robert K., Jr., chief electrician and instructor
in the Navy Reserve at San Pedro ; Henriette and Herald, students in the
Reedley high school.
The family home is a comfortable cottage which is built on the winery
property at Parlier. Mrs. Madsen is an accomplished musician and an acqui-
sition to the social life of Parlier. Mr. Madsen was a member of the old
Raisin Association, in which he held stock and whose interests he did all in
his power to further. He also helped organize the Parlier Packing and Raisin
Seed Company, and also the Vinegar and Pickling Company at Parlier, which
are operated in connection with the winery.
MARTIN J. JUUL. — Many of the pioneers of Fresno County are still
identified with the interests of the commonwealth, some as horticulturists,
developing the riches of the soil, some as business men enlarging the com-
merce of the state, others as professional men devoting their learning and
mental resources to the good of the people. Among the honored and thrifty
pioneer ranchers of Fresno County, one who has spent twenty-five years in
developing the resources of the soil, and is especially interested in the growth
of viticulture and horticulture, is Martin Juul, residing in the vicinity of
Selma. He is a native of Denmark, born near Grenaae, on February 20, 1863,
a son of J. S. and Karen Marie (Rasmussen) Juul, who were both natives
of Denmark, farmer folks, owning about seventy-five acres of land. The
mother died two years ago ; the father is still living in Denmark and has
reached the advanced age of eighty-one years. They were the parents of six
children, Martin being the third child and the only one residing in the United
States of America.
When twenty-five years of age. Martin Juul decided to seek his fortune
in America, so he set sail from Copenhagen in October, 1888, on the good
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1793
ship Heckla of the Tingvalla Line, and after a voyage of two weeks and a
half, arrived at Castle Garden, New York City, having stopped for a day and
a half at Christiania, Norway, en route. Having acquaintances in Fresno
County, Cal., it was but natural that he came at once to the Golden State.
After arriving in Fresno County, Mr. Juul secured work as a ranch hand,
being employed by the month. By his association with English speaking
people he soon learned enough of the language to enable him to conduct his
business affairs. After three years of laboring for others he rented land near
what is now Del Rey, but, after one year of paying rent to a landlord, deter-
mined to be a landowner himself and in 1891 purchased his present place of
twenty-five acres. At the time of purchase it was a part of a wheat field,
and having no water for irrigation he was obliged to haul it from a neighbor-
ing ranch. Mr. Juul began to improve his land and in due time planted ten
acres to muscat vines, four to peaches, three acres to Thompson seedless
grapes and one acre to alfalfa. He experienced the discouragements that are
usually the lot of the early pioneer, but, with a resolute spirit and an indomi-
table will to succeed, he overcame all obstacles and ultimately won success
and gained a splendid ranch in which he has a justifiable pride of ownership.
In 1902, Mr. Juul made a visit to his native land, and seven years later
enjoyed a second trip to the land of his birth.
Martin Juul is greatly esteemed in the community where he has resided
for so many years, as a man of high principles and unquestioned Christian
character, a devoted member of the Danish Lutheran Church at Selma, of
which he is a trustee. He is a member and stockholder of both the Raisin
and the Peach Growers' associations, and in politics he is a Republican.
VICTOR HUGO CRUMP.— A family not only emanating from pioneer
stock, but thoroughly Californian, and therefore out and out American, is
that of Victor Hugo Crump, a stockman and rancher on the West Side. His
father was John Gray Crump, a native of Virginia, who had married Nancy
Ann Cox, born in Missouri. He died in 1912, and she passed peacefully
away on June 15, 1914.
When still a young man, John Gray Crump emigrated to Paris, Mo., and
there he both went to school and taught school. In 1850, when everybody
was talking gold, he crossed the plains with a party of friends, traveling
with the slow-going ox teams, and finally reached the goal of their ambition,
the practically unexplored and unsettled state of California. He mined in
Amador and Calaveras Counties, and then located in Santa Clara County,
near Gilroy, where he farmed. In 1860 he settled near Kingston, in Fresno
County, becoming one of the very early pioneers there. He followed stock-
raising but the flood of 1861-62 drove him out. Believing that Fancher Creek
offered still better conditions in that field, he removed to land near Academy,
where he homesteaded 160 acres and followed stock raising. In 1872 he
located in Warthan Canyon, in the mountains above Coalinga, and there he
bought 320 acres, which was later increased to 1,340 acres. There he fol-
lowed stock-raising the remainder of his life. He was the first post master
of Warthan Post Office and was one of the first school trustees of Pleasant
Valley school district.
Mr. Crump was a man of sterling character, supremely honest, open-
hearted and generous, and especially inclined to help the poor. A good
student and a devouring reader, he took up the study of law and medicine,
the history of the Bible, ancient history and also political economy ; and as
he was quite familiar with these subjects, he was a hard man to beat in an
argument. He was a stanch Democrat, but refused many offers from fellow-
citizens to nominate him for public office. He belonged to the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South.
John Crump was twice married. His first union was with Mary Cox,
and after her death he married her sister, Nancy Ann Cox. Of the children
of Mr. Crump, nine grew up and are still living. The eldest is Mrs. Califor-
1794 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
nia Wier, who makes her home with her brother on the old home ranch.
She has two sons — Dillard Spencer, the divisional superintendent of the
Southern Pacific Railroad at Portland, Ore., and Cullen Gray of Coalinga.
The next in order of birth is Mrs. Anna West, of Coalinga. who has four
children. Then comes Robert Hayne, who died in 1890. Mrs. Elizabeth
Kreyenhagen, of Coalinga, is the oldest of the second marriage, and whose
marriage was blessed with three children ; Victor Hugo, the subject of this
sketch : and after that Mrs. Virginia Bell Croy, of Los Angeles, who has
three children; then there is Frank, who is married and has three children,
and Archibald, who is also a father of two children, and Chesterfield who,
with Frank and Archibald, is ranching in Sacramento County.
Victor H. was born on Fancher Creek, twenty-two miles east of Fresno,
June 22, 1859, so was only five years of age when his parents moved to the
West Side. He attended school in Pleasant Valley, and in Warthan Canyon
districts. From a youth he learned the stock business with his father, con-
tinuing with him until his death, when he took charge of the place. When
twenty-one he had homesteaded 160 acres and also purchased land adjoining
his homestead, and leasing the old home, he runs about 2,000 acres in
Warthan Canyon, where he engages in stock-raising. It has not all been a
path of roses, but has required hard work, energy and sacrifice, so with fore-
sight fortified with the experience of the past, and an enterprising spirit
prompting and permitting him to dare, where others falter, and at length to
do, Mr. Crump has become one of the leading stock-raisers of Fresno County.
When Mr. Crump married near Lemoore, June 28, 1906, he was united
to Mrs. Annie Belle (Shore) Merrill, a native of Santa Clara County, where
she was born into a pioneer family that in 1882 moved to Tulare County.
Mrs. Crump is the daughter of Gilbert Edward and Emily ( Bullard)
Shore. Born in Missouri, her father crossed the plains in an ox team train
with his parents when six years of age and was reared in Santa Clara County.
Her mother came by way of the Isthmus of Panama. In 1882 Mr. and Mrs.
Shore moved to Tulare County in the portion that afterwards became Kings
County. He was a prominent man. served as supervisor of Tulare County
and then was supervisor of Kings County, soon after the county was organ-
ized, for two terms until shortly before his death. He was a prominent Mason
and a past master of Lemoore Lodge. His widow now resides near Lemoore.
Annie Belle Shore received a good education in the public schools of Kings
County, supplemented by a course at the Santa Clara High. Her first mar-
riage was in 1893, to Strong Merrill, a native son, born in San Francisco.
He was the first under sheriff of Kings County and was the nominee for
county assessor at the time of his death in 1894. She had one daughter, Mae,
by her former marriage, and she is now the wife of Justin Miller, formerly
district attorney of Kings County. Mr. and Mrs. Crump have five children,
and they are:' Anna Victoria; Cecelia Elizabeth; Laurence Shore, died
October'28. 1918; Edward Herndon; and Jeanette Winnifred. Mrs. Crump is
a member of the Neighbors of Woodcraft, and clerk of the Circle ; she is
also a member of the Lilly of the Lake Chapter. No. 41. O. E. S., at Lemoore,
of which she is past worthy matron. Mr. and Mrs. Crump are members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church in Coalinga and active in all movements for
moral uplift and welfare of the people of the community. The Crumps own
a residence in Coalinga where the family reside during the school months
but the summers are spent on the ranch.
MRS. ANNA M. ANDERSEN. — A lady of motherly qualities and stead-
fast Christian character, in which she worthily represents her deceased hus-
band, the late Niels Andersen, the pioneer among the Danes in this locality,
is Mrs. Anna M. Andersen, like her husband an expert in farming and fruit-
raising, and a good organizer and financier, as has been agreeably demon-
strated since she took charge of the family estate. She is managing the farm
1>\ the help of her sons, all excellent young men, and they have built the beauti-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1795
ful bungalow house in which she now makes her home. Her ranch is about
midway between Selma and Parlier, and it is frequently visited by ranch
fanciers who enjoy seeing a modest "show-place."
Mrs. Andersen was born in Denmark, the daughter of Soren Sorensen,
who married Christini Pedersen, and both of whom were born, married and
died in Denmark. She was the fifth of six children, and three of her brothers
preceded her to America. Soren P. Sorensen owns a forty-acre ranch three
and a half miles from Selma ; Niels P. Sorensen is half a mile to the north of
her land ; and Chris Sorensen, the rancher, is about a mile away in the same
direction. Mrs. Andersen came to America in 1897, and took her course west-
ward by way of Canada, in which country she stayed for a while. In 1899 she
reached the land of promise of which she had heard so much, and at once
built her camp-fire at Selma. The following year she met Mr. Andersen, and
after a brief courtship they were married.
He was born in Denmark on September 23, 1860, the brother of Jes
Andersen whose biography is sketched elsewhere in this work; he learned
the carpenter's trade in Denmark, and in 1880, when only twenty years of age,
left Denmark and came out to the middle west of the United States. He
worked as a carpenter, and at building and grading a railway in Wyoming,
and little by little he made enough progress to enable him to remove further
west. When he reached California, he worked in the timber woods at Pine
Ridge, Fresno County; and continuing to save his money, he was able to
make his first investment in a California ranch. At the same time that his
brother bought twentv acres, he also purchased twenty adjoining, both tracts
being wheat field. The purchase was made of W. J. Berry, the pioneer of
Selma, and has proven an excellent buv. Mr. Andersen had worked for three
vears at the famous Boston Ranch at Fresno, and there had acquired valuable
knowledge and experience that stood by him when he came to develop his
new possession.
Later he bought forty-eight acres more, and. as soon as he could, he
planted all his land and otherwise improved it. He had always been a very
conscientious, careful worker, striving for the highest results and least of
all favoring himself, and through overwork and exposure he was taken with
pneumonia, which developed into Bright's Disease, and he died on October
26, 1915, aged fifty-five years. He was mourned by a devoted widow, by a
whole community, and quite as much by his three children, Hans, Christian,
and Edith.
Business-like in managing his private affairs, a man who believed in
setting his house in order and in assisting others to do likewise, Mr. Andersen
helped to organize the First National Bank of Parlier and was on the bank's
first board of directors. Men of far larger affairs reposed their faith in his
integrity, no less than in his judgment, and were never misguided.
HORACE E. NORMAN. — A public-spirited citizen, generous to a fault
and untiring for the public welfare, is Horace E. Norman, the one surviving
son of J. L. Norman, the vice-president of the Bank of Kingsburg. He owns
a splendid ranch of about forty acres half a mile north of the Clay school,
and besides operating that, he rents forty acres of his father's property. He
was born in Saunders County, Nebr., on August 1, 1889, but grew up mainly
in Fresno County, having come to California when he was five years old.
His father, who had much to contend with and who. as a successful
American of an interesting type, is represented elsewhere in this work, had
a career worth noting again. He was born in Sweden, in 1860, the son of
Andrew and Johanna Norman who came to the United States in the late
sixties and settled in Saunders County, Nebr., where they homesteaded.
The tough experiences of a pioneer, in contending against grasshoppers,
cyclones, blizzards and panics, undoubtedly hastened Andrew Norman's end,
for he passed away in Nebraska, while his widow was able to come west to
1796 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
California, in the middle nineties, bringing her family. J. L. Norman, as a
boy in Nebraska, earned his salt and many times over, so that when he
became of age he was able to assume the leadership of the family. He farmed,
and he also married, taking for his bride Miss Elna Nelson, who was born
and reared in Sweden. When he came to California, he bought and im-
proved twenty acres of land, and afterward he bought and improved forty
acres. He sold the twenty and bought another forty. On these ranches he
set out peach-trees and muscat vines, and became so active as a successful
rancher that he was naturally made a trustee of the California Associated
Raisin Company. Busy as he has constantly been, he has found time for
wide travel, back to Nebraska and then to Sweden, with his family, and so
has become a well-informed leader of men. As late as the winter of 1916-17,
J. L. Norman had erected for his residence one of the choice dwellings in
Kingsburg's select quarter.
After passing his boyhood attending the Clay Grammar School, and
doing chores, and growing up. Horace E. Norman was married to Miss Edith
Louisa Peterson, at Kingsburg, on January 19. 1916. She was the daughter
of Alexander E. and Anna Petersen. Mr. and Mrs. Norman have one child,
Horace M.
The association of father and son made Mr. Norman his father's main
stay in running the home ranch. He is not only an excellent worker, but a
young man of principle, good judgment, and common sense. He is one
of Fresno County's most promising young men. Mrs. Norman also de-
serves her full share of honor, not only for her worthy family connections,
but also for her part in the social life of the community, and she is, in more
than one sense, a model citizen.
JOSEPH MARTIN.— Born in Ray County. Mo., in 1862, Joseph Martin
is a son of William and Emeline (Clark) Martin. His father served in the
Civil War and died in Missouri in 1877; his mother is still living and now
resides in Fresno. Joseph grew up in Missouri, where he received a good
education and in April. 1881. he migrated to California and engaged in ranch-
ing in Fresno County.
Joseph Martin was united in marriage at Kingsburg. Cal.. on September
7. 1890, with Abbygail Woodmansee. who was born in Ray County, Mo., the
daughter of Oliver and Frances (Huddleston) Woodmansee, natives of Ohio
and Harrison County, Mo., respectively. Mr. Woodmansee was a soldier in
the Union Army and served in an Ohio Regiment of Artillery until the close
of the war, after which he came to Missouri where he was married and fol-
lowed farming and stock-raising until his death, in 1884. Resides his widow
he left three children: Abbygail, widow of Toseph Martin; James; and Mary,
now Mrs. Kline. After her husband's death Mrs. Woodmansee brought her
family to Traver. Cal.. in 1886. and two years later located at Kingsburg,
Fresno County, where she made her home until her death.
Abbygail Woodmansee was the oldest child of the family: she attended
the public school at Traver, but, being the eldest, was early obliged to take
up the duties of life and assist her mother with the work at home, becoming
her mainstay and greatest help, and remained with her mother until her
marriage to Mr. Martin. After their marriage Mr. Martin leased a part of
the Alfred Raird place near Academy and engaged in raising grain for three
years and then leased a part -of the Simpson place, in the same vicinity. In
1900 Mr. and Mrs. Martin purchased the old Kern place of 1.800 acres on
Fancher Creek, where they engaged in stock-raising and soon afterwards
they bought another ranch of 556 acres close by. In 1010 they sold the 1,800-
acre ranch and purchased the present place of 410 acres in the Round Moun-
tain District and moved there. During these years Mr. Martin also bought
and sold other ranches. He also found time to serve as a trustee of the Fancher
Creek district.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1799
Five months after they settled on the Round Mountain ranch Mr. Martin
passed away, on February 11, 1911, at the age of forty-five years, leaving
besides his widow, six children: Harry, who resides in Fresno; Bertha, is
the wife of Lawrence Simpson, of Sanger ; Walter, assists his mother on the
ranch ; Elsie, is the wife of Clarence Moore of Round Mountain ; Hazel ; and
Joseph. Since the death of Mr. Martin, his widow continues to operate the
home ranch but leases the Fancher Creek ranch. Mrs. Martin is one of the
very oldest settlers in this part of the county and, like her late husband, is
favorably known and highly respected.
FRITZ E. NORD. — A hard-working, progressive, large-hearted and
public-spirited young man, who is equally successful with his brother, E. M.
Nord, reviewed elsewhere in this history, and who is rapidly forging to the
front, socially, financially and politically, is Fritz E. Nord, a rancher living
four miles northeast of Kingsburg, on Central Avenue, in the Clay school
district, where he is clerk of the school board. There he has thirty acres of
land ; and there his good wife, who is an excellent mother, neighbor and
citizen, assists him to dispense a liberal hospitality.
He was born in Sweden on December 13, 1887, and when six months
old came to California with his parents, who settled, with good judgment,
in Fresno County, at West Park, and the next year came to Kingsburg.
His father was John P. Nord, and he is still living, a pioneer rancher in the
Kingsburg Colony, having reached his sixty-fourth year. He married Sus-
anna Timan, and she became the mother of four children. These were E. M.
Nord; I. J., who died on August 3, 1917; Fritz E., the subject of this review;
and Alfred, who was born at Kingsburg and died in infancy.
Almost a native son, Fritz grew up on his father's farm and attended the
Harrison district school ; and when twenty-one — having meanwhile remained
at home to help, as a dutiful son — he started in for himself by renting land.
The next year he bought his twenty-acre place which he has converted, as
if by a miracle, from a patch of weeds into a highly developed area ; and still
later he purchased another ten acres adjoining. On January 21, 1914, Mr.
Nord was married to Miss Hannah Anderson of Kingsburg, and since that
time he has been the fortunate enjoyer of a happy home life. They have
three children: Ethel E., Helen V., and Chester A. E.
Mr. Nord has served as the efficient clerk of the school board ; he is
both a member and a stockholder for the California Raisin Growers Associa-
tion, and a solicitor as well, and he succeeded in getting one hundred per
cent, of the acreage assigned to him in his territory, namely. Sections 7-16-
23, signed up, and subscribed willingly. He is also a member and a stock-
holder in the California Peach Growers Association, and has encouraged all
movements to improve the market for the ranchman, and to produce more
stable agricultural conditions, on which so many thousands depend. This
interest of Mr. Nord in commerce and industry has led him to take a live
interest in politics, voting always for the best man and the principle in-
volved ; and while giving loyal support to the national administration, he
is keenly alive to all affairs affecting the community.
E. M. MIKKELSEN. — Good and effectual boosters of the industrious,
thrifty, progressive, successful and happy sort, such as arc always a credit
to the land from .which they come, while they are a blessing to the United
States, and just such pioneers as Fresno delights to welcome and to honor,
are Mr. and Mrs. Mikkelsen, a contented, confident couple of superior and
impressive personality. They own a twenty-acre ranch near the Ross school-
house, two miles south of Parlier, and all who know them respect them and
wish them well.
E. M. Mikkelsen was born at Hirtshals, Denmark, near the Skagerack
Light House, on March 20, 1871, and attended the Danish common schools,
while he prepared for confirmation in the Danish Lutheran Church. From
1S00 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
fourteen to eighteen he followed fishing; and having tasted of the romance of
sea-life, he came to America and settled at Merrill, Wis. He sailed from
Hamburg on the steamship Prussia of the Hamburg-American line, and on
March 28, 1880. landed at the old Castle Garden in New York City.
Settling in Wisconsin, he engaged in the arduous and dangerous work
of a woodsman in the service of various lumber companies, and for five
seasons drove timber down the Wisconsin. Then he moved to Minneapolis
and there, with a partner, ran a Merry-go-Round, continuing to manage the
amusement for a year and a half. He realized considerable income from his
combined labors and investment, and began to plan greater things.
Between 1898 and 1900, Mr. Mikkelsen made a visit to Denmark, and
coming back to America and the Pacfic Coast, he settled in San Francisco
and engaged in the oyster business. He became the foreman for the Morgan
Oyster Company, being with them seven years. He then made a second
trip to Denmark, staying a year; and after he returned in 1910, he was mar-
ried, at San Francisco, to Miss Johanna Christina Fredericksen, a daughter
of Denmark, who had come to Iowa when she was sixteen years old, and
there became a trained nurse in the Sioux City Hospital. Later she came
to San Francisco and continued her nursing; and when she married, she was
finely equipped for pioneer work. Mr. Mikkelsen bought his place in 1909,
and soon after his marriage made it his home. They have one child, the
light and life of the household, Envoid Miller, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Mikkelsen are members of the Danish Baptist Church in
Selma. They are thus disposed to aid in building up and improving Parlier
in everv respect. They also belong to the Danish Brotherhood. As mem-
bers of the Peach Growers and Raisin Growers associations they also labor
to advance Central Calfornia's great industries, and they put in many days
of effectual work in the great raisin drive in the winter of 1917 and 1918.
They are enthusiastic advertisers of the country and the county in which
they have had their prosperity; and as loyal citizens, they vote for the best
man and the highest principles.
W. H. DEWHIRST. — A young man of such ideals that his numerous
customers not only get the best there is to be had but always find him
courteous in his attention to their wants, is W. H. Dewhirst, the wide-awake
manager of the Selma Rochdale Company store, the famous emporium for
general merchandise. His father was the Reverend A. Dewhirst, a Methodist
minister who died a few years ago, and a member of a well-known family
reaching back several generations in Lincolnshire, England. His mother was
Miranda Byrne before her marriage; and she is still living at Selma. His
father belonged to the Southern Illinois Conference, and following the itiner-
ary assigned him, he moved with his family from place to place, having at
different times a church and a home at Olney, Claremont, Sumner, Flat Rock,
Louisville, Belmont, Oblong and Bone Gap. In all these places, the good
influence of the Reverend Dewhirst's unselfish work is still felt today ; and
in each of these places his excellent wife and attractive family soon found a
circle of steadfast friends.
Born near Olney, in Richland County, 111., on August 22, 1883, the subject
of our sketch began his education at the public schools and continued his
preparation for life in the rough school of experience. At the age of nine-
teen, he had so far progressed that he was teaching with a second grade
certificate ; and two years later, he used a first-grade certificate. Abandon-
ing the class-room for the counter, he went into a general merchandise store
at Passport, 111., and for two years he patiently acquired the numerous de-
tails of the exacting business. Then he bought the proprietor out, and for
two years conducted the store himself. Disposing of his entire interest
there, he acquired a farm in exchange, and next experimented in the field of
agriculture.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1801
In March, 1910, attracted to Selma by its wonderful development, Mr.
Dewhirst sold his farm and left the state in which he had spent some of the
best years of his life. He at once engaged as a clerk with the Selma Rochdale
Company, a mercantile house with a history of unusual interest. The old
company was organized in 1900 as one of the first cooperative stores in the
San Joaquin Valley. There were one hundred eighty-eight members when
the company was most prosperous, and the shares were taken principally by
ranchers and horticulturists of the vicinity. However, the death of the
principal supporters led to its dissolution, the company paying its debts, one
hundred cents on the dollar, and also paying the shareholders in full. In
1912, Mr. Dewhirst was made manager, and he continued with the old com-
pany until it sold out, on December 22, 1917, to J. M. Byrne.
On January 1, 1918, the present firm, also known as the Rochdale Com-
pany, was organized and its store opened on High Street, Selma, since which
time the public have come more and more to appreciate its service. Being
a very careful business man, Mr. Dewhirst not only selects with a special
view as to what his patrons want, but when he has been successful in secur-
ing what usually cannot be found with his competitors, he exercises adequate
care to see that it is well displaved. From first to last he applies those busi-
ness ideals, to which reference has already been made, with the result that it
must be an odd customer who is not eventually and generally satisfied.
In his twenty-first 3'ear, Mr. Dewhirst was married to Miss Grace
Dewhirst, by whom he has had four children, Victor, Roy, Fred, and William ;
and more than ever today his s^ood helomate shares his popularitv. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Dewhirst are members of the Methodist Church, and with their
children they attend the First Methodist Eoiscopal congregation. Lately,
Mr. Dewhirst purchased his former home on Second Street from W. R. Dale,
where hospitalitv marked the family life, and once again drew together a
wide circle of friends.
W. R. GORDON. — It is not often that a man is able to test his popular-
ity with safety and success by absenting himself awhile from the scene of
his former activities, but this has been done by W. R. Gordon who, to the
great satisfaction of his numerous friends and his even more numerous ac-
quaintances, returned to Selma with his family on April 1, 1919, and two weeks
later took possession of the Economy Grocery, which occupies the south side
of the store-room at 1940 East Front Street, Selma. His many years of
experience both as clerk and proprietor have made him thoroughly conver-
sant with the best brands and qualities of staple and fancy groceries, and he
not only gives his personal attention to the wants of his patrons, but directs
the neat and sanitary disposition of his stock. He is indeed a live wire, and
it is not surprising that he is building up a good trade at Selma.
W. R. Gordon was born at Warrensburg, Johnson County, Mo., on
September 2, 1883, the son of W. B. Gordon who married Miss Ada Reed, a
native of Little Rock, Ark., who still lives in Fresno, with her four daughters.
AVhen the lad was sixteen years of age, his parents came with him to Selma,
and here his father served the city for four years as Councilman, dying in
Tanuary. 1918, when he was fifty-nine years old. During his tenure of office
especially, he was one of the strongest temperance advocates at a time when
Prohibition was decidedly unpopular, and when the anti-saloon fight was
up-hill work, and he stood firmly for a dry Selma. When he first went into
the bitter fight, he ran a busy blacksmith shop and employed six men in a
smithy that was among the best patronized in or near Selma ; but as a re-
sult of his uncompromising attitude toward the liquor traffic, he saw his
business dwindle to a point where, with only one helper, he could take care
of all the work that came to his shop. Nevertheless, he persisted in his
work of reform, and Selma became the first dry town in the San Joaquin
Vallev.
1802 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
W. R. Gordon is largely self-taught and self-made, having been rather
a precocious boy when he was in the grammar schools in Missouri and at
Selma. At thirteen he entered a newspaper office in Missouri, first as "devil,"
and later as typesetter on the Johnson County Star, and soon after arriving
in Selma he resumed his work as a compositor, working after school and on
Saturdays for John W. Aikin, editor and proprietor of the Enterprise at
Selma. Later on he was made clerk in Unger's Stationer}' Store, and later
still became a clerk for the Walter Scott Company, in Selma, remaining with
the latter firm steadily for eight years. He next went to Coalinga and clerked
for A. P. May for a year, and then he bought a store at San Joaquin, in
Fresno County, where he also became postmaster, while conducting a suc-
cessful general merchandise store.
In the spring of 1919 he returned to Selma and bought out W. O. Staley,
the former owner of the Economy Market, and took possession of the grocery
department. Mr. Staley had owned and operated both the meat market
and the grocery, but the former he sold to Jess L. Williams, who took pos-
session the same day that Mr. Gordon did.
On the second day of July, 1905, at Selma, Cal., Mr. Gordon was mar-
ried to Miss Bertha Neer, a native daughter, whose parents, William and
Mary (Bozeman) Neer, ranchers a quarter of a mile east of Selma. reared her
in that favoring town. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon have two children. Louise
and Marada. The family attends the Christian Church at Selma, and Mr.
Gordon is a popular member of the Woodmen of the World.
MRS. CHRISTINE A. PETERSEN.— The home of Mrs. Christine A.
Petersen, widow of the late John Petersen, superintendent and president of
the Parlier Winery during his lifetime, radiates the hospitality and good
cheer that its owner is ever pleased to extend to those who are so fortunate
as to be guests within its walls.
Mrs. Petersen is a native of Denmark, having been born in Sondre,
Tylland, November 22, 1868. She is the daughter of Hans Iversen Yind and
Anna Maria (Schmidt) Vind. Her father was a well-to-do farmer in Denmark,
and both her parents were born and married under the Danish flag. As a
result of the war of 1864, however, Schleswig became a province of Germany.
Although her father died under the German flag his sympathies always re-
mained with Denmark. In a family of six children who grew to maturity,
Mrs. Petersen is the second child. Two children died in infancy in Denmark.
The six children came to California, viz., 'Marie, who is the wife of Charles
Sorensen, a chef residing at Fruitvale ; Christine Adophine ; Hans J., who
died single in California; Petrine, the wife of Christ Andersen, a baker in
San Francisco, where they reside; Jorgine A., the wife of Peter Hansen, a
rancher near Parlier; and Peter Adolph, who is a rancher north of Parlier.
After the death of the father of the family, his widow came to Selma. Cal.
She was accompanied by her invalid son, Hans J., and divided her time
between the homes of her children in various places in California and the
home of her son, Peter Adolph Vind, in the Selma district. The mother lived
to the advanced age of eighty-three, dying in California.
Mrs. Petersen was reared in Schleswig and sailed alone from Hamburg
on the steamship Harmonia. She embarked at Hamburg in the early part of
September. 1885, and landing at Castle Garden, New York, lost no time in
going to Salinas, Cal., where she arrived October 3, 1885. She met Mr.
Petersen — a native of Denmark, born February 26, 1859 — in the Central
Colony, four miles south of Fresno, where they were married May 31. 1889.
As a young man, Mr. Petersen served his regular military course in
Denmark, "afterwards working on farms in that country. After coming to
the United States he worked at various occupations and trades, finallv coming
to California. He owned U>0 acres in San Bernardino County. Cal.. then
became interested in Fresno County viticulture. He lived six months in the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1805
Central Colony, then came to the Parlier district. (There was no Parlier
station at that time). Later, he helped build the winery at Parlier and for
five years served as its secretary and manager. For four years he was its
manager and President. He then purchased twenty acres of unimproved
land. Starting with nothing, the place is now well improved. In 1906, Mr.
Petersen built a fine residence. The ranch is on the Consolidated Ditch and
is planted to alfalfa, muscats, Thompson seedless, seedless sultanas, Malagas
and peaches.
Mr. Petersen died September 10, 1911, at the age of fifty-two and was
buried in the Mendocino Cemetery. He was the first president of the Danish
Brotherhood. His widow now owns the ranch.
Mrs. Petersen bore her husband seven children. The oldest is deceased.
Hannah is the wife of Mr. Henry Eckenrode, ex-soldier in the Philippines and
in the United States Marines, who is now renting a ranch one and a half miles
northwest of Parlier ; they are the parents of one child, Bernice Christine.
Henry George, twenty-four years of age, has just returned from France. He
was transferred to the One Hundred Seventh Ammunition Train of the Thirty-
second Division, and saw five months' active service in the Alsace, the Aisne-
Marne or Chateau Thierry, and Soissons and Argonne sectors. He had several
close calls. He was honorably discharged, May 31, 1919, at the Presidio, and
reached home the next day. William Bryan joined the colors, and served
five months at Camp Kearney, and became chief mechanic ; he was honorably
discharged at Camp Kearney and came home February 6. 1919. Walter
Christian, a lad of seventeen, graduated in June, 1918, from the Selma High
School ; John and Antone M., twins, died in infancy.
Mrs. Petersen is a charming and accomplished woman, and her well-
ordered household bespeaks her qualifications as a fine housekeeper. She
is a consistent Christian and an active church worker, and she and her family
are members of the Lutheran Church, three miles west of Parlier on the
Reedley road. Mrs. Petersen is also a member of the Red Cross.
SAMUEL HAMILTON. — A native son proud of his association with
the great commonwealth on the Pacific Coast, Samuel Hamilton was born
in the Red Bank district of Fresno County, on May 2, 1877, the son of Stephen
Hamilton, who came from Illinois to California in the early settlement of
the state, having crossed the great plains, and for a time followed mining.
Then he moved into Fresno County and became one of the early grain-
ranchers near Red Bank, although he died at Oakland in 1897. Mrs. Hamil-
ton was Albina Howison before her marriage ; she also was a native of the
East, and died in the Red Bank district in 1900. Two children were born of
their union; Samuel, of this review, and Nellie, now a teacher in the Fresno
State Normal.
Samuel Hamilton received the best education possible in the local public
schools and at the Woodbridge Business College, and from a youth assisted his
father at grain-farming. He was united in marriage at Tarpey, Fresno County,
on December 10, 1899, with Miss May Alice Fleming, who was born at
Lewiston, N. Y.. and came to California and Fresno County in 1893 with
her parents, J. M. and Emma E. (Odell) Fleming, and she was educated in
the Jefferson school district.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton continued at grain-farming,
in Red Bank, where he operated his mother's place, until her death in 1900;
and then, having inherited the farm with his sister, he kept on raising grain
and stock there for thirteen years. In 1903 or 1904, he and his sister pur-
chased 160 acres in Enterprise Colony, and began improving it by setting out
twenty-six acres in vineyard : and in 1912 they sold the old Hamilton place.
Then he leased a vineyard at Clovis, which he ran in connection with the
ranch of 160 acres ; but he did not live to enjoy the fruits of his labors, for
he passed away, February 23, 1914, at the early age of thirty-seven. After
1806 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
his death, Mrs. Hamilton built a residence on the tract of 160 acres and con-
tinued viticulture and farming, in partnership with Miss Nellie Hamilton.
She made numerous improvements, and among them sunk a fine well. She
resided on the property until 1917; then, on account of needed high school
advantages for her children, she built a residence in Clovis, to which place
she moved ; and there she now resides, having rented the ranch.
Six children were born to this worthy couple, and five are at present
living: Nellie Margaret, a graduate of the Clovis High School, Class of '19;
John Leslie, attending the same ; Ellison Stephen ; Doris May, and Samuel
Lawrence. Mr. Hamilton was always interested in the cause of popular
education, and served as a member of the board of trustees of the Red Bank
school district. Mrs. Hamilton is a member of Grace Methodist Episcopal
Church at Clovis, and a stockholder of the California Associated Raisin
Company, one of the greatest agencies for the advancement of Central
California.
WILLIAM DUNCAN. — A business man of stability and influence,
most interesting to converse with — perhaps because of the many hardships
through which he has gone — is William Duncan, who has built up a sub-
stantial block in the commercial district of Clovis and now enjoys, with his
gifted wife and daughter, the fruits of his years of toil. His grandfather,
Thomas, was born in Scotland ; he was a college graduate and an educator ;
he crossed the ocean and settled in New York, afterwards teaching in
Montreal, where he was principal of schools. His father, William, was born
at Utica, and growing up to be a farmer, he crossed the border and settled
in Ontario. In 1866, he came to Lanark, 111., and later removed to Albany,
Whiteside County, the same state, where he resided until he died. Mrs.
Duncan had been Elizabeth Burton Williscraft before her marriage ; she was
born in England, and died in Clinton, Iowa. She was the mother of eight
children, five of whom are still living.
Born at Smith's Falls, Ontario, on June 13, 1857, the second youngest,
William was educated at the public schools, completing the grammar grades
in Albany, 111. When sixteen, he began running on a Mississippi river boat
owned by his brother-in-law, Captain O. P. McMahon, where he became
engineer ; but quitting the river, he chose the blacksmith trade. At Clinton,
Iowa, he had a chance to learn the trade with George Bryant, and he re-
mained with him for three years, or until 1877. He was also awhile in busi-
ness for himself. When he sold out, he joined a company of young men
going to the Black Hills, who made their way through the Indian country
to Fort Pierre by means of ox teams. There he prospected and mined, with
varying luck. He and a partner, John F. Straub, located two mines. On
leaving, they let a fellow in as partner with a one-third interest. He de-
veloped the veins but the next year all the records of the location of mineral
claims were burned in the big fire at Deadwood ; and taking advantage of
this fact, the rascal jumped both claims and sold them for one hundred
thousand dollars, and neither Duncan nor Straub ever received anything for
their share.
Meanwhile, iMr. Duncan had made his way from Deadwood to Morrison,
Colo., where he worked at his trade, and later to Leadville, where he pros-
pected and mined. Then he came on to Prescott, Ariz., where he was a
blacksmith with Fred Britt. He next engaged in cattle-raising with J. H.
Hicks, in the Magolone mountains, using the brand of H-D, the two letters
representing the two partners. Hicks and Duncan. After some years, they
divided up, and he continued the cattle business alone in Strawberry Valley.
He had been in the cattle business for sixteen years, and had prospered,
owning many cattle, when a three years' drought came on. and he lost all
that he had.
While in Strawberry Valley, Ariz., Mr. Duncan was married to Miss
Laura Bell McFarlane, who was born in Merced County, Cal. She was well-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1807
educated and a member of the teaching profession; and was engaged in
teaching when she met Mr. Duncan. Her folks lived in the San Joaquin
Valley ; and after they lost all their cattle, they moved to California in 1895.
Here Mr. Duncan engaged in mining in the Yosemite Valley, on the Mari-
posa-Tuolumne county line ; and with his brother-in-law he opened and ran
the Laurel-LeGrand mine. There they built a five-stamp mill and put in a
hoist and other machinery, using steam power for all the work. Bent on
greater adventure, Mr. Duncan, in 1898, made the journey into the Klondyke,
going to Atlan Lake, then to Dawson, then to Eagle City, traveling 1,500
miles over ice with dog teams, to Nome, prospecting from point to
point. He was two years and four months in the frozen North, and during
that stay, all too long, went through many hardships, so that he was never
before so glad to return to California.
Taking up his residence here again, he located in Clovis, and ran a
butcher shop. Then he worked in San Francisco and Portland, and finally
at Coalinga, where he was on the construction of the water-line. In Novem-
ber, 1908, he bought out Broes Giffin's blacksmith shop, and continued the
business. All he had was a little wooden shop on two lots ; since then he
bought three lots adjoining, giving him 125x150 feet located on the corner,
and built a new blacksmith shop, 50x75 feet. He also built a new brick
garage, 50x120 feet, and furnished it with modern machinery. This garage
and equipment he rents. He also owns a comfortable residence.
Mr. and Mrs. Duncan have had five children : Maud L., a graduate of the
Fresno State Normal, and now Mrs. Brown ; Grace B., also a graduate of
the Fresno State Normal, teaching in Oakland ; William J., a graduate of Clovis
High School, who died at the age of eighteen ; George, who died at one
year of age; and Oliver J., attending the Clovis High School. Public-
spirited, and favoring all that makes for better conditions, Mr. Duncan is a
Republican in national politics, but supports the best man when it comes to
local issues. Both Mr. and Mrs. Duncan enjoy the respect and good-will
of the community.
J. R. HOOP, D. V. S. — A young man who has dedicated his life to the
important science of veterinary medicine and who has those progressive and
prepossessing qualities which make him welcome among the most enter-
prising residents of Fresno County, is J. R. Hoop, the son of James A. Hoop,
a native of Ohio, and Martha A. Casey, who was born in Indiana. His
parents were married in Iowa and moved to Western Kansas, where Mr.
Hoop engaged in the stock business. Choosing to move still further west,
he brought his family to Santa Ana, Orange County, Cal., in 1906 ; but
although he could see the many advantages of the Southland, he was not
satisfied until, two years later, he brought his household north to Selma,
where the family is now residing. Here the father is the fortunate possessor
of forty acres set to peaches and vines, while he has a residence with two
acres at the city limits, just north of Selma. He is now at work for the
county, hauling oil for road purposes. Two daughters are : Mrs. A. B.
Scholes and Mrs. J. F. Berry, both of whom are living in Selma.
Born on June 20, 1888, at Santa Fe, Kans., and reared in Cowley County,
that state, young Hoop attended the grammar schools of Kansas, while grow-
ing up on farm and stock ranches. Thus, early in life he became familiar
with live stock ; and that boyhood experience has been of great value to
him. He rode the range as soon as he could keep his balance in the saddle.
When a youth he became a jockey, and weighing only 114 pounds, he rode
many famous horses, frequently winning for the owners.
Mr. Hoop had come to California with his parents in 1906, but in 1907
he returned to Kansas, and entered the Kansas City Veterinary College.
After completing the three-year course, which has made that institution
notable in the West, he graduated with the Class of 1910. He has not only
1808 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
acquired scientific knowledge, but the latest ideas in practical devices, and as
a result he has the most up-to-date electrical float and full equipment for
veterinary dentistry and surgery. He very successfully treats anthrax,
lumpy jaw. black leg, and tuberculosis, by means of vaccines and serums, and
administers tubercular tests; and he also treats hog cholera by means of
serums. He also castrates ridglings, stallions, etc., very successfully, having
castrated forty-seven ridglings and never lost a case. His office is at 1612
East Front Street. Selma, and so successful has he been that he owns the
building in which the office is located. He also owns the lots at the corner
of his business street, that is, at the corner of East Front and Orange Streets.
Dr. Hoop is a member of the State Veterinary Medical Association.
On February 11, 1913, Dr. Hoop was married to Miss Mary A. Wagner,
a native of Oklahoma, who came to California about seven years ago. They
have one child, J. D., four years of age. Dr. Hoop owns a handsome five-
room bungalow residence at 2465 B Street, in Selma, where he resided with
his family before he entered the service. Fie is a Mason and a member of
Selma Lodge, No. 277, F. & A. M. He also belongs to the Foresters. He
is a loyal booster for Selma and Fresno County, and actively supports the
Raisin Growers' Association.
Dr. Hoop enlisted in the Veterinary Corps in the late war and was com-
missioned lieutenant, serving three months at Camp Lee, Virginia. When
he enlisted he gave up his practice at Selma. He was honorably discharged
on January 1. 1919. Since his return he has devoted nearly all his time to
his two splendid ranches of twenty and forty acres, respectively, which lie
about four one-half miles west of Selma, and which are in vines. Dr. Hoop
and family moved to the city of Fresno upon his return from the service,
and are now domiciled there.
D. A. WILLIAMS.— The career of D. A. Williams, one of Fresno
County's successful vineyardists and horticulturists, furnishes a splendid
example of what is commonly termed, a self-made man. He is a man of
sterling integrity and worth and is highly esteemed in the community near
Fowler, where he owns a ranch of 120 acres, on Adams Avenue, one mile
west of Fowler. A native of the Lone Star State. Mr. Williams was born
on December 3. 1866, near Georgetown. Texas, a son of William C. and Eliza
(Ellison I Williams. His grandfather. Aaron Williams, was born in Virginia,
but migrated to Tennessee and it was in this state that W. C. the father
of D. A. Williams, the subject of this review, was born. The Williams family
are descendants of Scotch ancestry, although D. A. Williams claims a trace
of Welsh blood from his paternal grandmother. His mother's progenitors,
the Ellisons, were natives of the Emerald Isle who immigrated to the United
States, settling in Alabama during the early days of American history and
later moving to North Carolina, then to Tennessee, afterwards to Texas and
finally the present representatives of the Ellison family migrated to the
Golden State. P>oth the Williams and Ellison families have experienced the
trials, hardships and excitements of pioneer settlers. William C. Williams,
the father of the subject of this sketch, was a scout and cavalryman during
the Civil War. serving in the Confederate Army. At one time he farmed
and raised cattle in Williamson County. Texas.
D. A. Williams was united in marriage with Estella Glossbrenner,
daughter of A. F. Glossbrenner. of Fowler. Cal., the ceremony being solem-
nized in Mason County. Texas.
He was identified with the farming and cattle business in Texas, hut
owing to failing health, he moved from there to the Salt River Valley, Ariz.,
where he was interested in cattle-raising for six or seven years.
lie arrived in Arizona with his wife and five children, and only five
dollars in cash. Being undaunted by adversity and fully determined to suc-
ceed, he struggled along and by hard work, intelligent efforts and economical
habits, he eventually succeeded.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1811
In 1907 he moved to Fowler, Fresno County, Cal., and was engaged in
the butcher business from 1909 to 1914. During the year 1913, he purchased
his present ranch of 120 acres, one mile west of Fowler. By applying the
same system of hard work and intelligent management to the raisin industry,
that he did to the cattle business, Mr. Williams has succeeded equally as
well and has gained for himself the reputation of being one of Fresno
County's most successful vineyardists and horticulturists.
He is very public-spirited and always interested in those movements
that have as their aim the upbuilding of the best interests of the community.
He still possesses his Mexican lariat which he used about thirty-five years
ago and can throw it today as well and effectively as any cow-boy.
Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Williams are the parents of six children, of whom
they are justly proud : Lela, married George Wilkins and they reside one-
half mile northwest of Fowler; Mabel, is the wife of Porter Brown, and
they live in Fowler, where he is the foreman of the Phoenix Packing House ;
Lois, was the assistant postmaster at Fowler, she married Ervin Freer, of
Fowler ; William, married Mary Jackson, and assists in running the Williams
home place near Fowler ; Max answered the call of his country and served
in the United States Army. He was honorably discharged in May, 1919,
and is now assisting his father on the home farm. He was married July 31,
1919, to Miss Jonnie Newton of Fresno. Robert, who is eleven years of age,
is at home. Mr. Williams is a man of high ideals and unquestioned integrity
and his family are highly respected in their community.
SIMEON EDGAR WILLIAMSON.— A native son of the Golden State,
grandson of a forty-niner who was a successful gold-miner and a descend-
ant of an officer in the Revolutionary War, the subject of this sketch, S. E.
Williamson, is a very energetic and progressive rancher in the Elkhorn
school district, and a director of the Fresno District Fair. He was born at
Stockton. Cal., January 15, 1877, a son of George F. and Ann (Ballard)
Williamson; the former, who died July 11, 1919, was a native of Michigan,
whose sketch will be found upon another page of this history; the latter,
a native of the Golden State, is still living on the George F. Williamson
home ranch near Riverdale. The family came to Fresno County in Novem-
ber, 1885, settling near what is now Caruthers. The trip was made to the
new home with a team and wagon, and S. E. Williamson, then a small boy,
well remembers that the family were detained at Fresno for three days on
account of breaking the wagon tongue. The father raised wheat at first
on a tract- of land owned by Timothy Paige, who was a large landowner and
pioneer, the ranch being situated about three-quarters of a mile south of
Caruthers.
Simeon E. attended the Princeton school, and when but a small boy
evinced a fondness for the "great out-of-doors," helping his father on the
ranch when but nine years of age. He learned farming from his father
and was always very industrious, which commendable trait has characterized
him through his lifetime. Before coming of age, he started in business for
himself, buying a team and contracting for earth-work, such as ditch-build-
ing, road-making, and reclaiming land, helping to drain the Murphy slough,
by which thousands of fertile acres were reclaimed for farming. In 1898,
before the Santa Fe Railway was built, he helped to build the first ditch in
the Laguna de Tache Grant, where" Laton now is situated.
On June 15, 1902, S. E. Williamson was united in marriage with Miss
Alice Hatch, the only daughter of Mrs. Mary J. Hatch, a pioneer of the
Elkhorn school district, a sketch of whose life appears upon another page
of this history. They have six children: Sidney; Robert, who is called
Bert; Mary E. ; Edna T. ; Francis L. ; and George.
Mr. and Airs. Williamson make their home on the old Dennis Hatch
ranch, which Mr. AVilliamson operates, and he operates a 2,000-acre cattle-
1812 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ranch besides. He is a director of the Fresno District Fair, which has
proved a marked success; the board of directors comprises S. E. Williamson,
I. E. Dickinson, H. E. Vogel, Frank Helm, A. McNeill, M. D. Huffman, and
P. B. Thornton. Mr. 'Williamson is deeply interested in educational mat-
ters, and since 1912 has ably served as a member of the board of trustees
of the Riverdale High School Mr. and Mrs. Williamson are highly esteemed
in their community.
GEORGE E. LANDRY. — Popular in fraternal and business circles of
Fresno and as the assistant secretary of the Fresno Sequoia Club, George E.
Landry is well-known. He was born in Canada, February 15, 1867, the son
of Peter and Mary (Choinier) Landry, farmer folk of Canada. He grew up
on his father's farm and his education was received in the public schools of
Lowell. Mass. After leaving school he went back home to help his father.
Both parents are now deceased.
In 1886, at the age of nineteen, Mr. Landry married Mary L. Dion, and
they have had five children born to them: William E. is in the employ of the
Stavnow Furniture Company in Los Angeles; Laura is Mrs. Fred Merrill, of
Camarillo, Cal. ; and Eva, Leo, and Alice are at home.
Mr. Landry spent three years in North Adams, Mass., and then moved to
New Bedford, where from 1895 to 1906 he served as steward of the Wamsutta
Club. During his residence in that city he became interested in the oil busi-
ness. In 1908 he came to California as the representative of the New Bedford
Oil Company, and for nearly four years he had charge of their business here.
He next became a clerk in the Grand Central Hotel in Fresno and later was
manager of the hotel for eighteen months, or until January 1. 1917. when
he was appointed to the position of steward and secretary of the staff of the
county hospital, by the county commissioners. He served faithfully until
July 1, 1918, and then became assistant secretary of the Fresno Sequoia Club.
Mr. Landry is a member of the Catholic Church, the Knights of Colum-
bus, the Elks and the Commercial Club. In politics he is a Republican.
A. T. CARLSON. — A man who has attained, in a few years, an envi-
able success in the commercial and banking circles of Kingsburg, Cal., is A.
T. Carlson, a native of Sweden, where he was born on September 12, 1872.
He has been a resident of the United States most of his lifetime, as his
parents brought him to Barnes County, N. D., in 1880, when about eight
years of age. He was reared in Barnes County, and after finishing his
education in the public school of his district he engaged in farming. In
1903. A. T. Carlson took a trip to California and while visiting Kjngsburg.
Fresno County, he became favorably impressed with its location and climatic
advantages. With keen foresight he could discern the future possibilities.
Returning to North Dakota, he sold his interests and moved to California,
and during the fall and winter of 1904-1905 he was engaged in farming.
Mr. Carlson soon engaged in the hardware and furniture business, in Kings-
burg, with J. F. Nelson. In the spring of 1906. he purchased the interests of
his partner and became sole owner of the business, which he has continued
ever since, as the Kingsburg Hardware and Furniture Company. Since he
took charge of the business its growth has been phenomenal. Inheriting the
characteristic zeal and thrift}- habits of the Swedes, and acquiring the hustle
and acumen of the man of affairs in the great West, it is but natural that we
find him today one of the most progressive and successful citizens of Kings-
burs;. The rapid_ growth of the business necessitated larger quarters; the
first building was 36x50 feet which soon became too small. In 1909 the
first enlargement was made, but in 1917 it became necessary to practically
rebuild, and the new building is now 88x100 feet. The new store-room is one
of the finest and best equipped in the San Joaquin Valley, in the hardware
and furniture line. With its up-to-date cases and displays of fine merchan-
dise, the store is verv attractive.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1813
Additional evidence of Mr. Carlson's exceptional ability is found in the
fact that he is first vice-president of the Kingsburg Bank, which he was in-
strumental in organizing, and which now has the largest deposits of any
bank in Kingsburg. He is public-spirited and is ready to aid in the further-
ance of the educational, religious, and commercial interests of the community.
A. T. Carlson was united in marriage with Miss Emily Nyberg, of
North Dakota, who is also a native of Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson are
the parents of four children : Adolph A. ; Nannie ; 'Mildred ; and Esther. Mr.
Carlson and wife are leaders in the work of the Swedish Free Church at
Kingsburg, which has recently built a new church edifice. Mr. Carlson was
active in the incorporation of the town of Kingsburg and was elected to
the first board of city trustees and served five years, serving as chairman of
the board one year, a position equivalent to the office of mayor.
RALPH F. MITCHELL.— The successful and efficient superintendent
of the California Associated Raisin Company's branch located at Del Rey,
Fresno County, Ralph F. Mitchell, is a native son of the Golden State having
been born in San Juan, San Benito County, on December 19, 1879. He is
a son of Charles E. and Elizabeth (Hewitt) Mitchell, both natives of Ver-
mont who migrated to California, the former in 1859 and the latter ten
years later. Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Mitchell were the parents of six
children, five of whom grew to maturity: William H., Robert D., Ralph F.,
Elizabeth W., and Helen G.
The early life of Charles E. Mitchell was spent in the sheepraising busi-
ness, and at one time he owned as high as 15,000 head. Fraternally, he
was a prominent Mason and also a member of the Chapter. He held the office
of Grand Warden, and was Grand Patron in the Order of the Eastern Star.
Ralph F. Mitchell was associated with the American Seedless Raisin
Company for six years, during four of which he held the important post of
superintendent, a position upon which depends the volume of business done
and the dispatch with which it is executed. In December, 1918, he became
superintendent of the California Associated Raisin Company's plant at Del
Rey, which he is now enlarging, adding a seedless-raisin packing plant. In
fact, preparations are being made to increase the facilities for handling- a
greatly enlarged seedless raisin product during the present year and in the
future. When improvements are completed, it will compare favorably with
the best of the association's plants outside of the parent plant at Fresno.
In 1906, R. F. Mitchell was united in marriage with Louise M. Nutting,
a native of Berkeley, Cal., and a daughter of W. R. Nutting. Four children
have come to bless and brighten the home circle: Hewitt F., Franklin G.,
Esther H., and Richard R. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are active and influential
members of the Congregational Church. Mr. Mitchell is a man of sterling
worth and is held in high esteem in business and social circles. He is one
of the directors of the First National Bank at Del Rey, which will occupy
its new structure in 1919.
WILLIAM D. McLEOD.— A public-spirited leader of Kingsburg
generous to a fault in all that advances the community, and therefore, ex-
tremely popular, and at the same time one of the most successful of business
men, is William D. McLeod, proprietor of the Rexall Drug Store, one of
the two excellent pharmacies of the town. He came to Kingsburg in 1915
and has succeeded, by rare qualities applied in a commonsense manner, in
winning for himself a place among the ablest and most influential.
Mr. McLeod's drug-store is centrally located. He compounds physicians'
prescriptions with exacting care, and is well assisted, in waiting on his large
and growing list of customers, by two thoroughly trained clerks familiar,
like himself, with the oddities and demands of human nature. He has a soda
fountain, deals in books, phonographs, toys, sporting goods, papers, magazines,
cigars, proprietary medicines, and similar necessities, and is constantly en-
1814 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
larging his trade. His genial personality, coupled with a thorough knowledge
of pharmacy, his wide experience in business, his sanitary establishment and
large and well selected stock, his courteous attention to the wants of all
customers— all these have resulted in his commanding a large share of the
patronage of the locality.
Mr. McLeod was born at Ottawa, Canada, and there he grew up, to serve
a four years' apprenticeship in a leading pharmacy and to complete the regular
pharmaceutical course at the Ontario College of Pharmacy, from which he
was graduated in 1898. He is duly licensed in the various States of the
Union, as well as in his native Canada. Being thus equipped, he has seen
much of the North American continent, an experience of value in his profes-
sional work. He has held positions as pharmacist in leading drug-stores in New
York City, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, Nome (Alaska), where he
was in 1905, Tonopah (Nev.), and Seattle, from which city he came to Kings-
burg in 1915. In some of these' places he conducted drug-stores of his own.
He was thus pleasantly situated at Tonopah, where he had made heavy in-
vestments, when, by reason of the panic of 1907 the boom broke and he suf-
fered severe losses. He has always been able to maintain a good credit, and
is enjoying the inevitable reward of playing the game right and keeping wide
awake.
At Manhattan, N. Y., in April, 1906, Mr. McLeod was married to Mrs.
Anetta Finking, nee Attinger, formerly of San Francisco ; and they have one
child, Louise, a general favorite. Mrs. McLeod shares the popularity and
good-will enjoyed by her husband.
To know Mr. McLeod is to like him. His advent to Kingsburg brought
the town a progressive citizen, a good booster, and a man who, with his
charming family, adds much to the community's status and social life.
WILLIAM ARTHUR TROUT.— A young man of much native ability,
an excellent workman who thoroughly understands his business, and an ex-
ceptionally progressive young man distinguished as the prime mover in club
and other social affairs, and in forwarding all that makes for the general
uplift of the community, is William Arthur Trout, who was born in The Dalles,
Ore., on April 8, 1885. His grandfather, J. H. Trout, was born in Kentucky
and settled in Oregon ; while E. W. Trout, the father of our subject, was a
native of Maitland, Mo. In that state he was married to Miss Laura Gordon,
of Maitland, and in time they came to what was then called The Dalles, Ore.,
where Mr. Trout worked at farming. In 1897, the family moved to Salinas,
Monterey County, Cal., and there Mr. Trout was favorably known as an able
carpenter and builder. In Salinas he died, in 1916, following to the grave his
wife, who had passed away seventeen years before. Five children had been
given these devoted parents — all sons, and each in his way promising — and
three of these are still living; and among them, the subject of this instructive
sketch was the second youngest. H. G. is a bookkeeper with the Shell Com-
pany at Oilfields; H. E. died at Salinas in 1902, when he was nineteen years
old, and E. L. also passed away at the same place in 1904 and at the same age ;
and O. C. Trout is serving his country valiantly in the United States Navy.
Reared on an Oregon farm until lie was twelve years old, William was
educated in the public schools and in 1902 went to San Francisco where, at
the age of past sixteen, he was apprenticed as a sheet-metal worker in John
H. Blakeway's works. At the end of two years he entered the service of the
Pacific Blower and Heating Company and in two years was made superintend-
ent of their plant. Immediately after the great fire and earthquake, he opened
business on his own account at the corner of Eighth and Folsom Streets. San
Francisco, and for a year did sheet metal work of all kinds ; but in 1908 he
quit, lured by the greater attractions of Oilfields.
In April of that year he entered the employ of the California Oilfields.
Ltd., as foreman of the tank department, and built and started their shop. In
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1817
August, 1913, when the Shell Company took over the property, he not only
continued with them in the same capacity, but he enlarged their department
through his valuable practical experience. Now it includes all sheet-metal
work, the plumbing and the operation of the three distilled water-plants. It
is indeed a big, busy department; and Mr. Trout is the foreman of all that goes
on there.
While in San Francisco, Mr. Trout was married to Miss Ann Irwin, who
was born at Waco, Texas, but reared at Coalinga, where her father was one
of the noted pioneers. One child has blessed this union — Doris, the charm
of the household.
For five years Mr. Trout was a trustee and clerk of the Oil King school
district, and he was one of the organizers of the Oilfields Club, and the only
charter member now left. He was treasurer from the start, with its sixty-five
members; it is now a large club of nearly 500 members, having some $12,000
of assets and handling about $17,600 yearly. He is supervisor of the social
department, which conducts the dances, lectures, etc., of the club, generally
held in the lecture hall in the winter, and the moving pictures, which are
given in the air-dome outside in the summer. There are pool and billiard
parlors, and cigar stands, a place where ice cream and confectionery are sold,
a swimming pool and a circulating library, a branch of the county library ;
and provision for base and foot-ball. University Extension courses and private
classes for men have been arranged by Mr. Trout and his committee, each
member of which is keenly alive to whatever may prove of social and intel-
lectual advantage to the workmen and their families.
Mr. Trout is a member of the Red Men in Coalinga, and a charter mem-
ber of the Netana Tribe, No. 242, Coalinga, in which he is a past officer and
a trustee. He is a Progressive Republican in politics, and a member of the
Coalinga Chamber of Commerce, serving it also as a director.
VITAL BANGS FINCHER.— It is refreshing to read the story of Vital
Bangs Fincher, or Tallie Fincher, as he is familiarly called in the wide circle
of his friends. A wide-awake citizen, inheriting foresight and force, he is
making a wonderful success of his enterprise, assisted by his able wife, and
that despite certain handicaps such as would discourage and defeat many. He
is a native son, having been born near Riverbank, in Stanislaus County, on
January 19, 1873. His father, Levi Nelson Fincher, was a sturdy North Caro-
linian, who, after pioneer experience as a boy in Missouri, crossed the great
plains when a young man, in 1850, to search for gold. Two years later he
returned East, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and while again in Missouri
was married, that same year, to Miss Paulina Moore, a native of Tennessee,
who came to Missouri with her parents. As a pioneer farmer, Levi Fincher
moved with his wife to Kansas ; and when, in 1862, his health was very poor,
he resolved to try the Pacific Coast. It was necessary for him to cross the
continent in bed, in a wagon; but the trip helped him, and in time he was
able to drive his team of oxen. He arrived in Sacramento, and near there
opened a store as a merchant. Afterwards he moved to Stanislaus County,
"and near Riverbank, at a place then called Burneyville, took up 160 acres
and bought 160 more, and was in time very successful at farming. In 1885
he brought his family to Fresno and bought 800 acres nine miles northeast
of the town, where he located. At first he engaged in grain-raising, and
then he set out sixty acres in vines, but soon pulled out forty acres, because
there was no sale for the grape product. Fie raised alfalfa and grain, and
after years of toil, retired. He built a home on Calaveras Avenue, Fresno.
After "a most creditable record for accomplishment, on August 18. 1909, he
passed to his eternal reward, dying in the seventy-eighth year of his age.
His wife had passed away in November, 1907, five years after they had
.celebrated their fiftieth anniversary.
Eleven children were born to this worthy couple. The first-born became
Mrs. C. P. Evans, of National City, Cal. ; the second became Mrs. G. D.
1818 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Wootten, of Santa Cruz ; the third is Robert Fincher of Hanford ; the fourth
is J. M. Fincher, who resides at Fresno; the fifth is Mrs. J. B. High, of
Madera ; the sixth is J. P. Fincher, who ranches on a part of the old farm ;
the seventh is Miss Letitia Fincher, of Fresno; the eighth is Frank W.
Fincher, of the same place; the ninth, Miss Elizabeth Fincher, also of Fresno;
the tenth is the subject of our sketch; and the eleventh is Miss Matilda
Fincher, of Fresno.
Tallie Fincher spent his boyhood, until he was twelve years of age, near
old Burneyville, attending the public school and doing a boy's chores about
the home, and then he came to the present home farm, continuing his school-
ing in the Jefferson district. Later he went to the Stockton Business College,
and then to the Fresno High School, from which he graduated in 1893. after
which he engaged in the teaching of school. He believed in the old maxim
that if you would learn a subject yourself you should try to impart it to
others. For a term he had charge of a school in Madera County, and then he
taught at Davis Creek, in Modoc County, at the same time serving as justice
of the peace. When he quit teaching, he took up shorthand under Mussel-
man at the Fresno Business College, and only gave up that line when he
felt the call "Back to the land."
For twelve years Mr. Fincher operated the home farm, leasing it. and
raised grain and stock. When the 700 acres were subdivided, he came into
possession of fifty acres and bought fifty acres adjoining, together with
ninety acres toward the east. This last acreage was subdivided and sold at
a profit in lots of ten, thirty and forty acres. Now he devotes all his land
to the raising of vines and alfalfa, having ninety acres of table and raisin
grapes, twenty acres in Malagas, and the balance in muscatels. He has ten
acres of alfalfa. Having built a fine residence and spacious barns, he staked
out the vineyard and set out the vines, and cared for it until his health broke
down and he had to limit his activity to superintending what others did.
He is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and also of
the Melvin Grape Growers' Association, through which he handles his
Malaga crop.
At Fresno, on March 27, 1895, Mr. Fincher was married to Miss Beulah
Morrison, who was born near Cairo, Randolph County, Mo., the daughter of
Asa P. Morrison, a native of Tennessee who while in Missouri, was married
to Fliza Musick, of that state, a niece of Jesse N. Musick, of Fresno, to
which city they came when, in 1889, they moved to California. For a while
the father was in the livery business; then he was engaged in farming the
Lone Star Ranch, and thereafter was busy with viticulture. He retired, tak-
ing up his residence in Fresno, and died here in 1010. Mrs. Morrison still
resides in Fresno, the mother of five children, of whom Beulah was the next
to the youngest. She was educated in the public grammar and high schools,
and became the mother of two children: Ethel, the wife of F. E. Moore,
who resides in Richmond, Cal., and has two children, Roy and Floyd ; and
Herbert B., who is still under the parental roof.
ED J. SOUZA. — One of California's very successful young native sons
engaged in the occupation of ranching in Fresno County, is Edward T-
Souza. This energetic young man rents the G. W. Beale eighty-acre ranch
lying two and a half miles southwest of Monmouth.
Ed Souza was born in Marin County, California, November 12, 1895,
and is the son of Henry Souza and Lucy (Garcia) Souza, natives of the
Azores, colonial possessions of Portugal. The father was born in 18fS3 on the
Island of St. Michael, and the mother on the Island of St. George. The father,
when twelve years of age, took to the sea. After three years spent in the
occupation of whaling he went to Providence. R. I., and joined a company
of American whalers who were bound for the Arctic, engaging as cock. He
afterwards returned to his native islands and at the age of twenty was united
in marriage with Lucy Garcia at St. George. Some time after his marriage
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1819
he went to Boston, Mass., later removing to New Bedford, Conn., where he
established his home. He then enlisted in the United States Navy and went
on the training ship Chisel, leaving his wife and family at New Bedford for
two years. His wife became ill, and because of her poor health he came with
her and his family to California in 1889, settling first at San Pablo. Later
he went to Sausalito, where he worked for the Duncan Mill Company for
seven years. It was while working here that his son Ed was born.
In 1906 the father removed with his family to Hanford, Cal., and in the
fall of that year he came to Selma, later going to Academy, where for a
year he was engaged in wheat raising. He then rented John Rorden's place
of 160 acres, which he farmed successfully. In 1912 he bought a forty-acre
dairy ranch two and one-half miles northeast of Conejo and ran it for one
year. He sold it and bought another forty-acre ranch on the west side
northeast of Burrel. He and his wife are the parents of seven children, five
boys and two girls. The eldest, Joseph, who was born at St. George, January
1, 1884, came to America in 1906. He now assists his brother Ed in running
the ranch. George the second son, is a river and bay captain and the owner
of several tow boats. Henry, is in France with the Twenty-sixth Division of
the United States Army. He fought in the trenches, was wounded and spent
four months in the hospital, afterwards returning to his post. He was gassed
in September, and after recovery took the position of cook in the army in
October. Four years ago he and his brother Ed were engaged together in
ranching in Tehama County, California. The fourth child, a daughter, May
by name, is the wife of Joe Bettencort, a rancher four miles west of Mon-
mouth. Lena, is the wife of Dan Soranno, who is in France. Ed J. provides
a home for his parents on the ranch he rents, and Alfred, the youngest child
is in France and was also gassed and wounded. He enlisted in the United
States Army when seventeen, April 3, 1917, the first to enlist for war in
Sacramento.
Before the war Ed and his brother Henry rented Frank Helm's large
dairy ranch at Herndon. They milked 175 cows and were doing well, but
the ranch was sold, and according to the terms of their lease they had to
give it up. They went to Tehama County where they engaged extensively
in the stock business, incurring a loss of a thousand dollars in this business
venture. Ed then went to Sacramento and for three years assisted his brother
George in running his two boats. In 1918 he rented the ranch which he is
now operating successfully, assisted by his brother Joseph. The land is
planted to peaches and vines.
Intelligent, industrious, generous and public-spirited, Ed Souza makes
and holds friends. He is kind to his parents, brothers and sisters, with whom
he is a favorite.
THOMAS E. RICHARDSON.— One of the largest stock-buyers and
best informed stock-men of his section of Fresno County, is Thomas E.
Richardson, a native son and a descendant of an honored pioneer that crossed
the plains in the early days of California. He first saw the light of day on
November 9, 1875, at Plymouth, Amador County, Cal., and was reared on
a ranch. He received his early education in the public school of Amador
County, and when eighteen years of age went to Angels Camp, Calaveras
County, where he was engaged in mining.
Mr. Richardson is a lover of fine horses, and at one time was interested in
racing and the breeding of standard-bred animals. In 1903 he located in Fresno
and was the owner of the well-known stallion "Stamboulet" sired by Stam-
boul, the latter sold for $50,000 to E. H. Harriman and had a world's record
of 2:07y2. Stamboulet had a record of 2:10^4 and was the sire of Strath-
boule, who made a record of 2:\Zl/i. When the racing business subsided his
inherent love for horses and animals naturally led him into the stock-buying
business, which he conducted on a commission basis, and which occupation
he has continued to follow ever since. Mr. Richardson is a very enterprising
1820 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and successful buyer, and his judgment in matters pertaining to values and
conditions of live 'stock is very highly esteemed and much sought after. In
1916 he shipped 10,000 hogs to Kansas City for E. H. Myers, of Portland,
Ore. During the same vear he also shipped 1.800 head of cattle to B. C.
Rogers, Omaha. Nebr. In 1917 Mr. Richardson shipped 450 head of cattle
to C. L. Myers, Kansas City; 950 head of cattle to J. W. Goodwin, of Chow-
chilla, Cal. ; and 350 cows to Hunter & Lytton, Elko, Nev. During 1918 his
shipments included 350 head of stock cattle to Crane Brothers, Merced ; 500
head to Paul 'Williamson, Stockton; and 400 "head of cattle to Thos. R.
Carlysle Company, Squaw Valley. Mr. Richardson owns eighty acres near
Kearney Park, which he uses for pasturing and fattening stock prior to
shipping.
In Fresno, on March 4. 1908, Thomas E. Richardson was united in mar-
riage with Miss Evelyn Mugg, born near Kokomo, Ind., who came with her
parents, B. F. and Virginia Velaria ( Lorts) Mugg. to Fresno in 1900. and
now are viticulturists near Dinuba. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson reside at 159
Forthcamp Street, Fresno.
H. L. WARD.— So intimately has H. L. Ward, the president of the First
National Bank of Laton. Cal., and well known civil engineer of Central Cal-
ifornia, been associated with the development of this section of Fresno County,
that it can be said that to him more than to any other individual, is due the
wonderful development of the lands of the Laguna de Tache Grant and the
building of the great irrigation system of that section.
Not alone is H. L. Ward a pioneer of California, but also of Fresno
County. He was born in Merced County, near what is now Old Snelling. on
June 28, 1865, the son of Isaac Newton Ward, an honored pioneer and 49er
who crossed the plains with an ox team and mined for gold in Tuolumne
County and where he also ran a ferry across the Tuolumne River, which
was well known in early days as Ward's Ferry. Isaac Newton Ward was born
in Virginia, the ancestors of the Ward family being traced back to England
from whence they came to America in Colonial Days, settling in Virginia
where the family was quite prominent, among the notables being General
Ward, of the Revolutionary War. Isaac N. Ward became a prominent bus-
iness man and was elected sheriff of Tuolumne County, also was honored
by being a member of the State Assembly in 1854. He was married to Miss
Elizabeth Birkhead, a member of a prominent family that came to California
in 1850, the ceremony being solemnized near Snelling, Cal.
The Birkhead family settled at first near Visalia, and the Birkhead
brothers were early settlers and pioneers near Friant, below Millerton, on
the San Joaquin River, where they owned 5.000 acres, raised sheep and fol-
lowed farming.
H. L. Ward's childhood was passed in that vicinity and when about five
years of age he came with his parents to Fresno County and attended the
first district school at Fresno Flats, now known as Oakhurst. His father
was elected as a supervisor of Fresno Count}', where he farmed and raised
stock.
In 1874, the mother passed away, and the next year was followed by the
father, who left seven orphan children. H. L. Ward, the subject of this review,
was the fourth child and was nine years of age when his father died. The
children were reared in the home of their uncle. Mr. Birkhead, H. L. Ward
remaining with him until he was seventeen or eighteen years of age. In the
winter time he attended school and in the summer worked on farms and
ranches. Wrhen seventeen he began to make his own way in the world and
by the time he was twenty-one. he had. by a hard struggle succeeded in find-
ing enough spare time for studying and reading to gain sufficient knowledge
to enable him to take the examination for a school teacher, which' he success-
fully passed and received his certificate to teach ; his first school being at
Auberry Valley, in 1886. Mr. Ward continued to teach intermittently for
<$0&d-
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1823
ten years ; in the meantime he was studying surveying and civil engineering,
being his own teacher and instructor, but later on he attended the Vander-
nailen School of Engineering, San Francisco, where he pursued a course in
engineering. Mr. Ward became acquainted with Nares & Saunders, the sales
agents of the great Laguna de Tache Grant, who engaged him to survey the
extensive acreage. More than ten years before this he had become acquainted
with I. Teilman, the well-known civil engineer of Fresno, having worked
with Mr. Teilman for several years, and was associated also with him in the
year 1899, in surveying the Laguna de Tache, but in 1900, Mr. Teilman with-
drew and opened an office in Fresno, but Mr. Ward continued the work of
surveying the grant for irrigation, extending and remodeling the Lillis sys-
tem of irrigation. Not only did he survey the 68,000 acres in the Laguna
de Tache Grant but 20,000 acres bought subsequently, making a total of 88,000
acres owned by this firm. Mr. Ward continued to work for Nares and Saun-
ders from 1899 to 1908, then after one year of rest he engaged with Tom
Patterson of Fresno, to survey and lay out the mains and laterals for irrigating
the Patterson Tract, and to lay out the townsite of Patterson, Cal. Mr. Ward
was engaged on this project from 1908 to 1911. During this time he resided
at Laton, "but in 1911 removed to Patterson, where for two years he was su-
perintendent of the Patterson project, which included looking after the ranch
as well as overseeing the irrigation and engineering work. On August 1,
1913, he returned to Laton, where his personal interests now require most
of his time.
As a financier H. L. Ward has displayed great ability and was one of the
organizers of the First National Bank, of Laton, which opened for business
in 1910, when the former State Bank of Laton was merged into the First
National Bank. The State Bank was organized in 1908 and in 1909 when it
opened for business it had as its officers : W. E. G. Saunders, of Emmetsburg,
Iowa, president ; J. O. Hancock, vice president ; C. A. Smith, cashier.
The present officers of the First National Bank are : H. L. Ward, pres-
ident; R. M. Bostwick, vice president; C. A. Smith, cashier; A. E. Hudson,
assistant cashier. The Board of Directors: R. M. Bostwick, Alice N. Corn-
well and H. L. Ward. Mr. Ward is also a trustee of the Laton Library As-
sociation.
Mr. Ward helped to build the Kerman branch of the Southern Pacific
Railway and was material inspector of the road in 1891. He was also ma-
terial man on the line of the Southern Pacific Railway from Bakersfield to
the asphaltum beds on the West Side and at one time surveyed an irrigation
project for the Santa Fe Railway in the Tulare Lake district, which, however,
never materialized. In 1890-91 he was also material man for building the
Pulaski railroad, now a part of the Southern Pacific system, about twenty
miles in length running from Fresno to Pulaski, now Friant.
H. L. Ward was united in marriage with Miss Katherine B. McKenzie,
of Laton, Cal, the ceremony being solemnized in San Francisco, on Novem-
ber 30, 1904. In 1908, he built his beautiful residence in Laton and, since
August 1, 1913, has continued to make this town his home. Mr. Ward is an
authority on irrigation and has been more than ordinarily successful in sub-
dividing large tracts for disposition in small tracts to actual settlers. He is
a man of resourcefulness and executive force and has by his unaided efforts
succeeded in making a signal success in his chosen line and has always lived
up to his high ideals of honor and lofty business principles.
JOHN W. ARMSTRONG.— The genial proprietor of the Pine Ridge
Hotel and store is John W. Armstrong, who has been a resident of California
for fifty years. He was born in Shelb)' County, 111., February 12, 1861 ; his
parents Washington and Delilah (Renfrew) Armstrong; brought their family
across the plains in an ox-team train in 1869, and located near Stockton, where
they resided for ten years, then moved on to a ranch on Little Dry Creeks
above Academy in Fresno County, and there they spent their last days.
1824 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
John W., then a lad of eight and the youngest of four children, well re-
members the trip across the plains with the slow-moving ox-teams and wag-
ons. His schooling was obtained in the district where they lived in San Joa-
quin County. In 1879 he came to Little Dry Creek with his parents and soon
started raising stock on his own account and in time purchased his father's
farm and continued there for a few years. Then he sold and started in the
livery business at the corner of L and Kern streets, the present site of the
Auditorium. His brother James was in partnership with him and they oper-
ated under the firm name of Armstrong Brothers, proprietors of the Club
Stables. They continued in business for twenty years, when they sold out in
1907.
As early as 1903, Mr. Armstrong had purchased the Pine Ridge Hotel,
and since 1907 has resided there and continued to run it as a first class hotel,
and it has been a popular stopping place for stockmen and travelers. The
hotel is a large two-story structure and was erected by Sam Jennings in an
open space cleared from the pine and cedar timber. It is supplied by water
from a mountain spring nearby. Mr. Armstrong also runs a general mer-
chandise store, the building having been erected in 1877 by Gus Bernig. Mr.
Armstrong has been postmaster of Pine Ridge posto-ffice for the past twelve
years. The ranch comprises 400 acres upon which he raises cattle. There is
also a full-bearing orchard of apples and pears, a delight to the travelers, as
well as the mountain towns close by whose inhabitants appreciate the delicate
flavor of the fruit.
Mr. Armstrong was married in Fresno, being united with Miss Leota
Tngram, who came to California from her native state of Arkansas and they
have one child, John W. Jr. Mr. Armstrong is a well-known and influential
citizen and with his estimable wife is popular and well-liked.
HERMAN GRANZ.— A resident of the Golden State since 1869, a period
of almost fifty years, during which time he has watched with a great deal of
interest the progress of the upbuilding of the state and has done his share to
help all worthy projects, Herman Granz of Fresno was born near Chemnitz,
Saxony, Germany, August 1, 1841. His father was Samuel Granz, a descend-
ant of an old Saxony family. A brother, Louis Granz, lived in San Francisco
for many years and died there, in 1904.
Reared on his father's farm, where he learned the rudiments of the vari-
ous branches of agriculture as carried on in Germany, Herman Granz attended
the public schools in his home locality, and, when he reached the age of six-
teen, he was apprenticed to learn the cabinet-maker's trade. After he had thor-
oughly mastered the business, young Granz set out as a journeyman and
worked in Austria, Switzerland and France. He heard of the great country be-
yond the sea, in the various places where he was employed and he made up his
mind to come to the United States, and by 1868 he had made enough money to
gratify his ambition. Upon arriving in New York City he worked at his trade
one year in order to become used to the ways of the country and to learn the
way business was conducted in this part of the world. California was the
much talked-of state at that time and the account of its greater opportunities
for young men decided this energetic young man to cast his fortunes with
the newer state. He had saved enough money to bring him to California and
he arrived in San Francisco via Panama.
Mr. Granz followed his trade in the western metropolis a short time,
then started a furniture factory in Hayes Valley. Beginning on a small
scale, his business increased so rapidly that he established a factory on Barry
Street, and four years later erected a steam plant on Brannan Street. Here he
made furniture of all kinds and had a trade throughout California and in Ore-
gon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, and in the Sandwich Islands, and em-
ployed some seventy-five experienced workmen. He carried on this business
successfully until 1887, when on account of ill health, caused by such close
application to the business, he had to leave the city.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1825
In 1881, Mr. Granz had bought a tract of land in Fresno County adjoin-
ing the Eisen vineyard ; at that time it was raw and undeveloped, and from
time to time he set out vines, and when the railroad (which paralleled his
land) was completed to Clovis, he had a flourishing vineyard. In 1885 he built
a winery and began making wine. In 1887 he left San Francisco and settled on
his land and thereafter gave his attention to the manufacturing of high grade
wines for which he had built up a good business. This was one of the pioneer
wineries in Fresno County. The capacity of the plant was increased from
time to time until it had a capacity of 250.000 gallons. Mr. Granz erected
a large modern country home, beautified the grounds and in time his be-
came one of the show places on Belmont Avenue, east of Fresno. His ex-
ample was followed by others and soon the section became one of the most
attractive and productive in the county. Later he acquired an eighty-acre
vineyard and winery near Dinuba, which is now a part of the Granz estate.
This winery has a capacity of 300.000 gallons and is modernly equipped. Op-
timistic and a firm believer in the wonderful possibilities and future great-
ness of the City of Fresno, Mr. Granz invested in city property, now owning
four business blocks two of which he erected, besides having other business
interests in various places. On June 17, 1913, all of the property was incor-
porated as the Granz Estate, Mr. Granz being president.
The marriage uniting Herman Granz with Adelaide Bauhofer, a native
of Austria, was celebrated in New York. To them have been born eight
children: Carl T., vice-president of the Granz Estate and superintendent of
the Dinuba Winery ; Edward H., secretary of the estate and superintendent
of the Fresno plant; Emil, deceased: O. J.; Mrs. Hermina Saier; Mrs. Sophie
Gilbert ; Adelaide, wife of Dr. F. L. R. Burks ; and Clara. Mr. Granz was be-
reaved of his wife on April 3, 1919, and she was mourned bv a wide circle of
friends. Mr. Granz is a Republican, is a member of the Chamber of Com-
merce, and as a man and citizen is an upbuilder and devoted to the interests
of Fresno County and liberally supports all movements for its development.
He often extends a helping hand to those less fortunate than himself, and has
made and retains a large circle of friends.
CHESTER C. CRANE. — This sketch furnishes a splendid example of
the business career of what is commonly termed "a self-made man." From
a small beginning, C. C. Crane, the enterprising proprietor of the Eagle Laun-
dry, of Fresno, has mounted the ladder of success, rung by rung, until today
he has reached the top of the ladder in his chosen line, and has one of the
largest and most modern steam laundries in the San Joaquin Valley ; employ-
ing about fifty people inside and seven drivers of auto deliveries.
Chester C. Crane is a native of the City of Fresno, born December 30,
1881, on K Street; son of Edgar Crane, a native of Illinois, who crossed the
plains in the early 60's, locating at Fresno. He was a carpenter by trade
and built the first modern house in Fresno : also the Cooper House and the
Ackers Building on K Street. Mr. Edgar Crane died in Fresno aged sixty
years ; his widow survived several years, dying when forty-two years old.
Chester C. Crane attended the public school of his native city, and as a
boy assisted his father in the building business, later following the trade
of a butcher. On October 7, 1895, he accepted a position in a laundry, and
for five years worked in the Grand Central Laundry, which was located
in the rear of the Grand Central Hotel, afterwards working in different
laundries in Fresno, where he gained a thorough knowledge of the
business in all its branches. In 1909 Mr. Crane started in business for
himself, having built for the purpose, a small wooden building, twenty-four
by fifty-five feet in size, in the rear of his home at 328 Thesta Street. As the
business increased, he took in rooms from his home, until he added the entire
house, using the front porch as an office. In the early days of the business
Mr. Crane did all of the work, most of it being done by hand. In 1914 he
1826 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
erected a small brick building on the site of the old home, which was razed
to make room for the expanding business. Since then he has been compelled
to again enlarge his building, and now has one of the largest and most
modern steam laundry plants in the San Joaquin Valley. He named his
laundry after the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, of which organization he
is an honored member. While Mr. Crane was working for wages, he decided
in his mind if he ever was fortunate enough to get into business for himself,
he would pay his help the highest wages and require the shortest number
of hours for a day's work. His laundry is a "Union Shop" and to his interest
in the welfare of his employees, together with good work and prompt service,
he attributes his success in business. The Eagle Laundry has agencies estab-
lished all through the valley. The sanitary conditions at the laundry are the
highest, and the machinery of the plant new and modern.
Chester C. Crane was united in marriage with Anna Lindstrom. a native
of Easton, Fresno County, and this happy union has been blessed with two
children: Lester, born July 25, 1904, a graduate from the grammar school,
March, 1919; and Lorine, born October 11, 1906, attending the public school.
Through sheer industry and perseverance, Mr. Crane has achieved the success
which he rightfully enjoys today.
GEORGE P. DYREBORG.— When the full history of the wonderful
development of Central California shall have been written, few names will
deserve more honorable mention than that of George P. Dyreborg, the prom-
inent viticulturist, and influential member of the highly intelligent group
of Danish-Americans, long among the most substantial citizens of our State.
He was born in Bred-Funen, Denmark, March 7, 1870. and from his eleventh
year made his own way in the world. He attended the public school until
he was fourteen, at the same time he worked on a farm, and at sixteen years
of age he started to learn the creamery business in the cooperative creamery.
Then he came to Jutland and Horsensfjord, and completed his apprentice-
ship at Bornholm. At the same time he studied English under a private
teacher.
In 1891, Mr. Dyreborg crossed the Channel to England and went to
Droitwich, Worcestershire, intending to learn the art of cheese-making, but
was disappointed in the equipment of the place, and so he remained three or
four months in the service of a horseman at the breeding stables. At the
end of six months he left to learn gardening, and worked for Lord Hindlip for
a year. Then he crossed the Atlantic for New York and made his way west
to Chicago and the World's Fair; and after that he came west to Fresno,
arriving on May 28, 1893.
Here he worked as a farmer and vineyardist in Washington Colony,
south of Fresno, until the fall of 1893, when tiring of this, he went to the
foothills in Madera County, where he prospected from place to place, and
having made a somewhat precarious living he returned to Fresno in the
spring of 1895. Times were hard and he worked on vineyards for as little
as fifty cents a day and board. Later he was employed by the Southern
Pacific Railroad for a time.
In the spring of 1896. Mr. Dyreborg rented a vineyard of twenty acres
set out to muscat vines. This same year he was married, in Fairfield, Solano
County, to Mrs. Maggie Johansen Bidstruc, a native of Bornholm, with whom
he had been acquainted in Denmark. He continued to manage a vineyard
in the Jefferson district, and he bought crops and made some money during
the summer of 1896. He bought his present place of forty acres in the Enter-
prise Colony for $1,550, and soon after began to improve it, and moved
onto it.
Having laid out the acreage, Mr. Dyreborg built his new residence in
1902, and now has eighteen acres of Malaga grapes, fourteen acres of mus-
cats, and the balance of the tract in orchards and alfalfa, with a fine border
c;./?
9L/~lf o^^v-Tr-z-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1829
of fig trees. The ranch is under the Enterprise Canal, and the irrigation is
practically perfect. In 1904 he commenced to ship his Malaga grapes and
later he was both buying and shipping. He bought eighty-four acres in the
Kutner Colony, which he improved with vines, setting out Emperors, mus-
cat and wine grapes, and he has about twenty acres finely improved. He has
always supported the various fruit associations, and now belongs to the
California Associated Raisin Company. For nine years he was a member
of the board of directors of the Fresno-Rochdale Company.
Mr. and Mrs. Dyreborg have three sons: Lewis B., who did his best
to win the war; William Stanford and Vernon, all assisting their father.
The eldest, Lewis B., served overseas in the Machine Gun Company of the
Three Hundred Sixty-first Infantry, U. S. A., and was in the battles of St.
Mihiel, Marne, Argonne Forest, Lys, and Scheldt, Belgium. He was honor-
ably discharged as first sergeant.
For years the cheerful home of Mr. and Mrs. Dyreborg has been one
of generous hospitality, and in fraternal circles no one is more popular than
Mr. Dyreborg, who belongs to Fresno Lodge, No. 439, B. P. O. E., to the
Danish Brotherhood, and the Knights of Pythias, in which organization he
has been a member for the last twenty-three years.
OSCAR O. COLLINS.— Oscar O. Collins was born in Springfield, Kans.,
September 17, 1889, but was brought up in Pueblo, Colo. He attended the
University of Colorado and afterwards studied with his father, who was at
that time district judge. Mr. Collins came to Fresno in March, 1915, and
was admitted to the California bar October 22 of that year. Soon afterward
he joined Company K, Second California National Guards, and was with
his regiment on the Mexican border in 1916. After a few months the United
States Government recalled its soldiers and he returned to Fresno and began
the active practice of his profession, making a specialty of civil law, his
accurate knowledge of which, and his careful attention to details, enabled him
in a short time to build up a fine and lucrative practice. He has his offices
at No. 512, Mason Building. On October 2, 1916, Mr. Collins was married
to Miss Clara M. Knott, of Oregon.
Mr. Collins was called to the Officers' Training School of the University
of California at San Francisco, and put in three months at the Naval Train-
ing School. He was honorably discharged after the signing of the Armistice,
and arrived home November 20, 1918.
He is a member of the One Hundred Percent. Club, the Commercial
Club, the Workmen of the World, and other social organizations, and takes
an active interest in everything that pertains to the welfare and growth
of Fresno.
MRS. SADIE ELIZABETH SOPER.— A practical viticulturist, who has
an unusually fine place and one she may regard with peculiar pride since it is
largely the result of her own personal labor in irrigating and cultivating, is
Mrs. Sadie Elizabeth Soper, who came to California in the middle nineties.
She was born at Mt. Pleasant, Utah, the daughter of Benjamin Keller, a
native of Iowa who crossed the plains to LTtah and then married Miss Jane
Oldham, a native of England, who 'came out to America and the Mormon
country with her parents when she was two years old. Mr. Keller owned
a farm in Mt. Pleasant, and in 1883 he moved his family to Kearney, Nebr.,
where he farmed for four years. Then he went to Lexington. Dawson County,
homesteaded and improved 160 acres and, selling out in 1894, came to Cal-
ifornia. Later he went east to Nebraska and then for five years he was in
Oklahoma. After that he settled at Clovis, bought land and improved it, and
there his wife died. In time, he married again, and now he resides at Jack-
sonville, Fla. Thirteen children were born of this marriage, and four girls
and two boys are still living.
85
1830 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
The subject of our sketch was the second oldest of these, and being
reared in Nebraska, she attended the public schools there. In that state also,
she was married to J. C. Soper, a native of Des Moines. They owned 160
acres, fourteen miles from Lexington, which they farmed, and having sold
this property in 1894, the}' located in Fresno Count}-. Mr. Soper was in the
employ of the Flume Company, grading lumber, and at Clovis, they bought a
lot and erected a house. In the meantime, the far-seeing couple bought the
ten acres one and a half miles east of Clovis, which they improved with a
vineyard. Mr. Soper continued with the Flume Company and his wife did
much of the ranch work herself. In time, she had one of the finest muscat
vineyards to reward her toil. It is- a fine place, and bears the name of Ellen-
dale Vineyard ; and her ownership adds interest to her membership in the
California Associated Raisin Company.
Mrs. Soper has four children: Frederick Charles, who is in the United
States Marines; Luella is Mrs. Barcus, of Barstow : Jane Elizabeth is Mrs.
Johnson in Fresno; and her sister, Hazel Marie, who lives near her in the
same city, is Mrs. Cummins. The family attends the Baptist Church of Clovis,
and Mrs. Soper is a member of the Woman's Aid Society of that congregation.
In national politics she is a Democrat, but is non-partisan in local issues.
DR. J. H. ROBINSON. — A prominent member of. the medical fraternity
of Selma is J. H. Robinson, M. D., who was born on October 1, 1874, at Gabon,
Crawford County, Ohio, midway between Cleveland and Columbus. His
father is J. C. Robinson, a retired, well-to-do Ohio farmer, while his mother
was Emma Shumaker before her marriage. This worthy couple have had
four children, the three youngest being as follows : G. B. Robinson, a grocer
at Gabon ; Richard, a civil engineer at Minneapolis and manager of a large
bridge-building concern ; and Carl, who is the proprietor of a moving-picture
theater at Gabon.
The oldest child in the family, J. H. Robinson grew up in Crawford
County, attended the country public schools and worked hard on the farm.
He took a preparatory course at the Tri-State Normal at Angola, Ind., and
then, for two years, engaged in teaching at West Point, Morrow County,
Ohio. There he laid the foundation of that knowledge of human nature which
has been of such value to him as a practicing physician. After finishing the
preparatory course, Mr. Robinson matriculated at Hiram College, in Hiram,
Portage County, Ohio, the same institution made famous by the good work
done there as a student by Garfield ; and he vigorously pursued a special
scientific course leading up to the study of medicine. In the meantime, while
in the Normal and while teaching, and also while a student at Hiram and
later a student in the medical college. Mr. Robinson went each summer for
seven years to Chautauqua. N. Y.. and took the Chautauqua courses: and
this experience contribute greatly toward his broad and liberal education.
Having entered the medical department of the Ohio State University at
Columbus. Mr. Robinson, with characteristic thoroughness, took the regular
four years' course, and in 1902 was graduated as assistant to the demonstra-
tor in surgery. During the vacations of the junior and senior years. Mr. Rob-
inson did work as an interne at the Cleveland City Hospital, and he was
therefore unusually well equipped when he at last received his coveted di-
ploma.
Dr. Robinson began practicing at Levering. Knox County. Ohio, but sell-
ing out, he came west on an extended trip to Los Angeles and Southern Cal-
ifornia, also visiting Fresno and Selma in the early part of 1909. Later in
the season, accompanied by Mrs. Robinson, he visited the northwest and
enjoyed the Alaska, Yukon and Pacific Exposition at Seattle, having the good
fortune to be present on the opening day there — June first. He was greatly
taken with the Pacific Coast, looking over carefully both Washington and
Oregon; and he was especially charmed with California, which he revisited.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1831
Most of all, he was fascinated with Selma ; and at Selma he determined to
pitch his tent.
This decision was reached despite the fact that Dr. Robinson had no
relatives or friends here such as are often of great service to a stranger.
Excepting for an uncle, in fact, he was the first member of this branch of the
Robinson family to locate in California. The uncle was Samuel Robinson, a
49er and for years city ticket agent for the Southern Pacific Railway at
Sacramento, who grew up with the state and was widely known, but passed
away in 1906. The Robinsons were originally Irish, as has been shown in a
most interesting genealogv of the family prepared by the subject's grand-
father.
On reaching Selma again, Dr. Robinson opened a suite of well-appointed
offices on the second floor of the Dusaw Building at 2031 Second Street, and
there he has conducted a general medical practice ever since. As a family
physician in particular he has been unusually successful. This extensive
practice demands his maintaining both a Ford and a Mitchell car. During his
senior year at college, young Robinson was assistant to Dr. Hoover, head
surgeon at the medical school, and the experience he thus obtained has finally
culminated in his being regarded as not only one of the most active, but one
of the ablest members of the County Medical Association.
About three months after his graduation. Dr. Robinson was married to
Miss Mary Robertson, a lad)r of Scotch ancestry and the daughter of T- M.
and Annie (Hunter") Robertson. His wife was born at Gait, Canada; and in
the Canadian land she grew up and enjoyed the best of educational advan-
tages. One child — Marguerite — blessed this union. In 1913 Dr. Robinson
built his bungalow home at No. 2525 McCall Street, Selma, and there he
and his family form the center of a large circle of friends.
JOSEPH P. BERNHARD.— The accomplishments of the legal profes-
sion in California are exemplified in the person of Joseph P. Bernhard, the
well-known attorney of Fresno. A native son, he was born in Mariposa
County on November 19, 1873, the son of George Bernhard, one of the Argo-
nauts who reached California in 1849 by way of the Isthmus of Panama,
and who having come to seek the elusive gold so recently discovered, im-
mediately began mining and the next year was among the first prospectors
and miners in Mariposa County. He continued to dig gold there for many
years and experienced both the successes and the failures encountered by
thousands of others. When the town of Fresno was started on the new
line of the Southern Pacific Railroad running through the valley, however,
Mr. Bernhard, in 1874, located there and engaged in mercantile pursuits ;
and these he followed until his death in 1888, eight years after his wife,
Barbara, also a Forty-niner, had preceded him to the other world. She was
the mother of seven children, five of whom are still living, the subject of our
sketch being the next to the youngest.
Coming to Fresno with his parents the first year of his existence, Joseph
Bernhard grew up in the town, which gradually assumed the proportions
and character of a city ; and there, in its well-conducted schools he received
the foundation of his education. On graduating from the Fresno High School
in 1892, he entered Leland Stanford, Jr., University, from which he was
graduated in 1896, with the degree of A. B. He then matriculated at the
New York Law School, and in 1898 was graduated with honors (cum laude),
receiving the degree of LL.B. He was admitted to the bar of California in
the same year, after which he spent two years in San Francisco as associate
editor of Rose's U. S. Notes.
In 1900 Mr. Bernhard opened, a law office in his home city, Fresno, where
his natural and developed ability, his conscientiousness, and his conservative
counsel have brought him well-merited success and won for him a large
clientele among the city's best citizens. He is the attorney for the Bank of
1832 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Italy, as well as a member of their local advisory board. Always an ardent
Republican, lie was accorded the chairmanship of the Republican County
Central Committee in 1907 and again in 1911.
Mr. Bernhard is a member of the college fraternity Chi Psi, at Stanford,
and of the Sunnyside Country Club of Fresno. A prominent Mason, he is a
Knight Templar and Shriner, and is chairman of the Committee on Appeals
of the Grand Lodge of California, and an honorary thirty-third of the Ancient
and Accepted Scottish Rite.
W. W. COATES.— What a man can do when he is really up against
it and must either hustle or be trodden under foot by the unfeeling world, is
well shown in the interesting story of Deputy Sheriff Coates' career, from
precarious boyhood to his present state of assured success. On the fourteenth
of August, in the historic Centennial year, he was born near Selma, Fresno
County, the son of James B. Coates, who settled here in 1850. when he first
came to California by way of the Isthmus, and who having taken up farming
at that early date, was always afterward regarded as one of the fir.st settlers
of Fresno County. In the beginning, he pitched -his tent near Selma with
AY. J. Berry. Afterwards he went to Alaska with Clarence Berry, the "Klon-
dike King," and together they shared both risks and results. His wife was
Luzeta Fanning before her marriage. She accepted pot-luck with her hus-
band in his rough, pioneer life, and passed away in 1882, one of the favored
early pioneer women of the Golden State. James B. Coates is still living in
Selma, and both fondly and sadly looks back to "the good old days" that
will never come again.
The next to the youngest in the family, W. W. Coates was but six years
old when his mother died. For a while he went to the public school, but
he was early thrown on his own resources, and from that time has had to
make his own way. He has done so in a manner creditable to himself, and
is truly a self-made man. He soon engaged in business in Fresno, and for
eleven years he and his establishment were pleasantly familiar to the people
of the town and vicinity. In 1912 he was appointed a deputy sheriff under
W. S. McSwain. He was reappointed by Thorwaldson. and again by Sheriff
Jones, and is now the oldest deputy in office.
In 1889 Mr. Coates was married to a most attractive lady, Miss Rose
Harman, and three children — Jesse, Evalyn and Wesley — have come to bless
their home. In 1917 Mr. Coates purchased a beautiful five-acre tract located
on Chance Avenue in East Fresno, near the fair grounds, where he resides
with his family. Here he finds diversion from his official duties in caring for
and growing flowers, berries and vegetables, as well as fancy poultry ; and
here he and his estimable wife entertain their large circle of friends. Mr.
Coates belongs to the Eagles. The family attend the Baptist Church.
JOSEPH S. BRETZ.— Among the early settlers of Fresno County who
helped lay the foundation of the present-day prosperity, was the late Joseph
S. Bretz, who was born in Pennsylvania and came with his parents to Clay-
ton Count}-, Iowa. In the spring of 1875 he came to Fresno County and was
employed at Clipper Mills. Not long afterwards he started making shakes in
the same vicinity, and later still, a shingle mill on Pine Ridge. He made trips
back to Iowa, and was married in Hardin County, that state, April 29, 1886, to
Margaret Ellen Lepley, born in Knoxville, Harden County, Ohio, a daughter
of Valentine and Margaret (Scott) Lepley. natives of Ohio, who were
pioneers of Hardin County, Iowa. After his marriage Mr. Bretz located per-
manently in Fresno County, purchasing the shingle mill from Mr. Beard, and
established the Bretz mill one mile east of Ockenden, wdiere he manufactured
shingles, shakes and posts; meantime he bought a ranch near Tollhouse and
there he resided when he died. October 25. 1011. He was an Odd Fellow.
Four children were born of this union: Edward and Frank who continue the
business and run the Bretz mill: Estella, who lives at home; and Lulu, Mrs.
^/ /<P/7^Z>-^4&<f
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1835
Hauert of Clovis. Mrs. Bretz is now one of the oldest settlers on Pine Ridge
and still makes her home at Tollhouse.
Bretz Mill is one of the oldest mills still being operated on Pine Ridge.
The family own 1,160 acres of timber, which they manufacture into shingles,
shakes and posts. They indorse and follow the plan of the government in
leaving seed trees for reforestation. Bretz Brothers believe the plan should
be made compulsory and enforced by the government.
The children were all born in Fresno County. Edward Bretz is married
to Mary E. Hauert and they have four children : Louis, Robert, Bessie and
Merriam. The family now make their residence in Fresno. Frank Bretz
married Miss Wilma L. Hauert and they have three children — Donald, Verne
and Chester. He resides at the old Bretz home near Tollhouse. Both boys
are members of the Woodmen of the World. Frank is one of the trustees of
Pleasant Vale school district, and Edward is a trustee of Pine Ridge district.
GUSTAV HENRY BROCKS.— A man who, through his optimism, saw
the possibilities of the soil of Fresno County for intensive farming and who
has labored in that direction, is Gustav Henry Brocks, who came to Califor-
nia in the early nineties. His father was Henry Brocks, a farmer of thrift
and experience in Enger, Germany, where he owned a farm and lived upon
it until his death in 1879, aged "thirty-five years. His wife was Hermina
Kruse before her marriage in the country of her birth, and she died in 1896,
aged forty-two. She was the mother of three children by her marriage with
Mr. Brocks, and Gustav H. was the second oldest and the only son.
Born at Enger, Westphalia, February 26, 1875. Gustav Henry Brocks
was reared in his native land and educated in the German schools until he
was seventeen, when he left home for America, arriving here in September.
1892. He at once came to the Pacific Coast, and in Fresno County found
employment in a vineyard. He was frugal, and when he was twenty he made
his first purchase of land, which was located in Eggers Colony and consisted
of twenty acres. Since then he has been successfully engaged in horticul-
tural pursuits and his well-kept ranch on National Avenue shows the enter-
prise and thrift of the owner.
Mr. Brocks was married in Fresno to Martha Werner, a native of Halle,
Germany, who came to this country with her parents. Of this union four
children have been born, three of whom are living: Gertrude. Henry and
Edith, all of whom have had the advantages of the public schools of Fresno.
Mr. Brocks is one of the original members of the first cooperative California
Raisin Growers Association, now the California Associated Raisin Company,
and the Melvin Grape Growers Association.
BENJAMIN NORTH. — Just across the border in the province of
Quebec, Canada, Mr. North was born on November 6, 1879. His father
died when the boy was but a year and a half old, and while he was still
voung, the mother came to California and settled at Madera. There they
remained only for six months, and then came to Fresno, where Ben North,
as he is familiarly known, grew up, attending the public schools of Fresno
and completing all but his senior year in the Fresno High School. The
mother, Mary Thomas North, still lives in Fresno, at 2959 McKenzie Street.
Early in life Mr. North began to work, being employed at various odd
jobs in different occupations. At twenty-one he went back to his old
Canadian home, and from 1900 to 1905 worked in pulp mills in Eastern
Canada. He learned the paper-pulp business thoroughly in his five years'
experience, but returned to Fresno again, this time with a wife, having mar-
ried Miss Eva Masters, a native of Canada, in the province of Quebec. He
secured employment with the San Joaquin Light & Power Company as store-
keeper, remaining with this company for a year and a half, and then went
to Goldfield, Nev., where he stayed a year. Returning to Fresno for a
few days, he then went to Spokane Wash., where for fourteen months he
1836 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
was employed by the Washington Water Company as station operator.
Coming back to Fresno, he was reemployed by the San Joaquin Light &
Power Company until he bought a half interest in the store at Clotho,
Fresno County. This was a store for general merchandise, and he con-
tinued there for fourteen months, when he sold and went to Lone Star, where
he likewise conducts a general merchandise store, the only one in Lone Star,
and by close application to business is building up a good trade. His ex-
tensive travels and the various occupations he has followed have fitted him
in a special manner for his work, and he has a natural aptitude for mak-
ing and holding friends.
There are three children in the family, YVilmuth, Helen and Billy, who
are general favorites.
THOMAS JACKSON SIMPSON.— One of the native sons of Fresno,
Thomas Jackson Simpson, is a son of John Greenup Simpson, a pioneer of
1850. who came from Missouri across the plains via the southern route, on
horseback and with pack animals, when seventeen years of age. He was
accompanied by ex-Governor Edwards of Missouri. The winter of 1850-51
was spent in New Mexico, the westward trip being renewed in the spring,
when in due time they arrived in Stockton. Mr. Simpson worked at teaming
in the city until 1855. when he removed to Millerton and engaged in the livery
business "for three years. He then sold out and embarked in the stock business
with J. X. Musick as a partner. This association was continued until 1861. at
which time the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Simpson continued the
stock business alone until his death. In 1856 he was in the Indian campaign
in Tulare County, and in every way took an active part in the pioneer work
of the state. His death, at the age of forty-seven, was much regretted by all
who had known him. He was one of the first stockmen to locate on Dry
Creek. and served as a supervisor in the early days of the county. He pur-
chased land at what is now Academy, and before his death had become the
owner of almost 6.000 acres. He was one of the builders of the academy
on Dry Creek, being a director of the company. This school was for years
one of the best in the state. Mr. Simpson was an Odd Fellow and in politics
a stanch Democrat. His wife bore the maiden name of Sarah M. Baley,
was a native of Missouri and a daughter of Win. R. P.aley. a brother of Judge
Gillum Baley, who came to California in 1849. Mr. Baley crossed the plains
and settled in Yisalia and was engaged in teaming between that place and
Stockton. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson both died in Fresno County. The}' were
parents of seven children: Mary K.. who married Henry Hazelton and
is now deceased ; William, who met an accidental death by drowning while
in bathing in the canal near Sanger; Thomas J., the subject of this sketch:
Marvin of Sanger : John G. of Fresno, and George P. of Fresno, and Lizzie,
the wife of John Fly of Exeter.
Thomas J. Simpson was born July 13. 1866. His early life was spent
on the ranch, while his education was obtained in the school at Academy. He
was a lad of eleven years when his father died and from that time until he
left home he took an active part in the work on the home place. At the age
of twenty he started out to make his own way in the world, beginning as a
sheep raiser on leased land fourteen miles west of Fresno. In 1886 he bought
500 head of sheep from Mr. Birch, a partner of John Baley. the partnership
of Baley and Simpson thus formed continuing for two years, when Mr. Baley
sold out to William R. Simpson. In 1889, T. J. Simpson'sold out to his brother
William R. At that time they owned some 5.000 head. Mr. Simpson then
became interested in the cattle business, and a little later established his
brand, PL. which is well known all through the cattle country. He has 1.550
acres of land on Dry Creek, which is all fenced and improved and here he is
engaged in stock raising and is very successful. Mr. Simpson devotes the
greater part of his time to bis cattle interests, his range being located in the
Sierras, about 40 miles from Fresno.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1837
In Academy Air. Simpson married, January 6, 1889, Miss Eleanor Ann
Perry, born in Fresno County, a daughter of Peter Perry, who settled in the
county in pioneer days and began farming on Kings River. Mr. and Mrs.
Simpson have the following children: Edwin R. is assisting Mr. Simpson
as well as raising cattle on his own account; Ina May is Mrs. Charles H.
Vencill and resides in Fresno ; Thomas Russell attended the University of
California until he enlisted in the United States Army and was commissioned
a second lieutenant in the One Hundred Fourteenth Engineers, he was hon-
orably discharged and is again at the University of California; Hugh, also
assisting his father at ranching ; Annie Laurie ; Mary Elizabeth ; Ruth ; Robert
Lee ; Sarah Margaret ; and Jack Tupper.
Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South. Mr. Simpson being a member of the official board. In politics he is
a Democrat. At all times he has ever been found willing to perform the
duties of a citizen. His success in life has been the result of his own en-
deavors and he is considered one of the substantial men of Fresno County.
W. L. OLINGER. — A hardy Missouri boy who has become an influen-
tial and most successful Californian rancher in his own name and right,
on one of the small "show-places" in the county, is W. L. Olinger, who
lives with his good wife and family on his forty-acre ranch one mile west and
half a mile north of Del Rey. Not long ago he built a stucco residence,
and those who have seen it declare it to be ideal for its purpose. Mr. Olinger
came to Del Rey, at that time called Clifton, in the fall of 1890; and since
then he has witnessed the working of more than one miracle in the marvelous
development of Central California.
W. L. Olinger was born the day before Christmas, in 1864, in Cooper
County, Mo., the very day when the nation was being electrified by the suc-
cessful bombarding of Fort Fisher by the Federal fleet. Soon after, his
parents, Jesse and Mary (Armstrong) Olinger, removed to a town called
Pleasant Hope, about twenty miles north of Springfield. His father was a
school teacher and a musician, making a specialty of the violin and vocal
music, and taught in public schools for forty years. When he died, he had
reached the age of seventy-six, and then lived at Hazelton, Kans., where he
was notary public and mayor. He had moved to that city in 1902. Mrs.
Olinger, the mother of our subject, died when he was only five years of age.
She left two other sons and two daughters ; and through his father's second
marriage Mr. Olinger came to have a half-sister. One of his sisters is now
Mrs. Laura Jane Fullerton, and lives in Los Angeles. An older brother,
Tames B., who was once the owner of the Olinger place, died on March 10,
1903, and W. L. Olinger bought the property. This brother James came here
in 1880 as one of the first settlers in the neighborhood, and had much to
do with Mr. Olinger's decision to follow him hither.
W. L. Olinger worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-one, and
then worked out on farms and rented land for himself until 1890, when he
decided to come West. Having arrived safely, he entered the service of
Capt. S. D. Hopper. The latter had a fine ranch, where there was a good
opportunity to learn local methods of agriculture. He stayed with the cap-
tain for five years, and then worked for his brother a year.
Until 1896 Mr. Olinger continued to work out by the month, and then he
went back to Missouri, where he was to marry Miss Susie A. Davenport.
She was born near Pleasant Hope, in that state, the daughter of W. A.
Davenport, the pioneer. On account of the new domestic ties Mr. Olinger
did not immediately return to the West, but bought fifty-two acres of Mis-
souri land, where he built a house and established his home. After the
death of his brother, in 1903, he came back to the Golden State and bought
his ranch, closing out his Missouri farm interests, and bringing along his
wife and two children, with all their personal belongings. Now he has a
1838 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
fine ranch with thirty acres planted to Thompson's seedless grapes, five
acres to muscats, and two acres to alfalfa ; while three acres are given up to
buildings, yard and environment. Mr. Olinger is a stockholder in the Cali-
fornia Associated Raisin Company.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Olinger: James Rosseau,
William Bernal, and Shannon Davenport. Mr. Olinger has always been
fond of music, and his youngest child, Shannon, has inherited his penc-hant
for the art. Although only eight years old, he plays both popular and
classic music with ease, and is a member of the Sunday school orchestra.
Mr. and Mrs. Olinger belong to the Baptist Church in Del Rev, to which
they give their hearty support, gladly participating in all worthy religious
or moral endeavor to improve and brighten human lives.
FRED. ANDERSON.— Influential as one of the pioneers of the Scandi-
navian Colony, Fresno County, esteemed by competitors as a progressive and
successful horticulturist, and liked by everyone as a genial and winsome
gentleman, Frederick Anderson, who came to Fresno County in the late
seventies, was born at Gothenberg, Sweden, in 1833, and there learned the
cabinet-maker's trade, in time extending his practice to carpentering. Cross-
ing the ocean, he reached San Francisco and later San Jose : and there he
was married to Balbina Folmer, a native of Wurtenberg, Germany, who had
come to the United States with her mother in the troublous year of 1848.
After his marriage, Mr. Anderson continued in San Francisco for a while
and worked at his trade ; but wishing to engage in farming, he became inter-
ested in Fresno County, and in 1879 moved here. He purchased sixty acres
in the Scandinavian Colony, and as rapidly as was possible he improved the
land, soon having a fine vineyard that was much admired. Without difficultv,
he sold off forty acres ; and upon the remaining twenty he resided until he
died in 1908, at the age of seventy-five. Mrs. Anderson, the widow, thereafter
resided with her daughter, Mrs. Arthur W. Allen ; and she died at Fresno in
February, 1911.
Four children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. Otto is a
farmer at Barstow, in this county; Emma has become Mrs. M. Cctppin, of
the National Colony; Laura is Mrs. Albert Nelson of the Granville district:
while Ida is Mrs. Arthur W. Allen, just referred to. •
JOHN C. GRAFF.— A rancher of exceptional worth is John C. Graff,
the son of John H. Graff and the nephew of the late Hans Graff. His father
was distinguished for scientific and thoroughly up-to-date methods in agri-
culture, and his uncle was one of the most successful merchants and best-
liked men in all Fresno.
The third son and fourth child in the family, Mr. Graff was born in San
Francisco on February 4, 1889. and was only three years old when his parents
came to Fresno County. At first they settled at Oleander, but in 1901
came to the old home place. There the lad grew up on the farm, one of six
brothers and sisters ; and he still has a younger brother and a younger sister.
He attended the public schools of Fowler and availed himself of such op-
portunities as came his way for self-culture and advancement. At the age
of fifteen he was working out for his uncle : and next he went into the United
States Navy, at Mare Island, and worked in the navy yard for two years.
After a while he boarded a naval auxiliary ship carrying coal, ammunition
and provisions; but at the end of seven months of that experience, he came
back to the ranch. For a couple of years, beginning in 1910, he worked for
wages for his father.
In 1912 Mr. Graff was married to Miss Millicent Gower. a native of
Fresno County and a daughter of Edwin and Cora (Perkins") Gower, ranch-
ers, who owned an attractive home three miles northeast of Fowler. One
daughter, Rosamond, has blessed this union.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1841
At the old home ranch, which for some time he rented from his father,
Mr. Graff had a choice vineyard of forty acres, together with an orchard,
where he devoted ten acres to peaches, seven acres to Thompson's Seedless,
already in bearing, two and a half acres to young Thompsons, seven acres
to sultanas, and eight acres to muscats. The balance of the property is
given up to alfalfa, yards, etc. Altogether, the ranch is one of the best of
its size for miles around. On April 1, 1919, the ranch was sold, and now
Mr. Graff is looking for a suitable location.
Fond of social intercourse, Mr. Graff is particularly at home in the
circles of the Odd Fellows, with which society he is affiliated through the
lodge at Fowler. He has a keen interest in civic affairs, and takes pride in
faithfully performing his duty as a citizen. Mrs. Graff actively seconds her
husband in good works, and both have participated in the various efforts
incidental to supporting the Government and relieving suffering during the
progress of the Great War.
EMIL NELSON. — Among the enterprising sons of Sweden, who have
located in California and have achieved success in their chosen line, is Emil
Nelson, who not only won the reputation of being the best cement contractor
in Vinland, Barstow, Empire and Kerman districts, but has demonstrated
his ability as a rancher by successfully engaging in horticulture and viti-
culture.
Emil Nelson was born in the old province of Skane (or Scania), near
Engelholm, Sweden, on January 24, 1884. the son of Nels Anderson, a farmer
and dairyman. When eighteen years of age he served the required time in
the Swedish Army, being assigned to the field artillery. Following the ex-
ample of so many of his fellow countrymen, as soon as his service in the
army was completed, he sailed for the United States of America, locating
first at Denver, Colo.; and four months later he continued his journey west-
ward, arriving in Oakland, Cal., where he secured employment with Blake
and Bilger, cement contractors, and learned the business of cement con-
struction. In 1906, Mr. Nelson took a trip to Nome, Alaska, where he spent
one summer, later returning to Oakland and resuming work with the same
firm, and continuing in this employ for five years.
In 1910, Mr. Nelson began business for himself, doing all kinds of cement
construction work, and so well did he execute his contracts that his patrons
were more than pleased and he soon established a reputation for doing the
best cement construction in this part of the county. It was but the just
reward for his conscientious workmanship that he should receive the contract
for the cement work at the Kerman Union High School and other schools
in this section.
In 1904, when Mr. Nelson first came to California, he was urged to buy
sixty acres of land at forty dollars per acre, at the opening sale in the Vin-
land district, but at that time it did not appeal to him as good investment.
Three years later, realizing that he had made a mistake by not purchasing
in 1904, he came to Fresno and bought twenty acres at Vinland, paying
seventy dollars per acre. Just after he had contracted to buy the land a party
from Oregon offered to purchase it at $100 per acre. This made him eager to
improve his land and also assured him that he had acted wisely in purchasing
at this time. After setting out an orchard and vineyard he located on the
ranch in 1914, and leased forty acres of fruit land adjoining, which he oper-
ated one year in connection with his ranch.
Possessing those commendable traits of his fellow countrymen, economy
and industry, Mr. Nelson saved sufficient money to be able to make loans on
two tracts of twenty acres each. One of the places, being for sale, he pur-
chased, and removed to it, thus doubling the size of his holdings. He in-
stalled a pumping-plant with a Commercial twenty-horsepower engine, and
a six-inch pump with a capacity of 1,000 gallons per minute, which furnishes
ample water to irrigate his ranch. About eleven acres are devoted to peaches
1842 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
which include the Lovell, Muir and Elberta varieties ; three acres to cling-
stone peaches, and five to muscat grapes, that are nine years old, and yield
on an average one and a half tons to an acre. In this locality, muscat grapes
had previously been considered as a failure, until Mr. Nelson, after two
years of experimenting, proved that irrigation would increase the yield from
two-thirds of a ton to one and a half tons per acre. In addition to his vine-
yard of muscats, he has five acres of Thompson seedless grapes and two
acres of apricots, the rest of the land being devoted to raising alfalfa.
Emil Nelson is highly esteemed in his community and is commended
for his progressive spirit and upright business principles. He is a member
of both the California Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Associated
Raisin Company. Mr. Nelson belongs to the Lutheran Church at Yinland,
of which organization he is secretary of the official board.
WILLIAM ALBERTUS AKERS.— A native of Texas. William A.
Akers was born near Austin, June 2, 1844, the son of Henry and Delia ( Miller)
Akers, natives of Kentucky. Coming to Fresno County, Cal., in 1852, he lived
on Kings River, above Centerville and when he reached his majority engaged
in stock-raising in that section of the count}-. In 1874 he married Katherine
Findley, a native daughter and about that date he bought a ranch in Drumms
Valley, this count}', where he operated as a stockman till 1880 and then en-
gaged in viticulture and horticulture at Centerville. In 1910 he purchased a
ranch on Los Gatos Creek and is now engaged in cattle raising with his two
sons, Wade Hampton and George Stoneman, ranging their herds over ten
sections of land.
Mr. Akers is today one of the oldest settlers in the county, having resided
in the county for sixty-seven years and has seen the wonderful changes and
helped in its transformation from the barren plains to a most productive and
intensively cultivated county. He is one of the few remaining pioneers who
can tell the early trials and hardships of the noble and brave women of those
early days.
JOHN W. JONES. — A hard-working, level-headed man, fortunate in
the devoted assistance of his wide-awake and excellent wife, and now a
successful rancher well on the way to an ample competency, is John W.
Jones, the owner of two ranches on Lincoln Avenue, near Fowler. They
have rebuilt their dwelling house on the home ranch, and have a neat and
attractive residence, to which their only child, a noble son just honorably
discharged from his country's service, came safely home from France.
Born on March 16, 1870, at Dunbarton, in Adams County, Ohio, John
Jones was the son of Jasper Jones, a tenant farmer, who married Mary Gray,
by whom he had four sons, our subject being the second. The father came
from Tennessee and the mother from Ohio, and both parents died in the
latter state. John is the only one to come to California, the other three
boys having remained in Ohio. John worked around on farms from his
seventeenth year; and when twenty-two he went to Peoria Count}-, 111.,
and worked there on farms. In that county too, in 1892, he married an
Ohio girl, Miss Emma Cornelius, and for twelve years rented a farm there,
after which he bought a small farm near by and worked it for the next three
years with success.
In 1906 Mr. and Mrs. Jones took the important step and came to Cali-
fornia, where Mr. Jones found work for D. S. McCollough near Fowler. At
the end of a year he bought twenty acres, but soon sold the same. In 1913
he purchased his present place of twenty acres, constituting the home farm,
one and a half miles north of Fowler ; and in 1919 he bought the second
twenty, half a mile west of the home ranch. His experience in farming,
together with that of his good wife, and their combined industry and thrift,
have made of the one ranch, and will be sure to make of the other, a pleas-
ing and inspiring sight to all interested in up-to-date farming.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1843
The one living child spared to this worthy couple is Paul M. Jones, a
graduate of the Fowler High School and a member of the Class of '17. He
volunteered for active service in defense of his country, and enlisted at
Fresno on June 2, 1918, when he was assigned to Headquarters, Company
81, Light Field Artillery. He trained at Camp Fremont and Fort Sill, and
at Camp Mills on Long Island, N. Y. ; and on November 2, 1918, he sailed for
France on the Cunarder Aquitania, landing seven days later at Brest. From
that port he reembarked on January 4, 1919, and landed at Hoboken on
January 18, after which his regiment was demobilized at Camp Knox in
Kentucky. There, on the 19th of February he was honorably discharged,
and four days later he arrived home at Fowler.
Mr. Jones is a Republican, and as such works hard for an improved and
elevated electorate ; but he is broad-minded enough to put his shoulder to
the wheel, when it is necessary, and work for local improvements apart from
party affiliations. He and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian
Church at Fowler, and both stand for clean living and encourage worth-
while charities.
R. HANSEN. — The genial host, owner and manager of the Corbly
Hotel, at Del Rey, Fresno County, Mr. R. Hansen, who has satisfactorily
catered to the public at this popular hostelry during the past seven years,
possesses the happy faculty of making everybody welcome, which is indeed
an art. He always has a smile for the care-worn, a word of sympathy for the
despondent, a comforting message for the sorrowing, a cheerful smile for
all : and besides all these splendid requisites he is an efficient cook. The
table at the Corbly Hotel is always supplied with the best products of the
season, and the bill of fare is always temptingly prepared. The hotel has ac-
commodations for seventy-five guests, while the table capacity is much
greater.
Mr. Hansen is a native of Denmark, where he first saw the light of day
in 1871, his parents being R. and Sine Hansen, also natives of Denmark,
Their family consisted of nine children, but R. Hansen is the only member
of the family living. He immigrated to the United States in 1891, arriving
on December 23, and came directly to Sanger, Cal. After laboring at San-
ger for some years he had by economical habits saved enough money to
pay for a trip back to Denmark to visit the scenes of his childhood, where he
remained five years. After his return to the United States he spent two
years in the East, but of all the places he visited he found none that could
compare in climate and business opportunities with Fresno County.
On March 1, 1903, R. Hansen was united in marriage with Miss Marie
Jakobsen, a native of Denmark. This union has been blessed with four
children: Christian. Arthur, Agnes, and Sigfred. Fraternally, Mr. Hansen
is a member of the Danish Brotherhood.
J. A. SELF. — Mr. Self was born in Pope County, Mo., near Springfield,
October 25, 1881. He was the oldest child in a family of eight, three girls
and five boys. His parents were W. H. and Elizabeth (Olinger) Self. Al-
though he received a grammar school education, while he was a mere lad
he was called upon to work on his father's farm, following the plow and
otherwise laying the foundation upon which he is rearing a splendid structure
of success.
When twenty-one years of age, Mr. Self came to California. On January
1, 1903, he married Miss Ida M. Walker, in Polk County, Mo., and on March
7, of the same year, he arrived in Sacramento. For three years he worked
for A. C. Morris, at Knight's Landing, and from there went to Humboldt
County, where both he and his wife sought employment in a lumber camp.
He followed ranching for a season, when he had an opportunity to learn
the blacksmith trade. After following the trade for a time, however, he
decided to enter the employ of Minor Brothers, at Glendale, Humboldt
1X44 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
County, where he worked in their sawmill. Here he was soon called to
fire the boilers, and became head fireman.
Mr. Self now owns a farm of thirty acres, one and a quarter miles
west of Del Rev, near the prairie schoolhouse. In addition to caring for
this, he has rented a farm of fifty acres from Alary B. Williams. His suc-
cess is due to his untiring energy and the intelligent use of a body that seems
to know no fatigue. In fact he is credited with being one of the greatest
workers that ever came to Fresno County. He is a most agreeable man,
and has not forgotten to cultivate his social qualities as well as his soil.
His success lias been won entirely by himself, for, while his father is a well-
to-do farmer in Missouri, no help from him has been asked or received.
This sketch would not be considered complete by Mr. Self if it failed
to give his wife the credit due her for the part she has contributed to his
success. In everything she has been ready to second the efforts of her hus-
band. A loving mother and a devoted wife, she has made for herself a place
in social circles, and is a recognized factor in the general welfare of the com-
munity.
LOUIS GEORGE SEQUEIRA. — Among the progressive and successful
business men of Fresno. Louis George Sequeira has become well-known as a
man of adaptability and initiative, and a willing worker for the upbuilding
of Fresno and Fresno County. Born in the Azores Islands, September 27,
1865, he came to America in 1882. landing at Boston, Mass. After his arrival,
he came direct to California and Fresno County. He found his first employ-
ment on the William Allen ranch, in Helm Colony, and there learned the
sheep business. Later he followed that business for a number of years for
himself. He then worked for the Sanger Lumber Company, at Sanger, for
three years.
Mr. Sequeira early became a firm believer in the future prosperity of
Fresno County, and bought and developed ranches for several years, his last
ranch, which he sold in 1912, being located three miles east of Caruthers. and
consisted of forty acres, in vines and peaches, with some of the acreage de-
voted to alfalfa. He bought and sold real estate in Fresno, and met with un-
usual success in his various developing enterprises. For sixteen years Mr.
Sequeira ran a grocery store here, on the corner of E and Tuolumne streets.
His present business, of which he is sole owner and proprietor, is the Murray
Cabinet and Show Case Company, located on E Street, between Fresno and
Merced streets. He purchased this establishment February 2, 1918. and it is
the largest factory of the kind between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The
business is housed in a modern brick building and seven men are employed
in manufacturing showcases and store fixtures to order, and a fine stock of
this merchandise is carried on hand at all times. With a growing business,
which he handles in an efficient and most capable manner. Mr. Sequeira has
made a place for himself in the business life of Fresno. During all his years
of residence here he has been a liberal and willing contributor in all projects
which have for their object the advancement of his town and county. Be-
sides his many interests here, he is the owner of valuable real estate in Van
Xnvs. Los Angeles County.
The marriage of Mr. Sequeira, February 13, 1803, at Selma, united him
with Rosa Calderia, a native of Alvarado, Alameda County. Cal.. and five
children have been born to them, as follows: Josephine, wife of Frank Man-
fredo ; Mary, employed in the Fresno office of the Santa Fe Railway ; Louis,
manager of Murray Cabinet and Show Case Co. ; Antone, graduate of Fresno
High SchiHil and now attending law department of University of California:
and Rosie, attending the Fresno High School. Fraternally, Air. Sequeira is
a charter member and past president of the Fresno Lodge of I. D. E. S.. and
he also is a member of the U. P. E. C. of Fresno, and is an active member of
the Merchants Association.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1847
JOHN J. WALSH. — A well known and highly respected citizen of
Reedley, Cal., since 1906, John J. Walsh was one of the first to take up land
in Merritt Colony. His purchase proved a wise one and his development of
the place has produced satisfactory results. He planted peach trees, vines
and alfalfa, and made many improvements on the place, including a fine
home which he erected in 1918, of cement building blocks. He is now replac-
ing the peach trees and alfalfa with figs and vines.
John J. Walsh was born in Australia on July 11, 1863. His parents
migrated to the United States in 1867 and John J. received his education in
the public schools of this country. He learned the trade of a harnessmaker
and traveled over thirty-eight states as a journeyman. After he came to
Reedley and had planted his vines and fruit trees, he very advantageously
resumed his old-time business of a harnessmaker and so gained a living
while his trees were growing and he so continued until his crops were large
enough to depend upon. He has installed an irrigating system at the cost of
over $1,800. It includes a well eighty feet deep, with a pit thirty-five feet
deep, with pumping facilities for 450 gallons per minute. With the develop-
ment of this section his ranch has greatly increased in value.
In 1901, John J. Walsh was united in marriage with Miss Edna Bren-
ner, a native of Kansas, and they are the parents of four children : Agnes A. ;
John L. : Francis ; and Edna T. Mr. Walsh belongs to the raisin, peach and
fig growers associations. He is appraiser of the Federal Loan Association
of Berkeley, for the Reedley branch.
PERCY N. WARNER. — The enterprising proprietor of the Warner
Cement Works of Reedley, Cal., is P. N. Warner, born in Marion County,
Iowa, September 1, 1876, the Centennial year of the independence of the
United States of America.
His parents were Austin and Lavina (Scoles) Warner who, in 1891,
with their three sons, migrated to California. P. N. Warner was the young-
est boy of the family and was reared in his native county, and educated
in the public schools up to the time of his coming to California. After his
arrival in the Golden State he attended the high school of Berkeley, from
which institution he was graduated in 1903. Subsequently he pursued a
course in engineering in the University of California at Berkeley, which
especially fitted him for the management of his present business. While
living in Los Angeles and before engaging in business for himself. Mr.
Warner was in the employ of the Los Angeles Railway Company, after-
wards he worked for the Pacific Electric as an engineer. For eighteen months
he was assistant engineer to Harry Stafford, city engineer of Los Angeles,
and then served as assistant city electrician for a short time. In 1901 and
1902 he was employed in San Francisco as engineer for the Independent
Light and Power Company. Wherever he was engaged he always rendered
efficient service and gained the esteem of his employers. His experience in
the cement business was gained while working for a cement contractor in
Los Angeles and this practical knowledge has contributed to his success in
Reedley.
In 1910 there was established at Reedley, Fresno County, the firm of
Cary & Warner, and this concern has grown with the development of the
city and surrounding country. In 1914, Mr. Warner bought out his partner
and has continued alone. Mr. Warner evolved the idea of using compressed
air in the manufacture of cement pipe, by watching the results of air as
applied to hard rock drilling and riveting. The appliance was made to com-
ply with the requirements of making pipe, and has been developed to such
an extent that he now manufacturers everything in the cement pipe line. He
was the first man in the United States so to use compressed air, and now
the United States Department of Agriculture uses his pipe as the standard
for grade of cement pipe. It is claimed that this process has brought the
1848 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
manufacture of pipe to the highest standard possible. His plant began with
a capacity of 350 feet per day which was increased to 5.000 feet, and the
average is about 1,500 feet per day. His pipe range in size from six to forty-
two inches. The reputation of his product is rapidly spreading and he fills
orders throughout Tulare, Merced and Madera Counties, besides his trade
in Fresno County, which is extensive.
In 1901. P. N. Warner was united in marriage with Minnie Headley,
a daughter of S. R. Headley, a merchant in New Jersey. They are the par-
ents of two children: Juliaette and Eva Louise. Mr. Warner is now serv-
ing on the board of trustees of Reedley Grammar School. He is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. During the war he served at Reedley on
the Fresno County Council of Defense and on the local Exemption Board.
CHARLES KIRMOND.— England has furnished the United States
with many able citizens who have become prominent in professional, com-
mercial and agricultural circles. One such is C. Kirmond, of this memoir,
a native of England, having been born at Grimsby. Lincolnshire. September
20, 1869, the son of John and Harriett (French) Kirmond. who were also
natives of the British Isles. The family of John and Harriett Kirmond con-
sisted of five children, C. Kirmond being the only member of the family
in California.
In 1909, C. Kirmond immigrated to this country, and is now one of the
most progressive farmers of the Mount Olive district, near Reedley, Cal..
where, in conjunction with A. Oakley, he owns thirty-one and one-half acres of
land devoted to raising olives. They purchased this tract of land in 1910,
it being originally known as the old California Vineyard, Lots 21 and 22.
Their olive trees range in age from two to eighteen years. The land is very
productive and is in a high state of cultivation.
In March, 1896, C. Kirmond was united in marriage with Miss Man-
Alice Moss, a daughter of Ellis and Mary Moss, also natives of England.
This union was blessed with one son. Harry, who entered the artillery
branch of the United States Army, having enlisted in August, 1917. His
merit was soon recognized by his promotion to First Sergeant. He served
in France several months, was discharged and is now visiting in England,
where he was born.
When Mr. and Mrs. Kirmond immigrated to this country, in 1909. to
their credit it can be said, they came without means or friends. Since their
arrival in the country of their adoption, they have, by energetic efforts,
thrifty habits and judicious management, accumulated a competency, and
are highly esteemed in their community. They have become stanch American
citizens and in proof of their fidelity to the country of their adoption, they
gave their only son in its defense, "to make the world safe for Democracy."
ADOLPH G. BORCHARDT.— In 1903. A. G. Borchardt became identi-
fied with the history of Fresno County, and was one of the first persons to
purchase a twenty-acre ranch in the Poppy Colony. He is an American-
born citizen of German parentage, and is a true and loyal supporter of the
United States under all circumstances. He was born at Agawam, near
Springfield, Mass., in 1861, the son of Gustave and Sophia Borchardt, who
were the parents of two children : Mrs. Ackerman. who resides in Spring-
field. Mass.: and Adolph G. In 1881. Mr. Borchardt. after following the sea
for a few years, went to Gardiner. Maine, where he engaged in the general
merchandise business until he sold out to come to California. The father.
Gustave Borchardt. has passed away: the mother is still living in Agawam.
Mass., where she is the owner of property.
After purchasing his ranch of twenty acres in the Poppy Colony. Fresno
County, Cal., Mr. Borchardt began improving it and in due time brought
the place up to a high state of 'cultivation, having set it out to vines and
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1849
fruits. In 1911 he sold the ranch and purchased forty acres of raw land
situated four miles west of Sanger, but he resides at De Wolf Station,
on the Santa Fe railway. Though this was unimproved land when he
purchased it, through perseverance and energetic effort he has made
of it a productive ranch, devoted to plums, peaches, and alfalfa, and has
built a fine residence, which is both convenient and commodious. In
1913 he sold twenty acres on the east at a satisfactory advance. The ranch
is a model of neatness in appearance, and bespeaks thrift, prosperity and
judicious management.
In 1882, A. G. Borchardt was united in marriage with Miss Linnie
Hall, a native of Maine and the daughter of Judson and Adelaide Hall, of
Nobleboro, Maine. Twelve children were born of this happy union, ten of
whom are living: Estella ; Harold, who is married and lives in Louisville,
Ky., and who was in training at Camp Taylor, Ky., until discharged ; and
Mildred, Barbara, Dorothea, Floyd, Gertrude, Evelyn, Paul, and Norma. Fra-
ternally, Mr. Brochardt is a Mason, a member of the Lodge, Chapter and Com-
mandery at Gardiner, Maine. He is a progressive and enterprising rancher
and is held in high esteem in the community where he resides.
CHARLES McBRIDE.— Determination looms large as a factor in
success, and tends to develop an aptitude for one's calling that may not
have been noticeable at first. Combined, these two factors are sure to
bring success, and when they are coupled with energy and industrious
application nothing can stand in their way. This has been strikingly shown
in the career of Charles McBride, who owns a well-improved forty-acre
ranch on Jensen Avenue, a half mile north of Lone Star, Fresno Countv. Cal.
This ranch is devoted to the raising of raisin grapes, a work in which he
finds ample opportunity for the use of his natural inclination toward viti-
culture.
Charles McBride was born in Monroe County, Mo., March 16, 1867, a
son of John and Georgia (HollingswortrO McBride. He had the advantages
of the common schools, and early in life became possessed of the idea
of accumulating some property of his own. He worked out on raisin ranches
in Fresno County, and in the oil fields at Coalinga. Work in the vine-
yards appealed most to him, and he has been more than ordinarily successful
as a vineyardist. In 1903 he engaged in the livery stable business at Fresno.
It was not until 1915 that he bought his present forty-acre ranch, which he
now operates and where he makes his home. In the meantime he has bought,
improved and sold four different places in Fresno County. He is a man
whose friendship is prized on account of his strength of character and un-
swerving principles of right. He believes in honesty and integrity in public
as well as in private business, and is known as a man who practices what
he believes. An advocate of a clean life, he is active in temperance work
and in the dissemination of the doctrine of clean and economical govern-
ment in local, state and national affairs. In politics he lines up with the
Democratic party, and is a stanch supporter of the present administration.
As an inspector and solicitor for the Raisin Growers' Association, Mr. Mc-
Bride is most highly regarded, and his counsel is sought after by all who
come in contact with him. Nature has endowed him with a large and
strong body, together with an active and alert mind, and these, with a
pleasing- personality make him justly popular.
In 1897, Mr. McBride married Miss Lena Baldwin, a stepdaughter of
James Finch, and she has contributed her share towards the success they to-
gether have achieved. They are the parents of two children : Dwisrht, a student
of the Easton High School, and Audrey. Just in the prime of life, Mr. and
Mrs. McBride are enjoying the fruits of industry and frugality, and can
view with satisfaction both the results already accomplished and the pros-
pects for the future.
1850 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
LEROY RAMACHER.— An enterprising citizen and well-known
stock-raiser and viticultnrist, who is fortunate in having an enthusiastic com-
panion for a wife, the two forming just such a kind-hearted and liberal
couple as any community would be proud to number in its citizenry, is Leroy
Ramacher, a popular member of the California Associated Raisin Company,
whose ranch lies about ten miles east of Fresno, and is watered by the Red
Bank Creek. He was born in Linton, Greene County, Ind., on September
11th of the year made memorable as the centenary of our nation's growth,
and his father was Henry Ramacher who brought his family to California
in 1884, and himself became a well-to-do and prominent farmer and vine-
yardist in the Kutner Colony. The father was always a strong supporter of
education and everything that made for the upbuilding of the community,
and now resides comfortably in Fresno, having retired on a competency. His
life-story also adorns this work.
Leroy was the eldest of eight children and came to California with his
parents, arriving in Fresno on May 10, 1884. He was educated in the public
schools of the Sentinel and Scandinavian districts, and later learned farm-
ing and viticulture while assisting his father on his present ranch. There he
helped set out vineyards, and also assisted in caring for them. In 1902 he
was in the employ of Joe Bretz at his shingle mill, and after a year there, he
went with the Pine Ridge Lumber Company as foreman in charge of the box
factory. He stuck to that post of detailed responsibility for seven long years,
and resigned only because he had resolved to engaged in farming.
In 1913, Mr. Ramacher purchased sixty-five acres of his father's old
ranch in Kutner Colony, where he continued farming and viticulture. About
twenty-six acres have b.een set out as a vineyard with muscat, Tokay and
Malaga vines, and the balance is devoted to alfalfa and the raising, of grain.
He is making a specialty of raising hogs, and already has a promising grow-
ing herd and so is meeting with deserved success. He is very industrious,
as well as far-seeing, and the ranch is therefore kept in the best condition.
On December 30, 1913, Mr. Ramacher was married in Temperance
Colony to Miss Elizabeth Brooks, who was born in Peoria County, 111., the
daughter of James A. and Olive A. (Parr) Brooks, each of whom was a
native of that state and numbered among the worthiest of Illinois farmers.
In 1906 they came to Fresno County and purchased a vineyard in Temper-
ance Colony where they now reside. The younger of their two children, Mrs.
Ramacher received her education in the public schools of Peoria County,
111., and in Temperance district, this county, and in time came to have a lovely
daughter of her own, named Olive Esther.
Mr. and Mrs. Ramacher are interested in sociological movements and
in work for humanity. Mr. Ramacher marches in the ranks of the Socialists,
in the fulfillment of his political duties ; and Mrs. Ramacher is an active member
of the Kutner Auxiliary of the Fresno Chapter of the Red Cross.
JAMES MACKAY.— Among the rising Californians of foreign birth,
who have brought to the development of this great commonwealth so much
of the brains, brawn and experience of the Old World, one who has become
a recognized authority as a viticultnrist and horticulturist, especially in the
growing of figs, is James Mackay, who was born at Strathpeffer County,
Ross. Scotland, in 1872, the son of Simon Mackay, an honored farmer there
who died at the ripe old age of eighty-three. His mother, who was Catherine
McKinzie before her marriage, survived her husband for many vears. and
died in 1912.
James was the youngest of ten children, and was reared on the farm, at
the same time that he received a public school education. He helped his
folks and remained home until he was twenty years of age. Then he was
made game warden on the Lord Middleton estate, but after six vears he re-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1853
signed and joined the Edinburgh police, where he served for five years, or
from his twenty-fifth to his thirtieth year, when he resigned. He then en-
gaged in dairying for a period of eight years, when he sold out, to leave
his native land and cross the wide ocean.
Mr. Mackay came to California by way of New York and New Orleans,
and was not long in choosing Fresno County as his home. Two brothers,
Donald and Alexander, had preceded him to California, and this paved the
way, in the spring of 1911, for his entr}' into the employ of the Glorietta ranch.
In 1913, Mr. Mackay left the ranch and accepted a more flattering
offer from the W. A. Sutherland vineyard, where he became foreman, a
post he filled with exceptional ability for the next two years, and which he
gave up reluctantly to take the superintendence' of the Glorietta and Alta
Sierra ranches, each of 160 acres, and also Mrs. Drake's ranch, and some
others. The ranches were in orchard and vineyard, and he then began that
conscientious study of horticulture and viticulture for which he had really
laid the foundation on his arrival in California, and in which he soon became
distinguished. Having a nursery on the place, he had ample opportunity
to study plant life and especially the growing of figs, and in that field he
has conducted some valuable experiments with Calimyrnas. He is a friend of
Prof. J. T. Condit, the fig professor at the University of California, with
whom he is in close touch, and he is at present experimenting with a distinct
special Capri fig, and is keeping the records for the University laboratory.
As a result, Mr. Mackay has made some valuable discoveries.
While in classical and picturesque Edinburgh, the pride of the patriotic
Scot, Mr. Mackay was married to Miss Elizabeth Monroe, a native of that
romantic country, and by her he has had two children, James and Arthur.
He is a member of the Woodmen of the World of Clovis, and was made a
Mason in Clovis Lodge, F. & A. M. And finally, he is an American citizen,
having been made a member of the American Republic on December 27, 1917.
CHARLES LINDROSE. — An industrious, ambitious, and aggressive
rancher and horticulturist, who is far-seeing in all that he undertakes, is
Charles Lindrose, who vies in popularity with his excellent and equally hos-
pitable wife, a woman of refinement who has brought up a model and attrac-
tive family. Mr. Lindrose's brother, M. J. Lindrose, was one of the first set-
tlers in Washington Colony in 1877, and this resulted in the long journey
from his native Norway to California in 1889.
Charles Lindrose was born in Kongsberg, Norway, September 27, 1870,
the son of Ole Lindrose, who was also born there and was in the employ of
the Kongsberg silver mines all his life as a miner ; when he was sixty-five, he
was retired and pensioned, and resided at Kongsberg until he died, at the
age of eighty-four. His wife had been Bertha Kathrina Foshagen before her
marriage, and she is still living at Kongsberg, at the age of eighty-two. Ole
Lindrose was married twice, by the first union there were five children, but
none are now living, and one of these sons was M. J. Lindrose, already
referred to ; six children were born of the second marriage, and Charles was
the third eldest. A brother, S. A. Lindrose, lives at Bowles in this county.
Charles was brought up in Norway, attended the public schools of
his native country and then for four years was employed in a paper manu-
factory. In 1889 he came to Fresno and worked for his brother, M. J. Lind-
rose, at fruit-farming, and afterward for other ranchers. He then purchased
a small ranch at Easton, which he improved as an orchard and sold at a
profit, and next bought twenty acres at Dinuba, where he set out a fine
vineyard. When he sold that, three years later, he bought forty acres near
Reedley, in the Producers' Colony, which he improved to vines and sold at
a good profit, and next he purchased ten acres, also located near Reedley,
which he set to vineyard and later sold at a good advance.
1854 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
After this Mr. Lindrose returned to the vicinity of Fresno. Here he
leased forty acres in the McKinley district, and also purchased the place he
at present owns, then fifteen acres'. This was in April, 1908, and as the land
was raw he began improvements, while farming the forty leased acres. In
1909 he bought ten acres adjoining and still later he added five acres more.
On June 24. 1909, in the McKinley district, Mr. Lindrose was married
to Miss Lena Dahl. a native of Trondhjem. Norway, and the daughter of
Ole Dahl, a farmer there. Lena Dahl received a good education in the public
and high schools of her native land. Having a sister, Mrs. C. W. Anderson,
living in Fresno County, she crossed the ocean and continent to join her.
Thus kind fate brought her to Fresno, in 1905. and here she met Charles
Lindrose, the acquaintance resulting in their marriage. Four children blessed
their union : Frank. Evelyn, Earl, and Katherine. Mrs. Lindrose is a cul-
tured woman and presides gracefully over her husband's household, where
she welcomes their many friends.
Mr. Lindrose has highly improved his home ranch of thirty acres where
he has set out an orchard of peaches and apricots, and a vineyard of fifteen
acres of Thompson seedless and muscats, and ten acres of alfalfa. Upon
his ranch three and a half miles west of Fresno on Belmont Avenue, he has
made many substantial improvements, including the erection of a fine resi-
dence, and also suitable farm buildings. He is a member of the California
Associated Raisin Company, and energetically supports its policies. Mr.
Lindrose is independent in politics, and especially so in all matters pertain-
ing to the locality in which he has an ever-increasing interest.
DONALD MACKAY. — A kind-hearted, hospitable fellow, who enjoys
the esteem of a wide circle of friends, and the good wishes of all who note
his deserved prosperity, is Donald Mackay, who came to California in the
early nineties, an industrious and thrifty native of bonnie Scotland, bringing
with him both experience and virtues so valuable in the development of a
new country. He was born in County Ross, Scotland, on October 1, 1860,
a son of Simon Mackay and a brother of James Mackay who is also a resi-
dent of Fresno County. His father was a farmer in that country, as well-
liked as he was well-known, who lived to attain thirteen years more than the
biblical three-score and ten. His mother's maiden name was Catherine Mc-
Kinzie, and she died years after her husband, in 1912.
In 1882, Donald crossed the ocean to Halifax, Canada, and soon began
to follow farming and lumbering in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. Eight
years elapsed before he left that country, and then he came to Fresno, where
he followed viticulture and horticulture. He entered the employ of the Fresno
Flume and Lumber Company, and for seven years proved one of their most
reliable men ; after which he was with the Madera Sugar Pine Company and
placed at their disposal his undivided time and best effort. For a time he was
a millwright ; and then be became the planing-mill foreman, a post he filled
with exceptional ability.
Having been interested, however, for many years in viticulture, Mr.
Mackay in 1902 purchased ten acres, which he set out as an orchard and
vineyard. He has further improved the place with a fine residence and suit-
able buildings, and there his family make their home. The land is devoted
to the raising of Thompson's seedless grapes and Elberta peaches, and with
these he has been very successful. A few years ago he also bought twenty
acres four miles west of his place ; and this tract he kept until he had a
chance to sell it at a good profit. He now owns twenty other acres of fine
land, just west of his house, which are devoted to a vineyard of Feherzagos
and the growing of alfalfa. In January, 1915, he resigned his position with
the Madera Sugar Pine Company to give himself entirely to the sciences of
viticulture and horticulture. He is a live member of the California Associated
Raisin Company and also the California Peach Growers, Inc.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1855
Amid the delightful surroundings at Temperance Colony, Fresno County,
in 1895, Mr. Mackay was married to Miss Flora Damon, who was born near
Waukesha, Wis., and came to Nebraska with her parents, who were farmers
near Atkinson, Holt County, but when she was twelve years old, they
brought her to Red Bluff, Cal. Later, the family came to Fresno County.
Mr. and Mrs. Mackay have three children : Chester, was with the South-
ern Pacific Railroad Company at Clovis until April, 1918, when he enlisted in
the United States Naval Reserve Force and is serving on the Battleship
Vermont, plying between Fortress Monroe, Va., and Brest, France ; Norman
is attending the University of Southern California ; and Dorothy is at home.
The family are Presbyterians, and Mr. Mackay belongs to the Woodmen
of the World.
LYMAN H. CARPENTER.— A liberal-minded, frank and open-hearted
gentleman, who is well-read and well-posted, not only on Central Californian
affairs, but on life in general, is Lyman H. Carpenter, who was born in
Piqua, Ohio, on August 11, 1858, the son of John C. Carpenter, who was born
in Lancaster County, Pa., and settled in Piqua, where he was a farmer, until
he removed to Missouri. At Springfield, in Greene County, he continued
farming, and there he died. He had married Rebecca Darling, who was
born in Chester County, Pa., and later she died in Missouri, the mother of
twelve children, eight of whom grew up and are now living. Among these,
Lyman is the second eldest.
He was reared on a farm in Piqua, Ohio, and attended the public schools.
And there he was married to Miss Annie Ginn, who was born there. He
engaged in farming on his father's farm, and in 1896 removed to Springfield,
Greene County, Mo., where he bought a farm seven miles west of the town.
He engaged in grain and stock-raising, and had a fine place. He was success-
ful ; but having suffered with the grippe, he was left with a throat trouble.
This led Mr. Carpenter to seek a more favorable climate, and whither
should he more naturally turn than toward California? He came here in
1914, and located for a while at Fresno ; and finding that his trouble left
him, he bought ten acres of a peach orchard on Blackstone Avenue. At
the end of two years, however, he sold out and purchased his present place
of thirty acres on Brooks Avenue, between California and Jensen, about
twelve miles west of Fresno. And there he has become a successful California
agriculturist, raising alfalfa, hay and hogs, and running a dairy. He is an
active member of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and of the California
Associated Raisin Company; and vigorously supports their various programs
for the development of Fresno County.
Two children have come to be the especial pride of Mr. and Mrs. Carpen-
ter, and each has also found a place of special usefulness in life. Gertrude is
the wife of William Sticklen and resides east of Fresno ; and Georgie is the
wife of Jemmen Bos, and they reside on Blackstone Avenue.
Mr. Carpenter belongs to the Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 328 at Brookline,
Mo., where he is a past grand. In national politics he is a Republican.
JOHN W. COOK. — An American who believes in living and letting
others live, and an adopted Californian who has enjoyed better health here
than anywhere else in the entire land, is John W. Cook, who is provided with
a good ranch and a comfortable home. He was born near Jordan village,
Owen County, Ind., on May 7, 1858, the son of George W. Cook, who was
also born in Owen County, was a farmer and then removed to Clay City,
Ind., where he farmed and died, living to see the nation he loved round out
its first century of great progress. Susan Cook, the mother, was born in
Indiana, and died there in 1900, the mother of eleven children, of whom
our subject is the seventh eldest, and the only one now living.
Brought up in Clay City, John attended the public schools there, and
when, during his seventeenth year, his father died, he continued at home
1856 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
to assist his mother run the place. At her death, the property was sold, and
the estate divided.
He there married Miss Alice Lankford, who was born in Clay County,
Ind., and was a mate with him at school ; and his mother continued her
residence with him, until her death in February, 1900. On the fourteenth
of the following May, his wife died ; and he was also ill ; so, as soon as practi-
cable, he sold out and moved to Oklahoma.
He drove there in a wagon, and then sold the team and went to Eureka
Springs, where he remained for six months ; after which he returned to In-
diana. He made three trips to North Dakota, and in 1905 went to Saskatch-
ewan, Canada, where he homesteaded 160 acres. But on account of bad
health, he let it revert to the government. Then he went back to North Da-
kota and farmed for a year.
In 1909 Mr. Cook took the important step which brought him to Fresno
County and started him at last on the way to a satisfying prosperity. He
bought this ranch of ten acres on Section 15, and later bought ten acres
more, making twenty acres on Jensen Avenue, twelve miles west of Fresno.
From what was once raw land Mr. Cook has raised the values by many im-
provements, planting trees, alfalfa and setting out vines.
Two children bear Mr. Cook's name : Lonzie, is in Fresno ; and the
other, Cecil, in Clay City, Ind. In national politics Mr. Cook is a Democrat ;
but he finds pleasure in supporting local projects regardless of party affilia-
tions, and always aims to vote for the best men and the best measures.
FRANK J. BORELL. — A very successful farmer is Frank J. Borell who
understands California ranching and he has had the good fortune to be
assisted by a capable wife, and to be blessed with bright and progressive
children. He was born January 22. 1894, at Waverly, Wright County, Minn.,
fortv miles northwest of Minneapolis, the son of Louis Borell, who was born
near Berlin, Germany, and who came to the United States when a youth and
located, before the Civil War, in Minnesota ; and he bought raw land and
timber at Waverly. He improved his farm, and soon had 300 acres in good
condition. He lives retired at Waverly, numbering among his honors those
that came to him through the wise administration of office as supervisor.
Mr. Borell married Kate Knaeble, a native of Pennsylvania whose grand-
father, J. Knaeble, was a pioneer of Minneapolis. She is also living, the
mother of nine children, seven of whom are still living.
Frank J. is the third oldest and the only one in California. Reared .on a
farm, he attended the public school and when nineteen began the experience
of five years in farming for himself. Later he became the owner of eighty
acres of land, part of the old family place, which he improved with a resi-
dence and other buildings.
On November 17, 1900, he was married at Waverly to Miss Pearl Pan-
nett, a native of the place, born November 17, 1883, and the daughter of
George R. W. Pannett, who came from Cumberland, Md., to Minnesota, when
he was nineteen years of age. He settled near Waverly, bought land and
became a well-to-do farmer. He had two brothers who did valiant service
in the Civil War. He now resides on Van Ness Avenue. Fresno. He had
married Alice Dike, a native of Rushford, Wis., who is still living, the mother
of six children, all in Fresno, among whom Mrs. Borell is the third oldest.
Mrs. Borell was educated at Waverly, and after marriage the couple con-
tinued to farm to grain and raise stock. In February, 1906, they rented their
ranch and came to Fresno County and remained for a time to look around ;
and liking the appearance of the land, they sold their farm and settled here.
In December, 1906, they bought their present place of twenty acres, and
since then they purchased the twenty acres adjoining, so that now they have
forty acres together on California Avenue, four miles west of Fresno. These
they have improved according to the latest word of science and practical ex-
perience ; owing to the poor quality of the vines, they have taken them up,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1859
and planted all to alfalfa, returning only the Thompson seedless grapes; and
now they have twenty acres of muscat, sultanas, and peaches and alfalfa, and
they also have a well-appointed dairy. Mr. Borell is a member and stock-
holder of the California Associated Raisin Company, and a stockholder in
the Danish Creamery Association.
Four children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Borell : Adrey
E., Raleigh A., Eldon W., and Lily Pearl; the boys are in attendance at the
high school. The family attend the First Christian Church, of which Mr.
Borell is a deacon. In national politics Mr. Borell votes with the Republican
party; but in movements for the betterment of the community, he casts party
lines to the winds, and works shoulder to shoulder with his neighbors and
fellow-citizens.
Mr. Borell's two oldest boys are interested in natural history, and are
such close students that they are far advanced as naturalists. They have
done much in taxidermy and already excel in that line of work. They have
a choice collection of mounted birds and California animals, and give great
promise of future accomplishment ; while Eldon W. is showing a talent as a
pianist.
JAMES PATRICK FINCHER.— How superior intelligence, together
with years of unremitting work, may develop property to its highest value,
while the developer attains an enviable place in the community, is shown in
the career of James Patrick Fincher, the son of Levi Nelson Fincher, a native
of North Carolina, where he was born in October, 1830. He moved to Missouri
and from there, in 1850, came to California by way of the Isthmus, and for a
year followed mining, meeting with fair success. The next year he returned
to Missouri and married Paulina Nelson Moore, who was born in Tennessee
on February 18. 1830. and soon after removed to Kansas, where he farmed for
himself. In 1862 he again started for California, this time taking the route
across the plains, and having his family with him, and that year the party
drove their ox teams into Sacramento County. There Levi Fincher engaged
in the general merchandise business, but believing that he could do better
in giain-farming, he went on to Stanislaus County and engaged in farming
near what is now -Riverbank. As soon as he became posted in regard to
Fresno County he came here, and in 1884 he had 800 acres in grain. That
land became his home-place, and there he followed grain-farming until his
death, in April, 1909; his wife passed away on November 6, 1907.
Born near Riverbank, in Stanislaus County, July 11, 1864, the sixth
child in a family of eleven, James Patrick attended the McHenry district
school in Stanislaus County. After a short time spent in Fresno County, he
continued his studies with a course at Heald's Business College in San Fran-
cisco, from which he graduated in 1885. He then returned home and took
charge of his father's ranch in Fresno County, which was afterwards known
as the Fincher Colony, Levi Fincher having subdivided it in 1891 and en-
deavored to sell the smaller tracts. But the times were bad, the land came
back, and the Fincher Colony remained in the family, awaiting a more favor-
able period for development.
On December 13, 1888, James P. Fincher was united in marriage with
Nancy Ann Musick, born at Academy, Cal. She is the daughter of the late
Jasper N. Musick, one of the early pioneers and builders of Fresno County
who is represented on another page in this history. She was the most valuable
kind of a helpmate, and it was not long before he took up farming for him-
self. He leased a ranch of 1,000 acres two miles northwest of Sanger, and
went in for grain-farming on a large scale. He also rented the Dalton tract
in Madera County, consisting of 2,000 acres.
In 1901, Mr. Fincher gave up grain-farming to engage in the dairy busi-
ness. He selected the West Park Ranch for his operations, and soon made
the forty-acre corner of Jensen and Marks Avenues a well improved dairy
ranch. He stocked the ranch with the best grade of cattle and installed the
1860 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
most improved appliances ; and for nine years he contributed his share to
making Central California's dairy output strictly first-class.
The elder Fincher having passed away in 1909, James Patrick gave up
dairying in order to improve his seventy-five-acre ranch received from his
father's estate. He set it out to vineyard and it is now principally in muscat
grapes. At present he and his wife are living in their comfortable residence
on their ranch in the Fincher Colony. They have four children : Orville Day,
an electrician in Fresno ; Floyd Otis, an engineer in the Union Iron Works,
Oakland ; Isabelle Jane, and Raymond Nelson, the two latter are under the
parental roof. Mrs. Fincher is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church
South, in Clovis. Mr. Fincher is a member of the California Associated Raisin
Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc.
MRS. HELEN LANGWORTHY GRANGER.— A very busy woman
who comes of a fine old and prominent San Joaquin Valley family, is Mrs.
Flelen Langworthy Granger, whose father founded Langworth in Stanislaus
County and built it up. She was bom at that place, the daughter of Henry
Langworthy, a native of Addison County, Vermont, born December 22, 1826,
and a member of a very old family there. From his fourth or fifth year he
was reared in Illinois, and later he taught school in that state. Whatever
he did enabled him to demonstrate his superior ability as a young and very
promising man.
In 1849 he started for California by way of Cape Horn, and arrived in
San Francisco in January, 1850, soon after which he located near Farmingtnn
in San Joaquin County. There he married Miss Eliza Jane Hewitt, a native
of Steubenville, Ohio, born January 1, 1854, and the daughter of Samuel
Hewitt, who came from. County Antrim. Ireland, to Ohio as a pioneer. The
Hewitts crossed the plains in 1852 with ox teams, and arriving in San Joaquin
County, camped where Mr. Langworthy had located. The old folks liked
both the country and .the young man, bought a ranch and resided in that
neighborhood until they died. The farm is still in the family; and there Mr.
Langworthy met his future wife, and they were married.
Having sold out in San Joaquin County, Mr. Langworthy bought a farm
in Stanislaus County, at the site of the town named for him. He became a
large land-owner and stockman, was postmaster of Langworth and did much
to lay out and build up Langworth. erecting stores and other buildings there
so much needed for such a pioneer venture. He was a man of large affairs.
and owned a ranch of 1,000 acres. He was a notary public, and was interested
in building up the schools and improving the educational advantages in the
county, and also active in both Sunday school and church.
The Langworth ferry was located on his place. While delivering stock,
he was accidentally knocked down by the bolting of an animal which caused
him to fall and to suffer from concussion of the brain. Mrs. Langworth)" died
in 1866, leaving three children. Five months before the accident, Mr. Lang-
worthy married a second time, taking for his wife Margaret Gregg, of Steuben-
ville. Ohio, who survived him until December 4, 1896. passing away at the
home of Mrs. Granger. The three children by the first marriage were : Mary,
the wife of Alonzo Mercer, of Chicago, who died in that city and was buried
in Oakdale ; Helen, the subject of this review, and Ralph W.. who was mar-
ried to Lily McAboy, of Illinois. He was for a while in the livery business
in Modesto, and then became a landowner in Southern California. He also
improved a vineyard of forty acres on Belmont Avenue, and there he resided
for twenty-one years.
Mrs. Granger had three uncles and two aunts, pioneers of San Joaquin
County: James Rogers. Martin L. and William T. Hewitt, who became large
landowners with their father, and the land is still in possession of their fam-
ilies. Her two aunts also married pioneers. Sarah Hewitt became the wife
of C. H. Huffman, who helped build the Huffman-Crocker Canal at Merced,
and she has three children; and Matilda Hewitt was the wife of Robert Mc-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1861
Henry, of Modesto, who was a pioneer builder of Modesto and Stanislaus
County, and a prominent stockman, large land owner and banker. They had
one son, the late Oromel McHenry.
Brought up on a farm and educated at the public school, and afterward
studying at the San Jose State Normal, Mrs. Granger went to Steubenville,
Ohio, to visit relatives and on her return to California she was married at her
home to William \Y. Granger, who was born in Columbus, Mich., and was
educated in that state. He taught school for a while and then was engaged in
the drug business in Ypsilanti. Later, he came to Modesto and taught school
there ; and then he was again in the drug trade. In 1892 he bought their pres-
ent place of twenty acres, and with the aid of his wife, he set it out as a vine-
yard. And Mrs. Granger has cared for it ever since. She also bought forty
acres on McKinley Avenue and improved the property, but then gave it to
her son. Mrs. Granger is well-posted, and an exceptionally interesting con-
versationalist. She is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, the Parlor
Lecture Club, and the Madison Club. Her one son, Guy L. Granger, is man-
ager of the California Peach Association at Del Rey.
WILLIAM EDWIN GREENWOOD.— Many an early settler of western
Fresno County will still recall with pleasure the pioneer stockman, William
Edwin Greenwood, who was born at Jennie Lind. Cal., in 1858, the son of
James Greenwood, who came from Birmingham, England, bringing his wife,
crossed the plains with ox teams and located in California. He set up in the
butcher business and thrived so well that he was able to make a comfortable
provision for his family.
Nevertheless, William Edwin was so reared that he was a selfmade man,
developed in part by study. This feeling of independence led him, when sev-
enteen, to run away from home and to come to Fresno County, where he
worked for a sheepman and saved money until he could start with a small
flock. He located in San Benito County, and bought land there ; and grad-
ually he increased his four-footed property.
Coming to Fresno County he continued to buy land in the Panoche
country until he held title to about 3,400 acres. Thirteen years before his
death, he retired from the sheep and cattle business, and moved to a ranch
of forty acres on Belmont and Coalinga. He died at the hospital in San Fran-
cisco, in August, 1917, mourned by a large circle of steadfast friends who had
come to appreciate the excellent qualities of his sterling character.
Mr. Greenwood married Georgia Parker of San Joaquin County, and left
an only child, now Mrs. Daisy Elder.
A man of commanding appearance, Mr. Greenwood was a hard worker,
and by his foresight and industry was able to contribute much to the build-
ing up of the county's best interests. Through thrift and economy, he ac-
quired vast areas of land, and through highly intelligent enterprise, he made
a wise disposition of the same. When, for example, he located in San Benito
County, he made it a point to locate lands on such water courses that he had
living waters ; and he was so discerning that he anticipated the finding there
of oil and minerals, for which a company is now seeking in his neighborhood
with good results. In this commonsense way he operated, not only building
for himself, but at the same time pointing the way for others.
DAVID CUTTING. — Among the dairymen of the vicinity of Tran-
quillity, Fresno County, particular mention is made of David Cutting, a
pioneer citizen of the Pacific Coast Country having first seen the light of
day November 19, 1849, at Oregon City, Ore. His father, who bore the same
name, was a native of South Bend, Ind., while his grandfather, Charles Cut-
ting, was born in Vermont and saw service during the War of 1812. David
Cutting Sr. was married in Indiana to Mary Matoon, a native of the Hoosier
State. In 1847 Mr. and Mrs. David Cutting Sr., with their family, consisting
at that time of but two children, crossed the plains with the slow going ox
teams to Oregon where they engaged in farming. They were the parents
1862 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of six children: Jones, Abel, David, Charles, Oren, and Eliza; three of whom,
Junes. Charles and Eliza are deceased. Abel lives with his brother David,
while Oren resides in Clackamas County, Ore.
David Cutting was reared and educated in Oregon and on August 16,
1877, was united in marriage with Miss Mary F. Zamette, a native of Port-
land, Ore., daughter of Achilles and Rachel (Mognette) Zamette. Her father,
a native of Palermo, Sicily, became a sailor and on one of his voyages came
to California, via Cape Horn, later going on to Portland, Ore., where he
became a merchant. Her mother, a native of Ohio, became one of the early
settlers of Oregon and passed away in Portland.
In 1883 David Cutting located in eastern Oregon, which at that time was
a wilderness, preempted 160 acres, bought school land and homesteaded 160
and engaged in raising cattle, horses and sheep, using as his brand a big W.,
and having at one time 800 acres of land. In 1909 David Cutting made his
first trip to California and after investigating the country round about Tran-
quillity, Fresno County, he decided this would be the location of his future
home. In April, 1910, Mr. Cutting purchased his ranch consisting of 171
acres of raw land at Tranquillity, subsequently selling his farm in Oregon,
he located in October of the same year, upon his new place in California.
He at once began to improve the land by leveling, checking and planting
100 acres to alfalfa and grain, and engaged in the dairy business.
Mr. and Mrs. Cutting have six children living: Flora, is the wife of Mr.
J. H. Stricklin, residing at Tranquillity; Harry, lives at Izee, Ore.; Paul, was
a sergeant and a member of the medical corps in United States Army.
served five months in France ; Clarence, is assisting his father with the work
of the ranch ; Anna, is still at home with her parents ; Rodney, also is assist-
ing his father on the ranch. Two children have passed away: George was
killed by the Indians when nineteen years old, and Jones died at seven years
of age. In political matters Mr. Cutting supports the Republican platform.
LOUIS E. GOBBY. — A stockman, large landowner and conservative
financier, who began his struggle with the world when very young and has
succeeded despite misfortunes that would have defeated one of less mental,
moral and physical caliber, is Louis E. Gobby, the vice-president of the First
National Bank of Riverdale.
A native of Switzerland, Mr. Gobby was born in the Canton Ticino on
November 5, 1865, a son of Jasper Gobby, a mason, contractor and builder
at Campo Niva, Switzerland, where he died when Louis was only three years
of age ; and his mother had been Mary Garzoli before her marriage. The chil-
dren in 'the family included: Peter, who passed away in 1917; Louis, the
subject of our review; Rocco, referred to elsewhere; Adeline and Josephine,
both of whom died young. The good mother remained in Switzerland and
lived to be sixty-five years of age. Louis E. grew up in that country to be
twelve years of age. About that time his cousin, William Garzoli, who was
a dairyman at Petaluma, revisited Switzerland and talked to the lad about
California ; with the result that, after he had returned to the Pacific Coast,
he wrote to the boy's mother, then a widow, and sent her money for her son's
passage, and although only in his early teens, he came all the way from his
home in the mountain republic to California, arriving in Petaluma on August
17, 1878. He commenced work at once on his cousin's dairy ranch. He toiled
from three o'clock in the morning until ten o'clock at night, all the while be-
coming more and more infatuated with California, saved his money and wrote
home to encourage his younger brother, Rocco S., to turn his face toward the
great land of liberty. He sent him money for his passage and two years
later, he sent for the older brother, Peter, who became a well-known dairy-
man of Riverdale, and is now deceased.
The three Gobby brothers continued dairying in Sonoma County, but
in 1885 came down to Riverdale, with John Cerini, who was then renting
land and running a dairy. Louis Gobby worked for Cerini during 1885-86,
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1865
and then, for five years was in partnership with his brothers. They then
started to expand in the dairy business, went back to Petaluma, bought
eighty-five head of young stock and shipped them from Petaluma to San
Francisco by boat, and thence by rail to Fresno ; from which point they drove
them to Riverdale. Texas fever broke out and within ten days all except
nineteen head had died. This unexpected misfortune "broke" the trio for
the time being.
Louis then returned to working for wages, and soon was able to make a
second start. Again he rented, this time the John's ranch where, during
1893-4, he milked ISO cows. Financial depression, panics and small prices
interfered and made the profits very small ; but he then bought eighty acres
of the Ballard place, taking his brother Rocco into partnership with him ; and
this partnership continued for two years. Since 1895, each brother has oper-
ated for himself.
Now Mr. Gobby owns 820 acres in his own right, with two sets of build-
ings. He rents out 100 acres, and he raises stock — mostly beef cattle.
Not only is Mr. Gobby the vice-president of the First National Bank of
Riverdale, but he was one of its very first stockholders.
A public-spirited citizen, Mr. Gobby has followed the great leaders of the
Republican party in national affairs ; but when it comes to local issues, he is
for the best interests of Fresno County and Riverdale.
P. N. CHRISTENSEN.— A California settler, delighted with the land of
his adoption, is P. N. Christensen, who traded his well-improved farm of
100 acres in Iowa for just one-fifth of that area in the more sought-for Madi-
son district, Fresno County, paying in addition $1,000 to consummate the
deal. He settled here in 1894; and ever since those dealing or acquainted
with him have never ceased to speak well of P. N. Christensen.
He was born at Langeland, Denmark, on March 26, 1850, one of a family
of four children, all of whom grew to maturity. As the eldest he was brought
up in his native land, and there attended school until he was fourteen, when
he went to work on a farm. At twenty he entered the Danish army, serving
in the Third Company of the Fourth Battalion, and received an honorable
discharge at the end of sixteen months. That was the period of the Franco-
Prussian War, and he was always under orders to be ready for active service ;
but was not called into action.
Having remained a year longer in Denmark after leaving the army Mr.
Christensen, in 1872, came to the United States, and for three years was at
Manistee, Mich., loading vessels and working in a saw-mill. Then he moved
to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and soon after went to Hazel Dell Township, Potta-
wattamie County, thirteen and a half miles northeast of Council Bluffs. Two
years later he bought forty acres, at ten dollars an acre, on time. He made
numerous improvements and engaged in stock-raising. He kept investing
his earnings in land until he had 100 well-improved acres and plenty of good
stock. By 1892, however, he had become so interested in the possibilities
offered on the Pacific Coast that he made a trip here to see for himself; and
having toured the state, he concluded that Fresno County offered more, with
better guarantees, than any other section. Two years later, therefore, he
sold his Middle AVest property, actually trading for a ranch he had not yet
seen ; and although hard times greeted him for a while, he found that his
ranch was good and altogether "worth while." He went in for viticulture
and also had an orchard of plums, apples, peaches and apricots, all of which
he sold in the Fresno market. He constantly improved what he had, built
a residence and out-buildings, sunk a well and installed a good engine ; and
having full water-rights, created a first-class system of irrigation. For twenty-
four years he has been on his present place.
Mr. Christensen also bought eighty acres on White's Bridge Road, which
was wheat stubble ; leveled the same, and improved it for alfalfa. He kept it
for three years, and then sold it at a profit. He also bought forty acres north
1866 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of Kearney Switch, planted alfalfa and raised hay, which he sold in Fresno,
making a success of that venture. He kept this property for many years, and
gave it to his children. He also bought forty acres of raw land near Clovis,
set it out to vineyard and after ten years he sold to good advantage. A rancher
of wide experience, he belongs to and ably supports the California Associated
Raisin Company.
Mr. Christensen has been twice married. In Michigan he was joined to
Kate Larsen, a native of Denmark who died in California in 1914, the mother
of seven children. Laura is Mrs. Hans Flansen, of West Park; Emma is
Mrs. Xiels Hansen, of the Madison district; William is a farmer at Rolinda :
Hulda is Mrs. Claussen of West Park; Oluf is a rancher at Kearney Switch:
Ella is Mrs. Arthur Dixon, of Fresno; and Ferdinand is a farmer in the
Houghton district. On his second marriage, at Fresno, Mr. Christensen chose
for his wife Miss Laura Nielsen, who was born in Wisconsin. The couple
attend the Seventh Day Adventist Church at Fresno, of which Mr. Christen-
sen has been a trustee ; and in matters political they march under the banner
of the Republican Party.
GEORGE P. GUERNSEY.— An experienced farmer who is doing much
to improve land, and who likes to see things grow, and a successful stock-
man, who is a splendid horseman and a fine judge of horses, is George P.
Guernsey, who worked his way up from youth, took good care of his mother
and today enjoys the fruits of the by-gone years. He was born at Osceola,
St. Clair County, Mo., on December 23, 1868, the son of John W. Guernsey.
who was a New Yorker reared in Ohio. He removed to Missouri and served
in the Union Army during the Civil War ; was a carpenter and builder and
then a farmer and stockman ; and he died, in every sense a worthy representa-
tive of his English ancestors, in 1871. Mrs. Guernsey had been Mildred Pres-
ton, a native of Tennessee of French-English stock; and she died in 1012,
the mother of four children, of whom George, the second eldest, is the only
one living.
He was reared in Missouri where the mother was a teacher; and in after
years she lived with her son until her death. He attended the public schools,
and from a boy learned farming. When he was nineteen years old, he rented
a farm in Cass County, Mo., and engaged in the raising of grain and stock.
Then he moved to Vernon County, where he was married to Miss Dee Fisher,
a native of Pettis County, Mo., and bought a farm in Vernon County. He
raised grain and stock until 1913, when he sold out, came to California and
located in Fresno County.
He bought a farm and for five months was dairying on McKinley Ave-
nue, when he sold out and settled in the Dunkard district, and renewed his
work at dairying. He soon purchased forty acres of his present place on Cal-
ifornia Avenue, eleven miles west of Fresno, at that time a neglected place of
weeds, so that he had to cut his way through ; but he made all necessary im-
provements, built a ditch, leveled and checked the land, built a residence,
and sowed alfalfa; and then went in for dairying and the raising of stock,
cattle, horses, mules and hogs. He also had land for pasture. And he became
a stockholder in the Danish Creamery Association, in which he is recognized
as a very progressive member.
Five children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Guernsey. Verne
and Kimball are associated with their father in the stock business; and
Wanah and George are at home, and a baby, Jack Couey. The family attends
the Seventh Day Adventist Church at Rolinda. and he is one of the trustees
of the Adventist school at that place. Besides his own children, Mr. and Mrs.
Guernsey have reared the son of a sister, Leon Bland, (whose mother is Mrs.
Laura I '.land) and he has become a prosperous rancher in the Empire Colony.
In national politics Mr. Guernsey is a Democrat.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1867
ALBERT BURTON HILL.— Albert Burton Hill, now deceased, was
the youngest son of John and Maria (Daubner) Hill, and was born in Brook-
field, Waukesha County, Wis., on October 14, 1869. He was educated in the
public schools and came to California with his father in 1880, and was asso-
ciated with him until 1896, when he purchased 160 acres of land four miles
southwest of Coalinga. Later he bought another 160 acres. He engaged in
grain farming, but had three acres in orchard and two acres in vineyard,
shade trees and flowers. The place was highly improved, with irrigating
ditch, good buildings and ground under splendid cultivation. In 1899 he
started hauling materials to the oil fields. He also conducted a hay and grain
store on E Street, Coalinga, in a building he bought and moved onto a lot
that he owned on that street. In 1905 he was appointed postmaster of Coal-
inga by President Roosevelt. He died while in office April 6, 1907. A. B.
Hill was very active in politics, a Republican, and was associated with the
leaders in Fresno County. He was a member of the Republican Central Com-
mittee of Fresno County, and a member of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen
and Red Men
A. B. Hill married Grace Isabelle Slater, born in Milwaukee. Wis., who
came to California in 1880, when a little girl and attended school in Merced and
Kings Counties. Of this union were born two children: Lloyd H., a grad-
uate of Coalinga high school, married to Ina Cawelti of Los Angeles, who
holds a responsible position with the Union Tool Company at Torrance. He
was prominent in athletics. And Mabel A., in the Intermediate school in
Coalinga. A. B. Hill was a good business man, and he saw the possibilities
of the future of Coalinga. When the Sunset Addition was put on the market
in Coalinga, he bought the first lot and owned fourteen of them. In the early
days he farmed these same lots. This property is now all built up and forms
a part of the residence section of Coalinga. Lots then selling for sixty and
corner lots for seventy dollars are now worth from $200.00 to $250.00 each.
Since the death of Mr. Hill, the care of this property has fallen to his
wife, who has shown exceptional ability in looking after it. She has erected
four houses and sold some of the lots, planted shade trees in the streets and
otherwise improved the property. She is a fine business woman, and has
displayed a great deal of executive force. The ranch property has all been
sold and a part invested in town property and other securities. She is a
member of the Royal Neighbors.
PROF. CHARLES L. GEER.— Prominent among the men and women
in the California pedagogical world is Prof. Charles L. Geer, principal of
the Coalinga high school, and supervising principal of the Coalinga grammar
schools, who has been an educator all his life and comes very naturally by
the profession, as his father and mother both taught school before him. His
early education was obtained in the public schools of Dakota, and Iowa, and
so apt was he in his work, that he had finished the grammar school at the
age of ten years. He came to California in 1897, and graduated from the
Campbell high school at Santa Clara, after which he entered Stanford Uni-
versity and was graduated from that institution in 1907. He then received
the degree of Bachelor of Arts ; but his natural ambition would not permit
him to be satisfied with that, so he returned for a year of graduate work.
What is more, he worked his way through college, and he became an assistant
in the English department. He went in for the stiff course in "Argumenta-
tion" there, and while at Stanford won the first Bonnheim prize given for
debating. What gifts he had as a deep thinker and a fluent talker, he further
improved by hard study and severe discipline.
After finishing his work at Stanford, Professor Geer became a teacher
in the Paso Robles high school, and held that post for three years. In 1911,
however, he was called to the Coalinga high school. At first he accepted a
position as instructor only; but in 1915 he was made principal of the high
1868 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
school, and in 1918 he was made supervising principal of the Coalinga gram-
mar schools.
Since coming to Coalinga, Professor Geer has done much to advance the
interests of higher education in this vicinity. He is a strong advocate of
physical education — the building up of the body, with the training of the
mind ; and this is now compulsory in the Coalinga system, with the result
that his pupils have made the best record in the Valley in physical standards.
Not only that, but some of his students have graduated from the Coalinga
high school in the past three years to attain the highest scholarship and many
of the first prizes at the university and in the colleges of the state.
Among other things successfully advocated by Professor Geer has been
that of the intermediate school system of Coalinga. The first intermediate
in the Valley. Over one hundred students from all over the valley are brought
to the school in auto buses, and this gives the outsiders a far better chance
for advanced education.
Some years ago Professor Geer married Miss Mary Benzing, a daughter
of Alameda, Cal. ; and two children have blessed their union — Ruth and
Charles L., Jr. The Geer hearth is a happy one, and the Geer household the
center of a warming hospitality. Professor and Mrs. Geer are leaders in the
social and intellectual circles of the town, and he is a member of the Coalinga
Chamber of Commerce as well as the Growler's Club.
Z. L. PHELPS. — To go against the advice and judgment of men skilled
in geology and win out is not given to many men, but Mr. Phelps is one who
did it. He is the pioneer oil-man of the West Side in the Coalinga field and
drilled the first successful oil-well there, contrary to the geologists who
claimed there was no oil to be had south of the old Coalinga coal mine. Since
that time he has struck it rich many times, and large companies have devel-
oped lands and there are now hundreds of producing wells over this area.
Zerah Lambert Phelps, known among his friends as Zed Phelps, was
born at Marion Station, Marion County, Ore., February 24, 1878. His father,
O. B. Phelps, was born in Michigan, and came to Oregon with his father
Capt. Benj. Phelps, a pioneer of Oregon. They crossed the plains with an
ox team, following the old Oregon trail. Benj. Phelps was a captain in the
Yakima Indian War, and was a pioneer of Salem. He died there at the age
of ninety-five years. The father came to California from Oregon and en-
gaged in mining at Mt. Diablo, Contra Costa County, in the Diamond coal
mine. He was married there to Miss Esther Robertson, a native Californian,
born near Sacramento. She is the daughter of George Robertson, who crossed
the plains to California in 1849. He was killed at Kingston by desperadoes in
the early days, and buried there.
After his marriage the father returned to Oregon and engaged in farm-
ing near Salem. In 1885 he came back to California, stopping at Visalia,
Tulare County, and then located at Traver. This was in 1S86 when the town
was just started. He ran the warehouse there and took up a homestead of
160 acres east of Traver, improved it and resided there for a time, when he
moved to Piano, Tulare County, where his wife died. He was engaged in
the grain-raising business until he removed to Bakersfield, where he started
in the oil business, operating in the Kern River fields. He, with T. C. Read,
M. O'Dell, Frank Pitney and others, located the first oil lands in the Kern
River field, sixteen sections being their possessions, but they sold most of the
land at one dollar per acre. The father retired after this sale and removed
to San Francisco for three years, after which he spent several years in Alaska
and when he returned to California he resided with Air. and Mrs. Z. L.
Phelps, in Coalinga ; he died in Fresno County, January 2, 1918, aged
seventy-two years. There were six children, three of whom are living'. Zed
Phelps was the third oldest of the family. He was brought up in Oregon
until 1885, when he came to California with his parents and attended public
school at Traver. At the age of sixteen he began in the livery business for
~__^tfflflk.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1871
himself at Sanger. This was in 1894, and he remained there until 1898, when
oil was discovered in the Kern River field. He sold his business at Sanger
and removed to the Kern River field and engaged in oil business. He worked
for George W. Smith as a driller, then was in the employ of different com-
panies drilling for oil. He remained in this field until 1901, when he went
to Los Angeles and stayed there for two years, contracting and drilling wells
in the old Los Angeles fields. He returned to Bakersfield for one year and
then located in Coalinga and organized the Lucile Oil Company in 1904,
bought forty acres and sunk a well. Mr. Phelps was superintendent of the
company, and this well proved a good one. He has been in the producing
business ever since, continuing actively in the company until two years ago,
when he left to look after other interests. He is still one of the large stock-
holders in the Lucile.
In 1909, Mr. Phelps organized the Silver Tip Oil Company, bought land
and drilled a well which proved to be a gusher — 20,000 barrels a day, and it
is still flowing, the oldest flowing well in the state. It has flowed uninter-
ruptedly, without having to be cleaned out. Mr. Phelps was superintendent
and vice-president of this company, and in 1910 he sold his interest in it.
He has organized the Marion Oil Company and was a stockholder in the
Blue Moon Company, of both of which he was superintendent, and at one
time he was superintendent of all the different oil companies he was inter-
ested in, and they were all producers. He finally sold out his interests in oil
companies except the Lucile. He owns oil lands in different parts of the
Coalinga field.
During all this time his headquarters have been in Coalinga, where he
has his residence. He has also erected the Phelps Building, a three-story
brick, the most pretentious building in the city of Coalinga. He owns a 160-
acre ranch one and a half miles from Coalinga, where he has developed two
water wells and installed a pumping-plant. He has set out a large orchard
of peaches and apricots, and with his own irrigation plant has made a com-
mercial success of his fruit, and his is the pioneer and first commercial orchard
in the Coalinga district. He owns other valuable property in Coalinga.
Mr. Phelps was married in Los Angeles, on May 10, 1901, to Miss Pearl
Overton, a native Californian, whose birthplace is in Sacramento County,
but who was reared in Santa Barbara County. They have one son, Edward,
a graduate of the Class of 1919, Coalinga Union High School.
Mr. Phelps is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the
Eagles, and is a Past Sachem of the Red Men, and is also a member of the
Growlers Club. He was at one time a member of the board of trustees of
Coalinga, and its chairman, and as a member of Coalinga District War Fund
Association, he took an active part in putting the district over the top in
the different war fund and bond drives, and with his wife is a member of
the Red Cross. He is abreast of the times, and always interested in the
progress of his home city and community.
THOMAS H. KOENEKE.— Among the first settlers in the section with
which he has become identified is Thomas H. Koeneke, who came to Fresno
County as late as 1903. When he and his father located on the ranch which
they have so greatly improved, there were only three houses between them
and what is now the State Highway.
Mr. Koeneke was born at Ward, in Moody County, S. D., on October 14,
1889, the son of Thomas Koeneke, who came from Kansas, homesteaded
there, and became a farmer. In 1895 he removed from South Dakota to
Marion County, Ore., where he was a farmer and a stockman ; and in Novem-
ber, 1903, convinced of the greater attractions of Central California, he came
to Fresno.
On the fourteenth of the following February, he bought a ranch of
eighty acres in the Biola district, which he improved ; and in 1917 he sold
forty acres to his son, Thomas. The next year he sold the other forty acres
1872 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and retired; and now he resides in the \ inland district. He married Anna
Shoemaker, and among the four children of the union — a son and three
daughters — Thomas is the oldest.
He attended the public schools of Oregon and California, assisted his
father, and engaged with him in farming; and in 1917 he made the purchase
of forty acres of the home-place already referred to. There he continued viti-
culture, cultivating for the most part Thompson seedless, and managing a
small orchard. He built a handsome residence and other necessary outbuild-
ings ; and operating according to the latest and most approved methods, he
has made of the ranch one of the finest places for miles around. He joined the
California Associated Raisin Company and is now one of its most progressive
members.
At Yinland he married Miss Emelie Henschel, a native of Canada, by
whom he has had one child, a daughter named Edna. The family attend the
Lutheran Church at Fresno ; and Mr. Koeneke performs his civic duties
under the banners of the Republican party.
TIMOTHY HURLEY.— An honored pioneer of the Tranquillity section
of Fresno County, Timothy Hurley has been a resident of this great com-
monwealth for over thirty-five years, and has witnessed" the marvelous de-
velopment of this district from a wilderness to a well-improved community.
Tim Hurley, as he is familiarly called, was born in County Cork, Ireland,
August IS, 1865, a son of Cornelius and Julia (Mullins) Hurley. The father
was a farmer in the Emerald Isle, and he and his good wife have both passed
away. There were nine children in the family, four of whom are living, three
being residents of the Golden State. Jeremiah, and Cornelius, are citizens
of Fresno; and Timothy, the subject of this review, is the youngest living
member of the family.
He was reared on a farm and when eighteen years old came to Fresno,
in 1883, when it was but a small town. He was employed by Mr. Jamison
and helped to build the Church Ditch, in Fresno Street. Afterwards he
worked on a ranch for Mr. Jamison, at Fowler, where he remained for eight
years. 'When about twenty-six years of age Tim Hurley came to what was
known as the Jamison country, where he began to lease land from Jeff James,
and with W. J. Anthony and Thomas Mullins, as partners, engaged in raising
grain. The}' operated about 1,500 acres of land where they raised wheat and
barley and used in operating this large ranch four-, eight- and ten-horse teams,
and had a combined harvester. They continued this business for many years.
During the dry years prices for grain were very low. Air. Hurley recalls
how he hauled barley to Fresno, which took three days to make the trip, and
received only ten dollars per ton.
In 1908, the partnership was dissolved, after which he bought forty acres
of land, leveled, checked and improved it to planting alfalfa ; also leasing land
where he raised barley. Mr. Hurley is a very interesting pioneer and has the
happy faculty of making and retaining many friends and is highly esteemed
in his community for his uprightness of character.
PAUL KINDLER. — In the growth and advancement of a city one of
the most important factors is necessarily the drawing within its borders men
expert in the building trades, conscientious in their work and with the best
interests of the community as their watchword. To such men Fresno has
offered almost unlimited opportunity and to those who have been of the
necessary caliber it has proven a most hospitable and appreciative haven.
Among these last may be mentioned Paul Kindler, who as a brick contractor,
specializing in high class work, has aided materially in the march of progress
for which Fresno is fast becoming noted. Born near Berlin, Germany, Oc-
tober 28, 1876. Mr. Kindler was raised and educated there and there he learned
the trade of brick mason, later becoming foreman on the brick work of many
of the fine buildings in Berlin, always engaged in high class work, and soon
became an expert in his line of business.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1873
Mr. Kindler arrived in the United States in 1906, and first located in
Toledo, Ohio, where he remained one year, working for the Spealser Con-
struction Company, which company erected some of the best buildings in
Toledo. With the West as his object, he continued his journey, and arrived
in Fresno in the fall of 1907, and has since that year followed brick and terra
cotta contracting in the San Joaquin Valley. Most of his work has been done
in Fresno County and we give a partial list of the buildings he has done the
brick contract work on: Brick and terra cotta work on the Bank of Italy;
the Liberty Theater; the Christian Science Church; the Burnett Sanitarium;
the above are of recent construction and are four of the best buildings erected
in Fresno ; the Overland Garage ; Saxon Garage ; Peacock Garage ; Black
Garage; Wiley M. Giffen residence; in other cities, the following: the De-
lano High School; Kingsburg High School; Christian Church at Parlier;
two sanitariums, a school building and the Peach Growers' packing house in
Hanford, Kings County ; the Riverdale High School ; and store buildings in
Tulare.
While aiding in the rapid growth of the city, Mr. Kindler has prospered,
and is the owner of four lots in Fresno, on which he intends to erect dwell-
ings in the near future. A member of the Catholic Church, with his wife,
whom he married March 29, 1915, who was formerly Meta Rehberg, a native
of Germany, he makes his home at 145 North Van Ness Avenue.
HENRY M. HANCOCK.— A Californian by adoption who has become a
leading spirit in the community in which he lives and prospers, accomplish-
ing much good for the public at large and both earning and receiving the
gratitude of his fellow-citizens, is Henry M. Hancock, the president of the
Riverdale Cooperative Creamery. Of more than ordinary interest to the
student of American history is the fact that he is a direct descendant of John
Hancock, the illustrious patriot who, on July 4, 1776, was the first member
of the Continental Congress to sign the Declaration of Independence. Henry
M. was born at Vincennes, Iowa, on New Year's Day, 1852, and grew up
in that state until his twenty-fifth year. Then he was married, in eastern
Iowa to Miss Rebecca Fickel, who was born near Charleston, Iowa ; and after
their marriage, they moved to Western Iowa. There they rented a farm in
Mills County, and for two years devoted themselves to agriculture.
They next moved to Kansas and bought 240 acres of school land, and that
they farmed for twenty-five years. They had seven children: Ayres G, who
died in December, 1917, aged forty years, lived at Mesa, Ariz.; he left two
children, Grace, and Cecil, both being brought up at Mr. Henry Hancock's,
where their mother also resides. Mary is the wife of John Ginn, the dairyman
who lives four miles west of Riverdale, and who has two children. (Ayres
and Mary were both born in Iowa, while the rest of the children were born
in Kansas.) John Roy died at Riverdale, unmarried, at the age of thirty-five.
Charles, also single, is the main stand-by of his father. William died, un-
married, when he was twenty-five years old. Grace became the wife of Wil-
liam Henton, the real estate dealer and constable of Riverdale and she died
in 1917, leaving three children — Tina, Ralph and Hazel. And Fred, the sev-
enth in the order of birth, is a farmer who married Miss Nina Henson of
Riverdale, now the mother of one child, Velma.
The late J. 0. Hancock, of the Laguna de Tache grant, brother of Henry
M., was prospering at his new location and wrote for Henry to come out to
visit him in 1903 ; and late that fall he made his first visit to this place. He
liked the country so well that he decided to locate here. Accordingly, at
Christmas, in 1904, he moved here with his family and two car-loads of stock,
implements and household goods. He bought of J. Q. Hancock 240 acres
which he still owns. He has greatly improved the property and made it his
California home. He also owns 570 acres near Tranquillity, Fresno County.
Mr. Hancock's father was Daniel Ayres Gillett Hancock, a native of
Indiana, while his father, Daniel, was born in Maryland. Mr. Hancock is one
1874 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of Riverdale's most progressive citizens. He gave the right of way through
his ranch to the Hanford & Summit Lake Railway in 1911, and then actively
engaged in getting that company to build its road through Riverdale, and to
put in a switch to the Riverdale Cooperative Creamery which he had been
instrumental in establishing here. As has been in part stated, he was one of
the Creamery's chief promoters and stockholders, and is still its president.
The plant represents a cash outlay of $50,000, and $25,000 in improvements,
in the shape of buildings and machinery, are being added.
Notwithstanding the repeated affliction through the death of their chil-
dren, Mr. and Mrs. Hancock have preserved a brave and cheerful spirit, and
no couple could be more highly esteemed by their neighbors, or receive a
larger measure of good will and best wishes. Mrs. Hancock shares her hus-
band's interest in schools and other public institutions.
GEORGE CHRISTENSEN.— A pioneer of the late eighties, who has
unbounded faith in the greatness of Fresno County — and no wonder, for as a
result of his knowledge of the soil and other local conditions and the con-
scientious care he has given his ranchland, he has one of the finest vineyards
of Thompson seedless grapes in Fresno County — is George Christensen, who
was born near Tonden, Schleswig, German)', on May 26, 1870, the son of
Christian and Christine Christensen, who were born under the Danish flag.
His father grew up on the farm but for several years was engaged in
railroad work. It was while doing this work that he became disabled for life,
his legs becoming paralyzed. For thirty years he was confined to his chair
but he showed great fortitude, for he took up the tailor trade, which he had
learned in youth, and managed to help out the small income. There were four
children, and George, the only one who came to California, was the second
oldest and is the only one now living.
Educated in the public schools, the lad helped his parents on their own
place and when twelve years old went out to work on other farms to earn
money to help support the family.
Five years later, he started for America, young as he was, seeing clearly
enough to make California his destination. Fie arrived in Fresno on May 26,
1888, and soon found employment with Henry Larsen, in his vineyard in
Washington Colony, at $10 per month. After the second month he had work
at one dollar per day.
In 1893, Mr. Christensen leased eighty acres of muscat vineyard near
Malaga. He had a fine prospect, and would have made good but for the fact
that the commission firm to which he sold his raisins became insolvent. He
was left empty-handed and $400 in debt, which he paid within two years,
working at $20 per month on a ranch and paying twelve per cent, interest on
part of the amount.
A few years later he made another venture in the raisin business which
would have netted profitable returns but for the unsettled condition of the
raisin market in the days without organization. In partnership with F. J.
Williams, for whom he worked five years, he purchased the crops on one and
one-half sections of the Empire Vineyards for $1,000. At the beginning of the
season the price of raisins was five cents. They received four cents for the
first load delivered and prices continued to drop. The packers would make
no contracts, so they had the raisins stemmed and packed, and stored them
in a Fresno warehouse. They received less than one-half cent a pound for
two carloads shipped east for which they had been offered three cents ! The
raisins left in the warehouse were burned and, even with the three cents
insurance, the loss was great.
Even after this curious and discouraging experience, Mr. Christensen was
still determined to be a raisin-grower, and in the fall of 1901 was able to pur-
chase his present place of twenty-two and one-half acres in Roosevelt District,
and in the following February he began to set out his vines, doing all the
work with his own hands, from making the cuttings to splitting the stakes
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1877
from railroad ties. Progress was slow the first few years. The rabbits ate
off the young vines and nearly the entire vineyard had to be reset the second
year and the place inclosed with rabbit wire. Then the grasshoppers took
the first real crop, even killing many of the young vines. Small crops were
raised between the young vines and Mr. Christensen worked out in order
that he might make further improvements. The house grounds were laid out
in a pleasing manner with fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs. And now
he has good buildings on the place, a ten-horsepower pumping-plant and all
the equipment for caring for the place and crops. This was the first Thomp-
son seedless vineyard started in this vicinity, which is now one of the fine
vineyard districts of the county.
Mr. Christensen has great faith in the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany of which he has been a member since its organization and is also a cor-
respondent for his district. Some ten years ago he made the assertion that
good raisin vineyards would sell for $1,000, and his prediction has been
realized, as some vineyards have been sold, in 1919, for as high as $1,100 per
acre.
On October 12, 1910, Mr. Christensen was married to Cecil Bemis, a na-
tive of Wichita, Kans. Mrs. Christensen is the daughter of Abel R. and Emily
Blanchard Bemis, natives of Michigan and Ohio, respectively. They came to
Kansas and engaged in farming. In 1903 Mrs. Bemis and her four children
came to California, the father having passed away in 1887, and the mother
makes her home with Mrs. Christensen. Mrs. Christensen was a teacher be-
fore her marriage, having taught in Kansas, and, after coming to California,
she graduated from the Los Angeles State Normal School and took up her
work in the Barstow District School where she taught three years. One child,
Rose, has blessed their union.
Mr. Christensen has made three trips to his old home to see his parents.
The last trip he remained a year to care for his father until he passed away,
in 1904. The mother followed him three years later. Neither were privileged
to visit their son in his California home, although it would have been his
greatest pleasure. When young George started for America his father gave
him this little piece of advice : "Always pay your debts and don't be afraid
of hard work, my son." The first he has always done ; the second he has met
undaunted.
Mr. Christensen is a Lutheran in his religious faith, and a member of
the Modern Woodmen of America, Sunset Camp, No. 7199. Mrs. Christensen
is a member of the Rolinda Methodist Church and takes an active part in the
social and civic life of the community. Both believe in heartily supporting
the national administration regardless of party politics, in times of national
crises, and in voting for the best men and best measures in local movements,
and also in giving their financial support to all movements for the advance-
ment of education and the benefit of humanity.
MARGARET B. LOCKIE.— Among California women who have shown
exceptional ability in the difficult work of progressive and highly successful
ranching must be mentioned Miss Margaret B. Lockie, the daughter of the
late William A. Lockie, the well-known pioneer of whom mention is made
elsewhere in this historical work. She conducted the home ranch, with her
sister, Mrs. Lillie I. Pugh, after the death of the father and until the estate
was settled. This vineyard and orchard ranch comprised 180 acres, and was
one of the most productive in the Fowler district. A Democrat in matters of
national political import, Miss Lockie endeavors to perform her civic duties
in the same thoughtful and honest manner, and in all movements pertaining
to local legislation and improvement, she is a leader in casting aside party
lines and heartily supporting the best measures and the most desirable candi-
dates. Miss Lockie is a stockholder in the First National Bank in Fowler.
After the death of her father, Miss Lockie was made the administratrix
of the Lockie estate. It is a matter of local comment that she and her sister,
1878 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mrs. Pugh, have taken front rank among Central California women for their
business acumen and progressive leadership in up-to-date ranching.
Mrs. Pugh, who as Miss Lillie I. Lockie, was married in 1913 to John W.
Pugh, who was born in Portland, Ore., on January 3. 1870. and died on April
12, 1917. aged forty-eight years. He came to Fowler in 1911, and prior to
that he was in business for two years in Newman When his life closed, the
Fowler Independent very fitly paid him this tribute:
"Mr. Pugh was a successful business man, respected and admired as an
honest and upright citizen, and his death will be deeply felt by all who came
to know him in social and business life. He was a friend of the children of
the town, and was anxious to provide pleasure for them. His broad and sym-
pathetic nature found response in numberless friends. He was a Royal Arch
Mason."
After the affairs of the Lockie estate were settled, Miss Lockie and Mrs.
Pugh moved into Fowler, where in 1919, they purchased a modern bungalow
residence in which they make their home. They enter heartily into all pro-
gressive movements for the betterment of business, social and moral con-
ditions and have a wide circle of friends in their section of Fresno County.
WILLIAM A. JONES.— George William Curtis, the brilliant editor,
essayist and orator, once wrote entertainingly of "The Scholar in Politics."
and he might quite as profitably discourse today concerning many of the
present land-proprietors of California, about the scholar in business, choosing
for his text such a career as that of William A. Jones, the university graduate
guiding the affairs of the Minnewawa Vineyard, of which he is the owner.
His grandfather. John P. Jones, a blacksmith who afterwards became a
farmer, brought his family to Wisconsin in 1848; and his father, who was
born at Star Wales, was a miner and manufacturer who, with his two brothers,
purchased the Mineral Point Zinc Company and made a great success of its
management as an incorporated concern. He was the secretary, treasurer
and manager of the affair, built it up and improved it, opened the zinc mines
and constructed a large plant. In time he combined it with the New Jersey
Zinc Company of Xew York. They rebuilt and enlarged the plant in 1910
for increased capacity, and he managed it until he died, in 1912, sixty-eight
years old.
At one time his father was mayor of Mineral Point, and in that office, he
exerted himself strenuously for the improvement and uplift of the city,
county and state. Fie was vice-president of the bank, a member of the Wis-
consin Assembly: under McKinley and again under Roosevelt he served as
Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington, D. C. filling the position
creditably. He was a prominent Republican. Mason and Knight Templar,
and equally prominent in Scottish Rite and Shriner circles.
Mrs. Jones. William's mother, was Sarah Ansley before her marriage,
and was born in Linden, Wis., the daughter of Thomas Ansley, a pioneer mer-
chant of Chicago. After a life of devotion to her husband. W. A. Jones. Sr.,
and her four children, she still resides at Mineral Point.
P.orn at Mineral Point, Iowa County. Wis., on October 13. 1883, the
second oldest child and the only son. William was educated at the Lawrence-
ville Preparatory School, and after graduating, entered Princeton College,
where he continued for two years. Leaving college, he entered the Mineral
Point Zinc Company's plant at Depue, III. working up in the manufacturing
department until he became assistant superintendent. After three years at
Depue. he was transferred to Palmerton, Pa., the largest plant of the Xew
Jersey Zinc Company, and there he was assistant superintendent of a depart-
ment until 1013, when he resigned and came to San Francisco, \fter seven
months in the State, lie returned to Wisconsin as foreman for the Leonard
Construction Company of Chicago, and with that responsibility he was busy
eral vears.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1879
Returning to California in 1916, Mr. Jones bought the Minnewawa Vine-
yard, four and a half miles east of Fresno ; and locating on it, he has since
given it the major portion of his time, superintending and managing the
large ranch of 620 acres.
Minnewawa Vineyard was originally owned by Dr. Eshelman, who be-
gan improvements there about thirty-five years ago. It is situated on Sections
16 and 17, to the extreme south of the Easterby tract and in the northern part
of Lone Star. It was afterwards owned by Mr. Eshelman's daughter, Mrs.
Sherman, who named it Minnewawa, "Wind of the Trees." Fancher Creek
runs through the place. It is also known as Washington Colony ditch. But
irrigation is afforded in addition by the use of appliances never dreamed of
by Mr. Eshelman — five electric pumping plants, the largest of which has a
five-inch pump.
The ranch is devoted to both viticulture and horticulture, and also to
general farming; table grapes are raised (emperors and malagas) and raisins,
prunes, muscatels and some Thompsons. Five acres are set out in navel
oranges ; eighty-seven acres in olives, and of these thirty-seven acres are
bearing orchards and large producers, some trees being twenty-seven years
old. In the operation of the ranch, besides teams, the best tractors are used.
On the property Mr. Jones has a beautiful residence of Colonial architecture,
surrounded by a park of seven acres, including ornamental shade trees of
numerous varieties. These trees are so placed that the Jones residence and
grounds may truly be said to be one of the show-places of the county.
Mr. Jones was married at Piedmont, Cal., to Miss Emily Chickering, a
native of Oakland, and the daughter of the late W. H. Chickering, a prom-
inent attorney of San Francisco. Growing up, she received the completion
of her education at the University of California, from which she graduated
with honors.
THOMAS A. HOOVER. — The pioneer carriage and wagon manufac-
turer of Fresno, well and favorably known in Fresno's early days as the maker
of a superior type of camp wagons and stages, Thomas A. Hoover is a native
of the Buckeye State, born at Hamden, Ohio, April 2, 1852, and at the begin-
ning of the Civil War his parents moved to Odell, 111., where they lived on
a farm, and it was in the district school of this community that Thomas A.
Hoover received his early education.
When he reached his majority, Mr. Hoover moved to San Antonio,
Texas, where he engaged in carpenter work, and for nine years followed con-
tracting and bridge building. Afterwards he went to St. Louis, Mo., where
he established himself as a carriage and wagon manufacturer, continuing in
the business for a period of three years.
In 1887 Mr. Hoover arrived in Fresno, Cal., where he engaged in the
real estate business ; later on he opened a shop for the making of wagons
and carriages, which was located on Merced Street, near H Street; one of his
specialties was a camp wagon, which was so thoroughly and dependably con-
structed that it made its builder famous in the San Joaquin Valley as the
manufacturer of the best grade of vehicles ; all of his work being done to
order. The name of "Hoover" on a carriage or wagon was a synonym for
best quality and workmanship.
The : dvent of the automobile gave Thomas A. Hoover an opportunity
to develop his inventive genius, and in 1909 he began the manufacture of
auto springs and engaged in general repair work on automobiles at his plant,
1823 Merced Street.
In 1910 associated with Edward Downing he established the Hoover
Spring Company at San Francisco, and remained there three years during
which time he was engaged in getting the plant in running order.
.Mr. Hoover has secured a number of valuable patents on his inventions,
on six of which he is receiving royalties. He has four patents on automobile
bumpers, two on automobile springs, and one on a tire carrier. These are
1880 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
all manufactured by the Hoover-Persons Spring Company. In 1914, Mr.
Hoover formed a partnership with H. G. Persons, and they conducted the
business under the firm name of Hoover-Persons Spring Company. In 1917
he sold his interests in the company to Mr. Persons, but receives a royalty
on his patent springs and bumpers.
The Cambria Springs Company of Los Angeles, is also engaged in man-
ufacturing his patent bumpers. Mr. Hoover has retired from active partici-
pation in business, but receives royalties on his many patents and sees that
his goods are kept up to standard.
Thomas A. Hoover was united in marriage in 1884 with Isabel Gorla, a
native of Missouri, and they are the parents of three children: Gus L., who
is associated with the Pacific Coast Lumber Company of San Francisco ;
Isabel, is now the wife of Richard Bensburg, Cape Town, South Africa; and
Elma resides in San Francisco.
During the long period of his residence in Fresno, Mr. Hoover has wit-
nessed its wonderful growth and development, and is justly proud of the part
he has contributed to the advancement of the general business and welfare
of the City and County.
EMANUEL MARION McCARTY.— A man of broad education who
has good reason to praise California, for here he regained his impaired health,
is Emanuel Marion McCarty, a Californian by adoption after no less than
seven different removals from state to state in quest of the mystical elixir of
life. He was born in Davis County, Mo., on April 12, 1861, the son of William
McCarty, a native of Ohio, who was reared in Indiana, from whence he re-
moved to Missouri where he was a farmer in Davis County. He served in an
Illinois regiment during the Civil War; and he died a well-known agricul-
turist in Missouri. He married Eliza Jane Ninemires, who was also born in
Davis County; and she ended her days in Missouri, the mother of seven
children, all of whom grew to maturity.
The oldest of these was Emanuel Marion, who was also the only one to
come to California. He was brought by his parents when only six weeks old,
by horse teams and wagons to Woodford County, 111., and when he was nine
years old the family moved back to Davis County, Mo. Indeed the family
moved back onto the same farm on which he was born, and while there he
was sent to the local public schools which afforded very limited educational
opportunities. He became, in more senses than one a self-made made, and
he remained home to assist his father until he was married.
This ceremony took place in Gentry County, Mo., October 27, 1885, and
united him with Miss Permelia Crume, a native of that county and the
daughter of Francis Marion Crume, who had come from Kentucky to Bu-
chanan County, Mo., with his parents when he was about eight years old.
Later, they moved to Gentry County where they were pioneer farmers, and
settled on government land that had never been tilled before. Mr. Crume
served in the Union Army and now, eighty-nine years of age, he resides in
comfortable retirement at King City, Mo. His wife was Sallie Jane Wheeler
before her marriage, and she was a native of Gentry County and died on Au-
gust 23, 1869, a member of an old and honorable pioneer family in Missouri.
She had two sons and two daughters, all of whom grew up, and among these
Mrs. McCarty was the youngest.
After this marriage Mr. and Mrs. McCarty engaged in farming in Davis
County, and later they bought a farm there where they raised grain and
stock on some sixty acres. On account of Mr. McCarty's health, however,
they removed in 1904 to Cherokee County, Kans., near Chetopa, and there
they resided a year. He then went to Texas for a few weeks, and when he
returned to Missouri they removed to Kinsley, Edwards County, Kans., and
after farming there they went back to Chetopa. Having improved his farm
and worked it for awhile he moved to Granada, Colo. ; but as his health be-
came worse he remained there only a couple of months, and then he acted on
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1883
the advice to go back to Stafford County, Kans., where he farmed for another
two years.
It was while there that Mr. McCarty learned of the Kerman section in
Fresno County, Cal., and wishing to try the Coast climate he made a trip, in
1911, to California and purchased forty acres of land three miles east of Ker-
man. He returned to Kansas, sold his effects, and brought his family to Cal-
ifornia. The section around Kerman was a barren waste, and he had to cut
the tall weeds to get a free place in which to build his house.
Since then Mr. and Mrs. McCarty have made wonderful improvements
in their property. The land has been leveled and checked and sown to alfalfa,
and they have engaged in dairying. He has a separator and sells the richest
of cream. His ranch is on California Avenue twelve miles west of Fresno.
Mr. and Mrs. McCarty have seven children. Myrtle is Mrs. Moore and
resides in Stafford, Kans. ; Harvey is a farmer near Kerman ; William is in
the lumber business at Zenith, Kans. ; Jesse Elwood served with Company
D, 144th Machine Gun Battalion, Fortieth Division, saw nine months' service
in France, was discharged and immediately took up his work with the Asso-
ciated Pipe Line Company ; Estella is Mrs. Eggers of Stafford ; Sallie has
become Mrs. D. O. Hansen of Fresno ; and there is Marion Monroe who
lives at home.
A Democrat in national political affairs, Mr. McCarty is a member of the
Odd Fellows, being affiliated with Lodge No. 186 in Fresno, and he is also
a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, having joined in Missouri.
Mrs. McCarty is a member of the Royal Neighbors, and both Mr. and Mrs.
McCarty belong to the Baptist Church.
Few pioneers deserve more consideration for what they have really
accomplished than Mr. and Mrs. McCarty. After spending their all to im-
prove his health they had to begin again here very much in debt ; but they
have made a real success of their management and they are now in very com-
fortable circumstances. Their daughter Sallie has also regained her health,
adding to the thousands who have found physical salvation in the curative
properties of California's wonderful climate.
JOHN BOHNER. — To rise from a position of obscurity to that of a
successful viticulturist and ranch-owner, in a few years, is a record to be
justly proud of, and in attaining his goal, John Bohner has merited and won
the respect of his friends and associates in the Parlier section of Fresno
County. Mr. Bohner is a native of Switzerland, where he was born on Sep-
tember 7, 1872. His parents were Frederick and Mary Bohner, natives of
Switzerland and they were the parents of two children, John being the
oldest and the only one now living. Both his parents are deceased.
John Bohner was reared and educated in his native country and in early
life learned the trade of a butcher, but soon abandoned that business to en-
gage in other lines of activity. In 1894 he immigrated to this country and,
after his arrival here, gladly accepted any kind of work that he was capable
of doing in order that he might quickly learn the customs of this country
and gain experience. Sometimes he labored for as small a sum as fifty cents
per day, but he was just as faithful in the discharge of his duties as if he had
been paid ten times as much. This high regard for right principles soon
gained for him the reputation of being a man of true worth, character, and
ability. He engaged in the cultivation of grapes, to which he gave close
attention, and in 1902 he purchased his present place of forty acres, located
one mile northeast of Parlier. At the time he bought this land it was a
wheatfield, the estimated value of it being only twenty-five dollars per acre.
Possessed with the excellent characteristics of his native country-men—
thrift, untiring energy and a determination to succeed — John Bohner went
enthusiastically to work to improve his ranch and bring it to a high state
of cultivation. So well did he accomplish his aim that the value of his place
has increased to such an extent that $1,000 per acre would not tempt him
1884 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
to sell, lie raises mostly Thompson seedless and muscat grapes; eighteen
acres of the latter kind average him forty tons. His land is scientifically
cultivated so as to produce the best results. A view of his home and ranch
will convincingly prove that John Bohner has made a decided success of his
enterprise.
On December 20, 1900, John Bohner was united in marriage with Miss
Emma Roth, a native of Switzerland, born December 15, 1877. She came to
California in 1894. Of this union seven children were born: Elsa M. ; Hans
F. ; Emma ; Louise B. ; Freda H. ; Emil C. ; and Frank G. The family are
members of the Lutheran Reformed Church. Mr. Bohner is a member of
the California Associated Raisin Company. In politics he is inclined towards
socialism. With the aid of his wife, Mr. Bohner has won an independent
position in his community, and the family enjoy the respect of all their
acquaintances.
GEORGE W. MILLER. — Patriotism is a strong family trait of George
W. Miller, the successful dairyman of Tranquillity, as both his paternal and
maternal ancestors were in the Revolutionary War. He first saw the light of
day at Massillon, Stark County, Ohio, November 11, 1848. His father, Samuel
Miller, was a native of Maryland, who came with his parents to Ohio. Grand-
father George Miller served his country in the War of 1812, and Great-grand-
father Miller helped to win the Independence of the United States in the
Revolutionary War. George Miller's mother, in maidenhood was Susan Rice,
a native of Westmoreland County. Pa. Her great-grandfather, Frederick
Rice, served in the Revolutionary War, and afterwards settled in Ohio, where
he passed awav at Wooster. Grandfather Peter Rice also moved to Ohio,
where he was a blacksmith and farmer. Her father was a prominent whole-
sale and retail grocer at Toledo, Ohio, until 1850, when he passed away. Her
mother died at Chatham, Ohio. There were four boys and one girl in the
Miller family, George W. being the youngest. One of his brothers, A. H.
Miller, saw service in the Civil War. being a member of Company B, Forty-
second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Gen. J.
A. Garfield, afterwards President of the United States. A. H. Miller became
a prominent man of affairs in Medina County, Ohio.
George W. Miller was reared in Medina County, on a farm and received
his early education in the public schools of his district. Early in life he
learned cheese- and butter-making in Ohio, and in 1877 he moved to Missouri,
near Nevada, where he was manager of a cheese factory, afterwards becom-
ing manager of a cheese factory at Sheldon. His next move took him to
Chase Count}-. Kans., where he bought a farm and also farmed in Elk County,
in the same state. Having a desire to follow his trade of butter- and cheese-
making. Mr. Miller again became the manager of the Sheldon cheese factory
and creamery, where he continued for five years and then engaged in farm-
ing again. This time he located in Sumner County, near Wellington, where
he engaged in wheat farming.
It was in September, 1909. that Mr. Miller located at Laton, Fresno
County, Cal., where he engaged in the dairy business. On March 28, 1911,
he purchased forty acres of raw land at Tranquillity, which he improved,
leveled and checked, built a home and planted alfalfa and engaged in dairy-
ing and raising hogs. This property he sold in 1919, then bought twenty
acres two miles southeast of town, made nearly all the improvements and
lives retired.
In Vernon County, Mo.. Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Miss
Sarah Margaret McGovney. a native of Adams County, < Ihio. This happy
union has been blessed with seven children: Bessie, who married Charles
E. Hull, who is with the Standard Oil Co.: Hattie. wife of Elmer Ayres, a
dairyman of Tranquillity, where he owns a ranch ; Roy, has a ranch of twenty-
one acres where he is engaged in raising hogs: John assists his father in the
work of the ranch and owns eighteen acres adjoining: Frank, owns twenty-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1885
one and a half acres near the old home ; Mrs. Sadie Pyle ; and Fay, the
youngest child, is also at home.
Mr. Miller is a member of the Church of Christ and was one of the
organizers of the congregation at Tranquillity. While living in Kansas he
showed his interest in educational matters by serving as a school trustees.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller and their family are highly esteemed in the community
at Tranquillity, where they have a large circle of friends.
ALLIE T. LEWIS. — A native son who, as a successful ranchman, stock-
man, dairyman and breeder of registered Poland-China swine, has done much
to advance the best interests of California agriculture, is Allie T. Lewis, who
has twenty-four registered brood sows and one of the best Poland-China
boars ever brought to California. It is from the celebrated prize-taking Po-
land-China boar, "Iowa Wonder," which is everywhere recognized among
Poland-China breeders as a world-champion.
Born on October 14, 1888, near where Riverdale now stands, Mr. Lewis
is the only son of John B. Lewis, an esteemed resident of Fresno who was
once well-known as a pioneer in the Riverdale sector and an extensive rancher
and breeder of thoroughbred cattle and hogs. He was born in Bond County,
111., in 1862, the son of Alfred and Rhoda (Powell) Lewis, who early came
from North Carolina. In Illinois he engaged in agriculture until his death in
1879 at the age of forty-five. Mrs. Lewis, who was the mother of nine chil-
dren, lived for a while in Selma. John B. Lewis, after availing himself of a
limited common school education, remained at home until the beginning of
the eighties, when he came west to California, accompanied by his mother.
In the course of six years he was able to set himself up in the stock business
in the Riverdale district, and there he lived until he purchased forty acres,
nine miles west of Laton. Later he acquired for grazing 700 acres. With a
dairy of forty cows, he became one of the leading dairymen of the county.
While at Gilroy, he was married to Miss Nannie A. Turner, a native of Mon-
terey County and a daughter of James H. Turner, who crossed the great
plains to California in 1849 and again in 1852. He was a stock-raiser in Mon-
terey County, but when he moved to Santa Clara County, he followed general
farming. In 1883 she came to Fresno County to teach, taught three years in
the Riverdale district, and also a year each in Santa Clara and Butte Counties.
Mr. Lewis was one of the stockholders and first promoters of the Farmers'
telephone line. Mrs. R. M. Cushman is the only sister of Allie T. Lewis and
she lives on the old J. B. Lewis place adjoining the Alfred Lewis ranch on
the east.
Alfred, or Allie Lewis attended the public schools of his locality, and at
twenty-one he was married to Miss Ruby Pritchard, of Riverdale, by whom
he has had three children : Vivian, Alyne and Johnny.
Mr. Lewis' ranch consists of 220 acres, and he milks thirty milch cows,
and usually raises at least 600 head of hogs a year. He takes naturally
to the work of the cow-boy, whose dress he often adopts ; and he spends a
good deal of time in the saddle. Mrs. Lewis shares his interest in the prob-
lems of the day and contributes what she can of time and effort to help along
all worthy movements for the betterment of the neighborhood.
A. D. McKEAN. — A strictly self-made man is A. D. McKean, cashier of
the First National Bank of Riverdale, and easily the first citizen of that enter-
prising town. He began his struggle with the world under the great disad-
vantage of poverty, and his schooling was very meager. His book-education
was acquired for the most part after he came to California and after he was
twenty years of age ; and then, for several terms, he attended the public
school and also took a course in a business college. When he thus turned
aside to acquire his schooling, his time was worth five dollars per day, but
although he fully realized the cost of the effort, he was resolved to get the
rudiments of an education, at least, and a good foundation for business. Mr.
1886 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
McKean is a good machinist, blacksmith, mason, carpenter, farmer and lum-
berman, and besides having worked at many different occupations, he has
become an experienced and representative banker as well.
Mr. McKean's history is the history of real progress of Riverdale. He
helped build the lumber yard and the cooperative creamery; the bank, the
school, the public library, and he is active in circles of the Christian Science
Church. . As Riverdale's foremost citizen, he has been prominent in every
good work, evidencing a public-spirited interest in every progressive move-
ment. He has been called upon to lead in getting up "big things" for River-
dale, and so was one of the original promoters of the barbecue to celebrate
the completion of the railway to the town. He was a leader also in arranging
for the celebration at Riverdale, on November 11, 1918, when the armistice
was signed and the town lined up with all the rest of the world in its declara-
tion of unceasing opposition to autocracy.
Mr. McKean was born in Ontario, Canada, at Collingwood, on the Geor-
gian Bay, Lake Superior, the son of Archibald McKean, a Scotchman, who
was a saw-mill man operating in the maples and hard-wood lumber. He
had married Ellen Stoutenburg, a native of Ontario, who came of a good old
family which once owned 120 acres in the heart of New Amsterdam, later
New York. Her maternal grandmother, however, was born in England. The
parents were married in Canada, and while there reared five boys and five
girls, among whom our subject, born on June 21, 1872, is the fourth son
and fifth child. Grandfather McKean was a weaver who came to Canada
when past middle life and for a living cut hardwood at twenty-five cents a
cord. He died of sunstroke, being unused to the work and heat, the first
year there.
A. D. McKean's early life was passed in the lumberwoods of Canada,
and he remembers once having sold a number one matched seasoned maple
flooring and hauled it twelve miles over mountain roads for twelve dollars.
He had almost no schooling in Canada, for he had to work very hard
in the woods ; and one winter in Michigan, when he was about seventeen,
a heavy, hardwood log, two feet in diameter, rolled over him and almost
killed him. Fortunately, the ground where his head struck was a mud-
puddle, and that circumstance saved his life. He worked about at different
places in Michigan and at Windsor, Canada, for a few months, and then went
back to Ontario for a year, next removing to North Dakota, where he worked
for a year carpentering at Edgeley.
In 1893, Mr. McKean came to Tulare, Cal., but after a couple of weeks,
he removed to Visalia, where he worked in a machine shop. Then he went
to Hanford and ran a portable thrasher. It was at Hanford that he turned
aside for additional schooling. He attended the high school for two terms,
and for six months went to Chestnutwood's Business College at Santa Cruz.
From time to time he ran a thrasher, and for ten or twelve years farmed
in Kings and Fresno Counties.
In the fall of 1904, Mr. McKean came onto the Laguna de Tache Grant,
settling on the grant fourteen miles northwest of Hanford, then in Fresno
County, but since the division of the County — for which he canvassed in
1905-06 — in Kings County. He bought 140 acres on the grant, improved it,
and lived there with his family. He went in for dairying, and in one year
sold products to the value of $7,300.
When the time was ripe for action, Mr. McKean helped get the right
of way for the Hanford & Summit Lake Railway. He organized a company
to put in lumber yards at Hardwick, Riverdale and Tranquillity, after the
road had been built, and one of these yards was the yard at Riverdale. This
was owned at first by the Hardwick Lumber Company, now known as the
Summit Lake Lumber Company, and which was, in between, called the
Deacon Lumber Company. He also dealt in real estate in Riverdale for a
year. Now he owns a ranch of eighty acres adjoining Riverdale, and a ranch
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1889
of 640 acres twelve miles to the west. He also owns an apartment house of
ten rooms at Point Richmond, which he built. He lived on his Riverdale ranch
until February, 1917, when he was burned out. He still maintains his active
support of agricultural interests, and has stock in the Cooperative Creamery.
Mr. McKean joined the Odd Fellows at Laton, but was transferred to River-
dale.
In June, 1913, he became cashier of the First National Bank and has
been connected with the institution as .a director and stockholder, from the
start. The bank opened its doors as a state bank on December 1, 1911, with
a capital of $25,000. and with the following officers: John B. Lewis, Presi-
dent; Louis E. Gobby, Vice-President; Homer J. Hoyt, Cashier; together
with these directors : John B. Lewis, Riverdale ; Louis E. Gobby, Riverdale ;
George C. Aydelott, Hanford; A. D. McKean, Riverdale, and Homer J.
Hoyt, Riverdale.
On May 8, 1912, the bank was nationalized and it is also a member of
the United States Bank Federal Reserve. Its present officers are: John B.
Lewis, President; Louis E. Gobby, Vice-President; A. D. McKean, Cashier;
and William Becker, Assistant Cashier. Its board of directors are : John B.
Lewis, President; Louis E. Gobby, Vice-President; and A. D. McKean, River-
dale ; George C. Aydelott, Hanford ; and C. A. Smith, Laton. The institution
has a beautiful bank building of brick, two stories in height, which was erected
in 1916, on the principal corner of the town, and in which the appointments
are designed for both the convenience and the pleasure of the bank's patrons.
It pays four per cent, interest on term deposits, and has a fire and burglar-
proof vault and a manganese steel safe. Its first great aim is to cooperate
with and help its depositors and customers, and this fact is fully appreciated
by the community.
DAVID S. ZEDIKER.— A man who represents the best element of
citizenship in his section of Fresno County and has always worked for the
advancement of the general welfare, is D. S. Zediker, the leading apiarist
and orchardist in the Parlier district. He was born in Iowa, April 28, 1861,
the son of David and Eliza (Robbins) Zediker, parents of eleven children,
nine of whom reached maturity. They are : Mrs. Sadie Marsh ; John W. ;
Mrs. Carrie Foster; Mrs. Laura Aull; David S. ; Mrs. Susan Woodward;
Myrtle, married Lee Burton and is deceased ; George ; Ulysses G. ; and Mrs.
Emma Stump, all living in Fresno County. The father died in Iowa and
the mother later came to California, arriving in 1888, induced by the glowing
accounts sent back to her by her two sons, John W. and David S., who had
come here in 1886. They came at the instigation of a sister, Mrs. Marsh,
who had preceded them a short time. Mrs. Zediker bought eighty acres of
railroad land, paying five dollars per acre ; it was improved by her sons into
very valuable property. She died in 1909 and her property was divided among
her children.
David S. resided in Iowa and worked at farming until he came to Cali-
fornia on a tour of investigation in 1886. He worked hard and induced his
mother to migrate to the coast. It might be mentioned that, during his earlier
years here, he returned to Iowa on three different occasions, but the lure of
California was too strong and he returned, finally to make his home per-
manently. When he received his ten acres from his mother it was a barren
parcel of ground, but he set to work with a will and today he has one of
the best small ranches in the entire Parlier section of the county. He set out
every tree, vine and shrub seen there today, erected all the buildings, leveled
and ditched the land, and now has peaches, alfalfa, and a family orchard and
vineyard. He has 125 colonies of bees and the annual yield of honey is about
three tons. He is known over a wide area as a successful apiarist, as well
as horticulturist. He is a member of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and
supports all measures for the upbuilding of county and state.
1890 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
On February 28. 1917, Mr. Zediker was united in marriage with Mrs.
Alice Loveless, a native daughter, born in Lake County, November 23, 1874.
Her father was James H. Robbe, and her mother, Lavina Donahoo Robbe, a
sister of John and Jefferson Donahoo, the latter one of the founders of the
Fresno Republican, also the organizer of the sawmill at Shaver. The two
brothers came across the plains with ox teams in the early days of the mining
era in California and became closely associated with the life of the pioneer in
Fresno County. Lavina Donahoo was married twice, first to James Henry
Robbe, by whom she had three children : Harry, in Fresno County ; Jeffer-
son, in San Francisco ; and Mrs. Zediker. Her second husband was a Mr.
Bolinger, and two children were the fruit of that union: Hattie Pearl; and
Willie, who is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Robbe came from Iowa to California,
and lived in Lake County at the time their daughter was born. After the
second marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Bolinger went to Millerton. Fresno County,
where the)' lived, the daughter remaining with them until she was eight years
old, when she was taken by her grandmother Donahoo to Fresno, where she
was reared and educated. She was married, first to John Bolinger, by whom
she had a daughter, Nora A., now Mrs. Blakeley, of Fresno. Her second
union was with John Loveless, and she became the mother of a son, Roy J.
Loveless, who was educated in the Fresno schools and was employed there
until he enlisted for service during the World War, on June 13, 1916, being
assigned to Company B, Fifteenth Regiment. U. S. Infantry. He has been
doing duty in China for three years and is still in service.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Zediker immediately took up their
home on his ranch near Parlier, where they have entered into the social
life of the community. Mrs. Zediker enters heartily into ranch life and is
an able helpmate to her husband, and together they do all in their power to
aid all worthy movements for the betterment of conditions generally in their
section of Fresno County.
REV. SANFORD E. SETTY.— A man of splendid thought and attain-
ments, who has given largely of himself in the most unselfish manner for
his fellow-men, is the Rev. Sanford E. Setty, minister of the Church of the
Brethren at Fresno, who farms for a living and preaches and ministers to
the sick and the comfortless gratis. His life is noble, and his kindheartedness
is fully appreciated by all who know him. As the first settlers on this section
of land, the Reverend Setty and his gifted wife turned the wilderness into a
flowering garden.
He was born near Sinking Springs, Highland County. Ohio, August 4.
1848, the son of Christopher Setty, who was a native of Adams County, Ohio,
and was a farmer near Sinking Springs, dying there at the age of eighty-one.
Fie had married Mary Schoemaker, who was born in Highland Count}", the
daughter of John Schoemaker, originally a planter in Virginia who freed all
his slaves and came to Ohio. Fie was a farmer in Highland County. The
mother died at the age of eighty-two, having had fourteen children, among
whom Sanford E. was the youngest. Flis oldest brother. Levi, is still living
in Ohio at the age of eighty-seven. Two other brothers still living, who served
in the Civil War, are seventy-four and seventy-six years of age.
Brought up on a farm, and educated at the public schools. Sanford
studied much by himself and is. in a sense, self-educated. He early set to
wrork on his father's farm, and he married in Highland County. Hester A.
Leatherwood, who was born there. He engaged in farming in that vicinity,
and during this time, in 1885. was ordained to the ministry of the Church of
the Brethren, and began to preach.
In lS'Jj he removed to North Dakota, and settled near Devil Lake City.
Ramsay County, where he homesteaded 160 acres and improved the same,
erecting the necessary buildings ; and he raised wheat and other grains for
eleven years. He was a minister to the church there, and a liberal contributor
to its church-building fund.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1891
He moved west to and located in California in 1909 and bought a tract of
twenty acres where a contract was made for one section for the Church of
the Brethren by J. W. Brooks; and he was the first to put in a well and to
set out trees and build a house. The other members of the Brethren did not
come, but Reverend Setty stayed just the same and began to grow up with
the country. He planted alfalfa and went in for dairying; and he joined the
California Associated Raisin Company.
Reverend Mr. Setty was the minister of the Brethren at Kerman until
it was discontinued, and since then he has attended the church at Fresno.
He is a member of the District of Northern California of the Church of the
Brethren.
Four children have blessed the union of this couple. J. E. Setty is with
the Southern Pacific Railroad and resides at Fresno; George O. is in Le-
moore; W. R. manages an elevator in Erie, N. D. ; and Estella G. has become
Mrs. Furlong, of Kerman.
SAMUEL C. SAMPLE. — A very energetic and progressive ranchman,
who is engaged in grain-farming, is Samuel Sample, a Mississippian who is
making good in the Golden State. He was born at Richmond, in Holmes
County, fifteen miles south of Lexington on Cypress Creek, on October 17,
1877, the son of Alexander Dulaney Sample, who resides at Burrel. His
parents, Samuel, and his sister, Annie, now the wife of H. B. Collins of Lone
Star, Fresno County, came from Mississippi here in 1907, Samuel stepping
off the train on the first of July ; and the father, with the balance of the family,
later. His brother, however, came to California only about two years ago.
Samuel had attended Millsap's College at Jackson, for two years, while he
grew up on his father's plantation in Mississippi. The mother died at Ro-
linda in 1914, sixty-four years of age.
Mr. Sample was married at Fresno to Miss Leora Schaeffer, a native ot
Fresno County, on October 23, 1916, and she died in December, 1917, mourned
by all who had come to appreciate her sterling qualities.
In 1917 Mr. Sample bouht 240 acres in the Helm district, about three
and a half miles southwest of that town ; and besides operating this land, he
rents three sections. For the season of 1919, he has 1,000 acres of wheat and
100 acres of barley ; and he summer-fallowed 800 acres.
His first experience in California farming lands and farming was at Ro-
linda. He has bought, improved and sold several different tracts, and he still
owns forty acres there, half in alfalfa, half in fruit. He owns a seventy-five
horse-power Holt tractor and a twenty-foot Holt combined harvester and
thresher. A Democrat in national politics, Mr. Sample has found pleasure in
supporting local uplift movements. Fresno County is to be congratulated on
such enterprising and worthy citizens, intent not only on their own prosper-
ity, but that of the community and the commonwealth in which they reside.
ALAN D. MILNES.— A Welshman from the county of David Lloyd
George, who has made good in southern Fresno County, is Alan Downes
Milnes, who now owns and runs a ranch of 100 acres devoted to dairy stock
and registered Poland-China hogs, and he is one of the biggest buyers and
shippers of hogs in his section of the State.
Fie was born at Kerry, Montgomery, Wales, on February 28, 1881, the
son of James Mayall Milnes, who had married Agnes Mary Downes. He
was a teacher in the parochial schools in Wales, and the parents are still
living at the old home place there. They have had eleven children, and one
daughter is deceased ; nine are living in Wales, and Alan D. is the only one
in America.
He received a good education and was brought up in the Church of
England. Then he began clerking in a hardware-store or ironmonger's shop
at Newton, Wales, and sold farm machinery — Massey Harris, McCormick,
and the output of Walter A. Woods. Perhaps because of his association with
1892 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
certain American products, he had a great desire to see America, and in 1899
he determined to take the step which must separate him, for the time at last,
from his home and kin.
On June 1, he sailed on the Allan State Line, and eleven days later landed
at Quebec from the ship "Tasmania." Havre, Mont, was the place of his
destination, and for a while he worked there for Harding & Neill. They
were cattle men, and he was out on the range in the Milk River Valley in
Montana. Later he engaged with Senator Clark, and continued in the cattle
business until 1902.
In that year he came to Laton, and three years later, on April 30, he
was married in that place to Miss Lelah Lewis, daughter of Edgar G. Lewis,
a native of Michigan, who had married, in Nebraska, Amy Hamilton of Illi-
nois. The parents came to California in 1880 from Nebraska, and settled in
the Red Banks district near Clovis. Now the father has retired and they live
at Fresno.
Mr. and Mrs. Milnes resided at Laton until 1908, when they came to
their present ranch ; and nine years ago Mr. Milnes started buying and ship-
ping hogs. He is an excellent judge of hogs and beef cattle, but it is as a hog
buyer and shipper, that he is best known. He consigns direct to the leading
packers at San Francisco and Los Angeles, and ships, sometimes by the
Santa Fe, but mostly by the Southern Pacific, despatching from Riverdale,
Burrel, Helm, San Joaquin, Tranquillity, Selma, Fresno, Aladera, Caruthers,
and other points. He is also a stockholder and vigorous supporter of the
Riverdale Cooperative Creamery.
Seven children blessed this union of Mr. and Mrs. Milnes: Alan Lewis;
William Everett ; Charles Howard ; Dorothy May ; Agnes Lelah ; James Earl,
and Lloyd George. In 1918 the Milnes built their bungalow home. Mr. Milnes
belongs to the Odd Fellows, of which he is a past grand.
EDWIN L. ARNOLD. — A native of Missouri, Mr. Arnold was born on
a farm in Boone County, April 15, 1868. His father, George Arnold, was
born in Ripley County, Ind., on February 23, 1831, the son of John and Jane
Ann (Stackhouse) Arnold, born in Charlotte County, Va., and Preble County,
Ohio, respectively. The Stackhouse family is of English descent, tracing
back to the Mayflower in Massachusetts. George Arnold ran a flat-boat on
the Ohio and Mississippi. In the fifties he removed to Illinois where they
spent one year and then located in Boone County, Mo., where he was a
farmer and stockman, until he died on August 25, 1913, aged eighty-two
years. He had married in Indiana to Samantha I. Manaugh, born in Clark
County, Ind., on June 5, 1834. Her father came from Ireland, when four
years of age, with his parents, to Pennsylvania. His maternal great-grand-
father, James Hutchinson, who was born in Pennsylvania, was too young to
enter the regular military service, but drove a team for the Colonial Army
in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Samantha Arnold died while on a visit to
Washington, on October 11. 1915, aged eighty-one years. She was the mother
of hfteen children, of whom E. L. is the eleventh in order of birth.
Edwin L. attended the country schools in his youth, and worked on the
farm. In 1885 he came with his brother, George A., to California, and for
seven years worked on ranches in Merced and Stanislaus Counties. In 1888
he came to the Huron section of Fresno County to build a cabin for his
brother, who had homesteaded 160 acres six miles south of Huron. His
brother located in Huron in 1892, where he ran a store, was justice of the
peace, and postmaster. In 1898 the brother sold out his interest and moved
to Vacaville, Solano County. Our subject located at Huron with his brother
in 1892, assisting in the Huron Cash Store and in the care of the ranch. In
the fall of 1898 he bought a part interest in the Kreyenhagen Ditch and
rented a section of land on the Polvadero Rancho, where he had a half sec-
tion in grain and a half section in grazing lands, and this he farmed for three
years. For the next five years he engaged in cattle-raising in the mountains.
do \Jx, cM<*v*6£
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1895
In 1906, Air. Arnold was elected constable in a three-cornered fight, and
reelected in 1910 by a three-to-one vote, and reelected again in 1914. He
refused to run again for office as he wanted to give his time to farming. For
three years he conducted a harness shop on Fifth Street, Coalinga, and after
disposing of this, he again engaged in the cattle business with Paul Brix
as a partner. Mr. Arnold has been deputy sheriff for twenty years, under
four different sheriffs, and also has served as deputy tax-collector for the
county for two terms. In 1906 he succeeded J. M. Atkisson as constable.
Mr. Arnold has made a fine record as an officer. Fearless and brave, he has
captured a number of noted criminals. He brought to book the notorious
horsethief, Peter Tosta, who had escaped from the Mariposa jail, was sen-
tenced to San Ouentin, escaped from there and is still at large. He was also
connected with the other ferrets in the Indart murder case, near Huron. He
found the body in the creek bottoms after it had been buried for seven weeks.
He has a number of other captures to his credit.
Mr. Arnold was married in 1898 to Lena Greve, a native of Petaluma,
Sonoma County, Cal., and raised in Priest's Valley, Monterey County. Her
father, Samuel Greve, located in Priest's Valley in 1886, and her brothers are
prominent cattlemen in that district. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are the parents of
four children : Eugene E., Frieda I., Isabel, and William G. Mr. Arnold is a
member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
THOMAS H. MULLINS.— An energetic, hard-working pioneer, who
has contributed to the building up of his section of Central California, and
who is entitled to all the success and prosperity those years of toil and self-
denial have brought him, is T. H. Mullins, who came to Fresno on May 15,
1892. He was born in County Cork, Ireland, on May 1, 1870, the son of
Jeremiah Mullins, an Irish farmer who died in 1916. He married Susan Sulli-
van, and she resides in the old home, the mother of seven boys and four girls,
all of whom are living. A brother, John, served in the English army in Bel-
gium and France; another brother, Daniel, is in the United States Army; and
a brother, Michael, is in the employ of our subject.
The eldest of the sons, T. H. Mullins was reared on a farm and attended
the ordinary public schools. In 1892 he came to San Francisco, and after
a week's sojourn there, arrived in Fresno. He went to Fowler for four months
and was employed in a warehouse until the fall of 1892, when he came to
the James Ranch. With A. J. Anthony and Tim Hurley as partners, he leased
raw land of Jeff James, beginning with 1,200 acres, broke up the same and
planted wheat. These enterprising men pulled so well together that they
were in partnership for eighteen years. In his partnership with Anthony and
Hurley, they eventually ran 2,400 acres. In 1910 the partnership was dis-
solved, and Mr. Mullins continued on the Mullins Ranch till 1913.
In the meantime he supplied a man in his stead, and engaged in grain
farming on what has since become known as the Mullins Ranch, two miles
northwest of what is now Helm. This was on James' land — then raw, needing
breaking up; and he had a ranch of 1,500 acres, which he put to wheat. He
had forty-four head of working stock which he used with a combined har-
vester.
As early as 1908 he had bought his present place of stubble — 200 acres
west of Tranquillity, and he began to improve this to alfalfa under the ditch.
He leveled it and checked it, and now he devotes it entirely to alfalfa. In
1913 he built himself a residence, barns and other out-buildings and moved
here ; and here he is successfully raising hay and stock, and also running a
dairy. He raises grain, too, putting in 400 acres of wheat and barley under
irrigation.
In matters of national political concern a Democrat, Mr. Mullins sup-
ports every movement to improve good citizenship, and takes especial pleasure
in helping along, irrespective of party lines, any local endeavor having for its
object the uplift of the community or county.
1896 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
WRIGHT H. SPENCER.— A worthy representative of a distinguished
old English family, the members of which have fought in practically all the
wars from that of Queen Anne down, is Wright H. Spencer, a relative of
Piatt Rogers Spencer, the originator of the Spencerian system of penmanship,
and the son of James W. Spencer, who founded the town of Caro, Tuscola
County, Mich. He was born at Caro on December 27, 1862, while his father
was a native of New York State. His ancestors were doughty warriors, when
war had to be waged, and empire-builders when it was necessary to clear the
forests and lay out communities ; and he has an old English musket, bearing
the date of 17<>2, which one of his forebears often carried into action.
James W. Spencer was register of deeds of Tuscola County in which he
lived, and for years conducted an abstract office in Caro. He was also active
first in the Whig, then in the Republican party; and was honored by his fel-
low-citizens with election to the state legislature. He was the leading mer-
chant in Caro, was made mayor of the town, and was deputy county treasurer.
Later he came to California to live, and died in Los Gatos. Santa Clara County.
Wright H. Spencer was educated at the public schools in Caro and at
Goldsmith and Bryant's Business College in Detroit, learned the abstract
business with his father, and was well equipped before he set sail on the
broad oceans of the world. On April 26, 1888. he arrived in Fresno, and soon
after entered Clark & McKenzie's abstract office. In 1891 the four abstract
companies then operating in this city were consolidated as the Fresno County
Abstract Company, and with that newer and larger concern Mr. Spencer re-
mained for twenty-seven years, making his total service thirty years, when
he resigned to make the run for county recorder. His platform was "'Thirty
years a searcher of records in Fresno County; honesty: efficiency, fidelity,
and courteous treatment," and it brought numerous proofs of his popularity
and the fact that he had the support of Fresno's leading citizens.
Mr. Spencer still owns the old homestead in Michigan of fifty-nine acres,
where he was born. He resides with his family in a residence at No. 395 San
Pablo Avenue, which he erected about twenty years ago.
lie has been twice married. I lis first wife was Josie Shields, a native of
Illinois, who came to California when a child, and belonged to a pioneer fam-
ily, long active in FVesno County. She died on March 7. 1907. the mother
of three children — Orland W., Lincoln A., and Mildred Josephine. Alice M.
Parrish. a charming daughter of Los Angeles, became Mr. Spencer's second
wife and is a very energetic and loyal member of the First Methodist Church
and the Red Cross society.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Spencer are known in the city in which he has been
so long a prominent figure as the type. of American citizens for which Fresno
County has long striven. Mr. Spencer is a member of the Woodmen of the
World, the Modern Woodmen of America, the ( >dd Fellows and the Eagles.
CARL JORGENSEN. — A highly-esteemed couple long resident in
Fresno County, who are deservedly popular in the Dania Lodge and the Odd
Fellows, is Carl Jorgensen ami his wife. He was born in Holbeck, Sjelland,
Denmark, on November 25. 1876, the son of Hans Jorgensen, a merchant who
lived and died there. He married Louise Petersen. a native of Sjelland. who
now resides in Fresno. She was the mother of nine children, six boys and
three girls; and all but two are now living.
The sixth in the order of birth, Carl attended the public schools and at
the early age of fifteen came out to South Dakota, lie went to Lake Preston,
and for a while he was employed on the farm of his brothers, plowing and
breaking the prairie with the aid of both horses and oxen. In 1895 he came
to Fresno and here began his real career. At first he learned the blacksmith
trade under ' reorge I arsen, with whom he remained for two years; and then,
pears, he was with Messrs. Ahrensberg and Lauritzen. Owing to an
injury to his right wrist, he had to give up blacksmithing ; and he therefore
learned the carpenter's trade, which he has followed about eighteen years.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1897
On September 9, 1899, he was married at Fresno to Miss Marie Seeberg,
a native of Jylland, Denmark, and the daughter of H. P. Seeberg, a stationary
engineer and machinist, who had taken for his wife Christena Jensen, a native
of Jylland. In 1885 he came to Fresno and brought his family and engaged
in farming, locating on White's Bridge Road at what is now Rolinda. The
land was then all range and wild grain ; but he started to improve what he
had and soon made the holding tell another story. Selling out, he went to the
West Side at Panoche, and took a preemption of 160 acres. Six months later,
he returned to Fresno and engaged in farming. Two years later he bought
in the Washington Colony and set out a vineyard. He was one of the organ-
izers of the Danish Creamery Association. Eight years later he sold again
and located in Fresno ; and there, in 1901. his wife died. He continued in bus-
iness for some years, but now makes his home with his children. Six children
made up the family, and all are now living.
Mr. and Mrs. Jorgensen have owned several parcels of town and country
property, but have sold them and in the spring of 1918 Mr. Jorgensen located
on his present place of six acres on White's Bridge Road, three-fourths of a
mile west of Fresno, a place Mr. Jorgensen was always desirous of owning
for a home. The ranch is devoted to alfalfa and a vineyard. It is a fine
place with old trees, both ornamental and fruit. Mr. Jorgensen still continues
his trade in Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. Jorgensen have two children: Ella A.
is assistant bookkeeper with the Western Union Telegraph Companv ; and
William is in the employ of the garage department of the Lauritzen Imple-
ment Company of Fresno.
Mr. Jorgensen is a member of the Dania in Fresno, and has been presi-
dent of that organization four times, and was several times a delegate to the
state convention. He belongs to Fresno Lodge No. 186, I. O. O. F., the En-
campment and Canton. Mrs. Jorgensen was a member of the Rebekahs and
of the Lutheran Church, which her husband also attends. He is also a live
supporter of and member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
ARNOLD HUMBOLDT STAUB.— An energetic and successful rancher
and dairyman who, with his devoted and equally wide-awake wife, has
amassed a comfortable competency and. what is best, with it the esteem and
good will of a wide circle of friends, is Arnold Humboldt Staub, who was
born near Winnemucca, and the Humboldt River. Nevada, on September 24,
1865, the son of John Staub, a native of Zurich, Switzerland. The latter, a
fine stone mason, cutter, sculptor and marble-worker, came to Missouri and
while there enlisted in the Union Army, having previously married Elizabeth
Paine, a native of that state. He worked at his trade : and when two children
had been born to him, crossed the great plains in 1864 with ox teams to
Nevada, where he engaged in the stock business. The Indians grew trouble-
some, and he and the other ranchers took up their journey again and came
through to California with their teams.
Arriving in Sacramento in 1868, he located in Santa Cruz County, took
up a homestead preemption and engaged in stock raising. When nicely pro-
gressing, however, the good mother died, leaving five children — at present
all living — among whom our subject was the fourth eldest. Fie was reared on
a ranch in Santa Cruz County near Davenport, attended the public schools
of his locality, and remained at home until he was twenty-one.
Then, for a couple of years. Arnold went to work for himself ; but when
his father became sick, he returned home and ran the place for him, and
there remained until the old gentleman passed away. This was about 1890;
after which he leased his father's ranch and ran it until 1906. In that year he
moved to. Fresno County and settled near Dos Palos. where he bought a
ranch of thirty-seven acres.
( >n March 27. 1900, Mr. Staub married Mrs. Alice (Downing) Kelley,
who was born at Camp Scott, New. in the same locality as her husband, the
daughter of Jason Downing, a native of New York State, and a civil engineer
1898 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
who had crossed the plains to California. lie was married in Nevada to Sarah
E. McCarty, whose father was Larkin McCarty, an early Californian pioneer.
The father moved to Nevada where he was active as a civil engineer and then
came to Fresno County, Cal., when Fresno was a small town, in its develop-
ment of the middle seventies. She attended school in this county, and was
married for the first time to James C. Kelley, a native of New York State and
a rancher. Two children were born of this marriage — Earl L., who died when
eleven years of age, and Maude C, now Mrs. H. A. McDowell of Coalinga,
who has one child. Mrs. Staub's second marriage was at Santa Cruz.
Mr. Staub conducted his ranch near Dos Palos as an alfalfa farm for
three years, and then sold it at a good profit, whereupon he located in the
Madison district and bought twenty acres of raw land on California Avenue,
four and a half miles west of Fresno, which he leveled and checked for alfalfa.
He also installed a dairy, and had a fine herd of milch cows; and he is a
member of the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers' Association.
Mr. Staub was first married in Santa Cruz to Miss Sarah Bradshaw, who
was born in Rocklin, Cal., and became the mother of one child, Harvey P.,
who resides at Soquel. and has five children. The present Mrs. Staub is a
member of the Rebekahs in Santa Cruz, and is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Mr. Staub is an Odd Fellow in association with Central
California Lodge No. 343 of Fresno, and Fresno Encampment No. 78. A
Democrat in national politics, he is without party hindrance in supporting
local measures, and has served as a school trustee in Santa Cruz County-
J. L. NORMAN. — A prosperous rancher and resident of Kingsburg, who,
as a boy experienced the disadvantage of being a foreigner unable to speak
English, and who, in young manhood endured the rigors and privations of
pioneer life on the Nebraska prairies, but who is now a man of affairs, in-
fluential in the financial and commercial worlds — such is J. L. Norman, the
vice-president of the Kingsburg Bank, now the leading institution of its
kind in that town, and one of the cornerstones of Central California's pros-
perity
J. L. Norman was born in Sweden, near Fallkoping, on July 26, 1860,
the son of Andrew and Johanna Norman, who came to America in 1869 and
settled in Saunders County, Nebr., where they took up a homestead and
engaged in farming. After weathering the pioneer days of panics, grass-
hoppers, blizzards and cyclones, the father died in Nebraska, survived by
his wife, who came to California in 1896 with the subject of this sketch and
his family. The lad grew up on the Nebraska plains, with but three months
of schooling a year, most of his time being given to the raising of wheat and
corn, cattle and hogs, and at sixteen he did a man's work. A Swedish Mission
was located on his father's farm ; and there he was duly confirmed at the age
of fourteen.
In 1885, when J. L. Norman was twenty-five years of age, his father died,
leaving to his protection his mother, and the business cares incident to the
Nebraska farm. That same year, he began to farm on his own account, and so
continued in Nebraska until he came farther West. In 1888, he married Miss
Elna (or Ellen) Nelson, born at Skaane, Sweden, who came to Nebraska all
alone, in 1885, when a girl of seventeen. Mr. and Mrs. Norman had three
children born in Nebraska: Horace E., Mamie, and Ethel. Horace runs one
of his father's ranches, and is a graduate of Heald's Business College at
Fresno. He married Miss Edith Peterson of Kingsburg; and they have one
child, Mevin H. Mamie is a trained nurse at Dr. Gillespie's hospital, while
Ethel, the wife of Charles A. Kolander, a rancher, dwells on Mr. Norman's
other ranch, and has one child, Glenn W. Mr. and Mrs. Norman had two chil-
dren who were born in California but both are deceased.
Coming to California in 1896, Mr. Norman bought twenty acres of partly
improved land and planted it. Later he bought forty acres, improved it, and
sold the original twenty. Then he bought another forty acres, partially im-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1901
proved, and now he owns two forty-acre ranches. These ranches are planted
to peach trees and muscats, and this will partly explain why Mr. Norman
was elected one of the twenty-five trustees of the California Associated
Raisin Company, an office of responsibility that he still holds. That company
has grown to be one of the largest and best cooperative institutions in Cali-
fornia. Mr. Norman helped to organize the Scandinavian Mutual Protective
Fire Insurance Association of Fresno County, Cal. He is its treasurer, and
has served as such ever since its organization.
Mr. Norman is not only vice-president of the Kingsburg Bank, but he
helped organize and found the same ; he is a member of the Union High
School Board, and a member and trustee of the Swedish Mission Church
Mr. Norman makes money, but he spends it also, and lets pass no opportunity
to do good. He made two trips back to Nebraska ; and about ten years ago
he took all of his family to Sweden for a visit to his ancestral home.
Mrs. Norman is a devoted mother and wife, an excellent housekeeper,
and a kind, hospitable woman, who infuses good cheer wherever she goes.
She takes a keen interest in contemporary affairs and in the improvement of
the community, and is unusually well informed. In 1916-17, Mr. Norman
built a fine large two-story stucco residence in Kingsburg's Oak Knoll.
DOMINIQUE BORDAGARAY. — A successful farmer and business
man among the old settlers on the West Side in Fresno County, is Dominique
Bordagaray, born in St. Jean Pied de Port, Basses Pyrenees, France, January
15, 1876. His father, Jean Bordagaray served as an official in the customs
house service of the French government for twenty-five years up to the
time of his death, at forty-five years of age. He was a popular and prominent
official of influence.
Dominique is the youngest of eight children born to his parents, all of
whom are living, five of them residing in Buenos Ayres, South America, while
he is the only one living under the Stars and Stripes. He passed his child-
hood in his old home and after completing the local schools entered college.
His father naturally wanted him to enter the customs service, but Dominique
had heard and read of the wonderful resources and opportunities in Califor-
nia, and so resolved to seek his fortune in the land of gold and sunshine.
Through the assistance of his grandmother (whom he repaid from his first
earnings) he was able to make the long journey to the Pacific Coast, arriving
in Los Angeles in December, 1893. One month later he made his way to
Bakersfield and there he entered the employ of a sheepman. In 1895 he
came to Fresno County, which has since been the scene of his operations. He
continued working for different sheep-growers, until 1898 when he went into
the mountains in Millwood Basin for nearly two years. Always desirous for
advancement, he studied English, not a difficult matter with his knowledge
of Latin, and soon he read and spoke English quite- well. From 1900 to 1902
he conducted the Pyrenees Hotel at Kern and O Streets, Fresno. Having
saved about $350. he resolved to engage in stock-raising and purchased a
flock of sheep which he ranged on the plains on the West Side and also
buying and selling sheep, at times having 4,000 to 5,000 head. He established
a sheep-shearing camp at Turk, nine miles east of Coalinga, where for many
years he did a large business. Here he was the first man in the district to
use the modern sheep-clippers. He sheared on contract and had as high
as seventeen clippers at work. He also built large dipping vats and over
110,000 sheep have been sheared and dipped at his camp in a spring season.
He built a store, hotel and livery stable and did a very successful business.
During these years he also made a specialty of raising fine rams which he
sold to sheepmen, some years selling over 1,000 rams.
He homesteaded 140 acres eleven miles east of Coalinga, which he im-
proved, cleared of mesquite and sagebrush, sunk a well and installed a pump-
ing-plant, and the rich soil produces all kinds of vegetables and fruit, yielding
1902 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
abundantly. He has an orchard of peaches, apricots, quince and figs, as well
as a vineyard, and has also raised cotton on the place. He raises grain on
land he leases from the railroad company.
Soon after Coalinga began building he bought six lots on C Street near
Fifth, where in 1904 he built a row of store buildings. In one of these he
ran a French laundry. Some years later they were destroyed by fire and he
built the Airdome Theatre which he rents and is now run as the Liberty
Airdome.
In 1913, a dry year, he shipped his sheep to Aspen, Colo., where he
ranged them on the government reserve and when ready for market shipped
them in lots to Denver, where they were sold. Having disposed of them he
quit the sheep business and since then engages in general farming on his
ranch. With R. W. Cain as a partner, under the firm name of Bordagaray &
Cain, he is engaged in business on Fifth Street, Coalinga, dealing in confec-
tionery, ice cream, soda water, cigars and tobacco, as well as running a
large billiard parlor and carrying a large stock of goods in their business.
Mr. Bordagaray was married in Hanford to Miss Louisa Devaurs, a
native daughter born in Merced, Cal, and they have six children: Albert D.,
Grace S., Rose E., Stanley, Isabel I., and John Henry. Mr. Bordagaray be-
came an American citizen in 1912, and is a patriotic and enterprising citizen.
Fraternally he is a member of the Eagles.
O. C. RUSTEN. — A viticulturist who owns a fine vineyard and has both
the experience and the enterprise to cultivate and maintain it well, is O. C.
Rusten, who came to California in 1901. His birthplace was Valders Etneda-
len, Norway, where he first saw the light on April 12, 1858. His father was
Christian Rusten, a native of the same place, where he became a well-fixed
farmer. The mother was Sarah Rusten ; and she, like her devoted husband,
is now among the silent majority. There were six children, all boys, four of
whom are living. These four are Gulbrand, who is still in Norway; Haldor,
who is in North Dakota ; John, in Iowa, and O. C, the eldest.
Having attended the Norway country schools, Mr. Rusten assisted his
father until he was of age, partly in farming, and partly in the getting out of
lumber ; and then he worked on farms for others, until he saw that there
was not much opportunity there for getting ahead. Much as he regretted
the necessary breaking of home ties, he, therefore, concluded to try his for-
tune in America, and in 1880 he crossed the ocean and came to Soldier, Iowa,
arriving at his destination without surplus means and even in debt. He went
to work on a farm, glad to get ten dollars a month. Then he shifted to where
he was paid fourteen dollars ; and by the third year, he received eighteen
dollars a month from an American farmer, Bell Wright, with whom he re-
mained for three years and who finally gave him twenty dollars a month.
After leaving Mr. Wright he went to the farm of a Mr. Emerson. In the
meantime, in 1882. with his brother he bought eighty acres of railroad land
at five dollars an acre, and for a while rented it out. Then he bought out his
brother and became sole proprietor.
In 1888, Mr. Rusten was united in marriage with Miss Annie M. Rye,
a Norwegian by birth. She was a native of Yalden and came to Iowa in
1881. With her companionship and help, he located on his farm, and im-
proved it by the erection of commodious and attractive buildings. He raised
corn, hogs and cattle, and when he sold out in 1894, he received $1,700 for
the property. He next bought forty acres near Woodbine for $1,400 and
there he farmed for seven years, when he sold out for $1,640, and decided to
come to the. Pacific Coast. In 1901, therefore, he came to Fresno. A month
after his arrival, he bought ten acres near Easton. to the east of Fresno, but
a couple of seasons later sold it, having found that it was not what he wanted.
In the meantime he had bought two lots in Fresno and had moved his resi-
dence thereon. Then he was in the employ of packing houses for a time, and
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1903
the next year — that is, in 1902 — he bought his present twenty acres in the
Helm Colony. In 1903 he set out his vineyard and at the same time began
the extensive improvements that have added so much to the value of the
property in every way. He erected buildings and set his vines, principally
malagas, Feherzagos and muscats, and also a small orchard of peaches ; nor
did he forget the importance of encouraging every movement to aid the
growers and help him get good prices once that he had a crop. He was one
of the original members of the Melvin Grape Growers' Association, belongs
to the California Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Grow-
ers, Inc., and takes an intense interest in all that promotes progress along
these lines. In politics, Mr. Rusten is a Republican and seeks to elevate the
tone of civic life. The family attend the Lutheran Church.
CHARLES J. STONE.— As one of its foremost citizens, Charles J.
Stone has been very active in building up the town of Kingsburg, and in
promoting its business, religious, and musical life. Mr. Stone was born De-
cember 27, 1855, at Fredericksborg, in the Province of Delame, Sweden, a
district noted for its lumbering interests. He attended the common schools
at Sandviken and later at Hammarby. He learned the blacksmith's trade in
his father's shop at Sandviken. Being ambitious for further educational train-
ing, he went to Upsala, in 1876, to take the regular normal school course at
the Seminary, and studied there during 1877-1878. He sailed for America,
landing at the old Castle Garden, New York, June 26, 1881. He remained in
Brooklyn until November, 1881, when he went to Minneapolis, Minn., and
began working as a brickmason.
Mr. Stone was married in Minneapolis, February 5, 1882. to Miss Helma
Dorothea de Wahl, to whom he was engaged before leaving his native land.
They moved to Ishpeming, Mich., in the fall of that same year, where he
resumed his old trade, working in the blacksmith shop of the Burch Com-
pany, iron manufacturers. In 1884 they returned to Minnesota and became
interested in land in Sherburne County, where his family lived while he
pursued his business as a contract builder in Minneapolis.
On June 7, 1889, Mr. Stone and his family arrived at Oakland, Cal.,
where he continued in the business of contractor and builder until 1897,
when the family moved to Kingsburg. He first purchased forty acres of
land near Selma, living on it about four years, improving the land. He then
sold, and bought 160 acres, only partially improved, near Kingsburg, which
he further improved, building on it a two-story brick residence, one of the
finest country residences in this vicinity, and a landmark. He gave twenty
acres of this'land to each of two sons, and sold the balance at a fair profit.
The town owes many of its fine buildings to Mr. Stone. He has built
a good many of the brick buildings on Draper Street, Kingsburg's main thor-
oughfare. In 1912 he built the Kingsburg Hotel, a fine, two-story, brick
hotel. 100 by 125 feet, in which his son, Fred, was a partner in the con-
struction and ownership, and which later they sold. In 1917 he built the new
Ford Garage, one of the finest in the Valley, a one-story, terra cotta build-
ing, 5,0x150 ft, now occupied as a Ford Agency and garage by S. Tucker.
Mr. Stone bought out the packing plant of the old Kingsburg Packing
Company, in Block One, Riston Addition. He later sold out to the North
Ontario Packing Company. Later he became actively interested in the
organization of the California Associated Raisin Company, to which he
gives his hearty support.
To Mr. and Mrs. Stone seven children have been born, of whom six
are living: Naima Elizabeth, now the wife of Raymond Nelson, a rancher
near Kingsburg, and who is a son of Presiding Elder Martinus Nelson of the
Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church, residing at Eureka, Cal. ; Carl Gott-
fried, a rancher near Clark's Bridge in Tulare County ; Lydia Maria, a twin-
sister of Carl Gottfried, who died when six years old; Knudt Gabriel, who
1904 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
served in the Philippines, is a bricklayer and rancher; John Fritjof, who
married Miss Judith Lindstrom, and is a rancher; Lillie Ruth, who married
Clarence Nelson, a bookkeeper in the Kingsburg Bank; and Albert William,
who was for two years a clerk in the First National Bank at Kingsburg,
later worked one year in the Farmer's Bank of Fresno, trained at Camp
Kearney, and is now an automobile salesman.
During his busy life, Mr. Stone has found time to develop his musical
talents, and had become an organist and choir leader in his native country.
He has been an active member of the Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church
of Kingsburg, serving as choir leader, steward, trustee and Sunday School
superintendent. Mr. Stone has also given time to the duties of public office,
having served one term as deputy assessor, and on the grand and trial juries.
He is a strong anti-saloon worker, and stands firmly for right principles. In
politics he is a Democrat.
GUS OLSON. — An exceptionally fine man as both citizen and neighbor
is Gus Olson, who was born in Vermland, Sweden, in 1874, the son of a
prosperous farmer, who is still living. His good wife was Mary Nelson before
her marriage, and she became the mother of seven children, all of whom are
living. Gus is the oldest of the family, and was brought up on a farm while
he attended the public schools. At the age of nineteen he started for Cali-
fornia and arrived at Eureka in 1893. where he was employed by Mr. Minor
at lumbering on Mad River for a couple of years. In 1895 he came south
to Fresno County and was busy for five seasons lumbering for the Sanger
Lumber Company. In the summer-time he went to the woods, and in- the
winters he worked on the ranches. For six years following he rented a
vineyard north of Sanger.
In 1905, Mr. Olson bought his present ranch. It consists of 100 acres at
the corner of Braly and Olive Streets, and is one of the most desirable of
local farm-properties. In 1907 he located on it and began improvements.
Later he sold forty acres to his brother, and now he has sixty acres which
he has developed into a choice tract. He set aside seventeen acres as a peach
orchard, and has about forty acres in vineyard. He has peaches of several
varieties, and Thompson, sultanas, muscats and malaga grapes. He also owns
five acres of alfalfa south of Olive Avenue. He leveled the whole tract, it
being quite a task as it was hog-wallow. It is under the Herndon canal but
he has also installed a pumping-plant which affords him ample water for
irrigation. In 1907 he erected a commodious residence, and his whole place
shows the industry and thrift of the owner. He is a member and stockholder
of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and also of the California Associated
Raisin Company, having always favored cooperation.
Mr. Olson was married at Fresno on December 22, 1906, to Miss Mary
Nelson, a native of Vermland, Sweden, and who came to Fresno in 1905,
and they have one child, Arthur. They are members of the Swedish Lutheran
Church in Fresno, and Mr. Olson is a trustee in the congregation. He also
belongs to Manzanita Camp, No. 160, Woodmen of the World, in Fresno. In
national politics, Mr. Olson is a Republican, but he heartily supports all non-
partisan endeavors for local improvement.
AUBREY WILSON. — A gentleman of personal qualities such as would
spell success in almost any field of endeavor, who is not only well-educated
but well versed in the ways of the world, a good student of human nature
and a man of upright character and sympathetic temperament, is Aubrey
Wilson, a wide-awake and painstaking undertaker of Kingsburg, where he
lias opened one of the best equipped undertaking establishments in the town.
He was born at Henderson, Ky., on September 14, 1881, and in that state at-
tended the public schools as he grew to young manhood. He also studied
at the University of Kentucky, at Lexington, where he took a theological
course, graduating in 1905.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1907
Having been ordained a minister of the Christian Church in 1906, in
California, he held the pastorate of the Sunset Christian Church at San Fran-
cisco and then of the First Christian Church at Richmond; and finally he
ministered to the spiritual wants of the congregations at Clovis and Selma.
In the latter town he found still another field in which he could serve his
Maker by serving his fellow men ; and so he began to work for J. M. Byrnes
in his well-known undertaking establishment. He learned the business thor-
oughly, from the scientific, aesthetic and religious standpoints, and gradually
equipped himself to operate on his own responsibility.
Two years ago, as a licensed embalmer and undertaker, Mr. Wilson
opened an undertaking establishment of his own. He has every needed ap-
pointment, including a fine auto hearse and a small chapel that meets all local
requirements. A loyal, broad-minded citizen, usually working under the ban-
ners of the Democratic party, but also ready at any and all times to support
every movement for the advancement of Kingsburg, Mr. Wilson is popular
and widely respected.
During happy days at San Francisco he was married to Miss Gladys M.
Brown, a graduate with honors from the San Francisco Polytechnic School ;
and they have one child, Audra Nell. There being no Christian Church at
Kingsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson attend the Methodist Episcopal Church
there ; and in this still following the straight and narrow path, he is reflecting
honor on his good parents, W. S. Wilson, who is ex-chief of the police of
Madisonville, Ky., and Samantha (Wise) Wilson, one of the noblest of South-
ern housewives and mothers.
It is a matter of satisfaction to the community as well as to Mr. Wilson,
that he chose Kingsburg as the location for his well-conducted and highly
appreciated undertaking establishment.
ERNEST AUGUST FORTHCAMP.— The son of a prominent pioneer
settler of Fresno County, Ernest August Forthcamp is worthily following in
the footsteps of his father, John D. Forthcamp, who was born in Hanover,
Germany, and as a young man emigrated to America. Later, in 1870, he came
to California, and after serving about two years in the regular army,. began
the stock business and was soon recognized as a pioneer sheep man of the
San Joaquin Valley. In 1874 he came to Fresno County and ranged his flocks
on the broad expanse of plain and desert where the flourishing city of Fresno
now stands. This was at a time before any fence laws were put into force
and there were but few small hamlets scattered throughout the length and
breadth of the county. He took up government land near the present site of
Sanger, proved up on it, and farmed successfully until his death. Mr. Forth-
camp was a friend of the late Moses Church and from him bought twenty acres
of land in what is now Temperance Colony, upon which he established his
home and set out a vineyard, one of the first in the valley. He was also su-
perintendent for different large land companies, setting out their vineyards ;
among them the Henrietta Vineyard, Margherita Vineyard, and the Weihe
Vineyards. He was engaged in the sheep business for many years, and the
returns received therefrom were the nucleus of the large fortune he made in
land at a later period. He farmed on rented land and on his home place, com-
prising sixty acres now in the heart of the city of Fresno, and also engaged
in stock-raising on a large scale in early days. When Fresno began to grow,
he platted his home place, laying it out in small tracts, cut a street through
the center and named it Forthcamp Avenue, which today is the finest resi-
dence portion of Fresno and which is fringed with fine homes of modern de-
sign. Since then, as stated later in this article, his son, Ernest A., has laid
out the balance of the tract.
The father, John D., was married first to a daughter of Moses Church.
She died, leaving one daughter, Mrs. Henrietta Webb, who resides in New-
castle, Placer County. His second wife was Lena Panneman, a native of Ger-
1908 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
many, who came to Fresno County and here married Mr. Forthcamp. Of this
union one child, Ernest A. Forthcamp, was born. John D. Forthcamp died
in 1886, aged forty-two years. Some years afterward his widow married
H. F. Ehlert, an old time friend and partner of Mr. Forthcamp. After their
marriage Mr. Ehlert continued the stock business some years, then bought
a tract of one hundred acres in Temperance Colony, under irrigation, and
developed a fine property. He passed away in 1896. The Forthcamp prop-
erty was later divided, one-third going to Mrs. Webb, who sold her share
many years ago ; one-third to the widow of Mr. Forthcamp, who also sold
out; and the balance going to Ernest A., who still retains this portion of the
property, where he lives with his mother.
Ernest A. Forthcamp was born August 19, 1884, and when but five years
old came to live on the place which he now owns. He attended the school
in Temperance .Colony, the Fresno High School, and the Chestnutwood
Business College in Fresno, meantime growing up on the ranch and learning
to look after the vineyard and assisting his mother. Since he was eighteen
he has operated the place himself, and has reset and planted all but one acre
of the tract, raising the vines from cuttings. As he prospered he added to
his holdings and there are now 140 acres in this vineyard. Mr. Forthcamp
ships his own product. As soon as his malaga and emperors came into bear-
ing he established a packing plant in the Forthcamp Vineyards. The green
fruit packing-shed is located on the line of the Interurban Railroad, and here
he packs his table grapes under his own brand, "The Gobbler," and which
he consigns and ships direct to eastern markets. He also owns 160 acres
two miles north of Sanger, which is improved with alfalfa and a ten-acre
vineyard. Lately fifty acres of this tract were sold at a good figure. Mr.
Forthcamp laid out Forthcamp Addition Xo. 2. a tract of fifteen acres, into
city lots, most of which have been sold and improved. The home place is
eight miles from Fresno and. with the fine highways and motor transporta-
tion, is easy of access to the city.
Mr. Forthcamp has in his possession the oldest safe in Fresno County.
It is a safe that was brought from Millerton to Fresno, later was used by
Otto Froelich in his store until his business outgrew it, then J. D. Forthcamp
became owner of it and when he died it came into the possession of our sub-
ject and he treasures it as one of the old relics of early days in the county.
Mr. Forthcamp is a member of the Lutheran Church, the Fraternal Broth-
erhood, and of the California Associated Raisin Company. During his life-
long connection with Fresno County, Ernest A. Forthcamp has always been
associated with the enterprises that have for their aim the upbuilding of
the countv, and the advancement of the general welfare of its citizens.
JAMES MARION YOAKEM.— A successful orchardist and dairyman.
who early realized the possibilities of Fresno County soil, and who has made
a specialty of peaches with which he has repeatedly taken prizes, is Tames
Marion Yoakem, one of the most hopeful of American patriots. He first came
to California in January. 1907, and ever since he really settled here, he has
been laboring for the advancement of the Golden State.
He was born in Philippi, Barbour County, W. Ya.. on February 24, 1847,
the son of John Yoakem, who was born in Randolph County, that state,
where he also lived as a farmer, and died in Barbour County. John Yoakem
had married Melinda Kirkendall, and she died there, the mother of five chil-
dren, among whom James Marion was the second youngest. He was reared
on a farm, attended the public schools and remained home until lie was
twenty-one years of age. He also taught school for two years in his home
county.
J. M. Yoakem followed farming, and in 1868 came to Allen County.
Kans., and after a while he bought eighty acres there, with which he en-
gaged in general farming and stock-raising. About 1885 he moved to Chase
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1909
County and bought 320 acres. He broke the soil and raised corn and stock.
He gave and still gives particular attention to the breeding of thoroughbred
Poland-China hogs, both for breeding purposes and for market.
During this period he also engaged in the real estate business at Home-
stead, and while handling and selling farm-lands, he became interested in
California and its realty. He was the representative, in his locality in Kansas,
for the Irrigated Farms Company. At the beginning of 1907 he came to New-
man, and after that he made several trips back and forth. He made Newman
his headquarters for a year, during which time he investigated the lands in
the Kerman district. In 1908 he bought his present place on Shields and
Yoakem Avenues, paying seventy-five dollars for the raw land, of which
there were forty acres ; and he was thus one of the first to settle there and
make improvements. He set out an orchard and also vines, and then sold
ten acres, so that he still has thirty acres in peaches and alfalfa. He has
taken first and second prizes on peaches at the Fresno County Fair, his
fruit being famous for both size and flavor. He has a fine dairy and his
herd is one of the best, and he is still raising pure-bred Poland-Chinas. Such
•were his losses by fire and through cattle-disease in Kansas that when he
came to California he had scarcely $800, but through his foresight and hard
labor, he is now worth considerably over $25,000. He belongs to the California
Peach Growers, Inc., the San Joaquin Valley M'ilk Producers Association; he
was one of the organizers of the Kerman Telephone Company and was a
leader in organizing the Kerman Creamery. Since he has permanently located
here, he has, by advice and a helping hand, induced many to settle in this
district and become home-makers.
While in West Virginia, Mr. Yoakem was married to Miss Anzina
Elizabeth Wilmoth, who is now the mother of six children, four of whom
are living: Laura, who became Mrs. B. Olson of Newman ; Charles, a rancher
of Chase County, Kans. ; Eugene, in South America ; and Ada, the wife of
George Jackson, who is serving his country in an engineer's corps as a soldier
in France. The family attends the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Yoakem
is a Republican and works for Republican ideals, but he is non-partisan in
work for the communities in which he has lived, and among his public services
may be mentioned six years as school trustee in the Dakota district, which
he helped organize.
HENRY THOMAS WILSON.— An industrious, prosperous viticulturist,
and a citizen with high ideals, who has been blessed with a fine family
interested, like himself, in the preservation of local history, is Henry Thomas
Wilson, who was born in Noble County, Ohio, on December 10, 1862. the
son of John B. Wilson, also a native of Ohio and a farmer there. In 1869
he moved to Pike County, Mo., where he bought a farm and greatly im-
proved it, following agriculture until he died, in 1881. Mrs. Wilson, who was
Elizabeth Mendenhall before her marriage, and a native daughter of Ohio,
passed away in Missouri, the mother of three sons and three daughters, all
still living. The three boys are all in California, Reuben having taken up
viticulture in Lone Star; James W.. horticulture at Del Rev; while Henry
Thomas, the fourth eldest in the order of birth and the youngest son, is a
ranchman on Coalinga road, ten miles west of Fresno.
Henry T. Wilson was reared on the farm in Missouri from his seventh
year, and there attended the public school, remaining at home until his
father died. He really continued on the farm, in order to assist his mother,
until he was married, on February 28, 1886, near Bowling Green, Mo., to
Miss Oda L. Van Noy, who had been born at Van Noy's Mills, near there,
the daughter of Nathan D. Van Noy, a native of that section, and the grand-
daughter of Dr. Nathan, whose birthplace was in North Carolina and who
became an early pioneer of Pike County. He was the founder of Van Noy's
Mills, and built there the first grist and saw mill, and also had the post office
1910 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
there. The mill was run by water-power from Indian Creek; and the old
stone burr still lies near the stream. He was a physician and surgeon ; his
parents came from Holland to North Carolina, members of the old Knicker-
bocker stock : and he was married in Tennessee to Miss Mary McMichael.
who was born in Ireland and came to Tennessee. Mrs. Wilson's father was
a farmer, and as a youth served in the Civil War. He farmed in Missouri
until 1902, and then he located in Fresno, where he lived retired, and died
in 1916. His wife, who was Julia A. Henton before she married, a native of
Pike County, Mo., and the daughter of David Henton, who was born of
English descent in Lincoln County, Mo., now resides in Fresno, the mother
of ten children, seven of whom are living, and among whom Mrs. Wilson
is the oldest.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson engaged in farming in
Missouri, but in 1906 they came to Fresno, where the brother Reuben was
already living and prospering. He leased the latter's vineyard of twenty
acres and ran it; and he also leased other vineyards and engaged in viti-
culture on rather an extensive scale. At one time, in fact, he managed as
many as eighty acres. He took care of the place until 1918.
In July, 1918, Mr. Wilson bought his present place of forty acres on
Coalinga road, and within a few months took active possession. Since then
he has devoted the land to alfalfa and a vineyard in which he has ten acres
of Thompson seedless grapes. He uses two electric pumping-plants, with
four-inch pumps, having one for domestic purposes and the other for
irrigation.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have nine children : Mattie A., who is the wife of
Lee Bollinger, a rancher adjoining the Wilsons; Bessie, who married Joseph
Burford of Pike County, and resides in the old Wilson home ; John B.. a
rancher in Lone Star ; Cynthia, Mrs. Ward Bollinger of Chowchilla : and
George, Nathan, Lowell, Reuben and Harold. Mr. Wilson belongs to the
Modern Woodmen of America of Fresno: he holds consistently to the doc-
trines of the Christian Church ; and is a Republican in national politics.
LAWRENCE WILLIAM CHRISTENSEN.— An enterprising and
successful young man, who is known for his honesty of purpose and stand
for what is right, is Lawrence William Christensen. who was born near
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Count}', Iowa, on October 3, 1880, the son of
P. N. Christensen. whose sketch is also given elsewhere in this volume. He
was the third oldest of seven children, and was brought up on a farm in .
Iowa, while he attended the local schools there.
At the age of sixteen he came to California and Fresno County, and con-
tinued his schooling in Fresno, while he assisted his father on their home
farm. When he was twenty-two, however, he began to do for himself,
and it was then that he bought thirty acres on White's Bridge Road where
he set out a vineyard and planted alfalfa. This he ran for three years and
then sold it at a profit. For a while he located in Clovis, where he bought a
ranch of thirty-seven acres to the north of the town, set out an orchard and
planted alfalfa. And at the end of two years, he disposed of it at a profit.
In 1905. Mr. Christensen bought his present place of eighty acres on
Coalinga Avenue, between White's Bridge Road and Belmont: and this
he improved in his characteristically thorough manner. Since then he has
disposed of sixty acres, keeping twenty acres of the most improved part for
the site of a residence. He has good alfalfa, and well-bearing Thompson
seedless vines. With his sister. Mr. Christensen also has another land invest-
ment; together they own twenty acres on Belmont- Avenue, on which they
grow alfalfa, and cultivate raisins.
At Fresno. Mr. Christensen was married to Miss Sarah Morton, who
was born near Coalinga, the daughter of A. C. Morton, a Central California
pioneer. He was a blacksmith and stockman, and has the distinction of
^i/c^yyr^ (fic^&wX^Li
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY • 1913
having built one of the first houses on White's Bridge Road. Four children
resulted from this union : Wallace, Ruel, Willetta, and Douglass, and each
has brought cheer to the Christensen hearth. They attend the Seventh Day
Adventist Church at Rolinda, for Mr. Christensen was one of the organizers,
and has been a trustee from the start. He was treasurer of the church and
was on the building committee also. He is chairman of the church school
board, and with his good wife never tires in God's appointed work. He be-
longs to both the California Associated Raisin Company and the California
Peach Growers, Inc., in which he is a stockholder; and he vigorously supports
their policies for the advancement and protection of California husbandry.
JAMES FARLINGER.— A most estimable man of forceful character,
who went through great hardships in life yet always met them bravely and
without complaint, was James Farlinger, now deceased, who was born on
March 1, 1848, in New York State. He received but a limited education, for
his mother died when he was a child, and a disagreeable step-mother made
his life at home unpleasant for him. At fifteen, therefore, he left to paddle
his own canoe. He made his way to Saginaw, Mich., not without hardships
and worries, and through resolute perseverance.
His first employment was in the Salt Works at Saginaw, and later he
went into the lumber woods, and thence on to Duluth. While lumbering, he
met with several accidents, coming out of the camp with one arm broken :
and at different times he had his legs broken, on the last occasion being laid
up most of the time for three years. He was headed towards the Coast and
finallv arrived at Lewiston, Idaho.
Determining to locate on government land, he went into Whitman
County, Wash., in what is now known as the Palouse country, near the pres-
ent Uniontown, southeast of Colfax, the county seat ; and there he took a
homestead, and at the same time a preemption and timber claim. This was
in 1877, when conditions were as yet so raw that there were no roads, no
bridges, only an overland trail through the country. He pioneered in the
truest sense ; broke the soil never tilled before, built a rude house, and made
other improvements.
On May 31, 1892, Mr. Farlinger was married at Moscow, Idaho, to Miss
Ada Marlatt, a native of Vienna, Ontario, and the daughter of George Mar-
latt, who was born near St. Thomas, Canada, and became a carpenter and
builder. Her mother was .Betsy A. Corless, also a native of Ontario. The
father spent his last days in Ontario, and there 4he mother still lives. There,
too, Mrs. Farlinger was reared and educated. In 1892 she came to Union-
town, Wash., where she had a sister living, and there she met Mr. Farlinger;
and the acquaintance, so agreeable to both parties, ripened into marriage.
The happy couple continued on' the farm and were successful, but when their
children began to grow up and they wished better school advantages for
them, they purchased a farm of 217 acres about three-fourths of a mile from
Uniontown, making a holding altogether of some 740 acres ; and this they
also improved with a set of excellent buildings and still own. They also
built a large comfortable brick residence on each farm, and other desirable
buildings, Mr. Farlinger always being in favor of building up and improving.
He also purchased lots in the business district of Uniontown and built a
large brick store which has ever since been rented for the chief mercantile
establishment of the town.
Mr. Farlinger's health being poorly for some years, he rented the farms
and removed to Fresno, where he and his devoted wife purchased a ten-acre
vineyard about three-fourths of a mile west of Fresno ; and they built a com-
fortable bungalow, in which they lived in pleasant retirement. Mr. Farlinger
liked the climate and country, and was contented and happy in the sunny,
healthful atmosphere ; but disease had made too great an inroad on his health,
and though he recuperated for a time, he finally passed away, on July 26,
1914 . HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
1918, honored and beloved by those who really knew him. He was a good
husband and father and his happiest hours were spent with his family.
Five children had been born to this favored pair: William, who gradu-
ated with honors from the Fresno High School and served in the United
States Army until the armistice was signed; Fred, also a graduate of the
same institution ; Harry, also attending there ; May, graduated with the class
of '19; and Dixie, a grammar-school student. The last four are still at home,
the comfort of their mother, who continues to reside in her comfortable
house, looking after the affairs entrusted to her by her husband, turning
aside, as opportunity permits, to do such good works as make their appeal
to her, particularly those associated with the life of the Baptist Church, to
which she belongs.
CHRIS L. HANSEN. — One of the most enterprising farmers and dairy-
men of Tranquillity, known far and wide for his scientific and practical
methods, and quite as widely enjoying the esteem and good will of his
fellow ranchers, is Chris L. Hansen, who was born in Bregninge. on the
island of Ero. Denmark, an island in the Baltic Sea, on August 29, 1885. His
father. Hans Hansen, is still living there, a prosperous dairyman and farmer,
but his mother ("who was Anna Maria Christensen before her marriage),
died in that place in 1911. She was the mother of four children, two of whom
came to California.
The second eldest. Chris was brought up on a farm while he attended the
public school, and when twenty-one years of age he migrated to America
and settled for a while in Iowa, spending eight months in Audubon County.
In 1907 he came to Newman, attracted by the superior advantages of the
Golden State, and after working awhile for others, he leased a dairv and
engaged in dairying — a department of agriculture highly developed in his
native land.
In 1912, satisfied of the greater inducements offered by Fresno County.
Mr. Hansen moved to Tranquillity and bought forty acres of raw land, which
he improved by leveling and checking, and planting alfalfa. He went in for
dairying and the raising of poultry; and since then he has steadily increased
in prosperity, so that he also rents land adjoining and raises still more grain.
As one of the best ranchers of his vicinity, he is an active member in the
San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers Association.
While at Newman, Mr. Hansen became the husband of Miss Egidia
Hansen, a native of Denmark who came from the same locality in which
Mr. Hansen was born ; and one child — Marius — has blessed their happy
union. The family attends the Uutheran Church and joins in all worthy
movements for the betterment of the community.
Through just such highly intelligent settlers as Mr. Hansen, capable of
helping in the great problem of developing the natural resources of the coun-
try, Fresno County has prospered until now it is conceded to be one of the
most attractive portions of the entire state.
ANDREW C. CARLSON. — Enterprising, progressive, cultured, and
refined citizens are Mr. and Mrs. Andrew C. Carlson, active attendants at
and supporters of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Tranquillity, although
both were originally members of the United Brethren Church, a denomination
not represented as yet in the community. Mr. Carlson was born at Welton.
in Effingham County, 111., in 1883, the son of Andrew A. Carlson, a native
of Norway. As a sailor, the elder Carlson visited many of the most important
foreign ports of the world, and when he left his sea-faring life, he settled in
Illinois. There he married Nancy Nelson, whose father was a farmer and
a landowner in Effingham County and in time founded the town of Welton,
in which place, besides farming, he was following a mercantile career. An-
drew was the youngest of seven children, and both his parents died when he
was about three years old.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1915
Andrew's childhood was spent on the farm in Illinois, and he was edu-
cated at the public schools. When fifteen years of age he made his way to
the outskirts of Kansas City, Mo., and there for two years worked on a farm.
Then he removed to Hamilton County, Nebr., and again accepted employ-
ment as a farm-hand, continuing in that field and locality until he was mar-
ried there, on December 15, 1909. The gracious bride was Miss Emma L.
Donahue, who was born in Hamilton County, Nebr., the daughter of Charles
and Martha (Brown) Donahue, natives of Illinois and Iowa respectively,
and very early settlers of Hamilton County. Mrs. Carlson was reared in the
home of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Oliver, who were also early settlers of Hamilton
County and became well-to-do farmers ; and both now reside in Tranquillity.
a highly-respected and much-loved couple. Mrs. Carlson, after completing
the public school courses, entered the Aurora High School, from which she
was graduated.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Carlson farmed in Nebraska until
1911, when they came to California. For a while they were at Dos Palos,
but in 1912, convinced of the far greater advantages offered by Tranquillity,
they removed here, and Mr. Carlson purchased twenty acres. Inasmuch as
the land was not then improved, however, they grew dissatisfied and returned
to Nebraska, in which state they farmed for two years ; but seized with the
same longing to return to California such as has impelled thousands again
to cast their fortune here, they came back to Tranquillity and once more
pitched their tent on the scene of their early aspirations.
This time they began improving their ranch, leveling and checking, and
soon sowed alfalfa. At the same time they leased the eighty acres of T- C.
Oliver, where they resided. This place Mr. Carlson also leveled and checked,
and he has forty acres of it in alfalfa. Selling his twenty acres at a good
profit, he purchased twenty-five acres on the main canal, which he is now
sowing to alfalfa, and where he has demonstrated himself a thoroughly
capable and aggressive rancher. Mr. Carlson is ably assisted by his good
wife, who encourages him in all his ambitions and thus assists him in the
most practical way.
Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Carlson, both
daughters, named Edna and Frances ; and perhaps it is because of their
responsibilities and privileges as parents that they are so much interested
in the cause of education, and the welfare of children generally. Mr. Carlson
has served on, and is still a member of the board of school trustees of the
Tranquillity district ; and to this task he gives his most conscientious
attention.
ELWOOD C. HEDGES.— An interesting representative of both a
pioneer family of California and another of Oregon, with just such a winning
and convincing personality as one would expect to find in an American whose
forefathers had "been through" an experience or two, is Elwood C. Hedges,
whose grandfather, the hero of storms and shipwreck, was for many years a
purser in the hazardous coasting trade. Elwood C. was born at Albany, Ore.,
on April 20, 1892, the son of Joseph W. Hedges, a native of Philadelphia,
from which the grandfather, Benjamin F. Hedges, came to California in
early days. While purser on the Czarina, it was his lot to be wrecked on the
Coos Bay Jetty, when he and two others hung to the rigging over night. They
were Captain Dugan and a Mr. Millis, and they all fought valiantly for their
lives, but in the morning they were washed away and lost ; only one was
saved out of a crew of nineteen.
Joseph W. Hedges arrived in San Francisco on St. Patrick's Day, 1876;
and having in time learned the machinist's trade, he followed it there and in
Oregon, where he married Sarah E. Howard, the daughter of R. V. Howard of
Cleveland, Ohio, who crossed the plains with ox teams in 1852, and had become
a pioneer in Oregon. There he married Jane Smith, a native of St. Louis,
who crossed the continent with her parents in 1851. Mr. Howard was a
1916 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
farmer and died at Molalla, Ore., in 1915, survived by his wife who died in
June, 1919, at Albany. Joseph W. Hedges returned to San Francisco, where
he still follows the trade of a machinist, and has recently given Uncle Sam
a lift as a machinist in the United States Transport Service. Mrs. Hedges
is also living, the mother of three children, two of whom have grown to ma-
turity.
The eldest of the family, Elwood C, was brought up in San Francisco
and there attended first the common and then the high schools. In 1908 he
was apprenticed to a sign-painter in San Francisco, and after completing the
trade, worked for the well-known firm of Riordan & Swan. In 1914 he re-
moved to Phoenix, Ariz., where he established himself as a sign-writer; but
not liking the climate, he returned to San Francisco eight months later and
was employed by the Western States Advertising Company, until they sold
out. Then he became traveling salesman for the Sontag Commission Com-
pany and represented them throughout the Bay counties.
In March, 1916, Mr. Hedges came to Tranquillity and entered the employ
of the Standard Oil Company at the "Mendota Pumping Station, and since
then he has held the position of oiler there. He likes his work, which is the
first condition to any man's ultimate success, and likes his employers, so
generally known for their fair treatment of the employee ; and still greater
things may be expected of him in the future.
While in Phoenix, Ariz., Mr. Hedges was married to Miss May Jennings.
a native of San Francisco, by whom he has had one child, a bright lad named
Howard Joseph. He is a member of the K. O. T. M., and his good wife shares
with him an agreeable local popularity.
ERNEST WINTERTON FOSTER.— Born in Belmont County. Ohio,
January 19, 1875, Ernest Winterton Foster comes from sturdy Irish stock
on the paternal side. His father. J. B. Foster, was reared on a farm in Ohio.
He made one trip to California, remained one year, and then went back to
Ohio and farmed until his death. He was a member of the Ohio state militia
during the Civil War and served in the Morgan raid. He married Lydia Ann
Gitchel, who was born in the Buckeye State. She accompanied her husband
to California ; and after the death of her husband, she returned to the Golden
State and made this her home until her death. Her son Winterton took
her remains back to Ohio, and she was buried beside her husband. There
were eleven children in the Foster family, eight of whom are living, four of
them being in California and the others in the East.
The youngest child of his parents' family, E. W. Foster was reared on
a farm back in Ohio, where he attended the public school of his district to
secure an education. He was married in Monroe County, Ohio, in June, 1896,
when he was twenty-one to Miss Clara Mann, a daughter of Allen and Cath-
erine (Truax) Mann, both natives of Ohio and prominent citizens and farm-
ers there. Allen Mann served in an Ohio regiment in the Civil War. He still
resides in the vicinity of his old home, aged seventy-six years. On February
21, 1897, Mr. and Mrs. Foster came to California and settled in Fresno
County. Mr. Foster secured a position with what was then the K. and G.
Fruit Company (now the Phoenix Fruit Company). His brother, J. E.
Foster, was foreman of this company, and the location of their place of
business was on the ranch now owned by our subject. In August of that
same year, on account of the death of Mrs. Foster's mother, Mr. and Mrs.
Foster returned to Ohio, where Mr. Foster leased the Mann farm and car-
ried on operations there for years. His thoughts often wandered back to
California, however, and in 1903 we find them back in the land of sunshine.
He arrived in Fresno in February, the same month as on his first arrival in
the state. With his brother he leased the Posson ranch, east of Fresno, and
cultivated it one year, when the brothers dissolved partnership. E. W. Fos-
ter then became superintendent of the Phoenix Fruit Company ranch, taking
the position in the fall of 1904. and has continued in that position ever since.
Cc k. S^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1919
This company now own 700 acres, all in vineyard except 160 acres, which is
devoted to raising grain. Mr. Foster has improved several ranches for the
company, and has brought to his work the energy and efficiency so necessary
to the successful management of a big enterprise. He employs from thirty
to eighty hands in his development work, the land being under ditch irriga-
tion, while he has also installed four pumping plants on the property.
Mr. Fester has never regretted his return to the West. He has purchased
a ranch of his own, consisting of forty acres, all in raisins, and here has built
his residence, besides other necessary ranch buildings. A liberal and enter-
prising man, he has earned a place in the county, and has materially aided in
its development. Always interested in educational advancement, he has
been trustee of Kutner Colony school district for the greater part of the
past nine years. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Foster, four
of whom are living: Fay, Beulah, Donald, and Bobbie. The family attend
the First Christian Church in Fresno, of which Mrs. Foster is a member.
L. KRUSE. — Like so many of his countrymen, L. Kruse is a successful
rancher and viticulturist in the Biola district, and has attained to his position
in life through his own unfailing industry and thrift. A native of Laub, Sa-
mara, Russia, he was born April 30, 1874. His father, Carl Kruse, was also
born there and followed farming for an occupation. He came to Fresno in
later life, a few years after his son's arrival, and here his death occurred in
1910. The mother, Mary (Leikem) Kruse, returned to Russia, and there her
death occurred.
L. Kruse was the youngest of three children born to his parents, and was
educated in the public schools of his native town. His marriage there, in
February. 1899. united him with Miss Mary Kohl, also born there. After his
marriage he followed farming until the fall of 1899, when they came to the
United States and for a time located in Dorchester, Wis., where Mr. Kruse
found employment with the railroad. In 1900 they came to Fresno, and here
he began work in the Craycroft brickyard and in the summer worked at hay
baling. He soon bought a hay-press and engaged in baling on his own ac-
count, following that for four or five years. He then bought an outfit and
engaged in grain-farming, leasing land near Sanger. He later raised alfalfa
in the Empire and Barstow districts.
After these various enterprises, Mr. Kruse bought a twenty-acre ranch
on Humboldt Avenue, Vinland, and operated it three years, when he sold it,
in 1912, and bought his present ranch, forty acres in the Biola district. He
later bought forty acres more adjoining, and now has thirty-five acres in cling
peaches, and the balance in Thompson seedless vineyards, a valuable ranch,
and worth the energy and perseverance which made it possible.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kruse : Carl ; Jack, Anna,
and Loraine, all assisting their parents on the ranch. The family attends the
Lutheran Church of Fresno. Mr. Kruse is a member and stockholder of both
the California Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Associated Raisin
Company, for he believes in cooperation of the fruit-growers.
BARNEY SCHULTZ.— A late pioneer who has been in California less
than a decade, and who is much pleased with both the climate and soil in
Fresno County, is Barney Schultz, a native of Illinois, where he was born
in Grand Detour, Ogle County, on July 25, 1859, when he started on his
career as a "booster" of the real sort for America and Americans. His father,
Frederick Schultz, was born in Germany and came to Illinois when he was
seventeen years old. He had married Lottie Miller, who was of French and
German descent. Mr. Schultz was a fitter of plows in the employ, for eighteen
years, of the Grand Detour Plow Shops, and he removed to Grundy County,
Iowa, and died there. Mrs. Schultz now resides at Mitchell in South Dakota,
the mother of four boys and a girl, all of whom are living.
Barney, the second oldest, was brought up in Illinois until he was fifteen,
1920 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
attending the public school ; and at that age he went to Grundy County, Iowa,
and continued at the public school and on a farm. In 1884 he and his brother
Herman removed to Sully County, now South Dakota, following a trip of
investigation made the previous fall, when each located 160 acres and soon
set to work to improve the same. He planted to grain and raised stock while
he worked out at $1.25 a day. They had to haul water four miles, but they
succeeded, and he bought other lands. After improving what he 'held, to a
high degree, including the erection of a residence and barns and other farm-
buildings, Mr. Schultz finally sold the property and moved to Woolsey, S. D.
There he farmed 233 acres and met with success.
In 1910, Mr. Schultz made his first trip to California, and bought ten
acres in the Dakota Colony, and twenty acres in the Hawkeye district. He
returned to Dakota, but sold out, and in the spring of 1915 moved here. He
then bought twenty acres more and later added, in 1919, still another ten
acres. Now he has sixty acres in all, which he devotes to Thompson seedless
grapes, alfalfa and gra'in. He belongs to the California Associated Raisin
Company.
On July 13, 1892, in South Dakota, Mr. Schultz was married to Miss
Reno M. Livingstone, a native of Ontario, Canada, and a relative of Dr. Da-
vid Livingstone, the African explorer and missionary. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz
had one child. Myrtle M., who is the wife of Ira T. Maxwell. He served in
the United States Army in the Great War, and is a rancher here.
Mr. Schultz is a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. He
has for years been a Republican, and was once township supervisor, treasurer
and assessor in South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz are highly esteemed as
loyal American citizens.
LEWIS W. BOYD. — A hard-working, highly successful couple, who
have won the esteem of their neighbors and the confidence of business folk
by improving their property and making of it a fine place, are Mr. and Mrs.
L. W. Boyd, who own some very choice acreage in the Dakota Colony. Their
names are well known to fellow members of the California Peach Growers,
Inc.. and the California Associated Raisin Company, as well as at the Califor-
nia Honey Producers Exchange and in the San Joaquin Valley Milk Produ-
cers Association.
Born at Goshen, in Elkhart County, Ind., on January 9. 1871, Lewis W.
Boyd was the son of James P. Boyd, a native of Ohio who settled in Indiana
as a farmer and served for four years and six months in the Civil War as a
member of Company B of the Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. In
1873 he removed to Kansas, and in Cowley County, near Winfield, he pre-
empted land and supported himself as a farmer. In 1885 he removed to Benton
County, Mo., where he bought a farm; and twelve years later he went to
North Dakota and in Cavalier County homesteaded and farmed. He next
removed to Goodwell, Okla., where he spent three busy years; and in 1907
he came to Fresno. Here, in the Dakota Colony, he worked for three years
at improving a vineyard, after which he retired and took up his residence
in the city of Fresno. Mrs. Bovd died on July 1, 1917, the mother of six
children, five of whom are still living.
L. W. Boyd was the second oldest in the order of birth, and, until he was
fourteen, he was reared in Kansas. Then he removed to Missouri and there
attended the public schools ; and he remained home until he was twenty-two,
when he embarked in agricultural pursuits for himself by renting a farm. Two
vears later he bought some farm-land in Johnson County, Mo., and in March,
1898, he removed to North Dakota, where he homesteaded 160 acres in Cava-
lier County, then he purchased eighty acres, making 240 acres, principally
devoted to wheat and flax and general farming. He broke the first furrow,
and built the first house in the township, which was named after him, al-
though the name was later changed to Seivert.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1921
On account of the ill health of Mrs. Boyd, he sold out after nine years,
and in 1907 removed to Stonington, Colo., where he bought 640 acres and went
in for general ranching and stock-raising. He was disappointed in the dis-
trict and in September, 1909, came west to California and settled in Fresno
County. He had really been here the previous fall, when he bought thirty
acres in the Dakota Colony. The land was raw, but he gradually improved
it, and two years later he bought ten acres more. Now he has forty acres
on Dakota Avenue, devoted to the raising of alfalfa and peaches and Thomp-
son seedless grapes, and also a well-equipped dairy. Mrs. Boyd's health has
improved since her residence in California, and she is able to enjoy life again
while assisting in bee-culture, for which they have fifty colonies.
Mr. and Mrs. Boyd were married in Warrensburg, Mo., on July 8, 1893,
Mrs. Boyd having been Miss Sadie Carter before her marriage. She was
born in Missouri, the daughter of Charles Carter, a native of Kentucky, who
married Elizabeth Brewer. Mr. Carter served in the Civil War in a Missouri
Regiment, and was wounded at Lonejack in that State. Mrs. Boyd was left
orphaned when she was eight years of age and was reared by D. M. Mohler,
until her marriage. She attended the public school and the State Normal
at Warrensburg, and thus received an excellent education.
Six children came to further honor the name of Bovd : Eva Mae, who
is Mrs. V. A. Martin and resides near Kerman ; Jennie L., Mrs. Fay Smith,
resides at Dunsmuir ; Charles F. and Gladys Vera, in the Dakota Colony ;
Le Roy, who died in his second year ; and James Earl. The family attend the
Church of the Brethren.
Mr. Boyd is a Republican in national politics, but believes in doing a good
deal of civic work regardless of party lines. In North Dakota he was one of
the first school-board members in his district, acting as treasurer ; and he has
been sought as a school .trustee here, which honor he declined.
H. W. McCULLOUGH. — An agreeable couple enjoying their attractive
home place, and proud of their American citizenship since they have a son
in the United States service, are H. W. McCullough and his estimable wife.
He was born near Pittsburg, Pa., in 1866, the son of Isaac McCullough, also
a native of Pennsylvania, who was a farmer and died on the farm where he
had a coal mine that he long operated, and who married Sarah McGuire,
native of that locality, and who also died near the scene of her birth. She
was beloved by nine children, among whom our subject was the second
youngest.
The father having died when H. W. was nine years of age, the lad
remained at home with his mother until he was eighteen, in the meantime
attending the public school. Then he started in coal-mining for himself,
and for fourteen years was interested in that line of enterprise. At Indiana,
Indiana County, Pa., on October 1, 1889, Mr. McCullough was married to
Miss Delia Lewis, a native of that county, and the daughter of James Lewis
who was born in Bedford County, the same state, and who was a tanner by
trade. He became a farmer in Indiana County, and engaged in lumbering.
Her mother was Christiana Longwell before her marriage, and she was
born in Huntington County, Pa. Both parents died in Indiana County. Their
family included twelve children, five of whom are still living, and Mrs. Mc-
Cullough was the second youngest.
In 1911, Mr. McCullough quit coal-mining and came to California. For
three years he traveled the state prospecting for a home, and he then chose
Fresno County as offering the greatest inducements.
In 1914, therefore, he bought twenty acres of raw land in Barstow
Colonv, and by hard work and skilful management, he improved the land,
and now has eight acres devoted to alfalfa, and he has ten acres in a muscat
vineyard. He also has a small dairy with eight cows, and the whole farm is
well' irrigated. Mr. McCullough is a member of the California Associated
Raisin Company, and is alive to the interests of ranchmen generally.
1922 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Five children have blessed the married life of Mr. and Mrs. McCullough :
Dale, who is in Richmond with the Standard Oil Company ; Joseph, in the
aviation section of the United States Signal Corps ; Gladys, who married
Carl Schlotthauer, and lives at Barstow ; Lois, who is the wife of Lawrence
Maneely, a rancher in Barstow ; and Kermit, who is at home.
Mr. McCullough takes an intelligent interest in national politics, and
adheres to the principles of the Republican party. In local movements, he
discards party lines and supports the best men and the best measures. Mr.
and Mrs. McCullough do what they can to maintain a lively and wholesome
social spirit in the community, and Mr. McCullough is active in the order of
the Woodmen of the World.
ANDREW H. STAY.— One of the highly respected citizens of the Wah-
toke district in Fresno County, where he has lived since December, 1905, is
A. H. Stay. Mr. Stay purchased his ranch when the land was in its primitive
condition, and he has developed it to a high degree of productiveness, by
setting out grapevines, peach and apricot trees, and sowing alfalfa, besides
erecting a comfortable home. Much of his time, since he came to the county,
in May, 1901, has been devoted to the growing of grapes. Mr. Stay's success
as a viticulturist and horticulturist is the result of persistent industry, and
his ranch has become one of the show places of the Reedley section.
Mr. Stay was born in Central Norway, on September 9, 1863, a son of
Hans and Christense Stay, also natives of the land of Vikings. His father
died in Norway, and, in 1881, the widow with her eight children immigrated
to the United States, locating in Minnesota, where she had a son, who had
come in 1880, and there the family lived twenty years. In 1901, A. H. Stay
migrated to California and settled in Fresno County, buying twenty acres
south of Fresno, which proved to be alkali land and which he sold three years
later. In 1905 he bought his present place of twenty acres, and by prac-
tical commonsense and hard work he has demonstrated his worth as a public-
spirited and progressive man.
In 1885, Mr. Stay was united in marriage with Miss Amelia Erickson,
and they had five children: Henry; Peter; Jennie (deceased); Cora; and
Clarence. The latter enlisted, in October, 1917, for service in the United
States Army, and was attached to the American Expeditionary Forces, Forty-
first Division, and served from January, 1918, till April, 1919, in France, when
he was discharged. Mrs. Amelia Stay passed away in 1897. For his second
wife Mr. Stay married Miss Ragnhild Lisdal, and to them were born nine
children, six of whom are living: Esther; Ruth; Reuben; Rachael ; Joseph;
and Hannah. Mrs. Stay died in 1912. Notwithstanding these sorrows and
bereavements, the declaration of Mr. Stay is "the Lord hath been good to
me."
Mr. Stay served three years as school trustee in Wahtoke district. He
belongs to the Raisin and the Peach Growers Associations. He attends the
Pentecostal Church.
WILLIAM H. BERG.— One of the best known citizens of Dakota Col-
ony, Fresno County, a man chosen by the Kerman Telephone Company be-
cause of his dependability, as well as his special ability, to have charge of
their lines and central office at Kerman, is William H. Berg, who is also a
successful viticulturist. He is a native of Pawnee City, Pawnee County, Nebr.,
where he first saw the light of day on December 29, 1877. His parents. Fritz
and Anna (Liver) Berg, were natives of Germany. The father came to Amer-
ica when a young man, settling in the State of New York, from where he mi-
grated to Pawnee City, Nebr., and engaged in farming. Afterwards he moved
farther westward, locating at Vancouver, Wash., where he followed farming
for fifteen years ; later he removed to North Yamhill, Ore., where he pur-
chased a farm, and while residing there passed away. The mother now lives
at Walla Walla, Wash.
Ct^^Ovuv^ c/yf
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1925
Mr. and Mrs. Fritz Berg were the parents of seven children, four of whom
are living, William H., of this review^ being the second youngest. William
was one year of age when his parents removed to Vancouver, Wash. He
attended the public school of his district while living in that state, and after-
wards pursued his studies at Walla Walla public school and Whitman Col-
lege. After one year at college he left his studies to engage in the grocery
business at Portland, Ore. Afterwards he followed the trade of an electrician
in Walla Walla, and several years later was engaged in the same line of
work at the Bremerton Navy Yard.
In 1913, W. H. Berg came to Fresno County, Cal., where, through the
influence of a friend, he purchased twenty acres in the Dakota Colony. He
located on this ranch, improved it with a residence, pumping plant, and set
it out to Thompson seedless grapes. Being an expert electrician, Mr. Berg
was given charge of the lines and central office of the Kerman Telephone
Company, and by his efficiency and courteous treatment of its patrons, he
has given the most satisfactory service.
On June 31, 1917, William H. Berg was united in marriage with Miss
Ellen B. Nelson, a native of Minnesota, the ceremony being solemnized in
San Francisco. Fraternally, Mr. Berg is a member of the K. O. T. M.. and
Order of United Artisans ; commercially he is a loyal member of the Califor-
nia Associated Raisin Company. In 1919. Mr. Berg added to his holdings by
the purchase of ten acres across the road from his residence, which will be
set to emperor grapes.
Mr. and Mrs. Berg are both highly respected in the community and
enjoy a large circle of friends.
JAMES McCONNELL MARSHALL.— A descendant of the Marshall
family, of Scotch-Irish origin, which located in Virginia in Colonial days,
James M. Marshall of Parlier, represents the California branch of this well
known family. He was born in Allegheny County, Pa., September 7, 1849,
the son of John and Margaret (McFarland) Marshall, natives of Pennsyl-
vania. His father was a master mechanic by trade and, when James M. was
four years of age, removed with his wife arid three children, Cordelia, Theoph-
ilus, and James McConnell, all born in Pennsylvania, to the state of Ohio.
There they sojourned a little less than three years, removing at the end of
that time to Perry County, 111., where the father continued his occupation
of master mechanic, doing cabinet-work mostly, until stricken with paralysis,
from the effect of which he died three years after J. M. came to California.
The mother passed to her reward about three years prior to her husband's
death. At the time of his death the father was reasonably well-to-do, owning
120 acres of land in Perry County, 111.
Of their six children, one child was born and died in Ohio, and two
were born in Illinois: Ammy died at the age of seventeen in Illinois; Ed
died in that state at the age of thirty, leaving a wife and three children ;
Theophilus enlisted in the Union Army in 1863 and died at Little Rock,
Ark. ; Cordelia, married Milton Corrigan, a farmer of Perry County, and died
several years ago, leaving eight children to mourn her loss.
James M., the only sur-vivor of his immediate family, was brought up
in Perry County, 111., from the age of six years, and, as a small lad of nine,
worked on his father's farm, driving a team in the fields. He received an
average common-school education and at the age of twenty-one was united
in wedlock with Miss Amy Ann King, continuing the occupation of farming
in Perry County, 111., until 1884. Before leaving Illinois he was taken with
pneumonia, and while in the convalescent stage suffered a relapse. Threat-
ened with quick consumption, the precarious state of his health caused his
decision, in 1884, to remove with his wife and two children to the milder
climate of California. During the first two years in his new home he was a
very sick man and then experienced the darkest hours of his entire life. At
1926 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
this time had he had the means he would have returned to Illinois to die.
Recovering his health, he decided to remain in the new home. The country
grew, more people came, more ditches were being built, and after 1887 the
business outlook generally improved. In the fall of 1886 he purchased
eighty acres from the Southern Pacific Railway Company. After improving
the property he sold one-half of it about twelve years ago, and today owns
forty acres of well improved land. Air. Marshall helped to build the Center-
ville and Kingsburg Ditch as well as many of the minor laterals. This ditch
is now under the Consolidated Ditch Company, the Cold Slough branch of
which passes along the east line of his land and furnishes an abundance of
water for irrigation. As an emergency measure he has installed a twenty-
horsepower gasoline engine and a six-inch centrifugal pump, solving his
water supply for irrigation purposes. A two-horsepower gasoline engine
pumps water in a tank for domestic and stock purposes.
Mr. Marshall has been married three times. His first wife, who was
the mother of his eight children, died in 1902 and is buried in Mendocino
Cemetery, Fresno County. Two of their children were born in Illinois.
Wallace was five years of age and Agnes two when their parents removed
to California. Homer, Dolly, Jessie, Blanche, Horace and Delia were born
in Fresno County. The eight children are all living; the girls are married
and Homer served in the United States Army. Mr. Marshall's second mar-
riage proved uncongenial, resulting in a divorce. His third marriage occurred
June 18, 1915, when he was united to Mrs. Irene Jones, nee Irene Conley, a
native of Tulare County, Cal., who was divorced from her first husband, the
father of her two children, Paul and Ruth by name.
Mr. Marshall helped to promote the oil interests of the county at Coal-
inga, the venture proving disastrous financially for him, resulting in the loss
of about six thousand dollars. He is an honest, hard-working and successful
man, highly respected by his friends and neighbors, and has done much
general welfare work, donating largely to the Christian Society, the Young
Men's Christian Association, and the Red Cross, as well as purchasing Liberty
Bonds. He served as a school trustee in both the River Bend and Parlier
districts.
JOHN W. WALTER. — Missouri has contributed many of the most suc-
cessful and influential of California's pioneers, and among those who have
participated in the great work of developing the State, is John W. Walter,
who was born in Andrew County, north of St. Joseph, on December 31, 1881.
His father was J. W. Walter, also a Alissourian, and his grandfather was
Peter Walter, one of the early settlers of the county, and a farmer who was
well known in his time. J. W. Walter. Sr., was a farmer who was privileged
to retire and spend his last days with his sons in Empire, Cal., where he died
in 1915. at the age of sixty years. Mrs. Walter was Laurette AlcKee before
her marriage, and she was born in Missouri, of New England ancestry, and
died where she was born. She was the mother of five children, three of whom
are still living. One brother, Samuel B. Walter, is a viticulturist in Empire.
The youngest in the family, John W., was brought up on the farm in
Missouri and there attended the public school. His mother died when he was
nine years old, and he then went to work for an uncle and made his own way
in the world. He was employed in farm-work until 1899, when he removed
to Sterling, Colo., where he found a place on a cattle-ranch. There for three
years, he rode the range for McPhie & Mullen of Denver on their Box J ranch,
after which he returned to Missouri. He put in a year there in farm work, and
then went to Utah. He learned the blacksmith trade, beginning as a helper
for the Utah Construction Company at Ogden, then engaged in the building
of the Western Pacific Railroad ; and three years later he became blacksmith.
This engagement brought him in time to Spring Garden. Cal.. where he con-
tinued to work on the laying of the Western Pacific Railroad. He ran a fire
$ -!r- (3^&^d+-^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1927
for four years, and then returned to the shops at Ogden for another two years.
In 1912, Mr. Walter came out to Fresno County on a visit, and liking
the country and climate, he bought twenty acres in Empire Colony, and lo-
cated on it. He built a residence and made improvements, and now he has a
fine vineyard and five acres of muir and lovell peaches. He is a member and
a stockholder in the California Peach Growers. Inc.. and a member of the
California Associated Raisin Company. He also belongs to the Valley Fruit
Growers Association and to the Fresno County Farm Bureau. While at Og-
den, Mr. Walter was married to Miss Elizabeth Gait, a native of that city, and
the daughter of Mathew and Elizabeth Gait, who came from Scotland and
early settled at Ogden. Mr. and Mrs. Walter have two children: Violet
Muriel and Bettie May.
Mr. Walter was made a Mason in Plumas Lodge, No. 61, at Ouincy, Cal.,
and is still a member there. He belongs to the Democratic party, but in local
endeavors he disregards party lines, and is ever ready to work for greater
California.
ALFRED JOSEPH ARNAUDON.— A family long known throughout
Fresno County, particularlv in the western section, has lost none of its pres-
tige through the forceful business career of Alfred Joseph Arnaudon, whose
splendid energies and dauntless courage have enabled him to amass an inde-
pendent fortune. As the pioneer merchant of Mendota he has been con-
nected with its upbuilding from its beginning, having been a resident of the
vicinity before the advent of the railroad and was one of the first to aid in
the development of the arid lands by irrigation and intensive farming.
,r- Arnaudon is a native of France, born at Gap, Hautes Alps, October
14, 1853, and received a good education in his native land. He also learned
stockraising at home, thus laying the foundation for his work in this country.
When nineteen years of age he came to the United States, leaving France
in December, 1871, and landing in New York with only twenty dollars in
his pockets. Nothing daunted, however, he began his hunt for fortune in
the new country, and February, 1872. found him in San Francisco. He went
to work for the Remillard Brothers in their brickyard in San Rafael, and
remained with them six years, then went to Sunol, Alameda County, and be-
gan stock-raising for himself. He bought a flock of ewes and lambs and in
partnership with two nephews continued in the business for three years ; the
partnership was then dissolved and Mr. Arnaudon ran the business alone for
two years. At the end of that period he purchased a ranch near Pleasanton,
of 150 acres. This he cultivated, putting forty acres of it into vineyard. This
land he later leased out, but still owns the property.
In 1886, Mr. Arnaudon located in Fresno County, starting a hotel at
White's Bridge, together with a stocking store, and served as assistant post-
master there. Here he brought his sheep, and ranged them on the plains and
stubblefields, 4.000 head or more. When the railroad was built into Mendota,
in 1890, he put up the Arnaudon Hotel there and opened a general merchan-
dise store, the first store in the town, and this he ran until 1917. .
Some ten years ago Mr. Arnaudon bought his present ranch, first obtain-
ing \f)0 acres, then an additional 160, making 320 acres in all, and established
his sheep business on this ranch. He also owned six sections purchased from
the Borland estate, but sold off all but one section which he still retains,
situated one mile south of his home ranch, and uses for a stock ranch, has
had it fenced and a deep well of 600 feet put in, with water within fifteen
feet of the top. The home place he has improved with all modern facilities ;
a deep well and pumping-plant installed, run by electricity; also three pump-
ing-plants in all on the ranch ; which is devoted mostly to raising alfalfa,
grain, sheep, cattle and hogs.
The marriage of Mr. Arnaudon united him with Miss Marie Arbios, the
ceremony taking place at Mission San Jose, September 24, 1881. His wife
was a native of France also, born in Aysus, Basses-Pyrenees, a daughter of
1928 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Jean Arbios, who emigrated to California in 1863, was a miner, then a dairy-
man at Novato. and finally engaged in stock-raising in Sunol. His death oc-
curred in Stockton, in 1917; the mother passed away in 1904, in Pleasanton.
The third child in the family, Mrs. Arnaudon was brought up in France until
fifteen years of age, when she joined her parents in California, and in Sunol
met her future husband. Seven children were born to this pioneer couple:
Emma, Mrs. Jury; Lucy, Mrs. Bowie of Fresno; Cora, Mrs. Hallum of Oak-
land; Adelta, Mrs. Ricou, residing on the home ranch; Marie, Mrs. Smoot
of Mendota ; Alfred ; and Joseph, Jr., assisting his father on the ranch.
One of the oldest settlers of Mendota, Mr. Arnaudon has seen the country
grow from desert land to its present thriving condition ; from roads where
the wagons sank down into the mire so that they had to be pulled out, to the
present smooth highways with automobiles skimming over them ; from stock
land to the present diversified ranching ; he was one of the first to pump for
irrigation, to set out orchards and vineyards and use the modern methods of
agriculture. He was one of the organizers of the first school at Mendota and
was trustee for years. He was postmaster of Mendota for many years, then
his daughter Lucy took his place, and now Marie, Mrs. Smoot, holds the
position. Mr. Arnaudon was a charter member of the Mendota Lodge, the
Knights of Pythias, organized February 26, 1894, the only one left living, and
is the proud possessor of a jewel given to members for twenty-five years of
good standing in the order. He is a member of the California Wool Growers'
Association, and with all his business cares has been an active participant in
the growth of his section of Fresno County. He was also one of the organ-
izers and is a director of the Growers National Bank of Fresno.
EDSON EMMET BAIRD.— A kind-hearted, liberal and interesting
gentleman, who lives a delightful life surrounded bv an equallv hospitable and
pleasant family, is Edson E. Baird, the well-known viticulturist who saw
much adventure and a good deal of roughing it before he pitched his tent in
the most pleasant corner of Fresno County. He was born near Decorah,
"Winneshiek County, Iowa, on July 23, 1857, the son of Warren Baird, a native
of Ohio who settled in Iowa as a farmer, and who enlisted in the Civil War,
as a member of Company A, Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry. Warren Baird
died in the service of his country, at Little Rock, Ark., mourned by his widow
who was Martha Scoby before her marriage, and who was born in New York.
Left with four small children, she reared the family on the old farm ; later
she resided awhile in Nebraska and finally died in Oklahoma. Of these chil-
dren three are still living.
The second eldest and the only child in California, Edson E. received a
public school education and worked on various farms until he was eighteen
years of age. Then, with his brother, Justin H. Baird, he went to Dallas,
Texas, and there found employment on a farm, after which, making his way
to Tom Green County, on the Concho River, he homesteaded land and con-
tinued in the service of the Government, burning charcoal out of mesquite
wood, and "cutting hay. Selling out, he removed to Fort Stanton, X. M.,
where he undertook some Government contracting and also followed farm-
ing. It was while in Tom Green County, Texas that he participated, more bv
necessity than choice, in buffalo hunting. With three companions he hunted
the fierce and powerful animals for their meat and hides, the tongues especial-
ly being a desirable object, and they also hunted deer and antelope, so that he
had many good buffalo and Indian stories to tell. About 1881 he engaged in
mining, opening up some prospects and occasionally selling at an advantage ;
and he was for awhile occupied with the affairs of a small ranch in Missouri.
Near Fort Stanton, N. M., on October 25, 1886, Mr. Baird was married
to Mary Cooper, who had been born in Fannin County, Texas, the daughter
of James A. and Mary C. (Conrad) Cooper, natives of Kentucky and Texas
respectively, and farmer folk who removed to New Mexico. Mr. Cooper was
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1931
and is still a cattle and sheep man living at Ancho, N. M., his wife having
died when Mary was only three years of age.
Having attended the public schools in Texas, Mr. Baird passed eleven
years altogether in New Mexico, mining and farming, and then for fourteen
years was a farmer at Pierce City, Mo., where he had a ranch of eighty acres.
In time he came to own three times that amount; but selling out, he bought
100 acres in the same vicinity, near Newtonia. When he gave that up, he
came west to what has since proven to him the only spot on the globe with
superior attractions for a home.
In 1910, then, Mr. Baird reached Fresno, and three weeks later he bought
his present ranch of twenty acres in the Gray Colony, where he is a viticul-
turist of a high order.- He made many improvements, grafted the vines him-
self and set out malaga and Thompson seedless ; he planted three acres of
peaches and an acre of oranges and by means of a pumping plant, in addi-
tion to fine ditch service, he provided amply for the irrigation of his land.
When the claims of the California Associated Raisin Company, and the Cali-
fornia Peach Growers, Inc., were presented to him, he promptly responded
by joining and supporting their excellent work.
Four of Mr. and Mrs. Baird's children are still living: Bertie C. is a viti-
culturist near Granville; Edson Earl served in the United States Navy, but
is now in the oil fields at Coalinga ; Pearl is Mrs. Everett Cox of this county ;
and Cassie is at home. The family belongs to the Independent Holiness Con-
gregation in Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. Baird are Prohibitionists, and in other
ways also they are active for the advancement of the community and the
state.
DALLAS B. McCABE. — An enterprising, progressive ranchman oper-
ating according to the latest methods, is Dallas B. McCabe, a native of Milan,
Ripley County, Ind., where he was born on April 30, 1873. His father was Wil-
liam Wilson McCabe, who was born in Pennsylvania of Scotch descent and
came to Indiana with his mother when he was four years of age. There he
grew up amid pioneer surroundings, and when he reached man's estate, he
bought a farm, cleared it of timber and otherwise improved it, and eventually
became a successful farmer. He died where he had toiled, survived at the old
homestead by his widow, who was Miss Margaret Pendergast, a native of
Indiana, before her marriage.
The fourth youngest of ten children, Dallas McCabe was brought up on
an Indiana farm, and educated in the public schools and at the Versailles
Indiana State Normal. After having taught for a term he came to Lake
County, 111., that he might work on a farm forty miles north of Chicago and
be convenient to attend the World's Fair during that summer; and this am-
bition having been satisfied, he decided to push further West. He had seen
exhibits of various kinds at the Exhibition, informing him more or less about
California, and he determined to investigate for himself and in December,
1893, he arrived in California and located in Fresno.
It will be remembered that that was the year of dull times, and he was
nearly broke when he obtained his first employment — that of ranch-hand for
William Helm on his grain ranch, now the Colonial Helm Tract. There he
worked for eight years, after which he entered the service of the ice com-
pany in Fresno, when they were still retailing natural ice, but soon afterwards
built their artificial ice plant. He was with the ice company nine years, and
during the last two years he was foreman in charge of their delivery system.
In the beginning, the company was known as the Union Ice Company, but
later it became the Consumers' Ice Company.
While living at Fresno, Mr. McCabe was married on May 25, 1904, to
Miss Norma Wood, a native of San Jose, Cal., and the daughter of George
W. Wood, who was born in Texas. Grandfather Stirling Wood, however,
was born in Kentucky and came to California in 1863, and settled at Ray-
mond, in Madera County, where he resided until his death. George W. Wood
1932 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
was married in Madera County to Miss Nettie Myers, a native of San Luis
I (bispo County, and the daughter of David and Clara (Wagner) Myers, both
of whom came from Ohio. David Myers crossed the plains in 1849 to the gold
fields in California, where he mined for about three years, when he returned
East: and in 1859 he brought his family by way of Panama. He became a
stockman at Fresno Flats, and there he breathed his last; his widow is still
living at San Lorenzo, Cal. After his marriage, George W. Wood resided
for a while in San Jose, and then at Raymond, in Madera County; and there
he became Tustice of the Peace. He and his good wife now reside on the Bill-
iard Tract north of Fresno. There were five children in the family, and among
them Mrs. McCabe is the third eldest.
During his service with the ice company. Mr. McCabe bought twenty
acres of stubble field in the Colonial Helm Tract, which he improved with a
vineyard ; and having resigned his position with the company, in 1909. he lo-
cated on his property. For the last five years he has been with the Earl Fruit
Company as foreman of the Glorietta and Melvin packing houses, but is at
present the field representative for the company. He is a director in and sec-
retary- to the board of directors of the Colonial Helm Ditch Company, filling
cut his sixth year of that responsibility. He is also a trustee of the Clovis
grammar school and has served as road overseer. In national politics, he is a
progressive Republican.
One child. William Wilson, has blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Mc-
Cabe. The family are members of the Baptist Church in Clovis. Mr. McCabe
belongs to the Fresno lodge of the Independent Foresters of America. He
made a trip back to his old Eastern home in 1901. and a second trip in 1904.
when he went to the World's Fair at St. Louis. A third time Mr. McCabe
saw the scenes of his boyhood and some old. familiar faces when, in 1907.
he attended the golden wedding of his parents.
CHRIS JENSEN. — A Californian who has made his way by his own un-
aided efforts, and has become an upbuilder of the community, is Chris Jensen,
who came to California in the early nineties. He was born at Yinderm, in
Jylland, Denmark, on June 20, 1877, the son of Jens Jensen, a farmer who
had a fine place in his name and title. He sold out, however, and preceded
our subject to America by a year, coming to California and locating in Fresno.
He bought a place, improved it and engaged in viticulture and dairying:
and in the Fresno Colony where his activity and success had made for him a
reputation, he died, at the age of sixty-seven. His good wife had been Marie
Christene. and she now resides at Easton in this county, the mother of eight
children, six of whom are living, the other two having died aboard ship, when
sickness occurred that caused the ship's quarantine. The parents and some
of the children sailed for the LTnited States in 1892; and three of the children,
who were employed in Denmark, immigrated in 1894.
The third oldest in the family, Chris was brought up on the farm and
attended the local school. At the age of sixteen, the lad set out for California,
and reached here on May 19, 1894. He first worked in the Fresno Colony at
farming, and learned to drive big teams; and during the hard times of the
two succeeding dry years he drove a twelve-horse team for fiftv cents a day
and his board. A year later he went to work on a farm for $20 a month and his
board, and later received a dollar a day, and after that $30 a month and his
board.
In 1807. Mr. Jensen leased a ranch on Fruit Avenue, devoted to the grow-
ing of alfalfa, a dairy and a vineyard, and for a year he did fairly well ; then
he rented another place near Kearney Park, where he raised hay for three
years. After that he leased a ranch in the Red Bank district and raised grain,
running 640 acres for three years, but the prices were so low that he "only
just got by." He next removed to Fresno and for a year engaged in the livery
business, but sold out and started in as a dealer in hay. He had his ware-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1933
house on F and Mono Streets and called it the People's Hay Market, and for
nine years he made a success of it. He bought his hay in Fresno County, and
sold it both wholesale and retail, shipping to Los Angeles, Coalinga and dif-
ferent cities. In 1914, he also rented the Dexter Farm on White's Bridge Road,
of 620 acres, which he has operated since. He leveled and checked it, and
set it out, partly in alfalfa ; and he has raised hay there from the first season
he took hold. In 1917, Mr. Jensen sold out his hay business to engage in cat-
tle-raising on the Dexter ranch. He stocked it with beef cattle, and divided
the ranch, which is all under irrigation, into different fields for grazing. He
has about 250 head. He is feeding cattle, but he is also raising hay and sell-
ing it. In Fresno alone he handled from six to seven thousand tons of hay a
year. He also raises draft horses of a high quality.
At San Francisco, Mr. Jensen was married to Miss Lizzie Murk, a native
of Denmark, and they have had five children: Gerhart, Margaret, Emma,
Edward, and William. In national politics, Mr. Jensen is a loyal Democrat,
but is non-partisan in local issues ; and he is one of the best "boosters" for
Fresno County.
JOHN RUDOLF PFISTER.— A successful rancher, following the trend
of scientific research and using the methods of up-to-date agriculture, is Tohn
Rudolf Pfister, the well known brother-in-law of Messrs. Blattner and Kopp,
whose interesting sketches also adorn this volume. He was born at Wangen,
in the Canton of Berne, Switerland, April 17, 1873. and his father was John
Pfister who worked as a cigarmaker and as a skilled artisan in a hair factory.
He died at the untimely age of thirty-eight years, -when his eleventh child
was only a year and a half old. His wife, who was Elizabeth Witschi before
she became Mrs. Pfister, was a native of the same canton ; she was a noble
woman, who kept her family together through her own unaided efforts and
the use of a single acre of ground that belonged to the town. In this manner
she reared the entire family, the oldest being just sixteen when the father was
taken away. She lived to see all her children grow up, and peacefully breathed
her last at Wangen, in the sixty-eighth year of her age.
John Rudolf was the eighth child and went to school until his ninth
year, also receiving religious instruction according to the Zwingli Reformed
Church. When his happy school days were over, he entered a rope factory at
Wangen, where he was employed for three years; and at nineteen he sailed
for America, taking passage from Havre, on the Normandie of the French-
American line. In February, 1893, he landed in the city of New York, soon
coming to California and arriving in Selma in the early part of March. With
him were two companions from Wangen, Carl Bohner, now deceased, and
Adolph Kopp, and the three went at once to work, as became those who real-
ized that their future must be identified with the land to which they had come.
The first work Mr. Pfister obtained was on the A^ietor farm at Fowler,
where he was employed for three months at fifteen dollars a month and his
board. He was then offered twenty dollars a month to go to Hills, in Fresno
County, but his new employer cheated him out of his wages and he was
never paid for his hard labor. Times were bad just then, however, and he
was soon glad to work for his board. As soon as he was able he made
a trip to Oregon in 1894-95, and at Fulton, near Portland, he engaged in gar-
dening. On his return to the south he came to Fowler. Cal., and was a cou-
ple of months with his brother, John, after which he worked in a hotel at
Winnemucca, Nev., once more he returned to Fowler and to his brother, who
furnished him with work for a couple of years. This brother, in 1889, was
killed in a runaway accident, and his widow having remarried, already the
mother of two children, is Mrs. Mason.
In 1898, Mr. Pfister returned to Europe on a visit, and was gone five
months, most of which time he spent in Switzerland. In the late spring he
returned to Selma, worked at Hills for the summer, and in the fall made a
contract to dry grapes for Ed. Holton, of Wildflower, in Fresno County. The
1934 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
next spring he rented sixty acres set out to grapes and peaches, and such was
his prosperity that, in December of that year, he was married to Miss Emma
Pfister. a lady of Wangen, Switzerland, but no relation of his, whom he had
known as a girl at home, and who came all the way from Switzerland to
Selma to join her lover.
The sixty acres rented by Mr. Pfister were in the Selma district, and
were known as the W. H. Say place, four miles northwest of Selma. A lease
was taken out for two years, but at the end of that time he rented the Haas
place, four miles to the south of the town and near the Franklin school. He
had this property for a year, and then he bought a forty-acre ranch, four
miles southwest of Selma, which he planted to vines and trees, and which,
after it was well improved, he continued to run for three years. The second
year he rented another place of eighty acres, and after four years he sold his
forty acres at a profit.
All too soon for his ambitious plans, Mrs. Pfister became seriously ill
and he made a second visit to Switzerland, taking her along and seeking to
recover his wife's health. She had been physically impaired, however, for
the past three years, and little by little she sank to her grave. Their four
children were with them in Switzerland — Rosalie, Rudolph. Helen, and Wil-
liam— and six weeks after Mrs. Pfister's death her husband returned to Sel-
ma with them. In 1911, he bought his present place of forty acres and settled
down resolutely to solving anew the problems of life.
At Fresno, Mr. Pfister was married for a second time to Miss Louise
Roth, a native of Basiland, Switzerland, who grew up there to be twenty-six
years of age, and accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Blattner (elsewhere referred to
in this book) and family across the ocean, on their return from a five months'
visit to their old home. Three children were the fruit of this second mar-
riage : Emma, Walter Randolph, and Ernest Albert. The family attends the
Lutheran Church at Selma.
Few can assert their loyalty as an American with more confidence than
Mr. Pfister; he is a member of the Raisin Growers Association, and is a pop-
ular member working for the civic ideals of the Red Men at Parlier. Al-
though a stanch Republican, he supported the administration in the World
War. When he went back to Switzerland in 1907 he did so on account of
his wife's health. He retained his farm implements and household goods,
and he never lost his American citizenship. His life and example may well
inspire American youth.
ALBERT JENSEN. — An enterprising and progressive man, is Albert
Jensen, who owns a well improved stock ranch of seventy acres on the south
side of the Elkhorn grade road, one and a half miles east of Burrel — a piece
of exceptionally valuable property which he has possessed since he was
eighteen years old, and only recently leased to others. His father was the
late Henry Jensen, who died at Fresno in 1915 at the age of sixty-seven, and
was a native of Copenhagen, Denmark. He had married Melinda Paul, an
American and a native of Washington Territory, and in that section of the
Northwest they were married. In his early life he had been a sailor, but as
he grew to manhood he desired a home free from the dangers of the sea.
Consequently, he settled in Washington Territory, and the so-called Palouse
country, and became the father of six children.
In 1890, Mr. and Mrs. Jensen moved south to California and the Burrel
district, where the father bought two quarter sections of land, upon which
he built his home. However, no sooner had he established himself and his
family in comfort than an accident, as sad as tragic, occurred to mar the
happiness of his life. Mrs. Jensen's clothes caught fire while she was working
around a sheet-iron stove, and so severely was she burned that she died
soon after. Thereupon the bereaved father moved to Los Angeles with his
six children, but fate continued to cast a shadow over his path and the
youngest two of the family died with diphtheria. There were then left the
i^/^&^~
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1937
sons, George, Harvey, Albert, and Charles. Returning to the Burrel district,
the father continued to farm, assisted by his boys, then growing to young
manhood. He was a man of more than ordinary attainment, and was a
profound Bible student. He had an inquiring and acquiring mind, and never
rested until he had found, if possible, a solution for every problem. He was
not only scholarly, but he wrote poetry as well as prose.
Born on September 29, 1885, Albert's earliest recollections are of Fresno
County. He attended school in the Elkhorn district, and was brought up to
farming. When eighteen years of age he bought the land already referred
to in partnership with his older brother Harvey, and together they pur-
chased 142*4 acres one and a half miles east of Burrel. Upon dividing the
property Albert took the seventy acres fronting on the Elkhorn grade road
and Harvey took the seventy-two and a half acres immediately south of it.
Inasmuch as he came in on the draft calling for men from eighteen to forty-
five, in the fall of 1918, he leased his land for a term of five years, and he has
since rented an eighty-acre vineyard at Bowles. On March 11. 1918, Mr.
Jensen was married to Miss Gladys Hopkins of Fresno. Fraternally, he is
a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
WILLIAM P. COLE. — An identification of more than twenty-five years
with the oil industry has given William P. Cole, the well known oil operator
of the New San Francisco lease, at Coalinga, Cal., an extensive and valuable
experience in all of the varied branches of this important business. He is a
Buckeye by birth, born at Circleville, Ohio, August 31, 1878, a son of John L.
and Emma (Howard) Cole, the father a native of West Virginia, the mother
of Ohio, where she died in 1882. The father was an Ohio farmer who after-
wards removed to Topeka, Kans., where he passed away. Mr. and Mrs. John
L. Cole were the parents of three children, William P. being the only one
now living.
When his mother died William P. Cole was but four years of age and
was reared by his Grandmother Cole, at Cassville, W. Va., Monongalia
County, where he attended school awhile, but owing to circumstances he
was obliged to go to work at the early age of twelve years. At first he worked
on a farm and when he was fourteen William secured work in the oilfield
with the South Penn Oil Company, the production department of the Standard
Oil Company. Here he helped to build tanks and after six months of service
began to dress tools and later he engaged in drilling for oil. He continued
with the company until 1904 when he took a western trip, spending one
summer at Seattle, Wash. It was in 1905 that Mr. Cole made his advent into
the Coalinga oilfield as foreman with the California Oilfields Limited, which
concern is now known as the Shell Company of California. Later he went
with the Associated Transportation Company where he took charge of Station
No. 3 for twenty-two months, afterwards going to Turlock, Cal., where he
engaged in the real estate business for six months and then returned to Coal-
inga. For two and a half years after his return to Coalinga he was foreman
for the K. T. & O. Company on Sec. 13. Mr. Cole was continually gaining
much valuable experience by his many changes, which fitted him for greater
responsibilities. For ten months he filled the post of superintendent for the
Arizona Petroleum Company, after which he returned to the K. T. & O.
Company as foreman. January 1, 1913, Mr. Cole became the superintendent
of the New San Francisco Oil Company, which responsible position he effi-
ciently filled until April, 1918, when he personally leased the property and
is now operating it and acting as a director of the oil company.
April 1, 1919, Mr. Cole negotiated a sale of the New San Francisco Oil
Company, as well as selling his own lease at a good profit, and on May 16,
1919, he" bought a one-half interest in the Pleasant Valley Motor Company
and was elected president of the company and he has since given his time,
to the business. They now occupy a new garage on E Street near Fifth
where they have a concrete garage with modern machine shop and repair
1938 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
department. They have the agency for the Marmon, Jordan, Hudson, Essex,
Nash and Hupmobile, and have a fine display room. He is still handling oil
prospects and leases.
.Mr. Cole is an enterprising, successful man, possessing clear judgment,
keen sagacity and executive force, qualities that have proved valuable to him
in his business career. Forced by circumstances to make his own way in
the world from a small boy, his successful career, which has been won in
the face of great obstacles, is worthy of emulation. As an evidence of Mr.
Cole's ambition to gain a practical education and thus fit himself better for
the business world, we mention that in his spare time he took a correspond-
ence course with the Bryant & Stratton Business College, of Buffalo, N. Y.,
and a course in steam and electrical engineering with the International Cor-
respondence School of Scranton, Pa., and is now pursuing a course in law,
with the La Salle Extension University of Chicago.
William P. Cole was united in marriage on August 29, 1900, with Miss
Bertha E. Compton, a native of New York state, the ceremony being solem-
nized in Cassville, W. Va., and they have two sons: George, a graduate of
the Coalinga Union High, Class of 1919, with not only the highest honors
of his class, but the highest honors of any graduate ; and Paul, attending
Coalinga High School.
Fraternally, Mr. Cole is a member of the Knights of Pythias and D. O-
O. K., and the Modern Woodmen of America, and has seryed as a member
of the board of trustees of Alpha school district, of which he is the acting
clerk.
MRS. MARY OLIVER.— A native daughter of exceptional foresight
and business ability, as shown in her ranching and dairying operations, is
Mrs. Mary Oliver, who resides on Rolinda Avenue, north of McKinley, and
as a loyal American, always striving to better the world, is active in Red
Cross and other patriotic work. She was born at Santa Barbara, the daughter
of Frank Alves who was a sailor. Having served on a whaler and experienced
many stirring adventures, he landed at San Francisco about the late sixties,
and remained in California. Mining in Siskiyou County next attracted him,
but later he went to Santa Barbara County, where he was mate of a coasting
vessel for some years. After that he was manager of the Gorham Lumber
Yard, and then manager also for the Pierce Lumber concern. While in the
service of the latter he died. Mrs. Alves was Mary Ann Armas before her
marriage, and she lives at the old home in Santa Barbara.
The fourth eldest of seven children, Mary was brought up at picturesque
and historic Santa Barbara, and educated at St. Vincent's Convent. She first
saw the light on November 1. 1875; and on November 26, 1801, she was
married to William Oliver, who came to Ventura County when he was a lad
of seventeen years. Being experienced in farming, he took up a homestead
near Fillmore, Santa Barbara County, and he also leased other land. 500
acres in all, and his crops included beets, beans and grain. He first rented
acreage of Schiappa Pietra for fourteen years, and then the Thomas Bard
place for seven years.
In September, 1912, Mr. Oliver sold out and located in Fresno County,
where he bought the ranch of forty-five acres at Barstow, in the Roosevelt
district, that was to become known through his name. He raised alfalfa,
and set out eight acres of Thompson seedless grapes, and equipped a dairy,
now having twenty-five fine cows, but on January 2, 1916, he died, acknowl-
edged by his competitors a man of unusual capability, and esteemed by his
fellow citizens for those virtues that make a man of value to the state, local
society and to his home. They had already erected a handsome residence,
and since Mr. Oliver's death, Mrs. Oliver has managed the ranch. She has
further fitted out the dairy, planted alfalfa and set out eight acres of vine-
yard. She is active in the California Associated Raisin Company, giving it
her interest and support, and enjoying its benefits.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1939
Eight children made the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver an undeniable
blessing: Rose is now Mrs. Menezes, and resides in the American Colony,
in Fresno County; Mary is at home; Frances, a graduate of Heald's Business
College, is a bookkeeper at Fresno; Henry is farming in Ventura County;
Charles attends the high school and also assists his mother; and Alvin,
Arthur, and Rita are at home. All have contributed in some way to advanc-
ing war-work; and Mrs. Oliver is a member of the Roosevelt Auxiliary to
the Fresno Chapter of the Red Cross.
WILLIAM S. HARE.— A broad-minded, liberal-hearted man, and one
with a good record, who has worked his way diligently from the bottom of
the ladder, is William S. Hare, the chief engineer at the Mendota Pumping
Station, in charge of important interests of the Standard Oil Company. He
first came to California in 1899, but three years passed before he located here.
He was born at Morgantown, W. Va., on April 8, 1864, the son of Robin-
son Hare, a native of Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer in West Vir-
ginia, and served in the Home Guards during the Civil War, and in that
state he died. His wife was Nancy Fleming before her marriage and she
was born in Monongalia County, then a part of Virginia, but now in West
Virginia. She became the mother of seven children, among whom William
. S. is the third oldest.
He was brought up on a farm in Monongalia County, attended the pub-
lic schools of his district, and finished off at the Morgantown Academy. Hav-
ing been granted, at the age of twenty, a teachers' certificate, he taught school
in West Virginia until the spring of 1893, when he came to Clifton, Wash-
ington County, Kans., and taught school during the winter term. Then he
went to Oregon in the fall of 1894, and at Corvallis was engaged at farming.
Five years later he came south to McCloud, where he took up lumbering;
and returning to Oregon, he was employed by the well-known firm, the Cur-
tis Lumber Company. He was at Mill City two years as shipping-clerk, and
then he went back to McCloud, and was employed in the saw-mills as a log-
sealer.
In 1906, Mr. Hare removed to Vernalis Station, Cal., on the pipe-line of
the Standard Oil Company, and there he began as third fireman. He studied
and worked hard, and then and there commenced to lay the foundation for
his enviable knowledge in engineering. He served at different stations until,
in May, 1911, he cam,e to the Mendota Pumping Station as the engineer;
and excepting one year, when he was at Rio Bravo, still in the Standard's
service, he has been at Mendota ever since, and now he is chief engineer.
While at Laurel Point, in West Virginia, in 1888, Mr. Hare was married
to Miss Jane Brock, a native of Pennsylvania, by whom he had one child, Gail,
now Mrs. Jack Allen, a resident of Portland, Ore. Mr. Hare is an Independent
in politics, and is, at all times, first of all, an American.
EDWARD LINDMAN. — A young man who fits in with the active,
progressive spirit that has made Kingsburg one of the best cities in southern
Fresno County, is Edward Lindman, the well-known concrete pipe manufac-
turer, who passed from swinging the pick and shovel to the front place
he has forged for himself as proprietor of one of the important enterprises
of the town. He began in a modest way with a single helper, and now he
employs twelve men or more.
He was born at Mankato, Minn., on July 7, 1893, and spent the first
eleven years of his boyhood in Minnesota, when he came west with his
parents, brothers and sisters, to California. His father died when he was
only three years old ; and the mother, Anna Lindman, then married John
Asplund, who now has a ranch in Tulare County, near Kingsburg, and be-
came in time, by the two marriages, the mother of nine children. For a year
Edward attended school in California and then, when only fifteen, he found
work in the cement and concrete works near Ontario, where he thoroughly
learned the art of making concrete tiles.
1940 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Air. Lindman came to Kingsburg five years ago and, in a very unassum-
ing manner, opened shop ; since then his business has doubled every year
until now he manufactures all sizes of pipe from eight to thirty-six inches in
diameter, sells tiles and puts in pipe on contract. At first he used hand-
tampers ; he later installed compressed-air tampers, which have recently
been replaced by the most modern machinery which turns out a very
superior, trowelled concrete pipe, thereby greatly increasing the quantity
and quality of his output, so that during the season of 1919, he put in more
than fourteen miles of pipe.
Mr. Lindman has a wonderful record for achievement since he first
came to Kingsburg, and what is so pleasing to the community is that, in
achieving success for himself, he has built up an enterprise needed by the
town. It would be difficult to find anyone who did not wish Ed. Lindman
prosperity, and bushels of it.
At Los Angeles, Mr. Lindman was married to Miss Grace Clay of
Pomona, and they have one child, Jeanette Louise. Recently he has built
a fine bungalow on "Knob Hill," where the family dispenses a hospitality
thoroughly Californian.
FRANK LANSE. — Three miles west of Parlier lies the well-improved
sixty-acre ranch owned by Frank Lanse, an experienced viticulturist and
orchardist. Mr. Lanse is a naturalized German-American, who is thoroughly
loyal to the land of his adoption, and justly popular among his friends and
neighbors. A native of the Prussian province of Westphalia, he was born at
Hoexter, a city of about 8,000 inhabitants, September 3, 1865. His father
Henry, was a respected, well-to-do German landowner. His mother was in
maidenhood, Bernice Steinemann.
There were seven children in the parental family, of whom Frank for
Franz, the name given him in the Catholic Church at his baptism) is the eld-
est. The others are : Anton, or Tony, now residing on his father's home place
in Germany; Teressa, the wife of Anton Eicholdt, a carpenter at Fresno;
Marie, the wife of A. G. Winter, a rancher in the Selma district; Henry,
whose sketch is given elsewhere in this work ; Berthold, residing in Germany ;
and Joseph, or Joe, a rancher living about a mile east of Frank's home place.
In 1906 the parents journeyed from the old country to California to visit their
children, and the mother was taken with pneumonia, dying about Christmas
time, 1906. at San Francisco. The father remained in California until 1908,
when he returned to Germany.
Young Frank grew up on his father's Westphalian farm of 120 acres,
attended the common schools of his native country eight years, and was
afterwards a student of agriculture in the Agricultural College at Holzmin-
den, Germany, for two years. The first of his family to emigrate to the
United States, he took "French leave" of the Fatherland after six months'
unwilling military service, never again to return as long as German mili-
tarism is in the ascendency. After an uneventful and pleasant voyage, he
landed at New York and spent one day in the metropolis before taking the
Southern Pacific System, via New Orleans, for California. He arrived in
San Jose, Cal., October 28, 1887. and, aside from his cousin. Albert H. Nig-
gemain of that city, had neither friend nor relative in America. For three
years he was employed in the butcher business in San Jose, and afterwards
spent two years working in the plastering and cement business.
In 1892 he came to Fresno County, and for three years worked on Eg-
ger's 700-acre vineyard and about two sections of grain land, where he
rose to the position of foreman. He then rented a ranch at Fowler, and
after batching one year was united in marriage with Miss Winter, daughter
of Gottlieb and Katerine (Karle) Winter, all natives of Russia. When fifteen
years of age Mrs. Lanse had the misfortune to lose her mother who died while
her daughter was quite a distance from home. When seventeen years old she
came to California from her native country, her father, step-mother, three
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1943
brothers, two half-sisters and two half-brothers having- preceded her and
settled on a ranch which they purchased at Del Rey.
In 1900, Mr. Lanse purchased twenty acres of land in Section 22, the
nucleus of his home place, fifteen acres of which was planted to vines and
peaches, ten acres of it being about equally set to Thompson Seedless and
Sultanas, and five acres set to two-year-old peach trees. In 1911 he added to
his acreage by the purchase of forty acres in Section 21, lying across the
road west of the home place, twenty-eight acres being set to muscats, two
acres to Zinfandels, eight acres to peaches and two acres to alfalfa. He is
under the Consolidated Ditch Company's canals and can irrigate every foot
of his land. However, with characteristic preparedness for every emergency,
he has installed a pumping-plant (fifteen-horsepower distillate engine and
five-inch centrifugal pump) for use in an exceptional dry spell.
Mr. and Mrs. Lanse have an interesting family of five children: Kather-
ine, or Kate, is the wife of Henry Wirt, a rancher at Del Rey, and the mother
of a daughter, Dorthea E. Frank is a freshman in the Selma high school,
and his father has provided a Chevrolet car for his special use in going to
and from school. Joseph L. and Bernice T. are students in the grammar
school, arid Gertrude M. is the youngest.
Mr. Lanse is a close observer and student of economic conditions in
Fresno County, and a strong supporter of the Raisin and Peach Associations.
In his party affiliations he is a Democrat and supports the administration
loyally. He lives in and belongs to the Fruitvale school district. Mrs. Lanse
is a member of the German Lutheran Church at Fresno.
C. O. R. CARLSON. — A tireless worker, and an unusually aggressive
man, fortunate in the possession of foresight, insight, and rare executive
ability, is C. O. R. Carlson, a Kingsburg Colony pioneer, who, considering
the small beginning, has succeeded to an exceptional degree. He owns two
fine ranches, has a beautiful new bungalow residence, with tank-house, barn,
water, and all conveniences, and, besides having provided an exquisite piano
and other beautiful things for his accomplished daughter, he drives an ele-
gant Franklin car. And best of all, whatever Mr. Carlson possesses, he has
gained through honest, hard work.
He was born at Gotland, a beautiful island of Sweden in the Baltic
Sea, and there he grew up till the middle of his sixteenth year, when he left
home and shipped as a common sailor. His father was Carl Gustav Carl-
son, a farmer of good standing, who was killed in a runaway when sixty-
five years of age. His mother, Louisa Regina Verilius before her marriage,
came to Kingsburg in 1899 a widow, and here she died, in 1907, seventy-
two years old, and beloved by many friends in her native and her adopted
countries. The parents had four children, among whom the subject of our
sketch was the eldest. Then came Ferdinand who died when he was seven-
teen years old ; Maria Carolina, now Mrs. Lindberg, who resides in Kings-
burg; and Hjalmar, a farmer on the old homestead at Gotland. .
Carl Oscar Reinhold's education was limited, and stopped with his fif-
teenth year when he was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. Almost im-
mediately thereafter he went to sea, and he followed the sea for years, sail-
ing for the most part on Swedish vessels, and visiting among others, these
countries and ports: Germany — Kiel, Danzig, Rostock and Luebeck: Brazil —
Santos ; Africa — Port Natal ; Australia — Melbourne ; West Indies — Porto Rico ;
Mexico — Vera Cruz ; England — Falmouth, Gloucester and Barrow ; Wales —
Swansea and Cardiff; the United States — New Orleans and New York.
In 1885, Mr. Carlson landed at Galveston, and then and there took
"French leave" of his vessel and enlisted in the United States Coast Guard
Service and in the Life Saving Service at Galveston. While in this service,
he chanced to read of Judge F. D. Rosendahl, who was then promoting the
Kingsburg Colony; and entering into correspondence with him, he sent him
1944 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
$250 for Lot 56 in the colony, trusting entirely to the Judge's honor and judg-
ment in selecting a good piece of land. This lot comprises the twenty acres
upon which Mr. Carlson has so long lived, labored and prospered. Judge
Rosendahl gave him a perfectly square deal, and Mr. Carlson has ever since
been one of the most aggressive "boosters" of Kingsburg Colony. In addi-
tion to his twenty acres here, Mr. Carlson owns an additional forty acres, in
full bearing, half a mile north of the Clay School. As a pioneer of the Colony,
he was one who helped develop its irrigation.
When Mr. Carlson first came here, he camped out under wagons and
underwent many inconveniences in order to get started; and now he lives
in a beautiful bungalow built in 1015. with all modern conveniences, and
looking back along the years to the day of his birth, December 12, 1858,
he thanks his stars that fate eventually steered him to California and Fresno
County as safe harbors. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson enjov their home, the more
so because of their talented daughter, Florence, who is a student in Heald's
Business College at Fresno.
Although by birth a foreigner, no one could be more intelligently loyal
as an American citizen than Mr. Carlson: and when the war brought its
great burden to him with a home appeal, he never shirked, but came up to
the line with a subscription for the first Liberty Loan amounting to $500,
the total of his subscriptions hems' $2,000 of hard-earned money cheerfully
placed at LJncle Sam's disposal. "For," says Carl Carlson, "Uncle Sam has
got to have the stufif to win the war."
PHILLIP NILMEIER.— Among the very first of the Germans from
the Volga River region in Russia who sought a greater opportunitv in
America and wisely chose Fresno County as the most promising section of
California, is Phillip Nilmeier, who was born at Stepnoia, Samara, Russia,
on December 7. 1850, the son of George Nilmeier, a farmer of that section.
He had married Katie Horch, and they both died where they lived and
labored. They had eleven children — nine boys and two girls ; and of these
three sons came to California. Phillip was the sixth oldest of the familv.
He attended the common schools of his land, and grew up to work on
the home farm until he was married. Then, in 1872. he chose for his wife
Miss Mary Folmer. who was born there and was also familiar with the en-
vironment under which he had developed. He continued to farm at the old
home until he came out to the New World.
Certain articles in a little booklet setting forth the attractions of Fresno
County for working people, induced Mr. Xilmeier to break away from fa-
miliar scenes, and on June 19. 1S87. he brought his wife and six children to
Fresno. The journey was made in safety; but. alas for human foresight!
two of the children — George and Phillip — succumbed during the first month
of the struggle here. All in all, they had a hard time, for as a stranger. Mr.
Nilmeier was one of eight heads of families to come here from Russia at
that time.
However, locating here he went to work, making the best use of his
surplus capital of sixty dollars ; and for six years he was employed in town
on the construction of buildings. During this time, he bought a lot and
built a house.
He then bought from Mr. Ernst a livery stable and feed yard at the
corner of G and Inyo Streets, and there he proved a successful business man.
He was so fortunate, in fact, that he continued there until 1901. when he
turned the business over to his son, Conrad, who ran it for some years.
He next built a brick building 33x100 feet in size, two stories high, that
he leased for a laundry, and a brick garage 50x75 feet in size, which he sold,
with the other property, about 1917 to his three sons, and is now occupied
by a garage, blacksmith shop and laundry. He has also built and still owns
three residences on Mono and E Streets.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1945
Mr. Nilmeier is a member of the German Lutheran Church having
served as a trustee for some time. He was, in fact, a member and trustee
when the church was built. In national political affairs, Mr. Nilmeier is a
Democrat, but when it comes to local issues he knows no partisanship, and
votes for the best men and the best measures.
Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Nilmeier four children came to further
honor their good name : Peter, Conrad and Adam, all favorably known as
members of the wide-awake firm of Nilmeier Bros.; and Marie, Mrs. Foin,
makes her home in Fresno.
DU VAL P. GOLDSMITH.— Interesting representatives of good old
Virginia and early New York stock are found in Mr. and Mrs. DuVal P.
Goldsmith. Mr. Goldsmith is the operator at the Kings River Station for the
San Joaquin Light & Power Company. He was born near Warrenton,
Fauquier County, Va., on July 16, 1877, the son of John M. Goldsmith, a
native of Essex County in that State. The grandfather. Rev. Jeremiah Gold-
smith, was a minister of the Episcopal Church, and was honored with the
degree of Doctor of Divinity ; he went west as a missionary to Fort Dear-
born, now Chicago, when there were only a few families living there. At that
place he established a mission, and then went on to Davenport, Iowa, in 1843,
and founded there another mission. He also settled there, purchased lots and
entered into the great work of building up the city, becoming a very wealthy
man. The Goldsmith family is of English descent, and includes Oliver Gold-
smith, the English author.
John M. Goldsmith was a graduate of Brown College, in St. Mary's
County, Md., and served throughout the Civil War in the Confederate Army.
At the outbreak of hostilities he was commissioned captain and later rose to
the rank of colonel ; he was prominent in the blockade of the Potomac River
with his cavalry, and did much, through the use of boats, to prevent provisions
from reaching Washington. After the War he resided on his estate in St.
Mary's County, and later removed to his estate at Warrenton, Va., where he
devoted much time to literary work. He was a writer for the Baltimore Sun,
contributing war stories. He died about 1901. The wife of John M. Gold-
smith was Mary I. Skinker before her marriage. She was born at Huntly
Estate, the home of her father, James Keith Skinker, a splendid farm of about
2,000 acres. The great-grandfather, William K. Skinker, was born at Spring
Farm, and was a wealthy landowner, there having been originally about
7,000 acres in the Huntly Estate. Mrs. Goldsmith is still living, and is inter-
ested in that property. She was the mother of nine children, among whom
the subject of our review is the fourth oldest.
Du Val P. Goldsmith was brought up at Bellefield, an estate his mother
owned, and received his education in the public school, finishing at the Poly-
technic Institute, where he majored in electricity. He then went to Pitts-
burg, Pa., and was in the employ of the Westinghouse Company, being ap-
prenticed as an electrical engineer. Having completed his trade, he was
placed in charge of the testing-room, but after five years he resigned, to go to
Cincinnati as foreman of the high voltage testing. He continued there for
seven years and rounded out a record of twelve years of testing high voltage.
It was most dangerous work, and he had many serious accidents, but he
always came out safely.
In 1901, Mr. Goldsmith was married near Albany, N. Y., to Miss Zada
Russell, a native of Salem in that State, and the daughter of Solomon W.
Russell, who was born at Greenwich, near Saratoga, in 1836. Mr. Russell was
attending Union College, one of the best educational institutions in the Em-
pire State, when he enlisted for service in the Civil War ; he rose to the rank
of Major, and was then breveted Major of the United States Army. He was
also breveted Lieutenant-Colonel for gallantry before Petersburg. After the
1946 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
war, he studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1866, Mr. Russell mar-
ried Anna A. Dixon of Warrenton, Va., a member of one of the oldest and
most prominent families in the Old Dominion. She was a cousin of General
Robert E. Lee, and her father, Lucius Dixon, and Robert E. Lee were college
mates. Lucius Dixon became a successful and prominent physician, and
owned a large estate. On her mother's side, Mrs. Russell was of Welsh
descent, a forbear, William Allison, having settled in Virginia and founded
a place called North Wales, Fauquier County.
Solomon W. Russell became a prominent attorney of Salem, N. Y., and
was for twenty-five years president of the village of Salem, and was also trus-
tee of Washington College. He was active and prominent in the Grand Army
of the Republic, and was State Department Commander of the New York
Division. While attending the National Encampment at Boston at the age of
eighty-one, he marched in line, took a severe cold, and contracted pneumonia,
from which he died on October 18, 1917, his wife having died five years be-
fore. He was not only prominent locally, but was known throughout the State
and even the nation, and was honored as a man true to every trust and enjoy-
ing an enviable reputation. They had a family of six girls and two boys,
among whom Solomon W. Russell is City Attorney at Watervliet, N. Y. Mrs.
Goldsmith spent much of her early life at Warrenton, Va., with her Grand-
mother Dixon, and so it happened that she and DuVal Goldsmith were play-
mates and friends, the friendship eventually resulting in their marriage.
Meanwhile, she graduated from the Salem high school.
In 1912, Mr. Goldsmith resigned his position with the Westinghouse
people, and in November of that year moved to California. Here he accepted
a position as electrical engineer on construction with the South Sierra Power
Company, at San Bernardino, and continued with them for four months.
When he resigned, in February, 1913, it was to take a similar position with
Messrs. Stone & Webster, the well-known contractors on the Big Creek proj-
ect, continuing with them as foreman .for eighteen months until the contract
was completed.
In 1915, Mr. Goldsmith came to Fresno County as operator with the San
Toaquin Light and Power Company, and now has charge of the Kings River
Station, where he resides with his family. He has had a wide experience in
electrical engineering, and is well-read and posted. He is a member of the
Westinghouse Electrical Club, and of the Allis Chalmers Electrical Corpora-
tion Club, of which he was at one time a director.
Mr. and Mrs. Goldsmith are both interested in horticulture and viticul-
ture, and they own twenty acres in Round Mountain District, which they are
improving, setting out emperor grapes and Calimyrna figs. They have five
children : Zada Russell, Mary De Bellefield, DuVal Pope, Henry Dixon, and
Tames Keith. Mr. Goldsmith was made a Mason in Moneta Lodge, No. 405,
F. & A. M., at Los Angeles. Mrs. Goldsmith is a member of the Women's
Relief Corps, at Salem, N. Y. The Goldsmith family belongs to and attends
the Episcopal Church.
DAVID SANDBERG— A splendid type of the hardy, industrious and
frugal Swedish-American who, despite disadvantages, prospers and becomes
successful, is David Sandberg, who had little to begin with save a cheerful,
willing disposition and strong hands, and now, by self-denial and hard work,
shared in by his noble wife and two excellent sons, owns three good ranches
of ten, twenty and eighty acres, and in his more advanced years enjoys many
home comforts. For nearly a quarter of a century he toiled to help build one
of the gigantic mercantile enterprises of the Middle West, only to find him-
self broken in health; and even after coming to the Golden State, with its
many opportunities, he had to struggle desperately for the first five or six
years, until his orchard and vineyard came into bearing. His life-story might
well be used as an example of what man may do if man but wills.
#&*/*
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1949
He was born at Jonkoping Len, Sweden, on January 17, 1861, and there
attended the public schools. He early began to work on farms, and so con-
tinued until he was eighteen ; and then he entered the employ of his uncle,
August Johansen, who was a miller and owned both a flour and a saw mill,
so that David was able to learn both trades. What he learned, he mastered
thoroughly; and this experience of doing everything well or not attempting
it at all, proved of the greatest benefit when he ventured all beyond the seas.
At the age of twenty-two Mr. Sandberg came to America, and making
his way west, settled in Chicago. There he entered the employ of Marshall
Field & Company, and for twenty-four years was in their wholesale depart-
ment, giving his best years to mercantile operations. During that time he
was married to Augusta Sunberg, also a native of his home section in
Sweden, and their married life has been a happy one. At the end of two
decades and a half in Chicago, however, Mr. Sandberg found his health
greatly impaired ; and having saved about $4,000, he spent his vacation, in
1906, by coming to California to see for himself what was here. He visited
Kingsburg, and decided to make it his permanent home.
On Thanksgiving of the same year, Mr. Sandberg came with his family
to Kingsburg, and bought the twenty acres one mile west of Kingsburg
where he now lives. He had no income to speak of for the first five years,
but he picked grapes and worked in the packing-houses, and did anything
honorable to earn a living. In this he was loyally assisted by his wife and
their two children : "William, who served his country at Waco, Texas, in the
aviation department; and Eddie, who did his part in helping to make the
farm register its highest yield.
Mr. Sandberg bought the twenty-acre farm twelve years ago ; the ten-
acre tract five years later; and the eighty acres in Tulare County, three
years ago. Some of this valuable land is yielding a rich crop of alfalfa.
Mr. and Mrs. Sandberg are devout members of the Swedish-Baptist
Church. Mr. Sandberg is a Republican, but votes for good men — or none.
The Sandbergs are interested in the advancement of the community and are
always ready to work for Kingsburg.
JAMES EDWARD BAKER. — Although the distinction of being a
native son of California does not belong to James E. Baker, who was born
in West Virginia, April 21, 1874. he has been a resident of the Golden State
since 1876, or for more than forty-three years. His father was Reuben Baker,
a native of Pennsylvania, and the Baker family consisted of six children,
James being the second youngest. When J. E. Baker was old enough he
began working on farms in California. In 1898, he came to Los Angeles
where his brother, R. C. Baker, had located the year before. His first ex-
perience in the oil field dates from 1898, when he and his brother formed a
partnership for contracting oil drilling, for the Rex Oil Company, which
business they followed for eighteen months. Afterwards they leased lots
and sunk wells, their undertaking proved so very successful that they con-
tinued in the producing business in the Los Angeles field until 1900, when
they sold their wells.
J- E. Baker moved to Bakersfield where he contracted for drilling wells
for the Mount Diablo Oil Company, in the Kern River field. He still retained
his partnership with his brother, R. C. Baker, who went to Coalinga, where
he engaged in contracting for drilling oil wells for Westlake & Rummel.
Mr. Baker's next venture in the oil business was as a promoter of an oil
company formed to prospect for oil at Springvalley, Uinta County. Wyo.,
where Mr. Baker went, and sunk not only a well, but. as is so frequently
the case, his money too. Undaunted by his loss he returned to California,
locating at Coalinga, where he followed contracting oil drilling for different
oil companies.
In 1902, with others, he leased forty acres on Section 23, and organized
the Coalinga Western Oil Company. Here he drilled seven wells, later on
1950 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
they consolidated with the St. Paul Oil Company as the St. Paul Consoli-
dated. During this time he also contracted to drill oil wells on Section 6,
for the Pleasant Valley Farms Company, putting down three wells in about
eighteen months time, and, fortunately for them, obtained a producing well
in each case. Another undertaking was the leasing of eighty acres, now
known as the Coalinga Petroleum Oil Company, where he drilled eight
wells, 700 feet deep, and all proved to be producers. By his close observa-
tion and his extensive experience in the various oil fields of the state, he has
acquired a thorough knowledge of the oil business and in 1904 became super-
intendent of the Coalinga Petroleum Oil Company. He is one of the original
stockholders of this company and is also a director in both the Coalinga
Petroleum and the St. Paul Consolidated Oil Companies.
James E. Baker was united in marriage with Lillie M. Vestal, a native
of Shasta County, Cal., the ceremony being solemnized at Redding, Cal.
This happy union has been blessed with four children: Kern, Ardis, Dale
and Helen. Mr. Baker is an enterprising citizen and has made a success in
the oil business, an enterprise that demands energy, tact, quickness of de-
cision and keen foresight and is numbered among the oldest oil men in the
Coalinga district, being highly esteemed for his integrity and honesty of
purpose.
A. P. CARLSON. — Described as being in truth "the salt of the earth,"
A. P. Carlson has become, with right-living and education as his ideals, a
most successful ranchman and an exemplary citizen, who began, like most. of
his countrymen, with nothing, and in thirty years has brought his forty
acres, a mere field of wheat stubble when he came, up to a high state of
cultivation. Strictly speaking, he is a resident of Tulare County, but his
business center is Kingsburg, and he has hundreds of warm personal friends
in Fresno County. He has not reached out for every dollar that he could
grasp ; but has endeavored rather to lead an honorable life useful to others.
If all men were of Mr. Carlson's type, this old, stumbling world would soon
take a turn for the better.
He was born in Sweden, on January 22, 1852, the second child in a
family of six children, and his boyhood was passed there. His father was
John M. Carlson, who married Annie Peterson ; and both parents came to
America in 1865, when they met the soldiers coming from the Civil War.
They stopped in Alton, 111., for three years and rented a farm there ; and in
1868 they came to Iowa. At that time, the country was all prairie, and pioneer
experiences were long to be remembered. In 1888, Mr. Carlson, accompanied
by his wife and children — a son besides A. P. Carlson, for the only daughter
died in Iowa — moved west to California and settled in Kingsburg, where the
father died, at the age of eighty. Mrs. Carlson survived and reached her
eighty-third year. Both were honored and esteemed by all who knew them.
Fortified by the experience gained to some extent in Boone County,
Iowa, A. P. Carlson, who now lives on California Avenue, one-half mile
east of the Harrison school, cleared out the stubble on his forty-acre tract
and the next spring planted muscats. He has also grubbed up an old peach
orchard and planted it to vines and trees.
On March 24, 1880, during his residence in Iowa, Mr. Carlson was mar-
ried to Miss Kate Johnson, who was also born in Sweden, and by her he
has had six children: Annie Ardina resides in Kingsburg, the wife of C. G.
Lindquist, a rancher; John William is ranching; Ida C. is a trained nurse
at Kingsburg ; Willie is also a rancher ; Emma is the wife of Percy Nord-
strom, who rents a ranch near Kingsburg ; and Elmer C. is an attorney at law
at Bishop, Inyo County. He graduated from the law school of the Uni-
versity of Michigan, a member of the class of 1916, and formed a partner-
ship as a member of the law firm of Heogan & Carlson, at Bishop. In 1894,
Mrs. Carlson died; and on March 10, 1914, Mr. Carlson married Mrs. Hilma
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1951
Strand, a widow of Los Angeles, and the mother of two children, Harold and
Elmer Strand, both of whom live with her.
Mr. Carlson is a steadfast Democrat and a loyal American citizen, and
especially active for the advancement of Central California. This is well
shown in the historic fact that he was the prime mover in establishing the
Harrison School district, and in erecting the beautiful Harrison school-
house which serves a district organized in 1900, partly in Tulare and partly
in Fresno County. Mr. Carlson also helped organize the Kingsburg Union
High School, which has one of the finest and most unique school structures
irt the county. He was chairman of the first Board of Trustees, and having
served as trustee for seven years, he resigned, reasonably proud of his rec-
ord, all told, of thirty years on various school boards.
In 1917, Mr. Carlson built a commodious country residence, equipped
with modern conveniences, and here he and his familv dwell, highlv esteemed
by all.
HARVEY P. CHANEY.— Every experience in life has it value, and Mr.
Chaney has proven to be one who has made the best use of his experiences,
and today he is a man of force and originality. He was born in Shawnee,
Perry County, Ohio, August 23, 1876. His father, James H. Chaney, was
born in Raleigh, N. C, and was a lieutenant in the Third Company, North
Carolina Volunteers, in the Civil War. At its close he went to Ohio, where
he was married to Miss Lillie A. Porter, who was born in McConnellsville,
Ohio, of an old Virginia family. The father engaged in coal mining, sinking
shafts and also being superintendent at Athens, Ohio, and then he superin-
tended and prospected in the Hocking Valley, and became superintendent of
mines there. He finally gave up coal-mining and engaged in the mercantile
business at Linton, Ind. He now resides at Dewar, Okla. Both parents are
living, and to them there were born twelve children, five of whom are still
living.
Harvey Chaney is the oldest of the children. In his early days he attended
the public schools in his native Ohio town, but when he was eighteen he
was attacked by the wanderlust, and he started west first in Indiana, then
successively to Illinois. West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri and into
the Indian Territory, mining in the coal fields. He became foreman in the
mines, and afterwards entered the employ of The Louisville Construction.
Company in constructing the water works at Linton, Ind., and while here he
became head foreman. In 1903 he came to Los Angeles and engaged as a sheet
metal worker with Tallerday Manufacturing Company, now The American
Steel Pipe and Tank Company. Here he became general foreman, in charge
of work and construction. After a time he left this company to engage in the
construction of tanks for the Los Angeles Tank & Steel Company. After
this he became connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and
it was here that the opportunity came for him to show his best work. First
he was a shipping clerk, and then was section storekeeper at the Division
Store in Los Angeles. Other stores were given into his charge, until at one
time he was overseer of five different stores. In 1910, Mr. Chaney was trans-
ferred to the Coalinga' field, as storekeeper for the Kern Trading and Oil
Company, now the fuel-oil department of the Southern Pacific Company. At
this time the store was under the superintendent, but with Mr. Chaney it
was separated. He worked up and established a system of stock books, price
books and classified the materials and supplies. In 1911 teaming and trucks
were added to his department and he had charge of all of it. Coupled with
this, in 1914 Mr. Chaney also looked after 1,200 acres of land which the com-
pany farmed.
On May 17, 1917, he resigned to engage in business for himself in second-
hand oil-well supplies. In addition to this he handles general machinery and
automobiles, and interests himself in horses, buying and selling. He has
brought the same kind of business methods into play that characterized his
1952 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
work for others and he has been very successful in creating and carrying on
a large and growing business.
Mr. Chaney was married in Linton, Ind., to Miss Grace Bennie, a native
of Clay County, Ind., and a daughter of Cumming M. and Agnes (Davidson)
Bennie, born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, and emigrating to Illinois
and later to Clay County, Ind. Her father was a coal-miner till he retired ;
both of her parents are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Chaney have three
children: Cumming Maxwell and Joannah in high school, and Harvey. Mr.
and Mrs. Chaney are active members of the Coalinga Baptist Church, the
latter being superintendent of the Primary Department of the Sunday School.
Mr. Chaney is a member of the Red Men and Yeomen, and of the Employees'
Mutual Benefit Association of the Southern Pacific.
ANDREW C. BOLANDER.— Fine types of the true Californian of to-
day, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew C. Bolander dispense the old-time Californian hos-
pitality, and they are the parents of an equally attractive family. Mr. Bolander
was born in Sweden, near Sunsval, Helsingland, April 30. 1857, the son of
Carl Johan Bolander, a farmer there, who married Catherine Anderson. In
1866. the elder Bolander brought his family of two children, and his wife, to
the United States and settled at Moline, 111., where he remained until 1869,
when he migrated to South Dakota and homesteaded 160 acres near Ver-
milion, Clay County, which he improved ; and there both parents passed
away.
Andrew C. the elder of the two children, attended the public schools of
Illinois and South Dakota; and from a lad learned farming. In 1879 he
moved to Leadville, Colo., and there he worked for eighteen months in the
mines, after which he returned to his farm. In 1894, however, he sold his
holding and removed to El Campo, Wharton County, Texas, where he bought
land and resided ; but finding that it was a bad adobe country, he sold out
and went to Moscow, Idaho, where he engaged in ranching, still later trans-
ferring his farming activities to the Palouse country in Washington. So well
did he succeed there that he has raised as many as sixty-six bushels of wheat
to the acre, but he has been compelled to sell for as low as forty-two cents a
bushel.
After a year, Mr. Bolander went back to Dakota, and then to Idaho, and
then to near Spokane. Wash., but having, in April, 1904, bought his present
ranch without seeing it. he located on it in January, 1908. It was at first
twenty acres of raw land ; and this he improved, setting out vines, building a
residence, and erecting other farm buildings. His house was burned in 1015,
but he rebuilt it. Round about, he has some ten acres of peaches and five
acres of Thompson seedless vines.
On July 4, 1887, at Dalesburg, S. D., Mr. Bolander was married to Miss
Betsy Severson, a native of Newburg, Fillmore County. Minn., and the daugh-
ter of Sever Severson Lakevold, who was born in Hallingdal, Norway, on
March 14. 1833. Grandfather Sever Lakevold was the owner of the large
farm named Lakevold; the son Sever came to Minnesota in 1853, and he
dropped the latter part of his name. From Minnesota he moved to the Palouse
Valley, Idaho ; and he died at Moscow in that state on September 27. 1909.
He had married Gure Roe, who was born in Hallingdal. Norway, and came
to Minnesota when she was twenty years of age. Here she met and married
Mr. Severson, and in 1904, in Idaho, she died. Mrs. Bolander was the oldest
of their eight children living. Mr. and Mrs. Bolander have four children:
Esther Catherine, Mabel Julia, Agnes Caroline, and Ruth Sophia, all well-
educated and cultured. A son. Carl Gotfred, died in infancy.
They attend the Swedish Lutheran Church at Vinland. Mr. Bolander is
a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and the California
Peach Growers. Inc. He is a stanch Republican, but knows no party lines
in local projects for the betterment of the community.
/6^*w^t & ^^o^^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1955
GRANT A. ADAMS. — It would be difficult to find a man more em-
phatically in accord with the true western spirit of progress, or more heartily
alive to the opportunities awaiting the industrious and intelligent man of
affairs in Fresno County than is Grant A. Adams, who has here built up
a far-reaching brick building business, and identified himself with the best
undertakings in his district. Born in Livingston County, 111., November 11,
1867, he was reared and educated there until reaching eighteen years of
age, in 1885, when he came West to Los Angeles, Cal., and joined his father,
Joseph F. Adams, who was a brick contractor in that city. The father was
a member of the board of education in Los Angeles and erected many of
the schoolhouses there in early days. Grant A. learned the trade of brick
mason under his father, and in 1889 returned to Illinois and followed his
trade in the Middle West, operating in Chicago, Springfield, St. Louis and
other cities. For four years he was foreman of the Culver Construction
Company of Springfield, 111. One of the big jobs he superintended was the
tearing down and rebuilding of the National Lincoln Monument at Spring-
field.
In 1902 Mr. Adams came to San Francisco, as superintendent of con-
struction for the Standard Oil Company, at Point Richmond. After re-
maining in this position for a short time, he went to Lincoln, Cal., in the
employ of the Gladding & McBean Manufacturing Company, manufac-
turers of sewer-pipe, brick, and terra cotta work, remaining there one year.
At the end of that time he came to Fresno, in 1903, and since that date has
been a big factor in the upbuilding of the city and county, doing brick con-
tracting on a large scale. Among the buildings erected by him are the fol-
lowing: The Diamond Street, Longfellow, and C Street schools; the Fulton
Hotel ; San Joaquin Light and Power Company's block, on the northwest
corner of H and Tulare Streets ; the Larsen Blacksmith Shop ; the Subway
Livery Barn ; the Jacob Richter Bottling Works ; the Richter Block, corner
of Blackstone and Belmont Streets ; the First Christian Church ; the in-
cinerator for the Fresno Brick and Tile Company ; and the residences of Fred
Dow, on Butter Ave., Frank Rehord, and D. S. Ewing. In Parlier, Porter-
ville, Selma, Madera, and Reedley he has also been active ; and built the $30,-
000 school in Modesto and the hospital, school and stores in Turlock.
In the midst of his many business interests Mr. Adams has found time
to enter into the fraternal and social life of the community. He is a member
of Central Lodge of Odd Fellows ; of the Eagles Lodge ; and of the B. P. O.
Elks. He is a charter member of the Raisin City Gun Club, and of the
Fresno Blue Rock Club. An expert shot, he has won medals in many tourna-
ments. He took an active part in the Grand American Handicap at Chicago,
in 1917; at the San Jose tournament, in 1916, he made a record of 195 hits
out of 200 shots, outshooting the entire list of contestants ; and in the San
Jose tournament of 1918 he made a record which ranks him as the fifth best
amateur trapshooter in the United States, his score being 758 hits out of 800
shots. He has a record of eighty-five straight hits without a miss.
Air. Adams is the father of five children : Charles, Minnie, Glenn, Viola,
and Verne.
REV. H. A. KARTOZIAN.— A man of God whose special mission has
been to sow the seed of spiritual faith while tilling the rich and productive
Central California soil, and who has also contributed considerably to the still
further improvement of life in the Golden State, is the Rev. H. A. Kartozian,
the resident pastor of the Armenian Congregational Church at Parlier. He
was born in Sivas, near Harpoot, Armenia, October 31, 1876, the son of Abra-
ham Kartozian, who was an expert stonecutter and owned a residence in his
birthplace. His mother, Antaram Budgian, before her marriage, was born,
married and died at Sivas. As he grew up he learned the shoemaker's trade,
and he also learned the aesthetic attractions of the Gregorian Church, which
he attended until he was seventeen. Then he was converted by American
1956 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
missionaries, and joined the Evangelical Church and soon after attended the
missionary school at Sivas. He later finished the high school course there,
and then 'he went to Marsovan College and Theological School which was
maintained by the board of the American Congregational Church.
A member of the Class of '03, Mr. Kartozian was graduated from .Marso-
van and was thereupon regularly ordained as a minister of the Congregational
Church. He secured the pastorate at Tokat, and preached in Armenia for
three vears ; and during this time he was married in the fall of 1903. to Miss
Baidzar Gulian, a native of Samsoun, Armenia. Her father was Markan
Gillian, a well-known bookseller, and her mother was Anna Tozlian.
In 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Kartozian took the momentous step of crossing
the wide ocean for America, sailing from Samsoun. on the Black Sea. by way
of Constantinople, the Bosphorus, the Marmora Sea, the Dardanelles, the
JEgean Sea, the Mediterranean, the Straits of Gibraltar, and thence across
the Atlantic: landing at Brooklyn. X. Y.. July 19, 1906. They had with them
one child, Zabel. at that time a year and a half old, and they stayed in New
York for eight months, during which time Mr. Kartozian was employed in the
printing office of the Christian Herald.
By 1907 the Kartozians had reached Portland, Ore., where they lived for
a couple of years ; and in 1909 the Rev. Kartozian removed to Spokane. Wash.,
where, in 1912. he became pastor of the West Side Congregational Church.
The next year he resigned to take up the work of an evangelist, and with
the singer,' W. A. Elliott, he conducted revival meetings at Rochester. X. Y..
for five" months, and held evangelical services at various places in the middle
states and farther West, until finally, in 1915. he reached the Pacific Coast
again.
For a year Mr. Kartozian's family remained in Los Angeles while he
continued to travel as an evangelist; and on July 1. 1916, he received a call
to his present pastorate, since which time he has been hard at work in Parlier.
He lived in the town itself until Xovember 1, 1917. when he bought the Eber-
lien improved ranch of forty-three acres, to which he removed. He helps in
the running of the ranch, for he is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and engage
in manual labor when it is necessary ; and he keeps another man steadily em-
ployed. There are fourteen acres of peaches, nine acres of muscats, and six-
teen acres of Thompson's seedless ; while the balance is devoted to yards,
buildings, and alfalfa. The irrigation is effected by means of a twelve-horse-
power distillate engine and a five-inch John Deere pump. Here the Rev.
Kartozian and his wife live with their five children: Isabel, now fourteen
years of age, who graduated from the Parlier grammar school: Annie, two
vears her junior; Howard and Frank, twins, ten years old; and George, eight
vears old. Their place was bought by a couple of their parishioners who ex-
pended $5,000 in cash and hold the propertv in trust for our subject.
Like so many of his ambitious, intelligent and conscientious fellow
countrvmen. the Reverend Kartozian is "making good." Both he and his
wife are numbered among the most successful reapers in the gospel field.
A. E. CHRISTENSEN. — The advantage of developing in the commu-
nity where one is well-known is illustrated in the career of A. E. Christensen,
the well-trained and broadly-experienced Postmaster at Selma. whose effi-
cient administration of his office — the second postal station of importance in
Fresno County — has made him more and more popular. He was born at Dell
Rapids, Minnehaha County, S. D., on February 26. 1888, being a son of X. C.
and Tuliana Christensen, elsewhere sketched in this volume and now living
retired on Keith Street in Selma. There were eight sons and daughters in the
family, two of whom are deceased. Our subject is the seventh in the order
of birth.
When only four years old, A. E. Christensen came with his parents to
Selma. and soon after began to attend the public schools, passing on to the
Selma Union High School, from which he was graduated with the Class of
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1957
'06. Then he went to the University of California at Berkeley for a year,
where he pursued a general course in history, mathematics and the sciences,
after which he came back to Selma; and here, in 1909, he was married to
Miss Lucy E. Sweet, a native of Kansas. Her father was Wilbur M. Sweet,
and he married Miss Lucy E. Ranson, who died in Kansas when Mrs. Chris-
tensen was only ten years old. When she was fourteen she came to Selma
from Kansas with her father and two brothers and two sisters. While re-
siding here at Selma Mr. Sweet was in the employ of the Santa Fe Railway,
working from various points along the line of that great system. After years
of meritorious service, he met with a sad accident in a fall, on account of
which he was taken to the Santa Fe Hospital at Los Angeles ; and there,
about 1917, he died.
Mr. and Mrs. Christensen have three children: Ranson Neil, John Rob-
ert, and Lucy E. — all favorites. The Christensens attend the First Baptist
Church of Selma, of which Mr. Christensen is a deacon. He is also a member
of the Blue Lodge of Masons at Selma.
For five years after his marriage, Mr. Christensen farmed near Selma,
and in 1914 he came into town and entered the Selma Post Office under
Walter Staley, the former postmaster. In course of time, he took the civil
service examination for second-class postal service; and having passed very
creditably, he was commissioned postmaster at Selma, on April 8, 1918, be-
coming thereby a successor to his chief, Walter Staley. The Selma Post
Office has been for sometime an important one in the second class; but
especially under Mr. Christensen's able administration, it has come to handle
a large volume of business. The rural delivery has also been extended, and
never was the city delivery in better shape.
MRS. ELIZABETH HOLE.— One of the oldest settlers of Watts Valley
is Mrs. Elizabeth Hole, who was born in Mercer County, Ohio, January 10,
1841, the daughter of Sylvester and Catherine (Stephenson) Tilton, ' also
natives of Mercer County, Ohio, who followed farming there until their
deaths. They left two children, twins ; the twin brother of Elizabeth was
named John Tilton, who served in the Seventy-seventh Ohio Volunteer In-
fantry in the Civil War, after which he was a farmer in Ohio until his death.
Elizabeth Tilton was left an orphan at three years of age, then she was
reared in the home of her aunt, Mrs. Elizabeth Ushel, in Celina, Ohio, obtain-
ing a good education in the public school. She was married in 1861 to John
Hole, who was born in Darke County, Ohio, in 1840, and they engaged in
general farming in Mercer County until 1864. They removed to Iowa where
they again followed husbandry in Fremont County. In 1875 they came to
Chico, Butte County, Cal., but soon removed to the Willamette Valley, Ore-
gon, remaining for a period of eighteen months.
In 1877, Mr. Hole brought his family to Watts Valley, Fresno County,
and took up a squatter's claim of 160 acres. He had but $5.00 left and a part
of this was spent in the purchase of an axe with which to build his log cabin,
and begin clearing and improving his place. He worked out for a time to
obtain the necessary funds to care for his family. It was up-hill work for a
time, but they succeeded by raising grain and stock. He improved the place
well and when the land was surveyed by the government he obtained title to
his homestead ; he bought 160 acres adjoining, and it made a splendid farm,
having about one-half of it plow-land. By irrigating from Watts Creek, he
had ten acres in alfalfa. Here he followed the even tenor of his way until
his death, September 4, 1915. He was one of the founders of Sycamore school
district, and served as a trustee for many years and was highly respected
for his worth and integrity. Since he died his son Theo. runs the ranch,
thus relieving his mother of much care and worry. She continues to reside
on the old home and is the mother of eight living children : Catherine, Mrs.
Brandon of Sanger; Alpha, Mrs. Reed, resides near Sanger; Milo, a rancher
near Fresno ; Sydna, Mrs. Wolfe of Watts Valley ; Theo., on the home farm ;
1058 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
Alonzo and . \lonis. twins, the former resides in Colusa County, while the
latter is Mrs. Welliver and makes her home with her mother; and Rosella,
Mrs. Knight, of Fresno.
Theo. is engaged in farming the home ranch to stock and grain, being
a natural mechanic he works as a carpenter and builder between seasons.
Mrs. Hole is one of the few remaining old-timers in Watts Valley, and is
well posted on early history. She is a woman who is highly esteemed.
J. FRANKLIN NISEWANGER.— An energetic and progressive Cali-
fornian, who contributed to local development and who has the distinction of
being a pioneer in his section in testing out the plan of pumping flowing
wells of water in order to increase the flow, is J. Franklin Nisewanger. who
came to California in 1905. Five years later he bought the first piece of land
in this part of Tranquillity, and since then he has seen the town grow by leaps
and bounds.
He was born near Macedonia, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, on May 5.
1877, the son of Jacob Nisewanger, a pioneer of that county, who hailed from
Illinois. He improved a farm ; followed farming and stock-raising ; became a
well-to-do farmer and died there. He had married Sarah Woods, the cere-
mony taking place in Illinois, and she also passed away, the mother of eleven
children, ten of whom are still living. Among these, J. Franklin, the fourth
youngest, is the only one in California.
He was brought up on a farm in Iowa, and there attended the public
schools, after which he went to the Diller (Nebraska) high school. Later he
studied at and graduated from the Normal school at Fremont, Nebr.. pursuing
both the normal and commercial courses, and then for four years he engaged
in teaching in public schools. Two of these years were spent in Iowa, and two
in Nebraska near Fremont.
On November 15, 1903. Mr. Nisewanger married Miss Dora Ross, a
native of Harrison County, Iowa ; and the ceremony, which took place at Lit-
tle Sioux, Iowa, was long pleasantly remembered by their many well-wishing
friends. Mrs. Nisewanger is the youngest child and daughter of William
Ross, an Englishman by birth, and a very prominent farmer of Harrison
County, who pioneered that section of the country. He died in Gilroy. Cal..
whither he had come to make his home, with his children, being past eighty
years of age.
In the course of the next two years, Mr. and Mrs. Nisewanger came to
California and located at Dos Palos, where they bought a small ranch ; and
Mr. Nisewanger also engaged for three years in the harness business, when
he learned the trade under a man he hired. Then he sold out. continued farm-
ing and was a rural mail carrier out of Dos Palos for four years. He began
with a horse and buggy, and in eighteen months he was using an auto for
delivery.
In the meantime, Mr. Nisewanger had become interested in land at
Tranquillity, and as has been stated, he was one of the first to buy in this sec-
tion. He began immediately to make improvements, using his vacations for
that purpose; and by 1913 he quit the mail-carrying and located on his ranch.
He commenced with forty acres, and built a residence and barns; and was not
only thorough in all that he undertook, but he followed up one improvement
with another.
Since then, Mr. Nisewanger has bought land adjoining and he now has
127 acres, all of which he has improved, leveled and checked. Eighty acres,
under the ditch, are given to alfalfa. He has sunk a well to the depth of 925
feet and there obtained flowing water; he has built a good reservoir, and has
the best of irrigation. For some time he was engaged in dairying, but now
he rents his dairy and the sixty acres of alfalfa.
He has also embarked in another and very important enterprise — the
business of drilling wells, for which he has a partner. A. R. Johnson. They
M3^/(J2^€£
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1961
have built a rotary well-rig, and are successfully drilling artesian wells. The
enterprising partners have a good record for having produced results of value
and superior to those previously attained, working according to a new and
very plausible theory, and there is no doubt of their continued success. They
not only haul their rig by auto power, but they run it by the thirty-five horse-
power engine. They have already sunk thirty wells of from 750 to 1,100 feet in
depth.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Nisewanger: Loreen, Carrol,
and Arthur. The family attends the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Nise-
wanger has served as a trustee of the Tranquillity School district, and in
other ways is active as a public-spirited citizen.
CARL LANGESCHEID. — Flow a foreign war may affect the destiny
of an individual is shown in the story of hard work done and success attained
by Carl Langescheid, the well-known viticulturist, who came to Fresno
County early in the first decade of the twentieth century. He was born near
Breckerfeld, in Westphalia, Germany, on December 21, 1872, and is the son
of Ludwig Langescheid, a farmer there who owned his own trim farm, and
who is still living in the quiet enjoyment of the community's esteem. His
mother was Louise Kuekelhaus before her marriage. After years of devotion
to her family, she died in Germany in her sixty-seventh year.
Carl was the youngest of the three children, and his schooling and other
advantages were not neglected. When he was fourteen, he was apprenticed
to a hardware merchant in Muenster. with whom he remained for four years;
and later he was engaged at Bielefeld, where he became acquainted with G.
Brocks, who interested him in California. He had previously planned to go to
South Africa, and for that purpose had studied English ; but the Boer War
breaking out, he changed his plans, and listened more attentively to the
stories, almost fairy-like, of the advantages of the Golden West, and partic-
ularly of the Golden State. Wishing on account of his health to get to a
milder climate, and desiring in particular outdoor work, Mr. Langescheid at
length determined to cross the ocean and the great American continent, and
to try his fortune in California. In August, 1903, he came to Fresno and was
in the employ of Mr. Brocks until fall ; and then he went into the Kutner
store, serving for six weeks in the implement department. It did not take long
for him to understand American ways, and he made rapid progress.
In the same fall, 1903. Mr. Langescheid bought forty acres on Belmont
Avenue, in the Calimyrna Colony, and set it out as a vineyard with muscatel
and Malaga grape-vines, completing the work in 1904. Few, if any, vine-
yards of the kind in that section made a better showing than this, the first
venture of Mr. Langescheid as a viticulturist. He ran it for ten years.
In November, 190S, Mr. Langescheid was married. The ceremony oc-
curred at Fresno, and the bride was Miss Lisette Brocks, a sister of Gustaf
Brocks. She was a native of Enger, Germany, and made her first trip to
Fresno four years before. The Langescheids soon identified themselves with
the German Lutheran Church, of which Mr. Langescheid became a trustee,
an office that he held for years. He was also president for a year, and secretary.
In April, 1913, Mr. Langescheid sold his property and they made a trip
back to Germany and his old home. They had a most enjoyable time, and in
October of the same year, parted from the scenes of their boyhood and girl-
hood with natural regret, and yet with a satisfaction in the thought that they
were coming back to California, and to Fresno. Five months later Mr. Lange-
scheid- bought his present fine estate, the old Sanborn place, which he has
operated ever since. Eight miles east of Fresno he has forty acres in vine-
yard, with muscat, Emperor and wine grapes, and he also has twelve acres
of alfalfa. He has thoroughly improved the place, and has a fine residence.
Cooperative in spirit and ready to lend a helping hand to every project cal-
1962 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
culated to advance the commercial interests of the county, Mr. Langescheid
is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
Mr. and Mrs. Langescheid are also keenly interested in anything which
tends to improve the neighborhood as a place of desirable residence, and in
that respect as in others, do their full duty as citizens, standing by the land
of their adoption.
S. BERG. — Among the well-known citizens of Fresno County must be
mentioned S. Berg, one of the best-educated of his fellow countrymen, who
is owner of a ten-acre ranch two miles south of Parlier. He was born at Ribe,
Denmark, on June 21, 1869, the son of Nils Christian Berg, a shoemaker
there, and Anna Christine ( Christianson) Berg, a native of Schleswig. Of
the eight children in the parental family our subject is the eldest.
Brought up in the Danish Lutheran Church, in which he was confirmed,
Mr. Berg attended both the common public schools and the Latin high school,
and later, at the University of Copenhagen, he took a law course, and was ad-
mitted to the practice of law. The legal field, however, attracted him but
for a short time ; and having learned bookkeeping before he went to the uni-
versity, he became a bookkeeper at the bank at Ribe.
On November 23, 1903, Mr. Berg was married to Julia Kirstine Peter-
son of Gording, Denmark, the daughter of Peter Hansen and Karen Chris-
tianson who owned a good-sized farm. Mr. Hansen was a breeder of fancy
horses and cattle and took several premiums for his exhibits. The parents
had eleven children, and of these five girls and two boys are still living. One
of the sons is Plans Christian Peterson, the well-known engineer, and to
him is due the credit for Mr. and Mrs. Berg coming to America. He was
foreman for the bridge-building department of the St. Louis. Minneapolis
and Northern Railway, and later he became one of the construction en-
gineers on the Panama Canal. Now he is farming at Hopkins, Minn.
Mr. and Mrs. Berg sailed from Copenhagen, on January 14, 1909, on
the steamship C. F. Tietken, and they landed at New York on the 29th of
that month. On February 2nd they reached Hopkins. Minn., and for two
and a half years Mr. Berg was busy keeping the books for the Minneapolis
Threshing Machine Company.
When he first came to California, Mr. Berg rented ranches near Selma ;
but after some thirty months, he again took up bookkeeping, this time enter-
ing the service of the Parlier Winery and the River Bend Gas and Water
Company. In each engagement he gave such satisfaction that after another
two and a half years he was able to secure a home and an exceptionally
well-situated and equipped farm of his own.
Mr. and Mrs. Berg attend the Danish Lutheran Church and participate
in its many good works for the bettering of humanity. They are generously
responsive to movements for the advancement of the neighborhood, and are
especially interested in the public schools.
JOHN OSLUND. — A very estimable man, who has improved a fine
farm in the district where he was a pioneer, and has the distinction of being
one of the developers of Vinland, is John Oslund, who came to Fresno almost
at the beginning of the present eventful century. He was born in Hede,
Hjemtland, Sweden, on December 26, 1851, the son of Sven Halvarson. a
farmer, who died there, and Ragnhild Halvarson, the mother of two children,
who also passed away in that country. John, the younger, is the only one in
the United States. He was reared on a farm, during which he attended the
public schools, and he early worked at lumbering. He also learned the car-
penter's trade. When twenty-one, he spent two years in the Swedish army,
joining the infantry ; and after additional service in lumbering, he came to the
United States, in 1884.
At first Mr. Oslund settled in Grant County, Minn., where he worked as
a carpenter and builder ; and then he located in Hoffman, where he advanced
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1963
to contracting and building. He also bought eighty acres there, and by
steady, progressive work made his mark in the community.
In November, 1903, Mr. Oslund came to Fresno County, accompanying
the Reverend Nordstrom and others, a small but select company, of whom
only three are now left. He bought his place of twenty-five acres on the San
Joaquin River, then quite raw land, located on it and at once began improve-
ments. He built a residence, set out a fine orchard and vineyard, and has
continued there in prosperous business ever since, raising, among other su-
perior fruit, Muir, Lovell and Elberta peaches. He also grows good crops of
alfalfa. He is a member and stockholder in the California Peach Growers,
Inc., and a member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
At Hoffman, on July 20, 1889, Mr. Oslund was married to Mary Elfberg, a
native of Hjemtland, who came to Grant County in 1882 with her parents,
who were early settlers of that section. She is the daughter of John C. Elf-
berg, a farmer who first brought his family to Red Wing, Goodhue County,
and two years later located at Hoffman, where he died. John Elfberg's wife
was Karen Larson before her marriage, and she also died in Grant County,
the mother of seven children, five of whom grew up. Five came to Minnesota,
and Mrs. Oslund is the fourth.
Mr. and Mrs. Oslund have had four children ; two died in infancy, and
the others are: Josephine Eugenia, the wife of M. A. Trukken of San Fran-
cisco and the mother of two children — Marjorie Eugenia and Doris Mariane ;
and Edgar L., who has been assisting his father in ranching, is now a ma-
chinist. Mr. and Mrs. Oslund both helped to organize the Swedish Lutheran
Church at Vinland and to build the handsome edifice there, and Mr. Oslund
was a member of the first board of trustees ; while Mrs. Oslund was Sunday
School teacher when the congregation was organized and the services were
held in Mr. Nordstrom's home and she was also secretary of the Ladies' Aid
Society for ten years. In national politics Mr. Oslund is a Republican, al-
though he supports local measures regardless of party.
ADOLPH KOPP. — A successful rancher, raisin and peach grower, who
is also a public-spirited citizen, sympathetic and liberal to a fault, is Adolph
Kopp, one of the stockholders in the First National Bank at Parlier. He was
born at Wangen, in the Canton of Berne, Switzerland, on July 6, 1873, the
son of Jacob and Barbara Kopp, both of whom were born, married, lived
and died in Switzerland. His father was a shoemaker, and one of the clever-
est in that whole locality ; but because of economic conditions the family
grew up in stringent circumstances. Two children blessed this worthy couple,
Adolph and Alfred, the latter living at San Jose.
Adolph was only fifteen when his father died. As he was the older
boy, the brunt of the responsibility of supporting the household fell upon
him, and the spring after his father's demise, he left school. His education
therefore was limited to about the equivalent of a present-day California
grammar-school course. At the age of nineteen he came to America, having
for his destination the pleasant town of Selma, reports of which had reached
across the wide ocean. There he soon hired himself out as a farm hand. He
had no relatives to help him, but he managed to advance and continued thus
employed for about five years, during one of which he was busy as an expert
horticulturist at the Agricultural Experiment Station, at that time five miles
east of Tulare — an experience that proved very valuable. After having
worked out for others he began renting, and for four years leased ranch land.
Then, in 1902, he bought his present ranch of forty acres. Before that time,
also, in partnership with A. Blattner, to whom reference has already been
made, he had rented the Miley place of 160 acres, three miles northwest of
Parlier.
As soon as he was able to arrange for such an absence, Mr. Kopp made
a trip back to Switzerland. He started from California before Christmas,
1902, and returned in the following May. When he came back, however, he
1964 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
was accompanied by a wife. While visiting his home town, Mr. Kopp was
married to Miss Verina Pfister, a sister of Mrs. A. Blattner, whom he had
known before he came to America. Now Mr. and Mrs. Kopp have three
children: Ida, who is at school: Adolph. Jr., and Harold, the baby.
Air. Kopp is now renting twenty acres besides farming his own forty
acres, making sixty acres that he is keeping well tilled. He is a hard worker
who has always attended very carefully to every detail of his business. He
employs one man steadily, and in busy seasons he uses eight more ; and he
works four mules on his place. He has made numerous improvements in his
property, and in 1917 started to build a commodious bungalow on his farm,
which was completed in 1918. He has recently installed a four-inch centrif-
ugal pump and ten-horsepower distillate engine, which he uses for irri-
gation. His property is two miles northwest of Parlier, and there he and his
good wife enjoy the fruits of honest toil. He has fourteen acres of peaches,
thirteen and a half acres of muscats, two and a half acres of Thompson's
seedless, two acres of apricots, two acres in the ditch, three and a half acres
of alfalfa, and one acre of raw land, while the balance is devoted to yards
and buildings.
For many years Mr. Kopp has interested himself in California history
and politics, and he is keenly alive to all that has to do with the develop-
ment of the state and the advancement of his home district. He is a member
of the California Raisin Association, and is willing to aid every civic move-
ment, and he aims to vote for principle and for the best man regardless of
party. Though not members of the German Lutheran Church at Selma,
Mr. Kopp helped to organize the congregation, and the family attend that
church, and give it their friendly support.
SIG WINBLAD. — A native son, who has done well through becoming
thoroughly posted in viticulture, and is now independent and highly re-
spected, is Sig Winblad, the son of John Winblad. a native of Halmstad, Swe-
den. As a boy his father was a messenger for the telegraph company ; but
when he became fourteen he shipped as a sailor and went off to sea. He
continued to follow a mariner's life until the time of the Civil War in
America, when he enlisted in the United States navy and served until the
close of the great struggle. After that he resumed the ventures and adven-
tures of a sailor and went round the Horn to China and the Orient, quitting
the sea for good only when he decided to locate in San Francisco. There he
married Mathilda Built, a native of Sweden ; and after marriage continued
for a time to work in a planing mill. Wishing to obtain land, however, he
came to Fresno in 1881. bringing with him his family, and located in the
Scandinavian Colony, where he bought and improved twenty acres. Later
he purchased the present tract of twenty acres, where he made his home.
He built a residence and, with the help of his son, Sig. put in a vineyard.
After a while he purchased sixteen acres, and still later another twentv acres.
Mrs. Winblad passed away in 1885, and Mr. Winblad in 1909. aged sixtv-
nine. He was widely honored as a member of the G. A. R. and as a school
trustee who was conscientious in the discharge of his duty to the community.
Roth Mr. and Mrs. Winblad were Lutherans. Two children were born of
their union: Sig V., the subject of this sketch, and Athena (now Mrs. I. E.
Wilson"), who resides in Glenn County.
Born at San Francisco on September 1, 1879. Sig Winblad was brought
up on a farm six miles east of Fresno, where he attended the public school.
After completing his education he entered the Van der Nailen School of
Engineering in San Francisco and there prosecuted special studies for a year.
Then he accepted a post as draughtsman at the Stockton Iron Works in
Stockton, and remained in that position of responsibility for five years, finally
having charge of the draughting room. About this time John Winblad. the
father, wished to retire and talked of selling what he owned, and so Sig
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1967
decided to return home and take care of the place. Accordingly, in 1908 he
came back on the ranch. He now owns the original home of thirty-six acres
and twenty acres more, half a mile away, which he bought, having in all a
vineyard of fifty-six acres. This is set out to Malaga, muscat, Sultana and
Zinfandel grapes, the whole forming one of the attractive "show-spots" of
Fresno County, and located five and a half miles east of the city. For years
Mr. Winblad has been active in support of the California Associated Raisin
Company and kindred raisin association movements.
In Merced Mr. Winblad was married to Miss Allein Bitzenberger, a
native daughter of Missouri, who had come west to California with her par-
ents ; and now three promising children brighten their home — John, Harry
and Virginia. As a public-spirited citizen, Mr. Winblad has served as a Re-
publican trustee in the Scandinavian school district for the second term —
the same school he attended when a boy — and he is also the clerk of the
school board. Formerly he was a member of the Odd Fellows of Fresno.
AUGUST BLATTNER.— Residing on his well improved forty-acre
ranch on the Parlier road, equally distant between Selma and Parlier, August
Blattner is among the respected citizens of the favored Selma-Parlier section
of Fresno County. A native of Switzerland, he was born at Reigoldsweil,
Bassiland, Switzerland, February 14, 1866, and is the son of Henry and Rosa
Blattner, who lived and died in the country of their nativity. The father, a
small farmer, mainly engaged as a manufacturer of pure silk ribbons, never
attained any great wealth. He and his good wife brought their three children
up in the religious tenets of the great Protestant reformer and leader,
Zwingli. The youngest of the three is August, the subject of this sketch.
Leaving his home in Switzerland in September, 1886, August Blattner
sailed from Havre, France, and landed at New York City October 5, 1886,
going thence to Franklin County, Ohio, where he secured work as a farm
hand. For five years he was employed in tilling the soil, and at the end of
that time, in 1891, came to Fresno County, Cal., where he worked as a
ranch laborer for nine years, continuing this employment one year after his
marriage to Miss Marie Pfister, December 5, 1899.
In 1900, Mr. Blattner went into business for himself, renting the Miley
place of 160 acres, and in 1903 purchased his first piece of land, consisting
of sixty acres, twenty acres of which is included in his home place. Some
time afterward he sold forty acres of the original sixty and later bought
twenty acres across the road, just south of his residence. In 1916 he pur-
chased a second ranch of 160 acres which lies northwest of Sanger and
twelve miles north of his home place. This is also highly improved and set
to raisins and peaches. The two ranches are at present operated by tenants.
A very attractive feature about his home place is a cement fence of beautiful
symmetry and striking appearance, enclosing the front yard. Among other
improvements on the place are a fine barn and other necessary outbuildings,
including comfortable, well-built tenant-houses.
In 1917, Mr. Blattner rebuilt the house on the home place, transforming
it into a modern country residence, and Mrs. Blattner, a devoted wife and
mother, is distinguished for her success as a home-maker. She was born at
Wangen, a city of about three thousand inhabitants in the Canton of Berne,
Switzerland, and is a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Witche) Pfister. The
father worked at various occupations, mainly that of cigarmaker, at Wangen.
He died in his native country at the age of forty-two years. Her mother is
sixty-seven years old. Mrs. Blattner, as a young woman, came to Fresno
accompanied by her brother, John Pfister, who became a rancher and died,
leaving two children. She has two brothers and two sisters living in Fresno
County, namely : Gottfried, her older brother, is single ; Louisa is the wife
of Emil Dick, the owner of a forty-acre ranch one mile west of the Blattner
ranch; and Rudolph Pfister owns forty acres two and one-half miles north-
1968 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
east of the Blattner home; and Verena is the wife of Adolph Kopp, the
owner of a forty-acre ranch in the Parlier district.
Mr. and Mrs. Blattner are the parents of one child, a daughter, Martha
M., who is a senior in the Selma high school. In 1911 the family made an
extended visit to Europe, visiting the parents' former homes in Switzerland.
In his party affiliations Mr. Blattner is a Republican. He loyally sup-
ported the Administration during the stress of the world war with Ger-
many. Although German-Swiss is his native tongue, there is not the slight-
est suggestion of the pro-German in him or his good wife. Their home life
is ideal. They own a fine automobile and live the life of the prosperous,
up-to-date Fresno County rancher.
MORTEN MORTENSEN. — A progressive, successful rancher, whose
wife and family are equally highly respected, and who is the sort of colonist
that Fresno County is glad to welcome, is Morten Mortensen, who came
here with some means acquired for the most part in Minnesota, and he is
today rated among the well-to-do hard-working agriculturists of Central
California. His finely appointed ranch of twenty acres lies three miles
southwest of Parlier.
He was born in Jylland, Denmark, on February 15, 1872, the son of
Tacob Mortensen, who is still living in Denmark at the age of eighty-one.
and was reared on his father's home-farm, from seven to fourteen years of
age, attending the public schools, and, in the creed of his parents, he was
confirmed in the Lutheran Church. When old enough he served in the Danish
army — the experience proving so disagreeable that he resolved to come to
America instead. He first secured an honorable discharge, however, and
then he set sail, in 1892. He stopped at Perth Amboy, N. J., and there for
six years worked in a terra cotta factory ; and then, in 1898, he married. The
bride was Miss Ella Hansen, a daughter of the land of his boyhood and
youth, who had been in America since her fifteenth year. They removed to
Staten Island, and there he found employment in the chemical department
of a large factory in which dentists' tools were made.
Tiring of indoor labor, however, Mr. Mortensen came west to Dodge
County, Minn., and rented 240 acres. He raised grain and live stock, and
did so well that in 1909 he sold out and came to California. Mrs. Mortensen
had a sister, Mrs. H. P. Hansen, living in Selma, and this helped their de-
cision at that critical stage of their progress.
At first Mr. Mortensen bought ten acres west of the Walnut School-
house, and later traded for his present holding, in 1910. These twenty acres
he planted as follows: seven acres of peaches (Muirs, Lovells, cling-stones
and nectarines), four acres of malagas, three acres of muscats, two and a
half acres of seedless grapes, and half an acre of young peaches, while he
has an acre of pasture, an acre of alfalfa and the balance in a dry yard with
the necessary buildings. He soon placed the ranch under irrigation, and
obtained results that astonished his neighbors. He is a member of the Raisin
and Peach growers associations, always ready to advance the interests of
the horticulturist and viticulturist.
Mr. and Mrs. Mortensen have four children: Howard works a farm of
forty acres west of Fowler; Arthur works another place six miles northeast
of Vitoga; Ernest attends school; and so does Gladys. The family attends
the Danish Lutheran Church three miles west of Parlier, and Mr. Morten-
sen belongs to the Danish Brotherhood. All have engaged heartily in Red
Cross and similar war work.
Morten Mortensen is the fifth child in a family of six children, and the
only one in California. A sister, Mrs. Herman Petersen, resides at Devil's
Lake, N. D., and a brother, August, also successful, is in Wisconsin. All the
rest are in Denmark. His beloved mother, who was Christine Jacobsen be-
fore her marriage, died at the old home in Denmark, twelve years ago.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1969
ALBERT C. LESHER.— An excellent example of what a California
boy can do is found in the case of Albert C. Lesher, the efficient, attentive
and popular druggist of Fowler, who has the only drug-store in the town.
He is well equipped for his responsible service to the community, having a
liberal education and a technical knowledge of pharmacy obtained in part by
actual work as a young man in a drug-store, and the completion of the regu-
larly prescribed course in pharmacy at what is now the Pharmaceutical De-
partment of the University of California. He came to Fowler immediately
after his graduation, foreseeing that Fowler would be one of the important
centers.
A native son, and one of the proudest, Mr. Lesher was born at Modesto,
on March 29, 1886, the heir of one of Modesto's successful men, John Lesher,
who died thirty-one years ago, and who was the go-ahead proprietor of the
soda works in that town. Albert's mother was Catherine Block before her
marriage, and she is still living, a widow, at Modesto. Four children in the
family grew up, the others being: John C. and Will F., of Modesto; and
Emma M., the wife of Leonard Dozier of Los Angeles.
Albert grew up in Modesto, and attended the public schools. At seven-
teen he entered a Modesto drug store, and after two or three years' appren-
ticeship, he matriculated in the Affiliated Colleges at San Francisco (now
a part of the State University) and completed the prescribed course in phar-
macy, graduating in the Class of '09. He at once came to Fowler, and has
deservedly built up a good trade, and carries a well selected stock of all
things to be found in an up-to-date establishment.
Everybody knows "Al" Lesher, and since his marriage to Miss Lucile
Sanders, his popularity has increased, and more than ever he is looked to
as one of Fowler's substantial business men. Mrs. Lesher is no less a favorite
at social affairs, participating with him, especially in the activities of the
Elks, of which Al is one of the fully accepted and most acceptable members,
having affiliated with the Fresno Lodge.
HENRY LANSE. — The wheel of Fortune, which with a single turn
often made bonanza kings out of beggars in the days of the Argonauts, is
still turning in the Golden State, but it is no longer the game of chance
that it was in those earlier years of the state's history. In these latter years,
young men possessing the requisite grit, thrift and continuity of purpose,
combined with good business judgment, are the favorites of Fortune, and
in such men as Henry Lanse, the owner of a twenty-six-acre ranch two miles
west of Parlier, are found the characteristics that eventually receive
recognition.
The son of Henry and Bernice Lanse, who lived on their eighty-acre
Westphalian farm in Germany, he was born in that country and province,
November 1, 1878. He grew up in his native country, remaining there until
twenty-three years of age, when he bade farewell to his German friends and
relatives and in 1902 sailed from Bremen for New York City, reaching his
destination after an uneventful eight-day voyage. He crossed the continent
and arrived at Selma, Fresno County, Cal., April 13, 1902, where he joined
his brother Frank, who had preceded him to the Pacific slope four years
previously, and who was engaged in ranching. He assisted in caring for his
brother's twenty-acre ranch and the additional fifty acres of rented land,
working for him three or four years.
At the end of that time, in 1906, Mr. Lanse purchased his present ranch
property, for which he paid seventy-five dollars per acre, ten acres of which
were set to one-year-old peach trees. Otherwise the place was a weed patch,
although it had at one time been a wheat field. Ever on the alert to take
advantage of the passing moment, after the disastrous earthquake of April,
1906, Mr. Lanse drove his team of horses to San Francisco, where he ob-
tained work hauling sand, brick and dirt out of the cellars of the stricken
city, making eight dollars a day.
1970 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In 1907 he was married at San Francisco to Miss Elise Sanderman,
whom he knew as a girl in Germany. They have the following children :
Mary, Elizabeth, and Bernice.
In 1907, Air. Lanse's parents came to California to visit their children,
and his mother was stricken with illness and died fourteen days after reach-
ing San Francisco, aged sixty-seven. The father remained in California about
a year and then returned to Germany. The war made it impossible for his
sons to hear from him. He was born in 1836, and if living would be eighty-
three years old. There were seven children in the parental home: Frank;
Anton, who lives in German)'; Therisa, the wife of Tony Icholdt, a carpen-
ter living in Fresno ; Mary, wife of August Winter, the owner of an eighty-
acre ranch one and one-half miles west of his brother Henry's place; Henry;
Bartl, who lives on his father's place in Germany ; and Joseph, who is single,
and who rents the ranch just east across the highway from his brother
Henry's ranch.
Mr. Lanse's place is planted to twelve acres of peaches, nine acres of
Thompson seedless vines in bearing, and one acre of Thompson seedless
vines one year old. Four acres are occupied by the house, barn, yards and
pasture. He has purchased water rights and will put in 350 feet of eight-
inch cement tile for irrigation purposes. Mr. Lanse. who has been phe-
nomenally successful in ranching, belongs to the Fruit Valley school district.
ALBERT NELSON. — A viticulturist whose experience and exceptional
ability have placed him in a position of much responsibility is Albert Nelson,
who came to California in the middle nineties. He was born on the island
of Oland, in the Baltic. July 11. 1875. the son of Nels P. Nelson, a carpenter
and builder. He was the eldest in a family of four, of whom two are still
living, the other surviving brother being Carl Nelson, the proprietor of a
furniture factory in Sweden.
Mr. Nelson was reared and educated in his native land, attending the
public schools there, and remained at home until his thirteenth year. That
vear he went to sea, shipping before the mast on a sailer engaged in the
coasting trade; and when fifteen he embarked on a merchant vessel, the
S. S. Stanley, putting out from Bergen. He went to the Black Sea for wheat.
returned to England, made a trip to Odessa, and then ran from the north
Baltic with lumber for Liverpool. In that busy harbor he left the ship and
signed up on the Swedish steamer Colga ; and with that vessel he continued
until he was nineteen years of age. About this time he decided to come to
America. After his arrival in New York he soon came on to San Francisco ;
and from there he went to Caspar, where he was in the employ of the Caspar
Lumber Company for a year. In 1895. he moved to Fresno and entered the
service of Smith & Moore, of the Sanger Lumber Company; and in their
mill he continued until 1896. He then made a change that led him into an
entirely new field; for coming to know Mr. Rice, in the Kutner Colony, he
took up work in his vineyard. On leaving him, he became foreman of the
St. George Vineyard Company, where he was given entire charge of their
extensive ranch, and continued to exercise the responsibility for a decade of
years. After that he was foreman for L. R. Rogers, and was engaged in de-
veloping the Rogers vineyards on Belmont Avenue for a period of four years.
During the season he still has charge of the Rogers Fruit Company's shed
at Smithville when, for three or four months of the year, shipments of fruit
are made; the output in 1917 consigned from Smithville reached the total
of seventy-five cars. Mr. Nelson is a member of the California Associated
Raisin Company.
When Mr. Xelson resigned from the management of the Rogers vine-
vards. he went into business for himself, and in the spring of 1911 he bought
his present place, some twenty acres on Belmont Avenue, eleven miles east
of Fresno, which he has developed into one of the finest of up-to-date vine-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1973
yards. The land is set out to Malaga and Emperor grapes in particular,
through which he has made for himself an enviable reputation, and he also
has a good assortment of wine grapes. In the fall of 1918, Mr. Nelson and
J. B. Rogers bought a sixty-acre tract at Redbank, which is in grapes and
figs.
Mr. Nelson was married at the Scandinavian Colony in Fresno County to
Miss Laura B. Anderson, a native of San Francisco, who was reared not far
from Fresno. She is the daughter of Fred Anderson, a pioneer vineyardist,
who had a fine tract of forty acres that he considerably improved. He and
his wife died there, leaving five children, four of whom grew up, namely:
Otto, who is on the west side ; Mrs. Emma Coppin, residing in the Scandi-
navian Colony ; Mrs. James Allen, who lives on Blackstone Avenue ; and Mrs.
Nelson, the subject's wife, a noble-hearted and attractive woman, whose
influence for good in the community has long been felt. Four children have
blessed their home : Chester, Floyd, Lavern and Maud. Mr. and Mrs. Nel-
son are among the most popular members of the social circles of both the
Eagles and the Woodmen of the World. In national politics he is a
Republican.
ABRAM F. GLOSSBRENNER.— Not many of the vigorous, enterpris-
ing and patriotic pioneers of California can point with pride to such a war-
record as that of Abram F. Glossbrenner, or look back with pecul ar satisfac-
tion to the rounding out of over three score years of happy married life ; for
the old soldier's helpmate throughout so many eventful and trving years is
still at his side. His father was Jacob Glossbrenner, a native of Pennsylvania
and a carpenter and builder, who married in that state Sarah Siler, also a
Pennsylvanian. He moved to Ohio and thence to Indiana, where he followed
his trade and reared a family of five boys and four girls. The mother died
when Abram was seven years old, and the father, anxious to perpetuate his
home, took to himself a second wife, by whom he had three children, only one
of whom is now living. Abram. the eighth child by the first Mrs. Gloss-
brenner, is also the only one of her children living.
Having attended the country schools of the districts in which he
grew up, Mr. Glossbrenner was married to Miss Nancy A. Kerr at Tefferson-
ville. Ind., on November 28, 1852, and from Harrison County in that state he
enlisted for service in the Civil War. When the terrible conflict had ceased,
he went back to Harrison County and worked at his trade and' farmed. In
1873, he left the state altogether and went with his family to Texas ; and set-
tling at Austin, he carried on a paint shop there for ten years. In the fall of
1882 he went to Mason County in the same state, and bought land and farmed
there.
In 1895, Mr. Glossbrenner made still another departure, for he went to
New Mexico and engaged in the Angora goat business, assisted by his two
sons. Later, they returned to Mason County, and he resumed work at his
trade. Eleven years went by, and Mr. Glossbrenner came north to California
and Fowler, where two daughters and their husbands were living.
Now this esteemed couple have a modest home on a five-acre tract,
located inside of the corporation limits, nicely improved and planted to vines.
It is a typical Fowler villa lot, and there they are happy in the enjoyment of
perfect health. This happiness is immeasurably increased through their
children, eight out of the ten having survived until the present. They are : Bar-
bara Emma, the wife of Wayman Wells, who resides in Fredonia, Texas ;
Mary E., who is the widow of William Kniveton, who lives with our subject
at Fowler ; Joachim W., who is married and resides at San Bernardino, Cal. ;
Carter McClellan, who is married and resides near Phoenix, Ariz. ; Lela, who
is the wife of P. A. Vance, a well-known rancher at Easton, Cal. ; Stella, the
wife of D. A. Williams, living at Fowler ; Cora, the wife of J. S. Caraker. with
her home at Phoenix, Ariz. ; and Maud, the widow of W. J. Ward, who lives
with her parents.
1974 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mrs. Glossbrenner's full name before her marriage was Nancy Anna
Kerr, the daughter of Samuel Kerr, a musician who taught the art of using
stringed instruments and the voice. He organized singing schools through-
out Tennessee, his native State, and in Indiana, where he was married to
Miss Martha Wilson. The Kerrs and Wilsons were both of Scotch-Irish ori-
gin, and both families were early settlers near Nashville, Tenn. Mrs. Gloss-
brenner thus grew up in Indiana and was educated in private schools at Jef-
fersonville. and, like her husband, she became a consistent Christian. Mr.
Glossbrenner. although sticking to the Republican party, has been a life-long
apostle of temperance, and for years a member of the Sons of Temperance,
the Temple of Honor, the Social Temple and the Temperance Council, and
he has never failed to vote for men and principles. He has never partaken of
alcohol, never smoked, never chewed, and perhaps these simple virtues of
abstinence have had something to do with the fact that on November 28,
1917, Mr. and Mrs. Glossbrenner were able to celebrate their sixty-fifth wed-
ding anniversary.
Mr. Glossbrenner is a Union Veteran of the Civil War, and not lorrg ago
the Washington Historical Society made an official inquiry as to his war-
record with the result that the historian of the society affixed his seal to the
following authentic statement:
CERTIFICATE OF RECORD
To All Whom It May Concern :
Bequeathed to every American is a priceless legacy, preserved to us by the valor of
the Boys in Blue.
THIS CERTIFIES that Abraham F. Glossbrenner enlisted February 1, 1864, from
Harrison County, Ind., to serve three years or during the war, and was mustered into the
United States Service at Indianapolis, Ind., April 4, 1864, as a Sergeant of Captain Fred-
erick Leslie's Company D, Thirteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Cavalry, the 131st Reg-
iment of the line, Colonel Gilbert M. L. Johnson, commanding.
The Thirteenth Indiana Cavalry (the 131st Regiment) was the last cavalry organization
raised in the State. Recruiting commenced in September, 1863, and continued during the
fall and winter of that year, and on April 29, 1864, the organization was completed and
the regiment was mustered into the United States service. On April 30 it left Indianapolis,
dismounted and with infantry arms and accoutrements, for Nashville, Tenn., then was
ordered to Huntsville, Ala., for the purpose of garrisoning that post, and was engaged in
skirmishing, and on October 1 held the place against the entire command of the rebel
General Buford. On October 16, Companies A, C, D, F, H, and I, under command of
Colonel Johnson, proceeded to Louisville, Ky., for the purpose of drawing horses and
equipments for the entire command. Upon arrival there, these companies were ordered to
Paducah to assist in repelling an attack of General Forrest. These companies then returned
to Louisville, where the object of their mission was completed, and the line of march was
taken up for Nashville, Tenn., at which point the remaining companies from Huntsville
reported to Regimental Headquarters. On November 30, Companies A, C, D, F, H and I,
fully mounted and equipped, under command of General Johnson, proceeded to Lavergne,
under orders from General Thomas to watch the movements of Hood's army, then ad-
vancing on Nashville. Under the direction of General Rosseau, these companies partici-
pated in the battles of Overall's Creek, Wilkinson's Pike and twelve different skirmishes
with the enemy. During the same period, Companies B, E, G, K, L and M, left at Nashville
under command of Lieut. Colonel Pepper, participated, dismounted, in the Battle of Nash-
ville, December 15-16, 1864, where the other companies joined them. After effecting an
exchange of arms and procuring an entire amount, the regiment was assigned to the Second
Brigade, Seventh Division, of the Cavalry Corps of the Military Division of the Mississippi.
February 11, 1865, the Thirteenth Cavalry embarked on transports for New Orleans, but
disembarked at Vicksburg, under orders of General Canby, to prepare for a raid on the
Mobile and Ohio Railroad. These orders being countermanded, the regiment left for its
original destination, and arriving at New Orleans, reembarked for Navy Cove, Mobile Bay,
where it reported to General Canby and assisted in operations against the forts and de-
fenses of Mobile. After the fall of Mobile, under command of Grierson, the regiment
started on April 17, on a raid of some eight hundred miles through Alabama, Georgia and
Mississippi, arriving at Columbus, May 22, and from there it proceeded to Macon, Miss.,
garrisoning that point and taking possession of immense quantities of captured commissary,
quartermaster and ordnance stores. The regiment was mustered out at Vicksburg, Miss..
November 18, 1865, then proceeded to Indianapolis, Ind., where it was finally discharged.
The said Abram F. Glossbrenner was promoted from Duty Sergeant to Quartermaster
Sergeant of Company D, to fill a vacancy caused by the discharge of the Quartermaster,
He was first in a brush with Forrest's rebel cavalry near Huntsville, Ala., about September,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1975
1864, and he was in all the engagements and skirmishes of his company. Six companies
were ordered to Murfreesboro and six remained at Nashville, Tenn., so that his Company
D was in some of the engagements and the six other companies in others. He was in the
Battle of Overall's Creek on December 4, 1864, where Captain Leslie of Company D was
killed in action; then he was in an engagement with Forrest's men north of Murfreesboro
on December 7, 1864, and was in the fall of Mobile, subsequently his regiment was on duty
in Mississippi gathering up Government cotton. He belonged to Wilson's Cavalry Corps,
and was always at his post of duty, achieving a gallant record for meritorious service and
soldierly conduct at all times. He received a certificate of Honorable Discharge at Vicks-
burg, Miss., November 18, 1865, by reason of G. O. No. 76, Headquarters, Department of
Mississippi.
He was born in Utica Township, Ind., April 29, 1831, and was united in marriage to
Nancy A. Kerr, at Jeffersonville, Ind., October 28, 1852, and to them were born the fol-
lowing children : Emma, Mary E., Joachim W., Carter McClellan, Lela, Stella, Cora, Effie
M., all now living. Two others died in infancy.
He is a member of Atlanta Post No. 92, Department of California and Nevada, Grand
Army of the Republic. He served as Adjutant and Commander in P. E. Holcomb Post,
Department of Texas, at Mason, Texas. He was a member of the Grange in Texas, and
was enumerator of the Twelfth United States Census, Texas District.
Previous to enlisting in the United States Volunteer Army, 1864, he served in the In-
diana State Militia, known as the Home Guard, and was commissioned as a Second Lieu-
tenant in Captain Marshall's Company, at Corydon, Ind. Said commission was signed by
Governor O. P. Morton, and during this time he was with the Indiana State troops that
followed after John Morgan's raiders, from Corydon, Ind., to the State, of Ohio.
These facts are thus recorded and preserved for the benefit of this soldier's family
and of all those who may be interested.
Compiled from official and authentic sources by the Soldiers' and Sailors' Historical
and Benevolent Society.
In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand and cause to be affixed the seal of the
Society.
Done at Washington, D. C, this 22nd day of April, A. D., 1917.
(seal) A. V. HAYES,
No. 76,266. Historian.
A. W. BEESEMYER. — A successful farmer, enjoying an enviable repu-
tation for his up-to-date methods, and who has installed one of the best pump-
ing plants in the county, is A. W. Beesemyer, a native son born in what is
now Hollywood, a delightful suburb of Los Angeles, on December 8, 1882.
His father was born in Missouri, and about fifty years ago came to California,
the son of a Union Army veteran, who was killed during the Civil War. The
father, William Beesemyer, was foreman in Spreckels' sugar factory until he
came to Southern California, and then he bought land on the present site of
Hollywood. He raised grain and hay, and later sold his property as an addi-
tion to Hollywood, most of which was known as the Le Mona Tract. He still
owns forty acres there, on which he resides. He had married Sophia Gallwas,
a native of Indiana, and of this union, five boys and two girls were born, all of
whom are still living.
Brought up in Southern California, A. W. Beesemyer attended the public
schools and the Throop Polytechnic in Pasadena, where he pursued a
mechanic's course of study. For four years he was superintendent of streets
in Hollywood, and had much to do with the beginning of improvements after
the town was incorporated, holding the office until Hollywood was annexed
to Los Angeles. Then he became a general contractor in Hollywood and Los
Angeles, and did all of the Los Angeles Pacific work in his locality. He went
to Bakersfield for the same company for three years, and became a general
contractor of Southern Pacific work there. Wherever he established himself,
he made a record and reputation that was capital itself.
In 1913 he came to Fresno County and bought 240 acres of land, located
on it, and improved it by leveling and checking. He installed a pumping-
plant, and provided the electric power for it. He sunk two wells, one to the
depth of one hundred feet, and the other to twice that depth, which bring
water to within fifteen feet of the surface, affording a capacity of 2,000 gal-
lons a minute. His ranch is also under the ditch, so that he has practically
perfect irrigation — an evidence in itself of his thoroughness. He set out
twenty-five acres in Thompson seedless grapes, and sold that tract ; and has
1976 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the rest in alfalfa and grain, getting two crops of each a year. After selling
more of the land, he still has twenty-five acres, the finest ranch land in the
district. He belongs to the California Alfalfa Growers' Association, and is
energetic in support of its cooperative endeavors.
Mr. Beesemyer was married in Los Angeles to Miss Franziska Boehncke,
a native of Germany, who crossed the ocean to the United States with her
parents when she was six years of age, and later came west to California.
One child has blessed this union, Artye Dorthy.
The principles of the Republican party have appealed most to Mr. Beese-
myer in matters of national politics, and a Republican he has remained
through the trying ordeals of the nation. First and foremost, however, he
has been and is an American, while in local movements designed to uplift
the community, he has known no party distinction, and has always tried to
support the best men and the best measures.
JOHN G. CARLSON. — A romantic story, such as has often been told, of
the irresistible charm of California, is repeated in the life narrative of John G.
Carlson, who drove his team into Fresno County, liked the Valley, then came
to Fresno, heard Vinland talked of, went out to see the land there, and was
so captivated that he bought 160 acres at $41 net, and thus became the first
to buy in the colony. He had two associates in the transaction, and in Octo-
ber, 1905. they located on the land.
Mr. Carlson was born at Vernamo, Jankoping. Sweden, on April 22. 1857.
the son of Carl E. Svenson, a farmer there, who had married Gustava Gum-
meson, now deceased. They had six children, three girls and three boys; and
John is the fourth of the family in the order of birth, and he is the only one
in the United States. He remained at home until he was sixteen, working on
the home place and attending the public schools, and then he came to Stock-
holm, where he was employed on a dredger for two years, after which he
took up railroad work in North Sweden. After eighteen months, he went
home, and in 1880 he crossed the ocean to the United States and went to
Joliet, 111., where he was employed for two years in the steel mills. In 1882
he moved to Red Wing, Minn., where he was employed in the flour mills and
learned the miller's trade.
During November, 1880. and while in Joliet, Mr. Carlson had married
Miss Anna Sophia Johnson, also a native of Sweden, the daughter of Lars
Johan Carlson, a farmer who owned a large farm, and whose worthy helpmate
was in maidenhood Gustava Benson, and both are now deceased. Of their
family, Mrs. Carlson is the only one in the United States.
In 1887, Mr. Carlson came to San Luis Obispo County and bought a
ranch in the Bethel district, near Templeton. He engaged in farming and set
out a twenty-acre orchard of prunes, but as he could not sell the fruit, he sold
out and leased a grain-ranch, east of Templeton. He had 1,200 acres, and
there he raised grain and stock. Again prices were low, a cental of wheat
selling for sixty cents, and pork at two one-half cents a pound ; and again, in
1905, he sold out.
When Mr. Carlson located at Vinland, he bought his present place of
fiftv-one acres. Two years before, Mr. Carlson, Oscar Erickson and B. A.
Larsen had purchased 160 acres together in this district, and he took this por-
tion when thev divided the property. Mr. Carlson's part seemed best adapted
to the raising of alfalfa and dairying, although he tried peaches and vines;
and having secured twenty acres adjoining, he set out fifty acres to peaches.
Since then he has grubbed out twenty-five acres and put in vines, for he has
seen Thompson seedless sell as low as one one-quarter cents, and peaches go
down to nothing. Recently he has become owner of twenty-seven one-half
acres more in the Vinland Colony, and he will put the entire area, simie
ninety-nine acres, into Thompson seedless grapes, peaches and alfalfa. His
line ranch is under the ditch, and he has also a good pumping-plant for irriga-
tion. He is a member and stockholder of the California Peach Growers, Inc.,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1979
and a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and heartily
supports such cooperative work, designed to benefit the great mass of hus-
bandmen.
Seven children have brightened the home life of Mr. and Mrs. Carlson:
Esther, who is Mrs. J. S. Reynolds of Fresno; Annie, who is Mrs. W. S.
Beatty of Empire and the mother of five children — Stuart, Arnold, Ferdie,
Myron and Anna Lorean ; Ferdinand, a farmer in Vinland and who married
Louise Brown and has one girl, Bernice ; and Minnie, Reuben, Alvin and
Myrthel, who are at home. The family attends the Swedish Lutheran Church,
of which Mr. Carlson was one of the organizers ; he has ever since been a
trustee, is chairman of the board, has been prominent as a teacher in Sunday
School work, and he has served as a delegate to the California Conference.
Mrs. Carlson is also very active in church work.
In national politics Mr. Carlson is a Republican, but he is first and fore-
most an American citizen, who places the welfare of the American commu-
nity above all party considerations.
JAMES HAMILTON. — Among the later comers to the vicinity of
Parlier is James Hamilton. Progressive and energetic, he stands in the fore-
front among the residents of the Parlier section. He is a man of fine presence,
of great executive ability and sound business judgment, and has a most ex-
cellent memory.
Mr. Hamilton was born June 24, 1865, in Crawford County, Wis. His
father. Henry Hamilton, a native of England, was born five miles from the
city of Manchester. His paternal grandfather, Lot Hamilton, was born in
England, November 21, 1812, and having the misfortune to lose both his
first and second wife by death in the old country, decided to emigrate to
America. Accordingly he came to St. Louis. Mo., about two years before his
son Henry, a lad of seventeen, emigrated to the New World and settled in
Crawford County, Wis. Henry had an only brother, James Hamilton, who
settled in Wisconsin and enlisted in the army during the Civil War, dying
from illness while in the service. This left Henry the only heir of his father
Lot. Henry likewise enlisted from Wisconsin during the Civil conflict, and
served one year in the cavalry, being honorably discharged at the close of
the war. Before enlisting he was married to Miss Catherine N. Fairfield, a
native of Fulton County, Ohio, and daughter of Hugh Fairfield, a Fulton
County (Ohio) farmer, who some time after his marriage removed with his
family to Prairie du Chien, Wis.
After the war Henry Hamilton returned to Crawford County, where
his father soon joined him and continued to make his home with him until
the death of the father, January 15, 1905, at the age of ninety-three.
Of the eight children born to Henry Hamilton and his wife, Tames
Hamilton is the eldest. Hugh, the second son, died of pneumonia at New-
man. Cal., in June, 1916. He was married but left no children. The third
son, Lot. lives on a ranch one-half mile west of his brother James' place.
Stephen resides at Courtenay, N. D., where he is a grain and stock farmer.
Henry is single and farms his ranch north of Parlier, making his home with
his brother, Lot. Anson was killed at the age of nineteen in an accident with
a horse hay-fork, while storing hay into a barn in Wisconsin. Mary is the
wife of M. F. Foley, a contractor and builder of Los Angeles, Cal. Sylvia
also resides in Los Angeles, and is the wife of Robert Felts, an employee of
a gas company in that city.
James Hamilton passed the first twenty-seven years of his life in Wis-
consin. He grew up on his father's 1,100-acre farm and attended the com-
mon schools. At the age of twenty-six he was united in marriage with Miss
Vera Posey, a native of Wisconsin and daughter of William N. Posey, a
well-to-do farmer of Crawford County, Wis. They are the parents of three
children, all born in Lyman County, S. D. : The eldest, Charles, a graduate
of Reedley high school, is in Company E, Naval Reserves, on Submarine
1980 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Chaser No. 90, now in the White Sea, north of Russia. Clarence trained for
the Navy at Mare Island and is on the Imperator, the world's largest ship,
taken from Germany, being 920% feet long and of 57.000 tons' displacement.
Clyde is twenty years old and employed by the raisin association.
After his marriage. Mr. Hamilton farmed for one year, then removed
to South Dakota, settling on a stock range west of Chamberlain, which is
on the Missouri River. The combined capital of Mr. Hamilton and his wife
at this time was only S375. He first engaged in the sheep business, but after-
wards sold his band of 2.600 sheep and started in the cattle business. He
drove hundreds of cattle on the range from the Bad Lands to the Missouri
River, and from the Nebraska boundary line on the south to Fort Pierre on
the north, and at the round-ups used to ride ten horses in relays, the cattle
being scattered over 125 miles on the range. He moved his herds down to
the Rosebud Reservation, but the homesteaders came in such numbers that
he quit the business, rounding up his cattle in the latter part of 1902.
While living in Lyman County. S. D., he served as coroner of that county
for six years, and also served as chairman of the board of county commis-
sioners, which established the various school districts in the county, and
transacted all the county's business. In 1902 he removed to Day County,
S. D.. and joined his brother. Lot, a wheat-farmer, purchasing an undivided
one-half interest in 1.600 acres of grain land. From 1902 until 1909 he farmed
in partnership with his brother. Being a practical stockman, he was the
means of changing to mixed farming, raising both wheat and stock.
In 1907 he was elected and served in the tenth session of the South
Dakota legislature at Pierre, as the member from Day County. He proved
to be an excellent legislator, as he was thoroughly conversant with South
Dakota conditions and needs.
In ( ictober, 1908, Mr. Hamilton visited California and purchased his
present forty-acre home place. Returning to Day County to close up his
business, he rented the California ranch to his brother, Hugh, now deceased,
who farmed the ranch during 1909. His brother, Lot, came to California in
December. 1008. In 1909. Mr. Hamilton returned to California with S30.000,
earned principally in the cattle business west of the Missouri River. He
purchased another ranch of twenty-eight acres a quarter of a mile from his
home place, toward Parlier. He has improved the home place by tearing
down the old buildings and building a beautiful modern, nine-room bungalow.
Nine horses and mules are used on the ranch. Mr. Hamilton is a stockholder
and director in the Ross Ditch Company, which furnishes an abundance of
water for irrigation. In addition, he has installed a pumping-plant with a
twenty-five horsepower engine with which he may irrigate the twenty-eight-
acre ranch in case of a prolonged drouth.
Mr. Hamilton helped organize the First National Bank of Parlier. in
which he is a principal stockholder, its vice-president, and one of its board
of directors. The directors are: C. A. Parlier, James Hamilton, J. W. Low-
man, Luther M. Say, and Edwin Ross. Mr. Hamilton is a successful raisin
and peach grower, and a member and stockholder in the California Raisin
Growers Association. The Big Church claims his membership, and he is an
enthusiastic worker for Parlier, where his tact and genial disposition con-
stantly increase the esteem in which he and his estimable family are held.
and where they are as justly popular as they were in their South Dakota
home.
AUBREY R. JOHNSON.— An enterprising citizen of Fresno County,
who is accomplishing much for its development by the sinking of artesian
wells, a business which he thoroughly understands and in which he has been
very successful, is A. R. Johnson, who resides at Tranquillity. He was born
near Halifax. X. S.. April 21, 1878, a son of Dunlap and Margaret {Archibald)
lohnson. The father was a native of Nova Scotia where he was engaged in
farming and lumbering, and died there in 1908; the mother, who is also de-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1981
ceased, was of Scotch descent, her father being William P. Archibald, an
early settler of Nova Scotia. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap Johnson were the parents
of seven children, five of whom are living-, four boys and one girl.
Aubrey was the second youngest child and is the only one residing- in the
Golden State. He was reared on a farm in Nova Scotia and after leaving
school followed farm work and lumbering, and for a while ran his father's
place. In 1902, A. R. Johnson migrated to the United States of America com-
ing to Fresno County, Cal., where he subsequently located at Coalinga and
secured the position of foreman of the Consolidated Water Company's plant.
After remaining with the water company for four years he resigned to en-
gage in drilling for oil for the United Oil Company, which business he
followed for one year, when he went to Tulare as an automobile machinist re-
maining one year. Having bought forty-five acres of land at Tranquillity in
1913, the following year Mr. Johnson located on the place and began to im-
prove it by leveling and checking the land, which he planted to alfalfa. The
ranch is advantageously located on the main ditch, plenty of water being
available for irrigating- purposes. Mr. Johnson sold his ranch at Tranquillity
in August, 1919, at a good profit.
Mr. Johnson is a very wide-awake and enterprising man as is evidenced
by the fact that when he realized the need of artesian wells in the vicinity he
at once seized the opportunity to engage in the business of drilling wells for
water and, with J. F. Nisewanger uses a hydraulic rotary rig for drilling deep
wells, and since his entry into the business has been successful in sinking
thirty wells, being in partnership with Mr. Nisewanger.
On September 11. 1901, at Truro, Nova Scotia, Aubrey R. Johnson was
united in marriage with Maggie M. Corbett, a native of Nova Scotia, and this
union has been blessed with two children : Margaret Eilein, and Fred Law-
rence. Fraternally, Mr. Johnson is a member of the Foresters, while he and
his estimable wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at
Pacific Grove.
JONAS PETER ALFRED NELSON.— An energetic, industrious, and
prosperous rancher, who had an extensive experience as a farmer in Ne-
braska and Texas before he came to California, and who was happily able
to bring with him considerable means, thus assuring a start without handi-
caps, under the favoring conditions of the Golden State, is Jonas Peter
Alfred Nelson, popularly known as Fred Nelson, who was born in Sweden
on June 25, 1855, attended the common schools there and was duly con-
firmed in the Lutheran Church. His father, Nils Larsen, was a farmer and
carpenter, who married Maria Helena Johanson. Both parents lived and
died in Sweden, the father meeting a violent death through a bolt of lightning.
Seven children formed the family, and four grew to maturity : Carl John
still lives in Sweden ; Christine Sophie is married there and lives on the old
home place; the third-born is the subject of our review; and Anna Matilda
is now Mrs. Johnson and lives in South Dakota.
Fred was the first one of the family to come to the New World. When
twenty-four years of age he left Sweden for Polk County, Nebr., sailing from
Gothenburg on April 13, 1880. At Columbus, Nebr., he stepped from the
cars into a livery wagon and traveled thirty miles to Osceola. He worked
out on a farm for three years in Polk County, Nebr., and in 1883 went to
Lancaster County, the same state. Afterward he was engaged in Omaha and
Lincoln, trying his hand at both railroading and farm-work.
While at Omaha, Mr. Nelson was married, in 1885, to Miss Anna Swan-
son ; whereupon he took up his residence at Waverly, Nebr. In 1894, he
went to Texas, farmed there for nine years, and bought 170 acres. He suc-
ceeded measurably, but on account of the boll weevil he sold his Texas farm
and in 1903 came to California with his wife and children, of whom he had
seven.
1982 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mr. Nelson then went to Kingsburg and, two and a half miles east of
that town, bought a ranch, in Tulare County. These twenty acres he im-
proved, so that he is known as an exceptionally able farmer and horticul-
turist. He sold the block of twenty, however, in 1917, and went onto twenty
acres two miles north of Kingsburg, which his son, then in the United States
Army, had rented, and which he assumed charge of to help the son out. This
son, David, served in France and Belgium, going over the top three times;
he was honorably discharged and came home, June, 1919, safe and sound.
Mr. Nelson, as stated, has seven children: Esther Marie is the wife of
Arthur W. Nyberg, a line-man for the Kingsburg Telephone Company, who
resides at Kingsburg. Mamie Matilda has become the wife of Bertel Swan-
son, a farmer in Tulare County. Earl E., who was born in Texas, is in the
United States Navy at Mare Island. David, above mentioned ; Ellen Char-
lotte, Oscar Joseph, and Josie Annie are at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are members of the Free Mission Church in Kings-
burg, Mr. Nelson being a trustee. He and all his family have deep religious
convictions, and have gladly given two of their sons in the service of their
country. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson and family are highly respected and have a
host of friends at Kingsburg.
F. A. BERRYHILL. — Among the experienced and influential ranchers
of Central California must be mentioned F. A. Berryhill, well-known at
Fresno, where he laid out a subdivision, and at Dinuba, where he planted a
vineyard of eighty acres. Born near Camden, Ouchita County, Ark., on
March 12, 1847, the son of Michael W. and Catherine (Broyles) Berryhill,
he was taken by his parents to Berry County, Mo., when he was only five
years old, and there grew up. His father had been born and reared in Ten-
nessee, while his mother came from Alabama, for Grandfather Berryhill
was a Scotchman who had settled in Tennessee. Mr. Berryhill's grandfather
fought under General Jackson in the War of 1812, and was one of the soldiers
that won the battle at New Orleans behind an entrenchment of cotton-bales :
and Mr. F. A. Berryhill's maternal grandfather was a soldier in the Seminole
War.
The father of our subject learned the trade of a tanner, and then a carpen-
ter; and for a while owned a small farn in Missouri. F. A. Berryhill as a boy
had the companionship of three brothers : Jefferson Davis and Leander
Rudolphus, both of whom live in Berry County, Mo.; and Orlando D., who
is a raisin grower near Parlier, Fresno County. At sixteen, F. A. Berryhill
enlisted in the Confederate Army and carried a musket, although he weighed
only one hundred and ten pounds; and he served as a cavalryman for two
years, until the close of the war. under the celebrated General Sterling Price,
who had won distinction in the Mexican War serving under General Stephen
W. Kearny.
At the conclusion of the great contest. Mr. Berryhill returned to his home
in Berry County, to join the family circle which once included seven sisters,
two of whom are still living — one in Missouri and the other in California.
He was the fourth child, although the oldest boy ; he attended the excellent
public schools of Missouri, and after the war went for another winter term.
He remained home to help until he was twenty, and then he went to Neosho,
in Newton County, and learned the blacksmith trade, putting in ten years
at the forge. Next he bought a shop at Washburn, Mo., and worked in it for
six years. At the age of thirty he was married to Miss Druecella Truelove,
who was born and reared in Berry County ; and when she died, she left a
child that survived her only two months.
Mr. Berryhill then' ventured into a new field, that of selling goods, and
opened a general merchandise store at Washburn. At the end of two years
he moved with his stock of goods to Rogers. Benton County, Ark., and
there kept a general merchandise store. Tt was at that place that he so for-
tunately met his present wife, who was Miss Emma Merritt, the daughter of
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1985
John G. and Mary P. (Young) Merritt, of Kentucky and Tennessee, respec-
tively. Her parents were married in Davis County, Iowa, and that is where
Mrs. Berryhill was born and grew up until she was thirteen. Then her
parents moved to Kansas, and later to Rogers, Ark., where her father kept the
Rogers House.
Failing in business in Arkansas, Mr. and Mrs. Berryhill came to Cal-
ifornia in 1885 with their one child, and landed at Selma in a sand-storm,
with thirty dollars to their credit. They settled on a rented farm of 240
acres three miles northeast of Selma, which belonged to John G. Arrants,
the pioneer merchant. He was two years there and then went to Sanger and
rented a section which he farmed to grain. Later he bought forty acres and
he was at Sanger for sixteen years.
Then Mr. Berryhill went to Dinuba and put eighty acres into vines, and
from 1903 to 1911 he cultivated raisins. Selling out, he removed to Madera
County, where he farmed for a year and a half ; and then he came to the city
of Fresno. He traded for thirty acres southwest of Roeding Park, subdivided
the same, sold what he could and has only seven lots left.
Now Mr. and Mrs. Berryhill are established comfortably in their ranch-
house, on their ranch of 125 acres, west of the Kings River, near Lanare.
He bought the place six years ago, and he and his wife moved down in April,
1917. It is river bottom and therefore very rich land, and is situated in one
of the finest alfalfa acreages in Fresno County. In their ranching operations
they are ably assisted bv their sons, one of whom promptly responded for
his country's service. Their home is made more attractive by good books
and current periodicals.
Mr. and Mrs. Berryhill have three children, all sons. Roy married Miss
Mary Bills of Selma, who was born in Missouri ; they live in Oakland where
Roy is a machinist and works for the Union Iron Works ; they have two
children — Romaine and Bernadine. Harry Burrell is in partnership with his
father ; and Guy Wendell was a mechanic in the Aero-Squadron at Kelly
Field, San Antonio, Texas ; he was honorably discharged and is now at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Berryhill are members . of the Methodist Episcopal Church
South ; and Mr. Berryhill is a Democrat.
ANDREAS WULF. — A man of sturdy character, an industrious worker
and good manager, Andrew Wulf, as he is known by his associates, has been
most successful in his ranching operations, and is commended by his many
friends as representative of his countrymen and as a developer of the natural
resources of Fresno County. His birth took place at Dinkel, Samara, Russia,
September 4, 1871, his father, Andrew, being a farmer of that province and
there his death occurred; the mother, Marie E. (Gleim) Wulf, still resides
there. Of their twelve children, Andrew is the third oldest, and three girls
and two boys of the family are now residents of this state, namely, Andreas,
of this sketch ; Mrs. Mary Siebert of Selma ; Peter, residing on Shields Ave-
nue; Mrs. Katie Peterson of Dakota Colony; and Anna Klemm of Rolinda.
Andreas Wulf was reared on the home farm in Russia and while attend-
ing the public schools there assisted his father at farming. His marriage
occurred there on December 25, 1891, to Miss Anna Busick, born in Samara,
and he continued operating the farm until 1899, when he sold out and came to
this country. He first located in Lincoln, Nebr., where he was employed in
the material yard of the B. and M. Railway. On December 5, 1900, he came
to Fresno, and found employment in the olive factory of M. Archibald, and
there learned the curing and pickling of olives and the manufacture of the
oil, continuing for seven years, the last four of which he was superintendent
of the factory, having become an- authority in the industry.
In 1907, Mr. Wulf purchased his ranch of twenty acres at Rolinda ; he
releveled and rechecked the land and resowed it to alfalfa, set out ten acres
of Thompson grapes, and two and one-half acres to peaches and apricots ;
the balance being in alfalfa. He maintained a modern dairy until selling his
1986 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
cows in 1919, and he is a member and stockholder of the Danish Creamery.
He later purchased forty acres one-half mile northwest of Rolinda and is
improving it to alfalfa and vineyard ; and also bought twenty-five acres on
Shields Avenue, three miles north of Rolinda, of which twelve acres are in
Thompson seedless, three and one-half acres in apricots, and the balance in
alfalfa.
Mr. Wulf is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and
of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and is also a stockholder in the Cali-
fornia Post Publishing Company. He is a man of broad ideas and a firm
believer in the cooperation of ranchers as a means to greater prosperity for
the individuals and for the county. He has proven his worth as a citizen
and a developer of the county's resources.
Nine children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Wulf: Andrew,
a rancher on Shields Avenue; John, with the United States Army in France;
George; Peter; Mollie; Lydia ; Marie Elizabeth; Jacob; and Anne Margaret.
The two oldest were born in Russia, while the others are natives of Cali-
fornia and Fresno Count}-. The family attends the Congregational Church
in Fresno, and Mr. Wulf has been president of the board of trustees for three
vears, during which time the new church edifice has been erected. In political
matters he supports the Republican party.
When Mr. Wulf purchased his various pieces of property, after he had
established his home on Whites Bridge Road at Rolinda, they were in their
primitive state of weed-patches and sand-hills, but he has developed and im-
proved them, until they are highly productive. He was one of the developers
of the Rolinda district and helped open the roads in that section.
JEROME BLAIR. — One who battled hard and long against the odds of
limited means, but now has a fine ranch of forty acres in the heart of the
Laguna de Tache Grant, is Jerome P.lair who. when asked what brought him
to Fresno County, answered: "Poverty!" For when he arrived at Riverdale.
on Christmas Day, 1900, with his wife and three children, he owned three or
four good teams and had a dollar in his pocket.
He was born in Monroe County. Ind.. on March 22, 1853, the son of
Marion Blair, who was a college-bred man and an oil painter and portrait
artist, and a Mexican War veteran. He made several notable portraits, and
perhaps his masterpiece was the life-study of Oliver Perry Morton. Indiana's
famous war governor of the '60's. During the Civil War he served in the
Union Army and made a record as the captain of a company in the Eighty-
second Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was for some time on the heels of
Morgan and it was his brigade that captured the leader of the notorious
Morgan Raids. The portrait of Governor Morton was given chief place at
the Indianapolis State Fair, and now adorns the walls of the Congressional
Library at Washington. The Blairs are descended from Scotch ancestry,
and the same sterling qualities that helped the progenitors to win fame, have
made themselves manifest in the life and work of our subject.
Jerome Blair married Miss Sallie Thrasher on November 2. 1872, and
on the second day of the following June, he started with his bride for the
great Pacific Northwest. They traveled over the Union and Central Pacific
railways, and north by steamer via Portland, to Walla Walla. Wash., where
they arrived about the middle of July. Mr. Blair, having but little monev.
went to work in the harvest field. He later homesteaded in Walla Walla
County and proved up on 160 acres: he mined in British Columbia : prospected
at Xew Rossland, and ran a boarding house for two years; then he came
back to Eastern Washington, and in 1900 he came down to California.
Mrs. Blair was born in Monroe County, Ind., the daughter of Joel and
Orlena i Carroll) Thrasher, natives of Virginia and Tennessee respectively.
Mrs. Blair has had five children, four of whom are living: Orville died at
Walla Walla when he was a year old; Winnie is now the wife of lames Wil-
liams, a rancher three miles southeast of Riverdale and the mother of two
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1987
children — Lloyd, who has a son, James, and Bessie, who has a daughter,
Winnie, named for her grandmother ; Marion married Miss Minnie Tinkham
and is a wheat farmer at Pixley ; George, married Nellie Gepford, and re-
sides on the old Blair place, and owns 110 acres of land. Two children, Alma
and Orion, bless their home. Myrtle is the wife of L. E. Stine, a rancher,
with four children — Daffney, Bernice, Delbert and Glenn. There were eight
children in the Thrasher family, only three now living. Those besides Mrs.
Blair are James Thrasher, of Maryville, Mo., and Rolla Thrasher, of Colorado
Springs, Colo. The family trace their lineage to a signer of the Declaration
of Independence — Carroll of Carrollton. The other members of the Thrasher
family are deceased : — John Thrasher, was city marshal at Enid, Oklahoma,
for eight years; Jason N. Thrasher, was treasurer of Van Bureu township,
Monroe County, Ind., for four years ; Mary became the wife of Judge Camp-
bell, who was a distinguished member of the bar at Maryville for eight
years ; Catherine became the wife ef W. J. Hazelwood of Maryville ; and
Christia, who died young, was the wife of Edward Worley, a planter in
Kentucky.
The first summer that Mr. Blair worked around with his teams in Cal-
ifornia, while the family were living- at Lemoore, he went with his outfit, at
harvest time, to Cholam Valley, Monterey County, to haul wheat to Paso
Robles, a distance of forty-two miles from the field to the railway. He saw
that he could never succeed, so he went to Laton to rent the land where he
now lives, and he took a lease of over two hundred acres west of the North
Fork School House ; two dollars and a half cash, per acre, was required
on the rent. He was lucky in meeting Mr. Saunders, of the firm of Nares &
Saunders, who accepted a cash payment of five dollars to clinch the trans-
action, and took his word that he would pay the balance, forty-five dollars,
in three weeks. Mr. Saunders personally loaned him the balance of the cash
required for the rent, and this he repaid out of the proceeds of the first crops
harvested.
Mr. Blair had two sons, both minors, whom he took into partnership with
him. He had good horses, and they soon had all their land planted. The
season was propitious, and the crops came along fine ; so fine that the ranch
became a show place, and Nares & Saunders were able to sell a great deal
of land to Eastern people that summer, whom they invariably took to look
at Jerome Blair's encouraging results. About this time Mr. Blair conceived
the project of buying 120 acres on the Laguna from Nares & Saunders; he
wanted that area, and the price was thirty-five dollars an acre, but one-fourth
was required down. 'When asked by Mr. Saunders what he had to deposit,
he said, "My prospects ;" and through the latter's friendship he was again
able to buy what he needed, Mr. Saunders personally loaning him the money.
In time, all was repaid, and now he raises, besides his main crop of hay, fine
Percheron horses and poultry.
CARL O. SABROE. — A successful farmer, horticulturist and viticultur-
ist, who has become well and favorably known, is Carl O. Sabroe, for years
an equally successful navigator whose double circumnavigation of the globe
has given him no end of entertaining reminiscences. He was born at Aarhus,
Jylland, Denmark, on April 18, 1880, the son of Fred T. Sabroe, who was a
merchant there. Grandfather Sabroe was in the war of 1864 and fought
against Germany. Fred Sabroe died when Carl was a boy of five or six, and
his wife, who had been Marie Egens before her marriage, passed away some
vears ago in Denmark, the mother of eight children, all of whom are still liv-
ing, three being in the United States. Besides Carl, the youngest of all, there
is Mrs. P. E. Ludvigsen of Fresno and Mrs. Walter Ane of the same city.
Reared in Aarhus, Carl completed the courses of the common and high
schools there, and at the age of fourteen went to sea, sailing first on the
Noach the Fifth to South Africa. After that he took passage on different
vessels, mostlv between South Africa and Australia, sailing all the time dur-
1988 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ing the Boer War. He made two trips around the world and finally came on a
vessel to New York City, after which he sailed on the Atlantic Coast for
about a year. In 1900 he sailed to San Francisco and engaged in the coasting
trade and on runs to the Hawaiian Islands, when he became second mate.
In 1906, however, he resigned to come to Fresno and entered the employ
of H. Graff & Company, as clerk. Then he was clerk with the Kutner Com-
pany, and while there became interested in farming. He leased a ranch on
East and North Avenues and ran a dairy. In 1910, he quit the service of
others, to devote all his time to his own affairs.
It was then that he bought the place of forty acres on Shields and Jame-
son Avenues and located there, building a residence and making other im-
provements. He leveled and checked the land and put it under the ditch, and
he also installed a pumping-plant. He added a pumping-plant for his alfalfa,
and set out eleven acres of Thompson seedless grapes, and a peach orchard of
four acres, and began also to raise hay. *He joined the California Associated
Raisin Company, and from the time of its origin was correspondent of his
district ; he is a member and stockholder of the California Peach Growers,
Inc.
In San Francisco, Mr. Sabroe taught navigation in Taylor's Nautical
Academy, and he himself passed the examination for a master's license, ex-
cept that his eyes did not stand the test.
At Fresno, Mr. Sabroe was married to Miss Christine M. Anderson, a
native of that city, and whose father was L. Anderson, a pioneer of Fresno.
Six children have blessed their marriage: Earl; Alice: Edith, who died when
three years of age ; Charles ; Robert ; and Willard. Mr. Sabroe belongs to the
Danish Brotherhood and the family attends the Danish Lutheran Church.
PETER WULF. — A man who began in a new country without a dollar,
and even in debt at the time of his arrival, and who has won success solely
through his own industry and thrift, can be justly proud of his achievement.
Such a man is Peter Wulf, born in Dinkel, Samara, Russia, September 24,
1877, a son of Andrew and Marie E. (Gleim) Wulf, the father a farmer by
occupation. Peter was the ninth child of twelve children in the family, six
of whom are living. He was brought up on the home farm and attended
the public schools. His marriage, in February, 1898, united him with Miss
Louise Christian, also a native of his town, and after his marriage he en-
gaged in farming there.
In 1900 the young couple came to the United States and first settled in
Lincoln, Nebr. After working at the latter place four months, they came
to Fresno, in August, 1900, and here Mr. Wulf worked on ranches, princi-
pally in the vineyards. In 1907 he purchased a ranch of his own, of twenty
acres, on Whites Bridge Road, near Rolinda ; then, with his brother Andreas,
he bought forty acres one-half mile north. They put it into alfalfa, and three
years later Mr. Wulf sold out his interest to his brother. In 1911 he bought
fifty acres on Shields and Coalinga Avenues, and made all the improvements
on the raw land; built his residence and barns ; set out a Thompson seedless
vineyard, an orchard, and raised alfalfa, and later also engaged in the dairy
business: twenty acres are in the vineyard, five acres in apricots, and the
balance in alfalfa. Mr. Wulf intends putting the entire acreage into vines,
eventually, and he has a splendid ranch, upon which he has made all the
improvements. Shields Avenue was not opened past his place, so he made
out a petition and secured signers to open the road.
Nine children were born to him and his good wife, of whom six are liv-
ing, namely: Lizzie, Peter, Andrew, Mary, Mollie, and Henry. Three have
passed away, Louise, Lizzie and Andrew. The family attends the Lutheran
Church on F Street, Fresno. Mr. Wulf is a member 'of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company. In politics he is a Republican.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1991
LEE W. HEERMAN. — An ambitious young man who prefers the great
outdoors is Lee W. Heerman, the youngest son of M. N. and Hulda (Carl-
son) Heerman, both of whom are natives of Sweden. They were married at
Monmouth, 111., and came to California sixteen years ago, when they located
first in Modesto, but having had their attention called to the advantages of
Fresno County, they bought their present place of forty acres, which had at
that time only a seven-acre orchard. It is six miles south of Selma, and three
and a half miles southwest of Kingsburg, and now includes nine acres set out
to Muir peaches, fifteen acres to seedless, seven acres to muscats, and two
acres planted to alfalfa. The father and mother are still living, retired, at
Santa Monica, the parents of four children: Ritz E., the eldest, who is in the
employ of the Southern California Edison Electric Company, married Nellie
Nelson, and resides at Los Angeles, and they have one child, Merle. Delia C,
is the wife of E. Ed. Peterson, the assistant cashier of the Kingsburg Bank,
and she is the mother of three children: Mae, Effie, and Eva. Anton G., the
assistant cashier at the First National Bank at Dinuba, married Miss Billie
Hadin.
Lee W. Heerman, the subject of this sketch, was born on July 26, 1894,
at York, Nebr., to which state his parents had moved from Illinois. After a
while the family took the long journey to California and Modesto. In time,
too, Lee reached Kingsburg, where he attended the grammar schools and
then, for a couple of years, the Kingsburg High School. He next pursued,
for a couple of semesters, a business course in accounting at a leading Los
Angeles school, and at the same time studied music and the violin under the
famous professor, L. F. Linn.
Preferring the outdoor life of the rancher. Mr. Heerman at first leased
his father's ranch of forty acres, with the option of purchasing it, which
option he has since exercised by purchasing the ranch, on December 1, 1918.
He is young, active and able, and already understands a great deal about
horticulture and viticulture, he is making a record for success such as any-
one of his years might covet.
Mr. Heerman was married on December 14, 1918, at Kingsburg, to Miss
Frances Swanson, a daughter of C. E. Swanson, a rancher two one4ialf miles
from Kingsburg, where he has resided for almost thirty years.
During the troublous times of the world war, Mr. Heerman early made
it known where he stood, and that was in the support of his government and
country, and in the endorsement of every movement making for the welfare
of the nation, the state and the community.
HENRY ECKENRODE. — Although but a young man, Henry Ecken-
rode has had a wide and varied experience. With his keen sense of
obligation to his country and an enthusiasm for what he believed to be just
and right he made a most excellent war record, serving with the distinction
that" is befitting in a son of a prominent pioneer family of western Pennsyl-
vania.
He was born at York, Pa., December 2, 1886. His father and mother,
Joseph and Annie (Keffer) Eckenrode, are residents of Steelton, Dauphin
'County, Pa., where the father is a boilermaker. His maternal grandfather,
Andrew Keffer, a member of a pioneer family of Pennsylvania, is sheriff of
Adams County, Pa., and resides at McChemestown, Pa.
Of the twelve children of the parental home eleven are living, Henry
being the fourth child and the only one of the family in California. Henry at-
tended the common schools of his native state, and learned the baker's trade
in his native town of York. Going to Philadelphia he obtained a situation as
baker with the Hamburg-American steamship line on the Steamship Barce-
lona. He landed at Hamburg and from thence came back to New York, after-
wards going to Philadelphia, where he enlisted August 10, 1907, in the United
States Marine Corps for a period of four years. He trained at the Philadel-
phia Navy Yard, and on December 4, 1907, left for Hampden Roads, Va.,
1992 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
where he was reviewed on December 16th, by President Roosevelt, and start-
ed on the cruise around the world. Returning to the United States, he landed
at San Francisco, in April, 1908, safe and sound, and afterwards went to the
Philippine Islands, serving at Cavite two years and going thence to China,
where he was stationed at Peking. Returning to San Francisco in 1909, he
went to New York and served in the New York Navy Yard. He was honor-
ably discharged August 9, 1911. After receiving his discharge at Philadelphia
in 1911 he went to the Panama Canal and took a position on the police force,
serving eighteen months under General Goethals. Returning to Seattle he re-
enlisted in the Marine Corps and went to Nicaragua where he served at
Comito, Manaugua and Bluefields. After serving over two years of his second
term of enlistment he was honorably discharged by purchase of his time.
Returning to California in 1917, he became acquainted at Monterev with
a fair daughter of one of the pioneer families of the Parlier section. Miss
Hannah Petersen, with whom he was united in marriage' October 18. 1917.
They are the parents of one child, Bernice C. As the Petersen boys are in the
army, Mr. Eckenrode rented the twenty-acre Petersen ranch in 1918 and re-
sides at the Petersen home. Strong, active and energetic, he is again adding
prestige to his native state by making a name for himself in the Western
land where he has taken up his abode.
JOHN DAVIS. — A rancher who has had a very interesting experience
while making a success of his life is John Davis, the Welsh-Californian of
Tranquillity, who has amassed a comfortable competency and enjoys the
esteem and good-will of his fellow-citizens, who like him for his honesty,
integrity and liberality. He first came to Tranquillity in 1910; and since
then he has been a leader in Fresno County affairs.
He was born in Brecconshire, Wales, August 21. 1843, the son of Edward
Davis who was born there, became a well-known shoemaker, and died where
he had spent the best part of his life. He married Eliza Pritchard, who is
also deceased, and by her he had eight children. Only two of these are still
living.
John Davis, the fifth oldest child of his parents, was brought up in his
native town and received but a limited education in the public schools. When
fourteen, he learned the shoemaker's trade under the direction of his father;
and next he worked as a journeyman in Wales and England. He thus was
able to earn a good and comfortable living before he pushed out into the
great world.
When he was twenty-one he came to the United States, landing at Xew
York City and then making his way west to Wisconsin, arriving at Cambria
in Columbia County on June 28, 1865. He worked at his trade and established
a shoe store ; and for seventeen years he continued in the same place. Find-
ing, however, that shoemaking by hand was on the decline, he engaged in
the sale of sewing machines and agricultural implements ; and in the fall
of 1882 made his first trip to South Dakota. There he preempted lr>0 acres
in Edmunds County, and two years later moved to Cautau Hills, in the same
state, where he embarked in the cattle business. At the end of two years he
homesteaded in McPherson County; and buying more land, he also helped
form the partnership of Davis & Morris which conducted the Circle X cattle
ranch until 1910. On selling out his interest, he came to California and ar-
rived in Fresno in November, 1910. In February, 1911, he chose Tranquillity
as the most promising locality, and here he bought his present place of eighty-
six acres. He built a residence and otherwise improved the place, and at
the same time associated with him his son-in-law, Maurice H. Hughes. He
bought the adjoining seventy-two acres, so that now they have 15S acres
in a body, all leveled and checked. About 100 acres are devoted to alfalfa
and the balance to grain-raising. Mr. Davis also owns forty acres more
which is devoted to grain. He has three sets of buildings on his ranches.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1993
and he rents some forty-seven acres for dairying. On his home place, he
also runs a dairy.
In 1871, and in Wisconsin, Mr. Davis was married to Miss Ann H. Jones,
who was born at Rome, Oneida County. X. Y.. of Welsh parentage, and the
daughter of Humphrey Jones, a farmer there. One child, Alma, blessed this
union; and she is now the wife of Maurice H. Hughes, a native of Angle-
shire. Wales, who came to Racine, Wis., in the beginning of his teens. He
homesteaded in South Dakota, and then went in for ranching and stock-
raising; and now he is associated with Mr. Davis in ranching and dairying
at Tranquillity. Mrs. Hughes was educated at Redfield College in South
Dakota, and she has thus been better able to direct the education of her
three children, Melvin, John and Lloyd George. Mrs. Davis belongs to the
Presbyterian Church.
It is interesting to note that the town of Ipswich, S. D., was laid out in
part by Mr. Davis and built on his land. That he was a popular Democrat
in a Republican county, and as a Democrat was Justice of the Peace ; was a
trustee of Cambria, Wis., was president of the Board for years, and also for
a while acted as clerk. In that same place he was made a Mason, in Lodge
No. 52, F. & A. M., and was Master; and he is still a member at Leola,
South Dakota.
JOHN G. GOEHRING. — Fresno County is fortunate in having such
citizens as John G. Goehring settle within her boundaries. He was born in
Germany, May 23. 1876, a son of John G and Anna ( Bischoff) Goehring, the
former a successful horticulturist in his native country, where he is still
hale and hearty at the advanced age of seventy-three ; Mrs. Goehring is no
longer living.
John G. Goehring, Jr.. like many other men who have successfully bat-
tled with the vicissitudes of life, has received both a theoretical and a prac-
tical education ; the first, as a lad in the schools of his native land, and later
on, in the public schools of the country of his adoption, and after that in the
school of life's experiences. He was thrown upon his own resources at an
early age and by his own unaided efforts has overcome obstacles that would
have disheartened many men. In 1892, when but sixteen years of age, he
came to the United States, locating in Glasgow, Mo., where he remained five
years, earning his own living and attending school. In 1898, he went to
Alaska ; like thousands of others, being attracted to the land of ice and snow
bv the fabulous reports concerning the richness of the placers. Not meeting
with the success he anticipated he returned to Seattle and there enlisted in
Company M. Forty-fifth United States Volunteers, and served in the Phil-
ippine Islands while Uncle Sam was at war with that country. At the expira-
tion of twenty-two months he was honorably discharged and came to Stan-
islaus County, Cal. In the fall of 1902 he came to Fresno and worked in a
fruit packing house until 1906, when he joined the police force as patrolman,
serving in that capacity five years, and as a detective for four years. In April,
1915, he was appointed chief* of police by Mayor Snow. During his incum-
bency he introduced the card system, made more effective the work of the
detectives and increased the morale and efficiency of the force generally.
In proof of Mr. Goehring's efficiency as a peace officer we quote from
the Fresno Morning Republican, of February 27, 1919: "Chief of Police John
G. Goehring will tender his resignation as head of the Fresno Police Depart-
ment at the meeting of the Police and Fire Commissioners this morning, to
take effect April 1st. He declared that financial reasons and plans to enter
private business prompted his action. Goehring has been chief since April,
1915. He entered the service as a patrolman on January 5, 1906. On January 1.
1911. he was made a detective, becoming captain of detectives two months
later. Throughout his administration Goehring has been exceptionally active
and energetic in the prosecution of his duty. During the war he was espe-
1994 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
cially active, receiving high commendation from county, state and federal
officials. He has been rated as Fresno's best chief of police."
Mr. Goehring was united in marriage October 17, 1917, with Miss Freda
Eisele, of Fresno, a daughter of Frederick Eisele, formerly the superintend-
ent of Egger's ranch. Mr. Eisele died fifteen years ago leaving a widow and
three children. Mrs. Eisele, whose maiden name was Minnie Schorer, died
January 11, 1919. Air. and Mrs. Goehring are the parents of one child: Mar-
garet Anna. Mr. Goehring is a Republican in national politics but in all local
matters looks for the best man rather than adhering to party lines. Fra-
ternally he is a member of the Odd Fellows, also of the Modern Woodmen
and is a Spanish-American War Veteran. In matters of religion he is a
Lutheran.
LESTER H. EASTIN.— Representing one of the most important indus-
tries of the San Joaquin Valley, Lester H. Eastin, of Fresno, is a native son
of California, and was born in San Jose, November 11, 1885, a son of Henry
Eastin. When Lester was a child of four years, he was brought to Fresno by
his mother, and was educated in the grammar and high schools of this city,
completing his education in 1905. He then struck out to make his own way
in the world and entered the employ of the Wells Fargo Express Company,
and was in their employ until 1909, when he resigned.
That year Mr. Eastin was offered a position as stenographer with the
George C. Roeding Fig Company, and the George C. Roeding Olive Com-
pany. On October 22, 1914, these two companies consolidated under the firm
name of the Roeding Fig and Olive Company, at which time Mr. Eastin pur-
chased a one-third interest in the business and became manager. The com-
pany are packers of figs, and manufacturers of olive oil, and also are engaged
in pickling ripe olives, for which commodity they have a rapidly growing
market. On June 16, 1914, the two plants had burned down and the company
at once began the erection of a fine modern fireproof building, which today
ranks among the best of its kind in Fresno. In this sanitary establishment,
and on the acreage controlled by the company, employment is given to from
fifty to three hundred fifty people, according to season. Their business is far-
reaching, extending to all parts of the United States, and to European
countries. The growth of the business has been rapid, and founded on a
reputation for first class output. The first figs packed in California were
packed in Fresno County, on the George C. Roeding ranch, and consisted of
five tons ; today over 3,000 tons of Calimyrna figs are packed in the state.
Air. Eastin is a popular member of the B. P. O. Elks, and of the Sunny-
side Country Club of Fresno, and of the Olympic Club in San Francisco. In
politics he is a Republican.
FREDERICK W. DOCKER. — One of the younger members of the bar
of California who is making rapid advancement in the profession he has se-
lected for his life's work, is F. W. Docker of Fresno, at this time filling the
important position of assistant district attorney of Fresno County. He was
born at Lansingburgh, N. Y., September 13, 1883, and when he was two years
old he was taken by his parents to Illinois, where they settled at Waukegan.
As the boy was growing up in that locality he attended the public schools
of Waukegan, later was a student in the John Marshall High School in Chi-
cago, from which institution he was graduated in 1900. Desiring to fit him-
self for a profession, Mr. Docker supplemented his public school education
by courses at the Lewis Institute in Chicago, and a general collegiate course
at the University of Illinois. Fully competent to teach school he secured a
position in the public schools of Quincy, 111., and taught during 1904 and
1905; from there he went to East Chicago, Ind., and taught for a short time.
In the fall of 1906 he came West to Prescott, Ariz., and the following four
years taught school, followed engineering and read law in the office of the
attorney general of the territory.
-lA^jtffauJXUy
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1997
In 1910 Mr. Docker was united in marriage with Elsie M. Bean, born
in Blue Mound, 111., and a graduate of the University of Illinois. That fall
the young couple came to California and located in Ventura, where Mr.
Docker taught in the Union High School and at the same time he read law
with Judge Robert E. Clarke and George E. Farrand. In 1913 he was ad-
mitted to practice in the courts of the state and on August 1, 1915, came to
Fresno and began to build up a practice and to make his influence felt in
the affairs of the growing city. Two years later, his success as an attorney
attracted attention and on August 1, 1917, he was appointed deputy district
attorney, and on January % 1919, was promoted to the position of assistant
district attorney, the position he now holds. During the time that he has
filled that responsible office he has won recognition as a lawyer of much
ability, has a logical mind and a clear conception and interpretation of the
law and is recognized as a very representative citizen of his adopted city.
Mr. Docker is a member of the Masonic fraternity ; Prescott Lodge No. 330,
B. P. O. Elks, and the Commercial Club of Fresno.
W. R. NUTTING. — How a large and beneficent industry may spring from
the inspiration, the untiring efforts and the strenuous labor of a great man is
well illustrated in the life and accomplishments of William Rufus Nutting,
the proprietor of the Fresno Date Nursery Ranch, whose foresight prompted
him to found the American Vineyard Company, the California Raisin Ex-
change and the California Associated Raisin Company, and whose wide and
valuable experience and peculiar, individual genius assured their success,
as well as the starting of the Thompson seedless raisin industry in the San
Joaquin Valley.
Mr. Nutting was born at Hudson, Summit County, Ohio, on September 1,
1850 — a day memorable in history as the date of the arrival of Jenny Lind, the
"Swedish Nightingale," in America. The engraving accompanying this article
is from a photograph of Mr. Nutting, taken on his sixty-ninth birthday. He
is the son of Rufus Nutting, who was a native of Randolph, Vermont, where he
was born in 1821. He was a member of the well-known Nutting family, whose
first ancestor in the United States was John Nutting, steward of the John Win-
throp estate in England, when Winthrop, after June, 1630, with his little
fleet of eleven ships, came as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and
settled among the Indians in what is now New England. John Nutting
arrived some years later than Winthrop and the earliest Puritan pioneers,
and in 1676, at Groton — named after Winthrop*s birthplace in Suffolk, Eng-
land— was beheaded by the Indians at the massacre of the whites in what is
known as King Philip's War. According to five different authorities on the
derivation of the family names of most interest, Nutting is said to have come
originally from the Scandinavian Knut, meaning possibly a "knot," or a
bunch of people, or perhaps a judge or chieftain of a clan in the Danish,
Swedish or Norwegian races; so that it is clear that this particular family did
not descend directly from King Canute, King of England and Denmark, a
family that seems to have died out. From time to time, in various parts of
the country, the Nuttings are heard from, and generally with a laurel or two :
Charles Cleveland Nutting is the zoologist of the State University of Iowa ;
Herbert Chester Nutting is an educator of the University of California at
Berkeley ; and Perley Gilman Nutting is the physicist, long associated with
the laboratories of the Eastman Kodak Company and the Westinghouse
Electrical Works. Rufus Nutting w^as a leader in every good work, and in the
early sixties started the first farmers' organization in Randolph. Vt.
Mrs. Nutting was Sarah Hubbard Nutting before her marriage, born
at Groton, Mass., about 1821, on the old farm which had been a part of the
Nutting family home for perhaps the preceding hundred years. She spared
no pains in the training and early education of our subject, who was sent for
a while to the district school and then, still in his home town, to the first
1998 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
State Normal School of Vermont, where, at the age of eighteen, he was
graduated from the first course, in the spring of 1868. Prior to that, on account
of his father having both a twenty-acre farm and a shop with many wood and
iron-working tools, turning lathes, circular saws and other machinery, he had
a good deal of training in both farm and shop-work, so that when he left
home (on November 5, 1868), he went to work in a factory at Springfield,
Vt. On September 1, 1870, he celebrated his twentieth birthday by beginning
work as steward of the New Hampshire Reform School at Manchester, where
he had charge of certain boys doing the cooking, and of all the boys, about
seventy-five in number, at their meals.
Getting tired of that work after nine months, Mr. Nutting left, but he
was called back and given a somewhat higher position ; and after a few more
months he was promoted again and placed in charge of the chair-seating
shops, where, within six months, through his organizing ability, he succeeded
in raising the earnings of the shops from about $3,000 to $6,600 annually, for
which the superintendent gave him full credit, in his annual report to the
State legislature. Because, however, his pay was not raised in proportion to
the increased earnings, Mr. Nutting accepted appointment, at a higher salary,
at the Reform School near Portland, Maine, and from there, after a few
months, he was attracted to Baltimore, Md., through a still higher salary.
Soon after, too, he was offered simultaneously similar positions at the New
Jersey Reform School and the Connecticut Reform School ; and the latter
post at Meriden, being better, with more salary, he accepted it, about the first
of September, 1873, and remained there about a year. Then the overwork,
care and anxieties of the preceding four years brought on a complete nervous
collapse ; nevertheless there was some gain, for he can now look back and per-
ceive that the four years given to re-forming the human mind had enabled
him to reform, improve and organize both many kinds of business and public
enterprises.
Three years after he had ended his reformatory school work, Mr.
Nutting started in Boston, in 1877, the business of fitting fine houses with
electric lighters for gas burners ; and the enterprise grew into the Boston
Electric Company, a corporation employing one hundred men by 1881 and
lasting for about thirty years after he took up his next venture. While busied
with this matter of lighting gas by electricity, Mr. Nutting originated, with
the help of one of his mechanics, the nickel-plated push-button plate which •
has been used to turn electric lights off and on ever since Edison invented the
electric light system in 1880; and at the same time he took from the jewelry
trade the bead chain, up to that time used for the most part for girls' neck
chains, and adapted it to the lighting of pull-burners. This, too. with its acorn
pendant, has never been superseded and is universally used in the electric
light pull-burners of today. It has been no ordinary delight to Mr. Nutting,
in a long life of "starting things," that these two improvements have proven
useful to millions of human beings all over the civilized world, and that none
of the thousands of bright minds in the electrical business — attracting,
though it does, the brightest of intellects — has yet discovered anything better
for either purpose. Neither of these devices could be patented, but both have
added everywhere to the comfort of living.
While in the electrical specialty at Boston, Mr. Nutting had the pleasure
of knowing some of the people who were active in starting the first telephone
exchange, called the Telephone Dispatch Company of Boston, and he had one
of their 'phones installed between his shop and office. He also happened to
see Prof. Alexander Graham Bell teaching in a deaf-mute institute in New
York in 1873, three years before Bell exhibited the first "talking machine" or
telephone, at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. Mr. Nutting
also enjoys recalling that he saw Edison's first public exhibition of his new
electric light system on the eve of New Year, 1880. or rather the evening of
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 1999
December 31, 1879, although he is bound to confess that he was so closely
wrapped up in pushing his own small electric business, and had not yet
grown to have a broad point of view, that he was unable to see at once the
greatness of either of the vastly greater inventions.
In 1881, in sixty days, Mr. Nutting raised $70,000 from among fifty of
the largest capitalists in Boston, and in July started what was known as the
Herdic system of cheap and quick cross-town conveyance for passengers,
using two- or four-wheeled carriages named after their inventor, Peter
Herdic of Pennsylvania. They had a crank-axle and a low-hung body, with
back entrance and side seats for four or eight people, and came to be much
used from 1881 to 1890 for public hire. He ran them from four railroad
stations at the south to four stations at the north of the town, and crossed the
city in fifteen minutes, while the horse cars of those days took from twenty
minutes to an hour or more.
In September of that year he started the same system in Worcester,
Mass., then a city of fifty thousand people, with a horse-car system running
once in half an hour over a three-mile stretch on the main street, for which
a fare of seven cents was charged. Mr. Nutting made his fare five cents, and
gave transfers to all points radiating from the center like the spokes of a
wheel, and the new system proved such a benefit to the city that it grew
very popular ; but after a few months the horse railway put in a new equip-
ment and ran oftener than the herdics did and at the same price ; and after
two years of competition, the railway company succeeded in driving these
early "jitneys" out of business. In this enterprise, as with some others since,
the community reaped an immense benefit from Mr. Nutting's work, but at
a heavy loss to himself and friends.
Meanwhile, he had started the same system in Fitchburg, Fall River and
Springfield, Mass., and in each case the competition put new life into the
operation of the street railways, greatly to the benefit of the public but at a
heavy loss to the projectors. This has been referred to by writers as the first
"jitney" system in America, although it was really started by Herdic. for-
merly of Williamsport, Pa., at Philadelphia and Washington, whereas Mr.
Nutting established it in New England, after arranging for Herdic's patent
rights. In April, 1881, when the proposed system was first noticed in a brief
item in the Boston Herald, that paper remarked editorially that anyone who
could establish such a system in Boston would be entitled to a monument on
the historic Common ; but if such a memorial has been erected by the Bosto-
nians, Mr. Nutting has not yet heard of the honor. It was some satisfaction
to him, however, to be told years later that the city of Worcester alone could
well have afforded to make him a present of $100,000 for the benefit done that
community by the Nutting system of herdics.
Following his losses, Mr. Nutting was anxious to get into some far-off
country with entirely different conditions, where he could at least hope to
capitalize his experience and ambitions and make up his losses ; he therefore
took a temporary appointment as manager for California of the Union Mutual
Life Insurance Company. In October, 1884, he came to San Francisco with his
family ; and partly because the cooperative insurance companies were so
popular just then, but largely because he had no acquaintance on the Coast
and the Union Mutual was not widely known, it proved impossible to make a
success in that line, and for years Mr. Nutting found it exceedingly difficult
to support himself and family, and educate his children in the common schools
and the University at Berkeley, where he had settled on coming West.
In November, 1885, Mr. Nutting performed his first service of wide com-
munity value in California when he wrote a column and a half for the San
Francisco Evening Post as to what he had learned in Boston, and through an
investigation in Dakota and Montana, of the great benefit up to that time of
the farm mortgage loan system of the original Lombard Investment Com-
2002 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mr. Nutting says no small part of his life-work is due to his teacher at
school having given him the following "piece to speak" at an early age. Re-
printed now it may help attract some one else to a life of philanthropic activity,
instead of only selfish money-making.
ABOU BEN ADHEM
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw within the moonlight in the room,
Making it rich and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold.
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?" The vision raised his head
And, with a look made all of sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Adhem. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Adhem spoke more low,
But cheerily still, and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one who loves his fellow men."
The angel wrote and vanished; the next night
He came again with a great awakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.
—LEIGH HUNT.
RALPH H. SCOTT. — An aggressive and progressive California agricul-
turist, who is highly esteemed by his friends and acquaintances, is Ralph
H. Scott, who was born at Selma, on August 27, 1895, the son of the late
Hon. L. D. Scott, a native of Clinton, 111., a statesman who had much to
do with guiding California to its destinv. His mother was Miss Florence A.
Persinger, a native of Sydney, Ohio. The family came to California in 1886,
and settled at Clifton, Fresno County, later called Del Rey, but in 1891 they
moved to Selma.
The youngest of four children, Ralph H. was educated at the public
schools, and graduated from the Selma high school in 1913. He was then em-
ployed in various fruit-packing houses, and in time became a foreman. After
that he became a dairyman, and ran a dairy on the family estate in the Bun-
kard district. In 1916 he located on a ranch which he had inherited from his
father. This is an exceptionally fine tract of 320 acres, eleven miles west
of Fresno, on Jensen Avenue. Here he immediately began improvements for
intensified farming, leveling and checking the land, and sowing alfalfa and is
raising alfalfa and stock. He has erected a comfortable residence, and other
suitable farm buildings. He is a member of the California Alfalfa Growers'
Association.
At Selma occurred the marriage of Mr. Scott and Miss Laura Fosberg,
a native daughter of Texas who moved to California and for a while lived
at Kingsburg. The union has been blessed with one child, Harriet.
CLOYD BURTON MONTGOMERY.— An enterprising, successful
stockman and rancher is Cloyd Burton Montgomery, who operates one of
his father's ranches consisting of 220 acres about three and a half miles south-
east of Riverdale. He keeps a herd of fine, registered Holstein cattle, regis-
tered Poland-China hogs, and conducts a dairy. Mr. Montgomery's father
is Litchfield Y. Montgomery, the well-known ex-supervisor of Kings County,
who now resides at 244 U Street, Fresno, of whom a more detailed sketch is
given on another page of this history. Born at Grangeville on August 29,
1892, Cloyd B. Montgomery attended the district school, then went to the
high school at Hariford, and afterward took a commercial course at Heald's
Business College, Fresno. When only twenty he started to run the stock
farm of 220 acres referred to above.
()n December 24, 1914, Mr. Montgomery was married to Miss Mary
Shellabarger, a native of Kings County and the daughter of F. P. and Sadie
Danham Shellabarger, pioneers of Kings Count}- and well-to-do farmers there.
dL^X^ JK^^Y-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2005
One child has blessed this union, and he is named Leland Niles. He took the
Grand Sweepstakes Prize at the "Better Babies Show" at the Kings County
Fair, 1916-17. He was given first place in his class in both contests, and
scored ninety-eight per cent, perfect.
Mrs. Montgomery is the third child in a family of four. The eldest is
Phil. Shellabarger, who runs the Willard Service Station at Hanford ; the
next in order of birth was Laura, now the wife of A. W. Clark, the orange-
grower of Porterville; Mary, now Mrs. Montgomery; and Lloyd who volun-
teered as a member of the Marines when the War broke out. He was a ser-
geant, served in France from 1918 until his discharge and is now in
Hanford. Among his comrades was his best friend, who was blown to pieces
by the bursting of a German shrapnel shell, and also one who was gassed
and almost killed and rendered unable to go to the front again. But before
he was incapacitated he took fifteen German prisoners while alone at one
time, and was wounded in his right hand by a piece of shrapnel. For heroic
service in volunteering to go into No Man's Land and thus facing the deadly
German fire, he was recommended for the French cross.
Mr. Montgomery has become such a man of affairs that he employs
from two to eight men, according to the season, while in politics he is active
in the councils of the Democrats. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America.
JUDGE ISAAC MYER.— One of the prominent men of the West Side
in Fresno County is Isaac Myer, who came to Firebaugh as early as 1875.
He was born in Thalfang, Rhenish Prussia, Germany, on June 5, 1850, being
the next to the youngest of seven children born to Leopold and Clara (Levy)
Myer. The father was a stock-dealer and a business man of large affairs until he
retired, his death occurring at the advanced age of ninety-three years, while
his wife had preceded him, reaching only the age of sixty-two years.
Isaac Myer received a thorough education in the public and high school,
from which he graduated, and then entered the employ of a wholesale lace
and fancy goods house, continuing with them as a clerk until the breaking
out of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, when he was called to the colors
and was assigned to the sanitary corps. After the war he continued clerking
until 1875, when he came to Firebaugh, Fresno County, where his brother •
Jacob had preceded him two years.
Soon after his arrival Mr. Myer purchased the store and stock of goods
on Big Penoche, then in Fresno County, and engaged in general merchandis-
ing, continuing with increasing success for eight years ; at the same time he
also engaged in stock-raising. Selling the store to John Oliver in 1883, he
removed to Seattle and engaged in the clothing business. However, he did
not like the climate and so he returned to Fresno County. He established
a gents' furnishing goods store in Fresno on Mariposa Street, near I Street,
and did a successful business ; two years later, however, he sold out and
moved to San Benito County, and ran a mercantile business for about four
years. Returning to Firebaugh in 1890, he became proprietor of the Firebaugh
Hotel, where he was "mine host" for five years, after which he sold and
moved to Fresno and ran a cigar store also with good success ; two years
later he moved to Mendota where he resided for fourteen years, engaged in
the mercantile business as well as running the Cash Register Hotel. During
this time the store and contents and also the hotel were burned, after which
he rebuilt the store for his sons, who put in a new merchandise stock. The
second year after he located at Mendota he was elected Justice of the Peace,
and was reelected, filling the office to the satisfaction of the people.
In 1914, Tudge Myer moved the office, as well as his residence, to Fire-
baugh, finishing his term of office in January, 1915. In the meantime the city
of Firebaugh was incorporated and he was appointed the first City Recorder,
a position he still holds, while he is also engaged in real estate and insurance,
as well as holding a commission as a notary public. He is also serving as
2006 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
clerk of the school board and is active in building the new modern school-
house. He is an active member and chairman of the Firebaugh Merchants
Association. Judge Myer is broad-minded and is an enthusiastic booster for
the County and is also an active member of the Fresno Chamber of Com-
merce. During the World War he received the appointment from Washing-
ton as explosive inspector for his district, the duties of which he attended
to faithfully.
In San Francisco occurred the marriage of Judge Myer to Miss Ottihe
Lew. a native of Koeln, Germany. He was bereaved of his faithful helpmate
on August 8. 1916. leaving him four children: Amy, who is Mrs. Wickersham,
of Fresno: Irma Viola, with the State Compensation Bureau of Fresno and
who is a young lady of much ability; Oscar L., a traveling man making the
state of Oregon; Albert Leo, who was in the United States Army, serving
over-seas and is just returned from France and now living in Fresno.
judge Myer was made a Mason in Fresno Lodge No. 247, F. & A. M. ; he
is prominent in the Knights of Pythias as a charter member of Sunset Lodge
No. 193, K. of P., Mendota, having served as Council Commander. He or-
ganized Firebaugh Lodge No. 335, K. of P., of which he is Past Chancellor,
and is now serving as Deputy Grand Chancellor. He is also a member and
ex-President of Fresno Lodge. B'nai B'rith, as well as a member of the Red
Cross. He was prominent in the different war drives and was chairman of
the local committee for the Third Liberty Loan and they went "over the top"
early.
Mr. Mver is liberal and kind-hearted, and has accomplished much good
bv his timely aid and helpfulness in an unostentatious way. He is held in the
highest esteem and regarded as a leader in the community.
JAMES H. DAVIS. — Among the residents of Fresno County there are
none who have contributed more in the exercise of energy and industry than
James H. Davis. He was born in Schuyler County, Mo., November 30, 1847,
and came to Fresno County in 1874, and is one of its later pioneers. His
father, H. M. Davis, and his mother, Julia (Brower) Davis, were both natives
of Kentucky. The mother died when James was but a small child. In 1851, his
father and family, together with two brothers, William B. and Wilson, started
for California, crossing the plains with ox teams. When they reached Green
River, Wyo., they built a number of boats and conducted a ferry for the con-
venience of emigrants, giving night and day service, for two summers they
carried on this work, and in the fall of 1852 left for California, locating in
Grizzlv Flat, Eldorado County, where they mined for a time. Later the
father farmed near Vacaville, Solano County, where he died in 1910.
Although but a child when his father crossed the plains, James remem-
bers some of the incidents of the trip. As far as the eye could see the plains
were covered with buffalos, and what was most interesting to the boy. were
the men riding to and fro with their hats off, their hair flying in the wind,
keeping the buffalo from stampeding the cattle of the emigrants. Then there
were Indians who harassed the travelers to such an extent that they were
in almost constant fear.
Mr. Davis was educated in the public schools and in the old Pacific
Methodist College at Vacaville. When a boy of fifteen years, in 1862, he
drove a band of cattle to Idaho, remaining away one year, traveling through
Grand Ronde Valley, Ore., with his stock. Returning to Vacaville. he
worked for his father and on ranches, and in 1874 he started for himself;
coming to Fresno County, locating near Kingston. He later bought 100 acres
on Cross Creek, improved it and farmed to grain for two years. He then
rented the Hineland ranch, near Lemoore, where he engaged in grain farm-
ing. In 1886 he homesteaded 160 acres, four miles east of Coalinga, where he
now makes his home. He is raising grain (wheat and Egyptian corn), and
has a familv orchard.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2007
Mr. Davis is an engineer by trade, and for a few years he rented his
ranch and worked in the oil fields in McKittrick, Kern County, also worked
at his trade for three years in the Coalinga oil fields, but returned to his
ranch in 1915. It speaks volumes for his vim and vigor that he is still, even
at his advanced age, looking after the affairs of his ranch taking all care of it.
When he located in Kingston in 1874, he put in his first crop of grain in part-
nership with A. C. Williams. Later Mr. Williams was county clerk of Fresno
County for twelve years.
In the early days Mr. Davis was a school trustee, and when road masters
were elected to office he was chosen to take care of the roads in the Coalinga
district ; later when that office was filled by appointment from the Supervisor,
Mr. Davis was twice appointed, once by a Republican and once by a Dem-
ocratic administration. While occupying this office, he built many of the
roads of the early times — the Warthan Canyon Road, the oil field roads,
and always did good work, serving in office for ten years. He came into this
district before the town of Coalinga was started, and was one of the founders
of the town, "Coalinga" taking its name from a coal mine discovered in the
mountains.
Mr. Davis married Nancy Jane Heriford, who was born in Sonoma
County, of an old pioneer family. To them were born five children: Mrs.
Clara Keyser, of San Francisco, who has one child ; Mrs. Jessie Wood, of
Coalinga, who has two children; Mrs. Doris Edwards; Oscar A., with the
Shell Company ; Harvey E., in United States Field Artillery — served six
months in the Philippine Islands, later at Fort Still, Okla., and was discharged
for disability. Mr. Davis has always believed in the Golden Rule, "Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you." He has no enemies, that he
knows of and has always tried to make his given word as good as his bond.
In the evening of his days he looks back with no regrets, and forward with-
out fear.
ROY P. MATHEWS.— What intelligence, foresight, wisdom to choose
the right field of endeavor — the field for which one is by natural inclination
and temperament and personal gifts best fitted, and a patriotic desire to ad-
vance, as far as possible, the development of the State's resources, may be
learned from the perusal of the sketch of Roy P. Mathews, one of the most
extensive orange, olive and fig producers in Fresno County. The grandson of
a distinguished pioneer, Mr. Mathews was born in Oakland on October 3,
1880. His father was William A. Mathews, born in San Francisco, April 18,
1850. Two sons gave promise of carrying forward the family name, but the
brother of Roy, W. C. Mathews, passed away at an early age.
The Mathews family was indeed one deserving of a high place on the
roll of honor of the State already so rich in notable names. The grand-
father was Judge Edwin Goodrich Mathews, a forty-niner who located at
Oakland and homesteaded 160 acres, the site of the present city of East Oak-
land. In the early seventies he was one of the largest grain brokers in
California.
Roy was educated in the public schools of various grades in his native
city, and entered the University of California with the class of 1903. Leaving
college, he went into the wholesale jewelry business, in San Francisco. His
marriage, November 25, 1908, united him with Miss Jeanette Merritt, the
daughter of H. P. Merritt, who had married Jeanette E. Hebron. Two chil-
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mathews: Marjorie Merritt, and Jane Eloise.
No happier home may be found for miles around, and cheer and hospitality
greet friend and stranger there, and do much to maintain those old, charming
traditions of California life.
Mr. Mathews is a scientific orchardist, and in his work follows only the
most approved methods. Of the Santa Juanita Ranch, 125 acres are devoted
to various kinds of fruit, forty-five being devoted to oranges, twentv to figs,
twenty-three to olives, thirty to Thompson grapes, four to avocados, and
2008 _ HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
three to grapefruit. The beautiful residence, costing $10,000, rises at the foot-
hills of the Sierra range, and commands an inspiring view — groves of oranges,
olives and figs in the foreground, with the mountains for a setting; the
whole forming one of the most beautiful spots in all the State for a country
home. About fifty acres of the orchards belong to Mrs. Jeanette £. Alerritt,
mother of Airs. Roy Mathews.
\\ hen the great history of California comes to be written in its entirety
and proper proportion, the names of Merritt, Hebron and Mathews will find
a worthy and enviable place with those lists of pioneers that posterity will
remember with fond recollections.
J. W. MYERS. — A conscientious, careful and indefatigable worker, who
has become a small ranch-owner in very comfortable circumstances, and
who enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, is J. W. Myers,
brother of Mrs. Malissa Claytor, widow of the late Thomas Claytor. This
lady owns and resides upon a ranch of forty acres, two miles east of Selma,
where Mr. Myers also resides; and having leased it for three years, he is
giving it his most intelligent attention and industrious care.
Mr. Myers was born in Caldwell County, Mo., on June 22, 1872, the
son of George W. Myers, a native of Nashville, Tenn., who enlisted in the
Union Army and served throughout the Civil War. Later he was united in
marriage at Nebraska City, Nebr., to Miss Charlotte Meyers, after which he
farmed for several years in Missouri, where our subject was born and reared.
There were seven children in all, six boys and one girl.
During the great boom in California, in 1887, J. W. Myers came out to
the Golden State, and since then he has spent most of his time in working by
the month on neighboring ranches. He saved his earnings, however, and is
now the owner of twenty unimproved acres west of Selma.
His progress has been slow but sure, as might be expected of one pur-
suing his upright methods. His crop for 1918 yielded $6,000 of which his
share was one-half. He is still single, and thus able to devote the major
part of his time to his pressing affairs. As a patriotic citizen working in
national civic matters under the banners of the Democratic party, but dis-
regarding party politics in matters of local improvement and advancement,
Mr. Myers is a loyal supporter of the administration and of the government's
war policy.
JOHN GREENUP SIMPSON, SR.— Xo state in the Union maintains
a deeper pride in her pioneers than does California, nor has any state a greater
reason for so doing. It is the pioneers of California, who by their hardships
and sacrifices rendered possible the comforts of the present era. Their patient
courage was the foundation stone upon which the permanent superstructure
of a commonwealth was built; their zeal was a constant bulwark against
disappointments, and their enterprise founded towns, improved farms and
made the "desert bloom as the rose." Among such pioneers an honored place
belongs to the late John G. Simpson, Sr., whose memory is treasured as that
of a resourceful citizen and kind friend, and whose name is perpetuated by
descendants inheriting the qualities that inspired his successful career.
On a farm in Kentucky, John G. Simpson was born October 22. 1829.
and from there he went to Missouri with his parents. Robert and Keziah
(Greenup) Simpson, settling with them on a tract of raw land in Miller
County, where they remained until death. At the time of attaining young
manhood he was confronted by the opportunity to settle in California, con-
cerning which but little was known. Desiring to seek his fortune amid the
untried conditions of the coast he started with ox teams across the plains,
being a member of the party under Governor Edwards, with whom also came
J. C. Thompson of Fresno County. At first lie tried his luck at mining in
Mariposa County, but the result was unsatisfactory and he turned his atten-
tion to teaming from Fort Miller to Stockton and the mountains. The next
lotfmw^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2011
venture in which he became interested was a butcher and stock business with
J. N. Musick as a partner. On the dissolution of the partnership in 1861 he
became interested in ranching, at first renting land on Dry Creek and later
entering land from the government.
Coming to the vicinity of Academy, Fresno County, in 1863, Mr. Simpson
began to buy land and sheep, and eventually acquired title to about eight
sections. The qualities which made him successful in the acquisition of prop-
erty contributed to his pre-eminence in other departments of activity. The
Democratic party to which he always gave steadfast support, for many
years retained him in the office of county superintendent of schools, and as a
director he aided in the building of the academy. Indeed, the cause of edu-
cation in this vicinity had no supporter more stanch than he, and his advice
was often sought by those in whose hands rested the training of the youth of
this locality. Fraternally he held membership with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and in religious connections affiliated with the Methodist
Episcopal Church South. Mr. Simpson served on the board of supervisors
when Millerton was the county seat.
The marriage of John G. Simpson was solemnized at Visalia, September
13, 1859, and united him with Miss Sarah M. Baley, who was born in Noda-
way County, Mo. The Baley family is of eastern extraction. William Baley,
an easterner by birth and education, followed the tide of emigration west-
ward and settled among the pioneers of Missouri, where he passed his re-
maining years on a farm. Among his children was a son, William Right
Baley, a native of Madison County, Mo., and for some years a farmer in
Nodaway County, that state. When the discovery of gold in California, in
1848. drew the eyes of the entire world to this section he determined to try
the fickle goddess, Fortune, in the far-distant regions. The year 1849 found
him a pioneer emigrant on the plains, where he traveled with Judge Gillum
Baley. Naturally the mines were his goal and, still following the experience
of others, he had no especial good luck in the mines, yet the months were not
wholly unfruitful of results.
Returning to Missouri in 1852, William Right Baley took up agricul-
tural pursuits which he had relinquished for the more adventurous life of
a miner. In 1857 he again started for the west, this time accompanied by his
family. The second trip was marked by misfortune. After having spent the
winter at Albuquerque the part}' proceeded westward via the Colorado River
and there one evening suffered an attack from a large number of savage
Indians. The white men were conquered by superior numbers and were
forced to helplessly watch the red men drive their stock across the river. Left
without any means of proceeding on their journey, men, women and children
walked back to Albuquerque. A search there for new equipment was almost
a failure, but they finally secured a few thin cattle and started again for the
west. Soon the cattle gave out and were killed and eaten by the little band
of almost starved emigrants. Again they were forced to return to Albu-
querque, this time driven by pangs of keenest hunger. Their condition was
pitiable in the extreme. Footsore and starving, they finally landed in the
town where comforts were procured for the suffering crowd. It was re-
marked by all that the women of the party had endured all of the hardships
of this memorable journey without uttering a word of complaint; the fright-
ful sufferings were endured with a patience born of true heroism, nor did
they give up in despair although it became necessary for them to walk the
entire distance to California.
After having passed through Los Angeles, in the fall of 1858 William
Right Baley settled at Visalia and engaged in teaming. Later he removed
to Stockton. About 1865 he embarked in the stock business on Big Dry
Creek, Fresno County, and here he continued to make his home until he
died in 1883. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Nancy Funderburk,
was born in Tennessee and died in California.
2012 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Sarah M., Mrs. Simpson, was the eldest of the eleven children born to
them and she was educated in subscription schools held in log- buildings near
her Missouri home and naturally her advantages were few, yet she attained
a broad knowledge and was a woman of refinement. After the death of her
husband in September, 1877. she. continued to reside at the old homestead
near Academy, until her death on May 2, 1918, at the age of seventy-seven.
She owned 1,100 acres near Academy and made a specialty of the stock
business. For many years she was identified with the Methodist Episcopal
Church. South, whose activities had in her a generous contributor and en-
couraging assistant. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson had seven children, but two have
passed on, namely: Mary, Mrs. Henry Hazelton, who died at Academy; and
William who was accidentally drowned in 1893 while bathing in the canal at
Sanger. Thomas J. is a stockman and owns the old Simpson Ranch at Acad-
emy, but resides in Fresno ; Marvin, an ex-member of the California Legisla-
ture, resides in Sanger; John G. and George P. have their homes in Fresno
and Lizzie is Mrs. John Fly of Exeter.
MRS. MARY SCHULTZ.— A woman with an interesting history is Mrs.
Mary Schultz, the widow of the late William H. Schultz, the extensive pioneer
land-owner and stock-raiser, and for a while the leading Fresno County
sheepman in the Elkhorn district. She herself is the representative of a
wealthy German family, and she has counted among her California friends
some of the best-known men and women of the Golden State. She divides
her residence between 1139 R Street, Fresno, the home of Mrs. Philip Koehler,
and the old Schultz home ranch, two miles north of Burrel.
Mrs. Schultz was born March 26. 1861. at Rheinpfalz, on the River Rhine,
in Germany, where her mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Koehler,
was still living, in April, 1917, at the entrance of the United States into the
war with Germany. She was then eighty-three, and the last letter received
from her arrived about that time. The father was Jacob Langfinger, wrho
was a vineyardist and owned a fine home and a place of 100 acres, mostly
devoted to the culture of vines. He came from a well-to-do German
family, and he died in 1910, at the age of eighty-one. Six girls and two boys
made up the family; and they are: Kate, the wife of Philip Koehler, who
resides in Fresno; Elizabeth, who is married and lives in Germany; Marie or
Mary, the subject of our sketch; and Barbara, Madge and Anna, all of whom
are married and still residents of Germany, and Philip and Jacob, both of
whom are single, and have remained in the Fatherland. Marie was brought
up in the Lutheran Church and attended the ordinary grammar-grade schools.
Her older sister, Kate, had married Mr. Koehler in Germany and with
her husband and their one child, and Mary, she came to Firebaugh, Cal.. in
1877, at which place Mr. Koehler was employed by Miller & Lux as their
foreman on the old Columbia Ranch for three years. Mrs. Schultz often
talked with Henry Miller and often served him with meals, when he came
their way. At the end of three years, the Koehlers' moved to Merced, there
to remain two years, and Mrs. Schultz went with them, as indeed wherever
they migrated; in 1881, they came to Fresno, and then they went back to
Merced.
At Fresno, Miss Langfinger met William H. Schultz, to whom she was
married on March 21, 1882. He then owned three sections of land northeast
of what is nbw Burrel, viz. sections 24, 25, 27, and a band of 3,000 sheep, and
he was well-known in Fresno and Fresno County. Mr. Schultz bought this
land in early days, and for a while they lived near Elkhorn.
Mr. Schultz was born in Saxony on September 25. 1847. a member of a
very respectable family in ordinary circumstances. He made three trips to
America as a cabin boy, coming to New York on his last trip in 1864; and
concluding to come to San Francisco, he journeyed by way of Panama. When
he reached the Isthmus, however, he was taken, sick' with the Panama fever:
and there he had to stay for more than a year. Finally, he landed at San
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2015
Francisco in 1865. Some time after his arrival he bought sections 25 and 27
from the Southern Pacific Railway Company, and section 24 from a private
party. He had acquired water rights and recorded his deeds at Millerton,
the county seat.
With a partner he ran a restaurant in San Francisco, and then came up
to Elkhorn, where he became interested in sheep, after which he bought his
land. He was always a good business man, made money and had many
friends. He was a public-spirited pioneer, and often served on the Grand
Jury and in other positions of responsibility. He was a life-long Republican,
and grew up in the Presbyterian faith. His death occurred on March 19,
1895, when he was only forty-eight years old.
Mr. and Mrs. Schultz were the parents of two children. William Henry
was a mechanical engineer, he died December 26, 1918; and Armand W. is
an extensive farmer and stock-raiser, and runs the Schultz home place. He
was married in 1912 to Miss Laura Chartrand, daughter of A. E. Chartrand,
at one time a well-known creameryman of Fresno, and now retired. They
have two children — William and Gretchen Marie. Armand owns 310 acres
and farms, all in all including the land of his mother, over 600 acres.
Mrs. Schultz now belongs to the Unitarian Church of Fresno, and is
active in many good works — religious, patriotic, sociological. She loves her
adopted country, as she looks back fondly to the scenes of her youth and the
associations of her near-of-kin ; and she never neglects an opportunity to put
America first, and to advance Fresno County and its interests whenever
and wherever she can.
THOMAS R. DUCEY.— That success often depends not so much upon
heredity and environment as upon what a man makes of himself, is exempli-
fied in the life of Thomas R. Ducey, who was born in Shullsburg, Lafayette
County, Wis., January 17, 1865, and who, at the age of eleven, was bereft
of his father. The father, Maurice Ducey, was born in County Cork, Ireland,
coming to Shullsburg while a young man, in 1836. He bought government
land and engaged in farming, and later discovered lead ore on the place,
three miles out of Shullsburg. He followed mining with his farming, until
his death in 1876. His mother, Ellen Troy, was born in Waterford County,
Ireland, and died in Wisconsin in 1882. They had seven children, four boys
and three girls, of whom two sons and one daughter are living.
Thomas R. Ducey was the second youngest son and the only one in
California. After his father died, he was brought up in Shullsburg, attending
the Sisters' school. At the age of fifteen years he migrated to Pocahontas
County, Iowa, where he worked on farms for eighteen months. Then he went
to Ponca City, Dixon County, Nebr., following farm work for a year; then
he spent a short time in Dubuque, Iowa, after which he went back to Shulls-
burg where he attended a term in the Sisters' school. Then he went to
Dubuque again, and on to Calhoun County, Iowa, where he remained one
year. While here his mother died, and he returned to Shullsburg and sold
out the estate. With his brother, John J., he came to Denver, Colo., follow-
ing farm work, until in 1887 he migrated to Routt County, Colo., at Steam-
boat Springs, 150 miles from the railroad. He homesteaded 160 acres, en-
gaging in raising stock, grain and hay, and continued in this business for
seventeen years, having 200 acres, with plenty of range, upon which he
ran cattle, his brand being a half circle.
Mr. Ducey was school trustee and also overseer of the roads for many
years. He was the first postmaster of Deer Creek, serving four years. In
his pioneering in Colorado he used to freight to and from Denver, making
the trip of 200 miles in twenty-two days, camping on the road enroute. He
crossed the continental divide at Berthoud's Pass, at the headwaters of Clear
Creek. He also hauled freight from Rawlins, Wyo., 180 miles distant.
In 1905 he sold out and went to Twin Falls, Idaho, but remained there
but a short time, coming that same year to Clovis, Cal., where his father-in-
2016 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
law lived. He bought a small ranch, operating it one year, and then going to
Easton, where he remained for eighteen months, when he sold his ranch.
He then bought twenty acres in peaches and vineyard at Fowler and lived
there four years, and then came to Barstow Colony in 1911, where he bought
thirty acres, and engaged in alfalfa raising and dairying, with an orchard and
vineyard. This he now rents to his son. In 1918 he bought twenty acres of
raw land near the same place, and intends to plant a vineyard and orchard.
He has built a residence upon this.
On October 20, 1889, in Routt County, Colo., Mr. Ducey married Miss
Roxie E. Fly, who was born in Barry County, Mo., daughter of John W.
Fly, of Clovis. They have three children : Rachel Ellen, now Mrs. O. B.
Morrison, rancher. Barstow ; John J., on the home place ; and Maurice Daniel,
assisting his parents. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ducey are members of the Frater-
nal Brotherhood at Barstow. Mr. Ducey is a stockholder in the California
Peach Growers, Inc., a member of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany : and a stockholder in the Danish Creamery Company. In politics he
is a Democrat.
Mr. Ducey has had a good many interesting experiences, and has seen
many hardships, but his unfailing good humor and his Irish grit have en-
abled him to master them all, and today he can view his undoubted success
in the assurance that he has achieved it by his own efforts.
N. LINDSAY SOUTH. — Among the successful and popular represen-
tatives of distinguished Southern families in California, none enjoys the
esteem of a wider circle of friends than X. Lindsav South, the well-known
attorney and member of the firm of South & Ross, whose offices are at 119-21
Forsyth Building. Fresno. He was born in Franklin County, Ky.. on Sep-
tember 28, 1879. the son of the Rev. James Knox Polk South of Kentucky,
and the grandson of Colonel Jerry South, whose family came originally from
Scotland, settled first in Virginia and then laid the foundation for part of the
commonwealth of Kentucky, and took a very honorable part in the Indian
and Colonial wars. Colonel South became prominent in Kentucky politics
during ante-bellum days, served in both the Assembly and the Senate of
the State Legislature, and died on duty during a session of the latter body.
James Knox Polk South and seven brothers enlisted from the mountain dis-
tricts of Kentucky in the Confederate Army, although he was only fifteen
years of age, and served throughout the War. taking the rank of Lieutenant
in the Fifth Kentucky Orphan Brigade under General McCreary, who later
served the State of Kentucky in the United States Senate and also as Governor
of the State. After the War, one of Lieutenant South's brothers was mur-
dered by a feudalist: and the lieutenant, to keep himself in the grace of God
and so resist the natural temptation for revenge, took up the work of the
Christian ministry.
He graduated from the old Transylvania, now the Kentucky University,
and is still an active minister in the Christian Church. He met and married
Endora Lindsay, of a family descended from Edinburgh Scotch and in time
prominent in American history, and herself a graduate of Hocker College,
Lexington. She became a noted educator, and was principal of the well-
known Excelsior Institute. She was also an author; and when she died, in
April, 1CU8, she had given to the world two important contributions from
her pen. — a volume on "Luther in Rome," and another entitled. "Wayside
Notes and Fireside Thoughts."
X. Lindsay South was the second eldest of eight children, and was for-
tunate in receiving his primary educational training in the Institute conducted
by his mother. lie then attended the Kentucky University at Lexington, and
afterward pursued a literary and oratorical course at the Xew England Con-
servatory of Music in Boston. Having also completed a stiff and very fruit-
ful course in literature in Harvard, he followed the old-time custom of young
gentlemen of the South and went abroad for a year's travel in Europe.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2017
On his return to America, Mr. South studied law for two and a half
years, and in 1905 was admitted to the Kentucky Bar. The next year he
began to practice law at Frankfort, Ky., continuing until 1911, during which
time, for a couple of years, he was assistant to Napoleon Bonaparte Hayes,
Attorney-General of Kentucky.
Coming to California to reside in 1911, to which State Mr. South's fame
as a jurist had preceded him, he was at once welcomed to the California Bar,
since which time his winning personality, intellectual gifts and high sense
of honor and integrity have brought him and his partner an ever-increasing
and more and more desirable clientele. He is a member of the county and
the state bar associations, and also of the Christian Church in whose ministry
his father had distinguished himself. A Democrat in matters of national
political import, Mr. South casts partisanship to the winds in local affairs, and
always favors the man he knows to be best qualified for the office, and so
finds pleasure in assisting his friends.
In October, 1912, Mr. South was married at San Francisco to Miss Nell
C. Clanton, a native of Texas, and two children have blessed the union and
bear the family name. One is Nell C. South, and the other is Jean Weldon
South.
GEORGE E. SMITH. — Numbered among the successful and enterprising
viticulturists on Whites Bridge Road, is George E. Smith, who was born
at Fremont. Wis., December 9, 1858, a son of Samuel D. and Catherine (Sum-
ner) Smith. The father was a native of Ontario. Canada, and when a young
man of twenty years came with his parents to Green Lake County, Wis.,
where he engaged in carpentering and building. In Fremont County he was
united in marriage with Catherine Sumner, a native of New York State.
In 1862 the family moved to Blue Earth City, Minn., where the father
engaged in contracting but later returned to Fremont, Wis., where he fol-
lowed farming and where he died in July, 1918, aged eighty-four years. The
mother is still living at the advanced age of seventy-five years and resides
at Poysippi, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Smith were the parents of ten
children, all of whom are living, George E., being the oldest ; the others are
in order of birth: Ira, Frank, and William who are farmers in Washington;
Albert, is a dairy farmer at Grand Rapids, Wis. ; Howard, at the olc home in
Wisconsin; Cora, is Mrs. Russell of Berlin, Wis.; Maggie, is now Mrs. Sholtz,
of Oshkosh, Wis.; Nora, Mrs. Cady of Madison, Wis.; Nettie, is married and
resides in Southern Illinois.
George E. Smith was reared in Minnesota and attended the public school
in that state, but at the age of sixteen years returned to Wisconsin with his
parents and helped his father with the work on the farm until he was eighteen,
when he started out for himself working on farms, following farming until
he was twenty-seven years of age.
On March 7, 1888, George E. Smith was united in marriage at Poysippi,
Wis., with Miss Lucinda Cady, a native of Madison, that state, and a daughter
of B. A. Cady, a well known attorney who practiced his profession at Poy-
sippi. During the Civil War he served in a Wisconsin regiment of infantry
and was wounded in battle after which he returned to Poysippi where he
again practiced law, later continuing at Birnamwood, Shawano County. At
the latter city he was honored by being elected prosecuting attorney and dis-
trict attorney, and for several terms represented his district in the State
Assembly. He is still a resident of Birnamwood where he practices his pro-
fession. Her mother, in maidenhood, Julia Shepherd, was a native of Court-
land County, N. Y., and she died at Poysippi in 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Cady
were the parents of five children, Mrs. Smith being the oldest; the others are:
Frank, of Madera, Cal. ; Albert, of Birnamwood, Wis. ; Maggie, who passed
away four years ago ; Myrta, is now Mrs. Cottrell of Poysippi.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. George E. Smith bought a farm at
Poysippi, where they were engaged in stock-raising and general farming
2018 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
until 1904, when they removed to the Golden State, locating in Fresno County.
After arriving in California, Mr. Smith purchased forty acres of land on
Whites Bridge Road, two miles west of the city of Fresno where he engaged
in viticulture. Since then he sold off twenty acres, but still retains twenty of
the original purchase where he lives and which is devoted to muscat and
Thompson seedless grapes and here he makes his home. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
are the parents of two children : Iva M., wife of George Winterberg and re-
sides in this district ; and Dale, still under the parental roof.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are leaders in the Advent Church, at Fresno. Mrs.
Smith is superintendent of the Sabbath School held in the old school house
in the Madison district, and is a deaconess in the Fresno church. Mr.
Smith is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and in na-
tional politics supports the Republican ticket.
ALLEN T. BORST. — A prominent citizen who has faithfully striven
to aid in developing the commonwealth of California, is Allen T. Borst, the
general manager of the Bunting Iron Works, who was born in Centralia,
Lewis County, Wash., on January 21, 1873. His father. Joseph Borst, was
a native of Schoharie County, N. Y., born October 17. 1821, and when a young
man he crossed the plains in an ox team train in 1845, following the old Ore-
gon Trail to Oregon City, where he wintered. In the spring of 1846 he con-
tinued his journey to the Puget Sound country in Washington, where he was
among the very first settlers of what is now Centralia, Lewis County. Here
he located a donation land claim and settled down to improve the place for
his home. He served in two Indian wars in Washington. He was married
in Lewis County to Mary Adeline Roundtree, born in Illinois, June 1, 1838,
the daughter of Dr. James N. Roundtree. a pioneer of Illinois. He served
in the Black Hawk Indian War as a captain, and was commissioned a sur-
geon in the Mexican War, but soon after joining the colors he was taken
ill and obliged to return home. In 1852 he brought his family across the
plains to Lewis County, Wash., where he was a pioneer physician and sur-
geon, also serving in the Indian war. He spent his last days at Centralia.
Joseph Borst was a successful farmer and stock-raiser, he also owned a ranch
at Ellensburg, Eastern Washington, which he devoted to cattle growing, and
where he passed away in 1885. Flis widow survives him, and resides at
Centralia. Eight children were born to this worthy couple, four of whom
are living.
The voungest of the living children, Allen T. Borst. attended the public
schools in Washington and later entered Washington College, at Irvington,
Cal., where he pursued the general business courses and graduated with
honors. After that he took up farming in Washington, and remained there
until June. 1897, in which year he located in Centerville, Alameda County.
Cal., where he continued general farming and the raising of fruit. He liked
the country and lived there until 1906. Two years before that he became
private secretary to John A. Bunting, the well-known oil man and iron manu-
facturer of San Francisco and Coalinga. This engagement led him. on July
1, 1905, to make his first visit to Coalinga, and thereafter, while private sec-
retary for Mr. Bunting, he divided his time between San Francisco and Coal-
inga until June, 1907. when he made Coalinga his home.
For a year Mr. Borst was assistant manager of the Bunting Iron Works,
in Coalinga and then he took charge of the Shawmut Oil Company, owned
by Mr. Bunting. He remained in that position until November 30, 1916..
Upon the death of Mr. Bunting, on May 1, 1916, he became one of the execu-
tors of the estate, and manager of the Bunting Iron Works.
Mr. Borst has always been deeply interested in educational matters and
has served on the school board in every district in which he has lived. He
is one of the trustees of the Coalinga Union High School and the Coalinga
Public Library — the same officers serve for the two institutions — and he is
president of both boards. He is also a member of the board of town trustees
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2021
of Coalinga, having been elected to that office in April, 1918. During the
time he has been president of the school board the new high school building,
costing about $90,000, was planned and completed, and it is one of the finest
and most modern school buildings in the count}'. The new public library
was also built during this time.
Mr. Borst married Elizabeth Overacker, a native daughter, born in
Alameda County and a member of a well-known family of the early fifties,
being a daughter of Howard Overacker, who was a prominent farmer in
Alameda County. Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Borst: Deborah, now the wife of Tilghman K. Junken of Coalinga; and
Joseph, a student in the high school. The family attend the Presbyterian
Church, although they are members of the Christian Church. Mr. Borst is
a member of the Growlers Club, the Woodmen of the World, the Chamber
of Commerce and the United Artisans ; and he was a stockholder and director
in the Bank of Coalinga, and also an organizer and director in the National
Bank of Coalinga. When the three banks were consolidated as the First
National Bank of Coalinga he was made a member of the directorate and
still serves in that capacity. He is very solicitous for the future growth of
Coalinga and the welfare of its citizens and always shows his willingness to
do all he can to build up the city and enhance the comfort and pleasure of
its people.
MILES O. HUMPHREYS.— A progressive and prominent California
business man and rancher, who began life as a native son in Fresno County
is Miles O. Humphreys, who was born at Wildflower on April 12, 1885, the
son of John W. Humphreys, the well-known pioneer who is represented on
another page of this book. He was the youngest of ten children, and his
early life was spent on the Humphreys ranch near Tollhouse. He attended
the public schools and was graduated from the Madera High School in 1906.
Pushing out into the commercial world, Mr. Humphreys entered the
employ of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, and for two
years had his headquarters at Fresno ; later he was made superintendent, and
continued in charge of the Fresno office until 1915, when he resigned to
engage in the general real estate and insurance business in the firm known
as Humphreys Brothers.
During these years Mr. Humphreys was interested with his brothers, J.
W. and Ray, in stock-raising on the old Humphreys ranch, having purchased
adjoining lands and in so doing increased the area of their farm-lands to
1,400 acres. In 1917, M. O. and J. W. Humphreys bought their brother Ray's
interest in the ranch and real estate business, and continued as Humphreys
Brothers, M. O. being manager of the real estate and general insurance end
of the enterprise ; and as both have grown in volume, he is a very busy man.
In partnership with his brother, J. W. Humphreys, Miles owns 154 acres
on the State Highway seven miles northwest of Fresno, which is highly im-
proved. Forty acres make up a bearing peach orchard and sixty acres a
bearing muscat vineyard. He also has twenty acres in alfalfa and thirty
acres given over to a fig orchard. He is a member of the California Peach
Growers, Inc.. the California Associated Raisin Company, and the California
Alfalfa Growers Association.
At Fresno, on May 16, 1907, Mr. Humphreys was married to Miss Zella
M. Melvin, who was born in Fresno, the daughter of I. A. Melvin, a pioneer
and successful stockman, who died in 1917 at the age of eighty-four. She was
a graduate of the Fresno high school and has thus been able to give better
attention to the education of her two sons, Miles O., Jr., and Faris Melvin.
When the commission was organized to plan for the future growth, need
and beauty of Fresno, Mr. Humphreys was appointed by Mayor Snow, a
member of the commission and was made chairman ; and how well he and his
colleagues served is a matter of public record. In national political affairs,
Mr. Humphreys acts with the Republicans, but he belongs to that ever-
2022 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
increasing number of good citizens who believe that in local affairs there
should be no partisanship.
Mr. and .Mrs. Humphreys are members of the First Presbyterian Church.
For many years also he has been and is an active member of the Y. M. C. A.,
and he also belongs to Manzanita Camp, W. O. W., and to the Commercial
Club.
CAMILLO R. LEONI. — A rancher and dairyman who is to be depended
upon is Camillo R. Leoni, one of the stockholders in the First National Rank
at Riverdale and a leader among the Swiss-Americans in Southern Fresno
County. He was born at Cerentino, Canton Ticino. Switzerland, on Novem-
ber 8, 1874, the son of John and Madaline (Pedrazzi) Leoni, who had a family
of eight children, among whom Camillo was the fourth in the order of birth.
The elder Leoni owned land and was a farmer and dairyman. An older
brother, James, came to America and California first, and the year after, in
1888, Camillo followed, arriving in Marin County when he was only fourteen
years of age. He worked for a year on the dairy ranches there, and then
came to Fresno County.
At first he engaged to work out by the month on J. W. Downing's ranch
of 320 acres, doing dairying and general farm work, later taking up with
other employers, among them being "Uncle" Job Malsbury, and R. S. Gobby
and S. Zanolini when they ran the John's ranch west of Riverdale, where
Lanare now stands. Having saved his earnings for five years, he made his
first payment on his first purchase of 160 acres, where he has lived ever since,
milking from thirty to sixty cows and prospering.
When Mr. Leoni first bought his land and settled here, there were no
levies and a great flood put all his buildings under water. His alfalfa was
submerged, and he was compelled to take his family away in order to save
them from drowning. He recalls also the Texas fever and the other cattle
plagues, against which he has persisted and won out, so that now he is a
well-to-do and influential man.
At Fresno Mr. Leoni was married to Miss Zelina Leoni, a native of the
same canton in Switzerland ; by whom he has had four children — Lillian,
Henry, Milo and Roy. Mr. Leoni owns 160 acres two miles east, and a half
mile south of Burrel, and 100 acres three-fourths of a mile west of that town.
He is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Riverdale, which he helped
to organize.
A. B. PETERS. — Among the wide-awake representatives of Fresno is
A. B. Peters, distinguished for having laid out. at the corner of California
Avenue and Cherry Street, additions to the city, thus doing much to build up
the community, and for still taking a live interest in its growth and develop-
ment. He came to Fresno in the early eighties, and he has seen the city
expand so that now it is the pride of the Golden State.
He was born in Ezeroum, Asia Minor, on October 22, 1862, the son of
P. K. Peters, who was born at Harpoot, where he became a merchant and
farmer. Having married, he came to Philadelphia in 1877 with his family,
sons-in-law and nieces, and after two years there moved to Milburytown,
Mass. A^arious members of the family worked in the cotton mills, while Mr.
Peters was engaged in the manufacture of carpets, and ran a factory. He
did not like the narrow, confined life of the city, however, and wanted to
engage in farming; so he came to California alone in the spring of 1882,
traveled from San Francisco to Fresno, and then to Los Angeles, and thence
back East. He liked it so well that he came back with his wife, and two
sons ; and after a month in Los Angeles, they decided to come to Fresno
County, the prices for land being more favorable here. He bought forty
acres in the Fresno Colony, paying ninety dollars an acre, making the pur-
chase of G. G. Briggs. reserving twenty acres for himself and son A. B. Peters,
and twenty acres for the other son Alex; and these parcels he improved, set-
ting out vines and orchards. He built up a good ranch and made it his home
<3
o*>
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2023
until he died on March 1, 1904. The mother died on August 9, 1897. They
had five children, all still living.
A. B. Peters is the youngest in the family, yet he went to work at once
in Philadelphia soon after his arrival there, being employed in a cigar store;
while in Massachusetts he worked in the cotton mills. Arriving in Fresno
in 1882, he worked in a cannery, continuing in that business for two and a
half years, when he went to work upon a ranch. Later he leased ranches and
ran them. He then started in business and ran a packing house ; and after
that he was in a planing mill enterprise.
He had continued farming all this while, and after his father died, he
bought his father's interest in the twenty-acre ranch, having long been
interested in it financially. He laid out Peters Second, Third and Fourth ad-
ditions, each time subdividing five acres, and he still owns five acres and
five lots. He himself planted all the trees on the avenue, and further beauti-
fied the tract.
At Fresno Mr. Peters was married to Miss Beatrice Hekimian, by whom
he has had three children — Hermina, Edward and Roxie. He and his family
are members of the Presbyterian Church, Mr. Peters having been one of the
church's trustees for years.
CHARLES ELLIOTT WILLIAMS.— The adage that "nothing suc-
ceeds like success" applies in the accomplishments of Charles Elliott
Williams, a prosperous rancher of Fresno County. He was born at Crestline,
Richland County, Ohio, October 23, 1854, a son of Benjamin and Catherine
(Tyler) Williams, both of whom were natives of New York State, born on
the Hudson and in Ithaca, respectively. They were farmers in Ohio, as also
in Illinois, to which state the family removed in 1863, finally settling in Flat
Rock, Crawford County, where both parents died. The Williams family is
traced back to England, while the Tylers are an old New York State family,
members of which were in the Battle of Minnesink.
Charles Elliott Williams is the third in a family of six children, and was
educated in the public schools of Crawford County, 111. When he was
twenty-one years of age he bought a farm near Flat Rock, where he followed
farming until he came to California.
On October 13, 1887, Mr. Williams was united in marriage with Miss
Emma E. Fry, a native of Henry County, Ind., the ceremony being solem-
nized at Allison Prairie, Lawrence County, 111. Miss Fry was the daughter
of Maurice and Elizabeth (Bible) Fry, natives of Virginia who were early
settlers of Henry County, Ind., and later pioneers of Allison Prairie, 111. On
her maternal side Mrs. Williams traces her ancestors back to Casper Branner,
who settled in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., in 1750. In 1888, Mr. and Mrs.
Williams located on Allison Prairie, 111., where he became an extensive and
successful farmer, operating over 700 acres of land. Seven children were
born to them: Eva C, who is now Mrs. Calvert; Jennie May, who died
when six years of age; Raymond L., in the United States Army, in a regi-
ment of engineers, serving over seas ; Everett M., assisting his father ; Myrtle
J., now Mrs. Gladden ; and Hazel F. and Lester E., who are both at home.
On January 12, 1912, Mr. AVilliams and his family came to California,
where he engaged in the mercantile business in Fresno, from February to
October of that year, when he sold out to engage in farming, horticulture and
viticulture on a twenty-acre tract eleven miles east of town on Ventura
Avenue, in the Grandville district. Here he set out a family orchard and a
vineyard of Thompson seedless raisin grapes, and has since devoted his time
to the development of the tract. Mr. Williams is a loyal supporter of the public
school system, as he is also of other institutions and organizations for the
upbuilding of the county. He is a Democrat in politics, though not a radical,
since in local matters he votes for the men best qualified for office.
2024 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
HARRY EDWARD SPENCE.— Born near Minneapolis, Ottawa County.
Kans., February 23. 1871, Harry E. Spence came to California with his par-
ents, Andrew and Caroline (Bell) Spence, when twelve years of age. They
resided at Duarte, Los Angeles County, until 1888, when they moved to Bur-
roughs Valley, Fresno County. He finished his education at Healdsburg
College and then devoted his time to farming and stock-raising.
At Fresno, in 1898, Harry Spence married Miss Lutie Gilmer, who was
born near Porterville, Cal., and whose father was Robert Gilmer, a native of
Kentucky who crossed the plains to California in the fifties. After mining a
few years he returned to Iowa, and there married Mary A Dye, a native of
that state. He served over three years in an Iowa regiment in the Civil War
as a second lieutenant. In 1873 they settled at Porterville, Cal., and after-
wards at Selma, but in 1879 they moved to Burroughs Valley where Mr. Gil-
mer improved a ranch and set out one of the first orchards in the valley. He
died here and is survived by his widow. Mrs. Spence is next to the youngest
of their seven children and was educated in the public schools of the valley.
Harry Spence was successful as a farmer and became owner of 400
acres in the heart of Burroughs Valley. For many years he also followed
teaming to the mills in the Sierras and while thus engaged took a heavy cold
through exposure, which resulted in his death, February 27, 1911. Since his
death Mrs. Spence has continued stock-raising, being assisted in the manage-
ment of the ranch by Mr. Spence's brother, Dulcy Spence ; they have extended
their holdings, also owning ranches in Watts and Sycamore valleys. For
many years they have engaged in the mercantile business in a store built
on their ranch, where Mrs. Spence served as postmaster from 1899 until 1917,
when she resigned.
Mr. and Mrs. Spence had four children : Vivian, Patti, Harry Gilmer,
and Edward Sylvester. Mr. Spence served as school trustee, as well as lus-
tice of the Peace. He was a prominent man and yielded a wide influence for
good. Mrs. Spence performs her civic duties under the standard of the Re-
publican party.
WILLIAM E. BROWN. — An oil man who has steadily worked his way
up until he now holds a responsible position with the Union Oil Company,
is William E. Brown, who was born at Washburn, Maine, on December 30,
1866, the son of Simon Brown, who was born in Massachusetts and descended
from a 'family traceable back to the first settlers of Mayflower stock. Simon
Brown was in the Civil War, a member of the Eighth Maine Regiment, and
he was wounded by the bursting of a shell. Having farmed in Maine he later
removed to Menominee County, Mich., where he engaged in lumbering; and
then he went back to Maine. He married Harriet Hall, a native of Maine and
a member of an old Massachusetts family, who also traces her ancestry back
to the Mayflower. Mr. and Mrs. Brown came to California in 1910 to make
their home with their son, W. E., at Coalinga. They were the parents of three
girls and a son, among whom William is the third oldest.
He was brought up in Maine, attended the public schools there and then
went to work on a farm, continuing at home until he was twenty-one. At
that time he went to Michigan and spent about six years working in the
lumber camps where he became a foreman ; and he also engaged in charcoal
burning. Then he moved back to Maine, and later went west to Indiana,
where he began to learn the oil business, commencing at the Geneva field, in
1893, as a pumper. He worked up to driller, and then took drilling contracts.
About 1900 he moved to Beaver Dam, Ohio, and there worked as foreman
in the Lima oil field. He got to be more and more interested in oil fields
and wells and in 1906 went to Illinois, attracted by the Casey oil district
and the Bridgeport district, where he was a contract driller.
In 1910 Mr. Brown came to California and after a brief stay in Los
Angeles, he located at Bakersfield and went with the Claremont Oil Com-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2027
pan)', in Kern River field, owned by the Union Oil Company. He became a
district foreman and held that post until December 1, 1911, when he was
transferred to the Clairmont lease at Coalinga, where he was made super-
intendent. He is now district foreman of the Union Oil Company's holdings
in the Coalinga district, which includes Clairmont, Section 24, and also of
the Iredell, Section 13, and the Union, Section 8.
At Ishpeming. Mich., on January 3, 1901, Mr. Brown was married to
Miss Emma Andrews, a native of Calumet, Mich., and the daughter of Jo-
seph Andrews, who was born in England and came as a child to Wisconsin.
In the southern part of that state he was brought up as a miner, and later
he removed to Calumet. He died at Mrs. Brown's at Bridgeport. His wife
was Sarah Lane, a native of England before her marriage, and she died at
Quinnesec, Mich., the mother of four children, Mrs. Brown being the oldest.
She was educated in the Iron Mountain, Mich., schools, and was engaged
in teaching in Menominee County, Mich., until her marriage. Two children —
Elva and Kenneth, are the pride of the Brown home, and both are attending
the Coalinga Union high school, — Elva in the class of 1920. Mr. Brown was
made a Mason in Bridgeport Lodge, No. 386, F. & A. M., and he is still a
member there. He belongs to the Growler's Club of Coalinga.
RUDOLPH J. PEREZ.— A native son of California and descendant of
a pioneer family of the state, Rudolph J. Perez was born in Oakdale, Stanis-
laus County, July 21, 1881. His father, Joseph E. Perez, was also a native
Californian, a son of one of the old pioneer families in the state. His birth
took place in Mariposa ; and he later followed the trade of blacksmith in
San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties. When he located in Fresno Mr. Perez
ran a shop at the corner of Fresno and K Streets, in partnership with a Mr.
White. This partnership was dissolved in 1889, and in 1890 Mr. Perez located
in Fowler and ran a shop there under the firm name of Perez & Post. He
was one of the first men to erect a home on the west side in Fresno, first
building at the corner of Sacramento and E Streets ; later he built a home on
F Street near Stanislaus. His death occurred on December 17, 1892. All his
life a progressive and enterprising citizen, he early saw a great future for
Fresno and readily lent his help toward that end. His wife was Patricia
Sanches, also born in Mariposa, Cal., and they were the parents of the fol-
lowing children: Mrs. George E. Churcher, Peter J., Mrs. Ruth Howard of
Sonora, Tuolumne County, and Rudolph J. The mother's death occurred in
Fresno, October 28, 1904.
Rudolph J. Perez was a boy of seven years when his parents settled in
Fresno, in 1888. He attended the public schools here and later became a
chef in the hotels and cafes of Fresno. In 1903 he learned the trade of
plumber with the firm of Donohue-Emmons Company, and in 1909 formed
a partnership with V. J. Cox, under the firm name of Cox & Perez Plumbing
Shop, with quarters at 2127 Kern Street. He sold out to Cox in 1911, and
formed a partnership with J. W. Murray under the firm name of Murray
& Perez, with a shop at 1225 I Street. The partnership continued until 1915,
and since that date Mr. Perez has engaged in business alone at 1434 F Street,
and has earned the title of "Honest Plumber" throughout the city and
county. He is a member of the Fresno local and the State Association of
Master Plumbers of California, and shows his interest by attending the con-
ventions each vear.
The marriage of Mr. Perez united him with Matilda Rogers, a native of
Fresno County, and two children were born to them, Audrey and Dorothy.
The mother passed away on September 8, 1910. Mr. Perez has been active
in fraternal circles in Fresno, and is a member of the Eagles. He is a member
of the Merchants' Association and can always be found in the front ranks
when the advancement of his town is the issue.
2028 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
BENJAMIN W. KILBY.— An optimistic native son is Benjamin W.
Kilbv. is postmaster of Helm and the managing partner in the well-known (inn
of Eaton & Kilby, proprietors of the general merchandise store called "The
Helm Store:'" and the partners are Mrs. Hattie A. Eaton, widow of the late
Fred F. Eaton, and Mr. Kilbv.
The latter came here as a clerk for Mr. Eaton, when that pioneer also
ran a general merchandise store at Burrel; and when Mr. Eaton died on
November 30, 1916, Mr. Kilby lost the personal association of one of the
ablest and most popular business men in the county. Helm is located on
the Hanford and Summit Lake Railway, which runs from Hanford to Ker-
man. having been built through here in 1912; and it is commonly known as
the Hardwick-Ingle branch of the Southern Pacific.
Mr. Kilbv was born at Coalinga on March 13. 1887, the son of William
J. Kilby of the real estate and insurance firm of W. J. Kilby and Son of
Coalinga. W. J. Kilby went there in 1885; and he is a dealer in real estate
in that place, and owns several houses there. Five children were born of the
Kilby union, and all are still living. Mollie is the wife of G. M. Hughes, the
oil-man at Coalinga; Benjamin W. is the subject of this interesting sketch;
Trixie is the wife of C. N. Avers, the machinist and garage-man of Coalinga ;
Colon is a sophomore at the university at Redlands ; and Neta is a Red Cross
nurse in the hospital at San Diego. Mrs. Kilby was Helen Murtiagh. a native
of Ireland, and Benjamin's father was born at Freeport, Maine. Both parents
are still living at Coalinga.
After working at different lines, Benjamin Kilby clerked for two years,
and at the age of thirty was made a partner in the firm. He was married at
Helm to Miss Pearl White, daughter of James White, and a granddaughter
of Almond M. Bentley, the well-known pioneer. Two children blessed the
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Kilby — Muriel and Beatrice.
In December. 1914. Mr. Kilby received an appointment as postmaster of
Helm, and ever since he has held that office to the satisfaction of all his
fellow-citizens. He is also serving as public weighmaster. He supports, as
does his good wife, every desirable movement for the advancement of local
interests. Besides, he is actively interested in the Pine Flat conservation
project, which is likely to prove of much importance as the years go by.
Mr. Kilby was made a Mason at Kerman, and there, as throughout the
county, he numbers many loyal friends. The postoffice at Helm is now under
the Civil Service and has been much improved as to its serviceability since
Mr. Kilby took charge.
JOHN J. STRATTON. — A fine fellow whose many friends are glad to
see that he is again building up a satisfactory business despite previous re-
verses, is J. J. Stratton, the viticulturist and chicken fancier who once de-
veloped by hard work in the East a splendid celery farm and vegetable gar-
den but had to sell out and come West on account of his wife's health. This
was in 1902, and ever since he has been building and broadening as all who
know his capacity would expect him to do.
He was born at New Baltimore. Stark County. Ohio, on July 27. 1869, the
son of Elias Stratton, who was a farmer there and served in the 186th Ohio
Regiment during the Civil War. He married Catherine Boston, a native of
Ohio; and both are dead. Three children were born of this union, and all
are living. Of these our subject is the second oldest and the only one in
California.
Brought up in Ohio, the lad played and worked on the farm, and at the
same time attended the public schools. He learned to be a farmer and a
carpenter: and when he was ready for the responsibilities of life, he married
Miss Nora Matti, a native of Randolph, Portage Count}', Ohio. Mr. Stratton
followed farming, running his father's farm for a time and later specializing
in celery on land of his own. He put in five thousand feet of tile under his
five acres, and raised big crops of celery.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2029
In 1902, Mr. and Mrs. Stratton made a visit to California, then returned
to Ohio. In 1906, on account of failing health of Mrs. Stratton, they sold out
and started for California, stopping for two months at Colorado Springs.
Disappointment with the results led him to California ; and in the fall of
1906 he settled in Fresno County, near Fowler, where Mrs. Stratton died on
November 15. He was in the employ of William Ruffert for eighteen months;
and meantime, in 1908, he bought this place and began the necessary im-
provements.
He embarked in the poultry business in 1909, purchasing White Leg-
horns and installing incubators and brooders, and raising chickens and gather-
ing eggs. He set out a fine eucalyptus grove by the house and with a variety
of vines, made a nice vineyard. He has twenty acres on White's Bridge Road
and Hughes Avenue, and his poultry yard now has about 1.000 hens. He
belongs to and vigorously supports the California Associated Raisin Company.
One child survived Mrs. Stratton — Piccola by name, until March IS, 1919,
when she died. In national politics a Republican, Mr. Stratton takes keen
pleasure in assisting to promote all worthy local movements, regardless of
party lines.
ABRAM OLSON. — An interesting instance of an enterprising man who,
having made a great success in one field, had the foresight necessary to see
the still greater opportunities in another, is afforded in the life-story of Abram
Olson, the well-known contractor and builder of Fresno, who bought and
improved certain ranch property, and is now one of the foremost viticulturists
of the vicinity. He was born in Daleslan, Sweden, in April, 1863, the son of
a prosperous farmer, and was reared on a farm, while he attended the gram-
mar schools in Sweden. Later, pushing out for himself according to the cus-
tom of his country which encourages a lad early tp get upon his feet, he be-
came an expert sawyer and then a master carpenter especially familiar with
lumber; and after that, wishing to vary his experience, he took to the lakes,
and for three years was a sailor.
When he was twenty-two years of age, Mr. Olson crossed the ocean and
pushed west to South Dakota, where he went out on a farm at Elk Point.
At the first opportunity, however — for he found agricultural conditions here
very different from those in Sweden — he took up carpentry and building,
and so resumed his trade. His characteristic Old World thoroughness con-
tributed much to make him a very acceptable workman, and it was not long
before he had established himself in the big city of St. Paul. His clever and
satisfactory work, in fact, made him in demand by a power elevator company,
and he had all and more than he could do helping to construct elevators.
During these years he had a forty-acre farm in South Dakota, but he sold it
to locate a homestead of 160 acres thirty-five miles east of Bismarck, which
he improved and managed.
In the fall of 1912, Mr. Olson sold that property and located in Fresno.
He took up contracting and building, and erected several bungalows for
Messrs. Dodds & Orr. The next year he bought the twenty acres on Ventura
Avenue soon so well identified with his name, eleven miles east of Fresno,
and leveled and improved the land, put up a residence and other out-buildings,
and so made it one of the really desirable ranches of the county. It is under
the Fancher Creek ditch, and therefore has plenty of water, and this has
proven a consideration of the first importance. He set out a fine vineyard of
carefully-selected Thompson seedless and emperor grapes, and also planted
figs and with each he had phenomenal success. After improving this ranch, he
sold it in June, 1918, and now owns eleven acres in Roeding Villa Colonies
where he resides with his family, devoting his land to viticulture. For years
he has been one of the enthusiastic and hard-working members of the Cal-
ifornia Associated Raisin Company.
During his pleasant days in South Dakota, Mr. Olson was married to
Miss Nellie Johnson, a native of South Dakota, and the daughter of Peter
2030 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Johnson, one of the most honored pioneers of that great commonwealth.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Olson, and each has reflected
the creditable qualities of their parents. Eernice is Mrs. McFarland of
Fresno; Milford was in the United States Navy and now in the employ of the
Newman Vineyard; and there are Garfield who was in the United States
Army, First Army Mobile Veterinary Hospital No. 1. He served overseas,
stationed at Verdun, serving until September 12, 1919, when he was mustered
out at San Francisco and returned home; Electa, Madeleine and Floyd. Mr.
Olson is a Lutheran while his wife was raised a Baptist and he carries on his
civic work under the banners of the Republican party, while lending the most
helpful support to all local movements for community improvement.
G. A. WOLFE.— One of the hustling business men of the City of Fresno
is represented in the person of G. A. Wolfe, a member of the Giffen-Wolfe
Agency, authorized dealers for the universal car — the Ford, in this district.
Mr. Wolfe is a native of the Buckeye State. He was born at Cleveland
on April 24, 1885, the son of G. W. and Marie E. (Burch) Wolfe, both now
being deceased.
The family of G. W. Wolfe moved from Cleveland to Chicago, when their
son was but a child, and it was in the public schools of the "Windy City" that
he received his schooling. After his schooldays were ended, young Wolfe
came West to California, and in 1903 was in the employ of the Farmers Na-
tional Bank of Fresno, where he held a clerkship for a year.
His next venture was in the real estate and insurance business with
F. M. Chittenden, and for two years he carried on a real estate and insurance
business with considerable success.
Later, Mr. Wolfe was assistant manager of the Operating Department
of the California Associate'd Raisin Company, and still later, was in charge of
their Insurance Department.
( >n August 6. 1915. Mr. Wolfe engaged in business under the firm name
of Madison and Wolfe, general insurance, which was formerly owned by the
F. M. Chittenden Company, and under his masterful guidance, their business
became the largest in Central California. Mr. Madison finally purchased his
partner's interest, and thereafter Mr. Wolfe formed the partnership with
Wylie M. Giffen, as mentioned above.
They give employment to about sixty men. and thereby facilitate the
sale of the Ford automobile and Fordson Tractor.
G. A. Wolfe was united in marriage with Miss Johanna M. Johnson on
February 21, 1914. They have a daughter, Helen Marie Wolfe. The family
attend the First Methodist Church. Mr. Wolfe is a prime member in all
movements for the upbuilding of his adopted county, where he is respected
and esteemed by all with whom he has business or social relations.
JAMES HENRY STRICKLIN. — An enterprising and successful farmer
and dairyman who has an agreeable family that unite in extending a true west-
ern hospitalitv, is James Henrv Stricklin. who was born in Oregon City. Ore.,
on April 25, 1864. the son of William Stricklin. a native of Virginia, in which
state he was born in 1804. He moved to Iowa and there married Elizabeth
Earnest, who was born at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. In 1852 he crossed the
great plains with ox teams and wagons; and passing through the Indian
country, they located in Clackamas County, near Oregon City. There he took
up 640 acres of land — what was allowed for man and wife — improved it and
lived on it till 1874; when he sold out and moved to Eastern Oregon, settling
near The Dalles, in Moscow County. He became a stockman, and died there,
in 1879. At the same place his good wife passed away in 1891. the mother of
nine children, only four of whom are living.
Tames Henry, the third youngest, when he was ten years of age accom-
panied his family to The Dalles, and this migration had much to do with his
limited book education. He had to travel seven miles to school, going on
Vsi^-^i^.&ds-^&SL*^?^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2031
horseback, and so instead he early set to work on the farm. He continued at
home until he was nineteen, and then he went out to work, in order to help
his mother bring up the rest of the family.
At Canon City, in Grant County, in 1899, Mr. Stricklin married Miss
Flora Cutting, a native of Oregon City; and after that they settled on a farm,
where he bought a claim. He homesteaded 160 acres near Canon City and
went in for stock-raising; and he used his father's old brand, an X. In 1905
he came to Laton, Cal., and bought forty acres of the Laguna tract for fifty
dollars per acre ; he improved it for alfalfa and a fruit orchard, planted
peaches and six years later sold it for $150 an acre.
He located on his present place in 1911, buying 158 acres; on account of
dry years he let some of it go back so that now he has about seventy acres.
He built a residence, set out an orchard and leveled and checked the land
for alfalfa. He devotes most of the land to the growing of this desirable
fodder, and he carries on successfully a very sanitary, up-to-date dairy. He
also leases land, and raises grain.
Three children have blessed the home life of Mr. and Mrs. Stricklin.
Dorothy is the oldest; and there are Elsie and Alfred, and all are at home.
Mr. Stricklin belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. In national pol-
itics he belongs to the Democratic party, and he is first, last and all the time
an American.
HARVEY G. ANDERSON.— Coming to California in the middle six-
ties, Harvey G. Anderson has since then been modestly but steadily en-
deavoi ing to make this world a better place to live in.
Mr. Anderson was born at Dubuque, Iowa, on October 10, 1863, the son
of William H. Anderson, a native of Iowa, and a grandson of William Ander-
son, who was born in Alabama, and became a pioneer in Iowa. William H.
Anderson grew up there a farmer, and was married in that state to Miss Jane
McBride, the daughter of William McBride, who was born in Scotland, and
also became a pioneer of Iowa. Mr. Anderson brought his wife and two chil-
dren across the plains in 1865, by means of horses and wagons, a part of a
large train of forty-seven vehicles, and they took all the summer to make the
journey. He settled at Stockton and there engaged in farming, then he
bought land near Waterloo, and he is still residing there, hale and hearty,
daily superintending his ranch, although at the advanced age of eighty-two
years. Mrs. Anderson died in 1880, the mother of two children, of whom our
subject is the older. Alice is now Mrs. William Thrush and lives on the old
home ranch.
Harvey Anderson was brought up on a farm and educated at the public
schools. From a young man, however, he was interested in oil, and he was
impelled by a great desire to get to the oil-fields ; so, about 1880, when he was
seventeen, he went to Pennsylvania, and at Bradford, an oil center, he learned
the oil business. Then he went to Bowling Green, Ohio, and after four
years returned to California when the development in oil was just beginning
in the Los Angeles field.
Reaching Santa Paula and finding that everything was quiet in the oil-
fields, he turned to drilling water wells, and as a contractor he operated with
great success in Kern, Tulare and Santa Barbara counties. He had a shop in
Tulare where he manufactured stove-pipe casing used in casing the water-
wells, and he met with such success that he made that town his headquarters
for four years. He was ready, therefore, to take advantage of the opening of
the Kern River oil-fields, and going in there early, contracted to drill. He
was given an important contract by the 33 Oil Company, and drilled for them
their second well in the Kern River field.
After a year, Mr. Anderson joined others, bought 120 acres, and striking
oil, they put down seven wells. He superintended these until the tract was
sold, and in 1905 he came to Coalinga as superintendent of this same prop-
2032 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
erty, for the Esperanza Oil Company. At that time they had only three wells,
but he continued to drill and he put down thirteen more. About 1913, the
company was bought by the General Petroleum Company, and he continued
as superintendent. The average depth of the wells is from 1,200 to 1,700 feet,
and the lease is 170 acres. Aside from this responsibility, Mr. Anderson has
another, that of the superintendency of the Ophir Oil Company, which has
two producing wells; the superintendency of the Ozark Oil Company, which
has five wells, and the superintendency of the Coalinga National ( >il Com-
pany and the Minora Oil Company. Me was interested in and was one of the
organizers of the Pilot Oil Company, in which he is a vice-president and a
director. They have sixty acres in Sec. 12-20-14. where seven wells are
producing. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Chamber of Alining and Oil in
Los Angeles, and is a director in the First National Bank of Coalinga. He is
an organizer and director in the Esmeralda Mining Company which owns
and operates a quicksilver mine adjoining the New Idra. The company has
a mountain of cinnabar ore and has a plant equipped with rock-crusher, retorts
and condensers, with a capacity of 100 tons.
On May 15, 1891, at Tulare, Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Inez
Mull, a native of Arkansas, and they have had one child, Neal Anderson, who
is a graduate of St. Mary's Academy, Oakland, and who then attended Santa
Clara College, and afterwards learned the oil business under his father. He
was in charge of the Information Bureau of the San Joaquin Valley exhibit,
Panama Pacific Exposition, San Francisco, in 1915. He is now superintend-
ent of the Petroleum Company at Fullerton. He is of a mechanical turn and
is the inventor of a gasoline extractor of casing-head gas, which, after con-
densing the gasoline, saves the remaining gas that formerly went to waste.
Mrs. Anderson is the daughter of Martin and Cornelia (Galloway) Mull,
natives of Tennessee and South Carolina, respectively. They removed to
Jacksonport. Ark. Martin Mull served in the Civil War as captain of the
Jackson Guards from Batesville. Ark., and after the war was engaged as a
"wholesale merchant until his death. His widow survived him two years.
Mrs. Anderson was reared in a cultured environment and is greatly interested
in civic and club work. In 1910 she organized the Women's Welcome Club
of Coalinga (a Federation club), having been its president for five years. She
is also an active member of the Coalinga Women's Club and as delegate at-
tended the Biennial of the Federation of Women's Clubs in San Francisco in
1911. Mrs. Anderson was also district chairman of Federation Extension of
the San Joaquin Valley District for two years as well as state chairman of
Federation Extension and Emblem for a period of two years. She is now
state chairman of Emblem and second vice-president of the San Joaquin Val-
ley District of the California Federation of Women's Clubs. She is also a
member of Eschscholtzia Chapter, Order of Eastern Star, Coalinga.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are both interested in the cause of education,
each having served as trustee of Alpha school district. They have also been
active in war relief work and the different war and allied drives. It is through
her enthusiastic work in the Red Cross that Mrs. Anderson is best known,
having given her entire time during the World War. She is chairman of the
Military Relief of the Coalinga Chapter of American Red Cross, and has been
since its organization, as well as a member of its executive board, and to this
for months she gave all of her time. She also organized Communitv-Sings.
where the people met and sang patriotic songs on the streets of Coalinga.
Fraternally. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Tulare Lodge of I. O. O.
F. He was made a Mason in Tulare Lodge, F. & A. M.. and is a member of
Coalinga Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons, and also is a member of Bakers-
field Lodge No. 266, B. P. O. Elks, as well as the Coalinga Growlers Club.
Kind-hearted and generous. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are always ready to help
others and take great pleasure in dispensing the old-time Californian hos-
pitality.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2033
F. K. POMEROY, M. D. — The rapidly increasing population of Fresno
County, together with its progress in all lines of industry and productiveness,
has attracted men of education and professional brilliance to the city and
county. This rising generation of specialists are building up their life work
in keeping with the progression of their environment. With the most modern
discoveries of science to aid them, they are in the vanguard of human achieve-
ment and as such should be given their meed of praise and encouragement.
Among those in Fresno County, Dr. F. K. Pomeroy takes rank as one for
whom a future of exceeding promise is assured. Born in Oswego, Ore., De-
cember 24, 1885, F. K. Pomeroy received his preliminary education in the pub-
lic schools of that city. From there he moved to Palo Alto, Santa Clara
County, Cal., in 1900, graduated from the Palo Alto high school, then took
a four-vear course at Stanford University, graduating in 1911, with the degree
of A. B., attended Medical School at Stanford in 1911 and 1912, and the last
named year went direct to the Columbia University, New York, and there
finished a year's course, graduating in 1914, with the degree of M. D. For two
and one-half years thereafter he was on the staff of the New York Post Grad-
uate Hospital, after completing internship was resident physician on Medical
Division of that institution.
Dr. Pomeroy opened his offices in the Rowell Building, Fresno, in July,
1917. He specializes in internal medicine. With his entire mature life spent
in study to fit himself for his profession, Dr. Pomeroy is an authority in his
branch of medical work, and his name is rapidly becoming known as one of
the rising specialists of Fresno.
Dr. Pomeroy was married in Fresno, March 7, 1918, to Miss Edith Hay-
den, an only child and daughter of Dr. T. M. Hayden of Fresno.
Dr. Pomeroy enlisted at San Francisco in July, 1918, for service during
the great World War, was assigned to the Medical Department of Base
Hospital at Camp Kearney, with rank of First Lieutenant, and served as ward
surgeon there during the flu epidemic. He left for France on November
6, 1918, landed at Le Flavre November 22, and was assigned to Base Hospital
No. 66 at Neufchateau, served continuously until he landed in New York
July 5, 1919. He was honorably discharged at Camp Dix, N. J., on July 8,
and reached San Francisco the 13th. Upon his return to Fresno in August,
1919, he resumed his practice and intends making Fresno his home and the
center of his professional activities.
J. A. GILLESPIE, M.D. — How much the happy and prosperous Cali-
fornians of the last decade or two owe for their safety, advancement and
general welfare to those late settlers of exceptional foresight and enterprise
who made straight the earlier paths and placed here and there along the
way such institutions as were necessary to conserve health, protect life and
supply comfort and relief, is well illustrated in the successful career of Dr.
J- A. Gillespie, who came to Kingsburg in 1908 and nine years later erected
here the Kingsburg Sanitarium.
Born at St. Clairsville, Belmont County, Ohio, fifteen miles from Wheel-
ing, on July 9, 1861, Dr. Gillespie was the grandson of Dr. William Ander-
son, a physician at Kimbolton, Guernsey County, where he practiced for
forty years and died in 1881 at the age of seventy-four. The father was
James Gillespie, a farmer, and a native of Ohio, who married Miss Clara
Anderson, who was also born in that state. They came to Iowa in 1881, and
settled at Chariton, where Mr. Gillespie became a well-to-do farmer and
stockman. He was of good old Scotch-Irish blood, and the family supported
vigorously the teaching and work of the Presbyterian Church. They were
among the first settlers in Ohio, and could trace the family tree back to a
great-great-grandfather, James Gillespie. Four brothers are citizens of New
York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Ohio.
Dr. I. A. Gillespie was twenty years old when he came with his parents
to Iowa," having previously finished the courses at the St. Clairsville High
2034 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
School. He taught for five years in Iowa, and while he grew up with his
grandfather, the physician, he studied under him. In 1885 he matriculated
in the medical department of the Drake University, at Des Moines. Iowa,
from which he was graduated in 1888; and after his graduation, he was
married at Des Moines to Miss Elizabeth Huggins, of Iowa, then eighteen
years old. Three children have blessed their union : Paul is in the United
States Navy; William Lynn is in the eighth grade; and Lois is a teacher in
Kingsburg.
About 1906 Dr. and Mrs. Gillespie came to California, and two years
later they were fortunate in discovering Kingsburg as the most promising
field for their work. Having graduated on April 2, 1895, from the Chicago
College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Doctor was splendidly equipped
for the responsible undertaking of a new sanitarium for the community ; and
he kept abreast of the times and present-day demands, when he built an orna-
mental, substantial and very practical edifice of stucco 100x35 feet in size.
It is furnished throughout in the most up-to-date fashion, and has a capacity
of ten beds. Altogether, the Gillespie Sanitarium is a modern institution of
which Fresno County as well as Kingsburg may well be proud.
FORD F. KERR.— As proprietor of the Fresno Rug Manufacturing
Company, Ford F. Kerr has won a place in the ranks of the enterprising
business men of Fresno and his successful and growing business tells its
own story. Born in Ripley, Brown County, Ohio, October 22, 1885, he was
reared and educated in that locality until 1901, when he came west, remain-
ing in Oklahoma a short time and then continued the journey to California,
arriving in Redlands in 1902. Going to Pasadena soon after his arrival, he
entered the employ of the Pasadena Rug Works, and also worked in the
Pasadena Upholstering Company's plant. In 1906 he went to Alameda, and
there worked for the Alameda Rug Works. Locating in Berkeley, in 1909,
he established the Dwight Way Rug Works in that city, built up a good
business, and sold out in 1912.
After selling his Berkeley establishment, that same year Mr. Kerr came
to Fresno and established his present business, on G Street. As the rapid
growth of the business demanded, he made extensive improvements in his
factory and now employs thirty hands at the Fresno plant and uses four
automobiles for delivery purposes, and, besides his local work, does a large
mail order business, his field of operations including all of California, as
well as customers in Arizona and Nevada. A comparatively new industry, the
method of rug making is both unique and economical. Old carpets furnished
by the customers are cleaned, sterilized, and cut up and rewoven into new
carpets and rugs, all of which are reversible, both sides being alike. It takes
but one week from the time the old carpet enters the factory to have it re-
appear a new rug. Besides the manufacturing of rugs and carpets, a depart-
ment of the factory is devoted to cleaning and renovating like furnishings,
and this concern is now one of the big industries of Fresno, built up by
businesslike methods and is modern in all its appointments. Mr. Kerr has
done all the work for the Fresno Hotel, besides making and selling to 'them
a large number of rugs ; he also handles the work for the Hughes and the
Sequoia Hotels. The excellence of the work done may be judged by the
fact that Mr. Kerr won First Prize at the Fresno, Modesto and Bakersfield
Fairs, in 1917. and in 1918 received the First Prize at the State Fair in Sacra-
mento, also at the Fresno Fair.
On February 1, 1919, he established a rug works at 1922 Mission Street,
San Francisco, where he employs forty to forty-five persons.
While devoting his time and energies to the building up of his business,
Mr. Kerr has found time to enter into the fraternal and social life of the
city, and to aid in the progress and upbuilding of his community. He is a
member of Fresno Lodge No. 138, K. of P., and has attained to the highest
degree in that order, that of D. O. K. K.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2037
PALMER A. FALLGREN, D.D.S.— A thoroughly trained and most
conscientious operator in that field of surgical science — dentistry — in which
America has long taken the lead, is Dr. P. A. Fallgren, the son of P. A.
and Sophie Fallgren, natives of Sweden, who was born at Graceville, Big-
stone County, Minn., on July 16. 1896, and there began his boyhood under
conditions having the most beneficial effect on his later development along
the Pacific. When eight years old, he came to California and Kingsburg,
and here attended both the grammar and the high school, graduating from
the latter with the Class of '15.
Taking a fancy to tennis, he made himself so proficient that he was the
champion high school player ; and playing singles, he won the championship
of Southern California. He also went in for baseball, and was the first base-
man of the Kingsburg Speed Boys, which captured the championship of the
Raisin Belt League, linking Kingsburg, Selma, Del Rey, Sanger, Parlier and
Reedley.
When he was ready for a professional career, Mr. Fallgren attended the
College of Dentistry of the University of Southern California, and there he
successfully pursued the regular four years' course. He was president of the
Senior Class of '18, and belonged to the Alpha Theta Chapter of the Chi Psi
Phi. Few men, perhaps, of his time were more popular among their college
and university mates, all of which is readily understood in the case of Dr.
Fallgren when one once is acquainted with his large-hearted, winsome per-
sonality, his liking for his fellow-men, and the possession of other charac-
teristics sure to make every man like him. He joined the Dental Alumni
fraternity of Southern California. He is a member of the San Joaquin Dental
Society and the National Dental Association, and for a young man is already
a leader in the ranks of his profession, exerting his influence in favor of the
most scientific and rational dentistry, and therefore the most beneficent dental
surgery.
When the war called for the intervention of America, the athletic young
devotee of science volunteered his services and enlisting in August, 1918,
became a first lieutenant at Camp Kearney. He joined the medical depart-
ment and was a dental surgeon at the Camp Kearney Base Hospital.
Dr. Fallgren is a member of the Traver Lodge, No. 294, F. & A. M., and
the Eastern Star, and no one is more welcome in those attractive circles.
JOHN E. TUTTLE. — The pioneer hardware merchant at Tranquillity,
Tohn E. Tuttle, is a native of the Wolverine State, born at Cheboygan, Mich.,
May 15. 1887, a son of J. E. and Sarah (Fitzpatrick) Tuttle. The father is a
native of Canada, who emigrated to the United States, settling for a time in
the state of Illinois, but later removed to Cheboygan, Mich., where he mar-
ried Sarah Fitzpatrick, a native of Canada.
J. E. Tuttle was a saddle and harness-maker, but afterwards engaged in
farming in addition to operating a harness shop. Both Mr. and Mrs. J. E.
Tuttle, Sr., are still living at the old home town in Michigan. They were the
parents of two children: John E. Tuttle, the subject of this review, and Mrs.
A. A. Lang, who resides at Taft, Cal.
John E. Tuttle was reared in Cheboygan and attended the grammar and
high school there, graduating from the latter school in 1906, after which
he attended the Detroit Business University and when he completed his
course in that excellent institution, Mr. Tuttle accepted a position with C. A.
Klady, a Detroit public accountant with whom he remained one year. His
next position was with a lumber company where he installed a set of books
and had charge of the office for one year, until the company went out of
business. His next position was with Tyndall and Jackson Company, but
soon after going with them he became obsessed with a desire to seek his
fortunes in the Great West, and in the fall of 1911, came to Los Banos, Cal.,
where he remained until March. 1912. In Los Banos Mr. Tuttle formed a
partnership with his uncle, John A. Bell, under the firm name of Bell and
2038 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Tuttle, hardware merchants. In March. 1912, the firm opened a store at
Tranquillity, Fresno County, and John E. Tuttle had charge. Subsequently,
the firm dissolved partnership. Mr. Tuttle taking the store at Tranquillity,
while his uncle. Mr. Bell, kept the business at Los Banos. The Tuttle Hard-
ware Store at Tranquillity is the first exclusive hardware and stove store in
the town. They cam a good assortment of general hardware and implements
besides sheetmetal work, and have a line of auto accessories and a Goodyear
service station.
In Tune. 1911, at Detroit. Mich.. John E. Tuttle was united in marriage
with Miss Isabelle Markham. a native of that state, and this happy union
has been blessed with three children : Sarah. John and Arthur. Religiously,
the Tuttle family are Episcopalians. Mr. Tuttle is a promising young business
man who is making a splendid success of his enterprise at Tranquillity, and
is highly esteemed in business and social circles for his sterling qualities.
In 1919 a bank was organized, known as The First National Bank of Tran-
quillity, of which Mr. Tuttle is vice-president and a director. The bank will
occupv quarters in a new brick structure and will be modern in every way.
Mr. Tuttle is erecting a modern brick building adjoining that of the bank
where he will move his stock of goods when the building is completed.
WILBUR WILLIS GRIMES.— One of the most picturesque ranches in
that section of Fresno County, near Sanger, and situated northeast of Center-
ville, is the forty-acre place of Wilbur Willis Grimes, with its cosy rustic
bungalow nestled in a bower of roses and hedged in by stately palms, with
a background of orange trees laden with golden fruit. To live among such
pleasant surroundings is a fitting reward for the years of effort spent in bring-
ing the property to its present state of productiveness, thus aiding in the
general upbuilding of Fresno County as a whole.
"Wilbur Willis Grimes was born in Ringgold County. Iowa, August 13,
1869. His father, Charles K. Grimes, was a native of Indiana, and married
there, to Miss Harriet Ballard, a native of Ohio, later going to Iowa, in 1854,
and settling in Ringgold County in 1856, where he broke the virgin prairie with
oxen. At that time the country was inhabited by Indians, mostly friendly
ones, and the frontier cabin of the pioneers, though small, was the haven of
refuge for all newcomers, who were welcome to stay until they had habitations
of their own. After thirty-one years spent there, Mr. Grimes' health failed,
and he took his family and a team of horses and traveled in a wagon over the
country in search of a favorable climate. During the Civil "War he was post-
master at Eugene, Ringgold County, and after his day's work was done, would
shoulder the mailsack and walk twelve miles to the railroad. He was a mem-
ber of the Home Militia, and served on the border of Missouri and Iowa ten
days out of thirty, until he was mustered out of service at the close of the war.
To this pioneer couple nine children were born, three of whom are living: Mrs.
James T. Holt, of Van Nuys, Los Angeles County ; Mrs. Iola Tapp, of Kings-
burg; and Wilbur Willis, of this review. Mrs. A. R. Brown of Fowler died in
1913. The father passed away in 1904, aged seventy-six; the mother is still
living.
With his father, Wilbur Willis Grimes made several trips to California
before the family located here, looking for a permanent home, and it was not
until 1891 that they decided to remain in Fresno County. During that year
Wilbur Willis Grimes purchased his ranch of forty acres, which is a part of
the original Hyde and Jackson tract; at the time of his purchase there was
nothing to be seen growing on the land but weeds. Mr. Grimes began develop-
ment work, and while waiting for his ranch to produce, engaged in various
enterprises. He lived at Kingsburg for a time, and there was chosen as city
marshal, and also served as deputy sheriff under Walter McSwain. He inter-
ested himself in business enterprises also, and during the 90's operated a
butcher shop and bakery in connection, in Selma. In the meantime his agri-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2039
cultural improvements began to bear fruit, and the raw land was brought up
to a high state of cultivation, being devoted to lemons, oranges, figs, and Em-
peror grapes ; these thorough improvements bear evidence of the energy and
perseverance with which the owner is endowed, and are the best gage of a
man's character. Mr. Grimes was a member of the first Raisin Growers' As-
sociation of the county, and he now belongs to the Fig Growers' Association.
In 1897, Mr. Grimes was united in marriage with Miss Josephine O. Curtis,
born November 1, 1871, a daughter of William Curtis, who was one of the first
settlers at Monterey, locating in 1847. He had the distinction of being the first
Easterner appointed to the position of postmaster in .Monterey, then the cap-
ital of California, and was a man of considerable business acumen and wealth.
When news of the discovery of gold reached Monterey. Mr. Curtis knew it
would bring an influx of people to California and that their one thought would
be to dig for gold ; he bought up all the shovels to be had on the market and
when the miners arrived he sold at fancy prices, thereby making a clean-up
with his corner on shovels. The marriage of Mr. Curtis, in 1854, united him
with Lydia Jane Rucker, and she died twenty-three years later, the mother
of four children: Emmet, of Berkeley, was connected with the Fresno Repub-
lican when the paper first started, and later was with San Francisco papers;
Lydia B., Mrs. James A. Cosgrave of Angelos, Calaveras County; Eugene A.,
a rancher of Kingsburg; and Josephine O. Mrs. Grimes' parents having passed
away, William Rucker, a bachelor uncle, was appointed guardian over the
three younger children and took them to his home in Fresno City, a very small
place at that time. He finally settled in Kingsburg. residing there until his
death. The grandparents, Ambrose and Margaret f Atkinson) Rucker, came
from Ohio to Iowa, and from there crossed the plains in 1853 with ox teams
and settled in the Salinas Valley. The grandfather was a Methodist Episcopal
preacher. Grandmother Rucker died in 1895, aged eighty-five. William
Kucker died in Kingsburg, in 1913.
Mr. and Mrs. Grimes are the parents of five children, four of whom are
living: Ted Lauren; Beatrice Evelyn; Harriet Blanche; and Lila Belle. Fra-
ternally, both and Mr. and Mrs. Grimes have been prominent in Odd Fellow
circles for many years. Mr. Grimes has been a member of the order since 1892,
has passed all the chairs and belongs to the Ancient Odd Fellows. He drew
out of Sanger Lodge, No. 375, to help organize Orangedale Lodge, No. 211, in
1888, of which he is now secretary. Mrs. Grimes is a Rebekah, having joined in
1888, and has passed all the chairs jf the order twice. The family are members
of the Christian Church, Mr. Grimes being one of three living charter members
of the Sanger church. He was secretary of the Good Government League of
Centerville and community, formod for the purpose of cleaning up Centerville
from the saloon evil, there being two in the town. The clean-up process went
through in quick time, making it quite different from Centerville when it was
on the stage lines from Millerton to Visalia, the three oldest towns in the
Valley.
C. E. HARMAN. — A native of the Hawkeye State, although he has been
a resident of California for over forty years, C. E. Harman, the subject of
this sketch, was born in Iowa on October 28, 1867, a son of C. and Sarah
Harman who were both natives of Ohio, as will appear from a sketch of
Caleb Harman elsewhere in this work. To Mr. and Mrs. Harman were born
four children, three of whom are living: Lizzie became the wife of O. W.
Rudolph, died in 1903 and left four children ; Mrs. J. E. Shaffer ; Daisy : and
C. E. The Harman family migrated to California in 1874 and in 1875 locating
in Fresno County, near Parlier, where Mr. Harman found the climate, soil
and other conditions to his liking and in 1876 he purchased a tract of land
consisting of 120 acres, which at this early date was still in its virgin con-
dition, and which was augmented by subsequent purchases to 480 acres.
Possessing a keen foresight Mr. C. Harman predicted a great development
for this section and set to work to improve his land. Through his persever-
2040 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ance and untiring efforts much was accomplished toward the development
of this part of the county in the digging of water ways, for irrigation, the
planting of vines for future vineyards and other useful industries, in all of
which Mr. Harman was foremost in their promotion. After a useful life in
the advancement of the agricultural interests of Fresno County, Mr. C.
Harman passed away on June 2, 1915. His wife having preceded him to the
Great Unknown, having passed away in February, 1907.
.Mr. C. E. Harman. the subject of this sketch, after coming from Iowa
with his parents in 1874, attended the grammar school of the Mendocino
district, in Fresno County and afterwards supplemented his early education
by attending the San Francisco Business College. He took a course in chem-
istry in Oakland, in a private chemical laboratory and afterwards spent sev-
eral years in Oakland where he practiced his profession, and for years he was
engaged in the mercantile business in Santa Barbara County. After the
death of his father the estate, consisting of 480 acres of land near Parlier,
was subdivided between the heirs and C. E. Harman now owns forty acres
of the original place which has been in the family since 1876. His ranch is
situated northeast of Parlier, and is devoted to raisin and table grapes.
On August 12, 1896, C. E. Harman was united in marriage with Miss
Gertrude Schuyler, a daughter of W. H. and Anna Schuyler. She is a native
daughter, having been born in Santa Clara County. Mr. and Mrs. C. E.
Harman are the parents of two children : Violet and Irene. Mr. Harman is
public-spirited and always interested in those movements that have as their
aim the upbuilding of the best interests of the community and has proved his
efficiency as a public officer by serving a number of years as a trustee of the
school board of Lompoc High School district, Santa Barbara County.
Mr. C. E. Harman removed to Fresno in 1919 where he has built a
very substantial bungalow which affords himself and family a very com-
fortable home at 2045 North Van Ness Avenue, where the well known
Harman hospitality continues to be liberally dispensed and where good
will and happiness so characteristic of the Harman fireside still prevail.
G. W. PFOST. — A hardworking, successful and highly-respected rancher
who owns a well-improved, valuable ranch devoted to general or mixed farm-
ing, and who has been blessed with an equally industrious and highly-
esteemed wife and family, all endeavoring, like himself, to lead a consistent
Christian life, is G. W. Pfost, who made his first trip to California in the
middle seventies, and now recalls, in his comfortable residence four miles
southeast of Riverdale, stirring scenes of pioneer times such as the present
generation finds it hard to believe could ever take place.
He was born in Caldwell County, Mo., on July 3. 1853. the son of Aaron
Pfost who had married Margaret Harpold ; and he grew up in Missouri, re-
maining there until he was twenty-one. His father was from Pennsylvania-
Dutch stock, while his mother came from Virginia.
At twenty-two, Mr. Pfost made his first trip to California, ten years after
his father had died. The worthy parents had had ten children, six boys and
four girls; but three of the boys died in infancy; and perhaps because the
mother had undertaken to keep the family together, he felt that he must return
to Missouri earlier than he would otherwise have wished. While here, he
worked around in Merced and Ventura counties, and this gave him a good
opportunity to get his bearings.
His marriage occurred during his twenty-sixth year and while he was in
Missouri, and having inherited some of the lands of the estate, he farmed his
property, and one hundred acres which he hired. He married Miss Eva Utt,
who was born in Missouri and reared in Kansas, the daughter of Richard
and Nancy Utt. Her family were farmers, and appreciating the greater op-
portunities in California, they came further West, arriving on Christmas
night, in 1883. They stopped in Ventura County, raised a crop of beans, on
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2043
rented land, and then came on to San Luis Obispo. They took up some home-
stead land, preempted and proved up, and were well-known as pioneers.
On Christmas Day, 1883, Mr. Pfost arrived in Los Angeles, on his second
visit to the Golden State, and on October 2, 1903, he came to Riverdale, in
Fresno County. He rented the Mrs. Applegarth place for eight years, and
farmed the land where the Riverdale Cooperative Creamery now stands, — in
which well-known concern he is a stockholder. Now he owns a ranch of
fifty acres, with a commodious house and the usual barns, all surrounded with
fine fences and a good yard. Recently he rebuilt his home, and it is more than
ever up-to-date and amply large. The Pfosts have lived ten years on this
ranch, and they have been happy years.
Mr. aud Mrs. Pfost have had six children, five of whom are still living.
Monroe, the eldest, died unmarried, two years ago, when he was thirty-six
years old. Charles Wesley, also single, lives at home. Stella keeps house for
James L. and Aaron R. Pfost, in Kings County ; Aaron R. has forty acres,
and James L. has forty-five, in Kings County, in the Summit Lake country.
Viola is at home.
The parents are prominent members of the United Brethren Church at
Riverdale, and helped build that church, as well as the edifice at North Fork.
Mr. Pfost served as Sunday School Superintendent for five years, and Mrs.
Pfost has been prominent in the Ladies' Aid of the United Brethren Church,
as well as in the work of the Red Cross. Both husband and wife, who are
Progressive Republicans, have done their full duty in promoting the sale
of Liberty Bonds.
ANTONIO FORISTIERE.— The similarity of California's climate to
that of "sunny Italy" may account for the attraction which California has for
so many of Italy's sons who have been induced to try their fortunes in
America on the shores of the Pacific slope.
Antonio Foristiere, proprietor of the San Joaquin Paste Company, whose
factory is located at the corner of Belmont and First Street, Fresno, is a
native of Messina, Italy, born June 18, 1874. He was educated in the country
schools of his native land and as a lad engaged in packing lemons for ship-
ment. He also learned to graft and prune trees of every kind. He saw four
years' service in the Italian navy, followed the trade of a barber in the old
country, and in 1900, when twenty-six years of age came to Boston, Mass.,
where he continued the occupation of barber for eight years before coming to
Fresno, Cal., in 1908. He followed the trade of barber in Fresno until 1911,
then bought a lot at the corner of Belmont and First Street, built a three-
story factory, forty by sixty feet in dimension, and engaged in the manu-
facture of all lines of Italian paste — macaroni, vermicelli, etc. — making alto-
gether over fifty varieties. His factory contains all modern machinery and
the question of sanitation has received a great amount of attention, the equip-
ment being thoroughly sanitary in every sense of the word. Flour and water
are mixed in patent machines, run through molds of different sizes and laid
on trays with covers, to dry. Eight days are required for the drying process
before the goods are ready for sale. The goods will keep from six to twelve
months and have attained a reputation for their superiority, purity, cleanli-
ness and the attractive manner in which they are put on the market. Goods
for retail are put up in sanitary paste-board boxes with directions for cook-
ing on the outside. The brand, "San Joaquin Brand of Paste, Absolutely
Pure," — is well known both at home and abroad. Mr. Foristiere was one of
the first men to erect a building in Arlington Heights. His business ven-
tures have been successful, and in the spring of 1918 he purchased four lots
fronting on Belmont and five lots fronting on Madison Avenue, and on the
latter has built two modern bungalows.
On December 3, 1911. he married Mrs. Josephine Basotti, a native of
Italy, and they have two children, Rosario and Annie, both born in Fresno.
2044 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mr. Foristiere is a member of the Owl Lodge of Fresno, of which he was
treasurer four years. A self-made man, his ability to see and grasp an oppor-
tunity have been salient aids to success, and he is among Fresno's worthy
and respected citizens.
VIRGIL S. MILES. — With his interesting family consisting of his
accomplished wife and three bright children, Virgil S. Miles lives comfort-
ably domiciled at what is commonly known as the Riverdale Parsonage, a
residence property which he acquired in the spring of 1919. This property
contains two acres of land which he has improved, with two dwellings, giv-
ing an acre to each. When he sold his twenty-acre ranch, he reserved his
living house — a cute little bungalow, which he himself had built — and this
he moved onto the west half of his recent purchase at Riverdale, thus afford-
ing comfortable homes for two families. In addition to this he owns twenty
acres of excellent land one and a half miles west of Lanare. He was born in
Missouri in 1877, being a son of J. C. and Almira (Dome) Miles, the former
having been born in Connecticut and the latter in Indiana. The father was a
California forty-niner and a pioneer lawyer of Sacramento, but later returned
east to Leavenworth. Kans., where he practiced his profession and specu-
lated in lands. He was one of the first persons to take up land at the gov-
ernment land-opening at Guthrie, Okla., in 1889, but died in that state soon
afterwards, at the age of fifty-nine years. His widow married again and now
resides in New Jersey with her younger sons, who are engaged in operating
a factory at Newark, N. J.
Virgil S. was reared in Leavenworth County, Kans., and when eleven
years of age accompanied his father to Guthrie, Okla.. to attend the opening
sale of land, remaining there from June to October, 1889, when he returned
to Leavenworth. After his father's death, and following his mother's second
marriage, he left for the great northwest, working at various occupations
and at different places, and finally reaching British Columbia. From this
country he returned to the VJnited States, stopping awhile in Wyoming,
where with a brother he engaged in the cattle business. The severe winters
of Wyoming led Mr. Miles to consider the advisability of seeking a milder
climate, and it is not strange that California appealed to him and claimed
his attentions.
After his arrival in Fresno County, Mr. Miles worked for H. E. Vogel,
the creamery man, where he remained twenty-two months, and during this
time he learned the dairy business. Afterwards he was engaged for two
years to work for J. B. Lewis. Mr. Miles was much pleased with California,
especially with Fresno County, and decided to make it his permanent home.
For a while he worked in the vicinity of Riverdale, and in 1910 purchased
twenty acres of land two miles east of Riverdale, which he improved and
paid for and where he. resided until 1919, when he sold it and bought the
aforesaid residence property at Riverdale. In 1917, Mr. Miles purchased an-
other twenty-acre tract of land, located one and a half miles west of Lanare,
on Mt. Wrhitney Avenue, and he is now leveling, checking and ditching this
place preparatory to planting alfalfa. In 1907 he made his first venture, in the
bee business, purchasing for the purpose 500 stands of bees, but through
inexperience and the "black-brood" he lost a very large portion of his bees
and investment. Undaunted by the failure of his initial venture, through
intelligent perseverance and pluck, he continued to operate an apiary and
has so well succeeded in gaining a thorough knowledge of the business that
todav he is regarded as one of Fresno County's successful apiarists. During
the season of 1918. Mr. Miles sold sixty-four cases of honey for $1,706. 62. and
has 200 stands of bees.
In 1910, Virgil S. Miles was united in marriage with Miss Louise
Perkins, from Wisconsin, a graduate of Carroll College, Waukesha, Wis.,
and who became a teacher and taught in Wisconsin, also in Santa Cruz and
Fresno Counties, California, where she received a life certificate for teach-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2045
ing. Mrs. Miles is a daughter of Peter Perkins, who was born in Jefferson
County, N. Y. He came west to Wisconsin and became a farmer and gained
public prominence as the postmaster at Oconomowoc, Wis., for several
years. Mr. and Mrs. Miles have three children: Virgil Perkins, Gloria
Louise, and Seward Corrington. Mr. Miles has purchased a one-and-a-half-
ton motor-truck and supplements his income from the ranch and apiary by
conducting a trucking and freighting business. Mr. and Mrs. Miles are
very studious_ and thoughtful people and are greatly interested in the eco-
nomical and industrial questions pertaining to this age, and are earnestly
seeking to do their part in the uplifting of humanity.
JAMES D. HENDERSON.— An industrious citizen who owns and oper-
ates choice property of his own, is James D. Henderson, in charge of the C.
A. Sample ranch of eighty acres on Elm Avenue, sixteen and a half miles
south of Fresno. He was born in Grant County, Wis., on December 21, 1864,
the son of John W and Martha Henderson. They moved to Missouri with
their family when James was only five years of age, and settled at Bowling
Green, in Pike County, at which place two more sons and daughters were
born, making a family of five children in all. The father became a farmer and
stockman in Missouri and died there, at the age of seventy-nine ; and the
mother also died in that state, when our subject was only eighteen years old.
James attended the public schools in Missouri, and at fifteen went into
business. He became a fireman on the Wabash Railway, and finally was made
a locomotive engineer, with a run from M'oberly to Kansas City, and to St.
Louis and Des Moines, Iowa. ,
In 1892, at Moberly, Mr. Henderson was married to Miss Rosa Barnard
of Vandalia, and so long as he continued in the railway service, he remained
a resident of Moberly, leaving that town only to come West.
July 20, 1899, found him at Fresno, and two weeks later he went to work
for the Southern Pacific Railway. He served as engineer and ran a switch
engine for five years, during which time he was doing some hard and success-
ful thinking in regard to the future.
After a while, he bought a ranch in Temperance Colony east of Fresno,
and there soon set out twenty acres to zinfandels. His good wife died on the
ranch, and then he went to Fresno and for three years ran the "Temple"
rooming-house at the corner of I and Tulare Streets.
Having no children, Mr. Henderson lives with a relative at 1462 Thomas
Avenue, Fresno.
ARTHUR B. GRANTHAM.— A successful rancher whose holdings rep-
resent his own plucky and unaided efforts is Arthur B. Grantham, who came
to California from Oklahoma and, although he has been twice seriously in-
jured, has courageously stuck to his purpose of making a place for himself
in the world. He represents one of the best of American families, and he has
wisely improved each golden opportunity that has come his way.
He was born near the county line between Cape Girardeau and Bollin-
ger Counties, Mo.. March 25, 1885, and came with his parents to Oklahoma
when he was only five years of age. He was reared in Oklahoma, but removed
in the fall of 1905 to Kingsburg, Cal. His father was Havey Richard Grantham
and his mother, before her marriage, was Rowena Theodosia Lee, a distant
relative of General Lee. Her father was William Ludwell Lee, a cousin of
the distinguished military leader, and Mrs. Grantham was a native of Mis-
souri, in which state they were married. They had seven children, among
whom our subject is the eldest son and the third born ; and one boy and three
girls are still living.
Having attended the rudimentary private schools in Oklahoma, Arthur
learned to farm and raise stock there. His sister. Mrs. G. F. Craig now of
Lanare and he together with Mr. Craig came in a party to Kingsburg in 1905.
Mr. Craig was a clerk for W. T. Hamilton, proprietor of the largest general
2046 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
merchandise store in Riverdalc, and is now the proprietor of Craig's General
Merchandise Store at Lanare, which lie opened in 1919 where Mr. Grantham
is now engaged as a clerk. He is also the Noble Grand of the I. O. O. F.
Lodge at Riverdale. which is the main lodge and social organization in that
town. Mr. Grantham began working out by the month, and later he became
an employee of Clarence Berry on the Wagner Ranch under Oscar Butler at
Kingsburg.
Mr. Grantham's parents came out in February, 1906, and settled two
miles to the south of Kingsburg, where the father now owns a fruit ranch
of thirty-three acres. Arthur helped his father improve the land, and con-
tinued to work for him, and he also worked for a couple of years for Miller
& Lux on the Button Willow Ranch in Kern County. Then he butchered at
Kingsburg and also ran the River Bend Market at the same place, and later
he worked for G. F. Craig in his meat market at Riverdale, where he was
active for a year, and then he broke horses for two years and bought cattle
for Joe McKale of Berkeley for six months.
Then Mr. Grantham moved to Modesto and rented the Dr. Rosseau place
of 130 acres. He put in a crop and came back home and worked through
the fruit season, and the next spring entered the service of Frank Stober of
Kingsburg. He was injured there and laid up at Redondo Beach that winter ;
after which he came back to his father's ranch. While in Fresno on February
3, 1917, he was run over by an automobile and his right leg was broken, leav-
ing him permanently injured.
Mr. Grantham's father and mother are still living. He has bought Lib-
erty Bonds and otherwise supported the Government.
P. C. JENSEN. — A well-traveled Danish-American who has seen a good
deal of the United States, despite, or perhaps because of ill-health which has
been greatly improved by American conditions, is P. C. Jensen. When sell-
ing a farm to some one he has sought always to find a customer who was in
need of a ranch for a home. By thus assisting people to establish themselves,
he has made friends and well-wishers of his patrons, and has never lost a cent
through default in payments.
He was born at Jylland. Denmark, on January 28, 1871. the son of Jens
and Elaine (Petersen) Jensen, and grew up to help his father, who was a car-
penter and also had a small farm, and is now living at the advanced age of
eighty-three : Mrs. Jensen died fourteen years ago. There were other children
in the family, and Mr. Jensen has a brother and two sisters.
In 1889, Mr. Jensen came to the United States and to Michigan, settling
for a couple of years in the iron mines at Ishpeming. after which he was
in the copper mines at Calumet and Hecla for a year. He then came out to
South Dakota, on July 25. 1892, and took up farming, near Dell Rapids, in
Minnehaha County, but after a year he made a visit to Denmark, remaining
at home three months. On his return to the United States, he stopped at
Kenosha. Wis., and from March. 1893, worked for four years as a farm la-
borer. After that he became ill and again went back to Denmark. He farmed
his father's place, and in time recuperated sufficiently to return to America
where he still believed he saw greater opportunities than in the Old World.
When he again found himself on American soil, Mr. Jensen tarried for
four months in Massachusetts, rapidly building up his health again; but he
had decided that California was his goal, and to Kingsburg he came in 1900.
The same year he was married in Kingsburg to Miss Mary Sundegaard, a
native of his birthplace, and a charming lady whom he had known from school-
days. Very soon after he bought his first land in California.
He purchased twenty acres one mile north of the Kimball Colony, and
since that time he has bought, improved and sold five or six ranches in Fresno
County. lie now owns twenty-eight acres which he purchased four vears
ago. ( 'n his first ranch in the Kimball Colony, he lived for seventeen years.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2019
The greater part of the time that he has spent in California he has been a
citizen of Fresno County ; and he was absent from this section only in 1913,
when he spent most of that year in Colorado, and Long Beach.
The poor health of his boy was the cause of his journey to Colorado in
1913, as the lad was threatened with incipient consumption ; and for that
reason father and son left Central California. A sojourn in Colorado and at
the quiet resort of Long Beach enabled the boy to regain his health entirely,
while it also did Mr. Jensen a world of good. Now the son is a young man
of ability, especially in mechanical pursuits, and gives promise of a highly
useful career, in keeping with the mechanical traditions of the family.
Mr. Jensen is a prominent member of the Danish Lutheran Church, which
is on the Del Rey and Sanger road. He has long served as a trustee, and
helped erect the church in 1905. He believes that this is a good world, and
that it is quite possible for the people in it to make it still better by living
consistent Christian lives every day in the week.
Mr. and Mrs. Jensen are the parents of three children. They are Roscoe
J. and Harriet ; and the third child is Christina, adopted nine years ago when
three years of age.
HENRY WEBER, JR.— A man who takes an especial pride in the fact
that he has contributed to the upbuilding of Fresno County is Henry Weber,
Jr., a representative young rancher of the Dunkard school district, twelve
miles west of Fresno. He was born in Samara, Russia, December 5, 1885, the
son of Henry and Anna Margareta (Weber) Weber, who, in 1900. came with
their three children to California and took up their home in Fresno County.
They bought twenty acres in Sierra Park Colony, west of Fowler, which
they improved to vines and a peach orchard, later sold it and bought a place
at Oleander where they raised alfalfa until the father retired. The mother
died at Fowler in June, 1911, and the father resides in Fresno.
Henry is the oldest of four children and was educated in the public
schools of his native town until his arrival in Fresno County, on February
22, 1900. He went to work on grain ranches for a few years, then began to
learn the vineyard and orchard business. In November, 1908, he bought
twenty acres where he now lives and has made all of the visible improve-
ments seen there today, nearly all of his tract, which originally was a weed
patch, being set to the Thompson seedless raisin grapes. He added to his
holdings by purchase of twenty acres near California Avenue, and this he
leveled, setting ten acres to Thompsons and planting ten acres to alfalfa. He
erected a modern house on his property and has a nicely improved ranch for
a home place.
On May 10, 1906, Mr. Weber and Miss Anna Margareta Rudel were
married at Fowler. She also was born in Samara and came to Wisconsin in
1902 with her parents, Nicholas and Christina (Jacoby) Rudel. There the
father died and the mother is now living at Warsaw, Wis. Mrs. Weber came
to Fresno County in 1906. They have had four children : Phillip Daniel, died
aged six months ; Frederick William ; Laura ; and Lydia.
Mr. and Mrs. Weber are members of the Evangelical Association in
Fresno. Mr. Weber is a stockholder in the California Associated Raisin Com-
panv. He is a loyal citizen of his adopted country and is ever ready to aid
every worthy project for its upbuilding. He is recognized as a leader among
his countrymen, always ready to assist them in all their transactions. In
politics he votes for the best men and measures, regardless of party affiliations.
FRED C. BONYMAN. — A young man of sterling qualities is Fred C.
Bonvman, clerk of the Caruthers Union High School. The family lived many
years in Lassen County before coming to Fresno, and there Fred was born
"on December 2, 1885. in what is known as Clark's Valley.
His father was Edward Bonyman, a native of Nova Scotia who crossed
the plains in 1859 in company with his father, John Bonyman, coming to
2050 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
California from Carroll County, 111. They were farmers and soon went to
Virginia City, New The father later engaged in the wood business and was
married at Dayton, Nev., to .Miss Mary Ann Raw lings, a native of Wcdnes-
bury, Staffordshire, England, and the daughter of John M. Rawlings. who
was a fanner and an iron-worker. His wife was Letitia Hemming before her
marriage, and she died in 1865. The following year the father and two
daughters came to Utah ; and from L'tah they moved to Nevada.
Mr. and Mrs. Bonyman came to California in 1872 and settled in Lassen
County, where all their children, excepting Letitia. were born. They raised
stock and farmed. Mr. Bonyman was school trustee for a while in Lassen
County, and enjoyed reasonable prosperity.
In 1891 he moved with his family to Selma, and for several years they
farmed a ranch northeast of that town. In 1911, however, they sold out and
came to the vicinity of Caruthers. Here they have 102 acres, of which thirty
acres are devoted to Thompson's seedless grapes, and twenty acres to mal-
agas. The rest of the land is devoted to general or mixed farming.
Mr. Bonyman is a member of the firm of Bonyman Brothers, vineyardists
and farmers, and with him are associated Newton, who was born on October
7, 1873; Albert, born on January 4, 1875; and John R., born on September
24, 18S7. They make a specialty of growing raisins, and their establishment
is three miles' southeast of Caruthers, in what is known as the Princeton
district.
WILLIAM JACKSON BERRY.— The venerable pioneer of Fresno
County and oil man of Selma. William Jackson Berry, has passed to his re-
ward, but his w^orks and deeds remain, a living heritage bequeathed to a
loyal citizenry. Among the substantial residents of Fresno County there is no
name more familiarly quoted than that of William J. Berry, or. as he is more
often called by his intimate friends. "Uncle Bill Berry." He had been ac-
tively identified with the best interests of California ever since 1861. and
especiallv with the oil industry of this part of the state ; and the agricultural
possibilities also were demonstrated by his success along that line. Uncle Bill
Berry was born in Washington County, Ma., June 14, 1840. a son of Hugh
C. Berry.
The name of Hugh has been a favored one in the Berry family and it
has marked five generations. The grandfather of our subject was named
Hugh, and was born in Ireland but came to the United States and settled in
Virginia in Colonial days. He was a distiller and owned slaves who worked
his large plantation. The second Hugh, was the father of William Jackson
Berry. He was a man of exceptional education and was a noted mathema-
tician. During his early manhood he taught school in Washington County
and had among his pupils a young lady who subsequently married a Mr.
Apperson and became the mother of Mrs. Phoebe Hearst; George C. Hearst
was also a pupil in his school; he became a United States senator and was
the father of the journalist, William Randolph Hearst. Hugh C. Berry did
not keep slaves, for he could not farm on account of becoming crippled when
he was a lad, so he engaged in teaching school. After the war he went to
Texas, located near Granbury, with his son Hugh, and there spent the re-
mainder of his days, dying at an advanced age. He married Harriet A.
Johnson, a native of North Carolina and a second cousin of Senator Hiram
W. Johnson, but who settled in Washington County, Mo., with her parents,
when she was a child. She bore her husband nine sons and three daughters.
The next Hugh Berry was the son of Hugh C. just mentioned and Uncle
Bill Berrv had a son named Hugh F. who has a daughter. Pearl, now Airs.
Walter Boyd, a noted vocalist and pianist of Los Angeles.
Uncle Bill Berry acquired a practical common school education, al-
though it was somewhat limited. His father gave him instruction on Satur-
days when he was not teaching. When he was twenty-one. the Civil War
atening and he decided he would leave the country and come West.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2051
He could foresee the blood)' times ahead if he remained in Missouri and he
left there the next morning after Fort Sumter was fired upon. With the spirit
of adventure strong in him, he joined a party under the command of Capt.
Phinneas Braley, and with ox teams crossed the plains via Utah and Nevada.
He worked as a driver on part of the journey to California, thus paying his
way. He had no money when he left home and his father told him to call
upon George C. Hearst when he arrived in California for any assistance or
advice he might need, but necessity kept him too busy to go to visit him.
He was thrown on his own resources and grew up to be self-reliant.. As soon
as he arrived in this state he went to the mines in Eldorado County, mined
for a time, then bought two yoke of oxen, the price being $1,034. He paid
down all the money he had, $180, and paid the balance off in instalments, and
began freighting. He became an expert teamster, driving five yoke of oxen
in hauling heavy freight, consisting of heavy machinery that was used in the
mines in California and Nevada. He then went to Mendocino County and
bought a ranch in Litte Lake Valley. In 1864, with his brothers-in-law,
Charles P. Traber and J. B. Coates, and others, he drove over this section of
Fresno County for the first time and helped survey this part of the county.
He named a school district, Mendocino, after the county of that name. The
land was a repelling desert, and he has seen it change into a veritable garden
spot and the "Home of the Peach." He took up a half section of land and
later obtained a full section of railroad land. With Moses J. Church (the
father of irrigation in Fresno County), and a Mr. Easterly, and Messrs. Tra-
ber and Coates, and others (twenty-six in all), Mr. Berry assisted in digging
the ditch for the Fresno Irrigation Canal. Mr. Berry improved his land and
engaged in farming with gratifying results. In 1878 he helped dig the Center-
ville and Kingsburg ditch and later the Fowler Switch ditch, all of which has
done much to develop this county.
In 1863, W. J. Berry was united in marriage with Miss Anna Coates, a
daughter of George I. Coates who came to California in 1862. Of this union
six children have been born: Hugh Franklin, residing in San Francisco;
Clarence J., one of the best known oil operators in California who is living in
San Francisco ; Henry, a well known oil man of Los Angeles ; Frederick, a
successful fruit-grower near Selma ; Cora, who married R. J. Skelton of Los
Angeles ; and Nellie, who became the wife of Harry Smith, a Klondiker, but
now an oil man at Taft. Mrs. Anna Berry, the mother of these children, now
past eighty, survives her husband ; now in the evening of life, she can look
back upon a life given to worthy deeds.
In 1888, Mr. Berry moved into Selma where he erected a good residence
and started in the real estate business, which he continued a number of
years. He bought several sections of railroad land, which was farmed by
himself and sons ; in 1898 he made a trip into Alaska, accompanied by three
of his sons. When he returned to Selma he became interested in the develop-
ment of the West Side oil fields in Kern Count}'. He traveled over the country
from Coalinga to Taft, noticed the outcroppings of oil and other indications,
then with his sons he bought several sections of land near McKittrick, Taft
and in the Kern River field. They developed several properties, the most
important being the C. J. Oil Company at McKittrick, named in honor of
his son Clarence J. ; and the Ethel D., in honor of the wife of Clarence J.
Berry. These properties continue to be fine producers. Mr. Berry held in his
own right until his death, some 700 acres in the West Side fields, which is
known to be oil land, but as yet undeveloped. Several other companies had
the benefit of Uncle Bill Berry's counsel and judgment and he has been a
prominent figure in the development of the oil industry in San Joaquin Valley.
From the time that Mr. Berry was given employment by Captain Braley
in crossing the plains in 1861, he never lost a day, and could have had any
number of jobs after he began freighting, if he had wanted to take them.
2052 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
He was a hard worker, a man of good judgment, and had a rich experience
during his long and busy life.
The death of William J. Berry occurred at the age of seventy-nine in
Ocean Park, near Los Angeles, on Friday. July 18, 1919. The body was
brought from Los Angeles on a special train, accompanied by his good wife,
the family and many relatives, who were at his bedside in Ocean Park. The
funeral was held at the First Presbyterian Church in Selma, and interment
was in the Fresno Mausoleum.
E. ED PETERSON. — Only those familiar with the intimate relations
of banking institutions to the steady, sound growth of a live, ambitious city
can realize the value to Kingsburg of the Kingsburg Bank. Its popular
assistant cashier, E. Ed Peterson, a native of Wayne County, Nebr.. where
he was born, near Wakefield, on September 6, 1885. His father, P. M. Peter-
son, is a rancher who lives west of Kingsburg. He had married Miss Kjersti
Person, and by her he had four children. The first in order of birth was the
subject of this review; then came Clara, who is at home; a second daughter,
named Esther, has become Mrs. Alfred Gunnerson, the wife of a rancher
in Tulare County; while Helen, the youngest, is a teacher in the Kingsburg
school.
Growing up in Nebraska, Ed attended the public schools and was a year
at the high school at Wakefield. Then he went to Luther College at Wahoo,
and in 1904 was graduated from the commercial department. Off and on
he farmed in Nebraska, and there acquired a general experience in grain and
stock raising.
In 1910, when he came direct to Kingsburg. he continued ranch work
for a year and a half, and then, when the Kingsburg Bank opened, he started
there as bookkeeper. This was on May 2, 1911, the imposing bank building
having been erected the year before. He was appointed city trustee to fill
the vacancy caused by the resignation of Charles Scha-effer, and is still in
office.
Mr. Peterson was married at Kingsburg in 1912 to Miss Delia Heer-
man, a native of Nebraska, who came to the Coast when she was a little
girl. Her parents, M. N. and Huldah Heerman, now live retired in Santa
Monica. Three girls — May, Efne and Eva — and a boy, Edwin, have blessed
the union and added to the popularity of the family which enjoys life in
the Peterson residence at Bungalowville, in Kingsburg. The family are
members of the Swedish Lutheran Church, and Mr. Peterson served on the
committee which erected the fine church edifice costing $20,000.
BENJAMIN AMADOR.— A representative of one of California's old
Spanish families is Benjamin Amador, popularly known as Ben, whose wife
is the oldest native daughter in the Elkhorn district and comes from the
equally old and well-known Spanish-Mexican family of Garcia. He is a grand-
son of Tose M. Amador, who owned the great Amador Grant, a very valuable
tract of land three miles square near Alameda, which is still in litigation.
Mr. and Mrs. Amador live on the Garcia Ranch of eighty acres six miles
southeast of Burrel, which belongs to Mrs. Amador. Her maiden name was
Rafaela Garcia, and she was the only child of Stephen Garcia, who died at
Hanford at the age of seventy-five.
Mrs. Amador was twice married, having been born and reared on the
Stephen Garcia Ranch, which originally consisted of 160 acres. There she
married her first husband. Romeo Garcia, by whom she had nine children :
Tosie. Newt, Romeo, Leonora, Frank, Camillo, Jessie, Martha and Ellen. Her
"first husband died in 1906, and her father passed away fifteen days later.
She was then married to Mr. Amador, by whom she has had six children, five
of whom are living: Delia, Antonia, Frankalino, Victoria and Carolina: and
also one that died.
Mr. Amador was born on March 17. 1854, at Bcnicia. and he was well
Qjn^n^t^cL^ JjL \J\J-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2055
acquainted with many of the leading Spanish families of California. His
mother was Mary Pacheco while his father was Selso Amador. His grand-
father owned great tracts of land between Dublin and San Ramon. Ben grew
up at Benicia, San Leandro and Livermore. and in the latter place he attended
the public schools, and then went to Madera where he farmed for seven years.
He, too, was twice married. In 1880, he was joined to Antonia Higuera
of Livermore, and by her he had four children, two of whom are still living,
Joe and Barbara Amador. From Madera he went to Selma, and in that town
and district he lived for twenty years, during which time he busied himself
for the most part in teaming. Then he removed to Caruthers, where he farmed,
and after that he came in 1908 to his present place near Burrel. One of Mr.
Amador's sons, Joe, served in France in the World War, and two of Mrs.
Amador's sons served in the army: Newt and Romeo trained at Camp
Kearney. For years a steadfast Republican, Mr. Amador has sought in every
way fully to do his civic duty. He knew Vasquez, the desperado, and both
saw and talked with him. He hauled cord-wood from near Kingston to Lille's,
and he often put up at Old Kingston, which was a road-house and a favorite
stopping place for teamsters hauling lumber, machinery, groceries, merchan-
dise and such freight from Yisalia up to the Laguna de Tache Grant and
over to Burrel, where the late Cuthbert Burrel, who owned the lumber yard
at Yisalia, was then developing his large ranch of 15.000 acres.
THOMAS J. PETERSEN.— A popular Native Son. as well as a son of
a pioneer master mariner, of the Pacific coasting trade, Thomas J. Peter-
sen, the subject of this review, was born in Berkeley. Cal.. September 24,
1880, the son of Capt. Charles and Nellie (Riley) Petersen. His father was
born at Tonning, Schleswig, Denmark, and when but a lad of thirteen years
ran away from home and went to sea on a sailing vessel which landed in
America. Afterwards he sailed to the different ports of the world and even-
tually reached San Francisco in 1849, at the time of the beginning of the
gold excitement. Here he remained and soon afterwards began sailing in
the coasting trade, eventually becoming a captain of a vessel, and later on
master of vessels and part owner of a line of ships, among them being the
Casper, one of the first steam schooners on the Pacific Coast. Captain Peter-
sen was principally engaged in the lumber trade, until 1895 when he was
accidentally killed, at Port Costa, by slipping and falling over the side of
the vessel, being crushed between the dock and the side of the ship. The
mother of T. J. Petersen was, in maidenhood, Nellie Riley, a native of the
Emerald Isle, and she emigrated from Ireland to California, when nineteen
years of age, where she met and married Charles Petersen. She passed away
in Berkeley in 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Petersen were the parents of eight
children, five of whom are living, Thomas J. being the second oldest.
Thomas J. Petersen was reared in Berkeley and is a graduate of the high
school of that city. After his graduation he went to sea, entering the Pacific
coast trade, having previously become familiar with this business when he
worked for his father, before he graduated from the high school.
In 1897 Mr. Petersen went to Nome, Alaska, and was engaged in run-
ning vessels between San Francisco and Nome. Afterwards he returned to
Oakland, Cal., where he was employed by the Southern Pacific Railway
Company, first as a brakeman, on trains running out of Oakland, but was
soon advanced to the position of a conductor which work he continued to
follow on suburban runs until 1909, when he located in Coalinga.
For two years he was employed by the American Petroleum Companv
in their production department, when he became Deputy City Marshal, fill-
ing the office for one year, when he resigned to engage in business in Coal-
inga. In the spring of 1918, he was appointed City Marshal, to fill a vacancy,
and since then he devotes all of his time to his official duties. By virtue of
his office Mr. Petersen is ex-officio tax and license collector and superin-
tendent of streets.
2056 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
At the primary election in the fall of 1918, Mr. Petersen received enough
votes to elect him to the position of Constable of the Sixth Township, of
Fresno County. This fact emphasizes the great popularity of Thomas J.
Petersen and the high esteem in which he is held by the people of the city
of Coalinga and residents of Township Six.
Thomas J. Petersen was united in marriage in Coalinga with Miss Gean
Ansolabehere, a native of Basses-Pyrenees, France. This union has been
blessed with four children: Martina, Georgia. Thomas J. Jr., and Jeanne
Marie.
Fraternally Mr. Petersen is a member of Coalinga Aerie of Eagles and
has been honored by the election to the office of chairman of the board of
trustees ; he is also a member of the Coalinga Lodge of Moose, of which he
is the treasurer; he is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Growl-
ers Club, and in national politics supports the Democratic platform and
candidates.
WILLIAM MOLLER. — How a singular streak of good-luck often en-
ables a man to get his first favorable start in a successful career, is illustrated
in the life-story of "William Moller, who arrived in California during the Cen-
tennial year of the Republic. A native of Denmark, he was born in Kjere-
mvnde, Fyen. on March 28, 1850, the son of Christian Moller, a merchant
tailor, who had married Lasina Petersen, and by whom he had six children.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Moller lived to a fair old age and died in their native land.
William was the second youngest in the family, and he was brought up in
Denmark and attended the Danish public schools. When fourteen he was ap-
prenticed to a baker; and at the baker's trade he continued until he was
twenty-two.
In 1873, however. William decided to push out into the world: and sail-
ing from Denmark he came to America. It was not an easy matter, prior to
his departure, to figure out how he could pay for such a trip; and while turn-
ing the subject over in his mind, he decided to invest a good portion of the
small amount he had on hand in the purchase of a lottery ticket owned by a
friend who did not have the courage to hold on to it and take his chances.
Most luckilv for William, the number drew a prize of $250, so that he was
able, in the end. to travel as far as San Francisco and still have a small
residue. For a while he worked at his trade in the bay city, and then he
entered the employ of the Spreckels Sugar Refinery, with which concern he
remained until 1876.
In that vear. Mr. Moller had the foresight to leave the coast and come
inland to Fresno. His object was to buy land ; for although he had never
before farmed, he was willing to try, and such willingness is the first stepping-
stone to prosperity. He bought twenty acres in the Central Colony, and in
so doing became one of the first settlers there. He planted alfalfa and set out
a vinevard. and went in for dairying and poultry-raising, and was one of the
original stockholders of the Danish Creamery Association. All in all. he
continued there twenty-eight years.
In 1901 he sold his property and bought his present place of sixty acres
then raw land. On account of its unfavorable condition, he paid only $37.50
an acre, and probably that was all the land was then worth; but he leveled
the mush surface and by hard work improved it in various ways; and then
he put in thirteen acres' of alfalfa. Later he turned the entire tract into a
vinevard, and raised both muscat, raisin and Thompson seedless grapes, get-
ting his irrigation service from the neighboring ditch. He set out trees and
vines, and he also built a fine residence and the usual barns and outhouses.
Later, he sold twenty acres of the farm to his son, Magnus. The tract lies
two miles west of. Fresno, between Belmont and Whites Bridge Road.
While in San Francisco in 1876, Mr. Moller was married to Miss Louisa
Rasmussen. a native of Fredensborg. Denmark, who came to California in
1873. Their married life has been singularly happy, blessed by the birth
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2057
of seven children. One of these — Walter — died when he was three years of
age ; but the others are living. Bendin is a farmer in Oregon ; Herman is a
machinist in Fresno; William is a farmer not far away, as is also Magnus;
Ella, who married and became Mrs. Prickett, resides at Modesto ; and Louis,
a machinist by trade, is now serving in a machine gun division in the Amer-
ican Army in France. Besides being a member of the Danish Brotherhood,
Mr. Moller is affiliated with the Lutheran Church, of which he was a trustee
for years.
A firm believer in the sure and surely attractive destiny of Central Cal-
ifornia, Mr. Moller has always been identified with one or another of the
raisin associations and at present is one of the most enthusiastic "boosters"
of that industry in California. He belongs to the Republican party and has
for years taken an active interest in national politics, and is a supporter of
every sensible movement for local uplift and improvement.
NELS SWANSON. — A viticulturist who has been very successful and
now owns one of the best-improved ranches in the vicinity of Fresno, is Nels
Swanson, who was born near Laholm, Halan, Sweden, December 7, 1872, the
son of Swen Paulson, a farmer there, now deceased, and Ingri Paulson, who
is still living, the mother of eight children. As the fourth eldest, he was
brought up on a farm and at the same time attended the public schools of
his neighborhood.
In 1892, Nels crossed the ocean and the continent to Fresno, arriving
here on May 17, and he soon went to work in a vineyard at Oleander, contin-
uing in that field of endeavor until 1898 when the news of the new discovery
of gold in Alaska urged him, with others, to hasten to the Klondike.
He reached Dyea and then packed over Chilcoot Pass and reached
Sheeps Camp soon after a big snow slide, and finally got to Lake Luideneau
and Bennett. With the help of a companion or two, he made a scow, and they
floated down the Yukon to Dawson. They obtained claims, but not enough
gold to make it pay; and he was glad, in the end, to work for others at one
dollar per hour. After two such winters in the extreme North, Mr. Swanson
came back to Fresno County on October 4, 1900.
He then bought thirty acres at the corner of Johnson and Belmont Ave-
nues, and there he engaged in viticulture for five years. In 1906, however,
he bought his present place of twenty acres on Madison Avenue three and a
half miles west from Fresno, which he soon devoted to the growing of raisins,
— muscat and Thompson seedless. He early joined the movement for a bet-
ter raisin association, and is now an active supporter of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company. In 1908 he made a trip back to his old home, visiting
his parents and friends, returning home three months later, after an enjoy-
able trip.
While in Fresno, Mr. Swanson was married on February 18, 1903, to
Miss Ida Gustafson, a native of Westmanland, Sweden, who came to Fresno
with her parents in July, 1892. This union has proven singularly happy, and
four children have come to bless the Swanson fireside. Carlton Sherwood is
the eldest; and the others are Freda, Edith and Nels, Jr. Mr. Swanson is a
Lutheran, and the family attend that church, and are active in its various
good works.
WILLIAM H. SININGER.— A successful rancher is William IT. Sinin-
ger, the experienced viticulturist who is in charge of the old N. N. Norton
vineyard on 'White's Bridge Road, where he has been since December, 1907.
He was born at Bentonville, Adams County, Ohio, on January 26, 1886, the
son of John Allen Sininger, of Ohio, who was a farmer there. He married
Mamie L. Miller, also an Ohioan. Eleven children once made up the family;
and ten are still living.
AYilliam vas the oldest and was reared on a farm, while he attended the
usual lower country schools and completed the course of the high school.
2058 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
after which he continued with his father until 1906, when he came west to
California. He arrived in Fresno on April 15, and entered the employ of
H. E. Norton, for whom he ranched in the Madison district. Later he worked
in Pierce & Norton's sawmills. In 1907, however, and the month of Decem-
ber. Mr. Sininger came onto his present place. It is the old N. N. Norton
estate, at White's Bridge and Johnson Avenue, and has, besides a fine or-
chard and fields of alfalfa, a vineyard of fifty acres, set out to sultana, em-
pires and malagas.
At Fresno, July, 1918. Mr. Sininger was married to Mrs. Flo (Whitlock)
Thompson, a native of Tehama County, Cal., who by her first union had two
children — Howard and Morris Thompson. Mrs. Sininger shares with her
husband a large circle of devoted friends.
Mr. Sininger has always favored cooperation, and so has always supported
every association movement. He is a Democrat, but he never allows his
democracy to interfere when it comes to supporting what he really believes
to be the best man and the best measure. Had Fresno County not been
blessed with many such sterling citizens as Mr. Sininger, it could never have
forged to the fore as the foremost of all counties in the Golden State.
WADE GRIFFIN.— The efficient and popular superintendent of the
Consolidated Water Company of Coalinga, Cal., Wade Griffin, is a native
of Waxahachie, Ellis County. Tex., a son of George and Margaret (Jordan)
Griffin. Both George Griffin and grandfather Wade Griffin were born in the
state of Louisiana, the grandfather having been killed during the Civil War.
George Griffin, when a young man, moved to Texas, and it was in that state
that he was united in marriage with Margaret Jordan, this union being
blessed with seven children. Wade Griffin, the subject of this sketch, being
the second oldest and the only member of the family in California.
Mrs. Griffin passed away in July, 1907, but the father is still living in
Texas where he owns a farm of 500 acres, devoted to raising cotton, which
he rents out, George Griffin being engaged as the manager of a large cotton
gin. Wade was brought up on the farm in Texas where he learned farming
and stock-raising, assisting his father in the work of the place until he was
twenty-one years of age, when he removed to Claremore, Okla., where he
was employed in the bridge and building department of the Missouri Pacific
Railway Company. In 1905 Mr. Griffin removed to Fullerton, Cal., where, in
partnership with J. C. Shepherd, he was engaged in concrete and cement
contracting, constructing pipe lines and sidewalks, continuing in this busi-
ness until 1908 when he dissolved partnership with Mr. Shepherd and came
to Coalinga, entering the employ of the Consolidated Water Company. At
first he had charge of the pipelines in the oil fields, but his ability to fill a
manager's position soon became evident and in 1909 he was appointed super-
intendent of the entire plant, and so efficiently has he discharged his duties
that he still holds the same position. The company sank its first well in 1903,
and subsequently its second well was ready, then pipes were laid into the
oil fields and in 1909 three more wells were sunk to a depth of 250 feet.
This company is equipped with a large pumping plant having a capacity of
over 3.500 barrels daily. The water is distributed to all parts of the Eastern
and Western sides of the oil fields.
Mr. Griffin is an active worker for the upbuilding of the West Side and
has been particularly anxious for good roads. After nine years of agitation
his dream is to be fulfilled as the State Highway is being constructed to
Coalinga.
Wade Griffin is a very popular man and is highly esteemed in the citv
of Coalinga for his sterling character and unquestioned integrity. Frater-
nally, he is an Odd Fellow holding membership with the Maypeari Lodge,
X... 149, at .Maypeari, Tex., and is also affiliated with the FagleVat Coaling t,
yioA'&0^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2051
MOSES PAUL MOSESIAN.— Two and one-half miles southeast of
Parlier lies the Mbsesian vineyard and ranch, consisting of 340 acres. Its
superintendent and manager, Moses P., is the son of Paul Mosesian of Fresno,
owner of the Mosesian ranch and a large dealer in real estate, who has
bought and sold thousands of acres of land in Fresno and Tulare Counties,
and has been instrumental in assisting his countrymen in the subdivision
of large tracts for private vineyardists and horticulturists, making it possible
for them to acquire ranches and homes on time payments and at reasonable
terms.
Moses P. Mosesian is a native of Armenia, born at Harpoot, June 17,
1894, the oldest in a family of five children, and the only one of them born in
Armenia. His father, Paul Mosesian, was born in Armenia, near Harpoot,
March 21, 1870, and while living in his native country made his living as a
trader and from the income of a small farm. As a young man he came to
America and for two years" worked in Boston. He then returned to Harpoot
and was married to Tworoida Garabedian. After the birth of their oldest
child, Mr. Mosesian returned to America, leaving his wife and baby in the
old country, and found employment in a shoe factory at Boston, and by
strict attention to business rose to the position of head cutter. At the time
of the Alaska gold fever he and a fellow-workman resolved to seek their
fortunes in the gold fields of that region, and, going to San Francisco, they
took passage for the "Klondike." When the journey was about half com-
pleted Mr. Mosesian was taken seriously ill, forcing him to return to San
Francisco. On arrival he had but ninety-four dollars left, so he sought em-
ployment at any kind of work available. Times were stringent and it was
difficult to keep employed. Under these discouraging conditions he met a
fellow-countryman who had been in Fresno County and whose glowing de-
scription of its future possibilities decided Mr. Mosesian to try his luck
here. Resolved to own land and have a home, in 1900 he bargained for 320
acres of practically unimproved land near Parlier. To this acreage he later
added twenty acres and his efforts have been successful in making this a
splendid property. After establishing himself on the ranch he was joined
by his wife and son. At the time he purchased the ranch the raisin and fruit
growing qualities of the valley had not been fully demonstrated. Going to
work with a will, he set out two zinfandel vineyards of twenty and fifty
acres respectively. The vines grew luxuriantly and Mr. Mosesian soon
launched in the wine making industry, prospering beyond his most sanguine
expectations. After a few years the price of wine grapes fell below nine
dollars per ton and under these discouraging conditions he was forced to
experiment in grafting the vines over to Thompson's seedless for the purpose
of making raisins. The results were so good that the next year he grafted,
in the same manner, the fifty-acre vineyard. In addition to the seventy acres
grafted over he has 180 acres planted to muscats in full bearing; also thirty-
six acres of malaga table grapes. For the last three years those in full bear-
ing have yielded from twelve to fifteen tons per acre. In 1917 his best table
grapes brought one dollar sixty-five cents per vine — a most extraordinary
record.
Mr. Mosesian's acquaintance in Boston enabled him to lay the founda-
tion for a large trade in raisins and table grapes in the New England markets.
After the war began it became difficult to obtain refrigerator cars at the
proper time, and in 1917 he lost twenty car loads of fruit that practically
rotted for want of timely transportation. It was this that caused him to erect
the new fire-proof, concrete and brick packing-house and cold storage plant
on the Santa Fe reservation in Fresno. The building consists of two stories
and a basement and is 150x275 feet in dimension with a frontage of 275 feet
on the Santa Fe switch. It was built in accordance with plans outlined by
Mr. Mosesian and his son Moses.
2062 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Although a private shipper. Mr. Mosesian is a member of the California
Associated Raisin Company, His many years of effort has built up an ex-
tensive demand for his goods in the East and he has studied to place them
on the eastern market in the most attractive and best possible shape. His
label, the celebrated "State Center" line, commands a premium of one and
a half per cent, over and above regular prices. He has reduced the packing
business to a science. Xot a grape is wasted, the bruised and inferior grapes
are made into horse feed, which has proved to be a very nutritious food for
work horses and mules.
Mr. Mosesian owns sixty acres east of Fresno on Locan Avenue, which
is devoted to the growing and propagating of a rare and most excellent
variety of table grape known as the Servian blue grape, which was brought
from Servia to Fresno in 1914 by Steve Baker, a Slavonian and an expert
grape grower. Mr. Baker found this variety of grape while on a visit to the
old country, and he brought enough cuttings back to Fresno with him to
plant sixteen acres by planting every fourth hill and propagating the two
intervening hills by runners put under ground at proper distances. Its
branches are large and long and the individual grape is nearly as large as
a French prune. Mr. Mosesian saved enough cuttings to plant 160 acres in
1919. Mr. Mosesian buys fruits, raisins, etc., at Kingsburg. Parlier. Clotho
and Fresno, in which places he also has packing houses. The Mosesian
Packing House at Parlier is being rebuilt to twice its former size and capac-
ity. Mr. Mosesian is a stockholder and director in the Parlier 'Winery and
the River Bend Gas and 'Water Company. He has a comfortable home at
No. 1146 "R" Street, Fresno, where he resides. His children are: Moses P.:
Mary : Suren ; Louise : and Bernice.
Moses has, since boyhood, taken an interest in viticulture, horticulture
and everything pertaining to the ranch. He had the advantages of the com-
mon school, supplementing this with one year in Heald's Business College.
His father's business had become so extensive in 1913 that there was im-
perative need for Moses to assume the superintendency of the Mosesian
ranch, and since then he has given his entire time to its management, bring-
ing it up to a standard of excellence which challenges wide attention. Twenty-
five men are regularly employed on this ranch and in the harvest, the force
is increased to 150. Eighteen head of stock, and one eighteen horse-power
Holt tractor furnish the motive power for its cultivation. A gasoline engine
pumps water for stock and domestic purposes, while a sixty horse-power
pumping plant is ever in reserve for irrigation. The ranch is under the Con-
solidated Ditch. The ranch is fringed with a row of Adriatic fig trees and
between this row of figs and the field of vines is planted a row of peach trees.
This produces an artistic effect and furnishes also a wind break for the vines
as well as being a considerable source of revenue.
In 1914 Moses P. Mosesian was married to Miss Marie Merzoian of
Fresno, and they are the parents of two children. William and Lillian.
In his religious inclinations Mr. Mosesian is a Catholic. His wife is a
Presbyterian in her religious convictions, and his parents still cling to the
Gregorian Church.
ERROLL C. KITTRELL. — A successful and promising farmer of Fresno
County, is Frroll C. Kittrell of the Barstow Colony, a native son. born in
Fresno, on September 17, 1889. His father was William J. Kittrell. who was
born in the Sacramento Valley and became one of the early settlers of Fresno,
having been for a while in the post office there. Then for twenty years he
was in the Fresno Agricultural Works, where he acted as manager. Now he is
in the real estate business in Fresno, his reputation for integrity and judg-
ment going far to influence the would-be customer. Mrs. Kittrell was Ella
M. Vezey before her marriage, and she was a native daughter, her birth-
place being near Modesto.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2063
Erroll, an only child, was educated in the public schools of Fresno and
the Fresno high school, which he attended until his junior year, when he went
east to the Kemper Military School at Boonville, Mo., from which he was
graduated in 1909. On his return to Fresno, he clerked three years in the
hardware store of Barrett & Hicks, then he went to Lemoore to take charge
of the hardware department of W. L. Scally, returning to Fresno in a year to
enter the employ of H. Graff & Company in their hardware department.
A year later he engaged in business for himself and started a hardware
store on Merced Street between J and I Streets in what was known as the
Kittrell Building. At the end of eighteen months, however, he sold out to
take up farming. He bought his present place of eighty acres and was soon
busy setting out a vineyard and an orchard. He also has twenty-five acres in
alfalfa under the Herndon Canal and an eighty-foot well. There are ten
acres of Thompson seedless grapes, and forty acres in peaches, muir and lov-
ells being the specialty. He is a member of the California Peach Growers,'
Inc., and of the California Associated Raisin Company.
In Fresno, Mr. Kittrell was married to Miss Hazel Hague, a native of
Fresno who grew up and was educated there, and one child, William Mad-
ison Kittrell, blessed the fortunate marriage. Mr. Kittrell is a Democrat in
national politics, and an ardent supporter of every worthy movement for
local improvement. He was made a Mason in Fresno Lodge, No. 247, F.
& A. M.
AUGUST DIEL. — A fine example of the successful merchant is August
Diel of Fresno, who was born in Skadofsky, Samara, Russia, on September
24, 1866. His father, Henry Diel. was a farmer who died there ; while his
mother, who was Mary Schwabenland before her marriage, came to Fresno
with August Diel, and died here. She was the mother of four boys and a girl;
of these, the four sons grew up and two are now living.
August Diel is the only one in the United States, for two brothers, Henry
and Frederick D., who came to Fresno, died here. The second eldest, August
Diel grew up on a farm and attended the common schools, after which he did
military service, enlisting when twenty-one in the Russian Infantry and serv-
ing there four years. He thus saw service at Sebastopol. and received at the
end an honorable discharge. He was married to Miss Louise Karle, also a
native of the same district ; and followed farming for some time in his native
land.
In 1899 Mr. Diel came to Fresno, and soon after helped take out the horse
line. He also helped build the first electric car line here, a task of several
years. Then he worked at ranching, with the same degree of success.
In partnership with his brother Henry, Mr. Diel formed the firm of Diel
Brothers and they had a store on South F Street until the brother died, in
1912, when he bought out his interest and continued there until 1915. Then
he purchased the corner at Kirk Street and Florence Avenue, and built his
present store building. He also built a residence. He opened his store with
a fine stock of general merchandise, such as dry goods, boots, shoes, hard-
ware, groceries and meats, and the standard he then set he has ever since
maintained. He is a Republican in national politics, and an ex-trustee of the
Free Evangelical Lutheran Cross Church.
Nine children blessed the union of this happy couple, and eight are now
living. Henry was a member of Company B of the Third Oregon Infantry,
and served on the border during the Mexican trouble. He returned to Fresno
and was honorably discharged. On July 16, 1917, he enlisted in the First Cal-
ifornia Machine Gun Troop, and was at Camp Kearney six months and then
at Camp Johnson three months. He was stationed in Philadelphia four
months, and then sent to the Central C. O. T. S. at Camp Lee, Va ; and when
the armistice was signed, he was commissioned a second lieutenant, and was
honorablv discharged.
2064 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
THEODORE E. ERICKSON.— Among the enterprising vineyardists
of Yinland, Theodore E. Erickson, the owner of a twenty-acre ranch on
Vinland, corner of Shaw Avenue, is especially mentioned as a successful
grower of malaga and Thompson seedless grapes. He is a native of West-
manland, Sweden, born on October 24, 1884. His father, Eric Johnson, emi-
grated to the United States in 1902, settling at Wylie, Red Lake County,
Minn., where he bought land and engaged in farming until his death in 1913.
His mother, Minnie Johnson, is still living and resides in Wylie, Minn. She
was the mother of eight children, Theodore E. being the fourth child. He
was reared on a farm and when twenty-one years of age engaged in stock-
raising and farming on the old home place.
In 1905, Mr. Erickson became interested, with his brother August, in a
twenty-acre ranch at Vinland, Fresno County, Cal. He became anxious to
leave the rigorous climate of Minnesota and to locate on his California ranch
where he could enjoy the sunny southland of the Golden State. In three
years' time he sold out his interests in Minnesota and moved to California,
locating at Yinland in 1908. He improved the ranch and later purchased his
brother's interest. Afterwards, Mr. Erickson still continued to develop and
improve the place and engaged in dairying. He set out an orchard of peaches,
Elbertas and clings: and planted a vineyard of eight acres to Thompson seed-
less and malaga grapes.
Mr. Erickson has been very successful in conducting his ranch and is
regarded as a very well posted man in the science of viticulture and one
who believes in using the most progressive methods in the operation of his
vineyard. He is interested in every movement for the advancement of the
viticultural and horticultural interests of the county, and most naturally he
belongs to both the California Associated Raisin Company and the California
Peach Growers, Inc. Politically, he supports the doctrine of Democracy in
national affairs.
ALBERT V. GLOUGIE. — A close observer and a thoroughly wide-
awake man. who has amassed a fund of valuable experience, particularly in
the best methods of farming, and who has improved many acres by bringing
them under intensive cultivation, is A. V. Glougie, who first came to Fresno
County in Tanuary, 1902. He was born in Austin. Minn., in 1866, and was
reared in Adams, Iowa. His father. John R. Glougie, was of French extrac-
tion, and was born at Belvidere, Vt. His mother was Martha Hull before
her marriage ; she was also a native of Yermont and was united to Mr.
Glougie in her native state. During the Civil War. John Glougie was in a
Vermont regiment of the Union Army, served two years and eleven months,
and was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness. Later he came to Austin,
Minn., and went in for farming; and in 1871 he secured a farm in Adams
Countv. Finally, the parents came on to Fresno, and here the father died,
while the mother resides on Blackstone Avenue, the mother of thirteen chil-
dren, nine of whom are living.
A. V. Glougie is the oldest of these, and was brought up on a farm in
Iowa, at the same time that he attended the public schools. He continued at
home assisting his father, and married in Adams County, choosing Miss Lizzie
Ammond, a native of Adams County, as his bride. He bought a farm of new
prairie land on which he was the first to break land and later he bought more
land and soon had a fine farm.
In Januarv. 1902. he came to California and located near Parlier ; and
after a vear he moved to Sanger where he bought eighty acres of new land.
and devoted it to alfalfa, leveling and checking, and also setting out a vine-
vard. He bought other lands and .owned other vineyards and orchards. He
had a lemon and an orange orchard, and did well.
The year 1911 found Mr. Glougie near Brawley in the Imperial \ alley,
where he" engaged in ranching, having sold his Fresno interests: and there
he made a specialty of raising hogs. In a year he sold out and returned to
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2067
Fresno County. He bought a ranch at Barstow and sold it, and then he
bought a ranch on Fillmore Avenue and sold that. Next he bought forty
acres on California Avenue, eleven miles west of Fresno; this he improved,
and he raises alfalfa and figs, making one of the finest showings in that section.
Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Glougie. Francis resides at
Fresno ; Blanche, who had become Mrs. Rudolph Garber, died in 1916 in her
twenty-sixth year; Bernice is Mrs. Carter Anderson of Madera County; and
Vernon is at home.
In national politics Mr. Glougie is a Republican; but he deems it his
duty as an independent citizen to support good local measures irrespective
of party obligations, and so he works for a constantly higher standard in civic
affairs.
JULIUS H. DAHLKE. — A native of Germany, J. H. Dahlke was born
near Berlin, on September 6, 1872, the son of August Dahlke, who had mar-
ried Minnie Lange ; and when Julius was only eight years old, his parents
came to America and settled in Hamilton County, Nebr., in which state he
grew up. There were seven children in the family — five boys and two girls —
and Julius was the third in the order of birth. He is the only one of the fam-
ily in California.
He attended the public schools and was reared on his father's stock farm ;
and while still in Nebraska, married twice. His first wife was Miss Augusta
Ahlmann, who died at the birth of her only child, Irene, who is still living.
The second Mrs. Dahlke was Miss Sadie Edmonston, a native of Ireland, and
by her he has had six children. Raymond is at home and runs the tractor;
Glenn is a lad of sixteen ; and there are Irma, Leah, Lula and Masel.
Going to Grand Island, Nebr., Mr. Dahlke took up the carpenter and
builder's trade, and later embarked in the furniture business, in which line
he continued until he came to California. In May, 1912, he arrived in Oakland,
and there went to work for a dealer in new and second-hand furniture.
The same year, also, Mr. Dahlke came out to Hardwick, in Kings County,
four miles southeast of Laton, where he became the foreman for Height &
Hall, on a large stock grain ranch. This he managed successfully for a year,
until the owners sold it. Then he leased the Davis Ranch at Dos Palos.
While at Hardwick, he had made the acquaintance of the late L. P.
Denney; and when the latter offered him the foremanship, two and a half
years ago, of the Summit Lake Ranch, he accepted the responsibility and at
once entered upon the interesting and promising work. He had been in charge
just seven months, and had brought everything into working order when
Mr. Denney came to his tragic death ; and since then he has continued as the
ranch foreman, under the direction of Mr. Frank Hight, the administrator
of the estate, and by order of the court.
Mr. Dahlke is a Republican and takes a live interest in civic affairs and in
politics. He is an advocate of local reforms and supports, regardless of party
lines, any movement for the improvement of the neighborhood. Mrs. Dahlke
shares his interests and his ambitions, and the children attend the Crescent
School.
FRED SCHEIDT. — A successful business man who is equally prosper-
ous in his ventures in horticulture and viticulture is Fred Scheldt, a native
of Samara, Stepnoia, Russia, where he was born on May 22, 1871. His father
was George Scheidt, a farmer, who spent his life there, and there were six
children in the family, of whom Fred was the fifth in the order of birth.
He was brought up on a farm and educated in German and Russian
schools, but in December, 1890, he left home for Baltimore where he arrived
on the following New Year Day. At Parkersburg, W. Va., he remained
seven months, and then he removed to Cincinnati, where he lived and worked
for seven years. For six years he was employed by the Cincinnati Lithograph
Company, and then he went to Kansas.
2068 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In July. 18^8. Mr. Scheldt came to Fresno and accepted employment with
the Southern Pacific Railroad. He did not like the work, however, and after
six days he entered the service of the Farl Fruit Company. At the end of
the season he went with the Griffin & Skelly Fruit Company, and having
been with them two years, he took up his residence in Hamilton and worked
for the Sugar Beet Company there. He contracted with the company to
raise sugar-beets, but at the end of the season he came back to Fresno. He
worked for Otto Nestel for six years, and then for. seven years was with
George Kaehler.
During 1913, Mr. Scheidt bought out George Christian's grocery store
at 440 F Street, where he continued the grocery business. Four years later he
bought a ranch of thirty-two and a half acres, two and a half miles northwest
of Clovis, and he now has one of the finest peach orchards and vineyards of
Thompson seedless and malaga grapes, all developed under his personal su-
pervision. He makes his residence with his family on the place. Such was
his exceptional success, that he was sought by both the California Associated
Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc.
While in Cincinnati, Mr. Scheidt was married to Miss Margaret Walter,
a native of Madison, Ind., whose parents settled in Indiana in 1848. Ten of
their children are living. Matilda is the wife of C. Hunton of Fresno, a volun-
teer in the United States Army, serving in France ; George is also in the
United States Army; Anna. Eduard, William, Emma. Alfred, Elsie, Gussie
and Arthur are at home.
Mr. Scheidt is a welcome member of the Eagles.
WILLIAM GARRIGAN. — An interesting oil man of many years varied
experience not only in different fields in the United States but also in Borneo,
is William Garrigan, who came to California in 1895. He was born at Bel-
mont, Alleghany County, N. Y., on September 22, 1868. the son of Thomas
Garrigan, a native of Erie, Pa., who came to the Golden State as a lumber-
man about 1860, and here worked for a while as a shingle-sawyer. Then he
returned to New York and was married to Belle Cartwright, a daughter of
that state. After that he was engaged in the oil business in Pennsylvania as
a contractor and driller until 1890 when he came to California. He settled at
Newhall with the Coast Oil Company, and later went into the Kern River
field. There he retired, and eventually died at Fullerton. Mrs. Garrigan died
at Redwood City, the mother of two children.
William, the oldest and the only child of this union now living, attended
the public school and at fifteen began work in the oil industry, entering
the employ of the Emory Oil Company at Bradford. He commenced at the
bottom rung of the ladder in 1882, and for three years was a pumper. Then,
for eighteen months, he dressed tools for James Nottenberger, a contractor,
and about January, 1887, when nineteen, he enlisted in the fourth United
States Cavalry, and was stationed, first at San Carlos. Ariz., then at Fort
Wingate. N. M. ; and afterward at Fort Union, at which place, at the end
of three years he was mustered out and honorably discharged.
Returning to Pennsylvania, he again took up tool-dressing, and then
worked as a driller ; and this he continued to do until April, 1895, when he
came to California. For a while he was with the Pacific Coast Oil Company
as a tool-dresser, and then as a driller in the Newhall field, staying there four
years ; next the same company sent him to San Mateo County to drill three
wells; and after a year he went back to their Newhall field.
In 1901 he resigned and came to Coalinga, where he drilled for the Oil
City Petroleum Company on Section 28; and then he worked for various
companies as a driller. He was with the Turner Oil Company, and about 1914
was in the employ of the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company. This company
sent him to Borneo, as cement man ; and he was the last eighteen months
in Brunai. He remained there until 1916, when he resigned and returned to
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2069
California. Then he came to Coalinga, with the Coalinga Mohawk as driller;
and since 1917 he has been with the Southern Pacific in the fuel-oil depart-
ment and is now holding the position of drilling foreman in the Coalinga
field.
While at Newhall, July 19, 1899, Mr. Garrigan was married to Margaret
Stickler, a native of Aurora, Ore., by whom he has two children — Lloyd and
Ruth. He was made a Mason in Welcome Lodge, No. 255, F. & A. M., at
Lemoore but is now a member of Coalinga Lodge, No. 387, F. & A. M. He is
a member of Coalinga Chapter R. A. M. and Hanford Commandery K. T.,
and with his wife is a member of Eschscholtzia Chapter, No. 270, O. E. S.,
of which Mrs. Garrigan is Past Matron. Mr. Garrigan is also a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America and Fresno Lodge, No. 439, B. P. O. Elks.
Mrs. Garrigan has been Guardian Neighbor of the Neighbors of Woodcraft
since its organization and is a member of Auxiliary, No. 2, of the Coalinga
Chapter of the Red Cross.
A. H. KHAZOYAN. — The story of the success of three Armenian broth-
ers, all sadly afflicted in the dire misfortune of their near of kin who have
been victims of savagery in the recent war, is linked with that of the
scholarly, progressive, public-spirited and generous-hearted rancher, A. H.
Khazoyan, who is blessed with helpmate distinguished as a wife, mother and
citizen. He was born at Harpoot, in Armenia, on March 3, 1879, the son
of Rev. Hagop Khazoyan, a minister and missionary, concerning whom it is
reported that he was massacred by the Turks, in his eightieth year. Mrs.
Khazoyan was Mary Melcon before her marriage, and she died in July,
1917, when she was sixty-seven years old. Twelve children were born to
this very worthy couple, and of these five sisters died in Armenia, a brother
died in infancy, another brother was massacred, and a sister was married
in Armenia to a soldier who was serving in the Turkish army when this war
broke out. His absence from home left her unprotected, and it cannot be
found out whether she also has been murdered or is still living. The eldest
brother, long living in South America, is a dry goods merchant at San Paulo,
Brazil ; while the Rev. H. H. Khazoyan organized an Armenian Church, of
the Congregational denomination, in New York City, and is one-third
owner, with Benjamin H. and the subject of our instructive sketch, of the
Khazoyan ranch two and a half miles southwest of Parlier. He preached for
seven years, when an affection of the throat compelled him to resign from his
devoted flock. Benjamin, a tailor, is working at present for the Government,
in the tailoring department of the Army.
A. H. Khazoyan attended the schools in Armenia, and was early bap-
tized into the Congregational Church there and reared in the refined atmos-
phere of its social and religious life, having become acquainted with some
American Congregational missionaries. From them he learned English, and
in 1909 he came to the United States, landing in New York City on July 1.
Previously, in 1898, he had been married at Harpoot to Rose Stephan, a native
of Ichma, a pretty place about eighteen miles southeast of Harpoot, but he
crossed the ocean without her and the four children blessing their union,
and the first news that he received from home was that a fifth child had
been born since his departure. While at Pasadena, after Mrs. Khazoyan had
joined him in America, still another child was born to them, and later a
seventh and youngest has come to give joy to the ranch circle.
Stopping for a week in New York, Mr. Khazoyan continued his journey
by making a bee-line for Southern California and arrived in the City of
the Angels on July 13, 1909. He had been a cabinetmaker by trade in
Armenia, and for a couple of years found work as a cabinetmaker in Los
Angeles. He then became a clerk in the store of his brother, H. H. Khazoyan,
in the same city, and sold Oriental rugs; but in 1914 he came to the Selma
section and bought, with his brothers, the 120 acres referred to, almost at
the same time identifying himself with the good work of the Raisin Growers
2070 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Association. He is now in charge of the Khazoyan ranch, which is the
joint property of the firm known as Khazoyan Bros., and which, as one of
the choice farm-properties of this region, is subdivided as follows : Eighty
acres are unimproved, eighteen are devoted to malaga grapes, eighteen are
in Thompson seedless; five are taken up with the ditch, and the balance is
used for yards and similar purposes.
Their seven children are the pride and delight of Mr. and Mrs. Kha-
zoyan : Helen is the eldest, then come Eunice, Esther, Mary, Lucy, and Rosa,
while the youngest is Roberta.
CHRISTOPHER SMELLEY.— An old-timer in California, and for more
than thirty years a rancher in Fresno County, Christopher Smelley has won
the esteem and respect of a wide circle of friends who value his friendship
for its real worth. He was born near Paris, Texas, in 1865. a son of John T.
Smelley, who enlisted in the Confederate Army from Alabama, served through
the war and then located in Texas, where he died soon afterwards. His wife,
before her marriage was Mary Horn, and after the death of Mr. Smelley, she
married again. Later, on account of the harsh treatment received from his
step-father, young Chris left home at a tender age and went into western
Texas where he found a home with some people who were kind to him. He
was reared in the family of Thomas Woods, in McClellan County, became
familiar with the stock business and rode the range with other cow-boys.
His schooling was limited to about three weeks until he was twenty-one years
old, then he started to get an education, realizing that to make a success in
life, such an adjunct was very necessary. He paid his way with the money he
had earned on the range, matriculated at the preparatory school of the Waco
University, attending until his money gave out.
This was a turning point in the life of this energetic young man, for he
came to California to make another stake, then go back and complete his
courses. This was in 1887, and he went to work for Joe Prather at Caruthers,
remaining about seven years, when Mr. Prather suffered from the panicky
times, "went broke," and did not have enough money with which to pay his
help. Christopher Smelley took a horse and wagon as part pay, went down
into the Helm section and began farming on his own account by leasing 500
acres, having as a partner Theo. Campbell. He rented for one year and
then was so successful that he began to buy land, which he farmed besides
renting large areas from time to time. He owns 303 acres of good farming
land, rents 160 more upon which he raises grain, wheat and barley,- and
has met with more than a moderate degree of success.
Mr. Smelley is still a bachelor, is a hard worker, an interesting talker,
and by the methods he employs has shown his good judgment in the culti-
vation and operation of his broad acres. He is public-spirited and in the
crisis of the great World War supported every loan drive and other war
charities to the best of his ability. In politics he is a Democrat and is a stanch
supporter of the present administration. While he regrets that he has been
unable to complete his education as he had set out to do, still he is thankful
that his lot has been cast in such a pleasant place as Fresno County.
JOHN YOUNG SPENCE.— A successful California viticulturist is John
Young Spence, a native son who was born in the Scandinavian Colony, in
Fresno County, on August 9, 1888. He is the son of Alexander D. Spence,
a native of the Orkney Islands, Scotland, and a university-trained man who
married, at Dumfermline, Miss Christiana Younof. He was a professor of
languages at the Dollar Academy in Dollar. Scotland, and having become
interested in Fresno County lands, he came to the United States and Cal-
ifornia, bringing his wife and six children.
He arrived here about 1882 and located on twenty acres in the Scandi-
navian Colony, and there he followed viticulture until his death, ten years
later. His good wife passed away in 1909, the mother of eight children, three
of whom are still living. One son, now deceased, was William Spence, the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2073
editor of the Sun Maid Herald, and he died in December, 1918. An older
brother is David Spence, with the California Associated Raisin Company,
while a sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Brown, resides near Clovis.
The lad John was educated at the public schools of the Scandinavian
district and the Fresno High School, and from a boy became interested in
viticulture. As early as 1904, he and his brothers, William and David, pur-
chased land in the Garfield district, and improved a fine vineyard, raising it
from a mere stubble-field to a well-leveled tract, on which were set out the
choicest of malaga, muscat and Thompson seedless grapes, as well as five
acres of olives. He and his brother and sister now own eighty acres in vine-
yard and orchard, the firm being incorporated as the Spence Vineyard Com-
pany, with David A. Spence as manager. The Spence Vineyard is historically
interesting as it was one of the first set out in this locality.
Growing up to manhood amid the blessings of the American Republic
and the comforts and luxuries of the Golden State, it was natural that Mr.
Spence should develop a tiptop patriotism ; so that it is not surprising that
he was among the first twenty-five men who left Fresno in the first draft for
the" Great War. He volunteered for the first five per cent, of the draft in Sep-
tember, 1917, and was in the 364th Infantry at Camp Lewis. On May 15,
1918, he entered the fourth officers' training camp, and on August 25 was
commissioned a second lieutenant. On January 10, 1919, he was honorably
discharged and returned home, to again take up work in the Spence Vineyards.
The Spence brothers are members of the Melvin Grape Growers Asso-
ciation and the California Associated Raisin Company, in both of which or-
ganizations they are active in promoting those movements making for the
broad and substantial development of California agricultural interests.
Mr. Spence is a member of the Fresno Lodge, No. 439, B. P. O. Elks.
ROBERT W. WELDON. — Nestling among the foothills of the Sierras
in Watts and Burroughs Valleys lie the ranches of Robert W. Weldon, a
very successful cattle-grower of Fresno County, who is making a specialty
of Hereford cattle. He was born in Denton County, Texas, on December 27,
1871, a son of A. J. and Martha (Lindsey) Weldon, natives of Boone County,
Mo., and Alabama, respectively. During the Civil War A. J. Weldon served
under General Price, afterward moving to Texas where he engaged in rais-
ing cattle. In 1886 he removed with his family to Fresno, Cal., and followed
grain-ranching in the Red Bank district, after which he set out a vineyard
near Centerville, eventually moving to Santa Cruz, where he resided eight
years and then returned to Fresno Count}'. His death occurred in Clovis and
in that place his widow still resides. Eight children were born to this worthy
couple, all of whom are living, Robert \Y. being the second in order of birth.
Robert W. received a good education in the public schools of Texas. In
1886 he came to Fresno and immediately went to work aiding his father at
grain-ranching, at which he was steadily employed until twenty-two vears
of age, when he acquired a farming outfit and leased land east of Clovis and
raised grain until the land was cut up into smaller tracts and sold. He then
purchased forty acres one mile east of Clovis which he devoted to vineyard,
orchard and alfalfa, until November, 1901. He had always had a desire to
own a ranch and raise cattle, so in that year he purchased a ranch of 800
acres in Burroughs Valley, on which he located and then began the stock
business in which he has been so successful. He has added to the place which
now comprises over 1,200 acres, and he also owns a ranch of 760 acres in the
lower part of Watts Valley, and a 900-acre ranch in the upper part of Watts
Valley, onto which he moved in 1917 and where he is making his home,
having built a modern residence and made permanent improvements. He
has fields of alfalfa irrigated from the headwaters of Watts Creek, making it
a splendid stock-ranch, as well as very sightly. He devotes his different
ranches to raising cattle, horses and hogs. After experimenting with differ-
ent breeds of cattle he found the Herefords suited his purpose best and were
2074 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the most profitable, so he purchased and brought the first full-blooded Here-
fords into the Valley and since then has been bringing in others until he has a
fine herd of pure-bred and high-grade Herefords, in which he can justly take
pride. His summer range is at the headwaters of Big Creek in the National
Forest Reserve.
At the Boucher home, near Clovis, on December 20, 1893, Mr. Weldon
was married to Lottie Boucher, who was born near Suisun, Solano County,
the daughter of C. H. Boucher, one of the early settlers of the Clovis section
in Fresno County, and two children have been born of this union: Cecil R.,
who is an able assistant to his father, and Mildred Barbara.
Interested in the cause of education, Mr. Weldon has served as member
and clerk of the board of trustees in Mountain View district for fourteen
years. He is a member of the Christian Church, while Mrs. Weldon is a
Presbyterian. Mr. and Mrs. Weldon are public-spirited and progressive citi-
zens of the County, and are well known and highly esteemed.
GEORGE M. TUTTLE.— A good farmer, horseman and cattleman, and
an equally good, patriotic citizen is George M. Tuttle, the foreman of the
Silvera alfalfa ranch. He was born at Shelbyville. 111., on February 3, 1872,
the son of Elisha Tuttle, a native of Douglas County, 111., who was engaged
in teaming at Shelbyville. He was a loyal citizen of the old-fashioned type,
and during the Civil War served in Company K. One Hundred Fifteenth
Illinois Volunteer Infantry. And in Illinois, in 1915, he passed to his eternal
reward. Mrs. Tuttle was Elizabeth Parryman, a daughter of Illinois; and
she died in 1908, the mother of seven children, two of whom are still living.
George was the second oldest of these, and he was brought up in the
town of his birth, where he attended the public school of the neighborhood.
Later, he engaged in coal mining for several years. Then he was appren-
ticed to the moulders' trade, at Dayton, Ohio, giving to that experience
eighteen months; and afterward he was in the Shelbyville foundry for a few
years. The strike of 1908 brought work to a standstill, but it led to his taking
one of the most decisive steps of his life.
Looking over the field of opportunity in general, Mr. Tuttle concluded
to come to California ; and in 1909 he journeyed to Fresno. He was not for-
tunate in finding an opening as a moulder ; but he secured employment on the
ranch of W. H. Dillon, who raised alfalfa and had a fine vineyard, and he re-
mained with him for a year and a half. Then he was in the employ of R. N.
Barstow and helped run his alfalfa ranch ; and in 1914 he was made foreman,
a post of much responsibility. Here Mr. Tuttle had charge of 260 acres, most
of which was devoted to alfalfa, but twenty acres of which were given up to
a vineyard and a stock ranch. In August, 1918, Mr. Tuttle accepted the po-
sition as foreman of the Silvera ranch at Tranquillity, where he has super-
vision of 285 acres, and raises alfalfa and mules.
Sociable by nature, and fond of society, Mr. Tuttle joined both the Odd
Fellows and the Knights of Pythias at Shelbyville, and he has continued his
affiliation with those fraternal organizations. No better and more public-
spirited citizen could anywhere be found ; in national politics Mr. Tuttle is
a Democrat, but in local affairs he joins with his neighbors in "boosting"
whatever is best. He served on the Grand Jury in 1918.
JASPER A. BANKS. — A very wide-awake merchant, whose business is
constantly increased because of his personal popularity, is Jasper A. Banks,
the experienced tobacconist at Friant. His father was Willis Banks, a Ken-
tuckian who, when there was need of his military services, joined the ranks
of the Home Guard Army and did his full duty without a thought of the sacri-
fice. He had been from youth a farmer; had moved to Illinois, and then pushed
on to Kansas. He came to California first in 1849, engaged with varying
success in mining; and after two years, went back to Illinois. J. A. Banks
was born at Columbus, Adams County, 111., March 6, 1852 and when a lad of
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2075
only nine years, moved with his parents to Crawford County, Kans., enjoying
the adventures common to such an experience at that time ; and there he grew
up to manhood, remaining until he was twenty-two years of age. Then he
came out to California in 1874, directing his course to Kern County, then for
six years he was in Sonoma County.
In 1881 Mr. Banks moved to Fresno County and located in Auberry
Valley. He bought land, went into stock raising, and until 1908 gave his
best efforts to producing the highest average breed. In that year he sold out
and came to Friant, where he embarked in the grocery trade. In the follow-
ing year, Mr. Banks established his cigar and tobacco store ; and in this line
of trade he has succeeded beyond his expectations. He has also retained in-
terest in stock, cattle and hogs,, and some of his investments yield as they
should when intelligence, foresight and experience are back of the deal.
Willis Banks, Jasper's father, returned to California in 1876 and located
in Fresno County; and here, living with his children, he died, two years later.
Mrs. Banks, who had been Eveline Thomas before her marriage, was a native
Kentuckian, and in that State she was married. She had fourteen children-
seven boys and seven girls ; and Jasper was the eighth child born.
Mr. Banks has been twice married. The first ceremony occurred in 1881
in Kern County, when the bride was Bell Davis, a native daughter, by whom
he had one child, Lola Bell who married L. C. Mussleman and is living in
Fresno. His first wife died in 1883. In 1888. Mr. Banks was married to Mrs.
Polly (Blair) Dillwood, born on Grand Island, whose parents were Thos.
and Lucy Blair, early settlers of Contra Costa County in the fifties, later
of Auberry Valley, Fresno County, where they died. Mrs. Banks received her
education in Fresno County, and by her former marriage she had two chil-
dren, one living, Ray, who is with the Standard Oil Company at Richmond.
Democrats in politics, Mr. and Mrs. Banks are members of the Christian
Church.
ALFRED MODINE. — The subject of this review, Alfred Modine, is a
native of Sweden, being born on February 19, 1862, at Langaryd Socken,
Smaaland, Sweden, a son of Andrew and Sarah Modine, who were the
parents of four children, Alfred being next to the youngest; Lewis, his old-
est brother, resides on the old home place in Sweden ; Swen is a farmer and
lives in Sweden; and Annie is the widow of Alfred Swanson and resides
in the homeland.
Alfred Modine was reared on his father's farm in Sweden, and was the
'first member of the family to immigrate to the United States, where he ar-
rived in 1883, and after a brief stay at Diamond Lake, Mich., he settled at
Assaria, Saline County, Kans., and secured employment as a farm hand,
continuing at such work for about six years, being paid by the month, Dur-
ing the winter season he worked for as little as six dollars per month, yet by
thrifty habits, so characteristic of his fellow countrymen, he was enabled to
save money.
In 1892, Alfred Modine returned to his native land and while there was
united in marriage with Emma Charlotte Nyquist, returning to Kansas the
same year with his bride. For four years he rented a farm at Assaria, sub-
sequently purchasing a farm of 240 acres at Lindsborg, where he success-
fully engaged in farming until 1915, when he received such an excellent offer
for his Kansas ranch that he sold it and removed to the Golden State, set-
tling one mile north of Kingsburg, Fresno County. He purchased the C. G.
Stone place on Grant Avenue, in the Kingsburg Colony.
Previous to buying his ranch at Kingsburg, Mr. Modine had made
several trips to the Pacific Coast country to see the land and investigate the
agricultural and horticultural conditions in California, and after very care-
ful consideration decided that Fresno County was the best place for him to
locate. Mr. Modine has always been a very industrious and thrifty farmer,
and by hard work, untiring efforts and intelligent management of his Kansas
2076 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ranch he accumulated considerable means, and having had to work very hard
to secure a financial start, now that he is comfortably provided for, he en-
joys life and values money for the good it can bring him and his family.
His home in California abounds in comforts and conveniences and his family
are happy in the enjoyment of their new environment. Mr. Modine has
made three trips to Sweden, and during the summer of 1917 he made an
extended trip through the Middle West, visiting relatives in Minneapolis,
Minn. His ranch at Kingsburg consists of forty acres and is devoted to
raising peaches and raisin grapes. The property is regarded as one of the
most valuable of its size in the Kingsburg Colony, being improved with a
brick residence, good barns, tank house and pumping plant.
Mr. and Mts. Modine are the parents of four children: John A., resid-
ing at home, is an ex-soldier, having been discharged from duty owing to
physical disability; Selma, who is a graduate of a business college at Linds-
borg, Kans. ; Hjalmar, who married Mary Rodgers, and they reside in Kings-
burg; and Carl, living at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Modine are members of the Swedish Mission Church at
Kingsburg. Although but recent comers to the county and state, the Mo-
dines have already made many friends, are highly esteemed in the com-
munity, and have been warmly welcomed into the Kingsburg Colony.
OTTO VENTER.— An up-to-date, public-spirited and progressive young
man, who has set the best example by his intelligent industry and on more
than one occasion has demonstrated his pluck, energy and indomitable will,
is Otto Venter, who is now improving a ranch of eighty acres two miles
northeast of Caruthers. He was born in St. Clair County. Mo., on September
3. 1879, the son of William Franklin Venter, a native of Indiana, who mar-
ried Miss Annie Bossert, also a native of the Hoosier State, the ceremony
taking place in Missouri, where they afterward farmed. The parents, hon-
ored by all who know them, are now living on their fruit ranch of eighteen
acres in the Parlier district, not far from their three children. F. L. Venter
is a rancher who owns twenty acres devoted to fruit, two miles south of
Parlier; Otto, the second-born, is the subject of our sketch; and Dolly V. is
the wife of J. C. McClarty, the rancher to the northwest of Parlier.
Otto grew up on his father's Missouri farm and was the first of the
Venter family to come out to California and settle here permanently, although
his brother made a visit to the Golden State in 1897, two years before Otto
arrived. When the latter reached here he was only twenty with meager"
means save a good head and strong and willing hands. He arrived in Fresno
County on June 9, and began by working out on fruit ranches by the month ;
and although his life has been full of toil, he has always been satisfied with
his environment, and it is Fresno County, and none other, for him.
While at Madera, in 1910, Mr. Venter was married to Miss Ethel Beau-
champ, and their union was blessed with three children, two of whom are
still living. William Franklin Venter is the elder; and the other is named
Richard Le Roy.
Saving his hard-earned dollars, Mr. Venter's first purchase was ten acres
two and a half miles south of Parlier, which he set about diligently improving;
and later he bought ten acres adjoining, which he also improved. Ambitious
to get a still larger tract, he bought eighty acres of raw land, in 1918, two
miles northeast of Caruthers, and having sold his well-improved twenty acres
near Parlier to advantage, he is now occupied in planting the new acquisition
to vines, trees and alfalfa. This means much self-denial and hard work for
himself, wife and boys, but it is safe to say that in a very few years Mr. Ven-
ter will have a large and valuable ranch in the newer section of Caruthers.
Mr. and Mrs. Venter participate in all movements for the public good,
thereby contributing their mite to the steady building of the town, the State
and the nation.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2081
THOMAS B., and JACK L. LACY. — Nestling in a cozy valley above
Academy, on the Copper King road, lies the ranch known as Lacy Bros.
Ranch, formerly owned by Thomas B. and Jack L. Lacy or, as they were
familiarly called, Tom and Mack Lacy. However, Mack Lacy was called by
death in May, 1918, and his interest was inherited by his niece, Mrs. Julia
Lee Edwards, and she and Tom Lacy now own and operate the ranch. They
are exceedingly liberal and enterprising and dispense true Southern hospital-
ity, and a visit at their ranch is a pleasurable opportunity.
The Lacy brothers were born at Keatchie, La., Tom on July 24, 1860,
and Mack in 1862. Their father, Martin Lacy, was born at Delhi, La., and
was a planter at Keatchie. He served in -the Mexican War' and also the Civil
War, being First Lieutenant of the Nineteenth Louisiana Regiment. He had
married Judie McMickin, and both parents died in Louisiana ; of their six boys
and four girls, only three boys and one girl are living.
In youth the boys were set to work on 'the farm and learned the rudi-
ments of agriculture. In 1881 Tom Lacy went out to Austin, Texas, followed
teaming and also ranching on the Red River in Bowie County, Texas.
Mack Lacy had come out to Kansas City, Mo., where he was employed until
1895, when he came to Fresno County, Cal. It was in 1901 that Tom Lacy
came to Fresno County. The brothers followed ranching for Bob Lacy and
D. C. Sample, and also mined at Sycamore. In 1909 the brothers bought the
present place of 300 acres on the Copper King road, and engaged in stock-
raising, in which they were successful. Purchasing other lands, they eventu-
ally owned 480 acres in Watts Valley, as well as 220 acres on the Wood-
chuck range, in the Forest Reserve, the latter, however, they sold in 1916.
After an energetic and successful career, J. L. (Mack) Lacy passed from
earth in May, 1918. He was a man of pleasing personality and had many
friends who mourned his loss. Mrs. Julia Lee Edwards, a niece of Tom and
Mack Lacy, had come out from Alabama in 1912 to make her home with them
and preside over their household. She was the daughter of their brother, A.
J. Lacy, and she inherited Mack Lacy's interests in California, he having
willed them to her. Thus she and Thomas B. continue ranching, while she
is also individually the owner of a ranch in Watts Valley, making their hold-
ings there over 1,100 acres. Her brand is the number 50. Being possessed of
much business acumen, she is of assistance to her Uncle Tom.
T. B. Lacy has always been interested in mining and on their land dis-
covered a chrome mine, and when the government wanted chrome ore he
opened and mined it, shipping ore to the East. The Lacy mine is the largest
chrome mine in the county and probably the largest and best in the state.
Big-hearted and generous, the Lacy's are much respected and highly esteemed.
Tom Lacy has also given time to the cause of education, serving as trus-
tee of Fancher Creek school district.
PETER GUST.— It is the hard-working man with continuity of purpose
who eventually succeeds in passing others on the road leading to success
in life. In Peter Gust, an exceptionally successful man in the vocation he
has chosen, is found the qualifications of a most excellent manager and
good business man. A thoroughly loyal German-American citizen — no
slacker and with no German proclivities — he is a valuable member of the
community in which he has cast his lot.
He is the owner of a fine ranch of thirty-three and one-half acres, two
miles southwest of Parlier on the Parlier road, twelve acres of which are
in Muscats, eight acres in Thompson seedless grapes, four acres in peaches,
a quarter of an acre in bearing apricots, and two acres in young apricot
trees. The remainder of the place is in pasture, alfalfa, and yards.
Mr. Gust was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, July 1, 1871. He
was brought up in the Lutheran faith and attended the common schools
of his native land. At the early age of fifteen he began working by the year
2082 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
for farmers, receiving the first year his board and $30. He continued this
work until 1901, at which time he was earning $110 per year. In the latter
part of February of that year he bade farewell to his parents, John and
Katherine Gust, and sailed from Hamburg for the New World, landing
safely, after an eleven-day voyage, at New York City. He joined his brother,
John Gust, at Fresno, Cal. His brother had rented two sections of the Gray
ranch, and he worked two years for him.
Then, in 1003. Mr. Gust purchased the James Armstrong place, con-
sisting of eighty acres, one and a half miles southwest of Parlier. The
place was in pasture, and he bought it on time at twenty dollars per acre,
selling forty-six and a half acres in 1905 for forty-two dollars an acre. Since
then he has rebuilt the house, built a barn, purchased water rights, put in a
pumping plant, built ditches and laterals, laid one thousand feet of sixteen-
inch cement pipe for irrigation purposes, and has planted the place. In 1918
he had 704 feet of twelve-inch cement pipe, and he is putting in cement pipe
as fast as he is able each year.
A benedict when he first began his ranching, he was united in marriage
in 1908 with Miss Mary Winters, a native of Russia. They have a happy,
comfortable, cozy home, and are the parents of two interesting children.
John, aged ten, and Frieda, eight years of age.
MRS. ALFREDA VERWOERT.— A cultured, refined woman of rare
insight and good judgment, especially in the matter of land values, her powers
of discernment and estimate combining to demonstrate her business ability,
Mrs. Alfreda Verwoert, widely known in California, has come to participate
in an enviable manner in the great work of the rapid and sound development
of Fresno County. She was born in Melvern, Osage County, Kans.. the young-
est child of John A. and Amelia (Mitchell) Douglass, natives of Indiana of
Scotch descent, who moved to Kansas and about 1890 came to California and
settled at Hanford. There the mother died, survived by her husband, who
lives in Pasadena.
Alfreda Douglass came to Hanford when a child of ten, and there at-
tended both the grammar and high schools. Then she took a course in the
College of Natural Sciences at the University of California. In 1900, she
was married in Hanford to Carel H. M. Yerwoert, a native of Holland and a
graduate of the University of Leyden, where he studied in both the College
of Letters and the College of Law. He had come to California to look after
some land at Hanford, in which his father had invested, and which was in a
tract known as the Queen Wilhelmina Colony; and besides setting out or-
chards and vineyards, he bought other lands in Kings County which he so
improved as vineyards that they soon became of great value. He was not
permitted, however, to enjoy the fruits of his hard, scientific labors ; for he
died in 1007, leaving besides his widow, a son, Herman, who is at present
attending the University of California.
After her husband's death, Mrs. Verwoert continued to look after the
ranches and other large affairs of her husband, one of the ranches, which she
did not sell until 1918, being in the Wilhelmina Colony; and in a very prac-
tical manner, she began to study viticulture and horticulture. About seven
vears ago, she moved to San Francisco to become manager of the Pacific
Coast department of the Redpath Lyceum Bureau, which booked the tours
of noted musical stars and companies, and lecturers; but after four years,
persuaded that there was a greater and more remunerative field in Fresno
County lands, she resigned, to take up ranching more extensively.
Mrs. Verwoert had investigated lands in other parts of California, having
the best of opportunities to do so on her preliminary journeys from town to
town to book her Lyceum attractions, and found that, considering the real
productivity of acreage in Fresno County, the average price here prevailing
seemed ridiculously low. She was convinced that these lands would rise in
value, in time, and especially about three years ago, noting the great influx
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2083
of gold into the United States, she reasoned that it would cause a perceptible
rise in land values. She therefore began purchasing ranches, and at one time
had six ranches in Fresno County, comprising in all about 900 acres, all im-
proved with vines or trees. She also had a vineyard of 350 acres near Han-
ford.
Lately, she has sold all of her Fresno County ranches, realizing thereby
a large profit, although she retains a peach orchard of sixty acres near Sanger.
She is a member of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and of the California
Associated Raisin Company. Mrs. Verwoert is an Episcopalian, and a very
active club woman especially interested in civic club life.
RICHARD G. RETALLICK.— Minnesota, "The Star of the North." as
the French motto of the state means, was still a territory with a civilized
population of less than six thousand gathered about the trading posts and
missions when the California gold fever was at its height in 1849. The state,
now among the richest wheat-producing areas in the Union, still contributes
its quota of citizens, who are searching for a less rigorous climate, to swell
the population of the Golden West. Among these, Richard Godfrey Retallick,
Fresno County's popular deputy district attorney, learned as a youth to ap-
preciate the advantages of California as a place of residence.
He was born at Battle Lake, Minn., November 3, 1889, and brought up
by his grandfather, Dr. T. G. Virian. As a boy he. made numerous trips to
California and in 1899, when ten years of age, came to San Francisco to
make his permanent home. He attended the public schools in that city and
later took a course in engineering in Cogswell Polytechnic School, afterwards
serving as reporter on a San Francisco paper. He took a course at the Poly-
technic Business College, in Oakland, and worked for the United States Gov-
ertiment in the fortifications on the north side of San Francisco Bay as time
keeper and foreman. The legal profession appealing to him he became a
law student in the office of George E. de Golia of Oakland and was admitted
to the bar in 1911, after which he practiced law for one year in King City,
Monterey County. He came to Fresno in April, 1913, and was associated
three years with Everts and Ewing in legal practice. He then formed a part-
nership with Penn Cummings under the firm name of Retallick and Cum-
mings, with offices in the Rowell Building. In February, 1917, he was ap-
pointed United States Commissioner, in which office he is still the incum-
bent. In September, 1917, he received the appointment of deputy district
attorney.
He married Miss Catherine McCoy, a native of Santa Barbara, and they
are the parents of three children, Richard Godfrey, Jr., Ruth R. and William
J. Mr. Retallick is a member of the Commercial Club and is one of the rising
young attorneys of the state.
RICHARD HODDINOTT.— A finely-developed Californian who trav-
eled alone to the Pacific Coast when he was a lad of only fifteen, is Richard
Hoddinott, who was born in Bristol. Southwest England, on September 10,
1872, the son of John Hoddinott. a fanner there. Since that time, through
wide-reading and travel, he has become a well-posted man, with a well-stored
mind and retentive memory.
John Hoddinott was killed by lightning on June 20, 1880. leaving a widow,
who now resides in Wiltshire, England, and who was Mary J. Welch before
her marriage. She is the mother of eight children, seven of whom are living.
Richard is the fifth in the order of birth, and he was brought up at Fishpond,
a suburb of Bristol, and attended the famous Colston public school until he
was fifteen. He thus came from the town in which Cabot, the explorer, had
fitted himself out for his voyage to America, and spent part of his boyhood
near the scenes of the exploits long to be credited to the boy-poet Chatterton.
He saw something of maritime life and the coming and going of seamen
where Robert Louis Stevenson commenced his "Treasure Island."
2084 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In the great "boom" year of 1888, young Hoddinott crossed the ocean
to America and in time reached California, stopping for a while at Fort
Bragg, where he was employed in lumbering. Then, with his brother Charles,
he started in the dairy business at Point Arena, and in that field he continued
for fourteen years. Next they removed to near Willets, where they leased a
stock-ranch and continued stock-raising and dairying in Scott's Valley, Men-
docino County, for ten years.
After the brothers had sold out and dissolved partnership, Richard con-
tinued dairying there for two years more; but in 1915 he shipped his dairy-
herd to Fresno County, where he bought his present place of eighty acres
three miles south of Kerman and continued dairying. Then he sold off forty
acres, and the balance he leveled and checked for alfalfa. He put in an electric
pumping plant and irrigates his own lands and that of his neighbors. He has
a dairy of twenty cows, and is a stockholder in the Danish Creamery Asso-
ciation.
At Willets, Cal., Mr. Hoddinott was married to Miss Galena Dalvit, a
native of Wvoming, and in common they have a host of friends.
Mr. Hoddinott made a six months' trip to England in 1901, when he
visited relatives and friends, but was glad to return to sunny California. He
is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Woodmen of the World, and
finds pleasure in supporting local movements for the uplift of the community.
WILLIAM BISHOP.— Under California's sunny skies the desert is
blossoming as the rose, even in a few years wonderful results having been ob-
tained from barren cactus-covered land, with the aid of man's intelligence
and a plentiful supply of water. The highly improved forty acres just off the
state highway, and one and one-half miles south of Selma, owned by William
Bishop, is but one of hundreds of similar places that, during the past elevtn
years, have been changed from unimproved, almost desert conditions, to pro-
ductive, well-cared-for acres that are a delight to the beholder.
William Bishop was born in Clay County, Ky., January 5, 1872, and
comes from a prominent old Kentucky family. He is the son of Robert and
Carlina (Brock) Bishop, natives of the Blue Grass State. The father was in
service during the last year of the Civil War, and the paternal grandfather,
William Bishop, served on the Union side throughout the entire Civil con-
flict. The maternal grandfather, James Brock, was a close-communion Bap-
tist minister, and served in the ministry for a period of eighty-two years.
He lived to the advanced age of 102 years, and his good wife attained the
age of 101 years. Although William Bishop's father was a planter in Ken-
tucky, he never kept slaves. There were five children in the parental home :
James, Elizabeth, William, Daniel and Sarah Jane.
While William's schooling was meager, he had a thoroughly practical
experience in the line of farming, and learned timbering, the lumberman's
trade and the sawmill business, while a very young man. During the Spanish
war he volunteered for service from 1898 to 1901, from Kentucky, in Com-
pany "A" of the Twenty-second Regulars of the United States Infantry. He
saw service at Santiago, San Juan Hill and practically all other important
engagements. He was in the battle of Tubochan on the Island of Luzon,
P. I., and also participated in the Flying Brigade campaign under General
Lawton, with whom he was personally acquainted. He saw service in China
and was at Peking and Canton during the Boxer outbreak. While in the
Philippines he was badly ruptured and disabled for life from overstrain in
lifting and handling heavy ordnance and munitions. He is allowed a pension
of ten dollars a month. Notwithstanding this serious disability, his indomi-
table will and courage enable him In accomplish what few men of his age
could accomplish in the way of hard daily labor.
Upon returning to Kentucky in 1899 he was united in marriage with
Mrs. Nannie Clark, nee Hayes, widow of T. J. Clark, the father of her daugh-
W^cZ^^^ JPAS&hrf
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2087
ter Lucile, who has just been married and is away on her wedding journey.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bishop: George, Fred and
Billy.
Mr. Bishop was under medical treatment at the United States Hospital
at the Presidio for ninety days, and lay at death's door from the effects of
his injuries. After recovering he took a position with the Fresno Flume and
Irrigation Company at Fresno for one year. Later he was with the Sanger
Lumber Company for four years. At the time of his marriage, his wife and
her daughter Lucile were owners of the forty acres where the family now
live. They came to the ranch, then almost a desert, in 1906, and the fertile
soil has responded to the good care bestowed upon it. The place is planted
to muscats, Thompson's seedless grapes, and Muir and Philip's cling peaches,
and has 1,300 feet of underground tiling for irrigation purposes.
Two years ago Mr. Bishop built a fine bungalow, and they have a beauti-
ful, modern country home. Despite physical disability and hard work, Mr.
Bishop radiates the genial spirit that his warm hearted impulses prompt, and
he never loses an opportunity to do a kindly act. He and his wife mingle in
the best social circles and are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, at Selma.
Mr. Bishop is an active member of the Spanish-American War Veterans
and was a delegate to the State Encampment of that organization held in
Fresno, April, 1918. He is also a member of the Raisin Growers Association,
and has demonstrated his loyalty to his country by the liberal purchase of
Liberty bonds.
PETER WINTER. — Numbered among the unusually successful viti-
culturists of Fresno County, in the section east of Fresno city is Peter Win-
ter, owner of two ranches, one of forty acres, where he makes his. home,
situated ten miles east of the city of Fresno, and the other of twenty acres
located one mile south of the home ranch. He is a leader among the Rus-
sian-Germans of this section and was born on August, 10, 1862, in the valley
of the Volga River, Russia, about seventy-five miles from Sarato. His par-
ents were Wilhelm and Marie ( Miller) Winter, both natives of Russia, the
father being an extensive grain farmer and the owner of 1,200 acres of land
and twelve teams of horses. The family consisted of three boys and one
girl ; Peter, being the youngest. His oldest brother died in Russia ; August,
the other brother, came to America and located at Fresno, Cal., where he
passed away in 1909, leaving a widow and four children. He was fifty-two
years of age when he died and was engaged in the tailoring business. Kath-
erine, the only sister, is the wife of Fred Weisbrodt, who owns a twenty-
acre ranch at Sanger.
Peter Winter was reared on his father's farm in Russia, and when he
attained the proper age served his allotted time in the army, being assigned
to the artillery. After leaving the army he engaged in farming until 1898,
when he emigrated to America.
In 1883 Peter Winter was united in marriage with Katrina Siebert, and
she with three children born in Russia, accompanied him to America in 1898.
They first located near Parlier, where for two years Mr. Winter rented
land. Afterwards he bought sixty acres which, he improved and sold. He
buys, improves, and sells at an advantage, various pieces of property, from
time to time. In 1909 Mrs. Winter passed away leaving, besides her de-
voted husband, seven children: Katherina E., is the wife" of Tohn Arnst, a
rancher at Fowler, and they are the parents of six children"; Henry, is a
rancher and owns forty acres near Del Rev, he married Annie Schisbelhut
and they have been blessed with six children ; August, answered "the call to
the colors" and was a corporal in the Two Hundred Eighteenth Engineering
Corps, the others in order of birth are; Katie, Ferdinand, Samuel, and Olinda.
2088 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In l')10, Peter Winter married for his second wife Mrs. Margretha
(Kinzel) Wagonlightner, widow of Karl Wagonlightner, who died in Rus-
sia in 1903. She is a daughter of Heinrich Jacob and Margretha (Tripple)
Kinzel, natives of Russia. Her father was a well-to-do farmer of the Waren-
burg Colony in Russia, a colony composed of descendants of peoples from
various places in Germany who had migrated to Russia about 200 years ago,
and settled in the valley of the Volga River. The parents of Mrs. Winter
had five children : Marie Christine, who married Frederich Wagonlightner,
secretary of the colony, and they were parents of six children ; Marie Susanna.
wife of Philip Bier, who resides in Fresno, they are parents of six children ;
Johannes, died when forty-one years of age. leaving a widow and one child ;
Margretha. who is now Mrs. Winter; and Henry, who is still living on the
old Kinzel farm in Russia, is married and has two- children. The marriage
of Mr. Winter with Mrs. Wagonlightner has been blessed with two children ;
Henrietta and Peter. Mrs. Winter has been married three times, her first
marriage united her with Jacob Adolph, a grain broker in Russia, by whom
she had one child, a son, Alexander Adolph, who served "with the colors" in
France. When Mrs. Winter came to California in 1910, as the widow of Karl
Wagonlightner, she was accompanied by four children, Alexander Adolph,
and Marie, Fred, and Amelia Wagonlightner.
The forty-acre ranch where Mr. Winter and his family now reside was
purchased from the National Bank of Sanger, but was formerly owned by
A. Schwabenland, who planted the place and built a store, saloon and black-
smith shop. Mr. Winter tore down the buildings, remodeled the house,
installed "Delco" lights, hot and cold water, put in a pumping plant and
made of the place a very comfortable and up-to-date home. Mr. Winter is
an active and leading member of the Salem German Congregational Church,
located one mile east of his place, and for ten years has served as trustee
of the property. In 1917 the congregation built a new church building cost-
ing $8,000. to which fund Peter Winter liberally contributed. He is a con-
sistent Christian and a spiritually minded man, also greatly interested in
educational matters and all in all his home life is happy and ideal.
RALPH C. INGRAM. — An up-to-date rancher, who has been a resident
of California since 1881, and a citizen of Fresno County for nearly twenty
years, is Ralph C. Ingram, a native of Nebraska where he was born in Adams
County, on August 19, 1878. the son of George and Alma (Prior) Ingram,
native's of Indiana and Illinois respectively. Mr. and Mrs. George Ingram
are the parents of the following children : Ralph C. ; C. Ray ; Mrs. J. B. Long;
Mrs. C. M. Lowry; Karl, who passed away on Octboer 1, 1905; Lelia ; and
Mrs. Tulia Peter.
The family resided in Nebraska long enough to take up a homestead, but
believing that' better opportunities existed in California the Ingram family
migrated to the Golden State in 1881 and settled for a time in Santa Rosa,
Sonom.i County, but later moved to Lake County where the father, George
Ingram, taught school for a while. He then taught school and farmed
in"Saci'amento County, later in Yolo County, finally removing to Tulare
County where he purchased 160 acres of land situated in the foothills and
adapted for grazing purposes. He also purchased forty acres of wood land in
the mountains. He attended and graduated from the Iowa State University.
Mr. Ingram possessed a comprehensive knowledge and was a man of broad
views and while living in Tulare County taught school with good results.
He finallv moved to Fresno County where he purchased twenty acres which
he impioved by planting it to vines, fruit and alfalfa. This property he sold
to an advantage and in a brief time purchased a ranch which is devoted to
vines and figs. It contains fifteen acres and cost him $1,725. but today one
acre is worth nearly as much as he paid for the fifteen. It is situated within
the corporate limits of the town of Reedley. While living in Iowa. George
Ingram filled the important position of Superintendent of Schools of Iowa
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2089
County, for a number of years. After moving to California he was for three
years a deputy assessor of Fresno County and for a number of years filled the
position of school trustee of Reedley district. George Ingram passed away
July 19, 1910.
Ralph C. Ingram was reared in California and educated in the public
school, supplemented by the teaching of his learned father. After his school
days were over he chose, as his life work, the vocation of a rancher and of
which he has made a success. On October 31, 1906, Ralph C. Ingram was
united in marriage with Miss Myrtle V. Smith, a daughter of G. W. and Fanny
Smith, and this union has been blessed with two children : Russell C, who
was born December 1, 1907; and Georgia A., whose birth was recorded on
January 18, 1913.
Mrs. Ingram was born in Areola, 111., February 18, 1881, and came to
California in 1901. Fraternally, Mr. Ingram is a member of the Odd Fellows
and the Woodmen of the World, and he and his wife belong to the Rebekahs.
ARAKEL KURKJIAN.— The great possibilities offered by the United
States, and particularly by the state of California, to those of foreign birth,
have induced many enterprising men from distant lands to immigrate to
our shores and to avail themselves of these splendid opportunities and in
due time to become naturalized loyal citizens of our glorious republic.
Such a man is Arakel Kurkjian, who was born in Agian, Armenia, No-
vember 8, 1867, where he was reared and received his education. In 1892 he
immigrated to the United States and for a time he followed his trade of
shoemaker in Boston. Desiring to see this country and especially the Golden
State, he migrated to California in 1912. settling in Fresno County where
he eventually purchased twenty acres of valuable fruit and vine land which
he afterwards sold, and in 1917 purchased his present ranch of seventy-
six acres, situated only one and three-quarters miles southeast of Sanger,
and known as the Lone Oak Vineyard. This ranch is devoted to raisins,
alfalfa and peaches, and is very highly improved and valuable. Besides
this ranch, Mr. Kurkjian rents forty acres which he and his brother work
in partnership.
In 1895, Arakel Kurkjian was united in marriage with Miss Zumret
Kaparalan, who is also a native of Armenia. This union was blessed with
three children : Lewis, who trained for service in the defense of his country,
at Camp Lewis and then went over seas as a member of the Four Hundred
Thirty-seventh Regimental Band, and whose splendid record won for him a
promotion to the non-commissioned office of sergeant; Dirian ; and Marion.
Mr. Kurkjian is a loyal citizen of the United States and is interested
in the advancement of Fresno County. He belongs to the California As-
sociated Raisin Company, and California Peach Growers, Inc. On national
issues he is a Republican. He and his family belong to the Armenian
Church.
MRS. JENNIE S. DANIELSON.— A hard-working, highly intelligent
and plucky little woman, whose life story is reechoed in the verse,
The smile and the tear, the song and the dirge,
Still follow each other like surge upon surge,
is Mrs. Jennie S. Danielson, who, after passing through many tribula-
tions, has emerged into the sunlight flooding two neat little ranches of
twenty acres each, about three miles northeast of Kingsburg. Her maiden
name was Jennie Carlson, and she was born in Sweden, her parents being
C. A. and Christine (Person) Carlson. Her father died in Sweden, and her
mother immigrated to America a few years ago and is living in Minneapolis.
Mrs. Danielson grew up in Sweden and there met the late Judge Frank
D. Rosendahl, whose eventful life is sketched in another part of this work.
He was a friend of her parents ; and when he revisited his old home in Swe-
den and invited her to accompany him on his return to his home in California,
2090 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
she availed herself of the opportunity. She crossed the ocean and con-
tinent in safety, and soon after arriving and settling at Kingsburg, she mar-
ried J. W. Danielson.
Three miles northeast of Kingsburg they took up their residence on the
ranch of twenty acres with which her active life has long been associated,
and happiness and prosperity seemed to be theirs. Two children were born
to them, Ellen and Arthur, but afterwhile the companion to whom she had
come to look for leadership and support, sickened and died, and she was left
with the grave responsibility of guiding her affairs alone. She met her duty
fearlessly, however, cared well for her children, and by hard, far-seeing
endeavor, made her vineyards a model for system and neatness. In fact,
she has come to manage the estate better, perhaps, then would most men.
She has also recently added another twenty acres to her ranch property.
An excellent housekeeper and a devoted mother, Mrs. Danielson's home
expresses everything most desirable in the California life to the edifying
of which she has contributed her share. She and her children are members
of the Swedish Mission Church of Kingsburg; and she finds great
pleasure in working for God and her adopted country, helping to bring re-
form in politics and rational living that affects the standard of the community
and the nation. While she thus contentedly toils for herself, she never
forgets her fellow toilers in the world of laughter and sighs about her.
Kingsburg is the better for just such large-hearted, steadfast souls as that
of Mrs. Danielson ; and it is pleasant to note that she has ever remained a
warm, personal friend of the family of the distinguished judge through
whose kindness she came to America.
EDGAR ORLANDO REESE.— A wide-awake agriculturist of Central
California, whose kindheartedness has made for him many friends, is Ed-
gar Orlando Reese, the representative of an old American family of distinc-
tion in judicial and medical circles. He was born at Mossycreek, near Knox-
ville, Nashville County, Tenn., on April 29, 1865, the son of George A. Reese,
also a native of Tennessee. Great-Grandfather Reese came from Wales, was
an attorney at law, and located in Philadelphia where he was elected a judge
and served with honor for years on the bench. His son, Grandfather Reese,
was a graduate of the Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, which con-
ferred on him the coveted Jefferson parchment of M. D., and was noted as a
successful practitioner.
George Reese was a cattle-buyer, and was of such experience and native
ability that his services were sought as a member of the commissary depart-
ment during the Civil War. In 1869 he removed to Texas and located in Kerr
County,* where he was both a cattleman and a farmer. On April 1, 1884, he
came to California ; and after spending some time looking around in Fresno
and Tulare counties, he settled at Selma, where he continued to reside until
his death. Mrs. Reese's maiden name was Inez M. Caldwell; she was born
in Tennessee and died at Kerman, the mother of eight children, all of whom
are still living.
Edgar is the oldest and was reared in Texas, where he was educated at
the public schools. He worked at cattle-raising and rode the range ; and
when he moved to Fresno in 1884, he was familiar with ranch-life, and his
assistance was in demand by ranchers generally. When his father bought a
ranch in the Fresno Colony, he worked there and also for other people ; and
later he was in partnership with his brother, Arthur, in grain-farming.
When he began grain-farming he bought a farm in Tulare County, south
of Porterville and he also leased land. At first he met with hard times and
reverses, but later, when he started stock-raising, he made a success with
mules and cattle. In 1902 he and his brother dissolved their partnership and
sold the land ; and then he located at Dinuba, where he bought a ranch. He
planted it to alfalfa, and set out sultana and malaga vines; and, at the end of
%j Mom c%i
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2093
four years, he disposed of the ranch and bought others. This experiment of
buying, improving and selling he repeated until he had acquired, developed
and disposed of three different ranches. After that he moved to Berkeley,
where he lived for five years.
In 1907, Mr. Reese had bought his ranch of forty acres on Dakota Ave-
nue, in Dakota Colony, when he was in the business of concrete and building
materials at Berkeley ; and in the following spring he began to improve it
and superintend it himself. In 1911 he sold his business and moved to the
ranch. Now he has there a fine vineyard of malaga and muscat grapes, and
five acres of peaches. He also leases ten acres adjoining. He is a member
and a stockholder in both the California Associated Raisin Company and the
California Peach Growers, Inc.
At picturesque and historic old San Luis Obispo, Mr. Reese married Miss
Maggie A. Carr, who was born in Iowa, and three children have blessed their
union : Pearl, who is a graduate of the Kerman high school and is now attend-
ing Heald's Business College; Ross, in the Kerman high ; and Merle, at home.
A Democrat in matters of national politics, Mr. Reese has shown broad-
minded and non-partisan tendencies in his public service as a trustee of the
Dakota school district. He and his family are fond of social life, and are pop-
ular in Fresno circles, as is indicated by his membership in the Woodmen of
the World.
WILLIAM TURNER. — A keen, enterprising business man, whose
phenomenal success makes his opinions of more than ordinary value, and
who is extremely optimistic as to the future of Fresno and Fresno County,
is William Turner, the superintendent of the Craycroft Brick Company, in
which progressive concern he is a partner. He was born at Buffalo, N. Y.,
on November 30, 1864, the son of John Turner, a native of Chester, England,
who went to Montreal on first coming out to the New World. He had learned
the stone-cutter's trade in England, and followed it when he reached Mon-
treal. After while he moved to Ottawa, and there he took a sub-contract on
the old Parliament Building, and also contracted for building the post office.
Still later, he crossed the line into the States and went to Olean, N. Y. ; and
while at Oil City, Pa., he was killed through a most deplorable accident. Some
one left a wrench in a fly-wheel ; and when the machinery was set in motion,
the flying tool struck him and he died from the effects, at Olean. He was
fifty-four years of age when he closed his useful career, highly respected by
all who knew him ; he was an expert workman who proceeded according to
the most approved methods, and his influence in building circles, both in
Canada and in the United States, was effectively progressive.
William's mother, who was Adelaide La Page before her marriage, was
a native of Montreal and came of French parentage. She is still living, hale
and hearty in her seventy-ninth year, the mother of thirteen children, nine of
whom have survived to do her honor; and she makes her home at Pittsburg.
Of the nine living children, the subject of our sketch is the oldest.
William Turner was brought up in Buffalo, then removed to Olean ;
and after his father's death, he went with his mother and the rest of the
family to Pittsburg, where he attended the public school. Being the eldest
in the family, he went to work when twelve years old, delivering groceries,
and at fifteen he took up day labor in the brickyard at Olean. Two years later
he was molding bricks made by a hand press, and after that he went to New
Brighton, Pa., for similar work. He was employed by the Folsom Fire Clay
Company, and although he began as a brick setter, in seventeen years he had
advanced to the position of superintendent.
At the conclusion of that period Mr. Turner was offered the manage-
ment of bricksetting for the Fresno Brick & Tile Company of Fresno, Cal.,
owned by Mr. Prescott, and located on the Andrews ranch ; and having ac-
cepted the proposition, he came to Fresno, on April 25, 1904, and took charge
2094 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of the work. Three years later, however, he resigned and bought an interest
in the Craycroft Brick Company, where he assumed the responsibility of
the kiln. In time, he was elected vice-president and a director; and then he
was made superintendent of the plant. How much of a responsibility this
appointment signifies may be judged from a fact or two as to the magnitude
of the brick works. This is laid out along Belmont Avenue, opposite Roed-
ing Park, and comprises eighty acres of land with abundant clay deposits.
The power required is furnished by electricity ; there is a large molding ma-
chine and a first-class mechanism for re-pressing; and so well equipped is
the establishment that the works have a capacity of fifty thousand bricks a
day. Eight kilns in all are employed, and these have a capacity of seven
hundred thousand brick each, and they have always been successful with
each burning. Among other products the company makes fine faced brick.
On Blackstone Avenue, some time ago, Mr. Turner built a fine brick
residence of two stories and ten rooms, designed by himself and wife, and
also a brick store at the corner of Blackstone and McKinley. He also built
a brick residence opposite the one he owns and occupies, and a packing-house
near there, from which he ships green fruit. He was one of the first to build
in this part of the town, and he is planning to build several packing-houses
here, and to make this an important shipping-point.
At Olean, N. Y., Mr. Turner was married to Ida May Hunt, a native of
New Jersey, and they have six children: Arthur, who is in Pittsburg, Pa.;
William E., the brick contractor here ; May, now Mrs. Martina, of this vicin-
itv ; Amy, who is Mrs. L. H. Cornelius, of Redwood ; Alice, a graduate of
the Fresno High School ; and Ruth. All attend the Methodist Episcopal
Church and are factors both in religious work and the social life of Fresno.
Mr. Turner has always taken a live interest in politics, even beyond the
lines of Republican activity, and has more and more identified himself with
civic affairs, although not aspiring to public office ; and with his good wife
he is always ready to help in every movement for the advancement of the
community.
EMERY E. CAUBLE. — Another late pioneer who sees a great future
for Fresno County, as the home of both the horticulturist and the viticulturist.
is Emery E. Cauble, an ever industrious, honest and genial Hoosier who first
came here in the early part of this century. He was born in Washington
County. Ind.. on December 1, 1873, the son of Alexander Cauble, a native of
the same state, who was a farmer and served for three years as a sergeant in
the Union Army, in Company E of the Fifth Indiana Cavalry. He had mar-
ried Susanna Morris, a daughter of Indiana, who died in her native state,
the mother of seven children, six of whom are living.
The youngest in the family, Emery was brought up on a farm, and at-
tended both public and private schools, topping off his studies with a com-
mercial course. He remained home until he was twenty-one, and then he
became a photographer and jeweler in Campbellsburg, Ind. For four years
he conducted what was one of the notable establishments of the town ; and
when he sold out in 1903, it was to turn his face toward the shores of the
Pacific.
On coming to California, he settled in Fresno County, and for the first
season he went in for lumbering. Then he moved to Kerman and for a season
sold nursery stock. Meantime, lie was looking about and getting well-
acquainted with Central California conditions. During this period, he bought
his present attractive place of forty acres on Dakota Avenue, built on it. and
made numerous improvements, including a pumping plant and a tractor. A
part, of it he has devoted to the growing of alfalfa, and he has a fine orchard
and vineyard. He has eight and a half acres of Thompson seedless grapes.
fifteen acres of Muir. Lowell and Elberta peaches, and seven acres of apricots.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2095
For some years he was also in the poultry business, and he conducted a first-
class apiary ; and he still has an apiary of fifty colonies.
E. E. Cauble was married, in 1910, to Miss Eva J. Cummings, a native
daughter of San Francisco, whose father was J. J. Cummings, a Canadian
who settled in the Bay metropolis, where she was reared and educated. They
have one child, Susie.
Mr. Cauble was made a Mason in the Robert Morris Lodge, No. 282, in
Campbellsburg, Ind., and he is still a member there. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cau-
ble assisted to organize the Beulah United Brethren Church at Vinland, and
he has been secretary of the church and assistant superintendent of the Sun-
day School. He is a member and a stockholder of the California Peach Grow-
ers, Inc., and also of the California Associated Raisin Company; he served
as local reporter of crops, and has now the honor of being the crop reporter
from Fresno County for the United States Government. In national politics
Mr. Cauble is a Republican, but he knows no party distinctions when local
issues are at stake, and endeavors to support heartily every movement for
the improvement and advancement of the community in which he resides.
JESS L. WILLIAMS. — A wide-awake, enterprising and successful
young business man, whose progress has been greeted with satisfaction by
all who are interested in the advancement of Selma as one of the most de-
sirable places of residence in all California, is Jess L. Williams, the new
proprietor of the Economy Meat Market, long so famous under the manage-
ment of Walter Staley. His full or proper name is Jesse, but his popularity
in the fraternal town is characterized by the use of the shorter and more
takeable form of "Jess."
He was born at Marionville, Lawrence County, Mo., on September 17,
1895, the son of S. D. and Elizabeth Williams, both of whom are, happily,
still living, and at Selma, the only boy in a family having two girls, and he
came to Petaluma, Cal., with his parents, and there attended the public
schools. His father being a butcher, he soon began to help at the trade;
and now, having profited by an instruction he .might never have received if
working for a stranger, he knows the butcher business from A to Z. More
than that, he knows the ins and outs of the meat trade in their relation to
modern conditions, especially the great problems of the high cost of living,
and so is both able and willing to do his best by his patrons to help them
adjust themselves to present-day vexing conditions. He is still fortunate
in having the cooperation of his father, who does the slaughtering and the
outside work, and who assists him at the block on Saturdays, when the rush,
a clear indication of the fine trade he is doing, is on. He has an up-to-date
refrigerator and first-class outfit, and handles only the best qualities of fresh
and salted meats.
At Selma, in 1916, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Eliza Dill, the
daughter of A. Dill, the well-known contractor now of Fowler; and their
union has been blessed with one child, Evelyn. Jess belongs to the Foresters,
and is an active and valued member in that favorite organization.
GUST. HOKANSON. — A naturalized American whose appreciation of
the many advantages offered by California and whose work as a "booster"
of the Golden State are the more valuable because he is a well-read and well-
posted man, is Gust. Hokanson, who came to California nearly a decade ago.
He was born in Jacobstorp, Blekinge, Sweden, September 29, 1867, the son of
Hokan Monson, a farmer, who came to Minnesota in 1886, and who had a
farm at Moose Lake, which he greatly improved ; and there he died. The
mother was Emma Christene Gustafson before her marriage, and she now
resides in the Vinland district, enjoying life at the good old age of seventy.
She had ten children, of whom seven are still living.
Gust., the oldest of the family, attended the public schools in Sweden, and
grew up on a farm. Then he learned the trade of bookbinder at Karlskrona,
2096 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Sweden. In 1887 he came to America and went to Hartford, Conn., where he
worked for the summer in the neighboring quarries. 'When he moved west
it was to stop at West Superior, Wis., where he worked in town for some five
years. After that he located on Moose Lake, bought a farm, and engaged in
general farming and stock-raising.
Attracted by an article from C. G. Petersen telling of the climate and
soil of Vinland, Cal., all of which appealed to him, he sold out his stock-ranch
after thirteen years of farming, and on March 11, 1910, arrived in Fresno
County. Two weeks later he bought ten acres of land on Shaw Avenue, one
and a half miles west of Vinland Church, in the Vinland district; and having
improved it in the best possible manner he now has five acres of Thompson's
seedless grapes and five acres in peach and apricot orchard. In 1917 he made
a trip back to Minnesota, but he was glad to return to his California ranch,
now the pride of his eye and the admiration of his neighbors.
Mr. Hokanson attends the Swedish Lutheran Church at Vinland, and
participates in its religious and social activities. True to Republican princi-
ples, he endeavors to improve citizenship and to promote civic interest.
CHRIS THOMPSON HANSEN. — A thoroughly experienced and well-
inlormed ranchman, who is as liberal as he is enterprising, and enjoys the
pleasing reputation of having a heart as large as an ox, is Chris Thompson
Hansen, who first reached California through the Golden Gate in the spring
of 1909. He was born at Bregninge, the island of Ero. Denmark, on June 29,
1890. and grew up on the dairy farm of his father. Hans Hansen. Thus his
real name was Chris Thompson Hansen, but owning to the number of per-
sons by that name, he early abandoned the full title and is known through
his two Christian prefixes.
After having attended the excellent Danish schools until he was four-
teen years of age, Chris began to paddle his own canoe, and by April, 1909,
landed in New York City, brimful of the laudable ambition to work out his
destiny and attain his fortune in the American republic. Having reached San
Francisco, he had his steps directed to Newman in this state, where he
worked awhile at dairying, but it was only for a couple of years, a still better
field awaiting him.
In 1911, having heard of the undeveloped resources and the greater op-
portunities at Tranquillity, Mr. Thompson moved here and purchased thirty
acres of land. It was decidedly raw and not overinviting to the eye. but he
was not discouraged because he had to put the first plow into it. He leveled
and checked, and then planted the acreage to alfalfa ; and there, fortified by
considerable experience and much natural ability, enabling him both to for-
see and to adapt, as well as to apply the latest word in science, he has con-
tinued dairying and poultry-raising.
Mr. Thompson has been, in fact, phenomenally successful in keeping his
valuable place in excellent shape, and on this account he is widelv esteemed
by all who know him, and no one better deserves the good will of the com-
munity. California may well congratulate Denmark on the quality of the
sons she has sent out to the Golden State, prominent among whom must
be mentioned Chris Thompson.
FRED WISTROM.— Many men who have come within the hospitable
confines of Fresno County but poorly blessed with this world's goods have
within a short time made a place for themselves in the community and have
amassed a comfortable fortune, a fact which can be pointed to with pride,
both by themselves and by the other progressive citizens of this prosperous
community. Among these men may be mentioned Fred Wistrom, a resident
here since 1900. He is a native of Sweden, born and raised on a farm, and
followed that occupation until he came to the United States, in 1882. On ar-
rival in the new country, he first located in St. Paul. Minn., and secured em-
ployment there. He later engaged in lumber work in the sawmill at Pinerv,
X
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2099
Wis. Mr. Wistrom returned to St. Paul in 1884, and there his marriage
occurred, to Anna Charlotte Carlson, also of Swedish birth. He was em-
ployed in St. Paul in a sash and door manufactory, and later engaged in the
teaming business for himself, and finally became elevator operator in a bus-
iness block in that city and followed that occupation until he came to
California.
With the desire to seek new opportunities in the western state, Mr.
Wistrom located in Fresno, in 1900, and soon after his arrival went to work
for Thomas Patterson, owner of the Patterson Block, and when Patterson
and Forsyth erected the new Forsyth Building, in 1904, Mr. Wistrom be-
came head janitor of the building, which position he has held since that date.
Mr. Wistrom has speculated more or less in real estate in Fresno, and
has met with splendid success in his business ventures. Among other prop-
erties, he bought, in 1908, ten acres of the Barton vineyards, on Belmont
Avenue, paying a purchase price of $2,000 for the acreage, and later selling
it for $3,000. He is the owner of a fine $5,000 home at 403 Calaveras Avenue
and altogether, through his own good judgment and steady application, has
accumulated a competency, and while having but a small amount of money
on his arrival here, now is in comfortable circumstances financially, and has
won the respect and liking of his fellow citizens. During his residence here
Mr. Wistrom has been an active worker in the Swedish Mission Church, was
for five years treasurer of the church body, and is now a deacon. He has
taken one trip back to his old home in Sweden since locating in Fresno, and
two trips back to St. Paul. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Wistrom : Milton, book-keeper in Madary's Planing Mill ; Ellen, wife of Paul
Thiely, of Fresno ; and Clinton, now a high school student.
FREDERICK HEINZ.— A good California "booster" who has done
much to improve the country to the west of Riverdale, in the Summit Lake
district, is Frederick Heinz, a hard-working, active and highly intelligent
rancher, who is popularly known as Fred Heinz by his wide circle of friends,
every one of whom finds him under all circumstances affable and
approachable.
He was born at Shelbyville, III, on July 31, 1864, the son of John Philip
and Dorothea (Doudt) Heinz, who came from Germany in 1840 and settled
at Carondolet, a suburb of St. Louis. The father was a shoemaker, but in
1866 he removed to Shelbyville and there bought a farm. In 1881 Mrs. Heinz
died at the age of fifty-four, and two years later Mr. Heinz passed away in
his sixty-eighth year. The parents were married in St. Louis and they had
eleven children, among whom were two who died in infancy. Nine grew to
maturity and seven are now living. Frederick was next to the youngest,
and he is the only one now in California. Four live in Shelby County, 111. ;
a sister resides in Chicago ; and another sister is in Louisiana ; and an older
brother of the subject, John Lewis, is in charge of the Shelby County Poor
Farm, and has been there for twenty-three years.
Growing up on his father's farm in Shelby County, Frederick attended
the public schools there and was brought up in the German Lutheran Church.
He became a contractor for railroad ties and other supplies and for hard-
wood lumber, and built by contract the first telephone line from Shelbyville
to Decatur, 111. He also became foreman and later bridge carpenter on the
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railway. In these several responsibilities, Mr.
Heinz always acquitted himself most creditably.
On October 19, 1898, Mr. Heinz was married to Miss Eunice M. Shew-
make, of Effingham County, 111., a native of that section and the daughter of
Joseph and Anna Shewmake. Her father was a veteran of the Civil War and
her grandfather was a captain. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Heinz, of whom four are living : Eleta, now married to Robert Abell ; Victor ;
Carl; and Myrtle. Although formerly a Lutheran, Mr. and Mrs. Heinz and
familv attend the United Brethren Church at Riverdale.
2100 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
After his marriage. Mr. Heinz became a sewer contractor and built the
sewers constructed at Shelbyville between 1898 and 1900. In the latter year
he came to California, and went to Riverdale. where his friend, Mr. Henson,
the present postmaster, had located. For some time he ran a cream-receiving
station at Riverdale for George A. Smith of Los Angeles; and at the end
of two years he bought fifty acres due south of Riverdale. He lived there
four or five years, operated the farm, and rented some 200 acres besides. After
that he rented the J. W. Beall tract of 200 acres, across the road from where
he is now living; and having run that place for several years, he bought his
present property, twenty-nine acres in two different pieces on the Burrel and
Lanare Road, four miles southeast of Burrel and two and a half miles north-
west of Lanare. This is on what, fifteen years ago, was the Browning Tract ;
and later it became a part of the Summit Lake Investment holdings. He has
thirty head of heifers, high grade Holsteins, with a registered bull, and
twelve head of draft horses.
It was fifteen years ago that Mr. Heinz came to Riverdale, and seven-
teen years since he has been in California for the first time ; and in these
years he has done good work as a citizen, boosting for the railroad, aiding
in the sale of liberty bonds, and also helping to support the Red Cross, and
becoming the popular public weighmaster at the Bender station. Recently he
has demonstrated his enterprise anew by purchasing an additional eighty
acres, making his total holdings 109 choice acres of land.
JOHN AUGUST NICKLASON.— An industrious, far-seeing and suc-
cessful man, of pleasing personality, is John August Nicklason, who camp
to Fresno County in January, 1905. and who has been helping to develop
the resources of Central California ever since. He was born in Smoland.
Sweden, County Konebergslan, on January 21. 1868, the son of Nicholas J.
Peterson, a farmer who, in 1886 brought his family to Minnesota, settled at
Moorhead, Clay County, and there engaged in farming. He died near Minne-
apolis. Minn. His wife had been Magdalena Johanson before her marriage,
and she also died at the same place, the mother of seven children, among
whom our subject is the fourth eldest. He attended the public schools, and
from his fourteenth year was apprenticed to a book-binder in Karlskrona.
Arriving in Minnesota, he went to work on a farm, and after a while
rented land and engaged in raising wheat for himself, and in this, as in
whatever he undertook, he enjoyed an encouraging measure of success.
Two days after Christmas, in 1895, Mr. Nicklason was married to Miss
Hilda Christene Johansen, who was born in Smoland. Sweden, the daughter
of Johann, a farmer there, and of Sarah Johansen, both of whom died there.
Mrs. Nicklason was the second oldest in the family, and came to Moorhead
in 1894. The wedding took place in that town, and was one of the social
events of the year.
Stirred by some letters from the Rev. M. A. Nordstrom, written from
Yinland, Mr. Nicklason, in January, 1905, came to Fresno, and the same
day bought twenty acres on Madera Avenue and twenty acres on Shaw
Avenue, later selling twenty and retaining twenty. It was raw land, but he
planted it to alfalfa, and set out a peach orchard of five acres, planted apri-
cots and then grubbed them out and set out nine acres of Thompson seedless
grapes. He built a residence and erected the necessary ranch-buildings. He
became a member and a stockholder in the California Peach Growers, Inc.,
and the California Associated Raisin Company.
Mr. and Mrs. Nicklason have eight children: Ruth, who is Mrs. A.
Linberg, of Oakland; Alma, who also resides in that city; Gerdar and Nora,
who attend the Kerman High School; and Eldor, Anna. Edwin, and Carl,
at home. Mr. Nicklason, who works for good citizenship in the ranks of the
Republican party, helped build the Swedish Lutheran Church at Yinland,
having also assisted to organize the congregation, and he is now deacon
of the church.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2101
JOHN HILL. — Mr. Hill, now deceased, was a pioneer of Fresno County.
He was a native of Cambridge, England, and came to this country when he
was about seventeen years of age, locating for a time in New York state.
Later he went to Waukesha County, Wis., where he engaged in farming until
1880, when he came to California. He located in Merced County near what
was then Hills Ferry, now Newman, and bought forty acres which he set to
orchard and operated for a time. He then went to Armona, Tulare County,
where he owned a ranch and engaged in raising alfalfa and fruits. In 1887
he hotnesteaded 160 acres four miles east of Coalinga. Mr. Hill operated both
places until 1889. when he sold his Armona ranch and made his permanent
home on the Coalinga ranch raising grain. He later rented his ranch for
grainraising, and devoted all of his time to the poultry business in which he
was successful. His ranch is greatly improved, with its irrigating ditches,
and all that goes to make a profitable place in California. It has now passed
into other hands, having been sold. He died June 11, 1916.
Mr. Hill married Mrs. Carrie J. (Johnson) Slater, who was born in
Groves End, County Kent, England, but who came to the United States
when but a small girl with her parents, Benjamin and Mary Johnson who
located at Milwaukee, Wis. Her first husband was William Slater, born in
Lancashire, England. He was a stockdealer and butcher on the corner of
Third and Grand where now stands the Schlitz Hotel. Fie died while in bus-
iness in 1875. To them were born two children, one grew up, a daughter,
Grace Isabelle, now Mrs. A. B. Hill, of Coalinga, who married a son of John
Hill by his first marriage. Mr. and Mrs. John Hill have three children:
Clarence J., superintendent of the Oil Wells Supply Company, of Coalinga;
Florence M., wife of H. C. Gardner, of Chandler, Ariz. ; and Arthur E., who
enlisted in the United States Navy in February, 1917. He served until his
discharge in February, 1919, and is now with the Shell Company at Oilfields.
By his first marriage to Maria Daubner, Mr. Hill had two sons: Frank E.
of Fresno and Albert Burton who died in 1907.
John Hill was a man of sterling worth, of upright character, one whose
word was as good as his bond. He was a self-made man of a type that is Old
England's boast. Sturdy, reliable and unafraid, difficulties only made him
the more efficient, and he lived to see the fruits of his labor.
JAMES HANSEN. — James Hansen represents the enterprise, thrift, and
progressive spirit, so typical of the West. He is a native of Odense, Island
of Fyen, Denmark, where he was born February 5, 1869. Denmark has given
to the United States many of her best citizens and California has received
her share of these thrifty men, who have greatly aided in the development
of the viticultural and horticultural interests of Fresno County. He is a son
of Hans and Anna Hansen, the father having been a Danish farmer who
passed away in that country, after which the mother came to America and
settled at Fremont, Nebr., where she resided until her death. Ten children
of Mr. and Mrs. Hansen grew up, James, the subject of this review being the
fifth child. His early education was received in the public schools of his
native country.
In 1888, James Hansen came to the United States and, on May 4, arrived
in Fremont, Nebr., where he secured work on the horse ranch of Bluthe &
Balding, and for two years was engaged in the hazardous undertaking of
breaking bronchos. Afterwards for two years he worked on the John P. Eaton
ranch and then started farming for himself by renting land and engaging in
raising corn and hogs. Later he purchased a farm and after three years sold
it and bought 160 acres in Cedar County, Nebr. While living there the seasons
were very dry and consequently the crops were unprofitable. Mr. Hansen
then returned to Fremont where he engaged in farming. In 1907 he sold his
interests in Nebraska and migrated to California, locating in Fresno County,
where he purchased a forty-acre vineyard, in the Malaga section, which he
2102 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
operated one year. As the returns from his vineyard were not profitable, he
pulled up the vines and planted alfalfa, and then engaged in the dairy bus-
iness. Later, Mr. Hansen traded his vineyard for ten acres on Fig Avenue,
adjoining the city of Fresno. Afterwards, for two years, he engaged in the
real estate business in Fresno, where he conducted the Danish Land Office.
In August, 1913, he located in the vicinity of Kerman, where he purchased
five acres in the Dakota Colony, and two years later bought thirty acres
nearby, which was but a wild willow-patch. With the help of a stump-puller,
he grubbed out twenty acres of this seemingly good-for-nothing land and
now has thirty-five acres of tillable land, five acres being planted to emperor,
eight to sultana, and ten to Thompson seedless grapes; and five acres to
alfalfa. The remaining acreage he expects to plant to Thompson seedless and
sultana vines.
While living in Fremont, Nebr., James Hansen was united in marriage
with Miss Hansine Ohlrick, a native of Denmark. This union has been blessed
with three children: Annie, who lives in Oakland; Maria, who is now Mrs.
W. F. Parker of Berkeley; and Charles, who served as a member of the
Twenty-first Infantry, U. S. A., stationed at Fort Douglas, Utah, until he was
discharged and who is now helping his father.
Mr. Hansen is an exceptionally good farmer and thoroughly understands
viticulture. He deserves great credit for making an undesirable tract of land
to "blossom and bloom as a rose."
ILA T. GROUNDS. — Fourteen miles northwest of Fresno, in the Biola
district, is located the cattle ranch of I. T. Grounds, who specializes in raising
pure-bred, short-horn cattle, of which he is the proud possessor of a fine herd
I. T. Grounds was born on the celebrated Truxton cattle ranch at Hackberry
Mojave County, Ariz., January 20, 1878. His father, W. F. Grounds, is a na
tive of Arkansas, and when six years of age was taken by his parents to Tom
Green County, Texas, where they were raising cattle. In 1872, W. F. Grounds
brought a drove of cattle to Arizona, and in 1876 brought out the balance of his
herd and established the Truxton Ranch on the old Truxton-Beal trail, known
as the Santa Fe trail, a large and valuable cattle ranch which he sold, to
engage in mining, which precarious vocation he followed until 1888, when he
again engaged in cattle-raising at Clay Springs. Ariz., until 1900.
In 1901, W. F. Grounds located in the City of Fresno, but continued to
deal in cattle and operate his ranch. He resides at 700 San Pablo Avenue,
Fresno, and is now sixty-six years of age. His wife, before her marriage,
was Melissa Cureton, a native of Texas. Eleven children were born to Mr.
and Mrs. W. F. Grounds, nine of whom are living, I. T. Grounds, of this re-
view, being the oldest child. He was reared in Arizona, assisting his father
on the ranch until he was twenty-one years old, when he ran cattle, together
with his father's stock. Until he came to California, I. T. Grounds continued
in the cattle business at Clay Springs, Ariz., with his brother. William F., Jr.,
at which time he dissolved the partnership and shipped his cattle to California.
In 1903, Mr. Grounds located in Fresno, where he engaged in the butcher
business, operating a shop on Blackstone Avenue. On November 15, 1911, he
purchased his present place of eighty acres on Noyes Avenue in the Biola
district, where he conducts his celebrated ranch for the breeding of pure
short-horn stock, raises alfalfa, and runs a dairy of twenty-five cows.
In 1903, at Kingman, Ariz., I. T. Grounds was united in marriage with
Miss Minnie Starkey, a native of Arizona, born on the H. Willow Ranch, and
a daughter of Wellington Starkey, a native of Visalia, Cal.. who migrated to
Arizona in 1874, where he engaged in the cattle business, and in that state
passed to his eternal reward. Her mother was, before her marriage. Esther
Roberts, born in Australia, but now residing at Keystone, New Mrs. Grounds
was the second youngest of four children. She attended the high school at
Santa Ana, Cal. ' Mr. and Mrs. Grounds have four children: Roy D., Janice
D., W. Carrol, and Chester W.
^y \fr!fy^)^x-£v^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2105
Mr. Grounds is a stockholder in the Danish Creamery, a charter member
of the California Short-Horn Breeders Association, and has shown his fine
cattle at Fresno, where they have been awarded several first prizes. He has
shown his interest in educational matters by serving as trustee of the Biola
School district, and is Clerk of the Board. Mr. Grounds expects to take up
his residence in Craig, Moffat County, Colo., at an early date, where he has
become a stockholder in the Clay Springs Cattle Company, one of the largest
concerns of its kind in the country, and owners of large tracts of land in Ari-
zona, Nevada and Colorado, and having thousands of cattle.
JOHN F. BROMARK. — A fresco artist who has no equal in Fresno
County, and a gentleman of Swedish birth who has become one of the most
j ublic-spirited of American citizens and put his loyalty as well as his service-
ability to the test by repeatedly accepting public office and discharging the
onerous duties of a public trust, is John F. Bromark, the well-known con-
tracting painter and city trustee at Kingsburg, a man of long and varied
experience and of exceptionally broad views, and with particular interest
in the cause of popular education. He was born at Dannemora, Sweden, on
January 2, 1859, the son of Andrew Bromark, who was a carpenter and
builder. The latter was married in Sweden to Anna Linquist, a native of
that country, and all three of their children were born at Dannemora. The
subject of our sketch is the oldest; the next is Hildah, the wife of Carl
Tegelberg, a well-to-do and retired farmer of Swea City, Iowa; while the
youngest is Anna, the wife of C. J. Lenander, a banker and real estate opera-
tor, as well as a farmer, at Bancroft, Iowa, who owns a ranch of 900 acres,
on which is a herd of buffalo, and is both wealthy and influential.
After profiting from the advantages of a common school education in
his native land, John F. in 1870 came with his parents and the rest of the
family to America, and settled in Florida near Quincy, where they engaged
in farming for a couple of years. Then they moved to Chicago, arriving
there two years after the fire, and there John learned how to stripe wagons
and carriages, becoming in the end a fine carriage-painter.
But the young man was more ambitious, and so, at the first opportunity,
he took a regular course as a portrait painter at the Chicago Art Institute,
and soon became proficient. He made crayon portraits of Leander McCor-
mick and other members of that well-known family, and painted portraits
of other noted Chicago men ; and for a time it looked as though portraiture
would be his natural and chief occupation. He had to learn, however, what
has given disappointment to so many, that art had to wait for a fair hearing
in a land busy with other and tremendous problems, and that portraits were
not regarded by most people as an every-day necessity.
Mr. Bromark found, in fact, that there was more money in fresco-painting
and high-class decorating, because it was in greater demand and so few were
capable of doing it ; and in Chicago alone he worked as a fresco-painter for
about fifteen years. There he was associated with Chicago's leading painter
and decorator, Milligan, and so participated in much of the work which, in
that period, made the residences and public buildings of the western metrop-
olis of such note.
In the meantime Andrew Bromark had moved out to Iowa and bought
a farm of eighty acres, and in time John followed and purchased eighty
acres adjoining that of his father. When he sold his farm, he became a con-
tract painter at Swea City, Iowa, and here he was active and successful for
another ten years.
The year 1903 became eventful in Mr. Bromark's life, for he then moved
to California. He came almost immediately to the central part of the state,
and he was not long in discovering the superior advantages of Kingsburg,
where he bought twenty acres of unimproved land. He planted vines and set
out peach and apricot trees, and some five years ago he sold the property for
2106 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
$8,500, after which, in 1913, he built his beautiful residence, which reflects
his artistic sensibility.
This architectural triumph reminds one of some of Mr. Bromark's mas-
terpieces in the realm of art. Among his most famous paintings are the
"Gypsy Girl" and the "Colonial Dame," and he is also widely known for a
number of California and Iowa landscapes, in which grouping and perspec-
tive, as well as the appreciation of color values, are very noticeable. His art
work shows rare discernment and the most refined feeling.
Besides being a prominent member of the Swedish Baptist Church at
Kingsburg, where he serves as a deacon, Mr. Bromark is a city father, and
one honored for his conscientious discharge of the affairs of his office. He
was first appointed to fill a vacancy, and then elected, in 1917, to the same
office. He is also a member of the Grammar School Board, and advocates
schools of the highest efficiency.
While in Chicago, Mr. Bromark was married to Miss Svea Swallander, a
native of that city. They had five children : Lillian, Violet, La Rose, Rupert
and Carl, all of whom are bright and interesting, and some of whom share
his home-life. The good mother, however, died in 1912, beloved and highly
respected by all who knew her.
AUGUSTINE GANDRAU. — A man who has gained success and
prominence in Fresno County, is Augustine Gandrau a viticulturist of the
Round Mountain district. He was born at Elk Point, Union County, now
South Dakota, but then Dakota Territory, June 13, 1867, being one of the
twelve first white children born in Dakota Territory.
His father. Antoine Gandrau, was born in Ontario, Canada, of French
parents. In 1852 he came via the Isthmus of Panama to San Francisco, but
after mining for three years he returned to Ontario, where he married
Marceline Nolette and took charge of his parents' farm, caring for them
until they died, when he removed to Dakota Territory, being among the
first to locate at Elk Point, Union County, in what is now South Dakota,
where he homesteaded and improved a farm. When he retired, in 1894, he
came to Porterville, Tulare County, Cal. However, he and his wife returned
to South Dakota on a visit and there he died. His widow continued to
reside there till her death. Of their six children Augustine Gandrau is the
fifth oldest and grew up on the farm, and from a boy showed a great love
and admiration for a fine horse. So it is little wonder that in later years
he made a success of the selection and training of standard-bred horses.
After completing the local schools, Mr. Gandrau learned the printers'
trade in the Huronite office in Huron, S. D., and then edited the Beadle
County Press at Cavour, S. D., _for one year. Selling out, he used his funds
to pay his way at the Congregational College at Yankton, after which he
came to Porterville, Cal. For a time he worked on the Porterville Enter-
prise, and later ran the barber shop in the Pioneer Hotel, Porterville, for
five years. In 1898 he located in Sanger where he ran a barber shop.
Being interested in fine horses, Mr. Gandrau fortunately purchased a
three-year-old gelding for $50, whom he named George G. He proved to be
a standard-bred of finest blood. Training him, he discovered his great
speed. He raced him on the Western Circuit and won $3,500 in purses in
one year. The next spring he sold him to Anthony Brady of New York City,
the Diamond King of the Transvaal, for $15,000. On the day he was sold,
George G. made a record of 2:05>4 and went the half-mile in 1:01, on
Pleasonton track. Afterwards he made the world's one mile record — on a
half-mile track, in 2:06^4, at the same time beating the world's one-half
mile record, and this record has never been beaten. George G. sold for the
highest price ever paid for a gelding west of the Rocky Mountains.
Always having a desire to own a ranch, after the sale of George G.,
Mr. Gandrau purchased 160 acres two miles southeast of Sanger. He im-
proved eighty acres with vineyard and sold the balance. In 1913 he sold
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2107
his eighty-acre vineyard for $27,000, and then purchased his present place
of forty acres in the Round Mountain district, where he has fine soil and
a first class water right, and there he engages in viticulture. He has twenty
acres of horizontal cordon emperor grapes, which is the first commercial
vineyard of the kind in the Valley, and shows an extraordinary yield.
Mr. Gandrau can well feel proud of his success, as do all his friends.
He was married at the Hughes Hotel, Fresno, on December 6, 1897, to Miss
Emma Derusha, who also was born in Union County, S. D., a daughter of
Joseph and Louise Derusha, natives of Canada and of French descent. Mrs.
Gandrau came to California in 1894.
Mr. Gandrau is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company,
the California Peach Growers, Inc., and of the Fairview Grape Growers
Association. He has been president of the Sanger Local of the Fresno
County Farm Bureau since its organization and is one of the original direc-
tors of the Fresno County Farm Bureau He was chairman of the different
drives for Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., Associated Charities, and Liberty Loans
in his district during the world war. Mrs. Gandrau is a member of the Round
Mountain auxiliary of the Fresno Chapter Red Cross. Mr. Gandrau is a
member of Sanger Lodge, No. 375, I. O. O. F., of which he has been Noble
Grand two terms.
ANDREW COLOMBERO.— A viticulturist of the Clovis section, who
has improved a fine ranch, is Andrew Colombero, a native of Cuneo, Pie-
monti, Italy, born August 10, 1878, where he was reared and educated. In
1889 he made his way to Savoy, France, where for fifteen years he worked
on farms and vineyards, except a few months while he served his required
time in an Alpine Regiment in the Italian Army, returning to France after
his honorable discharge.
In 1903 he came to California and in Siskiyou County he was employed
in saw mills and lumber yards for the McLoud Lumber Company, continuing
there for a period of eight years. He then came to Sanger, Fresno County,
being employed in the lumber yard of the Sanger Lumber Company for
two years.
Having a desire to own a farm and engage in fruit raising, he purchased
ten acres near Clovis, in 1913, where he built his home and set out a vine-
yard, adding to his original purchase until he has twenty-six acres in his
home farm, devoted to growing malaga and seedless Thompson grapes. He
now also owns another ranch of twenty acres which is also in vines.
Mr. Colombero was married in Italy to Miss Mary Rovero, and they
have six children, three of whom are living: Peter, Josephine and Henry.
Mr. Colombero is liberal and enterprising and supports all local movements
for the advancement of the county. We find him a member of the California
Associated Raisin Company and also of the Melvin Grape Growers Asso-
ciation, from their organization.
HANS HANSEN._ — A progressive, successful farmer, and a worthy man
who has never failed to devote some of his life to the up-building of the com-
munity in which he has toiled and had his being, is Hans Hansen, who has
been equally blessed in an excellent family. Like some of his fellow country-
men in California, he was born at Bregninge, on the island of Ero, in Baltic
Denmark, and his father, Christ J. Hansen, was a farmer and dairyman who
enjoyed good repute in his native land. He married Maren Jensen, by whom
he had five stalwart sons ; and both parents and all the children are still living.
Hans, the third oldest, was born on July 25, 1882. and brought up on the
home farm while he attended the common schools of the neighborhood.
When he was fourteen years old, however, he began to work out on other
farms for a living, and he continued at agricultural work in that vicinity
until he left Denmark to take the great step of crossing the ocean to the
New World.
2108 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In 1905, then, he reached Audubon County, Iowa, and worked on a
farm until, in the following- January, he was lucky to say good-bye to the
extreme heat and cold of the Middle West and to move on to California.
At first he located at Newman, where he worked for a year on a dairy ranch,
and then he leased the same ranch for a year and conducted there a dairy.
After that he worked in the Gustin Creamery for two and a half years and
further added to his valuable experience.
Satisfied that Tranquillity was one of the best of all places in Fresno
County and offered advantages superior to those he has been having. Mr.
Hansen in December, 1910, bought his present ranch of forty acres, and in
the fall of 1911 moved onto it. By hard work begun immediately, he leveled,
checked and ditched it, and otherwise further improved the land, and by
sowing alfalfa made of it a most desirable ranch property. Now he has thirty
acres given ip to alfalfa alone ; and having purchased twenty acres more of
land, he ha; sixty acres in all, a part of which is used for the raising of grain.
He also co- ducts a dairy and raises poultry, owning about 250 hens. He
belongs to « le San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers Association, and supports
every good novement making for the development of Central California.
At Oakland, on October, 1910, Mr. Hansen was married to Miss Petra
Nielsen, a native of Ero. Denmark, and the daughter of Peter C. and Anne
M. Nielsen ; a good woman who has become an excellent mother and house-
wife. Four children have gladdened the Hansen home : Harry M. is the
oldest: then there is Christian P.: after him has come Mabel Margaret;
while the youngest is Hans Einar Hansen. The family attends the Lutheran
Church, and seeks the good in life. They are also enthusiastic Americans, and
during the recent war crisis none were more loyal to their adopted country.
FRANK BEGOLE.— A native of Medina, N. Y., where he was born
December 11, 1874, Frank Begole has made a place for himself in the business
life of Fresno. He received his education in the grammar schools and the
academy in his native town, and at the age of fifteen years, started to make
his own way in the world. He learned the plumbing trade with Acer & Whe-
don, in his home city, and followed his trade for a few years in Buffalo, N. Y.,
then worked his way west, following his trade in Chicago, St. Louis, Denver,
and other Middle Western cities. For a time he ran a shop of his own in Mos-
cow. Idaho. He finally came to San Francisco, Cal., December, 1902, and
worked in different cities in the state, from San Diego north to San Francisco,
and put in a year and a half at work in the Yellowstone National Park, on
the Canyon Hotel, located there.
Mr. Begole came to Fresno in April. 1911, and secured work with V. T.
Cox for two years. In November, 1914, he engaged in business for himself,
doing contracting plumbing. In May of 1916 he formed a partnership with
J. C. Hinton, with the firm name of Begole & Hinton, but after one year, the
partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Begole opened his present place of bus-
iness, at 2532 Tulare Street. He makes a specialty of contracting for fine
residence work, and has installed the plumbing in a number of fine homes in
Fresno and surrounding territory, among them the following: L. Wass resi-
dence. Kerckhoff Ave.; M. D. Priest home, in Alta Vista tract; D. D. Bolitho
home, Calaveras Ave.,; the A. Hasselbalch residence, Forthcamp Ave.,: Theo.
Schmidt home, Yale Ave..; and a number of fine residences in the Normal
School district, for John G. Porter; the John M'uir School on Palm Ave.; be-
sides others too numerous to mention. Mr. Begole is also doing the plumb-
ing for the Alta Vista Homes Company, in the Alta Vista Tract, and at the
present time has seven residences under construction. With strict attention
to detail ar.J modern methods of workmanship, Mr. Begole has built up a
large busimss, and has the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens in
the community.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2111
Fraternally, Mr. Begole is a member of the Red Men of Fresno ; he be-
came a member of the Odd Fellows, at Medina, N. Y., in which order he has
passed all the chairs, including the Encampment, and is now member of
Fresno Lodge No. 186, I. O. O. F. ; he is also a member of the Eagles, of San
Francisco. Besides his business interests, Mr. Begole owns a ten-acre ranch
located one mile west of Fresno, on White's Bridge Road and Hughes Ave.,
which he devotes to Thompson Seedless grapes and figs.
JOHN AUGUST STEITZ.— A resident of Fresno for over a quarter o4
a century who has seen the town develop, and who has himself prospered
despite serious obstacles, is John August Steitz. who came to Fresno in the
early nineties. He was born at Skadofsky, in Samara, Russia, on December
14, 1869, the son of John Peter Steitz, a farmer there, who had married Mary
Kruzel, in time the mother of two boys and four girls, all of whom are still
living. In 1898 John Peter Steitz followed his son to California and resided
with him until his death, in 1916, aged seventy-nine. His good wife also died
here.
John August was the second eldest in the family, and after attending the
public schools, went to work as a farmer. In 1890 he was married in Russia
to Miss Christina Deil, also a native of that country.
In 1893, Mr. Steitz came to Fresno and entered the employ of Spaning,
the brick manufacturer, with whom he continued for three years. Then he
engaged with a contractor for building and helped erect some of the houses
in the section, including the Hughes Hotel, the Helm Block, and other struc-
tures. Some years later he fell from a third story, where he was working,
and from that time on had to abandon building at altitudes.
He then drove a bakery wagon for the Fresno Bakery for three years,
without the loss of a day, and next began in the merchandise business. In
1903 he bought a store on South F Street, which he later sold, purchasing a
larger place on the same thoroughfare.
On August 17, 1908, Mr. Steitz bought the lot he at present uses and
there built a store and a residence. He sold general merchandise, and ever
since has handled only the highest grade of dry goods, hardware, grocery and
meats, so that now he does a lively trade in part based on established reputa-
tion for quality of stock and honesty in methods.
Mr. Steitz has been twice married. His first wife died here and left
seven children. Peter is in the employ of the Wormser Furniture Company
at Fresno; Christene is Mrs. Bier of the same city; Lizzie is Mrs. Eurich, also
of Fresno ; Charles is with his father, and there are Alexander, August and
Margaret.
On the occasion of his second marriage, Mr. Steitz took for his wife Miss
Maggie Deubert, by whom he has had four children. They are Elsie, Bertha,
Nathalie, and Freda, and with their mother attend the Free Evangelical
Lutheran Cross Church, where the father is a member of the board of trustees.
A naturalized citizen, Mr. Steitz is a Republican in national affairs, but
always ready to support worthy local movements, irrespective of partisanship.
JOSEPH WIGGENHAUSER.— Prominent among the late-comers in
Fresno County, and one of the leading agriculturists in the vicinity of Ker-
man, is Joseph Wiggenhauser, who was born in Chicago on October 26, 1874,
the son of John Wiggenhauser, who located in that city in 1872, and was for
several years in the employ of the Emmett Proprietary Company, manufac-
turers of medicines. In 1878 he located in Osceola County, Iowa, where he
purchased 160 acres of land and continued farming until 1901, when he re-
moved to Stevens County, Minn., and bought a tract of 240 acres. This he
later sold and returned to Chicago, where he spent the rest of his days. Jo-
seph's mother was Dora Vesser, who died in Iowa about 1879.
Joseph was the only child of this union, was reared on the Iowa farm
and received a good education in the public schools.. When twenty-one years
of age he engaged in business in Osceola ; but after two years, on the death
2112 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of his father, he took charge of the Minnesota farm, and raised grain and stock
until 1911, when the farm was sold.
Having become interested in Fresno County from advertisements put
out by the Fresno Irrigated Farms Company, he purchased his present ranch
of thirty acres and located here in 1911. He chose the Vinland district because
it appealed most to him; and when he later disposed of ten acres, it was to
enable" him to give greater attention to the remaining twenty acres, devoted
to Thompson seedless grapes, peaches and alfalfa. In February, 1917, he
bought twenty acres half a mile south of his present place, which he con-
tinued to improve until November. 1918, when he sold it at a good profit.
Mr. Wiggenhauser is a member of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany, and is a firm believer in cooperation. In politics, he is an Independent,
voting for the man rather than the party. He is enthusiastic and optimistic
for the future of this section of Fresno County, and has faith particularly in
its prospects as the finest of all Thompson seedless regions in the Stnte.
Fresno County owes much of its prosperity and fame to the experience,
far-sightedness, industry, and faith of such settlers as Mr. Wiggenhauser, and
no one will begrudge him all the good things of life that come his way as a
result of his toil and enterprise.
ELI WOODALL. — The life which this memoir delineates began in
England, in the year 1857. Eli Woodall is the son of William and Eliza
Woodall who were both natives of England. Mr. and Mrs. William Woodall
were the parents of eleven children. The family immigrated to the United
States in 1887 and located in Idaho, where the parents passed away. Seven
of the children are living; two reside in Idaho, one in England, and four in
California.
Fli Woodall is a pioneer of the Reedley district and has been a resident
of Fresno County since 1906. Since his settling near Reedley he has been
actively engaged in the advancement of best interests of that section of the
county.
In conjunction with his brother-in-law, Matthew Horsfull, he owns a
ranch which is devoted to the culture of oranges, Thompson's seedless and
muscat grapes. His ranch has yielded as high as two tons of grapes to the
acre. When he first began to till the soil of his ranch the land was in a wild
or virgin state. Eli Woodall being a practical farmer he has by hard work
and intelligent efforts, succeeded in bringing his ranch to its present state of
productivity. Flis success is illustrative of the excellent opportunities offered
by this section, and his citizenship has been of value to the community.
JOHN CARLSON. — A conscientious, hard-working rancher who, after
years of expert work in Europe as a maker of surgical instruments, has be-
come a successful fruit-grower, specializing in peaches, is John Carlson,
who lives about one and a half miles north of Kingsburg and who is widely
known as one of the Kingsburg promoters to start a branch here of the
Rural Credits Bank. Through this remarkable banking institution, farmers
can get long loans at low rates of interest, and Mr. Carlson himself has
three thousand dollars which he borrowed from the bank for twenty years
at five per cent, interest. The institution will undoubtedly grow and will
continue to prove to the farmer a source of strength and beneficence.
Bom in Sweden, on January 17, 1862. Mr. Carlson came to America in
1887. having previously been at Christiania for four years, where he was
apprenticed to a master in the art of making dental and other surgical
instruments. He stopped awhile in Chicago, and there he engaged as a
laborer in grading for the Chicago. Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway in
Wisconsin, and also going to work for the company in Minnesota. In 1888
In- went back to Wisconsin, and there, at Ashland, while working in a saw-
mill, he had the great misfortune to lose three fingers from his right hand.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2113
While he was at Ashland, in 1895, Mr. Carlson was married to Miss
Lizzie Frederika Wilfer, a native of Finland. Eight years later he came to
California and bought, at Kingsburg, forty acres of unimproved land then a
rye-field. With his own labor he has planted and built on the farm every-
thing of value now to be found there, and he has fifteen acres of muscats,
four acres of seedless, four acres of alfalfa, seven acres of peaches, and the
balance in a eucalyptus grove, yards and garden. He has a fine pumping
plant with a fifteen-horsepower engine and a five-inch pump, and he also
commands irrigation for thirty acres from the neighboring ditch.
Mr. and Mrs. Carlson have had ten children: Hildah, wife of Fred A.
Snider; Mary, who died a victim of influenza, in December, 1918; Rosa;
Clara ; Lillie, who died at the tender age of eight ; Myrtle ; Alvar ; Otto ; Stan-
ley, and Ernest J. The family attends the Kingsburg Swedish Methodist Epis-
copal Church. In national politics Mr. Carlson is a Republican. He is witty
and extremely good natured, as fine a fellow socially as he is wide-awake
and enterprising in business matters.
That which naturally gives Mr. Carlson much satisfaction is his asso-
ciation with the Kingsburg branch of the Federal Land Bank, which he
helped to organize. He is both a member and a stockholder. A. O. Lanstrom
is president; E. Ed. Peterson, secretary; and Messrs. John Carlson, Gunder-
son, Wilson, Mayfield and Hanson, the directors. So helpful has this bank
proven to the farmer that it has already made loans aggregating $120,000,
and in it the often handicapped farmer finds one of his most encouraging
friends.
ARTHUR J. ANDERSON. — A young man of enterprise and public-
spirit, who has spent practically all of his life in Fresno County, having been
impressed with its great future, is Arthur J. Anderson, who was born in
Eureka, Humboldt Count}', on July 1, 1892, the son of John Anderson, a na-
tive of Sweden. The father migrated to Michigan, and thence to Eureka,
where he followed his trade, that of a carpenter. In 1904 he brought his family
to Fresno County, and so recent has been the development of some of this
Central California wonderland, that they were among the first settlers of Vin-
land Colony. And there, by hard labor, a stimulating example in itself, he
improved sixty acres to fruits, principally grapes.
John Anderson was prominent in the organization and building of the
Swedish Lutheran Church at Vinland, and has also been a leader in the up-
building of the community. With something worth while to look back upon,
and the best of reasons for regarding the future with optimism, Mr. Anderson
and his good wife reside on their ranch in Vinland Colony, esteemed by all
who know them.
. The oldest in their family of four daughters and a son, Arthur Anderson
was reared in Fresno County from the age of twelve, and, after completing
the grammar school, he attended Heald's Business College at Fresno. He
made there a creditable record for proficiency, and later demonstrated equal
ability in assisting his father on the ranch. After a while, he purchased his
present holding of twenty acres from the paternal property he had helped to
set out. and little by little he improved it. The ranch is located on Madera
and Riverside Avenues, and is one of the finest vineyards in the district. In
course of time he built a new modern bungalow there, added other structures
and made various improvements, so that today his estate, for its size, is of
real value. Of course, he has come to be a booster in the California Associated
Raisin Company.
At Vinland on November 4, 1916, Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Lil-
lian Nordstrom, a native of Minnesota and a daughter of the Rev. M. A. Nord-
strom, the pioneer of Vinland district, whose interesting life-story is given
elsewhere in this volume. They have one child, a bright boy named Gerald,
and they attend the Swedish Lutheran Church.
2114 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
NIELS JORGEN HANSEN.— A highly intelligent, very industrious
and successful self-made man, who has attained to some of the rewards of
thrift and integrity, is N. J. Hansen, who owns forty of the finest acres on
the Parlier road, a mile west of Parlier. He was born in Denmark on June
10, 1859, the son of Hans Nilsen who married Annie Jorgensen, like her
husband also a native of Denmark. His father, who was a good farmer,
owned his farm and became fairly well-to-do ; and when the parents died,
they had the satisfaction of having given life and a start to a family of four-
teen children, the youngest of whom was the subject of this sketch.
The lad attended the Danish grammar schools until he was fourteen,
when he was confirmed in the Lutheran Church ; but at that age he began
to work out on farms in the neighborhood, since his father had sold his
farm and retired. While thus employed and thinking of the future because of
his increasing contact with the everyday realities of life, he became intensely
interested in the letters sent home by an elder brother, Jens Hansen, who
was located in the Central Colony four miles south of Fresno. He had come
to America in 1874, had stopped for a few months in Alameda County, and
then, with some companions, had made his way up to Fresno County, arriv-
ing here in the fall of the year. He thus became one of the very first settlers
in the Central Colony, and met and overcame the obstacles then trying the
endurance of the pioneer. For example, it was then necessary to haul from
Fresno all the water needed for both domestic and stock purposes, and this
inconvenience continued until the settlers were able to sink a deep well.
Aroused, then, by the desire to see America, the young man, just attain-
ing maturity, bade good-bye to home and friends and sailed from Copenhagen
on the steamship Thingvalla. He landed at the old Castle Garden in New
York, on August 25, 1880, having been nineteen days on the ocean. There
were" only ninety passengers on board, but the weather was good and the
trip an agreeable one. He stopped over night in New York, and then hurried
on by rail to San Francisco.
Tarrying three or four days in the bay metropolis, Mr. Hansen continued
his journey to Fresno where, on September 11. 1880, his brother, Jens, met
him. During the following fall and winter he worked for his brother, and
thrice went to the mountains at Pine Ridge and labored in the saw mill. He
also worked on the road, and the next summer toiled in the harvest fields at
Centerville. He had to acquire the English language, and to master American
business usages and methods of agriculture. But he persisted and won out.
When he had money enough, he bought a lot at the Central Colony, and
since that time he has worked for himself. He improved his lot, bought more
and more land, and finally owned forty acres, well-improved, in the Central
Colony. Occasionally he worked out a little at odd jobs to get the money
necessary for his immediate support, taxes, etc.
In 1887, Mr. Hansen married Miss Martha Thomsen, a native of North
Schleswig, who came to Minneapolis and thence to California and the Cen-
tral Colony. She has since proven such a good helpmate to him that he gives
to her, with her good cheer and encouragement the credit for having tided
him over his hardships and privations.
Until 1914, Mr. Hansen continued to farm in the Central Colony, but
he then sold out, and on the following twenty-sixth of March he moved to
his present fine property. He had bought this place in 1909. and with the
help of his son (who served in the army in France and returned home after
an honorable discharge, March 1. 19191. he started to improve the new hold-
ing, at the same time that he operated his place in the Central Colony, using
the money made by the latter farm to develop the former. Now, on a beau-
tiful site overlooking the surrounding ranches, he has a delightful home.
Mr. and Mrs. Hansen have had eight children, and six of these are living.
two having died in infancy: Mata is the wife of Sophus Hansen, who served
in the navy and has returned from the war and resides at Parlier: Syvert,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2117
single, is in the army in France ; Hannah is the wife of L. Stoner, an employee
of the Griffin & Skelly Packing Company, at Fresno, and resides at Fresno ;
Jorgen is a machinist and toolmaker, who has worked at his trade in Cali-
fornia, Illinois and Iowa for seven years and is now at Visalia ; Christiana,
who graduated from the Easton high school is now society editor on the
Parlier News and is also librarian of the Library at Parlier; and Mary, who
is the wife of Adolph Lindberg. Mr. and Mrs. Hansen are members of the
Lutheran Church, which the children also attend.
The generous response on the part of several members of Mr. Hansen's
family to the call of the Government for service in the terrible war recalls
an interesting chapter or two in Mr. Hansen's own experience when he was
a young man. In the fall of 1877, when he was only eighteen, he enlisted in
the Danish Navy, and served on the Danish frigate Shetland, as a gunner,
doing duty there from August 21, 1878, until May 16, 1879, when he was
honorably discharged. He also served in the Danish West Indies, when he
was stationed for the most part at St. Croix and St. Thomas. These islands
were sold to the United States Government, in 1916, for $25,000,000, and Mr.
Hansen believes that Uncle Sam got a mighty good bargain.
Mr. Hansen's cosy ranch has become one of the show-places of the
vicinity, and is interesting also to the professional agriculturist on account of
the way in which it is laid out. Fifteen acres are devoted to peaches, espe-
cially Muir and Lovell, as well as Elbertas, and there are nectarines, and
also apricots around the border. There are three acres of muscats, eleven
acres of Thompson seedless, and four acres of alfalfa. The rest of the place
is occupied by buildings, drying grounds, and four acres to grain. A six-
room bungalow was erected in 1915.
PETER HOGLUND.— Among the sturdy pioneers of Vinland who will
long be remembered, and who will be honored while memory lasts, must be
mentioned Peter Hoglund, the kindly, highly-respected and delightful old
gentleman, who came to Fresno County in 1903. He was born in Heriedalen,
Hjemtland, Sweden, in June, 1846, the son of Peter Peterson, a farmer, who
died in Sweden at the age of eighty-four. His wife was Betsy Peterson, and
she died in 1851, the mother of three children, among whom Peter, the only
one in the United States, is the oldest. He attended the public schools, while
helping at home, and when twenty-one went into the Swedish army for two
years. In 1869 he came to the United States and went to Red Wing, Minn.,
and later to Grant County, where he homesteaded 160 acres. He improved
the land, while raising wheat, and so continued until he came to the Pacific
Coast.
In 1902, Mr. Hoglund sold out and the following year came to California
with the Rev. M. A. Nordstrom and one or two others. They came at once
to Fresno County, and he bought fifty-five acres on Madera Avenue, which
he improved. He set out a ten-acre peach orchard, made a vineyard and
planted alfalfa, and ran the place until 1908, when he sold it to A. Soderberg.
Thereupon Mr. Hoglund bought his present place of thirteen acres, also in
Vinland. It is not only along the San Joaquin River, but lies on an island in
the stream, and so is ideally situated. There he has 160 peach trees and the
balance devoted to grain. He has improved the property, and made it his
cosy homeplace; and there he dispenses an agreeable hospitality to those who
call to see him. Fie is a member and stockholder of the California Peach
Growers. Inc., and a member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
While giving proper attention to things worldly, contributing as a loyal
Republican towards good government and supporting the best men and
measures in local issues, Mr. Hoglund never fails in his efforts for the ad-
vancement of Christianity, and he was therefore glad to be among the organ-
izers of the Swedish Lutheran Church at Vinland, and one of the builders of
the church edifice.
2118 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JOHN PETER SCHMALL.— Engaged in various activities since his
first settling in the county, in 1899, John Peter Schmall has demonstrated his
capabilities both as a business man" and rancher, and has met with deserved
success in his adopted country. His birth took place in Stahl Colony, Samara,
Russia. November 12, 1874, where his parents George and Marie (Weibert)
Schmall were farmers. John Peter was the youngest of twelve children born
to them, and was reared on the home farm, receiving his education in the
public and private schools of his native country. There his marriage occurred,
on October 20, 1896, to Miss Elizabeth Scheidt, also a native of Stahl Colony.
In November, 1897, the young couple emigrated to America and first
located at Lincoln, Nebr., where Mr. Schmall engaged in railroad work.
July 4, 1899, they came to Fresno, and here he also engaged in the same
occupation, first for the Santa Fe Railway, and then was with the Southern
Pacific. His first ranching venture was forty acres in Biola, in 1905, then he
sold at an advance and bought twenty acres between Jensen and Ventura
Avenues, which he improved and sold, and then bought forty acres, which he
set to vineyard, and also sold. He then went into business in Fresno for
one year, buying from Charles Scharer the F Street Livery and Feed Yard.
He next bought a grocery store on E Street which he conducted one year,
when he sold out the property and once more engaged in ranching. This
time he bought 160 acres near Herndon in Madera County, later sold this
holding and bought at Dinuba, sold and bought near Reedley, making sev-
eral trades at a profit there. During the time he lived in Fresno he bought
several lots in various locations, built four houses there, then sold them at
a profit.
In June of 1917, Mr. Schmall bought his eighty-acre ranch in the Barstow
district, and has brought it to a high state of cultivation, a fine vineyard and
orchard showing splendid care. He sold off twenty acres and now has sixty
acres in malagas, muscats and peaches. Here he lias built his residence and
barns, and all the improvements necessary to a modern ranch.
Fourteen children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Schmall,
ten of them living: Katie, who married Peter Klein, August 1, 1919; Mollie ;
Peter; George; Fred; Elizabeth; Marie; Harry; and Henry and Albert,
twins. They attend the Lutheran Church and Mr. Schmall is trustee of the
branch church at Barstow. He is a member and stockholder of the Califor-
nia Associated Raisin Company and of the California Peach Growers, Inc.
A man of energy and initiative. Mr. Schmall deserves the success he has
attained.
PEDER S. PEDERSEN. — An energetic young man who is an inveter-
ate worker, and who is very naturally doing well as a general contractor at
the same time that he is improving a twenty-acre vineyard, is Peder S. Pedcr-
sen, known to his friends and acquaintances as a fine fellow. He came to
California in the early years of this century, and ever since, while contribut-
ing his share to the development of the country, his popularity has steadily
increased.
lie was born at Ribe, in Jylland, Denmark, on November 24. 1884. the
son of Niels Pedersen, who is a farmer in Ribe. The mother was Karen
Pedersen. now deceased. They had twelve children, seven of whom came
to the United States, all of whom are still living except one of the sons.
Peder was brought up on a farm and educated at the public schools ; and in
November, 1903, when he was nineteen, he came to the United States and
California with his brother Niels.
They reached Fresno and soon obtained employment in the dairy at
Rolinda; and thereafter they learned the ways of American farmers, driving
big teams in the grain fields. Two years later Mr. Pedersen bought thirty
acres of land at Rolinda devoted to alfalfa, and leasing more land, he went
in for the raising of alfalfa on a large scale, lie supplied hay and feed to the
Fresno market and he also sold at retail.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2119
A couple of years after that he engaged in contracting and leveling
other peoples' lands, and went in for the building of ditches in Fresno County.
He ran twenty head of horses and rented twenty head in addition, and he
was generally in lively demand. About that time he sold his thirty acres and
bought fifty-five, also at Rolinda ; and he used to rent in the Kerman district.
Five years ago Mr. Pedersen bought twenty acres in the Dakota Colony ;
and soon his characteristic enterprise manifested itself in the improvements
he made with the land. He set out Thompson seedless vines and planted
alfalfa, and transformed the rather raw land into one of the really valuable
ranches of the neighborhood.
On one of Fresno's brightest days Mr. Pedersen was married to Miss
Sophia Nielsen, also a native of Denmark, by whom he has had three promis-
ing children. They are Thomas, George and Helen Pedersen and they share
the popularity of the parents.
Mr. Pedersen belongs to the Danish Brotherhood, and takes pleasure in
adding his influence to making this one of the organizations of naturalized
Americans making at all times for better American citizenship.
C. J. GALLOWAY. — A hard-working, enterprising Kansan, of fine old
Scotch ancestry, and brimful of good ideas and impulses, is C. J. Galloway,
a rancher who is winning success with some fifty acres of highly improved
land three miles northwest of Kingsburg. C. J. Galloway was born in Cowley
County. Kans., fourteen miles from Arkansas City, on December 4, 1879,
the son of Thomas Galloway, a native of Stone County, Mo., who married
Barbara Meese, whose native place was Terre Haute, Ind., the ceremony
taking place at a pretty country spot in Missouri. The Galloway family has
military traditions, Thomas' father, Charles, who was an early settler at
Springfield, Mo., having served in the Mexican War and been a major in
the Union Army. He was living in Stone 'or Barry County, Mo., at the time
of the Mexican War broke out, and after the Civil War, in which he served
during the entire period, he bought about a thousand acres of land on the
James River bottom, and when the Frisco line built through there, it located
a station on his land which was called Galloway Station, and is so called to
this day.
C. J. Galloway grew up in Kansas until he was fourteen, and then went
back to Galloway, Mo., and lived with Major Galloway. His schooling, there-
fore, was obtained in Kansas and Missouri. Later he moved back to Kansas
with his parents, to the old place. During his twenty-second year, his father
sold his farm in Kansas and in 1903 all the family moved to Idaho and there
engaged in grain farming.
At Newkirk, Okla., on October 13, 1902, Mr. Galloway was married to
Miss Laura Bishop, a daughter of George W. Bishop and an own sister of
the Kingsburg postmaster. With his wife and the oldest child, who was born
in Idaho, he lived in that state for three years; and then, in 1906, he came
west to California.
Fortunate in having his attention attracted to Kingsburg, Mr. Galloway
bought at first twenty acres, and in another year bought another tract, this
time of forty acres, which he improved and sold to advantage. Then he
bought the first twenty acres of his present place, and in the fall of 1917
thirty acres more. Now he is planting nine acres of Thompson seedless
grapes, and the balance in alfalfa and seedless. The original twenty is en-
tirely planted, and he has built a house and pumping plant on it, and made
numerous other improvements. The result is that he has one of the most
attractive ranches of its size in Central California. He is a member of the
California Raisin Growers Association and of the California Peach Growers
Association.
Mr. and Mrs. Galloway are the parents of three children : Bessie, in the
grammar school ; James ; and Raymond, six years old. Mr. and Mrs. Gallo-
2120 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
way are active in the Federated Methodist Episcopal Church at Kingsburg.
Mr. Galloway is a member of the board of education, and was a prime
mover in the plan to consolidate the Eschol and Kingsburg school districts,
which involves bringing the school children from Eschol district each day
to the grammar school at Kingsburg by automobile. This is being tried out
on a three-year test, and if it continues in popular favor, it will probably
be voted a permanent institution. Mr. Galloway was first appointed to fill
a vacancy, and he was then elected for a term of three years, and is now
serving his eighth year.
HENRY EDWARD ELAM.— A successful dairyman, who has won a
reputation as a level-headed hustler, is Henry Edward Elam, the son of
John H. Elam. He was born in Fresno, June 5. 1878, and came to Kerman
when it first started. His father was a rancher, who later went into the
blacksmith business in Fresno. He had a shop where the Farmers and Mer-
chants Bank now stands. Then he removed to Coarsegold, Madera County,
and there he continued as a smith until he retired. Now he resides with
our subject. He had married Mary Lumsford. who was born in Kentucky,
and died at Coarsegold in 1882, the mother of five children, among whom
Henry E. was the third. Henry was brought up in Coarsegold until he was
thirteen years old and attended the public school, after which he returned to
the plains. He was employed for ten years on a grain-ranch in Merced
County, where he learned to handle big teams with dexterity. For a couple
of years, he was at Yreka. in Siskiyou County, and after twelve years' ab-
sence, he came back to Fresno County.
Mr. Elam then leased his uncle's dairy, twelve miles west of Fresno,
and ran it for three years, and then he bought a ranch of sixty acres two
miles west of Barstow where, with a fine herd of thirty-five cows, he con-
tinued dairying for another three years. Then he sold out at a profit and
removed to Fowler, and this time bought a ranch of fifty acres. It was
devoted to alfalfa, so he established a dairy there, but after a year, he again
leased land, this time at Barstow, where he also had a dairy. In 1917, Mr.
Elam leased a ranch south of Kerman and conducted a dairy ; and in January,
1919. he sold the lease and bought his present holding, a fine ranch of forty
acres on Tensen Avenue, two miles southeast of Kerman. He checked it for
alfalfa, arid once more opened an up-to-date dairy; for he found the country
most admirably adapted to that field of husbandry. Then he joined the San
Toaquin Valley Milk Producers Association.
Mr. Elam was married, at Kerman, to Miss Viola Condon, a daughter
of Tohn Condon, whose life is also sketched in this work. Mrs. Elam is a native
of Merced County and is held in high esteem. By a former marriage Mr.
Elam has a son, Franklin Henry Elam. Mr. Elam is a Democrat, and a mem-
ber of Fresno Parlor, No. 25, N. S. G W. : and both husband and wife attend
the Methodist Church.
AXEL PEDERSEN. — Numbered among the successful viticulturists of
his section of Fresno County, is Axel Pedersen. a native of Denmark, born
near Ribe, Jylland, on December 26, 1887, a son of Niels and Karen (Hansen)
Pedersen. Axel was reared on a farm in Denmark, his father being a Danish
farmer and the owner of a place. When seventeen years old Axel decided
to come to America, where so many of his countrymen had won success.
In 1904 he sailed for New York, and after his arrival, he continued his jour-
ney westward until he reached the Golden State, locating in Fresno County,
Cal., in March, 1904. Of the twelve children born to Mr. and Mrs. Niels
Pedersen. eleven are living, five boys and six girls; four boys and two girls
having emigrated to California.
Arriving in California, Axel found employment on ranches and grain-
farms for about four years, when he became interested in viticulture and
horticulture. In 1913, in partnership with his brother Anton, he purchased
^/A^^Jul
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2123
forty acres on McKinley Avenue, five miles northwest of Fresno, and en-
gaged in viticulture. In 1917, he purchased his brother's share and now con-
ducts the vineyard alone and is making a specialty of muscat grapes. In
addition to vines he has about one and one-half acres in peaches. His land
is under the Fresno Canal, and he has sunk wells and put in pumps, as an
auxiliary plant.
In 1914, Axel Pedersen was united in marriage with Miss Maren Hansen,
daughter of Jacob Hansen, an early settler of Fresno County who at first
was engaged in blacksmithing but afterwards followed ranching and who
is now living in Fresno. Mrs. Pedersen was born in Fresno County and re-
ceived her education in the public schools of Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. Pedersen
have two children : Robert and Glenn.
Mr. Pedersen is a member of Dania Society, No. 5, in Fresno, is an
honored ex-president, and for four years was its efficient secretary, and has
represented the order as a delegate to the state convention. He has been
very successful in the operation of his vineyard, and is greatly interested in
all aids to the horticultural and viticultural interests of the county. He is a
member of the California Associated Raisin Company and the California
Peach Growers, Inc.
WILLIAM H. KONKEL.— Born near Clarinda, Page County, Iowa,
October 13, 1856, William H. Konkel is a son of William and Anna (Berry)
Konkel, both born in Pennsylvania, but who later went to Ohio where they
were married. Later they moved to Indiana, where Mr. Konkel ran a farm
and operated a sawmill until in 1856 when they located in Clarinda and pur-
chased 200 acres of government land on the Nodaway River. This farm reJ
ceived such improvement that it was one of the best in the vicinity and the
owners had much to do with the developing of their community. In 1870,
they moved to Crawford County, Kans., near Girard, where he again bought
some government land and improved it, and there he died in 1876. His
widow, in 1887, moved to Baca County, Colo., where she homesteaded and
improved her place. She died there January 19, 1905, at the age of seventy-
seven years, the mother of fourteen children who grew up and of whom eight
are still living.
William H. Konkel was the eighth child of the family and is the only
one living in California. He was reared in Iowa where he attended the pub-
lic school and when the family moved to Kansas he only had seven months
school there, for he had to go to work when nineteen, but he continued to
acquire an education, devoting his spare time to study and preparing
for the future. When teaching, he devoted much time to study, and made it
a rule never to appear before his classes without having made thorough
preparation. He attended Normal school, where he profitted by his studious
habits, and when he was twenty years of age he obtained a teacher's certifi-
cate and taught school in Crawford County. He continued teachng for ten
years, the last three years of the time as principal of schools at Mulberry,
Kans.
In 1888, Mr. Konkel located in Colorado where he preempted and home-
steaded land in Baca County, and here he improved his farm and raised stock,
and also engaged in teaching school. He taught in the Boston district for
nine years, and three years in other districts. After twenty-two years of
teaching, Mr. Konkel devoted all of his time and attention to farming and
stock-raising and as he prospered he bought more land until he possessed six
sections, which he farmed and used for grazing. His brand a double N, with
quarter circle slash, stood for quality. He succeeded as a stockman, but in 1910
he sold out his Colorado holdings to locate in California, and at Fresno he
bought forty acres of his present ranch, and raised alfalfa and conducted a'
dairy. Later he bought forty acres adjoining, and later still another forty
further west and now has 120 acres, eightv of which are in alfalfa. He has
substantial buildings and a dairy herd of fifty-five Holstein cows and sells his
2124 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
milk to the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers Association. He also engages
in raising cattle.
In the spring of 1919, Mr. Konkel leased his ranch to two of his sons and
with his wife, two sons and a daughter, made a trip by Buick automobile over
the mountains to Colorado, via the Santa Fe Trail, visiting his old friends
and haunts; then through Kansas to Kansas City, Mo., and returned to Colo-
rado. They came by the Arrowhead Trail back to California, having made the
trip of over 7,000 miles without a mishap and all had a pleasant journey and
visit. Upon his return, he moved into Fresno where he resides with his fam-
ily at 116 West Olive Street.
Mr. Konkel was married in Crawford County, Kans., October 3, 1878,
to Miss Annie M. Stwalley, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Rover) Stwal-
ley, born in Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively, who moved to Kansas in
1876. Mrs. Konkel was born in Clay County, Ind. They have twelve children :
Guy E., a minister of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Canon City,
Colo. ; Theodore Bliss, farming the home ranch in Roosevelt district, Fresno
County ; Jasper C, a soldier who served overseas and four months at the front
in the Third Division; Fred L., who died in Kansas; Annie, wife of Vernon
Nichols of Ontario, Cal. ; Mary, who was the wife of Warren Brown, and
who died in 1918 in Colorado; Daniel, a rancher of Fresno County; James
Russell, who with his brother Theodore Bliss is operating the home ranch;
Elizabeth, a graduate of Fresno State Normal, now teaching at Malaga;
Gladys, deceased; Capitola, in Fresno High, Class of 1920; and Joe W.. also
attending Fresno High.
Mr. Konkel was a school trustee in the Roosevelt district for three terms.
holding the office of clerk for all but one year of that time, during which there
were two additional school-rooms built. He was a charter member of the A.
O. U. W. in Mulberry, Kans., and still holds his membership there, and he
was its first recorder. He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal
Church at Rolinda, is one of the board of trustees and is a class leader. He
helped build the church, and is superintendent of two Sunday Schools, Sunday
mornings at Rolinda, and at the Roosevelt school-house in the afternoons. He
is a member of the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers Association, and is a
Republican in politics. Mr. Konkel is a man of sterling worth, and is highly
esteemed by his associates.
OSCAR E. PETERSON. — Oscar E. Peterson was born in Knox County,
near Galva, 111., on November 12, 1871, the son of Olof Peterson, who mar-
ried Sigrid Johnson, and grew up on his father's farm, while he attended the
public schools at Wataga, 111. Later, he studied for three years at Knox
College at Galesburg, 111. At that time the Bank of Galesburg needed a
bookkeeper, and the position having been offered him, Mr. Peterson aban-
doned the class-room and entered on his career as a banker. From book-
keeper lie was soon advanced to teller; but in 1903, after eleven years of
service, he left the Bank of Galesburg and went to Victoria, in Knox County,
where he helped to organize the State Bank of Victoria, and became the
bank's cashier. The concern started with only twenty-five thousand capital,
but it became a solid and flourishing institution, successful in every respect.
With the organizing of the Kingsburg Bank in 1910-11, Mr. Peterson came
here, having been selected as its first cashier ; and this responsible position
he has held ever since, to the satisfaction of all concerned.
During these busy years, Mr. Peterson took a course in law by cor-
respondence, supplemented by private study with Philip S. Post, county
judge and master in chancery at Galesburg, 111., now attorney for the Inter-
national Harvester Company of Chicago; and by the Supreme Court of
Illinois, on April 4, 1907, he was admitted, after due examination, to practice
law.
.Mr. Peterson was married at Galesburg, in 1899, to Miss Jennie Shoreen,
a native of Galesburg and the daughter of T. J. and Malena Shoreen, and
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2125
two children have blessed the fortunate union. They are named Minnette
and Millicent. The family attend the Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Kingsburg Bank was organized with the following board of direc-
tors: Nicholas J. Nelson, A. T. Carlson, J. L. Norman, A. W. Sward, J. P.
H. Applequist, John Peterson and Philip G. Peterson, while the following
officers immediately took charge: President, Nicholas G. Nelson; First Vice-
president, A. T. Carlson; Second Vice-president, J. L. Norman; and Cashier,
O. E. Peterson. It was equipped, as a commercial and savings bank, with
burglar-proof safes and a fine safe deposit vault. On Mav 12, 1911, its de-
posits amounted to $33,532.32; in 1912 they were $91,523.67; in 1913, $119,-
838.20; in 1914, $123,980.84; in 1915, $151,358.45; in 1916, $201,190.37; in 1917,
$367,848.82; in 1918, $495,691.41; and on May 12, 1919, the deposits totalled
to the magnificent mark of $686,762.58. The bank's resources on that date
were: Loans and bonds, $588,074.36; building and fixtures, $20,680; cash
and due from banks, $150,040.43; while the liabilities were: Capital, $50,000;
surplus, $19,000; profits, $3,032.26; and deposits, $686,762.53, making a total
of $758,794.79. Its officers had then become : Directors, Nicholas G. Nelson,
A. T. Carlson, J. L. Norman, Philip G. Peterson, John Peterson, J. P. H.
Applequist, and O. E. Peterson ; President, Nicholas G. Nelson ; First Vice-
president, A. T. Carlson ; Second Vice-president, J. L. Norman ; Cashier,
O. E. Peterson ; First Assistant Cashier, C. F. Draper ; and Second Assistant
Cashier, E. Ed Peterson.
K. E. ENSHER.— The subject of this review, K. E. Ensher, is one of the
progressive young ranchers in the vicinity of Mendota, and is a pioneer de-
veloper of that new farming section of Fresno County and is a member of
Ensher Brothers, one of the largest market-gardening firms in the county.
K. E. Ensher was born near Harpoot, Asia Minor, on July 11, 1883, a son of
Dr. Elias E. Ensher, who was educated in New York City and after graduat-
ing in medicine returned to Harpoot, where he engaged in the practice of his
professon. During the atrocious massacre of Christians by the Turks, in
1895, Dr. Ensher was imprisoned for one year at Trebizond, after which he
migrated with his family to Batoom, Russia, where he remained for a few
months.
During the month of September, 1897, Dr. Ensher emigrated to the
United States, locating with his family in the state of Massachusetts where
he engaged in farming. In 1902, he came to California and was so pleased
with the climate and the opportunities that he returned to Massachusetts,
sold his property and brought his family to Fresno County where he pur-
chased the present ranch of Ensher Brothers, consisting of thirty-seven acres
on Madison Avenue. He devoted his ranch to the raising of vegetables and
berries, and was assisted in the operation of the place by his son, K. E.
Ensher. Dr. and Mrs. Ensher were the parents of eight children, all of whom
are living. The Doctor passed away in 1910, his widow still survives him.
Their children are : Frank, a member of the firm of Ensher Brothers, who is
now retired and resides on the home place; K. E., our subject; Soorain, also
a member of the firm and manager of the home place ; Hoomayc, another
member of the firm, assisting his brother, K. E., in developing and operating
the Mendota ranch ; Mrs. P. Alexderian, who lives in San Francisco ; Mrs.
S. Barsoon, of Kearney Boulevard ; Victoria, living at home ; and Jennie re-
siding in San Francisco.
K. E. Ensher was about fourteen years of age when his father and fam-
ily came to Massachusetts, and while living in the Bay State attended school
but for a short time as he assisted his father on the farm until the family
moved to California, in 1903. He and his brothers continued to assist the
father in the work of the ranch, gardening and raising of vegetables and ber-
ries, until his death in 1910, after which the brothers operated the ranch for
five' years for the benefit of the estate and during this period they paid off all
2126 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
debts against the property. The Ensher Brothers purchased the ranch from
the estate and are operating it as a wholesale vegetable-growing enterprise,
the business having grown to be the largest of its kind in this section of the
county. Their products are shipped to Fresno, but when there is a surplus it
is shipped to neighboring towns or marketed in San Francisco or Los
Angeles.
In 1917, K. E. Ensher, together with his brother, Hoomayc and Mr.
Alexderian, purchased 160 acres of land near Mendota, upon which they
sank a well 1,200 feet deep; there is an abundant flow of water and an elec-
tric pumping-plant gives 1.000 gallons per minute, the whole having cost the
promoters over $10,000. They have developed a fine place, having sixty acres
in alfalfa, forty in asparagus and the balance in beans and egg-plant. In addi-
tion they have leased the adjoining 320 acres which they have put into wheat
and are raising it by irrigation. They are progressive and up-to-date ranch-
ers, pioneers in irrigating with a pumping-plant, in their section, and are
greatly interested in every enterprise that will develop this part of the
county.
In 1910, K. E. Ensher was united in marriage with Miss Eunice Braves,
also a native of Asia Minor, the ceremony being solemnized in Fresno, and
they are the parents of one son. Earl.
W. T. HAMILTON. — Prominent among the representatives of those
stanch old American families famous for their participation in the history
of our country must be mentioned W. T. Hamilton, a descendant of the sturdy
stock from which also sprung the great statesman Alexander Hamilton. Our
subject is the well-known dealer in general merchandise at Riverdale.
Descended from an old Southern family that originally came from Eng-
land, where his forefathers were cavaliers who had been in authority there
since the time of William the Conqueror, Mr. Hamilton was born near Pinck-
neyville, in Perry County. 111., on July 24, 1864. His father was Woods L.
Hamilton, a native of Kentucky, and his mother was Sarah L. Armstrong
before her marriage. She, too, was born in Illinois of one of the earliest fam-
ilies in the southern part of that state. Mr. Hamilton has two brothers in
Illinois, John and Albert Hamilton. W. T. is the only one in California.
There were five sisters, none living. W. T. Hamilton grew up on a farm in
Southern Illinois and attended the public schools where he was a student
in arithmetic and geography. His schooling was cut short for his father died
when he was only three years old, and his mother died a few years later.
In 1882, Mr. Hamilton moved to Kansas and from there he went to the
Indian Territory, where he rode the range for two years. He then went
back to Illinois for a few years and, in 1888, when the great land boom was
at its height in California he came from Illinois to Fresno. He knew Mr.
Pollasky. and he lived in the town of Pollasky when the railway was put
through. He drove ten and twelve horses on a plow and hauled lumber from
Pine Ridge : he farmed to grain ; he did wood work and grading on the railway
then building, and in 1S08 he bought a ranch of 240 acres in Madera County,
and improved that. All in all he farmed about a thousand acres to grain.
Mr. Hamilton had a hard and varied experience when he first came to
California. He was disgusted for awhile with life in Fresno and Fresno
County, for he was then thrown in with laboring men and foreigners who
could not speak English. Moreover, he had no money, and if he had had
he would have gone back to Illinois. As it was. he was obliged to remain.
He was married in 1802 at Fresno to Miss Sarah L. Blair, daughter of
Thomas Blair, a pioneer at Big Sandy ; and later he sold his farm in Madera
County and came down to Clovis, in Fresno County, where he bought a
twenty-acre vineyard. At the same time, in 1010. he purchased a general
merchandise store at Friant, now Pollasky, and having run it for two vears
he sold it to Collins Brothers. Then he went back to his vineyard for a vear.
^t^lAi&rz^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2129
and next became manager of the International Land Company's interests
which had 6,000 acres in grain, figs and vines.
In 1913 Mr. Hamilton resigned this position,, and in November of the
same year he came to Riverdale and bought out William Henson's general
merchandise store. He also owns stock in the Cooperative Creamery at •
Riverdale.
Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have three children. Ruth is the wife of Lee
Gross, who owns two ranches, one at Garfield and the other at Friant. Glenn
R. volunteered for service in May, 1917, when nineteen years of age and
served with the Ninth Aviation Squadron in France. After serving four
months in France, he was transferred to Germany where he served with the
Army of Occupation for five months. He was honorably discharged at the
Presidio, July 7, 1919, and is now at home. Ardene, graduated from the
Riverdale High in June, 1919.
Mr. Hamilton served on the committees of each drive in the Liberty
Loans, the Red Cross, and the Y. M. C. A. In national politics he is a Re-
publican, but he does not allow party lines to interfere with his support of
good local measures. He has served as clerk of the board of trustees in the
school district where he lived and farmed in Madera County. He gives his
time to his business which is conducted in a large double store building with
ample warerooms in connection.
JOSEPH OUSSANI.— To boast of an ancestry reaching back to the
Chaldeans, to rejoice that he came from one of the proudest and stablest of
modern races, is the privilege of Joseph Oussani, who may also congratulate
himself in having not only contributed to the success of one of the greatest
world's fairs ever organized by Americans, but, after establishing important
commercial interests in the Eastern States, in coming to Fresno County, Cal.,
to give his experience and enterprise in the further development of this
most promising section.
Mr. Oussani was born in far-away, mystic Bagdad, in Mesopotamia,
Asia Minor, on December 21, 1865, the son of Thomas Oussani, who is de-
scended from one of the oldest Christian families in Bagdad, where the family
and its numerous connections have lived for many generations and may trace
its blood back to the ancient Chaldeans from Babylonia. His father was a
farmer and a stockman, making a specialty of sheep-raising; and was widely
known as very sympathetic and kind, and heartbroken that his country was
compelled to suffer so terribly from Turkish atrocities. He lived to the ripe
old age of eighty-six ; and his widow now resides with her children in New
York City. Among the three children surviving from a family of five, one
son is a manufacturer in New York City, and another is a priest there.
Joseph Oussani was reared in Bagdad and received a good education in
both the Arabic and French languages, in which he is still very proficient,
and when nineteen started out for himself, traveling by caravan to Persia,
a trip of thirty days, at length reaching Teheran, the capital of Persia, where
he became a dry-goods merchant. After three years in business there, he
returned south to Kermancha, a twelve-days' trip from Teheran, and for
two years was engaged in buying rugs in large quantities, the same being
then sent by caravan to Bagdad, and thence shipped into different parts of
Europe and the New World. This Oriental commercial experience con-
tributed greatly to the rounding out of Mr. Oussani's education ; so that when
new and far more attractive opportunity opened the way for him, he was
ready as the man of the hour.
On the building of the World's Fair in Chicago, for example, Mr. Ous-
sani, with his brother Yak, came to that city and they together erected the
Persian Palace, still recalled with pleasure by all who remember the crown-
ing features of the Midway Plaisance : and in this artistic and gorgeous
edifice, they had an equally gorgeous exhibit of beautiful Persian goods and
Oriental rugs — an exhibit that was greatly enjoyed and most favorably com-
2130 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
mented upon by multitudes of visitors. The effort was a decided financial
success, but what gratified the Oussani brothers was that they had really
contributed to the success of the fair.
At the termination of the World's Fair, the brothers returned to New
.York City and as partners opened a store at the corner of Madison Avenue
and Twenty-third Street for the sale of Persian goods and antique Oriental
rugs ; and about the same time they opened another business, quite different,
for the manufacture of Turkish or Egyptian cigarettes. The business grew
rapidly, and after a while they found a better location for the art goods on
Broadway. Yak Oussani had charge of the rugs and Persian novelties, and
Joseph looked after the manufacture of cigarettes, which they sold at both
retail and wholesale rates. In 1900, however, they dissolved partnership, at
the same time selling the store ; and Yak took over the cigarette factory.
Joseph then entered what was to him an altogether new field— that of
realty, in New York City. He bought and improved lots, built residences
and improved them ; finally disposing of most of his holdings except two
elegant apartment houses on Cathedral Parkway, near One Hundred
Tenth Street, opposite Central Park. Each of these was built seven stories
high, with one hundred-foot front, and with twenty-eight large apartments,
of seven to eight rooms each. One having a granite front is named "Semi-
ramis," after the queen of the seven hanging gardens of Babylon. The other,
a gothic of glazed white terra cotta, is "The Zenobia," named for the Queen
of Palmyra. These, with other choice business property in New York, afford
him a snug fortune. For some years, too, Mr. Oussani owned sixty-four
acres at Pocantico Hills, in Westchester County, adjoining the site of the
John D. Rockefeller residence, and having improved the same, he sold the
tract to Mr. Rockefeller at a good profit.
Wishing to find a more equable climate, however, Mr. Oussani concluded
to try the Pacific Coast; and so, in 1915. during the San Francisco Exposition,
he came west to California. He traveled throughout the state ; and after a
careful investigation selected Fresno as the location offering, all in all, the
greatest inducements. The same November he purchased the old George
Helm place, seven miles northeast of Fresno, consisting of 320 acres ; and he
began to make the most of the splendid soil. He improved 160 to vines,
forty in emperor grapes, forty in malagas, and seventy-five in muscat or
raisin grapes, all of the shipping quality ; and as the balance had been un-
cultivated, he put the first plow into it, attended to the leveling of the land.
and immediately set out forty acres in Thompson's seedless, forty in sul-
tanas, and forty in calimyrna figs, interset with plums of different varieties.
He spent in all over $60,000 improving the property, which is now in the
finest condition.
Although giving the detailed attention to his agricultural holdings. Mr.
Oussani resides with his family in his artistic residence at the corner of
Ventura Avenue and Fourth Street, Fresno ; leaving the cosy corner once
a year to revisit New York and look after his investments there. From the
beginning he has been interested in the success of the various raisin associa-
tions, and he is a decidedly live wire in the California Associated Raisin
Company.
While in New York City, Mr. Oussani was married to Miss Gladys
Holmes, a native of London, England. Mr. Oussani indulges his taste for
travel, as when, in October, 1910. with his family, he set out on a tour of
the Old World, visiting England at the time of the coronation of King George,
going to points of interest on the continent, and having the pleasure and dis-
tinction of an audience with Pope Pius X., and also visiting the Coliseum
and Catacombs of Rome. Their trip extended to Egypt, Syria and Mount
Lebanon, and they returned to New York in 1911. In 1912 they made an-
other trip to Europe, spending two winters in Egypt, and returning to their
home in 1914.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2131
W. W. WARD.— Born at Sandusky, Ohio, on January 24. 1852, W. W.
Ward was the son of John and Mary (Lantz) Ward, natives of Ohio and
Pennsylvania, but who were married in Ohio. When very young, the lad left
Sandusky with his parents and came to Toledo, where he remained for two
years; and after that he was brought to Iowa and there John Ward farmed
until, in 1860, he crossed the great plains, being four months and four days
in ox teams on the trails. The party which consisted of the father, mother
and six children, started from the Missouri River with two ox teams. Some
of the seven children in this family were born in Ohio ; some in Iowa ; and
one in California. The parents settled at Stockton, where they camped
under a big oak tree ; and that hospitable old tree continued to be their home
while the father, practically bankrupt, worked out for one dollar a day.
W. W. Ward, the second eldest child, and the oldest now living, attended
the public schools in Iowa and California ; but as soon as he was able, he
also worked out to. help the family, and for five or six years before he was
twenty-one, he gave all his earnings to his father; and after he had reached
maturity, he continued to work for others. When at last he had made and
saved a little money, he struck out for himself.
At the age of twenty-four he bought 160 acres near Stockton, eight miles
to the southeast of the town, agreeing to pay $4,000 for the same ; and since
he could deposit but $500, he thus went into debt to the amount of $3,500.
To get the latter, amount, he paid one and a half per cent, interest a month ;
and to command the interest, he worked out besides working on his own
ranch. That summer he bought an old header for sixty dollars; and with the
same he cut 1,100 acres of grain, from the proceeds of which he paid for the
header and had some five hundred dollars to spare, in addition to the crop
he had cut. He raised a crop on this farm, and made an additional payment
of $500 on it ; and then he sold the whole for $5,600.
With the profit thus realized, Mr. Ward made the first cash-down pay-
ment on a 480-acre tract which he purchased for $8,000; a tract lying twelve
miles east of Stockton ; and having kept it for three years, and improved it,
he disposed of that for $22,500.
The next year, 1883, he went to Texas with the intention of going into
the cattle business ; but while looking around for the best opportunity to
invest, and boarding at the National Hotel at Dallas, he accepted an offer
to buy the hostelry, and ran it for ten months. Then he sold the hotel for
$3,000 and came back to California, the only place, he thought, to have
a real home.
He visited two brothers at Kingsburg, and was induced to buy a hotel
there; taking charge, in 1884, of the Welch Hotel, which he managed for
five years. He also began to buy and sell land ; and he has since then bought
and sold numerous farms and has also engaged extensively in the cattle
business, in which he has been successful. Now he owns 800 acres in Kings
and Tulare Counties, and although he has sold everything else except his
little house in Kingsburg, where he lives, he is rated the richest man in that
prosperous town.
About the time of the early eighties, Mr. Ward was married to Miss Julia
Gann of Stockton, near which city she had been born ; but this devoted wife
died soon after he came back to Kingsburg, in 1884. She left four children —
Charles H., now a rancher at Kingsburg; Josie, the wife of M. C. Hust, also
a rancher of Kingsburg; Ivy, the wife of Vincent Marker, living at Stockton;
and Lois, the wife of W. W. Causey, with her home near Kingsburg. For the
second time', in 1884, Mr. Ward was married, then choosing Miss Rachel
Kerrick, a native of Stockton, as his wife. Mrs. Ward is known for her
charming qualities as a neighborly woman, and Mr. Ward locally famous
as a good-natured, sympathetic business man and capable of telling a good
story.
2132 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JAMES J. TRANBERG. — A prominent viticulturist and orchardist, and
influential as a Socialist seeking progress and much-needed reforms, is James
J. Tranberg who, with his estimable wife, hospitable and studious like him-
self, is much interested in the history of California and the preservation of
its absorbing annals. He was born at Gudhjem, Island of Bornholm, Den-
mark, September 1, 1870, the son of Hans J. Tranberg, who went to sea
when he was a boy, and who sailed to many important cities in the Old and
New World. Once he rounded the Horn on a voyage to Valparaiso, after
which he returned to New York. He remained in America awhile, but at
the outbreak of the Civil War returned to Denmark. He was a patriot,
through and through, and in 1864 served on a monitor in the Danish Navy,
during the Danish-German War. In 1867 he was married to Miss Mattia
Johansen, and was afterwards engaged in the fishing trade, for which he
owned his fishing-boat. He died at the age of seventy-five, in 1914, survived
by his faithful wife, the devoted mother of four children.
The second eldest of these and the only boy in the family, James J. at-
tended school until he was fourteen, after which he went to work in a steam-
ship office. Two years later he went to sea, and for six years was a sailor in
the coasting trade. This prepared him for the half-year of compulsory ser-
vice in the Danish Navy, in which he distinguished himself for alertness and
fidelity. He received the coveted honorable discharge.
Attracted by the glowing reports of life on the shores of the Pacific, Mr.
Tranberg, in April, 1892, reached the busy city of San Francisco, and soon
thereafter secured work on a farm near Modesto. He next set sail from San
Francisco for Alaska to take part, for the summer of 1895, in the cod-fish
trade, and this he liked so well that he again visited the northern waters in
1896. Strange to say, however, he did not learn of the discovery of gold in
the Klondyke until his return to San Francisco, and then he was ready to
return to Denmark via Panama and New York.
For eighteen months he was a sailor again in the coasting trade, and
then he assisted on a fishing-boat. The hazardous life of the sea made him
long for a fireside of his own, and on October 24, 1899, at Copenhagen, he
was married to Miss Johanna Hirsch, who was born in that city. Her father
was William Hirsch and her mother had been Adolphine Reinholtz. They
were born in Germany of Lutheran families, and were married in 1870; and
her father, who was a shoe merchant in Hamburg, was a sergeant in the
Franco-Prussian War. In 1877. he migrated to Copenhagen, where he opened
a shoe-store and became a citizen of Denmark and there reared a family;
and there he remained until he disposed of his business. Both the father
and the mother are still living, the parents of nine children, six of whom grew
to maturity. The only one in the United States is Mrs. Tranberg. the third
oldest, who was educated in Copenhagen, where she attended the grammar
and high schools, and then took a course in the business college. Thev mi-
grated to California and on October 21. 1000. Mr. Tranberg and family ar-
rived in Fresno, stopping over by chance for a few days on the way to San
Francisco; but he became interested in the county and prolonged his visit.
He found employment in a vineyard, and liked the work so well that he
chose it. In fact, in 1903, he bought twenty acres in the Eggcrs Colony, and
set to work to level and improve it. He and a neighbor took out a ditch
from the Enterprise Canal, and there he planted alfalfa and conducted a
thriving vineyard. He made all the necessary improvements, including the
erection of a residence and outbuildings, and the place had a vineyard of
eleven acres, planted to Malagas and Thompsons : also five acres of peaches
and figs, and the balance in alfalfa. In 1918 he sold the ranch at a good
[ffMrfwisvvci' ^y
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2135
profit and moved to a residence he purchased in Clovis, where he resides
with his family. In April, 1919, he bought ten acres of vineyard, two miles
north of Clovis, set to Malagas, Muscats and Zinfandels. He is a member of
the Melvin Grape Growing Association, and also of the California Associated
Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc.
Five children bear the honored name of Tranberg: George is a grad-
uate of the Class of '18 of the Clovis Union High School ; Arthur, attending
Clovis Union High, class of 1922; and Edith, James, Jr., and Ruth all in
grammar school, complete the circle. Mr. Tranberg is a member of the
Danish Brotherhood and Mrs. Tranberg is a member in the Danish Sister-
hood of America. Mr. Tranberg is a loyal citizen of the United States and a
warm advocate of the socialistic doctrine.
JOHN FOSTER. — Among the sterling characters who contributed to
the development of California by old England was John Foster, who, coming
to America in his young manhood, presently joined the stream of hardy
adventurers who made that epochal journey across the plains by ox team
upon the discovery of gold in California. After a period of gold-mining near
Angels, Calaveras County, he established his family near Tracy, San Joaquin
County, where he engaged in sheep-raising, which was one of the important
pioneer industries of the west. In 1874 he sent his flocks to Fresno County
where they were grazed in the hills and mountains during the summers, and
in the valley during the winters, as was the custom of the time and circum-
stances. His winter camp was located in the neighborhood now occupied
by the cemeteries, but which was then the open plains. Mr. Foster's summer
sheep camp being situated in the mountains, it was the owner's custom to
carry supplies to his herders by pack-animals through the forests and along
unfrequented trails. It was when employed on this errand that he was last
seen alive on July 11, 1882. A few days later his lifeless body was found
lying by the lonely trail, his pack-horses feeding about and his little dog
standing guard. The spot is marked by an inscribed zinc band on the tree,
and that mountain ridge bears his name. The remains were brought down
the mountain and, July 21, were interred in the family plot in Mountain View
Cemetery. Mr. Foster had reached the age of fifty-two.
Along with his sheep industry John Foster conducted a lumber business
in partnership with his brother, William Foster, on their lots on both corners
of H and Fresno Streets, those lots continuing in possession of the family
for many years. As a home for himself and family Mr. Foster purchased
six lots on K Street (now Van Ness) between Merced and Tuolumne, then
considered to be very far out. There he had erected a comfortable, attractive
and very well-built six-room house, which was for forty years the dwelling
place of his heirs, — by whom the whole property is still owned.
On June 1, 1919 the remaining members of the family sought other
shelter. Their home, one of the last of the houses of Fresno's pioneer era
was moved away, and there is now under construction on the entire area
of 150x150 feet a handsome, modern building which will stand for many
years as a monument to the foresight and thrift of that kindly, honest man,
John Foster, and to the self-sacrifice, patience and courage of his daughter,
Annie Foster Hopkins.
John Foster married on February 16, 1857, in Angels, Calaveras County,
Miss Lydia Wilson, herself a native of England. Miss Wilson, accompanied
by a younger sister, had journeyed to California by way of Cape Horn to
join a married sister who was already established in the new land with her
husband and children. There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Foster two daugh-
ters: Annie, who became the wife of Dr. H. St. George Hopkins, a prominent
2136 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
physician of the city, and Emma who married John W. Rogers; she died
in August. 1896, and lies near her father in Mountain View.
In the person of Mrs. Lydia Foster, well and active at the age of ninety-
five, Fresno honors probably the oldest inhabitant — certainly one of the long-
est continuous residents. A woman of gentle descent, who had studied and
traveled in the continental countries as well as her native England. Mrs.
Lydia Wilson Foster is a lady of kind and gracious manner, and noble sim-
plicity of character. In her nearly a century of life she has seen unroll the
most wonderful span of the history of the world.
JESSE R. CHURCH. — The expansion of Fresno, which has occasioned
an unprecedented number of building operations of all kinds, including brick
blocks, palatial residences, and more modest structures of all classes in the
various business and residential sections, affords unlimited opportunities for
all people engaged in industries and enterprises having to do with building
operations.
Among the leading contractors of Fresno who have contributed much
to its growth and prosperity, Jesse R. Church of 221 U Street is well known
as a first class, reliable and conscientious workman. He is a native of Fresno,
born December 25, 1879, and is the son of John M. and Belle (Springton)
Church. His mother is also a native of California, born in Lake County.
His grandfather, Moses J. Church, crossed the plains to California in pioneer
days and located in Napa County where he was a land owner and rancher.
Later, in the early seventies he located in Fresno when it was little more
than a hamlet, and was known as the "father of the irrigation ditch." He
built the first irrigation ditch, which ran through Fresno Street in early
days. He also built the first flour mill in Fresno, which he owned and ran,
and which was located on Fresno Street where the present Sperry mill stands.
He rented many acres of the old Easterby ranch east of Fresno, upon which
he raised grain and also engaged in sheep and cattle raising. He was a prom-
inent member of and officer in the Seventh Day Adventist Church and built
the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Fresno. He was largely instrumental
in the advancement and development of the city.
The late M. J. Church donated forty acres of land, which was the nu-
cleus of the Mountain View Cemetery at Fresno. That now affords the last
resting place for his remains. He had many admirers and personal friends;
one of them, namely, Fulton G. Berry, Fresno County pioneer, and a former
owner of the Grand Central Hotel, erected a fine monument to Mr. Church :
this monument among other inscriptions reveals the fact that it was erected
out of personal admiration. "From one who knew his worth."
His son, John M., a child two years of age when his parents crossed
the plains, was brought up and educated in Napa County, Cal. He came to
Fresno with his father and was the pioneer furniture man of Fresno. He
opened a furniture store on Fresno Street near I Street, and for twenty
years was engaged in the furniture business. He owned and developed a
vineyard on North First Street, and in the early days carried the mail from
Fresno to White's Bridge. He was also in partnership with his father in the
sheep and cattle business in the early days. He was a prominent member
of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He died February. 1912. His wife
is still living.
Jesse R. attended the public schools of Fresno and later a business college
at Healdsburg. Cal., where he took a stenographic and business course. He
worked with his father in the furniture store at Fresno and later took up the
trade of carpenter and worked for James M. Smith, the contractor, still later
entering the contracting and building business for himself. He has erected
over one hundred buildings in Fresno, among which are many of the best
residences in the city, a dormitory at the Normal School and four tlat build-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2137
ings in North Fresno in the Normal school district, besides many others
(notable among which are the S. E. Black, J. O. Keig, George Haines and
E. C. Van Buren residences). He built twelve homes of his own and dis-
posed of them. At present he has retired from active building operations.
When active he had three or four houses under construction all the time.
He has been a life long member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church of
Fresno, of which he is trustee and elder.
He was united in marriage with Maude May Shaw, a native of Nebraska
who came to California when a little girl with her mother, and resided in
Healdsburg and Oakland, coming to Fresno in 1901. She is a deaconess in
the Seventh Day Adventist Church and an officer in the Ladies' Auxiliary.
EUGENE A. MOWER.— A worthy resident of California since 1885 is
Eugene A. Mower, deputy county auditor for many years. He was born in
Bangor, Maine, June 10, 1862, a son of George and Elizabeth (Eastman)
Mower, both natives of Maine, of old New England stock, traced back to
Massachusetts, who spent their entire lives in the State of Maine. Of their
seven children Eugene is the second oldest and the only one living in Cal-
ifornia.
Eugene Mower, after completing the public school courses, attended
the Eastern State Normal at Castine, Maine. Finishing the course there, in
1882, he engaged in teaching for a year and then followed farming on the old
New England homestead that has been in the family for eighty-five years
The old house is still standing and is in good condition.
Wishing to migrate to the Pacific Coast, Mr. Mower came to San Fran-
cisco in 1885 and spent four years with William H. Rouse and Company, a
wholesale produce commission house. In 1889 he came to Reedley, Fresno
County, as superintendent of the California Fruit and Wine Land Company,
a position he filled for some years. He then spent some time mining in
Tuolumne County, and then returned to Fresno. In January, 1899, he became
deputy county auditor under H. E. Barnum, continuing with him until his
death, except two years while he was county expert, and a short time while
he served as deputy county treasurer. On the death of Horace E. Barnum,
Mr. Mower continued as chief deputy under his successor, Charles E. Bar-
num.
Mr. Mower was married in Fresno to Mrs. Evelyn (Dearing) Barnum,
a native daughter of the state. Mr. Mower is a member of Las Palmas Lodge
of Masons, and is also a member of the Foresters, Woodmen of the World
and Royal Arcanum. Mr. and Mrs. Mower attend the Baptist Church in
Fresno.
CARL EMIL JOHNSON. — A rising young man who has done much to
improve land and property interests by the setting out of orchards and vine-
yards, and who has thus contributed much, toward the development of the
district, so that he is both highly respected and well liked, is Carl Emil John-
son, who came to California at the beginning of the present century. He was
born in Delarne, Sweden, on February 5, 1879, the son of John Johnson, a
progressive farmer still living there. Anna Johnson, the beloved mother of
eight children, six of whom grew to maturity, died in her native land. Four
of her sons came out to California ; and the third in the family is Carl Emil.
C. E. Johnson attended the public schools and learned the trades of an
electrician, a carpenter, and a blacksmith. He followed electrical work in
Sweden, and was several years foreman for great electrical establishments in
Ludvig. When he embarked for the United States in 1901, he was finely
equipped for success in the New World. He remained over a year at Center-
ville, S. D., and in 1902 came to Fresno. He mined awhile, then bought
twenty acres in the Vinland Colony, for which he paid $35 an acre, and then
worked out at various places. He was longest at San Francisco as a carpen-
ter • and he also did electrical work and mining in Mariposa County. He was
2138 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
particularly successful at carpentering in the Bay metropolis, and made
enough money to pay for both his ranch, and the ranch improvements.
About 1908, Mr. Johnson settled on his property and built a residence ;
and he has been occupied with its management ever since. He has a Bean
spraying outfit, and contracts to spray orchards and vines. All the improve-
ments have been made by him, and he has five acres of alfalfa, fifteen acres
of peaches and apricots, including Muirs and clingstones, and the whole
estate borders on Shaw Avenue. He is a member and stockholder of the
California Peach Growers, Inc., and also a stockholder in the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company. Mr. Johnson attends the Swedish Lutheran Church,
and joins with his fellow members in good works.
ELVIA BRANNON. — A careful, assiduous, thorough and eminently
successful oil-man who also enjoys an agreeable popularity among the many
who know him as one of the most generous and affable of every-day fellows,
is Elvia Brannon, the experienced production foreman for the Coalinga
Mohawk Oil Company. He was born at Bolivar, Mo., on September 10,
1889, the son of John Brannon, also a native of that state and a farmer
there. A. B. Brannon, the grandfather, did his full duty by the Union in
serving as a soldier in the Civil War. Mrs. John Brannon was Martha
Reeser before she married, and she was also a native Missourian. She had
a grandfather, Tohn Reeser, who was also a Union Army soldier. Four chil-
dren were born to this excellent couple: Lee. who is in the overseas army;
Elvia, the subject of our instructive review; William, also a soldier enlisted
to fight autocracy ; and Atha, who is at home.
The second eldest in the family, Elvia was brought up on a farm while
he attended the public schools of his neighborhood. He remained home until
1907, when he came to California. He settled at Coalinga and entered the
employ of the American Petroleum Oil Company. He began as a well-puller
at the'bottom, and was with the company three years, during which time he
became head well-puller. He then joined the British Consolidated in the
Coalinga field, and for fourteen months dressed tools for the concern. After
that he was transferred, as lease foreman for the Associated Oil Company,
at Orcutt, in the Santa Maria field, and there he continued until 1916, when
he resigned to accept his present post.
In national politics a Democrat, but in local affairs always working for
the measures and men likely to be best for the community or district re-
gardless of party politics, Mr. Brannon' believes in doing what he can to
promote good citizenship ; for a well-governed country is not only the best
place in which to live, but by all odds the best place in which to do a thriving
and equitable business.
A. ALBRECHT. — Among the enterprising and successful men who
have engaged in viticulture in Fresno County, A. Albrecht deserves men-
tion. He was born in the province of Schleswig, Denmark, January. 1861,
before that province was ceded to Germany by the Danes, and is the son
of Amos Albrecht, a tanner, who was engaged in manufacturing leather
until he retired.
Of the six children in the parental home, four boys and two girls, only
two of the boys are living. Mr. Albrecht being the youngest of all. He was
educated in the public schools and served an apprenticeship at blacksmithing
for three years. In May, 1879, he came to the United States, locating at
Sycamore, De Kalb County, 111., where he worked on a farm and at his
trade. In November, 1883, he came to California and traveled through the
San Joaquin Valley, stopping at Fresno. He found the town and the country
new at that time and they did not appeal to him. In January, 1884, he located
at Orange, Cal., where he built a blacksmith shop and engaged in black-
smithing, wagon making, and the manufacture of plows, cultivators and
other farming implements. Under the firm name of Albrecht and Struck,
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2141
he built up a large business and employed six or seven men. In 1900 his
wife became ill and he came to Fresno on account of her health, having sold
his interest in the business to his partner.
Mr. Albrecht was married near Sebastopol, Sonoma County, to Miss
Mary Hennecke, born in Indiana, and they became the parents of three
children. Sophia is the wife of August Halemeier, a rancher on Locan Ave-
nue ; Emma is Mrs. Denneson, of Fresno ; and Maggie, died at the age of
five years. Mrs. Albrecht died in Fresno in 1906.
In 1900 Mr. Albrecht purchased a fifty-acre vineyard on Ventura Ave-
nue, and engaged in viticulture. In 1908 he sold this land and bought forty
acres that was unimproved, lying in the Myers tract on Locan Avenue. This
he has set to wine grapes and peaches. After many years of hard and ex-
acting labor to improve his various pieces of property he retired in 1913, to
make his home in Fresno. He is a well-read man, an interesting conversa-
tionalist and a man of much public spirit. He was a trustee of the Locan
school district for four years and was instrumental in having the new school
house erected. He has always favored the workings of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Association and has been a member ever since he began the
growing of grapes. In the afternoon of his life he can look back upon a life
well-spent and into the future without fear for he has tried to "do unto
others as he would have others do unto him."
PETER MILLER. — One of the really progressive men in his section of
the county, is Peter Miller, who always leads the van. He has as nice a
farm as one could wish, where he has applied the latest word of science
and has been able to demonstrate more than one scientific accomplishment
of himself; and whatever is pleasing and stimulating to the eye of the student
who visits there, is due largely to his own unaided efforts.
He owns 250 acres, all of which was in an unproductive and uninviting
state in 1901, when he bought it. During the intervening years, by hard
labor and intelligence he has brought it to a high degree of cultivation, and
today devotes the acreage to vineyard purposes, an orchard, and general
farming.
Expressive of Mr. Miller's ideas as to how things ought to be done, his
farm buildings are of modern construction and eminently practical, in each
case admirably serving the purpose for which they were erected. His crops
are no less a testimonial to his ability, as he produces raisins that are as
fine as any grown in the state. He has twelve men all the year around, and in
the busiest season he employs from seventy-five to a hundred workers. His
annual pay-roll amounts to $12,000. What he contracts for, he dispenses
cheerfully ; and his word being as good as his bond, the money is there when
the work has been done or the goods delivered. Mr. Miller is above all
things a practical rancher, who has learned by experience the secrets of
success in agricultural enterprises.
He was born in Denmark, on March 14, 1863, and is the son of Christian
and Anna (Jensen) Miller, both worthy children of Denmark's soil. To
them were born ten children, of whom seven emigrated to America. Peter,
the subject of this review, was the first to migrate, and then came Hans,
Neil, Laura, Katherina, Josie, and Caroline.
In 1890, Peter Miller was wedded to Miss Emilie Jansen, who was also
born in Denmark. They have had four children, and all have so developed
in their character and ability as to win both place and friends: Carl, who
married Miss Clare Hendricksen ; Arthur, who married Miss Edith Swansen ;
and Alma, and Alfred.
Sanger has always given a royal welcome to those who come from
foreign shores to pitch their tents within her borders and to share in her great
progress, and she never fails to accord credit for hard work and intelligent,
unselfish effort, and, when it comes to distribute the honors, Sanger will
2142 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
not forget the good work and the good lives of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Miller
and their family.
Mr. Miller helped organize the California Associated Raisin Company
and holds stock in the concern. He also helped organize, and is a stockholder
in the Commercial Bank of Sanger.
REUBEN H. BRAMLET and EUPHEMIA E. BRAMLET.— One of
the most prominent and honored chili women of Fresno County, and ex-
chairman of the History and Landmarks Department of the San Joaquin
Valley District of the California "Woman's Federation of Clubs. Mrs. R. H.
Bramlet, is a pioneer of Fresno County. R. H. Bramlet is a pioneer citizen,
pioneer educator in the county and a popular ex-county officer who has done
his part to help build up the count}-.
Mr. Bramlet is a worthy representative of the distinguished Bramlet
family of England, early settlers at Jamestown, Va., in Colonial Days. He
was born near Raleigh, Saline County, 111., February 7, 1842. His great-
grandfather was born in England and after settling in America became a
planter. He had three sons in the Revolutionary War. one of these was
Reuben Bramlet, the grandfather of R. H. Bramlet of Fresno County, who
was also in the war of 1812, and took part in the Battle of New Orleans.
After the close of the Revolution, Reuben went to Charleston. S. C, and later
removed to Princeton, Caldwell County, Ky., where his son, Coleman Brown
Bramlet, the father of R. H. Bramlet of Fresno County, was born. Coleman
B. Bramlet followed agricultural pursuits and, in 1818, removed with the
other members of the family to Saline County, 111., where, in 1823, he was
united in marriage with Miss Susan Upchurch, a young woman of Scotch
extraction whose grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War, also in the
War of 1812 and served with distinction under General Jackson at the Battle
of New Orleans. Of this union ten children were born, of whom the eighth
child, R. H. Bramlet, is the oldest one living. Coleman Bramlet lived to the
advanced age of eighty-seven ; the mother passed away at the age of eighty-
five.
R. II. Bramlet grew up on his father's farm in the "'Egypt" of Illinois
where he remained until he had reached his twenty-fifth year. On May 3,
1867, he left Illinois and started for California via the Isthmus, landing at
San Francisco, June 3, 1867. Of studious inclinations, the occupation of a
pedagogue appealed to him and he attended the University of the Pacific at
Santa Clara with the view of becoming a teacher. He came to Fresno County
in 1870, passed the teacher's examination and was licensed to teach and that
fall he taught a private school. The first public school that he taught was
at the copper mine at Buchanan and during 1870-1871 he taught the Fresno
Flats public school; he also taught in Dalton and in Fresno City. He was
one of the first public school teachers in Fresno. Mrs. Mary J. Hoxie of
Fresno has the distinction of teaching the first private school in that city.
Mr. Bramlet continued to teach in Fresno and vicinity until he became
candidate for County Superintendent of Schools in 1875; was elected in No-
vember of that year and served during 1876 and 1877. The offices of County
Superintendent of Schools and County Auditor were then merged to that
of auditor and ex-officio county superintendent, to which office Mr. Bramlet
was elected in 1877 and served during 1878 and 1879. then was reelected and
served during the years 1880 and 1881. A law was then made to provide for
two separate offices. For five consecutive terms of two years each — from 1882
to 1892 — Mr. Bramlet was elected and served as county auditor. For four
years and a half he taught school and served as deputy assessor under three
different assessors. He served as assessor from 1892 to 1902.
Mr. Bramlet owned the eighty acres where he now lives, for fifteen years
before he settled on it. in 1902; the man he employed on the ranch planted
twenty-five acres of the land to vines, and now Mr. Bramlet has thirty ac'res
planted to Muscats and thirty-two acres planted to Thompson's seedless:
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2143
part of the remainder of the land is in alfalfa and the rest of it is unimproved.
The Consolidated Ditch supplies water for irrigating the ranch. For many
years Mr. Bramlet has been greatly interested in building irrigation ditches,
and was a close friend of Dick McCall, one of the pioneer irrigation men
of the section.
In 1876 Mr. Bramlet was married to Miss Euphemia Ellen Wren, a
native of Adams County, 111., and daughter of John and Elizabeth (Martin)
Wren. Mrs. Bramlet was but seven years old, in 1863, when her parents came
with their children to California. They braved the hardships of the long
journey across the plains with horses and wagons and settled in Amador
County, Cal, where after a short sojourn they came to Solano County, where
the father engaged in farming. Mrs. Bramlet attended the public schools
and completed her education at the Stockton high school and the State
Normal School at San Jose, Cal. She taught school for six years altogether,
in Amador, Santa Cruz, Merced and Fresno counties — principally in the latter
two places.
Mr. and Mrs. Bramlet have two children living. Eva is the wife of C. M.
Mannon, an attorney at Ukiah. and they are the parents of five children:
James Bramlet; Elizabeth; Martha; Mary Ellen; and Charlotte; Dora is the
wife of John Stuart Ross, an attorney at El Centra, and they have four
children: Isabel S., Neil B.. Jean Ellen and John Gordon.
Mrs. Bramlet is an unusually well informed woman, prominent in club
life and is ex-chairman of the Flistory and Landmarks Department of the
San Joaquin Valley District of the California Woman's Federation of Clubs.
For many years she was a society leader in elite circles of Fresno officialdom,
and their modest but cozy home radiates the exquisite taste and wholesome
hospitality of its accomplished hostess.
Mr. Bramlet is much interested in the cooperative associations for the
fruit growers and is a stockholder and member of the California Associated
Raisin Company. In politics he votes with the Democratic party on national
issues.
CHARLES W. BARRETT.— A self-made pioneer business man of
Fresno, who enjoys the distinction of being the oldest hardware merchant
continuously in business in the city, is Charles W. Barrett, one of the most
respected residents of the city, both for his own worth and because of his
association, as a descendant in direct lineage, with one of the most historic
and interesting families of pre-Revolutionary days. He was born in New
York City on May 11, 1859, a great-grandson of Colonel James Barrett, who
commanded a part of the minute-men in the famous battle at Concord sung
by Emerson in his "Concord Hymn :"
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The Barretts came from England, and settled in the Massachusetts Bay
Colony many years before the Revolution, and thus it happened that just
the man needed for the supreme trial of the century — the first throwing
down of the gauntlet to proud and imperious England — was ready and wait-
ing with his farmer-militia on April 19, 1775.
The old Colonial Barrett house is still standing at Concord, one of the
most prominent there, although too far from the center of the town to be seen
by the average tourist, and our subject studied and photographed it while
on a visit to Concord with his wife in 1907, — one of three trips, by the way,
they have made "down East" when they kodaked Bunker Hill monument,
historic Boston, Maine, Canada, Washington, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago,
St. Paul and other places. The Barrett house is situated off Monument
Street, about a mile beyond the battle ground. There a quantity of ammuni-
tion was stored that was saved from destruction at the hands of the British
through the keenness and bravery of Colonel Barrett's wife. The storv is still
2144 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
told of the search made in that house by the British soldiers, and how they
were provided with refreshment by Mrs. Barrett; and how she refused the
payment proffered, saying. "We are commanded to feed our enemies," and
how eventually she kept reluctantly the money they threw into her lap, say-
ing: "This is the price of blood."
Colonel Barrett led a company to the historic bridge, and his undeniable
bravery when the fate of the long-suffering colonists hung in the balance
has been commemorated for all time by an inscription on the boulder at
Battle Lawn, close to the site of the old Concord bridge, where America's
first blood was spilled in the cause of liberty. This inscription reads, in part :
"From this hill Col. James Barrett commanding the Americans
gave the order to march to the bridge, but not to fire unless fired
upon by the British. Captain Nathan Barrett led his company to
defend the 'bridge, pursued the British to Charlestown, and, though
wounded, captured Major Pitcairn's horse, saddle and pistols, and
returned home with his trophies."
F. A. Barrett, the father of Charles, was a native of Maine and removed
to New York City where he was a builder. In 1861 he came to California
by way of Panama, and soon made a name for himself as a contractor and
builder in San Francisco and the neighboring bay districts. And there he
died, having enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-men and the good will of
everybody, in 1899, in his seventy-first year. His wife was Agnes Berry before
her marriage, and she was a native of Camden, Maine. Hers was also an old
English family, and she survived her husband and died at Fresno in her
seventy-ninth year. Two daughters were, with Charles Barrett, their only
children, and they are Mrs. Mary F. Lane of Los Angeles and Mrs. Susie
A. Miller, of the same city.
Charles Barrett came to California with his parents in 1861, and after
attending school for six months at Antioch, in Contra Costa County, he con-
tinued his studies in San Francisco, where he was reared. He went to the
ordinary public schools and put in two years at the boys' high school ; but
when fourteen he left his school-books to take charge of the account-books of
the California Silk Factory at South San Francisco. After holding that
position for a year he decided to learn plumbing, when he was duly appren-
ticed to J- & E. Snook, the pioneer plumbing firm of San Francisco, with
whom he remained until 1882.
In that year he came to Fresno — just a week after the first "big fire" —
engaged in the beginning to work for A. Goldstein, but soon shifting to the
service of the Donahoo-Fanning Company, with which he continued until
1885. Then, effecting a partnership with the late J. D. Hicks, he established
a plumbing business on J Street, the site of the present Mason Block, and
when they added hardware, they moved to 1036 I Street ; and after moving
back to J Street. Messrs. Barrett & Hicks, who were incorporated in 1895.
with Mr. Barrett as president, made ©ne more move, this time to the new
Voorman Block. There their establishment has become the most extensive
hardware store in the City of Fresno, selling at both wholesale and retail
and filling a store 50x150 feet at 1035-41 I Street, and a shop 35x150 feet
in the rear, while the company also maintains ample warehouses at the
Southern Pacific Railroad. This business has proven one of the chief enter-
prises of Fresno, and has added no little to her prestige as a commercial
center. Mr. Barrett, who is a Republican, is a charter member of the Cham-
ber of Commerce of Fresno and an honorary member of the State Retail
Hardware Association.
On February 18, 1885, Mr. Barrett was married at San Francisco to Miss
Minnie Thomas of Philadelphia, the daughter of Christian Thomas, a native
of Germany and a wholesale butcher there, who married Catherine Regina
Smith, also a native of Germany. Mr. Thomas came to America, crossed the
continent bringing his family, including the daughter Minnie, with him.
V 1
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2147
and died at San Francisco aged seventy-six. After that Mrs. Thomas came
to live with the Barretts, and at their home she passed peacefully away in
her eighty-fourth year. Two of her sons died in San Francisco, leaving wives
and children ; and a daughter is Mrs. Emma Evans, the widow of the late
George E. Evans of Fresno. At the corner of Tulare and O Streets Mr. Bar-
rett built a fine residence ; and when he sold that lot, five years ago, he
moved the house to its present location, 1127 S Street, where he dispenses
a typically Californian hospitality, assisted so well by his good wife.
Mr. Barrett was made a Mason in Fresno Lodge No. 247, F. & A. M., of
which he is a past master; he also belongs to Fresno Chapter No. 69, R. A. M. ;
Fresno Commandery, No. 29, K. T. ; and he is a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows.
JOHN G. HIELSCHER.— Probably no county in all California may
boast of a larger number of prosperous citizens of foreign birth who, seek-
ing asylum in the New World, have found in Fresno and environs the great-
est freedom for the development of their various talents and capabilities ;
and among these who have not only carved out their own fortune by their
independent efforts, but have contributed much to the progress of California
and the upbuilding of her splendid institutions, must be mentioned John G.
Hielscher, who was born in Schlesien, Germany, on March 4, 1854. His
father was John G Hielscher, who married Johanna Helena Hauffe. They
were farmers, and both died there. They had four sons, two of whom are now
living. Carl W. is at the old home, and the subject of our interesting review
is the only one in America.
Mr. Hielscher was reared a farmer at the same time that he received a
good education in the public schools. In 1875 he entered the German army
and served there for two years, when he was honorably discharged. He
then worked in the shipyard at Hamburg, and while in that great seaport
with its many connections with the outside world, obtained and read books
on the United States. This opened to him the enticing vista of its great
resources and possibilities, and, together with the history of the United
States, showed him the road of opportunity that awaited young men with
energy and brawn. He liked the freedom of the new country, made up his
mind some day to enjoy it, and steadily saved his money to enable him to
realize the goal.
In 1882, Mr. Hielscher purchased a ticket for St. Louis and arrived there
in April, 1882, having only five dollars in his pocket. The next morning he
went to work on a ranch at fifteen dollars a month, but he did his work so
well that at the end of the four weeks, he received twenty dollars. He then
made his way to Fremont, Dodge County, Nebr., where he worked for a
year, after which he leased a ranch and farmed until 1886. In that year he
removed to Iliff, Logan County, Colo., where he located a homestead of 160
acres and also a timber claim of equal size, and began to pioneer and farm.
On June 23, 1889, Mr. Hielscher was married to Miss Carolina Erdelt,
at Sterling, Colo. She was also a native of Schlesien, Germany, and the daugh-
ter of Edward and Wilhelmina (Scharf) Erdelt, the former a farmer and
business man, both of whom are now dead. Having a sister, Mrs. Mathilda
Brieger, at Jackson, Mich., and a sister, Mrs. Wilhelmina Weeler, in Chicago,
she made her way to the LTnited States, first to Michigan, in 1884, and in
1887 came to Colorado and soon after located a timber claim of 160 acres
adjoining that of Mr. Hielscher. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hielscher
continued to improve their place, and in time they had 480 acres devoted to
stock-raising. They began with only two cows, but from year to year were
so successful that when they sold out in 1899 they disposed of fifty head of
cattle. At the same time he sold his 480 acres for $3,000. While in Colorado,
about 1897 or 1898. he was made a full-fledged American citizen, and this
he counted among his greatest assets.
2148 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
( >n account of his wife's health, Mr. Hielscher led the way to California
in 1899 and located in Fresno, where the change of climate immediately im-
proved her and for the first time in years she felt, as so many coming to the
Golden State have experienced, that life was really worth living. The same
fall he bought eighty acres, a part of his present ranch in Parent Colony
No. 2, and located on it. The place was much neglected; but by hard work
and diligence he improved it, relevelling the land and setting out vineyards
and orchards, and planting alfalfa, at all of which he has been very successful.
Later, Mr. Hielscher bought eighty acres more. It was hog-wallow and
there was no water-right on the place ; but he levelled the land, sunk wells
and installed a pumping plant, and set out a vineyard and orchard. Now
the place is in a high state of cultivation. Recently, he sold 100 acres of his
property to four different parties, retaining sixty acres for himself.
The estate is really a splendid place, and reflects great credit upon both
Mr. and Mrs. Hielscher, who gave to it their most intelligent direction. There
are muscat and Thompson seedless vines in profusion, two pumping plants
and a large cement swimming pool, the latter being much enjoyed by the
children of the locality. The place is most advantageously located on First
Street, six miles north of Fresno, and there Mr. Hielscher has erected a
large new modern residence of concrete blocks, forming a comfortable and
thoroughly up-to-date home, equipped with electric light by Fairbank system.
Mr. Hielscher also owns valuable real estate in Fresno and in Oakland,
and is a member of the California Prune and Apricot Association, as well
as of the California Associated Raisin Company. Fresno County may well be
congratulated on such prosperous, contented and loyal citizens as Mr. and
Mrs. Hielscher, representing some of the best of American manhood and
womanhood.
TUCK BROTHERS. — Among the enterprising and successful young
men of the county, whose prosperity is undoubtedly due to their hard, con-
scientious work, together with their economy and thrift, and their determina-
tion to win out at any honorable cost, are the members of the well-known
firm of Tuck Brothers — Lorenzo Co'rnelius and Ira Thomas Tuck. Both were
born in Granville County, N. C. Lorenzo on March 10. 1875, and Ira on
February 16, 1880, the sons of William Alfred Tuck, who come from Halifax
County, \*a. Their grandfather, Richard Tuck, was a farmer, and the father
was in a North Carolina regiment in the Civil War. After the great struggle
he was married to Fannie Sanford, who also was a native of Granville
County, and there they located on a farm, Mr. Tuck becoming a planter and
raising tobacco, grain and stock. Now, in his latter years, he is retired and
living in Granville County. His wife having died in 1887 at the age of forty-
two, he married a second time, choosing Ella Allen as his wife. She was a
North Carolinian, and died while on a visit to her brothers in California. By
the first union, there were five children: Martha Eva. Mrs. Jones, deceased;
'William Robert, of Tranquillity; Lorenzo C. ; Mamie E., Mrs. Jones of North
Carolina; and Ira T. By the second marriage there also were five children:
Elza, Airs. West, and Gladys. Mrs. Dixon, both of North Carolina: Marion,
also of that state; Roy, and Raleigh, of California.
Brought up on their father's farm, the boys attended both the public and
private schools of the neighborhood, and in the summer-time applied them-
selves tn farm work. After a while they spent the winters in the copper
mines, working as stationary engineers. In 1000 Lorenzo came West, the
first of the family to push out to California, and settled near Laton in Fresno
County, where he was employed on a ranch. He began to help level land
for the ditch on the Laguna Grant, when the company commenced to improve
the tract, and soon made himself a valuable laborer; and in 1901 he easily
found employment at lumbering at Pine Ridge, working also as a blacksmith
and mechanic.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2149
In the spring of that year, Ira joined his brother and also worked at Pine
Ridge, and there he ran a stationary engine. When the autumn set in, the
brothers bought twenty acres of the Laguna Grant, and the following fall
purchased twenty acres more, all of which they planted to alfalfa. Then
they sold twenty acres, and bought ten adjoining the first twenty. They
continued to plant to alfalfa, and prospered in the undertaking.
In 1910 the two brothers came to Tranquillity and bought 180 acres of
raw land, which they at once improved. They leveled and checked it and put
thirty acres into alfalfa, and raised grain. In 1912 they sold the thirty acres
near Laton, and three years later they bought a Case engine of 20x40 horse
power. This they use in plowing and putting in crops, and they also run
a stationary thresher and header. They lease land, besides, and sow from
four to five hundred acres to grain.
Lorenzo Tuck was married in Laton to Miss Mary Eller, a native of
Missouri and the daughter of William Eller, a farmer near Laton. They have
two promising children — Rosamond and Leon.
Independent in politics, the Messrs. Tuck both vote for the best men
and the best principles. They are especially interested in everything that
makes for local reform, improvement and expansion ; for they have the great-
est faith in Fresno County, and therefore, in the future of Tranquillity.
CLAYTON WESLEY TODD. — A progressive horticulturist and viti-
culturist whose good wife is also widely known for her experience and per-
sonality, is Clayton Wesley Todd, who came to Fresno County in the early
nineties. He was born in Indianola, Iowa, on October 24, 1871, the son of
William Franklin Todd, who was born in Nashville, Tenn. He removed to
Scott, 111., and was married to Emma Bryan, after which, in 1866, he went
to Iowa, and farmed near Indianola. He improved some Government land
and made his home there until he died. His wife also died there, the mother
of eight children, two of whom are living. Charles is the second youngest
of the family, and the only one in California.
He was brought up on a farm in Iowa until he was eighteen years of age,
and attended both the public schools and Simpson's College. After another
year on the farm, he came west to California in 1891 and located in Fresno
County where he followed grain farming and worked a large grain ranch, for
five years, for J. E. Dickenson. He owned a ranch at the Scandinavian Colony
and for eight Vears engaged in the raising of peaches and raisins. He was
also foreman of the Balfour Guthrie ranch at Sanger and at Strathmore and
he did the first surveying and leveling for them, and set out the first orange
grove at Strathmore. Then he went back to the Sanger ranch and continued
with them for fourteen years.
While there he bought eighty acres of land at Strathmore and eighteen
months later he sold the same at a good profit. After that, he bought land
west of Strathmore and also sold that at a good profit. In 1916 he bought his
present place, twentv acres on Clinton and Chittenden Avenues, which he
devoted to Muscat vines. In November, 1918, he resigned from his position
with Balfour Guthrie in order to give all his attention to his own business
for besides his ranching, he is engaged in contracting, painting and white-
washing, using a Bean power spraying machine to apply cement and cold
water paint.
On March 25, 1894, Mr. Todd was married at Fresno to Miss Mary
Edna Yount, who was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the daughter of D. W.
Yount, a farmer residing four miles out of Des Moines. He came from Indi-
ana in' 1852, when ten vears old, with his parents to Iowa. He died at Nor-
walk. Iowa. Mrs. Yount was Miss Sarah A. Egbert before her marriage,
and she was born in Ohio. She died in Iowa, the mother of three children. A
brother, Frank Yount, was an early settler of Fresno and noted as a bus-
iness man. Mrs. Todd came here in 1892. She is the mother of five children.
James L., who enlisted in the National Guard and served on the border in
2150 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mexico until he was honorably discharged. Again enlisting for the World
War in the same company a few days before war was declared and becoming
a sergeant in 159th Infantry of the Fortieth Division of the United States
Army, and served overseas. After the armistice was signed, he returned to
San "Francisco where he was discharged April 30, 1919. with the rank of
sergeant. He is now in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Fresno.
Isabelle is Mrs. Swenson, of Clovis ; Mary Alice, now Mrs. Merle Marple of
Dinuba, and Laurence M., who is at home, are twins; and Josephine, also
at home, attends the high school. Mrs. Todd is a member of the Chirstian
Science Church.
Mr. Todd served for some time on the Board of Trustees of the Sanger
Union High School, and he is a member of the California Peach Growers, Inc.,
and a member and stockholder in the California Associated Raisin Company.
He is now a trustee of the Greenville school district. He also belongs to
Camp '60 of the Woodmen of the World of Fresno.
HAROLD CLYDE WILLIAMS.— Among the men of resourcefulness
and executive force who have achieved success in business circles of Coalinga,
none is forging to the front more rapidly than H. C. Williams, the well-known
proprietor of Coalinga's popular confectionery store, billiard parlor and whole-
sale and retail tobacconist. He is a native of Canada, born in Mitchell, On-
tario, December 11, 1884, a son of John E. and Elizabeth (Tilley) Williams,
both of whom are natives of Ontario, and whose parents were from Devon-
shire, England. Grandfather Williams was a Methodist minister. John E.,
the father of H. C. Williams, is a harnessmaker and saddler, residing at
Mitchell, Canada.
H. C. Williams was the youngest child of a family of four, and after
completing his education in the public school, being then sixteen years of
age, he left Canada for the United States locating at Newfield, N. Y., where
he secured employment with the Lehigh Valley -Railway Company, learned
telegraphy, and in due time became station agent. June 1, 1901, he was ap-
pointed agent and telegraph operator at Wyckofr, where he remained until
November, 1901, when he was made a relief agent. Desiring to see more
of the world, and especially of the great West, H. C. Williams arrived in
Los Angeles, Cal., in January, 1902, he secured work with the Southern Pa-
cific as ticket agent at Long Beach, and filled the position of relief agent
at Anaheim and other places in Southern California. Later on he filled the
same position on the San Joaquin Division of the same railway company.
In 1905 he arrived in Coalinga as agent for the Southern Pacific Railway,
and later filled a similar position at Lillis, where he remained until October
3, 1906, when he resigned to engage in business in Coalinga. At first he
opened a cigar store on Front Street, in six months' time the business proved
such a success that he moved to larger and better quarters on Fifth Street,
and here he added confectionery and when the Amy Building was completed
he leased his present room. Here he fitted up a billiard parlor, and in the
confectionery department he installed a fine modern soda fountain, the largest
of its; kind in Coalinga. Mr. Williams is exceedingly careful about the moral
atmosphere of his parlor, allows no profane language about the place and by
his strict observance of this rule his establishment has gained the enviable
reputation of a clean, moral amusement center. Lately he has added a cafe
which is conducted in the same first-class and conservative way. Mr. Wil-
liams is a progressive and wide-awake business man. always on the alert for
a new opening for business. lie owns the billboards in Coalinga and for
ten years has employed a man to post the bills in the city; at one time he
was the manager of the opera house there, also the agent for the Hanford
Steam Laundry. In addition to these enterprises he has been interested in
different local companies and was one of the organizers of the Coalinga-
Merced Acres Syndicate, and served as its secretary. This company owns
4,000 acres of land in Merced County for subdivision and farming purposes.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2155
His associates in the company are mostly Coalinga men. Mr. Williams is a
very public-spirited man, always greatly -interested in every worthy move-
ment that has as its aim the upbuilding of the best interests of the San Joa-
quin Valley, and in civic matters he has served the city of Coalinga as one
of its trustees.
Mr. H. C. Williams was united in marriage with Miss Julia Blanche
Levy, the ceremony being solemnized at Laton. Mrs. Williams is a native
of California and a daughter of M. Levy. Fraternally, Mr. Williams is a mem-
ber of the Eagles at Coalinga, and is a past officer of the lodge, also past
state trustee and member of the State Finance Committee for the Eagles.
He is past sachem for the Red Men, a member of the Knights of Pythias and
the Modern Woodmen of America and in politics is a Republican.
RASMUS MATHIESEN. — Among the most progressive ranchers resid-
ing north of Sanger in the Fairview district, Fresno County, are Mr. and Mrs.
Rasmus Mathiesen, who are making a specialty of orchard and vine. Mr.
Mathiesen was born at Aabenraa, Slesvig, Denmark, July 6, 1862, a son of
Christian and Christina Mathiesen who followed husbandry in that country.
Rasmus received a good education in the public schools of his native
place and from a lad made himself useful on the home farm, so he early learned
thrift and self-reliance. When seventeen years of age, wishing to escape
Prussian military oppression, he made his way to Denmark and at Fredericia
he found employment on a farm. He had two half-brothers who emigrated to
the United States in 1872, one of them, John Hopper, coming to Alameda
County, Cal., that same year. His brother, Christ, also came to California in
1884. So Mr. Mathiesen also felt the call of the West and responded, coming
to California in 1885, arriving in San Francisco on April 19, 1885. His brother
Peter came in 1886 and George in 1887. Of the brothers four are still living,
namely, John Hopper, Peter, George and himself. Mr. Mathiesen remained in
Alameda until 1887 when he came to Fresno County, and immediately began
working at farming, and in orchards and vineyards, in different parts of the'
county. He also worked on the flume, running logs, an occupation he fol-
lowed for five years.
Possessing thrift and enterprise, and with a natural desire to own a place
of his own, Mr. Mathiesen saved a part of his earnings so that by 1894 he pur-
chased his present ranch on which he located and began improvements. It
was a stubble-field but, wishing to engage in intensive farming, Mr. Mathie-
sen proceeded to improve it and by persistent, intelligent effort he has devel-
oped a highly improved ranch of eighty acres, four one-half miles north of
Sanger, being irrigated from the Gould ditch. It is devoted to vineyard and
orchard, except fifteen acres in alfalfa and grain. His vineyards are exception-
ally fine and produce on an average of one and one-half tons of raisins to the"
acre a year. He also raises a fine quality of peaches.
In Fresno, September 6, 1892, Rasmus Mathiesen was united in marriage
with Karen Marie Johansen, a native of Fyen, Denmark, a daughter of Mads
and Nielsinia (Nielsen) Johansen. She' came to California in 18S8 and of their
union two children were born : Christina, who is now the wife of A. C. Jensen
of Sanger and who has twin daughters — Irene and Lorene ; and Christian,
who was born December 26, 1897, and is assisting in operating the home
ranch. They are also rearing and educating Ella Hansen, as one of their own
children, and she in turn loves and is devoted to them.
Fraternally Mr. Mathiesen is a member of Orangedale Lodge, No. 211,
I. O. O. F., at Centerville, of which he is a Past Grand, while with his wife he
is a member of King's River Rebekah Lodge, No. 51, at Centerville. Mrs.
Mathiesen, being a charter member, has been active in the lodge, serving as
Noble Grand two different times, as well as delegate to the Grand Lodge.
They are both conscientious Lutherans, their membership being in the Dan-
ish Lutheran Church in Central Colony. Mr. Mathiesen has .been a supporter
of all cooperative movements for fruit-growers and is a member and stock-
2156 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
holder of the California Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach
Growers, Inc. A firm believer in protection for America and Americans, he is
a Republican in national politics. Always a friend of education and desiring
the best schools, he has served as a member and clerk of the Fairview school
district for twelve years. Hospitable and generous. Air. and Mrs. Alathiesen
are ever ready to help others and to aid in all movements for the advancement
of the county and bettering of conditions for its citizens.
MARION H. TAYLOR.— The enterprising dairyman of Tranquillity,
Fresno County, M. H. Taylor, is a native of the Lone Star State, having been
born in Van Zant County, Texas, Tune 17. 1872, a son of Frank and Lizzie
( Cantrell) Taylor, natives of Arkansas and Tennessee, respectively. His
father, Frank Taylor, was a farmer in Van Zant County and in Coleman
County. Texas, and he died in the latter county in 1877: his mother was a
resident of Novice, Texas, for over forty years, and died there February
19, 1919. Mr. and Airs. Frank Taylor were the parents of six children.
M. H. Taylor, the fourth child and the only member of the family living
in California, was reared on a farm in Coleman Count}-, Texas, where he
attended the public school of his district, but owing to existing conditions
in the family, his father having died when AI. H. was about five years of age,
his educational advantages were very limited, as he was obliged to go to work
at an early age to help support the family. The Taylor family were early set-
tlers in Coleman Count}', their home being out on the frontier and Air. Taylor
recalls the fact that there was no wire fence in the county and that it was no
uncommon sight to see deer, antelope and Indians roaming over the plains.
Air. Taylor remained at home helping his mother with the farming and
raising of cattle and hogs, until he had reached his twenty-seventh year,
when he went to DeviFs River. Edwards County, where he worked on a
cattle ranch and rode the range. He remained there until 1905 when lie re-
turned to Coleman County, where he rented a farm. In 1909 he removed to
Alitchell, where two years previous he had purchased a ranch of 160 acres,
this he improved and while living there engaged in farming and raising cattle
and hogs until 1917. when, owing to a drought in that section of the state, he
sold his ranch and decided to migrate to the Golden State. Air. Taylor arrived
in Fresno County, Cal., in September, 1917. settling at Tranquillity, where
he leased a dairy and forty-seven acres in alfalfa. He has at present twenty-
eight cows and by hard work, untiring efforts and good management he has
succeeded in building up a prosperous dairy business.
On December 30, 1903, AI. H. Taylor was united in marriage with Aliss
Emma Nichols, a native of Texas, born in Coleman. March 22, 1882, the cer-
emony being solemnized in Coleman County. This union has been blessed
with six children: Doile, Bertha. Alary, Alerene, Alansel, and Hubert. Air.
and Airs. Taylor and their family are highly esteemed in their circle of friends
at Tranquillity.
REUBEN JAMES SWIFT.— Almost coincidental with the raising of
the American flag for the first time in California was the setting up of the
first printing press, and ever since, with the march of civilization here has
been the development of the newspaper as a most potent factor in furthering
every conceivable kind of progress.
That it is very logical that the newspaper man and his wonderful mechan-
ical aids should have a part from the very beginning in the growth and proper
development of a town will be seen when one stops to think of all the service
that a newspaper renders, and often with little or no direct compensation, to
a community. The journalist is among those who do some of the advance
thinking, and frequently advance acting for others, and so act as heralds,
going before and making open and smooth the pathways; and when that
is not the case, the man who runs a newspaper is among the very first to
whom appeal is made, when others think of something worth while, to pro-
claim it broadcast, endorse the idea, and so give the project a good "boost."
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2157
And when all has been accomplished, and one after another of the good
burghers rub their hands together and gleefully exclaim : "Ah, isn't that fine !
See what I have succeeded in bringing about!" it is the poor editor who is
expected to jot down all the happenings, write eulogies about all those who
claim to have been the inspired cause thereof, praise everybody and every-
thing to the skies, and give the pioneer and the citizen a "character" no one
ever know him to have before.
Among the interior California journalists who have thus contributed
much to the progress of their section of the State, is Reuben James Swift,
a native of South Dakota, where he was born at Watertown, Codington
County. Growing up, he moved to Wisconsin, and then to North Dakota ;
and at Leeds, worked for sixteen years at the printing trade. After that, he
was for five years at Spokane, "Wash.
In July, 1909, California was fortunate in attracting Mr. Swift, who chose
Kerman as the most promising of all fields, and he took over the plant of the
Kerman News Company, of which he at once became president and manager.
He also assumed the responsibilities of editor, and took charge of the "Ker-
man News." This paper had been established in November, 1908, and incor-
porated as The Kerman News Co. It was not long before he raised it to
that standard as an indispensable adjunct of the life of the town, that it had
over 500 subscribers. Week after week Mr. Swift and his staff have put out
one of the best news-organs and agencies for social and moral uplift in this
part of the county.
At Fresno, on February 4, 1911, Mr. Swift and Florence Remington,
a native of Missouri, were joined in matrimony ; their union being blessed
with one child, Dorothy. Mr. and Mrs. Swift attend the Kerman Methodist
Episcopal Church, and are active in local society generally.
Mr. Swift served for two years, as secretary of the Commercial Asso-
ciation, and also as secretary of the Civic Center. In those departments of
Kerman life. Mr. Swift has been able to devote his unusual talents and ex-
perience, and so effect much desired expansion, reform and progress.
J. HENRY SCHEIDT. — Among Fresno's citizens of foreign birth who
came to this country to seek their fortune in a new land, J. Henry Scheidt is
numbered. He was born in the Province of Samara, Volga District, Russia,
June 21, 1874, and received his education in his native land, where he also
clerked in a mercantile store. In 1893, at the age of nineteen, he came to the
United States without financial means but endowed with the far more val-
uable assets of energy and thrift.
It has been truthfully said that the successful man not only conquers
obstacles, but makes use of them. Certain it is that J. Henry Scheidt has
overcome the difficulties that lay in his path and has made good as a success-
ful rancher and an exceptional business man. He is self made in the fullest
sense of the word. He first located in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked in
the store of the P. R. Mitchell Company until 1896, when he came to Fresno,
Cal., with the small sum of $300 in his pocket. For the next three years he
worked for wages, saving his money, and in 1899 with the earnings he had
saved purchased his first ranch of forty acres in the Perrin Colony No. 1. He
also rented land and engaged in grape growing. Later he sold his property
but continued to buy, improve and sell ranches, meeting with much success
in his undertakings. He also bought a'id sold second crops of Muscat grapes
to wineries, etc.
Later he bought a forty-acre ranch on California Avenue which he im-
proved and sold. In 1905 he returned to Russia, where he remained until
1907. LJpon his return to California he bought a 200-acre ranch in Madera
County with George Virgin. The ranch was improved and sold, and later
Mr. Scheidt owned a ranch on Jensen Avenue which he also sold. In 1908
he bought out a small grocery store at C and Santa Clara Avenues, the stock
of which was valued at $600, the size of the building being only twenty by
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2161
ciated Raisin Companj'. He is a stockholder in the two latter, as well as
in the Danish Creamery.
When Mr. Forbes began setting out his fig orchard the growing of
figs for commercial purposes was still an experiment here. But he was opti-
mistic, having faith in its future possibilities, and persevered in spite of
being discouraged in his undertaking by friends and neighbors. Thus he is
a pioneer grower of the Calimyrna fig here, and has now the pleasure of
seeing it the greatest success commercially of orchard or vine. He can justly
look with pride upon his achievement, and has the satisfaction of knowing
that others are now eagerly following his example.
KINZA P. WITTEN.— To the early adoption of up-to-date methods and
machinery is doubtless due a large measure of the success in wheat and grain-
farming attained by Kinza P. Witten, who, ably assisted by his loyal wife
and children, has come to hold a high place in business and social circles.
His home ranch lies on the "West Side," about half a mile south and four
miles west of Lanare, in the very heart of Fresno County's choice wheat dis-
trict.
Mr. Witten was born about six miles from Bowling Green, Pike County,
Mo., on September 24, 187Ch a member of an old Virginia family, after whom
Witten's Landing, on the Ohio River near Wheeling, was named. His father
was Kinza Dickersen Witten, and he spent his early life steamboating on
the Ohio ; he married in Virginia, Miss Ann McCullough, also a native of that
State, and while there, their first child was born. After coming to Missouri,
where their family was increased by the birth of nine more children, Mr.
Witten farmed, and there he died, when the lad Kinza P. was only five years
old. The widow continued to run the farm and brought up the minor chil-
dren, and so kept the family together; but she died when Kinza was about
twenty, and after she had seen eight of her children grow up.
The youngest in the family, Kinza attended the public schools and grew
up on his mother's farm, where he lived until after her death. He was about
twenty-one when he first struck Fresno County, following two of his brothers,
who had reached California before him. Luther was working on the Kettle-
man Plains in Fresno County, and "Zac" was busy at Lemoore, although later
he became an undertaker at Fresno and Visalia, and died in the latter place
in 1906. Besides Luther, who is now living at Visalia, Phillip resides at
Crow's Landing, in Stanislaus County, where he is a butcher, thus making
three brothers still in the Golden State, while a sister, Mrs. Sue Gillum of
Ashley, Mo., is the only other one of the family still living.
Kinza P. Witten began without a dollar, and worked on Fresno County
ranches, but when he was married, in 1895, he had rented a fruit ranch of
twenty acres near Fresno. His bride was Miss Jessie Sutton, a native of that
city and the daughter of John and Etta (Wickwire) Sutton., both of whom
came from Canada, but were reared and married in New York. They moved
west to California in 1876, and eleven years later came to Fresno County.
They had three children — Jessie Edith, now Mrs. Witten, who was born in
Contra Costa County, Cal. ; John H., who resides in Fresno and is an orchard-
ist and ranch-owner, and Charles F., who died when he was fourteen years
old.
After three years of farming in the Coalinga district, Mr. Witten and
family moved up to Summit Lake, where they rented for six years and then
bought their present ranch. They own 120 acres, purchased about fifteen
years ago, and in addition, rents land for wheat and grain farming, and thus
works about 1,500 acres in all. He owns and operates a Holt forty-five horse-
power caterpillar tractor, which he uses for plowing, seeding and harvesting,
and a combined harvester and thresher of a late and up-to-date kind. In 1917,
he raised 8,000 sacks of wheat while his 1918 crop was equally satisfactory.
Mr. and Mrs. Witten have been blessed with six children : Earl Henry,
who enlisted at Fresno on May 21, 1918, in the Quartermaster's corps, was
2162 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
trained at Camp Toseph F. Johnston at Jacksonville. Fla., and landed at Brest
on July 21, 1918" He served at Bordeaux, Marseilles, at Conflans and near
Verdun in the motor transport corps. Returning to America, he landed at
Newport News, Va., and came direct to the Presidio, where he was honor-
ably discharged on July 18, 1919, after which he reached home on July 20.
1919. Yelma Etta, Kinza D., Beulah H., Warren \V.. and Lucile Xadine, are
the other children.
Mr. and Mrs. Witten are both members of the Rebekahs at Riverdale.
while Mr. Witten belongs to the Odd Fellow lodge there and the Woodmen
of the World at Lemoore. A consistent Democrat. Mr. Witten stands by the
President, as he always did during the War, and supports his program for
the League of Nations.
EUGENE F. MAIN. — A native of Iowa, where he was born at Des
Moines on October 16, 1866. Eugene F. Main is the son of Theodore Main,
a native of Albion, N. Y.. who removed to Michigan, where he embarked in
lumbering ; then went to Wisconsin for the same purpose ; and later settled
at Des Moines, where he followed his trade, which was that of a brick mason
and a builder. After some years he removed to Richmond. Mo., where he
was a contractor and made bricks. In 1902 he took up his residence in Cal-
ifornia, and at present resides in East Bakersfield. Mrs. Main, who was Sarah
Rice before her marriage, and was also a New Yorker, is still living. In 1908
the esteemed and happy couple celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their
wedding, and in 1918 celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary.
Eleven children blessed this union, and five are still living. Eugene;
William Main is a contractor in Fresno; and the three daughters — Mrs.
Patterson of Fresno, and Mrs. Nielsen and Mrs. Renshaw of Bakersfield.
The third oldest in the family, Eugene was brought up on a farm in
Missouri for the first year, when he was taken to Richmond, where he at-
tended the grammar and high schools. When about fifteen he began to
learn the trades of brick-layer and plasterer under the direction of his father:
but before he was twenty-one his father withdrew, and from that time on he
was in business for himself.
In 1887 he came to California for the first time and for a while worked
at his trade at Fresno. The next year he came back again and was foreman
for Toseph Spinney. For eight winters he came back each year and continued
in the capacity of foreman, helping to build the City Hall, the Temple Bar
Block, and the Fulton Hotel, each time going back for the summer to Rich-
mond, M<>.
In that town, on November 17, 1891, Mr. Main was married to Viola
Adams, who was born in Macon. Mo., the daughter of John and Lucy (Har-
vard) Adams, substantial farmer folks of that state. Mr. Adams lived for a
while at Richmond, and in 1903 came to Fresno, where he died. Mrs. Adams
is still living, the mother of six boys and two girls, among whom Mrs. Main
is the third oldest. She was educated in Missouri.
Having made an enviable record as a contractor in Missouri, Mr. Main in
April, 1901, located permanently in Fresno, and first bought ten acres on
Roeding Avenue, to which he added, until he now owns twenty acres,
having in the meantime bought and sold several tracts. He built a ten-room
residence of brick, designing it himself; and laid out a fine orchard. There
he has Muir, Lovell and Elberta peaches.
Mr. Main is active in contracting and building, and also was a brick
manufacturer. As a stockholder and foreman, he started the Fresno Brick
and Tile Works: he built up the plant and in ten months sold out and went
back to contracting. He did the brick work on both the Republican Building
and the Brewer residence, and also the old Fresno Bank and the Y. M. C. A.
Building. He constructed the Reborn residence, and put up the almshouse,
also built many buildings in Visalia, Coalinga, Selma and other towns, in-
cluding the Kutner Warehouse, the White T.rick fruit store and many country
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2163
packing houses and warehouses. He belongs to the California Peach Grow-
ers, Inc., being a member and a stockholder; and is also a charter member
of Fresno No. 1 International Union of Bricklayers.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Main : Alma is a graduate of
the Fresno high school, and so is Fred ; the latter is also a graduate of Heald's
Business College, and was deputy county clerk. He later served in a Machine
Gun corps until mustered out, is now in the Supervisors' office in Fresno ;
Eva, who graduated from the Fresno high school, is Mrs. Sears and resides
at Fresno. Eula is a graduate of the Fresno State Normal and is teaching
school. Jeanette, a graduate of the Fresno high now with Rodin and Kamp,
and Charles, and Nellie are in attendance at the high school, and William,
the youngest, is just starting school.
For many years Mr. Main has been a member of the Odd Fellows; and
he also belongs to the Woodmen of the World. In national politics he is a
Democrat.
ROBERSON J. KING.— The efficient superintendent of the S. W. &
B. Oil Co., for the past thirteen years, Roberson J. King, is a native of Bed-
ford County, Tenn., where he was born in 1846, a son of Charles Brandon
and Mary (McOuiddy) King. His great-grandfather, John B. King, was a
native of Georgia but removed to North Carolina and it was in this state
that Grandfather Brandon King was born. Roberson J. King's maternal
grandfather, John McOuiddy, a native of Massachusetts, migrated from the
Bay State to Kentuckv and afterwards located in Tennessee. The lineage
of the McOuiddy family in the United States is traced back to a Scotchman
who married a French woman and emigrated to America locating in Massa-
chusetts. Charles and Mary King were the parents of nine children, Rober-
son J., being the second oldest. He was brought up on a farm in Tennessee
and followed farming in his native state until 1880. when he migrated to
California locating at Hanford, where he purchased 160 acres and engaged
in farming and stock-raising. Later on he sold his ranch and located on a
homestead east of Traver, Tulare County, where he engaged in farming.
While living there he was deputy county assessor and served for six years as
assessor of Alta Irrigation district, holding the office from its creation.
After selling this ranch, Mr. King located in Hanford, where he was
engaged for four years in buying and shipping hogs, cattle and sheep.
In 1900, R. J. King came to Coalinga where he was one of the organ-
izers of the Whale Oil Company, who leased land in the Jacolitos Canyon
and sunk a well, the venture proving a failure. At the same time Mr. King
was interested in sinking a well in the Cholame section, of San Luis Obispo
County, which was also a failure. Mr. King believes in the old adage, "If
at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Undaunted by repeated failures
he became associated with the El Capitan Oil Company, and in 1901 they
leased sections 15-19-31, and sunk two wells which proved successful pro-
ducers, and two years later the company sold out their interests.
Subsequently Mr. King engaged in the fruit packing business, for one
year, being located at Hanford. Afterwards he returned to Coalinga where
he became the superintendent of the Esperanza Oil Company on section six.
Later on he made a trip to the Utah oil fields, where he prospected for one
year and then went on further east, to his native state, Tennessee, after
remaining one year he returned to California. In 1905, R. J. King became the
superintendent of the S. W. & B. Oil Co. At that time they had but two
producing wells, but, through the efficient management and wise foresight
of Mr. King, since that time four more wells have been sunk and at present
the company is pumping five wells. In addition to his oil operations Mr.
King is interested in farming near Tulare Lake in Kings County, where he
has leased 640 acres which he has devoted to raising barley and wheat. Rob-
erson J. King was united in marriage with Miss Mary Bramblett, a native
of Tennessee. She passed away in 1896 leaving six motherless children who
2164 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
were raised by their loving father. The children in order of birth were : A. D.,
now a banker residing in Piedmont; E. B., is in the lumber business and re-
sides in Berkeley; Everett W. and Elmore W. are twins, also in the lumber
business and reside in Bakersfield ; Leslie B. was in the United States Army,
served overseas and now resides in Bakersfield ; Clementine, as present is
living in Berkeley.
Fraternally, Mr. King is a Mason, having joined this organization in
Tennessee, but is now a member of Hanford Lodge, F. & A. M. He is a public
spirited man and has always been interested in those movements and meas-
ures that have as their aim the upbuilding of the best interests of the com-
munity wherever he resides and is especially interested in educational mat-
ters having served as trustee of the Alpha School district, Fresno County,
and while living in Tulare County served in the same capacity in his home
school district.
A. LORENZO BABCOCK.— There are but few men who have been
able to crowd so much activity of various kinds into so short a time as has
A. Lorenzo Babcock. He seems to have been endowed with a capacity for
big things, and by a life of integrity and close application has accomplished
that which would take an ordinary man a lifetime to encompass.
Mr. Babcock is the owner of a thirty-four-acre ranch at Lone Star, which
he acquired in February. 1917. This vineyard contains sixteen acres of zin-
fandels and fourteen acres of sultanas. It has been named the Babcock Vine-
yard, and acre for acre is one of the biggest yielders in Fresno County. He
resides on the celebrated Montecito No. 1 Vineyard, a very attractive coun-
try villa, on Manning Avenue, three miles west of Fowler. Aside from being
a splendid producer, it provides Mr. Babcock and his family with a magnifi-
cent residence and home. He is also the owner of the fruit ranch known
as The Kings County Orchard of fifty acres, planted to apricots and prunes.
It lies seven miles northeast of Hanford and is one of the best paying or-
chards in the San Joaquin Valley. Besides this he owns a ninety-acre tract,
known as the California Ranch, at Orosi, Tulare County. This property is
surrounded by most picturesque scenery, and truly suggests "California" in
soil, climate and surroundings.
Mr. Babcock was born in Sabula, Iowa, October 27, 1877, a son of
Lorenzo Dow Babcock. This branch of the Babcock family came from New
York State, where they were farmers. The father married near Toronto,
in the Province of Ontario, Canada, Miss Augusta Bastedo, born in Canada,
of very distinguished Scotch and French-Canadian origin. The parents came
to Michigan, and then to Minnesota, where they farmed a few years in each
state. They then went to Clinton County, Iowa, and here A. Lorenzo Bab-
cock was born. Then the family went to Winnebago City, Minn., where they
followed farming for a few years, and when the son was nine years old the
family moved to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and there bought 160 acres,
and raised corn, hay, horses, hogs and cattle. The mother is now living in
Washington, and is sixty years old ; the father died in Pottawattamie County,
Iowa, at the age of forty-eight years. There were eight children, of whom
A. Lorenzo is the third and the second son. __
Lorenzo worked on the Iowa farm, attended high school at Elliott,
Iowa, and matriculated at Simpson College, at Indianola, Iowa. He went
into a lawyer's office at Guthrie Center, Iowa, for a time, after which he
went to Omaha, Nebr., and engaged in work in the office of the Omaha Chris-
tian Advocate. He next went into the National Bank of Commerce as an
office clerk, and served four years there, becoming receiving teller; then he
went to Colorado and became connected with the Colorado Title and Trust
Company, at Colorado Springs. He was then twenty-one, and had landed
at Colorado Springs with seven and a half dollars in his pocket. Here is where
he learned independence.
U/W^u2^a£cH<fp-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2167
Six years and six months' experience gave Mr. Babcock a business
acquaintance in Denver, in which city he became bookkeeper in the Daniel's
Bank, where he remained for six years. Here he became interested in politics,
and was in the state auditor's office with John Holmberg for six months.
He received the appointment as secretary of the Colorado Commission for
the Portland Fair. After serving on this commission he returned to Denver,
and became connected with the Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek Railway.
Later he went to Silverton and entered the employ of the Guggenheim inter-
ests at their Silver Lake mines at Silverton, remaining with them one year,
and then went to San Francisco and was connected with the Southern Pacific
for one year, and then went to the Orient for the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company, being stationed at Hong Kong, China, and here he remained for
two and a half years, and arose from assistant in the freight department to
manager. Returning to San Francisco for three months, Mr. Babcock then
went to Manila as manager of the Pacific Mail Agency, where he remained
for two and a half years.
Returning to California, Mr. Babcock became traveling auditor for the
San Joaquin Light and Power Company, and took up his home in Fresno.
This "was in 1913, and that year he married Miss Lillian Irwin, of Tennessee,
and this he considered the best act of his life. During the year 1913 he
continued with the Light and Power Company, and in 1914 became cashier
for the California Associated Raisin Company, serving as such for four years,
from August 1, 1914, to September 16, 1918!
WILLIAM MICHAEL GLAVES.— A successful and prominent farmer
of Fresno County who enjoyed an equally enviable reputation as an agricul-
turist in Missouri, is William Michael Glaves, who has one of the finest farm
residences in Fresno County outside of Fresno City. He was born near La
Grange, Lewis County, Mo., on July 3, 1857, the son of David N. Glaves,
who was born near Falmouth, Ky., in 1819. Grandfather Michael Glaves was
a major in the War of 1812, and afterwards, while major at a general muster
in 1823, was accidentally killed through being thrown from his horse. The
Glaves family came from Virginia to Kentucky as pioneers of Scotch-Irish
descent; the "father was a farmer in Kentucky and married Nancy A. Wallace,
also a native of Kentucky. Grandfather Graham Wallace was of Scotch de-
scent and moved from Kentucky to Missouri; the mother was a cousin of
General Lew Wallace. The father moved to Lewis County, Mo., in the spring
of 1857, and bought a farm there; and he died on August 16, 1888. The
mother died at the old home in 1901. She had seven children, and William
Michael was the fifth in the order of birth. James H. died at La Belle, Mo.,
on March 18, 1917; Elizabeth J. resides at La Belle; John N. is in Lewiston,
Lewis County. Mo. ; Martha, now Mrs. Joseph Carman, is at the same place ;
as is also Robert G. ; and D. G. Glaves is at the old home at Ewing.
Reared on a farm, William attended the public schools and the Christian
University of Canton, Mo., and then remained home to engage in farming.
He rented land and went in for grain and stock ; and he got such a successful
start that he was able to buy a farm seven miles south of Lewiston. Later
he bought another farm and had cattle and hogs, and he leased still other
farm lands. He became a large feeder of cattle and hogs, and shipped to St.
Louis and Chicago; he also went in for raising horses and mules. When he
started, he and his brother rented sixty acres of land and began to feed hogs ;
he bought hogs at four cents a pound and made the weight 270; and he sold
at six and a half and seven cents a pound, and was successful. The following
vear they rented seventy acres, and at the end of two years bought 160 acres.
They fed two loads of cattle and 130 hogs the first season and after nine
years of partnership, they dissolved.
In 1914, Mr. Glaves traded his home place for fort}- acres at Tranquillity
and property in Fresno, Cal., and came to Kerman ; and later he traded 160
acres for eighty acres in Empire devoted to alfalfa. He engaged in stock-
2168 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
raising and set out forty-two and a half acres in Thompson seedless, for
which he paid $14,600. He improved it, and in 1918 sold it at good profit.
Mr. Glaves still owns property in Fresno. In 1918 he bought for a home
his present place, twenty acres at the corner of Shields and Thompson ave-
nues, and set out much of it to Thompson seedless grapes ; and he built his
handsome residence in Mission style, and made it one of the finest residences
in this section.
At La Belle, Mo., Mr. Glaves was married to Miss Annie Rosalie John-
ston, a native of Carroll County, Mo., and the daughter of Elisha Johnston,
who was born in Ohio. When thirteen he came to Missouri and served in
the Union Army during the Civil War; then he came to California, where he
was a grain farmer near Monmouth. After fifteen years he returned to Mis-
souri, and lived there about twelve years ; then he came to California and to
Phoenix, Ariz., and on July 22, 1918, he died at Oakland. He married Mary
J. Walker, a native of Ohio, who now resides in Stockton. In all these years
he made four different trips to California and spent the winters here. Mrs.
Glaves was educated in the Monmouth public schools and attended an acad-
emy at Eldon. Seven children were born to this favored couple, and of these
six are living, Viola Mary having died when she was four months old. The
others are: Leona Gladys, who married Wilhelm Hansen on June 1, 1919,
and resides in Kerman ; Doris Elizabeth, who attends the Kerman high school ;
Robert Wallace ; Vera Irene ; William Michael, Jr. ; and Mildred Lucile.
The family attend the Baptist Church ; and in matters of national politics,
Mr. Glaves is a Socialist. He is a member of the California Associated Raisin
Company and is a supporter of all public enterprises that help build up the
county. He was a member of the Grange in Missouri, also of the Farmers'
Alliance there.
A. N. CRESSMAN. — A prominent man in the Pine Ridge district and
a resident of Fresno County since November 20, 1888, A. N. Cressman was
born near Tylersport, Pa., June 5, 1868. His father, George Cressman, was
born at Souderton, Pa., where he was a farmer and is descended from an old
Pennsylvania family. The mother of A. N. Cressman was, in maidenhood,
Mary Ann Wesner, also born in Pennsylvania, and A. N. is the second oldest
of their nine children and the only member of the family in the west. He was
reared in Montgomery County, Pa., receiving a good education in the public
schools of that county. When nineteen years of age he came west arriving
in Weeping Water, Nebr., in the spring of 1888, remaining until fall when
he came to Fresno County. He went to work for Bill Forsyth in the Fresno
vineyard at fifty cents per day and three months later he was made foreman
of the vineyard, a position he held for about a year when he resigned to work
for G. W. Smith in Eggers Colony from the fall of '89 until the spring of
1890, and then came to Ockenden, being employed by Burnham & Eversole,
butchers. After two summers with them he went to Porterville and was
married there December 24, 1892, to Miss Nellie Hall, who was born in
Nebraska, a daughter of Robert and Eleanor (Sweeney) Hall, natives of
Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, respectively, who moved to Nebraska and in
1891 to Porterville, Cal. Her father died in Oklahoma and her mother now
lives in Selma.
After his marriage Mr. Cressman came back to Ockenden and was em-
ployed by Thomas Bacon and ran his butcher business and was later with
his successors, Bacon & Simpson until they sold to Tom Ockenden and con-
tinued to run his business until 1908. Meantime in 1905 he had purchased his
present place of 160 acres, the old Tom Downey place above the Tollhouse.
Here he set out an apple orchard and built a residence and store and in 1907
started a store, saloon and hotel. He still runs the mercantile business and
hotel and his apple orchard is in full-bearing. These he packs in boxes and
hauls to Fresno with his truck. He has as many as 3,000 boxes of winter
apples which not only are sold in different cities in Fresno County, but he
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2169
ships them, same going east as far as Kentucky and Virginia and west to
Honolulu. He has made displays of apples in the Fresno County Fair and
has taken his share of the prizes.
The result of the union of A. N. Cressman and Nellie Hall has been
ten children: Robert A., with the San Joaquin Light and Power Company;
Mary E., Mrs. Chambers, who resides with her husband on the Cressman
ranch; Bertha and Linda H., twins, who, both live in Fresno; Lizzie H.,
Alice H., George, Benj. H., Annie, and Allen.
Mr. and Mrs. Cressman have an interesting family to whom they are
giving the best educational advantages within their means and they have
the regard and well wishes of a host of friends who admire them for their
integrity and honesty of purpose. Deeply interested in the cause of education,
Mr. Cressman is a trustee of the Pine Ridge School District, having served
many years as clerk of the board. He gave one acre of the present site for
the school house. He is a member of the Herman Sons and the Eagles. In
political preferment he is always a true blue Republican.
CLINTON D. COLLINS, M. D.— Few counties of California have been
so fortunate as Fresno in their selection of county physicians, and among
those who have filled that office with signal ability is C. D. Collins, the physi-
cian and surgeon, who is not only a native son, but was born, on May 24,
1885, in Fresno County. His father was the late J. D. Collins. A sketch of the
family is given elsewhere in this history.
One of a family of five brothers and three sisters, Mr. Collins was edu-
cated in the public grammar and high schools of his district, and later he
attended the medical department of Leland Stanford University, where he
graduated in 1911. For the following nine months he was interne at the
Alameda County Hospital, greatly enlarging his experience.
On February 24, 1912, Dr. Collins and Miss Gertrude Drew, daughter of
A. M. Drew, the well-known attorney, were united in matrimony. Two chil-
dren— Barbara Drew, and Thomas Arthur — have blessed this union. Dr.
Collins is a valued member of the University Club, and the family attend the
Methodist Church.
Coming to Fresno, Dr. Collins commenced his practice here with most
encouraging success from the start; and having shown much public spirit as
a citizen working under the Democratic banner, he was appointed, in January,
1915, County Physician by the Board of Supervisors, still continuing as visit-
ing surgeon to the county hospital. Dr. Collins entered the service of the
United States during the war, enlisted and received his commission of First
Lieutenant June, 1918. and was discharged January, 1919. Coming back to
Fresno and resumed his private practice and his connection with the county.
He is a member of the County and State Medical Societies and the American
Medical Association.
MARTIN W. PEARCE.— There are few more inspiring examples of
self-won success in the history of Fresno County farmers, than that furnished
by Martin W. Pearce, who has, by perseverance, hard work, and intelligently
directed efforts, succeeded in attaining a large measure of prosperity, and is
regarded as one of the most enterprising and up-to-date ranchers in his com-
munity. A Canadian by birth, born in Ontario, October 7, 1867, he was
reared on a farm and educated in the public school of his district.
In the fall of 1887, when Martin W. Pearce was twenty years old, he came
to the United States, and for a few months stopped in Northern California,
where he investigated the prospects for farming, but after seeing Fresno
County and investigating its wonderful opportunities for farming, fruit cul-
ture, and cattle raising, he decided to made his future home in this great
commonwealth. After arriving in Fresno in the spring of 1888, he secured
employment on the T. C. White ranch, and being an ambitious youth, and
desirous of being in business for himself, in 1890 he purchased forty acres
2170 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of raw land in the Garfield district near Clovis, being one of the first to set
out vines in that district. He improved it with a Muscat vineyard, residence
and fences, bringing the ranch up to a high state of cultivation, and raising
some very large crops. Having made his residence there for twenty-two
years he sold the place in 1912.
During his long residence in Fresno County Mr. Pearce has owned a
number of ranches ; among the various properties he has owned were forty
acres in the Perrin Colony No. 2 ; two ranches of twenty acres each in the
Garfield district ; fifty acres in the Niece Colony, and a grain and cattle
ranch of four hundred and forty acres also in the Garfield district. Mr.
Pearce has been engaged in grain farming, cattle raising and viticulture, in
all of which he has made a decided success. By his long and varied experience
in agriculture, he has gained a valuable knowledge of the surrounding con-
ditions and crops, and is considered an authority on lands and values in
Fresno County. Although a comparatively young man, Mr. Pearce has retired
from active farm work, and is living in his new and modern bungalow at
No. 1403 San Pablo Avenue, Fresno.
He is a man of splendid business ability, and has been recognized as a
leader in financial circles by being elected to the responsible position of a
director in the First National Bank of Clovis.
In the Garfield district, March 18, 1900, Mr. Pearce was united in mar-
riage with Johnnie Elizabeth Howard, a native of Fresno County, and this
happy union has been blessed by two children. Zella. and Thomas, both at-
tending the Fresno Normal Training School.
Mrs. Pearce is a member of the Parlor Lecture Club of Fresno, and the
family are highly esteemed in the community.
HENRY KELLAS.— The late Henry Kellas was a splendid example of
a kind-hearted and public-spirited citizen, and was born near Forest, forty
miles from Quebec, Canada. His parents were of Scotch ancestry, and owned
a farm on the Canada and United States line. When Henry was a lad of
thirteen, the family moved to Illinois, and he was raised and educated in that
state. When he was old enough he began farming for himself, and working
in the pineries. He later farmed in Iowa, and in 1872. settled in Kansas, and
bought 280 acres of railroad land, near Newton, Harvey County, upon which
he raised grain and some stock until 1905, when, on account of ill health, he
sold out and removed to Seattle, Wash. Having recovered from his asthma,
four months later, he came to California, and on June 26th, of that year, pur-
chased a ranch of sixty acres, seven miles east of Fresno. There were some
young vines planted on the acreage, and seventeen acres were in young fig
trees. Mr. Kellas set the balance of the ranch to vines, Thompson seedless,
Muscats. Malagas, and all were grown under ditch irrigation ; some wells
and a pumping plant furnishing further water for the property. Mr. Kellas
was actively engaged in the development of his ranch, when he was called b)r
death, on September 26, 1909. He was interested in the cause of education-
and in his home district in Kansas, was clerk and trustee, and helped build
first school in his district which was named for him, Kellas School. He also
built the second or present school house, was elected a trustee and served
for nearly thirty-three years. In Locan district, he helped organize a new-
district and was one of first trustees and helped built first school house. He
was always a Republican.
In Newton, Kans.. January 12, 1887. Mr. Kellas had been united in mar-
riage with Miss Emma Gast, who was born in Plymouth. Marshal] County,
Ind., a daughter of Andrew Gast, a native of Germany. Mr. Gast was brought
to the United States by his parents when he was two years of age, and for a
time the family stopped in New York, but later located in Marshall County,
Ind. Mr. Gast, after reaching young manhood, enlisted for service in the
Civil War, in Company F. Twelfth Indiana Cavalry. After the war. lie re-
turned to farming in Indiana. lie married Angeline Lolmaugh, a native of
^>
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2173
the Hoosier state, and soon afterwards they moved to Newton, Kans., where
Mrs. Gast's father, Jacob Lolmaugh, had settled in an early day. The chil-
dren now living that were born to Mr. and Mrs. Gast are: Mrs. Emma
Kellas; Mrs. Dora Pippig; Mrs. Mary Bell; Jacob A.; Mrs. Lizzie Pippig;
Lawrence, of Newton, Kans. ; Edward, of Long Beach ; John B., of Colorado
Springs; Peter, of Long Beach; Mrs. Laura Mickelberry, of Bakersfield;
and Mrs. Margaret Skoegard, of Lemoore. Mr. Gast removed from Newton,
Kans., to Larned, then back to Newton, and in 1906, came to California. He
and his wife are now living retired in Fresno.
Since the death of Mr. Kellas, his widow, with the aid of her son, Floyd
H., has operated the home place and has displayed much business acumen
in the discharge of the duties falling upon her. Her sons are : Floyd Harrison,
an expert horticulturist in charge of the Kellas ranch, and a member and
clerk of the Locan school district; and Edward Leslie, a graduate of the law
department of the University of California, and was admitted to practice ; he
was in the United States Arm)', served overseas as First Lieutenant in the
Three Hundred Sixty-first Regiment. Mrs. Kellas is a Republican in political
matters.
JOSEPH FEARON. — A pioneer couple who deserve the esteem and
goodwill of every Californian — as, indeed, they undoubtedly have it — on ac-
count of the many sacrifices they made, during the really hard times of early
days, to help develop and build the country, are Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fearon,
among the oldest settlers in the Coalinga field. He was born in Lancashire,
England, on March 17, 1843, and in that bustling and prosperous country he
was reared. On account, however, of serious trouble to his eyes, in the nature
of cataract, he could not go to school, nor study much, and his book education,
therefore, was quite limited. He worked, first in the copper mines and then
in the iron, of Lancashire. On April 8, 1870, he was married at Dalton, in
Furness. England, to Miss Elizabeth Lightburn, a native of Newcastle-on-
Tyne; and for eighteen years they continued to reside in Lancashire. All this
while they were really preparing, while mastering their none too favorable
conditions at home, for their next great step by which they were to venture
all they had in the New World.
In May, 1888, they started for the United States, making their way first
to West Virginia, where Mr. Fearon had a sister; and after visiting her, they
came on to California and Fresno, to the home of another sister, Mrs. Wil-
liam Newby. They arrived on October 21, 1888, and that same month Mr.
Fearon began working in the coal mines at Coalinga. He continued in that
field about four years, and in the meantime located a preemption claim. This
was for 160 acres in Sec. 8-20-15, and on this he proved up ; and then he bought
out the claim of 160 acres of Billie Montrose, and homesteaded it. This was
adjoining his preemption, and he located on it, built a residence and improved
the place. After five years of residence, he obtained the coveted Government
deed ; and while they were working for this, they engaged in stock-raising and
farming.
Later, Mr. and Mrs. Fearon, finding that they might purchase 160 acres
more, on Sec. 18-20-15, about one and a half miles "from their homestead, made
haste to secure it, and now they reside on this ranch where Mr. Fearon has
drilled two wells for water, and is engaged in raising grain and stock. The 160
acres on Sec. 18 is leased for oil to the Lakeport Oil Company, which has
there three producing wells ; and the other block of 320 acres is leased to the
Union Oil Company, which is developing the land as oil property.
Mr. and Mrs. Fearon have been blessed with eight children : John Henry
resides in Fresno; William Edward is with the Union Oil Company in the
Coalinga field, as is also his brother Joseph ; Sarah Jane lives at home ; Charles
Thomas is in the service of the Nevada Petroleum Oil Company; Addison
works for the Oil Well Supplv Company in Coalinga; Agnes Hannah has
2174 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
become Mrs. Prior of Taft; and Mark Atkinson is in the United States Army,
serving in France.
Taking more than ordinary interest in civic affairs, Mr. Fearon is a loyal
Republican ; while in matters religious they follow the Anglican traditions and
attend the Episcopal Church.
HENRY C. MILLER.— A veteran of the Civil War, Henry C. Miller
was born at Upton, Worcester County, Mass., September 10, 1841, removing
with his parents to Monroe, Greene County, Wis., in 1855. He received a
good education in the public schools of Massachusetts and Wisconsin,
and in September, 1861, he enlisted in the Fifth Wisconsin Light Artillery,
McKnights Battery, serving under General Pope, then under General Rosen-
cranz until he was honorably discharged August 11, 1862, when he returned
home. He then became associated with his father, Levi B. Miller, in the
mercantile business in Monroe. They had a tannery, manufactured leather
which in turn the}- manufactured into boots and shoes and had a retail shoe
store. Afterward Henry Miller attended Oberlin College and there learned
the hook-binding business, becoming the foreman of the book-binding de-
partment of the Adventist Publishing House in Battle Creek, Mich., a posi-
tion he filled for a period of eleven years resigning to engage in business for
himself, having his own book-binding establishment in Battle Creek until
1890 when he sold out and located in Burrough Valley, Fresno County, and
where he owns fifty acres devoted to farming and raising fruits.
In Battle Creek, Mr. Miller was married to Martha A. Baker, who was
born in Plattsburg, N. Y., and they had five children: William H., died in
1911; George resides in Glendale ; Edith is Mrs. Law, a missionary to Nan-
king. China; Jesse O. is operating the home place; and Letha, is Mrs. Mitch-
ell of Marvsville, Cal. ; Tesse Orlo, who is in charge of the home farm, was
born in Battle Creek, Mich., July 12. 1879. coining to California in 1890. He
finished his education at Healdsburg College. In 1898 he enlisted in the
United States Navy for service in the Spanish-American War for four years,
serving on the U. S. S. Solace, then U. S. S. Don Juan de Austria, and was
afterward transferred to the U. S. S. Helena, and then to the U. S. S. Oregon
and again back to the Helena, and from that to the U. S. S. New Orleans on
which he returned to San Francisco and was honorably discharged in 1902.
During his service he was in the Hospital Corps of the United States Navy.
For a time he was employed with the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company as a
nurse in their hospital, but finally gave it up to engage in farming. He has
a homestead of 320 acres in Burrough Valley and is also operating his
father's farm, is intensely interested in stock-raising and is gradually build-
ing up a high grade herd of Herfords. Henry C. Miller is a member of the
Seventh Day Adventist Church. In politics, he is an Independent.
FALLE P. HOLM. — An excellent young representative of Danish-
American stock, who is studious, bright and well-informed, and has a ranch
in a high state of culture, is Falle P. Holm, usually called Fred Holm, living
a mile and a half west of Parlier on the Reedley road. He was born at Kold-
ing, Denmark, on January 21, 1886, and is the son of Peter P. Holm. He mar-
ried Ellen Kathrine Fallesen, who is also living, the mother of three children.
among whom Falle P. is the oldest and the only one of the entire family in
America. Peter Holm made trips to Australia and South Africa, as well as
to New Zealand, mining for gold and diamonds; and through that hazardous
occupation, he became well-to-do.
Fred received his schooling in Denmark, and he was brought up in the
Lutheran Church. At Kolding he began to clerk in a store. He preferred
the great outdoors, however, and before long he was attracted to California.
He sailed from Hamburg on the Bluecher of the Hamburg-American line, and
landed in New York City on September 6, 1904. His place of destination was
Hanford, in Kings County, where he had a friend; and when he arrived there.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2175
he worked out by the month on a grain and alfalfa ranch. He continued in
Fresno County four years, working and renting land.
In 1908 Mr. Holm went back to Denmark, visited his parents and the
old home for ten months, and for half of that time attended the Vallekille High
School. Then once more he sailed for America, embarking at Copenhagen
on the steamship United States, of the Scandinavian-American line and land-
ing in New York in May, 1909. He came back to Fresno County, and in 1911
he went over to Solvang, in Santa Barbara County, and at the Atterdag
College pursued a general commercial course for five months. Now he speaks
and writes English and Danish.
On his return to Kerman, in Fresno County, in 1912, he farmed out for
a while and then rented land until 1914; in the spring of that year he came
to Parlier and bought his present place. He owns twenty acres which he
keeps in a high state of cultivation. With the assistance of his wife, he does
all the work, hiring about twenty pickers during the picking season, which
is usually in the month of September ; and this year he expects to realize
quite $3,500 from his crops.
Mr. Holm was married on April 2, 1914, to Miss Frederickke Thomsen,
a daughter of Mathias Thomsen, a leading rancher near Parlier. Three chil-
dren have been given this happy couple. Carl P. is the eldest, and there are
Walter M. and Arthur L. Holm. The family are members of the Danish
Church, and Mr. Holm is the church's secretary. He is a naturalized Amer-
ican and an enthusiastic supporter of President Wilson.
Z. D. NEDERHOUSE. — An experienced and enterprising oil man who
has made good and is now superintendent of the Commercial Oil Company
and also the W. M. & M. Oil Company, each operating over sixty acres at
Coalinga, is Z. D. Nederhouse who came to California in 1909, having been
born in Rising Sun, Ohio, in 1881.
He is the son of Daniel Nederhouse, a native of Ohio and a farmer, who
is still living at Kansas in that state. He married Emma Goodman, also
a native of Ohio, and she died in 1883. The only child in the family, Z. D.
was brought up on a farm and educated at the public schools. His mother
died when he was a babe, and he was reared by his grandmother, Mrs. Han-
nah (Bonewitz) Goodman Earl at Rising Sun, a lady of Holland Dutch
descent.
When fourteen, the lad went to work in the oil fields at Rising Sun.
He dressed tools until he was twenty-two, and then he engaged in the butcher
business. He ran a butcher shop at Rising Sun for nearly three years ; and
on selling out, he removed to Casey, 111. He was a tool-dresser in the Casey
field, and then, for a short while, he went back to Ohio. In 1909 he came out
to the Coalinga field and entered the employ of the W. M & M. Company, and
then on the Commercial Oil Company lease under Whaley and Stewart. Like
a sensible man really desirous of mastering the field, he began at the bottom
on this lease, and in 1916 he was made superintendent of the W. M. & M. Oil
Company. In 1917 Mr. Nederhouse also became superintendent of the Com-
mercial Oil Company, so that with the two leases to look after, he is respon-
sible for the development of no less than 120 acres of oil lands.
LOUIS RUSCONI. — Into whatever portion of the world the Swiss people
have gone, they have exemplified in their lives the traits of honor, integrity
and thrift that give their homeland a prestige surpassed by none. Louis Rus-
coni is a typical example of his countrymen and was born in the canton of
Ticino, Switzerland, March 4, 1875. His parents were Frank and Liberta
Rusconi and he is the fourth son in a family of nine children. In 1889 he
immigrated to the United States, after having finished his education in his
native land, and for a time lived and worked in Napa County, after which
he went to Solano County and there was engaged in the dairy business for
a number of years.
2176 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
It was in 1893 that lie came to Fresno County and here took up viticul-
ture, also engaging in the dairy business. In 1907 he took 280 acres of land to
set out to vines on shares, and after three years he got his deed to 130 acres
according to agreement. As he prospered he saved his money and added to
his land holdings until he now owns 1,160 acres, 800 of which are in vineyard
and orchard, a great deal of it having been improved by himself; ninety
acres are in prunes, twenty of which are bearing; twenty acres have been
sown to alfalfa ; and the balance of the land is pasture. The ranch is well
improved with buildings ; a new and commodious residence has been built
to replace the one destroyed by fire, in June, 1919, and it is one of the most
pretentious homes in the community ; a bunk house 36x80 feet in dimensions
has been built for the convenience and comfort of his men ; and he has barns
and other outbuildings, including a large storage shed for boxes and trays.
He owns his own packing house on the Santa Fe and over 300 cars of fruit
are shipped each season. He employs forty men and looks well after their
comfort, especially during the hot season. He is one of the largest independ-
ent producers in the county.
In 1901 Louis Rusconi was married to Miss Virginia Albertelli. born in
canton Ticino, and who came to California to marry her boyhood friend and
sweetheart. They have had sixteen children, six of whom are living: Frank;
Guido ; Blanche; Louis, Jr.; Joseph and a baby. The family are members of
the Catholic Church. Mr. Rusconi is a stockholder in the Reedley National
Bank and is a supporter of all movements for the building-up of Fresno
County. In politics he is a Republican in national affairs.
When it is taken into consideration that when Mr. Rusconi came to
Fresno County he was without funds, and now is reckoned as one of the most
progressive and prominent citizens of the county, it shows what a person can
accomplish when the)' set out with an object in view. He has worked hard,
has been straightforward and square in all his dealings, has extended a help-
ing hand to those less fortunate than himself and is held in high esteem by
all who know him.
W. P. CRAWFORD. — A Californian who has made his way in the world
ever since he was a lad, and who, after many years spent in the stock business,
has risen to an influential position whereby he is able to serve his fellow-
men, is W. P. Crawford, inspector and quarantine master, widely known for
his devotion to duty. He is fortunate in his domestic life and in the com-
panionship of a gifted wife who presides- over his home, and with him en-
joys the esteem of a wide circle of friends.
Born at Chinese Camp in Sonora, now Tuolumne County, June 21, 1872,
W. P. Crawford was the son of W. D. Crawford, a gold-miner and a 49er,
who mined gold at Don Pedro's Bar and at Golden City, and later, as a cattle-
man and butcher, went into the business of supplying mining camps with
meat. There were two children in the family — John W., now a vineyardist
at Grangeville. in Kings County, and W. P., the subject of this review.
In 1880, W. D. Crawford moved to Grangeville, now in Kings County,
and there, shortly after he had bought land, he died, in his fifty-eighth year.
W. P. was then only eight years of age, and for some years he remained at
home ; but while still quite young he secured his first employment on the
Sutherland Estate. He was strong and lusty and easily did a man's daily
labor; and at the same time, he went to the local public school. As an em-
ployee of the Sutherland Estate he became familiar with the Laguna de
Tache Grant and its former owners, Polev Heilborn and Company; and he
knew their successor, Mrs. Clark, as well as Messrs. Nares and Saunders,
who about 1898, bought the Grant. He ranged cattle on the vast stretches
now of such appreciated value.
Mr. Crawford, although but a young lad, learned his first lessons in the
stock business from his father, who was a butcher and a cattleman, and one
of the best-informed men for many miles around. Later still W. P. became
acts
C&. &&<K>t^t44s&0r'V*L^'
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2181
interested in the raising of hogs ; and he enjoyed an enviable reputation for
his out-put of swine from the Fitzwilliams' ranch, which he rented. Having
become widely known for exceptional experience Mr. Crawford, in 1907,
became State Stock Inspector and also County Quarantine Master ; and being
repeatedly re-appointed, he has conducted with credit these two offices ever
since. He is also the State Sheep Inspector for this district.
During these busy, but very profitable years, Mr. Crawford enlarged his
acquaintanceship, and among those whom he came to know well, is John A.
Wilson, the banker at Hanford. The two have formed a partnership known
as Wilson & Crawford, and they are now engaged in raising, buying, fatten-
ing, and selling cattle. At the present time they have 900 head which are
kept on rented land north of Laton in Fresno County and west of Guernsey
in Kings County.
In 1913 Mr. Crawford was married to Miss Frances Hall, a native of
Texas who came to Los Angeles with her parents, and two children have
blessed their union — Percy and Viola L. Mrs. Crawford's father was a native
of Ohio who came out to California in 1849, mined for gold, returned to the
East, married in Ohio and then brought his bride west. Mr. Crawford's
mother, who was Miss Margaret Jones before her marriage, is still living on
her ranch at Grangeville.
ADOLPH DOMENGINE.— A native son of the Golden West who has
achieved success and prominence is Adolph Domengine, who was born on
the corner of Pacific and Stockton Streets in the city of San Francisco, on
February 6, 1856. His father, John Domengine, was a native of France, born
at St. Abbiet, Basses Pyrenees. On learning of the discovery of gold in Cali-
fornia he came on the sailing vessel Tempered around Cape Horn to San
Francisco in 1849. He made his way to the mines where he fortunately met
with good success.
After a few years of mining he returned to France where he was mar-
ried to Marie Claverie, and then brought his bride to California ; at the same
time he also brought his brother. Mathew, and his sister, Catherine. For a
time he was engaged in the laundry business in San Francisco and then re-
moved to near Santa Clara where he became the owner of 400 acres of land
and engaged in raising cattle till 1865 when he sold the place for $4,000. In
the dry year of 1864 he lost heavily of his herd and what he had left he sold
for $900. but before he could collect it was attached and he lost it also. They
had moved onto the ranch at Santa Clara on account of the mother's health,
but the change did not benefit her as they had expected, and she died in 1859,
leaving three children, — two girls and a boy. Their Uncle Mathew then took
the three children back to France while the father, John Domengine, remained
in California and entered the employ of Miller & Lux at the 12-Mile
Ranch near Baden, San Mateo County, where he was foreman until 1867
when he engaged in the sheep business. He bought sheep in Los Angeles
and vicinity and drove them to the San Francisco market. After three years
he began sheep-raising on the San Luis Ranch at Pacheco Pass, until 1873.
when he sold out and returned to his native France, where he made his home
until he died in 1885. The three children were : Maria, who died at nine
years of age, in France ; Leona, who is Mrs. Brinil and resides in St. Abbiet,
France ; and Adolph, our subject, who was the second oldest.
When three years of age Adolph was taken back to France, residing; at
St. Abbiet where he attended school until 1868. He then came back to Califor-
nia, coming via the Isthmus of Panama to San Francisco. In 1869-70 he
made a trip to Los Angeles with his father for a band of sheep and helped
drive them to San Francisco, after which he attended school in that city for
twenty-two months. In May, 1872, he began herding sheep for his father on
the San Luis Ranch, continuing with him until he sold out in 1873. and then
he continued with Simon Camy who had purchased his father's property.
In 1874 they moved the sheep to near Fresno, on the San Joaquin River,
2182 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
until Mr. Camy sold to Peter Lorquier, who ran them on the plains between
Fresno and the San Joaquin River.
Mr. Domengine at this time saw the brick burned for the first court-
house in Fresno. In 1875 he engaged with Peter Casson in ranging the sheep
on the West Side, over land that our subject now owns. He found that all
he could expect to receive from the small sheepman was $35 a month so he
changed and went to work for Miller & Lux. After herding a year for them,
he drove on the road for them three years and then became foreman of sheep
for them until September, 18S3. At this time he returned to the West Side
and purchased from Peter Etchegoin the possessory right of his present place,
purchasing his 3,200 head of sheep and outfit at the same time, and continuing
the business. He preempted 160 acres and homesteaded 160 acres, and as
he prospered he bought railroad land as well as other lands, until he now
owns about 10,000 acres in two different ranches. He also leases about 5,000
acres, his range being scattered over a distance of twelve miles.
In 1912, Mr. Domengine sold his sheep and turned his attention to rais-
ing cattle of the Durham strain, having some fine full-blooded Durhams at the
head of his herd. His brand is a D with a quarter circle above, and A. The
Domengine Ranch extends from the plains back into the foothills of the
Coast Range, a little way below the Joaquin Rock, abounding in streams and
springs, making a splendid cattle ranch, where he ranges about a thousand
head of cattle. Some of the lands on the plains he leases for grain-raising.
He .is a member of the California Cattle Growers Association, and also of the
American National Live Stock Association.
The marriage of Mr. Domengine to Miss Mary A. Pfitzer occurred in
Fresno, April 15, 1887. She was born in Shingle Springs, Iowa, and came
with her parents across the plains in an emigrant train when a babe in arms.
Her father. Anthony Pfitzer, was born in Wurttemberg. Germany, and came
to Illinois when a young man and there he married Theressa Myers, also a
Wurtemberger. In 1863, Anthony Pfitzer crossed the plains to California
and engaged in stock-raising near Los Banos, Merced County, becoming a
prominent man and large land-owner, and there he died in 1891, while his
wife died in Berkeley, in May, 1919, eighty-six years of age. Mrs. Domen-
gine is the third oldest of their nine children, all of whom are living. She
was educated in the public schools at Los Banos, Notre Dame Academy in
Santa Clara, and at San Jose State Normal. Mr. and Mrs. Domengine have
three children: Adolph M., who finished his schooling at Chestnutwoods
Business College, at Santa Cruz; Edna M., educated at Holy Cross Academy,
Santa Cruz; and Walter, at the Oakland Polytechnic, and all are now asso-
ciated with their parents in the cattle business.
A brief history of the Domengine Ranch is very interesting. It was first
settled by George L. Hoffman as early as 1862, and lumber was hauled from
Stockton to build the first cabin, the walls of which are still standing on the
place, being preserved by a new roof. Hoffman sold to Bertram Yribarren
who occupied the place from 1868 to 1872, when he sold to Peter Etchegoin
who held it till September 1, 1883. when Mr. Domengine purchased his pos-
sessory right, this claim being on railroad lands, Sec. 29-18-15 ; which he
later purchased from the railroad company. In 1883 he also bought Mr.
Etchegoin's claim on an upper ranch, in Sec. 25-18-14, which had been origi-
nally located in 18'>4 by Jose Aricocha, who later acquired title to it. It is
also a splendid ranch location at an elevation of over 2,500 feet, with ex-
cellent springs of water.
Mr. and Mrs. Domengine are among the oldest settlers of the West Side.
They are people of culture and are interested in education and advancement,
and wield a wide influence for good. By their perseverance and industry
they have attained success and prominence, and their example is well worthy
of emulation. Being firm believers in protection, they are stanch Republi-
cans.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2183
MICHAEL STIEGLITZ.— A native of foreign shores who, although
coming to Fresno County rather late in her development, has been able in
a few short years, by wise foresight and exemplary industry, to reach that
degree of prosperity that he has recently retired, is Michael Stieglitz, who
was born in Samara, Russia, on November 4, 1862, the son of Peter Stieglitz,
a farmer, who with his good wife is now deceased.
Michael was brought up on his father's farm and educated at the public
schools, and in 1884 he began his military service in the Russian Army. He
was assigned to an artillery regiment, and after serving five years, mostly
in Southern Russia, was honorably discharged as a non-commissioned officer.
He followed farming in his native place until June 25, 1898, when he came
to Fresno, and for four and a half years was employed by Joe House. Then
he worked for Frank Rehorn, the builder, for over nine years, and for four
years he was in the employ of the Rosenberg Packing Company.
In 1912, with two partners he started a dry goods store on the site where
he is now located, under the firm name of C. Grasmick & Co., and a year
later they built an addition to the store, and added a stock of groceries. In
1914 Mr. Stieglitz bought his partners out and continued the business alone.
Later he disposed of the dry-goods department and continued the sale of
groceries and meats.
In the spring of 1918 he sold the stock and buildings to his son Fred,
who continues the business so well established by Mr. Steiglitz. In Novem-
ber, 1898, he bought the corner Ventura and D Streets and built the resi-
dence where he has lived all these years, and he has also built up other resi-
dence property in Fresno. A Republican is national politics, he is at all times
intensely American.
Eight children were given to Mr. and Mrs. Stieglitz, of whom four
grew up and are still living. Mollie is Mrs. Helmuth of Biola ; Ferdinand
has succeeded his father as a merchant ; Anna is Mrs. Bitters of Fresno ;
Katherine was born in Fresno, and is now the wife of George Reitz. The
family are members of the Lutheran Church.
ARTHUR BERRY. — A business man who has proven his capacity in
the field of ranch management, having profited greatly through his associa-
tion with his more experienced brother, and a likable fellow who has made
a host of friends, so that two things seem certain ; he will some day be heard
from on a larger and more responsible scale, and when he is, there will be
no one to envy him, but many to felicitate on his success, is Arthur Berry,
the bookkeeper in charge of the Barton Vineyard. He was born at Ossett,
in Yorkshire, England, the son of Walter Berry, the manufacturer of cloths
and representative of an old English family. He was for a time at Bourne-
mouth, then afterward at Exeter; and in Devonshire he retired and died, in
1909. He had married Emily Matthews, also a native of English soil ; and
after a long and faithful companionship, she died, in August, 1916. Eight
children had blessed their union ; and all eight are living today.
The second youngest, Arthur is one of two only who have come to Amer-
ica, the other son being Thomas W. Berry, who is in partnership with him
at Lane's Bridge. He was brought up in England and educated at private
schools, completing his courses at the picturesque seaside town of Bourne-
mouth. Then he was articled to a land agent, and for three years he studied
the methods of business. By 1905 he had considerable knowledge of the
world and he concluded to join his brother, who had come out to California
years before.
Accordingly Mr. Berry crossed the ocean and the American continent,
pitched his tent in Fresno County, and entered the service of the California
Wine Association, in whose Fresno office he was made bookkeeper. He filled
the position for about six years, and then with his brother started farming
at Modesto. They bought forty acres of raw land and improved it with a
vineyard and an orchard ; and three years later they sold it at a profit.
2184 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Returning to Fresno, they bought their present place of sixty-five acres
at Lane's Bridge, where they are raising peaches, and other fruit, and alfalfa.
Under their touch everything seems to prosper; but it is also clear that steady,
hard, honest labor such as they are quite willing and disposed to expend
upon their ventures, has much to do with their success. They have also ex-
ceptionally choice land — a streak of good luck due in part to their wise se-
lection of the raw acreage and to their skill in improvements. He is a member
of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and no more aggressive and pro-
gressive worker deliberates in its councils. Through such life and work
the name of Berry has come to have a pleasant ring in Fresno County, and
even beyond.
HARRY HILL. — An industrious and successful rancher of Riverdale,
well known for his large-heartedness and kind disposition, is Harry Hill,
whose record alone as a nurse for three years in the Philippines during the
Spanish-American War would entitle him to the consideration of his fellow
men. He is a dairyman, following the most scientific methods, and owns and
operates 100 acres known as the Sunny Hill Stock Ranch, a mile west and a
mile north of Riverdale, and operating also a second ranch.
He was born at Victoria, Kans., on April 29, 1882, and when six months
old was taken to Junction City, Kans., where a dreadful tragedy occurred
which threw a shadow over his whole life. His father, Thomas Hill, a Scotch-
man by birth, had a livery stable: and on February 17. 1887, returned to his
barn after supper and was there attacked by one Jem Smith, and stabbed to
death. Smith had nursed an old grudge on account of a horse-trade, and in
this way sought to wreak his unholy revenge. He was apprehended and
sent to Leavenworth prison for life, but this was little help to the dependent
widow and her two children, Harry, the subject of our sketch, and Thomas
Oliver, who is employed by the Standard Oil Company at Coalinga. Five
months after the death of the father a sister was born, but she died, while
Harry was in the Philippines, of spinal meningitis.
Thomas Hill, the father, married Mary Caroline Ashbaugh, a native of
Freeport, 111., and a member of a family that came from Canada to Stephen-
son County, that state. They were of Scotch-Irish blood, and their children
thus inherited the most serviceable of personal characteristics. The parents
both came to Kansas while they were young, and they married at Hayes
City, after which they moved back to Junction City. Mr. Hill left a little
home and livery barn, and a life insurance of $2,000, but our subject shared
in a hard time.
Harry grew up at Junction City, and lived with and worked for two
uncles, Fred and Oliver Ashbaugh, at the home of their mother, Mrs. Julia
Ashbaugh, who owned the farm of eighty acres near Junction City. On
December 13, 1899, he enlisted in the Spanish-American War, joining the
Hospital Corps, and went to Jolo, in the Island of Jolo, a very interesting
section of the Philippines and the home of the sultan or ruler with his
twenty-three wives. He served in the Fifteenth United States Cavalry under
the redoubtable Col. Hugh Scott, who had two fingers of his right hand and
three fingers of his left shot off in action. He sailed from San Francisco
thirteen days after enlisting, and stopped for six hours at the Island of Guam.
going over, and then sailed directly for Manila, arriving .there under quar-
antine. The United States battleship New York, Dewey's flagship, fired
a salute, as the transport Sheridan, carrying our subject's company, sailed
into Manila harbor. Mr. Hill had plenty of training and practice as a hos-
pital nurse, was never sick in the service, and served three years and six-
teen days, or sixteen days over the time for which he enlisted. Coming
home, his transport sailed through Formosa Straits, and stopped at Nagasaki,
Japan, for three days, whence they proceeded to Honolulu, and landed at
San Francisco, on December 28, 1902.
k
*
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2187
After the war, Mr. Hill went to Los Angeles and worked in a drug store
until six months before his marriage. On October 14, 1905, he was married
at Downey, to Miss Ethel A. Andrews, the daughter of William Henry and
Martha Sabria (Curtis) Andrews, both natives of Ohio, in which state they
were married in Putnam County, on April 13, 1867. Mr.' Andrews enlisted
as a private in Company H, One Hundred Thirty-third Ohio, N. G. Infantry,
and served through the Civil War. He was an engineer and ran a traction
engine and a threshing machine. Mrs. Andrews was born at Ottawa, Ohio,
on March 22, 1847. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Andrews came to
California, and the vicinity of Colusa. The trip took a month or more, and
was made by water, via Panama. They later moved to Los Angeles County,
where they lived for many years. For forty-nine years Mrs. Andrews lived
in California, seeing its evolution from a collection of scattered mining camps
to one of the finest commonwealths in the Union ; and during this time she
became the mother of eight children, six of whom survive her: R. C. Andrews
and Mrs. Mina King live at Long Beach ; Mrs. Bertha Scholl resides at
Venice; Mrs. Lena Davidson is in Los Angeles; F. A. Andrews and Mrs.
Ethel Hill are residents of Riverdale. Two brothers of Mrs. Andrews, W. W.
Curtis of Kerman and Bildad Curtis of Downey, also survive her. William
Henry Andrews died on March 22, 1908, after which she made her home with
her Riverdale children. Mrs. Andrews passed away on November 25, 1916.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Hill made a wedding trip to Kansas,
but they returned to California in December, 1905. It was then that they
came to Riverdale and the next year bought 100 acres, on which they have
built a house and the usual barns and other outbuildings. They have twenty-
two milch cows, young stock and hogs. In 1916, Mr. Hill bought eighty acres
more, six miles west of Riverdale, and south Burrel, so that he is now the
owner of 180 acres in the Riverdale and Burrel sections of Fresno County.
Mr. Hill is now engaged in breeding full-blood registered Holstein-Friesian
cattle. He has twelve registered cows, and a registered sire, Sir Veeman
Helena-Korndyke, from a champion butter-and-milk strain, being from dams
with records of 31.9 pounds of butter per week. He is also breeding full-
blood registered Duroc- Jersey swine, and has several of the finest individuals
in California. The boar at the head of his drove is a son of the celebrated
Berk's Good-Enough, one of the most valuable prize-winners in America.
Mrs. Thomas Hill, the subject's mother, was married a second time,
when she became the wife of C. C. Daggett of Riverdale ; and their daughter,
Julia A. Daggett, is the wife of A. D. McKean, the cashier of the First
National Bank of Riverdale, a sketch of whose life is elsewhere given in this
volume.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hill have seven children, all boys, of whom Walter
H. is the eldest, in his twelfth year. Thomas Clayton comes next, while
Harold F. and Gerald C. are twins. Then there are William A., Howard W.,
and Francis L. Mr. Hill was in the eighteen-forty-five draft, Class 4 A, and
did patriotic duty as the drill-master at Riverdale, getting into excellent
shape a volunteer company of fifty soldiers.
Mr. and Mrs. Hill are active members of the United Brethren Church at
Riverdale, in which Mr. Hill is a trustee. They also belong to the church
choir. Mrs. Hill is active in the Ladies' Aid and the Red Cross. Mr. Hill
was school trustee of the district for nine years and of the Riverdale high
school for two years. He is a Republican in national politics, and is ready to
support all movements for local advancement regardless of party lines.
We take pride in calling attention to the portrait of Harry Hill and
family, with seven bright and vigorous sons. It is just such a family as the
late Theodore Roosevelt cherished.
2188 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
FRANK C. DAVIS. — Among Central Californians distinguished for their
honesty of purpose, and integrity of their lives inspired by noble ideals and
the commendable desire to do unto others as they themselves would wish
to be done by, is Frank C. Davis who first came to Coalinga in 1908. He was
born in Jasper County, Mo., in 1861, the son of James H. Davis, whose native
state was Michigan. The latter located in Missouri, where he was married
to Sarah Grubb, a native of Illinois, and he became a stone-cutter at Carthage
and worked at his trade until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he went
to Fort Leavenworth. He enlisted in the Union Army in the Sixth Kansas
Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and served throughout the War; and then he
returned to farm in Jasper County. He improved his place, and had one of
the attractive farms of that period and section. Both parents died in Mis-
souri. There were five sons, and two are still living; and of these our subject
is the only one in California.
He was brought up on a farm in Jasper County, Mo., and educated in
the public schools. When seventeen years old he started out for himself
and traveled widely through the Middle and Central states. Near Aitkin,
Minn., he bought forty acres of timber land and engaged in logging — getting
out pine timber and driving logs on different rivers. Then he went to Ruluff,
Texas, with the Sabine Tram Lumber Company, as assistant engineer in
the mills, and for a while was at Spindletop, the same state, in the Beaumont
oil fields, and while in Texas was married to Miss Sallie Elliott, from Ala-
bama. Two children — Alice and May — brighten the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Davis.
In 1908 Mr. Davis came to Coalinga and entered the employ of the asso-
ciated Pipe Line Company and took part in the construction of their west
side pipe line ; and after eleven months he was transferred to the Associated's
loading rack at Coalinga and was in charge of the important work of load-
ing. He returned to Texas in 1909 and spent a year there ; but in August.
1910, came back to Coalinga, and was again with the Associated on National
30. Since August 14, that year, he has been foreman of the lease, which has
ten producing wrells. In national politics, Mr. Davis is a Republican.
HERBERT B. QUICK. — New York State, still the empire common-
wealth, has contributed many a valued settler to the development of the
Golden State, and none more worthily represents the energy and resourceful-
ness of the East than H. B. Quick who, with that foresight, enterprise and
commonsense-venture characteristic of the long line from which he sprang,
has made much of what he undertook to husband, at the same time devoting
time, thought and labor, in true public-spiritedness. in fields of activity de-
signed for the larger and general good. He was born in Wyoming County,
X. Y., November 11, 1875, and is the son of Milan W. and Catherine (Stamp)
Quick, natives respectively of New York and England. Notwithstanding the
valuable and historic connections of the Quicks in New York, the family
moved from there to Iowa in 1882 ; and among the Hawkeyes they lived and
worked for four years. Then they migrated to Nebraska, taking up their
residence there in 1886.
In 1905 Mr. and Mrs. Quick could no longer resist the call of California
and so they came west to investigate for themselves. After spending six
months in Fresno County, with their son II. B. (who had preceded them
one year to California) they settled at Santa Cruz which place is still the
home of the father, the mother passing on to her reward in August. 1019.
Six children were born to this worthy couple and five of them are now living
yet only the parent and subject of this sketch are so fortunate as to gaze
upon the subtropical skys of California.
H. B. Quick was reared at home, and sent to the public schools; and
being sensible and studious, he improved the Opportunities offered him to
prepare for future usefulness. As a hoy. he had his attention directed to
agriculture, and he has always taken a very live interest in and followed that
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2189
undertaking, availing himself of every helpful suggestion from science, using
the most up-to-date methods and the most approved appliances, and getting
the highest possible results. He has eighty acres of land, the home ranch of
forty-one and a half acres, only half of which was improved when he took
charge of it; so that its present fine condition is due in part to his own
initiative and experience. The ranch is devoted to the production of apricots,
peaches, prunes, Thompson and Muscat grapes ; and such has been his suc-
cess for some time that his average yield is one and a half tons to the acre.
Mr. Quick has prided himself on the quality and the progress of his culti-
vation ; nor have the care and the labor thus bestowed by him gone un-
rewarded.
Despite his heavy responsibilities, Mr. Quick has for years taken an
interest in educational work, both here and elsewhere. He was one of the
principal promoters and organizers in the River Bend school district, and
was elected a member of the school board, a position he has since filled con-
tinuouslv. In every case where a proposition meaning advancement was
before the people, Mr. Quick has come out boldly for taking the step forward.
In February, 1900, he was united by marriage to Miss Pearl L., daughter
of Ebenezer and Lucy M. Balch ; and their union was blessed by the birth
of four children. Max W., the youngest, is deceased: Yelma I., Clarence R.,
and George H. Quick give comfort to their parents and bid fair to honor an
honored name. Mrs. Quick was born in Bond County, 111., December 13, 1875,
and is a most estimable lady, contributing her share to a blending of the
best phases of Eastern and Western social life. The family attend the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Quick has long been a trustee.
STEPHEN WALTON RHODES.— The capable superintendent of the
B. M. Hopper Vineyard, near Biola, Fresno County, is Stephen W. Rhodes,
born in Rhodelia, Meade County, Ky., March 21, 1892. The town of Rhodelia
is named for his great-grandfather Rhodes, who was a farmer in that local-
ity, and where five or six generations of the Rhodes family have resided.
His father, Francis Rhodes, was born there ; his mother in maidenhood,
was Cordia Durbin, daughter of Stephen Durbin, and she is a native of
Breckenridge County, Ky., and still resides on her farm at Rhodelia, Ky.
Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Rhodes, seven of whom are
living: Stephen being the fifth youngest. He was reared on a Kentucky
farm, and remained at home until he was seventeen years old, when he
started out to work for himself. He obtained employment with the Adams
Express Company, at St. Louis, Mo., where he remained one year. After
traveling through different states, in 1911, he reached Dinuba, Tulare County,
Cal., where he secured work in a vineyard. Subsequently, he went to Fowler,
where he was distiller for the old Kirby Company at Fowler and Selma ; from
1912 to 1914 Mr. Rhodes was the distiller for the California Wine Association
at Calwa, and Smith Mountain.
During 1914, Mr. Rhodes took a trip back east, and when he returned,
he secured employment at Reedley, Cal. In February, 1917, he went to the
B. M. Hopper ranch near Biola, where after being employed only two months,
his services were so satisfactory that he was made superintendent of the place,
which consisted of a vineyard of 160 acres, mostly in Muscat grapes, al-
though there are a few Thompson seedless. In January, 1919, he resigned
his position, having bought a ten-acre fig orchard in the Barstow Colony and
moved onto it. However, on May 15, 1919, he again accepted a position with
Mr. Hopper as superintendent of his 160-acre vineyard.
At Reedley, Cal., Stephen W. Rhodes was united in marriage with Miss
Rosemary Cecil ; she was born in Missouri, but reared in California. This
happy union has been blessed with two children, Stephen Rhodes, Jr., and
Dorothy. Mr. Rhodes is a member of the Catholic Church in Fresno. He
has been very successful as a vineyardist, and is regarded as an authority on
matters pertaining to viticulture.
2190 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
WILLIAM BARNETT.— A thorough mechanic who is particularly suc-
cessful as an electrician is William Barnett, chief electrician for the Shell
Company of California at Oilfields, one of the most responsible positions of
its kind in the State. He was born in 'Wigtownshire, Scotland, in 1880, the
son of Charles Barnett, who was a merchant. He married Margaret Ross,
who became the mother of six children. Both parents are living, retired ; and
three of the children are in California — Joe, a machinist, with the Shell Corn-
pan}- at Oilfields; Charles, a carpenter and builder, is at Yisalia ; and William
who is the subject of this sketch.
He was the eldest of the family, and received a public school education
in his native country, finishing at the Glenluce Academy. When he had put
aside his books, he assisted his father in his mercantile business, remaining
with him until 1903 when he came out to Winnipeg, in Manitoba, and for «
year took up electrical work. In 1904, he came to California, stopped in San
Francisco, but the same year came to Oilfields, in Fresno County, where he
entered the employ of the California Oilfields, Ltd., taking charge of their
electrical work. At the end of the year, he went to Coalinga to manage the
Coalinga Electric Light Plant ; but by the end of the next year he had resigned
and returned to Oilfields.
Since then Mr. Barnett has had charge of the lighting plant here and
built that up from the start. He wired the whole camp, and has installed
all the electrical connections. He continued with the Shell Company when
it came into possession in 1913; and four years later when the electrical de-
partment was placed under one head, he was made chief electrician, to the
satisfaction of everyone concerned and acquainted with his superior fitness.
At San Francisco. Mr. Barnett was married to Miss Catherine E. Fitz-
gibbons, a native of Ireland, who came as a child with her parents to the
Bay city, and later moved to Portland, Ore., where she was reared and edu-
cated. She is a charming lady and rightly shares with her husband an en-
viable popularity. Mr. Barnett is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Chap-
ter No. 144 of Coalinga.
JOHN T. PETERSEN.— In most every section of the Golden State are
evidences of the thrift and perseverance of men who have passed their child-
hood days on the picturesque farms of Denmark. The subject of this review,
John T. Petersen, first saw the light of day on November 30, 1864, in Aben-
rade. Slesvig, and is the son of Peter Thomsen and Mary (Lorriezen) Peter-
sen, who were the parents of two sons; John T., the subject of this sketch,
and Xiels L., who now resides in Oakland. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Petersen are
both deceased.
John T. Petersen was reared on a farm and received his early education
in the public school of Slesvig. When nineteen years of age, being drafted for
service in the German army, lohn Petersen determined to escape Prussian
military oppression by leaving Germany, and successfully accomplished his
purpose by walking over the German line into Denmark, after which lie made
his way to Esbjerg, where he took a ship for Hull, England, and from there
he went to Glasgow, where he set sail for New York City. After reaching
America, Mr. Petersen continued his journey Westward until he reached
the state of Iowa, where he arrived on July 1, 1884. He secured work on a
farm near Marshalltown, and continued to work as a farm hand until 1896
when he In night 160 acres of land near Marshalltown, Iowa, and engaged in
fanning for himself, raising oats, corn, cattle and hogs. Mr. Petersen con-
tinued there until 1904, when he sold his Iowa farm and removed to Selma,'
Fresno County. Cal., where he bought a ranch and orchard and engaged in
viticulture, dairying and fruit raising. In 1910 he sold his property at Selma
and benight a place of forty acres on White's Bridge Road, two and a half
miles west of Fresno, where he engaged in operating a vineyard of Muscat
and Thompson seedless grapes, also a small dairy. However, in 1919, he
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2193
sold out and built a comfortable bungalow at No. 224 Yosemite Avenue,
Fresno, where he now makes his home.
At Marshalltown, Iowa, April 26, 1893, John T. Petersen was united in
marriage with Tina Petersen, a native of Aalborg, Denmark, and this happy-
union has been blessed with four children: Blanche K., a graduate of both
the Fresno High, and the State Normal Schools, was a teacher in Fresno
County, but was doing instruction work in the United States Army at San
Antonio, Texas, during the War. Annie M., a graduate of Fresno High and
Heald's Business College, is a stenographer and is a bookkeeper in Fresno ;
Leonard P., and Jennie M. are students in the Fresno high school.
While living in the Fruitvale district, Mr. Petersen was school trustee for
a number of years. Fraternally, he is a member of the A. O. U. W., and
religiously is a Lutheran, and is chairman of the board of trustees of the
Danish Lutheran Church, at Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. Petersen and their family
are highly esteemed in the community where they reside, Mr. Petersen being
regarded as one of the prosperous vineyardists of his section. He is always
greatly interested in those movements that have as their aim the upbuilding
of the viticultural and horticultural interests of Fresno County, and is a
member and a stockholder in both the California Peach Growers, Inc., and
the California Associated Raisin Company.
WILLARD F. PLATE. — One who has many recollections of persons,
occasions and places in Central California, is Willard F. Plate, a New Yorker
by birth, born in Niagara County, fourteen miles east of Niagara Falls, on the
Erie Canal, on May 1, 1845. His father, Henry Plate, was born in Fayette,
Seneca County, N. Y., and located in Niagara County where he married Jane
Flanders, a native of the same county. He was a farmer there, but in 1868
moved to Macomb County, Mich., where he continued to farm, and where he
died almost eighty years of age. Mrs Plate also died there, at an advanced
age. They had three children, and all are living.
Willard F. was the oldest, and he was reared on a farm and attended
the public schools, including the Lockport High School ; and on completion
of his studies he went into the oil-fields near Zanesville, Ohio, where he
helped drill wells. Then he worked as a pumper, delivering oil to McCon-
nelsville. Having saved some money, he went to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in
1866, to attend the Eastman Business College, from which he was grad-
uated the following year ; and on returning home he was married to Miss
Lizzie Tennant, a native of Niagara County, N. Y. He farmed for a year, and
in 1868 moved to Macomb County, Mich., where he resumed farming and,
with his father, bought a farm. He was not satisfied, however, so in May,
1874, he came west to California.
He could then have bought lots just adjoining the City Hall in San
Francisco, but meeting Mr. Gould, he accepted a post as superintendent of
the Gould Ditch and so came to Fresno County. In 1875 he was busy shear-
ing sheep in Fresno, and he sheared sheep on the site of the present residence
of Frank Short, between K and L streets. He ran a level for engineers, and
so helped run a level for the flume into Clovis. Mr. Plate helped put in a dam
at the Eisen vineyard ; and later he built a water wheel on Fancher Creek.
He also helped make the first vintage in Fresno County in 1877, at the Eisen
vineyard. In 1877, he joined Mr. Fleming as a partner in the Fleming Livery
Stable at the corner of Mariposa and J streets, on the present site of Bow-
man's drug store ; but the dry year of 1877 came and he sold out to Mr. Flem-
ing and went to Boise City, Idaho.
After working at mechanical work there for two years, he was sent for
by the Gould Canal Company and made superintendent of the canal, then for
three years he followed mechanical work in and out of Fresno, but in 1904
he went to San Francisco and engaged in carpentering and building. After
that he went to Butte County and helped put in the woodwork of the Butte
2194 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
County canal. At the end of the summer he was back again in San Francisco,
just in time to experience the earthquake.
After Air. Plate's return to Fresno County, he worked awhile as a carpen-
ter, and then he went back again to San Francisco and engaged with the
building department of the Southern Pacific Railroad. He was also in the
employ of Horst Bros., at Sacramento, and he assisted to put in the first
hop-picking machines. At the end of five seasons, with that well-known firm
he returned to Fresno for the last time. This was in the spring of 1915, when
he leased his present place on Cole Avenue, near Clinton, where he started
to raise and feed hogs for the market. He has continued in this line, with
increasing success.
Two sons and two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Plate:
Nora, who is Mrs. Barr of Fresno ; Cora, with the Rosenberg Company ;
Charles, with the Associated Oil Company; and William, a rancher at the
corner of Palm and Trenton streets. In politics, Mr. Plate is a Socialist, but
first, last and all the time he is an American.
JESSE G. DICKEY. — Fresno, like many other cities of California, num-
bers among its prominent citizens of today many who came thither for their
health. Such was the case of Jesse G. Dickey who was born on a tobacco
plantation near Mayfield, Ky., February 7. 1865, the son of Jackson and Jane
Elizabeth (Sammons) Dickey, both natives of Kentucky. The Dickey family
is of Scotch origin, while the Sammons are of English descent.
Jackson Dickey was born in Harrowsburg, Ky., the youngest of a family
of twelve children, he lived to the advanced age of seventy-two years : his
estimable wife passed away at the age of seventy. Grandfather James Dickey
was born in the South, where the Dickey's had been planters for several
generations. Jesse G. Dickey's maternal grandfather, William Sammons,
was a pioneer merchant near Madisonville, Ky.
Jesse G. Dickey attended the country school and later the Male and Female
Academy at Providence, Ky., and at the early age of fifteen he left home
and began single-handed to fight life's battles for himself and ever since has
been making his own way in the world. For eight years he was a retail
salesman in a clothing store at Corydon, Ky., and for five years subsequently
was associated with the E. Donovan Company, who conducted a chain of
stores throughout the South. Severing his connection with the Donovan
Company he learned the painting and decorating trade, which business he
followed for a number of years in the Middle West.
On account of ill health Mr. Dickey left the Middle West and in 1904
came to Fresno, Cal., where he has resided ever since. For the first eight
years he was employed as a journeyman with leading painting and contract-
ing concerns in Fresno and in 1911 he began contracting for himself and
chose as his business motto "quality first." Through fair and square deal-
ings and conscientious efforts Mr. Dickey has built up an extensive and
lucrative business. The following are mentioned as some of the contracts
he has completed in Fresno: The Wonder Store; Hill Milliner Store; the
Ball Block ; the First Christian Church ; the F. W. Woolworth Building.
Mr. Dickey also worked on the Frank Short residence, the Charles G. Bon-
ner home and many other residences.
Mr. Dickey is a member of the Master House Painters' Association, local,
state and international, of the United States and Canada. He is an influential
member of the executive board of the State Association of California. Mr.
Dickey owns a forty-acre ranch northwest of Fresno and his attractive cot-
tage residence at 101 Oleander Street. Fresno, where he and Mrs. Dickey
dispense a liheral hospitality.
Jesse G. Dickey was married in Kentucky in 1RO0, to L. Eunice Powell,
a resident of the same state. Both he and his wife are active members of
the First Christian Church of Fresno.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2195
HENRY PRETZER, JR.— A prosperous dairyman and farmer, Henry
Pretzer, Jr., who resides on his 100-acre ranch, on North and Lincoln ave-
nues eleven miles southwest of Fresno, is a native of Russia, born about
twenty miles from Soratov on April 24, 1880, a son of Henry and Katherine
Margretha (Weber) Pretzer.
In 1887 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Pretzer, St., emigrated from the Volga
River country, Russia, to Yankton, S. D., where Mr. Pretzer was a farmer.
In 1888 he migrated farther west bringing his family to Fresno County, Cal.
He was a West Side grain farmer in Fresno County for years but is now
practically retired from active farm work and lives with his good wife on
Blythe Avenue, Fresno County, but is still the owner of an eighty-acre
ranch. After the family located in the Golden State, Henry Pretzer, Jr., at-
tended the public schools, worked with his father as a grain farmer and it
was in Fresno County that he grew to' manhood.
In May, 1902, Henry Pretzer, Jr., was united in marriage with Miss Anna
Schittz, a native of Russia. She came to America with her mother in 1902.
Her sister Katie, who is the wife of Will Pretzer, Jr., had come to California
in 1888, but were members of the Pretzer party that left Russia in 1887.
They reside in Fresno.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Pretzer, Jr., are the parents of eight children : Dan-
iel Albert ; Samuel Fred ; Bertha, who died at ten years of age ; Emma ;
Katie and Elizabeth are twins; Elsie; and Rosa. The family are members
of the German Evangelical Church of Fresno of which organization Mr. Pret-
zer is a trustee. By hard work and persistent efforts he has become a suc-
cessful dairyman and rancher on the land he purchased about 1910. Forty
acres of his ranch are devoted to raising alfalfa for his herd of twenty cows.
He has made every improvement on the place, built the buildings, checked
for alfalfa the forty acres and installed an electric pumping plant.
Mr. Pretzer is public spirited and always interested in worthy move-
ments that have as their aim the upbuilding of Fresno County and the ad-
vancement of the community where he resides, but is especially interested in
all educational matters and served three years as school trustee of the Kearney
district and is a member of the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers Associa-
tion.
P. D. TANGNEY. — An experienced machinist who understands the prin-
ciples of machinery so that he is careful of every detail of responsibility, is
P. D. Tangney, who was born in New York City on December 2, 1864, the
son of John Tangney who was a mechanic and a tanner. He married Adelia
Darcey; and both lived their useful lives and died in "York State."
The second oldest of three children, P. D. Tangney was reared in New
York State where he received a good schooling in the public system and at
the Franklinville, N. Y,, high school ; and after completing the course in the
latter institution, he was apprenticed as a machinist with the New York
Steam Engine Company, where he became a journeyman. He then went
to the Pennsylvania oil fields and learned the oil business, beginning with
tool dressing and finally becoming an oil operator in the Bradford district.
He was also an oil operator in the McKean field in Pennsylvania. Next he
was active in West Virginia, and later in Ohio, and then he spent a while in
Indiana. Illinois, Oklahoma, Kansas and Kentucky, in each case working
in the oilfields.
In 1885 Mr. Tangney made a trip to England and spent almost two
years in that country working in Manchester, Bolton, Liverpool, and York-
shire. The experience was broadening, and particularly satisfactory, on ac-
count of the favorable way in which his methods and work were received by
the English.
As a gold-mining engineer, Mr. Tangney, in 1907, made his way to Jack-
son County, Ore., and for a year engaged at Gold Hill, on Rogue River, as
the superintendent of a mine. In 1908 he came to Oilfields and entered the
2196 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
employ of the California Oilfields Limited, as foreman of their machine
shops.'and in August, 1913, when the Shell Company purchased the Oilfields
holdings, he continued with the new owners in the same capacity, being in
full charge of the mechanical department, a place of responsibility he fills to
everyone's satisfaction. His years of experience with different companies,
and knowledge of human nature and the world in general, make his services
everywhere appreciated.
At Parkersburg, W. Va., Mr. Tangncy was married to Miss Helen Gil-
bertsen, a native of New York State, and a lady who has likewise endeared
herself to all who know her. He is an active member of the Oilfields Club.
of which he has been both a trustee and its president.
FRANK V. RODRIGUES. — A man of strict integrity who by hard
work and frugal living has become the owner of a well-improved ranch of
forty acres, five and one-half miles northeast of Kingsburg devoted to raisins
and peaches, is Frank V. Rodrigues, who was born on the Island of Pico in
the beautiful Azores, on December 24, 1861. When only sixteen years old he
crossed the ocean in search of a more promising future ; he pushed on across
the continent to California and began to work out by the month on farms in
the San Joaquin Valley. He would liked to have gone to school again ; but
he could not, and so had to content himself with his circumstances. He did
learn farming and besides he acquired the practical, commonsense business-
ways of the western American. For many years he worked out, in both Kings
and Fresno counties, and saved as much money as he could.
He married in Fresno County, Miss Mary Enos, then he rented land for
several years, and in 1907 bought his present holding of forty acres. On this
he has worked intelligently, profiting by past experiences, and at the last
harvesting was able to display an area in the highest grade, of cultivation.
He has built a fine bungalow, good barns and a tank house, and laid out
yards and irrigation ditches. As a raisin grower he is counted very successful ;
and he not only looks well after his own interests, but he enters heartily into
the work of the California Associated Raisin Company, of which he is a
member.
Mr. and Mrs. Rodrigues have had ten children, and eight are now living,
the others having died when they were very young. Minnie is the wife of
Frank Pimentel, a rancher near Kingsburg; and the others are Frank, who
served in the World War and received his honorable discharge; Annie mar-
ried Manuel Miguel, and resides on his ranch near Hanford ; Tony returned
from his service in France, June 10, 1919; Joe; Rosa; Lena; and Clarence.
Remembering his own want of a liberal education, Mr. Rodrigues is endeav-
oring to give them every opportunity for study.
JACOB ZWANG. — A man of ability, energy and enterprise and one of
Coalinga's most successful business men is Jacob Zwang, the vice-president
and manager of the Crescent Meat Company, and a director of the First
National Bank of Coalinga. Jacob Zwang was born in Baden, Germany, in
1879, and received his early education in the schools of his native country.
At the early age of sixteen he emigrated to the United States, locating in
Tulare County, where he continued his schooling at Yisalia. After leaving
school he learned the butcher's trade while in the employ of M. Levy, and
when the shop was moved to Laton. Fresno County, Mr. Zwang became a
partner of Mr. Levy who opened the first shop in the place.
In 1905. Mr. Zwang. accompanied by M. Levy and his son Albert, moved
to Coalinga. where they purchased the Crescent Meat Market, from Kreven-
hagen Brothers, and in 1906 incorporated the business as the Crescent Meat
Company, Mr. Zwang becoming vice-president and manager, a position he
has since held. Under the able and efficient management of Mr. Zwang the
business has greatly increased; the company remodeled the building, built a
large cold-storage plant with a three and a half ton ice machine, and have
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2199
also built a modern slaughter house one and a half miles from the city. The
Crescent Meat Company conducts a large and extensive wholesale and retail
business and in addition is raising cattle and sheep, and buying and shipping
cattle, hogs and sheep. They maintain a large ranch in the mountains for
pasturing the cattle and sheep. In 1912, Mr. Zwang helped to organize the
Hays Cattle Company which is extensively engaged in raising cattle in Ari-
zona, on the Company's ranch near Prescott, and he is the secretary of the
organization. Mr. Zwang is financially interested in several oil companies,
and was formerly one of the directors of the Bank of Coalinga before it
was consolidated with the First National Bank, of which he is now a director.
Jacob Zwang was united in marriage with Miss Maude Wagner, of Park-
field, Monterey County, Cal., the ceremony being solemnized at San Fran-
cisco, and they have two children : Darrell and Herman. Fraternally, Mr.
Zwang is a member of the Odd Fellows, and is Past Grand of the Coalinga
Lodge ; he is a member of the Encampment at Hanford, and of the Rebekahs,
also a member of the Eagles and of the Coalinga Chamber of Commerce. The
career of Jacob Zwang is an illustration of what can be accomplished in
California by young men of good character, even without means, who are
industrious and exercise prudent thrift and wise forethought in the manage-
ment of their affairs, and who possess an abundance of self-confidence and
a determination to succeed.
H. A. ADAMS. — A well-educated, self-made man who has become suc-
cessful in business and as a financier, and representing by direct descent one
of the great American families long identified with the political history of
the United States, is H. A. Adams, a member of the distinguished Colonial
family of our country, whose ancestors flourished in and came from the
Mother Country, England. He was born at Parkersburg, W. Va., on January
9, 1867, the son of James W. Adams, a prosperous farmer there, who first
saw the light in what was then Virginia, but has now become West Virginia.
The grandfather, Robert Adams, was a coal baron, a pioneer oil operator,
and a proprietor of salt-wells and salt-works on the Ohio River, and also
owned a line of Ohio River steamboats. He lived to be ninety-nine, and died
in full possession of his faculties. He married Sarah Waggener, and both
of them were of English Cavalier stock.
James W. Adams married Elizabeth Ellis of New York State, who lived
to be sixty-nine. He came to California in 1887, with his wife and two children,
after first living in Saline County, Mo., for eighteen years. They moved to
Missouri from West Virginia when our subject was only three years old; and
seven years later he and his mother, with a brother and a sister went back
to the scenes of their former home. There were only these three children in
the family, and they are : Harry, who is city agent for the New York Mutual
Life Insurance Company ; Herman Ansley, of whom we are writing in detail ;
and Hattie, the widow of Fred Eaton, the former store-keeper at Burrel,
now a resident of Fresno.
Herman A. attended the county schools in his home district, and the
high school of Saline County, as well as the Normal at Warrensburg, Mo.,
and the Missouri State University at Columbia, from which he was graduated
in 1888 with the degree of Ph.D., having received in all four diplomas for
his studies and learning. This pursuit of knowledge called for some sacrifice,
however; for while his parents moved and were settling in California and
Fresno, the young man remained behind in Missouri to finish his education.
Arriving in Fresno, Mr. Adams went to work for the Valley Lumber
Company, and was sent to Caruthers, where he became the resident manager.
He worked for the Valley Lumber Company in all eight years ; and during
this time he was married to Miss Jean Forsyth, a native of Scotland. In
July, 1897, he bought out a store in Caruthers and conducted a general mer-
chandise business there until 1914. In 1900 he bought his first ranch of 303
2200 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
acres north of Burrel, and improved it with houses and a large barn. Soon
after, he bought 177 acres and improved that property, also. He purchased
the section he is at present most identified with about twelve years ago.
In 1914, Mr. Adams sold his store and moved to Los Angeles, where
he bought a fine residence at 1130 West Thirty-seventh Street, intending
to reside there, but in June, 1918, when food was needed in the World War,
he returned to the soil, rolled up his sleeves, and became a real producer,
thus patriotically helping his country. While at Caruthers, he built a resi-
dence, garage and store-building, and the two former he still retains.
Five children were born to Air. and Mrs. Adams: Jessie, Georgia, How-
ard and James, who are living to honor the family name ; and a babe who
died in infancy. Mr. Adams knows everybody in the South Central part of
Fresno County, and he and his wife are widely known and highly esteemed.
WILLIAM H. DILLIN. — A successful and enterprising business man
who has contributed his share in the development of California, one who has
improved many acres in the Barstow and Empire sections of Fresno County,
and at present is busily engaged in looking after his highly improved ranch
and vineyard on Madera Avenue, is William H. Dillin. A native of the Hawk-
eye State, W. H. Dillin, was born at Marengo, Iowa County. Iowa. July 6,
1860. His father. Thomas Dillin, a native of Knox County, Ohio, settled in
Iowa before there was any railroad in his section of the state.
During the Civil War, Thomas Dillin raised a company of volunteers, of
which he was commissioned the captain, the company being attached to the
Twenty-eighth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry. Thomas Dillin was a
millwright and carpenter by trade and was the owner of two flour mills in
Iowa.
In 1881. he migrated with his family to Orange County, Cal., where he
built a flour mill at Olive, which he conducted for seven years under the name
(if Dillin and Company. After selling the mill he removed to Los Angeles
where he resided until his death. Mrs. Dillin was Hester Ann Wilson, before
her marriage, a native of Indiana, her death occurring at Los Angeles, in 1892.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dillin were the parents of six children, five of whom
grew to maturity, and are living: Curtis A., resides in Los Angeles; Tilcus
R.. lives on the old home place in Iowa; John I., resides in Los Angeles; Wil-
liam H.. of this review; and Mary R., who is now Mrs. Geo. H. Weitz. of
the Empire district.
William H. Dillin followed in his father's footsteps by learning the trade
of a miller. In 1881, he accompanied the family to Orange County. Cal., where
he assisted his father in the operation of a flour mill at Olive until the mill
was sold. Afterwards, in partnership with his brother J. I. Dillin. he was
engaged in the grain commission business for two years in Los Angeles,
being located on Los Angeles Street, and doing business under the caption
of Dillin Brothers. William FI. Dillin decided to engage in farming and with
his brother, purchased a ranch of 320 acres in San Diego County, near Otav,
where for lour years he operated the ranch. His next business enterprise was
in Los Angeles where, with his brothers C. A. and J. I., he built a planing
mill at Sixth Street and Central Avenue, known as the Arcade Planing Mill.
The mill was successfully operated by the Dillin Brothers for eight" years
during which time they built up n large business, employing at times as' high
as fifty men. After the mill was sold W. II. Dillin spent one year in Canada,
and while there purchased a ranch ninety-five miles north of Calgary, dis-
posing of it during the same year. Mr. Dillin returned to California, this
time locating in Fresno County, where he purchased 160 acres in the Barstow
colony in 1905. After improving the ranch by planting eighty acres to alfalfa,
and the remaining eighty to a vineyard and an orchard, he sold it in 1911,
after which he spent some time in Los Angeles and San Diepo. It was in
October, 1916, that Mr. Dillin returned to Fresno Countv, when he purchased
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2201
his present place of forty-six and a half acres on Madera Avenue. He has
brought this property up to a high state of cultivation, thirty-six acres being
devoted to a vineyard of Thompson seedless grapes. In addition to this
ranch Mr. Dillin is the owner of valuable business property in Fresno, a
ranch at Otay, and real estate in San Diego.
On June 25, 1916, William H. Dillin was united in marriage with Clara
Belle P'lor, a native of Fremont, Nebr., the ceremony being solemnized at
San Diego. Mr. Dillin is greatly esteemed for his high ideals of business
integrity, courteous and genial manners, which have won for him a large
circle of warm friends. He is an enthusiastic member of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company.
CARL O. ERICKSON. — A reminder of the important contribution made
by Sweden to the developing of America, and particularly through the intel-
ligence, industry and special adaptability of her steady-going sons and daugh-
ters, to the success of one or another department of agriculture, is
offered in the life story of Carl O. Erickson and his brother who live on a
ranch two and a quarter miles north of Kingsburg on Grant Avenue. He was
born at Askesund, Sweden, on February 13, 1872, the son of Gustav Oscar
and Sophia Matilda (Person) Erickson, who married and died in their native
country, the parents of six children, four of whom are still living. The other
sons are Emil Erickson, who was born in June, 1870, in Sweden and is now
Carl's partner, and Flugo Valentine and John August Erickson, both of whom
live in Sweden. Carl grew up in Sweden on the little farm of his father's,
there attended the district schools, and was confirmed in the Lutheran Church.
Emil was the first to break away from home and country and to come to
America, and in 1901 Carl sailed from Goteborg, and landed in New York
City in November. He soon came through to Chicago, and there he remained
for a year and a half. If he did not immediately see his goal, he profited by
his environment to get rapidly acquainted with the characteristics of Amer-
ican institutions.
In 1903 Mr. Erickson continued West and reached California, accom-
panied by Emil ; and since then the two brothers have pooled their interests
and worked hand in hand. Three years later they bought their present forty
acres, sixteen acres are planted to peaches, three and a half to Thompson
seedless, eight to Sultanas, eight to Muscats, while four acres are given up
to yard, a drying yard, etc. The Erickson brothers belong to and heartily
support the work of both the California Associated Raisin Company and the
California Peach Growers, Inc.
Mr. Erickson is a member of the Swedish Methodist Church at Kings-
burg, and with his brother, bought liberally of liberty bonds and otherwise
supported the War work. In civic matters, also, they endeavor to give their
votes and support only to the best men and the best measures.
WILLIAM BECKER.— California could scarcely have become the re-
nowned Golden State had it not been for the high character and unselfish
toil of her citizens, among whom we mention William Becker, the assistant
cashier of the First National Bank of Riverdale, who came to Fresno first
in 1904. Mr. Becker was born at St. Helena, Napa County, Cal., on November
2, 1886, the son of A. C. Becker, a native of Germany, who came to California
and set up as a merchant in St. Helena. He died when William was only
three years old. Mrs. A. C. Becker was Charlotte Smith before her marriage,
and after she became a widow she married William Rennie. He was engaged
in mining quicksilver at St. Helena, being associated with his brother, James
Rennie. As William Becker grew up, he was seized with a desire to become
a mining engineer, as there was a great deal of profitable mining at St. Helena.
In 1904 the step-father moved near the City of Fresno with his family,
where he became manager of the great Barton Vineyard Company, Ltd. The
lad was given an opportunity of attending the high school, and after grad-
2202 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
nation he went back to the quicksilver mines of St. Helena and engaged to
work, for his uncle ; but the price of quicksilver had fallen to such a point that
its mining was unprofitable. So he came back to Fresno County and worked
with his step-father at the Barton Vineyard. There was a still for making
brandy, and .Mr. Becker was detailed to tend the still, but as this seemed
without a future it was not to his liking, and led him to take a graduate
course in business at the High School.
At first he accepted a clerkship in the First National Bank at Fresno in
1909, which he held until December 2, 1911, when he became both a stock-
holder and a clerk in the bank at Riverdale, which was then a state bank.
He saved his money, and when Homer J. Hoyt of the First National Bank of
Riverdale moved away, Mr. Becker was able to buy a considerable portion
of Hoyt's stock in that bank. Since then he has risen from clerk to assistant
cashier, where his thoroughness and accuracy have helped to make it one
of the best banks in the county.
Mr. Becker was married at Hanford to Miss Mena Maude Parker of
Fresno. They have two children : Evelyn Ellen and William James. They
have built an up-to-date bungalow, and it is one of the most attractive homes
in Riverdale. Mr. and Mrs. Becker are members of the Episcopal Church
at Fresno, and Mr. Becker belongs to the Riverdale lodge of Odd Fellows.
AUGUST JOHNSON.— An old-timer with a varied and exceedingly in-
teresting history, and a pioneer who ever deserves the esteem and good will
of fellow Californians, since he has done much to develop, improve and ad-
vance the neighborhoods in which he has cast his lot, is August Johnson,
who was born in Sundsvoll, Sweden, the outlet of a lumber manufacturing
country and an important seaport, on October 4, 1857. He was once prom-
inent in the work of sinking oil wells, and was quite as well known in the
equally great work of distributing and setting out nursery cuttings for
vineyards.
His father was John Johnson, a native of Vennland, who was a lumber-
man and a millwright, and was engaged in saw-milling, and he was married
in his home-region to Amalia Aaronson. The father died in 1876, and the
mother ten years before. .They had five children, among whom the subject of
this interesting sketch is the third oldest, and also the only one now living.
August was brought up in his native country, was educated at the public
schools, and was an apprentice to the millwright trade. In 1881 he came to
Wisconsin, and was employed in that state as a lumberman, continuing the
same line of work in Minnesota. The next year he decided to push still
further West, where the climatic conditions were more attractive, and he
came to Fresno County, Cal. After three months, not finding just the em-
ployment he desired, he went North to Oregon and Washington, and for a
couple of years labored in the mills, turning out lumber. In 1884 he returned
to Fresno.
Having great faith in the future of Central California, Mr. Johnson
bought fourteen acres in Washington Colony, where he set out a vineyard,
and as soon as possible, he bought twenty acres more, arranging the whole
in as fine a vineyard as could be seen for miles around. In 1903, however,
he sold this and moved to what is now the McKinley district and Johnson
Avenue, where he improved forty acres. He not only laid out a fine vine-
yard, but he set out a good peach orchard ; and this he conducted for four
years when, in 1907. he parted with it at a sale. It was then that he bought
twenty acres of the Richland tract, which he managed until 1018 when he
sold it and purchased twenty acres on Valentine and California avenues,
four miles west of Fresno. There he had a display of Thompson seedless
grapevines, Sultanas, and Muscats, the whole forming one of the most de-
sirable of small ranches. He is an active member of the California Associated
Raisin Company, hav.ing always been identified with raisin association move-
ments.
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2207
In February, 1900, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Mathilda Carlson,
a native of Linkoping, Sweden, who had come to California in 1891. Mr.
and Mrs. Johnson are among the most popular of Swedish-Americans. In
politics they are Republicans, but never allow party allegiance to stand in
the way of a hearty endorsement of all worthy movements for local reform
and improvement. They attend the Swedish Mission Church.
As illustrating Mr. Johnson's activity as a pioneer, it may be recorded
that in early days he bought a well-boring rig, in association with a partner,
and in 1885 alone sunk fifteen wells — a considerable number for that period.
He also put up windmills when they were a novelty, set out vineyards and
contracted for nursery cuttings. In one year he contracted to bud 750,000
cuttings of Muscat slips. In the spring of 1896, he tried his luck at mining
at Cook's Springs, Alaska ; took along some dried fruit that he sold at a profit
and which helped pay expenses. In December, 1918, he sold his ranch and
bought a house and lot in Fresno, on 323 Effie Street. In the spring of 1897,
Mr. Johnson made a trip back to Sweden to visit old scenes and the fair at
Stockholm, but returned to Fresno, more satisfied than ever that he had
taken up his home here.
FRANK LAURIDSEN.— A liberal-minded, large-hearted gentleman of
kindly disposition, who has become well-posted in producing raisins and has
greatly aided in the development of the viticultural interests of the County,
is Frank Lauridsen, a native of Denmark. He was born in Vardo, Jylland, on
April 27, 1868, the son of Laurid Jepsen, a farmer, who married Miss Maren
Hansen. She died in 1874, when Frank, who was the youngest in the family,
was six years old, leaving seven children. The lad was brought up on a
farm and educated at the public schools.
When twenty-two years of age. Frank was seized with a desire to seek
his fortune in the New World ; so, leaving the scenes of his boyhood, he
migrated to America and the Golden State, and arrived in Fresno County
in April, 1890. Here he secured employment in a vineyard in Central Colony,
and being industrious and thrifty, and determined some day to own a vine-
yard, he made his first purchase of land in 1893, when he bought ten acres,
and a year later bought another vineyard of the same size. In 1900, however,
Mr. Lauridsen sold his twenty acres and leased a forty-acre vineyard on
Madison Avenue, where he engaged in viticulture, experimenting success-
fully for four years.
In the meantime, Mr. Lauridsen had purchased his present holding of
fifty acres of raw land on White's Bridge Road, three miles west of Fresno,
which he improved by setting out forty acres to vines and bordering his
vineyard with Thompson seedless grapes. He set out muscat, sultana and
Thompson grapes, and made of the whole a very handsome property. The
residence and other buildings are picturesquely situated in an orange grove.
In addition to this holding, Mr. Lauridsen owns a forty-acre alfalfa ranch
in the Manning district, equipped with a pumping-plant for irrigation.
Mr. Lauridsen was united in marriage, in 1905, with Miss Christene Jen-
sen, a native of Ribe, Denmark, the ceremony being solemnized in Fresno,
to which city Miss Jensen, who has since proven such a delightful and helpful
companion, came in 1901. A daughter, Mabel, has come to them.
A member of both the Dania and the Danish Brotherhood, and an ex-
president of the latter society, Mr. Lauridsen also belongs to the Lutheran
Church. He has been a member of all the different raisin associations since
the first one promoted by M. Theo. Kearney, and is now a member and a
stockholder in the California Associated Raisin Company. Known as an
enterprising and successful business man, and one always interested in the
upbuilding of Fresno County, Mr. Lauridsen is also highly esteemed for his
honesty and integrity.
2208 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
STEPHEN FRANCIS MOONEY.-A highly-respected worker in the
oil fields, who brought with him from the East the accumulated and val-
uable experience of years of successful work in the oil districts there, is
Stephen Francis Mooney, a native of Clarion County, Pa., where he was
born on May 1, 1864. His father, Stephen Mooney, was an oil operator and
producer in that county and died in Pennsylvania on October 3, 1917. Mrs.
Mooney was Mary Dormor before her marriage, and she died in the same
place forty years ago, the mother of five children, four of whom, — three boys
and a girl — are still living. One of the sons, J. B. Mooney, resides in Coalinga.
Stephen was brought up in Clarion County and there educated at the
public schools ; and until he was twenty-one, he assisted his father. Then,
for four years, he was dressing tools with a contractor of oil wells, after
which he worked as a driller. He next engaged in contract drilling for the
Southern Pennsylvania Oil Company in West Virginia, when he returned to
Armstrong County, Pa., and was a driller with the People's Natural Gas
Company.
In 1907, on account of his daughter's health, he came to Coalinga and
was in the employ of W. M. Graham, on Section 6, and then he was a driller
on Section 2. He was next with James Robertson, of the Azores Oil Com-
pany in Jacolitos Canyon, and after that for nine months was foreman in
charge of the drilling for the Boychester Oil Company. In 1910, he entered
the service of the California Oilfields, Ltd., and as a driller he has continued
with them and their successors in California ever since. He is now the oldest
driller on this lease and no one has a more creditable record.
While in Harmony, Butler County, Pa., August 4, 1885. Mr. Mooney
was married to Miss Belle Hunter, who was born in Blair County, Penn.,
but reared in Butler, daughter of David and Frances (Law) Hunter, of old
Pennsylvania stock. Mr. and Mrs. Mooney have six children: Edna is Mrs.
Loges of Dinuba ; Esther has become Mrs. Yass, of Los Angeles; Ruth is
Mrs. Davisson of Oilfields ; and Helen, Kenneth and Edward are at home.
No one takes a healthier interest in politics than does Mr. Mooney, who
follows the Democratic banner in national affairs, and joins his fellow-
citizens in local projects and works for the best men and the best measures,
irrespective of party lines, thus striving as a model citizen for the bettering
of the country.
F. C. GIBSON. — A progressive rancher and dairyman, and an honored
trustee of the Grant School district, is F. C. Gibson, located three miles west
of Laton. Not only is he a scientific farmer and dairyman, but he is an ex-
pert blacksmith and mason, has a forge on his farm and does brick masonry,
cementing, and blacksmithing for the local corporation. In 1914 he bought
his home ranch of forty acres ; and now he runs a dairy of twenty-one cows.
He was born on February Id. 1867, in Grant Township, Boone County, Iowa,
the son of Franklin Christopher Gibson, a farmer and a Union soldier in the
Civil War. While a young men the father had come to Boone County and
there married Miss Martha Walker, a native of Pennsylvania. Grandfather
Abraham Walker and his wife and family drove across the plains with ox
teams.
Our subject was only nine when his mother died at thirty-two years of
age, and his father passed away in Iowa, in his thirty-eighth year. His
parents had nine children, and F. C. was the oldest son, and a twin with
a brother who died. He had three sisters older than himself. He had small
opportunity for an education, for when his mother died, the family broke up.
The five children were put out separately, F. C. being indentured to C. C.
Keiglev. a large farmer, lie had to work hard, and at times suffered abuse.
At the end of three years, he went to work for Keigley's brother and con-
tinued with him for a couple of years, receiving somewhat better treatment.
He thus labored for other folks until he was twenty-two.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2209
While in Iowa, on March 6, 1907, Mr. Gibson was married to Miss Lucy
Jones, a native of Boone County, and a daughter of David and Lucinda (Dyer)
Jones, the father being a Kentuckian by birth and the mother a native of
Indiana. In that state her parents had been married, and from there, in the
pioneer days, they had moved to Boone County.
In November, 1907, Mr. and Mrs. Gibson came to the Laguna de Tache,
and now they own forty acres, for some years under his control, while they
have just contracted for another forty, across the road to the east. They
have one child, John Albert, whom they seek to guide to the most useful and
honorable maturity. Mr. Gibson was so long denied the advantages of a good
home that it is only natural he should wish to do everything he can for his
son. A mother's love and father's protection were denied him, and he was
compelled to work beyond his strength. Grandmother Walker, who was born
in Pennsylvania, like her husband lived to be past eighty years of age. The
Walkers came of Scotch-Irish stock ; the Gibsons, of the Pennsylvania
Dutch. They became early settlers of both Indiana and Iowa, and deserve
honorable mention in the annals of more than one township.
One of the honors Mr. Gibson has greatly appreciated has been his elec-
tion to the school trusteeship already referred to. In that office he has been
active for those educational opportunities which he himself never enjoyed,
and which, indeed, few of his generation had placed at their disposal, as
have the American boy and girl of today.
MRS. MARY F. KUCKENBAKER.— A good woman who has reared
her family to lead honored lives, is Mrs. Mary F. Kuckenbaker, the widow
of the late Charles Frederick Kuckenbaker, the well-known Laton pioneer,
and who resides at the old Kuckenbaker ranch of fifty acres five miles west
of Laton, in comparative retirement, enjoying quietly the old pioneer house
which was added to, from time to time and in happier years, to meet the
exigencies of a new country and a growing family. Her home, though simple
and old-fashioned, is very cosy, and easily reveals the presence of an experi-
enced and careful housekeeper. It was her lot to lose a noble son in the World
War, and not long ago the companion for many years of her joys and sor-
rows also passed away.
Beloved, however, by her children, of whom she has good cause to be
proud, and highly esteemed by all who know her as a neighbor and a friend,
Mrs. Kuckenbaker still has much to make her cheerful and happy.
She was born in Cedar County, Mo., about sixteen miles west of Stock-
ton, the count}' seat, of parents who came to that state from Virginia. They
pitched their tent in Cedar County, and were among its earliest settlers.
Her father was J. C. Beydler, and he married Eliza Gouchenour who came,
like himself, of German ancestry. Indeed, the grandparents of both families
came from Germany and settled in Missouri about two years before the out-
break of the Civil War, after which they moved to Illinois. This change was
necessary owing to their sympathy with the anti-slave movement. At the
close of the war, however, the}'- returned to Missouri, where the parents had
homesteaded, and there our subject grew up. While in Missouri she was
married to Mr. Kuckenbaker, a native of Germany, who was reared and
educated in Missouri, and who was only eight years old when his parents
came to America; and years after her marriage, she came, in June, 1897,
to California.
Seven of Mr. and Mrs. Kuckenbaker's children were born in Missouri,
while the two youngest were born in California. Effie Elsie Lee, the eldest,
died in Missouri when she was two years, seven months and fourteen days
old. John Noah, a rancher, married Miss Grace Sands, of Laton, and owns
a ranch near that town, and has been very successful, and having no children
2210 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of his own, he is rearing an orphan boy, known as Russell Kuckenbaker,
whom he adopted and who is now in the grammar school. George owns two
ranches west of Laton, and shares the fruits of his labors with his good wife,
who was Hattie Sands before her marriage, and is the mother of three chil-
dren— Harold, Elnora and a baby boy. Josie is the wife of Guy Whitney:
they have two children, Esther and Dorothy, and they own eighty acres near
Laton. Clyde married Alice Cummings of that town, and resides near-by,
a rancher, the father of two children. Homer and Wilbur. Crafton is a farmer
owning twenty acres and renting 200 acres of the Hancock Ranch, and he
married Amanda Bristol, by whom he has had one baby, Virginia. Lester
Emery enlisted in the service of his country, and died at the Rocky Ford
aviation school near San Diego, on March 8, 1917, unmarried, in his twenty-
first year. Isaac Nathan, nineteen years of age, works on a ranch but is
included in the honor roll of the draft. Olen Howard, the ninth and youngest
born, is seventeen years old and is at home.
It was about the beginning of this century when Mr. Kuckenbaker bought
the fifty acres which his widow now rents to a resident tenant, and which is
a part of the famous Laguna de Tache grant; and about 1912 he went to Old
Mexico and bought some 300 acres of land to which he expected to bring
his family when the revolution there had ceased. He was driven out. however,
with five hundred other Americans and arriving at Missouri, was vaccinated.
Tragic to relate, blood-poisoning set in ; his arm turned black, and he who
had so long labored as an exemplary American citizens, valuable to every
community in which he had lived and toiled, fell a victim to a disorder that
has long been a blot on North American civilization. On June 8, 1912, he
passed away, in his sixty-fifth year.
In addition to the desirable estate five miles west of Laton, and south
of the Riverdale and Laton Road, now known as Mt. Whitney Avenue. Mrs.
Kuckenbaker owns 120 acres in Cedar County, Mo., and this property is also
managed with characteristic good judgment.
H. PROODIAN. — An enterprising and progressive viticulturist, the
owner of a most desirable ranch of forty acres of land devoted to the raising
of various varieties of grapes, together with some fig trees, is H. Proodian, a
native of Mesopotamia, Armenia, where he was born in Diarbekr, December
1, 1866. He was reared and educated in his native land, and after remaining
there about twenty-two years migrated to the LTnited States of America, in
the year 1888. locating at Hoboken, N. J.; where he secured employment in
a silk mill, continuing with the factory sixteen years.
In 1904 Mr. Proodian came to California, where the following year he
purchased twenty acres of land, near Lone Star. Since 1911 .he has owned
and operated, with splendid results, his excellent ranch of forty acres, where
he now resides, four and one-half miles west of Sanger, in Fresno County.
He constructed a fine residence in 1917, and made many other improvements
on his ranch. The irrigation system that supplies water for irrigating his
crops is especially efficient, and by hard work and intelligent management he
has made a splendid success of his ranch.
In 1886, in his native country, Mr. Proodian was united in marriage with
Miss Tuma Chankalian, who is also a native of Armenia. This union has been
blessed with six children: Roxie, Mrs. Soligian. who has three children:
Simpat, "Pat" for short, who served in the United States Army seventeen
months, seeing service in France in the One Hundred Sixty-fourth Company,
Forty-first Division; Annie, Mrs. Garobedian, who has three children; and
Minnie. May and Dickranoohe. After his son returned from his army ser-
vice, Mr. Proodian bought eighty acres of land and gave it to him for a
home. The family are members of Trinity Church in Fresno.
Mr. H. Proodian is regarded as a progressive agriculturist. He is a mem-
ber of California Associated Raisin Company and is particularly interested
in the upbuilding of the best interests of viticulture in Fresno County.
H
JfaroeycL
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2213
HENRY OAKLEY STOWELL.— A native son who is proud of the
progress of the state of his birth, is Henry Oakley Stowell, whose success is
the more creditable in the light of the limited advantages afforded him in
earlier years. He was born at Santa Maria on October 25, 1891, the son of
E. H. Stowell, who married Emma Oakley, a native daughter now deceased
and a member of an old family long and honorably figuring in the histories
of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. E. H. Stowell was born in
Placerville, and his wife first saw the light near Sacramento. The parents
were married at Santa Maria, where Mr. Stowell had a ranch on which our
subject and his four brothers and a sister grew up. Four of these six children
are now living.
When he was eleven years old, Henry O. came to Guernsey, Kings
County, and there he lived a year. He also spent a year at Lemoore, and
six years at Laton, three years at Riverdale, and two years at Red Bluff.
While at Riverdale, Mr. Stowell was married to Miss Gladys Smith, daughter
of C. A. Smith, the cashier of the First National Bank of Laton. One child,
Raymond C, has came to them.
Before he was twenty-one years old, Mr. Stowell began to rent, and now
he runs 140 acres and some pasture as well in the hills. He keeps 150 head
of high-grade cattle there, and half of the herd belongs to him. This is Mr.
Stowell's second year on the place, and he has certainly produced results.
In addition to other property, he owns half an interest in 100 hogs, and ten
horses and wagons, and a full complement of farming tools.
Mr. and Mrs. Stowell have a live interest in civic affairs, working with
the Democratic party in national politics, but they are non-partisan in local
affairs. They are much interested in Laton and vicinity, and predict a won-
derful future for Fresno County.
JOHN H. STRANAHAN.— The efficient foreman of the Homestead
Development Oil Company at Coalinga, John H. Stranahan, is a native of
the Empire State, born at North Kortright, Delaware County, N. Y., on Feb-
ruary 28, 1863, a son of William and Fannie M. (Schemerhorn) Stranahan,
who were both natives of the same state. William Stranahan is of Scotch
descent; the family lineage is traced back to the Strachn Clan of Strachn
Parish, Kincardineshire, Scotland, the name in latter generations having been
changed to Stranahan. John H. Stranahan's grandmother's name was Mc-
Cauley. also of Scotch descent, she being a relative of General McClelland.
William Stranahan was a farmer by occupation and removed from New
York to Warren County, Pa., where he passed away. His wife in maiden-
hood was Fannie M. Schemerhorn, a native of New York state and of old
Knickerbocker stock — a lineal descendant of Jacob Schemerhorn, who came
to New York in very early days from Holland, bringing his own ship and
cargo of merchandise. He died upon his arrival, however, and the ship and
cargo were sold and the money invested in lands on Manhattan Island, but
the fortune accumulated from the investment has never been received by the
descendants.
Mr. and Mrs. William Stranahan both passed away in Pennsylvania and
of their six children J. H., the subject of this review, is the oldest. He was
reared near Albany, N. Y., at the foot of the Catskill Mountains, and when
eight years of age accompanied his parents to Spring Creek, Warren County,
Pa., where he was educated in the public schools. J. H. Stranahan was seven-
teen years old when his father died and to help in the support of the family
he worked in saw mills and on a farm. His next occupation was in connection
with the oil industry, where at first he learned to dress tools, afterwards be-
coming foreman of one of the Standard Oil Company's properties in the oil
fields of Western Pennsylvania. In November, 1909, J. H. Stranahan came
to Coalinga, Cal., where he became driller for Marvin Corey, contractor,
afterwards he served in the same capacity for Jim Shreves ; later he was
2214 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
with the British Consolidated Oil Company, which is now known as the Coal-
inga Star, and with this company he was engaged from 1910 to 1916 as lease
foreman. At present Mr. Stranahan is the lease foreman for the Homestead
Development Oil Company, on section 12-20-14, and through his able manage-
ment the company is operating fourteen of their sixteen oil wells. Electric
motors are used for pumping and most up-to-date methods are used by Mr.
Stranahan in operating the lease. He is one of the most popular foremen in
this field, being very thoughtful and careful of the welfare of his men and
is highly esteemed by all who have business relations with him.
In Cory, Pa., on July 2, 1884, J. H. Stranahan was united in marriage
with Evelyn M. Miles, a native of South Ripley, N. Y., and daughter of Cal-
vin and Cynthia A. (Perdue) Miles, natives of Massachusetts and the province
of Quebec, respectively. They were farmers in the state of New York and
afterwards at Freehold, Warren County, Pa. Mr. Miles died at Tiona, Pa.,
and his wife passed away at North East, Pa.
Mrs. Stranahan's grandfather, Solomon Miles, a native of Ncedham,
Mass., enlisted in the Revolutionary War at the age of sixteen years and
had the distinction of serving under General Washington. He was one of
the first settlers of Warren County, Pa., where he took up a claim in the
wilderness and lived to the advanced age of ninety-nine years. Her great
grandfather, who also bore the name of Solomon Miles, also served in the
Revolutionary War.
Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Stranahan are the happy parents of one child, Frances,
who graduated with honor in 1918, at the University of California, and is
now doing post graduate work there. She had the honor of winning the
Julian Arnold Trophy, in parliamentary debate.
Mr. Stranahan was made a Mason in Coalinga Lodge No. 287, F. & A. M.,
and is a member of Coalinga Chapter, R. A. M. ; is also a member of the Odd
Fellows at Sheffield, Pa., where he is a Past Grand, and is affiliated with the
M. W. of A. and the K. O. T. M. at Sheffield, Pa., and is a welcome member
of the Growlers Club. Fraternally, Mrs. Stranahan is a member of the Ti-
dioute Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, at Tidioute, Pa. ; is
a member of the Welcome Club at Coalinga, and is very active in Red Cross
work. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Stranahan are members of the Presbyterian
Church, and while residing at Clarendon, Pa., Mr. Stranahan was a member
of the borough council and was very active in the upbuilding of the best
interests of that borough.
A. A. BAKER. — A man who has had much to do with oil development
in the Coalinga field is A. A. Baker, who is descended from an old English
family, one of the original ancestors of which, Sir Richard Baker, came to
America and was attracted at once to the home of William Penn, whose ac-
tivities were directed to maintaining peace, and Sir Richard being a member
of the Society of Friends allied himself with them. The father of A. A. Baker,
Reuben Baker, was a millwright, and enlisted in the Civil War in a Pennsyl-
vania Regiment. In 1876 he came to Shasta County, Cal., farming six miles
south of Reading, and then to the Sierra Lumber Company in corners of Te-
hama and Butte counties. In 1902 he went to the Los Angeles oil fields and
engaged in contracting and drilling, remaining there until he retired to his
present home near Sanger. The mother was Mary E. Strode, born in Penn-
sylvania of Scotch descent, a member of the Society of Friends. There were
six children, five of whom are living: Margaret, Mrs. Anglin, of Hanford ;
Aaron Alphonso ; Sarah, died in infancy ; R. C, of Coalinga ; Jas. E., Super-
intendent Coalinga Petroleum; Minnie, Mrs. Albaugh, of Shasta Counts'.
A. A. Baker was born near Kenneth Square, Chester County, Pa., De-
cember 10, 1867, and his youthful days were spent in the public schools there,
but in 1876 he came to California and continued his education in the public
schools in Shasta ; he took up bookkeeping, and became bookkeeper for the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2215
Hollenbeak store at Pittville, Shasta County, until the death of the proprietor.
He then bought the store and conducted it under the name of A. A. Baker
from 1898 until 1904, when he sold and located in Coalinga. Here he asso-
ciated himself with his father and brothers R. C. and J. E., and leased eighty
acres of land in 23-20-14, and sunk the first producing well at less than eight
hundred feet. The company was called the Coalinga Western, and later was
consolidated with St. Paul-Fresno which company also controlled eighty
acres, making 160 acres' by the consolidation — the company name was St.
Consolidated — and A. A. Baker was superintendent from the founding of the
original Coalinga Western. He was one of the organizers of Coalinga Petro-
leum Company with his brothers and two others, and developed eighty acres
in Section 14-20-14. of which his brother, J. E., is the superintendent.
Mr. Baker was married in Fall River, Shasta County, to Bertha L. Neat,
a native of Tehama County, Cal. They have four children: Mary, Aaron,
Harland and Ruth. Mr. Baker is a member of Fall River Lodge No. 304,
I. O. O. F., and is a Past Crand and has been Representative to the Grand
Lodge; with his wife is a member of the Rebekahs. For many years he was
a school trustee of Claremont District, Fresno County, and a part of this
time was clerk. He is. a member of the Society of Friends, and in politics a
strong Republican.
JOHN B. SIMERLY.— Judge Simerly, the able Justice of the Peace at
Laton, is a native of Eastern Tennessee, born at Hampton, Carter County,
April 20, 1859. a son of Elijah and Mary (Hampton) Simerly, the mother
being a distant relative of Gen. Wade Hampton, of South Carolina ; the
father was for several terms the sheriff of Carter County, Tenn. Elijah Sim-
erly was opposed to slavery. It is interesting to note that Carter County
raised more than one thousand soldiers for the Union Army, during the Civil
War, and that the Simerly family was one of the most loyal in the county.
Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Simerly were the parents of thirteen children, eleven
of whom grew to maturity, Judge John B. Simerly being the seventh child.
He attended the grammar and high schools at Milligan College, Tenn., and
also pursued a college course at Milligan College. He was reared on the
farm of his father who was an extensive landowner and stockman in Eastern
Tennessee.
When he was twenty-five years of age, John B. Simerly was united in
marriage with Miss Rhoda A. Smith, daughter of James G. Smith, who was
at one time surveyor of Carter County, and it was in this county that Mrs.
Simerly was born, reared and educated. After his marriage, John B. con-
tinued to farm on his father's place until 1902, when he migrated to California
and settled at Laton, Fresno County, and has resided there ever since, his
ranch being located two miles west of Laton.
Mr. and Mrs. John B. Simerly were the parents of eight children, six
of whom are living: Clarence G, a rancher, married Jessie Prather, of Laton,
and they have three children: Howard, a mechanic in the Aviation Section of
the United States Army in France ; Edward, a rancher who married Mary
Holmes of Laton, and they have three children ; Henry, with the Hospital
Corps of the United States Army in France ; Robert, also serving his country
in France, with a trench mortar brigade; Jesse D., who is attending the Laton
high school and is listed in the draft. In 1915, Judge Simerly was bereft of his
devoted wife, who passed away at Laton, being fifty-five years of age.
In 1913, John B. Simerly was appointed Justice of the Peace, for the
thirteenth township, which territory includes Laton, Laguna and Grant
precincts. In 1914, he was elected to the office and has efficiently discharged
his duties for five years. In the month of March, 1919, Judge Simerly was
married to Mrs. Cora May Spike nee Wilkinson, widow of the late T. G.
Spike of Laton.
2216 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
CHARLES BACON.— A thoroughly posted buyer of fruit in the San
Joaquin Valley, Charles Bacon has had the good fortune to grow up with
Fresno. He was born in Sampson, Turkey, August 15, 1877, and when eleven
years of age came to the United States, with a sister. They came direct to
Fresno, which at that time had a population of about seven thousand. The
public schools and the Sparrow Business College furnished young Bacon
his education, and after he had finished school he went to work on a ranch
and continued for eight months at his first job. He then decided to rent some
land and work for himself, and leased the El Capitan Vineyard, 160 acres
of which were in vineyard, twenty acres in Malagas, and sixty acres in Mus-
cats, while the other eighty acres of the ranch were given over to diversified
farming. After several years of successful operation, Mr. Bacon bought the
vineyard, and two years later sold off some of it at a good profit. The property
has been a large producer, one year yielding 115 tons of raisins, which sold
for five and one-fourth cents per pound ; and 150 tons of Malagas, which sold
for $3,000.
During the time Mr. Bacon was looking after his own property interests,
he was buying fruit for other parties. He organized and conducted the Pala-
gan Fruit Company, and the Star Fruit Company. Fruit and raisins were
bought and packed at their packing houses in Fresno. For the past eight
years Mr. Bacon has been buying fruit for the Fresno Fruit Growers Com-
pany, and his years of experience in that line of industry make him an in-
valuable man and a successful buyer. During the season, about eight months
of the year, he is a very busy man and travels about 135 miles daily,, by auto-
mobile through the valley.
Mr. Bacon has made a success in life by his own efforts, and believes in
progress and development of all industries, and does his best to support such
projects. He is the father of three children: Gorkin, Hig, and Zobel.
CECIL FEAVER. — A progressive, industrious rancher near Fowler,
who enjoys a desirable popularity and whose wife worthily represents one
of the well-known 'pioneer families of California, is Cecil Feaver, the son of
George Feaver, an early settler here who is mentioned elsewhere in this
history. Cecil Feaver was born at Wells, in Somersetshire, England, on May
12, 1881, and when only three years of age came out to the country whose
resources were to be so favorable to his development, and whose problems
were to challenge his noblest and most varied capabilities.
Cecil grew up on his father's farm near Fowler, where his education was
limited to the usual public-school courses and to the first year at the Fresno
high school. He was thoroughly wide-awake, however, and at the age of
nineteen was made foreman for Wylie M. Giffen, president of the California
Associated Raisin Company, for whom he planted his large vineyards at
Orosi, where in 1905, he set out 106 acres to grapes, and the next year planted
another vineyard of 480 acres. After two years of successful experience as
foreman, Mr. Feaver, in partnership with his brother, improved 160 acres on
shares, and developed the property to a high degree. This was owned by
J. R. and J. D. Hickman.
Mr. Feaver was married to Miss Abbie Josephine Enas, daughter of
Toseph Enas, who was born at Nantucket, Mass., and who went as a sailor
"before the mast ; he sailed around the Horn three or four times, and as Cap-
tain commanded one of the ships of his father, Captain Emanuel Enas,
whaler and shipowner. After a while, the father came west and bought a
ranch in Napa County; and near Napa she grew up. Her father had settled
for a while at San Francisco; and he was one of the first mail and water
carriers, before that city had a water system, and was a real San Francisco
pioneer.
The ranch where Cecil Feaver lives and which he operates is owned
jointly by him and his brother John, having been bought by them in 1908.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2219
It includes sixty acres, choice in every respect, and more than ever im-
proved. The brothers also own 175 acres, set to vines and trees, near Han-
ford. Besides attending to his other interests, Mr. Feaver also rented for
three years some 200 acres belonging to the ranch of Ex-Senator W. F.
Chandler at Del Rey, and as usual made a success of the venture.
Mr. Feaver is an active member of the California Associated Raisin
Company, the California Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Apricot
and Prune Growers Association. He endeavors under the banner of the
Republican party, to promote good citizenship, such as does not place self-
ish private interests above those of society and the state. He joined the
Fresno Home Guards, a war measure, during the progress of the World War.
Four children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Feaver: Cecil
James is the eldest; Maurice Egbert comes next; and then there are George
Elwyn and Floyd Joseph. The family attend the First Presbyterian Church
of Fowler. Mrs. Feaver passed to the Great Beyond on April 28, 1919, aged
thirty-nine years.
Fresno County has reason to expect much from this advanced agricultur-
ist and public-spirited citizen, and in such thrifty, broad-minded citizenship
lies the hope for the future.
CLARENCE G. SIMERLY. — Among the successful ranchers and stock-
men of Fresno County located in the vicinity of Laton, especial mention is
made of C. G. Simerly, the subject of this review, and owner of a well im-
proved ranch of forty-six acres on Bellevue Avenue, northwest of Laton.
He is the oldest living son of Judge J. B. Simerly, of Laton. the Justice of
the Peace of Township Thirteen, of Fresno County. C. G. Simerly was
born in Carter County, Tenn., June 28, 1886, and came with his parents to
California in May, 1902. His early days in the Golden State were spent on
his father's farm near Laton, where he assisted him in the work. C. G.
Simerly has always been very industrious and through well directed efforts
and thrift had saved, by 1909, sufficient money to buy his ranch of forty-six
acres, which affords him and his family a good home.
Clarence G Simerly takes pardonable pride in his family history. In
the biography of his father, John B. Simerly, which appears on another page
in this volume, it appears that his ancestors for several generations past were
influential and prominent in eastern Tennessee and were loyal Union sup-
porters, whose record for courage and patriotism is well sustained by four
of our subject's own brothers, in the recent World War. Strong both men-
tally and physically, the Simerlys are always active for the progress of man-
kind.
In 1910, C. G. Simerly was united in marriage with Miss Jessie Prather,
daughter of James and Laura Prather, who live on one of tack Gepford's
ranches, and they are the proud parents of three children : Clarence Jean,
Edith L. Vine, and James Bell. Mr. and Mrs. C. G. Simerly are highly
esteemed in their community.
EUGENE WILSON. — An enterprising rancher with a decidedly scien-
tific turn of mind and, like his good wife, a loyal and thoroughly democratic
American in both word and deed, is Eugene Wilson, who is at present en-
gaged in dairying and the raising of hogs and poultry, and is also experiment-
ing with cotton and the pickling of cucumbers. He owns and operates a ranch
of twenty acres on Mount Whitney Avenue, five miles west of Laton. He
was born at Ash Flat, Sharp County, Ark., on December 22, 1875, the son
of Reuben Jasper Wilson, a native and a pioneer of Arkansas, who had mar-
ried Hannah Johnson, who was born in Tennessee. Their folks moved to
Kentucky, and from Kentucky to Tennessee ; and thence to Arkansas, where
the parents married. In 1851, the father crossed the plains with ox teams to
California, and mined gold in Amador, Calaveras and Placer counties, from
1851 to 1853; and when he went back to Arkansas in 1854, he married. In
2220 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
1884, with his wife he came again to California, and settled in Fresno County;
and here, a couple of years ago, he died at Ilanford. in his eighty-third year.
Mrs. Wilson, the mother, lives at Fowler, and two of her sons are also living,
•while two sons and two daughters are dead.
Eugene Wilson was nine years of age when he first came to Fresno
County, and he was reared at Oleander where, for years, his father ran a
store. He attended the grammar school of his neighborhood, the Easton
high school, and for a term studied at the Stockton College. In 1900, he was
married to Miss Mollie Johnson, the ceremony occurring at Hanford. The
bride was the daughter of the well-known Tennesseean, Benjamin Franklin
Johnson, and she was born in her father's state.
This union of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson has been singularly blessed, and
nowhere will one find a brighter fireside. Six children have come to them:
Vernon, Vaudine, Marguerite, Laura Belle, Woodrow, and William; and all
give promise of becoming as great as the first gentleman or the first lady
of the land.
Mr. Wilson came to the Laguna de Tache in 1906, and since then, as a
loyal Democrat in national politics, but non-partisan in local issues, he has
endeavored to promote good citizenship, and to work for the general im-
provement of Laton and vicinity, as well as of the County as a whole.
WILLIAM S. FISHER. — From among the many successful oilmen of
Coalinga, Cal., particular mention is accorded the name of Wm. S. Fisher,
who has been the efficient superintendent of the Mercantile Crude Oil Com-
pany for more than sixteen years. He was born in Hume, Bates County, Mo.,
October 11, 1875, and came to Hanford, Cal, with his parents March 7, 1894.
His father, William E., as well as his grandfather, Iliff Fisher, were both
natives of Michigan. The grandfather crossed the plains to California in that
memorable year, 1849, where he engaged in the sawmill business until 1851,
when he returned to Michigan. In 1852 he again crossed the plains, this time
taking with him a herd of cows. After remaining one year in California he
returned to Michigan with the intention of bringing his family to California,
but within two weeks after reaching home he passed away. William E.
Fisher, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a saw-mill man and at
one time a railroad engineer. During the Civil War he enlisted with the
Twelfth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and was twice taken pris-
oner, being confined once in Libby Prison, but was released by being ex-
changed ; afterwards he was a prisoner in Andersonville from which place he
escaped. At the end of his gallant service in behalf of his country, he was
honorably discharged at Little Rock, Ark.
William E. Fisher was united in marriage with Sarah J. Pierce, a native
of Kentucky, daughter of Samuel Pierce, also a native of Kentucky, who set-
tled in Kansas, the ceremony being solemnized in the latter state. After his
marriage he settled in Missouri, near Hume, where he purchased 200 acres
and engaged in saw milling, later, building a steam flouring mill in Hume
which he operated until 1885, when it was destroyed by fire, after which Mr.
Fisher returned to farming. On this farm he built a saw and grist mill. In
18r»2, William E. Fisher took a trip to California and returned east in 1893,
but, like thousands of other persons who had once come under the spell of the
Golden State's many attractions, her splendid opportunities were too strong
for him to resist longer, so in the spring of 1894 he sold out and moved with
his family to California, settling at Hanford. The first three years in Cal-
ifornia, Mr. Fisher ran a threshing machine, and was the first person to
operate an alfalfa huller, in the state. After a life of usefulness he passed
to his eternal reward on January 27, 1897, his widow still survives him and is
residing now at Ilanford. Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Fisher were the parents of
nine children, William S., the subject of this review, being the fourth child
in order of birth. He was reared on the home farm and from a boy made
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2221
himself useful learning the rudiments of farming, engineering and milling.
He received a good education in the thorough local schools and when eighteen
years of age he came to Hanford, Cal., in 1894, where he was employed for
four years in the Hanford flouring mill. After the death of his father Mr.
Fisher went back East to sell and settle up the estate. Upon returning from
the East he came to Hanford where he resumed work in the flouring mill,
and by loyal service and untiring efforts he gained the responsible position
of head miller, which post he held until December 31, 1901, when he resigned
and on January 1, 1902. came to Coalinga where he became associated with
the El Capitan Oil Company. One month later he accepted the responsible
position of superintendent of the Mercantile Crude Oil Company, and has
so satisfactorily filled the position and discharged his duties, that he has
retained the office ever since the organization of the company. At the time
Mr. Fisher accepted the position of superintendent, the company had only
one well, but through his efficient management five more wells have been
sunk and all have proved to be producers. With the assistance of his boys
Mr. Fisher is engaged in cattle raising and for the purpose leases 2,560 acres
adjoining the oil fields where he ranges his cattle, an industry he not only
finds very interesting but profitable as well.
On May 23, 1900, William S. Fisher was united in marriage with Cor-
nelia Thomas, a native of Illinois, the ceremony being solemnized at Hume,
Mo. This union was blessed with five children, four of whom grew to ma-
turity: Lyle, John J., Robert Glenn, and Walter E.
Fraternally, Mr. Fisher is a member of the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica, his membership being with the Hume Camp, No. 2346, Hume, Mo., and
he has always manifested great interest in educational matters in the commu-
nity where he resides, having served as £ trustee of Alpha School District.
Mr. Fisher has been successful in the oil business and is highly esteemed in
his community.
HARRY W. BEATTY.— A well-posted and successful oil-well driller, is
Harry W. Beatty, who was born in Meadville, Pa., on August 25, 1865, the
son of Samuel S. Beatty, who was born in the same state, at Cherry Run,
Crawford County, of parents who came from Scotland to Pennsylvania, and
since Samuel Beatty was an oil man, the lad was early introduced to the
problems of that fast-developing industry. Samuel Beatty owned a farm on
Oil Creek, which he sold for oil land, receiving $175,000 by «the sale ; but
when he came to develop oil on other leases and to contract for drilling, he
was not over-successful, although he did a large business. He spent his last
days in Pittsburgh. Samuel's wife was Elizabeth Jane Morrison before her
marriage, and she was born in Emlenton, Pa., of Scotch-Irish parentage. She
spent her last days with her children in California, and died in Los Angeles.
Of these seven children, six grew to maturity. One son, Edward, is a driller
for the Standard Oil Company at Montebello, Cal.
Harry was the oldest of the family and was reared in the Pennsylvania
oil fields, while he was being educated at the public schools. From a boy,
therefore, he learned the oil business, and at thirteen years of age hired him-
self out to a John Conley as a pumper. He also fired the engine and boiler
with coal, and so continued for a couple of years in Butler County. When
he was seventeen, he began to dress tools, for which purpose he moved to the
Bradford oil district, where he remained as a tool dresser for seven years.
After that, Mr. Beatty began to drill oil wells, and soon went to Lima,
Ohio, where he was employed for about five years drilling new wells. He
next moved to Indiana and made his headquarters at Marion.
In 1900, he came West to California and at Los Angeles went to work
for the Russian Oil Company, with whom he continued for a year. In time,
he took up with the Murphy Oil Company at Whittier, and worked under
Mr. Plotts, in the old Murphy field for two years as a driller. When he re-
2222 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
signed, he came to Coalinga, in 1904, and worked for William Graham : and
when the latter was succeeded by the California Oil Fields. Ltd., he continued
with the new proprietors. In 1907 he returned to Southern California and was
again busy with the Murphy Oil Company in the Coyote Hills, where he
worked on Well No. 1 and later on Well No. 3 for a year; and coming once
again to Coalinga, he was in the service of the California Oil Fields. Ltd., for
a couple of years ; and later he was made driller-foreman — a position of re-
sponsibility he has held ever since. In August, 1913, the Shell Company took
over the plant, but Mr. Beatty remained in the same capacity for them.
In Los Angeles, on September 4, 1907, Mr. Beatty was married to Miss
Minnie Johansen. a native of Troy, N. Y.. and the daughter of William Jo-
hansen. He was born in Germany, learned the trade of a cabinet maker, was
married to Miss Dorothea Schmidt, and came with her to Troy, where he
followed his trade. Later he removed to California and died here. Mrs. Jo-
hansen still resides in Los Angeles, the mother of three children, among
whom Mrs. Beatty is the eldest. Mr. Beatty belongs to the Oilfields Club,
and also to the Progressive Republican party.
KNUD MADSEN HANSEN. — A native of Denmark who came to choose
America for his future home, and who here, little by little, advanced success-
fully and in his prosperity helped both himself and the community and state
in which he lived, is Knud Madsen Hansen, the well-known rancher of Clovis.
He was born in Fredericia, Jylland, on February 18. 1874. and spent his
early life in the country of his birth. His father, Jens Hansen, was also a
native of Denmark, where he served his country patriotically in both the
army and the navy. He was also in the government railway service until
his death. He married Dorthea MJdsen. and five children were born to them,
Knud being the eldest.
Until he was fourteen years of age, the wide-awake lad attended the
excellent Danish schools of his locality, and then for several years he worked
on a farm. He was not satisfied altogether with the economic conditions of
his fatherland; and hearing favorable reports from his uncle, Hans Madsen,
who had come to western America and settled at Fresno, he determined to
cross the waste of waters and join him.
In 1893, therefore, he arrived in Fresno County ; and finding employment
at viticulture* he devoted himself to that line for nine or ten years, finally
acquiring land for himself, and still studying viticulture. As the raisin in-
dustry was fast developing, he gained his knowledge of the work by seeking
employment in various Clovis vineyards, until eventually he was made super-
intendent of the Shepherd & Teague vineyard, a position of responsibility
that he held for nearly five years.
In 1902 he purchased a tract of land and set out twenty acres as a vine-
yard, later buying ten acres adjoining, which he also improved, building a
comfortable residence ; and here he has since made his home, having sold
the original twenty acres. His ranch is highly improved, being devoted to
the raising of Malaga grapes, which it produces in abundance and variety.
lie was very active and instrumental as one of the organizers, in 1909,
of the Clovis Farmers' Union ; the original board of directors including, be-
sides Mr. Hansen, J. W. Potter. Sr., J. W. Sharer. H. H. Baker and Charles
Westrup. Mr. Hansen was elected General Manager and Treasurer of the
corporation and gave the undertaking his best time and efforts, and as a result
of which the company became very successful, in time adding to the ware-
house they had purchased in Clovis. After four years they sold out to the
California Associated Raisin Company, and it became Plant No. 1 of their
line of warehouses, and he was chosen superintendent of the Clovis Ware-
house— a place he fills most acceptably because he understands cverv part
of the raisin and dried fruit industry. Under his skilled oversight, the bus-
^/&WZ¥ti^^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2225
iness has grown proportionately, and now from forty to eighty hands are
required to cure and handle the fruit.
On March 17, 1902, Mr. Hansen and Miss Emma Louise Maas were
united in marriage at Fresno. The bride was born in New York State, and
came to California with her parents ; Mr. and Mrs. Hansen have one son,
James. Mr. Hansen was one of the prime factors in starting and organizing
the Melvin Grape Growers Association, and now he is the president of its
board of trustees. The company has built three warehouses at Melvin, Bur-
ness and Glorietta.
Mr. Hansen was made a Mason in Clovis Lodge, F. & A. M., and he is
also a member of Clovis Lodge, I. O. O. F., where he is a Past Grand. He
is a member of the Woodmen of the World and of the Dania in Fresno.
He has always been an enthusiast in the work of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company and of the Chamber of Commerce. He has won a
large circle of friends, who know him as a reliable and upright man of de-
pendable qualities. He is public spirited and liberal, and has always assisted
as far as he was able in promoting every movement for the prosperity of his
fellow-citizens, voting according to the standards of the Republican party.
B. BORANIAN. — It is necessary in speaking of some men to use the
superlative degree. They are of such quality that only the highest terms are
adequate to describe them. Their achievements are so great that they occupy
a position by themselves. The subject of this sketch is one of these. He is
perhaps the most aggressively progressive rancher among the many very
prosperous Armenians in the vicinity of Fowler.
Mr. Boranian was born in Armenia, near Harpoot, a half century ago.
His parents were Ohan and Mary (Sarkissian) Boranian. They lived and
died in Turkey, victims, as were so many of the race, of the cruelties of
the unspeakable Turk. The father branched out in the mercantile business
in Constantinople, and the son also went there. He bought out his father's
biisiness after he had conducted it for two years, and ran it himself for
five years, making a continuous period of seven years in which he and his
father were in business in Constantinople. While here Mr. Boranian mar-
ried his first wife, Sarah Tatian. He prospered in business and one child was
born to them in Constantinople. His life was bright and happy, when of a
sudden the Turks broke out in a bloody massacre against the Armenians,
and he was forced to flee for his life. They burned his store but he escaped
to America. His wife, however, was left behind, and the cruelties of the
Turks brought on an illness which resulted in her death. She left one child,
Dick, who lived with his father until his second marriage, and is now a
progressive rancher near Fowler.
Mr. Boranian was twenty-four years of age when he came to America.
He engaged in business at Lowell, Mass., for eight years, and in 1902 came
with his family to Fresno County. He was married a second time to Mrs.
Mary Goolbanian, a widow born near Harpoot, -and they were married at
Lowell, Mass. She had one child by her first marriage, a girl named Naomi,
who is still living at home. They have three children by their present union :
Edwin, Joseph and Rosa. Mr. Boranian had $2,000 when he came to Fresno
County, the result of thrift and energy. At first he bought only forty acres.
He improved this place and has prospered exceedingly. He now owns two
ranches, one of 180 acres, a half mile south and two miles east of Fowler,
and the other of 60 acres lying north of Fowler. He resides on the former, with
his family, and there he has twenty acres in pasture, yards, etc. ; 125 acres
in Muscats, fifteen acres in Thompson Seedless, five acres in Emperors, five
acres in alfalfa, and ten acres in peaches and apricots. This place is known by
the name of the B. Boranian Vineyard. His first crop here brought him only
$400. He is an industrious, progressive and scientific farmer and horti-
culturist, and is becoming wealthy.
2226 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
While in his native land, Mr. Boranian received an education equivalent
to that of a grammar school in this country. He is a very influential member
of the Congregational Church in Fowler, and was one of its first donators.
Mr. Boranian may well look with satisfaction upon the results of his work,
and take justifiable pride in his home place, as he planted it himself and has
brought it to a very high state of cultivation.
ROBERT F. COLLINS. — As rancher, vineyardist and raisin grower,
Robert F. Collins, has a well-improved vineyard of thirty-eight acres be-
tween North and Center avenues, twelve and a half miles southeast of Fresno.
It is a part of the old J. D. Collins ranch. Robert F. Collins is a son of the
late J. D. Collins and was born at the old J. D. Collins Dry Creek ranch on
April 10, 1888. He attended the old Mississippi School and later, after moving
to Fresno when his father was elected sheriff, he attended the Fresno High
School from which he was graduated in 1908. He ran cattle for his father in
1909-10 on the Collins' Dry Creek Ranch and then put in a year at the Uni-
versity of California at Berkeley.
In January, 1912, Mr. Collins was united in marriage with Miss Eva H.
Sisson, a native of Michigan who was reared in Modesto and Fresno. She
is the daughter of F. H. Sisson, manager for the Fresno Agricultural Works
at Fresno. She is also a graduate of the Fresno High School.
After his marriage, Mr. Collins began farming and improved the thirty-
eight-acre tract given to him by his father. He now has a comfortable bunga-
low residence, barns, drying-sheds, wells and a pumping-plant with a twenty
horsepower engine. Ten acres of the tract are in Thompsons, fourteen acres
are in peaches and he raises alfalfa and some grain. The balance is in yards,
which he plans to plant to Malagas in the spring of 1920.
Mr. and Mrs. Collins have three children: Robert F., Jr., James Franklin,
and William White. Mr. Collins is a Democrat, but is not a politician. He is
a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and the California
Peach Growers, Inc.
HUGH FRANCIS CASSIDY.— The able superintendent of the Salvia
Oil Company of Coalinga, Cal., is a native of Canada, having first seen the
light of day' at Trenton, Ont, a port of entry on the Trent, 101 miles east
of Toronto. He was born June 29, 1876, a son of Frank J. and Catherine (Fin-
Ian) Cassidy, both natives of Ontario who are now living in Ohio. Mr. and
Mrs. F. J. Cassidy were the parents of two children, Hugh being the oldest
and the only one living in California.
The father, F. J. Cassidy, was a lumberman in Canada and in 1877 re-
moved to Bradford' Pa., when Hugh was about a year old. At Bradford,
Mr. Cassidy first became interested in the oil business, afterwards he moved
to Lima. Ohio, where he became a contracting driller and later an oil pro-
ducer. F. J. Cassidy is still engaged in the oil business, having interests
both in Kentucky and Ohio.
Hugh F. Cassidy, the subject of this sketch, was brought up in Pennsyl-
vania and Ohio, being ten years of age when the family moved to Lima,
( )hio, and it was in that city that he received his early education, having at-
tended both the public and a private school. After finishing school days he
began working for his father in the oil business, later he became a contract
driller and operated the business of drilling in the Oklahoma fields.
When Hugh F. Cassidy reached his majority his father took him into
partnership and they conducted the oil business under the firm name of F. J.
Cassidv & Son. In 1910, both came to Coalinga, Cal, where they were em-
ployed by the Premier Oil Company, drilling wells. After a time the father
returned east but Hugh F. remained at Coalinga where he became gang-
foreman for the Inca ( >il Company, retaining this responsible position for five
vears. In 1915. Mr. Cassidy became the superintendent for the Salvia < )il
Company, which has twenty-one wells on its eighty-acre lease. He has so
efficientlv conducted the affairs of the company, not only to the satisfaction
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2227
of the officials, but in a manner that has met the approval of the employees,
that he still retains this important position. Mr. Cassidy is a thoroughly ex-
perienced oilman, having been associated with the industry ever since he was
a lad and has learned the business from the bottom up and today is regarded
as an authority on matters pertaining to the operation and management of an
oil well.
Hugh F. Cassidy was united in marriage at Lima, Ohio, with Miss Daisy
Tracy, a native of that city and this happy union has been blessed with one
child, a daughter, Catherine. Fraternally, Mr. Cassidy is a member of the
Knights of Columbus, and also holds membership with the Coalinga Aerie
of Eagles and the Growlers Club.
JAMES J. BRISCOE.— The fourth son of R. W. Briscoe, James J. was
born in Fresno County on March 4, 1885. He was raised in this county and
attended the Malaga grammar school and later Heald's Business College at
Fresno. While but a boy, he began driving horses and operating farm ma-
chinery and with the advent of the tractor and the truck, he became an
adept in the operation of this class of machinery in its practical application
to farmwork. When he was drafted into the service in the recent war, he was
assigned to the truck service and after two months' training at Camp Lewis,
he sailed with his division, the Ninety-first, from New York on July 14, 1918,
landed at Liverpool on July 28, and from there went to France. He served
through the Argonne Woods campaign and about the middle of October,
1918, was sent to Belgium and did active service there. He was in Belgium
at the signing of the armistice. After about nine months' overseas service,
he returned with his division, landing at New York City in April, 1919, and
was honorably discharged at the Presidio in Ma}'. After his return home,
he immediately resumed his work on his ranch.
In 1915 four of the Briscoe brothers had bought 160 acres, devoted to
raisin and wine grapes, of which J. J. Briscoe owned forty acres at the out-
break of the war. In 1919, three of the Briscoe brothers, bought another
160 acres of vineyard, also in the De Wolf district, and J. J. Briscoe now
owns an undivided one-third interest in that.
He is particularly interested in the cultivation of grapes and does a great
deal of the work by means of tractors and a G. M. C, two-ton truck.
GEORGE W. DAY. — Among the representative ranchers of Fresno
County, an interesting example of what can successfully be accomplished by
one with no previous experience is found in the person of George W. Day,
local manager and sole representative of an English corporation that owns
the Alameda Ranch of 480 acres, situated five miles north of Reedley. Mr.
Day is a native of England, born in 1881, and after receiving a good education
in his native land became an expert accountant and followed that profession
until he came to America in 1913. He soon located in Fresno County, Cal-
ifornia, and was employed as manager of the Alameda Ranch, that had been
acquired by this corporation in 1912, for the ensuing two years. He was
wholly inexperienced in raising fruit, but the two years he spent on the
ranch soon gave him a working knowledge of the business and he studied
every branch of viticulture and horticulture and decided he would own a
ranch of his own.
For one year he leased a peach orchard west of Fresno and by applying
his experience already gained, and by hard work, he soon made a success of
his venture. In December, 1916, he bought thirty acres of second bench land
north from Reedley, improved to orchard and vineyard and gave it his per-
sonal attention with the result that his net profits in 1918 were $4,928.78,
and it is reported that in the eastern markets the fruit brought twice that
amount. The results here shown prove that in ranching, as in other lines
of business, a man can succeed if he applies scientific knowledge and methods
to his business, and also gives it his undivided attention.
2228 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In June. 1918, Mr. Day once more became the manager of the Alameda
Ranch, and in this position is working for the interests of his employers with
the same earnestness as he worked for himself. The example he has set may
well be followed by others who wish to make a success of their ventures.
In England, Mr. Day was united in marriage with Miss Florence Brown,
a lady of many accomplishments, who shares with him the esteem of a wide
circle of friends. Mr. Day is a member of the California Peach Growers, Inc.,
and the California Associated Raisin Company: and in fraternal circles he
is a member of the Masons and Knights of Pythias lodges in Reedley. He
is an enthusiastic booster for Fresno County and believes that there are
better opportunities now than ever before.
CHRISTJAN JENSEN.— Among the residents of the thriving city of
Reedley in Fresno County is Christjan Jensen, an expert mechanic of many
years' experience in the blacksmithing trade. He has seen many changes in
the conditions of the country surrounding Reedley since he located here in
1908, and has proven to his fellow citizens his worth as a man of good, sound
business sense, as well as a mechanic of more than usual ability. He was
born in Thisted. Denmark, May 17, 1861, the son of Christjan and Nekoline
Jensen, both born and raised in Denmark. His father was a blacksmith and
while the lad was going to school he spent considerable time in his father's
shop and soon became handy with tools. After his school days were over
he learned the blacksmith trade and worked for his father for five years.
His next step was to join the Danish army and he served three years in the
engineering department.
It was after his honorable discharge from service that the young man
married, choosing for his wife Miss Anna Kjargard, and with her came to
the United States in 1888. He traveled West as far as Chicago and there
he worked at his trade, and had a shop of his own, also was for five years
in charge of the blacksmith shop of the electrical department of the City
of Chicago. In 1908 he came 'West to California and soon located in Reedley
where he opened a shop and carried on his business with success. He also
bought a ranch of forty acres northeast of Reedley, twenty acres of which
were improved, and later sold the whole place at a profit. He then bought
another tract of twenty acres, made all the improvements and this he also
disposed of at a profit. He is still owner of two good business lots and five
residence lots and a good home near the high school, in Reedley.
In 1906 Mr. Jensen was married a second time, this time to Miss Helen
Scholanber, who presides with grace and charm over his home. In 1917 he
took a trip back to his native land to review the scenes of his younger days,
but came back to Fresno County more than ever pleased that he had cast in
his lot here. He is a public-spirited man who supports every movement for
the betterment of the county and state of his adoption and no more loyal
American can be found than he.
EDWARD JOHNSON. — A young man who has undergone the experi-
ence of so many in sacrificing important interests in order to respond to the
call of their country in the late war is Edward Johnson, the senior partner
in the firm of Johnson Brothers, ranchers, who are renting the Lindquist
estates. He was born near Grantsburg, Wis., August 14. 1886, the son of
John A. and Betsy ( Erickson) Johnson, who were parents of eight children — ■
six sons and two daughters. With the exception of two sons, who are living
in Minnesota, the entire family is now in Fresno County, in the vicinity of
Kingsburg. Edward, the third child, grew up in Wisconsin ; he received a
very limited schooling, he worked on his father's farm, and while yet a youth,
hired out by the month, after which he made for Minneapolis. There, until
he was twenty-six, he was employed in the Pillsbury Flouring Mills.
In that year he removed to .Montana, and near Skelley homesteaded 160
acres, which he farmed and proved up and was just about to profit by, as a
Q^ri^yru€l AU^^^AJ^Z^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2231
grain and stock farmer, when he was drafted into the American Army, and
therefore compelled to sell his Montana interests. It was not easy to part
with that which had been acquired through so much hard labor and risk,
but the consciousness of duty and its obligation impelled him on and enabled
him to come through like a man.
Mr. Johnson served at Camp Lewis for five months, and was then trans-
ferred to Vancouver, Wash., having served in the infantry at Camp Lewis
and in the aviation in the North. He was honorably discharged on Decem-
ber 23, 1918, and reached his parents' home December 25, 1918, at their ranch
in the vicinity of Kingsburg, Fresno County.
At Oakland, on January 2, 1919, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Nellie
Rabe, of Portland, Ore.
The farming operations of the Johnson Brothers are carried by our
subject and a younger brother, Alvin Johnson, who was also born in Wiscon-
sin, who came out to California in 1918 direct from Wisconsin, where he had
worked on a farm.
The ranches operated by the Johnson Brothers are the forty acres of Mrs.
Lindquist, the ten acres of Alfred Lindquist, adjoining, and another fourteen
acres of Muscats belonging to still another of the same family, three and a
half miles northeast of Kingsburg.
HENRY A. DUNKLAU. — A progressive young rancher, whose capable
wife, a real and valuable helpmate, represents the family of a successful
viticulturist prominent in the community, is Henry A. Dunklau, the viticul-
turist and horticulturist, who was born at Arlington, Washington County,
Nebr. He is a son of Zacharias and Johanna Dunklau, who located in Wash-
ington County, Nebr., in 1865, and there homesteaded eighty acres. Later
Mr. Dunklau bought property adjoining, until he had 240 acres. He planted
it to corn and devoted part of it to the raising *of stock; and there he now
resides, at the age of eighty-five, while his good wife is seventy-three.
Eight children, all living, have risen to bless their worthy name.
The fourth eldest in the family, and the only one in California, Henry
was brought up on a farm and attended the public schools. He remained at
home helping his father until he was twenty-one, and then he started out for
himself, working here and there for others on farms. After a while, his at-
tention was attracted especially to California, and he finally decided to come
to the Coast.
In January, 1908, he arrived in Colusa County, and the following spring
came to Fresno County. In Temperance Colony he secured employment
in vineyards and orchards, and set to work to learn the propagation and
culture of grapes, as well as of trees, and also the preparation and leveling
of land, and the staking and planting of vines and of trees. Desiring to
engage in ranching on his own account, he purchased for the purpose forty
acres on Locan near Ventura Avenue, completing the transaction in 1910,
and immediately set it out as a vineyard. He improved the acreage, built
several needed structures, bought another forty acres, and then sold it at a
profit, after keeping it a couple of years.
During 1916, Mr. Dunklau bought his present property of seventy-two
acres in the Kutner school district, twelve miles northeast of Fresno, which
he has improved and is devoting to a vineyard and an orchard. He has
twenty acres of white Adriatic figs, interset with prunes, plums and peaches ;
two acres of alfalfa, and the balance in different varieties of vines. He ffis
a pumping plant with an eight-horse engine, and a well eighty-six feet
deep, in which the water rises to within eight feet of the surface of thf
ground, thus furnishing ample water for irrigating his ranch. However,
his ambition was not satisfied with' this, and in partnership with his brother-
in-law, Edward Bartels, he purchased forty acres across the county road from
his ranch, which they also set out to vines. Mr. Dunklau has greatly enhanced
2232 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the value of his home ranch by erecting a large, beautiful modern residence
and by giving the grounds and ranch in general such excellent care that it
has become known as one of the show places in the district. Believing in
the cooperation of fruit-growers, he has always been an enthusiastic member
of the California Associated Raisin Company.
At the home of the bride, in Temperance district, on November 22, 1911,
Mr. Dunklau was married to Miss Emma Bartels, a native of Fresno and the
daughter of Edward and Anna (Steinkamp) Bartels, settlers of Fresno County
who are represented on another page in this history. Mrs. Dunklau, the
eldest child, attended the public school and Heald's Business College in
Fresno, and now has two sons, Henry E. and William E. Dunklau. The
family attends the German Lutheran Church in Fresno, Mrs. Dunklau being
an active member of the Ladies' Aid Society of the Church, as well as the
Jefferson Auxiliary of the Clovis Chapter of the Red Cross. Mr. and Mrs.
Dunklau showed their patriotism by giving their time and means towards
the different branches of war-relief work, and they are active in all tnove-
ments for the upbuilding of the community. They are both liberal and
hospitable, and fortunate is the individual who is privileged to be enter-
tained by them.
ANDREAS H. ANDERSEN.— A capable and enterprising rancher, An-
dreas H. Andersen lives on his forty-acre ranch southwest of Reedley. Mr.
Andersen was born in Denmark, March 7, 1886, and is the son of Antoni and
Marie ( Hansen ) Andersen. He received a good education in the Danish
language. His father died eight years before he left Denmark, and his mother
three months before he sailed from Esbjerg via England for the United States.
He landed at New York, April 29, 1908, and came directly to California,
where he began working on a stock ranch southwest of Selma. He worked
on various farms and also a6 still-man for three seasons under the late John
Petersen, foreman of the Parlier Winery. From 1911 until 1917 he rented
the Clark & Jones ranch of 160 acres.
In 1915 Mr. Andersen purchased his present property three miles south-
west of Reedley. The land was a barley field four years ago, and Mr. Ander-
sen has planted the place and made all improvements. He has 12 acres of
Thompson seedless grapes, 7l/z acres of Sultanas, 10 acres of Malagas. 300
apricot trees, 250 French prune trees and 90 fig trees on the border. These
are all voung trees and vines from three vears old to the spring planting
of 1919.
Mr. Andersen is an active member of the Danish Brotherhood and a
trustee of the Danish Lutheran Church three miles west of Parlier. He is
justly popular and highly esteemed in the community.
RAYMOND D. ROBINSON.— With over thirty years' experience in the
fruit-packing industry, Raymond D. Robinson is considered an authority on
the various methods used in preparing fruit for the markets of the world.
He is an able manager of those who come under his direction as workers
in the business and commands the respect of all with whom he comes in
contact. He was born in Chenango County. X. Y., May 6. 1869. His education
was received in the public schools and in the college at Marionville, Mo., to
which state he was taken by his parents when he was a lad of ten years.
At the age of eighteen, on September 30. 1887. young Mr. Robinson
arrived at Riverside, Cal.. and the following week he secured employment
in the packing house of the Griffin-Skelly Company. Since that date he has
been in the employ of this company and its subsidiary, the California Pack-
ing Corporation. A service of more than thirty years with one company is
something that reflects great credit on the ability of Mr. Robinson and of
which he is justly proud. In appreciation of the faithful discharge of the
duties of his position and the results obtained by him, the company presented
him with an elegant gold watch, properly engraved, when he had completed
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2233
his thirty years with them. This token of esteem is one of the most highly
prized of his possessions.
The first two summers — 1887-1888 — Mr. Robinson was sent to Fresno
during the packing season. He proved an apt pupil and soon mastered the
details of the business, even going beyond and inaugurating new- methods
that soon attracted the attention of his superiors and earned him promotion.
In 1889 he took up his residence in Fresno and for fourteen years he was su-
perintendent of the packing house of Griffin-Skelly Company, then becoming
plant manager. In 1917 the concern was merged with the California Packing
Corporation and Mr. Robinson was retained in his old position. He has
grown up in the packing industry, in which he is one of the pioneers in the
packing and shipping of fruits. No man stands higher in the estimation of the
growers and distributors, or commands the respect of those under his direc-
tion, than does Raymond U. Robinson. He is well and favorably known all
over the fruit districts of the state.
The marriage of Mr. Robinson and Jennie M. Bevefiel, a native of In-
diana, was celebrated in Fresno. They have four children: Fay, the wife
of Herold Emmick and the mother of a daughter ; Marjorie, Mrs. Jerome
Crawford ; Halbert, in the employ of the Santa Fe Railroad ; and Doris, at
home. Mr. Robinson has won a high place in the business circles of Fresno
and the San Joaquin Valley and is a liberal contributor towards all projects
that have for their object the upbuilding of the best interests of the county
and state. He is a self-made man in the truest sense of the term, for he began
at the bottom and by persistency of purpose he has gradually won a name
and place for himself in one of the greatest lines of business in the state.
GEORGE H. SNYDER. — The oil industry has contributed, in a greater
degree, to the wealth of California, during the past two decades than any
other business enterprise in the state, and in the Coalinga oilfield section of
Fresno County it has given a wonderful impetus to the development of all
lines of business endeavor. Perhaps no corporation has been more intimately
associated with the advancement of the oil industry, in the Coalinga field,
than the Associated Pipe Line.
The efficient superintendent of the Maricopa division of the Associated
Pipe Line, George H. Snyder, is a native of Flemington, N. J., where he was
born November 16, 1864, a son of Henry and Mary (Riley) Snyder, natives of
Germany and Ireland, respectively. Henry Snyder was a carpenter by trade
and emigrated to the United States when a boy of seventeen. He engaged in
the building business in New York, afterwards becoming a farmer in New
Jersey, near Flemington. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Snyder were the parents of
six children, four boys and two girls, George H. being the oldest child, and
the only one living in the Golden State. When he was fourteen years old,
George H. Snyder was apprenticed as a machinist in the Long Island Rail-
way Shops, at Long Island City, where he remained three years, when he
accepted a position with the Lehigh Valley Railway Shops at Perth Amboy,
N. J. Mr. Snyder was next employed by the New jersey Central Railway at
Elizabethport, N. J., where he was foreman of the erecting department.
After the memorable blizzard of the winter 1888, George H. Snyder, took a
trip to Mexico, where he accepted a position with the International Railway
Company as master mechanic, remaining with the company four years, after
which he was for ten years the master mechanic of the Coahuila and Alamo
Coal Company. Later on he was associated with the Sabinas Limited for
two years as superintendent of their irrigation plant on the company's large
farms. In 1904, George H. Snyder came to Los Angeles, Cal., where he ac-
cepted a position with the Interurban and Pacific Electric Railway, having
charge of their power plants. His next position .was as master mechanic
for the firm of J. G. White & Co., in charge of their construction work,
for the Government, on the Colorado River above Yuma. In February, 1905,
2234 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
he returned to Los Angeles, where he assumed full charge of power plants
of the Los Angeles Interurban and Pacific Electric Railway, and became the
master mechanic of their shops. Mr. Snyder remained in the employ of the
railway company until 1907, when he resigned to accept a position with the
Tracy Engineering Company, of San Francisco, his duty being to install
boilers for the company along the line of the Associated Pipe Line, between
Bakersfield and Port Costa. About one year afterwards he became the in-
spector for the Associated Pipe Line between Bakersfield and Port Costa
with his headquarters at Fresno. So satisfactory was his service to the com-
pany that in 1911 he was appointed superintendent of the Maricopa division
which includes the business of the company between Maricopa and Mendota,
a distance of 150 miles, his headquarters being located at Coalinga. So loyally
and efficiently has Air. Snyder discharged his duties to the company, that he
still retains the position.
Fraternally, Mr. Snyder is a member of the Odd Fellows, of the Knights
of Pythias, and is an ex-director and member of the Coalinga Growlers Club.
He is greatly interested in every worthy movement that has as its aim the
forwarding of the best interests of Coalinga and Fresno County and has been
very active in all the war movements.
JACOB ROSENTHAL.— A splendid example of the self-made man of
Fresno County, and one who, starting without means, except those provided
by Nature, succeeded at last, through a willing disposition and an unfaltering
courage, in climbing steadily to success, is that of Jacob Rosenthal, who has
not ceased to climb, for he believes that there is always room at the top.
Coming from a distant shore and of a different civilization, he nevertheless
brought with him qualities needed for success in the new world, and has
both received from and given to the society that he found in the making, and
of which he has become an honorable part.
Born in Russia, on August 27, 1870, Mr. Rosenthal is the son of Andrew
and Barbara Rosenthal, both of whom were also natives of the land of the
Czar. He was reared and educated in the country of his birth, and shared
the home with seven other children of his parents, four of whom had the
hardihood to come also to America. These were, besides the subject of this
review, Philip, Henry and Kate. Philip still makes his home in Colorado,
while the others reside in Fresno County.
The new century was just dawning when Jacob emigrated to the United
States in 1900. and in 1901, suiting his action to the spirit of the age, he came
to Fresno County. He located at Sanger and soon found employment with
the Sanger Lumber Company, in whose service he remained for seven years.
During this strenuous time he managed to save about $2,000.
In 1908, he rented a ranch in Kutner Colony for one year, then in 1909
he bought twenty acres in Del Rev, in its virgin state, but he leveled the
ground, got it in good condition, and planted it to vines and peaches. LTpon
it, also, he erected a fine dwelling, with modern conveniences. In 1915, he
also bought twenty-seven acres of vineyard near Reedley and operated both
until the fall of 1918, when he sold out and purchased eighty acres in
Barstow Colony, where he has thirty acres of vineyard and ten acres of
alfalfa, though he will put it all into vineyard and orchard. He also built
a residence and suitable buildings and took up his abode in the new place in
January, lr>19. Mr. Rosenthal believes that the cooperation of fruit men is
the only means of making a success of the raisin industry, so he is an en-
thusiastic member and stockholder of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany, as well as of the California Peach Growers. Inc.
In 1889, Mr. Rosenthal was married to Miss Mollie Fsheim, and they
have had eleven children, of whom six are now living: Jacob, Herman, John,
Frieda, Edward Y.. and Xorman. Soon after coming to Sanger. Mr. Rosen-
thal took out his first citizenship papers, and in VX)f> he received his second
\J^y±^i^SS^aL^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2237
document, which made him, to his great satisfaction and that of his patriotic
and grateful family, a full-fledged citizen of the United States.
Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal and family are members of the Sanger Luth-
eran Church, and all are interested in its various activities, as also in the
Red Cross and other patriotic endeavors, and are ready in every way to help
support the administration in the great work of winning for the world a
lasting peace. They are happy to have found such a welcome and such oppor-
tunities in Central California, and are glad to continue to take an active part
in its development.
FRANK T. JOHNSON.— One of the native sons of California who has
been very successful in having improved a fine ranch and established a good
dairy, with plenty of choice alfalfa, is Frank T. Johnson, who was born near
Hanford, Kings County, February 25, 1882. His father, Samuel Johnson, was
born in Tennessee, and came to California across the plains. He first located
at Modesto, and then moved to Kings County, where he bought land near
Hanford. He next homesteaded 160 acres between Dinuba and Kingsburg,
and there he planted grain and raised stock. After a while he moved back to
Hanford, where he farmed until he died, in 1883. Frank was then eighteen
months old. His mother was Elizabeth A. Brady of Tennessee before her
marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were married in Tennessee, and came West
as a young married couple. Now Mrs. Johnson resides in Fresno, the mother
of ten children, seven of whom have grown up.
Frank, the youngest of all, was brought up on the farm near Hanford until
he was twelve years old, and then he removed to the Dinuba farm. He at-
tended the public school, but he also learned grain farming and viticulture.
He became the owner of a part of the old home, sold it and bought twenty-
five acres of it, which he set out as a peach orchard and a vineyard of Sultana
and Thompson seedless grapes. When he had conducted that six years, he
sold once more, and in 1909 removed to Tranquillity.
The country was new, so he bought sixty acres of raw land, which he
leveled and checked to alfalfa. He engaged for a while in dairying, but later
he sold the dairy. He bought more land, and has made a specialty of raising
hay. Now he has 125 acres, and no better could anywhere be found.
In February, 1918, he purchased 'twenty acres on Marks and Church
avenues, and moved there and began to cultivate vines. He also commenced
to raise olives, and in both fields he made a success. He sold out in May, 1919,
and moved back to his Tranquillity ranch.
At Sacramento Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Effie Maude Shutt,
a native of Indiana, and three children have blessed their union. They are
Dolores, Eleanor and Louis.
THOMAS J. ALLEN. — A close student of daily life, and a man of sound
common sense, who after many years of hard work and struggle for existence,
believes that the Socialist party offers the only adequate solution for indus-
trialism, is Thomas J. Allen.
Mr. Allen was born in Person County, N. C, on November 2, 1865, and
grew up in Person County until the age of eight, when he moved with his
parents to Waite and later to Durham County, where his mother died when
he was but fourteen. His parents had been poor, and when the mother died,
he was without a home, and had to make his living by working out on tobacco
and cotton plantations in Durham and Granville Counties, suffering hard-
ships, neglect and abuse until he became large enough to fight for his right
to live. He continued to work out on cotton and tobacco plantations in North
Carolina until twenty-four and then went to Collin County, Texas, where he
continued to raise cotton until 1893.
In that year he came to Hanford, Cal., arriving with hardly enough to
pay for his lodging. He lost no time in finding work on ranches, and for
four vears followed the hard life of a farm hand.
2238 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
He then came to Fresno County and bought forty acres in the Laguna
de Tache Grant, and while "baching," worked hard and improved the land.
He still owns this place, together with two others, 120 acres, in all, well-
improved and making three very attractive ranches in the Laguna district,
and in the month of July, 1919, he added still further to his possessions by
the purchase of seventy additional acres, on the Murphy Slough, some three
miles north of his home place.
In 1914 he went back to North Carolina, where he was married to Miss
Minnie Sanford, a native of North Carolina, and a member of an old family
in that state, well identified, as is the Allen family, with American history
and the growth and development of the South. She is a daughter of Robert
and Sally (Pool) Sanford, and was born and brought up in Granville County.
After their marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Allen started to farm, working the
ranch of Mrs. Sanford, the mother-in-law; but before the summer was half
over, he gave his crop to Mrs. Sanford, and on July 20. 1904, he returned with
his bride to California and resumed farming operations here. He improved
that place, did well, and in 1910 bought the forty acres where he now lives ;
still later he bought forty acres north of Riverdale. In 1912 he built the house
in which they now reside. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have had three children, and
two — Walter and Zelma — are still living.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Allen have many friends. Mr. Allen devotes most of
his efforts to dairying, and is a stockholder and patron of the Riverdale
Cooperative Creamery.
ALEXANDER BORGER. — A resident of Fresno for more than a quar-
ter of a century, during which time he has become well-known, is Alexander
Borger, proprietor of the Alex Cafe, who was born in Priwalnaja, Samara,
Russia, on June 10, 1870. His father was William Borger, a grain buyer, who
traveled the length of the Volga River and died in 1887. His wife, who was
Mary Bier before her marriage, also died there, the mother of three sons and
a daughter, of whom Alexander is the only one who came to America.
He was brought up in the city of Priwalnaja, and sent to the public
schools, where he received a good education ; and when fifteen was appren-
ticed to learn the grocery trade at Saratof. For three years he "pegged" away
in return for instruction, experience and twenty dollars a year, and then he
continued to work in the same place, receiving sixty dollars the fourth year,
eighty dollars the fifth, and $120 the sixth.
On account of military oppression he came to the United States, having
heard here of the greater opportunities and hoping to do better. An uncle,
the Rev. Jacob Legler, was a Lutheran minister in Fresno ; and so, having
reached New York, he crossed the continent to Fresno, which he reached on
December 30, 1891. Fie worked with the Southern Pacific builders of the
Pollasky road, and in 1892 picked grapes. After that, for two years, he worked
in Stack's restaurant, and then for a couple of years he was with Gambrinos.
Next he started in the grocery business on G Street with M. Karle and
continued for a year ; and having sold out, he leased, with Henry Fries, a
ranch on the Laguna Grant. The partners had a vineyard there, but after
a year they dissolved their partnership. He was next in the employ of Ed
Schwartz for four years, and was then proprietor of the Railroad House for
a year.
Having conducted a restaurant on I Street for two years, he disposed of
the business and for a year was grading streets as a general contractor. Then
he engaged in the grocery business with H. Bier on California and Elm ave-
nues, and after a year sold out and was in the employ of FI. Schwartz for two
years.
In 1913 he bought the Waffle Kitchen from Charles Kline, and when lie
became proprietor, he named the now famous eating-place the Alex Cafe. It
is located at 1042 H Street, a remodeled and thoroughly up-to-date estab-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2239
lishment. Mr. Borger also owns a twenty-acre vineyard at Biola devoted to
raising Thompson seedless raisins and is a member of the California Associ-
ated Raisin Company. Mr. Borger also built and now owns a handsome resi-
dence at 455 F Street.
On October 2, 1892, Mr. Borger was married at Fresno to Miss Mary
Bier, who came to Fresno in 1892. She is a native of Mr. Borger's birthplace
in Russia, and the daughter of Philipp Bier, a farmer there. Mr. and Mrs.
Borger have had four children : Katie, who is Mrs. McMahon of Fresno ;
Alexander, Jr., who is with the subject of our sketch; Mary, who died when
she was only a year old; and Henry, the youngest. The family attend the
German Lutheran Church.
WILLIAM HARRISON ENLOW.-A progressive young man, for-
merly manager of the Builders Lumber Company at Kerman, is William
Harrison Enlow, a native son, born in Tulare County, sixteen miles from
Visalia, in the Kaweah district. His father, Henry Harlan Enlow, was also
a native son, born in the same county. His grandfather, John Kinney Enlow,
was an Eastern man who crossed the plains as a pioneer to California, where
rfe became a well-known farmer and stockman, and in which new land of
promise he died. Growing up to man's estate, Henry Harlan Enlow farmed
awhile in the vicinity of his home, and then he moved to Lemon Cove, where
he was foreman of a ranch devoted to horticulture. He is now employed as
foreman for the Merriam Fruit, Land and Lumber Company. Mrs. Enlow,
William's mother, was Susan Hannah Snowden, before her marriage, and she
was also born near Kaweah. She is the daughter of Hubbard Snowden, a
native of Arkansas, who in early days crossed the prairies to California, and
here, after having well performed his part, be died, in 1917, seventy-one years
of age. Her own life of usefulness and joy to others, Mrs. Enlow is still living,
surrounded by loving friends.
The eldest of eight children, William H. was brought up on a farm at
Lemon Cove, and there attended the grammar school, later going to the high
school at Visalia. At eighteen he took up the lumber business with the Naft-
singer Lumber Company at Dillonwood, and thoroughly mastering every de-
tail, he began at the bottom and worked for two years until he became a
grader. Meanwhile he saved his money, and so was enabled to enter Heald's
Business College from which he was graduated with honors in 1911.
For seven months Mr. Enlow was with the Fresno Home Packing Com-
pany as bookkeeper, and then he put in a year with the San Joaquin Light
and Power Company at Fresno, where he was also bookkeeper: He next
went into the retail lumber business with the Valley Lumber Company at
Kingsburg, from February to October, 1912, and after that he went to Selma
for the same company. In April, 1913, he was transferred to Fowler as yard
foreman ; and as such he was active until October, 1914. Then Mr. Prescott
of the Valley Company secured him a place in the Kerman yard with the
Builders Lumber Company. At first he was foreman, but in February, 1915,
he was made manager of the yard where he remained until September. 1918.
While in Fowler, in 1914, Mr. Enlow was married to Miss Lena Isabelle
Garretson, a native of Conejo, Fresno County, and who is a worthy helpmate.
They have a daughter, Delores Linelle Enlow. Mr. Enlow is a member of the
lumbermen's organization, the Hoo Hoos.
RICHARD BEVERLY CONDLEY.— A successful engineer widely ex-
perienced in the use of gas and steam engines and all kinds of pumps, who is
highly esteemed as a citizen and neighbor, is Richard Beverly Condley, in
charge of valuable properties for the Union Oil Company on the Clairmont,
Ardell, Coalinga 8 and Security leases. He was born in Marshall, Saline
County, Mo., on March 28, 1872, and came to California in the late nineties.
His father was David Mack Condley, a native of Arkansas who became a
farmer in Saline County, Mo., moved to Napa, Cal., but returned to the Iron
2240 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
State, and finally died there at Marshall. His devoted wife, who was Martha
Barnett before her marriage, had been born in Benton County and also died
in .Missouri. Three girls and one boy were born of this union, and all are
in California.
Richard, the oldest, was reared on a farm in Saline County and there
educated at the public schools, remaining home until he was twenty-one. At
Marshall, on March 28, 1893. he married Miss Ethel Hinton, a native of that
place, and the daughter of David and Clara (Parks) Hinton, born respectively
in Indiana and Pennsylvania. She came in her youth to Missouri with her
parents and there married. Her father was a machinist and a stationary
engineer, and was engaged in threshing, shelling corn, and manufacturing
lumber for which work he ran a saw mill at Miami, on the Missouri River.
Both father and mother are living at Marshall. Six children grew up, and
two are in California ; and Mrs. Condley is the second oldest of these.
From 1893 until 1897 Mr. Condley engaged in farming in Saline Count}',
Mo., and then he came west to Hanford, Cal., where he entered the employ
for a short time of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Then he put in four years
with the winery of George West & Sons, at Hanford, and after that he re-
moved to Bakersfield and took up work as a machinist helper for the Asso-
ciated Oil Company in the Kern River Field. Continuing there, he also
worked as a gas and steam engineer and a practical pump man, but after
seven years, he resigned.
When the Lake View gusher Xo. 1 was struck, he went to Maricopa as
a machinist for the Union Oil, and for several years he had charge of their
machinery. In 1912 he was transferred in the same capacity to the Coalinga
field, and here he has been ever since.
Four children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Condley — each
of whom has thus far done some good work to honor the family name : Charles
is also with the Union Oil. assisting his father, and is married to Eva Urn-
burn ; Lucy, now Mrs. G. C. Work, lives at Oilfields, and has one child,
Robert Beverly; and Edna and David are in the Coalinga Union High School.
Mr. Condley belongs to the Woodmen of the World at Bakersfield.
WILLIAM NELSON FULLER.— Identified with the development of
Fresno County as one of the real upbuilders of the Arizona Colony is William
Nelson Fuller. He was born in Detroit, Mich., on November 27, 1855, the son
of John Fuller, a native of London, Ont., Can., and one of the successful rep-
resentatives of a line of energetic forebears who came from England to New-
York State and then migrated to Canada.
John Fuller removed to Detroit, where he remained a few years and then
located on a farm near Lexington, Sanilac County. Mich., and there foil,, wed
farming until his death, at Criswell, in the same county. The mother, Jane
Wilson before her marriage, was also born in London, Ont.. but of Scotch
descent ; and she, too, died at Criswell, leaving five boys and a girl, among
whom our subject is the oldest son and the only one in California.
William Nelson was reared in Sanilac County on a farm, and educated
at the public schools. When sixteen, he left home and worked on farms in
different parts of Southern Michigan. He saved his money and entered the
high school at Grand Rapids from which he was graduated; and then he
learned the trades of a carpenter and a plasterer. After completing his ap-
prenticeships, he came West to Minneapolis, and there he worked as a jour-
neyman, laboring also in St. Paul. Two years later he removed to Fargo.
N. D., working as a carpenter, and then he went to Bismarck, where he set up
as a contractor and builder. He was in Bismarck when it was the terminus
of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and was also there when the capitol was
moved from Pierre to Bismarck.
In 1887, when the development of California realty interests was at its
height, he came to Los Angeles and engaged in farming and horticulture,
which he continued for five years ; he then came north to Fresno County,
f^Jl^U^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2243
where he homesteaded 160 acres near Raymond in what is now Madera
County. He made numerous improvements, erecting buildings and in five
years he sold the property at an advantage ; and then he came to his present
place. This was in 1897, and Mr. Fuller was one of the first settlers in the
Montpellier Colony.
He began with fifteen acres of raw land — mere hog wallow — on Thorn
Avenue, bought a water right, constructed a ditch, and brought the water
on to the place ; he then began raising strawberries for the Fresno market.
He had ten acres of berries, and with a Mr. Markley was a pioneer straw-
berry grower in this section. Later he bought ten acres more of land. After
some years, he quit raising strawberries and set out the whole twenty-five
acres in a peach orchard, making a specialty of Muir, Lovell and Elberta
peaches. He has raised as many as two tons of dried peaches to the acre,
and has sold dried peaches as low as two and a half cents a pound, and as
high as fifteen cents a pound. He and his wife have developed their prop-
erty into a beautiful place, and they are now the oldest settlers on the Mont-
pellier tract. A member of the California Peach Growers, Inc., from its or-
ganization, he is also a stockholder and a member in the California Associated
Raisin Company.
While in Los Angeles, Mr. Fuller was married to Lucy Mohr. a native
of Switzerland, in which country she was reared until she was fifteen, when
she came to Racine, Wis. She also came to Los Angeles in the boom year
of 1887. Both Mr. and Mrs. Fuller are members of the Presbyterian Church
in Fresno, and each endeavors to perform civic service under the banners
of the Republican party.
THOMAS EDWARD BUTLER.— In these days of special training and
strenuous effort, he who hopes to attain success, whether in professional,
commercial or agricultural lines, must be a man of brains and persistency,
with a scientific knowledge of his chosen vocation. Such a man is T. E.
Butler, who has risen to a prominent place among the fruit-growers of
Fresno County.
Mr. Butler is a native of Illinois where he was born in Wayne County,
April 5, 1886, a son of William M. and Charlotte (McDuffee) Butler. He
was reared and educated in his native state in the public schools and early
began to learn the details of farming. In 1906 he migrated to California,
locating at Dinuba, and entered the employ of F. H. Wilson, of Tulare
County, for whom he worked nine years on his various ranches. The experi-
ence gained through this period of employment was very valuable and espe-
cially helpful in the discharge of his responsible position later in life. He
began at the very bottom and gradually worked his way to the top. Mr.
Butler has concentrated his thought upon horticulture and viticulture and
is a close student of nature. He worked for M. Pettit for two years and to
him gives much of the credit for the success he has made in later years, for
he was a kind employer, willing to impart helpful information to Mr. Butler,
who was anxious to learn.
By reason of his superior knowledge and practical experience, Mr. But-
ler was called to take charge of 160 acres in Barstow Colony, devoted to
vines and figs, owned by W. M. Hopper, and from there, on May 15, 1919,
he came to his present place as manager of the Hopper Ranch at Parlier,
ISO acres of which is in orchard of peaches and apricots. During the busy
season he has the oversight of about 100 people, at other times six or seven.
This responsible position requires a thorough knowledge of the fruit industry.
In 1905, T. E. Butler was united in marriage with Miss Ethel Scott, a
native of Sims, 111., and the daughter of Frank Scott. Mr. and Mrs. Butler
have two sons, Roy and Earl. Mr. Butler has exceeded his expectations as
a successful viticulturist and orchardist. and his integrity of character, perse-
verance and business methods justly merit the high esteem in which he is
held in his community.
2244 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JEFFERSON E. DAVIS.— The traditions of a distinguished American
family especially prominent in the South are revived in the narration of the
life of Jefferson E. Davis, an influential member of the City of Fresno Board
of Police and Fire Commissioners, and an extensive stockman owning 3,000
acres of choice land in Fresno, Stanislaus and Merced counties. His father
was William Hale Davis, a native of Mississippi and a second cousin of Jeffer-
son Davis, President of the Confederate States. When a mere child, he came
to Little Rock, Ark., and the Davis family therefore was one of the first
white families that settled at that place. An aunt. Mrs. Mary Lemberger,
W. H. Davis' sister, whose home is still at Little Rock, although now about
106 years old, paid a visit to Fresno relatives in the summer of 1912; she
enjoys the distinction of being the first white child born at Little Rock.
William Hale Davis left Little Rock in October, 1849, and came across
the plains in company with his brother-in-law, John Lemberger, traveling
by way of Salt Lake City ; and they had several fights with the Indians.
Landing at Dogtown, in Tuolumne County, in April, 1850, they went to work
in the mines there and in the fall of that year, Mr. Lemberger died. Just
about that time the trouble with the Digger Indians began in Mariposa
County, and Mr. Davis and his partner, Charles B. Watts (late of Watts Val-
ley, Fresno County), both enlisted, as volunteers, under Brigadier-General
Edward Fitzgerald Beale, and fought until the Indians were subdued. Dur-
ing this campaigning, Mr. Davis had a thrilling experience such as would
be likelv to try any man's mettle. Sent by General Beale on a foraging ex-
pedition to get meat for the company, he was caught in a terrible snowstorm
and was lost in the mountains. Suddenly, as if he dropped from the skies, an
Indian appeared, and tapping him on the shoulder, exclaimed. "Omega !"
meaning "friend ;" the Indian then guided Mr. Davis to his tribe, which lived
in the Yosemite Valley, and kept him until the snowstorm was over, when the
chief showed him the sights and sent a guide to help him find his way hack
to General Beale's command. Thus Mr. Davis was one of the first white
men to see the Yosemite Falls when the country round about was in its
primeval state, and before travelers of any kind began to come there in num-
bers. After the Indian troubles, he drifted on to Fort Miller, in Mariposa
County, where he came into touch with Phineas Banning and other pioneers
and military men besides General Beale.
He stayed in Mariposa Count}' and mined until 1860. when he came over
to the Kings River Bottoms and, settling on the river banks, engaged in farm-
ing and stockraising until the fall of 1867, when the floods swept away his
houses and drowned many of his cattle. He then took the remnants of his
herds and drove to Watts Valley and there followed the cattle and sheep
business until the time of his death, in November, 1870, when he passed away
about fifty years of age.
William Hale Davis was married at El Monte in 1857 to Miss Sarah
Jane Ellis, the daughter of Dr. T. O. Ellis, a physician, who was also a bishop
in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; and he preached while riding
horseback with his saddlebags and bibles all the way from Los Angeles to
Stockton and Sacramento, establishing churches wherever he went. Mrs.
Davis is one of the most wonderful pioneer women, of very strong character
as may be inferred from the fact that she drove an ox team across the plains
all the way from Texas, her native State. Born in Tyler County, she belonged
to a family that, like the Davis', came from Mississippi. Dr. Ellis was one of
the first school superintendents of Fresno County, and he twice filled that
responsible office — in 1868-69 and again from 1872 to 1875. Left a widow in
1870 with a family of five boys and one girl. Mrs. Davis carried on the ranch-
ing operations, kept the family together, and reared them with a good educa-
tion. At the age of eighty-two she is still living on her ranch of 500 acres
twenty miles southeast of old Fort Miller, and twenty miles northeast of
Fresno; and there she has dwelt since 1874. She attended to all of her own
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2245
business until 1916 when she sold her cattle to her son, John V. Davis, and
leased him the farm as a stock ranch.
Except the eldest child, Thomas, who died when he was three years old,
Mrs. Davis' children are all living. William T. resides with his mother on
the ranch and is engaged in cattle raising; Jefferson Ellis is the subject of
our review; Mary Frances is the wife of D. M. Baird, an extensive rancher
of Fresno County elsewhere mentioned in this work; Eugene G. resides at
Clovis and is a cattle raiser; John O., already referred to, runs the Davis
ranch ; and W. H. lives at Fresno and is a vineyardist.
Jefferson Ellis Davis was born at Hornitas, in Mariposa County, on Jan-
uary 21, 1863, while his mother was there on a visit, and grew up mainly in
Fresno County. His educational advantages were limited, so that his knowl-
edge is of a practical nature such as one might be expected to acquire through
his work. As a boy, he began to drive horses, operate machinery and work
on the farm, and at sixteen he managed the farm of the Davis estate.
In 1901 he was married to Miss Martha R. Taylor of Los Angeles, a
graduate of the State Normal at Los Angeles and of the University of Cal-
ifornia ; and formerly a teacher in Fresno County. Her father was Asher Tay-
lor, the well-known pioneer, and his portrait is to be found with those of the
early pioneers of San Francisco, including Flood, Mackay, Rowlston, and
others. Since his marriage, Mr. Davis has been engaged in general ranching
and stockraising. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have five children : Muriel R. grad-
uated from the Fresno High School with the Class of '18; Warren Jefferson
is still in attendance at that well-conducted institution ; William Emery, Bar-
bara, and Gordon P.
A police and fire commissioner of Fresno with a record in each instance
that is very good, Mr. Davis has always worked to elevate the standard of
morality in the city and has very naturally been in favor of making Fresno
a dry town. He is a member of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church. In
national politics, he is a Democrat.
JOHN H. GILBERTSON.— The enterprising and progressive black-
smith of Coalinga, Jack Gilbertson, as he is familiarly known, is of Scotch
ancestry, his grandfather, Henry Gilbertson, having been born in the land of
the heather and of Bobby Burns, from which country he emigrated to Can-
ada, afterwards moving over the line into New York State. He was a black-
smith by trade and passed his last days in the Empire State. The father of
J. H. Gilbertson was Thomas Gilbertson, a native of Canada, who followed
the trade of blacksmith in New York State as well as in Pennsylvania. While
he was engaged at his trade in the latter state, oil was discovered at the old
Drake well, near Titusville, Pa. Later on he ran a shop at Bradford, Pa., and
it was in this place that he died. John H. Gilbertson, the subject of this
sketch, was born on May 10, 1877, near the famous old Drake oil-well, located
near Titusville, Pa. His mother, in maidenhood, was Ellen O'Hara, a native
of New York State, and she resides now at Long Beach, Cal. Mr. and Mrs.
Thomas Gilbertson were the parents of ten children, eight of whom are living,
J. H. being the sixth child.
When eleven years of age, Jack Gilbertson moved with his parents to
Bradford, Pa., and it was in the public school of this town that he received
his early education. Following the footsteps of his father and grandfather,
he learned the trade of a blacksmith, and in due time ran a shop in partner-
ship with his father. He remained with him until he sold his interest and
then he accepted a position with an oil-tool company, in West Virginia, where
he was the blacksmith for the firm of Betman, Watson & Burnham, in Bel-
mont, W. Va. After remaining here three years he returned to Bradford
where he was in the employ of the Oil Well Supply Company, as a black-
smith, continuing with them for five years. Having a desire to see the western
states, Mr. Gilbertson migrated as far west as Kiefer, Okla., where he was
2246 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
foreman of the Independent Iron Works, engaged in building oil-well ma-
chinery. His next move was eastward, as he located at Rochester, N. Y.,
where he secured employment with the Fredericks Structural Iron Works
as foreman of their blacksmithing department. After remaining here a few
months, Mr. Gilbertson moved to California, making his advent into the
Golden State in 1906, locating at Coalinga, where he secured employment
with the California Oilfields Limited, as a blacksmith, which position he filled
for three years, when he left Coalinga for Tonopah, Nev. After serving nine
months as master mechanic of the Tonopah Extension, he resigned and re-
turned to Coalinga, where he accepted the position of head blacksmith for the
Bunting Iron 'Works, which place he efficiently filled for five years, resigning
in 1915 to engage in business for himself. Purchasing the blacksmith shop
of Hansen & Borum, he opened a general blacksmithing business, also en-
gaged in auto repairing and light oil-tool blacksmithing work. Mr. Gilbertson
is an expert in his line of work, an enterprising business man who has the
happy faculty of making friends, which accounts for his growing and pros-
perous business, located on Front Street, Coalinga. From a boy Mr. Gilbert-
son was reared in the oil region and has been through most of the prominent
oil-fields and has had valuable experience in the making of oil-well tools.
While with the Oil Well Supply Company in Bradford. Pa., he assisted in
the making of the fishing tools that were exhibited at the Saint Louis Expo-
sition.
Mr. Gilbertson was united in marriage with Miss Gladys M. Levey, a
native of Iowa, and the)' have three children : Jack ; Helen, and Norma.
Fraternally, Mr. Gilbertson is a member of the Eagles.
JAMES P. GREGORY.— An enterprising and progressive resident of
the Rolinda section of Fresno County, is James P. Gregory, merchant and
rancher who has become one of the leading men in his community, where
he is very popular. He was born near Chattanooga, Tenn., December 3, 1876,
a son of Thomas and Sarah (Milam) Gregory, who were both born in that
state. The elder Gregory was both a merchant and farmer, and conducted
a mercantile establishment in Daisy, Hamilton County, and later in Hill
City, Tenn. Subsequently he removed to the Cherokee Nation and engaged
in farm pursuits at Vian and there he passed to his reward. Mrs. Gregory
died in Tennessee. They were the parents of two children : James P., of this
review, and Mrs. J. C. Bach, of Barstow Colony. By a former marriage
Thomas Gregory was the father of three children, and by a later one, of one
son, Lawrence, now in the United States Army.
James P. was educated in the public schools in Tennessee until his re-
moval with the family to the Cherokee Nation in 1891, there he continued his
studies in the public school and completed at the academy. During the inter-
val he assisted his father on the farm. Having a desire to see the Pacific
Coast country, in 1901 he left for California and came direct to Fresno. He
soon found employment in the store at Kearney Park owned by the late
M. Theo. Kearney, and there, by careful attention to the interests of his
employer, he soon became known as a young man of ability and was made
manager of the store.
In 1905, having gained a good insight into local conditions and become
familiar with the methods of carrying on the general merchandise business
here. Mr. Gregory saw a good opening for a like enterprise on White's Bridge
Road, one-half mile east of Rolinda Station. He leased an acre of land and
the small building that had been erected for him. and began on a small scale.
There were but few ranches in the locality and the little store was the only
building at the four corners. Being well and favorably known, he soon drew
trade from former patrons of the Kearney store and gradually his business
grew. Before three years had passed he was able to buy the land where
his store stood and some besides, making two and one-half acres : he tore
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2249
down the old building and erected a more commodious structure and by
close application to business prospered beyond his expectations. He it was
who gave the name of Rolinda to the settlement; also named Rolinda Avenue,
running north and south. During the time he was carrying on the store he
also farmed some land across the road from his store and raised some good
crops. On account of ill health caused by too close confinement in the store,
Mr. Gregory sold out the stock of merchandise in March, 1919, and then
turned his attention to the development of a ranch of sixty acres that he
purchased in July, 1918, and which is located on McKinley Avenue. Later,
he expects to reenter the mercantile field at Rolinda. He is a member of the
California Associated Raisin Company and he served as a deputy under
Sheriffs Chittenden, McSwain, Thorwaldsen and Jones. As a republican he
has ever sought to do his duty at the polls ; also has shown an interest in
educational affairs and is serving as a trustee of the Houghton school dis-
trict. Fraternally, he is a member of Houghton Lodge of the Fraternal
Brotherhood at Rolinda and of Pitiaches Tribe, I. O. R. M., at Fresno.
The marriage of James P. Gregory and Miss Bena Jacobsen, the daughter
of P. C. Tacobsen. a pioneer resident of this section, was celebrated in Feb-
ruary, 1904. Of this union six children have been born: Ruth, Emma, Edna,
Tames, Clarence, and Parker, who add to the charm of the Gregory house-
hold, and with their parents enjoy the good will and esteem of their many
friends.
JOHN BIEN. — A prosperous rancher of the Biola district, John Bien
is justly proud of his record and what he has accomplished through his own
industry and thrift. Born in Dinkel, Samara, Russia, August 30, 1875, he is
a son of George and Annie (Grommer) Bien, both residents of that country,
and there the father's death occurred, in 1878; the mother still living in the
old country. John is one of two brothers left living out of a family of three
boys and one girl born to his parents. He was educated in the public schools
of his native town and when six years of age went to live with his uncle,
Conrad Bien, remaining with him until the age of fifteen. From that early
age he made his own way in life, working out on farms for his board and
twenty-five dollars a year, which stipend was increased a little each year,
until when twenty-four years of age he was receiving fifty dollars a year, out
of which sum he had to buy his clothes and incidentals — an illustration of
the scant wages paid to young people in that country.
In the fall of 1898, the young man emigrated to the United States, and
first located in Lincoln, Nebr., where he was in the employ of the Union
Pacific Railroad. In the fall of 1900 he came to Fresno, and for seven years
was in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1907 he left the rail-
road work and was employed in a clothing establishment for eighteen
months ; then leased a ranch on Barstow Avenue, raised alfalfa and engaged
in the dairy business for five years. During this time he bought his present
ranch, in 1910, and for a time worked both places. He now has a forty-acre
ranch' on Biola and Barstow Avenues, fifteen miles northwest of Fresno,
thirty-five acres of which are in Thompson and muscat grapes, and the bal-
ance in alfalfa. He has made modern improvements on his property, built
a fine residence and barns, put in a modern pumping-plant for irrigation
purposes, and is prospering and reaping the fruits of his industry and enter-
prise.
Mr. Bien's marriage, in Fresno, united him, on January 8, 1901, with Miss
Annie Miller, born in Stahl, Samara, Russia, a daughter of Andrew and Marie
(Grill) Miller, who came to California in 1900 and are now living in Dinuba.
They were the parents of seven children, Mrs. Bien being the oldest of the
family. Mr. and Mrs. Bien have had eight children born to them, six of whom
are living: George, Fred, Amelia, Lizzie, Martha, and John, Tr. The
2250 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
family attends the Congregational Lutheran Church of Fresno. Mr. Bien is
a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and keeps in step
with the march of progress which is sweeping throughout this section of
the state.
HARVEY H. GEORGESON.— A hard-working, honest, gentleman is
Harvey H. Georgeson, who was born in Berlin, Wis., on April 1, 1887. His
father was originally known as L. P. Jorgensen, but owing to much con-
fusion in the delivery of his mail, due to'the presence of so many Jorgensens,
he had his name changed to Georgeson.
The fourth eldest in a family of eight children, all of whom grew to
maturity. Harvey II. lived in Wisconsin until 1895, when he came West to
California and Fresno County with his parents. They located in the Madison
school district, and there the lad attended school and obtained the foundation
of a good education. He was given much work to do. however, as a boy, and
so early learned viticulture and general ranching, at which he busied him-
self until his seventeenth year. He then worked, until the fall of 1911, at
logging, lumbering, and stationary engineering at Millwood, Pine Ridge and
the Standard Lumber Company's plant.
On New Year's Day, 1912, Air. Georgeson was married to Miss Clara
V. Hansen, who was born at Malaga, Fresno County, a daughter of H. C.
Hansen.
Following his marriage, Mr. Georgeson purchased his present ranch of
twentv acres at the corner of Madison and Braly avenues. He laid out a
fine vineyard and erected a residence with suitable buildings for farm use.
His vineyard yields the best of Muscat and Thompson seedless grapes, and
these command the highest prices in the market. Mr. Georgeson is both a
member and a stockholder of the California Associated Raisin Company.
For the past six years Mr. Georgeson has also assisted in caring for the
county roads in road district No. 1, and he runs the Holt caterpillar sivtv
horsepower engine used in doing the road work.
Mr. and Mrs. Georgeson have two children, Gilbert and Stanley.
RICHARD I. FARRIS. — A representative of the splendid type of man-
hood of the Middle Western States, Richard I. Farris was born in Lincoln.
Logan County, 111.. November 23. 1876. His father. John H.. was born in
Kentucky, but removed to Illinois in his youth. He then went to Washington
County. Iowa, where he engaged in farming for eighteen years. He first came
to California in 1882, but he returned to Iowa again. In 1910 the Farris
family moved to Fresno County where they engaged in the dairy business
until the father's death, in 1913. He lacked eight days of reaching his
eightieth year. The mother in maidenhood was Louisa Harrold ; she was born
in Illinois, and is still living, residing in Fresno. To them were born four
children: Mary, of Fresno; Richard I.; Morton, of Fresno; and Nora, now
Mrs. Nowel, of Muscatine, Iowa. The father, by a former marriage, had
four children, two of whom are living.
Richard I. was raised in Illinois until his sixteenth year. He full,. wed
farming there until 18°r> when he went to Iowa, immediately beginning work
with his father on the farm, and continuing there until the farm was sold,
after which he engaged in farming for himself. In 1903 he made his first
trip to California, and in 1910, having sold out. came again and located in
Fresno County, where he entered into the dairy business on his father's place.
Here great improvements have been made: they have a pumping-plant with
twenty-horsepower engine and seven-inch pump, and the land is also under
the Herndon canal system. They have fifteen cows in the dairy, and are
raising alfalfa, also.
Mr. Farris was married January 23, 1901, to Miss Stella Coppock. daughter
of William and Frances ('. i Edwards) Coppock, who were natives respectively
of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Mrs. F,-irris was horn in Osborne Countv, Kans.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2251
Her parents were farmers in Iowa, and then in Kansas for a time, but later
returned to Iowa. Her father was a Civil War veteran, a member of Company
D, Fourth Iowa Cavalry. He has passed on, leaving his wife and nine chil-
dren. Mrs. Coppock is now a resident of Iowa. Mrs. Farris is the fourth
of this large family.
To Mr. and Mrs. Farris have been born four children : Velma, Wendell,
Dale and Gertrude. They are all members of the North Side Christian
Church, Fresno. Mr. Farris is a member of the Board of Trustees of Roose-
velt school district, and of the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers Associa-
tion. He was made a Mason in Dayton Lodge, No. 149, F. & A. M., at Well-
man, Iowa, and transferred his membership to Washington Lodge, No. 26,
Washington, Iowa, of which he is still a member. The Farris family occu-
pies a high place in the life of the community.
CLAIR E. HALIBURTON.— Of a long line of honorable ancestry,
himself a worthy descendant, Clair E. Haliburton, proprietor of The Tog-
gery, in the Amy Block, stands among the foremost business men of Coal-
inga. The Haliburton family in the United States is large and all of that
name are related by blood, being the descendants of two brothers, who came
from Scotland to the United States before the Revolutionary War. One of
them settled in North Carolina, and some of his descendants moved to Ten-
nessee, and it is from this branch that Clair Haliburton is descended. His
father was Henry Warren Haliburton, who was born in Dickson County,
Tenn. His grandfather was Charles Haliburton who was born in North
Carolina but who moved to Tennessee when quite young, and engaged in
farming when grown. There are many Haliburtons in North Carolina, Ten-
nessee, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas, and a few in Virginia, and they have
become prominent in business and as professional men. More of them have
engaged in the mercantile business than in other lines of activity.
Henry Warren Haliburton, the father, was reared in Dickson County.
In 1846, when a young man, he migrated to Missouri, and located in Ran-
dolph County, where he became in industrious and honorable citizen. Soon
after the discovery of gold in California, in 1849, he crossed the plains, driving
an ox team in a large train of wagons, and located in Plumas County. After
following mining awhile he drifted into the stock business, at Globe, Tulare
County, where he purchased a ranch and became successful and influential.
He died in 1896 at the age of seventy-four years. The mother was Mary
Martha Osborn, a native daughter of California, born in Tulare County. Her
parents also crossed the plains in the early pioneer days of California. She
died in 1894.
Clair Haliburton is the youngest of seven children, and was born at
Globe. Tulare County, August 10, 1884. Following the death of his mother
he lived with his sister, Mrs. A. J. Phillips, now of Tulare, until he had
completed the public school course. At fourteen he began clerking in Ep-
stein's store, at Visalia, receiving only five dollars a week, and out of this he
had to board himself. He stuck to it for four months, and then began clerk-
ing for C. O. Anderson, general merchandise, at Reedley, remaining with
him over six months, when he came to Coalinga to enter the employ of A. P.
May, as a clerk in the gents' furnishing department. He took a deep interest
in his work, and was rewarded by being placed in charge of the department.
After a period of three years he resigned, having decided to engage in bus-
iness for himself.
In 1905 he started a cleaning and pressing establishment on Front Street,
but this soon gave way to the idea of a gents' furnishing goods store, new
and up-to-date. For this purpose he borrowed $750 from his brother. In
order to get a suitable location he purchased a building and lease for $685
cash, obtained credit and opened the Toggery. Later he took in as a partner,
Louis Green who afterwards sold to a Mr. Martin, and the firm became Hali-
2252 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
burton & Martin. They moved into the May Block and later into the Amy
Block, where they built up a large business. In 1912, Mr. Martin sold to his
partner, and the business has been the exclusive property of Mr. Haliburton,
and it is one of the finest stores in Coalinga. He owes his success to close
application and keeping his credit good, always meeting his obligations
promptly.
With Messrs. Clayton and Hancock as partners, Mr. Haliburton brought
the first privately-owned airplane to Fresno County; it is a Canadian-Curtiss
J-N-4 Plane. They are using it commercially, as a passenger sight-seeing
and advertising plane.
Mr. Haliburton was married in Coalinga to Miss Eva Buckalew, a native
of Pennsylvania. They are the parents of two children, Emory and Richard.
Mr. Haliburton is a member of the Fresno Lodge of Elks, of the Coalinga
Lodge of Eagles, and of the Chamber of Commerce. The success he has
achieved is his own and no one begrudges it to him.
A. E. HASLAM. — A hard working, progressive and excellent dairy farmer
is A. E. Haslam, the rancher who owns 230 acres of superior land one mile
southeast of Riverdale. He is the original butter maker in that town, and has
the distinction of having first demonstrated the special advantages of this
section for the butter industry. He is a stockholder in the Riverdale Co-
operative Creamery.
Mr. Haslam was born in London, England, the son of William Haslam,
who was a native of the world's metropolis and came to America when our
subject was only a year old. He settled awhile in New York City and built
up a large cigar manufacturing business, through which he became comfort-
ably fixed. He had married Elizabeth Ford, also a native of England, the
ceremonv taking place in that country ; and they became the parents of four
boys and a girl.
Crowing up in New York City, Mr. Haslam read the New York Tribune
and he heeded Horace Greeley's advice. "Young man. go West and grow up
with the country." At twenty-five years of age he came to California and at
first worked in San Luis Obispo County at grain farming. He farmed for
himself and had a sad experience, for prices fell to such an extent that they
broke him.
He then came to Riverdale and worked for Uncle Job Malsbury. who
came to California in 1853 and located near Riverdale in 1885, and he was
married to Miss Emma W. Holton, a native of St. Andrew's, New Brunswick.
Canada. She was a teacher in the public schools at Conejo, in Fresno County,
and one child, Margery, eleven years of age, was born to this union. Mr.
Haslam had been previously married in San Luis Obispo County to Miss
Ida M. Turner, a daughter of James Turner, the well-known pioneer of River-
dale who moved to this section with Mr. Haslam. She became ill and died
during the first year of their residence, and she left two children. Willard
married Mabel Baird and is a rancher owning eighty-six acres at Riverdale,
and they have two children— May and Kenneth : Isabel, the wife of J. T.
Hunter, a carpenter and builder, is the mother of four children — Dorothy,
Edward. Marion and the baby.
Mr. Haslam bought his present place sixteen years ago from C. G. Mil-
nes, and he donated a right of way to the TTanford & Summit Lake Railway.
He also owns forty acres a mile to the west. He is the financial manager of
the United Brethren Church of Riverdale — a living growing congregation,
thanks largely to Mr. Ha-slam's excellent work. Mr. and Mrs. Haslam are
consistent Christians, dwell in a fine ranch house which is one of the very
best in Riverdale. and are patriotic citizens, always interested in advancing
the welfare of the communitv.
A)^f^^^ Ujl£is<^u*<>\ fyt /$
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2255
DR. DAGMAR PETERSEN.— Dr. Petersen, of Selma, comes from a
family wherein learning- and character always have been valued highly. Her
father, Jens Peter Petersen, was born in Denmark, became a teacher and
was prominent among the educators of Denmark, but since coming to Amer-
ica he has turned to agriculture and has made good also in that field. He
resided and farmed in Colorado and came to Fresno County in 1909; and
so well has he prospered here, that he now owns a ranch near Selma. Her
mother, who was Manna Trina Andersen before her marriage, and is a
native of Denmark, is also resident here. Five sons and four daughters were
born to this hardy couple. Two of the youngest sons were in the army in
France, and three are ranching in Colorado. Besides Dr. Dagmar Petersen,
Dorothea is a trained nurse and was a Red Cross nurse in France for one
year, and has just returned to Selma. Mary, who is a graduate of the Colo-
rado State Normal and the University of California, is a teacher at the Sali-
nas High School ; and Agnes is a teacher in the high school at Grass Valley,
where, as a graduate of the art department of the University of Southern
California, she has been chosen to supervise the drawing.
Born at Hornsburg, near Akron, Colo., Miss Dagmar attended the public
grammar and high schools in that state, and first came to California in 1907.
Soon after her arrival, she matriculated in the branch department of the
Medical School of the University of California at Los Angeles — now devoted
exclusively to postgraduate work in connection with the State University;
and after taking the regular four-year course, she was graduated with the
Class of 1911. She then went to San Francisco to acquire practical experience
and became an interne at the Children's Hospital, ably filling that responsible,
if subordinate position during the winter of 1911-12.
Ready to start entirely on her own responsibility. Dr. Petersen began
general practice at Patterson in Stanislaus County, and for a year she was
with Dr. Hammer. Later, for a year and a half, she practiced at Arbuckle,
Cal., and in April, 1915, she took the step, of such importance to Selma as
well as to herself, and moved her office to Selma.
Naturally endowed with unusual gifts for her difficult work, and blessed
with a personality which inspires confidence, Dr. Petersen is building up a
lucrative practice and a large clientele. Her offices are located in the Dusaw
Building, Rooms 9 and 10. She is particularly adept in the diagnosis and
treatment of children's and women's diseases ; and as there never was a time
when the specialist in these fields was more in demand, a career of useful service
seems assured to this highly accomplished young woman.
HENRY RUDOLPH HALEMEIER.— An energetic native son, a pa-
triotic citizen, and a good manager is Henry R. Halemeier, the son of Au-
gust Halemeier, a native of Steinbeck, Westphalia, Germany, where he was
reared on a farm. In 1886 he came to the United States and for eight months
settled in Nebraska; after which, stirred by the reports of greater prospects
in the Golden State, he came to California. On January 10, 1887, he arrived
in Fresno County and joined the Eggers Colony; and there he worked as
wine maker in the Eggers winery. He was later wine maker in the Fresno,
the Margherita and Barton wineries, and rounded out a record of seventeen
years in that responsible position. In the meantime he bought twenty acres
of land in the Eggers Colony, and set out a vineyard with Muscat vines, and
built a residence.
In 1897 Mr. Halemeier purchased his present place of eighty acres of raw
land, which he improved and set out with Muscat and wine grapes, adding
Thompson seedless ; afterward he reset the vineyard and changed it to its
present form. With characteristic enterprise, he also secured valuable land
in Merced County, to which from time to time he gave his personal attention.
In 1900 Mr. Halemeier quit making wine and devoted all his energies to
his property in this section. He sold twenty acres and located on the balance
2256 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
of eighty acres, and there, in 1905, built a substantial residence. In 1916 he
rented the place and now resides, with his wife, in Los Angeles. Mrs. Hale-
meier was born in Germany, where she was christened Marie Seckmann.
Three children were born to this worthy couple: August H., the viticulturist
on Locan Avenue ; Henny, now Mrs. Haeuser, of YYhittier ; and Henry Ru-
dolph, the subject of our sketch.
Born on December 28, 1891, at Eggers Colony, nine miles east of Fresno,
Henry R. attended the Temperance public school, and when thirteen came
to this place, where he continued his schooling. He also went to Heald's
Business College in Fresno, from which he graduated with honors in 1911.
Then he returned home and assisted his father in the vineyard, having learned
that business from the time he was a lad.
In 1916, Mr. Halemeier leased his father's ranch of eighty acres and en-
gaged in viticulture and general ranching, \\ith his brother he became in-
terested in the management of a twenty-acre tract on Locan Avenue ; and
as both growers are rated among the enterprising vineyard proprietors in
the county they are making a success of this undertaking. H. R. Halemeier
is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
At Oakland, in 1916, Mr. Halemeier was married to Miss Bertha Stein-
beck, a native of that city, her father being the well-known business man,
H. C. \Y. Steinbeck. One child, Marion Elizabeth, has blessed the union.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Halemeier take a live interest in anything making for
the betterment of local society, being especially active in the German Lu-
theran Church, as were Mr. and Mrs. Halemeier, Sr. In politics Hr. Hale-
meier is a Republican.
ROY HEDRICK. — The popular, efficient and courageous deputy sheriff
and constable at Laton, Cal., Roy Hedrick, is also the proprietor of the Laton
Garage where he is building up a large and successful business in automobiles
and motor trucks, being the general agent at Laton for the Chevrolet autos
and trucks. He is a native of Shirley, Ind., where he was born May 7, 1883,
a son of James and Mollie (Connor) Hedrick. His mother passed away when
Roy was nine months old, after which he was reared in the home of his
maternal step-grandparents, Hugh and Sarah Anderson, who were farmers
near Shirley, Ind. Here he attended the public school of the district and,
when old enough to help, assisted his grandfather with the work on his farm.
In 1903. when twenty years of age, Roy Hedrick decided to take a trip to
California, where he had an uncle, David Hedrick, residing one and a half
miles east of Laton, and who had encouraged his coming to the Golden State.
At first he worked on farms in the vicinity and being enterprising and
economical in his habits saved his money, and after a while bought a place
near his uncle which he improved and later sold to his brother Charles Hed-
rick. Afterwards Mr. Hedrick purchased seventeen acres of land located
three-quarters of a mile east of Laton, which he still owns.
In 1916 he started in the automobile repair business, leasing from Dan-
iels and Rutherford, former proprietors of the Laton Garage, and in 1919
bought the garage, the building being formerly owned by W. H. Daniels.
When Mr. Hedrick took over the garage the business had run down, bat
soon afterwards, by his good management. Mr. Hedrick succeeded in build-
ing up a prosperous and successful business. He employs a competent me-
chanic all of the time and by thorough workmanship and prompt and efficient
service he is making a name for his garage throughout this section of the
county. Some idea of the magnitude to which his business has grown can
be gathered from the fact that in the month of September, 1918. he sold
seventeen Chevrolet touring cars. His business also includes the handling
of Chevrolet motor trucks, of which he has sold several, and a general re-
pairing business, as well as dealing in motor accessories, tires and gasoline
During his fifteen years of residence at Laton, the course of his business life
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2257
has been decidedly upward and during the past seven years Mr. Hedrick
has held the office of constable and deputy sheriff at Laton, being elected to
the former and appointed to the latter by the various sheriffs. Roy Hedrick
is a large and powerful man physically and is especially endowed by nature
for the position of a peace officer. He is courageous, intelligent, and possesses
all other requisite qualities for the making of an ideal deputy sheriff.
In 1905, August 4, Roy Hedrick was united in marriage with Miss Susan
McGuire, of Laton, and this happy union has been blessed by three children :
Le Roy, Charlotte, and Naomi.
Fraternally, Mr. Hedrick is a member of Laton Lodge, No. 148, I. O. O.
F., of Laton, Cal. He is the owner of seven residence lots in Laton and has
built a comfortable home where he and his happy family reside.
JAMES H. A. JORGENSEN.— An industrious young man who has be-
come manager of the Riverdale Cooperative Creamery Company is James H.
A. Jorgensen, a Danish-American who served an apprenticeship in all the
branches of milk production and the making of milk products, as practiced in
Denmark. Such has been his success in butter and cheese making, condensing
and evaporating, and the manufacture of casein, that his creamery has be-
come one of the largest and finest in Central California, capable of handling
the milk of from 3,000 to 5,000 cows, or 75,000 pounds, including 6,000 pounds
of butter, per day in the most scientific and sanitary manner.
Mr. Jorgensen was born in Denmark on August 6, 1886, and at fourteen
years of age entered as an apprentice the creamery and cheese factory at
Nyborg, after which he attended the Danish school for the science and art
of handling milk products. Prior to his matriculation there, Mr. Jorgensen
had four years of practical experience, and when he had finished his studies,
he received the school's diploma certifying to his having completed the work
with honor.
Once well-equipped for work in this highly-important field, Mr. Jorgen-
sen resolved to come to America. He first served in the Danish Navy, spend-
ing four months of his time in the waters at Iceland. He then returned home,
bade his mother good-bye, and received his honorable discharge from the
Government. His father, Hans, had died in 1900, aged sixty-four years, leav-
ing a widow and seven children, of which he was the youngest. He left Co-
penhagen on March 12, 1908. on the "Hellig Olav" of the Scandinavian-Amer-
ican line. He traveled by way of Christian'ia, and landed at Ellis Island, New
York, on March 28, 1908. after a very stormy voyage. He came West to
Minnesota, and was soon busy demonstrating what he knew of dairying
and the creamery business.
His first work was as a butter maker, for three months, at Round Prairie,
in Todd County, and then he stayed a year at Alexandria in Douglass County,
where he was employed as a butter maker for nine months for the North
American Cold Storage Company. Leaving their service he came to Califor-
nia and locating at Petaluma, worked for two and a half months in the Bloom-
field Creamery. He next held a position as manager of the Salinas Creamery
for two years, .and following that he was called to his present position, in
1911. This Riverdale Cooperative Creamery had been running just four
months at that time, and Mr. Jorgensen has made an unqualified success
since he took hold of the reins.
On November 18. 1911, Mr. Jorgensen was married at Fresno to Miss
Mabel Menasco. who was born at Watsonville, the daughter of Joe Menasco,
now a successful orchardist in Yolo County ; and from this union have sprung
three children : Harold, Elizabeth and Beverly.
The Riverdale Cooperative Creamery employs eighteen men at present,
including the manager, and is favored with an equipment of the very best
type. This includes a full complement of first-class creamery, condensing and
refrigerating machinery and utensils, two DeLaval cream separators of the
2258 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
largest size, a cream ripener and a new pasteurizer, two large curd vats, and
a milk laboratory room with bacterial counts. The creamery has three boil-
ers that furnish steam for condensing, and the machinery is run by electric
power bought from the San Joaquin Light & Power Company. Electric light
and power — sixty horsepower — are used throughout, and the old 25 horse-
power steam engine is kept in reserve. Two Simplex churns of the large size
are also used, and water is pumped from two wells on the premises of the
company at Riverdale. There are condensery, refrigerator and packing de-
partments, and cooling rooms, all thoroughly sanitary and up to date. En-
largements are continually being made, although the building of concrete
and brick is about 200 by 300 feet in size. Nine trucks are used in bringing
in the cream, and one large truck transports the products, nicely boxed, and
put up in pound bricks.
Condensed milk in bulk form is a new departure and is now being made
here, as well as casein — two products derived from skimmed milk. As the
name indicates, it is a cooperative industry, in which about 100 resident
farmers and dairymen are stockholders and members. The company was
incorporated under the laws of the State of California and in 1910 it erected
the present building, which was enlarged in 1918. The brand of this creamery
is "Challenge Butter" and has taken prizes wherever it has been exhibited.
The officers of the Riverdale Cooperative Creamer}' are : H. M. Hancock,
Riverdale, President; J. B. Lewis, Fresno, Vice-President; C. H. Dewey,
Riverdale, Secretary ; the First National Bank, Riverdale, Treasurer ; and
Tames H. A. Jorgensen, Manager. John Clausen is the butter maker ; and
J. A. Bowen is bookkeeper. The directors are: A. T- Vancleef, F. A. Andrews,
R. S. Gobby, H. L. Owen, and H. JVC. Hancock, Riverdale; J. B. Lewis, for-
merly at Riverdale, now in Fresno ; and C. H. Dewey. Riverdale.
Fond of social life and popular with all classes, Mr. Jorgensen is a mem-
ber of the Odd Fellows' lodge at Riverdale, where he is a Past Grand and
Past District Deputy Grand Master.
JUAN MIGUEL URRUTIA.— A rancher and stockman of wide experi-
ence and unerring judgment and foresight is J. M. Urrutia, an extensive sheep-
grower, landowner and farmer, who first saw the light at Mezquiriz, Navarra,
Spain, on February 26, 1883. He is the son of Antonio Urrutia, an agricul-
turist and stockman, who owned a large farm when he died, in 1893, while
Juan was ten years of age. His wife was Manuella Yrigoyen, before her mar-
riage, and she became the mother of eight children, among whom Juan was
the fourth oldest. She was even a larger landowner, and she is still living.
Juan, who is the only one of the family now in California, was brought up
on a farm in Spain, where he enjoyed but very limited educational advan-
tages, and from his tenth year he worked assisting and helping his mother.
After he came to California, he saw the need of education; and so he studied
evenings, and gradually learned to read and to speak English. He was only
seventeen when he determined to say farewell to his native land. Arriving in
Fresno, January 2, 1901, three days later he found employment with a sheep-
grower on the West Side, and with him he continued for fourteen months.
Having somewhat mastered English, he moved to Coalinga. where he was
engaged by Matias Erro, and six months thereafter, he shifted again, this
time to Tehachapi, where he was busy in the same line for three months.
A fourteen months' contract to chop wood for the Union Lime Company
followed, and after that, he went to the mines, for a short time, in Piute, Kern
County, but he did not like the experience, and so accepted a position as
engineer at the lime-kiln at Tehachapi, from which place he went to Bakers-
field. He was again in the employ of a sheepraiser for a year, and this led
him to get a flock of his own, which after six months on the range, he sold in
Mono County. When he returned to Fresno, he bought another bunch of
sheep, and for some years devoted himself to sheep-raising.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2261
Mr. Urrutia next bought a ranch at Huron, on the West Side, and set
to work energetically to make improvements. He sunk a well and erected the
necessary buildings ; and he raised grain while continuing in the sheep bus-
iness. After selling his flock he found that he had made a good clean-up. so
he concluded to continue in the business, and determined to enlarge his oper-
ations and branch out ; but he soon found that his lack of the necessary cap-
ital was a hindrance. He then went to San Francisco and arranged with
Messrs. George C. Alferetz & Co., establishing a credit with them ; and as
the years rolled by and his business grew to very large proportions, he
drew heavily on them. He was careful, however, in all of his operations,
never to abuse his credit, nor was their confidence in him misplaced. He con-
tinued to use their credit until they closed their business house and retired
from business in 1916.
Since Mr. Urrutia started raising grain in 1909, he has never farmed less
than 2,000 acres a year, and some years he has had 3,000 acres in grain. For
this purpose, he originally used horses and mules ; but later he bought a sev-
enty-five-horse-power C. L. Best Caterpillar for plowing and putting in the
crops, as well as pulling the combined harvester.
While living on this ranch, Mr. Urrutia was married at San Francisco
on November 10, 1913, when he took for his wife Miss Fermina Erro. a native
of the same place from which Mr. Urrutia came, who settled in Fresno in
1910. Two children have blessed their union — Joseph and Beatrice.
Mr. Urrutia has met with unusual success in both farming and sheep-
growing. By 1913 he had 15.000 head of sheep, although during the winter,
1913-14, he sold off 7,000 head in the market, and then by natural increase
as well as purchase, he enlarged the number in his flocks so that in 1915 he
sold 6.000 sheep in the market, and in 1916 he sold off another bunch of 9,000
head. He also sold his West Side ranch and all his holdings there, and moved
to Herndon, where he purchased a ranch of fifty acres, all in alfalfa. There
he resided with his family and made many improvements, putting in a pump-
ing plant, run by a gas engine, and thus greatly enhancing the value of the
property. He started a dairy there, while he continued his investment in
sheep, and he still has 8,000 head. He runs them in four bands, leasing lands
in both Madera and Fresno Counties. Mr. Urrutia raises grain in partnership
with others, and devotes about 2,400 acres to wheat, barley and rye. Besides
this, he also owns forty acres in Madera County, three and a half miles south
of Madera, which he has set out and improved to vines, and a ranch of 160
acres near the San Joaquin River in Madera County, which he devotes to
grain. He also owns 220 acres six miles south of Hanford, Kings County,
devoted to grain and alfalfa and a twenty-five-acre full bearing peach orchard
between McKinley and Shields Avenues five miles northwest of Fresno.
In 1917 Mr. Urrutia purchased his residence at 810 S Street, Fresno,
where he resides with his wife and two children, Joseph and Beatrice. He
also owns other valuable property in Fresno, namely, a residence on R Street,
and three lots on the corner of N and Fresno Streets, two business lots on
Van Ness Avenue, close in ; and twelve large lots in the State Normal Addi-
tion, two lots, numbers 28 and 29 on J Street, between Inyo and Ventura.
In partnership with G. B. Frencheboy, he owns the Reedley Garage, which
they run under the firm name of Urrutia & Frencheboy, and he and his part-
ner act as agents for various high-class cars. With the same partner, in 1916,
he purchased 173 acres of vineyard and orchard, seven miles northeast of
Reedley, 120 acres is devoted to malaga, muscat and Thompson seedless
vines, while the balance is in figs. The same firm also own twenty-two and
a half acres of vineyard, three and a half miles northeast of Reedley. Seeing
great possibilities in Lower California, Mr. Urrutia with others was one of
the organizers of, and a large stockholder in the Chinn-Gribel Company, that
purchased a large tract in that country. They have built a canal, taking
water from the Colorado River, and already placed a large portion of their
2262 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
extensive holding under irrigation, and are planning to put water over the
entire tract.
Mr. Urrutia has had many other interests, among them that of a stock-
holder in the First National Bank of Lemoore and is an original stockholder
in the Growers National Bank of Fresno. He and his family are members of
St. John's Catholic Church, and he is a popular member of the Eagles. He is
a member and a stockholder of both the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany and the California Peach Growers, Inc., as well as of the old Danish
Creamery Association, and he belongs to the California Wool-growers Asso-
ciation. He is a stand-pat Republican. Mr. Urrutia has shown his patriotism
in many ways, not only by enlarging his grain area, when the country wanted
grain, but in liberally supporting all the bond and war drives.
MRS. NELLIE LEWIS. — A Kansas girl who has developed into a Cal-
ifornia woman of splendid attainments, influential both in the social and the
commercial world, is Mrs. Nellie Lewis, widow of the late William A. Lewis.
member of the erstwhile real estate firm of Lewis & Wells.
She was born at Colony, Anderson County, Kans., the daughter and
oldest child of Joseph H. and Laura (Matthews) McDowell, who are now
living at Selma, the parents of six children — Nellie ; Carl, who served in the
cavalry service in France, and Nina. Gladys, Yelma and Chester, who are
at home. She attended the grammar schools of Kansas, and in 1914 came to
Selma with her parents. Here, in December, 1915, she was married to Wil-
liam Andrew Lewis, a native of Missouri. They were members of the Chris-
tian Church at Selma, and also active in War Work ; and among the last
efforts for others made by Mr. Lewis was to take a hand in the United War
Work Drive.
W. A. Lewis died at the Emergency Hospital in Selma aged thirty-five
years, and is survived by his wife and his mother. The funeral was in charge
of the Selma Lodge of Odd Fellows, of which he was a member in high stand-
ing. Because of the health regulations it was necessary to hold the funeral
in the open air. Among the floral offerings was one piece presented by the
real estate firms of Selma, who took this opportunity of expressing their
appreciation of him when one of their colleague. Mr. Lewis was a member
of the First Christian Church of this city, and was numbered among the most
progressive and wide-awake business men, and in his death, Selma suffered
a distinct loss.
Besides being an active church and war worker, and ever interested in
the general uplift of the community, Mrs. Lewis has good business ability,
and may be found every day at her desk in the office of the Sun Maid Realty
Company, attending to the combined interests of that concern, which deals
in real estate and insurance, and the firm of E. J. Wells & Co., operators of
the seven ranches formerly owned by Lewis & Wells. Through her. in part,
the many friends and patrons of the companies have been increased in num-
ber, thus affording a fine demonstration of the capability of a woman with
a winning personality to make her mark in the business world.
LAUGE LAUGESEN.— It is a long way from Denmark to Fresno
County, Cal., but many upbuilders of the commonwealth have come from
that distant country, and among these is Lauge Laugesen, who was born
July 1, 1875, at Brorup, Jylland, Denmark, a son of Christian and Catherine
(Christian) Laugesen. The father was a farmer and a patriot, having served
two years in the Danish-German War, 1864-1866. He passed away in 1917,
the mother is also deceased. Of this union there were four children, Lauge
Laugesen, being next to the youngest. Of the second marriage of Christian
Laugesen, there were also four children, one of whom is Conrad Anderson,
residing in the vicinity of Rolinda.
Lauge Laugesen was reared in his native land and attended the public
schools of Denmark, until he was fourteen years of age, when he was ap-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2263
prenticed for three years to a blacksmith, later working for five years at his
trade in Roding, Schleswig, following which he and his brother Anton started
a shop at Brorup. Denmark, which they continued to operate for eighteen
months, when Lauge sold his interest to his brother and set sail for the
United States, arriving at Fresno, Cal., in 1902. In the Rolinda district he
found employment at his trade with Carl M. Jacobsen, where he remained
one year and following this he was engaged one summer as a blacksmith
for Nels Petersen, at Fresno. Later at Kutner Colony he opened a shop of
his own, but afterwards was employed for four years as manager of the black-
smith shop owned by M. Theo. Kearney.
Mr. Laugesen being a very enterprising man and possessing those innate
characteristics of his fellow countrymen, thrift and economy, he had by 1910
saved sufficient money to warrant the purchase of thirty acres of land, which
he selected at Rolinda and where he established his blacksmith shop which
he has run ever since. He erected a residence and farm buildings, improved
the thirty acres by setting out a vineyard and planting alfalfa, digging a canal
and installing a pumping-plant. In addition to his blacksmithing he conducts
a carriage and wagon works, does auto repairing and sells agricultural im-
plements.
In Fresno, on October 25, 1903, Mr. Laugesen was united in marriage
with Miss Christene Nielsen, a native of Denmark. They have two children:
Gladvs and Einar.
Mr. Laugesen is a member of the Danish Brotherhood at Fresno; he
adheres to the Lutheran faith, and is a member of the California Associated
Raisin Companv. In 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Laugesen and the children, took a
trip to Denmark, to see his father and visit the scenes of his boyhood days.
While there his father passed away, and in October. 1917, the family re-
turned, via Christiania and New York City, and upon arriving in the Golden
State expressed themselves as more pleased than ever with California and
especially Fresno County. Mr. Laugesen is highly respected in the com-
munity of Rolinda.
CHRISTEN A. PILEGARD.— One of the best known Danish-Americans
in Fresno County is Christen A. Pilegard, a native of Fyen, Denmark, where
he was born November 1, 1873. His intelligence, probity and energy command
the respect of both Danish and American friends.
Educated in the public schools of Denmark and brought up and con-
firmed in the Lutheran faith, he grew up and worked on his father's forty-
acre farm at Fyen, Denmark, until he attained the age of nineteen, when he
bade farewell to his relatives and the friends of his youth and sailed from
Helsingfors, Sweden, on the Steamship "Virginia," of the old Scandia line,
landing at old Castle Garden, New York, the latter part of April, 1893. He
arrived at Chicago the day the World's Columbian Exposition opened, and
came direct to Fresno, where he arrived May 5, 1893, and went to work with
his brother George, remaining with him about five years. He then made a
visit to his old Danish home to see his parents. His father, who was very ill
and not expected to live, died January 29, 1899, two months after Christen
arrived at his old home. His mother, who was still living, remained on the
old home in Denmark until she died in 1902 at the age of seventy. The father,
who was highly respected in his native country, was a member of King
Frederick the Seventh's body guard and held that position of trust and honor
in Denmark.
Christen returned to Oleander in 1899 and bought forty acres of land
for a home. He subsequently added to this by the purchase of twenty acres
more. He sold twenty acres, and two subsequent sales of ten acres each
reduced his holdings to twenty acres, the area of his home ranch at present'.
He has bought and sold several places. In 1908 he purchased the twenty acres
just east of Bowles. In 1911 he built a beautiful residence on Maple Avenue
about midway between Bowles and Oleander.
2264 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
April 18, 1906, he was united in marriage with Miss Marian Beck,
daughter of Chris. M. and Johanna (Schmidt) Beck, who are now living on
Mr. Pilegard's place near Oleander. Mr. and Mrs. Pilegard are the parents
of two children, Edith and Carl by name.
For the past thirteen years Mr. Pilegard has held the responsible position
of Treasurer of the Pacific United Danish Lutheran Church, serving in this
position with credit to himself and satisfaction to all. He and his excellent
wife and family are highly respected and noted for their extensive hospitality.
Mr. Pilegard is a member of the Raisin Growers Association, the Peach
Growers Association, and the Danish Creamery; in politics he affiliates with
the Republican party. He is a typical representative of the Danish-American
citizen and is considered one of the most substantial and reliable men of
the section.
WILLIAM DRON. — Prominent among those who have long worked
for the development and advancement of Fresno County, and a man well
known for his present untiring efforts to better the conditions and increase
the happiness of its people, is William Dron, not only an adopted son, but
a Californian who had the good fortune, when first coming to this state in
the late eighties, to settle here, in Central California, the most favored of all
localities. He was born at Dollar, in Scotland, in 1883, and when four years
of age came with his parents to Fresno. Here, then, he was reared and here
he received his education in the excellent public schools of the neighborhood;
and after he was graduated from the Fresno High School, he entered the
employ of Balfour, Guthrie & Co., in Fresno, as a grain-buyer, and worked
for them both in that city and in various parts of the San Joaquin Valley.
In 1904 he was transferred to Oilfields and their oil company, the Cali-
fornia Oilfields, Ltd., as a bookkeeper; and later taking up work in the
operating department, he learned the drilling of wells and the actual produc-
tion of oil, serving as tool-dresser and driller. He spent six years in the
operating and gaging department, when he was again transferred and made
head of the traffic department. About August, 1913, the Shell Company of
California took over the California Oilfields, Ltd., but he did not allow the
change of proprietorship to sever him from a region and activity in which
he had become deeply interested. He has continued, therefore, with this
concern which has more and more attained to national importance.
At Los Angeles, Mr. Dron was married to Miss Ocie Evans, once popular
in social circles of Washington, Pa., and Mr. and Mrs. Dron enjoy the esteem
of their many friends in Oilfields.
Such a life-story as the foregoing is worthy of record, for not alone
has California been in need of just such men, in her development as one of
the greatest commonwealths, but some of the sturdiest, brainiest and highest-
principled of her adopted sons and daughters have come from bonnie Scot-
land, bringing with them valued gifts for the making of a new and an
ideal land.
WILSON KINNEY.— One of the earliest settlers of rapidly-developed
Coalinga, and among the best known of all the sturdy pioneers in the San
[oaquin Valley, is Wilson Kinney who, with his wife, enjoys the esteem of
a large circle of friends. Mr. Kinney was born in Ohio on November 28, far
back in 1847, but from his ninth year was raised in Shelby County, 111., on a
middle-west farm. At that time the country was wild and barren, in fact it
was little less than a wilderness; so that when he grew old enough to rent
land and farm for himself, he found it hard work of the most genuine sort.
In 1875 Mr. Kinney removed to Ralls County, Mo., and there, in New
London, he conducted a store and a restaurant. Three years later, he pushed
still further West, to Black Hawk, Colo., and later he settled at Leadville,
where he undertook teaming to the mines. There, also, conditions were wild
and enterprise difficult ; but such had been Mr. Kinney's training in the past,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2267
fortunately, in parts of our great country also in the making, that he came
to the great gold and silver regions by no means a tenderfoot, and was able
to dare and do when others might have failed.
In 1882, Mr. Kinney made one more removal and landed in California,
where he at once chose Fresno County as his location. For five years he
engaged in farming near Kingston, and then he bought one-half of section 29
of railroad land in the Coalinga district. He improved the land and farmed
it to grain for eight years.
In 1895 Mr. Kinney located at Coalinga, when the town was just start-
ing. He built the Grand Central Hotel and livery stable, and conducted the
same for many years. He applied to all his operations the golden rule, and
so became one of the best-known men in the Coalinga district. For many
years he gave his time and best attention, as a school trustee, to educational
progress.
For three years he absented himself from Coalinga. He had been pre-
vailed upon to remove to Redwood City, and he threw himself heart and soul
into business undertakings there ; but in 1905, the more imperative call to
the town in which he had had his greatest success, and some of his friendliest
associations led him to return to Coalinga. and here he has been living since.
Now he and his wife are retired from active labors, and live quietly, the
center of one attention or another from their several children, Mr. Kinney
having married, in 1873, in Shelby County, 111., Cynthia Field, who was born
in Gibson County, Ind., in 1853, but moved to Illinois. William J. Kinney, the
oldest son, was born in Illinois, but lives at Coalinga, and is the father of
two children. Charles L., who was born in Colorado, is married, has one child,
and lives at Taft. Arthur W., also a native of Colorado, is now a farmer in
Nevada. Albert E., a native son, was once a bookkeeper in the First National
Bank of Coalinga and later located in Oklahoma, and from that state he
enlisted as a sergeant in the United States Army. A daughter, the fifth in
order of birth, is Mrs. Carrie B. Whitmer ; she was born in California, and
has one child. The youngest of the family is Robert H., who is a native son,
is married and has one child, and is a resident of Richmond, Cal.
ARTHUR HOWARD McCOY.— A skilled pharmacist who has won an
enviable reputation and who is a worker for the best interests of Kerman,
is Arthur Howard McCoy, a native son who manages the Kerman Phar-
macy with its extensive stock of medicines and drugs, and kindred lines. He
was born near Campbell Station, Santa Clara County, on December 28, 1880.
His father was Reuben McCoy, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., who outfitted at
St. Joseph and crossed the plains with ox teams in 1849, and at first followed
mining; then he bought a ranch from the Mexican Government and started
in to develop it. Six months later, however, there was a change of govern-
ment, and he was compelled to buy it a second time. It is near what is now
Campbell Station, and he had 320 acres of grain and stock, the whole form-
ing a very attractive ranch. There he lived and labored until he died, in 1885.
Arthur's mother, Ellen England before her marriage, was born at Steel-
ville, Crawford County, Mo., and was early left an orphan, and in 1856 she
crossed the plains with friends. She was married to Mr." McCoy at Santa
Clara. On the death of her husband, she continued, with the aid of her chil-
dren, to manage her place, and made a specialty of horticulture, and she still
has 117 acres of prunes. In October, 1917, she reached the age of seventy-
three, and is one of the oldest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church
South. Among her memories are those of a classmate, Mrs. Phoebe A.
Hearst, with whom she went to school and who has since become so famous
She was the mother of four boys and one girl : John A. is on the home farm ;
William Orville lives at Oakland ; George Stirling is in Saratoga ; Laura
Elizabeth has become Mrs. E. O. Fellows, of Santa Clara County ; and Arthur
Howard, our subject.
2268 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Arthur II. attended school at Moreland, and later went to the Los Gatos
High School; and at Los Gatos and Gilroy he had seven years' experience in
the drug business. Then he entered the University of California and was
graduated from the pharmaceutic department in 1905 with the degree of
Ph.C. He was a member of the Phi Chi and was president of his class during
the senior year.
Thus equipped. Mr. McCoy took a position as pharmacist with the
Bowman Drug Company in San Francisco, and there remained until the
great fire of 1906 burned them out. After that he became the buyer for Wake-
lee in San Francisco, and then manager of their store in the western addition.
When he resigned, it was to remove to Porterville, where he was pharmacist
for a couple of years with Todd C. Claubes. Once more he resigned, this
time to come to Kerman, arriving here on May 12, 1917. He bought the
store of T. C. Peters, and continued the drug business, developing it also
as the chief agency in Kerman for San Francisco papers, magazines and other
metropolitan supplies.
While in San Francisco, Mr. McCoy was married to Miss Lela Bell Gard,
a native of Cobb Valley, Lake County, Cal. Mr. McCoy is a charter member
of Porterville Lodge, No. 1342, B. P. O. Elks; he was made a Mason in
Keith Lodge, No. 187, F. & A. M., at Gilroy, and is still a member there.
Both Mr. and Mrs. McCoy are welcome members of the Order of the Eastern
Star of Kerman. Mr. McCoy is a member of the Kerman Chamber of Com-
merce.
MRS. CARRIE PILEGARD.— Living on a ranch of the late George
Pilegard, one and a quarter miles north of Bowles, in the Oleander district,
Mrs. Carrie Pilegard presents an exalted example of widowed motherhood
by keeping up the Pilegard home — bringing to bear the qualities that make
a most excellent housekeeper and homemaker, as well as conservative bus-
iness head.
Her husband died on the ranch September 22, 1906, and is buried in the
Washington Cemetery. He was born at Fyen, Denmark, December 13, 1860,
and grew up on his father's forty-acre farm in Denmark. Educated in the
Danish public schools, young George was brought up in the tenets of the
Lutheran faith and confirmed at the age of fourteen. At twenty-three years
of age he sought a wider field for his energies and embarked for the shores
of America. His first stop in the new land was at Marshalltown. Iowa, where
he worked on a farm for one year. From thence he came to California and
worked on the flume at Enterprise, Madera County. He was with the Flume
and Lumber Company two years, and was employed a part of that time in
making shakes. While working there he was united in marriage with Karen
Nielsen Krog, daughter of Niels Hansen Krog and Annie Katrina (Christen-
sen) Krog. natives of Fyen, Denmark, and the owners of a fifty-acre farm in
that place and country. Her parents lived and died at Fyen, Denmark, the
father attaining the advanced age of ninety-three before his demise, and the
mother living to be eighty-three.
George Pilegard and Karen Nielsen Krog were schoolmates in Den-
mark and were betrothed before yung George came to America. In 1885
Karen Krog started for America to link her destiny with that of George
Pilegard. After their marriage they lived in what is now Madera County
from July 4th to December. 1886. Hearing of the fertile lands and the reason-
able price of land in the Washington Colony at Oleander, a friend induced
them to buy forty acres of land there. They built a small house with their
own hands, began to improve the property and were happy in their new home.
Eight children were born to them. Their 'oldest child died in infancy. An-
drew, the oldest living child, is a fruit buyer and lives in Fresno. He married
Lilly Kringel and they are the parents of one child, Helen Katrina by name.
A daughter named Anna Katrina, died in infancy. Another daughter of the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2269
same name, Anna Katrina, graduated as a trained nurse from the Burnett
Sanitarium at Fresno, and is now a Red Cross nurse in France. Christine also
graduated from the same sanitarium and is likewise a Red Cross nurse in
France. The sixth child, Karen Marie, died in infancy. George, who is sev-
enteen, attends the high school at Easton, and Carrie, the youngest of the
family, is also a student at Easton high school.
George Pilegard improved land and sold property several times, and at
the time of his death the home ranch comprised eighty acres. Mrs. Pilegard
sold twenty acres of the property to her son Andrew, retaining sixty acres.
Mr. and Mrs. Pilegard were among the prime movers in the organization
of the Danish Lutheran Church at Easton, Cal., of which they were faithful
members and consistent Christians. Mrs. Pilegard is a tireless Sunday School
teacher and worker. She is a hospitable, generous, public-spirited woman,
and both she and her children are prime favorites in the community. Her
husband, a pioneer of the Oleander section, was looked up to as the leader
among the Danes in the Washington Colony in Fresno County, Cal., during
his lifetime.
JOSEPH E. GRUWELL.— A man who is fully qualified to bring about
the best results in road-making is Joseph E. Gruwell, a native son, born in
Lakeport. Lake County, Cal, February 25, 1870. He is a descendant of an
old pioneer family, his grandfather, Jacob Gruwell, having been a member
of the California Assembly in the days when the state was new, from Santa
Clara County, having crossed the plains in ox team train. His father located
northeast of Hanford in 1875, where he owned an eighty-acre ranch, and
where he made his home all the years up to his death July 4, 1913. T- E.
Gruwell received his education in Eureka school district, in Kings County,
when he was with his father. He later went to work for the Clark Brothers
as ranch foreman. This firm engaged in farming on a large scale, having
3,500 acres of land. In those early days Mr. Gruwell worked with ten eight-
horse plow teams and four drill teams. For six years he stayed with this
firm, at the end of which time he homesteaded a quarter section of land in
the Weed Patch country, Kern County, proving up in five years and returned
to Kings County, where he farmed the Burris ranch, renting a quarter sec-
tion nine miles northeast of Planford, raising grain and stock. He next
bought forty acres of raw land eight miles northeast of Hanford, which he
improved with orchard, later disposing of this and locating in Coalinga in
1909. Here he opened a blacksmith shop on Forest Avenue, and put in all
the machinery and improvements necessary for a modern shop, which he
sold the same year. He then started and operated the largest stage line
to the oil fields — four machines, including a twenty-five passenger White
truck.
In 1914 he received the appointment of superintendent of roads. Here
was his opportunity, and he has made many improvements in the roads in
this district. He opened up the road from Coalinga to Kings County known
as Lost Hills roads. A dirt grade road to the county line completed the road
system between Coalinga and Huron. The Stratford road to Kings County
line opened up direct communication with graded roads to all the above
named points. Also improved the Coalinga-Fresno road with a dirt grade.
He uses a Holt seventy-five horsepower tractor for road working and a
Teffries truck for hauling.
Mr. Gruwell invested in a corner lot in Coalinga on east E Street, where
he built four houses which bring him in a good income. He was married in
Hanford to Kate Barton, who was born in Eldorado County, Cal. She is a
member of the Christian Church. Her father is H. D. Barton, who was a
former supervisor of Kings County.
2270 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
H. P. STEITZ, JR. — A business man who now presides over large af-
fairs and who has been successful since he cast his lines in Fresno and who
is deeply interested in the growth and development of the county, is H. P.
Steitz, Jr., who was born at Skadofsky, Samara, Russia, on June 29, 1875, the
son of H. P. Steitz, who was a farmer there, who married Catherine Elizabeth
Doos, and brought his wife and four children to Fresno in 1891. For some
years he followed a business career and is now Deputy County Assessor. He
is also engaged in the real estate business, and his wife enjoys life with him
at their Lilly Avenue home.
H. P. Steitz, Jr., is the oldest of the family, and was so well educated
at the public and higher schools in his native land that he studied English
at Saratof. This quickened his interest in the New World, and he was quite
wide-awake when he arrived in Fresno on December 12, 1891. He attended
night school for a time and then leased, with his father as partner, the Dr.
Mukes vineyard. Later he worked for wages at viticulture, and next went
to Del Rev and set out a vineyard for Air. Nutting, receiving for his labor the
title to twenty acres. He is a stockholder in the California Associated Raisin
Company.
On July 1. 1895, Mr. Steitz was married to Miss Eliza Schwabenland, also
a native of Russia. He owns a comfortable residence at 2030 California Ave-
nue as well as other valuable city property ; and eight children enjoy with
their devoted parents the blessings of an American home. They are Edward,
Leo. 'William, and Ida, all of whom assist the father in business, and Meda,
Albert, Elma, and Allen.
After devoting himself to viticulture for many years, Mr. Steitz on De-
cember 24, 1909, began his mercantile career, opening a general merchandise
business on South F Street under the firm name of Kinzel & Steitz. In Jan-
uary, 1919, however, he sold out his interest to his partner and later built his
new store at 2038 California Avenue. He has a floor space 66 x 100 feet in
size, and the firm is known as H. P. Steitz & Sons, his three sons now sharing
the partnership.
Mr. Steitz is a member of the Free Ctoss Lutheran Church of Fresno,
in which he has been a trustee. He is a member of the Eagles.
JOSEPH L. PRATHER. — Prominent among those identified with the
agricultural development of California is Joseph L. Prather. He was born
near Greensboro, N. C, on July 18, 1833, the son of Rev. Robert R. Prather,
a planter, and a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Joseph's
great-grandfather was born in England and crossed the ocean to North Caro-
lina, where he became a planter. When the Civil War broke out. he served
in the Confederate Army, defending the principles he believed to be right :
in 1862, he was married to Miss Mary Hedrick, who was born near Lexing-
ton, X. C, in 1846, and was the daughter of Joseph Hedrick. a North Carolinian
planter, whose father fought in the Revolutionary War. In the fall of 1865
Joseph Prather brought his family to Missouri, and in 1867 he took up his
residence near Waco, Texas, where he was a farmer.
In June, 1872, the Prathers removed to California and Mr. Prather lo-
cated a claim in the Mussel Slough country near Grangeville and also bought
some railroad land. He helped build the canal and ditches, and gave an
effective hand to opening up the country. However, he was fortunate in sell-
ing out before the Mussel Slough troubles, after which he removed to Wild
Flower in Fresno County. It was the time of the building of the emigrant
ditch, and he speedily located a claim and improved it, selling out at the end
of eight years. He removed to Orange County, and commenced to farm and
raise stock near Santa Ana ; but eighteen months later he returned to Fresno
County.
Then he located on 160 acres of railroad land thirteen miles south of
Fresno that he had purchased, farmed and set out a vineyard ; but the dry
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2273
year and low prices of 1893 caused such heavy losses that he had to sacrifice
his place. Since then he and his wife live retired, making their home with
their sons on the ranch near Prather Post Office in Auberry Valley, which
beautiful region takes its name from this pioneer family. Mr. Prather is now
eighty-five years old, while his wife is seventy-two years of age, the mother
of eleven children, nine of whom have grown to maturity: Joseph Everette
Prather, with his brother Fred, owns the Prather ranch in Auberry Valley,
but he is employed as a driller in the oil fields. John N. runs the Prather
Brothers Lodge ranch. Bessie is Mrs. Trautwein of Fresno. Birdie died at
the age of twenty. Allie is Mrs. Webb of Oakland; Richard is a blacksmith
in Waco ; Robert resides in Fresno ; Lonnie is Mrs. Chas. E., of Albuquerque,
N. M. ; Fred is in the aviation section of the United States Signal Corps.
Joseph E. and Fred Prather came to Auberry Valley about seven years ago,
and bought this ranch, and two years later they began their improvements.
They were joined by their brother, John N., who now runs the place. The
latter from a lad was brought up to understand viticulture ; and he also spent
some time in the oil fields and at McKittrick, where he became a stationary
engineer. All the five brothers are good mechanics, two of them having
specialized in the steam engine, and three with the gas engine.
The Prather Brothers ranch comprises 440 acres in Auberry Valley, is
well improved with two bungalows and other farm buildings, and is known
as the "Lodge." It is watered by the Big Sandy, and the post office is located
on the ranch. There fruit culture and general farming are carried on. There
is a fine commercial apple orchard of forty-five acres, and the boys are setting
out other varieties. The family attend the Methodist Church South, and are
factors in the social and religious development of the neighborhood.
JOE YRACEBURU. — A farmer and stockman who, with his partners,
raised large quantities of grain and became prosperous and even well-to-do
and who, because of his natural patriotism, thought there was no country
equal to the land of the Stars and the Stripes, was Joe Yraceburu, a native of
Uris, in Navarra, Spain, where he was born on February 21, 1880. His father,
Joseph Yraceburu, was a farmer and grape and wine merchant who bought
his grapes and wine in Spain and hauled them over the Pyrenees to Basses-
Pyrenees, France, and there sold what he had. He had six boys and two
girls; and just half of these came out to California.
Joe, the oldest, attended the public schools until he was fourteen, and
then he drove a team for his father, and helped generally throughout his teens
For years he had heard reports from California, and when twenty he con-
cluded to see for himself.
On October 16, 1900, he left home and eventually sailed from Havre for
New York; and arriving on the Pacific Coast, he made his way to Coalinga,
which he reached on November 6th. He worked for Matias Erro for two
years, then a year for Antonio Urrutia, who made him foreman of stock, and
having by that time saved some money, he determined to engage in business
for himself. He bought a flock of yearlings, at four dollars a head and, with a
partner, leased land from the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, somewhat
north of Coalinga, and then for several years they operated in San Benito
County with success. Having dissolved the partnership, he continued sheep-
raising for himself.
Mr. Yraceburu next leased a ranch at Cantua, which he used for hia
sheep, his flocks including Merinos and Shropshires. He raised barley at Men-
dota, and with two partners had over one thousand acres of flourishing grain.
In partnership with M. Urrutia and his brother Santos, he engaged in raising
grain in Madera County, and there he had 1,850 acres planted to wheat, barley
and rye.
At Fresno, in 1906, Mr. Yraceburu was married to Miss Frances Erro, a
fair daughter of Spain, who came to America, and to Fresno, in 1902, and she
2274 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
became the mother of their six children, four girls and two boys: Alary, Man-
uelita, Helena, Manuel, Elisa, and Joe.
Mr. Yraceburu was a Republican in national politics, always working for
the best measures for the nation, the state and the community ; and in fra-
ternal life he was a member of the Eagles. Mr. Yraceburu passed away on
November 10, 1918, mourned by his family and friends. Since then his wife"
has bravely taken up his work and continues to carry on her husband's busi-
ness according to his plans, in which she is aided by her husband's two broth-
ers, Santos and Jose. So she is ably rearing their six children to whom she is
giving the best educational advantages within her means.
ALEXANDER SIME. — A gentleman who has been in positions of trust
ever since he was a young man, and whose valuable experience in the world
was derived in part during three years spent in South America and many
years in Iowa, where for several years he was the manager of a bonanza
"farm, is Alexander Sime, the well-known capitalist, rancher and business man
of Laton.
Mr. Sime was born in the parish of Tannadice, County of Forfar, twenty-
three miles northeast of Dundee. Scotland, on June 10. 1844, the son of James
and Mary (Robbie) Sime, both of whom were highly esteemed for their good,
old-fashioned virtues. His father was a farmer, who owned about eighty
acres, all of which he brought to a very high state of cultivation. The couple
had two children who reached maturity ; and of these two. Alexander was
the oldest. A sister, Mary Ann, died in Australia and left a husband and four
children. Mr. Sime's mother died when he was twenty years old. The father
married again and had four children— two sons and two daughters: Alice
Maud lives near London and is the wife of John Fry ; Helen M. resides near
Dundee ; Colin Dedrick, who was a carpenter and builder, died at Dundee
and left two children; and David Simpson is a military man, in the Govern-
ment service, having been a captain in the Boer War, where he was popularly
known as "young Kitchener."
Alexander attended the parochial schools in the Established or Presby-
terian Church of Scotland, and in 1868, when he was nearly twenty-four years
of age, he migrated to the Argentine Republic, where he helped to manage
Ogilvv Brothers' sheep ranch. When he returned to Scotland in 1870 and
sailed up the Mersey to Liverpool, he received the first news of the Franco-
Prussian War. He stayed in Scotland a couple of winters and then entered
the office of the Caledonian Railway Company, in Glasgow, as bookkeeper.
In 1872, Mr. Sime came out to the United States and settled about nine
miles north of Lincoln, Nebr., where he bought a piece of railway land, at the
same time renting other acreage, which he farmed to corn and small grain.
He continued there from 1872 to 1878, when he returned to Scotland.
On February 28, 1878, Mr. Sime was married to Miss Helen Brown Mc-
Pherson, the youngest daughter of John McPherson, a sheep-farmer of Glen-
prosen, who had married Annie Brown. They had nine children; but Mrs.
Sime is the only one living. She was educated for a while in the public
schools; but in her ninth year was sent to a private academy at Dundee,
where she received a first-class classical and vocal training.
After his marriage, Mr. Sime remained in Scotland for three years, run-
ning traction engines and other portable and traction farm machinery. In
1881, however, Mr. and Mrs. Sime and their eight-months-old baby returned
to America and settled in Palo Alto County, Iowa, on the Blairgowrie farm,
near Emmetsburg. This farm was made up of several sections, in Palo Uto,
Pocahontas, and Algona counties, and comprised some 30,000 acres owned
by John Adamson of Careston Castle. Forfarshire, Scotland. It was originally
railroad land bought by John Adamson in the late sixties, and owned by him
until his death, when it was leased by his only child, William Shaw A. Adam-
son, who made Capt. William E. G. Saunders his general agent with full
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2275
power of attorney. He became one of the leading spirits in the settling up
of the Laguna de Tache Ranch of 48,000 acres in the southern part of Fresno
County, which he bought in partnership with L. A. Nares of Fresno in 1899.
Mr. Sime continued to manage the Blairgowrie farm in Iowa from 1881
to 1886; and in the latter year he bought an interest in a carriage factory
at Emmetsburg, Iowa — the Skinner Manufacturing Company, of which he
was secretary and treasurer. Two years later he sold out his interest and went
south to Hall County, Texas, in the Panhandle country, where he engaged in
the real estate business in partnership with N. C. Blanchard, now of Laton.
In 1891 this partnership was dissolved, and then he began farming on his
own section of land in Texas, continuing to manage it until 1903. In that
year he came to Laton, and he has been here ever since, growing prosperous,
influential, and helpful to the community.
In partnership with C. A. Smith, cashier of the First National Bank of
Laton, Mr. Sime owns a farm of 140 acres one-half mile east of Laton, and
this is managed by the subject as a stock and dairy ranch. He also owns a
quarter interest in the Laton Lumber Company.
Mr. and Mrs. Sime live in a very comfortable home, which they built in
1904 on Mt. Whitney Avenue. They have been the parents of two children,
one of whom, James, was brought to the United States when he was eight
months old and died in Iowa in his fourth year. The other son, Edwin Spen-
cer, was a foreman at the Montezuma Copper Mine in Mexico. He has been
in Mexico for the past ten years engaged in mining during which time he
has been home on a visit to see his father and mother three times. He be-
came largely interested in mining in Mexico, and was driven out three times
on account of revolutionary troubles. For three years of this time he held a
very responsible position with the Montezuma Copper Mines, but resigned
that position in order to engage in the cattle business in the state of Sonora.
about January 1, 1919. Mr. Sime is a member of the Laton Lodge, No. 148,
I. O. O. F., and has been through the chair. Mrs. Sime is a member of the
Red Cross and a willing teacher of fancy knitting, since she knows all the
intricate meshes of Scotland ; she has recently received a certificate from the
United States Government and a beautiful golden service-pin from co-workers
in recognition of 2,235 hours' work in behalf of the Laton Branch of the Red
Cross; the family partake of the Presbyterian communion.
E. R. SPEAR. — Among the successful business men of Coalinga is E. R.
Spear, of the well known firm of Spear Brothers' Automobile Company. He
is a man of ability, popular in automobile circles, and his friends predict for
him a business future of even greater success. E. R. Spear was born in the
Blue Grass State, August 26, 1886, at Tompkinsville, near Bowling Green,
Ky., a son of L. D. and Virginia (Thompson) Spear, both natives of Ken-
tucky, the father being the descendant of an old Virginia family, the mother
of English ancestry. L. D. Spear was a farmer and stockman, and still re-
sides in Kentucky, near Bowling Green. Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Spear were the
parents of ten children, eight boys and two girls: E. R., the subject of this
review; Thompson N., a partner with his brother E. R. in the automobile
business, and who is serving in the United States Army; Bert, a partner with
E. R. in the automobile business at Hanford ; Pearl, now Mrs. Dozier, who
resides at Coalinga; Benton and McKinley, both in the United States Army;
and Beecham, Bennett, Susie, and Buster, with their parents in the "Old
Kentucky Home."
E. R. Spear received his early education in the public schools of Ken-
tucky and remained at home assisting his father on the farm until he was
twenty-one years of age, when he became possessed of a desire to see the
great West. He first went to Indiana, then moved on to Illinois, and later went
to Texas and New Mexico, seeking an advantageous location. In November,
1908, he came to Fresno County, where he and his brother Thompson secured
2276 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
employment on a ranch at Wheatville, where they remained until the spring
of 1909, when they located at Coalinga. Both boys went to work in the oil-
fields. Thompson became an oil-driller, remaining six years with the K.T.&O.,
which is now the Southern Pacific Oil Company; E. R. Spear continued in
the oil-field until December, 1914, when he returned to Coalinga, and opened
an automobile and garage business under the name of Spear Brothers Auto
Company, the firm consisting of E. R. and his brother T. N. The first year's
gross business amounted to seventy-five thousand dollars. So successfully
did they conduct their business affairs, that in October, 1916, E. R. Spear,
with his lirothers T. N. and Bert, opened a salesroom and garage in Hanford.
They are agents for Dodge, Buick, Chandler and Velie automobiles. Since
Thompson Spear left to join the colors his interests in Hanford have been
looked after by his brother Bert.
While E. R. Spear was still working in the oil-fields, he displayed his
aptitude as a salesman by taking orders, at night, for made-to-order suits,
representing S. H. Churchill and M. L. Obendorf, merchant tailors of Chi-
cago, and during three years he sold 395 suits. During this time E. R. and
Thompson Spear saved their money and purchased a farm of 367 acres lo-
cated near Bowling Green, Ky., which place they still own and which is
operated by their father.
E. R. Spear was united in marriage with Miss Pearl E. McCannon, a
native of Pennsylvania, the ceremony occurring on October 15, 1913, at Fresno,
Cal. Mr. Spear is a member of the Eagles and of the American Automobile
Association.
DALE ROSE. — An unusually enterprising and public-spirited man, broad
of view and kind and liberal in his impulses, is Dale Rose, the farmer and
stockman, who was the first man in this part of the county to sow Soudan
grass, and who has long been one of the most successful raisers of that val-
uable commodity. He was born in Missouri City, Clay County, Mo., on May
8. 1872. His father, \V. R. Rose, was a native of Wisconsin and moved to
Missouri, where he married Isabelle Rose, a lady bearing the same name but
of no relation prior to the marriage.. He was a stockdealer and died two
weeks after our subject was born.
Mrs. Rose married a second time, this time linking her fortunes with
Byron D. Ballard of Iowa. He had crossed the plains in early days with ox
teams, and for a while was engaged in the sheep business in Tulare County.
Then he returned to Missouri, married and brought his wife, with Dale, the
only child by the first marriage, to California in 1873. They came to Kern
County, and making his headquarters at Bakersfield, Mr. Ballard engaged
in the sheep business in Kern and Tulare Counties. Two children were born
to them. When he died in the latter county, Mrs. Ballard moved to Bur-
roughs Valley, Fresno County, where she continued stockraising ; and later
she came to Auberry Valley, where she married T. J. Patterson, a stockman
of Tulare. She passed away in 1900.
Dale was reared in California and educated at the public schools in Kern
and Tulare counties, and having completed his studies when he was fifteen,
he took up the stock business, rode the range and learned to rope and brand
cattle. After a while he engaged in teaming to Nevada and back, and at
one time in Nevada he drove a team of eighteen mules.
Mr. Rose's next venture was mining and prospecting, and he was one of
the first to work on the Laurel Diggings, near Summit, where he was so suc-
cessful that he put in hydraulic power. Once more he rode the range, and
for a year he was in the assay office at Fresno, where he formed a partner-
ship with Charles Knepper, discoverer of the Copper King Mine.
Having married in 1808 at Madera, when he chose for his bride Miss
Menga Marks, a native of Mariposa County, he rented a ranch in the Au-
berr) Valley and set himself up in the stuck business, raising cattle and hay.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2277
He also engaged in teaming. In 1905 he purchased his present place on the
Fresno and Auberry road, twenty-three miles northeast of Fresno ; and having
added to it from time to time, he now has 480 acres in a body. On about
100 acres he raises wheat, making a specialty of the golden gamma, or dry
land wheat ; all of which he sells for seed. His range is the Jose Basin which
has about 6,000 acres ; and for a brand he uses the novel device of a hat and
an inverted hat, joined together on a level. Mr. Rose is an active member
of the California Cattlemen's Association.
Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Rose. Isabelle
Ruth is a graduate of Clovis High, now attending Heald's Business College ;
Warren M., also a graduate of the high school at Clovis, is freighting with
an auto truck; and Gilbert F. is in Clovis High. Mr. Rose himself has al-
ways been a stanch advocate of better educational advantages for the major-
ity, and for several terms he has been trustee of the Millerton school, in the
oldest school district in the county. In national politics he is a Democrat.
JOHN T. CHAMBERS. — Few families have a more interesting pioneer
history than that of the Chambers family, of which John T. is the son, born
three miles from Olympia, Wash., March 16, 1862. His father, Thomas Jack-
son Chambers, was born in Tennessee, in the same house where his cousin,
ex-President Andrew Jackson, had lived, when twenty-one years of age.
Thomas J. Chambers crossed the plains in 1845, with his father, Thomas C,
a brother of David J., and a large party of friends and relatives ; on the first
stage of their journey they reached Spanish Hollow, Mo. While there other
families joined them and the large party started across the plains to the Pa-
cific Coast, Thomas J. Chambers being Captain of the train of fifteen wagons,
with two yoke of cattle to each wagon, and other loose live stock. They forded
every stream between the Missouri and Columbia Rivers , and saw many
herds of buffalo en route. At Fort Hall those of the company going to Cali-
fornia turned south and the others kept on the way north, via the Lewis and
Clark trail. They arrived at The Dalles, Ore., October 27, 1845, and started
down the Columbia River in boats. Later, they started for Puget Sound, in
the fall of 1847, journeying down the Willamette River and stopping en
route at Portland, which then consisted of six houses. At last they arrived at
Olympia, Wash., where they found one log cabin. They later located at
Chambers Prairie, three miles east of Olympia. The old linchpin emigrant
wagon used by the Chambers family crossing the plains was exhibited at the
Alaska-Yukon Exposition in Seattle and is now in the Portland Museum. The
Chambers family also brought the first hall-clock and dressing-table to the
state of Washington.
In 1849 Thomas J. Chambers came to California and followed mining on
the American River, later returning to Washington where he also located on
Chambers Prairie, engaging in farming. He served in the Indian War in
Washington. In 1867 he located at Yakima where he resided until his death
in 1913, at eighty-six years of age. His wife was America McAllister, born in
Kentucky; she had crossed the plains with her parents in the pioneer days to
Washington, where she resided until her death. Of their seven children,
Tohn T. is the youngest and was born on Chambers Prairie and educated in
the public schools of Yakima, assisting his father at stock-raising.
At the age of seventeen, John T. Chambers began for himself, coming to
California in 1879, and working on a ranch near Sutterville for a time. He next
engaged in gold-mining on the San Joaquin River. In 1880 he came to Fresno
and for one year drove a team, hauling freight to Pine Ridge. He then worked
for Mr. Blasingame in the stock business, and later drove a ten-horse team
over the mountains. From that he drifted into the cattle business and has
been engaged in that line of business ever since. He owns 160 acres of graz-
ing land near Sycamore, Fresno County, and ranges about 400 head of cattle,
turning off 125 head yearly. He has made his home in Fresno since 1914,
having served for two years as constable, at Academy.
2278 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mr. Chambers' marriage, in 1884, united him with Jane Elizabeth Perry,
a native of Fresno County, born in Centerville, a daughter of Peter and
Amanda (Lowrey) Perry, the father being a native of North Carolina, and
related to Commodore Perry, and the mother a native of Tennessee. Peter
Perry was married in 1857 and crossed the plains to California with the party
tvhich was massacred at Mountain Meadow. The party was divided into two
trains, each taking a different route, and he was the captain of the train which
escaped the Indians. He settled on Kings River, near Centerville, Fresno
County, and engaged in stock-raising. His death occurred in 1876, while his
wife died at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chambers in Fresno, on March 23.
1919.
Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Chambers seven children are now living.
as follows: Wayne, ranching on Pine Ridge; Eleanor, the wife of H. A. Sav-
age, an attorney of Fresno; Nellie, the wife of E. F. Brieger. of Tehachapi ;
Annie Laurie is Mrs. Howard Perry, of Fresno; Belle Elizabeth, of Fresno;
Ella, a graduate of Fresno High School, now attending Fresno State Normal
School ; and John. Jr.. attending Fresno High School.
Fraternally, Mr. Chambers is a Woodman of the World, and an Odd
Fellow. Mrs. Chambers recalls her childhood days in Fresno County, when,
instead of the teeming city of Fresno, there was one vast plain over which
roamed antelope and wild cattle.
CHARLES HENRY RICHARDSON.— A successful California dairy-
man who once dwelt at the other end of the great American continent, where
he was equally prosperous in raising potatoes in the fruitful fields of Aroos-
took County, Maine, is Charles Henry Richardson, one of Fresno's prosperous
ranchmen. He was born at Solon, Somerset County, on May 14, 1864. and his
father was Levi C. Richardson, also a native of Solon, who came from a
Yankee family extending generations back. The Richardsons came from Eng-
land and settled at Woburn, Mass.. taking a prominent part in the Revolu-
tionary War. Levi Richardson was a school teacher, but about 1878 moved
to Fort Fairfield. Aroostook County, Maine, there to engage in the raising of
potatoes ; while there he continued to teach school. He died in that place
in his sixty-fifth year.
Mrs. Levi G. Richardson was Flmira Jackson before her marriage, and
she also was born at Solon, a member of one of the old Maine families. After
a while she came to California ; but she spent less than a year here, and then
she returned to Maine, where she now resides at the old homestead. She
was the mother of three children, two girls and a boy ; of whom Charles is
the oldest and the only one in California.
He was reared at Solon on the Kennebec River, and from a lad took
charge of the farm, at the same time that he attended the public school. He
thus not only acquired the A B C's of agricultural experience, but what was
to be of inestimable value in later years, he learned to rely upon himself.
In 1878 he removed to Fort Fairfield where his parents bought 120 acres of
land, eleven acres of which was cleared, and the balance timbered. Each year
they cleared and burned up such a part that they soon had about eighty
acres under cultivation. He had charge of the home place, and in common
with many in that section, father and son raised potatoes as a specialty.
Through reading. Charles became interested in California: and being
attracted to the state because of the reported mildness of its climate, he came
to California in 1905 and was so satisfied with what he saw that he sold
his eastern home and settled here. He did not choose Fresno County how-
ever until he had first traveled the state and had become convinced that
Central California offered more to the square mile than any other part. He
then bought land in the Houghton district, n.>w Roosevelt, his first place
being two miles west of his present homestead. It was an alfalfa ranch, and
he ran it for a year, but thinking he could do still better, he bought, in 1906,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2279
his present place, which consists of eighty acres on McKinley Avenue, situated
ten miles northwest of Fresno. Having disposed of the other property, he
has devoted this to dairying and the raising of alfalfa. The soil is excellent,
and is well irrigated, being under the Herndon canal, the ranch also being
equipped with a first-class pumping plant run by electric power and having
a five-inch pump. He is also interested in sixty acres adjoining, which his
son runs as a dairy.
While at Fort Fairfield, Mr. Richardson married Elizabeth Bloomfield,
a native of the province of New Brunswick, by whom he has had five children :
Marion L., who was in the Second California Infantry and served during the
border trouble with Mexico. He was honorably discharged but when the
great war was declared with Germany he enlisted and was in the Fortieth
Division overseas. Since his discharge he has been ranching near the home
place ; Charles E., who also did his duty and was First Lieutenant in the
Marine Corps attached to the second separate machine gun battalion, is also
ranching in Fresno County; Otto B., who was a corporal in the 187th Com-
pany, United States Marine Corps, and is now in the general merchandise
business at Rolinda, under the firm name of Houghton and Richardson ;
and Edith and Ruth. The family attend the United Presbyterian Church at
Barstow, in which Mr. Richardson is a ruling elder; and they also do their
civic duty under the banners of the Republican party, to which Mr. Richard-
son has belonged for years.
WILLIAM SHERMAN RICHMOND.— An enterprising orchardist and
vineyardist who represents in his own family history one of the sturdy Amer-
icans who fought for the preservation of the LTnion, and whose wife is the
direct descendant of an Ohio pioneer who once owned part of the site of
Columbus, is William Sherman Richmond. He first came to California in the
late eighties ; and ever since he has been deeply interested and active in con-
tributing toward the development of that part of the great state in which he
cast his fortunes.
He was born in Memphis, Scotland County, Mo., on January 26, 1867,
the son of Theodore W. Richmond, a native of Indiana, who came to Iowa,
where he homesteaded. When the Civil War broke out, he raised a company
and was elected captain of Company H of the Nineteenth Iowa Volunteer
Infantry. He was present at the siege of Vicksburg, but was incapacitated
by malaria for much service. After the war, he farmed in Scotland County,
and there he died in his sixty-seventh year. His family was one of the old
New York group and had its place in the history of the Empire State.
Mrs. Richmond was Elvira Irish before her marriage, and she was born
in Indiana. Her parents came from' Connecticut, and they originated with
the old Mayflower stock. After a useful life she passed away in Missouri, the
mother of ten children, six of whom are still living. Albert C. is in Texas
County, Mo. ; Kate has become Mrs. Bull of Kalispell, Mont. ; Frank M. lives
at Ogallala, Nebr. ; Carrie resides in Fresno; and besides the subject of our
sketch, there is Emmett G. Richmond, also of Fresno County.
Brought up on a farm in Missouri, William S. attended the public schools,
including the grammar grade and the high school of Memphis, and when
twenty-two came to California in 1889, settling in the vicinity of Reedley and
Dinuba. Fresno was then a very small town. He went to work on the grain
farm for Crow & Agee, and with them he continued "for a couple of years.
After that he returned to Missouri and followed farming with his father.
In 1902 he came once more to the West and going to Lawton, Okla.,
settled in the Comanche and Apache country, and bought a relinquishment
claim and homesteaded 160 acres. He improved it and obtained a patent
signed by President Roosevelt. In 1909 he sold the property at a good ad-
vance, and with the proceeds came on to California. He was not long in dis-
covering the superiority of Fresno County, and bought a ranch of twenty
2280 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
acres on Chittenden and Clinton Avenue in Roeding*s Villa Colony; and there
he engaged in horticulture. He set out peaches, apricots and a vineyard;
then bought ten acres, added to that, and now he has twenty-five acres, all
improved with a fine residence, comfortable barns and a desirable pumping
plant. Besides peaches and apricots, he raises both Thompson and Malaga
grapes. He is a member and stockholder in both the California Peach Grow-
ers, Inc., and the California Associated Raisin Company.
In Missouri, Mr. Richmond was married to Miss Linda Easterday, a
native of that state and the daughter of Daniel Easterday, who was born at
Columbus, Ohio, where her folks once owned much of the site of that city.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Richmond — Lucile and Virgil in
Oklahoma, and Alvin in California. The family attend the First Methodist
Episcopal Church in Fresno.
Mr. Richmond was made a Mason in Memphis Lodge No. 16, F. & A. M.
in Memphis. Mo., and he is still affiliated there. In Oklahoma he was a trus-
tee of the church, and superintendent of the Sunday School. He belongs to
the Sons of Veterans and is a standpat Republican.
J. H. NELSON. — An interesting old settler in Fresno County, who can
look back to such a part in laying the foundation for the chief city of Central
California that, when the first railway locomotive puffed and snorted into
Fresno, he was on hand to haul goods from the train to Tollhouse, and con-
tended with such difficulties that he paid as high as twenty-five cents a bucket
for water sold in the town, is J. H. Nelson, who came to California on Septem-
ber 13, 1859. He was born in Bearcreek, Cedar County, Mo., on Washington's
birthday, 1854, the son of Len Edward Nelson, a native of Virginia, who was
a marble-cutter by trade, but became a farmer. The father married Miss
Nan Emmerson, who was born in Tennessee. In 1858 he started across the
plains with his family of two children, and the usual ox teams. Arriving in
Stockton, he set up for a year as a marble-cutter, and then he went to Sonora,
continued to ply his trade and opened a marble yard.
The elder of the two children, J. H. Nelson, crossed the plains when he
was four years of age, and then had the experience that he still remembers
of wintering on the prairies. Settling with his folks in California, he went to
school at Sonora, but at fifteen he was thrown upon his own resources. In
1869, he came to old Millerton to work for Uncle John Emmerson, who ran
the old McCray Hotel, and he continued with him for about three years.
In 1873, having worked awhile on a ranch at Centerville, he removed to
Tollhouse, where a cousin, Joe Carter, ran a dairy on Pine Ridge ; and he
remained with him until 1874. Then he engaged in lumbering, and later
worked in the saw mills ; and for a season he ran a mill himself.
On June 7, 1882, Mr. Nelson was married at Tollhouse to Miss Phoebe
YVaite, who was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the daughter of T. A. '\Yaite, a
native of Ohio, who settled in Iowa as a farmer. Her mother was Alary J.
Cavin before her marriage, and she was born in Ohio. In 1875, Mr. Waite
brought his family to Fresno on account of his health, and located at Toll-
house, where he worked in the mill. The same year he was seriously hurt
in an accident, and on June 18, 1876, he died. The mother also died there,
leaving eight children, of whom Mrs. Nelson was the fourth eldest. She
came to California in her eighth year, and attended the public school at
Tollhouse.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Nelson engaged in the manufacture of
shakes on Pine Ridge, which he hauled to Tollhouse and from there trans-
ported by teams to Fresno. In 1884, Mr. Nelson located a preemption of
eighty acres at Tollhouse and improved the land, and in the summer time he
made shakes on Pine Ridge. He set out an apple orchard on his home place,
and later he bought eighty acres adjoining, and then had 160 acres on which
he raised both stock and fruit. He used the brand I C, and he still continued
!^^iw
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2283
to make shakes on Pine Ridge. He had five acres in some of the finest apple
orchard to be seen in that vicinity.
In the fall of 1915 Mr. Nelson sold his ranch, and located near Clovis ;
and since then he has engaged in the scientific work of viticulture. He
owns ten acres one and a half miles to the north of Clovis, which he has
also set out in attractive vineyards.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, and have added to
the social popularity of the family in the communities in which they have
lived. Lee Edward is a carpenter near Clovis; Alice J., now Mrs. Burritt,
resides at Oakland ; Annie D. has become Mrs. R. N. Cobb, of Hoopa, Hum-
boldt County; Laura M., now Mrs. Arthur Cate, resides at Clovis; Mary G.,
is a graduate of the Clovis High School, now studying for nurse at Burnett
Sanitarium ; and Edith A. attends Clovis High School. Mrs. Nelson is a
member of the Methodist Church of Clovis, and Mr. Nelson is affiliated with
the Woodmen of the World.
SHELL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA.— To what extent, in the laying
out and directing of a great enterprise, new and approved ideas as to the great
value of sanitary methods and appliances and the importance of doing every-
thing possible to make the laborer comfortable and happy, may be employed
is well ilustrated by the Shell Company of California, with their headquarters
at Oilfields. Their camp there is said to be the most modern, sanitary and
best arranged oil camp in the United States and perhaps in the world. The
streets are well-plotted and the buildings up to date, lighted by electricity and
heated by gas. There is a well-stocked general merchandise store ; a large
dining hall with auxiliary dining rooms ; a large and fully equipped club
house, and a modern hospital. For this plant, not only are the managers
of the company to be thanked for their public spirit, but the company's
workers as well have had their honorable part.
The oil property and camp were started about 1900 by Balfour Guthrie
and Company, although William Mills Graham before this had started on
Section 27, selling out afterward to that firm. Then he was made superintend-
ent for them and began the development here. Finally, the California Oil-
fields, Ltd., was incorporated, and this gradually purchased the small com-
panies around there until it became the largest company operating on what
is known as the East Side Field.
About August, 1913, the Shell Company purchased the California Oil-
fields, and took over all of their holdings; and they have continued there de-
velopments on a large scale, at the same time maintaining the excellence of
their buildings; and the result is a prosperous and happy town of more than
600 population. The company even have their own dairy, poultry and hog
ranch, and also conduct a large commissary department, with a bakery and
a boarding house. There is an abundance of natural gas on the different
leases, and this is used in the production of steam, gas and electric power,
as well as for heating and lighting purposes. A small refinery is operated, and
a compressor gasoline plant.
The company has its own ice factory and refrigerating plant, an excellent
water system, and they keep up a modern sewer system, with septic tanks
and garbage destroyers. There is also a garage sufficient to house some thir-
ty-seven cars as well as trucks, and stables adequate for the accommodation
of eighty or more horses and mules ; a large, modern machine shop, with
boiler and tank shops, and spacious storehouses and offices designed accord-
ing to the best architectural and decorative standards; and besides the com-
munity buildings for men, there is a large club house with billiard parlors,
reading room, ice-cream parlor, library, etc. The large swimming pool affords
both recreation and the facilities for preserving health and increasing happi-
ness. In summer time an air dome provides for moving pictures, and in win-
ter such entertainment is given in the lecture hall. There are also grounds
for both base- and football.
2284 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
The school district is named Oil King, and there is a commodious modern
schoolhouse with five teachers.
E. S. Durward is the present superintendent, and he is intensely interested
in keeping the camp up to the highest standard and introducing improve-
ments whenever they can be made. He never fails to inquire into any pro-
posals for improvements, recommends the best, and puts the matter before
the proper authorities. The result is that the employees stick by the com-
pany, many having been there for eight or ten years.
In order that the company, employees and staff may keep in touch with
each other, a Welfare Committee whose members are elected from amongst
the employees by popular vote meets once a month with the superintendent.
In these meetings matters affecting to the comfort and efficiency of the em-
ployees, improvements, safeguards against accident and any other matters
beneficial to the employees and the company are discussed and settled.
Mr. E. S. Durward was born in Scotland, and in that country he studied
and became a mechanical engineer. Later he took up the study of mining
engineering, and in the oil fields in Egypt followed his profession for three
years. Returning to England, he remained there for a short time; but the
attractions of California drew him hither, and in 1913 he reached the Pacific
Coast. Shortly after his arrival he entered the service of the California Oil-
fields, Ltd., as assistant superintendent; and in August, 1913, when these
holdings were taken over by the Shell Company, he remained with the new
proprietors in the same position. Under the superintendence of Mr. W. C.
McDuffie, in the spring of 1918, he was made Field Superintendent for the
company, succeeding Mr. McDuffie who had become general superintendent.
JEROME A. McLAUGHLIN.— A thoroughly reliable oil-man, whose in-
tegrity is unquestioned and who has an enviable reputation as one of the
best production men in California, is Jerome A. McLaughlin, production fore-
man for the Shell Company of California, at Oilfields. He was born in Butler
County, Pa., in 1867, the son of Daniel G. McLaughlin, a native of that state,
who became a successful farmer and oil-operator, his lands being still in the
possession of his family, a valuable heritage, as they are underlaid with coal
and oil. The oldest son, C. R. McLaughlin, is looking after the interests of
this estate. Daniel McLaughlin died in Pennsylvania. His wife was Eleanor
(Boyle) McLaughlin, and she now resides in Glendale, having the companion-
ship of a daughter. They live in a home, that J. A. McLaughlin built for his
mother; and there she is spending her later years in peace and contentment.
Four boys and two girls were born to this worthy couple, and among them
J. A. was the second oldest.
Jerome A. received a good education in the local public schools while
he assisted his father on the farm and in his oil operations, and he remained
at home until he went to the oil-fields in Wood County, Ohio. There he
became production foreman for the Standard Oil Company, and later had the
same position with the Palmer Oil Company. In 1904 he came out to Bartles-
ville, Okla., to become production foreman for the Security Oil Company,
and while there he made the acquaintance of A. C. Graham of Oilfields, Cal.,
who later recommended him as foreman for the California Oilfields, Limited,
and he was tendered the position in 1908. He accepted and came here im-
mediately to take charge ; and he has remained in that office ever since, con-
tinuing with the Shell Company of California when it succeeded to the prop-
erty in August, 1913. lie has given them the benefit of years of valuable
experience, and is considered one of the best-posted production men in
California.
In many ways Mr. McLaughlin has identified himself with the permanent
growth of the community, in which we hope he will remain. Among other
activities, he is a stockholder and director in the Oilfields Cooperative Store.
la
&uu
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2285
GEORGE F. CORLEY.— Well known as the proprietor of the Coalinga
Dairy, the oldest and best dairy in the city, was the late George F. Corley,
a native of Tennessee, born near Gordonsville, February 4, 1876, a son of
Henry and Tennessee (Ray) Corley, both natives of Tennessee. The ancestors
of the Corley family were from the Emerald Isle, Great-grandfather Corley
emigrating from Ireland and settling in Tennessee. Grandfather Nathaniel
Corley saw service in the Civil War.
After completing his education in the public school of his native state,
George F. assisted his father on the farm until 1903, when he came out to
Madera County, Cal. Here he was employed by the Raymond Granite Com-
pany as their foreman, remaining with them four years. In 1907, Mr. Corley
moved to Fresno County, locating at Coalinga, where he secured employment
in the oil-fields as a rig-builder, being engaged by different companies. De-
siring to engage in business for himself, Mr. Corley bought, in 1914, the
Coalinga Dairy from R. Thut, the purchase including his business, residence
and dairy buildings. Since that date he personally conducted the business by
the most modern and sanitary methods, and his care in safeguarding his milk
was fully appreciated, as shown by the large patronage accorded the Coalinga
Dairy, which had the reputation of selling the best quality of milk in the
city. In addition to the dairy business, Mr. Corley also engaged in raising
cattle and hogs.
On January 20, 1898, George F. Corley was united in marriage with Miss
Mary Inez Roberts, a native of Gordonsville, Tenn., and they became the
parents of four children: Bessie, now Mrs. Reed of Coalinga; William, with
the Coalinga Ice Company ; Lamon ; and Louise. Mrs. Corley is the daughter
of Oliver and Lucy (Whitley) Roberts, born in Virginia and Tennessee, re-
spectively, and who were farmers. Mr. Roberts served in the Confederate
Army in the Civil War. Both parents died in Tennessee, the father in 1914,
and the mother on July 30, 1912.
Fraternally, Mr. Corley was a member of the Odd Fellows and the Eagles
at Coalinga. He was well-informed and possessed a genial disposition, with
the happy faculty of making and retaining friends and was always ready
to aid in advancing the best interests of Coalinga. Mr. Corley passed away
on January 13, 1919, after an illness of nine days. Mrs. Corley has bravely
taken the management of their affairs and, with the aid of the youngest son,
Lamon, continues the dairy business.
BERT A. STATHAM.— A representative of one of Fresno County's ear-
liest pioneer families who has made himself in private and commercial life
thoroughly dependable, turned aside to effect a good army record, and come
to stand high in Masonic circles so that with his wife he is enviably popular,
is Bert A. Statham, a native son who was born in Fresno on October 22, 1888,
the only son of James and Margaret (Lawson) Statham. The father was born
in Centerville, Fresno County, on September 22, 1859, and engaged in the
butcher business at Fresno. Then, for several years, he served as deputy tax
collector, and in 1909 he died near Selma. His father was A. H. Statham, a
Fresno County pioneer and one of the early developers of the city of Fresno.
Mrs. Statham's father was George Lawson, for quarter of a century the pro-
prietor of the Grand Central barber shop.
Bert was brought up in the home of his grandparents, the Lawsons, and
when they moved East to Greenville, 111., he accompanied them, and attended
the common schools of the districts in which he lived. He also attended
Greenville College, where he pursued a business course, and then he took a
position as stock clerk with the Peters Shoe Company of St. Louis.
His grandmother, Betsy Jane Ingles, having died in Greenville, Bert
Statham returned to Fresno County with his grandfather, reaching here in
1911 ; and in July he located at Selma. He accepted a position as bookkeeper
for the Selma Planing Mill, but resigned in February, 1915, to enter the
2286 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
service of the Selma Land Company. Now he devotes his whole time and
attention to the management of their insurance department.
Not only did Air. Statham render active field service in the war, but he
returned just in time to do the required herculean work in connection with
the Victory Loan drive. When the call for volunteers came, he enlisted in
the quartermaster's corps, on August 13, 1917, and was assigned for duty
in the paymaster's office at the San Francisco Presidio. He remained steadily
at his post, and rose to become first-class sergeant. On March 13, 1919, he
was honorably discharged at San Francisco. Under his direction as secretary
of the Drive, Selma went promptly "over the top" by 115 per cent.
In 1915 Mr. Statham was married at Fresno to Miss Ethel E. Phillips
of Selma, the daughter of George B. and Jennie (Dodson) Phillips; and they
reside at 2121 North Street in their own house. Mr. Statham is a thirty-second
degree Mason, a member of Selma Lodge No. 277, F. & A. M., and the San
Francisco Consistory Bodies, No. 1. He also belongs to Islam Temple, of the
San Francisco Shriners. He is a member of Selma Parlor of the Native Sons,
and he belongs to the Eastern Star and the Improved Order of Red Men,
Independent Order of Foresters, and Woodmen of the World.
CLARENCE L. STAMMERS, M. D.— A medical man of exceptionally
superior training, whose skill and conscientious attention and care to every
patient have enabled him to rise rapidly in his profession is Dr. Clarence L.
Stammers, doubly interesting to residents of Central California as the son of
an esteemed pioneer. His father, a jeweler, was one of the highly-respected
business men of Selma, and his mother, who has survived and still resides
here, owns the well-known Stammers Block. The Doctor occupies rooms in
the Sugar Block, while he lives at the Selma Sanitarium, at 1701 First Street,
which is in charge of his wife.
Dr. Stammers was born at Cheyenne, Wyo., on September 29, 1887, the
son of the late William Robert Stammers, a native of England who came to
Selma and was the pioneer in the jewelry trade. After coming to the United
States, he married, as his second wife. Miss Mary Elizabeth Footherape, also
a native of England, who still resides in Selma, enjoying the honors due her
as a pioneer. Mr. Stammers passed away in January, 1916, at the age of
sixty-nine years.
Clarence L. was five years old when he came with his parents to Selma,
and here he attended the public schools. In these preliminary studies
he laid a broad and liberal foundation; and he was fortunate in deciding early
to become a medical man. He first studied ophthalmology, and practiced the
same, and later he studied medicine and surgery.
He went to Chicago and entered the Northern Illinois College of Ophthal-
mology and Otology, and there in 1907 he graduated. Then he took a post-
graduate course at the Los Angeles Optical College, from which he grad-
uated in July, 1908. Next he practiced ophthalmology in Selma for about a
year. Dr. Stammers then entered the California Eclectic Medical College at Los
Angeles where he took the four years' course, graduating in 1914. He had spent
three years in the Selma High School and during his college course he returned
to Selma and took his senior year, graduating in the class of '13. This union of
high school and medical studies, typical of a western American youth, somewhat
impaired his health, but he continued for a year to practice ophthalmology at
Selma and then he went to San Francisco again to get in close touch with the
outer and busier world.
Settling for a while there, he became an interne in the French hospital,
and after twenty-six months, he received, on November 30, 1917, a diploma
from that institution. It was while he was thus serving and developing as
interne that he met the young lady who later became his wife. She was then
a student at the Nurses' Training School of the hospital, and she is now pro-
prietress of the Selma Sanitarium, and is widely recognized as well qualified
I^kc^^^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2289
for that important position. In December, 1917, he went to work as an in-
terne in St. Joseph's hospital in San Francisco, and there worked for eight
months. At the conclusion, on August 15, 1918, he was regularly licensed as
a practicing physician and surgeon, under the requirements of California
laws.
The same date, Dr. Stammers was enlisted in the United States War
Service, and was sent to Angel Island, in San Francisco Bay, and fifteen days
later he was ordered to Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., where he served
in the medical department. He took his examination for first lieutenant in
the medical service, and passed all his examinations successfully, the papers
were forwarded to Washington ; but before his commission could be issued,
the armistice was signed. He was therefore honorably discharged as a first-
class private at Camp Greenleaf, Ga., on December 23, 1918, and on April 1
he opened his present offices at Selma. On May 1, Mrs. Stammers took over
the Selma Sanitarium and this much-needed institution is directed in accord-
ance with such modern ethics and on such a broad basis that every other
doctor is entitled to take patients there, and is guaranteed the same impartial
and excellent treatment. Dr. Stammers is also one of the three resident
examining physicians for Selma Camp No. 268, Woodmen of the World. He
is besides, court physician to Court Selma, No. 4215, of the Independent Order
of Foresters.
April 24, 1917, Dr. Stammers was married to Miss Juliette Loraine Stege-
man of San Francisco, and since then Dr. Stammers and his wife have ad-
vanced professionally together.
JOHN M. SHIPP. — In the career and accomplishment of John M. Shipp,
the well-known rancher, is shown the true spirit of the successful citizen and
upbuilder. His father was William Walter Shipp, a native of Holmes County,
Miss., who responded to the call for the defense of his hearth and the section
which he had come to look upon as his fatherland, entered the Civil War,
and served through its sequence of almost unendurable agonies, for four
years. For a long time, he had a cotton plantation, and was rated among the
successful cotton producers of the South ; then he took a fancy to come to Cal-
ifornia, and that was an end to everything in the past; like everybody else who
caught the California fever, he came. John's mother was Mary Strother
before her marriage, and she, too, was a native of Holmes County. Mr. and
Mrs. Shipp were married in their native State.
In 1868 Mr. Shipp came to California with his family and located on Big
Dry Creek in what was known as the Mississippi district. He took up Gov-
ernment land, and went into the business of sheep raising, buying his stock
in Solano County, and driving them into Fresno County. In time, he operated
on a large scale, and came to have 2,300 acres on the home place. He also
followed grain-farming. In 1887 he sold his ranch, but he continued to have
an interest in the sheep business until his death, which occurred in 1890, the
same year in which his wife passed away. The father of ten children, he had
taken a lively interest in the question of popular education for his district,
and built the Mississippi School, with other of his neighbors, which has since
then been discontinued.
The fifth child in the family, John M'. was born in Holmes County. .Miss..
on November 29, 1867, coming with his parents to California in the first year
of his existence. Fresno County is the scene of his first recollections. He
had the usual grammar school educational advantages, and having decided
to continue his studies until he had a collegiate training, he entered the
Pacific Methodist College at Santa Rosa and graduated when he was nine-
teen years of age. He lost no time in getting into business; with his father
and his brother George R., and they continued sheep growing on his father's
ranch, meeting with good success, so that about four years later the brothers
as partners, purchased their father's interest, leased his large ranch and con-
2290 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
tinued the business with mutual satisfaction and profit. They developed the
enterprise until they had 7,500 sheep.
In 1890 John M. Shipp purchased his brother's interest in their stock
business and has continued his operations alone, gradually drifting into cattle
growing. In 1901 he purchased his present ranch of 3.000 acres, eight and a
half miles north of Clovis. which he improved with a comfortable residence
and the necessary farm buildings and which is the headquarters for his large
stock business. In 1907 he sold the balance of his sheep to devote all of his
time and efforts to cattle-raising. Besides his home ranch he also owns a
ranch at Blaney Meadows, on the South Fork of the San Joaquin River, in
the Sierra Nevadas, and being located in the Government National Forest
Reserve makes most excellent range for his cattle during the summers, and
enabling him to carry over 500 head of Red Durham cattle. For years he
has had thoroughbred animals at the head of his herd and it is the concensus
of opinion that there is no finer herd of cattle in Fresno County than that of
John M. Shipp's. Intensely interested in having a well-bred herd he always
secures the finest of thoroughbred males from the choicest herds of Eastern
breeders of Red Durhams. With others he has brought cattle from Mexico by
trainload to feed on the ranges of Fresno County. His brand — J. S. with a
bar underneath — is well-known and marks most excellent cattle. Mr. Shipp
was an original member of the Fresno County Cattle-Raisers Association
and also of the California State Cattle Growers Association. Interested in
the success of these organizations he attends the meetings of both the County
and State conventions. In 1918 he moved his residence to Fresno where he
built a beautiful home on Cambridge Avenue, which was planned by Mrs.
Shipp. who is a woman of culture and refinement and here he resides with
his familv.
At Academy. Cal.. on June 28, 1894, Mr. Shipp and Miss Mary
Maud Sample were married and began their years of domestic felicity; their
union being blessed with two children. Margaret and Sally Keyes. Mrs.
Shipp is a native of Fresno County, a daughter of D. C. Sample, a pioneer
of the county. She completed her education at Pacific Methodist College in
Santa Rosa where she was graduated. Having sought to be a good neighbor
as well as a loyal, helpful citizen. Mr. Shipp. with his family, today enjoys
the high esteem and hearty good will of his fellow-Californians for miles
around. T *j
THOMAS HEADLEY BROWN.— A thorough machinist and mill-
wright, now foreman of the machine shop for the Standard Oil Company
Producing Department in Coalinga, is Thomas Headley Brown, born in
Leicester, England, in 1885. the son of George and Sarah (White) Brown,
his father being a well-known contractor and builder of Leicester. After
graduating from the Wyggeston Boys' School in 1906, he signed articles of
apprenticeship with F. J. Hill & Co., general engineers and millwrights in
Leicester. After he completed his apprenticeship he went with the Hunslet
Locomotive Works in Leeds. England, continuing with them as a machinist ;
next he was with the Coventry Ordnance Works as a millwright for four
years. Having become interested in the Pacific Coast region he resigned his
position and came to Coalinga, Cal.. in 1911, entering the employ of the
Standard Oil Company, section 28, as a machinist, and two years later was
promoted to foreman of their machine shop, Coalinga division, a place his
years of careful apprenticeship and experience qualifies him to fill. The
marriage of Thos. H. Brown occurred in Leeds, England, when he was united
with Mis-; Kittie Allen who was also a native of Leicester, England, and
their union has been blessed with three children. Freda was born in England.
while Audrey and Adrian were born in Coalinga. In religion Mr. and Mrs.
Brown arc Baptists while in political preferment he is a protectionist and
Republican.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2291
CHARLES R. PUCKHABER.— A native son of the Golden West keenly
alive to the wonderful possibilities of our great commonwealth, Charles R.
Puckhaber may well be mentioned among those eminent Californians whose
progress in an upward career has been due to the combination of rare fore-
sight, perseverance and industry. His father was John Puckhaber, a sturdy
pioneer who, braving the inconveniences and dangers of travel in the early
fifties, pushed westward to California by way of Panama and soon after
established himself in San Francisco in the general merchandise business — ■
a line of activity that he followed until his death. As a business man, indeed,
he was very successful and he was widely and highly respected.
Charles Puckhaber was born in San Francisco in December, 1871, and
there received his education at the public schools, topping off his studies with
a business college course. At sixteen he entered the employ of L. Feldmann
& Co., where he worked his way up until he bcame head bookkeeper.
In the fall of 1897, however, he resigned and moved to Fresno, where he
became actively interested in business. His faith in the growing city led him
into several fortunate investments, and in time he became identified with the
founding of the Union National Bank of Fresno, which was organized in 1906.
Guided in part by him as Vice-President and Director the bank has become
one of the strongest financial institutions not only of the city of Fresno but
the entire San Joaquin Valley. He was also an organizer and Vice-President
and a Director of the Fresno Savings Bank, another institution which has
done much to help solve the problems_of conservation and thrift.
In June, 1895, at San Francisco, Mr. Puckhaber was united in marriage
With Emily Worsdale. He is a member of the Commercial and the Sunnyside
Country clubs, and belongs to the Masons and the Elks. His political convic-
tions ally him with the Republican party.
SCOTT A. SHANNON.— Fresno County, long famous as the paradise
for viticulturists and horticulturists, has been noted for the large number of
well-trained, experienced and progressive ranchers who have done much to
place California in the front rank of fruit-producing States ; and prominent
among these aggressive men of affairs must be mentioned Scott A. Shan-
non, popularly known as "Fred" Shannon, the oldest son of the late Jefferson
M. and Rebecca M. (Baley) Shannon, and a grandson of the late Judge Gil-
lum Baley, the well-known pioneer whose interesting life is elsewhere pre-
sented in detail in this volume. He was born at Millerton on December 10,
1863, and for a while attended the Millerton grammar school. His father,
later townsite agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad, was deputy sheriff
under the late Scott Ashman (after whom he was named), before the county
seat was moved from Millerton to Fresno. J. M. Shannon became the first
station agent at Fresno a"nd stood high with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins,
and Messrs. Crocker and Huntington, so that it was largely through his
efforts that Governor Stanford donated four blocks, or twelve acres, in the
heart of Fresno for the Court House and Court House Park. J. M. Shannon
owned two blocks on J Street, near Mariposa and Fresno Streets, and from
1874 to 1878 this was his place of residence. He planted it to oranges, and
had a fine bearing orange orchard right in the heart of the City of Fresno.
Later, Scott Shannon attended the school at Tollhouse conducted
by Prof. R. H. Bramlet, in time a school superintendent of Fresno County,
and he also attended one of the first public schools at Fresno, and later took
a commercial course in the De Pew and Aydelotte Business College at Oak-
land. Before going to the business college, however, he was employed by
Messrs. Miller & Lux, on their ranches in Fresno and Merced Counties,
to take care of and handle all kinds of livestock ; after which he kept books
for the firm of Furnish & Pratt, wholesale and retail meat dealers at Fresno,
for fifteen years, when he thoroughly learned the meat business. And then
he engaged with T. W. Pratt in the cattle business at Fresno for several
years.
2292 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
As time went by, Mr. Shannon personally became the owner of various
pieces of land, and joint owner with his father in other properties. His
father died at Alameda on June 8, 1902, and Scott A. Shannon was named
executor, while his mother was named executrix of J. M. Shannon's will, and
together the}- administered the estate until the mother died in 1907, when
the estate had not yet been distributed. After his mother's death, therefore,
Mr. Shannon proceeded to wind up the estate, which was divided among the
four children, all of whom grew to maturity and are still living. Mary Idria
is now the wife of W. E. Toms, and resides in Fresno; Scott Ashman, the
subject of this review; Sidney J. Shannon, Deputy United States Marshal
of the northern half of Southern California district ; and Leland Stanford
Shannon. Scott Shannon joined the Elks at Fresno in 1902, and he is today
one of the oldest members of that lodge.
The three Shannon brothers now jointly own two large ranches; one of
320 acres, known as the Wheatville Ranch, is devoted to the raising of live-
stock and is superintended by the subject, and another of 240 acres three and
a half miles southeast of Del Rev, which is planted mostly to Malagas and
Emperors, so that the Shannon Estate is able to ship its own table grapes,
mostly Malagas, under the Shannon Estate Brand, which has become well
and favorably known in all the Eastern markets. This famous ranch, grew
out of the original eighty acres set out by J. M. Shannon to Malagas. Mus-
cats and Sultanas. In 1914. the three sons bought out their sister's interest,
and in 1917 and 1918 they planted largely to table grapes, Malagas and
peaches.
Scott A. has been unusually fortunate in his extensive experience in
raising, buying and selling all kinds of live stock, and he has also had a
valuable experience in slaughtering and conducting both retail and whole-
sale meat markets. When not over-busy at the 'Wheatville stock ranch, he
lends a hand in operating the vineyard, especially in the busiest seasons. As
a result of this direct participation in the vineyard interests, he is a stock-
holder in the California Raisin Association, the California Peach Associa-
tion, Inc.
THOS. E. BROWN. — The present chairman of the Board of Trustees
of the city of Firebaugh is Thos. E. Brown, a native of Iowa, born in 1867. His
father, lames Monroe Brown, died when Thomas was a lad of thirteen and he
was thrown on Ids own resources. Being very fond of horses he entered the
employ of horse dealers who were engaged in buying horses on the frontier,
breaking them and selling them to the settlers in Nebraska and Iowa. He
continued with them until 1886, when he came to California, coming through
Fresno, then a comparatively small town. Making his way to Sonoma and
found employment on a farm for two years. After making a trip to his old
home he returned to Sonoma County, following farming at Windsor until lie
accepted employment with the California Wine Association, and a year later
became a foreman, continuing with them in all for five years. He resigned
in 1907 and came to Firebaugh beginning as warehouse man for Miller & Lux.
soon entering the store and became general store man. During this time he
served as deputy sheriff and was also appointed constable of First Judicial
Township and afterwards elected to the same office. After eight years with
Miller & Lux he resigned his position to give his attention to his office. He was
a deputy under Sheriffs Chittenden, McSwain and Thorwaldsen and was con-
stable up till January. 1919. Not wishing the office for a longer period he was
not a candidate for reelection.
In 1916 he was appointed a city trustee of Firebaugh. filling the unexpired
term and then was elected to the office and in time elected by the trustees as
Chairman of the Board. He is also a member of the Board of School Trustees
of Firebaugh and active in the building of the new school house. Mr. Brown is
a member of Friendship Lodge No. 91, Knights of Pythias, at Healdshurg.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2295
BEN DRENTH. — The sterling personal characteristics and executive
ability of Ben Drenth have placed him in the front rank of public officials of
Fresno County. Born in Holland, May 25, 1879, he was brought to Omaha,
Nebr., when three years of age, in 1882. There Mr. Drenth continued his
farming operations. In 1900 he brought his family to California, settling in
Fresno.
Ben Drenth received a public school education in Texas and California
and worked at various occupations until 1903, when he was appointed a mem-
ber of the police department of Fresno. He served as patrolman three years,
and then was promoted to the detective bureau of the department, where he
remained until 1910, when he resigned from the force. Having been prevailed
upon to run for constable, he made the race in 1910, and was elected by a
good majority. So impartial was he in the discharge of the duties imposed
upon him, that he was induced to enter the race for reelection, four years
later, and was returned to the office. He is to be found "on the job" at all
times, and in the performance of his public duties he displays much tact and
native ability.
In Fresno, on August 15, 1907, Ben Drenth and Mable Anderson, a native
daughter, were united in marriage. They have two children: Anabel and
Eleanor. Mr. Drenth is popular in fraternal circles, is a member and Past
Grand of Fresno Lodge No. 186, I. O. O. F., and at the present time is serving
as a trustee of the lodge. He belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and
to the Woodmen of the World. He supports the policies of the Democratic
party, and believes in progression at all times.
PETER L. ARBIOS. — A native son of California who is making a suc-
cess of the stock business is Peter L. Arbios, who was born at Pleasanton,
Cal., December 3, 1893. His father, Peter Arbios, was born at Eysus, Basses-
Pyrenees, France, and migrated to California when eighteen years of age, but
soon returned and entered the French army, serving the required time until
honorably discharged. His longing for the Pacific Coast continued, however;
so he came back to California, locating in Alameda County. He married Marie
Daunet, born in Lurbei, Basses-Pyrenees, who came to Los Angeles, Cal.
Peter Arbios was one of the early settlers at Mendota, being first in the em-
ploy of A. J. Arnaudon, and then with Miller & Lux as general superintendent
of the sheep department for fourteen years, traveling from one to another of
their many ranches. During this time he was interested in sheep-growing on
his own account, having herders who ran his sheep on the plains, with head-
quarters at Mendota. After resigning his position with Miller & Lux, he con-
tinued in sheep-raising and resided with his family at Mendota, where he
built a large, commodious residence. He ran about 5,000 head of sheep, pur-
chased land for range, and also improved one ranch. He was actively engaged
in business until his death in 1915, aged fifty-two years. His widow now re-
sides in Stockton. Their family consisted of nine children. Amy was killed in
an automobile accident in 1913. Albert is serving in the United States Army
in France. Peter L. is the subject of this review. Sodie is also serving in the
United States Army in France. Edna, Lucy, Josephine, Zeta, and Joseph re-
side with their mother in Stockton.
Peter L. Arbios was reared at Mendota and received his education in the
public schools and at Santa Clara College. When a boy he had learned the
care of sheep. So he accepted a place with Miller & Lux as shipper in their
sheep department. When nineteen he was advanced to buyer in the department
and at that early age he traveled all over California buying sheep for the firm,
being intrusted with great 'responsibility. He proved equal to his trust, and
continued with them until his father's death, when he resigned to look after
the vast interests left the family. Soon he and his two brothers, Albert and
Sodie, both now serving their country in France, formed a partnership, and
since then have continued sheep-growing and farming as Arbios Brothers.
2296 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
They have three bands that approximate 5.000 head, which they range in
Fresno, Madera and Mariposa Counties. The family still own the ranches
left by the father, and Air. Arbios makes his home in the old Arbios residence
in Mendota.
Mr. Arbios was married in San Francisco, March 11, 1916, to Miss Augus-
tine Marcelle Yallon, a native of St. Laurent de Cros, St. Bonnet, France, and
the daughter of Alfred Yallon, a farmer there. In April, 1914, she came to
Stockton, Cal., where she met Mr. Arbios, the acquaintance resulting in their
marriage. They have one child, Jane. In politics Mr. Arbios is a Republican
and a protectionist.
CHARLES PRATHER WELLS.— A native son of California, Charles
Prather Wells was born at Lemoore, February 2, 1883, the son of James M.
and Susan (Block) Wells, born in Missouri and Wisconsin, respectively, who
were married in Missouri and followed farming there. In about 1876 James
M. Wells came to California being joined two years later by his wife and
two children. For a time he was employed in Tulare County at the stock
business and also in the warehouse at Lemoore. He purchased railroad land
on Polvadero Creek on the West Side in Fresno County, built a residence
and made other improvements. He turned the first furrow in the virgin soil
and engaged in grain raising; for a few years after he continued in the ware-
house at Lemoore, between seasons, to earn the money to make the early
payments on his land until he could get started. As he prospered he pur-
chased other lands until he now has over 3.000 acres of valley and range
land, being actively engaged in farming until he retired and now with his wife
makes his home at Long Beach. They were the parents of ten children, nine
of whom are living, Charles P. being the fourth in order of birth. lie was
reared on the farm on Polvadero Creek, his education being obtained in the
local public schools and at the Tulare High. After his school days were over
he continued farming with his father until after reaching his majority when
he leased a part of his father's land and engaged in grain raising on his own
account in which he has been successful. He is also engaged in raising cattle,
ranging them at the head of Jacolitos Creek, where he has homesteaded land
which he is improving and where he makes his home. However, he still
raises grain in the Valley, usually sowing about 400 acres each season.
Charles P. Wells was married at Fresno, November 19. 1910 to Louise
Carstens a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, who came with her parents, John and
Louise Carstens to California in 1903. The parents followed horticulture on
a ranch near Fresno until they retired. Mrs. Wells, the fourth oldest of their
six children received her education in the public schools of Cincinnati, Ohio.
In national politics, Mr. Well is a Democrat.
HARRY HENRY GREVE.— A native son of California, Harry Henry
Greve was born in Priest Valley, Monterey County, July 26, 1888, the son of
Paul and Sophia (Abell) Greve, pioneers of Priest Valley. Harry II. was the
youngest of their family of ten children that grew up and was reared on the
home farm, attending the local school. When twenty-one vears of age h
steaded in Sunk Valley, Fresno County, where he now owns 320 acres, being
engaged in raising cattle. He also owns 160 acres on Salt Creek, where he is
building his residence for his permanent home, from which headquarters he
looks after his cattle.
Mr. Greve was married in Fresno March 30, 1917, to Stella Penland. who
was born in Webster County, Mo. Coming to Fresno in 1906 she completed
her education in the public schools of the county seat.
Mr. and Mrs. Greve have one child. Dorothy. While now a resident and
stockman of Fresno County, he lives only a few miles from his old home in
Priest Valley. He is a protectionist and espouses the principles of the Republican
Party.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2297
LE ROY AKERS. — A native son who is a successful cattleman on
the West Side in Fresno County is Le Roy Akers, born near Centerville, Fresno
County, April 3, 1864. His father, Anderson Akers, was born in Kentucky and
migrated to Texas with his parents when a child where he was reared to the
life of a farmer and stockman. In 1852 he crossed the plains to California, arriv-
ing at Millerton, Fresno County. He was engaged in farming and stockraising
near Centerville, until about the year 1870 he located on the West Side, pur-
chasing a ranch in San Benito County, two miles west of the Fresno County
line. Here he raised cattle until 1882 and then moved to Los Gatos Creek, where
he resided until his death in October, 1916, aged eighty-four years. His wife,
Amanda Akers died January 1, 1879. Of their eight children, three boys of
whom are living, Le Roy is the second oldest of all. He was reared to the
stock business and enjoyed the privilege of a public school education. From a
youth he rode the range. After he was of age he homesteaded his present place
on Los Gatos Creek to which he has added by purchase until he has 400 acres,
besides leasing a large area of 2,000 acres on which he ranges his cattle, usually
having about 400 head.
In Hollister, April 9, 1889, Mr. Akers married Nellie Hart who was
born in Santa Clara County, the daughter of Patrick and Margaret (Burns)
Hart, natives of Ireland, who located in Wisconsin and in 1861 came via
Panama, locating at Santa Clara where Mr. Hart was a flour miller until he
located at Hollister; after a few years removed to Priest Valley, Monterey
County, where he was among the pioneers of the Valley ; there he and his wife
passed away. Mrs. Akers was the second oldest of their five children, and was
reared and educated in Priest Valley. Mr. and Mrs. Akers have five children :
Maggie, Mrs. Herman James of Belridge ; Lottie, Irene, Herman and Charles.
For many years Mr. Akers has been clerk of the Louis school district. In
national politics he is a Democrat, but in local matters he prefers to vote for
the man rather than party.
MR. and MRS. JOHN A. YOUNGQUIST.— The enterprising and popu-
lar merchants at Auberry, Fresno County, are Mr. and Mrs. John A.
Youngquist, who have a splendid location and a large trade. John Young-
quist was born in Evanston, 111., August 31, 1886, the son of S. W. and
Hannah Youngquist. His father was a shoe merchant in Chicago, being in
business there at the time of the Chicago fire in 1871. He established his
residence in Evanston where he also established a grocery business in
which he became successful. After many years of strenuous life he and his
wife now live retired in the enjoyment of peace and comfort — the fruits of
their early labors.
John A. received his education in the public and high schools of Evanston
as-well-as the Northwestern University, after which he entered the employ
of the C. B. & Q. R. R. in the purchasing and store department, afterwards
holding a similar position with the C. & R. I. R. R., and still later with the
Santa Fe. He gained much valuable knowledge and experience and became
a very efficient and valued employe.
Coming to Los Angeles in 1907, Mr. Youngquist entered the employ of
the Pacific Electric, organized their store department and continued with
them as storekeeper for two years. Next he went with the Santa Fe and
handled the supply train between San Francisco and El Paso. Afterwards he
went into the new offices of the Southern Pacific where he had charge of a
branch of revaluation work, compiling it for the Southern Pacific Railroad
Company at the request of the United States Government. After this he en-
gaged with the San Joaquin and Eastern Railroad. Coming to Auberry in
the spring of 1917, he organized the store department for them and, com-
pleting the work of organization, he resigned his position to engage in the
merchandise business on his own account.
On June 17, 1918, he married Mrs. Lillian (McFaul) Witham, who was
born in Brighton, Ontario, and came to California with her parents, Daniel
2298 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and Carrie McFaul who located in Madera County, where Mr. McFaul was
in the employ of the Flume and Trading Company until he retired. Her
parents are now both deceased. Lillian McFaul received a good education in
the schools of Madera. In Fresno, March, 1901, she married Frank Witham,
a prominent merchant of Fresno. Fie was a native of Lowell, Mass., of an old
Eastern family, and a well-educated and cultured man. He came out to
California when eighteen years of age and was engaged in the grocery
business in Fresno for thirty-two years. In 1904 Mr. and Mrs. Witham
located in Auberry and engaged in the general merchandise business. Mr.
Witham was appointed postmaster at Auberry and filled the position accept-
ablv. He passed to the great beyond on December 17, 1917, aged fifty-one
years. Mrs. Youngquist has a very fine and valuable collection of Indian
baskets, beads and curios, which she prizes very highly. The Youngquists
have a very complete stock of merchandise for a country store and have a
large patronage. Their little ranch at Auberry is a trim, well-kept place,
with a comfortable bungalow residence.
In 1918 Mr. Youngquist became a member of the Spruce Production
Division of the United States Army, serving at Yaquima Bay as acting supply
and property sergeant until he was honorably discharged January 29, 1919,
after six months' service. During his absence in the service of his country
Mrs. Youngquist ran the store. Mr. and Mrs. Youngquist are well-liked and
popular, both are protectionists and are Republicans in politics.
MRS. LUCINDA HOUSER.— A woman highly esteemed for her noble
qualities who is one of the oldest settlers of Watts Valley, Fresno County, is
Mrs. Lucinda Houser whose maiden name was Lucinda Hole, born in Darke
County, Ohio, April 18, 1843. Her father, Wm. Hole was also a native of
Darke County of an old Virginian family; he married Elizabeth Blotner who
was born in Pennsylvania. They engaged in farming in Darke County, Ohio,
afterwards removing to Mercer County, Ohio, again following husbandry until
1874, when they came to the Pacific Coast in 1877, and were pioneers of Watts
Valley where they improved a homestead on which they resided until their
death, the mother passing away at the age of 68, while the father died in 1902
aged eighty-six years. Of their thirteen children, eight grew up and came to
Fresno County but only four girls are now living of whom, Lucinda is the old-
est. Reared on the farm in the Buckeye State she received a good education
in the public schools. She was married in Mercer County, June 16, 1864, to
John N. Houser who was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1838. He served
in Company F, Fifty-sixth Ohio Infantry, in the Civil War and after a year's
service was honorably discharged. In the fall of 1864 the young couple removed
to Iowa and farmed in Fremont County until 1875, when they concluded to
come to the Coast. After a short stay at Chico, Cal., they removed to Oregon
but in 1877 returned to California and were among the first settlers of Watts
Valley. Here they located a squatter's claim, built a small log house and began
improvements and four or five years afterwards when the land was surveyed they
filed their homestead and soon obtained title to the land and afterwards bought
land adjoining and now have 520 acres lying just next to the National Forest
Reserve so with the permit they have a valuable range the year around. Mr.
Houser died January 23. 1900. He was a member of the Odd Fellows. Since
his death his widow resides on the old home. The ranch and cattle being now
cared for by her two sons Louis J., and James A., who have grown up on the
ranch. Mr. and Mrs. Houser had eight children: Heppy Ann, Mrs. Trively of
Fresno : Edna Arminda, Mrs. Williams of Garfield district, Fresno County ; Josiah
died at twenty-six years ; Louis Jackson, on the home ranch ; Clara May. Mrs. Wag-
goner of Los llanos; James A., married Sarah C. Brasch also residing on the
home ranch; Emarintha, the wife of Arthur Highman. died in Salinas; Ander-
son died at twenty-two. The three last named were bom in California. Mrs.
Houser is a devout Christian and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2301
SAMUEL B. WILLIAMS. — A prominent man in both religious and
political councils, as much of a giant intellectually and morally as he is
physically — for he stands six feet two inches high, and weighs 215 pounds,
a superb specimen of real manhood — is Samuel B. Williams, once widely
known as deputy sheriff, and now very successful as a rancher, road super-
visor and director-at-large of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. He was born
in Bedford County, Tenn., seven miles northwest of Shelbyville, and his
earliest recollections revert to Fall Creek, where as a boy he enjoyed with
his father his favorite pastime of fishing. In Bedford County he first saw
the light on August 25, 1872, and growing up in the Volunteer State, he mi-
grated to California alone, bidding adieu, in his twentieth year, to father
and home, on July 28. 1892.
He was practically only a boy when he left the parental roof, with his
through railway fare, a present from his father, and five dollars sewed into
a coonskin bag secured around his body. The blessings of his mother, and
two quilts worked by her, also accompanied him. Thus equipped, he stepped
upon the stage of life's actual work at Tipton, Cal., where he arrived on
August 3, 1892. He worked for forty-two days there, and then he left tor
Fresno City.
At Fresno he entered the employ of old Dr. W. J. Prather, and ran the
yard and stables of the vineyard for six months. The job was hard, long
and exacting, and the pay was exceptionally small, and what he received was
given him on worse than the installment plan. He took it out, in fact, in
dentistry and an old shot-gun ; for he received no money for all that he had
done. It is needless to say that it was only a matter of time and he left the
old doctor's employ.
On March 2, 1893, he came over to the West Side and entered the employ
of William Wilkinson, with whom he remained for six months ; and there he
learned to drive the harvester. Finishing Wilkinson's harvest, on September
3, he went to Olney Whiteside's ranch and worked for him until after the
harvest in 1895. He then began to work for Samuel B. Williams, and he
never expects to be employed again for anybody else. He "bached" for four
years, prepared and ate his own cooking, and still survived. On November
9, 1899, however, he was married to Miss Lena E. Whiteside, and since then
he has had a very good boarding-house and a comfortable stopping-place.
He made his first purchase, a tract of eighty acres, in 1895, and rented
besides. He started with a six-horse team — six young horses which he had
purchased for ninety dollars— paying also $110 for collars and harness to
go with them. That was in the blessed days of the Grover Cleveland admin-
istration, but he stayed with the job and won out. He rented 600 acres be-
sides his own eighty. Then he sold the eighty and bought 130 on the West
Side, and afterwards sold that. Still later he purchased, in 1905, the 240
acres where his house now stands. This was then all raw land — not a stroke
of improvement on the acreage.
He built his house, a fine large two-story frame, hard-plastered structure,
well furnished with modern conveniences, putting it up in 1906 at a cost of
$4,000. He built two barns and an Indiana silo, forty feet high, with a capac-
ity of 105 tons. In 1917, also, he put down an artesian well, sinking it to the
second water-level at 1,040 feet, so that he has a flow of 125 gallons per
minute. He has a fifteen-horsepower R. & V. distillate engine which pumps
the water into tanks, and thence it passes by means of the gravity system,
into the house, barns and troughs, and for irrigation. Besides his home ranch,
he operates about 700 acres which he rents.
His largest crop for any year was 9,000 sacks of wheat, or eighteen sacks
to an acre, harvested in 1901, but the financial returns were not as great,
as in other years, since he was able to sell it for only eighty-five cents a
2302 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
hundred-weight. Perhaps 1917 was his most prosperous year, for he then
made $30,000.
His parents both died in Tennessee; his father died where he was born,
on the old Williams place, in 1900, aged seventy-two years, and the mother
in 1903, in her sixty-eighth year. They had fifteen children, of whom four-
teen grew up, among whom there are two ministers in the Missionary Bap-
tist Church. Grandfather Williams was born in North Carolina, and Grand-
father Tune, the progenitor of Mrs. Williams, was born in Halifax County. Ya.
His mother was Sarah Ann Tune before her marriage, and she was a native
of Tennessee. Both these families reach back in an interesting way in Ameri-
can history. The Williamses are of an old Colonial-American family, and
figured in the Revolutionary War and in the formative period of the nation ;
while Grandfather Tune was a soldier in the Mexican War. Samuel B. Wil-
liams is the twelfth child, and the baby of the family is Jarmon W. Williams,
a vineyardist near Clovis. He and Samuel are the only ones in Fresno County.
Samuel attended the public schools of Tennessee, where he received a
fair educational drill, the many benefits of which are seen in his subsequent
prosperity. He owns and uses two autos, and he owns and runs one com-
bined Holt harvester and thresher, a thirty-two-horsepower machine. He
has recently purchased a twenty-five-horsepower Yuba tractor to pull it.
and he also hires a tractor at times to plow. He has thirty brood mares, and
breeds and raises mules, and he has three Spanish jacks, and he has thirty-
five head of colts, mules and work-horses. He boasts a big team of eight
draft horses, and hires out horses and mules, and he has received $8,000 in
rentals from the said eight-horse team inside of three years. He is also en-
gaged in breeding registered prize-taking Hampshire hogs.
Mr. Williams has served as road supervisor in the Helm road section of
the Fourth Supervisorial District for the past sixteen years, and he is still
on the job there also. He has served as deputy state warden. He is also on
the school board and the ditch board. He has just been appointed director-
at-large of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. A Democrat in national poli-
tics, Mr. Williams works without partisanship in any good cause designed to
benefit the community. He is the presiding officer of the San Joaquin Valley
Baptist Association, and is on the board of directors of the Northern Cali-
fornia Baptist Association. He has been a Sunday school superintendent for
a quarter of a century. He has also been a generous supporter of Indian
missions in California, under the Baptist Church.
In matters political as in religious. Mr. Williams contends strongly for
what is right and just, or what he thinks may be so, and when land specu-
lators sought to charge the lands of private individuals in this section with a
tax of approximately seventeen dollars per acre for alleged reclamation bene-
fits, Mr. Williams was the leader to take the side of the smaller landowners,
organized the defense, and won out, and thereby won the gratitude of his
friends and neighbors.
Mr. Williams was brought up a strict Baptist in Tennessee, by Christian
parents, and he contributes liberally of his means to the work of that denom-
ination, in which he has become a pillar of strength. He is a man of clean
and correct habits, and neither drinks, smokes nor chews, and, with a rare
spiritual vision, seems to get on the right side of every moral and political
question, and then he has the courage of his convictions. His strong execu-
tive force has called him to leadership in church and state, and he gave $2,1 I I
to the Baptist Indian Missions of California. He is on the board of the
Nipinimuwsa Mission in Mariposa County, and he has been furnishing the
money to build the mission. The Indians call him Big Chief, and clap him
on the back', for all that he does for them. An Indian girl of the Mono tribe,
named Miks Mattie Jackson, has been taken into the family of Mr. Williams.
and attends the New Hope School, where he is a trustee. At the thirty-eighth
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2303
annual session of the San Joaquin Valley Baptist Association, held in the
Fowler Baptist Church, from April 30 to May 3, 1918, Mr. Williams delivered
a stirring address. Another key-note address was delivered by Mr. Williams
at Tulare, on the occasion of the Thirty-ninth Session, April 15, 1919, and
his words are truly prophetic of that better day which Christian people have
looked forward to ever since the days of Christ — a kingdom of love and right-
eousness, which is surely dawning.
GEORGE CLYDE MARRIOTT.— One of the more recent comers to
the Laguna de Tache is George Clyde Marriott who was born in Van Buren
County, Iowa, November 26, 1873. He is at present renting the Harlan
Ranch, while waiting to take possession of the fine eighty-acre ranch a
quarter of a mile north of Linn station on the Hanford and Summit Lake
Railway, which he purchased in January, 1919. He is the youngest son of
William S-, and Lizzie (Alfrey), Marriott, well-known in Van Buren County,
Iowa. The father having reached an age of seventy-six, is living retired at
Bentonsport, Iowa, after a lifetime of hard work as a farmer. The parents
were married near Bentonsport. Mr. Marriott's mother who was born in
Clark County, Mo., is also still living. Five children were born to the parents,
namely: William L., who is a farmer, near Bentonsport, Iowa; Thomas J.,
resides at Yale, Carroll County, Mo., where he is a farmer; Emma who is the
wife of F. A. Cross and resides in Colorado ; George Clyde, who is the sub-
ject of this sketch, and Annie, who is the wife of Col. C. C. Beer, of Kings-
burg, Cal.
G. C. Marriott grew up on his father's eighty-acre farm and attended the
public schools of Van Buren County, Iowa. At the age of twenty-five he was
married to Miss Hannah S. De Hart, who was born and reared in the same
county, and was a daughter of Albert De Hart, who owned a fine 200-acre
farm and was very prominent in public matters in his own county and town-
ship. After marriage George Clyde Marriott farmed his father-in-law's farm
for two years ; then went to Oklahoma where he filed on a claim, but moved
back to Iowa the next year and bought a farm and farmed it for two years
when he sold it and moved to Nebraska, but after one year moved back again
to Iowa and farmed for several years until he came to California in the year
1907. He settled on the Laguna de Tache September 1, 1907, only after a
careful examination of. Northern California by driving, camping out, observ-
ing and interviewing. He is well satisfied with the Laguna de Tache where
he is taking a rank among its most influential and successful ranchers. He
sold a fine thirty-acre ranch lying three miles west of Laton, in 1914, after
improving it. He has owned other lands and farmed successfully ever since
coming to the grant. The old pioneer, Elisha Harlan, died in February, 1919,
and Mr. Marriott is ably running the Harlan ranch at the present time. Mr.
and Mrs. Marriott have become the parents of four children : Albert Blaine,
who is a senior in the Riverdale high school ; Ivan O'Keith who is a junior
and Loretta May. Juineta, next to the youngest was born and died in Cali-
fornia. Though not a blind partisan Mr. Marriott adheres to the principles of
the Republican Party ; Mr. and Mrs. Marriott and family are members of
the Church of the Brethren.
FRANK EDGAR ABBOTT. — A native son of California who has worked
himself up by his own exertions from the bottom of the ladder to a position
of influence and trust is Frank Edgar Abbott, born at Sanger, Fresno
County, Cal., September 21, 1890. He was reared in Los Angeles and received
his education in the public schools, which he supplemented later in life by
completing a course in the International Correspondence School. When a
lad of nine years he began paddling his own canoe and contributed to the
support of his family. He first worked at anything he cauld get to do, then
followed ranch work, driving a ten-mule team in Southern California, and
also a season in Yuba County, then he worked in the mines near Mojave;
2304 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
where he also drove a ten-horse team; he also worked at dairying and rode
after cattle. In Los Angeles he entered the employ of the Los Angeles Saddle
and Finding Company, learned collar-making; he began at $7.00 a week and
when he quit was receiving $26.00.
In 1909 he concluded to try his luck in the oil fields, so on August 2,
1909, he came to Coalinga and entered the employ of the Standard Oil Com-
pany, on Section 28 in the gas engine department and during the nine months
he was never off the lease, for after his day's work of ten hours was over he
worked learning tool dressing and at the end of that time he was promoted
to tool dresser which he continued for eighteen months ; then he became a
driller and worked in the production department until August 15, 1918. when
he was promoted to foreman of the Continental on Section 2 for the Standard
Oil Company, in the Coalinga department, since which time he has had
charge of and built up the lease, drilling new wells, as well as the production
of twenty-one wells. He has always put in long hours and by study, research
and close application he has won an assured position for himself.
His maternal grandfather, Jesse Reed Edgar, was born in Tennessee, he
married Elizabeth Ragsdale. a native of Kentucky. The\r migrated from
Arkansas to California in 1859, crossing the plains with ox teams, and locat-
ing at what is now Sanger, Fresno County, where he owned 500 acres, a part
of it is now the city of Sanger. Here he raised stock and followed freighting
until his death. Their daughter, Mattie. was a year old when they crossed the
plains and she well remembers and converses well of the early days of
Centerville and Sanger; she joined her son Frank in Coalinga in 1910, and
since then presides over his home. He is very good and kind to his mother
and she is equally solicitous for his welfare.
Mr. Abbott, in about 1913, was sent by the Standard to the Fresno Fair,
where he installed a miniature oil farm as a part of their exhibit in the sales
department, which he had charge of during the fair. The farm as well as the
exhibit caused favorable comment and attracted much attention. He was
made a Mason in 1913 in Coalinga Lodge No. 387, F. & A. M., and is also a
member of Coalinga Chapter No. 114, R. A. M. His interest in educational
work is manifested as a trustee at Max Station school district.
N. PETER JENSEN. — An enterprising business man who thoroughly
understands the responsible work he has for years undertaken, that of build-
ing and repairing public roads, and whose civic pride has inspired him to
develop one of the most attractive of home places, is N. Peter Jensen, the
kind-hearted and liberal Danish-American so popular with everybody since
he first came to Fresno County in the middle eighties. He was born in Fyen,
Denmark, in 1877, the son of Soren Jensen, a native of that country who
was married there to Carrie Hansen. In 1883 Soren Jensen came out to Cali-
fornia on a kind of prospecting tour, and he spent the first year in Fresno
Colony; then he passed a year in San Luis Obispo, in the employ of Steele
Bros., but later he returned to Fresno County. His wife and family of three
children joined him in 1886, and the next year he bought a ranch in West
Park. Here began his experiments in viticulture on a ranch of ten acres;
and when he had progressed somewhat, he bought twenty acres more, so
that eventually he owned thirty fine acres. These he managed until 1908,
when he sold out and retired to a quiet life with his children. Six years later.
full of years and honors, respected and liked by everyone, he died, having al-
most reached his seventy-second year. Mrs. Jensen, who passed away in
1910. was the mother of three children: Sena, who became Mrs. H. P. Lar-
sen and resides in the Pomona school district ; X. Peter, of this sketch ;
M anus, a rancher in Barstow, — and all are worthy of the family name.
Brought up in.Denmark until he came to America and Fresno County,
Peter attended the public schools of West Park, and from a lad helped in
the vineyard, assisting his father until he was twenty years old. Arriving at
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2307
the threshold of manhood, he began to do for himself; and then, buying a
farm outfit, with a harvester and eight mules, he leased land from the Bank
of Central California. He put his hand to the plow in vigorous fashion, and
soon he was planting some 2,000 acres to grain. This decidedly extensive
farm he ran for three years, and although he harvested good crops, wheat
was sold at such a low figure that he could realize no profit, and finding that
his labor was in vain, he quit and turned to other fields.
He then engaged in contract work, undertaking to level and check lands ;
and he found plenty to do in Vinland, Empire, Barstow and other colonies,
so that he continued in that line for four years. Then he bought a ranch in
the Barstow Colony — forty acres of raw land requiring hard work in leveling
and checking to make it ready for alfalfa-growing — and a fifteen-acre orchard
of peaches. This time he was permitted to see a reward for his industry, and
once more was on the road to prosperity.
In the meantime Mr. Jensen had continued contract-leveling and check-
ing, until he was appointed road-overseer under Chris Torgensen, in January,
1907 ; and this position he has held to everybody's satisfaction ever since. He
used to work fifty-two head of mules on the roads, but lately he has been
using two caterpillars in this district — a Holt of forty-five horsepower, and
another of seventy-five. He also uses a truck and eight to ten horses. He
works from the highway west for five miles beyond Kerman and from the
river to McMullen Station. These caterpillars are owned by the county, and
their use and upkeep alone involve care and responsibility. When Mr. Jensen
took office, the roads were poor in this section ; and since then the best have
been constructed, usually at the rate of about forty miles each winter. In
1916 he worked about 220 miles of road, and in 1917 a good 250, and more
each year, so that now he may point with pride to the excellent highwavs con-
structed under his supervision.
Having a chance to sell his forty-acre ranch at a good profit in 1907,
Mr. Jensen did so, and the following year he bought his present home place
of the same size, one mile south of Barstow. This he has devoted to vineyard
purposes, setting out the vines himself; and he has thirty acres of Thompson
seedless. He has also purchased another forty acres across the road, and most
of this he has planted to alfalfa, reserving twelve acres for a vineyard of
Thompson's. A member of the California Associated Raisin Company, Mr.
Jensen both profits from the experience of others and contributes somewhat
himself to the general advancement of California husbandry.
While at West Park, Mr. Jensen was married to Mary Stahl, a charming
lady from Iowa; and for years he has maintained a happy home typical of
Californian hospitality.
VICTOR ROBERTS.— Victor Roberts was born near St. Aux Bar-
ragues, Hautes-Alpes, France, September 25, 1854. His father, Robert Roberts,
was a stone-mason by trade and followed contracting and building. He married
Julia Seinturier and they had a family of four children of whom Victor is the
oldest. He came to Chicago, 111., when seventeen, arriving in March, 1873, and
was in the employ of Armour and Company. In January, 1874, he removed to
Wisconsin, where he was employed at sawmilling and lumbering for two years,
his wages being $12.00 per month. On account of the confusion in his name,
people insisting on writing it Robert Victor he added an s to his family name,
making it Roberts.
In April, 1876, he came to San Francisco, Cal., and in July of the same
year to Hollister where he was employed by a sheep man and drove a band of
sheep into the Cholame country in San Luis Obispo County and later into
Madera and Fresno Counties. It was in 1877, that he came with a flock to Huron
— to ship from the end of the new railroad. He drove a stage in 1879 from
Parkfield to Soledad for one year. Having saved some money he concluded to
settle down. In 1882 he located his present place — a preemption — of 160 acres
and afterwards homesteaded 160 acres, the beginning of his present large hold-
2308 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ings in Jacolitos Canyon. He engaged in cattle raising in which he was very
successful adding to his possessions until he now owns 4,000 acres on Jacolitos
Creek for a distance of about seven miles. This he has fenced and cross-fenced
and devoted to raising cattle, hogs and horses. Jacolitos Ranch, as he has named
it, is well watered by numerous springs and is a most excellent stock ranch. Mr.
Roberts is able to graze over 300 head of cattle on his range ; his brand is VR con-
nected and he is a member of the California Cattle Growers Association.
Jacolitos Canyon is an old historical place in Fresno County and has been
the scene of many interesting incidents. The Indians from Tulare Lake came
here to hunt deer and bear and to gather acorns and red clover; they built small
lints, which they thatched with tules. "When the Sonorans or Mexicans came
they found these little huts and named the creek Jacolitos, meaning "little huts."
It was at one time the rendezvous of Vasques, who had a cabin built of mud
and sticks close to the creek and here he lived with Old Mariana and from this
point they made raids to the Salinas, as well as the San Joaquin valleys for
bunches of cattle, and on their return would feast on them. They also had gar-
dens where they raised vegetables and melons. This was during the latter part
of Vasques career arid the remains of the hut are still here.
August 30, 1885, on the Jacolitos, Mr. Roberts was married at the home
of the bride, Miss Addie Frame, born at Copperopolis, Cal., the daughter of
James Frame, a pioneer of Jacolitos Creek country. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have
six children. Zilpha, Mrs. Arthur Bennett, who are ranching on the Jacolitos ;
Hugo, who served in the United States Naval Reserves, is a graduate of San
Luis Obispo Polytechnic and is a cattle-grower on the Jacolitos ; Ernest is in the
United States Navy; Velma and Vera, twins, Velma is Mrs. Charles Eastland
of Coalinga, and Vera is a graduate nurse and resides in San Jose ; and Robert
is attending Coalinga Union High School. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have a com-
fortable home and, being liberal entertainers, Jacolitos Ranch is known for its
hospitality and good cheer.
HERMAN H. GREVE. — At the mouth of the Salt Creek in Warthan
Canyon lies the ranch of Mr. and Mrs. Herman H. Greve nicely located in
the foothills of the Coast Range. Mr. Greve was bom in Priest Valley,
Monterey County, May 6, 1886. His father, Paul Greve, was born in Ger-
many and was raised a farmer's boy; there he married Sophia Abell and soon
afterwards the young couple came to California. For a time they farmed
near Hollister, and then became pioneers of Priest Valley, where they home-
steaded land and engaged in farming and stock-raising, and there Paul Greve
died. He is survived by his wife, who still resides on the old homestead.
However the home ranch is now owned by four of the sons who tenderly
care for the aged mother, seeing she is comfortable and well cared for. Ten
children born to this worthy couple grew up and are as follows: Annie, Mrs.
St. John, lives near San Francisco; Hannah, Mrs. Thomas Himmih of King
City; Lena, Mrs. E. L. Arnold, lives in Coalinga; Emma was Mrs. Brummell
and she died in Kin-' City; Paul, one of the Greve Brothers, is a rancher near
the old home; Joseph also interested in Greve Brothers, is a rancher in the
same vicinity, Martin S. of Greve Brothers, is engineer at Station 2, Asso-
ciated l'ipe Line; Herman H. is the subject of this review; Bertha, resides
with her mother; while Harry II. is a cattle grower on Salt Creek, Fresno
County.
Herman 11. grew up on the Priest Valley ranch and from a boy learned
to ride the range and to rope and brand cattle, at the same time receiving a
good education in the school of his home district. Two years after his
father's death, which occurred in 1898, he, with his brothers Paul, Joseph
and Martin, as Greve Brothers, engaged in stockraising and farming on the
old home place and in time became the owners of the ranch which is still in
their name. In 1907 Herman 11. located a homestead on Salt Creek in
Warthan Canyon, and this he improved and engaged in stock-raising on his
own account, using the brand II. X. combined.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2309
In Fresno, October 17, 1907, Mr. Greve was united in marriage with Miss
Ella M. Grant, who was born in Martin Township, Allegan County, Mich.
Her parents, Jesse T. and Martha (O'Conner) Grant, natives of Pennsylvania,
were farmers in Allegan Count}7, where the mother died ; her father now
resides in Fresno County. The two children born of this marriage, Mrs.
Herman H. Greve and Clara G., Mrs. M. S. Greve, both live in Fresno
County. Mr. Greve came to Fresno County in 1910 and seeing the value and
importance of owning land he located a homestead — their present home on
Salt Creek — which is now well improved and where they have a comfortable
home of 520 acres, beside Mr. Greve's old homestead adjoining the ranch.
Besides this Mr. Greve leases land in Warthan Canyon upon which he raises
grain. He has had much experience in road building and for several years
has been overseer of roads, his district being from Alcalde to the Monterey
County line, a distance of twenty miles. To this position he gives the same
close attention that he does to his- own business and sees to it that the roads
in his district are kept in good shape. The result of the union of Herman
Greve and Ella Grant is one child, a son named Dale Herman Greve. In
national politics Mr. Greve is a stanch Republican.
JOHN W. RUBLE. — A successful rancher of Fresno County is John W.
Ruble, who resides one mile west of Laton, and who, for the past sixteen
years, has farmed, with the most up-to-date apparatus, on the Laguna de
Tache. He was born at Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pa., on' December 8,
1859, the son of John and Annie (Lawver) Ruble, both natives of Pennsyl-
vania and descendants of early settlers there. Although popularly called
Pennsylvania Dutch, the forebears of the family really came from England,
where they were farmers.
John W. is the tenth child in a family of four girls and seven boys, all
of whom were endowed with hardy physiques, and each of whom, save those
who died, has attained to some success. Lewis Ruble, a brother, who died
two years ago, was steward on the Mifflin County Farm for a quarter of a
century ; and the oldest brother, Isaac L., was a locomotive engineer on the
railways until he was sixty-five, when he was automatically retired on ac-
count of the age limit. He is now seventy-five and lives at Lewistown. Two
brothers are also in California; George F., a grocer at Berkeley: and Aaron,
a rancher near Chico. A brother died in infancy, and another died from the
effects of a fall in his barn. Of the four sisters, one died when young, and
the second in the order of birth passed away in her thirtieth year, leaving a
husband, Will Wagner, and four children, at Halstead, Kans. The other
sisters are Mary Jane, the widow of Frank Roth, who resides at Monticello,
Ind.. and Susie, the wife of M. H. Carter, of Sawyer, Kans.
John W. Ruble grew up on his father's farm at Mifflin, and went to
school during the winters. After his father's death in 1883, he bade good-bye
to the old home and, with his mother and a sister, settled in Pratt County,
Kans., where he took a preemption and proved up. Three years later in that
county he was married to Miss Dora E. Flint, a native of Ireland. Ind.. and
the daughter of John and Nancy (Brittain) Flint. Mrs. Ruble came to Kan-
sas, a single woman of twenty-four, took a preemption claim in Barber
County and proved up on it. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Ruble moved
to Greeley County, Kans., and while homesteading land lived there for seven
years, and there their four children were born : Alice, Wilbur, Anna and
jerry L. In this western part of the state drought devastated their land and
they lost all that they had. Then they moved to Ordway, Colo., thence to
La Junta, thence to Rocky Ford, and there they did well, buying and culti-
vating fifteen acres.
In 1903 the family came out to California and settled in Laton, where
Mr. Ruble bought sixty-two and a half acres, on which he has made all the
improvements ; and now he has thirty acres set to peach, pear, prune and
2310 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
apricot trees, and a fine vineyard of grapes. For a while he ran a dairy, but
now he is cultivating prunes. He also has a few cows, of the Holstein breed,
and some poultry. By steady work Mr. and Mrs. Ruble have prospered, and
as fast as they were aide, they have shared that prosperity with their chil-
dren. Alice is a graduate from the business college at Rocky Ford, Colo. ;
her husband is Roy H. Hampton, an orchardist and dairyman, and they own
sixty acres west of Mr. Ruble's, and have two children. Wilbur was a student
in the third year of the Laton High School when he received an appointment
at Annapolis; and entering there on July 4, 1910. he was graduated four years
later. He married Miss Mildred Larkins. of Brooklyn, X. Y. During the late
war he served on Admiral Robison's staff on the flagship Chicago, and when
Admiral Robison was sent to Europe. Wilbur was chosen as his aid, and in-
spected forts, war vessels, etc. He is now taking a two-years' postgraduate
course in radio and electrical engineering. Anna married Mr. Ted Haskell of
Kingsburg, also a successful rancher and orchardist. She was a graduate of
Laton High School and an accomplished pianist. Jerry L. Ruble, is an in-
structor in the government veterinary training-schools. He was made Cap-
tain in August. 1918; he came home on a furlough and was married at Kings-
burg on August 3, 1919, to Miss Elda Odessa' Trent, of Laton. a graduate of
the University of California, and a teacher. The young couple will go to
Atlanta, Ga., where Captain Ruble is stationed. All these children, in their
honorable and serviceable careers, well maintain the traditions of Mrs. Ru-
ble's father, John O. Flint, of Du Bois County, Ind.. who fought for the Union
during three years of the Civil War, and afterward displayed a useful citizen-
ship.
Mr. Ruble is a loyal Democrat in national politics, and in local affairs
he votes for the best measures.
HENRY ST. GEORGE L. HOPKINS, M. D.— For over thirty-three
years a resident of Fresno and a practicing physician in the city and county,
the name of Dr. H. St. George Hopkins was very well and widely known.
A gentleman of stately presence and charming manner, he belonged to a
type now passing. Of unusual attainments, he held wherever he lived, various
important public offices. He was. for a term, president of the County Med-
ical Society, and from 1892 to 1896 was County Health Officer, and in that
capacity started a movement for the erection of a drinking fountain at the
Mariposa Street entrance to the court house park. The sum of $1,000 was
collected by the Salvation Army for the purpose, and since then countless
hundreds have been refreshed by the boy with the dripping boot. Dr. Hop-
kins was United States Pension Examiner for twenty years, and at the time
of his death was Secretary of the Pension Bureau.
In 1900, although sixty-six years of age, the doctor, with characteristic
courage, joined the onrushing gold-seekers who were bound for Nome,
Alaska, where for a few months he practiced his profession and also served as
health officer, returning to his Fresno home in the fall of the same year.
Dr. Hopkins was a life-long Episcopalian and was an honored member of
Stirling Price Cam]) of Confederate Yeterans in Fresno.
Henry St. George Lyons Hopkins was a brother of the late Commodore
William E. Hopkins. U S. X.. and related to distinguished families of the
South. He was born October 21, 1834, on the ancestral estate of "Page
Brook," near Winchester. Va., his mother being Abby Byrd Page: hi- father,
John Hopkins, born at "Mill and Dale." the Hopkins plantation in Yirginia.
was an eminent lawyer in the courts of the state. The grandfather of St.
George Hopkins, was John Hopkins, a Colonel in the Army of the Revolu-
tion, commanding the Third Virginia Regiment. Before the Declaration of
Independence, John Hopkins was "Receiver of Titles and Monies" under the
Georges, for that country then known as the Great Northwestern Territory.
J/sJwL>.s/*h£i«, fa/fi
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2313
Young Hopkins received his early education in private schools and the
University of Virginia. Entering the University of Pennsylvania, he was
graduated from that college with both the academic and medical degrees in
1855. After eighteen months as hospital interne he was employed by the
Government on detached service as surgeon in the North Atlantic passenger
service between New York and Liverpool, which post he filled for three years.
Then, in 1859, he went to Philadelphia where he engaged in the practice of
his profession. Of Southern birth and fighting stock, when the Civil War
broke out young Dr. Hopkins returned at once to his native state and en-
listed as a private in Company H, Twenty-seventh Virginia Infantry, com-
manded by Captain Kertz, and known as the Stonewall Brigade. True to
his ancestry he was a gallant soldier, and for meritorious service was pro-
moted to the rank of major and attached to the staff of General William
Pendleton, Chief of Artillery. He was transferred to the Second Virginia
Battalion of Artillery, and then to the Third Virginia Battalion of Artillery ;
then to Third North Carolina Battalion of Artillery, Colonel William P. Nel-
son commanding, on staff of Major-General D. H. Hill ; transferred to medical
department by order of General R. E. Lee. Here he was surgeon in charge
of ambulance corps, and in charge of General Hospital No. 19, Richmond,
Va. He was one of the corps of medical officers to regulate operations in
the field, Surgeon of the Bureau of Exchange, and Chief Surgeon on the
staff of Major-General Daniel Ruggles of the Middle Medical Department.
He surrendered at Atlanta, Ga., to General LTpton, U. S. A.
Dr. Hopkins had his share of narrow escapes, and experienced life in
an army prison. He was with Stonewall Jackson when the General was
killed, and a bullet struck the watch in a pocket over the doctor's heart ; al-
ways thereafter he treasured that bullet and watch, together with the sword
he had carried through the war. For services rendered the cause Dr. Hopkins
received the rare Confederate Cross of Honor, and with most justifiable
pride wore it the remainder of his life. It went with him to his grave in the
family plot in Mountain View Cemetery.
After the war Dr. Hopkins went to Baltimore where he resumed the
regular practice of medicine and surgery, and where, in 1866, he married
Miss Katherine Dunnington, a lady noted for her beauty and amiable qual-
ities. With his family he removed, in 1870, to Virginia City, Nev., and figured
in the stirring events attending the frenzied excitement of the Comstock
Discoveries. From Nevada the doctor took his family to Oakland, Cal., in
1878, and there, two years later, his wife died leaving four children: Page,
of Sonoma County; Frank Dunnington, who, with the rank of Captain has
creditably followed family tradition with the American forces in France and
Germany; Mary M. Alexander of Washington, D. C. ; and Alice H., wife of
A. A. Brigstocke of Reedley, Cal. In the spring of 1881 Dr. Hopkins came
to Fresno, bringing his children, and in 1885 was wedded to Miss Annie M.
Foster, elder daughter of John and Lydia Foster, whose history appears else-
where in this work. Of this marriage were born three sons. Henry Lyons,
who is Boy Scout Executive for Fresno ; Wilson Foster, who passed away
May 28, 1915, at the age of twenty-five; and George Hart, who was graduated
from the University of Nevada with the class of 1919.
Owing to the death in 1896 of Mrs. Hopkins' only sister, Mrs. Emma
Rogers, who had been living with their widowed mother, the doctor with
his wife and three young sons, and his daughter Alice, took up his residence
in the Foster family home at 1327 K Street. There he lived till May 25, 1914.
when his demise at the age of eighty years removed from the city of Fresno
one of its most impressive characters, a dignified, genial, courtly gentleman
of the old school.
2314 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
W. FLANDERS SETCHEL.— Bom in London, England. September
15, 1882. \Y. Flanders Setchel was a son of William Samuel and Lavina ( Cross-
ley) Setchel. Both parents are still living at Peterborough, Northampton-
shire, England. The father is a well-known mechanical engineer, who has
given years of service to the English Government, and who, during the late
war, was particularly active in the service of Great Britain, and who holds
many important positions of a public character. To the parents have been
born three children : George, who is a public accountant in London ; W.
Flanders, the subject of this sketch ; and Lavina, who is the wife of Walter
Bunney whose father is a merchant prince of Liverpool.
W. Flanders Setchel was taught by a private tutor and took special
courses in a London college until he was eighteen, and later became a student
of the City of London College, qualifying himself for the profession of public
accountant, specializing in commercial law, banking and economics. In 1910,
on account of ill health. Mr. Setchel came to the United States and a short
time later arrived in California, and settled in Fresno, where he soon re-
covered his normal health. He was so favorably impressed with the climatic
conditions that he decided to make Fresno his home.
Mr. Setchel began buying and selling vineyards throughout the county.
and has been very successful. He organized the Setchel Fruit Company in
1915, and became actively interested in the packing and shipping of fresh
fruits. The company was later incorporated with Mr. Setchel as president
and manager. This corporation owns and controls about 1.200 acres of vine-
yards and has its own packing-houses at Setch. Wahtoke, Minkler, Melvin,
Sanger, Clovis and Lacjac in Fresno County: Hardwick in Kings County: one
at Modesto, another at Lodi in San Joaquin County: all specially equipped
to handle the packing of fresh fruits. Each year the company has doubled
its business of the preceding year. To accommodate its rapidly expanding
business, this company has taken a suite of offices on the third floor of the
Griffith-McKenzie Building in Fresno. Mr. Setchel is also president of the
Valley Fruit Growers* Association of Fresno, which organization has 4.000
members, and controls 300,000 acres of fruit.
.Mr. Setchel was married at Oakland, on March 21, 1917, to Mrs. Minnie
Carver-Wilson, of Fresno. He is a member of the Sequoia, Commercial, and
Sunnyside Country Clubs of Fresno, and of the Commonwealth Club of San
Francisco. He manifests his public spirit by supporting all projects for the
development of Fresno County, wherein he has won recognition as an up-
builder.
HENRY H. WILLIAMS.— An oil man widely experienced in every de-
partment of the development and production of oil in this and in foreign countries
is Henry H. Williams, who holds a responsible position in Coalinga and has
become one of its prominent and influential citizens. He was born in Lagro, Wa-
bash County, Ind., on February 10, 1877, the son of Charles A. Williams, a native
of Indiana, of Welsh descent, who was a real estate man and died in the scene of
his later activities. He had married Mahala Heaston, who was born in Indiana
and now resides at Marion, in that state, the mother of three children, two girls
and a boy, all of whom have grown up. The Williams family are traced back to
Massachusetts, 1635; members of the family served in the Colonial and Revolu-
tionary wars.
Brought up in Indiana, Henry attended the public school at Marion, and
when sixteen began work in the oil fields, commencing at the bottom round of
the ladder. As a driller he was with the Standard Oil Company from the middle
of his teens, until he was sent by them to Rumania, in 1903, at the beginning of
their work there. He continued with them for four years, and in 1907 returned
to Indiana.
The following year he came out to California and Coalinga, and was em-
ployed on Section 2 as a driller. At the end of the year, however, he went to
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2315
Peru, South America, and worked as a driller at Negritos, for the London Pacific
Petroleum Company, now owned by the Standard Oil Company. Partly through
his expert work, they were fortunate in striking oil, and he remained there for
two years.
In 1911 he returned to Coalinga and entered the employ of the Canadian
Coalinga Oil Company, where he was superintendent of drilling for about a year.
In 1912 he resigned and again engaged as a driller for the Standard Oil Company,
on Section 28; and after five years he was advanced to assistant superintendent
of the producing department of Coalinga district which occupies all of his time
and to the success of which he gives his best efforts.
At Bucharest, Rumania, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Goldie Daugh-
erty, a native of Pittsburg, Pa. The happy couple now have two children : Marita,
who was born in Rumania, and Harry, who is a native son of the Golden West.
TRUMAN L. VOORHEES.— A well-known and highly respected citizen
of Tranquillity, who has not only improved a good alfalfa farm but has attained
success in two different fields — that of the manufacture of brooms, pronounced
the best made on the Coast, and the cultivation of bees — is Truman L. Voorhees,
born in Buchanan, Berrien County, Mich., on May 20, 1863. His father
was James Brown Voorhees, a native of New York and a cooper by trade, who
brought his family to Jefferson County, Kans., in 1864, and located on a farm
north of Lawrence. He improved the land and contracted to manufacture bar-
rels. In 1872 he removed to Chase County and bought and improved a farm
there. He married Lydia Stoddard, a native daughter of Ohio, and they had six
children, three of whom are still living. Both parents died in Oklahoma. Tru-
man, one of two in California, is the second youngest of the family.
Brought up in Kansas, he attended the public schools and then remained
home to work and help until he was twenty-three. He was first married in Elk
County, Kans., to Miss Nellie Phelps, a native of that State, after which he re-
moved to .Florissant, Colo., and Cripple Creek, where he engaged in lumbering
and mining. Mrs. Voorhees died in Colorado and left five children : Essie M. is
Mrs. Higginson of Colorado; James A. served in the United States Army in
France ; Betsy A., now Mrs. Wight; Nellie M. ; and Roy Turner Voorhees, all
of Colorado.
After removing to Lincoln, Okla., Mr. Voorhees was married again, orT Feb-
ruary 12, 1894, to Miss Elma D. Funk, a native of Kansas. Then he leased land
and engaged in the raising of cotton and broom-corn. He established a well-
equipped factory, and soon made a name as a manufacturer of brooms. Then,
in 1905, he removed to California and settled at Dos Palos, where he bought
fourteen acres of raw land, which he improved to alfalfa. He followed dairying
and also continued the manufacture of brooms, winning a reputation for high-
grade goods.
In 1912 he sold out and located in Tranquillity, where he bought forty acres
of raw land, which he leveled and checked for alfalfa. He also set up a dairy.
He is now leasing the ranch, while he is raising broom-corn and once more mak-
ing brooms, which he sells in Fresno and throughout the San Joaquin Valley, dis-
posing of them by means of a truck, only in wholesale quantities. In addition to
this important industry, Mr. Voorhees is interested in bee-culture, and has an
apiary of fifty colonies which produce superior honey. He also deals extensively
in poultry and eggs, and has some 350 choice fowls, so that a visit to his home
ranch is sure to stimulate one's ambition.
Of the second marriage of Mr. Voorhees there were eight children : Clo,
now Mrs. John L. Hart, of Jamison ; Glen, who was an apiarist here, and who
died at the age of twenty-one, on November 15, 1918; Arthur, in the garage bus-
iness in Tranquillity; and Blanche, Mattie, Paul, Irene, and Leslie, all at home.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Voorhees are members of the Church of Christ at Tran-
quillity.
2316 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
S. JOHN HEIBERG. — Among Fresno's other successful industries is
the Fresno Brewery, the only institution of its kind between San Francisco and
Los Angeles. Its large business is due to a very considerable extent to the effi-
ciency of its enterprising superintendent and brewing master, S. John Heiberg.
Mr. Heiberg was born in Viborg, Denmark, May 11, 1880, and is the son of Dr.
P. W. and Minna Heiberg, both of whom are living.
We generally think of Denmark in connection with the dairy industry, as
it has a world-wide reputation for the excellency of the products of its dairy ;
but that they have also brought to a high degree of perfection the art of brewing
is evidenced by the fact that it was in the city of Copenhagen that Mr. Heiberg
learned the brewing business. He received his education in the very excellent
schools of Denmark, which are quite as noted for thoroughness as the schools of
their neighbor, Germany. After finishing school he began his life work, taking
up the business of brewer and mastering it in its minutest details. He learned
the business in Munich and Copenhagen in the old country, completing it
in the American city of Chicago, becoming an expert in the line of master
brewer, after which he was with the Conrad Seipp Brewing Company in the
latter city as assistant superintendent and brewing master. In March, 1912, he
came to Fresno and assumed his present position. Since taking charge of the
Fresno Brewery he has made many and costly improvements in the brewery,
among others the installation of a complete laboratory in which he makes all his
own tests.
His marriage, November 2, 1901, united him with Miss Zenia Schultz, and
they are the parents of three children, Ellie, Asta, and Peter W.
In his religious convictions Mr. Heiberg is a member of the Danish Lutheran
Church. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Woodmen of the
World as well as being connected with the Danish Brotherhood and the Benev-
olent and Protective Order of Elks.
J. A. SCHLOTTHAUER.— One of the prime movers in the organization
of the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers Association is J. A. Schlotthauer.
He and his wife worked hard to lay aside a certain competency; and one of
their first investments was a course for both in a business college. Now Mr.
Schlotthauer, ably assisted by his wife, has made for himself an enviable
reputation as an orchardist and viticulturist who both understands how to
grow and how to sell.
Mr. Schlotthauer was born in Marion County, Kans., on September 17,
1881, the son of the Rev. George Adam Schlotthauer, who was a clergyman
of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In 1889 he removed with his family
to the State of Washington and settled near Colfax, in the Palouse country,
where he farmed at the same time that he preached the Gospel. In 1903 he
came to California and bought twenty acres near Easton in Fresno County.
He set out a vineyard and an orchard, and he still remained faithful in his
ministry. He had three charges — at Exeter, Dinuba and Fresno — and when
he passed away, at Visalia in October, 1914, he was mourned by many who
had profited through his unselfish life. Mrs. Schlotthauer was Maria K.
Schmidt before her marriage, and she resides in Exeter. She is the mother
of ten children, all of whom are still living.
J. A. Schlotthauer, the fourth child in the family, received the foundation
of his education at the public schools, after which he early went to work, so
that from a lad he helped his father on the home farm. Then he engaged
in wheat raising with his brother and for that purpose leased 800 acres of
land. While at Colfax. Wash., he was married to Lydia Schreiber, who was
born in Nebraska; and after their marriage he and his wife attended Walla
Walla College for a year.
In 1904 he located at Biola, in Fresno County, where he bought forty acres
df raw land, and soon set out a vineyard and planted alfalfa. Three years later
he sold out at a profit, and then lie removed to the vicinity of Exeter, where he
bought 105 acres on the Kaweah River, where lie engaged in dairying and stock-
^
^
1>
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2319
raising for four years, when he again sold out at a profit. He then entered
Heald's Business College at Fresno, where he took a business course, after which
he located in Tulare County, farming there until he bought his present place at
Barstow. This included eighty acres bought on January 22, 1914, only nine of
which were improved; and there he set out thirty-one acres in Thompson seed-
less grapes, five acres of Elberta peaches, fifteen acres of peaches and figs inter-
set, fifteen acres in figs and the balance in apricots, with an orange grove of two
acres now in bearing. Mr. Schlotthauer also owns eighty acres at Caruthers,
sixty of which are set out to peaches and twenty to apricots ; and besides man-
aging these properties, he is engaged in general contracting for leveling and
checking lands.
One child, Harold, has blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Schlotthauer. Mr.
Schlotthauer is a member of the Woodmen of the World; the Adventist Church
and clerk of the board, and while in Tulare County was trustee of the Venice
school district. He is also a member of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and
the California Associated Raisin Company, and he helped to organize the Fresno
Cooperative Dairyman's Association, acting as its first secretary. Out of it grew
the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers' Association, of which he is a member
and its first secretary.
CONRAD H. NILMEIER.— In the life of this successful rancher of the
Biola district is shown what can be accomplished by strong hands and a
keen mind, coupled with perseverance and energy, judicious management,
and strict integrity. C. H. Nilmeier was born in Stepnoski, Samara, Russia,
October 25, 1874, the son of Conrad and Kathrina (Kerber) Nilmeier, both
now deceased, the former in 1908, and the latter in 1880.
The second oldest in a family of five born to his parents, C. H. was
educated in the public schools of his native province and assisted his father
on the home farm until 1898. That year marks his arrival in Fresno County.
His first employment here was for the Southern Pacific Railway, for two
years; he then went with the California Products Company and learned the
business from the bottom, and became foreman, a position he held for three
years. For one year after that he followed teaming in Fresno.
In 1904, Mr. Nilmeier bought his ranch of forty acres on Barstow Ave-
nue, Biola district. It was then raw land and he put in all the improvements
that go to make it a splendid ranch, and brought it to a high state of culti-
vation. He set out Thompson seedless vines and now has twenty acres de-
voted to that culture, the balance being in muscat grapes. He installed wells
and has built his new residence on the property, one of the finest ranches in
the district.
The marriage of Mr. Nilmeier occurred on January 15, 1895, in Russia,
and united him with Miss Katherine Horg, also born there. Eight children
brighten their home : Annie, Lillia, David, Emma, Solomon, Lizzie, Elias
and Samuel. The family attends the Zion Congregational Church in Fresno.
Mr. Nilmeier is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company. He
is a hustler, a man who does things, and his success is deservedly a matter
of pride and an example.
WILLIAM U. WALDER. — One of the oldest remaining settlers in the
Arizona district who is well-posted and interesting is William U. Walder, who
first came to California in 1888, and was fortunate to begin his career of pros-
perity in Fresno as early as 1892. He was born near East Grinstead, Sussex,
England, on May 31, 1862, the son of Walter Walder, a farmer, now retired.
He had married Harriet Uridge, a devoted wife now deceased. Seven children
were born to the worthy couple, among whom William was the oldest and is the
only one now in the United States.
Brought up on a farm, he attended the public schools of his neighborhood
and remained in his native country until he was twenty-two. Then, in 1884, he
went to New Zealand, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope; and he was fortu-
2320 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
nate, during three years of residence in Auckland, to find his health steadily im-
proving.
In 1887 he went back to England, traveling by a steamer that circled Cape
Horn; and the following year, when the effect of the great California boom was
being felt even in Europe, he came out to San Francisco by way of the Pacific.
He liked the country so well that he settled in Alameda County and there followed
landscape gardening.
He was married there to Miss Emma Evans, a native of England of Welsh
descent who had previously gone to New Zealand with a sister, where the subject
of our sketch met her. Later she traveled to Australia ; and still later came
out to California.
In 1892 Mr. Walder located in Fresno and found employment as a horticul-
turist near Centerville, where he set out orange orchards. In 1894 he went to
West Park. Four years later, he located in Arizona Colony and engaged to take
care of orchards. In 1900 he bought his present place of twenty acres on Purley
Avenue. This property was hog wallow when he purchased it ; but he set to work
energetically to level and otherwise improve it, and he built himself a comfortable
residence with well-improved grounds. He also set out a fine orchard of Elberta,
Muir and Lovell peaches ; and since then he has paid particular attention to the
study of peaches, becoming an authority upon the subject. He has raised nursery
stock and set out several orchards for others. He has long exhibited peaches at
State fairs and in chamber of commerce exhibits, and has obtained favorable
comment.
No more public-spirited citizen could be found than William Walder; for
he has not only endeavored to earn his own prosperity, but he has energetically
striven to advance the interests through which the people of Central California
and indeed throughout the state might hope to prosper. He is a member and
stockholder of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and has been so from its
organization. A Republican in matters of national politics, he is one of the first
to throw party lines to the. winds in promoting local movements designed to up-
lift the community.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Walder: Florence M., who was
a teacher, is now the wife of Elmer Johnson and lives at Armona ; Ethel J. is
teaching in this county; and George W. is attending the Fresno High School.
The family are Seventh Day Adventists and are affiliated with that church in
Fresno.
RALPH M. CUSHMAN. — An energetic rancher of good executive abil-
ity living in the Riverdale sector of Fresno County, is Ralph M. Cushtnan,
the representative of a very distinguished early Pilgrim family. 1 lis father
was Royal David Cushman, who married Ada Keiser, and he was a branch
of the State of Maine descendants of Robert Cushman, the Pilgrim who had
much to do with the migration of the early Protestant fathers to Holland,
'and later furthered the project of the migration to New England. There have
been thirteen generations of the Cushmans since their settlement in the Mas-
sachusetts Bay Colony, and our subject belongs to the twelfth. His parents
reside at the St. Helena Sanatorium. One only sister, Helen Cushman, dwells
in San Francisco.
Mr. Cushman was born at Fallon. Churchill County. New, on March 28.
1889, and came to Oakland, where he attended the Polytechnic school and Bus-
iness College. At the age of nineteen, he came here and rented for a year the
place of old "Uncle" Job Malsbury. On the settlement of the estate. Mr. Cush-
man was forced to give up his lease, and it was then that he entered the service
of Mr. Lewis. He worked by the month, stuck faithfully "on the job." and made
good and established both name and credit.
In 1911, Mr. Cushman was married to Miss Tina Lewis, the daughter of
John B. Lewis, who was a native of Bond County, 111., where he was born in
1862. Ilis father died in 1879. before which time John received the benefits of a
common school education. Remaining home until 1880. he came to California
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2321
in that year with his mother. Six years later he engaged in the stock business on
his own account in the Riverdale district, and there he lived until he purchased
forty acres, nine miles from Laton, on the west. Later he added 700 acres, much
of which he used for grazing purposes. Besides an extensive cattle business, Mr.
Lewis had a finely appointed dairy with forty cows. At Gilroy, in Santa Clara
County, he was married to Miss Nannie A. Turner, the daughter of James H.
Turner of Monterey County, who crossed the plains in 1849 and again in 1852.
He was a stockraiser and general farmer. Miss Turner became a teacher in
Fresno, Santa Clara and Butte counties, and in time the responsibility was hers
of teaching two children of her own : a son, Alfred T., and a daughter, Tina.
Mr. Lewis was always distinguished for his public-spiritedness, and among the
projects whose success was due in part to his efforts, was the building of the
Farmers' Telephone.
Mr. Cushman is now proprietor of the Altina Stock Farm, long owned by
Mr. Lewis, having made the purchase in .1914. There he has built an excellent
dairy barn 75x117 feet in size, and also a horse bam and a fine residence. He
'has built two De Laval Twin Silos, each having a capacity of 154 tons; installed
an Empire milking machine, and he owns four full-blooded Holstein bulls of the
Julian and Johanna strains. He milks every day 100 cows, and he owns 600 head
of cattle in all.
With two other persons, Mr. Cushman rents 4,000 acres of swamp land,
which is used for grazing; the other partners being Dr. Sifton and C. A. Smith,
he has also bought the old Northcraft place of 240 acres, a little north and west
of the J. B. Lewis place, and he owns and operates that in connection with the
Altina stock ranch.
Mr. Cushman is a member of the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers' Asso-
'ciation, and a director in the same ; and fraternally he belongs to the Riverdale
Odd Fellows. His is a commanding personality, and his influence is felt for
good in many lines of business, social and political endeavor.
SILVIO ZANOLINI. — A generous-hearted and public-spirited man, is
Silvio Zanolini, the pioneer butter-maker, who owns two good ranches, which
he has improved with dwelling-houses, barns and other out-buildings, and planted
to alfalfa. He runs the smaller ranch of forty acres, and rents out the larger
ranch to tenants. He has the distinction of being the first butter-maker at River-
dale, and as such was employed by "Uncle" Job Malsbury on his dairy-farm at
what is now Riverdale. He lives three miles west and one mile south of River-
dale, and he has resided thirty years in this locality.
Mr. Zanolini was born in the Canton Ticino, Switzerland, on July 28, 1859,
and remained in that country until he was fourteen, when he went to England
and there learned the trade of a watch and clock maker. He worked at Cardiff,
South Wales, from 1873 to 1S77, after which he returned to Switzerland for a
farewell visit of a couple of months. Then he started for America, sailing from
Antwerp, and after landing at New York, came right to Petaluma, Cal., where
he worked for a year on a dairy farm in Sonoma County. For four years he
worked for John Cerini in Sonoma County, and for three year.= he worked for
other folks at Bodega. He next rented a dairy farm near Salinas, but in a year
went back to Bodega. The next year when he was nineteen years old, he came
to the Riverdale section.
In partnership with Rocco S. Gobby, he rented the John's ranch for a couple
of years; but on account of the mortality among cattle due to the Texas fever,
he quit and went to work for Mr. Malsbury, who was then running a ranch and
a dairy — in fact the first butter-making establishment where Riverdale now
stands.
Our subject then bought a ranch of 178 acres immediately west of the River-
dale school house which he still owns. At first the Riverdale school was located
in the middle of his field ; but as it was desired to have the new buildings on Mt.
Whitney Avenue, Mr. Zanolini traded land, giving the school district the two
2322 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
acres where the school house now stands. He bought the old school house and
converted it into a dwelling, which he still owns.
Mr. Zanolini improved still another ranch of 120 acres, which he sold to
John Cerini three years ago. He owns stock in the Riverdale Cooperative Cream-
er)', and also in the First National Bank of Riverdale.
Public-spirited in the highest degree, and ready to advance the interests of
the community in any way that he can, Mr. Zanolini gave about four acres of
right of way for a county road, running north and south, and he also donated
money for the building of the United Brethren Church at Riverdale, as well as
the Catholic Church at Lanare, to which he belongs. As a stand-pat Republican,
he made a departure in voting for President Wilson.
Mr. Zanolini has a brother who is a large dairy farmer in Santa Rosa, and
a sister, Jacomina, now the wife of Mr. Ghidelli, a transfer man or teamster in
the Alps, who is living at Cevio, Switzerland.
Both of Mr. Zanolini's parents are dead. His father was John B., and his
mother Mary (Pedrazzi) Zanolini, each of whom was born at Linescio in the
Canton Ticino. The father was a stone-mason, contractor and builder, who
erected houses and stone-bridges and public works.
AUGUST METZLER.— A successful West Side wheat farmer and grain
grower, the owner of 100 acres at Helm, which he bought in March, 1918, is
August Metzler. He also rents the Admiral Clover ranch of 640 acres, which he
farms to grain. Here he resides with his wife, who was Miss Annie Pretzer, who
was born in Fresno County. She is a daughter of Wm. and Katie Pretzer, who
reside in the suburbs of Fresno.
Air. and Mrs. Metzler have five children: Mary, Alex, Rosa, August, and
Edward. Mr. Metzler came to Fresno County, February 10, 1907, directly from
his native home in the Valley of the Volga. He was born February 24, 1887.
in Samara, Russia, about seventy-five miles from Saratof. Of a family of four
children he and his elder brother, Peter, who lives in Fresno, grew to "manhood.
His parents were Peter and Mary Marie Metzler ; she died when August was only
seven years old. The father was a farmer and was alive three years ago, but
Mr. Metzler has not heard from him since then.
Having some relatives in Fresno County, Mr. Metzler made up his mind
to see California, so he left his home in Russia, December 29, 1906, and reached
Fresno, February 20, 1907. He started working as a farm hand, saved his money,
'and in 1909 rented the ranch where he now resides. About 100 acres of his land
is in alfalfa, and the balance he farms to wheat. Mr. Metzler uses tractor power
in most of his farming operations, owning a seventy-five horsepower Holt cater-
pillar tractor, and a combined harvester and thresher.
A. R. LE FEVRE. — One of the most highly respected citizens of Fresno
County, is A. R. Le Fevre, who resides on his well-improved sixty-acre ranch
on the North McCall Road, about four miles north of Selma. where he has re-
sided since 1900. He has recently purchased another neighboring ranch of
twenty acres which, like the home ranch, is devoted to raisin grapes, the latter
place being operated by his adopted son, John S. Le Fevre.
A. R. Le Fevre was born near Auburn, N. Y.. September 23, 1849. His
father was a wheelwright who took Josh Billings' advice and "went to Wash-
ington," D. C. Shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. he became a farmer
'at Fairfax Court House, about half way between Washington and Bull Run, and
was engaged in farming and market gardening at the time of the war. As a boy,
A. R. Le Fevre heard the roar of artillery and saw the smoke of the various
battles on Bull Run and peddled vegetables to both armies. During these terri-
ble days school was abandoned for four years, while the dangers and hardships
incident to that time and place can better be imagined than described. He grew
up on his father's farm and for two years he clerked in a store, but his main
occupation was farming at Fairfax, Ya., until he came to Fresno County, CaL,
February 1, 1888. He first settled east of Fowler and for many years was en-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2325
gaged in wheat-farming. Since coming to the present place, he has devoted him-
self to raisin-growing and has taken an active interest in cooperating with and
furthering the best interests of the raisin growers. He has become a man of
wide acquaintance and is one of the most highly respected citizens of the com-
munity because of his firm adherence to principles of right and justice and his
uncompromising attitude on matters relating to temperance. His scrupulous re-
gard for decency, truth and right, is no doubt inherited from his ancestors who
were French Huguenots who settled near Kingston in Ulster County, N. Y, about
the year 1600. He is the third child in a family of five children of Peter J. and
Sarah E. (Hutchinson) Le Fevre, the former having been born in New York
and the latter in Connecticut. Of their five children : one boy and one girl are
deceased ; one girl is Mary E. H. Flower of Long Beach, and one is Mrs. C. E.
Ross of Fowler.
A. R. Le Fevre was married at Fresno to Miss Agnes Boyd, a woman of
sterling worth and they now have a comfortable and happy home. They have
legally adopted a son, John S. Le Fevre, who is now a young man and who is
ably assisting Mr. Le Fevre in his ranching operations.
By his consistent hard work, Mr. Le Fevre has contributed much to the
material upbuilding of Fresno County.
GARABED M. NISHKIAN.— A well-educated, broad-minded, char-
itable and prominent man was Garabed M. Nishkian, the pioneer raisin-grower
who passed away four years ago leaving as his widow a very cultured and
refined woman, equally esteemed and beloved by those who know her. He
was born in the Oriental city of Erzeroum, Turkish Armenia, on August 27,
1855, a member of a noted family, and the son of Marderos Nishkian, who
was a merchant in Constantinople. He grew up to be a patriotic leader famed
in his country, and the only survivor, thirty-two years ago, of a party of fifty
which led an uprising against the Turkish atrocities. He was the onlv one
of these patriots to escape after death sentence had been passed by the Turk-
ish Government ; for in about 1883, while he even carried a copy of his death
sentence with him, he fled across the Caucasian border and finally made his
way to America, where he joined a cousin. Peter Nishkian, a chemist in the
employ of the Armour Packing Company, Kansas City, Mo. A few months
later he came to California, in 1884. and seeing the possibilities here for raisins,
he established a vineyard. Shortly after his arrival, he was photographed,
holding the death sentence in his hand, with chains on one side of him and
the American, flag as the emblem of liberty on the other; and this photograph,
with a copy of a patriotic song he had composed, he sent to his family still
in Erzeroum, a little while later arranging for the transportation here of his
mother, four brothers and a sister.
About 1890 he was married at Fresno to Miss Horopik Magaria, a native
of the same place from which he came, whose father was a large farmer and
had his headquarters in Constantinople. There she was reared and educated :
and there she has a brother who is a judge. They engaged in viticulture in
the Scandinavian Colony about 1890, continued there till 1899, when they
purchased their well-known place, devoting the forty acres to vine-growing.
It is a beautiful place on White's Bridge Road, four miles west of Fresno,
and there Mr. Nishkian passed away in December, 1915. He had been ill for
three years, and in a declining condition for several weeks, and he went to
his last rest only a few days after his mother had passed away, who had
reached the ripe old age of eighty-eight.
One of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Nishkian, Dearan. died when he
was seventeen; and at Mr. Nishkian's death, there were living his widow,
Mrs. Horopik Nishkian ; a son, Odar, who married Lucy Kaprialian, doing
service for his country overseas in the Fortieth Division, United States Army,
in France, 1918 and 1919, returning home in May of the latter year, and since
his honorable discharge is assisting his mother in the operating and manage-
2326 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ment of the ranch; a daughter, Zarouhi, who is Mrs. Metchonian of Fresno;
another son, Vaughan, who is an auto expert in Fresno; a sister, Mrs. I.
Garey; and three brothers, M. M., M. N., and K. M. Nishkian, still living in
Fresno.
Garabed M. Nishkian belonged to the Armenian Holy Trinity Church,
from which he was buried, two thousand friends attending and making the
funeral a notable occasion. The services were conducted by the Rev. V. Cas-
parian and Theodore Isaacs, and at the cemetery short speeches were made
by E. Shahinian and A. Equinian. countrymen of the deceased. A glowing
tribute was paid to the departed by E. S. Ardzrooni. The latter said in part:
"Mr. Nishkian was born in an environment where tyranny and oppression
reigned, and as early as 1881 he devoted himself to the liberation of his race,
subjugated by the Turkish rule. Thus he joined the council of seven other
leaders and launched a national policy of liberation, and though revolutionary
in principle, the real purpose of the movement aimed to awaken public intelli-
gence and through conciliatory measures reach the long-desired freedom.
With Nishkian's leadership an epochal political reform movement was at once
felt throughout the country: but however destined he seemed to play the part
of a national hero, the movement was halted, and the associates of Nishkian
were captured and put to death. Only young Nishkian escaped, leaving a
death sentence and a shattered ideal behind. He eluded the Turkish author-
ities at Constantinople where, disguised, he was kept in hiding by his elder
brother who was also affiliated with the movement. His views in later days
on the political situation of Armenia stood in strange contrast to his earlier
doctrine. He realized that without a concerted and constructive attempt, and
without the aid and active sympathy of friendly nations, the cause of his
country could never advance! In justice to his sacred memory it must be
said that he lived in advance of his time. The effects of his theory may in-
deed often be traced in his practice. His liberal contributions to charity flowed
from a generous and devoted heart, and he gave most unostentatiously. He
felt a certain contempt for mankind ; defied the commonly-accepted creeds of
societv. and always presented a forceful personality and an uncompromising
disposition, once his conclusions had been formed."
MR. and MRS. H. W. RUSSELL.— Born at St. Joseph. Mo., January
15, 1866, H. W. Russell came to California in 1869 with his parents, George C.
and Mary L. (Curtis) Russell, both parents having been born in New York State,
and married there. They settled in San Francisco, where the father was a car-
penter and later moved to San Jose. H. W. was the only boy in a family of
three children. His two sisters are Mrs. Carrie P. Fowler, a widow, residing
with her mother, who is past eighty years of age, at San Jose, and Lottie, now
the wife of L. B. Pollard of Fresno. From San Jose the family moved to Fresno
in March, 1879, settling in the Mendocino district, where the father bought gov-
ernment land and improved a tract of 160 acres. They lived there for five years
and then moved back to San Jose. Mr. George C. Russell died at the home of
his son in Dinuba in 1911 and is buried at San Jose.
Mrs. H. W. Russell, nee Iambie A. Carr, is the third child and second
daughter of the well-known Fresno County pioneer, T. W. Carr, who now lives at
San Miguel, San Luis Obispo County. He came to Fresno County in 1875 and
helped promote and dig the Kingsburg and Centerville ditch. He was one of the
first ditch superintendents on that ditch. He was born in Ohio and moved to Iowa
where he was married to Miss Helen McClosky, a native of Pennsylvania. She
died at Dinuba in 1906 and lies buried in the Mendocino Cemetery in Fresno
Countv. She left eight children: Robert, a rancher at Gridley, Butte County;
Sophie, the wife of A. J. Salladay of Terra Bella; Iambie A.; Oscar, who re-
si. 1, s ai Coalinga; Benjamin T., residing at Parkfield, .Monterey County; Maggie,
the wife of E. O. Reese of Kerman; Bertha, wife of W. II. Gilstrap, she died
in 1917 and left one child, Bernice ; and John \\ .. who resides at Oroville.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2327
Iambie A. Carr was born at Milton, Iowa, and was but seven years of age
when she came to California. She attended the Mendocino district school and
later the Selma High school and was a member of the first class graduated from
Selma High in 1885. She was a student at the San Jose Normal later and taught
school for four years in Fresno and Tulare counties.
She was married at Lompoc to Mr. H. W. Russell, April 8, 1891, and they
lived at various places on the Coast until they came to Dinuba in 1906, where
Mr. Russell planted and improved a seventy-acre ranch. They came back to
Fresno County in 1913 where he improved a ranch at Sanger. In November,
1918, they moved back to Fresno where they now reside.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell are the parents of five children : FI. Warren, a rancher
near Fresno; Ha H., the wife of E. R. Hudson, cashier of the First National
Bank of Sanger; Ralph C, a graduate of the Sanger High School who enlisted
and was in the Officers Training School at Waco, Texas, at the signing of the
armistice, and is now at home ; Elmer W. and Glen C, both living at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church
of Fresno.
CHARLES H. BYRD. — Charles H. Byrd is the owner of forty acres in
the De Wolf district, where he resides with his family, ten miles southeast of
Fresno. He is a son of the late John H. Byrd, the pioneer of Kings River. His
'mother is still living in Fresno.
C. H. Byrd was born on the old Byrd Ranch on the Kings River, August
2, 1876. He was raised on the home ranch and attended the home district school
and was graduated from the Fresno High School in 1898. Since leaving school
he has been engaged in ranching and horticulture.
He was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Collins, a daughter of the
late J. D. Collins, in September, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Byrd have three children :
Charles Collins, J. D., and Stanley.
After the death of Mr. Byrd's father, he and his wife settled in the De Wolf
district on the twenty acres given to his wife by J. D. Collins.
They have greatly improved the place and it is now planted to vines and
trees in full bearing, and fifteen acres are in alfalfa. They have a beautiful bun-
galow, barns, tray sheds and pumping plant.
Mr. Byrd is a member of the board of trustees of the De Wolf school
district and is a Mason. In politics he is a Democrat.
R. J. HEISKELL. — R. J. Heiskell, a raisin grower owning thirty-four
;acres of well-improved land on North Avenue, twelve miles southeast of Fresno in
the Highland school district, is a native son of Fresno County. His father, J.
M. Heiskell of Clovis, is a Fresno County pioneer and is now living retired at
Clovis. He came to California right after the Civil War. R. J. Heiskell is his
second son and the third child of a family of five children : W. J., a cattle raiser,
who resides at Clovis; Margaret, who resides in Fresno; Robert J.; Bettie, re-
siding in Fresno ; and Kate, the wife of Fred Wolf, an electrician in the Navy
Yard at Mare Island, residing at Berkeley.
R. J. Heiskell was born March 29, 1873, seven miles northeast of Clovis,
which was the Heiskell home farm at that time. His father was born in Ten-
nessee and was married there to Miss Mary Jack. When he first came to Cal-
ifornia, a year or two after his marriage, he went to Stanislaus County, where
he grain- farmed. From there he came to Fresno County and continued at grain-
farming near Clovis in the Dry Creek country and it was there that R. J. Heiskell
grew up. His mother passed away about twenty years ago.
He attended the public school and most of his education was obtained at the
old Mississippi school. Later he went to business college at Fresno. After he
was of age, he rented land near Clovis and there grain-farmed for several years.
He was married in 1901 to Miss Mary Ethel Collins, the eldest child of the
late T. D. Collins.
2328 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mr. Heiskell bought his present place of thirty-four acres in 1908, at which
time it was nothing but a grain field. It is now a lovely vineyard, very productive,
in one of Fresno County's best raisin districts. There are twenty-four acres
planted to Muscats, two acres to Thompsons, five acres to Zinfandels, and a
comfortable house, with barn, drying yards and an alfalfa field make up the
balance.
Mr. Heiskell is a Democrat in politics.
ERNEST VICTOR BRISCOE. — Ernest Victor Briscoe, the eldest son
of R. W. Briscoe, was born at Malaga, January 29, 1890, and grew up on his
father's ranches. He attended the Malaga public schools and the Fresno and
Heald's Business Colleges in Fresno. Mr. Briscoe resides on his forty-acre vine-
yard in the De Wolf district, and recently purchased from his father 120 acres
at Kerman, which is also in vineyard.
His father was not only an extensive landowner and vineyardist, but also
a stockman, hence Ernest Briscoe is conversant with almost every branch of
agriculture.
He spent the year 1913 at Glendale, near Phoenix, Ariz., and while there
planted 160 acres to alfalfa.
He was married in Fresno on August 20, 1915, to Miss Margaret YVeimert
of Fresno County, a daughter of W. E. and Pearl Weimert, ranchers in the
Barstow Colony. They have one child, Dorothy Louise.
Mr. Briscoe is a member of the Baptist Church at Malaga and Mrs. Briscoe
belongs to the Brethren Church at Fresno.
CHARLES A. HIVELY. — A native son who has had a very valuable
experience as an oil man, and who very naturally takes a live interest in
public affairs pertaining to Coalinga, is Charles A. Hively, field superintend-
ent of the fuel department of the Southern Pacific Railroad. He was born
at Oakdale, Cal., on June 23, 1870, the son of William Snyder Hively, a native
of Bath County, Va., one of five brothers, two of whom served in the
Union Army during the Civil War. The Hivelys are really of old Virginia
stock, and are therefore from among the most representative Southern
aristocracy.
William S. Hively came to California in the latter fifties, and here mar-
ried Mary J. Christian, who was born in Chariton, Iowa, and crossed the
great plains in an ox team train to California, accompanying her two broth-
ers. After mining in the Sierras, he located at Oakdale, where he engaged
in farming and stock-raising; and in 1876 he came to Tulare County, and
pitched his tent near Tipton, one of the early settlements, where he home-
steaded, improved and farmed 160 acres of land, until he retired to Dinuba.
There he died, at the ripe old age of over eighty years. Mrs. Hively passed
away in Riverside, five years before her husband, the mother of three chil-
dren, two (twin) boys and a girl. The other son is W. A. Hively, a success-
ful farmer of Turlock.
Charles A. Hively was reared at Tipton and sent to the public schools
there, after which he went to Washington College, at Irvington in Santa
Clara County, where he completed the course of study prescribed. Then he
raised grain in Tulare County, but in 1900 entered the employ of the Southern
Pacific Railroad at Bakersfield. He was clerk in the freight offices under W. V.
Matlack of Bakersfield, but in 1901 was transferred to the oil department at
McKittrick, where he rose rapidly from a clerkship until he became superin-
tendent of the Kern Trading and Oil Company. In November, 1905, he was
transferred to Bakersfield and continued there until November 17, 1909,
when he was transferred to Coalinga.
As field superintendent, Mr. Hively has grown up with the company,
commencing with some eight or ten wells on the south side in the McKit-
trick field, having a production of 10,000 barrels a month ; in four years the
production has increased to about 45,000 barrels per month. This wonderful
(Mj/L^Jy^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2331
growth has also occurred in the Kern River field, where the production, while
Mr. Hively was superintendent, rose from 40,000 barrels a month to 130,000.
Since 1916 the company has been known as the Fuel Oil Department of the
Southern Pacific Railroad. Mr. Hively was fortunate in early being asso-
ciated with two or three men of signal ability, so that his experience was
more valuable than that accorded the average man. He was for a while in
intimate cooperation with Josiah Owens, the geologist for the Kern Trading
and Oil Company, a splendid scientist and a man of good judgment. He also
worked under J. B. Treadwell, head of the oil department. Now Mr. Hively
is a member of the American Mining Congress. He has been interested in
different companies for promoting the oil industry and related projects. He
is also vice-president of the Baker Casing Shoe Company.
At Visalia, on February 14, 1891, Mr. Hively was married to Miss Ina
Foster, a native of Guerneville, Sonoma County, Cal., whose father, William
Foster, crossed the plains a pioneer to California. He became a lumberman,
and was an expert ox-driver in the lumber woods in the early days. Mr. and
Mrs. Hively have a daughter. Vera, a graduate of Stanford University, where
she received the Bachelor of Arts degree. She also attended Miss Conklin's
school in New York City and graduated from the secretarial department.
Mr. Hively is a member of the Hanford Lodge of Elks, and was made a
Mason in Bakersfield Lodge, No. 224, F. & A. M., and he is a member of the
Coalinga Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. He is also president of the Growl-
ers Club of Coalinga, and is thus prominent socially as well as in financial
and business circles. He was a director of the Coalinga Chapter of the Red
Cross, and president of the Coalinga War Fund Association, and was very
successful, as a member of the Liberty Bond drive committee, in raising
funds for the war.
F. TUCKER.- — A wide-awake Ford agent and dealer who is not only
favorably known in Selma, but has an enviable reputation beyond the bounds
of this enterprising town, is F. Tucker who came to California with a couple
of willing hands, a good head and a brave, warm heart, and today, as a
natural result, is the possessor of a snug little fortune. Complete mastery of
the details of the business, as well as a belief in square dealing and prompt,
reliable service have contributed to build up his large trade. He now owns
^and occupies the largest garage building in Selma, at the corner of Second
and West Front Streets, which contains an ample machine shop, offices and
display rooms. He handles Fordson Tractors and Ford autos, and accessories.
Born near Greeley, Kans., on November 5, 1879, Mr. Tucker grew up
in "The Garden of the West," enjoyed the excellent common-school advan-
tages of that state, and grew robust under summer heat and winter cold. Not
until August, 1911, after he had often reflected on the advantages of life west
of the Rockies, did the ambitious young American, now grown to manhood,
come out to the Pacific ; but from the first day that he breathed the air of
California, he knew that he had found what he had long dreamed about.
Settling temporarily in Fresno, he worked for a year for the Ford agent
there, and then, initiated into the perfect routine which has always charac-
terized the business ways of that automobile system, he removed to Selma
and established the agency here. From almost the start, he won favor with
the local public, and success has attended his efforts beyond his most san-
guine expectations. His sales for the year 1917 were 178 cars, for 1918 he had
a contract for 192 automobiles, while in 1919 his contract is for 250 cars, and
he will handle the Fordson tractor besides. It is doubtful if any other dealer
in the state can make a better showing, limit of territory and other conditions
being taken into account.
Mr. Tucker, however, has one or two specific items for which he is justly
proud. He unloaded the first car-lot of automobiles ever consigned to Selma,
no other dealer before him ever having brought in a carload of machines. The
2332 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
total number of Fords he has disposed of up to date is more than 1,200. These
come to him from the Detroit factory only partly assembled; and they are
finally and expertly put together at the Tucker shop.
the surprising thing about Mr. Tucker's success with his Selma agency
is the limitation of the territory in which he is expected to operate. It runs
east only as far as the river, for Fowler has its own agency, and so has
Kinsjsburg, the well-kept agency at the latter place being managed by Mr.
Tucker's brother. Considering, therefore, the very limited area of the district
to which he is by Ford ethics strictly confined, Mr. Tucker probably holds
not only the California, but the United States record for sales in a five-year
period, a fact which speaks for the general prosperity of the vicinity as well
as the thrift and good judgment of the inhabitants of Selma. His machine-
shop is connected with his commodious, clean and well-kept garage.
While in Kansas, Mr. Tucker was married to Miss Levora Reynolds of
that state, by whom he has had two children, Florence and Frederick. In
the suburbs/northwest of Selma, he has built himself a beautiful home, and
there he lives with his interesting family.
Having thus been the very satisfactory representative of the Fords at
Selma for "the past six years, Mr. Tucker has not only kept on hand a large
stock of Ford accessories, but he has always had a sufficient force of com-
petent machinists to meet every demand of his numerous and appreciative
patrons. The result is that he has one of the best-paying branches to be found
anywhere on the Coast.
EUGENE A. BERRYHILL.— The genealogy of the Berryhill family
in the United States is traced back to Colonial Days before the signing of
the Declaration of Independence, to the great-grandfather of E. A. Berry-
hill, who gave his life in the cause of liberty and freedom, during his service
in the Revolutionary War. The Berryhill family is of Scotch ancestry.
The grandparents of E. A. Berryhill, were M. W. and Katherine C. Berry-
hill, who were the parents of ten children, nine of whom grew to maturity
and three migrated to California: O. D. ; F. A.; and Sarah M. ; three other
members of the family reside in Missouri.
Olando DeKalb Berryhill, the father of Eugene A., was born in Arkan-
sas, in 1859, and received his early education in the public schools of Arkan-
sas and Missouri. In 1875, when about sixteen years of age, he arrived in the^
Golden State without money or experience, his chief assets being a clear
mind, a strong and healthy body, and a firm determination to win suc-
cess. His first employment was secured at Santa Rosa, where he worked
one year in a rock quarry. Subsequently he moved to the San Joaquin
Valley, settled in Tulare County and engaged in grain-raising, beginning
with 160 acres, and continuing in the business for fifteen years. In 1897,
he entered the raisin business and has continued in this industry ever
since. His first purchase of vine land consisted of eighty acres, later he
bought forty acres more, which he set out to vines, and upon which ranch
he is now residing. Subsequently he purchased sixty acres from the Sacra-
mento Bank, which place he afterwards sold. At present, O. D. Berryhill
owns fifty acres devoted to grapes, and his wife has a vineyard of fifty-five
acres which yields a fine crop of grapes.
On June 12, 1879, O. D. Berryhill was united in marriage with Miss
Angelina Myers, a native of Missouri, who migrated to California in 1875,
and the daughter of Conrad Myers. This union was blessed with seven
children: Herbert F. ; Eugene A.: Edith; Mrs. Henry Estes ; Homer L. :
Claude Chalmers; Leonard R. ; and Gussie. Leonard R. and Claude C. both
demonstrated their patriotism by answering their country's call to the
colors and saw over a year's service in France, in the Aviation Corps of the
United States Army. Leonard R. entered the service in December. 1917,
and for abilitv was promoted to the rank of corporal. Claude C was
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2333
mustered into service in July, 1917, and trained on Long Island, N. Y. and
was made a sergeant for capable service. Both brothers were ordered for
overseas duty, going at different times, and were united in France.
Eugene A. Berryhill, the subject of this review, was born October IS,
1884, on his father's ranch in Fresno County and received his early educa-
tion in the public schools of the Rosedale, Mendocino, Hills Valley and
Sand Creek districts. Since his school days were over he has engaged in
ranching and is now located about four and one-half miles southwest of
Sanger, living on the ranch where he was born and of which he is the owner.
On November 25, 1906, Eugene A. Berryhill was united in marriage with
Miss Georgia Madsen, born in 1888, in Oakland, Cal., the daughter of
Robert K. Madsen. This union was blessed with four children : Yvonne ;
Robert ; Virginia ; and Richard. Mr. Berryhill is classed among the en-
terprising and worthy young ranchers of Fresno County, and he and his
estimable wife are highly esteemed in their community. He is a stock-
holder in the California Associated Raisin Company.
NEWTON P. BYRD.— Newton P. Byrd is the youngest child of the
late John H. Byrd, who died October 5, 1913, and whose widow still resides
in Fresno. Newton P. was born on the old Byrd homestead in Clark's Valley,
on November 5, 1894. He was raised on the Byrd ranch, attended the district
school in Clark's Valley and was graduated from the Fresno High School in 1915.
In the same year, he was married to Miss Ernestine Naomi Belfils, a daugh-
ter of Dr. E. K. Belfils. a dentist with offices in the Union National Bank Build-
ing, Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. Byrd have one child, Barbara Lee.
Mr. Byrd bought his ranch of twenty acres from J. D. Collins in 1915. He
built a beautiful cement and stucco bungalow in 1917, where he and his family
now reside.
Mr. Byrd is a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West Parlor in
Fresno and he is a Mason, being a member of Fresno Lodge, F. and A. M.
LEWIS E. VAN RONK. — A busy and popular brick and cement con-
tractor, as well as plasterer and manufacturer of cement building blocks in
the enterprising city of Sanger, Fresno County, is Lewis E. Van Ronk, a
native of Iowa, where he was born on July 10, 1865, a son of Theodore and
Cynthia Van Ronk, who were natives of New York. They were the parents
of six children, L. E. Van Ronk being the only member of the family to
migrate to California, to which state he came in 1913.
In his younger days L. E. Van Ronk learned the trade of a brick mason
and has followed the vocation ever since. His early education was received
in the public schools of Iowa, from which State he migrated to Centralia,
Wash., where he resided for twenty-five years.
While living in Washington, in the year 1888, L. E. Van Ronk was
united in marriage with Miss Nancy Viola Watson, a native of Iowa, born
on April 17, 1870, a daughter of Charles Watson. Mr. and Mrs. Van Ronk
have been blessed with six children : Vera Maud the wife of M. Stanton
of Centralia, Wash. ; Lavern Edward, who manifested his patriotism by
answering the call to the colors, and who served his country overseas over
a year in the interest of universal Liberty, being attached to the Aviation
Corps. Xo. 835; Virgil L. ; Marie Geneva, who married P. M. Crosby, and
is residing at Sanger ; Frank L., another patriot who is serving his country
in France ; and Leta J., the youngest of the family.
Mr. L. E. Van Ronk is doing a large business in the making of cement
building blocks for which purpose his factory is supplied with the proper
facilities in the way of machinery and the various patterns for blocks suit-
able for the construction of homes. The success he has won is evident that
he has the confidence of those with whom he has had business dealings.
Aside from his home in Sanger, Mr. Van Ronk is the owner of a fine residence
in Centralia, Wash.
2334 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
WILLIAM JORDAN MOFFITT.— A thorough gentleman and an amia-
ble and successful man of affairs, who is blessed with a wife of like business
and social qualities, is William Jordan Moffitt, who was born at Spencer, in
Tennessee, August 4, 1884. His father was Marion Moffitt, a native of Ten-
nessee, who was a major in the Confederate Army, and afterward a farmer
and a member of the legislature. He died in his native state. Mrs. Moffitt
was Mollie F. Ammonette, also a native of Tennessee. She is still living,
a widow now, Mrs. Macon, and resides with the subject of our review. By
her first marriage she had two children, only one of whom, William, is now
living. He was the elder of the two, and was brought up in Tennessee,
attended the public schools, and afterward was a student at Burt College in
that state. When nineteen, he entered the employ of the N. C. and St. L.
Railroad and continued with them as a bill clerk until 1906, when he came
to Fresno. Here he secured employment with Wells Fargo & Company,
and helped the messenger on the run out from Fresno to San Francisco, and
also to Los Angeles.
William Jordan Moffitt was married at Stockton on November 23, 1914,
to Miss Myrtle Patterson, a native of Madera County and the daughter of
W. S. Patterson, who had come to California as a young man and was a stock-
raiser at Borden in that county. There he married Sarah F. Hope, whose
father crossed the great plains from Missouri, and was one of the intrepid
pioneers that helped to found this commonwealth. About 1904 Mr. Patterson
located at Fresno, and later he had a stock ranch on Dry Creek. In time he
improved a vineyard in the Wolter Colony. Both he and his wife died at
Fresno. They had six children, of whom Mrs. Moffitt is the youngest. She
was educated at Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. Moffitt have two promising children,
William Francis and Ralph Charles. Mrs. Moffitt is a member of the Pres-
byterian Church.
In 1915 Mr. Moffitt bought his twenty acres in the Wolter Colony, and
having located here has been busy ever since making improvements. He has
set out a fine' vineyard of Thompson seedless grapes and has interset half
of them with Calimyrna figs. He belongs to the California Peach Growers.
Inc., and to the California Associated Raisin Company, and is among the
first to cooperate in every good plan for the development of California hus-
bandry on broad and permanent lines, and the extension of Fresno County's
interests.
W. Y. DOUGLASS. — The noteworthy success achieved by W. Y.
Douglass must be attributed to his persistence in the face of adverse circum-
stances and to the ability and character by which he has made his way to a
place among the successful viticulturists of Fresno County. He is a native
of the Lone Star State, having been born in Texas, on February 16, 1877, the
son of Theodore C. and Emma C. Douglass, natives of Tennessee and Ala-
bama respectively. They were the parents of the following children : John D.
at Merced; W. V.: Mrs. Mary Jackson near Reedley; Mrs Viola Spears at
Placerville ; Charles and Emma, who are both deceased ; Lottie teaching
in Sanger; and Kate at home. The father, T. C. Douglass, migrated to
California in 1885 and was the first man to purchase a forty-acre ranch in
the St. Louis Colony, which he planted to vines and oranges and named the
Sunny South Orchard. He passed away in 1915, his widow residing now at
Sanger.
W. Y. Douglass remained at home until twenty-four years of age,
worked on the ranch and in the meantime, for four years, he carried the
mail from Centerville to Sanger. His first ranching enterprise was under-
taken in 1899 when he leased the old St. Louis ranch and made his first
stake. For two years, at an annual rental of $400, by careful management
he succeeded in making $1,000, and at the expiration of his lease, he pur-
chased his present place of forty acres, paying $200 per acre. It is one of
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2337
the oldest ranches in the County, having been set out over fifty years ago by
Hyde and Jackson, the ranch being taken up originally as government land.
On the ranch stands the original house, the lumber for which was brought
around Cape Horn. Since purchasing the ranch, Mr. Douglass has im-
proved the place by erecting buildings and otherwise beautifying the ranch,
which he increased in size in 1914, by the addition of thirty acres, making
his total seventy acres of valuable land. From two acres of Emperor grapes
he received $2,500 gross which serves to illustrate the profitableness of his
splendid ranch. That portion of his ranch which was set out to raisin
grapes, fifty years ago, yields three tons to the acre. Among the orange
trees on his ranch are some that have been planted since 1890. There are
two trees that were set out in the late sixties.
In 1909, W. Y. Douglass was united in marriage with Miss Mary Dei-
trich, a daughter of Fred Deitrich, and this union has been blessed by two
children: Doris V., and Rosemary. Mr. Douglass was bereft of the com-
panionship of his wife, and the children of a loving mother's care and devo-
tion, on April 2, 1914. On January 20, 1919, Mr. Douglass married for his
second wife Marie Raypholtz, born in Medford, Ore.
Fraternally, W. Y. Douglass is a member of the Sanger Lodge of Eagles,
and he has voted the Democratic ticket at national elections and shown his
interest in educational matters by serving as a school trustee of the Center-
ville School Districts.
NATALIO SEMPER. — An enterprising merchant and rancher, Natalio
Semper was born at Yance, Navarra, Spain, on March 12, 1876, and when
only seventeen years old landed at New York City, from which metropolis
he came west to California in 1893. When he arrived here he was certainly
face to face with stern reality ; for he had only a few dollars in his pocket.
He summoned his courage, came to Mendota, Fresno County, and started
in to work for Miller & Lux, taking charge of a band of sheep. He received
twenty dollars per month when working on the plains, and twenty-five when
employed in the mountains. After one year he went to work for Celayeta
& Yrigoyen, continuing with them and at the end of five years they paid
him with a bunch of sheep and he then began in the sheep business for
himself.
For fourteen years Mr. Semper ranged sheep all over Central and
Northern California, walking thousands of miles and suffering many hard-
ships and privations ; and at times he owned as many as 7,000 sheep. Condi-
tions were sometimes against him, however, and he sold wool as low as
five cents a pound, and lambs as low as $2.00 per head. But later he made
good money in sheep, one deal alone netting him $2,000 profit in five months.
In 1903 he sold all his sheep and immediately made a trip to Eastern Oregon
where he purchased a band of horses and drove them overland to Stockton,
Cal. Looking about he found a purchaser in Marysville for the lot. He then
bought a band of sheep and resumed the sheep business and wool-growing.
In 1909 Mr. Semper sold all his sheep and came to Huron. Fresno
County, where he bought a half interest in a general merchandise store. His
first partner was J. O. Wachter, but he bought him out later and in 1911
M. Claverie joined him in partnership. The name of the firm was then
Semper & Claverie; but on June 15, 1917, Mr. Semper became sole owner
of the business. In 1919 Mr. Semper again began raising sheep and is now
ranging two bands of sheep of 2,000 head each, making his headquarters at
his Fresno residence.
He is now interested in grain farming near Huron, and with I. R. Hain
farms 1,000 acres to grain. He himself owns eighty acres of land, and eleven
town lots at Huron. He also owns two houses in Fresno, and one in Stock-
ton, and his wife and children reside in one of the Fresno houses, which
home, at 2926 Inyo Street, he built in 1915. Besides, he is half owner in a
grain warehouse at Huron. He is a stockholder in the Chinn-Gribel Com-
2338 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
pan; of Calexico, and this large corporation controls 100,000 acres of land
fifty miles south of Mexicala in Lower California. Much of this richly-
productive land is now being farmed to grain, with all modern machinery,
including caterpillar engines and other notable contrivances and inventions.
This venture in itself promises to make the stockholder a rich man. At any
rate, it commands Mr. Semper's confidence and admiration, and he is one of
the most enthusiastic boosters of the project.
While at Stockton, on December 20, 1906, Mr. Semper was married to
Miss Telesfara Barcenilla, a native daughter of far-off Spain, who came to
San Francisco in 1903, and by her he has had seven children, of which the
parents are justly proud. Juanita; Guadalupe; Alfonzo ; Martin; Felisa ;
Miguel; and Ethel. Each of these children are receiving every educational
advantage. Mr. Semper believes in protection for Americans, and is a
Republican. He is one of the original stockholders of the Growers National
Bank of Fresno. In 1900 he made a trip back to his old home where he visited
relatives and friends, but after a five-months' visit he returned to his California
. home, more pleased than ever that he had cast in his lot in the Golden State.
PETER MATHISON. — A life replete with interest, in which scenes
from widely distant parts of the globe have been photographed on memory's
screen, has been the lot of Peter Mathison, pioneer of the Parlier section of
Fresno County, where he has resided for the past twenty-six years, coming
to this section when the country was planted to vast fields of waving grain.
He is the son of Mathias Davidson, a Norwegian farmer and stockman, and
Tohanna (Johnson) Davidson. His parents were born, married, lived and
died in their native country, both living to be past ninety years of age
before their demise.
Peter Mathison, the son of Mathias, was born in the Land of the Mid-
night Sun at Rans Fjorden, Hamnes, Norway, March 18, 1852, and was one
of a family of eleven children composed of six girls and five boys, of whom
two sisters and one brother still live in Norway, three sisters and two broth-
ers are dead, and the remaining children are in America.
Peter was educated in the common schools of Norway, and as a young
man cared for his father's farm and cattle for seven summers. He spent five
winters in the vicinity of Lofoden, in company with five young men engaged
in the cod-fishing industry. During these five winters in the West Fjorden,
in the icy arctic waters in the North Atlantic, these young men talked and
dreamed about America and resolved to come to the United States. Peter
bade farewell to the land of his birth and sailed from Throndhjem, via
England, for the distant shores of America, in 1876, landing in July of that
year at Castle Garden, New York. Like many others of his countrymen, he
first tried his fortune in the New World in Wisconsin, where he worked
on a farm, going thence to the Red River Valley of the Territory of Dakota,
now North Dakota, in 1877, where he took up a homestead in Richland
County, twenty miles due south of Fargo. He proved up on his homestead
and engaged in raising wheat, temporarily returning to Wisconsin to claim a
bride. He was married at Brookville, St. Croix County, Wis., in 1883, and
in 1891 came with his wife and two children from Dakota to California, set-
tling in Fresno County, where he bought forty acres in the same section
where lie is now living. He improved his land, and in 1900, when the Alaska
gold fever was at its height, in company with nine other young men of adven-
turous spirit, he tried his fortune in the Alaska sjoldfields.
The party, composed of the two Lindgrcns, the two Suncsons. the two
Petersons, the two Johnsons and young llanistrom and Peter Mathison,
spent the summer of 1900 at Nome, meeting with only fair success in their
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2339
quest of the golden metal. Mr. Mathison, who had previously prospected
on the Mojave Desert and in the Sierra Mountains, returned to Fresno County
in the fall of 1900, and since that time has devoted his time to farming and
improving his ranch. Fie had the misfortune to lose his wife in 1902. She
had borne him four children : Joseph C, who was in Washington State get-
ting out lumber for American airships, came home Christmas, 1918; O. M.,
also in the army, trained at Camp Kearney in the United States Engineer
Corps, is now with the Army of Occupation in Germany ; David, a rancher
at Turlock ; and Ruth, who died in California at the age of ten.
Mr. Mathison married a second time in 1907, uniting with Miss Edith
Erickson, a native of Trollhaetten, Westre Jottland, Sweden, the only living
member of a family of four children. She came to America at the age of
seventeen and worked as a domestic for thirteen years in Brooklyn and New
York City, from thence coming to Fresno County. Three children were born
of this union : Henry, Hazel, and Eunice.
Mr. and Mrs. Mathison are active workers in the Swedish Mission
Church, situated one-half mile south of their home. Mr. Mathison helped
build the church and served on its board of trustees. Since his sons enlisted
in the army Mr. Mathison has deemed it best to dispose of a portion of his
land, retaining only ten acres, well improved and planted to prunes, Thomp-
son seedless grapes, and apricots. In politics he is a Republican ; he is sturdy,
fearless, and progressive.
IRA LEE BUTLER. — Foremost among the successful superintendents
of large vineyards and orchards in the Kerman district, a man who has
proved his ability to manage men and has demonstrated his fidelity to duty
and loyalty of service while in the employ of others, is Ira Lee Butler, the
efficient superintendent of the Empire Ranch of 320 acres, including an ex-
tensive vineyard. Ira L. Butler was born at Fairfield, Wayne County, 111.,
October 17, 1886, a son of W. M. and Charlotte (McDuffee) Butler, both of
whom were natives of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Butler were the parents
of eight children, six of whom are living, Ira L. being the second child. He
was reared in his native state until 1906, when he accompanied his parents
to the vicinity of Dinuba, Tulare County, Cal., where the father engaged
in viticulture and still makes his home.
After coming to California, Ira L. assisted his father on the home ranch
for two years, then he was employed by F. H. Wilson, the nurseryman, whose
place of business was located in Fresno, where he remained for two years.
Afterwards he was made superintendent of the nursery at Parlier, where he
remained until the nursery was sold and then, for two years, continued with
the new owner, until the place was sold again. In February, 1917, Mr. Butler
accepted the responsible position of superintendent of the Empire Ranch,
one of the most important vineyards and orchards in the Kerman district.
The vineyard comprises 250 acres, eighty of which are in Thompson seed-
less, eighty in sultanas, sixty acres are devoted to muscats, and thirty acres
are given to raising feherzagos grapes. In addition to this large vineyard,
forty acres are planted to figs and twenty to apricots.
Mr. Butler is well posted in the science of horticulture and viticulture,
is a very industrious and enterprising business man and applies himself very
closely to the multitudinous details connected with the successful operation
of a large ranch. During the busy season there are sixty-five men employed
on the Empire Ranch and at other periods the average is about ten. He is
highly esteemed in the community for his excellent business qualifications
and integrity of character.
Ira L. Butler was united in marriage with Miss Laura Sons, a native of
Illinois, the ceremony being solemnized at Fairfield, Wayne County, 111., in
1907, and to them have come two children: Agnes and Harold.
2340 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ERNEST T. S. HANSEN. — Success seems to come naturally to some
men ; whether it is through intuitive knowledge or through knowledge gained
by close application, certain it is that success follows close upon their efforts.
There is perhaps no better illustration of this than in the case of Ernest
T. S. Hansen, who was born in Denmark, August 21. 1884, the son of A. C.
Hansen, whose biography will be found elsewhere in this book.
Ernest Hansen lived in Copenhagen until he was five years of age, and
came to Fresno County in the spring of 1890. Here he completed the course
of the public schools, and took up work in the Fresno High School.
Mr. Hansen then returned to the farm and assisted his father until 1905,
when he began farming for himself. He bought his present ranch, on Clinton
Avenue, then consisting of thirty acres; he has improved the land and rebuilt
the buildings. He has since added twenty acres adjoining; he has now twenty
acres in Thompson seedless and the balance in orchards and alfalfa. Mr.
Hansen is an expert viticulturist and has put his knowledge into practice on
his ranch, so that it is in a high state of development.
Mr. Hansen was married on September 22, 1909, in Fresno, to Miss Iva
Maxwell, a native of Missouri. They have two children, Theodore Rudolph
and Elvin Styrman. Mr. Hansen has always been interested in educational
matters, and was chosen trustee of Empire school district, at one time being
clerk of the board. He is now chairman of the board of directors of the
Kerman Union High School. In 1917 he served as a member of the grand
jury. He is a member of the Danish Lutheran Church, and of the Danish
Brotherhood in Fresno. In politics he is a Progressive Republican, and pro-
gressive in everything else he undertakes. He is a stockholder in the Cali-
fornia Associated Raisin Company, and in the California Peach Growers,
Inc. At one time he served as chairman of the local board of the California
Farmers Union, the parent cooperative organization of the farmers of the
county.
By his well-directed activities Mr. Hansen has become a vital part of
the community in which he lives, and his material prosperity reflects credit-
ably upon himself and his environment.
JOHN MANEELY. — Another successful ranchman who is engaged in
developing the country around Barstow is John, familiarly known as "Jack"
Maneely, who arrived in San Francisco the day that President McKinley
was buried, and a year after his brother, Alexander Maneely, whose inter-
esting life story is given elsewhere in this work, also came here. He was
born in Dumfries, Ont., on June 19, 1870, the son of John Maneely, who
came from County Cavan in Ireland, and came out to Canada when he was
about thirty years old. In Ontario the father married Catherine Johnston,
also of Irish birth, and there he followed his useful trade of a weaver. He
became the father of six children, and died in Canada. After his demise,
Mrs. Maneely went to live in Manitoba, where she now resides.
Favored with the usual schooling of the average American boy, John
grew up to come west to Montana when he was of age, where he began
railroad work as a fireman. Fie engaged with the Northern Pacific and con-
tinued with that company for about four years, when he went to the neigh-
borhood of Richville, Wash., where he bought railroad land and improved
it so that he could follow farming.
Next he went to the Philippine Islands, during the Philippine War,
where he was in the employ of the United States government as a teamster,
spending about two years in traveling throughout Luzon, and for two years
he was with a troop of the First Cavalry, and then he returned to San Fran-
cisco, and came on to Los Angeles. Bridge work on the Southern Pacific
next engaged him, and then he entered the service of the Fresno Traction
Company.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2343
In 1904, with his brother Alexander, he bought 100 acres on the San
Joaquin River opposite Barstow, located there, and set out a vineyard and
orchard, and planted alfalfa. About 1910, however, he sold his interest to
his brother and then came to Fresno, where he entered the employ of the
Associated Oil Company, and for five years worked under Calvin Hill. Next
he went with the ice company at Coalinga, for a year. After that he came
to Barstow, and has since been busy with horticultural pursuits, making one
of the really attractive show-places, and producing some of the best fruit
sent from any Fresno County farm.
While in Los Angeles, Mr. Maneely was married to Mrs. Gertrude
Kelly Emery, whose sketch is given elsewhere in this work. While enjoying
his delightful home at Barstow, Mr. Maneely is still engaged in breaking
into new paths in the science of farming. He is a member of the Red Men,
and belongs to the Fresno Lodge, No. 244; and he is quite as popular in the
Fraternal Brotherhood.
WILLIAM EVERSOLL.— The oldest resident in Burroughs Valley,
Fresno County, is William Eversoll, born near Boonesboro, Boone County.
Iowa, on November 9, 1855. His father, Moses Eversoll. a native of Ohio,
came to Illinois, where he married Abigail Pike, and then moved to Iowa,
where Mrs. Eversoll died in 1860, on their farm in Boone County. Of their
union there were five children, four of whom are living, William being the
youngest. Moses Eversoll married a second time and of the three children
born of this marriage there is only one living. Moses Eversoll passed away
in Iowa, in 1893, having lived forty years on one farm.
William learned the rudiments of farming from the time he was a small
boy, having early been set to work on the farm. However, his schooling was
not neglected, for he received a good education in the schools of his district.
When twenty-one he leased the home farm and about the same time was
married, in 1876, to Miss Mary E. Carroll, born in Decatur County, Iowa, in
1855. In 1883 William Eversoll moved to Washington County, Ark., remain-
ing about eighteen months and in July, 1884, came to Fresno County, Cal.,
with his wife and two children, and the same fall located in Burroughs Val-
ley, where he rented land and raised grain, and since then has leased differ-
ent tracts in the valley, until he has plowed almost all of the land in the valley;
on much of it he turned the soil for the first time.
In 1886 Mr. Eversoll located his present place, a preemption claim, and
made the improvements, obtained title to it and built his residence, and here
he has resided ever since. He raised cattle and horses and has prospered,
purchasing land adjoining until he owns 760 acres, a fine estate. For many
years he raised draft horses and mules, and he owns a pure-bred Kentucky
Jack and a fine Percheron stallion, and has raised some fine horses and mules.
In the early days he found Tollhouse was the best market for hay and he
also hauled hay to the lumber mills in the Sierras, returning loaded with
lumber; thus he followed teaming for many years until he had his ranch and
stock-raising required all his time. While teaming he had many interesting
and exciting experiences.
Mr. Eversoll was bereft of his faithful wife on September 20, 1917, at
sixty-two years of age. She was a devoted wife and mother, and a devout
Methodist ; she left him three children : Minerva, who is Mrs. Shuler of
Fresno, and who has three children — Velma, Billy and Elizabeth ; Glenn H.,
who married Daisy Mitchell, a Normal graduate engaged in teaching school
while he is ranching with his father, and they have one child, Florence ; and
Edith, who was born in California and who is the wife of W. B. Welden, a
rancher in Burroughs Valley, and has one child, Walter.
For many years Mr. Eversoll served as a trustee of Mountain View
school district, much of the time as clerk of the board. Fraternally he is a
member of the Woodman of the World, at Tollhouse.
2344 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
CARL AUGUST NELSON.— A hard-working old-timer in Fresno
County, who has been very active, and successfully so,*in its development,
and who is therefore much interested in the preservation of its annals, is
Carl August Nelson, a liberal-minded and kindhearted gentleman. He came
to California in 1889, and was fortunate in locating in Fresno County two
years later. He was born in Calmar Laen, Smaland, Sweden, on February
20, 1865, the son of Victor Nelson, a farmer who is retired there. His wife,
Johanna, died at that place, the mother of eight children, five of whom are
"living. Carl is the oldest, and he was brought up on a farm and educated in
the public schools.
Mr. Nelson took up viticulture and became foreman of a nursery and
vineyard. In December, 1889, he came to Tulare County, Cal., and worked
on a ranch and in saw-mills. About that time he was swindled out of $1,150
by a landshark. After two years he came to Fresno and for a year and a
half worked at horticulture and viticulture. Next he worked in the Scandi-
navian Colony, and afterward leased a vineyard of forty acres, which he ran
for five years. He then purchased ten acres on Belmont Avenue, nine of
which he set out to vines, and one to apricots ; by skilful management he
was able to pay for it, and also made a trade for ten acres adjoining. He
then had twenty acres in vines and orchards, which he built upon and im-
proved. He later sold the ten acres adjoining and bought twenty on the
north side of the home place; when he had thirty acres in orchards and
vines. He continued on the place twelve years, but in 1910 sold out on
account of ill-health.
Thinking he would make a change, Mr. Nelson traveled through every
county north of Fresno, but he did not find anything better. He therefore
returned and bought forty acres near the old home on Olive and Pierce. It
was raw land, but he improved it ; put up a good residence and other farm-
buildings, and set out an orchard of apricots, peaches, and some vines. After
he had improved it, he sold twenty acres at a good profit, and kept the
twenty acres on Pierce Avenue, which was all orchard. He has a fine pump-
ing-plant with a large flow, and this adds to the attractiveness and value of
his ranch property. Mr. Nelson also owns good property in Stockton. He is
a member and stockholder of the California Peach Growers. Inc., and was
a member and stockholder of the old raisin association. He was also one of
the first members of the Scandinavian Fire Insurance Company.
At Fresno, Mr. Nelson was married to Miss Hilma Carolina Swenson, a
native of Skaane, Sweden. "When eight years old she came with a sister to
Illinois, and in 1899 made her way to California. They have four sons: Carl
Hilmar Clarence, who assists his father; and Arthur Conrad, Harry August,
and Melvin Amendus, who are at home. They all attend the Swedish Mission
Church in Fresno, where Mr. Nelson is a deacon and was once a trustee.
In national politics he is a Republican, and a strong advocate of temperance.
STEVE TUCKER. — The "universal car" of motordom is ably repre-
sented in Kingsburg by Steve Tucker, the enterprising proprietor of the
Ford Automobile Agency. In up-to-date methods of selling Ford auto-
mobiles and in a comprehensive knowledge of their construction and opera-
tion. Mr. Tucker is regarded as one of the leading agents of California. His
business is conducted in a dignified and conservative way, the Ford way,
which is not only conducive to the making of new patrons, but the retaining
of old friends.
Steve Tucker was born at Greeley, Kans., on September 29, 1880. His
parents are Henry and Jennie (Boent Tucker, formerly farmers of Linn
County. Kans.. but now residents of Selma, Fresno County, Cal. Steve
Tucker attended the grammar school at Parker, Kans., where he was reared.
After finishing his school days he was employed as a clerk in a general store
;it Parker. At the age of twenty-two he engaged in the grocery business at
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2345
Parker and continued there for six years. Afterwards, for a period of a year,
he was located at St. Louis, and from there he moved to Denver where he
and his brother, Fred, operated a grocery. Later Steve Tucker was employed
as the city salesman for a wholesale coffee and tea house. His next move
was to South Canon, Colo., where he became the manager of a coal mine
and the company's store ; also serving as postmaster and the clerk of the
mine. After remaining there two years he migrated to the Golden State
and settled at Selma, Cal., in 1914, where for two years he was employed
by his brother, Fred, in the Ford automobile agency.
In 1917, C. J. Stone erected a spacious and beautiful building, at Kings-
burg, which was planned and designed by Mr. Tucker for an automobile
show-room, machine shop and garage. Mr. Tucker has leased this well
arranged room for a term of five years. In addition, he has an excellently
equipped machine shop and carries a large line of Ford accessories. He has
been very successful in selling these popular autos, his annual sales totaling
144 machines. His territory includes forty-seven square miles, about seven
miles each way from Kingsburg. The Ford agency is a credit to the city of
Kingsburg.
Steve Tucker was united in marriage with Miss Frances Peebles, of
Eureka, Kans., and the ceremony was solemnized at Kiowa, that state, on
December 10, 1912. They have one child, Dorris M. Mrs. Tucker is a mem-
ber of the Christian Church. Their new bungalow home in Kingsburg has
just been completed.
CHRIS JORGENSEN, JR.— A young man who is now reaping the re-
ward for his early application to general farming and in particular to viticul-
ture, is Chris Jorgensen, Jr., the son of the supervisor who is also represented
in this work. He has a valuable little ranch where he is experimenting and
developing in such a manner as to enlarge both his estate and his experience,
and where, while satisfying himself, he is pointing the way to those who, as
well-wishing competitors, watch with interest the outcome of his energetic
efforts. A native Californian, proud of his association with the great Pacific
commonwealth, Mr. Jorgensen was born at West Park, in Fresno County, on
August 20, 1887, the son of a well-known early settler, and on his father's
well-kept farm he grew up. He attended the public schools, and then he went
to the Fresno Business College, from which he entered Grand View College
at Des Moines, Iowa. During the thirteen months that he spent in that state,
he also worked with a contractor and builder, and so mastered some of
the important practical problems of daily work. On his return, he assisted his
father as a rancher and viticulturist.
In 1912, Mr. Jorgensen bought his present place of forty acres three
miles west of Fresno, at the corner of Whites Bridge Road and Braly Ave-
nue, and soon after began to set out a vineyard and an orchard. Now he has
three acres of peaches, while the balance of the acreage is given up to mus-
cat, Sultana and Thompson seedless grapes.
In Fresno, Mr. Jorgensen was married to Miss Daisy Jepson, a
native of South Dakota, whose father was Chris Jepson, who was born in
Denmark, but who migrated to the United States and for a while resided in
the Middle West, later coming out to Dakota, and now living at Del Rey
where he is a successful horticulturist. Mr. and Mrs. Jorgensen have two
children: Harriett and Kenneth.
Independent in politics, although inclined to Democratic principles, Mr.
Torgensen is active in all that would promote the best interests of the locality.
He is a live member and stockholder in the California Peach Growers, Inc.,
and a member of the California Associated Raisin Company. He is a
public-spirited citizen, whose own success is calculated to advance the in-
terests of the community.
2346 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ROSS B. LOWTHER. — Success doesn't always need to wait until a
man is well up in years before it comes to him, young men sometimes go
out and meet it. and are enabled to enjoy many days of comfortable circum-
stances. This has been the case with R. B. Lowther, who has achieved suc-
cess by an intelligent use of the energy and industry with which he was en-
dowed' at birth. He was born in West Virginia, February 26, 1886, and
came to California when in his seventh year. His father, W. W. Lowther, is
a painter in Fresno ; his mother, who was Josephine (Freeman) Williams, is living
and is sixty-six years old. This is her second marriage, and she had one
son by her first, Starr B. Williams, a rancher on Jensen Avenue. By this
second marriage there are two sons, twins, Lee B. and Ross B. Lowther.
When the family came to California they settled near Trimmer Springs,
Fresno County. Here R. B. grew up, running stock and other labor for
wages. He went to the Lone Star District four years ago and in company
with his half brother, Starr Williams, bought a twenty-acre vineyard. After
working together for a year, Lowther sold his interest to his relative, and
bought the twenty-five acres where he now lives. The same care and atten-
tion that he gave to his work in his earlier days, he has given to his ranch,
and his neat and comfortable home and surroundings are the result. He had
to go into debt when he made his purchase of this land, but by judicious man-
agement he has succeeded. His real work began in the foothill country of
Fresno County, where he worked on ranches. Owing to his carefulness and
frugality he was enabled to have a small herd of cattle for his own. and
these he tended carefully and gained a start for his subsequent activities.
He was married at Malaga to Miss Maude Mercer, daughter of W. H.
Mercer, of Fresno County. Mrs. Lowther has proven a happy choice for
her husband, and much of the success that has come to him is due to his
excellent wife.
OTTO ANDERSON. — A comparative newcomer in Fresno County, but
one who is gifted with the enterprise for hard work and has amply demon-
strated a high order of business ability, and whose home is a center of inter-
est in educational and religious work, is Otto Anderson, who has half a
hundred or more acres on Grant Avenue, two miles north of Kingsburg,
where he is assisted by his two sons. Born in Sweden, in the centennial
year of the United States, and growing up in that northern land, he came
to America at the beginning of the present century. He was reared a farmer,
and crossed a wide ocean and continent to enter California, the most promis-
ing of all farming lands.
His father, a farmer before him, was Andrew Peter Olafson, who had
married Margaret Anderson ; and they had eleven children, ten of whom are
still living. Five of these are particularly fortunate in being in California,
although the other five are also happily situated in Sweden. Otto attended
the usual public schools and at fourteen was confirmed in the Lutheran
Church. For a year he was employed in the wood and coal business at Got-
tenburg, but for the most part he was busy farming, learning those A B C's
of agriculture applicable the world over. However, he decided to bid good-
bye to -his native land, and in March, 1900, he sailed from Gottenburg.
Crossing the Atlantic to New York. Mr. Anderson stopped awhile in
New Hampshire and in Connecticut, where he found plenty of work in
machine shops ; but he longed for a more out-door activity, and so turned his
face westward to California. Once in the Golden State, he was not long
in finding Kingsburg and choosing it as essentially promising, taking up
his residence here in 1904; and on the first of August, four years later, he
was married to Mrs. Satterburg, widow of Gust A. Satterburg, who was
originally Alma Josephine Olson, a native of Sweden and daughter of Olaus
Olson who died when she was ten years old. His wife was Beata Olson
before her marriage; and she was the mother of eleven children. In 1908
,C^/, J/oJlsKA^t^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2349
she came to America, and she died at the home of the subject of this sketch,
in 1911, in her seventy-third year. Mrs. Anderson had five children by her
first marriage, the eldest of which is Lilly, a graduate of the Selma High
School, class of 1916, and now a graduate of the Fresno Normal and a
teacher at the Ross School, in Fresno County; while next are Arthur and
Milton, who help run the ranch ; and Elvera and Walter, who are at school.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have one child, Stanley.
During the years intervening between 1905 and 1908, Mr. Anderson
improved a twenty-acre ranch and, after bringing it to a fine state of culti-
vation, sold it at a profit. Later he acquired another twenty acres, an alfalfa
ranch, in Tulare County; and this property he still owns. The nucleus of
their present home place on Grant Avenue was a tract of thirty-two acres
owned by Mrs. Anderson, and to that he added ten acres already planted
and, finally, another ten in the neighborhood, so that now they have fifty-two
acres, irrigated by means of two wells, two pumping plants and the service
of the Consolidated Ditch. He enlarged and remodelled the dwelling, and
now he has a comfortable residence, with a beautiful lawn, a garden of
flowers, trees and shrubbery. He built a tank-house, and also a good barn;
and he has a full complement of horses and farm machinery, together with
a touring car.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are active members of the Swedish Baptist
Church at Kingsburg. and their children also belong and attend the Sunday
School. When Mrs. Anderson joined, there were only five families and
thirteen members, and now there are over 350 members, and the congrega-
tion is preparing to build a dignified edifice. When the history of Kingsburg
shall be written in fullness and detail, the family name of Anderson will
find an honorable place. Mr. Anderson's parents have recently come from
Sweden, and they are pleasantly situated on a near-by ranch of ten acres,
devoted to fruit and raisin culture.
ROBERT M. JOHNSON. — A stockman operating with headquarters at
Tollhouse, as well as at the Johnson ranch in the Pine Ridge district, is
Robert M. Johnson, known as "Cousin Bob." By helpfulness to others he has
endeared himself to all with whom he comes in contact and they call him by
this familiar name.
In a great bend of the Missouri River, which takes up the greatest portion
of Saline County, lies some of the richest land in the state of Missouri, and
on a farm near Marshall, the county seat, is where Robert M. Johnson first
saw the light of day, on January 29, 1848, and here he was reared until he
was eleven years of age, when he removed with his parents to Knobnoster,
Johnson County, in the same state, where his father, James R. Johnson, was a
merchant, afterwards removing to Bates County, Mo., and then later to
Gainesville, Texas, where he died. The mother of Robert was in maidenhood
Martha Yancey, born in Albemarle County, Va., a sister of the late Charles A.
Yancey of Tollhouse, Fresno County ; the mother passed away in Saline
County, Mo., in 1855, when Robert was only seven years of age. The young-
est of her three children, he went to school at Knobnoster. Soon after moving
to Bates County, he began farming on his own account, continuing until
about 1876, when he removed to Gainesville, Texas, where he farmed till
1884. His uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Abe Yancey, lived at Tollhouse, so
he came here in 1884, and for some years assisted them on their ranch, as
well as at the Tollhouse Hotel.
At Tollhouse. Mr. Johnson drifted into the stock business and his herd
of cattle growing, he established his brand, a capital P with a quarter circle
under it. About twenty-five years ago, with the Yanceys, he purchased a
part of what is now the Johnson ranch, lying in the foothills of the Sierras,
above the Tollhouse, and here they have prospered, raising cattle and adding
to their purchase until now they have 1,000 acres of land in the Pine Ridge
2350 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
district. Here have been erected a residence and suitable farm buildings, with
water piped from springs for both irrigation and domestic use. A full-bear-
ing orchard with choice varieties of apples is very much in evidence. The
Johnson ranch is watered by both Taylor and Flintlock creeks, besides
numerous springs, yielding an abundance of water for the cattle, the ranch
also being well wooded with pine, cedar, fir and oak, making it an ideal stock-
ranch.
Cousin Bob is very interesting and companionable and makes those who
visit the Johnson ranch feel at home. The writer well remembers the genial
and frank invitation and his earnest insistence. Fortunate is he who enjoys
the hospitality of the Johnson home. He is a great lover of children, always
finding time to do something for them. He is honest and straightforward
and his word is as good as his bond. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Cali-
fornia Cattle Growers Association and is also a member of the Y. M. C. A.
and the American National Red Cross.
A. R. HILTON.— Pioneers of Fresno, Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Hilton reside
at 1544 N Street, where they are enjoying the fruits of a well-spent life. Mr.
Hilton was born at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, April 19, 1852, descended from
a very early English "family who settled in Nova Scotia. His father, Fred-
erick Hammond Hilton, was also born in Nova Scotia, where the paternal
grandfather, Thomas Hilton, ran a tannery and boot and shoe manufacturing
establishment at Yarmouth, being among the first, if not the first, leather and
boot and shoe manufacturers in Nova Scotia. Thomas Hilton was born in
England at or near Liverpool, where the Hiltons had been tanners and leather
workers for generations.
Thomas Hilton married in England and brought his family to Nova
Scotia in the early days. He was twice married, but had no children by his
second wife, although raised a large family by his first wife. Frederick Ham-
mond Hilton was the oldest son and succeeded to his father's business. He
married in Nova Scotia. Miss Mary Hilton. During the gold excitement he
came across the Isthmus in 1852, and mined at Georgetown, and in other
gold-mining districts. He went back to Nova Scotia in 1856, and in 1868 re-
turned to California, accompanied by A. R. Hilton in 1868. They crossed the
Isthmus, arriving at San Francisco May 1, 1868. They went on up to Center-
ville, Alameda County, where the father opened up a boot and shoe shop.
The mother and the rest of the children joined the father and our subject
about six months later. A. R. Hilton attended the public schools at Yarmouth,
Nova Scotia ; was brought up in the Congregational Church, and shortly after
coming to California, he was apprenticed to Walton and Faulkner at Cen-
terville, and learned the blacksmith trade and horseshoeing, serving an ap-
prenticeship of two and a half years, when he bought out a blacksmith shop
in Centerville, ran it three years, then, as a journeyman blacksmith, worked
in San Francisco, Oakland, Bakersfield and Pittsburg (then known as New
York Landing) in Contra Costa County, where he met -and married his wife.
She was Miss Alice Rebecca Whitney, daughter of William E. and Sophia A.
(Fales) Whitney — their marriage taking place August 11, 1877, at New York
Landing. William E. Whitney was born at Thomaston, Maine, where he
was also married and there Mrs. Hilton was born and lived till she was eleven
years of age, attending the public schools. Mr. Whitney came to California in
1849 and dug gold near the Nevada line, went back to Maine and returned
again to California. His family joined him in California on Thanksgiving
Day, 1868, sailing via Panama. Mrs. Hilton grew up at New York Landing.
now Pittsburg, and attended Mill's Seminary. Mr. Whitney followed railroad
building at Pittsburg and farmed 300 acres. He built the first limekiln in
Santa Cruz; built the Black Diamond Railway, put in a great deal of piling
and built many of the piers and wharves about the bay; became an extensive
contractor in building culverts and bridges for the Southern Pacific Railway
and became well-to-do. lb- died at \Tcw York Landing more than thirty
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2351
years ago. His wife outlived him and died at the home of Mrs. Hilton in
April, 1894, seventy-two years old.
The Whitneys. had four children who grew up : William J., well known
in Contra Costa County. He died at Pittsburg several years ago ; Frank, died
in Contra Costa County; Mary A., is the wife of George South, farmer, at
Pittsburg; and Alice Rebecca. Four of the Whitney children died before
reaching maturity.
Mrs. Hilton's mother, Sophia A. Fales, was born in Thomaston, Maine,
was a very intellectual person ; was a school teacher in Maine. Her family
were merchants and sea-faring men. The Fales were of English and Scotch
origin, and the progenitors had settled in Maine before the Revolution.
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hilton went to Kernville, Kern County,
where he bought a partnership in a blacksmith shop, which he ran three
years, thence went to Bodie, Mono County, and worked in blacksmith shop
connected with a gold mine one year and then ran a blacksmith shop of his
own about nine years, then Mr. Hilton came to Fresno, November 29, 1888;
bought two lots on N Street across the road from the old Church Mill. He
built a shop and conducted a general blacksmithing business and gained wide
recognition as the manufacturer of the Hilton Wagon. He made and sold
thousands of the Hilton Wagons, locally. He also manufactured buggies and
light road wagons, but his principal work was the making of wagons for
freighting in the mountains and in the valley, wagons, from for two horses
to sixteen horses. He remained actively in business until 1904 when he was
taken seriouslv ill and underwent an operation.
They have lived at 1544 X Street since April, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Hilton
have two living children : Mary Sophia, wife of W. H. Davis, a raisin grower
at Round Mountain, Fresno County, and they have eight children: Frederick
Hilton ; Mary June ; Alice Adelia ; Elizabeth Ann ; Walton Leslie ; Shirley
Jane; Chester Byron; Earla May; and Leslie Allen, manager of the
United States Rubber Company in San Diego. He married Miss Ethel Van-
dercook. formerly of Fresno, and they have one child : Bettie Jane.
Mr. and Mrs. Hilton have watched Fresno grow with great interest. Mrs.
Hilton and the children are members of the Christian Church. Mr. Hilton
is an Odd Fellow ; is a naturalized American citizen, and in political matters
is a Republican.
C. EDWARD FOSBERG.— An able and influential member of the
board of city trustees of Kingsburg, is C. Edward Fosberg, the retired mer-
chant, whose business judgment is often sought. He was born at Jonk-
oping, Sweden, the "Chico" of that country, where the safety match origi-
nated and is still extensively manufactured. He is a son of Carl and Inga
(Anderson) Fosberg. The father was a foreman for a spool factory, and he
lived and died in Sweden, passing away in his seventieth year. The mother
once came to America on a visit, to see her sons in Texas ; and returning to
Sweden, died there.
Five children were born to this worthy couple, one of whom, Esther,
died single in Texas. Carl Edward, the subject of our sketch, was the eldest,
and the next was Annie, who married Ernest Johnson, a railroad man in the
employ of the Swedish government, and who now resides in Sweden. Vic-
tor, the husband of Annie Lund, a native of Ohio, is a cotton-planter in
Texas ; while Emil, still single, is a stockman in the Pan-Handle country,
now serving in the United States Army on the Mexican border.
Born on February 3, 1867, Carl Edward was educated in Sweden, where
he received a good elementary training, followed by courses in business
college. When eighteen, however, he left home and his native land, and set
sail for Boston, where he arrived on May 1, 1885. Soon afterward, he went
on to the Gulf Coast in Texas. For the first few years he worked by the
month on stock-ranches around Austin. He then went to Georgetown, Texas,
where he clerked for four years, after which he bought into a grocery busi-
2.352 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ness; and off and on he sold and bought and ran other general merchandise
concerns. Next he became general ticket agent for the Atlantic and Gulf
Steamship Company, and as such he did a large business, having an ex-
tensive and loyal acquaintance. He prospered and saved up some money.
Altogether he was in Texas twenty-one years, and while there his brothers
joined him, coming from Sweden at a later date. His mother also came to
visit him, as has been narrated. And in Texas, in 1890, he was married to
Miss Annie Anderson, a native of Sweden, who had grown up in the Lone
Star State.
In 1910, Mr. Fosberg came to California, and after a year in business in
Pasadena, as a stockholder in the Model Grocery, came on to Kingsburg
and immediately proceeded to conduct the business for which he had already
contracted. The firm had been known as Carlson & Broline, and it then
became Broline & Fosberg. That partnership continued until January 1,
1918, when Mr. Fosberg sold out to F. O. Roosman.
In high favor among all who know him as a neighbor, and a wide-awake
man of affairs, Mr. Fosberg has twice been elected to the city board of
trustees, and he is still serving in that capacity. He is a member of the
Swedish Methodist Church in Kingsburg, and of the Odd Fellows, having
affiliated himself with the Crown City Lodge at Pasadena. His two children
are married and are also prosperous : Maimie Mary is the wife of G. E.
Andrews, manager of the California Peach Growers, Inc., at Kingsburg; and
Annie Laura is the wife of Ralph Scott, of Fresno.
WILLIAM ALLISON GREER.— A responsible position with the Asso-
ciated Oil Company, at Coalinga, Cal., is filled by W. A. Greer, the efficient
superintendent, who, in length of service, is one of the oldest superintendents
in the Coalinga oil field. "Al" Greer, as he is familiarly called, is an exception-
ally well posted oilman and has large responsibilities, which he discharges in
a manner satisfactory to the company. Pennsylvania is his native common-
wealth and Florence. Washington County, was his birthplace, and there he
first saw the light of day on January 26, 1875. Fie is a son of Joseph A. Greer,
a native of the same place, who moved to the Bradford oil-field, McKean'
Count}', where he was an oil-operator until his death.
W. A. Greer attended the public school at Bradford, and from a boy of
eleven years he assisted his father in the oil-fields until he was of age. In Janu-
ary, 1900, he came to Coalinga, Cal., where he secured employment with the
Whale 8 Oil Company, remaining there six months, when he left for Bakers-
field, and for a short time was located on the West Side, in the McKittrick
field. Later on he went to the Cholame Valley, San Luis Obispo County,
where he assisted in putting down a wild-cat well, returning to Coalinga
eight months later where he has resided ever since. Mr. Greer was the driller
of the first and second wells for the El Capitan. He next drilled for the Xo.
28 Oil Company, and for the Oil City Petroleum Company, the two latter be-
ing under the same management. lie was interested in and employed by the
Montana Oil Company and also by the Arlene Company. In April, 1906, W.
A. Greer entered the employ of the Associated Oil Company as a driller on
National 30. It was in 1908, that Mr. Greer became superintendent of the'
Coalinga division for the company, and since then both the production and
development of this- division are under his able management. That his serv-
ices have greatly aided in the development of the company's business, is at-
tested by the fact of his holding this responsible post for eleven years.
Mr. Greer was united in marriage with Miss Ethel McFee, a native of
Los Angeles, the ceremony being solemnized at Rakersfield. on December 8.
1909. They have two children, Elinor and Pauline. .Mrs. Greer's father. Wil-
liam J. McFee, was born near St. John. X. 1'.., where he followed railroading.
In the early seventies he came to California and for more than thirty years
was agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad, until he was retired on a pen-
ifry4Uu^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2355
sion. He spent his last days in Coalinga, passing to the Great Beyond in
1908. His wife was Margaret Price, born in Fredericton, N. B., and at her
death, in 1906, she left six children, Mrs. Greer being the youngest.
Fraternally, Mr. Greer was made a Mason in Welcome Lodge, No. 225,
F. & A. M., at Lemoore, and is also a member of Coalinga Chapter, No. 114,
R. A. M., Hanford Commandery K. T., and Los Angeles Consistory, Scot-
tish Rite, and, with his wife is a member of Eschscholtzia Chapter No. 276,
O. E. S., at Coalinga, of which Mrs. Greer is Past Matron. He is also a mem-
ber of the Coalinga Lodge of Odd Fellows. He was active in the Coalinga,
district in the various bond and war fund drives, and is a member of the
Growlers Club.
CHARLES E. BARNUM. — Distinguished among those whose integrity,
experience and enterprise have contributed much to advance the permanent
interests of Fresno and its neighboring districts, is Charles E. Barnum,
county auditor and a Native Son of the Golden West, proud indeed of the
development of the great commonwealth where he first saw the light of day.
His father, Horace E. Barnum, now deceased, (whose life story is given
elsewhere in this historical work), farmed for a while on coming to the Coast;
but moving to Fresno, he was elected county auditor and held that office,
with signal ability and unusual distinction, for twenty years, relinquishing
the responsibility only at his death on June 15, 1914. His mother, who was
Mary E. Deering before her marriage, is still living.
Born in Tulare County, on August 16, 1887, Charles E. Barnum was
educated at the public grammar and high schools. When he laid aside his
school books in 1908, he entered the county auditor's office as a deputy to
his father; and he continued to assist him until the latter's death, when he
was appointed auditor by the Board of Supervisors. He took up the work
of his father and was a candidate for election, and at the primaries he was
elected over all candidates by a majority of some 6,000 votes. In 1918, he
was again a candidate and was elected, this time by a majority of over 12,000
votes, to hold office till January, 1923, showing the confidence his fellow-
citizens repose in him.
Air. Barnum was married in Fresno to Miss Hazel M. Alexander, a
native of Seattle, but who was reared in Fresno, and who enjoys here the
admiration and good will of a wide circle of friends.
A Republican, always active in politics, Mr. Barnum has never per-
mitted party affiliation to stand in his way of supporting the best local meas-
ures, while he has always conducted the official affairs entrusted to him in
the broadest and most vigorous spirit.
Besides these qualifications which have fitted him especially for exact-
ing public responsibility, Mr. Barnum enjoys personal traits which render
him popular socially. He is a familiar figure in the Elks, the Native Sons and
the Independent Order of Foresters, a member of the Baptist Church, and
both a live wire and a level-headed leader in the Commercial Club.
J. A. JOHNSON. — California owes much to its experienced and wisely
conservative men of finance, for the money market must supply the sinews
of trade, as of war, and there never has been a time, since the foundations
were laid for our great Republic, when there has not been need for some one
to look ahead and estimate costs and the wherewithal to meet them. This has
been especially so in such new commonwealths as that of California, so that
the financier, as well indeed as the commercial man of affairs, has come to
play a most necessary and important part in everyday life, their operations
and influence extending to practically everything and everybody.
T. A. Johnson, a native of Sweden, where he was born on August 18, 1871
but an American by choice, through and through, is one of those privileged
to serve his fellowmen in this important field of finance. He early came to
Oakland, and graduated from Heald's Business College at San Francisco.
2356 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Then, to become familiar with the fruit industry, he joined the Hatch & Rock
Orchard Company at Biggs, Butte County, where he was bookkeeper and
superintendent from 1893 to 1902. Next he became head of the bookkeeping
office of Miller & Lux at Los Banos, and in that capacity he was active until
1909.
The year 1910 brought Mr. Johnson and Kerman into lucky contact, and
he w;\s made assistant cashier of the bank of which he is now cashier. In 1914
Mr. Johnson became manager of the Fresno Irrigated Farms Company, which
began operations in what is now the Kerman district, putting in its own irri-
gation system. About 15.000 acres have been sold since Mr. Johnson came
here. He is manager also of the Kerman Telephone Company and of the
Kerman News ; he likewise manages the California Stock Food Company
and the Kerman Creamery.
While at Biggs, Mr. Johnson was married to Mae T. Snider, of a well-
known pioneer family of Stockton ; and they have three children : Marion
Alfred, Merritt Eldred, and Eleanor.
Fond of mingling with and knowing his fellowmen, and therefore accus-
tomed to come into such relations with others as best enables him to serve
where he is needed, and to strengthen the interests of all he represents, Mr.
Johnson is a member of the Kerman Lodge No. 420, F. & A. M.. the Scottish
Rite in Fresno, and Islam Temple in San Francisco ; and of the Independent
Order of Foresters in San Francisco. During the drives of the various
Liberty Loans he was the chairman of the loan committee and carried his
district "over the top" each time, and for the third and fourth, the Kerman
district had the distinction of being the first in the state to go over.
AUGUST H. HALEMEIER.— A broad-minded, liberal-hearted and
public-spirited citizen, who takes pleasure in his work as a progressive viticul-
turist, and who by using the most up-to-date methods and the most approved
apparatus, has been successful to a high degree, is August H. Halemeier, a
native of YYallenbruck. Westphalia, Germany, where he was born December
18, 1886, the oldest child of August and Marie (Sickmann) Halemeier. They
came to America and the Golden State : and while they were toiling here to
make a competency, young August was left with an uncle, Henry Halemeier,
who owned a farm at Wallenbruck. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Halemeier had no
son, and did for him as they would for their own, giving him the advantages
of the thorough German public schools. When, however, he had completed
his schooling, and had reached the age of fourteen, he left Germany for the
United States, and arrived in California in 1901. His uncle and aunt were
naturally very loath to have him depart, but he was anxious to join his
parents, who had become vineyardists in the Eggers Colony, Fresno County,
and to their comfortable ranch he repaired as soon as he could. Entering
the public school in the Temperance district, he began in the first grade ;
and as he had already received a good start, and was wanting mainly in
the matter of English, he finished the course in two terms. His ambition was
by no means satisfied, however, and he entered and graduated from the
Chestnutwoods Business College. In spare moments, and at the end of the
commercial course, he assisted his father, and so learned the intricate tasks
of a viticulturist.
On the second of March, 1909, Mr. Halemeier started on a trip back to
Germany, to visit his uncle and aunt, and to see the old home and former
friends, going by way of Chicago, Washington and New York. His uncle
and aunt both begged him to remain as their only son and heir ; but the call
of the new West was strong, and no inducement could shake him from his
determination to return to his adopted country when he had concluded his
visit. September, 1909, therefore, found him back in California, where he
continued to assist his father; and in December, 1912, he was married at
Fresno to Miss Sophia Alhrecht. a native of San Jose and the daughter of
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2357
Amos and Marie (Hoernicke) Albrecht, natives respectively of Germany
and Indiana. Her father, a blacksmith, had resided for a while in Orange
County; while the mother, having come West, was reared there. The mother
is dead, but -the father, who took a vineyard when he came to Fresno, is-
still residing here.
■ After marrying, Mr. Halemeier bought his present twenty-acre vineyard
and moved there, and at the same time he bought forty acres of the adjoining
farm of his father. After a while, he secured twenty acres more by purchase
and still later bought forty acres more. He himself has set out fifty acres
to a vineyard, and has also given generously of his time and support to the
California Associated Raisin Company. He has eighty acres in one body and
forty acres one mile west, and his shipping station is at Locan, on the corner
of his home ranch, on the Sanger line of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Three children, August, Marie and Walter, share the family and church
life of their parents, the family attending the German Lutheran Church of
Fresno, where Mr. Halemeier is a member of the board of trustees. He is a
Republican in national politics, but never allows his party affiliations to inter-
fere with his support of what he believes to be the best measures for his
locality.
R. M. JONES, M. D. — California has a physician of exceptional ability
and valuable experience in Dr. R. M. Jones of Fresno. Dr. Jones was born
in Missouri, January 11, 1882, the son of R. M. and Amanda (Jackson) Jones.
The father was a mechanic and is still living. R. M. Jones was educated in
the public schools of Missouri, after which he took up a course in the Brook-
lyn Hospital and became a graduate nurse.
Mr. Jones then worked as chief clerk in the bridge and building depart-
ment for the Santa Fe for four years, following which he took a medical
course in Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tenn., and after graduating
served his internship in the Lane Hospital in San Francisco. Dr. Jones then
began the practice of medicine in Fresno.
Dr. Jones is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in
Fresno ; he holds membership in the Count)' Medical Society, and State and
American Medical Associations; fraternally he is a Mason, a member of the
Blue Lodge and the Eastern Star; and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias,
Odd Fellows, Foresters, Maccabees, Woodmen of the World, Owls, Druids,
Eagles, Redmen and the Fraternal Brotherhood. Having served in the Span-
ish-American War in the Philippines, he is a member of the Spanish-Amer-
ican War Veterans. He served also as surgeon in the California State Militia
on the Mexican border during the late Mexican trouble and as Captain
in present war, stationed at Ft. Riley, Kans. He is deeply interested in the
county and its development, and owns a vineyard to which he gives the
best of attention.
HENRY AGGERS.— One of the oldest oil men in this section, who is
now engaged in dairying as proprietor of Aggers Dairv, is Henry Aggers, who
was born in Sodom, eight miles from Pittsburg, Allegheny County, Pa., on
Ausrust 8, 1844. His father, Christopher Aggers, a native of Germany, came
to Pennsylvania when he was twenty-three years old and there followed farm-
ing until his death in 1846. The mother was Hannah (Lutz) Aggers, who also
died in Pennsylvania, aged sixty-three. The name was originally spelled
Eggers, but Henry and a cousin, G. L. Aggers, changed their name to Aggers.
Henry Aggers was the second oldest of three children and was brought up
on the farm in Sodom, Pa., receiving a good education in the public school.
During the Civil War he volunteered, but was rejected because he was not
tall enough. In September, 1862, he went to Oil City, Venango County. Pa.,
where he worked in the oil field from the bottom to driller and then to super-
intendent. Later he became a producer, owning wells of his own in Butler
County, and continued until he was frozen out by the larger oil companies. He
2358 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
then resumed work as a driller, got a start, and again became a producer in
Montpelier, Blackford County, Ind., where he had a production of $450 a day,
but was ajrain frozen out.
In 1899 he came to California and worked in the Los Angeles oil fields.
Returning then to Pennsylvania, he continued there until 1904, when he came
to Indian Territory and engaged in contract drilling for two years. He then
came to the Kern River field in California, where he was a driller with the
Aztec Oil Company. In 1909 he came to Coalinga as driller for the I '.ricks
Oil Company. Becoming interested in the Valley Oil Company, he sunk a
well and struck oil, but through mismanagement it was a failure. Afterwards
he was driller for the Standard Oil Company, and then for the Union Oil Com-
pany until on account of his age he resigned and started Aggers Dairy in
Coalinga, where he has a herd of good cows and has built up a nice business.
His dairv is equipped with the most sanitary methods for caring for and feed-
ing the cows, and treating the milk before it is retailed to customers.
In Pennsylvania occurred the marriage of Mr. Aggers and Elizabeth Guth-
rie, who was a native of Clarion County, Pa. They have five children: Roy
and Harry are oil superintendents in Oklahoma; Walter is with the K. T. & O.
Oil Company at Coalinga; Frank is also an oil superintendent in Oklahoma;
and Leonora is Mrs. Groundwater, of San Luis Obispo. Mr. Aggers has been
a member of both the Knights of the Maccabees and the Elks. In national
politics he is a Democrat.
JAMES WALLACE THOMPSON.— The son of a California pioneer of
1849. although born in Missouri. James Wallace Thompson has made a record
for himself in Fresno County. He first saw the light of day July 22, 1855, in
Cole County, where his father, Joseph Coe Thompson had settled in 1853.
The elder Thompson was a native of Tennessee, who crossed the plains
in 1849, in the train of N. C. Bachman and in the same big train also came
Governor Edwards. Mr. Thompson spent three years in the mining districts,
then returned to his eastern home via Panama, and the following year took
up his residence in Cole County, Mo. In young manhood he had married
Elizabeth Jane Greenup, a native of Missouri. They farmed in Cole County
until 1861. but the call of the West was too strong to be resisted any longer,
and with his family. Mr. Thompson came to California via Panama, landing
May 9, 1861, at the Daulton ranch in what is now Madera County, then owned
by N. C. Bachman. Three years were spent on that ranch, during which time
Mr. Thompson discovered the Ne Plus Ultra copper mine. In 1864 the fam-
ily removed to the location where James Wallace Thompson now lives and
where the father took up a homestead and preempted 320 acres of land upon
which he raised hogs and cattle. He traded an interest in the copper mine to
Henry Clay Daulton for a small band of sheep and from 1872 to 188.') was en-
gaged successfully in raising sheep. The elder Thompson passed awav on
March 10, 1009; his wife had preceded him, on December 14, 1875. Both
were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South at Acad-
emy. Their three children are: James Wallace, our subject; Mary F... who
was the wife of G. P. Baley and who died at Tollhouse: and Annie I... a na-
tive daughter, born in Fresno County, who presides over her brother's home
on the old Thompson ranch, of which she is part owner.
Jim Thompson, as he is familiarly known, was educated in the public
school at Academy. From a lad he assisted his father on the farm and
helped make the needed improvements. In 1886 they sold the sheep and
began raising cattle, to which the ranch has since been devoted. Tt was in
that year that Tim took charge of his father's place, and he has since given his
attention to the cattle business. The property has been increased in acreage,
until there are 640 acres in the home place at Academy, besides 1.200 acres
of range land in the same vicinity.
Mr. Thompson owns 200 acres on Huntington Lake, near the foot of
Mt. Kaiser, lying within the National Forest Reserve, where he has ranged
frUir.&tnn/'
'«s>irn/.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2361
his cattle in the summer since 1886, and where he has built a summer home.
He also runs some of his cattle on the Reserve near Trimmer. Mr. Thomp-
son is a well-posted and successful cattleman. His operations have been on
a large scale and his success has been in proportion.
From a boy Jim had a desire to play the violin and made violins from
cigar-boxes. Prof. J. D. Collins, his teacher at Academy, on Jim's sixteenth
birthday presented him with an excellent violin. The boy was delighted and
by self-study he learned to play and read music, and before long his talent was
in much demand at dances and parties. He still treasures the violin given
him by his teacher.
Mr. Thompson is a Democrat in national politics, and his religious asso-
ciation is with the Methodist Episcopal Church South. During the many
years Mr. Thompson has lived in Fresno County he has won the esteem and
good will of many friends.
FRANK T. BAILEY. — A representative of one of America's French-
Canadian families, and an enthusiastic Californian who is a good booster of
Laton and the Laguna de Tache, is Frank T. Bailey, a successful rancher
who lives three-fourths of a mile east of Laton. He was born at Lancaster,
Grant County, Wis., on January 21, 1862, the son of Antoin Bailey, who was
originally called Bailant, after which he anglicized his name. He was born
at Quebec, and he married Jemima Day, a native of Kentucky who came with
her parents to Wisconsin when she was three years old. Her parents had
been married at Lancaster, Pa., and the father was a farmer. After a while
he sold his forty acres in Wisconsin and moved to Kansas, and this was in
her eleventh year. He settled in Rice County, on the Little Arkansas River.
There were five children, three boys and two girls, and our subject was the
oldest. Rather recently the parents came to Los Angeles, and there they
both ended their days, the father reaching his sixty-sixth year, the mother
her sixty-fifth.
Frank was educated in part in Iowa, where the Baileys lived for two
years after they left Wisconsin and before they went to Kansas, and in part
in the latter state, where for a year he attended the Washburn College at
Topeka, when he was a schoolmate of Senator John J. Ingall's son. In 1888
he went west to Hamilton County, Kans., and took up and homesteaded 160
acres of land, which he proved up; and while there he was married to Miss
Tillie Carlyle, when they lived in a dugout. She also had come out to Hamil-
ton County and taken up and preempted land, and she lived in the same
vicinity. He contracted with her to bake bread for him, and that arrange-
ment resulted in a life contract. She was born at Lawrenceville, in Lawrence
County, 111., and is a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Irwin) Carlyle. Her
parents were both born in Ohio and married there, and they both died in
Illinois when she was five years old. She had three brothers, and a sister
who died when fourteen, and the children were put out in different families.
She lived with her uncle, John Carlyle, for six years, and then being twelve,
went to live at the home of Thomas Kirkwood at the town of Lawrenceville.
Here she had a good home and was able to attend the public schools. She
came out to Kansas with the same cousin's family, and decided to stay.
Five years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Bailey proved up a home-
stead, and soon after that they moved to Sedgwick County, Kans., where
they lived on a farm south of Wichita. They farmed in that county until
1906, when they went. to Los Angeles, Cal. Mr. Bailey there made some un-
lucky business investments, through which he lost about all that he had. In
1911. however, he came to Laton and in February rented Charles Nowlin's
ranch of 160 acres six miles north of Laton. The following December, he
bought forty acres where he now lives. He has since bought forty acres more,
and his son, Glenn, has also bought twenty acres, which lie directly between
the two parcels of forty acres just referred to. The ranch is well irrigated,
and he has two silos. At first, Mr. Bailey embarked in the raising of Percheron
2362 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
horses, but this he has discontinued, and now he produces beef and pork. His
ranch is called the Twin Oaks.
Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have four children: Alta M.. the wife of Clark D.
Long, who is employed by the Santa Fe Railroad at Hanford, and they have
one child ; Cora B., the wife of William Hebner. a plumber of Los Angeles,
and they have two children: Glenn C. who is a partner in farming with his
father and who married Rilla Vaughn, a native of Kansas and the daughter
of T. W. and Mary i Montgomery i Vaughn, and they have one child, Velma ;
and Paul H., who attended the Laton High School, and who is a trap-drummer
in the First Aerial Band of the Twenty-sixth Aerial Squadron.
Mr. Bailey is a student of the social problems of the day, and votes for
principles such as he believes the world is in need of, and for the best men.
He favors the Progressive Republican platform, and also Prohibition. He
belongs to the Knights of Pythias, Lodge Xo. 44. at Wichita, and to Laton
Camp, Modern Woodmen of America. Mrs. Bailey is a member of the Meth-
odist Church and a trustee.
MARVIN A. GALLAHER. — As merchant and postmaster at Squaw
Valley. Fresno County, Marvin A. Gallaher enjoys to the fullest extent the
confidence and respect of his community. Nestling among the foothills of
the Sierras, Squaw Valley is one of the beautiful and picturesque spots so
numerous in California, where people gather to enjoy the beauties and
splendors of nature, with a healthful and invigorating climate as an added
attraction.
Marvin Gallaher is a native of Tennessee, born in Decatur, Meigs
County, March IS, 1881, and is the son of Dr. J. A. and Mary Gallaher, also
natives of Tennessee. To Dr. Gallaher twelve children were born, by two
marriages, five of whom are now residing in California, and two of these
in Fresno County. Dr. Gallaher was a physician and surgeon of long and
extensive practice, and studied under eminent professors. His death oc-
curred December 6, 1898. Marvin Gallaher was reared and received a liberal
education in his native state. He has followed clerical work since his
school days, with some time given to agriculture. He migrated to California
in 1901 and for six years worked as a ranch hand. In 1907 he engaged in the
cigar and tobacco business, and also ran a pool-room and soda fountain
in Porterville, Tulare County. He opened the first open-front cigar stand
in town. He equipped and ran two of the best billiard and pool halls there,
under the firm name of Gallaher & Coates. He bought Coates' interest and
the firm became Gallaher & Breeden until 1917, when he came to Squaw
Valley. In 1908 his marriage occurred, uniting him with Miss Susie Bree-
den. the daughter of Dr. S. G. Breeden of Decatur, Tenn., and of this union
four children have been born : Morrell T. ; Austin R. ; Ralph L. ; and Clarence
A. Mr. and Mrs. Gallaher are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The postoffice at Squaw Valley is one of the oldest in Fresno County,
and much of historical interest is attached to the place. In early days the
Indians left their squaws in this beautiful spot while they went to do battle
with the foe, and to gather meat from the hunt for the coming winter.
OSCAR F. BACON. — A worthy descendant of an honored pioneer settler
of Antioch, Cal., Oscar F. Bacon, the enterprising and successful horticul-
turist residing seven miles northeast of Sanger, was born near Ton^anoxie,
Kans.. April 6, 1874. His father, James M. Bacon, was a native of Kentucky
coming as a pioneer settler to Kansas, he was married to Nancy J. Skaggs,
who was born in Iowa. She was the daughter of Andrew and Raciiacl
i Howard) Skaggs. who migrated to California in 1875, locating at Antioch.
J. M. Bacon was a farmer near Tonganoxie, and there his wife died in 1894.
When he retired he came to California and died in Sanger, December 23,
1917, aged over eighty-one years. Nine children blessed this union, seven
OZkAsi/Y- (7L£^^LA^M^^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2363
of whom grew up : John ; Ida ; May, deceased ; Oscar F. ; Nilo ; Albert ; and
Mrs. Mattie Edmiston.
In 1888, John Bacon migrated to California and by his glowing accounts
of the wonderful California climate, and splendid opportunities for enter-
prising young men to engage in ranching, or mercantile business, he eventually
induced the rest of the family to locate in the Golden State.
Oscar F. Bacon came to California in 1897 and located in Fresno County,
where he worked at farming, later going to Sonoma County where he was
engineer for the Duncan Mills Land and Lumber Company and the Western
Lumber Company. Returning to Fresno County in 1910, he purchased a
ranch in Round Mountain district which contained sixty acres, this he im-
proved and planted figs, prunes, peaches, grapes and oranges.
Mr. Bacon was married at Excelsior Springs, Mo., June 19, 1916, to
Julia Gray, also a native of Tonganoxie, Kans., a daughter of Matthew Gray,
who was born under the English flag on the sailer Glencairn, when his parents,
Andrew and Margaret (Burns) Gray, migrated from Ayre, Scotland, to
Canada ; later the family moved to Tonganoxie, where Mr. Gray is a suc-
cessful farmer ; his wife is Cornelia Mayginnes, born in Shelby County, Ohio,
in 1852, coming to Kansas when a girl, in 1864, and in 1875 she married
Mr. Gray; she died March 23, 1918. Mrs. Bacon is the eldest of their two
children and is a graduate from the course in Elocution in Campbell Uni-
versity at Holton.
Fraternally, Mr. Bacon was made a 'Mason at Guerneville and is now a
member of Sanger Lodge, No. 316; he is also a member of the Woodmen of
the World. Mrs. Bacon is a member of Rinda Chapter, O. E. S., at Tonga-
noxie.
FELIX HEINZER.— If Barstow Colony has a better hustler than Felix
Heinzer, prince of good fellows and an expert dairyman, then no one has
yet discovered it, for ever since he came to Fresno County about seven years
ago, he has demonstrated one after another successful possibility which has
made even the wideawake folks of Barstow sit up, look and listen. He was
born in Mutterthal, Canton Schwyz, Switzerland, on March 9, 1876, the son
of Anton Heinzer, a thrifty farmer of the region who died in 1896. He had
led to the altar Agatha Gwerder, who proved to him a blessed helpmate,
and she closed her eyes to this world just ten years later. She was the mother
of five children, four of whom still live to honor the family name.
Felix, the third youngest, was brought up a farmer's boy in the high
Alps, for his father's farm was above the timberland and subject to a mantle
of deep snow for seven and sometimes eight months of the year. There he
learned dairying according to true Swiss fashion, and while yet a lad was
busied with cheese and butter-making. He attended the public schools, never-
theless, and such was his filial feeling that he remained at home to help his
parents until his father died. Then the family farm was rented, and Felix
joined the Swiss army, becoming a non-commissioned officer in Battalion 86
of the Eighth Division.
In the fall of 1903, however, having bade good-bye to the scenes so
familiar and so endearing, Mr. Heinzer came to San Francisco, where he se-
cured employment in a dairy for a year, after which he moved about a little,
going first to San Joaquin County, then to Marin County, then to Monterey
County, back to San Francisco, and then to Sutter County. All this time he
was engaged in dairying; and as he found nothing to attract him permanently,
he came back to San Francisco, then went to Ventura County, returned to
the Bay Metropolis, and next moved to Monterey County again, where he
was eighteen months in one dairy as butter-maker. After that he went to
Fruitvale, then to San Mateo County, next to Santa Clara County, then to
Madera, and four months later — in 1911 — to Fresno.
Here, for a year and a half, he was in the service of the Big Four Ranch,
2364 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
and then he shifted to Coalinga where he leased a dairy for fourteen months.
He called his business the Coalinga Dairy, and he established a milk route
for that town. The McKay dairy at Fresno, however, attracted him for nine
months, then he spent a couple of months at Riverdale, and next was thirteen
months at Burrel, then to Barstow, where he worked in a dairy for George
Miller.
Three years ago Mr. Heinzer rented his present advantageous place of
eighty acres in Barstow Colony, with an option to purchase. In the spring of
1919 he took advantage of his option and purchased the property. He is de-
voting himself to dairying, and on such a scale that he milks some twenty-
five cows. These are chiefly Holsteiners. and it goes without saying that the
products of his dairy are only of the highest grade. He was also interested
in the Cooperative Dairymen's Association, in which he was a director until
it became a part of the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers Association, of
which he is an enthusiastic member. In addition, he is a moving spirit in the
California Peach Growers, Inc. He is now preparing to set out a Thompson
seedless vineyard on his ranch.
Few busy men enjoy life more than does Mr. Heinzer, who is influential
and ever interesting, and who has won the esteem of many friends. He be-
longs to the Fraternal Brotherhood at Barstow, to St. Alphonzo's Catholic
Church at Fresno, and to the Republican party. The latter two organizations
in particular afford Mr. Heinzer abundant opportunity for the expression
of his religious and political preferences.
CARL KERNER. — An old-timer in Fresno County who has worked hard
and conscientiously, and has acquired, as a reward, a comfortable competency,
so that his many friends are happy to see him at last enjoying life, is Carl
Kerner, who came to the county about the middle of the eighties. He was
born in Skadofski, Samara. Russia, on September 22, 1855. the son of Carl
Kerner, a farmer now eighty-three years old, who had married Kathrina
Fuchs, and she died there, the mother of six children, all of whom are living.
Carl is the eldest, and was brought up on a farm, where he learned the
wagon-maker's trade. He had attended the common schools, and in time
served in the Russian army as a member of a regiment of infantry in the war
with the Turks in 1877-78. He followed farming and had a wagon-shop; and
while in Russia he married Elisa Rudolph, who was born there.
One day he read in the newspapers the wonderful story of Fresno as a
new town and decided to come out here ; and suiting the thought to action,
he arrived in June, 1887, and was therefore one of the first settlers from
Russia to come to Central California. He went to work in a planing mill
and soon assisted to build the Hughes Hotel. He continued as a carpenter,
and little by little worked in ranches and vineyards.
In 1893 he bought his present place, then all raw land. He improved ten
acres of it with an orchard, but let it go back to the owner. He then con-
tracted to build residences in Fresno, and in 1906 bought the property back
again. Having dug out the orchard, he set out vines and now has a fine vine-
yard and orchard of twenty-five acres on McKinley Avenue. He has ten acres
of Thompson seedless, and the balance in peaches. He built a residence and
improved the property in many ways. Then he joined both the California
Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers. Inc.. and took
more and more interest in civic affairs as a Republican.
Six children have blessed Mr. and Mrs. Kerner: Samuel B., a shop fore-
man with the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company at Fresno; Henry
R., storekeeper for that concern ; Anna, who is Mrs. Koroch, in Fresno ; Eliza-
beth, who has become Mrs. Holmes there; and Letha and Carl, who are at
home. The Kerners also have an adopted child, Mollie Kruse, now ten years
old. They worship at the Church of God in Fresno.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2367
DAVID SEACORD. — A pioneer of California who has taken a part in
the development of the West Side in the San Joaquin Valley, having opened
the first coal mine at Coalinga, is David Seacord, who was born in West
Davenport, Delaware County, N. Y., October 15, 1847, the next to the young-
est of six children of William and Mary (Eddy) Seacord, also natives of
Delaware County. The father crossed the plains to California in 1849, en-
gaging in mining in El Dorado County for some time, then returning east.
He made a second trip to California but again returned to New York where
he settled down to farming in Delaware County and there he and his. wife
passed away. David had a brother, Thomas, who served in an Illinois Regi-
ment in the Civil War, until he died at Memphis, Term.
David Seacord spent his youth on the farm in the Catskill Mountains,
in the Upper Susquehanna Valley, meanwhile attending the public schools.
When thirteen years of age he went to Marietta, Washington County, Ohio,
where he paddled his own canoe. In August, 1862, he responded to his coun-
try's call, and enlisted for the Civil War, serving in the Thirty-ninth Ohio
Regiment for about one year, when he was discharged on account of dis-
ability. After recovering his health he again enlisted, this time in Company
G, One Hundred Forty-eight Ohio Volunteer Infantry, seeing some hard ser-
vice at Harper's Ferry and through the Shenandoah Valley, at Deep Bottom
and in the siege of Petersburg, after which he did provost duty at Bermuda
Hundred until he was mustered out and honorably discharged at Marietta,
Ohio, in the fall of 1864. He was fortunate in never receiving a scratch and
has never applied for nor received a pension.
After his discharge, Mr. Seacord spent four years as an engineer in the
oil-fields of West Virginia and then came to Sullivan County, Mo., where he
bought the patent right for a bee-hive in three Missouri counties. This he
manufactured and sold for several years meeting with success, because it
was a practical and splendid bee-hive. In 1873 he came to Colorado and was
an engineer near Long's Peak, Colo., until 1876, when he came to Hollister,
Cal., and there did carpentering and building. In the fall of 1877 he made a
trip into the San Joaquin Valley and was working at Grangeville when he
ran across Tom Beatty who engaged him to come to Coalinga and open his
coal mine. This was August 15, 1877. He drove the first tunnel and mined the
first coal, continuing until March, 1878, when he returned to Hollister and
started out to hunt a bee range, finally buying a squatter's claim in Bear
Canyon, Fresno County, but as he did not like it or find it suitable, he came
to his present place in Warthan Canyon. There was no road, nor any sur-
vey, but he and John Bray located squatters' claims and started an apiary,
and when the land was open for settlement they located a homestead and pre-
emption and also bought land which they cleared and improved. Mr. Bray
had been a travelling salesman, so they opened a general merchandise estab-
lishment in a store they built on the ranch and built up a large business, ex-
tending into adjoining counties. Mr. Bray was postmaster and also deputy
county clerk, a man of splendid attainments and fine personality, and the}'
made a success of the business ; Mr. Seacord took care of the ranch and the
apiary. In 1884 they shipped seventy-five tons of honey which they hauled
to Huron, the terminus of the railroad. In 1902 his partner died and Mr. Sea-
cord purchased his interest from his heirs ; he closed out the mercantile
business and continued farming, horticulture and bee culture.
In early days, Mr. Seacord set out an orchard which has grown well and
is bearing good fruit. The Seacord ranch is well improved and is at an alti-
tude of 1.500 feet. The proprietor is well and favorably known, having done
much to improve the district. He has been an indefatigable worker and is
now in independent circumstances, enjoying the fruits of his labors, having
the good will of a host of friends who esteem him for his genial nature and
kindness.
2368 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
FLORENCE (GORDON) COWAN.— In matters of reform legislation
and in the sphere of education women have always been avowed advocates.
The State of California has been foremost in carrying out these principles, and
among the women of the State to whom credit is due should be mentioned
Mrs. Florence (Gordon) Cowan, a native Californian. born in Davis. Yolo
County. She is the daughter of William Y. Gordon, who was born in South
Hero. Grand Isle County. Vt., and who came to California in 1852 via Panama,
engaged in mining for two vears. and then located a farm in Yolo County. He
returned to the Fast via Panama, and in 1S70 was married to Miss Jane
Phelps, a native of Vermont. They came to California and he bought more
land, having acquired 640 acres, and engaged in grain-farming. Fie died in
1915 in his eighty-fifth year, his death being caused by his team running
away with him. The mother is still living, an honored member of Mrs.
Cowan's home. There were five children of whom Mrs. Cowan is the
youngest. She Avas reared in Yolo County.
Mrs. Cowan's life has been one-of varied experiences. She was educated
in the Oakland schools, graduated from the Oakland High, entered the Uni-
versity of California, studied social science and graduating in 1903 with the
degree of P. L. She made application to the American Roard of Foreign
Missions of the Congregational Church, and was sent as teacher to Kobe
College in Kobe. Japan, in 1906, and continued there for five years, teaching
English history and science. During these five years she traveled over Japan
and into Korea, laying up a store of knowledge that she has put to practical
account. In 1911 she resigned her work with the Board, and returned to
California. After a year's rest she located in Kerman and became one of the
teachers in Kerman Union High School, and in 1914 was elected principal,
a position she held until June, 1918. The school offers High School. Com-
mercial and Agricultural Courses, and has a corps of seven teachers with an
attendance of from eighty to ninety-six pupils ; the grounds occupy twenty
acres.
Mrs. Cowan owns an attractive home-place of twenty acres on Clinton
Avenue, which is being improved and set to Thompson seedless grapes. She
is greatly interested in the advancement of the community and in education,
and was very successful as principal ; she suggested the organization of the
Civic Center and Teachers' Club. She is a member of the Presbyterian
Church, and also of the California Teachers Association. Miss Gordon was
united in marriage on July 9. 1918. with Alexander Cowan, born in Maybole,
Avrshire. Scotland, and who has been a resident of California since 190 i. I [e
is a building contractor, well known in Fresno County.
H. E. VERBLE. — An Illinois native developed to American manhood in
Texas, who. by force of character and exceptional business and executive
qualifications, has become one of Kingsburg's highly respected and influential
citizens, is H. E. Verble, manager of the Valley Lumber Company's lumber
yard at Kingsburg, clerk of the city and of the school board, and a leader in
other organizations. He was born at Anna, Union County, 111., on September
0, 1881, and attained his seventeenth year in that State. Then desiring to
strike out for himself, he went to Northwestern Texas and for six years was
a cowboy, riding the range in the Panhandle country. He worked for the
Millirons, Roe Ranch, and X. I. T. cattle companies, and gained a reputation
as an experienced and intrepid ranger.
Coming North to California, in 1904. Mr. Verble fortunately had his at-
tention drawn to the exceptional business opportunities in Fresno: and soon
after he engaged in a grocery in that city. His early and late endeavors
brought increased patronage, and he continued in that field from 1904 until
1906. In the latter year he entered the employ of the Pine Ridge Lumber
Company, working for three summers in the woods and around the saw
mills, and during the winters in the Valley Lumber Company's yards at
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2369
Fresno. The great San Francisco earthquake happened at that time ; and as
Mr. Verble was a member of the National Guards at Fresno, he was sent to
the metropolis and did patrol and rescue work for thirty days in the fire-
stricken city.
By hard work and fidelity to his employers, Mr. Verble worked his way
up as handler, grader, and foreman, and from 1907 to 1909 acquired that
valuable experience which comes through actually doing things. Until
August, 1910, he was manager at Bowles, Cal., and later he became manager
for the Valley Lumber Company's yards at Kingsburg. This company deals
in all kinds of lumber for building purposes and carries a complete line of
builders' materials, having the largest lumber yard in Kingsburg.
While resident at Fresno, Mr. Verble was married to Miss Lucy McAfee
of that city ; the}' have two children : Hal E. Verble, Jr., and Kathryn. Mr.
Verble finds delight in his home life ; he belongs to, Traver Lodge, No. 294, F.
& A. M. Mr. and Mrs. Verble are both active members of the Eastern Star
at Kingsburg, of which both are past officers. Mr. Verble is a Past Master,
having served as Master of his lodge in 1916, and having been a delegate to
the Grand Lodge in 1915. On January 1, 1919, he became Inspector of the
Forty-seventh Masonic District which includes Selma, Kingsburg, Reedley,
Dinuba and Arosa.
Preeminently public-spirited, it was Mr. Verble who organized, in 1912,
the City of Kingsburg Fire Department, becoming its first chief. He is ac-
tivelv interested in good roads, and did much to secure the State Highway
for Kingsburg. He is a member of the Kingsburg Chamber of Commerce,
and never fails to support whatever is for the advancement and growth of
Kingsburg. He is the efficient clerk of the Board of Trustees of the City of
Kingsburg, and has shown equal faithfulness as Clerk of the Board of Trus-
tees of the Kingsburg Joint Union High School. It is a matter of satisfaction
to Mr. Verble to note how Kingsburg is rapidly coming to the front. The
city is planning an expenditure of $27,000 in extending its sewer system ; and
such strides forward are bound to attract many more desirable residents.
WILLIAM H. ALLEN. — A successful rancher, who started life under
disadvantages but by industry and honest methods has risen to his present
position, is William H. Allen, whose valuable farm property is six miles
southwest of Laton. on the Laguna.
Mr. Allen was born in Person County, N. C, the son of William Gaston
Allen, also a native of that state, and a planter. His grandfather was D.
Allen, a soldier in the Mexican War. The Aliens were cotton and tobacco
growers in North Carolina for several generations ; and Mr. Allen's mother
was Martha Sanford, of the prominent Cavalier family of that name. Ten
children were born to the estimable parents, five of whom grew to maturity;
and all five came to California. Anna is now the wife of Louis Humphreys,
and lives on a rented ranch one mile to the east ; Thomas J. ; AYilliam H.,
our subject; Ella, the second-born, was married in North Carolina to W. A.
Tuck, came out to California for her health eleven years ago and died here,
leaving three boys and two girls, now married in North Carolina ; and Ola
is the wife of Joe E. Woodworth, and dwells as a neighbor to William H.
William H. grew up on his father's plantation until his thirteenth year,
when both parents died, within six months of each other; after which the
children were separated. William lived with his cousin, until about eigh-
teen; then he began to work out for others, by the month, saved what he
could, and at the age of twenty-five was married to Mrs. Emma Stokes,
the widow of W. T. Stokes of Person County, a farmer by whom she had
five children, who went to live with the wife's relatives in North Carolina,
after the first wife's death in 1899. Mr. Allen had two children by her:
Lennie, now the wife of Tohn W. Richard, who resides at Hanford and has
one child; and William G, now working on the pipe line for the Standard
2370 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Oil Company. He was in the navy at San Pedro, having left the University
of California where he was a Freshman when the war broke out. Mrs.
Stokes was Emma Ramsey before her marriage, a member of another well-
known North Carolina family, and she died in Person County.
Mr. Allen continued for six years a widower with two children, and in
May, 1901, he brought them with him to California, arriving at length at
Hanford. Two years later he bought twenty acres and began to make im-
provements, and he still makes the place his home ; he has added to it by
purchase, and now he owns fifty acres.
On December 22, 1905, Mr. Allen married a second time, taking for his
bride Miss Violet Ryder, a native of New Brunswick, Canada, the daughter
of James Ryder, also of the same country, a hunter, trapper and huntsman's
guide. Her mother, whose maiden name was Lydia Kierstad, was of Scotch
and English blood, but born in New Brunswick. The Ryders came originally
from England and settled in the Rhode Island Colony, while the mother's
people settled in New York ; and about the time of the Revolution they
moved to New Brunswick. When fourteen years of age. Mrs. Allen came
to New Bedford, Mass., and grew up there, attending the South Lancaster
Academy, an Adventist school ; and she was a student there when she came
to California to visit some of her relatives, fully expecting to go back after
a short time. She has since become the mother of six children: Ella. Del-
bert. Merle, Lloyd, George Muroy, and Ellsworth Manchester.
As a rancher, Mr. Allen raises alfalfa and considerable corn, both In-
dian and Egyptian, and his products are of the highest quality. Mrs. Allen
is a director on the school board in the Adventist Church, and a director of
the Laguna Adventist School, which has an attendance of twenty-five pupils.
ALFRED WICKLIFFE.— Since 1905 this gentleman has been a resi-
dent of Fresno County and by his executive ability has held positions of
trust and responsibility which have given him a standing among his fellows
in Parlier and Del Rev vicinities. A native of Missouri, born in Benton
County, October 1, 1882, Alfred Wickliffe is a son of Robert and Clara
(Hughes') Wickliffe, and second in order of birth in a family of sixteen
children, fourteen of whom reached maturity and are living. Four sons served
their country in the World War, three entering the service from Missouri.
Elmer R. ; Ira W. ; and Lewis H. Ira W. has been discharged but the others
are with the army of occupation. Jerry. M. entered the service at Fresno.
May 1, 1917, served in the Aviation Corps and for eighteen months was
overseas. He was discharged May 16, 1919, and is now at Selma.
Alfred Wickliffe received his education in the public schools in Missouri,
followed farming there till 1905, when he came to California and to Fresno
County, where he had a brother. He worked in various places until Tanuary
1, 1917, when he became manager of the Fortuna Rancho, near Parlier. This
ranch comprises 500 acres and is devoted to fruit and nuts and has been under
cultivation about thirty years. During the busy season 175 persons were
under the supervision of the manager, and in normal times there were twenty.
One season's shipment included seven cars of prunes, one car dried peaches,
seven cars fresh peaches, and one car English walnuts. This gives a better
understanding of the responsibility that was Mr. Wickliffe's. He resigned
this position and on May 15. 1919, accepted the position of superintendent of
the Del Rio Rev Rancho, with duties of a similar nature as mentioned above.
The 520 acres in the ranch are devoted to table and raisin grapes.
In 1912, Mr. Wickliffe was united in marriage with Miss Glenn Myers,
daughter of Darius and Susie (Bedford*) Myers, and two daughters blessed
their union, Winifred C. and Wilma C. On April 14, 1915, Mrs. Wickliffe died
and was mourned by her family and many friends. Mr. Wickliffe is a member
of the Woodmen of the World and is popular wherever he is known.
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2373
REV. PATRICK PIERSE.— Well does the student of California history
know what the teeming thousands of its population, through many genera-
tions, owe to the piety, scholarship, bravery and heroic endeavors of its saintly
clergy who helped found and develop the great commonwealth, and the
student of recent events will also know how the clergy of the same universal
or Catholic Church have in more modern days helped to guide the ship of
state, elevate society and so make mankind happier. Among the representa-
tives of this great organization which Protestants, Jews and others not
numbered in that fold delight to honor and cooperate with, is the Rev. Pat-
rick Pierse, the rector of St. Paul's Catholic Church at Coalinga.
He was born in County Kerry, in Erin's green isle, on February 7, 1887,
and first studied the classics, as the basis of the scholarship desired, at San
Brendans Seminary. He then prepared for the Christian ministry at All
Hallows College, Dublin, and at St. Patrick's College, in Carlow ; and within
th.e sacred walls of the latter institution, so famed for its thorough and con-
scientious work, he was ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 1912, for the
Diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles, by Bishop Foley.
Having chosen California as his field of missionary work, Father Pierse
crossed the wide ocean and the great continent, and arrived at Santa Monica
in the fall of the same year. He was not long in getting domiciled and in
obtaining an insight into American life and institutions ; and he became
assistant to the Rev. Patrick Hawe at Santa Monica's Catholic Church, Santa
Monica.
In November, 1917, Father Pierse, after an effectual ministry at Santa
Monica, in which he faithfully endeavored to preach the Gospel and to win
souls to Christ and the holv Church, took charge of St. Paul's Catholic Church
at Coalinga ; and as this is his first real charge, it is fortunate that he is so
pleased with California, and so eager to become identified, more and more
with her growth. His congregation has six hundred souls, and besides min-
istering to their many wants, Father Pierse each month holds a service at
Oilfield, and Sunday School there each Sunday.
Father Pierse is a live worker and organizer in the Knights of Columbus,
and is alert to strengthen every agency for good already sponsored by the
Church. In addition, he takes a keen interest in civic affairs and the purifica-
tion of politics and the elevation of the franchise ; and he may be counted on
to be second to no one in endorsing every good movement, and in taking part
in every good work, calculated to raise the morals of the community, the
county and the state.
JOHN H. CARPENTER. — Fresno County is proud of the men who till
the soil within her borders, and none stand higher in the esteem of their
fellows than John H. Carpenter, owner of a twenty-acre raisin vineyard near
Lone Star. Mr. Carpenter was born at Spanish Fort, Montague County, Texas,
June 13, 1880, a son of Jonas Michael and Nannie (Adkins) Carpenter. The
father was born on March 21, 1849, and died May 27, 1896, in the place of his
birth, Montague County, Texas. The mother is the daughter of James B. and
Sarah Adkins, both of whom are deceased. She was born on September 10,
1858. and is now residing in Oklahoma. She became the mother of the follow-
ing children: Ida F., wife of Thomas Moore; John H., who married Maggie
E. Cannon; William B., who married Alson Lee; Mary E., Mrs. Milton A.
Duncan; George E., who married Bessie Griggsby; Hattie M., the wife of
T. J. Gardenhire ; James M., who married Bertha Wood; and Luther F., who
married Marie W. Hail. Grandfather Moses Carpenter married for his first
wife Avalina Costner, on June 26, 1827. She died on October 21, 1842, and on
July 13, 1843, he was married to Francis Rudisell. He died June 10, 1858, and
his widow passed away March 16, 1862.
When John H. Carpenter was nine years old his parents moved to Chick-
asaw Reservation, Okla., and here the lad attended the public school in their
district, grew up on his father's farm, and became familiar with farming and
2374 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
stockraising. In 1898 he went to Washita County, and in 1900 he established
a home of his own, marrying Miss Maggie Cannon, born in Kentucky, but at
that time residing in Oklahoma. This union has been blessed with four
children, Bertha, a graduate of the Fresno Business College; Opal, who died
aged nine years ; and Leona and Elsie.
Upon his arrival in California, Mr. Carpenter settled in Fresno County
and began to familiarize himself with the fruit business. As soon as the ware-
house at Lone Star became the property of the California Associated Raisin
Company, in 1912, he became connected with the concern and thereafter
worked hard to make it a successful venture for the company in that part of
the county. The building is situated on the Santa Fe Railway, about eight
miks >nutheast from Fresno, and is equipped with a stemmer and other neces-
sary appurtenances to facilitate the handling of raisins. The warehouse was
originally built by the raisin growers of that locality during the time that
M. Theo. Kearney was president of the Raisin Association. In 1918, Mr. Car-
penter was made manager of the warehouse and served during that season.
He also runs his own ranch on North Avenue, which gives evidence of a
master hand.
The Carpenter family are members of the Christian Church, in which
organization Mr. Carpenter has been very active, for some time being super-
intendent of the Sunday school. He is a member of the Fraternal Brother-
hood, and in politics supports the Democratic administration. In the commu-
nity where they have lived all these years, Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter and family
are highly respected by all who know them.
PHILIPP RATHGEBER.— A valuable addition to the citizenry of
Fresno County is Philipp Rathgeber, a well known pioneer of Yankton, S. D.,
and a successful cattleman and large landowner in that state. He made his
advent into Fresno County in May, 1918, when he purchased the I. N. Zook
place, a well improved ranch of forty acres devoted to raising peaches, figs
and raisin grapes. This property he sold in February, 1919.
Philipp Rathgeber was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, November
14, 1857, a son of Christian and Barbara (Stiers) Rathgeber, both of whom
were natives of Germany and were married there. In 1870, Mr. and Mrs. C.
Rathgeber, with their family of four children, emigrated to America, re-
maining in New York City about six months, then they removed to St Louis,
Mo., where they resided eighteen months. Mrs. Rathgeber had one brother
and two sisters at Yankton, S. D., which was then known as Dakota Terri-
tory, and in 1872 the family moved to Yankton where the father bought a
farm and here he continued to live until his death, during the winter of 1882,
aged fifty-eight years. The mother continued to make her home at Yank-
ton until she passed awaj' in 1916, at the age of eighty-two years, hav-
ing resided in Dakota for forty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Christian Rathgeber
were the parents of four children : Philipp ; Katie, who is the wife of Gust
Mielands, of Yankton; Jacob, ex-sheriff of Yankton County. S. D., and a
hardware merchant in Yankton ; and Barbara, who is the wife of Bruno Strube,
a partner in the hardware business with Jacob.
Philipp Rathgeber grew to manhood at Yankton, where he worked on
the home place, having broken up the prairie land with oxen and horses for
his father, who was in poor health. When twenty-four years of age in 1882,
Mr. Rathgeber was united in marriage with Mary Ruben, a native of .Madison
County, 111., who came to Yankton in the winter of 1S80. They are the parents
of five children: Emma, the wife of Mike Crowell, farmer and stockman
of Meade County, S. D. : Pearl, the wile of Bert Zook, a raisin-grower of
Fresno County; Walter, who married Miss Hazel Wilkinson, of Sanger, and
served his country in the army; Lucy and Cassius, who are at home.
After his marriage Mr. Rathgeber started farming for himself in Bon
Homme County, S. D., and in 1886 he moved to Rapid City where he took
up a homestead and proved up on 160 acres. He engaged in the cattle luisi-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2375
ness on the Cheyenne River and became very prosperous, and added by
purchase to his original homestead until now he is the owner of 750 acres.
Mr. Rathgeber continued farming in South Dakota until the spring of
1918, when his health began to fail, and like many others who needed a
change of climate, his thoughts turned towards California and in May, 1918,
he came to Fresno County, and here he is regaining his health and enjoying
the glorious climate and sunshine of the Golden State, happy in the thought
that now he is safe from the severity of Dakota's blizzards. Mr. Rathgeber
is a man of much business ability and numbers among his acquaintances in
South Dakota such noted men as Hon. Bartlett Tripp of Yankton, Ex-
Governor Andrew E. Lee of Vermilion, Ex-Senator Frank Pettigrew of
Sioux Falls, and Senator Johnson of Armour, S. D.
R. W. MASSEY, V. S. — A young and promising veterinary surgeon of
acknowledged ability, Dr. R. W. Massey has been a resident of Reedley since
April, 1916; and although but a recent acquisition to the professional circles
of the town, he is rapidly becoming known as an expert in his special branch
of surgery. He possesses a genial disposition and is skilful and courteous in
his practice, which are potent factors in the rapid growth of his clientele.
He was born in Texas, on June 21, 1891, the son of J. A. and Emma (Mont-
gomery) Massey, natives of Georgia and Texas respectively. The family
migrated to California in 1906 and are now residents of Selma. J. A. and
Emma Massey were the parents of three children : Mary, Ola, and the sub-
ject of this sketch, Dr. R. W. Massey.
Dr. Massey's early education was received in the public schools and was
supplemented by attendance at the San Francisco Veterinary College, from
which institution he was graduated in 1916. In April of the same year he
established an office in Reedley, where he has been very successful in the
practice of his profession. His office and hospital are equipped with the most
modern appliances for the prosecution of scientific veterinary surgery and
the combating of prevalent diseases of domestic animals.
Dr. R. W. Massey's marriage was solemnized on February 8, 1913, when
he was united with Miss Ethel Gaut, daughter of J. A. Gaut, of Missouri.
Her parents migrated to California about 1902. Two children have been born
to Dr. and Mrs. Massey: Frances; and Jack, who passed away in 1916.
OLE H. STAY. — Among the progressive and prosperous ranchers in
Mt. Olive Township — a rancher of the type that California needs and wel-
comes from among the most intelligent and industrious of the immigrants
from other States — is O. H. Stay whose handsome residence, full-bearing
vineyards and fruitful orchards speak eloquently of a life with a purpose, and
a life with something accomplished. Mr. Stay took charge of forty acres
of fruitland without previous experience, and made a success of the venture ;
and then, having established confidence in himself, and the confidence of
others in him, and provided a good market, purchased forty acres more and
built a home suitable for a town residence. In 1919 he bought twenty acres
more and improved it to muscats, peaches and figs.
A native of picturesque and romantic Norway, where he was born on
July 21, 1858, Mr. Stay was reared and educated in the Scandinavian penin-
sula, and when he was twenty-two he set sail for the New World. He first
went to Canada, but concluding that the United States offered still greater
inducements to the stranger who had his way to make in the world, he
came under the Stars and the Stripes. Pushing to the northwest, he located
in Minneapolis, and for five years he was active there in the lumber busi-
ness, serving others. After that, he came farther West and at Sharon and
Mayville, N. D., he continued in the same line, but for himself. Some
years having elapsed, he sold out his interests and moved to Minnesota,
where he turned his attention to agriculture. Naturally progressive, blessed
2376 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
with excellent powers of observation and quick to learn, he continued for
nine years in the North Star State.
In 1911, Mr. Stay came to California to look around; returned for a
short while to South Dakota, to reenter the lumber business at Wallace,
and then, after a year, sold out there for good, came to California again, and
located in Fresno County, taking up his home on his present ranch. Now,
by the most advanced methods, he leads in producing muscatel, Thompson and
Malaga grapes, and peaches, with some acres of alfalfa.
In 1888, Mr. Stay married Miss Aletta Mogedahl, by whom he has had
six children: Henrietta, now Mrs. Serstock ; Clarence M. ; William Reuben;
Echo M. ; Phillip V. ; and Lylha. Clarence entered the infantry service on
August 6, 1918, and after training several months was on board ship ready
to go to France when the armistice was signed. He was discharged in Feb-
ruary, 1919. William Reuben enlisted on August 5, 1917, in the U. S
Marines, trained at Mare Island, then was sent to New London, Conn., where
he remained until discharged in March, 1919, as a corporal.
Mr. Stay is a worthy and popular member of the Masonic fraternity,
having been made a Mason in Cooperstown, N. D. He is active in all civic
movements, and with his good wife is always ready to aid in every effort
for the public good.
CHARLES H. OLMSTEAD.— A good-natured, affable and hospitable
young man, who is not only highly respected for his sterling character and
business acumen, but is looked up to as a natural leader, is Charles H. Olm-
stead, who took an active part in the organization and building up of certain
social clubs for men in the oil-fields, and thereby benefited the lives of many
a faithful worker. He was born at Syracuse, N. Y., on January 27, 1884,
the son of Charles Olmstead, also a New Yorker, who was long engaged in
farming near Syracuse, and who, after years of activity, retired with a com-
fortable competency and, what is equally of importance, with the good will
and esteem of his fellowmen. Mrs. Olmstead, who before her marriage was
Mary Bowman, and who was also born at Syracuse, passed away several
years ago.
The second oldest in their family of five children, Charles H. was reared
at Syracuse and educated in its excellent public schools. At the age of
eighteen he left home and made his way to Flint, Mich., where he was em-
ployed at farming until 1906. In that year — the period of the earthquake and
fire — he came to San Francisco and was soon engaged by the W. P. Fuller
oil works. A year later he removed to Fresno and for ten or twelve months
was in the service of the Santa Fe Railroad. Then he came to Coalinga ; and
being the kind of timber that far-seeing business folk seldom leave long un-
employed, he engaged with the Associated Oil Company, on National 30,
where he continued for a period of two years. His ability and close appli-
cation to duty won for him a foremanship, but in 1910 he resigned, in order
to assume still greater responsibility.
It was then that Mr. Olmstead entered the employ of the California Oil-
fields, Ltd., and when they sold their holdings to the Shell, he continued with
the new concern. He was foreman of Section 27. and later was transferred
in the same capacity to the W. K. lease. In 1916 he was again transferred as
foreman of Sections 14, 10 and 15, for the Shell Company of California, and
later his responsibilities were increased with the addition of Sections 22 and
24. This desirable place he has been filling with credit and ability ever since.
He has also served as deputy sheriff for the past three years.
Mr. Olmstead is a member of the Red Men at Coalinga; he worked hard
and unselfishly to establish the Oilfields Club, already referred to, and. as
actively, in organizing Section 14 Social Club, of which he is president, and
which has its own well-appointed and spacious club-rooms, a credit alike
to members and patrons.
(S^/^^oUUZj^Y'
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2.379
A. S. VOTAW. — The successful man of today is found in every walk
of life and in ever}' clime. A man of this stamp is found in A. S. Votaw,
of Navelencia, in Fresno County. He is a native of Michigan, where he
was born in 1861, but was reared and educated in Iowa, where he lived
until 1889, when he felt the call of the West and migrated to California,
locating in Mariposa County where he was engaged in mining for a time, also
likewise engaged in Placer County. He next moved to Morgan Hill, Santa
Clara County, and carried on a mercantile business until 1909. Always on
the lookout for something better, from 1909 until 1914, he was engaged in
an agricultural colonization proposition in Mexico, but owing to the Mexi-
can revolution he was forced to suspend operations.
Returning to California, he came to Fresno County and assumed the
management of the Navelencia Farm and Town Company. The property
consisted of 1,000 acres, located about twenty-six miles east from Fresno.
Under his management the land was sold off in tracts of from ten to twenty,
and even larger, acreages. The company was started in 1914 by A. S. Spauld-
ing and improvements now seen in the little town include a fine hotel, two
stores, packing house, four residences, and a fine school house where two
teachers are employed. Mr. Votaw resigned his position in October, 1918,
in order to give his attention to his ranching operations.
He installed an up-to-date water system with a large tank of 5,000
gallons' capacity, to supply water to the town. This is his own personal
property. He has a ranch of thirty-two acres, devoted to figs and Emperor
grapes, which is well watered by wells and pumping plants to insure an
adequate supply of water for irrigation purposes. He has a beautiful home
in Navelencia, which is presided over by his wife, whom he married in 1916,
and who was, prior to her marriage to Mr. Votaw, Mrs. Mabel Macdonald.
Mr. Votaw is a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints.
MRS. LOUIS WAHL. — It is always a matter of particular satisfaction
to learn that the good work begun by one who has passed on to his eternal
reward and left a worthy record and influence behind him, is still being car-
ried on by his widow. No more loyal and enthusiastic citizen may be found
in Fresno County than Mrs. Wahl, who was born at Mesbach, Baden, Ger-
many, the daughter of Anton Baudendistel, a baker there, and his wife, Marie
(Glauser) Baudendistel. Both parents died in the locality in which they
lived. There were six girls and three boys in the family; five daughters and
one son are still living.
Mrs. Wahl, the second eldest in the family, was educated in the public
schools of Baden, and soon after completing her education she left Germany
for the New World. She had a sister living in San Francisco, and in 1871
joined her in the western metropolis. In 1875 she was married to Louis Wahl,
a native of Wiirttemberg, who had come to California in 1867. He had already
enlisted in the regular army, thereby demonstrating his allegiance to the re-
public, had served in Alaska, and had been honorably discharged. Following
his army experience he had remained in San Francisco, and there he met his
future life-companion.
Five years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. AVahl purchased the twenty
acres situated about four miles east of Fresno, where Mrs. Wahl now lives ;
and to their ranch they moved in 1885. When they first went there, the land
was unimproved. They leveled it and set out vines, and by hard work made
of it a productive vineyard, erecting a fine residence and constructing the
necessary out buildings. This vineyard was called the Park Vineyard, from the
fact that it had a beautiful park of trees which attracted the attention of all
who passed. In front of the ranch was one of the largest cottonwood trees in
the county.
After a very busy and fruitful life, Mr. Wahl died in 1896, in the fifty-
sixth year of his age, respected, beloved, and mourned by a wide circle of
2380 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
friends. He was a member of the Herman Sons. A plain, cordial, honest citi-
zen, his influence was always found to be on the side of everything making
for the good of society and the improvement of the community in which he
had such an intense interest. Since Mr. Wahl's death, his widow has con-
tinued the operation of the ranch. She is a member of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company.
As one of the oldest settlers in this part of the state, and probably the
oldest in this immediate vicinity, Mrs. Wahl has seen much of the develop-
ment of the county. From the beginning she had faith in Fresno County;
and that faith she has never ceased to foster.
CHARLES E. BUTNER— Fresno has never wanted for professional
men of high ideals and wide vision, to build wisely and well for the long, long
future. Among such gifted men is Charles E. Butner, the well-known architect,
who was born in North Carolina on July 31, 1888, the son of T. M. and Emily
(Worth) Butner. He graduated in 1911 from the University of Pennsylvania.
For a while Mr. Butner worked for the City of Philadelphia, replanning the
new boulevard system, and then he went to New York to help work out the
problems of the Russell Sage Foundation, the ten-million-dollar movement in-
augurated by Mrs. Russell Sage, in 1907, who left that immense sum for "the
improvement of social and living conditions in the United States of America."
He worked on the Model Community at Forest Hills Gardens, Long Island, and
both gave and received in the experience. After that, he spent a year and a half
looking for an attractive location ; and having seen many of the finest neighbor-
hoods in the country, he chose Fresno and its environs, taking up his new resi-
dence in February, 1913. An influential Democrat, and always for Fresno and
its best interests, Mr. Butner is secretary of the City Planning Commission.
As one of the firm of Glass' & Butner, architects, Mr. Butner planned, among
other edifices, the tentative public schools and the County Tubercular Hospital.
He is also designing the new addition to the County Hospital. Besides, he has
built many of the finest residences in the town. Among clubs with which he is
affiliated may be mentioned the Architectural Society and the T-Square, both of
Pennsylvania. Mr. Butner enlisted in July, 1917, in the air service as private,
was commissioned lieutenant in December, 1917, and came out Captain, being
honorably discharged at Montgomery, Ala., on March 10, 1919.
Subscribing to Presbyterian creeds, Mr. Butner, who is unmarried, also
belongs to the Sunnyside Country Club and the Sequoia Club, while he is also a
member of the Board of Governors of the University Club — an honor he prizes
highly.
WILLIAM PERRY BEAUCHAMP.— A successful agriculturist who
is making a specialty of scientific stock-raising, is William Perry Beauchamp,
who was born at Harwood, in Vernon County, Mo., on September 27, 1883.
His father, G. F. Beauchamp, was born in Indiana, and removed first to Ne-
braska and then to Missouri, where he became a farmer. In 1908 he came
to Fresno County, and he now resides at Monmouth, where he is still busy
with farming. His wife was Anna Adams before her marriage, and she was
a native of Illinois. Eight children — seven daughters and one son — were born
to this worthy couple; and William Perry was the second in the order of
birth. He was brought up on a farm in Missouri, and there attended the
public schools. When twenty-two and still in his home-region, he began to
farm for himself, lie made a specialty of raising stock, and soon demon-
strated his capability.
While in Missouri. Mr. Beauchamp was married to Miss Eva Everman,
also a native of that state; and in February, 1909, they came west to Califor-
nia and located in Selma. He leased a vineyard of eighty acres, which he
operated for a year, when it was sold, and then he leased a peach orchard for
a year. After that he rented eighty acres of vineyard and peach orchard, and
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2381
for five years he was unusually successful. Mr. Beauchamp next purchased
his present place, a fine tract of ninety-two acres on Biola Avenue, in 1915.
Fie raised alfalfa, grain and peaches, and set out a vineyard of thirty acres of
Thompson seedless and Sultanas. He made many improvements and engaged
in dairying and the raising of cattle and hogs. He allied himself with the
California Associated Raisin Company, and helped to boost the raisin interests
of the state.
Mr. and Mrs. Beauchamp have six children: Mildred, Bessie, Wilber,
Harold, Edna and Irene. Mrs. Beauchamp is a member of the Christian
Church, and Mr. Beauchamp belongs to the Woodmen of the World. The
Beauchamp family enjoys deserved popularity.
WILBUR T. BOYD, M. D.— A member of Fresno County's medical
fraternity since 1912, Dr. Boyd is now located in offices in the center of the
county's population, Fresno, and is meeting with substantial success as a
specialist in eye, ear, nose and throat diseases. Born in Bedford City, Bedford
County, Ya., September 6. 1875, he was raised there and attended the public
schools for his early education. He then entered the University of West Vir-
ginia, at Morgantown, taking a course in pharmacy. He finished the course
at the Ohio Northern University, at Ada, Ohio, graduated in pharmacy, and
practised that profession in West Virginia a number of years.
Dr. Boyd came to California in 1902, and first located at Redlands, where
he practised pharmacy two years. He then returned East and took a three-
year course in medicine, in the Medical College of Virginia, at Richmond,
Va. On completing his course, he returned to California, in 1910, and in 1911
graduated from the University of Southern California, with his degree of
M. D. He then entered on the practice of his profession, remaining one year
in Los Angeles, and in 1912 came to Fresno County, and practised for five
years in Riverdale. Wishing to specialize in his work, the Doctor took a post-
graduate course in eye, ear, nose and throat diseases at the University of Cal-
ifornia, at Berkeley, and at Stanford University, at Palo Alto, dividing his
time between the two colleges.
On the completion of his postgraduate course of studies Dr. Boyd re-
turned to Fresno, in August, 1917, and is now located in the Mason Building
as an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist. He is meeting with success in his
chosen work, is building up a good practice in Fresno, and stands high in
his profession in the community. He operates at the Fresno Free Clinic, and
also at the Burnett Sanitarium, and is a member of the American Medical
Association, of the California Medical Association, and of the County Medical
Society. Fraternally, he is a member of Riverdale Lodge, I. O. O. F., and
of the Riverdale Lodge of Modern Woodmen of America.
Dr. Boyd's marriage united him with Josephine Orth, a native of Chi-
cago, 111.
OSCAR D. ATKINS.— In the senior member of the well-known firm of
Rees and Atkins, Fresno possesses a man of ability and thorough experience
in all branches of building operations in the person of Oscar D. Atkins.
Mr. Atkins was born in Lafayette, Ind., October 14, 1869, and brought
up and educated there. He learned the carpenter trade and followed this line
of occupation in his native state. In addition to this his fifteen years' experi-
ence in lumber yards and planing mill work in Indiana gave him additional
knowledge to apply in his occupation as contractor, which he began at the
early age of nineteen.
In September, 1912. he removed from Indiana to Fresno, Cal. The first
year in his new home he was foreman for Fred Stone, the contractor. In the
fall of 1913 he formed a partnership with Thomas J. Reese under the firm
name of Reese and Atkins and this firm, since its inception, has been quite
as successful as it has been busy, meeting with well merited recognition
2382 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
from the citizens of Fresno. The)' have erected some of the finest residences
in Fresno in the past four years, and have to their credit 114 homes and
apartments ranging in value' from $1,800 to $15,000; also thirty-six garages,
a $10,000 brick storehouse, all of the carpenter work in the Fresno Fair
Grounds, the interior finish of the Liberty Market and the remodeling of the
Cosmopolitan Hotel. They have done $20,000 worth of repair work and put-
ting in new fronts in store buildings. Noteworthy in the list of their very
creditable work we would mention : "The Littlefield Apartments," a number
of fine homes in the Alta Vista Tract, twenty-seven houses for Montgomery
Thomas, five houses for S. W. Dietrich, six tank houses on different ranches
in the country and the residence of N. M. Bangs on Van Ness Avenue. Mr.
Atkins, who is an expert in designing artistic homes, drew the plans for the
houses. He was one of the first men to buy lots and build in the "Alta Vista
Tract" and has built three homes for himself and disposed of them. His new
home on Huntington Drive is one of the most modern and artistic in Alta
Vista.
Mr. Atkins has been twice married. His first wife, a native of Indiana,
whose maiden name was Pearl Blake, died, leaving two children, namely:
Ralph B., formerly book-keeper in the Farmers National Bank of Fresno,
now a corporal in the United States Army Medical Department, and Goldie
D., who is attending school in Indiana. His second wife, before her marriage,
was Ida M. Sellers, also a native of the Hoosier state. She is a prominent
member of the First Christian Church of Fresno. In his religious views Mr.
Atkins is a Methodist, and is a member of the First Methodist Church of
Fresno. His successful efforts in making Fresno the "city beautiful" will
stand as an enduring monument to his name.
GIOVANNI MALANCA. — An Italian-American who has reflected, in
his successful career, much credit on the land of his birth, is Giovanni Ma-
lanca. a native of Lucca. Italy, where he was born on January 1, 1871. He
followed grape and fruit-raising until he came to America in 1893, and thor-
oughly learned the science of both viticulture and horticulture.
When he reached California, he located for a while in San Francisco,
and for three years worked in vegetable gardens. In December, 1897, he ar-
rived in Fresno, and here he rented sixty acres near Fowler. He lost nearly
all his money in the venture, however, and was glad to sell out his crop of
grapes for seventy-five dollars. Taking up his residence in Fresno, he en-
tered into partnership with R. Tocchini, on G Street, where he engaged in the
hotel, and liquor business in October, 1898. After twelve years he sold out
and bought the corner of Fresno and F Streets, where he erected a two-
story brick hotel.
In 1906 Mr. Malanca returned to Italy and married Miss C. Genoviessi,
by whom he has had three children, all of them born in Fresno and now stu-
dents at the Catholic Sisters School. They are Libertina, A-ngelo and Geneva.
EDWARD O'NEAL. — When a man occupies a position of trust and re-
sponsibility by reason of merit, it is certainly more satisfactory than if he
secured it by "pull." To have reached the top, knowing every step of the
way gives a man confidence in himself, and this, in turn, creates confidence
in him by those with whom he comes in contact. Mr. O'Neal is a good exam-
ple of this.
He was born near Weatherford. in Parker County, Texas, March 4, 1879.
He was raised on a farm and educated there. He worked on a farm until
he" was twenty years of age, when he started into the oil business, entering
the employ of the Texas Oil Company at Gates, Texas. This company sent
him to Tulsa, Okla., where he remained for a time. He became an expert
oil man, filling different positions in the oil fields and in the refining depart-
ments. For three months he was with the Pierce-Fordyce Oil Company at
Fort Worth, Texas. In 1911 he came to California and went to work for the
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2385
Producers' Transportation Company, at San Luis Obispo, where he remained
for two years. He started in as pipeman, soon became assistant foreman,
and later district foreman. In 1913 he moved to Coalinga, where he was with
•the same company in the oil fields, becoming district foreman in the Coalinga
fields.
In March, 1918, Mr. O'Neal was appointed city marshal and tax collec-
tor for Coalinga. To this appointment he is giving the same careful attention
that has characterized all his work. He is fearless in the discharge of his
duties as a peace officer. He has made some very important arrests, at one
time apprehending a diamond thief who had stolen in Coalinga, recovering
all the diamonds. At another time, when the Wallace Hardware Store was
robbed, Mr. O'Neal succeeded in capturing the thief. A crazy man who was
running amuck in Coalinga, was taken in tow, and is now in the Fresno
County jail. This is considered one of the most important arrests that he has
made, as it turned out that the man is a German spy. Because o.f his activity
in the discharge of his duties, Mr. O'Neal is regarded as the right man in
the right place, and has many friends in Coalinga and vicinity. He was made
a Mason in Oak Cliff, Texas, and is a member of the Oil Workers' Union.
He was married to Ada Thompson, of Texas, and they have four daugh-
ters: Lena Mae; Pauline; Pearl; and Ella. In the fall of 1918 Mr. O'Neal
resigned his position as city marshal to resume his work in the oil fields.
CAESAR MILLA. — The head of the distilling department of the great
Mattevista Winery, situated seven miles southeast of Fresno, Caesar Milla,
the subject of this sketch, was born November 1, 1875, in Canton Ticino,
Switzerland, a son of Joseph and Filomina (Mattei) Milla, the parents of
seven children, Caesar being the eldest. The mother passed away in 1913,
in Switzerland ; the father still resides there and has reached the age of
seventy-eight years.
Caesar Milla was reared in his native land until he was fifteen years of
age, when he emigrated to the United States, coming directly to the Matte-
vista Winery, which is owned and has been developed by his uncle, Andrew
Mattei, the millionaire viticulturist and wine-manufacturer. Caesar Milla
was employed by his uncle in the winery where, by hard work and intelli-
gent efforts, he soon gained a knowledge of the business and was promoted
from one department to another, and in course of time mastered the business,
from the planting of the vines to the bottling, shipping, and selling of the
wines. So well did he grasp the entire business that he became the superin-
tendent of the winery and held this responsible post until 1917, when his
cousin, Andrew Mattei, Jr., was made superintendent, and Caesar Milla be-
came the head of the distilling department. The parents of Caesar Milla be-
ing in modest circumstances, and having a large family to support, Caesar
continued to aid them financially and for twenty years sent his earnings back
to his mother to help support the family.
In 1908, Mr. Milla purchased a ranch of forty acres, twenty of which
are devoted to wine grapes and the rest to raisins ; and the place is further
improved by a beautiful bungalow, which he built in 1917. In 1910, Caesar
Milla was united in marriage with Mrs. P. Milla, the widow of his brother,
her maiden name having been Ida Poletti, a native of Switzerland. Mr. and
Mrs. Milla are the happy parents of two children: Florence, and Caesar, Jr.
Mrs. Milla had one child by her first husband, P. Milla, a daughter named
Lena.
Mr. and Mrs. Milla are members of the Catholic Church at Fresno, and
in politics he supports the Republican ticket. Mr. Milla is a man of great
executive ability and sound business judgment, and is making a success of
his fortv-acre vineyard, which he operates in addition to his responsible posi-
tion at the winery. Mr. and Mrs. Milla are highly respected in their com-
munity where they enjoy a large circle of friends.
2386 HISTORY OF FRESNO GOUNTY
LOUIS SCHOLLER. — Both as a business man and as a rancher and
horticulturist. Louis Scholler has been identified with the growth of Fresno,
city and county, and is well known in Central California as a progressive,
popular man of affairs. Born in Bavaria, Germany, October 4, 1864, he at-
tended the schools of his native country, and there learned to read the English
language. Even when a mere youth, he desired to make the most of his
opportunities, and crossed the sea to try his fortunes in a newer country, in
1883. Upon arrival, he came direct to California, settling in San Francisco,
where he engaged in the manufacture of soap and toilet waters. He later
went to British Columbia under contract with the British Columbia Soap
Works to manufacture soap for that concern. In 1889 Mr. Scholler came to
Fresno, and has been very active in business affairs ever since. Besides his
many business interests, Mr. Scholler has aided in the agricultural develop-
ment of the county. He is the owner of a twenty-two-acre orange grove at
Lemon Cove, that famous orange belt where the early varieties are grown;
and he also owns a 120-acre dairy and stock ranch, six miles west of Fresno.
In partnership with O. L. Everts and D. S. Ewing he built and owns a modern
brick garage on the corner of Stanislaus and I Streets, Fresno, and altogether,
has taken an active part in the rapid growth of Fresno and Fresno County.
A public-spirited citizen, he has been to the fore in all movements for the
advancement of community interests, and has given both of his time and sub-
stantial aid to the furthering of such projects. Mr. Scholler is a member of
the Chamber of Commerce of Fresno, the Commercial Club, and of Fresno
Lodge No. 439, B. P. O. Elks.
E. I. BABER. — One of the most important of local industries, the Eisen
Vineyard, as well as the very interesting history of its founder, are recalled
by the life sketch of E. I. Baber, the well-known viticulturist and manager of
the vineyard. He was born in London, England, in 1854, the son of a business
man, Henry Baber, who had married Mary Benjamin. E. I. was educated
in the world's metropolis at the College of Preceptors. His preparation was
thorough, as is typical with British youth, and on completing his studies, he
assisted his father in trade. England, commercially speaking, failed, however,
to attract him long; and on January 5, 1872, he went to South Africa, wdiere
he spent some time in the interior as a representative for a Cape Town firm.
Later he went to the diamond fields at Kimberley and, as a result, made two
or three trips back to London, trading in diamonds.
While on his last visit to the mother country, he intended to return to
South Africa, but during an interview with an aunt, in Dublin, he determined
to change his plans and go to the United States instead. He arrived in New
York in 1875 and was naturally captivated with harbor and town, but he also
heard so much of California that he soon decided to push on to the extreme
West. By August, therefore, he had arrived in San Francisco and shortly
went to Nevada City, where he clerked in a hotel for eight months ; then he
returned to San Francisco where he met Francis Eisen, in the office of whose
flour-mill he later found employment.
Having taken a strong fancy to Mr. Baber, Mr. Eisen induced him to
come to Fresno to take charge of his landed holdings; and October, 1880,
found him in Fresno and established in his new quarters. The opportunity,
as he soon learned, was full of promise, for Mr. Eisen had started improve-
ments here as early as 1872, when he experimented with tobacco and cotton.
He grew them both successfully at the time, but the railroad rates then pre-
vailing were prohibitive and he was compelled to turn to other lines. He built
a headgate at a dam he had constructed on Fancher Creek on the Hobbler
ranch to bring water in a detour to his ranch for irrigating his vineyard, which
he commenced planting in 1872. the first vineyard of the county. He also
put in a turbine and the power was used to run the machinery and crushers
at his winery, for four years, when, more power being required, they installed
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2387
a steam plant. They propagate their own vines, and now the vineyard has
more than thirty different varieties grafted onto wild stock.
Air. Eisen is rightly credited with being the founder of the vineyards in
this vicinity, for, by his experiments, he demonstrated the commercial possi-
bility of grape-growing on this soil. When he started to plant grapes, he was
ridiculed but he knew what he was about, and soon showed the doubting
Thomases that he could succeed. It was his pioneer enterprise, therefore, that
established the wine-industry here.
It was Air. Eisen, also, who gave such an impetus to the raisin industry,
although in this his part was accidental. In 1878 it had become too late to pick
some of the grapes and they dried on the vines. Seeing that they were in good
condition, however, Mr. Eisen picked them, after which he shipped them to
Goldburg & Bowen, San Francisco. There they attracted much admiration,
and some of them even found their way back to Fresno stores. Twenty acres
of muscats yielded, for several years, an average of ten tons green to the acre,
and have sold to a Boston firm as raisins unassorted, for as high as 6% cents
per pound. The vineyard has been planted and replanted, and 500 acres are
now devoted to shipping and wine grapes. Naturally, the Eisen Vineyard
has a large winery, with a storage capacity of nearly one million gallons, and
fermenting capacity of about twice that amount. It is one of the largest
wineries in Fresno County.
The highly revered founder of this notable institution, as well as his
estimable wife, are both dead, but his children have incorporated it as the
Eisen Vineyard Company, and tinder that name they continue the business.
In many ways, Mr. Eisen was a benefactor to Fresno County, and when he
died, about 1893, Central California sustained a loss more and more apparent
as the years have gone by.
Mr. Baber is popular socially, especially in the circles of the Elks and
the B'nai B'rith ; and numerous friends esteem him as a man who, given a
great trust, has proven his ability and worth.
JOHN OED. — Having given the best years of his life to the building up
of the fruit industry in California, it is natural that John Oed should be
interested, not only in the general development of agriculture here, and in
viticulture, with which he has had most to do, but in the preservation of a
record of historic events, and the collation and editing of the Golden State's
annals. In this his interest is shared by his good wife, who has also helped
to make California history; for the liberal-minded and large-hearted couple
are trulv one. and as a well-mated pair enjoy the esteem and the good-will
of all.
Mr. Oed was born in Bavaria, Germany, on January 23, 1853, where he
attended the excellent public schools, and in 1872, or when he was nineteen,
he came to the United States. His first two years here were spent in Chicago ;
but attractive as was that city, particularly on account of his fellow country-
men there, in 1874 he moved further west and reached Mendocino County,
Cal. He found work at Cuffey's Cove and for some time was busy at lum-
bering.
In 1877 he came to Fresno County and located in Central Colony, where
he bought forty acres of raw land and began improvements; but the land
company did not complete their water system and he let the land go back.
Later he bought 160 acres from the Southern Pacific Railroad, the land being
east of Malaga and costing seven and one-half dollars per acre, and this he
irrigated by digging ditches. He was a stockholder in the Fowler Switch
ditch which furnished the settlers with water, later, however, he obtained
water from the Church system. He leveled the land, and set out orchards,
vineyards and alfalfa. After a while he sold off eighty acres and continued
improvements. Then he bought sixty acres more and had 140 acres, mostly
in vines.
2388 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In former days, raisins commanded only a very low price, from one to
one and a half cents a pound, and business in that field was very discourag-
ing; but he became interested in the first cooperative association started in
Malaga, and known as the Malaga Cooperative Raisin Association, and he
has been a member of all the other cooperative societies since. In the early
days, too, when times were hard and he hadn't yet got nicely started, he
would go to Puget Sound and work in the shipyards, and so earn money with
which to pay his interest, and to tide him over. He finally sold forty acres,
then forty acres more, and seven years ago he sold the balance, or sixty acres,
and moved into Fresno, where he owns a fine residence that he built at 130
North Angus Street.
Mr. Oed was married at Fresno, in 1888, to Mrs. Marie (Roth) Bacher,
a native of YVuerttemberg, Germany, who came to Hartford, Conn., in 1872,
and out to Fresno six years later. She belongs to the Emanuel Lutheran
Church in Fresno. Mr. Oed is a member of Herman's Sons, and is an officer
of that flourishing organization. In politics he is an independent and seeks
to vote for the best men and the best measures.
CHRIS KASTNER.— A successful young business man. who is one of
the partners in the Central Market at Clovis is Chris Kastner. He was born
September 12. 1878. at Callicoon, Sullivan County. N. Y. His father was a
farmer. Christian Kastner, who was born in Germany. Christian came to this
countrv. in company with his parents, landing at New York in 1S45. they
having had the good sense to get out of that troubled land before the dis-
astrous revolution ; and reaching the interior of the Empire State, the elder
Kastner settled at Callicoon. The father is still living, at the ripe age of
eighty-four. He married Caroline Wagner, a native of Cumberland County,
N. Y., and a most estimable woman, who rounded out her earthly career in
1904. She was the mother of twelve children, eight of whom are still living.
Born the fourth youngest, Chris was bought up on his father's farm,
and when about sixteen years of age, he set out for himself. He was appren-
ticed to a butcher in Liberty. X. Y.. and there learned his trade. At the end
of two years, he came to California; and in 1898 was plying his trade in San
Francisco at the market of Wilfert Brothers. He remained there three years.
profiting in every way by his life in the bustling Pacific city.
lie had set his gaze on Clovis. however, and when the opportunity was
presented to come here and work for Petersen Brothers, he gladly availed
himself of it. and for three years made a success in that establishment. Cir-
cumstances then induced him to return to New York for a three-months'
visit, and when he came West again, he stopped awhile at Reno. New Then
he went to Spokane, where he was for three years in business for himself;
and he sold out, only to enable him to return to his first choice — Clovis.
Having bought a third interest with Hetnmingsen & Neilsen in the Clovis
Central Market, he continued as a minor partner until he bought out Mr.
Hemmingsen, when the firm became Neilsen & Kastner; but in September,
1917. Mr. Kastner's former employer. Petersen, bought out Xeilsen's interest,
and then the firm became Petersen & Kastner.
As a part of their fine equipment, these enterprising merchants have
three acres one mile from Clovis. where are situated their slaughter-houses
and cold-storage plant, with a two-ton ice machine. Mr. Kastner is also
interested in fig-culture, of which he has twenty acres, east of Clovis.
During his residence at Clovis. Mr. Kastner was married to Miss Georgia
Bell, a native daughter of Selma. and a graduate of the excellent high school
there, and also of Heald's Business College at Fresno. Their marriage has
proven a happy one, and they have one child. Elizabeth. Mr. Kastner is a
popular member of the I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 139. Clovis. where he was
Noble Grand tor two years. He was also a member of the Encampment and
Canton at Reno, where he served as Lieutenant. He is a Republican, but
when it comes to local issues, he lays aside party politics.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2389
GEORGIA EMILY THOMPSON, M. D.— The medical profession of
Fresno, has among its representatives, Dr. Georgia Emily Thompson, a phy-
sician and surgeon of acknowledged ability and the only woman in Fresno,
who is conducting the practice of medicine and surgery, alone. Dr. Thomp-
son is a native of New York state and a descendant of an old and honorable
family of the Empire State, two of whose members have contributed to the
annals of American history ; her great grandfather having been color bearer
at Yorktown, the place made notable in American history by the surrender
of General Cornwallis to Gen. George Washington, in 1781 ; her father,
George W. Thompson, served in the Fiftieth New York Engineers, from
1861 to 1865, in the Civil War. Dr. Georgia Thompson's school days were
divided between Colorado and California. She attended the public schools of
Denver, and while a child passed many of her winters in Southern California.
After two years at Denver University she entered Leland Stanford, Jr., Uni-
versity, where she was graduated in 1910 with the degree of Bachelor of
Arts, and in 1914 from the same institution she received her degree of M. D.
Dr. Thompson first started the practice of her profession in San Francisco,
but in 1916 opened an office in Fresno, continuing her practice of medicine
and surgery.
JAMES B. RANDRUP. — A very energetic and successful young man,
who has improved many acres, thus contributing materially to the develop-
ment of Fresno County, and who has great faith in the future of Central
California, is James B. Randrup, who arrived here in the late nineties. He
was born at Dalby, Jylland, Denmark, on March 29, 1879, the son of Jorgen
Sorensen Randrup, a farmer who owned a small place and served in the
Danish army. He was in the thick of the battles during the Danish-Prussian
War, and was crippled from exposure. After the war he followed farming
until he died, aged nearly eighty years. Mrs. Randrup, who was Anna Vind-
feldt before her marriage, died in 1916, the mother of eight children: J. B.,
who died in 1879 when he was eight years of age ; George, a rancher in
Fresno County ; Marie, who is Mrs. Severin of Fresno ; Johanna, who died
when she was sixteen; James B., the subject of this review; Margaret, who
is Mrs. Hansen of Fresno ; and Peter and Jorgen, who are in Denmark.
Brought up on a farm, James B. attended the public schools, and from
his boyhood was set to work to help make up for his father being crippled
in the war. He drove a team and in 1898, when he had passed his eighteenth
year, he left Denmark for New York. And soon thereafter he came to Fresno,
arriving in May.
Mr. Randrup immediately went to work on a farm for Andrew Iversen,
on White's Bridge road and at the end of two years and two months, he en-
gaged for four months in harvesting in the fall of 1900. Then, in partnership
with Mads Madsen, he bought a farm outfit and leased land from Simpson
brothers on Dry Creek, where he put in two crops. The crops were fair but
on account of low prices they did not make any money. Then Mr. Madsen
died, and the partnership was dissolved. He next leased a grain-farm on Dry
Creek from D. C. Sample, and raised grain for two years. He then made a
contract with Mr. Sample to improve some land for him in Empire district,
west of Fresno. He moved onto it and improved 160 acres of raw land. He
leveled and checked it, and sowed it to alfalfa, and he got sixty acres for his
share. He had put in a pumping-plant, the first in that section, and he con-
tinued to raise alfalfa, which he sold in Fresno.
In 1914, Mr. Randrup sold this land, and then came to his present place,
leasing 160 acres from D. C. Sample. He plowed it all up, leveled and checked
it, and put in eighty acres to alfalfa. In the spring of 1918, however, he pur-
chased from Mr. Sample the 160 acres he had improved. He has improved
the balance to alfalfa, set out a vineyard and has a neat dairy of fifty-six
cows. He has an Empire milking machine, and uses a gasoline engine for
power, in the milking. Although the ranch is under the ditch, he has also
2390 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
sunk a well and installed an electric pumping-plant, for irrigating the ranch.
This ranch is located about eleven miles northwest of Fresno, in the Hough-
ton district. .Mr. Randrup belongs to the San Joaquin Valley -Milk Producers
Association, and is a stockholder in the Danish Creamery Association.
Mr. Randrup was twice married. His first wife was Miss Hattie Miller
before her marriage, and she was born at Weedville, Cal. She died on this
place on October 1, 1914, the mother of four children: Frances, Margaret,
Raymond and Hattie. The second marriage took place at Fresno, in July,
1916, when the bride was Mrs. Lena (Ostergaard) Tillesen, of Jylland. Den-
mark. She had already had one child by her first marriage, Esther Tillesen,
and a child, Helen, has been born of this union. The family is highly esteemed
in the community. Mr. Randrup is a member of the Danish Brotherhood, and
there, as well as in the great outside world, he has many friends.
WARREN BRUCE. — The down-east Yankee traits of character distin-
guished by indomitable energy and thrift, so typical of the New Eng-
land boy, is well represented in 'Warren Bruce, born in Augusta. Maine. No-
vember 8, 1853. He received a public school education, and as a young man
engaged in farming near Togus, Maine. He sold his farm and spent one
winter in the lumber woods at Somerville. Maine, then entered the employ
of Allen Lambard at Augusta. Maine, looking after his farm and stable of
fine horses. After five years' service in this capacity he was appointed deputy
city marshal of Augusta. He made a very popular and efficient officer and
was the only Democrat in the employ of the city, which was under Repub-
lican rule. He served on the force for twelve years and was very successful
in handling the rough element. Six years he served as constable in Ward
Six, being elected by a large majority — a Democrat in a Republican ward.
He was in partnership with his brother W. TT. Bruce in the hardware, hay,
grain and grocery business. He sold his interests to Benjamin F. Parrott
and in 1005 left for Fresno, Cal.. where he arrived in May. He became an
employee of the Automobile Hardware and Implement Company, of Yisalia,
Tulare County, Cal.. invested heavily in the company and losing all when
they failed, was obliged to start from the bottom rung of the ladder again.
He bought a ten-acre ranch near Yisalia which he improved, setting it to
loganberries, peaches, etc., and sold the place at a good profit. He then went
to Lemon Cove and bought forty acres of unimproved land at sixty dollars
per acre upon which he sunk a well, built a house and greatly improved it
in many other ways, afterward selling it for $6,000. He next purchased a
twenty-acre ranch two and one-half miles west of Caruthers. Fresno County,
upon which he sunk two ten-inch wells, installed a pumping plant, planted
fifteen acres of it to alfalfa, set out 460 shade trees and two and one-half acres
of Thompson seedless grape vines and built a fine new home. He lived on
the place five years and in that time made it one of the show places of the
district. It was well equipped with chicken houses, engine house, cattle cor-
ral, and stocked with 100 hogs. He sold the place at a good profit and as part
payment took a cottage at 3077 Nevada Street, Fresno. He improved this
place, painted and repaired the house and exchanged the property for his
present five-acre ranch, two miles from Fresno, on Fruit Avenue. Since com-
ing to California he has taken up carpenter work and in his spare time has
been busy at his trade. He worked on the New Humboldt Bank Building
and other large jobs in San Francisco after the fire, and one season had
charge of a steam engine on a threshing machine in Tulare County. He
helped build the new high school in Tulare. Tulare County, and was engaged
in boring for oil in Lost Hills district. Kern County, lie assisted in the con-
struction of three school houses in Porterville, Tulare County, and also had
charge of the ranch at Trimmer Springs one season.
lie has overcome all obstacles encountered on the road that leads to
success and is noted for good judgment in the practical affairs of life.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2391
ANTHONY G. ROSE. — Anthony G. Rose was reared in Boston, Mass.,
attending school there and at Cambridge. In 1870 he came via the Isthmus
of Panama to San Mateo County, Cal., with his parents, and finished his
education in the high school and military academy at San Leandro, Alameda
County. Cal. In 1889, at the age of seventeen, he became an apprentice to
the machinist's trade, with the H. W. Rice Machine Works, and finished
with the San Francisco Tool Company, of San Francisco. He followed the
trade in the bay cities, and then entered the Marine Service on San Fran-
cisco Bay and the Sacramento River, serving on the tugboat Harriett, owned
by the Eaton Company, of San Francisco, receiving his license of Marine
Engineer. He came of a family of seafaring men, and so took kindly to that
life. Mr. Rose later gave up marine work and took up stationary engineering,
and in 1892 was sent to Fresno by the H. W. Rice Company to repair a straw
burner threshing machine manufactured by the company. He liked this sec-
tion so much on that first visit that he decided to settle here, and secured
work with the James Porteous Company in their machine shop.
In 1892 Mr. Rose entered the employ of the Fresno Gas & Electric Com-
pany as chief engineer for two years, resigning his position to enter the em-
ploy of the San Joaquin Light & Power Company and the Fresno City Water
Company, owned and controlled by the same management. He has been
chief engineer of the water company since he came with them in July, 1894,
and he also has charge of the machine shop and garages fro the company, with
fifty men immediately under him, and 165 automobiles, scattered throughout
ten counties in the state. He is also a specialist on pumps, and has charge
of all their repair work.
The marriage of Mr. Rose united him with Mary Pimental, a native
Californian, born in Calaveras County, and three children have been born to
them: Ida, wife of W. T. Clement of Oakland; Jessie C, of Fresno; and
Marie, a graduate of the Fresno Normal School and teacher in Calwa school
district. Mr. Rose has traded some in Fresno real estate, and erected three
houses in the city. In early days he rented 145 acres of alfalfa land and
operated the acreage for three years. Fraternally, he is a member of Yo-
semite Lodge, No. 343, I. O. O. F., and of The Fraternal Brotherhood, Lodge
No. 91, of Fresno. He is also a member of the National Association of
Stationary Engineers, formerly the Pacific Coast Stationary Engineers.
PAUL T. STANGE.— The junior member of the firm of Hansen Con-
struction Company, Paul T. Stange has reached an assured position in life
through his own efforts and individuality. Born in Berlin, Germany, in 1879,
he is the son of Godfrey and Ann (Teal) Stange, both natives of Germany,
the father is now deceased. In 1883 Godfrey Stange brought his family to
the United States, and located in Neillsville, Clark County, Wis., and there
Paul T. was educated in the public schools, and later learned the trade of
carpenter.
In 1899 he came with his father to Fresno, to work on the construction
of the Fresno Brewery, and after its completion he followed carpentering and
mill work in Oakland. In 1906, after the earthquake and fire in San Francisco,
Mr. Stange returned to Fresno and entered the employ of H. A. Hansen,
contractor and builder, as foreman, and later did the drawing and estimating
for the firm, having taken a course in mechanical and architectural drawing
with the International Correspondence School. He drew the plans for the
Kern-Kay Hotel, the Hotel Tulare; Salvation Army Building; Lauritzen Im-
plement Building; also many fine residences in Fresno. In 1914, on the death
of Mr. Hansen, Mr. Stange, and Thomas M. Paulson took over the business
and operate it under the firm name of Hansen Construction Company. Among
other work they erected the Hotel Mayer ; the Eaden Flats ; the warehouse
for the United Warehouse Company ; Prescott's Garage ; residence for J.
Edward Prescott, and the F. W. Wood home ; the Mission Episcopal Church,
on Van Ness Avenue, and the Peach Growers warehouse, at Reedley.
2392 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
The marriage of Mr. Stange, which occurred in Fresno, May 31, 1913,
united him with Miss Minnie Kostenbader, a native of Nazareth, Northamp-
ton County, Pa., a descendant of an old Pennsylvania family, and two children
have been born to them: Paul T., Jr., and Henrietta Ann.
Mr. Stange was a member of the California National Guard for four
years, and served as corporal of Company K of Fresno. He was a crack shot
and won a medal as a "Distinguished Marksman." His recreation hobby is
hunting and fishing, and for a wedding trip, in 1913, he took his wife into
the Sierras for two months, hunting, fishing and exploring the mountain fast-
ness, taking pictures enroute. They went through into the Yosemite Valley,
and across Iron Mountain, greatly enjoying the beauties of nature. Mr.
Stange indulges in a hunting and fishing trip each year, returning to his
business duties with renewed vigor and enthusiasm. He purchased lots on
the corner of Monterey and M Streets, and has erected three houses upon
the property, which he now owns. Fraternally he is a member of Fresno
Lodge No. 343, I. O. O. F.
GUY THOMAS SMOOT. — An enterprising young man engaged in the
mercantile and hotel business at Mendota, Guy Thomas Smoot was born in
Burlington, Iowa, October 6. 1888. His father, Edward Price Smoot, was a
native of Palmyra, Mo., and moved to Burlington, Iowa, where he was a
blacksmith. He became associated with McLaughlin Brothers of Columbus,
Ohio, and engaged in introducing imported full-blooded Percheron, Norman
and Belgium horses into Iowa and the Middle West, selling them at $1,500
to S7.000 each. In this business he was successfully engaged for ten years.
He now lives retired in Storm Lake, Iowa. Grandfather Thomas Price Smoot
was a Southerner, a blacksmith at Palmyra, Mo., and served in the Confed-
erate Army in the Civil War. Mr. Smoot's Great-great-grandfather Smoot
served in the Revolutionary War. The mother of our subject was Sarah
Young, a native of Palmyra, Mo., and a descendant of an old Southern fam-
ily. She died in early life, leaving four sons and one daughter.
Guy Thomas Smoot, the eldest in his parents' family, was reared in
Burlington and educated in the grammar and high schools. At the age of
seventeen, in February, 1906, he enlisted in the L^nited States Navy. Coming
to San Francisco, he served on the West Virginia, the flag-ship of the Pacific
Fleet, as a yeoman, for three years and nine months, till he was honorably
discharged, in October, 1909. He liked California and concluded to cast in
his lot here. Entering the employ of the Associated Pipe Line Company, he
came to Mendota headquarters in the fall of 1909. his work taking him from
McKittrick to San Francisco, as inspector, foreman and book-keeper.
Mr. Smoot was married in Mendota in 1914 to Miss Marie Arnaudon, the
youngest child of A. J. Arnaudon, the pioneer of Mendota, who is mentioned
elsewhere in this work. At the time of his marriage he resigned his position
with the Associated Pipe Line Company to engage in mercantile and hotel
business in Mendota. He leased the Arnaudon Hotel and store, and he and
his wife continue the business under the old name of A. J. Arnaudon.
In August, 1917, Mr. Smoot enlisted in the United States Navy for the
World War and was assigned to the Naval Air Station at San Diego as chief
yeoman, continuing there except for short periods when he was detailed to
San Pedro and to the Mare Island Navy Yard. He was mustered out on
Februarv 27, 1919, and returned to his business, his wife meantime having
managed both store and hotel during his service in his country's cause. In
their store they carry a well-selected line of general merchandise, and are
having a large and successful trade.
In national politics Mr. Smoot is a Democrat. He was appointed post-
master at Mendota in 1914, to succeed A. J. Arnaudon, resigned, and held
the position till he enlisted. When he resigned. Mrs. Smoot was appointed
his successor, and she still holds the appointment. Mr. Smoot is an active
member of Sunset Lodge, No. 193, Knights of Pythias, in Mendota.
"b-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2393
CONRAD BOPP. — To make a success in surroundings totally different
from the early environment requires character and resourcefulness. Among
those who have accomplished this in Fresno County is Conrad Bopp, a native
of Samara, Russia, where he was born February 8, 1864, a son of Fred Bopp
and Marie (Krumbeirg) Bopp. The father, a farmer in the old country, passed
away there in 1867; the mother came to Fresno in 1887 and made her home
here with her son, Conrad, until her death, in 1911, aged eighty-four years.
The youngest in a family of eight children born to his parents, all oi
whom are now living, Conrad Bopp was brought up on the home farm in
Russia, and there his mother was engaged in horticulture and gardening, so
from a boy he learned to care for trees and raise vegetables. His education
he received in the public schools of his native town. In 1886 he entered the
Russian army in the infantry, and was stationed at Sebastopol for three years
and eight months as an orderly. On being mustered out, in 1890, he came from
there to the United States and located in Fresno.
Here the young man went to work in the Craycroft brickyards, and con-
tinued with them for eleven years. At the end of that time he resigned and
engaged in ranching; he first rented vineyards in Arizona Colony and ran a
sixty-one-acre vineyard for three years. He then bought his present ranch
of twenty acres on McNeil Avenue, and set to work to improve the property.
He built his residence and other buildings ; set out a vineyard and orchards,
raising Thompson and muscat grapes, and peaches ; he later added another
twenty acres to his holdings, one-eighth of a mile south of his original ranch,
and here he has a fine peach orchard, with two acres in Thompson grapes,
the whole property an example of what industry and thrift can accomplish.
The marriage of Mr. Bopp occurred in Fresno, October 2, 1893, and united
him with Miss Louisa Schebelhut, also a native of Samara, Russia, and a
daughter of Conrad and Marie K. (Weibert) Schebelhut, farmer folk. When
they retired they came to Fresno where the mother died May 9, 1919, in Di-
nuba, while the father still resides there. Mrs. Bopp came to Fresno in Jan-
uary, 1892. Of their marriage ten children are living to carry on the devel-
opment work started by their parents : Conrad, foreman for the San Joaquin
Bakery in Fresno ; Louisa, who is Mrs. Williams of Fresno ; Edward, in over-
seas service in the United States Army; Katrina and Lena, of Fresno; and
Rosa, Alex, Marie, Benjamin, and Martha, at home.
With his family, Mr. Bopp is a member of the Church of God, having
been active in its organization in Fresno. He has always been a Bible stu-
dent, was duly ordained an Elder, and was the first Elder to preside over the
German Congregation, a place he filled ably for seven years, and he is also
a member of the board of trustees. He is a member and stockholder of the
California Peach Growers, Inc., and also of the California Associated Raisin
Company. In the general upbuilding he does his share and is counted a man
of worth in the community.
ERICH BERNDT. — One of the most energetic, successful and rising
real estate men of Fresno, who has looked with faith from the start on Central
California is Erich Berndt, popularly known as Harry, an enthusiastic advo-
cate and defender of union labor. He was born in Chicago, 111., on November
4, 1886, and as a lad attended the public schools of the great lakes metropolis.
When only thirteen he began to shift for himself, and for over fifteen years
followed different lines of work through the Middle West. If the returns
were not always remunerative, there was no doubt as to the added experi-
ence ; so that when he had thus run the gauntlet of much that might have
discouraged the faint-hearted, he was more than ever a man, able to cope
with men and affairs.
In 1914, drawn hither by the Panama-Pacific Exposition, Mr. Berndt
came to San Francisco ; and while touring the state, had the good fortune
to perceive the splendid future of California. Instead of returning east, he
located in Fresno County; and in 1915 he removed to Sanger, where he bought
2394 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ten acres of land, to which purchase he later added another ten acres. When
he had subdivided and further improved this, he called it the Berndt Tract ;
and the 178 lots have since sold rapidly. By this stroke of singular enterprise,
Mr. Berndt awoke Sanger to a reasonable appreciation of itself and the possi-
bilities within it. He has formed "The Action Realty Company." which has
been doing considerable business. This company, for example, consummated
the sale of the Gregory Place at Parlier for $124,500. a price complimentary
but by no means too high and being the first high price paid since advance
of prices. There are sixty acres of Thompson seedless grapes and sixtv acres
of muscats, and the estate produces yearly about $40,000 worth of fruit. A
second property sold by this firm for a record price — $145,000 — was the Bars-
tow Colony, consisting of 160 acres of Thompson seedless grapes.
Some years ago Mr. Berndt married Rosie Greenewald. an attractive
lady of Chicago. He has erected a set of bungalows on his subdivision in
Sanger. He belongs to the Eagles, the Elks and the Red Men, and is justly
popular in local society.
As an uncompromising advocate of union labor, Mr. Berndt has served
as a member of labor clubs, a member of their executive boards, and a del-
egate to the convention of the unions. He has assisted, in particular, in enter-
taining the local labor unions, and while serving on their committees on en-
tertainment has charged himself with the natural duty of providing for his
fellows the best in the way of edifying and uplifting diversion and instruction
that labor, time and money could devise and afford. Every town, especially
in a state so much in the forming as is California, and so in need of men of
faith and action suited to their confidence, is richer for the coming and set-
tling within it of just such captains of enterprise as Harry Berndt, and no
one will begrudge him a square inch or a penny of his prosperity, for he is
the kind who leads others on to the road to fortune and shares with them
when he has struck "oil" himself.
DANIEL C. McLAUGHLIN.— The early life of the very efficient and
worthy book-keeper and cashier of the California Associated Raisin Company.
Daniel C. McLaughlin, a native of England, is interwoven with the romance
of the sea, for he was born while his mother, who before her marriage was
Hannah Corbett, was on a voyage with her husband, Captain Daniel Mc-
Laughlin, a sea captain who followed the calling of the sea for many years,
and made forty-two trips around the Horn to California. His first trip to
San Francisco in the year 1851. was financially a very profitable one, for he
arrived in that city just after the fire of that memorable year which practically
destroyed nearly all the houses in the city, leaving the inhabitants without
food and lumber. He sold his cargo of flour for fifty dollars a barrel and the
lumber at a high figure.
From the age of three months, Daniel C. was brought up in New Eng-
land, at Maiden, Mass., where he also received his education. In November,
1887, he arrived at San Francisco with his parents on his father's full rigged'
ship, "Glory of the Sea," on her last trip around the Horn. She was built in
New England and was 260 feet long and forty-four feet in the beam, with a
carrying capacity of 3,300 tons. This ship is still in existence, having been dis-
mantled, and is now used in Northern Pacific waters as a floating salmon
cannery.
Captain Daniel McLaughlin, in 1883, went to Oleander, Fresno County,
where he purchased forty acres of land and planted a vineyard, at one time
owning 100 acres there. He lived on the place ten years and returned east,
to New Brunswick, where he died, leaving four children, namely: John W.;
Daniel C. : -Mrs. J. L. Ashley, all of Fresno, and .Mrs. J. B. Weeks, of Mai-
den. Mass.
For two years after arriving in Fresno, Daniel C. worked on his father's
ranch, afterward going to work for the Curtis Fruit Company at ( fleander.
remaining with them eight years. L. F. Curtis of Bridgeport. Conn., was
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2395
president of the company, and the company was noted for being the first to
use a machine for stemming raisins. Charles L. North was the inventor of
the machine. After the Curtis plant was destroyed by fire, Mr. McLaughlin
was in the employ of the Home Packing Company of Fresno for one year, and
later with the J. H. Leslie Company and the J. B. Inderrieden Company. Mr.
McLaughlin has been connected with the raisin industry nearly all his life ex-
cept the twelve years he was in the grocery business on Blackstone Avenue,
Fresno. In 1916 he entered the employ of the California Associated Raisin
Company, where he is at present. He has done much in contributing to the
advancement of Fresno's civic growth, among his building enterprises being
the block on Blackstone Avenue and his residence.
He is the father of two children, Marcus, now in the employ of the
Southern Pacific Railroad, and Elizabeth F. Fraternally, he is a Yeoman
and a member of the Woodmen of the World.
FREDERICK KARL VOGEL.— The superintendent of the Amity Oil
Company, Frederick K. Vogel, was born in Golgewitz, Silesia, Germany,
November 2, 1882. He removed with his parents when a child to Lissa, Posen,
where he grew up, receiving his education in the local schools. When four-
teen years of age he was apprenticed at the woodturner's trade, and after-
wards he traveled as journeyman in Germany until 1903, when he migrated
to England, working at his trade in London. In 1904 he came to Canada, and
there followed his trade until, during the same year, he made his way to
Vancouver, B. C. In 1905 he went to Seward, Alaska, where he remained
till the spring of 1906, and then came to San Francisco, Cal. After working
at his trade for two years, he came to the Santa Maria oil fields in 1908. He
entered the employ of H. A. Rispin and learned the oil business from the
bottom up. After remaining here for two years he located at Lost Hills, in
the employ of the same people, being placed in charge of operations, and
continued in that capacity for a period of two years. In April, 1912, he came
to Coalinga as superintendent of the Amity Oil Company. They own and
operate on forty acres, Section 1, 20, 14 — formerly the Fresno-San Francisco
Oil Company's property — and have eight producing wells.
Mr. Vogel is interested in viticulture and owns twenty acres at Biola that
he is arranging to set to Thompson seedless vines. Mr. Vogel took out his
naturalization papers in 1906 and became a citizen of the Linked States in
1911. Politically, he is a Republican.
REV. AUGUST SPOMER.— A minister in the Church of God in Christ,
and a horticulturist who has done something definite and permanent to help
build up Central California, the Reverend August Spomer has made a success
of both horticulture and viticulture in Arizona Colony, where he has valuable
lands. He was born in Stepnoia, Samara, Russia, on September 9. 1856, the
son of George Spomer, a farmer there. The father died in the district in which
he had long lived and toiled, and his wife, who was Barbara Schaeffer before
her marriage, still resides at the old home, the mother of six children, among
whom August is the second oldest.
August Spomer was brought up on a farm and attended the public schools ;
and he served in the infantry of the Russian army, seeing nine months of
service in the war with the Turks, and receiving, when the war was over,
an honorable discharge. In November, 1877, he was married at the old home
to Miss Anna Reinhart, a native of that section, and the daughter of George
and Christine (Salwasser) Reinhart, farmers who lived and passed away there.
They had nine children, of whom Anna is the fifth oldest. Mr. and Mrs.
Spomer were engaged in farming in their native land until 1888. In Feb-
ruary of that year they decided to take the momentous step of coming to the
United States. At first only Mr. Spomer came — to Denver, Colo., where he
worked in the Grant Smelter; but in the fall of 1890 his good wife and their
2396 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
four children joined him, when he moved to Helena, Mont., at which place
he was again employed in a smelter.
In 1896 Mr. Spomer came to Fresno, and leased a ranch of 160 acres at
Wildflower. For six years he had a vineyard of raisins, and cultivated alfalfa
and grew stock. He made some money, and then invested in a tract of raw
land, buying sixty acres at eighty-five dollars an ac-° in Parent Colony No.
2, Arizona Colony. He leveled the land from hog-waM K";lt a fine residence
and the necessary outbuildings, set out an orchard, and the first year had in
about forty acres of peaches. The balance was devoted to alfalfa and vines.
Then he bought five acres more, and each year added twenty acres, until he
had 120 acres in all, eighty acres in a peach orchard, and the balance in a
vineyard. Recently, he has so divided up his property that he has given each
of his children a part of all he had but ten acres. He has had nine children,
and seven are still living. August is a rancher at Dinuba ; Christene is Mrs.
Hansen, of Clovis ; George ranches at Sultana; Peter is at Dinuba; and
Charles, Adam and Conrad are in the Arizona Colony.
The Reverend Mr. Spomer makes his residence in Fresno. A duly or-
dained minister, he organized the Church of God in Christ in 1907, built the
church himself on the corner of his lot, and has been its pastor ever since.
He is a member and stockholder of the California Peach Growers' Inc., and
of the California Associated Raisin Company. In national politics a Repub-
lican, he takes a keen interest in civic affairs, and prides himself on his
American citizenship.
DOMENIC IMPERATRICE.— One who has persevered and had con-
fidence in the producing qualities of the soil of Fresno County, and who has
made "two blades of grass grow where none grew before," is Domenic Im-
peratrice, a well-known viticulturist and formerly a leader in musical circles
of Fresno. A native of Italy, he was born May 9, 1867, near Naples, a son
of Giacomo Imperatrice, who joined his son in New York and later came to
California, where he died at the home of his son.
Domenic was educated in the public schools till he was twelve. He had
a natural talent for music and learned to play the harp. An uncle was coming
to the United States and brought his nephew with him, stopping in Detroit,
Mich., in 1879. There the lad played the harp at social gatherings until he
went to New York, when he continued playing for dances, etc. A brother had
come to Fresno, and accordingly Domenic came to join him in 1885 and the
two gained a reputation, the former on the violin and Domenic on the harp,
and soon wrere in demand at social gatherings in Arizona, New Mexico, and
Denver.
Our subject had seen the possibilities of the soil of Fresno County for
growing grapes and had bought twenty acres of desert land in the Limbo
Estate Tract and set it to vines, being the pioneer there. His venture proved
a success, although people said nothing would grow in that district. It was
not all easy work, times were hard and his vines were destroyed by rabbits
until he put wire netting around his ranch. By working at his music and on
his ranch he weathered the "storms" and today is recognized as a successful
man. In 1905 he moved onto the place, to which he has added until he owns
160 acres in four ranches, all in muscat, malagas and Thompson seedless
grapes. For many years he has been engaged in shipping his fruit. This
business has grown to such large proportions that he has found it necessary
to build a packing-house on his ranch, located on the Interurban Railway.
Here the table grapes are packed and loaded in cars which are consigned
directly to Eastern cities and markets.
Mr. Imperatrice was married in New York to Isabelle Epifanio, born in
Italy, and they have had eight children, six living: Lena, Mrs. Falotico; Net-
tie. .Mis. Roselli; Jennie, Mrs. Shively ; Jacob, who served in the 835th Aero
Squadron of the Aviation Section of the United States Army Independent Air
Force, serving overseas more than one \ ear. and who enlisted in Fresno,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2397
December 12, 1917, and was sent to Waco (Texas) aviation training-camp,
then to Garden City, N. Y., where he became a sergeant, who afterwards was
in camp near London, England, from there going to France where he was
in camp at Courban, there receiving a First Sergeant's rank and continuing
to serve as a flight sergeant until the signing of the armistice, after which he
left for the American camp at La Tracey and two months later sailed from
Brest for New York City, and was honorably discharged March 15, 1919, and
returned home where he took up viticulture with his father ; Charles and
Domenic, Jr., twins ; Rose, who died aged twenty-two years ; and George,
who died at the age of thirteen.
Mr. Imperatrice is a Republican and has served as a delegate to conven-
tions. He is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and is
an enthusiastic booster for Fresno County, where he is well and favorably
known as a leading citizen.
GEO. W. BARNES. — Extensively engaged in stock-raising and farming
in Watts Valley is Geo. W. Barnes, who was born near Rolling Prairie, Laporte
County, Ind., January 22, 1843. His father, Ezra, a native of New York, mar-
ried Catherine Blaney ; they crossed the plains to California in 1849 ; returning
East they spent their last days in Indiana where Geo. W. was reared and fol-
lowed farming until twenty-four years of age when he studied medicine under
Dr Bowen Bowell and there attended the Cincinnati Electric Medical College. He
practiced medicine at Three Oaks, Mich., until 1871, when he came to Califor-
nia, practicing medicine at Julian, San Diego County, for five years. In 1876
he came to the San Joaquin Valley, following farming near Reedley. About
1885 he located in Sycamore, engaging in mining. He is now engaged in farming
and stock raising in Watts Valley, owning 400 acres there, where he makes a
specialty of raising hogs.
Always interested in education, Mr. Barnes has been a trustee of Hawkins
school district for many years.
WILLIAM YERINGTON.— A gentleman well and favorably known in
the western part of Fresno County is William Yerington, the popular hotel
man at Mendota. He was born near Ottumwa, Wrapello County, Iowa, on
March 21, 1870. His father, Mordecai Yerington, was a native of Ohio who,
when a young man, emigrated to Iowa, where he improved a farm. In 1876
he removed to Putnam County, Mo., where he resided on his farm until his
death. Mr. Yerington's mother was Hannah Lovett, a native of Illinois, who
also passed away in Missouri.
Of the seven children born to his parents, William Yerington is the
fourth in order of birth. He received a good education in the public schools,
and assisted his parents on the farm until twenty years of age, when he de-
termined to come A'Vest. Arriving in Boise City in 1890, when Idaho was a
territory, he was employed on a horse ranch and rode the range. Later on
he drove a delivery wagon in Boise City. In 1893 he came to California and
was employed on a ranch at Hayward, and then in horticulture at San Tose
until 1895, when he came to the San Joaquin Valley. His first employment
there was at general ranching on the Uriah Wood ranch near Volta, later he
worked on other ranches in the vicinity until he entered the employ of Miller
& Lux and rode section on the canals out of Los Banos for a period of three
years. He then became foreman of the Hog Camp ranch on the Dos Palos
ranch at Oxalis, a position he filled for six years, when he resigned and located
in Mendota in the spring of 1907.
Two years later, in partnership with Alex McCullough, Mr. Yerington
purchased the Mendota Hotel. They ran it together till 1909, and then Peter
Hansen bought McCullough's interest. Since then the Mendota Hotel has
been conducted by Yerington & Hansen as a first-class house, and has been
well patronized. They built a large concrete garage, the first concrete fire-
proof building in town.
2398 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Peter Hansen is an old resident and a well-known man in the Mendota
section. Coming to Merced County in 1890, he was in the employ of Miller
& Lux about one year, when he began riding section on the canal for the
San Joaquin & King City Canal Company, which he continued for eighteen
years, during the first twelve years with his headquarters at the Dos Palos
ranch, and the last six years at the Mendota Dam. He owns an alfalfa ranch
at Stratford, Kings County. Mr. Yerington also owns an alfalfa ranch of
seventy acres in the same locality.
William Yerington was married in San Jose to Miss Julia Haney. who
was born in Iowa. Fraternally. Mr. Yerington is a member of the Knights of
Pythias, of which he is Past Chancellor Commander.
WILLIAM MILTON BARCUS.— An experienced and successful dairy-
man, and a large-hearted, liberal fellow, is William M. Barcus, who came to
California in the spring of 1908. He hails from Kansas, having been born
in Labette County, in 1882, the son of George W. Barcus, a native of Illinois,
who removed to Kansas and settled there as a farmer. Later, he removed to
Custer County, Nebr., and homesteaded at Broken Bow, where he died three
years afterward. Mrs. Barcus was Sarah J. Miller before her marriage, and
she was born in Illinois. She reared her family on the Nebraska homestead,
and in later years removed to Illinois. Now she resides in Clovis with her
daughter, Mrs. Nelson Hollisen. Three children made up the family: Mabel,
who became Mrs. Hollisen ; L. R. Barcus, a farmer in Barstow ; and Wrilliam
M., the oldest, the subject of our sketch.
Brought up in Nebraska until he was twelve years of age, William accom-
panied his parents to Little Rock, Ark., and at the end of three years to
Illinois. He had begun to work on farms and to assist his mother; and he
went to live near Charleston, Coles County, 111., in the broom corn section,
where he became a foreman on a large broom corn farm. The season of 1907
he raised wheat at Detroit, Minn.
In 1908, stirred by the reports of climate and opportunities in California,
Mr. Barcus started for the Pacific Coast, and not long after arrived in Clovis,
where he bought a forty-acre vineyard, which he ran for four and a half
years, but eventually lost, because of the low price of raisins, there being
no association. Then he came to Barstow Colony, where he was made fore-
man on J. E. Dickinson's ranch, and this position he held for the next six
years. It was an alfalfa ranch, with cattle and horses, and the experience
there gained proved later of great value. During this time he bought fort\r
acres from Dickinson, and improved it by setting out Thompson vines, and
in two years he sold it at double the cost.
In the meantime, also, Mr. Barcus had bought the present place of
eighty acres, an alfalfa ranch, near the San Joaquin River, and made of it
one of the most profitable alfalfa ranches in the district. He installed a
dairy herd of forty-five Holstein cows of pure breed and high grade, and
made a Holstein dairy which has proved a pronounced success. In 1917 he
built there a fine residence and barns, and in various details he equipped the
ranch and made it equal to any for miles around.
Believing in cooperation he has always supported the different fruit
associations, being one of the original members of the Clovis Farmers Union.
He was very active in interesting viticulturists in the California Associated
Raisin Company, and was one of the organizers of the Fresno Cooperative
Milk Producers, which was later merged into the San Joaquin Valley Milk
Producers Association, of which he is an enthusiastic member.
In Charleston, 111., on June 19, 1907, Mr. Barcus was married to Miss
Christine Westrup, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Charles and Helen
CVan Dolen) Westrup. Mr. and Mrs. Barcus have had seven children:
Charles, who died in Clovis in his second year; Leroy ; Mabel; Warren;
William Nelson ;'and the youngest are twins. Morris and Marjorie. The
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2399
family attends the United Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Barcus is the
trustee, and he is also clerk of the board of trustees of the Barstow school
district. He is a member and director of the Barstow Vinland Farm Loan
Association. He belongs to the Fresno Lodge of Odd Fellows, and Illinois
Chapter of the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Red Men of Fresno.
J. C. MATTHEWS.— A whole-souled, open-hearted gentleman, J. C.
Matthews is familiarly known by all of his friends as Jack Matthews. He
was born in Tarrant County, Texas, in 1861, the son of James and Sarah
(Runnells) Matthews, natives of Missouri and Tennessee, respectively. They
removed to Texas, where the father was a cattleman and where both parents
spent their last days. James Matthews spent four years in the Civil War. Of
the five children born to this worthy couple only two are living, of whom J.
C. Matthews is the youngest. He was reared on the frontier in Texas. The
nearest public school was over 100 miles away, and his education was there-
fore, naturally limited, being obtained under private instruction. From a
youth he rode the range and learned the cattle business.
Mr. Matthews was married near Castroville, Medina County, Texas, to
Elizabeth Asher, born in Stone County, Mo., the daughter of Leonard and
Patsey (Hall) Asher. The father was born in Kentucky and the mother in
Georgia. They moved to Missouri, where they followed farming. Leonard
Asher served all through the Black Hawk Indian War and was always a fron-
tiersman. The mother died in Missouri. The father removed to Arkansas,
where he died. Of their union two children were born, of whom Mrs.
Matthews is the younger and the only one living. She made a trip to Medina
County, Texas, where she had a half-sister living, and there she met and
married Mr. Matthews.
After his marriage, Mr. Matthews engaged in cattle-raising, having the
brand I. P. with a bar over it. His range was located in both Medina and Frio
Counties. In 1898 he sold his cattle and removed to Rhine, Okla., and fol-
lowed farming until 1911. In that year he migrated to Fresno County, Cal.,
and since then has engaged in horticulture and viticulture. He is now super-
intendent of the Herbert F. Brown ranch, southwest of Rolinda, a position
which he ably fills. This ranch is devoted to alfalfa and vineyard.
Mr. and Mrs. Matthews have five children living: Harvey, residing in
Oklahoma ; Noah, at Barstow, Fresno County ; Minnie, now Mrs. Donovan,
of Oklahoma ; and Laura and Meda. who are at home assisting their parents.
Mrs. Matthews is a Baptist, while Mr. Matthews adheres to the doctrines of
the Church of God. Politically, he is a Democrat.
ROZELL W. RICE. — A resident of Fresno County since 1801, Rozell
W. Rice was born in Kalamazoo, Mich., August 7, 1858. When he was ten
vears old the family moved to Irving, Kans., and after residing there for a
period of seven years, went back to Michigan. Rozell W. receiving his edu-
cation in both states. At the age of nineteen he went to work for the Hart
and Ire Company in a shingle mill in the north woods of Michigan, north of
Grand Rapids. After three years in this employment, he went to Van Buren
County, Mich., and settled in the town of Lawton.
Mr. Rice's marriage, in 1882, united him with Ida Norton, a native of
Michigan, and for five years he worked on the farm of A. H. Norton, his
father-in-law.
In 1887 Mr. Rice removed to Schoolcraft, Mich., and there engaged in
the grocery business for two years, later working as foreman of a ranch
owned by Senator Brown of that state. Coming to Fresno, Cal., in 1891, he
worked for the Lusk Canning Company for one year, then as a carpenter
and builder was eight years with C. B.. Hanner, during which time they erected
some of the finest homes in Fresno. They made a specialty of a carefully
planned house and one special design became so popular that they built
twenty-eight homes from that one plan in the city. Later Mr. Rice was
2400 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
foreman for contractor Z. T. Maxwell, and superintended the construction
of the Emerson school and two other school buildings on C Street. During
his years of building here Mr. Rice was closely identified with the construc-
tion of many homes and store buildings in Fresno and received recognition
as a builder of ability. Since 1911 he has been superintendent of Mountain
View Cemetery and fills that responsible position with his customary thor-
oughness.
Fraternally, Mr. Rice and his wife have been prominent in the
count}'. Mr. Rice is a member of the Fraternal Aid Union and has been
secretary of that order for twenty-one years ; he is a Past Noble Grand of
the Fresno Lodge No. 186, I. O. O. F., and has been a delegate to many of
the Grand Lodges ; he joined the Rebekah Lodge in 1903 and was financial
secretary of the same twelve years ; was out of office one year, and became
secretary again in January, 1918. Mrs. Rice is also a member of the Rebekahs ;
they are both active members of the board of stewards of the First Methodist
Church, and Mr. Rice is treasurer of the Sunday School. One daughter was
born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Rice, May Pearl, now deceased.
JOHN KOVACEVICH, JR.— A prosperous and well-known citizen of
Central California, who arrived in Fresno a poor boy, but by the hardest
of labor, severe frugality and the highest integrity has attained to a success
not reached by many with far greater advantages, is John Kovacevich. one
of the best representatives of the Slavonic race. He was born on February
5, 1883, in Dalmatia, Jugoslavia, and when a young man of only nineteen,
he first saw Fresno, on April 6, 1902. For a while he worked for wages in
the Barton and also the Butler vineyards ; and so well did he progress that
in three years he decided to start for himself in business. He became a fruit
buyer, and his very initial venture and its outcome show how well adapted
he has been to that field of operation. He paid five dollars for some figs
lying on the ground ; and having picked up. cleaned and properly handled
the same, he sold the lot at a profit of $160. From that time, he succeeded as
a buyer;, and from buying he advanced to raising fruit, making a specialty
of raisins. When he was able, he bought forty acres in the Perrin Colony
No. 2. The land was raw, but John Kovacevich at once set about to clear it
and otherwise improve the same. He set out a vineyard of muscat grapes,
with fig-trees on the border; and being pleased with the result, he bought
another twenty acres in the same colony. This, also, was raw land ; but he
improved it and planted figs there. Then he purchased forty acres of the
Fruitvale estate — an old vineyard yielding muscat grapes. In time he added
160 acres, one-half of which was in vineyard and the rest in alfalfa and raw
land, and then he bought another 160 acres, thirty of which are in figs and
oranges, while the rest is in raw land. Mr. Kovacevich still owns these prop-
erties. Besides these holdings in his own title and right, Mr. Kovacevich has
rented 1,000 acres of vineyard bearing raisin grapes (but in 1919 is operating
his own), and so well has he contrived all his work and commercial oper-
ations, that in 1917 he sold 1,200 tons of green and wine grapes. He also
produced and sold 100 tons of figs and 120 tons of raisins. In the ordinary
season, he employs regularly from ten to thirty hands; but when work and
trade gets busy, he affords labor for from 100 to 300 hands. He has equipped
his ranches sufficiently to operate and do a successful business, has made
manv improvements through a sense of pride and a liking to see the most
up-to-date appliances and machinery installed. A self-made man. he can
look back with satisfaction to the successive steps by which he has developed
his properties.
Mr. Kovacevich chose for his bride Ellen Bogdanich. a daughter of the
Jugoslavia, on the beautiful Adriatic, and this happy union has been blessed
with four children — John. Madeline. Mary and Corrina, all proud of their
Fresno County birth. He is the leader of the Jugoslavic race here, and has
been the means of bringing into the county over 100 compatriots. He is
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2403
active in the Croatian-Slavonic Association, and stands high in the esteem of
his own people. He is influential among them, and has used his influence
to make them loyal citizens of the United States, and appreciative of the free-
dom of life in this country. By his influence and through his wealth, he is
constantly active in improving the condition of his people. Nor does he work
alone for the Jugoslavs here ; he has helped materially in collecting thousands
of dollars, from the Slavonian-Americans on the Pacific Coast, for the free-
dom of the Jugoslavia in his native land ; and this money has been secured
from the more fortunate sons and daughters in America.
CHARLES SEMPE. — An industrious and successful stockman is Charles
Sempe, who was born in Whart Cize, Basses-Pyrenees, France, October 20,
1880, the son of Jean and Jennie (Chilibolost) Sempe who were well-to-do
farmer folk in France, and spent their entire lives in that country. Charles
thus learned farming and caring for stock as it is done in his native land
from the time he was a lad, at the same time receiving a good education in
the local schools. When he reached military age he served a year in Company
'Eight, the Forty-ninth Regiment, at Bayonne. Having a desire to try his
fortune in California he came to Fresno, arriving December 27, 1904. Being
familiar with stockraising he found employment with a sheep man, continuing
in that employment for several years. In 1911 he purchased a flock of sheep
and ranged them on the plains for three years, when he sold them. However,
in 1917, in partnership with Jos. Bidegaray he purchased a flock of 2,000
sheep of which he has charge and is ranging them on the plains in Fresno
county — a business in which they are doing very well. He is an ardent
Republican.
PETER A. PILEGARD.— A well-to-do raisin grower, owning an im-
proved place of twenty acres near Bowles, Cal., Peter Pilegard and his esti-
mable wife represent the best element of Fresno County's large Danish-
American population.
Peter A. Pilegard was born at Fyen, Denmark, August 4, 1868, and is
the son of Anders Jorgrensen Pilegard and Annie (Jorgnesen) Pilegard. The
parents owned a good farm in Denmark and were well-to-do. They were
the parents of seven children. George, the first of the children to come to
America, lived in Marshalltown, Iowa, for one year, then came to Fresno
and worked for the Madera Flume & Lumber Company for three years. He
then came to Oleander and bought forty acres of land in 1887, which he
improved. He was one of the first Danes to settle in Oleander. He married,
brought up a family of five children, and died in Oleander twelve years ago.
Peter A., joined his brother George in California in 1888. Hans has the
Pilegard farm in Denmark. Robert A. is manager of the Richter wholesale
bottling works at Fresno, where he resides. Chris is a rancher at Oleander.
Peter Pilegard was reared in Denmark, received his education in the
Danish schools and was brought up in the Lutheran faith. When nineteen
and a half years of age he took passage on the Steamship "Island," of the
old Thingvalla line, and after a fourteen-day voyage landed at New York
and went directly to Oleander, Cal.. where he arrived May 23, 1888. He
helped his brother George and worked on various ranches, on the hay
press, etc. In 1897 he was married to Dagmar Meyer, one of his country-
women. Her father, Carl Herman Hartwick Frederick Meyer, went from
Germany to Denmark, where he followed the trade of machinist. He was
naturalized and married in that country to Ovine Christine Johanne Hansen,
and they became the parents of seven children. Carl lived, married and died
in Denmark, leaving three children. Magnus is a boiler maker and resides
at Copenhagen, Denmark. Marie is single and is a resident of Oakland,
Cal. Sophie is the wife of Mr. Thompson, and they live in Stockton, Cal.
Harald is single, and is a barber at San Francisco. Nicolai is a sailor and
his home is in Belfast, Ireland. Dagmar came to Fresno (accompanied by
2404 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
her mother from Denmark) when only seventeen. She worked for the late
Dr. Rowell and in the Gundlefinger family at Fresno for several years.
Mr. and Airs. Pilegard have no children, and live comfortably in their
commodious country residence, which Mr. Pilegard built in 1893. Airs. Pile-
gard is a woman of refinement and culture, and the home atmosphere radiates
the true home feeling and the graces of an exalted Christian life. Their well-
kept, very productive ranch is planted to Thompson's seedless and muscat
vines and peaches.
Mr. Pilegard has made two visits to Denmark. On the last visit, in 1908,
he was accompanied by his wife and they remained in Denmark six months.
Mrs. Pilegard's mother, who accompanied Mrs. Pilegard to America, made
her home with Mr. and Mrs. Peter A. Pilegard until her death in 1916.
Returning from their last visit, to Denmark, Mr. and Airs. Pilegard
brought with them a daughter of Airs. Pilegard's brother Magnus,— Martha
Ovine Alever, and she has been reared in their home. She is now a young
lady of eighteen, and is still with them, and is practically regarded as an
own child.
Air. and Airs. Pilegard are members of the Danish Lutheran Church and
Air. Pilegard stands high in the counsels of that denomination. He is chair-
man of the Emmanuel Danish Lutheran Church at Easton. He is an influen-
tial member of the Peach Growers Association, the California Associated
Raisin Company, and the Danish Creamery at Fresno, all of which he assisted
in getting established.
A naturalized citizen of the United States, in his political associations
he affiliates with the Republican party.
NIELS HANSEN.— A progressive viticulturist. whose experience leads
others to seek his counsel and services, is Niels Hansen, who came to Fresno
soon after the beginning of this century. He was born near Odense, Fyen,
Denmark, on December 6, 1872, the son of Rasmus Hansen, a farmer, who
died there in 1914. His wife was Mariana Nielsen before her marriage, and
she is also dead. Three children bearing this honored name still are living,
and Niels is the second oldest, and the only one in the United States.
When a boy Niels attended the local schools, and at eighteen entered the
Danish army, serving in 1891 with the dragoon regiment. At the end of the
usual period he received his honorable discharge. He followed farming until
1902 and while in Denmark was married to Aliss Alartine Jensen, a woman
of many accomplishments. When they reached the United States, Mr. Hansen
was not long in getting to Fresno, for he had heard of this highly-favored
section of the Golden State. He was soon employed on ranches and in vine-
yards; and he rapidly became acquainted with the spirit of the Golden West.
In 1904, Mr. Hansen bought twenty acres three miles north of Sanger;
but raisins were then selling low, and he did not realize the profit from his
venture that he anticipated. In 1913 he sold the ranch, and returned to
Denmark. During the previous Alay, Airs. Hansen had died, leaving five
children : Mabel, Arthur, Oscar, Victor, and Ella ; and not long after, in
New York City, Air. Hansen married Aliss Sophia Kyhl, a native of Copen-
hagen and a member of an old family. Air. and Airs. Hansen attend the
Danish Lutheran Church, and are active in church and other good works.
Having returned to Denmark at the time that he did, Air. Hansen was
in Copenhagen when the war broke out and witnessed the great excitement
there. In 1916 he returned to the United States, glad to get back to what he
felt was home, as soon as he reached New York. Of course he continued west
to Fresno and since then has been following viticulture here, first on the L. F.
Giffen place near Rolinda, until that was sold. Then in the spring of 1918
he leased the Bates place on Aladera Avenue, a line tract of orchard and
vineyard comprising fifty-one acres. He is a member of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2405
JAMES P. WILKINS.— A self-made and unusually successful rancher
in the Fowler district, who is joint owner, with his brother, of several val-
uable ranches all of which they have acquired since coming to Fresno County,
is James P. Wilkins, popularly known as Jim Wilkins, or "Big Jim," whose
home northwest from Fowler is the center of a hospitality dispensed to friend
and stranger. He was born in Halifax County. Va., near South Boston, the
son of H. F. and Rebecca Jane (Hyte) Wilkins, the latter a woman of charm-
ing and affectionate disposition, who, like her husband, was one of a line of
old-time Virginians. At the time of her death, when James was only four
years old, she was the mother of five children, one of whom died, and when
the father married again, three more came into the family. Two of these
died in infancy, and one grew up and is now with the father and stepmother
in old Virginia. James Wilkins' grandfather was William A. Wrilkins, a farmer
and secretary and treasurer and half owner of a toll bridge across the Dan
River at South Boston, in Virginia. Three brothers and a sister are in Cal-
ifornia. W. S. Wilkins is a rancher southeast of Fowler. George F. Wilkins
resides east of Fowler and is joint owner with James P. in two ranches — one
a vineyard and orchard of 100 acres, one mile south of Fowler, and the other
a ranch of 120 acres, known as the old Ducy ranch, on the North McCall
road, six miles north of Selma.
James P. Wilkins was born on May 1, 1878, and as a boy grew up in
Virginia, where he attended the common schools. Arriving in California when
he was twenty-one he worked for wages for a year near Fowler. During the
second year he rented land, and the third year he bought a ranch. In this way
he has progressed steadily, and now occupies an enviable position of influence
in his community.
At Fresno, on December 3, 1907, Mr. Wilkins was married to Miss Flor-
ence M. Joy, daughter of Alexander Cartwright and Maria Louisa (Maxey)
Joy, natives of Nantucket, Mass., and of Kentucky, respectively. Her father
came to California, in 1853, as a whaler from Nantucket, having sailed around
the Horn and through the Golden Gate ; and settling in Amador Countv, he
mined for gold. He was an engineer at a quartz mill there, and in that county
he was married. He came to Fresno in 1883, and here Mrs. Wilkins was born.
Mr. and Mrs. Joy had six children : Jessie J. became Mrs. Blade, and died
leaving five children in Fresno County ; Dr. Maxey Joy is a prominent physi-
cian of Kansas City, Kans. ; Letha Joy became Mrs. T. H. Mutton, of Fresno ;
Al. C. Joy is the sporting editor of the San Francisco Examiner, and resides
in San Francisco; Florence Macy, now Mrs. Wilkins; and Lila Miryck became
the wife of E. A. Devereux, superintendent of the Fresno Traction Company.
Four children have blessed the happy union of Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins : Kathryn
Rose ; Ralph Cartwright, the second in order of birth ; a third child, who died
in infancy; and a fourth, named Miles Linwood, who also died an infant.
Mr. Wilkins is a booster for cooperative ranching and is a stockholder in
the California Associated Raisin Company and California Peach Growers, Inc.
GEORGE RANDRUP. — An enterprising citizen who left railroading
for agricultural pursuits in Fresno County, is George Randrup, born near
Dalby, Denmark, on September 6, 1870, the son of Jorgen Randrup, a farmer,
who had married Anna Vinfeldt. Both parents died where they had lived
their honorable and useful lives. They had eight children, and six of these
are now living.
Brought up on the farm at home, George, the oldest of those still alive,
attended the public school and assisted his father until he was eighteen years
of age. Then, in May, 1888, he started for the United States and settled at
Laramie, Wyo., where he was employed at railroading on the Union Pacific.
After twenty-three months he was made foreman of the section between Lar-
amie and Fort Rawlins, and there he made an enviable record. In 1896 he
resigned to return to Denmark, having previously been married in Laramie ;
2406 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
and he bought a farm near his old Danish home, where he engaged in farm-
ing and stock-raising. The wife he chose, in 1891, was Miss Gyda Ostergaard
before her marriage, also a native of Denmark, and an especially helpful
companion. He continued to farm in Denmark until 1908; and in November
of that year he sold out and returned to the United States. He located at
Ogden and returned to railroading under the same old roadmaster, John Mc-
Entee of the Oregon Short Line, who made him foreman between Ogden
and Salt Lake. For three years he resided at Kaysville and served the com-
pany in his conscientious manner.
At the end of three years, attracted by the advantages of Fresno, he
resigned and located here. He rented a ranch and engaged in the cattle
business in Tulare County,' near Dinuba. He also had a dairy and raised
cattle. In February, 1914, he located in the Houghton district and leased
two ranches — one a vineyard and orchard of eighty acres, owned by J. H.
Hudson, and also forty acres planted to alfalfa. He had a dairy and also car-
ried on horticulture and viticulture.
In 1917, Mr. Randrup bought the Owen & Kennedy ranch of eighty
acres, and also a forty-acre alfalfa ranch, making his entire holding 120 acres,
most of which is in alfalfa. He is raising hay and cattle and running one of
the most sanitary and up-to-date dairies in California. His ranch is eleven
miles northwest of Fresno, and a show-place it certainly is for those who
would desire to study successful dairy-farming. He is a stockholder in the
Danish Creamery Association, and a member of both the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc., and also of
the Danish Brotherhood.
Seven children are still living to bless Mr. and Mrs. Randrup : Carl is
in the oil-field at Taft; John served in the United States Navy; Jacob is assist-
ing his father ; and there are Andrew, James, Margaret and* Mary — all of
whom, like their excellent parents, have many friends.
WILLIAM O. MOLINE.— An exceptionally agreeable man is William
Moline, who was born in Chicago on February 7, 1864. His father was
Oliver Moline, a native of Sweden who came to Chicago when a young man.
and having learned the trade of a carpenter, continued as a builder a few years
after the great fire that destroyed that city. Then he engaged in the grocery
business, and had a well-stocked store on Wells Street, where he built a
brick block. In 1910 he sold his Illinois holdings, came out to California and
located in Fresno County, purchasing a fifty-acre ranch in the Yinland dis-
trict on the San Joaquin River, where he resided with his son William, who
has charge of the place. He also cared for his aged parent, who was an invalid
for about two years before his death, July 11, 1919, aged about ninety-three
years. Mrs. Moline was Hannah Peterson before her marriage, and she also
was a native of Sweden. She died in Evanston, 111., the mother of nine chil-
dren, among whom William is the fourth oldest and the only one living.
He was brought up in Chicago, where he was educated in the public
schools and assisted his father in the store until he learned the carriage
painter's trade, and followed it in Chicago. Then he entered the Wadsworth-
Holland Paint Company's factory, where he was a paint maker for eighteen
years, or until he quit them to come to California to continue to care for his
aged father in a milder climate than that of Lake Michigan, with its frigid
winters. Mr. Moline farms some fifty acres in the Yinland district on the
San Joaquin River, and gives his time and efforts mostly to horticulture and
stock-raising. He has a well-improved place, and gets some of the best results
that encourage the Yinland ranchers.
At Milwaukee. Mr. Moline was married to Miss Anna Lake, a native of
St. Louis, where she received a good education. They have one child. Marie
Elizabeth. The family attend the Lutheran Church in Fresno, of which they
are members.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2407
FRENCH CAFE. — One of the noted poets has said that "civilized man
cannot live without cooks." He can get along with about everything else left
out, but cooks there must be, according to this writer. It is possible that with
his experience, William Schurich, the present owner of the French Cafe, will
agree.
Mr. Schurich purchased the French Cafe from Joe Maracci, September 17,
1918. It is without doubt the finest cafe in all Central California. It was fitted
at a cost of $18,000 by Mr. Maracci, and is complete in all its details. The State
Food Inspector said of it: "This restaurant keeps the best meats and has the
cleanest and most systematic as well as sanitary appointments of any eating-place
'that I have ever inspected." Everything is modern and up-to-date. The linen is
immaculately white and beautifully laundered; electrical machinery washes the
dishes; the coffee is of the best grades of Mocha and Java, served with prime,
fresh cream. It has its own bakery where are made the bread, buns, cakes and
pastry used in its service. It is provided with an ice-making and refrigerating
plant where are kept the meats, vegetables, fruits, milk, cheese, fish and other
articles of food. The dining-room is daily supplied with fresh flowers on the
tables, and is further adorned by a flag nine by fifteen feet, and by a service
flag with nineteen stars. The chef is a famous cook, and with the food so whole-
somely prepared, its appointments so altogether superior, and with the personal
and close attention of the proprietor himself, together with the loyalty and fidel-
ity of some thirty employees, the French Cafe is one of the show-places of
Fresno, and whether he is or not. Mr. Schurich certainly has reason to be proud
of his success.
Mr. Schurich was married to Miss Antoinette Van der Knaap, a native of
Amsterdam, Holland, the marriage taking place in Fresno in 1916. They have
one child, who is named for her mother, Antoinette. Mr. Schurich is a patriotic
man and in every bond drive he not only purchased bonds for himself, but en-
couraged his employees to do likewise, even advancing the means to carry the
bonds for any who wanted him to do so.
CHARLES GATEWOOD.— An energetic representative of a fine old
family, whose traditions reach through the best periods and circles of the South
back to historic Old England, is Charles Gatewood, the rancher near Rolinda,
widely known for his pure-bred Poland-China hogs. He was bom near Oskaloosa
in Mahaska County, Iowa, in 1855, the son of William H. Gatewood, who was
bom in Bledsoe County, Tenn. He removed to Parke County, Ind., with his
parents and then, about 1851, to Iowa, where he was a farmer. In 1880 he re-
moved to Nebraska, and engaged in farming at Seward. The year 1910 found
him at Elbert, Colo., and there he continued to live until his death on November
22, 1916, when he was more than ninety-three years old. Mrs. Gatewood was
Nancy Lough before her marriage, and she was born in Preble County, Ohio.
She removed to Indiana with her parents, where she grew up and was married,
and she died in Elbert, Colo., aged eighty-six years, the mother of nine children,
six of whom are still living.
' As the second oldest in the family, Charles was brought up in Iowa and there
attended the public schools, including the Oskaloosa High School ; and at the
age of about seventeen he got into saw-milling and followed that for thirty years.
He bought a portable saw-mill and did a large business manufacturing lumber
and timbers and tracking, particularly for the coal mines. Only when he had
sawed up all the available timber in that section did he turn to agriculture.
He bought a farm and engaged in raising hogs, cattle, com and alfalfa; and
during these busy experimental years he spent three years in Nebraska, some
time in Oklahoma, and several years at Ames, Iowa, having in mind the educa-
tion of his children.
On January 8, 1912, Mr. Gatewood located in Fresno County, having come
to California from Ames. He bought an eighty-acre ranch of raw land, the one
drawback being the lack of water rights. He sunk two wells, therefore, and now
2408 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
he has an abundance of water, which rises to within eleven feet of the surface.
He installed a gas engine of twenty-five horsepower, and put in a centrifugal
pump. This gives him a capacity of over 2,000 gallons a minute— over 200
miners' inches.
He leveled the land, sowed alfalfa, and engaged in raising hogs, choosing
prize-bred Poland-Chinas; and when, in 1918, he exhibited at the State Fair in
Sacramento, lie won the Grand Champion prize with a Poland-China boar. Be-
sides being the largest breeder hereabouts of this variety of hog, Mr. Gatewood
raises about 300 tons of hay a year for the market.
While in Iowa, on December 24, 1882, Mr. Gatewood was married to Miss
Hester A. Allgood, a native of Mahaska County, Iowa, and a daughter of John
F. Allgood, a Kentuckian, and Eliza Jane Comstock, an Indianian, both pioneers
of Iowa where they died, the former in 1883, and the latter in 1918, aged eighty-
two. Mr. and Mrs. Gatewood have four children: Fred C, a graduate of the
Oskaloosa High School is engaged in the breeding of Poland-China hogs on a
farm adjoining that of our subject; he has one daughter, Helen; Ray, a graduate
of the Ames Agricultural College in Iowa, was a teacher in the Manhattan State
Agricultural College, Kans., where, for six years, he was professor of animal
'husbandry, and he is now in the cattle business in Oklahoma. He has one daugh-
ter, Jane. Ethel is the wife of William II. Doherty, of Fresno, who served in the
United States Army about fourteen months, thirteen months of the time over-
seas ; and Harry assists his father.
Mr. Gatewood belongs to the Fresno County Poland-China Breeders Asso-
ciation, and has one of the largest herd of pure-bred hogs in the state. He also
belongs to the California Swine Breeders Association.
SAN DOR KLEIN. — A prosperous rancher, who specializes in hog-
raising is Sandor Klein, who was born at Beregszasz, Hungary, December 10,
1883, where his father, Moses Klein, was a farmer and merchant. After his
school days were over Sandor was apprenticed and learned the cabinet maker's
trade continuing to work at this calling in his native country until 1901 when
he emigrated to New York City, where he followed his trade. In 1904 he came
to St. Louis, Mo., remaining one year and then coming to San Francisco. Here
he worked as a carpenter, then as a foreman carpenter, and later still engaged
in contracting and building until 1910, when he came to Fresno County and
homesteaded 160 acres in Huron district which he improved. He has installed
a pumping plant for irrigating his alfalfa, and makes a specialty of raising
hogs. He has prospered and now owns 480 acres of land. He also leases lands
and has about 1,500 acres sown to grain each year.
He became a full citizen of the United States in San Francisco in 1913.
In his party affiliations he is a Democrat.
JOHN HOLM.— One of the early settlers of Vinland is John Holm who
was born near Karleby, Varsalan, Finland, May 1, 1858. He was raised in Fin-
land, but enjoyed no school advantages; but an elderly lady taught him the al-
phabet. With this foundation he continued until he was able to read and write
in four different languages. After completing his trade as a ship joiner he worked
in different shipyards in Finland and Russia. He had a longing for the sea and in
1881, while on the ship Alex. Gibson, he touched at San Francisco while on the
way to China via Liverpool and New York. In 1886 he came to San Francisco
on a sailing vessel, the Oregon, on which he was engaged as ship's carpenter.
He came around Cape Horn from New York, which he had rounded five times
before this. He followed the sea for seven years and has been in all the impor-
tant ports of the world.
In 1886 he quit the sea at San Francisco, and was employed by John Vance,
Eureka, in the lumber woods. He remained with this firm for a time and then
engaged with Mr. Bendixsen, with whom he stayed for eight years, and then
came to Vinland, Cal.. in 1904. He was one of the first to come to Vinland, as
he had been here in 1903 and bought forty acres of land, moving upon it and
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2409
buying twenty acres more in 1904. In the improvement of his ranch he has
experimented in planting until he satisfied himself that Thompson seedless is
the best grape for him and the most profitable, for that vicinity. He has planted
thirty-seven acres in Thompson seedless, three acres in apricots, an orchard of
peaches and other fruits, and the whole sixty is under splendid cultivation.
Mr. Holm was married in Finland to Miss Sophia Johansen, who, like her
husband, is a native of Finland, coming to this country in 1889. They are the
parents of five children, four of whom are living: John Amil joined the colors
November 3, 1917, served in Company F, Fifty-ninth Infantry, Fourth Division,
trained at Camp Lewis four months, then Camp Green, N. C., then went over-
seas and saw service through all the big battles ; was gassed at Argonne Forest,
was discharged May 18, 1919, after eleven months in France and then came
'home to take up his work on the ranch ;' Eddie, a farmer in the Biola district;
Andrew, assisting his father on the ranch; Sena, at home.
Mr. Holm is a member of the Lutheran Church, and also of the California
Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Associated Raisin Company. In the
early days his ranch was the show place of the vicinity, and was used in demon-
strating what could be done in production from the soil.
CHARLES E. VOICE. — The youngest fruit buyer, in point of years, in
the San Joaquin Valley, and probably in the entire state of California, is Charles
E. Voice. His wits have been pitted against those of some of the oldest and most
experienced fruit buyers in the state, and he has held his own with them all.
Fresno may well be proud of him, for he is one of her native sons, having been
born in that city May 18, 1890.
He attended the grammar and high school at Fowler, supplementing this
with a commercial course at Heald's Business College at Fresno and at San Jose.
After, leaving school he engaged in the fruit business, which he has followed ever
since.
He has been in the employ of leading packing companies in Fresno County,
and was bookkeeper and stenographer with the J. K. Armsby Company. He was
also in the employ of J. F. Niswander at Malaga, and for a while was with the
Earl Fruit Company, and also the Phoenix Raisin Company. In 1917, at the age
of twenty-seven, he became buyer for the American Seedless Raisin Company,
resigning in 1919; he is now with Rosenberg Brothers and Company, fruit
packers.
For his life companion, Mr. Voice chose a native daughter of Fresno, who in
maidenhood was Miss Edith Walker. Their union has been blessed by the birth
of one child, a son, Edward Walker by name. Mr. Voice is a member of the
Fraternal Brotherhood.
CHARLES HOMER BOUCHER.— Thrift and foresight, push and enter-
prise were characteristics of the sturdy pioneers who came to California in the
'early years of its history. Among these was Charles H. Boucher, born October
19, 1845, of English parents in Elbridge, Onondaga County, N. Y. His father,
George Boucher, a surveyor, and his mother, Mary Anne Protherole, were mar-
ried in England before coming to this country. George Boucher, the father of
five children, three boys and two girls, died when Charles H. Boucher was but
six years of age. Young Charles attended the public schools of Onondaga County
until he was fifteen years of age, working for others to earn the wherewith to
pay for his board and schooling. He was sixteen years old when the Civil War
began, and responding to the call for volunteers, was mustered into service as a
private, August 28, 1862, with Company E, One Hundred Twenty-second New
York Volunteers, organized at Syracuse, serving under Captain H. H. Walpole
until mustered out in May, 1865. During those three years he was in twenty-six
general engagements, among other, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor and Antietam.
After leaving the army he heard the "call of the West" and came to California,
working for a year on a dairy farm in Solano County, afterwards renting grain
2410 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
land and working for himself. After three years he purchased 320 acres of land
and continued to raise grain for fifteen years.
At Fairfield, Solano County, December 20, 1872, he was married to Martha
M. Weaver, a native of Clark County, Mo., and a daughter of William M. and
Sarah Ellen ( Henton i Weaver, bom in Kentucky and Virginia, respectively.
Martha M. came to California with her father, a farmer, who located in San Joa-
quin County in 1870. Four children blessed this union: Lottie May. Mrs. Wel-
don of this county; Emily Florence, at home; George Thomas died at the age
of sixteen, and Archie Homer was in United States Army and served overseas
until mustered out and is back on the ranch.
In 1884 Mr. Boucher removed to Fresno County, purchasing the east half
of section 16, the home place, upon which there was not even a shrub at the time,
neither was there water with which to irrigate the land. At that time the present
site of the attracive little own of Clovis was a vast grain field. Mr. Boucher con-
tinued the occupation of grain raising in his new home, and, three years later
purchased the west half of section 16. Seven years later he set a small acreage to
vineyard, the venture proving lucrative, he continued to set out land to vineyard
at intervals until he had sixty acres under cultivation, including five or six varie-
ties of grapes.
Mr. Boucher passed away June 29, 1917. Since his death Mrs. Boucher
makes her home in Fresno, looking after the interests left by her husband.
ROBERT E. GOODE. — Honored and beloved by all who knew him,
and esteemed and looked up to by his fellow ranchers and raisin-growers
with whom he competed in the most agreeable and stimulating manner,
Robert E. Goode, a highly-progressive resident of Fresno County since
October, 1889, passed from this life on April 22, 1918, mourned by many. His
demise, viewed in the light of what he had already accomplished and what
might reasonably have been expected of him, was indeed an "untimely taking
off."
He was born at Birmingham, England, November 21, 1863, and came from
a family of manufacturers and business men, all of whom made some mark
in the world. Robert E. and his brother, Percy Goode, came together to
America in October, 1889, after finishing their education at Rossall College
and getting well started in practical business ways. After the arrival of
their brother, Herbert, in 1890, the three brothers bought 180 acres of land
near Fowler, Fresno County. They developed this property and became very
successful as ranchers and in the growing of raisin grapes. While Robert and
Herbert were improving the property, Percy, at the same time was making
himself proficient as an expert accountant, in which profession he has ad-
vanced higher and higher in San Francisco.
Thus owning their ranches in common, and together developing their
property, Robert and Herbert grew very intimate, and more and more at-
tached to each other; nor did the marriage of either affect their affectionate
association. They were nearly always seen together in their life-time ; and
perhaps it was meet that they should be summoned together in death. Their
accidental deaths, to quote the Fowler Ensign, "shocked the community as
it was never shocked before." . . . "The bereaved families have the profound
sympathy of the entire community in this great, overwhelming sorrow." The
funeral was held from the Fowler Episcopal Church, Bishop Sanford of
Fresno, assisted by the Rev. W. Benson Bellis of Selma, officiated.
Robert E. Goode was married at Easton, in Fresno County, May 13,
1890. to Miss Eleanor Davenhill, who was also born at Birmingham, England.
Her father was the late Henry Davenhill, for eighteen years a resident of
Clovis and Easton, who passed away at his home in Pacific Grove, January
13, 1910, after a month's illness, prior to which he was for years partially,
and for months totally blind. He had been born in England, was seventy-
seven years of age, and was survived by a widow Matilda (Clarke) Daven-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2411
hill, and six children : William Davenhill, of Santa Cruz ; Arthur H. Daven-
hill, of Ashland, Ore. ; Mrs. Claude Conlan, of Seabright ; Mrs. R. C. Storie,
of San Jose; Mrs. R. E. Goode, of Fowler; and Mrs. W. Gibson, of Santa
Maria. Commenting on his death, the Fresno Republican, of January 17th,
said: "The profusion of beautiful floral pieces marked the esteem in which
the deceased was held in the city in which he had made his home. Every
member of the large family was present at the funeral services." Mrs.
Davenhill is also deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Goode became the parents of two children:
Muriel, who graduated from the Fowler High in the Class of 1918, following
which she did postgraduate work ; and Richard Henry, who is a student in
the grammar school. Mrs. Goode, with her two children, resides on the
Goode Brothers' ranch one mile north of Fowler. The Goode family has
always attended the Episcopal Church.
The Goode Brothers owned 140 acres near Fowler, and forty acres near
Oleander, all of which they fully improved from a grain-field into the most
valuable and productive ranches in the section wherein the property is
located. They were active in the various associations of fruit- and raisin-
growers of the county, and were enterprising and public-spirited citizens whom
it was an honor to know. This property is now under the general supervision
of Percy Goode, administrator of the two estates.
In closing we quote again from the Fowler Ensign, "They were ad-
mirable husbands and fathers, lovable and true, and kind neighbors ; and in
unblemished lives extending over nearly a third of a century in this com-
munity, proved to be public-spirited citizens of the highest and best character."
HERBERT GOODE.— Tremendously rapid as is the progress of Cali-
fornia's development, and comprehensive as are the daily changes in the
affairs of men and things, bringing about one succession after another until
the person or event of yesterday seems more a memory than a reality, it
will be many years before men cease to talk of the late Herbert Goode—
and talking, to praise — and of his equally accomplished and genial brother
Robert, who, as Goode Brothers, owned valuable ranches near Fowler and
Oleander. As Goode Bros., these English-born Californians by adoption,
springing from a family distinguished in both the manufacturing and the
business worlds, came to take front rank as raisin-growers here, and in both
aggressively and progressively operating as ranchers, to point the way where
others with like ambitions and capabilities could follow.
From the day in 1890 when they began to establish themselves here they
labored hard for the fullest and best development of the resources of Fresno
County and the improvement of social life and living conditions for the every-
day man and woman struggling with a too indifferent world ; so that when
they were called, in an instant, to bid adieu to human affairs, by an accident,
society was deprived of their stimulating leadership. It is not surprising that
the Fowler Ensign, in telling of their passing on should say: "That the lives
of two of its most prominent and highly prized residents could be so sud-
denly snuffed out has stunned and saddened the entire community."
Herbert Goode was born in Birmingham, England, March 29, 1870, the
son of a leading business man in Birmingham, and attended Malvern College
in Worcestershire. In March, 1890, he came to America, and coming directly
to Fowler, Fresno County, Cal., joined his brothers, Robert E. and Percy,
who had preceded him four months. The three brothers acquired land, made
extensive improvements and built their homes. In 1898, Herbert returned to
England and in that same year he was joined in wedlock to Miss Maude
Preston, a native of West Derby, Lancashire, who was educated in a
private school for girls at Cheltenham. Four children blessed their union:
Gladwyn and Beatrice, graduates of the Fowler High School; Mabel, a
student there; and John who is attending the grammar school. The family
2412 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
attends the Episcopal Church, and still resides in their home on the Goode
Brothers' ranch, one mile north from Fowler.
The funeral services were conducted from the Fowler Episcopal Church
by Bishop Sanford, assisted by Rev. W. Benson Bellis of Selma, and such
was the attendance of friends from far and near that all could not gain
admittance to the church. The Fowler Ensign paid its tribute in the follow-
ing: "They were both good men in the strongest and fullest sense. They
were admirable husbands and fathers, lovable and true, and kind neighbors.
. . . The community has met with a deplorable loss, for they were willing
workers in every public enterprise, every charity, every measure for the
public good."
GEORGE A. TURNER. — The excitement caused by the discovery of
gold in California, imbued many with a desire to visit the vast unknown
west. Among the throng that crossed the Indian infested plains, in 1849, was
John B. Turner, the father of George A., the subject of this sketch. John B.
was a native of Missouri and was united in marriage with Maria Flemming,
wh.. was born in Ireland. After his arrival in California, John B. Turner
was engaged in operating a steamboat on the San Joaquin River, of which
he was the captain. He was well and popularly known as a pioneer boatman.
The parental home of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Turner was blessed with eleven
children, nine of whom are still living.
The career of George A. Turner began on April 2, 1872, at Antioch, Con-
tra Costa County, Cal. His early education was received in the schools of
Antioch after which he engaged in the hotel business in his native town, be-
coming the manager of the Arlington Hotel. In 1889 he arrived in Fresno,
here he engaged in the liquor business and is giving his attention to the same
interests at present. George A. Turner is the owner of unimproved orange
land at Terra Bella, Tulare County.
He was united in marriage with Mae Doherty. a native daughter, who
was born in San Francisco. Her father was an early pioneer of California,
and a native of the Emerald Isle. Mr. and Mrs. George A. Turner are the
parents of three daughters : Gwendolyn ; Dorothy ; and Patricia. Fraternally,
Mr. Turner is a charter member of the new Fresno lodge of Eagles. No. 39 :
he is also a member of Fresno Parlor Xo. 9, X. S. G. W., which organization
he became a member of when he reached his eighteenth year, and is a mem-
ber of the Commercial Club of Fresno. George A. Turner is especially fond
of hunting and to secure a greater degree of pleasure in following the sport,
as well as the companionship of kindred spirits, he holds membership in the
Temple Pdue Rock Gun Club and the Temple Duck Club.
H. E. SPIRES.— A splendid type of the intelligent Western stockman
satisfied with nothing less than scientific, careful breeding, H. E. Spires, of
the firm of Crawford & Spires, farmers and breeders of registered Holstein
cattle and Duroc fersev swine, has done much, as manager of the Hillcrest
Farms, to raise the standard of dairv cattle and bacon and ham hogs in Cal-
ifornia Mr. Spires was born in Christian County, HI., on April 21, 18/9. the
son of Henry C. Spires who lived to the age of sixty-five, and was widely
esteemed as 'a progressive farmer. He became the father of four boys and
one girl, among whom our subject was the eldest child. When he was seven
years old. hi- parents removed to Morgan County. 111., and there he grew up
on his father's farm while he attended the common schools. At twenty-one,
he was married, and farmed awhile in Wayne County. 111.
Removing to Oklahoma. Mr. Spires leased Indian lands, farmed, raised
stock, and operated and sold threshing machinery for about seven years, and
then he decided to engage in the raising of registered cattle and hogs. In
l'd3 he removed to Butler County. Kans.. and there, during the next three
years, laid the foundation for his splendid Holstein herd.
Quring this time, Mr. Spires entered into correspondence with Dr. J. M.
Crawford, president of James M. Crawford ,v Company, at 1111' J Street.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2413
Fresno, the owner of the land now comprising the Hillcrest Farms, situated
about three miles south of Caruthers, and in December, 1916, he shipped to
California a car-load of registered Holsteins — the beginning of a herd known
as the Victory Herd, now comprising fifty registered Holsteins, twenty-five
grades, and forty registered Duroc Jersey sows, boars and gilts, and known
through the advertisements in the rural press of the Pacific and other stand-
ard farm and live-stock journals — admittedly one of the best herds and droves
in Fresno County. Products of the Hillcrest Farms are sold for breeding
purposes in Fresno, Kings, Tulare and other California counties.
As the practical stockman, Mr. Spires resides upon the Hillcrest Farms
and personally superintends the management of that important estate. Mrs.
H. E. Spires deserves much of the credit for the success of the Victory Herd,
as she is one of the main spokes in the wheel in the management of same. Also
among his stock is the celebrated registered Holstein bull, Sir Piebe DeKol
Sergis Pontiac, who was sired by the world's famous sire, King Sergis Pon-
tiac Count, owned by Arden Farms, St. Paul, Minn.
EARL J. WELLS. — A successful realty man of Fresno, who has made
a record fqr the rapid acquirement of ranches, is Earl J. Wells, the son of Hiram
J. Wells. His grandfather was the Rev. Abraham Wells, the well-known Selma
'pioneer preacher, whose zealous work in the Christian Church in Nebraska and
at Selma will long be remembered. He never accepted a dollar for his minis-
terial services; he organized the large congregation at Selma and built the first
Christian Church in that town — the present magnificent edifice having been built
since. During his last year in Nebraska, Abraham Wells saw 320 acres of corn
withered in a day by the hot winds. The Wells family then resolved to come to
California, and they cast their lot in the John Brown Colony in Madera County.
This colony failed, and they came thence to Fresno, in 1892, almost penniless.
Yet today they are among the most prosperous and highly respected citizens of
the county, Earl J., alone owning eleven ranches.
Earl J. Wells was born at La Vina, Madera County, Cal., and is a son of
Hiram J. and Allie May (Millner) Wells, the former a native of northwestern
Iowa, although he grew up and married in Nebraska. He came to California on
his honeymoon, and he and his wife first settled in Madera County, having been
induced to take part in the John Brown Colony. Abraham Wells had also come
to California, so that father and grandfather were the first of the Wells family
to come here. And here the Rev. Wells died in August, 1905, in his seventieth
year. His widow, Mrs. Mary A. Wells, is still living, and is a prominent member
of the Christian Science Society at Selma, being also hale and hearty, at eighty-
four years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Hiram-J. Wells are living on their ranch two
miles northeast of Selma, on the Mill Ditch Road. He owns eight ranches out-
right, and is interested with his son Earl in a vineyard of forty acres at Seville
in Tulare County. Brothers of Earl J.* are Fred A. Wells, who is in the United
States Navy and crossed the Atlantic three times to France, and Walker W..
who is at home.
Born on November 5, 1892, Earl J. Wells was brought up on his father's
ranch and educated at Selma. He spent one and a half years in the Selma Union
High School, and then took a commercial course at Heald's Business College at
Fresno. When eighteen years old he went to that city and engaged in the real
estate business, and there became associated with W. L. Chapman, remaining
six months. Then he started a real estate office in Selma, and formed a part-
nership with the late W. A. Lewis, who died on November 4, 1918, aged thirty-
five years. Mrs. Nellie Lewis (whose life is elsewhere outlined in this history)
lis still interested with Mr. Wells in five ranches which the partners owned. Lewis
& Wells continued as a partnership at Selma until Mr. Lewis' death.
In 1917, Mr. Wells volunteered for service in the World War, enlisting on
August 17, and he was sent to San Pedro and Key West for training. At the
latter place he was assigned to the Intelligence Department, and there he rose
2414 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
to the rank of a first-class yeoman. He remained at Key West until July, 1918,
when he was transferred to Mare Island, Cal., and there he was honorably dis-
charged on November 23rd of that year.
On January 1, 1919, Mr. Wells started the Sun Maid Realty Company, the
office of which is in charge of Mrs. Lewis, who keeps the company's books.
Seven ranches are operated under the name of E. J. Wells and Company. Mr.
Wells is a stockholder and member in both the Raisin and Peach Growers as-
sociations.
At Fresno, on July 20, 1911, Mr. Wells was married to Miss Bertha Louise
Roberts, a native of Nebraska, who came to Fresno County in 1905, and grew
up here. Mrs. Wells was with her husband at Key West in Florida. They are
members of the First Christian Church at Selma, they belong to the Red Cross,
and they have participated in the various war activities. Mr. Wells is a Blue
Lodge Mason, having been raised at Selma; he took the first degree at Key West,
and the second and third degrees at Selma, on his return after the war.
GEORGE C. CHRISTENSEN.— Rated as one of the best blacksmiths
in Fresno County, George C. Christensen, the rancher, who resides on his own
well-tilled raisin vineyard of twenty-six acres, enjoys the reputation of being a
man of strict integrity whose name alone is an absolute guaranty of quality and
honest service.
Born in Denmark, December 27, 1869, the son of M. C. Christensen now
of Oleander, Cal., who married Laura Bach, our subject was one of eight chil-
dren, three of whom are in Denmark and five in California, the oldest son and
the second child. His mother died in April, 1918, seventy-five years old. The
father is still living, in his seventy-sixth year, and he makes his home with Mrs.
Girtz, a widowed daughter at Oleander. George grew up on his father's farm
in Denmark until he was fourteen, attending the Danish schools ; and then he
was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. The next year he started to learn the
blacksmith trade, and later he went to Randers, the third largest city in Denmark,
to become a blacksmith^ apprentice. On July 6, 1890, he obtained his certificate
as a journeyman blacksmith, and his first work thereafter was in a country black-
smith shop at Langaa.
He next went to Copenhagen and entered a carriage shop where, in its black-
smith department, he did the general blacksmithing required. He soon became
foreman of Vincent A. Thuge's carriage manufactory in Copenhagen, and that
position he held for the last year and a half that he was in Denmark.
During this time he became a night student at the Copenhagen Technical
School where he learned to be a mechanical engineer and draughtsman, pursuing
the regular mechanical draughtsman's course. For the purpose of perfecting him-
self in his profession as a mechanical engineer and draughtsman, and intending
to return to Copenhagen after a two years' stay in America, Mr. Christensen
sailed for New York, leaving Copenhagen on July 9, 1893, and landing at the old
Castle Garden, on July 26.
Landing in New York, he proceeded on to Providence, R. I., where he se-
cured work in different blacksmith shops and finally entered the service of H. M.
Howe and Company, who were engaged in the manufacture of carriages. He
was soon put in charge .of the blacksmith shop and he worked there for three
years. He then went to New York City and entered Brewster's well-known car-
riage manufactory on Broadway, and there he continued to labor for a year. After
that he returned to the H. M. Howe Company at Providence for three years
more. Leaving that firm, he worked for another three years in various shops in
Providence and Pawtucket.
In 1903 Mr. Christensen came West and direct to Fresno, and at Oleander
he started the first blacksmith shop. Later he and his brother bought forty acres
of land near Bowles. This he improved, and among other buildings he erected
a blacksmith shop and for seven years ran it in addition to managing his farm.
In 1913 he moved this shop to Bowles; and since 1912 the Christensen Brothers
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2415
have had a large, up-to-date smithy where the}' do general blacksmithing and
also deal in farm implements, and they are now enlarging the shop for automo-
bile work. Christensen Brothers manufacture the "Christensen Brothers Rotary
Harrow," and the "Christensen Brothers Vineyard Truck," and in the latter
line make both a plain truck and a cross-roads truck, for very short turns. Their
plain vineyard trucks are pronounced by competent judges to be the very best
made anywhere.
Mr. Christensen's grandfather, on his father's side, was a wheelwright; his
father was a Danish farmer; his maternal grandfather Bach, was a pedagogue
and a scholarly person; and now the two oldest sons of our subject are young
men of pronounced ability along mechanical lines. They are able to turn out
tanks of large size and excellent quality, working under the direction of their
father; yet he would rather encourage them to follow agriculture than mechan-
ical pursuits.
While at Providence, R. I., Mr. Christensen was married to Miss Nellie
Nelson of that city at the time they first met, although a native daughter of
Sweden; and they have eight children : Ina, Arthur, George, Ethel, Paul, Harry,
Carl and Edna. The family attend the Danish Lutheran Church at Easton.
Jorgen Christian Jorgensen was really the full and correct form of Mr. Chris-
tensen's name as it was given when he was baptized ; but this Jorgen was changed
to George after he came to America. Fritz B., his brother, owns a ranch of
twenty acres, two miles south of Bowles, on which he resides.
N. P. GONSER. — One of the most progressive merchants and successful
young business men of Laton, Cal., is N. P. Gonser, the owner and manager of
the popular general merchandise store known as "Gonser's Department Store,"
located west of the Santa Fe Railway tracks, where he has been engaged in
business since the fire of July 4, 1911. N. P. Gonser is a Buckeye by birth, born
June 23, 1880, at Millersburg, Ohio, a son of the Rev. Albert Gonser, now the
pastor of the German Reformed Church, at Mt. Carmel, Pa. His mother, who
passed away when he was sixteen years of age, was in maidenhood Susie Uhl, a
descendant of a very early family that settled in Philadelphia in 1680, on about
160 acres of land that was granted them by William Penn. The land still be-
longs to the descendants of the original owners but has been rented to the city
of Philadelphia for 100 years or more.
Rev. Albert Gonser was married in Ohio and at the time of the birth of
his son N. P. Gonser, the subject of this review, he was a student attending the
college at Tiffin, Ohio. Later he took a course at the Theolog;<:al Seminary at
the same place, which is now a branch of Heidelburg University. The Rev.
Albert Gonser's first charge was at West Salem, Ohio, and N. P. Gonser's first
recollection of his home is in connection with West Salem. Like most minis-
ters' families the Gonser family moved to various places so the childhood of N.
P. was spent mostly in Ohio and Pennsylvania where he received his early edu-
cation which later he supplemented by pursuing a course in the Eastman Bus-
iness College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where he finished a course in bookkeeping
and related branches. Mr. Gonser, being a very apt student, the faculty of the
college recommended him to the proprietors of the millionaires' resort, at Tuxedo
Park, N. Y., for the position of assistant bookkeeper which position he accepted
and filled for eighteen months. About this time he became obsessed with the idea
of engaging in the sheep business, and with this purpose in mind he left Tuxedo
Park for Great Falls, Mont., in 1901. Upon reaching his destination, he was
dissuaded from entering the sheep business, but was persuaded to remain and
accept the position of assistant bookkeeper with the firm of Stearn Brothers,
at Great Falls, a large department store. After eighteen months' service he left
for Bakersfield, Cal., where he made the acquaintance of the firm of Mosher
&• De Caner Road Oiling Company, with whom he accepted a position, going as
their representative to Woodland, Cal., where he took charge of their work in
Stockton, Sacramento, Woodland, Marysville and Chico. At first the oil was
2416 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
distributed by railway tank cars, and wagons but later was shipped by barge
from Point Richmond to points all along the Sacramento River, as far north as
Colusa. In the fall of 1905, Air. Gonser took a review course in the Stockton
Business College, and soon thereafter became connected with the Automatic
Sprinkler Company, in the installation of sprinklers in various saw mills at
Korbel, Humboldt County, also at Stockton, Xapa, and at Clovis, Fresno County,
and in San Francisco. In the latter part of 1906, Mr. Gonser accompanied his
friend Adolph Johnson, on a trip to Laton, Gal., to visit friends of Mr. Johnson.
So favorably was he impressed by this section of the county that he decided to
remain and accepted a clerkship with T. E. and E. P. Blanchard, proprietors
of a general merchandise store at Laton, and for four and a half years efficiently
filled the position of clerk and buyer for the firm, remaining with them until
the fire of July 4, 1911. which consumed a large portion of the business district
of Laton. Following the fire he decided to purchase property and build a store
room and engage in business for himself. His capital at that time was limited,
but he possessed self-confidence and a determination to succeed. By wise fore-
sight Air. Gonser chose the west side of the Santa Fe Railway for the loca-
tion of his future business, at Laton, and subsequent events have proved the
wisdom of his choice. He purchased sixteen lots and built a store on the corner
where he opened a general store and livery, where he now keeps a carefully se-
lected stock of groceries, hardware, crockery, dry goods, confectionery, and also
handles motor accessories, oil and gasoline. The store is especially well located
to supply the trade coming from the fertile country west of Laton, including the
Laguna. and Summit Lake districts. Air. Gonser is a wide-awake, enterprising,
and progressive young business man, who has by strict integrity, close attention
to business and a square deal to all his patrons built up a large and profitable
business. His property and stock in the business and his livery stable are now-
valued at $20,000, the greater portion of it being the result of his business enter-
prise since opening his store.
On June 23, 1908, Mr. Gonser was united in marriage with Aliss Hazel
Hemmer, from Stockton, who came to Laton as bookkeeper for T. E. and E. P.
Blanchard's store, while Air. Gonser was still in their employ. This happy union
has been blessed with four children: Lester, Evelyn, Harold and Florence.
REUBEN FRANKLIN WILKINS.— A progressive and prosperous
raisin-grower, R. F. Wilkins has ninety-three acres in full bearing a mile
and a half north of Fowler, upon which he has made all the important
improvements. He was born in the same house in which his father first
saw the light, at Redbank, Halifax County, A^a., on August 27, 1871, the
fourth child and third son in a family of ten children — five boys and five girls
— all of whom are still living, nine being in California and one in North
Carolina. The Wilkinses came from England in the seventeenth century
and took, part in the Indian and colonial wars, and also in the Revolution,
as is attested by the moss-covered gravestones seen by Air. Wilkins in the
cemetery near Redbank, Va. Petersburg was the nearest city in those early,
strenuous davs, and in that old-time center the record of the Wilkins family
is well known. His father was William Paranon Wilkins, and his mother
before her marriage, was Letha P. Yancey, who was early orphaned and
was thereafter reared by her grandmother Griffin. She was married in Vir-
ginia, where all her ten children were born. The parents are both living in
Fresno CoUnty. Grandfather Wilkins and Grandfather Yancey were planters
in Halifax County, and both families were Baptists.
R. F. Wilkins attended the public schools of Halifax County and grew
up on his father's plantation, where they raised tobacco, wheat and corn.
When past twenty-one lie came direct to Fowler, Cal., where his older brother,
Th. .mas Jonathan Wilkins, was then working. He arrived here on January
28, 1894, and took work on the farm of George Feaver, Jr., with whom he
remained during the summer and winter, until June 15, 1896. Then he worked
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2417
out for others, and in November, 1896, he rented a vineyard of L. H. Norris,
in Norris Colony.
Mr. Wilkins was married on December 28, 1897, to Miss Luella F. Water-
man, a daughter of Meriben and Mary E. (McCoy) Waterman, natives of
Ohio and Virginia, respectively, who were married in Missouri and came by
rail to California in 1869, settling in Solano County, where their daughter
was born. Later they went to Lake County and farmed, and in that county
Mrs. Wilkins was reared. She attended the public schools and Overholster's
Academy at Lakeport, and was admitted to teach in Lake County. She ob-
tained a state diploma while teaching in Sonoma County. In September,
1896, she came to Fresno County and taught at Fowler; and the following
year she was married.
Mr. Wilkins continued to rent in the Norris Colony until 1899, when he
bought his present place. He had just $645, a watch and a roll of blankets
when he started to rent in 1897; now, among other property, he has his
home place of seventy-seven acres, and fifteen and a half acres of the old
Glazier place, and with the exception of the latter, he has improved his
holdings from a grain field and sand hills to fine vineyards of Thompson's
seedless, sultanas and muscats, also raising grapes and peaches of the
drying variety.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins have three children : Floyd, who graduated from
the Fowler High School in the Class of '17, entered the University of Cali-
fornia in September. 1918, and later enlisted in the Students' Army Corps and
was honorably discharged on November 29, of that year. Bessie is in the
Fowler High School, and Alice E., who was in the grammar school and who
passed away August 14, 1919. Mr. Wilkins is a Democrat, and a man of
influence in his locality. He is a director in the management of the Bridge
Canal Ditch, and is ever ready to support any measure calculated to advance
the development of Central California along broad and permanent lines. He
has been a strong supporter of cooperation among the fruit-growers and is a
stockholder in the California Associated Raisin Company and the California
Peach Growers, Inc. A friend of education, Mr. Wilkins has always favored
good schools and is a trustee of the Fowler Union High School. In May,
1919, Mr. Wilkins made a visit to his old home in Virginia, and while there
he took some pictures in the historic cemetery at Redbank, and other places
of interest.
F. C. BROOKS. — It is not often, perhaps, that one meets with a musician
who is also a successful horticulturist, but this is true to a marked degree
of F. C. Brooks, the well-known clarinet player, who has a finely-improved
place which he is carefully managing. He was born in Manchester, N. H., on
May 8, 1863, the son of George Washington Brooks, a native of Hancock, N.
H., who was a manufacturer. He served as foreman of the Amoskeag Man-
ufacturing Company for forty years, and died in his native state. He had
married Moretta Cheney of Londonderry, N. H., and she also died in the
Granite State.
F. C. was the only child of this union, and was given every educational
advantage that the public schools afforded. He early studied music and at-
tended the New England Conservatory. He made a special study of the
clarinet, and for awhile was the pupil of Prof. E. Strasser of the Boston Sym-
phony Orchestra. He then went to Waltham, and while employed by "the
Waltham Watch Company in their dial department, he played in various
bands and orchestras.
At Waltham, on Christmas Day, 1891, Mr. Brooks was married to Miss
Sarah Adelaide Kirk, a native of Cherrvfield, Maine, and the daughter of
Henry and Adelia (Quigley) Kirk, also a Cherryfielder and a native of Bear
River. X. S., respectively. Mr. Kirk, who was a farmer, died when his
daughter, the younger of two children, was a babe; her mother, who is now
241S HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
Mrs. Alfred Sherman, resides at Boothbay, Maine. Mrs. Brooks was educated
in that state and when twenty removed to Waltham, Mass.
In 1910 Mr. and Mrs. Brooks came West with their family to Fresno and
bought their present very desirable place of twenty acres on Chittenden Ave-
nue. They built a residence and made many improvements. They also set
out a fine orchard of peaches and apricots. Six children have been born to
Mr. and Mrs. Brooks. Hazel Adelia and Florence Adelaide are graduates of
Heald's Business College; and Thelma Blanche attends the Fresno High
School. There are also Carl Frederick, Eleanor Dorothy and Vera Evangeline.
In his spare hours Mr. Brooks still follows the attractions of music. He
plays the clarinet in the Park Band and in the orchestra of the White Theater.
He belongs to the Red Men, and is a Republican in national politics.
LOMAN WARD HAMILTON.— A tactful and popular oil-man. partic-
ularly experienced in the field of production is Loman Ward Hamilton, who
came to Coalinga on June 22, 1910, and has been production foreman for the
Union Oil Company ever since. He was born at Farmington, W. Va., on
December 5. 1878, of Scotch-Irish descent, the son of James M. Hamilton,
a native of that place. He was in the Civil War as a soldier of the Confed-
erate Army, and was long active as a farmer. He still resides at Farmington
with his wife, who was Melissa H. Martin, from the same birthplace. She
is the mother of nine children, seven of whom are yet living.
The fourth oldest in the family, Loman Ward was brought up on a farm
and there remained until he was eighteen, during which time he attended the
public school. When he left the farm, he entered the employ of the Georges
Creek Coal and Iron Company and remained with them as stationary engineer
for four years, resigning to sign up with the Standard Oil Company, at Smith-
field. He worked in the fields, learned field work in general, and continued
with that company for the next six years.
In June, 1910, he came to California and Coalinga and entered the employ
of the Union Oil Company on the Claremont lease. He began at the bottom,
working up until he became production foreman of the Iredell lease. He is
now production foreman of both Claremont and Iredell leases.
At Fresno. Mr. Hamilton was married to Miss Mary Loudenslager. a
native of West Virginia, by whom he has had two children : Mary Louise
and James Madison.
Mr. Hamilton was made an Odd Fellow at Farmington, his birthplace,
and he is still a member of that organization ; and he was made a Mason at
Coalinga, Lodge No. 367, F. and A. M. Mrs. Hamilton belongs to Eschscholt-
zia Chapter Xo. 276. Order of Eastern Star, at Coalinga.
ROBERT LUNDELL. — An enterprising and energetic young rancher
of Selma Colony is Robert Lundell. He was born at Gottenburg, Sweden,
May 17, 1881, and possesses the characteristics that his nationality warrants
— thrift and indomitable energy — which have been valuable assets in bringing
about his well-merited financial success.
His father Olaus Lundell, a butcher and farmer by occupation, died when
Robert was very young, leaving a widow and nine children of whom Robert is
next to the youngest child.
Robert received his education in Sweden and was confirmed at the age of
fourteen. He served a four years' apprenticeship as a sausage maker in Gotten-
burg, and at that time resolved to come to California where his brother Otto and
brother-in-law, J. B. Anderson, were living in San Jose. Sailing from Gotten-
burg May 9, 1899, he reached San Jose, Cal., May 28, 1899. He went to work on
a farm, then came to Kingsburg in July, 1899, going thence to Fresno where
he engaged with the Grand Central Hotel Laundry. He followed the laundry
business in Fresno, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Selma for fifteen years, and
established the Selma Steam Laundry, which he ran for three years, selling it
in 1910.
-o4^.%.$J?f%*^-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2419
Mr. Lundell has been very successful in buying, improving and selling fruit
ranches. In 1902 he purchased twenty acres three miles east of Selma and im-
proved it, setting out every tree and vine on the place. He sold it at an advance.
It is now owned by J. B. Crocker. After disposing of the Selma Steam Laundry
he bought a forty-acre ranch near Caruthers, which he soon sold at an advance.
He then bought and sold a ten-acre ranch and later an eleven-acre ranch which
he sold to advantage in the fall of 1917, at which time he purchased the Charles
Donnell tract of twenty-one acres on Washington Avenue, one and a quarter
miles north of Kingsburg. He put that property in fine shape, expending over
'$2,000 on the place, and sold it to advantage before he bought his present ranch
in Selma Colony, a well-improved ranch of sixteen acres where he now lives
with his family, and in joint ownership with a brother, he owns another eleven-
acre ranch near Selma.
Mr. Lundell was married in Los Angeles in 1904 to Miss. Emma Ouist and
they are the parents of three children: Dorothy, Myrtle and Alice. In their
religious views Mr. and Mrs. Lundell favor the Swedish Baptist Church.
JOHN MARSHALL ATKISSON.— One of the oldest residents, and
closely associated with the growth and development of Coalinga from its
earliest days, is J. M. Atkisson, now the foreman of the Associated Oil Com-
pany's Supply Yards, Coalinga. He was born near Fort Scott, Bourbon
County, Kans., on March 18, 1854. His father was an experienced blacksmith
and a most excellent man, and under him John M. learned the blacksmith
trade at Fort Scott, Kans., and followed this trade there until 1886 when he
came to California, where he worked on ranches near Stockton. In 1887 he
went to Huron, Fresno County, where he went to work for the Stockton
Land Company, in reclaiming the desert land near Cantua. In 1892 he be-
came foreman for the Pleasant Valley Stock Farm, at Turk. In the fall of
that year he leased 1,400 acres of land from this company, above Coalinga,
which he farmed to grain.
In 1896 Mr. Atkisson located in Coalinga, and farmed grain on what is
now Sunset addition. This is now in the center of the residential section of
Coalinga. During this time he served as Deputy Constable, later as Constable
and Deputy Sheriff, and after that as Deputy Marshal of Coalinga for four
years. For five and a half years he was special officer for the California Lim-
ited Oil Company (now the Shell Company), on their lease at Oilfields. In
the early days he was also school trustee of Coalinga. In November, 1916,
Mr. Atkisson was made foreman, by the Associated Oil Company, of their
supply yards in Coalinga. Long ago he saw the future of Coalinga, and
bought a number of lots and built houses on them, and bought one house,
and this and the five he built now afford him an income. At one time he
owned the lot on which now stands the Pleasant Valley Hotel.
In 1893, Mr. Atkisson returned to his old home in Kansas and while there
he was married to Calista A. Boulware, who was born in Bourbon County,
Kans. She died in 1913, leaving three children: John C, who served over-
seas, attached to the 121st Machine Gun Battalion of the Thirty-second Di-
vision, serving on different fronts, and after twenty-two months in the army
he was honorably discharged ; Clarence E., engaged in business in Oakland ;
and Maude A., who graduated at the Coalinga High School and also from
the Fresno State Normal, and who is now attending the University of
California.
Mr. Atkisson was the first individual to supply the citizens of Coalinga
with drinking-water. He brought water from Armona, shipping it by rail
in tank cars, and delivered it to Coalinga homes. Thus he continued to serve
the people for several years, when he sold out. Mr. Atkisson was made a
Mason in Welcome Lodge, No. 255, at Lemoore, but is now a member ot
Coalinga Lodge, No. 387, F. & A. M. He is a member of the Modern Wood-
men of America, as well as Coalinga Lodge, No. 9446, M. W. of A., of which
he is Past Council Commander.
2420 . HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
AUGUST HARTWICK.— Possessing the fundamental characteristics
for success. August Hartwick is keenly alive to the opportunities in Fresno
County and has won a place for himself in his community, maintaining a stand-
ard of true American ideals, though born under another flag. His birth oc-
curred in Straub, Samara, Russia, October 10, 1876, and his parents, George
and Katrina (Willdt) Hartwick, were farmer folk in that country. The second
oldest of three children, and the only one living, August Hartwick was edu-
cated in the public schools of his native province and assisted his father on
the home farm until nineteen ; he then began working on ranches on his own
account, and his marriage, May 15, 1899, united him with Miss Kathrina
YVegele, born in Laub, Russia, a daughter of George and Lizzie (Gideon)
Wegele. also farmers of Samara.
In 1902 the ypung couple came to Fresno, and here Mr. Hartwick worked
on ranches for a time and for the Southern Pacific Railway. In September,
1905. he bought twenty acres of raw land in the Biola district and began the
work of transforming it into a productive ranch. Pie built his residence and
set out the acreage to Thompson seedless vineyards and orchards, and sowed
alfalfa. He later added another ten acres, one and one-half miles west, and
set this to Thompson vines and sowed alfalfa also, and operates a small dairy
in connection. On the home place he has erected a residence and enjoys the
comforts and prosperity made possible through his own efforts, and with
the help of his estimable wife.
Eight children have blessed their marriage : Mollie, Mrs. Friesen of Di-
nuba ; Henry; Floyd; Esther; Ezra; Helen; Marie; and Alvina. The family
attends the Seventh Day Adventist Church at Barstow. Mr. Hartwick
is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and. with his wife
and family, is highly esteemed in the community.
HANS C. HANSEN. — An energetic builder of Central California who
has seen not only Fresno but Fresno County develop and expand almost
beyond belief, is H. C. Hansen, the vineyardist on Belmont Avenue about
two miles west of Fresno, who came to California in 1883 and the next year
decided that Fresno County looked better to him than any other place on the
Pacific Slope. He was born in Bornholm, Denmark, on July 23, 1862, the son
of Lars Hansen, a farmer there, and so was reared on a farm, while he
attended the public schools. His father died when he was about fifteen, and
at sixteen he was apprenticed to learn the shoemaking trade. He made shoes
until he was twenty-one and then he took the great step of crossing the
ocean to America.
At first he settled for a while in Merced, Cal., where he worked for William
Applegarth on his large grain ranch, but in 1884 he came to Fresno County,
following grain-farming for the Applegarth interests here. He worked at
grading on land before it was improved, and managed sixteen horses on a
V-ditcher. Then he himself bought an outfit, leased land at Centerville for
a year, and next, for two years, raised grain seven miles west of Fresno. He
then bought a vineyard set out to Malagas, but found that he could not make
a success of it because of alkali. So he lost what he had saved and was com-
pelled to start all over again.
Mr. Hansen then rented a vineyard west of Fresno and made such a
stake that he was able to buy a fine vineyard of twenty acres on Kearney
Avenue where he raised Muscats for nearly twenty years. Selling that, he
bought his present place of twenty acres in Muscats. Later he bought twenty
acres of raw land on California Avenue, five miles west of Fresno, which he
checked and planted to alfalfa, raising hay. He belongs to the California
Associated Raisin Company, and has been a member of all the cooperative
associations from the beginning.
At Fresno, Mr. Hansen was married to Miss Stella 'Welch, a native of
Iowa, by whom he has had three children; tiara, who is Mrs. 11. 11. [orgen-
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2421
sen, and lives near Fresno ; Frank, who was educated in the public school and
Fresno Business College, entered the United States service, went overseas
with the Rainbow Division, later transferred to another division, was dis-
charged after seventeen months service in France, and returned home in
July, 1919; and Mabel, who is Mrs. C. C. Brockman, of Madera.
Mr. Hansen is a Republican in national politics, and in religion he
adheres to the tenets of the Methodist Church. He served as school trustee
for six years in the Madison School district, acting as clerk of the board for
two years. He belongs to the Odd Fellows in Fresno, Lodge No. 186, and
to the 'Woodmen of the World ; and he and his wife are members of the
Rebekahs.
H. A. SAVAGE. — A distinguished representative of the California Bar,
whose increasing fame is due in part to his specializing in commercial and
real estate law, in part to his high moral character and the confidence natu-
rally reposed in him by all who know his life and daily standards, is H. A.
Savage, the senior member of the well-known firm of Savage & Lovejoy,
whose suite of offices is at 909 Griffith-McKenzie Building, Fresno. He is an
excellent business man, and is becoming a large landowner, and thus more
and more in touch with a field whose legal aspects he is called upon to
elucidate and defend. Mrs. Savage enjoys the pleasant association with an
historically interesting family, and as a lady of culture and great breadth of
views, she is an excellent wife and mother.
A native son, Mr. Savage was born at Terra Bella, in Tulare County, on
September 30, 1888, and his father was P. M. Savage, a farmer of Tulare. He
married Miss Flora Darby, who was born in J. Ogden Mills' mining camp
on the American River, one of the first, if not the first white girl born there.
Her father and her mother were natives of Texas and Mississippi, respec-
tively, and they were married in Yolo County, California. H. A. Savage
grew up on his father's grain farm, and as he began to work when he was a
mere boy, he early learned to drive horses and mules, sometimes guiding as
many as from eight to thirty-two horses and mules on a .harvester.
In 1900 his parents moved from the farm to Sanger, where the lad
attended both the grammar and high schools, and was graduated with the
Class of '06. He then went to the University of California, where he pursued
the regular four years' course in political science and was graduated with
the Class of '10. when he received the degree of Bachelor of Letters. Finish-
ing his work at Berkeley, he went East to Cambridge, Mass., and in Septem-
ber, 1910, matriculated at the Harvard Law School; and three years later
in June he was graduated from Harvard University with the J. D. degree.
Returning to Fresno, Cal, he opened a law office and in 1913 he
was appointed City Attorney of Sanger, and in that responsible capacity he
has served that growing municipality ever since. His first office was in the
Rowell-Chandler Building, which was just completed, and when the Griffith-
McKenzie Building was finished, in 1915, Mr. Savage moved his offices there.
The present partnership, which has proven so successful, was formed by Mr.
Savage and G. R. Lovejoy, also a well-known attorney, in October, 1918.
As a good manager and prosperous business man, Mr. Savage makes his
showing in land ownership and development. He owns 320 acres in the Tivy
Valley, where the Kings River emerges from the mountains, and with W. O.
Miles, the president of the Union National Bank of Fresno, he owns the old
Maze ranch on the north bank of the San Joaquin River. This consists of
2,400 acres, now being planted to vines and trees. He also owns four other
ranches, two grain farms in Madera County, and two in Fresno County. One
of these is in Perrin Colony No. 2, near Fresno ; and Mr. Savage also has 400
acres of timber lands at Pine Ridge. This ownership of agricultural land has
made Mr. Savage much interested in the problems of irrigation.
In his zeal and patriotism Mr. Savage during the war was very active in
the different war and Liberty bond drives, giving of his time and best efforts.
2422 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
He was one of the "Four Minute Speakers" working under the direction of
the Committee on Public Information at Washington ; with his ability as a
public speaker and being popular he used his influence to arouse and sustain
the patriotism of the citizens of Fresno County. At the Fresno High School
during the Second Liberty Bond drive in a little more than an hour he raised
over $104,000. President Wilson took personal notice of it and wired him his
appreciation of his splendid work. This was the precedent that started the
state-wide systematic Liberty bond work in the public schools.
On August 20, 1910, Mr. Savage and Miss Eleanor A. Chambers were
married at Sanger. The bride was born at Yakima, Wash., and later gradu-
ated from the Sanger High School and the San Jose State Normal School,
and for a while, during the time when Mr. Savage was a student at Harvard,
she also pursued courses at Radcliffe College, the woman's annex of Harvard
University. Mrs. Savage from childhood has been a great lover of horses
so much so that her admiration led her to ride the cow ponies on her father's
ranch. Thus she became a splendid horsewoman. She is also an expert with
a big game rifle, and one summer it was her fortune to kill eight bear.
Four children have been given to this worthy couple to bless their for-
tunate union. The eldest is Harold Alonzo, Jr.; then comes Joseph Town-
send, and the third in the order of birth is Andrew Jackson ; while the young-
est is Alvin Palmer. The name of the third child Andrew Jackson is ac-
counted for by the interesting historical fact that Mrs. Savage's grandfather,
Andrew Chambers, was born in Andrew Jackson's house, and her great-
grandfather. Captain Chambers, led the first immigrant trains into the great
northwest in a prairie schooner now in the Portland Museum, and on exhibi-
tion at the A. Y. P. E. Exposition at Seattle. He was an Indian fighter of
renown. Mr. and Mrs. Savage are members of the Christian Church at Fresno,
where he was superintendent of the Sunday School for two years ; he is a
Knights Templar Mason, holding membership in Fresno lodges.
L. M. HUTCHINSON. — A well-informed oil man who understands
every detail of the business, and is therefore highly esteemed by all who have
dealings with him, is L. M. Hutchinson, the popular superintendent of the
North Pole Oil Company. He was born in Marietta, Washington County,
Ohio, on May 2, 1864, and his father was Henry U. Hutchinson, who was
born in Noble County, Ohio, where he became a farmer. He served in the
Civil War, in Company B, of the Seventy-seventh Ohio Regiment of Volunteer
Infantry, and as a result of hard service in numerous battles he lost an eye.
When he died, he was living at Marietta. Mrs. Hutchinson was Sarah Miller
in maidenhood, a native of Ohio, and she died at Marietta. She was the
mother of six children, and five are now living.
L. M. Hutchinson, the youngest and the only one in California, was
brought up on the farm and received a good education at the public schools.
He was also awarded a teacher's certificate, and when twenty-one began
teaching school in Washington County, Ohio. He followed the profession of
a schoolmaster for nine years, and withdrew from that field only to engage
in the oil business in Monroe Count}', Ohio. He commenced with the Henry
Oil Company, worked up from the bottom, and became a well driller, con-
tinuing with the Henry people for six years. Then he was employed by
Franchot Bros., at Graysville, in Monroe County, drilling for them for a
while, later becoming their foreman.
lie was with this firm for six years, and then he was transferred to
Kiefer, Okla., where he took charge of their work, taking hold of it from the be-
ginning there. For about two years he was their superintendent at Kiefer
but in 1909 he resigned on account of his health. He was advised to come to
California; and this change led to his speedy improvement.
Arriving at Coalinga, he was made foreman of the Lenity Oil Company,
remaining for two years, when he came with the North Pole Oil Company
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2423
to redrill their well and in three months he was made superintendent of the
property, and he still occupies this responsible position. Much of its notable
output has been due, it is safe to say, to this progressive and conscientious
workman. For twenty-five years he has been a worker, foreman, and super-
intendent in oil fields and has never missed a pay day.
Mr. Hutchinson has been twice married, the ceremony both times taking
place in Ohio. His first wife was Ava Schofield before her marriage, and she
was born in the Buckeye State. She died at Elk Fork, W. Va., the
mother of three children: Noble enlisted in United States service but was
rejected because of being under weight, is now a mechanical engineer in
Oklahoma ; and Earl who is in the United States Naval Reserve and served
overseas ; and Ethel, who is at home. Miss Olive Stants, a native of Penn-
sylvania, became Mrs. Hutchinson at the second marriage.
While at Stafford, Ohio, Mr. Hutchinson was made a Mason, and he is
now a member of Coalinga Lodge, No. 387, F. & A. M. He also joined the
Odd Fellows at Woodfield, Ohio, and the K. O. T. M. at Sistersville, W. Va.
He belongs to the Coalinga Camp of the Modern Woodmen of America,
is a member of the Christian Church, and votes as a Progressive Republican.
FRANCOIS ESPITALLIER.— In far-away Gap, a beautiful resort in
the Sampsor Valley, among the Hautes-Alps, Francois Espitallier was born
on January 6, 1870, the son of a farmer who thoroughly understood agricul-
ture, having received the benefits of a long line of farm-tradition and who,
having a progressive mind, had experimented and learned for himself. About
1893 he died, the honored father of eight children. His good wife, who was
Madelina Escallier, a school companion from the same village of Gap, lived to
be seventy-four and passed away in 1917.
Francois, the second eldest of these children, and the only one now living,
was brought up on a farm and attended the public school of his locality.
Under normal circumstances, he would probably have followed in his father's
footsteps and remained at home to till the rich French soil, but he had three
uncles — brothers of his mother — who had migrated to California and were
residing in Fresno County, and as soon as he was old enough to formulate
plans, he' decided to cross the waste of waters and join them. He was only
sixteen years of age when he prepared to take this momentous step.
In December, 1886, he arrived in Fresno, and at once began to work for
his uncle, Louis Escallier, who was in the sheep business. He remained with
him for a year and a half, and then he bought a band of 2,000 ewes and con-
tinued in the sheep business for thirteen years. The dry seasons hit him
hard, however, and especially the year of great drought, 1894, when he had
7.000 sheep on hand, but he stuck to the business and eventually was able to
sell out without suffering the disaster so common to many.
In 1899, Mr. Espitallier went into the hotel business, and in order to
carry out his ideas, he built the well-known hostelry at the corner of G and
Mariposa streets, the Capitol Hotel, long regarded as one of California's best-
appointed stopping-places. This hotel was completed in 1901, and he has
managed it ever since, giving it his personal attention, and more and more
bringing it into line with the best in the State. It requires something more
than experience to be a good hotel-manager, and Francois is lucky in having
that genial personality which makes his guests, on departing after a good
rest and refreshment, wish to come again.
But Mr. Espitallier did not limit himself to the hotel business, even when
he found that the Capitol was destined to enjoy such popularity. In 1901 he
bought forty acres in the Helm Colony and engaged in viticulture. He set
out muscat and malaga grapes, making a fine vineyard, and planted five acres
as a peach orchard. He spared neither pains nor expense, and he now boasts
of as trim a ranch as may anywhere be found. He works hard for himself
2424 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
but he also works for others, and no one is more active in support of the
California Associated Raisin Company.
In Fresno, Mr. Espitallier was married to Miss Eugenia Baztera, a native
of the Basque country in the north of Spain, who came to America, and
Fresno, when she was twenty-two. Soon after, in improving his vineyard
property, he built for his wife and himself the handsome residence they oc-
cupy, and with his increasing success, he acquired other residence property
in Fresno. As the years have gone by, fortune has smiled upon the Espital-
liers and they have many friends who rejoice in their prosperity.
NICK FABRIS. — The oldest business man in Firebaugh is Xick Fabris
who has been active in the building up of and improving the place and a con-
tinual booster for Fresno County. He was born at Cittawechia, Dalmazia,
Austria. February 14, 1867. His father, Vincent Fabris, was a shoemaker,
who died in his native country. His widow survived him, coming to San
Francisco where she resided until her death. Nick Fabris received a good
education in the public schools of his native place. After his school days were
over he learned the shoemaker's trade under his father and became an ex-
ceptional shoemaker. Having a desire to cast in his lot on the Pacific Coast
as soon as he was through with his apprenticeship he came to San Francisco
arriving April 22, 1885. Here he worked at the trade for a time but it was not
long before he had a shoe store of his own. his business place being located on
Broadway between Dupont and Stockton, continuing business there until
1894. During this time he took out his naturalization papers and became a
citizen of the United States. In 1894 he came to Madera, but his efforts there
evidently did not meet with success for he came to Firebaugh in 1895 with
only fifteen cents in his pocket. Nothing daunted he immediately found work
on the Miller & Lux ranch and a month later he bought a building only SxlO
and here he started a shoe shop. Flis masterful workmanship was appreciated
and his business grew, making him so successful that a few years later he
purchased a liquor establishment — and still later he built a store and started
in the general merchandise business in which he has met with success. He
has prospered and invested in Firebaugh property where he owns thirty-six
lots and has built six residences. He also owns two residences in Fresno and
two acres on Milton Avenue, the same city, devoted to raising Thompson
seedless grapes. He also owns The Five Mile House in South San Francisco.
In Fresno, in 1901, Mr. Fabris was married to Miss Margareta Yragninzan
who was born in his native place, a woman of much business ability. Mr.
Fabris was one of the original trustees of the city of Firebaugh and is still
serving in that capacity having served as chairman of the Board two terms.
He is an active member of the Firebaugh Merchants Association and also a
member of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. Fraternally he is a member
of Mendota Lodge Knights of Pythias, the order of Druids and the Foresters
of America, having joined the latter order in San Francisco nearly thirty
years ago. In his political affiliation he is a Republican.
ARTHUR PRENTICE MITCHELL.— An experienced and widely-
known oil man who is popular because of his progressive views, is Arthur Pren-
tice Mitchell, who was born in Sedalia, Mo., on September 7, 1883, the son of
John Mitchell, who first saw the light in Hickory County, the same state. He
was an industrious farmer, but he died when Arthur was only three months
of age. Mrs. Mitchell, who was Lillie Bernard before her marriage, was also
a native of Missouri, and now resides in Coalinga, the mother of only one
child, the subject of this sketch.
Arthur was brought up in Warsaw, Mo., and there attended the public
schools; and when he was about fourteen, he made the long trip to California
and in this distant West began to paddle his own canoe. He settled at Fill-
more. Ventura County, and for a while worked on a cattle ranch when, for
five years, he rode the range, familiarized himself with that branch of agri-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2425
cultural life and grew strong and healthy, after which he turned to the oil
fields for more promising returns.
At first, he worked for the Union Oil Company at Fillmore, and then
at Union ; and next he was sent to a station at Olinda, near Fullerton, for the
Santa Fe Company. He learned how to be a tool dresser and a well puller,
and in time was made foreman well puller. In each of these departments of
activity he began at the lowest round of the ladder and made himself profi-
cient in any detail.
In 1908 Mr. Mitchell came to Coalinga in the employ of the M. K. and
T., and then he went with the Commercial Oil Company as production fore-
man and continued with them until 1910. In that year he entered the service of
the Maine State Oil Company and succeeded L. G. Guiberson as superintend-
ent; and since then he has put down six new wells on their 160-acre lease,
so that the company now has a good production of oil. He is also in charge
of the Guthrie Oil Company's forty acres, and their production.
Fraternally, Mr. Mitchell is a member of the Coalinga Aerie of Eagles,
No. 387, and he is also a member of the Growers Club.
SAMUEL LANFRANCO.— No better subject could be selected, to illus-
trate the success of California's intelligent and enterprising vineyardists, than
Samuel Lanfranco, the raisin-grower of Fresno County, who was born in
Asti, Piemonte, Italy, on October 28, 1873. He was only seventeen when he
came to America and at the end of 1890 he moved west to California, where
he worked for three years in a rock quarry at San Leandro Mountain, in
Alameda County. The next three years he spent in coal mines in British
Columbia, after which he returned to California and engaged in the liquor
business in San Francisco and Oakland. He arrived in Fresno in 1903. when
he bought the Cosmopolitan Hotel at the corner of Fresno and G streets.
This he still owns and conducts with his partners, D. Rampone, G. Marsirio
and G Sachetto.
But it is in land development and grape-growing that Mr. Lanfranco has
accomplished most. He started in 1907 to buy ranch property, purchased
twenty acres in Arizona Colony, partly improved, and later bought twenty
acres adjoining. These two tracts he has greatly improved, planting sultana
and Thompson seedless, and raising thirty tons of raisins in 1918. He also
owns twenty acres in Roeding Villa Colony, eight acres of which he has set
out in peaches, and twelve with vines. In addition, he holds title to a thirty-
acre grain-ranch in the Muscatel District. In 1915 he bought a forty-acre
vineyard near Kerman, and after improving this, he sold it, in November,
1918, at a good profit. Besides his ranch holdings, he owns three houses
in Fresno, near E and Merced streets.
Mr. Lanfranco was married to Linda Ferraris, a native of Italy, by whom
he has had four children: Isador, Edmund, Edna, and Italia. The family
attends St. John's Catholic Church. Mr. Lanfranco places a high value on
education, and leaves nothing undone that may contribute to the advance-
ment of his children, or the benefit of others, for being self-made, he is natur-
ally progressive. He makes his home on the ranch in Arizona Colony, having
improved the place with a fine dwelling-house. For twenty years he has been
a member of the Knights of Pythias.
BENJAMIN L. SIMS.— Identified with the grocery business of
Fresno for nearly thirty years is Benjamin L. Sims, who was born near Mur-
ray, Calloway County, Ky., April 30, 1871, a son of Phillip W. and Martha J.
Sims, who are now old settlers of Fresno County, making their home in Fresno.
In 1874 the family removed to Valley Mills, Bosque County, Texas, where Ben-
jamin went to school and assisted on the ranch until they moved to Fresno in
1887, and here he again attended the school in the city. After his school days
were over he entered the employ of Kutner & Goldstein on June 13, 1889, con-
tinuing with them for a period of five years and eight months ; he then clerked
2426 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
for Holland & Holland for twenty months. Having decided to engaged in
business on his own account he quit his position in 1899 and started a grocery
store at 1129 Van Ness Avenue. His brother, Edwin E., being his partner, they
did business under the firm name of Sims Bros. After six years they sold out
to the Rochdale Company in 1905. He then engaged in ranching, having pur-
chased a farm on California Avenue, nine miles west of Fresno where he
raised alfalfa and had a dairy, and while thus engaged became a stockholder
in the Danish Creamery Association. In 1912 he sold his ranch and disposed of
his cows and purchased a vineyard and orchard near Clovis owning forty acres,
twenty of which was devoted to raising malaga grapes and peaches. In 1915 he
sold twenty acres of the ranch and moved to a peach orchard he purchased on
Chittenden Avenue, Fresno, a place he still owns.
In 1916 he again engaged in the grocery business, purchasing a residence
and store building on the corner of Fresno and Tyler Streets, where he was
successfully engaged in business until June, 1918, when he sold the stock and
rents the store. Since that time Mr. Sims is in the real estate business in Fresno,
handling both city and farm property.
In Fresno in 1892 occurred the marriage of Mr. Sims and Laura Musick,
who was a daughter of the late Jasper N. Musick and was born at Academy.
She completed her education in the Fresno High. Mr. and Mrs. Sims have been
blessed with three children: Jesse P., served in Company D, Three Hundred
Sixteenth U. S. Engineers in the Ninety-first Division overseas for nine months,
having the rank of Sergeant, first class ; Marshall P., a graduate of Heald's
Business College, and Robert B., attending Fresno High.
They are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Fresno.
While living in Nees Colony he was a member of the Board of Trustees of
Nees Colony School. In early days Mr. Sims was a member of the Retail
Grocery Association and the Chamber of Commerce and he is a member of
the California Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc.
GEORGE KRUSE.— This progressive rancher and his cultured wife,
to whom he gives much of the credit for their financial success in Fresno
County, have won a name and place for themselves in the locality where
they live. George Kruse was born in Tarlyck, Samara, Russia, November
16, 1880, a son of Henry and Mary (Deis) Kruse, both natives of the same
province and who are farmers. The oldest of three- living children, George
attended the schools and at the age of seventeen was apprenticed to learn the
blacksmith trade. In September, 1899, he came to Dorchester, Wis., and in
April, 1900, we find him in Fresno County, working on a grain-ranch to learn
all he could of the ways of ranching in California ; this he continued two years.
On February 19, 1904, he was married to Miss Maggie Weber, born in the
same Russian town, and the oldest child and daughter of Peter and Mary
("Herman) Weber, Russian-Germans and farmers who eventually came with
their family to California. Peter was a rancher at Fowler, then located at
Oleander. After his marriage Mr. Kruse continued ranching, working at
baling hay, etc., until he saved enough to buy some land, which he did near
Fowler, in partnership with Mr. Weber. One year later he sold to Mr. Weber
and engaged in grain-raising at Tranquillity until the water came in and he
left the place to start over again. He bought twenty acres on Coalinga Ave-
nue, near California, in 1907, located on it and made valuable improvements,
erecting buildings and setting out trees and vines, and he now has ten acres
in Thompsons.
Mr. and Mrs. Kruse have four children: Henry, Marie. Harry and Ed-
ward. The family belongs to the Lutheran Evangelical Church. An advocate
of progress and cooperation, Mr. Kruse belongs to the California Associated
Raisin Company. By hard work and good management Mr. and Mrs. Kruse
have won success and are enjoying life in their country home eleven miles
west Erom Fresno City.
^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2427
JAMES ABNER PERRY.— Among the early settlers and prominent
men of Fresno County, was James Abner Perry, born in Tennessee, in 1837.
When a youth he came to Arkansas, where he grew to manhood. In 1857, he
and his father and other members of the family joined an ox-team train,
crossing the plains. The senior Perry brought some fine horses of the Mor-
gan breed, a strain of most excellent and valuable horses still found on the
Perry ranch. Before arriving at Salt Lake, the train divided, some taking the
route that led to the massacre of their party at Mountain Meadows, while the
Perry family continued with their leader, old Captain Fancher, and arrived
safely in California, thus escaping the horrors of the Mountain Meadow mas-
sacre, by the Indians, in 1857.
James Perry mined for a time, then located on Kings River, where he
farmed and raised cattle, his ranch being in the Eureka, now the Round
Mountain district. On February, 25, 1880, he was married at Academy to
Miss Martha Ely, born at Talladega, Ala., a daughter of Merritt and Soph-
ronia (Blasingame) Ely. Her father was a planter and died in Alabama, leav-
ing a family of nine children whom Mrs. Ely brought to California in 1876.
She located a claim on Little Dry Creek, where she began improvements.
This she afterwards sold and moved to Kings River, making her home there
for many years. She spent her last days in Fresno and died at 829 O Street.
Mrs. Perry is the second oldest of their nine children, five of whom are living;
she received her education in the public schools in her native state.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Perry continued farming on their
ranch on Fancher Creek, and there Mr. Perry died, on December 31, 1899.
He was a prominent and highly esteemed citizen. Six children were born to
them : Caroline Ethel, a graduate of the Fresno State Normal, is teaching at
Tollhouse ; Constance S. is assisting her mother ; Bernice, who is Mrs. A. W.
Green, resides near Tollhouse ; Lyman runs the Perry ranch for his mother
and is meeting with deserved success; Ruth, who is Mrs. Shafner of Clovis ;
and Hazel, who is also at home.
Since her husband died Mrs. Perry has continued the stock-raising and
farming, being assisted by her children, her son Lyman being now in charge
of operations. They have added to their landed holdings and now have 606
acres in the Round Mountain district and 160 acres at the head of Watts
Valley, besides her homestead of 160 acres in Burroughs Valley, which she
has improved with a residence. The ranches have fine springs and are valu-
able stock farms. Mrs. Perry is among the old-time settlers and is well posted
on early-day history, and is an interesting conversationalist, being enthu-
siastic for the preservation of incidents and personal history of early days.
She is a Presbyterian in religion, and both she and her late husband were
greatly interested in the cause of education, Mr. Perry serving as trustee of
the Eureka school district.
CLARENCE JOHN HILL.— The manager of the Oil Well Supply
Company at Coalinga, a native son of the Golden West, is Clarence John
Hill, born near Armona, Kings County, January 11, 1888. His father, John
Hill, a pioneer of the San Joaquin Valley is represented on another page in
this work.
Clarence J. was rearer in Kings County until 1898 when he came with his
parents to their homestead on the Jacolitos, and 'from a lad assisted his
father on the ranch. His education was obtained in the school at Mussel
Slough, Jacolitos district and at Coalinga. In 1904 he began work on a hay
baler but three months later he quit to assist his brother, A. B. Hill, in the
hay, grain and wood business in Coalinga having charge of the business for
eighteen months while his brother was the postmaster at Coalinga ; at the
same time Clarence was a clerk in the postoffice. When his brother sold out
to the Coalinga Hay, Grain and Fuel Company (Bliss & Downing) he managed
the business for them a year and then they sold to Runsey Baird and soon
afterwards he went to work for C. N. Sanderson also a hay and grain mer-
2428 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
chant. A month later he was offered a position with the Oil Well Supply
Company ; he began work February 20, 1907, and three weeks later the
manager, S. R. Bowen, offered him a place in the office. He became a close
student of the business and was advanced to assistant manager under Mr.
Bowen, holding the same position, under his successor, Mr. Turner, and on
the latter's resignation, November 15, 1912, Mr. Hill was made local manager
a position he has filled ably and well ever since. They have a large warehouse
and store building in the heart of Coalinga on the railroad reservation
where they undoubtedly have the most extensive stock of oil well supplies in
town. In Fresno, February 11, 1911, Mr. Hill was married to Miss Lillian
.May Wehe of Los Banos. Fraternally he was made a Mason in Coalinga
Lodge No. 387, F. & A. M., and was exalted in Coalinga Chapter No. 114 R.
A. M. With his wife he is a member of Eschscholtzia Chapter, O. L. S. He
is also a member and past officer of Independent Order of Redmen in Coalinga
and of the Growlers Club. He is active iri the Coalinga Chamber of Com-
merce and the Coalinga Business Men's Association.
N. H. FUGELSANG. — A liberal-hearted and progressive ranchman in
Fresno County, is N. H. Fugelsang who was born in Fyen, Denmark, on
February 6, 1866. His father was H. J. Knudsen, who was also born there in
1821. One of four boys in the family, he fought the Huns in the War of 1848-
50. serving in the Danish army. Mr. Fugelsang's mother had been Marie
Petersdatter before her marriage, and she was a native of the same place as
her husband. The farm of the parents was named Fugelsang, and so they
took that for their family name. The father died in 1883, and the mother in
1888. They had twelve children, and six of them grew to maturity.
X. II. Fugelsang was the second oldest and was brought up on the home
farm. He attended the public schools, and he also enjoyed a high school edu-
cation. Having finished school, he entered the Danish army in 1888 and
served in the Nyborg Fifth Regiment of Danish Infantry, as bugler, in the
Third Company. Nineteenth Battalion. After serving his time, and on receiv-
ing his honorable discharge, he was also honored with the best rifle record in
his company. On returning to civil life, he engaged in farming.
In 1892, however, Mr. Fugelsang came across the ocean to America, and
continuing West to California, arrived in Fresno on April 26, 1892. Here
he was soon employed in a vineyard in the Madison district, and for eight
months he worked out at twenty-five dollars a month. Then he worked for
another eight months in another vineyard.
In 1895, he bought his present place of forty acres on Johnson Avenue, to
which he at once moved. He also rented eighty acres in Fresno Colony, and
with characteristic enterprise, ran the two. He made many improvements which
enhanced the value of the property, even resetting vines and trees. Ten years
later he bought another forty acres, adjoining, and now he owns a splendid
tract of eighty acres, all in vineyards and orchards. There are eight acres in
peaches, and the balance in Muscat and Thompson grapes, all under fine
irrigation, and there, also, he has his residence.
On May 16, 1896, Mr. Fugelsang was married at Fresno to Miss Minne
Paulsen, who was born at Ribe, in Denmark, and who through her childhood
experiences and familiarity with Danish life and customs is a worthy com-
panion. Her father, Niels Paulsen, also served in the War of 1848-50 against
the Germans, after which he was a contracting painter and decorator in Ribe.
Mrs. Fugelsang came to Fresno in 1887. They have had four children : Marie,
now a bookkeeper and stenographer, is a graduate of Heald's Business Col-
lege; Sofus and Viggo. both assisting their father on the ranch: and Niels.
Mr. Fugelsang belongs to Fresno Chapter No. 5 of the Dania. of which
he is Past President, and he is also a member and Past President of the Danish
Brotherhood, having also been a delegate to the national convention of the
Brotherhood held at St. Paul in 1915. In addition, he belongs to the Woodmen
/(* /A ^cfes/^&^'Z^-rf
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2429
of the World, while Mrs. Fugelsang is a member of Thora, Ladies' Auxiliary
Lodge Dania, No. 11, of which she is Past President.
As a public-spirited citizen, Mr. Fugelsang has always taken an interest
in politics, and he usually works under the banners of the Republican party,
throwing aside party lines in local issues. For thirteen years he was a school
trustee in the Madison district, and he has always been identified with the
raisin and fruit association movements. He now belongs to the California
Peach Growers, Inc., and to the California Associated Raisin Company, in
which he is a stockholder. He is a director in the Scandinavian Mutual Fire
Insurance Company, and is the company's appraiser, as well as vice-president
of the local ditch company. One of the original stockholders of the Danish
Creamery Association, he is now serving as president of its board of directors.
JOHN E. SMITH.— One of the oldest settlers of the West Side and the
longest in years of service with Miller & Lux in Fresno County is John E.
Smith one of the best posted men on early days and happenings in the part
of the_ County where he resides. He was born in New York City, November
15, 1857, where he was reared, receiving a good education in the schools of
that city. When eighteen years of age he came to the Pacific Coast, came to
Fresno County in 1875 and immediately found employment with a sheep
grower at the Sink of the Panoche on the West Side. Here he applied him-
self and obtained the experience that has made him so valuable as superin-
tendent of the sheep department for Miller & Lux. April 11, 1880, he entered
their employ and has since been steadily with them except three years spent
in San Francisco when he again returned to Miller & Lux in his old capacity,
his territory extending over an area from Stockton to Tulare. During these
years he has at times had as many as 150,000 head of sheep. The company,
through his years of experience now raise their own pure-bred bucks, which
takes in eleven different breeds of sheep. His headquarters are at the Dillon
ranch near Firebaugh.
FLORENCIO SERRANO. — A very liberal and enterprising man is
Florencio Serrano who was born in Aincioa, Navarra, Spain, September 22,
1877, a son of Miguel and Vicenta (Villanueva) Serrano, who reared their fam-
ily on the farm where they made their residence until their death. Florencio is
the eldest of their five children, three of whom are living. In 1898 he came to
Fresno County, Cal., arriving February 9th. For two years he was in the em-
ploy of a sheepgrower on the West Side and then made his way to Elko, Nev.,
and a year later removed to Wellington, Nev., where two years more was spent
working for a sheepman. Having accumulated some means he purchased a flock
of sheep and ranged them in Nevada until 1907 when he sold his flock and re-
turned to Fresno County, entering into partnership with his uncle, Miguel Vil-
lanueva, since which time they have continued in the business. They own 160
acres in Cantua where Mr. Serrano resides and they also own a sixty-acre alfalfa
ranch in Tranquillity where Mr. Villanueva makes his home with his family.
In Fresno, July 27, 1908, Mr. Serrano was married to Miss Braulia Yturri,
a native of Mesqueriz, Navarra, Spain, a daughter of Francisco and Martina
(Morillo) Yturri; she came to Fresno in 1907.
Mr. Serrano is a stockholder in the Growers National Bank of Fresno.
CHAS. H. MORTON. — A man who has done his share to improve and
build up Fresno County is Chas. H. Morton born near Quincy, 111., August
23, 1859, the fourth oldest of nine children born to Benjamin and Nancy
(Cole) Morton, natives of Ohio and New Hampshire, respectively, who were
farmers in Adams County, 111., where Chas. H. was reared and received a
good education in the public schools. His health became somewhat impaired
and he came to Los Angeles, Cal., in 1886 and a year later located in Fresno
County. He liked the climate and his health improved. Purchasing twenty
acres in the Wolters Colony he began improvements, later selling it at a
profit; then he bought five acres in the West Fresno tract which he after-
2430 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
wards sold and then purchased eighty acres on the corner of Belmont and
Coalinga Avenues, where he built his home and made substantial improve-
ments with a pumping plant adequate for raising alfalfa. Having leveled
and improved the ranch and brought it to a high state of cultivation he sold
it at a very satisfactory price in March, 1918, and again bought twenty acres
in Wolters Colony which he also sold. He now owns a small pear orchard at
Atascadero, San Luis Obispo County, which he has purchased for a home
site. Mr. Morton is a member of the Seventh Day Adventists Church at
Rolinda.
HENRY BRICKLEY. — Occupying a leading place among the prominent
attorneys of Fresno, Henry Brickley, a native son, has won recognition at
the bar by his close attention to cases that have been intrusted to him. Pleas-
ant, liberal and progressive, he is an important member of the community
in which he resides, and is contributing his full share of good order, high
principles and all of those things that insure the welfare and prosperity of
city and county. A son of the late John Brickley, he was born June 28, 1876,
at Liberty, Fresno County, of Irish ancestry.
John Brickley was born and reared in the city of Cork, Ireland. When a
young man he came to America and settled in Chicago, 111., where he followed
his trade of carpenter and builder. He enlisted in an Illinois regiment for
service in the Civil War, and just before the surrender of General Lee, was
wounded in the right leg. In 1866 he came across the plains to California
and for two years he and his wife were residents of Truckee, Nevada County.
Coming then to Fresno County, he was engaged in farming and sheep raising
for a few years. He died in Madera County in 1879. His wife, before her
marriage, was Miss Sarah McCormick, also a native of Ireland. She died in
Fresno in 1908.
Henry Brickley was the third child in order of birth of four childre.n born
to his parents. He attended the public schools, graduating from the Fresno
High School in 1897. after which he attended the University of California,
taking a course in Social Science, during which time he majored in law. For
two years he was a reporter on the staff of the Fresno Republican, during
which time he studied law and on September 12, 1900. was admitted to the
bar of California, since which time he has been actively engaged in the prac-
tice of his profession and has been uniformly successful in building up a good
practice and a large clientele. Always a Democrat, he has served on the
Democratic County Central Committee and has been a delegate to county
and state conventions. In 1904 he was a delegate and attended the National
Democratic Convention in St. Louis at the time of the nomination of Alden
B. Parker as candidate for president.
He is a charter member and past president of Fresno Parlor No. 25,
N. S. G. W.. and a member of the Fresno County Bar Association. Mr. Brick-
ley gives his attention to both civil and criminal law and has met with well
deserved success in his management of same. He holds an enviable position
among the lawyers of the San Joaquin Valley. During the war, he tendered
his services as an attorney to the local committee and did his duty in other
ways, to help win the war.
HENRY ALBERT HECHTMAN. — As financial agent of Fresno
County, Henry Albert Hechtman is prominent in business and social circles.
His father is A. J. Hechtman, a native of Minneapolis, and his mother is
Carrie C. (Van Matre) Hechtman, a native of Trinity County, Cal., and the
daughter of Peter Van Matre, who crossed the plains with ox-teams in 1849,
commencing his long journey in Wisconsin. A. J. Hechtman came to California
when he was a young man, and both parents now reside at Willow.
Henry Albert was born in Los Angeles on March 2, 1882, and in that pro-
gressive city he laid the foundation for his education at the public schools. Later
he put in three years at Throop Polytechnic, and this was supplemented by
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2431
studies for a year at Stanford University and then at the Van der Nailen
School in San Francisco, where he made a specialty of electrical engineering
and accounting.
Having thus equipped himself for professional work in one of the most
important of modern fields, Mr. Hechtman followed electrical engineering in
California, Nevada, Oregon and Mexico, for seven years after which he en-
gaged in the real estate business in San Francisco. In April, 1906, attracted by
the advantages of Fresno, he came to this city and for four years was em-
ployed as track foreman of the Fresno Irrigated Farms Company, when he
became manager and had his full share in the proper development of Fresno's
valuable acreage.
In 1914 Mr. Hechtman resigned and soon afterwards was made deputy
county auditor under Charles E. Barnum ; and in July, 1915, he was appointed
to his present responsible position ; later on the supervisors made him county
statistician and both places he is filling with ability.
In Tonopah, Nev., on August 12, 1905, Mr. Hechtman was married to
Miss Gertrude Ganser, by whom he has had two sons — Jack and Jim. He is
a Democrat in national politics, and a leader in political councils ; first, last and
all the time he is an enthusiastic endorser of every movement making for the
development and uplift of the county in which he resides. He was made a
Mason in Kerman Lodge No. 420, F. & A. M., and belongs to the Fresno Con-
sistory, No. 8 Scottish Rite, and to Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. of San
Francisco. He also belongs to Fresno Lodge No. 439, B. P. O. E., and Fresno
Lodge No. 486 of the I. O. O. F.
Mr. Hechtman is interested in viticulture and has improved a twenty-acre
ranch from raw land in the Dakota Colony, which he has set to Thompson seed-
less grapes.
BURT B. LAMKIN, M. D. — Prominent among the eminent physicians
of Fresno County to whose scientific training and special scholarship much of
the fame of Central California is undoubtedly due, may be mentioned Dr. Burt
B. Lamkin, a member of the city Board of Health of Fresno. He is an ex-
member of the Board of Medical Examiners for the U. S. Army in District
No. 2, on which committee he served ably during the recent war, and a mem-
ber of the Fresno County Medical Society, to the presidency of which he was
elected in 1919. Making his way since he was fourteen years of age, and rising
by undeniable merit, Dr. Lamkin is today famous for his treatment of the eye,
ear, nose and throat, and as such a specialist enjoys prestige throughout the
State.
He was born at Woodland, Cal., on July 21, 1876, the son of G. C.
Lamkin, a native of Nebraska, who married Miss Sally B. Burks in Missouri,
and came to California about 1874. About 1882 or 1883, the lad's mother
moved to Fresno, and here Burt grew up. When fourteen, he was engaged
by Postmaster N. W. Moodey as a elerk in the Fresno Postoffice, and when he was
eighteen, he began an eight-year service in the railway mail department. Dur-
ing this time, having graduated from the Fresno High School, he matriculated
at the Cooper Medical College at San Francisco; and there, while running
with the mail trains, he began the study of medicine and surgery. It is not
surprising that such resolute persistence enabled him to graduate with honors
in 1902.
Then he became an interne in a San Francisco hospital, where he served
for a year. Returning to Fresno, where he had already had some experience
as" a member of the staff of the County Hospital, he opened offices in the
Forsyth Building and began a general practice in medicine and surgery. At
the end of six years, Dr. Lamkin went East and at the celebrated Chicago
Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College, he took post-graduate work, and was
house physician for six months. Coming back to Fresno again in 1910, to
which city his fame as an aggressive young scientist had preceded him, he
2432 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
limited his practice to diseases of the eye. ear, nose and throat, in time moving
into larger and better-appointed offices in the Rowell Building.
On April 26, 1908, Dr. Lamkin was married at Academy, Cal., to Mrs.
Annie Sample Tipton, an accomplished daughter of D. C. Sample, the promi-
nent cattleman and banker mentioned elsewhere in this historical work, and
built a handsome residence at 975 Yale Avenue. He belongs to the Fresno
Commercial and University Clubs, and is one of the most popular of Scottish
Rite Masons.
Dr. Lamkin divides his time and energies between his patients and the
work of the State and national medical associations, in whose programs he
takes an active part. He takes a deep interest in both the civic and commer-
cial progress of Fresno, and foresees great prosperity for Central California's
metropolis.
WM. M. GOYETTE.— A successful rancher and stockman of Friant,
Wm. M. Goyette was born near Sutton, Brome County, Province of Quebec,
July 12, 1860. His father Amos Goyette was of French descent and his
mother Margaret Gordon was of Irish descent. Wm. M. is the second oldest
of the thirteen children born to his parents eight of whom are living. Our
subject and his brother Arthur who resides in Pomona are the only ones of
the family in California. He was reared on the down east farm on the
Vermont state line, having good school advantages. Remaining home until
twenty years of age, he then worked on a farm in Vermont afterwards in
Massachusetts until 1883 when he came to Pomona, Cal., arriving on Dp-
cember 28, of that year where for several years he was employed on a grain
ranch. February 7, 1889. in Pomona he married Miss Elizabeth Maddock a
native daughter' of California born in Oakland. Her father. Morris Maddock.
being a pioneer of California. After his marriage he engaged in farming and
in time owned a ranch southeast of Pomona on which he obtained the first
artesian well in the district and installed a pumping plant for an irrigation
system, meeting with merited success. In 1910 he traded his property for his
present ranch of 920 acres four miles east of Friant, locating on it in 1911,
devoting it to raising hay, grain and cattle, in which he is very successful.
Mr. and Mrs. Goyette have four children : Loretto and Linus, assisting on the
ranch ; Amos was in the One Hundred Sixteenth United States Engineers,
Ninety-first Division, serving overseas and Lorean, a graduate of the San
Francisco State Normal now a teacher. in Fresno County. Mr. Goyette is a
member of the Independent Order of Foresters and is clerk and trustee of
the Millerton school district.
E. L. CHADDOCK. — Not every man associated with a well-established
business can boast that his house is the only survivor of all who saw sturdy
service in their field in early days, but this is the pride of E. L. Chaddock, the
president of Chaddock & Company, the veteran fruit packer of Fresno. His
father founded the trade here and was one of the first packers of dried
fruits and raisins in the city of Fresno; and of all the competitors at one time
engaged with them, Chaddock & Company is the only "old-timer" left. En-
joying, in addition, a wide reputation for square dealing, it is no wonder that
Messrs. Chaddock & Company are among the most flourishing concerns in
Fresno County. Their offices are at 301-303 Rowell Building, but in addition to
their packing house at Fresno, they have a fully-equipped seeding plant at
Fowler.
Mr. Chaddock was born at Union City, Branch County. Mich., on January
16, 1873, the son of E. G. Chaddock who came to California in 1888— at the
height of the "Boom" — and settled in Fresno. Two years later he embarked in
the raisin-packing business, establishing an independent company never asso-
ciated with any trust. In 1891 our subject became connected with the firm, and
upon the death of his father, in 1915, he succeeded to the presidency. He had
been graduated from the Fresno High School with the first class to leave that
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2433
splendid institution, and he has been identified with the raisin and dry fruit
packing ever since. E. G. Chaddock was a New Yorker, and he married Miss
Matilda Le Valley, also a New Yorker.
At Oleander, Mr. Chaddock was married to Miss Rose M. Nicholson, of
that city, a daughter of Dr. A. R. Nicholson, a pioneer physician of Oleander.
Two children have blessed their union : Albert E. and Mary L. The Chaddocks
reside at 625 Weldon Avenue.
Mr. Chaddock is a Mason and an Elk, but he is especially enthusiastic in his
recreation about the Shaver Lake Fishing Club, its sport and its fun. Gen. M.
W. Mueller is the president of the Club ; Mr. Chaddock makes a live-wire vice-
president ; and W. D. Noble is its secretary.
MAX KNITTEL.— A member of the Board of City Trustees of Fire-
baugh as well as the agent for the Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph
Company is Max Knittel a very enterprising and public-spirited man. He
was born at Malchin, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, April 16, 1882, the
second oldest of five children born to Wilhelm and Louise Maltzahn, farmer
folk who are now retired and living comfortably in the vicinity of the scenes
of their labors. Max Knittel was reared to habits of industry and thrift and
from the time he was a boy made himself generally useful on the farm. His
education was in the public school and the Gymnasium where he acquired a
high standing as a student. In 1901 he entered the army serving in the
Second Cavalry Regiment No. 18 and he was honorably discharged in Sep-
tember, 1904. He had made up his mind to migrate to the United States so
in March, 1905, he came to Firebaugh where a brother had preceded him in
1898. He entered the employ of Miller & Lux and was soon made foreman,
a position he retained until 1910 when he resigned to engage in the hotel and
restaurant business in Firebaugh, which he has continued successfully ever
since. He is also agent for the Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph Com-
pany, as well as a member of the City Board of Trustees of Firebaugh.
Politically he is a stanch Republican.
A. J. QUIST. — A thoroughly progressive dairy farmer who has made his
own way in the world since he was ten years old is A. J. Quist, who came
here from Ferndale in Humboldt County, in the fall of 1917, having lived in
the North for the ten years previous. Now he owns 100 acres two miles
northwest of Caruthers.
He was born in Fredericia, Denmark, on October 16, 1886. His father,
J. S. Quist, had a small farm of only six acres, and his mother, who was Mette
C. Ostergaard before her marriage, had nine children. Both parents and all
the children are still alive. Owing to their financial circumstances each child
had to do something for a living, and A. J., who was the fifth in order of
birth, began to work out away from home at farm labor when he was only
ten years old. He was brought up in the Lutheran Church, and at twenty
years of age entered the military service of his native country and was assigned
to the heavy artillery.
In 1908 he left Denmark and came to Ferndale, landing first at Quebec
and crossing Canada on the Canadian Pacific. From Victoria he sailed south
to San Francisco on the steamship President. He worked on a ranch at Fern.-
dale for two years, and then bought out a dairy herd and for another two
years sold and delivered milk there. He next bought a dairy farm of fifty-
five cows, and helped to organize the Wild Flower Creamery, and for four
years was on its auditing committee.
While at Ferndale Mr. Quist was married to Miss Annie Maria Lund,
who was born at Bunker Hill in Humboldt County, and is a daughter of the
late J. N. Lund, proprietor of the Citizens Furniture Company of that place.
One child, Carlton Lund, was born of this union.
Having a chance to sell his lease of the dairy farm he operated near
Ferndale, Mr. Quist did so; and because he had come to know of the ad-
2434 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
vantages offered by Fresno County through several visits here, the first being
in 1915, the year of the World's Fair at San Francisco, he moved to Central
California. In the fall of that year he bought forty acres known as the H.
M. Bonickson Ranch, to which he has added sixty acres more. These 100
acres he is now checking and leveling, and will sow to alfalfa.
Owing to a vacancy caused by the resignation of K. Lauritzen, a director
in the Caruthers Cooperative Cheese Association, Air. Ouist was appointed
in his place; and upon the resignation of the president and manager, H. R.
Kamm, who moved to Fresno, he was elected president and manager, and he
is still filling those offices. He takes great interest in the association, which
manufactures a fine quality of full cream cheese that commands the top notch
prices on the market.
While farming near Ferndale, Air. Quist helped to organize the Hum-
boldt County Cow Testing Association, of which he served as president from
1914 to 1918. This soon became the leading cow testing association in Cali-
fornia, proving up the milk from four thousand milch cows by means of the
Babcock test. He also took an active part in the work of the Humboldt
County Farm Center.
Mr. Ouist helped to organize the Caruthers Branch of the Fresno County
Farm Bureau, of which he is now president. Dr. George A. Meracle is its
secretary and there are fourteen farm centers in the county.
JOHN ALLISON WARD.— An honored pioneer of Perrin Colony No. 6.
or Arizona Colony, John Allison Ward, now deceased, wras one of the first
settlers of this section of Fresno County. A native of the Buckeye State,
John A. Ward was born in Xenia, Green County, Ohio, February 6, 1839, a
son of Joseph Campbell Ward, a native of Ohio, whose ancestors were of
an old Virginia family, members of which served in -the Revolutionary War
and the War of 1812. His mother, in maidenhood, was Sarah Elizabeth
Stevenson, born in Ohio, of Virginia ancestors. She was a granddaughter of
Gen. Hugh Mercer, who was killed during the Revolutionary War at the
Battle of Princeton. Her grandmother was a daughter of Mr. Kirkpatrick.
who came to America with William Penn, and was one of the men who
purchased the land which afterwards became the state of Xew Jersey. Father
Joseph C. Ward was an Ohio farmer who removed to Illinois locating near
Monmouth, later migrating to Iowa settling near Clarinda, where he spent
his last days, his death occurring in 1875, his wife passed away about 1881
in Chicago.
John A. Ward was educated in the public schools of Illinois. On April
12, 1861, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Elizabeth Williams, born
in Philadelphia, Pa., January 22, 1840, a daughter of Moses R. and Rachel
Kinney (Black) Williams, natives respectively of Chester, Pa., and Milford,
Del. The Williams family was of Welsh descent and pioneers of Pennsyl-
vania; the Black family was from Scotch ancestors, members of the family
having served in the Revolutionary War. Moses R. Williams was a business-
man of Philadelphia, where he was a manufacturing furrier and hatter. In
1857, Mr. Williams moved to Monmouth, 111., where he established a harness
and saddlery business and died there in 1875, his wife preceding him, having
passed away in 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Moses R. Williams were the parents
of six children, only two of whom are living: Mrs. John A. Ward, and Mrs.
Rebecca Newman who resides with her sister.
Mrs. John A. Ward was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia,
and after her marriage she and her husband operated a farm in Illinois, until
1870, when they removed to Cass County. Mo., and for four years there en-
gaged in raising stock. Later they removed to Kansas City, Mo., where Mr.
Ward became a stock-dealer. In 1893, Mr. Ward became greatly interested
in California from reading the glowing accounts of the sunshine and flowers
and salubrious atmosphere of the Golden State. His health becoming im-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2435
paired, he decided to take a trip to California and came to the Golden State
in 1893. Upon his arrival he wrote to his family, saying: "I have struck
Paradise and will never go back to Missouri." While in Los Angeles he
became interested in Fresno County and determined to go there and investi-
gate conditions for home-settlers. He was so pleased with the advantages
of Fresno County that he purchased twenty acres of raw land in Perrin
Colony No. 6. The next year, 1894, his family joined him and assisted in the
improvement of the place, setting out a peach orchard, also planting some
apricot and orange trees.
John A. Ward did not live long enough to enjoy the full fruition of his
plans concerning his California home, for he passed to his eternal reward
June 28, 1898. He was a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church, fra-
ternally he was a Mason and was Past Master of Temple Lodge, No. 370,
F. & A. M., at Kansas City, Mo. After his death the widow and daughter
continued to operate the ranch. Mr. and Mrs. John A. Ward were the parents
of two children : Georgia May, now the wife of J. C. Nourse, and James
Curtis Ward who assisted in the care of the home ranch until 1906 when he
became superintendent of the Red Banks Orchard where he continued until
he passed away, January 26, 1910. Mrs. Nourse, with her mother, owns and
resides on the home place ; she was educated in Kansas City and graduated
from the Kansas City high school. Her first marriage occurred in Kansas
City, when she was united with William Seeker, a native of Canada. She
made her first trip to California in 1894 and in 1897 moved here. In 1903
occurred Mrs. Seeker's second marriage to J. C. Nourse, a native of Carson
City, Nev., and son of Judge George A. Nourse, who was Attorney General
of Nevada Territory, afterwards he moved to Oakland and then to Fresno
where he became a prominent attorney.
Mrs. Nourse is the mother of two children by her first marriage : Georgia
Pearl Seeker, a graduate of Stanford University in 1918, and also a- graduate
of the State Library School at Sacramento, and now an assistant in Stanford
University Library ; and Frederick Ward Seeker, a graduate of Fresno High
School, and who was a member of the Reserve Force of the United States
Navy, where he filled the position of an electrician of the first class. Being
discharged from active duty he has resumed his former position with the
Santa Fe in the signal department.
Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Nourse continue to operate the ranch and are
specializing in peaches, of the Muir and Alberta varieties, as well as sultana
grapes and figs. Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Nourse are pioneer horticulturists of
this section and have demonstrated that oranges can be raised in this district.
They have nearly an acre of oranges on their ranch and have been very
successful in raising a good quality of fruit. They believe that both climate
and soil are conducive to raising oranges in this section. They were among
the early members of the California Peach Growers, Inc., and are stock-
holders in the organization. Their home ranch is one of the show-places of
the community.
GEORGE SNYDER. — An energetic farmer who has succeeded as a
horticulturist and viticulturist, and by so doing has advanced California agri-
culture and has added to the wealth of the state's improved resources, is
George Snyder, who was born near Volks, Samara, Russia, on November 9.
1883,"the son of George Schneider, who was a farmer there. One of his sons
had come out to the United States and to Fresno County as early as 1900 and
two years later the father brought his wife and the balance of the family to
California and settled in Fresno. Here he engaged in farming and viticulture,
and such was his reward that he is now able to live retired. Barbara
Schneider, his wife, also lived for years in Fresno County, and here she died,
the mother of four boys and two girls. Lizzie is Mrs. Busick of Fresno ; Peter
is a rancher near Barstow ; Christine has become Mrs. Baude of Fresno :
2436 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
George is the subject of this review ; and Conrad and Henry are ranchers not
far away.
George was brought up in his native place and educated there in the
public schools ; and when he was eighteen years of age he came, in May, 1902,
to Fresno County. He soon went to work on a fruit ranch for one dollar and
a quarter a day. but although he had to board himself, he saved and got ahead.
For two seasons Mr. Snyder worked at haying for Robert Mclndoo, and
when the latter sold out, he bought a team and outfit on time, and started
teaming in Fresno. A year later he purchased a hay baler, and for nine
seasons he teamed a part of the year and contracted to bale hay for the rest
of the time. Then he leased an orchard and a vineyard of 120 acres at Parlier,
where he went into partnership with Charles Scharer. He had previously
raised grain on leased land with his brother Henry, thus acquiring some ex-
perience of value later, and then he had bought forty acres in Barstow, which
he set out with Thompson seedless grapes and three years later sold at a
profit. He and his partner now took charge of this peach orchard and vine-
yard of Thompson and Muscat grapes ; but when the property was disposed
of, they had to relinquish the lease.
In 1916, he bought his present place of eighty acres in Barstow from Al
Munger, and at once turned it to horticultural and viticultural purposes. He
has twenty acres of apricots set between olive trees, and thirty acres of
Elberta and Muir peaches, as well as Lovells ; the peaches also being interset
with olives. He also has a vineyard of thirty acres of Thompson grapes. His
ranch is under an almost perfect system of irrigation ; besides being under
the Herndon Canal he also has a pumping plant. Mr. Snyder belongs to and
actively supports the California Associated Raisin Company, the California
Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Olive Growers' Association.
On June 17, 1905, Mr. Snyder was married at Fresno to Miss
Pauline Steitz, born in Fresno, a daughter of Daniel and Catherine (Seifert)
Steitz. one of the first of eight families from his native land to locate in
Fiesno in 1887. Mr. Steitz became gardener for Einstein & Gundel-
fing-er. also janitor of the Bank of Central California. He died in 1903. A
widow and four daughters survive him. of whom Mrs. Snyder is the oldest.
She was educated in the Fresno schools. They have one daughter, Elsie. The
family belong to the Free Cross Lutheran Church.
JOHN BAHRENFUS. — Prominent among the aggressive members of
the California Associated Raisin Company, is John Bahrenfus, who was born
near Davenport, in Scott County, Iowa, in 1854, the son of Lawrence Bah-
renfus, of Holstein, then Denmark and later Germany. He married Lucy
Bachsen and was a carpenter and builder. About 1851 he located in Hickory
Grove Township, Scott County, as a farmer, and later removed to Grinnell,
Poweshiek County, where he bought a farm on which he died. Mrs. Bah-
renfus died there also, the mother of six children, three of whom are still
living. John was the third youngest, and is the only one in California.
When he was ten years old the family moved to Grinnell, and there he
attended the public schools. He remained home to assist his father on the
farm ; and when, in his nineteenth year, his father died, he ran the farm for
his mother as long as he remained single.
On October 2. 1884. he was married at Grinnell to Miss Ella Schultz,
who was born near that town, the daughter of Fred and Mary (Harmon)
Schultz, who were born, respectively, in Illinois and Ireland. They were
farmers in Poweshiek County, and have a farm of 640 acres, with plenty of
fine stock. The mother died when Mrs. Bahrenfus was three years old," and
the father in his seventy-second year. Of the two children, she was the elder,
and attended the public schools, afterward going to Grinnell College.
For two years Mr. Bahrenfus leased land, and then he bought 160 acres
in Hamilton Count}', and went in for grain and stockraising. Later he sold
e^<£— ,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2439
this and moved to Iowa Falls, where he purchased a farm ; but on account of
ill-health he removed to Missouri, settling near Parnell in Nodaway County.
The climate proved too cold for him, however, and he concluded to come to
California.
In the fall of 1905. he located in Fresno County near Kerman, and in
January, 1906, he bought his place of twenty acres, now so attractive on
account of its fine vineyard of Thompson seedless grapes. At first he had an
orchard of apricots and peaches ; but it was not a success, and he dug the trees
up. He built a residence and put up other buildings and installed machinery.
He became a stockholder in the California Associated Raisin Company.
Four children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bahrenfus : Fred L. is
a rancher at Biola ; Lena, who has become Mrs. Oliver, lives in Nodaway
County, Mo. ; Ella is Mrs. Frank Jenkins, and resides at Vinland ; and John
J. was a soldier in the National Army at Camp Lewis, now honorably dis-
charged. The family grew up in the Lutheran faith.
In 1919 Mr. Bahrenfus purchased a fine up-to-date bungalow at 390
Temple Avenue, Long Beach, where he and his family are now residing.
The latch string continues to hang out to welcome their numerous friends.
I. R. HAIN. — A young man who is meeting with merited success in his
undertakings is I. R. Hain. who was born in Pleasant Valley, Reno County,
Kans., July 14, 1883. His father, William H. Hain, was a native of Wales,
Maine, was a man of education and a scholar, being a graduate of Boudoin
College, and for many years engaged in educational work and lectured in
Illinois, then in Kansas, Nebraska and Washington. He resided in Reno
County, Kans., then in Beatrice, Gage County, Nebr., then in Portland, Ore.
For many years he lived in Cowlitz County. Wash. He studied law and was
admitted to the bar and practiced law ; his ability was soon recognized and he
was elected a member of the State legislature. However, his natural desire
for change of place and travel asserted itself and he again came East, finally
stopping for a time in Indian Territory, where he engaged in farming in the
Cherokee Nation. Afterwards he went to Massachusetts, but finally returned
to Kansas, where he spent his last days. Mr. Hain's mother was Ida May
Fletcher, born in Bath, Maine, and she now makes her home in Arkansas
City, Kans. They were the parents of five boys and one girl, all of whom are
living, our subject and his twin brother, Harrison, of Arkansas City, Kans.,
being the middle of the group.
I. R. Hain received a good education in the public schools of their various
places of residence, afterwards entered the Nevada Business College in
Nevada, Mo., where he was graduated at the age of nineteen. He assisted
his father on the farm in Indian Territory until January, 1905, when he came
to Visalia, Cal., and for a short time he worked on a ranch, then was in the
employ of the Diamond Lumber Compan}' for about two years, after which
he came to Fresno, where he was steadily engaged with the Pierce Lumber
Company for three years. Having a desire to own land of his own he came
to Huron in 1911 and homesteaded 160 acres three miles south of town,
which he improved and farmed, performing the requirements of the law and
obtained title. During these years he also leased lands and engaged in raising
wheat and barley. Meeting with success, he purchased other land and now
owns 520 acres. He leases land at Helm and sows about 640 acres a year
to grain and for the purpose uses the latest and most modern implements, —
including a sixty horse-power Holt caterpillar and a combined harvester. In
1915, in partnership with N. Semper and Mr. Clavine, he built a warehouse
at Huron, and a year later they purchased Mr. Clavine's interest. The ware-
house is known as the Semper and Hain Warehouse, of which Mr. Hain has
the management. In 1916 he also purchased the Miller and Cherry warehouse
in Huron, which he also runs. Not content with all of these interests he
found time to branch out and in 1919 he started in the general merchandise
business in Huron, putting in a new and well selected stock of goods and
2+40 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
from this point manages his many affairs, and buys and ships grain. He is
postmaster at Huron, as well as deputy county clerk and deputy constable,
and during the war was chief registrar. Being interested in having good
schools he is serving acceptably as school trustee of Huron district. It will
be readily seen that Mr. Hain is a very busy man. but capable of ably hand-
ling his varied interests. Of a pleasing personality, well posted and well
read, and with a retentive memory, he is a very interesting person to meet.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of American at Yisalia.
LEWIS G. GATCHELL. — A self-made man who modestly goes his way
in the performance of every day duty, is Lewis G. Gatchell, the wide-awake
and ever-genial manager of the Coalinga Ice Company. He was born in
Fulton Township, Lancaster County, Pa., on December 19, 1887, two miles from
where Robert Fulton was born. He attended the usual grammar and high
school courses, and finally studied at the State Normal school at Millersville,
where he was graduated in 1908.
All his life, however, he had the "California fever" and in the spring of
1908 he borrowed enough money to bring him to the Golden State. Stopping
at Coalinga, he secured employment with the Coalinga Ice Company, when
their small plant was located where the Southern Pacific Railroad depot now
stands ; and he has been in their employ ever since.
After a while Mr. Gatchell's worth was recognized in a special degree,
and he was made assistant manager ; and since 1910 he has been in full
charge of the plant. Modern in every way, with a capacity equal to the re-
quirements of the community, this ice company is a business of which the
town may well be proud.
George Aydelott, whose home is in Hanford, and who is president of the
company, was its founder and builder; and now the plant turns out ten tons
of ice every twenty-four hours.
Mr. Gatchell spends much of his spare time in the mountains with rod
and gun. He owns 240 acres of land south of Henrietta, and rents 1,200 acres
more ; and on this acreage he ranges cattle. This he has found more profit-
able than grain farming, to which he gave his time and energy in previous
years. He expects soon to retire from ice making, and to give himself up
entirely to the raising of cattle. In August, 1918, he enlisted in the United
States Army, serving in the Eighty-second Machine Company at Camp
Kearney until after the armistice when his application for a discharge was
granted. He returned to his old position, January 3, 1919.
Mr. Gatchell was married to Lena Story in 1915, who was born in
Whittier. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gatchell are popular socially, and he is a
member of the Hanford Elks.
PETER J. WOLF.— As a horticulturist and viticulturist Peter J. Wolf
is doing his share toward increasing the value of Fresno County real estate.
Air. Wolf was born in Chenoa, 111., on September 26, 1881, and is the
son of Jacob and Annie (Fredericks) Wolf. His parents came to San Fran-
cisco in 1887, and after sojourning there for three or four years removed to
Fresno County with their family, where the father was employed on a vine-
yard in West Park for a time, lie afterwards homesteaded 160 acres on the
\\ est Side, sixteen miles south of Mendota, and engaged in farming and stock-
raising until he proved up on his homestead. He then located in Empire
Colony, leased land owned by the Bank of California and was engaged in
raising grain and as an orchardist and vineyardist. Later he purchased 100
acres of the place he was leasing and turned his attention to horticulture and
viticulture, and assisted by his sons, made a success of the vocation, setting
out about fifty acres of vines. He was one of the trustees of the Empire
school district. He finally disposed of his interests and located in Fresno
where he died in 1910, aged about fifty-six years. His wife also died in Fresno
in 1908. Of their seven children six are living: Peter J. is the eldest; George
% <%Je**r-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2443
is a rancher on the old home place ; Dan is a rancher on Madera Avenue ;
Annie is Mrs. Hayes, and resides in Sebastopol, Cal. ; Josephine is Mrs.
Vought of Fresno ; and Jacob, who entered the United States Army in
October, 1917, and was assigned to the Regulars, went overseas in December,
1917, and is now in the Army of Occupation.
Peter J. was reared in California and educated in the public schools of
Fresno city and county. From a youth he assisted his father on the farm.
When twenty-two he bought twenty acres on Shields Avenue in Empire
Colony and engaged in orchard and vineyard culture and in raising alfalfa.
In 1910 he sold the twenty acres and purchased a place of forty acres, at
seventy-five dollars per acre, located on Thompson and Shields Avenue. He
improved the place, built a residence, set out an apricot and peach orchard
and a vineyard; later he purchased twenty acres adjoining his place, paying
$200 an acre for the property. He set it to Thompson seedless vines. In the
summer of 1918 he sold this sixty acres at a good profit and then purchased
twenty acres, paying $250 an acre, adjoining his other eighty on the south.
This he has improved with a fine residence. In 1916 he purchased forty acres
across the road from his former place, paying $125 per acre for it. It cost
him sixty-five dollars an acre to level the land and get it in shape. This is
also well improved and is still owned by Mr. Wolf. In 1917 he purchased
two twenty-acre pieces adjoining his forty, paying $125 an acre for one of the
pieces and $200 an acre for the other, and this property he is improving for
vineyard and orchard. He is one of the oldest settlers in the neighborhood,
and served one term as trustee of the Empire school district. In his political
views he is a Democrat. He is a member of the California Peach Growers,
Inc., and has been a member of the California Associated Raisin Company
ever since it was first organized.
Mr. Wolf was married on October 21, 1903, to Miss Etta Price, born in
Texas, and there educated and they have eight children : Goldie, Leona,
Viola, Vernon, Lorene, Bernice, Raymond and Opal.
HON. L. D. SCOTT.— More than prominent in his time as a broad-
gaged statesman who did much to shape the affairs of the great common-
wealth of California, and long to be remembered both for his exceptional
integrity and sagacity, the late Lorenzo Dow Scott has a place in the hearts
of his fellow-citizens and contemporaries such as anyone, and ambitious Amer-
ican youth in particular, might well covet. He was born at Clinton, 111., on
January 4, 1847, and was just sixty-eight years old when, on the fourth of
January, 1915, he took the oath of office as member, from the fiftieth district,
of the forty-first session of the California state assembly.
He grew up in Illinois, attended the public schools there, and in time en-
gaged in farming. In that state, too, on March 28. 1878, he was married to
Miss Florence A. Persinger, a native of Sydney, Ohio, where she was born
the daughter of William and Eliza Persinger. When seven years old she
came to Illinois, where she attended the Kinney High School.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott had four children when they came to California in
1886, the jsoungest two in their family being born in California, and they
settled at Del Rey in Fresno County, which was then known as Clifton.
There Mr. Scott improved a farm; but in 1891 they moved to Selma. He had
a vineyard at Del Rey, but when he moved he engaged in the dairy business,
and undertook to run the creamery which has since given way to the peach
and raisin industries.
Having successfully built up for the time, the dairy interests at that
place, he associated himself with the management of the First National Bank
at Selma and for many years was its vice-president. He was also, as a good
judge of land values, the bank's appraiser. His discernment, together with
his honesty and frankness, won for him and the institution he represented
manv friends.
2444 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Called by his fellow-citizens, and with a most complimentary vote, to
represent them in the State Legislature, he served his time and worked hard
for his constituency: but he was taken sick, in July, 1915, and died on the
fifteenth of the following month. He had always been much interested in
agricultural affairs, the reclamation of lands, public morals, and similar sub-
jects, and he never lost a moment, as his speeches well show, in working to
attain for others what he regarded as ideal ends.
All the six children of Mr. and Airs. Scott are living, and well reflect
the qualities of sterling character for which their parents were always so
widely and highly esteemed. Harry W. is a vineyardist and stockman living
near Selma ; and he married Lillian Stout, of Reedley. Nanna Myrtle is the
wife of Dr. R. B. Spalding, of San Francisco. Louis W. is a vineyardist and
resides on South McCall road in Selma with his wife, who was Miss Char-
lotte Griffey of that same place. Dr. Roy N. Scott is a stockman, vineyardist
and veterinarian, and graduated from the veterinary college at Chicago. He
married Miss Pearl Schrack of Selma. by whom he has had two children,
Jean Leana, and Marlyn Pearl'and they reside on North McCall road ; Netta
Persinger became the wife of Robert G. Holton. and lives at Los Angeles,
where Mr. Holton is engaged as an oil refiner for the Turner Oil Company,
of which he is secretary and treasurer; she has one child, John Pomeroy.
Ralph H. is a rancher and resides at Kerman, with his wife, who was Miss
Laura Forsberg of Kingsburg before her marriage, and they have two chil-
dren. Harriet Ann and Lorenzo Dow.
Mr. Scott was a self-made man, for his father died when the subject was
only eight years old, and he being the eldest boy. had much responsibility
thrown upon him in the problem of helping his widowed mother and the
children — a large family, eight children. He was always a hard worker, and an
active and able man and citizen that Fresno did well to honor. He was partic-
ularly highly respected at Selma, where Mrs. Scott now lives, having rented
out her own residence and ranches, which are valuable. Public welfare work
occupies her attention constantly, and her first thought is for the Red Cross
and other charitable and philanthropic enterprises. She is a pillar in the Chris-
tian Church at Selma, and helped with a liberal hand and a willing heart in
building the magnificent edifice of that denomination in this town.
CHARLES N. SANDESON. — An early settler in the Coalinga district,
a rancher and stockman of the progressive type who does things on a splendid
scale, is Charles X. Sandeson, a Nova Scotian by birth, who was born in
Colchester County on June 22, 1875. He was reared and educated in the
East, and as a young man followed mill work and lumbering.
When he was just twenty-one, in 1896, he arrived in California and at
once entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Bakersfield,
fmm which place he was transferred to Coalinga in 1897. For four years he
was section foreman of that district.
He next became local agent for the Union National San Joaquin Ice
Company at Coalinga, and then he engaged in the butcher business, opening
the Crescent Meat Market, which he ran for a couple of years and sold to
Kreyenhagen Bros. For the next ten years he was engaged in the hay and grain
business, and for that purpose he built a warehouse on E Street, between Fifth
and Sixth Streets. He also engaged in teaming to the oil fields, employing
thirteen men and sixty head of horses and mules. He bought and sold mules
and horses ; and as he has always been a lover of horses, he still owns a few
fine specimens of high grade draft horses.
Mr. Sandeson next bought a ranch of seventy acres at Story. Madera
County; and there he has developed one of the best dairy farms in all the
valley. lie has a herd of thirty Holstein cows with a pure-bred registered
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2445
bull, that he bought at the Panama-Pacific Fair at San Francisco in 1915.
The buildings are lighted by electricity, and the power used for the machinery
is also electrical. Pumping plants draw from two wells, and bring all the
water needed to a concrete head-gate.
Mr. Sandeson owns a one-third interest in two warehouses at Story —
one he erected, and the other he bought from Rosenthal & Kutner. He owns
640 acres of a mountain ranch formerly the old Fowler place, located in
Warthan Canyon above Coalinga, and he rents the John Frame ranch of 920
acres adjoining the Milton Douglas ranch of 640 acres, and the Harly Joslyn
place of 320 acres, and there he ranges cattle. As a cattleman operating ex-
tensively he still finds time for ventures in other fields, and in partnership
with Jacob Zwang, under the firm name of Sandeson & Zwang, he farms
about 4,000 acres of rented land near Pleasant Valley which he has planted
to barley. On this farm he has every modern farming equipment, including
Holt harvester and caterpillar engines ; and he owns a quarter interest in a
ranch of 423 acres on Bear Creek, in Merced County, which is partly in grain,
while the rest is devoted to pasture. He possesses an eighty-acre ranch near
Lemoore, Kings County, and there he has corrals and barns for his stock. He
owns his own home, in Coalinga, and six town lots, besides the warehouse.
At Oakland, September 28, 1899. Mr. Sandeson married Mary Sandeson,
a lady of the same name, but not related, who was also born in Colchester
County. Mr. Sandeson is a member of the Elks lodge at Hanford, and the
Masons at Coalinga, having been made a Mason in Lemoore Lodge, No. 255,
F. & A. M. He is a member of the California Cattle Growers Association, and
became one of the directors of the Coalinga National Bank ; and when it was
consolidated with the First National Bank, was elected a director therein and
still holds that office.
JAMES RANSOM WEBB.— The city of Fresno has been favored in
possessing many able and brilliant members of the legal fraternitv. Among
these the Honorable James Ransom Webb, Superior Judge of Fresno County,
stood at the head of his profession. A broad-gauge, self-made man, a success-
ful lawyer and a man of high standards of integrity and honor, he was born
near Steelville, Crawford County, Mo., February 17, 1847 — in the calendar
month in which so many famous men have been born. Brought up on a farm,
as many of our successful men have been in their early life, he studied law
as a young man and began practising at the bar in the early seventies, in'
his native state, specializing in civil and probate practice.
He was united in marriage with Miss Lillie W. Jamison, a native of
Steelville, Mo., January 31, 1877, and in the fall of 1882 came to Fresno, where
he continued the practice of his profession, and where, four years later, his
wife died. Following her death Judge Webb returned to Missouri to reside.
and was associated with Judge A. Seay at Union, Mo., for one and one-half
years. In 1888 he returned to Fresno and in 1893 was appointed to the posi-
tion of Superior Judge of Fresno County by Governor Markham. After com-
pleting the term of two years he was elected to the bench and served for
eight years, retiring from office January 1. 1901. He then moved to San
Francisco, where he continued the practice of his profession until the sum-
mer following the big fire of April, 1906, when his valuable law library was
completely destroyed. Returning to Fresno he again resumed active practice
of the law, which he continued up to the time of his death, on July 29, 1916.
Judge Webb was married a second time, on December 31, 1900, to Miss
Mary Imogene Anderson, who at the time of her marriage was engaged in
educational work in Fresno, and who, since the Judge's death, has resumed
teaching in the city schools. Mrs. Webb is an active member of the First
Presbyterian Church and an ex-president of the Wednesday Club, the oldest
study club in the valley.
2446 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
MRS. SARAH C. BYRD. — The revered memory of an extensive pioneer
rancher, the late John H. Byrd, long a prosperous and highly-respected cit-
izen, is revived in a study of the life of his esteemed widow, Mrs. Sarah C.
Byrd, who resides in her beautiful home at 632 North Van Ness Avenue,
Fresno, after a life of strenuous, hard work on their farm of 5,000 acres in
(lark's Valley, the home ranch, conducted in connection with some 3,000
acres of excellent, subirrigated land east of Sanger in the Kings River Valley.
Mr. Byrd was born at Canton, Cherokee County, Ga., on May 8. 1837, and
came of a family prominent for generations in Southern history. He was
the grandson of Thomas Byrd, a native of Virginia, who took up farming in
Cherokee County, and became a leading planter of tobacco. As an expert
millwright, he constructed several mills for water power throughout the
state, and with his land holdings became very influential in that part of the
country. A son Nathan, also a native of Virginia and reared in the Old Do-
minion and Georgia, became the father of John H. Byrd. He, too, raised
tobacco in Georgia, but in 1847 he removed to Arkansas, and until his death
he conducted a cotton plantation seventeen miles south of Little Rock. He
married Miss Eliza Jones, a native of South Carolina, and a daughter of
Caleb Jones, a Spartansburg planter, who later moved to Canton, Ga., and
became an extensive agriculturist. Mrs. Byrd, a devout Baptist, passed away
in Arkansas in 1901, the mother of eight children, the eldest of which was
John.
Having begun his schooling in the primitive schools of Georgia, John
Byrd was taken as a lad of ten to Arkansas and there resumed his education
in an even more primitive log school. In 1857, he went on horseback to
Texas, and remained at Sherman until the following April, when he joined
the Keener ox train for California. They took the southern route by way
of Las Cruces, N. M., passed by Fort Yuma, and finally reached Los Angeles.
On October 24, 1858. Mr. Byrd arrived at Visalia, and the day before Christ-
mas he went to work for Francis Jordan on his ranch. After two years, he
bought 160 acres on the Kings River bottom, and there began to raise hogs.
He was so successful that in 1870 he bought land in Clark's Valley and
commenced general farming and stockraising. He raised sheep for a time,
but sold out to embark in raising high-grade Herefords and shorthorns ; and
from a capital of twenty dollars in gold when he arrived at Visalia, he stead-
.ily accumulated, by his own efforts, a handsome competency. In 1896 he
located at Fresno, and there bought an elegant residence at the corner of
O and Tulare streets.
At Kings River, in 1870, Mr. Byrd was married to Miss Sarah C. Rob-
inson, who was born in Boone County, Mo., on August 29. 1854, the daughter
of John Robinson, a native of Lexington, Ky., who had married Miss Harriet
Phillips, a native of St. Charles County, Mo. In that county they were united
in wedlock, and then thev moved to Boone County, where Mr. Robinson
farmed. They had two children. Sarah Catherine and Virginia Ann, now the
widow of J. B. Cravens, a pioneer of Sanger, still living at that place. "With
their two children, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson came across the plains, driving
their stock, in a train of ox and mule wagons. They started from Boone
County, and were six months on the way, and reached Carson City, Nev., in
September, 1859. Going to the Sacramento Valley, they raised stock ; but
at the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Robinson returned to Missouri and
enlisted as a Confederate soldier, and served throughout the War. He re-
turned to California in 1865, and then the family came to Fresno Count)' and
settled on the Kings River; and there, after years of success as a farmer and
stockraiser, he died, on August 10, 1902, and was interred in the Kings River
Cemetery beside his good wife, who had died two years before.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Byrd went to live in Clark's Valley,
Fresno County, where their twelve children were born. Harriet Eliza is the
Jno^^Li^ /jfa^U.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2451
wife of Alonzo Stewart, a rancher residing in Colusa County; and they have
two children, Byrd and Ellen, both of whom are married and have offspring.
Ellen Virginia is the wife of Charles Doyle, a dealer in monuments, marble
and granite work, and resides at Fresno. They have four children — John H.,
Marian Gertrude, Francis, James. Charles H. Byrd is treated in detail in
another sketch in this historical work. Catherine died when thirteen years
old, and two infants also died. John Walter, in business in Fresno, married
Beryl Corlew; they reside in Fresno" and have two children — Floris and
Loraine. Lucy A. is the wife of Lee Sims, a rancher at Kerman, and the
mother of six children — Leota, William, Walter, Lee, Mattie and John.
Thomas R., a rancher of 1425 College Avenue, Fresno, married Viola Burk,
by whom he has had two children — Walter and Richard. The ninth in the
order of birth was an infant, who died, and then came Marie, now the wife of
Frank McCarthy, who has just returned from the War, where he was in the
motor transport service. They own a ranch on Kings River, a part of the old
Byrd estate, and they have two children — Newton and Lloyd Byrd. Another
child died in infancy, while the twelfth and youngest was Newton P. Byrd,
whose life is also reviewed in this work. Mrs. Sarah C. Byrd has thus lived
to see twenty-three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
On the death of Mr. Byrd, on October 5, 1913, Mrs. Byrd became the
administratrix of his estate. At the distribution of the property, three of the
heirs, Newton, Walter and Thomas took their respective shares in the land ;
but Mrs. Byrd and the other children still own 4,800 acres in Clark's Valley
and the 1.700 acres in Kings River Valley, under the management of the
oldest son, Charles H. In time, Mrs. Byrd bought her home on Van Ness
Avenue, and there the old-time Byrd hospitality continues to be dispensed.
She was brought up in the Christian Church, but now belongs to the Presby-
terian Church.
SOREN PAULSEN.— A member of an old Danish family that has be-
come transplanted to California, and an American by adoption who may
proudly boast of being the brother of probably the first soldier from Fresno
County to make the supreme sacrifice in the late war, is Soren Paulsen, the
well-known farmer who owns a fruit ranch of twenty acres two and a half
miles west of Parlier. He was born at Ribe, Denmark, on November 5, 1881,
the son of Paul Paulsen who was a farmer in Denmark, and also a musician.
He died in his native country, in 1903, fifty-three years old, lingering long
enough to permit our subject, who was then a journeyman cabinet maker at
work in Germany, to return home and reach his bedside. Mrs. Meta Marie
Paulsen, the mother, is still living at Ribe.
Eleven children were born to these worthy parents, and of that number
six are residing near Parlier, one in San Francisco, one is in Denmark and two
are deceased. Marten, the rancher near Parlier, and Clause, a farmer in
Denmark, are twins, and Anna, the oldest daughter, is the wife of Jess An-
dersen, a rancher near Parlier. Inger is now Mrs. Ben Tobiasen, the wife of
another rancher in the Parlier district, while the fifth in the order of birth
is Soren, our subject, Maren died when she was two years old in Denmark,
and Niels M. is a rancher near Reedley. Marius is a carpenter and builder
at Del Rey ; Kristine is the wife of W. Kallerup, the restaurateur of San
Francisco; Knud E. has been a corporal at Camp Stewart, XJ. S. A., in Vir-
ginia ; while the youngest was Hans H. Paulsen.
He was born in Denmark and came to Parlier only three years ago. He
was single and made his home with Soren Paulsen. Anxious to do his bit in
the great war, he entered the service as machine gunner and went to France
in 1917. There he had an extensive experience in actual service, and in time was
transferred to the celebrated "Rainbow Division." On July 27 he was struck
by a high explosive shell and instantly killed — the first soldier from Fresno
County to fall, so far as is known, in actual battle.
2452 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
A touching incident relative to the death of the young hero, Hans H.
Paulsen, may here be narrated. Besides some other means of his own, he
carried $10,000 worth of insurance on his life, and had made our subject his
trustee. The last wishes of the deceased are now being carried out, and the
money is being remitted to the aged mother, still living in Denmark, to
whom, in her sixty-seventh year, it will prove a God-send in lieu of the
affectionate son lost.
Soren grew up on the home farm in Denmark, and when fourteen years
of age was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. He was apprenticed at Ribe
to the cabinet makers' trade, and served from 1896 to 1900, working for his
room and board. Becoming a journeyman cabinet maker, he worked at Fyen
and Langland, in Denmark, and at Hamburg, Hanover and other places in
Germany, and at the end of two years, came home at the time of his father's
death.
Naturally athletic from the time when he was a boy, Soren Paulsen be-
came a master coach or trainer at the gymnasium at Ribe, and when he
traveled in Germany, he took a deep interest in German athletics. On his
return to Denmark in 1906, he attended the athletic training school, the high
school Ryslinge, and entering the Danish Army in 1904, served there for
eight months.
In 1907 he sailed from Copenhagen on the steamship, Oscar the Second
of the Scandinavian-American line, and landed at New York on May 1,
leaving almost immediately for the West and Parlier. He and his brother
Marius worked as carpenters, but he had to borrow money to buy tools. He
also learned the English language, and he can read, write and speak the
Danish, English and German tongues. He has done much reading in general,
and is well-informed. .He continued to work at his trade until 1912.
In the meantime he and his brother had bought this place of twenty
acres, in 1909, but after his marriage, in 1912, he bought out his brother's
interest. He has fifteen acres in Muscats and the rest in seedless grapes and
alfalfa, and has erected a dwelling house. He is a member of the California
Raisin Growers Association.
When Mr. Paulsen was married, he chose for his bride Miss Christine
Andersen, a native of Pierce County, Wis., and a daughter of John and Anna
i Pilegaard) Andersen, both of whom were born in Schleswig-Holstein. After
marrying in Denmark, Mr. and Mrs. Andersen came to America and settled
in Wisconsin. There they farmed and reared a family of six children, of
whom Mrs. Paulsen is the fourth child in the order of birth. In 1906 they
came to California and settled south of Parlier, where the parents are still
living. Mrs. Paulsen was thirteen when she came to the Pacific Coast. Two
children have been granted Mr. and Mrs. Paulsen: Ellen Marie and Evelyn
Irene. Mr. Paulsen is a member of the Danish Brotherhood, of which he is a
past president, and both he and his wife belong to and attend the Lutheran
Church. He is a naturalized American citizen, and a Wilson Democrat.
JOHN D. MORGAN, JR., M. D.— If there is one institution of Fresno
County in which the public has a solicitous and abiding interest it is the
County Hospital, under the immediate charge of Dr. John D. Morgan, the
medical director and superintendent. A native, not only of California, but of
Fresno, where he was born on October Id. 1889, Dr. Morgan was the son of
Tohn D. and Mary L. (Hartsough) Morgan, natives of Georgia and California,
respectively, both of whom are still living. His father settled here over forty
years ago, followed a business career, and later was both constable and chief
of police.
John D., Jr., was educated in the grammar and high schools of the city,
and after graduation from Fresno High, 1909, he then entered the department
of medicine of Yanderbilt University, from which he was graduated in 1913,
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2453
with the degree of M. D. He then went to San Diego where he practiced for a
year.
On July 24, 1912, in Fresno, Dr. Morgan was married to Miss Hazel E.
Beall, daughter of George Beall, and one child — J. D. Morgan, 3rd, has
blessed the union. Dr. and Mrs. Morgan by religious faith are protestants.
He belongs to the Masons and the Eagles.
A year after he had returned to his home town, Dr. Morgan, who is a
Democrat, believing in devotion especially to the place of one's residence,
was appointed, in January, 1915, to his present position ; and since then he has
been reappointed. He is a member of the University Club ; and he belongs to
the County, State and American Medical Association, being Vice-president of
County Medical Society at present time. He is also a member of the Gamma
Eta Kappa high school fraternity of Fresno, the Phi Chi Medical Fraternity
and Phi Kappa Sigma Literary Fraternity, his membership in the two latter
being in the chapters at Vanderbilt University.
THOMAS HANSEN. — Highly respected as an industrious, generous
citizen with a wide reputation as a pioneer horticulturist and viticulturist, is
Thomas Hansen, the retired rancher who is now quietly enjoying life at 3006
South Harvard Boulevard, Los Angeles, whither he removed February, 1918.
His father, Hans Nilsen — for in Denmark the son takes the father's first
name, adding '"sen", meaning son — was a small land owner and carpenter,
who lived and died in that country. His mother, who had been Katrine
Petersen, also lived and died in Denmark.
Born in the village of Tvilde, on the peninsula of Jylland, Denmark, on
May 7, 1847. the fifth child in a family of nine, four of whom were girls,
Thomas grew up in the parish of Aastrup, where he worked by the year for
farmers. There he was educated, being early confirmed in the Lutheran
Church. He steadily advanced in the mastery of his work, and .in his twenty-
fourth year he went to Schleswig, where he engaged as a farm hand at
Bolderslev; here he continued for six years.
Mr. Hansen then entered the Government Forest Service, planting sandy
heathers in Denmark to forest trees, and giving them scientific care. After
a while he was made superintendent of a private company, backed by the
Danish Government, holding that position a year. Then he went back to
Bolderslev and reengaged at farm work for his former employer.
A year there sufficed him, however, and he set sail from Hamburg, for
America, landing at New York in November, 1878, and going on to Portland,
Maine, having friends and relatives there. The following February he came
to St. Helena, Napa County, Cal., where he worked on farms for a year and
ten months.
The large Danish colony at Fresno soon attracted him, and there he se-
cured a position as superintendent of the first vineyard in Fresno County to
produce Muscat grapes. This was owned by four ladies, the Misses Austen
of San Francisco, where they were public school teachers. Each had twenty
acres, located side by side three miles south of Fresno ; and the combined
acreage was called the Hedge Row Vineyard. This was the first raisin vine-
yard managed on a commercial scale. Mr. Hansen remained there as direc-
tor for a year, and then he bought twenty acres of ground for himself that he
immediately planted to grapes and alfalfa, at the same time that he set out an
orchard.
In 1883, Mr. Hansen disposed of his California holdings and recrossed
the continent and the ocean "to visit relatives and friends in Schleswig and
Jylland. Happily, both parents were still living. It was during this visit that
he met his future wife, Katrina Callesen, of Schleswig, the daughter of Danish
parents. Miss Callesen and seven others eventually came to America, reach-
ing Fresno on September 10, 1883; and on November 25, of the same year,
she was married at Fresno to Mr. Hansen.
2454 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Buying another twenty acres of raw land, Mr. Hansen made a fresh
start. He planted and improved the acreage, and he also built for himself a
comfortable house ; and there his four eldest children were born. They were
Eli, Walter, Petra, who died at the age of seven, and John C. Selling this
homestead, Mr. Hansen bought a place of fifty-two acres six miles west of
Selma, near Monmouth, which he so well improved that on January 22, 1918,
he sold it for $23,000. There two more children were born — Oscar, who died
when he was fourteen months old, and Elva, now nineteen, who lives at home.
Mr. Hansen then built a bungalow in Selma. living there several years. Eli
went to pay his parents in Los Angeles a visit prior to his departing for the
war. He was taken ill with the "flu" and died October 12, 1918. Walter,
married Miss Ada Mason of Fresno County. They have one child, Walter
Oscar; John C. married Miss Mable Schult? of Selma, and a detailed sketch
of their lives is elsewhere in this work.
As soon as the law permitted, Mr. Hansen was naturalized, and ever
since then he has been a loyal citizen of the United States. Not the least of his
services has been in conscientious attendance as a trial juror in both civil and
criminal cases. A Progressive Republican, he is a strong advocate of tem-
perance. He is also a steadfast patron of education, and for seven years he
served on the School Board at Monmouth, in the Monroe School District,
during which time, for a year, he acted as Clerk of the Board.
Mr. Hansen helped to build the Danish Lutheran Church in Selma. He
helped to organize the first Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fresno
County and also the first Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in California
— the Easton church near where Mr. and Mrs. Hansen made their first home.
In the succeeding years, Mr. Hansen has helped to build eleven other churches
of the same denomination, which is known as the United Danish Evangelical
Lutheran Churches in California and includes some twelve congregations.
Mrs. Hansen has been equally active in church work.
As might be expected of two such worthy citizens inspired both with re-
ligious and patriotic sentiments, Mr. and Mrs. Hansen heartily support the
Red Cross movement.
ANTHONY P. CAZEMIRO.— Among the Californians by adoption
who are contributing to the development of the Golden State, and who well
deserve the prosperity that is theirs as a reward for years of hard labor and
self-denial, is Anthony Cazemiro, who owns forty acres, six miles southeast
of Riverdale. He bought this property in December, 1917, from William H.
Whitlow.
He was born in the island of Pico, in the balmy Azores, on June 22, 1882,
the son of Manuelo P. Cazemiro. a plasterer by trade, who owned some
dwelling houses on the Island. He had married in the Azores Catharine
Neves, a native of Pico, and they had twelve children, nine of whom grew to
maturity. Among these Anthony was the eleventh child, and he grew up on
the island where he was born. He was educated in the public schools and
worked for the most part on farms, and sometimes as a fishmonger, but by
the time that he had reached his nineteenth year, he had begun to direct his
thoughts toward the New World.
Four sisters and three brothers had already come to America, so young
Cazemiro left his native shores and landed at Brooklyn on April 3, 1901. He
came on to California and he arrived on April 17, at Goshen Junction, Tulare
County. He went to work for his brother-in-law, Joe V. Garcia, as a milker,
continuing with him for ten years and being paid from twenty-five to forty
dollars a month.
In 1911 Mr. Cazemiro went to Hanford and bought a ranch of eighty
acres, which he improved. At Hanford. on February 15, 1915, he married
Miss Mary Madruga, the oldest daughter of Manuel Y. and Mary ( Neves )
//zX~ /M^^^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2457
Madruga, natives, respectively, of the Island of Pico, in the Azores, and the
State of Massachusetts. The mother was brought up in Boston and was
educated in the grammar schools there; and she was married at Visalia.
Manuel Madruga, a real California pioneer, when only twenty years of
age came directly from the island of Pico to what was then Tulare County,
and herded sheep in what is now Kings County, and camped with his sheep
in the middle of what is now the city of Hanford, and once when he and his
wife started to come back to their place near that town, they were met by
Vasques, the bandit, and his band, the day after the robbery at Kingston.
During many years he worked up a band of 3,000 sheep that he owned with
a partner, and in the dry year of 1894 they drove them up to the Sierra
Nevada Mountains, and there the animals froze to death. This heavy loss of
nearly all of the sheep, and the then prevailing low prices of wool and mutton,
broke him up, and he had to begin all over again, working for others on their
ranches. He is now well-to-do, and lives on a ranch of eighty acres three
miles northeast of Hanford. He also owns an orchard of forty acres at
Armona, and operates a large dairy ranch with 100 head of cattle three miles
east of Hanford, having for a partner in the dairy enterprise his oldest son,
Manuel Neves Madruga. One of his sons, John A., served his country at
Camp Lewis until his discharge.
The second child in the family, and the oldest girl, Mrs. Cazemiro, was
brought up on a Kings County ranch. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs.
Cazemiro continued on his eighty-acre ranch near Hanford, and in June, 1917,
sold it; and the following December, he bought his present place. In 1910,
Mr. Cazemiro's parents joined them in Kings County; but they did not like
it here, and they returned to the island of Pico, where they eventually died.
Mr. and Airs. Cazemiro are members of the Roman Catholic Church at Han-
ford. Mr. and Mrs. Cazemiro are the parents of two boys : Cyril Anthony, and
Joseph.
JOSEPH MOUREN.-A resident of California since March, 1869, now
the oldest settler of Huron, is Joseph Mouren, a native of France, having
been born at St. Bonnet, near Gap, Hautes-Alpes, February 11, 1849. His
father, Pierre Mouren, was a farmer and stockman in that country where he
married Rose Julian, but both are now deceased.
Joseph was the youngest of their five children and is the only one now
living. He received a good education in the schools of his native land. In
March, 1869, he came to San Francisco and entered the employ of Eugene
Havey, becoming a stock-buyer and traveling all over the state buying sheep
for him. He was in Los Angeles in 1872, when it was but a small town, with
a few adobe houses ; that same year he was in Fresno when the railroad had
just reached there and Fresno had only a few buildings. After traveling over
the state he selected Huron as a desirable place for a location as it was the
shipping point for a large territory. Mr. Mouren bought an hotel and livery
stable and he and his wife have made a success of the business. He has also
been engaged in sheep growing, as well as being engaged in the mercantile
business. For over twenty years he engaged in sheep growing until 1918,
when he sold his last band of sheep. Believing there is a great future for
California lands he has added to his original holdings until he has about
4,000 acres of land in the Valley which he devotes to raising grain, cattle and
horses. The soil in the valley is very rich and, when it is a seasonable year,
he raises large quantities of grain. For this purpose he employs a Best
seventy-five horse-power caterpillar, as well as a combined harvester.
In San Francisco, February 3, 1889, Mr. Mouren was united in marriage
with Miss Angela Pelleisson, a native of St. Bonnet, Hautes-Alpes, France.
She is the sixth oldest of eight children born to Jean and Madeline (Erro)
Pelleisson, who were farmer folk. Mrs. Mouren received a thorough educa-
tion in the public school in France. Becoming interested in the land of sun-
shine and flowers on the Pacific Coast, she decided to come hither, and on
2458 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
May 6. 18SS, arrived in Sacramento, and July 1 of the same year, in San Fran-
cisco where she met Joseph Mouren whom she later married. Of this union
five children have grown up: Agnes. Mrs. King of Fresno; Edmond, is mar-
ried to Mootie Dearis and is a viticulturist and machinist in Fresno. He
served in the United States Naval Reserve Force in the late war; Angele,
died when in his nineteenth year; Joseph, Jr., is assisting his father in his
ranching enterprise and is married to Carrie "Williams; and Marguerite, is the
wife of Harold Pratt of Coalinga.
Mr. Mouren was one of the organizers of the Growers National Bank of
Fresno, heing a member of the first hoard of directors. Fraternally, he is a
member of Franco-American Lodge Xo. 207. I. O. O. F. : also of Tribe No. 54,
I. O. R. M., both in San Francisco. Mrs. Mouren is a woman of much business
ability and has been an able assistant to her husband in making the success
they have achieved. Mr. Mouren is a trustee of Huron school district, serving
for fifteen years, he is now clerk of the board. In politics he is a Democrat
in national affairs.
CONRAD NILMEIER. — A prosperous and successful rancher and raisin
grower of Fresno County, Conrad Nilmeier has reached an assured position
in life solely through his own efforts and industry and his business sagacity.
He was born near Saratov, on the Volga River, in Russia. September 7, 1877,
where his father. Philip Nilmeier, was a grain farmer and lived in that 300-
year-old German Colony in Russia. Philip married Mary Folmer, also born
in Russia, and they became the parents of twelve children, nine born in
Russia and three in California, and four of them now living: Peter, a rancher
near Locan, Fresno County ; Conrad, of this sketch ; Adam, proprietor of
the Liberty Garage on G Street. Fresno; and Mary, wife of Joe Forhan, of
Fresno.
When Conrad was a lad of nine years he came with his parents to Cal-
ifornia -direct from Russia; seven Russian families, among them the Nil-
meiers, landed at Fresno in 1887, and were the first Russian families to settle
in Fresno County. The father worked as hod carrier for the old contractor,
Joe Spinney, and carried a hod for the masons and also the plasterers in
building the Hughes Hotel. He later engaged in the livery business in
Fresno, and built up and became owner of the West Side Livery and Feed
Stables, using fourteen lots and extensive barns and hitching sheds. Conrad
had to work out. and started his business career as a delivery boy for the Fair
crockery store, on Tulare Street, owned by Paul Borchardt ; at sixteen he
worked on the section for the Southern Pacific railway, continuing for two
years. He attended a private night school in Fresno for six months while
in his nineteenth year, and before that had only attended night schools ; his
education has largely been acquired through work, business and general
reading.
When nineteen years old the young man began working in the livery
stable for his father, and when twenty-four, after his marriage, he bought
i nit the stock of horses and vehicles and rented the property, and ran the
West Side Liverv and Feed Stables for eight years ; lie began with twelve
livery horses and quit in 1010 with sixty, while he fed and kept as many as
200 head of horses and was then running the largest livery and feed business
in Fresno. While thus engaged, he looked forward to the time when he might
own a ranch of his own, and in 1906 bought his present ranch; the following
year he borrowed money on the property and improved it to vines and trees;
comprising 1* >0 acres, the property up to that time had been in grain field
with the exception of sixty acres, which had been planted to Muscats (twenty
acres i. Thompson seedless, a like acreage, and the same to peaches. The
balance Mr. Nilmeier has planted to raisin grapes and peaches, plums and
apricots, and twelve and one-half acres to Malagas. He built a comfortable
home, barns and other out-buildings necessary to the conduct of his ranch-
6^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2461
ing operations, and has installed a pumping-plant with twenty-five horse-
power engine and has laid 10,000 feet of cement pipe for irrigation purposes,
making his ranch one of the most productive in the De Wolf district. In the
summer of 1918 he sold eighty acres of the property to J. E. and A. M. Snook,
retaining the half upon which his home and main improvements are located.
Air. Xilmeier perfected a process for bleaching and curing Thompson seed-
less grapes which converts them into the quality known as the White Valen-
cias, and this process he has kept up for ten years, curing 900 tons in that
period. He has been very successful in his operations and helped organize
and is a stockholder in the California Raisin Association, also in the peach,
apricot and prune associations.
The marriage of Mr. Nilmeier, on November 20, 1900, united him with
Miss Emma Schwab ; her death occurred in 1908, leaving seven children ;
Alexander, of Merced; Minnie; Ora ; Alice; Gertrude; Benjamin; Rosa died
at four months. The second marriage of Mr. Nilmeier united him with Miss
Annie Schwab, a sister of his first wife, born in Fresno, the daughter of Vin-
cent Joseph and Minnie (Ziebarth) Schwab, who were married in Nebraska
and came to California in 1889; they are now living retired in Fresno. By
the second union there are two children: Theodore E., and Herbert P. Mr.
and Mrs. Nilmeier are members of the German Lutheran Church of Fresno,
and helped in the erection of the fine church building on L and Ventura
streets. They are patriotic and loyal citizens of the county and aided in all
the drives during the late war, as well as in other civic duties, doing their
share toward the upbuilding of the community.
EMMONS WILLIAM HOUGHTON.— A California pioneer whose pro-
nounced success on the Pacific Coast is but the natural sequence to his suc-
cessful operations for years as an expert potato grower in Aroostook County,
Maine, is Emmons William Houghton, who was born at Anson, Maine, on
May 9, 1862, the son of William and Dorcas L. (Cutts), Houghton who were
also born in that state.
In 1904, Mr. Houghton came to Soquel, Santa Cruz County, where he
engaged in the mercantile business. In 1907 he came to Fresno County, in-
tending merely to "look around;" but as has been the case with so many
thousands of others, he liked the appearance of everything so well that he
sold his business at Soquel and bought forty-five acres in the Roosevelt dis-
trict, ten miles northwest of Fresno. Here he engaged in dairying, for which
he also planted alfalfa ; and in the local dairy world he has been an aggressive
and progressive competitor ever since. His ranch is under the Herndon
Canal, which affords perfect irrigation, so that his alfalfa is full and rich, and
his dairy products among the best anywhere marketed. He sunk a well fifty
feet, which brings water to within twenty feet of the surface ; and with a
twenty-horse power engine, and an eight-inch pump, he has at his command
a supply of from 1,600 to 2,000 gallons a minute.
At Soquel, Cal., Mr. Houghton was married to Mrs. Estella (Peck)
Barber, a native of New York State, who came to California and to Santa
Cruz when she was a child with her parents, and who came to have, by a
former marriage, a son, L. N. Barber, a graduate of the department of law
of the University of California and the well-known attorney at Fresno. By a
former marriage, Mr. Houghton also has a son, Thomas, a farmer at Fort
Fairfield, Maine.
Mr. Houghton is a member of the Odd Fellows, affiliated through the
lodge at Soquel ; and they are members of the Congregational Church. In
national politics he is a Republican ; and in local, non-partisan endeavor he
has done his part for the betterment of the community by serving a term as
school trustee of the Roosevelt district.
?462 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
H. G. ROHR. — Few branches of the builder's trade have made more
progress during the past quarter of a century than that of the sheet-metal
worker, and this progress is evidenced in the well-appointed shop of H. G.
Rohr, known as the Standard Sheet Metal Works, the leader in its line in
Fresno, and located at 2524 Tulare Street. It has long been known for
strictly first-class work, and as one of the few places having the capacity to
meet the demands of any development in construction or architecture.
Born in Germany, a land of accomplishment in technical fields, and in-
heriting a natural bent for excellence in workmanship, Mr. Rohr first saw the
light on March 1, 1867, and enjoyed the advantages of good elementary
schools. When only sixteen, he came to America and early learned the trade
of the sheet-metal worker in New York City, under conditions that put him
in touch with, and made him master of the best American standards. He
became a first-class journeyman, in demand by the best shops; and as a
master mechanic came to the Coast just eighteen years ago.
Mr. Rohr established the Nevada Sheet Metal Works, at Reno, New, the
first cornice manufacturing works in that state, building up the business to
large proportions during a nine years' proprietorship. In 1917, Mr. Rohr
came to Fresno, attracted by the building expansion, and having in mind the
establishment of an ideal and thoroughly equipped shop, that he had planned
in all its details. He soon advanced to the front rank among his competitors,
and in June. 1917, he moved into his present place of business, and installed
the most up-to-date machinery. From the start, his workmanship has given
satisfaction, especially to those desirous of having only the best ; and now he
steadily employs several skilled workmen.
Mr. Rohr is known and esteemed not only as a business-man. but also
as a citizen who patriotically supports his city, state and nation, and as a
neighbor who never loses an opportunity to perform deeds of kindness.
C. B. JENSEN. — Perhaps there is no county in this State, or in any other
State for that matter, that produces so much per acre, yields such a high
average and in such superior quality, and no county that nets the investor
such magnificent returns, as Fresno County, the strength of Central Califor-
nia, and the pride of the commonwealth.
The young man whose life-story we sketch is C. B. Jensen, and he is of
the kind that make for success, and he is fast reaching that most coveted
place. He owns and resides on a forty-acre ranch which he purchased in 1917;
and whether it is worth while the reader may judge from what he has already
gotten out of his investment. From fifteen acres he gathered thirty-two tons
of raisins, and from the same amount of acreage he gathered twenty-nine
tons of peaches. His profits netted him, for one season, the sum of $7,800.
Previous to coming to this ranch, Mr. Jensen for four years clerked in
the Union National Bank of Fresno; so that, while he was mastering the
problems of finance and getting a correct idea of what ranchers were doing,
he was in no condition physically to compete with men hardened to that kind
of labor, and his entrance into the horticultural field is all the more interest-
ing. But Mr. Jensen came of good stock — the kind that "does things."
A native son. he was born in Fresno County in 1808. His father is Chris
and his mother is Matilda Jensen of Selma. He was educated at Oleander,
and graduated from the Washington Grammar School there. His parents,
both natives of Denmark, migrated to this State and County, and are at pres-
ent land-owners in and about Selma.
Five children were born to this couple, and three are now living. One of
these is Martin Tensen, another is William, and a third is the subject of our
sketch. Each one of these promising sons is engaged in agricultural pursuits,
and each one is successful to a high degree.
<uJj}v<> cJfln^uiA
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2465
PEDRO ARRIET. — A splendid example of perseverance which resulted
in ultimate success is illustrated in the life history of Pedro Arriet, a resident
of Fresno County since May 4, 1886. He was born at Cilveti, Navarra, on the
line of Spain and France, May 13, 1864. His father, Miguel Arriet, born in
Basses-Pyrenees, France, was a carpenter and builder, as well as a general
farmer. He came of an old French family ; he married Francisca Luperena,
born in Navarra, Spain, who died in 1890, about forty-four years of age, while
the father died at eighty-five years of age, in 1914.
Pedro is the second oldest of their family of eleven children, ten of whom
are living. His educational advantages were limited for school was neglected
in order that the children could help their parents on the farm. A desire to
see the Pacific Coast — a country of which he had heard such glowing re-
ports— led him to come to Fresno, Cal., where he arrived May 4, 1886. He
obtained employment with Miguel Arburua, a sheep-man of Los Banos, re-
maining with him for two and a half years. At the end of this period, in
partnership with his brother, Angel, he bought a flock of sheep and ranged
them in Fresno County. Their headquarters was in the vicinity of Huron and
Coalinga and they continued harmoniously in business together for ten vears,
meeting with success. In 1900 they dissolved partnership and divided the
flock, each taking his share. Pedro continued sheep growing and in 1901 he
located a homestead of 160 acres on Cantua, where he built a residence and
improved the place, sinking a well and made needed improvements. He raises
some grain, but makes a specialty of raising sheep, having a large flock of
well-bred sheep and is meeting with success.
Mr. Arriet was married in Fresno, August 31, 1903, being united with
Miss Agustina Yturri, who was born at Mesquiriz, Navarra, Spain, where
she was reared and educated in the local schools. She came to Fresno De-
cember 15, 1902, and here met Mr. Arriet, their acquaintance resulting in
their marriage the next -year. They have one child living, a daughter Floren-
cia, the pride of her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Arriet are both very kind-hearted and generous and vie
with each other in dispensing true Californian hospitality and it is a delight-
ful pleasure to be entertained under their hospitable roof. Having been for-
tunate in their stock-raising enterprise they do not hesitate lending a helping
hand to others who have been less fortunate. A firm believer in protection for
Americans, Mr. Arriet performs his civic duties as a Republican. Mr. Arriet is
one of the original stockholders in the Growers' National Bank of Fresno.
CHARLES P. AVENELL.— Twelve miles south of Fresno on the
Hanford branch of the Santa Fe system is the new and progressive raisin
packing town of Monmouth, so named, by its founder and leading citizen,
Charles P. Avenell, in honor of his native town, Monmouth, 111. On
his well-improved and productive farm of 320 acres known as the
Willow Lake Ranch, enjoying all the comforts incident to a modern California
country home Mr. and Mrs. Avenell, who was formerly Miss Bess Paul, and
daughter, Alene, are living happily, among their friends and neighbors in what
is rapidly becoming one of Fresno County's best raisin districts.
When Mr. Avenell first came to this place in 1903, there were only four
persons who had vineyards or orchards. It was then mainly a cattle country,
the water and grass being very good. The four who had ventured to plant
vines and trees here before 1903 were: J. S. Paul; C. N. Rasmussen ; F. L.
Bennetts and C. T. Ward. The Santa Fe railway had been built through, but
there was no station house and no switch, here, at that time. Monmouth now
has a large brick raisin packing plant belonging to the California Associated
Raisin Company at this point, and is now (October 1919) engaged in packing
a $2,000,000 crop of raisins, which in point of quality, particularly sweet-
ness, are pronounced the best of any received at any of the receiving points
of said company.
As a matter of historical interest it is well to review a few events in
2466 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the progress of this growing town : The circumstance which brought Mr.
Avenell here in 1903, was primarily the drouth of that year. — As will appear
further on in this review Mr. Avenell, had been an extensive cattle raiser,
feeder and dealer back in Illinois. — His son. R. L. Avenell, who now resides
at Monmouth, Cal., had come out from Illinois to semi-tropic, Kern County,
Cal., earlier in the year 1903, with 221 head of high grade short-horn heifers.
The pastures in Kern County gave out and our subject started out in quest
of a place where water and feed could be obtained. On viewing the land com-
prising the present Willow Lake Ranch his experienced eye told him that this
was the spot where he could keep his cattle alive, and finding the land for
sale, he bought it and moved the cattle up immediately, in the fall of 1903.
He soon made the acquaintance of his neighbors and together they
planned to have a switch built and a station established. Mr. Avenell bought
an additional plot of fifty-five acres where the station now is located, in the
fall of 1904. During the same year, 1904, he built the commodious bungalow
living house and assisted by his son, planted the grove of eucalyptus trees,
(now almost forest trees) and proceeded with one improvement after another,
and with the help of neighbors succeeded in having the station established
and the switch put in at Monmouth, in 1906. The first residence building was
erected by Avenell in 1906, and Monmouth was laid out and platted by him
in 1907. The store was built in 1908, and the United Presbyterian Church
was built that year. Monmouth today has a store, containing the postoffice, a
blacksmith-shop and garage, a resident doctor and a resident minister, and a
large new packing house owned by the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany; an excellent grammar school with five teachers and 150 pupils; and a
packing house for shipping green fruits. The last named institution was built
as a cooperation packing house in 1912. In 1914 the California Associated
Raisin Company rented it and began receiving raisins' at this point. In 1916
the company built the first unit, a large two-story brick, of their packing-
house and in 1919 added to it, more than doubling its capacity. Mr. Avenell
has been a very active spirit in building up this new and promising town, and
at seventy-five, is active as ever. Not only at Monmouth, but at Fowler as
well, has Mr. Avenell's constructive ability been felt. He helped organize the
First National Bank at Fowler and served on its directorate until the institu-
tion was sold in 1914. He gave largely of his means and time in building the
United Presbyterian Church in Fowler, where he resided for several years,
and continues to be greatly interested in all matters pertaining to the well-
being of his community.
This recitation of Mr. Avenell's good work in Fresno County, Cal.,
does not give one-half of his history however. Through abilities inherited
from a line of strong and virile ancestors, by sheer force of merit, he acquired
a competency in his native county of Warren, 111.
Mr. Avenell has twice been married. His present wife is a daughter of
J. S. Paul, and is a lady of splendid attainments. Mr. Avenell's first wife was
also a most excellent lady. She accompanied Mr. Avenell on two of the four
trips he made to California while living in Illinois, saw the land constituting
the Willow Lake Ranch, and helped plan their future home here. She was
very anxious to move out to California. While Mr. Avenell was out here
busily engaged in preparing for the new home a telegram came calling him
back to Illinois. After a short but severe illness she died, in March, 1904. Mr.
Avenell was preceded to California by his two sons, namely, J. F. Avenell
who engaged in the orange industry at Naranjo. Tulare County in 1902, and
who later became the first cashier of the First National Bank at Fowler; and
his second son, R. L. Avenell.
Mr. Avenell is an honored survivor of our gallant band of Union de-
fenders in the Civil War, and the organizer of several banks, but his main life-
work and business, however, is and has been that of a farmer and stockman.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2467
The soil and climate at Monmouth, Cal., is particularly favorable to the
production of Thompson seedless and Muscat grapes as well as table grapes
such as Malagas. Of the 320 acres comprising the Willow Lake Ranch 100
are now devoted to raisin and table grapes and peaches. But Mr. Avenell has
not yet given up his interest in stock raising. He keeps 100 head of cattle on
his ranch and now and then ships out a carload of live stock — to the San
Francisco and Los Angeles markets.
Charles P. Avenell was born in Monmouth township, Warren County,
111., February 8, 1845, a son of Thomas and Jane (Struthers) Avenell. Thomas
Avenell was born in England, December 21, 1820, a son of Charles and Eliza
Avenell, who, with their seven children came to Herkimer County, New York,
whence in 1844 they removed to the vicinity of Mineral Point, Wis. Charles
Avenell died in Iowa County, Wis., in 1877, aged ninety-two years, his wife
dying at the same place in 1880. Thomas Avenell, the father of the subject
of this sketch, began life as a poor boy. Came to Warren County, 111., in 1841,
where he bought eighty acres of improved land ; this he sold in order to buy
a larger farm of 160 acres in Monmouth township, in said county and farmed
it successfully until his death, which occurred January, 1894, his wife, the
mother of Charles P. Avenell, dying in 1884. She was born in Rockbridge
County, Ya., a daughter of William and Jane ( Lindsay) Struthers, natives of
Scotland, who settled in Virginia and later removed to Ohio where they both
died. Mrs. Struthers' first husband was John Brown, who came with her to
Warren County in 1836, and died there, in 1842, leaving two children, Rev.
William Brown, formerly pastor, at Fowler, Cal., and Thomas Lindsay
Brown, who was drowned in 1858. Thomas and Jane Avenell had children as
follows: Charles P.; James S. ; John B., who died in infancy and Elizabeth
Jane, who married Conrad Albert. The father was married a second time to
Jane Katharine Donahue who outlived him. Thomas Avenell became promi-
nent as a farmer and stockman. He was an influential Republican and held
several township offices.
Charles P. Avenell received a common school education and entered Mon-
mouth College in 1862. In 1864 he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred
Thirty-eight Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. His regiment was mus-
tered into the United States service at Quincy, 111., and served in the Army
of the West, being stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kans., where Mr. Avenell
did garrison duty, and helped guard prisoners until honorably discharged in
October, 1864.
Returning to Monmouth township, Warren County, he began farming
and became an extensive stock-raiser, stock-feeder and dealer. He became
the owner of 1,820 acres of land there which he operated with success. In
politics he has been a consistent Republican and in religion, an active and
prominent member of the United Presbyterian Church. He was first married
in his home township, June 6, 1866, to Miss Helen V. Law, who was born in
Ohio, January 27, 1845, the daughter of James and Mary (Skinner) Law
natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. Mr. Law was a prominent
farmer and stockman. In 1855 he shipped the first carload of live-stock that
ever left Monmouth by rail. Mr. Law died in 1884, while Mrs. Law died in
December, 1899. Charles P. Avenell had four children by his first wife:
Robert L. ; Thomas William, who died in 1888, aged fifteen years ; James
Frank, and Helen J., who is the wife of H. P. Clark of Warren County, 111.
Charles P. Avenell was elected to the board of supervisors from his township
and served for several terms. He was a member of the building committee,
who had in charge the erection of the Warren County Court House. He has
been active in Grand Army circles, especially as a member of the George
Crook Post No. 81, G. A. R. at Kirkwood, 111. "in 1874 he helped organize the
Second National Bank at Monmouth and served as a director from the time
of its organization as long as he continued to reside in the state of Illinois.
2468 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ANTONE GEORGE SEQUEIRA.— A resident of Fresno County since
1874, Mr. Sequeira has taken part both in the development of its agricul-
tural resources, and in the growth and advancement of the city of Fresno.
He is one of the pioneer sheep men of this section and has achieved success
in life through unremitting labor, and can truthfully be called a self-made
man. Born in Pico, Azores Islands, January 5, 1856, Mr. Sequeira came,
when but a mere lad, to make his fortune in the new world, arriving in Bos-
ton, Mass., May 10, 1872. He soon found work on a farm, ten miles south
of Providence, R. I. On October 17, 1874, he left New York City on a steamer
bound for California, coming via Panama, and arrived in San Francisco on
December 22 of that same year. He then came directly to Borden, in
Fresno County, and secured his first employment with J. R. Jones, the
sheep and cattle man, on his ranch on the San Joaquin River, near Millerton.
Later he was engaged in building the flume of the Madera Flume and Lum-
ber Company, which ran to Madera. In 1880 he bought 1,370 ewes from the
elder Blasingame, one of the pioneer sheep men of the state, and that same
year Mr. Sequeira located west of Fresno and engaged in the sheep business
in partnership with Mr. Vanderlip. He finally engaged in the business on
his own account and had as many as 6,200 sheep at one time, and was very
successful.
With confidence in the future prosperity of this section, Mr. Sequeira,
from time to time, invested in real estate. In 1883 he bought six acres of
land on A Street, west of Fresno, and planted it to alfalfa, vines and orchard,
which land he still retains and rents out. In 1887 he bought three lots at
E and Tuolumne Streets, and here he built his home at that time. In 1903 he
bought 160 acres of land at Wildflower, improving it with alfalfa, and rais-
ing sheep, cattle and hogs, later selling this ranch. From 1893 to 1901, Mr.
Sequeira was a member of the Fresno police force, and during this time he
bought all but five lots of block 315, and also twenty-four lots in block 329;
and he has sold all this property except eight lots.
Having seen his judgment as to the future in store for this region con-
firmed, Mr. Sequeira has continued his development work and in 1918 pur-
chased a ranch of 160 acres located nine miles from Hanford, in Kings
County ; this property is now being developed. He has bought and sold
Fresno real estate aside from his own holdings, and has aided materially
in the growth and progress of the county, to which he came a poor boy with
no other resources than the traits of character which make for success in
any line. He has taken two trips back to his native country, one in 1890,
and one in 1914, and now lives retired, looking after his various real estate
holdings. Fraternally, he is a member of the I. D. E. S. and of the U. P. E. C.
of Fresno. Mr. Sequeira has been twice married, his first union resulting in
three children ; Manuel G. : Josephine, wife of Robert G. Prather of Fresno ;
and Mercy, wife of Bert Stroud of Fresno. The second marriage united Mr.
Sequeira with Rosie Martinez, also a native of the Azores Islands, and three
children were born of this union: Anna, wife of J. J. Brum of Selma ; Mamie,
wife of S. J. Brum of Scandinavian Colony ; and Eva, living at home, a pupil
in the Fresno High School.
PETER G. GIANINNL— A descendant of a California pioneer who
came to America from his distant European home in the early days of Cali-
fornia, Peter G. Gianinni is a young man standing on the threshold of a
promising future. He was born in Madera, Cal., August 5, 1895, and despite
the fact that he has seen but twenty-four summers, has had crowded into
life's comparatively short journey experiences that are usually reserved for
the mature years of the average man.
At two years of age he and his older sister, Laura (now Mrs. Bellochi,
of Sausalito. Cal.), were made half orphans when death's portals closed on
the earthly career of his mother, Angelina. His father, Jasper, who brought
JL^e<%s$ ^t^u^^e/^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2471 .
five hundred dollars with him when he came to California, failed twice at
farming, the first time in Madera County, and the second time at Reedley.
His third and last attempt was a success, and in 1916 he again entered the
matrimonial state, being united to Mrs. Aldina Rondi, widow of Renaldo
Rondi, who died in 1915, leaving his widow with two children, Americo and
Plino. Jasper Gianinni died November 8, 1917, aged fifty-one, his death
occurring the year following his second marriage. He left a will in which
he bequeathed the home ranch to his son Peter, and twenty thousand
dollars to his daughter, Mrs. Bellochi, and her oldest son, his grandson, to
receive ten thousand dollars when he attains his majority.
Peter Gianinni began to experience life's cares when compelled at the
age of twelve to leave school and go to work because of his father's financial
misfortunes. At fourteen he practically ran his father's ranch. At fifteen he
was in charge of the ranch, and when seventeen had full control of his own
and his father's business, keeping the men's time, writing out pay checks,
and directing the work on the ranch. An able business man and a hard
worker, he at times employs many men, and successfully runs his large,
well-improved ranch which lies across the line from Fresno County, in the
Kingsburg District, four one-half miles northeast of Kingsburg and six miles
south of Parlier, 116 acres of the 120 comprised in the ranch lying in Tulare
County and four acres in Fresno County. A fine bungalow was completed
on the ranch in 1917, two months before his father's death. On the home
place Mr. Gianinni has planted fifteen acres in beans, twenty acres in corn
and potatoes, ten acres in grain, ten acres in prunes, ten acres to Thompson
seedless grapevines, five acres to Malagas, thirty acres to muscats and twenty
acres to peaches. In addition he rents fifty acres of grain land and twenty-
six acres of corn land in Fresno County. The gross expense of running his
ranch is $7,000 and $4,500 of this sum is expended for labor.
Mr. Gianinni is a member of the Catholic Church, and has demonstrated
his patriotism to his country by liberally purchasing Liberty Bonds.
Mr. Gianinni was married, May 8, 1918, at San Luis Obispo, at the
home of his bride's parents, to Miss Lena Biaggini, a daughter of Ercole and
Josephine (Mozzini) Biaggini, of Cayucos, San Luis Obispo County, where
he owns seven fine ranches. Mr. and Mrs. Gianinni have one child, a boy
baby. LeRoy Jasper, born May 20, 1919.
LUCAS JUANCHE. — An energetic young man who has helped
materially in building up the Tranquillity section is Lucas Juanche, who was
born at Biscarett. Navarra, Spain, on May 12, 1882, the son of Christobal and
Firmina (Echeveria) Juanche, who were farmer folk in Navarra and spent their
entire lives there. Lucas was reared on the farm and received his education in
the common schools of his native place. He had older brothers and a sister
who had migrated to California and he became interested in the land of gold
and sunshine and determined to come here. So when nineteen years of age he
left his home and in June, 1901, he arrived in Los Angeles. He made his way
to Ventura, where he found employment with Dixie Thompson and learned
farming as it was done in California. After remaining steadily with Mr. Thomp-
son for five years he left for Nevada, where in partnership with his brother
Telesforo Juanche he followed sheep raising for three years. At the end of
this time they sold out and he returned to California, locating in Fresno. Here
he was employed until 1912, when he purchased his present place of eighty
acres at Tranquillity and located there. He made the improvements, building a
residence and other farm buildings. He broke the raw prairie, leveled and
checked the land, and now has forty acres in alfalfa, the balance being devoted
to raising grain. It is under the irrigation ditch; but being of a progressive
nature, Mr. Juanche sunk a deep well for artesian water. It is a flowing well
877 feet deep, the finest water in the vicinity and is used by others for domestic
purposes. He is also engaged in raising high-grade Duroc-Jersey hogs, of which
he has some fine specimens as well as raising high-grade sheep.
2472 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
The marriage of Lucas Juanche occurred in Los Angeles, where he was
united with Miss Marie Mufioz, also born in Navarra, Spain ; and to them have
been born four children : Antonia, Joaquin, Frank and Dominica. Mr. Juanche
has been rewarded for his efforts and close application to his work and now
owns a productive farm, which yields him a comfortable competency. In their
religious views, Mr. and Mrs. Juanche adhere to the Catholic faith.
JESSE AUGUSTUS BLASINGAME.— A capable and enterprising
, vineyardist and stock raiser, Jesse A. Blasingame, is industriously engaged
in the prosecution of his chosen work. He was born on June 24, 1877, on the
Dry Creek ranch, the home place of the Pioneer Blasingame family, of
Fresno County, Cal. His education included attendance at the Alameda
University Academy, from which institution he was graduated in 1895 and
was supplemented by a course in the Fresno Business College. In 1897, J. A.
Blasingame engaged in the stockraising business and the following year
he returned to the home place, which consisted mainly of raw land, being
used as a stock ranch and ranging at one time a thousand head of stock.
After returning to the home ranch on Dry Creek, he improved forty acres and
also in the Centerville district he improved 100 acres, where he set out a
vineyard. When a man pursues a calling for which nature has specially fitted
him, and in which work he finds great interest, success will crown his efforts,
in nearly every instance. The efforts which J. A. Blasingame has so ably
made in the development and improvement of the raw land in his section of
the county, have met with deserved success, and at the present time he is
the possessor of a well improved and thrifty vineyard of 160 acres of muscat
grapes.
Jesse A. Blasingame was united in marriage with Mary Jane Sample, a
native of Fresno County, and daughter of D. C. Sample. The parental home
of the Blasingames has been blessed wifh one child, a son, Jesse Knox.
BEN HUNT. — A thoroughly enterprising American manufacturer of the
type known as leaders of great industries, resident here since the middle
eighties and honored by all who are familiar with his busy life and the scope
of his activities, through which Fresno has profited so much as a growing
manufacturing center, is Ben Hunt, who was born in Westfield, Ind., a
suburb of Indianapolis, not far from the home of General Lew Wallace, the
famous author of "Ben Hur," on May 29, 1852. His father was F. B. Hunt,
a Quaker, who married Miss Elizabeth Moore, also of the Society of Friends,
and for a while they resided near Indianapolis, then at Richmond, Ind., and
later at Cincinnati. His father was an inventor who. having become very
familiar with that line of work, was a clerk in the patent office until his death.
Ben Hunt, having been educated at the public and high schools in Rich-
mond, learned the machinist's trade in Richmond, helping to manufacture
steam engines, and in 1883 he came to Spokane and the next year to San
Francisco, following his trade in each place. 1890 he came to Fresno, and ten
vears later he started his present business. This establishment, now known
as the Valley Foundry & Machine Works, was incorporated in 1902, and Mr.
Hunt has been president ever since. It is located at the corner of H and
Mono Streets; and although the building first occupied on I Street had a floor
space of only 25x50 feet, the plant is now housed in a building 100x115 feet
in size — all the result of the proprietor's strict attention to business, and his
expert workmanship, which has brought patrons from all over the San Joa-
quin Vallev. With this investment of $100,000, Mr. Hunt manufactures gas
engines and a patented, centrifugal pump, while he does a contracting ma-
chine shop trade. Public-spirited and enterprising to a high degree. Mr. Hunt,
as a self-made man supports every project that makes for the upbuilding
of Fresno, while as a model employer of skilled labor, he enjoys the good
will and lovalty of those in his employ.
At Richmond. Ind., Mr. Hunt married Miss Grace Parry, a native of that
cit\ and also a member of an old Quaker family, by whom he has had four
,^(^(jy
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2475
children. Walter is foreman in the machine shop of the Valley Foundry;
Robert is foreman of the foundry department; Grace has become Mrs. Mau-
rice Calderwood, secretary of the foundry; while Edward V. Hunt is in Porto
Rico with a sugar company.
Reflecting in many ways the Twentieth Century spirit of Fresno, Mr.
Hunt is doubly interesting as having afforded, in his rapid evolution, an ex-
ample of that marvelously swift development and growth peculiar to Fresno
County, now one of the most progressive centers in the State. He is also
interesting as an example of real value to American youth, alert to study and
idolize the "man who does." Both the City and County of Fresno cannot
have too many such men as Ben Hunt.
CAPTAIN SAMUEL D. HOPPER.— A well-preserved octogenarian
and a veteran of the great Civil War, in which he distinguished himself for
bravery and the faithful performance of duty, is Captain Samuel D. Hopper.
He is now enjoying the pleasures of retired, quiet life at 442 Calaveras
Avenue. Fresno. He was born at Somerton, Belmont County, Ohio, on
December 4, 1838, and grew up in his native State. His father was William
Hopper, of Belmont County, and his grandfather, Robert Hopper, a native
of Ireland who settled in Ohio in very early days. William Hopper was a
tanner who later became a farmer, and for seventeen years he served his
township as Justice of the Peace. He was a strong Abolitionist and took a
hand in running the "underground railroad ;" while in religious faith he was
a Universalist. He was married in Ohio to Miss Phoebe Lewis, who had
been born in Pennsylvania of English ancestry, and by her he had eleven
children, two of whom died in infancy. Five boys grew up, and each of them
served in the Union Army ; while all four of the girls who grew up were
married in Ohio. The ninth child in the order of birth, Samuel D. Hopper is
the only one of the family living in California.
The Hoppers made their living by very hard work, raising tobacco for
the most part; and as there were only four months of district school in the
winter, Samuel got about sixty or seventy days of schooling a year. But he
applied himself so diligently to his school books that at the age of nineteen
he obtained a certificate to teach.
He enlisted as a private in Company E of the Sixty-second Ohio Volun-
teer Infantry, October 17, 1861, at Camp Goddard, Zanesville, Ohio, and
when the company was organized, he was appointed first or orderly sergeant ;
at the end of six months he received his commission as second lieutenant,
and three months thereafter his commission as first lieutenant ; while after
the siege and battle of Fort Wagner, S. C, he was commissioned captain to
fill a vacancy. As captain he served until the end of his enlistment. Part of
his service as captain was in Virginia under Gen. Benj. F. Butler. Finally,
on November 10, 1864, he was mustered out. At the battle of Fort Wagner,
a bullet struck and wounded his left foot ; and at the battle of Deep Run, Va.,
a bullet struck the scabbard of his saber, the impact of the bullet ruined his
sword but did no harm otherwise. Then he came home to Malaga, Monroe
County, Ohio, whither his father had removed during the war. Wishing to
reenter the service after reaching home, he wrote to President Lincoln and
also to Secretary Stanton, and they gave him a recruiting commission as
major under full pay to raise a regiment of volunteers for Hancock's Veteran
Corps ; and he was thus engaged when the war closed.
In Belmont County, Ohio, in January, 1872, Mr. Hopper was married to
Miss Rachel L. Foster, a native of Ohio, by whom he had five children: Leona
M. is single and resides at Fresno, having formerly been a teacher; Bernal
M. is a vineyardist and orchardist, resides at Fresno and owns 2,000 acres ;
Max D. is a vineyardist and orchardist, now living at Palo Alto, and has a
ranch twelve miles east of Fresno ; Shirley M., who became Mrs. Lawrence
2476 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Russell and is a widow, teaches in the San Francisco high school. Zulema
E. Hopper is the fourth child, who after graduating from high school, married
W. Morford. The first four of the children mentioned above graduated from
Leland Stanford University. On the occasion of his second marriage, his
first wife having died, Mr. Hopper took for his companion Mrs. Emma E.
Neptune, a native of Ohio and a sister of the first Mrs. Hopper, and they have
one son, Stanley R. Hopper, twelve years of age, living at home. A stepson,
John R. Neptune, who was a soldier in the recent war, attends the University
of Southern California, but makes his home with Mr. and Mrs. Hopper.
After the Civil War Mr. Hopper taught school in Monroe, Belmont and
Noble counties, Ohio, and for a while kept a store at Malaga, Ohio. Then,
selling out, he came West, stopped for six months at Hastings, Nebr., and
went on to Eastern Oregon, where he taught school for twelve months and
had a half interest in a band of cattle, later buying a half interest in a band
of sheep. When he sold out, he moved back to Nebraska, bought out a store
at Kearney, ran it eight months, sold out and came to California, and in
October, 1880, came to Fresno County.
He took up a homestead three-quarters of a mile northwest of Del Rey,
and taught the first school in the Prairie school district. He proved up on
his homestead of 160 acres, and planted it to Muscat and Thompson grapes,
and peaches and apricots. He planted the 160 acres, and in 1915 sold the
northern half, still retaining the southern half. For ten years he never missed
a day's work. His main work in Fresno County has been the improvement
of his land, in which he is assisted by his sons, and in this hard work, he may
truly claim to have borne the heat and burden of the day. He has taken an
active part in scientific raisin growing and in horticulture generally. He has
been interested in all the movements for securing better marketing conditions
and prices. He was chosen president of the old cooperative packing house at
Fowler, and served for one year about twenty-five years ago ; this was before
the advent of the present Raisin Growers Association, in which he is signed
up and holds stock, and also before the Peach Growers Association. Inc.
Mr. Hopper is a member of Atlanta Post of the G. A. R. at Fresno, and
in national politics is a Republican.
MARTIN METCOVICH.— One who has given his best years and
energy towards building up Fresno County is Martin Metcovich, a native of
Dalmatia, Austria, born in 1848, the son of Nicholas and Nellie Metcovich,
the parents having been farmers by occupation and owners of a large farm
at a seaport town on the Adriatic sea. They are now both deceased, leaving
six children, three boys and three girls, all of whom are living.
Martin was reared on the home farm and from a lad made himself
generally useful, learning farming as it is conducted in his native country.
It was there he first learned the care of vineyards and the making of wine,
a business he eventually took up in Fresno County. As was the custom with
many of the lads on the Dalmatian coast, he went to sea, and for five years
served before the mast on a large sailing vessel, and in that way made trips
to New York and Philadelphia, and to Australia. When he left the sea he
engaged in farming the home place and while thus engaged he married Lucy
Vusich, the daughter of John and Lucy Vusich, members of old and prom-
inent Dalmatian families. Three of her brothers had emigrated to Cali-
fornia, and sent glowing reports back to Dalmatia, telling of the opportuni-
ties and wonderful resources in California. Mr. Metcovich became intensely
interested and decided to seek his fortunes in the new country.
Leaving his wife in the old home, he arrived in California in 1885. He
was first employed in Pasadena, then spent two years in the mines in Placer
County, after which he made a trip back home to see his wife and father,
remaining there eighteen months. When he again came to California, after
two months spent in Placer County, he located in Fresno County, and here
(naxJLJL 3o.
> ns^sTs^isvxXL
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2481
began working as a viticulturist. When the Klondike boom burst forth,
he made the trip via Skagway and over the pass, packing into Dawson City,
and for a year worked in the mines.
After his experience in Alaska, Mr. Metcovich returned to Fresno, via
Seattle. He again returned to his home in Dalmatia, remaining until 1901,
when he came back to Fresno County. He then concluded to stay, and his
wife and family joined him, arriving in 1903. He purchased the present place
of forty acres on North Avenue, about nine miles east of Fresno. It was raw
land and he set to work improving it, levelled the land and set out the whole
acreage to wine grapes, with the exception of a small grove of figs and a
border of figs around the ranch and shading the avenue. He has installed
two pumping plants and irrigates the entire acreage, thus producing large
crops. As soon as his vines were bearing sufficiently he built a winery and
engaged in the manufacture of wine until two years ago, since which time
he is using his grapes for raisins.
Three children have been born to this worthy couple : Nicholas, and
John, who are ranching on Belmont Avenue ; while Nellie, the youngest, is
an able assistant to her parents in household and business affairs.
MADS PETER MADSEN. — The superior advantages offered to agri-
culturists, by the United States of America, have attracted from all parts of
the world those who have become our substantial and prosperous ranchers.
Many of them arrived in this country handicapped by the lack of money,
but eventually, through thrifty habits and untiring efforts, they have sur-
mounted all obstacles and have not only gained a comfortable living, but
they have in due time saved sufficient money to purchase land. Among the
successful vineyardists of today, one who came with a wife and three chil-
dren, without money, and is now the owner of an improved raisin ranch of
forty acres, is M. P. Madsen, of Parlier.
M. P. Madsen was born on July 31, 1867, at Fredericia, Denmark, son of
Jorgen and Maria Matsen, who were also natives of Denmark, where they
both passed away, being the parents of four children : Maren ; Marie ; Mads
Peter; and Jorgen. The subject of this review, M. P. Madsen, attended
school in his native land from the age of six to fourteen, but owing to the
financial condition of his father he was obliged to work out on farms from
the time he was nine years of age, and thereby not only aided in the support
of the family but gained valuable knowledge in farming. As is customary in
Denmark, he was in the army at various times ; in 1887 he served seven
months; his last two years, ending in 1891, were in the Danish infantry.
Mr. Madsen had a brother-in-law living in Selma, Cal,, Lars Larsen,
who is now deceased, who sent him a ticket for himself and family, covering
their transportation from Copenhagen to Fresno, Cal. On April 10, 1894, the
family sailed from Copenhagen in a Danish steamer and after eighteen days
landed in New York City; they arrived in Fresno, Cal., May 4, 1894.
After reaching Selma, he secured work by the day, for which he was
paid ninety cents and boarded himself. After three or four years of labor-
ing for others he rented a place for several years and engaged in the raisin
business. The year 1908 is a memorable one in his career for it records the
purchase of his present ranch of forty acres which is devoted to vines.
fourteen of which are planted to Thompson seedless grapes, now two vears
old ; eighteen acres are in muscat and six are planted to malaga grapes, the
balance of the land is devoted to yards, buildings and the ditch.
On January 12, 1889, M. P. Madsen was united in marriage with Carrie
Larsen, a native of Denmark, and this happy union has been blessed with
seven children : Carl, a rancher in the Kutner Colony, where he was employed
by the raisin growers association to farm some of their land, but now in the
city of Fresno ; Mary, the wife of George Richards, manager of the Asso-
ciated Packing House at Del Rey; George, who married Marie Nielsen, is
2482 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
employed on a raisin ranch near Del Rey ; Carlie, who was born in this
country, is now the wife of Charles Johnson, a rancher near Hanford, and
foreman for the American Vineyards Company, and she is the mother of
one child ; Peter, who returned home June 1, 1919, after serving in the
United States Army in France ; Christine, the wife of Benjamin Johnson,
resides on his father's ranch near Parlier; and Alma, attending school in
the district.
Air. Madsen is a member of the Danish Lutheran Church, attending the
church on the Reedley road, three miles west of Parlier. He is a Democrat,
and a loyal citizen of the United States. He is a very intelligent and in-
dustrious vineyardist ; the success he has attained in ranching, without the
aid of money at the start, is an inspiring example for other young men.
JES ANDERSEN. — One of the most successful and progressive ranchers
and pioneer residents of Fresno County, in the vicinity of Parlier, is Jes Ander-
sen, an enterprising horticulturist and viticulturist, a native of Denmark, where
he was born on September 4, 1858, near Ribe, in Jutland. His parents, Hans
and Maria Andersen, were blessed with five children, Jes, the subject of this re-
view, being the oldest and the only one living.
In 1890, Jes Andersen immigrated to America and the same year arrived
in Fresno County, Cal., where during the first summer he worked at his trade,
that of a carpenter. The following year, 1891, he purchased his present place
of twenty acres, which at that time was a field of wheat stubble, but he soon
began to improve the place by planting vines and fruit trees, ten acres being
devoted to muscat vines, four acres to peaches, one to apricots, two to seed-
less grapes, the balance being used for buildings, yards, and for growing
alfalfa. Having learned the trade of a carpenter and builder, in Denmark, he
supplemented his income, while his crops were coming into bearing, with
building houses and barns for other ranchers, as well as building the neces-
sary buildings for his own ranch. By hard work, intelligent management,
and the practice of those thrifty habits so characteristic of his fellow country-
men, Jes Andersen met with a good degree of success in his undertakings.
In 1902, he purchased from an heir of the Ross ranch twenty acres of land
situated one mile east of his first place. This he also improved with vines
and fruit trees, planting nine acres to muscat vines, three acres to seedless
grapes, two acres to peaches, three to apricots. Mr. Andersen is a man of
affairs in his community and has always given his support to every progres-
sive movement for the uplift of the community.
In 1899, Jes Andersen took a trip to his native land and while there he
was united in marriage with Miss Anna Paulsen, and returned with his bride
to his Fresno County ranch, in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Andersen have been
blessed with six children ; Marie, Pauline, Selma, Dagmar, Hans, and Paul.
Mr. Andersen is a leader among the Danes of Fresno County, and is a very
prominent member of the Danish Lutheran Church, of which he is a trustee ;
also an ex-president of the Danish Brotherhood, an auxiliary organization
having a hall two and one-half miles west of Parlier, used as a social center.
Mr. Andersen has shown his interest in educational matters by serving
for six years as a school trustee for Ross School District. Not only in hor-
ticulture and viticulture has Mr. Andersen made a success, but his ability
as a financier has been recognized by the assistance he rendered in the organ-
ization of the First National Bank of Parlier. of which he is a stockholder;
he is also a member and stockholder in the California Raisin Growers ; Cali-
fornia Prune and Apricot Association, and the California Peach Growers; and
is a stockholder in the Peach and Raisin Growers' Association.
Hans Andersen, the father of Jes, immigrated from Denmark in 1900, and
joined his son in Fresno County, making his home with his sons. The father
passed away in 1917, at the home of his son Jes, having attained the advanced
age of ninety-one years.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2483
ARTHUR C. GEORGESEN.— One of the rising young men in the
raisin industry in Fresno County, Arthur C. Georgesen, as manager of the
Madison Vineyard, is demonstrating his ability in no uncertain manner.
Born in Waushara County, Wis., May 31, 1888, he is a son of L. M. and Han-
nah (Rasmussen) Georgesen, the tenth in order of birth in a family of four-
teen children. He is the only member of the family in California, having
come to seek new opportunities in the Golden State in 1910. Since his ar-
rival in Fresno County, that same year, Mr. Georgesen has applied himself to
the raisin industry, and his thorough knowledge of every phase of the busi-
ness has been of inestimable value to him in his present position.
The Madison Vineyard consists of 520 acres, all under cultivation, and
yielding good returns to the owners under Mr. Georgesen's capable manage-
ment. During the busy season, he has a host of men under his supervision,
and other times about twenty are employed. The average yield is one
one-half tons per acre. From sixty acres of table grapes, he gathered 14,000
crates, a very good showing for both the vineyard and its manager. In
April, 1919, the Madison Vineyard was purchased by W. W. Parlier, Fred
Nelson and associates, the name being changed to Sun Maid Ranch, and
Mr. Georgesen was retained as manager.
The marriage of Mr. Georgesen united him with Miss May Deman,
the daughter of Mrs. Amanda Deman, and one child has been born to Mr.
and Mrs. Georgesen, a daughter, Dorothy. Mr. Georgesen is thoroughly
in line with the spirit of progress which permeates Fresno County, and can
be counted on in all movements for advancing the County's best interests.
Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias in Fresno.
KARL WINTER. — The ancestry of Mr. Winter traces back for genera-
tions to the time when his forefathers applied to the Russian government for
a permit to establish a colony of German immigrants in the valley of the
Volga, for the purpose of escaping from Prussian militarism. When this
permit was granted, these brave men and women left their homeland, to
build up a home where they could be free to pursue their own course in
life; they cultivated the soil in that great fertile valley, and kept up the
religious fires kindled by Martin Luther during the Reformation. But they
were and are essentially Russians, notwithstanding their language and re-
ligious inclinations, and they have developed the great agricultural resources
in that region of Russia. Coming from such stock, Mr. Winter's attitude
toward militarism is the same as that which characterized his forbears, so
that in the strife for world domination his loyalty to this country has never
been questioned.
Mr. Winter was born October 24, 1873, a son of Daniel and Mary
(Schaeffer) Winter, who lived about sixty miles from Saratov, in Russia.
Mr. Winter grew up on his father's farm and attended the home schools.
He became a reader of the newspapers of his country, and engaged in cor-
respondence with friends on this side the Atlantic, so that he became filled
with the ambition to be a citizen of the great United States, with California
as the objective point. He was married at the age of twenty-one to Miss
Mary Schmidt, a native of the same colony, and it is to her Mr. Winter gives
the credit for much of the success that has come to them. It is certain that
she has been a wonderful helper and inspiration to her husband, and to-
gether they have wrought much good in the community in which they live.
In the struggles incident to establishing themselves in their new home, they
have never lost sight of the higher things of life, and they are both active
members of the Salem Congregational Church. They both worked and con-
tributed to the erection of the beautiful $8,000 church on McCall Avenue,
which was built in 1917. It is said to be the finest and largest edifice of any
country congregation of that denomination in America. Mr. Winter is
one of the board of trustees of the church, and is regarded by all who know
2484 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
him as a man of the highest honor and probity. Theirs is a happy, though
not elaborate home, and is graced by four children: Kristina, now the wife
of H. H. Kramer; Daniel, Annie and Leo. Mr. Winter's mother died in
Russia, in 1918, aged seventy-one; the father died in his native land at the
age of seventy-six. There is a brother, August, near Fresno, while there
are two brothers and one sister in Russia.
In 1900, Mr. Winter came to Fresno County, and immediately began
working for ranchers. Industry and frugality were his greatest possessions,
as they are still, and they have contributed to his success as a man for he is
highly regarded as one of sturdy Christian character. His first purchase was
only twenty acres, and this he improved, planted and sold to good ad-
vantage ; his next holding was a piece of forty acres, which he likewise im-
proved and sold. He is now the owner of sixty acres on North Avenue,
about ten miles from Fresno and four miles from both Sanger and Del Rev.
This he is planting to vines, trees and alfalfa. He also owns forty acres of
unimproved land on Jensen Avenue and a ninety-acre tract near Chico.
Butte County.
ANGEL ARRIET.— An old time stockman of the West Side, now en-
gaged in dairving and viticulture on California Avenue where he is meeting
with deserved success, is" Angel Arriet who was born at Celvite, Navarra,
Spain, September 3, 1863. He is the son of Miguel and Francesca (Luper-
ena) Arriet, natives of France and Spain, respectively, the father having been
a farmer and carpenter. Both passed their entire lives there, the mother dy-
ing in 1890, aged about forty-four, and the father in 1914, at the age of
eighty-five years.
Angel was the eldest of their eleven children, and was reared on the
home farm until he came to California in 1884 and entered the employ of
Miguel Arburua, a sheep grower of Los Banos to care for his flocks on
the West Side. In 1888 Angel entered into partnership with his brother
Pedro, and they purchased a flock of sheep and continued together, meeting
with good success until about 1900, when they divided their flocks, each tak-
ing one-half and dissolved partnership. Wishing to engage in ranching Mr.
Arriet sold his sheep in 1905 and purchased his present place on California
Avenue, five miles west of Fresno where he has been engaged in dairying
ever since. He now owns sixty acres, twenty of which are in Thompson
seedless raisin grapes and forty in alfalfa. He is a careful and thorough
farmer, keeping his ranch in the best of order.
Mr. Arriet was married in Fresno, September 28, 1905, being united with
Miss Dominica Camino, who was born at Whart Cize, St. Jean Pied de Port,
Basses Pyrenees, France, a daughter of Jean and Mary (Inchauspi) Camino,
who were farmer folks in the Pyrenees region. Mrs. Arriet received a good
education in her native France, and came to Fresno in 1904. Of this union
there are four children: Josephine, Michael, Bernard, and John. Mr. and Mrs.
Arriet are loyal to their adopted flag and particularly do they appreciate the
splendid opportunities California has afforded them. Believing in co-opera-
tion, Mr. Arriet is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company,
as well as the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers Association and is also a
stockholder in the Danish Creamery.
HENRY BERGTHOLD. — An enterprising, successful and highly es-
teemed rancher, living on his attractive place near Reedley, Fresno County,
is Henry Bergthold, who is an up-to-date, scientific viticulturist and horti-
culturist. His ranch of twenty acres is devoted to prunes, sultana and raisin
grapes, and on an average yields two one-half tons of grapes to the acre.
Henry Bergthold is a native of Minnesota, where he was born on
October 1, 1883, near St. James, Watonwan County, the son of Jacob and
Barbara (Linscheid) Bergthold, who were both natives of Australia, having
settled in Minnesota in 1883. Their family consisted of nine children.
>
r%
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2487
five of whom are living: Edmund; Gustave; Rudolph; Henry; and Alfred,
all being residents of Fresno County. For a number of years Jacob Bergthold
followed agricultural pursuits in Minnesota and in 1904 the family migrated
to California, locating at Reedley. During 1914 both Mr. and Mrs. Jacob
Bergthold passed away.
Henry Bergthold received his education in the public schools and followed
farming until coming to California. He has been a resident of Fresno County
since 1904, and has farmed nearly all the time since, having lived on his
present ranch since 1913, where he built himself a beautiful home in 1914.
While he is especially fitted for conducting a ranch, yet he can adapt him-
self to other employment and conditions, as his services have been in de-
mand in various stores, and, when help was needed, at the post-office.
Henry Bergthold formerly owned the property now owned by Mr. Muller,
On May 8, 1909, Henry Bergthold was united in marriage with Miss
Marie Muller, a daughter of Gottlob and Louise Muller. Of this happy
union there were born four children : Arthur ; Louis ; Reuben, and Ruth.
Mrs. Bergthold is a native of Germany, where she was born, May 19, 1887.
Her parents came to the United States in 1895 and located in Kansas, where
they remained until 1908, when they migrated still farther west, settling in
California. Her father died at Reedley in 1917; her mother still resides
there. Mr. Bergthold belongs to both the Raisin and Peach Growers asso-
ciations. He is a member of the First Mennonite Church of Reedley.
ANDREW MORTENSEN.— In its inexhaustible natural resources, and
topographically and geographically considered, the United States may
well be called the greatest country on the globe. But in these lies only a
part of her greatness. It is when she is considered from a sociological stand-
point, that we see what has taken place in the Western World, a miracle
•acknowledged by even the older nations — the commingling of many nation-
alities, the blending of their diverse customs and habits— all this has produced
here, and for the first time, the newest and best type of society.
Andrew Mortensen is a striking illustration of one of the elements in
this fusion, for the making of the ideal American. He was born in Denmark,
Tanuary 29, 1874, and is the son of Niels and Caroline Mortensen, a worthy
pair also of that worthy country. Three children, all living, make up the
family, which immigrated to this country in 1884, and located in Minnesota.
For fourteen years they remained in that prosperous northern State, by their
toil and frugality, as well as their highly-intelligent way of doing things,
and their exemplary living, both contributing to and sharing the wealth of the
country, and then they moved south to Texas. In 1906, however, having
learned of the still greater advantages in California, and especially in the
central part of the State, they came to Fresno County, and here, welcomed,
esteemed and honored, they are still living. The three children are : Chris-
tine, who is Mrs. Christensen ; Myrtle, now Mrs. Wintermute, and Andrew,
the subject of our sketch. Andrew Mortensen was united in marriage to Miss
Clara Reves, whose parents were both born in Denmark. This happy union
was blessed by the birth of seven children, namely: Edmund, Freddie, Ella,
Roy, Henry, Verna, and Agnes.
Three years after coming to California, Mr. Mortensen purchased his
ranch of thirty-five acres lying about three-fourths mile southeast of Reed-
lev, and since then he has so greatly improved and beautified it, that he has
brought it to a high degree of order and service, and greatly enhanced its
value. Six tons of raisins have been obtained from four acres of soil, and he
has been quite as fortunate with other products in proportion. The produc-
tion well shows what a man of superior intelligence and untiring industry can
do with Fresno County land.
Mr. Mortensen and" family are social favorites in their community. They
attend the Danish Lutheran Church, and are loyal Americans, true to the
land of their adoption.
2488 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
D. J. KLEINSASSER.— A recent addition to the real estate, loan and
insurance business circles of Reedley, is the firm of Kleinsasser & Besoyan,
which was established in 1917. D. J. Kleinsasser, the senior member of
the firm, a native of South Dakota, is the subject of this review. He was
born on November 1, 1889, and was reared in South Dakota where he re-
ceived his education in the public schools. Mr. Kleinsasser has confined
his attentions to agricultural pursuits up to the time of his present busi-
ness undertaking.
D. J. Kleinsasser is the son of Rev. J. Z. Kleinsasser of the Mennonite
Church, whose first wife was Miss Anna Hofer. His second wife was Miss
Lena Fost. Both were natives of Russia. By his two marriages Rev.
Kleinsasser became the father of seventeen children, thirteen of whom are
living: Andrew A., who resides in South Dakota; John J., who was in the
United States Army, and honorably discharged in June, 1919; Z. J.; Jacob
J.: Joseph J.; D. j. ; Paul J.; Mary J.; Rachel; Lydia ; Anna; Kate": and
Mike. Rev. J. Z. Kleinsasser moved to California in 1910 and eventually
settled in Tulare County, where he purchased 800 acres of land devoted to
vines and alfalfa and which he has since sold. When the Kleinsasser family
arrived in California, in 1910, they possessed $80,000 in cash. In December,
1918, he bought eighty acres in cling peaches south of Reedley, where the
family now reside.
On July 29, 1910, a great cloud of sorrow overcast the sunny home of
the Rev. J. Z. Kleinsasser, which was caused by the death of Mrs. Kleinsasser
and her daughter Annie, in an automobile accident at Reedley. D. J.
Kleinsasser was also in the accident, but escaped with a severe scalp wound,
which left a scar that will remain during his lifetime.
On April 11, 1912, D. J. Kleinsasser was united in marriage with Miss
Agnes G. Eidsen. In September, 1918, Mr. Kleinsasser took up ship-building
at Mare Island, doing his bit for the government, serving four months.
Kleinsasser & Besoyan are enjoying a growing business and friends pre-
dict for the new firm a bright and prosperous future.
S. GEORGE. — The growing of raisins has made Fresno County famous
and afforded opportunities for success to very many, but there seems to be
an affinity between this business and the foreigner, for they are few who
do not make a success at it. Prominent among the successful ones is S.
George, who owns four good raisin ranches near Fresno and resides in
Fresno with his family, at 327 F Street, in a bungalow that he built twenty-
six years ago. One ranch of forty acres lies six miles west of Fresno on
Whites Bridge road, another forty lies eight miles east of Fresno on Cali-
fornia Avenue, another of twenty-nine acres is near Malaga, and a fourth of
thirty-seven and a half acres is in the Lone Star district..
Mr. George was born near Harpoot, Turkey, at a little town called
Arapger, in 1864. His father was George Geehanshian, a tailor at Arzroom,
Turkey. He died in Fresno about twenty-five years ago at the age of eighty-
five years. The mother was Annie Fereshedian, and is now living with a
son, Chet George, at 462 I Street, Fresno. She is now ninety-five years old.
They had four sons and three daughters. The sons all came to Fresno
and two died here. Two of the sisters also live in Fresno, but one lives
in Turkey.
Mr. George had but little schooling. He learned the tailor's trade
with his father in Turkey. He made up his mind to get away to a land of
freedom, where he would have the opportunity of earning money to bring
his relatives to this country, to save them from the ravages of the Turk. He
left home for the land of opportunity in 1886, sailing from Smyrna via Liver-
pool to New York, reaching that city in December of that year. He went
to Philadelphia and worked at his trade for Wanamaker & Brown for two
years, then in 1888, he came to Fresno. Here he engaged in the tailoring
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2489
business, and helped to establish the firm of George Bros., Clothiers and
Merchant Tailors, Fresno, then on J Street, now on Mariposa Street. He
sold out his interest in this business about twenty years ago, and has since
devoted his energies to the raisin industry. He assisted in getting all of
his family to America.
Mr. George was married in Fresno in 1897, to Miss Aznive Paul, a native
of Arzroom, who died April 1, 1910. There were born to this union six
children : Henry, who assists his father in the operation of the ranches ; Rose ;
Violet; Lily; John, and Marguerite. He was married a second time on
September 24, 1911, to Miss Christina Manoogian, and they have one child,
Lawrence.
Mr. George is a progressive man and with his family enjoys the esteem
and confidence of the community. He is a Republican in politics, and is an
enthusiastic supporter of the government in all its aims.
EDWARD L. BALLARD, D. C— A practicing Chiropractor as well as
a practical rancher, who is successfully conducting this rather unusual
combination of pursuits, is Dr. Edward L. Ballard, who resides about six
miles northeast of Sanger. He is a native of the Blue Grass State having
been born in Uniontown, Union County, Ky., on Independence Day, 1884,
a son of Joseph F. and Lucinda (Morgan) Ballard. Mrs. Ballard was a
cousin of Gen. John Morgan, the noted officer of the Confederate Army, dur-
ing the Civil War.
In 1890, Joseph F. Ballard, with his wife and family, migrated to Cali-
fornia and in 1895 settled in Fresno County where he followed agricultural
pursuits, owning thirty acres of land east of Sanger. He was a very popular
and highly respected man in his community and in 1910 he passed away.
His widow now resides with her son, Dr. Edward L. Ballard. Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph F. Ballard were the parents of: Berton; Lewis; Edward L. ; Anna;
William ; and Ruth.
Edward L. Ballard was reared in Fresno County and attended the public
schools of Sanger and Fairview districts. Becoming interested in Chiropractic,
he entered the Pacific Chiropractic College, Portland, Ore., where he was
graduated in 1915; he then continued his studies in the Los Angeles Col-
lege of Chiropractic, in which institution he also taught seven months,
graduating therefrom, in 1916, with the degree of D. C. Since then he has
practiced his profession in Fresno County.
Mr. Ballard owns and operates a fertile ranch of twenty acres which he
devotes to the raising of alfalfa, vineyard and orchard. He is a worthy and
enterprising young man whose friends predict a useful and successful career.
He is an active member of the Christian Church in Sanger, and is held in
high esteem in his community.
JOHN A. SCHMIDT. — A loyal American citizen of foreign parentage,
whose life illustrates the splendid opportunities offered by the United States
of America to rising youth, is John A. Schmidt, who has been a resident of
Fresno County since 1907, and who lives two miles north of Reedley. He is
a native of Kansas, where he was born on October 4, 1877. He attended the
grammar schools of his native State and graduated from the high school.
Later, too, he spent a couple of years at college, and then for a while he
taught school.
His parents were Andrew and Anna Schmidt, native Germans who were
born on Russian territory, and who immigrated to the United States in
1873. They pushed West to Kansas, and in that inviting commonwealth they
made their home and lived the lives of farmer folk. They were hard-work-
ing, thrifty people, and successfully reared a family of thirteen children.
Seven of these are still living, and one, John A., the subject of our story, is
a resident of the Pacific Slope.
2490 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
John A. Schmidt owns a fine ranch of forty acres, which he devotes to
grapes, apricots and alfalfa. He farms scientifically, availing himself of
every improvement in method or apparatus ; he takes pride in maintaining a
model place, and the high quality of his products speaks for him. Mr.
Schmidt is by nature public-spirited, and for years he has taken a deep in-
terest in civic affairs in Fresno County. His fellow citizens have honored
him with the office of deputy assessor of the Alta district, which he has
held, to everybody*s satisfaction, for six years. He has served as clerk of
the school board in the Fink district since 1915, for which he is peculiarly
fitted by his experience as a teacher.
In 1903, Mr. Schmidt was married to Miss Anna, the daughter of Peter
Funk ; and bv his estimable wife he has had twelve children. The living are :
Arthur L., Ernest A., Samuel H., Ruby E., Alice E., Grace P., Harold \V.,
Stella R., John W., and Waldo W. Mrs. Schmidt, who also once lived in
Kansas, attends with her husband the Mennonite Church. Both have many
friends and well-wishers, who value their kind-heartedness and neighborly
disposition.
MIGUEL VILLANUEVA. — Among the men who have made a
success of sheep and wool-growing in Fresro County, mention should be made
of Miguel Villanueva, who was born in Aincioa, Navarra, Spain, July 4. 1872.
the youngest of a family of four children born to Francisco and Pillippa (Gal-
duros) Villanueva. who were well-to-do farmers and stock raisers in Navarra,
where they spent their last days. Miguel, the only one of the family to come to
America, was educated in the public schools. Reared on the farm, he remained
at home until twenty, when, having become interested in California, he deter-
mined to come here to try the opportunities offered here. Leaving home in
December, 18°2. he arrived in Bakersfield, Cal., in January, 1893, and imme-
diately obtained employment with Miguel Urrutia, a sheepman, with whom he
continued to work for six years. During this time he learned the ins and
outs of sheep-growing in California. As early as 1894 he had ranged sheep
around Coalinga and on the Cantua in Fresno County. Quitting the employ of
Mr. Urrutia to engage in business for himself, Mr. Villanueva with a partner,
Jose Larrea, purchased a flock of sheep. Before the end of the year he bought
his partner out and continued business alone until 1907. He then took in as a
partner Mr. Florencio Serrano, and they have continued together ever since.
They own 160 acres on the Cantua where they have been raising grain. In 1911
they bought sixty-two acres in Tranquillity which they have impro\ed tor
alfalfa and where Mr. Villanueva makes his home. Mr. Serrano having charge
of the Cantua ranch. Both places are well improved with good buildings. Their
herd has become large and is now run in two flocks. They also own a residence
at 761 S Street, Fresno.
In Fresno occurred the marriage of Mr. Villanueva and Miss Manuela
Yturri, who is also a native of Mesqueriz, Navarra; and to them have been
born nine children: Mariano, Jose, Gracian, Marie, Justo, Braulia. Firmin.
Matias and Ermine Jilda.
Mr. Villanueva is one of the original stockholders of the Growers National
Bank of Fresno.
AUGUST TORESON. — Sweden has contributed largely of her sturdy
sons to the permanent settlement of California, and from among the many
worthy Swedish residents of the Golden State, particular mention is made
of August Toreson, the successful horticulturist and viticulturist who owns
a beautiful ranch home three one-half miles southwest of Reedley.
August Toreson was born in Sweden, in 1866, and received his educa-
tion in his native country. In 1890 he emigrated to the United States, and
having heard of the many and varied opportunities offered to homeseekers,
and of its glorious climate, he decided to follow the example of so many
of his own countrymen and cast in his lot with the citizens of the Golden
State.
'fa'OQ^tl 1/2££e*^^4xs*L^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2493
After his arrival in California, August Toreson began at the lowest rung
of the ladder of success, and by dint of hard labor, industrious and frugal
habits he had saved enough money by 1901 to purchase his present ranch of
twenty-seven acres. At the time of purchase only a part of the land was
cultivated but he soon began to improve the place and has brought it up to
a high state of productiveness, besides which he has built a beautiful house
which is equipped with modern improvements. The product of his ranch
consists of peaches and grapes of a very fine quality.
The year 1901 was a very propitious one for August Toreson, for it
not only marks the beginning of a life of independence in business affairs, by
the purchase of his ranch, but it also records his marriage to the woman of
his choice, Mrs. Amanda C. Anderson. By a former marriage she was the
mother of three children : Walter, who served in the United States Army,
in France ; Redena ; and Ruth. The marriage of August Toreson with Mrs.
Amanda C. Anderson was blessed with five children : Elmer R. ; Elvira
Myrtle; Mabel A.; Helen M.; and Robert L. On February 27, 1916, Mr.
Toreson was bereft of his loving wife and companion, and the children of a
mother"s tender care and devotion.
Mr. Toreson is highly esteemed in his community and is regarded as
an enterprising and successful rancher. He belongs to the Apricot and
Prune, Raisin and Peach Growers associations.
HANS AUTSEN. — One of the prosperous young ranchers of the section
near Reedley, and one for whom his friends predict greater successes in
the future, is Hans Autsen, a native son of California, born in Monterey
County, on May 23, 1887. His parents are Chris and Mary Autsen, both
natives of Denmark. Chris Autsen was born in 1846 and emigrated to this
country in 1882. The thrifty and frugal characteristics of the Danes usually
bring them success in whatever place they choose to locate. Chris Autsen
became an extensive farmer and stockman and was well known as an expert
judge in buying and selling stock. Mr. and Mrs. Chris Autsen were the
parents of three children ; the subject of this sketch, Hans, was the oldest.
Hans Autsen was engaged with his father in the stock business and also in
farming, and his excellent management and good judgment were a great
aid to the success of the enterprise. For the past five years he has been
engaged in the fruit industry and is now operating 120 acres devoted to
raisins, peaches, beans and grain. He is a member of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company.
In 1913, Hans Autsen was united in marriage with Miss Ella Johnson,
born in San Francisco, in 1888, a daughter of M. and Catherine Johnson.
Her parents have lived in Fresno County for over thirty-five years and are
well known in business and social circles.
JOHN WALLERS. — An enterprising, broad-minded and progressive
citizen, who has long been a resident of Fresno County, and active in develop-
ing its natural resources, and an upbuilder of the district in which he has en-
joyed his prosperity, is John Wallers, who was born in the Rhine province,
Germany, on February 25, 1867, the son of Mathias and Elizabeth Wallers,
worthy farmers of that place. Six of their children grew up, and among
them John was the second youngest. He was reared on a farm and attended
the public schools, and spent his youth at home.
To escape military service when he was twenty-one, he came to the
United States in March, 1888, and soon traveled to the middle west and the
northwest. As early as 1890 he made his way to Tacoma, and a year later
came south and located in Fresno County, seeking a warmer climate. He
began to work in the vineyards and orchards, and little by little familiarized
himself with Central California ways.
In 1898, Mr. Wallers bought his present ranch on Melvin Road, five
miles north of Fresno, at that time forty acres of unimproved land ; and ap-
2494 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
plying himself vigorously to the task, he transformed it into as valuable an
asset as it was highly attractive to the eye. He set out twenty acres in a
muscat vineyard, and planted twenty acres of Calimyrna figs, being one of
the pioneer growers of Calimyrna figs in Fresno County. He built a resi-
dence and added the necessary outbuildings. Believing in corporation, he
is an enthusiastic member of the California Associated Raisin Company, the
California Fig Growers Association and the California Peach Growers, Inc.
While at San Francisco, in 1896, Mr. Wallers was married to Mrs.
Madeline (Long) Thonen, born in Bessarabia, Russia, who died here in 1908,
the mother of five children: Madeline, now Mrs. Williams, who lives at
Delano, Cal. ; Walter W., who is ranching at Clovis ; H. Theodore, who is
with the Southern Pacific in Fresno; Emil J.; and Clarence R. The present
Mrs. Wallers was Mrs. Katie E. ( Knaup") Pinnecker, their marriage oc-
curring March 5, 1918. An independent in politics, Mr. Wallers belongs to the
Hermann Sons and also to Manzanita Camp, Woodmen of the World.
CARL HITZL. — A citizen of the Parlier district in Fresno County, who
has gained a name and place for himself, is Carl Hitzl, representative for the
Setchel Fruit Company in the Lacjac district, buying, packing and shipping
green fruit. This position he has held since March 1, 1919, due to the en-
forcement of the national prohibition laws, as he was formerly superintendent
of the Sanford Winery and Distillery at Parlier.
Mr. Hitzl was born in Austria in 1870, reared and educated there and
graduated from the Polytechnic at Vienna. He specialized in chemistry and
followed his chosen calling in his native land prior to coming to America,
which he did in 1892. He was located in New York City for a time, later
went to Chicago and in 1907 came to California. In 1913 he took a position
with the Sanford Winery at Parlier in Fresno County, acting as chemist and
superintendent, as he had had many years of experience in the making of
wines. He has spent a year in various parts of Europe making a special study
of the methods used there.
The plant over which he had supervision covers a tract of ten acres and
had fine shipping facilities, being situated between the Southern Pacific and
Santa Fe railroads. He handled from 5.000 to 10,000 tons of grapes each
season and the product was shipped to eastern markets. The business was
established by Lachman & Jacobi in 1900.
In 1893, Carl Hitzl was united in marriage with Mame Martin and they
have a son, Harry Hitzl. Fraternally Mr. Hitzl is a Mason, belonging to
Independent Roya'l Arch Lodge No. 2. F. & A. M.. in New York City.
HENRY H. KRAMER, JR. — One of the progressive voting ranchers
living; in the vicinity of Sanger and owner of forty acres of land three miles
west of that town is Henry H. Kramer. Jr. His father. Henry Kramer. Sr.,
is a native of Russia, born February 5, 1872, about seventy-five miles from
Saratov, a son of Jacob Kramer, who married Katrina Tripple. Jacob
Kramer died when his son, Henry, was twenty-one years of age. Henry at-
tended the German schools in Russia and also learned to speak the Russian
language, and when he was twentv years of age he married Margretha
Schrader, and this union was blessed with five children : H. H.. Jr. ; Mina, the
wife cf August Scheibelhut, a rancher near Sanger; John, Willie and George,
Henrv Kramer, Sr., remained on his father's farm in Russia until he was
over twenty years of age when he went to work on a ten-thousand-acre farm
owned by Meyer Bros. By hard work he soon rose to the position of fore-
man, remaining with the owners for nine and a half years, when he wanted
to resign and leave for America, but was persuaded to remain with them four
vears longer. In 1908, however, Mr. Kramer, accompanied by his family.
sailed for the United States via Liverpool, landed in New York City, and
thence continued their journey to Visalia, Cal.. where they had a relative.
There Mr. Kramer was employed in a brick yard for three years. He then
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2495
came to the vicinity of Sanger, purchased forty acres three miles west of
Sanger, on North Avenue, built a comfortable home and improved the place
by planting vines and trees.
H. H. Kramer, Jr., was born August 1, 1893, in the valley of the Volga
River, Russia, and accompanied his parents to California in 1908, being
then about fifteen years of age. The family arrived in Visalia, Cal., on
October 15 of that year, and on January 1, 1912, H. H. Kramer, Jr., moved
to Fresno County where he became owner of a splendid ranch of twenty
acres, it being half of the land owned by his father and given to the son. This
property he sold in May, 1919. Mr. Kramer rents 200 acres of land whereon
he successfully operates an extensive vineyard and has become one of the
largest growers of raisins in this section of the county, employing eight men
regularly and during the packing season, thirty-five extra persons. After
selling the home place Mr. Kramer bought forty acres adjoining on the north-
east, where he will make his home.
On February 1, 1914, H. H. Kramer, Jr., was united in marriage with
Miss Christina Winter, daughter of Karl Winter, a sketch of whose life will
be found on another page of this history. This happy union has been blessed
with three children : Clara. John, and Alvena. Mrs. Kramer is a devoted
mother and an excellent helpmate to her husband, who is a man of splendid
character and business ability. The family is held in high esteem.
WILLIAM ORR.— A resident of California for more than fifty
years, William Orr is well and favorably known for his genial good nature. He
was born in Prince Edwards Isle, April 15, 1848, and his father Capt. William
Orr was born on the Clyde in Scotland, coming when ten years of age with his
parents to Prince Edwards Isle, where he grew to manhood and learned the
ship-builders' trade and afterwards he engaged in ship building. Later he
sailed his own vessels as master or captain in the coasting trade following it
until he retired and then came to California in 1874 where he spent his last
days. Wiltiam Orr's mother was Janet Semper, born in Prince Edwards Isle
of Scotch parents ; she also died in California. They had twelve children as
follows : James was accidentally killed when he was nineteen years of age ;
Margaret is the wife of Captain McLeod who came to California in 1867 and
resides in Pacific Grove; Elizabeth, Mrs. Webster, came to California with
William and resides in San Luis Obispo; William, our subject; Robert, a
dairyman near Hollister; Lemuel died while residing near Hollister; Oliver is
also a dairyman at Hollister; Maria Jane is Mrs. Lamont of San Francisco;
Mark came to California in the early seventies, he started overland for Lead-
ville, Colo., and was lost track of for a time but the family finally learned he
had been killed by Indians enroute ; Albert lives near Hollister ; Harriet M. is
Mrs. McCobb of Pasadena, and Richard is a farmer near Lemoore.
William Orr was reared on his father's farm on the Atlantic Coast, for
although a seafaring man his father lived with his family on a farm and he
received a good education in the district schools of his native place. William
did not like the life of a sailor so he naturally gave all the more attention to
farming as he grew up and chose that for his calling. In October, 1869, he
came to San Benito County, Cal., where he was employed at ranching until
November, 1873. He then purchased a band of sheep and drove them to Fresno
County. He bought a claim on the Polvadero and had his headquarters there.
As early as 1874 he hauled his wool to Fresno, then a small place. They had
mail once a month and he used to drive over the Coast Range via Pacheco
Pass to Gilroy for his provisions for the first three years. In 1884 he located
on his present place; here he bought out a man's location and took a preemp-
tion and then a homestead, this being the nucleus of his present large ranch.
He was successful raising sheep though he had many ups and downs. In 1877,
the dry year, he lost heavily and it broke him for the time being, but he went
ahead and in time cleared the debt he had contracted. At times his flocks have
numbered 10,000 head. From time to time he purchased more land and now
2496 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
owns about 4,000 acres. His headquarters are about twenty miles southeast of
Coalinga the ranch lying on the Fresno and Kings County line and is watered
by Tar Creek as well as numerous springs and wells. The last few years he has
also engaged in cattle raising. He is a stockholder in the Han ford National
Bank. Always interested in education he helped build the first schools of his
district in Fresno County while living on the Polvadero. Always a protectionist,
Mr. Orr is a stanch Republican.
C. FELIX LARSON. — The lineage of the Larson family is traced to
the far northern country of Finland, where the subject of this sketch, C.
Felix Larson, was born on December 12, 1879. He was reared and educated
in his native country, and in due time learned the trade of a carpenter. In
1902, he immigrated to the United States and spent the summer season in
Alaska, where he was engaged in carpenter work. He continued to conduct
his business affairs in this way for six years, when he purchased a tract of
land in Fresno County, upon which he spent considerable money in develop-
ing it and trying to raise crops, but owing to a scarcity of water the crops
were a failure and he was obliged to abandon his project and leave the
place, but he decided to try again and in 1908 he purchased his present ranch
of fifteen acres. The land was in its virgin state, but by hard work and in-
dustrious efforts he has succeeded in developing the place to a most at-
tractive home. H;s buildings are well constructed, modern and conveniently
arranged ; in fact, his place is the most desirable one in the community. Mr.
Larson specializes in peaches and Thompson's seedless grapes. He belongs
to the Peach and Raisin Growers associations.
On August 24, 1916, C. Felix Larson and Miss Olga Marie Arnell were
united in marriage and this union has been blessed with two children : Olave
Daniel and Theodore Felix Leonard. Mr. Larson is a self-made man, hav-
ing been dependent upon his own efforts for a livelihood since a young man.
He has made a place in the world for himself by overcoming adverse circum-
stances, and through his self-reliant spirit and determined will has attained
success.
HANS LINSHOFT. — A well-posted landscape gardener who comes of
a family distinguished for its scholarly and educational pursuits, and who
now has improved for himself one of the choice places in Fresno County, is
Hans Linshoft, a native of Germany who came to California a decade and
more ago. He was born at Rutenbeck, Mechlenburg-Schwerin, on March 19,
1880, the son of Theodore Linshoft, for many years an educator and still living.
His mother was Louise Langermann, also a native of that section ; she died
in 1889. mourned by five children.
Hans was the second eldest in the family, and enjoyed the usual school
advantages. When fifteen he was apprenticed to a florist and landscape gar-
dener, with whom he continued for three years ; then he went as a journey-
man through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, and neighboring terri-
tories, to widen his knowledge of the science and art in his field, and there-
after served two years in the Bavarian Army.
By 1906 the New World began to appeal to him more than his own country.
He came direct to Fresno, Cal. by way of Galveston, and secured a position
in a vineyard in Holland Colony, where he began to study California con-
ditions, especially viticulture. Because of his previous broad experience as a
gardener, he soon mastered the new line of work ; and as he was industrious
and plain in living, he made steady progress toward a modest independence,
where others failed. In two years he had saved enough money to enable him
to lease some land in the Victoria Colony, and there he engaged in gardening,
selling his produce in Fresno. At the end of three years, he began to care
for vineyards and orchards in the same locality ; and having during the year
established some reputation for expertness in that line, he rented a vineyard
on Blackstone Avenue and brought the land to a high state of cultivation.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2497
In the fall of 1912 Mr. Linshoft bought this twenty acres in the Granville
district and at once began extensive improvements, planting it to alfalfa and
setting out a vineyard ; and about the same time he became foreman of the
Malter vineyard in the same neighborhood. A couple of years later, he re-
signed to give all his time and energy to his own property; but in 1916 he was
again in charge of the Malter place. The twenty acres referred to he has
given up to alfalfa, vines and figs. The ranch is under the Fancher Creek
canal, from which it receives an adequate supply of water, and now includes
a fine residence and all the necessary outbuildings. Mr. Linshoft's work in
viticulture has proven absorbing, and he has become an enthusiastic advocate
and member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
At Fresno, Mr. Linshoft was married to Mrs. Pauline (Adloff) Linshoft,
a native of Thuringia, Germany, and the widow of his brother. One child,
Lillie, has blessed their union. Having very early applied for his first natural-
ization papers, Mr. Linshoft was made a full citizen of the United States on
December 18, 1911. He belongs to the Hermann Sons and the Woodmen of
the World. In religious matters he is independent.
ANDRES ERROTABERE.— A splendid example of a young man who
has made a success of stockraising by his steady, close application to busi-
ness is Andres Errotabere, a native of Bastan, Navarra, Spain, born Novem-
ber 27, 1884, the seventh oldest of thirteen children born to Jose and Marie
Errotabere, who removed from Bastan, Spain, to Biagorry, Basses Pyrenees,
France, in 1884, and there the mother died while the father is still living.
Three members of their family, Andres, Pedro and Martin, are in California
and are engaged in the stock business together.
Andres was reared on a farm in the south of France, the family being
very large. Having learned of the wonderful possibilities in California that
awaited young men who were willing to work he came to San Francisco in
1903. Making his way to Los Banos he was employed by a stock grower,
working for a period of three years at twenty-five dollars a month. During
this time he drove the owner's sheep into the high Sierra mountains. In the
fall of the year he has been caught in the snow, thus enduring great cold and
hardships. By his industry and economy he saved enough money so that in
1906 he purchased a band of sheep and ranged them in the San Joaquin Val-
ley. In 1909 he came to Huron and this vicinity has been the scene of his
operations ever since. Aside from sheep and wool growing he went in for
grain raising, leasing about 1,500 acres of land for the purpose. In 1917 he
took his two brothers, Pedro and Martin, into partnership.
Mr. Errotabere was married in Fresno April 25, 1916, being united with
Miss Joaquina Esnoz who was born in Olodres, Navarra, Spain, who came
to Fresno in 1911, and is a sister of Mrs. Domingo Bidegaray. They have two
children : Jose Andrew and Martin J. They are members of the Catholic
Church in Coalinga.
GEORGE ANDREAS GLEIM.— A hard-working and successful rancher
in the DeWolf school district, who has turned his fields of wheat stubble and
weeds into blooming acres with fruitful harvests, and who by thus contribut-
ing to solve the economic problems of the war-time is deserving of the re-
spect and good will of his fellow men, is George Andreas Gleim, who owns
and operates twenty acres now planted to peaches and Thompson seedless
grapes. He bought his place on August 29, 1903, and moved onto the land on
the twenty-sixth of the following December. He and his family then took
shelter in the barn, which they converted temporarily into a dwelling house,
which served them until he built his fine bungalow in 1912. In the beginning,
the weeds were often six and seven feet high.
Mr. Gleim was born in the Province of Samara, on the Volga, at
Prewalnaja P. O., in the Colony of Skatowka, Russia, seventy-five miles
east of Saratov. His parents, Heinrich and Christina Margareta (Nilmeier),
2498 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Gleim, were farmers who lived and died in Russia. He grew up on his
father's farm, where he early learned to handle horses and stock, and to drive
oxen hitched to plows, and also to tread out the wheat, rye, oats and barley
in their manner of threshing in that region.
He attended the German schools and for two years attended the Russian
public schools. When twenty-one, he served five years in the Russian army,
guarding the boundary line between Russia and Austria. After that, on
February 15, 1894, he was married and for six years farmed in Russia. Then
reading about California, he decided to leave the Old World and come here.
He sold out his holdings in Russia and with his wife and three children
crossed to Bremerhafen, Germany, from which port he took passage on the
steamship Borkom, which ran between Bremen and Galveston. After twenty-
two days on the ocean, he took the Santa Fe to Fresno, where he arrived on
July 27, 1900. He had only seventy dollars when he came here, but he im-
mediately took work on a ranch, putting in ten hours a day for one dollar
and a half. He continued to work for others in that way that season ; and
then he moved to Fresno and built a little house at 626 E Street, where he
lived while working at odd jobs at a dollar and a quarter for a ten-hour day.
His next move was to buy his present place, and he had to borrow
$100 to make the first payment, and the undertaking was by no means light ;
but his good wife helped him. and together they worked very hard. To
equip himself to dig the earth out of the irrigation ditches, he traded his town
house for a four-horse team and scraping outfit. His brother-in-law, Peter
Lieder, about that time took the contract of bundling the brush on the Fresno
Winery ranch, and Mr. Gleim worked steadily for him for two months, from
four o'clock in the morning until eight in the evening, when he made just
thirty-three dollars for the two months.
Mr. and Mrs. Gleim are the happy parents of four children, having also
lost an equal number in death. Christina is the wife of Fred Seibert and they
live in Fresno with their two children, LeRoy K. and Stanley Frederick ; and
there are Bertha K., Harry G., and Lloyd W. Mr. and Mrs. Gleim and
family belong to the German Lutheran Church on F Street in Fresno, which
church's edifice he helped to build.
Mr. Gleim was naturalized on March 26, 1914, and early joined the
ranks of the Republican party. He is a booster for Fresno County, and was
active in the sale of war bonds, and helping the Red Cross. As a happy
family, they have an ideal life in the country. Mrs. Gleim is an excellent
cook and knows how to make appetizing and nutritious foods from the prod-
ucts of the farm.
HARRY S. SERIAN. — No people of modern times have been so perse-
cuted in their native country as the Armenians, and many of that nationality
have sought refuge from their Turkish oppressors in the United States, which
continues to be a haven of refuge as in the earlier days of its colonial history
when the Pilgrim Fathers sought a home beyond the sea where they might
worship their God as their consciences dictated.
Fresno County has quite a contingent of Armenians in various sections,
among who, in the vicinity of Selma, Harry S. Serian, the Armenian rancher,
is well known. His highly improved 160-acre ranch lies four miles east of
Selma. Mr. Serian's four brothers spell their name Serimian. the difference
in the orthography of the names probably arising from a change in the asses-
sor's books and in deeds, which was allowed to remain.
Harry S. Serian was born near Harpoot. Armenia, forty-eight years ago,
and came to America in 1891, when nineteen years of age, without financial
means and in debt for the money which paid his passage to the United States.
He repaid the money borrowed for his passage out of his first earnings, and
later sent back one thousand dollars to help his father in Armenia, besides
assisting his four brothers and mother to come to California. His father, Sar-
kis Serimian. a drayman in the old country, died in Armenia after his son
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2499
Harry came to America. His mother, who in her girlhood was Lillie Kujo-
lian and who is now approaching seventy years of age, lives with her youngest
son, Jacob Serimian, on their near-by ranch. Two of his sisters are living in
Armenia. His brother, A. S. Serimian, has a wife and four children, and lives
on his ninety-acre ranch near our subject. Another brother, C. S. Serimian,
is married and has three children, and is the owner of an eighty-acre ranch.
G. S. Serimian, called Charlie, has a wife and two children, and lives on the
S. McCall road, three miles south of Selma, on his forty-acre ranch. Jacob,
with whom the mother lives, also owns a forty-acre ranch.
When a young man in Armenia, H. S. Serian married Rosa Scandarian,
a native of that country, and they are the parents of four children, all living
at home. They are : Roxy, Moses, Serak, and Aram. Mr. Serian came to
America alone, his wife joining him eight years later. After coming to the
United States Mr. Serian worked two years in a factory in New York City,
from thence going to Chicago where he worked four years in a shoe factory.
In 1897 he came to California, settling at Parlier where he rented land from
Louis Say for four years, afterwards renting the Harry Say place north of
Selma for three years, and during this time, in 1901, he purchased his first
eighty acres, the nucleus of his present place, working both places and plant-
ing his eighty acres with his own hands. In 1912 he added another thirty
acres to the eighty, and in 1918 bought ten acres more, and in 1919 bought
another forty, making 160 acres altogether.
Nine years ago Mr. Serian was taken with a serious affection of the optic
nerve, and despite the best medical aid his eyesight began to fail, resulting
two years ago in total blindness. He is dependent upon his little son Serak
to lead him about. He has been phenomenally successful since coming to
California. In 1917 he built on his ranch a beautiful $12,000 country residence,
thirty-two by sixty-two feet in dimensions, the finest home between Selma
and Parlier.
Beginning at the foot of the ladder in a foreign country, without means
or influence, incumbered with debt, he has prospered and steadily advanced
to the position he now occupies, a man of influence in the community in which
he lives.
MARTIN CHRISTENSEN.— An excellent example of what can be ac-
complished in California, by an energetic young man without means but
endowed with good character, thrift and a persevering nature that can sur-
mount all obstacles to success, is manifested in the career of Martin Christen-
sen, a prosperous viticulturist residing in Sanger, Fresno County, Cal.
Martin Christensen is a native of Denmark, where he was born on De-
cember 21, 1878, a son of James and Mary Christensen, also of Denmark. He
was reared and educated in his native land, and in the year 1901 he immigrated
to the United States, locating at Wheatville, Cal. Here he was engaged in
dairying for three years. Mr. Christensen has spent seventeen years in Fresno
County. He is a progressive farmer and believes in using the most up-to-date
methods in the cultivation and propagation of his products.
Mr. Christensen is deserving of much credit for achieving the success
he has won in so short a time, as he began with nothing, and in a few years
became the owner of a forty-acre ranch, devoted to raising Thompson seed-
less grapes. His well kept ranch evidenced the marks of thrift and progress
of this enterprising rancher. In the fall of 1918 he sold out and intends making
a trip to his native land for a visit.
On July 6, 1915, Martin Christensen was united in marriage with Jo-
hanna Neilsen, a native of Denmark, where she was born "on January 29, 1886.
They were engaged to be married while he was on a trip back to his native
land, then she joined him in America and he met her in San Francisco and
they were married there. Their marriage was blessed by one child, a son,
Gunnar. The Christensen family are members of the Danish Church.
2500 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
CHRISTIAN SORENSEN. — A native of Denmark, Christian Sorensen
was born near the town of Randers, Jutland, on December 10, 1865, and was
the third child of a family of six born to Soren and Christine (Pedersen)
Sorensen, also natives of Denmark, both of whom are now deceased. Their
six children are: Soren, a rancher who resides three miles west of Selma ;
N. P., who owns ten acres of land three one-half miles southwest of Parlier ;
Christian; Christine, who is the wife of Knut Christensen, a farmer resid-
ing in Denmark ; Anna M., whose sketch appears upon another page of this
history, and who is the widow of Niels Andersen; Mette Marie, who married
Knud Knudsen, and resides at Vejle, Denmark.
Christian Sorensen was reared in Denmark, where he worked out by
the month on farms and gained valuable knowledge and experience in stock-
raising, dairying and farming. Having two older brothers in California, he
decided to take a trip to America, so engaging passage on the good old ship
Thingvalla, of the Thingvalla Line, he sailed from Copenhagen, January 10,
1893, landing in New York City about February 1st., and from there he con-
tinued his journey at once to Fresno County, Cal., where his brothers, N. P.
and Soren, were living. He secured employment in the Fresno Colony,
working on farms, in which occupation he continued for several years. In
1900, he rented a farm near Sultana and after three years purchased the
place, consisting of twenty acres, improved it, and subsequently added more
land until he possessed thirty acres. This ranch he recently sold and has
purchased twenty acres located three one-half miles southwest of Parlier.
On March 2, 1909, Christian Sorensen was united in marriage with
Christine Christensen, a native of Denmark, who came to Fresno County
when a young lady. This happy union has been blessed with four children :
Holger; Einar ; Alfred; and baby Ellen, who was born May 19, 1918.
Mr. and Mrs. Sorensen are justly esteemed in their community and have
many friends. Mr. Sorensen is a prominent member of the Danish Lutheran
Church and the Danish Brotherhood, and in political matters is a Republican.
THEODORE H. SCHUKNECHT.— Among Fresno County's success-
ful men of the later period is Theodore H. Schuknecht, who owns two ranches
of forty acres each in the Lone Star section, and sixty acres in Tulare County.
Mr. Schuknecht was born near Waterloo, Iowa, February 24, 1868. His father,
Christopher, and mother, Fredericka (Rahn) Schuknecht, were both born and
married in Germany, and immediately after marriage came to America. They
became the owners of a 160-acre farm, and also of a hardware store in Tripoli,
Iowa, which they operated in connection with the farm. They raised a family
of thirteen children, of whom Theodore is the sixth. Three girls and five
boys are still living. Ten grew to manhood and womanhood.
Mr. Schuknecht spent his boyhood days in Iowa, attended the common
schools, and spent a short time at the high school. At the age of nineteen the
whole care of the home place fell upon him, because of an accident to his
father, who was gored by a mad bull, and died at the age of fifty-five. His
mother died in Iowa at the age of sixty-three years.
In 1892 Theodore Schuknecht was married to Miss Mabel Bennett,
whose parents, E. C. and Amelia (Dickey) Bennett, were likewise early set-
tlers of Iowa. They were originally from Connecticut and Pennsylvania, re-
spectively. Mr. and Mrs. Schuknecht have one child, Randolph, who grad-
uated from the Fowler High School.
Mr. Schuknecht owned a farm of 160 acres in Iowa and farmed there un-
til 1907, when, desiring to get away from the rigorous winters of Iowa, they
moved to the Pacific Coast. He had his heart set on the Rogue River Valley,
Ore., and consequently bought tickets for Medford, Ore., but when he arrived
there he was afraid of the damp climate, on account of his son, who was in
feeble health. He decided to see more of the country before he settled down.
and so came to Fresno County, Cal., looked over the country and took an
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2501
option on forty acres, which has become his home. He then made an extended
trip through Southern California, but returned to Fresno and began to im-
prove his place. This was twelve years ago. Four years later he bought
another place of forty acres adjoining on the north, and in 1917 bought sixty
acres at Orosi, Tulare County. The two ranches near Lone Star are devoted
to Thompson seedless and muscat raisins, while the ranch at Orosi is devoted
to malagas and emperors ; there are eight acres of black mission figs and
eight acres Valencia oranges, the balance being devoted to the home build-
ings and to alfalfa. He rents out the two ranches at Lone Star, and with the
aid of hired help takes care of the Orosi ranch himself.
His raisins are very choice. A certain woman made a business for several
years past of supplying particular and discriminating customers in the East
with choice layer raisins put up in fancy packages. She bought them from
the painstaking growers, and for two seasons sold the raisins bought from
Mr. Schuknecht, and grown on his ranches in Fresno County, to the White
House, at Washington. D. C, so that his product has found its way to the
table of President Wilson.
Mr. Schuknecht is a progressive and wide-awake man. In politics a Re-
publican, he has a keen insight into political matters, and fights graft and
grafters. He helps along every worthy object, stands four-square behind the
government, and patriotically supports its war measures. He is interested
in the Raisin Growers' Association, and has served as member of the school
board of the Lone Star district. He and his family are members of the First
Presbyterian Church at Fowler. Mrs. Schuknecht supplies all that is needed
in the home-maker, and her worth is known outside the family gates.
FRED H. HANSEN.— A Fresno family of special interest is that of
Fred H. Hansen, the vineyardist. His grandfather, Fred Hansen, was a sailor
who settled in the United States and reared a family, in which our subject's
father, Fred Hansen, was the eldest son. He grew up in Tennessee as a
farmer, and in 1884 he brought his family to San Francisco, where he was a
carpenter and builder, and where he continued to reside until he died. There
also passed away his good wife, who had been Martha Murray, a native of
Tennessee, and who became the mother of six children.
Born in Bradford County, Tenn., on August 26, 1882, Fred H. was the
oldest child, and now the only one in California ; he was brought up in San
Francisco, where he attended both the grammar and high schools. In June,
1898, however, when the martial spirit was at its height, he left the high
school for service in the Spanish-American War, and joined Company K,
Fourteenth United States Infantry. With the regiment he went to the Phil-
ippines and nine months later he was honorably discharged. He immediately
reenlisted in Company K of the same regiment, went to China and there
helped relieve the hard-pressed legation at Pekin. Then he returned to Ma-
nila, from which point his regiment was sent home, but he was transferred
to Company A of the Tenth United States Infantry, and served in the southern
islands and the Moro country. At the close of his term he was honorably
discharged at Pt. a Princessa, Island of Palawan, when he made his way back
to San Francisco.
In that city, on February 16, 1905, Mr. Hansen was married to Miss
Christene Spomar, a native of Great Falls, Mont., and the daughter of A. S.
and Anna (Rhinehart) Spomar. The father was a stockman who later came
out to San Francisco and now resides in Fresno, near which town for some
years he was engaged in vineyarding. In 1906, after the big fire in San Fran-
cisco, Mr. and Mrs. Hansen located in Fresno County and engaged in viti-
culture, and soon after they bought their present forty-acre ranch two miles
northwest of Clovis. Mr. Hansen immediately began the work of improv-
ing the land, and since then he has set and reset the vineyard, so that his
property is now very valuable. He has also bought twenty acres one and a
2502 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
half miles to the north in the Garfield district, and has leveled and checked
the land and planted it to alfalfa ; and he has purchased twenty other acres in
the same district, which he has set out to Calimyrna figs.
For the past six years Mr. Hansen has been the representative of the
Earl Fruit Company for the Clovis district. He has charge of two packing
houses, one at Melvin and the other at Glorietta. and has brought to a very
desirable status their specialty of shipping fresh grapes, peaches and plums.
He is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, as he has been
of the successive preceding associations for boosting the raisin industry ; and
is also a member and a director of the California Fig Association. In social
and commercial circles he is a familiar figure as one of the active members
of the Commercial Club of Fresno.
About seven years ago Mrs. Hansen, who is the mother of a daughter,
Evelyn, began to make up figs and raisins in fancy packs, putting them on
the market under the now popular Sierra Vista brand, and having begun
her enterprise on the home ranch and in a modest way, she has continued it
ever since, seeing it grow to much greater proportions. Wishing to expand
the business which was making such a big increase each year, in 1919 she
built a new packing-house, selecting the J. C. Forkner fig garden i which
embraces 10.000 acres of figs, the largest fig garden in the world) for the
location. Here has been erected a building especially designed and built for
the preparation and packing of the Sierra Vista brand, which has become
very popular all over the United States and is also shipped to foreign coun-
tries. Her exhibit at the Panama Pacific Exposition at San Francisco in 1915
won the highest award for figs. Mrs. Hansen has also made a specialty of
packing select muscat raisins, and has come to be known as one of the fore-
most business women of California.
H. KAZARIAN. — America has always offered refuge to the weary and
oppressed of every nation, and many have come and found here the shelter
their own countries denied them. Happy, contented and prosperous, these
people, by splendid citizenship and loyal devotion to the land of their adoption,
are repaying for the asylum thus provided for them. Of no one is this more
true than of H. Kazarian, who is the owner of a ranch two miles northwest
of Fowler.
Mr. Kazarian was born on Easter Sunday, in April, 1857, at Marsovan
(the seat of Anatolian College), Armenia, in Asiatic Turkey. He stayed at
home on his father's place until his thirteenth year. The father, Lazarus
Kazarian. was a laborer and owned a small farm. He is now one hundred
years old, and his wife is over one hundred. They live with their son.
As a boy, Mr. Kazarian was very precocious, learning readily ; although
the schools were not good in Armenia, he learned to read, write and speak
in the Armenian. Turkish and Greek languages at the early age of thirteen
years. As a result, at this age he went to Constantinople with a commission
merchant, and became his corresponding secretary. He remained there until
the breaking out of the Turko-Russian War, when he was eighteen years of
age. He left Constantinople, sailing to Liverpool and thence to New York,
landing in May, 1875. There were only about twenty-five Armenians in
Brooklyn and New York City at that time. He became interested in the sale
of Oriental rugs, first as salesman, and next as a partner with his father-in-
law, U. Iskian. After seven years of unsuccessful effort in building up this
business, Mr. Kazarian engaged to work for the Abraham & Strauss Depart-
ment St> ire. in Brooklyn, as head of the Oriental rug department, lie re-
mained with them until 1903, when he came to California, stopping first at
Fresno, where he stayed for nine months. In July. 1°04. he came to Fowler,
and bought the place that is now his home, a ranch of forty acres, of which
he has sold ten acres. In 1881, he went back to Turkey and brought his father
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2503
and one brother here, and five years later sent for his mother, one brother and
his sisters, helping them all to come to America.
Mr. Kazarian was twice married, first to Miss Lucy Iskian, of Brooklyn,
to whom were born four children, two of whom grew up : Victoria, wife of
John Hagopian, fruit contractor at Fresno ; and Lily, wife of Simon Hago-
pian (no kin), a poultryman at Petaluma. A separation occurred, and he
married Mrs. M. Shahbazian, a widow with two children: Charles Shahba-
zian, at home ; and George, employed in the shipyards at Oakland, Cal. Mr.
Kazarian has one child by his second marriage, William Howard Taft Ka-
zarian, attending the grammar school in Fowler. Mr. Kazarian is a member
of the Gregorian Armenian Church at Fowler, and served as trustee at one
time. He is loyal to all the calls of his adopted country, has bought Liberty
Bonds, subscribed to the Red Cross, and in everything has shown himself to
be in sympathy with all that goes to make for progress. Open-hearted and
generous, he is one of the prominent citizens of Fresno County.
MADS MADSEN.— Born in Denmark, August 28, 1878, Mads Madsen is
a son of C. and Marie Madsen, natives of that country. Of the nine children
born to his parents, five of whom are now living, Mr. Madsen is the only one
to immigrate to the United States, which he did in 1904, seeking new oppor-
tunities in the newer land. After his arrival here, he first located for a time
in Albert Lea, Minn., and there his marriage occurred, in 1907, uniting him
with Miss Bine Petersen, a native of Denmark, born on March 23, 1875. The
young couple migrated west to California in 1908. and here Mr. Madsen
engaged in ranching, first owning a small ranch, which he used as a stepping-
stone to the better and larger one he now owns, consisting of twenty acres,
in the Parlier district, Fresno County. An experienced tiller of the soil, and
thoroughly understanding the culture of the vine, Mr. Madsen has met with
deserved success in his development work, and, with a promising and pros-
perous future before him, he is a valued citizen of the community. Though
a resident of this country for only fifteen years, he is fluent of speech in good,
plain English, and is a loyal American by adoption, having cast his first vote
for President Wilson.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Madsen, five of whom are
living, as follows : Marie ; Chris ; Ethel ; Frances ; and Ivar. The family are
members of the Danish Church. Mr. Madsen is a member of the California
Associated Raisin Company.
JOHN GATTIE. — A Californian of Italian birth, who has made his own
way ever since he came to the Golden State as a lad of fifteen, and who now
owns a good ranch, is John Gattie, who was born in the province of Naples
in 1866. the son of Antonio Gattie, a well-to-do farmer of that locality. He
thus learned farming as a lad, meanwhile attending the excellent Italian pub-
lic schools.
John Gattie had a brother, Carmino, in California, and in 1881 he crossed
the ocean and then came to the coast to join him, settling first in Stockton
and immediately going to work on a ranch. He drove the big teams and other-
wise made himself useful in work requiring hardihood and daring. Seven
years later he came to Fresno County, and found no difficulty in getting em-
ployment at good wages in the vineyards. He commenced with the St. George
vineyard, and there continued six years. Then he bought twenty acres in the
Scandinavian Colony, the land being now the site of the Rossler winery. This
he at' once set out as a vineyard, but after a few years he sold it and bought
a residence in Fresno. He continued viticulture, however, realizing its great
possibilities for the years to come.
In 1897, Mr. Gattie bought his present place of twenty acres, which he
set out as a vineyard ; and having built a fine residence on the property, he
has made his home there ever since. Later he bought an adjoining twenty
2504 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
acres, so that he now has forty acres there given up to the raising of grapes
and alfalfa.
But in 1911 he made still another investment, purchasing eighty acres five
miles north of his place. He set out forty acres as a vineyard, improved the
land generally, and in three years sold it at a profit. Thereupon he bought
twenty acres in the Helm tract, where he is making a great success raising
table and raisin grapes. He belongs to the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany and has encouraged all the raisin-growing associations started since the
original one was proposed.
On November 1, 1888, in Fresno, Mr. Gattie was married to Miss Carmilla
Perfetto, also a native of Naples, who came to Fresno in September, 1888.
Eleven children have been born to this worthy couple : Antonio, the eldest,
who resides in Fresno; Rosina, Mrs. Perrino, of Fresno; Elizabeth, Mrs.
Nichol, also of Fresno; and Louis, Theresa, Jennie, Emil, Laura. Elvira,
Viola, and Elsie Agnes, all of whom reside with their parents. Like many
another Californian of foreign birth, Mr. Gattie is one of the most loyal and
patriotic of our citizens. A Republican in matters of national politics, in local
affairs he seeks to support the best man and the fairest measure, regardless
of party affiliations ; and he is always ready to advance the permanent interest
of FYesno and vicinity.
JOE CAZEILS. — A successful blacksmith and first-class mechanic, who
by honest efforts and hard work is building up a large patronage at Reedley,
is Joe Cazeils, a native of France, where he first saw the light of day in 1877.
He is the son of Peter and Nancy Ann Cazeils, natives of France and the
parents of four children, two of whom are in the United States — one being
in Nevada, and the other being Joe Cazeils of this review. Mr. and Mrs. Peter
Cazeils are both deceased.
Joe Cazeils was reared and educated in his native land. In his twenty-
sixth year, 1903, he immigrated to the United States, coming directly to
Fresno County, Cal. Before leaving France he learned the trade of a black-
smith, but had to supplement his knowledge, after arriving here, with some
of the American ideas. For three years he was employed by the California
Wine Association, but in 1913 he removed to Reedley and there established
himself in his present spacious and well-equipped quarters, which comprise
a shop thirty-four by sixty feet in floor space. He owns two lots whose total
frontage is 100 feet and whose depth is 125 feet. The shop is fitted for doing
woodwork as well as machine work, and is equipped with all modern ma-
chinery for conducting a first-class general blacksmithing and horseshoeing
business. By rendering first-class service to his patrons, Mr. Cazeils is not
only gaining financial success, but is winning that which is even more to be
desired, the respect of his associates and the confidence of the community.
G. GOOGOOIAN. — Another of those men who have found in this coun-
try an asylum from oppression and wrong, and who have shown their appre-
ciation by making good use of their opportunities, is G. Googooian, who owns
a highly improved ranch of eighty acres five miles west of Sanger, on Jensen
Avenue, with a beautiful residence which he rebuilt in 1917. He is a pioneer
raisin grower, a stockholder and member of the California Raisin Growers'
Association, and a man highly regarded for his many good qualities.
Mr. Googooian was born near Harpoot, in Armenia, forty-nine years ago.
When he was four years old his parents died, and he was brought up in a
cousin's home. He accumulated some property as he grew up, and desiring
to get away from the oppression of the Turkish government, he mortgaged
this to pay his ransom and secure the money for passage to America. Land-
ing in Xew York in 1885, he went to Boston and Salem, Mass., where he
worked in tanneries and shoe factories. He sent back to Armenia for his
wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Melcon, and in 1904 came to Califor-
nia, purchasing the place that is now his home. He is the second oldest set-
$W5WJ^.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2505
tier in the Lone Star district, Mr. John Gerner being the first. The family
consists of himself and wife, with three girls and two boys: Gugus, who mar-
ried Rosa Samorgian and resides at Fresno ; Louisa, at home ; Annie ; Martha ;
and Thomas, are students in the Highland Colony school.
Mr. Googooian is a man of intelligence and a hard worker, and as a con-
sequence is unusually successful. He now possesses seventy-seven and a
half acres of land, of which two and a half acres are taken up by the Santa
Fe right of way, four acres in alfalfa and building spot, and the balance in
trees and vines. He is a generous and hospitable man, and lives a consistent
Christian life. In connection with his family it should be mentioned that a
sister, who is blind, is also living with them. Her name is Anna Googooian.
The family are members of the Armenian Congregational Church at Fresno.
In politics Mr. Googooian supports the Republican party.
MATIAS SERRANO.— A successful stock-raiser of the West Side in
Fresno County, is Matias Serrano of Huron. He is a native of Spain, born
at Aincioa. Bailie Erro, Navarra, February 24, 1883, the son of Miguel and
Besanta (Villanueva) Serrano, farmers of that region.
Matias, the third oldest of their family of five children, was reared on
the farm and educated in the public schools. He had a brother, Florencio,
who had come to California, and Matias, hearing the glowing accounts of
opportunities in^California, resolved to come hither, so on December 11, 1900,
he arrived in r*re$no. The first winter was spent herding sheep at Mendota.
In April, 1901, he made his way to Nevada, where his brother was raising
sheep in Esmeralda County. Working for him and others he made a "stake"
sufficient to enable him and a cousin, Domingo Serrano, to purchase a flock
of sheep and they ranged them in Nevada until October, 1909. when they
brought them to Stockton, continuing business together as Serrano and
Company ever since ; Matias having the management of the business. In
1916, Mr. Serrano purchased eighty acres two and a half miles south of Huron,
where he makes his home and headquarters. Having purchased additional
land they own 400 acres and are also leasing lands for ranging their sheep,
running "from 3,000 to 4,000 head.
Mr. Serrano was married in Reno, Nev., March 9, 1909, being united
with Besanta Cartago, also a native of Navarra, Spain, who came to Nevada
in 1907. They have five interesting children : Florencio, Braulia, Manuella,
Filippa, and Julia. Mr. Serrano is one of the original stockholders in the
Growers National Bank of Fresno. Enterprising and progressive, Mr. and
Mrs. Serrano are favorably known and well liked in their social circle.
ALBERT KEVORKIAN.— Although born many miles across land and
sea from his present home, Albert Kevorkian has spent all of his mature years
in Fresno County, and early proved his adaptability to the new environment.
An extremely enterprising young rancher, he has amassed a comfortable for-
tune in a few short years, and is now one of the leading individual viticulturists
of the county. Born in Erzroom, Asia Minor, March 5, 1885, he is a son of Naz-
arath and Shogot (Kazegian) Kevorkian, both natives of Erzroom. The father
was a shoemaker in that country, and died there in 1901. After his death, the
mother brought her children to California and settled in Fresno that same year.
The children are as follows : Mary, Mrs. Ketchebishian ; Rosa, Mrs. Mark-
arian ; Satanig, Mrs. Hovsepian ; Albert; and Haig. All are living in Fresno
County, as is also the mother, now aged seventy-six, who makes her home
with her children.
Albert Kevorkian was reared in the city of Erzroom, a place of 150,000
population, and there received a good education in the local schools. He came
to Fresno with the family in 1901. Being the eldest of the children, he imme-
diately went to work to help his mother, and had opportunity for but one
month's schooling in English, acquiring the new language by self-study. He
secured work in the vineyards and orchards, helped plant the Markarian fig
orchard, on Blackstone Avenue, and worked on other ranches. In 1907, with
2506 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
H. Hovsepian, he purchased sixty acres of land five miles west of Fresno and
engaged in raising alfalfa and raisins. In 1909 his brother Haig bought the half
interest from Mr. Hovsepian. The brothers continued operating the sixty-acre
ranch for eight years, raising alfalfa and raisins. Their industry and good
management may be judged by the fact that in 1917 the brothers sold their
holdings, for which the original purchase price was $8,000. for the sum of
$24,000. This they divided between themselves and dissolved partnership.
On July 15, 1917, Albert Kevorkian, together with his brother-in-law, H.
Hovsepian, purchased the Sunnyside Vineyards, consisting of 380 acres, five
miles east of Fresno, and engaged in viticulture on an extensive scale. Mr.
Kevorkian, as manager of the property is giving it his entire time and attention.
The ranch is one of the oldest producing vineyards of this section. The ship-
ping grapes are of the Tokay, Emperor, Malaga, and Thompson seedless varie-
ties. Fifteen acres of the ranch is in navel oranges bearing full crops, and the
balance is in muscat raisin grapes.
The marriage of Mr. Kevorkian, which occurred in Fresno, Februarv 17.
1912, united him with Miss Rose Ajemian, a native of New Jersey, but reared
and educated in Fresno County from the age of ten years. Two children have
been born to them, Edward and Florence. Mr. Kevorkian is a member of the
California Associated Raisin Company. Full of energy and progressiveness,
he has won success entirely through his own resources, and now ranks as one
of the leading individual raisin growers of the county.
H. WILDERMUTH. — An experienced baker who, by close attention to
business and the wants of his patrons, together with the help of his wife, has
surrounded himself with many friends, all of whom have contributed to his
prosperity, is H. Wildermuth, who had the good fortune to be converted in
Germany, through the efforts of the Salvation Army, and is today, in his
changed and improved condition, respected by everybody. He was born on
September 4, 1882. the son of Jacob 'Wildermuth. a locksmith who died in
Germany. He married Mina Seyter, who later came to America and died
in Boston about three years ago. Jacob Wildermuth was a foreman in a
factory for the making of builders' hardware, and was noted for the excel-
lence of his workmanship.
The lad was sent to the usual schools of his native country, where he
received a thorough grounding and a good preparation for the struggle with
the great world about him, and he was brought up and in due time confirmed
in the Lutheran Church. There were four sons and four daughters in the
family, and he was the third child in the order of birth. When he was com-
ing up to manhood, he served for two years in the Kaiser's army ; but he
did not like the experience, and that served as the last straw to induce him
to leave Germany altogether and to push out alone to America.
He sailed from Hamburg to Boston on the trans-Atlantic liner Ivernia,
and on December 14, 1905. landed at Boston. For six months he followed
various lines of work, such as the making of ice cream, and after that was
employed in bakeries. Toward the end of 1906 he decided to come West as
far as the continent lay. In doing so he was the first of his family to reach
California, and is now the only one of that group in the Golden State.
In December, therefore, of that year Mr. Wildermuth came to Pasadena
and was engaged as a baker at the Hotel Raymond. At the end of the winter
season, however, he removed to San Diego and for two years was with
Frank Winter's bakery. While there, too. he was married to Miss Charlotte
M. Priss, a native of Alsace-Lorraine, after which, in May, 1909, he came
on to Porterville. where he was for four and a half years in business. He
bought out the City Bakery, and when that grew too small, he erected a
brick building in which he built up and conducted the Sanitary Bakery,
operating both bakeries at the same time. The unavoidable obstacle of ill-
health alone compelled him to sell out and abandon the enterprises.
(Pe&^GLd
'CO'-yuL-/
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2507
Mr. Wildermuth next ranched near Los Angeles, and when he had
recuperated, he returned to Pasadena and became a bakery foreman, in the
Eureka Bakery on East Villa Street. For a year and a half he went north to
Orland in Glenn County and worked in an almond orchard, where he ran
a tractor and did general farm work. He next came back to Porterville,
prospecting for a business opening, but in February, 1919, he opened his
business at Kingsburg, convinced that this town offered, after all, the best
possible inducements. He likes Kingsburg, and no wonder, for Kingsburg
likes him, his work and products, and his general way of doing.
Mr. Wildermuth bought the corner property at Traber and Ash Streets,
a lot about 36x130 feet in size, and there, established what is known as the
Kingsburg Bakery. His principal brands are the Snowflake and the Purity
breads. Part of his structure is a story and a half high, and he requires every
square foot for his growing trade. He also has installed a soda fountain,
and he dispenses ice cream.
Mr. and Mrs. Wildermuth are members, of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and there attend also their four children, Olga C, John H., Paul F.
and Madaline E. Wildermuth.
PETER RUSCONI. — A dairyman of many years' experience on
the 'West Side who was the first to make a success of intensive farming and
dairying at San Joaquin is Peter Rusconi who was born at Sementina near Bel-
linzona, Ticino, Switzerland, November 23, 1886, who comes of an old family
in that prosperous canton. He is the oldest of four children born to Charles
and Linda (Malendrini) Rusconi who are still living and farming in their
native place. Peter is the only one of the family who migrated to the United
States and was reared to the life of a farmer, receiving a good education in
the schools of Switzerland. When eighteen years of age he came to Newman,
Cal. in 1904. He was employed at farming and dairying for four years. Prov-
ing himself so steady and adept at dairying his employer offered to lease him his
place at Crows Landing which Mr. Rusconi accepted and he ran a dairy of
seventy-five cows from 190S till 1910.
Moving to Los Banos he bought a dairy herd and leased a 600-acre ranch ;
200 acres was in alfalfa and on the balance he raised grain. Here he ran a
dairy of 100 head until 1915 when he disposed of the cows at auction sale and
came to San Joaquin. He first bought sixty acres of raw land which he leveled,
checked and sowed to alfalfa, and started the first dairy in this section. He
purchased forty acres more and now has 100 acres improved with residence
and farm buildings. January 1, 1919, he sold his dairy cows and rented the
ranch. During this time, in September, 1918, he had leased the dairy from the
San Joaquin Valley Farm & Land Company and ran both places until he rented
his own. June 1, 1919, with a partner, Joseph Magini, he purchased the dairy
and farm of sixty acres of alfalfa he was leasing and continues in the same
line of business, his herd being composed of Holsteins. He built his residence
in San Joaquin and also owns another residence as well as a store building there.
Mr. Rusconi was married in Modesto, October 10, 1908, to Elvira Moganti,
born at Civio, Switzerland, and they have eight children: Alfred, Linda, Emil,
Charles, Peter, Emma, Tillie and Mary.
Mr. Rusconi is a member of and a director of the First National Bank
of San Joaquin; is a member of the San Joaquin Valley Milk Producers
Association, and the Swiss Benevolent Society in San Francisco.
HENRY KERBER. — Another of those men of foreign birth who have
found themselves in this land of America is Henry Kerber, who has made
the most of his opportunities here. He was born in Russia, near Saratov, on
the Volga River, August 13, 1871. His father was George, and his mother
Marie Kerber. The father died in Russia at the age of forty-four years, in
1888, and the mother followed in 1889. There were two children, Henry and
Katie, now the wife of Henry Spate, a rancher owning forty acres adjoining
Mr. Kerber on the west. Henry Kerber was brought up on his father's tarm
2508 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
in Russia, in the German-Russian colony. He learned mostly in the German
schools, but spent three winters in Russian schools ; and he can read, speak
and write both the Russian and German languages. He is now learning the
English language from his children, who are attending the public school in
the Locan school district. This is a good country school, where three teachers
are employed.
Henry Kerber was eighteen when his father died, and then was appren-
ticed to the wagon-maker's trade, at which he served four years. This was
at Stepnoia, Russia. After he came to Fresno he learned the carpenter's trade.
With his family, Mr. Kerber came to America in 1900, and settled in the city
of Fresno. His family consists of eight children: Marie, born in Russia, and
Christina, Henry, Jr., Mollie, Lydia, Leah, George and Albert, were all
born in Fresno County. For nine years Mr. Kerber applied himself to his
trades, and his handiwork is found in many of the buildings around Fresno.
He was frugal and saving, and nine years ago he bought the twenty-acre ranch
where he now lives. He built. a good house on his ranch, together with the
other necessary buildings and since he left Fresno nine years ago he has de-
voted his time principally to farming and raising grapes. Some of his neigh-
bors have been benefited by his knowledge of construction, as he has built their
homes for them. Mrs. Kerber has proven herself a true helpmeet for her hus-
band.
EUGENE P. THOME. — From sunny France have come so many of the
most desirable of foreign settlers in California, bringing with them their
beautiful French customs and a knowledge of things long developed, by
generations of costly experience, their love of hard work, their frugality,
their delight in innocent pastimes and their intense patriotism, founded in a
natural devotion to their fatherland but culminating in the most loyal alle-
giance to the land of their adoption.
Eugene P. Thome is a native of Gap, in the Hautes Alps, and the son of
Eugene P. and Sophia (Eyraud) Thome, substantial farmer folk of that
section, with such good connections that one of Mr. Thome's cousins is Father
Daumas, the well-known priest of Los Banos ; and on his father's farm he
was reared, receiving what would always be considered there a good educa-
tion. Desiring some kind of a handicraft, however, he did not follow the occu-
pation of his father but learned the wagon-maker's trade at Gap.
When he approached manhood and became liable for military service,
Mr. Thome not only responded to the call of the Government, as one would
necessarily have to do, but he very cheerfully shouldered his rifle and stepped
into the Vanks. He joined the One Hundred Fortieth Regiment of In-
fantry, and later enlisted with the Eleventh Hussars ; and after having fully
satisfied both the French authorities and his conscience, he received his
honorable discharge and was mustered out as a sergeant.
In 1890, having crossed the ocean to America, he first came to California,
and for a time he was busy at sheepraising and later at carpentering. But he
soon began to follow viticulture, and after a while it became evident that
that would be his forte. He secured a vineyard just east of Fresno, and
there he worked for years.
Since selling that property he has had charge of a most desirable ranch
known as the Park Vineyard on Ventura Avenue; and there he has been rais-
ing with remarkable success both grapes and alfalfa. Working only according
to the most approved methods, as handed down by valuable tradition corrected
and fortified by the last word of science, Mr. Thome could hardly have failed to
attain in time his enviable position of leadership.
Mr. Thome has become a member of the Foresters; he is also a member
of the Druids, and where he is past officer and past district deputy. As a man
a citizen, a member of local society, and a business man, Mr. Thome is repre-
sentative and influential, and enjoys the honors and benefits that accompany
such a desirable character and reputation.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2511
PETER KOVACEVICH.— A young man of sterling worth, foresighted-
ness and exceptional enterprise, who has become a successful and prominent
broker and buyer of green and dried fruits, planning to make a specialty of
figs and table grapes for eastern shipments, is Peter Kovacevich with offices
at 108 Trust Company's Building, Fresno.
He is a native of Stari Grad, Dalmatia, Jugoslavia, born May 8, 1893, and
attended public school in his native country. In his seventeenth year he
came to California — in 1910 — and joined his father, four brothers and two
sisters in Fresno County. For three years he worked for salary for his older
brother John Kovacevich, Jr., then, for a year he acted as his foreman, all
the while gathering knowledge and experience sure to be of great service
to him later.
In 1915 he started in business for himself, commencing to buy figs; the
next year he dealt in figs, also in other fruits; but in 1917 and 1918 he limited
himself to figs, and bought on a large scale, purchasing 150 tons of figs. In
1919 he bought about 200 tons of figs and 2,000 tons of Malaga grapes for
eastern markets as table fruit. The successful progress he made speaks for
itself. While the great war was going on he bought liberally of Liberty
Bonds and assisted personally and otherwise to his utmost in Red Cross work.
As an able-bodied American, he was duly registered in the army draft — a fact
that will always be a source of pride to him, for he was ready to respond if
Uncle Sam had need of him ; but he was not called and so had no chance
to make the supreme sacrifice. During the war, he was very attentive to
local Jugoslavic affairs, having contributed liberally to the national fund,
and the old country policies of the Jugoslavic question on the Balkan Pen-
insula.
V. KIRKORIAN. — People living in a country of persecution lose their
initiative and become indifferent or discouraged, and many a man who under
other environment might have been a credit to himself and his family, is un-
able to contribute anything to the growth and progress of his community.
Given an abiding-place in a world where he may feel that what he accumu-
lates is his own, then the man in him is aroused, and he finds, like Mr. Kirko-
rian, an incentive for the development of his faculties and the devotion of his
energies to a worthy end. Mr. Kirkorian is a very enterprising Armenian,
who is fast coming to the front in Fresno. He owns the Boston Grocery
Store, the brick mill where "Bolghor" is made, and a fifty-acre ranch four
miles east of Fresno.
Bolghor is the ancient Armenian cereal, and is fast coming into favor
in this country. Mr. Kirkorian started its manufacture a few years ago, and
the business prospered to such an extent that in 1917 he built a brick estab-
lishment eighty-five by ninety-five feet in size, and this he uses exclusively
in its manufacture. He uses only Sonora wheat of the best quality, and while
the process of manufacture is largely secret it may be said that the wheat
undergoes thorough fanning, screening and a system of sterilization by means
of boiling and drying before it is pearled and ground. There are four grades :
Pearled wheat, and Numbers One. Two and Three Bolghor. His product is
sent to all quarters of the United States, and he is building up a great indus-
try. He has now the largest mill and business of its kind in the country. The
capacity is two tons of wheat per day, but the exigencies of war limited him
to seventy-five tons per year. Before the war he used as high as 125 tons
per year. The plant is certain to be one of the substantial concerns of Fresno.
Mr. Kirkorian was born at Moush, Armenia, Turkey, September 7, 1869.
He was reared, baptized and confirmed in the Armenian Church. His father
was a farmer, a grain and tobacco grower. His name was Mgerdich Kirko-
rian, and he died when his son was twelve years of age. The mother was
Sanam Ohornesian, who died in Turkey after her son had come to America,
twenty-three years ago. He is the only one of the family now living.
2512 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mr. Kirkorian learned farming on his father's farm in Turkey. He en-
tered the Armenian mission school at Bitlis, Turkey, a Congregational in-
stitution, and there learned English, in addition to the Armenian and Turkish
languages, which he also learned there. In 1892 he came to America, landing
in New York. He found employment in factories in New Britain, Conn., and
remained here for twelve years. During this time he married Miss Doshgohe
Garabedian, who was educated in the girls' mission school at Bitlis, and they
are the parents of seven children: Ardzroni, nicknamed "Arizona," works on
the ranch ; Annie assists her father in the store. These two were born in Con-
necticut. Then there are Ralph. Julia, Edward, Grace and Berger, born in
California, who are in school. The family came to California in 1902. and
settled in Fresno County. For one year Mr. Kirkorian was employed in do-
ing farm work, and then came to Fresno and began his business career, first
with a meat market. Afterwards he bought a fruit store, and finally entered
into the manufacture of Bolghor. In this he uses electric power, furnished
by the San Joaquin Light & Power Corporation. The plant has stone burrs,
and a set of grinders, polishers and sifters.
In politics Mr. Kirkorian is a Democrat. He is a progressive, active man,
interested in all the things that make for growth in character and environ-
ment, and with his family, he occupies an important place in the community.
PETER M. PETERSEN.— Denmark has given to the United States
many of her best citizens, men who have become very successful and influ-
ential in the various sections in which they have located. California has
received her share of these thrifty men among whom particular mention is
made of Peter M. Petersen, proprietor of the Capital Creamery Company,
located at 2030 Fresno Street, Fresno, Cal. He was born in Denmark in the
vear 1877, and there he received a thorough education in the common and
high schools of his community. His education was supplemented by a special
course in farming and dairying, which he pursued in a college located at
Copenhagen. For three years he was assistant professor in a dairy school
located in Jutland, Denmark. When but a boy of nine years he began help-
ing his father in the making of cheese and butter and he readily acquired a
knowledge of the business. This practical experience, together with his
schooling, was of great assistance to the young man and in his twentieth
year he was made the manager of a Farmers Cooperative Creamery.
In 1903 Mr. Petersen's thoughts began to turn westward, no doubt due
to the many glowing accounts he had heard and read concerning the many
advantages the United States offered to young men of energy and ambition,
particularly in the Pacific Coast States. Deciding to seek his fortune in Cal-
ifornia, he came to Stockton, where he obtained a position as stationary
engineer. .Mr. Petersen having passed an examination as steam engineer
Influx- leaving Denmark. Later he moved to Dairyville, Ore., where he was
manager of the Star Creamery Company. Afterwards he was located at San
Francisco, Cal.. where he was employed for a short time in the Golden State
Creamery. His next position was with the Cooperative Creamery located at
Laton, Fresno County, where he was engaged as a buttermaker. Later he
was with the Farmers Cooperative Creamery at Riverdale, Fresno County,
after which he located at McFarland, Kern Count}-, where he managed the
Farmers Cooperative Creamery for four years. After the termination of this
engagement. Mr. Petersen started in business for himself at Stockton. Cal.,
where he established the Gold Medal Creamery, with a partner. Sub-
sequently he sold his interest to his partner and accepted the position of
manager of the Kerman Creamery, located at Kennan. Lai. On October 1,
1915, he arrived in Fresno, where he established the Capital Creamery at 1928
Fresno Street. The first plant was small in size, but through Mr. Petersen's
splendid business management and honorable methods his business soon out-
grew in initial quarters and the necessity of a larger building became im-
perative. On October 15. 1916, one year and a few days since he launched
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2513
his new business in Fresno, he moved into a new and up-to-date plant at
2030 Fresno Street. This large building is equipped with the latest machinery
which makes possible the handling of 2,000 gallons of milk daily, and increases
the daily output to 450 pounds of "Capital Creamery Butter," the brand by
which his product is known, and which is rapidly increasing in popularity.
Mr. Petersen is regarded as one of the best informed men in the creamery
business in the San Joaquin Valley and his advice is frequently sought by
dairymen from all sections.
Peter M. Petersen was united in marriage in Denmark, January 12, 1907,
with Christina Williamsen, who is also a native of Denmark. Two children
have blessed their home : Harry Albert and Carl P., both of whom are
natives of California. Fraternally. Mr. Petersen is a member of the Danish
Brotherhood and the Maccabees. He is a member of the Danish Church.
Mr. Petersen is very public-spirited and is regarded as an enthusiastic booster
of local enterprises and has often been called upon to help in the advance-
ment of new and worthy projects.
I. E. DAVIS. — A worthy representative of a long-established American
family, for generations identified with the East, who has come to associate
his life with the development of California, is I. E. Davis, who was born near
Marengo, Morrow County, Ohio, on June 21, 1856, the son of John Davis,
who was also born in the same vicinity. His grandfather was Samuel Davis,
and he removed from New York to Ohio. This journey he made on a raft he
had constructed himself, onto which he loaded his family and his household
goods ; he floated down the Monongahela to the Ohio River to Portsmouth, at
which point he took a position as jailer for two years. At the time of the War
'of 1812, he went up the Scota River by raft, when men pulled it by hand, and
then to Columbus, where he ran up to Delaware County and bought a small
farm in heavy timber. He hewed a farm out of the wilderness, built a log
house, sold it later and bought another farm three miles away. He improved
it, and this farm I. E. Davis owned until just before he came away. The
grandfather died there. John Davis, who became a prominent Republican,
died on the same old place. He had married Annie Mosier, a native of
Morrow County, and the daughter of Daniel Mosier, an early settler and a
pioneer farmer, who also hewed a farm out of the woods. She died in Ohio,
the mother of two children, one of whom, Daniel, is a well-known citizen of
Morrow County.
Brought up on a farm, I. E. Davis attended the public schools and when
twenty-one began to farm for himself. He tried the home place for a while,
and later bought that ranch. He then bought Grandfather Mosier's farm and
went in for general farming. He also bought other farms and sold them again.
The two he had longest, including the Mosier estate, he disposed of when he
decided to come to California.
While in Ohio Mr. Davis married Miss Clara Davis, a native of Illinois,
where she was born in Kankakee County; and on account of her health, he
sold his farm lands in 1910 and moved to Nunn, Colo. He bought a grocery
store and ran the business for a year; but in 1911 he decided to move still
farther West and came out to Fresno.
He bought five acres on Olive Avenue and ran it for a year; and then he
sold it and bought his present place of twenty acres on Blackstone Avenue five
miles out of Fresno. Fourteen acres of his ranch are devoted to the growing of
Muscat, Thompson seedless and Sultana grapes, and the balance of the
acreage is in figs. He makes a specialty of the Calimyrna. and also raises the
Capri figs, caprifying the same. He is a member of the California Associated
Raisin Company and of the California Peach Growers, Inc.
Mrs. Davis, who was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, died
on November 25, 1918, aged fifty-seven years, widely esteemed and beloved.
Mr. Davis is a loyal Republican and a member of the Knights of Pythias,
Lodge No. 216, Marengo, Ohio, wherein he has been identified thirty vears.
2514 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
NILS A. ANDERSON.— A successful viticulturist, who has contributed
to the upbuilding of the community and county, is Nils A. Anderson, a fine
man personally, and having an equally attractive family. He was born in
Umeo, Westerbottenland, Sweden, on November 19, 1871, the son of Anders
Dalroth, who served his time, like a good patriot, in the Swedish army. Nils
A. took the name of Anderson, grew up on a farm, and attended the public
schools ; and when his father died, during the lad's fourteenth year, he con-
tinued farming for a year, next worked in a saw-mill, and then was on a rail-
road until he was twenty-one.
Arriving at maturity, Nils went with a regiment of infantry into the
Swedish army, and after that put to sea in a Norwegian steam vessel, and
for four years engaged in the coast trade. Twice he was wrecked, but each
time survived. The first time the vessel was run down by a Holland steamer
and sank in less than ten minutes, so that two were drowned ; and Nils saved
himself by swimming to the Holland boat. The second time, the boat struck
a reef, but the vessel was eventually saved. After eighteen months more of
service, following the second wreck, Mr. Anderson quit the sea and ran an
engine in a brewery. In 1901, he went to Seattle, and on the second of May,
of that year, to Tacoma, where he became engineer for a lumber company,
and for nine years, off and on, followed that line of work. At other times,
also, he worked at logging contracts.
In the Spring of 1910. Mr. Anderson returned for a four months' visit to
his old home in Sweden; and coming back in January, 1911, on the Empress
of Ireland (which was sunk a few years later at the mouth of the St. Lawrence
River), he located at Vinland, in Fresno County, where he bought forty acres
of improved ranch land, set out with Thompson seedless grapes and an
orchard of peaches, which he kept up until 1917, when he sold out. Then he
bought his present place of seventeen and a half acres on Madera Avenue,
which has a vineyard of Thompson seedless and a good orchard. He built a
comfortable residence there, and added other improvements, and became both
a member and a stockholder in the California Associated Raisin Company
and a member of the Peach Growers, Inc.
At Luleo, in Sweden, Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Caroline Wil-
helmina Peterson, the daughter of Peter and Caroline Peterson, farmers at
Umeo.
Mr. Anderson, who is loyal to the principles of the Republican party, is
a member of the Swedish Lutheran Church at Vinland, where his wife is a
leader in the Ladies' Aid Society. The worthy couple have three children,
Roy, who is in the high school at Kerman ; and Elsie and Ebba.
GEORGE BAZTERRA.— If anyone hereabouts has a right to be proud
of his many friends it is George Bazterra, proprietor of Hotel Bascongado,
and a resident of California for over twenty-five years. He was born near
Abaurrea, Acto, Spain, on November 28, 1875, the son of Jean Bazterra, a
farmer, and his good wife Josephine, and was one of a family of nine children.
In January, 1891, he came with his father to the Pacific Coast ; but the latter
remained only four or five years, and then returned to Spain. Both parents
are now dead; and the only other member of the family in California is
George's sister, Eugenia, now Mrs. Frank Espitallier of Fresno.
Reared in Spain, where he attended the public school until he was four-
teen years of age, George Bazterra came to the Coast as stated, crossing the
ocean in 1890, sailing from Bordeaux to New Orleans and then coming to Los
Angeles, where the Bazterra family arrived on January 6, 1891. He went
to work on the San Joaquin ranch at fifteen dollars a month, and continued
there for a couple of years. Then he entered the service of ranchers at Chino
and Spadra ; but after working four years for a man in the latter place, his
employer failed and he lost the wages long due him. He was young, healthy
and cheerful, however, and so, with as much heartening philosophy as he could
summon, he started anew.
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2515
In 1898 Mr. Bazterra came to Fresno County and accepted a position
with Miller & Lux, at Firebaugh, driving big teams in the grain fields for
them for a couple of years. He was also at Kearney Rock, and then for an-
other year in Firebaugh, after which he worked for M. Theo. Kearney at
Kearney Park for over one year.
When he returned to Fresno, Mr. Bazterra became the proprietor of Ho-
tel Bascongado, but soon after he bought a band of sheep at Los Banos, and
ran them on leased land. After he sold out and left the sheep business, in
which he had good success, he devoted himself solely to his hotel interests.
Mr. Bazterra was married to Mary Helena Ansolabehere, a French woman
born in Hautes-Pyrenees, and together they have enjoyed the social life of
the community, and particularly of the circles of the Druids and the Eagles.
Their home is the center of a warm hospitality, which is rewarded by the
genuine goodwill of all who have the good fortune to know them.
FRED NELSON. — A man of great business acumen and financial ability,
Fred Nelson is representative of the class of citizens who have made up
the rank and file of Fresno's march toward prosperity, and who have reaped
the benefits of their earlier struggles and have at the same time built up and
developed the resources of the county. Born near Utica, N. Y., August 8,
1866, Mr. Nelson is the son of John and Christine (Steck) Nelson, both
natives of Denmark, where the father was a brick and stone mason. They
emigrated to America and in 1869 the family moved to Iowa, settling at St.
Ansgar, Mitchell County. From there they moved up to Minnesota and set-
tled on a farm at Clitherall, Otter Tail County, in 1877, and Fred attended
the district schools of Iowa as well as Minnesota, and as a young man he
helped turn the virgin sod of Minnesota.
When nineteen years old Mr. Nelson came to California ; a brother,
Charles Nelson, the jeweler at Fowler, had preceded him the year before and
had settled at Oleander, Fresno County. After his arrival here Mr. Nelson
began working on ranches and then ranched for himself, first renting the
D. W. Parkhurst vineyard and orchard of 440 acres, at Fowler, and ran it
for four years, from 1891 to 1896. His marriage occurred in the latter year,
to Miss Mattie Donahoo, a native of Nevada, and he then began his upward
climb. That year he purchased a ten-acre piece of land from the Parkhurst
lanch which was improved with a living-house and there the young couple
started housekeeping.
Mr. Nelson ran a packing plant in conjunction with his ranching oper-
ations on the Parkhurst ranch, and packed and shipped raisins, peaches and
pears, making him one of the pioneer fruit packers in the county. Meeting
with success in this, he bought the old Kutner warehouse at Fowler, and
together with Paul H. Hutchinson he conducted the Fowler Fruit Company,
packers and shippers of dried fruits and raisins. This enterprise the partners
operated successfully until some years after the California Associated Raisin
Company was organized, when Mr. Nelson became a stockholder in that
company. He now has stock in both that organization and in the California
Peach Growers, Inc., and is serving as a trustee in the latter. In 1919 he sold
out his packing house at Fowler to the California Peach Growers, Inc., and
his many other business interests leave him small time for individual oper-
ations.
In 1912 Mr. Nelson organized the Fowler National Bank and became a
director in the concern, and in 1915 the bank bought out the interests of the
First National Bank of Fowler; they then consolidated the two, under the
name of the First National Bank of Fowler and Mr. Nelson was made pres-
ident of the new organization, which office he still holds. In 1919 he helped
organize the Growers National Bank of Fresno and became its vice-president.
During their many years of residence in Fowler, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson
took an active part in the growth of that town. Mr. Nelson built several
2516 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
residences and a brick business block, and was the main factor in bringing
about the incorporation of Fowler, which occurred in 1905, and was elected
its first Mayor, serving a four years' term. He helped to build the beautiful
brick United Presbyterian Church there, at a cost of $30,000, of which he
and his wife are members, and he served on the building committee during
the time of its erection. While in the packing business, in 1915, Mr. Nelson
emphasized his farsightedness in business by a coup which he executed dur-
ing, the low price of raisins that season; he began buying and secured a
"corner" on raisins, with the result that the price advanced from two and
one-half cents to five cents per pound, and he made a profit for himself
and also doubled the price to the producers.
In 1916 Mr. Nelson and his wife became residents of Fresno, and built
a fine cement and stucco bungalow there for their home, at 619 North Van
Ness Avenue. In the spring of 1919 Mr. Nelson formed a company and
bought the James Madison ranch between Reedley and Dinuba, consisting
of 520 acres and known as the "Sun Maid Ranch": they paid a purchase
price of $250,000 for the property, and in ninety days sold it for S375.000.
Among other property Mr. Nelson owns a 150-acre peach orchard at Biola;
he also owns a twenty-five acre Thompson seedless vineyard two miles west
of Fresno, and is otherwise interested in Fresno County realty.
In fraternal circles Mr. Nelson has taken a prominent part: he is a
member of the Fresno lodge of Elks; and is a charter member of the I. O. O.
F. at Fowler, in which order he is a Past Noble Grand, and served as
president of the Odd Fellows Hall Association which built the Odd Fellows'
Block in Fowler. Politically, he has done much to help advance the civic
affairs of his district, and has served on the County Central Committee in
the ranks of the Progressive Republican Party.
OLOF PEARSON. — A Swedish-American gentleman who. having emi-
grated to America, is participating in the developing and upbuilding of the
new commonwealth of California, is Olof Pearson, head of the firm of Pearson
& Rosander, at Kingsburg. He was born at Carlshamn, Sweden, a city of seven
thousand population, on the Baltic Sea, the son of Per Olson, a well-to-do
farmer and landholder, who died when Olof was five years of age ; he had
married Hannah Johnson, and she passed away when the child was only
three. He was thus left orphaned, with two sisters, both now married and
in Sweden.
When the father died, the children were taken into the home of an aunt,
a sister of ( )lof's mother, Cecilia Degerlund, whose husband conducted a shoe-
maker's shop in the same city, Olof served an apprenticeship with him for
five years, and became a competent shoemaker. At the same time, he attended
the common schools. He was brought up in the Lutheran Church, and con-
firmed at the age of fourteen.
At nineteen, Mr. Pearson came to America, sailing from Carlshamn.
Sweden, on July 18. 1886, on the steamship ^Yisconsin of the Guion line, and
landed at New York on August 22. 1886, after which he went to Minden. in
Kearney County. Nebr.. where he happened to have some acquaintances in
the county seat. He worked at his trade for the first five or six months, and
did not like it. fur the great out-doors appealed to him more: so he engaged
with the B. & M. in Nebraska for a short time, and then became a clerk in
the general merchandise store at Minden. He remained in Kearney County,
Nebr.. for twenty-six years, mastering American ways, founding his own for-
tune and making many friends.
He was married at Keene, in that state on August 3. 1892, to Miss Mary
Anderson, daughter of Charles F. Anderson. Mr. and Mrs. Pearson are the
parents of three children: Pearl is now Mrs. Paul Paulson, and is employed
in her father's store, while she resides at Kingsburg: Chester, who is also a
clerk in that well-known establishment, was in the United States Army at
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2517
Portland, Ore. ; and Carl is in the United States Navy, which he joined in
March, 1918, on the United States steamship "Matsonia."
In 1913 Mr. Pearson made his first visit to Patterson, Stanislaus County,
having some land there ; but after he had looked over the territory, he dis-
posed of his holding and then came down to Fresno County, which appealed
to him more. In the autumn he brought his family out to Kingsburg ; and
in the spring of 1914 he started in business, opening a general merchandise
stock. After a year and a half, he sold out and went to Selma, where he
entered the employ of S. Ff. Gill & Co., and took charge of the shoe depart-
ment and gents' furnishings ; and his successful management of that branch
of the business added materially to the volume of trade and the number of
friendly patrons of the house.
On March 5. 1919, Mr. Pearson bought out the business of Messrs. Brolin
& Rosman. dealers in general merchandise, at Kingsburg, and at the same
time took in R. A. Rosander as a partner. His wide experience and his equally
fortunate knowledge of human nature and American commercial affairs, have
enabled Mr. Pearson to make this concern one of the commercial bulwarks
of Kingsburg. He also owns 160 acres in Furness County, Nebr.
Mr. and Mrs. Pearson and family are members of the Free Mission
Church at Kingsburg, and for two years Mr. Pearson has been superintend-
ent of the Sunday School. In national politics he is a Republican ; but his
Republicanism stands first, last and all the time for the best of America for
Americans, above party lines, and for the triumph of Prohibition and the
outlawing of the liquor traffic.
JACK TOCCALINL— Among the oldest residents of Arizona Colony
Fresno County, is the well-known viticulturist and horticulturist, Jack Toc-
calini, a native of Italy, born at Pavia, Lombardia, April 2, 1855. He was
reared on a farm in his native land and received a good public school educa-
tion, engaging in farming after reaching his majority. On August 14, 1883,
he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Sala, who was also a native of
Pavia.
Believing that America offered better opportunities for ambitious and
enterprising young men, Mr. Toccalini decided to seek his fortune in the
Golden State; so, in 1885, he bid his family and native land adieu and sailed
for the New World, eventually reaching Napa County, Cal, where he secured
employment on ranches and vineyards. Afterwards he worked in the quick-
silver mines in Pope Valley, and later on was employed by Tolls Brothers,
in their sawmill in Placer County, where he remained for nine seasons. Dur-
ing these years however he spent the winters in Fresno County, where he was
emploved on vineyards and orchards.
In 1893, Mr. Toccalini made a trip back to Italy to visit his family and
look after his farm interests, which his wife had ably managed during his
long absence. After spending twenty-two months in his native land, he re-
turned to California, and to the sawmill where he had previously worked, re-
maining there three years ; but, as before, he spent his winters in Fresno
County. After working one year in the Shaver mill, he leased his present
place of twenty acres in Arizona Colony, in 1898 ; and three years later, having
saved enough money, he purchased the ranch and devoted the place to raising
peaches and raisins' In December, 1900, his wife and two children joined him
on his California ranch, which was indeed a happy reunion. The family now
consists of five children : John, a viticulturist in the Arizona Colony ; Henri-
etta, now Mrs. Buscaglia," residing at Muscatel ; Anna, Mrs. Pescarmona, of
Merced; and Tennie and Rose, at home with their parents.
In 1918, Mr. Toccalini sold his ranch at a good profit, but intends to
buy another place when a good opportunity presents itself. He is a member
of both the California Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach
Growers, Inc.. Politically, he is a strong Republican.
2518 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JOHN AND LOUIS CUCUK.— John and Louis Cucuk are natives of
Servia. John was born on June 27, 1880, and Louis on January 22, 1889. They
are relatives, John being an uncle of Louis. Nature endowed these men with
an abundance of health, and they have applied themselves in such a manner
as to win success by their efforts.
John Cucuk came to Fresno County in 1903, Louis following a year or
two later. After their arrival, they went to work with a will, finding em-
ployment in raisin vineyards and learning every phase of the raisin industry
thoroughly. They were frugal and saving, steady and industrious, and in
1914 they had between them enough to make the initial payment on a forty-
acre raisin and fig ranch on North Avenue, in the Lone Star section, about
nine miles southeast of Fresno. They have brought this place up to a high
state of productivity. Ten acres of figs yielded a harvest worth $9,000 in 1918,
and a larger return is looked for year by year. In the summer of 1918 their
barn was burned, entailing a loss of $1,000, but they put up a better one than
they lost, and also built a new tank house, garage and tray shed, spending
about $3,500 in buildings. A very substantial country residence of solid brick
adorns their ranch, and all of their buildings are in keeping with their habits
of thorough and painstaking industry. So much has fortune favored them
that they are now about out of debt. Their success is due to good business
management and hard work. Meanwhile they have been ready to contribute
to the relief of need wherever found, and have not forgotten to support the
Government in the hour of trial. They are interested in the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company, and whatever makes for progress in the county finds
a ready response from them.
JOHN I. PIMENTEL.— Among the successful men of Fresno who, by
wise management and hard work have reached their enviable position of
prosperity and influence, must be mentioned John I. Pimentel, proprietor of
the Sunset Grocery at 3075 Tulare Avenue, Fresno, who was born in the
balmy Azores on June 17, 1863, the son of John Pimentel, the pioneer who
came to the Pacific Coast in the good old days when folks traveled by the
long way around Cape Horn. He was for eight years mining in the Golden
State and whaling on the Pacific Ocean ; and then he returned to his native
land.
In 1879, when he was sixteen years of age, the son John I. came to
America, and settled in Boston, where for six years he was a book binder.
Then he went to New Bedford and bought thirty acres of land near South
Dartmouth, on which he raised fruit and garden truck. At the end of two
years, he returned to Boston and for a year was porter in Foote & French's
Bank on State Street.
While in Boston, Mr. Pimentel met T. C. Severance, and in 1887 he
traveled to California and all over this state with him as his valet, remaining
in his service for two years. Then, before the electric lines were built, he
drove a horse car in Los Angeles for three years; after which he came to
Fresno, in 1881, and was for a time employed by his brother.
He next took up a homestead of 160 acres one mile east of Friant (for-
merly called Polasky), in Fresno County, and there raised turkevs. having
some 2.500 of them ; when turkeys sold for only seven cents a pound. Taking
a trip back to Boston, he' worked for the Oriental Coffee Companv for a
season ; but getting sick, he decided to return to California and has since
lived in the Golden State.
At first he rented thirty acres west of Fresno and went in for alfalfa
r;iisin£; but, as a ton of the product commanded only four dollars in Fresno.
he gave up the undertaking and entered the employ of Alexander and Good-
man, at the corner of Mariposa and Eye Streets, and there, for sixteen and a
half years, he had the very responsible position of confidential clerk in their
clothing store.
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HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2519
In 1910, Mr. Pimentel opened the Sunset Grocery on the east side of
Tulare Avenue, near First, and was one of the first men to buy land and
build in this district. He erected a seven-room house and grocery store, and
he has steadily prospered. Mr. Pimentel is now a large owner of real estate
in Fresno, and since he does not owe anybody a dollar, all of his property
is free and clear.
Among 'Mr. Pimentel's choice holdings may be mentioned the following:
three houses on Rasina Street ; four houses on Tulare Avenue ; one house on
Erne Street; one house on E Street; one house on Mary Street; four lots on
Washington Avenue ; two lots on O Street ; and one house on Belmont Ave-
nue. He bought the corner of First and Tulare Streets and built there a two-
story business block which he rents.
Some years ago Mr. Pimentel married Maria Brazil of the Azores, by
whom he has had three children: George B., and Lena, both attending Fresno
high school; and Daniel.
Mr. Pimentel is a charter member of the Eagles; and is also a member of
the I. D. E. S., the U. P. E. C, and the Owls. He was chairman of the Portu-
guese Society on the Liberty Loan Drive and did good work among his fel-
low-countrymen. He was selected a member ex-officio of the committee to
represent Portugal for the big celebration of Britain Day, held in Fresno on
December 7 and 8, 1918. He has been a notary public in Fresno for the past
twenty years.
Public-spirited, progressive, a man who has given his children every
advantage in education within his power, Mr. Pimentel is today one of the
really representative citizens in his adopted county, Fresno.
DOMINGO BIDEGARAY. — Among the most hospitable and pleasant
places in Fresno County, is the ranch home of Mr. and Mrs. Domingo Bide-
garay who tender the most cordial welcome to the fortunate wayfarer that
happens to come by their ranch. Mr. Bidegaray was born at Esterencuty. St.
Jean Pied de Port, Basses Pyrenees, France, June 9, 1870, being the oldest
of four children born to Pierre and Gracian (Granada) Bidegaray. The
mother of the family died in 1878 when Domingo was only four years of age.
Pierre Bidegaray raised the family while following general agricultural pur-
suits and after the children had come to California, he also made the journey
remaining four years with them, but the scenes of his childhood beckoned
too strongly to him so he returned to his old home, where he is spending his last
days surrounded by his old friends and scenes so dear to him.
Domingo, from a youth, helped his father on the farm and at the same
time attended the local school as much as possible. Later he worked out for
others to render his father still more assistance. He worked for a Mr. Etche-
goin, who had a brother in Fresno County, and he naturally heard the favor-
able reports sent back to France and so became greatly interested which
resulted in his determination to also try his fortune on the Pacific Coast.
Arriving in Fresno in October, 1890, he found employment with William
Etchegoin, a sheep-man on the West Side and for a year worked within sight
of his present ranch. He continued working for others and the wages due him
had accumulated but on account of the dry and. hard years of 1897-98 many
stockmen failed and he lost his wages. He continued working, this
time with a determination that as soon as he had enough money he would
engage in business for himself and not take chances on others' success or
failure, for he might as well win or lose on his own account. It will be seen
that there was no such word as fail in Domingo Bidegaray's vocabulary.
In 1900, with a partner, he bought a flock of sheep and four years later
bought his partner's interest, continuing the business, ranging his stock on
the plains and in the mountains. Some years he had as many as 10,000 head
and he met with the most satisfactory success. In 1910 he located his present
ranch as a homestead of 160 acres about eight miles north of Huron. He has
made improvements on the place with comfortable residence and substantial
2520 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
barns and other buildings. He purchased land adjoining and now owns 960
acres, being also engaged in raising grain, though stock-raising is his specialty.
He is a thorough farmer and insists on keeping everything about the ranch in
the best of shape so it is a satisfaction to see the order that prevails on his
ranch. Being well posted and experienced in the sheep-raising industry, in
lr)07, Mr. Bidegaray was appointed, by the Secretary of Agriculture as Fed-
eral Sheep Inspector, a position he filled with his customary zaal and ardor,
traveling all over the San Joaquin Valley, giving it his time and best effort
until 1917, when he resigned on account of the pressure of his other affairs.
He is one of the original stockholders of the Union National Bank of Fresno,
and is also one of the stockholders of the Fresno Savings Bank.
In Fresno, January 3, 1910, occurred the marriage of Domingo Bidegaray
with Miss Juanita Eznoz, a native of Navarra, Spain, the daughter of Jose
and Romona (Larrea) Eznoz, farmer folk in that country. Juanita Eznoz
came to Fresno in 1906, where she met Mr. Bidegaray, the acquaintance re-
sulting in their marriage. They have three children, Micaela, Juanita and
Joaquina, all attending St. John's Academy in Fresno. Mr. and Mrs. Bide-
garay are conscientious and consistent Christians and try to do good whenever
the opportunity arises. Of social dispositions, they are liberal with their hos-
pitality and are ready and willing to help deserving people, as well as move-
ments for the general good of the community. In national politics. Mr. Bide-
garay is a Republican.
O. A. OLSEN. — A well-posted viticulturist, now in independent circum-
stances, who is enjoying the rewards of hard labor and enterprise of such a
nature that no one could possibly envy him his success, is O. A. Olsen. He
was born at Flekkefjord, Norway, on May 1, 1879, the son of Ole Tonneson,
a farmer having a farm and a fisherman who had his own vessel, the catching
of fish being his chief industry. He used to make trips to the north coast of
Norway and bring back his catch ; and he was locally famous for his experi-
ence and prowess. He lived to a good old age, and died in the land of his
birth. His wife was Tobnia Larsen before her marriage. When she died, she
was the mother of seven children, among whom three, all sons, are now liv-
ing: Thomas is in Fortuna, and Louis is in Loleta, Cal., the owner of the
Loleta Lumber Yard ; while O. A. Olsen lives on his ranch twelve miles east
of Fresno.
After finishing the courses at the public schools, the lad assisted his
father until he was seventeen, and then he sailed from Norway for the
United States.
In 1896, Mr. Olsen reached Fortuna. Humboldt County, and soon after.
at Newburg, entered the employ of the Eel River Valley Lumber Gompany.
Two months later he went to Scotia and began grading for the P. E. I. Co.,
after which he was a sawyer, running the big band saw. At the end of a year
he resigned and went to Siskiyou County, and there, at La Moyne, he was
sawyer for the La Moyne Lumber Company for another year. Typhoid fever
drove him back to Fortuna. and in the spring of 1904 he came to Fresno
County, where he entered on a service of two years as sawyer for the Sanger
Lumber Company. Then he went to Loyalton, Sierra County, to work as
sawyer for the Roberts Lumber Company and he continued with them for
five years, or until they ran out of logs. He next shifted to the Marsh Lumber
Company to perform the same service, and left them at the end of two years,
only because that company also ran out of timber. Two years of hard, expert
work as sawyer for the Davis Lumber Company completed a service as saw-
yer of eleven years, and after one more year in the same capacity, with the
Sugar Pine Lumber Company at Madera, he returned to Sanger to quit
lumbering and take up the new field of farming.
For the last ten years Mr. Olsen has been engaged in viticulture, and
gradually he has built up an enviable reputation Eor leadership in the most
up-to-date methods. He bought twenty acres of vineyard near Sanger, ran
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2521
it awhile, and then sold it at a good profit. He next bought forty acres of
raw land on McCall and Ventura Avenues, improved the same and set out a
vineyard ; and two years later he sold it at a good profit. Once again he
bought a vineyard, this time of thirty acres, near Sanger, for which he paid
$6,500, kept it three years, and sold it at a fair profit. Then he bought ten
acres near Sanger which he sold to his father-in-law in 1915, and associating
himself with the Alexander Land Company of Fresno, he engaged in real
estate for a year. About the same time he bought forty acres near Sanger,
which he sold in two months at a good profit.
In the spring of 1916, he bought eighty acres near Sanger for $20,000,
located on it, set out forty acres to vines, and planted the other forty to alfalfa,
and in January, 1918, sold it at a big profit. He had taken off two crops
worth $10,000, and he received $32,000 for the land. Before this he had
bought his present place of twenty-six acres on Ventura Avenue, where he
made his home, and also thirty-seven acres across the road, which he planted
to grain. Well-posted on land values, Mr. Olsen knows when the price is
right and how both to safeguard himself and to do justice by the purchaser;
and the result is that whoever does business with this enterprising rancher
never fails to be satisfied. One of the original members of the California
Associated Raisin Company, he was long correspondent and signed up
every member in his section, besides securing outside district support ; and
he is also an active member of the California Peach Growers Association, Inc.
At Sanger. Mr. Olsen was married to Miss Sabina Garbick, a native of
Galicia, Austria, who came here with her parents when she was a girl. Three
children have blessed this happy union : Alfred Sigmund ; Alice Sabina, and
Herman Thomas. The family attends the Methodist Church at Sanger, and
Mr. Olsen is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the
Red Men.
While at Eureka, in 1901, Mr. Olsen was made a citizen of the United
States. He has served his fellow citizens as trustee of the Granville School
District.
G. B. GARBARINO. — A resident of California for over forty years, and
numbered among the old and prosperous settlers of Fresno County, G. B.
Garbarino has contributed his share to the development and improvement of
the lands of the county. He is a native of Italy, born in Genoa, December 27,
1855, and when a babe only six days of age was left an orphan. Mr. Garbarino
was reared to young manhood by his uncle Peter Garbarino, and remained on
his uncle's farm until he reached his majority, when, being the only child, he
came into possession of the estate left by his father.
In May, 1877, Mr. Garbarino left his native land for America, arriving in
the Golden State in June of the same year. For a while he worked as a gar-
dener in San Francisco, after which he engaged in mining in Mariposa County,
and later followed lumbering. In 1882, he came to Fresno County, where he
purchased a ranch, near Calloway, from Thomas Hughes. Here he followed
gardening, but later on he set out the ranch to vines ; he has retained this
property ever since. For a number of years he owned and operated a ranch
on the Kings River. Mr. Garbarino was the first man in Fresno County to
irrigate crops by pumping water from a well. He installed a chain pump
which he operated by horse-power, and in this manner he was enabled to
raise enough water to irrigate his crop of vegetables.
It was in 1902 that Mr. Garbarino purchased his present place of twenty-
five acres, situated between Thorne and Palm Avenues, and the following
year he located there. He leveled and improved the place, engaged in garden-
ing, and sold the products of his well-kept place in Fresno. The business
finally grew to such an extent that it required five wagons to deliver the
vegetables to his many patrons in the city. He has installed a modern pump-
ing plant and also built a large and comfortable residence on his ranch. With
his son-in-law, Fred Maglio, Mr. Garbarino has secured the contract for the
2522 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Fresno New Scavenger, and for this business owns and operates four auto
trucks.
G. B. Garbarino has been married three times, the first time to Serephina
Garbarino, the ceremony being solemnized in Italy. She passed away, leaving
one child, Joe, who died at the age of seven years and seven months. His
second marriage occurred at Coulterville, Cal., when he was united with
Mary Garbarino, who afterwards died on the Calloway ranch, leaving two
children : Annie, who is now Mrs. Allen ; and Aurelia, Mrs. Maglio, both of
whom reside in Fresno. In 1901, Mr. Garbarino took a trip to Italy, and upon
his return to California was united in marriage with Mrs. Ida Garbarino, a
native of Italy. She passed away in August, 1911, leaving five children:
Blanche, Joe, John, Ernest, and Eva. The last-named dying when seven
months old. By a former marriage Mrs. Ida Garbarino was the mother of
one child, Mary, who is now the wife of Jerry Lombardi.
Mr. Garbarino was made a citizen of the United States of America over
thirty years ago, having received his naturalization papers at Fresno. In po-
litical matters Mr. Garbarino supports the principles of the Republican party.
JOHN HILTON BALFE. — The resident superintendent of the famous
"Margherita Vineyard," located on Ventura Avenue, five miles east of Fresno
is John H. Balfe a native of the Empire State, born January 16, 1898, at
Newburgh, N. Y., a son of Frederick C. and Bertha (Hilton) Balfe. His
father, F. C. Balfe, is a well known capitalist of the state of New York and
is treasurer of the Newburgh Savings Bank and is financially interested in
the Newburgh Shipyards Incorporated, of Newburgh, N. Y., a large and im-
portant industry. Both the Balfe and Hilton families are prominent in the
financial and social circles of the state of New York and are favorablv known
in the nation's metropolis. Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Balfe are the parents of three
children: Harriet; John H., the subject of this review; and Frederick C. Jr.
John Hilton Balfe, received his early education in the public schools of
Newburgh, afterwards going to Blair Academy, Blairstown, N. J., where he
was preparing himself to enter Cornell University, planning to pursue the
agricultural course, but was obliged to abandon his plans on account of eye
trouble. He has always had a strong liking for the great "out-of-doors" life
and during the summer after he left Blair Academy, he worked on the Borden
Home Farm, in Orange County, N. Y. The Borden's were the first people
in the United States to successfully manufacture evaporated milk and put
it up in cans, their original farm being located near Newburgh, N. Y. On this
famous farm Mr. Balfe learned dairying and the care of milch cows. Being
strongly inclined to engage in agricultural pursuits, it was but natural that
California, with its wonderful and diversified opportunities for such work,
would attract the attention of Mr. Balfe. He arrived in the Golden State in
1917, and became the resident superintendent of the great "Margherita Vine-
yard" which is owned by the East Side Development Company, a California
corporation, of which his father. F. C. Balfe, is a large stockholder and Charles
Teague, of Fresno, is the president. This vineyard was originally owned and
developed by the late E. B. Rogers, who planted it to wine grapes; the
varieties include the zinfandel, mission, feherzagos, oheoni, sultana, and the
buchi. The property contains a large winery with ample machinery for the
distillation of grape brandy. Most of the 1918 crop of grapes was sent to
Fresno, where it found a ready sale as "table grapes." The shipping facilities
of the "Margherita Vineyard" are most excellent as the Southern Pacific
Railroad and the Fresno Traction Company both run near the property and
have switches built into the vineyard thus making it possible to load and
ship the grapes directly from the vineyard. This splendid property is abun-
dantly sub-irrigated and the soil is very fertile, the vineyard being regarded the
most valuable tract of land, devoted to viticulture in Fresno County. Palm
Avenue, a very picturesque dm e, bounds the property on the east. It is one
^^feJL^Ur
/7u*4 (T<7n '{fic^^d&n/
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2523
mile in length and is bordered by gigantic Washington palms, many of the
driveways being skirted by olive trees of unusual size.
Through the energetic and intelligent management of Mr. Balfe, the
vineyard is kept up to a high state of development. Mr. Balfe is managing
the famous "Margherita Vineyard" with great satisfaction to the company and
with profit to the stockholders. He is more enthusiastic over farming and
the out-of-door life since coming to California and is making good in his
chosen work of agriculture, horticulture and viticulture and his friends
predict for him a very successful business career. An uncle of his, Harry
Balfe, is the head of the Austin Nichols Company, of New York City, the
largest wholesale grocery in the world ; another uncle, Thomas F. Balfe,
of New York City, is a stockholder and president of the Newburgh Savings
Bank.
FRED M. ROESSLER.— A man who has given his best efforts toward
the improving and building-up of his section of Fresno County is Fred M.
Roessler, who has been a resident of California since 1874. He was born in
St. Martin, Rheinish Bavaria, Germany, August 24, 1857, his father George
Roessler, being a viticulturist on the Rhine, so that while attending school
as a boy Fred M. assisted in the vineyard on Wednesday and Saturday after-
noons, as is the custom in that country, learning the care of the vineyard
and the method of pruning the vines under his father's direction. After he
had completed the grammar school he entered the high school at Edenkoben,
continuing his studies until just before graduation.
His desire to see the world had become so strong that he left home and
shipped aboard a vessel bound for New York City, arriving in 1873. Here
he enlisted in the Nautical School Ship "St. Marys," taking a course in navi-
gation, after which he shipped from Boston on the "Lathley Rich," sailing
around Cape of Good Hope by way of Australia, Fiji Islands and Japan to
China, visiting most of the important ports in the Orient. During the voyage
they had many interesting experiences, some of which left an indelible
impression on the young lad. At Hong Kong he decided to come to Cal-
ifornia. Having read of the California grapes he had a longing to see this
productive country, so he came on an English boat Margarite, with 1,100
coolies aboard, to San Francisco, arriving in July, 1874, not yet seventeen
years of age — a stranger in a strange land.
Making his way to Monterey County, he worked on a ranch and learned
to drive the big teams in the grain field, as-well-as to do general farm work.
Reading much about Mexico his interest was aroused and in 1878 he went
to Guaymas on the ship that carried the first two locomotives from San
Francisco to Guaymas for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad then
building from Guaymas to Benson, Ariz. He was employed on the construc-
tion of the road until they reached Hermosillo, when he became ill with
fever and returned to San Francisco via Carmen Island on a ship that car-
ried a load of salt to San Francisco. In the fall of 1879 he visited his parents
and on his return visited Napa and Santa Clara Counties, but found land
values too high for him so he came to Fresno County having read of Eggers
vinevard and cheap lands. Looking about he met a Mr. Downer, who wanted
to sell out so Mr. Roessler purchased his forty acres with improvements for
$1,600. This formed the nucleus of his present large vineyard. He imme-
diately set about to improve it, and as he could, he purchased other lands
from time to time until he has 180 acres in one body and improved to wine
grapes. In 1892 he began making wine commercially, and in 1893 built his
first winery. Later, as his needs required he completed the present large
winery with a capacity of 500,000 gallons. He has beautified the place with
a park which surrounds his residence, and which is set out with ornamental
and shade trees and which is often referred to as one of the show places of
the district.
2524 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In San Francisco, May 3. 1890. occurred the marriage of F. M. Roessler
with Miss Sina Johnson, who was born near Stavanger, Norway, and who
came to Fresno in 1888; they have three children living.— Elsie, Mrs. Flynn
of San Francisco; George and Alfred are Caring for the Roessler vineyards.
They also have an adopted son, Ludvig Roessler, who resides in San Fran-
cisco.
Mr. Roessler was made a Mason in Salinas Lodge No. 247. F. & A. M.,
is now a member of Fresno Lodge. He is also a member of Fresno Consistory
Scottish Rite and Islam Temple A. A. O. N. M. S., in San Francisco, as-well-
as the Fresno Lodge of Elks. Mr. Roessler is very liberal and enterprising
and can always be found on the side of development and public improve-
ment. He is a contributor to all worthy projects for the betterment of the
condition of the people, and always a supporter of The Fresno Chamber
of Commerce. He believes in cooperation and is a stockholder and member
of the California Associated Raisin Company. Politically, he performs his
civic duties under the standard of the Republican platform.
FRED REBENSDORF. — Combining farsightedness with hard work and
keeping the owning of his own ranch for his goal, Fred Rebensdorf has at-
tained his objective and is now cultivating the second piece of property he
has acquired since coming to Fresno County as a poor boy from his native
Russia. Born on the River Volga, near Dinkel, Samara, November 12, 1877,
he is a son of Fred and Mary (Schroeder) Rebensdorf, natives of Russia, and
farmer folk there; the father passed to his reward in the old country, but the
mother is rounding out her years in Fresno.
Of the six children born to his parents, Fred Rebensdorf is the youngest,
and was raised on the home farm while attending the public schools of his na-
tive province. He later served in the artillery of the Russian Army, and on re-
ceiving his honorable discharge followed farming. His marriage occurred in
Dinkel in 1902, and united him with Miss Mary Thompson, also born there.
In 1903 the young people made the long journey to the United States, and for
one year located in South Dakota ; then, in 1904, they came to Fresno, and
here Mr. Rebensdorf was for two years in the employ of the Santa Fe rail-
road. The following two years he did ranch work ; and then he felt able to
buy his first property, consisting of twenty acres at Rolinda, on White's Bridge
Road. This he improved to alfalfa and engaged in dairying. Four years later
he sold the ranch at a good profit and in 1912 bought his present place of
thirty acres in Barstow District, thirteen miles northwest of Fresno. This
propertv he has improved to vineyards, putting in Thompson seedless grapes,
and some of the acreage he devotes to alfalfa. Here he has built his residence
and other buildings necessary to ranch work. Ten children have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Rebensdorf: Annie; Fred Jr.; Peter; Alexander; Henry;
William; Mollie ; Emma; Jacob, and Walter all at home with their parents.
The family attend the Lutheran Church in Fresno. Mr. Rebensdorf is a mem-
ber of the California Associated Raisin Company, and in politics is a Re-
publican.
DEUTA SULPRIZIO. — The Adriatic provinces are wonderfully attrac-
tive to the traveler because of their picturesque old-time life, quaint towns,
interesting and beautiful national costumes and extraordinary scenery.
Among these provinces is Abruzzi, on Italy's eastern shore, where Deuta
Sulprizio, the proprietor of Sulprizio's Auto Machine Shop, was born Novem-
ber 2. 1884. He received a public school education, completing it in the high
school in his native country, and at the age of sixteen, while still a school
student, started in to learn the machinist's trade. From fifteen to eighteen
years of age he followed bicycle and motorcycle racing, later becoming an
expert automobile racer in England, France and Italy, winning a number of
prizes in long-distance races. Fie worked at his trade of machinist in different
cities of Italy until twenty years of age, when he entered the School of Me-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2525
chanical and Nautical Engineering, where he became an expert. One year
after graduation he was foreman of a large shop in Italy. Later he worked
in the navy yard shops at Naples as marine engineer. For three and one-half
years he was foreman on construction. Part of the time he saw service on the
sea as marine engineer on torpedo-boats and battleships, and took long trips
on newly constructed gasoline launches, delivering them to battle-ships. His
experience as marine engineer caused his services to be sought by L. A. Norris,
of San Francisco, Cal., owner of the seagoing eighty-foot yacht Seafair, then
in the bay of Naples, Italy. He was engineer on this yacht on a 30,000-mile
trip from Naples to Malta, China, Japan, India and the Philippine Islands — ■
a trip lasting nearly a year — finally sailing through the Golden Gate, San
Francisco, November 25, 1911.
Since the date of his landing, Mr. Sulprizio has been actively engaged at
his trade in California. He was employed in the garage of Waterman Brothers
at Fresno for seven months, and then worked in Tulare, Modesto and Los
Angeles. In 1914 he returned to Fresno and started a small machine repair
shop on I Street. The gradual expansion of his business caused him to move
to larger quarters on I and Merced Streets, and later to Inyo and I Streets.
In April, 1918, he moved to his present shop at 507 I Street, where he has one
of the most commodious and up-to-date places in Fresno, fully equipped with
machinery for carrying on his steadily growing business. He does cylinder
regrinding, carries special makes of pistons, and does general mechanical
work, tractor repairing, etc.
MORTEN POULSEN. — A justly popular Danish-American in the vicin-
ity of Parlier is Morten Poulsen. He owns twenty acres a mile and a half west
of Parlier, where he has resided for six months. He was born at Ribe, in
Denmark, on September 12, 1875, the son of Paul Poulsen, a farmer, who
married Marie Sorensen, and after a very industrious life, died in his native
land, aged fifty-four years. Mrs. Poulsen is still living at Ribe. the mother
of ten children, who grew up, and little Marie, who died a child, in Denmark.
These seven boys and three girls are as follows : Claus S., a farmer, married,
in Denmark; and his twin brother, Morten, the subject of this interesting
review; Anna K., the wife of Jess Andersen; Inga, the wife of Ben Tobiasen ;
Soren J., a rancher living near Parlier; Nils Marius, also a rancher; Anton
M.. a carpenter and single, who is doing a patriot's duty at Camp Lewis;
Christina, the wife of "William Kallerup, who is in the restaurant business
at San Francisco ; Knudt Einar, single, an infantryman at Camp Freeman ;
Hans H., who was killed on July 28, 1917, in France.
After attending the excellent Danish schools until he was nineteen, Mor-
ten went to sea, and for seven years coursed the briny deep on sailing vessels
and steamships. He also put out from England for three years, when he
worked for the Atlantic Transport Line. For this strenuous activity he was
well prepared, for before becoming a sailor he was a fisherman, and worked
for three years on a fishing vessel hailing from Germany. He first came to
America in 1903, when he sailed in the Coast-trade ships busy in transporting
cotton. He had taken passage on a steamer from Southampton for New
York, and having gotten his bearings in the American metropolis, he engaged
with the Morgan line. After that he served for six months in laying and
repairing the cable from Galveston to Vera Cruz ; and he also helped repair
the cable from Florida to Bermuda. During the years 1906-07, Mr. Poulsen
was in the Danish Navy, cruising in the Mediterranean Sea, where he did
duty as a marine. Before he went into the Danish Navy, he had sailed mostly
in German and English ships. He doubled Cape Horn twice, and the Cape of
Good Hope once ; and so, through all these wide wanderings, in which he
visited and sojourned in more lands than most people even read of in detail,
he came to know much about life on the globe as a whole, and is therefore
todav wonderfully well informed.
2526 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Mr. Poulsen also joined the gold-seekers and went to the frozen North. In
1907 he sailed for Alaska, and from June to October, 1908, he was at Nome.
He worked for the Sunset Mining Company and other smaller concerns,
bought and ran a water business, and in November, 1909, sold out and came
south again. Just prior to this experience, he had revisited Denmark and
there met Jess Andersen, elsewhere referred to in this work, and on his return
to Fresno County he followed him, Mr. Andersen being then married to his
sister.
In January, 1910, Mr. Poulsen returned to California, and on November
23 of the following year he married Kristina Jensen, who came from Ribe,
where she was born, to California, the year before. Two children have blessed
this happy union: Agnes Marie, and Hans Hansen. Now snugly settled on
the twenty-acre tract that he owns in the Danish Colony, Morten looks back
with more satisfaction than regret on his hard work at sea, which extended
through twelve years, as a seaman and marine. During the first three years
he fished mostly in the North Sea, the Shetland Islands, and at Iceland, and
is enthusiastic when he relates the sporting side of the fisherman's life there.
Mr. Poulsen was chosen president of the Danish Brotherhood, organized
for the district two miles west of Parlier, in January, 1918; and he is a mem-
ber of the Danish Lutheran Church, three miles west of Parlier, and an ex-
member of its board of trustees. Air. Poulsen is an Al sort of citizen; and
the same measure of esteem and good-will is bestowed upon his wife and
children, as upon himself.
JES HANSEN. — Denmark has given to the United States many of her
best citizens, men who have become very successful and influential in the
various localities in which they have settled. California has received her
share of these thrifty men and they have adapted themselves to their new
surroundings and greatly aided in the upbuilding of the horticultural, viti-
cultural and agricultural interests of Fresno County.
Jes Hansen, the subject of this sketch, is a native of Slesvig, Denmark,
born February 5, 1853, a son of Nis Hansen, who, when last heard from, is
still living in Denmark, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. The
mother of Jes Hansen was, in maidenhood, Karen Jacobsen and she was the
mother of three children, Jes being the only son and the oldest child. He was
reared on a farm in Denmark and attended the public schools of his native
country. Determined to get away from the Prussian military oppression to
which his native province was subjected after the war of 1864, Jes went to
Denmark in 1870, remaining there until 1875 when he migrated to America,
landing at New York City, from which place he continued his journey by
vessel to Panama. After crossing the Isthmus he sailed to San Francisco
where he landed July 8, 1875. He secured employment on Sherman Island
where he worked on a farm until January 1, 1876. He next engaged in the
fishing business, with partners, and they fished for salmon in the Sacramento
River for eight months of the year, during the salmon season, and in the
summertime Jes was employed in ranch work. This work he followed for
four years and was quite successful in his enterprise.
In 1878 he purchased twenty acres in Washington Colony, Fresno
County, and in November, 1879, located upon his ranch. With his charac-
teristic enterprise Jes began to improve his place by planting an orchard,
vineyard and alfalfa. He remained on this place until 1888 when he rented
it and went to the west side of the county where he homesteaded 160 acres
three miles east of Huron. Jes Hansen improved this ranch, secured his
deed for the place and followed farming there until 1893. Afterwards he
removed to San Luis Obispo County where he engaged in grain farming
east of Creston, but dry years, with their natural sequence, poor crops, pre-
cluded his making a success in that undertaking, so he moved in 1898 to
a place near to Paso Robles, on the Huero Huero where he leased land,
followed farming, ran a combined harvester and in this way succeeded in
C7&£7U7&d&*^<^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2527
getting another start. Jes Hansen then began to think of his prosperous
days in Fresno County and longed to return there which he did in 1904,
when he purchased twenty acres of his present ranch, which at that time
was raw land. He soon improved the land and planted vines and trees, later
purchasing twenty acres adjoining and today his highly cultivated ranch of
forty acres on Pierce Avenue includes fifteen acres in peaches, a vineyard
of twenty acres and five acres of alfalfa.
In 1883, Jes Hansen was united in marriage with Mary Mortensen, a
native of Jylland, Denmark; the ceremony being solemnized in the Wash-
ington Colony, Fresno County. This union has been blessed with six chil-
dren: John, is a farmer in the Roosevelt district; Mary, is now the wife of
Kelly Cole, who is in active service in the United States Navy, stationed
in South American waters, while Mrs. Cole makes her home at San Pedro ;
Martin and Charles are both serving with the United States Army in France ;
Annie and Carrie are both living at San Pedro.
Religiously, Mr. Hansen is a member of the Lutheran Church and in
politics supports the Republican ticket. He is a stockholder and member of
both the California Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Associated
Raisin Company. Mr. Hansen is especially interested in advancing the edu-
cational interests of the community which he has manifested by serving as
school trustee of McKinley district, having been a member of the board
when the new school house was built. He planted the trees around the
school yard, looked after their care and to him are due the thanks of the
children and students of the district for the large trees that beautify the
grounds today.
L. ROY PAYNE. — The opportunities for business growth and financial
development presented by the city of Fresno have strongly appealed to the am-
bitions of a few men who were destined to make their way in the business world,
and who, by their strength of character and conservative judgment, have aided
in building the superstructure of the commonwealth's growth and prosperity upon
a secure and permanent foundation. Such a man is L. R. Payne, who has had
much to do with the raisin-growing and packing industry of the San Joaquin
Valley and is recognized as the pioneer member of the California Associated
Raisin Company. He was born on January 31, 1876, at Clyde, Allegan County,
Mich., a son of John H. and Cecelia (Askins) Payne, natives of England and
Allegan County, Mich., respectively. John H. Payne came with his father to the
United States, settled in Michigan, where he grew up on a farm and later engaged
in the insurance business. He died in Michigan at the age of seventy-eight years.
Mrs. Payne is a daughter of a Pennsylvania farmer who was a pioneer of Michi-
gan. She is living in Fresno. There were four sons and one daughter in the
Payne family, two sons are now deceased.
Roy Payne, as he is familiarly called by his friends, spent his boyhood in
Allegan County, meanwhile attending the grammar and high schools in Vicks-
burg, that state. He finished his education in Kalamazoo College, graduating in
1892, after which he became a bookkeeper at Sturgis, Mich., where he remained
until he accepted a position with the Producers' Fruit Company at Fresno. He
remained with this concern for sometime and became familiar with the industry,
then accepted a similar position with the Fresno Home Packing Company. By
steady application to business he gradually worked his way to the front and soon
was able to purchase an interest in the plant. This was in 1898, at which time he
was elected a member of the board of directors and was made secretary. In 1902
he was elected vice-president and made outside manager, having charge of all
outside packing interests. This company owned the first seeded-raisin packing
plant in the San Joaquin Valley, built up a lucrative business and established
several branch houses. In 1902 there was a consolidation of five independent
packing houses, the concern being known as the Pacific Coast Seeded-Raisin Com-
pany, and was the largest shipper of raisins in the state. The buildings erected
by the company were some of the largest in the state used for that purpose and
2528 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
were fitted with the most modern machinery, labor-saving devices and nowhere
in the world was there a more modern plant of like character. Mr. Payne devoted
his entire time to the upbuilding of the company until 1913, when an organization
was effected whereby this and many other packing plants in the San Joaquin
Valley were taken over by the California Associated Raisin Company, and Mr.
Payne assumed a very responsible position with the new concern, holding it until
in February, 1919, when he was advanced to the position of operating manager.
The duties of his position are educational for the grower, with whom Mr. Payne
advises as to the best methods to be applied to get the best results and to stand-
ardize the output of Sun-Maid Raisins. He also settles all the difficulties that arise
with the growers, passes on the quality of his raisins, in fact takes the crop from
the grower to the packing house. When it is taken into consideration that there
are some 9,000 growers in the organization it will be seen that his position is one
that require a perfect knowledge of the industry in all its branches and the
ability, tact and skill to manage men. The California Associated Raisin Company
is one of the largest of its kind in the world and Mr. Payne is exerting a strong
influence towards making the business a success.
L. R. Payne was united in marriage at Oakland, December 19, 1901, with
Miss Delia M. Hodges, a native of California and the daughter of I. A. Hodges,
a pioneer of Fresno County. Of this union two children have been born, Marian
Frances and Dorothy. Mr. Payne was made a Mason in Fresno Lodge No. 247,
F. & A. M., belongs to Trigo Chapter No. 69, R. A. M., Fresno Commandery No.
29, K. T., Fresno Lodge of Perfection, and Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He
is one of the honorary members of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce and was a
member of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commmittee. He installed the ex-
hibit for the California Associated Raisin Company at the Panama-Pacific Inter-
national Exposition in San Francisco, and this exhibit took the Grand Prize.
He is a member of the Sequoia, Commercial and Sunnyside Country Clubs in
Fresno. All projects for the upbuilding of Fresno County have his active co-oper-
ation and he is recognized as a prominent man of affairs throughout the San
Joaquin Valley.
REV. E. MOLLOY, C. S. S. R. — A learned, benevolent and distinguished
representative of the Roman Catholic clergy, who occupies an honored position
in the religious life of Fresno and Fresno County, is the Rev. E. Molloy, the be-
loved head of St. Alphonsus Church, parish school and convent at Fresno.
He was born in Newfoundland on November 13, 1881, and his father, John
Molloy, was likewise a native of that picturesque and historic region. He taught
school for thirty years at Gussett's Cove, Conception Bay, and his memory, as that
of a model schoolmaster, is still revered there. The mother was Charlotte Murphy
before her marriage, and she was also a native of Newfoundland. John Molloy
and his wife had seven children — six boys and a girl — six of whom grew to
maturity; and four of the sons and the daughter are still living. In 1901, the
parents moved to Boston, and there, in February, 1918, the father died at the
age of eighty-six years. He was an exceptionally mild and modest man, full of love
and benevolence ; and he continued to be called "the Master" unto the day of his
death. Mrs. Molloy is still living, eighty-eight years old.
Reverend Molloy commenced his studies under his father, then at Sarsfield
school, in Montreal, where he was graduated, after which he entered the Loyola
Jesuit College on Richmond Street, Montreal, in 1896, where he started his
classics and continued until June, 1898. That fall he entered the Redemptorist
Junior Seminary at Kirkwood, near St. Louis, Mo., and in June, 1900, was gradu-
ated from the classical course. After fifteen months of novitiate at the Redemp-
torist Novitiate at Kansas City, Mo., he was duly professed on August 15, 1902,
whereupon he entered the higher Redemptorist Seminary at De Soto, Mo., and
there pursued courses in philosophy, dogmatic and moral theology. On May 20.
1908, he was ordained in St. Alphonsus Church, St. Louis, by Rt. Rev. Arch-
bishop Glennon, when he spent another eighteen months in the further study of
theology and special preparation for the Missions.
L^OtAAi(L^n^ly^^ ^du^i
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2529
On November 11, 1909, Father Molloy arrived in California and became an
assistant to Father Henry Weber, who built St. Alphonsus' Church, and the
Parish House at Fresno; and in 1915 Father Molloy succeeded him as Superior
and Rector. The Church owns two blocks of land, 300x375 feet in size on
Kearney Avenue and Trinity Street upon which the Church Parish House and
School are located, while the Sisters' Convent is in the block to the east. The
object of the future is to make this an educational center and the plan is to build
a Boys' College and Boarding School.
In 1916, Father Molloy built St. Alphonsus' School, where instruction is
given in the eight grammar school grades, and a business or commercial course
as well as a musical course is provided. The teachers are Sisters of the Order
of the Holy Cross, and are graduated from the University of Indiana, at Notre
Dame. The Sisters' Convent was founded at the same time that the school was
started by Father Molloy. Connected with the St. Alphonsus charge are the two
outside missions of Clovis and Sanger, both in Fresno County, and to carry on
this work nine priests and two lay brothers reside at the Parish House of St.
Alphonsus. They also give Missions in various sections of California, Nevada
and Arizona.
During the late War drives, Father Molloy was one of the "Four-Minute
Speakers" working under the direction of the Committee on Public Information
at Washington, and being popular, as a devoted citizen of Fresno, his influence
in the arousing and sustaining of patriotic, unselfish sentiment was potent. He
was only perpetuating a tradition of the Molloy family, however, for his grand-
parents were known, with their families, as among the sturdiest and most loyal
of Newfoundland pioneers.
CARL CHRISTIAN. — A very energetic and enterprising- resident of
Fresno County who has made a success of viticulture and horticulture and made
an estimable place for himself in the community is Carl Christian who was born
on the Volga River in Tarlikofka, Samara, Russia, April 24, 1880. The youngest
of nine children born to Phillip and Marie Catherine (Rinehart) Christian who
reared their family on a farm and are still living and engaged in husbandry in
that country. Carl received a good education in the local schools and at the same
time learned to farm. After his school days were over he was apprenticed at
the bricklayer's trade, working at it during the summer, while winters he worked
at the shoemaker's trade, becoming an experienced workman in both lines and
followed these trades until twenty-one years of age, then he entered the Russian
Army serving in a cavalry regiment stationed at Keifskibolk, Russia. This was
during the Russo-Japanese war, his regiment being used to suppress a local revo-
lution in which some of the soldiers had joined the Revolutionary party. In the
engagements that followed Mr. Christian was twice wounded. After serving five
years and five months he was honorably discharged as a non-commissioned
officer, returning home in December, 1906. In January, 1907, he was married to
Miss Mary Bideen, and in March, 1907, they started for Fresno, arriving here
May 16, 1907.
In October of the same year he purchased a twenty-acre ranch on Jensen
Avenue near the Highland school. This he improved from raw land to a vine-
yard of Muscat and Thompson seedless raisins as well as a peach orchard.
Bringing it to a high state of cultivation he sold it four years later at a good
profit. He then resided in Fresno and contracted for curing peaches during the
season and also working at the bricklayer's trade until he purchased fifty acres
in Kutner Colony devoted to vineyard and orchard, selling it two years later
at. a very satisfactory advance. Mr. Christian then purchased twenty-eight acres
also in the Kutner Colony devoted to vineyard and two years later also sold this
at a good advance. Next he leased a ranch on Olive Avenue, near Fresno, for a
year and then purchased a 100-acre ranch in Gray Colony, setting a part to
vineyard and also leased land and raised grain. A year later he sold this ranch
more than doubling his money. Mr. and Mrs. Christian have one son, Phillip.
2530 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
They are members of the Free Cross Lutheran Church, Mr. Christian having
been a member of its Board of Trustees. He is a stockholder in the California
Associated Raisin Company as well as the California Peach Growers, Inc. He
is an original stockholder in the California Post, a weekly newspaper in Fresno.
He performs his civic duties as a Republican.
JOHN J. and HENRY N. MERCY.— The name of Mercy is closely
associated with the development of the West Side, the present representatives of
the family being John J. and Henry N. Mercy, who are both well and favorably
known. Their father, John N., was born in Lorraine, France, and came to San
Francisco, Cal., in 1849. He mined in the Sierras, ran a bakery in San Juan,
then farmed in Napa County, after which he located in Gilroy. In 1861 he
started in sheep-raising with 300 Mexican sheep, driving them over Pacheco
Pass into the San Joaquin Valley. In 1863 he moved his family to the Little
Penoche Creek, Fresno County, where he took a preemption and also a home-
stead. He increased his flocks and as he prospered he purchased land. However.
he had losses as well as gains. In 1877, the dry year, he took 11,800 head of
sheep to the Sierras and returned with only 1,800 head. In 1871 he discovered
the Little Penoche Quick Silver mine, opened it up and formed a company and
operated it. He also developed another cinnabar mine on his own account. He be-
came owner of 12,000 acres of land. He was paralyzed and was a total invalid for
nineteen years and eleven months, until his death, 1899. He was married in
San Jose, Cal.. to Mariana Ekert, born in Alsace, who came to California in
pioneer days ; her demise occurred at the old Mercy home about twelve years
ago. She was the mother of three children : Albert, died at the age of fourteen ;
John Joseph and Henry N., are the subjects of this article. John Joseph was
born in San Francisco, October 11, 1861, coming to the Little Penoche when
he was but two years of age. He attended Golden Gate Academy in Oak-
land and St. Mary's College in San Francisco, and then the Gilroy High School,
where he was graduated. •
After his graduation he entered heartily into sheep growing, and when his
father became an invalid, with his brother, Henry, took charge of the place and
have since then given it their undivided time. In early days a Yaki Indian
sheepherder, Francisco Sanava, discovered a spring in the canyon and told their
father of it; he dug a hole and the deeper they dug the warmed the water, so the
father put a box in for bathing in the hot water as it came from the earth. Later
on they dug it deeper to obtain more water for large flocks and found the water
still hotter. John J. homesteaded the 160 acres on which the spring was located
and obtained a title. People were attracted by the bathing and the water and
found it had great curative and medicinal properties particularly for rheuma-
tism, stomach trouble and sores and Mercy Mineral Hot Springs became popu-
lar. While they owned it the water was not only free but the bathing was free.
However, the Mercy's finally decided the exploitation of the springs was out of
their line so they sold it, so that the water and benefits might be obtained to a
greater extent by the public. The Mercy ranch extends about six miles along the
Little Penoche Creek and is an excellent stock ranch. About twenty years ago
they sold their sheep and have since been engaged in raising cattle, their brand,
J and H combined, being well known. They have installed four pumping plants
w7hich they use in irrigating alfalfa.
John J. Mercy was married in Hollister in 1885 to Lorana Witter, born in
Calaveras County, the daughter of Chester R. and Nancy (Skaggs) Witter,
born in Brodhead, Wis., and St. Louis, Mo., respectively. Mr. Witter was also a
forty-niner. Mr. and Mrs. John J. Mercy have three children: Irma. Mrs.
Burge of Little Penoche; Alta, Mrs. Trowbridge of Los Angeles; and William
who assists his father. Henry N. Mercy was born in Napa County, July 4, 1863,
and was brought to the Little Penoche when a babe. When of school age he
went to San Francisco, studying at St. Mary's Academy, San Francisco, and
the Golden Gate Academy. After completing his education he went to work with
/
'e^£j^/
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2531
his father on the ranch. The brothers remember the desperadoes T. Vasques
and John Mason and how they tried to trade horses with the former. Neither
of them, however, molested the family. However, the brothers did not know
until later years who they were and their desperate character. Henry N. Mercy
was married in Hollister to Mary.Spangler, a native of Ashland, Ore., and have
four children: Lottie, Mrs. Ernest Martin and Emily, Mrs. Ted Russ, both
residing in Los Angeles ; Eugene and Thelma are still at home. The former
assisting his father in his ranching enterprise. Both John and Henry Mercy are
protectionists and decidedly Republican in politics.
NICOLAI PETERSEN.— Descended from an old and honorable Danish
family Nicolai Petersen was born near Nyborg, Fyen, Denmark, March 2, 1856,
the same year that Fresno County was organized. He is the fifth oldest in a
family of ten children, three of whom are in the United States. Rasmus resides
with our subject and Sophia, Mrs. Carl Poulsen, also resides in Fresno County.
Nicolai Petersen received a good education in the schools of his native coun-
try which has been supplemented by reading and observation until he is a
well-informed man. His parents were farmers so Nicolai early learned the rudi-
ments of farming as it is done in his native land. Being interested in husbandry
and liking the freedom and open life he chose it as his life work and engaged in
farming his father's place until 1894, when he purchased a farm and made a
specialty of dairying,' a business he had always followed. In 1902 he. sold his
place. He had a desire to visit the Pacific Coast, so came to California, arriving
in September, 1904. Being a man who was never idle he sought employment,
which he found with H. Madsen, continuing with him for two and one-half
years. During this time, however, he came to like Fresno County and its people,
so in July, 1905, he purchased his present place of forty acres in American
Colony. Resigning his place with Mr. Madsen he located on his ranch and made
substantial improvements and sowed it to alfalfa and began dairying, in which
he has met with success having built up a herd of the Holstein strain, and is also
raising some fine specimens of horse flesh. He also owns thirty acres on Fig
Avenue which he has improved to alfalfa. Mr. Petersen intends to devote his
home place to dairying and turn the ranch on Fig Avenue to a vineyard and
plans to set it out to Thompson seedless vines the soil being well adapted to that
purpose.
Mr. Petersen has always been a very active man, a great worker and
ambitious, believing the wealth and progress of a country depends upon the
success of the tillers of the soil. Being reared a Lutheran he adheres to that
faith. Mr. Petersen's views in politics are expressed in the platform of the
Democratic Party.
J. R. JOHNSON. — A naturalized Swedish-American is J. R. Johnson, an
ardent admirer of Roosevelt and Senator Johnson. He was born at Wester-
vik, in the northern part of Sweden, on March 27, 1859, the son of Jonas Wil-
helm and Louisa Maria Johnson, both of whom died at advanced ages in
Sweden. Grandfather Johnson lived to be one hundred ten years old: while
the father, who passed away in 1917, was ninety-eight. Jonas Johnson was
foreman of a large Swedish farm, where they worked forty-five yoke of oxen
and twenty-five teams of horses ; and working under the valuable guidance
of his father, the lad grew up to farm work.
When J. R. Johnson came from Sweden to America, he continued West
as far as Holdrege, Nebr., and for two years worked out on Nebraska farms,
and for the next ten years tended bar in Holdrege. He became converted,
however, and at once quit the saloon business, and for the next decade en-
gaged at draying in the same town. This period was sufficient for him to
thoroughly "find himself" and to learn what he was capable of doing, in
order to become most useful to his fellow-men. He worked hard, lived fru-
gally, brought up his large family in clean, moral surroundings and lived
a consistent, Christian life.
2?>32 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
Coming out to California, he was for a short time in Los Angeles, but he
had his attention directed to Kingsburg. A friend had bought a tract of 2,030
acres south and east of Kingsburg. and he offered him his first choice of any
forty acres there, at a very reasonable price and on long-time terms. Mr.
Johnson bought it. though unimproved; he had come to Kingsburg on Jan-
uary 10. 1908. with only $300; he put what money he could into a barn, and
lived in the barn for the first few years, until he could get enough means
to build a house. He and his good wife and children worked very hard ; they
planted, built and otherwise improved; and the friend who sold him the land
helped him out with credit. Finally, his place was all paid for and improved ;
and in December, 1918, he sold it to his son Thor for $25,000, since which
time he has lived retired in Kingsburg.
While in Holdrege, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Anna Louisa John-
son, and their union has been blessed with the birth of eightchildren. Minnie
is now the wife of L. C. Nelson, and they live near Clark's bridge, east of
Kingsburg ; Hazel is the wife of Joe Shirling, who conducts an automobile and
bicycle repair shop in Kingsburg and is interested in two stores besides. Selma
lives at home ; Thor is proprietor, as has been stated, of the old home place ;
Vivian L. is in the United States Navy ; Reuben is in the grocery business ;
Linnea is at home ; while Floyd is engaged in ranching near Kingsburg.
Mr. Johnson and his wife, together with their children, belong to the
Swedish Methodist Church. He was naturalized in Nebraska and was orig-
inally a Democrat; but of late years he has become a Republican, and re-
cently he has marched in the same columns with Roosevelt and Johnson —
the good fellowship of the Progressives.
PROSPER J. BERGON. — A native son of California who is making a
success at ranching. Prosper J. Bergon was born in Riverside, April 2. 1888.
His father, Frank Bergon, was born in Basses-Pyrenees, France. He served
in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 and 1871. About 1878 he came to South-
ern California and began sheep-raising, making his headquarters in Fullerton.
In the dry year of 1895 he lost many of his band of sheep, and then sold the
balance and engaged in raising grain at Palms, where he continued until 1903.
He then leased the Brea Ranch in Hollywood from Mrs. Hancock and farmed
it until December 17, 1917, when he sold his outfit and stock and purchased a
residence in Colegrove, on Melrose and Vine. Two months later he died, at
the age of seventy years. His wife, the mother of Prosper J., was in maiden-
hood Mary Noussitou also born in Basses-Pyrenees. She is living in Cole-
grove. To this worthy couple were born seven children, five of whom are still
living. Prosper being the eldest.
Mr. Bergon's childhood was spent on the farm in Southern California,
where he received a good education in the schools in Palms. As early as eight
years of age he drove horses on the hay baler. He continued with his father
mi the Brea ranch, and in time became his partner, operating with him until
1912 when he sold his interest to him and came to Fresno. Here he leased the
Gallagher place of 860 acres in Dakota Colony, where he is engaged in raising
grain, putting in about 300 acres a year to wheat. He finds he gets the best
results by summer-fallowing each year, which gives him a surer and larger
yield. About 100 acres is devoted to alfalfa and he is also engaged in raising
hay and in dairying, in which is very successful.
Mr. Bergon was married in Los Angeles to Miss Anna Castahaude, a
native of Basses-Pyrenees, France, who came to Los Angeles when she was
a young lady. Mr. and Mrs. Bergon have had two children, Frank and Albert.
The latter passed away in March, 1917, aged nineteen months. Mr. Bergon
is clerk of the board of trustees of Sunset school district, having been a mem-
ber since the organization of the district. Liberal and kind-hearted, he and his
good wife have won an estimable place among the citizens of their com-
munity. Mr. Bergon is a member of the Foresters of America in Los Angeles.
In politics he is a Republican.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2533
ALBERT HAGOPEAN.— As early as 1881, Albert Hagopean came from
Smyrna, landing in New York City, August 21, and the next day he took
out his first papers for American citizenship, and he congratulates himself
that at the earliest occasion possible, he cemented the bonds between him-
self and his adopted country. The other fact of which Mr. Hagopean is proud
is that he cast his lot in the Golden State.
His grandfather was Hampartzoum Charkian, a native of Constantinople,
as was his father before him, and the latter was a fisherman and owned a
number of fishing smacks in the Sea of Marmora, with which he caught fish
for the markets at Constantinople. The grandfather was a maker of gold-
plates and cups for table use, for the aristocracy of the palace, such as the
Sultan princes and pashas, shahs in Islam and caliphs — these being the lead
ing ruling people of the Turkish Empire and the Mohammedan faith. He
was the first man who imported a lathe from Europe with which to turn
out gold and silver dishes ; and became well-to-do.
His father, who was born in Constantinople of pure Armenian blood, the
Rev. Hagopean, was a preacher of the Gospel and a Congregational minister,
connected, for forty years, with the American Missionary Board. He- labored
at Symrna, one of the seven churches in which the great St. Paul extempo-
rized. Mrs. Hagopean was a rich man's daughter, Nectar Manoukian before
her marriage, born in Jerusalem, and her father was the head of the Armenian
Protestants in Smyrna, and was the recognized head of the latter body in
dealings with the Government. The father became converted by the preach-
ing of Dr. Hamlin, an American missionary of the Congregational Church
stationed at Constantinople, and concluded to enter the ministry. He there-
fore went to the Congregational Theological School at Babek on the Bos-
phorus and there learned English. He graduated and before the Crimean
War came to America on a sailing vessel, being on the ocean for four months ;
the company braved both storms and icebergs, and were finally driven to
Newfoundland, although their destination was New York harbor. Being a
turner, he obtained work in his line at the Howe Sewing Machine works ;
he attended night school and further enlarged his knowledge of English and
other useful subjects. After five years he became seriously ill; and as the
doctors advised a change of climate, he went back to Constantinople and
there taught school. For a while he was again at Balat and at the Golden
Horn in Constantinople, and then he was sent to Smyrna and ordained to
preach by the Congregational Church. While there he fell in love with a
teacher in an American private seminary and was eventually married to her.
She was also highly educated in the Armenian, Turkish, Greek, English and
French languages, and she became just as enthusiastic in pursuing the work
of the Christian ministry as was her husband, who devoted the rest of his
life to missionary preaching, serving thus for forty years. Then he retired
and, in 1898, died at Constantinople, aged eighty years. His good wife out-
lived him, and died, during 1904, in Constantinople, at the age of seventy-
five years. This esteemed couple were blessed with three children.
Albert was born, November 20, 1859. He was well-educated in the Ar-
menian school at Smyrna and at the Robert College in Constantinople, where
he learned English, French, Greek, Turkish and Armenian. He was made
an apprentice to the trade of watchmaker at Smyrna and in Constantinople,
and served six and a half years at the bench. In 1881 he came to America and
during the first year worked in a jewelry store on John Street, New York
City. The following year he moved west to Chicago and thence to Elgin,
working in the famous watch factory, until 1910; and so skilled was he that
he gained the distinction of being one of the expert workmen. Mr. Hagopean
was married, at Elgin, in 1899, to Miss Blanche Mann, the daughter of Mi-
chael and Margaret (Connor) Mann, the second child in a family of ten.
She was educated in the public schools at Elgin, and thus well prepared to
assume the duties and responsibilities of life.
2534 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Our subject had long desired to see California; and having saved his
money, he came west to look around in 1895, when he stayed a year; but
the effect of the hard times rather discouraged him, and he concluded to go
back to Elgin and the watch factory. In 1906 he came to Fresno County
and to Parlier, and bought his present place of twenty-five and three-fourths
acres, one one-half miles southeast of Parlier; but again he returned to Elgin,
and it was only in 1910 that he sold his residence in the latter place and came
to California for good, since which time he has been steadily improving his
ranch. In the beginning the only fruit on the ranch was five acres of zinfandel
grapes, but he has grafted the zinfandels onto Thompson seedless, and planted
six acres to malagas ; he has two acres of alfalfa, while the balance of the
land is rough and unimproved. He has erected a modern bungalow and neces-
sary outbuildings.
Air. Hagopean has always displayed a fervid patriotism, and while at
Elgin he enlisted in the State Militia and served five years in that city as a
member of Company E of the Third Illinois Regiment. Again, when the
Spanish-American War broke out, he volunteered for the infantry of the
same organization, and reenlisted at Springfield, 111., in the regular United
States Army. He trained in camp at Chickamauga, went thence to Newport
News, where he took the transport St. Louis to Porto Rico, and there served
under Generals Brooks and Miles until peace was declared. There were
many Corsicans at Arroyo and Guyama ; and inasmuch as Mr. Hagopean
could speak French, he was selected as interpreter and later was made acting
quartermaster. He continued with the regiment until it returned to the
United States in November, 1898, coming back by way of Hoboken, and was
honorably discharged at Joliet, 111., on January 29, 1899, never once being
sick. He is now a member of the Spanish War Veterans at Fresno. .
His daily activities as a viticulturist and horticulturist engage him more
and more, for Mr. Hagopean has the scientific mind and insists on himself
growing while his plants and fruit develop. He is a member of the California
Associated Raisin Company, and in supporting their programs does heroic
pioneer work, realizing that the present prosperity of the county is due er>
tirely to organization.
J. P. I. BECK. — Numbered among the enterprising and successful ranch-
ers in the vicinity of Kerraan, is J. P. I. Beck, who is the owner of 180 acres of
land which he operates himself. During the few years in which Mr. Beck
has been engaged in viticulture he has attained enviable success as a vine-
yardist. Mr. Beck is a native of Denmark, born April 29, 1886, at Trige, 1 in-
land, a son of Niels and Metta Marie Beck. The parents are living retired in
Aarhus, Denmark. Of their eight children, J. P. I. was the fifth in order of
birth, and was reared on the home place, receiving his education in the pub-
lic schools of his neighborhood. When fifteen he was apprenticed to a baker
at Aarhus, for four years, and after learning the trade he worked as a journey-
man baker in different parts of Denmark. Mr. Beck desired to see more of
the world, and especially the United States of America, where so many of his
countrymen had achieved success. Bidding good-bye to his native land, he
emigrated to America, arriving in New York City, "in April, 1906. He found
work at his trade in the great metropolis and also followed it in Brooklyn
and across the river in New Jersey.
The turning-point in the life of J. P. I. Beck was reached when he de-
cided to leave the eastern cities and seek his fortune in the great West. It
was in 1907 that he came to California, and settled in Fresno County, where
he decided to abandon his trade and engage in viticulture. He secured work
in Mr. Petersen's vineyard in the Empire Colony, and also worked on the
place which he afterwards owned. Later he worked on an alfalfa ranch in
the Barstow Colony and in 1908 leased an alfalfa ranch which he operated
for two years. During these years Mr. Beck was gaining valuable experience
JL-**cscd /yUJU^r^^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2537
and planning to have a ranch of his own, which happy day came in 1910,
when he purchased his present ranch of fifty acres on Empire Avenue, and
there for two years he conducted a dairy. Afterwards he engaged in viticul-
ture and horticulture and increased his holdings by purchasing a twenty-acre
tract devoted to an orchard and vineyard, located one-half mile west of his
place. Later he purchased 110 acres of raw land and has twenty acres of this
devoted to alfalfa, and he also raises grain and corn.
In September, 1910, J. P. I. Beck was united in marriage with Miss Mary
Hansen, a native of Copenhagen, and a daughter of A . C. Hansen, whose
sketch will also be found in this volume. Their marriage was solemnized in
Fresno; they have four children: Herman, deceased; Anna, Ellen and Laura.'
They are members of the Danish Lutheran Church at Fresno. Mr. Beck is &.
member of the Danish Brotherhood and holds membership in both the Cali-
fornia Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc
He is held in high esteem in this community.
ANDREW NELSON.— A man who left an enviable record for doing
things and building up the viticultural and horticultural interests of Fresno
County is the late Andrew Nelson, who was born at Olgod, Jylland, Denmark,
December 30, 1855. His parents being farmers, he was reared to that occupation.
After completing the public and high school he studied agriculture on a large
farm under an experienced preceptor. After this he served the required time in
the Danish Army after which he gave his attention to farming until 1881, then
he spent one year in a mercantile establishment in Varde when he decided to
come to America. He»arrived in New York City in the spring of 1882, he came
gradually westward until the fall of 1882 he located in Fresno.
Entering the employ of Einsteins, he was foreman of the workhouse for
several years. However, his agricultural experience in his native place led him into
viticulture and he took charge of improving and planting vineyards; among
others he leveled and set out the Mason Osborn vineyard. About the same time
he purchased twenty acres on Madison Avenue near the Osborn place which he
improved, bringing it to a high state of cultivation. In 1904 he purchased a
quarter section of land three miles southeast of Dinuba. This was raw land but
he set to work to improve it to vines and orchard. He is a member of the Danish
Brotherhood as well as Dania. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows in
Fresno. Mr. Nelson was one of the leading men of Fresno County and deserves
much credit for the work he has accomplished. He is one of the original stock-
holders in the Danish Creamery Association.
Mr. Nelson made a trip back to his old home in Denmark in 1891. He was
married in Fresno, December 17, 1892, to Miss Mette Petersen also a- native of
Olgod, the Nelson and Petersen families being neighbors. She came to Fresno
in the spring of 1892. They have a daughter, Meta, who is a graduate of the
University of California. After her husband's death Mrs. Nelson continued to
run the vineyards on the same line as her husband, carrying out his plan for the
improvement and beautifying of the place. In 1912 she installed a pumping
plant on his ranch, thus having two systems of irrigating the ranch. In 1917
Mrs. Nelson rented her ranch and returned to Fresno where she built a beautiful
modern residence at 629 North Van Ness Avenue, where she now lives. Mrs.
Nelson is a member of the Dania Sisterhood and a Lutheran in religion. After
visiting the old home in Denmark she was indeed glad to get back to California
for she had learned to appreciate and love the State of her adoption.
JOHN W. HUMPHREYS.— A native son, proud of his association with
the Golden State, John W. Humphreys was born at Tollhouse on October
24, 1872, the son of John W. and Martha ( Flinn ) Humphreys who were
pioneers of California and aided in the building up of Fresno County. John
attended the public school at Tollhouse, and from a lad learned the stock
business. On the death of his father — J. W. Humphreys, St., — his widow con-
tinued to reside on the home place and to manage both ranch and mill with
the aid of her sons, J. W., Roy and Miles O., who had mastered many of
2538 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
the conditions peculiar to California life at that time. Together they ran the
estate from 1900 until 1913, rebuilding the mill from time to time, and even
moving it to different localities on Pine Ridge, and adding to their acreage,
so that the sons own 1,500 acres in a body on Dry Creek. A decade ago,
these same enterprising young men purchased 960 acres under the Herndon
Canal which they had no difficult}' in reselling, on account of the favorable
location, in lots of twenty acres and up, and now only 120 acres are left.
J. W. Humphreys, Jr., followed stock-raising until the death of his father,
when he undertook the manufacture of lumber and gave to it so much of his
attention that he was successful where others failed. After a while, however,
"he came down onto the plains and tried a new field — that of vineyardist and
orchardist; and in 1913, finding that the mill took too much time, the family
sold it, and John was able, by renting the stock-farm, to give all his time to
viticulture and horticulture. On the Humphreys ranch, eight miles north-
west of Fresno, he was the first to introduce certain features of the industry;
and there he has erected a handsome residence and otherwise improved the
property. And he threw into the work of the California Peach Growers. Inc.,
and the California Associated Raisin Company such support and active cooper-
ation as he could.
At Selma, Mr. Humphreys was married to Miss Georgia Davis, born
in Illinois ; and together Mr. and Mrs. Humphreys have participated in many
movements designed to better life in their community. Mr. Humphreys in
particular has been interested in the elevation of politics ; and under the ban-
ners of the Democratic party he has contributed effective influence. The name
of Humphreys is among the most honored in Fresno County annals.
G. N. SHISHMANIAN. — America has always been the refuge of the
oppressed from all lands and many have shown their appreciation by a life
worthy such kindness, and none is more conspicuous for having made the
most of his opportunities than Mr. Shishmanian. He was born in Turkey, in
Asia, on the banks of the Euphrates, eighty-four years ago. His father
was a banker in Constantinople, and the son grew up amid scenes of refine-
ment and wealth. He was schooled in Babek Seminary, on the banks of the
Bosphorus, known as Dr. Hamlin's school, who was an American missionary
of the Congregational Church. He learned the Greek, Turkish, Armenian, and
English languages, the sciences, mathematics, history and theology.
After a four years course, he was sent to America to complete his educa-
tion, and entered the North Yarmouth Academy, in the State of Maine. He
continued his studies there for two years, when his health failed and he re-
turned to Turkey. Mr. Shishmanian was in Turkey during the Civil War, and
at its close came back to America and took up photography for a pastime.
He went to Texas and at Dallas joined the Christian Church. Mr. Shishma-
nian went to Kentucky and entered the University Theological School, and
upon graduating, was ordained a missionary.
He married Miss Lucy McClellan, at Lexington, and with his bride re-
turned to Turkey and began his missionary work at Constantinople. For
twenty-six years he continued this work under the auspices of the Christian
Church.
In 1905 Mr. Shishmanian with his family returned to Kentucky, spent a
vear and a half among friends, and then came to Fresno in 1907, where he
now owns a ten acre raisin vineyard, with good house on Orange Avenue.
He also owns a twenty-acre orange grove in Tulare County. .
Mr. and Mrs. Shishmanian are the parents of five children: John, a lieuten-
ant in the French army ; Orienta, wife of Alfred Aram, U. S. Aviator teacher,
who has taught and trained over one hundred aviators ; she is now living with
her father; Lucy, is the wife of Joseph Cortozian, a merchant in Portland,
Ore. ; two children died in infancy. Mrs. Shishmanian is a member of the
Daughters of the Confederacy and the California Chapter. She was elected
a delegate to the convention at Louisville, Ky., in 1919.
C^/6dyt/^i
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2539
MARTIN ARDOHAIN. — That perseverance and close application to a
chosen line of business will succeed is well illustrated in the life history of
Martin Ardohain, a native of France, born near St. Jean, Basses-Pyrenees,
March 9, 1876, the seventh oldest of a family of twelve children born to Pierre
and Marie Ardohain who were farmers and stockraisers in the Pyrenees region.
Of their family of twelve children four are honored residents of California.
Martin Ardohain received a good education in the local schools of his native
place and from a lad assisted his parents on the farm. When twenty years of
age, as was the custom of that country, he entered the French Army, serving
in the Sixth Company of Sixth Regiment of Infantry and after the required
time was honorably discharged. Becoming interested in the land of the Pacific
Coast from the stories told by his countrymen who returned telling of the oppor-
tunities awaiting young men willing to work, he concluded to cast in his lot in
California, so came hither, arriving in Fresno. October, 1900. Unfortunately he
was taken ill and it was more than two months before he recovered sufficiently
to go to work. The expense of this illness, as well as his indebtedness for his
expenses from his home to California, left him $700 in debt. Nothing daunted
he went to work and applied himself steadily to earn the money to pay his debt
and then to acquire capital with which to start in business for himself as was his
ambition. He worked the first year for $25 a month and board. So well did he
do his duties and work, his emplover then gave him $30 a month and he con-
tinued steadily for four years. Having paid off his debt and acquired some
means, in 1905 he and two brothers bought 3,000 head of yearlings, ranging them
for seven months and sold out at a profit ; then Martin, with his brother, John,
bought a flock together and engaged in sheep raising, increasing their flock and
doing well. After thirteen years of harmonious business association they dis-
solved partnership.
Mr. Ardohain now has several thousand head of sheep which he ranges
on the plains and in the mountains. He owns a ranch of 160 acres southeast of
Huron that he has for his headquarters of his sheep camp in the winter, while
summers he leases the Shaver Lake property as well as of the National Forest
Reserve on the Upper Kings River. He has also engaged in grain raising at
Huron. In 1917 he moved his family from Huron to Fresno, where he resides at
1357 Glenn Street. Mr. Ardohain was married in Fresno, August 15, 1910, to
Miss Marie Yrigaray who was also born in his native place and they have two
children, Carmen and Louis. He is one of the original stockholders in the
Growers National Bank of Fresno.
G. MASELLI. — Mr. Maselli has achieved success in the face of discour-
agements and deserves the position he now occupies. He was born at Bari,
Italy, May 15, 1864. His father was a proprietor of large vineyards and or-
chards in Italy. His mother's name was Mary Campagna. Both parents died
in Italy- Mr. Maselli was highly educated in the University of Padua. He
took a special analogist and vineyardist course and became proficient in chem-
istry. He was a producer and grower of olives, and manufactured olive oil
in Italy. He built up a large business, and owned several vineyards, wineries
and distilleries, and an olive oil factory. He also owned a chemical laboratory,
which he operated in connection with his other business. While thus occu-
pied he devised the method of extracting the oil from grape seeds in commer-
cial quantities. When his first experiments were made, he was a boy at home,
and later he worked the process out.
Fifteen years ago Mr. Maselli came here as the special agent and chemist
for the California Products Company, his particular work being the extraction
of oil from the seed of grapes. It has been found that the seed from ripe
grapes contains from fifteen to eighteen per cent, of oil. This oil is used in
making fine soaps and fine paints. In paints this oil dries very quickly. Mr.
Maselli has the honor of being the first man in the world to do this work in
commercial quantities.
2540 " HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
About seven years ago he began the manufacture of grape juice. He
has now developed the successful method for making ten different brands
of grape juice, such as Muscat, Muscatel, Concord, Catawba, Reisling, Bur-
gundy, Vermuth, Ropel, and Tokay. In 1917 he also started in to make a high
grade of pure olive oil, known as the "Fresno Brand." He uses the cold proc-
ess, and is making the very finest olive oil that can be produced — even supe-
rior to the finest imported oils. Mr. Maselli took a second prize for his grape
juice at the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco, and has taken three
gold medals for his grape juice at the Sacramento State Fair. While in Italy
he took two medals for wine. He is building up an industry that bids fair
to become very important.
In 1914 Mr. Maselli built his Log Cabin, which is the home of all his
products. The Log Cabin, located on the State Highway, immediately south
of Fresno, is an original conception and was designed and built by Mr. Ma-
selli himself. In its structure it represents a cabin in an Alpine village. The
outside is faced with natural redwood, pine and fir bark, cut and arranged
to represent logs. The whole presents an appearance both real and natural,
and at the same time romantic and picturesque.
Mr. Maselli comes of a prominent family, his brother, Guiseppi Maselli,
being a judge in Bari, Italy. He was married in Italy to Vincennes Fasana,
and they have five children living, one having died in Mariposa County. They
are : Ronato, Ribelle, Mary, Electro and Leo.
JOHN HONGOLA. — Worthy of note among the thrifty and enterpris-
ing ranchers located near Parlier, Fresno County, Cal., is John Hongola, a
native of Finland, where he first saw the light of day in 1863.
John Hongola was reared and educated in his native country and when
about nineteen years of age immigrated to the United States. In 1882 he
located in Pennsylvania where he followed various occupations until 1912,
when he decided to move westward and seek his fortune in the Golden State.
Upon his arrival in California he located in Fresno County.
In 1915 he purchased his present ranch of fifty-five acres of highly im-
proved land which is devoted to the production of grapes, peaches and alfalfa.
Thirty acres of his ranch are planted to muscat grapes, fifteen are in peaches
and the balance is being set to vines.
John Hongola is an industrious rancher and believes in using up-to-date
methods in the operation and cultivation of his splendid ranch. He has erected
a fine residence and made many needed improvements on the place since
purchasing it.
In 1889. the marriage of John Hongola to Miss Sofia Kolpanen was sol-
emnized. Miss Kolpanen was born in Finland and immigrated to this country
in 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Hongola became parents of twelve children. The
eldest, John Ivar, served in the regular army in Hawaii fourteen months
during 1913-14; he was a member of the National Guard of California in 1916
and saw service on the Mexican border, then enlisted in the United States
Army with his regiment and saw seven months' service overseas, going
over with the Fortieth Division and being transferred to the Twenty-seventh
Division: he was discharged on April 11, 1919: he married Lempi Ellen Gus-
tafson. The other children were: Mary; Hilma; Lydia ; Matt, who joined
the United States Navy for service in the World War and was on duty aboard
the U. S. S. Defiance, doing freighter service; he joined April 19, 1918, and
was discharged March 15. 1919; Jack, who entered the United States Navy
in 1917 and is still in service, is on the torpedo boat Ericsson and has been
in foreign service since December, 1917 ; Charlie ; Rose ; Victor ; Eino ; San-
tra ; and Sulo. Mrs. Hongola died July 10, 1918. aged about fifty years. John
Hongola is highly esteemed in his community for his honorable traits of
character and has won recognition as a progressive rancher and public-
spirited citizen of Fresno County.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2541
G. WIESBROD. — Among the foreign-born residents of Fresno County
who has made his influence felt for the betterment of local conditions is G.
Wiesbrod, a resident of the Barstow Colony and a native of Russia. He was
born at Straub, Samara, November 1, 1885, a son of Chris and Marie (Thomp-
son) Wiesbrod, both born in that same country. The father was a farmer
there and, having heard much about the conditions in California from some
of his countrymen who had located in Fresno County, he decided to make
an investigation for himself and accordingly brought his son here, his wife
having died in Russia in 1890. He began ranching near Oleander, succeeded in his
efforts and is now living retired in P'resno.
Our subject was the only child of the union of his parents and was edu-
cated in the public schools of Fresno, after which he learned the baker's
trade with the Model Bakery. After he had mastered it he started the San
Benito Bakery, on the avenue of that name, conducted it until he closed the
business and went to Madera County and bought sixty acres and engaged in
dairying. In February, 1918, he traded his ranch for thirty acres in Barstow
Colony and is now raising alfalfa and Thompson seedless grapes and is meet-
ing with deserved success.
Mr. Wiesbrod was married in Fresno in 1907, to Miss Margaret Nilmeier,
born in Samara, a daughter of H. P. Nilmeier, of whom mention is made on
another page of this work. She was educated in the Fresno schools and has
proven herself an able helpmate to her husband. They have a daughter, Helen
Margaret. The family are members of the Lutheran Church in Fresno. Mr.
Wiesbrod is a member of the California Alfalfa Growers Association and
politically supports the candidates of the Republican party.
JOHN AZZARO. — A progressive business man who is justly proud of
the success attending the efforts of himself and associates, is John Azzaro,
proprietor of the San Francisco Floral Company, at 1201 J Street, Fresno,
and the senior member of the firm of Azzaro Brothers. He was born at Genoa,
Italy, April 17, 1890, and attended school there up to the age of fifteen. Then
with his younger brother, Virgil, he came to the United States and to San
Francisco, where P. Matraia was engaged in the floral business. John and
Virgil started to learn the business and spent a year and a half in the green-
houses and later in the store.
After five years' experience they decided to start in for themselves, and
in 1910 they went to Stockton and opened a store on Main Street, where they
have been very successful and now own a small business block and cottage
in that city. In April, 1913, they opened a floral shop in Fresno, at the corner
of J and Fresno Streets, known as the San Francisco Floral Company, and
here they have the finest place in Fresno, and do a large business. They
saved up five hundred dollars while working in San Francisco, and with this
they made their first start. Later, a third brother, Mazimo, came to the
United States and he does the buying for the firm. The Fresno store is finely
appointed, and the firm carries a fine assortment of potted plants, fancy bas-
kets, etc. The firm took a number of first prizes for floral display at the Fresno
District Fair in 1916 and in 1918 as well. In the month of January, 1919, they
bought a greenhouse and nursery in South San Francisco. Mazimo Azzaro
manages this nursery and continues to buy for the firm, which is now in bet-
ter position than ever to provide their customers with the choicest goods in
their line. They have in constant use two delivery trucks and two touring
cars which give added facility to their steadily increasing business.
John Azzaro is a member of Fresno lodge of both the Odd Fellows and
the Elks. Virgil is a member of the Red Men and Eagles in Stockton. In
1909, John Azzaro was made an American citizen. He and his brother at-
tended the Washington school in San Francisco, where, in the evening, they
learned the English language. The Azzaro Brothers have proven themselves
thoroughly patriotic, public-spirited American citizens.
2542 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JOSE ZANDUETA. — A young man who is making a success at ranching
in Tranquillity is Jose Zandueta who was born in Erro, Navarra, Spain, May
26, 1881, the son of Martin and Martina (Gonsalo) Zandueta, who owned
a farm where they reared their family. His father died May 3, 1899, while his
mother still resides on the home ranch which she still owns. This worthy couple
were the parents of eight children, six boys and two girls. Jose, the
fourth in order of birth was reared on the farm and went to school as was the
general experience of the youth of that region. After his father died he assisted
his mother all he could until he was past the age of twenty-two. He had be-
come interested in California and when he was able to arrange to leave his
mother he came forthwith to Fresno, arriving October 6, 1903. His funds being
low, he immediately sought employment and found it with Antonio Urrutia in
Coalinga for five months and then worked for M. Urrutia of Fresno until March,
1907, when he went to Reno, Nev., where he was in the employ of different
sheep growers for three years. All this time he gained valuable experience and
also studied and learned to read and speak English. In 1910 he returned to
Fresno County, working another year for wages. His desire was to own a farm
of his own. So in 1911 he purchased twenty acres, a part of his present ranch
in Tranquillity. This was raw land but was under the ditch and splendid soil. He
leveled and checked it, sowed alfalfa and improved it with suitable farm buildings
and set out a small orchard. Aside from this he raised grain for two years in
Cantua and then became a partner of the late Joe Yraceburu and leased land at
Mendota which they farmed to grain. In 1918 Mr. Yraceburu died and when the
season's work and crop was completed the business was settled up and the partner-
ship was dissolved. He then leased land from the San Joaquin Farm and Land
Company on which he raised grain. He has added to his original holdings and
now owns seventy-one acres which he is improving to alfalfa. His ranch is well
kept and he is showing himself a careful and successful farmer.
THOMAS J. REESE.— The junior member of the firm of Reese and
Atkins, Thomas J. Reese, while not a native of California may be called
a Californian, as he has lived in the Golden State since he was a year old and
is endued with characteristic California energy and push.
He is the son of George and Inez (Caldwell) Reese, natives of the state
of Tennessee, and was born in Kerr County, Texas, in 1883. His father re-
moved with his family to Fresno County in 1884 and bought forty acres of
land two miles south of Fresno. He later homesteaded 160 acres near Delano,
Tulare County, and with his sons farmed for fifteen years, also renting ad-
ditional grain land. He afterwards removed to Selma, Fresno County, where
he died in 1911, leaving a widow and four sons, namely: Edward, Arthur,
Walter and Thomas. His widow died in 1907.
Thomas J. was educated in the schools of Tulare City and in his first
business venture entered into partnership with his brother Walter, in a
forty acre dairy ranch at Selma. After three years he disposed of his in-
terest and went to Dinuba, where he purchased ten acres of land and in two
years time raised enough watermelons to pay for the property. He then
purchased forty acres near Kerman, which he planted to vines, trees and
alfalfa, and at the end of one year sold. He next bought ten acres north
of Kerman, planted it to vines, built a house upon it, then sold it and came to
Fresno. Having a predilection for carpenter work he followed that oc-
cupation in his spare time. He built the Dakota school house, the club
house and a number of residences in Kerman, and after coming to Fresno
worked six months for H. C. Harlow, the contractor, and another six months
as journeyman. In 1913 he entered into partnership with O. D. Atkins
under the firm name of Reese and Atkins. The firm has met with flattering
success during the time they have been operating and have secured some of
the largest and most desirable contracts that have been let in Fresno.
Mr. Reese was married December 21, 1911, to Fern A. Hays of South
Dakota, the result of the union being one son, Hollis.
(JCh£(^ (^c^^^Oc^ljZl
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2543
GOTTFRID CARLSON.— Born in Nerket, Middle Sweden, on Decem-
ber 13, 1865, Gottfrid Carlson is the son of Carl F., a farmer, on which ac-
count Gottfrid was reared to till the soil, but at the same time his education
was not neglected. After his school days were over, he followed farming un-
til 1889, when he concluded to emigrate to America and to try his fortune on
the Pacific Coast.
On Christmas Day, therefore, he arrived in Fresno, and having friends
here, he soon obtained a job in a vineyard in Washington Colony. After-
wards, he worked in various vineyards in the county, and then he went into
the lumber camps in the mountains and stayed there for seven years. He
was industrious, energetic and frugal, and saved his money ; and that means
that he began to advance.
Coming down from the mountains, Mr. Carlson rented a farm in the
Scandinavian Colony for a year, and in 1899 he bought his present place of
sixty acres, in the McKinley School district, five miles northwest of Fresno.
This was all raw land and hog-wallow; but nothing daunted, he began im-
provements to convert it into a fruit farm. To make a living during these
years, as well as to continue his payments and to pay interest, he leased a
vineyard of eighty acres and thus succeeded in his ambition of owning his
place. In time he brought both his vineyard and orchard to a high state of
cultivation, yielding satisfactory financial returns, the harvest of 1918 total-
ling seventy tons of raisins from forty-four acres of vines. On this fine ranch
he has erected a large modern residence, as well as the necessary farm build-
ings.
Mr. Carlson is now the oldest settler in his district, and he has seen all
the improvements made from raw land overrun by ground-squirrels and
rabbits which took years to exterminate, and necessitated extra replanting
of vines and trees to take the place of those destroyed. His interest in land-
development continues ; but he is also interested in educational matters, and
has not only seen to it that his children have had a good education, but he
was one of the original trustees of the McKinley School district, and is still
a member of the board of trustees. He is a member of the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc.
At Fresno on April 14, 1898, Mr. Carlson was married to Marie Hagberg,
a native of Sweden, having been born in the beautiful city of Stockholm ;
she came to Fresno in 1893 and from her advent here made many friends. On
September 27, 1907, Mr. Carlson was bereaved of her faithful services and
companionship, and left the sorrowing father of six children. Inez presides
gracefully over her father's household ; Olie and Gustof both assist their father
to operate the ranch ; and there are Signa. Theo and Robert.
STEPHEN M. LAGUDIS. — Determination and perseverance have been
great factors in the success attained by Stephen M. Lagudis, one of the
founders and proprietors of the Athens Bakery, located at 1253 F Street,
Fresno. He is a native of Greece, having been born on the island of Chio,
April 3, 1881. His father was a vineyardist and fruit grower, and for three
years after Stephen had finished his schooldays, he worked in his father's
vineyard and olive orchard. In 1903, Stephen M. Lagudis arrived in New
York City and went directly to Wheeling, W. Ya., where he was engaged
for two years with the American Tinplate Company. Ambitious to succeed
he took up the study of English which he found a most important requisite
to success in his new home country. Desiring to see more of the new world, he
migrated still farther westward and in the fall of 1906 he arrived in San
Francisco, Cal., where he secured employment at the Fairmount Hotel, as
storekeeper in the supply department. Later he went to Newcastle, Placer
County, where he leased a fruit ranch of 120 acres of peaches and plums, and
twenty acres planted to table grapes. Unfortunately for Mr. Lagudis, a late
frost destroyed the crop that season and he lost all he had invested in the
enterprise. In 1911, we find him in the city of Fresno, Cal., where with a
2544 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
partner, Stephen E. Kluvakis, he opened the South Bakery, at San Benito
Avenue and E Street, where they conducted business for about a year. After
selling out, in July, 1912, they established the Athens Bakery, at 1253 F
Street. Their enterprise has developed into one of the leading bakery estab-
lishments in Fresno. When they opened their bakery the output per day
was only 150 loaves of bread, as they had but one small oven, but, in the
spring of 1918 a new and modern oven was built, which gives the Athens
Bakery a capacity output of 10,000 loaves daily, and at present, with two
shifts of bakers, they are producing 5,000 loaves daily, their specialty being
French bread de luxe. Four delivery wagons are necessary in the conduct
of their wholesale and retail business. The Athens Bakery plant is a model
one in equipment and sanitation, having the newest sanitary machinery
including modern sifting machine and all the latest equipment for sanitary
baking, the company having spent $4,000 on new machinery in 1918. The
plant has concrete floors and sanitary shower baths for the bakers. Mr.
Lagudis is regarded as one of Fresno's enterprising business men and holds
membership in the Chamber of Commerce and the Merchants Association
of Fresno, and is also a member of the Master Bakers' Association.
Stephen E. Kluvakis, the business partner of Mr. Lagudis, is also a native
of Greece, where he learned the trade of a baker. In 1907, he immigrated to
the United States and secured employment as a baker in Chicago. The next
year, 1908, Mr. Kluvakis settled in Sacramento, Cal., and in 1911 arrived
in Fresno with his present partner where they embarked in the bakery bus-
iness. The Athens Bakery is regarded as one of the best and most up-to-date
in the city and is enjoying a rapidly increasing business which is due to the
able and efficient management of its progressive owners.
J. A. POYTRESS. — A splendid example of manhood who is pleased to
devote his energy and time towards the development and building up of Fresno
County is J. A. Poytress, who was born in Gloucester, England, March 10, 1871,
the fourth oldest of a family of seven children born to John and Mary Ann
Cooper, farmers in Gloucestershire, England. His father died in 1909 while the
mother died in 1910.
Mr. Poytress' father met with reverses, so when ten years of- age, J. A.
began working out on farms to assist his parents. However, he received a good
education in the local schools. He read of the wonders of California and was
attracted by the opportunities that awaited young men without capital but willing
to work. He selected Fresno, arriving in June, 1891, a stranger in a strange
land. He found employment on a farm at Easton and applied himself ener-
getically to his work.
In September, 1893, he was married at Easton to Miss Mary Wells who was
born near Birmingham, Worcestershire, England — a daughter of Francis Wells,
a well-to-do farmer. After his marriage Mr. Poytress engaged in viticulture and
horticulture as well as teaming, a business he has continued ever since. He
purchased twenty acres of his present ranch in 1897 and now has eighty-five
acres in a body, which he has set and reset to vineyard though a part is in
orchard of peaches and apricots. His vineyard is well selected. Thompson seed-
less and Muscat raisins. He sees it is well cared for and it is the consensus of
opinion that he has one of the finest vineyards in the county, his place being
located on West Avenue and Lincoln, about seven miles southwest of Fresno.
Mr. Poytress also owns a 320-acre ranch one and one-half miles southeast of
his home ranch which he devotes to raising alfalfa and dairying, his herd of
cows being high-grade Holsteins. He is also raising draft horses, Mr. Poytress
being interested in a company that owns an imported Percheron Norman or
French draft stallion. He also owns a ranch of sixty acres at Caruthers. He is
a firm believer in cooperation and has been a member of the different fruit
associations, being an active member of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany and the California Peach Growers, Inc. He is a stockholder, director and
treasurer of the Danish Creamery Association, having formerly been president
Cl. (p^^^^
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2545
of it for one year. He has been an active and prominent member of the Fresno
County Farm Bureau since its organization as well as one of the original direc-
tors. He is the representative of the stock industry of the county and is chair-
man of the boys' pig club work. He is also a director in the Fresno District
Fair Association. Mr. Poytress is intensely interested in advancing the cause
of education, having been a member of the American Colony school district for
seventeen years, and a trustee of the Washington Union High School for the
past eighteen years and the clerk of the board for nine years. Prominent in
Y. M. C. A. work he is Fresno County committeeman since the association was
organized in Fresno and is chairman of the Boys' Summer Camp Committee.
Mr. Poytress' first wife died in 1908 leaving him a daughter, Eleanor Mary.
He was married a second time in Fresno to Miss Annie Hopkins who was born
in Gloucester, England, and they have five children : Phyllis, Ethel, Annie Jane,
Dorothy Dean, and Roderick. Mr. Poytress is an active member of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church at Easton, being chairman of its Board of Trustees, and
was superintendent of the Sunday School for nine years. He visited his parents
at the old home in England in 1905 and again in 1908. Fraternally he is a
member of the Fraternal Brotherhood at Easton. Full of patriotism for his
adopted country Mr. Poytress was active in the different war and liberty loan
drives, being local chairman of the Y. M. C. A., Red Cross and United 'War
Work drives, in all of which he did valiant work.
KARL EMERZIAN. — An adopted son of America, Karl Emerzian is
a self-made man, successful beyond the average. Born in Armenia on March
30. 1872, his parents were Charles and Anna Emerzian, his father being a
merchant in the city of Harpoot. When but thirteen years of age Karl Emer-
zian landed in New York City, a stranger, to begin his education in the school
of experience.
Mr. Emerzian worked for others only eighteen months after coming to
the United States, and since then has been engaged in business for himself,
his resolution being made when in Worcester, Mass., while running a ma-
chine in a wire mill, he accidentally cut off the end of the middle finger of his
right hand. He came west and was first in business in Waukegan, 111., and
then in the bakery business in the World's Columbian Exposition, in Chicago,
in 1893. In the fall of that year he came to San Francisco, Cal., and started
a bakery and restaurant in the Midwinter Fair, until the great railroad strike
in 1894 when he lost all he had saved. In September, 1894, he came to Fresno
and started a shoe-repairing shop and by the end of a year employed three
shoemakers.
In 1897, Mr. Emerzian made the trip to Alaska in a party of sixty who
left Edmonton, going across the wilds without a trail and following the
compass for six months, they were lost in the Caribou district. The cold was
so intense that sixty-five of their ninety pack-horses froze to death in one
night. Of the sixty who started only four reached Dawson, with two horses.
During the last two months of the journey they had lived entirely on game.
The trip took eighteen months. Their trail was afterwards laid out by the
Canadian government as a road. As it was near the end of the season, and
not wishing to remain in the north another winter, he returned to Seattle
by boat and came back to Fresno. He then began fruit-buying, in which
he was successful.
Mr. Emerzian was married at Fresno, in 1898, to Lizzie Kallam, and
then began ranching. He now owns 640 acres of land in vineyard and orchard,
productive and profitable under his management. He has six boys and one
girl: Edward, Reuben. Garvez, Arson, Mary. Albert, and Karl. Jr. The
Congregational Church receives his support, while politically he is a Re-
publican. He is one of the trustees of the raisin association, and is much
interested in that industry. His help can be relied upon in any public enter-
prise, and he is respected for -his integrity and high principles.
2546 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JEAN AROSTEGNY.— Jean Arostegny was born at Beyrie, Basses-
Pyrenees, France, in 1880, the son of Pierre and Marie (Borderampe) Aros-
tegny, farmer folk in Beyrie, where the father died about twenty years ago,
and where the mother is still living on the old farm. To this worthy French
couple were born four children, three of whom are living, Jean being the eld-
est and the only one in the United States. He received a fair education in the
local schools of his native place, remaining at home until twenty-one years of
age, when being of military age, he obtained permission from the government
for leave of absence to go to South America. So in 1901 we find him in Buenos
Ayres, Argentina, where he was employed at dairying for about two years.
He then came on to San Francisco, Cal, and a few months later came to Fire-
baugh in the employ of Miller & Lux. After remaining for about one year he
returned to France and assisted his mother on the farm for eighteen months.
However, he had a longing to return to California. This desire he gratified,
and on his arrival located in Fresno. He entered the employment of the War-
wick Street Paving Company and continued with them for a period of seven
years. The last three years he was their foreman. In 1913 he resigned his
position to engage in farming, and purchased the present place of thirty acres
on the corner of Nielsen and Hughes Avenue, where he resides with his fam-
ily. Here he is engaged in viticulture, in which he is making a success.
In Fresno occurred the marriage of Mr. Arostegny and Marie Indart, who
was also a native of France; and to them have been born two children,
Domingo and Marie. The family are members of St. Alphonso's Catholic
Church. Mr. Arostegny was made a citizen of the United States in 1916. He
is enterprising and public-spirited, believes in cooperation and is a member of
the California Associated Raisin Company.
ARTHUR ARIETA.— Arthur Arieta was born at Calabria, Italy. July
21, 1876, the oldest child of a family of five, born to Saverio and Carmella
(Adieko) Arieta, who were farmers in Calabria. The parents migrated with
their family to New York City in 1885, where the mother died, and two years
later the others came to San Francisco, Cal. The father now resides in Fresno.
Of the five children only two are living. Arthur's brother Louis is serving in
the United States Army and is now in France, where he was wounded in
battle on September 20, 1918.
Arthur Arieta came to San Francisco, Cal., in 1887, and in 1888 to Fresno
County, where he immediately went to work on ranches, making his own live-
lihood. Having accumulated some money and learned the details of grain-
growing, he purchased an outfit, leased the McMuller ranch in Fresno
County, and followed grain-raising.
Mr. Arieta was married in Fresno to Mrs. Mary (Altro) Sofia, born in
Stockton, Cal. Her father, Joseph Altro, came to California in 1859, having
crossed the plains on foot the entire distance from New Orleans to California
in six months' time. In time he became a farmer at Los Banos, where he re-
sided until his death. Mrs. Arieta's mother was Johanna Pascotza. She also
died in Los Banos. Of their five children, Mary was the third.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Arieta resided in their home in Fresno
until they purchased the present ranch of twenty acres lying west of Fresno.
This place they have improved and brought to a high state of cultivation ; and
here they are engaged in raising alfalfa and dairying, in which they have been
very successful. They have five children born of their marriage, four of whom
are living: Flora, Camelle, Rosie, and Mary. Mrs. Arieta was rirst married
to Nicholas Sofia, and by that marriage she had seven children, five of whom
are living: John, a resident of Los Banos; Joseph, in the United States Army
serving in France ; Camelia, Mrs. J. Costello of this county ; Angelo, also serv-
ing in the United States Army in France; and Sarah, who resides at home.
Mr. Arieta is a stockholder in the Danish Creamery. He is very enterprising
and public-spirited man. and is ably assisted in his work by his wife. Both
are well liked and highly esteemed.
JiLO^ L&11U
4^y(f
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2547
JUAN CAMINO. — Pastoral occupations are imbued with a charm
peculiarly their own, and this is particularly true of this occupation when it is in
combination with old world life found in the country of Northern Spain.
Juan Camino, one of Fresno County's early settlers and sheep men, was born
in the northern part of that picturesque country, coming as a Christmas gift to his
parents, December 25, 1857. Brought up and educated on the farm, he herded
sheep for his father, a sheep raiser, until 1881, when he came to America and
arrived in Fresno with a small amount of money. He continued the occupation of
sheep herding in Fresno County until 1885, when he bought a few sheep with
money he had saved and engaged in business with his brother Domingo. The
flock increased until at one time the brothers owned 7,000 sheep and some cattle.
They ranged the sheep all over the county, also drove them into Mono and Inyo
Counties for feed. Domingo sold his interest to his brother and returned to his
native country, Juan continuing in the sheep raising business until 1904 when he
sold out and retired from active business life. A self-made man, Mr. Camino has
acquired considerable property interests in Fresno County. He is the owner of
1,500 acres of grazing land near Coalinga, also a five-acre peach orchard north of
Fresno, as well as houses and lots in Fresno.
In 1895 he was married to Grace Etchegoin, a native of France, and they
have four children: Marie, Raymond, Micaela and Mary Jane. Mr. Camino is a
well-known and influential member of the Catholic Church.
GEORGE J. VOENES.— The owner of the "Goodfellow's Grill," at 1034
I Street, one of the most popular cafes in Fresno, was born in the historic
island of Samos, a Greek possession, on July 18, 1881. He has become one
of the leading members of the Greek colony of Fresno County, and as such
is influential while reflecting great credit on the land of his birth.
George J. Voenes was educated in the common and high schools of his
home district, and then learned the trade of a mechanic, which he followed
for some time in his native country. In 1898 he came to America, and after
a short time in New York, moved west to San Francisco, where he became a
chef and learned each variety of cooking. He then ran cafes in Woodland,
Oraville and Redding, and next returned to San Francisco, where he had a
cafe on Seventh Street. This was burned out, however, in the fire of April,
1906, a misfortune that caused him to move to Vallejo, where he remained
for six years, running a cafe there. During this time, he took a trip back
home and traveled through Europe.
In 1912 he located in Fresno and established the Goodfellow's Grill, a
modern, first-class place, especially popular with business men.
Two years after he had thus settled here. Mr. Voenes married Georgia
Steele, of Fresno, daughter of a pioneer family, by whom he has had one
son, John, a native of Fresno. A self-made man, George J. Voenes is a charter
member and vice-president of the Hellenic Progressive Society of Fresno.
MENOTTI ANNIGONI. — An Italian-American chef who is the pro-
prietor of the popular cafe in Fresno, the only institution of its kind in all the
San Joaquin Valley and one of the best restaurants in the entire state of
California, is Menotti Annigoni, who owns and conducts the Fior d'ltalia
Cafe, at No. 1032 H Street, opposite the Southern Pacific Railway station. He
was born in Modena, Italy, on May 19, 1883, was reared in that country, and
there, at an early age, took up the science and art of cooking. For a while
he ran cafes of his own in both Marseilles and Paris, and for a year he had
another cafe in Tulon. also a well-known French town. From 1900 to 1906
he conducted a high-class cafe in Milan, Italy, and the following year he
arrived in New York City. There he was chef in leading hotels and cafes,
cooking in both the French and Italian styles. He arrived in San Francisco
in 1910, and soon became manager of Coppas'. famous restaurant, where he
had full charge of the dining-room for three and a half years. He was also
chef in the Palace and St. Francis hotels, and at Burgess & Franke's famous
2548 HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY
old Poodle Dog cafe in Busch Street. In each of these places his fame grew
as one of the most renowned cooks that ever came to the shores of the Pacific.
Early in 1916 Mr. Annigoni moved across the state to Fresno and took
a lease of his present place, which he named the Fior d'ltalia Cafe. Step by
step he built up a reputation for the best possible Italian and French cooking,
being assisted by both an Italian and a French chef. The former is a native of
Italy and has cooked in the finest of cafes ; and his French assistant is equally
experienced. Notwithstanding this expert help, however, Mr. Annigoni gives
personal supervision to the cooking of all foods served, and for many of the
Italian dishes uses his own recipes.
As an indication of the preeminence enjoyed by this popular Italian ca-
terer, it may be mentioned that he took the first prize for the best decorated
table at the Fresno District Fair in October, 1918, winning the same against
four other competitors. He has had the walls and ceilings of the Fior d'ltalia
decorated with Italian landscape views. executed in oil paint by two famous
Italian artists, Constantino Faggioni and Peter Yalentini, the former of
whom did the decorating in the Bank of Italy Building and the New Liberty
Theater in Fresno.
Mr. Annigoni is a member of the Geneva Association of Chefs and
Waiters, one of the most celebrated culinary orders in the world, and he also
belongs to the Union of Waiters and Cooks of New York City, San Francisco
and Fresno.
^Yhile in the East, Mr. Annigoni was fortunate in his marriage, at Long
Island City, to Margaret Fracchia, of Italy; and one son has blessed the
union — Armondo by name. Mrs. Annigoni shares in both her husband's am-
bitions and popularity, and contributes constantly to his success.
HENRY SCHNEIDER.— An enterprising viticulturist and horticul-
turist. Henry Schneider is well posted in that branch of agriculture, as his
productive vineyard and orchards give testimony. He was born in Guges,
Samara. Russia, August 21, 1888, and his father, George Schneider, was a
farmer in that country and brought the family to Fresno in 1901. Here he
engaged in ranching at Rolinda. where he bought a forty-acre ranch and cul-
tivated the land until his retirement to Fresno in later life, where he now lives.
The mother, Annie Felzing before her marriage, died in Fresno about 1913.
and six children had been born to this worthy couple.
The youngest child in the family, Henry Schneider was brought up on
the home farm and received his education in the public schools of that
country. After the family came to Fresno, in 1901, he assisted his father to
care for the family and helped get a start by working out in vineyards. He
then helped his father improve their own ranch until he reached twenty -one
years, when he started out in life for himself, purchasing a twenty-acre ranch
at Rolinda and improving it to vineyard, peaches and alfalfa. In the mean-
time, with his brother George he purchased forty acres of raw land in the
Barstow district, and leveling it, set it out to Thompson grapes. Later they
sold this property and Mr. Schneider devoted his entire time to his Rolinda
ranch, which he operated until 1914, when he sold out and purchased his
present twenty-acre ranch ; this he also improved from the raw land and now
has fifteen acres in Thompsons and the balance in apricot orchard.
The marriage of Mr. Schneider, in Fresno, July 2, 1908, united him with
Miss Lena Pretzer, born in Perrin Colony, and daughter of Jack Pretzer, a
brother of Henry Pretzer, who were early settlers of Fresno County, coming
here in the eighties. Her father was a rancher and vineyardist here but now
is engaged in ranching at Chowchilla. Mrs. Schneider was educated in the
public schools of Fresno County. They have three children: Lydia ; John;
and Harry. The family attends the Lutheran Church. Mr. Schneider is a
member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and a man of pro-
gressive ideas and good judgment.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2549
PAUL ADOOR. — What America, and particularly California, has done
for those who have started with decided handicaps in the overcrowded,
worked-out Old World and have had, as their best assets, good health, hope
and determination to win, and a willingness and desire to work, is well illus-
trated in the life history of Paul Adoor, the prominent viticulturist of the
Malaga district. He was born in far-off Assyria on May 18, 1872, and in that
industrious land learned the baker's trade. After coming to the United States,
however, he learned the shoemaking trade and worked in factories in Mil-
ford, Salem, Brockton, Lynn and Athol, Mass. In 1900 he came West to
California and Fresno, and with his brother Barsam followed raisin culture.
Meeting with no success, after eighteen months he returned to Massachusetts
and for another five years made shoes again. The year 1908, however, found
him back in beautiful, sunny Fresno, where, with his brother Barsam, he
engaged in the bakery business on the west side of the town. When they
disposed of their business, the brothers bought a forty-acre vineyard. This
was situated in the Malaga district, on North Avenue, and was distinguished
from the first for the rich quality of the soil. The various qualities character-
istic of the Adoor brothers have helped them to make a real success of this
venture ; and now Paul Adoor, with his brothers, Barsam and Charles, is part
owner of the Adoor business block on F Street.
While at Chelsea, Mass., on March 3, 1908, Mr. Adoor was made an
American citizen, and four years later he was married to Mary Kooyungian,
a native of Turkey. One daughter, Elizabeth, has blessed this happy marriage.
Any state or county would have reason to be proud of such citizens as
these enterprising and high-principled brothers of whom we here write —
Barsam, Paul and Charles ; and Fresno County welcomes Mr. Adoor and his
associates to the unrivaled land of opportunity.
JOHN CHIODL— John Chiodi was born at San Benedetto del Tronto,
in the Province of Ascoli Piceno, in eastern Italy, January 6, 1876, and
began as clerk in a mercantile store at the tender age of nine years. Later,
he engaged in the mercantile business for himself, and in 1903, when twenty-
seven years of age, came to the United States in quest of a larger field of
activity. For one year he clerked in a store just outside of the city of Chicago,
111., and in 1905 came to San Francisco, Cal., where he was in the employ of
the Italian Swiss Colony Company for a period of one and a half years. He
afterward followed the fishing business on the Sacramento River in Solano
County, buying fish for the San Francisco market.
In 1909 Mr. Chiodi came to Fresno and opened a billiard hall and cigar
store at No. 1513 Fresno Street, where he remained until 1914, when he
opened his present wholesale and retail cigar store and billiard hall at No.
1147 G Street. He is a prosperous and successful business man of Fresno, a
leader in the local Italian colony of Fresno County, and enjoys a wide and
well-deserved personal popularity among his countrymen. He has been of
untold assistance to his fellow-countrymen, working for their interests and
representing them in many important events taking place in the city.
Mr. Chiodi was one of the organizers of the Italian Division of the Or-
der of Owls, No. 1010, of Fresno, and since the inception of the order in
Fresno in 1911 has served as its president. He is also a member of the Eagles.
He was chairman of the Italian committee at the celebration of Britain Day
in Fresno on December 7 and 8 and was an associate member of the legal
advisory board on the Draft Board of Fresno County. During the late
war he "did his share in the purchase of Liberty Bonds.
Mrs. Chiodi was in maidenhood Emma Giordani, also a native of Italy.
Mr. and Mrs. Chiodi reside in their own home at 938 Fresno Street. They
are the parents of six children— Emil, Matilda, Frances, Enrica, May and
Victoria, by name.
2550 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
CLAUD D. CORRICK. — Agriculture has been the life occupation of
Claud D. Corrick, a native son of Fresno County, born on August 8, 1888, on the
home ranch owned by his father, the late Lewis C. Corrick. The elder Corrick
was born in West Virginia and followed farming all his life. In 1870 he came
to California and became identified with the life nf Fresno County by taking
up a homestead claim and proving up on it. To this he added from time to
time until he was owner of 700 acres, which he devoted to farming and stock-
raising. He was married in Fresno County to Mary Cobb, a representative of
an old pioneer family of California. Lewis C. Corrick died in 1901, leaving a
widow and three children.
Claud D. Corrick was educated in the Fort Washington public school until
he was fourteen. He was reared on the home ranch and became familiar with
the more advanced methods of farming and with the stock business for his
father had inaugurated up-to-date machinery and implements on his Fresno
County ranch. When his father died, although a mere boy, Claud D. took charge
of the work and assisted his mother in managing the affairs left by Mr. Corrick.
After he was old enough he leased the place and carried on general farming and
the stock business with a goodly share of success, his grain, cattle and hogs
always finding a ready market and at good prices. With his savings he pur-
chased a tract of forty acres which he improved to alfalfa for a home place and
to which he added other purchases until he owns 500 acres which he plans to put
in vines, figs and prunes and engage in viticulture and horticulture.
In February, 1914, in Oakland, Mr. Corrick was united in marriage with
Miss Arvilla Martin, who is a native daughter of Fresno County. Her father,
Wm. F. Martin, was a forty-niner, now making his home near Friant. Mr.
Corrick is a member of Clovis Lodge, K. of P. In all movements for the ad-
vancement of the county's interes'ts, Mr. Corrick gladly lends his aid and is a
booster for the county of his birth.
FRESNO DAIRY. — Fresno is notable for the number of its well-estab-
lished and well-managed business enterprises, among which especial men-
tion is made of the "Fresno Dairy," brought into existence in February, 1916,
by L. Patti and R. Stolberg, and now owned by Mr. Patti and C. Pagani.
Lawrence Patti, the founder of the dairy, was born on a dairy farm in
the vicinity of Milan, Italy, on September 26, 1889. He attended the public
schools and later worked for his father, thereby getting a thorough knowl-
edge of the dairy, and the dairy business, including the making of butter.
Such are the proverbial methods with respect to thoroughness of the Italians
that when he had finished his apprenticeship, he had mastered every detail
of the field.
Attracted by the stories of opportunity in California, Mr. Patti, in 1912,
came to America and located at Stockton, in San Joaquin County, where he
went to work for the Valley Creamery Company. He was first put into the
testing department, and then he was made foreman of the plant. So success-
ful was he that in February, 1916, he came to Fresno and opened a branch
of the Valley Creamery Company, calling it the Fresno Dairy. He took
into partnership with him R. Stolberg ; but in September, 1917, he bought
the latter out and made C. Pagani his partner.
When Mr. Patti married, he selected Cesina Pagani of Italy as his wife.
Mr. Pagani, the other member of the firm was also born on a farm, but
near Piacenza, Italy, on July 6, 1881. He attended the country schools, and as
his family were grape growers and wine-makers, he followed that line, and
later conducted a wholesale and retail wine store in Milan.
Selling out, however, he came to America in 1913, making straight for
San Joaquin County, and there he worked on ranches, and later entered the
employ of the Valley Creamery Company. From there he came to Fresno,
in September, 1917, to become a partner in the Fresno Dairy, and since that
period he has had a very creditable share in maintaining one of the most
representative and important concerns in Central California.
J-h C^eC>
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2551
JOSEPH A. COELHO. — One of the pioneer sheep men of Fresno County,
Joseph A. Coelho, has demonstrated the possibilities for advancement in this sec-
tion of the state for a man whose sole aids in the struggle were a steady applica-
tion and the determination to reach success. Born in Flores Island, Azores Is-
lands, April 15, 1862, he was raised on a farm. In 1881, when nineteen years old,
he came to the United States, and after his arrival, in Boston, Mass., came direct
to San Francisco, having been fourteen days crossing the water, and fourteen days
by train from Boston, slow travel compared to the time made in these days.
When Mr. Coelho landed in San Francisco his capital was just four dollars.
He came to Fresno and secured work in Helm Colony, herding sheep on plains
and mountains. Later he went to Knights Ferry and worked on a ranch and
herded sheep at Modesto. From there he went to Stockton and there worked for
George F. Smith on his cattle and sheep ranch for five years. He saved enough
money to buy a small band of sheep at Madera, later sold them and bought another
band at Merced ; these he sold and bought sheep again at Madera. In 1889 he start-
ed in the sheep business in Fresno County on the west side, and continued his oper-
ations until 1915, having as many as 10,000 sheep at one time, and sold wool as low
as four cents per pound.
Mr. Coelho is now a large land owner in Fresno County. He homesteaded
160 acres, ten miles north of Herndon, and bought 160 acres adjoining, using this
as pasture land and sheep camp. He is the owner of one section three miles west
of Mendota, planted to barley ; eighty acres three miles south of Fresno, planted
to alfalfa; 260 acres near Kerman, in alfalfa; 240 acres west of Kearney Park,
pasture land; besides which agricultural land he owns business property in Fresno,
consisting of a brick block on I Street, near Fresno; nine city lots, and his home
at 481 Calaveras Avenue.
Mr. Coelho married, in 1903, Angelina Martin, also a native of the Azores
Islands. Her father, Antone Martin, was a '49er and mined near Folsom for a
short time, after which he returned to his native land, married and raised a family
of eight children, and returned to California in 1893, first locating in Hayward,
Alameda County, and later in San Benito County, coming from there to Fresno,
where his death occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Coelho are the parents of one son, Louis
Joseph. Fraternally Mr. Coelho is a member of the I. D. E. S. of Fresno. A man
of strict integrity of character, and who has risen to a position of affluence by his
own unaided efforts, he is an example to the youth of the land as to what one man
can accomplish by honest labor and business acumen.
HENRY RUDOLPH, JR.— A scientific vineyardist, who has improved a
valuable ranch while forging ahead to substantial success, is Henry Rudolph,
Jr., who first settled in Fresno in the early nineties. He was born at Samara,
near Saratof, Russia, on November 18, 1873, the son of Henry Rudolph, a
grain-farmer who came out to California in 1892. He engaged in viticulture
and continued in that field until he retired. Now, at the age of 79, he resides
at Fresno with his good wife, who was Catherine Sieler before her marriage.
They had eleven children, eight of whom came to Fresno ; and seven are now
living.
Henry, the second youngest, was educated at the public schools and
brought up on a farm until he was seventeen. Then, on his birthday, he left
Saratof for the United States, being the first of the brothers to come to
Fresno, although a brother August came soon after. A month later he landed
in Fresno, and the next morning went to work on Shields Avenue. When he
was able, he improved a farm and followed farm work. He bought twenty
acres on Walnut and North Avenues, where he had a vineyard and orchard,
and next he purchased forty acres on Shields and Chittenden Avenues, in the
Arizona Colony. He made a fine peach orchard and Sultana vineyard there,
farming it for three years ; after which he sold the property and located in
Fresno.
2552 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
With H. P. Steitz he established a grocery on F Street, at the end of the
town, and for a couple of years they did business under the name of Steitz
& Rudolph ; then he sold his interest to Conrad Kinsel. In 1914 he bought his
present place of sixty acres in Vinland, at the corner of Madera and Dakota
Avenues, and there were twenty acres of Thompson seedless, and eight acres
of peaches; and he improved the rest by setting out Thompson vines. Now
he is active in the California Associated Raisin Company, and the California
Peach Growers, Inc.
At Fresno, Mr. Rudolph was married to Miss Katie Schwabenland, a
native of Russia, and they have five children: Emma, Mrs. Clarence Kutter
of Vinland ; Henry L., with his father ; William, with the California Asso-
ciated Raisin Company ; and Carl and Freda, at home. Mr. Rudolph is a Re-
publican in national politics, and first and last he is an American.
EDWARD BRENNAN. — A successful business man of Coalinga, who
is proprietor of the Premier Creamery, is Edward Brennan, who was born
at Ballinamuck P. O., County Longford, Ireland, April 22, 1884, a son of Tim-
othy and Margaret (Mellon) Brennan, farmers in his native place. Of the
ten children born to this worthy couple eight are living, of whom Edward
is the eldest. The others are Margaret, Mrs. McGuire; and Mona, Mrs. Ginty,
both of Coalinga; John, who is in the United States Army; Patrick, in the
United States Army serving in France ; and Bernard, Martin, and Katie,
still at home with their parents.
After completing the local schools, Edward Brennan spent three years
working in the coal mines in Scotland, and then, after a brief visit home, in
May, 1908, he migrated to California. He was in the employ of the Mam-
mouth Copper Mines in Shasta County and the copper mine at Bully Hill,
also in Shasta County, until February, 1910. He then came to Coalinga and
entered the employ of the Inca Oil Company, continuing with them four or
five years. Afterwards he was in the employ of different oil companies till
he quit to engage in business for himself.
In September, 1917, Mr. Brennan started the Premier Creamery, where
he is engaged in the wholesale and retail of milk, cream, butter, and ice cream.
The creamery is located on Fifth Street and includes a modern soda foun-
tain. He makes his deliveries with an automobile, and everything is con-
ducted according to the most modern and sanitary methods.
Mr. Brennan was married in Coalinga to Miss Annie McMonigal, who
was born in Lanockshire, Scotland, and two children have been born to them:
Margaret and Mary. Freternally, Mr. Brennan is a member of the Eagles.
NIELS HANSEN NIELSEN. — A young man who is making a success
as a farmer is Niels Hansen Nielsen, who was born in Esjerg, Tylland, Den-
mark, on August 25, 1890, the third youngest of a family of eight children
born to Christian P. and Adriatte (Marcersen) Nielsen. The father was a car-
penter, mason and plasterer, one of the first to help build up the town of
Esbjerg, and continued as a contractor and builder there until 1896, when
they entered the mercantile business in Esbjerg, in which the father and
mother are still actively engaged.
Niels Hansen Nielsen received a good education in the public schools
at Esbjerg, and when fourteen years of age was apprenticed as a blacksmith.
He worked at the trade there until seventeen years of age. Deciding then
to try his lot in California, in May, 1907, he came to Fresno. The first year
he worked on a ranch, and then was employed at the blacksmith trade in
the lumber mills at Shaver, in the mountains, for two seasons, after which
he worked on a ranch again at Clovis for seven months. Next he worked
at his trade for Arnsberg and Petersen for a short time, when he quit to enter
the employ of Alex Jacobsen as a waiter in his restaurant for a year. Then
HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY 2553
he was employed on a ranch at Burrel awhile, and next in a cigar store in
Fresno over winter. In the spring of 1915 he went to San Francisco and there
was employed as a waiter for six months during the Fair, after which he again
returned to Fresno and found employment on the ranch of C. S. Pierce for
about seven months. During this time he was married in Fresno to Miss
Metha Jensen Holmsgaard, who was born in Jylland, Denmark, and after
completing her education, came to Oakland, CaL, and later to Fresno.
After his marriage,— Mr. Nielsen ran the Spencer ranch for about seven
months. In 1916 he accepted his present position as manager of the C. P.
Hansen ranch of 160 acres west of Fresno, which he has improved from the
raw land, leveling and checking it, and sowing it to alfalfa. They have in-
stalled a pumping plant and have already a fine stand of about sixty acres
of alfalfa. Having had much experience in the leveling and checking of land
for growing alfalfa, Mr. Nielsen understands the best methods for accom-
plishing results in farming to this crop. He has made it a study and is deeply
interested in his work.
Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen have two children, May Catherine and Evelyn
Anna. Politically, Mr. Nielsen believes in the principles of the Democratic
party.
JOHN A. DAWSON.— The splendid development of our Western States
is due to the sterling character and energy of the men who came here as emi-
grants from other states. A citizen of this type is John A. Dawson, who was
born in Iowa County, Wis., May 1, 1846. His father was William Dawson and
his mother was Ann (Ainsley) Dawson. They came to Wisconsin from Eng-
land in 1845. During the Civil War the father served in the Second Wisconsin
Cavalry and died of yellow fever, in August, 1862.
There were six children in the family, of whom the subject of this sketch
was the oldest. He received his education in the public schools, and later carried
on the farming on the home place, until 1891. He then came to Fresno County,
CaL, and purchased eighty acres of a stubble field. His first step in its development
was the planting of alfalfa and an orchard and vineyard of forty-five acres. He has
had splendid success in this enterprise and now has a fine productive orchard.
In 1869, Mr. Dawson was married to Mary Ann Porter, who was also a
native of Iowa County, Wis., born October 22, 1845. Eight children have been
born to them, and six are living: Frederick T., a rancher of Clovis ; William
L., a rancher near Clovis ; Nellie, wife of J. W. Sharer, also resides near Clovis ;
Leonard P., also of Clovis ; Frances, Mrs. L. D. Reyburn, of near Clovis ; and
Robert C, at home.
Mr. Dawson is the agent for the Scandinavian Mutual Protective Fire In-
surance Association, and he is also appraiser in this district for the Company.
His faithful wife died October 21, 1913, at sixty-eight years of age. Mr. Dawson
is prominent in the First Presbyterian Church, in which he is a ruling elder;
he is superintendent of the Jefferson Sunday School, and served as trustee of
the Clovis High School board for one term. Mr. Dawson made his first trip to
California in 1882, subsequently spending a second winter in the Golden State
before he located here, and since then he has made three trips back to Wis-
consin, thus crossing the mountains and plains eleven times.
BARSAM ADOOR. — A prominent raisin-grower who not only is inter-
ested in the growth of Fresno County and has great confidence in the future
of this part of the Golden State, but has himself contributed toward the devel-
opment of some of its most important interests, is Barsam Adoor, who lives
in the Malaga district. He was born in Assyria on September 15, 1870, the
son of a baker, under whom he learned the baker's trade. There were four
sons in the family, and three of them came to the United States and are now
in Fresno County.
2554 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
It was in 1891 that Barsam came to America and located in Massachu-
setts, where he worked for eight years in shoe factories at Milford, Brockton
and Boston. In 1899 he came West to Fresno County and rented the Loleta
Vineyard, five miles east of Selma, consisting of 160 acres, and there he also
had a packing house. For five years he followed raisin-growing, but with
little success. In 1904 he opened a pool hall and cigar stand on K Street, and
after four years he sold out and started the New England Bakery on the
west side of town, taking into partnership with him his brother Paul. In this
undertaking he was successful, and he kept at it for six years. Selling out in
1913, he and Paul bought a forty-acre vineyard on North Avenue in the Mal-
aga district, where they raised Thompson seedless and muscat grapes ; the
returns happily being such that the vineyard now yields from three to five
thousand dollars' profit a year.
Barsam, Paul and the third brother, Charles, own a business block
erected in 1900 on F Street, and Charles owns a twenty-acre vineyard on
Ventura Avenue.
On August 4, 1914, Mr. Adoor was married to Anna Donabed, also a na-
tive of Assyria ; and now they have one promising son, Sargon.
GUSTAV OLSEN.— Gustav Olsen, more familiarly known as Gus 01-
sen, is a native of Holmestrand, Norway, having been born in that country
September 12, 1880. When five years of age he came with his parents to
San Francisco, Cal. He was educated in the public schools of San Francisco
and Oakland, and started to learn the trade of a tailor, but soon abandoned
it to devote his attention to sign painting, which he has followed for the past
twenty-two years. He was in the employ of M. S. Moe, and learned his
trade with the leading sign painter of San Francisco, M. Stein, for whom
he worked eight years. He then engaged in business for himself at Eighth
and Market Streets, San Francisco, with a partner by the name of Ouane,
under the firm name of Quane & Olsen. After ten months the firm was dis-
solved and Mr. Olsen went to Chicago, 111., where he worked for the sign
painter Bornhoft, for a short time. Later he traveled through the East.
Mr. Olsen made his first trip to Fresno in 1902, at which time he was in
the employ of Stein & Company, and he afterwards made frequent trips to
the city. He was in the employ of J. F. Gallmann of Fresno for a while.
He was married in this city in 1908 and has made this his home ever since.
His present place of business is located at 1831 Fresno Street. He maintains
the largest sign-painting plant between San Francisco and Los Angeles,
covering a large field of operations in his work, and is prepared to do work
in any part of the San Joaquin Valley. He does the major portion of the
work for the Standard Oil Company and the Associated Oil Company, as
well as the work of the California Associated Raisin Company in the Valley.
In the busiest season he employs nine men. He is a member of the Fresno
Sign Painters' Union and was one of the organizers of the San Francisco
Sign Painters' Union.
The possessor of an unusually fine baritone voice, Mr. Olsen is well
known in Fresno as a singer of merit. He studied vocal music under Pro-
fessor Rowlands of Oakland and Professor Greven of San Francisco, and
also with Don Pardee Riggs of Fresno. He has sung in most of the churches
in Fresno, and at present is soloist in the Christian Church of that city, of
which he is a member. He is also a member of the Male Chorus, and' has
done a great deal of solo work in Fresno County in singing for the Red Cross
and Belgian Relief work, etc.
Mr. Olsen married Mrs. Alma Curren. a native of Canada. The children
born of their union are: Marie, a native of Oakland, Cal.; Elizabeth, who
died at the age of three months in 1910; and Virginia and Alma, native
daughters of Fresno. By her first marriage, Mrs. Olsen had one child, Don-
ald, born at Manchester, N. H., who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Olsen.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2555
H. A. DALLKE. — The world is looking today for men of efficiency,
men who not only know how to accomplish, but who do accomplish the duties
assigned them and are not afraid to do even more than their allotment. Such
a man is H. A. Dallke, the special agent of the Standard Oil Company, at
Reedley, Cal. Since 1915 he has had full charge of the distributing office at
Reedley.
H. A. Dallke was born in the state of Kansas, on May 27, 1883, the son
of Henry and Augusta Dallke, whose family consisted of four children, the
subject of this sketch being the second child. He was reared and educated in
the state of Kansas.
When Mr. Dallke reached young manhood he exhibited a preference for
the mercantile life, which he followed for a number of years. His first ex-
periences in this line were gained in Kansas, afterwards in Oklahoma. In
1912 he migrated to California and secured employment with the Standard
Oil Company and for three years drove a tank wagon. His fidelity to the
company's best interests and his ability for assuming a more responsible
position were soon recognized and he was advanced to the responsible post
he now occupies.
Mr. Dallke was united in marriage with Miss Tena Summerfield, in 1904.
This union was blessed with two daughters, Elsie and Verna. In 1915, Mrs.
Dallke passed away. After her demise an aunt of the children came to reside
in the home and assume the responsibility of rearing the girls. The second
marriage of Mr. Dallke was solemnized in 1916, when he was united with
Miss Anna Summerfield, a sister of his first wife.
That Mr. Dallke's efficiency and trustworthiness, in the transactions of
the business of the corporation are meeting with the approval of the officers
is best evidenced by his continuance in the position at Reedley. His friends
predict for him a prosperous business career.
GUS. CHRISTOPHER.— The acknowledged leader of the Greek Colony
at Fresno, Gus. Christopher, is one of the city's enterprising and successful
business men. The high esteem in which he is held in the community is best
evidenced by the fact of his being chosen as an ex-officio member of the ex-
ecutive committee to represent the Greek nation at the great celebration of
"Britain Day" held in the City of Fresno, on December 7-8, 1918. Gus. Chris-
topher is a native of Greece, born at Eperos, May 22, 1882. After leaving
school he was for six years engaged in mining for iron, copper and silver, in
Greece and France.
Possessed with a desire to seek his fortune in America, where so many
of his countrymen had gained success in various lines of endeavor, Mr. Chris-
topher emigrated to the United States in 1902, coming as far West as Spokane.
Wash., where he entered the hotel and cafe business, subsequently locating
at Bellingham, in the same state, where he was engaged in the bakery bus-
iness. In 1905 Mr. Christopher came to San Francisco, Cal., where he con-
ducted a cafe and continued in business there until 1910, when he bought the
Pleasanton Cafe, in Fresno, and at once remodeled, refitted and improved it
to such an extent that it was regarded afterwards as the finest modern cafe
in the city. He continued to own and operate the Pleasanton Cafe until Jan-
uary, 1915. Gus. Christopher is possessed of keen foresight and splendid
business management, and the concensus of opinion among his friends and
business associates is, that in all he undertakes he is eminently successful.
In 1914 he purchased the Bijou Photo Theatre, 1137 J Street, Fresno, and
since he has operated the theatre has remodeled it, made many needed im-
provements, installed a new ventilating system, two "Powers" operating
machines, electric piano, and a new screen. The Bijou is now considered
the best short-show theatre in the state. Mr. Christopher has demonstrated
his good business judgment by investing his money in Fresno realty. Among
his holdings are two lots at Van Ness and Stanislaus Streets, where he con-
2556 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
templates erecting apartment houses ; and the Parker Lyons residence on
Van Xess and Calaveras Streets, which he recently purchased as an invest-
ment. In 1910 he bought a forty-acre ranch in the Perrin Colony. For two
years he raised tobacco on this ranch, but in 1913 planted it to figs.
Fraternally, Mr. Christopher was made a Mason in Fresno Lodge, No.
247, F. & A. M., at Fresno, in 1912. He has taken all degrees up to and includ-
ing the Mystic Shrine. He was the founder and is the president of the local
Greek Society, "Hellenic Progressive Society," an organization conducted
along educational lines for the promotion of friendship and cooperation be-
tween Americans and Greeks. George Voenes is vice-president; N. D. Nitsos,
secretary, and S. M. Lagudis, treasurer. Mr. Christopher is a very progressive
and prosperous citizen is highly respected among his large circle of friends.
EUGENE ROUGNY.— The birthplace of Eugene Rougny was Gap,
Hautes-Alpes, France, and the date of birth November 8, 1884. His father,
Casimir, was a farmer, and Eugene early learned the rudiments of farming
as carried on in his native place, receiving a good education in the public
schools. When twenty-one years of age he entered the French army, serving
in an Alpine Regiment called the "Blue Devils," he being in the Fourteenth
P>attalion. After eighteen months' service he was honorably discharged, as
corporal.
In 1908 Mr. Rougny came to California, arriving in Fresno. December
25th of that year. He was employed in the lumber yards of the Fresno
Flume & Land Company, of Clovis, then in Pine Ridge, logging next, after a
few months, with the Shaver mill. He then returned to Clovis and leased a
vineyard for three years.
Mr. Rougny was married, near Malaga, on April 6, 1918, to Mrs. Anais
(Corbeil") Blanc, also born at Gap, she being the daughter of Lucien Corbeil, a
farmer who came to California over thirty years ago and who now resides in
Fresno. Mrs. Rougny came to Fresno County in 1899, attending the public
schools in Fresno. Her first marriage was to Marius Blanc, who came from
France to Fresno in 1896 and was employed by the Fresno Flume and Land
Company as flume-herder, until in 1914 when he engaged in viticulture on
a twenty-three-acre ranch near Malaga, where he died on November 14, 1916,
aged thirty-seven, leaving, besides his widow, four children : Henry, Albert,
Marius, and Adrian.
Mr. and Mrs. Rougny own and operate their ranch, which is devoted to
raising grapes and alfalfa. They have one child, Leon. They are members
of the California Associated Raisin Company.
GUSTAVE LEPLAT.— The genealogy of the Leplat family is traced
back to the historic city of Lille, France, where Gustave was born of Bel-
gian parents, January 13, 1847. His early education was in French and was
obtained in a boarding school at Brussels, after which he attended a military,
or regimental school, and six years he was a member of the Ninth Infantry
Belgium Army. Gustave Leplat was so proficient in the art of fencing that
he became an instructor in the army. He also studied engineering, develop-
ing his talents along the lines of construction and engineering work to such
a high degree that in 1865 he was sent to Antwerp. Belgium, to build forti-
fications and helped in the construction of forts in other parts of that country.
After finishing his term of service in the Belgium Army, Mr. Leplat accepted
a position in the government office at Brussels.
In 1880 he emigrated to America and having learned the trade of a
painter and interior decorator while in Belgium, he was engaged in that line
of work in Chicago. 111., and in the year 1883 moved farther westward, lo-
cating for a while in Los Angeles, Cal., where he followed his trade. On
April 6, 1891, Gustave Leplat arrived in Fresno, Cal., and since that time has
continued to reside there and so successfully conducted his business of paint-
ing and artistic interior decorating. Mr. Leplat is a natural artist and his
superior taste in interior designing has gained for him an enviable reputation
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2557
and has been an important factor in the building-up of his extensive business.
The name Leplat stands for the latest and most artistic in interior decora-
tions. In addition to some of the finest residences in the city of Fresno, his
work is to be seen in the following public buildings : Winchell Block, Cath-
olic Church, Congregational Church, and C Street schoolhouse ; his work also
extends throughout the county, among the homes of prosperous ranchers
and to Madera and other valley cities.
Mr. Leplat's success in business has made possible his splendid realty
holdings in the city of Fresno, consisting of his home at 227 Valeria Street,
a two-story house on I Street, and two lots near the Normal School. He is
a loyal American, having become a naturalized citizen while living in Los
Angeles. Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of Fresno
Lodge No. 247, F. & A. M. ; Fresno Consistory Scottish Rite and is a member
of Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., San Francisco. For thirty-two years
he has been an honored member of the Knights of Pythias of which he is a
past officer. He is also a charter member of the Painter's Union of Fresno,
and past secretary and treasurer of the organization. His first marriage was
in Belgium where he was united with Josephine Landeloos, who died there.
In 1891 at Fresno Gustave Leplat was married to Mrs. Mary Lee, a na-
tive of Paris, France, but reared in California, having immigrated here with
her parents in 1852, coming around Cape Horn to San Francisco. Of his
first union two children grew up : Frank, of Los Angeles ; and Mrs. Jeamie
Roderick, who died February 3, 1919 in San Francisco. Some years ago Mr.
Leplat made a trip through Mexico investigating the possibilities of that
country but after looking them over he decided to remain in California.
NICHOLAS HOLSTEIN. — An enterprising general merchant of the
City of Fresno is Nicholas Flolstein, a native of the town of Volsk, Saratof.
Russia, where he was born on October 17, 1878. His father was Henry Carl
Holstein. who was engaged in the hotel and bakery business until, in 1883,
he died there. He had married Fredericka Kerner, who is still living, the
mother of twelve children, four of whom have survived.
The second youngest of these four, Nicholas was brought up at Volsk,
bereft of his father from his fourth year. He was sent to the Balakova public
school, and there learned both German and Russian. When nine years old, he
was apprenticed to learn the mercantile business, and for sixteen and a half
years he worked for the same firm in two different stores. He was manager
the last two years, but he resigned to accept a place with the Singer Sewing
Machine Company — for the first four years as agent and bookkeeper, and
then for three years as manager.
Mr. Holstein's experience in that capacity was so exceptional that it
affords many an interesting tale. During those seven years he was stationed
in different cities for 800 miles along the Volga ; and with headquarters in
the City of Ural, in the Ural Mountains, he traveled 700 miles from the Cas-
pian Sea to Busulak, and so became familiar with various lands and peoples.
In 1913, Mr. Holstein resigned to come to California and Fresno, and for
six months he was in the employ of a packing-house. During this time he
attended night school, and then he was for two years with the Singer Sewing
Machine Company as agent for the county. He was full of business enter-
prise, and while so engaged started his store in a rented place on this lot,
with a small stock of goods, and his wife took charge of the store. The bus-
iness grew rapidly and at the end of two years Mr. Holstein resigned to look
after his own interests. In time he was able to buy a lot and residence, and
then to enlarge his store. Now his establishment is one of the notable business
houses in his section, dealing in general merchandise and notions, groceries,
etc. It is located at 117 F Street, and is a credit to the neighborhood.
In far-off Ural, Mr. Holstein was married to Miss Alexandrina Bier, a
native of Volga, and they have four children : Yaldemar, Ludmilia, Egenia,
and Victor.
2558 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
IENER W. NIELSEN. — Among the representatives of the Fresno bar
may be mentioned Iener W. Nielsen, the descendant of immigrants who hailed
originally from Northern Europe and brought with them to the new and
fast-developing California, many desirable social and industrial customs.
He was born at Fresno on May 8, 1886, and his father was C. Nielsen, who
was well-known in his native country as an experienced and painstaking
farmer; one of the "old school," determined on making a success of what-
ever he undertook, and therefore certain to transmit by inheritance to off-
spring the same invaluable spirit of success-pursuit. He married Emily West-
ring, and during the middle eighties he crossed the ocean, continued across
the continent, and keeping his eye steadily fixed on the Golden State, arrived
at length in Fresno County and settled in the Bowles Colony. There engaged
in ranching until October 28, 1917, when he died. Mrs. Nielsen and a number
of the children are now living on their well-appointed ranch, enjoying the
esteem and good-will of all who know them.
Iener Nielsen was educated in the grammar and high schools of Fresno,
after which he studied for a year at the Highland Park College in Iowa,
from which he was graduated with honors and the coveted degree of Bach-
elor of Arts. He next matriculated at the University of Southern California
Law School, where he was fortunate in attending lectures delivered by some
of the most brilliant of California's jurists and expounders of law; and after
completing the prescribed courses he returned to the city of his birth, se-
lected a good office, installed one of the most serviceable of modern reference
libraries, and began the practice of law. Since that time Mr. Nielsen has
made steady professional advancement, and it is a pleasant statement of
simple fact that he is today a promising member of the California bar.
Mr. Nielsen belongs to the Woodmen of the World ; but his social sym-
pathies are still broader, and he is never second in any endeavor looking to
the improvement of society or the decided advancement of man as a social
factor.
JOSE MICHAEL LUGEA.— A native son of the Golden West who by
his own efforts has made a success and risen to a place of influence and afflu-
ence, is Jose Michael Lugea who was born at Tres Pinos, San Benito County,
December 1, 1880. His father, Jose Lugea, was born at Garajoa, Navarra,
Spain, where he made his home until seventeen years of age when he made
his way to Buenos Ayres, South America, where with his brothers he be-
came a stock raiser, continuing there until the fifties, when he was attracted
hither. He was the first of the brothers to come to California but the}- fol-
lowed him later on.
The elder Jose was married in San Francisco, taking for his wife a lady
from his native place, Marie Elizagoyen who had come to San Francisco with
her two brothers. Jose Lugea and his brothers became extensive sheep
growers making their headquarters at Los Banos, Merced County. Mr.
Miguel Arbrura was also a partner with them and between them they owned
large flocks as well as a large ranch. Finally they sold and located at
Tres Pinos, San Benito County, where they continued-together, meeting with
success. In 1882 they sold all of their interests and returned to Spain. Miguel
Arbrura after a short stay came out to California again, engaging in stock-
raising and today is a large land owner and wealthy man, residing in Los
Banos. Jose Lugea was satisfied to remain in his native land where he pur-
chased and owned a large farm and raised cattle and sheep. He and his wife
both spent their last days there. Of their eight children seven are living, of
whom Jose M. is the next to the youngest. Four of the boys came to Cali-
fornia ; Perfecto died in 1903 ; Raymond resides in Elko County, Nev. ; M. P.
is a business man in San Francisco, and our subject. A sister, Mrs. Mary
Figols, resides in Red Bluff.
Jose M. was about two years of age when his parents took him back to
Spain, where he attended the local school until he was sixteen years of age.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2559
His parents had passed away during his school days and his oldest sister was
in charge of the farm. After his school days were over he assisted on the
home farm until nineteen. Having always had a desire to return to the land
of his birth. He came to San Francisco in 1899, and soon afterwards we find
him employed on the ranch of his uncle at Los Banos, afterwards working
for Miller & Lux, where he learned to drive the big teams in the grain fields
and became familiar with general farming. In 1905 he became foreman of the
sheep department on a large ranch at Elko, Nev., where the ranch carried
about 20,000 head of sheep. In 1907 he returned to California and engaged in
the hotel business with his brother, as proprietors of Hotel de Spanio, until
1917, when he quit the business to give all of his time to sheep-raising in
Fresno County in which he had become interested as early as 1909, having a
partner, Frank Bezunegui. Their band increased so that in 1915 they divided
their flocks and dissolved partnership, since which time he has continued in
business alone. His headquarters ranch is near Coalinga and he resided in that
city until 1918, when he moved his family to Fresno from which point he
superintends his stock and wool-growing interests. The marriage of Mr. Lugea
occurred in San Francisco, 1908, when he was united with Eloteria Bezunegui,
a native of Navarra, Spain, and five children have blessed their union: Anna,
Jose. Agustin, Elisa, and Graciosa. As a native son Mr. Lugea is greatly inter-
ested in growth and development of California and very optimistic for its future
greatness. When the Growers National Bank of Fresno was organized he be-
came a stockholder, and is a member of its board of directors.
JOSEPH DEMERA.-A leader in the Italian Colony of Fresno, as is
evidenced by the fact that he was chosen as a member of the committee on
Italian Day, during the celebration held in Fresno in September, 1918; also
the only Italian chosen as a member ex-officio, of the Executive Committee
on Britain Day, December 7-8, 1918, Joseph Demera, was born March 1,
1872, in the province of Potenza, near Naples, Italy. His early education was
received in the public schools of his native country, after which he was en-
gaged in farming. In 1898 Joseph Demera emigrated to the United States,
where he secured employment in New York City, remaining in the metrop-
olis until 1903, when he located in Fresno, Cal. His first employment in the
Golden State was on a ranch near the city of Fresno, after which, for one
year, he was in the employ of the Standard Oil Company, and for eight years
rendered faithful and efficient service for the Union Oil Company. Mr. De-
mera possesses those traits of character so essential to success, industry and
economy, and by untiring efforts and thrifty habits, he has eventually won
success. His excellent judgment was shown by investing his savings in
Fresno real .estate, on E Street, where he owns at present three houses and
his store building. In the fall of 1917, Mr. Demera opened a grocery store
at 1520 E Street, Fresno, in which enterprise he has been very successful.
He is a patriotic citizen of the Republic, having become a naturalized citizen
of the United States of America at Fresno, in 1904.
In the province of Potenza, Italy, Joseph Demera was united in mar-
riage, February 8, 1893, with Louisa Allampresea, a native of that province,
and this happy union has been blessed with three children : Pascal, born May
30, 1900, a student, attending the Nevada State University, at Reno, who is
an exceptionally fine musician, an artist on both the piano and violin ; Rosie,
born September 10, 1901 ; and James, who was born December 23, 1903. Mr.
Demera is a very progressive and public-spirited citizen, always ready to do
his part in aiding every worthy movement that has as its aim the upbuilding
of the best interests of the community. Religiously, he is a member of the
Catholic Church, and in politics supports the Republican party. To those
who have succeeded in life solely by their own efforts, much credit is due,
and to such a worthy class of citizens belongs the subject of this review,
Joseph Demera.
2560 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JOSEPH GIARDINA. — A resident in Fresno County who came here in
the late nineties and who struggled to get ahead and away from conditions
most discouraging, and has "made good," and seen that his children should
receive the education necessary for them to attain to success, is Joseph
Giardina, who was born in Palermo, Sicily, February 11, 1861 and educated
in the Italian public schools. When just eighteen he took the great step and
sailed for New York, where he arrived as poor as the thousands sweltering
and contesting for their daily bread. The first opportunity opened to him
was that of the barber's trade. But he was not satisfied to fight hour after
hour for existence in the east, and before it was too late, he packed all his
belongings and made for the more Golden West.
In 1881 he arrived at San Francisco, where he worked for awhile at his
trade and then located in Astoria, Ore. There he opened a general store for
the sale of cigars, provisions, imported goods, etc., and this he carried on with
success until 1897. In that year he came to Fresno, and since then he has
here resided, identifying himself more and more with the city and the county.
For a while he engaged in the fish business on Fresno Street, and carried
on a large wholesale and retail store. After seventeen years in that line,
when he had become very well and very favorably known, he sold out and
opened a cigar store on Tulare Street, where he also did a retail and a whole-
sale business. In 1916 he removed to his present place at 1141 I Street.
Besides his investments in this line of activity, Mr. Giardina owns valuable
real estate in Fresno, and has been successful in both buying and selling
property. His judgment is good, and often sought by others, and he is wide-
awake to perceive a bargain where others, also able to run, but unable to
read, pass by the golden opportunity.
Sorne years ago Mr. Giardina married Annie Leonard, a native of Scot-
land, and by her he has had five children. Although all were born in
Astoria, none could be inspired with more of the native Californian spirit
than they. A daughter is Mrs. Joseph Greco, she lives at Fresno with one
child ; a son is Joseph ; another son. Puree] L., is married and has one child
to bless his home ; the fourth in order of birth is now Mrs. Constance Blaird
of Stockton, and the mother of a child; while the youngest is Airs. Camillia
Russ, of Fresno, the mother of a child.
LEOPOLDO SCIACQUA. — A resident of California since 1895 and one
of the leading upbuilders of Empire district is Leopoldo Sciacqua, a native
of Lucca, Tuscano, Italy, where he was born May 27, 1874, and where he
was reared and learned viticulture as it is practiced in his native land. Being
desirous of trying his fortune in California, he came hither in 1895, locating
in Fresno County. He was for a time employed at lumbering on Pine Ridge,
and was afterwards employed in the vineyards of Fresno County. He then
spent two years in Oakland, after which he returned to Fresno. He leased
a vineyard for a time, and became one of the organizers of the Empire Vine-
yird and Orchard Company, being associated with L. S. Francini, who was
president of the company, while Mr. Sciacqua was superintendent and man-
ager. This was in 1907. The company purchased 1,120 acres of land twelve
and a half miles west of Fresno. There was an old orchard on a part of the
place. This he grubbed out, and set the place to Thompson seedless, muscat
and wine grapes. The company ran the whole place until 1916, when they sold
480 acres. Of this, Mr. Sciacqua and a partner, Mrs. Mary Mautino. purchased
320 acres, which Mr. Sciacqua also superintends and which is devoted to
viticulture. He is still interested in the old company, but has resigned the
position as manager to give his time to his own place.
In Oakland occurred the marriage of Mr. Sciacqua and Miss Dominica
Zucca; and to them have been born four children: Lillian, Guido, Helen, and
Frank Mr. Sciacqua is an experienced and well-posted viticulturist whose
advice is often sought by others. He is a member of the California Associated
Raisin Company, and is highly esteemed.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2561
CHARLES ROSCELLL— The success achieved by Charles Roscelli, of
the firm of Roscelli and Bacci, commission merchants, at 1426 Fresno Street,
Fresno, Cal., has been the result of perseverance and well directed industry,
combined with good business judgment. He is a native of Genoa, Italy, born
January 1, 1876, a member of a family of nine children, and" owing to cir-
cumstances was obliged to go to work on his father's farm at the very early
age of seven years. Being deprived of the opportunity of attending school
during the day, Charles took advantage of the excellent night school of his
native city, where he received his early education. In 1893, at the age of
seventeen, he emigrated to the United States, locating in California, and at
San Francisco obtained work in a vegetable garden, later going to Stockton,
where for six years he secured employment at various occupations. In 1907
Mr. Roscelli came to Fresno, where he rented four acres of land on the corner
of Cherry and California Streets, which he planted to vegetables, and fol-
lowed gardening for two years, when he removed to Portland, Ore., and
later to Seattle, Wash., where he followed clerical work for four years.
In 1913 he returned to Fresno, where he again engaged in vegetable
growing, renting for the purpose five acres on Cherry Avenue, and continued
in this business for two years. Realizing the opportunity for building up a
better business, and one in which he could better develop his capacity for
managing larger and more important business affairs, Air. Roscelli engaged
in the commission business, opening a warehouse in 1916 at 1426 Fresno
Street, where he is conducting a prosperous and growing business in vege-
tables and fruits. So successful has the new enterprise proved that it re-
quires the service of two auto trucks for delivery, and in 1918 he took into
partnership Frank Bacci.
Mr. Roscelli is a progressive and enterprising business man, one who
has succeeded in life solely by his own efforts, and his friends predict for him
even greater achievements in the business world.
RILEY JURY. — A resident of California since 1880, Riley Jury is a
native of New York State, born at Cape Vincent, at the head of Lake Ontario,
Jefferson County, February 5, 1872. His father, William Bulcher Jury, was
a native of England and came when a young man to New York State, where
he was a farmer and dairyman. In 1880 he brought his family to Niles, Ala-
meda County, locating on a farm, and there he died in 1912. Mr. Jury's
mother, Ruth Boles, was also a native of New York, born December 25,
1837. She was first married to Mr. Vandervoort. She now resides in Cen-
terville, Alameda County. She is over eighty-one years of age, and was the
champion knitter for the Red Cross in Alameda County. Of her union with
W. B. Jury there were four children, three living, of whom Riley is the eldest.
Coming to California from New York when he was eight years old, Mr.
Jury went to public school in Alameda County, and then attended Washing-
ton Commercial College, at Irvington. where he was graduated in 1889. He
then spent four years in the engineering department with the Alameda Sugar
Company, resigning in 1897 to engage in stock-raising at Mendota Dam,
where he leased the J. C. Mowry ranch of 1,000 acres and raised cattle and
hogs. Seeing a great future for intensive farming on the lands in the vicinity
of Mendota, he purchased the present place of 160 acres one and one-half
miles southwest of Mendota. It was all sage brush, and he cleared it and put
the first plow in the soil, making all the improvements. In 1907 he built his
residence and moved onto the place. Fie sunk the well, installed a pumping
plant, and planted twenty acres of alfalfa the first year. He founcl the surface
water too salt for irrigating ; so he put down a well 570 feet deep and a second
well 641 feet deep, which with his electric pumping plant give him ample
water for irrigating his ranch. He is raising alfalfa, grain and stock, and has
named the ranch the Alpha Grain and Stock Farm, recording the title with
the Secretary of State. He raises pure-bred registered Poland-China hogs.
Some of his hogs have taken prizes. He is also raising Shropshire sheep. It
2562 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
has been proven by Mr. Jury that by a systematic method of fencing and
irrigating the fields a large number of stock can be carried on a small acre-
age. He is carrying upwards of 500 head of stock on his ranch the year round.
He has paddocks for his full-blooded hogs and rams. Mr. Jury was the first
in this section to start irrigation.
Mr. Jury was married at Mission San Jose in 1900 to Miss Emma Arnau-
don, a native daughter born in San Francisco, the oldest daughter of A. T-
Arnaudon, the pioneer of Mendota. Two children bless this union: Edna
and Floyd. Mr. Jury was made a Mason in Alasil Lodge, No. 321, F. & A. M.,
at Pleasanton. He is an active member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge in
Mendota, in which he has been Keeper of Records and Seals for many years.
PETER DALENA.— Peter Dalena was born in Bari, Italy, January 15,
1880. He was educated in the local schools and from a lad learned viticulture,
working in his father's vineyard. Determining to try his fortune in the
United States, he came to New York City in 1902, and six months later to
San Francisco, Cal., arriving in 1903. For a time he was employed as a
gardener in Sonoma County, and then engaged in raising beans on an island
below Sacramento. In 1905 he came to Reedley, Fresno County, as a foreman
on the Great Western Vineyard. In 1908 he came to Arizona Colony, pur-
chased twenty acres of his present place, and immediately began improving
it as a vineyard. Later he bought twenty acres adjoining. This was raw
land, which he leveled and set to Thompson seedless vines. He now has
twenty acres of Thompsons, ten acres of sultanas, and ten acres of muscats.
The ranch is well-improved and is set with a border of figs.
Mr. Dalena's marriage occurred in Indianola, Miss., where he was united
with Miss Emelia Romagnoli, a native of Issi, Italy. They have three chil-
dren : Kelina, Ropeo, and Merico. Mr. Dalena has shown much enterprise
in improving and building up his splendid ranch property. He is a viticul-
turist of ability, and is a member and stockholder of the California Associated
Raisin Company.
JEAN SAHARGUN.— Jean Sahargun was born in Aldudes, Basses-
Pyrenees, October 13. 1876. His father, Martin Sahargun, being a farmer,
the lad Jean was reared to farming and stock-raising as practiced in the
south of France, where he received a good education in the common schools.
The father died when Jean was a youth of thirteen years. He began work-
ing out on farms to make his own livelihood, remaining with one employer
for seven years. He then entered the Sixth Infantry Regiment of the French
army, serving three years, when he was honorably discharged. Having a
brother Pierre who had migrated to California in 1887 and was engaged in
sheep-raising in Fresno County, Jean determined to cast in his lot on the
Pacific Coast and came hither to join his brother.
Pierre Sahargun was in partnership with Peter Arbios, with headquarters
in Mendota, and became a very successful stockman, though his career was
cut short by his death in 1908 at the age of thirty-nine years. Pierre had mar-
ried Miss Josephine Daunet, the ceremony taking place in Mendota on Octo-
ber 17, 1903. She was born in Lurbei, Basses-Pyrenees. Her father. Pierre
Daunet, was a stockman at Lurbei. In 1900 she came to Fresno where she
resided until her marriage. She is the mother of one child, John.
Jean Sahargun arrived in Mendota in December, 1900, where he assisted
his brother in, the care of his flock. In 1906, having accumulated some means,
he bought a bunch of sheep and started in for himself. Meanwhile, his
brother's health failing, he also took care of his flock until his death. Mr.
Sahargun has increased the number of his band and is now accounted a well-
to-do and successful stockman on the West Side in Fresno County, ranging
his band on the plains in winter and in the Sugar Pine district of the Sierras
during the summer. He is a man of kindly nature and is liberal and enterpris-
ing, lie is a member of the California Automobile Association.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2563
HENRY SCHEIDT. — Among the enterprising men who are actively
identified with the development of the horticultural and viticultural interests
of Fresno County, in the vicinity of Sanger, and one who has demonstrated
by his career the true worth of thrift, perseverance and self-confidence, is
Henry Scheidt, a native of Russia, where he was born on August 18, 1870.
He is a son of Chris and Christina Scheidt, who were the parents of eleven
children, and he was reared and educated in his native country where he re-
mained until 1896, when he immigrated to the United States and settled the
same year in California. Two other members of' the family are now located
in Fresno County, August Scheidt, and" Mrs. Catherine Horg, who reside
in the city of Fresno.
Upon his arrival in Fresno County, Henry Scheidt was practically with-
out means but possessed a stout heart and strong determination to succeed.
After years of arduous labor and economical living he had saved enough
money to purchase his first ranch which consisted of forty acres, and after
improving the place he sold it and purchased his present home ranch of forty
acres, thirty of which were improved and the balance he has set to vines.
Later he purchased forty acres more which he is improving with vines, and
this gives him eighty acres devoted to horticulture and viticulture. His am-
bition in life was to be the sole owner of a ranch, which worthy aim he has
lived to see more than consummated, and his example is all the more de-
serving of commendation as he began with nothing and has made for himself
a recognized place among the ranchers of his section of Fresno County.
On January 12, 1889, Henry Scheidt was unifed in marriage with Miss
Sophia Spate, of Samara, Russia, and this happy union was blessed with
fifteen children, nine of whom are living: Chris; Henry ; Peter; Sophia;
Alexander ; Fred ; Augustus ; Edward ; and Harry. Peter enlisted in the
United States Navy in August, 1918, and was stationed at Mare Island until
his discharge on May 16, 1919. Flenry was married January 20, 1918, to
Lizzie Rau. Mr. Scheidt is a member of the California Associated Raisin
Company and is a stockholder in the California Peach Growers, Inc. The
family are members of the Lutheran Church, and in politics are Republican
in national affairs, while in local matters they support the best men and
measures.
JOSE M. YRACEBURU.— A farmer and stockman of the West Side
who has been a resident of Fresno County since 1900 is Jose M. Yraceburu
who was born at Villanueva, Navarra, Spain, September 27, 1874, the oldest
of eleven children born to Jose Ramon and Firmina (Erro) Yraceburu who
were farmers in Spain where his mother died November 2, 1914, while the
father now resides with our subject. Jose's parents were in very moderate
circumstances so when Jose was eight and one-half years of age had to go to
work for a farmer; he continued with him six years. He followed farm work
until he was nineteen years of age when he became a soldier in the Spanish
army and was sent to Cuba where he served until 1899. During this time he
served in the Spanish-x\merican War. Returning to Spain in 1899 he re-
mained one year and then came to California locating in Fresno. He im-
mediately found employment with a sheepman on the West Side, continuing
this work for about ten years and then invested his savings in a band of
sheep, a business he has -followed ever since. He has improved his ranch with
a residence and other suitable buildings. Aside from sheep and wool growing
he leases land, sowing from 1,200 to 1,500 acres each year to grain. Mr.
Yraceburu was married in Hanford, July 12, 1909, to Miss Trinidad Cerdau
born in Navarra, Spain, the daughter of Pascaso and Eulalia (Cavero)
Cerdau who spent their entire lives in Spain. Mrs. Yraceburu came to Fresno
County in 1904. They have two children, Jose Raymond and Gabino ; the
latter died September, 1918, when three and one-half years old. Mr. Yraceburu
was made a full citizen of the United States in 1912.
2564 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ANNIBALE TRUCCHL— The popular proprietor of the dependable
grocery store located at 1040 H Street, Fresno, Annibale Trucchi, is a native
of Torino, Italy, where he first saw the light of day on September 5, 1849.
In his youth he attended a military college and at sixteen years of age entered
the Italian Army, in which he rapidly rose to the position of a lieutenant.
Mr. Trucchi remained in the army eleven years during which time he saw
service during the revolution in the city of Palermo, in 1866. Resigning from
the army in 1874, he engaged in the dry goods business at Forli, Italy, where
he remained eight years. In» 1889, having a desire to see more of the world,
and particularly the United States, he emigrated to America stopping for a
time in Chicago, after which he continued his journey westward until he
reached the Golden State, locating for one year at San Francisco. Later,
Mr. Trucchi moved to Stockton where he operated a general store for eight
years. In 1900 he arrived in Fresno, where he opened a general merchandise
store at 1040 H Street, and here he has been engaged in business ever since.
Mr. Trucchi possesses a happy faculty of making and retaining many friends,
a very valuable business asset ; this, coupled with his good business manage-
ment and the courteous treatment of his patrons, has been a great factor in
building up a very prosperous business. As he succeeded in business he
purchased land and at one time bought forty acres of raw land, in the Perrin
Colony, which he improved with vines and fruit trees, developed water and
erected a home, after which he was offered a good price for his place and
sold in 1914. Mr. Trucchi has large real estate holdings in the city of Fresno,
consisting of eighteen lots*and three houses.
Mr. Trucchi was united in marriage, at Chicago, with Armenia Santori,
a native of Italy, and they are the parents of three children: Louisa, who
married A. Cantoni ; Elizabeth, who is now Mrs. Roy Mazzi ; and Joaquin.
Mr. and Mrs. Trucchi are especially proud of their three grandchildren.
During the eighteen years of his residence in Fresno, Mr. Trucchi has wit-
nessed the remarkable growth of this city and its wonderful developments
and has always been interested in those movements and measures that make
for the upbuilding of the best interests of the city and county. Fraternally,
Mr. Trucchi is a member of the Foresters of America, having been affiliated
with this organization for twenty-seven years.
ROCCO S. GOBBY. — An industripus dairyman, who gives his wife
credit for a large part of his prosperity, is Rocco S. Gobby, the youngest of
the three Gobby brothers who came from Petaluma to Riverdale many years
ago, and whose progress has been interwoven with the development of the
count}'. These young men have overcome difficulties that would have dis-
heartened the less resolute. As a dairyman, as a director in the Riverdale
Cooperative Creamery, and as a public-spirited citizen, Rocco S. Gobby must
be classed with the best citizenry of Central California. He is also a stock-
holder in and helped organize the First National Bank of Riverdale, and he
assisted in getting the railroad through this part of the county.
Mr. Gobby was born at Neva, Switzerland, in Canton Ticino, on August
20, 1866, a member of a family in which the brothers and sisters were com-
panions— the family history being given with more detail in the sketch, of
Louis Gobby, printed elsewhere in this book. Mr. Gobby's brothers and
sisters were: Peter, (now deceased); Adeline and Josephine, who both died
single in Italy; and Louis. In 1886, when California was beginning to realize
her possibilities, Mr. Gobby came to California. He left home on October 5,
sailed from Havre, France, and landed in New York, anxious to reach Cali-
fornia and see his older brother, Louis, who had preceded him two years
before.
Just one month after he left home, Mr. Gobby reached Petaluma, and
went to work on a dairy ranch for eighteen dollars a month. He saved his
money, and after a while he and Louis rented a dairy farm in Sonoma County
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2565
for a year. There they worked as hard as ever, so that between them they
had about $2,000 when they came to Riverdale and rented 640 acres of the
Burrel estate holdings. The brothers went energetically to work and ran a
private dairy; they made butter and sold it in Fresno, and prospered. There
the brother Peter joined them; and being overambitious, perhaps, they went
back to Sonoma County and bought eighty-five head of young cattle, think-
ing to clean up handsome profits in the investment. They shipped them by
water and rail to Central California, and drove them to their definite destina-
tion ; but the Texas fever broke out, and in two weeks they had all died save
nineteen. Then, when the losses had broken them financially, the started
again to work as farm hands at monthly wages, and began anew. Peter and
Rocco S. rented John's Ranch, but when Peter went back to Switzerland to
get married, Louis bought out his interest, and thereafter Louis and Rocco
continued the business together and prospered. For one or two years the
brothers continued in partnership, and then Rocco managed the dairy for
himself. He bought this place of seventy-two acres, half a mile east of what
is now Riverdale, and later bought a tract of land in partnership with his
brother, Louis, of which Rocco has retained some eighty acres. This he has
highly improved and made into a very fine dairy ranch. After a while, he
bought sixty-three acres located between the home ranch and Riverdale.
Mr. Gobby, besides being a stockholder in the First National Bank, has
also been a stockholder in the Riverdale Cooperative Creamery since its start
in 1911, having done effective work in its organization. When his brother
Peter, who was a director, died on July 15, 1917, the vacancy in the board of
directors was filled by appointing Rocco ; and being an excellent business
man with progressive ideas, he has been able to serve the creamery to great
advantage, and during the present year, additional building and machinery
to the value of $25,000 have been added, making a total investment of about
$50,000.
Rocco S. Gobby was married to Amelia Leon, sister of Camilli Leon of
Burrel, and who was a native of the same canton as was her husband. Mr.
and Mrs. Gobby have had four children. The first was still-born. The second
was Louis Edward, who served his country as a machine gunner in the
One Hundred Sixty-sixth Machine-gun Company of the Forty-second, Rain-
bow Division, participating in the Aisne-Marne, July 25 to August 3 ; St.
Mihiel, September 12 to 16; Meuse-Argonne, October 11 to 31, 1918. He re-
turned to America with his division; landed at Hoboken, N. J., April 25, 1919;
was honorably discharged at the Presidio, at San Francisco, on May 21, 1919,
and is now at home. The third child is Millie, at home; and the fourth is
Albert, twenty-one years of age, engaged as a plumber at Riverdale. Their
beloved mother passed away at the age of thirty years in December, 1898.
FRED HORCH. — A well-posted and successful horticulturist, is Fred
Horch, who was born at Stepnofski, Samara, Russia, on March 29, 1876, the
son of George Horch, a native of that section who was a farmer and died
there in 1903. His wife was Kathrina Miller before her marriage, and she
is still living, the honored mother of eleven children, six of whom are also
living.
Fred attended the public schools of his home district and grew up on a
farm ; one of his household being a sister, Christina, now Mrs. Salwasser, of
Parent Colony, Fresno County. In 1897 Fred entered the Russian army, and
was later transferred to the Russian navy and served four years in the Baltic
fleet. In 1901 he was honorably discharged, having made a good record as
machinist and engineer on the Lut Kamina. While in service his right hand
was caught in a wheel so that he lost three fingers.
On January 31, 1902, Mr. Horch was married to Miss Christine Nilmeier,
a native of his birthplace and the daughter of Fred Nilmeier, a farmer, still
there at the ripe old age of seventy years. His. wife, Kathrina, born there is
2566 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
also living. She is the mother of eight children, six of whom are living, five
being in America: Annie is Airs. Gross of Fresno; Christine is the wife of the
subject of this review; August, who attended the same school, lives on the
old homestead ; Sophie is Mrs. Michel, of Fresno ; Maggie, Mrs. Sparks, dwells
near by; and Marie is Mrs. Rosenthal, also a neighbor.
On May 5, 1902, Mr. Horch brought his wife to Winnipeg, Canada, and
after two months came to Fresno, where he arrived in August, 1902. He
went to work on the Southern Pacific Railway under Peter Nilmeier, and
after a short time he was employed in a vineyard and packing-house, and
then in an oil-refinery. He worked about six years, here and there, gathering
more experience than money ; but he got ahead sufficiently to buy a ranch
of twenty acres in the Laguna tract.
This he improved to alfalfa, and a year later sold it at a profit. He re-
turned to Fresno, and after a year rented an orchard and vineyard of 120
acres in the Wilson tract, which he ran for a year. He then bought a thirty-
acre ranch on McKinley Avenue, which he improved and conducted for two
years ; and when he sold it he returned to Fresno. At the end of two years he
leased an orchard on Belmont Avenue. After another period of two years he
leased a place in the McKinley district. This has forty acres of orchard, with
Muir, Lovell and Elberta peaches, and well equipped in every respect. He
has a Bean power-sprayer, and a sulphur house and drying grounds. He be-
longs to the California Peach Growers, Inc., and has been a member and a
stockholder from its organization.
Two children, Kathrine and Edward, have added to the friends of the
Horch family, and with their parents attend the Lutheran Church in Fresno,
of which Mr. Horch is an ex-trustee. He belongs to the Republican party
and does his share in working for civic uplift and local improvement.
ANDREW SODERBERG.— Among those from foreign shores who
are loyal to the country of their adoption and who have made for themselves a
place in the community where they reside, Andrew Soderberg is a quiet, unas-
suming and industrious rancher and fruit-raiser who came to America with the in-
tention of making good and is doing it. He was born in Dalene, Sweden, December
24, 1855. His father was a farmer and the son was brought up on the farm. His
mother was Sarah Erikson. Both parents are now dead. They had two children,
Andrew, in California, and Frederick, in Minnesota.
Mr. Soderberg attended the public schools in his native land, and learning the
carpenter trade, engaged in building and contracting, until in 1879, when he came
to America, going to Hudson, Wis., where he engaged in lumbering for a year.
In 1880 he located a homestead of 160 acres in Saint Hilaire. Minn. While im-
proving his place he engaged in contracting and building, following this for many
years in connection with his farming. He bought forty acres additional, and
then had 200 acres, which he put in grain, and he also handled stock.
In 1910, Mr. Soderberg made a trip to California and, being well pleased
with the country, purchased thirty-six acres and began improvements, and in
1912 moved onto it. He now has ten acres of peaches, six and a half acres in
Thompson Seedless, and the balance in alfalfa and grain.
Mr. Soderberg was married- in Minneosta to Miss Hannah Anderson, who
was born in Sweden, but came to Minnesota with her parents when a child. Of
their six children we name the following: Arthur, with the Southern Pacific,
in San Francisco; Albert, with the United States Army in France; Milton, a
graduate of the University of California, and a teacher of Agriculture, is also in
the United States Service; Ethel, a graduate of Kerman High, is attending the
University of California; Arnold, also of Kerman High School.
While in Minnesota, Mr. Soderberg was for many years a school director,
and here he is a member of the Lutheran Church. He is also affiliated with the
California Peach Growers, Inc., the California Associated Raisin Company, and
the Modern Woodmen.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2567
REV. GEORGE HAROOTUNE FILIAN.— A ranching evangelist who,
with his wife, leads the simple life, devotes every minute to useful activity
of some kind, and gives freely of all his surplus earnings, is the Reverend
George Harootune Filian, the well-known author and lecturer, whose literary
and ministerial accomplishments are familiar to thousands in many parts of
the United States. He farms with success on his ranch of fifty-three and a
half acres three-quarters of a mile south of Parlier ; but unlike many who
gladly take the fruits of the earth and hoard them for their own selfish ben-
efit, the Reverend Filian devotes all the excess of the gross income of $7,000
a year to the relief of his countrymen.
He was born at Antioch, in Armenia, on January 20, 1853, in the place
where, according to Biblical narrative, the Disciples first were called Chris-
tians. His father was a banker at Antioch. Nine boys and four girls were
born to these parents, and three of the family became ministers. George was
the twelfth child, and as almost the youngest, received perhaps more than
the usual tender care from the mother, who was Rosa Chalikian before her
marriage.
The paternal grandfather was John Filian, and there is an interesting
story as to the origin, from his time, of the family name. He was an orphan
child ; and as he grew to maturity, he became exceptionally large and muscu-
lar. He was therefore nicknamed "Filian," which in the Armenian language
means "son of an elephant," or gigantic; and this name so stuck to him that
it was transmitted to his children and their descendants. He began life poor,
but was a hard worker and he became one of the largest and wealthiest farm-
ers in the vicinity of Antioch. Grandfather Filian died in Armenia at the age
of seventy-five. George's father, also George Filian, inherited his father's
business ability, and becoming a banker, he grew to be one of the wealthiest
men at Antioch. He loaned money to silk-growers in that vicinity, for the
country round about Antioch has become famous for its silk culture. He also
died aged seventy-five, and the mother passed away in her seventieth year.
George's father owned seven or eight farms near Antioch, and so he was
able and disposed to do well by his children. The lad went to school and
learned the Armenian language. He was christened in the Gregorian Church,
to which his parents belonged ; but in 1856 he was converted by American
Congregational missionaries — Messrs. Powers and Morgan, then preaching
at Antioch — and thereafter he went to the American missionary schools in
Armenia, and in 1873 he entered on the academic course, and studied English
and the Bible until 1876.
Having finished the regular school course, he began to preach as an
evangelist in different Armenian cities, and in 1878 he started for America,
still further to equip himself. He sailed from Samasoun by way of Constan-
tinople, Gibraltar and Great Britain, landing at Cardiff and re-sailing from
Liverpool; and finally, on July 4, 1878, he arrived at New York City. "There
he started at once to work for a living; and when he had made such headway
that he had laid aside a part of his earnings, in 1879 he matriculated at
Oberlin College ; in 1880 he entered the Union Theological Seminary in New
York. He studied the Bible there, and then continued as a student in the
Chicago Theological Seminary; and was graduated in 1882, after which he
was ordained as a preacher of the Congregational ministry and lectured in
the states of the East and Middle West.
In the fall of that year he went back to Armenia, where he was married,
on November 15, to Miss Housdiane Minasian, an Armenian but a native of
Constantinople. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, Bedros Mi-
nasian, proprietor of the "Minasian Armenian Store" there; her mother was
Sirpuhi, also a native of Constantinople. After the marriage, Mr. Filian
entered upon his life work as a minister and evangelist.
2568 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Soon after being ordained, Mr. Filian was a Congregational minister at
Wheaton, 111., the scene of his elevation to the pulpit, and there he first began
to get that real understanding of the American people and the institutions
of this country. He has crossed the Atlantic five times. His second trip to
America was made for the purpose of raising money for the erection of a
church at Marsovan in Armenia. He was able to get together $20,000, returned
to Armenia and had built a church to hold 1,500 souls. This edifice he turned
over to the Protestant congregation at Marsovan; but the Turkish author-
ities, learning of the event, banished him and massacred the members of the
church, at the same time that they appropriated the edifice, and converted
the church into a Mohammedan mosque.
It. was the first year of the new century that witnessed Mr. Filian's ad-
vent in Fresno, for then he came and built the Armenian Presbyterian Church
in J Street. He left the Congregational, and joined the Presbyterian Church
in order to associate himself with the new movement ; and although the
congregation was organized in 1900, only two years were required for the
erection of a suitable church home. In 1903 he came to Parlier and bought
his ranch referred to, and for fifteen years he has worked to steadily improve
it. Mr. and Mrs. Filian have one child, Rose, who is now the wife of Ohan
Ohannesian, the well-known attorney at Fresno ; and they have two children,
Theodore G. and Elsie H.
Besides lecturing on Armenian problems, Mr. Filian wrote several books
that have had notable sales and have undoubtedly effected great good. "Ar-
menia and Her People" was published by the American Publishing Company
at Hartford, Conn., in 1896, and was a volume of 374 pages. His next work
was "Heavenly Lights," a book of his sermons set in 415 pages, and run from
the press of the American Tract Society. It was printed in the Armenian
language, and Mr. Filian paid for printing this himself. The volume has been
circulated and read by his fellow-countrymen, in America as well as in Ar-
menia, and he has never made a penny out of the transaction, which has
thus helped to spread the Gospel. In addition to the above, he has the man-
uscript, written in his own hand in the Armenian language, for a greatly
enlarged edition of "Heavenly Lights" and this will soon be published as a
five volume work. This he will also pay for himself; for he takes Christ at
his word, and believes that "it is more blessed to give than it is to receive."
His illustrated lecture on "Armenia and Her People" is presented with more
than two hundred and fifty beautifully colored lantern views of Armenia, Con-
stantinople and the Holy Land.
Among other publications of the Reverend Mr. Filian is a fifteen-page
pamphlet, "Armageddon and the Battle of Armageddon," which was copy-
righted in 1913. In it the author definitely locates the battlefield, and predicts
that a great world war will take place in 1914; and he goes so far as to
prophecy not only the participation of European nations in the great affray,
but says that even the United States will be dragged into it. It is remark-
able that the gist of this pamphlet, which is based on the prophecies in the
scriptures, was also given in his "Armenia and Her People," published in 1896,
and which was dedicated to the martyrs of Armenia who lost their lives in
defense of the Christian faith.
AUGUST PARRET. — Among the enterprising and progressive men who
crossed the ocean from France to cast in his lot on the Pacific Coast we find
August Parret, who was born in Ambrun, Hautes-Alpes, March 1, 1872, the
oldest of nine children born to Eli and Philomina (Rispaud) Parret, well-to-
do farmers in Ambrun, where the mother died, and where the father is still
living at the old home.
August Parret was reared to the life of a farmer, and received a thorough
education in the elementary branches in the public schools. After completing
the local schools he was apprenticed at the baker's trade and continued to fol-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2569
low that occupation until December, 1890, when he migrated to the United
States, coming immediately to Fresno, Cal. On -his arrival he went to work in
the French Bakery, where he completed his trade. In 1894 he and his brother
Eli started the Parisian Bakery, which they conducted for one year and then
sold. Mr. Parret then became foreman for the Fresno Bakery, a position he
filled satisfactorily for eight years, when he resigned and again went into
partnership with his brother Eli and purchased the Parisian Bakery, at 737
G Street, which they conducted successfully for nine years. August then sold
his interest to his brother, and accepted a position as foreman in the Tulare
Bakery. This position he held for four years, resigning to engage in farming.
About three years ago Mr. Parret purchased his present ranch of thirty
acres in Vinland Colony, where he is engaged in raising alfalfa and fruits.
He is growing peaches and Thompson seedless vines and is meeting with
well-merited success on his ranch. He also owns property in Clovis.
The marriage of Mr. Parret occurred in Fresno, where he was united
with Miss Catherine Houkert, a native of Basses-Pyrenees, France. They
have three children: Philomina, a graduate of Fresno High, and a stenogra-
pher for the Underwood Typewriter Agency in Fresno; Eli, assisting his
father on the farm ; and Albert, who is also at home.
Mr. Parret is a member of the Ancient Order of Foresters, the Califor-
nia Associated Raisin Company, and the California Peach Growers' Associa-
tion. He speaks Italian as well as French, and for many years was frequently
called as interpreter in those languages in the courts of the county. At one
time he was nominated for city trustee, but withdrew as a candidate before
the election. He was made a citizen of the United States in 1895, and is a
Democrat in politics.
JOHN PHILLIP HELMUTH.— An example of what can be done by
persevering industry and the determination to succeed is shown in the life
story of John Phillip Helmuth, an enterprising rancher of the Biola district.
He is a native of Russia, born in Ososki, Samara, July 28, 1860, a son of Jacob
and Kathrina Elizabeth (Gammel) Helmuth, the father now deceased and the
mother, aged eighty-five, making her home with her son John Phillip.
The third oldest in a family of six children, Mr. Helmuth was educated
in the public schools of his native place and worked on his father's farm.
After the latter's death, he ran the home place for his mother, and in 1881
he was married to Kathrina Weyand, also born in Samara, and a daughter of
Phillip and Kathrina (Martin) Weyand; the mother died when Mrs. Helmuth
was a child of five years, and her father died when she was seventeen.
After his marriage John Phillip followed farming in the old country until
1901, when they came to California and settled in Fresno, and for nine years
he did ranch work in Fresno and vicinity. He then went to Hamilton, Glenn
County, and was employed in the beet-sugar factory there. He returned to
Fresno, and in 1909 bought a forty-acre ranch on Shields Avenue, in the
Empire district, making all the improvements on the land, which with the
exception of five acres in orchards, is set out to Thompson seedless vineyards.
In 1916 he bought forty acres at Biola, and this he has also improved to
Thompson vineyards ; has built a new residence, and operates the property
to splendid advantage, irrigating both from ditches and from a pumping-plant
he has installed.
Ten children have come to Mr. and Mrs. Helmuth: Katie, Mrs. Sol-
wasser of Vinland ; Maggie, Mrs. Will of Biola ; Jack, a vineyardist of Biola ;
Henry, in viticulture in Vinland ; George, vineyardist of Vinland ; Phillip,
served with the United States Army in France, being in service eighteen
months ; Christian, who has twenty acres at Biola ; and August, Marie, and
Peter, at home. The family attends the Congregational Church of Fresno.
Mr. Helmuth is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and
a man of liberal ideas, willing to work for the upbuilding of the community.
2570 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
PHILIP BURT THORNTON.— Among the men of southern lineage
whose names should be mentioned in writing the history of the development of
Fresno County is Philip Burt Thornton, attorney at law, Cory Building, Fresno,
a native of Greene County, Ala.
In 1869, his parents, Dr. George F. Thornton and Susan Ann (Perrin)
Thornton, removed from Alabama, their native state, to San Francisco, Cal.,
where they resided until they came to Fresno in 1891. In die early seventies Dr.
Thornton went to Bakersfield, Kern County, Cal., as the general manager of the
Haggin, Carr and Tevis interests. For many years he held that position, and it
was under his management that the vast property now known as the Kern County
Land Company's property, was first developed. Associated with Dr. Thorn-
ton in the upbuilding, re-claiming and development of that property were the
Hon. H. A. Jastro, Walter James, Temple Taylor and many others. Irrigation
and intensive farming were in their infancy at that time; many things that are
now taken for granted had to be worked out and developed. California certainly
owes a lasting debt of gratitude to such men as James B. Haggin, W. B. Carr,
Lloyd Tevis, Henry Miller and other intellectual and financial giants, who had
confidence in the agricultural future of the State and backed that confidence with
their money.
Philip B. Thornton was educated in the private schools of San Francisco.
After studying in the University School under George Bates, a famous teacher of
the day, he entered the University of California and was graduated from that
institution with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1889. From 1889 to 1893 he
was associated with his father in the cattle business in Arizona. Then he began
the study of the law in San Francisco, in the offices of Garber, Boalt & Bishop,
under John Garber, and was admitted to practice in 1896.
After practicing in Arizona, he came to Fresno in 1900, and became inter-
ested in the large Minor & Thornton cattle and dairy ranch. As a rancher Mr.
Thornton was largely instrumental in building up a splendid dairy herd of pure-
blooded Holstein-Friesian cattle on the Minor-Thornton Ranch.
The present prosperous condition of the dairy business in this section of the
State is largely due to the efforts of the early dairymen and breeders ; they de-
veloped the resources of the country and showed what could be done. As an
advocate of pure-blooded stock, and of progressive, up-to-date methods, Mr.
Thornton has certainly left a lasting impression upon the development of Fresno
County.
MARIANO ELICECHE.— A gentleman who was engaged in the stock
business in Fresno County up till the time of his death was Mariano Eliceche,
who was born in the Province of Navarra, Spain, in 1873 and passed away
in San Francisco, Cal., in February, 1918. He was reared on the farm in his
native place, where he received his education in the local schools. Deciding
the Pacific Coast held greater opportunities for a young man with energy
and an ambition to work and succeed, he migrated to California when twenty-
five years of age, coming to Fresno County, where he was employed by a
sheep man. A few years later, having accumulated some money, he pur-
chased a small flock and began raising sheep on his own account. About
1904 he came to Coalinga, where he made his residence and headquarters.
Later he purchased land near Alcalde, and there engaged in ranching, run-
ning his sheep and cattle in the hills. In 1914 he became associated with
Levy's in stock-raising, continuing with them until his death.
Mr. Eliceche was married in Fresno, September 7, 1903, to Miss Juana
Alverez, also a native of Navarra, Spain. Her father died when she was six
years of age, and the mother and four children came to Fresno in 1901, where
the mother died in 1916. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Eliceche five children
were born, as follows: Michael, Geraldine. Mary, Frank, and Joseph. Since
her husband's death Mrs. Eliceche has sold the stock, and rents her land and
continues to make her home in Coalinga, where she is rearing and educating
her children. The family are members of the Catholic Church.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2571
ANTONE GARCIA.— The superintendent of the Helm division for Mil-
ler & Lux, Antone Garcia, was born in the Province of Coruna, Spain, Decem-
ber 28, 1887, and was reared on his father Manuel Garcia's farm, receiving
a good education in the local schools. Having heard tell of the opportunities
to be had in California, he resolved to come hither and, though only thirteen
years of age, found the opportunity offered when his uncle M. Garcia was
returning to California from a visit in Spain. He obtained permission to ac-
company his uncle and on arrival entered the employ of Miller & Lux at
Buttonwillow, Kern County. Later he was employed on the Panama ranch
near Bakersfield, and while there attended night school in Bakersfield for
two and a half years. At nineteen years of age he became foreman at But-
tonwillow under James Ogden. In 1908 he was transferred to Firebaugh
as foreman and continued in that capacity until 1916, when he was promoted
to his present position as superintendent of the Helm division for Miller &
Lux, with his headquarters at the Helm ranch near Mendota. He has seven
different ranches under his supervision, extending from Kerman to Oxalis.
He gives the different places the best of attention and active supervision,
and is well qualified to fill the position as he is now one of the oldest in years
of service with the company.
Mr. Garcia has been twice married, his first union being with Kate Erre-
cart, a native daughter of California, who passed away in Los Angeles in
1914, leaving him three children : Marie, Frank and Albert. His second mar-
riage took place in Stockton, where he was united with Miss Olga Swenson,
a lady of culture and refinement, who ably assists him and encourages him in
his ambitions. Mr. Garcia was made a citizen in Fresno County seven years
ago, and is a stanch Republican.
CHARLES LEWIS WALTER.— A highly-honored pioneer of Fresno
County, who has for years been active as a scientific, progressive horticulturist,
and as an exponent of irrigation according to the latest and most approved
methods, is C. L. Walter, a former resident of Fowler, where he planted and
improved an extensive area, and now one of the esteemed citizens of Oakland.
He is largely interested in the general merchandise firm of J. S. Manley & Co..
Inc., and through his established interests here continues to identify himself,
though indirectly, with the town of his early choice.
He was born in Mercer County, 111., on July 16, 1850, the son of Silas
Walter, a New Englander by birth and at one time a seafaring man, who rose to
be a captain. As a young man, he came to Mercer County and took up govern-
ment land, and farmed. He married a widow, Mrs. Evelyn (Decker) Groff, a na-
tive of Muskingum County, Ohio, who removed to Illinois before her first marriage,
and there had two daughters. Mary, now Mrs. E. P. Riply, resides at Spokane,
Wash., and Dora is Mrs. Charles Brown of Viroqua, Wis. When our subject was
only seven years of age, his father passed away ; and three years later, he lost
his mother. There were three boys in the family, Charles Lewis being the eldest,
Benjamin coming next, and H. F. being the youngest. Benjamin died in Illinois
in 1876, leaving a daughter; and H. F. has become the well-known physician and
surgeon of San Francisco. Before he went East to study medicine, he was prin-
cipal of a grammar school in Fresno, and became known for his participation in
Fresno County educational work.
As a mere boy, Charles Lewis enlisted in Company C, Eleventh Illinois Vol-
unteer Cavalry, at one time — 1862 — commanded by Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, and
on his fifteenth birthday, he had been in the service six months and five days. He
was then stationed at Memphis, Tenn., and as a cavalryman, did scout duty. He
remained in the service until October 11, 1865, when he was honorably discharged
at Camp Butler, Springfield, 111. Returning to civil life, he went to the common
schools in Mercer County, 111., and also at Viroqua, Wis. After the war, with his
two brothers he opened up the coal mines on his father's government land.
2572 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
In 1867, Mr. Walter came out to California, traveling by way of Nicaragua
and landing at San Francisco in April. He sailed up from Greytown on the old
steamship America, a side-wheeler which broke her shaft, and they had to worry
along with only one wheel. As they were two weeks overdue when they arrived
at the end of the journey, it is no wonder that the ship was reported lost, with all
on board. He remained in California from 1867 until the completion of the rail-
road, when he went back to Illinois, in 1869, and again took charge of his father's
farm.
In 1871, he came out to California again and for a while mined at Liberty
Hill, Nevada County, and at Dutch Flat, in Placer County. As he was well endowed
with musical ability, he took to the violin, played for dances and other social
functions of those days, and was popular as an amateur violinist. He went over
to Nevada in 1876, and at a place in White Pine County then called Ward, he
continued mining. When he left White Pine County, he moved North to Spokane,
Washington, and bought railroad land before the advent of the Northern Pacific
Railway; and coming South again, he went to Yuma County, Arizona, where
he became foreman of the Red Cloud Mine, six miles from the Colorado River,
fifty miles above Yuma.
Returning to California, Mr. Walter stopped off at Fowler to see some rela-
tives, and became so interested in this locality that he bought a section of land, a
part of the Philip Bert estate. Later he sold one-half of the section, keeping for
himself the north half of section fourteen, known as the Walter Colony, which
lies half a mile east of Fowler; and leasing additional land, he put the whole into
wheat and Egyptian corn. In a short time, he was farming extensively, and at
one time he raised 11,000 sacks of wheat and shipped the first carloads of "Gyp"
corn to the San Francisco market. In the early eighties Selma and Prairie school
districts were the nearest to Fowler. With difficulty Mr. Walter secured the
necessary signatures of parents representing fifteen children and established the
Fowler school district, being one of the first trustees. Of the children, not one
resided in what is now the town of Fowler. All were farmers' children.
He helped to build the Garfield ditch, and became a prime mover in the irri-
gation systems in this part of Fresno County. One Sunday, in company with Wil-
liam McCall and Frank Dusey, he went up the Kings River for the purpose of
locating a site from which they could divert water for irrigation; and this led
to the establishment of the Fowler Canal and the incorporation of the canal com-
pany. They located the site for a dam and called a meeting of the settlers ai the
Frank Dusey Place, north of Selma, and there formed a corporation for the con-
struction of the Fowler Canal. When they proceeded to construct the canal,
however, in the early eighties, they discovered that the settlers had not much
money, and arrangements were made whereby the latter could work out their
shares. The engineers divided up the land into sections, and each settler along
the line was given a certain portion to excavate. Each one was supposed to
raise one hundred dollars in cash, and to work out $200 worth, and so to acquire
a share worth $300. Mr. Walter in this way became one of the first directors in
the canal, and later the canal superintendent.
He was also elected supervisor from the Fourth District, and served for four
years. During his term, the water rights and litigation relative to the same occu-
pied the attention of Mr. Walter to a great extent, and were the cause of frequent
appeals to the courts. He bought stock in the First National Bank at Fresno and
was a director there for twelve years ; and he helped to organize the People's
Savings Bank at Fresno. He later assisted in organizing the Union National Bank
of Fresno, and was a director in it for several years, and he contributed to or-
ganize the First National Bank of Fowler, and was a director in that for several
years. He owned and operated the Belmont & Yosemite Railway, a horse-car
line, the first in Fresno, and was both superintendent and manager ; and later he
sold out his holding, two-thirds of the capital stock, to Griffin McKenzie. At
one time, also, he was part owner of the Fresno Republican and was also actively
interested in the Walter Colony, which he laid out and successfully colonized. He
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2573
ran for State Senator against G. G. Goucher, but was defeated by 218 votes. In
June, 1897, Mr. Walter being attracted by the Klondike excitement, journeyed to
Alaska via the Chilcoot Pass. With four companions he experienced the thrill of
passing through the Miles Canon and Whitehorse Rapids in an open boat. One
year in Alaska convinced Mr. Walter that Fresno County was the real Eldorado,
as subsequent developments have proven.
In 1902 Mr. Walter became interested in the firm of J. S. Manley & Co.. Inc.,
of Fowler, the leading dealers in general merchandise at that place ; which firm
has at its head a very able manager, also one of the earliest pioneers at Fowler,
J. S. Manley, who resides at Fowler, and under whose able direction the firm has
become one of the largest operators in Fresno County.
At Eureka, Nev., on December 18, 1876, Mr. Walter was married to Miss
Meda L. Decker, a native daughter born in Solano County ; she taught for a while
at Napa and then moved to Ward, Nev. They have one adopted daughter, Miss
Melba Virginia. In June, 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Walter moved to Oakland, and
there they now reside in a beautiful home at 5658 Ocean View Drive. This re-
moval to the bay city, however, has not diminished Mr. Walter's interest in
Fowler or moderated his old-time devotion to her best phases, or to his Fowler
friends.
JOHN CERINI. — A Californian who has generously supported the Gov-
ernment in the Liberty Bond, Red Cross and other War drives, is John Cerini,
financier, stockman and dairyman, who came to the Golden State when he
was fifteen, began at the lowest round of the ladder, and by hard work has
succeeded.
Mr. Cerini was born at Guimaglio, Canton Ticino, Switzerland, on Jan-
uary 20, 1854, the son of John Cerini, a landowner, although a laborer. The
latter went to Australia to mine gold and died there on July 4, 1863, leaving
his wife, who was Marianna Puggi, a widow with five children. She lived to
be eighty-five years of age.
John was the youngest child in his father's family, and was sent to the
local public schools of Switzerland, which he left in the middle of his teens,
when he decided that it was time to make his own way in the world. At first
he secured employment on the farms in his neighborhood, and then he left
the scenes of his childhood and sailed for the United States. He first shipped
for Hull and Liverpool, England, and then for New York; and after that
he traveled to San Francisco by way of the Panama Canal. For a month
following his arrival on the Coast he went to school in Sonoma County, and
then he obtained work on a dairy farm in Marin County, where he remained
six months. At twenty he was a rancher working for himself.
Six years later Mr. Cerini married Miss Frances Calzalscia, also a native
of Switzerland and they have become the parents of eight children. Mary
is the wife of Frank Allison, the well-known rancher near Burrel ; Lucy has
become Mrs. Thomas Duffy, and resides in Fresno, where her husband is
employed with the Valley Ice Company; Edith married Neil Beck, at Easton;
Rosa is Mrs. W. D. Lewis ; John is in the navy; and Sadie, George and Ches-
ter, the three youngest, are at home. Mrs. Cerini's parents were John and
Mary (Pefferini) Calzalscia, and she has a brother and two sisters. She also
was born in the Canton Ticino, and came to California when a girl, after which
her father became a successful dairyman.
For twenty years Mr. Cerini ran a cheese factory, and sold his product in
Fresno. Now, besides 850 acres of land in Sonoma County, he owns 3,000
acres near Riverdale, on which he raises beef cattle. His handsome, two-
story house he built twelve years ago. He has become a man of affairs, as
might be expected, and is a director in the Dairyman's (State) Bank at Val-
ley Ford, in Sonoma County. At first he leased his land, then bought; and
when the railway was built through here in 1893, he was one of the active
promoters.
2574 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
JOHN FRANKLIN MAXWELL.— The oldest photographer now do-
ing business in Fresno, who has by his years of careful and conscientious appli-
cation to his art made a success and high standing for himself, is John Franklin
Maxwell, born in St. George, Tucker County, W. Va., on February 16, 1867. His
father, Rufus, a native of Weston, Lewis County, then old Virginia, was a sur-
veyor by profession and surveyed much of that region ; he also built and owned
a grist and saw mill on Horse Shoe Run, a tributary of the Cheat River. The
last ten years, he lived retired, in the enjoyment of competence. Mr. Maxwell's
mother, Sarah Jane Bonnefield, also a native of Tucker County, comes of a
prominent old Virginia family, the ancestors of which owned a farm on the Po-
tomac where Washington, D. C. now stands.
Mr. Maxwell is the third youngest of ten children, who grew up, eight of
whom are now living. He lived in St. George, until he was fourteen, then went
to Weston, Lewis County with his Grandfather Maxwell, attended Weston Acad-
emy, and then had one term at St. George Academy in St. George. He after-
wards entered Northern Indiana State Normal at Valparaiso, where he was grad-
uated in 1889, with the degree B. S. He then took a special course in art for one
year.
On December 25, 1889, he arrived in Fresno, engaged in teaching for three
terms in Fresno County, then worked for two years as reporter for the Fresno
Expositor. After that he went back East and in Iowa, July 31, 1894, he was
married to Iona V. Piper, born in Osceola, Iowa. After his marriage, he followed
photography for one year at Valparaiso, Ind., and was in the same business in
Parsons, W. Va., for one year. In 1896 he returned to Fresno and began his1
work as a photographer where he has conducted his studio ever since. In 1898
he took in A. C. Mudge as a partner and the business has been Maxwell & Mudge
since that time. His excellent results show his efforts to please the public.
Aside from his art, he is interested in viticulture and horticulture and owns
a fifteen-acre tract on Blackstone Avenue where he makes his home with his
family. The death of his wife February 26, 1904, left him with five children:
Harold, who served in the Aviation Section of the United States Army and is
now attending the University of Pennsylvania ; Raymond, Hugh, Iona and Emma,
twins.
Mr. Maxwell was married a second time on July 11, 1906, to Miss Ida
Phillips, at Little Rock, Ark., she being a native of Little Rock. They have four
children : Doris, Vivian, Edward, and John F., Jr.
Mr. Maxwell is a member of Central California Lodge No. 343, I. O. O. F.
of which he is treasurer. He is also a member of the Fraternal Brotherhood, the
Fresno Chamber of Commerce for the last twenty years, and belongs 'to the
Photographers Association of America.
CHRISTOPH GERINGER.— A hard-working and successful farmer who
is also a very fine cabinetmaker and woodworker, is Christoph Geringer, who
came to Fresno in May, 1902. He was born at Iblonovka, near Volga, Russia,
on August 3, 1877, and his father was also Christoph Geringer, a farmer, now
retired in the neighborhood where he has lived eighty-six years. His wife
was Catherine Keck before her marriage; and she died in 1898. the mother of
five boys and two girls, all of whom save one of the sons are still living.
Christoph, Jr., was the youngest of all of these, and while he grew up
on the farm, he attended the public school of the locality. At sixteen, accord-
ing to Russian custom, he was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker for three years.
Thereafter he engaged in the manufacture of furniture, and these he made
by hand with such skill that he could sell far more than he could produce.
On December 27, 1899, Mr. Geringer married Miss Annie Elizabeth
Rudolf, a native of the same locality from which he came, and the daughter
of Rudolph Rudolph, a farmer. Her mother's maiden name was Maggie
Forod, and both of these parents are living. Mrs. Geringer was the third
oldest of six children.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2575
Three years after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Geringer decided to come to the
United States; and on May 15, 1902, they arrived at Fresno. For a month
Mr. Geringer was employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, but
attracted by better wages, he went to work in the Prescott Brickyard. When
again he quit, it was to pick grapes; and after that he tried blasting hardpan,
which he followed two winters, while in the summer time he worked on the
hay press for Alexander Will.
In 1907 Mr. Geringer bought forty acres of the Balfour Guthrie Com-
pany, situated twelve miles east of Fresno on Ventura Avenue ; and later
he sold ten acres and kept the remaining thirty. This tract he improved as a
vineyard, and managed it until November 29, 1917, when he sold it at a profit.
It was then that Mr. Geringer located in Barstow Colony, where he
bought forty acres of land fourteen miles from Fresno. Since then he has
been engaged chiefly in raising Thompson seedless grapes. In 1918 he built
himself a modern residence. Besides their own daughter, Elizabeth, they are
raising a niece, Marie Geringer. The family attend the Lutheran Church at
Highland.
Mr. Geringer is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company
and also the California Peach Growers, Inc. ; and whenever he can, he lends
a helping hand to advance their aims. He also assists in advancing local
interests generally, for both Mr. and Mrs. Geringer are proud of the country
and county of their adoption.
ILHERO MARCEL. — Born in Basses-Pyrenees, France, on January
25, 1886, Ilhero Margel was the son of farmers there, who still reside on the
old home farm where Ilhero was reared. He received a good education in
the local schools, and assisted his father on the farm until he entered the
Twenty-fourth Regiment of Field Artillery in the French Army, where he
served a period of two years. After receiving his honorable discharge, he
spent about one year at Pau, and then concluded to cast in his lot on the
Pacific Coast. His brother Simon had preceded him two years and was liv-
ing in Fresno County ; so Ilhero came hither. For two seasons he was em-
ployed in the sawmills at Hume and for two more in lumbering on Pine
Ridge, while during the winters he was engaged in farming and stock-
raising. Next he was employed in the Hector Bumess vineyard for eighteen
months, and then for a short time in dairying with his brother at Kerman.
In 1917 he entered the employ of J. Bidegaray, and since then has been one
of the foremen on his ranch. He is a very reliable young man, conscientious
and thorough in his work, and alert to protect the interests of his employer.
He is a member of the French Hospital Association in San Francisco. Po-
litically, he is a Republican.
CONRAD SCHNEIDER.— Fresno County has proven a "land of milk
and honey" for the people of Samara, Russia, numbers of whom have made
the journey here in the past twenty years and found a haven from the hard
conditions at home. Among these, Conrad Schneider has been here since
a lad of sixteen. Born in Gugges, Samara, March 19, 1886, his father, George,
was a farmer in that country and brought his family to Fresno in 1902 ; he
is still a resident of Fresno; the mother, Anna Barbara (Felzing) Schneider,
died here in 1912.
Of their family, four boys and two girls are still living, and Conrad is
the second youngest ; he was raised on the farm in Russia till reaching the
age of sixteen, receiving his education in the public schools there. Coming
to Fresno in 1902 with his parents, he went to work to assist his father on
his ranch on White^ Bridge road. When reaching twenty-one years, he be-
gan for himself, and for three years engaged in baling hay on contract with
his brother George. He then did general teaming in Fresno, and finally
ventured in ranch work for himself, leasing for one year, and then bought
a twenty-acre ranch in Barstow near Biola ; this he improved and set out to
2576 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
vineyard and alfalfa, sold it, and bought another ranch in Barstovv, adjoining
the first, of twenty acres. This was improved to Thompson seedless vineyard
and he operated it four years, a splendid ranch, and also bought twenty acres
near Shields Avenue in Empire, improved it and sold, and in 1918 bought
a ranch of forty acres on Shields Avenue in Empire, fourteen miles north-
west of Fresno, a Thompson seedless vineyard. This he traded in July, 1919,
for forty acres in peaches on Ashlin Avenue, Biola district.
Mr. Schneider was married, in Fresno, on October 22, 1909, to Miss An-
nie Huber, born in Zaucmora, Samara, Russia, a daughter of Henry Huber
who brought his family here in 1900 and is a viticulturist in the Empire dis-
trict; she was educated in the Fresno schools. Two children have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Schneider, Henry and Elsie. The family attends the Lutheran
Church in Fresno. Mr. Schneider is a member of the California Associated
Raisin Company and of the Peach Growers, Inc.
DOMINIQUE MARTINTO.— Born near Osses, Canton Bigory, Basses-
Pyrenees, France, April 12, 1876, Dominique Martinto is the son of Michel
Martinto, a farmer, stone-mason and builder. Dominique being next to the
youngest of his eight children, he received a good education in the schools
of his native place. When twenty-one he entered the French army, serving
as man of ordnance in the Fourteenth Artillery Regiment for three years,
when he received an honorable discharge.
In 1901, Mr. Martinto came to California, during the first year being
employed at the lime kiln at Tehachapi. He then accepted employment in
the lumber yards in San Pedro, where he continued for seven years, and
during these years he purchased lots and built up a valuable residence prop-
erty in San Pedro which he still owns.
Wishing to engage in ranching, Mr. Martinto removed, with his family,
to Fresno County. He was for a time employed by Thompson Brothers, and
he helped to set some of the trees on Kearney Boulevard. Next he ran a dairy
in Parent Colony for two and a half years. In 1914 he bought his present
place of forty acres, located on Washington Street, one mile south of Mal-
aga. Here he is engaged in raising malagas, sultanas and Thompson seedless
grapes, as well as figs and alfalfa. He also leases an additional thirty acres of
vineyard, which he operates in connection with his own.
Mr. Martinto was married, in Tehachapi, to Miss Marie Amestoy, also
born in Basses-Pyrenees, and who came to California in 1901. They have
four children : Victor, Grace, Lyda, and Jeannette. The family are members
of St. Alphonso's Church, Fresno. He is a member of the California Associated
Raisin Company.
GEORGE SCHEIDT.— A well-informed rancher who, through persistent"
efforts has finally acquired property and a well-earned competency, and who
has "done his bit" towards developing the county concerning whose future
he is so optimistic, is George Scheidt, who was born in Stepnoia, Samara,
Russia, on June 5, 1867, the son of George Scheidt, a farmer there. In 1872
he removed with his family some 300 miles on the frontier from Stepnoia
and followed farming where the stock or old tribe of Mohammed still lived;
but after two years he returned to Stepnoia and there followed agricultural
pursuits until he died. His wife also died there, the mother of four boys and
four girls, among whom the subject of this interesting review is the fifth in
the order of birth.
From his fifth to his seventh year he lived on the frontier and so became
familiar with scenes not known to many ; and there he was educated in the
public schools. At fifteen he was apprenticed to learn the shoemaker's trade,
and later he was married to Miss Katie Schiebelhut, who was also born and
reared at Stepnoia.
In 1891 he removed with his wife and one child to Persia, crossing the
Caspian Sea en route ; and there he worked at his trade and also at horticul-
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2577
ture and viticulture. However, he did not like the native people there, so
he concluded to come back to Stepnoia where he worked at his trade. Early
in 1896 he emigrated with his family to the United States, and on March 28
arrived in Cincinnati. He worked at his trade in shoe-manufacturing and
other establishments until he decided to come to the Pacific Coast. He was
employed by different contractors on the construction of buildings here and
also in lumber yards and at planing mills, and at lumbering at Millwood ; and
while thus engaged he purchased forty acres in the Locan district, later sell-
ing half. The twenty acres he retained he set out to vineyard, and erected a
residence and the necessary outbuildings; and finally he sold it at a good
profit. Then he was janitor of the Edgerly Building for five years and during
this time he bought twenty acres in Highland Colony, between Jensen and
Railroad avenues. This he set out as a vineyard of Thompson seedless and
Muscats, and finally resigned from his place in Edgerly Building. He moved
on to the ranch and built a modern residence, barns, and a pumping plant,
and fenced in and otherwise improved the place ; and after six years he sold
it, in 1918, at a good profit.
Then he purchased his present modern bungalow residence on F Street
where he resides with his family, and two months later he bought an orchard
and vineyard of twenty acres on Olive and McKinley avenues, northwest
of Fresno, which he devotes to raising peaches, Thompson seedless and alfalfa.
Eight children are still living of this union. Louisa is Mrs. Henry Schie-
belhut of Fresno ; Henry is of the same city ; Mollie is Mrs. Miller and lives
in the McKinley district ; Paulina is Mrs. Howard of Fresno ; while George,
John, Lydia and Dora are still at home. Mr. Scheidt is a member of Zion
Lutheran Church and is superintendent of the Sunday School.
When Mr. Scheidt first came to Fresno, he bought the second crop of a
ten-acre vineyard and made $300. The next year, he rented the vineyard and
lost $600. The third year he bought the second crop in several vineyards and
made $1,000; and then he built a residence in Fresno. So he continued leasing
and farming on the side until he was able to establish himself in viticulture
and horticulture.
JOHN LUNG, JR. — An enterprising and successful rancher of the Bar-
stow district, John Lung, Jr., was born in Skadofsky, Straub Colony, Samara,
Russia, June 18, 1885, a son of John and Catherine (Kerner) Lung. The father
was a farmer in that country, and in 1900 brought his wife and children to
Fresno, where he followed ranching ; he now lives retired in Fresno, with his
good wife. Of their six children, five are now living. John, Jr., is the second
oldest in the family. He received his education in the public schools of his
native land, and in November, 1900, came with his parents to Fresno. Here
he went to work on ranches and vineyards to assist his father, and also found
employment in the raisin packing-houses.
In 1911, Mr. Lung, Jr., bought his present ranch of forty acres, twelve
and one-half miles west of Fresno and one-half mile north of Shields Avenue.
He improved the land himself and thirty acres of the ranch are devoted to
Thompson seedless, while the balance is in alfalfa. It is under irrigation from
the ditch, but Mr. Lung has also installed a pumping-plant. His thriving vine-
yards and alfalfa are evidences of the capable rancher.
The marriage of Mr. Lung, Jr., occurred on April 26, 1904, in Fresno, and
united him with Marie Hergenrader, also born in Samara, and who came to
California with her parents while still in her teens. Seven children have come
to Mr. and Mrs. Lung: William; Henry; Edward; Emma; Harry; Marie,
and Elsie. The family attends the Congregational Lutheran Church of Fres"no,
and Mr. Lung is active in the Sunday School work, and is superintendent of
the branch school at Barstow. In political matters he supports the Republican
party, and he is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
2578 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
SALLABERRY BROTHERS.— The firm of Sallaberry Brothers, com-
posed of Bernard and Pascal Sallaberry and engaged in farming, stock-
raising and dairying at Rolinda, is doing much to improve and develop the
land hereabouts to the growing of alfalfa. These enterprising young men
"were born at Helette, Basses-Pyrenees, France, Bernard on September 18,
1882, and Pascal on April 13, 1884. They are the sons of Pierre and Catherine
Sallaberry, farmer folk at Helette. The father is deceased but the mother
still resides on the old home place. The brothers had the usual experiences
of the youth of the neighborhood, learning farming, going to school, and serv-
ing the required time in the French army. They belonged to the Forty-ninth
Infantry, Bernard serving ten months, and Pascal for two years.
In 1906 Bernard Sallaberry migrated to Los Angeles, Cal., arriving in
July, and immediately found employment on a ranch. His brother Pascal
joined him in 1907. and the two with G. Oxarat formed a partnership and
leased a ranch at Puente, where they raised vegetables, grain and alfalfa
for over two years. Next they moved to Palms, where they leased sixty-one
acres. This ranch they improved to alfalfa and stocked it with a dairy herd
of thirty-five cows, selling their product in Los Angeles. They also leased
other lands and farmed to grain and hay. At the end of five years they moved
their dairy to Westminster. One year later Bernard sold his interest to Mr.
Oxarat. and his brother sold the next year. After a short time at Salinas,
Bernard came to Merced, where he was employed on a ranch until 1917. He
and his brother then came to Fresno County and leased the Matias Erro
place at Rolinda, where they are engaged in general farming and dairying.
The place comprises 240 acres and is irrigated from the ditch as well as from
two pumping plants. They are rapidly improving it to an alfalfa and stock
farm, having about 100 head of cattle, of which seventy are milk cows. The
brothers are very reliable, energetic and progressive young men. and are well
liked by all who know them. Politically, they are firm believers in the prin-
ciples of the Republican party.
JACK DEIS. — A young man of much promise, who is already making
good to a. remarkable degree in the county. Jack Deis can take just pride
in his accomplishments since he first located in Fresno County. Born in
Saradop, on the Volga, Samara, Russia, his father, Peter, was a blacksmith in
that country, who went to South America, and then came to Fresno County,
and died here; the mother, Katrina Elizabeth (Rudolph) Deis, died in the
old home. Jack Deis was the only son who grew to maturity, and was raised
in Saradop and attended the public schools. From a boy he learned the black-
smith trade under his father, and also that of wheelwright. When eighteen
years old he began the blacksmith business for himself. His marriage, on
October 21, 1903, united him with Miss Mollie Scharf, born in Skadofski,
Russia, a daughter of John and Anna Katherine (Horn) Scharf, the father a
carpenter and builder and farmer in the old country; he came to Fresno in
1907 and resides in the Vinland district, engaged in viticulture.
In February, 1907, Mr. and Mrs. Deis located in Fresno, and his first
employment was at ranching for six months ; he then bought out Martin
Hall at Rolinda, and continued his blacksmithing business for one year, then
moved his shop to Fresno, on South F Street; his next shop was at Lone
Star, which he sold, and started the shop at Barstow, engaged in blacksmith-
ing there two years and disposed of his shop to buy his present ranch of
twenty acres on Barstow Avenue, where he has built his residence and de-
votes his acreage to a seventeen-acre peach orchard, with the balance in
alfalfa. He also owned ten acres at Dickenson station, which he improved
to Thompson seedless grapes.
Two children, Peter and Jessie Rudolph, have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Deis to brighten their household. The family attends the Lutheran Church
at Fresno. Mr. Deis is a member of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany, and of the California Peach Growers, Inc.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2579
ALBERT ROUGNY.— Born in Gap, HauteS-Alpes, France, April 7,
1886, Albert Rougny is the son of Casimir and Eugenia (Rico) Rougny, farmer
folk in that country, who passed their entire lives there. Albert is the young-
est of their nine children. After completing the public schools he followed
working on the farm until 1907, when he entered a regiment of engineers in
the French army. In 1908-09 he served in the campaign in Morocco for nine-
teen months, when he was returned to France and honorably discharged
after two years' service.
Mr. Rougny was desirous to try his fortune on the Pacific Coast as so
many of his countrymen were doing, his wishes being fulfilled January 22,
1911, when he found himself in Fresno, Cal. For a time he was employed in
vineyards, next he spent twenty-two months in Idaho, and then came back
to California. Next we find him in Utah, following the sheep business. In
Bingham city, Utah, June 23, 1914, he was married to Miss Adrienne Rico,
also a native of Gap, France, the daughter of Delphine (Bonnet) Rico.
In 1915, Mr. Rougny came back to Fresno County, engaging in viticul-
ture at Clovis. In 1918 he purchased his present vineyard of ten acres, one
and a half miles east of Clovis, which he devotes to the culture of Thompson
seedless. He also leases about eighty-five acres of vineyards, on thirty-five
acres of which he is raising muscats, and grain hay on the balance. He is
industrious and painstaking, giving the vineyards under his charge the best
of care, and he has established a record for thoroughness, honesty, and up-
rightness in his work and business dealings. He is a member of the Califor-
nia Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers. Inc. Mr.
and Mrs. Rougny have four children : Eugene ; Albert, Jr. ; Augusta, and
Bertha. In his political views Mr. Rougny is a Republican.
J. HENRY DIENER. — A self-made man, quick to see an opportunity
land to act accordingly, J. Henry Diener has, since 1905, been a contractor for
securing and furnishing men for labor on different ranches in the county, first
for Mclndoo, and then for Wylie Giffen, and for the Kearney ranch, and in
the meantime has developed a ranch of his own and accepted positions as fore-
man for the raisin packing-houses in the seasons, all speaking well for the enter-
prise and energy of our subject. Born in Warenburg, Samara, Russia, on March
27, 1887, he is a son of Peter and Margareta (Constance) Diener, who were
farmer folk in the old country, and in 1904 brought their family to Fresno,
where the parents are now living retired.
J. Henry Diener was the oldest in a family of six children, and received
his education in the public schools of Russia. In the fall of 1903 the family
emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada, and in January of 1904 they arrived in Fresno.
Here the young man worked in town for one year, then entered the employ of
Robert Mclndoo as foreman on his alfalfa ranch, continuing for about two
years, when he went, in 1907, as foreman on the M. Theo. Kearney ranch, and
remained with him until his death, in 1911, after which he remained as foreman
of the ranch until 1917. As early as 1911 he had bought his forty-acre ranch
in Barstow Colony and improved it, built his residence and with his family
made that his home, and in May of 1917 he resigned his position as foreman and
devoted his entire time to his ranch work, with the exception of the fruit seasons,
when, in 1917, he accepted a position offered by the California Associated Raisin
Company as foreman of the packers in the 25 House ; and in 1918 again accepted
a place with the raisin company as foreman of Plant 4. His ranch is in Thomp-
son seedless grapes and orchards and alfalfa — a splendid ranch and well im-
proved.
The marriage of Mr. Diener, on July 8, 1905, in Fresno, united him with
Maggie Steitz, born in Straub, Russia, and who came here with her parents when
a girl. They have four children : Emma ; Lillie ; Elsie ; and Mabel. Mr. Diener
is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and a believer in
cooperation for the fruit-growers.
25S0 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ANIELLO SASSANO. — A viticulturist and business man of Clovis who
has been a resident of California since June 13, 1888, Aniello Sassano was born
in Naples, Italy, May 27, 1865, where he received his education in the public
schools. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed at the shoemakers' trade,
continuing until 1888, when he migrated to Fresno, Cal. He worked at his
trade for Radin & Kamp until 1898, when he started in business for himself
on I Street. In 1907 he located in Clovis, since which time he has been in
the shoe and shoe-repair business.
As early as 1905, Mr. Sassano bought twenty acres three miles north-
west of Clovis, which he has since brought to a high state of cultivation and
devotes to raising muscats, Thompson's and wine grapes. He has built a
residence and other farm buildings, and here he makes his home, with his
wife and children.
Mr. Sassano was married in Fresno to Miss Virginia Marino, born in
Torino, Piemonte, Italy, and who came to California in 1897. They have
three children : Marion, who is assisting on the farm ; Lawrence, attending
Clovis High School ; and Paul. Fraternally, Mr. Sassano is a member of the
American Order of Foresters and the Druids. As a viticulturist he is a mem-
ber of the California Associated Raisin Company, and politically he is a Re-
publican.
HIPPOLYT PELLISSIER.— A resident of California since 1904, Hippo-
lyt Pellissier was born at Lafara, Hautes-Alpes, France, July 24, 1879, the son
of Deserie and Mariana Pellissier, farmer folk in Hautes-Alpes, where they
spent their entire lives. Hippolyt was the second youngest of the thirteen
children born to this worthy couple.
From a youth Hippolyt Pellissier grew up on the farm, receiving a good
education in the local schools. In 1902 he migrated to New York City, where
he was employed for two years. In 1904 he crossed the continent to Fresno,
Cal., and for some years was employed at ranching. He then purchased
twenty acres of land near Clovis, which he improved to a vineyard, also set-
ting out an avenue of peaches. Disposing of the ranch in 1914, he leased a
vineyard on California Avenue west of Fresno. In October of 1915 he pur-
chased his present thirty-acre ranch in Vinland Colony, which he devotes
to raising Thompson seedless vines, apricots and alfalfa, and to dairying.
He deserves much credit for his enterprise and the energy displayed in im-
proving his ranch. He is a member of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany.
HENRY P. NILMEIER. — Although born and reared in a foreign land,
H. P. Nilmeier has been a resident of Fresno County for the past twenty-
seven vears, and has met with deserved success, becoming a worthy citizen
of this great commonwealth and a worker for the upbuilding of his section.
He was born in Stepnoia, Samara, Russia, in 1863, a son or George and
Margareta (Horg) Nilmeier, farmer folk of their native land and both now
deceased. They were the parents of eleven children, two girls and nine boys,
and with his brothers and sisters, H. P. was reared on the home farm. For
three years he served in the Russian Army in the regular artillery, and be-
came gunner's mate. Later with his brother, August, he engaged in grain-
raising, until a dry year discouraged them. Another brother, Phillip, had
come to Fresno about 1886, and having met with success, his example in-
duced H. P. to try his fortunes in the new country and in 1892 he arrived in
Fresno. He secured work on the section gang for the Southern Pacific Rail-
way ; the work was hard, but he determined he would not quit until he had
become foreman, and in the third year he gained that promotion, and ran a
section out of Fresno, and also Lindsay. He continued his work as foreman
until 1900, when he resigned and started in the mercantile business, building
a store on E Street and Ventura Avenue, and engaging in the grocery
business.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2581
Mr. Nilmeier continued in business for a period of six years, when he
sold out and purchased an eighty-acre ranch on Valentine and Marks Avenues.
Fie put in extensive improvements; rebuilt ditches, improved the land and set
out the entire acreage to vines, and built his residence on the ranch. He
later sold forty acres, retaining the other forty on which he raises Muscats,
Malagas and Emperors, and has a two-and-one-half-acre olive orchard. He
recently built a fine residence and lives as a modern rancher.
The marriage of Mr. Nilmeier occurred in Russia, January 11, 1883, and
united him with Miss Marie Laman, a native of that country and a daughter of
Harry P. and Anna E. (Schiebelhut) Laman, the father formerly a black-
smith but now retired and in his eighty-seventh year; the mother is also of
even age with him and they are the parents of ten children, all girls, Marie being
the fifth oldest.
Mr. and Mrs. Nilmeier have had nine children : Conrad O., a rancher in
Fresno County; Margaret, Mrs. Weisbrod of Barstow Colony; Christene,
Mrs. Schiebelhut of Madison district; Mary, Mrs. Bagley of Fresno; Annie,
Mrs. Patten of Fresno; August, ranching in Madison district; Emma, Lydia,
and Dora, also at home and attending the Fresno schools. The three oldest
children were born in Russia ; the others in Fresno. The family attends the
Lutheran Church in Fresno, and is respected and esteemed in the community.
Mr. Nilmeier is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and
a man of fine character, well liked in the community; his wife is a most
estimable woman and has proven a worthy helpmate.
MARTIN IRIGARAY.— A stockman located on Whites Bridge road
thirteen miles west of Fresno, is Martin Irigaray, a native of France, born at
Lecunberry, Basses Pyrenees, October 7, 1881, the fourth oldest of ten chil-
dren born to Jean and Marie (Eiharabide) Irigaray, farmer folk in that
country; the children are all living six of them being in California. Martin,
like the other youth of his country, learned farming from a boy and attended
the local school. From reports of better opportunities on the Pacific Coast
he came to Fresno in September, 1900, and immediately found employment
with Peter Arostigny, a sheep man at Reedle). He continued with him steadily
for thirty-two months, during which time he saved his earnings with a view
of engaging in sheep raising on his own account. He then found he had the
means to purchase 600 head of sheep which he ranged on the plains and in
the mountains and two years later leased a ranch at Huron which was his
headquarters for about ten years. In Fresno June 29, 1910, he was married,
being united with Miss Marie Yraceburu, a native of Navarra, Spain, the
daughter of Raymond and Fermina (Erro) Yraceburu, farmers in Spain,
where the mother died, while her father now lives in Fresno County. Mrs.
Irigaray is the seventh in order of birth of their ten children all of whom are
living, nine being in the United States ; she came to California the year of her
marriage to Mr. Irigaray. In 1914 he left his business in charge of his brother
and with his wife and little girl made a visit back to his old home. He had
been there only a month when the World War broke out and he was ordered
into the ranks, to which he responded, serving in the Forty-ninth Regiment
of Infantry, Bayonne troops, doing active service near Rheims, until he was
stricken with typhoid pneumonia and after three months in the hospital he
recovered sufficiently to be mustered out. When he had reached a state of
health permitting him, he returned to Fresno in the fall of 1915 with his wife
and two little girls, a baby having been born while he was serving in the
army. He resumed his former business of raising sheep, at Huron, until he
purchased and moved onto his present place of eighty acres on Whites Bridge
road in 1918, which he has developed into an alfalfa farm and from which
place he carries on the stock business. He is one of the stockholders in the
Growers National Bank of Fresno. The three children born to Mr. and Mrs.
Irigaray are Jennie, Laura, and Genevieve.
2582 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
ANTONIO BERTI.— Among the worthy families of Firebaugh and the
only one in the vicinity of Firebaugh entitled to wear a gold star on account
of being bereaved of a son in the late war is Mr. and Mrs. Antonio Berti who
are bearing their grief nobly and philosophically.
Antonio Berti was born in Lucca, Italy, March 22, 1850, was reared to
farm work on his father, Angelo Berti's farm to which he gave all of his
attention after his school days were over until he was called into the Italian
army at the age of twenty. He served the required time in an Infantry Reg-
iment and was honorably discharged.
He was married in Lucca in 1874, to Miss Maria Pellegrini, after which he
engaged in farming until 1892. Wishing to try his fortune in California, where
so many of his countrymen were doing well, he left his family as comfortable
as possible and came to Firebaugh, Fresno Count}7. He immediately obtained
employment with Miller and Lux, under Poso Schultz, as a gardener where
he continued steadily for ten years. Going to McCloud he was a fireman with
the McCloud Lumber Company. In 1903 he returned to his home visiting his
family, who joined him in McCloud in 1904, and 'where he remained until
1911. He then returned to Firebaugh, where he has since engaged in business
and made his home.
Six children were born to this worthy couple : Ida, Mrs. Zavelli ; and
Emma, Mrs. Giuntini, reside in Italy ; Adolfo also resides in Italy with his
family, he having served three years at the front in the World War with-
out receiving a scratch ; Amelia. Mrs. Christofani of McCloud ; Julia is the
wife of Bruno Molanca of Firebaugh ; Angelo was in charge of his father's
affairs when he was called to the colors in the 319th Engineer Corps, LTnited
States Army, — went overseas, was taken with influenza on the transport and
died three days after he reached Liverpool, where he is buried. He was a
splendid example of young manhood, and his death was a severe loss to his
family and friends. He was popular as a member of the Knights of Pythias
and the Druids.
CHRISTIAN ARNST.— A successful rancher and his devoted wife,
whose intelligent industry has contributed in the great work of building up
the county, are Christian and Marie Arnst, active supporters of the cooper-
ative work of the California Associated Raisin Company. He was born at
Osinofke, Samara, Russia, on February 16. 1855, the son of Peter Arnst, a
farmer, and the oldest of four children and the only one in America.
He was brought up on a farm and educated in the common schools of
his home district; and in 1877 he joined an infantry regiment in the Russian
Army and served in the campaign against Turkey until the close of the war.
He was married at his home to Miss Marie Enrich, a native of that section
and the daughter of Casper and Anna Eurich, farmers who had five children,
among whom she is the oldest.
After his marriage, Mr. Arnst engaged in farming and became foreman of
a large ranch. He was fairly prosperous; but hearing splendid reports from
California picturing the unrivalled agricultural opportunities here, he con-
cluded to emigrate to the Pacific Coast, and on August 7, 1891, arrived in
Fresno.
In 1893 he bought lots on Cherry and Church streets, and built a resi-
dence, and then he purchased twenty acres at Malaga, and raised alfalfa.
Later he bought twenty acres more, which he leveled and checked and also
planted to alfalfa, and after a while he added fortv acres, and improved that.
He had eighty acres in alfalfa and Thompson seedless and Muscat grapes,
and then bought fifty acres across the road, all of which he still owns. He
rents out the vineyards and operates the balance himself.
Two children have blessed the union of this worthy couple. Tohn is a
rancher at Monmouth, Fresno County; and David resides at Fresno. The
family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2583
AUGUST J. YOUNG. — The genial and enterprising proprietor of the
general merchandise store at Yinland, Fresno County, August J. Young, is
a native of Westergotland, Sweden, where he was born on September 1, 1859.
He was reared on a farm in his native land and followed that occupation un-
til 1888, when he became imbued with a desire to see more of the world,
especially the United States of America, and to which country he immigrated,
landing in New York City, but locating at Peale, Pa., where he found em-
ployment at coal mining. Being very industrious and economical, in three
years he had saved enough money to enter Augustana College, located in
Rock Island, 111., where he remained for five years, when he returned to
Peale, Pa., and engaged in the general merchandise business and eventually
bought a store building.
Mr. Young became very successful in his undertaking, remaining in
business at Peale until 1911. when on account of his wife's health he sold
his store and took a trip through Canada, Washington, Oregon and on to
California. He had thought to make Fresno his place of residence, but his
wife preferred living in the country, and in 1912 they located in Vinland.
Here he purchased a small store, bought a lot and moved his business across
the street and enlarged his stock of general merchandise. Mr. Young is a
successful merchant of many years' experience, and through his efficient
management is building up a growing and successful business in Vinland
and vicinity. In 1916 he built a large residence and installed a pumpino--
plant.
On April 15, 1905, at Grass Flat, Pa., Mr. Young was united in marriage
with Miss Ida Blomquist, a native of Sweden. They have a son, Fritz Einar.
Mr. Young is a member of the Lutheran Church, and is regarded as one of
Vinland's most enterprising citizens.
OCTAVE VALERE DARGELES.— A self-made native of France, of
exceptional originality and resourcefulness and a good student of human
affairs, who has made his living round about Fresno and is a good booster
for Central California, is Octave Valere Dargeles, who was born at Montegut-
Arros, Department du Gers, in the Province of Gascony, France, on July 24,
1867, the son of Raymond Dargeles, a farmer who put in eleven years in the
United States. After living in New Orleans and other districts of Louisiana,
he returned to France where, at the age of thirty, he married, in 1861,
Francine Dazet with whom he lived in the same place. These parents, who
died in France, had four children, the youngest being the subject of our
sketch. Helene became the wife of Martial Gauthier, a farmer in Algeria,
Africa; Joseph is a farmer in Gascony, France, and is well-to-do; Jean Marie
came to California with Octave, and they worked together as partners in the
bakery business. Jean married Nancy Bonnabel of Fresno, who was born in
France, and he died at San Jose in 1897 leaving a widow and one child,
Caesar Raymond, who is now adopted as a member of Octave's family.
Octave's mother died when he was seventeen months old. Unhappily,
the maternal grandmother, who was a woman of means and education, also
died, when he was eleven years of age. When a lad he attended the village
schools in the winter until his grandmother's death, and then, still in France,
he worked on his father's farm. On December 12, 1885, however, the two
brothers, Jean Marie and Octave took passage for New Orleans, landing there
on January 6, 1886, during a storm and "cold wave" which covered New
Orleans under six inches of ice. They stopped in New Orleans for thirteen
months, while they worked at gardening, at twelve dollars a month ; and
then, having decided that California offered more than any other state in the
Union, they came on to the Pacific Coast.
Arriving at San Francisco on January 7, 1887, the brothers worked at
various jobs. Octave learned the baker's trade at San Jose and ran a bakery
for Espetallier at Bakersfield for sixteen and a half months, after which he
2584 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
went to San Francisco and there lived for three months at Oakland. On
November 23, 1890, he came to Fresno and soon after started to build the
French Bakery there. Jean Marie came with him and helped form the part-
nership of the two brothers which continued until Jean died. Then Octave
bought out the latter's interest, and continued the bakery until December 1,
1914. He built his bakery on K Street, near Fresno, and ran the largest baking
establishment in that city.
Having achieved this success at Fresno, Mr. Dargeles in 1911 came to
Caruthers and bought his 480-acre farm, which he has partly improved with
a modern dairy barn, silos, corrals, branding chutes and other necessary
adjuncts of a first class dairy farm. Mr. Dargeles, for six months out of every
year, uses forty-one horsepower of electric power for pumping and other
farm work. He also put in six wells and five pumping plants, one of which is
run by a twenty horsepower dynamo, capable of irrigating 200 acres and
supplied by two deep wells. In studying out the plans for the dairy barn and
extensive yards and corrals, Mr. Dargeles was ably assisted by his four boys.
The two eldest of these having gone into the army, Mr. Dargeles has rented out
400 acres for a dairy farm, and he expects to build a residence on the eighty
acres nearest to Caruthers ; he also intends to set from fifty to sixty-five acres
of Thompsons and Malagas.
In 1894 Mr. Dargeles was married to Victorine G. Bonnabel, a native of
Forest St. Julien, Hautes Alpes, the Province of Dauphine, France, by whom
he has had seven children. Ernest O. is at present a mine layer on the
Housatonic, operating in the North Sea ; Caesar Raymond, the adopted boy,
is an instructor of aeroplane gunners ; Henry Julius and Frank Octave are
with their father ; the fifth-born, named Octavia, died when she was eleven
months old ; the sixth in the order of birth is now eleven years old ; and there
are Francina Mary Gabriel and Raymond.
Mr. Dargeles has voted since 1892 when he became a naturalized citizen
of the United States, and he has fitted himself for further responsibility in
civic affairs by reading extensively, studying philosophy, religion, eco-
nomics, industrialism and sociology; he is a Socialist. He helped to organize
the Caruthers Cheese Factory, and is ever ready to aid in any movement for
the community's advancement.
N. P. BECK. — Natives of Denmark coming to this country have shown
a special liking for the land, whether from an inherent love of conquest or
not, but whatever the reason they seem determined to wrest from the soil
that success that only the industrious may claim. A splendid example is seen
in the case of N. P. Beck, who was born in Aarhus, Jylland, Denmark, March
6, 1885. His father, Neils Nielsen Beck, was a farmer, and his mother, before
her marriage Metta Marie Beck. They are both living, and are the parents of
eight children, five in Denmark and three in the United States. These last
are, N. P., J. P. I., ranchers at Empire and Johannes, who was in the United
States Service.
Mr. Beck was brought up on a farm, and received a public school edu-
cation. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed as gardener and florist
for four vears. In 1906 he came to New York City and followed his trade until
1907, when he came to California. Fresno County was his objective point, for
he had become interested here from reading of the vineyards and orchards,
and he wanted a milder climate. Upon arrival he went to work in a dairy
at Laton, remaining there for five months, and then came to Empire Colony
where he engaged with Mr. A. C. Hansen in vineyard work. After five months
here he went to Palo Alto as a florist, and spent eighteen months in this
place. He returned to Empire Colony and began farming. He has twenty-
six acres in vineyard, Thompson seedless and Muscats, and the balance in
alfalfa. Mr. Beck is a member of the Danish Brotherhood of Fresno, and
also of the California Associated Raisin Company.
HISTORY OF FRESXO COUNTY 2585
CONRAD WINTER.— A resident of Fresno County for the past seven-
teen years, Conrad Winter has taken advantage of his opportunities and is
now engaged in ranching on his own account and meeting with deserved suc-
cess. Born in Skadopki, Samara, Russia, October 3, 1875, he is a son of Con-
rad and Katherine Elizabeth (Bischel) Winter, farmer folk of that country;
the father passed away in 1889, and the mother is still living there. Conrad
was the fourth oldest in a family of seven children, and was raised on the
home farm, receiving his education in the public schools. When twenty-one he
entered the Russian Army and served three years and eight months in the
Regular Infantry, at the end of that period receiving his honorable discharge.
Seeking better opportunities than those afforded in his home environ-
ment, he made the long journey to Fresno in 1902, and after his arrival worked
in the city and on ranches. His marriage occurred here, June 21, 1904, to
Miss Katherine Schwabenland, also born in Russia, a daughter of Conrad and
Katherine (Romish) Schwabenland, who brought their family here in 1894
and the father was engaged at farm work, then with Barrett & Hicks in the
plumbing business, until his health failed and he retired ; his death occurred
here in 1915; the mother still resides in Fresno. They were the parents of
nine children, two living, of whom Mrs. Winter was the oldest, and she re-
ceived her education in the public schools of Fresno.
After his marriage, Mr. Winter continued his work in Fresno and in
1910 bought his ranch, twenty acres on Shields Avenue, in the Empire dis-
trict ; he made all the improvements on the raw land, built his home and other
ranch buildings, and has fifteen acres in Thompson seedless vineyard, the
balance devoted to orchard and alfalfa. Five children have been born to Mr.
and Mrs. Winter, three living: Annie; Marie; and Christina. The family
attends the Lutheran Church in Fresno. Mr. Winter is a member of the Cal-
ifornia Associated Raisin Company, and combines his industry with a spirit
of cooperation and progress.
JOSEPH J. SILVEIRA.— A resident of Fresno County since September,
1888, and one of the oldest settlers of the Herndon section is Joseph J. Sil-
veira, born on the Island of Flores, Azores, February 2, 1869. His father
John made three trips to California, finally locating here, spending his last
days at Merced being survived by his widow Marie Silveira who still makes
her home in Merced, at the age of seventy-seven years. Joe Silveira, the
eldest of their seven children, learned the stock business as a lad in his
native land. He always had a desire to come to California as it was also his
father's advice, who described California to him as God's country. So in the
Fall of 1888 Mr. Silveira came to Stockton, Cal., where he worked for a sheep
man and two months later came with him to Madera, then Fresno County,
working for the same man for three years — without the loss of a day. When
his employer sold out young Silveira had saved enough money to buy a flock
of sheep and followed the business with success for many years. In February,
1900, he bought his present ranch at Herndon which has been his head-
quarters ever since. At one time he leased thousands of acres of land on
which he raised grain, operating it with five big teams and combined
threshers. He made a specialty of raising mules and has had some of the
finest specimens in the county. He owns a 318-acre ranch in Tranquillity,
and a 160-acre ranch on Madera Avenue near Kerman which he will improve
to vines and alfalfa. He built and owns a warehouse at Herndon. Mr.
Silveira was an organizer and is a director in the Growers National Bank of
Fresno. In Oakland occurred the first marriage of Mr. Silveira to Marie
Quiller of whom he was bereaved, leaving him five children : Marie, Jack, Joe,
Mabel and David. He was married a second time at San Rafael to Anna
Armas, and they have four children living: Maria, Fred, Louis and Elsie.
Mr. Silveira is a member of the I. D. E. S. and U. P. E. C, and politically is
a Republican.
2586 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
LORENZ OLSEN. — A prosperous couple who had the best of advan-
tages in their native country, coming from families comfortably situated,
and who have made many friends at Rolinda although only recently located
here, are Mr. and Mrs. Lorenz .Olsen. He was born at Horsens, in Jutland,
Denmark, on March 9, 1891, where he was reared on a farm, while attending
the local schools. His father was Soren Olsen, a prosperous farmer who be-
came the owner of several valuable farm properties, but who has sold all of
them and now lives retired in Horsens. The mother, Mrs. Anna Olsen, died
in 1917.
Lorenz was the second in the family of three children, and received a
good common and high-school education, after which he assisted his father
at farming. He served in the Third Company of the Twenty-third Battalion
in the Danish Army, and was duly and honorably discharged. Hearing favor-
able reports of Fresno County, Mr. Olsen in 1916, came to America and on
May 17th arrived at Fresno. For a few months he was employed on a large
ranch at Burrel but on November 1st, in partnership with his brother, he pur-
chased the present place of thirty acres at Rolinda. where he has since engaged
in viticulture and dairying. He has twelve acres set out to Thompson seed-
less grapes, and ten acres in Sultana seedless, while the balance is planted
to alfalfa. With C. Andersen he owns a Reo truck which he runs on a cream
route, gathering cream for the Danish Creamery, and the truck covers over
fifty miles every day between customers.
On December 21, 1916, Mr. Olsen was married in Fresno to Marie Erick -
sen, who was also born in Jutland, Denmark, the daughter of Erick and
Helena Eleanor Ericksen, who still live in good circumstances near Horsens.
Of their eleven children, four are in the United States, one having served in
the United States Army. Mrs. Olsen received an excellent education in her
native land. They have one child, Erick Andrew.
Mr. Olsen is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and
is always ready to help in advancing the interests of the community.
HENRY MEISNER. — Beginning life under the unfavorable conditions
prevalent in the old country, Henry Meisner has become a landowner and
prosperous rancher in the country of his adoption, and by his own efforts
has attained comfort for his declining years. Born in Bobofgina, Samara,
Russia, July 22, 1872, he is a son of Adam and Margaret (Summer) Meisner,
both now deceased in their native land, and the parents of five children.
The youngest of the family, Henry was reared on the home farm in Rus-
sia, and attended the public schools of Bobofgina. When twenty-one, he
entered the Russian army in the artillery, and served at North Rastof for
three years and eight months. On his return home he married there, in July,
1898, Miss Marie Buschel, also a native of that province. After marriage,
Mr. Meisner engaged in farming in Russia for a time, but in 1903 he made
the journey to the land of greater opportunity, and located in Fresno, his
family joining him a year later. For the first five years he worked in a plumb-
ing shop. In 1911 he bought his ranch of forty acres on Barstow Avenue,
and engaged in the dairy business ; he now is a viticulturist also, setting out
Thompson seedless grapes, and meeting with the success made possible by
habits of industry and thrift for which the Russian people are noted.
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs, Meisner: John, who died,
aged two years, in Russia; Marie, born in Russia, is now Mrs. Sipe of Bars-
tow ; Tohn ; Henry ; and Adam. The family attends the Lutheran Church in
Fresno and enjoys the comfort made possible by the parents' early planning.
Mr. Meisner is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and
a worker for the further upbuilding of his district.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2587
ADAM METZLER.— A self-made man who is doing well in his chosen
vocation, that of ranching, Adam Metzler was born in Bobofski, Samara, Rus-
sia, June 26, 1881, a son of Peter and Marie (Rudolph) Metzler, farmer folk
of that country. He is the third oldest among seven children, and the only
one in the United States. Brought up on a home farm, and attending the
public schools, he followed farming with his father until his marriage, on
November 22, 1907, to Miss Marie Ouisnar, also born there, a daughter of
Frederick and Elizabeth (Riechert) Ouisnar, farmer folk and the parents of
six children, of whom Marie was the second oldest.
In 1908, Mr. and Mrs. Metzler located in Fresno, and here he entered
the employ of the California Produce Company, working up to the position of
foreman. In 1912 he bought his ranch of twenty acres in the Biola district,
built his residence and barns, and set about improving the property ; half to
be set to Thompson seedless vineyard, and the balance to alfalfa.
Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Metzler: Elizabeth; Peter;
Bertha; Henry; Marie; and Martha. The family attends the Christ Lutheran
Church in Fresno, of which Mr. Metzler has been trustee. He is a member
of the California Associated Raisin Company.
CONRAD KINZEL. — An energetic American by adoption who has made
a success by hard work and perseverance, that he is today a man of affairs,
is Conrad Kinzel, who first came to Fresno in the late nineties. He was born
in Priwalnoe, Samara, Russia, on February 5, 1870, the son of George Henry
Kinzel, a farmer there, who married Catherine Leisle. The mother died, but
the father is still living, seventy-two years of age.
There were twelve children in the family, and ten are living, while two
are in the United States. One of these, a brother named Phillip, is in partner-
ship with our subject. Conrad was brought up on a farm and attended the
public schools ; and he was fortunate in learning both the German and Rus-
sian languages.
He served five years in the Russian army as a member of the cavalry,
being stationed near Warsaw on the German frontier; and jn time he was
honorably discharged. For two years he continued to work on his father's
farm, and then he concluded to come to the United States. He was fortunate
in the information given him about California, and was lucky in selecting
Fresno as his future home.
On November 22, 1898, he arrived here, and he was employed on ranches
for seven years. Having saved some money, he started in the grocery and
meat business, on South F Street, one block south of his present store ; and
he there took into partnership Jacob P. Christian. They each had a capital
of $500; but at the end of the year he sold out. Then he worked for a year
at farming and for another year was in the employ of August Steitz on F
Street. He was next in the employ of H. B. Bier in his store on F Street, for
nearly three years, and then he bought out Henry Rudolph, of Steitz & Ru-
dolph, for $2,000, and continued in business as Steitz & Company. He bought
a half interest in the store and building and they continued together for
nine years.
On January 27, 1919, Mr. Kinzel bought out Mr. Steitz's interest and
took in his brother Phillip as a partner, the firm becoming Kinzel Brothers;
and now they have a large modern store filled with choice general merchan-
dise. It is located at the corner of California and Kirk avenues, and there
is also a warehouse with a floor space of 30 x 125 feet. Mr. Kinzel is a Re-
publican in politics, but too good an American not to see the merit in politi-
cal propositions often advanced by the opposite parties.
He was married at his old home to Miss Catherina Bier, a native of Sa-
mara, and the daughter of George Conrad Bier. The Kinzels are members
of the Free Evangelical Lutheran Cross Church and he is a member of the
Eagle Lodge.
2588 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
PHILLIP DAUER. — A viticulturist, dairyman and carpenter and expert
builder, is Phillip Dauer, who was born near Volga, Russia, on January 3,
1873, the son of Gotlieb Dauer, a carpenter and a farmer who died in the
vicinity of his home in 1887. He had married Marie Wulf; and his widow
is now living.
Phillip, who is the only child living, was brought up on a farm while he
attended the neighborhood school ; and for four years he served his appren-
ticeship as a carpenter. He worked for his brother at the same time that he
learned how to paint. And he followed his trade as long as he was in his
native country.
In 1902, having crossed the ocean to America, he pushed west to Ar-
lington, Minn., and there he went to work on a farm. Later he followed the
carpenter's trade ; and being a painstaking mechanic, he was never without
employment. In fact, whether as a skilled laborer or as a farmer, the quality
of Mr. Dauer's service was always such that he gave general satisfaction.
Three years after settling in Minnesota, Mr. Dauer moved still further
West and settled in Fresno, where he again took up work as a carpenter.
He helped construct the building at Zapp's Park. On January 24, 1909, Mr.
Dauer located in Barstow Colony and bought his present place of twenty-five
acres. He engaged in dairying and the raising of alfalfa, and as he prospered,
he bought twenty acres more. This last tract he set out to Thompson's seed-
less grapes. He is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company,
where his cooperation is appreciated.
Mr. Dauer is not the kind of a man who withholds any assistance needed
that he may render. Barstow Colony felt the want of a carpenter - and he has
continued to contract and to build ; and while adding to his enterprise, he has
done much to solve the problem of new residences for the community.
Mrs. Dauer was Miss Mary Jacoby before her marriage, which occurred
in Russia ; and she is the mother of nine children, all of whom are living.
They are Susie, now Mrs. Seibert of Selma ; and John, Phillip, Peter, Edward,
Henry, William, Amelia and Mollie, who reside at home. The family are
Lutherans, and encourage each worthy movement for the moral uplift and
educational improvement of the neighborhood.
FIRMIN YZURDIAGA. — An enterprising and progressive farmer and
dairyman of Fresno County Firmin Yzurdiaga was born in Pamplona,
Navarra, Spain, December 22, 1884, the second oldest of a family of seven
children born to Vincente and Micaela (Elcano) Yzurdiaga who were indus-
trious farmers in their native land ; the mother died when Firmin was only
twelve years of age while his father still lives at the old home. Firmin was
reared to the life of a farmer and his educational advantages were necessarily
limited because he was early set to work to help support the family. Striking
out for himself in October, 1904, he came to the city of Mexico, where he was
employed for five months, until April, 1905, when he came to Los Angeles.
Finding employment on farms near La Puente until 1908, he then came to
Fresno County and here he worked on farms until 1911. He then purchased
a herd of. dairy cows, leased land from M. Theo. Kearney and engaged in
dairying. He leases 160 acres from the Kearney estate and he now has a herd
of 140 cows. He also owns a twenty-acre vineyard on the corner of California
and Hayes Avenues. Mr. Yzurdiaga was united in marriage in San Francisco
May 12, 1912, to Miss Eulalia Amorina who was also born in Pamplona,
Spain; she is the daughter of Miguel and Firmina (Ygoa; Amorina, the
latter died in 1917 while the father is still living at the old house. Of their
ten children seven are still living. Mrs. Yzurdiaga being the eighth in order
of birth. She received a good education in her native place ; coming to Cali-
fornia in 1911 she resided in Stockton and San Francisco until her marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Yzurdiaga are both members of the Catholic Church in Fresno.
Believing in protection he is a Republican in national politics.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2589
ANTONIO FARETTA.— One of the adopted citizens of Fresno County,
who has forged ahead without making any fuss about it, is Antonio Faretta.
He was born in the Province of Potenza, Italy, October 28, 1875. He attended
the village school until his eighth year, when he went to work, but kept up his
school at night. Upon reaching manhood, he served thirty months in the Italian
army, and returning to his home village in 18^8 was married to Cathrina Masucci,
who had come to America when six years of age, and had returned to Italy. An-
tonio's father had also come to America and was located in Oakland, Cal. Soon
after the son's marriage he and his wife started for America with just enough
money to reach this side, arriving in 1898, and going to Oakland. After work-
ing for wages in Oakland for eighteen months, he came to Fresno County in 1900
and for six months was employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company,
and for the next two and a half years worked on ranches in the county. He then
followed work in various lines until, in 1904, he started a grocery store at 1301
Fresno Street, one of the first to engage in business on the West Side. This
was a small frame building, and his business grew from the start and to such
proportions that finally, in 1913, he erected his present two-story brick building,
which enables him to better supply his still increasing trade. He also owns a
twenty-acre ranch on Shields Avenue, planted to Thompson seedless grapes. He
is a successful, self-made man. He has four children, all born in California:
Mamie, Rosie, Marie Antoinette and Theodore.
ADAM RUDOLF. — A native of Russia, who is today, after fifteen years
in Fresno, not only one of the patriotic of adopted American citizens, but also
one of the most enterprising and successful, is Adam Rudolf, the well-known
vineyardist, who is particularly proud of the fact that he improved his ranch
himself. He was born at Popofkina, on the Volga River, Samara, on January
6, 1873, and his father, also Adam Rudolf, was a farmer before him. There
were four boys and six girls in the family, and of this group, two boys are
in Fresno County.
Growing up under conditions both favorable and unfavorable, Adam
nevertheless enjoyed the usual popular schooling until he was fifteen, and
from that age followed farming as the means of a livelihood. In some re-
spects, Russia is a great agricultural country, and so his opportunity to be
well grounded in certain fundamental things in farming was good. When he
had somewhat established himself, he married Miss Annie Lung, a native of
the section. She was the daughter of Henry Lung, a well-situated farmer;
and when they had set up their little household, they farmed on a place of
fifteen acres that they owned.
Deciding to come to America and California, of which they had heard
such inspiring tales, Mr. and Mrs. Rudolf disposed of their holdings, and in
1902, with their one child, they crossed the ocean and the continent, and
arrived in California. Pie was fortunate in securing work in a vineyard ; and
so, in addition to becoming a viticulturist with the best of training, he learned
the best methods of managing such an enterprise.
Thus encouraged by his progress, Mr. Rudolf in 1911 bought his present
place of twenty acres in the Barstow Colony — a tract all stubble when he
took hold of it, but which yielded to his persistent hard work. He set out a
vineyard of eleven acres of Thompson's seedless, and also planted four acres
each to peaches and alfalfa. And when he had thus equipped himself for
ranch enterprise, he joined the California Peach Growers, Inc., of which he
is a stockholder, and the California Associated Raisin Company, and gave his
cordial support to the excellent work yearly undertaken and accomplished
by both of those organizations.
Mr. and Mrs. Rudolf have one child, a boy named Adam ; and they are
also rearing a very attractive girl, Marie Busch. The family are members of
the Free Cross German Lutheran Church, in Fresno.
2590 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
HENRY EISNER. — An enterprising viticulturist and horticulturist,
whose reputation for up-to-date methods has undoubtedly been augmented
through the able cooperation of his excellent wife, is Henry Eisner, a resident
of Kerman. He was born at Varnburg, Samara, Russia, on November 11, 1885,
the son of Peter Eisner, a farmer who is still living at the ripe age of about sixty-
one years. The good mother was Katherina Elizabeth Kinzel before her marriage,
and she died in 1889. She had two children, and the older, the only one in the;
United States, is the subject of this sketch.
Henry was brought up on a farm and attended the public school of his
locality; and there, on September 20, 1906, he was married to Miss Marie Kath-
rine Schmall, a native of Varnburg, where she was born on September 24, 1885.
Her parents were Henry and Kathrina Elizabeth (Andreas) Schmall; they were
farmer folk of the sturdy and respectable class ; and they are still living, highly
esteemed by those who know them. They had seven children, and Mrs. Eisner
was the fourth oldest in the family.
On November 14, 1906, Mr. Eisner left for the United States and arrived
in Fresno in February, 1907. He went to work at once in farms and vineyards,
and continued in that field for five years. Then he entered the employ of thte
Fresno Cooperage Company and learned the cooper's trade, at which he worked
for another four years.
In 1914 he bought twenty acres at Biola; and as it was raw land, he set to
work vigorously to improve it. He set out Thompson seedless grapes and built
the property up. Three years later, Mr. Eisner Sold the ranch and bought the
twenty acres he is at present proprietor of and which he is making one of the
choice small properties in Vinland.. He has built a fine new residence and erected
other outbuildings so desirable on such a farm, made a large, roomy yard. Who-
ever visits the ranch does not fail to admire both its natural attractions and the
improved values added to it through the foresight and hard work of the owner.
Mr. Eisner belongs to the California Associated Raisin Company and supports
its programs vigorously.
Seven children have gladdened the home life of Mr. and Mrs. Eisner. Lizzie
is the first born, and the others in order are : Peter, Henry, Herman, Rosie, El-
sie and Mary. The family attend the Lutheran Church at Fresno.
In national politics Mr. Eisner is a Republican ; but there is no more loyal,
non-partisan supporter of good local measures designed to build up the com-
munity.
OTTO P. HEMMINGSEN. — Denmark has sent some good men to Amer-
ica and among those who have made good records for themselves, is Otto
Hemmingsen, who came to Fresno County in 1906. He was born in Stege.
Island of Moen, Denmark, in 1876, and was educated in the public schools
until he was fourteen, when he was apprenticed to a butcher in the town of
Xestred, where he worked at the trade for four years. March 1, 1904, marked
an epoch in his life, for on that day he left for America in a 'White Star liner,
landing in Boston but coming on to Chicago. Here he was variously em-
ployed for two years, and in the fall of 1906 he came to Fresno County and
was engaged at once at his trade in Fresno. He remained here until 1908
when he embarked in the business at Kearney Park, where he stayed for ten
months when he sold out and went to Clovis, buying a market already estab-
lished, continuing there until October 3, 1914, when he sold and located in
Rolinda. Here he bought out the meat market of H. O. Bowen, improving
and enlarging the business, adding a slaughterhouse and a large refrigerator
plant. He has three trucks for delivery and covers a large territory. He
owns ten acres of land which he devotes to grain-raising but will set to vine-
yards. He is renting pasture and feeding cattle for his own butchering.
Mr. Hemmingsen was married to Miss Anna Petersen, a native of Den-
mark. He is a member of the Danish Brotherhood, is a successful business
man, liberal and enterprising, occupying a high place in the estimation of his
neighbors.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2591
RUDOLPH AXT.-A rancher and vineyardist of the Barstow Colony,
one of the highly cultivated districts of Fresno County, Rudolph Axt was
born in Jost, Samara, Russia, October 17, 1875, and his parents have both
passed away in that country; the mother, Christine (Freis) Axt, in 1880, and
the father, Gotlieb Axt, in 1909. They were the parents of six children, five of
whom are now living, Rudolph being the youngest of the family and the only
one in California. He was brought up on the home farm in Russia, and educa-
ted in the public schools there. In 1897 he entered the 'Russian army, in the
Twelfth Regular Infantry, and served until 1903, being stationed at Port
Arthur for six years as a non-commissioned officer. In 1903 he was honorably
discharged and in 1905 again entered the army, serving fourteen months in
Harbin and Vladivostock.
In the year 1903, Mr. Axt was married, to Miss Anna Schleiger, born in
Freidendohl, Russia, and after his honorable discharge the second time from
the army, he engaged in farming in his native land. In 1907 the young couple
came to America, and settled for a time in Hoisington, Kans., where Mr.
Axt was employed in the roundhouse of the Missouri Pacific Railway. In
1909, they came to Fresno, and here he worked at house-moving for a year,
then for eighteen months was with the Santa Fe Railway in the roundhouse.
The year 1911 saw his first venture in ranching in the new country: he
then bought twenty acres in the Barstow Colonv, and set nine acres to
Thompson seedless and the balance to alfalfa, which he cultivates and keeps
in splendid condition. In 1917 he bought another twenty-acre ranch, improved
it, and sold the property in six months' time.
Mr. and Mrs. Axt have seven children: Rudolph; Rosie ; Annie; Chris-
tene : Marie ; Cecelia : and Wilhelm. The family attends the Seventh Day
Adventist Church in Barstow, and Mr. Axt is a teacher in the Sunday school
there. In politics he favors the Republican party, and he takes an interest in
the advancement of his home district.
ERNEST SCHMITZ. — One of those who settled in Fresno County in the
beginning of its advancement and with good business judgment and fore-
sight elected to stay and grow in prosperity with the rapidly growing com-
munity, Ernest Schmitz has been amply repaid for his early struggle, and
has become identified with the progress and upbuilding of this section. Born
in Nebraska City, Nebr., July 27, 1863, he later lived near David City, Butler
County, on a farm, coming to California, in 1875, with his father. Peter, an older
brother, and Gustav, had preceded them about four years. Mr. Ernest Schmitz
located near Santa Ana, and worked on ranches and teaming. Later he followed
teaming in Pasadena in its first upbuilding and development, and hauled
brick for the new buildings that were being constructed at that boom period
in Southern California. When the bottom fell out of it, in 1888, he and a
friend starting for Seattle drove up the valley to Fresno, where Mr. Schmitz
decided to locate and he has since made his home here. In debt when he
arrived, he started to buy hay from the farmers and sell it in the courthouse
square where the free market is now located. As his business grew he put
on more teams and soon had four teams busy. Later he opened a hay and
grain store on H and Fresno Streets, and carried on his growing business
there for six years. During that time he had bought a city block, bounded by
Fresno. Mariposa, D and E Streets. In 1906 he moved onto this block and
erected warehouses and corrals, together with office buildings, and here he
is still engaged in selling grain and hay, shipping to different pa.rts of Cali-
fornia by the carload.
Mr. Schmitz purchased 160 acres, nine miles south of Fresno, on
Walnut Avenue, part of which was in alfalfa for three years, and later he
plowed the land and planted eighty acres to vineyard, of the Thompson seed-
less variety. He recently sold this holding at a good profit. He now owns
two alfalfa ranches, one of fifty and one of eighty acres west of Fresno, on
2592 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
Belmont Avenue, 150 acres on the State Highway and a fig, olive and alfalfa
ranch in Madera County. In former years he farmed grain on rented land,
as high as 2,000 acres, on the Collins ranch, northeast of Clovis, on the San
Joaquin River, and other parts of the county, running over sixty head of
mules in his operations. Mr. Schmitz has also speculated in city real estate,
buying two lots on Tulare Street near the Santa Fe depot for $1,700; later
added two more lots to his purchase for the sum of $2,000, and in six years'
time these lots were a»ld for $20,000, an example of the phenomenal advance
in real estate in Fresno in recent years. In addition to his hay and grain
business, Mr. Schmitz has been a large dealer in hogs, mules and horses. Mr.
Schmitz in 1914 built his large modern residence at 207 Coast Street.
The marriage of Mr. Schmitz united him with Ada Morgan, born in
Wisconsin and four children were born to them; Vera, wife of William
McAllister of Fresno; Cleone, graduate of the Fresno State Normal, was a
teacher, now wife of Ben Brown of Fresno; Bertha, a graduate ot Fresno
High School, now attending Cora Williams Institute, Berkeley; and Ernest,
attending the Fresno High, all born in Fresno.
JOE PRANDINI. — A hard-working, energetic Italian who came to
America a poor boy is Joe Prandini, the rancher and dairyman of Lanare,
who has made more than $25,000 worth of improvements during the last ten
years. He has a well-improved dairy ranch of 206 acres at the new town, has
built two excellent dairy and hay barns, a brick cheese factory and a storage
cellar of cement, and introduced other up-to-date appliances saving time and
labor and conducing to sanitary requirements. All his land but twenty acres
has been put into alfalfa. He is a good manager and has profited through
personal friendship with John Cerini, the dairyman and capitalist.
Guiseppi Prandini, was born at Comero, Italy, on June 29, 1877, and in
that country grew to maturity. His father. Innocent Prandini, had married
Barbara Trappa. and he busied himself as a farmer and cheese maker. They
had three children : Silvestro Prandini, a cavalier in Italy, is a dairy inspector,
having graduated from Italian schools for milk products. Carlo came to Cali-
fornia three and a half years ago, also a graduate of cheese making and other
courses, and he is now a cheese maker here. The third in the order of birth
was the subject of this review. He, too, attended these dairy schools and
when twenty he was seized with the ambition to make his fortune in Cali-
fornia, so he crossed the ocean to Canada, and from there made his way to
San Francisco, landing there on December 15, 1901. He went to Mendocini
County, thence to Santa Barbara, after that to Hanford, in Kings County,
and then rented a farm and ran a cheese factory at Guernsey; for seven years
he was the tenant of H. C. Smith, the cheese maker, near Guernsey.
In 1908 Mr. Prandini bought 206 acres of land at Lanare, and there made
all the improvements. He has also put in a steam plant, an artesian well,
costing $4,200.
Mr. Prandini has lately leased his valuable ranch and cheese factory for
three years to his brother Carlo and two associates, Andria Mandora and
Cardiga Paolin, who have formed the firm of Carlo Prandini & Company.
He also sold to the lessees about 150 head of live stock, including some
seventy-five cows and the balance in hogs and horses. In Lanare Mr. Prandini
built the Lanare Garage building; the store building, the meat market build-
ing and the ice-cream and confectionery store and a blacksmith shop and has
put up a large tank house which stores the water supply for Lanare.
At Hanford Mr. Prandini was married to Miss Rosa Fahccini, a native
of Italy, by whom he has had four children — Innocent, Peter, Teressa and
Barbara. When he has completed the changes for his temporary successors,
he and his good wife will return to Italy and enjoy, among old environments
and with old-time friends, a well-merited vacation.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2593
HENRY J. ENGELMAN.— Born in Wolzgaja, on the River Volga, Sa-
mara, Russia, November 29, 1878, H. J. Engelman is now a resident of Fresno
County, Cal., where he has improved a ranch of forty acres in the northwestern
portion of the county and has set thirty acres of his land to Thompson seedless
grapes and the balance is in alfalfa. He is a son of Henry and Mary (Dabus)
Engelman, the former a farmer in Russia before he came to the United States
in 1903, when he landed in New York and remained there until 1915, when he
came to Fresno County and is living retired. His wife died when her son and
only child was but three weeks old.
Henry J. received a common-school education, grew to young manhood on
a farm and on January 10, 1900, started for America, with Fresno as his final
destination, in which city he arrived on March 6, that year. He was young and
strong and went to work at ranching, worked in various parts of the county,
then for two years in the Craycroft brickyards, and one year in Prescott's brick-
yard. By 1909 he had saved up enough money to make a payment on a twenty-
acre ranch thirteen miles northwest of Fresno, put it in alfalfa and began dairy-
ing. Four years later he sold his cows, the land being too valuable for dairy
purposes, and set out thirty acres to Thompsons. In the meantime he had made
all the improvements for a comfortable home place, thereby setting an example
for others.
Mr. Engelman was married on January 30, 1902, in Fresno, to Miss Chris-
tina Horgenrader, born in the same town in Russia as her husband, and they
have ten children: Henry; Rosie ; Katie; Edward; Emma; Mollie; Philip;
George ; Harry ; and Theodore, all at home and growing into useful men and
women. Mr. Engelman and his family are members of the Lutheran Church in
Fresno, and he has been superintendent of the Sunday School in the Barstow
branch of the church. He is a member of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany, and in national politics is a Republican. He is well-liked and is an upright
and honest citizen.
FRED WAGNER. — Taking his place among the energetic and capable
ranchers of this section, Fred Wagner is demonstrating that the determina-
tion to succeed is a large factor in the struggle of life. Born in Hussenbach,
Saratof, Russia, February 16, 1879, he is a son of Jacob and Mary (Schwab)
Wagner, both natives of that country and now deceased. Of their four chil-
dren, three are living in California, Fred, the youngest in the family, was
raised on the home farm, and educated in the public schools. When twenty-
one he served in the Russian Army for five years and nine months, and saw
action in the Russian-Japanese War, in Manchuria, winning three medals of
honor. At the close of the war he received his honorable discharge, and on
his return home decided to come to the United States.
Mr. Wagner married in Russia, February 14, 1900, before going into the
arm}-, his bride being Miss Maggie Bauer, also born there. In 1907 they sold
their belongings and came to California, and in January of that year located in
Fresno. Here Mr. Wagner found employment on ranches, and later moved
to Sanger where he was with the Home & Bennett Lumber Company for four
years. They then returned to Fresno and for eighteen months he was in the
employ of the Grand Central Hotel, then in Madary's Planing Mill and also
in others.
Wishing to have a ranch and home, Mr. Wagner traded his residence in
Fresno for twenty acres on Shields Avenue, in Empire, thus making the first
payment on the property, in 1915. He located on the ranch and built his home
and set about improving his holding, setting out Thompson seedless grapes,
and now has about seventeen acres in this productive vine.
Five children have come to Mr. and Mrs. Wagner, all of them born in
Fresno County: Emelia : Jack; Alex; Edward, and Theodore. The family is
of the Lutheran faith. Mr. Wagner is a member of the California Associated
Raisin Company, and is alive to all projects for advancing the best interests
of the county and its citizens.
2594 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
KARL MARINUS ESKESEN.— A loyal American by choice, and quite
as patriotic as any. Karl Marinus Eskesen is highly regarded in the community
where he lives. He owns and operates a twenty-acre alfalfa ranch about a mile
east of Lanare, Fresno County, from which, in 1917, he sold $2,500 worth of al-
falfa hay.
He was born in Denmark on May 11, 1870, the son of Eske Lauredsen, a
farmer who owned and worked about forty acres. His mother, who had been
Maren Jensen before her marriage, had four boys and a girl, and among them
Karl was the youngest. He was educated in the public schools, brought up in
the Lutheran Church, and trained on his father's farm.
After having served for six months in the Danish army, he sailed for New
York where his brother Anton was engaged as a signalman on a New York rail-
way. He obtained Karl a job, and for three months our subject was in the rail-
way service. Then he went to work by the month for a Chenango County farmer
and continued with him two years, when he moved west to Indianapolis and be-
came a coachman for A. D. Pierce. After an experiment of six months, he con-
cluded to go back to New York, and there he worked for a year on a farm. His
next engagement was with the Remington Arms Company at Ilion, N. Y. ; then
he worked for a cabinet maker, and after that was in the service of the Reming-
ton Typewriter Company as a foundryman.
In 1907 he came to California, and for a while settled at Visalia, where he
worked for a year on a fruit ranch. He next entered into a partnership with an-
other man. rented a dairy farm and ran it for a year. Then, going into the oil
fields of Coalinga, he bought a four-horse team of draft horses and soon after
went to Taft. Cal, where he teamed, and later went to Fellows and for eight
months teamed for the Santa Fe.
On New Year's Day, 1913, he came to Lanare, having the year previous
bought twenty acres, and ever since he has made this section his home. He has
a fine piece of land yielding nine tons of alfalfa to the acre and as high as six
cuttings a year.
Mr. Eskesen showed his American patriotism by buying Liberty Bonds and
helping on Red Cross and United War Work.
CONRAD O. NILMEIER.— Reared and educated in Fresno County, C.
O. Nilmeier exemplifies the industry and perseverance which make for suc-
cess. Born in Samara, Russia, February 9, 1884, he is a son of H. P. Nilmeier,
who is represented on another page of this history. Conrad O. came to Fresno
with his father in 1892, and received his education in the public schools,
finishing with the high school course. At the age of sixteen, in January, 1900,
he entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railway in the carshops as
car-repairer. He gradually worked his way up, and was in turn car-inspector,
then M. C. B. clerk, later assistant wrecking foreman, and continued with the
company until 1911. That year he entered the employ of the San Joaquin
Eastern Railway, owned by Stone & Webster, as joint inspector, remaining
there for six months.
In 1912, Mr. Nilmeier left railroad work to engage in ranching; and on
March 22nd of that year he bought his present ranch of twenty acres, located
on Blythe Avenue between Church and Jensen, five miles west of Fresno, and
has since devoted his time to viticulture, raising Muscat, Emperor, Malaga
and wine grapes, and meeting with merited success.
The marriage of Mr. Nilmeier, which occurred in Fresno, united him with
Miss Marie Scharton, also a native of Russia, who came here with her
parents when eight years old and was educated in the Fresno schools. Three
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Nilmeier : Edward Oliver ; Roy ;
and Lydia Marie. The family attends the Lutheran Church in Fresno. In
national politics Mr. Nilmeier supports the Democratic party. He can be
counted on for support of all projects for bettering conditions in the Valley.
He is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2595
FRED HORG. — Residing on his twenty-acre vineyard at Johnson and
Olive Avenues, Fresno, is Fred Florg, who was born in Stepnoia, Samara,
Russia. November 9, 1860, the son of Conrad and Margaret (Waller) Horg,
farmers in that country. The father died in 1882 and the mother passed away
in 1892. Fred is the second oldest of the six living children and was reared
to farming. After he was married to Katie Scheidt they followed farming
until 1907, when they sold out and came to California, locating in Fresno,
where he was employed in packing houses, orchard and vineyards until 1918,
when he purchased twenty acres, where the family now reside which he
devotes to raising Muscat and Thompson seedless raisins and peaches. He
has a splendid and well improved place and understands and has had con-
siderable experience in horticulture and viticulture. To Mr. and Mrs. Horg
have been born three children : Fred, Henry and Annie. The family being
members of the Lutheran Church in Fresno. Mr. Horg believes in cooperation
and is a member of the California Peach Growers, Inc.. and the California
Associated Raisin Company.
EUGENE TOMASETTI. — A representative of the influential Swiss and
Americans is Eugene Tomasetti, a dairy farmer, a mile northeast of thr
Burrel station, having leased the H. A. Adams place for five years. Here he
lives with his wife and two children. He puts up about 200 tons of alfalfa and
barley, and keeps 200 cattle, and seventy-five to 100 hogs.
Mr. Tomasetti was born at Cujnasco, Canton Ticino, Switzerland, on
April 1, 1888, the son of Bob Tomasetti, who was a stone cutter, and owned
a small vineyard. He died when Eugene was only fifteen, leaving a widow
and six children. Rosa is now the wife of Domingo Mignola. a dairyman
near Riverdale ; Desolina has become Mrs. Archilli Sasselli, a dairyman on
the neighboring ranch ; owned by Ross Jones ; Elvira resides at Modesto ;
Eugene was the fourth in the order of birth ; Florinda is married and resides
in Switzerland ; and Clementina also lives there, single.
His oldest sister had preceded Eugene to America and was living at
Bakersfield ; and when eighteen left his home, landing at New York, on May
7, 1906, reaching San Francisco six days later. He next went to Bakersfield,
and thence to San Jose, and near there he took his first job on a dairy ranch.
Then he came to Rolinda and for two or three years worked on the dairy
ranch there. After that he returned to San Jose and then went to Burrel.
While at San Jose, Mr. Tomasetti was married in 1913 to Miss Gropetti
Ersilia after which he worked on a dairy farm near by for three years, next
coming to Burrel to take the present lease.
Two children have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Tomasetti : Rena
and Louis. Mr. Tomasetti's mother is still living in Switzerland.
PHILIP GILARDONI. — A progressive and prosperous farmer and
dairyman, Philip Gilardoni lives on a 160-acre dairy farm which is a part of
the Burrel estate. He operates this place in partnership with Gildo Acquis-
tapace, the firm name being, Gilardino and Acquistapace. They keep and
milk a herd of seventy-five high-grade Holstein cows. The family and the
partner, reside on the ranch, which is well provided with up-to-date house,
dairy barn and milk house. Philip Gilardoni was born in the village of Bel-
lagio, in the Province of Como, in view of beautiful Lake Como, as was also
his wife, in the picturesque state of Lombardi, Italy, on November 22, 1885,
being the seventh child of Baptiste and Mary Angelotte Gilardoni, there
being eleven children in the family in all. The parents were farmers in
moderate circumstances in Italy. The father died in 1917 aged seventy-two
and the mother, September 18, 1918, aged sixty-five. By taking advantage of
the night schools, Philip obtained a very fair education, and at eleven went
to learn the plasterer's trade, which in Italy includes stone and brick masonry,
building chimneys, electrical wiring, etc. He continued at this trade until he
became twenty, and then entered upon his course of three years military
2596 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
training under the Italian Government. He was assigned to the training
camp at Milan, and owing to his splendid physical stature, was assigned to
the "Alpine" service. At twenty-three years of age he resolved to come to
America, and landed at Galveston, Texas, in December, 1908. He
came straight through from Galveston to California by rail, and
secured work on a dairy farm at Napa where he worked steadily for
three years. He then went to San Francisco where he engaged in doing
janitor work. It was while living in San Francisco, that he was married June
26. 1911, to Miss Santina Gondola, who had journeyed from her home in the
same state of Italy, to join her sister, Mrs. Romilda Delfonte, at Soledad,
Monterey County, Cal. Mrs. Gilardoni's father was Francisco Gondola, who
was a flour miller by trade, and went to South America when she was a mere
child, and was never heard from — in all probability having died there. Her
mother kept the family together and brought them up at Gravadona, Italy.
Mrs. Gilardoni had one brother, Basolio Gondola, who went to Buenos Ayres,
S. A., when eighteen years old; he married there and became the proprietor
of a woolen mill ; but died their and left a widow and four children. Mrs.
Gilardoni's mother's maiden name was Carolina Rainiri.
Mr. and Mrs. Gilardoni have one child, Italic Sometime after marriage,
Mr. and Mrs. Gilardoni came' to Fresno County. At first they rented a farm
near Lanare ; they came to the present place in September, 1918, and through
hard work have come to be regarded as being among the most prosperous
people engaged in dairying in the Burrel section of Fresno County. They
are consistent members of the Catholic Church. They take an active part in
the Red Cross and take an interest and pride in patriotic and community
service.
HENRY ENGELMANN.— One of the successful and progressive ranch-
ers of the Barstow district, Henry Engelmann has developed two separate ranches
in the county and brought them to a state of productiveness from the raw land,
thus helping in the growth and increased wealth of this part of California. He
is a native of Wolzgaja, Samara, Russia, born on the Volga River, September
24, 1871, a son of Christof and Mary Catherine (Small) Engelmann, both now
deceased, the father in 1880, aged sixty-six years, and the mother in 1872, aged
only twenty-nine.
Henry was the youngest of the family and was brought up on the home
farm in Russia, where the family remained together after the mother's death.
He was educated in the public schools and from fifteen years on, followed farm
work, the only interruption being his term of service in the Russian Army, in the
regular artillery; during this interval he learned the shoe and harness maker's
trade, and was foreman in the shop.
In 1900 the young emigrant came to California and settled in Fresno. Here
he found employment at teaming, which work he followed for seven years. In
1907 he bought a forty-acre ranch at Rolinda, on White's Bridge road, and set
about improving it, putting in vineyard and alfalfa. This property he operated
eight years, when he sold it and removed to Fresno. In 1918 he bought his pres-
'ent ranch of forty acres in the Barstow district, about fourteen miles northwest
of Fresno; he found here a fine soil to work with, and put in wells and a pump-
ing plant on the property, which is in Thompson seedless grapes, alfalfa, and
grain--a fine ranch and speaking well for the character of its owner.
The marriage of Mr. Engelmann occurred in Russia in 1897, and united him
with Miss Mary Elizabeth Engelmann, also born there, a daughter of Conrad
Engelmann, farmer of that country. Seven children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Engelmann : Katie ; Henry, Jr. ; Elizabeth ; Annie ; Jacob ; Philip, and
George, all at home with their parents. The family attend the Lutheran Church
of Fresno, of which organization Mr. Engelmann is ex-secretary. He is a mem-
ber of the California Associated Raisin Company, and of the California Peach
Growers, Inc.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2597
JOHN PETER HUBER.— Though not a native of this country, J. P.
Huber has done his share toward the agricultural development of Fresno
County, and has shown his appreciation of the opportunities to be found
here. Born on October 2, 1878, in Zaucmora. Samara. Russia, he is a son of
Henry and Louise (Helmuth) Huber. The father was a farmer in the old
country and brought his wife and five children to Winnipeg, Canada, in 1898;
and in 1900 located in Fresno. In about 1903 he bought a twenty-acre ranch
and set it to orchard and vineyard and still resides there, together with his
good wife. Five children born to them are living: lohn Peter, the subject
ofthis biography; Chris; Sophia, who is Mrs. Fleming of Biola ; Anna Kath-
erine, who is Mrs. Schneider of Empire ; and Lizzie, at home.
John Peter Huber was reared on the home farm in Russia and educated
in the public schools there. Arriving in Winnipeg in 1898, he worked there
until coming to Fresno, in 1900, with his parents. Here for the first three
years he found employment in the Craycroft brickyards. Then with his
father he bought forty acres of land, or twenty acres each, and set about im-
proving it to a ranch ; he developed his holding to Thompson seedless vine-
yard and peach orchards and operated it until 1914, when he sold out and
bought his present ranch of forty acres on Shields Avenue in the Empire
district, and this he has improved from an alfalfa ranch to Thompson seed-
less vines, twenty-six acres; four acres in apricot orchard, five acres in Mal-
agas, and the balance to alfalfa ; the land is under irrigation ditches and he
has also installed a pumping-plant. He erected a modern bungalow residence
in 1914. He has made the most of his opportunities in this growing section
of the state, and regards California, and Fresno County particularly, as afford-
ing the best opportunities for advancement and prosperity.
Mr. Huber was married on May 15, 1900, in Winnipeg, Canada, to Anna
Marie Huber, also a native of Samara, Russia, a daughter of John C. Huber,
who brought his family to Winnipeg and resided there until his death. Five
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. John Peter Huber: Mary; Mollie ;
Edward P. ; Elsie Louisa ; and Hilda Dora, all educated in the public schools
and at home with their parents. The family attends the Cross Congregational
Lutheran Church in Fresno. Mr. Huber has been a member and stockholder
in the California Associated Raisin Company from its organization, and is a
firm believer in cooperation among the ranchers. In politics he is a Republican.
SWISS SUPPLY COMPANY. — The enterprising mercantile company
bearing the above caption, located at Riverdale, Cal., is owned by Delmo B.
and Guy J. Badasci, under whose efficient management the business is meet-
ing with deserved success.
The Badasci brothers are natives of the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.
Delmo B. was born November 21, 1888, and Guy J. first saw the light of day
in that canton on January 15, 1890. Although of foreign birth, the brothers
are in every other way strongly American, not only by adoption and naturali-
zation but from the fact that their father, James Badasci, was an early
pioneer Californian gold miner, who, after having secured a competency,
returned to his native land to claim for his bride Candida Muscio, to whom he
was married in Switzerland. About the year 1892, the father returned to
California, leaving his wife and children behind in Switzerland. The mother
died m Switzerland in 1904, at the age of forty-five and soon thereafter
Delmo B. and Guy J. joined their father in California, living at first in San
Luis Obispo County, and later removed to Hanford in Kings County, where
they operated a fruit ranch and where the father died at an age of sixty-seven
years.
The Badasci brothers attended the public schools of San Luis Obispo
and Kings counties and at an early age showed a strong tendency toward
mercantile pursuits. In 1913, the brothers started in business at Riverdale,
under the caption of the Swiss Supply Company. They conduct a general
2598 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
merchandise store, making a specialty of carrying in stock those goods that
are in demand by dairymen, as this section of the county is largely devoted
to dairying, and the town of Riverdale is the home of two of the large
creameries of the county, handling the milk from about 10,000 cows.
Both of the Badasci brothers are men of excellent business ability and
unquestioned integrity, and have by close attention to business and courteous
service, built up a very satisfactory and growing business. At present the
store occupies the building vacated by the First National Bank of Riverdale.
Delmo B. Badasci was united in marriage with Miss Ida Catherine
Ferrasci. a daughter of Louis Ferrasci the successful dairyman of Cambria,
San Luis Obispo County; they have one child, Velma. Guy J. Badasci was
joined in holy wedlock with Miss Pearl Cerutti of Riverdale, Cal., and also
has one child, a daughter, Evelyn. The Badasci families are leaders in both
the business and social circles of Riverdale and enthusiastically support
every movement that has as its aim the upbuilding of the welfare of the com-
munity.
A. S. SERIMIAN. — An enterprising ranchman, who -is a general fruit
grower, is A. S. Serimian, who shares his prosperity with his industrious wife
and children. He was born in Armenia in 1872, and grew up in his native
country where his father had a small vineyard. In Armenia, too, he was
married, when his bride was Mary Mardarosian ; and there his four children,
Martin, Leon, Manuel and Sarkis, were born. All were brought up in the
Gregorian or Greek Church, and each received the best educational begin-
nings.
In 1908 Mr. Serimian and family came to America, and soon settled at
Selma. At first he bought seventeen acres; then, in 1914, he added three more,
and finally, in December, 1917, he purchased forty acres. Now he has a splen-
did tract of ninety acres five miles east of Selma. Fifteen acres of this attrac-
tive ranch are devoted to Thompson seedless grapes, while fifty-five acres are
given to Muscats, each group of vines being set out in the most approved
fashion. He has also ten acres of peaches, two acres of apricots and an acre
of prunes.
In their comfortable residence Mr. and Mrs. Serimian and their family
dispense American hospitality enriched by some of the most delightful of
Armenian social customs.
Those who are familiar with the traditions of the Armenians in America
know that they rapidly assimilate themselves with their new environment and
thus early become most loyal American citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Serimian are
no exceptions to the rule, and are among the first to lend a hand in all local
endeavor, if by so lending they may raise the moral tone of the community.
JOHN AUGUST SWANSON.— A well-known California viticulturist,
whose political affiliation as a member of the Progressive Republican party
rather naturally indicates his generally progressive spirit, is John A. Swanson,
one of the most efficient members of the California Peach Growers' Inc., and
the California Associated Raisin Company, and an energetic advocate of the
most up-to-date methods for the farmer of today. He was born at Halland,
Sweden, on July 26, 1879, the son of Swen Larson, a farmer still active there!
His mother was Johanna Hakenson before her marriage, and she died there
in 1890. Three children of this worthy couple are still living — a sister, who
is at the old home, and a brother, Carl" Isaac, who is with the subject of this
review.
John was reared on a farm and attended the Swedish public schools, and
for a while he remained home while he followed farming. In his twelfth vear
he began to carry mail for the farmers, and at fourteen he entered the service
of the Government as a sub-mail carrier.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2599
He had studied English at his old home, so that it was possible for him,
when he reached Ludlow, Pa., in 1903, to make himself easily understood.
He was first employed in a factory, and then he worked in a store ; after that
he went into lumbering and was also employed on a pipe line, and then he
became a traveling salesman in Pennsylvania and New York. In 1912 Mr.
Swanson came to California and located in Fresno ; and soon he was employed
at Vinland in a vineyard and orchard. Then he entered the service of Mr.
Roeding, in No. 1 vineyard, and after that he returned to Vinland. In
January, 1913, he leased a vineyard and orchard of forty acres in A^inland.
Now he conducts twenty acres of it, and he has leased other vineyards and
orchards. In 1917 he bought forty acres on Madera Avenue in Vinland and
moved onto it ; and now he still runs twenty acres. He has set out fifteen
acres in Thompson seedless grapes and five acres in a peach orchard. His
brother, already referred to, operates the other twenty, which is in peaches,
grapes and alfalfa.
Mr. Swanson is a member both of the Swedish Lutheran Church at Vin-
land and its board of trustees ; and he also belongs to Ludlow Lodge No. 1026
Pennsylvania, of the Odd Fellows.
ELIAS GAMMEL. — Combining business acumen with unremitting in-
dustry, Elias Gammel has met with unusual success in his adopted land, and has
won the respect of his fellow citizens as well. Transplanted into different sur-
roundings from those of his birth, his courage was never daunted and he perse-
vered until fortune favored him. Born on October 26, 1883, in Saratof, Samara,
Russia, he is the son of Henry and Katherina (Kerber) Gammel, the father a
grain and stock-farmer of that country; he died in 1891, and his good wife fol-
lowed him just one month later. The}' were the parents of three children, two of
whom are now living, Elias being the eldest and only one of the familv in Cal-
ifornia.
Left an orphan early in life, Elias lived with an uncle, Mike Gammel. on a
farm and attended the public schools. When fifteen years old he was apprenticed
as a moulder in the foundry at Mariupel, where he completed his trade and
worked at it until 1905. That year saw his marriage, to Miss Marie Veirt, also
born in Saratof, and after this event he farmed for two years.
In 1907, Mr. Gammel came to Fresno, and worked on ranches for eighteen
months. Then in 1909, he bought his ranch of twenty acres on Shields Avenue,
and raised alfalfa and operated a dairy for two years. He then plowed the land
and set out fifteen acres to Thompson seedless, the balance to alfalfa. In 1916
he bought twenty acres, one-eighth of a mile northeast, for $3,000, set it to
Thompson vines, and in 1918 sold the property for $8,500. That same year Mr.
Gammel bought twenty acres in the Biola district, in Thompson seedless vines,
and disposed of it in record time. He then bought twenty acres in alfalfa in the
same district and will set out Thompson seedless vines on this ranch also. As
can readily be seen, he has developed considerable land in the county, and his
judgment has proven excellent. He has studied English and become well-posted
on affairs in his adopted country, and is a liberal and enterprising man.
Mr. and Mrs. Gammel have four children: Henry; Chris; Freda; and Ed-
ward. The family attends the Congregational Lutheran Church of Fresno. Mr.
Gammel is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company. In politics
he is a Republican.
CHARLES GUGLIELMONI. — Among those sturdy California pioneers
who have started life under discouragingly adverse circumstances, and who
have yet in time won out, is Charles Guglielmoni, who was born in the Canton
Ticino, Switzerland, on February 3, 1877, the son of a successful contractor
and bridge builder, who went to Australia and made a small fortune mining
for gold, and on his return married Mary Agatha Calanchini, by whom he
had "three children. When he died, Charles was of tender years; and although
his mother struggled nobly to keep the family together, it became necessary
2600 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
for the boy, then a lad of only nine, to leave home and help the family by
his meager wages.
An older brother. Martino; who died at Crescent City, California, when
he was only twenty-three, was already established here, and he wrote
home and encouraged the ambitious youth to come out and join him. Conse-
quently, in the summer of 1891, he sailed from Havre and landed at New
York, and finally reached California, arriving at Santa Rosa in October, 1891.
He obtained work on a dairy farm ; and as he was both willing and apt. he
became proficient in every department of dairying, from the care of cows and
calves to the manufacture of butter and cheese.
In 1903, with accumulated experience of the most practical kind, Mr.
Guglielmoni moved to Fresno County and here married Miss Mary Baker, a
native of Idaho, who came with her parents to Fresno, when only two years
old. Together they have shared both joy and sorrow; for more than a year
ago Death claimed one of their children. They still have five — Hildah, Harry,
Lloyd, Earl and Mildred.
Mr. Guglielmoni has bought and owns ninety acres in Section 27, about
two miles north of Burrel. He has a comfortable dwelling, large dairy and
horse barns, and there is a cheese factory on his place. Wells furnish ample
water, a good pumping plant distributes it properly, and a substantial tank
house holds a good supply. He is looked up to as an industrious, enterprising
and successful man, and his wife and family enjoy the respect and goodwill of
their neighbors.
LOUIS PUCCINELLL— One of the oldest residents of Firebaugh, a
successful business man and public official who has the esteem and confi-
dence of everyone is Louis Puccinelli, who was born at Mantuolo, Lucca,
Italy, October 14, 1864. He received a good education in the local schools, at
the same time aiding his parents on the farm. When twenty years old. as
was the custom, he entered the Italian Army as a member of the
Fourteenth Artillery Regiment, serving the required period of three years
receiving his honorable discharge with the rank of Second Sergeant. In 1888
he came to San Francisco, where for two years he was employed in a hotel.
Having saved his money, he engaged in the hotel business on his own account
as proprietor of the El Capitan Hotel in San Francisco until 1897, then selling
out he came to Firebaugh. He immediately purchased his present corner
and built a small hotel, naming it the El Capitan Hotel, in which he was so
successful that he outgrew his quarters and he built his present New El
Capitan Hotel, a two-story, modern building the largest and most attractive
in Firebaugh. He also owns other valuable property in the town among
them two residences and a rooming house. He also became interested in
viticulture some years ago, purchasing twenty acres of raw land at Dos Palos
which he has improved to vineyard. He was appointed by Chris Jorgensen
as road overseer in the first district about thirteen years ago, and since then
has filled the office ably, his district being from Mendota to Dos Palos. In
San Francisco he married Miss Henrietta Tofanelli also a native of Lucca
who came to San Francisco about 1893.
The}' have five children : Henry is an engineer and served in the United
States Army having just been discharged and is back home; Angelo, a gradu-
ate of Heald's Business College, San Francisco, is bookkeeper for the Canal
Company at Los Banos ; Emma is Mrs. Masini, residing in Firebaugh ; Louise
is a graduate of Butler School of Commerce, San Francisco, now filling the
responsible position of bookkeeper for Miller & Lux at Firebaugh. and the
youngest is Bruna. Interested in having good schools. Mr. Puccinelli has
served as school trustee. Fraternally he is a charter member of Firebaugh
Lodge, No. 335, Knights of Pythias. He is a member of the local lodge of
Druids of which he has been treasurer for the past fourteen years ; and is a
member of the D. O. K. lodge. He is a Republican in national politics.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2601
C. IRVIN HUSS. — An oil man, widely known throughout the Coalinga
field as an experienced driller is C. Irvin Huss, who was born at Genoa, near
Toledo, Ohio, in the memorable Centennial year of American history. His father
was Noah B. Huss, a native of Sandusky County, Ohio, who came of an old
"York State" family and served in the Civil War in the Seventy-second Ohio
Volunteer Infantry. He was married in Sandusky County to Rosanna George,
who was born in the neighborhood. In the late sixties Mr. and Mrs. Huss re-
moved to Ottawa County and settled on a farm in the Black Swamp near Genoa,
about fifteen miles from Toledo, and there they improved a farm. They also
purchased another one in Lucas County about seven miles from Toledo. There,
in 1900, the wife and mother died. In less than two years after he had purchased
the land, oil was struck upon his place, and the farm has been producing oil
ever since. Noah B. Huss is still living and enjoying the fruits of his labors.
Of the nine children, C. Irvin is the fourth youngest. He was reared on the
home farm, and educated in the local public schools. When eighteen years old, in
partnership with his brother he purchased some land and engaged in getting out
square timbers for the market, taking about three years to clear it up. In Jan-
uary, 1899, he was married in Toledo to Miss Mamie Seeger, who was born
in Lucas County, Ohio, near the city of Toledo, the daughter of Fred Seeger, one
of the early settlers of Lucas County, now deceased, although his wife is still
living. After their marriage, Mr. Huss engaged in farming for a year, and then
he began work in the oil business.
At first he was employed in the Oregon field in Lucas County, and there he
commenced at the lower rung of the ladder. Then he engaged in contract team-
ing and afterwards was pumper and then tool dresser. In September, 1908. he
moved to Coalinga, Cal., and spent the first summer drilling in the Devil's Den.
When he returned to town he worked for Borchester for a year, and in March,
1911, he began with the Standard Oil Company on Section 28, and two years
later he became driller — a place of responsibility which he has since filled very
acceptably.
Mr. and Mrs. Huss have three children — Elinor, Basil and George.
Fraternally, Mr. Huss is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees.
ALEXANDER P. SCHWABENLAND.— A resident of Fresno County
for the past twenty-one years, A. P. Schwabenland has held a position of
responsibility for the entire time of his residence here, and at the same time
has developed a vineyard successfully, which speaks much for the character
and energy of the man. He is a native of Russia, born in Straub, January 7,
1878, a son of Peter and Helen (Winter) Schwabenland. both still living
there and engaged in farming. Of their thirteen children, nine are now alive,
and A. P. is the second oldest in the family and with his sister, Annie
Rudolph, are the only ones in America. He was raised on the home farm and
received his schooling in the public schools of his native place. His marriage
there, May 13, 1897, united him with Miss Katie Roth, also born there, a
daughter of Conrad and Susie (Lehman) Roth, farmer folk, and still residing
at the old home, the parents of five children, of whom Mrs. Schwabenland is
the first, in order of birth, and she was born March 30, 1878. She has two
brothers in Fresno County, Henry and Dana Roth.
In November, 1898, Mr. and Mrs. Schwabenland came to Fresno, and
here Mr. Schwabenland found employment with the Fresno Brewing Com-
pany. He assisted in the building of the brewery and later became foreman
of the cellars and cold storage department holding that position from 1900
until November, 1918, when he resigned to give his time to his ranch. In
1908 he bought twenty acres in American Colony, but sold out at an advance
three months later. He built three residences in Fresno. The first was in the
200 block on E Street ; the second was in the 400 block on F Street, and the
third was in the Hazelwood addition. He sold each in turn and in 1915 he
bought his ranch, twenty acres on Shaw Avenue, in Vinland Colony, estab-
2602 HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
lished his residence there and developed his property to Thompson seedless
vineyards and a peach orchard.
Five children blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Schwabenland : Roy
Alex, born in Russia, assisted his father on the home ranch, he enlisted June
5, 1917, in the Engineers of United States Army; Emma, deceased; Elsie,
deceased ; Pauline Theresa ; and Frieda Helen. The family are of the Luth-
eran faith. Mr. Schwabenland is a member and stockholder in the California
Peach Growers, Inc., and a member of the California Associated Raisin Com-
pany. In politics he supports the Democrat party. He is a member of the
Fresno Aerie, No. 39, F. O. E. His success is deserved and achieved through
his years of steady application and sturdy habits of life.
EMANUEL PORTA. — Born at Campo, a town founded A. D., 970, in
the Canton Ticino, Switzerland, on March 4, 1875, Emanuel Porta is the son
of Guisseppi Porta, a coppersmith by trade, a landowner and farmer, who
farmed in summertime and worked at his trade in the winter. His mother
came from the Genazzi family. Her Christian name was Elizabeth, and she
died in 1904, seventy-eight years old. The father lived to be eighty-four. They
had thirteen children, six boys and seven girls ; and seven are still' living.
Brought up in the Catholic faith, Emanuel completed the grammar school
grades and obtained his diploma at fourteen. His eldest brother, Jim, had
come to California in 1871, but returned to Switzerland in 1896, after the
death of his father, whose executor he was; and he still lives there. His
letters from California interested Emanuel, and the lad was seized with a
desire to come out to the Pacific.
He left home on February 17, 1892, sailing from Havre, France. He
landed in New York and soon after came West to San Francisco, where
he arrived on March 7, 1892. His brother met him in San Francisco and went
with him to Ignacio, Marin County, where he took a job on a dairy farm and
continued to work for wages until September, 1905, when he came to what is
now Riverdale.
For a year he ran the place of Louis Gobby on shares, but was drowned
out in the overflow, and then he worked for wages for two years for Mr.
Gobby. Then he rented S. Zanolini's ranch of 189 acres, buying the cows and
paying cash rent. Then October 1, 1912 he bought this place.
In 1915 Mr. Porta was married to Miss Louisa Gonzinotti, by whom he
has had two children: Lydia and Mabel. Her father is Edowardo and her
mother Virginia Gonzinotti, long residents of the Canton Ticino, Switzer-
land, and they are both living as farmer folk in Italy. There were six girls
and five boys in the family, of whom seven children are still living; and two
of Mrs. Porta's brothers are Giacondo Gonzinotti and Miradio Gonzinotti, of
the villlage of Mosognio, Switzerland, who compose the firm of Gonzinotti
Bros., well-known farmers and dairymen.
Mr. Porta has been a naturalized American citizen since 1900, when he
was admitted to citizenship at San Rafael by Judge Frank M. Angellotti,
now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California. He is a Republican,
but aims to vote for principles and men of principle. He is a stockholder in
the bank and creamery, and helped to organize both.
THEODORE RATHMANN.— Into whatever portion of the world the
natives of Denmark have chosen to make their adopted homes, there they
have always exemplified in their lives the traits that make for success ; in-
dustry, integrity and thrift.
The subject of this sketch, Theodore Rathmann, the well-known black-
smith of Tranquillity, was born in Brovst. Jylland, Denmark, February 16,
1884, a son of Carl Ludvig and Johanna Marie (Petersen) Rathmann. His
father was a saddler and harness maker by trade, and conducted a shop at
Brovst.
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY 2603
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Rathmann were the parents of six children, five of
whom grew to maturity, the youngest member being Theodore and the only
representative of the family in California. When fourteen years of age
Theodore was apprenticed to a blacksmith for three and one-half years, and
after becoming a journeyman blacksmith, continued to follow his occupation
in Denmark until he came to California.
It was in 1909 that he located in Fresno County where he secured em-
ployment with C. M. Jacobsen, at Rolinda, but remained only a short time
with him, later going to work for Martin Ffald, in the same place, where he
remained six months. Afterwards Mr. Rathmann was employed as a black-
smith for the Lauritzen Implement Company, at Fresno, where he remained
for about one and a half years.
Believing that his business interests would be best served by owning a
shop of his own, Mr. Rathmann determined to establish a blacksmith shop
at Tranquillity, Fresno County, and on January 1, 1912, he opened his new
enterprise. Being a splendid workman, he soon built up a good business,
which began to gradually expand, and in due time he had saved enough
money to purchase the corner lot on which he built his present large shop.
In addition to regular blacksmithing, he operates an auto repairing shop
and has equipped his place with a gas engine and the most modern machinery.
Besides these lines of work he is also a dealer in farming implements.
In Fresno, on December 20, 1913, Theodore Rathmann was united in
marriage with Miss Katarina Nielsen, born near Odense, Fyen, Denmark. Her
parents were Mads and Maren (Jorgensen) Nielsen, the former still living
They were the parents of twelve children, nine of whom are living. Mrs.
Rathmann being the youngest of these. She came to California in 1902, when
about fifteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Rathmann have been blessed with
one child, Robert. They both belong to the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Rath-
mann is a member of Dania No. 5 at Fresno, and is a stockholder of the First
National Bank of Tranquillity.
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