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979.4 

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11427 


GENEALOGY   COLLECTION 


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3  1833  01148  2798 


HISTORY 


STATE    OF    CALIFORNIA 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD 


SANTA    CRUZ,    SAN     BENITO,    MONTEREY    AND     SAN- 
LUIS    OBISPO    COUNTIES 


An    Historical    Story    of    the    State's    Marvelous    Growth    from   its 
Earliest   Settlement   to  the    Present  Time 

BY 

PROF.   J.    M.   GUINN,  A.  M., 

Author   of   A    History    of   Los   Angeles   and   Vicinity,   History   of  Southern    California,    Secretary    and 
Curator  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Southern  California,  Member  of  the  Amer- 
ican Historical  Association,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Containing;  Biographies  of  Well-known  Citizens  of 
the  Past  and  Present 


THE    CHAPMAN    PUBLISHING   CO. 

CHICAGO 
1003 


Copyright,  1902, 


CHAPMAN    PUBLISHING    CO. 


1142742 

PREFACE 


HISTORICAL 

THERE  are  very  few  states  in  the  Union  that  have  a  more  varied  and  a  more  interesting  his- 
tory than  California ;   and  there  are  few  if  any  whose  history  is  so  vaguely  and  so  indefinitely 
known.    This  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  its  colonization  was  effected  by  one  race  and  its 
evolution  as  a  state  by  another. 

In  the  rapid  development  of  the  state  by  the  conquering  race,  the  trials  and  struggles  of  the  first 
colonists  have  been  forgotten.  No  forefathers'  day  keeps  their  memory  green,  and  no  observance 
celebrates  the  anniversary  of  their  landing.  To  many  of  its  people,  the  history  of  California  begins 
with  the  discovery  of  gold,  and  all  behind  that  is  regarded  of  little  importance.  The  race  character- 
istics of  the  two  peoples  who  have  dominated  California  differ  widely ;  and  from  this  divergence 
arises  the  lack  of  sympathetic  unison.  Perhaps  no  better  expression  for  this  difference  can  be  given 
than  is  found  in  popular  bywords  of  each.  The  'Toco  tiempo"  (by  and  by)  of  the  Spaniard  is  sig- 
nificant of  a  people  who  are  willing  to  wait-who  would  rather  defer  till  man  a  n*-tomorrow- 
than  hurry  to-day.  The  "go  ahead"  of  the  American  is  indicative  of  haste,  of  rush,  of  a  strenuous 
struggle  to  overcome  obstacles,   whatever  they  may  be,  in  the  present. 

In  narrating  the  story  of  California,  I  have  endeavored  to  deal  justly  with  the  different  eras  and 
episodes  of  its  history;  to  state  facts ;  to  tell  the  truth  without  favoritism  or  prejudice;  to  g.ve 
credit  where  credit  is  due  and  blame  where  it  is  deserved.  In  the  preparation  of  this  history  I  have 
tried  to  make  it  readable.     I  have  avoided  dull  details  and  have  omitted  cumbrous  statistics. 

The  subject  has  been  presented  by  topic,  observing  so  far  as  possible  the  chronological  order  of 
the  events  In  collecting  material  for  this  work,  I  have  visited  all  the  large  libraries  of  the  state,  have 
consulted  state  and  county  archives,  and  have  scanned  thousands  of  pages  of  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines Where  extracts  have  been  made,  due  credit  has  been  given  in  the  body  of  the  work.  I  have 
received  valuable  assistance  from  librarians,  from  pioneers  of  the  state,  from  editors, and  others.  To 
all  who  have  assisted  me,  I  return  my  sincere  thanks.  J-       ■ 

Los  Angeles,  January  i,  1903. 


II 


PREFACE 


BIOGRAPHICAL 

THE  high  standing  of  these  counties  is  due  not  alone  to  ideal  climate  and  rare  beauty  of 
scenery.  Other  regions  boasting  an  environment  as  attractive,  have  nevertheless  re- 
mained unknown  to  the  great  world  of  commerce  and  of  thought.  When  we  study  the 
progress  made  in  this  section  of  our  country,  especially  during  the  past  two  decades  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  and  the  opening  years  of  the  twentieth  century,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  present  gratifying  condition  is  due  to  the  enterprise  of  public-spirited  citizens.  They  have 
not  only  developed  commercial  possibilities  and  horticultural  resources,  but  they  have  also  main- 
tained a  commendable  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  have  given  to  their  commonwealth  some  of 
its  ablest  statesmen.  The  prosperity  of  the  past  has  been  gratifying;  and,  with  the  building  of 
the  canal  to  connect  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  with  the  increasing  of  railroad  facilities,  with  the 
further  development  of  local  resources,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  twentieth  century 
will  witness  the  most  marvelous  growth  this  region  has  ever  made. 

In  the  compilation  of  this  work  and  the  securing  of  necessary  data,  a  number  of  writers  have 
been  engaged  for  months.  They  have  visited  leading  citizens  and  used  every  endeavor  to  produce 
a  work  accurate  and  trustworthy  in  every  detail.  (  hving  to  the  great  care  exercised,  and  to  the 
fact  that  every  opportunity  was  given  to  those  represented  to  secure  accuracy  in  their  biographies, 
the  publishers  believe  they  are  giving  to  their  readers  a  volume  containing  few  errors  of  conse- 
quence. The  biographies  of  a  number  of  representative  citizens  will  be  missed  from  the  work. 
In  some  instances  this  was  caused  by  their  absence  from  home  when  our  writers  called,  and  in 
some  instances  was  caused  by  a  failure  on  the  part  of  the  men  themselves  to  understand  the 
scope  of  the  work.  The  publishers,  however,  have  done  all  within  their  power  to  make  this 
work   a   representative   one. 

The  value  of  the  data  herein  presented  will  grow  with  the  passing  years.  Posterity  will  pre- 
serve the  volume  with  care,  from  the  fact  that  it  perpetuates  biographical  history  that  otherwise 
would  be  wholly  lost.  In  those  now  far-distant  days  will  be  realized,  to  a  greater  extent  than  at 
the  present  time,  the  truth  of  Macaulay's  statement.  "The  history  oi  a  country  is  best  told  in  the 
lives  of  its  people."  CHAPMAN    PUBLISHING   COMPANY. 

Chicago. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Spanish  Explorations  and  Discoveries 33 

Romance  and  Reality — The  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola — The  Myth  of  Quivera — El  Dorado — 
Sandoval's  Isle  of  the  Amazons — Mutineers  Discover  the  Peninsula  of  Lower  California 
— Origin  of  the  Name  California — Cortes's  Attempts  at  Colonization — Discovery  of  the 
Rio  Colorado — Coronado's  Explorations — Ulloa's  Voyage. 

,-t    Jt    ,* 

CHAPTER  II. 
Alta  or  Nueva  California 37 

Voyage  of  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo — Enters  the  Bay  of  San  Diego  in  Alta  California- 
Discovers  the  Islands  of  San  Salvador  and  Vitoria — The  Bay  of  Smokes  and  Fires — The 
Santa  Barbara  Islands — Reaches  Cape  Mendocino — His  Death  and  Burial  on  the  Island  of 
San  Miguel — Ferrolo  Continues  the  Voyage — Drake,  the  Sea  King  of  Devon — His  Hatred 
of  the  Spaniard — Sails  into  the  South  Sea — Plunders  the  Spanish  Settlements  of  the  South 
Pacific — Vain  Search  for  the  Straits  of  Anian — Refits  His  Ships  in  a  California  Harbor — 
Takes  Possession  of  the  Country  for  the  English  Queen — Sails  Across  the  Pacific  Ocean 
to  Escape  the  Vengeance  of  the  Spaniards — Sebastian  Rodriguez  Cermeni  i  Attempts  a 
Survey  of  the  California  Coast — Loss  of  the  San  Agustin — Sufferings  of  the  Shipwrecked 
Mariners — Sebastian  Viscaino's  Explorations — Makes  No  New  Discoveries — Changes  the 
Names  Given  by  Cabrillo  to  the  Bays  and  Islands — Some  Boom  Literature — Failure  of 
His  Colonization  Scheme — His  Death. 

Jt    .Jt    ,* 

CHAPTER  III. 
Colonization  of  Alta  California 43 


Jesuit  Missions  of  Lower  California — Father  Kino  or  Kuhn's  Explorations — Expulsion  of 
the  Jesuits — Spain's  Decadence — Her  Northwestern  Possessions  Threatened  by  the  Rus- 
sians and  English — The  Franciscans  to  Christianize  and  Colonize  Alta  California — Galvez 
Fits  Out  Two  Expeditions— Their  Safe  Arrival  at  San  Diego— First  Mission  Founded— 
Portola's  Explorations— Fails  to  Find  Monterey  Bay— Discovers  the  Bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco— Return  of  the  Explorers — Portola's  Second  Expedition — Founding  of  San  Carlos 
Mission  and  the  Presidio  of  Monterey. 

•J*    £    Jt 

CHAPTER  IV. 


Aborigines  of  California. 


Inferiority  of  the  California  Indian— No  Great  Tribes— Indians  of  the  San  Gabriel  Valley- 
Hugo  Reid's  Description  of  Their  Government— Religion  and  Customs— Indians  of  the 
Santa  Barbara  Channel— Their  God  Chupu— Northern  Indians— Indian  Myths  and  Tra- 
ditions. 


20  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PAGE 

Franciscan  Missions  of  Alta  California 56 

Founding  of  San  Diego  de  Alcala — San  Carlos  Barromeo — San  Antonio  de  Padua — San 
Gabriel  Arcangel — San  Luis  Obispo — San  Francisco  de  Asis — San  Juan  Capistrano — Santa 
Clara — San  Buenaventura — Santa  Barbara — La  Purisima  Concepcion — Santa  Cruz — La 
Soledad — San  Jose — San  Juan  Bautista — San  Miguel — San  Fernando  del  Rey,  San  Luis 
Rey,  Santa  Ynez — San  Rafael — San  Francisco  Solano — Architecture — General  Plan  of  the 
Missionary  Establishments — Houses  of  the  Neophytes — Their  Uncleanliness. 

J*    J*    jt 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Presidios  of  California 66 

Presidio  in  Colonization— Founding  of  San  Diego— General  Plan  of  the  Presidio— Found- 
ing of  Monterey— Rejoicing  over  the  Event— Hard  Times  at  the  Presidio— Bear  Meat  Diet 
— Two  Hundred  Immigrants  for  the  Presidio — Founding  of  the  Presidio  of  San  Francisco 

— Anza's  Overland  Route  from  Sonora — Quarrel  with  Rivera — Anza's  Return  to  Sonora 

Founding  of  Santa  Barbara— Disappointment  of  Father  Serra— Quarrel  of  the  Captain  with 
the  Missionaries  over  Indian  Laborers — Soldiers'  Dreary  Life  at  the  Presidios. 

Jt    ^t    <£ 

CHAPTER  VII. 


Pueblos 


Pueblo  Plan  of  Colonization— Necessity  for  Agricultural  Colonies— Governor  Filipe  de 
Neve  Selects  Pueblo  Sites— San  Jose  Founded— Named  for  the  Patron  Saint  of  California 
—Area  of  the  Spanish  Pueblo— Government  Supplies  to  Colonists— Founding  of  the 
Pueblo  of  Los  Angeles— Names  of  the  Founders— Probable  Origin  of  the  Name— Sub- 
divisions of  Pueblo  Lands— Lands  Assigned  to  Colonists— Founding  of  Branciforte,  the 
last  Spanish  Pueblo. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Passing  of  Spain's  Domination 


rlusiveness— The   First    Foreign    Ship   in    Monterey    Bay— Vancouver's   Visit— 
Government  Monopoly  of  the  Fur  Trade— American  Smugglers— The  Memorias— Russian 
Aggression— Famine  at  Sitka— Rezanoff's  Visit— A  Love  Affair  and  Its  Tragic   Ending— 
'  Failure  of  the  Russian  Colony  Scheme— The  War  of  Mexican  Independence- 

Governor— California   Loyalists— The  Year   of  Earthquakes— Bouchard 
ns    Monterey— The    Lima  Tallow   Ships— Hard   Times— No   Money  and 
I  Ik-  Friars  Supreme. 


CHAPTER  IX. 



78 


Him  if  the  Revolutionists— Plan  of  Iguala— 

ntces      Hi,     I  mpire-    Downfall    of   Agustin   I.— Rise   of   the    Republic— 
101    Sola    ...1,1     the     Friars— Disloyalty     of   the   Mission 
giance— Arguella,  Governor— Advent  of  Foreign- 
ers—Coming of  the   Hide  Droghers— Indian  Outbreak. 


82 


CONTENTS.  21 

CHAPTER  X. 

PAGE 

First  Decade  of  Mexican  Rule g^ 

Echeandia  Governor— Make  San  Diego  His  Capital— Padres  of  the  Four  Southern  Mis- 
sions Take  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  to  the  Republic— Friars  of  the  Northern  Missions 
Contumacious— Arrest  of  Padre  Sarria— Fxpulsion  of  the  Spaniards— Clandestine  De- 
parture of  Padres  Ripoll  and  Altimira— Exile  of  Padre  Martinez— The  Diputacion— 
Queer  Legislation— The  Mexican  Congress  Attempts  to  Make  California  a  Penal  Colony- 
Liberal  Colonization  Laws— Captain  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  the  Pioneer  of  Overland  Travel, 
Arrives— Is  Arrested— First  White  Man  to  Cross  the  Sierra  Nevadas— Coming  of  the 
Fur  Trappers— The  Pattie  Party— Imprisoned  by  Echeandia— Death  of  the  Elder  Pattie— 
John  Ohio  Pattie's  Bluster— Peg  Leg  Smith — Ewing  Young— The  Solis  Revolution— A 
Bloodless  Battle — Echeandia's  Mission  Secularization  Decree— He  Is  Hated  by  the  Friars 
— Dios  y  Libertad — The   Fitch   Romance. 


CHAPTER   XI. 
Revolutions — The  Hijar  Colonists 93 

Victoria,  Governor — His  Unpopularity — Defeated  by  the  Southern  Revolutionists — Abdi- 
cates and  is  Shipped  out  of  the  Country — Pio  Pico.  Governor — Echeandia,  Governor  of 
Abajenos  (Lowers) — Zamarano  of  the  Arribanos  (Uppers) — Dual  Governors  and  a  No 
Man's  Land — War  Clouds — Los  Angeles  the  Political  Storm  Center — Figueroa  Appointed 
Gefe  Politico — The  Dual  Governors  Surrender — Figueroa  the  Right  Man  in  the  Place — 
Hijar's  Colonization  Scheme — Padres,  the  Promoter — Hijar  to  be  Gefe  Politico — A  Fa- 
mous Ride — A  Cobbler  Heads  a  Revolution — Hijar  and  Padres  Arrested  and  Deported — 
Disastrous   End   of  the   Compania   Cosmopolitana — Death  of  Figueroa. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Missions 96 

Sentiment  vs.  History — The  Friars'  Right  to  the  Mission  Lands  Only  That  of  Occupa- 
tion— Governor  .Borica's  Opinion  of  the  Mission  System — Title  to  the  Mission  Domains — 
Viceroy  Bucarili's  Instructions — Secularization — Decree  of  the  Spanish  Cortes  in  1813 — 
Mission  Land  Monopoly — No  Land  for  Settlers — Secularization  Plans,  Decrees  and  Regla- 
mentos — No  Attempt  to  Educate  the  Neophytes — Destruction  of  Mission  Property, 
Ruthless  Slaughter  of  Cattle — Emancipation  in  Theory  and  in  Practice — Depravity  of  the 
Neophytes — What  Did  Six  Decades  of  Mission  Rule  Accomplish? — What  Became  of  the 
Mission  Estates — The  Passing  of  the  Neophytes. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  Free  and  Sovereign  State  of  Alta  California  . 


Castro,  Gefe  Politico— Nicolas  Gutierrez.  Comandante  and  Political  Chief— Chico.  "Gober- 
nador  Propritario" — Makes  Himself  Unpopular — His  Hatred  of  Foreigners — Makes 
Trouble  Wherever  He  Goes— Shipped  Back  to  Mexico— Gutierrez  Again  Political  Chief- 
Centralism  His  Nemesis— Revolt  of  Castro  and  Alvarado— Gutierrez  Besieged— Surrenders 
and  Leaves  the  Country— Declaration  of  California's  Independence— El  Estado  Libre  y 
Soberano    de    La    Alta    California— Alvarado     Declared     Governor— The    Ship    of    State 


CONTENTS. 


Launched— Encounters  a  Storm— The  South  Opposes  California's  Independence— Los  An- 
geles  Made  a  City  and  the  Capital  of  the  Territory  by  the  Mexican  Congress— The  Capital 
Question  the  Cause  of  Opposition — War  Between  the  North  and  South — Battle  of  San 
Buenaventura — Los  Angeles  Captured — Peace  in  the  Free  State — Carlos  Carrillo,  Gov- 
ernor of  the  South — War  Again — Defeat  of  Carrillo  at  Las  Flores — Peace — Alvarado 
Appointed  Governor  by  the  Supreme  Government— Release  of  Alvarado's  Prisoners  of 
State— Exit   the   Free  State. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Decline  and  Fall  of  Mexican  Domination 


Hijos  del  Pais  in  Power — The  Capital  Question — The  Foreigners  Becoming  a  Menace — 
Graham  Affair — Micheltorena  Appointed  Governor — His  Cholo  Army — Commodore  Jones 
Captures  Monterey — The  Governor  and  the  Commodore  Meet  at  Los  Angeles — Extrava- 
gant Demands  of  Micheltorena — Revolt  Against  Micheltorena  and  His  Army  of  Chicken 
Thieves — Sutter  and  Graham  Join  Forces  with  Micheltorena — The  Picos  Unite  with 
Alvarado  Mid  Castro — Battle  of  Cahuenga — Micheltorena  and  His  Cholos  Deported — Pico, 
Governor — Castro  Rebellious — The  Old  Feud  Between  the  North  and  the  South — Los 
Angeles  the  Capital — Plots  and  Counter-Plots — Pico  Made  Governor  by  President  Herrera 
— Immigration  from  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Municipal  Government — Homes  and  Home  Life  of  the  Californians 114 

I  he  ".Mm  [lustre  ^.yuntamiento,"  or  Municipal  Council — Its  Unlimited  Power,  Queer  Cus- 
toms and  Quaint  Usages— Blue  Laws— How  Office  Sought  the  Man  and  Caught  Him— 
Architecture  of  the  Mission  Age  Not  Aesthetic— Dress  of  the  Better  Class— Undress  of 
the  Neophyte  and  the  Peon— Fashions  That  Changed  but  Once  in  Fifty  Years— FiliaJ 
Ri  pect  -Honor  Thy  Father  and  Mother— Economy  in  Government — When  Men's  Pleas- 
ures and   Vices   Paid  the  Cost  of  Governing— No  Fire  Department— No  Paid  Police— No 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
rial  Expansion  b\   Co   q   i         119 

!ii      Wi        in    Wai      Wore   Slave  Territory   Needed— Hostilities  Begun  in  Texas— Trouble 

1  alifornia — Fremont   at    Monterey— Fremont    and    Castro    Quarrel— Fremont' 

Men    Depart      Arrival  oi   Lieutenant  Gillespie— Follows  Fremont— Fremont's  Re- 

Revoll     Seizure  of  Sonoma— A   Short-Lived  Republic— Commodore 

m\     Retreats    S.  uthward— Meets    Pico's    Advancing 

North'  1  os    Angeles     Stockton  and  Fremont  Invade  the  South— Pico  and 

Vainly    Attempl  People— Pico's   Humane   Proclamation— Flight  of 

1  ■  ;■  ■  Lo      \ngeles— Issues   a   Proclamation— Some    His- 

Pul  I    bed  in  California. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


Revolt  of  the  Californians I25 

Stockton  Returns  to  His  Ship  and  Fremont  Leaves  for  the  North— Captain  Gillespie, 
Comandante,  in  the  South— Attempts  Reforms— Californians  Rebei— The  Americans  Be- 
siege'd  on  Fort  Hill— Juan  Flaca's  Famous  Ride— Battle  of  Chino— Wilson's  Company 
Prisoners— Americans  Agree  to  Evacute  Los  Angeles — Retreat  to  San  Pedro— Cannon 
Thrown  into  the  Bay — Flores  in  Command  of  the  Californians. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Defeat  and  Retreat  of  Mervine's  AIex 129 

Mervine,  in  Command  of  the  Savannah,  Arrives  at  San  Pedro — Landing  of  the  Troops — 
Mervine  and  Gillespie  Unite  Their  Forces— On  to  Los  Angeles— Duvall's  Log  Book— An 
Authentic  Account  of  the  March,  Battle  and  Retreat— Names  of  the  Killed  and  Wounded— 
Burial  of  the  Dead  on  Dead  Man's  Island— Names  of  the  Commanding  Officers— Flores 
the  Last  Gefe  Politico  and  Comandante-General — Jealousy  of  the  Hijos  del  Pais — Hard 
Times  in  the  Old  Pueblo. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
Final  Conquest  of  California 


Affairs  in  the  North— Fremont's  Battalion— Battle  of  Natividad— Bloodless  Battle  of  Santa 
Clara— End  of  the  War  in  the  North— Stockton  at  San  Pedro— Carrillo's  Strategy— A  Re- 
markable Battle — Stockton  Arrives  at  San  Diego — Building  of  a  Fort — Raid  on  the 
Ranchos — The  Flag  Episode — General  Kearny  Arrives  at  Warner's  Pass — Battle  of  San 
Pasqual — Defeat  of  Kearny — Heavy  Loss — Relief  Sent  Him  from  San  Diego — Ereparing 
tor  the  Capture  of  Los  Angeles— The  March— Battle  of  Paso  de  Bartolo— Battle  of  La 
Mesa — Small  Losses— American  Names  of  These  Battles  Misnomers. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Capture  and  Occupation  of  the  Capital 141 

Surrender  of  Los  Angeles — March  of  the  Victors — The  Last  Volley — A  Chilly  Recep- 
tion— A  Famous  Scold — On  the  Plaza — Stockton's  Headquarters — Emory's  Fort — Fre- 
mont's Battalion  at  San  Fernando — The  Flight  of  Flores — Negotiations  with  General  Pico — . 
Treaty  of  Cahuenga — Its  Importance — Fremont's  Battalion  Enters  the  City — Fremont. 
Governor — Quarrel  Between  Kearny  and  Stockton — Kiarny  Departs  for  San  Diego  and 
Stockton's  Men  for  San  Pedro. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Transition  and  Transformation 144 

Colonel  Fremont  in  Command  at  Los  Angeles — The  Mormon  Battalion — Its  Arrival  at 
San  Luis  Rey,  Sent  to  Los  Angeles — General  Kearny  Governor  at  Monterey — Rival 
Governors — Col.  R.  B.  Mason,  Inspector'of  the  Troops  in  California — He  Quarrels  with 
Fremont— Fremont    Challenges    Him— Colonel    Cooke    Made    Commander    of   the    Military 


24  CONTENTS. 

PACE 

District  of  the  Smith— Fremont's  Battalion  Mustered  Out— Fremont  Ordered  to  Report 
Returns  to  the  States  with  Kearny— Placed  Under  Arrest— Court-Martialed 
—Found  Guilty— Pardoned  by  the  President— Rumors  ol  a  Mexican  Invasion— Building 
of  a  Fort— Col.  J.  B.  Stevenson  Commands  in  the  Southern  District— A  Fourth  of  July 
ration— The  Fort  Dedicated  and  Named  Fort  Moore— The  New  York  Volunteers- 
Company  F,  Third  U.  S.  Artillery.  Arrives— The  Mormon  Battalion  Mustered  Out- 
Commodore  Shubrick  and  General  Kearny  Jointly  Issue  a  Proclamation  to  the  People- 
Col.  R.  B.  Mason.  Military  Governor  of  California— A  Policy  of  Conciliation— Varela. 
Agitator  and  Revolutionist,  Makes  Trouble— Overland  Immigration  Under  Mexican  Rule— 
The   First  Train— Dr.   Marsh'?   Meanness— The   Fate  of  the  Donner  Party. 

^     J*     Jt 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Mexican  Laws  and  American  Officials 150 

Richard  A.  Mason.  Commander  of  the  Military  Forces  and  Civil  Governor  of  California — 
Civil  and  Military  Laws — The  First  Trial  by  Jury — Americanizing  the  People — Perverse 
Electors  and  Contumacious  Councilmen — Absolute  Alcaldes — Nash  at  Sonoma  and  Bill 
Blackburn  at  Santa  Cruz — Queer  Decisions — El  Canon  Perdidc  of  Santa  Barbara — Ex- 
ernor  Pio  Pico  Returns — Treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo — Peace  Proclaimed — The 
News  Reaches  California — Country  Acquired  by  the  Treaty — The  Volunteers  Mustered 
Out. 

J*     ■*«     J 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Gold!     Gold!    Gold! 155 

Traditii  ns  of    Early   Gold  Discoveries  in  California — The  First  Authenticated  Discovery — 

Marshall's    Discovery    at    Colomas—  Disputed    Dates   and    Conflicting   Stories   About    the 

Discovi  r:      Sutter's  Account— James  W.  Marshall— His  Story— The  News  Travels  Slowly— 

-lit— The  Rush  Begins— San   Francisco  Deserted— The  Star  and  the 

.111    Suspend     Publication— The    News    Spreads— Sonorian    Migration— Oregonians 

the   States— A   Tea   Caddy   Full   of  Gold  at  the  War  Office, 

Washington— Seeing   Is   Believing— Gold    Hunters   Come   by   Land  and  Sea— The   Pacific 

Mail   Steamship  Company— Magical   Growth  of  San  Francisco— The  Dry  Diggings— Some 

Remarkable    Yields— Forty   Dollars  for  a  Butcher   Knife— Extent  of  the  Gold  Fields. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
a   State 162 

Bennett  Riley,  Governor— Unsatisfactory  Form  of  Government— Semi-Civil  and  Semi-Mil- 
Does    X< 'thing— The    Slave-Holding   Faction    Prevents   Action— Growing 
"  '  Co       ini-11     Constitution  Making— The  .Great  Seal— Election  of 

11  BuTnett,  Governor— Inauguration  of  a  State  Government— The 
tituted  Stati  The  Pro-Slavery  Faction  in  Congress— Op- 
pose thi  1  Defeat  1  the  Obstructionists— California  Admitted  into 
;ne  Unil  ficenl  Procession— California  Full  Grown  at  Birth— 
The  Capital  Qu<  1  Losi  th<  Capital— Vallejo  Wins— Goes  to' Sacramento- 
Question  in  the  Courts— Sacramento  Wins— Capitol  Building 
Begun  in  i860— Completed  in  1869. 


CONTENTS.  25 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

PAGE 

The   Argonauts 169 

Who  First  Called  Them  Argonauts — How  They  Came  and  From  Where  They  Came — 
Extent  of  the  Gold  Fields — Mining  Appliances — Bateas,  Gold  Pans,  Rockers,  Long  Toms, 
Sluices — Useless  Machines  and  Worthless  Inventions — Some  Famous  Gold  Rushes — Gold 
Lake — Gold  Bluffs — Kern  River — Frazer  River — Washoe — Ho  for  Idaho! — Social  Level- 
ing— Capacity  for  Physical  Labor  the  Standard — Independency  and  Honesty  of  the  Argo- 
nauts. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

San  Francisco   175 

The  First  House — A  Famous  Fourth  of  July  Celebration — The  Enterprise  of  Jacob  P.  Leese 
— General  Kearny's  Decree  for  the  Sale  of  Water  Lots — Alcalde  Bartlett  Changes  the 
Name  of  the  Town  from  Yerba  Buena  to  San  Francisco — Hostility  of  the  Star  to  the 
Change — Great  Sale  of  Lots  in  the  City  of  Francisca,  now  Benicia — Its  Boom  Bursts — 
Population  of  San  Francisco  September  4,  1847 — Vocations  of  Its  Inhabitants — Population 
March,  1848 — Vioget's  Survey — O'Farrell's  Survey — Wharves — The  First  School  House— 
The  Gold  Discovery  Depopulates  the  City— Reaction— Rapid  Growth— Description  of  the 
City  in  April,  1850 — Great  Increase  in  Population — How  the  People  Lived  and  Labored — 
Enormous  Rents — High  Priced  Real  Estate — Awful  Streets — Flour  Sacks,  Cooking  Stove 
and  Tobacco' Box  Sidewalk — Ships  for  Houses — The  Six  Great  Fires — The  Boom  of  1853 — 
The  Burst  of  1855— Harry  Meigs— Steady  Growth  of  the  City. 

J*    jt    Jjt 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
Crime,  Criminals  and  Vigilance  Committees 182 


But  Little  Crime  in  California  Under  Spanish  and  Mexican  Rule— The  First  Vigilance 
Committee  of  California— The  United  Defenders  of  Public  Safety— Execution  of  Alispaz 
and  Maria  del  Rosario  Villa — Advent  of  the  Criminal  Element — Criminal  Element  in  the 
Ascendency— Incendiarism,  Theft  and  Murder— The  San  Francisco  Vigilance  Committee 
of  1851 — Hanging  of  Jenkins — A  Case  of  Mistaken  Identity — Burdue  for  Stuart — Arrest, 
Trial  and  Hanging  of  Stuart— Hanging"  of  Whittaker  and  McKenzie— The  Committee 
Adjourns  but  Does  Not  Disband — Its  Work  Approved — Corrupt  Officials — James  King 
of  William  Attacks  Political  Corruption  in  the  Bulletin — Richardson  killed  by  Cora — 
Scathing  Editorials— Murders  and  Thefts— Attempts  to  Silence  King— King  Exposes 
James  P.  Casey's  State's  Prison  Record— Cowardly  Assassination  of  King  by  Casey— 
Organization  of  the  Vigilance  Committee  of  1856—  Fatal  Mistake  of  the  Herald— Casey 
and  Cora  in  the  Hands  of  the  Committee— Death  of  King— Hanging  of  Casey  and  Cora- 
Other  Executions— Law  and  Order  Party— Terry  and  His  Chivalrous  Friends— They  Are 
Glad  to  Subside — Black  List  and  Deportations — The  Augean  Stable  Cleaned — The  Com- 
mittee's Grand  Parade — Vigilance  Committees  in  Los  Angeles — Joaquin  Murrieta  and  His 
Banditti— Tiburcio  Vasquez  and  His  Gang. 

J*     J*     J* 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


Filibusters  and  Filibustering. 


The  Origin  of  Filibustering  in  California— Raousset-Boulbon's   Futile  Schemes 
ecution— William  Walker— His   Career  as  a   Doctor,   Lawyer  and  Journalist— Recruits   Fili- 
busters—Lands  at  La  Paz— His  Infamous  Conduct  in   Lower  California— Failure  of   His 


CONTENTS. 


Schemi  \  Farcical  Trial — Lionized  in  San  Francisco — His  Operations  in  Nicaragua- 
Battles — Decree-  Slavery  in  Nicaragua — Driven  Out  of  Nicaragua — Tries  Again — Is  Cap- 
tured and  Shot — Crabb  and  His  Unfortunate  Expedition — Massacre  of  the  Misguided 
Adventurers — Filibustering   Ends   When   Secession   Begins. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
From  Gold  to  Grain  and  Fruits 199 

Mexican  Farming — But  Little  Fruit  and  Few  Vegetables — Crude  Farming  Implements — 
The  Agricultural  Capabilities  of  California  Underestimated — Wheat  the  Staple  in  Central 
California — Cattle  in  the  South — Gold  in  the  North — Big  Profits  in  Grapes — Orange  Culture 
Begun  in  the  South — Apples,  Peaches,  Pears  and  Plums — The  Sheep  Industry — The  Famine 
Years  of  1863  and  1864  Bring  Disaster  to  the  Cattle  Kings  of  the  South — The  Doom  of 
Their  Dynasty — Improvement  of  Domestic  Animals — Exit  the  Mustang — Agricultural  Col- 


CHAPTER  XXX. 
Civil   War — Loyalty  and  Disloyalty 


State  Division  and  What  Became  of  It — Broderick's  Early  Life — Arrival  in  California- 
Enters  the  Political  Arena — Gwin  and  Broderick — Duel  Between  Terry  and  Broderick- 
Death  of  Broderick — Gwin-Latham  Combination — Firing  on  Fort  Sumter — State  Loyal- 
Treasonable  Utterance — A  Pacific  Republic — Disloyalty  Rampant  in  Southern  California- 
l  in.  hi  Sentiments  Triumphant — Confederate  Sympathizers  Silenced. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Trade,  Travel  and  Transportation 


Spanish  Trade— Fixed  Prices— No  Cornering  the  Market— Mexico's  Methods  of  Trade— 
II.,  MM,  Droghers— Trade— Ocean  Commerce  and  Travel— Overland  Routes— Overland 
Stage  Routes— Inland  Commerce— The  Pony  Express— Stage  Lines— Pack  Trains— Camel 
Caravans— The  Telegraph  and  the  Railroad— Express  Companies. 


Railroads 2Ig 

R     Iroad  Scheme— The  Pacific  Railroad  in  Politics— Northern 
Routes  and  Southern   Rout       in   1   Railroad  in  California— Pacific  Railroad  Rills  in  Con- 
V   Decade  -1    Vgitation   and    No   Road     The  Central   and  Union   Pacific   Railroads- 
Ac'    '"    |S|'-'     Subsidies     The    Southern    Pacific    Railroad    System— Its    Incorporation   and 
Charlei     It-  Growth  and  Development   -The  Santa  Fe  System— Other  Railroads. 


CONTENTS.  27 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


The  Indian  Question. 


The  Spaniards  and  Mexicans  Not  Town  Builders — Francisca.  on  the  Straits  of  Carquinez, 
the  First  American  City — Its  Brilliant  Prospects  and  Dismal  Failure — San  Francisco — Its 
Population  and  Expansion — Los  Angeles,  the  Only  City  in  California  Before  the  Conquest 
— Population  and  Development — Oakland,  an  American  City — Population — Sacramento. 
the  Metropolis  of  the  Mines — San  Jose,  the  Garden  City — Stockton,  the  Entrepot  of  the 
Southern  Alines — San  Diego,  the  Oldest  City — Fresno — Vallejo — Nevada  City — Grass  Val- 
ley—  Eureka — Marysville — Redding — Pasadena— Pomona — San  Bernardino — Riverside. 


229 


Treatment  of  the  Indians  by  Spain  and  Mexico— A  Conquista— Unsanitary  Condition  of  the 
Mission  Villages— The  Mission  Neophyte  and  What  Became  of  Him— Wanton  Outrages  on 
the  Savages— Some  So-Called  Indian  Wars— Extermination  of  the  Aborigines— Indian 
Island  Massacre— The  Mountaineer  Battalion— The  Two  Years'  War— The  Modoc  War. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
Some  Political  History 

Advent  of  the  Chinese— Kindly  Received  at  First— Given  a  Public  Reception— The  "China 
Boys"  Become  Too  Many— Agitation  and  Legislation  Against  Them— Dennis  Kearney 
and  the  Sand  Lot  Agitation— Kearney's  Slogan,  "The  Chinese  Must  Go"— How  Kearney 
Went— The  New  Constitution— A  Mixed  Convention— Opposition  to  the  Constitution— 
The  Constitution  Adopted — Defeat  of  the  Workingmen's  Party — A  New  Treaty  with 
China— Governors  of  California,  Spanish,  Mexican  and  American. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Education  and  Educational  Institution 235 

Public  Schools  in  the  Spanish  Era — Schools  of  the  Mexican  Period — No  Schools  for  the 
Neophytes— Early  American  Schools— First  School  House  in  San  Francisco— The  First 
American  Teacher — The  First  School  Law — A  Grand  School  System — University  of  the 
Pacific— College  of  California— University  of  California— Stanford  University— Normal 
Schools. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
Cities  of  California — Their  Origin  and  Growth 


NDEX. 


A. 

PAGE 

Abbott,  C.  S 573 

Adcock,  J.  A.  G 670 

Albright,    Joseph 546 

Alexander,  Elmer   P 589 

Alexander,  Hon.  J.  K 381 

Allen,   Thomas   F 728 

Alzina,    Enoch 673 

Anderson,  C.  L.,  M.  D 502 

Anderson,  Capt.  Gilbert  L 508 

Anderson,  J.   L 595 

Andresen,  J 3l9 

Andrews,  Perry  M 54S 

Andrews,   Truman 299 

Angell,   F.   A 502 

Anthony,   Hon.    Elihu 667 

Arentz,    Rev.    Theodore 646 

Arguello,   Luis   L 727 

Atteridge,    Arthur 633 

Austin,   F.    Sands 547 

B. 

Baker,  William   A 564 

Baldwin,  Alfred 271 

Baldwin,    Levi   K 679 

Barbree,  J.  M 288 

Barbree,  W.  R 288 

Bardin,    Charles 642 

Bardin,   Henry 647 

Barneberg,    J.  #  W 648 

Barnhardt,   J.    P 727 

Barrett,    Thomas 586 

Bartholomew,    Lewis    L 557 

Bedell,  Alexander 498 

Beebee,   William   D 347 

Beebee,  William  L 347 

Beilby,    Joseph    W 652 

Bennett,    W.    C 558 

Bentley,  William  H 653 

Besse,    John    N 648 

Besse,    Milton 674 

Bias,    William   H 512 

Bierer,    Benjamin    B 597 

Bixby,  A.  William,  M.  D 556 

Black,  W.  W 670 

Blackburn,   Jacob    A 297 

Blackburn,  Judge  William 639 


PAGE 

Blessing    Brothers 722 

Bliss,   Moses   B 698 

Bloom,  Irvin  T 734 

Booth,    A.    R 306 

Bosse,   Henry 556 

Boston,  Joseph 497 

Boysen,  John  J 558 

Bradbury,   Frank   R 554 

Brassell,   Hans   P 552 

Bray,   John   H 563 

Breen,  John 596 

Brendlin,   August 654 

Brewer,   Lyman 548 

Bridgewater,    Cyrus    W 553 

Briggs,  Hon.  H.  W 283 

Brooks,    Benjamin 554 

Brooks,   M.  -H 562 

Brooks,    Truman 369 

Brown,  James  A 492 

Buffington,   J.   Q 562 

Burke,   Mrs.   Mary 653 

Burnett,  J.  K 654 

Burnett,    M.    D 401 

Butler,   George 492 

Butler,   George   R 552 

C. 

Call,    Silas   B 298 

Callihan,  William 568 

Carr,   E.  M 534 

Carr,  Hon.  Jesse  D 265 

Casey,    William 561 

Cass,  James 321 

Chamberlain,  Charles  G 277 

Chaney,   William 726 

Chappell,  Dr.  J.  A 530 

Chappell,  Thomas 605 

Chope,  Mrs.  Nellie  M 526 

Clark,  David  C 681 

Clark,  George  D 531 

Clark,  H.  H.,  M.  D 675 

Clark,    William    W 491 

Clough,    David    M 533 

Cochran,  J.   D 532 

Congdon,  Willis  R„  M.   D....  661 

Cook.     William    A 532 

Cooley,  William  R 545 

29 


PAGE 

Cooper,  William  B 530 

Corey,    Hiram 465 

Corey,  Josiah  P 282 

Costello,    Abraham 564 

Cowles.    Horace    H 682 

Cowles,    Timothy 355 

Cox,  Abraham  P 455 

Cox,   Peter 685 


D. 


Daugherty,    G    A 709 

Davis,    Mrs.    E 456 

Davis,  George  L 459 

Davis,   Hiram  L 621 

DeHart,    William 282 

Demartini,  Paul  B 456 

Dodge,   William  R 433 

Donati,   Samuel 726 

Dool,  William  H 721 

Dooling,  Hon.  M.  T 569 

Doud,  Francis 461 

Driscoll,  Bartholomew  L 646 


Eardley,   B.  A 593 

Eaton,  E.  A 462 

Eaton,  Robert  W 568 

Edgar,    Joseph 467 

Egan,  Judge   Martin 467 

Ehnert,   August 721 

Elberg,   Mark 315 

Elliott,   William  T 700 

Ellis,   Ozro  M 400 

Ely,  William  H 488 

Enright,  Joseph  D 490 

Estabrook,   C.   R 7-'o 

Estudillo,  Jose  V 466 

Esty,  J.  D 488 

Evans,  W.  H 461 


Fagen,  Mrs.  Mary  E.. 

509 

Feliz,  Hon.  F.  P 

275 

Felts,  J.  M 

468 

Fiedler,   John    F 

468 

Field,   Thomas  J 

36l 

INDEX. 


PAGE 

Filipponi.   Dennis 359 

Fletcher,  H.  S 278 

Flint.    R.    G 356 

Flint,    Thomas,    Jr 719 

Foreman,  Solomon  W 337 

Foster.    Jacob 720 

Foster,  Stephen  T 44° 

Fowler,  James  D 363 

Fredson,    A.    H 598 

Freeman,   Frank  W 361 

Fuller,  James  H 676 

G. 

Gagnon,   Michael 5-9 

Galbraith,  Archibald  M.,  M.  D.   274 

Galligan,    Peter    C 73° 

Garcia,   A.    C 7i& 

Gardner.  W.  M 378 

Cause,    Frank   E 377 

Geil,   Samuel   F 551 

Gibson,  Alexander  C 372 

Gilkey,   William  T 37'J 

Gingg,  G.   C 37i 

Gonzales,  Miss  B 370 

Gonzales,  M.  E.,  M.  D 370 

Gordon,  S.  B.,  M.  D 366 

Grant,  Miss  E.   May 600 

Graves,  Thomas 365 

Graves,  Hon.  William 718 

Greene,  Harry  A 272 

Greene,  William  E 717 

Gregg,  Joseph  W 364 

Griswold,  William 309 

Guthrie,  Samuel 362 

H. 

Haight,  N.  H.,  M.  D 393 

Hall,  Hon.  James  A 276 

Hall.   Richard   F 275 

Hamilton,    Robert    E 508 

Handley,   J.    J 393 

Hanson,    S.   H 655 

Hardie,  Angus  M 384 

Harloe,  Capt.  Marcus 289 

Hartman.    Isaiah 645 

Hassett,   Rev.    P 318 

Hatton.    William 603 

Hawkins,  Thomas   S 577 

Hazard,  Robert  J 411 

Hebert,  Cheri  7. 523 

Hebert,   Zephrin 523 

Helgesen,  S.,  M.  D 382 

Hersom,  John    A 383 

Higby,    Hon.   William 717 

Hihn,    Frederick   A 259 

Hildebrant,  Noah 37« 

Hill,   Prof.  Charles  C 277 


PAGE 

Hill,    Hon.   W.   J 736 

Hitchcock,   Benjamin 294 

Hoffmann,    Christian 669 

Hollingsworth.  Thomp-~.ui  L     -  208 

Hollister,  Hon.  John  H 317 

Hollister,  j.   Hubbard 311 

Holohan.  Richard 384 

Houghton,  F.  K 392 

Hoyt,    Hazen 388 

Hudner,  John  L 576 

Hudson,   Mark  A 386 

Hudson,   Hon.   W.   G 387 

Hughes,   Alfred 570 

Hughes,    M 386 

Hunter,   John 385 

Hushbeck,    Lewis 57° 

Hutson,    N 711 

I. 

Iverson,  E.  P 331 

I verson,  John 580 

Iverson,  J.  B 331 

Ivins,    E.    C 673 

J. 

Jack,   R.    E 304 

James,    William   W 397 

Jeff ery,  James 735 

Jenkins.    Miss    Isabelle    M 396 

Jessen   &    Petersen 396 

Johnson,  Hon.   Charles  H 295 

Johnson,   R.   F 712 

Johnson,   W.   G 395 

Jordan,  John 394 

Jordan,    Patrick 394 

Joy,  John  G 267 

Judd.  A.  N 578 

K. 

Kaetzel,  Philip 39S 

Kalar,  J.  D 401 

Kane,   John 510 

Karner,   Zadock 705 

Km.    M.    R 710 

Kellogg,  Frank  F." 316 

Kellogg,  Giles  P 316 

Kelly,   Edward 513 

Kennaugh,    John 513 

Kent,  John  T 300 

Kerns,    Mr-.    Mary 511 

King,  James  1 485 

King,  Thomas  A 685 

K.rk,  Edward  W 402 

Knight,  Benjamin   K 514 

Kuhlitz,    Charles 733 

Kunitz,  Johan  E 651 


Lacy.  C.  F 702 

Lambert,  Capt.  T.  G 402 

Lamborn,  Josiah  W 403 

Landrum,   Mark  L 404 

Lathrop.    R.    P 656 

Lee,  Hon.  Julius 405 

Lee,  Tom 406 

Leese,   David 507 

Leese,  Jacob   P 503 

Leonard,  J.  J.  C 518 

Lewis,  J.  J 406 

Lincoln,  Orlando  J 517 

Lindsay,   Carl   E 707 

Linscott,  John  W 687 

Littlefield,   Edward   E 407 

Loeber,  Henry  F 536 

Long,  Samuel  B 445 

Lorenzen,    Lawrence 519 

Lucas,    Frederick   W 686 

Lull,   George   W 417 

Lynch,    Sedgwick  J 708 

Lynskey,   Walter 688 

M. 

-McCarthy.   Charles   P 706 

McCollum,  Joseph 6S9 

McCurry,  Dr.  J.  M 353 

McDougall,   James   H 284 

McFadden,    Charles 615 

McGowan,   William  J 447 

McGuire,  John  A.,  M.  D 688 

McKinnon,  Duncan 539 

McLean,    Allan 587 

McManus,  L.  M 448 

Mann,   Christopher 454 

Mann,  Ezekiel  J 710 

Mann,   Jackson 701 

Mansfield,  C.  H 453 

Manuel.  A.  A 583 

Margetts,   Charles   U 447 

Martin,  Charles  M 449 

Martin,    Hon.    Edward 604 

Martinelli,   Louis 450 

Mason,   S.   J.,   Sr 610 

Mattison,   Frank 524 

Meadowcroft,  William  H 450 

Meder,  Moses  A 698 

Menke,   J.    H 354 

Merritt,  Hon.  Josiah 289 

Merritt,    Manuel    R 310 

Miller,   Capt.   Charles   F 599 

Monteith,    A 460 

Moreland,   Samuel 391 

Moretti,    Louis 600 

Morgan.   John    W 606 

Morcy,    James 610 


INDEX. 


31 


PAGE 

Muma,  B.  Frank 455 

Murphy,   John   D 702 

Muscio,    Abram 662 

N. 

Nelson,  Albert 728 

Nelson,   Herbert 412 

Nelson,  Henry 408 

Newsom,  Davis  F 443 

Nichols,  Urial  S 611 

Norris,  B.  F 407 

o. 

O'Brien,    William 414 

Oliver,  Joseph   K 413 

Orcutt,    Jacob    H 342 

Ord,    George    M 611 

P. 

Palmer,    Charles    A 734 

Palmer,  George  F 570 

Palmtag,   Christian 430 

Palmtag,  William 584 

Pardee,  Hon.  George 343 

Parker,    W.    E 429 

Parsons,    George    W 428 

Parsons,   Henry   F 616 

Parsons,    Worthington 627 

Paterson,    Alexander 42S 

Patten,   J.    A 414 

Patterson,  Benjamin  F 731 

Patton,  John  W 418 

Payne,   Ernest   M 419 

Peery,  Joseph  W 690 

Pell,  James   A 427 

Pence,    Wallace    M 567 

Perry,    Elliott    D 617 

Peterson,   Peter 691 

Pfister,    Albert 312 

Phillips,  Thomas  E 426 

Phillips,    W.    C 426 

Pickles,  Shelley 424 

Pierce,  B.  B 680 

Pinho,  A.  G 425 

Pope,  Horace  W 615 

Porter,  B.  F 612 

Porter,  Robert 423 

Porter,   Warren    R 696 

Potter,   David   W 424 

Prinz,    Herman    J.    0 420 

Putnam,    R.    W 419 

Q. 

Quick,  M.  W 618 

Quirk,   Michael 535 


R. 

PAGE 

Radcliff,  Hon.  George  G 349 

Rambo,  Samuel  H 658 

Rankin,  J.   E„    M.   D 706 

Redman,   James 622 

Redman,  K.  F 309 

Reed,  Charles   C 354 

Reed,   Charles    H 430 

Renison,  Hon.  Thomas. ....'..  344 

Rianda,   Stephen 618 

Ring,   Joseph    H 735 

Riordan,    Thomas    J 732 

Rist,    Henry   M 732 

Robertson,  Robert 658 

Rodgers,    James    M 487 

Rodrick,    David 542 

Rogers,  Robert  J 536 

Rogge,  Henry  T 579 

Romie,    Charles   T 689 

Roselip,    Albert 305 

Ross,  Hugh,  M.  D 545 

Rowe,    George    W 586 

Rowe,  James  H 525 

Rowe,    Marion    T 520 

Ryan,    John    M 583 

S. 

Sally,   Abraham 739 

Sanborn,    Lucian 334 

Sanborn,  L.   W 334 

Sanborn,  William  A 340 

Sargent,  Bradley  V 725 

Sargent,  J.  P 595 

Sawyer,  E.  A 697 

Scaroni,   Pio 624 

Scott,  J.   B 590 

Scott,  William   T 589 

Sebastian,  R  M 697 

Shackelford,  R.  M 588 

Shelby,  Granville  C 622 

Shipsey,  William 334 

Short,    Cyrus 662 

Simmler,    Hon.    J.    J 281 

Smith,  A.  W 663 

Smith.    Leonard   J 628 

Smyth,   Rev.    B 736 

Spence,  Rudolph  B 664 

Spencer,  W.  H 341 

Spurrier,  George  F 668 

Steele,    Edgar   W 7-'9 

Steele,  Hon.  George 338 

Stewart,    Neil    585 

Stocking,  Joseph  C 486 

Stoesser,    Otto 359 

Stoffers,   Henry 624 

Storm,   Christian    F 738 

Storm,    Peter 475 


PAGE 

Stoters,   Rev.   Peter 485 

Sullivan,   William 482 

Swanton,   A.   P 623 

Swanton,  Fred  W 741 

Swenson,  Christian  S 482 

T. 

Tarleton,   Thomas  S 629 

Telleen,    Charles    A 481 

Tennant,   John 730 

Therwachter,   Fred 470 

Thompson,   Christopher 730 

Thompson,   Edward   D 629 

Thompson,  Joseph   A 73S 

Thompson,    John    H 480 

Thompson,    Richard 627 

Thompson,   Uriah  W 633 

Tidball,  Capt.  Thomas  T 375 

Titamore,  Herbert  E 479 

Tognazzini,  A 477 

Tognazzini,    Peter 478 

Tollett,  Henry  C 517 

Tompkins,    Heman 475 

Trafton,  John  E 423 

Trafton,  William  A 287 

Trescony,  Julius  A 501 

Tuttle,   Daniel 472 

Turtle,    Iowa    H 476 

Turtle,    Morris   B 628 

Tuttle,    Owen 593 

Tuttle,  Owen  S 4;-' 

Tynan,   Michael 471 

U. 

Underwood,   A.   R 471 

Underwood,   Charles 470 

V. 

Vanderhurst,   William 293 

Van  Gordon,  Gilbert 319 

Van   Gordon,   Ira 318 

M.-l  >owell  R }.^2 

Villegas,  Y.   P 469 

Vorbeck,   Fritz 469 

W. 

Wagner.   John 641 

Wahrlich,   William  333 

Waite,  H.  U 436 

Warden,  I  lor. km  M 325 

Warden.  William  II 699 

Waters,  James. .  -  49s 

Watkins,  E.  C 

Walters.  P.  K..  M.  D 434 

David 446 

1  homas  J 695 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Weferling,   Frederick   E 440 

Welch.   Richard   R 439 

Werner,    Charles 439 

Wessel,  H 43§ 

Whicher,  John 35° 

White.    Almon 635 

White,    Edward 326 

White,  William   A 641 

Wideman,  Alfred 74° 

Wilder,  Deloss  D 630 


PAGE 

Wiley,   Henry 3°5 

Wilkins.   Peter   V 634 

Willey,   R.   H 322 

Williams.   E.   L 640 

Willits,  L.   V 437 

Wilson,  Singleton  W 320 

Winkle,  Henry 635 

Wood,  Hiram  J 437 

Wood,    William    F 636 

Woods,  Victor  H 740 


PAGE 

Work,   T.   A 600 

Wright,  S.  V 435 

Y. 

York,  Andrew 328 

Younger,  Charles  B 715 

Younglove,  C.  A 446 

Z. 

Zabala.    Pedro 303 


,  ■yk^t^^^v7 


SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 


CHAPTER   1. 


SPANISH    EXPLORATIONS    AND    DISCOVERIES. 


FOR  centuries  there  had  been  a  vague  tra- 
dition of  a  land  lying  somewhere  in  the 
seemingly  limitless  expanse  of  ocean 
stretching  westward  from  the  shores  of  Europe. 
The  poetical  fancy  of  the  Greeks  had  located  in 
it  the  Garden  of  Hesperides.  where  grew  the 
Golden  Apples.  The  myths  and  superstitions  of 
the  middle  ages  had  peopled  it  with  gorgons 
and  demons  and  made  it  the  abode  of  lost  souls. 

When  Columbus  proved  the  existence  of  a 
new  world  beyond  the  Atlantic,  his  discovery 
did  not  altogether  dispel  the  mysteries  and  su- 
perstitions that  for  ages  had  enshrouded  the 
fabled  Atlantis,  the  lost  continent  of  the  Hesperi- 
des. Romance  and  credulity  had  much  to  do 
with  hastening  the  exploration  of  the  newly  dis- 
covered western  world.  Its  interior  might  hold 
wonderful  possibilities  for  wealth,  fame  and  con- 
quest to  the  adventurers  who  should  penetrate 
its  dark  unknown.  The  dimly  told  traditions  of 
the  natives  were  translated  to  fit  the  cupidity  or 
the  credulity  of  adventurers,  and  sometimes 
served  to  promote  enterprises  that  produced  re- 
sults far  different  from  those  originally  intended. 

The  fabled  fountain  of  youth  lured  Ponce 
de  Leon  over  many  a  league  in  the  wilds  of 
Florida;  and  although  he  found  no  spring  spout- 
ing forth  the  elixir  of  life,  he  explored  a  rich 
and  fertile  country,  in  which  the  Spaniards 
planted  the  first  settlement  ever  made  within  the 
territory  now  held  by  the  United  States.  The 
legend  of  El  Dorado,  the  gilded  man  of  the 
golden  lake,  stimulated  adventurers  to  brave  tin- 
horrors  of  the  miasmatic  forests  of  the  Amazon 
and  the  Orinoco;  and  the  search  for  that  gold- 


covered  hombre  hastened,  perhaps,  by  a  hun- 
dred years,  the  exploration  of  the  tropical  re- 
gions of  South  America.  Although  the  myth  of 
Ouivira  that  sent  Coronado  wandering  over  des- 
ert, mountain  and  plain,  far  into  the  interior  of 
North  America,  and  his  quest  for  the  seven  cities 
of  Cibola,  that  a  romancing  monk,  Marcos  de 
Niza,  "led  by  the  Holy  Ghost,"  imagined  he 
saw  in  the  wilds  of  1'imeria,  brought  neither 
wealth  nor  pride  of  conquest  to  that  adventur- 
ous explorer,  yet  these  myths  were  the  indirect 
cause  of  giving  to  the  world  an  early  km  >u 
of  the  vast  regions  to  the  .north  of  Mexico. 

When  Cortes'  lieutenant,  Gonzalo  de  Sando- 
val, gave  his  superior  officer  an  account  of  a 
wonderful  island  ten  days  westward  from  the 
Pacific  coast  of  Mexico,  inhabited  by  women 
only,  and  exceedingly  rich  in  pearls  and  gold, 
although  he  no  doubt  derived  his  story  from 
Montalvo's  romance,  "The  Sergias  of  Esplan- 
dian,"  a  popular  novel  of  that  day.  yet  Cortes 
seems  to  have  given  credence  to  his  subordi- 
nate's tale,  and  kept  in  view  the  conquest  of  the 
island. 

To  the  energy,  the  enterprise  ami  the  genius 
of  llernan  Cortes  i-  due  the  early  exploration 
of  the  northwest  coast  of  North  America.  In 
[522,  eighty-five  years  before  the  English 
planted  their  first  colony  in  America,  and  nearly 
a  century  before  the  landing  i  f  the  Pilgrims  on 
Plymouth  rock,  Cortes  had  established  a  ship- 
yard at  Zacatula,  the  most  northern  port  on  the 
Pacific   •  country  that   he  had  just 

red.      I  lere  he  intended  to  build   si 
explore  the  upper  coast  of  the  South  S 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  Pacific  Ocean  was  then  called),  but  his  good 
fortune,  that  had  hitherto  given  success  to  his 
undertakings,  seemed  to  have  deserted  him.  and 
disaster  followed  disaster.  His  warehouse, 
filled  with  material  for  shipbuilding,  that  with 
great  labor  and  expense  had  been  packed  on 
muleback  from  Vera  Cruz,  took  fire  and  all  was 
destroyed.  It  required  years  to  accumulate  an- 
other supply.  He  finally,  in  1527,  succeeded  in 
launching  four  ships.  Three  of  these  were  taken 
possession  of  by  the  king's  orders  for  service  in 
the  East  Indies.  The  fourth  and  the  smallest 
made  a  short  voyage  up  the  coast.  The  com- 
mander. Maldonado,  returned  with  glowing  re- 
ports of  a  rich  country  he  had  discovered.  1  le 
imagined  he  had  seen  evidence  of  the  existence 
of  gold  and  silver,  but  he  brought  none  with 
him. 

In  1528  Cortes  was  unjustly  deprived  of  the 
government  of  the  country  he  had  conquered. 
His  successor,  Nuno  de  Guzman,  president  of 
the  royal  audiencia,  as  the  new  form  of  gov- 
ernment for  New  Spain  (Mexico)  was  called,  had 
pursued  him  fur  years  with  the  malignity  of  a 
demon.  Cortes  returned  to  Spain  to  defend 
himself  against  the  rancorous  and  malignant 
charges  of  his  enemies.  He  was  received  at 
court  with  a  show  of  high  honors,  but  which  in 
reality  were  hollow  professions  of  friendship 
and  insincere  expressions  of  esteem.  He  was 
rewarded  by  the  bestowal  of  an  empty  title.  He 
was  empowered  to  conquer  and  colonize  coun- 
tries at  his  own  expense,  for  which  he  was  to 
receive  the  twelfth  part  of  the  revenue.  Cortes 
returned  to  Mexico  ami  in  1532  he  had  two  ships 
fitted  out.  which  sailed  from  Acapulco,  in  June 
of  that  year,  up  the  coast  of  Jalisco.  Portions 
of  the  crews  of  each  vessel  mutinied.  The  mu- 
tineers were  put  aboard  of  the  vessel  com- 
manded by  Mazuela  and  the  other  vessels,  com- 
manded by  Hurtardo,  continued  the  voyage  as 
far  as  the  Yaqui  country.  Here,  having  landed 
in  search  of  provisions,  tin-  natives  massacred 
the  commander  and  all  the  crew.  The  crew  of 
the  other  vessel  shared  the  same  fate  lower 
down  the  coast.  The  stranded  vessel  was  after- 
wards plundered  and  dismantled  by  Nuno  de 
(in/man,  who  was  about  as  much  of  a  savage 
the  predatorj  and  murderous  natives. 


In  1533  Cortes,  undismayed  by  his  disasters, 
fitted  out  two  more  ship.s  for  the  exploration 
of  the  northern  coast  of  Mexico.  On  board  one 
of  these  ships,  commanded  by  Bercerra  de  Men- 
doza,  the  crew,  headed  by  the  chief  pilot,  Jim- 
inez,  mutinied.  Mendoza  was  killed  and  all 
who  would  not  join  the  mutineers  were  forced 
to  go  ashore  on  the  coast  of  Jalisco.  The  muti- 
neers, to  escape  punishment  by  the  authorities, 
under  the  command  of  the  pilot.  Fortuno  Jim- 
inez,  sailed  westerly  away  from  the  coast  of 
tlie  main  land.  After  several  days'  sailing  out 
of  sight  of  land,  they  discovered  what  they  sup- 
posed to  be  an  island.  They  landed  at  a  place- 
now  known  as  La  Paz,  Lower  California.  Here 
Jiminez  and  twenty  of  his  confederates  were 
killed  by  the  Indians,  or  their  fellow  mutineers, 
it  is  uncertain  which.  The  survivors  of  the  ill- 
fated  expedition  managed  to  navigate  the  vessel 
back  to  Jalisco,  where  they  reported  the  dis- 
ci lyery  of  an  island  rich  in  gold  and  pearls.  This 
fabrication  doubtlessly  saved  their  necks.  There 
is  no  record  of  their  punishment  for  mutiny. 
Cortes'  other  ship  accomplished  even  less  than 
the  one  captured  by  the  mutineers.  Grixalvo, 
the  commander  of  this  vessel,  discovered  a  des- 
olate island,  forty  leagues  south  of  Cape  San 
Lucas,  which  he  named  Santo  Tomas.  But  the 
discovery  that  should  immortalize  Grixalvo,  and 
place  him  in  the  category  with  the  romancing 
Monk,  de  Xiza  and  Sandoval  of  the  Amazonian 
isle,  was  the  seeing  of  a  merman.  It  swam  about 
about  the  ship  for  a  long  time,  playing  antics 
like  a  monkey  for  the  amusement  of  the  sailors, 
washing  its  face  with  its  hands,  combing  its  hair 
with  its  fingers:  at  last,  frightened  by  a  sea 
bird,  it  disappeared. 

Cortes,  having  heard  of  Jiminez's  discovery, 
and  possibly  believing  it  to  be  Sandoval's  isle 
of  tin-  Amazons,  rich  with  gold  ami  pearls,  set 
about  building  more  ships  for  exploration  and 
for  the  colonization  of  the  island.  He  ordered 
the  building  of  three  ships  at  Tehauntepec.  The 
royal  audencia  having  failed  to  give  him  any 
redress  or  protection  against  his  enemy.  Nuno 
de  Guzman,  he  determined  to  punish  him  him- 
self. Collecting  a  considerable  force  of  cava- 
liers and  soldiers,  he  marched  to  Chiametla. 
There  he  found  his  vessel.  La  Concepcion,  lying 


1142742 

HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


on  her  beam  ends,  a  wreck,  ami  plundered  of 
everything  of  value.  He  failed  to  find  Guzman. 
that  worthy  having  taken  a  hasty  departure  be- 
fore his  arrival.  His  ships  having  conic  up 
from  Tehauntepec,  he  embarked  as  many  sol- 
diers and  settlers  as  his  vessels  would  carry,  and 
sailed  away  for  Jiminez's  island.  May  3,  1535, 
he  landed  at  the  port  where  Jiminez  and  his  fel- 
low mutineers  were  killed,  which  he  named 
Santa  Cruz.  The  colonists  were  landed  on  the 
supposed  island  and  the  ships  were  sent  back 
to  Chiametla  for  the  remainder  of  the  settlers. 
His  usual  ill  luck  followed  him.  The  vessels 
became  separated  on  the  gulf  in  a  storm  and 
the  smaller  of  the  three  returned  to  Santa  Cruz. 
Embarking  in  it,  Cortes  set  sail  to  find  his  miss- 
ing ships.  He  found  them  at  the  port  of  Guaya- 
bal,  one  loaded  with  provisions,  the  other  dis- 
mantled and  run  ashore.  Its  sailors  had  de- 
serted and  those  of  the  other  ship  were  aboul 
to  follow.  Cortes  stopped  this,  took  command 
of  the  vessels  and  had  them  repaired.  When  the 
repairs  were  completed  he  set  sail  for  his  colony. 
But  misfortune  followed  him.  His  chief  pile  it 
was  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  spar  when  scarce 
out  of  sight  of  land.  Cortes  took  command  of 
the  vessels  himself.  Then  the  ships  encountered 
a  terrific  storm  that  threatened  their  destruc- 
tion. Finally  they  reached  their  destination, 
Santa  Cruz.  There  again  misfortune  awaited 
him.  The  colonists  could  obtain  no  sustenance 
from  the  barren  soil  of  the  desolate  island. 
Their  provisions  exhausted,  some  of  them  died 
of  starvation  and  the  others  killed  themselves 
by  over-eating  when  relief  came. 

Cortes,  finding  the  interior  of  the  supposed 
island  as  desolate  and  forbidding  as  the  coast, 
and  the  native  inhabitants  degraded  and  brutal 
savages,  without  houses  or  clothing,  living  on 
vermin,  insects  and  the  scant  products  of  the 
sterile  land,  determined  to  abandon  his  coloniza- 
tion scheme.  Gathering  together  the  wretched 
survivors  of  his  colony,  he  embarked  them  on 
his  ships  and  in  the  early  part  of  1537  landed 
them  in  the  port  of  Acapulco. 

At  some  time  between  1535  and  1537  the 
name  California  was  applied  to  the  supposed 
island,  but  whether  applied  by  Cortes  to  en- 
courage his  disappointed  colonists,  or  whether 


given  by  them  in  derision,  is  an  unsettled  ques- 
tion. 1  he  name  itself  is  derived  from  a  Spanish 
romance,  the  "Sergas  de  Esplandian,"  written 
by  Ordonez  de  Montalvo  and  published  in  Se- 
ville, Spain,  about  the  year  1510,  The  pa  ag 
in  which  the  name  California  occurs  is  as  fol- 
lows: "Know  thai  on  the  right  hand  of  the  In- 
dies there  is  an  island  called  California, very  near 
the  terrestrial  paradise,  which  was  people  1  with 
black  women,  without  an)  men  among  them, 
because  they  were  accustomed  to  live  after  the 
fashion  of  Amazons.  The)  were  of  strong  and 
hardened  bodies,  of  ardent  courage  and  great 
force.  The  island  was  the  strongest  in  the 
world  from  its  steep  rocks  and  great  cliffs. 
Their  arms  were  all  of  gold  and  so  were  the 
caparison  of  the  wild  beasts  which  they  rode, 
after  having  trained  them,  for  in  all  the  island 
there  is  no  other  metal."  The  "steep  rocks  and 
great  cliffs"  of  Jiminez's  island  may  have  sug- 
gested to  Cortes  or  to  his  colonists  some  fan- 
cied resemblance  to  tin  California  of  Montalvo's 
romance,  but  there  was  no  other  similarity. 

For  years  Cortes  had  been  fitting  out  ex- 
peditions by  land  and  sea  to  explore  the  un 
known  regions  northward  of  that  portion  of 
Mexico  which  he  had  conquered,  but  disaster 
after  disaster  had  wrecked  his  hopes  and  im- 
poverished his  purse.  The  last  expedition  sent 
out  by  him  was  one  commanded  by  Francisco 
Ulloa',  who.  in  1539.  with  two  ships,  sailed  up 
the  Gulf  of  California,  or  Sea  of  Cortes, 
Sonora  side,  to  its  head.  Thence  he  proceeded 
down  the  inner  coast  of  Lower  California  to 
the  cape  at  its  southern  extremity,  which  he 
doubled,  and  then  sailed  up  the  outer  coast  to 
Cabo  del  Engano,  the  "Cape  of  Deceit."  Fail- 
ing to  make  any  progress  against  the  head 
winds,  April  5.  1510.  the  two  ships  parted  com- 
pany in  a  storm.  The  smaller  one.  the  Santa 
Agueda.  returned  safely  to  Santiago.  'I  In- 
larger,  La  Trinidad,  after  vainly  endeavoring  to 
continue  the  voyage,  turned  back.  The  fate  of 
Ulloa  and  of  the  vessel  too.  is  uncertain.  One 
authority  says  he  was  assassinated  alter  n 
ing  the  coast  '  liers, 

who.    for    some   trivial    can 
death ;    anothi  r    accounl    saj  -    that 
known   of   his   fate,    nor   is    it    certain!' 


;:i; 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


whether  his  vessel  ever  returned.  The  only 
thing  accomplished  by  this  voyage  was  to  dem- 
onstrate that  Lower  California  was  a  peninsula. 
Even  this  fact,  although  proved  by  Ulloa's  voy- 
age, was  not  fully  admitted  by  geographers  until 
two  centuries  later. 

In  1540  Cortes  returned  to  Spain  to  obtain,  if 
possible,  some  recognition  and  recompense  from 
the  king  for  his  valuable  services.  His  declin- 
ing years  had  been  tilled  with  bitter  disappoint- 
ments. Shipwreck  and  mutiny  at  sea;  disaster 
and  defeat  to  his  forces  on  land;  the  treachery 
of  his  subordinates  and  the  jealousy  of  royal  of- 
ficials continually  thwarted  his  plans  and  wasted 
his  substance.  After  expending  nearly  a  million 
dollars  in  explorations,  conquests  and  attempts 
at  colonization,  fretted  and  worried  by  the  in- 
difference and  the  ingratitude  of  a  monarch  foi 
whom  he  had  sacrified  so  much,  disappointed, 
disheartened,  impoverished,  he  died  at  an  ob- 
scure hamlet  near  Seville,  Spain,  in  December, 
1547- 

The  next  exploration  that  had  something  to 
do  with  the  discovery  of  California  was  that  of 
Hernando  de  Alarcon.  With  two  ships  he  sailed 
from  Acapulco,  May  9.  1540,  up  the  Gulf  of  Cal- 
ifornia. His  object  was  to  co-operate  with  the 
expedition  of  Coronado.  Coronado,  with  an 
army  of  four  hundred  men,  had  marched  from 
Culiacan.  April  22,  1540.  to  conquer  the  seven 
cities  of  Cibola.  In  the  early  part  of  1537  Al- 
varo  Nunez  Cabaza  de  Vaca  and  three  compan- 
ions 1  the  only  survivors  of  six  hundred  men  that 
Panfilo  de  Narvaes,  ten  years  before,  had  landed 
in  Florida  for  the  conquest  of  that  province) 
after  almost  incredible  sufferings  and  hardships 
arrived  in  Culiacan  on  the  Pacific  coast.  On 
their  long  journey  passing  from  one  Indian  tribe 
to  another  they  had  seen  many  wondrous  things 
and  had  heard  of  many  more.  Among  others 
they  had  been  told  of  seven  great  cities  in  a 
country  called  Cibola  that  were  rich  in  gold  and 
silver  and   precious   stones. 

\  Franciscan  friar,  Marcos  de  Niza,  having 
heard  their  wonderful  stories  determined  to  find 
the  seven  cities.  Securing  the  service  of 
Estevanico,  a  negro  slave,  who  was  one  of  Ca- 
beza  de  Vaca's  party,  he  sel  out  in  quest  of  the 
cities.     With   a  number  of   Indian  porters  and 


Estevanico  as  a  guide,  he  traveled  northward 
a  hundred  leagues  when  he  came  to  a  desert 
that  took  four  days  to  cross.  Beyond  this  he 
found  natives  who  told  him  of  people  four  days 
further  away  who  had  gold  in  abundance.  He 
sent  the  negro  to  investigate  and  that  individual 
sent  back  word  that  Cibola  was  yet  thirty  days' 
journey  to  the  northward.  Following  the  trail 
of  his  guide,  Xiza  travelled  for  two  weeks  cross- 
ing several  deserts.  The  stories  of  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  seven  cities  increased  with  every 
tribe  of  Indians  through  whose  country  he 
passed.  At  length,  when  almost  to  the  prom- 
ised land,  a  messenger  brought  the  sad  tidings 
that  Estevanico  had  been  put  to  death  with  all 
of  his  companions  but  two  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Cibola.  To  go  forward  meant  death  to  the 
monk  and  all  his  party,  but  before  turning  back 
he  climbed  a  high  mountain  and  looked  down 
upon  the  seven  cities  with  their  high  houses  and 
teeming  populations  thronging  their  streets. 
Then  he  returned  to  Culiacan  to  tell  his  wonder- 
ful stories.  His  tales  fired  the  ambition  and 
stimulated  the  avarice  of  a  horde  of  adventurers. 
At  the  head  of  four  hundred  of  these  Coronado 
penetrated  the  wilds  of  Pimeria  (now  Arizona). 
He  found  seven  Indian  towns  but  no  lofty 
houses,  no  great  cities,  no  gold  or  silver.  Cibola 
was  a  myth.  Hearing  of  a  country  called  Ouivira 
far  to  the  north,  richer  than  Cibola,  with  part  of 
his  force  he  set  out  to  find  it.  In  his  search  he 
penetrated  inland  as  far  as  the  plains  of  Kansas, 
but  Ouivira  proved  to  be  as  poor  as  Cibola,  and 
Coronado  returned  disgusted.  The  Friar  tie 
Niza  had  evidently  drawn  on  his  imagination 
which  seemed  to  lie  quite  rich  in  cities. 

Alarcon  reached  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Cal- 
ifornia.  Seeing  wdiat  he  supposed  to  be  an  in- 
let, but  the  water  proving  too  shallow  for  his 
>hips  to  enter  it.  he  manned  two  boats  and 
found  his  supposed  inlet  to  be  the  mouth  of  a 
great  river.  He  named  it  Buena  Guia  (Good 
Guide)  now  the  Colorado.  He  sailed  up  it  some 
distance  and  was  probably  the  first  white  man  to 

1  Fool  upon  the  soil  of  Upper  California.  He 
heard  of  Coronado  in  the  interior  but  was  unable 
to  establish  communication  with  him.  He  de- 
scended the  river  in  his  boats,  embarked  on  his 
vessels  and   returned  to  Mexico.     The  Yicerov 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Mendoza,  who  had  fitted  out  the  expedition  of 
Alarcon,  was  bitterly  disappointed  on  the  re- 
turn of  that  explorer.  He  had  hoped  to  find  the 
ships  loaded  with  the  spoils  of  the  seven  cities. 


The  report  of  the  discovery  of  a  great  river  did 
not  interest  his  sordid  soul.  Alarcon  found  him- 
self a  disgraced  man.  He  retired  to  private  life 
and  not  long  after  died  a  broken  hearted  man. 


CHAPTER   II. 


ALTA    OR    NUEVA    CALIFORNIA, 


WHILE  Coronado  was  still  wandering 
in  the  interior  of  the  continent  search- 
ing for  Quivira  and  its  king,  Tatar- 
rax,  who  wore  a  long  beard,  adored  a  gol- 
den cross  and  worshipped  an  image  of  the 
queen  of  heaven,  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  one  of 
Cortes'  former  lieutenants,  arrived  from  Guate- 
mala, of  which  country  he  was  governor,  with  a 
fleet  of  twelve  ships.  These  were  anchored  in 
the  harbor  of  Navidad.  Mendoza,  the  viceroy, 
had  been  intriguing  with  Alvarado  against 
Cortes;  obtaining  an  interest  in  the  fleet,  he 
and  Alvarado  began  preparations  for  an  ex- 
tensive scheme  of  exploration  and  conquest.  Be- 
fore they  had  perfected  their  plans  an  insurrec- 
tion broke  out  among  the  Indians  of  Jalisco,  and 
Pedro  de  Alvarado  in  attempting"  to  quell  it 
was  killed.  Mendoza  fell  heir  to  the  fleet.  The 
return  of  Coronado  about  this  time  dispelled  the 
popular  beliefs  in  Cibola  and  Quivira  and  put 
an  end  to  further  explorations  of  the  inland  re- 
gions of  the  northwest. 

It  became  necessary  for  Mendoza  to  find 
something  for  his  fleet  to  do.  The  Islas  de 
Poiniente,  or  Isles  of  the  Setting  Sun  (now  the 
Philippines),  had  been  discovered  by  Magellan. 
To  these  Mendoza  dispatched  five  ships  of  the 
fleet  under  command  of  Lopez  de  Yillalobos  to 
establish  trade  with  the  natives.  Two  ships  of 
the  fleet,  the  San  Salvador  and  the  Yitoria,  were 
placed  under  the  command  of  Juan  Rodriguez 
Cabrillo,  reputed  to  be  a  Portuguese  by  birth  and 
dispatched  to  explore  the  northwest  coasl  of 
the  Pacific.  Cabrillo  sailed  from  Navidad,  June 
27,  1542.  Rounding  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  peninsula  of  Lower  California,  he  sailed  up 
its  outer  coast.  August  20  he  reached  Cabo  d<  I 
Engano,  the  most  northerly  point  of  CJlloa's  ex 
proration.     On  the  28th  df  September,  1542.  he 


entered  a  bay  which  he  named  San  Miguel  (now 
San  Diego),  where  he  found  "a  land  locked  and 
very  good  harbor."  lie  remained  in  this  harbor 
until  October  3.  Continuing  his  voyage  he  sailed 
.along  the  coast  eighteen  leagues,  discovering 
two  islands  about  seven  leagues  from  the  main 
land.  These  he  named  San  Salvador  and  Yitoria 
after  his  ships  (now  Santa  Catalina  and  San 
Clemente).  On  the  8th  of  October  he  crossed 
the  channel  between  the  islands  and  main  land 
and  anchored  in  a  bay  which  he  named  Bahia 
de  los  Fumos  y  Fuegos,  the  Bay  of  Smokes  and 
Fires  (now  known  as  the  Bay  of  San  Pedro). 
Heavy  clouds  of  smoke  hung  over  the  head- 
lands of  the  coast;  and  inland,  fierce  fires  were 
raging.  The  Indians  either  through  accident 
or  design  had  set  fire  to  the  long  dry  grass  that 
covered  the  plains  at  this  season  of  the  year. 

After  sailing  six  leagues  further  up  the  coast 
he  anchored  in  a  large  ensenada  or  bight,  now 
the   Bay   of    Santa     Monica.      It     i-    uncertain 
whether   he  landed   at    either   place.      The   next 
day  he  sailed  eight  leagues   to  an    Indian  town 
which  he  named  the  Pueblo  de  las  Canoa 
town  of  Canoes).    This  town  was  located  on  or 
near    the    present    site    of    San    Buenaventura. 
Sailing  northwestward  he  passed    through  the 
Santa  Barbara' Channel,  discoverin 
of  Santa   Cruz,   Santa    Rosa    and    San    s 
Continuing  up  the  coast  lie  passed  a  long  nar- 
row point  of  land  extending  into  the  sea,  which 
from  its  resemblance  to  a  galley  beat  lie  named 
Cabo  de  la  Galera,  the  Cape  of  ili'-  Gallei 
called     Point    <  Baffled    by    head 

winds,  the  explorers  slowl)  beat  their  way  up 
the  coast.    On  the  17th  of  November,  tin 

.    which  the) 
J,    i,.     I'm..  ,  tl      Bay  of  Pirn      1  th     Ba 

Finding  it  impos  ibl<   to  laud  on 


:;s 


HISTORICAL    AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


account  of  the  heavj  sea  Cabrillo  continued  hi-- 
northward.  Alter  reaching  a  point  on 
the  coast  in  40  degrees  north  latitude,  accord- 
ing to  his  reckoning,  the  increasing  cold  and 
the  storms  becoming  more  frequent,  he  turned 
back  and  ran  down  the  coast  to  the  island  of 
San  Miguel,  which  he  reached  November  23. 
Here  he  decided  to  winter. 

While  on  the  island  in  October,  he  had  broken 
his  arm  by  a  fall.  Suffering  from  his  broken 
arm  he  had  continued  in  command.  Exposure 
and  unskilful  -urger\  caused  his  death.  He 
died  January  3.  1543,  ami  was  buried  on  the 
island.  His  last  resting  place  is  supposed  to 
be  on  the  shore  of  Curler's  harbor,  on  the» 
island  of  San  Miguel.  Xo  trace  of  his  grave 
has  ever  been  found.  His  companions  named 
the  island  Juan  Rodriguez,  but  he  has  been 
rubbed  of  even  this  slight  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory. It  would  be  a  slight  token  of  regard  if 
the  state  would  name  the  island  Cabrillo.  Saint 
Miguel  has  been  well  remembered  in  California 
and  could  spare  an  island. 

I  abrillo  on  his  death  bed  urged  Iris  successor 
in  command,  the  pilot  Bartolome  Ferrolo,  to 
continue  the  exploration.  Ferrolo  prosecuted 
the  voyage  of  discovery  with  a  courage  and  dar- 
ing equal  to  that  of  Cabrillo.  About  the  middle 
of  February  he  left  the  harbor  where  he  had 
spent  most  of  the  winter  and  after  having  made 
a  short  voyage  in  search  of  more  islands  he 
-ailed  up  the  coast.  February  28,  he  discover  d 
a  cape  which  lie  named  Mendocino  in  honor  of 
the  viceroy,  a  name  it  -till  bears.  Passing  the 
cape  he  encountered  a  fierce  storm  which  drove 
him  violently  to  the  northeast,  greatl)  endanger- 
ing his  ships.  On  March  ist,  the  fog  partially 
lifting,  he  discovered  a  cape  which  he  named 
Blanco,  in  the  southern  part  of  what  i-  now  the 
-tat'  of  <  iregon.  The  weather  continuing  stormj 
and  the  he  sailed  northward, 

1  .-nolo  reluctantly  turned  back.  Running 
down   thi  reached  the   island   of  San 

nte.      There    in    a    storm    the    ships    parted 

company  and   Ferrolo,   after  a   search,  gave  up 

the  \ 'itoria  as  lost.      The  ships,  however,  came 

.md     from    there,    in 

for     provisions,     the     explorers 

:   Xavidad  April   IS,  1543.     Oil  the  discov- 


eries made  by  Cabrillo  and  Ferrolo  the  Span- 
iards claimed  the  territory  on  the  Pacific  coast 
of  North  America  up  to  the  forty-second  degree 
of  north  latitude,  a  claim  that  they  maintained 
for  three  hundred  years. 

The  next  navigator  who  visited  California  was 
Francis  Drake,  an  Englishman.  He  was  not 
seeking  new  lands,  but  a  way  to  escape  the 
\engeance  of  the  Spaniard.-.  Francis  Drake, 
the  "Sea  King  of  Devon,"  was  one  of  the  brav- 
est men  that  ever  lived.  Early  in  his  maritime 
life  he  had  suffered  from  the  cruelty  and  injus- 
tice of  the  Spaniards.  Throughout  his  subse- 
quent career,  which  reads  more  like  romance 
than  reality,  he  let  no  opportunity  slip  to  pun- 
ish his  old-time  enemies.  It  mattered  little  to 
Drake  whether  his  country  was  at  peace  or  war 
with  Spain;  he  considered  a  Spanish  ship  or  a 
Spanish  town  his  legitimate  prey.  On  one  of 
his  predatory  expeditions  he  captured  a  Spanish 
town  on  the  isthmus  of  Panama  named  El  Xom- 
bre  de  Dios,  The  Name  of  God.  Its  holy  name 
did  not  protect  it  from  Drake's  rapacity.  While 
on  the  isthmus  he  obtained  information  of  the 
Spanish  settlement.-  of  the  South  Pacific  and 
from  a  high  point  of  land  saw  the  South  sea,  as 
the  Pacific  ocean  was  then  called.  On  his  re- 
turn to  England  he  announced  his  intention  of 
fitting  out  a  privateering  expedition  against  the 
Spaniards  of  the  South  Pacific.  Although  Spain 
and  England  were  at  peace,  he  received  encour- 
agement from  the  nobility,  even  Queen  Eliza- 
beth herself  secretly  contributing  a  thousand 
crown  towards  the  venture. 

Drake  sailed  out  of  Plymouth  harbor,  Eng- 
land, December  13,  1577.  in  command  of  a  licet 
of  live  small  vessels,  bound  for  the  Pacific  coasl 
of  South  America.  Some  of  his'  vessel-  were 
lost  at  sea  and  others  turned  back,  until  when 
fn  emerged  from  the  Strait-  of  .Magellan  he  had 
but  one  left,  the  Pelican,  lie  changed  its  name 
to  the  Golden  Hind.  It  was  a  ship  of  only  one 
hundred  ton.-'  burden.  Sailing  up  the  South 
Pacific  coast,  he  spread  terror  and  devastation 
the  Spanish  settlements,  robbing  towns 
and  capturing  ships  until,  in  the  quainl  language 
of  a  chronicler  of  the  expedition,  he  "had  loaded 
hi-  \es-el  with  a  fabulous  amount  of  title  wares 
ol     Asia,    precious    stones,    church    ornaments, 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


39 


gold  plate  and  so  mooch  silver  as  did  ballas  the 
Goulden  Hinde." 

From  one  treasure  ship,  the  Caca  Fuego,  he 
obtained  thirteen  chests  of  silver,  eighty  pounds 
weight  of  gold,  twenty-six  tons  of  uncoined  sil- 
ver, two  silver  drinking  vessels,  precious  stones 
and  a  quantity  of  jewels;  the  total  value  of  his 
prize  amounted  to  three  hundred  ami  sixty 
thousand  pesos  (dollars).  Having  spoiled  the 
Spaniards  of  treasure  amounting  to  "eight  hun- 
dred si.xty-six  thousand  pesos  of  silver  * 
a  hundred  thousand  pesos  of  gold  *  *  * 
and  other  things  of  great  worth,  he  thought  it 
not  good  to  return  by  the  streight  (Magellan) 
*  *  *  least  the  Spaniards  should  there  waite 
and  attend  for  him  in  great  numbers  and 
strength,  whose  hands,  he  being  left  but  one 
ship,  he  could  not  possibly  escape." 

Surfeited  with  spoils  and  his  ship  loaded  with 
plunder,  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  find  the 
shortest  and  safest  route  home.  To  return  by 
the  way  he  came  was  to  invite  certain  destruc- 
tion to  his  ship  and  death  to  all  on  board.  At 
an  island  off  the  coast  of  Nicaragua  he  over- 
hauled and  refitted  his  ship.  He  determined  to 
seek  the  Straits  of  Anian  that  were  believed  to 
connect  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans.  Strik- 
ing boldly  out  on  an  unknown  sea,  he  sailed 
more  than  a  thousand  leagues  northward.  En- 
countering contrary  winds  and  the  cold  in- 
creasing as  he  advanced,  he  gave  up  his  search 
for  the  mythical  straits,  and,  turning,  he  ran 
down  the  northwest  coast  of  North  America  to 
latitude  38°,  where  "hce  found  a  harborrow  for 
his  ship."  He  anchored  in  it  June  17,  1579. 
This  "convenient  and  fit  harborrow"  is  under 
the  lee  of  Point  Reyes  and  is  now  known  as 
Sir  Francis  Drake's  Bay. 

Fletcher,  the  chronicler  of  Drake's  voyage,  in 
his  narrative,  "The  World  Encompassed,"  says: 
"The  3rd  day  following,  viz.,  the  21st,  our  ship 
having  received  a  leake  at  sea  was  brought  to 
anchor  neerer  the  shoare  that  her  goods  being 
landed  she  might  be  repaired;  but  for  that  we 
were  to  prevent  any  danger  that  might  chance 
against  our  safety  our  Generall  first  of  all 
landed  his  men  with  necessary  provision  to  build 
tents  and  make  a  fort  for  defense  of  ourselves 
and  goods;    and  that  we  might  under  the  shel- 


ter of  it  with   more  safety  (whatsoever  should 
befall)  end  our  business." 

The  ship  was  drawn  upon  the  beach,  careened 
on  its  .side,  caulked  and  refitted.  While  the 
crew  were  repairing  the  ship  the  natives  visited 
them  in  great  numbers.  From  some  of  their  ac- 
tions Drake  inferred  that  they  regarded  himself 
and  his  men  as  gods.  To  disabuse  them  of  this 
idea,  Drake  ordered  his  chaplain,  Fletcher,  to 
perform  divine  service  according  to  the  English 
Church  Ritual  and  preach  a  sermon.  The  In- 
dians were  greatly  delighted  with  the  psalm 
singing,  but  their  opinion  of  Fletcher's  sermon 
is  not  known. 

From  certain  ceremonial  performance  Drake 
imagined  that  the  Indians  were  offering  him  the 
sovereignty  of  their  land  and  themselves  as  sub- 
jects of  the  English  crown.  Drake  gladly  ac- 
cepted their  proffered  allegiance  and  formally 
took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of 
the  English  sovereign,  Queen  Elizabeth.  He 
named  it  Xew  Albion,  "for  two  causes:  the  one 
in  respect  of  the  while  bankes  and  cliffes  which 
ly  towardes  the  sea:  and  the  other  because  it 
might  have  some  affinitie  with  our  own  country 
in  name  which  sometimes  was  so  called." 

Having  completed  the  repairs  to  his  ship. 
Drake  made  ready  to  depart,  but  before  leav- 
ing "Our  Generall  with  his  company  made  a 
journey  up  into  the  land.  The  inland  we  found 
to  be  farre  different  from  the  shoare;  a  goodly 
country  and  fruitful  soyle,  stored  with  many 
blessings  fit  for  the  use  of  man;  infinite  was  the 
company  of  very  large  and  fat  deere  which 
there  we  saw  by  thousands  as  we  supposed  in  a 
heard."*  They  saw  great  numbers  of  small  bur- 
rowing animals,  which  they  called  conies,  but 
which  were  probably  ground  squirrels.  Before 
departing.  Drake  set  up  a  monument  to  shov 
thathe  had  taken  possession  of  the  country.  To  a 
large  post  firml)  sel  in  the  ground  he  nailed  a 
brass  plate  on  which  was  engraved  the  nai 
the  English  Queen, the  date  of  his  arrival  and  the 
statement  thai  the  king  and  p<  1  iple  1  if  thi 
try  had  voluntarily  b&  of  the  Eng- 

lish crown;   a  new  sixpence  was  fastened  to  the 
plate  ti  1  shi  -.',   thi    <  )u  en's  likeness. 

World  i 


10 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


After  a  sta\  oi  thirty-six  days,  Drake  took 
his  departure,  much  to  the  regret  of  the  Indians. 
He  stopped  at  the  Farallones  islands  for  a  short 
time  to  lay  in  a  supply  of  seal  meat;  then  he 
sailed  for  England  by  the  v.a\  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  After  encountering  many  perils, 
he  arrived  safely  at  Plymouth,  the  port  from 
which  he  sailed  nearly  three  years  before,  hav- 
ing "encompassed"  or  circumnavigated  the 
globe.  His  exploits  and  the  booty  he  brought 
back  made  him  the  most  famous  naval  hero  of 
his  time.  He  was  knighted  by  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  accorded  extraordinary  honors  by  the  na- 
tion. He  believed  himself  to  be  the  first  dis- 
coverer of  the  country  he  called  New  Albion. 
"The  Spaniards  never  had  any  dealings  or  so 
much  as  set  foote  in  this  country;  tire  utmost 
of  their  discoveries  reaching  only  to  many  de- 
grees southward  of  this  place."*  The  English 
founded  no  claim  on  Drake's  discoveries.  The 
land  hunger  that  characterizes  that  nation  now 
had  not  then  been  developed. 

Fifty  years  passed  after  Cabrillo's  visit  to  Cal- 
ifornia before  another  attempt  was  made  by  the 
Spaniards  to  explore  her  coast.  Through  all 
these  years  on  their  return  voyage  far  out  be- 
yond the  islands  the  Manila  galleons,  freighted 
with  the  wealth  of  "Ormus  and  Ind,"  sailed 
down  the  coast  of  Las  Californias  from  Cape 
Mendocino  to  Acapulco.  Often  storm-tossed 
mil  always  scourged  with  that  dread  malady  of 
the  sea,  the  scurvy,  there  was  no  harbor  of  ref- 
uge lor  them  to  put  into  because  his  most  Cath- 
olic Majesty,  the  King  of  Spain,  had  no  money 
to  spend  in  exploring  an  unknown  coast  where 
there  was  no  return  to  be  expected  except  per- 
haps the  saving  of  a  few  sailors'  lives. 

In  1593,  the  question  of  a  survey  of  the  <  'ali 
fornia  coast  for  harbors  to  accommodate  the  in- 
creasing Philippine  trade  was  agitated  and  Don 
Luis  de  Vela  mo,  yiceroj  oi  New  Spain,  in  a  let- 
ter dati  d  at  Mexico,  April  8,  [593,  thus  «r  tes  to 
hi-  majest)  :  "In  order  to  make  the  exploration 
or  demarcation  of  the  harbors  of  this  m 
far  as  the  Philippine  islands,  as  your  majesty 
■  rdei  ,  money  is  lacking,  and  if  it  be  not  taken 
from  the  royal  strong  box  it  cannot  be  supplied, 

A  1  irld   Kncompassed. 


as  for  some  time  past  a  great  deal  of  money  has 
been  owing  to  the  royal  treasury  on  account 
oi  fines  forfeited  to  it,  legal  cost  and  the  like." 
Don  Luis  fortunately  discovers  a  way  to  save 
the  contents  of  the  royal  strong  box  and  hastens 
10  acquaint  his  majesty  with  his  plan.  In  a  let- 
ter written  to  the  king  from  the  City  of  Mexico, 
April  6,  1594,  he  says:  "I  ordered  the  navigator 
who  at  present  sails  in  the  flag  ship,  who  is 
named  Sebastian  Rodriguez  Cermeno,  and  who 
is  a  man  of  experience  in  his  calling,  one  who 
can  be  depended  upon  and  who  has  means  of 
his  own,  although  he  is  a  Portuguese,  there 
being  no  Spaniards  of  his  profession  whose  serv- 
ices are  available,  that  he  should  make  the  ex- 
ploration and  demarcation,  and  I  offered,  if  he 
would  do  this,  to  give  him  his  remuneration  in 
the  way  of  taking  on  board  merchandise;  and 
I  wrote  to  the  governor  (of  the  Philippines) 
that  he  should  allow  him  to  put  on  board  the 
ship  some  tons  of  cloth  that  he  might  have  the 
benefit  of  the  freight-money."  The  result  of 
Don  Luis's  economy  and  the  outcome  of  at- 
tempting to  explore  an  unknown  coast  in  a 
hcavil)  iaden  merchant  ship  are  given  in  a  para- 
graph taken  from  a  letter  written  by  a  royal  offi- 
cer from  Acapulco,  February  1,  1596,  to  the 
viceroy  Conde  de  Monterey,  the  successor  of 
Yelasco:  "On  Wednesday,  the  31st  of  January 
of  this  year,  there  entered  this  harbor  a  vessel 
of  the  kind  called  in  the  Philippines  a  viroco, 
having  on  board  Juan  de  Morgana,  navigating 
officer,  four  Spanish  sailors,  five  Indians  and  a 
negro,  who  brought  tidings  that  the  ship  San 
Agustin,  of  the  exploring  expedition,  had  been 
lost  on  a  coast  where  she  struck  and  went  to 
pieces,  ami  that  a  barefooted  friar  and  another 
person  of  those  on  board  had  been  drowned  and 
that  the  seventy  men  or  more  who  embarked  in 
this  small  vessel  only  these  came  in  her,  be- 
cause tlte  captain  of  said  ship,  Sebastian  Rodri- 
guez Cermeno,  and  the  others  went  ashore  at 
the  port  of  Xavidad,  and,  as  they  understand, 
have  already  arrived  111  that  city  (Mexico).  An 
accounl  oi  the  voyage  and  of  the  loss  of  the 
ship,  together  with  the  statement  made  under 
oath  by  said  navigating  officer,  Juan  de  Mor- 
gana, accompany  this.  We  visited  officially  the 
vessel,  finding  110  kind  of  merchandise  on  hoard. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


II 


and  that  the  men  were  almost  naked.  The  ves- 
sel being  so  small  it  seems  miraculous  that  she 
should  have  reached  this  country  with  so  many 
people  on  board."  A  viroco  was  a  small  vessel 
without  a  deck,  having  one  or  two  square  sails, 
and  propelled  by  sweeps.  Its  hull  was  formed 
from  a  single  tree,  hollowed  out  and  having  the 
sides  built  up  with  planks.  The  San  Agustin 
was  wrecked  in  what  is  now  called  Francis 
Drake's  Bay,  about  thirty  miles  north  of  San 
Francisco.  To  make  a  voyage  from  there  to 
Acapulco  in  such  a  vessel,  with  seventy  men  on 
board,  and  live  to  tell  the  tale,  was  an  exploit 
that  exceeded  the  most  hazardous  undertakings 
of  the  Argonauts  of  '49. 

The  viceroy,  Conde  de  Monte  Rey,  in  a  let- 
ter dated  at  Mexico,  April  19,  1596,  gives  the 
king  tidings  of  the  loss  of  the  San  Agustin.  He 
writes:  ''Touching  the  loss  of  the  ship,  San 
Agustin,  which  was  on  its  way  from  the  islands 
of  the  west  (the  Philippines)  for  the  purpose  of 
making  the  exploration  of  the  coast  of  the  South 
Sea,  in  accordance  with  your  Majesty's  orders 
to  Viceroy,  Don  Luis  de  Yelasco,  I  wrote  to 
Your  Majesty  by  the  second  packet  (mailship) 
what  I  send  as  duplicate  with  this."  He  then 
goes  on  to  tell  how  he  had  examined  the  offi- 
cers in  regard  to  the  loss  of  the  vessel  and  that 
they  tried  to  inculpate  one  another.  The  navi- 
gating officer  even  in  the  viroco  tried  to  ex- 
plore the  principal  bays  which  they  crossed,  but 
on  account  of  the  hunger  and  illness  they  expe- 
rienced he  was  compelled  to  hasten  the  voyage. 
The  viceroy  concludes:  "Thus  I  take  it,  as  to 
this  exploration  the  intention  of  Your  Majesty 
has  not  been  carried  into  effect.  It  is  the  gen- 
eral opinion  that  this  enterprise  should  not  be 
attempted  on  the  return  voyage  from  the  islands 
and  with  a  laden  ship,  but  from  this  coast  and 
by  constantly  following  along  it."  The  above 
account  of  the  loss  of  the  San  Agustin  is  taken 
from  Volume  II,  Publications  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Southern  California,  ami  is  the  only 
correct  account  published.  In  September,  1595, 
just  before  the  viceroy.  Don  Luis  de  Velasco, 
was  superseded  by  Conde  de  Monte  Rey,  he 
entered  into  a  contract  with  certain  parties  of 
whom  Sebastian  Viscaino,  a  ship  captain,  was 
the  principal,  to  make  an  expedition  up  the  Gulf 


of  California  "for  the  purpose  of  fishing  for 
pearls."  There  was  also  a  provision  in  the  con- 
tract empowering  Viscaino  to  make  explorations 
and  take  possession  of  his  discoveries  for  the 
crown  of  Spain.  The  Conde  de  Monte  Rey 
seems,  from  a  letter  written  to  the  King,  to  have 
seriously  doubted  whether  Viscaino  was  the 
right  man  for  so  important  an  expedition,  but 
finally  allowed  him  to  depart.  In  September, 
1596,  Viscaino  sailed  up  the  gulf  with  a  fleet  of 
three  vessels,  the  flag  ship  San  Francisco,  the 
San  Jose  and  a  Lancha.  The  flag  ship  was  dis- 
abled and  left  at  La  Paz.  With  the  other  two 
vessels  he  sailed  up  the  gulf  to  latitude  29°.  He 
encountered  severe  storms.  At  some  island  he 
had  trouble  with  the  Indians  and  killed  several. 
As  the  long  boat  was  departing  an  Indian 
wounded  one  of  the  rowers  with  an  arrow.  The 
sailor  dropped  his  oar,  the  boat  careened  and 
upset,  drowning  twenty  of  the  twenty-six  sol- 
diers and  sailors  in  it. 

Viscaino  returned  without  having  procured 
any  pearls  or  made  any  important  discoveries. 
He  proposed  to  continue  his  explorations  of  the 
Californias,  but  on  account  of  his  misfortunes 
his  request  was  held  in  abeyance.  He  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  king  in  1 597,  setting  forth  what 
supplies  he  required  for  the  voyage.  His  in- 
ventory of  the  items  needed  is  interesting,  but 
altogether  too  long  for  insertion  here.  Among 
the  items  were  "$35,000  in  money";  "eighty  ar- 
robas  of  powder":  "twenty  quintals  of  lead"; 
"four  pipes  of  wine  for  mass  and' sick  friars"; 
"vestments  for  the  clergy  and  $2,000  to  be  in- 
vested in  trifles  for  the  Indians  for  the  purpose 
of  attracting  them  peaceably  to  receive  the  holy 
gospel."  Viscaino's  request  was  not  granted  at 
that  time.  The  viceroy  and  the  royal  audiencia 
at  one  time  ordered  his  commission  revoked. 
Philip  II  died  in  1598  and  was  succeeded  by 
Philip  III.  After  five  years'  waiting,  Yiscaino 
was  allowed  to  proceed  with  his  explorations. 
From  Acapulco  on  the  5th  of  May.  1602,  he 
writes  to  the  king  that  he  is  ready  to  sail  with 
his  ships  "for  the  discovery  of  harbors  and  bays 
of  the  coast  of  the  South  Sea  as  far  as  Cape 
Mendocino."  "I  report,"  lie  says,  "merely  that 
the  said  VicerO)  (Conde  de  Monterey)  has  en- 
trusted to  me  the  accomplishment  of  the  same 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


in  two  ships,  a  lancha  and  a  barcoluengo, 
manned  with  sailors  and  soldiers  and  provi- 
sioned for  eleven  months.  To-day  being  Sun- 
day, the  5th  of  May,  I  sail  at  five  o'clock  m  the 
nanus  of  God  and  his  blessed  mother  and  your 
majesty." 

\  iscaino  followed  the  same  course  marked 
out  by  Cabrillo  sixty  years  before.  November 
10,  1602,  he  anchored  in  Cabrillo's  Bay  of  San 
Miguel.  Whether  the  faulty  reckoning  of  Ca- 
brillo left  him  in  doubt  of  the  points  named  by 
the  first  discoverer,  or  whether  it  was  that  he 
might  receive  the  credit  of  their  discovery,  Vis- 
caino  changed  the  names  given  by  Cabrillo  to 
the  islands,  bays  and  headlands  along  the  Cali- 
fornia coast.  Cabrillo's  Bahia  San  Miguel  be- 
came the  Bay  of  San  Diego;  San  Salvador  and 
Yitoria  were  changed  to  Santa  Catalina  and 
San  Clemente,  and  Cabrillo's  Bahia  de  los 
Fumos  y  Fuegos  appears  on  Yiscaino's  map  as 
the  Ensenada  de  San  Andres,  but  in  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  voyage  compiled  by  the  cosmog- 
rapher,  Cabrero  Bueno,  it  is  named  San  Pedro. 
It  is  not  named  for  the  Apostle  St.  Peter,  but 
for  St.  reter,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  whose  day 
in  the  Catholic  calendar  i.s  November  26,  the 
day  (jf  the  month  Viscaino  anchored  in  the  Bay 
of  San  Pedro. 

Sailing  up  the  coast,  Viscaino  passed  through 
the  Santa  Barbara  channel,  which  was  so  named 
by  Antonio  de  la  Ascencion,  a  Carmelite  friar, 
who  was  chaplain  of  one  of  the  ships.  The  ex- 
pedition entered  the  channel  December  4,  which 
is  the  day  in  the  Catholic  calendar  dedicated  to 
Santa  Barbara.  lie  visited  the  mainland  near 
Point  Concepcion  where  the  Indian  chief  of  a 
populous  rancheria  offered  each  Spaniard  who 
would  become  .1  resident  of  his  town  ten  wives. 
This  generous  offer  was  rejected.  December 
15,  1602,  In  reached  Point  Pinos,  so  named  1,\ 
Cabrillo,  and  cast  anchor  in  the  ba\  formed  by 
its  projection.  This  bay  he  named  Monterey, 
in  honoi  eroy,  Conde  de   Monte   Rev. 

Many  if  his  men  were  sick  with  the  scurw  and 
his  provisions  were  becoming  exhausted;  so, 
placing  the  sick  and  disabled  on  the  San  Tomas, 
he  sent  them  b  ilco;  but  few  .if  them 

1  a<  hed  th<  ii  di  itination.  On  the  3d  of 
January,  1603,  with  two  ships,  he  proceeded  on 


his  search  for  Cape  Mendocino,  the  northern 
limit  of  his  survey.  The  Manila  galleons  on 
their  return  voyage  from  the  Philippines  sailed 
up  the  Asiatic  coast  to  the  latitude  of  Japan, 
when,  taking  advantage  of  the  westerly  winds 
and  the  Japan  current,  they  crossed  the  Pacific, 
striking  the  North  American  coast  in  about  the 
latitude  of  Cape  Mendocino,  and  from  there 
they  ran  down  the  coast  of  Las  Californias  and 
across  the  gulf  to  Acapulco.  After  leaving 
Point  Reyes  a  storm  separated  his  ships  and 
drove  him  as  far  north  as  Cape  Blanco.  The 
smaller  vessel,  commanded  by  Martin  de  Agui- 
lar,  was  driven  north  by  the  storm  to  latitude 
430,  where  he  discovered  what  seemed  to  be 
the  mouth  of  a  great  river;  attempting  to  enter 
it,  he  wras  driven  back  by  the  swift  current. 
Aguilar.  believing  he  had  discovered  the  western 
entrance  of  the  Straits  of  Anian,  sailed  for 
New  Spain  to  report  his  discovery.  He,  his 
chief  pilot  and  most  of  his  crew  died  of  scurvy 
before  the  vessel  reached  Navidad.  Viscaino, 
after  sighting  Cape  Blanco,  turned  and  sailed 
down  the  coast  of  California,  reaching  Acapulco 
March  21,  1603. 

Viscaino,  in  a  letter  to  the  King  of  Spain, 
dated  at  the  City  of  Mexico,  May  23,  1603, 
grows  enthusiastic  over  California  climate  and 
productions.  It  is  the  earliest  known  specimen 
of  California  boom  literature.  After  depicting 
the  commodiousness  of  Monterey  Bay  as  a  port 
of  safety  for  the  Philippine  ships,  he  says:  "This 
port  is  sheltered  from  all  winds,  while  on  the  im- 
mediate shores  there  arc  pines. from  which  masts 
of  any  desired  size  can  1  e  obtained,  as  well  as 
live  oaks  and  white  oaks,  rosemary,  the  vine,  the 
rose  of  Alexandria,  a  great  variety  of  game,  such 
as  rabbits,  hare,  partridges  and  other  sorts  and 
species  found  in  Spain.  This  land  has  a  genial 
climate,  its  waters  are  good  and  it  is  fertile, 
judging  from  the  varied  and  luxuriant  growth 
■  if  trees  and  plants;  and  it  is  thickly  settled  with 
people  whom  I  found  to  be  of  gentle  disposition, 
peaceable  and  docile.  *  *  *  Their  food  con- 
sists of  seeds  which  they  have  in  great  abun- 
dance and  variety,  and  of  the  flesh  of  game  such 
as  deer,  which  arc  larger  than  cows,  and  hear, 
ind  of  neal  cattle  and  bisons  ami  many  other 
animals.     The  Indians  are  of  good  stature  and 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


13 


fair  complexion,  the  women  being  somewhat 
less  in  size  than  the  men,  and  of  pleasing  counte- 
nance. The  clothing  of  the  people  of  the  coast 
lands  consists  of  the  skins  of  the  sea  wolves 
(otter)  abounding  there,  which  they  tan  and 
dress  better  than  is  done  in  Castile;  they  pos- 
sess also  in  great  quantity  flax  like  that  of  Cas- 
tile, hemp  and  cotton,  from  which  they  make 
fishing  lines  and  nets  for  rabbits  and  hares. 
They  have  vessels  of  pine  wood,  very  well  made, 
in  which  they  go  to  sea  with  fourteen  paddle- 
men  of  a  side,  with  great  dexterity  in  very 
stormy  weather.  *  :;  ;  They  are  well  ac- 
quainted with  gold  and  silver  and  said  that 
these  were  found  in  the  interior." 


The  object  of  Viscaino's  boom  literature  of 
three  hundred  years  ago  was  the  promotion  of  a 
colony  scheme  for  the  founding  of  a  settlement 
on  Monterey  Bay.  He  visited  Spain  to  obtain  the 
consent  of  the  king  and  assistance  in  planting 
a  colony.  After  many  delays,  Philip  III,  in 
1606,  ordered  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain  to  fit 
out  immediately  an  expedition  to  be  com- 
manded by  Viscaino  for  the  occupation  and  set- 
tlement of  the  port  of  Monterey.  Before  the  ex- 
pedition could  be  gotten  ready  Viscaino  died  and 
his  colonization  scheme  died  with  him.  Had  he 
lived  to  carry  out  his  scheme,  the  settlement  of 
California  would  have  antedated  that  of  James- 
town, Ya.,  bv  one  year. 


CHAPTER   III. 


COLONIZATION    OF    ALTA    CALIFORNIA. 


A  HUNDRED  and  sixty  years  passed  after 
the  abandonment  of  Viscaino's  coloniza- 
tion scheme  before  the  Spanish  crown 
made  another  attempt  to  utilize  its  vast  posses- 
sions in  Alta  California.  The  Manila  galleons 
sailed  down  the  coast  year  after  year  for  more 
than  a  century  and  a  half,  yet  in  all  this  long 
space  of  time  none  of  them  so  far  as  we  know 
ever  entered  a  harbor  or  bay  on  the  upper  Cali- 
fornia coast.  Spain  still  held  her  vast  colonial 
possessions  in  America,  but  with  a  loosening 
grasp.  As  the  years  went  by  she  had  fallen 
from  her  high  estate.  Her  power  on  sea  and 
land  had  weakened.  Those  brave  old  sea  kings, 
Drake,  Hawkins  and  Frobisher,  had  destroyed 
her  invincible  Armada  and  burned  her  ships  in 
her  very  harbors.  The  English  and  Dutch  pri- 
vateers had  preyed  upon  her  commerce  on  the 
high  seas  and  the  buccaneers  had  robbed  her 
treasure  ships  and  devastated  her  settlements  on 
the  islands  and  the  Spanish  main,  while  the  free- 
booters of  many  nations  had  time  and  again 
captured  her  galleons  and  ravished  her  colonies 
on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  energy  and  enterprise 
that  had  been  a  marked  characteristic  of  her 
people  in  the  days  of  Cortes  and  Pizarro  were 
ebbing  away.     The  cruelty  and  religious  intol- 


erance of  her  kings,  her  nobles  and  her  clergy, 
had  sapped  the  bravery  of  her  people.  The  fear 
hi  her  Holy  Inquisition  palsied  effort  and  sub- 
stituted in  her  people  cringing  for  courage.  For 
three  centuries  the  rack  and  the  thumb-screw 
of  her  Holy  Office  had  never  been  allowed  to 
rust  from  disuse  nor  its  fires  to  burn  out  for 
want  of  victims.  In  trying  to  kill  heresy  her 
rulers  were  slowly  but  surely  killing  Spain. 
Proscriptive  laws  and  the  fear  of  the  inquisition 
had  driven  into  exile  the  most  enterprising  and 
the  most  intelligent  classes  of  her  people.  Spain 
was  decaying  with  the  dry  rot  of  bigotry.  (  )ther 
nations  stood  ready  to  take  advantage  of  her 
decadence.  Her  old-time  enemy,  England,  which 
had  gained  in  power  as  Spain  had  lost,  was  ever 
on  the  alert  to  take  advantage  of  her  weakness; 
and  another  power,  Russia,  almost  unknown 
among  the  powers  of  Europe  when  Spain  was 
in  her  prime,  was  threatening  her  possessions  in 
Alta  California.  To  hold  this  vast  country  it 
must  be  colonized,  but  her  restrictions  on  com- 
merce and  her  proscriptive  laws  against  foreign 
immigrants  had  shut  the  door  to  her  colonial 
possessions  againsl  colonists  from  all  other  na- 
tion Her  sparse  settlements  in  Mexico  could 
spare  no  colonists.    The  indigenous  inhabitants 


II 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


of  California  must  be  converted  to  Christianity 
and  made  into  citizens.  Poor  material  indeed 
were  these  degraded  savages,  but  Spain's  needs 
were  pressing  and  missionary  zeal  was  powerful. 
Indeed,  the  pristine  courage  and  daring  of  the 
Spanish  soldier  seemed  to  have  passed  to  her 
missionary  priest. 

The  Jesuits  had  begun  missionary  work  in 
160.7  among  the  degraded  inhabitants  of  Lower 
California.  With  a  perseverance  that  was  highly 
commendable  and  a  bravery  that  was  heroic, 
under  their  devoted  leaders,  Salvatierra,  Kino, 
I '-arte.  Piccolo  and  their  successors,  they 
founded  sixteen  missions  on  the  peninsula. 
Father  Kino  (or  Kuhn),  a  German  Jesuit,  be- 
sides his  missionary  work,  between  1694  and 
1702.  iiad  made  explorations  around  the  head 
of  the  Gulf  of  California  and  up  the  Rio  Colo- 
rado to  the  mouth  of  the  Gila,  which  had  clearly 
demonstrated  that  Lower  California  was  a  pen- 
insula and  not  an  island.  Although  Ulloa  had 
sailed  down  the  inner  oast  and  up  the  outer 
coasl  of  Lower  California  and  Domingo  del 
Castillo,  a  Spanish  pilot,  had  made  a  correct 
map  showing  it  to  be  a  peninsula,  so  strong  was 
the  belief  in  the  existence  of  the  Straits  of 
Anian  that  one  hundred  and  sixty  year-  after 
Ulloa's  voyage  Las  Californias  were  still  be- 
lieved to  be  islands  and  were  sometimes  called 
Lslas  Carolinas,  or  the  islands  of  Charles,  named 
so  for  Charles  II.  of  Spain.  Father  Kino  had 
formed  the  design  of  establishing  a  chain  of  mis- 
sions from  Sonora  around  the  head  of  the  gulf 
and  down  the  inner  coast  of  Lower  California  to 
ban  Lucas,  lie  did  not  live  to  complete 
his  ambitious  project.  The  Jesuit  missions  of 
Baja  California  never  grew  rich  in  Hocks  and 
herds.  The  country  was  sterile  and  the  few 
small  valleys  of  fertile  land  around  the  missions 
gave  the  padres  and  the  neophytes  al  best  but  a 
frugal  return  for  their  labors. 

For  years  there  had  hem,  in  the  Catholic 
countries  of  Europe,  a  -rowing  fear  and  dis- 
trust of  the  Jesuits.  Portugal  had  declared  them 
rnment  and  had  banished 
them  in  [759  from  her  dominions.  France  had 
suppn  '  1    in   her  domains   in    1764. 

In  [767,  King  (.ulos  in..  |,x  a  pragmatic  sanc- 
1  red   their   expulsion   from 


Spain  and  all  her  American  colonies.  So  great 
and  powerful  was  the  influence  of  the  order  that 
the  decree  for  their  expulsion  was  kept  secret 
until  the  moment  of  its  execution.  Throughout 
all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  at  a  certain  hour  of 
the  night,  a  summons  came  to  every  college, 
monastery  or  other  establishment  where  mem- 
bers of  the  order  dwelt,  to  assemble  by  com- 
mand of  the  king  in  the  chapel  or  refectory 
immediately.  The  decree  of  perpetual  banish- 
ment was  then  read  to  them.  They  were  hastily 
bundled  into  vehicles  that  were  awaiting  them 
outside  and  hurried  to  the  nearest  seaport, 
where  they  were  shipped  to  Rome.  During 
their  journey  to  the  sea-coast  they  were  not  al- 
lowed to  communicate  with  their  friends  nor 
permitted  to  speak  to  persons  they  met  on  the 
way.  By  order  of  the  king,  any  subject  who 
should  undertake  to  vindicate  the  Jesuits  in  writ- 
ing should  be  deemed  guilty  of  treason  and  con- 
demned to  death. 

The  Lower  California  missions  were  too  dis- 
tant and  too  isolated  to  enforce  the  king's  de- 
cree with  the  same  haste  and  secrecy  that  was 
observed  in  Spain  and  Mexico.  To  Governor 
( iaspar  de  Portola  was  entrusted  the  enforce- 
ment of  their  banishment.  These  missions  were 
transferred  to  the  Franciscans,  but  it  took  time 
to  make  the  substitution.  He  proceeded  with 
great  caution  and  care  lest  the  Indians  should 
become  rebellious  and  demoralized.  It  was  not 
until  February,  1768,  that  all  the  Jesuit  mis- 
sionaries were  assembled  at  La  Paz;  from  there 
they  were  sent  to  Mexico  and  on  the  13th  of 
April,  at  Vera  Cruz,  they  bade  farewell  to  the 
western  continent. 

At  the  head  of  the  Franciscan  contingent  that 
came  to  Bahia,  Cal.,  to  lake  charge  of  the  aban- 
doned missions,  was  Father  Junipero  Scrra,  a 
man  of  indomitable  will  and  great  missionary 
zeal.    Miguel  Jose  Serra  was  horn  on  the  island  of 

Majoriea  in  the  year  1713.  After  completing  his 
studies  in  the  I.ullian  University,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  became  a  monk  and  was  admitted 
into  the  order  of  Franciscans,  (hi  taking  or- 
ders he  assumed  the  name  of  Junipero  (Juniper). 

\.mong  the  disciples  of  St.  Francis  was  a  very 
zealous  and  devoted  monk  who  bore  the  name 
of    Junipero,   of    whom   St.    Francis  once   said, 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


"Would  to  God,  my  brothers,  that  I  had  a  whole 
forest  of  such  Junipers."  Serra's  favorite  study 
was  the  "Lives  of  the  Saints,"  and  no  doubt  the 
study  of  the  life  of  the  original  Junipero  influ- 
enced him  to  take  that  saint's  naijie.  Serra's 
ambition  was  to  become  a  missionary,  but  it  was 
not  until  he  was  nearly  forty  years  of  age  that 
his  desire  was  gratified.  In  1740.  he  came  to 
Mexico  and  January  1,  1750,  entered  the  College 
of  San  Fernando.  A  few  months  later  he  was 
given  charge  of  an  Indian  mission  in  the  Sierra 
Gorda  mountains,  where,  with  his  assistant  and 
lifelong  friend,  Father  Palou,  he  remained  nine 
years.  Under  his  instructions  the  Indians  were 
taught  agriculture  and  the  mission  became  a 
model  establishment  of  its  kind.  From  this 
mountain  mission  Serra  returned  to  the  city  of 
Mexico.  He  spent  seven  years  in  doing  mis- 
sionary work  among  the  Spanish  population  of 
the  capital  and  surrounding  country.  His  suc- 
cess as  a  preacher  and  his  great  missionary  zeal 
led  to  his  selection  as  president  of  the  missions 
of  California,  from  which  the  Jesuits  had  been 
removed.  April  2,  1768,  he  arrived  in  the  port  of 
Loreto  with  fifteen  associates  from  the  College 
of  San  Fernando.  These  were  sent  to  the  dif- 
ferent missions  of  the  peninsula.  These  mis- 
sions extended  over  a  territory  seven  hundred 
miles  in  length  and  it  required  several  months 
to  locate  all  the  missionaries.  The  scheme  for 
the  occupation  and  colonization  of  Alta  Cali- 
fornia was  to  be  jointly  the  work  of  church  and 
state.  The  representative  of  the  state  was  Jose 
de  Galvez,  visitador-general  of  Xew  Spain,  a 
man  of  untiring  energy,  great  executive  ability, 
sound  business  sense  and,  as  such  men  are  and 
ought  to  be,  somewhat  arbitrary.  Galvez 
reached  La  Paz  in  July,  1768.  lie  immediately 
set  about  investigating  the  condition  of  the 
peninsula  missions  and  supplying  their  needs. 
This  done,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  north- 
ern colonization.  He  established  his  headquar- 
ters at  Santa  Ana  near  La  Faz.  Here  he  sum- 
moned Father  Junipero  for  consultation  in 
regard  to  the  founding  of  missions  in  Alta  Cali- 
fornia. It  was  decided  to  proceed  to  the  initial 
points  San  Diego  and  Monterey  by  land  and  sea. 
Three  ships  were  to  be  dispatched  carrying  tin- 
heavier    articles,    such    as    agricultural     imple- 


ments, church  ornaments,  and  a  supply  of  provi- 
sions for  the  support  of  the  soldiers  and  priest 
after  their  arrival  in  California.  The  expedi- 
tion by  land  was  to  take  along  cattle  and 
horses  to  stock  the  country.  This  expedition 
was  divided  into  two  detachments,  the  advance 
one  under  the  command  of  Rivera  y  Moncada, 
who  had  been  a  long  time  in  the  country,  and 
the  second  division  under  Governor  Caspar  de 
Portola,  who  was  a  newcomer.  Captain  Rivera 
was  sent  northward  to  collect  from  the  missions 
ail  the  live  stock  and  supplies  that  could  be 
spared  and  take  them  to  Santa  Maria,  the  most 
northern  mission  of  the  peninsula.  Stores  of 
all  kinds  were  collected  at  La  Faz.  Father 
Serra  made  a  tour  of  the  missions  and  secured 
such  church  furniture,  ornaments  and  vestments 
as  could  be  spared. 

The  first  vessel  fitted  out  for  the  expedition 
by  sea  was  the  San  Cailos,  a  ship  of  about 
two  hundred  tons  burden,  leaky  and  badly  con- 
structed. She  sailed  from  La  Faz  January  <). 
176(1,  under  the  command  of  Vicente  Vila.  In 
addition  to  the  crew  there  were  twenty-five  Cat- 
aionian  soldiers,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 
Fages,  Pedro  Prat,  the  surgeon,  a  Franciscan 
friar,  two  blacksmiths,  a  baker,  a  cook  and  two 
tortilla  makers.  Galvez  in  a  small  vessel  acc<  im- 
panied  the  San  Carlos  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  where 
he  landed  and  set  to  work  to  fit  out  the  San 
Antonio.  On  the  15th  of  February  this  vessel 
sailed  from  San  Jose  del  Cabo  (San  Jose  of  the 
Cape),  under  the  command  of  Juan  Perez,  an 
expert  pilot,  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  Phil- 
ippine trade.  On  this  vessel  went  two  Franciscan 
friars,  Juan  Yiscaino  and  Francisco  Gomez 
Captain  Rivera  y  Moncada,  who  was  to  pioneer 
the  way.  had  collected  supplies  and  cattle  at  Yel- 
icata  on  the  northern  frontier.  From  here,  with 
a  small  force  of  soldiers,  a  gang  of  neophytes 
and  three  muleteers,  and  accompanied  l>\  Padre 
Crespi,  he  began  his  march  to  San  Diego  on  the 
_'4th  of  March,   [769. 

The  second  land  expedition,  commanded  In 
Governor  Caspar  de  Portola  in  person,  began 
its  march  from  Loreto,  March  9,  1701,.  Father 
Sciia,  who  was  to  have  accompanied  it.  was  de- 
tained at  Loreto  b)  a  sore  leg.  He  joined  the 
expedition  at  Santa   Maria.   May  5.  where  it   had 


H; 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


been  waiting  for  him  sonic  time.  It  then  pro- 
ceeded  to  Rivera's  camp  at  Velicata,  sixty  miles 
further  north,  where  Serra  founded  a  mission, 
naming  it  San  Fernando.  Campa  Coy,  a  friar 
who  had  accompanied  the  expedition  tints  far, 
was  left  in  charge.  This  mission  was  intended 
as  a  frontier  post  in  the  travel  between  the  pen- 
insula missions  and  the  Alta  California  settle- 
ments. On  the  15th  of  May  Portola  began  his 
northern  march,  following  the  trail  of  Rivera. 
Galvez  had  named,  by  proclamation,  St.  Joseph 
as  the  patron  saint  of  the  California  expeditions. 
Santa  Maria  w^  designated  as  the  patroness  of 
conversions. 

The  San  Antonia,  the  last  vessel  to  sail,  was 
the  first  to  arrive  at  San  Diego.  It  anchored  in 
the  bay  April  11,  1769;  after  a  prosperous  voy- 
age of  twenty-four  days.  There  she  remained 
at  anchor,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  San  Car- 
los, the  ilag  ship  of  the  expedition,  which  had 
sailed  more  than  a  month  before  her.  On  the 
29th  of  April  the  San  Carlo,,  after  a  disastrous 
1  of  one  hundred  and  ten  days,  drifted 
into  the  Hay  of  San  Diego,  her  crew  prostrated 
with  the  scurvy,  not  enough  able-bodied  men 
being  left  to  man  a  boat.  Canvas  tents  were 
pitched  and  the  afflicted  men  taken  ashore. 
When  the  disease  had  run  its  course  nearly  all 
of  the  crew  of  the  San  Carlos,  half  of  the  sol- 
dier- who  had  come  on  her,  and  nine  of  the 
sailors  of  the  San  Antonio,  were  dead. 

On  the  14th  of  .May  Captain  Rivera  y  Mon- 
cada's  detachment  arrived.  The  expedition  had 
made  the  journey  from  Velicata  in  fifn  one 
days.  On  the  first  of  July  the  second  division. 
commanded  bj  Portola,  arrived.  The  journej 
had  been  uneventful.  The  four  divisions  of  the 
grand  expedition  were  now  united,  but  its  num- 
bers had  been  greatly  reduced.  (  >ut  of  two 
hundred  and  nineteen  who  had  set  out  by  land 
and  sea  onl)  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  re- 
mained; death  from  scurv}  and  the  desertion  of 
the  neophytes  had  reduced  the  numbers  nearly 
one-half.     Thi  the   scurv)    had   de- 

the  en  w  of  one  of  the  vessels  and 
greatly  crippled  that  of  ibe  other,  so  it  was  im- 
possible   to    pri  '    to    Monterey,   the 

tive    point     of     the    expedition.       A 
council   of   the   officers   was   held   and    it    was   de- 


cided to  send  the  San  Antonia  back  to  San  Bias 
for  supplies  and  sailors  to  man  the  San  Carlos. 
The  San  Antonia  sailed  on  the  9th  of  July  and 
after  a  voyage  of  twenty  days  reached  her  des- 
tination; but  short  as  the  voyage  was,  half  of 
the  crew  died  of  the  scurvy  on  the  passage.  In 
early  American  navigation  the  scurvy  was  the 
most  dreaded  scourge  of  the  sea,  more  to  be 
feared  than  storm  and  shipwreck.  These  might 
happen  occasionally,  but  the  scurvy  always  made 
its  appearance  on  long  voyages,  and  sometimes 
destroyed  the  whole  ship's  crew.  Its  appearance 
and  ravages  were  largely  due  to  the  neglect  of 
sanitary  precautions  and  to  the  utter  indiffer- 
c-nce  of  those  in  authority  to  provide  for  the 
comfort  and  health  of  the  sailors.  The  interces- 
sion of  the  saints,  novenas,  fasts  and  penance 
were  relied  upon  to  protect  and  save  the  vessel 
and  her  crew,  while  the  simplest  sanitary  meas- 
ures were  utterly  disregarded.  A  blind,  unrea- 
soning faith  that  was  always  seeking  interposi- 
tion from  some  power  without  to  preserve  and 
ignoring  the  power  within,  was  the  bane  and 
curse  of  that  age  of  superstition. 

If  the  mandates  of  King  Carlos  III.  and  the 
instructions  of  the  visitador-general,  Jose  de 
Galvez,  were  to  be  carried  out,  the  expedition 
for  the  settlement  of  the  second  point  designated 
(Monterey)  must  be  made  by  land:  accordingly 
Governor  Fortola  set  about  organizing  his 
forces  for  the  overland  journey.  On  the  14th 
of  July  the  expedition  began  its  march.  It  con- 
sisted of  Governor  Tortola.  Padres  Crespi  and 
Gomez,  Captain  Rivera  y  Moncada,  Lieutenant 
Pedro  1  ages.  Engineer  Miguel  Constanso.  sol- 
diers, muleteers  and  Indian  servants,  number- 
ing in  all  sixty-two  pers.  ins. 

On  the  16th  of  Jul}",  two  days  after  th<  de- 
parture of  Governor  Portola,  Father  Junipero, 
assisted  by  Padres  \  iscaino  and  Parron,  founded 
the  mission  of  San  Diego.  The  site  selected 
was  in  what  is  now  (  lid  Town,  near  the  tempo- 
rary presidio,  which  had  been  hastily  con- 
structed before  the  departure  of  Governor  Tor- 
tola.  A  hut  of  boughs  had  been  constructed 
and  in  this  the  ceremonies  of  founding  were 
held.  The  Indians,  while  interested  in  what  was 
going  on,  manifested  no  desire  to  be  converted. 
They  were  willing  to  receive  gifts,  particularly 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


47 


of  cloth,  but  would  not  taste  the  food  of  the 
Spaniards,  fearing  that  it  contained  poison  and 
attributing  the  many  deaths  among  the  soldiers 
and  sailors  to  the  food.  The  Indians  had  a  great 
liking  for  pieces  of  cloth,  and  their  desire  to 
obtain  this  led  to  an  attack  upon  the  people  of 
the  mission.  On  the  14th  of  August,  taking 
advantage  of  the  absence  of  Padre  Parron  and 
two  soldiers,  they  broke  into  the  mission  and 
began  robbing  it  and  the  beds  of  the  sick.  The 
four  soldiers,  a  carpenter  and  a  blacksmith  ral- 
lied to  the  defense,  and  after  several  of  their 
numbers  had  fallen  by  the  guns  of  the  soldiers, 
the  Indians  fled.  A  boy  servant  of  the  padres 
was  killed  and  Father  Yiscaino  wounded  in  the 
hand.  After  this  the  Indians  were  more  cau- 
tious. 

We  now  return  to  the  march  of  Portola's  ex- 
pedition. As  the  first  exploration  of  the  main 
land  of  California  was  made  by  it,  I  give  con- 
siderable space  to  the  incidents  of  the  journey. 
Crespi,  Constanso  and  Fages  kept  journals  of 
the  march.  I  quote  from  those  of  Constanso 
and  Crespi.  Lieutenant  Constanso  thus  de- 
scribes the  order  of  the  march.  "The  setting- 
forth  was  on  the  14th  day  of  June*  of  the  cited 
year  of  '69.  The  two  divisions  of  the  expedition 
by  land  marched  in  one,  the  commander  so  ar- 
ranging because  the  number  of  horse-herd  and 
packs  was  much,  since  of  provisions  and  victuals 
alone  they  carried  one  hundred  packs,  which  he 
estimated  to  be  necessary  t'o  ration  all  the  folk 
during  six  months;  thus  providing  against  a 
delay  of  the  packets,  altho'  it  was  held  to  be 
impossible  that  in  this  interval  some  one  of 
them  should  fail  to  arrive  at  Monterey.  On 
the  marches  the  following  order  was  observed: 
At  the  head  went  the  commandant  with  the  offi- 
cers, the  six  men  of  the  Catalonia  volunteers, 
who  added  themselves  at  San  Diego,  and  some 
friendly  Indians,  with  spades,  mattocks,  crow- 
bars, axes  and  other  implements  of  pioneers,  to 
chop  and  open  a  passage  whenever  necessary. 
After  them  followed  the  pack-train,  divided  into 
four  bands  with  the  muleteers  and  a  competent 
number  of  garrison  soldiers  for  their  escort  with 
each  band.     In  the  rear  guard  with  the  rest  of 

♦Evidently  an  error;    it  should  be  July   14th. 


the  troops  and  friendly  Indians  came  the  cap- 
tain,    Don     Fernando     Rivera,    convoying    the 
horse-herd  and  the-  mule   herd  for  relays." 
*      *     * 

"It  must  be  well  considered  that  the  marches 
of  these  troops  with  such  a  train  and  with  such 
embarrassments  thro'  unknown  lands  and  un- 
used paths  could  not  be  long  ones ;  leaving  aside 
the  other  causes  which  obliged  them  to  halt 
and  camp  early  in  the  afternoon,  that  is  to  say, 
the  necessity  of  exploring  the  land  one  day  for 
the  next,  so  as  to  regulate  them  (the  marches) 
according  to  the  distance  of  the  watering-places 
and  to  take  in  consequence  the  proper  precau- 
tions; setting  forth  again  on  special  occasions 
in  the  evening,  after  having  given  water  to  the 
1, easts  in  that  same  hour  upon  the  sure  informa- 
tion that  in  the  following  stretch  there  was  no 
water  or  that  the  watering  place  was  low,  or  the 
pasture  scarce.  The  restings  were  measured  by 
the  necessity,  every  four  days,  more  or  less, 
according  to  the  extraordinary  fatigue  occa- 
sioned by  the  greater  roughness  of  the  road, 
tlie  toil  of  the  pioneers,  or  the  wandering  off  of 
the  beasts  which  were  missing  from  the  horse 
herd  and  which  it  was  necessary  to  seek  by  their 
tracks.  At  other  times,  by  the  necessity  of 
humoring  the  sick,  when  there  were  any,  and 
with  time  there  were  many  who  yielded  up  their 
strength  to  the  continued  fatigue,  the  excessive 
heat  and  cruel  cold.  In  the  form  and  according 
to  the  method  related  the  Spaniard-  executed 
their  marches;  traversing  immense  lands  more 
fertile  and  more  pleasing  in  proportion  as  they 
penetrated  more  to  the  north.  Al!  in  general  are- 
peopled  with  a  multitude  of  Indians,  who  came 
out  to  meet  them  and  in  some  parts  accompa- 
nied them  from  one  sta^c  of  the  journey  to  the 
next;  a  folk  very  docile  and  tractable  chiefly 
from  San  Diego  onward." 

Constanso's  description  of  the  Indians  of 
Santa  Barbara  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  the 
"Aborigines  of  California."  "From  the  chan- 
nel of  Santa  Barbara  onward  the  lands  arc  not 
so  populous  nor  the  Indian-  so  industrious,  but 
they  are  equally  affable  and  tractable.  The 
Spaniards  pursued  their  voyage  without  opposi 
tion  up  to  the  Sierra  ol  Santa  Lucia,  which  they 
contrived  to  cross  with  much  hardship.     At  the 


■IS 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


loot  of  said  Sierra  on  the  north  side  is  to  be 
found  the  port  of  .Monterey,  according  to  an- 
cient reports,  between  the  Point  of  Pines  and 
that  of  Aiio  Nuevo  (New  Year).  The  Spaniards 
caught  sight  of  said  points  on  the  ist  of  October 
of  the  year  '69,  and,  believing  they  had  arrived 
al  the  end  of  their  voyage,  the  commandant  sent 
the  scouts  forward  to  reconnoitre  the  Point  of 
Pines;    in  whose  near  vicinity  lies  said  Port  in 

36  degrees  and  40  minutes  North  Latitude.  But 
the  scant  tokens  and  equivocal  ones  which  are 
given  of  it  by  the  Pilot  Cabrera  Bueno,  the  only 
clue  of  this  voyage,  and  the  character  of  this 
Port,  which  rather  merits  the  name  of  Bay, 
being  spacious  (in  likeness  to  that  of  Cadiz), 
not  corresponding  with  ideas  which  it  is  natural 
to  form  in  reading  the  log  of  the  aforemen- 
tioned Cabrera  Bueno,  nor  with  the  latitude  of 

37  degrees  in  which  he  located  it,  the  scouts  were 
persuaded  that  the  Port  must  be  farther  to  the 
north  and  they  returned  to  the  camp  which  our 
people  occupied  with  the  report  that  what  they 
sought  was  not  to  be  seen  in  those  parts." 

They  decided  that  the  Port  was  still  further 
north  and  resumed  their  march.  Seventeen  of 
their  number  were  sick  with  the  scurvy,  some  of 
whom,  Constanso  says,  seemed  to  be  in  their 
last  extremity;  these  had  to  be  carried  in  lit- 
ters.  To  add  to  their  miseries,  the  rains  began 
in  the  latter  part  of  October,  and  with  them 
came  an  epidemic  of  diarrhea,  "which  spread  to 
all  without  exception;  and  it  came  to  be  feared 
that  this  sickness  which  prostrated  their  powers 
and  left  the  persons  spiritless,  would  finish  with 
the  expedition  altogether.  Put  it  turned  out 
quite  to  the  contrary."  Those  afflicted  with  the 
scurvy  began  to  mend  and  in  a  short  time  they 
were  rest  iredto  health,  Constanso  thus  describes 
the  discovery  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco: 
"The  lasl  1  of  ictoberthe  Expedition  by  land 
came  in  sight  of  Punta  de  Los  Reyes  and  the 
Farallones  of  the  Port  of  San  Francisco,  whose 
landmarks,  compared  with  those  related  by 
!  'ill  1  l  1I1:  era  Bueno,  were  found 
Thereupon  it  became  of  evident  knowl- 
hai  thi  Porl  of  Mi  mterej  had  been  left 
behind;  there  being  few  who  stuck  to  the 
->  opinion.  Nevertheless  the  comman 
ilant     resolved     to     send     to     reconnoitre     the 


land  as  far  as  Point  de  los  Reyes.  The  scouts 
who  were  commissioned  for  this  purpose  found 
themselves  obstructed  by  immense  estuaries, 
which  run  extraordinarily  far  back  into  the  land 
and  were  obliged  to  make  great  detours  to  get 
around   the   heads   of   these.     *  *     Having 

arrived  at  the  end  of  the  first  estuary  and  recon- 
noitered  the  laud  that  would  have  to  be  followed 
to  arrive  at  the  Point  de  Los  Reyes,  interrupted 
with  new  estuaries,  scant  pasturage  and  fire- 
wood and  having  recognized,  besides  this,  the 
uncertainty  of  the  news  and  the  misapprehen- 
sion the  scouts  had  labored  under,  the  com- 
mandant, with  the  advice  of  his  officers,  resolved 
upon  a  retreat  to  the  Point  of  Pines  in  hopes  of 
finding  the  Port  of  Monterey  and  encountering 
in  it  the  Packet  San  Jose  or  the  San  Antonia, 
whose  succor  already  was  necessary;  since  of 
the  provisions  which  had  been  taken  in  San 
Diego  no  more  remained  than  some  few  sacks  of 
Hour  of  which  a  short  ration  was  issued  to  each 
individual  daily." 

"<  In  the  eleventh  day  of  November  was  put 
into  execution  the  retreat  in  search  of  Mon- 
terey. The  Spaniards  reached  said  port  and 
the  Point  of  Pines  on  the  28th  of  Novem- 
ber. They  maintained  themselves  in  this  place 
until  the  10th  of  December  without  any  ves- 
sel having  appeared  in  this  time.  For  which 
reason  and  noting  also  a  lack  of  victuals,  and 
that  the  sierra  of  Santa  Lucia  was  covering 
itself  with  snow,  the  commandant,  Don  Caspar 
de  Portola,  saw  himself  obliged  to  decide  to 
continue  the  retreat  unto  San  Diego,  leaving 
it  until  a  better  occasion  to  return  to  the  enter- 
prise. On  this  retreat  the  Spaniards  experi- 
enced some  hardships  and  necessities,  because 
they  entirely  lacked  provisions,  and  because  the 
long  marches,  which  necessity  obliged  to  make 
to  reach  San  Diego,  gave  no  time  for  seeking 
sustenance  by  the  chase,  nor  did  game  abound 
equallj  everywhere.  At  this  juncture  they  killed 
twelve  mules  of  the  pack-train  on  whose  meat 
the  folk  nourished  themselves  unto  San  Diego, 
at  which  new  establishment  they  arrived,  all  in 
health,  on  the  24th  of  January,   1770." 

The  San  Jose,  the  third  ship  fitted  out  by 
Visitador-General  Galvez,  and  which  Governor 
Portola  expected  to  find  in  the  Bay  of  Monte- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


in 


rey,  sailed  from  San  Jose  del  Cabo  in  May, 
1770,  with  supplies  and  a  double  crew  to  sup- 
ply the  loss  of  sailors  on  the  other  vessels,  but 
nothing  was  ever  heard  of  her  afterwards.  Pro- 
visions were  running  low  at  San  Diego,  no  ship 
had  arrived,  and  Governor  Portola  had  decided 
to  abandon  the  place  and  return  to  Loreto. 
Father  Junipero  was  averse  to  this  and  prayed 
unceasingly  for  the  intercession  of  Saint  Joseph, 
the  patron  of  the  expedition.  A  novena  or  nine 
days'  public  prayer  was  instituted  to  terminate 
with  a  grand  ceremonial  on  March  19th,  which 
was  the  saint's  own  day.  But  on  the  23rd  of 
March,  when  all  were  ready  to  depart,  the 
packet  San  Antonia  arrived.  She  had  sailed 
from  San  Bias  the  20th  of  December.  She  en- 
countered a  storm  which  drove  her  four  hun- 
dred leagues  from  the  coast;  then  she  made 
iand  in  35  degrees  north  latitude.  Turning  her 
prow  southward,  she  ran  down  to  Point  Concep- 
cion,  where  at  an  anchorage  in  the  Santa  Bar- 
bara channel  the  captain,  Perez,  took  on  water 
and  learned  from  the  Indians  of  the  return  of 
Portola's  expedition.  The  vessel  then  ran  down 
to  San  Diego,  where  its  opportune  arrival 
prevented  the  abandonment  of  that  settle- 
ment. 


With  an  abundant  supply  of  provisions  and  a 
vessel  to  carry  the  heavier  articles  needed  in 
forming  a  settlement  at  Monterey,  Portola  or- 
ganized a  second  expedition.  This  time  he  took 
with  him  only  twenty  soldiers  and  one  officer, 
Lieutenant  Pedro  Fages.  He  set  out  from  San 
Diego  on  the  17th  of  April  and  followed  his  trail 
made  the  previous  year.  Father  Serra  and  the 
engineer,  Constanso,  sailed  on  the  San  Antonia, 
which  left  the  port  of  San  Diego  on  the  16th  of 
April.  The  land  expedition  reached  Monterey 
on  the  23d  of  May  and  the  San  Antonia  on  the 
31st  of  the  same  month.  On  the  3d  of  June, 
1770,  the  mission  of  San  Carlos  Borromeo  de 
Monterey  was  formally  founded  with  solemn 
church  ceremonies,  accompanied  by  the  ringing 
of  bells,  the  crack  of  musketry  and  the  roar  of 
cannon.  Father  Serra  conducted  the  church 
services.  Governor  Portola  took  possession  of 
the  land  in  the  name  of  King  Carlos  III.  A 
presidio  or  fort  of  palisades  was  built  and  a  few 
huts  erected.  Portola,  having  formed  the  nu- 
cleus of  a  settlement,  turned  over  the  command 
of  the  territory  to  Lieutenant  Fages.  On  the 
9th  of  July,  1770,  he  sailed  on  the  San  Antonia 
for  San  Bias.  He  never  returned  to  Alta  Cali- 
fornia. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


ABORIGINES    OF    CALIFORNIA. 


WHETHER  the  primitive  California  In- 
dian was  the  low  and  degraded  being 
that  some  modern  writers  represent 
him  to  have  been,  admits  of  doubt.  A  mis- 
sion training  continued  through  three  gen- 
erations did  not  elevate  him  in  morals  at  least. 
When  freed  from  mission  restraint  and  brought 
in  contact  with  the  white  race  he  lapsed  into  a 
condition  more  degraded  and  more  debased  than 
that  in  which  the  missionaries  found  him. 
Whether  it  was  the  inherent  fault  of  the  Indian 
or  the  fault  of  his  training  is  a  question  that  is 
useless  to  discuss  now.  If  we  are  to  believe  the 
accounts  of  the  California  Indian  given  by  Vis- 
caino  and  Constanso,  who  saw  him  before  he 


had  come  in  contact  with  civilization  he  was  not 
inferior  in  intelligence  to  the  nomad  aborigines 
of  the  country  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

Sebastian  Viscafno  thus  describes  the  In- 
dians he  found  on  the  shores  of  Monterey  Bay 
three  hundred  years  ago: 

"The  Indians  are  of  good  stature  and  fair 
complexion,  the  women  being  somewhat  less  in 
size  than  the  men  and  of  pleasing  countenance. 
The  clothing  of  the  people  of  the  coast  lands 
consists  of  the  skins  of  the  sea-wolves  (otter) 
abounding  there,  which  they  tan  and  dress  bet- 
ter than  is  done  in  Castile;  they  possess  also, 
in  great  quantity,  flax  like  thai  of  Castile,  hemp 
and  cotton,  from  which  they  make  fishing-lines 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    Rll'URU. 


-  for  rabbits  and  hares.  They  have  ves- 
pine  wood  very  well  made,  in  which  they 
go  to  sea  with  fourteen  paddle  men  on  a  side 
with  great  dexterity,  even  in  stormy  weather." 
Indians  who  could  construct  boats  of  pine 
boards  that  took  twenty-eight  paddle  men  to 
row  were  certainly  superior  in  maritime  craft 
to  the  birch  bark  canoe  savages  of  the  east. 
We  might  accuse  Yiscaino,  who  was  trying  to 
induce  King  Philip  III.  to  found  a  colony  on 
Monterey  Bay,  of  exaggeration  in  regard  to 
the  Indian  boats  were  not  his  statements  con- 
firmed by  the  engineer,  Miguel  Constansc'>,  who 
accompanied  Portola's  expedition  one  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  years  after  Yiscaino  visited  the 
coast.  Constanso,  writing  of  the  Indians  of  the 
Santa  Barbara  Channel,  says,  "The  dexterity 
and  skill  of  these  Indians  is  surpassing  in  the 
construction  of  their  launches  made  of  pine 
planking.  They  are  from  eight  to  ten  varas 
(twenty-three  to  twenty-eight  feet)  in  length, 
including  their  rake  and  a  vara  and  a  half  (four 
feet  three  inches)  beam.  Into  their  fabric  enters 
no  iron  whatever,  of  the  use  of  which  they  know 
little.  But  the)  fasten  the  boards  with  firmness, 
one  to  another,  working  their  drills  just  so  far 
apart  and  at  a  distance  of  an  inch  from  the  edge, 
the  holes  in  the  upper  boards  corresponding 
with  those  in  the  lower,  and  through  these  holes 
they  pass  strong  lashings  of  deer  sinews.  They 
pitch  and  calk  the  seams,  and  paint  the  whole 
in  sightly  colors.  They  handle  the  boats  with 
equal  cleverness,  and  three  or  four  men  go  out 
to  sea  to  fish  in  them,  though  they  have  capacity 
to  carry  eight  or  ten.  They  use  long  oars  with 
two  blade-  and  row  with  unspeakable  lightness 
and  velocity.  The)  know  all  the  arts  of  fishing, 
and  fish  abound  along  their  coasts  as  has  bet  n 
["he;  have  communication 
and  commerce  with  the  native-  of  the  islands, 
whence  they  gel   tin    '■•  ol   coral   which   are 

current  in  pla  through  these  lands, 

although   they   hold  in   more  esteem  the  glass 
which   the   Spaniards   gave   them,   and   of- 
fered  in   exchange   for  these  whatever  the)    had 
like    trays,    otter    skins,    baskets    and    wooden 
*     * 

"They   are   likewise   great    hunters.     To   kill 
dee:    and  antelope  they  avail  themselves  of  an 


admirable  ingenuity.  They  preserve  the  hide 
of  the  head  and  part  of  the  neck  of  some  one 
of  these  animals,  skinned  with  care  and  leaving 
the  horns  attached  to  the  same  hide,  which  they 
stuff  with  grass  or  straw  to  keep  its  shape. 
They  put  this  said  shell  like  a  cap  upon  the  head 
and  go  forth  to  the  woods  with  this  rare  equip- 
age. On  sighting  the  deer  or  antelope  they  go 
dragging  themselves  along  the  ground  little  by 
little  with  the  left  hand.  In  the  right  they  carry 
the  bow  and  four  arrows.  They  lower  and  raise 
the  head,  moving  it  to  one  side  and  the  other, 
and  making  other  demonstration:,  so  like  these 
animals  that  they  attract  them  without  difficulty 
to  the  snare;  and  having  them  within  a  short 
distance,  they  discharge  their  arrows  at  them 
with  certainty  of  hitting." 

In  the  two  chief  occupations  of  the  savage, 
hunting  and  fishing,  the  Indians  of  the  Santa 
Barbara  Channel  seem  to  have  been  the  equals 
if  not  the  superiors  of  their  eastern  brethren. 
In  the  art  of  war  they  were  inferior.  Their 
easy  conquest  by  the  Spaniards  and  their  tame 
subjection  to  mission  rule  no  doubt  had  much 
to  do  with  giving  them  a  reputation  for  infe- 
riority. 

The  Indians  of  the  interior  valleys  and  those 
of  the  coast  belonged  to  the  same  general  fam- 
ily. There  were  no  great  tribal  divisions  like 
those  that  existed  among  the  Indians  east  of  the 
Rocky  mountains.  Each  rancheria  was  to  a 
certain  extent  independent  of  all  others,  al- 
though at  times  they  were  known  to  combine 
for  war  or  plunder.  Although  not  warlike,  they 
sometimes  resisted  the  whites  in  battle  with 
great  bravery.  Each  village  had  its  own  terri- 
tory in  which  to  hunt  and  fish  and  its  own  sec- 
tion in  which  to  gather  nuts,  seeds  and  herbs. 
While  their  mode  of  living  was  somewhat  no- 
madic the)  seem  to  have  had  a  fixed  location  for 
their  rancherias. 

The  early  Spanish  settlers  of  California  and 
the  mission  padres  have  left  but  very  meager 
accounts  of  the  manners,  customs,  traditions, 
government  and  religion  of  the  aborigines.  The 
pa  Ires  were  too  intent  upon  driving  out  the  old 
religious  beliefs  of  the  Indian  and  instilling  new 
lines  to  care  much  what  the  aborigine  had  for- 
merly believed  or  what  traditions  or  myths  he 


HISTORICAL   AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


r,l 


had  inherited  from  his  ancestors.  They  ruth- 
lessly destroyed  his  fetiches  and  his  altars 
wherever  they  found  them,  regarding  them  as 
inventions  of  the  devil. 

The  best  account  that  has  come  down  to  us 
of  the  primitive  life  of  the  Southern  California 
aborigines  is  found  in  a  series  of  letters  written 
by  Hugo  Rcid  and  published  in  the  Los  An- 
geles Star  in  1851-52.  Reid  was  an  educated 
Scotchman,  who  came  to  Los  Angeles  in  1834. 
He  married  an  Indian  woman.  Dona  Victoria,  a 
neophyte  of  the  San  Gabriel  mission.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  an  Indian  chief.  It  is  said  that 
Reid  had  been  crossed  in  love  by  some  high 
toned  Spanish  seriorita  and  married  the  Indian 
woman  because  she  had  the  same  name  as  his 
lost  love.  It  is  generally  believed  that  Reid  was 
the  putative  father  of  Helen  Hunt  Jackson's 
heroine,  Ramona. 

From  these  letters,  now  in  the  possession  of 
the  Historical  Society  of  Southern  California, 
I  briefly  collate  some  of  the  leading  character- 
istics of  the  Southern  Indians: 

GOVERNMENT. 

"Before  the  Indians  belonging  to  the  greater 
part  of  this  country  were  known  to  the  whiles 
they  comprised,  as  it  were,  one  great  family 
under  distinct  chiefs;  they  spoke  nearly  the  same 
language,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  words, 
and  were  more  to  be  distinguished  by  a  local 
intonation  of  the  voice  than  anything  else.  Be- 
ing related  by  blood  and  marriage  war  was 
never  carried  on  between  them.  When  war  was 
consequently  waged  against  neighboring  tribes 
of  no  affinity  it  was  a  common  cause.*' 

"Die  government  of  the  people  was  invested 
in  the  hands  of  their  chiefs,  each  captain  com- 
manding his  own  lodge.  The  command  was 
hereditary  in  a  family.  If  the  right  line  of  de- 
scent ran  out  they  elected  one  of  the  same  kin 
nearest  in  blood.  Laws  in  general  were  made 
as  required,  with  some  few  standing  ones.  Rob- 
bery was  never  known  among  them.  Murder 
was  of  rare  occurrence  and  punished  with  death. 
Incest  was  likewise  punished  with  death,  being 
held  in  such  abhorrence  that  marriages  between 
kinsfolk  were  not  allowed.  The  manner  of  put- 
ting to  death   was  by   shooting  the  delinquent 


with  arrows.  If  a  quarrel  ensued  between  two 
parties  the  chief  of  the  lodge  took  cognizance 
111  the  case  and  decided  according  to  the  testi- 
mony produced.  But  if  a  quarrel  occurred 
between  parties  of  distinct  lodges,  each  chief 
heard  the  witnesses  produced  by  his  own  people, 
and  then,  associated  with  the  chief  of  the  oppo- 
site side,  they  passed  sentence.  In  case  the) 
could  not  agree  an  impartial  chief  was  called  in, 
who  heard  the  statements  made  by  both  ami  lie 
alone  decided.  There  was  no  appeal  from  his  de- 
cision. Whipping  was  never  resorted  to  as  a 
punishment.  All  fines  and  sentences  consisted  in 
delivering  shells,  money,  food  and  skins." 


"They  believed  in  one  God,  the  Maker  and 
Creator  of  all  things,  whose  name  was  and  is 
held  so  sacred  among  them  as  hardly  ever  to  be 
used,  and  when  used  only  in  a  low  voice.  That 
name  is  Oua-o-ar.  When  they  have  to  use  the 
name  of  the  supreme  being  on  an  ordinary  oc- 
casion they  substitute  in  its  stead  the  word 
V-yo-ha-rory-nain  or  the  Giver  of  Life.  They 
have  only  one  word  in  designate  life  and 
si  ml." 

"The  world  was  at  one  time  in  a  state  of  chaos, 
until  God  gave  it  its  present  formation,  fixing 
it  on  the  shoulders  of  seven  giants,  made  ex- 
pressly for  this  end.  They  have  their  names, 
and  when  they  move  themselves  an  earthquake 
is  the  consequence.  Animals  were  then  formed, 
and  lastly  man  and  woman  were  formed,  separ- 
ately from  earth  and  ordered  to  live  together. 
The  man's  name  was  Tobahar  and  the  woman's 
Probavit.  God  ascended  to  Heaven  immediately 
afterward,  where  he  receives  the  souls  of  all  who 
die.  They  had  no  bad  spirits  connected  with 
their  creed,  and  never  heard  of  a  'devil'  or  a 
'hell'  until  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards.  They 
believed  in  110  resurrection  whatever" 


"Chiefs  had  one.  two  or  three  wives,  as  their 
inclination  dictated,  the  subjects  onl)  one.  When 
a  person  wished  to  marry  and  had  -el 
suitable  partner,  lie  advertised  the  same  to  all 
his  relatives,  even  to  the  nineteenth  cousin  '  m 
a  day  appointed   the   male   portion   of  the  lodge 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


brought  in  a  collection  of  money  heads.  All  the 
relations  having  come  in  with  their  share, 
the)  (the  males)  proceeded  in  a  body  to  the  resi- 
dence of  the  bride,  to  whom  timely  notice  had 
been  given.  All  of  the  bride's  female  relations 
had  been  assembled  and  the  money  was  equally 
divided  among  them,  the  bride  receiving  noth- 
ing, as  it  was  a  sort  of  purchase.  After  a  few 
davs  the  bride's  female  relations  returned  the 
compliment  by  taking  to  the  bridegroom's 
dwelling  baskets  of  meal  made  of  chia,  which 
was  distributed  among  the  male  relatives.  These 
preliminaries  over,  a  day  was  fixed  for  the  cere- 
mony, which  consisted  in  decking  out  the  bride 
in  innumerable  strings  of  beads,  paint,  feathers 
and  skins.  ( )n  being  ready  she  was  taken  up 
in  the  arms  of  one  of  her  strongest  male  rela- 
tives Alio  carried  her.  dancing,  towards  her 
lover's  habitation.  All  of  her  family,  friends  and 
neighbors  accompanied,  dancing  around,  throw- 
ing food  and  edible  seeds  at  her  feet  at  every 
step.  These  were  collected  in  a  scramble  by  the 
spectators  as  best  they  could.  The  relations 
of  the  bridegroom  met  them  half  way.  and,  tak- 
ing the  bride,  carried  her  themselves,  joining  in 
the  ceremonious  walking  dance.  (  )n  arriving  at 
the  bridegroom's  (who  was  sitting  within  his 
hut)  she  was  inducted  into  her  new  residence  by 
being  placed  alongside  of  her  husband,  while 
baskets  of  seeds  were  liberally  emptied  on  their 
heads  to  denote  blessings  and  plenty.  This  was 
likewise  scrambled  for  by  the  spectators,  who, 
on  gathering  up  all  the  bride's  seed  cake,  de- 
parted, leaving  them  to  enjoy  their  honeymoon 
according  to  usage.  A  -rand  dance  was  given 
on  the  occasion,  the  warriors  doing  the  danc- 
ing, the  young  women  doing  the  singing.  The 
wife  never  visited  her  relatives  from  that  day 
forth,  although  they  were  at  liberty  to  visit  her." 


"When  a  person  died  all  the  kin  collected  to 
mourn  his  or  her  loss.  Each  one  had  his  own 
peculiar  mode  of  crying  or  howling,  as  easil)  dis 
tinguished  the  one  from  the  other  as  one  song 
is  from  another.  After  lamenting  awhile  a 
mourning  dirge  was  sung  in  a  low  whining  tone. 
panied  by  a  shrill  whistle  produced  by 
blowing    into    the    tube    of     a     deer's     leg    hone. 


Dancing  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  formed  a 
part  of  the  rites,  as  it  was  merely  a  monotonous 
action  of  the  foot  on  the  ground.  This  was  con- 
tinued alternately  until  the  body  showed  signs 
of  decay,  when  it  was  wrapped  in  the  covering 
used  in  life.  The  hands  were  crossed  upon  the 
breast  and  the  body  tied  from  head  to  foot.  A 
grave  having  been  dug  in  their  burial  ground, 
the  body  was  deposited  with  seeds,  etc.,  accord- 
ing to  the  means  of  the  family.  If  the  deceased 
were  the  head  of  the  family  or  a  favorite  son, 
the  hut  in  which  he  lived  was  burned  up,  as 
likewise  were  all  his  personal  effects." 

FEUDS THE  SONG    FIGHTS. 

"Animosity  between  persons  or  families  was 
of  long  duration,  particularly  between  those  of 
different  tribes.  These  feuds  descended  from 
father  to  son  until  it  was  impossible  to  tell  of 
how  many  generations.  They  were,  however, 
harmless  in  themselves,  living  merely  a  war  of 
songs,  composed  and  sung  against  the  conflict- 
ing party,  and  they  were  all  of  the  most  obscene 
and  indecent  language  imaginable.  There  are 
two  families  at  this  day  (1851)  whose  feud  com- 
menced before  the  Spaniards  were  ever  dreamed 
of  and  they  still  continue  singing  and  dancing 
against  each  other.  The  one  resides  at  the  mis- 
sion of  San  Gabriel  and  the  other  at  San  Juan 
Capistrano;  they  both  lived  at  San  Bernardino 
when  the  quarrel  commenced.  During  the  sing- 
ing they  continue  stamping  on  the  ground  to 
express  the  pleasure  they  would  derive  from 
tramping  on  the  graves  of  their  foes.  Eight  days 
was  the  duration  of  the  song  fight." 

UTENSILS. 

"From  the  bark  of  nettles  was  manufactured 
thread  for  nets,  fishing  lines,  etc.  Needles,  fish- 
hooks, awls  and  many  other  articles  were  made 
of  either  hone  or  shell;  for  cutting  up  meat  a 
knife  of  cane  was  invariably  used.  Mortars  and 
pestles  were  made  of  granite.  Sharp  stones  and 
perseverance  were  the  only  things  used  in  their 
manufacture,  and  so  skillfully  did  they  combine 
the  two  that  their  work  was  always  remarkably 
uniform.  Their  pots  1,,  cook  in  were  made  of 
soapstone  of  about  an  inch  in  thickness  and 
procured    from    the    Indians    of   Santa    Catalina. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Their  baskets,  made  out  of  a  certain  species  of 
rush,  were  used  only  for  dry  purposes,  although 
they  were  water  proof.  The  vessels  in  use  for 
liquids  were  roughly  made  of  rushes  and  plas- 
tered outside  and  in  with  bitumen  or  pitch." 

INDIANS   OF   THE  SANTA    BARBARA    CHANNEL. 

Miguel  Constanso,  the  engineer  who  accom- 
panied Portola's  expedition  in  1769,  gives  us  the 
best  description  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Indians 
extant. 

"The  Indians  in  whom  was  recognized  more 
vivacity  and  industry  are  those  that  inhabit  the 
islands  and  the  coast  of  the  Santa  Barbara 
channel.  They  live  in  pueblos  (villages)  whose 
houses  are  of  spherical  form  in  the  fashion  of  a 
half  orange  covered  with  rushes.  They  are  up 
to  twenty  varas  (fifty-five  feet)  in  diameter.  Each 
house  contains  three  or  four  families.  The 
hearth  is  in  the  middle  and  in  the  top  of  the 
house  they  leave  a  vent  or  chimney  to  give  exit 
for  the  smoke.  In  nothing  did  these  gentiles 
give  the  lie  to  the  affability  and  good  treatment 
which  were  experienced  at  their  hands  in  other 
times  (1602)  by  the  Spaniards  who  landed  upon 
those  coasts  with  General  Sebastian  Vizcayno. 
They  are  men  and  women  of  good  figure  and  as- 
pect, very  much  given  to  painting  and  staining 
their  faces  and  bodies  with  red  ochre. 

"They  use  great  head  dresses  of  feathers  and 
some  panderellas  (small  darts)  which  they  bind 
up  amid  their  hair  with  various  trinkets  and 
beads  of  coral  of  various  colors.  The  men  go 
entirely  naked,  but  in  time  of  cold  they  sport 
some  long  capes  of  tanned  skins  of  nutrias  (ot- 
ters) and  some  mantles  made  of  the  same  skins 
cut  in  long  strips,  which  they  twist  in  such  a 
manner  that  all  the  fur  remains  outside:  then 
they  weave  these  strands  one  with  another, 
forming  a  weft,  and  give  it  the  pattern  referred 
to. 

"The  women  go  with  more  decency,  girt 
about  the  waist  with  tanned  skins  of  deer  which 
cover  them  in  front  and  behind  more  than  half 
down  the  leg,  and  with  a  mantelet  of  nutria  over 
the  body.  There  are  some  of  them  with  good 
features.  These  are  the  Indian  women  win. 
make  the  trays  and  vases  of  rushes,  to  which 
they  give  a  thousand  different  forms  and  grace- 


ful patterns,  according  to  the  uses  to  which  they 
are  destined,  whether  it  be  for  eating,  drinking, 
guarding  their  seeds,  or  for  other  purposes;  for 
these  peoples  do  not  know  the  use  of  earthen 
ware  as  those  of  San  Diego  use  it. 

"The  men  work  handsome  trays  of  wood,  with 
finer  inlays  of  coral  or  of  bone:  and  some  vases 
of  much  capacity,  closing  at  the  mouth,  which 
appear  to  be  made  with  a  lathe — and  with  this 
machine  they  would  not  come  out  better  hol- 
lowed nor  of  more  perfect  form.  They  give,  the 
whole  a  luster  which  appears  the  finished  handi- 
work of  a  skilled  artisan.  The  large  vessels 
which  hold  water  are  of  a  very  strong  weave  of 
rushes  pitched  within:  and  they  give  them  the 
same  form  as  our  water  jars. 

"To  eat  the  seeds  which  they  use  in  place  of 
bread  they  toast  them  first  in  great  trays,  put- 
ting among  the  seeds  some  pebbles  or  small 
stones  heated  until  red:  then  they  move  and 
shake  the  tray  so  it  may  not  burn ;  and  getting 
the  seed  sufficiently  toasted  they  grind  it  in  mor- 
tars or  almireses  of  stone.  Some  of  these  mor- 
tars were  of  extraordinary  size,  as  well  wrought 
as  if  they  had  had  for  the  purpose  the  best  steel 
tools.  The  constancy,  attention  to  trifles,  and 
labor  which  they  employ  in  finishing  these  pieces 
are  well  worth}-  of  admiration.  The  mortars  are 
so  appreciated  among  themselves  that  for  those 
who,  dying,  leave  behind  such  handiworks,  they 
are  wont  to  place  them  over  the  spot  where  they 
are  buried,  that  the  memory  of  their  skill  and 
application  may  not  be  lost. 

"They  inter  their  dead.  They  have  their  cem- 
eteries within  the  very  pueblo.  The  funerals  of 
their  captains  they  make  with  great  pump,  and 
set  up  over  their  bodies  some  rods  or  poles,  ex- 
tremely tall,  from  which  they  hang  a  variety  of 
utensils  and  chattels  which  were  used  by  them. 
They  likewise  put  in  the  same  place  some  great 
planks  of  pine,  with  various  paintings  and  fig- 
ures in  which  without  doubt  they  explain  the 
exploits  and  prowesses  of  the  personage. 

"Plurality  of  wives  is  not  lawful  among  these 
peoples.  Only  the  captains  have  a  right  t" 
marry  two.  In  all  their  pueblos  the  attention 
was  taken  by  a  species  of  men  who  lived  like  the 
women,  kept  company  with  them,  dressed  in  the 
same  garb,  adonted  themselves  with  bead-,  pen- 


.-,1 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


dants,  necklaces  and  other  womanish  adorn- 
ments,  and  enjoyed  great  consideration  among 
the  people.  The  lack  ot  an  interpreter  did  not 
permit  us  to  find  out  what  class  of  men  they 
were,  or  to  what  ministry  they  were  destined, 
though  all  suspect  a  defect  in  sex,  or  some 
abuse  among  those  gentiles. 

"In  their  houses  the  married  couples  have 
their  separate  beds  on  platforms  elevated  from 
the  ground.  Their  mattresses  arc  some  simple 
petates  (mats)  of  rushes  and  their  pillows  are 
of  the  same  petates  roiled  up  at  the  head  of  the 
bed.  Ail  these  beds  are  hung  about  with  like 
mats,  which  serve  for  decency  and  protect  from 
the  cold." 

From  the  descriptions  given  by  Yiscaino  and 
Constanso  of  the  coast  Indians  they  do  not  ap- 
pear to  have  been  the  degraded  creatures  that 
some  modern  writers  have  pictured  them.  In 
mechanical  ingenuity  they  were  superior  to  the 
Indians  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  or  those  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.  Much  of  the  credit  that  has 
been  given  to  the  mission  padres  for  the  patient 
training  they  gave  the  Indians  in  mechanical 
arts  should  be  given  to  the  Indian  himself.  He 
was  no  mean  mechanic  when  the  padre-  took 
him    in  hand. 

Bancroft  says  "the  Northern  California  In- 
dians were  in  every  way  superior  to  the  central 
and  southern  tribes."  The  difference  was  more 
in  climate  than  in  race.  Those  of  Northern  Cal- 
ifornia living  in  an  invigorating  climate  were 
more  active  and  more  warlike  than  their 
sluggish  brethren  of  the  south.  They  gained 
their  living  by  hunting  larger  game  than 
tlio-c  i  if  the  south  whose  subsistence  was  derived 
from  acorns,  seeds,  small  game  and  fish. 
Those  of  the  interior  valleys  of  the  north  were 
of  ligln<  r  '  i  mple  ii  in  and  had  better  forms  and 
features  than  their  southern  kinsmen.  They 
divided  into  numerous  small  tribes  or 
clans,  like  those  of  central  and  Southern  Cali- 
i  irnia.  Tin  Spaniards  never  penetrated  very 
far  into  the  Indian  country  of  the  north  and 
quently  know  little  or  nothing  about  the 
and  customs  of  the  aborigines  there. 
the  discover)  of  gold  the  miner-  invaded 
their  country  in  search  of  the  precious  metal. 
The    Indians   at    first    were     not    hostile,   but    ill 


treatment  soon  made  them  so.  When  they  re- 
taliated on  the  whites  a  war  of  extermination 
was  waged  against  them.  Like  the  mission  In- 
dians of  the  south  they  are  almost  extinct. 

All  of  the  coast  Indians  seem  to  have  had 
some  idea  of  a  supreme  being.  The  name  dif- 
fered with  the  different  tribes.  According  to 
Hugo  Reid  the  god  of  the  San  Gabriel  Indian 
was  named  Ouaoar.  Father  Boscana,  who 
wrote  "A  Historical  Account  of  the  Origin, 
Customs  and  Traditions  of  the  Indians"  at  the 
missionary  establishment  of  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano,  published  in  Alfred  Robinson's  "Life  in 
California,"  gives  a  lengthy  account  of  the  relig- 
ion of  those  Indians  before  their  conversion  to 
Christianity.  Their  god  was  Chinigchinich.  Evi- 
dently the  three  old  men  from  whom  Boscana 
derived  his  information  mixed  some  of  the 
religious  teachings  of  the  padres  with  their 
own  primitive  beliefs,  and  made  up  for  the  father 
a  nondescript  religion  half  heathen  and  half 
Christian.  Boscana  was  greatly  pleased  to  find 
so  many  allusions  to  Scriptural  truths,  evidently 
never  suspecting  that  the  Indians  were  imposing 
upon  him. 

The  religious  belief  of  the  Santa  Barbara 
Channel  Indians  appears  to  have  been  the  most 
rational  of  any  of  the  beliefs  held  by  the  Cali- 
fornia aborigines.  Their  god,  Chupu,  was  the 
deification  of  good;  and  Nunaxus,  their  Satan, 
the  personification  of  evil.  Chuputhe  all-powerful 
created  Nunaxus,  who  rebelled  against  his  cre- 
ator and  tried  to  overthrow  him;  but  Chupu,  the 
almighty,  punished  him  by  creating  man  who,  by 
devouring  the  animal  and  vegetable  products  of 
the  earth,  checked  the  physical  growth  of 
Nunaxus,  who  had  hoped  by  liberal  feeding  to 
become  like  unto  a  mountain.  Foiled  in  his  am- 
bition, Nunaxus  ever  afterwards  sought  to  in- 
jure mankind.  To  secure  Chupu's  protection, 
offerings  were  made  to  him  and  dances  were 
instituted  in  his  honor.  Mutes  and  other  in- 
struments were  played  to  attract  his  attention. 
When  Nunaxus  brought  calamity  upon  the  In- 
dians in  the  shape  of  dry  years,  which  caused  a 
dearth  of  animal  and  vegetable  products,  or  sent 
-  to  afllicl  them,  their  old  men  interceded 
with  Chupu  to  protect  them:  and  to  exorcise 
their     Satan     they     shot     arrows     and     threw 


HISTORICAL  AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


stones  in  the  direction  in  which  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be. 

Of  the  Indian  myths  and  traditions  Hugo 
Reid  says:  "They  were  of  incredible  length 
and  contained  more  metamorphoses  than  Ovid 
could  have  engendered  in  his  brain  had  he  lived 
a  thousand  years." 

The  Cahuilla  tribes  who  formerly  inhabited 
the  mountain  districts  of  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  state  had  a  tradition  of  their  creation.  Ac- 
cording to  this  tradition  the  primeval  Adam  and 
Eve  were  created  by  the  Supreme  Being  in  the 
waters  of  a  northern  sea.  They  came  up  out 
of  the  water  upon  the  land,  which  they  found  to 
be  soft  and  miry.  They  traveled  southward  for 
many  moons  in  search  of  land  suitable  for  their 
residence  and  where  they  could  obtain  susten- 
ance from  the  earth.  This  they  found  at  last  on 
the  mountain  sides  in  Southern  California. 

Some  of  the  Indian  myths  when  divested  of 
their  crudities  and  ideas  clothed  in  fitting 
language  are  as  poetical  as  those  of  Greece  or 
Scandinavia.  The  following  one  which  Hugo 
Reid  found  among  the  San  Gabriel  Indians 
bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  Grecian 
myths  of  Orpheus  and  Eurydice  but  it  is  not  at 
all  probable  that  the  Indians  ever  heard  the 
Grecian  fable.  Ages  ago,  so  runs  this  Indian 
myth,  a  powerful  people  dwelt  on  the  banks  of 
the  Arroyo  Seco  and  hunted  over  the  hills  and 
plains  of  what  are  now  our  modern  Pasadena 
and  the  valley  of  San  Fernando.  They  com- 
mitted a  grievous  crime  against  the  Great  Spirit. 
A  pestilence  destroyed  them  all  save  a  boy  and 
girl  who  were  saved  by  a  foster  mother  pos- 
sessed of  supernatural  powers.  They  grew  to 
manhood  and  womanhood  and  became  husband 
and  wife.  Their  devotion  to  each  other  angered 
the  foster  mother,  who  fancied  herself  neglected. 
She  plotted  to  destroy  the  wife.  The  young 
woman,  divining  her  fate,  told  her  husband  that 
should  he  at  any  time  feel  a  tear  drop  on  his 
shoulder,  he  might  know  that  she  was  dead. 
While  he  was  away  hunting  the  dread  signal 
came.  He  hastened  back  to  destroy  the  hag  who 
had  brought  death  to  his  wife,  but  the  sorceress 
had  escaped.  Disconsolate  he  threw  himself  on 
the  grave  of  his  wife.  For  three  days  he  neither 
ate  nor  drank.     On  the  third  day  a  whirlwind 


arose  from  the  grave  and  moved  toward  the 
south.  Perceiving  in  it  the  form  of  his  wife,  he 
hastened  on  until  he  overtook  it.  Then  a  voice 
came  out  of  the  cloud  saying:  "Whither  I  go, 
thou  canst  not  come.  Thou  art  of  earth  but  I 
am  dead  to  the  world.  Return,  my  husband, 
return!"  He  plead  piteously  to  be  taken  with 
her.  She  consenting,  he  was  wrapt  in  the  cloud 
with  her  and  borne  across  the  illimitable  sea  that 
separates  the  abode  of  the  living  from  that  of 
the  dead.  When  they  reached  the  realms  of 
ghosts  a  spirit  voice  said:  "Sister,  thou  comest 
to  us  with  an  odor  of  earth;  what  dost  thou 
bring?"  Then  she  confessed  that  she  had 
brought  her  living  husband.  "Take  him  away!" 
said  a  voice  stern  and  commanding.  She  plead 
that  he  might  remain  and  recounted  his  many 
virtues.  To  test  his  virtues,  the  spirits  gave  him 
four  labors.  First  to  bring  a  feather  from  the 
top  of  a  pole  so  high  that  its  summit  was  in- 
visible. Xext  to  split  a  hair  of  great  length  and 
exceeding  fineness ;  third  to  make  on  the  ground 
a  map  of  the  constellation  of  the  lesser  bear  and 
locate  the  north  star  and  last  to  slay  the  celestial 
deer  that  had  the  form  of  black  beetles  and  were 
exceedingly  swift.  With  the  aid  of  his  wife  he 
accomplished  all  the  tasks. 

But  ne)  mortal  was  allowed  to  dwell  in  the 
abodes  of  death.  "Take  thou  thy  wife  and  re- 
turn with  her  to  the  earth."  said  the  spirit.  "Vet 
remember,  thou  shalt  not  -peak  to  her:  thou 
shah  not  touch  her  until  three  suns  have  | 
A  penalty  awaits  thy  disobedience."  He  prom 
ised.  They  pass  from  the  spirit  land  and  travel 
to  the  confines  of  matter.  By  day  she  is  invis- 
ible but  by  the  flickering  light  of  his  camp-fire 
lie  sees  tlie  dim  outline  .if  her  form.  Three  days 
pa--.  As  the  sun  sinks  behind  the  western  hills 
he  builds  his  camp-fire.  She  appears  ' 
him  in  all  the  beauty  of  life,  lie  stretches  forth 
his  anus  to  embrace  her.  She  is  snatched  from 
his  grasp.  Although  invisible  to  him  yet  the 
upper  rim  of  the  great  orb  of  day  hung  above 
the  western  \  erge.  1  le  hid  bn  iken  hi 
ise.  Like  Orpheus,  disconsolate,  he  wai 
over  the  earth  until,  relenting,  the  spirit-  senl 
their  servant  Heath  to  bring  him  to  Tecupar 
i  I  leaven). 

Idie  following  myth  of  the  mountain   lndian< 


56 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


of  the  north  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  the 
Norse  fable  of  Gyoll  the  River  of  Death  and  its 
glittering  bridge,  over  which  the  spirits  of  the 
dead  pass  to  Hel,  the  land  of  spirits.  The  In- 
dian, however,  had  no  idea  of  any  kind  of  a 
bridge  except  a  foot  log  across  a  stream.  The 
myth  in  a  crude  form  was  narrated  to  me  many 
years  ago  by  an  old  pioneer. 

According  to  this  myth  when  an  Indian  died 
his  spirit  form  was  conducted  by  an  unseen 
guide  over  a  mountain  trail  unknown  and  inac- 
cessible to  mortals,  to  the  rapidly  flowing  river 
which  separated  the  abode  of  the  living  from 
that  of  the  dead.  As  the  trail  descended  to  the 
river  it  branched  to  the  right  and  left.  The  right 
hand  path  led  to  a  foot  bridge  made  of  the  mas- 


sive trunk  of  a  rough  barked  pine  which  spanned 
the  Indian  styx;  the  left  led  to  a  slender,  fresh 
peeled  birch  pole  that  hung  high  above  the  roar- 
ing torrent.  At  the  parting  of  the  trail  an  in- 
exorable fate  forced  the  bad  to  the  left,  while 
the  spirit  form  of  the  good  passed  on  to  the 
right  and  over  the  rough  barked  pine  to  the 
happy  hunting  grounds,  the  Indian  heaven.  The 
bad  reaching  the  river's  brink  and  gazing  long- 
ingly upon  the  delights  beyond,  essayed  to  cross 
the  slippery  pole — a  slip,  a  slide,  a  clutch  at 
empty  space,  and  the  ghostly  spirit  form  was 
hurled  into  the  mad  torrent  below,  and  was 
borne  by  the  rushing  waters  into  a  vast  lethean 
lake  where  it  sunk  beneath  the  waves  and  was 
blotted  from  existence  forever. 


CHAPTER   V. 


FRANCISCAN    MISSIONS    OF    ALTA    CALIFORNIA. 
Sax  Diego  de  Alcala'. 


THE  two  objective  points  chosen  by  Vis- 
itador  General  Galvez  and  President 
Junipero  Serra  to  begin  the  spiritual 
conquest  and  civilization  of  the  savages  of  Alia 
California,  were  San  Diego  and  .Monterey.  The 
expeditions  sent  by  land  and  sea  were  all  united 
at  San  Diego  July  i,  1769.  Father  Serra  lost  no 
time  in  beginning  the  founding  of  mi  sions. 
<  Mi  i  he  [6th  <>f  Jul\',  1769,  he  founded  the  mis- 
sion of  San  Diego  de  Alcala.  It  was  the  first 
link  in  the  chain  of  missionary  establishments 
that  eventually  stretched  northward  from  San 
Diego  tn  Solano,  a  distance  "i  seven  hundred 
miles,  a  chain  that  was  fifty-five  years  in  forging. 
The  first  site  of  tin-  San  Diego  mission  was  at 
a  place  called  by  the  Indian-  "I  osoy."  It  was 
located  near  the  presidio  established  by  Gov- 
ernor Portola  before  lie  sel  mi:  in  search  of 
Monterey.  The  locality  is  now  known  as  Old 
Town. 

Temporary   buildings   were   erected   hen    but 

proved  unsuitable  and  in  August, 

1771.    tin-    mission     was     removed    about    two 

up  the  San  I  )iegi  1  river  to  a  place  called 

by  the  natives  "Nipaguay."    Here  a  dwelling  for 


the    padres,    a    store     house,     a     smithy     and    a 

•" Ii  11  church   18x57  tl-'et  were  erected. 

The  mission  buildings  at  Cosoy  were  given 
up  to  the  presidio  except  two  rooms,  one  for 
the  visiting  priests  and  the  other  for  a  temporary 
store  room  for  mission  supplies  coming  by  sea. 
The  missionaries  had  been  fairly  successful  in 
the  conversions  of  the  natives  and  some  prog- 
ress had  been  made  in  teaching  them  to  labor. 
(  In  the  night  of  November  4.  1775.  without  any 
previous  warning,  the  gentiles  or  unconverted 
Indians  in  great  numbers  attacked  the  mission. 
(  tne  of  the  friars,  I-"ra\  Funster,  escaped  to  the 
soldiers'  quarters;  the  other.  Father  Jaume,  was 
killed  by  the  savages.  The  blacksmith  also  was 
killed;  the  carpenter  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
soldiers.  The  Indians  set  fire  to  the  buildings 
which  were  nearly  all  of  wood.  The  soldiers,  the 
priest  and  carpenter  were  driven  into  a  small 
adobe  building  that  had  been  used  as  a  kitchen. 
Two  nf  the  soldiers  were  wounded.  The  cor- 
poral, one  soldier  ami  the  carpenter  were  all 
that  were  left  to  hold  at  bay  a  thousand  howl- 
ing fiends.  The  corporal,  who  was  a  sharp 
shooter,   did  deadly   execution  on  the  savatjes. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


57 


Father  Funster  saved  the  defenders  from  being 
blown  to  pieces  by  the  explosion  of  a  fifty  pound 
sack  of  gunpowder.  He  spread  his  cloak  over 
the  sack  and  sat  on  it,  thus  preventing  the  pow- 
der from  being  ignited  by  the  sparks  of  the 
burning  building.  The  fight  lasted  till  daylight, 
when  the  hostiles  fled.  The  Christian  Indians 
who  professed  to  have  been  coerced  by  the  sav- 
ages then  appeared  and  made  many  protesta- 
tions of  sorrow  at  what  had  happened.  The  mili- 
tary commander  was  not  satisfied  that  they  were 
innocent  but  the  padres  believed  them.  New 
buildings  were  erected  at  the  same  place,  the 
soldiers  of  the  presidio  for  a  time  assisting  the 
Indians  in  their  erection. 

The  mission  was  fairly  prosperous.  In  1800 
the  cattle  numbered  6,960  and  the  agricultural 
products  amounted  to  2,600  bushels.  From 
1769  to  1834  there  were  6,638  persons  baptized 
and  4,428  buried.  The  largest  number  of  cat- 
tle possessed  by  the  mission  at  one  time  was 
9,245  head  in  1822.  The  old  building  now  stand- 
ing on  the  mission  site  at  the  head  of  the  valley 
is  the  third  church  erected  there.  The  first, 
built  of  wood  and  roofed  with  tiles,  was  erected 
in  1774;  the  second,  built  of  adobe,  was  com- 
pleted in  1780  (the  walls  of  this  were  badly 
cracked  by  an  earthquake  in  1803);  the  third  was 
begun  in  1808  and  dedicated  November  12, 
1813.     The  mission  was  secularized  in  1834. 

SAN    CARLOS   DE    BORROMEO. 

As  narrated  in  a  former  chapter,  Governor 
Portola,  who  with  a  small  force  had  set  out  from 
San  Diego  to  find  Monterey  Bay,  reached  that 
port  May  24,  1770.  Father  Serra,  who  came 
up  by  sea  on  the  San  Antonia,  arrived  at  the 
same  place  May  31.  All  things  being  in  readi- 
ness the  Presidio  of  Monterey  and  the  mission 
of  San  Carlos  de  Borromeo  were  founded  on 
the  same  day — June  3,  1770.  The  boom  of  ar- 
tillery and  the  roar  of  musketry  accompani- 
ments to  the  service  of  the  double  founding 
frightened  the  Indians  away  from  the  mission 
and  it  was  some  time  before  the  savages  could 
muster  courage  to  return.  In  June,  1771 ,  the 
site  of  the  mission  was  moved  to  the  Carmelo 
river.  This  was  done  by  Father  Serra  to  re- 
move the  neophytes  from  the  contaminating  in- 


fluence of  the  soldiers  at  the  presidio.  The  erec- 
tion of  the  stone  church  still  standing  was  be- 
gun in  1793.  It  was  completed  and  dedicated 
in  1797.  The  largest  neophyte  population  at 
San  Carlos  was  reached  in  1794,  when  it  num- 
bered nine  hundred  and  seventy-one.  Between 
1800  and  1810  it  declined  to  seven  hundred  and 
forty-seven.  In  1820  the  population  had  de- 
creased to  three  hundred  and  eighty-one  and 
at  the  end  of  the  next  decade  it  had  fallen  to 
two  hundred  and  nine.  In  1834,  when  the  de- 
cree of  secularization  was  put  in  force,  there  were 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  neophytes  at  the 
mission.  At  the  rate  of  decrease  under  mission 
rule,  a  few  more  years  would  have  pro- 
duced the  same  result  that  secularization  did, 
namely,  the  extinction  of  the  mission  Indian. 

SAN    ANTONIO   DE    PADUA. 

The  third  mission  founded  in  California  was 
San  Antonio  de  Padua.  It  was  located  about 
twenty-five  leagues  from  Monterey.  Here,  on 
the  14th  of  June,  1771,  in  La  Canada  de  los 
Robles,  the  canon  of  oaks  beneath  a  shelter  of 
(■ranches,  Father  Serra  performed  the  services 
of  founding.  The  Indians  seem  to  have  been 
more  tractable  than  those  of  San  Diego  or  Mon- 
terey. The  first  convert  was  baptized  one 
month  after  the  establishment  of  the  mission. 
San  Antonio  attained  the  highest  limit  of  its 
neophyte  population  in  1805,  when  it  had 
twelve  hundred  and  ninety-six  souls  within  its 
fold.  In  183 1  there  were  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
one  Indians  at  or  near  the  mission.  In  1834,  the 
date  of  secularization,  there  were  five  hundred 
and  sixty-seven.  After  its  disestablishment  the 
property  of  the  mission  was  quickly  squandered 
through  inefficient  administrators.  The  build- 
ings are  in  ruins. 

SAN    GABRIEL    ARCANGEL. 

San  Gabriel  Arcangel  was  the  fourth  mission 
founded  in  California.  Father  Junipero  Serra. 
as  previously  narrated,  had  gone  north  in  1770 
and  founded  the  mission  of  San  Carlos  Bor- 
romeo on  Monterey  Pay  and  the  following  year 
he  established  the  mi  n    Vntonio  de 

Padua  on  the  Salinas  river  about  twenty-five 
leagues  south  of  Monterey. 


5S 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


(  >n  the  6th  of  August,  1771,  a  cavalcade  of 
soldiers  and  musketeers  escorting  Padres 
Somero  and  Cambon  set  out  from  San  Diego 
over  the  trail  made  by  Portola's  expedition  in 
1769  (when  it  went  north  in  search  of  Monterey 
Bay)  to  found  a  new  mission  on  the  River  Jesus 
de  los  Temblores  or  to  give  it  its  full  name,  El 
Rio  del  Dulcisimo  Nombre  de  Jesus  de  los 
Temblores,  the  river  of  the  sweetest  name  of 
Jesus  of  the  Earthquakes.  Not  finding  a  suit- 
able location  on  that  river  (now  the  Santa  Ana) 
they  pushed  on  to  the  Rio  San  Miguel,  also 
known  as  the  Rio  de  los  Temblores.  Here 
they  selected  a  site  where  wood  and  water  were 
abundant.  A  stockade  of  poles  was  built  inclos- 
ing a  square  within  which  a  church  was  erected, 
covered  with  boughs. 

September  8,  1 771 ,  the  mission  was  formally 
founded  and  dedicated  to  the  archangel  Gabriel. 
The  Indians  who  at  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards 
were  docile  and  friendly,  a  few  days  after  the 
founding  of  the  mission  suddenly  attacked  two 
soldiers  who  were  guarding  the  horses.  One  of 
these  soldiers  had  outraged  the  wife  of  the  chief 
who  led  the  attack.  The  soldier  who  committed 
the  crime  killed  the  chieftain  with  a  musket  ball 
and  the  other  Indians  fled.  The  soldiers  then 
cut  off  the  chief's  head  and  fastened  it  to  a  pole 
at  the  presidio  gate.  From  all  accounts  the  sol- 
diers at  this  mission  were  more  brutal  and  bar- 
barous than  the  Indians  and  more  in  need  of 
missionaries  to  convert  them  than  the  Indians. 
The  progress  of  the  mission  was  slow.  At  the 
end  of  the  second  year  only  seventy-three  chil- 
dren and  adults  had  been  baptized.  Father  Serra 
attributed  the  lack  of  conversions  to  the  bad 
(.induct  nf  the  soldiers. 

The  first  buildings  at  the  mission  Yicja  were 
all  of  wood.  The  church  was  45x18  feet,  built  of 
logs  and  covered  with  tule  thatch.  The  church 
and  other  wooden  buildings  used  by  the  padres 
stood  within  a  square  inclosed  by  pointed  stakes. 
In  1776.  five  years  after  its  founding,  the  mis- 
sion was  moved  from  its  first  location  to  a  new 
site  about  a  league  distant  from  the  old  one. 
'Idle  old  site  was  subject  to  overllow  by  the 
river.  The  adobe  ruins  pointed  out  to  tourists 
as  thr  foundations  of  the  old  mission  are  the 
debris  of  a  building  erected  for  a  ranch  house 


about  sixty  years  ago.  The  buildings  at  the 
mission  Yieja  were  all  of  wood  and  no  trace  of 
them  remains.  A  chapel  was  first  built  at  the 
new  site.  It  was  replaced  by  a  church  built  of 
adobes  one  hundred  and  eight  feet  long  by 
twenty-one  feet  wide.  The  present  stone  church, 
begun  about  1794,  and  completed  about  1806, 
is  the  fourth  church  erected. 

The  mission  attained  the  acme  of  its  impor- 
tance in  1817.  when  there  were  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  one  neophytes  in  the  mission  fold. 

The  largest  grain  crop  raised  at  any  mission 
was  that  harvested  at  San  Gabriel  in  1821,  which 
amounted  to  29,400  bushels.  The  number  of  cat- 
tle belonging  to  the  mission  in  1830  was  25,725. 
During  the  whole  period  of  the  mission's  exist- 
ence, i.  e.,  from  1771  to  1834,  according  to  sta- 
tistics compiled  by  Bancroft  from  mission  rec- 
ords, the  total  number  of  baptisms  was  7,854, 
of  which  4,355  were  Indian  adults  and  2,459 
were  Indian  children  and  the  remainder  gente  de 
razon  or  people  of  reason.  The  deaths  were 
5.656,  of  which  2,916  were  Indian  adults  and 
2,363  Indian  children.  If  all  the  Indian  children 
born  were  baptized  it  would  seem  (if  the  sta- 
tistics are  correct)  that  but  very  few  ever  grew 
up  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  In  1834,  the 
year  of  its  secularization,  its  neophyte  popula- 
tion was  1,320. 

The  missionaries  of  San  Gabriel  established 
a  station  at  old  San  Bernardino  about  1820.  It 
was  not  an  asistencia  like  pala,  but  merely  an 
agricultural  station  or  ranch  headquarters.  The 
buildings  were  destroyed  by  the  Indians  in  1834. 

SAX    LUIS    OBISPO  DE   TOLOSA. 

On  his  journey  southward  in  1782,  President 
Serra  and  Padre  Cavalier,  with  a  small  escort  of 
soldiers  and  a  few  Lower  California  Indians,  on 
September  1,  1772,  founded  the  mission  of  San 
Luis  Obispo  de  Tolosa  (St.  Louis,  Bishop  of 
Tolouse).  The  site  selected  was  on  a  creek 
twenty-five  leagues  southerly  from  San  An- 
tonio. The  soldiers  and  Indians  were  set  at 
work  to  erect  buildings.  Padre  Cavalier  was  left 
in  charge  of  the  mission,  Father  Serra  continu- 
ing his  journey  southward.  This  mission  was 
never  a  very  important  one.  Its  greatest  popu- 
lation  was    in     1803.     when    there    were   eight 


HISTORICAL  AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


59 


hundred  and  fifty-two  neophytes  within  its  juris- 
diction. From  that  time  to  1834  their  number 
declined  to  two  hundred  and  sixty-four.  The 
average  death  rate  was  7.30  per  cent  of  the  pop- 
ulation— a  lower  rate  than  at  some  of  the  more 
populous  missions.  The  adobe  church  built  in 
1793  is  still  in  use,  but  has  been  so  remodeled 
that  it  bears  but  little  resemblance  to  the  church 
of  mission  days. 

SAN    FRANCISCO   DE   ASIS. 

The  expedition  under  command  of  Portola 
in  1769  failed  to  find  Monterey  Bay  but  it  passed 
on  and  discovered  the  great  bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. So  far  no  attempt  had  been  made  to 
plant  a  mission  or  presidio  on  its  shores.  Larly 
in  1775,  Lieutenant  Ayala  was  ordered  to  ex- 
plore the  bay  with  a  view  to  forming  a  settle- 
ment near  it.  Rivera  had  previously  explored 
the  land  bordering  on  the  bay  where  the  city 
now  stands.  Captain  Anza,  the  discoverer  of  the 
overland  route  from  Mexico  to  California  via 
the  Colorado  river,  had  recruited  an  expedition 
of  two  hundred  persons  in  Sonora  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forming  a  settlement  at  San  Francisco, 
He  set  out  in  1775  and  reached  Monterey  March 
10,  1776.  A  quarrel  between  him  and  Rivera, 
who  was  in  command  at  Monterey,  defeated  for 
a  time  the  purpose  for  which  the  settlers  had 
been  brought,  and  Anza,  disgusted  with  the 
treatment  he  had  received  from  Rivera,  aban- 
doned the  enterprise.  Anza  had  selected  a  site 
for  a  presidio  at  San  Francisco.  After  his  de- 
parture Rivera  changed  his  policy  of  delay  that 
had  frustrated  all  of  Anza's  plans  and  decided  at 
once  to  proceed  to  the  establishment  of  a  pre- 
sidio. The  presidio  was  formally  founded  Sep- 
tember 17,  1776,  at  wdiat  is  now  known  as  Fort 
Point.  The  ship  San  Carlos  had  brought  a  num- 
ber of  persons;  these  with  the  settlers  who  had 
come  up  from  Monterey  made  an  assemblage  of 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons. 

After  the  founding  of  the  presidio  Lieutenant 
Moraga  in  command  of  the  military  and  Captain 
Quiros  el' the  San  Carlos,  set  vigorousl)  at  work 
to  build  a  church  for  the  mission.  A  wooden 
building  having  been  constructed  on  the  oth  of 
October,  1776,  the  mission  was  dedicated. 
Father  Palou  conducting  the  service,  assisted  by 


Fathers  Cambon,  Nocedal  and  Peha.  The  site 
selected  for  the  mission  was  on  the  Laguna  de 
los  Dolores.  The  lands  at  the  mission  were  not 
very  productive.  The  mission,  however,  was 
fairly  prosperous.  In  1820  it  owned  11,240  cat- 
tle and  the  total  product  of  wheat  was  114.480 
bushels.  In  1820  there  were  1,252  neophytes 
attached  to  it.  The  death  rate  was  very  heavy — 
the  average  rate  being  12.4  per  cent  of  the  pop- 
ulation. In  1832  the  population  had  decreased 
to  two  hundred  and  four  and  at  the  time  of 
secularization  it  had  declined  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty.  A  number  of  neophytes  had  been 
taken  to  the  new  mission  of  San  Francisco  So- 
lano. 

SAX    JUAN     CAPISTRANO. 

The  revolt  of  the  Indians  at  San  Diego  de- 
layed the  founding  of  San  Juan  Capistrano  a 
year.  October  30.  1775,  the  initiatory  services 
of  the  founding  had  been  held  when  a  messenger 
came  with  the  news  of  the  uprising  of  the  sav- 
ages and  the  massacre  of  Father  Jaume  and 
others.  The  bells  which  had  been  hung  on  a 
tree  were  taken  down  and  buried.  The  soldiers 
and  the  padres  hastened  to  San  Diego.  Novem- 
ber 1,  177''.  Fathers  Serra,  Mugartegui  and 
Amurrio,  with  an  escort  of  soldiers,  arrived  at 
the  site  formerly  selected.  The  bells  were  dug  up 
and  hung  on  a  tree,  an  enramada  of  boughs  was 
constructed  and  Father  Serra  said  mass.  The 
first  location  of  the  mission  was  several  miles 
northeasterly  from  the  present  site  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain.  The  abandoned  site  is  still 
known  a  la  Mision  Vieja  (the  Old  Mission). 
Just  when  the  change  of  location  was  made  is 
not  known. 

The  erection  of  a  stone  church  was  begun  in 
February,  1797.  and  completed  in  [806  \ 
master  builder  had  been  brought  from  Mexico 
and  under  his  superintendence  the  neophytes 
did  the  mechanical  labor.  It  was  the  largi 
handsomest  church  in  California  and  was  the 
pride  of  mission  architecture.  The  year  1S12 
was  known  in  California  as  el  ano  de  los  tem- 
earthquakes.  For  months 
the  seismic  disturbance  was  almost  continuous. 
(  )u  Sunday,  December  8,  [812,  a  severe  shock 
threw  down  the  lofty  church  tower,  which 
crashed  through  the  vaulted  roof  on  the  congre- 


i;o 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


gation  below.  The  padre  who  was  celebrating 
mass  escaped  through  the  sacristy.  Of  the  fifty 
persons  present  only  live  or  six  escaped.  The 
church  was  never  rebuilt.  "There  is  not  much 
doubt,"  says  Bancroft,  "that  the  disaster  was 
due  rather  to  faulty  construction  than  to  the 
violence  of  the  temblor."  The  edifice  was  of  the 
usual  cruciform  shape,  about  90x180  feet  on 
the  ground,  with  very  thick  walls  and  arched 
dome-like  roof  all  constructed  of  stones  imbed- 
ded in  mortar  or  cement.  The  stones  were  not 
hewn,  but  of  irregular  size  and  shape,  a  kind  of 
structure  evidently  requiring  great  skill  to  en- 
sure solidity.  The  mission  reached  its  maxi- 
mum in  1819;  from  that  on  till  the  date  of  its 
secularization  there  was  a  rapid  decline  in  the 
numbers  of  its  live  stock  and  of  its  neophytes. 

This  was  one  of  the  missions  in  which  Gov- 
ernor Figueroa  tried  his  experiment  of  forming 
Indian  pueblos  of  the  neophytes.  For  a  time 
the  experiment  was  a  partial  success,  but  even- 
tually it  went  the  way  of  all  the  other  missions. 
Its  lands  were  granted  to  private  individuals 
and  the  neophytes  scattered.  Its  picturesque 
ruins  are  a  great  attraction  to  tourists. 

SANTA    CLARA. 

The  mission  of  Santa  Clara  was  founded  Jan- 
uary i_\  1777.  The  site  had  been  selected  some 
time  before  and  two  missionaries  designated  for 
service  at  it,  but  the  comandante  of  the  terri- 
tory. Rivera  y  Moncada,  who  was  an  exceed- 
ingly obstinate  per,-,  in,  had  opposed  the  found- 
ing on  various  pretexts,  but  posititve  orders 
coming  from  the  viceroy  Rivera  did  not  longer 
delay,  so  on  the  6th  of  January,  1777,  a  detach- 
ment of  soldiers  under  Lieutenant  Moraga,  ac- 
companied by  Father  Pefia,  was  sent  from  San 
Francisco  to  the  site  selected  which  was  about 
sixteen  leagues  south  of  San  Francisco.  Here 
under  an  enramada  the  services  of  dedication 
were  held.  The  Indians  were  not  averse  to  re- 
ceiving a  new  religion  and  at  the  close  of  the 
year   sixty-seven   had   been   baptized. 

The  mission  was  quite  prosperous  and  be- 
came one  of  the  most  important  in  the  territory. 
Il  was  located  in  the  heart  of  a  rich  agricul- 
tural district.  The  total  product  of  wheat  was 
175,800  bushels.     In  [828  the  mission  docks  and 


herds    numbered    over    30,000    animals.  The 

neophyte   population   in    1S27   was    1,464.  The 

death  rate  was  high,  averaging   12.63  Per  cent 

of  the  population.     The  total   number  of  bap- 
tisms was  8,640;  number  of  deaths  6,950.     In 

1834    the     population     had     declined    to  800. 
Secularization  was  effected  in    1837. 

SAN    BUENAVENTURA. 

The  founding  of  San  Buenaventura  had  been 
long  delayed.  It  was  to  have  been  among  the 
first  missions  founded  by  Father  Serra;  it  proved 
to  be  his  last.  On  the  26th  of  March,  1782, 
Governor  de  Neve,  accompanied  by  Father 
Serra  (who  had  come  down  afoot  from  San 
Carlos),  and  Father  Cambon,  with  a  convoy  of 
soldiers  and  a  number  of  neophytes,  set  out 
from  San  Gabriel  to  found  the  mission.  At  the 
first  camping  place  Governor  de  Neve  was  re- 
called to  San  Gabriel  by  a  message  from  Col. 
Pedro  Fazes,  informing  him  of  the  orders  of  the 
council  of  war  to  proceed  against  the  Yumas 
who  had  the  previous  year  destroyed  the  two 
missions  on  the  Colorado  river  and  massacred 
the  missionaries. 

On  the  29th,  the  remainder  of  the  company 
reached  a  place  on  the  coast  named  by  Portola 
in  1769,  Asuncion  de  Nuestra  Sehora,  which 
had  for  some  time  been  selected  for  a  mission 
site.  Near  it  was  a  large  Indian  rancheria.  On 
Easter  Sunday,  .March  31st,  the  mission  was  for- 
mally founded  with  the  usual  ceremonies  and 
dedicated  to  San  Buenaventura  (Giovanni  de 
Fidanza  of  Tuscany),  a  follower  of  St.  Francis, 
the  founder  of  the  Franciscans. 

The  progress  of  the  mission  was  slow  at  first, 
only  two  adults  were  baptized  in  1782,  the 
yeai  of  its  founding.  The  first  buildings  built 
oi  wood  were  destroyed  by  fire.  The  church 
still  used  for  service,  built  of  brick  and  adobe, 
was  completed  and  dedicated.  September  9,  1809. 
The  earthquake  of  December  8,  1812,  damaged 
the  church  to  such  an  extent  that  the  tower 
and  part  of  the  facade  had  to  be  rebuilt.  After 
the  earthquake  the  whole  site  of  the  mission 
for  a  time  seemed  to  be  sinking.  The  inhabi- 
tants, fearful  of  being  engulfed  by  the  sea,  re- 
moved to  San  Joaquin  \  Santa  Ana,  where  they 
remained     several     months.      The     mission    at- 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


61 


tained  its  greatest  prosperity  in  1816,  when  its 
neophyte  population  numbered  1.330  and  it 
owned  23.400  cattle. 

SAXTA  BARBARA. 

Governor  Felipe  de  Neve  founded  the  presidio 
of  Santa  Barbara  April  21,  1782.  Father  Sena 
had  hoped  to  found  the  mission  at  the  same  time, 
but  in  ihis  he  was  disappointed.  His  death  in 
1784  still  further  delayed  the  founding  and  it 
was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  1786  that  every- 
thing was  in  readiness  for  the  establishing  of 
the  new  mission.  On  the  22d  of  November 
Father  Lasuen,  who  had  succeeded  Father 
Serra  as  president  of  the  missions,  arrived  at 
Santa  Barbara,  accompanied  by  two  missiona- 
ries recently  from  Mexico.  He  selected  a  site 
about  a  mile  distant  from  the  presidio.  The 
place  was  called  Taynagan  (Rocky  Hill)  by  the 
Indians.  There  was  a  plentiful  supply  of  stone 
on  the  site  for  building  and  an  abundance  of 
water  for  irrigation. 

On  the  15th  of  December,  1786,  Father 
Lasuen.  in  a  hut  of  boughs,  celebrated  the  first 
mass;  but  December  4,  the  day  that  the  fiesta  of 
Santa  Barbara  is  commemorated,  is  considered 
the  date  of  its  founding.  Fart  of  the  services 
were  held  on  that  day.  A  chapel  built  of  adobes 
and  roofed  with  thatch  was  erected  in  1787.  Sev- 
eral other  buildings  of  adobe  were  erected  the 
same  year.  In  1788,  tile  took  the  place  of 
thatch.  In  1789,  a  second  church,  much  larger 
than  the  first,  was  built.  A  third  church  of  adobe 
was  commenced  in  1793  and  finished  in  1794. 
A  brick  portico  was  added  in  1795  and  the  walls 
plastered. 

The  great  earthquake  of  December,  1812,  de- 
molished the  mission  church  and  destroyed 
nearly  all  the  buildings.  The  years  1813  and 
1814  were  spent  in  removing  the  debris  of  the 
ruined  buildings  and  in  preparing  for  the  erec- 
tion of  new  ones.  The  erection  of  the  presenl 
mission  church  was  begun  in  181 5.  It  was  com- 
pleted and  dedicated  September  10,  1820. 

Father  Caballeria,  in  his  History  of  Santa 
Barbara,  gives  the  dimensions  of  the  church  as. 
follows:  "Length  (includintj  walls),  sixty  varas; 
width,  fourteen  varas;  height,  ten  varas  (a  vara 
is  thirty-four  inches)."     The  walls  arc  of  stone 


and  rest  on  a  foundation  of  rock  and  cement. 
They  are  six  feet  thick  and  are  further  strength- 
ened by  buttresses.  Notwithstanding  the  build- 
ing has  withstood  the  storms  of  four  score  years, 
it  is  still  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation. 
Its  exterior  has  not  been  disfigured  by  attempts 
at  modernizing. 

The  highest  neophyte  population  was  reached 
at  Santa  Barbara  in  1803,  when  it  numbered 
1,792.  The  largest  number  of  cattle  was  5,200  in 
1809.  In  1834,  the  year  of  secularization,  the 
neophytes  numbered  556,  which  was  a  decrease 
of  155  from  the  number  in  1830.  At  such  a  rate 
of  decrease  it  would  not,  even  if  mission  rule 
had  continued,  have  taken  more  than  a  dozen 
years  to  depopulate  the  mission. 

LA    PURISIMA    CONCEPCIOX. 

Two  missions,  San  Buenaventura  and  Santa 
Barbara,  had  been  founded  on  the  Santa  Bar- 
bara channel  in  accordance  with  Neve's  report  of 
1777,  in  which  he  recommended  the  founding  of 
three  missions  and  a  presidio  in  that  district. 
It  was  the  intention  of  General  La  Croix  to  con- 
duct these  on  a  different  plan  from  that  prevail- 
ing in  the  older  missions.  The  natives  were  not 
to  be  gathered  into  a  missionary  establishment, 
but  were  to  remain  in  their  rancherias,  which 
were  to  be  converted  into  mission  pueblos.  The 
Indians  were  to  receive  instruction  in  religion, 
industrial  arts  and  self-government  while  com- 
paratively free  from  restraint.  The  plan  which 
no  doubt  originated  with  Governor  de  Neve, 
was  a  good  one  theoretically,  and  possibly  might 
have  been  practically.  The  missionaries  were 
bitterly  opposed  to  it.  Unfortunately  it  was 
tried  first  in  the  Colorado  river  missions  among 
the  fierce  and  treacherous  Vumas.  The  mas- 
sacre of  the  padres  and  soldiers  of  these  mis- 
sions was  attributed  to  this  innovation. 

In  establishing  the  channel  missions  the  mis- 
sionaries opposed  tlu  inauguration  of  this  plan 
and  by  their  persistence  succeeded  in  setting  it 
aside;  and  the  old  system  was  adopted.  La 
Purisima  Concepcion.  or  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  third  of  the 
channel  mission-,  was  founded  December  8, 
17S7.  by  Father  Lasuen  at  a  place  called  by  the 
natives  Algsacupi.      Its  location  i-  about   twelve 


62 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


miles  from  the  ocean  on  the  Santa  Ynez  river. 
Three  years  after  its  founding  three  hundred 
converts  had  been  baptized  but  not  all  of  them 
lived  at  the  mission.  The  first  church  was  a 
temporary  structure.  The  second  church,  built 
of  adobe  and  roofed  with  tile,  was  completed  in 
1802.  December  21,  1812.  an  earthquake  de- 
molished the  church  and  also  about  one  hundred 
adobe  houses  of  the  neophytes.  A  site  across 
the  river  and  about  four  miles  distant  from  the 
former  one,  was  selected  for  new  buildings.  A 
temporary  building  for  a  church  was  erected 
there.  A  new  church,  built  of  adobe  and  roofed 
with  tile,  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  t8i8. 

The  Indians  revolted  in  1824  and  damage  1 
the  building.  They  took  possession  of  it  and  a 
battle  lasting  four  hours  was  fought  between  one 
hundred  and  thirty  soldiers  and  four  hundred 
Indians.  The  neophytes  cut  loop  holes  in  the 
church  and  used  two  old  rusty  cannon  and  a 
few  guns  they  possessed;  but,  unused  to  lire 
anus,  they  were  routed  with  the  loss  of  several 
killed.  During  the  revolt  which  lasted  several 
months  four  white  men  and  fifteen  or  twenty  In- 
dians were  killed.  The  hostiles,  most  of  whom 
lied  to  the  Tulares,  were  finally  subdued.  The 
leaders  were  punished  with  imprisonment  and 
the  others  returned  in  their  missions. 

This  mission's  population  was  largest  in  1804, 
•  when  it  numbered  1,520.  In  1834  there  were  but 
407  neophytes  connected  with  it.  It  was  secular- 
ized in  February,  1835.  During  mission  rule 
from  1787  to  1834,  the  total  number  of  Indian 
children  baptized  was  1 .402 :  died  902,  which  was 
a  lower  death  rale  than  at  most  of  the  southern 


Santa  Cruz,  one  o)  I     t  of  the  twenty- 

one  missions  of  California,  was  founded  Septem- 
ber 2},,  [790.  The  mission  was  never  very  pros- 
perous. In  [798  many  of  the  neophyt<  di 
and  the  same  year  a  flood  covered  the 
fields  and  damaged  the  church.  In  1812 
the  neophytes  murdered  the  missionary  in 
charge,  Padre  Andres  Quintana.  They  claimed 
that  he  had  treated  them  with  great  cruelly. 
Five  of  those  implicated  in  the  murder  received 
two  hundred  lashes  each  and  were  sentenced  to 
work  in  chains  from  two  to  ten  years.     Only 


one  survived  the  punishment.  The  maximum 
of  its  population  was  reached  in  1798,  when 
there  were  six  hundred  and  forty-four  Indians 
in  the  mission  fold.  The  total  number  bap- 
tized from  the  date  of  its  founding  to  1834  was 
2,466;  the  total  number  of  deaths  was  2,034.  The 
average  death  rate  was  10.93  Per  cent  °f  tlle 
population.  At  the  time  of  its  secularization  in 
[834  there  were  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  In- 
dians belonging  to  the  mission. 

LA    SOLEDAD. 

The  mission  of  our  Lady  of  Solitude  was 
founded  September  29,  1791.  The  site  selected 
had  borne  the  name  Soledad  (solitude)  ever 
since  the  first  exploration  of  the  country.  The 
location  was  thirty  miles  northeast  of  San  Car- 
los de  Monterey.  La  Soledad,  by  which  name 
it  was  generally  known,  was  unfortunate  in  its 
early  missionaries.  One  of  them,  Padre  Gracia, 
was  supposed  to  be  insane  and  the  other,  Padre 
Rubi,  was  very  immoral.  Rubi  was  later  on  ex- 
pelled from  his  college  for  licentiousness.  At 
the  close  of  the  century  the  mission  had  become 
fairly  prosperous,  but  in  1802  an  epidemic  broke 
out  and  five  or  six  deaths  occurred  daily.  The 
Indians  in  alarm  fled  from  the  mission.  The 
largest  population  of  the  mission  was  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-five  in  1805.  At  the  time 
of  secularization  its  population  had  decreased  to 
three  hundred.  The  total  number  of  baptisms 
during  its  existence  was  2,222;  number  of  deaths 
1.803. 

SAX    JOSE. 

St.  Joseph  had  been  designated  by  the  visita- 
dor  General  Galvez  and  Father  Junipero  Serra 
as  the  patron  saint  of  the  mission  colonization  of 
California.  Thirteen  missions  had  been  founded 
and  yet  none  had  been  dedicated  to  San  Jose. 
( )rders  came  from  Mexico  that  one  be  estab- 
lished  and  named  for  him.  Accordingly  a  de- 
tail of  a  corporal  and  five  men,  accompanied  by 
Father  Lasuen,  president  of  the  missions,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  site  selected,  which  was  about 
twelve  miles  northerly  from  the  pueblo  of  San 
Jose.  There,  on  June  11,  1707.  the  mission  was 
founded.  The  mission  was  well  located  agricul- 
turally and  became  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
in   California.     In   1820  it  had  a  population  of 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


1,754,  the  highest  of  any  mission  except  San 
Luis  Rey.  The  total  number  of  baptisms  from 
its  founding  to  1834  was  6,737;  deaths  5,109. 
Secularization  was  effected  in  1836-37.  The  to- 
tal valuation  of  the  mission  property,  not  in- 
cluding lands  or  the  church,  was  $155,000. 

SAN    JUAN    BAUTISTA. 

In  May,  1797,  Governor  Borica  ordered  the 
comandante  at  Monterey  to  detail  a  corporal 
and  five  soldiers  to  proceed  to  a  site  that  had 
been  previously  chosen  for  a  mission  which  was 
about  ten  leagues  northeast  from  Monterey. 
Here  the  soldiers  erected  of  wood  a  church, 
priest's  house,  granary  and  guard  house.  June 
24,  1797,  President  Lasuen,  assisted  by  Fathers 
Catala  and  Martiari,  founded  the  mission  of 
San  Juan  Bautista  (St.  John  the  Baptist).  At 
the  close  of  the  year,  eighty-five  converts  had 
been  baptized.  The  neighboring  Indian  tribes 
were  hostile  and  some  of  them  had  to  be  killed 
before  others  learned  to  behave  themselves.  A 
new  church,  measuring  60x160  feet,  was  com- 
pleted and  dedicated  in  1812.  San  Juan  was  the 
only  mission  whose  population  increased  between 
1820  and  1830.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  its 
numbers  were  recruited  from  the  eastern  tribes, 
its  location  being  favorable  for  obtaining  new- 
recruits  from  the  gentiles.  The  largest  popula- 
tion it  ever  reached  was  1,248  in  1823.  In  1834 
there  were  but  850  neophytes  at  the  mission. 

SAN    MIGUEL. 

Midway  between  the  old  missions  of  San  An- 
tonio and  San  Luis  Obispo,  on  the  25th  of  July, 
1797,  was  founded  the  mission  of  San  Miguel 
Arcangel.  The  two  old  missions  contributed 
horses,  cattle  and  sheep  to  start  the  new  one. 
The  mission  had  a  propitious  beginning;  fifteen 
children  were  baptized  on  the  day  the  mission 
was  founded.  At  the  close  of  the  century  the 
number  of  converts  reached  three  hundred  and 
eighty-five,  of  whom  fifty-three  had  died.  The 
mission  population  numbered  1,076  in  1X14: 
after  that  it  steadily  declined  until,  in  1834,  there 
were  only  599  attached  to  the  establishment. 
Total  number  of  baptisms  was  2,588:  deaths 
2,038.  The  average  death  rate  was  6.91  per 
cent  of  the   population,  the  lowest   rate   in  any 


of  the  missions.     The  mission  was  secularized 
in    1836. 

SAN    FERNANDO    REY    DE    ESPANA. 

In  the  closing  years  of  the  century  explora- 
tions were  made  for  new  mission  sites  in  Cali- 
fornia. These  were  to  be  located  between  mis- 
sions already  founded.  Among  those  selected 
at  that  time  was  the  site  of  the  mission  San  Fer- 
nando on  the  Encino  Rancho,  then  occupied  by 
Francisco  Reyes.  Reyes  surrendered  whatever 
right  he  had  to  the  land  and  the  padres  occupied 
his  house  for  a  dwelling  while  new  buildings 
were     in  the  course  of  erection. 

September  8.  1797,  with  the  usual  ceremo- 
nies, the  mission  was  founded  by  President 
Lasuen,  assisted  by  Father  Dumetz.  According 
tc  instructions  from  Mexico  it  was  dedicated  to 
San  Fernando  Rey  de  Esparia  (Fernando  III., 
King  of  Spain,  12 17-125 1).  At  the  end  of  the 
year  1797,  fifty-five  converts  had  been  gathered 
into  the  mission  fold  and  at  the  end  of  the  cen- 
tury three  hundred  and  fifty-two  had  been  bap- 
tized. 

The  adobe  church  began  before  the  close  of 
the  century  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  De- 
cember, 1806.  It  had  a  tiled  roof.  It  was  but 
slightly  injured  by  the  great  earthquakes  of  De- 
cember, 1812,  which  were  so  destructive  to  the 
mission  buildings  at  San  Juan  Capistrano,  Santa 
Barbara,  La  Purisima  and  Santa  Vnez.  This 
mission  reached  its  greatest  prosperity  in  i8ig, 
when  its  neophyte  population  numbered  1,080. 
The  largest  number  of  cattle  owned  by  it  at  one 
time  was   12,800  in   1819. 

Its  decline  was  not  so  rapid  as  that  of  some 
of  the  other  missions,  but  the  death  rate,  espe- 
cially among  the  children,  was  fully  as  high.  Of 
the  1.367  Indian  children  baptized  there  during 
the  existence  of  mission  rule  965,  or  over  seventy 
per  cent,  died  in  childhood.  It  was  not  strange 
that  the  fearful  death  rate  both  of  children  and 
adults  at  the  missions  sometimes  frightened 
the  neophytes  into  running  away. 

SAX     LUIS    REY    DE     IK  VNCI.A 

Several  explorations  had  been  made  i"i  a  mis 
sion  site  between  San  Diego  and  San  Juan 
1  apistrano.     There  was    quite    a    large    Indian 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


population  that  had  not  been  brought  into  the 
folds  of  either  mission.  In  October,  1797,  a 
new  exploration  of  this  territory  was  ordered 
and  a  site  was  finally  selected,  although  the  ag- 
ricultural advantages  were  regarded  as  not  sat- 
isfactory. 

Governor  Borica,  February  28,  1798.  issued 
orders  to  the  comandante  at  San  Diego  to 
furnish  a  detail  of  soldiers  to  aid  in  erecting  the 
necessary  buildings.  June  13.  1798.  President 
Lasuen,  the  successor  of  President  Serra,  as- 
sisted by  Fathers  Peyri  and  Santiago,  with  the 
usual  services,  founded  the  new  mission.  It 
was  named  San  Luis  Rev  de  Francia  (St.  Louis, 
King  of  France).  Its  location  was  near  a  river 
on  which  was  bestowed  the  name  of  the  mis- 
sion. The  mission  flourished  from  its  very  be- 
ginning. Its  controlling  power  was  Padre  An- 
tonio Peyri.  He  remained  in  charge  of  it  from 
its  founding  almost  to  its  downfall,  in  all  thirty- 
three  years.  He  was  a  man  of  great  executive 
abilities  and  under  his  administration  it  be- 
came one  of  the  largest  and  most  prosperous 
missions  in  California.  It  reached  its  maximum 
in  1826,  when  its  neophyte  population  numbered 
2,869,  the  largest  number  at  one  time  connected 
with  any  mission  in  the  territory. 

The  asLtencia  or  auxiliary  mission  of  San 
Antonio  was  established  at  l'ala,  seven  leagues 
easterly  from  the  parent  mission.  A  chapel  was 
erected  here  and  regular  services  held.  One  of 
the  padres  connected  with  San  Luis  Rev  was 
in  charge  of  this  station.  Father  Peyri  left  Cal- 
ifornia  in  1831,  with  the  exiled  Governor  Vic- 
toria. He  went  to  Mexico  and  from  there  to 
Spain  and  lastly  to  Rome,  wdiere  he  died.  The 
mission  was  converted  into  an  Indian  pueblo  in 
[834,  but  the  pueblo  was  not  a  success.  Most 
.if  the  neophytes  drifted  to  Los  Angeles  and 
San  Gabriel.  Luring  the  Mexican  conquest 
American  troops  weir  stationed  there.  It  has 
recently  been  partially  repaired  and  is  now  used 
for  a  Franciscan  school  under  charge  of  Father 
J.  J.  O'Keefe. 

SANTA    YNEZ. 

Santa  Ynez  was  the  last  mission  founded  in 
Southern  California.  It  was  established  Sep- 
tember 17.  [804.    Its  location  is  about  forty  miles 


northwesterly  from  Santa  Barbara,  on  the  east- 
erly side  of  the  Santa  Ynez  mountains  and 
eighteen  miles  southeasterly  from  La  Purisima. 
Father  Tapis,  president  of  the  missions  from 
1803  to  1812,  preached  the  sermon  and  was 
assisted  in  the  ceremonies  by  Fathers  Cipies, 
Calzada  and  Gutierrez.  Carrillo,  the  comandante 
at  the  presidio,  was  present,  as  were  also  a  num- 
ber of  neophytes  from  Santa  Barbara  and  La 
Purisima.  Some  of  these  were  transferred  to 
the  new  mission. 

The  earthquake  of  December,  1812,  shook 
down  a  portion  of  the  church  and  destroyed  a 
number  of  the  neophytes'  houses.  In  1815  the 
erection  of  a  new  church  was  begun.  It  was  built 
of  adobes,  lined  with  brick,  and  was  completed 
and  dedicated  July  4.  1817.  The  Indian  revolt  of 
[824,  described  in  the  sketch  of  La  Purisima, 
broke  out  first  at  this  mission.  The  neophytes 
took  possession  of  the  church.  The  mission 
guard  defended  themselves  and  the  padre.  At 
the  approach  of  the  troops  from  Santa  Barbara 
the  Indians  fled  to  La  Purisima. 

San  Ynez  attained  its  greatest  population. 
770,  in  1816.  In  1834  its  population  had  de- 
creased  to  334.  From  its  founding  in  1804  to 
[834,  when  the  decrees  of  secularization  were 
put  in  force,  /$~  Indian  children  were  baptized 
and  519  died,  leaving  only  238,  or  about  thirty 
per  cent  of  those  baptized  to  grow  up. 

S  \X   RAFAEL. 

San  Rafael  was  the  first  mission  established 
north  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  It  was 
founded  December  14,  1817.  At  first  it  was  an 
asistencia  or  branch  of  San  Francisco.  An  epi- 
demic had  broken  out  in  the  Mission  Dolores 
and  a  number  of  the  Indians  were  transferred  to 
San  Rafael  to  escape  the  plague.  Later  on  it 
attained  to  the  dignity  of  a  mission.  In  1828  its 
population  was  1,140.  After  1830  it  began  to 
decline  and  at  the  time  of  its  secularization  in 
1834  there  were  not  more  than  500  connected 
with  it.  In  the  seventeen  years  of  its  existence 
under  mission  rule  there  were  1,873 baptisms  and 
698  deaths.  The  average  death  rate  was  6.09 
per  cent  of  the  population.  The  mission  was 
secularized  in  1834.  All  traces  of  the  mission 
building  have  disappeared. 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


r,:, 


SAN    FRANCISCO    SOLANO. 

The  mission  of  San  Francisco  de  Asis  had 
fallen  into  a  rapid  decline.  The  epidemic  that 
had  carried  off  a  number  of  the  neophytes  and 
had  caused  the  transfer  of  a  considerable  num- 
ber to  San  Rafael  had  greatly  reduced  its  popu- 
lation. Besides,  the  sterility  of  the  soil  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mission  necessitated  going  a  long- 
distance for  agricultural  land  and  pasturage  for 
the  herds  and  Hocks.  On  this  account  and  also 
for  the  reason  that  a  number  of  new  converts 
might  be  obtained  from  the  gentiles  living  in 
the  district  north  of  the  bay.  Governor  Arguello 
and  the  mission  authorities  decided  to  establish 
a  mission  in  that  region.  Explorations  were 
made  in  June  and  July.  1823.  On  the  41  li  of 
July  a  site  was  selected,  a  cross  blessed  and 
raised,  a  volley  of  musketry  fired  and  mass  said 
at  a  place  named  New  San  Francisco,  but  after- 
wards designated  as  the  Mission  of  San  Fran- 
cisco Solano.  On  the  25th  of  August  work  was 
begun  on  the  mission  building  and  on  the  4th  of 
April,  1824,  a  church,  24x105  feet,  built  of  wood, 
was  dedicated. 

It  had  been  intended  to  remove  the  neophytes 
from  the  old  mission  of  San  Francisco  to  the 
new;  but  the  padres  of  the  old  mission  opposed 
its  depopulation  and  suppression.  A  com- 
promise was  effected  by  allowing  all  neophytes 
of  the  old  mission  who  so  elected  to  go  to  the 
new.  Although  well  located,  the  Mission  of 
Solano  was  not  prosperous.  Its  largest  popula- 
tion, 996,  was  reached  in  1832.  The  total  num- 
ber of  baptisms  were  1,315;  deaths,  651.  The 
average  death  rate  was  7.8  per  cent  of  the  pop- 
ulation. The  mission  was  secularized  in  1835,  at 
which  time  there  were  about  550  neophytes  at- 
tached to  it. 

The  architecture  of  the  missions  was  Moorish 
— that  is,  if  it  belonged  to  any  school.  The 
padres  in  most  cases  were  the  architects  and  mas- 
ter builders.  The  main  feature  of  the  buildings 
was  massiveness.  Built  of  adobe  or  rough  stone, 
their  walls  were  of  great  thickness.  Most  of  tin.' 
church  buildings  were  narrow,  their  width  1"  ing 
out  of  proportion  to  their  length.  This  was 
necessitated  by  the  difficulty  of  procuring  j « > i - 1  -^ 
and  rafters  of  sufficient  length  for  wide  build 
ings.    The  padres  had  no  means  or  perhaps  no 


knowledge  of  trussing  a  roof,  and  the  width 
of  the  building  had  to  be  proportioned  to  the 
length  of  the  timbers  procurable.  Some  of  the 
buildings  were  planned  with  an  eye  for  the  pic- 
turesque, others  for  utility  only.  The  sites  se- 
lected for  the  mission  buildings  in  nearly  every 
case  commanded  a  fine  view  of  the  surrounding 
country.  In  their  prime,  their  white  walls  loom- 
ing up  on  the  horizon  could  be  seen  at  long 
distance  and  acted  as  beacons  to  guide  the  trav- 
eler to  their  hospitable  shelter. 

Col.  J.  J.  Warner,  who  came  to  California  in 
1831,  and  saw  the  mission  buildings  before  they 
had  fallen  into  decay,  thus  describes  their  gen- 
eral plan:  "As  soon  after  the  founding  of  a 
mission  as  circumstances  would  permit,  a  large 
pile  of  buildings  in  the  form  of  a  quadrangle, 
composed  in  part  of  burnt  brick-,  but  chiefly  of 
sun-dried  ones,  was  erected  around  a  spacious 
court.  A  large  and  capacious  church,  which 
usually  occupied  one  of  the  outer  corners  of  the 
quadrangle,  was  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  pile. 
In  this  massive  building,  covered  with  red  tile, 
was  the  habitation  of  the  friars,  rooms  for  guests 
and  for  the  major  domos  and  their  families.  In 
other  buildings  of  the  quadrangle  were  hospital 
wards,  storehouses  and  granaries,  rooms  for 
carding,  spinning  and  weaving  of  woolen  fab- 
rics, shops  for  blacksmiths,  joiners  and  carpen- 
ters, saddlers,  shoemakers  and  soap  boilers,  and 
cellars  for  storing  the  product  (wine  and  brandy) 
of  the  vineyards.  Near  the  habitation  of  the 
friars  another  building  of  similar  material  was 
placed  and  used  as  quarters  for  a  small  number 
— about  a  corporal's  guard — of  soldiers  under 
command  of  a  non-commissioned  officer,  to  hold 
the  Indian  neophytes  in  cheek  as  well  as  to  pro- 
tect the  mission  from  the  attacks  of  hostile  In- 
dians." The  Indians,  when  the  buildings  of  the 
establishment  were  complete,  lived  in  adobe 
houses  buill  in  lines  near  the  quadrangle.  Some 
of  the  buildings  of  the  square  were  occupied  by 
die  alcaldes  or  Indian  bosses.  When  the  In- 
dians .  1  into  the  mis 
the)  lived  in  brush  shanties  a  msti  ui  ted  in  the 
-ante  manner  as  their  forefathers  had  built  them 
for  generations.  In  some  of  the  missions  these 
huts  were  not  replaced  by  adobe  buildin 

ration  or  more.     Vancouver,  who  visited 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  Mission  of  San  Francisco  in  1792,  sixteen 
Mar.-  aitcr  its  founding,  describes  the  Indian 
village  with  its  brush-built  huts.  He  says: 
"'These  miserable  habitations,  each  of  which  was 
allotted  for  the  residence  of  a  whole  family, 
were  erected  with  some  degree  of  uniformity 
about  three  or  four  feet  asunder  in  straight  rows, 
leaving  lanes  or  passageways  at  right  angles  be- 
tween them;  but  these  were  so  abominably  in- 
fested with  every  kind  of  filth  and  nastiness  as 
to  be  rendered  no  less  offensive  than  degrading 
to  the  human  species." 

Of  the  houses  at  Santa  Clara,  Vancouver 
says:  "The  habitations  were  not  so  regularly 
disposed  nor  did  it  (the  village)  contain  so  many 
as  the  village  of  San  Francisco,  yet  the  same 
horrid  state  of  uncleanliness  and  laziness  seemed 
to  pervade  the  whole."  Better  houses  were  then 
in  the  course  of  construction  at  Santa  Clara. 
"Each  house  would  contain  two  rooms  and  a 
garret  with  a  garden  in  the  rear."     Vancouver 


visited  San  Carlos  de  Monterey  in  1792,  twenty- 
two  \ears  after  its  founding.  He  says:  "Not- 
withstanding these  people  are  taught  and  em- 
ployed from  time  to  time  in  many  of  the  occu- 
pations most  useful  to  civil  society,  they  had  not 
made  themselves  any  more  comfortable  habita- 
tions than  those  of  their  forefathers;  nor  did 
they  seem  in  any  respect  to  have  benefited  by 
the  instruction  they  had  received." 

Captain  Beechey,  of  the  English  navy,  who 
visited  San  Francisco  and  the  missions  around 
the  bay  in  t8jS,  found  the  Indians  a:  San  Fran- 
cisco still  living  in  their  filthy  hovels  and  grind- 
ing acorns  for  food.  "San  Jose  (mission)."  he 
says,  "on  the  other  hand,  was  all  neatness,  clean- 
liness and  comfort."  At  San  Carlos  he  found 
that  the  filthy  hovels  described  by  Vancouver 
had  nearly  all  disappeared  and  the  Indians  were 
comfortably  housed.  He  adds:  "Sickness  in 
general  prevailed  to  an  incredible  extent  in  all 
the  missions." 


CHAPTER  VI. 


PRESIDIOS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 


THE  presidio  was  an  essential  feature  'if 
the  Spanish  colonization  of  America.  It 
was  usually  a  fortified  square  of  brick  or 
stone,  inside  of  which  were  the  barracks  of  the 
soldiers,  the  officers'  quarters,  a  church,  store 
houses  for  provisions  and  military  supplies.  The 
gates  at  the  entrance  were  closed  at  night,  and 
it  was  usually  provisioned  for  a  siege.  In  the 
colonization  of  California  there  were  four  pre- 
sidios established,  namely:  San  Diego,  Monte- 
rey, San  Francisco  and  Santa  Barbara.  Each 
was  the  headquarters  of  a  military  district  and 
besides  a  bod)  of  troops  kept  at  the  presidio 
it  furnished  guards  for  the  missions  in  its  re- 
pective  districl  and  also  for  the  pueblos  if  there 
in)  in  the  district.  The  first  presidio  was 
founded  at  San  Diego.  \-  stated  in  a  previous 
chapter,  the  two  -hips  of  the  expedition  by  sea 
for  the  settlement  of  California  arrived  at  the 
port    of    San     Diego    in    a    deplorable    condition 


from  scurvy.  The  San  Antonia,  after  a  voyage 
of  fifty-nine  days,  arrived  on  April  11;  the  San 
Carlos,  although  she  had  sailed  a  month  earlier, 
did  not  arrive  until  April  29.  consuming  one 
hundred  and  ten  days  in  the  voyage.  Don 
Miguel  Constanso,  the  engineer  who  came  on 
this  vessel,  says  in  his  report:  "The  scurvy  had 
infected  all  without  exception:  in  such  sort  that 
cm  entering  San  Diego  already  two  men  had 
died  of  the  said  sickness:  most  of  the  seamen, 
and  half  of  the  troops,  found  themselves  pros- 
trate in  their  beds;  only  four  mariners  remained 
<m  their  feet,  ami  attended,  aided  by  the  troops, 
to  trimming  and  furling  the  sails  and  other 
working  of  the  ship."  "The  San  Antonia."  says 
Constanso,  "had  the  half  of  its  crew  equally 
affected  b)  the  scurvy,  of  which  illness  two  men 
had  likewise  died."  This  vessel,  although  it  had 
arrived  at  the  port  on  the  1  1th  of  April,  had  evi- 
dently not  landed  any  of  its  sick.    <  hi  the  1st  of 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


May,  Don  Pedro  Fages,  the  commander  of  the 
troops,  Constanso  and  Estorace,  the  second  cap- 
tain of  the  San  Carlos,  with  twenty-five  soldiers, 
set  out  to  find  a  watering  place  where  they  could 
fill  their  barrels  with  fresh  water.  "Following 
the  west  shore  of  the  port,  after  going  a  mat- 
ter of  three  leagues,  they  arrived  at  the  banks 
of  a  river  hemmed  in  with  a  fringe  of  willows 
and  cottonwoods.  Its  channel  must  have  been 
twenty  varas  wide  and  it  discharges  into  an 
estuary  which  at  high  tide  could  admit  the 
launch  and  made  it  convenient  for  accomplish- 
ing the  taking  on  of  water."  *  *  :i  "Hav- 
ing reconnoitered  the  watering  place,  the  Span- 
iards betook  themselves  back  on  board  the 
vessels  and  as  these  were  found  to  be  very  far 
away  from  the  estuary  in  which  the  river  dis- 
charges, their  captains,  Vicente  Vila  and  Don 
Juan  Perez,  resolved  to  approach  it  as  closely 
as  they  could  in  order  to  give  less  work  to  the 
people  handling  the  launches.  These  labors 
were  accomplished  with  satiety  of  hardship;  for 
from  one  day  to  the  next  the  number  of  the  sick- 
kept  increasing,  along  with  the  dying  of  the 
most  aggravated  cases  and  augmented  the  fa- 
tigue of  the  few  who  remained  on  their 
feet." 

"Immediate  to  the  beach  on  the  side  toward 
the  east  a  scanty  enclosure  was  constructed 
formed  of  a  parapet  of  earth  and  fascines,  which 
was  garnished  with  two  cannons.  They  disem- 
barked some  sails  and  awnings  from  the  packets 
with  which  they  made  two  tents  capacious 
enough  for  a  hospital.  At  one  side  the  two  offi- 
cers, the  missionary  fathers  and  the  surgeon  put 
up  their  own  tents;  the  sick  were  brought  in 
launches  to  this  improvised  presidio  and  hospi- 
tal." "But  these  diligencies,"  says  Constanso, 
"were  not  enough  to  procure  them  health." 
*  *  *  "The  cold  made  itself  felt  with  rigor  at 
night  in  the  barracks  and  the  sun  by  day.  alter- 
nations which  made  the  sick  suffer  cruelly,  two 
or  three  of  them  dying  every  day.  And  this 
whole  expedition,  which  had  been  composed  of 
more  than  ninety  men,  saw  itself  reduced  to  only 
eight  soldiers  and  as  many  mariners  in  a  state  to 
attend  to  the  safeguarding  of  the  barks,  the 
working  of  the  launches,  custody  of  the  camp 
and  service  of  the  sick." 


Rivera  y  Moncada,  the  commander  of  the 
first  detachment  of  the  land  expedition,  arrived 
at  San  Diego  May  14.  It  was  decided  by  the 
officers  to  remove  the  camp  to  a  point  near  the 
river.  This  had  not  been  done  before  on  ac- 
count of  the  small  force  able  to  work  and  the 
lack  of  beasts  of  burden.  Rivera's  men  were  all 
in  good  health  and  after  a  day's  rest  "all  were 
removed  to  a  new  camp,  which  was  transferred 
one  league  further  north  on  the  right  side  of 
the  river  upon  a  hill  of  middling  height." 

Here  a  presidio  was  built,  the  remains  of 
which  can  still  be  seen.  It  was  a  parapet  of 
earth  similar  to  that  thrown  up  at  the  first  camp, 
which,  according  to  Bancroft,  was  probably 
within  the  limits  of  New  Town  and  the  last  one 
in  Old  Town  or  Xorth  San  Diego. 

While  Portola's  expedition  was  away  search- 
ing for  the  port  of  Monterey,  the  Indians  made 
an  attack  on  the  camp  at  San  Diego,  killed  a 
Spanish  youth  and  wounded  Padre  Yiscaino,  the 
blacksmith,  and  a  Lower  California  neophyte. 
The  soldiers  remaining  at  San  Diego  sur- 
rounded the  buildings  with  a  stockade.  Con- 
stanso says,  on  the  return  of  the  Spaniards  of 
Portola's  expedition;  "They  found  in  good  con- 
dition their  humble  buildings,  surrounded  with 
a  palisade  of  trunks  of  trees,  capable  of  a  good 
defense  in  Case  of  necessity." 

"In  1782,  the  presidial  force  at  San  Diego,  be- 
sides the  commissioned  officers,  consisted  of  five 
corporals  and  forty-six  soldiers.  Six  men  were 
constantly  on  duty  at  each  of  the  three  missions 
of  the  district,  San  Diego,  San  Juan  Capistrano 
and  San  Gabriel ;  while  four  served  at  the  pueblo 
of  Los  Angeles,  thus  leaving  a  sergeant,  two 
corporals  and  about  twenty-five  men  to  garrison 
the  fort,  care  for  the  horses  and  a  small  herd  of 
cattle,  and  to  carry  the  mails,  which  latter  dut) 
was  the  hardest  connected  with  the  presidio 
service  in  time  of  peace.  There  were  a  carpenter 
and  blacksmith  constantly  employed,  besides  a 
few  servants,  mosth  nativ<  ion  of 

the  district  in  1790,  not  including  Indians,  was 
220."* 

Before  the  close  of  the  century  the  wooden 
palisades  had  been  replaced  by  a  thick  adobe 

♦Bancroft's  History  of  California.   Vol.   I. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


wall,  but  even  then  the  fort  was  not  a  very  for- 
midable defense.  Vancouver,  the  English  navi- 
gator, who  visited  it  in  1793,  describes  it  as 
"'irregularly  built  on  very  uneven  ground,  which 
makes  it  liable  to  some  inconveniences  without 
the  obvious  appearance  of  any  object  for  select- 
ing such  a  spot."  It  then  mounted  three  small 
brass  cannon. 

Gradually  a  town  grew  up  around  the  pre- 
sidio. Robinson,  who  visited  San  Diego  in 
[829,  thus  describes  it:  "On  the  lawn  beneath 
the  hill  on  which  the  presidio  is  built  stood 
about  thirty  houses  of  rude  appearance,  mostly 
occupied  by  retired  veterans,  not  so  well  con- 
structed in  respect  either  to  beauty  or  stability 
as  the  houses  at  Monterey,  with  the  exception  of 
that  belonging  to  our  Administrador,  Don  Juan 
Bandini,  whose  mansion,  then  in  an  unfinished 
state,  bid  fair,  when  completed,  to  surpass  any 
other  in  the  countr)  ." 

Under  Spain  there  was  attempt  at  least  to 
keep  the  presidio  in  repair,  but  under  Mexican 
domination  it  fell  into  decay.  Dana  describes  it 
as  he  saw  it  in  1836:  "The  first  place  we  went 
to  was  the  old  ruinous  presidio,  which  stands  on 
rising  ground  near  the  village  which  it  over- 
looks. It  is  built  in  the  form  of  an  open  square, 
like  all  the  other  presidios,  and  was  in  a  most 
ruinous  state,  with,  the  exception  of  one  side, 
in  which  the  comandante  lived  with  his  family. 
There  were  only  two  guns,  one  of  which  was 
spiked  and  the  other  had  no  carriage.  Twelve 
half  clothed  and  half  starved  looking  fellows 
composed  the  garrison;  and  they,  it  was  said, 
had  11., t  a  musket  apiece.  The  small  settlement 
lav  directly  below  the  fort  composed  of  about 
fort)  dark  brown  looking  huts  or  houses  and 
three  or  four  larger  ones  whitewashed,  which 
d  to   the   -elite  de   razon." 

THE    PRESIDIO   OF    MONTEREY  . 

In  a  previous  chapter  has  been  narrated  the 
Stori  oi  Portola's  expedition  in  search  of  Mon- 
terey Bay,  how  the  e\plorer>.  failing  to  recog- 
nize it,  passed  on  to  the  northward  and  discov- 
ered the  greal  Ba)  of  San  Francisco.  On  their 
return  the)  set  up  a  cross  at  what  they  supposed 
was  the  Baj  of  Monterey:  and  at  the  fo.it  of 
the  cross  buried  a  letter  giving  information  to 


any  ship  that  might  come  up  the  coast  in  search 
of  them  that  they  had  returned  to  San  Diego. 
They  had  continually  been  on  the  lookout  for 
the  San  Jose,  which  was  to  co-operate  with 
them,  but  that  vessel  had  been  lost  at  sea  with 
all  on  board.  On  their  return  to  San  Diego,  in 
January.  1770,  preparations  were  made  for  a 
return  as  soon  as  a  vessel  should  arrive.  It 
was  not  until  the  16th  of  April  that  the  San  An- 
tonia.  the  only  vessel  available,  was  ready  to 
depart  for  the  second  objective  point  of  settle- 
ment. On  the  17th  of  April,  Governor  Portola, 
Lieutenant  Fages,  Father  Crespi  and  nineteen 
soldiers  took  up  their  line  of  inarch  for  Monte- 
rey. They  followed  the  trail  made  in  1769  and 
reached  the  point  where  they  had  set  up  the 
cross  April  24.  They  found  it  decorated  with 
feathers,  bows  and  arrows  and  a  string  of  fish. 
Evidently  the  Indians  regarded  it  as  the  white 
man's  fetich  and  tried  to  propitiate  it  by  offer- 
ings. 

The  San  Antonia,  bearing  Father  Serra, 
Pedro  Prat,  the  surgeon,  and  Miguel  Constanso, 
the  civil  engineer,  and  supplies  for  the  mission 
and  presidio,  arrived  the  last  day  of  May.  Por- 
tola was  still  uncertain  whether  this  was  really 
Monterey  Bay.  It  was  hard  to  discover  in  the 
open  roadstead  stretching  out  before  them  Vis- 
caino's  land-locked  harbor,  sheltered  from  all 
winds.  After  the  arrival  of  the  San  Antonia  the 
officers  of  the  land  and  sea  expedition  made  a 
reconnaissance  of  the  bay  and  all  concurred  that 
at  last  they  had  reached  the  destined  port.  They 
located  the  oak  under  whose  wide-spreading 
branches  Padre  Ascension,  Yiscaino's  chaplain, 
had  celebrated  mass  in  1602,  and  the  springs  of 
fresh  water  near  by.  Preparations  were  begun 
at  once  for  the  founding  of  mission  and  presidio. 
A  shelter  of  boughs  was  constructed,  an  altar 
raised  and  the  bells  hung  upon  the  branch  of  a 
tree.  Father  Serra  sang  mass  and  as  they  had 
no  musical  instrument,  salvos  of  artillery  and 
volleys  of  musketry  furnished  an  accompani- 
ment to  the  service.  After  the  religious  services 
the  royal  standard  was  raised  and  Governor 
Portola  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the 
name  of  Kin-  Carlos  111..  King  of  Spain.  The 
ceremoii)  closed  with  the  pulling  of  grass  and 
the  casting  of  stones  around,  significant  of  en- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


69 


tire  possession  of  the  earth  and  its  products. 
After  the  service  all  feasted. 

Two  messengers  were  sent  by  Portola  with 
dispatches  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  A  day's  jour- 
ney below  San  Diego  they  met  Rivera  and 
twenty  soldiers  coming  with  a  herd  of  cattle  and 
a  flock  of  sheep  to  stock  the  mission  pastures. 
Rivera  sent  back  five  of  his  soldiers  with  Por- 
tola's  carriers.  The  messengers  reached  Todos 
Santos  near  Cape  San  Lucas  in  forty-nine  days 
from  Monterey.  From  there  the  couriers  w:ere 
sent  to  San  Bias  by  ship,  arriving  at  the  city  of 
Mexico  August  10.  There  was  great  rejoicing 
at  the  capital.  Marquis  Le  Croix  and  Yisitador 
Galvez  received  congratulations  in  the  King's 
name  for  the  extension  of  his  domain. 

Portola  superintended  the  building  of  some 
rude  huts  for  the  shelter  of  the  soldiers,  the 
officers  and  the  padres.  Around  the  square 
containing  the  huts  a  palisade  of  poles  was  con- 
structed.'  July  9,  Portola  having  turned  over 
the  command  of  the  troops  to  Lieutenant  Pages, 
embarked  on  the  San  Antonia  for  San  Bias; 
with  him  went  the  civil  engineer,  Constanso, 
from  whose  report  I  have  frequently  quoted. 
Neither  of  them  ever  returned  to  California. 

The  difficult}  of  reaching  California  by  ship 
on  account  of  the  head  winds  that  blow  down 
the  coast  caused  long  delays  in  the  arrival  oi 
vessels  with  supplies.  This  brought  about  a 
scarcity  of  provisions  at  the  presidios  and  mis- 
sions. 

In  1772  the  padres  of  San  Gabriel  were  re- 
duced to  a  milk  diet  and  what  little  they  could 
obtain  from  the  Indians.  At  Monterey  and  San 
Antonio  the  padres  and  the  soldiers  were  obliged 
to  live  on  vegetables.  In  this  emergency  Lieu- 
tenant Pages  and  a  squad  of  soldiers  went  on  a 
bear  hunt.  They  spent  three  months  in  the 
summer  of  1772  killing  bears  in  the  Canada  de 
los  Osos  (Bear  Canon).  The  soldiers  and  mis- 
sionaries had  a  plentiful  supply  of  bear  meat. 
There  were  not  enough  cattle  in  the  countr)  1-1 
admit  of  slaughtering  any  for  food.  The  pre- 
sidial  walls  which  were  substituted  for  the  pal- 
isades were  built  of  adobes  and  stone.  The 
inclosure  measured  one  hundred  and  ten  yards 
011  each  side.  The  buildings  were  roofed  with 
tiles.     "On  the  north  were  the  main   entrance. 


the  guard  house,  and  the  warehouses ;  on  the 
west  the  houses  of  the  governor  comandante 
and  other  officers,  some  fifteen  apartments  in 
all;  on  the  east  nine  houses  for  soldiers,  and  a 
blacksmith  shop;  and  on  the  south,  besides 
nine  similar  houses,  was  the  presidio  church, 
opposite  the  main  gateway."* 

The  military  force  at  the  presidio  consisted  of 
cavalry,  infantry  and  artillery,  their  numbers 
varying  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  in  all.  These  soldiers  furnished  guards 
for  the  missions  of  San  Carlos,  San  Antonio, 
San  Miguel,  Soledad  and  San  Luis  Obispo.  The 
total  population  of  gente  de  razon  in  the  district 
at  the  close  of  the  century  numbered  four  hun- 
dren  and  ninety.  The  rancho  "del  rey"  or 
rancho  of  the  king  was  located  where  Salinas 
City  now  stands.  This  rancho  was  managed  by 
the  soldiers  of  presidio  and  was  intended  to 
furnish  the  military  with  meat  and  a  supply  of 
horses  for  the  cavalry.  At  the  presidio  a  num- 
ber of  invalided  soldiers  who  had  served  out 
their  time  were  settled;  these  were  allowed  to 
cultivate  land  and  raise  cattle  on  the  unoccu- 
pied lands  of  the  public  domain.  A  town  grad- 
ually grew  up  around  the  presidio  square. 

Vancouver,  the  English  navigator,  visited  the 
presidio  of  Monterey  in  1792  and  describes  it  as 
it  then  appeared:  "The  buildings  of  the  pre- 
sidio form  a  parallelogram  or  long  square  com- 
prehending an  area  of  about  three  hundred 
yards  long  by  two  hundred  and  fifty  wide,  mak- 
ing one  entire  enclosure.  The  external  wall  is 
of  the  same  magnitude  and  built  with  the  same 
materials,  and  except  that  the  officers'  apart- 
ments are  covered  with  red  tile  made  in  the 
neighborhood,  the  whole  presents  the  same 
lonely,  uninteresting  appearance  as  that  already 
described  at  San  Francisco.  Like  that  estab- 
lishment, the  several  buildings  for  the  use  of  the 
officers,  soldiers,  an  !  tor  the  protection  of  stores 
and  provisions  are  erected  along  the  wall-  on 
the  inside  of  the  inclosure,  which  admits  of  but 
one  entrance  for  carriages  or  persons  on 
back:  this,  as  at  San  Francisco,  is  on  the  side 
of  the  square  fronting  the  church  which  was 
rebuilding   with   -tone   like   thai    at    San    ( 


croft's   Hi-!- 


Til 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


"At  each  comer  of  the  square  is  a  small  kind 
of  block  house  raised  a  little  above  the  top  of 
the  wall  where  swivels  might  be  mounted, for  its 
protection.  On  the  outside,  before  the  entrance 
into  the  presidio,  which  fronts  the  shores  of 
the  bay.  are  placed  seven  cannon,  four  nine  and 
three  three-pounders,  mounted.  The  guns  are 
planted  on  the  open  plain  ground  without 
breastwork  or  other  screen  for  those  employed 
in  working  them  or  the  least  protection  from  the 
weather." 

THE   PRESIDIO  OE  SAN    FRANCISCO. 

In  a  previous  chapter  I  have  given  an  account 
of  the  discovery  of  San  Francisco  Bay  by  Por- 
tola's  expedition  in  1769.  The  discovery  of  that 
great  bay  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  an 
unimportant  event  by  the  governmental  offi- 
cials. While  there  was  great  rejoicing  at  the 
city  of  Mexico  over  the  founding  of  a  mission 
for  the  conversion  of  a  few  naked  savages,  the 
discovery  of  the  bay  was  scarcely  noticed,  ex- 
cept to  construe  it  into  some  kind  of  a  miracle. 
Father  Serra  assume,!  that  St.  Francis  had  con- 
cealed Monterey  from  the  explorers  and  led 
them  to  the  discovery  of  the  bay  in  order  that 
lie  (St.  Francis)  might  have  a  mission  named 
for  him.  Indeed,  the  only  use  to  which  the 
discovery  could  be  put,  according  to  Serra's 
ideas,  was  a  site  for  a  mission  on  its  shores,  dedi- 
cated to  the  founder  of  the  Franciscans.  Several 
explorations  were  made  with  this  in  view.  In 
1772,  Lieutenant  Fages,  Father  Crespi  and  six- 
teen soldiers  passed  up  the  western  side  of  the 
bay  and  in  1774  Captain  Rivera,  Father  Palou 
and  a  squad  of  soldiers  passed  up  the  eastern 
shore,  returning  by  way  of  Monte  Diablo, 
Amador  valley  and  Alameda  creek  to  the  Santa 
Clara  valley. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1774,  viceroy 
Bucureli  ordered  the  founding  of  a  mission  and 
pre  Tlio  at  San  Francisco.  Hitherto  all  explora- 
tions of  the  bay  had  been  made  by  land  expedi- 
tions. No  one  had  ventured  on  its  waters.  In 
1775  Lieutenant  Juan  <le  Ayala  of  the  royal 
navy  was  sent  in  the  old  pioneer  mission  ship, 
the  San  Carlos,  to  make  a  survey  of  it.  August 
5.  1775,  he  passed  through  the  ( '.olden  Gate. 
He  moored  his  ship  at  an  island  called  by  him 


Nuestra  Sehora  de  los  Angeles,  now  Angel 
Island.  He  spent  forty  days  in  making  explora- 
tions. His  ship  was  the  first  vessel  to  sail  upon 
the  great  Bay  of  San  Francisco. 

In  1774,  Captain  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza,  com- 
mander of  the  presidio  of  Tubac  in  Sonora,  had 
made  an  exploration  of  a  route  from  Sonora  via 
the  Colorado  river,  across  the  desert  and 
through  the  San  Gorgonia  pass  to  San  Gabriel 
mission.  From  Tubac  to  the  Colorado  river  the 
route  hail  been  traveled  before  but  from  the 
Colorado  westward  the  country  was  a  terra  in- 
cognita. He  was  guided  over  this  by  a  lower 
California  neophyte  who  had  deserted  from  San 
Gabriel  mission  and  alone  had  reached  the 
rancherias  on  the  Colorado. 

After  Anza's  return  to  Sonora  he  was  com- 
missioned by  the  viceroy  to  recruit  soldiers  and 
settlers  for  San  Francisco.  October  23,  1775, 
Anza  set  out  from  Tubac  with  an  expedition 
numbering  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  persons, 
composed  of  soldiers  and  their  families,  colon- 
ists, musketeers  and  vaqueros.  They  brought 
with  them  large  herds  of  horses,  mules  and  cat- 
tle. The  journey  was  accomplished  without  loss 
of  life,  but  with  a  considerable  amount  of  suf- 
fering. January  4.  1776,  the  immigrants  ar- 
rived at  San  Gabriel  mission,  where  they  stopped 
to  rest,  but  were  soon  compelled  to  move  on, 
provisions  at  the  mission  becoming  scarce.  They 
arrived  at  Monterey  March  10.  Here  they  went 
into  camp.  Anza  with  an  escort  of  soldiers  pro- 
ceeded to  San  Francisco  to  select  a  presidio 
site.  Having  found  a  site  he  returned  to  Mon- 
terey. Rivera,  the  commander  of  the  territory, 
had  manifested  a  spirit  of  jealousy  toward  Anza 
and  had  endeavored  to  thwart  him  in  his  at- 
tempts to  found  a  settlement.  Disgusted  with 
the  action  of  the  commander,  Anza,  leaving  his 
colonists  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  at  Mon- 
terey took  his  departure  from  California.  Anza 
in  his  explorations  for  a  presidio  site  had  fixed 
upon  what  is  now  Fort  Point. 

\iter  his  departure  Rivera  experienced  a 
change  of  heart  and  instead  of  trying  to  dela) 
the  founding  he  did  everything  to  hasten  it.  The 
.imperative  orders  of  the  viceroy  received  at 
aboul  this  time  brought  about  the  change.  He 
ordered  Lieutenant  Moraga,  to  whom  Anza  had 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


71 


turned  over  the  command  of  his  soldiers  and 
colonists,  to  proceed  at  once  to  San  Francisco 
with  twenty  soldiers  to  found  the  fort.  The  San 
Carlos,  which  had  just  arrived  at  Monterey,  was 
ordered  to  proceed  to  San  Francisco  to  assist 
in  the  founding.  Moraga  with  his  soldiers  ar- 
rived June  27,  and  encamped  on  the  Laguna 
de  los  Dolores,  where  the  mission  was  a  short 
time  afterwards  founded.  Moraga  decided  to 
located  the  presidio  at  the  site  selected  by  Anza 
but  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  San  Carlos  before 
proceeding  to  build.  August  18  the  vessel  ar- 
rived. It  had  been  driven  down  the  coast  to  the 
latitude  of  San  Diego  by  contrary  winds  and 
then  up  the  coast  to  latitude  42  degrees.  On  the 
arrival  of  the  vessel  work  was  begun  at  once  on 
the  fort.  A  square  of  ninety-two  varas  (two 
hundred  and  forty-seven  feet)  on  each  side  was 
inclosed  with  palisades.  Barracks,  officers' 
quarters  and  a  chapel  were  built  inside  the 
square.  September  17,  1776,  was  set  apart  for 
the  services  of  founding,  that  being  the  da)  of 
the  "Sores  of  our  seraphic  father  St.  Francis." 
The  royal  standard  was  raised  in  front  of  the 
square  and  the  usual  ceremony  of  pulling  grass 
and  throwing  stones  was  performed.  Posses- 
sion of  the  region  round  about  was  taken  in  the 
name  of  Carlos  III.,  King  of  Spain.  Over  one 
hundred  and  fifty  persons  witnessed  the  cere- 
mony. Vancouver,  who  visited  the  presidio  in 
November,  1792,  describes  it  as  a  "square  area 
whose  sides  were  about  two  hundred  yards  in 
length,  enclosed  by  a  mud  wall  and  resembling 
a  pound  for  cattle.  Above  this  wall  the  thatched 
roofs  of  the  low  small  houses  just  made  their 
appearance."  The  wall  was  "about  fourteen  feet 
high  and  five  feet  in  breadth  and  was  first 
formed  by  upright  and  horizontal  rafters  of 
large  timber,  between  which  dried  sods  and 
moistened  earth  were  pressed  as  close  and  hard 
as  possible,  after  which  the  whole  was  cased  with 
the  earth  made  into  a  sort  of  mud  plaster  which 
gave  it  the  appearance  of  durability." 

In  addition  to  the  presidio  there  was  another 
fort  at  Fort  Point  named  Castillo  de  San  Joa- 
quin. It  was  completed  and  blessed  December 
8,  1794.  "It  was  of  horseshoe  shape,  about  one 
hundred  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet."  The 
structure  rested  mainly  on  sand:  the  brick-faced 


adobe  walls  crumbled  at  the  shock  whenever  a 
salute  was  fired;  the  guns  were  badly  mounted 
and  for  the  most  part  worn  out,  only  two  of  the 
thirteen  twenty-four-pounders  being  serviceable 
or  capable  of  sending  a  ball  across  the  entrance 
of  the  fort.* 

PRESIDIO    OF    SANTA    BARBARA. 

Cabrillo,  in  1542,  found  a  large  Indian  popula- 
tion inhabiting  the  main  land  of  the  Santa  Bar- 
bara channel.  Two  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
years  later,  when  Portola  made  his  exploration, 
apparently  there  had  been  no  decrease  in  the 
number  of  inhabitants.  No  portion  of  the  coast 
offered  a  better  field  for  missionary  labor  and 
Father  Serra  was  anxious  to  enter  it.  In  ac- 
cordance with  Governor  Felipe  de  Neve's  report 
of  1777,  it  had  been  decided  to  found  three  mis- 
sions and  a  presidio  on  the  channel.  Various 
causes  had  delayed  the  founding  ami  it  was  not 
until  April  17.  1782,  that  Governor  de  Neve 
arrived  at  the  point  where  he  had  decided  to 
locate  the  presidio  of  Santa  Barbara.  The 
troops  that  were  to  man  the  fort  reached  San 
Gabriel  in  the  fall  of  1781.  It  was  thought  best 
for  them  to  remain  there  until  the  rainy  sea- 
son was  over.  March  26,  1782,  the  governor  and 
Father  Serra,  accompanied  by  the  largest  body 
of  troops  that  had  ever  before  been  collected  in 
California,  set  out  to  found  the  mission  of  San 
Buenaventura  and  the  presidio.  The  governor, 
as  has  been  stated  in  a  former  chapter,  was  re- 
called to  San  Gabriel.  The  mission  was  founded 
and  the  governor  having  rejoined  the  cavalcade 
a  few  weeks  later  proceeded  to  find  a  location 
for  the  presidio. 

"On  reaching  a  point  nine  leagues  from  San 
Buenaventura,  the  governor  called  a  halt  and  in 
company  with  Father  Serra  at  once  procei 
select  a  site  for  the  presidio.  The  choice  re- 
sulted in  the  adoption  of  the  square  now 
formed  by  city  blocks  130.  140,  155  anil  150. 
and  bounded  in  common  by  the  following 
streets:  Figueroa,  Canon  Perdido,  Garden  and 
Anacapa.  A  large  community  of  Indians  were 
residing  there  but  orders  were  given  to  leave 
them   undisturbed.      M>.    soldiers  were  at  once 

B 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


directed  to  hew  timbers  and  gather  brush  to 
erect  temporary  barracks  which,  when  com- 
pleted, were  also  used  as  a  chapel.  A  large 
wooden  cross  was  made  that  it  might  be  planted 
in  the  center  of  the  square  and  possession  of 
the  country  was  taken  in  the  name  of  the  cross, 
the  emblem  of  Christianity. 

April  21,  1782,  the  soldiers  formed  a  square 
and  with  edifying  solemnity  raised  the  cross  and 
secured  it  in  the  earth.  Father  Serra  blessed 
and  consecrated  the  district  and  preached  a  ser- 
mon. The  royal  standard  of  Spain  was  un- 
furled."* 

An  inclosure,  sixty  varas  square,  was  made  of 
palisades.  The  Indians  were  friendly,  and 
through  their  chief  yanoalit,  who  controlled  thir- 
teen rancherias,  details  of  them  were  secured 
to  assist  the  soldiers  in  the  work  of  building. 
The  natives  were  paid  in  food  and  clothing  for 
their  labor. 

Irrigation  works  were  constructed,  consisting 
of  a  large  reservoir  made  of  stone  and  cement, 
with  a  zanja  for  conducting  water  to  the  pre- 
sidio. The  soldiers,  who  had  families,  cultivated 
small  gardens  which  aided  in  their  support. 
Lieutenant  (  )rtega  was  in  command  of  the  pre- 
sidio for  two  years  after  its  founding.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Lieutenant  Felipe  de  Goycoechea. 
After  the.  founding  of  the  mission  in  [786,  a 
bitter  feud  broke  out  between  the  padres  and 
the  comandante  of  the  presidio.  Goycoechea 
claimed  the  right  to  employ  the  Indians  in  the 
building  of  the  presidio  as  he  had  dune  before 
the  coming  of  the  friars.  This  they  denied. 
After  an  acrimonious  controversy  the  dispute 
was  finally  compromised  by  dividing  the  Indian- 
into  two  bands,  a  mission  band  and  a  presidio 
band. 

Gradually  the  palisades  were  replaced  by  an 
adobe  wall  twelve  feet  high.  It  had  a  stone 
foundation  and  was  strongly  built.  The  plaza  or 
inclosed  square  was  three  hundred  and  thirty 
feet  on  each  side.  On  two  -ides  of  this  inclos- 
ure  were  ranged  the  family  houses  of  the  sol- 
diers, averaging  in  size  15x25  feet.  <  )n  one  side 
1 I  th<   -mm  ei's'  quarters  and  the  church.    (  >n 


Father  Cabelleria's  Hi  tor}   oi  Santa  Barbara. 


the  remaining  side  were  the  main  entrance  four 
varas  wide,  the  store  rooms,  soldiers'  quarters 
and  a  guard  room;  and  adjoining  these  outside 
the  walls  were  the  corrals  for  cattle  and  horses. 
A  force  of  from  fifty  to  sixty  soldiers  was  kept 
at  the  post.  There  were  bastions  at  two  of  the 
corners  for  cannon. 

The  presidio  was  completed  about  1790,  with 
the  exception  of  the  chapel,  which  was  not  fin- 
ished until  i/'j".  Many  of  the  soldiers  when 
they  had  served  out  their  time  desired  to  re- 
main in  the  country.  These  were  given  permis- 
sion to  build  houses  outside  the  walls  of  the 
presidio  and  in  course  of  time  a  village  grew  up 
around  it. 

At  the  close  of  the  century  the  population  of 
the  gente  de  razon  of  the  district  numbered 
three  hundred  and  seventy.  The  presidio  when 
completed  was  the  best  in  California.  Van- 
couver, the  English  navigator,  who  visited  it  in 
November,  1793,  says  of  it:  "The  buildings  ap- 
peared to  be  regular  and  well  constructed;  the 
walls  clean  and  white  and  the  roofs  of  the  houses 
were  covered  with  a  bright  red  tile.  The  pre- 
sidio excels  all  the  others  in  neatness,  cleanli- 
ness  and  other  smaller  though  essential  com- 
forts; it  is  placed  on  an  elevated  part  of  the 
plain  and  is  raised  some  feet  from  the  ground 
by  a  basement  story  which  adds  much  to  its 
pleasantness." 

During  the  Spanish  regime  the  settlement  at 
the  presidio  grew  in  the  leisurely  way  that  all 
Spanish  towns  grew  in  California.  There  was 
but  little  immigration  from  Mexico  and  about 
the  only  source  of  increase  was  from  invalid 
soldiers  and  the  children  of  the  soldiers  grow- 
ing up  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  It  was  a 
dreary  and  monotonous  existence  that  the  sol- 
diers led  at  the  presidios.  A  few  of  them  had 
their  families  with  them.  These  when  the  coun- 
try became  more  settled  had  their  own  houses 
adjoining  the  presidio  and  formed  the  nuclei 
of  the  towns  that  grew  up  around  the  different 
forts.  There  was  l,ut  little  fighting  to  do  and 
tlie  soldiers'  service  consisted  mainly  of  a  round 
of  guard  duty  at  the  forts  and  missions.  Oc- 
casionallj  there  were  conquistas  into  the  In- 
dian country  to  secure  new  material  for  con- 
verts from  the  gentiles.     The  soldiers  were  oc- 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


73 


casionally  employed  in  hunting  hindas  or  run- 
aways from  the  missions.  These  when  brought 
back  were  thoroughly  flogged  and  compelled  to 
wear  clogs  attached  to  their  legs.  Once  a  month 
the  soldier  couriers  brought  up  from  Loreta  a 
budget  of  mail  made  up  of  official  bandos  and  a 


few  letters.  These  contained  about  all  the  news 
that  reached  them  from  their  old  homes  in 
Mexico.  But  few  of  the  soldiers  returned  to 
Mexico  when  their  term  of  enlistment  expired. 
In  course  of  time  these  and  their  descendants 
formed  the  bulk  of  California's  population. 


CHAPTER   VII 


PUEBLOS. 


THE  pueblo  plan  of  colonization  so  com- 
mon in  Hispano-American  countries  did 
not  originate  with  the  Spanish-Amer- 
ican colonists.  It  was  older  even  than  Spain 
herself.  In  early  European  colonization,  the 
pueblo  plan,  the  common  square  in  the  center 
of  the  town,  the  house  lots  grouped  round  it, 
the  arable  fields  and  the  common  pasture  lands 
beyond,  appears  in  the  Aryan  village,  in  the  an- 
cient German  mark  and  in  the  old  Roman 
praesidium.  The  Puritans  adopted  this  form  in 
their  first  settlements  in  Xew  England.  Around 
the  public  scpiare  or  common  where  stood  the 
meeting  house  and  the  town  house,  they  laid  off 
their  home  lots  and  beyond  these  were  their 
cultivated  fields  and  their  common  pasture  lands. 
This  form  of  colonization  was  a  combination  of 
communal  interests  and  individual  ownership. 
Primarily,  no  doubt,  it  was  adopted  for  protec- 
tion against  the  hostile  aborigines  of  the  coun- 
try, and  secondly  for  social  advantage.  It  re- 
versed the  order  of  our  own  western  coloniza- 
tion. The  town  came  first,  it  was  the  initial 
point  from  which  the  settlement  radiated:  while 
with  our  western  pioneers  the  town  was  an  after- 
thought, a  center  point  for  the  convenience  of 
trade. 

When  it  had  been  decided  to  send  colonists 
to  colonize  California  the  settlements  naturally 
took  the  pueblo  form.  The  difficulty  of  obtain- 
ing regular  supplies  for  the  presidios  front  Mex- 
ico, added  to  the  great  expense  of  shipping  such 
a  long  distance,  was  the  principal  cause  that  in- 
fluenced the  government  to  establish  pueblos  de 
gente  de  razon.  The  presidios  received  their 
shipments  of  grain  for  breadstuff  from  San  Bias 


by  sailing  vessels.  The  arrival  of  these  was  un- 
certain. Unce  when  the  vessels  were  unusually 
long  in  coming,  the  padres  and  the  soldiers  at 
the  presidios  and  missions  were  reduced  to  liv- 
ing on  milk,  bear  meat  and  what  provisions  they 
could  obtain  from  the  Indians.  'When  Felipe  de 
Xeve  was  made  governor  of  Aha  or  Nueva 
California  in  1776  he  was  instructed  by  the  vice- 
roy to  make  observations  on  the  agricultural 
possibilities  of  the  country  and  the  feasibility  of 
founding  pueblos  where  grain  could  be  produced 
to   supply  the  military   establishments. 

On  his  journey  from  San  Diego  to  San  Fran- 
cisco in  1777  he  carefully  examined  the  coun- 
try; and  as  a  result  of  his  observations  recom- 
mended the  founding  of  two  pueblos;  one  on  the 
Rio  de  Porciuncula  in  the  south,  and  the  other 
on  the  Rio  de  Guadalupe  in  the  north.  I  >n  the 
29th  of  November,  1777.  the  Pueblo  of  San 
Jose  de  Guadelupe  was  Founded.  Hie  colonists 
were  nine  of  the  presidio  soldiers  from  San 
Francisco  and  Monterey,  who  had  some  knowl- 
edge of  farming  and  live  of  Anza's  pobladores 
who  had  come  with  his  expedition  the  previous 
years  to  found  the  presidio  of  San  Francisco, 
making  with  their  families  sixty-one  persons  in 
ail.  The  pueblo  was  named  for  the  patron  saint 
of  Calif  irnia,  San  Jose  (St.  Joseph),  husband  of 
Santa  Maria.  Queen  of  the  Angeles. 

The  site  selected  for  the  town  was  about  a 
mile  and  a  quarter  north  of  the  center  of  the 
present  city.  Tin  first  houses  were  built  >n'  pal- 
isades and  the  interstices  plastered  with  mud. 
These  huts  were-  roofed  with  earth  and  the  floor 
was  the  hard  beaten  ground.  Each  head  of  a 
family  was  given  a  suerte  or  sowing  lot  of  two 


71 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


hundred  varas  square,  a  house  lot,  "ten  dollars 
a  month  and  a  soldier's  rations."  Each,  also, 
received  a  yoke  of  oxen,  two  cows,  a  mule,  two 
sheep  and  two  goats,  together  with  the  neces- 
sary implements  and  seed,  all  of  which  were  to 
be  repaid  in  products  of  the  soil  delivered  at  the 
royal  warehouse.  The  first  communal  work 
done  by  the  pobladores  (colonists)  was  to  dam 
the  river,  and  construct  a  ditch  to  irrigate  their 
sowing  fields.  The  dam  was  not  a  success  and 
the  first  sowing  of  grain  was  lost.  The  site  se- 
lected for  the  houses  was  low  and  subject  to 
overflow7. 

During  wet  winters  the  inhabitants  were  com- 
pelled to  take  a  circuitous  route  of  three  leagues 
to  attend  church  service  at  the  mission  of  Santa 
Clara.  After  enduring  this  state  of  affairs 
through  seven  winters  they  petitioned  the 
governor  for  permission  to  remove  the  pu- 
eblo further  south  on  higher  ground.  The  gov- 
ernor did  not  have  power  to  grant  the  request. 
The  petition  was  referred  to  the  comandante- 
general  of  the  Intendencia  in  Mexico  in  1785. 
He  seems  to  have  studied  over  the  matter  two 
years  and  having  advised  with  the  asesor-general 
"finally  issued  a  decree,  June  21,  1787,  to  Gov- 
ernor Fages,  authorizing  the  settlers  to  remove 
to  the  "adjacent  loma  (hill)  selected  by  them  as 
more  useful  and  advantageous  without  chang- 
ing or  altering,  for  this  reason,  the  limits  and 
boundaries  of  the  territory  or  district  assigned 
to  said  settlement  and  to  the  neighboring  Mis- 
sion of  Santa  Clara,  as  there  is  no  just  cause 
why  the  latter  should  attempt  to  appropriate  to 
herself  that  land." 

Having  frequently  suffered  from  floods,  it 
would  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  inhabi- 
tants, permission  being  granted,  moved  right 
away.  They  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  Ten  years 
passed  and  they  were  still  located  on  the  old 
marshy  site,  still  discussing  the  advantages  of 
the  new  site  on  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
Whether  the  padres  of  the  Mission  of  Santa 
Clara  opposed  the  moving  does  not  appear  in 
the  records,  but  from  the  last  clause  of  tin-  com- 
andante-general's  decree  in  which  he  says  "there 
is  nnt  just  cause  why  the  latter  i  the  Mission  of 
Santa  Clara)  should  attempt  to  appropriate  to 
herself  the  land,"  it  would  seem  that  the  mission 


padres  were  endeavoring  to  secure  the  new  site 
or  at  least  prevent  its  occupancy.  There  was  a 
dispute  between  the  padres  and  the  pobladores 
over  the  boundary  line  between  the  pueblo  and 
mission  that  outlived  the  century.  After  hav- 
ing been  referred  to  the  titled  officials,  civil  and 
ecclesiastical,  a  boundary  line  was  finally  estab- 
lished, July  24,  1801,  that  was  satisfactory  to 
both.  "According  to  the  best  evidence  I  have 
discovered,"  says  Hall  in  his  History  of  San 
Jose,  "the  removal  of  the  pueblo  took  place  in 
1707."  just  twenty  years  after  the  founding.  In 
1798  the  juzgado  or  town  hall  was  built.  It 
was  located  on  Market  street  near  El  Dorado 
street. 

The  area  of  a  pueblo  was  four  square  leagues 
(Spanish)  or  about  twenty-seven  square  miles. 
This  was  sometimes  granted  in  a  square  and 
sometimes  in  a  rectangular  form.  The  pueblo 
lands  were  divided  into  classes:  Solares,  house 
lots;  suertes  (chance),  sowing  fields,  so  named 
because  they  were  distributed  by  lot;  propios, 
municipal  lands  or  lands  the  rent  of  which  went 
to  defray  municipal  expenses;  ejidas,  vacant 
suburbs  or  commons;  dehesas,  pasture  where 
the  large  herds  of  the  pueblo  grazed;  realenges, 
nival  lands  also  used  for  raising  revenue;  these 
were  unappropriated  lands. 

From  various  causes  the  founding  of  the  sec- 
ond pueblo  had  been  delayed.  In  the  latter  part 
of  1779,  active  preparations  were  begun  for  car- 
rying out  the  plan  of  founding  a  presidio  and 
three  missions  on  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel 
and  a  pueblo  on  the  Rio  Forciuncula  to  be 
named  "Reyna  de  Los  Angeles."  The  comand- 
ante-general  of  the  Four  Interior  Provinces  of 
the  West  (which  embraced  the  Californias,  So- 
nora,  Xew  Mexico  and  Viscaya),  Don  Teodoro 
de  Croix  or  "El  Cavallero  de  Croix,"  "The 
Knight  of  the  Cross,"  as  he  usually  styled  him- 
self, gave  instructions  to  Don  Fernando  de  Ri- 
vera v  Moncada  to  recruit  soldiers  and  settlers 
for  the  proposed  presidio  and  pueblo  in  Xueva 
California.  1  le,  Rivera,  crossed  the  gulf  and  be- 
gart  recruiting  in  Sonora  and  Sinaloa.  His  in- 
structions were  to  secure  twenty-four  settlers, 
whn  were  heads  of  families.  They  must  be  ro- 
bust and  well  behaved,  so  that  they  might  set 
a  good  example  to  the  natives.     Their  families 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


must  accompany  them  and  unmarried  female 
relatives  must  be  encouraged  to  go,  with  the 
view  to  marrying  them  to  bachelor  sol- 
diers. 

According  to  the  regulations  drafted  by  Gov- 
ernor Felipe  de  Neve,  June  i,  1779,  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  province  of  California  and  ap- 
proved by  the  king,  in  a  royal  order  of  the  24th 
of  October,  1781,  settlers  in  California  from  the 
older  provinces  were  each  to  be  granted  a  house 
lot  and  a  tract  of  land  for  cultivation.  Each 
poblador  in  addition  was  to  receive  $116.50  a 
year  for  the  first  two  years,  "the  rations  to  be 
understood  as  comprehended  in  this  amount, 
and  in  lieu  of  rations  for  the  next  three  years 
they  will  receive  $60  yearly." 

Section  3  of  Title  14  of  the  Reglamento  pro- 
vided that  "To  each  poblador  and  to  the  com- 
munity of  the  pueblo  there  shall  be  given  under 
condition  of  repayment  in  horses  and  mules  fit 
to  be  given  and  received,  and  in  the  payment  of 
the  other  large  and  small  cattle  at  the  just  prices, 
which  are  to  be  fixed  by  tariff,  and  of  the  tools 
and  implements  at  cost,  as  it  is  ordained,  two 
mares,  two  cows,  and  one  calf,  two  sheep  and 
two  goats,  all  breeding  animals,  and  one  yoke  of 
oxen  or  steers,  one  plow  point,  one  hoe,  one 
spade,  one  axe,  one  sickle,  one  wood  knife,  one 
musket  and  one  leather  shield,  two  horses  and 
one  cargo  mule.  To  the  community  there  shall 
likewise  be  given  the  males  corresponding  to 
the  total  number  of  cattle  of  different  kinds  dis- 
tributed amongst  all  the  inhabitants,  one  forge 
and  anvil,  six  crowbars,  six  iron  spades  or  shov- 
els and  the  necessary  tools  for  carpenter  and 
cast  work."  For  the  government's  assistance  to 
the  pobladores  in  starting  their  colony  the  set- 
tlers were  required  to  sell  to  the  presidios  the 
surplus  products  of  their  lands  and  herds  at  fair 
prices,  which  were  to  be  fixed  by  the  govern- 
ment. 

The  terms  offered  to  the  settlers  were  cer- 
tainly liberal,  and  by  our  own  hardy  pioneers, 
who  in  the  closing  years  of  the  last  century  were 
making  their  way  over  the  Alleghany  mountains 
into  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  they  would 
have  been  considered  munificent;  but  to  the  in- 
dolent and  energyless  mixed  breeds  of  Sonora 
and   Sinaloa  thev  were   no   inducement.     After 


spending  nearly  nine  months  in  recruiting,  Ri- 
vera was  able  to  obtain  only  fourteen  pobladores, 
but  little  over  half  the  number  required,  and  two 
of  these  deserted  before  reaching  California. 
The  soldiers  that  Rivera  had  recruited  for  Cal- 
ifornia, forty-two  in  number,  with  their  families, 
were  ordered  to  proceed  overland  from  Alamos, 
in  Sonora,  by  way  of  Tucson  and  the  Colorado 
river  to  San  Gabriel  Mission.  These  were  com- 
manded by  Rivera  in  person. 

Leaving  Alamos  in  April,  1781,  they  arrived 
in  the  latter  part  of  June  at  the  junction  of  the 
Gila  and  Colorado  rivers.  After  a  short  delay 
to  rest,  the  main  company  was  sent  on  to  San 
Gabriel  Mission.  Rivera,  with  ten  or  twelve 
soldiers,  remained  to  recruit  his  live  stock  before 
crossing  the  desert.  Tw-o  missions  had  been  es- 
tablished on  the  California  side  of  the  Colorado 
the  previous  year.  Before  the  arrival  of  Rivera 
the  Indians  had  been  behaving  badly.  Rivera's 
large  herd  of  cattle  and  horses  destroyed  the 
mesquite  trees  and  intruded  upon  the  Indians' 
melon  patches.  This,  with  their  previous  quar- 
rel with  the  padres,  provoked  the  savages  to  an 
uprising.  They,  on  July  17,  attacked  the  two 
missions,  massacred  the  padres  and  the  Spanish 
settlers  attached  to  the  missions  and  killed  Ri- 
vera and  his  soldiers,  forty-six  persons  in  all. 
The  Indians  burned  the  mission  buildings. 
These  were  never  rebuilt  nor  was  there  any  at- 
tempt made  to  convert  the  Yumas.  The  hos- 
tility of  the  Yumas  practicall)  closed  the  Colo- 
rado route  to  California  for  many  years. 

The  pobladores  who  had  been  recruited  for 
the  founding  of  the  new  pueblo,  with  their  fami- 
lies and  a  military  escort. all  under  the  command 
of  Lieut.  Jose  Zuniga.  crossed  the  gulf  from 
Guaymas  to  Loreto,  in  Lower  California,  and  1>> 
the  16th  of  May  were  ready  for  their  long  jour 
ney  northward.  In  the  meantime  two  of  the  re- 
cruits had  deserted  and  one  was  left  behind  at 
Loreto.  On  the  [8th  of  August  the  eleven  who 
had  remained  faithful  to  their  contract,  with 
their  families,  arrived  at  San  Gabriel.  On  ac- 
count of  smallpox  among  some  of  the  children 
the  1  ompanj   was  pla  intine  about  a 

league  from  the  mission. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  1781,  from  San  Ga- 
briel, Governor  de  Neve  issued  his  instructions 


7G 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RFCORD. 


for  the  founding  of  Los  Angeles,  which  gave 
some  additional  rules  in  regard  to  the  distribu- 
tion of  lots  not  found  in  the  royal  reglamento 
previously  mentioned. 

(  In  the  4th  of  September,  1781,  the  colonists, 
with  a  military  escort  headed  by  Governor  Fe- 
lip  de  Neve,  took  up  their  line  of  march  from 
the  Mission  San  Gabriel  to  the  site  selected  for 
their  pueblo  on  the  Rio  de  Porciuncula.  There, 
with  religious  ceremonies,  the  Pueblo  de  Nues- 
tra  Senora  La  Reina  de  Los  Angeles  was  for- 
mally founded.  A  mass  was  said  by  a  priest 
from  the  Mission  San  Gabriel,  assisted  by  the 
choristers  and  musicians  of  that  mission.  There 
were  salvos  of  musketry  and  a  procession  with 
a  cross,  candlestick,  etc.  At  the  head  of  the 
procession  the  soldiers  bore  the  standard  of 
Spain  and  the  women  followed  bearing  a  ban- 
ner with  the  image  of  our  Lady  the  Queen  of 
the  Angels.  This  procession  made  a  circuit  of 
the  plaza,  the  priest  blessing  it  and  the  building 
lots.  At  the  close  of  the  services  Governor  de 
Neve  made  an  address  full  of  good  advice  to  the 
colonists.  Then  the  governor,  his  military  es- 
corj  and  the  priests  returned  to  San  Gabriel  and 
the  colonists  were  left  to  work  out  their 
destiny. 

Few  of  the  great  cities  of  the  land  have  had 
such  humble  founders  as  Los  Angeles.  Of  the 
eleven  pobladores  who  built  their  huts  of  poles 
and  tule  thatch  around  the  plaza  vieja  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-two  years  ago,  not  one  could 
read  or  write.  Not  one  could  boast  of  an  un- 
mixed ancestry.  They  were  mongrels  in  race, 
Caucasian,  Indian  and  Negro  mixed.  Poor  in 
purse,  poor  in  blood,  poor  in  all  the  sterner  qual- 
ities  of  character  that  our  own  hardy  pioneers 
of  the  wot  possessed,  they  left  no  impress  on 
the  city  they  founded;  and  the  conquering  race 
that  possesses  the  land  that  they  colonized  has 
for-.. t ten  them.  No  street  or  landmark  in  the 
city  bears  the  name  of  any  one  of  them.  No 
monument  or  tablet  marks  the  spot  where  they 
planted  the  germ  of  their  settlement.  No  Fore- 
fathers' daj  preserves  the  memory  of  their  serv- 
ice- and  sacrifices.  Their  name-,  race  and  the 
number  of  persons  in  each  family  have  been 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  California.  They 
are  as  follows: 


i.  Jose  de  Lara,  a  Spaniard  (or  reputed  to  be 
"lie.  although  it  is  doubtful  whether  he  was  of 
pure  blood)  had  an  Indian  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren. 

-'.  Jose  Antonio  Navarro,  a  Mestizo,  forty- 
two  years  old;  wife  a  mulattress;  three  children. 

3.  Pasilio  Rosas,  an  Indian,  sixty-eight  years 
old,  had  a  mulatto  wife  and  two  children. 

4.  Antonio  Mesa,  a  negro,  thirty-eight  years 
old;  had  a  mulatto  wife  and  two  children. 

5.  Antonio  Felix  Yillavicencio,  a  Spaniard, 
thirty  years  old;  had  an  Indian  wife  and  one 
child. 

6.  Jose  Yanegas,  an  Indian,  twenty-eight 
years  old;  had  an  Indian  wife  and  one  child. 

7.  Alejandro  Rosas,an  Indian,  nineteen  vcars 
old,  and  had  an  Indian  wife.  (In  the  records, 
'  wife,  Coyote-Indian.") 

8.  Pablo  Rodriguez,  an  Indian,  twenty-five 
years  old;  had  an  Indian  wife  and  one  child. 

9.  Manuel  Camero,  a  mulatto,  thirty  years 
old;  had  a  mulatto  wife. 

10.  Luis  Ouintero,  a  negro,  fifty-five  years 
old,  and  had  a  mulatto  wife  and  five  children. 

1 1 .  Jose  Morena,  a  mulatto,  twenty-two 
years  old,  and  had  a  mulatto  wife. 

Antonio  Miranda,  the  twelfth  person  described 
in  the  padron  (list)  as  a  Chino,  fifty  years  old 
and  having  one  child,  was  left  at  Loreto  when 
the  expedition  marched  northward.  It  would 
have  been  impossible  for  him  to  have  rejoined 
the  colonists  before  the  founding,  Fresumablv 
his  child  remained  with  him,  consequently  there 
were  but  forty-four  instead  of  "forty-six  persons 
in  all."  Col.  J.  J.  Warner,  in  his  "Historical 
Sketch  of  Los  Angeles,"  originated  the  fiction 
that  one  of  the  founders  (Miranda,  the  Chino.) 
was  born  in  China.  Chino,  while  it  does  mean  a 
(  hiuaman,  is  also  applied  in  Spanish-American 
countries  to  persons  or  animals  having  curly 
hair.  Miranda  was  probably  of  mixed  Spanish 
and  Negro  blood,  and  curly  haired.  There  is 
no  record  to  show  that  Miranda  ever  came  to 
\lta   California. 

When  Jose  de  Galvez  was  fitting  out  the  ex- 
pedition for  occupying  San  Diego  and  Monte- 
rey, he  issued  a  proclamation  naming  St.  Jo- 
seph a-  the  patron  saint  of  his  California  colon- 
ization  scheme.      Hearing  this   fact   in   mind,   no 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


doubt,  Governor  de  Neve,  when  he  founded  San 
Jose,  named  St.  Joseph  its  patron  saint.  Hav- 
ing named  one  of  the  two  pueblos  for  San  Jose 
it  naturally  followed  that  the  other  should  be 
named  for  Santa  Maria,  the  Queen  of  the  An- 
gels, wife  of  San  Jose. 

On  the  ist  of  August,  1769,  Portola's  expedi- 
tion, on  its  journey  northward  in  search  of  Mon- 
terey Bay,  had  halted  in  the  San  Gabriel  valley 
near  where  the  Mission  Yieja  was  afterwards  lo- 
cated, to  reconnoiter  the  country  and  "above 
all,"  as  Father  Crespi  observes,  "for  the  purpose 
of  celebrating  the  jubilee  of  Our  Lady  of  the 
Angels  of  Porciuncula."  Xext  day,  August  2, 
after  traveling  about  three  leagues  (nine  miles). 
Father  Crespi,  in  his  diary,  says:  "We  came  to 
a  rather  wide  Canada  having  a  great  many  Cot- 
tonwood and  alder  trees.  Through  it  ran  a 
beautiful  river  toward  the  north-northeast  and 
curving  around  the  point  of  a  cliff  it  takes  a  di- 
rection to  the  south.  Toward  the  north-north- 
east we  saw  another  river  bed  which  must  have 
been  a  great  overflow,  but  we  found  it  dry.  This 
arm  unites  with  the  river  and  its  great  floods 
during  the  rainy  season  are  clearly  demon- 
strated by  the  many  uprooted  trees  scattered 
along  the  banks."  (This  dry  river  is  the  Arroyo 
Seco.)  "We  stopped  not  very  far  from  the  river, 
to  which  we  gave  the  name  of  Porciuncula." 
Porciuncula  is  the  name  of  a  hamlet  in  Italy- 
near  which  was  located  the  little  church  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Angels,  in  which  St.  Francis  of  As- 
sisi  was  praying  when  the  jubilee  was  granted 
him.  Father  Crespi,  speaking  of  the  plain 
through  which  the  river  flows,  says:  "This  is 
the  best  locality  of  all  those  we  have  yet  seen 
for  a  mission,  besides  having  all  the  resources 
required  for  a  large  town."  Padre  Crespi  was 
evidently  somewhat  of  a  prophet. 

The  fact  that  this  locality  had  for  a  number 
of  years  borne  the  name  of  "(  lur  Lady  of  the 
Angels  of  Porciuncula"  may  have  influenced 
Governor  de  Neve  to  locate  his  pueblo  here. 
The  full  name  of  the  town,  El  Pueblo  de  Nuestra 
Seiiora  La  Reyna  de  Los  Angeles,  was  seldom 
used.  It  was  too  long  for  everyday  use.  In  the 
earlier  years  of  the  town's  history  it  seems  to 
have  had  a  variety  of  names.  It  appears  in  the 
records  as  El  Pueblo  de  Nuestra  Sefiora  de  I  os 


Angeles,  as  El  Pueblo  de  La  Reyna  de  Los  An- 
geles and  as  El  Pueblo  de  Santa  Maria  de  Los 
Angeles.  Sometimes  it  was  abbreviated  to 
Santa  Maria,  but  it  was  most  commonly  spoken 
of  as  El  Pueblo,  the  town.  At  what  time  the 
name  of  Rio  Porciuncula  was  changed  to  Rio' 
Los  Angeles  is  uncertain.  The  change  no  doubt 
was  gradual. 

The  site  selected  for  the  pueblo  of  Lis  An- 
geles was  picturesque  and  romantic.  From 
where  Alameda  street  now  is  to  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  river  the  land  was  covered  with  a 
dense  growth  of  willows,  cottonwoods  and  al- 
ders: while  here  and  there,  rising  above  the 
swampy  copse,  towered  a  giant  aliso  (sycamore I. 
Wild  grapevines  festooned  the  branches  of  the 
trees  and  wild  roses  bloomed  in  profusion.  Be- 
hind the  narrow  shelf  of  mesa  land  where  the 
pueblo  was  located  rose  the  brown  hills,  and  in 
the  distance  towered  the  lofty  Sierra  Madre 
mountains. 

The  last  pueblo  founded  in  California  undei 
Spanish  domination  was  Villa  de  Branciforte, 
'ocated  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from 
the  Mission  of  Santa  Cruz.  It  was  named  after 
the  Viceroy  Branciforte.  It  was  designed  as  a 
coast  defense  and  a  place  to  colonize  discharged 
soldiers.  The  scheme  was  discussed  for  a  con 
siderable  time  before  anything  was  done.  Gov- 
ernor Borica  recommended  "that  an  adobe 
house  be  built  for  each  settler  so  that  the  prev- 
alent state  of  things  in  San  Jose  and  Los  An- 
geles, where  the  settlers  still  live  in  tule  huts,  he 
ing  unable  to  build  better  dwellings  without 
neglecting  their  fields,  may  he  prevented,  the 
houses  to  cost  not  over  two  hundn 

The  first  detachment  of  the  colonists  arrived 
Ma\  u,  1707.  on  the  Concepcion  in  a  destitute 
condition.  Lieutenant  Moraga  was  sent  to  su 
perintend  the  construction  of  houses  for  the 
ci  1I1  mists.  I  le  was  instructed  to  build  temporary 
huts  for  himself  and  the  guard,  then  to  build 
some  larger  buildings  to  accommodate  fifteen  or 
twenty  families  each.  These  were  to  he  tem- 
porary. (  )nly  nine  families  came  and  they  were 
of  a  vagabond  class  that  bad  a  constitutional 
antipathy   to   work.     The   settlers   received 


•■Bancroft's  1 1 


of  Califoi 


78 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


same  amount  of  supplies  and  allowance  of 
money  as  the  colonists  of  San  Jose  and  Los 
Angeles.  Although  the  colonists  were  called 
Spaniards  and  assumed  to  be  of  a  superior  race 
to  the  first  settlers  of  the  other  pueblos,  they 
made  less  progress  and  were  more  unruly  than 
the  mixed  and  mongrel  inhabitants  of  the  older 
pueblos. 

Although  at  the  close  of  the  century  three 
decades  had  passed  since  the  first  settlement  was 
made  in  California,  the  colonists  had  made  but 
little  progress.  Three  pueblos  of  gente  de  razon 
had  been  founded  and  a  few  ranchos  granted  to 
e*-soldiers.  Exclusive  of  the  soldiers,  the  white 
population  in  the  year  1S00  did  not  exceed  six 
hundred.  The  people  lived  in  the  most  primi- 
tive manner.  There  was  no  commerce  and  no 
manufacturing  except  a  little  at  the  missions. 
Their  houses  were  adobe  huts  roofed  with  tule 
thatch.    The  floor  was  the  beaten  earth  and  the 


scant  furniture  home-made.  There  was  a  scarcity 
of  cloth  for  clothing.  Padre  Salazar  relates  that 
when  he  was  at  San  Gabriei  Mission  in  1795  a 
man  who  had  a  thousand  horses  and  cattle  in 
proportion  came  there  to  beg  cloth  for  a  shirt, 
for  none  could  be  had  at. the  pueblo  of  Los  An- 
geles nor  at  the  presidio  of  Santa  Barbara. 

Hermanagildo  Sal,  the  comandante  of  San 
Francisco,  writing  to  a  friend  in  1799.  says,  "I 
send  you.  by  the  wife  of  the  pensioner  Jose 
Barbo,  one  piece  of  cotton  goods  and  an  ounce 
of  sewing  silk.  There  are  no  combs  and  I  have 
no  hope  of  receiving  any  for  three  years."  Think 
of  waiting  three  years  for  a  comb! 

Eighteen  missions  had  been  founded  at  the 
close  of  the  century.  Except  at  a  few  of  the 
older  missions,  the  buildings  were  temporary 
structures.  The  neophytes  for  the  most  part 
were  living  in  wigwams  constructed  like  those 
they  had  occupied  in  their  wild  state. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE    PASSING    OF    SPAIN'S    DOMINATION. 


THE  Spaniards  were  not  a  commercial  peo- 
ple. I  heir  great  desire  was  to  be  let  alone 
in  their  American  possessions.  Philip  II. 
once  promulgated  a  decree  pronouncing  death 
upon  any  foreigner  who  entered  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  It  was  easy  to  promulgate  a  decree  or 
to  pass  restrictive  laws  against  foreign  trade,  but 
quite  another  thing  to  enforce  them. 

\iht  the  first  settlement  of  California  seven- 
teen  years  passed  before  a  foreign  vessel  entered 
any  of  its  ports.  The  first  to  arrive  were  the 
two  vi  ssels  of  the  French  explorer,  La  Perouse, 
who  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Monterey,  Sep- 
tember 15.  1786.  Being  of  the  same  faith,  and 
France  having  been  an  ally  of  Spain  in  former 
limes,  he  was  well  received.  During  his  brief 
stay  he  made  a  study  of  the  mission  system  and 
his  observations  on  it  are  plainly  given.  He 
found  a  similarity  in  it  to  the  slave  plantations 
of  Santo  Domingo.  November  14.  170J,  the 
English  navigator,  Capt.  George  Vancouver,  in 
the    >liip    Discovery,   entered   the    l'a\    of   San 


Francisco.  He  was  cordially  received  by  the 
comandante  of  the  port,  Hermanagildo  Sal,  and 
the  friars  of  the  mission.  On  the  20th  of  the 
month,  with  several  of  his  officers,  he  visited  the 
Mission  of  Santa  Clara,  where  he  was  kindly 
treated.  He  also  visited  the  Mission  of  San 
Carlos  de  Monterey.  He  wrote  an  interesting 
account  of  his  visit  and  his  observations  on  the 
country.  Vancouver  was  surprised  at  the  back- 
wardness of  the  country  and  the  antiquated  cus- 
toms of  the  people.  He  says:  "Instead  of  find- 
ing a  country  tolerably  well  inhabited,  and  far 
advanced  in  cultivation,  if  we  except  its  natural 
pastures,  flocks  of  sheep  and  herds  of  cattle, 
there  is  not  an  object  to  indicate  the  most  re- 
mote connection  with  any  European  or  other 
civilized  nation."  On  a  subsequent  visit.  Cap- 
tain Vancouver  met  a  chilly  reception  from  the 
acting  governor,  Arrillaga.  The  Spaniards  sus- 
pected him  of  spying  out  the  weakness  of  their 
defenses.  Through  the  English,  the  Spaniards 
became   acquainted   with   the    importance   and 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


value  of  the  fur  trade.  The  bays  and  lagoons  of 
California  abounded  in  sea  otter.  Their  skins 
were  worth  in  China  all  the  way  from  $30  to 
$100  each.  The  trade  was  made  a  government 
monopoly.  The  skins  were  to  be  collected  from 
the  natives,  soldiers  and  others  by  the  mission- 
aries, at  prices  ranging  from  $2.50  to  $10  each, 
and  turned  over  to  the  government  officials  ap- 
pointed to  receive  them.  All  trade  by  private 
persons  was  prohibited.  The  government  was 
sole  trader.  But  the  government  failed  to  make 
the  trade  profitable.  In  the  closing  years  of 
the  century  the  American  smugglers  began  to 
haunt  the  coast.  The  restrictions  against  trade 
with  foreigners  were  proscriptive  and  the  penal- 
ties for  evasion  severe,  but  men  will  trade  under 
the  most  adverse  circumstances.  Spain  was  a 
long  way  off,  and  smuggling  was  not  a  very 
venal  sin  in  the  eyes  of  layman  or  churchman. 
Fast  sailing  vessels  were  fitted  out  in  Boston 
for  illicit  trade  on  the  California  coast.  Watch- 
ing their  opportunities,  these  vessels  slipped 
into  the  bays  and  inlets  along  the  coast.  There 
was  a  rapid  exchange  of  Yankee  notions  for  sea 
otter  skins,  the  most  valued  peltry  of  California, 
and  the  vessels  were  out  to  sea  before  the  rev- 
enue officers  could  intercept  them.  If  success- 
ful in  escaping  capture,  the  profits  of  a  smug- 
gling voyage  were  enormous,  ranging  from  500 
to  1,000  per  cent  above  cost  on  the  goods  ex- 
changed; but  the  risks  were  great.  The  smug- 
gler had  no  protection ;  he  was  an  outlaw.  He 
was  the  legitimate  prey  of  the  padres,  the  peo- 
ple and  the  revenue  officers.  The  Yankee  smug- 
gler usually  came  out  ahead.  His  vessel  was 
heavily  armed,  and  when  speed  or  stratagem 
[ailed  he  was  ready  to  fight  his  way  out  of  a 
scrape. 

Each  year  two  ships  were  sent  from  San 
Bias  with  the  memorias — mission  and  presidio 
supplies.  These  took  back  a  small  cargo  of  the 
products  of  the  territory,  wheat  being  the  prin- 
cipal. This  was  all  the  legitimate  commerce 
allowed  California. 

The  fear  of  Russian  aggression  had  been  one 
of  the  causes  that  had  forced  Spain  to  attempt 
the  colonization  of  California.  Bering,  in  1741. 
had  discovered  the  strait  that  bears  his  name 
and  had  taken  possession,  for  the  Russian  gov 


eminent,  of  the  northwestern  coast  of  America. 
Four  years  later,  the  first  permanent  Russian 
settlement,  Sitka,  had  been  made  on  one  of  the 
coast  islands.  Rumors  of  the  Russian  explora- 
tions and  settlements  had  reached  Madrid  and 
in  1774  Captain  Perez,  in  the  San  Antonia,  was 
sent  up  the  coast  to  find  out  what  the  Russians 
were  doing. 

Mad  Russian  America  contained  arable  land 
where  grain  and  vegetables  could  have  been 
grown,  it  is  probable  that  the  Russians  and 
Spaniards  in  America  would  not  have  come  in 
contact;  for  another  nation,  the  United  States, 
had  taken  possession  of  the  intervening  coun- 
try, bordering  the  Columbia  river. 

The  supplies  of  breadstuffs  for  the  Sitka  col- 
onists had  to  be  sent  overland  across  Siberia 
or  shipped  around  Cape  Horn.  Failure  of  sup- 
plies sometimes  reduced  the  colonists  to  sore 
straits.  In  1806,  famine  and  diseases  incident 
to  starvation  threatened  the  extinction  of  the 
Russian  colony.  Count  Rezanoff,  a  high  officer 
of  the  Russian  government,  had  arrived  at  the 
Sitka  settlement  in  September,  1805.  The  des- 
titution prevailing  there  induced  him  to  visit 
California,  with  the  hope  of  obtaining  relief  for 
the  starving  colonists.  In  the  ship  Juno  (pur- 
chased from  an  American  trader),  with  a  scurvy 
afflicted  crew,  he  made  a  perilous  voyage  down 
the  stormy  coast  and  on  the  5th  of  April,  1806, 
anchored  safely  in  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco. 
He  had  brought  with  him  a  cargo  of  goods  for 
exchange  but  the  restrictive  commercial  regula- 
tions of  Spain  prohibited  trade  with  foreigners. 
Although  the  friars  and  the  people  needed  the 
goods  the  governor  could  not  allow  the  ex- 
change. Count  Rezanoff  would  be  permitted  to 
purchase  grain  for  cash,  but  the  Russian's  ex- 
chequer was  nol  plethoric  and  his  ship  was  al- 
ready loaded  with  g Is.     Love  thai  laughs  at 

locksmiths  eventually  unlocked  the  sh 
that  hampered  commerce  Rezanoff  fell  in  love 
with  Dona  Concepcion,  the  beautiful  daughter 
of  Don  Jose  Arguello,  the  comandante  of  San 
Francisco,  and  an  old  lime  friend  of  the  gov- 
ernor, Vrrillaga.  The  attraction  was  mutual. 
Through  the  influem  1  ncepcion,  the 

friars  and    \i  gi  \  ernor  was  ;• 

to  sanction  a  plan  by  which  cash  was  the  sup- 


Ml 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


posed  medium  of  exchange  on  both  sides,  but 
grain  on  the  one  side  and  goods  on  the  other 
were  the  real  currency. 

The  romance  of  Rezanoff  and  Dona  Concep- 
cion  had  a  sad  ending.  On  his  journey  through 
Siberia  to  St.  Petersburg  to  obtain  the  consent 
of  the  emperor  to  his  marriage  he  was  killed 
by  a  fall  from  his  horse.  It  was  several  years 
before  the  news  of  his  death  reached  his  af- 
fianced bride.  Faithful  to  his  memory,  she  never 
married,  but  dedicated  her  life  to  deeds  of  char- 
ity. After  Rezanoff's  visit  the  Russians  came 
frequently  to  California,  partly  to  trade,  but 
more  often  to  hunt  otter.  While  on  these  fur 
hunting  expeditions  they  examined  the  coast 
north  of  San  Francisco  with  the  design  of  plant- 
ing an  agricultural  colony  where  they  could 
raise  grain  to  supply  the  settlements  in  the  far 
north.  In  1812  they  founded  a  town  and  built 
a  fort  on  the  coast  north  of  Bodega  Cay,  which 
they  named  Ross.  The  fort  mounted  ten  guns. 
They  maintained  a  fort  at  Bodega  Bay  and  also 
a  small  settlement  on  Russian  river.  The  Span- 
iards protested  against  this  aggression  and 
threatened  to  drive  the  Russians  out  of  the  ter- 
ritory, but  nothing  came  of  their  protests  and 
they  were  powerless  to  enforce  their  demands. 
The  Russian  ships  came  to  California  for  sup- 
plies and  were  welcomed  by  the  people  and  the 
friars  if  not  by  the  government  officials.  The 
Russian  colony  at  Ross  was  not  a  success.  The 
ignorant  soldiers  and  the  Aluets  who  formed 
the  bulk  of  its  three  or  four  hundred  inhab- 
itants, knew  little  or  nothing  about  farming  and 
were  too  stupid  to  learn.  After  the  decline  of 
fur  hunting  the  settlement  became  unprofitable. 
In  1841  the  buildings  and  the  stock  were  sold 
by  the  Russian  governor  to  ("apt.  John  A.  Sut- 
ter for  S^i.ooo.  The  settlement  was  abandoned 
and  the  fort  and  tin-  town  arc  in  ruins. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  1810,  the  patriot 
priest,  .Miguel  Hidalgo,  struck  the  first  blow 
for  Mexican  independence.  The  revolution 
which  began  in  the  province  of  Guanajuato  was 
at  firM  regarded  by  the  authorities  as  a  mere 
riot  of  ignorant  Indians  thai  would  be  speedily 
suppressed.  But  the  insurrection  spread  rap- 
idly. Foul;  years  of  oppression  ami  cruelty  hail 
instilled  into  the  hearts  of  the  people  an  undy- 


ing hatred  for  their  Spanish  oppressors.  Hidalgo 
soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  motley 
army,  poorly  armed  and  undisciplined,  but  its 
numbers  swept  away  opposition.  Unfortunately 
through  over-confidence  reverses  came  and  in 
March,  181 1,  the  patriots  met  an  overwhelming 
defeat  at  the  bridge  of  Calderon.  Hidalgo  was 
betrayed,  captured  and  shot.  Though  sup- 
pressed for  a  time,  the  cause  of  independence 
was  not  lost.  For  eleven  years  a  fratricidal  war 
was  waged — cruel,  bloody  and  devastating.  Al- 
lende,  Alina.  Moreles,  Alama,  Rayon  and  other 
patriot  leaders  met  death  on  the  field  of  battle 
or  were  captured  and  shot  as  rebels,  but  "Free- 
dom's battle"  bequeathed  from  bleeding  sire  to 
son  was  won  at  last. 

Of  the  political  upheavals  that  shook  Spain 
in  the  first  decades  of  the  century  only  the  faint- 
est rumblings  reached  far  distant  California. 
Notwithstanding  the  many  changes  of  rulers 
that  political  revolutions  and  Napoleonic  wars 
gave  the  mother  country,  the  people  of  Califor- 
nia remained  loyal  to  the  Spanish  crown,  al- 
though at  times  they  must  have  been  in  doubt 
who   wore   the   crown. 

Arrillaga  was  governor  of  California  when 
the  war  of  Mexican  independence  began.  Al- 
though born  in  Mexico  he  was  of  pure  Spanish 
parentage  and  was  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with 
Spain  in  the  contest.  He  did  not  live  to  see  the 
end  of  the  war.  He  died  in  1814  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola.  Sola  was 
Spanish  born  and  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the 
revolution,  even  going  so  far  as  to  threaten 
death  to  any  one  who  should  speak  in  favor  of 
it.  Fie  had  received  his  appointment  from 
Viceroy  Calleja,  the  butcher  of  Guanajuato,  the 
crudest  and  most  bloodthirsty  of  the  vice  regal 
governors  of  new  Spain.  The  friars  were  to  a 
man  loyal  to  Spain.  The  success  of  the  repub- 
lic meant  tin-  downfall  of  their  domination. 
The)  hated  republican  ideas  and  regarded 
their  dissemination  as  a  crime.  They  were  the 
ruling  power  in  California.  The  governors 
and  the  people  were  subservient  to  their 
wishes. 

The  decade  between  1810  and  1820  was 
marked  by  two  important  events,  the  year  of  the 
earthquakes   and    the   year    of    the   insurgents. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


si 


The  year  1812  was  the  Ano  de  los  Temblores. 
The  seismic  disturbance  that  for  forty  years  or 
more  had  shaken  California  seemed  to  concen- 
trate in  power  that  year  and  expend  its  force 
on  the  mission  churches.  The  massive  church 
of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  the  pride  of  mission 
architecture,  was  thrown  down  ami  forty  per- 
sons killed.  The  wails  of  San  Gabriel  Mission 
were  cracked  and  some  of  the  saints  shaken  out 
of  their  niches.  At  San  Buenaventura  there 
were  three  heavy  shocks  which  injured  the 
church  so  that  the  tower  and  much  of  the  facade 
had  to  be  rebuilt.  The  whole  mission  site 
seemed  to  settle  and  the  inhabitants,  fearful 
that  they  might  be  engulfed  by  the  sea,  moved 
up  the  valley  about  two  miles,  where  they  re- 
mained three  months.  At  Santa  Barbara  both 
church  and  the  presidio  were  damaged  and  at 
Santa  Inez  the  church  was  shaken  down.  The 
quakes  continued  for  several  months  and  the 
people  were  so  terrified  that  they  abandoned 
their  houses  and  lived  in  the  open  air. 

The  other  important  epoch  of  the  decade  was 
El  Ano  de  los  Insurgentes,  the  year  of  the  in- 
surgents. In  November,  18 18,  Bouchard,  a 
Frenchman  in  the  service  of  Buenos  Ayres  and 
provided  with  letters  of  marque  by  San  Mar- 
tain,  the  president  of  that  republic,  to  prey  upon 
Spanish  commerce,  appeared  in  the  port  of 
Monterey  with  two  ships  carrying  sixty-six 
guns  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  men.  He  at- 
tacked Monterey  and  after  an  obstinate  re- 
sistance by  the  Californians,  it  was  taken  by  the 
insurgents  and  burned.  Bouchard  next  pillaged 
Ortega's  rancho  and  burned  the  buildings. 
Then  sailing  down  the  coast  he  scared  the  Santa 
Barbaranos;  then  keeping  on  down  he  looked 
into  San  Pedro,  but  finding  nothing  there  to 
tempt  him  he  kept  on  to  San  Juan  Capistrano. 
There  he  landed,  robbed  the  mission  of  a  few 
articles  and  drank  the  padres'  wine.  Then  he 
sailed  away  and  disappeared.  He  left  six  of  his 
men  in  California,  among  them  Joseph  Chap- 
man of  Boston,  the  first  American  resident  of 
California. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  there 
was    a    limited    commerce    with    Lima.     That 


being  a  Spanish  dependency,  trade  with  it  was 
not  prohibited.  Gilroy,  who  arrived  in  Califor- 
nia in  1814.  says  in  his  reminiscences:* 

"The  only  article  of  export  then  was  tallow, 
of  which  one  cargo  was  sent  annually  to  Callao 
in  a  Spanish  ship.  This  tallow  sold  for  $1.50 
per  hundred  weight  in  silver  or  $2.00  in  trade 
or  goods.  Hides,  except  those  used  for  tallow 
bags,  were  thrown  away.  Wheat,  barley  and 
beans  had  no  market.  Nearly  everything  con- 
sumed by  the  people  was  produced  at  home. 
There  was  no  foreign  trade." 

As  the  revolution  in  Mexico  progressed 
times  grew  harder  in  California.  The  mission 
niemorias  ceased  to  come.  Xo  tallow  ships  from 
Callao  arrived.  The  soldiers'  pay  was  years  in 
arrears  and  their  uniforms  in  rags.  What  little 
wealth  there  was  in  the  country  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  padre..  'I  hey  were  supreme.  "The 
friars,"  says  Gilroy,  "had  even  thin-  their  own 
way.  The  governor  and  the  military  were  ex- 
pected to  do  whatever  the  friars  requested.  The 
missions  contained  all  the  wealth  of  the  coun- 
try." The  friars  supported  the  government  and 
supplied  the  troops  with  food  from  the  products 
of  the  neophytes'  labor.  The  crude  manufac- 
turers of  the  missions  supplied  the  people  with 
cloth  for  clothing  and  some  other  necessities. 
The  needs  of  the  common  people  were  easily 
satisfied.  They  were  not  used  to  Iuxurii 
were  they  accustomed  to  what  we  would  now 
consider  necessities.  Gilroy,  in  the  reminis- 
cences heretofore  referred  to,  states  that  at  the 
time  of  his  arrival  (1814)  "There  was  not  a  saw- 
mill, whip  .-aw  or  spoked  wheel  in  California. 
Such  lumber  as  was  used  was  cut  with  an  axe. 

Chairs,  tables  and  w 1   flooi 

lound  except  in  the  governor's  house.  Plates 
were  rare  unless  that  name  could  be  applied  to 
the  tiles  used  instead.  Money  was  a  rarity. 
There  were  no  stores  and  no  merchandise  to 
sell.  There  was  no  employment  for  a  laborer. 
The  neophytes  did  all  the  work  and  all  the  busi- 
ness of  tlie  country  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
friars." 


*Alta  California,  June  25,   1865. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


FROM    EMPIRE    TO    REPUBLIC. 


THE  condition  of  affairs  in  California  stead- 
ily grew  worse  as  the  revolution  in  Mex- 
ico progressed.  Sola  had  made  strenuous 
efforts  to  arouse  the  Spanish  authorities  of  New 
Spain  to  take  some  action  towards  benefiting  the 
territory.  Alter  the  affair  with  the  insurgent 
Bouchard  he  had  appealed  to  the  viceroy  for  re- 
inforcements. In  answer  to  his  urgent  entreaties 
a  force  of  one  hundred  men  was  sent  from  Ma- 
zatlan  to  garrison  San  Diego  and  an  equal  force 
from  San  Bias  for  Monterey.  They  reached  Cal- 
ifornia in  August,  1819,  and  Sola  was  greatly- 
rejoiced,  but  his  joy  was  turned  to  deep  disgust 
when  he  discovered  the  true  character  of  the  re- 
inforcement and  arms  sent  him.  The  only  equip- 
ments of  the  soldiers  were  a  few  hundred  did 
worn-out  sabers  that  Sola  declared  were  unfit 
for  sickles.  He  ordered  them  returned  to  the 
comandante  of  San  Bias,  who  had  sent  them. 
The  troops  were  a  worse  lot  than  the  arms  sent. 
They  had  been  taken  out  of  the  prisons  or  con- 
scripted from  the  lowest  class  of  the  population 
of  the  cities.  They  were  thieves,  drunkards  and 
vagabonds,  who,  as  soon  as  landed,  resorted  to 
robberies,  brawls  and  assassinations.  Sola  wrote 
to  the  viceroy  that  the  outcasts  called  troops 
sent  him  from  the  jails  of  Tepic  and  San  Bias 
by  their  vices  caused  continual  disorders;  their 
evil  example  had  debauched  the  minds  of  the 
Indians  and  that  the  cost  incurred  in  their  col- 
let! inn  ami  transportation  had  been  worse  than 
thrown  away,  lie  could  not  get  rid  of  them, 
s<>  he  had  to  control  them  as  best  he  could. 
Governor  Sola  labored  faithfully  to  benefit  the 
country  over  which  be  had  been  placed  and  to 
arouse  the  Spanish  authorities  in  Mexico  to  do 
something  tor  the  advancement  of  California; 
but  the  government  did  nothing.  Indeed  it  was 
in  no  condition  to  ,1,.  anything.  The  revolution 
would  not  down.  No  sooner  was  one  revolution- 
ary leader  suppressed  and  the  rebellion  ap- 
parently crushed  than  there  was  an  uprising  in 


some  other  part  of  the  country  under  a  new 
leader. 

Ten  years  of  intermittent  warfare  had  been 
waged — one  army  of  patriots  after  another  had 
been  defeated  and  the  leaders  shot;  the  strug- 
gle for  independence  was  almost  ended  and  the 
royalists  were  congratulating  themselves  on  the 
triumph  of  the  Spanish  crown,  when  a  sudden 
1  hange  came  and  the  vice  regal  government 
that  lor  three  hundred  years  had  swayed  the 
destinies  of  Xew  Spain  went  down  forever. 
Agustin  Iturbide,  a  colonel  in  the  royal  army, 
who  in  February,  1821,  had  been  sent  with  a 
corps  of  five  thousand  men  from  the  capital  to 
the  Sierras  near  Aeapulco  to  suppress  Guerrero, 
the  last  of  the  patriot  chiefs,  suddenly  changed 
his  allegiance,  raised  the  banner  of  the  revolu- 
tion and  declared  for  the  independence  of  Mex- 
ico under  the  plan  of  Iguala,  so  named  for  the 
town  where  it  was  first  proclaimed.  The  central 
ideas  of  the  plan  were  "Union,  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty." 

There  was  a  general  uprising  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  and  men  rallied  to  the  support  of  the 
Army  of  the  Three  Guarantees,  religion,  union, 
independence.  Guerrero  joined  forces  with 
Iturbide  and  September  21.  1821,  at  the  head 
of  sixteen  thousand  men,  amid  the  rejoicing  of 
the  people,  they  entered  the  capital.  The  viceroy 
was  compelled  to  recognize  the  independence  of 
Mexico.  A  provisional  government  under  a 
regency  was  appointed  at  first,  but  a  few  months 
later  Iturbide  was  crowned  emperor,  taking  the 
title  of  his  most  serene  majesty,  Agustin  I.,  by 
divine  providence  and  by  the  congress  of  the 
nation,   first   constitutional  emperor  of  Mexico. 

Sola  had  heard  rumors  of  the  turn  affairs 
were  taking  in  Mexico,  but  he  had  kept  the  re- 
ports a  secret  and  still  hoped  and  prayed  for 
the  success  of  the  Spanish  arms.  At  length  a 
vessel  appeared  in  the  harbor  of  Monterey  float- 
ing an  unknown  flag,  and  cast  anchor  beyond 


i 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  reach  of  the  guns  of  the  castillo.  The  sol- 
diers were  called  to  arms.  A  boat  from  the  ship 
put  off  for  shore  and  landed  an  officer,  who  de- 
clared himself  the  bearer  of  dispatches  to  Don 
Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola,  the  governor  of  the 
province.  "I  demand,"  said  he,  "to  be  con- 
ducted to  his  presence  in  the  name  of  my  sov- 
ereign, the  liberator  of  Mexico,  General  Agustin 
de  Iturbide."  There  was  a  murmur  of  applause 
from  the  soldiers,  greatly  to  the  surprise  of  their 
officers,  who  were  all  loyalists.  Governor  Sola 
was  bitterly  disappointed.  Only  a  few  days  be- 
fore he  had  harangued  the  soldiers  in  the  square 
of  the  presidio  and  threatened  "to  shoot  down 
any  one  high  or  low  without  the  formality  of  a 
trial  who  dared  to  say  a  word  in  favor  of  the 
traitor  Iturbide." 

For  half  a  century  the  banner  of  Spain  had 
floated  from  the  flag  staff  of  the  presidio  of 
Monterey.  Sadly  Sola  ordered  it  lowered  and 
in  its  place  was  hoisted  the  imperial  flag  of  the 
Mexican  Empire.  A  few  months  pass,  Iturbide 
is  forced  to  abdicate  the  throne  of  empire  and 
is  banished  from  Mexico.  The  imperial  stand- 
ard is  supplanted  by  the  tricolor  of  the  republic. 
Thus  the  Californians,  in  little  more  than  one 
year,  have  passed  under  three  different  forms 
of  government,  that  of  a  kingdom,  an  empire 
and  a  republic,  and  Sola  from  the  most 
loyal  of  Spanish  governors  in  the  kingdom 
of  Spain  has  been  transformed  in  a  Mexican 
republican. 

The  friars,  if  possible,  were  more  bitterly  dis- 
appointed than  the  governor.  They  saw  in  the 
success  of  the  republic  the  doom  of  their  estab- 
lishments. Republican  ideas  were  repulsive  to 
them.  Liberty  meant  license  to  men  to  think 
for  themselves.  The  shackles  of  creed  ami  the 
fetters  of  priestcraft  would  be  loosened  by  the 
growth  of  liberal  ideas.  It  was  not  strange, 
viewing  the  question  from  their  standpoint,  that 
they  refused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  republic.  Nearly  all  of  them  were  Spanish 
born.  Spain  had  aided  them  to  plant  their  mis- 
sions, had  fostered  their  establishments  ami  had 
made  them  supreme  in  the  territory.  Their  al- 
legiance was  due  to  the  Spanish  crown.  They 
would  not  transfer  it  to  a  republic  and  th'ey  did 
not;  to  the  last  they   were    loyal    to  Spain   in 


heart,  even  if  they  did  acquiesce  in  the  ob- 
servance of  the  rule  of  the  republic. 

Sola  had  long  desired  to  be  relieved  of  the 
governorship.  He  was  growing  old  and  was  in 
poor  health.  The  condition  of  the  country  wor- 
ried him.  He  had  frequently  asked  to  be  re- 
lieved and  allowed  to  retire  from  military  duty. 
His  requests  were  unheeded;  the  vice  regal 
government  of  New  Spain  had  weightier  mat- 
ters to  attend  to  than  requests  or  the  complaints 
of  the  governor  of  a  distant  and  unimportant 
province.  The  inauguration  of  the  empire 
brought  him  the  desired  relief. 

Under  the  empire  Alta  California  was  allowed 
a  diputado  or  delegate  in  the  imperial  congress. 
Sola  was  elected  delegate  and  took  his  de- 
parture for  Mexico  in  the  autumn  of  1822.  Luis 
Antonio  Arguello,  president  of  the  provincial 
diputacion,  an  institution  that  had  come  into  ex- 
istence after  the  inauguration  of  the  empire,  be- 
came governor  by  virtue  of  his  position  as 
president.  He  was  the  first  hijo  del  pais  or  na- 
tive of  the  country  to  hold  the  office  of  gov- 
ernor. He  was  born  at  San  Francisco  in  17S4, 
while  his  father,  an  ensign  at  the  presidio,  was 
in  command  there.  His  opportunities  for  ob- 
taining an  education  were  extremely  meager, 
but  he  made  the  best  use  of  what  he  had.  lie 
entered  the  army  at  sixteen  and  was,  at  the  time 
he  became  temporary  governor,  comandante  at 
San    Francisco. 

The  inauguration  of  a  new  form  of  govern- 
ment had  brought  no  relief  to  California.  The 
two  Spanish  ships  that  had  annually  brought 
los  memorias  del  rev  (the  remembrances  of  the 
king)  had  long  since  ceased  to  come  with  their 
supplies  of  money  and  goods  for  the  soldiers. 
The  California  ports  were  closed  to  foreign  com- 
merce. There  was  no  sale  for  the  products  of 
the  country.  So  the  missions  had  10  throw  open 
their  warehouses  and  relieve  the  necessities  of 
the   government. 

The  change  in  the  form  of  government  had 
made  no  change  in  the  dislike  of  foreigners, 
that  was  a  characteristic  of  the  Spaniard.  1  lur- 
ing the  Spanish  era  very  few  foreigners  had 
been  allowed  to  remain  in  California.  Run- 
awa\  sailors  an  ed  mariners,  notwith- 

standing they  might  wish  to  remain  in  the  coun- 


M 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


try  and  become  Catholics,  were  shipped  to 
Mexico  and  returned  to  their  own  country. 
John  Gilroy,  whose  real  name  was  said  to  be 
John  Cameron,  was  the  first  permanent  English 
speaking  resident  of  California.  When  a  boy 
of  eighteen  he  was  left  by  the  captain  of  a  Hud- 
son Bay  company's  ship  at  Monterey  in  1814. 
He  was  sick  with  the  scurvy  and  not  expected 
to  live.  Nursing  and  a  vegetable  diet  brought 
him  out  all  right,  but  he  could  not  get  away. 
He  did  not  like  the  country  and  every  day  for 
several  years  he  went  down  to  the  beach  and 
scanned  the  ocean  for  a  foreign  sail.  When  one 
did  come  he  had  gotten  over  his  home-sickness, 
had  learned  the  language,  fallen  in  love,  turned 
Catholic  and  married. 

In  1822  William  E.  P.  Hartnell,  an  English- 
man, connected  with  a  Lima  business  house, 
visited  California  and  entered  into  a  contract 
with  Padre  Payeras,  the  prefect  of  the  missions, 
for  the  purchase  of  hides  and  tallow.  Hartnell 
a  few  years  later  married  a  California  lady  and 
became  a  permanent  resident  of  the  territory. 
Other  foreigners  who  came  about  the  same  time 
as  Hartnell  and  who  became  prominent  in  Cal- 
ifornia were  William  A.  Richardson,  an  Eng- 
lishman; Capt.  John  R.  Cooper  of  Boston  and 
William  A.  Gale,  also  of  Boston.  Gale  had  first 
visited  California  in  1810  as  a  fur  trader.  He 
returned  in  1822  on  the  ship  Sachem,  the  pioneer 
Boston  hide  drogher.  The  hide  drogher  was 
in  a  certain  sense  the  pioneer  emigrant  ship 
of  California.  It  brought  to  the  coast  a 
number  of  Americans  who  became  permanent 
residents  of  the  territory.  California,  on  ac- 
count of  its  long  distance  from  the  world's 
marts  of  trade,  had  but  few  products  for  ex- 
change that  would  bear  the  cost  of  shipment. 
Its  chief  commodities  for  barter  during  the 
Mexican  era  were  hides  and  tallow.  The  vast 
range  of  country  adapted  to  cattle  raising  made 
that  its  most  profitable  industry.  Cattle  in- 
creased rapidly  and  required  but  little  care  or 
on  from  their  owners.  Vs  the  native  Cal- 
ifornians  were  averse  to  hard  labor  cattle  rais- 
ing became  almost  the  sole  industry  of  the 
country. 

\fh>-  the   inauguration   of  a   republican  form 
of   government    in    Mexico    some    of    the    most 


burdensome  restrictions  on  foreign  commerce 
were  removed.  The  Mexican  Congress  of  1824 
enacted  a  colonization  law,  which  was  quite 
liberal.  Under  it  foreigners  could  obtain  land 
from  the  public  domain.  The  Roman  Catholic 
religion  was  the  state  religion  and  a  foreigner, 
before  he  could  become  a  permanent  resident  of 
the  country,  acquire  property  or  marry,  was 
required  to  be  baptized  and  embrace  the  doc- 
trines of  that  church.  After  the  Mexican  Con- 
gress repealed  the  restrictive  laws  against  for- 
eign commerce  a  profitable  trade  grew  up 
between  the  New  England  ship  owners  and  the 
Californians. 

Vessels  called  hide  droghers  were  fitted  out 
in  Boston  with  assorted  cargoes  suitable  for  the 
California  trade.  Making  the  voyage  by  way  of 
Cape  Horn  they  reached  California.  Stopping 
at  the  various  ports  along  the  coast  they  ex- 
changed their  stocks  of  goods  and  Yankee 
notions  for  hides  and  tallow.  It  took  from  two 
to  three  years  to  make  a  voyage  to  California 
and  return  to  Boston,  but  the  profits  on  the 
goods  sold  and  on  the  hides  received  in  ex- 
change were  so  large  that  these  ventures  paid 
handsomely.  The  arrival  of  a  hide  drogher 
with  its  department  store  cargo  was  heralded 
up  and  down  the  coast.  It  broke  the  monotony 
of  existence,  gave  the  people  something  new 
to  talk  about  and  stirred  them  up  as  nothing 
else  could  do  unless  possibly  a  revolution. 

'*On  the  arrival  of  a  new  vessel  from  the 
United  States,"  says  Robinson  in  his  "Life  in 
California,"  "every  man,  woman,  boy  and  girl 
took  a  proportionate  share  of  interest  as  to  the 
qualities  of  her  cargo.  If  the  first  inquired  for 
rice,  sugar  or  tobacco,  the  latter  asked  for  prints, 
silks  and  satins;  and  if  the  boy  wanted  a  Wil- 
son's jack  knife,  the  girl  hoped  that  there  might 
be  some  satin  ribbons  for  her.  Thus  the  whole 
population  hailed  with  eagerness  an  arrival.  Even 
the  Indian  in  his  unsophisticated  style  asked  for 
Panas  Colorados  and  Abalaris — red  handker- 
chiefs and  beads. 

"After  the  arrival  of  our  trading  vessel  (at  San 
Pedro)  our  friends  came  in  the  morning  flock- 
ing on  board  from  all  quarters;  and  soon  a  busy 
scene  commenced  afloat  and  ashore.  Boats 
were   passing   to   the   beach,   and    men,   women 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


85 


and  children  partaking  in  the  general  excite- 
ment. On  shore  all  was  confusion,  cattle  and 
carts  laden  with  hides  and  tallow,  gente  de  razon 
and  Indians  busily  employed  in  the  delivery  of 
their  produce  and  receiving  in  return  its  value 
in  goods.  Groups  of  individuals  seated  around 
little  bonfires  upon  the  ground,  and  horsemen 
racing  over  the  plains  in  every  direction.  Thus 
the  day  passed,  some  arriving,  some  departing, 
till  long  after  sunset,  the  low  white  road,  lead- 
ing across  the  plains  to  the  town  (Los  Angeles), 
appeared  a  living  panorama." 

The  commerce  of  California  during  the  Mex- 
ican era  was  principally  carried  on  by  the  hide 
droghers.  The  few  stores  at  the  pueblos  and 
presidios  obtained  their  supplies  from  them 
and  retailed  their  goods  to  customers  in  the  in- 
tervals between  the  arrivals  of  the  department 
store  droghers. 

The  year  1824  was  marked  by  a  serious  out- 
break among  the  Indians  of  several  missions. 
Although  in  the  older  missionary  establish- 
ments many  of  the  neophytes  had  spent  half  a 
century  under  the  Christianizing  influence  of 
the  padres  and  in  these,  too,  a  younger  genera- 
tion had  grown  from  childhood  to  manhood 
under  mission  tutelage,  yet  their  Christian  train- 
ing had  not  eliminated  all  the  aboriginal  sav- 
agery from  their  natures.  The  California  Indians 
were  divided  into  numerous  small  tribes,  each 
speaking  a  different  dialect.  The}-  had  never 
learned,  like  the  eastern  Indians  did,  the  ad- 
vantages of  uniting  against  a  common  enemy. 
When  these  numerous  small  tribes  were  gath- 
ered into  the  missions  they  were  kept  as  far  as 
it  was  possible  separate  and  it  is  said  the  padres 
encouraged  their  feuds  and  tribal  animosities  to 
prevent  their  uniting  against  the  missionaries. 
Their  long  residence  in  the  missions  had  de- 
stroyed their  tribal  distinctions  and  merged 
them  into  one  body.  It  had  taught  them,  too, 
the  value  of  combination. 

How  long  the  Indians  had  been  plotting  no 
one  knew.  The  conspiracy  began  among  the 
neophytes  of  Santa  Ynez  and  La  Purisima,  but 
it  spread  to  the  missions  of  San  Luis  <  ibispo, 
Santa  Barbara,  San  Buenaventura,  San  Fer- 
nando and  San  Gabriel.  Their  plan  was  to  mas- 
sacre  the   padres   and    the    mission    guard    and 


having  obtained  arms  to  kill  all  the  genie  de 
razon  and  thus  free  themselves  from  mission 
thralldom  and  regain  their  old  time  freedom. 
The  plotting  had  been  carried  on  with  great 
secrecy.  Rumors  had  passed  from  mission  to 
mission  arranging  the  details  of  the  uprising 
without  the  whites  suspecting  anything.  Sunday, 
February  22,  [824,  was  the  day  set  for  begin- 
ning the  slaughter.  At  the  hour  of  celebrating 
mass,  when  the  soldiers  and  the  padre-  were 
within  the  church,  the  bloody  work  was  to  be- 
gin. The  plot  might  have  succeeded  had  not 
the  Indians  at  Santa  Ynez  began  their  work 
prematurely.  One  account  (Hindi's  History  of 
California)  says  that  on  Saturday  afternoon  be- 
fore the  appointed  Sunday  they  determined  to 
begin  the  work  by  the  murder  of  Padre-  Fran- 
cisco Xavier  Una,  who  was  sleeping  in  a  cham- 
ber next  the  mission  church.  He  was  warned 
by  a  faithful  page.  Springing  from  his  couch 
and  rushing  to  a  window  he  saw  the  Indians  ap- 
proaching. Seizing  a  musket  from  several  that 
were  in  the  room  he  shot  the  first  Indian  that 
reached  the  threshold  dead.  He  seized  a  sec- 
ond musket  and  laid  another  Indian  low.  The 
soldiers  now  rallied  to  his  assistance  and  the 
Indians  were  driven  back:  they  set  fire  to  the 
mission  church,  but  a  small  body  of  troops  un- 
der Sergeant  Carrillo,  sent  from  Santa  Barbara 
to  reinforce  the  mission  guard,  coming  up  at 
this  time,  the  Indians  lied  to  Purisima.  The 
fire  was  extinguished  before  the  church  was 
consumed.  At  Purisima  the  Indians  were  more 
successful.  The  mission  was  defended  by  Cor- 
poral Tapia  and  five  soldiers.  The  Indians  de- 
manded that  Tapia  surrender,  but  tin-  corporal 
refused.  The  tight  began  and  continued  all 
night.  The  Indians  set  fire  to  the  building,  but 
all  they  could  burn  was  the  rafters.  Tapia.  by  a 
strategic  movement,  succeeded  in  collecting  all 
the  soldiers  and  the  women  and  children  inside 
the  walls  of  one  of  the  largest  buildings  from 
which  the  roof  had  been  burnt.  From  this  the 
Indians  could  nol  dislodge  him.  The  fighl  was 
kept  up  till  morning,  when  one  of  the  Indians, 
who  had  been  a  mission  alcade,  made  a  prop- 
osition to  the  corporal  to  surrender,  Tapia  re- 
fused to  consider  it,  Km  Father  Bias  I  >rdaz  in- 
terfered and  insisted  1  imise.     After 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


much  contention  Tapia  found  himself  overruled. 
The  Indians  agreed  to  spare  the  lives  of  all  on 
condition  that  the  whites  laid  down  their  arms. 
The  soldiers  laid  down  their  arms  and  sur- 
rendered two  small  cannon  belonging  to  the 
church.  The  soldiers,  the  women  and  the  chil- 
dren were  then  allowed  to  march  to  Santa  Ynez. 
While  the  fight  was  going  on  the  Indians  killed 
four  white  men,  two  of  them,  Dolores  Sepulveda 
and  Ramon  Satelo,  were  on  their  way  to  Los 
Angeles  and  came  to  the  mission  not  suspecting 
any  danger.  Seven  Indians  were  killed  in  the 
fight  and  a  number  wounded. 

The  Indians  at  Santa  Barbara  began  hostilities 
according  to  their  prearranged  plot.  They  made 
an  attack  upon  the  mission.  Captain  de  la 
( iuerra,  who  was  in  command  at  the  presidio, 
marched  to  the  mission  and  a  fight  of  several 
hours  ensued.  The  Indians  sheltered  them- 
selves behind  the  pillars  of  the  corridor  and 
fought  with  guns  and  arrows.  After  losing  sev- 
eral of  their  number  they  lied  to  the  hills.  Four 
soldiers  were  wounded.  The  report  of  the  up- 
rising reached  Monterey  and  measures  were 
taken  at  once  to  subdue  the  rebellious 
neophytes.  A  force  of  one  hundred  men  was 
sent  under  Lieut.  Jose  Estrada  to  co-operate 
with  Captain  de  la  Guerra  against  the  rebels. 
(  )n  the  t6th  of  .March  the  soldiers  surrounded 
the  Indians  who  had  taken  possession  of  the 
mission  church  at  Purisima  and  opened  fire 
Upon  them.  The  Indians  replied  with  their  cap- 
tured cannon,  muskets  and  arrows.  Estrada's 
artillery  battered  down  the  walls  of  the  church. 
The  Indian-,  unused  to  arms,  did  little  execu- 
tion. Driven  out  of  the  wrecked  building,  they 
attempted  to  make  their  escape  by  llight,  but 
wire  intercepted  by  tlie  cavalry  which  had  been 
deployed  for  that  purpose.    Finding  themselves 


hemmed  in  on  all  sides  the  neophytes  sur- 
rendered. They  had  lost  sixteen  killed  and  a 
large  number  of  wounded.  Seven  of  the  prison- 
ers were  shot  for  complicity  in  the  murder  of 
Sepulveda  and  the  three  other  travelers.  The 
four  leaders  in  the  revolt,  Mariano  Pacomio, 
Benito  and  Bernabe,  were  sentenced  to  ten 
years  hard  labor  at  the  presidio  and  eight  oth- 
ers to  lesser  terms.  There  were  four  hundred 
Indians  engaged  in  the  battle. 

The  Indians  of  the  Santa  Barbara  missions 
and  escapes  from  Santa  Ynez  and  Purisima 
made  their  way  over  the  mountains  to  the 
Tulares.  A  force  of  eighty  men  under  com- 
mand of  a  lieutenant  was  sent  against  these. 
The  troops  had  two  engagements  with  the  reb- 
els, whom  they  found  at  Buenavista  Lake  and 
San  Emigdio.  Finding  his  force  insufficient  to 
subdue  them  the  lieutenant  retreated  to  Santa 
Barbara.  Another  force  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  men  under  Captain  Portilla  and  Lieuten- 
ant Valle  was  sent  after  the  rebels.  Father 
Ripoll  had  induced  the  governor  to  offer  a  gen- 
eral pardon.  The  padre  claimed  that  the  In- 
dians had  not  harmed  the  friars  nor  committed 
sacrilege  in  the  church  and  from  his  narrow- 
view  these  were  about  the  only  venal  sins  they 
could  commit.  The  troops  found  the  fugitive 
neophytes  encamped  at  San  Emigdio.  They 
now  professed  repentance  for  their  misdeeds  and 
were  willing  to  return  to  mission  life  if  they 
could  escape  punishment.  Padres  Ripoll  and 
Sarria,  who  had  accompanied  the  expedition, 
entered  into  negotiations  with  the  Indians;  par- 
don was  promised  them  for  their  offenses.  They 
then  surrendered  and  marched  back  with  the 
soldiers  to  their  respective  missions.  This  was 
the  last  attempt  of  the  Indians  to  escape  from 
mission  rule. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


CHAPTER   X. 

FIRST    DECADE    OF    MEXICAN    RULE. 


JOSE  MARIA  ECHEANDIA,  a  lieutenant 
colonel  of  the  Mexican  army,  was  ap- 
pointed governor  of  the  two  Californias, 
February  i,  1825.  With  his  staff  officers  and 
a  few  soldiers  he  landed  at  Loreto  June 
22.  After  a  delay  of  a  few  months  at  Lo- 
reto he  marched  overland  to  San  Diego, 
where  he  arrived  about  the  middle  of  October. 
He  summoned  Arguello  to  meet  him  there, 
which  he  did  and  turned  over  the  government, 
October  31,  1825.  Echeandia  established  his 
capital  at  San  Diego,  that  town  being  about  the 
center  of  his  jurisdiction.  This  did  not  suit  the 
people  of  Monterey,  who  become  prejudiced 
against  the  new  governor.  Shortly  after  his 
inauguration  he  began  an  investigation  of  the 
attitude  of  the  mission  friars  towards  the  re- 
public of  Mexico.  He  called  padres  Sanches, 
Zalvidea,  Peyri  and  Martin,  representatives  of 
the  four  southern  missions,  to  San  Diego  and 
demanded  of  them  whether  they  would  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  supreme  government. 
They  expressed  their  willingness  and  were  ac- 
cordingly sworn  to  support  the  constitution  of 
1824.  Many  of  the  friars  of  the  northern  mis- 
sions remained  contumacious.  Among  the 
most  stubborn  of  these  was  Padre  Vicente 
Francisco  de  Sarria,  former  president  of  the 
missions.  He  had  resigned  the  presidency  to 
escape  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  still 
continued  his  opposition.  He  was  put  under  ar- 
rest and  an  order  issued  for  his  expulsion  by 
the  supreme  government,  but  the  execution  of 
the  order  was  delayed  for  fear  that  if  he  were 
banished  others  of  the  disloyal  padres  would 
abandon  their  missions  and  secretly  leave  the 
country.  The  government  was  not  ready  yet  to 
take  possession  of  the  missions.  The  friars 
could  keep  the  neophytes  in  subjection  and 
make  them  work.  The  business  of  the  country 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  friars  and  any  radical 
change  would  have  been  disastrous. 


The  national  government  in  1827  had  issued 
a  decree  for  the  expulsion  of  Spaniards  from 
Mexican  territory.  There  were  certain  classes 
of  those  born  in  Spain  who  were  exempt  from 
banishment,  but  the  friars  were  not  among  the 
exempts.  The  decree  of  expulsion  reached  Cal- 
ifornia in  1828;  but  it  was  not  enforced  for  the 
reason  that  all  of  the  mission  padres  except 
three  were  Spaniards.  To  have  sent  these  out 
of  the  country  would  have  demoralized  the  mis- 
sions. The  Spanish  friars  were  expelled  from 
Mexico;  but  those  in  California,  although  some 
of  them  had  boldly  proclaimed  their  willingness 
to  die  for  their  king  and  their  religion  and  de- 
manded their  passports  to  leave  the  country, 
were  allowed  to  remain  in  the  country.  Their 
passports  were  not  given  them  for  reasons 
above  stated.  Padres  Ripoll  and  Altimira  made 
their  escape  without  passports.  They  secretly 
took  passage  on  an  American  brig  lying  at 
Santa  Barbara.  Orders  were  issued  to  seize  the 
vessel  should  she  put  into  any  other  harbor  on 
the  coast,  but  the  captain,  who  no  doubt  had 
been  liberally  paid,  took  no  chance  of  capture 
and  the  padres  eventually  reached  Spain  in 
safety.  There  was  a  suspicion  that  the  two 
friars  had  taken  with  them  a  large  amount  of 
money  from  the  mission  funds,  but  nothing  was 
proved.  It  was  certain  that  they  carried  away 
something  more  than  the  bag  and  staff,  the  onl) 
property  allowed  them  by  the  rules  of  their 
order. 

The  most  bitter  opponenl  of  the  new  govern- 
ment was  Father  Luis  Antonio  Martinez  of  San 
Luis  Obispo.  Before  the  clandestine  departure 
of  Ripoll  and  Altimira  there  were  rumors  that 
he  meditated  a  secret  departure  From  the  coun- 
try. The  mysterious  shipment  of  $6,000  in  gold 
belonging  to  the  mission  on  a  vessel  called  the 
Santa  Apolonia  gave  credence  to  the  repi 
1  tided  flight.  1  le  had  been  given  a 
port    hill     -till    remained    in    the    territory.       His 


» 


HISTORICAL   AXD    UK  )GRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


outspoken  disloyalty  and  his  well  known  suc- 
cess in  evading  the  revenue  laws  and  smuggling 
goods  ini"  i  lie  country  had  made  him  particu- 
larly obnoxious  to  the  authorities.  Governor 
Echeandia  determined  to  make  an  example  of 
him.  He  was  arrested  m  February,  1830,  and 
confined  in  a  room  at  Santa  Barbara.  In  his 
trial  before  a  council  of  war  an  attempt  was 
made  to  connect  him  with  complicity  in  the  Solis 
revolution,  but  the  evidence  against  him  was 
weak.  P.\  a  vote  of  live  to  one  it  was  decided 
to  send  him  out  of  the  country.  He  was  put 
on  board  an  English  vessel  bound  for  Callao  and 
there  transferred  to  a  vessel  bound  for  Europe; 
he  finally  arrived  safely  at  Madrid. 

Under  the  empire  a  diputacion  or  provincial 
legislature  had  been  established  in  California. 
Arguello  in  1825  had  suppressed  this  while  he 
was  governor.  Echeandia,  shortly  after  his  ar- 
rival, ordered  an  election  for  a  new  diputacion. 
The  diputacion  made  the  general  laws  of  the 
territory.  It  consisted  of  seven  members  called 
vocals.  These  were  chosen  by  an  electoral 
junta,  the  members  .if  which  were  elected  by 
the  people.  The  diputacion  chose  a  diputado  or 
delegate  to  the  Mexican  Congress.  As  it  was  a 
long  distance  for  some  of  the  members  to  travel 
tu  the  territorial  capital  a  suplente  or  substitute 
was  chosen  for  each  member,  so  as  to  assure  a 
quorum.  The  diputacion  called  by  Echeandia 
met  at  Monterey,  June  14,  1828.  The  sessions, 
of  which  there  were  two  each  week,  were  held  in 
the  governor's  palacio.  This  diputacion  passed 
a  rather  peculiar  revenue  law.  It  taxed  domestic 
aguardiente  (grape  brandy)  $5  a  barrel  and 
wine  half  that  amount  in  the  jurisdictions  of 
Monterey  and  San  Francisco;  but  in  the  juris- 
dictions of  Santa  Barbara  and  San  Diego  the 
rates  were  doubled,  brandy  was  taxed  $10 
a  barrel  and  wine  $5.  San  Diego,  Los  An- 
geles and  Santa  Barbara  were  wine  producing 
districts,  while  Monterej  and  San  Francisco 
wire  nut.  As  there  was  a  larger  consumption  of 
the  product  in  the  wine  producing  district-  than 
in  the  others  the  law  was  enacted  for  revenue 
and   not  for   prevention   of  drinking. 

Another  peculiar  freak  of  legislation  perpe- 
trated by  this  diputacion  was  the  attempt  to 
change  the  name  of  the  territory.    The  supreme 


government  was  memorialized  to  change  the 
name  of  Aha  California  to  that  of  Montezuma 
and  also  that  of  the  Pueblo  de  Xuestra  Seriora 
de  los  Angeles  to  that  of  Villa  Victoria  de  la 
Reyna  de  los  Angeles  and  make  it  the  capital 
of  the  territory.  A  coat  of  arms  was  adopted 
for  the  territory.  It  consisted  of  an  oval  with 
the  figure  of  an  oak  tree  on  one  side,  an  olive 
tree  on  the  other  and  a  plumed  Indian  in  the 
center  with  his  bow  and  quiver,  just  in  the 
act  of  stepping  across  the  mythical  straits 
of  Anian.  The  memorial  was  sent  to  Mexico, 
but  the  supreme  government  paid  no  attention 
to  it. 

The  political  upheavals,  revolutions  and  coun- 
ter revolutions  that  followed  the  inauguration 
of  a  republican  form  of  government  in  Mexico 
demoralized  the  people  and  produced  a  prolific 
crop  of  criminals.  The  jails  were  always  full 
and  it  became  a  serious  question  what  to  do 
with  them.  It  was  proposed  to  make  California 
a  penal  colony,  similar  to  England*s  Botany 
Bay.  Orders  were  issued  to  send  criminals  to 
California  as  a  means  of  reforming  their  mor- 
als. The  Californians  protested  against  the 
sending  of  these  undesirable  immigrants,  but  in 
vain.  In  February,  1830,  the  brig  Maria  Ester 
brought  eighty  convicts  from  Acapulco  to  San 
Diego.  They  were  not  allowed  to  land  there 
and  were  taken  to  Santa  Barbara.  What  to 
do  with  them  was  a  serious  question  with  the 
Santa  Barbara  authorities.  The  jail  would  not 
hold  a  tenth  part  of  the  shipment  and  to  turn 
them  loose  in  the  sparsely  settled  country  was 
dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  community.  Fin- 
ally, about  thirty  or  forty  of  the  worst  of  the 
bad  lot  were  shipped  over  to  the  island  of  Santa 
Cruz.  They  were  given  a  supply  of  cattle,  some 
fishhooks  and  a  few  tools  and  turned  loose  on 
the  island  to  shift  for  themselves.  They  staid 
mi  the  island  until  they  had  slaughtered  and 
eaten  the  cattle,  then  they  built  a  raft  and 
drifted  back  to  Santa  Barbara,  where  they 
quartered  themselves  on  the  padres  of  the  mis- 
sion. Fifty  more  were  sent  from  Mexico  a  few 
months  later.  These  shipments  of  prison  exiles 
were  distributed  around  among  the  settlements. 
Some  served  out  their  time  and  returned  to  their 
native   land,   a    few    escaped     over    the   border, 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


others  remained  in  the  territory  after  their  time 
was  up  and  became  fairly  good  citizens. 

The  colonization  law  passed  by  the  Mexican 
Congress  August  18,  1824,  was  the  first  break 
in  the  proscriptive  regulations  that  had  pre- 
vailed in  Spanish-American  countries  since  their 
settlement.  Any  foreigner  of  good  character 
who  should  locate  in  the  country  and  become  a 
Roman  Catholic  could  obtain  a  grant  of  public 
land,  not  exceeding  eleven  leagues;  but  no  for- 
eigner was  allowed  to  obtain  a  grant  within 
twenty  leagues  of  the  boundary  of  a  foreign 
country  nor  within  ten  leagues  of  the  sea  coast. 
The  law  of  April  14,  1828,  allowed  foreigners 
to  become  naturalized  citizens.  The  applicant 
was  required  to  have  resided  at  least  two  years 
in  the  country,  to  be  or  to  become  a  Roman 
Catholic,  to  renounce  allegiance  to  his  former 
country  and  to  swear  to  support  the  constitution 
and  laws  of  the  Mexican  republic.  Quite  a 
number  of  foreigners  who  had  been  residing 
a  number  of  years  in  California  took  advantage 
of  this  law  and  became  Mexican  citizens  by  nat- 
uralization. The  colonization  law  of  Novem- 
ber 18,  1828,  prescribed  a  series  of  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  making  of  grants  of  land. 
Colonists  were  required  to  settle  on  ami  culti- 
vate the  land  granted  within  a  specified  time  or 
forfeit  their  grants.  Any  one  residing  outside 
of  the  republic  could  not  retain  possession  of 
his  land.  The  minimum  size  of  a  grant  as  de- 
fined by  this  law  was  two  hundred  varas  square 
of  irrigable  land,  eight  hundred  varas  square 
of  arable  land  (depending  on  the  seasons)  and 
twelve  hundred  varas  square  grazing  land.  The 
size  of  a  house  lot  was  one  hundred  varas 
square. 

The  Californians  had  grown  accustomed  to 
foreigners  coming  to  the  country  by  sea,  but 
they  were  not  prepared  to  have  them  come  over- 
land. The  mountains  and  deserts  that  inter- 
vened between  the  United  States  and  California 
were  supposed  to  be  an  insurmountable  barrier 
to  foreign  immigration  by  land.  It  was  no  doubt 
with  feelings  of  dismay,  mingled  with  anger, 
that  Governor  Echeandia  received  the  advance 
guard  of  maldito  estranjeros,  who  came  across 
the  continent.  Echeandia  hated  foreigners  and 
particularly   Americans.      The    pioneer  of  over- 


land travel  from  the  United  States  to  California 
was  Capt.  Jedediah  S.  Smith.  Smith  was  born 
in  Connecticut  and  when  quite  young  came 
with  his  father  to  Ohio  and  located  in  Ashtabula 
county,  where  he  grew  to  manhood  amid  the 
rude  surroundings  of  pioneer  life  in  the  west. 
By  some  means  he  obtained  a  fairly  good  educa- 
tion. We  have  no  record  of  when  he  began  the 
life  of  a  trapper.  We  first  hear  of  him  as  an 
employe  of  General  Ashley  in  1822.  He  had 
command  of  a  band  of  trappers  on  the  waters  of 
the  Snake  river  in  1824.  Afterwards  he  became 
a  partner  of  Ashley  under  the  firm  name  of 
Ashley  &  Smith  and  subsequently  one  of  the 
members  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company. 
The  latter  company  had  about  1825  established 
a  post  and  fort  near  Great  Salt  Lake.  From 
this,  August  22,  1826,  Captain  Smith  with  a 
band  of  fifteen  hunters  and  trappers  started  on 
his  first  expedition  to  California.  His  object 
was  to  find  some  new  country  that  had  not  been 
occupied  by  a  fur  company.  Traveling  in  a  south- 
westerly direction  he  discovered  a  river  which 
he  named  Adams  (after  President  John  Ouincy 
Vdams)  now  known  as  the  Rio  Virgin.  This 
stream  he  followed  down  to  its  junction  with 
the  Colorado.  Traveling  down  the  latter  river 
he  arrived  at  the  Mojave  villages,  where  he 
rested  fifteen  days.  Here  he  found  two  wander- 
ing neophytes,  who  guided  his  party  across  the 
desert  to  the  San  Gabriel  mission,  where  he  and 
his  men  arrived  safely  early  in  December,  1826. 
The  arrival  of  a  party  of  armed  Americans 
from  across  the  mountains  and  deserts  alarmed 
the  padres  and  couriers  were  hastily  dispatched 
to  Governor  Echeandia  at  San  Diego.  The 
Americans  were  placed  under  arrest  and  com- 
pelled to  give  up  their  arms.  Smith  was  taken 
to  San  Diego  to  give  an  account  of  himself.  1  [e 
claimed  that  he  had  been  compelled  to  enter 
the  territory  on  account  of  the  loss  of  horses 
and  a  scarcity  of  provisions,  lie  was  finally  re- 
leased from  prison  upon  the  endorsement  of 
several  American  ship  captains  and  supercar- 
goes who  were  then  at  San  Diego,  lie  was  a! 
lowed  to  return  to  San  Gabriel,  where  he  pur- 
chased horses  and  supplies.  He  moved  his  camp 
to  San  Bernardino,  where  he  remained  until 
February.     The  authorities  had  grown  uneasy 


90 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


at  his  continued  presence  in  the  country  and 
orders  were  sent  to  arrest  him,  but  before  this 
could  be  done  he  left  for  the  Tulare  country  by 
way  of  Cajon  Pass.  He  trapped  on  the  tribu- 
taries of  the  San  Joaquin.  By  the  ist  of  May 
he  and  his  party  had  reached  a  fork  of  the  Sac- 
ramento (near  where  the  town  of  Folsom  now 
stands).  Here  he  established  a  summer  camp 
and  the  river  ever  since  has  been  known  as  the 
American  fork  from  that  circumstance. 

Here  again  the  presence  of  the  Americans 
worried  the  Mexican  authorities.  Smith  wrote 
a  conciliatory  letter  to  Padre  Duran,  president 
of  the  missions,  informing  him  that  he  had 
"made  several  efforts  to  pass  over  the  moun- 
tains, but  the  snow  being  so  deep  I  could  not 
succeed  in  getting  over.  I  returned  to  this 
place,  it  being  the  only  point  to  kill  meat,  to 
wait  a  few  weeks  until  the  snow  melts  so  that  I 
can  go  on."  "On  May  20,  1827,"  Smith  writes, 
"with  two  men,  seven  horses  and  two  mules,  I 
started  from  the  valley.  In  eight  days  we 
crossed  Mount  Joseph,  losing  two  horses  and 
one  mule.  After  a  march  of  twenty  days  east- 
ward from  Mount  Joseph  (the  Sierra  Xevadas) 
I  reached  the  southwesterly  corner  of  the  Great 
Salt  Lake.  The  country  separating  it  from  the 
mountains  is  arid  and  without  game.  (  Iften  we 
had  no  water  for  two  days  at  a  time.  When 
we  reached  Salt  Lake  we  had  left  only  one  horse 
and  one  mule,  so  exhausted  that  they  could 
hardl)  carry  our  slight  baggage.  We  had  been 
forced  to  eat  the  horses  that   had  succumbed." 

Smith's  route  over  the  Sierras  to  Salt  Lake 
was  substantially  the  same  as  that  followed  bythe 
overland  emigration  of  later  years.  He  discov- 
ered the  Humboldt,  which  he  named  the  Mary 
river,  a  name  it  bore  until  changed  by  Fremont 
in  1S45.  lie  was  the  first  white  man  to  cross 
the  Sierra  Xevadas.  Smith  left  his  partv  of 
trappers  excepl  the  two  who  accompanied  him 
in  the  Sacramento  valley.  He  returned  next 
year  with  reinforcements  and  was  ordered  out 
of  the  country  by  the  governor.  He  traveled  up 
the  coast  towards  Oregon.  On  the  Umpqua 
river  he  was  attacked  b)  the  Indians.  All  his 
part)  except  himself  and  two  others  were  mas- 
sacred, lie  lost  all  of  his  horses  and  furs,  lie 
reached   Fort   Vancouver    his  clothing  torn  to 


rags  and  almost  starved  to  death.  In  1831  he 
started  with  a  train  of  wagons  to  Santa  Fe  on  a 
trading  expedition.  While  alone  searching  for 
water  near  the  Cimarron  river  he  was  set  upon 
by  a  party  of  Indians  and  killed.  Thus  perished 
by  the  hands  of  cowardly  savages  in  the  wilds  of 
Xew  Mexico  a  man  who.  through  almost  in- 
credible dangers  and  sufferings,  had  explored 
an  unknown  region  as  vast  in  extent  as  that 
which  gave  fame  and  immortality  to  the  African 
explorer,  Stanley;  and  who  marked  out  trails 
over  mountains  and  across  deserts  that  Fre- 
mont following  years  afterwards  won  the  title 
of  " Pathfinder  of  the  Great  West."  Smith  led 
the  advance  guard  of  the  fur  trappers  to  Cali- 
fornia. Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  were 
unwelcome  visitors  these  adventurers  continued 
to  come  at  intervals  up  to  1845.  They  trapped 
on  the  tributaries  of  the  San  Joaquin,  Sacramento 
and  the  rivers  in  the  northern  part  of  the  terri- 
tory. A  few  of  them  remained  in  the  country 
and  became  permanent  residents,  but  most  of 
them  sooner  or  later  met  death  by  the  savages. 

Capt.  Jedediah  S.  Smith  marked  out  two  of 
the  great  immigrant  trails  by  which  the  overland 
travel,  after  the  discover)  of  gold,  entered  Cal- 
ifornia, one  by  way  of  the  Humboldt  river  over 
the  Sierra  Xevadas,  the  other  southerly  from 
Salt  Lake,  Utah  Lake,  the  Rio  Virgin,  across 
the  Colorado  desert,  through  the  Cajon  Pass  to 
Los  Angeles.  A  third  immigrant  route  was 
blazed  by  the  Pattie  party.  This  route  led  from 
Santa  Fe,  across  New  Mexico,  down  the  Gila 
to  the  Colorado  and  from  thence  across  the 
desert  through  the  San  Gorgonio  Pass  to  Los 
Angeles. 

This  party  consisted  of  Sylvester  Pattie, 
James  Ohio  Pattie,  his  son,  Nathaniel  M. 
Pryor,  Richard  Laughlin,  Jesse  Furguson,  Isaac 
Slover,  William  Pope  and  James  Puter.  The 
Patties  left  Kentucky  in  1S24  and  followed  trap- 
ping in  Xew  Mexico  and  Arizona  until  1827: 
the  elder  Pattie  for  a  time  managing  the  cop- 
per mines  of  Santa  Rita.  In  May.  1827,  Pattie 
the  elder,  in  command  of  a  part)'  of  thirty  trap- 
pers  and  hunters,  set  out  to  trap  the  tributaries 
of  the  Colorado.  Losses  by  Indian  hostilities, 
b)  dissensions  and  desertions  reduced  the  party 
to   eight    persons.      December    ist,    1827,   while 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


!)l 


these  were  encamped  on  the  Colorado  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Gila,  the  Yuma  Indians  stole  all 
their  horses.  They  constructed  rafts  and  floated 
down  the  Colorado,  expecting  to  find  Spanish 
settlements  on  its  hanks,  where  they  hoped  to 
procure  horses  to  take  them  back  to  Santa  Fe. 
They  floated  down  the  river  until  they  encoun- 
tered the  flood  tide  from  the  gulf.  Finding  it 
impossible  to  go  ahead  on  account  of  the  tide 
or  back  on  account  of  the  river  current,  they 
landed,  cached  their  furs  and  traps  and  with 
two  days'  supply  of  beaver  meat  struck  out 
westerly  across  the  desert.  After  traveling  for 
twenty-four  days  and  suffering  almost  incredible 
hardships  they  reached  the  old  Mission  of  Santa 
Catalina  near  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  California. 
Here  they  were  detained  until  news  of  their  ar- 
rival could  be  sent  to  Governor  Echeandia  at 
San  Diego.  A  guard  of  sixteen  soldiers  was  sent 
for  them  and  they  were  conducted  to  San  Diego, 
where  they  arrived  February  27,  1828.  Their 
arms  were  taken  from  them  and  they  were  put 
in  prison.  The  elder  Pattie  died  during  their 
imprisonment.  In  September  all  the  party  ex- 
cept young  Pattie,  who  was  retained  as  a  host- 
age, were  released  and  permitted  to  go  after 
their  buried  furs.  They  found  their  furs  had  been 
ruined  by  the  overflow  of  the  river.  Two  of  the 
party,  Slover  and  Pope,  made  their  way  back 
to  Santa  Fe;  the  others  returned,  bringing  with 
them  their  beaver  traps.  They  were  again  im- 
prisoned by  Governor  Echeandia,  but  were  fin- 
ally released. 

Three  of  the  party,  Nathaniel  M.  Pryor, 
Richard  Laughlin  and  Jesse  Furguson,  became 
permanent  residents  of  California.  Young  Pat- 
tie returned  to  the  United  States  by  way  of 
Mexico.  After  his  return,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  Rev.  Timothy  Flint,  he  wrote  an  account 
of  his  adventures,  which  was  published  in  Cin- 
cinnati in  1833,  under  the  title  of  "Pattie's  Nar- 
rative." Young  Pattie  was  inclined  to  exaggera- 
tion. In  his  narrative  he  claims  that  with  vac- 
cine matter  brought  by  his  father  from  the 
Santa  Rita  mines  he  vaccinated  twenty-two 
thousand  people  in  California.  In  Los  Angeles 
alone,  he  vaccinated  twenty-five  hundred. 
which  was  more  than  double  the  population  of 
the  town  in  1828.    He  took  a  contract  from  the 


president  of  the  missions  to  vaccinate  all  the 
neophytes  in  the  territory.  When  his  job  was 
finished  the  president  offered  him  in  pay  five 
hundred  cattle  and  five  hundred  mules 
with  land  to  pasture  his  stock  on  condition 
he  would  become  a  Roman  Catholic  and 
a  citizen  of  Mexico.  Pattie  scorned  the  of- 
fer and  roundly  upbraided  the  padre  for  taking 
advantage  of  him.  He  had  previously  given 
Governor  Eacheandia  a  tongue  lashing  and  had 
threatened  to  shoot  him  on  sight.  From  his 
narrative  he  seems  to  have  put  in  most  of  his 
time  in  California  blustering  and  threatening  to 
shoot  somebody. 

Another  famous  trapper  of  this  period  was 
"Peg  Leg"  Smith.  His  real  name  was  Thomas 
L.  Smith.  It  is  said  that  in  a  fight  with  the 
Indians  his  leg  below  the  knee  was  shattered  by 
a  bullet.  He  coolly  amputated  his  leg  at  the 
knee  with  no  other  instrument  than  his  hunting 
knife.  He  wore  a  wooden  leg  and  from  this 
came  his  nickname.  He  first  came  to  California 
in  1829.  He  was  ordered  out  of  the  country. 
He  and  his  party  took  their  departure,  but  with 
them  went  three  or  four  hundred  California 
horses,  lie  died  in  a  San  Francisco  hospital  in 
1866. 

Ewing  Young,  a  famous  captain  of  trappers, 
made  several  visits  to  California  from  [830  to 
[837.  In  1831  he  led  a  party  of  thirty  hunters 
and  trappers,  among  those  of  his  party  who 
remained  in  California  was  Col.  J.  J.  Warner, 
who  became  prominent  in  the  territory  and 
state.  In  1837  Ewing  Young  with  a  party  of 
sixteen  men  came  down  from  Oregon,  where 
he  finally  located,  to  purchase  cattle  for  the  new 
settlements  on  the  Willamette  river.  They 
bought  seven  hundred  cattle  at  $3  per  head  from 
the  government  and  drove  them  overland  to 
(  Iregon,  reaching  there  after  a  toilsome  journey 
of  four  months  with  six  hundred.  Young  died 
!i'  (  >regon  in  [841. 

From  the  downfall  of  Spanish  domination  in 
1822,  to  the  close  of  thai  decade  there  had  been 
but  few  political  disturbances  in  California.  The 
only  one  of  any  consequence  was  Solis'  and 
Herrera's  attempt  to  revolutionize  the  territory 
and  seize  the  government.  Jose  Maria  Herrera 
had  come  to  Califoi  -  missioner  of 


92 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  commissary  department,  but  after  a  short 
term  of  service  had  been  removed  from  office 
for  fraud.  Joaquin  Solis  was  a  convict  who  was 
serving  a  ten  years  sentence  of  banishment  from 
Mexico.  The  ex-official  and  the  exile  with  oth- 
ers of  damaged  character  combined  to  overturn 
the  government. 

On  the  night  of  November  i_\  82 
with  a  band  of  soldiers  that  he  had  induced  to 
join  his  standard,  seized  the  principal  govern- 
ment officials  at  Monterey  and  put  them  in 
prison.  At  Solis'  solicitation  Herrera  drew  up 
a  pronunciamento.  It  followed  the  usual  line 
of  such  documents.  It  began  by  deploring  the 
evils  that  had  come  upon  the  territory  through 
Echeandia*s  misgovernment  and  closed  widt 
promises  of  reformation  if  the  revolutionists 
should  obtain  control  of  the  government.  To 
obtain  the  sinews  of  war  the  rebels  seized 
S3.000  of  the  public  funds.  This  was  dis- 
tributed among  the  soldiers  and  proved  a  great 
attraction  to  the  rebel  cause.  Solis  with  twen- 
ty men  went  to  San  Francisco  and  : 
diers  there  joined  his  standard.  Xext  he 
marched  against  Santa  Barbara  with  an  army 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  Echeandia  on 
hearing  of  the  revolt  had  marched  northward 
with  all  the  soldiers  he  could  enlist.  The  two 
armies  met  at  Santa  Ynez.  Solis  opened  fire  on 
the  governor's  army.  The  fire  was  returned. 
Solis'  men  began  to  break  away  and  soon  the 
army  and  its  valiant  leader  were  in  rapid  flight. 
Pacheco's  cavalry  captured  the  leaders  of  the 
revolt.  Herrara.  Solis  and  thirteen  others  were 
shipped  to  Mexico  under  arrest  to  be  tried  for 
their  crimes.  The  Mexican  authorities,  always 
lenient  to  California  revolutionists,  probably 
from  a  fellow  feeling,  turned  them  all  loose 
and  Herrera  was  sent  back  to  fill  his  former 
office. 

Xear  the  close  of  his  term  Governor 
Echeandia  formulated  a  plan  for  converting  the 
mission  into  pueblos.  To  ascertain  the  fitness 
of  the  neophytes  for  citizenship  he  made  an  in- 
vestigation to  find  out  how  many  could  read  and 
write.  He  found  so  very  few  that  he  ordered 
schools  opened  at  the  missions.  A  pretense  was 
made  of  establishing  schools,  but  very  little  was 
accomplished.  The  padres' were  opposed  to  edu- 


cating the  natives  for  the  same  reason  that  the 
southern  slave-holders  were  opposed  to  educat- 
ing the  negro,  namely,  that  an  ignorant  people 
were  more  easily  kept  in  subjection.  Echeandia's 
plan  of  secularization  was  quite  elaborate  and 
dealt  fairly  with  the  neophytes.  It  received  the 
sanction  of  the  diputacion  when  that  body  met 
in  July,  1S30,  but  before  anything  could  be  done 
towards  enforcing  it  another  governor  was  ap- 
pointed. Echeandia  was  thoroughly  hated  by 
the  mission  friars  and  their  adherents.  Robin- 
son in  his  "Life  in  California"  calls  him  a  man 
of  vice  and  makes  a  number  of  damaging  asser- 
tions about  his  character  and  conduct,  which 
are  not  in  accordance  with  the  facts.  It  was  dur- 
ing Echeandia's  term  as  governor  that  the  motto 
of  Mexico,  Dios  y  Libertad  (God  and  Liberty), 
was  adopted.  It  became  immensely  popular 
and  was  used  on  all  public  documents  and  often 
in  private  correspondence. 

A  romantic  episode  that  has  furnished  a 
theme  for  fiction  writers  occurred  in  the  last 
year  of  Echeandia's  rule.  It  was  the  elopement 
of  Henry  D.  Fitch  with  Dona  Josefa,  daughter 
of  Joaquin  Carrillo  of  San  Diego.  Fitch  was  a 
native  of  Xew  Bedford,  Mass.  He  came  to  Cal- 
ifornia in  1826  as  master  of  the  Maria  Ester. 
He  fell  in  love  with  Dona  Josefa.  There  were 
legal  obstructions  to  their  marriage.  Fitch  was 
a  foreigner  and  a  Protestant.  The  latter  objec- 
tion was  easily  removed  by  Fitch  becoming  a 
Catholic.  The  Dominican  friar  who  was  to  per- 
form the  marriage  service,  fearful  that  he  might 
incur  the  wrath  of  the  authorities,  civil  and  cler- 
ical, refused  to  perform  the  ceremony,  but  sug- 
gested that  there  were  other  countries  where 
5  were  less  strict  and  offered  to  go  beyond 
the  limits  of  California  and  marry  them.  It  is 
said  that  at  this  point  Dona  Josefa  said:  "Why 
don't  you  carry  me  off,  Don  Enrique?''  The 
suggestion  was  quickly  acted  upon.  The  next 
night  the  lady,  mounted  on  a  steed  with  her 
cousin,  Pio  Pico,  as  an  escort,  was  secretly 
taken  to  a  point  on  the  bay  shore  where  a  boat 
was  waiting  for  her.  The  boat  put  off  to  the 
Vulture,  where  Captain  Fitch  received  her  on 
board  and  the  vessel  sailed  for  Valparaiso, 
where  the  couple  were  married.  A  year  later 
Captain   Fitch   returned  to   California   with   his 


HISTORICAL   AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


wile  and  infant  son.  At  Monterey  Fitch  was 
arrested  on  an  order  of  Padre  Sanchez  of  San 
Gabriel  and  put  in  prison.  His  wife  was  also 
placed  under  arrest  at  the  house  of  Captain 
Cooper.  Fitch  was  taken  to  San  Gabriel  for  trial. 
"his  offenses  being  most  heinous."  At  her  in- 
tercession, Governor  Echeandia  released  Mrs. 
Fitch  and  allowed  her  to  go  to  San  Gabriel, 
where  her  husband  was  imprisoned  in  one  of  the 
rooms  of  the  mission.  This  act  of  clemency 
greatly  enraged  the  friar  and  his  fiscal.  Pa- 
lomares,  and  they  seriously  considered  the  ques- 
tion of  arresting  the  governor.  The  trial 
dragged  along  for  nearly  a  month.  Many  wit- 
nesses were  examined  and  many  learned  points 
of  clerical  law  discussed.  Yicar  Sanchez  finally 
gave  his  decision  that  the  marriage  at  Val- 
paraiso, though  not  legitimate,  was  not  null  and 
void,   but  valid.     The   couple  were  condemned 


to   do   penance   by    "presenting   themse!. 
church  with   lighted   candles  in  their  hands  to 
hear  high  mass  for  three  feast  days  an<; 
together  for  thirty  days  one-third  of  the  rosary 
of  the  holy  virgin."*     In  addition  to  these  joint 
penances  the  vicar  inflicted  an  additional  pen- 
alty on  Fitch  in  these  words:    "Yet  considering 
the    great    scandal    which    Don    Enrique    has 
caused  in  this  province  I  condemn  him  to  give 
as  penance  and  reparation  a  bell  of  at  leasl 
pounds  in   weight   for  the   church   at  Los  An- 
geles, which  barely  has  a  borrowed  one.""    Fitch 
and  his  wife  no  doubt  performed  the  joint  pen- 
ance imposed  upon  them,  but  the  church  . 
Angeles  had  to  get  along  with  its  borrowed  bell. 
Don  Enrique  never  gave  it  one  of  fifty  pounds 
or  anv  other  weight. 


►Bancroft's    History   of  California,   Vol.    III-144. 


CHAPTER   XI, 


REVOLUTIONS— THE    HIJAR    COLONISTS. 


JiK  ANUEL  VICTORIA  was  appointed 
/'\  governor  in  March.  1S30,  but  did  not 
reach  California  until  the  last  month 
of  the  year.  Victoria  very  soon  became  un- 
popular. He  undertook  to  overturn  the  civil 
authority  and  substitute  military  rule.  He 
recommended  the  abolition  of  the  ayunta- 
mientos  and  refused  to  call  together  the  ter- 
ritorial diputacion.  He  exiled  Don  Abel 
Stearns  and  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo:  and  at  dif- 
ferent times,  on  trumped-up  charges,  had  half 
a  hundred  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Los  An- 
geles incarcerated  in  the  pueblo  jail.  Alcalde 
Vicente  Sanchez  was  the  petty  despot  of  the 
pueblo,  who  carried  out  the  tyrannical 
of  his  master.  Victoria.  Among  others  who 
were  imprisoned  in  the  cuartel  was  Jose  Maria 
Avila.  Avila  was  proud,  haughty  and  over- 
bearing. He  had  incurred  the  hatred  of  both 
Victoria  and  Sanchez.  Sanchez,  under  orders 
from  Victoria,  placed  Avila  in  prison,  and  to 
humiliate  him  put  him  in  irons.  Avila  brooded 
over  the  indignities  inflicted  upon  him  and 
vowed  to  be  revenged. 


\  ictoria's  persecutions  became  so  unbearable 
that  Pio  Pico,  Juan  Bandini  and  Jose  Antonio 
Carrillo  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  at  San 
Diego  and  issued  a  pronunciamento,  in  which 
- .-:  forth  the  reasons  why  they  felt  them- 
selves obliged  to  rise  against  the  tyrant,  Vic- 
toria. Pablo  de  Portilla,  comandante  of  the 
presidio  of  San  Diego,  and  his  officers,  with  a 
force  of  fifty  soldiers,  joined  the  revolutionists 
and  marched  to  Los  Angeles.  Sanchez's  pris- 
oners were  released  and  he  was  chained  up  in 
the  pueblo  jail.     Here  Per:  as  re- 

cruited to  two  hundred  men.  Avila  and  a  num- 
ber of  the  other  released  prisoners  joined  the 
revolutionists,  and  all  marched  forth  to  meet 
Victoria,  who  was  moving  southward  with  an 
armed  force  t  ..    The 

two  forces  met  on  the  plains  of  Cahuenga.  west 
of  the  pueblo,  at  a  place  known  as  the  Lomitas 
de  la  Canada  de  Breita.  The  sight  of  his  per- 
furiated  Avila  that  alone  he  rushed 
upon  him  to  run  him  through  wit 
Captain  Pache  ff,  parried  the 

lance  thrust.  m  dead  with  one  of 


1)4 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


his  pistols  and  again  attacked  the  governor  and 
succeeded  in  wounding  him,  when  he  himself 
received  a  pistol  ball  that  unhorsed  him.  After 
a  desperate  struggle  (in  which  he  seized  Vic- 
toria by  the  foot  and  dragged  him  from  his 
horse)  he  was  shot  by  one  of  Victoria's  soldier-. 
Tortilla's  arm}-  fell  back  in  a  panic  to  Los  An- 
geles and  Victoria's  men  carried  the  wounded 
governor  to  the  Mission  San  Gabriel,  where 
his  wounds  were  dressed  by  Joseph  Chapman, 
who,  to  his  many  other  accomplishments,  added 
that  of  amateur  surgeon.  Some  citizens  who 
had  taken  no  part  in  the  fight  brought  the 
lx idies  i if  Avila  and  Pacheco  to  the  town. 
"They  were  taken  to  the  same  house,  the  same 
hands  rendered  them  the  last  sad  rites,  and 
they  were  laid  side  by  side.  'Side  by  side  knelt 
their  widows  and  mingled  their  tears,  while 
sympathizing  countrymen  chanted  the  solemn 
prayers  of  the  church  for  the  repose  of  the 
souls  of  these  untimely  dead.  Side  by  side  be- 
neath the  orange  and  the  olive  in  the  little 
churchyard  upon  the  plaza  sleep  the  slayer  and 
the  slain."* 

Next  day,  Victoria,  supposing  himself  mor- 
tally wounded  abdicated  and  turned  over  the 
governorship  of  the  territory  to  Echeandia.  He 
resigned  the  office  December  9,  1831,  having 
been  governor  a  little  over  ten  months.  When 
Victoria  was  able  to  travel  he  was  sent  to  San 
Diego,  from  where  he  was  deported  to  Mexico, 
San  Diego  borrowing  $125  from  the  ayunta- 
miento  of  Los  Angeles  to  pay  the  expense  of 
shipping  him  out  of  the  country.  Several  years 
afterwards  the  money  had  not  been  repaid,  and 
the  town  council  began  proceedings  to  recover 
it,  but  there  is  no  record  in  the  archives  to  show 
that  it  was  ever  paid.  And  thus  it  was  that 
California  got  rid  of  a  bad  governor  and  Los 
Angeles  incurred  a  bad  debt. 

Januar)  10,  [832,  the  territorial  legislature 
nut  at  Los  Angeles  to  choose  a  "gefe  politico," 
or  governor,  for  the  territory.  Echeandia  was 
invited  to  preside  but  replied  from  San  Juan 
Capistrano  that  he  was  busy  getting  Victoria 
out  of  the  country.  The  diputacion,  after  wait- 
ing  some   time    and     receiving    no   satisfaction 

♦Stephen  C.  Foster, 


from  Echeandia  whether  he  wanted  the  office 
or  not,  declared  l'io  l'ico,  by  virtue  of  his  office 
of  senior  vocal,  "gefe  politico." 

Xo  sooner  had  Pico  been  sworn  into  office 
than  Echeandia  discovered  that  he  wanted  the 
office  and  wanted  it  badly.  He  protested  against 
the  action  of  the  diputacion  and  intrigued 
against  Pico.  Another  revolution  was  threat- 
ened. Los  Angeles  favored  Echeandia,  al- 
though all  the  other  towns  in  the  territory  had 
accepted  Pico.  (Pico  at  that  time  was  a  resi- 
dent of  San  Diego.)  A  mass  meeting  was  called 
on  February  12.  1832,  at  Los  Angeles,  to  dis- 
cuss the  question  whether  it  should  be  l'ico  or 
Echeandia.  I  give  the  report  of  the  meeting  in 
the  quaint  language  of  the  pueblo  archives: 

"The  town,  acting  in  accord  with  the  Most 
Illustrious  Ayuntamiento,  answered  in  a  loud 
voice,  saying  they  would  not  admit  Citizen  Pio 
Pico  as  'gefe  politico,"  but  desired  that  Lieut. - 
Col.  Citizen  Jose  Maria  Echeandia  be  retained 
in  office  until  the  supreme  government  appoint. 
Then  the  president  of  the  meeting,  seeing  the 
determination  of  the  people,  asked  the  motive  or 
rea  on  of  refusing  Citizen  Pio  Pico,  who  was 
of  unblemished  character.  To  this  the  people 
responded  that  while  it  was  true  that  Citizen 
Pio  Pico  was  to  some  extent  qualified,  yet  they 
preferred  Lieut. -Col.  Citizen  Jose  M.  Echean- 
dia. The  president  of  the  meeting  then  asked 
the  people  whether  they  had  been  bribed,  or 
was  it  merely  insubordination  that  they  op- 
posed the  resolution  of  the  Most  Excellent  Di- 
putacion? Whereupon  the  people  answered 
that  they  had  not  been  bribed,  nor  were  they 
insubordinate,  but  that  they  opposed  the  pro- 
posed 'gefe  politico'  because  he  had  not  been 
named  by  the  supreme  government." 

At  a  public  meeting  February  19  the  matter 
was  again  brought  up.  Again  the  people  cried 
out  "they  would  not  recognize  or  obey  any 
other  gefe  politico  than  Echeandia."  The  Most 
Illustrious  Ayuntamiento  opposed  Pio  Pico  for 
two  reasons:  "First,  because  his  name  appeared 
first  on  the  plan  to  oust  Gefe  Politico  Citizen 
Manuel  Victoria,"  and  "Second,  because  he. 
Pico,  had  not  sufficient  capacity  to  fulfil  the 
duties  of  the  office."  Then  Jose  Perez  and  Jose 
Antonio    Carrillo   withdrew    from    the    meeting, 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


saying  they  would  not  recognize  Echeandia  as 
"gefe  politico."  Pico,  after  holding  the  office 
for  twenty  days,  resigned  for  the  sake  of  peace. 
And  this  was  the  length  of  Pico's  first  term  as 
governor. 

Echeandia,  by  obstinacy  and  intrigue,  had  ob- 
tained the  coveted  office,  "gefe  politico,"  but  he 
did  not  long  enjoy  it  in  peace.  News  came 
from  Monterey  that  Capt.  Agustiri  V.  Zamo- 
rano had  declared  himself  governor  and  was 
gathering  a  force  to  invade  the  south  and  en- 
force his  authority.  Echeandia  began  at  once 
marshaling  his  forces  to  oppose  him.  Ybarra, 
Zamarano's  military  chief,  with  a  force  of  one 
hundred  men,  by  a  forced  march,  reached  Paso 
de  Bartolo,  on  the  San  Gabriel  river,  where, 
fifteen  years  later,  Stockton  fought  the  Mexican 
troops  under  Flores.  Here  Ybarra  found  Cap- 
tain ISorroso  posted  with  a  piece  of  artillery  and 
fourteen  men.  He  did  not  dare  to  attack  him. 
Echeandia  and  Borroso  gathered  a  force  of  a 
thousand  neophytes  at  Paso  de  Bartolo,  where 
they  drilled  them  in  military  evolutions.  Ybar- 
ra's  troops  had  fallen  back  to  Santa  Barbara, 
where  he  was  joined  by  Zamorano  with  rein- 
forcements. Ybarra's  force  was  largely  made  up 
of  ex-convicts  and  other  undesirable  characters, 
who  took  what  they  needed,  asking  no  questions 
of  the  owners.  The  Angelenos,  fearing  those 
marauders,  gave  their  adhesion  to  Zamorano's 
plan  and  recognized  him  as  military  chief  of  the 
territory.  Captain  Borroso,  Echeandia's  faith- 
ful adherent,  disgusted  with  the  fickleness  of 
the  Angelenos,  at  the  head  of  a  thousand 
mounted  Indians,  threatened  to  invade  the  re- 
calcitrant pueblo,  but  at  the  intercession  of  the 
frightened  inhabitants  this  modern  Coriolanus 
turned  aside  and  regaled  his  neophyte  retainers 
on  the  fat  bullocks  of  the  Mission  San  Gabriel, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  the  padres.  The  neo- 
phyte warriors  were  disbanded  and  sent  to  their 
respective  missions. 

A  peace  was  patched  up  betwen  Zamorano 
and  Echeandia.  Alta  California  was  divided 
into  two  territories.  Echeandia  was  given  juris- 
diction over  all  south  of  San  Gabriel  and  Zamo- 
rano all  north  of  San  Fernando.  This  division 
apparently  left  a  neutral  district,  or  "no  man's 
land,"  between.     Whether  Los  Angeles  was  in 


this  neutral  territory  the  records  do  not  show. 
If  it  was,  it  is  probable  that  neither  of  the  gov- 
ernors wanted  the  job  of  governing  the  rebel- 
lious pueblo. 

In  January,  1833,  Governor  Figueroa  arrived 
in  California.  Echeandia  and  Zamorano  each 
surrendered  his  hah  of  the  divided  territory  to 
the  newly  appointed  governor,  and  California 
was  united  and  at  peace.  Figueroa  proved  to 
be  the  right  man  for  the  times.  He  conciliated 
the  factions  and  brought  order  out  of  chaos. 
The  two  most  important  events  in  Figueroa's 
term  of  office  were  the  arrival  of  the  Hijar  Col- 
ony in  California  and  the  secularization  of  the 
missions.  These  events  were  most  potent  fac- 
tors in  the  evolution  of  the  territory. 

In  1833  the  first  California  colonization 
scheme  was  inaugurated  in  Mexico.  At  the 
head  of  this  was  Jose  Maria  Hijar,  a  Mexican 
gentleman  of  wealth  and  influence.  He  was 
assisted  in  its  promulgation  by  Jose  M.  Padres, 
an  adventurer,  who  had  been  banished  from 
California  by  Governor  Victoria.  Padres,  like 
some  of  our  modern  real  estate  boomers,  pic- 
tured the  country  as  an  earthly  paradise — an 
improved  and  enlarged  Garden  of  Eden. 
Among  other  inducements  held  out  to  the  colo- 
nists, it  is  said,  was  the  promise  of  a  division 
among  them  of  the  mission  property  and  a  dis- 
tribution of  the  neophytes  for  servants. 

Headquarters  were  established  at  the  city 
of  Mexico  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  colonists 
enlisted.  Each  family  received  a  bonus  of 
$10,  and  all  were  to  receive  free  transporta- 
tion to  California  and  rations  while  on  the  jour- 
ney. Each  head  of  a  family  was  promised  a 
farm  from  the  public  domain,  live  stock  and 
farming  implements;  these  advances  to  be  paid 
for  on  the  installment  plan.  The  orignal  plan  was 
to  found  a  colon)  somewhere  north  of  San 
Francisco  bay,  but  this  was  not  carried  out. 
Two  vessels  were  dispatched  with  the  colonists 
— the  Morelos  and  the  Natalia.  The  latter  was 
compelled  to  put  into  San  Diego  on  account  of 
sickness  on  board.  She  reached  that  port  Sep- 
tember 1,  1834.  A  part  of  the  colonists  on 
hoard  her  were  senl  to  San  1'edro  and  from 
there  they  were  taken  to  Los  Vngeles  and  San 
Gabriel.     The  Morelos  readied   Monterey  Sep- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


tember  25.  Hijar  had  been  appointed  governor 
of  California  by  President  Farias,  but  after  the 
sailing  of  the  expedition,  Santa  Ana,  who  had 
succeeded  Farias,  dispatched  a  courier  over- 
land with  a  countermanding  order.  By  one  of 
the  famous  rides  of  history,  Amador,  the  courier, 
made  the  journey  from  the  city  of  [Mexico  to 
Monterey  in  forty  days  and  delivered  his  mes- 
sage to  Governor  Figueroa.  When  Hijar  ar- 
rived he  found  to  his  dismay  that  he  was  only 
a  private  citizen  of  the  territory  instead  of  its 
governor.  The  colonization  scheme  was  aban- 
doned and  the  immigrants  distributed  them- 
selves throughout  the  territory.  Generally  they 
were  a  good  class  of  citizens,  and  many  of  them 
became  prominent  in  California  affairs. 

That  storm  center  of  political  disturbances, 
Los  Angeles,  produced  but  one  small  revolution 
during  Figueroa's  term  as  governor.  A  party 
of  fifty  or  sixty  Sonorans,  some  of  whom  were 
Hijar  colonists  who  were  living  either  in  the 
town  or  its  immediate  neighborhood,  assembled 
at  Los  Nietos  on  the  night  of  March  7,  1835. 
They  formulated  a  pronunciamiento  against 
Don  Jose  Figueroa,  in  which  they  first  vigor- 
ously arraigned  him  for  sins  of  omission  and 
commission  and  then  laid  down  their  plan  of 
government  of  the  territory.  Armed  with  this 
formidable  document  and  a  few  muskets  and 
lances,  these  patriots,  headed  by  Juan  Gallado, 
a  cobbler,  and  Felipe  Castillo,  a  cigarmaker.  in 
the  gray  light  of  the  morning,  rode  into  the 
pueblo,  took  possession  of  the  town  hall  and 
the  big  cannon  and   the  ammunition   that   had 


been  stored  there  when  the  Indians  of  San  Luis 
Rey  had  threatened  hostilities.  The  slumbering 
inhabitants  were  aroused  from  their  dreams  of 
peace  by  the  drum  beat  of  war.  The  terrified 
citizens  rallied  to  the  juzgado,  the  ayuntamiento 
met,  the  cobbler  statesman,  Gallado,  presented 
his  plan;  it  was  discussed  and  rejected.  The 
revolutionists,  after  holding  possession  of  the 
pueblo  throughout  the  day,  tired,  hungry  and 
disappointed  in  not  receiving  their  pay  for  sav- 
ing the  country,  surrendered  to  the  legal  author- 
ities the  real  leaders  of  the  revolution  and 
disbanded.  The  leaders  proved  to  be  Torres, 
a  clerk,  and  Apalategui,  a  doctor,  both  supposed 
to  be  emissaries  of  Hijar.  They  were  imprisoned 
at  San  Gabriel.  When  news  of  the  revolt 
reached  Figueroa  he  had  Hijar  and  Padres  ar- 
rested for  complicity  in  the  outbreak.  Hijar, 
with  half  a  dozen  of  his  adherents,  was  shipped 
back  to  Mexico.  And  thus  the  man  who  the 
year  before  had  landed  in  California  with  a 
commission  as  governor  and  authority  to  take 
possession  of  all  the  property  belonging  to  the 
missions  returned  to  his  native  land  an  exile. 
His  grand  colonization  scheme  and  his  "Com- 
pania  Cosmopolitana"  that  was  to  revolutionize 
California  commerce  were  both  disastrous  fail- 
ures. 

Governor  Jose  Figueroa  died  at  Monterey 
on  the  29th  of  September,  1835.  He  is  generally 
regarded  as  the  best  of  the  Mexican  governors 
sent  to  California.  He  was  of  Aztec  extraction 
and  took  a  great  deal  of  pride  in  his  Indian 
blood. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


THE    DECLINE    AND    FALL    OF    THE    MISSIONS. 


THE  Franciscan  Missions  of  Aha  Califor- 
nia have  of  late  been  a  prolific  theme 
for  a  certain  class  of  writers  and  espe- 
cially have  they  dwelt  upon  the  secularization 
of  these  establishments.  Their  productions 
have  added  little  or  nothing  to  our  previous 
knowledge  of  these  institutions.  Carried  away 
li\  sentiment  these  writers  draw  pictures  of  mis- 
sion life  that  are  unreal,  that  are  purely  imag- 


inary, and  aroused  to  indignation  at  the  injus- 
tice they  fancy  was  done  to  their  ideal  institu- 
tions they  deal  out  denunciations  against  the 
authorities  that  brought  about  secularization  as 
unjust  as  they  arc  undeserved.  Such  expres- 
sions as  "the  robber  hand  of  secularization,"  and 
"the  brutal  and  thievish  disestablishment  of  the 
missions,"  emanate  from  writers  who  seem  to 
be  ignorant  of  the  purpose  for  which  the  mis- 


HISTORICAL   .VXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


sions  were  founded,  and  who  ignore,  or  who 
do  not  know,  the  causes  which  brought  about 
their  secularization. 

It  is  an  historical  fact  known  to  all  acquainted 
with  California  history  that  these  establishments 
were  not  intended  by  the  Crown  of  Spain  to 
become  permanent  institutions.  The  purpose 
for  which  the  Spanish  government  fostered  and 
protected  them  was  to  Christianize  the  Indians 
and  make  of  them  self-supporting  citizens.  Very 
early  in  its  history  Governor  Borica,  Fages  and 
other  intelligent  Spanish  officers  in  California 
discovered  the  weakness  of  the  mission  system. 
Governor  Borica,  writing  in  1796,  said:  "Ac- 
cording to  the  laws  the  natives  are  to  be  free 
from  tutelage  at  the  end  of  ten  years,  the  mis- 
sions then  becoming  doctrinairs,  but  those  of 
New  California,  at  the  rate  they  are  advancing, 
will  not  reach  the  goal  in  ten  centuries;  the  rea- 
son God  knows,  and  men,  too,  know  something 
about  it." 

The  tenure  by  which  the  mission  friars  held 
their  lands  is  admirably  set  forth  in  William 
Carey  Jones'  "Report  on  Land  Titles  in  Cali- 
fornia," made  in  1850.  He  says,  "It  had  been 
supposed  that  the  lands  they  (the  missions)  oc- 
cupied were  grants  held  as  the  property  of  the 
church  or  of  the  misson  establishments  as  cor- 
porations. Such,  however,  was  not  the  case; 
all  the  missions  in  VJpper  California  were  estab- 
lished under  the  direction  and  mainly  at  the 
expense  of  the  government,  and  the  missionaries 
there  had  never  any  other  right  than  to  the 
occupation  and  use  of  the  lands  for  the  purpose 
of  the  missions  and  at  the  pleasure  of  the  gov- 
ernment. This  is  shown  by  the  history  and 
principles  of  their  foundation,  by  the  laws  in 
relation  to  them,  by  the  constant  practice  of 
the  government  toward  them  and,  in  fact,  by  the 
rules  of  the  Franciscan  order,  which  forbid  its 
members  to  possess  property." 

With  the  downfall  of  Spanish  domination  in 
Mexico  came  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  mis- 
sionary rule  in  California.  The  majority  of  the 
mission  padres  were  Spanish  born.  In  the  war 
of  Mexican  independence  their  sympathies  were 
with  their  mother  country.  Spain.  After  Mex- 
ico attained  her  independence,  some  of  them 
refused  to  acknowledge  allegiance  to  the  repub 
7 


lie.  The  Mexican  authorities  feared  and  dis- 
trusted them.  In  this,  in  part,  they  found  a  pre- 
text for  the  disestablishment  of  the  missions  and 
the  confiscation  of  the  mission  estates.  There 
was  another  cause  or  reason  for  secularization 
more  potent  than  the  loyalty  of  the  padres  to 
Spain.  Few  forms  of  land  monopoly  have  ever 
exceeded  that  in  vogue  under  the  mission  system 
of  California.  From  San  Diego  to  San  Fran- 
cisco hay  the  twenty  missions  established  under 
Spanish  rule  monopolized  the  greater  pan  of  the 
fertile  land  between  the  coast  range  and  the  sea. 
The  limits  of  one  mission  were  said  to  cover 
the  intervening  space  to  the  limits  of  the  next. 
There  was  but  little  left  for  other  settlers.  A 
settler  could  not  obtain  a  grant  of  land  if  the 
padres  of  the  nearest  mission  objected. 

The  twenty-four  ranchos  owned  by  the  Mis- 
sion San  Gabriel  contained  about  a  million  and 
a  half  acres  and  extended  from  the  sea  to  the 
San  Bernardino  mountains.  The  greatest 
neophyte  population  of  San  Gabriel  was  in  1S17. 
when  it  reached  1,701.  Its  yearly  average  for 
the  first  three  decades  of  the  present  century 
did  not  exceed  1,500.  It  took  a  thousand  acres 
of  fertile  land  under  the  mission  system  to  .up- 
port  an  Indian,  even  the  smallest  papoose  of  the 
mission  flock.  It  is  not  strange  that  the  people 
clamored  for  a  subdivision  of  the  mission  estates; 
and  secularization  became  a  public  necessity. 
The  most  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  missions 
to-day,  had  he  lived  in  California  scveim 
ago,  would  no  doubt  have  hern  among  the  loud- 
est in  his  wail  againsl  the  mission  system. 

The  abuse  heaped  upon  the  Mexican  authori- 
ties for  their  secularization  of  these  institutions 
is  as  unjust  as  it  is  unmerited.  The  act  of  the 
Mexican  Congress  of  August  17.  1833,  was 
not  the  initiative  movement  towards  their  dis- 
establishment. Indeed  in  their  Foundation  their 
secularization,  their  subdivision  into  pu 
was  provided  for  and  the  local  authorities  were 
never  without  lawful  authority  over  them.  In 
the  very  beginning  'if  missionary  work  in  Aha 
California  the  process  of  secularizing  the  mis- 
sion establishments  was  mapped  out  in  the  fol- 
lowing "Instructions  given  :  Bucarili 
August  17.  177. v  to  the  comandante  of  the  new 
establishments   of    Sa                      nd    Monterey. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Article  15,  when  it  shall  happen  that  a  mission 
is  to  be  formed  into  a  pueblo  or  village  the 
comandante  will  proceed  to  reduce  it  to  the  civil 
and  economical  government,  which,  according 
to  the  laws,  is  observed  by  other  villages  of  this 
kingdom;  their  giving  it  a  name  and  declaring 
for  its  patron  the  saint  under  whose  memory 
and  protection  the  mission  was  founded." 

The  purpose  for  which  the  mission  was 
founded  was  to  aid  in  the  settlement  of  the 
country,  and  to  convert  the  natives  to  Christian- 
ity. 'These  objects  accomplished  the  mission- 
ary's labor  was  considered  fulfilled  and  the  es- 
tablishment  subject  to  dissolution.  This  view 
of  their  purpose  and  destiny  fully  appears  in 
the  tenor  of  the  decree  of  the  Spanish  Cortes 
of  September  13,  1813.  It  was  passed  in  conse- 
quence of  a  complaint  by  the  Bishop  of  Guiana 
of  the  evils  that  affected  that  province  on  ac- 
count of  the  Indian  settlements  in  charge  of 
missions  not  being  delivered  to  the  ecclesiastical 
ordinary,  although  thirty,  forty  and  fifty  years 
had  passed  since  the  reduction  and  conversion 
of  the  Indians." 

The  Cortes  decreed  1st,  that  all  the  new 
reduciones  y  doctrinairs  (settlements  of  newly 
converted  Indians)  not  yet  formed  into  parishes 
of  the  province  beyond  the  sea  which  were  in 
charge  of  missionary  monks  and  had  been  ten 
years  subjected  should  be  delivered  immediately 
to  the  respective  ecclesiastical  ordinaries  (bish- 
ops) without  resort  to  any  excuse  or  pretext 
conformably  to  the  laws  and  cedulas  in  that 
respect.  Section  2nd,  provided  that  the  secular 
clergy  should  attend  to  the  spiritual  wants  of 
these  curacies.  Section  3rd.  the  missionary 
monks  relieved  from  the  converted  settlements 
shall  proceed  to  the  conversion  of  other 
heathen." 

The  decree  of  the  Mexican  Congress,  passed 
November  20,  [833,  for  the  secularization  of  the 
missions  of  Upper  and  Lower  California,  was 
very  similar  in  its  provisions  to  the  decree  of  the 
Spanish  (  ortes  of  September,  1813.  Th<  \l<-. 
ican  government  simply  followed  the  example 
of  Spain  and  in  the  conversion  of  the  missions 
into  pueblos  was  attempting  to  enforce  a  prin- 

*William  Carey  Join 


ciple  inherent  in  the  foundation  of  the  mission- 
ary establishments.  I  hat  secularization  resulted 
disastrously  to  the  Indians  was  not  the  fault 
of  the  Mexican  government  so  much  as  it  was 
the  defect  in  the  industrial  and  intellectual 
training  of  the  neophytes.  Except  in  the  case 
of  those  who  were  trained  for  choir  services  in 
the  churches  there  was  no  attempt  made  to 
teach  the  Indians  to  read  or  write.  The  padres 
generally  entertained  a  poor  opinion  of  the 
neophytes'  intellectual  ability.  The  reglamento 
governing  the  secularization  of  the  missions, 
published  by  Governor  Echeandia  in  1830.  but 
not  enforced,  and  that  formulated  by  the  diputa- 
cion  under  Governor  Figueroa  in  1834, approved 
by  the  Mexican  Congress  and  finally  enforced 
in  1834-5-6,  were  humane  measures.  These  reg- 
ulations provided  for  the  colonization  of  the 
neophytes  into  pueblos  or  villages.  A  portion  of 
the  personal  property  and  a  part  of  the  lands 
held  by  the  missions  were  to  be  distributed 
among  the  Indians  as  follows: 

"Article  5 — To  each  head  of  a  family  and  all 
who  are  more  than  twenty  years  old,  although 
without  families,  wdl  be  given  from  the  lands 
of  the  mission,  whether  temporal  (lands  depend- 
ent on  the  seasons)  or  watered,  a  lot  of  ground 
not  to  contain  more  than  four  hundred  varas 
(yards)  in  length,  and  as  many  in  breadth  not 
less  than  one  hundred.  Sufficient  land  for  water- 
ing the  cattle  will  be  given  in  common.  The 
outlets  or  roads  shall  be  marked  out  by  each  vil- 
lage, and  at  the  proper  time  the  corporation 
lands  shall  be  designated."  This  colonization 
of  the  neophytes  into  pueblos  would  have 
thrown  large  bodies  of  the  land  held  by  the  mis- 
sions open  to  .settlement  by  white  settlers.  The 
personal  property  of  missionary  establishments 
was  to  have  been  divided  among  their  neophyte 
retainers  thus:  "Article  6.  Among  the  said  in- 
dividuals will  he  distributed,  ratably  and  justly, 
according  to  the  discretion  of  the  political  chief, 
the  half  of  the  movable  property,  taking  as  a 
basis  the  last  inventory  which  the  missionaries 
have  presented  of  all  descriptions  of  cattle.  Arti- 
cle 7.  One-half  or  less  of  the  implements  and 
seeds  indispensable  for  agriculture  shall  be  al- 
lotted to  them." 

The   political   government  of  the   Indian  pu- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


eblos  was  to  be  organized  in  accordance  with 
existing  laws  of  the  territory  governing  other 
towns.  The  neophyte  could  not  sell,  mortgage 
or  dispose  of  the  land  granted  him;  nor  could 
he  sell  his  cattle.  The  regulations  provided  that 
"Religious  missionaries  shall  be  relieved  from 
the  administration  of  temporalities  and  shall 
only  exercise  the  duties  of  their  ministry  so  far 
as  they  relate  to  spiritual  matters."  The  nunner- 
ies or  the  houses  where  the  Indian  girls  were 
kept  under  the  charge  of  a  duena  until  they 
were  of  marriageable  age  were  to  be  abolished 
and  the  children  restored  to  their  parents.  Rule 
7  provided  that  "What  is  called  the  'priest- 
hood' shall  immediately  cease,  female  children 
whom  they  have  in  charge  being  handed  over 
to  their  fathers,  explaining  to  them  the  care 
they  should  take  of  them,  and  pointing  out  their 
obligations  as  parents.  The  same  shall  be  done 
with  the  male  children." 

Commissioners  were  to  be  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  the  mission  property  and  superintend 
its  subdivision  among  the  neophytes.  The  con- 
version of  ten  of  the  missionary  establishments 
into  pueblos  was  to  begin  in  August,  1835.  That 
of  the  others  was  to  follow  as  soon  as  possible. 
San  Gabriel,  San  Fernando  and  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano  were  among  the  ten  that  were  to  be 
secularized  first.  For  years  secularization  had 
threatened  the  missions,  but  hitherto  something 
had  occurred  at  the  critical  time  to  avert  it. 
The  missionaries  had  used  their  influence 
against  it,  had  urged  that  the  neophytes  were 
unfitted  for  self-support,  had  argued  that  the 
emancipation  of  the  natives  from  mission  rule 
would  result  in  disaster  to  them.  Through  all 
the  agitation  of  the  question  in  previous  years 
the  padres  had  labored  on  in  the  preservation 
and  upbuilding  of  their  establishments;  but  with 
the  issuing  of  the  secularization  decree  by  the 
Mexican  Congress,  August  17,  1833.  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Hijar  Colony  in  Mexico  and 
the  instructions  of  acting  president  Farias  to 
Hijar  to  occupy  all  the  property  of  the  missions 
and  subdivide  it  among  the  colonists  on  their 
arrival  in  California,  convinced  the  missionaries 
that  the  blow  could  no  longer  be  averted.  The 
revocation  of  Hijar's  appointment  as  governor 
and    the    controversv    which    followed    between 


him  and  Governor  Figueroa  and  the  diputacion 
for  a  time  delayed  the  enforcement  of  the  de- 
cree. 

In  the  meantime,  with  the  energy  born  of  de- 
spair, eager  at  any  cost  to  outwit  those  who 
sought  to  profit  by  their  ruin,  the  mission  fath- 
ers hastened  to  destroy  that  which  through 
more  than  half  a  century  thousands  of  human 
beings  had  spent  their  lives  to  accumulate.  The 
wealth  of  the  missions  lay  in  their  herds  of  cat- 
tle. The  only  marketable  products  of  thes 
the  hides  and  tallow.  Heretofore  a  certain  num- 
ber of  cattle  had  been  slaughtered  each  week 
to  feed  the  neophytes  and  sometimes  when  the 
ranges  were  in  danger  of  becoming  over- 
stocked cattle  were  killed  for  their  hides  and 
tallow,  and  the  meat  left  to  the  coyotes  and  the 
carrion  crows.  The  mission  fathers  knew  that 
if  they  allowed  the  possession  of  their  herds  to 
pass  to  other  hands  neither  they  nor  the 
neophytes  would  obtain  any  reward  for  years  of 
labor.  The  blow  was  liable  to  fall  at  any  time. 
Haste  was  required.  The  mission  butchers  could 
11.it  .slaughter  the  animals  fast  enough.  Con- 
tracts were  made  with  the  rancheros  to  kill 
on  shares.  The  work  of  destruction  began  at 
the  missions.  The  country  became  a  mighty 
shambles.  The  matansas  were  no  longer  used. 
An  animal  was  lassoed  on  the  plain,  thrown,  its 
throat  cut  and  while  yet  writhing  in  death  agony, 
its  hide  was  stripped  and  pegged  upon  the 
ground  to  dry.  There  were  no  vessels  to  con- 
tain the  tallow  and  this  was  run  into  pits  in  the 
ground  to  be  taken  out  when  there  was  more 
time  to  spare  and  less  cattle  to  be  killed.  The 
work  of  destruction  went  on  as  long  as  there 
were  cattle  to  kill.  So  great  was  the  stench 
from  rotting  carcasses  of  the  cattle  on  the  plains 
that  a  pestilence  was  threatened.  The  ayunta- 
miento  of  Los  Angeles,  November  15.  1S33. 
passed  an  ordinance  compelling  all  pi 
slaughtering  cattle  for  tin-  hides  and  tallow-  to 
cremate  the  carcassi 

laid  the  foundations  of  their  future  wealth  by  ap- 
propriating herds  of  young  cattle  from  the  mis- 
sion ranges. 

Hugo  Reid,  in  the  letters  previously  referred 
to  in  this  volume,  says  of  this  period  at  San 
Gabriel. "These  facts(the  decree  of  secularization 


LOO 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


and  the  distribution  of  the  mission  property) 
being  known  to  Padre  Tomas  (Estenaga),  he, 
in  all  probability,  by  order  of  his  superior,  com- 
menced a  work  of  destruction.  The  back  build- 
ings were  unroofed  and  the  timber  converted 
into  fire  wood.  Cattle  were  killed  on  the  halves 
by  people  who  took  a  lion's  share.  Utensils 
were  disposed  of  and  goods  and  other  articles 
distributed  in  profusion  among  the  neophytes. 
The  vineyards  were  ordered  to  be  cut  down, 
which,  however,  the  Indians  refused  to  do." 
After  the  mission  was  placed  in  charge  of  an 
administrator,  Padre  Tomas  remained  as  min- 
ister of  the  church  at  a  stipend  of  $1,500  per 
annum,  derived  from  the  pious  fund. 

Hugo  Reid  says  of  him,  "As  a  wrong  im- 
pression of  his  character  may  be  produced  from 
the  preceding  remarks,  in  justice  to  his  memory, 
be  it  stated  that  he  was  a  truly  good  man,  a  sin- 
cere Christian  and  a  despiser  of  hypocrisy.  He 
had  a  kind,  unsophisticated  heart,  so  that  he  be- 
lieved every  word  told  him.  There  has  never 
been  a  purer  priest  in  California.  Reduced  in 
circumstances,  annoyed  on  many  occasions  by 
the  petulancy  of  administrators,  he  fulfilled  his 
duties  according  to  his  conscience,  with  be- 
nevolence and  good  humor.  The  nuns,  who, 
when  the  secular  movement  came  into  opera- 
tion, had  been  set  free,  were  again  gathered  to- 
gether under  his  supervision  and  maintained  at 
his  expense,  as  were  also  a  number  of  old  men 
and  women." 

The  experiment  of  colonizing  the  Indians  in 
pueblos  was  a  failure  and  they  were  gathered 
back  into  the  mission,  or  as  many  of  them  as 
could  be  got  back,  and  placed  in  charge  of  ad- 
ministrators. "The  Indians,"  says  Reid,  "were 
made  happy  at  this  time  in  being  permitted  to 
enjoy  once  more  the  luxury  of  a  tule  dwelling, 
from  which  the  greater  part  had  been  debarred 
for  so  long:  they  could  now  breathe  freely 
again."  (The  close  adobe  buildings  in  which 
they  had  been  housed  in  mission  days  were  no 
doubt  one  of  the  causes  of  the  great  mortality 
among  them.) 

"Administrator  followed  administrator  until 
the     mission     could     support     no     more,     win  11 

the  system   was   broken   up." The 

Indians  during  this  period  were  continually  run- 


ning off.  Scantily  clothed  and  still  more  scant- 
ily supplied  with  food,  it  was  not  to  be  wondered 
at.  Nearly  all  the  Gabrielinos  went  north,  while 
those  of  San  Diego,  San  Luis  and  San  Juan 
overrun  this  country,  filling  the  Angeles  and 
surrounding  ranchos  with  more  servants  than 
were  required.  Labor,  in  consequence,  was 
very  cheap.  The  different  missions,  however, 
had  alcaldes  continually  on  the  move,  hunting 
them  up  and  carrying  them  back,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose; it  was  labor  in  vain." 

"Even  under  the  dominion  of  the  church  in 
mission  days,"  Reid  says,  "the  neophytes  were 
addicted  both  to  drinking  and  gaming,  with 
an  inclination  to  steal;"  but  after  their  emanci- 
pation they  went  from  bad  to  worse.  Those  at- 
tached to  the  ranchos  and  those  located  in  the 
town  were  virtually  slaves.  They  had  bosses 
or  owners  and  when  they  ran  away  were  cap- 
tured and  returned  to  their  master.  The  account 
book  for  1840  of  the  sindico  of  Los  Angeles 
contains  this  item.  "For  the  delivery  of  two 
Indians  to  their  boss  $12." 

In  all  the  large  towns  there  was  an  Indian 
village  known  as  the  pueblito  or  little  town. 
These  were  the  sink  holes  of  crime  and  the 
favorite  resorts  of  dissolute  characters,  both 
white  and  red.  The  Indian  village  at  Los  An- 
geles between  what  is  now  Aliso  and  First  street 
became  such  an  intolerable  nuisance  that  on 
petition  of  the  citizens  it  was  removed  across 
the  river  to  the  "Spring  of  the  Abilas,"  but  its 
removal  did  not  improve  its  morals.  Vicente 
Guerrero,  the  sindico,  discussing  the  Indian 
question  before  the  ayuntamiento  said,  "The  In- 
dians are  so  utterly  depraved  that  no  matter 
where  they  may  settle  down  their  conduct  would 
be  the  same,  since  they  look  upon  death  even 
with  indifference,  provided  they  can  indulge  in 
their  pleasures  and  vices."  This  was  their  con- 
dition in  less  than  a  decade  after  they  were  freed 
from  mission  control. 

What  did  six  decades  of  mission  rule  accom- 
plish for  the  Indian?  In  all  the  older  missions 
between  their  founding  and  their  secularization 
three  generations  of  adults  had  come  under  the 
influence  of  mission  life  and  training — first,  the 
adull  converts  made  soon  after  the  founding; 
second,  their  children  born  at  the  missions,  and 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


101 


third,  the  children  of  these  who  had  grown  to 
manhood  before  the  fall  of  the  missions.  How 
great  an  improvement  had  the  neophytes  of  the 
third  generation  made  over  those  of  the  first? 
They  had  to  a  great  extent  lost  their  original 
language  and  had  acquired  a  speaking  knowl- 
edge of  Spanish.  They  had  abandoned  or 
forgotten  their  primitive  religious  belief,  but 
their  new  religion  exercised  but  little  influence 
on  their  lives.  After  their  emancipation  they 
went  from  bad  to  worse.  Some  of  the  more 
daring  escaped  to  the  mountains  and  joining 
the  wild  tribes  there  became  the  leaders  in 
frequent  predatory  excursions  on  the  horses  and 
cattle  of  the  settlers  in  the  valleys.  They  were 
hunted  down  and  shot  like  wild  beasts. 

What  became  of  the  mission  estates?  As  the 
cattle  were  killed  off  the  different  ranchos  of 
the  mission  domains,  settlers  petitioned  the 
ayuntamiento  for  grants.  If  upon  investigation 
it  was  found  that  the  land  asked  for  was  vacant 
the  petition  was  referred  to  the  governor  for  his 
approval.  In  this  way  the  vast  mission  domains 
passed  into  private  hands.  The  country  im- 
proved more  in  wealth  and  population  between 
1836  and  1846  than  in  the  previous  fifty  years. 
Secularization   was   destruction   to   the   mission 


and  death  to  the  Indian,  but  it  was  beneficial 
to  the  country  at  large.  The  decline  of  the  mis- 
sions and  the  passing  of  the  neophyte  had  be- 
gun long  before  the  decrees  of  secularization 
were  enforced.  Nearly  all  the  missions  passed 
their  zenith  in  population  during  the  second 
decade  of  the  century.  Even  had  the  mission- 
ary establishments  not  been  secularized  they 
would  eventually  have  been  depopulated.  At  no 
time  during  the  mission  rule  were  the  number 
of  births  equal  to  the  number  of  deaths.  When 
recruits  could  no  longer  be  obtained  from  the 
Gentiles  or  wild  Indians  the  decline  became 
more  rapid.  The  mission  annals  show  that  from 
1769  to  1834,  when  secularization  was  enforced 
— an  interval  of  sixty-five  years — 79,000  con- 
verts were  baptized  and  62,000  deaths  recorded. 
The  death  rate  among  the  neophytes  was  about 
twice  that  of  the  negro  in  this  country  and 
four  times  that  of  the  white  race.  The  extinc- 
tion of  the  neophyte  or  mission  Indian  was 
due  to  the  enforcement  of  that  inexorable  law 
or  decree  of  nature,  the  Survival  of  the  Fittest. 
Where  a  stronger  race  comes  in  contact  with 
a  weaker,  there  can  be  but  one  termination 
of  the  contest — the  extermination  of  the 
weaker. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE  FREE  AND  SOVEREIGN  STATE  OF  ALTA  CALIFORNIA. 


GOVERNOR  FIGUEROA  on  his  death- 
bed turned  over  the  civil  command  of 
the  territory  to  Jose  Castro,  who  there- 
b)  became  "gefe  politico  ad  interem."  The 
military  command  was  given  to  Lieut.-Col. 
Xicolas  Gutierrez  with  the  rank  of  comandante 
general.  The  separation  of  the  two  commands 
was  in  accordance  with  the  national  law  of  May 
6,  1822. 

Castro  was  a  member  of  the  diputacion,  but 
was  not  senior  vocal  i  r  president.  Jose  An- 
tonio Carrillo,  who  held  that  position,  was 
diputado  or  delegate  to  congress  and  was  at 
that  time  in  the  city  of  Mexico.  It  was  he  who 
secured  the  decree  from  the  Mexican  Congress 
May  23,  1835,  making  Los  Angeles  the  capital 


of  California,  and  elevating  it  to  the  rank  of  a 
city.  The  second  vocal,  Jose  Antonio  Estudillo, 
was  sick  at  his  home  in  San  Diego.  Jose  (  as 
tro  ranked  third.  He  was  the  onl)  one  of  the 
diputacion  at  the  capital  and  at  the  previous 
meeting  of  the  diputacion  he  had  acted  as  pre- 
siding officer.  Gutierrez,  who  was  at  San  Ga- 
briel when  appointed  to  the  military  command, 
hastened  to  Monterey,  but  did  not  reach  there 
until  after  the  death  of   Figi  ro,  on 

assuming  command,  sent  a  notification  of  bis 
appointment  to  the  civil  authorities  of  the  dif- 
ferent jurisdictions.  All  1  .rably 
,  xcept  San  !  >i<  go  ind  Los  A 
claimed  the  office  for  Estudillo,  second  vocal, 
and   Los    Angeles  declared    igainsl   Castro  be- 


102 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


cause  he  was  only  third  vocal  and  demanded  that 
the  diputacion  should  meet  at  the  legal  capital 
(Los  Angeles)  of  the  territory.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  the  capital  war  that  lasted  ten  years 
and  increased  in  bitterness  as  it  increased  in 
age.  The  diputacion  met  at  Monterey.  It  de- 
cided in  favor  of  Castro  and  against  removing 
the  capital  to  Los  Angeles. 

Castro  executed  the  civil  functions  of  gefe 
politico  four  months  and  then,  in  accordance 
with  orders  from  the  supreme  government,  he 
turned  over  his  part  of  the  governorship  to 
Comandante  General  Gutierrez  and  again  the 
two  commands  were  united  in  one  person. 
Gutierrez  filled  the  office  of  "gobernador  in- 
terno"  from  January  2,  1836,  to  the  arrival  of  his 
successor,  Mariano  Chico.  Chico  had  been  ap- 
pointed governor  by  President  Barragan,  Decem- 
ber 16,  1835,  Dut  ^id  not  arr've  m  California 
until  April,  1836.  Thus  California  had  four 
governors  within  nine  months.  They  changed 
so  rapidly  there  was  not  time  to  foment  a  rev- 
olution. Chico  began  his  administration  by  a 
series  of  pett)  tyrannies.  Just  before  his  ar- 
rival in  California  a  vigilance  committee  at  Los 
Angeles  shot  to  death  Gervacio  Alispaz  and  his 
paramour,  Maria  del  Rosaria  Villa,  for  the  mur- 
der of  the  woman's  husband,  Domingo  Feliz. 
Alispaz  was  a  countryman  of  Chico.  Chico  had 
the  leaders  arrested  and  came  down  to  Los 
Angeles  with  the  avowed  purpi  se  of  executing 
Prudon,  Arzaga  and  Aranjo,  the  president,  sec- 
retary and  military  commander,  respectively,  of 
the  Defenders  of  Public  Security,  as  the  vigi- 
lantes called  themselves.  He  announced  his 
intention  of  arresting  and  punishing  every  man 
who  had  taken  part  in  the  banishment  of  Gov- 
ernor Victoria.  He  summoned  Don  Abel 
Stearns  to  Monterey  and  threatened  to  have  him 
shot  for  -nine  imaginary  offense.  He  fulminated 
a  fierce  pronunciamento  against  foreigners,  that 
incurred  their  wrath,  and  made  himself  so  odious 
that  he  was  hated  b\  all.  native  or  foreigner, 
lie  was  a  centralist  and  opposed  to  popular 
rights.  Exasperated  beyond  endurance  by  his 
Ions  conduct  and  unseemly  exhibitions  of 
temper  the  people  of  Monterey  rose  en  masse 
against  him.  and  so  terrified  him  that  he  took 
passage  on  board  a  brig  that  was  lying  in  the 


harbor  and  sailed  for  Mexico  with  the  threat 
that  he  would  return  with  an  armed  iorce  to 
punish  the  rebellious  Californians,  but  he  never 
came  back  again. 

With  the  enforced  departure  of  Chico,  the 
civil  command  of  the  territory  devolved  upon 
Nicolas  Gutierrez,  who  still  held  the  military 
command.  He  was  of  Spanish  birth  and  a  cen- 
tralist or  anti-federalist  in  politics.  Although  a 
mild  mannered  man  he  seemed  to  be  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  he  must  carry  out  the  arbi- 
trary measures  of  his  predecessor.  Centralism 
was  his  nemesis.  Like  Chico,  he  was  opposed 
to  popular  rights  and  at  one  time  gave  orders 
to  disperse  the  diputacion  by  force.  He  was 
not  long  in  making  himself  unpopular  by  at- 
tempting to  enforce  the  centralist  decrees  of  the 
Mexican   Congress. 

He  quarreled  with  Juan  Bautista  Alvarado, 
the  ablest  of  the  native  Californians.  Alvarado 
and  Jose  Castro  raised  the  standard  of  revolt. 
They  gathered  together  a  small  army  of  ranch- 
eros  and  an  auxiliary  force  of  twenty-five  Amer- 
ican hunters  and  trappers  under  Graham,  a 
backwoodsman  from  Tennessee.  By  a  strategic 
movement  they  captured  the  castillo  or  fort 
which  commanded  the  presidio,  where  Gutierrez 
and  the  Mexican  army  officials  were  stationed. 
The  patriots  demanded  the  surrender  of  the 
presidio  and  the  arms.  The  governor  refused. 
The  revolutionists  had  been  able  to  find  but 
a  single  cannon  ball  in  the  castillo,  but  this  was 
sufficient  to  do  the  business.  A  well-directed 
shot  tore  through  the  roof  of  the  governor's 
house,  covering  him  and  his  staff  with  the  debris 
of  broken  tiles;  that  and  the  desertion  of  most 
of  his  soldiers  to  the  patriots  brought  him  to 
terms.  On  the  5th  of  November,  1836,  he  sur- 
rendered the  presidio  and  resigned  his  authority 
as  governor.  He  and  about  seventy  of  his  ad- 
herents were  sent  aboard  a  vessel  lying  in  the 
harbor  and  shipped  out  of  the  country. 

With  the  Mexican  governor  and  his  officers 
out  of  the  country,  the  next  move  of  Castro  and 
Alvarado  was  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  diputa- 
cion or  territorial  congress.  A  plan  for  the 
independence  of  California  was  adopted.  This, 
which  was  known  afterwards  as  the  Monterey 
plan,    consisted    of   six   sections,    the    most   tin- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


M.; 


portant  of  which  were  as  follows:  "First,  Alta 
California  hereby  declares  itself  independent 
from  Mexico  until  the  Federal  System  of  1824 
is  restored.  Second,  the  same  California  is 
hereby  declared  a  free  and  sovereign  state;  es- 
tablishing a  congress  to  enact  the  special  laws 
of  the  country  and  the  other  necessary  supreme 
powers.  Third,  the  Roman  Apostolic  Catholic 
religion  shall  prevail;  no  other  creed  shall  be 
allowed,  but  the  government  shall  not  molest 
anyone  on  account  of  his  private  opinions." 
The  diputacion  issued  a  declaration  of  independ- 
ence that  arraigned  the  mother  country,  Mexico, 
and  her  officials  very  much  in  the  style  that  our 
own  Declaration  gives  it  to  King  George  III. 
and  England. 

Castro  issued  a  pronunciamiento,  ending  with 
Viva  La  Federacion!  Viva  La  Libertad!  Viva 
el  Estado  Libre  y  Soberano  de  Alta  California! 
Thus  amid  vivas  and  proclamations,  with  the 
beating  of  drums  and  the  booming  of  cannon, 
El  Estado  Libre  de  Alta  California  (The  Free 
State  of  Alta  California)  was  launched  on  the 
political  sea.  But  it  was  rough  sailing  for  the 
little  craft.  Her  ship  of  state  struck  a  rock  and 
lor  a  time  shipwreck  was  threatened. 

For  years  there  had  been  a  growing  jealousy 
between  Northern  and  Southern  California. 
Los  Angeles,  as  has  been  stated  before,  had  by  a 
decree  of  the  Mexican  congress  been  made  the 
capital  of  the  territory.  Monterey  had  per- 
sistently refused  to  give  up  the  governor  and 
the  archives.  In  the  movement  to  make  Alta 
California  a  free  and  independent  state,  the  An- 
gelenos  recognized  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
the  people  of  the  north  to  deprive  them  of  the 
capital.  Although  as  bitterly  opposed  to  Mex- 
ican governors,  and  as  active  in  fomenting  revo- 
lutions against  them  as  the  people  of  Monterey, 
the  Angelenos  chose  to  profess  loyalty  to  the 
mother  country.  They  opposed  the  plan  of 
government  adopted  by  the  congress  at  Mon- 
terey and  promulgated  a  plan  of  their  own,  in 
which  they  declared  California  was  not  free; 
that  the  "Roman  Catholic  Apostolic  religion 
shall  prevail  in  this  jurisdiction,  and  any  person 
publicly  professing  any  other  shall  be  pros- 
ecuted by  law  as  heretofore."  A  mass  meeting 
was   called   to   take   measures   "to   prevent   the 


spreading  of  the  Monterey  revolution,  so  that 
the  progress  of  the  nation  may  not  be 
paralyzed,"  and  to  appoint  a  person  to  take  mil- 
itary command  of  the  department. 

San  Diego  and  San  Luis  Rev  took  the  part 
of  Los  Angeles  in  the  quarrel,  Sonoma  and  San 
Jose  joined  Monterey,  while  Santa  Barbara,  al- 
ways conservative,  was  undecided,  but  finally 
issued  a  plan  of  her  own.  Alvarado  and  Castro 
determined  to  suppress  the  revolutionary  An- 
gelenos. They  collected  a  force  of  one  hun- 
dred men,  made  up  of  natives,  with  Graham's 
contingent  of  twenty-five  American  riflemen. 
With  this  army  they  prepared  to  move  against 
the   recalcitrant   surenos. 

The  ayuntamiento  of  Los  Angeles  began 
preparations  to  resist  the  invaders.  An  army  of 
two  hundred  and  seventy  men  was  enrolled,  a 
part  of  which  was  made  up  of  neophytes.  To  se- 
cure the  sinews  of  war  Jose  Sepulveda,  second  al- 
calde, was  sent  to  the  Mission  San  Fernando 
to  secure  what  money  there  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  major  domo.  He  returned  with  two  pack- 
ages, which,  when  counted,  were  found  to  con- 
tain $2,000. 

Scouts  patrolled  the  Santa  Barbara  road  as 
far  as  San  Buenaventura  to  give  warning  of  the 
approach  of  the  enemy,  and  pickets  guarded  the 
Pass  of  Cahuenga  and  the  Rodeo  de  Las  Aguas 
to  prevent  northern  spies  from  entering  and 
southern  traitors  from  getting  out  of  the  pueblo. 
The  southern  army  was  stationed  at  San  Fer- 
nando under  the  command  of  Alferez  (Lieut.) 
Rocha.  Alvarado  and  Castro,  pushing  down  the 
coast,  reached  Santa  Barbara,  where  they  were 
kindly  received  and  their  force  recruited  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty  men  with  two  pieces  of 
artillery.  Jose  Sepulveda  at  San  Fernando  sent 
to  Los  Angeles  for  the  cannon  at  the  town 
house  and  $200  of  the  mission  mi  mey  to  pay  his 
men. 

(  In  the  16th  of  January.  [837,  Alvarado  from 
San  Buenaventura  dispatched  a  communication 
to  the  ayuntamiento  of  Los  Angeles  and  the 
citizens,  telling  their  vhat  military  resources 
he  had,  which  he  would  use  against  them  if  it 
became  necessary,  but  he  was  willing  to  confer 
upi  m  a  plan  ment.     Sepulveda  and  An- 

tonio   M.   Osio  were  appointed  commissioners 


104 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


and  sent  to  confer  with  the  governor,  armed 
with  several  propositions,  the  substance  of 
which  was  that  California  shall  not  be  free  and 
the  Catholic  religion  must  prevail  with  the 
privilege  to  prosecute  any  other  religion,  "ac- 
cording to  law  as  heretofore."  The  commission- 
ers met  Alvarado  on  "neutral  ground,"  between 
San  Fernando  and  San  Buenaventura.  A  long 
discussion  followed  without  either  coming  to  the 
point.  Alvarado,  by  a  coup  d'etat,  brought  it 
to  an  end.  In  the  language  of  the  commission- 
ers' report  to  the  ayuntamiento:  "While  we 
were  a  certain  distance  from  our  own  forces  with 
only  four  unarmed  men  and  were  on  the  point  of 
coming  to  an  agreement  with  Juan  B.  Alvarado, 
we  saw  the  Monterey  division  advancing  upon 
us  and  we  were  forced  to  deliver  up  the  instruc- 
tions of  this  illustrious  body  through  fear  of 
being  attacked."  They  delivered  up  not  only 
the  instructions,  but  the  Mission  San  Fer- 
nando. The  southern  army  was  compelled  to 
surrender  it  and  fall  back  on  the  pueblo,  Rocha 
swearing  worse  than  "our  army  in  Flanders" 
because  he  w'as  not  allowed  to  fight.  The  south- 
ern soldiers  had  a  wholesome  dread  of  Gra- 
ham's riflemen.  These  fellows,  armed  with  long 
Kentucky  rifles,  shot  to  kill,  and  a  battle  once 
begun  somebody  would  have  died  for  his  coun- 
try and  it  would  not  have  been  Alvarado's  rifle- 
men. 

The  day  after  the  surrender  of  the  mission, 
January  21,  1837,  the  ayuntamiento  held  a  ses- 
sion and  the  members  were  as  obdurate  and 
belligerent  as  ever.  They  resolved  that  it  was 
only  in  the  interests  of  humanity  that  the  mis- 
sion had  been  surrendered  and  their  army 
forced  to  retire.  "This  ayuntamiento,  consider- 
ing the  commissioners  wore  forced  to  comply, 
annuls  all  action  of  the  commissioners  and  does 
not  recognize  this  territory  as  a  free  and  sov- 
ereign state  nor  Juan  B.  Alvarado  as  its  gov- 
ernor, and  declares  itself  in  favor  of  the  Supreme 
Government  of  Mexico."  A  few  days  later  Al- 
varado entered  the  city  without  opposition,  the 
Angelenian  soldiers  retiring  to  San  Gabriel  and 
from  there  scattering  to  their  homes. 

On  the  26th  of  January  an  extraordinary 
v.  ssion  of  the  most  illustrious  ayuntamiento  was 
held.    Alvarado  was  present  and  made  a  lengthy 


speech,  in  which  he  said,  "The  native  sons  were 
subjected  to  ridicule  by  the  Mexican  mandarins 
sent  here,  and  knowing  our  rights  we  ought  to 
shake  off  the  ominous  yoke  of  bondage."  Then 
he  produced  and  read  the  six  articles  of  the 
Monterey  plan,  the  council  also  produced  a  plan 
and  a  treaty  of  amity  was  effected.  Alvarado 
was  recognized  as  governor  pro  tem.  and  peace 
reigned.  The  belligerent  surenos  vied  with  each 
other  in  expressing  their  admiration  for  the  new 
order  of  things.  Pio  Pico  wished  to  ex- 
press the  pleasure  it  gave  him  to  see  a  "hijo 
del  pais"  in  office.  And  Antonio  Osio, 
the  most  belligerent  of  the  surenos,  declared 
"that  sooner  than  again  submit  to  a  Mexican 
dictator  as  governor,  he  would  flee  to  the  forest 
and  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts."  The  ayunta- 
miento was  asked  to  provide  a  building  for  the 
government,  "this  being  the  capital  of  the  state." 
The  hatchet  apparently  was  buried.  Peace 
reigned  in  El  Estado  Libre.  At  the  meeting  of 
the  town  council,  on  the  30th  of  January,  Al- 
varado made  another  speech,  but  it  was  neither 
conciliatory  nor  complimentary.  He  arraigned 
the  "traitors  who  were  working  against  the 
peace  of  the  country"  and  urged  the  members  to 
take  measures  "to  liberate  the  city  from  the 
hidden  hands  that  will  tangle  them  in  their  own 
ruin."  The  pay  of  his  troops  who  were  ordered 
here  for  the  welfare  of  California  is  due  "and 
it  is  an  honorable  and  preferred  debt,  therefore 
the  ayuntamiento  will  deliver  to  the  government 
the  San  Fernando  money,"  said  he.  With  a 
wry  face,  very  much  such  as  a  boy  wears  when 
he  is  told  that  he  has  been  spanked  for  his  own 
good,  the  alcalde  turned  over  the  balance  of 
the  mission  money  to  Juan  Bautista,  and  the 
governor  took  his  departure  for  Monterey, 
leaving,  however,  Col.  Jose  Castro  with  part  of 
his  army  stationed  at  Mission  San  Gabriel,  os- 
tensibly "to  support  the  city's  authority,"  but  in 
reality  to  keep  a  close  watch  on  the  city  author- 
ities. 

Los  Angeles  was  subjugated,  peace  reigned 
and  El  Estado  Libre  de  Alta  California  took  her 
place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  But 
peace's  reign  was  brief.  At  the  meeting  of  the 
ayuntamiento  May  27,  1838,  Juan  Bandini  and 
Santiago   E.   Arguello  of  San  Diego,  appeared 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


105 


with  a  pronunciamiento  and  a  plan,  San 
Diego's  plan  of  government.  Monterey,  Santa 
Barbara  and  Los  Angeles  had  each  formulated 
a  plan  of  government  for  the  territory,  and  now 
it  was  San  Diego's  turn.  Agustin  V.  Zamorano, 
who  had  been  exiled  with  Governor  Gutierrez, 
had  crossed  the  frontier  and  was  made  comand- 
ante-general  and  territorial  political  chief  ad 
interim  by  the  San  Diego  revolutionists.  The 
plan  restored  California  to  obedience  to  the 
supreme  government;  all  acts  of  the  diputa- 
cion  and  the  Monterey  plan  were  annulled  and 
the  northern  rebels  were  to  be  arraigned  and 
tried  for  their  part  in  the  revolution;  and  so  on 
through  twenty  articles. 

On  the  plea  of  an  Indian  outbreak  near  San 
Diego,  in  which  the  redmen,  it  was  said,  "were 
to  make  an  end  of  the  white  race,"  the  big  can- 
non and  a  number  of  men  were  secured  at  Los 
Angeles  to  assist  in  suppressing  the  Indians, 
but  in  reality  to  reinforce  the  army  of  the  San 
Diego  revolutionists.  With  a  force  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  men  under  Zamorano  and 
Portilla,  "the  army  of  the  supreme  government" 
moved  against  Castro  at  Los  Angeles.  Castro 
retreated  to  Santa  Barbara  and  Portilla's  army- 
took  position  at  San  Fernando. 

The  civil  and  military  officials  of  Los  Angeles 
took  the  oath  to  support  the  Mexican  consti- 
tution of  1836  and,  in  their  opinion,  this 
absolved  them  from  all  allegiance  to  Juan  Bau- 
tista  and  his  Monterey  plan.  Alvarado  hurried 
reinforcements  to  Castro  at  Santa  Barbara,  and 
Portilla  called  loudly  for  "men,  arms  and 
horses,"  to  march  against  the  northern  rebels. 
But  neither  military  chieftain  advanced,  and  the 
summer  wore  away  without  a  battle.  There 
were  rumors  that  Mexico  was  preparing  to  send 
an  army  of  one  thousand  men  to  subjugate  the 
rebellious  Californians.  In  October  came  the 
news  that  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo,  the  Machiavelli 
of  California  politics,  had  persuaded  President 
Pustamente  to  appoint  Carlos  Carrillo,  Jose's 
brother,  governor  of  Alta  California. 

Then  consternation  seized  the  arribenos  (up- 
pers) of  the  north  and  the  abajehos  (lowers)  of 
Los  Angeles  went  wild  with  joy.  It  was  not 
that  they  loved  Carlos  Carrillo.  for  he  was  a 
Santa   Barbara  man  and   had  opposed   them   in 


the  late  unpleasantness,  but  they  saw  in  his  ap- 
pointment an  opportunity  to  get  revenge  on 
Juan  Bautista  for  the  way  he  had  humiliated 
them.  They  sent  congratulatory  messages  to 
Carrillo  and  invited  him  to  make  Los  Angeles 
the  seat  of  his  government.  Carrillo  was  flat- 
tered by  their  attentions  and  consented.  The 
6th  of  December,  1837,  was  set  for  his  inaugura- 
tion, and  great  preparations  were  made  for  the 
event.  The  big  cannon  was  brought  over  from 
San  Gabriel  to  fire  salutes  and  the  city  was 
ordered  illuminated  on  the  nights  of  the  6th, 
7th  and  8th  of  December.  Cards  of  invitation 
were  issued  and  the  people  from  the  city  and 
country  were  invited  to  attend  the  inauguration 
ceremonies,  "dressed  as  decent  as  possible,"  so 
read  the  invitations. 

The  widow  Josefa  Alvarado's  house,  the  fin- 
est in  the  city,  was  secured  for  the  governor's 
palacio  (palace).  The  largest  hall  in  the  city 
was  secured  for  the  services  and  decorated  as 
well  as  it  was  possible.  The  city  treasury,  being 
in  its  usual  state  of  collapse,  a  subscription  for 
defraying  the  expenses  was  opened  and  horses, 
hides  and  tallow,  the  current  coin  of  the  pueblo, 
were  liberally  contributed. 

On  the  appointed  day.  "the  most  illustrious 
ayuntamiento  and  the  citizens  of  the  neighbor- 
hood(sothe  old  archives  read)met  his  excellency, 
the  governor,  Don  Carlos  Carrillo,  who  made 
his  appearance  with  a  magnificent  accompani- 
ment." The  secretary,  Narciso  Botello,  "read  in 
a  loud,  clear  and  intelligible  voice,  the  oath,  and 
the  governor  repeated  it  after  him."  At  the 
moment  the  oath  was  completed,  the  artillery 
thundered  forth  a  salute  and  the  bells  rang  out 
a  merrv  peal.  The  governor  made  a  speech, 
when  all  adjourned  to  the  church,  where  a  mas> 
was  said  and  a  solemn  Te  Dunn  sung:  after 
which  all  repaired  to  the  house  of  his  excellency, 
where  the  southern  patriots  drank  his  health  in 
bumpers  of  wine  and  shouted  themselves  hoarse 
in  vivas  to  the  new  government.  An  inaugura- 
tion ball  was  In  Id- the  "beauty  and  the  chivalry 
of  the  south  were  gathered  there."  I  lutside  the 
tallow  dips  flared  and  flickered  from  the  porticos 
of  the  house,  bonfires  blazed  in  the  streets  and 
cannon  boomed  salvs  from  the  old  plaza.  Los 
Angeles  was  the  capital  at  last  and  had  a  gov- 


106 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ernor  all  to  herself,  for  Santa  Barbara  refused 
to  recognize  Carrillo,  although  he  belonged 
within  its  jurisdiction. 

The  Angelenos  determined  to  subjugate  the 
Barbarenos.  An  army  of  two  hundred  men, 
under  Castenada,  was  sent  to  capture  the  city. 
After  a  few  futile  demonstrations,  Castenada's 
forces  fell  back  to  San  Buenaventura. 

Then  Alvarado  determined  to  subjugate  the 
Angelenos.  He  and  Castro,  gathering  together 
an  army  of  two  hundred  men.  by  forced  marches 
reached  San  .Buenaventura,  and  by  a  strategic 
movement  captured  all  of  Castenada's  horses 
and  drove  his  army  into  the  mission  church. 
For  two  days  the  battle  raged  and,  "cannon  to 
the  right  of  them,"  and  "cannon  in  front  of  them 
volleyed  and  thundered."  One  man  was  killed 
on  the  northern  side  and  the  blood  of  several 
mustangs  watered  the  soil  of  their  native  land — 
died  for  their  country.  The  southerners  slipped 
out  of  the  church  at  night  and  fled  up  the  val- 
ley on  foot.  Castro's  caballeros  captured  about 
seventy  prisoners.  Bio  Pico,  with  reinforce- 
ments, met  the  remnant  of  Castenada's  arm)-  at 
the  Santa  Clara  river,  and  together  all  fell  back 
to  Los  Angeles.  Then  there  was  wailing  in  the 
old  pueblo,  where  so  lately  there  had  been  re- 
joicing. Gov.  Carlos  Carrillo  gathered  to- 
gether what  men  he  could  get  to  go  with  him 
and  retreated  to  San  Diego.  Alvarado's  army 
took  possession  of  the  southern  capital  and 
some  of  the  leading  conspirators  were  sent  as 
prisoners  to  the  Castillo  at  Sonoma. 

Carrillo,  at  San  Diego,  received  a  small  re- 
inforcement from  Mexico,  under  a  Captain 
Tobar.  Tobar  was  made  general  and  given 
command  of  the  southern  army.  Carrillo,  hav- 
ing recovered  from  his  fright,  sent  an  order  to 
the  northern  rebels  to  surrender  within  fifteen 
days  under  penalty  of  being  shot  as  traitors  if 
they  refused.  In  the  meantime  Los  Angeles 
was  held  by  the  enemy.  The  second  alcalde 
(the  first,  Louis  Aranas,  was  a  prisoner)  called 
a  meeting  to  devise  some  means  "to  have  his 
excellency,  Don  Carlos  Carrillo,  return  to  this 
capital,  as  his  presence  is  very  much  desired  by 
the  citizens  to  protect  their  lives  and  property." 
\  committee  was  appointed  to  locate  Don 
Carlos. 


Instead  of  surrendering,  Castro  and  Alvarado, 
with  a  force  of  two  hundred  men,  advanced 
against  Carrillo.  The  two  armies  met  at  Campo 
de  Las  Flores.  General  Tobar  had  fortified  a 
cattle  corral  with  rawhides,  carretas  and  cot- 
tonw:ood  poles.  A  few  shots  from  Alvarado's 
artillery  scattered  Tobar's  rawhide  fortifications. 
Carrillo  surrendered.  Tobar  and  a  few  of  the 
leaders  escaped  to  Mexico.  Alvarado  ordered 
the  misguided  Angelehian  soldiers  to  go  home 
and  behave  themselves.  He  brought  the  captive 
governor  back  with  him  and  left  him  with  his 
(Carrillo's)  wife  at  Santa  Barbara,  who  became 
surety  for  the  deposed  ruler.  Not  content  with 
his  unfortunate  attempts  to  rule,  he  again 
claimed  the  governorship  on  the  plea  that  he 
had  been  appointed  by  the  supreme  government. 
But  the  Angelenos  had  had  enough  of  him. 
Disgusted  with  his  incompetency,  Juan  Gallardo, 
at  the  session  of  May  14,  1838,  presented  a  pe- 
tition praying  that  this  ayuntamiento  do  not  rec- 
ognize Carlos  Carrillo  as  governor,  and  setting 
forth  the  reasons  why  we,  the  petitioners, 
"should  declare  ourselves  subject  to  the  north- 
ern governor"  and  why  they  opposed  Car- 
rillo." 

"First.  In  having  compromised  the  people 
from  San  Buenaventura  south  into  a  declara- 
tion of  war,  the  incalculable  calamities  of  which 
will  never  be  forgotten,  not  even  by  the  most 
ignorant. 

"Second.  Not  satisfied  with  the  unfortunate 
event  of  San  Buenaventura,  he  repeated  the 
same  at  Campo  de  Las  Flores.  which,  only 
through  a  divine  dispensation,  California  is  not 
to-day  in  mourning."  Seventy  citizens  signed 
the  petition,  but  the  city  attorney,  who  had  done 
time  in  Yallejo's  castillo,  decided  the  petition  il- 
legal because  it  was  written  on  common  paper 
when  paper  with  the  proper  seal  could  be  ob- 
tained. 

Next  day  Gallardo  returned  with  his  petition 
on  legal  paper.  The  ayuntamiento  decided  to 
sound  the  "public  alarm"  and  call  the  people  to- 
gether to  give  them  "public  speech."  The  pub- 
lic alarm  was  sounded.  The  people  assembled 
at  the  city  hall:  speeches  were  made  011,  both 
sides;  and  when  the  vote  was  taken  twenty-two 
were   in    favor   of   the   northern   governor,   five 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Ki7 


in  favor  of  whatever  the  ayuntamiento  decides, 
and  Serbulo  Yareles  alone  voted  for  Don  Carlos 
Carrillo.  So  the  council  decided  to  recognize 
Don  Juan  I!autista  Alvarado  as  governor  and 
leave  the  supreme  government  to  settle  the  con- 
test between  him  and  Carrillo. 

Notwithstanding  this  apparent  burying  of  the 
hatchet,  there  were  rumors  of  plots  and  in- 
trigues in  Los  Angeles  and  San  Diego  against 
Alvarado.  At  length,  aggravated  beyond  en- 
durance, the  governor  sent  word  to  the  surenos 
that  if  they  did  not  behave  themselves  he  would 
shoot  ten  of  the  leading  men  of  the  south.  As 
he  had  about  that  number  locked  up  in  the 
Castillo  at  Sonoma,  his  was  no  idle  threat.  One 
by  one  Alvarado's  prisoners  of  state  were  re- 
leased from  Yallejo's  bastile  at  Sonoma  and  re- 
turned to  Los  Angeles,  sadder  if  not  wiser  men. 
At  the  session  of  the  ayuntamiento  October  20, 
1838,  the  president  announced  that  Senior 
Regidor  Jose  Palomares  had  returned  from 
Sonoma,  where  he  had  been  compelled  to  go 
by  'reason  of  "political  differences,"  and  that  he 
should  be  allowed  his  seat  in  the  council.  The 
request  was  granted  unanimously. 

At  the  next  meeting  Narciso  Botello,  its  for- 
mer secretary,  after  five  and  a  half  months'  im- 
prisonment at  Sonoma,  put  in  an  appearance  ami 
claimed  his  office  and  his  pay.  Although  others 
had  filled  the  office  in  the  interim  the  illustrious 
ayuntamiento,  "ignoring  for  what  offense  he  was 
incarcerated,  could  not  suspend  his  salary." 
But  his  salary  was  suspended.  The  treasury 
was  empty.  The  last  horse  and  the  last  hide  had 
been  paid  out  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  in- 
auguration festivities  of  Carlos,  the  Pretender, 
and  the  civil  war  that  followed.  Indeed  there 
was  a  treasury  deficit  of  whole  caballadas  of 
horses,  and  bales  of  hides.     Xarciso's  back  pay 


was  a  preferred  claim  that  outlasted  El  Estado 
Libre. 

The  surenos  of  Los  Angeles  and  San  Diego, 
finding  that  in  Alvarado  they  had  a  man  of  cour- 
age and  determination  to  deal  with,  ceased  from 
troubling  him  and  submitted  to  the  inevitable. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  ayuntamiento,  October  5, 
1839,  a  notification  was  received,  stating  that  the 
supreme  government  of  Mexico  had  appointed 
Juan  Bautista  Alvarado  governor  of  the  depart- 
ment. There  was  no  grumbling  or  dissent.  (  >n 
the  contrary,  the  records  say,  "This  illustrious 
body  acknowledges  receipt  of  the  communica- 
tion and  congratulated  his  excellency.  It  will 
announce  the  same  to  the  citizens  to-morrow 
(Sunday),  will  raise  the  national  colors,  salute 
the  same  with  the  required  number  of  volleys, 
and  will  invite  the  people  to  illuminate  their 
houses  for  a  better  display  in  rejoicing  at  such 
a  happy  appointment."  With  his  appointment 
by  the  supreme  government  the  "free  and  sov- 
ereign state  of  Alta  California"  became  a  dream 
of  the  past — a  dead  nation.  Indeed,  months  be- 
fore Alvarado  had  abandoned  his  idea  of  found- 
ing an  independent  state  and  had  taken  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  constitution  of  1836.  The 
loyal  surenos  received  no  thanks  from  the  su- 
preme government  for  all  their  professions  of 
loyalty,  whilst  the  rebellious  arriberios  of  the 
north  obtained  all  the  rewards — the  governor, 
the  capital  and  the  offices.  The  supreme  -"\ 
ernment  gave  the  deposed  governor,  Carlos 
Carrillo,  a  grant  of  the  island  of  Santa  Rosa, 
in  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel,  but  whether  it 
was  given  him  as  a  sake  to  his  wounded  dignity 
or  as  an  Elba  or  St.  Helena,  where,  in  the  event 
of  his  stirring  up  another  revolution,  he  might 
be  banished  a  la  Napoleon,  the  records  <h>  not 
inform  us. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

DECLINE    AND    FALL    OF    MEXICAN    DOMINATION. 


WHILE  the  revolution  begun  by  Al- 
varado  and  Castro  had  not  established 
California's  independence,  it  had  effect- 
ually rid  the  territory  of  Mexican  dictators. 
A  native  son  was  governor  of  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Californians  (by  the  constitu- 
tion of  1836  Upper  and  Lower  California  had 
been  united  into  a  department);  another  native 
son  was  comandante  of  its  military  forces.  The 
membership  of  the  departmental  junta,  which 
had  taken  the  place  of  the  diputacion,  was 
largely  made  up  of  sons  of  the  soil,  and  natives 
filled  the  minor  offices.  In  their  zeal  to  rid 
themselves  of  Mexican  office-holders  they  had 
invoked  the  assistance  of  another  element  that 
was  ultimately  to  be  their  undoing. 

During  the  revolutionary  era  just  passed  the 
foreign  population  had  largely  increased.  Xot 
only  had  the  foreigners  come  by  sea,  but  they 
had  come  by  land.  Capt.  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  a 
New  England-born  trapper  and  hunter,  was  the 
first  man  to  enter  California  by  the  overland 
route.  A  number  of  trappers  and  hunters  came 
in  the  early  '30s  from  New  Mexico  by  way  of 
the  old  Spanish  trail.  This  immigration  was 
largely  American,  and  was  made  up  of  a  bold, 
adventurous  class  of  men,  some  of  them  not 
the'  most  desirable  immigrants.  Of  this  latter 
class  were  some  of  Graham's  followers. 

By  invoking  Graham's  aid  to  put  him  in 
power,  Alvarado  had  fastened  upon  his  shoul- 
ders an  old  Man  of  the  Sea.  It  was  easy  enough 
to  enlist  the  services  of  Graham's  riflemen,  but 
altogether  another  matter  to  get  rid  of  them. 
Now  that  he  was  firmly  established  in  power, 
Alvarado  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  glad  to  be 
rid  entirely  of  his  recent  allies,  but  Graham  and 
his  adherents  were  not  backward  in  giving  him 
to  understand  that  he  owed  his  position  to  them, 
and  they  wer<  inclined  to  put  themselves  on  an 
equality  with  him.  This  did  not  comport  with 
his   ideas  of  the  dignity  of  his  office.     To  be 


hailed  by  some  rough  buckskin-clad  trapper 
with  "Ho!  Bautista;  come  here,  I  want  to  speak 
with  you,"  was  an  affront  to  his  pride  that  the 
governor  of  the  two  Californias  could  not 
quietly  pass  over,  and,  besides,  like  all  of  his 
countrymen,  he  disliked  foreigners. 

There  were  rumors  of  another  revolution,  and 
it  was  not  difficult  to  persuade  Alvarado  that 
the  foreigners  were  plottingto  revolutionize  Cal- 
ifornia. Mexico  had  recently  lost  Texas,  and 
the  same  class  of  "malditos  extranjeros"  (wicked 
strangers)  were  invading  California,  and  would 
ultimately  possess  themselves  of  the  country.  Ac- 
cordingly, secret  orders  were  sent  throughout 
the  department  to  arrest  and  imprison  all  for- 
eigners. Over  one  hundred  men  of  different 
nationalities  were  arrested,  principally  Amer- 
icans and  English.  Of  these  forty-seven  were 
shipped  to  San  Bias,  and  from  there  marched 
overland  to  Tepic,  where  they  were  imprisoned 
for  several  months.  Through  the  efforts  of  the 
British  consul,  Barron,  they  were  released. 
Castro,  who  had  accompanied  the  prisoners  to 
Mexico  to  prefer  charges  against  them,  was 
placed  under  arrest  and  afterwards  tried  by 
court-martial,  but  was  acquitted.  He  had  been 
acting  under  orders  from  his  superiors.  After 
an  absence  of  over  a  year  twenty  of  the  exiles 
landed  at  Monterey  on  their  return  from  Mex- 
ico. Robinson,  who  saw  them  land,  says: 
"They  returned  neatly  dressed,  armed  with  rifles 
and  swords,  and  looking  in  much  better  condi- 
tion than  when  they  were  sent  away,  or  probably 
than  they  had  ever  looked  in  their  lives  before." 
The  Mexican  government  had  been  compelled 
to  pay  them  damages  for  their  arrest  and  im- 
prisonment and  to  return  them  to  California. 
Graham,  the  reputed  leader  of  the  foreigners, 
was  the  owner  of  a  distillery  near  Santa  Cruz, 
and  had  gathered  a  number  of  hard  characters 
around  him.  It  would  have  been  no  loss  had  he 
never  returned. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


10! 


The  only  other  event  of  importance  during 
Alvarado's  term  as  governor  was  the  capture  of 
Monterey  by  Commodore  Ap  Catesby  Jones,  of 
the  United  States  navy.  This  event  happened 
after  Alvarado's  successor,  Micheltorena,  had 
landed  in  California,  but  before  the  government 
had  been  formally  turned  over  to  him. 

The  following  extract  from  the  diary  of  a 
pioneer,  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  affair, 
gives  a  good  description  of  the  capture: 

"Monterey,  Oct.  19,  1842. — At  2  p.  111.  the 
United  States  man-of-war  United  States,  Com- 
modore Ap  Catesby  Jones,  came  to  anchor  close 
alongside  and  in-shore  of  all  the  ships  in  port. 
About  3  p.  m.  Capt.  Armstrong  came  ashore, 
accompanied  by  an  interpreter,  and  went  direct 
to  the  governor's  house,  where  he  had  a  private 
conversation  with  him,  which  proved  to  be  a 
demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  entire  coast  of 
California,  upper  and  lower,  to  the  United 
States  government.  When  he  was  about  to  go 
on  board  he  gave  three  or  four  copies  of  a 
proclamation  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  Cali- 
fornias,  assuring  them  of  the  protection  of  their 
lives,  persons  and  property.  In  his  notice  to  the 
governor  (Alvarado)  he  gave  him  only  until  the 
following  morning  at  9  a.  m.  to  decide.  If  he 
received  no  answer,  then  he  would  fire  upon  the 
town." 

"I  remained  on  shore  that  night  and  went 
down  to  the  governor's  with  Mr.  Larkin  and 
Mr.  Eagle.  The  governor  had  had  some  idea 
of  running  away  and  leaving  Monterey  to  its 
fate,  but  was  told  by  Mr.  Spence  that  he  should 
not  go,  and  finally  he  resolved  to  await  the  re- 
sult. At  12  at  night  some  persons  were  sent 
on  board  the  United  States  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor  to  meet  the  commodore 
and  arrange  the  terms  of  the  surrender.  Next 
morning  at  half-past  ten  o'clock  about  one  hun- 
dred sailors  and  fifty  marines  disembarked.  The 
sailors  marched  up  from  the  shore  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  fort.  The  American  colors  were 
hoisted.  The  United  States  fired  a  salute  of  thir- 
teen guns ;  it  was  returned  by  the  fort,  which  fired 
twenty-six  guns.  The  marines  in  the  meantime 
had  marched  up  to  the  government  house.  The 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  California  govern- 
ment were  discharged  and  their  guns  and  other 


arms  taken  possession  of  and  carried  to  the  fort. 
The  stars  and  stripes  now  wave  over  us.  Long 
may  they  wave  here  in  California!" 

"Oct.  21,  4  p.  m. — Elags  were  again  changed, 
the  vessels  were  released,  and  all  was  quiet  again. 
The  commodore  had  received  later  news  by 
some  Mexican  newspapers." 

Commodore  Jones  had  been  stationed  at  Cal- 
lao  with  a  squadron  of  four  vessels.  An  English 
fleet  was  also  there,  and  a  French  fleet  was 
cruising  in  the  Pacific.  Both  these  were  sup- 
posed to  have  designs  on  California.  Jones 
learned  that  the  English  admiral  had  received 
orders  to  sail  next  day.  Surmising  that  his  des- 
tination might  be  California,  he  slipped  out  of 
the  harbor  the  night  before  and  crowded  all  sail 
to  reach  California  before  the  English  admiral. 
The  loss  of  Texas,  and  the  constant  influx  of  im- 
migrants and  adventurers  from  the  United 
States  into  California,  had  embittered  the  Mex- 
ican government  more  and  more  against 
foreigners.  Manuel  Micheltorena,  who  had 
served  under  Santa  Anna  in  the  Texas  war, 
was  appointed  January  19,  1842,  comandanfe- 
general  inspector  and  gobernador  propietario  of 
the  Californias. 

Santa  Anna  was  president  of  the  Mexican  re- 
public. His  experience  with  Americans  in 
Texas  during  the  Texan  war  of  independence, 
in  1836-37,  had  determined  him  to  use  ever) 
effort  to  prevent  California  from  sharing  the  fate 
of  Texas. 

Micheltorena,  the  newly-appointed  governor, 
was  instructed  to  take  with  him  sufficient  f<  iree 
to  check  the  ingress  of  Americans.  He  recruited 
a  force  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  men.  prin- 
cipally convicts  enlisted  from  the  prisons  of 
Mexico.  His  army  of  thieves  and  ragamuffins 
landed  at  San  Diego  in  August,  1842. 

Robinson,  who  was  at  San  Diego  when  one 
of  the  vessels  conveying  Micheltorena's  cholos 
(convicts)  landed,  thus  describes  them:  "Five 
days  afterward  the  brig  ChatO  arrived  with 
ninety  soldiers  and  their  families.  I  saw  them 
land,  and  to  me  they  presented  a  state  of 
wretchedness  and  misery  unequaled.  Not  one 
individual  among  them  possessed  a  iacket  or 
pantaloons,  but.  naked,  and  like  the  savage  In- 
dians, they  concealed   their   nudity  with   dirty, 


Ill) 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


miserable  blankets.  The  females  were  not  much 
better  off,  for  the  scantiness  of  their  mean  ap- 
parel was  too  apparent  for  modest  observers. 
They  appeared  like  convicts,  and,  indeed,  the 
greater  portion  of  them  had  been  charged  with 
crime,  either  of  murder  or  theft." 

Micheltorena  drilled  his  Falstaffian  army  at 
San  Diego  for  several  weeks  and  then  began  his 
march  northward;  Los  Angeles  made  great 
preparations  to  receive  the  new  governor.  Seven 
years  had  passed  since  she  had  been  decreed  the 
capital  of  the  territory,  and  in  all  these  years 
she  had  been  denied  her  rights  by  Monterey. 
A  favorable  impression  on  the  new  governor 
might  induce  him  to  make  the  ciudad  his  capital. 
The  national  fiesta  of  September  16  was  post- 
poned until  the  arrival  of  the  governor.  The 
best  house  in  the  town  was  secured  for  him 
and  his  staff.  A  grand  ball  was  projected 
and  the  city  illuminated  the  night  of  his  arrival. 
A  camp  was  established  down  by  the  river  and 
the  cholos,  who  in  the  meantime  had  been  given 
white  linen  uniforms,  were  put  through  the  drill 
and  the  manual  of  arms.  They  were  incorrigible 
thieves,  and  stole  for  the  very  pleasure  of  steal- 
ing. They  robbed  the  hen  roosts,  the  orchards, 
the  vineyards  and  the  vegetable  gardens  of  the 
citizens.  To  the  Angeleiios  the  glory  of  their 
city  as  the  capital  of  the  territory  faded  in  the 
presence  of  their  empty  chicken  coops  and 
plundered  orchards.  They  longed  to  speed  the 
departure  of  their  now  unwelcome  guests.  After 
a  stay  of  a  month  in  the  city  Micheltorena  and 
his  army  took  up  their  line  of  march  northward. 
He  reached  a  point  about  twenty  miles  north 
of  San  Fernando,  when,  on  the  night  of  the 
24th  of  October,  a  messenger  aroused  him  from 
his  slumbers  witli  the  news  that  the  capital  had 
been  captured  by  the  Americans.  Micheltorena 
seized  the  occasion  to  make  political  capital  for 
himself  with  the  home  government.  He  spent 
the  remainder  of  the  night  in  fulminating  proc- 
lamations against  the  invaders  fiercer  than  the 
thunderbolts  of  Jove,  copies  of  which  were  dis- 
patched post  haste  to  Mexico.  He  even  wished 
himself  a  thunderbolt  "that  he  mighl  fly  over 
intervening  space  and  annihilate  the  invaders." 
Then,  with  his  own  courage  and  doubtless  that 
of  his  brave    cholos    aroused    to    the  highest 


pitch,  instead  of  rushing  on  the  invaders,  he  and 
his  army  •  fled  back  to  San  Fernando,  where, 
afraid  to  advance  or  retreat,  he  halted  until  news 
reached  him  that  Commodore  Jones  had  re- 
stored Monterey  to  the  Californians.  Then  his 
valor  reached  the  boiling  point.  He  boldly 
marched  to  Los  Angeles,  established  his  head- 
quarters in  the  city  and  awaited  the  coming 
of  Commodore  Jones  and  his  officers  from  Mon- 
terey. 

On  the  19th  of  January,  1843,  Commodore 
Jones  and  his  staff  came  to  Los  Angeles  to  meet 
the  governor.  At  the  famous  conference  in 
the  Palacio  de  Don  Abel,  Micheltorena  pre- 
sented his  articles  of  convention.  Among  other 
ridiculous  demands  were  the  following:  "Ar- 
ticle VI.  Thomas  Ap  C.  Jones  will  deliver  fif- 
teen hundred  complete  infantry  uniforms  to  re- 
place those  of  nearly  one-half  of  the  Mexican 
force,  which  have  been  ruined  in  the  violent 
march  and  the  continued  rains  while  they  were 
on  their  way  to  recover  the  port  thus  invaded." 
"Article  VII.  Jones  to  pay  $15,000  into  the 
national  treasury  for  expenses  incurred  from  the 
general  alarm;  also  a  complete  set  of  musical 
instruments  in  place  of  those  ruined  on  this 
occasion."*  Judging  from  Robinson's  descrip- 
tion of  the  dress  of  Micheltorena's  cholos  it  is 
doubtful  whether  there  was  an  entire  uniform 
among  them. 

"The  commodore's  first  impulse,"  writes  a 
member  of  his  staff,  "was  to  return  the  papers 
without  comment  and  to  refuse  further  com- 
munication with  a  man  who  could  have  the  ef- 
frontery to  trump  up  such  charges  as  those  for 
which  indemnification  was  claimed."  The  com- 
modore on  reflection  put  aside  his  personal  feel- 
ings, and  met  the  governor  at  the  grand  ball  in 
Sanchez  hall,  held  in  honor  of  the  occasion. 
The  ball  was  a  brilliant  affair,  "the  dancing 
ceased  only  with  the  rising  of  the  sun  next 
morning."  The  commodore  returned  the  articles 
without  his  signature.  The  governor  did  not 
again  refer  to  his  demands.  Next  morning, 
January  21,  1843,  Jones  and  his  officers  took 
their  departure  from  the  city  "amidst  the  beat- 
ing of  drums,  the  firing  of  cannon  and  the  ring- 


jft's  Tli-torv  of  California.  Vol    IV 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


l  i  i 


ing  of  bells,  saluted  by  the  general  and  his  wife 
from  the  door  of  their  quarters.  On  the  31st 
of  December  Micheltorena  had  taken  the  oath 
of  office  in  Sanchez'  hall,  which  stood  on  the 
east  side  of  the  plaza.  Salutes  were  fired,  the 
bells  were  rung  and  the  city  was  illuminated 
for  three  evenings.  For  the  second  time  a  gov- 
ernor had  been  inaugurated  in  Los  Angeles. 

Micheltorena  and  his  cholo  army  remained  in 
Los  Angeles  about  eight  months.  The  An- 
gelenos  had  all  the  capital  they  cared  for.  They 
were  perfectly  willing  to  have  the  governor  and 
his  army  take  up  their  residence  in  Monterey. 
The  cholos  had  devoured  the  country  like  an 
army  of  chapules  (locusts)  and  were  willing  to 
move  on.  Monterey  would  no  doubt  have  gladly 
transferred  what  right  she  had  to  the  capital 
if  at  the  same  time  she  could  have  transferred 
to  her  old  rival,  Los  Angeles,  Micheltorena's 
cholos.  Their  pilfering  was  largely  enforced 
by  their  necessities.  They  received  little  or  no 
pay,  and  they  often  had  to  steal  or  starve.  The 
leading  native  Californians  still  entertained  their 
old  dislike  to  "Mexican  dictators"  and  the  ret- 
inue of  three  hundred  chicken  thieves  accom- 
panying the  last  dictator  intensified  their  hatred. 

Micheltorena,  while  not  a  model  governor, 
had  many  good  qualities  and  was  generally  liked 
by  the  better  class  of  foreign  residents.  He 
made  an  earnest  effort  to  establish  a  system  of 
public  education  in  the  territory.  Schools  were 
established  in  all  the  principal  towns,  and  ter- 
ritorial aid  from  the  public  funds  to  the  amount 
of  $500  each  was  given  them.  The  school  at 
Los  Angeles  had  over  one  hundred  pupils  in 
attendance.  His  worst  fault  was  a  disposition 
to  meddle  in  local  affairs.  He  was  unreliable 
and  not  careful  to  keep  his  agreements.  He 
might  have  succeeded  in  giving  California  a 
stable  government  had  it  not  been  for  the  antip- 
athy to  his  soldiers  and  the  old  feud  between 
the  "hijos  del  pais"  and  the  Mexican  dictators. 
These  proved  his  undoing.  The  native  sons 
under  Alvarado  and  Castro  rose  in  rebellion. 
In  November,  1844,  a  revolution  was  inaugu- 
rated at  Santa  Clara.  The  governor  marched 
with  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men 
against  the  rebel  forces,  numbering  about  two 
hundred.     They  met  at  a  place  called  the  La- 


guna  de  Alvires.  A  treaty  was  signed  in  which 
Micheltorena  agreed  to  ship  his  cholos  back  to 
Mexico. 

This  treaty  the  governor  deliberately  broke. 
He  then  intrigued  with  Capt.  John  A.  Sutter  of 
New  Helvetia  and  Isaac  Graham  to  obtain  as- 
sistance to  crush  the  rebels.  January  9,  1845, 
Micheltorena  and  Sutter  formed  a  junction  of 
their  forces  at  Salinas — their  united  commands 
numbering  about  five  hundred  men.  They 
marched  against  the  rebels  to  crush  them.  But 
the  rebels  did  not  wait  to  be  crushed.  Alvarado 
and  Castro,  with  about  ninety  men,  started  for 
Los  Angeles,  and  those  left  behind  scattered 
to  their  homes.  Alvarado  and  his  men  reached 
Los  Angeles  on  the  night  of  January  20,  1845. 
The  garrison  stationed  at  the  curate's  house 
was  surprised  and  captured.  One  man  was 
killed  and  several  wounded.  Lieutenant  Me- 
dina, of  Micheltorena's  army,  was  the  com- 
mander of  the  pueblo  troops.  Alvarado's  army 
encamped  on  the  plaza  and  he  and  Castro  set 
to  work  to  revolutionize  the  old  pueblo.  The 
leading  Angelenos  had  no  great  love  for  Juan 
Ilautista,  and  did  not  readily  fall  into  his 
schemes.  They  had  not  forgotten  their  en- 
forced detention  in  Vallejo's  bastile  during  the 
Civil  war.  An  extraordinary  session  of  the 
ayuntamiento  was  called  January  21.  Alvarado 
and  Castro  were  present  and  made  eloquent  ap- 
peals. The  records  say:  "The  ayuntamiento 
listened,  and  after  a  short  interval  of  silence  and 
meditation  decided  to  notify  the  senior  member 
of  the  department  assembly  of  Don  Alvarado 
and  Castros'  wishes." 

They  were  more  successful  with  the  Pico 
brothers.  Pio  Pico  was  senior  vocal,  and  in 
case  Micheltorena  was  disposed  he,  by  virtue  of 
his  office,  would  become  governor.  Through 
the  influence  of  the  Picos  the  revolution  gained 
ground.  The  most  potent  influence  in  spread- 
ing the  revolt  was  the  fear  of  Micheltorena's 
army  of  chicken  thieves.  Should  the  town  be 
captured  by  them  it  certainly  would  be  '-■ 
The  department  assembly  was  called  together. 
A  peace  commission  was  sent  to  meet  Michel- 
torena. who  was  leisurely  marching  southward, 
and  intercede  with  him  to  give  up  his  prO| 
invasion   of  the  smith.     He  refused.     Then  the 


Ill 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


assembly  pronounced  him  a  traitor,  deposed 
him  by  vote  and  appointed  Pio  Pico  governor. 
Recruiting  went  on  rapidly.  Hundreds  of  sad- 
dle horses  were  contributed,  "old  rusty  guns 
were  repaired,  hacked  swords  sharpened,  rude 
lances  manufactured"  and  cartridges  made  for 
the  cannon.  Some  fifty  foreigners  of  the  south 
joined  Alvarado's  army;  not  that  they  had 
much  interest  in  the  revolution,  but  to  protect 
their  property  against  the  rapacious  invaders — 
the  cholos — and  Sutter's  Indians,*  who  were  as 
much  dreaded  as  the  cholos.  On  the  19th  of 
February,  Micheltorena  reached  the  Encinos, 
and  the  Angelenian  army  marched  out  through 
( 'almenga  Pass  to  meet  him.  On  the  20th  the 
two  armies  met  on  the  southern  edge  of  the 
San  Fernando  valley,  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Los  Angeles.  Each  army  numbered  about  four 
hundred  men.  Micheltorena  had  three  pieces 
of  artillery  and  Castro  two.  They  opened  on 
each  other  at  long  range  and  seem  to  have 
fought  the  battle  throughout  at  very  long  range. 
A  mustang  or  a  mule  (authorities  differ)  was 
killed. 

Wilson,  Workman  and  McKinley  of  Castro's 
army  decided  to  induce  the  Americans  on  the 
other  side,  many  of  whom  were  their  personal 
friends,  to  abandon  Micheltorena.  Passing  up 
a  ravine,  they  succeeded  in  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  some  of  them  by  means  of  a  white  flag. 
( ianttj  Hensley  and  Bidwell  joined  them  in  the 
ravine.  The  situation  was  discussed  and  the 
Americans  of  Micheltorena's  army  agreed  to 
desert  him  if  Pico  would  protect  them  in  their 
land  grants.  Wilson,  in  his  account  of  the  bat- 
tle, says:f  "I  knew,  and  so  did  Pico,  that  these 
land  questions  were  the  point  with  those  young 
Americans.  Before  I  started  on  my  journey  or 
embassy,  Pico  was  sent  for;  on  his  arrival 
among  us  I,  in  a  few  words,  explained  to  him 
what  the  party  had  advanced.  'Gentlemen.'  said 
he,  'are  any  of  you  citizens  of  Mexico?"  They 
answered  'No.'  'Then  your  title  deeds  given 
you  by   Micheltorena  are   not   worth   the   paper 


*Sutter  had  under  his  command  ;i  company  of  In- 
dians, lie  had  drilled  these  in  the  use  of  firearms. 
Mi.'  employing  of  these  savages  by  Micheltorena  was 
I'it'rrly    resented    liy    tin-    Californians. 

tPtih  Historical  Society  of  Southern  California. 
Vol.  III. 


they  are  written  on,  and  he  knew  it  well  when 
he  gave  them  to  you;  but  if  you  wiil  abandon 
his  cause  I  will  give  you  my  word  of  honor  as 
a  gentleman,  and  Don  Benito  Wilson  and  Don 
Juan  Workman  to  carry  out  what  I  promise, 
that  I  will  protect  each  one  of  you  in  the  land 
that  you  now  hold,  and  when  you  become  citi- 
zens of  Mexico  I  will  issue  you  the  proper  ti- 
tles.' They  said  that  was  all  they  asked,  and 
promised  not  to  fire  a  gun  against  us.  They  also 
asked  not  to  be  required  to  fight  on  our  side, 
which  was  agreed  to. 

"Micheltorena  discovered  (how,  I  do  not  know) 
that  his  Americans  had  abandoned  him.  About 
an  hour  afterwards  he  raised  his  camp  and 
Hanked  us  by  going  further  into  the  valley  to- 
wards San  Fernando,  then  marching  as  though 
lie  intended  to  come  around  the  bend  of  the 
river  to  the  city.  The  Californians  and  we  for- 
eigners at  once  broke  up  our  camp  and  came 
back  through  the  Cahuenga  Pass,  marched 
through  the  gap  into  the  Feliz  ranch,  on  the 
Los  Angeles  River,  till  we  came  into  close 
proximity  to  Micheltorena's  camp.  It  was  now 
night,  as  it  was  dark  when  we  broke  up  our 
camp.  Here  we  waited  for  daylight,  and  some 
of  our  men  commenced  maneuvering  for  a  fight 
with  the  enemy.  A  few  cannon  shots  were 
fired,  when  a  white  flag  was  discovered  flying 
from  Micheltorena's  front.  The  whole  matter 
then  went  into  the  hands  of  negotiators  ap- 
pointed by  both  parties  and  the  terms  of  sur- 
render were  agreed  upon,  one  of  which  was  that 
Micheltorena  and  his  obnoxious  officers  and 
men  were  to  march  back  up  the  river  to  the 
Cahuenga  Pass,  then  down  on  the  plain  to  the 
west  of  Los  Angeles,  the  most  direct  line  to 
San  Pedro,  and  embark  at  that  point  on  a  vessel 
then  anchored  there  to  carry  them  back  to  Mex- 
ico." Sutter  was  taken  prisoner,  and  his  Indians, 
after  being  corralled  for  a  time,  were  sent  back 
to  the  Sacramento. 

The  roar  of  the  battle  of  Cahuenga,  or  the 
Alamo,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  could  be  dis- 
tinctly heard  in  Los  Angeles,  and  the  people 
remaining  in  the  city  were  greatly  alarmed. 
William  Heath  Davis,  in  his  Sixty  Years  in  Cal- 
ifornia, thus  describes  the  alarm  in  the  town; 
"Directly  to  the  north  of  the  town  was  a  high 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


L13 


hill"  (now  known  as  Mt.  Lookout).  "As  soon 
as  firing  was  heard  all  the  people  remaining  in 
the  town,  men,  women  and  children,  ran  to  the 
top  of  this  hill.  As  the  wind  was  blowing  from 
the  north,  the  firing  was  distinctly  heard,  five 
leagues  away,  on  the  battle-field  throughout  the 
day.  All  business  places  in  town  were  closed. 
The  scene  on  the  hill  was  a  remarkable  one, 
women  and  children,  with  crosses  in  their  hands, 
kneeling  and  praying  to  the  saints  for  the  safety 
of  their  fathers,  brothers,  sons,  husbands,  lovers, 
cousins,  that  they  might  not  be  killed  in  the  bat- 
tle; indifferent  to  their  personal  appearance, 
tears  streaming  from  their  eyes,  and  their  hair 
blown  about  by  the  wind,  which  had  increased 
to  quite  a  breeze.  Don  Abel  Stearns,  myself  and 
others  tried  to  calm  and  pacify  them,  assuring 
them  that  there  was  probably  no  danger;  some- 
what against  our  convictions,  it  is  true,  judg- 
ing from  what  we  heard  of  the  firing  and  from 
our  knowledge  of  Micheltorena's  disciplined 
force,  his  battery,  and  the  riflemen  he  had  with 
him.  During  the  day  the  scene  on  the  hill  con- 
tinued. The  night  that  followed  was  a  gloomy 
one,  caused  by  the  lamentations  of  the  women 
and  children." 

Davis,  who  was  supercargo  on  the  Don 
Quixote,  the  vessel  on  which  Micheltorena  and 
his  soldiers  were  shipped  to  Mexico,  claims  that 
the  general  "had  ordered  his  command  not  to 
injure  the  Californians  in  the  force  opposed  to 
him,  but  to  fire  over  their  heads,  as  he  had  no 
desire  to  kill  them." 

Another  Mexican-born  governor  had  been 
deposed  and  deported,  gone  to  join  his  fellows. 
Victoria,  Chico  and  Gutierrez.  In  accordance 
with  the  treaty  of  Cahuenga  and  by  virtue  of 
his  rank  as  senior  member  of  the  departmental 
assembly,  Pio  Pico  became  governor.  The  hijos 
del  pais  were  once  more  in  the  ascendency. 
Jose  Castro  was  made  comandante-general.  Al- 
varado  was  given  charge  of  the  custom  house  at 
Monterey,  and  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo  was  ap- 
pointed commander  of  the  military  district  of 
the  south.  Los  Angeles  was  made  the  capital, 
although  the  archives  and  the  treasurv  remained 
in  Monterey.  The  revolution  apparently  had 
been  a  success.  In  the  proceedings  of  the  Los 
Angeles  ayuntamiento,  March  i.   1845,  appears 


this  record:  "The  agreements  entered  into  at 
Cahuenga  between  Gen.  Emanuel  Michel- 
torena and  Lieut.-Col.  Jose  Castro  were  then 
read,  and  as  they  contain  a  happy  termination  of 
affairs  in  favor  of  the  government,  this  Illustri- 
ous Body  listened  with  satisfaction  and  so  an- 
swered the  communication." 

The  people  joined  with  the  ayuntamiento  in 
expressing  their  "satisfaction"  that  a  "happy 
termination"  had  been  reached  of  the  political 
disturbances  which  had  distracted  the  country. 
But  the  end  was  not  yet.  Pico  did  his  best  to 
conciliate  the  conflicting  elements,  but  the  old 
sectional  jealousies  that  had  divided  the  people 
of  the  territory  would  crop  out.  Jose  Antonio 
Carrillo,  the  Machiaveli  of  the  south,  hated  Cas- 
tro and  Alvarado  and  was  jealous  of  Pico's  good 
fortune.  He  was  the  superior  of  any  of  them 
in  ability,  but  made  himself  unpopular  by  his 
intrigues  and  his  sarcastic  speech.  When  Cas- 
tro and  Alvarado  can  raise  the  stand- 
ard of  revolt  they  tried  to  win  him  over.  He 
did  assist  them.  He  was  willing  enough  to  plot 
against  Micheltorena,  but  after  the  overthrow 
of  the  Mexican  he  was  equally  ready  to  plot 
against  Pico  and  Castro.  In  the  summer  of 
1845  ne  was  implicated  in  a  plot  to  depose  Pico, 
who,  by  the  way,  was  his  brother-in-law.  Pico 
piaced  him  and  two  of  his  fellow  conspirators, 
Serbulo  and  Hilario  Yarela,  under  arrest.  Car- 
rillo and  Hilario  Yarela  were  shipped  to  Mazal- 
Ian  to  be  tried  for  their  misdeed.  Serbulo  Ya- 
rela made  his  escape  from  prison.  The  two 
exiles  returned  early  in  1846  unpunished  and 
ready  for  new  pli  its. 

Pico  was  appointed  gobernador  proprietario, 
or  constitutional  governor  <>f  California,  Sep- 
tember 3,  1845,  by  President  Herrera.  The  su- 
preme government  of  Mexico  never  seemed  to 
lake  offense  or  harbor  resentment  against  the 
Californians  for  deposing  and  -ending  home  a 
governor.  As  the  officials  of  the  supreme 
ernment  usually  obtained  office  by  revolution, 
they  no  doubt  had  a  fellow  feeling  fur  the  revolt- 
ing Californians.  When  Micheltorena  returned 
to  Mexico  he  was  coldly  received  and  a  com- 
missioner was  sent  to  Pico  with  dispatches  vir- 
tually approving  all  that  had  been  done. 

Castro,  too,  gave  Pico  a  great  deal  of  uneasi- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ness.  He  ignored  the  governor  and  managed 
the  military  affairs  of  the  territory  to  suit  him- 
self. His  headquarters  were  at  Monterey  and 
doubtless  he  had  the  sympathy  if  not  the  en- 
couragement of  the  people  of  the  north  in  his 
course.  But  the  cause  of  the  greatest  uneasi- 
ness was  the  increasing  immigration  from  the 
United  States.  A  stream  of  emigrants  from  the 
western  states,  increasing  each  year,  poured 
down  the  Sierra  Nevadas  and  spread  over  the 
rich  valleys  of  California.  The  Californians  rec- 
ognized that  through  the  advent  of  these  "for- 
eign adventurers,"as  they  called  them, the  "man- 
ifest destiny"of  California  was  to  be  absorbed  by 
the  United  States.  Alvarado  had  appealed  to 
Mexico  for  men  and  arms  and  had  been  an- 
swered by  the  arrival  of  Micheltorena  and  his 
cholos.  Pico  appealed  and  for  a  time  the  Cali- 
fornians  were  cheered  by  the  prospect  of  aid. 


In  the  summer  of  1845  a  f°rce  °*  s'x  hundred 
veteran  soldiers,  under  command  of  Colonel 
Iniestra,  reached  Acapulco,  where  ships  were  ly- 
ing to  take  them  to  California,  but  a  revolution 
broke  out  in  Mexico  and  the  troops  destined  for 
the  defense  of  California  were  used  to  overthrow- 
President  Hcrrera  and  to  seat  Paredes.  Cali- 
fornia was  left  to  work  out  her  own  destiny 
unaided  or  drift  with  the  tide — and  she  drifted. 
In  the  early  months  of  1846  there  was  a  rapid 
succession  of  important  events  in  her  history, 
each  in  passing  bearing  her  near  and  nearer  to 
a  manifest  destiny — the  downfall  of  Mexican 
domination  in  California.  These  will  be  pre- 
sented fully  in  the  chapter  on  the  Acquisition  of 
California  by  the  United  States.  But  before 
taking  up  these  we  will  turn  aside  to  review  life 
in  California  in  the  olden  time  under  Spanish 
and  Mexican  rule. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

MUNICIPAL    GOVERNMENT— HOMES    AND    HOME-LIFE    OF 
THE    CALIFORNIANS. 


UNDER  Spain  the  government  of  Califor- 
nia was  semi-military  and  semi-clerical. 
The  governors  were  military  officers  and 
had  command  of  the  troops  in  the  territory,  and 
looked  after  affairs  at  the  pueblos;  the  friars 
were  supreme  at  the  missions.  The  municipal 
government  of  the  pueblos  was  vested  in  ayun- 
tamientos.  The  decree  of  the  Spanish  Cortes 
passed  May  23,  1S12,  regulated  the  membership 
of  the  ayuntamiento  according  to  the  popula- 
tion of  the  town — "there  shall  be  one  alcalde 
(mayor),  two  regidores  (councilmen),  ami  one 
procurador-syndico  (treasurer)  in  all  towns 
which  do  not  have  more  than  two  hundred  in- 
habitants; one  alcalde,  four  regidores  and  one 
syndico  in  those  the  population  of  which  ex- 
ceeds two  hundred,  but  does  no.1  exceed  five 
hundred."  When  the  population  of  a  town  ex- 
ceeded one  thousand  it  was  allowed  two  al- 
caldes, eighl  regidores  and  two  syndicos.  Over 
the  members  of  the  a\  untamiento  in  the  early 
years  of  Spanish  rule  was  a  quasi-military  offi- 


cer called  a  comisionado,  a  sort  of  petty  dictator 
or  military  despot,  who,  when  occasion  required 
or  inclination  moved  him,  embodied  within  him- 
self all  three  departments  of  government,  judi- 
ciary, legislative  and  executive.  After  Mexico 
became  a  republic  the  office  of  comisionado  was 
abolished.  The  alcalde  acted  as  president  of 
the  ayuntamiento,  as  mayor  and  as  judge  of 
the  court  of  first  instance.  The  second  alcalde 
took  his  place  when  that  officer  was  ill  or  ab- 
sent. The  syndico  was  a  general  utility  man. 
lie  acted  as  city  or  town  attorney,  tax  collector 
and  treasurer.  The  secretary  was  an  important 
officer;  lie  kept  the  records,  acted  as  clerk  of 
the  alcalde's  court  and  was  the  only  municipal 
officer  who  received  pay.  except  the  syndico, 
who  received  a  commission  on  his  collections. 

In  1837  the  Mexican  Congress  passed  a  decree 
abolishing  ayuntamientos  in  capitals  of  depart- 
ments having  a  population  of  less  than  four 
thousand  and  in  interior  towns  of  less  than 
eight    thousand.      In    1839   Governor   Alvarado 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


HE 


reported  to  the  Departmental  Assembly  that  no 
town  in  California  had  the  requisite  population. 
The  ayuntamientos  all  closed  January  i,  1840. 
They  were  re-established  in  1844.  During  their 
abolition  the  towns  were  governed  by  prefects 
and  justices  of  the  peace,  and  the  special  laws 
or  ordinances  were  enacted  by  the  departmental 
assembly. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  ayuntamiento  often 
extended  over  a  large  area  of  country  beyond 
the  town  limits.  That  of  Los  Angeles,  after  the 
secularization  of  the  missions,  extended  over  a 
country  as  large  as  the  state  of  Massachusetts. 
The  authority  of  the  ayuntamiento  was  as  ex- 
tensive as  its  jurisdiction.  It  granted  town  lots 
and  recommended  to  the  governor  grants  of 
land  from  the  public  domain.  In  addition  to 
passing  ordinances  its  members  sometimes 
acted  as  executive  officers  to  enforce  them.  It 
exercised  the  powers  of  a  board  of  health,  a 
board  of  education,  a  police  commission  and  a 
street  department.  During  the  civil  war  be- 
tween Northern  and  Southern  California,  in 
1837-38,  the  ayuntamiento  of  Los  Angeles 
raised  and  equipped  an  army  and  assumed  the 
right  to  govern  the  southern  half  of  the  terri- 
tory. 

The  ayuntamiento  was  spoken  of  as  Muy 
Ilustre  (Most  Illustrious),  in  the  same  sense 
that  we  speak  of  the  honorable  city  council,  but 
it  was  a  much  more  dignified  body  than  a  city 
council.  The  members  were  required  to  attend 
their  public  functions  "attired  in  black  apparel. 
so  as  to  add  solemnity  to  the  meetings."  They 
served  without  pay,  but  if  a  member  was  absent 
frOm  a  meeting  without  a  good  excuse  he  was 
liable  to  a  fine.  As  there  was  no  pay  in  the  office 
and  its  duties  were  numerous  and  onerous,  there 
was  not  a  large  crop  of  aspirants  for  council- 
men  in  those  days,  and  the  office  usually  sought 
the  man.  It  might  be  added  that  when  it  caught 
the  right  man  it  was  loath  to  let  go  of  him. 

The  misfortunes  that  beset  Francisco  Pantoja 
aptly  illustrate  the  difficulty  of  resigning  in  the 
days  when  office  sought  the  man,  not  man  the 
office.  Pantoja  was  elected  fourth  regidor  of 
the  ayuntamiento  of  Los  Angeles  in  1837.  In 
those  days  wild  horses  were  very  numerous. 
When  the  pasture  in  tin1  foothills  was  exhausted 


they  came  down  into  the  valleys  and  ate  up 
the  feed  needed  for  the  cattle.  Un  this  account, 
and  because  most  of  these  wild  horses  were 
worthless,  the  rancheros  slaughtered  them.  A 
corral  was  built  with  wings  extending  out  on 
the  right  and  left  from  the  main  entrance.  When 
the  corral  was  completed  a  day  was  set  for  a 
wild  horse  drive.  The  bauds  were  rounded  up 
and  driven  into  the  corral.  The  pick  of  the 
caballados  were  lassoed  and  taken  out  to  be 
broken  to  the  saddle  and  the  refuse  of  the  drive 
killed.  The  Vejars  had  obtained  permission 
from  the  ayuntamiento  to  build  a  corral  between 
the  Ceritos  and  the  Salinas  for  the  purpose  of 
corralling  wild  horses.  Pantoja,  being  some- 
thing of  a  sport,  petitioned  his  fellow  regidores 
for  a  twenty  days'  leave  of  absence  to  join  in 
the  wild  horse  chase.  A  wild  horse  chase  was 
wild  sport  and  dangerous,  too.  Somebody  was 
sure  to  get  hurt,  and  Pantoja  in  this  one  was 
one  of  the  unfortunates.  When  his  twenty  days' 
leave  of  absence  was  up  he  did  not  return  to 
his  duties  of  regidor.  but  instead  sent  his  res- 
ignation on  plea  of  illness.  His  resignation  was 
not  accepted  and  the  president  of  the  ayunta- 
miento appointed  a  committee  to  investigate 
his  physical  condition.  There  were  no  physi- 
cians in  Los  Angeles  in  those  days,  so  the  com- 
mittee took  along  Santiago  McKinley,  a  canny 
Scotch  merchant,  who  was  repined  to  have  some 
knowledge  of  surgery.  The  committee  and  the 
improvised  surgeon  held  an  ante-mortem  in- 
quest on  what  remained  of  Pantoja.  The  com- 
mittee reported  to  the  council  that  he  was  a 
physical  wreck;  that  he  could  not  mount  a 
horse  nor  ride  one  when  mounted.  A  native 
California!!  who  had  reached  such  a  state  of 
physical  dilapidation  that  he  could  not  mount 
a  horse  might  well  be  excused  from  official  du- 
ties. To  excuse  him  might  establish  a  danger- 
ous precedent.  The  ayuntamiento  heard  the 
report,  pondered  over  it  and  then  sent  it  and 
the  resignation  to  the  governor.  The  governor 
took  them  under  advisement.  In  the  meantime 
a  revolution  broke  out  and  before  p 
stored  and  the  governor  had  time  to  pass  upon 
the  case  Pantoja's  term  had  expired  by  limita- 
tion. 

That    modern    fad  dslation,   the 


11(5 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


referendum,  was  in  full  force  and  effect  in  Cali- 
fornia three-quarters  of  a  century  ago.  When 
some  question  of  great  importance  to  the  com- 
munity was  before  the  ayuntamiento  and  the 
regidores  were  divided  in  opinion,  the  alarma 
publica  or  public  alarm  was  sounded  by  the 
beating  of  the  long  roll  on  the  drum  and  all  the 
citizens  were  summoned  to  the  hall  of  sessions. 
Any  one  hearing  the  alarm  and  not  heed- 
ing it  was  fined  $3.  When  the  citizens  were  con- 
vened the  president  of  the  ayuntamiento,  speak- 
ing in  a  loud  voice,  stated  the  question  and  the 
people  were  given  "public  speech."  The  ques- 
tion was  debated  by  all  who  wished  to  speak. 
When  all  had  had  their  say  it  was  decided  by  a 
show  of  hands. 

The  ayuntamientos  regulated  the  social  func- 
tions of  the  pueblos  as  well  as  the  civic.  Ordi- 
nance 5,  ayuntamiento  proceedings  of  Los 
Angeles,  reads:  "All  individuals  serenading  pro- 
miscuously around  the  street  of  the  city  at  night 
without  first  having  obtained  permission  from 
the  alcalde  will  be  fined  $1.50  for  the  first  of- 
fense, $3  for  the  second  offense,  and  for  the 
third  punished  according  to  law."  Ordinance  4, 
adopted  by  the  ayuntamiento  of  Los  Angeles, 
January  28,  1838,  reads:  "Every  person  not 
having  any  apparent  occupation  in  this  city  or 
its  jurisdiction  is  hereby  ordered  to  look  for 
work  within  three  days,  counting  from  the  day 
this  ordinance  is  published;  if  not  complied 
with,  lie  will  be  fined  $2  for  the  first  offense,  $4 
for  the  second  offense,  and  will  be  given  com- 
pulsory work  for  the  third."  From  the  reading 
of  the  ordinance  it  would  seem  if  the  tramp 
kept  looking  for  work,  but  was  careful  not  to 
find  it,  there  could  be  no  offense  and  conse- 
quently  no  fines  or  compulsory  work. 

Some  of  the  enactments  of  the  old  regidores 
would  fade  the  azure  out  of  the  blue  laws  of 
Connecticut  in  severity.  In  the  plan  of  gov- 
ernment adopted  by  the  surefios  in  the  rebellion 
of  1837  appears  this  article:  "Article  3,  The 
Roman  Catholic  Apostolic  religion  shall  pre- 
vail throughout  this  jurisdiction:  and  any  per- 
son professing  publicly  any  other  religion  shall 
be  prosecuted." 

Here  is  a  blue  law  of  Monterey,  enacted 
March  23,  1816:   "All  persons  must  attend  mass 


and  respond  in  a  loud  voice,  and  if  any  persons 
should  fail  to  do  so  without  good  cause  they 
will  be  put  in  the  stocks  for  three  hours." 

The  architecture  of  the  Spanish  and  Mexican 
eras  of  California  was  homely  almost  to  ugliness. 
There  was  no  external  ornamentation  to  the 
dwellings  and  no  internal  conveniences.  There 
was  but  little  attempt  at  variety  and  the  houses 
were  mostly  of  one  style,  square  walled,  tile  cov- 
ered, or  flat  roofed  with  pitch,  and  usually  but 
one  story  high.  Some  of  the  mission  churches 
were  massive,  grand  and  ornamental,  while 
others  were  devoid  of  beauty  and  travesties  on 
the  rules  of  architecture.  Every  man  was  his 
own  architect  and  master  builder.  He  had  no 
choice  of  material,  or,  rather,  with  his  ease- 
loving  disposition,  he  chose  to  use  that  which 
was  most  convenient,  and  that  was  adobe  clay, 
made  into  sun-dried  brick.  The  Indian  was  the 
brick  maker,  and  he  toiled  for  his  taskmasters, 
like  the  Hebrew  of  old  for  the  Egyptian,  making 
bricks  without  straw  and  without  pay.  There 
were  no  labor  strikes  in  the  building  trades  then. 
The  Indian  was  the  builder,  and  he  did  not 
know  how  to  strike  for  higher  wages,  because 
he  received  no  wages,  high  or  low.  The  adobe 
bricks  were  moulded  into  form  and  set  up  to 
dry.  Through  the  long  summer  days  they 
baked  in  the  hot  sun,  first  on  one  side,  then  on 
the  other;  and  when  dried  through  they  were 
laid  in  the  wall  with  mud  mortar.  Then  the 
walls  had  to  dry  and  dry  perhaps  through  an- 
other summer  before  the  house  was  habitable. 
Time  was  the  essense  of  building  contracts  then. 

There  was  but  little  wood  used  in  house  con- 
struction then.  It  was  only  the  aristocrats  who 
could  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  wooden  floors. 
Most  of  the  houses  had  floors  of  the  beaten 
earth.  Such  floors  were  cheap  and  durable. 
Gilroy  says,  when  he  came  to  Monterey  in  1814, 
only  the  governor's  house  had  a  wooden  floor. 
A  door  of  rawhide  shut  out  intruders  and 
wooden-barred  windows  admitted  sunshine  and 
air. 

The  legendry  of  the  hearthstone  and  the  fire- 
side which  fills  so  large  a  place  in  the  home  life 
and  literature  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  had  no  part 
in  the  domestic  system  of  the  old-time  Califor- 
nian.     He  had  no  hearthstone  and  no  fireside, 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


117 


nor  could  that  pleasing  fiction  of  Santa  Claus 
coming  down  the  chimney  with  toys  on  Christ- 
mas eve  that  so  delights  the  children  of  to-day 
have  been  understood  by  the  youthful  Califor- 
nian  of  long  ago.  There  were  no  chimneys  in 
California.  The  only  means  of  warming  the 
houses  by  artificial  heat  was  a  pan  (or  braseroj 
of  coals  set  on  the  floor.  The  people  lived  out 
of  doors  in  the  open  air  and  invigorating  sun- 
shine; and  they  were  health)-  and  long-lived. 
Their  houses  were  places  to  sleep  in  or  shelters 
from  rain. 

The  furniture  was  meager  and  mostly  home- 
made. A  few  benches  or  rawhide-bottomed 
chairs  to  sit  on;  a  rough  table;  a  chest  or  two 
to  keep  the  family  finery  in ;  a  few  cheap  prints 
of  saints  on  the  walls — these  formed  the  furnish- 
ings and  the  decorations  of  the  living  rooms  of 
the  common  people.  The  bed  was  the  pride  and 
the  ambition  of  the  housewife.  Even  in  humble 
dwellings,  sometimes,  a  snowy  counterpane  and 
lace-trimmed  pillows  decorated  a  couch  whose 
base  was  a  dried  bullock's  hide  stretched  on  a 
rough  frame  of  wood.  A  shrine  dedicated  to  the 
patron  saint  of  the  household  was  a  very  essen- 
tial part  of  a  well-regulated  home. 

Fashions  in  dress  did  not  change  with  the  sea- 
sons. A  man  could  wear  his  grandfather's  hat 
and  his  coat,  too,  and  not  be  out  of  the  fashion. 
Robinson,  writing  of  California  in  1829.  says: 
"The  people  were  still  adhering  to  the  costumes 
of  the  past  century."  It  was  not  until  after  1834, 
when  the  Hijar  colonists  brought  the  latest  fash- 
ions from  the  City  of  Mexico,  that  the  style  of 
dress  for  men  and  women  began  to  change.  The 
next  change  took  place  after  the  American  con- 
quest. Only  two  changes  in  half  a  century,  a 
garment  had  to  be  very  durable  to  become  un- 
fashionable. 

The  few  wealthy  people  in  the  territory 
dressed  well,  even  extravagantly.  Robinson  de- 
scribes the  dress  of  Tomas  Yorba,  a  wealthy 
ranchero  of  the  Upper  Santa  Ana,  as  he  saw 
him  in  1829:  "Upon  his  head  he  wore  a  black 
silk  handkerchief,  the  four  corners  of  which 
hung  down  his  neck  behind.  An  embroidered 
shirt;  a  cravat  of  white  jaconet,  tastefully  tied; 
a  blue  damask  vest;  short  clothes  of  crimson 
velvet;    a  bright  green  cloth  jacket,  with  large 


silver  buttons,  and  shoes  of  embroidered  deer- 
skin  composed  Ins  dress.  I  was  afterwards  in- 
formed by  Don  Manuel  (Dominguez)  that  on 
some  occasions,  such  as  some  particular  feast 
day  or  festival,  his  entire  display  often  exceeded 
in  value  a  thousand  dollars." 

"The  dress  worn  by  the  middle  class  of  fe- 
males is  a  chemise,  with  short  embroidered 
sleeves,  richly  trimmed  with  lace;  a  muslin  pet- 
ticoat, flounced  with  scarlet  and  secured  at  the 
waist  by  a  silk  band  of  the  same  color;  shoes  of 
velvet  or  blue  satin;  a  cotton  reboso  or  scarf; 
pearl  necklace  and  earrings;  with  hair  falling  in 
broad  plaits  down  the  back."*  After  1834  the 
men  generally  adopted  calzoneras  instead  of  the 
knee  breeches  or  short  clothes  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. 

"The  calzoneras  were  pantaloons  with  the  ex- 
terior seam  open  throughout  its  length.  On  the 
upper  edge  was.  a  strip  of  cloth,  red,  blue  or 
black,  in  which  were  buttonholes.  On  the  other 
edge  were  eyelet  holes  for  buttons.  In  some 
cases  the  calzonera  was  sewn  from  hip  to  the 
middle  of  the  thigh ;  in  others,  buttoned.  From 
the  middle  of  the  thigh  downward  the  leg  was 
covered  by  the  bota  or  leggins,  used  by  every 
one,  whatever  his  dress."  The  short  jacket, 
with  silver  or  bronze  buttons,  and  the  silken 
sash  that  served  as  a  connecting  link  between 
the  calzoneras  and  the  jacket,  and  also  supplied 
the  place  of  what  the  Californians  did  not  wear, 
suspenders,  this  constituted  a  picturesque  cos- 
tume, that  continued  in  vogue  until  the  con- 
quest, and  with  many'  of  the  natives  for  years 
after.  "After  1834  the  fashionable  women  of  Cal- 
ifornia exchanged  their  narrow  for  more  flowing 
garments  and  abandoned  the  braided  hair  for 
the  coil  and  the  large  combs  till  then  in  use  for 
smaller  combs. "f 

For  outer  wraps  the  serapa  for  men  and  the 
rebosa  for  women  were  universally  worn.  The 
texture  of  these  marked  the  social  standing  of 
the  wearer.  It  ranged  from  cheap  cotton  and 
coarse  serge  to  the  costliest  silk  and  the  finest 
French  broadcloth.  The  costume  of  the  neo- 
phyte changed  but  once  in  centuries,  and  that 


*Robinson.  Life  in  California. 

tBancroftV  1'a-t-ral  California. 


IIS 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RFXORD. 


was  when  he  divested  himself  of  his  coat  of 
mud  and  smear  of  paint  and  put  on  the  mission 
shirt  and  breech  clout.  Shoes  he  did  not  wear 
and  in  time  his  feet  became  as  hard  as  the  hoofs 
of  an  animal.  The  dress  of  the  mission  women 
consisted  of  a  chemise  and  a  skirt;  the  dress  of 
the  children  was  a  shirt  and  sometimes  even  this 
was  dispensed. 

Filial  obedience  and  respect  for  parental  au- 
thority were  early  impressed  upon  the  minds  of 
the  children.  The  commandment,  "Honor  thy 
father  and  mother,"  was  observed  with  an  ori- 
ental devotion.  A  child  was  never  too  old  or  too 
large  to  be  exempt  from  punishment.  Stephen 
C.  Foster  used  to  relate  an  amusing  story  of  a 
case  ot  parental  dis  :iplining  he  once  saw  at  Los 
Angeles.  An  old  lady,  a  grandmother,  was  be- 
laboring-, with  a  barrel  stave,  her  son,  a  man 
thirty  years  of  age.  The  son  had  done  some- 
thing of  which  the  mother  did  not  approve.  She 
sent  for  him  to  come  over  to  the  maternal  home 
to  receive  his  punishment,  lie  came.  She  took 
him  out  to  the  metaphorical  woodshed,  which, 
in  this  case,  was  the  portico  of  her  house,  where 
she  stood  him  up  and  proceeded  to  administer 
corporal  punishment.  With  the  resounding 
thwacks  of  the  stave,  she  would  exclaim,  "I'll 
leach  you  to  behave  yourself."  "I'll  mend  your 
manners,  sir."  "Now  you'll  be  good,  won't 
you?"  The  big  man  took  his  punishment  with- 
out a  thought  of  resisting  or  rebelling.  In  fact, 
he  seemed  to  enjoy  it.  It  brought  back  feel- 
ingly and  forcibly  a  memory  of  his  boyhood 
days. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  the  republic,  before 
revolutionarj  ideas  had  perverted  the  usages  of 
the  Californians,  great  respect  was  shown  to 
those  in  authority,  and  the  authorities  were 
strict  in  requiring  deference  from  their  constit- 
uents. In  the  Los  Angeles  archives  of  1828  are 
the  records  of  an  impeachment  trial  of  Don 
Antonio  Maria  Lugo,  held  to  depose  him  from 
tin  office  ^f  judge  of  the  plains.  The  principal 
dut")  of  such  a  judge  was  to  decide  cases  of  dis- 
puted ownership  of  horses  and  cattle.  Lugo 
seems  to  have  had  an  exalted  idea  of  the  dignity 
of  his  office.  Among  the  complaints  presented 
at  the  trial  was  one  from  young  Pedro  Sanchez. 
in  which  he  testified  that   Lugo  had  tried  1"  ride 


Ins  horse  over  him  in  the  street  because  he, 
Sanchez,  would  not  take  off  his  hat  to  the  juez 
del  campo  and  remain  standing  uncovered  while 
the  judge  rode  past.  Another  complainant  at  the 
same  trial  related  how*  at  a  rodeo  Lugo  ad- 
judged a  neighbor's  boy  guilty  of  contempt  of 
court  because  the  boy  gave  him  an  impertinent 
answer,  and  then  he  proceeded  to  give  the  boy 
an  unmerciful  whipping.  So  heinous  was  the 
offense  in  the  estimation  of  the  judge  that  the 
complainant  said,  "had  not  Lugo  fallen  over  a 
chair  he  would  have  been  beating  the  boy  yet." 

Under  Mexican  domination  in  California 
there  was  no  tax  levied  on  land  and  improve- 
ments. The  municipal  funds  of  the  pueblos  were 
obtained  from  revenue  on  wine  and  brandy; 
from  the  licenses  of  saloons  and  other  business 
houses;  from  the  tariff  on  imports;  from  per- 
mits to  give  balls  or  dances;  from  the  fines  of 
transgressors,  and  from  the  tax  on  bull  rings 
and  cock  pits.  Then  men's  pleasures  and  vices 
paid  the  cost  of  governing.  In  the  early  '40s 
the  city  of  Los  Angeles  claimed  a  population  of 
two  thousand,  yet  the  municipal  revenues  rarely 
exceeded  $1,000  a  year.  With  this  small  amount 
the  authorities  ran  a  city  government  and  kept 
out  1  if  debt.  It  did  not  cost  much  to  run  a  city 
government  then.  There  was  no  army  of  high- 
salaried  officials  with  a  horde  of  political  heelers 
quartered  on  the  municipality  and  fed  from  the 
public  crib  at  the  expense  of  the  taxpayer.  Poli- 
ticians may  have  been  no  more  honest  then 
than  now,  but  where  there  was  nothing  to  steal 
there  was  no  stealing.  The  alcaldes  and  regi- 
dores  put  no  temptation  in  the  way  of  the  poli- 
ticians, and  thus  they  kept  them  reasonably 
honest,  or  at  least  they  kept  them  from  plunder- 
ing the  taxpayers  by  the  simple  expedient  of 
having  no  taxpayers. 

The  functions  of  the  various  departments  of 
the  municipal  governments  were  economically 
administered.  Street  cleaning  and  lighting  were 
performed  at  individual  expense  instead  of  pub- 
lic. There  was  an  ordinance  in  force  in  Los 
Angeles  and  Santa  Barbara  and  probably  in 
other  municipalities  that  required  each  owner  of 
a  house  every  Saturday  to  sweep  and  clean  in 
front  of  his  premises  to  the  middle  of  the  street. 
His  neighbor  on  the  opposite  side  met  him  half 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


110 


way,  and  the  street  was  swept  without  expense 
to  the  pueblo.  There  was  another  ordinance 
that  required  eacli  owner  of  a  house  of  more 
that  two  rooms  on  a  main  street  to  hang  a 
lighted  lantern  in  front  of  his  door  from  twilight 
to  eight  o'clock  in  winter  and  to  nine  in  sum- 
mer. There  were  fines  for  neglect  of  these  duties. 
There  was  no  fire  department  in  the  pueblos. 
The  adobe  houses  with  their  clay  walls,  earthen 
floors,  tiled  roofs  and  rawhide  doors  were  as 
nearly  fireproof  as  any  human  habitation  could 
be  made.     The  cooking  was  done  in  detached 


kitchens  and  in  beehive-shaped  ovens  without 
Hues.  The  houses  were  without  chimneys,  so 
the  danger  from  fire  was  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
A  general  conflagration  was  something  un- 
known in  the  old  pueblo  days  of  California 

There  was  no  paid  police  department.  Every 
able-bodied  young  man  was  subject  to  military 
duty.  A  volunteer  guard  or  patrol  was  kept  on 
duty  at  the  cuartels  or  guard  houses.  The 
guards  policed  the  pueblos,  but  they  were  not 
paid.  Each  young  man  had  to  take  his  turn  at 
guard  duty. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  BY  CONQUEST. 


THE  Mexican  war  marked  the  beginning 
by  the  United  States  of  territorial  ex- 
pansion by  conquest.  "It  was,"  says 
General  Grant,  "an  instance  of  a  republic  fol- 
lowing the  bad  example  of  European  mon- 
archies in  not  considering  justice  in  their  desire 
to  acquire  additional  territory."  The  "additional 
territory"  was  needed  for  the  creation  of  slave 
states.  The  southern  politicians  of  the  extreme 
pro-slavery  school  saw  in  the  rapid  settlement 
of  the  northwestern  states  the  downfall  of  their 
domination  and  the  doom  of  their  beloved  insti- 
tution, slavery.  Their  peculiar  institution  could 
not  expand  northward  and  on  the  south  it  had 
reached  the  Mexican  boundary.  The  only  way 
of  acquiring  new  territory  for  the  extension  of 
slavery  on  the  south  was  to  take  it  by  force  from 
the  weak  Republic  of  Mexico.  The  annexation 
of  Texas  brought  with  it  a  disputed  boundary 
line.  The  claim  to  a  strip  of  country  between 
the  Rio  Nueces  and  the  Rio  Grande  furnished  a 
convenient  pretext  to  force  Mexico  to  hostili- 
ties. Texas  as  an  independent  state  had  never 
exercised  jurisdiction  over  the  disputed  terri- 
torv.  As  a  state  of  the  LTnion  after  annexation 
she  could  not  rightfully  lay  claim  to  what  she 
never  possessed,  but  the  army  of  occupation 
took  possession  of  it  as  United  States  property, 
and  the  war  was  on.  In  the  end  we  acquired  a 
large  slice  of  Mexican  territory,  but   the  irony 


of  fate  decreed  that  not  an  acre  of  its  soil  should 
be  tilled  by  slave  labor. 

The  causes  that  led  to  the  acquisition  of  Cali- 
fornia antedated  the  annexation  of  Texas  and 
the  invasion  of  Mexico.  After  the  adoption  of 
liberal  colonization  laws  by  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernment in  1824,  there  set  in  a  steady  drift 
of  Americans  to  California.  At  first  they  came 
by  sea,  but  after  the  opening  of  the  overland 
route  in  1841  they  came  in  great  numbers  by 
land.  It  was  a  settled  conviction  in  the  minds 
of  these  adventurous  nomads  that  the  manifest 
destiny  of  California  was  to  become  a  part  of  the 
United  States,  and  they  were  only  too  willing  to 
aid  destiny  when  an  opportunitv  offered.  The 
opportunity  came  and  it  found  them  ready  for  it. 

Capt.  John  C.  Fremont,  an  engineer  and  ex- 
plorer in  the  services  of  the  United  States,  ap- 
peared at  Monterey  in  January,  1846,  and  ap- 
plied to  General  Castro, the  military  comandante, 
for  permission  to  buy  supplies  for  his  party  of 
sixty-two  men  who  were  encamped  in  the  San 
Joaquin  valley,  in  what  is  now  Kern  county. 
Permission  was  given  him.  There  seems  to 
have  been  a  tacit  agreement  between  Castro  and 
Fremont  that  the  exploring  pan-  should  not 
enter  the  settlements,  but  early  in  March  the 
wlnle  force  was  encamped  in  the  Salinas  val- 
lei  Castro  regarded  the  marching  of  a  body 
hi  armed  men  through  the  country  as  an  act  of 


120 


HISTORICAL   AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


hostility,  and  ordered  them  out  of  the  country. 
Instead  of  leaving,  Fremont  intrenched  himself 
on  an  eminence  known  as  Gabilian  Peak  (about 
thirty  miles  from  Monterey),  raised  the  stars 
and  stripes  over  his  barricade,  and  defied  Castro. 
Castro  maneuvered  his  troops  on  the  plain 
below,  but  did  not  attack  Fremont.  After  two 
days'  waiting  Fremont  abandoned  his  position 
ana  began  his  march  northward.  On  Maj  9, 
when  near  the  Oregon  line,  he  was  overtaken 
by  Lieutenant  Gillespie,  of  the  United  States 
navy,  with  a  dispatch  from  the  president.  Gil- 
lespie had  left  the  United  States  in  November, 
1845,  and,  disguised,  had  crossed  Mexico  from 
Vera  Cruz  to  Mazatlan,  and  from  there  had 
reached  Monterey.  The  exact  nature  of  the 
dispatches  to  Fremont  is  not  known,  but  pre- 
sumably they  related  to  the  impending  war  be- 
tween Mexico  and  the  United  States,  and  the 
necessity  for  a  prompt  seizure  of  the  country 
to  prevent  it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  Eng- 
land. Fremont  returned  to  the  Sacramento, 
where  he  encamped. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  1846,  a  body  of  Amer- 
ican settlers  from  the  Xapa  and  Sacramento 
valleys,  thirty-three  in  number,  of  which  Ide, 
Semple,  Grigsby  and  Merritt  seem  to  have  been 
the  leaders,  after  a  night's  march,  took  posses- 
sion of  the  old  castillo  or  fort  at  Sonoma,  with 
its  rusty  muskets  and  unused  cannon,  and  made 
Gen.  M.  G.  Yallejo,  Lieut.-Col.  Prudon,  Capt. 
Salvador  Yallejo  and  Jacob  P.  Leese,  a  brother- 
in-law  of  the  Yallejos,  prisoners.  There  seems 
to  have  been  no  privates  at  the  castillo,  all  offi- 
cers. Exactly  what  was  the  object  of  the  Amer- 
ican settlers  in  taking  General  Yallejo  prisoner 
is  not  evident.  General  Yallejo  was  one  of  the 
few  eminent  Californians  who  favored  the  an- 
nexation of  California  to  the  United  Stales.  He 
is  said  to  have  made  a  speech  favoring  such  a 
movement  in  the  junta  at  Monterey  a  few 
months  before.  Castro  regarded  him  with  sus- 
picion. The  prisoners  were  sent  under  an 
armed  escort  to  Fremont's  camp.  William  1'.. 
Ide  was  elected  captain  of  the  revolutionists 
who  remained  at  Sonoma,  to  "hold  the  fort." 
ued  a  pronunciamiento  in  which  he  de- 
California  a  free  and  independent  gov- 
ernment, under  the  name  of  the  California   Re- 


public. A  nation  must  have  a  flag  of  its  own, 
so  one  was  improvised.  It  was  made  of  a  piece 
of  cotton  cloth,  or  manta,  a  yard  wide  and  five 
feet  long.  Strips  of  red  flannel  torn  from  the 
shirt  of  one  of  the  men  were  stitched  on  the 
bottom  of  the  flag  for  stripes.  With  a  blacking 
brush,  or,  as  another  authority  says,  the  end 
of  a  chewed  stick  for  a  brush,  and  red  paint, 
William  L.  Todd  painted  the  figure  of  a  grizzly 
bear  passant  on  the  field  of  the  flag.  The  na- 
tives called  Todd's  bear  "cochino,"  a  pig;  it 
resembled  that  animal  more  than  a  bear.  A 
five-pointed  star  in  the  left  upper  corner, 
painted  with  the  same  coloring  matter,  and  the 
words  "California  republic"  printed  on  it  in  ink, 
completed  the  famous  bear  flag. 

The  California  republic  was  ushered  into  ex- 
istence June  14,  1846,  attained  the  acme  of  its 
power  July  4,  when  Ide  and  his  fellow  patriots 
burnt  a  quantity  of  powder  in  salutes,  and  fired 
off  oratorical  pyrotechnics  in  honor  of  the  new 
republic.  It  utterly  collapsed  on  the  9th  of  July, 
after  an  existence  of  twenty-five  days,  when 
news  reached  Sonoma  that  Commodore  Sloat 
had  raised  the  stars  and  stripes  at  Monterey  and 
taken  possession  of  California  in  the  name  of 
the  United  States.  Lieutenant  Revere  arrived 
at  Sonoma  on  the  9th  and  he  it  was  who  low- 
ered the  bear  flag  from  the  Mexican  flagstaff, 
where  it  had  floated  through  the  brief  existence 
of  the  California  republic,  and  raised  in  its  place 
the  banner  of  the  United  States. 

Commodore  Sloat,  who  had  anchored  in 
Monterey  Bay  July  2,  1846,  was  for  a  time  un- 
decided whether  to  take  possession  of  the  coun- 
try. He  had  no  official  information  that  war 
had  been  declared  between  the  United  States 
and  Mexico;  but,  acting  on  the  supposition 
that  Captain  Fremont  had  received  definite  in- 
structions, on  the  7th  of  July  he  raised  the  flag 
and  took  possession  of  the  custom-house  and 
government  buildings  at  Monterey.  Captain 
Montgomery,  on  the  oth,  raised  it  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  on  the  same  day  the  bear  flag  gave 
place  to  the  stars  and  stripes  at  Sonoma. 

General  Castro  was  holding  Santa  Clara  and 
San  Jose  when  he  received  Commodore  Sloat's 
proclamation  informing  him  that  the  commo- 
dore had  taken  possession  of    Monterey.     Cas- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


121 


tro,  after  reading  the  proclamation,  which  was 
written  in  Spanish,  formed  his  men  in  line,  and 
addressing  them,  said:  "Monterey  is  taken  by 
the  Americans.  What  can  I  do  with  a  handful 
of  men  against  the  United  States?  1  am  going 
to  Mexico.  All  of  you  who  wish  to  follow  me, 
'About  face!'  All  that  wish  to  remain  can  go  to 
their  homes."*  A  very  small  part  of  his  force 
followed  him. 

Commodore  Sloat  was  superseded  by  Com- 
modore Stockton,  who  set  about  organizing  an 
expedition  to  subjugate  the  part  of  the  territory 
which  still  remained  loyal  to  Mexico.  Fre- 
mont's exploring  party,  recruited  to  a  battalion 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  had  marched 
to  Monterey,  and  from  there  was  sent  by  vessel 
to  San  Diego  to  procure  horses  and  prepare  to 
act  as  cavalry. 

While  these  stirring  events  were  transpiring 
in  the  north,  what  was  the  condition  in  the 
south  where  the  capital,  Los  Angeles,  and  the 
bulk  of  the  population  of  the  territory  were 
located?  Pio  Pico  had  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  the  governorship  with  a  desire  to  bring  peace 
and  harmony  to  the  distracted  country.  He  ap- 
pointed Juan  Bandini,  one  of  the  ablest  states- 
men of  the  south,  his  secretary.  After  Bandini 
resigned  he  chose  J.  M.  Covarrubias,  and  later 
Jose  M.  Moreno  filled  the  ofifice. 

The  principal  offices  of  the  territory  had  been 
divided  equally  between  the  politicians  of  the 
north  and  the  south.  While  Los  Angeles  be- 
came the  capital,  and  the  departmental  assembly 
met  there,  the  military  headquarters,  the  ar- 
chives and  the  treasury  remained  at  Monterey. 
But,  notwithstanding  this  division  of  the  spoils 
of  office,  the  old  feud  between  the  arribenos 
and  the  abajenos  would  not  down,  and  soon  the 
old-time  quarrel  was  on  with  all  its  bitterness. 
Castro,  as  military  comandante,  ignored  the 
governor,  and  Alvarado  was  regarded  by  the 
surenos  as  an  emissary  of  Castro's.  The  de- 
partmental assembly  met  at  Los  Angeles,  in 
March,  1846.  Pico  presided,  and  in  his  opening 
message  set  forth  the  unfortunate  condition  of 
affairs  in  the  department.  Education  was  neg- 
lected; justice  was  not  administered;  the  mis- 
ball's  History  of  San  Jose. 


sions  were  so  burdened  by  debt  that  but  few 
of  them  could  be  rented;  the  army  was  disor- 
ganized and  the  treasury  empty. 

Not  even  the  danger  of  war  with  the  Amer- 
icans could  make  the  warring  factions  forget 
their  fratricidal  strife.  Castro's  proclamation 
against  Fremont  was  construed  by  the  surenos 
into  a  scheme  to  inveigle  the  governor  to  the 
north  so  that  the  comandante-general  could  de- 
pose him  and  seize  the  office  for  himself.  Cas- 
tro's preparations  to  resist  by  force  the  en- 
croachments of  the  Americans  were  believed 
by  Pico  and  the  Angelenians  to  be  fitting  out 
of  an  army  to  attack  Los  Angeles  and  over- 
throw the  government. 

On  the  1 6th  of  June,  Pico  left  Los  Angeles 
for  Monterey  with  a  military  force  of  a  hundred 
men.  The  object  of  the  expedition  was  to  op- 
pose, and,  if  possible,  to  depose  Castro.  He 
left  the  capital  under  the  care  of  the  ayunta- 
miento.  On  the  20th  of  June  Alcalde  Gallardo 
reported  to  the  ayuntamiento  that  he  had  posi- 
tive information  "that  Don  Castro  had  left 
Monterey  and  would  arrive  here  in  three  days 
with  a  military  force  for  the  purpose  of  captur- 
ing this  city."  (Castro  had  left  Monterey  with 
a  force  of  seventy  men,  but  he  had  gone  north 
to  San  Jose.)  The  sub-prefect,  Don  Abel 
Stearns,  was  authorized  to  enlist  troops  to  pre- 
serve order.  On  the  23d  of  June  three  compa- 
nies were  organized,  an  artillery  company  under 
Miguel  Tryor,  a  company  of  riflemen  under 
Benito  Wilson,  and  a  cavalry  company  under 
Gorge  Palomares.  Pico  called  for  reinforce- 
ments, but  just  as  he  was  preparing  to  inarch 
against  Monterey  the  news  reached  him  ot  the 
capture  of  Sonoma  by  the  Americans,  and  next 
day,  June  24th,  the  news  reached  Los  Angeles 
just  as  the  council  had  decided  on  a  plan  of 
defense  against  Castro,  who  was  five  hundred 
miles  away.  Pico,  on  the  impulse  of  the  mo- 
ment, issued  a  proclamation,  in  which  he 
arraigned  the  United  States  for  perfidy  and 
treachery,  and  the  gang  of  "North  American 
adventurers,"  who  captured  Sonoma  "with  the 
blackest  treason  the  spirit  of  evil  can  invent." 
His  arraignment  of  the  "North  American  na- 
tion" was  so  severe  that  some  nf  his  American 
friends   in   Los   Angeles   took   umbrage   to   hi- 


122 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


pronunciamento.  He  afterwards  tried  to  recall 
it,  but  it  was  too  late;   it  had  been  published. 

Castro,  rinding  the  "foreign  adventurers"  too 
numerous  and  too  aggressive  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  territory,  determined,  with  what  men 
he  could  induce  to  go  with  him,  to  retreat  to 
the  south;  but  before  so  doing  he  sent  a  medi- 
ator to  Pico  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace  and 
amity  between  the  factions.  On  the  12th  of 
July  the  two  armies  met  at  Santa  Margarita, 
near  San  Luis  Obispo.  Castro  brought  the 
news  that  Commodore  Sloat  had  hoisted  the 
United  States  flag  at  Monterey  and  taken  pos- 
session of  the  country  for  his  government.  The 
meeting  of  the  governor  and  the  comandante- 
general  was  not  very  cordial,  but  in  the  presence 
of  the  impending  danger  to  the  territory  they 
concealed  their  mutual  dislike  and  decided  to 
do  their  best  to  defend  the  country  they  both 
loved. 

Sorrowfully  they  began  their  retreat  to  the 
capital;  but  even  threatened  disaster  to  their 
common  country  could  not  wholly  unite  the 
north  and  the  south.  The  respective  armies, 
Castro's  numbering  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  and  Pico*s  one  hundred  and  twenty,  kept 
about  a  day's  march  apart.  They  reached  Los 
Angeles,  and  preparations  were  begun  to  resist 
the  invasion  of  the  Americans.  Pico  issued  a 
proclamation  ordering  all  able-bodied  men  be- 
tween fifteen  and  sixty  years  of  age,  native  and 
naturalized,  to  take  up  arms  to  defend  the  coun- 
try; any  able-bodied  Mexican  refusing  was  to 
be  treated  as  a  traitor.  There  was  no  enthusi- 
asm for  the  cause.  The  old  factional  jealousy 
and  distrust  was  as  potent  as  ever.  The  militia 
of  the  south  would  obey  none  but  their  own 
officers;  Castro's  troops,  who  considered  them- 
selves regulars,  ridiculed  the  raw  recruits  of 
the  surenos,  while  the  naturalized  foreigners  of 
American  extraction  secretly  sympathized  with 
their  own  people. 

Pico,  t<>  counteract  the  malign  influence  of  his 
Santa  Barbara  proclamation  and  enlist  the  sym- 
pathy and  more  ready  adhesion  of  the  foreign 
element  of  Los  Angeles,  issued  the  following 
circular:  (This  circular  or  proclamation  has 
never  before  found  its  way  into  print.  T  find 
no  allusion  to  it  in  Bancroft's  or  HittcH's   His- 


tories. A  copy,  probably  the  only  one  in  exist- 
ence, was  donated  some  years  since  to  the 
Historical  Society  of  Southern  California.) 


Gobiemo  del  Dcp. 
dc  Califoniias. 

"Circular. — As  owing  to  the  unfortunate 
condition  of  things  that  now  prevails  in  this 
department  in  consequence  of  the  war  into 
which  the  United  States  has  provoked  the  Mex- 
ican nation,  some  ill  feeling  might  spring  up 
between  the  citizens  of  the  two  countries,  out  of 
which  unfortunate  occurrences  might  grow,  and 
as  this  government  desires  to  remove  every 
cause  of  friction,  it  has  seen  fit,  in  the  use  of  its 
power,  to  issue  the  present  circular. 

"The  Government  of  the  department  of  Cali- 
fornia declares  in  the  most  solemn  manner  that 
all  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  that  have 
come  lawfully  into  its  territory,  relying  upon 
the  honest  administration  of  the  laws  and  the 
observance  of  the  prevailing  treaties,  shall  not 
be  molested  in  the  least,  and  their  lives  and 
property  shall  remain  in  perfect  safety  under  the 
protection  of  the  Mexican  laws  and  authorities 
legally  constituted. 

"Therefore,  in  the  name  of  the  supreme  gov- 
ernment of  the  nation,  and  by  virtue  of  the 
authority  vested  upon  me,  I  enjoin  upon  all  the 
inhabitants  of  California  to  observe  towards  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  that  have  lawfully 
come  among  us,  the  kindest  and  most  cordial 
conduct,  and  to  abstain  from  all  acts  of  violence 
against  their  persons  or  property ;  provided  they 
remain  neutral,  as  heretofore,  and  take  no  part 
in  the  invasion  effected  by  the  armies  of  their 
nation. 

"The  authorities  of  the  various  municipalities 
and  corporations  will  be  held  strictly  responsi- 
ble for  the  faithful  fulfillment  of  this  order,  and 
shall,  as  soon  as  possible,  take  the  necessary 
measures  to  bring  it  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
people.     <  iod  and  Liberty. 

"Pio  Pico. 

"Jose   Matias   Mareno,  Secretary  pro  tan." 

Angeles,  July  27,  1846. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


123 


When  we  consider  the  conditions  existing  in 
California  at  the  time  this  circular  was  issued, 
its  sentiments  reflect  great  credit  on  Pico  for 
his  humanity  and  forbearance.  A  little  over  a 
month  before,  a  party  of  Americans  seized 
General  Vallejo  and  several  other  prominent 
Californians  in  their  homes  and  incarcerated 
them  in  prison  at  Sutter's  Fort.  Nor  was  this 
outrage  mitigated  when  the  stars  and  stripes 
were  raised.  The  perpetrators  of  the  outrage 
were  not  punished.  These  native  Californians 
were  kept  in  prison  nearly  two  months  without 
any  charge  against  them.  Besides,  Governor 
Pico  and  the  leading  Californians  very  well 
knew  that  the  Americans  whose  lives  and  prop- 
erty this  proclamation  was  designed  to  protect 
would  not  remain  neutral  when  their  country- 
men invaded  the  territory.  Pio  Pico  deserved 
better  treatment  from  the  Americans  than  he 
received.  He  was  robbed  of  his  landed  posses- 
sions by  unscrupulous  land  sharks,  and  his  char- 
acter defamed  by  irresponsible  historical  scrib- 
blers. 

Pico  made  strenuous  efforts  to  raise  men  and 
means  to  resist  the  threatened  invasion.  He  had 
mortgaged  the  government  house  to  de  Cclis 
for  $2,000,  the  mortgage  to  be  paid  "as  soon  as 
order  shall  be  established  in  the  department." 
This  loan  was  really  negotiated  to  fit  out  the 
expedition  against  Castro,  but  a  part  of  it  was 
expended  after  his  return  to  Los  Angeles  in 
procuring  supplies  while  preparing  to  meet  the 
American  army.  The  government  had  but  little 
credit.  The  moneyed  men  of  the  pueblo  were 
averse  to  putting  money  into  what  was  almost 
sure  to  prove  a  lost  cause.  The  bickerings  and 
jealousies  between  the  factions  neutralized  to  a 
considerable  degree  the  efforts  of  Pico  and  Cas- 
tro to  mobilize  the  army. 

Castro  established  his  camp  on  the  mesa  east 
of  the  river.  Here  he  and  Andres  Pico  under- 
took to  drill  the  somewhat  incongruous  collec- 
tion of  hombres  in  military  maneuvering.  Their 
entire  force  at  no  time  exceeded  three  hundred 
men.  These  were  poorly  armed  and  lacking  in 
discipline. 

We  left  Stockton  at  Monterey  preparing  an 
expedition  against  Castro  at  Los  Angeles.  On 
taking  command  of  the  Pacific  squadron.  July 


29,  he  issued  a  proclamation.  It  was  as  bom- 
bastic as  the  pronunciamiento  of  a  Mexican 
governor.  Bancroft  says:  "The  paper  was 
made  up  of  falsehood,  of  irrelevant  issues  and 
bombastic  ranting  in  about  equal  parts,  the 
tone  being  offensive  and  impolitic  even  in  those 
inconsiderable  portions  which  were  true  and 
legitimate."  His  only  object  in  taking  posses- 
sion of  the  country  was  "to  save  from  destruc- 
tion the  lives  and  property  of  the  foreign  resi- 
dents and  citizens  of  the  territory  who  had  in- 
voked his  protection."  In  view:  of  Pico's  humane 
circular  and  the  uniform  kind  treatment  that  the 
Californians  accorded  the  American  residents, 
there  was  very  little  need  of  Stockton's  interfer- 
ence on  that  score.  Commodore  Sloat  did  not 
approve  of  Stockton's  proclamation  or  of  his 
policy. 

On  the  6th  of  August,  Stockton  reached  San 
Pedro  and  landed  three  hundred  ami  sixty 
sailors  and  marines.  These  were  drilled  in  mili- 
tary movements  on  land  and  prepared  for  the 
march  to  Los  Angeles. 

Castro  sent  two  commissioners,  Pablo  de  La 
Guerra  and  Jose  M.  Flores,  to  Stockton,  asking 
for  a  conference  and  a  cessation  of  hostilities 
while  negotiations  were  pending.  They  asked 
that  the  United  States  forces  remain  at  San 
Pedro  while  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  under 
discussion.  These  requests  Commodore  Stock- 
ton peremptorily  refused,  and  the  commissioners 
returned  to  Los  Angeles  without  stating  the 
terms  on  which  they  proposed  to  treat. 

In  several  so-called  histories,  1  find  a  very 
dramatic  account  of  this  interview.  On  the  ar- 
rival of  the  commissioners  they  were  marched 
up  to  the  mouth  of  an  immense  mortar, 
shrouded  in  skins  save  its  huge  aperture.  Their 
terror  and  discomfiture  were  plainly  discernible. 
Stockton  received  them  with  a  stern  and  forbid- 
ding countenance,  harshly  demanding  their  mis- 
sion, which  the)  disclosed  in  great  confusion. 
They   bore    a    letter    from    I  sing   a 

truce,  each  party  t"  hold  its  own  possi  ■ 
until  a  general  pacification  should  be  had.  This 
proposal  Stockton  rejected  with  contempt,  and 
dismissed  the  commissioners  with  the  assurance 
that  only  an  immediate  disbandmenl  of  his 
forces   and    an    unconditional    surrender    would 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


shield  Castro  from  the  vengeance  of  an  incensed 
foe.  The  messengers  remounted  their  horses 
in  dismay  and  fled  back  to  Castro."  The  mortar 
story,  it  is  needless  to  say,  is  pure  fabrication, 
yet  it  runs  through  a  number  of  so-called  his- 
tories of  California.  Castro,  on  the  yth  of  Au- 
gust, held  a  council  of  war  with  his  officers  at 
the  Campo  en  La  Mesa.  He  announced  his  in- 
tention of  leaving  the  country  for  the  purpose  of 
reporting  to  the  supreme  government,  and  of 
returning  at  some  future  day  to  punish  the 
usurpers.  He  wrote  to  Pico:  "I  can  count  only 
one  hundred  men,  badly  armed,  worse  supplied 
and  discontented  by  reason  of  the  miseries  they 
suffer;  so  that  1  have  reason  to  fear  that  not 
even  these  men  will  fight  when  the  necessity 
arises."  And  this  is  the  force  that  some  imag- 
inative historians  estimate  at  eight  hundred  to 
one  thousand  men. 

Pico  and  Castro  left  Los  Angeles  on  the 
night  of  August  10,  for  Mexico;  Castro  going 
by  the  Colorado  River  route  to  Sonora,  and 
Pico,  after  being  concealed  for  a  time  by  his 
brother-in-law,  Juan  Foster,  at  the  Santa  Mar- 
garita and  narrowly  escaping  capture  by  Fre- 
mont's men,  finally  reached  Lower  California 
and  later  on  crossed  the  Gulf  to  Sonora. 

Stockton  began  his  march  on  Los  Angeles 
August  ii.  He  took  with  him  a  battery  of  four 
guns.  The  guns  were  mounted  on  carretas,  and 
each  gun  drawn  by  four  oxen.  He  had  with 
him  a  good  brass  band. 

Major  Fremont,  who  had  been  sent  to  San 
Diego  with  his  battalion  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy  men,  had,  after  considerable  skirmish- 
ing among  the  ranchos,  secured  enough  horses 
to  move,  and  on  the  8th  of  August  had  begun 
his  march  to  join  Stockton.  He  took  with  him 
one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  leaving  about 
fifty  to  garrison  San  Diego. 

Stockton  consumed  three  days  on  the  march. 
Fremont's  troops  joined  him  just  south  of  the 
city,  and  at  4  p.  m.  of  the  13th  the  combined 
force,  numbering  nearly  five  hundred  men,  en- 
tered the  town  without  opposition,  "our  entry," 
says  Major  Fremont,  "having  more  the  effect 
of  a  parade  of  home  guards  than  of  an  enemy 
taking  possession  of  a  conquered  town."  Stock- 
ton reported  finding  at  Castro's  abandoned  camp 


ten  pieces  of  artillery,  four  of  them  spiked.  Fre- 
mont says  he  (Castro)  "had  buried  part  of  his 
guns."  Castro's  troops  that  he  had  brought 
down  with  him  took  their  departure  for  their 
northern  homes  soon  after  their  general  left, 
breaking  up  into  small  squads  as  they  advanced. 
The  southern  troops  that  Pico  had  recruited  dis- 
persed to  their  homes  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Americans.  Squads  of  Fremont's  battalion  were 
sent  out  to  scour  the  country  and  bring  in  any  of 
the  Californian  officers  or  leading  men  whom 
they  could  find.  These,  when  found,  were 
paroled. 

Another  of  those  historical  myths,  like  the 
mortar  story  previously  mentioned,  which  is 
palmed  off  on  credulous  readers  as  genuine  his- 
tory, runs  as  follows:  "Stockton,  while  en  route 
from  San  Pedro  to  Los  Angeles,  was  informed 
by  a  courier  from  Castro  'that  if  he  marched 
upon  the  town  he  would  find  it  the  grave  of  him- 
self and  men.'  'Then,'  answered  the  commodore, 
'tell  the  general  to  have  the  bells  ready  to  toll 
at  eight  o'clock,  as  I  shall  be  there  by  that 
time.'  "  As  Castro  left  Los  Angeles  the  day 
before  Stockton  began  his  march  from  San 
Pedro,  and  when  the  commodore  entered  the 
city  the  Mexican  general  was  probably  two 
hundred  miles  away,  the  bell  tolling  myth  goes 
to  join  its  kindred  myths  in  the  category  of  his- 
tory as  it  should  not  be  written. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  Stockton  issued  a  sec- 
ond proclamation,  in  which  he  signs  himself 
commander-in-chief  and  governor  of  the  terri- 
tory of  California.  It  was  milder  in  tone  and 
more  dignified  than  the  first.  He  informed  the 
people  that  their  country  now  belonged  to  the 
United  States.  For  the  present  it  would  be 
governed  by  martial  law.  They  were  invited 
to  elect  their  local  officers  if  those  now  in  office 
refused  to  serve. 

Four  days  after  the  capture  of  Los  Angeles, 
The  Warren,  Captain  Hull,  commander,  an- 
chored at  San  Pedro.  She  brought  official  no- 
tice of  the  declaration  of  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico.  Then  for  the  first 
time  Stockton  learned  that  there  had  been  an 
official  declaration  of  war  between  the  two 
countries.  United  States  officers  had  waged 
war  and  had  taken  possession  of  California  upon 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  strength  of  a  rumor  that  hostilities  existed 
between  the  countries. 

The  conquest,  if  conquest  it  can  be  called,  was 
accomplished  without  the  loss  of  a  life,  if  we 
except  the  two  Americans,  Fowler  and  Cowie, 
of  the  Bear  Flag  party,  who  were  brutally  mur- 
dered by  a  band  of  Californians  under  Padillo, 
and  the  equally  brutal  shooting  of  Beryessa  and 
the  two  de  Haro  boys  by  the  Americans  at  San 
Rafael.  These  three  men  were  shot  as  spies, 
but  there  was  no  proof  that  they  were  such,  and 
they  were  not  tried.  These  murders  occurred 
before  Commodore  Sloat  raised  the  stars  and 
stripes  at  Monterey. 

On  the  15th  of  August,  1846,  just  thirty-seven 
days  after  the  raising  of  the  stars  and  stripes 
at  Monterey,  the  first  newspaper  ever  published 
in  California  made  its  appearance.  It  was  pub- 
lished at  Monterey  by  Semple  and  Colton  and 
named  The  Californian.  Rev.  Walter  Colton 
was  a  chaplain  in  the  United  States  navy  ami 
came  to  California  on  the  Congress  with  Com- 
modore Stockton.  He  was  made  alcalde  of 
Monterey  and  built,  bv  the  labor  of  the  chain 


gang  and  from  contributions  and  fines,  the 
first  schoolhouse  in  California,  named  foi  him 
Colton  Hall.  Colton  thus  describes  the  other 
member  of  the  firm,  Dr.  Robert  Semple:  "My 
partner  is  an  emigrant  from  Kentucky,  who 
stands  six  feet  eight  in  his  stockings.  He  is  in 
a  buckskin  dress,  a  foxskin  cap;  is  true  with  his 
rifle,  ready  with  his  pen  and  quick  at  the  type 
case."  Semple  came  to  California  in  1845,  with 
the  Hastings  party,  and  was  one  of  the  leaders 
in  the  Bear  Flag  revolution.  The  type  and 
press  used  were  brought  to  California  by  Au- 
gustin  V.  Zamorano  in  1834,  and  by  him  sold 
to  the  territorial  government,  and  had  been 
used  for  printing  bandos  and  pronunciamentos. 
The  only  paper  the  publishers  of  The  Californian 
could  procure  was  that  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  cigarettes,  which  came  in  sheets  a  little 
larger  than  foolscap.  The  font  of  type  was 
short  of  w's,  so  two  v's  were  substituted  for 
that  letter,  and  when  these  ran  out  two  u's  were 
used.  The  paper  was  moved  to  San  Francisco 
in  1848  and  later  on  consolidated  with  the  Cali- 
fornia  Star. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


REVOLT    OF     THE    CALIFORNIANS. 


HOSTILITIES  had  ceased  in  all  parts  of 
the  territory.  The  leaders  of  the  Cali- 
fornians had  escaped  to  Mexico,  and 
Stockton,  regarding  the  conquest  as  completed, 
set  about  organizing  a  government  for  the  con- 
quered territory.  Fremont  was  to  be  appointed 
military  governor.  Detachments  from  his  bat- 
talion were  to  be  detailed  to  garrison  different 
towns,  while  Stockton,  with  what  recruits  he 
could  gather  in  California,  and  his  sailors  and 
marines,  was  to  undertake  a  naval  expedition 
against  the  west  coast  of  Mexico,  land  his  f<  irees 
at  Mazatlan  or  Acapulco  and  march  overland 
to  "shake  hands  with  General  Taylor  at  the 
gates  of  Mexico."  Captain  Gillespie  was  made 
military  commandant  of  the  southern  depart- 
ment, with  headquarters  at  Los  Angeles,  and  as 
signed  a  garrison  of  fifty  men.  Commodore 
Stockton  left  Los  Angeles  for  the  north  Sep- 


tember 2.  Fremont,  with  the  remainder  of  his 
battalion,  took  up  his  line  of  march  for  Monte- 
rey a  few  days  later.  Gillespie's  orders  were  I  1 
place  the  city  under  martial  law,  but  not  to  en- 
force the  more  burdensome  restrictions  upon 
quiet  and  weli-disposed  citizens.  A  conciliator) 
policy  in  accordance  with  instructions  of  the 
secretary  of  the  navy  was  to  be  adopted  and  the 
people  were  to  be  encouraged  to  "neutrality, 
self-government  and  friendship." 

Nearly  all  historians  who  have  written  upon 
this  subject  lav  the  blame  for  the  subsequent 
uprising  of  the  Californians  and  their  revolt 
against  the  rule  of  the  military  commandant, 
Gillespie,  to  his  petty  tyrannies.  Col.  J.  J. 
Warner,  in  his  Historical  Sketch  of  Los  An- 
geles County,  says:  "Gillespie  attempted  by  a 
coercive  system  to  effeci  a  moral  and  social 
change  in  the  habits,  diversions  and  pastimes  of 


126 


HISTORICAL   AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  people  and  to  reduce  them  to  his  standard 
of  propriety."  Warner  was  not  an  impartial 
judge.  He  had  a  grievance  against  Gillespie 
which  embittered  him  against  the  captain.  Gil- 
lespie may  have  been  lacking  in  tact,  and  his 
schooling  in  the  navy  under  the  tyrannical 
regime  of  the  quarterdeck  of  fifty  years  ago 
was  not  the  best  training  to  fit  him  for  govern- 
ment, but  it  is  hardly  probable  that  in  two 
weeks'  time  he  undertook  to  enforce  a  "coercive 
system"  looking  toward  an  entire  change  in  the 
moral  and  social  habits  of  the  people.  Los  An- 
geles under  Mexican  domination  was  a  hotbed 
of  revolutions.  It  had  a  turbulent  and  restless 
element  among  its  inhabitants  that  was  never 
happier  than  when  fomenting  strife  and  c<  in- 
spiring to  overthrow  those  in  power.  Of  this 
class  Colton,  writing  in  1846,  says:  "They  drift 
-about  like  Arabs.  If  the  tide  of  fortune  turns 
against  them  they  disband  and  scatter  to  the 
four  winds.  They  never  become  martyrs  to  any 
cause.  They  are  too  numerous  to  be  brought 
to  punishment  by  any  of  their  governors,  and 
thus  escape  justice."  There  was  a  conservative 
class  in  the  territory,  made  up  principally  of 
the  large  landed  proprietors,  both  native  and 
foreign-born,  but  these  exerted  small  influence 
in  controlling  the  turbulent.  While  Los  An- 
geles had  a  monopoly  of  this  turbulent  and  rev- 
olutionary element,  other  settlements  in  the 
territory  furnished  their  full  quota  of  that  class 
of  political  knight  errants  whose  chief  pastime 
was  revolution,  and  whose  capital  consisted  of 
a  gaily  caparisoned  steed,  a  riata,  a  lance,  a 
dagger  and  possibly  a  pair  of  horse  pistols. 
These  were  the  fellows  whose  "habits,  diver- 
sinus  and  pastimes"  Gillespie  undertook  to  re- 
duce "to  his  standard  of  propriety." 

That  Commodore  Stockton  should  have  left 
Gillespie  so  small  a  garrison  to  hold  the  city 
and  surrounding  country  in  subjection  sliows 
that  either  he  was  ignoranl  of  the  character  of 
the  people,  or  that  he  placed  too  great  reliance 
in  the  completeness  of  their  subjection.  With 
Castro's  men  in  the  city  or  dispersed  among  the 
neighboring  ranchos,  many  of  them  still  retain- 
ing their  arms,  and  all  of  them  ready  to  rally 
at  a  moment's  notice  to  the  call  of  their  leaders; 
with  no  reinforcements  nearer  than  five  hundred 


miles  to  come  to  the  aid  of  Gillespie  in  case  of 
an  uprising,  it  was  foolhardiness  in  Stockton  to 
entrust  the  holding  of  the  most  important  place 
in  California  to  a  mere  handful  of  men,  half 
disciplined  and  poorly  equipped,  without  forti- 
fications for  defense  or  supplies  to  hold  out  in 
case  of  a  siege. 

Scarcelv  had  Stockton  and  Fremont,  with 
their  men,  left  the  city  before  trouble  began. 
The  turbulent  element  of  the  city  fomented 
strife  and  seized  every  occasion  to  annoy  and 
harass  the  military  commandant  and  his  men. 
While  his  "petty  tyrannies,"  so  called,  which 
were  probably  nothing  more  than  the  enforce- 
ment of  martial  law,  may  have  been  somewhat 
provocative,  the  real  cause  was  more  deep 
seated.  The  Californians,  without  provocation 
on  their  part  and  without  really  knowing  the 
cause  why,  found  their  country  invaded,  their 
property  taken  from  them  and  their  government 
in  the  hands  of  an  alien  race,  foreign  to  them 
in  customs  and  religion.  They  would  have  been 
a  tame  and  spiritless  people  indeed,  had  they 
neglected  the  opportunity  that  Stockton's  blun- 
dering gave  them  to  regain  their  liberties.  They 
did  not  waste  much  time.  Within  two  weeks 
from  the  time  Stockton  sailed  from  San  Pedro 
hostilities  had  begun  and  the  city  was  in  a  state 
of  siege. 

Gillespie,  writing  in  the  Sacramento  States- 
man in  1858,  thus  describes  the  first  attack: 
"On  the  22d  of  September,  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  a  party  of  sixty-five  Californians 
and  Sonorenos  made  an  attack  upon  my  small 
command  quartered  in  the  government  house. 
We  were  not  wholly  surprised,  and  with  twenty- 
one  rifles  we  beat  them  back  without  loss  to  our- 
selves,  killing  and  wounding  three  of  their  num- 
ber. When  daylight  came.  Lieutenant  Hensley, 
with  a  few  men,  took  several  prisoners  and 
drove  the  Californians  from  the  town.  This 
party  was  merely  the  nucleus  of  a  revolution 
commenced  ami  known  to  Colonel  Fremont  be- 
fore he  left  Los  Angeles.  In  twenty-four  hours, 
six  hundred  well-mounted  horsemen,  armed 
with  escopetas  (shotguns),  lances  and  one  fine 
brass  piece  of  light  artillery,  surrounded  Los 
Angeles  ami  summoned  me  to  surrender.  There 
were  three  old  honey-combed  iron  guns  (spiked) 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


127 


in  the  corral  of  my  quarters,  which  we  at  once 
cleared  and  mounted  upon  the  axles  of  carts." 

Serbulo  Yarela,  a  young  man  of  some  ability, 
but  of  a  turbulent  and  reckless  character,  had 
been  the  leader  at  first,  but  as  the  uprising  as- 
sumed the  character  of  a  revolution,  Castro's  old 
officers  came  to  the  front.  Capt.  Jose  Maria 
Flores  was  chosen  comandante-general;  Jose 
Antonio  Carrillo,  major-general;  and  Andres 
Pico,  comandante  de  escuadron.  The  main 
camp  of  the  insurgents  was  located  on  the  mesa, 
east  of  the  river,  at  a  place  called  Paredon 
Blanco  (White  Bluff). 

On  the  24th  of  September,  from  the  camp 
at  White  Bluff,  was  issued  the  famous  Pronun- 
ciamiento  de  Barelas  y  otros  Californias  contra 
Los  Americanos  (The  Proclamation  of  Barelas 
and  other  Californians  against  the  Americans). 
Il  was  signed  by  Serbulo  Varela  (spelled  Bare- 
las), Leonardo  Cota  and  over  three  hundred 
others.  Although  this  proclamation  is  gener- 
ally credited  to  Flores,  there  is  no  evidence  to 
show  that  he  had  anything  to  do  with  framing 
it.  He  promulgated  it  over  his  signature  Octo- 
ber 1.  It  is  probable  that  it  was  written  by 
Varela  and  Cota.  It  has  been  the  custom  of 
American  writers  to  sneer  at  this  production  as 
florid  and  bombastic.  In  fiery  invective  and 
fierce  denunciation  it  is  the  equal  of  Patrick 
Henry's  famous  "Give  me  liberty  or  give  me 
death!"  Its  recital  of  wrongs  is  brief,  but  to 
the  point.  "And  shall  we  be  capable  of  permit- 
ting ourselves  to  be  subjugated  and  to  accept  in 
silence  the  heavy  chains  of  slavery?  Shall  we 
lose  the  soil  inherited  from  our  fathers,  which 
cost  them  so  much  blood?  Shall  we  leave  our 
families  victims  of  the  most  barbarous  servi- 
tude? Shall  we  wait  to  see  our  wives  outraged, 
our  innocent  children  beaten  by  American 
whips,  our  property  sacked,  our  temples  pro- 
faned, to  drag  out  a  life  full  of  shame  and  dis- 
grace? No!  a  thousand  times  no!  Compatriots, 
death  rather  than  that!  Who  of  you  does  not 
feel  his  heart  beat  and  his  blood  boil  on  con- 
templating our  situation?  Who  will  be  the 
Mexican  that  will  not  be  indignant  and  rise  in 
arms  to  destroy  our  oppressors?  We  believe 
there  will  be  not  one  so  vile  and  cowardly!" 

Gillespie  had  left  the  government  house  (lo- 


cated on  what  is  now  the  site  of  the  St.  Charles 
Hotel)  and  taken  a  position  on  Fort  Hill,  where 
he  had  erected  a  temporary  barricade  of  sacks 
filled  with  earth  and  had  mounted  his  cannon 
there.  The  Americans  had  been  summoned  to 
surrender,  but  hail  refused.  They  were  besieged 
by  the  Californians.  There  was  but  little  firing 
between  the  combatants,  an  occasional  sortie 
and  a  volley  of  rifle  balls  by  the  Americans 
when  the  Californians  approached  too  near. 
The  Californians  were  well  mounted,  but  poorly 
armed,  their  weapons  being  principally  muskets, 
shotguns,  pistols,  lances  and  riatas;  while  the 
Americans  were  armed  with  long-range  rifles, 
of  which  the  Californians  had  a  wholesome 
dread.  The  fear  of  these  arms  and  his  cannon 
doubtless  saved  Gillespie  and  his  men  from 
capture. 

On  the  24th  Gillespie  dispatched  a  messenger 
to  find  Stockton  at  Monterey,  or  at  San  Fran- 
cisco if  he  had  left  Monterey,  and  apprise  him 
of  the  perilous  situation  of  the  Americans  at 
Los  Angeles.  Gillespie's  dispatch  bearer,  John 
Brown,  better  known  by  his  California  nick- 
name, Juan  Flaco  or  Lean  John,  made  one  of 
the  most  wonderful  rides  in  history.  Gillespie 
furnished  Juan  Flaco  with  a  package  of  cigar- 
ctees,  the  paper  of  each  bearing  the  inscription, 
"Believe  the  bearer;"  these  were  stampd  with 
Gillespie's  seal.  Brown  started  from  Los  Angeles 
at  8  p.  m.,  September  24,  and  claimed  to  have 
reached  Verba  Buena  at  8  p.  m.  of  the  28th, 
a  ride  of  six  hundred  and  thirty  miles  in  four 
days.  This  is  incorrect.  Colton,  who  was  al- 
calde of  Monterey  at  that  time,  notes  Brown's 
arrival  at  that  place  on  the  evening  of  the  29th. 
Colton,  in  his  "Three  Years  in  California,"  says 
that  Brown  rode  the  whole  distance  (Los  An- 
geles to  Monterey)  of  four  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  in  fifty-two  hours,  during  which  time  he 
had  not  slept.  His  intelligence  was  for  Com- 
modore Stockton  and,  in  the  nature  of  the  case, 
was  not  committed  to  paper,  except  a  few  words 
rolled  in  a  cigar  fastened  in  his  hair.  But  the 
commodore  had  sailed  for  San  Francisco  and 
it  was  necessary  lie  should  go  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles  further.  He  was  quite  exhausted 
anil  was  allowed  to  sleep  three  hours.  Before 
day  he  was  it])  and  awa\    on  his  journey.     Gil- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


lespie,  in  a  letter  published  in  the  Los  Angeles 
Star,  May  28,  1858,  describing  Juan  Flaco's  ride 
says:  "Before  sunrise  of  the  29th  he  was  lying 
in  the  bushes  at  San  Francisco,  in  front  of  the 
congress  frigate,  waiting  for  the  early  market 
boat  to  come  on  shore,  and  he  delivered  my 
dispatches  to  Commodore  Stockton  before  7 
o'clock." 

In  trying  to  steal  through  tl*e  picket  line  of 
the  Mexicans  at  Los  Angeles,  he  was  discovered 
and  pursued  by  a  squad  of  them.  A  hot  race 
ensued.  Finding  the  enemy -gaining  on  him  he 
forced  his  horse  to  leap  a  wide  ravine.  A  shot 
from  one  of  his  pursuers  mortally  wounded  his 
horse,  which,  after  running  a  short  distance,  fell 
dead.  Flaco,  carrying  his  spurs  and  riata,  made 
his  way  on  foot  in  the  darkness  to  Las  Virgines, 
a  distance  of  twenty-seven  miles.  Here  he  se- 
cured another  mount  and  again  set  off  on  his 
perilous  journey.  The  trail  over  which  Flaco 
held  his  way  was  not  like  "the  road  from  Win- 
chester town,  a  good,  broad  highway  leading 
down,"  but  instead  a  Camino  de  heradura,  bridle 
path,  now  winding  up  through  rocky  canons, 
skirting  along  the  edge  of  precipitous  cliffs,  then 
zigzagging  down  chaparral  covered  mountains; 
now  over  the  sands  of  the  sea  beach  and  again 
across  long  stretches  of  brown  mesa,  winding 
through  narrow  valleys  and  out  onto  the  rolling 
hills — a  trail  as  nature  made  it,  unchanged  by 
the  hand  of  man.  Such  was  the  highway  over 
which  Flaco's  steeds  "stretched  away  with  ut- 
most speed."  Harassed  and  pursued  by  the 
enemy,  facing  death  night  and  day,  with  scarcely 
a  stop  or  a  stay  to  eat  or  sleep,  Juan  Flaco  rode 
six   hundred    miles. 

"Of  all   the   rides   since   the   birth   of   time. 
Told  in  story  or  sung  in  rhyme, 
The  fleetesl  ride  that  ever  was  sped," 

was  Juan  Flaco's  ride  from  Los  Angeles  to  San 
Francisco.  Longfellow  has  immortalized  the 
"Ride  of  Paul  Revere,"  Robert  Browning  tells 
in  stirring  verse  of  the  riders  who  brought  the 
good  news  from  Ghent  to  Aix,  and  Buchanan 
Read  thrills  us  with  the  heroic  measures  of  Sher- 
idan's Ride.  Xo  poet  has  sung  of  Juan  Flaco's 
wonderful  ride,  fleeter,  longer  and  more  perilous 
than  any  of  these.     Flaco  rode  six  hundred  miles 


through  the  enemy's  country,  to  bring  aid  to  a 
besieged  garrison,  while  Revere  and  Jorris  and 
Sheridan  were  in  the  country  of  friends  or  pro- 
tected by  an  army  from  enemies. 

Gillespie's  situation  was  growing  more  and 
more  desperate  each  day.  B.  D.  Wilson,  who 
with  a  company  of  riflemen  had  been  on  an 
expedition  against  the  Indians, had  been  ordered 
by  Gillespie  to  join  him.  They  reached  the 
Chino  ranch,  where  a  fight  took  place  between 
them  and  the  Californians.  Wilson's  men  being 
out  of  ammunition  were  compelled  to  sur- 
render. In  the  charge  upon  the  adobe,  where 
Wilson  and  his  men  had  taken  refuge,  Carlos 
Ballestaros  had  been  killed  and  several  Cali- 
fornians wounded.  This  and  Gillespie's  stubborn 
resistance  had  embittered  the  Californians  against 
him  and  his  men.  The  Chino  prisoners  had  been 
saved  from  massacre  after  their  surrender  by 
the  firmness  and  bravery  of  Yarela.  If  Gillespie 
continued  to  hold  the  town  his  obstinacy  might 
bring  down  the  vengeance  of  the  Californians 
not  only  upon  him  and  his  men.  but  upon  many 
of  the  American  residents  of  the  south,  who  had 
favored  their  countrymen. 

Finally  Flores  issued  his  ultimatum  to  the 
Americans,  surrender  within  twenty-four  hours 
or  take  the  consequences  of  an  onslaught  by 
the  Californians,  which  might  result  in  the  mas- 
sacre of  the  entire  garrison.  In  the  meantime 
he  kept  his  cavalry  deployed  on  the  hills,  com- 
pletely investing  the  Americans.  Despairing  of 
assistance  from  Stockton,  on  the  advice  of  Wil- 
son, who  had  been  permitted  by  Flores  to  inter- 
cede with  Gillespie,  articles  of  capitulation  were 
drawn  up  and  signed  by  Gillespie  and  the  leaders 
of  the  Californians.  On  the  30th  of  September 
the  Americans  marched  out  of  the  city  with  all 
the  honors  of  war,  drums  beating,  colors  flying 
and  two  pieces  of  artillery  mounted  on  carts 
drawn  by  oxen.  They  arrived  at  San  Pedro 
without  molestation  and  four  or  five  days  later 
embarked  on  the  merchant  ship  Vandalia,  which 
remained  at  anchor  in  the  bay.  Gillespie  in 
his  march  was  accompanied  by  a  few  of  the 
American  residents  and  probably  a  dozen  of  the 
Chino  prisoners,  who  had  been  exchanged  for 
the  same  number  of  Californians.  whom  he 
had  held  under  arrest  most  likely  as  hostages. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


L29 


Gillespie  took  two  cannon  with  him  when  he 
evacuated  the  city,  leaving  two  spiked  and  broken 
on  Fort  Hill.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  pro- 
viso in  the  articles  of  capitulation  requiring  him 


to  deliver  the  guns  to  Flores  on  reaching  the 
embarcadero.  If  there  was  such  a  stipulation  Gil- 
lespie violated  it.  lie  spiked  the  guns,  broke  off 
the  trunnions  and  rolled  one  of  them  into  the  bay. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE  DEFEAT  AND  RETREAT  OF  MERVINE'S  MEN. 


THE  revolt  of  the  Californians  at  Los  An- 
geles was  followed  by  similar  uprisings 
in  the  different  centers  of  population 
where  American  garrisons  were  stationed.  Upon 
the  receipt  of  Gillespie's  message  Commodore 
Stockton  ordered  Captain  Mervine  to  proceed 
at  once  to  San  Pedro  to  regain,  if  possible,  the 
lost  territory.  Juan  Flaco  had  delivered  his 
message  to  Stockton  on  September  30.  Early 
on  the  morning  of  October  1st,  Captain  Mer- 
vine got  under  way  for  San  Pedro.  '"He  went 
ashore  at  Sausalito,"  says  Gillespie,  "on  some 
trivial  excuse,  and  a  dense  fog  coming  on  he 
was  compelled  to  remain  there  until  the  4th." 

Of  the  notable  events  occurring  during  the 
conquest  of  California  there  are  few  others  of 
which  there  are  so  contradictory  accounts  as 
that  known  as  the  battle  of  Dominguez  Ranch, 
where  Mervine  was  defeated  and  compelled  to  re- 
treat to  San  Pedro.  Historians  differ  widely 
in  the  number  engaged  and  in  the  number  killed. 
The  following  account  of  Mervine's  expedition 
I  take  from  a  log  book  kept  by  Midshipman  and 
Acting-Lieut.  Robert  C.  Duvall  of  the  Savannah. 
He  commanded  a  company  during  the  battle. 
This  book  was  donated  to  the  Historical  So- 
ciety of  Southern  California  by  Dr.  J.  E.  Cowles 
of  Los  Angeles,  a  nephew  of  Lieutenant  Duvall. 
The  account  given  by  Lieutenant  Duvall  is  one 
of  the  fullest  and  most  accurate  in  existence. 

"At  9.30  a.  m."  (October  1,  1846),  says  Lieu- 
tenant Duvall,  "we  commenced  working  out  of 
the  harbor  of  San  Francisco  on  the  ebb  tide. 
The  ship  anchored  at  Sausalito.  where,  on  ac- 
count of  a  dense  fog,  it  remained  until  the  4th, 
when  it  put  to  sea.  On  the  7th  the  ship  entered 
the  harbor  of  San  Pedro.     At  6:30  p.  m.,  as  we 


were  standing  in  for  anchorage,  we  made  out 
the  American  merchant  ship  Vandalia,  having 
on  her  decks  a  body  of  men.  On  passing  she 
saluted  with  two  guns,  which  was  repeated  with 
three  cheers,  which  we  returned.  ::  *  *  * 
Iirevet  Capt.  Archibald  Gillespie  came  on  board 
and  reported  that  he  had  evacuated  the  Pueblo 
de  Los  Angeles  on  account  of  the  overpowering 
force  of  the  enemy  and  had  retired  with  his 
men  on  board  the  Vandalia  after  having  spiked 
his  guns,  one  of  which  he  threw  into  the  water. 
He  also  reported  that  the  whole  of  California 
below  the  pueblo  had  risen  in  arms  against  our 
authorities,  headed  by  Flores,  a  Mexican  cap- 
tain on  furlough  in  this  country,  who  had  but 
a  few  days  ago  given  his  parole  of  honor  not 
to  take  up  arms  against  the  United  States.  We 
made  preparations  to  land  a  force  to  march  to 
the  pueblo  at  daylight. 

"October  8,  at  6  a.  in.,  all  the  boats  left  the 
ship  for  the  purpose  of  landing  the  forces,  num- 
bering in  all  two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  men. 
including  the  volunteers  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain Gillespie.  At  6:30  all  were  landed  without 
opposition,  the  enemy  in  small  detachments  re- 
treating toward  the  pueblo.  From  their  move- 
ments we  apprehended  that  their  whole  force 
was  near.  Captain  Mervine  sent  on  board  ship 
for  a  reinforcement  of  eighty  men.  under  com- 
mand of  Lieut.  R.  B.  Hitchcock.  At  8  a.  in. 
the  several  companies,  all  under  command  of 
('apt  William  Mervine,  took  up  the  line  of 
march  for  the  purpose  of  retaking  the  pueblo. 
The  enemy  retreated  as  our  forces  advanced. 
M  hi  landing.  William  A.  Smith,  firsl  cabin  boy. 
was  killed  by  the  aeeiilenl.il  discharge  of  a  Colt's 
pistol.)      The   reinforcements     under    the    com- 


i::ii 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


mand  of  Lieut.  R.  B.  Hitchcock  returned  on 
board  ship.  Lor  the  first  four  miles  our  march 
was  through  hills  and  ravines,  which  the  enemy 
might  have  taken  advantage  of,  but  preferred  to 
occupy  as  spectators  only,  until  our  approach. 
A  few  shots  from  our  flankers  (who  were  the 
volunteer  riflemen)  would  start  them  off;  they 
returned  the  compliment  before  going.  The 
remainder  of  our  march  was  performed  over  a 
continuous  plain  overgrown  with  wild  mustard, 
rising  in  places  to  six  or  eight  feet  in  height. 
The  ground  was  excessively  dry,  the  clouds  of 
dust  were  suffocating  and  there  was  not  a  breath 
of  wind  in  motion.  There  was  no  water  on  our 
line  of  march  for  ten  or  twelve  miles  and  we 
suffered  greatly  from  thirst. 

"At  2:30  p.  m.  we  reached  our  camping 
ground.  The  enemy  appeared  in  considerable 
numbers.  Their  numbers  continued  to  increase 
until  sundown,  when  they  formed  on  a  hill  near 
us,  gradually  inclining  towards  our  camp.  They 
were  admirably  formed  for  a  cavalry  charge. 
We  drew  up  our  forces  to  meet  them,  but  find- 
ing they  were  disposed  to  remain  stationary, 
the  marines,  under  command  of  Captain  Mars- 
ton,  the  Cult's  riflemen,  under  command  of 
Lieut.  I.  B.  Carter  and  myself,  and  the  volun- 
teers, under  command  of  Capt.  A.  Gillespie,  were 
ordered  to  charge  on  them,  which  we  did.  They 
stood  their  ground  until  our  shots  commenced 
'telling'  on  them,  when  they  took  to  flight  in 
every  direction.  They  continued  to  annoy  us  by 
firing  into  our  camp  through  the  night.  About  2 
a.  m.  they  brought  a  piece  of  artillery  and  fired 
into  our  camp,  the  shot  striking  the  ground 
near  us.  The  marines,  riflemen  and  volunteers 
were  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  gun,  but  could  see 
or  hear  nothing  of  it. 

"We  left  our  camp  the  next  morning  at  6 
o'clock.  Our  plan  of  march  was  in  column  by 
platoon.  We  had  not  proceeded  far  before  the 
enemy  appeared  before  us  drawn  up  on  each 
side  of  the  road,  mounted  on  fine  horses,  each 
man  armed  with  a  lance  and  carbine.  They  also 
had  a  field  piece  (a  four-pounder),  to  which  were 
hitched  eight  or  ten  horses,  placed  on  the  road 
ahead  of  us. 

"Captain  Mervine,  thinking  it  was  the  enemy's 
intention  to  throw  us  into  confusion  by  using 


their  gun  on  us  loaded  with  round  shot  and 
copper  grape  shot  and  then  charge  us  with  their 
cavalry,  ordered  us  to  form  a  square — which  was 
the  order  of  march  throughout  the  battle.  When 
within  about  four  hundred  yards  of  them  the 
enemy  opened  on  us  with  their  artillery.  We 
made  frequent  charges,  driving  them  before  us, 
and  at  one  time  causing  them  to  leave  some  of 
their  cannon  balls  and  cartridges;  but  owing  to 
the  rapidity  with  which  they  could  carry  off 
the  gun,  using  their  lassos  on  every  part,  en- 
abled them  to  choose  their  own  distance,  en- 
tirely out  of  all  range  of  our  muskets.  Their 
horsemen  kept  out  of  danger,  apparently  con- 
tent to  let  the  gun  do  the  fighting.  They  kept 
up  a  constant  fire  with  their  carbines,  but  these 
did  no  harm.  The  enemy  numbered  between 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  and  two  hundred 
strong. 

"Linding  it  impossible  to  capture  the  gun,  the 
retreat  was  sounded.  The  captain  consulted 
with  his  officers  on  the  best  steps  to  be  taken. 
Jt  was  decided  unanimously  to  return  on  board 
ship.  To  continue  the  march  would  sacrifice 
a  number  of  lives  to  no  purpose,  for,  admitting 
we  could  have  reached  the  pueblo,  all  com- 
munications would  be  cut  off  with  the  ship,  and 
we  would  further  be  constantly  annoyed  by  their 
artillery  without  the  least  chance  of  capturing 
it.  It  was  reported  that  the  enemy  were  be- 
tween five  and  six  hundred  strong  at  the  city 
and  it  was  thought  he  had  more  artillery.  On 
retreating  they  got  the  gun  planted  on  a  hill 
ahead  of  us. 

"The  captain  made  us  an  address,  saying  to 
the  troops  that  it  was  his  intention  to  march 
straight  ahead  in  the  same  orderly  manner  in 
which  we  had  advanced,  and  that  sooner  than 
he  would  surrender  to  such  an  enemy,  he  would 
sacrifice  himself  and  every  other  man  in  his 
command.  The  enemy  fired  into  us  four  times 
en  the  retreat,  the  fourth  shot  falling  short,  the 
report  of  the  gun  indicating  a  small  quantity  of 
powder,  after  which  they  remained  stationary 
and  manifested  no  further  disposition  to  molest 
r,s.  We  proceeded  quietly  on  our  march  to  the 
landing,  where  we  found  a  body  of  men  under 
command  of  Lieutenant  Hitchcock  with  two 
nine-pounder  cannon  gotten  from  the  Yandalia 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


to  render  us  assistance  in  case  we  should  need  it. 

"We  presented  truly  a  pitiable  condition, 
many  being  barely  able  to  drag  one  foot  after 
the  other  from  excessive  fatigue,  having  gone 
through  the  exertions  and  excitement  in  battle 
and  afterwards  performing  a  march  of  eighteen 
or  twenty  miles  without  rest.  This  is  the  first 
battle  I  have  ever  been  engaged  in,  and,  having 
taken  particular  notice  of  those  around  me,  I 
can  assert  that  no  men  could  have  acted  more 
bravely.  Even  when  their  shipmates  were  fall- 
ing by  their  sides,  I  saw  but  one  impulse  and 
that  was  to  push  forward,  and  when  retreat  was 
ordered  I  noticed  a  general  reluctance  to  turn 
their  backs  to  the  enemy. 

"The  following  is  a  list  of  the  killed  and 
wounded:  Michael  Hoey,  ordinary  seaman, 
killed;  David  Johnson,  ordinary  seaman,  killed; 
William  H.  Berry,  ordinary  seaman,  mortally 
wounded;  Charles  Sommers,  musician,  mortally 
wounded;  John  Tyre,  seaman,  severely 
wounded;  John  Anderson,  seaman,  severely 
wounded;  recovery  doubtful.  The  following- 
named  were  slightly  wounded:  William  Con- 
land,  marine;  Hiram  Rockvill,  marine;  II.  Lin- 
land,  marine;  James  Smith,  marine. 

"On  the  following  morning  we  buried  the 
bodies  of  William  A.  Smith,  Charles  Sommers, 
David  Johnson  and  Michael  Hoey  on  an  island 
in  the  harbor. 

"At  ii  a.  m.  the  captain  called  a  council  of 
commissioned  officers  regarding  the  proper 
course  to  adopt  in  the  present  crisis,  which  de- 
cided that  no  force  should  be  landed,  and  that 
the  ship  remain  here  until  further  orders  from 
the  commodore,  who  is  daily  expected." 

Entry  in  the  log  for  Sunday,  nth:  "William 
H.  Berry,  ordinary  seaman,  departed  this  life 
from  the  effect  of  wounds  received  in  battle. 
Sent  his  body  for  interment  to  Dead  Man's 
Island,  so  named  by  us.  Mustered  the  com- 
mand at  quarters,  after  which  performed  divine 
service." 

From  this  account  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
number  killed  and  died  of  wounds  received  in 
battle  was  four;  number  wounded  six,  and  one 
accidentally  killed  before  the  battle.  On  October 
22d,  Henry  Lewis  died  and  was  buried  on  the 
island.     Lewis'  name  does  not  appear  in  the  list 


of  wounded.  It  is  presumable  that  he  died  of 
disease.  Six  of  the  crew  of  the  Savannah  were 
buried  on  Dead  Man's  Island,  four  of  whom 
were  killed  in  battle.  Lieutenant  Duvall  gives 
the  following  list  of  the  officers  in  the  "Expedi- 
tion on  the  march  to  retake  Pueblo  de  Los  An- 
geles:" Capt.  William  Mervine,  commanding; 
('apt.  Ward  Marston,  commanding  marines; 
Brevet  Capt.  A.  H.  Gillespie,  commanding  vol- 
unteers; Lieut.  Henry  W.  Queen,  adjutant; 
Lieut.  B.  F.  Pinckney,  commanding  first  com- 
pany; Lieut.  W.  Rinckindoff,  commanding  sec- 
ond company;  Lieut.  I.  B.  Carter,  Colt's  rifle- 
men; Midshipman  R.  I).  Minor,  acting  lieuten- 
ant second  company;  Midshipman  S.  P.  Griffin, 
acting  lieutenant  first  company;  Midshipman  P. 
( i.  Walmough,  acting  lieutenant  second  com- 
pany; Midshipman  R.  C  Duvall,  acting  lieuten- 
ant Colt's  riflemen;  Captain  Clark  and  Captain 
Goodsall,  commanding  pikemen;  Lieutenant 
Hiensley,  first  lieutenant  volunteers;  Lieutenant 
Russeau,    second   lieutenant   volunteers. 

The  piece  of  artillery  that  did  such  deadly 
execution  on  the  Americans  was  the  famous  (  >ld 
Woman's  gun.  It  was  a  bronze  four-pounder,  i  ir 
pedrero  (swivel-gun)  that  for  a  number  of  years 
had  stood  on  the  plaza  in  front  of  the  church, 
and  was  used  for  firing  salutes  on  feast  days  and 
other  occasions.  When  on  the  approach  of 
Stockton's  and  Fremont's  forces  Castro  aban- 
doned his  artillery  and  fled,  an  old  lady.  Dona 
Clara  Cota  de  Reyes,  declared  that  the  gringos 
should  not  have  the  church's  gun;  so,  with  the 
assistance  of  her  daughters,  she  buried  it  in  a 
cane  patch  near  her  residence,  which  stood  on 
the  east  side  of  Alameda  street,  near  first. 
When  the  Californians  revolted  against  Gil- 
lespie's rule  the  gun  was  unearthed  and  used 
against  him.  The  Historical  Societ)  of  South- 
ern California  has  in  iis  possession  a  brass 
grapeshot,  one  of  a  charge  that  was  fired  into 
the  face  of  Port  Hill  at  Gillespie's  nun  when 
they  were  posted  on  the  hill.  This  gun  was  in 
the  exhibit  of  trophies  at  the  New  <  trleans  Ex- 
position in  1885.  The  label  on  it  read:  "Trophy 
53,  No.  63,  Class  7.  Used  by  Mexico  against 
the  United  States  at  the  battle  of  Dominguez1 
Ranch.  ( )ctober  9,  [846;  al  San  Gabriel  and  the 
Mesa,  January  8  and  9,  [847;  used  by  the  United 


132 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


States  forces  against  Mexico  at  Mazatlan,  No- 
vember ii,  1847;  Urios  (crew  all  killed  or 
wounded),  Palos  Frietos,  December  13,  1847, 
and  Lower  California,  at  San  Jose,  February  15, 
1848." 

Before  the  battle  the  old  gun  had  been 
mounted  on  forward  axle  of  a  Jersey  wagon, 
which  a  man  by  the  name  of  Hunt  had  brought 
across  the  plains  the  year  before.  It  was  lashed 
to  the  axle  by  means  of  rawhide  thongs,  and 
was  drawn  by  riatas,  as  described  by  Lieutenant 
Duvall.  The  range  was  obtained  by  raising  or 
lowering  the  pole  of  the  wagon.  Ignacio  Aguilar 
acted  as  gunner,  and  having  neither  lanyard  or 
pent-stock  to  fire  it.  he  touched  off  the  gun  with 
the  lighted  end  of  a  cigarette.  Never  before  or 
since,  perhaps,  was  a  battle  won  with  such  crude 
artillery.  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  Californians.  During  the  skirmish- 
ing of  the  first  day  he  had  between  eighty  and 
ninety  men.  During  the  night  of  the  8th  Flores 
joined  him  with  a  force  of  sixty  men.  Next 
morning  Flores  returned  to  Los  Angeles,  taking 
with  him  twenty  men.  Carrillo's  force  in  the 
battle  numbered  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
men.  Had  Mervine  known  that  the  Californians 
had  fired  their  last  shot  (their  powder  being  ex- 
hausted! he  could  have  pushed  on  and  captured 
the  pueblo. 

The  expulsion  of  Gillespie's  garrison  from 
Los  Angeles  and  the  defeat  of  Mervine's  force 
raised  the  spirits  of  the  Californians,  and  there 
was  great  rejoicing  at  the  pueblo.  Detachments 
of  Flores'  army  were  kept  at  Sepulveda's  rancho, 
the  Palos  Verdes,  and  at  Temple's  rancho  of  the 
Cerritos,  to  watch  the  Savannah  and  report  any 
attempt  at  landing.  The  leaders  of  the  revolt 
were  1 1  ■  >t  so  sanguine  of  success  as  the  rank  and 
tile.  They  wen-  without  means  to  procure  arms 
and  supplies.  There  was  a  scarcity  of  ammuni- 
tion, too.  An  inferior  article  of  gunpowder  was 
manufactured  in  limited  quantities  at  San 
Gabriel.  The  onl)  uniformity  in  weapons  was 
in  lances.  These  were  rough,  home-made  af- 
fairs, the  blade  beaten  out  of  a  rasp  or  file,  and 
the  shaft  a  willow  pole  about  eight  feet  long. 
These  weapons  were  Formidable  in  a  charge 
against  infantry,  bul  easily  parried  1>\  a  swords- 
man in  a  cavalry  charge. 


After  the  defeat  of  Mervine,  Flores  set  about 
reorganizing  the  territorial  government.  He 
called  together  the  departmental  assembly.  It 
met  at  the  capital  (Los  Angeles)  October  26th. 
The  members  present,  Figueroa,  Botello,  Guerra 
and  Olvera,  were  all  from  the  south.  The  as- 
sembly decided  to  fill  the  place  of  governor, 
vacated  by  Pico,  and  that  of  comandante-gen- 
eral,  left  vacant  by  the  flight  of  Castro. 

Jose  Maria  Flores,  who  was  now  recognized 
as  the  leader  of  the  revolt  against  American  rule, 
was  chosen  to  fill  both  offices,  and  the  two  of- 
fices, as  had  formerly  been  the  custom,  were 
united  in  one  person.  He  chose  Narciso  Bo- 
tello for  his  secretary.  Flores,  who  was  Mex- 
ican born,  was  an  intelligent  and  patriotic  officer. 
He  used  every  means  in  his  power  to  prepare 
his  forces  for  the  coming  conflict  with  the 
Americans,  hut  with  little  success.  The  old 
jealousy  of  the  hijos  del  pais  against  the  Mex- 
ican would  crop  out,  and  it  neutralized  his 
efforts.  There  were  bickerings  and  complaints 
in  the  ranks  and  among  the  officers.  The  na- 
tives claimed  that  a  Californian  ought  to  be 
chief  in  command. 

The  feeling  of  jealousy  against  Flores  at 
length  culminated  in  open  revolt.  Flores  had 
decided  to  send  the  prisoners  taken  at  the  Chino 
tight  to  Mexico.  His  object  was  twofold — first, 
to  enhance  his  own  glory  with  the  Mexican 
government,  and,  secondly,  by  showing  what 
the  Californians  had  already  accomplished  to 
obtain  aid  in  the  coming  conflict.  As  most  of 
these  men  were  married  to  California  wives, 
ami  by  marriage  related  to  many  of  the  leading- 
California  families  of  the  south,  there  was  at 
once  a  family  uproar  and  fierce  denunciations 
of  Flores.  But  as  the  Chino  prisoners  were 
foreigners,  and  had  been  taken  while  fighting 
against  the  Mexican  government,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  disguise  the  hostility  to  Flores  under 
some  other  pretext.  He  was  charged  with  the 
design  of  running  away  to  Sonora  with  the  pub- 
lic funds.  ( )n  the  night  of  December  3,  Francisco 
Rii  0,  .11  the  head  of  a  party  of  Californians,  took 
possession  of  the  cuartel.  or  guard  house,  and 
arrested  Flores.  A  special  session  of  the  as- 
sembly was  called  to  investigate  the  charges. 
Flores   expressed  his   willingness  to  give   up 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


133 


his  purpose  of  sending  the  Chino  prisoners  t<  < 
Mexico,  and  the  assembly  found  no  foundation 
to  the  charge  of  his  design  of  running  away 
with  the  public  funds,  nor  did  they  find  any 
funds  to  run  away  with.  Flores  was  liberated, 
and  Rico  imprisoned  in  turn. 

Flores  was  really  the  last  Mexican  governor 
of  California.  Like  Pico,  he  was  elected  by  the 
territorial  legislature,  but  he  was  not  confirmed 
by  the  .Mexican  congress.  Generals  Scott  and 
Taylor  were  keeping  President  Santa  Anna  and 


his  congress  on  the  move  so  rapidly  they  had  no 
time  to  spare  for  California  affairs. 

Flores  was  governor  from  October  20,  1846, 
to  January  8,  1847. 

With  a  threatened  invasion  by  the  Americans 
and  a  divided  people  within,  it  was  hard  times 
in  the  .old  pueblo.  The  town  had  to  supply 
the  army  with  provisions.  The  few  who  pos- 
sessed money  hid  it  away  and  all  business  was 
suspended  except  preparations  to  meet  the 
invaders. 


CHAPTER   XIX 


THE    FINAL    CONQUEST    OF    CALIFORNIA. 


COMMODORE  STOCKTON,  convinced 
that  the  revolt  of  the  Californians  was 
a  serious  affair,  ordered  Fremont's  bat- 
talion, which  had  been  recruited  to  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  men,  to  proceed  to  the  south  to 
co-operate  with  him  in  quelling  the  rebellion. 
The  battalion  sailed  on  the  Sterling,  but  shortly 
after  putting  to  sea,  meeting  the  Yandalia.  Fre- 
mont learned  of  Mervine's  defeat  and  also  that 
no  horses  could  be  procured  in  the  lower  coun- 
try; the  vessel  was  put  about  and  the  battalion 
landed  at  Monterey,  October  28.  It  was  decided 
to  recruit  the  battalion  to  a  regiment  and 
mounting  it  to  march  down  the  coast.  Recruit- 
ing was  actively  begun  among  the  newly  ar- 
rived immigrants.  Horses  and  saddles  were 
procured  by  giving  receipts  on  the  government, 
payable  after  the  close  of  the  war  or  by  confisca- 
tion if  it  brought  returns  quicker  than  receipts. 

The  report  of  the  revolt  in  the  south  quickly 
spread  among  the  Californians  in  the  north  and 
they  made  haste  to  resist  their  spoilers.  Manuel 
Castro  was  made  comandante  of  the  military 
forces  of  the  north,  headquarters  at  San  Luis 
Obispo.  Castro  collected  a  force  of  about  one 
hundred  men,  well  mounted  but  poorly  armed. 
His  purpose  was  to  carry  on  a  sort  of  guerrilla 
warfare,  capturing  men  and  horses  from  the 
enemy  whenever  an  opportunity  offered. 

Fremont,  now  raised  to  the  rank  of  lieuten- 
ant colonel   in    the    regular    army    with    head- 


quarters at  Monterey,  was  rapidly  mobilizing  his 
motley  collection  of  recruits  into  a  formidable 
force.  Officers  and  men  were  scouring  the 
country  for  recruits,  horses,  accouterments  and 
supplies.  Two  of  these  recruiting  squads  en- 
countered the  enemy  in  considerable  force  and 
an  engagement  known  as  the  battle  of  Natividad 
ensued.  Capt.  Charles  Burroughs  with  thirty- 
four  men  and  two  hundred  horses,  recruited  at 
Sacramento,  arrived  at  San  Juan  Bautista,  No- 
vember 15,  on  his  way  to  .Monterey  on  the  same 
day  Captain  Thompson,  with  about  the  same 
number  of  men  recruited  at  San  Jose,  reached 
San  Juan.  The  Californians,  with  the  design  of 
capturing  the  horses,  made  a  night  march  from 
their  camp  on  the  Salinas.  At  Gomez  rancho 
they  took  prisoner  Thomas  (  ).  Larkin,  the 
American  consul,  who  was  on  his  way  from 
Monterey  to  San  Francisco  on  official  business. 
On  the  morning  of  the  Kith  the  Americans  be- 
gan their  march  for  Monterey.  At  Gomez 
rancho  their  advance  learned  of  the  presence  of 
the  enemy  and  of  the  capture  of  Larkin.  A 
squad  of  six  or  eight  scouts  was  sent  out  to  find 
the  Californians.  The  scouts  encountered  a 
detachment  of  Castro's  force  at  Encinalitos 
(Little  Oaks)  and  a  fight  ensued.  The  main  body 
of  the  enemy  came  up  and  surrounded  the  -rove 
of  oaks.  The  scouts,  though  greatlj  outnum- 
bered, were  well  armed  with  long  range  rifles  and 
held  the  eneim  a;  bay,  until  Captains  Burroughs 


134 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


and  Thompson  brought  up  their  companies. 
Burroughs,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  ranking 
officer,  hesitated  to  charge  the  Californians,  who 
had  the  superior  force,  and  besides  he  was  fear- 
ful of  losing  his  horses  and  thus  delaying  Fre- 
mont's movements.  But,  taunted  with  cowardice 
and  urged  on  by  Thompson,  a  fire  eater,  who 
was  making  loud  protestations  of  his  bravery, 
Burroughs  ordered  a  charge.  The  Americans, 
badly  mounted,  were  soon  strung  out  in  an  ir- 
regular line.  The  Californians,  who  had  made  a 
feint  of  retreating,  turned  and  attacked  with 
vigor,  Captain  Burroughs  and  four  or  five  others 
were  killed.  The  straggling  line  fell  back  on  the 
main  body  and  the  Californians,  having  ex- 
pended their  ammunition,  retreated.  The  loss 
in  killed  and  wounded  amounted  to  twelve  or 
fifteen  on  each  side. 

The  only  other  engagement  in  the  north  was 
the  bloodless  battle  of  Santa  Clara.  Fremont's 
methods  of  procuring  horses,  cattle  and  other 
supplies  was  to  take  them  and  give  in  payment 
demands  on  the  government,  payable  after  the 
close  of  the  war.  After  his  departure  the  same 
method  was  continued  by  the  officers  of  the 
garrisons  at  San  Francisco,  San  Jose  and  Mon- 
terey. Indeed,  it  was  their  only  method  of  pro- 
curing supplies-  The  quartermasters  were 
without  money  and  the  government  without 
credit.  On  the  8th  of  December  Lieutenant 
Bartlett,  also  alcaide  of  Verba  Buena,  with  a 
squad  of  five  men  started  down  the  peninsula 
toward  San  Jose  to  purchase  supplies.  Fran- 
cisco Sanchez,  a  randier,  whose  horse  and  cattle 
corrals  had  been  raided  by  former  purchasers, 
with  a  band  of  Californians  waylaid  and  cap- 
tured Bartlett  and  his  men.  Other  California 
rancheros  who  had  1< >st  their  stock  in  similar 
raids  rallied  to  the  support  of  Sanchez  and  soon 
he  found  himself  at  the  head  of  one  hundred 
men.  Tin-  object  of  their  organization  was 
rather  to  protect  thi  h  pr  'pert)  than  to  fight.  The 
news  soon  spread  that  the  Californians  had  re- 
volted and  were  preparing  to  massacre  the 
Americans.  Captain  Weber  of  San  Jose  had  a 
company  of  thirty-three  men  organized  for  de- 
fense. There  was  also  a  company  of  twenty 
me  i  under  command  of  Captain  A.ram  stationed 
at  the  ex-mission  of  Santa  Clara.     On  the  _>oth 


of  December,  Capt.  Ward  Marston  with  a  de- 
tachment of  thirty-four  men  and  a  field  piece  in 
charge  of  Master  de  Long  and  ten  sailors  was 
sent  to  Santa  Clara.  The  entire  force  collected 
at  the  seat  of  war  numbered  one  hundred  and 
one  men.  On  January  2  the  American  force 
encountered  the  Californians,  one  hundred 
strong,  on  the  plains  of  Santa  Clara.  Firing  at 
long  range  began  and  continued  for  an  hour  or 
more.  Sanchez  sent  in  a  flag  of  truce  asking  an 
armistice  preparatory  to  the  settlement  of  diffi- 
culties. January  3.  Captain  Aladdox  arrived 
from  Monterey  with  fifty-nine  mounted  men, 
and  on  the  7th  Lieutenant  Grayson  came  with 
fifteen  men.  On  the  8th  a  treaty  of  peace  was 
concluded,  by  which,  the  enemy  surrendered 
Lieutenant  Bartlett  and  all  the  other  prisoners, 
as  well  as  their  arms,  including  a  small  field 
piece  and  were  permitted  to  go  to  their  homes. 
Upon  "reliable  authority"  four  Californians  were 
reported  killed,  but  their  graves  have  never  been 
discovered  nor  did  their  living  relatives,  so  far 
as  known,  mourn  their  loss. 

Stockton  with  his  flagship,  the  Congress,  ar- 
rived at  San  Pedro  on  the  23d  of  October,  1846. 
The  Savannah  was  still  lying  at  anchor  in  the 
harbor.  The  commodore  had  now  at  San  Pedro 
a  force  of  about  eight  hundred  men;  but,  not- 
withstanding the  contemptuous  opinion  he  held 
of  the  Californian  soldiers,  he  did  not  march 
against  the  pueblo.  Stockton  in  his  report 
says:  "Plated  by  this  transient  success  (Mer- 
vine's  defeat),  which  the  enemy  with  his  usual 
want  of  veracity  magnified  into  a  great  victory, 
they  collected  in  large  bodies  on  all  the  adjacent 
hills  and  would  not  permit  a  hoof  except  their 
own  horses  to  be  within  fifty  miles  of  San 
Pedro."  But  "in  the  face  of  their  boasting  in- 
solence" Stockton  landed  and  again  hoisted  "the 
glorious  stars  and  stripes  in  the  presence  of 
their  horse  covered  hills."  "The  enemy  had 
driven  oft"  every  animal,  man  and  beast  from 
that  section  of  the  country;  and  it  was  not  pos- 
sible by  any  means  in  our  power  to  carry  pro- 
\iMons  for  our  march  to  the  city."  The  city 
was  only  thirty  miles  away  and  American  sol- 
diers have  been  known  to  carry  rations  in  their 
haversacks  for  a  march  of  one  hundred  miles. 
Tlie  "transient    success"  of  the  insolent  enemy 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


loO 


had  evidently  made  an  impression  on  Stockton. 
He  estimated  the  California  force  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  landing  at  eight  hundred  men,  which  was 
just  seven  hundred  too  high.  He  determined 
to  approach  Los  Angeles  by  way  of  San  Diego, 
and  on  the  last  day  of  October  he  sailed  for  that 
port.  B.  D.  Wilson,  Stephen  C.  Foster  and 
others  attribute  Stockton's  abandonment  of  an 
attack  on  Los  Angeles  from  San  Pedro  to  a 
trick  played  on  him  by  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo. 
Carrillo  was  in  command  of  the  detachment 
stationed  at  the  Cerritos  and  the  Palos  Yerdes. 
Carrillo  was  anxious  to  obtain  an  interview  with 
Stockton  and  if  possible  secure  a  cessation  of 
hostilities  until  the  war  then  progressing  in 
Mexico  should  be  decided,  thus  settling  the 
fate  of  California.  B.  D.  Wilson,  one  of  the 
Chino  prisoners,  was  sent  with  a  Mexican  ser- 
geant to  raise  a  white  flag  as  the  boats  of  the 
Congress  approached  the  landing  and  present 
Carrillo's  proposition  for  a  truce.  Carrillo,  with 
the  intention  of  giving  Stockton  an  exaggerated 
idea  of  the  number  of  his  troops  and  thus  ob- 
taining more  favorable  terms  in  the  proposeil 
treaty,  collected  droves  of  wild  horses  from  the 
plains;  these  his  caballeros  kept  in  motion,  pass- 
ing and  repassing  through  a  gap  in  the  hills, 
which  was  in  plain  view  from  Stockton's  vessel. 
Owing  to  the  dust  raised  by  the  cavalcade  it  was 
impossible  to  discover  that  most  of  the  horses 
were  riderless.  The  troops  were  signalled  to  re- 
turn to  the  vessel,  and  the  commodore  shortly 
afterwards  sailed  to  San  Diego.  Carrillo  al- 
ways regretted  that  he  made  too  much  demon- 
stration. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  literary  trash  that 
has  been  palmed  off  for  California  history,  I 
give  an  extract  from  Frost's  Pictorial  History 
of  California,  a  book  written  the  year  after 
the  close  of  the  Mexican  war  by  Prof. 
John  Frost,  a  noted  compiler  of  histories,  who 
writes  LL.  D.  after  his  name.  It  relates  to 
Stockton's  exploits  at  San  Pedro.  "At  the 
Rancho  Sepulveda  (the  Palos  Verdes)  a  large 
force  of  Californians  were  posted,  Commodore 
Stockton  sent  one  hundred  men  Forward  to  re 
ceive  the  fire  of  the  enemy  and  then  fall  back- 
on  the  main  body  without  returning  it.  The 
main  bodv  of  Stockton's  army  was  formed  in  a 


triangle  with  the  guns  hid  by  the  men.  By  the 
retreat  of  the  advance  party  the  enemy  were 
decoyed  close  to  the  main  force,  when  the  wings 
(of  the  triangle)  were  extended  and  a  deadly  fire 
from  the  artillery  opened  upon  the  astonished 
Californians.  More  than  one  hundred  were 
killed,  the  same  number  wounded  and  one  hun- 
dred prisoners  taken."  The  mathematical  ac- 
curacy of  Stockton's  artillerists  was  truly 
astonishing.  They  killed  a  man  for  every  one 
wounded  and  took  a  prisoner  for  every  man 
they  killed.  As  Flores'  army  never  amounted 
to  more  than  three  hundred,  it  we  are  to  believe 
Frost,  Stockton  had  all  the  enemy  '"present  or 
accounted  for."  This  silly  fabrication  of  Frost's 
runs  through  a  number  of  so-called  histories  of 
California.  Stockton  was  a  brave  man  and  a 
very  energetic  commander,  but  he  would  boast 
of  his  achievements,  and  his  reports  are  unre- 
liable. 

As  previously  mentioned,  Fremont  after  his 
return  to  Monterey  proceeded  to  recruit  a  force 
to  move  against  Los  Angeles  by  land  from  Mon- 
terey. His  recruits  were  principally  obtained 
from  the  recently  arrived  immigrants.  Each  man 
was  furnished  with  a  horse  and  was  to  receive 
$25  a  month.  A  force  of  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty  was  obtained.  Fremont  left  Monterey 
November  17  and  rendezvoused  at  San  Juan 
Bautista,  where  he  remained  to  the  29th  of  the 
month  organizing  his  battalion.  (  )n  the  29th 
of  November  he  began  his  inarch  southward  to 
co-operate  with  Stockton  against  Flores. 

After  the  expulsion  of  Gillespie  and  his  men 
from  Los  Angeles,  detachments  from  Flores' 
army  were  sent  to  Santa  Barbara  and  San 
Diego  to  recapture  these  places.  At  Santa  Bar- 
bara Fremont  had  left  nine  men  of  his  battalion 
under  Lieut.  Theodore  Talbot  to  garrison  the 
town  A  demand  was  made  on  the  garrison  to 
surrender  by  Colonel  Garfias  of  Flores'  army. 
Two  hours  were  given  the  Americans  to  decide, 
[nstead  of  surrendering  they  fell  back  into  the 
hills,  where  the)  remained  three  or  four  days, 
hoping  that  reinforcements  might  be  sent  them 
from  Monterey.  Their  only  subsistence  was  the 
flesh  of  an  old  gray  mare  of  Daniel  Hill's  that 
they  captured,  brought  into  camp  and  killed. 
They  secured  one  of  Micheltorena's  cholos  that 


lau 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


had  remained  in  the  country  and  was  living  in 
a  canon  among  the  hills  for  a  guide.  He  fur- 
nished them  a  horse  to  carry  their  blankets  and 
conducted  them  through  the  mountains  to  the 
San  Joaquin  valley.  Here  the  guide  left  them 
with  the  Indians,  he  returning  to  Santa  Barbara. 
The  Indians  fed  them  on  chia  (wild  flaxseed), 
mush  and  acorn  bread.  They  traveled  down  the 
San  Joaquin  valley.  On  their  journey  they  lived 
on  the  flesh  of  wild  horses,  seventeen  of  which 
they  killed.  After  many  hardships  they  reached 
Monterey  on  the  8th  of  November,  where  they 
joined  Fremont's  battalion. 

Captain  Merritt,  of  Fremont's  battalion,  had 
been  left  at  San  Diego  with  [arty  men  to  hold 
the  town  when  the  battalion  marched  north  to 
co-operate  with  Stockton  against  Los  Angeles. 
Immediately  after  Gillespie's  retreat,  Francisco 
Rico  was  sent  with  fifty  men  to  capture  the 
place.  He  was  joined  by  recruits  at  San  Diego. 
Merritt  being  in  no  condition  to  stand  a  siege, 
took  refuge  on  board  the  American  whale  ship 
Stonington,  which  was  lying  at  anchor.  After 
remaining  on  board  the  Stonington  ten  clays, 
taking  advantage  of  the  laxity  of  discipline 
among  the  Californians,  he  stole  a  march  on 
them,  recapturing  the  town  and  one  piece  of 
artillery.  He  sent  Don  Miguel  de  Pedrorena, 
who  was  one  of  his  allies,  in  a  whale  boat  with 
four  sailors  to  San  Pedro  to  obtain  supplies 
and  assistance.  Pedrorena  arrived  at  San  Pedro 
on  the  13th  of  October  with  Merritt's  dis- 
patches. Captain  Mervine  chartered  the  whale 
ship  Magnolia,  which  was  lying  in  the  San 
Pedro  harbor,  and  dispatched  Lieutenant  Minor, 
.Midshipman  Duvall  and  Morgan  with  thirty- 
three  sailors  and  fifteen  of  Gillespie's  volun- 
teers to  reinforce  Merritt.  They  reached  San 
Diego  on  the  16th.  The  combined  forces  of 
Minor  and  Merritt,  numbering  about  ninety 
men,  put  in  the  greater  part  of  the  next  two 
weeks  in  dragging  cannon  from  the  old  fort 
and  mounting  them  at  their  barracks,  which 
were  located  "ii  the  hill  at  the  edge  of  tile  plain 

on  the  wesl  side  <>f  the  town,  convenienl  to 
water.  They  succeeded  in  mounting  si\  brass 
nine-pounders  and  building  two  bastions  of 
adobes,  taken  from  an  old  house.  There  was 
constant  skirmishing  between  the  hostile  parties. 


but  few  fatalities.  The  Americans  claimed  to 
have  killed  three  of  the  enemy,  and  one  Amer- 
ican was  ambushed  and  killed. 

The  Californians  kept  well  out  of  range,  but 
prevented  the  Americans  from  obtaining  sup- 
plies. Their  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted, 
and  when  reduced  to  almost  the  last  extreme 
they  made  a  successful  foraging  expedition  and 
procured  a  supply  of  mutton.  Midshipman  Du- 
vall thus  describes  the  adventure:  "We  had 
with  us  an  Indian  (chief  of  a  numerous  tribe) 
who,  from  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  we 
thought  could  avoid  the  enemy;  and  getting 
news  of  a  number  of  sheep  about  thirty-five  miles 
to  the  south  on  the  coast,  we  determined  to  send 
him  and  his  companion  to  drive  them  onto  an 
island  which  at  low  tide  connected  with  the 
mainland.  In  a  few  days  a  signal  was  made  on 
the  island,  and  the  boats  of  the  whale  ship 
Stonington,  stationed  off  the  island,  were  sent 
to  it.  Our  good  old  Indian  had  managed, 
through  his  cunning  and  by  keeping  concealed 
in  ravines, to  drive  onto  the  island  about  six  hun- 
dred sheep,  but  his  companion  had  been  caught 
and  killed  by  the  enemy.  I  shall  never  forget 
his  famished  appearance,  but  pride  in  his  Indian 
triumph  could  be  seen  playing  in  his  dark  eyes. 

"For  thirty  or  forty  days  we  were  constantly 
expecting,  from  the  movements  of  the  enemy, 
an  attack,  soldiers  and  officers  sleeping  on  their 
arms  and  ready  for  action.  About  the  1st  of 
November,  Commodore  Stockton  arrived,  and, 
after  landing  Captain  Gillespie  with  his  com- 
pany and  about  forty-three  marines,  he  suddenly 
disappeared,  leaving  Lieutenant  Minor  governor 
of  the  place  and  Captain  Gillespie  command- 
ant."* 

Foraging  continued,  the  whale  ship  Ston- 
ington, which  had  been  impressed  into  the 
government  service,  being  used  to  take  parties 
down  the  coast,  who  made  raids  inland  and 
brought  back  with  them  catties  and  horses. 

Tt  was  probably  on  one  of  these  excursions 
that  the  Hag-making  episode  occurred,  of  which 
there  are  more  versions  than  Homer  had  birth- 
places. The  correct  version  of  the  story  is  as 
follows:      A    party   had   been   sent   under  com- 


*Log  Book  wf  Acting  Lieutenant  Dt 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


i:;7 


mand  of  Lieutenant  Hensley  to  Juan  Bandini's 
rancho  in  Lower  California  to  bring  up  bands 
of  cattle  and  horses.  Bandini  was  an  adherent 
of  the  American  cause.  He  and  his  family  re- 
turned with  the  cavalcade  to  San  Diego.  At 
their  last  camping  place  before  reaching  the 
town,  Hensley,  in  a  conversation  with  Bandini, 
regretted  they  had  no  flag  with  them  to  display 
on  their  entry  into  the  town.  Sehora  Bandini 
volunteered  to  make  one,  which  she  did  from 
red,  white  and  blue  dresses  of  her  children. 
This  flag,  fastened  to  a  staff,  was  carried  at  the 
head  of  the  cavalcade  when  it  made  its  triumphal 
entry  into  San  Diego.  The  Mexican  govern- 
ment confiscated  Bandini's  ranches  in  Lower 
California  on  account  of  his  friendship  to  the 
Americans  during  the  war. 

Skirmishing  continued  almost  daily.  Jose 
Antonio  Carrillo  was  now  in  command  of  the 
Californians,  their  force  numbering  about  one 
hundred  men.  Commodore  Stockton  returned 
and  decided  to  fortify.  Midshipman  Duvall,  in 
the  Log  Book  referred  to  in  the  previous  chap- 
ter, thus  describes  the  fort:  "The  commodore 
now  commenced  to  fortify  the  hill  which  over- 
looked the  town  by  building  a  fort,  constructed 
by  placing  three  hundred  gallon  casks  full  of 
sand  close  together.  The  inclosure  was  twenty 
by  thirty  yards.  A  bank  of  earth  and  small  gravel 
was  thrown  up  in  front  as  high  as  the  top  of 
the  casks  and  a  ditch  dug  around  on  the  outside. 
Inside  a  ball-proof  vault  of  ketch  was  built  out 
of  plank  and  lined  on  the  inside  with  adobes,  on 
top  of  which  a  swivel  was  mounted.  The  en- 
trance was  guarded  by  a  strong  gate,  with  a 
drawbridge  in  front  across  the  ditch  or  moat. 
The  whole  fortification  was  completed  and  the 
guns  mounted  on  it  in  about  three  weeks.  Our 
men  working  on  the  fort  were  on  short  allow- 
ance of  beef  and  wheat,  and  for  a  time  without 
bread,  tea,  sugar  or  coffee,  many  of  them  being 
destitute  of  shoes,  but  there  were  few  com- 
plaints. 

"About  the  1st  of  December,  information  hav- 
ing been  received  that  General  Kearny  was  at 
Warner's  Pass,  about  eighty  miles  distant,  with 
one  hundred  dragoons  on  his  march  to  San 
Diego,  Commodore  Stockton  immediately  sent 
an  escort  of  fifty  men  under  command  of  Cap- 


tain Gillespie,  accompanied  by  Past  Midshipmen 
Beale  and  Duncan,  having  with  them  one  piece 
of  artillery.  They  reached  General  Kearny  with- 
out molestation.  On  the  march  the  combined 
force  was  surprised  by  about  ninety-three  Cal- 
ifornians at  San  Pasqual,  under  command  of 
Andres  Pico,  who  had  been  sent  to  that  part 
of  the  country  to  drive  off  all  the  cattle  and 
horses  to  prevent  us  from  getting  them.  In 
the  battle  that  ensued  General  Kearny  lost  in 
killed  Captains  Johnston  and  Moore  and  Lieu- 
tenant Hammond,  and  fifteen  dragoons.  Seven- 
teen dragoons  were  severely  wounded.  The 
enemy  captured  one  piece  of  artillery.  General 
Kearny  and  Captains  Gillespie  and  Gibson  were 
severely  wounded;  also  one  of  the  engineer  offi- 
cers.   Some  of  the  dragoons  have  since  died." 

"After  the  engagement  ( ieneral  Kearny  took 
position  on  a  hill  covered  with  large  rocks.  It 
was  well  suited  for  defense.  Lieutenant  Godey 
of  Gillespie's  volunteers,  the  night  after  the 
battle,  escaped  through  the  enemy's  line  of  sen- 
tries and  came  in  with  a  letter  from  Captain 
Turner  to  the  commodore.  Whilst  among  the 
rocks,  Past  Midshipman  Beale  and  Kit  Carson 
managed,  under  cover  of  night,  to  pass  out 
through  the  enemy's  ranks,  and  after  three  days' 
and  nights'  hard  marching  through  the  moun- 
tains without  water,  succeeded  in  getting  safely 
into  San  Diego,  completely  famished.  Soon 
after  arriving  Lieutenant  Beale  fainted  away, 
and  for  some  days  entirely  lost  his  reason." 

On  the  night  of  Bealc's  arrival,  December  9, 
about  9  p.  m.,  detachments  of  two  hundred  sail- 
ors and  marines  from  the  Congress  and  Ports- 
mouth, under  the  immediate  command  of  Cap- 
tain Zeilin,  assisted  by  Lieutenants  Gray, 
Hunter,  Renshaw,  Parrish,  Thompson  and 
Tilghman  and  Midshipmen  Duvall  and  Morgan, 
each  man  carrying  a  blanket,  three  pounds  of 
jerked  beef  and  the  same  of  hard-tack,  began 
their  march  to  relieve  General  Kearny.  They 
marched  all  night  and  camped  on  a  chaparral 
covered  mountain  during  the  day.  At  4  p.  m. 
of  the  second  night's  march  they  reached 
Kearny's  camp,  surprising  him.  Godey,  who 
had  been  sent  ahead  to  inform  Kearny  that  as- 
sistance was  coming,  had  been  captured  by  the 


138 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


enemy.  General  Kearny  had  burnt  and  de- 
stroyed all  his  baggage  and  camp  equipage,  sad- 
dles, bridles,  clothing,  etc.,  preparatory  to 
forcing  his  way  through  the  enemy's  line. 
Burdened  with  his  wounded,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  he  could  have  escaped.  Midshipman 
Duvall  says:  "It  would  not  be  a  hazard  of 
opinion  to  say  he  would  have  been  overpowered 
and  compelled  to  surrender."  The  enemy  dis- 
appeared on  the  arrival  of  reinforcements.  The 
relief  expedition,  with  Kearny's  men,  reached 
San  Diego  after  two  days'  march. 

A  brief  explanation  of  the  reason  why  Kearny 
was  at  San  Pasqual  may  be  necessary.  In  June, 
1846,  Gen.  Stephen  W.  Kearny,  commander  of 
the  Army  of  the  West,  as  his  command  was 
designated,  left  Fort  Leavenworth  with  a  force 
of  regulars  and  volunteers  to  take  possession  of 
New  Mexico.  The  conquest  of  that  territory 
was  accomplished  without  a  battle.  Under  or- 
ders from  the  war  department,  Kearny  began  his 
march  to  California  with  a  part  of  his  force  to 
co-operate  with  the  naval  forces  there.  Octo- 
ber 6,  near  Socorro,  N.  M.,  he  met  Kit  Carson 
with  an  escort  of  fifteen  men  en  route  from  Los 
Angeles  to  Washington,  bearing  dispatches 
from  Stockton,  giving  the  report  of  the  con- 
quest of  California.  Kearny  required  Carson  to 
turn  back  and  act  as  his  guide.  Carson  was 
very  unwilling  to  do  so,  as  he  was  within  a  few 
days'  journey  of  his  home  and  family,  from 
whom  he  had  been  separated  for  nearly  two 
years.  He  had  been  guide  for  Fremont  on  his 
exploring  expedition.  He,  however,  obeyed 
Kearny's  orders. 

General  Kearny  sent  back  about  three  hun- 
dred of  his  men,  taking  with  him  one  hundred 
and  twenty.  After  a  toilsome  march  by  way 
of  the  Pima  villages.  Tucson,  the  Gila  and 
across  the  Colorado  desert,  they  reached  the 
Indian  village  of  San  Pasqual  (about  forty  miles 
from  San  Diego),  where  the  battle  was  fought. 
It  was  the  bloodiest  battle  of  the  coiH|iiest ; 
Kearny's  men,  at  daybreak,  riding  on  broken 
down  mules  and  half  broken  horses,  in  an  ir- 
regular and  disorderly  line,  charged  the  Califor- 
nians.  While  the  American  line  was  stretched 
nit  over  the  plain  Capt.  Andres  Pico,  who  was 
in  command,  wheeled  his  column  and  charged 


the  Americans.  A  fierce  hand  to  hand  fight  en- 
sued, the  Californians  using  their  lances  and  lar- 
iats, the  Americans  clubbed  guns  and  sabers.  Of 
Kearny's  command  eighteen  men  were  killed  and 
nineteen  wounded;  three  of  the  wounded  died. 
Only  one,  Capt.  Abraham  R.  Johnston  (a  rela- 
tive of  the  author's),  was  killed  by  a  gunshot; 
all  the  others  were  lanced.  The  mules  to  one 
of  the  howitzers  became  unmanageable  and  ran 
into  the  enemy's  lines.  The  driver  was  killed 
and  the  gun  captured.  One  Californian  was 
captured  and  several  slightly  wounded;  none 
were  killed.  Less  than  half  of  Kearny's  one 
hundred  and  seventy  men*  took  part  in  the 
battle.  His  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  fifty 
per  cent  of  those  engaged.  Dr.  John  S.  Grif- 
fin, for  many  years  a  leading  physician  of  Los 
Angeles,  was  the  surgeon  of  the  command. 

The  foraging  expeditions  in  Lower  Califor- 
nia having  been  quite  successful  in  bringing  in 
cattle,  horses  and  mules,  Commodore  Stockton 
hastened  his  preparation  for  marching  against 
Los  Angeles.  The  enemy  obtained  information 
of  the  projected  movement  and  left  for  the 
pueblo. 

"The  Cyane  having  arrived,"  says  Duvall, 
"our  force  was  increased  to  about  six  hundred 
men,  most  of  whom,  understanding  the  drill, 
performed  the  evolutions  like  regular  soldiers. 
Everything  being  ready  for  our  departure,  the 
commodore  left  Captain  Montgomery  and  offi- 
cers in  command  of  the  town,  and  on  the  29th  of 
December  took  up  his  line  of  inarch  for  Los  An- 
geles. General  Kearny  was  second  in  command 
ami  having  the  immediate  arrangement  of  the 
forces,  reserving  for  himself  the  prerogative 
which  his  rank  necessarily  imposed  upon  him. 
(  (wing  to  the  weak  state  of  our  oxen  we  had 
not  crossed  the  dry  bed  of  the  river  San  Diego 
before  they  began  breaking  down,  and  the  carts, 
which  were  thirty  or  forty  in  number,  had  to  be 
dragged  by  the  men.  The  general  urged  on  the 
commodore  that  it  was  useless  to  commence 
such  a  march  as  was  before  us  with  our  present 
means  of  transportation,  but  the  commodore 
insisted  on  performing  at  least  one  day's  march 

♦General  Kearny's  original  force  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  had  been  increased  by  Gillespie's  command, 
numbering  fifty  men. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


even  if  we  should  have  to  return  the  next  day. 
We  succeeded  in  reaching  the  valley  of  the 
Soledad  that  night  by  dragging  our  carts.  Next 
day  the  commodore  proposed  to  go  six  miles 
farther,  which  we  accomplished,  and  then  con- 
tinued six  miles  farther.  Having  obtained  some 
fresh  oxen,  by  assisting  the  carts  up  hill  we 
made  ten  or  twelve  miles  a  day.  At  San  Luis 
Rey  we  secured  men,  carts  and  oxen,  and  after 
that  our  days'  marches  ranged  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-two  miles  a  day. 

"The  third  day  out  from  San  Luis  Rey  a  white 
flag  was  seen  ahead,  the  bearer  of  which  had  a 
communication  from  Flores,  signing  himself 
'Commander-in-Chief  and  Governor  of  Califor- 
nia,' asking  for  a  conference  for  the  purpose  of 
coming  to  terms,  which  would  be  alike  'honor- 
able to  both  countries.'  The  commodore  refused 
to  answer  him  in  writing,  saying  to  the  bearer 
of  the  truce  that  his  answer  was,  'he  knew  n<> 
such  person  as  Governor  Flores;  that  he  him- 
self was  the  only  governor  in  California;  that 
he  knew  a  rebel  by  that  name,  a  man  who  had 
given  his  parole  of  honor  not  to  take  up  arms 
against  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
who,  if  the  people  of  California  now  in  arms 
against  the  forces  of  the  United  States  would 
deliver  up,  he  (Stockton)  would  treat  with  them 
on  condition  that  they  surrender  their  arms 
and  retire  peaceably  to  their  homes  and  he 
would  grant  them,  as  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  protection  from  further  molestation." 
This  the  embassy  refused  to  entertain,  saying 
'they  would  prefer  to  die  with  Flores  than  to 
surrender  on  such  terms.'  " 

"On  the  8th  of  January,  1847,  tney  met  us  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  San  Gabriel  with  between 
five  and  six  hundred  men  mounted  on  good 
horses  and  armed  with  lances  and  carbines, 
having  also  four  pieces  of  artillery  planted  on 
the  heights  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
distant  from  the  river.  Owing  to  circumstances 
which  have  occurred  since  the  surrender  of  the 
enemy,  I  prefer  not  mentioning  the  particulars 
uf  this  day's  battle  and  also  that  of  the  da)  Fol 
lowing,  or  of  referring  to  individuals  concerned 
in  the  successful  management  of  our  forces." 
(The  circumstance  to  which   T. untenant    Duvall 


refers  was  undoubtedly  the  quarrel  between 
Stockton  and  Kearny  after  the  capture  of  Los 
Angeles.)  "It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  on  the  8th 
of  January  we  succeeded  in  crossing  the  river 
and  driving  the  enemy  from  the  heights.  Hav- 
ing resisted  all  their  charges,  dismounted  one 
of  their  pieces  and  put  them  to  flight  in  every 
direction,  we  encamped  on  the  ground  they  had 
occupied  during  the  fight. 

"The  next  day  the  Californians  met  us  on  the 
plains  of  the  mesa.  For  a  time  the  fighting  was 
carried  on  by  both  sides  with  artillery,  but  that 
proving  too  hot  for  them  they  concentrated 
their  whole  force  in  a  line  ahead  of  us  and  at  a 
given  signal  divided  from  the  center  and  came 
down  on  us  like  a  tornado,  charging  us  on  all 
sides  at  the  same  time;  but  they  were  effectually 
defeated  and  fled  in  every  direction  in  the  ut- 
most confusion.  Many  of  their  horses  were  left 
dead  on  the  field.  Their  loss  in  the  two  battles, 
as  given  by  Andres  Pico,  second  in  command, 
was  eighty-three  killed  and  wounded;  our  loss, 
three  killed  (one  accidentally),  and  fifteen  or 
twenty  wounded,  none  dangerously.  The  enemy 
abandoned  two  pieces  of  artillery  in  an  Indian 
village  near  by." 

I  have  given  at  considerable  length  Midship- 
man Duvall's  account  of  Stockton's  march  from 
San  Diego  and  of  the  two  battles  fought,  not 
because  it  is  the  fullest  account  of  those  events, 
but  because  it  is  original  historical  matter,  newer 
having  appeared  in  print  before,  and  also  he- 
cause  it  is  the  observations  of  a  participant 
written  at  the  time  the  events  occurred.  In  it 
the  losses  of  the  enemy  are  greatly  exaggerated, 
but  that  was  a  fault  of  his  superior  officers  as 
well.  Commodore  Stockton,  in  his  official  re- 
ports of  the  two  battles,  gives  the  enemy's  loss 
in  killed  and  wounded  "between  seventy  and 
eighty."  And  General  Kearny,  in  his  report  of 
the  battle  of  San  Pasqual,  claimed  it  as  a  vic- 
tory, and  states  that  the  enemy  left  six  di  a 
the  field.  The  actual  loss  of  the  Californians 
in  the  two  battles  I  San  Gabriel  river  and  1  .a 
Mesa)  was  three  killed  and  ten  or  twelve 
wounded.* 


Sepulvcda, 


140 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


While  the  events  recorded  in  this  chapter 
were  transpiring  at  San  Diego  and  its  vicinity, 
what  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  capital,  Los 
Angeles?  After  the  exultation  and  rejoicing 
over  the  expulsion  of  Gillespie's  garrison,  Mer- 
vine's  defeat  and  the  victory  over  Kearny  at 
San  Pasqual  there  came  a  reaction.  Dissension 
continued  between  the  leaders.  There  was  lack 
of  arms  and  laxity  of  discipline.  The  army  was 
but  little  better  than  a  mob.  Obedience  to  or- 
ders of  a  superior  was  foreign  to  the  nature  of  a 
Californian.  His  wild,  free  life  in  the  saddle 
made  him  impatient  of  all  restraint.  Then  the 
impossibility  of  successful  resistance  against 
the  Americans  became  more  and  more  apparent 
as  the  final  conflict  approached.  Fremont's 
army  was  moving  down  on  the  doomed  city 
from  the  north,  and  Stockton'.-  was  coming  up 
from  the  south.  Either  one  of  these,  in  num- 
bers, exceeded  the  force  that  Flores  could  bring 
into  action;  combined  they  would  crush  him 
out  of  existence.  The  California  troops  were 
greatly  discouraged  and  it  was  with  great  diffi- 
culty that  the  officers  kept  their  men  together. 
There  was  another  and  more  potent  element  of 
disintegration.  Many  of  the  wealthier  natives 
and  all  the  foreigners,  regarding  the  contest  as 
hopeless,  secretly  favored  the  American  cause, 
and  it  was  only  through  fear  of  loss  of  property 
that  they  furnished  Flores  and  his  officers  any 
supplies  for  the  army. 

During  the  latter  part  of  December  and  the 
first  days  of  January  Flores'  army  was  stationed 
at  the  San  Fernando  Mission,  on  the  lookout 
fur  Fremont's  battalion;  but  the  more  rapid 
advance  of  Stockton's  army  compelled  a  change 
of  base.  On  the  6th  and  7th  of  January  Flores 
moved    his    arm}-    back    secretly     through    the 


Cahuenga  Fass,  and,  passing  to  the  southward 
of  the  city,  took  position  where  La  Jaboneria 
(the  soap  factory)  road  crosses  the  San  Gabriel 
river.  Here  his  men  w-ere  stationed  in  the  thick 
willows  to  give  Stockton  a  surprise.  Stockton 
received  information  of  the  trap  set  for  him  and 
after  leaving  the  Los  Coyotes  swung  off  to  the 
right  until  he  struck  the  Upper  Santa  Ana  road. 
The  Californians  had  barely  time  to  effect  a 
change  of  base  and  get  their  cannon  planted 
when  the  Americans  arrived  at  the  crossing. 

Stockton  called  the  engagement  there  the  bat- 
tle of  San  Gabriel  river;  the  Californians  call  it 
the  battle  of  Faso  de  Bartolo,  which  is  the  bet- 
ter name.  The  place  where  the  battle  was  fought 
is  on  bluff  just  south  of  the  Upper  Santa  Ana 
road,  near  where  the  Southern  California 
railroad  crosses  the  old  San  Gabriel  river.  (The 
ford  or  crossing  was  formerly  known  as  Pico's 
Crossing.)  There  was,  at  the  time  of  the  bat- 
tle, but  one  San  Gabriel  river.  The  new  river 
channel  was  made  in  the  great  flood  of  1868. 
'What  Stockton,  Emory,  Duvall  and  other 
American  officers  call  the  battle  of  the  Plains 
of  the  Mesa  the  Californians  call  the  battle  of 
La  Mesa,  which  is  most  decidedly  a  better  name 
than  the  "Plains  of  the  Plain."  It  was  fought  at 
a  ravine,  the  Canada  de  Los  Alisos,  near  the 
southeastern  corner  of  the  Los  Angeles  city 
boundary.  In  these  battles  the  Californians  had 
four  pieces  of  artillery,  two  iron  nine-pounders, 
the  old  woman's  gun  and  the  howitzer  captured 
in  mi  Kearny.  Their  powder  was  very  poor.  It 
was  made  at  San  Gabriel.  It  was  owing  to  this 
that  they  did  so  little  execution  in  the  fight. 
That  the  Californians  escaped  with  so  little 
punishment  was  probably  due  to  the  wretched 
marksmanship  of  Stockton's  sailors  and  marines. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

CAPTURE    AND    OCCUPATION    OF    THE    CAPITAL. 


J\  FTER  the  battle  of  La  Mesa,  the  Amer- 
T  V  icans,  keeping  to  the  south,  crossed  the 
A  Los   Angeles   river   at   about   the   point 

where  the  south  boundary  line  of  the  city 
crosses  it  and  camped  on  the  right  bank.  Here, 
under  a  willow  tree,  those  killed  in  battle  were 
buried.  Lieutenant  Emory,  in  his  "Notes  of  a 
.Military  Reconnoissance,"  says:  "The  town, 
known  to  contain  great  quantities  of  wine  and 
aguardiente,  was  four  miles  distant  (four  miles 
from  the  battlefield).  From  previous  experience 
of  the  difficulty  of  controlling  men  when  enter- 
ing towns,  it  was  determined  to  cross  the  river 
San  Fernando  (Los  Angeles),  halt  there  for 
the  night  and  enter  the  town  in  the  morning, 
with  the  whole  day  before  us. 

"After  we  had  pitched  our  camp,  the  enemy 
came  down  from  the  hills,  and  four  hundred 
horsemen  with  four  pieces  of  artillery  drew  off 
towards  the  town,  in  order  and  regularity,  whilst 
about  sixty  made  a  movement  down  the  river  on 
our  rear  and  left  flank.  This  led  us  to  suppose 
they  were  not  yet  whipped,  as  we  thought,  and 
that  we  should  have  a  night  attack. 

"January  10  (1847) — .  Just  as  we  had  raised 
our  camp,  a  flag  of  truce,  borne  by  Air.  Celis,  a 
Castilian;  Mr.  Workman,  an  Englishman,  and 
Alvarado,  the  owner  of  the  rancho  at  the  Alisos, 
was  brought  into  camp.  They  proposed,  on 
behalf  of  the  Californians,  to  surrender  their 
dear  City  of  the  Angels  provided  we  would  re- 
spect property  and  persons.  This  was  agreed 
to.  but  not  altogether  trusting  to  the  honesty 
of  General  Flores,  who  had  once  broken  his 
parole,  we  moved  into  the  town  in  the  same 
order  we  should  have  done  if  expecting  an  at- 
tack. It  was  a  wise  precaution,  for  the  streets 
were  full  of  desperate  and  drunken  fellows,  who 
brandished  their  arms  and  saluted  us  with  every 
term  of  reproach.  The  crest,  overlooking  the 
town,  in  rifle  range,  was  covered  with  horsemen 
engaged  in  the  same  hospitable  manner. 


"Our  men  marched  steadily  on,  until  crossing 
the  ravine  leading  into  the  public  square  (plaza), 
when  a  fight  took  place  amongst  the  Califor- 
nians on  the  hill;  one  became  disarmed  and  to 
avoid  death  rolled  down  the  hill  towards  us, 
his  adversary  pursuing  and  lancing  him  in  the 
most  cold-blooded  manner.  The  man  tumbling 
down  the  hill  was  supposed  to  be  one  of  our 
vaqueros,  and  the  cry  of  'rescue  him'  was 
raised.  The  crew  of  the  Cyane,  nearest  the 
scene,  at  once  and  without  any  orders,  halted 
and  gave  the  man  that  was  lancing  him  a  volley; 
strange  to  say,  he  did  not  fall.  The  general 
gave  the  jack  tars  a  cursing,  not  so  much  for 
the  firing  without  orders,  as  for  their  bad  marks- 
manship." 

Shortly  after  the  above  episode,  the  Cali- 
fornians did  open  fire  from  the  hill  on  the 
vaqueros  in  charge  of  the  cattle.  (These 
vaqueros  were  Californians  in  the  employ  of  the 
Americans  and  were  regarded  by  their  country- 
men as  traitors.)  A  company  of  riflemen  was 
ordered  to  clear  the  hill.  A  single  volley  ef- 
fected this,  killing  two  of  the  enemy.  This  was 
the  last  bloodshed  in  the  war;  and  the  second 
conquest  of  California  was  completed  as  the  first 
had  been  by  the  capture  of  Los  Angeles..  Two 
hundred  men.  with  two  pieces  of  artillery,  were 
stationed  on  the  hill. 

The  Angelehos  did  not  exactly  welcome  the 
invaders  with  "bloody  hands  to  inhospitable 
graves,"  but  they  did  their  best  to  let  them  know 
they  were  not  wanted.  The  better  class  of  the 
native  inhabitants  closed  their  houses  and  took 
refuge  with  foreign  residents  or  went  to  the 
ranchos  of  their  friends  in  the  country.  The 
fellows  of  the  baser  sort,  who  were  in  pos- 
session of  the  city,  exhausted  their  vocabularies 
of  abuse  on  the  invading  gringos.  There  was 
1  ne  paisano  who  excelled  all  his  countrymen  in 
this  species  of  warfare.  It  is  a  pity  his  name 
has   not   been   preserved   in   history  with   that  of 


142 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


other  famous  scolds  and  kickers.  He  rode  by 
the  side  of  the  advancing  column  up  Main  street, 
firing  volleys  of  invective  and  denunciation  at 
the  hated  gringos.  At  certain  points  of  his 
tirade  he  worked  himself  to  such  a  pitch  of 
indignation  that  language  failed  him;  then  he 
would  solemnly  go  through  the  motions  of 
"Make  ready,  take  aim!"  with  an  old  shotgun 
he  carried,  but  when  it  came  to  the  order  "Fire!" 
discretion  got  the  better  of  his  valor;  he  low- 
ered his  gun  and  began  again,  firing  invective 
at  the  gringo  soldiers;  his  mouth  would  go  off 
if  his  gun  would  not. 

Commodore  Stockton's  headquarters  were  in 
the  Abila  house,  the  second  house  on  Olvera 
street,  north  of  the  plaza.  The  building  is  still 
standing,  but  has  undergone  many  changes  in 
fifty  years.  A  rather  amusing  account  was  re- 
cently given  me  by  an  old  pioneer  of  the  manner 
in  which  Commodore  Stockton  got  possession 
of  the  house.  The  widow  Abila  and  her  daugh- 
ters, at  the  approach  of  the  American  army,  had 
abandoned  their  house  and  taken  refuge  with 
Don  Luis  Yignes  of  the  Aliso.  Yignes  was  a 
Frenchman  and  friendly  to  both  sides.  The 
widow  left  a  young  Californian  in  charge  of  her 
house  (which  was  finely  furnished),  with  strict 
orders  to  keep  it  closed.  Stockton  had  with  him 
a  fine  brass  band,  something  new  in  California. 
When  the  troops  halted  on  the  plaza,  the  band 
began  to  play.  The  boyish  guardian  of  the 
Abila  casa  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to 
open  the  door  and  look  out.  The  enchanting 
music  drew  him  to  the  plaza.  Stockton  and  his 
staff,  hunting  for  a  place  suitable  for  headquar- 
ters, passing  by,  found  the  door  invitingly  open, 
entered,  and,  finding  the  house  deserted,  took 
-ion.  The  recreant  guardian  returned  to 
find  himself  dispossessed  and  the  house  in  pos- 
-I  ssion  nf  the  enemy.    "And  the  band  played  on." 

It  is  a  fact  not  generall)  known  thai  there 
were  two  forts  planned  and  partially  built  on 
Fori  Hill  during  the  war  for  the  conquesl  of 
California.  The  firsl  was  planned  by  Lieut.  Wil- 
liam H.  Emory,  topographical  engineer  of  Gen- 
eral Kearny's  staff,  and  work  was  begun  on  il 
by  Commodore  Stockton's  sailors  and  marines. 
The  second  was  planned  by  Lieut.  J.  W.  David- 
of  the  First   United  States  Dragoons,  and 


built  by  the  Mormon  battalion.  The  first  was 
not  completed  and  not  named.  The  second  was 
named  Fort  Moore.  Their  location  seems  to 
have  been  identical.  The  first  was  designed  to 
hold  one  hundred  men.  The  second  was  much 
larger.  Flores'  army  was  supposed  to  be  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  city  ready  to  make  a  dash 
into  it,  so  Stockton  decided  to  fortify. 

"On  January  nth,"  Lieutenant  Emory  writes, 
"I  was  ordered  to  select  a  site  and  place  a  fort 
capable  of  containing  a  hundred  men.  \\  ith 
this  in  view  a  rapid  reconnoissance  of  the  town 
was  made  and  the  plan  of  a  fort  sketched,  so 
placed  as  to  enable  a  small  garrison  to  com- 
mand the  town  and  the  principal  avenues  to  it. 
the  plan  was  approved." 

"January  12.  I  laid  off  the  work  and  before 
night  broke  the  first  ground.  The  population 
of  the  town  and  its  dependencies  is  about  three 
thousand;  that  of  the  town  itself  about  fifteen 
hundred.  *  *  *  Here  all  the  revolutions 
have  had  their  origin,  and  it  is  the  point  upon 
which  any  Mexican  force  from  Sonora  would 
be  directed.  Tt  was  therefore  desirable  to  estab- 
lish a  fort  which,  in  case  of  trouble,  should  en- 
able a  small  garrison  to  hold  out  till  aid  might 
come  from  San  Diego,  San  Francisco  or  Mon- 
terey, places  which  are  destined  to  become  cen- 
ters of  American  settlements." 

"January  13.  It  rained  steadily  all  day  and 
nothing  was  done  on  the  work.  At  night  I 
worked  on  the  details  of  the  fort." 

"January  15.  The  details  to  work  on  the 
fort  were  by  companies.  I  sent  to  Captain 
Tilghman,  who  commanded  on  the  hill,  to  de- 
tach one  of  the  companies  under  his  command 
to  commence  the  work.  He  furnished,  on  the 
16th,  a  company  of  artillery  (seamen  from  the 
Congress)  for  the  day's  work,  which  was  per- 
formed bravely,  and  gave  me  great  hopes  of 
success." 

On  the  iNth  Lieutenant  Emory  took  his  de- 
parture with  General  Kearny  for  San  Diego. 
From  there  he  was  sent  with  despatches,  via 
Panama,  to  the  war  department.  In  his  book 
he  says:  "Subsequent  to  my  departure  the  en- 
tire plan  of  the  Fori  was  changed,  and  I  am  not 
the  projector  of  the  work  finally  adopted  for 
defense  of  that  town." 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


As  previously  stated,  Fremont's  battalion 
began  its  march  down  the  coast  on  the  29th  of 
November,  1846.  The  winter  rains  set  in  with 
great  severity.  The  volunteers  were  scantily 
provided  with  clothing  and  the  horses  were  in 
poor  condition.  Many  of  the  horses  died  of 
starvation  and  hard  usage.  The  battalion  en- 
countered no  opposition  from  the  enemy  on  its 
march  and  did  no  fighting.  On  the  nth  of 
January,  a  few  miles  above  San  Fernando,  Colo- 
nel Fremont  received  a  message  from  General 
Kearny  informing  him  of  the  defeat  of  the 
enemy  and  the  capture  of  Los  Angeles.  That 
night  the  battalion  encamped  in  the  mission 
buildings  at  San  Fernando.  From  the  mission 
that  evening  Jesus  Pico,  a  cousin  of  Gen.  An- 
dres Pico,  set  out  to  find  the  Californian  army 
and  open  negotiations  with  its  leaders.  Jesus 
Pico,  better  known  as  Tortoi,  had  been  arrested 
at  his  home  near  San  Luis  Obispo,  tried  by 
court-martial  and  sentenced  to  be  shot  for 
breaking  his  parole.  Fremont,  moved  by  the 
pleadings  of  Pico's  wife  and  children,  pardoned 
him.  He  became  a  warm  admirer  and  devoted 
friend  of  Fremont's. 

He  found  the  advance  guard  of  the  Califor- 
nians  encamped  at  Yerdugas.  He  was  detained 
here,  and  the  leading  officers  of  the  army  were 
summoned  to  a  council.  Fico  informed  them 
of  Fremont's  arrival  and  the  number  of  his  men. 
With  the  combined  forces  of  Fremont  and 
Stockton  against  them,  their  cause  was  hopeless. 
He  urged  them  to  surrender  to  Fremont,  as  they 
could  obtain  better  terms  from  him  than  from 
Stockton. 

General  Flores,  who  held  a  commission  in  the 
Mexican  army,  and  who  had  been  appointed  by 
the  territorial  assembly  governor  and  comand- 
ante-general  by  virtue  of  his  rank,  appointed 
Andres  Pico  general  and  gave  him  command 
of  the  army.  The  same  night  he  took  his  de- 
parture for  Mexico,  by  way  of  San  Gorgonio 
Pass,  accompanied  by  Colonel  Garfias,  Diego 
Sepulveda,  Manuel  Castro,  Segura,  and  about 
thirty  privates.  General  Pico,  on  assuming  com- 
mand, appointed  Francisco  Rico  and  Francisco 
do  La  Guerra  to  go  with  Jesus  Pico  to  confer 
with  Colonel  Fremont.  Fremont  appointed  as 
commissioners  to  negotiate  a  treaty,  Major  P. 


I!.  Reading,  Major  William  II.  Russell  and 
Capt.  Louis  McLane.  On  the  return  of  Guerra 
and  Rico  to  the  Californian  camp,  Gen.  Andres 
Pico  appointed  as  commissioners,  Jose  Antonio 
Carrillo,  commander  of  the  cavalry  squadron, 
and  Agustin  Olvera,  diputado  of  the  assembly, 
and  moved  his  army  near  the  river  at  Cahuenga. 
On  the  13th  Fremont  moved  his  camp  to  the 
Cahuenga.  The  commissioners  met  in  the  de- 
serted ranch-house,  and  the  treaty  was  drawn 
up  and  signed. 

The  principal  conditions  of  the  treaty  or  ca- 
pitulation of  "Cahuenga,"  as  it  was  termed,  were 
that  the  Californians,  on  delivering  up  their  ar- 
tillery and  public  arms,  and  promising  not  again 
to  take  arms  during  the  war,  and  conforming 
to  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  allowed  peaceably  to  return  to  their 
homes.  They  were  to  be  allowed  the  same  rights 
and  privileges  as  are  allowed  to  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  were  not  to  be  compelled 
to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  until  a  treat v  of 
peace  was  signed  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico,  and  were  given  the  privilege  of  leaving 
the  country  if  they  wished  to.  An  additional 
section  was  added  to  the  treaty  on  the  16th  at 
Los  Angeles  releasing  the  officers  from  their 
paroles.  Two  cannon  were  surrendered,  the 
howitzer  captured  from  General  Kearny  at  San 
Pasqual  and  the  woman's  gun  that  won  the  bat- 
tle of  Dominguez.  On  the  14th,  Fremont's  bat- 
talion marched  through  the  Cahuenga  Pass  to 
Los  Angeles  in  a  pouring  rainstorm,  and  en- 
tered it  four  days  after  its  surrender  to  Stock- 
ton. The  conquest  of  California  was  com- 
pleted. Stockton  approved  the  treaty,  although 
it  w-as  not  altogether  satisfactory  to  him.  On 
the  1 6th  he  appointed  Colonel  Fremont  gov- 
ernor of  the  territory,  and  William  II.  Russell, 
of  the  battalion,  secretary  of  state. 

This  precipitated  a  quarrel  between  Stockton 
and  Kearny,  which  had  been  brewing  for 
time.  General  Kearny  claimed  that  under  his 
instructions  from  the  government  he  should  be 
recognized  as  governor.  As  he  had  directly  under 
his  command  but  the  one  company  of  drag 
that  he  brought  across  the  plain  with  him,  lie 
was  unable  to  enforce  his  authority.  lie  left  on 
(lie    [8th    for    San    DiegO,    taking    witli    him    his 


144 


HISTORICAL  AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


officers  and  dragoons.  On  the  20th  Commo-  join  their  ships.  Shortly  afterwards  Commo- 
dore Stockton,  with  his  sailors  and  marines,  dore  Stockton  was  superseded  in  the  command 
marched  to  San  Pedro,  where  they  all  em-  of  the  Pacific  squadron  by  Commodore  Shu- 
barked  on  a  man-of-war  for  San  Diego  to  re-  brick. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 


TRANSITION    AND    TRANSFORMATION. 


THE  capitulation  of  Gen.  Andres  Pico  at 
Cahuenga  put  an  end  to  the  war  in  Cali- 
fornia. The  instructions  from  the  secre- 
tary of  war  were  to  pursue  a  policy  of  concilia- 
tion towards  the  Californians  with  the  ultimate 
design  of  transforming  them  into  American  citi- 
zens. Colonel  Fremont  was  left  in  command  at 
Los  Angeles.  He  established  his  headquarters 
on  the  second  floor  of  the  Bell  block  (corner  of 
Los  Angeles  and  Aliso  streets),  then  the  best 
building  in  the  city.  One  company  of  his  bat- 
talion was  retained  in  the  city;  the  others,  under 
command  of  Captain  Owens,  were  quartered  at 
the  Mission  San  Gabriel. 

The  Mormons  had  been  driven  out  of  Illinois 
and  Missouri.  A  sentiment  of  antagonism  had 
been  engendered  against  them  and  they  had 
begun  their  migration  to  the  far  west,  pre- 
sumably to  California.  They  were  encamped  on 
the  Missouri  river  at  Kanesville,  now  Council 
Bluffs,  preparatory  to  cross'ng  the  plains,  when 
hostilities  broke  out  between  the  United  States 
and  Mexico,  in  April,  1846.  A  proposition  was 
made  by  President  Polk  to  their  leaders  to  raise 
a  battalion  of  five  hundred  men  to  serve  as 
United  States  volunteers  for  twelve  months. 
These  volunteers,  under  command  of  regular 
army  officers,  were  to  march  to  Santa  Fe,  or, 
if  necessary,  to  California,  where,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  their  term  of  enlistment,  they  were  to  be 
discharged  and  allowed  to  retain  their  arms. 
Through  the  influence  of  Brigham  Yottng  and 
other  leaders,  the  battalion  was  recruited  and 
General  Kearny,  commanding  the  Army  of  the 
West,  detailed  Capt.  James  Allen,  of  the  First 
United  States  Dragoons,  to  muster  them  into 
the  service  and  take  command  of  the  battalion. 
On  the  if>th  of  July,  at  Council  Bluffs,  the  bat- 


talion was  mustered  into  service  and  on  the  14th 
of  August  it  began  its  long  and  weary  march. 
About  eighty  women  and  children,  wives  and 
families  of  the  officers  and  some  of  the  enlisted 
men,  accompanied  the  battalion  on  its  march. 
Shortly  after  the  beginning  of  the  march,  Allen, 
who  had  been  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel, 
fell  sick  and  died.  The  battalion  was  placed 
temporarily  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  A.  J. 
Smith,  of  the  regular  army.  At  Santa  Fe 
Lieut.-Col.  Philip  St.  George  Cooke  took  com- 
mand under  orders  from  General  Kearny.  The 
battalion  was  detailed  to  open  a  wagon  road  by 
the  Gila  route  to  California.  About  sixty  of 
the  soldiers  who  had  become  unfit  for  duty  and 
all  the  women  except  five  were  sent  back  and 
the  remainder  of  the  force,  after  a  toilsome  jour- 
ney, reached  San  Luis  Rev,  Cal.,  January  29, 
1847,  where  it  remained  until  ordered  to  Los 
Angeles,  which  place  it  reached  March  17. 

Captain  Owens,  in  command  of  Fremont's 
battalion,  had  moved  all  the  artillery,  ten  pieces, 
from  Los  Angeles  to  San  Gabriel,  probably  with 
the  design  of  preventing  it  falling  into  the  hands 
of  Colonel  Cooke,  who  was  an  adherent  of 
General  Kearny.  General  Kearny,  under  addi- 
tional instructions  from  the  general  government, 
brought  by  Colonel  Mason  from  the  war  depart- 
ment, had  established  himself  as  governor  at 
Monterey.  With  a  governor  in  the  north  and 
one  in  the  south,  antagonistic  to  each  other 
California  had  fallen  back  to  its  normal  condi- 
tion under  Mexican  rule.  Colonel  Cooke, 
shortly  after  his  arrival  in  the  territory,  thus  de- 
scribes the  condition  prevailing:  "General 
Kearny  is  supreme  somewhere  up  the  coast. 
Colonel  Fremont  is  supreme  at  Pueblo  de  Los 
Angeles:    Colonel   Stockton   is   commander-in- 


HISTORICAL  AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


11.- 


chief  at  San  Diego;  Commodore  Shubrick  the 
same  at  Monterey ;  and  I  at  San  Lnis  Rev ;  and 
we  are  all  supremely  poor,  the  government  hav- 
ing no  money  and  no  credit,  and  we  hold  the 
territory  because  Mexico  is  the  poorest  of  all." 

Col.  R.  B.  Mason  was  appointed  inspector  of 
the  troops  in  California  and  made  an  official 
visit  to  Los  Angeles.  In  a  misunderstanding 
about  some  official  matters  he  used  insulting 
language  to  Colonel  Fremont.  Fremont 
promptly  challenged  him  to  fight  a  duel.  The 
challenge  was  accepted;  double-barreled  shot- 
guns were  chosen  as  the  weapons  and  the 
Rancho  Rosa  del  Castillo  as  the  place  of  meet- 
ing. Mason  was  summoned  north  and  the  duel 
was  postponed  until  his  return.  General  Kearny, 
hearing  of  the  proposed  affair  of  honor,  put  a 
stop  to  further  proceedings  by  the  duelists. 

Col.  Philip  St.  George  Cooke,  of  the  Mormon 
battalion,  was  made  commander  of  the  military 
district  of  the  south  with  headquarters  at  Los 
Angeles.  Fremont's  battalion  was  mustered  out 
of  service.  The  Mormon  soldiers  and  the  two 
companies  of  United  States  Dragoons  who 
came  with  General  Kearny  were  stationed  at 
Los  Angeles  to  do  guard  duty  and  prevent  any 
uprising  of  the  natives. 

Colonel  Fremont's  appointment  as  governor 
of  California  had  never  been  recognized  by 
General  Kearny.  So  when  the  general  had 
made  himself  supreme  at  Monterey  he  ordered 
Fremont  to  report  to  him  at  the  capital  and 
turn  over  the  papers  of  his  governorship.  Fre- 
mont did  so  and  passed  out  of  office.  He  was 
nominally  governor  of  the  territory  about  two 
months.  His  appointment  was  made  by  Com- 
modore Stockton,  but  was  never  confirmed  by 
the  president  or  secretary  of  war.  -His  jurisdic- 
tion did  not  extend  beyond  Los  Angeles.  He 
left  Los  Angeles  May  12  for  Monterey.  From 
that  place,  in  company  with  General  Kearny. 
on  May  31,  he  took  his  departure  for  the  states. 
The  relations  between  the  two  were  strained. 
While  ostensibly  traveling  as  one  company, 
each  officer,  with  his  staff  and  escort,  made  sep- 
arate camps.  At  Fort  Leavenworth  General 
Kearny  placed  Fremont  under  arrest  and  pre- 
ferred charges  against  him  for  disobedience  of 
orders.    He  was  tried  by  court-martial  at  Wash- 


ington and  was  ably  defended  by  his  father-in- 
law,  Colonel  Benton,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
William  Carey  Jones.  The  court  found  him 
guilty  and  fixed  the  penalty,  dismissal  from  the 
service.  President  Polk  remitted  the  penalty 
and  ordered  Colonel  Fremont  to  resume  his 
sword  and  report  for  duty.  He  did  so,  but 
shortly  afterward  resigned  his  commission  and 
left  the  army. 

While  Colonel  Cooke  was  in  command  of 
the  southern  district  rumors  reached  Los  An- 
geles that  the  Mexican  general,  Bustamente, 
with  a  force  of  fifteen  hundred  men,  was  pre- 
paring to  reconquer  California.  "Positive  infor- 
mation," writes  Colonel  Cooke,  under  date  of 
April  20,  1847,  "has  been  received  that  the 
Mexican  government  has  appropriated  $600,000 
towards  fitting  out  this  force."  It  was  also  re- 
ported that  cannon  and  military  stores  had  been 
landed  at  San  Vicente,  in  Lower  California. 
Rumors  of  an  approaching  army  came  thick  and 
fast.  The  natives  were  supposed  to  be  in  league 
with  Bustamente  and  to  be  secretly  preparing 
for  an  uprising.  Precautions  were  taken  against 
a  surprise.  A  troop  of  cavalry  was  sent  to 
Warner's  ranch  to  patrol  the  Sonora  road  as 
far  as  the  desert.  The  construction  of  a  fort 
on  the  hill  fully  commanding  the  town,  which 
had  previously  been  determined  upon,  was 
begun  and  a  company  of  infantry  posted  on 
the  hill. 

On  the  23d  of  April,  three  months  after  work 
had  ceased  on  Emory's  fort,  the  construction  of 
the  second  fort  was  begun  and  pushed  vigor- 
ously. Rumors  continued  to  come  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  enemy.  May  3,  Colonel  Cooke 
writes:  "A  report  was  received  through  the 
most  available  sources  of  information  that  Gen- 
eral Bustamente  hail  crossed  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia near  its  head,  in  boats  of  the  pearl  fishers, 
and  at  last  information  was  at  a  rancho  on  the 
western  road,  seventy  leagues  below  San 
Diego."  Colonel  Stevenson's  regimenl  of  New 
York  volunteers  had  recently  arrived  in  Cali- 
fornia. Two  companies  of  tin'  regiment  had 
been  sent  to  Los  Angeles  and  two  to  San 
Diego.  The  report  that  Colonel  Cooke  had  re- 
ceived reinforcement  and  that  ]  les  was 
being  fortified  was  supposed   to  have  frightened 


140 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Bustamente  into  abandoning  his  invasion  of 
California.  Bustamente's  invading  army  was 
largely  the  creation  of  somebody's  fertile  imag- 
ination. The  scare,  however,  had  the  effect  of 
hurrying  up  work  on  the  fort.  May  13,  Colo- 
nel Cooke  resigned  and  Col.  J.  B.  Stevenson 
succeeded  him  in  the  command  of  the  southern 
military  district. 

Colonel  Stevenson  continued  work  on  the 
fort  and  on  the  1st  of  July  work  had  progressed 
so  far  that  he  decided  to  dedicate  and  name  it 
on  the  4th.  He  issued  an  official  order  for  the 
celebration  of  the  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of 
American  independence  at  this  port,  as  he  called 
Los  Angeles.  "At  sunrise  a  Federal  salute  will 
be  fired  from  the  field  work  on  the  hill  which 
commands  this  town  and  for  the  first  time  from 
this  point  the  American  standard  will  be  dis- 
played. At  11  o'clock  all  the  troops  of  the 
district,  consisting  of  the  Mormon  battalion,  the 
two  companies  of  dragoons  and  two  companies 
of  the  New  York  volunteers,  were  formed  in  a 
hollow  square  at  the  fort.  The  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  read  in  English  by  Captain 
Stuart  Taylor  and  in  Spanish  by  Stephen  C. 
Foster.  The  native  Californians,  seated  on  their 
horses  in  rear  of  the  soldiers,  listened  to  Don 
Esteban  as  he  rolled  out  in  sonorous  Spanish  the 
Declaration's  arraignment  of  King  George  III., 
and  smiled.  They  had  probably  never  heard  of 
King  George  or  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, either,  but  they  knew  a  pronunciamiento 
when  they  heard  it,  and  after  a  pronunciamiento 
in  their  governmental  system  came  a  revolution, 
therefore  they  smiled  at  the  prospect  of  a  gringo 
revolution.  "At  the  close  of  this  ceremony 
(reading  of  the  Declaration)  the  field  work  will 
be  dedicated  and  appropriately  named;  and  at 
12  o'clock  a  national  salute  will  be  fired.  The 
field  work  at  this  post  having  been  planned  and 
the  work  conducted  entirely  by  Lieutenant  Da- 
vidson of  the  First  Dragoons,  he  is  requested 
to  hoist  upon  it  for  the  first  time  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  4th  the  American  standard."  *  *  * 
The  commander  directs  that  from  and  after  the 
4th  instant  the  fort  shall  bear  the  name  of 
Moure.  Benjamin  D.  Moore,  after  whom  the  fort 
was  named,  was  captain  of  Company  A,  First 
United  States  Dragoons.     He  was  killed  by  a 


lance  thrust  in  the  disastrous  charge  at  the  bat- 
tle of  San  Pasqual.  This  fort  was  located  on 
what  is  now  called  Fort  Hill,  near  the  geograph- 
ical center  of  Los  Angeles.  It  was  a  breastwork 
about  four  hundred  feet  long  with  bastions  and 
embrasures  for  cannon.  The  principal  em- 
brasure commanded  the  church  and  the  plaza, 
two  places  most  likely  to  be  the  rallying  points 
in  a  rebellion.  It  was  built  more  for  the  sup- 
pression of  a  revolt  than  to  resist  an  invasion. 
It  was  in  a  commanding  position;  two  hundred 
men,  about  its  capacity,  could  have  defended  it 
against  a  thousand  if  the  attack  came  from  the 
front;  but  as  it  was  never  completed,  in  an  at- 
tack from  the  rear  it  could  easily  have  been  cap- 
tured with  an  equal  force. 

Col.  Richard  B.  Mason  succeeded  General 
Kearny  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  troops 
and  military  governor  of  California.  Col.  Philip 
St.  George  Cooke  resigned  command  of  the 
military  district  of  the  south  May  13,  joined 
General  Kearny  at  Monterey  and  went  east 
with  him.  As  previously  stated,  Col.  J.  D.  Ste- 
venson, of  the  New  York  volunteers,  succeeded 
him.  His  regiment,  the  First  New  York,  but 
really  the  Seventh,  had  been  recruited  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state  of  New  York  in  the 
summer  of  1846,  for  the  double  purpose  of  con- 
quest and  colonization.  The  United  States  gov- 
ernment had  no  intention  of  giving  up  California 
once  it  was  conquered,  and  therefore  this  regi- 
ment came  to  the  coast  well  provided  with  pro- 
visions and  implements  of  husbandry.  It  came 
to  California  via  Cape  Horn  in  three  transports. 
The  first  ship,  the  Perkins,  arrived  at  San 
Francisco,  March  6,  1847;  the  second,  the  Drew, 
March  19;  and  the  third,  the  Loo  Choo,  March 
26.  Hostilities  had  ceased  in  California  before 
their  arrival.  Two  companies,  A  and  B,  under 
command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Burton,  were 
sent  to  Lower  California,  where  they  saw  hard 
service  and  took  part  in  several  engagements. 
The  other  companies  of  the  regiment  were  sent 
to  different  towns  in  Alta  California  to  do  gar- 
rison duty. 

Another  military  organization  that  reached 
California  after  the  conquest  was  Company  F 
ol  the  Third  United  States  Artillery.  It  landed 
at    Monterey  January  28,   1847.     It  vvas  com- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


147 


manded  by  Capt.  C.  O.  Thompkins.  With 
it  came  Lieuts.  E.  O.  C.  Ord,  William  T.  Sher- 
man and  H.  W.  Halleck,  all  of  whom  became 
prominent  in  California  affairs  and  attained  na- 
tional reputation  during  the  Civil  war.  The 
Mormon  battalion  was  mustered  out  in  July, 
1847.  One  company  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain Hunt  re-enlisted.  The  others  made  their 
way  to  LTtah,  where  they  joined  their  brethren 
who  the  year  before  had  crossed  the  plains  and 
founded  the  City  of  Salt  Lake.  The  Xew  York 
volunteers  were  discharged  in  August,  1848. 
After  the  treaty  of  peace,  in  1848,  four  compa- 
nies of  United  States  Dragoons,  under  com- 
mand of  Major  L.  P.  Graham,  marched  from 
Chihuahua,  by  way  of  Tucson,  to  California. 
Major  Graham  was  the  last  military  commander 
of  the  south. 

Commodore  W.  Branford  Shubrick  succeeded 
Commodore  Stockton  in  command  of  the  naval 
forces  of  the  north  Pacific  coast.  Jointly  with 
General  Kearny  he  issued  a  circular  or  proc- 
lamation to  the  people  of  California,  printed  in 
English  and  Spanish,  setting  forth  "That  the 
president  of  the  United  States,  desirous  to  give 
and  secure  to  the  people  of  California  a  share 
of  the  good  government  and  happy  civil  organ- 
ization enjoyed  by  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  protect  them  at  the  same  time 
from  the  attacks  of  foreign  foes  and  from  inter- 
nal commotions,  has  invested  the  undersigned 
with  separate  and  distinct  powers,  civil  and  mil- 
itary; a  cordial  co-operation  in  the  exercise  of 
which,  it  is  hoped  and  believed,  will  have  the 
happy  results  desired. 

"To  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  naval 
forces  the  president  has  assigned  the  regula- 
tion of  the  import  trade,  the  conditions  on  which 
vessels  of  all  nations,  our  own  as  well  as  foreign, 
may  be  admitted  into  the  ports  of  the  territory, 
and  the  establishment  of  all  port  regulations. 
To  the  commanding  military  officer  the  presi- 
dent has  assigned  the  direction  of  the  operations 
on  land  and  has  invested  him  with  administra- 
tive functions  of  government  over  the  people 
and  territory  occupied  by  the  forces  of  the 
United  States. 

"Done  at  Monterey,  capital  of  California,  this 
1st  day  of  March,  A.  D.   1847.     W.   Branford 


Shubrick,  commander-in-chief  of  the  naval 
forces.  S.  W.  Kearny,  Brig.-Gen.  United  States 
Army,  and  Governor  of  California." 

Under  the  administration  of  Col.  Richard  B. 
Mason,  the  successor  of  General  Kearny  as 
military  governor,  the  reconstruction,  or,  more 
appropriately,  the  transformation  period  began. 
The  orders  from  the  general  government  were 
to  conciliate  the  people  and  to  make  no  radical 
changes  in  the  form  of  government.  The  Mex- 
ican laws  were  continued  in  force.  Just  what 
these  laws  were,  it  was  difficult  to  find  out.  \<i 
code  commissioner  had  codified  the  laws  and  it 
sometimes  happened  that  the  judge  made  the 
law  to  suit  the  case.  Under  the  old  regime  the  al- 
calde was  often  law-giver,  judge,  jury  and  exe- 
cutioner, all  in  one.  Occasionally  there  was  fric- 
tion between  the  military  and  civil  powers,  and 
there  were  rumors  of  insurrections  and  inva- 
sions, but  nothing  came  of  them.  The  Califor- 
nians,  with  easy  good  nature  so  characteristic 
of  them,  made  the  best  of  the  situation.  "A 
thousand  things,"  says  Judge  Hays,  "combined 
to  smooth  the  asperities  of  war.  Eremont  had 
been  courteous  and  gay:  Mason  was  just  and 
firm.  The  natural  good  temper  of  the  popula- 
tion favored  a  speedy  and  perfect  conciliation. 
The  American  officers  at  once  found  themselves 
happy  in  every  circle.  In  suppers,  balls,  visiting 
in  town  and  country,  the  hours  glided  away  with 
pleasant  reflections." 

There  were,  however,  a  few  individuals  who 
were  not  happy  unless  they  could  stir  up  dis- 
sensions and  cause  trouble.  One  of  the  chief  of 
these  was  Serbulo  Yarela,  agitator  and  revolu- 
tionist. Yarela.  for  some  offense  not  specified 
in  the  records,  had  been  committed  to  prison  by 
the  second  alcalde  of  Los  Angeles.  Colonel  Ste- 
venson turned  him  out  of  jail,  and  Yarela  gave 
the  judge  a  tongue  lashing  in  refuse  Castilian. 
The  judge's  official  dignity  was  hurt.  He  sent 
a  communication  to  the  ayuntamiento  saying: 
"Owing  to  personal  abuse  which  1  received  ai 
the  hands  of  a  private  individual  and  from  the 
present  military  commander,  I  tender  my  resig- 
nation." 

The  ayuntamiento  senl  a  1  immunii  ation  to 
Colonel  Stevenson  asking  why  he  had  turned 
Yarela  out  of  jail  and  why  he  had  insulted  the 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


judge.  The  colonel  curtly  replied  that  the  mili- 
tary would  not  act  as  jailers  over  persons  guilty 
of  trifling  offenses  while  the  city  had  plenty  of 
persons  to  do  guard  duty  at  the  jail.  As  to  the 
abuse  of  the  judge,  he  was  not  aware  that  any 
abuse  had  been  given,  and  would  take  no  further 
notice  of  him  unless  he  stated  the  nature  of  the 
insult  offered  him.  The  council  decided  to  no- 
tify the  governor  of  the  outrage  perpetrated  by 
the  military  commander,  and  the  second  alcalde 
said  since  he  could  get  no  satisfaction  for  insults 
to  his  authority  from  the  military  despot,  he 
would  resign:  but  the  council  would  not  accept 
his  resignation,  so  he  refused  to  act,  and  the  city 
had  to  worry  along  with  one  alcalde. 

Although  foreigners  had  been  coming  to  Cali- 
fornia ever  since  1814,  their  numbers  had  not 
increased  very  rapidly.  Nearly  all  of  these  had 
found  their  way  there  by  sea.  Those  who  had 
become  permanent  residents  had  married  native 
Californian  women  and  adopted  the  customs  of 
the  country.  Capt.  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  in  1827, 
crossed  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains  from  Cali- 
fornia and  by  way  of  the  Humboldt,  or,  as  he 
named  it,  the  Mary  River,  had  reached  the  Great 
Salt  Lake.  From  there  through  the  South  Pass 
of  the  Rocky  mountains  the  route  had  been 
traveled  for  several  years  by  the  fur  trappers. 
This  latter  became  the  great  emigrant  route  to 
California  a  few  years  later.  A  southern  route 
by  way  of  Santa  Fe  had  been  marked  out  and 
the  Pattee  party  had  found  their  way  to  the 
Colorado  by  the  Gila  route,  but  so  far  no  emi- 
grant trains  had  come  from  the  States  to  Cali- 
fornia with  women  and  children.  The  first  of 
these  mixed  trains  was  organized  in  western 
Missouri  in  May,  1841.  The  party  consisted  of 
sixty-nine  persons,  including  men,  women  and 
children.  This  party  divided  at  Soda  Springs, 
half  going  to  Oregon  and  the  others  keeping  on 
their  way  to  California.  They  reached  the  San 
Joaquin  valley  in  November,  1841,  after  a  toil- 
some journey  of  six  months.  The  first  settle- 
ment they  found  was  Dr.  Marsh's  ranch  in  what 
is  now  called  Contra  Costa  county.  Marsh  gave 
them  a  cordial  reception  at  first,  but  afterwards 
11  e  ited  them  meanly. 

Fourteen  of  the  party  started  for  the  Pueblo 
de   San   Jose.     At   the    Mission    of    San  Jose, 


twelve  miles  from  the  Pueblo,  they  were  all  ar- 
rested by  order  of  General  Vallejo.  One  of  the 
men  was  sent  to  Dr.  Marsh  to  have  him  come 
forthwith  and  explain  why  an  armed  force  of 
liis  countn  men  were  roaming  around  the  coun- 
try without  passports.  Marsh  secured  their  re- 
lease and  passports  for  all  the  party.  On  his 
return  home  he  charged  the  men  who  had  re- 
mained at  his  ranch  $5  each  for  a  passport,  al- 
though the  passports  had  cost  him  nothing.  As 
there  was  no  money  in  the  party,  each  had  to 
put  up  some  equivalent  from  his  scanty  posses- 
sions. Marsh  had  taken  this  course  to  reim- 
burse himself  for  the  meal  he  had  given  the 
half-starved  emigrants  the  first  night  of  their 
arrival  at  his  ranch. 

In  marked  contrast  with  the  meanness  of 
Marsh  was  the  liberality  of  Captain  Sutter.  Sut- 
ter had  built  a  fort  at  the  junction  of  the  Amer- 
ican river  and  the  Sacramento  in  1839  and  had 
obtained  extensive  land  grants.  His  fort  was 
the  frontier  post  for  the  overland  emigration. 
Gen.  John  Bidwell,  who  came  with  the  first 
emigrant  train  to  California,  in  a  description  of 
"Life  in  California  Before  the  Gold  Discovery," 
says:  "Nearly  everybody  who  came  to  Califor- 
nia then  made  it  a  point  to  reach  Sutter's  Fort. 
Sutter  was  one  of  the  most  liberal  and  hospita- 
ble of  men.  Everybody  was  welcome,  one  man 
or  a  hundred,  it  was  all  the  same." 

Another  emigrant  train,  known  as  the  Work- 
man-Rowland party,  numbering  forty-five  per- 
sons, came  from  Santa  Fe  by  the  Gila  route  to 
Los  Angeles.  About  twenty-five  of  this  party- 
were  persons  who  had  arrived  too  late  at  West- 
port,  Mo.,  to  join  the  northern  emigrant  party, 
so  they  went  with  the  annual  caravan  of  St. 
Louis  traders  to  Santa  Fe  and  from  there,  with 
traders  and  trappers,  continued  their  journey  to 
California.  From  1841  to  the  American  con- 
quest immigrant  trains  came  across  the  plains 
every  year. 

One  of  the  most  noted  of  these,  on  account  of 
the  tragic  fate  that  befell  it.  was  the  Donner 
party.  The  nucleus  of  this  party,  George  and 
Jacob  Donner  and  James  K.  Reed,  with  their 
families,  started  from  Springfield,  III,  in  the 
spring  of  1846.  By  accretions  and  combinations, 
when  it  reached   Fort   Bridger,  July  25,  it  had 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


14'.t 


increased  to  eighty-seven  persons — thirty-six 
men,  twenty-one  women  and  thirty  children, 
under  the  command  of  George  Dormer.  A  new 
route  called  the  Hastings  Cut-Off,  had  just  been 
opened  by  Lansford  W.  Hastings.  This  route- 
passed  to  the  south  of  Great  Salt  Lake  and 
struck  the  old  Fort  Hall  emigrant  road  on  the 
Humboldt.  It  was  claimed  that  the  "cut-off" 
shortened  the  distance  three  hundred  miles. 
The  Donner  party,  by  misrepresentations,  were 
induced  to  take  this  route.  The  cut-off  proved 
to  be  almost  impassable.  They  started  on  the 
cut-off  the  last  day  of  July,  and  it  was  the  end 
of  September  when  they  struck  the  old  emigrant 
trail  on  the  Humboldt.  They  had  lost  most  of 
their  cattle  and  were  nearly  out  of  provisions. 
From  this  on,  unmerciful  disaster  followed  them 
fast  and  faster.  In  an  altercation,  Reed,  one  of 
the  best  men  of  the  party,  killed  Snyder.  He 
was  banished  from  the  train  and  compelled  to 
leave  his  wife  and  children  behind.  An  old 
Belgian  named  Hardcoop  and  Wolfinger,  a 
German,  unable  to  keep  up,  were  abandoned  to 
die  on  the  road.  Fikc  was  accidentally  shot  by 
Foster.  The  Indians  stole  a  number  of  their 
cattle,  and  one  calamity  after  another  delayed 
them.  In  the  latter  part  of  October  they  had 
reached  the  Truckee.  Here  they  encountered  a 
heavy  snow  storm,  which  blocked  all  further 
progress.  They  wasted  their  strength  in  trying 
to  ascend  the  mountains  in  the  deep  snow  that 
had  fallen.  Finally,  finding  this  impossible,  they 
turned  back  and  built  cabins  at  a  lake  since 
known  as  Donner  Lake,  and  prepared  to  pass 
the  winter.  Most  of  their  oxen  had  strayed 
away  during  the  storm  and  perished.  Those 
still  alive  they  killed  and  preserved  the  meat. 
A  party  of  fifteen,  ten  men  and  five  women, 


known  as  the  "Forlorn  Hope,"  started,  Decem- 
ber 16,  on  snowshoes  to  cross  the  Sierras.  They 
had  provisions  for  six  days,  but  the  journey 
consumed  thirty-two  days.  Eight  of  the  ten 
men  perished,  and  among  them  the  noble  Stan- 
ton, who  hail  brought  relief  to  the  emigrants 
from  Sutter's  Fort  before  the  snows  began  to 
fall.  The  five  women  survived.  Upon  the  ar- 
rival of  the  wretched  survivors  of  the  "Forlorn 
Hope,"  the  terrible  sufferings  of  the  snow-bound 
immigrants  were  made  known  at  Sutter's  Fort, 
and  the  first  relief  party  was  organized,  and  on 
the  5th  of  February  started  for  the  lake.  Seven 
of  the  thirteen  who  started  succeeded  in  reach- 
ing the  lake.  On  the  19th  they  started  back 
with  twenty-one  of  the  immigrants,  three  of 
whom  died  on  the  way.  A  second  relief,  under 
Reed  and  McCutchen,  was  organized.  Reed 
had  gone  to  Yerba  Buena  to  seek  assistance.  A 
public  meeting  was  called  and  $1,500  subscribed. 
The  second  relief  started  from  Johnston's 
Ranch,  the  nearest  point  to  the  mountains,  on 
the  23d  of  February  and  reached  the  camp  on 
.March  1st.  They  brought  out  seventeen.  Two 
others  were  organized  and  reached  Donner 
Lake,  the  last  on  the  17th  of  April.  The  only 
survivor  then  was  Keseburg,  a  German,  who 
was  hated  by  all  the  company.  There  was  a 
strong  suspicion  that  he  had  killed  Mrs.  Don- 
ner. who  had  refused  to  leave  her  husband  (who 
was  too  weak  to  travel)  with  the  previous  relief. 
There  were  threats  of  hanging  him.  Keseburg 
had  saved  his  life  by  eating  the  bodies  of  the 
e'ead.  Of  the  original  party  of  eighty-seven,  a 
total  of  thirty-nine  perished  from  starvation. 
Most  of  the  survivors  were  compelled  to  resort 
to  cannabalism.  They  were  not  to  blame  if  they 
did. 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RLCoRD. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 


MEXICAN    LAWS    AND    AMERICAN    OFFICIALS. 


Ul'i  )N  the  departure  of  General  Kearny, 
.May  31,  1847,  Col.  Richard  D.  Mason 
became  governor  and  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  United  States  forces  in  California 
by  order  of  the  president.  Stockton,  Kearny 
and  Fremont  had  taken  their  departure,  the 
dissensions  that  had  existed  since  the  conquest 
of  the  territory  among  the  conquerors  ceased, 
and  peace  reigned. 

There  were  reports  of  Mexican  invasions  and 
suspicions  of  secret  plottings  against  gringo 
rule,  but  the  invaders  came  not  and  the  plottings 
never  produced  even  the  mildest  form  of  a  Mexi- 
can revolution.  Mexican  laws  were  adminis- 
tered for  the  most  part  by  military  officers.  The 
municipal  authorities  were  encouraged  to  con- 
tinue in  power  and  perform  their  governmental 
functions,  but  they  were  indifferent  and  some- 
times rebelled.  Under  Mexican  rule  there  was 
no  trial  by  jury.  The  alcalde  acted  as  judge 
and  in  criminal  cases  a  council  of  war  settled  the 
fate  of  the  criminal.  The  Rev.  Walter  Colton, 
while  acting  as  alcalde  of  Monterey,  in  1846-47, 
impaneled  the  first  jury  ever  summoned  in  Cali- 
fornia. "The  plaintiff  and  defendant,"  he  writes, 
"are  among  the  principal  citizens  of  the  country. 
The  case  was  one  involving  property  on  the  one 
side  and  integrity  of  character  on  the  other.  Its 
merits  had  been  pretty  widely  discussed,  and 
had  called  forth  an  unusual  interest.  One-third 
of  tlie  jury  were  Mexicans,  one-third  Califor- 
nians  and  the  other  third  Americans.  This  mix- 
ture may  have  the  bitter  answered  the  ends  of 
justice,  but  I  was  apprehensive  at  one  time  it 
would  embarrass  the  proceedings;  for  the  plaint- 
iff spoke  in  English,  the  defendant  in  French; 
the  jury,  save  the  Americans,  Spanish,  and  the 
witnesses,  all  the  languages  known  to  California. 
By  the  tact  of  Mr.  Hartnell,  who  acted  as  inter- 
prel  r,  and  tin-  absence  of  young  lawyers,  we 
got  along  very  well. 


"The  examination  of  witnesses  lasted  five  or 
six  hours.  I  then  gave  the  case  to  the  jury, 
stating  the  questions  of  fact  upon  which  they 
were  to  render  their  verdict.  They  retired  for 
an  hour  and  then  returned,  when  the  foreman 
handed  in  their  verdict,  which  was  clear  and 
explicit,  though  the  case  itself  was  rather  com- 
plicated. To  this  verdict  both  parties  bowed 
without  a  word  of  dissent.  The  inhabitants  who 
witnessed  the  trial  said  it  was  what  they  liked, 
that  there  could  be  no  bribery  in  it,  that  the 
opinion  of  twelve  honest  men  should  set  the 
case  forever  at  rest.  And  so  it  did,  though 
neither  party  completely  triumphed  in  the  issue. 
One  recovered  his  property,  which  had  been 
taken  from  him  by  mistake,  the  other  his  char- 
acter, which  had  been  slandered  by  design." 

The  process  of  Americanizing  the  people  was 
no  easy  undertaking.  The  population  of  the 
country  and  its  laws  were  in  a  chaotic  condition. 
It  was  an  arduous  task  that  Colonel  Mason  and 
the  military  commanders  at  the  various  pueblos 
had  to  perform,  that  of  evolving  order  out  of 
the  chaos  that  had  been  brought  about  by  the 
change  in  nations.  The  native  population 
neither  understood  the  language  nor  the  cus- 
toms of  their  new  rules,  and  the  newcomers 
among  the  Americans  had  very  little  toleration 
for  the  slow-going  Mexican  ways  and  methods 
they  found  prevailing.  To  keep  peace  between 
the  factions  required  more  tact  than  knowledge 
of  law,  military  or  civil,  in  the  commanders. 

Los  Angeles,  under  Mexican  domination,  hail 
been  the  storm  center  of  revolutions,  and  here 
under  the  new  regime  the  most  difficulty  was 
encountered  in  transforming  the  quondam  rev- 
olutionists into  law-abiding  and  peaceful  Amer- 
ican citizens.  The  ayuntamiento  was  convened 
in  1S47,  after  the  conquest,  and  continued  in 
power  until  the  close  of  the  vear.  When  the 
time  came  round  for  the  election  of  a  new  ayun- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


151 


tamiento  there  was  trouble.  Stephen  C.  Foster, 
Colonel  Stevenson's  interpreter,  submitted  a 
paper  to  the  council  stating  that  the  govern- 
ment had  authorized  him  to  get  up  a  register  of 
voters.  The  ayuntamiento  voted  to  return  the 
paper  just  as  it  was  received.  Then  the  colonel 
made  a  demand  of  the  council  to  assist  Stephen 
in  compiling  a  register  of  voters.  Regidor  Cha- 
vez took  the  floor  and  said  such  a  register 
should  not  be  gotten  up  under  the  auspices  of 
the  military,  but,  since  the  government  had  so 
disposed,  thereby  outraging  this  honorable 
body,  no  attention  should  be  paid  to  said  com- 
munication. But  the  council  decided  that  the 
matter  did  not  amount  to  much,  so  they  granted 
the  request,  much  to  the  disgust  of  Chavez. 
The  election  was  held  and  a  new  ayuntamiento 
elected.  At  the  last  meeting  of  the  old  council, 
December  29,  1847,  Colonel  Stevenson  ad- 
dressed a  note  to  it  requesting  that  Stephen  C. 
Foster  be  recognized  as  first  alcalde  and  judge 
of  the  first  instance.  The  council  decided  to 
turn  the  whole  business  over  to  its  successor,  to 
deal  with  as  it  sees  fit. 

Colonel  Stevenson's  request  was  made  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  wish  of  Governor  Mason 
that  a  part  of  the  civil  offices  be  filled  by  Amer- 
icans. The  new  ayuntamiento  resented  the  in- 
terference. How  the  matter  terminated  is  best 
told  in  Stephen  C.  Foster's  own  words:  "Colo- 
nel Stevenson  was  determined  to  have  our  in- 
auguration done  in  style.  So  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, January  1,  1848,  he.  together  with 
myself  and  colleague,  escorted  by  a  guard  of 
soldiers,  proceeded  from  the  colonel's  quarters 
to  the  alcalde's  office.  There  we  found  the  re- 
tiring ayuntamiento  and  the  new  one  awaiting 
our  arrival.  The  oath  of  office  was  adminis- 
tered by  the  retiring  first  alcalde.  We  knelt  to 
take  the  oath,  when  we  found  tiny  had  changed 
their  minds,  and  the  alcalde  told  us  that  if  two 
of  their  number  were  to  be  kicked  out  they 
would  all  go.  So  they  all  marched  out  and  left 
us  in  possession.  Here  was  a  dilemma,  but 
Colonel  Stevenson  was  equal  to  the  emergency. 
He  said  he  could  give  us  a  swear  as  well  as  the 
alcalde.  So  we  stood  up  and  he  administered 
to  us  an  oath  to  support  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States  and  administer  justice  in  ac- 


cordance  with  Mexican  law.  I  then  knew  as 
much  about  Mexican  law  as  I  did  about  Chinese, 
and  my  colleague  knew  as  much  as  I  did.  Guer- 
rero gathered  up  the  books  that  pertained  to  his 
office  and  took  them  to  his  house,  where  he 
established  his  office,  and  I  took  the  archives 
and  records  across  the  street  to  a  house  I  had 
rented,  and  there  I  was  duly  installed  for  the 
next  seventeen  months,  the  first  American  al- 
calde and  carpet-bagger  in  Los  Angeles." 

Colonel  Stevenson  issued  a  call  for  the  elec- 
tion of  a  new  ayuntamiento,  but  the  people 
stayed  at  home  and  no  votes  were  cast.  At  the 
close  of  the  year  the  voters  had  gotten  over 
their  pet  and  when  a  call  was  made  a  council 
was  elected,  but  only  Californians  (hijos  del 
pais)  were  returned.  The  ayuntamientos  con- 
tinued to  be  the  governing  power  in  the  pueblos 
until  superseded  by  city  and  county  govern- 
ments in  1850. 

The  most  difficult  problem  that  General  Kear- 
ny in  his  short  term  had  to  confront  and,  un- 
solved, he  handed  down  to  his  successor.  Colo- 
nel Mason,  was  the  authority  and  jurisdiction 
of  the  alcaldes.  Under  the  Mexican  regime 
these  officers  were  supreme  in  the  pueblo  over 
which  they  ruled.  For  the  Spanish  transgressor 
fines  of  various  degrees  were  the  usual  penalty; 
for  the  mission  neophyte,  the  lash,  well  laid  on, 
and  labor  in  the  chain  gang.  There  was  no 
written  code  that  defined  the  amount  of  pun- 
ishment, the  alcalde  meted  out  justice  and  some- 
times injustice,  as  suited  his  humor.  Kearny 
appointed  John  H.  Nash  alcalde  of  Sonoma. 
Nash  was  a  somewhat  erratic  individual,  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  Bear  Flag  revolution. 
When  the  offices  of  the  prospective  Pacific  Re- 
public were  divided  among  the  revolutionists, 
he  was  to  be  the  chief  justice.  After  the  col- 
lapse of  that  short-lived  republic.  Nash  was 
elected  alcalde.  His  rule  was  so  arbitrary  and 
his  decisions  so  biased  by  favoritism  or  preju- 
dice that  the  American  settlers  soon  protested 
and  General  Kearny  removed  him  or  tried  to. 
He  appointed  L.  W.  Boggs,  a  recently  arrived 
immigrant,  to  the  office.  Mash  refused  to  sur- 
render the  books  and  papers  oi  the  office.  Lieut. 
W.  T.  Sherman  was  detailed  by  Colonel  Mason, 
after  his  succession  '  >l  governor,  to 


152 


HISTORICAL  AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


proceed  to  Sonoma  ami  arrest  Nash.  Sherman 
quietly  arrested  him  at  night  and  before  the 
bellicose  alcalde's  friends  (for  he  had  quite  a  fol- 
lowing) were  aware  of  what  was  going  on, 
marched  him  off  to  San  Francisco.  He  was 
put  on  board  the  Dale  and  sent  to  Monterey. 
Finding  that  it  was  useless  for  him  to  resist  the 
authority  of  the  United  States,  its  army  and 
navy  as  well,  Nash  expressed  his  willingness  to 
submit  to  the  inevitable,  and  surrendered  his 
office.  He  was  released  and  ceased  from  troub- 
ling. Another  strenuous  alcalde  was  William 
Blackburn,  of  Santa  Cruz.  He  came  to  the 
country  in  1845,  and  before  his  elevation  to  the 
honorable  position  of  a  judge  of  the  first  in- 
stance he  had  been  engaged  in  making  shingles 
in  the  redwoods.  He  had  no  knowledge  of  law 
and  but  little  acquaintance  with  books  of  any 
kind.  His  decisions  were  always  on  the  side  of 
justice,  although  some  of  the  penalties  imposed 
were  somewhat  irregular. 

In  Alcalde  Blackburn's  docket  for  August  14, 
1847,  appears  this  entry:  "Pedro  Gomez  was 
tried  for  the  murder  of  his  wife,  Barbara  Gomez, 
and  found  guilty.  The  sentence  of  the  court  is 
that  the  prisoner  be  conducted. back  to  prison, 
there  to  remain  until  Monday,  the  16th  of  Au- 
gust, and  then  be  taken  out  and  shot."  August 
17.  sentence  carried  into  effect  on  the  16th  ac- 
cordingly.        William    Blackburn,  Alcalde. 

It  does  not  appear  in  the  records  that  Black- 
burn was  the  executioner.  He  proceeded  to 
dispose  of  the  two  orphaned  children  of  the 
murderer.  The  older  daughtei  he  indentured  to 
Jacinto  Castro  "to  raise  until  she  is  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  unless  sooner  married,  said  Ja- 
cinto Castro,  obligating  himself  to  give  her  a 
good  education,  three  cows  and  calves  at  her 
marriage  or  when  of  age."  The  younger  daugh- 
ter was  disposed  of  on  similar  terms  to  A.  Rod- 
riguez. Colonel  Mason  severely  reprimanded 
Blackburn,  but  the  alcalde  replied  that  there 
was  no  use  making  a  fuss  river  it;  the  man  was 
guilty,  he  had  a  fair  trial  before  a  jury  and  de- 
served to  die.  Another  case  in  his  court  illus- 
trates the  versatility  of  the  judge.  A  Spanish 
boy,  out  of  revenge,  sheared  the  mane  and  tail 
of  a  neighbor's  horse.    The  offense  was  proved, 


but  the  judge  uas  sorely  perplexed  when  he 
came  to  sentence  the  culprit.  He  could  find  no 
law  in  his  law  books  to  fit  the  case.  After  pon- 
dering over  the  question  a  while,  he  gave  this 
decision:  "I  find  no  law  in  any  of  the  statutes 
to  fit  this  case,  except  in  the  law  of  Moses,  'An 
eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  Let  the 
prisoner  be  taken  out  in  front  of  this  office  and 
there  sheared  close."  The  sentence  was  imme- 
diately executed. 

Another  story  is  told  of  Blackburn,  which 
may  or  may  not  be  true.  A  mission  Indian  who 
had  committed  murder  took  the  right  of  sanc- 
tuary in  the  church,  and  the  padre  refused  to 
give  him  up.  Blackburn  wrote  to  the  governor, 
slating  the  case.  The  Indian,  considering  him- 
self safe  while  with  the  padre,  left  the  church 
in  company  with  the  priest.  Blackburn  seized 
him,  tried  him  and  hung  him.  He  then  reported 
to  the  governor:  "I  received  your  order  to  sus- 
pend the  execution  of  the  condemned  man,  but 
I  had  hung  him.  When  I  see  you  I  will  ex- 
plain the  affair." 

Some  of  the  military  commanders  of  the  pre- 
sidios and  pueblos  gave  Governor  Mason  as 
much  trouble  as  the  alcaldes.  These,  for  the 
most  part,  were  officers  of  the  volunteers  who 
had  arrived  after  the  conquest.  They  were  un- 
used to  "war's  alarms,"  and.  being  new  to 
the  country  and  ignorant  of  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage, they  regarded  the  natives  with  suspicion. 
They  were  on  the  lookout  for  plots  and  revolu- 
tions. Sometimes  they  found  these  incubating 
and  undertook  to  crush  them,  only  to  discover 
that  the  affair  was  a  hoax  or  a  practical  joke. 
The  Canon  Perdido  (lost  canon)  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara episode  is  a  good  illustration  of  the 
trouble  one  "finicky"  man  can  make  when  en- 
trusted with  military  power. 

In  the  winter  of  1847-48  the  American  bark 
Elisabeth  was  wrecked  on  the  Santa  Barbara 
coast.  Among  the  flotsam  of  the  wreck  was  a 
brass  cannon  of  uncertain  calibre:  it  might  have 
been  a  six.  a  nine  or  a  twelve  pounder.  What 
the  capacity  of  its  bore  matters  not,  for  the  gun 
unloaded  made  more  noise  in  Santa  Barbara 
than  it  ever  did  when  it  belched  forth  shot  and 
shell  in  battle.  The  gun.  after  its  rescue  from 
a  watery  grave,  lay  for  some  time  on  the  beach, 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


devoid  of  carriage  and  useless,  apparently,  for 
offense  or  defense. 

One  dark  night  a  little  squad  of  native  Cali- 
fornians  stole  down  to  the  beach,  loaded  the 
gun  in  an  ox  cart,  hauled  it  to  the  estero  and 
hid  it  in  the  sands.  What  was  their  object  in 
taking  the  gun  no  one  knows.  Perhaps  they 
did  not  know  themselves.  It  might  come  handy 
in  a  revolution,  or  maybe  they  only  intended  to 
play  a  practical  joke  on  the  gringos.  Whatever 
their  object,  the  outcome  of  their  prank  must 
have  astonished  them.  There  was  a  company 
(F)  of  Stevenson's  New  York  volunteers  sta- 
tioned at  Santa  Barbara,  under  command  of 
Captain  Lippett.  Lippett  was  a  fussy,  nervous 
individual  who  lost  his  head  when  anything  un- 
usual occurred.  In  the  theft  of  the  cannon  he 
thought  he  had  discovered  a  California  revolu- 
tion in  the  formative  stages,  and  he  determined 
to  crush  it  in  its  infancy.  He  sent  post  haste  a 
courier  to  Governor  Mason  at  Monterey,  in- 
forming him  of  the  prospective  uprising  of  the 
natives  and  the  possible  destruction  of  the 
troops  at  Santa  Barbara  by  the  terrible  gun  the 
enemy  had  stolen. 

Colonel  Mason,  relying  on  Captain  Lippett's 
report,  determined  to  give  the  natives  a  lesson 
that  would  teach  them  to  let  guns  and  revolu- 
tions alone.  He  issued  an  order  from  headquar- 
ters at  Monterey,  in  which  he  said  that  ample 
time  having  been  allowed  for  the  return  of  the 
gun,  and  the  citizens  having  failed  to  produce 
it,  he  ordered  that  the  town  be  laid  under  a  con- 
tribution of  $500,  assessed  in  the  following  man- 
ner: A  capitation  tax  of  $2  on  all  males  over 
twenty  years  of  age;  the  balance  to  be  paid  by 
the  heads  of  families  and  property-holders  in  the 
proportion  of  the  value  of  their  respective  real 
and  personal  estate  in  the  town  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara and  vicinity.  Col.  J.  D.  Stevenson  was  ap- 
pointed to  direct  the  appraisement  of  the  prop- 
erty and  the  collection  of  the  assessment.  If 
any  failed  to  pay  his  capitation,  enough  of  his 
property  was  to  be  seized  and  sold  to  pay  his 
enforced  contribution. 

The  promulgation  of  the  order  at  Santa  Bar- 
bara raised  a  storm  of  indignation  at  the  old 
pueblo.  Colonel  Stevenson  came  up  from  Los 
Angeles  and  had  an  interview  with  Don  Pablo 


de  La  Guerra,  a  leading  citizen  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara. Don  Pablo  was  wrathfully  indignant  at 
the  insult  put  upon  his  people,  but  after  talking 
over  the  affair  with  Colonel  Stevenson,  he  be- 
came somewhat  mollified.  He  invited  Colonel 
Stevenson  to  make  Santa  Barbara  his  headquar- 
ters and  inquired  about  the  brass  band  at  the 
lower  pueblo.  Stevenson  took  the  hint  and  or- 
dered up  the  band  from  Los  Angeles.  July  4th 
had  been  fixed  upon  as  the  day  for  the  payment 
of  the  fines,  doubtless  with  the  idea  of  giving 
the  Californians  a  little  celebration  that  would 
remind  them  hereafter  of  Liberty's  natal  day. 
Colonel  Stevenson  contrived  to  have  the  band 
reach  Santa  Barbara  on  the  night  of  the  3d. 
The  band  astonished  Don  Pablo  and  his  family 
with  a  serenade.  The  Don  was  so  delighted 
that  he  hugged  the  colonel  in  the  most  approved 
style.  The  band  serenaded  all  the  Dons  of  note 
in  town  and  tooted  until  long  after  midnight, 
then  started  in  next  morning  and  kept  it  up 
till  ten  o'clock,  the  time  set  for  each  man  to  con- 
tribute his  "dos  pesos"  to  the  common  fund. 
By  that  time  every  hombre  on  the  list  was  so 
filled  with  wine,  music  and  patriotism  that  the 
greater  portion  of  the  fine  was  handed  over 
without  protest.  The  day  closed  with  a  grand 
hall.  The  beauty  and  the  chivalry  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara danced  to  the  music  of  a  gringo  brass 
hand  and  the  brass  cannon  for  the  nonce  was 
forgotten. 

But  the  memory  of  the  city's  ransom  rankled, 
and  although  an  American  band  played  Spanish 
airs,  American  injustice  was  still  remembered. 
When  the  city's  survey  was  made  in  1850  the 
nomenclature  of  three  streets,  Canon  Perdidd 
(Lost  Cannon  street),  Ouinientos  (Five  Hun- 
dred street)  and  Mason  street  kept  the  cannon 
episode  green  in  the  memory  of  the  Barbareiios. 
When  the  pueblo,  b)  legislative  act.  became  a 
ciudad,  the  municipal  authorities  selected  this 
device  for  a  seal:  In  the  center  a  cannon  em- 
blazoned, encircled  with  these  words.  Vale 
Ouinientos  IVsos — Worth  $500,  or,  more  liber- 
ally   translated.   <i 1-bye,   $500.   which,   b)    the 

way.  as  the  sequel  of  the  story  will  show,  is  the 
better  translation.  This  seal  was  used  from  the 
incorporation  of  the  cit)  in  [850  to  i860,  when 
another  design  was  chosen. 


154 


HISTORICAL  AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Alter  peace  was  declared,  Colonel  .Mason  sent 
the  $500  to  the  prefect  at  Santa  Barbara,  with 
instructions  to  use  it  in  building  a  city  jail;  and 
although  there  was  pressing  need  for  a  jail,  the 
jail  was  not  built.  The  prefect's  needs  were 
pressing,  too.  Several  years  passed;  then  the 
city  council  demanded  that  the  prefect  turn  the 
money  into  the  city  treasury.  He  replied  that 
the  money  was  entrusted  to  him  for  a  specific 
purpose,  and  he  would  trust  no  city  treasurer 
with  it.  The  fact  was  that  long  before  he  had 
lost  it  in  a  game  of  monte. 

Ten  years  passed,  and  the  episode  of  the  lost 
cannon  was  but  a  dimly  remembered  story  of 
the  olden  time.  The  old  gun  reposed  peacefully 
in  its  grave  of  sand  and  those  who  buried  it 
had  forgotten  the  place  of  its  interment.  One 
stormy  night  in  December,  1858,  the  estero 
(creek)  cut  a  new  channel  to  the  ocean.  In 
the  morning,  as  some  Barbarenos  were  survey- 
ing the  changes  caused  by  the  flood,  they  saw 
the  muzzle  of  a  large  gun  protruding  from  the 
cut  in  the  bank.  They  unearthed  it.  cleaned  off 
the  sand  and  discovered  that  it  was  El  Canon 
Perdido,  the  lost  cannon.  It  was  hauled  up 
State  street  to  Canon  Perdido,  where  it  was 
mounted  on  an  improvised  carriage.  But  the 
sight  of  it  was  a  reminder  of  an  unpleasant  in- 
cident. The  finders  sold  it  to  a  merchant  for 
S80.  He  shipped  it  to  San  Francisco  and  sold 
it  at  a  handsome  profit  for  old  brass. 

Governor  Pio  Pico  returned  from  Mexico  to 
California,  arriving  at  San  Gabriel  July  17,  1848. 
Although  the  treaty  of  peace  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico  had  been  signed  and 
proclaimed,  the  news  had  not  reached  Califor- 
nia. Pico,  from  San  Fernando,  addressed  let- 
ters to  Colonel  Stevenson  at  Los  Angeles  and 
Governor  Mason  at  Monterey,  stating  that  as 
Mexican  governor  of  California  he  had  come 
back  to  the  country  with  the  object  of  carrying 
out  the  armistice  which  then  existed  between 
the  United  States  and  Mexico.  He  further 
stated  that  he  had  no  desire  to  impede  the  es- 
tablishment of  peace  between  the  two  countries; 
and  that  he  wished  to  see  the  Mexicans  and 
Vmericans  treat  each  other  in  a  spirit  of  frater- 
nity. Mason  did  not  like  Pico's  assumption  of 
the  title  of  Mexican  governor  of  California,  al- 


though it  is  not  probable  that  Pico  intended  to 
assert  any  claim  to  his  former  position.  Gov- 
ernor Mason  sent  a  special  courier  to  Los  An- 
geles with  orders  to  Colonel  Stevenson  to 
arrest  the  ex-governor,  who  was  then  at  his 
Santa  Margarita  rancho,  and  send  him  to  Mon- 
terey, but  the  news  of  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  reached  Los  An- 
geles before  the  arrest  was  made,  and  Pico  was 
spared  this  humiliation. 

The  treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States 
and  Mexico  was  signed  at  Guadalupe  Hidalgo, 
a  hamlet  a  few  miles  from  the  City  of  Mexico, 
February  2,  1848;  ratifications  were  exchanged 
at  Queretaro,  May  30  following,  and  a  procla- 
mation that  peace  had  been  established  between 
the  two  countries  was  published  July  4,  1848. 
Under  this  treaty  the  United  States  assumed  the 
payment  of  the  claims  of  American  citizens 
against  Mexico,  and  paid,  in  addition,  $15,000,- 
000  to  Mexico  for  Texas,  New  Mexico  and 
Alta  California.  Out  of  what  was  the  Mexican 
territory  of  Alta  California  there  has  been 
carved  all  of  California,  all  of  Nevada,  Utah  and 
Arizona  and  part  of  Colorado  and  Wyoming. 
The  territory  acquired  by  the  treaty  of  Guada- 
lupe Hidalgo  was  nearly  equal  to  the  aggre- 
gated area  of  the  thirteen  original  states  at  the 
time  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 

The  news  of  the  treaty  of  peace  reached  Cali- 
fornia August  6,  1848.  On  the  7th  Governor 
Mason  issued  a  proclamation  announcing  the 
ratification  of  the  treaty.  He  announced  that 
all  residents  of  California,  who  wished  to  be- 
come citizens  of  the  United  States,  were  ab- 
solved from  their  allegiance  to  Mexico.  Those 
who  desired  to  retain  their  Mexican  citizenship 
could  do  so,  provided  they  signified  such  inten- 
tion within  one  year  from  May  30,  1848.  Those 
who  wished  to  go  to  Mexico  were  at  liberty  to 
do  so  without  passports.  Six  months  before, 
Governor  Mason  had  issued  a  proclamation  pro- 
hibiting any  citizen  of  Sonora  from  entering 
California  except  on  official  business,  and  then 
otfly  under  flag  of  truce.  He  also  required  all 
Sonorans  in  the  country  to  report  themselves 
either  at  Los  Angeles  or  Monterey. 

The  war  was  over;  and  the  treaty  of  peace 
had  made  all  who  so  elected,  native  or  foreign 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RKCORD. 


born,  American  citizens.  Strict  military  rule 
was  relaxed  and  the  people  henceforth  were  to 
be  self-governing.  American  and  Californian 
were  one  people  and  were  to  enjoy  the  same 
rights  and  to  be  subject  to  the  same  penalties. 
The  war  ended,  the  troops  were  no  longer 
needed.  Orders  were  issued  to  muster  out  the 
volunteers.  These  all  belonged  to  Stevenson's 
New  York  regiment.  The  last  company  of  the 
Mormon  battalion  had  been  discharged  in  April. 


1  he  New  York  volunteers  were  scattered  all 
along  the  coast  from  Sonoma  to  Cape  St.  Lucas, 
doing  garrison  duty.  They  were  collected  at 
different  points  and  mustered  out.  Although 
those  stationed  in  Alta  California  had  done 
no  fighting,  they  had  performed  arduous  serv- 
ice in  keeping  peace  in  the  conquered  territory. 
Most  of  them  remained  in  California  after  their 
discharge  and  rendered  a  good  account  of  them- 
selves as  citizens. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 


GOLD!    GOLD!    GOLD! 


SEBASTIAN  VISCAINO,  from  the  bay  of 
Monterey,  writing  to  the  King  of  Spain 
three  hundred  years  ago,  says  of  the  In- 
dians of  California:  "They  are  well  acquainted 
with  gold  and  silver,  and  said  that  these  were 
found  in  the  interior."  Viscaino  was  endeavor- 
ing to  make  a  good  impression  on  the  mind  of 
the  king  in  regard  to  his  discoveries,  and  the 
remark  about  the  existence  of  gold  and  silver 
in  California  was  thrown  to  excite  the  cupidity 
of  his  Catholic  majesty.  The  traditions  of  the 
existence  of  gold  in  California  before  any  was 
discovered  are  legion.  Most  of  these  have  been 
evolved  since  gold  was  actually  found.  Col.  J. 
J.  Warner,  a  pioneer  of  183 1,  in  his  Historical 
Sketch  of  Los  Angeles  County,  briefly  and  very 
effectually  disposes  of  these  rumored  discov- 
eries. He  says:  "While  statements  respecting 
the  existence  of  gold  in  the  earth  of  California 
and  its  procurement  therefrom  have  been  made 
and  published  as  historical  facts,  carrying  back 
the  date  of  the  knowledge  of  the  auriferous 
character  of  this  state  as  far  as  the  time  of  the 
visit  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  to  this  coast,  there  is 
no  evidence  to  be  found  in  the  written  or  oral 
history  of  the  missions,  the  acts  and  correspond- 
ence of  the  civil  or  military  officers,  or  in  the 
unwritten  and  traditional  history  of  Upper  (  ali- 
Fornia  that  the  existence  of  gold,  either  with 
ores  or  in  its  virgin  state,  was  ever  suspected 
by  any  inhabitant  of  California  previous  to  1841, 
and.  furthermore,  there  is  conclusive  testimonj 


that  the  first  known  grain  of  native  gold  dust 
was  found  upon  or  near  the  San  Francisco  ranch, 
about  forty-five  miles  north-westerly  from  Los 
Angeles  City,  in  the  month  of  June,  1841.  This 
discovery  consisted  of  grain  gold  fields  (known 
as  placer  mines),  and  the  auriferous  fields  dis- 
covered in  that  year  embraced  the  greater  part 
of  the  country  drained  by  the  Santa  Clara  river 
from  a  point  some  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from 
its  mouth  to  its  source,  and  easterly  beyond 
Mount  San  Bernardino." 

The  story  of  the  discovery  as  told  by  Warner 
and  by  Don  Abel  Stearns  agrees  in  the  main 
facts,  but  differing  materially  in  the  date.  Stearns 
says  gold  was  first  discovered  by  Francisci  1 
Lopez,  a  native  of  California,  in  the  month  of 
March,  1842,  at  a  place  called  San  Francisquito, 
about  thirty-five  miles  northwest  from  this  city 
(Los  Angeles).  The  circumstances  of  the  dis- 
covery bv  Lopez,  as  related  by  himself,  are  as 
follows:  "Lopez,  with  a  companion,  was  out  in 
search  of  some  stray  horses,  and  about  midday 
they  stopped  under  some  trees  and  tied  their 
horses  out  to  feed,  they  resting  under  the  shade, 
when  Lopez,  with  his  sheath-knife,  dug  up  some 
wild  onions,  and  in  the  dirt  discovered  a  piece 
of  sold.  and.  searching  further. 
more.  He  brought  these  to  town,  and  showed 
them  to  his  friends,  who  at  ..nee  declared  there 
must  be  a  placer  of  sold.  This  news  being  cir- 
culated, numbers  of  the  citizens  went  to  the 
place,  and  commenced  prospecting  in  the  neigh- 


156 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


borhood,  and  found  it  to  be  a  fact  that  there  was 
a  placer  of  gold." 

Colonel  Warner  says:  "The  news  of  this  dis- 
covery soon  spread  among  the  inhabitants  from 
Santa  Barbara  to  Los  Angeles,  and  in  a  few 
weeks  hundreds  of  people  were  engaged  in 
washing  and  winnowing  the  sands  and  earth  of 
these  gold  fields." 

Warner  visited  the  mines  a  few  weeks  after 
their  discovery.  He  says:  "From  these  mines 
was  obtained  the  first  parcel  of  California  gold 
dust  received  at  the  United  States  mint  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  which  was  sent  with  Alfred  Robin- 
son, and  went  in  a  merchant  ship  around  Cape 
Horn."  This  shipment  of  gold  was  18.34  ounces 
before  and  18.1  ounces  after  melting;  fineness, 
.925;  value,  $344.75,  or  over  $19  to  the  ounce. 
a  very  superior  quality  of  gold  dust.  It  was 
deposited  111  the  mint  July  8,  1843. 

It  may  be  regarded  as  a  settled  historical  fact 
that  the  first  authenticated  discovery  of  gold 
in  Alta  California  was  made  on  the  San  Fran- 
cisco rancho  in  the  San  Feliciano  Canon,  Los 
Angeles  county.  This  canon  is  about  ten  miles 
northwest  of  Newhall  station  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  railroad,  and  about  forty  miles  northwest 
of  Los  Angeles. 

The  date  of  the  discovery  is  in  doubt.  A  peti- 
tion to  the  governor  (Alvarado)  asking  permis- 
sion to  work  the  placers,  signed  by  Francisco 
Lopez,  Manuel  Cota  and  Domingo  Bermudez  is 
on  file  in  the  California  archives.  It  recites: 
"That  as  Divine  Providence  was  pleased  to  give 
us  a  placer  of  gold  on  the  gth  of  last  March  in 
the  locality  of  San  Francisco  rancho,  that  be- 
longs to  the  late  Don  Antonio  del  Yalle."  This 
petition  fixes  the  day  of  the  month  the  discovery 
was  made,  but  unfortunately  omits  all  other 
dates.  The  evidence  is  about  equally  divided 
between  the  years  1841  and  1842. 

It  is  impossible  to  obtain  definite  information 
in  regard  to  the  yield  of  the  San  Fernando 
placers,  as  these  mines  are  generally  called. 
William  Heath  Davis,  in  his  "Sixty  Years  in 
California,"  states  that  from  $80,000  to  $100,000 
was  taken  out  for  the  fiist  two  years  after  their 
discovery.  He  says  that  Melius  at  one  time 
shipped  $5,000  of  dusi  i.n  the  ship  Alert.  Ban- 
croft says:  "That  by  December,  1S43.  two  thou- 


sand ounces  of  gold  had  been  taken  from  the 
San  Fernando  mines."  Don  Antonio  Coronel 
informed  the  author  that  he,  with  the  assistance 
of  three  Indian  laborers,  in  1842,  took  out  $600 
worth  of  dust  in  two  months.  De  Mofras,  in  his 
book,  states  that  Carios  Baric,  a  Frenchman,  in 
1842,  was  obtaining  an  ounce  a  day  of  pure  gold 
from  his  placer. 

These  mines  were  worked  continuously  from 
the  time  of  their  discovery  until  the  American 
conquest,  principally  by  Sonorians.  The  dis- 
covery of  gold  at  Coloma,  January  24,  1848, 
drew  away  the  miners,  and  no  work  was  done 
on  these  mines  between  1848  and  1854.  After 
the  latter  dates  work  was  resumed,  and  in  1855, 
Francisco  Garcia,  working  a  gang  of  Indians, 
is  reported  to  have  taken  out  $65,000  in  one 
season.  The  mines  are  not  exhausted,  but  the 
scarcity  of  water  prevents  working  them  profit- 
ably. 

It  is  rather  a  singular  coincidence  that  the 
exact  dates  of  both  the  first  and  second  authen- 
ticated discoveries  of  gold  in  California  are  still 
among  the  undecided  questions  of  history.  In 
the  first,  we  know  the  day  but  not  the  year;  in 
the  second,  we  know  the  year  but  not  the  day 
of  the  month  on  which  Marshall  picked  up  the 
first  nuggets  in  the  nnllrace  at  Coloma.  For  a 
number  of  years  after  the  anniversary  of  Mar- 
shall's discovery  began  to  be  observed  the  19th 
of  January  was  celebrated.  Of  late  years  Jan- 
uary _'4  has  been  fixed  upon  as  the  correct  date, 
hut  the  Associated  Pioneers  of  the  Territorial 
Days  of  California,  an  association  made  up  of 
men  who  were  in  the  territory  at  the  time  of 
Marshall's  discovery  or  came  hero  before  it 
became  a  state,  object  to  the  change.  For  nearly 
thirty  years  they  have  held  their  annual  dinners 
on  January  18,  "the  anniversary  of  the  discovery 
of  gold  at  Sutter's  sawmill,  Coloma,  Cal."  This 
society  has  its  headquarters  in  Xew  York  City. 
In  a  circular  recently  issued,  disapproving  of 
the  change  of  date  from  the  18th  to  the  24th,  the 
trustees  of  that  society  say:  "Upon  the  organi- 
zation of  this  society,  February  11,  1875,  it  was 
decided  to  hold  its  annual  dinners  on  the  anni- 
versary  of  the  discovery  of  gold  at  Sutter's  saw- 
mill, Coloma,  Cal.  Through  the  Hon.  Newton 
i ',00th,  of  the  United  States.  Senate,  this  infor- 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


mation  was  sought,  with  the  result  ot  a  commu- 
nication from  the  secretary  of  the  state  of  Cali- 
fornia to  the  effect  'that  the  archives  of  the 
state  of  California  recorded  the  date  as  of  Jan- 
uary 1 8,  1848.  Some  years  ago  this  date  was 
changed  by  the  society  at  San  Francisco  to  that 
of  January  24,  and  that  date  has  been  adopted 
by  other  similar  societies  located  upon  the 
Pacific  and  Atlantic  coasts.  This  society  took 
the  matter  under  advisement,  with  the  result 
that  the  new  evidence  upon  which  it  was  pro- 
posed to  change  the  date  was  not  deemed  suffi- 
cient to  justify  this  society  in  ignoring  its  past 
records,  founded  on  the  authority  of  the  state 
of  California;  therefore  it  has  never  accepted 
the  new  date." 

Marshall  himself  was  uncertain  about  the 
exact  date.  At  various  times  he  gave  three 
different  dates — the  iSth,  igth  and  20th,  but 
never  moved  it  along  as  far  as  the  24th.  In  the 
past  thirty  years  three  different  dates — the  [8th, 
19th  and  24th  of  January — have  been  celebrated 
as  the  anniversary  of  Marshall's  gold  dis- 
covery. 

The  evidence  upon  which  the  date  was  changed 
to  the  24th  is  found  in  an  entry  in  a  diary  kept 
by  II.  \Y.  Bigler,  a  Mormon,  who  was  working 
for  Marshall  on  the  millrace  at  the  time  gold 
was  discovered.  The  entry  reads:  "January  24. 
This  day  some  kind  of  metal  that  looks  like 
goold  was  found  in  the  tailrace."  On  this 
authority  about  ten  years  ago  the  California 
Pioneers  adopted  the  24th  as  the  correct  date 
of  Marshall's  discovery. 

While  written  records,  especially  if  made  at 
the  time  of  the  occurrence  of  the  event,  are 
more  reliable  than  oral  testimony  given  long 
after,  yet  when  we  take  into  consideration  the 
conflicting  stories  of  Sutter,  Marshall,  the  Win- 
ners and  others  who  were  immediatel)  con- 
cerned in  some  way  with  the  discovery,  we  must 
concede  that  the  Territorial  Pioneers  have  good 
reasons  to  hesitate  about  making  a  change  in 
the  date  of  their  anniversary.  In  Dr.  Trywhitt 
Brook's  "Four  Months  Among  the  Cold  Find- 
ers," a  book  published  in  London  in  184c).  and 
long  since  out  of  print,  we  have  Sutter's  version 
of  Marshall's  discovery  given  only  three  months 
after    that    discoverv    was    made.     Dr.    Brooks 


visited  Sutter's  Fort  early  in  May,  1848,  and 
received  from  Sutter  himself  the  story  ot  the 
find.  Sutter  stated  that  he  was  sitting  in  his 
room  at  the  fort,  one  afternoon,  when  Marshall, 
whom  he  supposed  to  be  at  the  mill,  forty  miles 
up  the  American  river,  suddenly  burst  in  upon 
him.  Marshall  was  so  wildly  excited  that  Sutter, 
suspecting  that  he  was  crazy,  looked  to  see 
whether  his  rifle  was  in  reach.  Marshall  declared 
that  he  had  made  a  discovery  that  would  give 
them  both  millions  and  millions  of  dollars.  Then 
he  drew  his  sack  and  poured  out  a  handful  of 
nuggets  on  the  table.  Sutter,  when  he  had 
tested  the  metal  and  found  that  it  was  gold, 
became  almost  as  excited  as  Marshall.  He 
eagerly  asked  if  the  workmen  at  the  mill  knew 
of  the  discovery.  Marshall  declared  that  he  had 
not  spoken  to  a  single  person  about  it.  They 
both  agreed  to  keep  it  secret.  Xext  day  Sutter 
and  Marshall  arrived  at  the  sawmill.  The  day 
after  their  arrival,  they  prospected  the  bars  of 
the  river  and  the  channels  of  some  of  the  dry 
creeks  and  found  gold  in  all. 

"On  our  return  to  the  mill,"  says  Sutter,  "we 
were  astonished  by  the  work-people  coming  up 
to  us  in  a  body  and  showing  us  some  flakes  1  >f 
gold  similar  to  those  we  had  ourselves  procured. 
Marshall  tried  to  laugh  the  matter  off  with  them, 
and  to  persuade  them  that  what  they  had  found 
was  only  some  shining  mineral  of  trifling  value; 
but  one  of  the  Indians,  who  had  worked  at  a 
gold  mine  in  the  neighborhood  of  La  Paz. 
Lower  California,  cried  out:  'Oral  Oral'  (gold! 
gold!),  and  the  secret  was  out." 

Captain  Sutter  continues:  "I  heard  afterward 
that  one  of  them,  a  sly  Kentuckian,  had  dogged 
us  about  and,  that,  looking  on  the  ground  to  see 
if  he  could  discover  what  we  were  in  search  ot, 
he  lighted  on  some  of  the  flakes  himself." 

If  this  account  is  correct.  Bigler's  entry  in 
hi-  diary  was  made  on  the  day  that  the  workmen 
found  gold,  which  was  live  or  six  days  after 
Marshall's  first  find,  and  consequently  the  24th 
is  that  much  too  late  [or  the  true  date  of  the 
discoverv.  The  story  of  the  discovery  given  in 
the  "Life  and  Adventures  of  James  W.  Mar- 
shall." by  George  Frederick  Parsons,  differs 
materially  from  Sutter's  account.  The  d 
the  discovery  given  in  that  book  is  January  10, 


1 58 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


1848.  On  the  morning  of  that  day  Marshall, 
after  shutting  off  the  water,  walked  down  the 
tailrace  to  see  what  sand  and  gravel  had  been 
removed  during  the  night.  (The  water  was 
turned  into  the  tailrace  during  the  night  to  cut 
it  deeper.)  While  examining  a  mass  of  debris, 
"his  eve  caught  the  glitter  of  something  that  lay 
lodged  in  a  crevice  on  a  riffle  of  soft  granite 
some  six  inches  under  water."  Picking  up  the 
nugget  and  examining  it,  he  became  satisfied 
that  it  must  be  one  of  three  substances — mica. 
sulphurets  of  copper,  or  gold.  Its  weight  satis- 
fied him  that  it  was  not  mica.  Knowing  that 
gold  was  malleable,  he  placed  the  specimen  on 
a  flat  rock  and  struck  it  with  another;  it  bent. 
but  did  not  crack  or  break.  He  was  satisfied 
that  it  was  gold.  lie  showed  the  nugget  to  his 
men.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  he  had  col- 
lected several  ounces  of  precious  metal.  "Some 
four  days  after  the  discovery  it  became  necessary 
for  him  to  go  below,  for  Sutter  had  failed  to 
send  a  supply  of  provisions  to  the  mill,  and  the 
men  were  on  short  commons.  While  on  his  way 
down  he  discovered  gold  in  a  ravine  at  a  place 
afterwards  known  as  Mormon  island.  Arrived 
at  the  fort,  he  interviewed  Sutter  in  his  private 
office  and  showed  him  about  three  ounces  of 
gold  nuggets.  Sutter  did  not  believe  it  to  be 
gold,  but  after  weighing  it  in  scales  against  ?vV-25 
worth  of  silver,  all  the  coin  they  could  raise  at 
the  fort,  and  testing  it  with  nitric  acid  obtained 
from  the  gun  shop,  Sutter  became  convinced  and 
returned  to  the  mill  with  Marshall.  So  little  did 
the  workmen  at  the  mill  value  the  discovery  that 
they  continued  to  work  for  Sutter  until  the  mill 
was  completed,  March  11,  six  weeks  after  the 
nuggets  were  found  in  the  tailrace. 

The  news  of  the  discovery  spread  slowly.  It  was 
two  months  in  reaching  San  Francisco,  although 
the  distance  is  not  over  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles.  The  great  rush  to  the  mines  from 
San  Francisco  did  nut  begin  until  the  middle  of 
May,  nearly  four  months  after  the  discovery.  <  m 
the  iotli  of  May,  Dr.  Brooks,  who  was  in  San 
Francisco,  writes:  "A  number  of  people  have  ac- 
tually started  off  with  shovels,  mattocks  and 
pans  to  dig  the  gold  themselves.  It  is  not  likely, 
however,  that  this  will  be  allowed,  fur  Captain 
Folsom  has  already   written  to  Colonel    VTason 


about  taking  possession  of  the  mine  on  behalf  of 
the  government,it  being, he  says, on  public  land." 

As  the  people  began  to  realize  the  richness 
and  extent  of  the  discovery,  the  excitement  in- 
creased rapidly.  May  17.  Dr.  Brooks  writes: 
"This  place  (San  Francisco)  is  now  in  a  perfect 
furore  of  excitement:  all  the  workpeople  have 
struck.  Walking  through  the  town  to-day,  I 
observed  that  laborers  were  employed  only  upon 
about  half  a  dozen  of  the  fifty  new  buildings 
which  were  in  course  of  being  run  up.  The 
majority  of  the  mechanics  at  this  place  are  mak- 
ing preparations  for  moving  off  to  the  mines, 
and  several  people  of  all  classes — lawyers,  store- 
keepers, merchants,  etc.,  are  smitten  with  the 
fever;  in  fact,  there  is  a  regular  gold  mania 
springing  up.  I  counted  no  less  than  eighteen 
houses  which  were  closed,  the  owners  having 
left.  If  Colonel  Alason  is  moving  a  force  to 
the  American  Fork,  as  is  reported  here,  their 
journey  will  be  in  vain." 

Colonel  Mason's  soldiers  moved  without 
orders — they  nearly  all  deserted,  and  ran  off  to 
the  mines. 

The  first  newspaper  announcement  of  the 
discovery  appeared  in  The  Californian  of  March 
15,  [848,  nearly  two  months  after  the  discovery. 
But  little  attention  was  paid  to  it.  In  the  issue 
of  April  19,  another  discovery  is  reported.  The 
item  reads:  "New  gold  mine.  It  is  stated  that 
a  new  gold  mine  has  been  discovered  on  the 
American  Fork  of  the  Sacramento,  supposed  to 
be  on  the  land  of  W.  A.  Leidesdorff.  of  this 
place.  A  specimen  of  the  gold  has  been  ex- 
hibited, and  is  represented  to  be  very  pure." 
On  the  29th  of  May,  The  Californian  had  sus- 
pended publication.  "Othello's  occupation  is 
gone,"  wails  the  editor.  "The  majority  of  our 
subscribers  and  many  of  our  advertising  patrons 
have  closed  their  doors  and  places  of  business 
and  left  town,  and  we  have  received  one  order 
after  another  conveying  the  pleasant  request  that 
the  printer  will  please  stop  my  paper  or  my  ad, 
as  I  am  about  leaving  for  Sacramento." 

The  editor  of  the  other  paper,  The  California 
Slav,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  mines  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  April,  but  gave  them  no  extended 
write-up.  "Great  country,  fine  climate,"  he  wrote 
on   his   return.     "Full   flowing  streams,   mighty 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


159 


timber,  large  crops,  luxuriant  clover,  fragrant 
flowers,  gold  and  silver,"  were  his  comments  on 
what  he  saw.  The  policy  of  both  papers  seems 
to  have  been  to  ignore  as  much  as  possible  the 
gold  discovery.  To  give  it  publicity  was  for  a 
time,  at  least,  to  lose  their  occupation. 

In  The  Star  of  May  20,  1848,  its  eccentric 
editor,  E.  C.  Kemble,  under  the  caption  "El 
Dorado  Anew,"  discourses  in  a  dubious  manner 
upon  the  effects  of  the  discovery  and  the  extent 
of  the  gold  fields:  "A  terrible  visitant  we  have 
had  of  late.  A  fever  which  has  well-nigh  de- 
populated a  town,  a  town  hard  pressing  upon  a 
thousand  souls,  and  but  for  the  gracious  inter- 
position of  the  elements,  perhaps  not  a  goose 
would  have  been  spared  to  furnish  a  quill  to  pen 
the  melancholy  fate  of  the  remainder.  It  has 
preyed  upon  defenseless  old  age,  subdued  the 
elasticity  of  careless  youth  and  attacked  indis- 
criminately sex  and  class,  from  town  councilman 
to  tow-frocked  cartman,  from  tailor  to  tippler, 
of  which,  thank  its  pestilential  powers,  it  has 
beneficially  drained  (of  tipplers,  we  mean)  every 
villainous  pulperia  in  the  place. 

"And  this  is  the  gold  fever,  the  only  form  of 
that  popular  southerner,  yellow  jack,  with  which 
we  can  be  alarmingly  threatened.  The  insatiate 
maw  of  the  monster,  not  appeased  by  the  easy 
conquest  of  the  rough-fisted  yeomanry  of  the 
north,  must  needs  ravage  a  healthy,  prosperous 
place  beyond  his  dominion  and  turn  the  town 
topsy-turvy  in  a  twinkling. 

"A  fleet  of  launches  left  this  place  on  Sunday 
and  Monday  last  bound  up  the  Sacramento  river, 
close  stowed  with  human  beings,  led  by  love  of 
filthy  lucre  to  the  perennial  yielding  gold  mines 
of  the  north.  When  any  man  can  find  two  ounces 
a  day  and  two  thousand  men  can  find  their 
hands  full,  of  work,  was  there  ever  anything  so 
superlatively  silly! 

"Honestly,  though,  we  are  inclined  to  believe 
the  reputed  wealth  of  that  section  of  country, 
thirty  miles  in  extent,  all  sham,  a  superb  take-in 
as  was  ever  got  up  to  guzzle  the  gullible.  But 
it  is  not  improbable  that  this  mine,  or,  properly, 
placer  of  gold  can  be  traced  as  far  south  as  tin- 
city  of  Los  Angeles,  where  the  precious  metal 
has  been  found  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  bed 
of  a   stream    issuing   from   its   mountains,   said 


to  be  a  continuation  of  this  gold  chain  which 
courses  southward  from  the  base  of  the  snowy 
mountains.  But  our  best  information  respecting 
the  metal  and  the  quantity  in  which  it  is  gath- 
ered varies  much  from  many  reports  current,  yet 
it  is  beyond  a  question  that  no  richer  mines  of 
gold  have  ever  been  discovered  upon  this  con- 
tinent. 

"Should  there  be  no  paper  forthcoming  on 
Saturday  next,  our  readers  may  assure  them- 
selves it  will  not  be  the  fault  of  us  individually. 
To  make  the  matter  public,  already  our  devil  has 
rebelled,  our  pressman  (poor  fellow)  last  seen 
was  in  search  of  a  pickaxe,  and  we  feel  like  Mr. 
Hamlet,  we  shall  never  again  look  upon  the 
likes  of  him.  Then,  too,  our  compositors  have, 
in  defiance,  sworn  terrible  oaths  against  tvpe- 
sticking  as  vulgar  and  unfashionable.  Hope  has 
not  yet  fled  us,  but  really,  in  the  phraseology 
of  the  day,  'things  is  getting  curious.'  " 

And  things  kept  getting  more  and  more  curi- 
ous. The  rush  increased.  The  next  issue  of 
The  Star  (May  2j)  announces  that  the  Sacra- 
mento, a  first-class  craft,  left  here  Thursday  last 
thronged  with  passengers  for  the  gold  mines, 
a  motley  assemblage,  composed  of  lawyers,  mer- 
chants, grocers,  carpenters,  cartmen  and  cooks, 
all  possessed  with  the  desire  of  becoming  rich. 
The  latest  accounts  from  the  gold  country  are 
highly  flattering.  Over  three  hundred  men  are 
engaged  in  washing  gold,  and  numbers  are  con- 
tinually arriving  from  every  part  of  the  country. 
Then  the  editor  closes  with  a  wail:  "Persons 
recently  arrived  from  the  country  speak  of 
ranches  deserted  and  crops  neglected  and  suf- 
fered to  waste.  The  unhappy  consequence  of 
this  state  of  affairs  is  easily  foreseen.  One  more 
twinkle,  and  The  Star  disappeared  in  the  gloom. 
On  June  14  appeared  a  single  sheet,  the  size  of 
foolscap.  The  editor  announced:  "In  fewer 
words  than  are  usually  employed  in  the  an- 
nouncement of  similar  events,  we  appear  before 
the  remnant  of  a  reading  community  on  this 
occasion  with  the  material  or  immaterial  in- 
formation that  we  have  stopped  the  paper,  that 
its  publication  ceased  with  the  last  regular  issue 
(June  7).    On  the  appi  nun,  we  shall 

again  appear  to  announce  Tlie  Star's  redivus. 
We  have  done.     Let  our  parting  word  be  hasto 


HISTORICAL   AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


luego."  (Star  and  Calif omian  reappeared  No- 
vember 14,  1848.  The  Star  had  absorbed  The 
California^  L.  C.  Kemble  was  its  editor  and 
proprietor.) 

Although  there  was  no  paper  in  existence  on 
the  coast  to  spread  the  news  from  the  gold 
fields,  it  found  its  way  out  of  California,  and 
the  rush  from  abroad  began.  It  did  not  acquire 
great  force  in  1848,  but  in  1849  the  immigration 
to  California  exceeded  all  previous  migrations 
in  the  history  of  the  race. 

Among  the  first  foreigners  to  rush  to  the 
mines  were  the  Mexicans  of  Sonora.  Many  of 
these  had  had  some  experience  in  placer  mining 
in  their  native  country,  and  the  report  of  rich 
placers  in  California,  where  gold  could  be  had 
for  the  picking  up,  aroused  them  from  their  lazy 
self-content  and  stimulated  them  to  go  in  search 
of  it.  Traveling  in  squads  of  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred,  they  came  by  the  old  Auza  trail  across 
the  Colorado  desert,  through  the  San  Gorgonio 
Pass,  then  up  the  coast  and  on  to  the  mines. 
They  were  a  job  lot  of  immigrants, poor  in  purse 
and  poor  in  brain.  They  were  despised  by  the 
native  Californians  and  maltreated  by  the  Amer- 
icans. Their  knowledge  of  mining  came  in  play, 
and  the  more  provident  among  them  soon  man- 
aged to  pick  up  a  few  thousand  dollars,  and  then 
returned  to  their  homes,  plutocrats.  The  im- 
provident gambled  away  their  earnings  and  re- 
mained in  the  country  to  add  to  its  criminal  ele- 
ment. The  Oregonians  came  in  force,  and  all 
the  towns  in  California  were  almost  depopulated 
of  their  male  population.  By  the  close  of  1848, 
there  were  ten  thousand  men  at  work  in  the 
mines. 

The  first  official  report  of  the  discovery  was 
sent  to  Washington  by  Thomas  O.  Larkin,  June 
1,  and  reached  its  destination  about  the  middle 
of  September.  Lieutenant  P.eale,  by  way  of 
Mexico,  brought  dispatches  dated  a  month  later, 
which  arrived  about  the  same  time  as  Larkin's 
report.  These  accounts  were  published  in  the 
eastern  papers,  and  the  excitement  began. 

In  the  early  part  of  December,  Lieutenant 
Loeser  arrived  at  Washington  with  Governor 
Mason's  report  of  his  observations  in  the  mines 
made  in  August.  But  the  most  positive  evidence 
was  a  tea  caddy  of  gold  dust  containing  about 


two  hundred  and  thirty  ounces  that  Governor 
Mason  had  caused  to  be  purchased  in  the  mines 
with  money  from  the  civil  service  fund.  This  the 
lieutenant  had  brought  with  him.  It  was  placed 
on  exhibition  at  the  war  office.  Here  was  tan- 
gible evidence  of  the  existence  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia, the  doubters  were  silenced  and  the  ex- 
citement was  on  and  the  rush  began. 

By  the  1st  of  January,  1849,  vessels  were  fit- 
ting out  in  every  seaport  on  the  Atlantic  coast 
and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Sixty  ships  were  an- 
nounced to  sail  from  Xew  York  in  February  and 
seventy  from  Philadelphia  and  Boston.  All  kinds 
of  crafts  were  pressed  into  the  service,  some  to 
go  by  way  of  Cape  Horn,  others  to  land  their 
passengers  at  Vera  Cruz,  Nicaragua  and  Pana- 
ma, the  voyagers  to  take  their  chances  on  the 
Pacific  side  for  a  passage  on  some  unknown 
vessel. ' 

With  opening  of  spring,  the  overland  travel 
began.  Forty  thousand  men  gathered  at  differ- 
ent points  on  the  Missouri  river,  but  principally 
at  St.  Joseph  and  Independence.  Horses,  mules, 
oxen  and  cows  were  used  for  the  propelling 
power  of  the  various  forms  of  vehicles  that  were 
to  convey  the  provisions  and  other  impedimenta 
of  the  army  of  gold  seekers.  By  the  1st  of  May 
the  grass  was  grown  enough  on  the  plains  to 
furnish  feed  for  the  stock,  and  the  vanguard  of 
the  grand  army  of  gold  hunters  started.  For 
two  months,  company  after  company  left  the 
rendezvous  and  joined  the  procession  until  for 
one  thousand  miles  there  was  an  almost  un- 
broken line  of  wagons  and  pack  trains.  The 
first  half  of  the  journey  was  made  with  little 
inconvenience,  but  on  the  last  part  there  was 
great  suffering  and  loss  of  life.  The  cholera 
broke  out  among  them,  and  it  is  estimated  that 
five  thousand  died  on  the  plains.  The  alkali 
desert  of  the  Humboldt  was  the  place  where  the 
immigrants  suffered  most.  Exhausted  by  the 
l«mg  journey  and  weakened  by  lack  of  food, 
many  succumbed  under  the  hardship  of  the  des- 
1  it  journey  and  died.  The  crossing  of  the  Sierras 
was  attended  with  great  hardships.  From  the 
loss  of  their  horses  and  oxen,  many  were  com- 
pelled to  cross  the  mountains  on  foot.  Their 
provisions  exhausted,  they  would  have  perished 
but    for    relief    sent    out   from    California.    The 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


greatest  sufferers  were  the  woman  and  children, 
who  in  considerable  numbers  made  the  perilous 
journey. 

The  overland  immigration  of  1850  exceeded 
that  of  1849.  According  to  record  kept  at  Fort 
Laramie,  there  passed  that  station  during  the 
season  thirty-nine  thousand  men,  two  thousand 
five  hundred  women  and  six  hundred  children, 
making  a  total  of  forty-two  thousand  one  hun- 
dred persons.  These  immigrants  had  with  them 
when  passing  Fort  Laramie  twenty-three  thou- 
sand horses,  eight  thousand  mules,  three  thou- 
sand six  hundred  oxen,  seven  thousand  cows 
and  nine  thousand  wagons. 

Besides  those  coming  by  the  northern  route, 
that  is  by  the  South  Pass  and  the  Humboldt 
river,  at  least  ten  thousand  found  their  way  to 
the  land  of  gold  by  the  old  Spanish  trail,  by  the 
Gila  route  and  by  Texas,  Coahuila  and  Chihua- 
hua into  Arizona,  and  thence  across  the  Colo- 
rado desert  to  Los  Angeles,  and  from  there  by 
the  coast  route  or  the  San  Joaquin  valley  to  the 
mines. 

The  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company  had 
been  organized  before  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
California.  March  3,  1847,  an  act  °f  Congress 
was  passed  authorizing  the  secretary  of  the  navy 
to  advertise  for  bids  to  carry  the  United  States 
mails  by  one  line  of  steamers  between  New 
York  and  Chagres,  and  by  another  line  between 
Panama  and  Astoria,  Ore.  On  the  Atlantic  side 
the  contract  called  for  five  ships  of  one  thousand 
five  hundred  tons  burden,  on  the  Pacific  side  two 
of  one  thousand  tons  each,  and  one  of  six  hun- 
dred tons.  These  were  deemed  sufficient  for  the 
trade  and  travel  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
coasts  of  the  United  States.  The  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company  was  incorporated  April  12. 
1848,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000.  October 
6,  1848,  the  California,  the  first  steamer  for  the 
Pacific,  sailed  from  New  York,  and  was  followed 
in  the  two  succeeding  months  by  the  Oregon 
and  the  Panama.  The  California  sailed  before 
the  news  of  the  gold  discovery  had  reached  New- 
York,  and  she  had  taken  no  passengers.  When 
she  arrived  at  Panama,  January  30,  1849,  she 
encountered  a  rush  of  fifteen  hundred  gold  hunt- 
ers, clamorous  for  a  passage.  These  had  reached 
Chagres   on    sailing   vessels,   and    ascended   the 


Chagres  river  in  bongos  or  dugouts  to  Gor- 
gona,  and  from  thence  by  land  to  Panama.  The 
California  had  accommodations  for  only  one 
hundred,  but  four  hundred  managed  to  find 
some  place  to  stow  themselves  away.  The  price 
of  tickets  rose  to  a  fabulous  sum,  as  high  as 
$1,000  having  been  paid  for  a  steerage  passage. 
The  California  entered  the  bay  of  San  Francisco 
February  28,  [849,  and  was  greeted  by  the  boom 
of  cannon  and  the  cheers  of  thousands  of  people 
'lining  the  shores  of  the  bay.  The  other  two 
steamers  arrived  on  time,  and  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company  became  the  predominant 
factor  in  California  travel  for  twenty  years,  or  up 
to  the  completion  of  the  first  transcontinental 
railroad  in  1869.  The  charges  for  fare  on  these 
steamers  in  the  early  '50s  were  prohibitory  to 
men  of  small  means.  From  New  York  to 
Chagres  in  the  saloon  the  fare  was  $150.  111  the 
cabin  $120.  From  Panama  to  San  Francisco  in 
the  saloon,  $250;  cabin,  $200.  Add  to  these  the 
expense  of  crossing  the  isthmus,  and  the  argo- 
naut was  out  a  goodly  sum  when  he  reached  the 
land  of  the  golden  fleece,  indeed,  he  was  often 
fleeced  of  his  last  dollar  before  he  entered  the 
Golden  Gate. 

The  first  effect  of  the  gold  discovery  on  San 
Francisco,  as  we  have  seen,  was  to  depopulate 
it,  and  of  necessity  suspend  all  building  opera- 
tions. In  less  than  three  months  the  reaction 
began,  and  the  city  experienced  one  of  the  most 
magical  booms  in  history.  Real  estate  doubled 
in  some  instances  in  twenty-four  hours.  The 
California}!  of  September  3,  1848,  says:  "Flu- 
vacant  lot  on  the  corner  of  Montgomery  and 
Washington  streets  was  offered  the  day  previous 
for  $5,000  and  next  day  sold  readily  for  $10,000." 
Lumber  went  up  in  value  until  it  was  sold  at  a 
dollar  per  square  font.  Wages  kept  pace  with 
the  general  advance.  Sixteen  dollars  a  day  was 
mechanic's  wages,  and  the  labor  market  was  not 
overstocked  even  at  these  high  rates.  With  the 
approach  of  winter,  the  gold  -  ekers  came  dock- 
ing back  to  the  city  to  find 
their  suddenly  acquired  wealth.  The  latti 
easily  accomplished,  but  the  former  was  more 
difficult.  Any  kind  of  a  shelter  that  would  keep 
out  the  rain  was  utilized  for  a  dwelling.  Rows 
of  tents  that  circled  around  the  business  por- 


L62 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


tion,  shanties  patched  together  from  pieces  of 
packing  boxes  and  sheds  thatched  with  brush 
from  the  chaparral-covered  hills  constituted 
the  principal  dwellings  at  that  time  of  the  future 
metropolis  of  California.  The  yield  of  the  mines 
for  1848  has  been  estimated  at  ten  million 
dollars.  This  was  the  result  of  only  a  few 
months'  labor  of  not  to  exceed  at  any  time  ten 
thousand  men.  The  rush  of  miners  did  not 
reach  the  mines  until  July,  and  mining  opera- 
tions were  mainly  suspended  by  the  middle  of 
October. 

New  discoveries  had  followed  in  quick  suc- 
cession Marshall's  find  at  Coloma  until  by  the 
close  of  1848  gold  placers  had  been  located  on 
all  the  principal  tributaries  of  the  Sacramento 
and  San  Joaquin  rivers.  Some  of  the  richest 
yields  were  obtained  from  what  was  known  as 
"Dry  Diggins."  These  were  dry  ravines  from 
which  pay  dirt  had  to  be  packed  to  water  for 
washing  or  the  gold  separated  by  dry  washing, 
tossing  the  earth  into  the  air  until  it  was 
blown  away  by  the  wind,  the  gold,  on  account 
of  its  weight,  remaining  in  the  pan. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Calif ornian,  writing- 
August  15,  1848,  from  what  he  designates  as 
"Dry  Diggins,"  gives  this  account  of  the  rich- 
ness of  that  gold  field:  "At  the  lower  mines 
(Mormon  Island)  the  miners  count  the  success 
of  the  day  in  dollars;  at  the  upper  mines  near 
the  mill  (Coloma),  in  ounces,  and  here  in 
pounds.  The  only  instrument  used  at  first  was 
a  butcher  knife,  and  the  demand  for  that  ar- 
ticle was  so  great  that  $40  has  been  refused 
for  one. 


"The  earth  is  taken  out  of  the  ravines  which 
make  out  of  the  mountains  and  is  carried  in 
wagons  or  packed  on  horses  from  one  to  three 
miles  to  water  and  washed.  Four  hundred  dol- 
lars is  the  average  to  the  cart  load.  In  one  in- 
stance five  loads  yielded  $16,000.  Instances  are 
known  here  where  men  have  carried  the  earth 
on  their  backs  and  collected  from  $800  to  $1,500 
a  day." 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  country  was  ex- 
plored by  prospectors  was  truly  remarkable. 
The  editor  of  the  California)!,  who  had  sus- 
pended the  publication  of  his  paper  on  May  29 
to  visit  the  mines,  returned  and  resumed  it  on 
July  15  (1848).  In  an  editorial  in  that  issue  he 
gives  his  observations:  "The  country  from  the 
Ajuba  (Yuba)  to  the  San  Joaquin  rivers,  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  and 
from  the  base  toward  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tains as  lar  as  Snow  Hill,  about  seventy  miles, 
has  been  explored,  and  gold  found  in  every 
part.  There  are  probably  three  thousand  men, 
including  Indians,  engaged  in  collecting  gold. 
The  amount  collected  by  each  man  who  w^orks 
ranges  from  $10  to  $350  per  day.  The  publisher 
of  this  paper,  while  on  a  tour  alone  to  the  min- 
ing district,  collected,  with  the  aid  of  a  shovel, 
pick  and  pan,  from  $44  to  $128  a  day,  averag- 
ing about  $100.  The  largest  piece  of  gold 
known  to  be  found  weighed  four  pounds." 
Among  other  remarkable  yields  the  Calif  ornian 
reports  these:  "One  man  dug  $12,000  in  six 
clays,  and  three  others  obtained  thirty-six 
pounds  of  pure  metal  in  one  day." 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 


MAKING    A    STATE. 


COL.  R.  B.  MASON,  who  had  been 
the  military  governor  of  California  since 
the  departure  of  General  Kearny  in 
May.  1847.  had  grown  weary  of  his  task.  He 
had  been  in  the  military  service  of  his  country 
thirty  years  and  wished  to  be  relieved.  His 
request  was  granted,  and  on  the  12th  of  April. 
[849,   Brevel    Brigadier  General   Bennett  Riley, 


his  successor,  arrived  at  Monterey  and  the  next 
day  entered  upon  his  duties  as  civil  governor. 
Gen.  Persifer  F.  Smith,  who  had  been  appointed 
commander  of  the  Pacific  division  of  the  United 
States  army,  arrived  at  San  Francisco  Febru- 
ary 2<i.  1849,  and  relieved  Colonel  Mason  of 
his- military  command.  A  brigade  of  troops 
six   hundred   and   fifty   Strong  had   been    sent  to 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


L63 


California  for  military  service  on  the  border 
and  to  maintain  order.  Most  of  these  promptly 
deserted  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  offered  and 
found  their  way  to  the  mines. 

Colonel  Mason,  who  under  the  most  trying- 
circumstances  had  faithfully  served  his  govern- 
ment and  administered  justice  to  the  people  of 
California,  took  his  departure  May  i,  [849. 
The  same  year  he  died  at  St.  Louis  of  cholera. 
A  year  had  passed  since  the  treaty  of  peace 
with  Mexico  had  been  signed,  which  made  Cali- 
fornia United  States  territory,  but  Congress 
had  done  nothing  toward  giving  it  a  govern-, 
ment.  The  anomalous  condition  existed  of  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  living  in  the  United 
States,  being  governed  by  Mexican  laws  admin- 
istered by  a  mixed  constituency  of  Mexican- 
born  and  American-born  officials.  The  pro- 
slavery  element  in  Congress  was  determined  to 
foist  the  curse  of  human  slavery  on  a  portion 
of  the  territory  acquired  from  Mexico,  but  the 
discovery  of  gold  and  the  consequent  rush  of 
freemen  to  the  territory  had  disarranged  the 
plans  of  the  slave-holding  faction  in  Congress, 
and  as  a  consequence  all  legislation  was  at  a 
standstill. 

The  people  were  becoming  restive  at  the  long 
delay.  The  Americanized  Mexican  laws  and 
forms  of  government  were  unpopular  and  it 
was  humiliating  to  the  conqueror  to  be  gov- 
erned by  the  laws  of  the  people  conquered. 
The  question  of  calling  a  convention  to  form  a 
provisional  government  was  agitated  by  the 
newspapers  and  met  a  hearty  response  from  the 
people.  Meetings  were  held  at  San  Jose,  De- 
cember 11,  1848;  at  San  Francisco,  December 
21,  and  at  Sacramento,  January  6,  1849,  to 
consider  the  question  of  establishing  a  pro- 
visional government.  It  was  recommended  by 
the  San  Jose  meeting  that  a  convention  be  held 
at  that  place  on  the  second  Alonday  of  January. 
The  San  Francisco  convention  recommended 
the  5th  of  March;  this  the  Monterey  committee 
considered  too  early  as  it  would  take  the  dele- 
gates from  below  fifteen  days  to  reach  the  pu- 
eblo of  San  Jose.  There  was  no  regular  mail 
and  the  roads  in  February  (when  the  delegates 
would  have  to  start)  were  impassable.  ["he 
committee  recommended  May  1  as  the  earliest 


date  for  the  meeting  to  consider  the  question  of 
calling  of  a  convention.  Sonoma,  without  wait- 
ing, took  the  initiative  and  elected  ten  delegates 
to  a  provisional  government  convention.  There 
was  no  unanimity  in  regard  to  the  time  of  meet- 
ting  or  as  to  what  could  be  done  if  the  conven- 
tion met.  It  was  finally  agreed  to  postpone  the 
time  of  meeting  to  the  first  Monday  of  August, 
when,  if  Congress  had  done  nothing  towards 
giving  California  some  form  of  government  bet- 
ter than  that  existing,  the  convention  should 
meet  and  organize  a  provisional  government. 

The  local  government  of  San  Francisco  had 
become  so  entangled  and  mixed  up  by  various 
councils   that    it    was   doubtful   whether   it   had 
any  legal  legislative  body.     When  the  term  of 
the    first    council,    which    had    been    authorized 
by   Colonel   Mason   in    1848,   was  about  to  ex- 
pire   an   election   was     held     December     27 .    to 
choose   their   successors.     Seven   new   council- 
men    were    chosen.      The    old    council    declared 
the  election  fraudulent  and  ordered  a  new  one. 
An  election  was  held,  notwithstanding  the  pro- 
test of  a  number  of  the  best  citizens,  and  an- 
other council  chosen.     So  the  city  was  blessed 
or  cursed  with  three  separate  and  distincl  coun- 
cils.     The   old   council    voted   itself   out    of   ex- 
istence and  then  there  were  but  two,  but  that 
was  one  too  many.     Then  the  people,  disgusted 
with   the  condition   of    affairs,    called    a  public 
meeting,    at    which    it   was    decided    to   elect   a 
legislative  assembly    of    fifteen    members,  who 
should  be   empowered   to   make   the   necessary 
laws  for  the  government  of  the  city.    An  election 
was  held  on  the  21st  of  February,  1849,  and  a 
legislative  assembly  and  justices  elected.     Then 
Alcalde    Leyenworth    refused    to   turn    over   the 
city  records  to  the  Chief  Magistrate-elecl  Nor- 
ton.    On  the  22d  of  .March   the   legislative  as- 
sembly   abolished    the    office    of    alcalde,    but 
Levenworth   still  held  on  to  the  records.     He 
was  finally  compelled  by  public  opinion  and  a 
writ  of  replevin  to  surrender  the  official  n 
to   Judge    Norton.     The    confusion    constantly 
arising  from  thi  i\  em- 

inent that  was  semi-military  and  semi-Mexican 
induced  Governor  Rile)  to  order  an  election  to 
be  held  August  tst,  to  eleel  delegates  to  a 
convention  to  meet  in  Monterey  Septembi 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


1849,  to  form  a  state  constitution  or  territorial 
organization  to  be  ratified  by  the  people  and 
submitted  to  Congress  for  its  approval.  Judges, 
prefects  and  alcaldes  were  to  be  elected  at  the 
same  time  in  the  principal  municipal  districts. 
The  constitutional  convention  was  to  consist  of 
thirty-seven  delegates,  apportioned  as  follows: 
San  Diego  two,  Los  Angeles  four,  Santa  Bar- 
bara two,  San  Luis  Obispo  two,  Monterey  five, 
San  Jose"  five,  San  Francisco  five,  Sonoma  four, 
Sacramento  four,  and  San  Joaquin  four.  In- 
stead of  thirty-seven  delegates  as  provided  for 
in  the  call,  forty-eight  were  elected  and  seated. 

The  convention  met  September  1,  1849,  at 
Monterey  in  Colton  Hall.  This  was  a  stone 
building  erected  by  Alcalde  Walter  Colton  for 
a  town  hall  and  school  house.  The  money  to 
build  it  was  derived  partly  from  fines  and  partly 
from  subscriptions,  the  prisoners  doing  the 
greater  part  of  the  work.  It  was  the  most 
commodious  public  building  at  that  time  in  the 
territory. 

Of  the  forty-eight  delegates  elected  twenty- 
two  were  natives  of  the  northern  states;  fifteen 
of  the  slave  states;  four  were  of  foreign  birth, 
and  seven  were  native  Californians.  Several  of 
the  latter  neither  spoke  nor  understood  the 
English  language  and  William  E.  P.  Hartnell 
was  appointed  interpreter.  Dr.  Robert  Semple 
of  Bear  Flag  fame  was  elected  president,  Will- 
iam G.  Marcy  and  J.  Ross  Browne  reporters. 

Early  in  the  session  the  slavery  question  was 
disposed  of  by  the  adoption  of  a  section  declar- 
ing that  neither  slavery  or  involuntary  servitude, 
unless  for  the  punishment  of  crimes,  shall  ever 
be  tolerated  in  this  state.  The  question  of  fix- 
ing the  boundaries  of  the  future  state  excited 
the  most  discussion.  The  pro-slavery  faction 
was  led  by  William  M.  Gwin,  who  had  a  few 
months  before  migrated  from  Tennessee  to 
California  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  repre- 
senting the  new  state  in  the  United  States  sen- 
ate. The  scheme  of  Gwin  and  his  southern  as- 
sociates was  to  make  the  Rocky  mountains  the 
i  astern  boundary.  This  would  create  a  state 
with  an  era  of  about  four  hundred  thousand 
square  miles.  They  reasoned  that  when  the 
admission  of  the  state  came  before  congress  the 
southern  members  would  oppose  the  admission 


of  so  large  an  area  under  a  free  state  constitu- 
tion and  that  ultimately  a  compromise  might 
be  effected.  California  would  be  split  in  two 
from  east  to  west,  the  old  dividing  line,  the 
parallel  of  360  30',  would  be  established  and 
Southern  California  come  into  the  Union  as  a 
slave  state.  There  were  at  that  time  fifteen 
free  and  fifteen  slave  states.  If  two  states,  one 
free  and  one  slave,  could  be  made  out  of  Califor- 
nia, the  equilibrium  between  the  opposing  fac- 
tions would  be  maintained.  The  Rocky  moun- 
tain boundary  was  at  one  time  during  the  ses- 
sion adopted,  but  in  the  closing  days  of  the 
session  the  free  state  men  discovered  Gwin's 
scheme  and  it  was  defeated.  The  present  boun- 
daries were  established  by  a  majority  of  two. 

A  committee  had  been  appointed  to  receive 
propositions  and  designs  for  a  state  seal.  Only 
one  design  was  offered.  It  was  presented  by 
Caleb  Lyon  of  Lyondale,  as  he  usually  signed 
his  name,  but  was  drawn  by  Major  Robert  S. 
Garnett,  an  army  officer.  It  contained  a  figure 
of  Minerva  in  the  foreground,  a  grizzly  bear 
feeding  on  a  bunch  of  grapes;  a  miner  with  an 
uplifted  pick;  a  gold  rocker  and  pan;  a  view  of 
the  Golden  Gate  with  ships  riding  at  anchor 
in  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco;  the  peaks  of  the 
Sierra  Nevadas  in  the  distance;  a  sheaf  of  wheat ; 
thirty-one  stars  and  above  all  the  word 
"Eureka"  (I  have  found  it),  which  might  apply 
either  to  the  miner  or  the  bear.  The  design 
seems  to  have  been  an  attempt  to  advertise  the 
resources  of  the  state.  General  Vallejo  wanted 
the  bear  taken  out  of  the  design,  or  if  allowed 
to  remain,  that  he  be  made  fast  by  a  lasso  in  the 
hands  of  a  vaquero.  This  amendment  was  re- 
jected, as  was  also  one  submitted  by  O.  M. 
Wozencraft  to  strike  out  the  figures  of  the  gold 
digger  and  the  bear  and  introduce  instead  bales 
of  merchandise  and  bags  of  gold.  The  original 
design  was  adopted  with  the  addition  of  the 
words,  "The  Great  Seal  of  the  State  of  Califor- 
nia." The  convention  voted  to  give  Lyon  $1,000 
as  full  compensation  for  engraving  the  seal  and 
furnishing  the  press  and  all  appendages. 

Garnett,  the  designer  of  the  seal,  was  a  Vir- 
ginian by  birth.  He  graduated  from  West 
Point  in  1841,  served  through  the  Mexican  war 
and  through  several  of  the  Indian  wars  on  the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


1G5 


Pacific  coast.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  re- 
bellion in  1861  he  joined  the  Confederates  and 
was  made  a  brigadier  general.  He  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Carrick's  Ford  July  15,  1S61. 

The  constitution  was  completed  on  the  nth 
of  October  and  an  election  was  called  by  Gov- 
ernor Riley  to  be  held  on  the  13th  of  November 
to  vote  upon  the  adoption  of  the  constitution 
and  to  elect  state  officers,  a  legislature  and  mem- 
bers of  congress. 

At  the  election  Peter  H.  Burnett,  recently 
from  Oregon  territory,  who  had  been  quite 
active  in  urging  the  organization  of  a  state  gov- 
ernment, was  chosen  governor;  John  McDou- 
gall,  lieutenant  governor,  and  George  W. 
Wright  and  Edward  Gilbert  members  of  con- 
gress. San  Jose  had  been  designated  by  the 
constitutional  convention  the  capital  of  the  state 
pro  tern. 

The  people  of  San  Jose  had  pledged  them- 
selves to  provide  a  suitable  building  for  the 
meeting  of  the  legislature  in  hopes  that  their 
town  might  be  made  the  permanent  capital. 
They  were  unable  to  complete  the  building  de- 
signed for  a  state  capital  in  time  for  the  meet- 
ing. The  uncomfortable  quarters  furnished 
created  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction.  The  leg- 
islature consisted  of  sixteen  senators  and  thirty- 
six  assemblymen.  There  being  no  county  or- 
ganization, the  members  were  elected  by 
districts.  The  representation  was  not  equally 
distributed;  San  Joaquin  district  had  more  sen- 
ators than  San  Francisco.  The  senate  and  as- 
sembly were  organized  on  the  17th  of  Decem- 
ber. E.  K.  Chamberlain  of  San  Diego  was 
elected  president  pro  tern,  of  the  senate  and 
Thomas  J.  White  of  Sacramento  speaker  of  the 
assembly.  The  governor  and  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor were  sworn  in  on  the  20th.  The  state 
government  being  organized  the  legislature 
proceeded  to  the  election  of  United  States  sen- 
ators. The  candidates  were  T.  Butler  King, 
John  C.  Fremont,  William  M.  Gwin,  Thomas 
J.  Henly,  John  W.  Geary,  Robert  Semple  and 
H.  W.  Halleck.  Fremont  received  twenty-nine 
out  of  forty-six  votes  on  the  first  ballot  and  was 
declared  elected.  Of  the  aspirants,  T.  Butler 
King  and  William  M.  Gwin  represented  the 
ultra  pro-slavery  element.     King  was  a  cross- 


roads politician  from  down  in  Georgia,  who 
had  been  sent  to  the  coast  as  a  confidential 
agent  of  the  government.  The  officers  of  the 
arm)-  and  navy  were  enjoined  to  "in  all  matters 
aid  and  assist  him  in  carrying  out  the  views  of 
the  government  and  be  guided  by  his  advice  and 
council  in  the  conduct  of  all  proper  measures 
within  the  scope  of  those  instructions."  He 
made  a  tour  of  the  mines,  accompanied  by  Gen- 
eral Smith  and  his  staff;  Commodore  Ap  Catesby 
Jones  and  staff  and  a  cavalry  escort  under  Lieu- 
tenant Stoneman.  He  wore  a  black  stovepipe 
hat  and  a  dress  coat.  He  made  himself  the 
laughing  stock  of  the  miners  and  by  traveling 
in  the  heat  of  the  day  contracted  a  fever  that 
very  nearly  terminated  his  existence.  He  had 
been  active  so  far  as  his  influence  went  in  trying 
to  bring  California  into  the  Union  with  the  hope 
of  representing  it  in  the  senate.  Gwin  had 
come  a  few  months  before  from  Mississippi  with 
the  same  object  in  view.  Although  the  free 
state  men  were  in  the  majority  in  the  legislature 
they  recognized  the  fact  that  to  elect  two  sena- 
tors opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery  would 
result  in  arraying  the  pro-slavery  faction  in  con- 
gress against  the  admission  of  the  state  into 
the  Union.  Of  the  two  representatives  of  the 
south,  Gwin  was  the  least  objectionable  and  on 
the  second  ballot  he  was  elected.  On  the 
21  st  Governor  Burnett  delivered  his  message. 
It  was  a  wordy  document,  but  not  marked  by 
any  very  brilliant  ideas  or  valuable  suggestions. 
Burnett  was  a  southerner  from  Missouri.  Fie 
was  hobbied  on  the  subject  of  the  exclusion  of 
free  negroes.  The  African,  free  to  earn  his  own 
living  unrestrained  by  a  master,  was,  in  his 
opinion,  a  menace  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  com- 
monwealth. 

On  the  22d  the  legislature  elected  the  remain- 
ing state  officers,  viz.:  Richard  Roman,  treas- 
urer; John  I.  Houston,  controller;  E.  J.  I'. 
Kewen,  attorney  general;  Charles  J.  Whiting, 
surveyor-general;  S.  C.  Hastings,  chief  jus- 
tice; Henry  Lyons  and  Nathaniel  Bennett,  as- 
sociate justices.  The  legislature  continued  in 
session  until  April  22.  1850.  Although  it  was 
nicknamed  the  "Legislature  of  a  thousand 
drinks.-'  it  did  a  vast  amount  of  work  and  did 
most  of  it  well.      It   was  not   made  up  of  hard 


166 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


drinkers.  The  majority  of  its  members  were 
above  the  average  legislator  in  intelligence, 
temperance  and  patriotism.  The  members  were 
not  there  for  pay  or  for  political  preferment.  They 
were  there  for  thegood  oftheir  adopted  state  and 
labored  conscientiously  for  its  benefit.  The  op- 
probrious nickname  is  said  to  have  originated 
thus:  A  roystering  individual  by  the  name  of 
Green  had  been  elected  to  the  senate  from  Sac- 
ramento as  a  joke.  He  regarded  the  whole  pro- 
ceedings as  a  huge  joke.  He  kept  a  supply  of 
liquors  on  hand  at  his  quarters  and  when  the 
legislature  adjourned  he  was  in  the  habit  of  call- 
in-:  "Come,  boys,  let  us  take  a  thousand 
thinks." 

The  state  had  set  up  housekeeping  without  a 
cent  on  hand  to  defray  expenses.  There  was  not 
a  quire  of  paper,  a  pen,  nor  an  inkstand  belong- 
ing to  the  state  and  no  money  to  buy  supplies. 
After  wrestling  with  the  financial  problem  some 
time  an  act  authorizing  a  loan  of  $200,000  for 
current  expenses  was  passed.  Later  on  in  the 
session  another  act  was  passed  authorizing  the 
bonding  of  the  state  for  $300,000  with  interest 
at  the  rate  of  three  per  cent  a  month.  The 
legislature  divided  the  state  into  twenty-seven 
counties,  created  nine  judicial  districts,  passed 
laws  for  the  collection  of  revenue,  taxing  all 
real  and  personal  property  and  imposing  a  poll 
tax  of  $5  on  all  male  inhabitants  over  twen- 
ty-one and  under  fifty  years  of  age. 

California  was  a  self-constituted  state.  It 
had  organized  a  state  government  and  put  it  int.) 
successful  operation  without  the  sanction  of 
congress.  Officials,  state,  county  and  town,  had 
been  electe  1  and  had  sworn  to  support  the  con- 
stitution of  the  state  of  California  and  yet  there 
was  really  no  state  of  California.  It  had  not 
been  admitted  into  the  Union.  It  was  only  a 
state  de  facto  and  it  continued  in  that  condition 
nine  months  before  it  became  a  state  de  jure. 

•,\  1:  ,:  (-he  question  of  admitting  California 
in  o  the  Union  came  before  congress  it  evoked 
a  bitter  controversy.  The  senate  was  equally 
divided,  thirty  senators  from  the  slave  states 
and  the  same  number  from  the  free.  There 
were  among  the  southern  senators  some  broad 
I  and  patriotic  men,  willing  to  do  what 
was    right,    but    they    were    handicapped   by    an 


ultra  pro-slavery  faction,  extremists,  who 
would  willingly  sacrifice  the  Union  if  by  that 
they  could  extend  and  perpetuate  that  sum  of 
all  villainies,  human  slavery.  This  faction  in 
the  long  controversy  resorted  to  every  known 
parliamentary  device  to  prevent  the  admission  of 
California  under  a  free  state  constitution.  To 
admit  two  senators  from  a  free  state  would  de- 
stroy the  balance  of  power.  That  gone,  it  could 
never  be  regained  by  the  south.  The  north  was 
increasing  in  power  and  population,  while  the 
south,  under  the  blighting  influence  of  slavery, 
was  retrograding. 

Henry  Clay,  the  man  of  compromises,  under- 
took to  bridge  over  the  difficulty  by  a  set  of 
resolutions  known  as  the  Omnibus  bill.  These 
were  largely  concessions  to  the  slave  holding 
faction  for  the  loss  of  the  territory  acquired  by 
the  Mexican  war.  Among  others  was  this,  that 
provision  should  be  made  by  law  for  the  restitu- 
tion of  fugitive  slaves  in  any  state  or  territory 
of  the  Union.  This  afterward  was  embodied 
into  what  was  known  as  the  fugitive  slave  law 
and  did  more  perhaps  than  any  other  cause  to 
de>tniy  the  souths  beloved  institution. 

These  resolutions  were  debated  through 
many  months  and  were  so  amended  and  changed 
that  their  author  could  scarcely  recognize  them. 
Most  of  them  were  adopted  in  some  form  and 
effected  a  temporary  compromise. 

On  August  13th  the  bill  for  the  admission 
of  California  finally  came  to  a  vote.  It  passed 
the  senate,  thirty-four  ayes  to  eighteen  noes. 
Even  then  the  opposition  did  not  cease.  Ten 
of  the  southern  pro-slavery  extremists,  led  by 
Jefferson  Davis,  joined  in  a  protest  against  the 
action  of  the  majority,  the  language  of  which 
was  an  insult  to  the  senate  and  treason  to  the 
government.  In  the  house  the  bill  passed  by  a 
vote  <>f  one  hundred  and  fifty  ayes  to  fifty-six 
ultra  southern  noes.  It  was  approved  and  signed 
by  President  Fillmore  September  9,  1850.  On 
the  nth  of  September  the  California  senators 
and  congressmen  presented  themselves  to  be 
sworn  in.  The  slave  holding  faction  in  the  sen- 
ate, headed  by  Jefferson  Davis,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  most  bitter  opponents  to  the  admis- 
sion, objected.  But  their  protest  availed  them 
nothing.      Their    ascendency    was    gone.      We 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


HJ7 


might  sympathize  with  them  had  their  fight 
been  made  for  a  noble  principle,  but  it  was  not. 
From  that  day  on  until  the  attempt  was  made 
in  1861  these  men  schemed  to  destroy  the 
Union.  The  admission  of  California  as  a  free 
state  was  the  beginning  of  the  slave  holders'  re- 
bellion. 

The  news  of  the  admission  of  California 
reached  San  Francisco  on  the  morning  of  Oc- 
tober 18,  by  the  mail  steamer  Oregon,  nearly  six 
weeks  after  congress  had  admitted  it.  Business 
was  at  once  suspended,  the  courts  were  ad- 
journed and  the  people  went  wild  with  excite- 
ment. Messengers,  mounted  on  fleet  steeds, 
spread  the  news  throughout  the  state.  News- 
papers from  the  states  containing  an  account 
of  the  proceedings  of  congress  at  the  time  of 
admission  sold  for  $5  each.  It  was  decided  to 
hold  a  formal  celebration  of  the  event  on  the 
29th  and  preparations  were  begun  for  a  grand 
demonstration.  Neither  labor  nor  money  was 
spared  to  make  the  procession  a  success.  The 
parade  was  cosmopolitan  in  the  fullest  meaning 
of  that  word.  There  were  people  in  it  from 
almost  every  nation  under  the  sun.  The  Chi- 
nese made  quite  an  imposing  spectacle  in  the 
parade.  Dressed  in  rich  native  costumes,  each 
carrying  a  gaudily  painted  fan,  they  marched 
under  command  of  their  own  marshals,  Ah  He 
and  Ah  Sing.  At  their  head  proudly  marched 
a  color  bearer  carrying  a  large  blue  silk  ban- 
ner, inscribed  the  "China  boys."  Following 
them  came  a  triumphal  car,  in  which  was  seated 
thirty  boys  in  black  trousers  and  white  shirts, 
representing  the  thirty  states.  In  the  center  of 
this  group,  seated  on  a  raised  platform,  was  a 
young  girl  robed  in  white  with  gold  and  silver 
gauze  floating  about  her  and  supporting  a 
breast  plate,  upon  which  was  inscribed  "Cali- 
fornia, the  Union,  it  must  and  shall  be  pre- 
served." The  California  pioneers  carried  a  ban- 
ner on  which  was  represented  a  New  Englander 
in  the  act  of  stepping  ashore  and  facing  a  na- 
tive Californian  with  lasso  and  serape.  In  the 
center  the  state  seal  and  the  inscription.  "Far 
west,  Eureka  1846,  California  pioneers,  or- 
ganized August,  1850."  Army  and  navy  offi- 
cers, soldiers,  sailors  and  marines,  veterans  of 
the  Mexican  war,  municipal  officers,  the  fire  de- 


partment, secret  and  benevolent  societies  and  as- 
sociations, with  a  company  of  mounted  native 
Californians  bearing  a  banner  with  thirty-one 
stars  on  a  blue  satin  ground  with  the  inscription 
in  gold  letters,  California,  E  Pluribus  Unum,  all 
these  various  organizations  and  orders  with 
their  marshals  and  aids  mounted  on  gaily 
caparisoned  steeds  and  decked  out  with  their 
gold  and  silver  trimmed  scarfs,  made  an  impos- 
ing display  that  has  seldom  if  ever  been  equaled 
since  in  the  metropolis  of  California. 

At  the  plaza  a  flag  of  thirty-one  stars  was 
raised  to  the  mast  head.  An  oration  was  de- 
livered by  Judge  Nathaniel  Bennett  and  Mrs. 
Wills  recited  an  original  ode  of  her  own  compo- 
sition. The  rejoicing  over,  the  people  settled 
down  to  business.  Their  unprecedented  action 
in  organizing  a  state  government  and  putting  it 
into  operation  without  the  sanction  of  congress 
had  been  approved  and  legalized  by  that  body. 

Like  the  Goddess  Minerva,  represented  on  its 
great  seal,  who  sprung  full  grown  from  the 
brain  of  Jupiter,  California  was  born  a  fully  ma- 
tured state.  She  passed  through  no  territorial 
probation.  Xo  state  had  such  a  phenomenal 
growth  in  its  infancy.  No  state  before  or  since 
has  met  with  such  bitter  opposition  when  it 
sought  admission  into  the  family  of  states. 
Never  before  was  there  such  a  medley  of  nation- 
alities—Yankees, Mexicans,  English,  Germans, 
French,  Spaniards,  Peruvians,  Polynesians, 
Mongolians — organized  into  a  state  and  made 
a  part  of  the  body  politic  nolens  volens. 

The  constitutional  convention  of  1849  did  not 
definitely  fix  the  state  capital.  San  Jose  was 
designated  as  the  place  of  meeting  for  the  legis- 
lature and  the  organization  of  the  state  govern- 
ment. San  Jose  had  offered  to  donate  a  square 
of  thirty-two  acres,' valued  at  $60,000,  for  cap- 
itol  grounds  and  provide  a  suitable  building  for 
the  legislature  and  state  officers.  The  offer  was 
accepted,  but  when  the  legislature  met  there 
December  15,  1849,  the  building  was  unfinished 
and  for  a  time  the  meeting  .lature 

were  held  at  a  private  residence.  There  was  a 
great  deal  of  complaining  and  dissatisfaction. 
The  first  capitol   of  t. 

h  had  been  it 
for  a  hotel.     It  was  destroyed  by  tire  April  29, 


L68 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


1853.  The  accommodations  at  San  Jose  were 
so  unsatisfactory  that  the  legislature  decided 
to  locate  the  capital  at  some  other  point.  Prop- 
ositions were  received  from  Monterey,  from 
Reed  of  San  Jose,  from  Stevenson  &  Parker  of 
New  York  of  the  Pacific  and  from  Gen.  M.  G. 
Yallejo.  Vallejo's  proposition  was  accepted. 
He  offered  to  donate  one  hundred  and  fifty-six 
acres  of  land  in  a  new  town  that  he  proposed 
to  lay  out  on  the  straits  of  Carquinez  (now  Yal- 
lejo) for  a  capital  site  and  within  two  years  to 
give  .^370,000  in  money  for  the  erection  of  pub- 
lic buildings.  He  asked  that  his  proposition  be 
submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  at  the  next 
general  election.  His  proposition  was  accepted 
by  the  legi:  Iature.  At  the  general  election,  Octo- 
ber 7,  1850,  Yallejo  received  seventy-four  hun- 
dred and  seventy-seven  votes;  San  Jose  twelve 
hundred  and  ninety-two,  and  Monterey  three 
hundred  and  ninety-nine.  The  second  legisla- 
ture convened  at  San  Jose.  General  Yallejo  ex- 
erted himself  to  have  the  change  made  in  accord- 
ance with  the  previous  proposition.  The  cit- 
izens of  San  Jose  made  an  effort  to  retain  the 
capital,  but  a  bill  was  passed  making  Vallejo 
the  permanent  seat  of  government  after  the 
close  of  the  session,  provided  General  Yallejo 
should  give  bonds  to  carry  out  his  proposals. 
In  June  Governor  McDougal  caused  the  gov- 
ernmental archives  to  be  removed  from  San 
Jose  to  Vallejo. 

When  the  members  of  the  third  legislature 
met  at  the  new  capital  January  2,  1852,  they 
found  a  large  unfurnished  and  partly  unfinished 
wooden  building  for  their  reception.  Hotel  ac- 
commodations could  not  be  obtained  and  there 
was  even  a  scarcity  of  food  to  feed  the  hungry 
lawmakers.  Sacramento  offered  its  new  court 
•  house  and  on  the  16th  of  January  the  legislature 
convened   in  that   city.      The    great    flood   of 


March,  1852,  inundated  the  city  and  the  law- 
makers were  forced  to  reach  the  halls  of  legis- 
lation in  boats  and  again  there  was  dissatisfac- 
tion. Then  Benicia  came  to  the  front  with  an 
offer  of  her  new  city  hall,  which  was  above 
high  water  mark.  General  Vallejo  had  become 
financially  embarrassed  and  could  not  carry  out 
his  contract  with  the  state,  so  it  was  annulled. 
The  offer  of  Benicia  was  accepted  and  on  May 
18,  1853,  that  town  was  declared  the  permanent 
capital. 

In  the  legislature  of  1854  the  capital  question 
again  became  an  issue.  Offers  were  made  by 
several  aspiring  cities,  but  Sacramento  won  with 
the  proffer  of  her  court  house  and  a  block  of 
land  betwen  I  and  J,  Ninth  and  Tenth  streets. 
Then  the  question  of  the  location  of  the  capital 
got  into  the  courts.  The  supreme  court  de- 
cided in  favor  of  Sacramento.  Before  the  legis- 
lature met  again  the  court  house  that  had  been 
offered  to  the  state  burned  down.  A  new  and 
more  commodious  one  was  erected  and  rented 
to  the  state  at  $12,000  a  year.  Oakland  made 
an  unsuccessful  effort  to  obtain  the  capital, 
finally  a  bill  was  passed  authorizing  the  erection 
of  a  capitol  building  in  Sacramento  at  a  cost 
not  to  exceed  $500,000.  Work  was  begun  on 
the  foundation  in  October,  i860.  The  great 
flood  of  1861-62  inundated  the  city  and  ruined 
the  foundations  of  the  capitol.  San  Francisco 
made  a  vigorous  effort  to  get  the  capital  re- 
moved to  that  city,  but  was  unsuccessful.  Work 
was  resumed  on  the  building,  the  plans  were 
changed,  the  edifice  enlarged,  and,  finally,  after 
many  delays,  it  was  ready  for  occupancy  in  De- 
cember, 1869.  From  the  original  limit  of  half  a 
million  dollars  its  cost  when  completed  had 
reached  a  million  and  a  half.  The  amount  ex- 
pended on  the  building  and  grounds  to  date 
foots  up  $2,600,000. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


THE    ARGONAUTS. 


WHEN  or  by  whom  the  name  argonaut 
was  first  applied  to  the  early  Cali- 
fornia gold  seekers  I  have  not  been 
able  to  ascertain.  The  earliest  allusion  to  the 
similarity  of  Jason's  voyage  after  the  Golden 
Fleece  and  the  miners'  rush  to  the  gold  fields  of 
California  is  found  in  a  caricature  published  in 
the  London  Punch  in  1849.  On  tne  shore  of 
an  island  is  a  guide  board  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion "California;"  near  it  is  a  miner  digging  gold 
and  presumably  singing  at  his  work.  In  a 
boat  near  the  shore  is  a  fat  individual,  a  typical 
"Johnny  Bull."  He  is  struggling  desperately 
with  two  individuals  who  are  holding  him  back 
from  leaping  into  the  water,  so  fascinated  is  he 
by  the  song  of  the  miner.  Under  the  drawing 
are  the  words,  "The  Song  of  the  Sirens." 

If  we  include  among  the  argonauts  all  who 
traveled  by  land  or  voyaged  by  sea  in  search  of 
the  golden  fleece  in  the  days  of  '49  we  will  have 
a  motley  mixture.  The  tales  of  the  fabulous  rich- 
ness of  the  gold  fields  of  California  spread  rap- 
idly throughout  the  civilized  world  and  drew  to 
the  territory  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men, 
the  bad  as  well  as  the  good,  the  indolent  as  well 
as  the  industrious,  the  vicious  as  well  as  the 
virtuous.  They  came  from  Europe,  from  South 
America  and  from  Mexico.  From  Australia 
and  Tasmania  came  the  ex-convict  and  the 
ticket-of-leave  man;  from  the  isles  of  the  sea 
came  the  Polynesian,  and  from  Asia  the  Hindoo 
and  the  "Heathen  Chinee." 

The  means  of  reaching  the  land  of  gold  were 
as  varied  as  the  character  of  the  people  who 
came.  Almost  every  form  of  vehicle  was  pressed 
into  service  on  land.  One  individual,  if  not  more, 
made  the  trip  trundling  his  impedimenta  in  a 
wheelbarrow.  Others  started  out  in  carriages. 
intent  on  making  the  journey  in  comfort  and 
ease,  but  finished  on  foot,  weary,  worn  and 
ragged.  When  the  great  rush  came  old  sailing- 
vessels  that  had  long  been  deemed  unseaworthy 


were  fitted  out  for  the  voyage  to  California.  It 
must  have  been  the  providence  that  protects 
fools  which  prevented  these  from  going  to  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean.  With  the  desperate 
chances  that  the  argonauts  took  on  these  old 
tubs,  it  is  singular  that  there  were  so  few  ship- 
wrecks and  so  little  loss  of  life.  Some  of  these 
were  such  slow  sailers  that  it  took  them  the 
greater  part  of  a  year  to  round  Cape  Horn  and 
reach  their  destination.  On  one  of  these  some 
passengers,  exasperated  at  its  slowness,  landed 
near  Cape  St.  Lucas  and  made  the  long  journey 
up  the  peninsula  of  Lower  California  and  on  to 
San  Francisco  on  foot,  arriving  there  a  month 
before  their  vessel.  Another  party  undertook  to 
make  the  voyage  from  Nicaragua  in  a  wdiale 
boat  and  actually  did  accomplish  seven  hundred 
miles  of  it  before  they  were  picked  up  in  the  last 
extremities  by  a  sailing  vessel. 

The  Sierra  Nevada  region,  in  which  gold  was 
first  found,  comprised  a  strip  about  thirty  miles 
wide  and  two  hundred  miles  long  from  north 
to  south  in  the  basins  of  the  Feather,  Yuba, 
Bear,  American,  Cosumne,  Mokolumne,  Stanis- 
laus, Tuolumne  and  Merced  rivers,  between  the 
elevations  of  one  thousand  and  five  thousand 
feet.  In  all  these  streams  miners  washed  gold 
in  1848.  The  placer  mines  on  the  Upper  Sacra- 
mento and  in  the  Shasta  region  were  discovered 
and  worked  late  in  the  fall  of  1848.  The  Kla- 
math mines  were  discovered  later. 

The  southern  mines, those  on  the  San  Joaquin, 
Fresno,  Kern  and  San  Gabriel  rivers,  were  lo- 
cated between  1851  and  1855.  Gold  was  found 
in  some  of  the  ravines  and  creeks  of  San  Diego 
county.  Practically  the  gold  belt  of  California 
extends  from  the  .Mexican  line  to  Oregon,  but 
at  some  points  it  is  rather  thin.  The  first  gold 
digging  was  done  with  butcher  knives,  the  gold 
hunter  scratching  in  the  sand  and  crevices  of 
the  rock  to  find  nuggets.  Next  the  gold  pan 
came  into  use  and  the  miners  became  experts 


170 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


in  twirling  the  pan  in  a  pool  of  water,  so  as  to 
wash  out  the  sand  and  gravel  and  leave  the  gold 
dust  in  the  pan.  Isaac  Humphreys,  who  had 
mined  gold  in  Georgia,  was  the  first  person  to 
use  a  rocker  or  gold  cradle  in  California.  Al- 
though a  very  simple  piece  of  machinery  those 
who  reached  the  mines  early  found  it  quite  an 
expensive  one.  Dr.  Brooks  in  his  diary,  under 
date  of  June  u,  1848,  writes:  "On  Tuesday  we 
set  to  work  upon  our  cradle.  We  resolved  upon 
the  construction  of  two  and  for  this  purpose 
went  down  to  the  store  in  a  body  to  see  about 
the  boards.  We  found  timber  extravagantly 
dear,  being  asked  $40  a  hundred  feet.  The  next 
question  was  as  to  whether  we  should  hire  a 
carpenter.  We  were  told  there  was  one  or  two 
in  the  diggings,  wljo  might  be  hired,  though 
at  a  very  extravagant  rate.  Accordingly  Brad- 
ley and  I  proceeded  to  see  one  of  these  gentle- 
men, and  found  him  washing  away  with  a  hollow 
log  and  a  willow  branch  sieve.  He  offered  to 
help  us  at  the  rate  of  $35  a  day,  we  finding  pro- 
visions and  tools,  and  could  not  be  brought  to 
charge  less.  We  thought  this  by  far  too  ex- 
travagant and  left  him,  determined  to  undertake 
the  work  ourselves.  After  two  days'  work  of 
seven  men  they  produced  two  rough  cradles 
and  found  that  three  men  with  a  cradle  or  rocker 
could  wash  out  as  much  gold  in  a  day  as  six 
could  with  pans  in  the  same  time." 

A  rocker  or  gold  cradle  had  some  resemblance 
to  a  child's  cradle  with  similar  rockers  and  was 
rocked  by  means  of  a  perpendicular  handle 
fastened  to  the  cradle  box.  The  cradle  box  con- 
sisted of  a  wooden  trough  about  twenty  inches 
.vide  and  forty  inches  long  with  sides  four  or 
five  inches  high.  The  lower  end  was  left  open. 
On  the  upper  end  sat  the  hopper,  a  box  twenty 
inches  square  with  sides  four  inches  high  and 
a  bottom  of  sheet  iron  or  zinc  pierced  with  holes 
one-half  inch  in  diameter.  Where  zinc  or  iron 
could  not  be  obtained  a  sieve  of  willow  rods 
was  used.  Under  the  hopper  was  an  apron  of 
canvas,  which  sloped  down  from  the  lower  end 
of  the  hopper  to  the  upper  end  of  the  cradle 
box.  A  wooden  riffle  bar  an  inch  square  was 
nailed  across  the  bottom  of  the  cradle  box  about 
its  middle,  and  another  al  its  lower  end.  Under 
the  cradle  box   were   nailed   rockers,   and   near 


the  middle  an  upright  handle  by  which  motion 
was  imparted.  If  water  and  pay  dirt  were  con- 
venient two  men  were  sufficient  to  operate  the 
machine.  Seated  on  a  stooi  or  rock  the  operator 
rocked  with  one  hand,  while  with  a  long  handled 
dipper  he  dipped  water  from  a  pool  and  poured 
it  on  the  sand  and  gravel  in  the  hopper.  When 
the  sand  and  earth  had  been  washed  through 
the  holes  in  the  sieve  the  rocks  were  emptied 
and  the  hopper  filled  again  from  the  buckets  of 
pay  dirt  supplied  by  the  other  partner.  The  gold 
was  caught  on  the  canvas  apron  by  the  riffle 
bars,  while  the  thin  mud  and  sand  were  washed 
out  of  the  machine  by  the  water. 

In  the  dry  diggings  a  method  of  separating 
the  gold  from  the  earth  was  resorted  to  prin- 
cipally by  Sonorans.  The  pay  dirt  was  dug  and 
dried  in  the  sun,  then  pulverized  by  pounding 
into  fine  dust.  With  a  batea  or  bowl-shaped 
Indian  basket  filled  with  this  dust,  held  in  both 
hands,  the  Mexican  skillfully  tossed  the  earth 
in  the  air,  allowing  the  wind  to  blow  away  the 
dust  and  catching  the  heavier  particles  and  the 
gold  in  the  basket,  repeating  the  process  until 
there  was  little  left  but  the  gold. 

The  Long  Tom  was  a  single  sluice  with  a 
sieve  and  a  box  underneath  at  the  end  and  rif- 
fle  bars  to  stop  the  gold.  The  pay  dirt  was  shov- 
eled in  at  the  upper  end  and  a  rapid  current  of 
water  washed  away  the  sand  and  earth,  the  gold 
falling  into  the  receptacle  below.  Ground  sluic- 
ing was  resorted  to  where  a  current  of  water 
from  a  ditch  could  be  directed  against  a  bank  of 
earth  or  hill  with  a  sloping  bedrock.  The  stream 
of  water  washing  against  the  upper  side  of  the 
bank  caved  it  down  and  carried  the  loose  earth 
through  a  string  of  sluices,  depositing  the  gold 
in  the  riffle  bars  in  the  bottom  of  the  sluices. 

In  the  creeks  and  gulches  where  there  was 
not  much  fall,  sluice  mining  was  commonly  re- 
sorted to.  A  string  of  sluice  boxes  was  laid, 
each  fitting  into  the  upper  end  of  the  one  below, 
and  in  the  lower  ones  riffle  bars  were  placed 
to  stop  the  gold.  The  sluice  boxes  were  placed 
on  nellies  four  feet  from  the  ground  and  given 
an  incline  of  five  or  six  inches  to  the  rod.  The 
gravel  from  the  bedrock  up  as  far  as  there  was 
am-  pay  dirt  was  shoveled  into  the  upper  boxes 
and  a  rapid  current  of  water  flowing  through  the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


L7J 


boxes  carried  away  the  gravel  and  rocks,  the 
gold  remaining  in  the  riffles.  Quicksilver  was 
placed  between  the  riffles  to  catch  the  fine  gold. 
The  gold  amalgamated  with  quicksilver  was 
cleaned  out  of  the  boxes  at  the  end  of  the  day's 
work  and  separated  from  the  quicksilver  in  a  re- 
tort. These  were  the  principal  methods  of  mining 
used  by  the  argonauts.  The  machinery  and  ap- 
pliances were  simple  and  inexpensive.  Hy- 
draulic mining  came  in  later,  when  larger  cap- 
ital was  required  and  the  mines  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  corporations. 

When  the  news  spread  throughout  the  states 
of  the  wonderful  "finds"  of  gold  in  California, 
the  crudest  ideas  prevailed  in  regard  to  how 
the  precious  metal  was  to  be  extracted  from 
the  earth.  Gold  mining  was  an  almost  un- 
known industry  in  the  United  States.  Only 
in  a  few  obscure  districts  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia  had  gold  been  found,  and 
but  very  few  people  outside  of  these  dis- 
tricts had  ever  visited  the  mines.  Not  one  in 
ten  thousand  of  those  who  joined  the  rush 
to  California  in  1849  nad  ever  seen  a  grain  of 
virgin  gold.  The  idea  prevailed  among  the  gold 
seekers  that  the  gold  being  found  in  grains  it 
could  be  winnowed  from  the  sand  and  earth  in 
which  it  was  found  like  wheat  is  separated  from 
chaff.  Imbued  with  this  idea  Yankee  ingenuity 
set  to  work  to  invent  labor-saving  machines 
that  would  accomplish  the  work  quickly  and 
enrich  the  miner  proportionally.  The  ships  that 
bore  the  argonauts  from  their  native  land  car- 
ried out  a  variety  of  these  gold  machines,  all 
guaranteed  to  wrest  from  the  most  secret  re- 
cesses the  auriferous  deposits  in  nature's 
treasure  vaults.  These  machines  were  of  all 
varieties  and  patterns.  They  were  made  of  cop- 
per, iron,  zinc  and  brass.  Some  were  operated 
by  means  of  a  crank,  others  had  two  cranks, 
while  others  were  worked  with  a  treadle.  Some 
required  that  the  operator  should  stand,  others 
allowed  the  miner  to  sit  in  an  arm  chair  and 
work  in  comfort. 

Haskins,  in  his  "Argonauts  of  California," 
describes  one  of  these  machines  that  was 
brought  around  the  Horn  in  the  ship  he  came 
on:  "It  was  in  the  shape  of  a  huge  fanning 
mill,  with  sieves  properly  arranged  for  sorting 


the  gold  ready  for  bottling.  All  chunks  too 
large  for  the  bottle  would  be  consigned  to  the 
pork  barrel."  (The  question  of  bringing  home 
the  gold  in  bottles  or  barrels  had  been  seriously 
discussed  and  decided  in  favor  of  barrels  be- 
cause these  could  be  rolled  and  thus  save  cost 
of  transportation  from  the  mines. J 

"This  immense  machine  which,  during  our 
passage,  excited  the  envy  and  jealousy  of  all 
who  had  not  the  means  and  opportunity  of  se- 
curing a  similar  one  required,  of  course,  the 
services  of  a  hired  man  to  turn  the  crank,  whilst 
the  proprietor  would  be  busily  engaged  in  shov- 
eling in  pay  dirt  and  pumping  water;  the  greater 
portion  of  the  time,  however,  being  required, 
as  was  firmly  believed,  in  corking  the  bottles 
and  fitting  the  heads  in  the  barrels.  This  ma- 
chine was  owned  by  a  Mr.  Allen  of  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  who  had  brought  with  him  a  colored 
servant  to  manage  and  control  the  crank  por- 
tion of  the   invaluable   institution. 

"Upon  landing  we  found  lying  on  the  sand 
and  half  buried  in  the  mud  hundreds  of  similar 
machines,  bearing  silent  witness  at  once  to  the 
value  of  our  gold  saving  machines  without  the 
necessity  of  a  trial." 

Nor  was  it  the  argonaut  alone  who  came  by 
sea  that  brought  these  machines.  Some  of 
these  wonderful  inventions  were  hauled  across 
the  plains  in  wagons,  their  owners  often  sacri- 
ficing the  necessities  of  life  to  save  the  prized 
machine.  And,  when,  after  infinite  toil  and  trou- 
ble, they  had  landed  their  prize  in  the  mines, 
they  were  chagrined  to  find  it  the  subject  of  jest 
and  ridicule  by  those  who  had  some  experience 
in  mining. 

The  gold  rush  came  early  in  the  history  of 
California  placer  mining.  The  story  of  a  rich 
strike  would  often  depopulate  a  mining  camp  in 
a  few  hours.  Even  a  bare  rumor  of  rich  dig- 
gings in  some  indefinite  localit)  would  send 
scores  of  miners  tramping  off  on  a  wild  goose 
chase  into  the  mountains.  Some  of  these 
rushes  originated  through  fake  stories  circu- 
lated for  sinister  purpose;  others  were  caused 
by  exaggerated  stories  of  real  d 

One  of  the  most  famous  fakes  of  early  days 
was  the  Gold  Lake  rush  of  1S50.  This  wonder- 
ful lake  was  suppos<  d  ted  about  two 


172 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


hundred  miles  northeast  of  Marysville,  on  the 
divide  between  the  Feather  and  the  Yuba  rivers. 
The  Sacramento  Transcript  of  June  kj,  1850, 
says:  "We  are  informed  by  a  gentleman  from 
Marysville  that  it  is  currently  reported  there  that 
the  Indians  upon  this  lake  use  gold  for  their 
commonest  purposes;  that  they  have  a  ready 
way  of  knocking  out  square  blocks,  which  they 
use  for  seats  and  couches  upon  which  to  place 
their  beds,  which  are  simply  bundles  of  wild 
oats,  which  grow  so  profusely  in  all  sections  of 
the  state.  According  to  report  also  they  use  for 
fishhooks  crooked  pieces  of  gold  and  kill  their 
game  with  arrows  made  of  the  same  material. 
They  are  reported  to  be  thunderstruck  at  the 
movements  of  the  whites  and  their  eagerness 
to  collect  and  hoard  the  materials  of  the  very 
ground  upon  which  they  tread. 

"A  story  is  current  that  a  man  at  Gold  Lake 
saw  a  large  piece  of  gold  floating  on  the  lake 
which  he  succeeded  in  getting  ashore.  So 
clear  are  the  waters  that  another  man  saw  a 
rock  of  gold  on  the  bottom.  After  many  ef- 
forts he  succeeded  in  lassoing  the  rock.  Three 
days  afterward  he  was  seen  standing  holding  on 
to  his  rope." 

The  Placer  Times  of  Marysville  reports  that 
the  specimens  brought  into  Marysville  are  of  a 
value  from  $1,500  down.  Ten  ounces  is  re- 
ported as  no  unusual  yield  to  the  pan.  The 
first  party  of  sixty  which  started  out  under 
guidance  of  one  who  had  returned  successful 
were  assured  that  they  would  not  get  less  than 
$500  each  per  day.  We  were  told  that  two  hun- 
dred had  left  town  with  a  full  supply  of  pro- 
visions and  four  hundred  mules.  Mules  and 
horses  have  doubled  in  value.  Many  places  of 
business  are  closed.  The  diggings  at  the  lake 
are  probably  the  best  ever  discovered."  The 
Times  of  June  [9  says:  "It  is  reported  that  up 
to  last  Thursday  two  thousand  persons  had 
taken  up  their  journey.  Many  who  were  work- 
ing good  claims  deserted  them  for  the  new  dis- 
covery. Mules  and  horses  were  about  impos- 
sible to  obtain.  Although  the  truth  of  the  re- 
port rests  on  the  authority  of  but  two  or  three 
who  have  returned  from  Gold  Lake,  yet  few 
are  found  who  doubt  the  marvelous  revelations. 
A  party  of  Kanakas  are  said  to  have  wintered 


at  Gold  Lake,  subsisting  chiefly  on  the  flesh  of 
their  animals.  They  are  said  to  have  taken  out 
^75,000  the  first  week.  When  a  conviction  takes 
such  complete  possession  of  a  whole  com- 
munity, who  are  fully  conversant  with  all  the 
exaggerations  that  have  had  their  day,  it  is 
scarcely  prudent  to  utter  even  a  qualified  dissent 
from  what  is  universally  believed." 

The  denouement  of  the  Gold  Lake  romance 
may  he  found  in  the  Transcript  of  July  I,  1850. 
"The  Gold  Lake  excitement,  so  much  talked  of 
and  acted  upon  of  late,  has  almost  subsided. 
A  crazy  man  comes  in  for  a  share  of  the  re- 
sponsibility. Another  report  is  that  they  have 
found  one  of  the  pretended  discoverers  at 
Marysville  ami  are  about  to  lynch  him.  In- 
deed, we  are  told  that  a  demonstration  against 
the  town  is  feared  by  many.  People  who  have 
returned  after  traveling  some  one  hundred  and 
fifty  to  two  hundred  miles  say  that  they  left  vast 
numbers  of  people  roaming  between  the  sources 
of  the  Yuba  and  the  Feather  rivers." 

Scarcely  had  the  deluded  argonauts  returned 
from  a  bootless  search  for  the  lake  of  gold  when 
another  rumored  discovery  of  gold  fields  of 
fabulous  richness  sent  them  rushing  off  toward 
the  sea  coast.  Now  it  was  Gold  Bluff  that  lured 
I  hem  away.  (  In  the  northwest  coast  of  Califor- 
nia, near  the  mouth  of  the  Klamath  river, 
precipitous  bluffs  four  hundred  feet  high  mark 
the  coast  line  of  the  ocean.  A  party  of  pros- 
pectors in  the  fall  of  1850,  who  had  been  up 
in  the  Del  Norte  country,  were  making  their 
way  down  to  the  little  trading  and  trapping  sta- 
tion of  Trinidad  to  procure  provisions.  On 
reaching  the  bluffs,  thirty  miles  above  Trinidad, 
they  were  astonished  to  find  stretching  out  be- 
fore them  a  beach  glittering  with  golden  sands. 
They  could  not  stop  to  gather  gold;  the)  were 
starving.  So,  scraping  up  a  few  handfuls  of  the 
glittering  sands,  they  hastened  on.  In  due 
time  the>'  reached  San  Francisco,  where  they 
exhibited  their  sand,  which  proved  to  be  nearly 
half  gold.  The  report  of  the  wonderful  find  was 
spread  by  the  newspapers  and  the  excitement 
began.  Companies  were  formed  and  claims  lo- 
cated  at  long  range.  One  company  of  nine 
locator-  -nil  an  expert  to  examine  their  claims, 
lie,  by   a   careful   mathematical   calculation,  as- 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


173 


certained  that  the  claim  would  yield  forty-three 
million  dollars  to  each  partner.  As  there  were 
fifteen  miles  of  gold  beach,  the  amount  of  gold 
in  the  sands  was  sufficient  to  demonetize  the 
precious  metal.  A  laudable  desire  to  benefit 
the  human  race  possessed  some  of  the  claim 
owners.  They  formed  joint  stock  companies  with 
shares  at  $100  each.  Gold  Bluff  mining  stock 
went  off  like  the  proverbial  hot  cakes  and  pros- 
pectors went  off  as  rapidly.  Within  two  days 
after  the  expert's  wonderful  story  was  spread 
abroad  nine  ships  were  fitted  out  for  Gold  Bluff. 
The  first  to  arrive  off  the  Bluff  was  the  vessel 
containing  a  party  of  the  original  discoverers. 
In  attempting  to  land  in  a  boat,  the  boat  was 
upset  in  the  breakers  and  five  of  the  six  occu- 
pants were  drowned,  Bertram,  the  leader  of  the 
party  making  the  discovery,  alone  escaping. 
The  vessel  put  back  to  Trinidad  and  the  gold 
hunters  made  their  way  up  the  coast  to  the 
Bluff.  But  alas  for  their  golden  dreams! 
Where  they  had  hoped  to  gather  gold  by  the 
ship  load  no  gold  was  found.  Old  ocean  had 
gathered  it  back  into  his  treasure  vaults. 

The  bubble  burst  as  suddenly  as  it  had  ex- 
panded. And  yet  there  was  gold  at  Gold  Bluff 
and  there  is  gold  there  yet.  If  the  ocean  could 
be  drained  or  coffer  dammed  for  two  hundred 
miles  along  the  gold  coast  of  northern  Califor- 
nia and  Oregon,  all  the  wealth  of  Alaska  would 
be  but  the  panning  out  of  a  prospect  hole  com- 
pared to  the  richness  that  lies  hidden  in  the 
sands  of  Gold  Beach.  For  years  after  the 
bursting  of  the  Gold  Bluff  bubble,  when  the 
tide  was  low,  the  sands  along  Gold  Beach  were 
mined  with  profit. 

The  Kern  river  excitement  in  the  spring  of 
1855  surpassed  everything  that  had  preceded  il. 
Seven  years  of  mining  had  skimmed  the  rich- 
ness of  the  placers.  The  northern  and  central 
gold  fields  of  California  had  been  thoroughly 
prospected.  The  miners  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  the  rich  strikes  of  early  years  could 
not  content  themselves  with  moderate  returns. 
They  were  on  the  qui  vive  for  a  rich  strike  and 
ready  for  a  rush  upon  the  first  reporl  of  one. 
The  first  discoveries  on  the  Kern  river  were 
made  in  the  summer  of  1854,  but  no  ex<  it< 
followed  immediately.     During  the  fall  and  win- 


ter rumors  were  set  afloat  of  rich  strikes  on  the 
head  waters  of  that  stream.  The  stories  grew 
as  they  traveled.  One  that  had  a  wide  circula- 
tion and  was  readily  accepted  ran  about  as  fol- 
lows: "A  .Mexican  doctor  had  appeared  in  Mari- 
posa loaded  down  with  gold  nuggets.  He  re- 
ported that  he  and  four  companions  had  found 
a  region  paved  with  gold.  The  very  hills  were 
yellow  with  outcroppings.  While  gloating  over 
their  wealth  and  loading  it  into  sacks  the  In- 
dians attacked  them  and  killed  his  four  com- 
panions. He  escaped  with  one  sack  of  gold.  lie- 
proposed  to  organize  a  company  large  enough 
to  exterminate  the  Indians  and  then  bring  out 
the  gold  on  pack  mules.*'  This  as  well  as  other 
stories  as  improbable  were  spread  broadcast 
throughout  the  state.  Many  of  the  reports  of 
wonderful  strikes  were  purposely  magnified  by 
merchants  and  dealers  in  mining  supplies  who 
were  overstocked  with  unsalable  goods:  and 
by  transportation  companies  with  whom  busi- 
ness was  slack.  Their  purpose  was  accom- 
plished and  the  rush  was  on.  It  began  in  Jan- 
uary, r  S55.  Every  steamer  down  the  coast  to 
Los  Angeles  was  loaded  to  the  guards  with 
adventurers  for  the  mines.  The  sleepy  old 
metropolis  of  the  cow  counties  waked  up  to 
find  itself  suddenly  transformed  into  a  bustling 
mining  camp.  The  Southern  CaUfornian  of  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1855,  thus  describes  the  situation:  "The 
road  from  our  valley  is  literally  thronged  with 
people  on  their  way  to  the  mines.  Hundreds 
of  people  have  been  leaving  not  only  the  city, 
but  every  portion  of  the  count\.  Every  descrip- 
tion of  vehicle  and  animal  has  been  brought 
into  requisition  to  take  the  exultant  seekers 
after  wealth  to  the  goal  of  their  hopes.  Im- 
mense ten-mule  wagons  strung  out  one  after 
another;  long  trains  of  pack  mules  and  men 
mounted  and  on  foot,  with  picks  and  sho 
boarding-house  keepers  with  their  tents:  mer- 
chants with  their  stocks  of  miners'  necessaries 
and  gamblers  with  their  'papers'  are  constantly 
leaving  for  the  Kern  river  mines.     The  > 

1,  iries  are  afloat.     If  the   mine-  turn   1  >u1   $10 
a  day  to  the  man  everybody  ough 
ft,  ,1.      'I  he   opei  mines   has    b< 

( ,,  ids(  ml  to  all  of  us,  as  the  business  of  the  en- 
tire countr)    was  on   the  poinl   of  taking  to  a 


174 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


'ice.  The  great  scarcity  of  money  is  seen  in 
the  present  exorbitant  rates  of  interest  which  it 
commands:  8,  10  and  even  15  per  cent  a  month 
is  freely  paid  and  the  supply  even  at  these  rates 
is  too  meager  to  meet  the  demands."  As  the 
rush  increased  our  editor  grows  more  jubilant. 
In  his  issue  of  March  7,  he  throws  out  these 
headlines:  "Stop  the  Press!  Glorious  Xews 
from  Kern  River!  Bring  Out  the  Big  Gun! 
There  are  a  thousand  gulches  rich  with  gold 
and  room  for  ten  thousand  miners.  Miners 
averaged  $50  a  day.  One  man  with  his  own 
hands  took  out  $160  in  a  day.  Five  men  in  ten 
days  took  out  $4,500." 

Another  stream  of  miners  and  adventurers 
was  pouring  into  the  mines  by  way  of  the  San 
Joaquin  valley.  From  Stockton  to  the  Kern 
river,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles,  the 
road  was  crowded  with  men  on  foot,  on  stages, 
on  horseback  and  on  every  form  of  convey- 
ance that  would  take  them  to  the  new  El  Do- 
rado. In  four  months  five  or  six  thousand  men 
had  found  their  way  into  the  Kern  river  basin. 
There  was  gold  there,  but  not  enough  to  go 
around.  A  few  struck  it  rich,  the  many  struck 
nothing  but  "hard  luck"  and  the  rush  out  began. 
Those  who  had  ridden  into  the  valley  footed  it 
out,  and  those  who  had  footed  it  in  on  sole 
leather  footed  it  nut  on  their  natural  soles. 

After  the  wild  frenzy  of  Kern  river,  the  press 
of  the  state  congratulated  the  public  with  the 
assurance  that  the  era  of  wild  rushes  was  past — 
"what  had  been  lost  in  money  had  been  gained 
in  experience."  As  if  prospectors  ever  profited 
by  experience!  Scarcely  had  the  victims  of  Kern 
river  resumed  work  in  the  old  creeks  and  canons 
they  had  deserted  to  join  in  the  rush  when  a 
rumor  came,  faint  at  first,  but  gathering 
strength  at  each  repetition,  that  rich  diggings 
had  been  struck  in  the  far  north.  This  time 
it  is  Frazer  river.  True.  Frazer  river  is  in  the 
British  possessions,  hut  what  of  that?  There 
are  enough  miners  in  California  to  seize  the 
country  and  hold  it  until  the  cream  of  the  mines 
has  been  skimmed.  Rumors  of  the  richness 
of  mines  increased  with  every  arrival  of  a 
steamer  from  the  north.  Captains,  pursers. 
mates,  cooks  and  waiters  all  confirmed  the  sto- 
ries of  rich  strikes.     Doubters  asserted  that  the 


dust  and  nuggets  exhibited  had  made  the  trip 
from  San  Francisco  to  Victoria  and  back.  But 
the}-  were  silenced  by  the  assurance  that  the 
transportation  company  was  preparing  to  double 
the  number  of  its  vessels  on  that  route.  Com- 
modore Wright  was  too  smart  to  run  his  steam- 
ers on  fake  reports,  and  thus  the  very  thing  that 
should  have  caused  suspicion  was  used  to  con- 
firm the  truth  of  the  rumors.  The  doubters 
doubted  no  more,  but  packed  their  outfits  for 
Frazer  river.  California  was  played  out.  Where 
could  an  honest  miner  pan  out  $100  a  day 
in  California  now?  He  could  do  it  every  day 
in  Frazer;  the  papers  said  so.  The  first  notice 
of  the  mines  was  published  in  March,  1858.  The 
rush  began  the  latter  part  of  April  and  in  four 
months  thirty  thousand  men,  one-sixth  of  the 
voting  population  of  the  state,  had  rushed  to 
the   mines. 

The  effect  of  the  craze  was  disastrous  to  busi- 
ness in  California.  Farms  were  abandoned  and 
crops  lost  for  want  of  hands  to  harvest  them. 
Rich  claims  in  old  diggings  were  sold  for  a  trifle 
of  their  value.  Lots  on  Montgomery  street  that 
a  few  years  later  were  worth  $1,500  a  front  foot 
were  sold  for  $100.  Real  estate  in  the  interior 
towns  was  sacrificed  at  50  to  yz,  per  cent  less 
than  it  was  worth  before  the  rush  began.  But 
a  halt  was  called  in  the  mad  rush.  The  returns 
were  not  coming  in  satisfactorily.  By  the  mid- 
dle of  July  less  than  $100,000  in  dust  had 
reached  San  Francisco,  only  about  $3  for  each 
man  who  had  gone  to  the  diggings.  There  was 
gold  there  and  plenty  of  it,  so  those  interested 
in  keeping  up  the  excitement  said:  "The  Frazer 
river  is  high;  wait  till  it  subsides."  But  it  did 
not  subside,  and  it  has  not  subsided  since.  If 
the  Frazer  did  not  subside  the  excitement  did, 
and  that  suddenly.  Those  who  had  money 
enough  or  could  borrow  from  their  friends  got 
away  at  once.  Those  who  had  none  hung 
around  Victoria  and  New  Westminster  until 
the)  were  shipped  back  at  the  government's  ex- 
pense. The  Frazer  river  craze  was  the  last  of  the 
mad.  unreasoning  "gold  rushes."  The  Washoe 
excitement  of  '59  and  the  "Ho!  for  Idaho  of 
1863  64"  had  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
early  gold  rushes,  but  they  soon  settled  down  to 
tead\    business  and  the  yield  from  these  fairly 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


175 


recompensed  those  who  were  frugal  and  indus- 
trious. 

Never  before  perhaps  among  civilized  people 
was  there  witnessed  such  a  universal  leveling 
as  occurred  in  the  first  years  of  the  mining  ex- 
citement in  California.  "As  the  labor  required 
was  physical  instead  of  mental,  the  usual  supe- 
riority of  head  workers  over  hand  workers  dis- 
appeared entirely.  Men  who  had  been  gov- 
ernors and  legislators  and  judges  in  the  old 
states  worked  by  the  side  of  outlaws  and  con- 
victs; scholars  and  students  by  the  side  of  men 
who  could  not  read  or  write;  those  who  had 
been  masters  by  the  side  of  those  who  had  been 
slaves;  old  social  distinctions  were  obliterated; 
everybody  did  business  on  his  own  account,  and 
not  one  man  in  ten  was  the  employe  and  much 
less  the  servant  of  another.  Social  distinctions 
appeared  to  be  entirely  obliterated  and  no  man 
was  considered  inferior  to  another.  The  hard- 
fisted,  unshaven  and  patch-covered  miner  was 
on  terms  of  perfect  equality  with  the  well- 
dressed  lawyer,  surgeon  or  merchant;  and  in 
general  conferences,  discussions  and  even  con- 


versations the  most  weather-beaten  and  strongly 
marked  face,  or,  in  other  words,  the  man  who 
had  seen  and  experienced  the  most,  notwith- 
standing his  wild  and  tattered  attire,  was  lis- 
tened to  with  more  attention  and  respectful  con- 
sideration than  the  man  of  polished  speech  and 
striking  antithesis.  One  reason  of  this  was  that  in 
those  days  the  roughest-looking  man  not  infre- 
quently knew  more  than  anybody  else  of  what 
was  wanted  to  be  known,  and  the  raggedest  man 
not  infrequently  was  the  most  influential  and 
sometimes  the  richest  man  in  the  locality."- 

This  independent  spirit  was  characteristic  of 
the  men  of  '48  and  '49.  Then  nearly  everybody 
was  honest  and  theft  was  almost  unknown. 
With  the  advent  of  the  criminal  element  in 
1850  and  later  there  came  a  change.  Before  that 
a  pan  of  gold  dust  could  be  left  in  an  open  tent 
unguarded,  but  with  the  coming  of  the  Sydney 
ducks  from  Australia  and  men  of  their  class  it 
became  necessary  to  guard  property  with  sedu- 
lous care. 

*  Hindi's   History  of  California.   Vol.   III. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


SAN    FRANCISCO. 


IN  1835  Capt.  William  A.  Richardson  built 
the  first  house  on  the  Yerba  Buena  cove. 
It  was  a  shanty  of  rough  board,  which  he 
replaced  a  year  later  with  an  adobe  building. 
He  was  granted  a  lot  in  1836  and  his  building 
stood  near  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Dupont 
and  Clay  streets.  Richardson  had  settled  at 
Sausalito  in  1822.  He  was  an  Englishman  by 
birth  and  was  one  of  the  first  foreigners  to  settle 
in  California. 

Jacob  P.  Leese,  an  American,  in  partnership 
with  Spear  &  Hinckley,  obtained  a  lot  in  1836 
and  built  a  house  and  store  near  that  of  Captain 
Richardson.  There  is  a  tradition  that  Mr.  Leese 
began  his  store  building  on  the  first  of  July  and 
finished  it  at  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
July  4,  and  for  a  house  warming  celebrated  the 
glorious  Fourth  in  a  style  that  astonished  the 
natives  up  and  down  the  coast.  The  house  was 
sixty   feet   long  and   twenty-five   broad,  and,   if 


completed  in  three  days,  Mr.  Leese  certainly  de 
serves  the  credit  of  having  eclipsed  some  of 
the  remarkable  feats  in  house  building  that  were 
performed  after  the  great  fires  of  San  Francisco 
in  the  early  '50s.  Mr.  Leese  and  his  neighbor, 
Captain  Richardson,  invited  all  the  high-toned 
Spanish  families  for  a  hundred  miles  around  to 
the  celebration.  The  Mexican  and  American 
flags  floated  over  the  building  and  two  six- 
pounders  fired  salutes.  At  five  o'clock  the 
guests  sat  down  to  a  sumptuous  dinner  which 
lasted,  toasts  and  all,  till  10  o'clock,  and  then 
came  dancing;  and,  as  Mr.  Leese  remarks  in  his 
diary;  "Our  Fourth  ended  on  the  evening  of 
the  fifth."  Mr.  I.eese  was  an  energetic  person. 
I  le  built  a  house  in  three  days,  gave  a  Fourth  of 
|uly  celebration  thai  la-ted  two  days,  and  inside 
of  a  week  had  a  -tore  opened  and  was  doing  a 
thriving  business  with  his  late  guests.  He  fell 
in  love  with  the  same  energy  that  he  did  busi- 


176 


HISTORICAL  AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ness.  Among  the  guests  at  his  4th  of  July 
celebration  were  the  Vallejos,  the  nabobs  of 
Sonoma.  Leese  courted  one  of  the  girls  and  in 
a  few  months  after  the  celebration  married  her. 
Their  daughter,  Rosalie  Leese,  was  the  first 
child  born  in  Yerba  Buena.  Such  was  the  be- 
ginning of  San  Francisco. 

This  settlement  was  on  a  crescent-shaped  cove 
that  lay  between  Clark's  Point  and  the  Rincon. 
The  locality  was  known  as  Verba  Buena  (good 
herb),  a  species  of  mint  to  which  the  native  Cal- 
ifornians  attributed  many  medicinal  virtues. 
The  peninsula  still  bore  the  name  that  had  been 
applied  to  it  when  the  mission  and  presidio 
were  founded,  San  Francisco.  Yerba  Buena 
was  a  local  appellation  and  applied  only  to  the 
little  hamlet  that  had  grown  up  on  the  cove. 
This  settlement,  although  under  the  Mexican 
government,  was  not  a  Mexican  town.  The 
foreign  element,  the  American  predominating, 
had  always  been  in  the  ascendency.  At  the  time 
of  the  conquest,  among  its  two  hundred  inhab- 
itants, were  representatives  of  almost  every  civ- 
ilized nation  on  the  globe.  It  was  a  cosmopol- 
itan town.  In  a  very  short  time  after  the  con- 
quest it  began  to  take  on  a  new  growth  and  was 
recognized  as  the  coming  metropolis  of  Califor- 
nia. The  curving  beach  of  the  cove  at  one 
point  (Jackson  street)  crossed  the  present  line 
of  Montgomery  street. 

Richardson  and  Leese  had  built  their  stores 
and  warehouses  back  from  the  beach  because  of 
a  Mexican  law  that  prohibited  the  building  of  a 
house  on  the  beach  where  no  custom  house  ex- 
isted. All  houses  had  to  be  built  back  a  certain 
number  of  varas  from  high-water  mark.  This 
regulation  was  made  to  prevent  smuggling.  Be- 
tween the  shore  line  of  the  cove  and  anchorage 
there  was  a  long  stretch  of  shallow  water.  This 
made  transportation  of  goods  from  ship  to 
shore  very  inconvenient  and  expensive.  With 
the  advent  of  the  Americans  and  the  inaugura- 
tion of  a  more  progressive  era  it  became  neces- 
sary for  the  convenient  landing  of  ships  and  for 
the  discharging  and  receiving  of  their  cargoes 
that  the  beach  front  of  the  town  should  be  im- 
proved bv  building  wharves  and  docks.  The  dif- 
ficulty was  In  find  the  means  to  do  this.  The 
general  government  of  the  United  States  could 


not  undertake  it.  The  war  with  Mexico  was 
still  in  progress.  The  only  available  way  was 
to  sell  off  beach  lots  to  private  parties,  but  who 
was  to  give  title  was  the  question.  Edwin  Bry- 
ant, February  22,  1847,  nad  succeeded  Wash- 
ington Bartlett  as  alcalde.  Bryant  was  a  pro- 
gressive man,  and,  recognizing  the  necessity  of 
improvement  in  the  shipping  facilities  of  the 
town,  he  urged  General  Kearny,  the  acting 
governor,  to  relinquish,  on  the  part  of  the  gen- 
eral government,  its  claim  to  the  beach  lands  in 
front  of  the  town  in  favor  of  the  municipality 
under  certain  conditions.  General  Kearny 
really  had  no  authority  to  relinquish  the  claim 
of  the  general  government  to  the  land,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  the  general  government  had 
not  perfected  a  claim.  The  country  was  held 
as  conquered  territory.  Mexico  had  made  no 
concession  of  the  land  by  treaty.  It  was  not 
certain  that  California  would  be  ceded  to  the 
United  States.  Under  Mexican  law  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  territory,  under  certain  conditions, 
had  the  right  to  make  grants,  and  General  Kear- 
ny, assuming  the  power  given  a  Mexican  gov- 
ernor, issued  the  following  decree:  "I,  Brig.- 
Gen.  S.  W.  Kearny,  Governor  of  California, 
by  virtue  of  authority  in  me  vested  by  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  of  America,  do  hereby 
grant,  convey,  and  release  unto  the  Town  of  San 
Francisco,  the  people  or  corporate  authorities 
thereof,  all  the  right,  title  and  interest  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
Territory  of  California  in  and  to  the  Beach  and 
Water  Lots  on  the  East  front  of  said  Town  of 
San  Francisco  included  between  the  points 
known  as  the  Rincon  and  Fort  Montgomery, 
excepting  such  lots  as  may  be  selected  for  the 
use  of  the  United  States  Government  by  the 
senior  officers  of  the  army  and  navy  now  there; 
provided,  the  said  ground  hereby  ceded  shall 
be  divided  into  lots  and  sold  by  public  auction  to 
the  highest  bidder,  after  three  months*  notice 
previously  given;  the  proceeds  of  said  sale  to 
be  for  the  benefit  of  the  town  of  San  Francisco. 
Given  at  Monterey,  capital  of  California,  this 
10th  day  of  March,  1847,  and  the  seventy-first 
year  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States." 
S.  W.  Kearny, 
Brig.-Gen'l  &  Gov.  of  California. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


In  pursuance  of  this  decree,  Alcalde  Bryant 
advertised  in  the  Californian  that  the  ground 
described  in  the  decree,  known  as  Water  Lots, 
would  be  surveyed  and  divided  into  convenient 
building  lots  and  sold  to  the  highest  bidder  on 
the  29th  of  June  (1847).  He  then  proceeds  in 
the  advertisement  to  boom  the  town.  "The  site 
of  the  town  of  San  Francisco  is  known  by  all 
navigators  and  mercantile  men  acquainted  with 
the  subject  to  be  the  most  commanding  com- 
mercial position  on  the  entire  western  coast  of 
the  Pacific  ocean,  and  the  Town  itself  is  no 
doubt  destined  to  become  the  commercial  em- 
porium of  the  western  side  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can continent."  The  alcaldes'  assertions  must 
have  seemed  rather  extravagant  to  the  dwellers 
in  the  little  burgh  on  the  cove  of  Verba  Buena. 
But  Bryant  was  a  far-seeing  man  and  proved 
himself  in  this  instance  to  be  a  prophet. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  both  General  Kearnj 
and  Alcalde  Bryant  call  the  town  San  Francisco. 
Alcalde  Bartlett,  the  predecessor  in  office  of 
Alcalde  Bryant,  had  changed  its  name  just  be- 
fore he  was  recalled  to  his  ship.  He  did  not 
like  the  name  Yerba  Buena,  so  he  summarily 
changed  it.  He  issued  a  proclamation  setting 
forth  that  hereafter  the  town  should  be  known 
as  San  Francisco.  Having  proclaimed  a  change 
of  name,  he  proceeded  to  give  his  reasons: 
Yerba  Buena  was  a  paltry  cognomen  for  a  cer- 
tain kind  of  mint  found  on  an  island  in  the 
bay;  it  was  a  merely  local  name,  unknown  be- 
yond the  district,  while  San  Francisco  had  long 
been  familiar  on  the  maps.  "Therefore  it  is 
hereby  ordained,  etc."  Bartlett  builded  better 
than  he  knew.  It  would  have  been  a  sad  mis- 
take for  the  city  to  have  carried  the  "outlandish 
name  which  Americans  would  mangle  in  pro- 
nouncing," as  the  alcalde  said. 

The  change  was  made  in  the  latter  part  of 
January,  1847,  but  it  was  some  time  before  the 
new  name  was  generally  adopted. 

The  California  Star,  Sam  Brannan's  paper, 
which  had  begun  to  shine  January  9,  1847,  m 
its  issue  of  March  20,  alluding  to  the  change, 
says:  "We  acquiesce  in  it,  though  we  prefer 
the  old  name.  When  the  change  was  first  at- 
tempted we  viewed  it  as  a  mere  assumption  of 
authority,  without  law  of  precedent,  and  there- 


fore we  adhered  to  the  old  name — Yerba 
Buena." 

"It  was  asserted  by  the  late  alcalde,  Washing- 
ton Bartlett,  that  the  place  was  called  San 
Francisco  in  some  old  Spanish  paper  which  he 
professed  to  have  in  his  possession;  but  how 
could  we  believe  a  man  even  about  that  which 
it  is  said  'there  is  nothing  in  it,'  who  had  so 
often  evinced  a  total  disregard  for  his  own  honor 
and  character  and  the  honor  of  the  country 
which  gave  him  birth  and  the  rights  of  his  fel- 
low citizens  in  the  district?"  Evidently  the  edi- 
tor had  a  grievance  and  was  anxious  to  get  even 
with  the  alcalde.  Bartlett  demanded  an  inves- 
tigation of  some  charges  made  against  his  ad- 
ministration. He  was  cleared  of  all  blame.  He 
deserves  the  thanks  of  all  Californians  in  sum- 
marily suppressing  Yerba  Buena  and  preventing 
it  from  being  fastened  on  the  chief  city  of  the 
state. 

There  was  at  that  time  (on  paper)  a  city  of 
Francisca.  The  city  fathers  of  this  budding  me- 
tropolis were  T.  O.  Larkin  and  Robert  Semple. 
In  a  half-column  advertisement  in  the  Califor- 
nian of  April  20,  1847.  and  several  subsequent 
issues,  headed  "Great  Sale  of  City  Lots,"  they  set 
forth  the  many  advantages  and  merits  of 
Francisca.  The  streets  are  eighty  feet  wide,  the 
alleys  twenty  feet  wide,  and  the  lots  fifty  yards 
front  and  forty  yards  back.  The  whole  city 
comprises  five  square  miles." 

"Francisca  is  situated  on  the  Straits  of  Car- 
quinez,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Hay  of  San 
Francisco,  about  thirty  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  bay  and  at  the  head  of  ship  navigation. 
In  front  of  the  city  is  a  commodious  bay,  large 
enough  for  two  hundred  ships  to  ride  at  anchor, 
safe    from    any    wind."  "The     entire 

trade  of  the  great  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin 
valleys,  a  fertile  country  of  great  width  and  near 
seven  hundred  miles  long  from  north  to  south, 
must  of  necessity  pass  through  the  narrow  chan- 
nel of  Carquinez  and  the  bay  and  country  is 
so  situated  that  even-  person  who  passes  from 
one  side  of  the  bay  to  the  other  will  find  the 
nearest  and  best  w.v    '  Francisca, 

with  its  manifold  natural  advantages,  ought  to 
have  been  a  great  city,  the  of  Cali- 

fornia, but   the  Fates  were  ;  \!calde 


Hi 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Bartlett,  probably  without  any  design  of  doing 
so,  dealt  it  a  fearful  blow  when  he  dubbed  the 
town  of  the  good  herb,  San  Francisco.  Two 
cities  with  names  so  nearly  alike  could  not  live 
and  thrive  in  the  same  state.  Francisca  became 
Benicia.  The  population  of  San  Francisco  (or 
Verba  Buena,  as  it  was  then  called)  at  the  time 
that  Captain  Montgomery  raised  the  stars  and 
stripes  and  took  possession  of  it  probably  did 
not  exceed  two  hundred.  Its  change  of  masters 
accelerated  its  growth.  The  Calif ornian  of  Sep- 
tember 4,  1847  (fourteen  months  after  it  came 
under  the  flag  of  the  United  States),  gives  the 
following  statistics  of  its  population  ami  prog- 
ress: Total  white  male  population,  247;  female, 
123;  Indians,  male,  26;  female,  8;  South  Sea 
Islanders,  male,  39;  female  1;  negroes,  male, 
9;    female  1;    total  population,  454. 

Nearly  every  country  on  the  globe  had  repre- 
sentatives in  its  population,  and  the  various  vo- 
cations by  which  men  earn  a  living  were 
well  represented.  Minister,  one;  doctors,  three; 
lawyers,  three;  surveyors,  two;  agriculturists, 
eleven;  bakers,  seven:  blacksmiths,  six;  brew- 
er, one;  butchers,  seven;  cabinetmakers,  two; 
carpenters,  twenty-six;  cigarmaker,  one;  coop- 
ers, three;  clerks,  thirteen;  gardener,  one; 
grocers,  five;  gunsmiths,  two;  hotel-keepers, 
three;  laborers,  twenty;  masons,  four;  mer- 
chants, eleven;  miner,  one;  morocco  case 
maker,  one;  navigators  (inland),  six;  navigator 
(ocean),  one;  painter,  one;  printer,  one;  sol- 
dier, one;  shoemakers,  four;  silversmith,  one; 
tailors,  four;  tanners,  two;  watchmaker,  one; 
weaver,  one.  Previous  to  April  1,  1847,  accord- 
ing to  the  Californicn,  there  had  been  erected  in 
the  town  seventy-nine  buildings,  classified  as 
follows:  Shanties,  twenty-two;  frame  buildings, 
thirty-one;  adobe  buildings,  twenty-six.  Since 
April  1,  seventy-eight  buildings  have  been 
erected,  viz.:  Shanties,  twenty:  frame  buildings. 
forty-seven;  ad.  .be  buildings,  eleven.  "Within 
five  months  last  past,"  triumphantly  adds  the 
editor  of  the  Calif  ornian,  "as  many  buildings 
have  been  built  as  were  erected  in  all  the  pre- 
vious years  of  the  town's  existence." 

The  town  continued  to  grow  with  wonderful 
rapidity  throughout  the  year  1847,  considering 
that   peace  had  not  yel   been   declared  and  the 


destiny  of  California  was  uncertain.  According 
1"  a  school  census  taken  in  March,  1848.  by 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  the  population  was: 
Males,  five  hundred  and  seventy-five;  females, 
one  hundred  and  seventy-seven;  and  "children 
of  age  to  attend  school,"  sixty,  a  total  of  eight 
hundred  and  twelve.  Building  kept  pace  with 
the  increase  of  population  until  the  "gold  fever" 
became  epidemic.  Dr.  Brooks,  writing  in  his 
diary  May  17,  says:  "Walking  through  the  town 
to-day,  I  observed  that  laborers  were  employed 
only  upon  about  half  a  dozen  of  the  fifty  new 
buildings  which  were  in  the  course  of  being 
run  up." 

The  first  survey  of  lots  in  the  town  had  been 
made  by  a  Frenchman  named  Vioget.  Xo 
names  had  been  given  to  the  streets.  This  sur- 
vey was  made  before  the  conquest.  In  1847, 
Jasper  O'Farrell  surveyed  and  platted  the  dis- 
trict extending  about  half  a  mile  in  the  different 
directions  from  the  plaza.  The  streets  were 
named,  and,  with  a  very  few  changes,  still  retain 
the  names  then  given.  In  September  the  coun- 
cil appointed  a  committee  to  report  upon  the 
building  of  a  wharf.  Jt  was  decided  to  con- 
struct two  wharves,  one  from  the  foot  of  Clay 
street  and  the  other  from  the  foot  of  Broadway. 
Money  was  appropriated  to  build  them  and  they 
had  been  extended  some  distance  seaward  when 
the  rush  to  the  mines  suspended  operations. 
After  considerable  agitation  by  the  two  news- 
papers and  canvassing  for  funds,  the  first  school- 
house  was  built.  It  was  completed  December 
4,  1847,  but,  for  lack  of  funds,  or,  as  the  Star 
says,  for  lack  of  energy  in  the  council,  school 
was  not  opened  on  the  completion  of  the  house. 
In  March  the  council  appropriated  $400  and 
April  1,  1848,  Thomas  Douglas,  a  graduate  of 
Yale  College,  took  charge  of  the  school.  San 
Francisco  was  rapidly  developing  into  a  pro- 
gressive American  city.  Unlike  the  older  towns 
.if  California,  it  had  but  a  small  Mexican  popu- 
lation. Even  had  not  gold  been  discovered,  it 
would  have  grown  into  a  commercial  city  of  con- 
siderable size. 

The  first  effect  of  the  gold  discovery  and  the 
consequenl  rush  to  the  mines  was  to  bring 
everything  to  a  standstill.  As  Kemble,  of  the 
Star,  puts  it.  it   was  "as  if  a  curse  had  arrested 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


our  onward  course  of  enterprise;  everything 
wears  a  desolate  and  sombre  look;  everywhere 
all  is  dull,  monotonous,  dead."  The  return  of 
the  inhabitants  in  a  few  months  and  the  influx 
of  new  arrivals  gave  the  town  a  boom  in  the 
fall  of  1848.  Building  was  only  limited  by  the 
lack  of  material,  and  every  kind  of  a  makeshift 
was  resorted  to  to  provide  shelter  against  win- 
ter rains.  From  the  many  attempts  at  describ- 
ing the  town  at  this  stage  of  its  development,  I 
select  this  from  "Sights  in  the  Gold  Regions,"  a 
book  long  since  out  of  print.  Its  author,  T.  T. 
Johnson,  arrived  at  San  Francisco  April  1,  1849. 
"Proceeding  on  our  survey,  we  found  the 
streets,  or,  properly,  the  roads,  laid  out  reg- 
ularly, those  parallel  with  the  water  being  a 
succession  of  terraces,  and  these  ascending  the 
lulls  or  along  their  sides  being  in  some  instances 
cut  down  ten  or  twelve  feet  below  the  surface. 
Except  a  portion  of  the  streets  fronting  upon 
the  cove,  they  are  all  of  hard-beaten,  sandy  claw 
as  solid  as  if  macadamized.  About  three  hun- 
dred houses,  stores,  shanties  and  sheds,  with  a 
great  many  tents,  composed  the  town  at  that 
period.  The  houses  were  mostly  built  of  rough 
boards  and  unpainted ;  brown  cottons  or  calico 
nailed  against  the  beams  and  joists  answered  for 
wall  and  ceiling  of  the  better  class  of  tenements. 
With  the  exception  of  the  brick  warehouse  of 
Howard  and  Melius,  the  establishments  of  the 
commercial  houses  of  which  we  had  heard  so 
much  were  inferior  to  the  outhouses  of  the 
country  seats  on  the  Hudson;  and  yet  it  would 
puzzle  the  New  York  Exchange  to  produce 
merchant  princes  of  equal  importance."  :: 
"We  strolled  among  the  tents  in  the  outskirts 
of  the  town.  Here  was  'confusion  worse  con- 
founded,' chiefly  among  Mexicans,  Peruvians 
and  Chilians.  Every  kind,  size,  color  and  shape 
of  tent  pitched  helter-skelter  and  in  the  most 
awkward  manner  were  stowed  full  of  everything 
under  the  sun." 

In  the  first  six  months  of  1849  fifteen  thou- 
sand souls  were  added  to  the  population  of  San 
Francisco;  in  the  latter  half  of  that  year  about 
four  thousand  arrived  every  month  by  sea  alone. 
At  first  the  immigrants  were  from  Mexico, 
Chile,  Peru  and  the  South  American  ports 
orally;    but    early   in   the    spring   the   American-; 


began  to  arrive,  coming  by  way  of  Panama  and 
Cape  Horn,  and  later  across  the  plains.  Europe 
sent  its  contingent  by  sea  via  Cape  Horn  ;.  and 
China,  Australia  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
added  to  the  city's  population  an  undesirable 
element.  A  large  majority  of  those  who  came 
by  sea  made  their  way  to  the  mines,  but  many- 
soon  returned  to  San  Francisco,  some  to  take 
their  departure  for  home,  others  to  become  resi- 
dents. At  the  end  of  the  year  San  Francisco 
had  a  population  of  twenty-live  thousand.  The 
following  graphic  description  of  life  in  San 
Francisco  in  the  fall  of '49  and  spring  of  '50  I  take 
from  a  paper,  "Pioneer  Days  in  San  Francisco," 
written  by  John  Williamson  Palmer,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Century  Magazine  (1890):  "And 
how  did  they  all  live?  In  frame  houses  of  one 
story,  more  commonly  in  board  shanties  and 
canvas  tents,  pitched  in  the  midst  of  sand  or 
mud  and  various  rubbish  and  strange  filth  and 
fleas;  and  they  slept  on  rude  cots  or  on  soft 
planks,  under  horse  blankets,  on  tables,  coun- 
ters, floors,  on  trucks  in  the  open  air,  in  bunks 
braced  against  the  weather-boarding,  forty  of 
them  in  one  loft;  and  so  they  tossed  and 
scratched  and  swore  and  laughed  and  sang  and 
skylarked,  those  who  were  not  tired  or  drunk 
enough  to  sleep.  And  in  the  working  hours 
they  bustled,  and  jostled,  and  tugged,  and 
sweated,  and  made  money,  always  made  money. 
They  labored  and  they  lugged;  they  worked  on 
lighters,  drove  trucks,  packed  mules,  rang  bells, 
carried  messages,  'waited'  in  restaurants, 
"marked"  for  billiard  tallies,  served  drinks  in 
bar  rooms,  "faked'  on  the  plaza,  "cried"  at  auc- 
tions, toted  lumber  for  houses,  ran  a  game  of 
faro  or  roulette  in  the  El  Dorado  or  the  Bella 
Union,  or  manipulated  three-card  monte  on 
the  head  of  a  barrel  in  front  of  the  Parker 
House;  they  speculated,  and.  a-  a  rule,  gam- 
bled. 

"Clerks  in  stores  and  offices  had  munificent 
salaries.  Five  dollars  a  da)  was  aboul  the  small- 
est stipend  even  in  the  custom  house,  and  one 
Baptist  preacher  was  paid  $10,000  a  year.  La- 
borers received  $1  an  hour;  a  pick  or  a  shovel 
was  worth  $10;  a  tin  pan  or  a  wooden  bowl 
$5,  and  a  butcher  knife  $30.  At  one  time  car- 
penters   who    were    getting   $12    a    day    struck 


ISO 


[1ST  iRIC  \L    AND    BK  iGRAPHICAL    REi  i  iR]  >. 


[or  $16.  Lumber  rose  to  $500  per  thou- 
sand feet,  and  every  brick  in  a  house  cost 
a  dollar  one  way  or  another.  Wheat,  flour 
and  salt  pork  sold  at  $40  a  barrel;  a  small 
loaf  of  bread  was  fifty  cents  and  a  hard-boiled 
egg  a  dollar.  You  paid  $3  to  get  into  the  cir- 
cus and  $55  for  a  private  box  at  the  theater. 
Forty  dollars  was  the  price  for  ordinary  coarse 
lux  us,  and  a  pair  that  came  above  the  knees 
and  would  carry  you  gallantly  through  the  quag- 
mires brought  a  round  hundred.  When  a  shirt 
became  very  dirty  the  wearer  threw  it  away  and 
bought  a  new  one.  Washing  cost  $15  a  dozen 
in  1849. 

"Rents  were  simply  monstrous;  $3,000  a 
month  in  advance  for  a  'store'  hurriedly  built  of 
rough,  boards.  Wright  &  Co.  paid  $75,000  for 
the  wretched  little  place  on  the  corner  of  the 
plaza  that  they  called  the  Miners'  Bank,  and 
$36,000  was  asked  for  the  use  of  the  i  )ld  Adobe 
as  a  custom-house.  The  Parker  House  paid 
$120,000  a  year  in  rents,  nearly  one-half  of  that 
amount  being  collected  from  gamblers  who  held 
the  second  floor;  and  the  canvas  tent  next  door 
used  a^  a  gambling  saloon,  and  called  the  El 
Dorado,  was  good  for  $40,000  a  year.  From 
10  to  15  per  cent  a  month  was  paid  in  advance 
for  the  use  of  money  borrowed  on  substantial 
security.  The  prices  of  real  estate  went  up 
among  the  stars;  $8,000  for  a  lifty-vara  lot  that 
had  been  boughl  in  [849  for  $20.  A  lot  pur- 
1  hased  two  years  before  for  a  barrel  of  aguar- 
diente sold  for  $18,000.  Yet,  for  all  that,  every- 
body made  money. 

•'Tin-  aspeel  of  tin-  streets  of  San  Francisco  al 
this  time  was  such  as  one  may  imagine  of  an 
unsightl  sand  ami  mud  churned  by 

ontinual  grinding  of  heavy  wagons  and 
trucks  and  the  tugging  and  floundering  of 
mules  .Mid  oxen;  thoroughfares  irregu- 
lar and  uneven,  ungraded,  unpaved,  unplanked. 
obstructed  by  lumber  and  goods,  alternate 
humps  and  holes,  the  actual  dumping  places  of 
.An,  hand)-  receptacles  For  the  general 
sweepings  ami  rubbish  and  indescribable  offal 
and  filth,  the  refusi  oi  an  indiscriminate  popu- 
ng'   t'  igether   in    shanties   and    tents. 

\nd   these    conditions    extended    beyond    the 
"'in  into  die  chaparral  and  under- 


brush that  covered  the  sand  hills  on  the  north 
and  west. 

"The  flooding  rains  of  winter  transformed 
what  should  have  been  thoroughfares  into 
treacherous  quagmires  set  with  holes  and  traps 
fit  to  smother  horse  and  man.  Loads  of  brush- 
wood and  branches  of  trees  cut  from  the  hills 
were  thrown  into  these  swamps;  but  they  served 
no  more  than  a  temporary  purpose  and  the  in- 
mates of  tents  and  houses  made  such  bridges 
and  crossings  as  they  could  with  boards,  boxes 
and  barrels.  Men  waded  through  the  slough 
and  thought  themselves  lucky  when  they  sank 
no  deeper  than  their  waists." 

It  is  said  that  two  horses  mired  down  in  the 
mud  of  Montgomery  street  were  left  to  die  of 
starvation,  and  that  three  drunken  men  were 
suffocated  between  Washington  and  Jackson 
streets.  It  was  during  the  winter  of  '49  that  the 
famous  sidewalk  of  flour  sacks,  cooking  stoves 
and  tobacco  boxes  was  built.  It  extended  from 
Simmons.  Hutchinson  &  Co.'s  store  to  Adams 
Express  office,  a  distance  of  about  seventy-five 
yards.  The  first  portion  was  built  of  Chilean 
flour  in  one  hundred  pound  sacks,  next  came  the 
cooking  stoves  in  a  long  row,  and  then  followed 
a  double  row  of  tobacco  boxes  of  large  size, 
and  a  yawning  gap  of  the  walk  was  bridged  by 
a  piano.  Chile  flour,  cooking  stoves,  tobacco 
and  pianos  were  cheaper  material  for  building- 
walks,  owing  to  the  excessive  supply  of  these, 
than  lumber  at  $600  a  thousand. 

In  the  summer  of  '49  there  were  more  than 
three  hundred  sailing  vessels  lying  in  the  harbor 
of  San  Francisco,  from  which  the  sailors  had 
deserted  to  go  to  the  mines.  Some  of  these  ves- 
sels rotted  where  they  were  moored.  Some 
were  hauled  up  in  the  sand  or  mud  flats  ami 
used  for  store  houses,  lodging  houses  and  sa- 
loons. As  the  water  lots  were  filled  in  and  built 
upon,  these  ships  sometimes  formed  pari  of 
tin-  line  of  buildings  on  the  street.  The  brig 
!  uphemia  was  the  first  jail  owned  by  the  city; 
the  store  ship  \poll..  was  converted  into  a 
lodging  house  and  saloon,  anil  the  X'iantie  Hotel 

at  the  e. niier  of  Sansoiiie  and  (  l.n  streets  «,is 
built  on  the  hull  of  the  ship  Xiantie.  As  the 
wharves  were  extended  out  into  the  bay  the 
space  between   was  tilled  in   from  the   sand  hills 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


1M 


and  houses  built  along  the  wharves.  In  this 
way  the  cove  was  gradually  filled  in.  The  high 
price  of  lumber  and  the  great  scarcity  of  houses 
brought  about  the  importation  from  New  York, 
Boston,  Philadelphia  and  London  of  houses 
ready  framed  to  set  up.  For  a  time  im- 
mense profits  were  made  in  this,  but  an  ex- 
cessive shipment  like  that  of  the  articles  of 
which  the  famous  sidewalk  was  made  brought 
down  the  price  below  cost,  and  the  business 
ceased. 

The  first  of  the  great  fires  that  devastated  San 
Francisco  occurred  on  Christmas  eve,  1849.  It 
started  in  Denison's  Exchange,  a  gambling 
house  on  the  east  side  of  the  plaza.  It  burned 
the  greater  part  of  the  block  between  Wash- 
ington and  Clay  streets  and  Kearny  and  Mont- 
gomery streets.  The  loss  was  estimated  at  a 
million  and  a  quarter  dollars.  The  second  great 
fire  occurred  on  May  4,  1850.  It  burned  over 
the  three  blocks  between  Montgomery  and 
Dupont  streets,  bounded  by  Jackson  and  Clay 
streets,  and  the  north  and  east  sides  of  Ports- 
mouth square.  The  loss  was  estimated  at 
$4,000,000.  It  started  in  the  United  States  Ex- 
change, a  gambling  den,  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  burned  for  seven  hours.  The  fire 
was  believed  to  be  of  incendiary  origin  and  sev- 
eral suspicious  characters  were  arrested,  but 
nothing  could  be  proved  against  them.  A  num- 
ber of  the  lookers-on  refused  to  assist  in  arrest- 
ing the  progress  of  the  flames  unless  paid  for 
their  labor ;  and  $3  an  hour  was  demanded  and 
paid  to  some  who  did. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  1850,  a  fire  broke  out  in 
the  Sacramento  House,  on  the  east  side  of  Kear- 
ny street,  between  Clay  and  Sacramento.  The 
entire  district  from  Kearny  street  between  Clay 
and  California  to  the  water  front  was  burned 
over,  causing  a  loss  of  $3,000,000.  Over  three 
hundred  houses  were  destroyed.  The  fourth 
great  fire  of  the  fateful 'year  of  1850  occurred 
September  17.  It  started  on  Jackson  street  and 
destroyed  the  greater  part  of  the  blocks  be- 
tween Dupont  and  Montgomery  streets  from 
Washington  to  Pacific  streets.  The  loss  in  this 
was  not  so  great  from  the  fact  that  the  district 
contained  mostly  one-story  houses.  It  was  esti- 
mated at   half  a   million   dollars.      December    l_| 


of  the  same  year  a  fire  occurred  on  Sacramento 
street  below  Montgomery.  Although  the  dis- 
trict burned  over  was  not  extensive,  the  loss 
was  heavy.  The  buildings  were  of  corrugated 
iron,  supposed  to  be  fireproof,  and  were  filled 
with  valuable  merchandise.  The  loss  amounted 
to  $1,000,000.  After  each  fire,  building  was  re- 
sumed almost  before  the  embers  of  the  fire  that 
consumed  the  former  buildings  were  extin- 
guished. After  each  fire  better  buildings  were 
constructed.  A  period  of  six  months'  exemp- 
tion had  encouraged  the  inhabitants  of  the  fire- 
afflicted  city  to  believe  that  on  account  of  the 
better  class  of  buildings  constructed  the  danger 
of  great  conflagrations  was  past,  but  the  worst 
was  yet  to  come.  At  11  p.  m.  May  3,  1851,  a 
fire,  started  by  incendiaries,  broke  out  on  the 
south  side  of  the  plaza.  A  strong  northwest 
wind  swept  across  Kearny  street  in  broad 
sheets  of  flame,  first  southeastward,  then,  the 
wind  changing,  the  flames  veered  to  the  north 
and  east.  All  efforts  to  arrest  them  were  use- 
less; houses  were  blown  up  and  torn  down  in 
attempts  to  cut  off  communication,  but  the  en- 
gines were  driven  back  step  by  step,  while  some 
of  the  brave  firemen  fell  victims  to  the  fire  fiend. 
The  flames,  rising  aloft  in  whirling  volumes, 
swept  away  the  frame  houses  and  crumbled  up 
with  intense  heat  the  supposed  fireproof  struc- 
tures. After  ten  hours,  when,  the  fire  abated  for 
want  of  material  to  burn,  all  that  remained  of 
the  city  were  the  sparsely  settled  outskirts.  All 
of  the  business  district  between  Pine  and  Pa- 
cific streets,  from  Kearny  to  the  Battery  on 
the  water  front,  was  in  ruins.  Over  one  thou- 
sand houses  had  been  burned.  The  loss  of  prop- 
erty was  estimated  at  $10,000,000,  an  amount 
greater  than  the  aggregate  of  all  the  preceding 
fires.  A  number  of  lives  were  lust.  During  the 
progress  of  the  fire  large  quantities  of  goods 
were  stolen  by  bands  of  thieves.  The  sixth  and 
last  of  the  great  conflagrations  that  dev; 
the  city  occurred  on  the  22d  of  June.  [851.  The 
fire  started  in  a  building  on  Powell  street  and 
ravaged  the  district  between  Cla)  andBroadway, 
from  Powell  to  Sansome  Foui  hundred  and 
fifty  houses  were  burned,  involving  a  loss  of 
$2,500,000.       An      inn-  department, 

more  stringent  building  regulations  and  a  bet- 


182 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ter  water  supply  combined  to  put  an  end  to  the 
era  of  great  fires. 

After  the  great  fires  of  1851  had  swept  over 
the  city  there  was  practically  nothing  left  of 
the  old  metropolis  of  the  early  gold  rush.  The 
hastily  constructed  wooden  shanties  were  gone; 
the  corrugated  iron  building  imported  from 
Xew  York  and  London,  and  warranted  to  be 
fireproof,  had  proved  to  be  worthless  to  with- 
stand great  heat;  the  historic  buildings  had  dis- 
appeared; the  new  city  that.  Phcenix-like,  arose 
from  the  ashes  of  the  old  was  a  very  different 
city  from  its  predecessor  that  had  been  wiped 
from  the  earth  by  successive  conflagrations. 
Stone  and  brick  buildings  covered  the  former 
site  of  wooden  structures.  The  unsightly  mud 
flats  between  the  wharves  were  filled  in  from  the 
sand  hills  and  some  of  the  streets  paved.  The 
year  1853  was  memorable  for  the  rapid  progress 
of  the  city.  Assessed  property  values  increased 
from  $18,000,000  to  $28,000,000.  Real  estate 
values  went  soaring  upward  and  the  city  was  on 
the  high  tide  of  prosperity;  but  a  reaction  came 
in  1855.  The  rush  to  the  mines  had  ceased,  im- 
migration had  fallen  off,  and  men  had  begun  to 
retrench  and  settle  down  to  steady  business 
habits.  Hume  productions  had  replaced  im- 
ports, and  the  people  were  abandoning  mining 
for  farms.  The  transition  from  gold  mining  to 
grain  growing  had  begun.  All  these  affected 
the  city  and  real  estate  declined.  Lots  that  sold 
fur  SS.ooo  to  $10,000  in  1853  could  be  bought 
for  half  that  amount  in  1855.  Out  of  one  thou- 
sand business  houses,  three  hundred  were  va- 
cant. Another  influence  that  helped  to  bring 
about    a    depression    was    the   growing   political 


corruption  and  the  increased  taxation  from  pec- 
ulations of  dishonest  officials. 

The  defalcations  and  forgeries  of  Harry 
Meigs,  which  occurred  in  1854,  were  a  terrible 
blow  to  the  city.  Meigs  was  one  of  its  most 
trusted  citizens.  He  was  regarded  as  the  em- 
bodiment of  integrity,  the  stern,  incorruptible 
man,  the  watch-dog  of  the  treasury.  By  his 
upright  conduct  he  had  earned  the  sobriquet  of 
Honest  Harry  Meigs.  Over-speculation  and 
reaction  from  the  boom  of  1853  embarrassed 
him.  He  forged  a  large  amount  of  city  scrip 
and  hypothecated  it  to  raise  money.  His  forger- 
ies were  suspected,  but  before  the  truth  was 
known  he  made  his  escape  on  the  barque 
America  to  Costa  Rica  and  from  there  he  made 
his  way  to  Peru.  His  forgeries  amounted  to 
$1,500,000,  of  which  $1,000,000  was  in  comp- 
troller's warrants,  to  which  he  forged  the  names 
of  Mayor  Garrison  and  Controller  Harris.  The 
vigilance  committee  of  1856  cleared  the  political 
atmosphere  by  clearing  the  city,  by  means  of 
hemp  and  deportation,  of  a  number  of  bad 
characters.  The  city  was  just  beginning  to  re- 
gain its  former  prosperity  when  the  Frazer  river 
excitement  brought  about  a  temporary  depres- 
sion. The  wild  rush  carried  away  about  one- 
sixth  of  its  population.  These  all  came  back 
again,  poorer  and  perhaps  wiser;  at  least,  their 
necessities  compelled  them  to  go  to  work  and 
weaned  them  somewhat  of  their  extravagant 
habits  and  their  disinclination  to  work  except  for 
the  large  returns  of  earlier  days.  Since  1857  the 
growth  of  the  city  has  been  steady,  unmarked 
by  real  estate  booms:  nor  has  it  been  retarded 
by  long  periods  of  financial  depression. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

CRIME,    CRIMINALS    AND    VIGILANCE    COMMITTEES. 


THERE  was  hut  little  crime  in  California 
anion-  its  white  inhabitants  during  the 
Spanish  and  Mexican  eras  <>f  its  history. 
The  conditions  were  not  conducive  to  the  de- 
.  nt  of  a  criminal  element.  The  inhabit- 
ants were  a  pastoral  people,  pursuing  an  out- 
door vocation,  and  there  were  no  large  towns 
or  cities  where  the  viciously  inclined  could  con- 


gregate and  find  a  place  of  refuge  from  justice. 
"From  1819  to  1846.  that  is.  during  the  entire 
period  of  Mexican  domination  under  the  Repub- 
lic," says  Bancroft,  "there  were  but  six  murders 
among  the  whites  in  all  California."  There  were 
no  lyuchings,  no  mobs,  unless  some  of  the  rev- 
olutionary uprisings  might  be  called  such,  and 
hut  one  vigilance  committee. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


San  Francisco  is  credited  with  the  origin  of 
that  form  of  popular  tribunal  known  as  the  vigi- 
lance   committee.      The    name    "vigilance    com- 
mittee" originated  with  the  uprising,  in  1851,  of 
the  people  of  that  city  against  the  criminal  cle- 
ment;   but,  years  before  there  was  a  city  of  San 
Francisco,    Los   Angeles   had   originated  a   tri- 
bunal of  the  people,  had  taken  criminals  from 
the  lawfully  constituted  authorities  and  had  tried 
and  executed  them.     The  causes  which  called 
into  existence  the  first  vigilance  committee  in 
California  were  similar  to  those  that  created  the 
later  ones,  namely,  laxity  in  the  administration 
of    the    laws    and    distrust    in    the    integrity    of 
those  chosen  to  administer  them.    During  the 
"decade  of  revolutions,"  that  is,  between   1830 
and  1840,  the  frequent  change  of  rulers  and  the 
struggles  of  the  different  factions  for  power  en- 
gendered in  the   masses  a   disregard,  not  only 
for  their  rulers,  but  for  law  and  order  as  well. 
Criminals     escaped    punishment     through     the 
law's  delays.     Xo  court  in  California  had  power 
to  pass  sentence  of  death  on  a  civilian  until  its 
findings  had  been  approved  by  the  superior  tri- 
bunal of  Mexico.    In  the  slow  and  tedious  proc- 
esses of  the  different  courts,  a  criminal  stood  a 
good  show  of  dying  of  old  age  before  his  case 
reached  final  adjudication.     The  first  committee 
of  vigilance  in  California  was  organized  at  Los 
Angeles,  in  the  house  of  Juan  Temple.  April  7, 
1836.     It  was  called    "Junta    Defensora    de  La 
Seguridad    Publica,"   United   Defenders   of   the 
Public  Security  (or  safety).    Its  motto,  which  ap- 
pears in  the  heading  of  its  "acta,"  and  is  there 
credited  as  a  quotation  from  Montesquieu's  Ex- 
position of  the  Laws,  Book  26,  Chapter  23,  was, 
"Salus  populi  suprema  lex  est"  (The  safely  of 
the   people   is   the   supreme   law).     There   is    a 
marked   similarity   between  the   proceedings   of 
the  Junta  Defensora  of  1836  and  the  San  Fran- 
cisco  vigilance    committee   of    1856:    it    is    not 
probable,  however,  that  any  of  the  actors  in  the 
latter    committee    participated    in    the    former. 
Although  there   is  quite  a   full   account   of   the 
proceedings  of  the  Junta  Defensora  in  the  Los 
Angeles   city  archives,   no   historian   heretofore 
except  Bancroft  seems  to  have  found  it. 

The  circumstances  which  brought  about  the 
organization  of  the  lunta  Defensora  are  as  fol- 


lows: The  wife  of  Domingo  Feliz  (part  owner 
of  the  Los  Feliz  Rancho),  who  bore  the  poet- 
ical name  of  Maria  del  Rosario  Villa,  became 
infatuated  with  a  handsome  but  disreputable 
Sonorau  vaquero,  Gervacio  Alispaz  by  name. 
She  abandoned  her  husband  and  lived  with  Alis- 
paz as  his  mistress  at  San  Gabriel.  Feliz  sought 
to  reclaim  his  erring  wife,  but  was  met  by  in- 
sults and  abuse  from  her  paramour,  whom  he 
once  wounded  in  a  personal  altercation.  Feliz 
finally  invoked  the  aid  of  the  authorities.  The 
woman  was  arrested  and  brought  to  town.  A 
reconciliation  was  effected  between  the  husband 
and  wife.  Two  days  later  they  left  town  for  the 
rancho,  both  riding  one  horse.  On  the  way 
they  were  met  by  Alispaz,  and  in  a  personal  en- 
counter Feliz  was  stabbed  to  death  by  the  wife's 
paramour.  The  body  was  dragged  into  a  ra- 
vine and  covered  with  brush  and  leaves.  Next 
day,  March  29,  the  body  was  found  and  brought 
to  the  city.  The  murderer  and  the  woman  were 
arrested  and  imprisoned.  The  people  were  filled 
with  horror  and  indignation,  and  there  were 
threats  of  summary  vengeance,  but  better  coun- 
sel prevailed. 

On  the  30th  the  funeral  of  Feliz  took  place, 
and,  like  that  of  James  King  of  William,  twenty 
years  later,  was  the  occasion  for  the  renewal  of 
the  outcry  for  vengeance.  The  attitude  of  the 
people  became  so  threatening  that  on  the  1st 
of  April  an  extraordinary  session  of  the  avun- 
tamiento  was  held.  A  call  was  made  upon  the 
citizens  to  form  an  organization  to  preserve  the 
peace.  A  considerable  number  responded  and 
were  formed  into  military  patrols  under  the 
command  of  Don  Juan  P..  Leandry.  The  illus- 
trious ayuntamiento  resolved  "that  win  mi 
shall  disturb  the  public  tranquillit)  shall  be  pun- 
ished according  to  law."  The  excitement  ap- 
parentl)  died  out.  bul  it  was  only  the  calm  that 
precedes  tin-  storm.  The  beginning  of  the 
Easter  ceremonies  was  at  hand,  and  it  was 
deemed  a  sacrilege  to  execute  the  assassins  in 
hoi)  week,  so  all  further  attempts  at  punishment 
vere  deferred  until  April  7.  the  Monday  after 
Easter,  when  at  dawn.  1>\  previous  undei 
ing.  a  number  of  the  better  class  of  citizens  met 
at  the  house  of  Juan  Temple,  which  stood  on 
the  present  site  of  the  Downey  Block.     An  or- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ganization  was  effected.  Victor  Prudon,  a  na- 
tive of  Breton,  France,  but  a  naturalized  citizen 
of  (  alifornia,  was  elected  president;  Manuel 
Arzaga,  a  native  of  California,  was  elected  sec- 
retary, and  Francisco  Araujo,  a  retired  army 
.  was  placed  in  command  of  the  armed 
force.  Speeches  were  made  by  Prudon,  and  by 
the  military  commandant  and  others,  setting 
forth  the  necessity  of  their  organization  and  jus- 
tifying their  actions.  It  was  unanimously  de- 
cided that  both  the  man  and  the  woman  should 
be  shot;  their  guilt  being  evident,  no  trial  was 
deemed  necessary. 

An  address  to  the  authorities  and  the  people 
was  formulated.  A  copy  of  this  is  preserved  in 
the  city  archives.  It  abounds  in  metaphors. 
It  is  too  long  for  insertion  here.  I  make  a  few 
extracts:     ":  ::     Believing  that  immorality 

has  reached  such  an  extreme  that  public  secur- 
ity is  menaced  and  will  be  lost  if  the  dike  of  a 
solemn  example  is  not  opposed  to  the  torrent 
of  atrocious  perfidy,  we  demand  of  you  that  you 
execute  or  deliver  to  us  for  immediate  execution 
the  assassin,  Gervacio  Alispaz,  ami  the  unfaith- 
ful Maria  del  Rosario  Villa,  his  accomplice. 
'"  *  *  Nature  trembles  at  the  sight  of  these 
venomous  reptiles  and  the  soil  turns  barren  in 
its  refusal  to  support  their  detestable  existence. 
Let  the  infernal  pair  perish!  It  is  the  will  of  the 
people.  We  will  not  lay  down  our  arms  until  our 
petition  is  granted  and  the  murderers  are  exe- 
cuted. The  proof  of  their  guilt  is  so  clear  that 
justice  needs  no  investigation.  Public  vengeance 
demands  an  example  and  it  must  be  given.  The 
blood  of  the  Alvarez,  of  the  Patinos,  of  the 
Jenkins,  is  not  yet  cold — they,  too,  being  the 
unfortunate  victims  of  the  brutal  passions  of 
their  murderers.  Their  bloody  ghosts  shriek 
for  vengeance.  Their  terrible  voices  re-echo 
from  their  graves.  The  afflicted  widow,  the  for- 
saken orphan,  the  aged  father,  the  brother  in 
mourning,  the  inconsolable  mother,  the  public 
— all  demand  speed)-  punishment  of  the  guilty. 
We  -wear  that  outraged  justice  shall  be  avenged 
to-day  or  we  shall  die  in  the  attempt.  The  blood 
-  if  ill.'  mui  di  i  it  shall  he  sh<  d  to  da)  or  ours 
will  be  to  the  last  drop.  It  will  be  published 
the  world  that  judges  in  Los  An- 
geles   tolerate    murderers,    but     that    there    are 


virtuous  citizens  who  sacrifice  their  lives  in 
order  to  preserve  those  of  their  countrymen." 

"A  committee  will  deliver  to  the  First  Consti- 
tutional Alcalde  a  copy  of  these  resolutions, 
that  he  may  decide  whatever  he  finds  most  con- 
venient, and  one  hour's  time  will  be  given  him 
in  which  to  do  so.  If  in  that  time  no  answer  has 
been  received,  then  the  judge  will  be  responsible 
before  God  and  man  for  what  will  follow.  Death 
to  the  murderers! 

"God  and  liberty.     Angeles.  April  7,  1836." 

Fifty-five  signatures  are  attached  to  this  doc- 
ument; fourteen  of  these  are  those  of  natural- 
ized foreigners  and  the  remainder  those  of  na- 
tive Californians.  The  junta  was  made  up  of 
the  best  citizens,  native  and  foreign.  An  extraor- 
dinary session  of  the  ayuntamiento  was  called. 
The  members  of  the  junta,  fully  armed,  marched 
to  the  city  hall  to  await  the  decision  of  the 
authorities.  The  petition  was  discussed  in  the 
council,  and,  in  the  language  of  the  archives: 
"This  Illustrious  Body  decided  to  call  said 
Breton  Prudon  to  appear  before  it  and  to  com- 
pel him  to  retire  with  the  armed  citizens  so  that 
this  Illustrious  Body  may  deliberate  at  liberty." 

"This  was  done,  but  he  declined  to  appear 
before  this  body,  as  he  and  the  armed  citizens 
were  determined  to  obtain  Gervacio  Alispaz  and 
Maria  del  Rosario  Villa.  The  ayuntamiento 
decided  that  as  it  had  not  sufficient  force  to 
compel  the  armed  citizens  to  disband,  they 
being  in  large  numbers  and  composed  of  the 
best  and  most  respectable  men  of  the  town,  to 
send  an  answer  saying  that  the  judges  could 
not  accede  to  the  demand  of  the  armed  citi- 
zens." 

The  members  of  the  Junta  Defensora  then 
marched  in  a  body  to  the  jail  and  demanded  the 
keys  of  the  guard.  These  were  refused.  The 
keys  were  secured  by  force  and  Gervacio  Alispaz 
taken  out  and  shot.  The  following  demand  was 
then  sent  to  the  first  alcalde,  Manuel  Requena: 

"It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  you  deliver 
to  this  junta  the  key  of  the  apartment  where 
Maria  del   Rosario  Villa  is  kept. 

"God   and   libertj 

"Victor  Prudon,  President. 
"Manuel  Arzaga.  Secretarv." 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ls.- 


To  this  the  alcaide  replied:  "Maria  del  Rosa- 
rio  Villa  is  incarcerated  at  a  private  dwelling, 
whose  owner  has  the  key,  with  instructions  not 
to  deliver  the  same  to  any  one.  The  prisoner  is 
left  there  at  the  disposition  of  the  law  only. 

"God  and  liberty. 

"Manuel  Requena,  Alcalde." 

The  key  was  obtained.  The  wretched  Maria 
was  taken  to  the  place  of  execution  on  a  car- 
reta  and  shot.  The  bodies  of  the  guilty  pair 
were  brought  back  to  the  jail  and  the  following 
communication  sent  to  the  alcalde: 

"Junta  of  the  Defenders  of  Public  Safety. 

"To  the  i st  Constitutional  Alcalde: 
"The  dead  bodies  of  Gervacio  Alispaz  and 
Maria  del  Rosario  Villa  are  at  your  disposal. 
We  also  forward  you  the  jail  keys  that  you  may 
deliver  them  to  whomsoever  is  on  guard.  In 
case  you  are  in  need  of  men  to  serve  as  guards, 
we  are  all  at  your  disposal. 

"God  and  liberty.  Angeles,  April  7,  1836. 
"Victor  Prudon,  Pres. 
"Manuel  Arzaga,  Sec." 

A  few  days  later  the  Junta  Defensora  de  La 
Seguridad  Publica  disbanded:  and  so  ended  the 
only  instance  in  the  seventy-five  years  of  Span- 
ish and  Mexican  rule  in  California,  of  the  people, 
by  popular  tribunal,  taking  the  administration  of 
justice  out  of  the  hands  of  the  legally  consti- 
tuted authorities. 

The  tales  of  the  fabulous  richness  of  the  gold 
fields  of  California  were  quickly  spread  through- 
out the  world  and  drew  to  the  territory  all 
classes  and  conditions  of  men,  the  bad  as  well 
as  the  good,  the  vicious  as  well  as  the  virtuous; 
the  indolent,  the  profligate  and  the  criminal 
came  to  prey  upon  the  industrious.  These  con- 
glomerate elements  of  society  found  the  Land 
of  Gold  practically  without  law,  and  the  vicious 
among  them  were  not  long  in  making  it  a  land 
without  order.  With  that  inherent  trait,  which 
makes  the  Anglo-Saxon  wherever  he  may  be 
an  organizer,  the  American  element  of  the  gold 
seekers  soon  adjusted  a  form  of  government  to 
suit  the  exigencies  of  the  land  and  the  people. 
There  may  have  been  too  much  lynching,  too 
much    vigilance   committee   in   it   and  too   little 


respect  for  lawfully  constituted  authorities,  but 
it  was  effective  and  was  suited  to  the  social 
conditions  existing. 

In  1851  the  criminal  element  became  so  dom- 
inant as  to  seriously  threaten  the  existence  of 
the  chief  city,  San  Francisco.  Terrible  conflagra- 
tions had  swept  over  the  city  in  May  and  June 
of  that  year  and  destroyed  the  greater  part  of 
the  business  portion.  The  fires  were  known  to 
be  of  incendiary  origin.  The  bold  and  defiant 
attitude  of  the  vicious  classes  led  to  the  or- 
ganization by  the  better  element,  of  that  form 
of  popular  tribunal  called  a  committee  of  vigi- 
lance. The  law  abiding  element  among  the  cit- 
izens disregarding  the  legally  constituted 
authorities,  who  were  either  too  weak  or  too 
corrupt  to  control  the  law-defying,  took  the 
power  in  their  own  hands,  organized  a  vigilance 
committee  and  tried  and  executed  by  hanging 
four  notorious  criminals,  namely:  Jenkins, 
Stuart,  Whitaker  and  McKenzie. 

During  the  proceedings  of  the  vigilance  com- 
mittee a  case  of  mistaken  identity  came  near 
costing  an  innocent  man  his  life.  About  8 
o'clock  in  the  evening  of  February  18,  two  men 
entered  the  store  of  a  Mr.  Jansen  on  Mont- 
gomery street  and  asked  to  see  some  blankets. 
As  the  merchant  stooped  to  get  the  blankets 
one  of  the  men  struck  him  with  a  sling  shot  and 
both  of  them  beat  him  into  insensibility.  They 
then  opened  his  desk  and  carried  away  all  the 
gold  they  could  find,  about  $2,000.  The  police 
arrested  two  men  on  suspicion  of  being  the  rob- 
bers. One  of  the  men  was  identified  as  James 
Stuart,  a  noted  criminal,  who  had  murdered 
Sheriff  Moore  at  Auburn.  He  gave  the  name  of 
Thomas  Burdue,  but  this  was  believed  to  be  one 
of  Stuart's  numerous  aliases.  The  men  were 
identified  by  Mr.  Jansen  as  his  assailants.  They 
were  put  on  trial.  When  the  court  adjourned 
over  to  the  next  day  a  determined  effort  was 
made  by  the  crowd  to  seize  the  men  and  hang 
them.  The_\'  were  finally  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  officers  and  given  a  trial  by  a  jury  selected 
by  a  committee  of  citizens.  The  jury  failed  to 
agree,  three  of  the  jury  being  convinced  that 
the  men  were  nol  Jansen's  assailants.  Then  the 
mob  made  a  rush  to  hang  tlu-  jury,  but  were 
kept  back  by  a  show  of  revolvers.    The  prison- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ers  were  turned  over  to  the  court.  One  of 
them,  Wildred,  broke  jail  and  escaped.  Burdue 
was  tried,  convicted  and  sentenced  to  fourteen 
years'  imprisonment.  Before  the  sentence  of 
the  court  was  executed  he  was  taken  to  Marys- 
villc  and  arraigned  for  the  murder  of  Sheriff 
Moore.  A  number  of  witnesses  swore  positively 
that  the  man  was  Stuart;  others  swore  even  more 
positively  that  he  was  not.  A  close  examination 
revealed  that  the  prisoner  bore  every  distin- 
guishing mark  on  his  person  by  which  Stuart 
could  be  identified.  He  was  convicted  and  sen- 
tenced to  be  hanged  in  thirty  days.  In  the  mean- 
time the  vigilance  committee  of  1856  was  or- 
ganized and  the  real  Stuart  accidentally  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  vigilantes  at  San  Francisco. 
He  was  arrested  for  a  theft  he  had  not  com- 
mitted and  recognized  by  one  of  the  committee's 
guards  that  he  had  formerly  employed  in  the 
mines.  By  adroit  questioning  he  was  forced  to 
confess  that  he  was  the  real  Stuart,  the  murderer 
of  Sheriff  Moore  and  the  assailant  of  Jansen. 
His  confederate  in  the  robbery  was  Whitaker, 
one  of  the  four  hanged  by  the  committee.  Bur- 
due  was  finally  released,  after  having  twice 
stood  under  the  shadow-  of  the  gallows  for  the 
crimes  of  his  double.  The  confessions  of  Stuart 
and  Whitaker  implicated  a  number  of  their  pals. 
Some  of  these  were  convicted  and  sent  to  prison 
and  others  fled  the  country;  about  thirty  were 
banished.  Nearly  all  of  the  criminals  were  ex- 
convicts  from  Australia  and  Tasmania. 

The  vigorous  measures  adopted  by  the  com- 
mittee purified  the  city  of  the  vicious  class  that 
had  preyed  upon  it.  Several  of  the  smaller 
towns  and  some  of  the  mining  camps  organized 
vigilance  committees  and  a  number  of  the 
knaves  who  had  (led  from  San  Francisco  met  a 
deserved  fate  in  other  places. 

In  the  early  '50s  the  better  elements  of  San 
Francisco's  population  were  so  engrossed  in 
business  that  they  had  no  time  to  spare  to  look 
after  its  political  affairs;  and  its  government 
gradually  drifted  into  the  hands  of  vicious  and 
corrupt  men.  Many  of  the  city  authorities  had 
obtained  their  offices  by  fraud  and  ballot  stuf- 
fing and  "instead  of  protecting  the  community 
against  scoundrels  they  protected  tin-  scoundrels 
against  the  community."     James  King  of  Will 


iam,  an  ex-banker  and  a  man  of  great  courage 
and  persistence,  started  a  small  paper  called 
the  Daily  Evening  Bulletin.  He  vigorously  as- 
sailed the  criminal  elements  and  the  city  and 
county  officials.  His  denunciations  aroused  pub- 
lic sentiment.  The  murder  of  United  States 
.Marshal  Richardson  by  a  gambler  named  Cora 
still  further  inflamed  the  public  mind.  It  was 
feared  that  by  the  connivance  of  some  of  the 
corrupt  county  officials  Cora  would  escape  pun- 
ishment. His  trial  resulted  in  a  hung  jury. 
There  was  a  suspicion  that  some  of  the  jury- 
men were  bribed.  King  continued  through  the 
Bulletin  to  hurl  his  most  bitter  invectives  against 
the.  corrupt  officials.  They  determined  to  silence 
him.  He  published  the  fact  that  James  Casey, 
a  supervisor  from  the  twelfth  ward,  was  an  ex- 
convict  of  Sing  Sing  prison.  Casey  waylaid 
King  at  the  corner  of  Montgomery  and  Wash- 
ington streets  and  in  a  cowardly  manner  shot 
him  down.  The  shooting  occurred  on  the  14th 
of  May,  1856.  Casey  immediately  surrendered 
himself  to  a  deputy  sheriff,  Lafayete  M.  Byrne, 
who  was  near.  King  was  not  killed,  but  an  ex- 
amination of  the  wound  by  the  physicians  de- 
cided that  there  was  no  hopes  of  his  recovery. 
Casey  was  conducted  to  the  city  prison  and  as 
a  mob  began  to  gather,  for  greater  safety  he 
was  taken  to  the  county  jail.  A  crowd  pursued 
him  crying,  "Hang  him,"  "kill  him."  At  the 
jail  the  mob  was  stopped  by  an  array  of  deputy- 
sheriffs,  police  officers  and  a  number  of  Casey's 
friends,  all  armed.  The  excitement  spread 
throughout  the  city.  The  old  vigilance  com- 
mittee of  185 1,  or  rather  a  new  organization  out 
of  the  remnant  of  the  old.  was  formed.  Five 
thousand  men  were  enrolled  in  a  few  days. 
Arms  were  procured  and  headquarters  estab- 
lished on  Sacramento  street  between  Davis  and 
Front.  The  men  were  divided  into  companies. 
William  T.  Coleman,  chairman  of  the  vigilance 
committee  of  1851,  was  made  president  or  No.  1, 
and  [saac  Bluxome,  Jr.,  the  secretary,  was  No. 
33.  Each  man  was  known  by  number.  Charles 
Doane  was  elected  chief  marshal  of  the  military 

divisii  'II. 

The  San  Francisco  Herald  (edited  by  John 
Nugent),  then  the  leading  paper  of  the  city,  came 
out    with    a    scathing  editorial   denouncing  the 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL- RECORD. 


ls7 


vigilance  committee.  The  merchants  at  once 
withdrew  their  advertising  patronage.  Next 
morning  the  paper  appeared  reduced  from  forty 
columns  to  a  single  page,  but  still  hostile  to  the 
committee.  It  finally  died  for  want  of  patron- 
age. 

On  Sunday,  May  18,  1856,  the  military  di- 
vision was  ready  to  storm  the  jail  if  necessary  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  prisoners,  Casey  and 
Cora.  The  different  companies,  marching  from 
their  headquarters  by  certain  prescribed  routes, 
all  reached  the  jail  at  the  same  time  and  com- 
pletely invested  it.  They  had  with  them  two 
pieces  of  artillery.  One  of  these  guns  was 
planted  so  as  to  command  the  door  of  the  jail. 
There  were  fifteen  hundred  vigilantes  under 
arms.  A  demand  was  made  on  Sheriff  Scannell 
for  the  prisoners,  Cora  and  Casey.  The  prison 
guard  made  no  resistance,  the  prisoners  were 
surrendered  and  taken  at  once  to  the  vigilantes' 
headquarters. 

On  the  20th  of  May  the  murderers  were  put 
on  trial;  while  the  trial  was  in  progress  the 
death  of  King  was  announced.  Both  men  were 
convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  King's 
funeral,  the  largest  and  most  imposing  ever  seen 
in  San  Francisco,  took  place  on  the  23d.  While 
the  funeral  cortege  was  passing  through  the 
streets  Casey  and  Cora  were  hanged  in  front  of 
the  windows  of  the  vigilance  headquarters. 
About  an  hour  before  his  execution  Cora  was 
married  to  a  notorious  courtesan,  Arabella 
Ryan,  but  commonly  called  Belle  Cora.  A 
Catholic  priest,  Father  Accolti,  performed  the 
ceremony. 

Governor  J.  Xeely  Johnson,  who  at  first 
seemed  inclined  not  to  interfere  with  the  vig- 
ilantes, afterwards  acting  under  the  advice  of 
David  S.  Terry,  Yolney  E.  Howard  and  others 
of  dominant  pro-slavery  faction,  issued  a  proc- 
lamation commanding  the  committee  to  disband, 
to  which  no  attention  was  paid.  The  governor 
then  appointed  William  T.  Sherman  major-gen- 
eral. Sherman  called  for  recruits  to  suppress 
the  uprising.  Seventy-five  or  a  hundred,  mostly 
gamblers,  responded  to  his  call.  General  Wool, 
in  command  of  the  troops  in  the  department  of 
the  Pacific,  refused  to  loan  Governor  Johnson 
arms  to  equip  his  "law  and  order"  recruits  and 


General  Sherman  resigned.  Yolney  E.  Howard 
was  then  appointed  major-general.  His  princi- 
pal military  service  consisted  in  proclaiming 
what  he  would  do  to  the  "pork  merchants"  who 
constituted  the  committee.  "He  did  nothing  ex- 
cept to  bluster.  A  squad  of  the  vigilance  po- 
lice attempted  to  arrest  a  man  named  Maloney. 
Maloney  was  at  the  time  in  the  company  of 
David  S.  Terry  (then  chief  justice  of  the  state) 
and  several  other  members  of  the  "law  and  or- 
der" party.  They  resisted  the  police  and  in  the 
melee  Terry  stabbed  the  sergeant  of  the  squad, 
Sterling  A.  Hopkins,  and  then  he  and  his  as- 
sociates made  their  escape  to  the  armory  of  the 
San  Francisco  Blues,  one  of  their  strongholds. 

When  the  report  of  the  stabbing  reached 
headquarters  the  great  bell  sounded  the  alarm 
and  the  vigilantes  in  a  very  brief  space  of  time 
surrounded  the  armory  building  and  had  their 
cannon  planted  to  batter  ft  down.  Terrv,  Ma- 
loney, and  the  others  of  their  party  in  the  build- 
ing, considering  discretion  the  better  part  of 
valor,  surrendered  and  were  at  once  taken  to 
Fort  Gunnybags,"  the  vigilantes'  headquarters. 
The  arms  of  the  "law  and  order"  party  at  their 
various  rendezvous  were  surrendered  to  the  vig- 
ilantes and  the  companies  disbanded. 

Terry  was  closely  confined  in  a  cell  at  the 
headquarters  of  the  committee;  Hopkins,  after 
lingering  some  time  between  life  and  death, 
finally  recovered.  Terry  was  tried  for  assault 
on  Hopkins  and  upon  several  other  persons,  was 
found  guilty,  but,  after  being  held  as  a  prisoner 
for  some  time,  was  finally  released.  He  at  once 
joined  Johnson  and  Howard  at  Sacramento, 
where  he  felt  much  safer  than  in  San  Francisco. 
He  gave  the  vigilantes  no  more  trouble. 

On  the  29th  of  July,  Hethrington  and  Brace 
were  hanged  from  a  gallows  erected  on  Davis 
street,  between  Sacramento  and  Commercial. 
Both  of  these  men  had  committed  murder. 
These  were  the  last  executions  by  the  commit- 
tee. The  committee  transported  from  the  state 
thirty  disreputable  characters  and  a  number  de- 
ported themselves.    A  few,  and  among  them  the 


*The  vigilantes  built  around  the  building  which  they 
used  for  headquarters  a  breastwork  made  "i"  gunny- 
sacks   filled   with   sand.     Cannon   were  planted  at  the 

corners  of  the  redout, 


US8 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAI'HICAL    RECORD. 


notorious  Ned  McGowan,  managed  to  keep  con- 
cealed until  the  storm  was  over.  A  few  of  the 
expatriated  returned  after  the  committee  dis- 
solved and  brought  suit  for  damages,  but  failed 
to  recover  anything.  The  committee  had  paid 
the  fare  of  the  exiles.  It  was  only  the  high 
toned  rascals  who  were  given  a  cabin  passage 
that  brought  the  suits.  The  committee  finished 
its  labors  and  dissolved  with  a  grand  parade  on 
the  i8th  of  August  (.1856).  It  did  a  good  work. 
For  several  years  after,  San  Francisco  from  be- 
ing one  of  the  worst,  became  one  of  the  best 
governed  cities  in  the  L'nited  States.  The  com- 
mittee was  made  up  of  men  from  the  northern 
and  western  states.  The  so-called  "law  and 
order"  party  was  mostly  composed  of  the  pro- 
slavery  office-holding  faction  that  ruled  the  state 
at   that   time. 

When  the  vigilance  committees  between  1851 
and  1856  drove  disreputable  characters  from 
San  Francisco  and  the  northern  mines,  many  of 
them  drifted  southward  ami  found  a  lodgment 
for  a  time  in  the  southern  cities  and  towns.  Los 
Angeles  was  not  far  from  the  Mexican  line,  and 
any  one  who  desired  to  escape  from  justice, 
fleet  mounted,  could  speedily  put  himself  be- 
yond the  reach  of  his  pursuers.  All  these 
causes  and  influences  combined  to  produce  a 
saturnalia  of  crime  that  disgraced  that  city  in 
the  early  '50s. 

Gen.  J.  II.  Bean,  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Southern  California,  while  returning  to  Los  An- 
geles from  his  place  of  business  at  San  Gabriel 
late  "lie  evening  in  November,  1852,  was  at- 
tacked by  two  men,  who  had  been  lying  in  wait 
For  him.  One  seized  the  bridle  of  his  horse  and 
jerked  the  animal  back  on  his  haunches;  the 
1  itln  r  seized  the  general  and  pulled  him  from  the 
saddle.  Bean  made  a  desperate  resistance,  but 
was  overpowered  and  stabbed  l<>  death.  The 
assassination  of  General  Bean  resulted  in  the 
organization  of  a  vigilance  committee  and  an 
effort  was  made  to  rid  the  country  of  desper- 
adoes. A  number  of  arrests  were  made.  Three 
ts  were  tried  by  the  committee  for  various 
crimes.  One,  Cipiano  Sandoval,  a  poor  cob- 
bler of  San  Gabriel,  was  charged  with  complicity 
if  the  murder  1  if  I  leneral  Bean.    1  le  strenuously 


d  that  h 


other  two,  were  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  On 
the  following  Sunday  morning  the  doomed  men 
were  conducted  to  the  top  of  Fort  Hill,  where 
the  gallows  stood.  Sandoval  made  a*  brief 
speech,  again  declaring  his  innocence.  The 
others  awaited  their  doom  in  silence.  The  trap 
fell  and  all  were  launched  into  eternity.  Years 
afterward  one  of  the  real  murderers  on  his 
deathbed  revealed  the  truth  and  confessed  his 
part  in  the  crime.  The  poor  cobbler  was  inno- 
cent. 

In  1854  drunkenness,  gambling,  murder  and 
all  forms  of  immorality  and  crime  were  ram- 
pant in  Los  Angeles.  The  violent  deaths,  it  is 
said,  averaged  one  for  every  day  in  the  year.  It 
was  a  common  question  at  the  breakfast  table, 
"Well,  how  many  were  killed  last  night?"  Little 
or  no  attention  was  paid  to  the  killing  of  an 
Indian  or  a  half  breed;  it  was  only  when  a  gente 
de  razon  was  the  victim  that  the  community  was 
aroused  to  action. 

The  Kern  river  gold  rush,  in  the  winter  of 
1854-55,  brought  from  the  northern  mines  fresh 
relays  of  gamblers  and  desperadoes  and  crime 
increased.  The  Southern  Califomian  of  March 
7,  1855,  commenting  on  the  general  lawlessness 
prevailing,  says:  "Last  Sunday  night  was  a 
brisk  night  for  killing.  Four  men  were  shot 
and  killed  and  several  wounded  in  shooting  af- 
frays." 

A  worthless  fellow  by  the  name  of  David 
Brown,  who  had,  without  provocation,  killed  a 
companion  named  Clifford,  was  tried  and  sen- 
tenced to  be  hanged  with  one  Felipe  Alvitre,  a 
Mexican,  who  had  murdered  an  American 
named  Ellington,  at  El  Monte.  There  was  a 
feeling  among  the  people  that  Brown,  through 
quibbles  of  law,  would  escape  the  death  penalty, 
and  there  was  talk  of  lynching.  Stephen  C. 
Foster,  the  mayor,  promised  that  if  justice  was 
not  legally  meted  out  to  Brown  by  the  law.  then 
he  would  resign  his  office  and  head  the  lynching 
party.  January  10,  1855,  an  order  was  received 
from  Judge  Murray,  of  the  supreme  court,  stay- 
ing the  execution  of  Brown,  but  leaving  Alvitre 
to  his  fate.  January  12  Alvitre  was  hanged  by 
tlie  sheriff  in  the  jail  yard  in  the  presence  of  an 
immense  crowd.  The  gallows  were  taken  down 
and  the  guards  dismissed.    'Idle  crowd  gathered 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


189 


outside  the  jail  yard.  Speeches  were  made. 
The  mayor  resigned  his  office  and  headed  the 
mob.  The  doors  of  the  jail  were  broken  down; 
Brown  was  taken  across  Spring  street  to  a 
large  gateway  opening  into  a  corral  and  hanged 
from  the  crossbeam.  Foster  was  re-elected  by 
an  almost  unanimous  vote  at  a  special  election. 
The  city  marshal,  who  had  opposed  the  action 
of  the  vigilantes,  was  compelled  to  resign. 

During  1855  and  1856  lawlessness  increased. 
There  was  an  organized  band  of  about  one  hun- 
dred Mexicans,  who  patroled  the  highways, 
robbing  and  murdering.  They  threatened  the 
extermination  of  the  Americans  anil  there  were 
fears  of  a  race  war,  for  many  who  were  not 
members  of  the  gang  sympathized  with  them. 
In  1856  a  vigilance  committee  was  organized 
with  Myron  Norton  as  president  and  II.  N. 
Alexander  as  secretary.  A  number  of  dis- 
reputable characters  were  forced  to  leave  town. 
The  banditti,  under  their  leaders,  Pancho  Dan- 
iel and  Juan  Flores,  were  plundering  and  com- 
mitting outrages  in  the  neighborhood  of  San 
Juan  Capistrano. 

On  the  night  of  January  22,  1857,  Sheriff 
James  R.  Barton  left  Los  Angeles  with  a  posse, 
consisting  of  William  II.  Little,  Charles  K. 
Baker,  Charles  F.  Daley,  Alfred  Hardy  and 
Frank  Alexander  with  the  intention  of  captur- 
ing some  of  the  robbers.  At  Sepulveda's  ranch 
next  morning  the  sheriff's  party  was  warned  that 
the  robbers  were  some  fifty  strong,  well  armed 
and  mounted,  and  would  probably  attack  them. 
Twelve  miles  further  the  sheriff  and  his  men  en- 
countered a  detachment  of  the  banditti.  A 
short,  sharp  engagement  took  place.  Barton, 
Baker,  Little  and  Daley  were  killed.  Hard)  and 
Alexander  made  their  escape  by  the  fleetness 
of  their  horses.  When  the  news  reached  Los 
Angeles  the  excitement  became  intense.  A 
public  meeting  was  held  to  devise  plans  to  rid 
the  community  not  only  of  the  roving  gang  of 
murderers,  but  also  of  the  criminal  classes  in 
the  city,  who  were  known  to  be  in  sympathy 
with  the  banditti.  All  suspicious  houses  were 
searched  and  some  fifty  persons  arrested.  Sev- 
eral companies  were  organized;  the  infantry  to 
guard  the  city  and  the  mounted  men  to  scour 
the  country.     Companies  were  also  formed  at 


San  Bernardino  and  El  Monte,  while  the  mil- 
itary authorities  at  Fort  Tejon  and  San  Diego 
despatched  soldiers  to  aid  in  the  good  work  of 
exterminating  crime  and  criminals. 

The  robbers  were  pursued  into  the  mountains 
and  nearly  all  captured.  Gen.  Andres  Pico, 
with  a  company  of  native  Californians,  was  most 
efficient  in  the  pursuit.  He  captured  Silvas  and 
Ardillero,  two  of  the  most  noted  of  the  gang, 
and  hanged  them  where  they  were  cap- 
tured. Fifty-two  were  lodged  in  the  city  jail. 
Of  these,  eleven  were  hanged  for  various  crimes 
and  the  remainder  set  free.  Juan  Flores,  one 
of  the  leaders,  was  condemned  by  popular  vote 
and  on  February  14,  1857,  was  hanged  near  the 
top  of  Fort  Hill  in  the  presence  of  nearly  the 
entire  population  of  the  town.  He  was  only 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  Pancho  Daniel,  an- 
other of  the  leaders,  was  captured  on  the  loth 
of  January,  1858,  near  San  Jose.  He  was  found 
by  the  sheriff,  concealed  in  a  haystack.  After 
his  arrest  he  was  part  of  the  time  in  jail  and  part 
of  the  time  out  on  bail.  He  had  been  tried  three 
times,  but  through  law  quibbles  had  escaped 
conviction.  A  change  of  venue  to  Santa  Bar- 
bara had  been  granted.  The  people  determined 
to  take  the  law  in  their  own  hands.  On  the 
morning  of  November  30,  1858.  the  bod)  of 
Pancho  was  hanging  from  a  beam  across  the 
gateway  of  the  jail  yard.  Four  of  the  banditti 
were  executed  by  the  people  of  San  Gabriel, 
and  Leonardo  Lopez,  under  sentence  of  the 
court,  was  hanged  by  the  sheriff.  The  gang  was 
broken  up  and  the  moral  atmosphere  of  Los 
Angeles  somewhat  purified. 

November  17,  1862,  John  Rains  of  Cuca- 
monga  ranch  was  murdered  near  Azusa.  De- 
cember 0.  1803,  the  sheriff  was  taking  Manuel 
Cerradel  to  San  Quentin  to  serve  a  ten  years' 
sentence.  When  the  sheriff  went  aboard  the  tug 
boat  Cricket  at  Wilmington,  to  proceed  to  the 
Senator,  quite  a  number  of  other  persons  took 
passage.  On  the  way  down  the  harbor,  the 
prisoner  was  seized  by  the  passengers,  who 
were  vigilantes,  and  hanged  to  the  rigging;  after 
hanging  twenty  minute-  the  body  was  taken 
down,  stones  tied  to  the  feet  and  it  was  thrown 
overboard.  Cerradel  was  implicated  in  the  mur- 
der of  Rains. 


HISTORICAL  AXD    BIOGRAPHICA1     RECORD. 


In  the  fall  of  1863  lawlessness  had  again  be- 
come rampant  in  Los  Angeles;  one  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  criminal  class  was  a  desperado  by  the 
name  of  Boston  Daimwood.  He  was  suspected 
of  the  murder  of  a  miner  on  the  desert 
and  was  loud  in  his  threats  against  the  lives 
of  various  citizens.  He  and  four  other  well- 
known  criminals,  Wood,  Chase,  Ybarra  and 
Olivas,  all  of  whom  were  either  murder- 
ers or  horse  thieves,  were  lodged  in  jail.  On 
the  21st  of  November  two  hundred  armed 
citizens  battered  down  the  doors  of  the  jail, 
took  the  five  wretches  out  and  hanged  them  to 
the  portico  of  the  old  court  house  on  Spring 
street,  which  stood  on  the  present  site  of  the 
Phillips  block. 

On  the  24th  of  October,  1871.  occurred  in 
Los  Angeles  a  most  disgraceful  affair,  known 
as  the  Chinese  massacre.  It  grew  out  of  one 
of  those  interminable  feuds  between  rival 
tongs  of  highbinders,  over  a  woman.  Desul- 
tory firing  had  been  kept  up  between  the  rival 
factions  throughout  the  day.  About  5:30  p.  m. 
Policeman  Bilderrain  visited  the  seat  of  war,  an 
old  adobe  house  on  the  corner  of  Arcadia  street 
and  "Nigger  alley,"  known  as  the  Coronel  build- 
ing. Finding  himself  unable  to  quell  the  dis- 
turbance he  called  for  help.  Robert  Thompson, 
an  old  resident  of  the  city,  was  among  the  first 
to  reach  the  porch  of  the  house  in  answer  to  the 
police  call  for  help.  He  received  a  mortal  wound 
from  a  bullet  fired  through  the  door  of  a  Chi- 
nese store.  He  died  an  hour  later  in  Woll- 
drug  store.  The  Chinese  in  the  mean- 
time barricaded  the  doors  and  windows  of  the 
old  adobe  and  prepared  for  battle.  The  news 
of  the  fight  and  of  the  killing  of  Thompson 
spread  throughout  the  city  and  an  immense 
crowd  gathered  in  the  streets  around  the  build- 
ing with  the  intention  of  wreaking  vengeance  on 
the  ( Chinese. 

The  first  attempt  by  the  mob  to  dislodge  the 
Chinamen  was  by  cutting  holes  through  the  flat 
brea  covered  roof  and  firing  pistol  shots  into  the 
interior  .if  the  building.  <  hie  of  tin-  besieged 
crawled  out  of  the  building  and  attempted  to 
escape,   but    was   shot    down    before   half   way 

'  h  '.'I.,  all.  v.      \in  ither  attempted  to  e 
cape   into   l.o.   Angeles   street;   In-   was   seized, 


dragged  to  the  gate  of  Tomlinson's  corral  on 
Xew  High  street,  and  hanged. 

About  9  o'clock  a  part  of  the  mob  had  suc- 
ceeded in  battering  a  hole  in  the  eastern  end  of 
the  building;  through  this  the  rioters,  with 
demoniac  howlings,  rushed  in,  firing  pistols  to 
the  right  and  left.  Huddled  in  corners  and  hid- 
den behind  boxes  they  found  eight  terror- 
stricken  Chinamen,  who  begged  piteously  for 
their  lives.  These  were  brutally  dragged  out 
ami  turned  over  to  the  fiendish  mob.  One  was 
dragged  to  death  by  a  rope  around  his  neck ; 
three,  more  dead  than  alive  from  kicking  and 
beating,  were  hanged  to  a  wagon  on  Los  An- 
geles street;  and  four  were  hanged  to  the  gate- 
way of  Tomlinson's  corral.  Two  of  the  victims 
were  mere  boys.  While  the  shootings  and  hang- 
ings were  going  on  thieves  were  looting  the 
other  houses  in  the  Chinese  quarters.  The 
houses  were  broken  into,  trunks,  boxes  and 
other  receptacles  rifled  of  their  contents,  and 
any  Chinamen  found  in  the  buildings  were 
dragged  forth  to  slaughter.  Among  the  vic- 
tims was  a  doctor,  Gene  Tung,  a  quiet,  inof- 
fensive old  man.  He  pleaded  for  his  life  in  good 
English,  offering  his  captors  all  his  money, 
some  $2,000  to  $3,000.  He  was  hanged,  his 
money  stolen  and  one  of  his  fingers  cut  off  to 
obtain  a  ring  he  wore.  The  amount  of  money 
stolen  by  the  mob  from  the  Chinese  quarters 
was  variously  estimated  at  from  $40,000  to 
$50,000. 

About  9:30  p.  m.  the  law  abiding  citizens, 
under  the  leadership  of  Henry  Hazard,  R.  M. 
Widney,  H.  C.  Austin,  Sheriff  Burns  and  oth- 
ers, had  rallied  in  sufficient  force  to  make  an 
attempt  to  quell  the  mob.  Proceeding  to  China- 
town they  rescued  several  Chinamen  from  the 
rioters.  The  mob  finding  armed  opposition 
quickly  dispersed. 

The  results  of  the  mob's  murderous  work 
were  ten  men  hanged  on  Los  Angeles  street, 
some  to  wagons  and  some  to  awnings:  five 
hanged,  ai  Tomlinson's  corral  and  four  shot  to 
death  in  Negro  alley,  nineteen  in  all.  Of  all  the 
Chinamen  murdered,  the  only  one  known  to  be 
implicated  in  the  highbinder  war  was  Ah  Choy. 
All  the  other  leaders  escaped  to  the  country 
before  the  attack  was   made  by  the  mob.     The 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


I!)] 


grand  jury,  after  weeks  of  investigation,  found 
indictments  against  one  hundred  and  fifty  per- 
sons alleged  to  have  been  actively  engaged  in 
the  massacre.  The  jury's  report  severely  cen- 
sured "the  officers  of  this  county,  as  well  as  of 
this  city,  whose  duty  it  is  to  preserve  peace," 
and  declared  that  they  "were  deplorably  ineffi- 
cient in  the  performance  of  their  duty  during 
the  scenes  of  confusion  and  bloodshed  which 
disgraced  our  city,  and  has  cast  a  reproach  upon 
the  people  of  Los  Angeles  county."  Of  all  those 
indicted  but  six  were  convicted.  These  were 
sentenced  to  from  four  to  six  years  in  the  state's 
prison,  but  through  some  legal  technicality  they 
were  all  released  after  serving  a  part  of  their 
sentence.  • 

The  last  execution  in  Los  Angeles  by  a  vig- 
ilance committee  was  that  of  Michael  Lachenias, 
a  French  desperado,  who  had  killed  five  or  six 
men.  The  offense  for  which  he  was  hanged  was 
the  murder  of  Jacob  Bell,  a  little  inoffensive 
man,  who  owned  a  small  farm  near  that  of 
Lachenias,  south  of  the  city.  There  hail  been 
a  slight  difference  between  them  in  regard  to 
the  use  of  water  from  a  zanja.  Lachenias,  with- 
out a  word  of  warning,  rode  up  to  Bell,  where 
he  was  at  work  in  his  field,  drew  a  revolver  and 
shot  him  dead.  The  murderer  then  rode  into 
town  and  boastingly  informed  the  people  of 
what  he  had  done  and  told  them  where  they 
would  find  Bell's  body.  He  then  surrendered 
himself  to  the  officers  and  was  locked  up  in 
jail. 

Public  indignation  was  aroused.  A  meeting 
was  held  in  Stearns'  hall  on  Los  Angeles  street. 
A  vigilance  committee  was  formed  and  the  de- 
tails of  the  execution  planned.  On  the  morning 
of  the  17th  of  December,  1870,  a  body  of  three 
hundred  armed  men  marched  to  the  jail,  took 
Lachenias  out  and  proceeded  with  him  to  Tom- 
linson's  corral  on  Temple  and  New  High  streets. 
and  hanged  him.  The  crowd  then  quietly  dis- 
persed. 

A  strange  metamorphosis  took  place  in  the 
character  of  the  lower  classes  of  the  native  Cal- 
ifornians  after  the  conquest.  (The  better  classes 
were  not  changed  in  character  by  the  changed 
conditions  of  the  country,  but  throughout  were 
true  gentlemen  and  most  worth)  and  honorable 


citizens.)  Before  the  conquest  by  the  Ameri- 
cans they  were  a  peaceful  and  contented  people. 
1  here  were  no  organized  bands  of  outlaws 
among  them.  After  the  discovery  of  gold  the 
evolution  of  a  banditti  began  and  they  produced 
some  of  the  boldest  robbers  and  most  daring 
highwaymen  the  world  has  seen. 

The  injustice  of  their  conquerors  had  much  to 
do  with  producing  this  change.  The  Ameri- 
cans not  only  took  possession  of  their  country 
and  its  government,  but  in  many  cases  they  de- 
spoiled them  of  their  ancestral  acres  and  their 
personal  property.  Injustice  rankles;  and  it  is 
not  strange  that  the  more  lawless  among  the 
native  population  sought  revenge  and  retalia- 
tion. They  were  often  treated  by  the  rougher 
American  element  as  aliens  and  intruders,  who 
had  no  right  in  the  land  of  their  birth.  Such 
treatment  embittered  them  more  than  loss  of 
property.  There  were  those,  howevtr,  among 
the  natives,  who,  once  entered  upon  a  career 
of  crime,  found  robbery  and  murder  congenial 
occupations.  The  plea  of  injustice  was  no  ex- 
tenuation  for  their  crimes. 

Joaquin  Murieta  was  the  most  noted  of  the 
.Mexican  and  Californian  desperadoes  of  the 
early  '50s.  He  was  born  in  Sonora  of  good  fam- 
ily and  received  some  education.  He  came  to 
California  with  the  Sonoran  migration  of  1849, 
and  secured  a  rich  claim  on  the  Stanislaus.  He 
was  dispossessed  of  this  by  half  a  dozen  Amer- 
ican desperadoes,  his  wife  abused  and  both 
driven  from  the  diggings.  He  next  took  up  a 
ranch  on  the  Calaveras,  but  from  this  he  was 
driven  by  two  Americans.  He  next  tried  min- 
ing in  the  Murphy  diggings,  but  was  unsuccess- 
ful. His  next  occupation  was  that  of  a  monte 
player.  While  riding  into  town  on  a  horse  bor- 
rowed from  his  half-brother  he  was  stopped  by 
an  American,  who  claimed  that  the  horse  was 
stolen  from  him.  Joaquin  protested  that  the 
horse  was  a  borrowed  one  from  his  half-brother 
and  offered  to  procure  witnesses  to  prove  it. 
lie  was  dragged  from  the  saddle  amid  cries  of 
"hang  the  greaser."  He  was  taken  to  the  ranch 
.if  hi-  In-other.  The  brother  was  hanged  to  the 
limb  of  a  tree,  11. >  other  proof  of  his  crime  being 
needed  than  the  assertion  of  the  American  that 
the  horse  was  hi-.    Joaquin  was  stripped,  bound 


l'.l-J 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


to  the  same  tree  and  flogged.  The  demon  was 
aroused  within  him,  and  no  wonder,  he  vowed 
revenge  on  the  men  who  had  murdered  his 
brother  and  beaten  him.  Faithfully  he  carried 
out  his  vow  of  vengeance.  Had  he  doomed 
only  these  to  slaughter  it  would  have  been  but 
little  loss,  but  the  implacable  foe  of  every 
American,  he  made  the  innocent  suffer  with  the 
guilty.  He  was  soon  at  the  head  of  a  band  of 
desperadoes,  varying  in  numbers  from  twenty  to 
forty.  For  three  years  he  and  his  band  were  the 
terror  of  the  state.  From  the  northern  mines 
to  the  Mexican  border  they  committed  robberies 
and  murders.  Claudio  and  some  of  his  sub- 
ordinates were  killed,  but  the  robber  chief 
seemed  to  bear  a  charmed  life.  Large  rewards 
were  offered  for  him  dead  or  alive  and  numerous 
attempts  were  made  to  take  him.  Capt.  Harry 
Love  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  rangers  August, 
1853,  car*  upon  Joaquin  and  six  of  his  gang 
in  a  camp  near  the  Tejon  Pass.  In  the  fight  that 
ensued  Joaquin  and  Three  Fingered  Jack  were 
killed.  With  the  loss  of  their  leaders  the  or- 
ganization was  broken  up. 

The  last  organized  band  of  robbers  which 
terrorized  the  southern  part  of  the  state  was 
that  of  Vasquez.  Tiburcio  Vasquez  was  born 
in  Monterey  county,  of  .Mexican  parents,  in 
1837.  Early  in  life  he  began  a  career  of  crime. 
Alter  committing  a  number  of  robberies  and 
thefts  he  was  captured  and  sent  to  San  Quentin 
for  horse  stealing.  He  was  discharged  in  1863, 
but  continued  his  disreputable  career.  He 
united  with  Procopio  and  Soto,  two  noted  ban- 
dits. Soto  was  killed  by  Sheriff  Morse  of  Ala- 
meda county  in  a  desperate  encounter.  Vasquez 
and  his  gang  of  nut  laws  committed  robberies 
throughout  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  rang- 
ing from  Santa  Clara  and  Alameda  counties  to 
Lh:  Mexitan  line,  l.arlv  in  M  tv  1874,  Sheriff 
William  Rowland  of  Los  Angeles  county,  who 
had  repeate<ll\  tried  to  capture  Vasquez,  but 
whose    plans    had    been    foiled    by    the    bandit's 


spies,  learned  that  the  robber  chief  was  mak- 
ing his  headquarters  at  the  house  of  Greek 
George,  about  ten  miles  due  west  of  Los  An- 
geles, toward  Santa  Monica,  in  a  canon  of  the 
Cahuenga  mountains.  The  morning  of  May  15 
was  set  for  the  attack.  To  avert  suspicion 
Sheriff  Rowland  remained  in  the  city.  The  at- 
tacking force,  eight  in  number,  were  under 
command  of  Under-Sheriff  Albert  Johnson,  the 
other  members  of  the  force  were  Major  H.  M. 
Mitchell,  attorney-at-law;  J.  S.  Bryant,  city  con- 
stable; F.  Harris,  policeman;  W.  E.  Rogers, 
citizen;  B.  F.  Hartley,  chief  of  police;  and  D. 
K.  Smith,  citizen,  all  of  Los  Angeles,  and  a  Mr. 
r>eers,  of  San  Francisco,  special  correspondent 
of  the  San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

At  4  a.  m.  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  May 
the  posse  reached  Major -Mitchell's  bee  ranch 
in  a  small  canon  not  far  from  Greek  George's. 
From  this  point  the  party  reconnoitered  the 
bandit's  hiding  place  and  planned  an  attack.  As 
the  deputy  sheriff  and  his  men  were  about  to 
move  against  the  house  a  high  box  wagon  drove 
up  the  canon  from  the  direction  of  Greek 
George's  place.  In  this  were  two  natives;  the 
sheriff's  party  climbed  into  the  high  wagon  box 
and,  lying  down,  compelled  the  driver  to  drive 
up  to  the  back  of  Greek  George's  house, 
threatening  him  and  his  companion  with  death 
on  the  least  sign  of  treachery.  Reaching  the 
house  they  surrounded  it  and  burst  in  the  door. 
Vasquez,  who  had  been  eating  his  breakfast,  at- 
tempted to  escape  through  a  small  window. 
The  party  opened  fire  on  him.  Being  wounded 
and  finding  himself  surrounded  on  all  sides,  he 
surrendered.  He  was  taken  to  the  Los  Angeles 
jail.  His  injuries  proved  to  be  mere  flesh 
wounds.  He  received  a  great  deal  of  maudlin 
sympathy  from  silly  women,  who  magnified  him 
into  a  hero.  He  was  taken  to  San  Jose,  tried 
for  murder,  found  guilty  and  hanged,  March  19, 
1875.  His  band  was  thereupon  broken  up  and 
dispersed. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

FILIBUSTERS    AND    FILIBUSTERING. 


THE  rash  of  immigration  to  California  in 
the  early  '50s  had  brought  to  the  state 
a  class  of  adventurers  who  were  too 
lazy  or  too  proud  to  work.  They  were  ready 
to  engage  in  almost  any  lawdess  undertaking 
that  promised  plunder  and  adventure.  The  de- 
feat of  the  pro-slavery  politicians  in  their  at- 
tempts to  fasten  their  "peculiar  institution"  upon 
any  part  of  the  territory  acquired  from  Mex- 
ico had  embittered  them.  The  more  un- 
scrupulous among  them  began  to  look  around 
for  new  fields,  over  which  slavery  might  be  ex- 
tended. As  it  could  be  made  profitable  only  in 
southern  lands,  Cuba,  Mexico  and  Central 
America  became  the  arenas  for  enacting  that 
form  of  piracy  called  "filibustering."  The  object 
of  these  forays,  when  organized  by  Americans. 
was  to  seize  upon  territory  as  had  been  done 
in  Texas  and  erect  it  into  an  independent  gov- 
ernment that  ultimately  would  be  annexed  to 
the  United  States  and  become  slave  territory. 
Although  the  armed  invasion  of  countries  with 
which  the  United  States  was  at  peace  was  a  di- 
rect violation  of  its  neutrality  laws,  yet  the  fed- 
eral office-holders  in  the  southern  states  and  in 
California,  all  of  whom  belonged  to  the  pro- 
slavery  faction,  not  only  made  no  attempt  to 
prevent  these  invasions,  but  secretly  aided  them 
or  at  least  sympathized  with  them  to  the  extent 
of  allowing  them  to  recruit  men  and  depart 
without  molestation.  There  was  a  glamour  of 
romance  about  these  expeditions  that  influenced 
unthinking  young  men  of  no  fixed  principles 
to  join  them;  these  were  to  be  pitied.  But  the 
leaders  of  them  and  their  abettors  were  cold, 
selfish,  scheming  politicians,  willing,  if  need  be, 
to  overthrow  the  government  of  the  nation  and 
build  on  its  ruins  an  oligarchy  of  slave  holders. 
The  first  to  organize  a  filibuster  expedition  in 
California  was  a  Frenchman.  Race  prejudices 
were  strong  in  early  mining  days.    The  United 


States  had  recently  been  at  war  with  Mexico. 
The  easy  conquest  of  that  country  had  bred  a 
contempt  for  its  peoples.  The  Sonoran  migra- 
tion, that  begun  soon  after  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  California,  brought  a  very  undesirable 
class  of  immigrants  to  the  state.  Sailing  vessels 
had  brought  from  the  west  coast  of  South 
America  another  despised  class  of  mongrel 
Spanish.  It  exasperated  the  Americans  to  see 
these  people  digging  gold  and  carrying  it  out 
of  the  country.  This  antagonism  extended,  more 
or  less,  to  all  foreigners,  but  was  strongest 
against  men  of  the  Latin  races.  Many  French- 
men, through  emigration  schemes  gotten  up 
in  Paris,  had  been  induced  to  come  to  Califor- 
nia. Some  of  these  were  men  of  education  and 
good  standing,  but  they  fell  under  the  ban  of 
prejudices  and  by  petty  persecutions  were 
driven  out  of  the  mines  and  forced  to  earn  a 
precarious  living  in  the  cities.  There  was  a 
great  deal  of  dissatisfaction  among  the  French- 
men with  existing  conditions  in  California,  and 
they  were  ready  to  embark  in  any  scheme  that 
promised  greater  rewards.  Among  the  French 
population  of  San  Francisco  was  a  man  of  noble 
family,  Count  Gaston  Roaul  de  Raousset-Boul- 
bon.  He  had  lost  his  ancestral  lands  and  was 
in  reduced  circumstances.  He  was  a  man  of 
education  and  ability,  but  visionary.  He  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  establishing  a  French  colony 
on  the  Sonora  bonier  and  opening  the  mines 
that  had  been  abandoned  on  account  of  Apache 
depredations.  By  colonizing  the  border  he 
hoped  to  put  a  M<>p  t<>  American  encroachi 
He  divulged  his  scheme  to  the  French  consul, 
Dillon,  at  San  Francisco,  who  entered  heartily 
into  it.  Raoussel  was  sent  to  the  City  of  Mex- 
ico, where  he  obtained  from  President  Arista 
the  desired  concession  of  land  and  the  promise 
of  financial  assistance  from  a  leading  hanking 
house   there   on    condition    that    he   proceed    at 


Mil 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


once  to  Sonora  with  an  armed  company  of 
Frenchmen.  Returning  to  San  Francisco  he 
quickly  recruited  from  among  the  French  resi- 
dents two  hundred  and  fifty  men  and  with  these 
he  sailed  for  Guaymas,  where  he  arrived  early 
in  June,  1852.  He  was  well  received  at  first, 
but  soon  found  himself  regarded  with  suspicion. 
He  was  required  by  the  authorities  to  remain 
at  Guaymas.  After  a  month's  detention  he  was 
allowed  to  proceed  through  Hermosilla  to  the 
Arizona  border. 

When  about  one  hundred  miles  from  Arispe 
he  received  an  order  from  General  Blanco,  then 
at  Hermosilla,  to  report  to  him.  While  halting 
at  El  Caric  to  consider  his  next  move  he  re- 
ceived a  reinforcement  of  about  eighty  French 
colonists,  who  had  come  to  the  country  the  year 
before  under  command  of  Pindray.  Pindray 
had  met  his  death  in  a  mysterious  manner.  B 
was  supposed  that  he  was  poisoned.  The  colon- 
ist had  remained  in  the  country.  Raousset  sent 
one  of  his  men.  Gamier,  to  interview  Blanco. 
General  Blanco  gave  his  ultimatum — First,  that 
the  Frenchmen  should  become  naturalized  citi- 
zens of  Mexico;  or,  secondly,  they  should  wait 
until  letters  of  security  could  be  procured  from 
the  capital,  when  they  might  proceed  to  Arizona 
and  take  possession  of  any  mines  they  found; 
or,  lastly,  they  might  put  themselves  under  the 
leadership  of  a  Mexican  officer  and  then  proceed. 
Raousset  and  his  followers  refused  to  accede  to 
an\  of  these  propositions.  Blanco  began  col- 
lecting men  and  munitions  of  war  to  oppose  the 
French.  Raousset  raised  the  flag  of  revolt  and 
invited  the  inhabitants  to  join  him  in  gaining 
the  independence  of  Sonora.  After  drilling  his 
men  a  few  weeks  and  preparing  for  hostilities 
he  began  his  march  against  Hermosilla,  distant 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  He  met  with  no 
ion,  the  people  along  his  route  welcom- 
ing the  French.  General  Blanco  had  twelve 
hundred  men  to  defend  the  city.  I'm  instead  of 
preparing  to  resist  the  advancing  army  he  sent 
delegates  t"  Raousset  to  offer  him  monej 
the  city  alone.  Raousset  sent  back  word  thai 
at  X  o'clock  he  would  begin  the  attack;  and  at 
11  would  be  master  of  the  city,  lie  was, 
as  his  word.  The  Frenchmen  charged  the  Mex 
irans  and   although    the   opposing   force   num 


bered  four  to  one  of  the  assailants,  Raousset's 
men  captured  the  town  and  drove  Blanco's 
troops  out  of  it.  The  Mexican  loss  was  two 
hundred  killed  and  wounded.  The  French  loss 
seventeen  killed  and  twenty-three  wounded 
Raousset's  men  were  mere  adventurers  and  were 
in  the  country  without  any  definite  purpose. 
Could  he  have  relied  on  them,  he  might  have 
captured  all  of  Sonora. 

He  abandoned  Hermosilla.  Blanco,  glad  to 
get  rid  of  the  filibusters  on  any  terms,  raised 
$11,000  and  chartered  a  vessel  to  carry  them 
back  to  San  Francisco.  A  few  elected  to  re- 
main. Raousset  went  to  Mazatlan  and  a  few 
months  later  he  reached  San  Francisco,  where 
he  was  lionized  as  a  hero.  Upon  an  invitation 
from  Santa  Ana,  wdio  had  succeeded  Arista  as 
president,  he  again  visited  the  Mexican  capital 
in  June,  1853.  Santa  Ana  was  profuse  in  prom- 
ises. He  wanted  Raousset  to  recruit  five  hun- 
dred Frenchmen  to  protect  the  Sonora  frontier 
against  the  Indians,  promising  ample  remunera- 
tion and  good  pay  for  their  services.  Raousset, 
finding  that  Santa  Ana's  promises  could  not  be 
relied  upon,  and  that  the  wiley  schemer  was 
about  to  have  him  arrested,  made  his  escape  to 
Acapulco,  riding  several  horses  to  death  to 
reach  there  ahead  of  his  pursuers.  He  embarked 
immediately  for  San  Francisco. 

In  the  meantime  another  filibuster,  William 
Walker,  with  forty-one  followers  had  landed  at 
La  Paz  November  3,  1853,  and  proclaimed  a 
new  nation,  the  Republic  of  Lower  California. 
Santa  Ana,  frightened  by  this  new  invasion,  be- 
gan making  overtures  through  the  Mexican  con- 
sul, Luis  del  Valle,  at  San  Francisco  to  secure 
French  recruits  for  military  service  on  the  Mex- 
ican frontier.  Del  Yalle  applied  to  the  French 
consul,  Dilh  mi.  and  Dillon  applied  to  Raousset. 
Raousset  soon  secured  eight  hundred  recruits 
and  chartered  the  British  ship  Challenge  to  take 
them  to  Guaymas.  Then  the  pro-slavery  federal 
officials  at  San  Francisco  were  aroused  to  ac- 
tion. The  neutrality  laws  were  being  violated. 
It  was  not  that  they  cared  for  the  laws,  but  they 
feared  that  this  new  filibustering  scheme  might 
interfere  with  their  pet,  Walker,  who  had,  in  ad- 
dition to  tlie  Republic  of  Lower  California, 
founded  another  nation,  the  Republic  of  Sonora, 


HISTORICAL   AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


in  both  of  which  he  had  decreed  slavery.  The 
ship  was  seized,  but  after  a  short  detention  was 
allowed  to  sail  with  three  hundred  French- 
men. 

Del  Yalle  was  vigorously  prosecuted  by  the 
federal  authorities  for  violation  of  a  section  of 
the  neutrality  laws,  which  forbade  the  enlistment 
within  the  United  States  of  soldiers  to  serve  un- 
der a  foreign  power.  Dillon,  the  French  con- 
sul, was  implicated  and  on  his  refusal  to  testify 
in  court  he  was  arrested.  He  fell  back  on  his 
dignity  and  asserted  that  his  nation  had  been  in- 
sulted through  him  and  closed  his  consulate. 
For  a  time  there  were  fears  of  international 
trouble. 

Del  Yalle  was  found  guilty  of  violating  the 
•  neutrality  laws,  but  was  never  punished.  The 
pro-slavery  pet,  Walker,  and  his  gang  were 
driven  out  of  Mexico  and  the  federal  officials 
had  no  more  interest  in  enforcing  neutrality 
laws.  Meanwhile  Raousset,  after  great  diffi- 
culties, had  joined  the  three  hundred  French- 
men at  Guaymas.  A  strip  of  northern  Sonora 
had  been  sold  under  what  is  known  as  the  Gads- 
den purchase  to  the  United  States.  There  was 
no  longer  any  opportunity  to  secure  mines  there 
from  Mexico,  but  Raousset  thought  he  could 
erect  a  barrier  to  any  further  encroachments  of 
the  United  States  and  eventually  secure  Mexico 
for  France.  His  first  orders  on  reaching  Guay- 
mas to  the  commander  of  the  French,  Desmaris, 
was  to  attack  the  Mexican  troops  and  capture 
the  city.  His  order  did  not  reach  Desmaris.  Flis 
messenger  was  arrested  and  the  Mexican  au- 
thorities begun  collecting  forces  to  oppose 
Raousset.  Having  failed  to  receive  reinforce- 
ments, and  his  condition  becoming  unendurable, 
he  made  an  attack  on  the  Mexican  forces,  twelve 
hundred  strong.  After  a  brave  assault  he  was 
defeated.  He  surrendered  to  the  French  consul 
on  the  assurance  that  his  life  and  that  of  his 
men  would  be  spared.  He  was  treacherously 
surrendered  by  the  French  consul  to  the  Mex- 
ican general.  He  was  tried  by  a  court-martial, 
found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  be  shot.  On  ilk- 
morning  of  August  12,  1854,  he  was  executed. 
His  misguided  followers  were  shipped  bad  to 
San  Francisco.  So  ended  the  first  California 
filibuster. 


The  first  American  born  filibuster  who  or- 
ganized one  of  these  piratical  expeditions  was 
William  Walker,  a  native  of  Tennessee.  He 
came  to  California  with  the  rush  of  1850.  He 
had  started  out  in  life  to  be  a  doctor,  had  studied 
law  and  finally  drifted  into  journalism.  He  be- 
longed to  the  extreme  pro-slavery  faction.  He 
located  in  San  PTancisco  and  found  employment 
on  the  Herald.  Mis  bitter  invective  against  the 
courts  for  their  laxity  in  punishing  crime  raised 
the  ire  of  Judge  Levi  Parsons,  win,  fined  Walker 
$500  for  contempt  of  court  and  ordered  him 
imprisoned  until  the  fine  was  paid.  Walker  re- 
fused to  pay  the  fine  and  went  to  jail.  He  at 
once  bounded  into  notoriety.  He  was  a  mar- 
tyr to  the  freedom  of  the  press.  A  public  in- 
dignation meeting  was  called.  An  immense 
crowd  of  sympathizers  called  on  Walker  in  jail. 
A  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  sued  out  and  he 
was  released  from  jail  and  discharged.  In  the 
legislature  of  1852  he  tried  to  have  Parson  im- 
peached, but  failed.  He  next  opened  a  law  of- 
fice in  Marysville. 

The  success  of  Raousset-Boulbon  in  his  first 
expedition  to  Sonora  had  aroused  the  ambition 
of  Walker  to  become  the  founder  of  a  new  gov- 
ernment. Flis  first  efforts  were  directed  towards 
procuring  from  Mexico  a  grant  on  the  Sonora 
border;  this  was  to  be  colonized  with  Americans, 
who  would  protect  the  Mexican  frontier  from 
Apache  incursion.  This  was  a  mere  subterfuge 
and  the  Mexican  authorities  were  not  deceived 
by  it — he  got  no  grant.  To  forestall  Raousset- 
Boulbon,  who  was  again  in  the  field  with  his 
revolutionary  scheme.  Walker  opened  a  recruit- 
ing office.  Each  man  was  to  receive  a  square 
league  of  land  and  plunder  galore.  The  bait 
took,  meetings  were  held,  scrip  sold  and  re- 
cruits flocked  to  Walker.  The  brig  Arrow  was 
chartered  to  carry  the  liberators  to  their  des- 
tination. The  pro-slaver)  officials,  who  held  all 
the  offices,  winked  at  this  violation  of  the  neu- 
trality laws.  There  was  but  one  man.  General 
Hitchcock,  who  dared  to  lo  his  duty,  lie  seized 
the  vessel;  it  was  released,  and  Hitchcock  re- 
moved from  command.  Jefferson 
secretary  of  war  and  Hitchcock  was  made  to  feel 
his  wrath  for  interfering  with  one  of  Davis'  pet 
projects,    the    extension    of    slavery.     Walker 


196 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


sailed  in  another  vessel,  the  Caroline,  taking 
with  him  forty-one  of  his  followers,  well  armed 
with  rifles  and  revolvers  to  develop  the  re- 
sources of  the  country. 

The  vessel  with  Walker  and  his  gang  sneaked 
into  La  Paz  under  cover  of  a  Mexican  flag.  He 
seized  the  unsuspecting  governor  and  other  offi- 
cials and  then  proclaimed  the  Republic  of  Lower 
California.  He  appointed  from  his  following  a 
number  of  officials  with  high  sounding  titles. 
He  adopted  the  code  of  Louisiana  as  the  law  of 
the  land.  This,  as  far  as  he  was  able,  introduce.  1 
into  the  country  human  slavery,  which  indeed 
was  about  the  sole  purpose  of  his  filibuster- 
ing schemes.  Fearing  that  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernment might  send  an  expedition  across  the 
gulf  to  stop  his  marauding,  he  slipped  out  of 
the  harbor  and  sailed  up  to  Todas  Santos,  so  as 
to  be  near  the  United  States  in  case  the  Mexican 
government  should  make  it  uncomfortable  for 
him.  With  this  as  headquarters  he  began  prepa- 
rations for  an  invasion  of  Sonora.  His  delectable 
followers  appropriated  to  their  own  use  what- 
ever they  could  find  in  the  poverty-stricken 
country.  The  news  of  the  great  victory  at  La 
Paz  reached  San  Francisco  and  created  great 
enthusiasm  among  Walker's  sympathizers.  His 
vice-president,  Watkins,  enrolled  three  hundred 
recruits  and  sent  them  to  him,  "greatly  to  the 
relief  of  the  criminal  calendar." 

Walker  began  to  drill  his  recruits  for  the  con- 
quest of  Sonora.     These  patriots,  who  had  ral- 
lied to  the  support   of  the  new  republic,  under 
the  promise  of  rich  churches  to  pillage  and  well- 
d  ranches  to  plunder,  did  not  take  kindly 
to  a  diet  of  jerked  beef  and  beans  and  hard  drill- 
ing under  a  torrid   sun.      Some  rebelled  and  it 
became   necessar)    for   Walker  to  use  the  lash 
and  even  to  shout  two  ,ii  them  for  the  good  of 
the  cause.     The  natives  rebelled  when  they  found 
their  cattle  and  Frijoles  disappearing  and  the  so- 
, ailed   battle   of    1  .a   Gualla    was    [ought   between 
the  native  s  and  a  detachment  of  Walker's  forag- 
if  whom  were  killed.     The  news  of 
this  battle  reached  San  Francisco  and  was  mag- 
nified   into   a   great    victory.      The    new   republic 
bi  en  baptized  in  the  blood  of  its  martyrs. 
After  three  months  spent   in  drilling,  Walker 
began  his  march  to  Sonora  with  but  one  hun- 


dred men,  and  a  small  herd  of  cattle  for  food. 
Most  of  the  others  had  deserted.  In  his  jour- 
ney across  the  desert  the  Indians  stole  some  of 
his  cattle  and  more  of  his  men  deserted.  On 
reaching  the  Colorado  river  about  half  of  his 
force  abandoned  the  expedition  and  marched 
to  Fort  Yuma,  where  Major  Heintzelman  re- 
lieved their  necessities.  Walker  with  thirty-five 
men  had  started  back  for  Santa  Tomas.  They 
brought  up  at  Tia  Juana,  where  they  crossed 
the  American  line,  surrendered  and  gave  their 
paroles  to  Major  McKinstry  of  the  United 
States  army.  When  Walker  and  his  Falstaffian 
army  reached  San  Francisco  they  were  lionized 
,i-  heroes.  All  they  had  done  was  to  kill  a  few 
inoffensive  natives  on  the  peninsula  and  steal 
their  cattle.  Their  valiant  leader  had  proclaimed 
two  republics  and  decreed  (on  paper)  that  slav- 
ery should  prevail  in  them.  He  had  had  sev- 
eral of  his  dupes  whipped  and  two  of  them  shot, 
which  was  probably  the  most  commendable 
thing  he  had  done.  His  proclamations  were 
ridiculous  and  his  officers  with  their  high  sound- 
ing titles  had  returned  from  their  burlesque  con- 
quest with  scarcely  rags  enough  on  them  to 
cover  their  nakedness.  Yet,  despite  all  this, 
the  attempt  to  enlarge  the  area  of  slave  territory 
covered  him  with  glory  and  his  rooms  were  the 
resort  of  all  the  pro-slavery  officials  of  Califor- 
nia. 

The  federal  officials  made  a  show  of  prosecut- 
ing the  filibusters.  Watkins,  the  vice-president 
of  the  Republic  of  Lower  California  and  So- 
nora, was  put  on  trial  in  the  United  States  dis- 
trict court.  The  evidence  was  so  plain  and  the 
proof  so  convincing  that  the  judge  was  com- 
pelled to  convict  against  his  will.  This  delightful 
specimen  of  a  pro-slavery  justice  expressed 
from  the  bench  his  sympathy  for  "those  spirited 
men  who  had  gone  forth  to  upbuild  the  broken 
altars  and  rekindle  tlie  extinguished  fires  of  lib- 
erty in  Mexico  and  Lower  California."  With 
such  men  to  enforce  the  laws,  it  was  not  strange 
that  vigilance  committees  were  needed  in  Cal- 
ifornia. Watkins  and  Emory,  the  so-called  sec- 
retary of  state,  were  fined  each  $1,500.  The 
tines  were  never  paid  and  no  effort  was  ever 
made  to  compel  their  payment.  The  secretary 
of  war  and  the  secretary  of  the  navy  were   [nit 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


191 


on  trial  and  acquitted.     This  ended  the  shame- 
ful farce. 

Walker's  next  expedition  was  to  Nicaragua  in 
1855.  A  revolution  was  in  progress  there.  He 
joined  forces  with  the  Democratic  party  or  anti- 
legitimists.  He  took  but  fifty-six  men  with 
him.  These  were  called  the  American  phalanx. 
His  first  engagement  was  an  attack  upon  the 
fortified  town  of  Rivas.  Although  his  men 
fought  bravely,  they  were  defeated  and  two  of 
his  best  officers,  Kewen  and  Crocker,  killed. 
His  next  fight  was  the  battle  of  Virgin  Bay,  in 
which,  with  fifty  Americans  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  natives,  he  defeated  six  hundred 
legitimists.  He  received  reinforcements  from 
California  and  reorganized  his  force.  He 
seized  the  Accessory  Transit  Company's  lake 
steamer  La  Virgin  against  the  protest  of  the 
company,  embarked  his  troops  on  board  of  it 
and  by  an  adroit  movement  captured  the  capi- 
tal city,  Granada.  His  exploits  were  heralded 
abroad  and  recruits  flocked  to  his  support.  The 
legitimist  had  fired  upon  a  steamer  bringing  pas- 
sengers up  the  San  Juan  river  and  killed  several. 
Walker  in  retaliation  ordered  Mateo  Mazorga, 
the  legitimist  secretary  of  state,  whom  he  had 
taken  prisoner  at  Granada,  shot.  Peace  was  de- 
clared between  the  two  parties  and  Patrico 
Rivas  made  president.  Rivas  was  president  only 
in  name;  'Walker  was  the  real  head  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  virtually  dictator. 

He  was  now  at  the  zenith  of  his  power.  By  a 
series  of  arbitrary  acts  he  confiscated  the  Ac- 
cessory Transit  Company's  vessels  and  charter. 
This  company  had  become  a  power  in  California 
travel  and  had  secured  the  exclusive  transit  of 
passengers  by  the  Nicaragua  route,  then  the 
most  popular  route  to  California. 

By  this  action  he  incurred  the  enmity  of  Yan- 
derbilt,  who  henceforth  worked  for  his  down- 
fall. The  confiscation  of  the  transit  company's 
right  destroyed  confidence  in  the  route,  and 
travel  virtually  ceased  by  it.  This  was  a  blow 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  To  add  to 
Walker's  misfortunes,  the  other  Central  Amer- 
ican states  combined  to  drive  the  hated  foreign- 
ers out  of  the  country.  He  had  gotten  rid  of 
Rivas  and  hail  secured  the  presidency  for  him- 
self.     He   had    secured    the    repeal   of   the    \'u 


aragua  laws  against  slavery  and  thus  paved  the 
way  for  the  introduction  of  his  revered  institu- 
tion. Plis  army  now  amounted  to  about  twelve 
hundred  men,  mostly  recruited  from  California 
and  the  slave  states.  The  cholera  broke  out 
among  his  forces  and  in  the  armies  of  the  allies 
and  numbers  died.  His  cause  was  rapidly  wan- 
ing. Many  of  his  dupes  deserted.  A  series  of 
disasters  arising  from  his  blundering  and  in- 
capacity, resulted  in  his  overthrow.  He  and 
sixteen  of  his  officers  were  taken  out  of  the 
country  on  the  United  States  sloop  of  war,  St. 
Mary's.  The  governor  of  Panama  refused  to 
allow  him  to  land  in  that  city.  He  was  sent 
across  the  isthmus  under  guard  to  Aspinwall 
and  from  there  with  his  staff  took  passage  to 
New  Orleans.  His  misguided  followers  were 
transported  to  Panama  and  found  their  way 
back  to  the  United  States. 

LTpon  arriving  at  New  Orleans  he  began  re- 
cruiting for  a  new  expedition.  One  hundred  and 
fifty  of  his  "emigrants"  sailed  from  Mobile;  the 
pro-slavery  federal  officials  allowing  them  to 
depart.  They  were  wrecked  on  Glover's  reef, 
about  seventy  miles  from  Balize.  They  were 
rescued  by  a  British  vessel  and  returned  to  Mo- 
bile. Walker,  with  one  hundred  and  thirty-two 
armed  emigrants,  landed  at  Punta  Arenas,  No- 
vember 25,  1857,  and  hoisted  his  Nicaraguan 
flag  and  called  himself  commander-in-chief  of 
the  army  of  Nicaragua.  He  and  his  men  b<  gar 
a  career  of  plunder;  seized  the  fort  of  Cas- 
tillo on  the  San  Juan  river;  captured  steam- 
ers, killed  several  inhabitants  and  made 
prisoners  of  others.  Commander  Paulding, 
of  the  United  States  flagship  Wabash,  then 
on  that  coast,  regarded  these  acts  as  rapine 
and  murder,  and  Walker  and  his  men  as  out- 
laws and  pirates.  lie  broke  up  their  camp,  dis- 
armed Walker  and  his  emigrants  and  sent  them 
to  the  United  States  for  trial.  But  instead  of 
Walker  and  his  followers  being  tried  for  piracy 
their  pro-slavery  abettors  made  heroes  of  them. 

Walker's  last  effort  to  regain  his  lost  prestige 
in  Nicaragua  was  made  in  i860.  With  two  hun- 
dred men.  recruited  in  New  Orleans,  he  landed 
near  Truxillo,  in  Honduras.  I  lis  intention  was 
to  make  his  way  by  land  to  Nicaragua.  1  le  very 
soon  found  armed  opposition,     His  new  recruits 


1!IS 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


were  not  inclined  to  sacrifice  themselves  to  make 
him  dictator  of  some  country  that  they  had  no 
interest  in.  So  they  refused  to  stand  up  against 
the  heav\  odds  they  encountered  in  every  fight. 
Finding  his  situation  growing  desperate,  he  was 
induced  to  surrender  himself  to  the  captain  of 
the  British  man-of-war  Icarus.  The  authorities 
of  Honduras  made  a  demand  on  the  captain  for 
Walker.  That  British  Officer  promptly  turned 
the  filibuster  over  to  them.  He  was  tried  by 
a  court-martial,  hastily  convened,  found  guilty 
of  the  offenses  charged,  and  condemned  to  die. 
September  25,  i860,  he  was  marched  out  and. 
in  accordance  with  his  sentence,  shot  to  death. 

Walker's  career  is  an  anomaly  in  the  history 
of  mankind.  Devoid  of  all  the  characteristics  of 
a  great  leader,  without  a  commanding  presence, 
puny  in  size,  homely  to  the  point  of  ugliness, 
in  disposition,  cold,  cruel,  selfish,  heartless,  stol- 
idlv  indifferent  to  the  suffering  of  others,  living 
only  to  gratify  the  cravings  of  his  inordinate 
ambition — it  is  strange  that  such  a  man  could 
attract  thousands  to  offer  their  lives  for  his 
aggrandizement  and  sacrifice  themselves  for  a 
cause  of  which  he  was  the  exponent,  a  cause  the 
must  ignoble,  the  extension  of  human  slavery, 
that  for  such  a  man  and  for  such  a  cause  thou- 
sands did  offer  up  their  lives  is  a  sad  commen- 
tary on  the  political  morality  of  that  time.  It 
is  said  that  over  ten  thousand  men  joined 
Walker  in  his  filibustering  schemes  and  that 
fifty-seven  hundred  of  these  found  graves  in 
Nicaragua.  Of  the  number  of  natives  killed  in 
battle  or  who  died  of  disease,  there  is  no  record, 
Imt  it  greatly  exceeded  Walker's  losses. 

While  Walker  was  attaining  some  success  in 
Nicaragua,  another  California  filibuster  entered 
the  arena.  This  was  Henry  A.  Crabb,  a  Stock- 
ton lawyer.  Like  Walker,  he  was  a  native  of 
Tennessee,  and,  like  him.  too.  he  was  a  rabid 
'  r\  advocate.  He  had  served  in  the 
assembl)  and  one  term  in  the  -tale  senate.  It 
is  -aid  he  was  the  author  of  a  bill  to  allow  slave- 
holders who  bri  lUghl  their  -lave-  into  (  'alitornia 
1:-  admission  to  take  their  human  chattels 
back  into  bondage.  He  was  originally  a  Whig, 
the  Know  Nothing  party  and  was 
a  Candida'.'  of  that  party  for  United  State-  sen- 
ator in   1856:    but  his  extreme  southern  princi- 


ples prevented  his  election.  He  had  married  a 
Spanish  wife,  who  had  numerous  and  influential 
relatives  in  Sonora.  It  was  claimed  that  Crabb 
had  received  an  invitation  from  some  of  these  to 
bring  down  an  armed  force  of  Americans  to 
overthrow  the  government  and  make  himself 
master  of  the  country.  Whether  he  did  or  did 
not  receive  such  an  invitation,  he  did  recruit  a 
body  of  men  for  some  kind  of  service  in  Sonora. 
With  a  force  of  one  hundred  men,  well  armed 
with  rifles  and  revolvers,  he  sailed,  in  January, 
1857,  on  the  steamer  Sea  Bird,  from  San  Fran- 
cisco to  San  Pedro  and  from  there  marched  over- 
land. As  usual,  no  attempt  was  made  by  the 
federal  authorities  to  prevent  him  from  invading 
a  neighboring  country  with  an  armed  force. 

He  entered  Sonora  at  Sonita,  a  small  town 
one  hundred  miles  from  Yuma.  His  men  helped 
themselves  to  what  they  could  find.  When  ap- 
proaching the  town  of  Cavorca  they  were  fired 
upon  by  a  force  of  men  lying  in  ambush.  The 
fire  was  kept  up  from  all  quarters.  They  made  a 
rush  and  gained  the  shelter  of  the  houses.  In 
the  charge  two  of  their  men  had  been  killed  and 
eighteen  wounded.  In  the  house  they  had  taken 
:on  of  they  were  exposed  to  shots  from 
a  church.  Crabb  and  fifteen  of  his  men  tit- 
tempted  to  blow  open  the  doors  of  the  church 
with  gunpowder,  but  in  the  attempt,  which 
failed,  five  of  the  men  were  killed,  and  seven, 
including  Crabb,  wounded.  After  holding  out 
for  five  days  they  surrendered  to  the  Mexicans, 
Gabilondo,  the  Mexican  commander,  promising 
to  spare  their  lives.  Next  morning  they  were 
marched  out  in  squads  of  five  to  ten  and  shot. 
Crabb  was  tied  to  a  post  and  a  hundred  balls 
fired  into  him ;  his  head  was  cut  off  and  placed 
in  a  jar  of  mescal.  The  only  one  spared  was  a 
boy  of  fifteen.  Charles  E.  Evans.  A  party  of 
sixteen  men  whom  Crabb  had  left  at  Sonita 
was  surprised  and  all  massacred.  The  boy 
Evans  was  the  only  one  left  to  tell  the  fate  of  the 
ill-starred  expedition.  This  put  an  end  to  fili- 
bustering expeditions  into  Sonora. 

These  tinned  forays  on  the  neighboring  coun- 
tries to  the  south  of  the  United  States  ceased 
with  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  secession. 
The}  had  all  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  ac- 
quiring  slave   territory.     The   leaders   of   them 


; 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


19!) 


were  southern  men  and  the  rank  and  file  wen.' 
mostly  recruited  from  natives  of  the  slave  states. 
Bancroft  truthfully  says  of  these  filibustering 
expeditions :  'They  were  foul  robberies,  covered 
by  the  flimsiest  of  political  and  social  pretenses, 
gilded  by  false  aphorisms  and  profane  distortion 
of  sacred  formulae.  Liberty  dragged  in  the  mud 
for  purposes  of  theft  and  human  enslavement; 
the  cause  of  humanity  bandied  in  filthy  mouths 
to     promote     atrocious     butcheries;      peaceful, 


blooming  valleys  given  over  to  devastation  and 
ruin;  happy  families  torn  asunder,  and  widows 
and  orphans  cast  adrift  to  nurse  affliction;  and 
finally,  the  peace  of  nations  imperiled,  and  the 
morality  of  right  insulted.  The  thought  of  such 
results  should  obliterate  all  romance,  and  turn 
pride  to  shame.  They  remain  an  ineffaceable 
stain  upon  the  government  of  the  most  progres- 
sive of  nations,  and  veil  in  dismal  irony  the 
dream  of  manifest  destiny." 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

FROM  GOLD  TO  GRAIN  AND  FRUITS. 


UNDER  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  jurisdic- 
tions there  was  but  little  cultivation  of 
the  soil  in  California.  While  the  gardens 
of  some  of  the  missions,  and  particularly  those 
of  Santa  Barbara  and  San  Buenaventura,  pre- 
sented a  most  appetizing  display  of  fruit  and 
vegetables,  at  the  ranchos  there  were  but  mea- 
ger products.  Gilroy  says  that  when  he  came 
to  the  country,  in  1814,  potatoes  were  not  cul- 
tivated and  it  was  a  rare  thing  outside  of  the 
mission  gardens  to  find  any  onions  or  cabbages. 
A  few  acres  of  wheat  and  a  small  patch  of  maize 
or  corn  furnished  bread,  or.  rather,  tortillas  for 
a  family.  At  the  missions  a  thick  soup  made  of 
boiled  wheat  or  maize  and  meat  was  the  stand- 
ard article  of  diet  for  the  neophytes.  This  was 
portioned  out  to  them  in  the  quantity  of  about 
three  pints  to  each  person.  Langsdorff,  who 
witnessed  the  distribution  of  soup  rations  to  the 
Indians  at  Santa  Clara,  says:  "It  appeared  in- 
comprehensible how  any  one  could  three  times  a 
day  eat  so  large  a  portion  of  such,  nourishing 
food."  The  neophytes  evidently  had  healthy  ap- 
petites. Frijoles  (beans)  were  the  staple  vege- 
table dish  in  Spanish  families.  These  were 
served  up  at  almost  every  meal.  The  bill  of 
fare  for  a  native  Californian  family  was  very 
simple. 

A  considerable  aim  mm  of  wheal  was  raised 
at  the  more  favorably  located  missions.  It  was 
not  raised  for  export,  but  to  feed  the  neophytes. 


The  wheat  fields  had  to  be  fenced  in,  or  perhaps 
it  would  be  more  in  accordance  with  the  facts 
to  say  that  the  cattle  had  to  be  fenced  out.  As 
timber  was  scarce,  adobe  brick  did  duty  for 
fencing  as  well  as  for  house  building.  Some- 
times the  low  adobe  walls  were  made  high  and 
safe  by  placing  on  top  of  them  a  row  of  the 
skulls  of  Spanish  cattle  with  the  long,  curving 
horns  attached  to  them  pointing  outward.  These 
were  brought  from  the  matanzas  or  slaughter 
corrals  where  there  were  thousands  of  them 
lying  around.  It  was  almost  impossible  for 
man  or  beast  to  scale  such  a  fence. 

The  agricultural  implements  of  the  early  Cali- 
fornians  were  few  and  simple.  The  Mexican 
plow  was  a  forked  stick  with  an  iron  point  las 
tened  to  the  fork  or  branch  that  penetrated  the 
ground.  It  turned  no  furrow,  but  merely 
scratched  the  surface  of  the  ground.  After  sow- 
ing it  was  a  race  between  the  weeds  and  the 
grain.  It  depended  on  the  season  which  won. 
If  the  season  was  cold  and  backward,  so  that 
eed  did  not  sprout  readily,  the  weeds  gol 
the  start  and  won  oul  easily.  And  yet  with  such 
primitive  cultivation  the  yield  was  sometimes 
astonishing.  \i  the  Mission  San  Diego  the 
crop  of  wheat  one  year  produced  one  hundred 
and  ninety-five  fold.  \s  the  agriculturist  had 
a  large  area  from  which  to  select  his  arable  land, 
only  the  richest    soils  were  ore  the 

discover)   of  gold  there  was  little  or  no  market 


200 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


for  grain,  and  each  ranchero  rajsed  only  enough 
for  his  own  use.  For  a  time  there  was  some 
trade  with  the  Russians  in  grain  to  supply  their 
settlements  in  Alaska,  but  this  did  not  continue 

\\  hen  some  of  the  Americans  who  came  in 
ill''  gold  rush  began  to  turn  their  attention  to 
agriculture  they  greatly  underrated  the  produc- 
tiveness of  the  country.  To  men  raised  where 
the  summer  rains  were  needed  to  raise  a  crop 
it  seemed  impossible  to  produce  a  crop  in  a 
country  that  was  rainless  for  six  or  eight  months 
of  the  year.  All  attempts  at  agriculture  hitherto 
had  been  -along  the  rivers,  and  it  was  generally 
believed  that  the  plains  back  from  the  water 
courses  could  never  be  used  for  any  other  pur- 
pose than  cattle  raising. 

The  mining  rush  of  '49  found  California  with- 
out vegetables  and  fresh  fruit.  The  distance 
was  too  great  for  the  slow  transportation  of 
that  day  to  ship  these  into  the  country.  Those 
who  first  turned  their  attention  to  market  gar- 
dening made  fortunes.  The  story  is  told  of  an 
old  German  named  Schwartz  who  had  a  small 
ranch  a  few  miles  below  Sacramento.  In  [848, 
when  everybody  was  rushing  to  the  mines,  he 
remained  on  his  farm,  unmoved  by  the  stories 
of  the  wonderful  finds  of  gold.  Anticipating  a 
greater  rush  in  1849,  ne  planted  several  acres 
in  watermelons.  As  they  ripened  he  took  them 
up  to  the  city  and  disposed  of  them  at  prices 
ranging  from  $1  to  $5,  according  to  size,  lie 
realized  that  season  from  his  melons  alone 
$30,000.  The  first  field  of  cabbages  was  grown 
by  <  icorge  H.  Peck  and  a  partner  in  1850.  From 
defective  seed  or  some  other  cause  the  cabbage 
failed  to  come  to  a  head.  Supposing  that  the 
delect  was  in  the  climate  and  not  in  the  cabbage, 
the  honest  rancher  marketed  his  crop  in  San 
Francisco,  carrying  a  cabbage  in  each  hand 
along  the  streets  until  he  found  a  customer.  To 
the  query  why  there  were  no  heads  to  them 
the  replj  was,  "That's  tin-  waj  cabbages  grow 
in  California."  lie  got  rid  of  bis  crop  at  the 
Kite  .if  Si  apiece  for  each  headless  cabbage. 
But  all  the  vegetable  growing  experiments  were 
nol  a  financial  success.  The  high  price  of  po- 
rted  a  tuber-growing  epidemic 
in    [850.      Hundreds   of   acres    were    planted    1.. 


"spuds"  in  the  counties  contiguous  to  San 
Francisco,  the  agriculturists  paying  as  high  as 
fifteen  cents  per  pound  for  seed.  The  yield  was 
enormous  and  the  market  was  soon  overstocked. 
The  growers  who  could  not  dispose  of  their 
potatoes  stacked  them  up  in  huge  piles  in  the 
fields;  and  there  they  rotted,  filling  the  country 
around  with  their  effluvia.  The  next  year  no- 
l>"d\  planted  potatoes,  and  prices  went  up  to 
the  figures  of  '49  and  the  spring  of  '50. 

The  size  to  which  vegetables  grew  astonished 
the  amateur  agriculturists.  Beets,  when  allowed 
to  grow  to  maturity,  resembled  the  trunks  of 
trees;  onions  looked  like  squash,  while  a  patch 
of  pumpkins  resembled  a  tented  field;  and  corn 
grew  so  tall  that  the  stalks  had  to  be  felled  to 
gt\  ai  the  ears.  Onions  were  a  favorite  vege- 
table in  the  mining  camps  on  account  of  their 
anti-scorbutic  properties  as  a  preventive  of 
scurvy.  The  honest  miner  was  not  fastidious 
about  the  aroma.  They  were  a  profitable  crop, 
too.  One  ranchero  in  the  Xapa  valley  was  re- 
ported to  have  cleared  $8,000  off  two  acres  of 
onions. 

\\  it h  the  decline  of  gold  mining  wheat  be- 
came the  staple  product  of  central  California. 
The  nearness  to  shipping  ports  and  the  large 
yields  made  wheat  growing  very  profitable.  In 
the  years  immediately  following  the  Civil  war 
the  price  ranged  high  and  a  fortune  was  some- 
times made  from  the  products  of  a  single  field. 
It  may  be  necessary  to  explain  that  the  field 
might  contain  anywhere  from  five  hundred  to 
a  thousand  acres.  The  grain  area  was  largely 
extended  by  the  discovery  that  land  in  the 
upper  mesas,  which  had  been  regarded  as  only 
fit  for  pasture  land,  was  good  for  cereals.  The 
land  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  which 
was  held  in  large  grants,  continued  to  be  de- 
voted  to  cattle  raising  for  at  least  two  decades 
after  the  American  conquest.  After  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  cattle  raising  became  immensely 
profitable.  Under  the  Mexican  regime  a  steer 
was  worth  what  his  hide  and  tallow  would  bring 
or  about  $2  or  $3.  The  rush  of  immigration  in 
[849  -eiil  the  price  of  cattle  up  until  a  fat  bul- 
lock sold  for  from  $30  to  $35.  The  profit  to  a 
ranchero  who  had  a  thousand  or  more  marketa- 
ble cattle  was  a  fortune.     A  good,  well-stocked 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


I'lil 


cattle  ranch  was  more  valuable  than  a  gold 
mine. 

The  enormous  profits  in  cattle  raising  dazed 
the  Californians.  Had  they  been  thrifty  and 
economical,  they  might  have  grown  rich.  But 
the  sudden  influx  of  wealth  engendered  extrava- 
gant habits  and  when  the  price  of  cattle  fell,  as 
it  did  in  a  few  years,  the  spendthrift  customs 
were  continued.  When  the  cattle  market  was 
dull  it  was  easy  to  raise  money  by  mortgaging 
the  ranch.  With  interest  at  the  rate  of  5  per 
cent  per  month,  compounded  monthly,  it  did 
not  take  long  for  land  and  cattle  both  to  change 
hands.  It  is  related  of  the  former  owner  of 
the  Santa  Gertrudes  rancho'  that  he  borrowed 
$500  from  a  money  lender,  at  5  per  cent  a 
month,  to  beat  a  poker  game,  but  did  not  suc- 
ceed. Then  he  borrowed  more  money  to  pay 
the  interest  on  the  first  and  kept  on  doing  so 
until  interest  and  principal  amounted  to  $100,- 
000;  then  the  mortgage  was  foreclosed  and 
property  to-day  worth  $1,000,000  was  lost  for 
a  paltry  $500  staked  on  a  poker  game. 

Gold  mining  continued  to  be  the  prevailing 
industry  of  northern  California.  The  gold  pro- 
duction reached  its  acme  in  1853.  when  the 
total  yield  was  $65,000,000.  From  that  time 
there  was  a  gradual  decline  in  production  and 
in  the  number  of  men  employed.  Many  had 
given  up  the  hopes  of  striking  it  rich  and  quit 
the  business  for  something  more  certain  and 
less  illusive.  The  production  of  gold  in  1X52 
was  $60,000,000,  yet  the  average  yield  to  each 
man  of  the  one  hundred  thousand  engaged  in 
it  was  only  about  $600,  or  a  little  over  $2  per 
day  to  the  man,  scarcely  living  wages  as  prices 
were  then.  It  has  been  claimed  that  the  cost  of 
producing  the  gold,  counting  all  expenditures, 
was  three  times  the  value  of  that  produced. 
Even  if  it  did,  the  development  of  the  country 
and  impulse  given  to  trade  throughout  the 
world  would  more  than  counterbalance  the  loss. 
At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  nearly  all 
of  the  fruit  raised  in  California  was  produced  at 
Santa  Barbara  and  Los  Angeles.  In  Spanish  and 
Mexican  days,  Los  Angeles  had  been  the  prin- 
cipal wine-producing  district  of  California.  Al- 
though wine,  as  well  as  other  spirituous  liquors, 
were  in  demand,  the  vineyardists  found  it  more 


profitable  to  ship  their  grapes  to  San  Francisco 
than  to  manufacture  them  into  wine.  Grapes 
retailed  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco  at  from 
twelve  and  one-half  to  twenty-five  cents  a 
pound.  The  vineyards  were  as  profitable  as 
the  cattle  ranches.  The  mission  Indians  did  the 
labor  in  the  vineyards  and  were  paid  in  aguar- 
diente on  Saturday  night.  By  Sunday  morning 
they  were  all  drunk;  then  they  were  gathered 
up  and  put  into  a  corral.  On  Monday  morning 
they  were  sold  to  pay  the  cost  of  their  dissipa- 
tion. It  did  not  take  many  years  to  kill  off  the 
Indians.  The  city  has  grown  over  the  former 
sites  of  the  vineyards. 

The  first  orange  trees  were  planted  at  the 
Mission  San  Gabriel  about  the  year  1815  and 
a  few  at  Los  Angeles  about  the  same  time.  But 
little  attention  was  given  to  the  industry  by  the 
Californians.  The  first  extensive  grove  was 
planted  by  William  Wolfskill  in  1840.  The  im- 
pression then  prevailed  that  oranges  could  be 
grown  only  on  the  low  lands  near  the  river. 
The  idea  of  attempting  to  grow  them  on  the 
mesa  lands  was  scouted  at  by  the  Californians 
and  the  Americans.  The  success  that  attended 
the  Riverside  experiment  demonstrated  that 
they  could  be  grown  on  the  mesas,  and  that  the 
fruit  produced  was  superior  to  that  grown  on 
the  river  bottoms.  This  gave  such  an  impel  us 
to  the  industry  in  the  south  that  it  has  distanced 
all  others.  The  yearly  shipment  to  the  eastern 
markets  is  twenty  thousand  car  loads.  The  cit- 
rus belt  is  extending  every  year. 

The  Californians  paid  but  little  attention  to 
the  quality  of  the  fruit  they  raised.  The  seed 
fell  in  the  ground  and  sprouted.  If  the  twig 
survived  and  grew  to  be  a  tree,  they  ate  the  fruit, 
asking  no  question  whether  the  quality  might 
be  improved.  The  pears  grown  at  the  missions 
and  at  some  of  the  ranch  houses  were  hard  and 
tasteless.  It  was  said  they  never  ripened.  \ 
small  black  fig  was  cultivated  in  a  few  places, 
but  the  quantity  of  fruit  grown  outside  of  the 
mission  gardens  was  very  small. 

The  high  price  of  all  kinds  of  fruit  in  the  early 
'50s  induced  the  importation  of  apple,  peach, 
pear,  plum  ami  prune  trees.  These  thrived  and 
soon  supplied  the  demand.  Before  the  advent 
of  the  railroads  and  the  shipment  east  the  quan- 


202 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


tit)  of  deciduous  fruit  produced  had  outgrown 
the  demand,  and  there  was  no  profit  in  its  pro- 
duction. All  this  has  been  changed  by  eastern 
shipment. 

Sheep  were  brought  to  the  country  with  the 
first  missionary  expeditions.  The  Indian  in  his 
primitive  condition  did  not  use  clothing.  A 
coat  of  mud  was  his  only  garment  and  he  was 
not  at  all  particular  about  the  fit  of  that.  After 
his  conversion  the  missionaries  put  clothing  on 
him,  or,  rather,  on  part  of  him.  He  was  given  a 
shirt,  which  was  a  shirt  of  Xessus.  being  made  of 
the  coarse  woolen  cloth  manufactured  at  the 
mission.  It  was  irritating  to  the  skin  and  com- 
pelled the  poor  wretches  to  keep  up  a  continual 
scratching;  at  least,  that  is  what  Hugo  Reid 
tells  us.  During  the  Civil  war  and  for  several 
years  after,  the  sheep  industry  was  very  profit- 
able. The  subdivision  of  the  great  ranchos  and 
the  absorption  of  the  land  for  grain  growing  and 
fruit  culture  have  contracted  the  sheep  ranges 
until  there  is  but  little  left  for  pasture  except  the 
foothills  that  are  too  rough  for  cultivation. 

Up  to  1863  the  great  Spanish  grants  that  cov- 
ered the  southern  part  of  the  state  had,  with  a 
few  exceptions,  been  held  intact  and  cattle  rais- 
ing had  continued  to  be  the  principal  industry. 
For  several  seasons  previous  to  the  famine  years 
of  1863  and  1864  there  had  been  heavy  rainfalls 
and  consequently  abundant  feed.  With  that 
careless  indifference  that  marked  the  business 
management  of  the  native  Californian,  the 
ranges  had  become  overstocked.  When  the 
dry  vear  of  1863  set  in,  the  feed  on  ranches  was 
soon  exhausted  and  the  cattle  starving.  The 
second  famine  year  following,  the  cattle  industry 
was  virtually  wiped  out  of  existence  and  the 
cattle-owners  ruined.  In  Santa  Barbara,  where 
the  cattle  barons  held  almost  imperial  sway, 
and,  with  their  army  of  retainers,  controlled  the 
political  affairs  of  the  county,  of  the  two  hun- 
dred thousand  cattle  listed  on  the  assessment 
roll  of  [862,  onl)  five  thousand  were  alive  when 
grass  grew  in  1865.  On  the  Stearns'  ranchos  in 
Los  Angeles  county,  one  hundred  thousand 
head  of  cattle  and  horses  perished,  and  the 
owner  of  a  quarter  million  acres  and  a  large 
amount  of  city  property  could  not  raise  money 
enough  to  pay  $1,000  taxes. 


Many  of  the  rancheros  were  in  debt  when  the 
hard  times  came,  and  others  mortgaged  their 
land  at  usurious  rates  of  interest  to  carry  them 
through  the  famine  years.  Their  cattle  dead, 
they  had  no  income  to  meet  the  interest  on  the 
cancerous  mortgage  that  was  eating  up  their 
patrimony.  The  result  was  that  they  were  com- 
pelled either  to  sell  their  land  or  the  mortgage 
was  foreclosed  and  they  lost  it.  This  led  to  the 
subdivision  of  the  large  grants  into  small  .hold- 
ings, the  new  proprietors  finding  that  there  was 
more  profit  in  selling  them  off  in  small  tracts 
than  in  large  ones.  This  brought  in  an  intelli- 
gent and  progressive  population,  and  in  a  few 
years  entirely  revolutionized  the  agricultural 
conditions  of  the  south.  Grain  growing  and 
fruit  raising  became  the  prevailing  industries. 
The  adobe  ranch  house  with  its  matanzas  and 
its  Golgotha  of  cattle  skulls  and  bones  gave 
place  to  the  tasty  farm  house  with  its  flower 
garden,  lawn  and  orange  grove. 

The  Californians  paid  but  little  attention  to 
improving  the  breed  of  their  cattle.  When  the 
only  value  in  an  animal  was  the  hide  and  tallow, 
it  did  not  pay  to  improve  the  breed.  The  hide 
of  a  long-horned,  mouse-colored  Spanish  steer 
would  sell  for  as  much  as  that  of  a  high-bred 
Durham  or  Holstein,  and,  besides,  the  first 
could  exist  where  the  latter  would  starve  to 
death.  After  the  conquest  there  was  for  some 
time  but  little  improvement.  Cattle  were  brought 
across  the  plains,  but  for  the  most  part  these 
were  the  mongrel  breeds  of  the  western  states 
and  were  but  little  improvement  on  the  Spanish 
stock.  It  was  not  until  the  famine  years  vir- 
tually exterminated  the  Spanish  cattle  that  bet- 
ter breeds  were  introduced. 

As  with  cattle,  so  also  it  was  with  horses. 
Little  attention  was  given  to  improving  the 
breed.  While  there  were  a  few  fine  race  horses 
and  saddle  horses  in  the  country  before  its 
American  occupation,  the  prevailing  equine  was 
the  mustang.  He  was  a  vicious  beast,  nor  was 
it  strange  that  his  temper  was  bad.  He  had  to 
endure  starvation  and  abuse  that  would  have 
killed  a  more  aristocratic  animal.  He  took  care 
of  himself,  subsisted  on  what  he  could  pick  up 
and  to  the  best  of  his  ability  resented  ill  treat- 
ment.    Horses  during  the  Mexican  regime  were 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAH1H  AL    RECORD. 


jo:; 


used  only  for  riding.  Oxen  were  the  draft  ani- 
mals. Tlic  mustang  had  one  inherent  trail  that 
did  not  endear  him  to  an  American,  and  that 
was  his  propensity  to  "buck."  With  his  nose 
between  his  knees,  his  back  arched  and  his  legs 
stiffened,  by  a  series  of  short,  quick  jumps,  he 
could  dismount  an  inexperienced  rider  with 
neatness  and  dispatch.  The  Californian  took 
delight  in  urging  the  bronco  to  "buck"  so  that 
he  (the  rider)  might  exhibit  his  skillful  horse- 
manship. The  mustang  had  some  commenda- 
ble traits  as  well.  He  was  sure-footed  as  a  goat 
and  could  climb  the  steep  hillsides  almost  equal 
to  that  animal.  He  had  an  easy  gait  under  the. 
saddle  and  could  measure  off  mile  after  mile 
without  a  halt.  His  power  of  endurance  was 
wonderful.  He  could  live  off  the  country  when 
apparently  there  was  nothing  to  subsist  on  ex- 
cept the  bare  ground.  He  owed  mankind  a  debt 
of  ingratitude  which  he  always  stood  ready  to 
pay  when  an  opportunity  offered.  The  passing 
of  the  mustang  began  with  the  advent  of  the 
American    farmer. 

The  founding  of  agricultural  colonies  began 
in  the  '50s.  One  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  was 
the  German  colony  of  Anaheim,  located  thirty 
miles  south  of  Los  Angeles.  A  company  of 
Germans  organized  in  San  Francisco  in  1857 
for  the  purpose  of  buying  land  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  wine  grape  and  the  manufacture  of 
wine.  The  organization  was  a  stock  company. 
Eleven  hundred  acres  were  purchased  in  a 
Spanish  grant.  This  was  subdivided  into  twenty 
and  forty  acre  tracts;  an  irrigating  ditch 
brought  in  from  the  Santa  Ana  river.  A  por- 
tion of  each  subdivision  was  planted  in  vines 
and  these  were  cultivated  by  the  company  until 
they  came  into  bearing,  when  the  tracts  were 
divided  among  the  stockholders  by  lot,  a  cer- 
tain valuation  being  fixed  on  each  tract.  The 
man  obtaining  a  choice  lot  paid  into  the  fund 
a  certain  amount  and  the  one  receiving  an  infe- 
rior tract  received  a  certain  amount,  so  that  each 
received  the  same  value  in  the  distribution.  The 
colony  proved  quite  a  success,  and  for  thirty 
years  Anaheim  was  one  of  the  largest  wine- 
producing  districts  in  the  United  States.  In 
1887  a  mysterious  disease  destroyed  all  the  vines 
and    the    vineTardists     turned    their    attention 


to     the     cultivation     of    oranges     and     English 
walnuts. 

The  Riverside  colony,  then  in  San  Bernardino 
county,  now  in  Riverside  county,  was  founded 
in  1870.  The  projectors  of  the  colony  were 
eastern  gentlemen.  At  the  head  of  the  organiza- 
tion was  Judge  J.  W.  North.  They  purchased 
four  thousand  acres  of  the  Roubidoux  or  Jurupa 
rancho  and  fourteen  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
government  land  from  the  California  Silk  Cen- 
ter Association.  This  association  had  been  or- 
ganized in  1869  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a 
colony  to  cultivate  mulberry  trees  and  manu- 
facture silk.  It  had  met  with  reverses,  first  in 
the  death  of  its  president,  Louis  Prevost,  a  man 
skilled  in  the  silk  business,  next  in  the  revoca- 
tion by  the  legislature  of  the  bounty  for  mul- 
berry plantations,  and  lastly  in  the  subsidence 
of  the  sericulture  craze.  To  encourage  silk  cul- 
ture in  California,  the  legislature,  in  1866,  passed 
an  act  authorizing  the  payment  of  a  bounty  of 
$250  for  every  plantation  of  five  thousand  mul- 
berry trees  two  years  old.  This  greatly  stimu- 
lated the  planting  of  mulberry  trees,  if  it  did 
not  greatly  increase  the  production  of  silk.  In 
1869  it  was  estimated  that  in  the  central  and 
southern  portions  of  the  state  there  were  ten 
millions  of  mulberry  trees  in  various  stages  of 
growth.  Demands  for  the  bounty  poured  in 
upon  the  commissioners  in  such  numbers  that 
the  state  treasury  was  threatened  with  bank- 
ruptcy. The  revocation  of  the  bounty  killed 
the  silk  worms  and  the  mulberry  trees:  ami 
those  who  had  been  attacked  with  the  sericulture 
craze  quickly  recovered.  The  Silk  Center  As- 
sociation, having  fallen  into  hard  lines,  offered 
its  lands  for  sale  at  advantageous  terms,  and  in 
September,  1870,  they  were  purchased  by  the 
Southern  California  Colon)  Association.  The 
land  was  bought  at  S3. 50  per  acre,  li  was  mesa 
or  table  land  that  had  never  been  cultivated. 
It  was  considered  by  old-timers  indifferent  sheep 
pasture,  and  Roubidoux,  i;  is  -aid.  had  it  struck 
from  the  tax  roll  because  it  was  not  worth  tax- 
ing. 

The  company  had  the  land  subdivided  and 
laid  off  a  town  which  was  first  named  Jurupa, 
but  afterwards  the  name  was  changed  to  River- 
side.     The  river,   the   Santa   Ana.   did   not   flow 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


past  the  town,  but  the  colonists  hoped  to  make 
a  goodly  portion  of  its  waters  do  so.  The  lands 
were  put  on  sale  at  reasonable  prices,  a  ditch 
at  a  cost  of  $50,000  was  constructed.  Experi- 
ments were  made  with  oranges,  raisin  grapes 
and  deciduous  fruits,  but  the  colony  finally  set- 
tled down  to  orange  producing.  In  1877  the 
introduction  of  the  Bahia  or  navel  orange  gave 
an  additional  impetus  to  orange  growing  in  the 
colony,  the  fruit  of  that  species  being  greatly 
superior  to  any  other.  This  fruit  was  propa- 
gated by  budding  from  two  trees  received  from 
Washington,  D.  C,  by  J.  A.  Tibbetts,  of  River- 
side. 


The  Indiana  colony,  which  later  became  Pasa- 
dena, was  founded  in  1873  by  some  gentlemen 
from  Indiana.  Its  purpose  was  the  growing  of 
citrus  fruits  and  raisin  grapes,  but  it  has  grown 
into  a  city,  and  the  orange  groves,  once  the 
pride  of  the  colony,  have  given  place  to  business 
blocks  and  stately  residences. 

During  the  early  '70s  a  number  of  agricul- 
tural colonies  were  founded  in  Fresno  county. 
These  were  all  fruit-growing  and  raisin-pro- 
ducing enterprises.  They  proved  successful  and 
Fresno  has  become  the  largest  raisin-pro- 
ducing district  in  the  state. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


THE    CIVIL    WAR— LOYALTY    AND    DISLOYALTY. 


THE  admission  of  California  into  the  Union 
as  a  free  state  did  not,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  ultra  pro-slavery  faction,  preclude  the 
possibility  of  securing  a  part  of  its  territory  for 
the  "peculiar  institution"  of  the  south.  The 
question  of  state  division  which  had  come  up 
in  the  constitutional  convention  was  again  agi- 
tated. The  advocates  of  division  hoped  to  cut 
off  from  the  southern  part,  territory  enough  for 
a  new  state.  The  ostensible  purpose  of  division 
was  kept  concealed.  The  plea  of  unjust  taxa- 
tion was  made  prominent.  The  native  Califor- 
nians  who  under  Mexican  rule  paid  no  taxes  on 
their  land  were  given  to  understand  that  they 
were  bearing  an  undue  proportion  of  the  cost 
of  government,  while  the  mining  counties,  pay- 
ing less  tax,  had  the  greater  representation.  The 
native  Californians  were  opposed  to  slavery,  an 
open  advocacy  of  the  real  purpose  would  defeat 
the  division  scheme. 

The  leading  men  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
state  were  from  the  slave  states.  If  the  state 
were  divided,  the  influence  of  these  men  would 
carry  the  new  state  into  the  Union  with  a  con- 
stitution authorizing  slave-holding  and  thus  the 
south  would  gain  two  senators.  The  division 
question  came  up  in  some  form  in  nearh  every 
session  of  the  legislature  for  a  decade  after  Cali- 
fornia became  a  state. 


In  the  legislature  of  1854-55,  Jefferson  Hunt, 
of  San  Bernardino  county,  introduced  a  bill  in 
the  assembly  to  create  and  establish,  "out  of 
the  territory  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the 
state  of  California,  a  new  state,  to  be  called  the 
state  of  Columbia."  The  territory  embraced 
within  the  counties  of  Santa  Cruz,  Santa  Clara, 
San  Joaquin,  Calaveras,  Amador,  Tuolumne, 
Stanislaus,  Mariposa,  Tulare,  Monterey,  Santa 
Barbara,  San  Luis  Obispo,  Los  Angeles,  San 
Bernardino  and  San  Diego,  with  the  islands  on 
the  coast,  were  to  constitute  the  new  state. 
"The  people  residing  within  the  above  mentioned 
territory  shall  be  and  they  are  hereby  author- 
ized, so  soon  as  the  consent  of  the  congress  of 
the  United  States  shall  be  obtained  thereto,  to 
proceed  to  organize  a  state  government  under 
such  rules  as  are  prescribed  by  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States."  The  bill  met  with  oppo- 
sition. It  took  in  some  of  the  mining  counties 
whose  interests  were  not  coincident  with  the 
agricultural  counties  of  the  south.  It  died  on 
the  files. 

At  a  subsequent  session,  a  bill  was  introduced 
in  the  legislature  to  divide  the  state  into  three 
parts,  southern,  central  and  northern,  the  cen- 
tral state  to  retain  the  name  of  California.  This 
was  referred  to  a  committee  and  got  no  farther. 
Ii   was  not  satisfactory  to  the  pro-slavery  ele- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ment  because  the  gain  to  the  south  would  be 
.overbalanced  by  the  gain  to  the  north. 

The  success  of  border  ruffianism,  backed  by 
the  Buchanan  administration,  in  forcing  the  de- 
testable Lecompton  pro-slavery  constitution  on 
the  people  of  Kansas,  encouraged  the  division- 
ists  to  make  another  effort  to  divide  the  state. 
While  California  was  a  free  state  it  had  through- 
out its  existence,  up  to  1857,  when  Broderick 
was  elected  to  the  senate,  been  represented  in 
both  houses  either  by  slave-holders  from  the 
south  or  by  northern  "dough  faces" — men  of 
northern  birth  with  southern  principles.  Most 
of  the  state  offices  had  been  filled  by  southern 
men  who  had  come  to  the  state  to  obtain  office 
or  men  who  had  been  imported  by  their  friends 
or  relatives  to  fill  positions  by  appointment. 
Indeed,  so  notorious  had  this  importation  of 
office-holders  become  that  California  was  often 
referred  to  as  the  "Virginia  poorhouse." 
Scarcely  a  legislature  had  convened  in  which 
there  was  not  some  legislation  against  free  ne- 
groes. A  free  colored  man  was  as  terrible  to 
the  chivalrous  legislators  as  an  army  with  ban- 
ners. 

The  legislature  of  1859  was  intensely  pro- 
slavery.  The  divisionists  saw  in  it  an  oppor- 
tunity to  carry  out  their  long-deferred  scheme. 
The  so-called  Pico  law,  an  act  granting  the 
consent  of  the  legislature  to  the  formation  of  a 
different  government  for  the  southern  counties 
of  this  state,  was  introduced  early  in  the  ses- 
sion, passed  in  both  houses  and  approved  by 
the  governor  April  18,  1859.  The  boundaries 
of  the  proposed  state  were  as  follows:  "All  of 
that  part  or  portion  of  the  present  territory  of 
this  state  lying  all  south  of  a  line  drawn  east- 
ward from  the  west  boundary  of  the  state  along 
the  sixth  standard  parallel  south  of  the  Mount 
Diablo  meridian,  east  to  the  summit  of  the 
coast  range;  thence  southerly  following  said 
summit  to  the  seventh  standard  parallel:  thence 
due  east  on  said  standard,  parallel  to  its  inter- 
section with  the  northwest  boundary  of  Los 
Angeles  county;  thence  northeast  along  said 
boundary  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  slate. 
including  the  counties  of  San  Luis  Obispo, 
Santa  Barbara,  Los  Angeles,  San  Diego,  San 
Bernardino  and  a  part  of  Buena  \  ista,  shall  he 


segregated  from  the  remaining  portion  of  the 
state  for  the  purpose  of  the  formation  by  con- 
gress, with  the  concurrent  action  of  said  portion 
(the  consent  for  the  segregation  of  which  is 
hereby  granted),  of  a  territorial  or  other  gov- 
ernment under  the  name  of  the  "Territory  of 
Colorado,"  or  such  other  name  as  may  be 
deemed  meet  and  proper." 

Section  second  provided  for  the  submitting 
the  question  of  "For  a  Territory"  or  "Against 
a  Territory"  to  the  people  of  the  portion  sought 
to  be  segregated  at  the  next  general  election; 
"and  in  case  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of 
voters  voting  thereon  shall  vote  for  a  change  of 
government,  the  consent  hereby  given  shall  be 
deemed  consummated."  In  case  the  vote  was 
favorable  the  secretary  of  state  was  to  send  a 
certified  copy  of  the  result  of  the  election  and 
a  copy  of  the  act  annexed  to  the  president  of 
the  United  States  and  to  the  senators  and  rep- 
resentatives of  California  in  congress.  At  the 
general  election  in  September,  1859,  the  ques- 
tion was  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  of 
the  southern  counties,  with  the  following  result: 

For.     Against. 

Los  Angeles  county 1407  441 

San  Bernardino 441  29 

San  Diego 207  24 

San  Luis  Obispo 10  283 

Santa  Barbara 395  5 1 

Tulare    17 

Total   2,477  828 

The  bill  to  create  the  county  of  Buena  Vista 
from  the  southern  portion  of  Tulare  failed  to 
pass  the  legislature,  hence  the  name  of  that 
county  does  not  appear  in  the  returns.  The 
result  of  the  vote  showed  that  considerably  more 
than  two-thirds  were  in  favor  of  a  new  state. 

The  results  of  this  movement  for  division  and 
the  act  were  sent  to  the  president  and  to  con- 
gress, hut  nothing  came  of  it.  The  pro-slavery 
faction  that  with  the  assistance  of  the  dough- 
faces of  the  north  had  so  long  dominated  con- 
gress hail  lost  its  power.  The  southern  senators 
and  congressmen  v,  ere  pp  paring  for  s& 
and  had  weightier  matters  t,i  think  of  than  the 
division  of  tin-  state  of  1  :alifornia.  <  >f  late  years, 
a  few  feeble  attempts  have  been  made  to  stir  up 


206 


HISTORICAL   AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  old  question  of  state  division  and  even  to 
resurrect  the  old  "Pico  law." 

For  more  than  a  decade  after  its  admission 
into  the  Union,  California  was  a  Democratic 
state  and  controlled  by  the  pro-slavery  wing  of 
that  party.  John  C.  Fremont  and  William  H. 
Gwin,  its  first  senators,  were  southern  born, 
Fremont  in  South  Carolina  and  Gwin  in  Mis- 
sissippi. Politics  had  not  entered  into  their 
election,  but  the  lines  were  soon  drawn.  Fre- 
mont drew  the  short  term  and  his  services  in 
the  senate  were  very  brief.  He  confidently 
expected  a  re-election,  but  in  this  he  was 
doomed  to  disappointment.  The  legislature  of 
1851,  after  balloting  one  hundred  ami  forty-two 
times,  adjourned  without  electing,  leaving  Cali- 
fornia with  but  one  senator  in  the  session  of 
1850-51.  In  the  legislature  of  1852  John  I'.. 
Wilier  was  elected.  He  was  a  northern  man 
with  southern  principles.  His  chief  opponent 
for  the  place  was  David  Colbert  Broderick,  a 
man  destined  to  fill  an  important  place  in  the 
political  history  of  California.  He  was  an  Irish- 
man by  birth,  but  had  come  to  America  in  his 
boyhood.  He  had  learned  the  stone  cutters' 
trade  with  his  father.  His  early  associations 
were  with  the  rougher  element  of  Xew  York- 
City.  Aspiring  to  a  higher  position  than  that 
of  a  stone  cutter  he  entered  the  political  field 
and  soon  arose  to  prominence.  At  the  age  of 
26  he  was  nominated  for  Congress,  but  was  de- 
feated by  a  small  majority  through  a  split  in  the 
party.  In  1840  he  came  to  California,  where  he 
arrived  sick  and  penniless.  With  F.  D.  Kohler, 
an  assayer,  he  engaged  in  coining  gold.  The 
profit  from  buying  gold  dust  at  $14  an  ounce 
and  making  it  into  $5  and  $10  pieces  put  him 
in  afHuenl   circumstances. 

His  first  entry  into  politics  in  California  was 
his  election  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  senate  of  the 
first  legislature.  In  1851  he  became  president 
of  the  senate.  I  ['e  studied  law.  history  and  liter- 
ature and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  was  ap- 
pointed clerk  of  the  supreme  cour)  and  had  as- 
pirations for  still  higher  positions.  Although 
Senator  Gwin  was  a  Democrat,  he  had  managed 
in  control  all  the  federal  appointments  of  Fill 
more,  the  Whig  president,  and  he  had  filled  the 
(>f\)c<^  with  pro-slaver)   Democrats. 


Xo  other  free  state  in  the  Union  had  such 
odious  laws  against  negroes  as  had  California. 
The  legislature  of  1852  enacted  a  law  "respect- 
ing fugitives  from  labor  and  slaves  brought  to 
this  state  prior  to  her  admission  to  the  Union." 
"Under  this  law  a  colored  man  or  woman  could 
be  brought  before  a  magistrate,  claimed  as  a 
slave,  and  the  person  so  seized  not  being  per- 
mitted to  testify,  the  judge  had  no  alternative 
but  to  issue  a  certificate  to  the  claimant,  which 
certificate  was  conclusive  of  the  right  of  the  per- 
son  or  persons  in  whose  favor  granted,  and  pre- 
vented all  molestation  of  such  person  or  per- 
sons, by  any  process  issued  by  any  court,  judge, 
justice  or  magistrate  or  other  person  whomso- 
ever. "*  Any  one  who  rendered  assistance  to  a 
fugitive  was  liable  to  a  fine  of  $500  or  imprison- 
ment for  two  months.  Slaves  who  had  been 
brought  into  California  by  their  masters  before 
it  became  a  state,  but  who  were  freed  by  the 
adoption  of  a  constitution  prohibiting  slavery, 
were  held  to  be  fugitives  and  were  liable  to 
arrest,  although  they  had  been  free  for  several 
years  and  some  of  them  had  accumulated  con- 
siderable property.  By  limitation  the  law  should 
have  become  inoperative  in  1853,  but  the  legis- 
lature of  that  year  re-enacted  it,  and  the  suc- 
ceeding legislatures  of  1854  and  1855  continued 
it  in  force.  The  intention  of  the  legislators 
who  enacted  the  law  was  to  legalize  the  kid- 
napping of  free  negroes,  as  well  as  the  arrest  of 
fugitives.  Broderick  vigorously  opposed  the 
prosecution  of  the  colored  people  and  by  so 
doing  called  down  upon  his  head  the  wrath  of 
the  pro-slavery  chivalry.  From  that  time  on  he 
was  an  object  of  their  hatred.  While  successive 
legislatures  were  passing  laws  to  punish  black- 
men  for  daring  to  assert  their  freedom  and  their 
right  to  the  products  of  their  honest  toil,  white 
villains  were  rewarded  with  political  preferment, 
provided  always  that  they  belonged  to  the  domi- 
nant wing  of  the  Democratic  party.  The  Whig 
party  was  but  little  better  than  the  other,  for  the 
same  element  ruled  in  both.  The  finances  of 
tin'  state  were  in  a  deplorable  condition  and 
continually  growing  worse.  The  people's  money 
was  recklessly  squandered.     Incompetency  was 


►Bancroft's  History  of  California,  Vol.  VI. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


207 


the  rule  in  office  and  honesty  the  exception. 
Ballot  box  stuffing  had  been  reduced  to  a  me- 
chanical science,  jury  bribing  was  one  of  the 
fine  arts  and  suborning  perjury  was  a  recognized 
profession.  During  one  election  in  San  Fran- 
cisco it  was  estimated  that  $1,500,000  was  spent 
in  one  way  or  another  to  influence  voters.  Such 
was  the  state  of  affairs  just  preceding  the  up- 
rising of  the  people  that  evolved  in  San  Fran- 
cisco the  vigilance  committee  of  1856. 

At  the  state  election  in  the  fall  of  1855  the 
Know  Nothings  carried  the  state.  The  native 
American  or  Know  Nothing  party  was  a  party 
of  few  principles.  Opposition  to  Catholics  and 
foreigners  was  about  the  only  plank  in  its  plat- 
form. There  was  a  strong  opposition  to  for- 
eign miners  in  the  mining  districts  and  the 
pro-slavery  faction  saw  in  the  increased  foreign 
immigration  danger  to  the  extension  of  their 
beloved  institution  into  new  territory.  The 
most  potent  cause  of  the  success  of  the  new 
part}-  in  California  was  the  hope  that  it  might 
bring  reform  to  relieve  the  tax  burdened  people. 
But  in  this  they  were  disappointed.  It  was  made 
up  from  the  same  element  that  had  so  long  mis- 
governed the  state. 

The  leaders  of  the  party  were  either  pro- 
slavery  men  of  the  south  or  northern  men  with 
southern  principles.  Of  the  latter  class  was  J. 
Neely  Johnson,  the  governor-elect.  In  the  leg- 
islature of  1855  the  contest  between  Gwin  and 
Broderick,  which  had  been  waged  at  the  polls 
the  previous  year,  culminated  after  thirty-eight 
ballots  in  no  choice  and  Gwin's  place  in  the 
senate  became  vacant  at  the  expiration-  of  his 
term.  In  the  legislature  of  1856  the  Know  Noth- 
ings had  a  majority  in  both  houses.  It  was 
supposed  that  they  would  elect  a  senator  to 
succeed  Gwin.  There  were  three  aspirants:  H. 
A.  Crabb,  formerly  a  Whig;  F.  C.  Marshall  and 
Henry  S.  Foote,  formerly  Democrats.  All  were 
southerners  and  were  in  the  new  party  for  of- 
fice. The  Gwin  and  Broderick  influence  was 
strong  enough  to  prevent  the  Know  Nothing 
legislature  from  electing  a  senator  and  Califor- 
nia was  left  with  but  one  representative  in  the 
upper  house  of  Congress. 

The  Know  Nothing  party  was  short  lived.  At 
the   general   election    in     1856    the    Democrats 


swept  the  state.  Broderick,  by  his  ability  in  or- 
ganizing and  his  superior  leadership,  had  se- 
cured a  majority  in  the  legislature  and  was  in  a 
position  to  dictate  terms  to  his  opponents.  Wel- 
ler's  senatorial  term  would  soon  expire  and 
Gwin's  already  two  years  vacant  left  two  places 
to  be  filled.  Broderick,  who  had  heretofore 
been  contending  for  Gwin's  place,  changed  his 
tactics  and  aspired  to  fill  the  long  term.  Ac- 
cording to  established  custom,  the  filling  of  the 
vacancy  would  come  up  first,  but  Broderick,  by 
superior  finesse,  succeeded  in  having  the  caucus 
nominate  the  successor  to  Weller  first.  Ex- 
Congressman  Latham's  friends  were  induced  to 
favor  the  arrangement  on  the  expectation  that 
their  candidate  would  be  given  the  short  term. 
Broderick  was  elected  to  the  long  term  on  the 
first  ballot,  January  9,  1857,  and  his  commission 
was  immediately  made  out  and  signed  by  the 
governor.  For  years  he  had  bent  his  energies 
to  securing  the  senatorship  and  at  last  he  had 
obtained  the  coveted  honor.  But  he  was  not 
satisfied  yet.  He  aspired  to  control  the  federal 
patronage  of  the  state;  in  this  way  he  could 
reward  his  friends.  He  could  dictate  the  elec- 
tion of  his  colleague  for  the  short  term.  Both 
Gwin  and  Latham  were  willing  to  concede  to 
him  that  privilege  for  the  sake  of  an  election. 
Latham  tried  to  make  a  few  reservations  for 
some  of  his  friends  to  whom  he  had  promised 
places.  Gwin  offered  to  surrender  it  all  with- 
out reservation.  He  had  had  enough  of  it. 
Gwin  was  elected  and  next  day  published  an 
address,  announcing  his  obligation  to  Broderick 
and  renouncing  any  claim" to  the  distribution  of 
the  federal  patronage. 

Then  a  wail  long  and  loud  went  up  from  the 
chivalry,  who  for  years  had  monopolized  all  the 
offices.  That  they,  southern  gentlemen  of  aris- 
tocratic antecedents,  should  be  compelled  to  asl 
favors  of  a  mudsill  of  the  north  was  too  hu- 
miliating to  be  borne.  Latham,  too,  was  indig- 
nant and  Broderick  found  thai  his  triumph  was 
but  a  hollow  mockery.  But  the  worst 
come.  Tie  who  had  done  SO  much  to  unite  the 
warring  Democracy  and  give  the  party  a  glo- 
rious victory  in  California  at  the  presidential 
election  of  [856  full)  expected  the  approbation 
of  President  Buchanan,  but  when  he  called  on 


2(IS 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


that  old  gentleman  he  was  received  coldly  and 
during  Buchanan's  administration  he  was  ig- 
nored and  Gwin's  advice  taken  and  followed  in 
making  federal  appointments.  He  returned  to 
California  in  April,  1857,  to  secure  the  nomina- 
tion of  his  friends  on  the  state  ticket,  but  in 
this  he  was  disappointed.  The  Gwin  ele- 
ment was  in  the  ascendency  and  John 
B.  Weller  received  the  nomination  for  gov- 
ernor. He  was  regarded  as  a  martyr,  having 
been  tricked  out  of  a  re-election  to  the  sen- 
ate by  Broderick.  There  were  other  martyrs  of 
the  Democracy,  who  received  balm  for  their 
wounds  and  sympathy  for  their  sufferings  at 
that  convention.  In  discussing  a  resolution  de- 
nouncing the  vigilance  committee,  0'Me.ara  in 
his  "History  of  Early  Politics  in  California," 
says:  "Col.  Joseph  P.  Hoge,  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  convention,  stated  that  the  com- 
mittee had  hanged  four  men,  banished  twenty- 
eight  and  arrested  two  hundred  and  eighty;  and 
that  these  were  nearly  all  I  democrats. 

On  Broderick's  return  to  the  senate  in  the 
session  of  1857-58,  he  cast  his  lot  with  Senator 
Douglas  and  opposed  the  admission  of  Kansas 
under  the  infamous  Lecompton  constitution. 
This  cut  him  loose  from  the  administration 
wing  of  the  party. 

In  the  state  campaign  of  1859  Broderick  ral- 
lied his  followers  under  the  Anti-Lecompton 
standard  and  Gwin  his  in  support  of  the  Bu- 
chanan administration.  The  party  was  hope- 
lessly divided.  Two  Democratic  tickets  were 
placed  in  the  field.  The  Broderick  ticket,  with 
John  Currey  as  governor,  and  the  Gwin,  with 
Milton  Latham,  the  campaign  was  bitter.  Brod- 
erick took  the  stump  and  although  not  an  orator 
his  denunciations  of  Gwin  were  scathing  and 
merciless  and  in  his  fearful  earnestness  he  be- 
came almosl  eloquent.  Gwin  in  turn  loosed 
the  vials  of  his  wrath  upon  Broderick  and 
criminations  and  recriminations  Hew  thick  and 
fast  during  the  campaign.  It  was  a  campaign 
df  vituperation,  but  the  first  aggress<  r  was 
Gwin. 

Judge  Terry,  in  a  speech  before  the  Lecomp- 
ton convention  at  Sacramento  in  June,  1859, 
after  flinging  oul  sneers  at  the  Republican  party, 
characterized  Broderick's  party  as  sailing  "under 


the  flag  of  Douglas,  but  it  is  the  banner  of  the 
black  Douglass,  whose  name  is  Frederick,  not 
Stephen."  This  taunt  was  intended  to  arouse 
the  wrath  of  Broderick.  He  read  Terry's  speech 
while  seated  at  breakfast  in  the  International 
hotel  at  San  Francisco.  Broderick  denounced 
Terry's  utterance  in  forcible  language  and 
closed  by  saying:  "I  have  hitherto  spoken  of 
him  as  an  honest  man,  as  the  only  honest 
man  on  the  bench  of  a  miserable,  corrupt  su- 
preme court,  but  now  I  find  I  was  mistaken.  I 
take  it  all  back."  A  lawyer  by  the  name  of  Per- 
ley, a  friend  of  Terry's,  to  whom  the  remark  was 
directed,  to  obtain  a  little  reputation,  challenged 
Broderick.  Broderick  refused  to  consider  Per- 
ley's  challenge  on  the  ground  that  he  was  not 
his  (Broderick's)  equal  in  standing  and  beside 
that  he  had  declared  himself  a  few  days  before 
a  British  subject.  Perley  did  not  stand  very- 
high  in  the  community.  Terry  had  acted  as  a 
second  for  him  in  a  duel  a  few  years  before. 

Broderick,  in  his  reply  to  Perley,  said:  "I 
have  determined  to  take  no  notice  of  attacks 
from  any  source  during  the  canvass.  If  I  were 
to  accept  your  challenge,  there  are  probably 
many  other  gentlemen  who  would  seek  similar 
opportunities  for  hostile  meetings  for  the  pur- 
pose of  accomplishing  a  political  object  or  to 
obtain  public  notoriety.  I  cannot  afford  at  the 
present  time  to  descend  to  a  violation  of  the 
Constitution  and  state  laws  to  subserve  either 
their  or  your  purposes." 

Terry  a  few  days  after  the  close  of  the  cam- 
paign sent  a  letter  to  Broderick  demanding  a 
retraction  of  the  offensive  remarks.  Broderick, 
well  knowing  that  he  would  have  to  fight  some 
representative  of  the  chivalry  if  not  several  of 
them  in  succession,  did  not  retract  his  remarks, 
lie  had  for  several  years,  in  expectation  of  such 
a  result  in  a  contest  with  them,  practiced 
himself  in  the  use  of  fire  arms  until  he  had  be- 
come quite  expert. 

A  challenge  followed,  a  meeting  was  arranged 
to  take  place  in  San  Mateo  county,  ten  miles 
from  San  Francisco,  on  the  12th  of  September. 
( 'hief  of  Police  Burke  appeared  on  the  scene 
and  arrested  the  principals.  They  were  released 
by  the  court,  no  crime  having  been  committed. 
They  met  next  morning  at  the  same  place:  ex- 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


jn',i 


Congressman  McKibben  and  David  D.  Colton 
were  Broderick's  seconds.  Calhoun  Benham 
and  Thomas  Hayes  were  Terry's.  The  pistols 
selected  belonged  to  a  friend  of  Terry's.  Brod- 
erick  was  ill,  weak  and  nervous,  and  it  was  said 
that  his  pistol  was  quicker  on  the  trigger  than 
Terry's.  When  the  word  was  given  it  was  dis- 
charged before  it  reached  a  level  and  the  ball 
struck  the  earth,  nine  feet  from  where  he  stood. 
Terry  fired,  striking  Broderick  in  the  breast. 
He  sank  to  the  earth  mortally  wounded  and  died 
three  days  afterwards.  Broderick  dead  was  a 
greater  man  than  Broderick  living.  For  years 
he  had  waged  a  contest  against  the  representa- 
tives of  the  slave  oligarchy  in  California  and  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  had  looked  on  with 
indifference,  even  urging  on  his  pursuers  to  the 
tragic  end.  Now  that  he  was  killed,  the  cry  went 
up  for  vengeance  on  his  murderers.  Terry  was 
arrested  and  admitted  to  bail  in  the  sum  of 
$10,000.  The  trial  was  put  off  on  some  pretext 
and  some  ten  months  later  he  obtained  a  change 
of  venue  to  Marin  county  on  the  plea  that  he 
could  not  obtain  a  fair  and  impartial  trial  in  San 
Francisco.  His  case  was  afterwards  dismissed 
without  trial  by  a  pro-slavery  judge  named 
Hard)-.  Although  freed  by  the  courts  he  was 
found  guilty  and  condemned  by  public  opinion. 
He  went  south  and  joined  the  Confederates  at 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  He  some 
time  after  the  close  of  the  war  returned  to  Cal- 
ifornia. In  1880  he  was  a  presidential  elector 
on  the  Democratic  ticket.  His  colleagues  on 
the  ticket  were  elected,  but  he  was  defeated. 
He  was  killed  at  Lathrop  by  a  deputy  United 
States  marshal  while  attempting  an  assault  on 
United  States  Supreme  Judge  Field. 

In  the  hue  and  cry  that  was  raised  on  the 
death  of  Broderick,  the  chivalry  read  the  doom 
of  their  ascendency.  Gwin,  as  he  was  about  to 
take  trie  steamer  on  his  return  to  Washington, 
"had  flaunted  in  his  face  a  large  canvas  frame, 
cm  which  was  painted  a  portrait  of  Broderick 
and  this:  'It  is  the  will  of  the  people  that  the 
murderers  of  Broderick  do  not  return  again  to 
California;'  and  below  were  also  these  words 
attributed  to  Mr.  Broderick:  'They  have  killed 
me  because  I  was  opposed  to  the  extension  of 
slavery,  and  a  corrupt  administration.'" 


Throughout  his  political  career  Broderick  was 
a  consistent  anti-slavery  man  and  a  friend  of 
the  common  people.  Of  all  the  politicians  of  the 
ante-bellum  period,  that  is,  before  the  Civil  war, 
he  stands  to-day  the  highest  in  the  estimation  of 
the  people  of  California.  Like  Lincoln,  he  was 
a  self-made  man.  From  a  humble  origin, 
unaided,  he  had  fought  his  way  up  to  a  lofty  po- 
sition. Had  he  been  living  during  the  war 
against  the  perpetuity  of  human  slavery,  he 
would  have  been  a  power  in  the  senate  or  pos- 
sibly a  commander  on  the  field  of  battle.  As  it 
was,  during  that  struggle  in  his  adopted  state, 
his  name  became  a  synonyn  of  patriotism  and 
love  for  the  Union. 

Milton  S.  Latham,  who  succeeded  John  B. 
VVeller  as  governor  in  i860,  was.  like  his  pred- 
ecessor, a  northern  man  with  southern  prin- 
ciples. Almost  from  the  date  of  his  arrival  in 
California  he  had  been  an  office-holder.  He  was 
a  man  of  mediocre  ability.  He  was  a  state  di- 
visionist  and  would  have  aided  in  that  scheme 
by  advocating  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States 
(to  which  body  he  had  been  elected  three  days 
after  his  inauguration)  the  segregation  of  the 
southern  counties  and  their  formation  into  a 
new  state  with  the  hopes  of  restoring  the  equi- 
librium between  the  north  and  the  south.  But 
the  time  had  passed  for  such  projects.  The 
lieutenant-governor,  John  G.  Downey,  suc- 
ceeded Latham.  Downey  gained  great  popu- 
larity by  his  veto  of  the  "bulkhead  bill."  This 
was  a  scheme  of  the  San  Francisco  Dock  and 
Wharf  Company  to  build  a  stone  bulkhead 
around  the  city  water  front  in  consideration  of 
having  the  exclusive  privilege  of  collecting 
wharfage  and  tolls  for  fifty  years.  Down 
much  of  his  popularity,  particularly  with  the 
Union  men,  during  the  Civil  war  on  account  of 
his  sympathy  with  the  Confederates. 

At  the  state  election  in  September.  [861,  Ice- 
land Stanford  was  chosen  governor.  He  was 
the  first  Republican  il  office.     He 

received    fifty-six    thou  Two    years 

before  he  had  been  a  candidate  for  that  office 
and  received  only  ten  thousand  votes,  so  rap- 
idlv  had   publii  '■     The  news 

of  the  firing  upon    Fori     £  ed   San 

Francisco    April   -'4,   twelve   days  after   its  oc- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


currence.  It  came  by  pony  express.  The  be- 
ginning of  hostilities  between  the  north  and  the 
south  stirred  up  a  strong  Union  sentiment.  The 
great  Union  mass  meeting  held  in  San  Fran- 
cisco May  ii,  1861,  was  the  largest  and  most 
enthusiastic  public  demonstration  ever  held  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  The  lines  were  sharply  drawn 
between  the  friends  of  the  government  and  its 
enemies.  Former  political  alliances  were  for- 
gotten. Most  of  the  Anti-Lecompton  or  Doug- 
las Democrats  arrayed  themselves  on  the  side 
of  the  Union.  The  chivalry  wing  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  were  either  open  or  secret  sym- 
pathizers with  the  Confederates.  Some  of  them 
were  bold  and  outspoken  in  their  disloyalty. 
The  speech  of  Edmund  Randolph  at  the  Dem- 
ocratic convention  July  24.  1861,  is  a  sample 
of  such  utterances.  *  *  *  "To  me  it  seems 
a  waste  of  time  to  talk.  For  God's  sake,  tell 
me  of  battles  fought  and  won.  Tell  me  of 
usurpers  overthrown;  that  Missouri  is  again  a 
free  state,  no  longer  crushed  under  the  armed 
heel  of  a  reckless  and  odious  despot.  Tell  me 
that  the  state  of  Maryland  lives  again;  and,  oh! 
gentlemen,  let  us  read,  let  us  hear,  at  the  first 
moment,  that  not  one  hostile  foot  now  treads 
the  soil  of  Virginia!  (Applause  and  cheers.) 
If  this  be  rebellion,  I  am  a  rebel.  Do  you  want 
a  traitor,  then  I  am  a  traitor.  For  God's  sake, 
speed  the  ball;  may  the  lead  go  quick  to  his 
heart,  and  may  our  country  be  free  from  the 
despot  usurper  that  now  claims  the  name 
of  the  president  of  the  United  States."*  (Cheers.) 
Some  of  the  chivalry  Democrats,  most  of  whom 
had  been  holding  office  in  California  for  years, 
went  south  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  to 
fight  in  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy,  and 
among  these  was  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston, 
who  had  been  superseded  in  the  command  of 
the  Pacific  Department  by  <  .en.  Edwin  V.  Stun- 
ner. Johnston,  with  a  number  of  fellow  sym- 
pathizers, went  south  b)  the  overland  route  and 
was  killed  a  year  later,  at  the  batik-  of  Shiloh, 
while  in  command  of  the  Confederate  army. 

One     form     of     disloyally     among     the    class 

known   as  "copperheads"    (northern    men  with 

rn  principles)  was  the  advocacy  of  a  Pa- 


cific republic.  Most  prominent  among  these 
was  ex-Governor  John  B.  W'eller.  The  move- 
ment was  a  thinly  disguised  method  of  aiding 
the  southern  Confederacy.  The  flag  of  the 
inchoate  Pacific  republic  was  raised  in  Stock- 
ton January  16,  1861.  It  is  thus  described  by 
the  Stockton  Argus:  "The  flag  is  of  silk  of  the 
medium  size  of  the  national  ensign  and  with 
the  exception  of  the  Union  (evidently  a  mis- 
nomer in  this  case)  which  contains  a  lone  star 
upon  a  blue  ground,  is  covered  by  a  painting 
representing  a  wild  mountain  scene,  a  huge 
grizzly  bear  standing  in  the  foreground  and  the 
words  'Pacific  Republic'  near  the  upper  border." 
The  flag  raising  was  not  a  success.  At  first  it 
was  intended  to  raise  it  in  the  city.  But  as  it 
became  evident  this  would  not  be  allowed,  it  was 
raised  to  the  mast  head  of  a  vessel  in  the  slough. 
It  was  not  allowed  to  float  there  long.  The  hal- 
yards were  cut  and  a  boy  was  sent  up  the  mast 
to  pull  it  down.  The  owner  of  the  flag  was  con- 
vinced that  it  was  not  safe  to  trifle  with  the 
loyal  sentiment  of  the  people. 

At  the  gubernatorial  election  in  September, 
1863,  Frederick  F.  Low,  Republican,  was 
chosen  over  John  G.  Downey,  Democrat,  by  a 
majority  of  over  twenty  thousand.  In  some  parts 
of  the  state  Confederate  sympathizers  were 
largely  in  the  majority.  This  was  the  case  in 
Los  Angeles  and  in  some  places  in  the  San 
Joaquin  valley.  Several  of  the  most  outspoken 
were  arrested  and  sent  to  Fort  Alcatraz,  where 
they  soon  became  convinced  of  the  error  of 
their  ways  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance. 
When  the  news  of  the  assassination  of  Lincoln 
reached  San  Francisco,  a  mob  destroyed  the 
newspaper  plants  of  the  Democratic  Press. 
edited  by  Beriah  Brown  ;  the  Occidental,  edited 
by  Zach.  Montgomery:  the  News  Letter,  edited 
by  F.  Marriott,  and  the  Monitor,  a  Catholic 
paper,  edited  by  Thomas  A.  Brady.  These  were 
virulent  copperhead  sheets  that  had  heaped 
abuse  upon  the  martyred  president.  Had  the 
proprietors  of  these  journals  been  found  the 
mob  would,  in  the  excitement  that  prevailed, 
have  treated  them  with  violence.  After  this 
demonstration  Confederate  sympathizers  kept 
silent. 


>  alifornia. 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 


TRADE,  TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION. 


THE  beginning  of  the  ocean  commerce  of 
California  was  the  two  mission  transport 
ships  that  came  every  year  to  bring  sup- 
plies for  the  missions  and  presidios  and  take 
back  what  few  products  there  were  to  send. 
The  government  fixed  a  price  upon  each  and 
every  article  of  import  and  export.  There  was 
no  cornering  the  market,  no  bulls  or  bears  in 
the  wheat  pit,  no  rise  or  fall  in  prices  except 
when  ordered  by  royal  authority.  An  Arancel 
de  Precios  (fixed  rate  of  prices)  was  issued  at 
certain  intervals,  and  all  buying  and  selling  was 
governed  accordingly.  These  arancels  include  1 
everything  in  the  range  of  human  needs — phys- 
ical, spiritual  or  mental.  According  to  a  tariff 
of  prices  promulgated  by  Governor  Fages  in 
1788,  which  had  been  approved  by  the  audencia 
and  had  received  the  royal  sanction,  the  price 
of  a  Holy  Christ  in  California  was  fixed  at 
$1.75,  a  wooden  spoon  six  cents,  a  horse  $9,  a 
deerskin  twenty-five  cents,  red  pepper  eighteen 
cents  a  pound,  a  dozen  of  quail  twenty-five 
cents,  brandy  seventy-five  cents  per  pint,  and 
so  on  throughout  the  list. 

In  1785  an  attempt  was  made  to  open  up 
trade  between  California  and  China,  the  com- 
modities for  exchange  being  seal  and  otter 
skins  for  quicksilver.  The  trade  in  peltries  was 
to  be  a  government  monopoly.  The  skins  were 
to  be  collected  from  the  natives  by  the  mission 
friars,  who  were  to  sell  them  to  a  government 
agent  at  prices  ranging  from  $2.50  to  Sin  each. 
The  neophytes  must  give  up  to  the  friars  all 
the  skins  in  their  possession.  All  trade  by  citi- 
zens or  soldiers  was  prohibited  ami  any  one 
attempting  to  deal  in  peltries  otherwise  than 
the  regularly  ordained  authorities  was  liable,  if 
found  out,  to  have  his  goods  confiscated. 
Spain's  attempt  to  engage  in  the  fur  trade  was 
not  a  success.  The  blighting  monopoly  of 
church  and  state  nipped  it   in  the  bud.     It  died 


out,  and  the  government  bought  quicksilver, 
on  which  also  it  had  a  monop  >ly,  with  coin  in- 
stead of  otter  skins. 

After  the  government  abandoned  the  fur  trade 
the  American  smugglers  began  to  gather  up 
the  peltries,  and  the  California  producer  re- 
ceived better  prices  for  his  furs  than  the  mis- 
sionaries paid. 

The  Yankee  smuggler  had  no  arancel  of 
prices  fixed  by  royal  edict.  His  price  ICt  va- 
ried according  to  circumstances.  As  his  trade 
was  illicit  and  iiis  vessel  and  her  cargo  were  in 
danger  of  confiscation  if  he  was  caught,  his  scale 
of  prices  ranged  high.  But  he  paid  a  higher 
price  for  the  peltries  than  the  government,  and 
that  was  a  consolation  to  the  seller.  The  com- 
merce with  the  Russian  settlements  of  the 
northwest  in  the  early  years  of  the  century  fur- 
nished a  limited  market  for  the  grain  produced 
at  some  of  the  missions,  hut  the  Russians 
helped  themselves  to  the  otter  and  the  seal  of 
California  without  saying  "By  your  leave"  and 
they  were  not  welcome  visitors. 

During  the  -Mexican  revolution,  as  has  been 
previously  mentioned,  trade  sprang  up  !>< 
Lima  and  California  in  tallow,  but  it  was  of 
short  duration  During  the  Spanish  era  it  can 
hardly  be  said  that  California  had  air 
merce.  Foreign  vessels  were  not  allowed  to 
enter  her  ports  except  when  in  distress,  anil 
their  stay  was  limited  to  the  sin  rtesl  time  pos 
sible  required  to  make  repairs  and  take  on 
supplies. 

It  was  not  until  Mexico  gained  her  inde- 
pendence ami  removed  the  pi  scriptive  regu- 
lations with  which  Spain  had  hampered  com- 
merce that  t1]-  rs  opened  up  trade 
between  New  England  and 'California.  This 
trade,  which  b  ■  ■  grew  t .  •  consider- 
able prop  irtii  n~  Tlie  hide  droghers  were  emi- 
grant -hips  as  well  as  mercantile  vessels.     By 


212 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


these  came  most  of  the  Americans  who  settled 
in  California  previous  to  1840.  The  hide  and 
tallow  trade,  the  most  important  item  of  com- 
merce in  the  Mexican  era,  reached  its  maximum 
in  [834,  when  the  great  mission  herds  were,  by 
order  of  the  padres,  slaughtered  to  prevent  them 
from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  government 
commissioners.  Thirty-two  vessels  came  to  the 
coast  that  year,  marly  all  of  which  were  en- 
gaged  in   the   hide  and   tallow  trade. 

During  the  year  1845,  the  last  of  Mexican 
rule,  sixty  vessels  visited  the  coast.  These 
were  not  all  trading  vessels;  eight  were  men- 
of-war,  twelve  were  whalers  and  thirteen  came 
on  miscellaneous  business.  The  total  amount 
received  at  the  custom  house  for  revenue  during 
that  year  was  $140,000.  The  majority  of  the 
vessels  trading  on  the  California  coast  during 
the  Mexican  era  sailed  under  the  stars  and 
stripes.  Mexico  was  kinder  to  California  than 
Spain,  and  under  her  administration  commer- 
cial relations  were  established  to  a  limited  ex- 
lent  with  foreign  nations.  Her  commerce  at 
best  was  feeble  and  uncertain.  The  revenue  laws 
and  their  administration  were  frequently 
changed,  and  the  shipping  merchant  was  never 
sure  wiiat  kind  of  a  reception  his  cargo  would 
receive  from  the  custom  house  officers.  The 
duties  on  imports  from  foreign  countries  were 
exorbitant  and  there  was  always  more  or  less 
smuggling  carried  on.  The  people  and  the 
padres,  when  they  were  a  power,  gladly  wel- 
comed the  arrival  of  a  trading  vessel  on  the 
coast  and  were  not  averse  to  buying  goods  that 
had  escaped  the  tariff  if  they  could  do  so  with 
safety.  As  there  was  no  land  tax,  the  revenue 
on  goods  supported  the  expenses  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

Never  in  the  world's  history  did  any  country 
develop  an  ocean  commerce  so  quickly  as  did 
California  after  the  discovery  of  gold.  When 
the  news  spread  abroad,  the  first  ships  to 
arrive  came  from  Peru,  Chile  and  the  South 
Sea  islands.  The  earliesl  published  notice  oi 
the  gold  discovery  appeared  in  the  Baltimore 
Sun,  September  jo,  [848,  eight  months  after  it 
was  made.  At  first  the  Story  was  ridiculed,  hut 
as  confirmatory  reports  came  thick  and  fast, 
preparations    began    for    a    grand    rush    for    the 


gold  mines.  Vessels  of  all  kinds,  seaworthy 
and  unseaworthy,  were  overhauled  and  fitted 
out  for  California'.  The  American  trade  with 
California  had  gone  by  way  of  Cape  Horn  or 
the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  this  was  the  route 
that  was  taken  by  the  pioneers.  Then  there 
were  short  cuts  by  the  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  across  Mexico  and  by  Nicaragua.  The 
first  vessels  left  the  Atlantic  seaports  in  No- 
vember, 1848.  By  the  middle  of  the  winter  one 
hundred  vessels  had  sailed  from  Atlantic  and 
Gulf  seaports,  and  by  spring  one  hundred  and 
fifty  more  had  taken  their  departure,  all  of  them 
loaded  with  human  freight  and  with  supplies  of 
every  description.  Five  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  vessels  arrived  in  San  Francisco  in  nine 
months,  forty-five  reaching  that  port  in  one  day. 
April  12,  1848,  before  the  treaty  of  peace 
with  Mexico  had  been  proclaimed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company  was 
incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $500,000.  Asto- 
ria. (  >rc.,  was  to  have  been  the  Pacific  terminus 
of  the  company's  line,  but  it  never  got  there 
The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  made  San 
Francisco  the  end  of  its  route.  The  contract 
with  the  government  gave  the  company  a  sub- 
sidy of  $200,000  for  maintaining  three  steamers 
on  the  Pacific  side  between  Panama  and  Asto- 
ria. The  first  of  these  vessels,  the  California, 
sailed  from  New  York  October  6,  1848,  for  San 
Francisco  and  Astoria  via  Cape  Horn.  She 
was  followed  in  the  two  succeeding  months  by 
the  <  (regon  and  the  Panama.  On  the  Atlantic 
side  the  vessels  of  the  line  for  several  years 
were  the  (  >hio,  Illinois  and  Georgia.  The  ves- 
sels 011  the  Atlantic  side  were  fifteen  hundred 
tons  burden,  while  those  on  the  Pacific  were  a 
thousand  tons.  Freight  and  passengers  by  the 
Panama  route  were  transported  across  the  isth- 
mus by  boats  up  the  Chagres  river  to  Gorgona, 
and  then  by  mule-back  to  Panama.  In  1855  the 
Panama  railroad  was  completed.  This  greatly 
facilitated  travel  and  transportation.  The  At- 
lantic terminus  of  the  road  was  Aspinwall,  now 
called  1  1  >  1  <  m. 

Another  hue  of  travel  and  commerce  between 
the  states  and  California  in  early  days  was  the 
Nicaragua  route.  By  that  route  passengers  on 
the  Atlantic  side  landed  at  San  Juan  del   Norte 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


213 


or  Greytown.  From  there  they  took  a  river 
steamer  and  ascended  the  Rio  San  Juan  to  Lake 
Nicaragua,  then  in  a  larger  vessel  the)  crossed 
the  lake  to  La  Virgin.  From  there  a  distance 
of  about  twelve  miles  was  made  on  foot  or  on 
mule-back  to  San  Juan  del  Sur,  where  they  re- 
embarked  on  board  the  ocean  steamer  for  San 
Francisco. 

The  necessity  for  the  speed)'  shipment  of  mer- 
chandise to  California  before  the  days  of  trans- 
continental railroads  at  a  minimum  cost  evolved 
the  clipper  ship.  These  vessels  entered  quite 
early  into  the  California  trade  and  soon  displaced 
the  short,  clumsy  vessels  of  a  few  hundred  tons 
burden  that  took  from  six  to  ten  months  to 
make  a  voyage  around  the  Horn.  The  clipper 
ship  Flying  Cloud,  which  arrived  at  San  Fran- 
cisco in  August,  185 1,  made  the  voyage  from 
Xew  York  in  eighty-nine  days.  These  vessels 
were  built  long  and  narrow  and  carried  heavy- 
sail.  Their  capacity  ranged  from  one  to  two 
thousand  tons  burden.  The  overland  railroads 
took  away  a  large  amount  of  their  business. 

Capt.  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  as  previously  stated, 
was  the  real  pathfinder  of  the  western  moun- 
tains and  plains.  He  marked  out  the  route 
from  Salt  Lake  by  way  of  the  Rio  Virgin,  the 
Colorado  and  the  Cajon  Pass  to  Los  Angeles 
in  [826.  This  route  was  extensively  traveled 
by  the  belated  immigrants  of  the  early  '50s. 
Those  reaching  Salt  Lake  City  too  late  in  the 
season  to  cross  the  Sierra  Nevadas  turned 
southward  and  entered  California  by  Smith's 
trail. 

The  early  immigration  to  California  came  by 
way  of  Fort  Hall.  From  there  it  turned  south- 
erly. At  Fort  Hall  the  Oregon  and  California 
immigrants  separated.  The  disasters  that  be- 
fell the  Donner  party  were  broughl  upon  them 
by  their  taking  the  Hastings  cut-oft',  which  was 
represented  to  them  as  saving  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles.  It  was  shorter,  but  the  time  spent 
in  making  a  wagon  road  through  a  rough  coun- 
try delayed  them  until  they  were  caught  by  the 
snows  in  the  mountain-;.  Lassen's  cut-off  was 
another  rout-?  that  broughl  disaster  and  delays 
to  many  of  the  immigrants  who  were  induced 
to  take  it.     The  route  up  the  Platte  through  the 


South  Pass  of  the  Rocky  mountains  and  down 
the  Humboldt  received  by  far  the  larger  amount 
of  travel. 

The  old  Santa  Fe  trail  from  Independence  to 
Santa  Fe,  and  from  there  by  the  old  Spanish 
trail  around  the  north  bank  of  the  Colorado 
across  the  Rio  Virgin  down  the  Mojave  river 
and  through  the  Cajon  Pass  to  Los  Angeles, 
was  next  in  importance.  Another  route  by 
which  much  of  the  southern  emigration  came 
was  what  was  known  as  the  Gila  route.  It 
started  at  Fort  Smith,  Ark.,  thence  via  El  Paso 
and  Tucson  and  down  the  Gila  to  Yuma,  thence 
across  the  desert  through  the  San  Gorgono 
Pass  to  Los  Angeles.  In  1852  it  was  estimated 
one  thousand  wagons  came  by  this  route.  There 
was  another  route  still  further  south  than  this 
which  passed  through  the  northern  states  of 
Mexico,  but  it  was  not  popular  on  account  of 
the  hostility  of  the  Mexicans  and  the  Apaches. 

The  first  overland  stage  line  was  established 
in  1857.  The  route  extended  from  San  Antonio 
de  Bexar,  Tex.,  to  San  Diego,  via  El  Paso,  Mes- 
siilo,  Tucson  and  Colorado  City  (now  Yuma). 
The  service  was  twice  a  month.  The  contract 
was  let  to  James  E.  Burch,  the  Postal  Depart- 
ment reserving  "the  right  to  curtail  or  discon- 
tinue the  service  should  any  route  subsequently 
put  under  contract  cover  the  whole  or  any  por- 
tion of  the  route."  The  San  Diego  Herald, 
August  t2,  1857.  thus  notes  the  departure  of  the 
first  mail  by  that  route:  "The  pioneer  mail 
train  from  San  Diego  to  San  Antonio.  Tex., 
under  the  contract  entered  into  by  the  govern- 
ment with  Mr.  James  Burch,  left  here  on  the 
9th  inst.  (August  o,  [857)  at  an  early  hour  in 
the  morning,  and  is  now  pushing  its  way  for  the 
east  at  a  rapid  rate.  The  mail  was  of  course 
carried  on  pack  animals,  as  will  be  the  case 
until  wagons  which  are  being  pushed  across  will 
have  been  put   on  the  line.      *  :      The  first 

mail  from  the  other  side  has  not  yel  arrived, 
although  somewhat  overdue,  and  conjecture  is 
rife  as  to  the  cause  of  the  delay."  The  eastern 
mail  arrived  a  few  days  later. 

The  service  continued  to  improve,  and  the 
fifth  trip  from  the  eastern  terminus  to  San 
Diego    "was    made    in    the    extraordinary    short 


HISTORICAL   AXD   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


time  of  twenty-six  'lays  and  twelve  hours,"  and 
the  San  Diego  Herald  on  this  arrival,  October 
6,  [857,  rushed  out  an  extra  "announcing  the 
ver)  gratifying  fact  of  the  complete  triumph  of 
the  southern  route  notwithstanding  the  croak- 
1  many  of  the  opponents  of  the  adminis- 
tration in  this  state."  But  the  "triumph  of  the 
southern  route"  was  of  short  duration.  In 
September,  1858,  the  stages  of  the  Butterfield 
line  began  making  their  semi-weekly  trips. 
This  route  from  its  western  terminus,  San  Fran- 
cisco, came  down  the  coast  to  Gilroy,  thence 
through  Pacheco  Pass  to  the  San  Joaquin  val- 
ley, up  the  valley  and  by  way  of  Fort  Tejon  to 
1  os  Angeles;  from  there  eastward  by  Temecula 
and  Warner's  to  Yuma,  thence  following  very 
nearly  what  is  now  the  route  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  through  Arizona  and  Xew  Mex- 
ico to  El  Paso,  thence  turning  northward  to 
Fort  Smith,  Ark.  There  the  route  divided,  one 
branch  going  to  St.  Louis  and  the  other  to 
Memphis.  The  mail  route  from  San  Antonio 
to  San  Diego  was  discontinued. 

The  Butterfield  stage  line  was  <mc  of  the  long- 
est continuous  lines  ever  organized.  Its  length 
was  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty 
miles.  It  began  operation  in  September.  [858. 
'I  be  first  stage  from  the  east  reached  Los 
Angeles  October  7  and  San  Francisco  October 
to.  A  mass-meeting  was  held  at  San  Francisco 
the  evening  of  October  11  "for  the  purpose  of 
expressing  the  sense  entertained  by  the  people 
of  the  city  of  the  great  benefits  she  is  to  re- 
ceive  from  the  establishment  of  the  overland 
mail."  Col.  J.  B.  Crocket  acted  as  president 
and  Frank  M.  Pixley  as  secretary.  The  speaker 
of  ili.'  evening  in  his  enthusiasm  said:  "In  my 
opinion  one  of  the  greatesl  blessings  that  could 
befall  Califi  rnia  would  be  to  discontinue  at  or.ee 
all  communication  by  steamer  between  San 
Francisco  and  New  York.  <  m  yesterday  we 
received  advices  from  New  York,  New  Orleans 
and  St.  Louis  in  less  than  twenty-four  days  via 
I  I  Paso.  Nexl  to  the  discovery  of  gold  this  is 
th"  mosi  importanl  fad  yel  developed  in  the 
Iu'sti  rj  of  California."  W.  L.  Ormsby,  special 
ml.  11!  -if  the  Vew  York  Herald,  the 
1  1  only  through  passenger  by  the  over- 


land mail  coming  in  three  hours  less  than 
twenty-lour  days,  was  introduced  to  the  audi- 
ence and  was  greeted  with  terrific  applause.  He 
gave  a  description  of  the  route  and  some  inci- 
dents of  the  journey. 

The  government  gave  the  Butterfield  com- 
pany a  subsidy  of  $600,000  a  year  for  a  service 
of  two  mail  coaches  each  way  a  week.  In  1859 
the  postal  revenue  from  this  route  was  only 
$27,000,  leaving  Uncle  Sam  more  than  half  a 
million  dollars  out  of  pocket.  At  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Civil  war  the  southern  overland  mail 
route  was  discontinued  and  a  contract  was  made 
with  Butterfield  for  a  six-times-a-week  mail  by 
the  central  route  via  Salt  Lake  City,  with  a 
branch  line  to  Denver.  The  eastern  terminus 
was  at  first  St.  Joseph,  but  on  account  of  the 
war  it  was  changed  to  Omaha.  The  western 
terminus  was  Placerville,  Cab,  time  twenty 
days  for  eight  months,  and  twenty-three  days 
for  the  remaining  four  months.  The  contract 
was  for  three  years  at  an  annual  subsidy  of 
$1,000,000.  The  last  overland  stage  contract 
for  carrying  the  mails  was  awarded  to  Wells, 
Fargo  &  Co.,  October  1,  1868,  for  $1,750,000 
per  annum,  with  deductions  for  carriage  by  rail- 
way. The  railway  was  rapidly  reducing  the  dis- 
tance of  stage  travel. 

The  only  inland  commerce  during  the  Mexi- 
can era  was  a  few  bands  of  mules  sold  to  New- 
Mexican  traders  and  driven  overland  to  Santa 
Fe  by  the  old  Spanish  trail  and  one  band  of 
cattle  sold  to  the  Oregon  settlers  in  1837  and 
driven  by  the  coast  route  to  Oregon  City.  The 
Californians  had  no  desire  to  open  up  an  inland 
trade  with  their  neighbors  and  the  traders  and 
trappers  who  came  overland  were  not  welcome. 

After  the  discovery  of  gold,  freighting  to  the 
mines  became  an  important  business.  Supplies 
had  to  be  taken  bj  pack  trains  and  wagons. 
Freight  charges  were  excessively  high  at  first. 
!n  [848,  "it  cost  $5  to  carry  a  hundred  pounds 
of  goods  from  Sutter's  Fort  to  the  lower 
mines,  a  distance  of  twenty  miles,  and  $10  per 
hundred  weight  for  freight  to  the  upper  mines, 
a  distance  of  forty  miles.  Two  horses  can  draw 
one  thousand  live  hundred  pounds."  In  Decem- 
ber.    [849,    the    loads    were    almost    impassable 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


and  teamsters  were  charging  from  $40  to  $50  a 
hundred  pounds  for  hauling  freight  from  Sacra- 
mento to  Mormon  Island. 

In  1855  an  inland  trade  was  opened  up  be- 
tween Los  Angeles  and  Salt  Lake  City.  The 
first  shipment  was  made  by  Banning  and  Alex- 
ander. The  wagon  train  consisted  of  fifteen 
ten-mule  teams  heavily  freighted  with  merchan- 
dise. The  venture  was  a  success  financially. 
The  train  left  Los  Angeles  in  May  and  returned 
in  September,  consuming  four  months  in  the 
journey.  The  trade  increased  and  became  quite 
an  important  factor  in  the  business  of  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  state.  In  1859  sixty  wagons 
were  loaded  for  Salt  Lake  in  the  month  of 
January,  and  in  March  of  the  same  year  one 
hundred  and  fifty  loaded  with  goods  were  sent 
to  the  Mormon  capital.  In  1865  and  1866  there 
was  a  considerable  shipment  of  goods  from  Los 
Angeles  to  Idaho  and  Montana  by  wagon  trains. 
These  trains  went  by  way  of  Salt  Lake.  This 
trade  was  carried  on  during  the  winter  months 
when  the  roads  over  the  Sierras  and  the  Rocky 
mountains  were  blocked  with  snow. 

Freighting  by  wagon  train  to  Washoe  funned 
a  very  important  part  of  the  inland  commerce 
of  California  between  1850  and  1869.  The  im- 
mense freight  wagons  called  "prairie  schooners" 
carried  almost  as  much  as  a  freight  car.  The 
old-time  teamster,  like  the  old-time  stage  driver, 
was  a  unique  character.  Both  have  disappeared. 
Their  occupation  is  gone.  We  shall  never  look 
on  their  like  again. 

The  pony  express  rider  came  early  in  the  his- 
tory of  California.  Away  back  in  1775.  when 
the  continental  congress  made  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin postmaster-general  of  the  United  Colonies, 
on  the  Pacific  coast  soldier  couriers,  fleet 
mounted,  were  carrying  their  monthly  budgets 
of  mail  between  Monterey  in  Alta  California, 
and  Loreto,  near  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
peninsula  of  Lower  California,  a  distance  of  one 
thousand  five  hundred  miles. 

In  the  winter  of  1859-60  a  Wall  street  lobby 
was  in  Washington  trying  to  get  an  appropria- 
tion of  $5,000,000  for  carrying  the  mails  one 
year  between  Xew  York  and  San  Francisco. 
William  II.  Russell,  of  the  linn  of  Russell,  Ma- 


jors &  Waddell,  then  engaged  in  running  a 
daily  stage  line  between  the  Missouri  river  and 
Salt  Lake  City,  hearing  of  the  lobby's  efforts, 
offered  to  bet  $200,000  that  he  could  put  on  a 
mail  line  between  San  Francisco  and  St.  Joseph, 
that  could  make-  the  distance,  one  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  in  ten  days.  The  wager 
was  accepted.  Russell  and  his  business  man- 
ager, A.  B.  Miller,  an  old  plains  man,  bought 
the  fleetest  horses  they  could  find  in  the  west 
and  employed  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
riders  selected  with  reference  to  their  light 
weight  and  courage.  It  was  essential  that  the 
horses  should  be  loaded  as  lightly  as  possible. 
The  horses  were  stationed  from  ten  to  twenty 
miles  apart  and  each  rider  was  required  to  ride 
seventy-five  miles.  For  change  of  horses  and 
mail  bag  two  minutes  were  allowed,  at  each 
station.  One  man  took  care  of  the  two  horses 
kept  there.  Everything  being  arranged  a  start 
was  made  from  St.  Joseph,  April  3,  i860.  The 
bet  was  to  be  decided  on  the  race  eastward.  At 
meridian  on  April  3.  [860,  a  signal  gun  on  a 
steamer  at  Sacramento  proclaimed  the  hour  of 
starting.  At  that  signal  Mr.  Miller's  private 
saddle  horse,  Border  Ruffian,  with  his  rider 
bounded  away  toward  the  foothills  of  the  Sierra 
Xevadas.  The  first  twenty  miles  were  covered 
in  forty-nine  minutes.  All  went  well  till  the 
riatte  river  was  reached.  The  river  was  swollen 
by  recent  rain.  Rider  and  horse  plunged  boldly 
into  it,  but  the  horse  mired  in  the  quicksands 
and  was  drowned.  The  rider  carrying  the  mail 
bag  footed  it  ten  miles  to  the  next  relax  sta- 
tion. When  the  courier  arrived  at  the  sixty- 
mile  station  out  from  St.  Joseph  he  was  one 
hour  behind  time.  The  last  one  had  just  three 
hours  and  thirty  minutes  in  which  to  make  the 
sixty  miles  and  win  the  race.  A  heavy  rain 
was  falling  and  the  mad-  were  slippery,  but 
with  six  horses  to  make  the  distance  he 
with  five  minutes  anil  a  fraction  to  spare. 
thus  was  finished  the  longest  race  for  the  larg- 
est   stake  ever  run  in   America. 

The   pony   express   requin  work 

nearly  five  hundred  horse-,  about  "lie  hundred 
and  niiiet)  stations,  twi  1  hundred  station  keepers 
and  over  a  hundred  riders.  Each  rider  usually 
rode    the   horses   on    about    sevent)  five    miles. 


216 


II!.- I.  iKJCAL    AND    I'.K  »GK  \PIIICAL    RECORD. 


but  sometimes  much  greater  distances  were 
made.  Robert  11.  Haslam,  Pony  Bob,  made  on 
one  occasion  a  continuous  ride  of  three  hundred 
and  eight v  miles  and  William  F.  Cody,  now  fa- 
mous as  Buffalo  Bill,  in  one  continuous  trip 
rode  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  miles, 
stopping  only  for  meals,  and  to  change 
horses. 

The  pony  express  was  a  semi-weekly  service. 
Fifteen  pounds  was  the  limit  of  the  weight  of 
the  waterproof  mail  bag  and  its  contents.  The 
postage  or  charge  was  $5  on  a  letter  of  half  an 
ounce.  The  limit  was  two  hundred  letters,  but 
sometimes  there  were  not  more  than  twenty  in 
a  bag.  The  line  never  paid.  The  shortest  time 
ever  made  by  the  pony  express  was  seven  days 
and  seventeen  hours.  This  was  in  March,  1861, 
when  it  carried  President  Lincoln's  message. 
At  first  telegraphic  messages  were  received  at 
St.  Joseph  up  to  five  o'clock  p.  m.  of  the  day 
of  starting  and  sent  to  San  Francisco  on  the 
express,  arriving  at  Placerville.  which  was  then 
the  eastern  terminus  of  the  line.  The  pony  ex- 
press was  suspended  October  27,  1S61,  on  the 
completion  of  the  telegraph. 

The  first  stage  line  was  established  between 
Sacramento  anil  Mormon  Island  in  September, 
1849,  fare  $16  to  $32,  according  to  times. 
Sacramento  was  the  great  distributing  point  for 
the  mines  and  was  also  the  center  from  which 
radiated  numerous  stage  lines.  In  1853  a  dozen 
lines  were  owned  there  and  the  total  capital  in- 
vested in  staging  was  estimated  at  $335,000. 
There  were  lines  running  to  Coloma,  Nevada, 
Placerville.  Georgetown,  Yankee  Jim's,  Jack- 
son, Stockton,  Shasta  and  Auburn.  In  1851 
Stockton  had  seven  daily  stages.  The  first  stage 
line  between  San  Francisco  and  San  Jose  was 
established  in  April.  1850,  fare  $32.  A  number 
of  lines  were  consolidated.  In  [860  the  Califor- 
nia stage  company  controlled  eight  lines  north- 
ward, thelongesl  extending  seven  hundred  and 
ten  miles  to  Portland  with  sixty  stations,  thirty- 
five  drivers  and  five  hundred  burses,  eleven 
drivers  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  horses  per- 
taining to  the  rest.  There  were  seven  indepen 
dent  lines  covering  four  hundred  and  sixty-four 
miles,  chiefly  east  and  south,  the  longest  to  Vir- 


ginia City.*     These  lines  disappeared  with  the 
advent  of  the  railroad. 

The  pack  train  was  a  characteristic  feature  of 
early  mining  days.  Many  of  the  mountain 
camps  were  inaccessible  to  wagons  and  the  only 
means  of  shipping  in  goods  was  by  pack  tram. 
A  pack  train  consisted  of  from  ten  to  twenty 
mules  each,  laden  with  from  two  hundred  to 
four  hundred  pounds.  The  load  was  fastened  on 
the  animal  by  means  of  a  pack  saddle  which 
was  held  in  its  place  by  a  cinch  tightly  laced 
around  the  animal's  bod}'.  The  sure-footed 
mules  could  climb  steep  grades  and  wind  round 
narrow^  trails  on  the  side  of  steep  mountains 
without  slipping  or  tumbling  over  the  cliffs. 
Mexicans  were  the  most  expert  packers. 

The  scheme  to  utilize  camels  and  dromedaries 
as  beasts  of  burden  on  the  arid  plains  of  the 
southwest  was  agitated  in  the  early  fifties.  The 
chief  promoter  if  not  the  originator  of  the 
project  was  Jefferson  Davis,  afterwards  presi- 
dent of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  During  the 
last  days  of  the  congress  of  185 1,  Mr.  Davis 
offered  an  amendment  to  the  army  appropria- 
tion bill  appropriating  $30,000  for  the  purchase 
of  thirty  camels  and  twenty  dromedaries.  The 
bill  was  defeated.  When  Davis  was  secretary 
of  war  in  [854,  congress  appropriated  $30,000 
for  the  purchase  and  importation  of  camels  and 
in  December  of  that  year  Major  C.  Wayne  was 
sent  to  Egypt  and  Arabia  to  buy  seventy-five. 
He  secured  the  required  number  and  shipped 
them  on  the  naval  store  ship  Supply.  They 
were  landed  at  Indianola,  Tex..  February  10, 
1857.  Three  had  died  on  the  voyage.  About 
half  of  the  herd  were  taken  to  Albuquerque, 
where  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Beale  for  Fort  Tejon. 
Cal.  :  the  other  half  was  employed  in  packing  on 
the  plains  of  Texas  and  in  the  Gadsen  Purchase, 
as  Southern  Arizona  was  then  called. 

It  very  soon  became  evident  that  the  camel 
experiment  would  not  be  a  success.  The  Amer- 
ican teamster  could  not  be  converted  into  an 
Arabian  camel  driver.  From  the  very  first  meet 
ing  there  was  a  mutual  antipathy  between  the 


1 861. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


American  mule  whacker  and  the  beast  of  the 
prophet.  The  teamsters  when  transformed  into 
camel  drivers  deserted  and  the  troopers  refused 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  misshapen 
beasts.  So  because  there  was  no  one  to  load 
and  navigate  these  ships  of  the  desert  their 
voyages  became  less  and  less  frequent,  until 
finally  they  ceased  altogether;  and  these  desert 
ships  were  anchored  at  the  different  forts  in 
the  southwest.  After  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  war  the  camels  at  the  forts  in  Texas  and 
New  Mexico  were  turned  loose  to  shift  for 
themselves.  Those  in  Arizona  and  California 
were  condemned  and  sold  by  the  government  to 
two  Frenchmen  who  used  them  for  packing, 
first  in  Nevada  and  later  in  Arizona,  but  tiring 
of  the  animals  they  turned  them  out  on  the 
desert.  Some  of  these  camels  or  possibly  their 
descendants  are  still  roaming  over  the  arid 
plains  of  southern  Arizona  and  Sonora. 

The  first  telegraph  was  completed  September 
it,  1853.  It  extended  from  the  business  quar- 
ter of  San  Francisco  to  the  Golden  Gate  and 
was  used  for  signalling  vessels.  The  first  long 
line  connected  Marysville,  Sacramento,  Stock- 
ton and  San  Jose.  This  was  completed  October 
24,  1853.  Another  line  about  the  same  time 
was  built  from  San  Francisco  to  Placerville  by 
way  of  Sacramento.  A  line  was  built  southward 
from  San  Jose  along  the  Butterfield  overland 
mail  route  to  Los  Angeles  in  i860.  The  Over- 
land Telegraph,  begun  in  1858,  was  completed 
November  7,  1861. 

The  first  express  for  the  States  was  sent  un- 
der the  auspices  of  the  California  Star  (news- 
paper). The  Star  of  March  I,  1848,  contained 
the  announcement  that  "We  are  about  to  send 
letters  by  express  to  the  States  at  fifty  cents 
each,  papers  twelve  and  a  half  cents;  to  start 
April  15;  any  mail  arriving  after  that  time  will 
be  returned  to  the  writers.  The  Star  refused 
to  send  copies  of  its  rival,  The  Californian,  in  its 
express. 

The  first  local  express  was  started  by  Charles 
L.  Cady  in  August,  1847.  It  left  San  Francisco 
every  Monday  and  Fort  Sacramento,  its  other 
terminus,  every  Thursday.  Letters  twenty-five 
cents.  Its  route  was  by  way  of  Saucelito,  Napa 
and  Petaluma  to  Sacramento. 


Weld  &  Co.'s  express  was  established  in  Oc- 
tober, 1849.  This  express  ran  from  San  Fran- 
cisco to  Marysville,  having  its  principal  offices 
in  San  Francisco,  Benicia  and  Sacramento.  It 
was  the  first  express  of  any  consequence  estab- 
lished in  California.  Its  name  was  changed  to 
Hawley  &  Co.'s  express.  The  first  trip  was 
made  in  the  .Mint,  a  sailing  vessel,  and  took 
six  days.  Afterward  it  was  transferred  to  the 
steamers  Hartford  and  McKim.  The  company 
paid  these  boats  $800  per  month  for  the  use  of 
one  state  room;  later  for  the  same  accommoda- 
tion it  paid  $1,500  per  month.  The  Alta  Cali- 
fornia of  January  7,  1850,  says:  "There  arc  si  > 
many  new  express  companies  daily  starting  that 
we  can  scarcely  keep  the  run  of  them." 

The  following  named  were  the  principal  com- 
panies at  that  time:  Hawley  &  Co.,  Angel, 
Young  &  Co.,  Todd,  Bryan,  Stockton  Express, 
Henly,  McKnight  &  Co.,  Brown,  Knowlton  & 
Co.  The  business  of  these  express  companies 
consisted  largely  in  carrying  letters  to  the 
mines.  The  letters  came  through  the  postoffice 
in  San  Francisco,  but  the  parties  to  whom  they 
were  addressed  were  in  the  mines.  While  the 
miner  would  gladly  give  an  ounce  to  hear  from 
home  he  could  not  make  the  trip  to  the  Bay  at 
a  loss  of  several  hundred  dollars  in  time  and 
money.  The  express  companies  obviated  this 
difficulty.  The  Alta  of  July  2j,  1850.  says:  "We 
scarcely  know  what  we  should  do  if  it  were  in >t 
for  the  various  express  lines  established  which 
enable  us  to  hold  communication  with  the  mines. 
With  the  present  defective  mail  communication 
we  should  scarcely  ever  be  able  to  hear  from 
the  towns  throughout  California  or  from  the 
remote  portions  of  the  Placers  north  or  south. 
Hawley  &  Co.,  Todd  &  Bryan  and  Besford  & 
Co.  are  three  lines  holding  communication  with 
different  sections  of  the  country.  Adams  &  Co. 
occupy  the  whole  of  a  large  building  on  Mont- 
gomery  street." 

Adams  &  Co..  established  in  1850,  soon  be- 
came the  leading  express  company  of  the  coast. 
It  absorbed  a  number  of  minor  companies.  It 
established  relays  of  the  fastesl  horses  to  carry 
the  express  to  the  mining  towns.  As  early  as 
1852  the  company's  lines  had  penetrated  the  re- 
mote  mining  camps.     Some  of  its   riders  per- 


218 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


formed  feats  in  riding  that  exceeded  the  famous 
puny  express  riders.  Isaac  W.  Elwell  made  the 
trip  between  I'lacerville  and  Sacramento  in  two 
hours  and  fifty  minutes,  distance  sixty-four 
miles;  Frank  Ryan  made  seventy-five  miles  in 
four  hours  and  twenty  minutes.  On  his  favorite 
horse.  Colonel,  he  made  twenty  miles  in  fifty- 
live  minutes.  Adams  &  Co.  carried  on  a  bank- 
ing business  and  had  branch  banks  in  all  the 
leading  mining  towns.    They  also  became  a  po- 


litical power.  In  the  great  financial  crash  of 
1855  they  failed  and  in  their  failure  ruined  thou- 
sands of  their  depositors.  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co. 
express  was  organized  in  1851.  It  weathered 
the  financial  storm  that  carried  down  Adams  & 
Co.  It  gained  the  confidence  of  the  people  of 
the  Pacific  coast  and  has  never  betrayed  it.  Its 
business  has  grown  to  immense  proportions.  It 
is  one  of  the  leading  express  companies  of  the 
world. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

RAILROADS. 


THE  agitation  of  the  Pacific  railroad  ques- 
tion began  only  two  years  after  the  first 
passenger  railway  was  put  in  operation 
in  the  United  States.  The  originator  of  the 
scheme  to  secure  the  commerce  of  Asia  by  a 
transcontinental  railway  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific  was  Ilartwell  Carver,  grandson  of 
the  famous  explorer,  Jonathan  Carver.  He 
published  articles  in  the  New  York  Courier  and 
Inquirer  in  1832  elaborating  his  idea,  and 
memorialized  congress  on  the  subject.  The 
western  terminus  was  to  be  on  the  Columbia 
river.  I  lis  road  was  to  be  made  of  stone.  There 
were  to  be  sleeping  cars  and  dining  cars  at- 
tached to  each  train.  In  1836,  John  Plumbe. 
then  a  resident  of  Dubuque,  Iowa,  advocated 
the  building  of  a  railroad  from  Lake  Michigan 
to  1  Iregon.  At  a  public  meeting  held  in  Du- 
buque. March  26.  1838,  which  Plumbe  ad- 
1,  a  memorial  to  congress  was  drafted 
"praying  for  an  appropriation  to  defray  the  ex- 
pense  of  the  survey  and  location  of  the  first  link 
in  the  greal  Atlantic  and  Pacific  railroad,  name- 
ly, from  the  lakes  to  the  Mississippi.*'  Their 
application  was  Eavorabl)  received  and  an  ap- 
propriation being  made  the  same  year,  which 
was  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  secre- 
tary of  war.  the  reporl  being  of  a  ver)  favorable 
characl 

Plumbe  received  the  indorsement  of  the  Wis- 


11  E  Califi 'Mii.u  Vol    VII.,  i>.  499. 


consin  legislature  of  1839-40  and  a  memorial 
was  drafted  to  congress  urging  the  continuance 
of  the  work.  Plumbe  went  to  Washington  to 
urge  his  project.  Put  the  times  were  out  of 
joint  for  great  undertakings.  The  financial 
panic  of  1837  had  left  the  government  revenues 
in  a  demoralized  condition.  Plumbe"s  plan  was 
to  issue  stock  to  the  amount  of  $100,000,000 
divided  in  shares  of  $5  each.  The  government 
was  to  appropriate  alternate  sections  of  the 
public  lands  along  the  line  of  the  road.  Five 
million  dollars  were  to  be  called  in  for  the  first 
installment.  After  this  was  expended  in  building, 
the  receipts  from  the  sale  of  the  lands  was  to 
continue  the  building  of  the  road.  One  hundred 
miles  were  to  be  built  each  year  and  twenty 
years  was  the  time  set  for  the  completion  of  the 
road.  A  bill  granting  the  subsidy  and  authoriz- 
ing the  building  of  the  road  was  introduced  in 
congress,  but  was  defeated  by  the  southern 
members  who  feared  that  it  would  foster  the 
growth  of  free  states. 

The  man  best  known  in  connection  with  the 
early  agitation  of  the  Pacific  railroad  scheme. 
is  Asa  Whitney,  of  New  York.  For  a  time  he 
acted  with  Carver  in  promulgating  the  project, 
I  nt  1,10k  up  a  plan  of  his  own.  Whitney  wanted 
a  strip  of  land  sixty  miles  wide  along  the  whole 
length  of  the  road,  which  would  have  given 
about  one  hundred  million  acres  of  the  public 
domain.  Whitney's  scheme  called  forth  a  great 
deal    of    discussion.       ft    was    feared    by    some 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHK  AL    RE<  i  >RD. 


!19 


timorous  souls  that  such  a  monopoly  would 
endanger  the  government  and  by  others  that 
ir  would  bankrupt  the  public  treasury.  The  agi- 
tation was  kept  up  for  several  years.  The 
acquisition  of  California  and  Xew  .Mexico  threw 
the  project  into  politics.  The  question  of  de- 
pleting the  treasury  or  giving  away  the  public 
domain  no  longer  worried  the  pro-slavery  poli- 
ticians in  congress.  The  question  that  agitated 
them  now  was  how  far  south  could  the  road 
be  deflected  so  that  it  would  enhance  the  value 
of  the  lands  over  which  they  hoped  to  spread 
their  pet  institution — human  slavery. 

Another  question  that  agitated  the  members 
of  congress  was  whether  the  road  should  be 
built  by  the  government — should  be  a  national 
road.  The  route  which  the  road  should  take 
was  fought  over  year  after  year  in  congress. 
The  south  would  not  permit  the  north  to  have 
the  road  for  fear  that  freemen  would  absorb  the 
public  lands  and  build  up  free  states.  It  was 
the  old  dog-in-the-manger  policy  so  character- 
istic of  the  southern  proslavery  politicians. 

The  California  newspapers  early  took  up  the 
discussion  and  routes  were  thick  as  leaves  in 
Valambrosa.  In  the  Star  of  May  13,  1848,  Dr. 
John  Marsh  outlines  a  route  which  was  among 
the  best  proposed:  "From  the  highest  point  on 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  to  which  seagoing 
vessels  can  ascend;  thence  up  the  valley  of  the 
San  Joaquin  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles; 
thence  through  a  low  pass  (Walker's)  to  the 
valley  of  the  Colorado  and  thence  through  Ari- 
zona and  New  Mexico  by  the  Santa  Fe  trail  to 
Independence,  Mo." 

Routes  were  surveyed  and  the  reports  of  the 
engineers  laid  before  congress;  memorials  were 
received  from  the  people  of  California  praying 
for  a  road;  bills  were  introduced  and  discussed, 
but  the  years  passed  and  the  Pacific  railroad 
was  not  begun.  Slavery,  that  "sum  of  all  vil- 
lainies." was  an  obstruction  more  impassable 
than  the  mountains  and  deserts  that  intervened 
between  the  Missouri  and  the  Pacific.  Southern 
politicians,  aided  and  abetted  by  Gwin  of  Cali- 
fornia neutralized  every  attempt. 

One  of  the  first  of  several  local  railroad 
projects  tli.it  resulted  in  something  more  than 
resolutions,  public  meetings  and  the  election  of 


a  board  of  directors  that  never  directed  any- 
thing was  tlie  building  of  a  railroad  from  San 
Francisco  to  San  Jose.  The  agitation  was  be- 
gun early  in  1850  and  by  February,  1851,  $100,- 
000  had  been  subscribed.  September  6  of  that 
year  a  company  was  organized  and  the  pro- 
jected road  given  the  high  sounding  title  of  the 
Pacific  &  Atlantic  railroad.  Attempts  were 
made  to  secure  subscriptions  for  its  stock  in 
Xew  York  and  in  Europe,  but  without  success. 
Congress  was  appealed  to,  but  gave  no  assist- 
ance and  all  that  there  was  to  the  road  for  ten 
years  was  its  name.  In  [859  a  new  organization 
was  effected  under  the  name  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco &  San  Jose  railroad  company.  An  at- 
tempt was  made  to  secure  a  subsidy  of  $900,- 
000  from  the  three  counties  through  which  the 
road  was  to  pass,  but  this  failed  and  the  corpora- 
lion  dissolved.  Another  organization,  the 
fourth,  was  effected  with  a  capital  stuck  of 
$2,000,000.  The  construction  of  the  road  was 
begun  in  October,  i860,  and  completed  to  San 
Jose  January  16,  1864. 

The  first  railroad  completed  and  put 'into  suc- 
cessful operation  in  California  was  the  Sacra- 
mento Valley  road.  It  was  originally  intended 
to  extend  the  road  from  Sacramento  through 
Placer  and  Sutter  counties  to  Mountain  City, 
in  Yuba  county,  a  distance  of  about  forty  miles. 
It  came  to  a  final  stop  at  a  little  over  half  that 
distance.  Like  the  San  lose  road  the  question 
of  building  was  agitated  several  years  before 
anything  was  really  done.  In  [853  the  company 
was  reorganized  under  the  railroad  aet  of  that 
year.  Under  the  previous  organization  sub- 
scriptions had  been  obtained.  The  Sacramento 
Union  of  September  19,  [852,  says:  "'"LI  1. 
of  the  Sacramento  Valley  railroad  company 
were  to  have  been  opened  in  San  Francisco 
Wednesday.  Upwards  of  $200,000  of  the  1 
sary  stock  has  been  subscribed  from  here." 
The  Union  of  September  24  announces.  "That 
over  $600,000  had  already  been  subscrib 
San  Francisco  and  Sacramento."  Under  the  re- 
organization a  new  board  \\  .ember 
12,  1853.  C.  L.  Wilson  was  made  president; 
F.  W.  Page,  treasurer,  and  \\".  II  V 
retary.  Theodore  I  >.  Judah,  afterwards  famous 
in  California  railroad  building,  was  employed  as 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


engineer  and  the  construction  of  the  road  began 
in  February,  1855.  It  was  completed  to  Fol- 
som  a,  distance  of  twenty-two  miles  from  Sacra- 
mento and  the  formal  opening  of  the  road  for 
business  took  place  February  22,  1856.  Accord- 
ing to  the  secretary's  report  for  1857  the  earn- 
ings of  that  year  averaged  $18,000  per  month. 
The  total  earnings  for  the  year  amounted  to 
$216,000;  the  expenses  $84,000,  leaving  a  profit 
of  $132,000.  The  cost  of  the  road  and  its  equip- 
ment was  estimated  at  $700,000.  From  this 
showing  it  would  seem  that  California's  first 
railroad  ought  to  have  been  a  paying  invest- 
ment, but  it  was  not.  Money  then  was  worth 
5  per  cent  a  month  and  the  dividends  from  the 
road  about  18  per  cent  a  year.  The  difference 
between  one  and  a  half  per  cent  and  5  per  cent 
a  month  brought  the  road  to  a  standstill. 

Ten  years  had  passed  since  California  had 
become  a  state  and  had  its  representatives  in 
congress.  In  all  these  years  the  question  of  a 
railroad  had  come  up  in  some  form  in  that  body, 
yet  the  railroad  seemingly  was  as  far  from  a 
consummation  as  it  had  been  a  decade  before. 
In  1859  the  silver  mines  of  the  Washoe  were 
discovered  and  in  the  winter  of  1859-60  the 
great  silver  rush  began.  An  almost  continuous 
stream  of  wagons,  pack  trains,  horsemen  and 
footmen  poured  over  the  Sierra  Xevadas  into 
Carson  Valley  and  up  the  slopes  of  Mount 
Davidson  to  Virginia  City.  The  main  line  of 
travel  was  by  way  of  Placerville,  through  John- 
son's Pass  to  Carson  City.  An  expensive  toll 
road  was  built  over  the  mountains  and  monster 
freight  wagons  hauled  great  loads  of  merchan- 
dise and  mill  machinery  to  the  mines.  "In  1863 
the  tolls  on  the  new  road  amounted  to  $300,000 
and  the  freight  bills  on  mills  and  merchandise 
summed  up  $13.000.0. « 1." 

The  rush  to  Washoe  gave  a  new  impetus  to 
railroad  projecting.  A  convention  of  the  whole 
coast  had  been  held  at  San  Francisco  in  Sep- 
tember, [859,  hut  nothing  came  of  it  beyond 
propositions  and  resolutions.  Early  in  [86i, 
Theodore  1".  Judah  called  a  railroad  meeting  at 
the  St.  Charles  hotel  in  Sacramento.  The  [easi 
bility   of   a    road   over   the  mountains,  the   large 


amount  of  business  that  would  come  to  that 
road  from  the  Washoe  mines  and  the  necessity 
of  Sacramento  moving  at  once  to  secure  that 
trade  were  pointed  out.  This  road  would  be  the 
beginning  of  a  transcontinental  line  and  Sacra- 
mento had  the  opportunity  of  becoming  its 
terminus.  Judah  urged  upon  some  of  the  lead- 
ing business  men  the  project  of  organizing  a 
company  to  begin  the  building  of  a  transconti- 
nental road.  The  Washoe  trade  and  travel 
would  be  a  very  important  item  in  the  business 
1  if  the  road. 

I  in  the  28th  of  June,  1861,  the  Central  Pacific 
Railroad  company  was  organized  under  the 
general  incorporation  law  of  the  state.  Leland 
Stanford  was  chosen  president.  C.  P.  Hunting- 
ton, vice-president,  Mark  Hopkins,  treasurer, 
James  Bailey,  secretary,  and  T.  D.  Judah,  chief 
engineer.  The  directors  were  those  just  named 
and  F.  B.  Crocker,  John  F.Morse,  D.  W.  Strong 
and  Charles  Marsh.  The  capital  stock  of  the 
company  was  $8,500,000  divided  into  eighty-five 
thousand  shares  of  $100  each.  The  shares  taken 
by  individuals  were  few,  Stanford,  Huntington, 
Hopkins,  Judah  and  Charles  Crocker  subscrib- 
ing for  one  hundred  and  fifty  each;  Glidden  & 
Williams,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  shares; 
Charles  A.  Lombard  and  Orville  D.  Lombard, 
three  hundred  and  twenty  shares;  Samuel 
Hooper,  Benjamin  J.  Reed,  Samuel  P.  Shaw, 
fifty  shares  each;  R.  O.  Ives,  twenty-five  shares: 
Edwin  B.  Crocker,  ten  shares;  Samuel  Bran- 
nan,  two  hundred  shares;  cash  subscriptions  of 
which  10  per  cent  was  required  by  law  to  be 
paid  down  realizing  but  a  few  thousand  dollars 
with  which  to  begin  so  important  a  work  as  a 
railroad  across  the  Sierra   Nevada.* 

The  total  amount  subscribed  was  $158,000, 
scarcely  enough  to  build  five  miles  of  road  on 
the  level  plains  if  it  had  all  been  paid  up.  None 
of  the  men  in  the  enterprise  was  rich.  Indeed. 
as  fortune.-  go  now.  none  of  them  had  more  than 
a  competence.  Charles  Crocker,  who  was  one 
of  the  best  off.  in  his  sworn  statement,  placed 
the  value  of  his  property  at  $25,000;  C.  P. 
Huntington  placed  the  value  of  his  individual 
possessions  at  $7,222,  while  Leland  Stanford  and 


'Bancroft's  History  of  California,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  54] 


Bancroft's  I  tistorj   ol   California,  Vol    VII 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


his  brother  together  owned  property  worth 
$32,950.  The  incubus  that  so  long  had  pre- 
vented building  a  Pacific  railroad  was  removed. 
The  war  of  secession  had  begun.  The  southern 
senators  and  representatives  were  no  longer  in 
congress  to  obstruct  legislation.  The  thirty- 
second  and  the  thirty-fifth  parallel  roads  south- 
ern schemes,  were  out  of  the  way  or  rather  the 
termini  of  these  roads  were  inside  the  confeder- 
ate lines. 

A  bill  'to  aid  in  the  construction  of  a  railroad 
and  telegraph  line  from  the  Missouri  river  to 
the  Pacific  ocean  and  to  secure  to  the  govern- 
ment the  use  of  the  same  for  postal,  military  and 
other  purposes  passed  both  houses  and  became 
a  law  July  1.  1862.  The  bill  provided  for  the 
building  of  the  road  by  two  companies.  The 
Union  Pacific  (which  was  to  be  a  union  of 
several  roads  already  projected)  was  given  the 
construction  of  the  road  to  the  eastern  boundary 
of  California,  where  it  would  connect  with  the 
Central  Pacific.  Government  bonds  were  to  be 
given  to  the  companies  to  the  amount  of  $i6,oao 
per  mile  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains  and 
$48,000  per  mile  through  the  mountains  when 
forty  miles  of  road  had  been  built  and  approved 
by  the  government  commissioners.  In  addition 
to  the  bonds  the  companies  were  to  receive 
"every  alternate  section  of  public  land  desig- 
nated by  odd  numbers  to  the  amount  of  five 
alternate  sections  per  mile  on  each  side  of  the 
railroad  on  the  line  thereof  and  within  the  limits 
of  ten  miles  on  each  side  of  the  road  not  sold, 
reserved  or  otherwise  disposed  of  by  the  United 
States."  Mineral  lands  were  exempted  and  any 
lands  unsold  three  years  after  the  completion  of 
the  entire  road  were  subject  to  a  preemption 
like  other  public  lands  at  a  price  not  exceeding 
$1.25  per  acre,  payable  to  the  company. 

The  government  bonds  were  a  first  mortgage 
on  the  road.  The  ceremony  of  breaking  ground 
for  the  beginning  of  the  enterprise  took  place  at 
Sacramento.  February  22,  1803,  Governor 
Stanford  throwing  the  first  shovelful  of  earth, 
and  work  was  begun  mi  the  first  eighteen  miles 
of  the  road  which  was  let  by  contract  to  be 
finished  by  August.  [863.  The  Central  Pacific 
company  was  in  hard  lines.  Its  means  were  nol 
sufficient    to   build    forty    miles    which    must    In- 


completed before  the  subsidy  could  be  received. 
In  October,  [863,  Judah  who  had  been  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  first  favorable  legislation 
set  out  a  second  time  for  Washington  to  ask 
further  assistance  from  congress.  At  New  York 
he  was  stricken  with  a  fever  and  died  there.  To 
him  more  than  any  other  man  is  due  the  credit 
of  securing  for  the  Pacific  coast  its  first  trans- 
continental railroad.  In  July,  1864,  an  amended 
act  was  passed  increasing  the  land  grant  from 
six  thousand  four  hundred  acres  to  twelve 
thousand  eight  hundred  per  mile  and  reducing 
the  number  of  miles  to  be  built  annually  from 
fifty  to  twenty-five.  The  company  was  allowed 
to  bond  its  road  to  the  same  amount  per  mile 
as  the  government  subsidy. 

The  Western  Pacific,  which  was  virtually  a 
continuation  of  the  Central  Pacific,  was  organ- 
ized in  December,  1862,  for  the  purpose  of 
building  a  railroad  from  Sacramento  via  Stock- 
ton to  San  Jose.  A  branch  of  this  line  was 
constructed  from  Niles  to  Oakland,  which  was 
made  the  terminus  of  the  Central  Pacific.  The 
Union  Pacific  did  not  begin  construction  until 
1865,  while  the  Central  Pacific  had  forty-four 
miles  constructed.  In  1X67  the  Central  Pacific 
had  reached  the  state  line.  It  had  met  with 
many  obstacles  in  the  shape  of  lawsuits  and 
unfavorable  comments  by  the  press.  From  the 
state  line  it  pushed  out  through  Nevada  and 
on  the  28th  of  April,  [869,  the  two  companies 
met  with  their  completed  roads  at  Promontory 
Point  in  Utah,  fifty-three  miles  west  of  (  igden. 
The  ceremony  of  joining  the  two  roads  took 
place  May  10.  The  last  tie,  a  handsomely  fin- 
ished piece  of  California  laurel,  was  laid  and 
Governor  Stanford  with  a  silver  hammer  drove 
a  golden  spikr.  The  two  locomotives,  one 
from  the  east  and  one  from  the  west,  bumped 
noses  and  the  first  transcontinental  railroad 
was  completed. 

The  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  company  of 
California  was  incorporated  in  December,  [865. 
It  was  incorporated  to  build  a  railroad  from 
some  point  on  the  l>a\  of  San  Francisco  through 
the  counties  of  Santa  Clara.  Monterey,  San 
Puis  Obispo,  Tulare,  Los  Angeles  to  San 
DiegO  and  thence  easterly  through  San 
to    the   eastern    boundary   of   the    state   there   to 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


connect    with   a    railroad    from   the    Mississippi 
river. 

"In  |ulv.  1866,  congress  granted  to  the  At- 
lantic ami  Pacific  Radroad  company  to  aid  in 
the  construction  of  its  road  and  telegraph  line 
from  Springfield,  Mo.,  by  the  most  eligible  route 
to  Albuquerque  in  New  Mexico  and  thence  by 
the  thirty-fifth  parallel  route  to  the  Pacific,  an 
amount  of  land  equal  to  that  granted  to  the  ■ 
Central  Pacific.  By  this  act  the  Southern  Pa- 
cific Railroad  was  authorized  to  connect  with 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  near  the  boundary  line 
of  California,  at  such  point  as  should  be  deemed 
most  suitable  by  the  companies  and  should  have 
therefore  the  same  amount  of  land  per  mile  as 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific."* 

In  1S67  the  Southern  Pacific  company  de- 
cided to  change  its  route  and  instead  of  build- 
ing down  through  the  coast  counties  to  go  east- 
ward from  Gilroy  through  Pacheco's  pass  into 
the  upper  San  Joaquin  valley  through  Fresno, 
Kern  and  San  Bernardino  to  the  Colorado  river 
near  Fort  Mojave.  This  contemplated  change 
left  the  lower  coast  counties  out  in  the  cold  and 
caused  considerable  dissatisfaction,  and  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  prevent  it  from  getting  a 
land  subsidy.  Congress,  however,  authorized 
the  change,  as  did  the  California  legislature  of 
1870,  and  the  road  secured  the  land. 

The  San  Francisco  and  San  Jose  Railroad 
came  into  possession  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
company,  San  Francisco  donating  three  thou- 
sand shares  of  stock  in  that  road  on  condition 
that  the  Southern  Pacific  company,  after  it  se- 
cured the  San  Jose  road,  should  extend  it  to 
the  southeastern  boundary  of  the  state.  In  1869 
a  proposition  was  made  to  the  supervisors  of 
San  I  rani  isco  to  donate  $1,0  0,0  10  in  bonds  of 
the  city  to  the  Southern  Pacific  company,  on 
condition  that  it  build  two  hundred  miles  south 
from  Gilroy,  the  bonds  to  be  delivered  mi  the 
completion  and  stocking  of  each  section  .if  fifty 
lii>  bonds  were  vi  ited  by  the 
people  of  the  city.  The  road  was  built  to 
I.  seventy  miles  iron  Gilroy,  and  then 
stopped.  The  different  branch  roads  in  the  San 
nd   Salinas   vallev    were  all   consolidated 


.ft,  VII  ,  p    594 


under  the  name  of  the  Southern  Pacific.  The 
Central  Pacific  and  the  Southern  Pacific,  al- 
though apparently  different  organizations,  were 
really  one  company. 

The  Southern  Pacific  built  southward  from 
Lathrop,  a  station  on  the  Central  Pacific's  line, 
a  railroad  up  the  valley  by  way  of  Tehachapi 
Pass  to  Los  Angeles.  While  this  road  was  in 
course  of  construction  in  1872  a  proposition  was 
made  to  the  people  of  Los  Angeles  through  the 
county  board  of  supervisors  to  vote  a  subsidy 
equal  to  5  per  cent  of  the  entire  amount  of  the 
taxable  property  of  the  county  on  condition  that 
the  Southern  Pacific  build  fifty  miles  of  its  main 
line  to  Yuma  in  the  county.  Tart  of  the  subsidy 
was  to  be  paid  in  bonds  of  the  Los  Angeles  & 
San  Pedro  Railroad,  amounting  to  $377,000  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  for  depot  purposes.  The 
total  amount  of  subsidy  to  be  given  was  $610,- 
000.  The  proposition  was  accepted  by  the 
people,  the  railroad  company  in  addition  to  its 
original  offer  agreeing  to  build  a  branch  road 
twenty-seven  miles  long  to  Anaheim.  This  was 
done  to  head  off  the  Tom  Scott  road  which 
had  made  a  proposition  to  build  a  branch  road 
from  San  Diego  to  Los  Angeles  to  connect  with 
the  Texas  Pacific  road  which  the  year  before 
had  been  granted  a  right  of  way  from  Marshall, 
Tex.,  to  San  Diego,  and  was  preparing  to  build 
its  road.  The  Southern  Pacific  completed  its 
road  to  Los  Angeles  in  September,  1876,  and 
reached  the  Colorado  river  on  its  way  east  in 
April,  1S77.  It  obtained  the  old  franchise  of  the 
Texas  Pacific  and  continued  its  road  eastward 
to  El  Paso,  Tex.,  where  it  made  connections 
with  roads  to  Xew  Orleans  and  other  points 
south  and  east,  thus  giving  California  its  second 
transcontinental  railroad.  This  road  was  com- 
pleted to  El  Paso  in   [881. 

Ihe  Atlantic  &  Pacific  road  with  which  the 
Southern  Pacific  was  to  connect  originally, 
suffered  from  the  financial  crash  of  1873  and 
suspended  operations  for  a  time.  Later  it  en- 
tered into  a  combination  with  the  Atchison.  To- 
pe ka  &  Santa  Fe  and  St.  Louis  &  San  Francisco 
railroad  companies.  This  gave  the  Atchison 
road  a  half  interest  in  the  charter  of  the  Atlantic 
&  Pacific,  fhe  two  companies  built  a  main  line 
jointly  from  Albuquerque  (where  the  Atchison 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


223 


road  ended)  west  to  the  Colorado  river  at  the 
Needles.  Their  intention  was  to  continue  the 
road  to  Los  Angeles  and  San  Francisco. 

The  California  Southern  and  the  California 
Southern  Extension  companies  were  organized 
to  extend  the  Atlantic  &  Pacific  from  Barstow 
to  San  Diego.  These  companies  consolidated 
and  completed  a  road  from  San  Diego  to  San 
Bernardino  September  13,  1883.  The  Southern 
Pacific  interfered.  It  attempted  to  prevent  the 
California  Southern  from  crossing  its  tracks  at 
Colton  by  placing  a  heavy  engine  at  the  point 
of  crossing,  but  was  compelled  to  move  the  en- 
gine to  save  it  from  demolition.  It  built  a  branch 
from  Mojave  station  to  connect  with  the  At- 
lantic &  Pacific  in  which  it  had  an  interest. 
This  gave  connection  for  the  Atlantic  &  Pacific 
over  the  Southern  Pacific  lines  with  both  Los 
Angeles  and  San  Francisco.  This  was  a  serious 
blow  to  the  California  Southern,  but  disasters 
never  come  singly.  The  great  flood  of  January, 
1884,  swept  down  through  the  Temecula  Canon 
and  carried  about  thirty  miles  of  its  track  out 
to  sea.  It  was  doubtful  under  the  circumstances 
whether  it  would  pay  to  rebuild  it.  Finally  the 
Southern  Pacific  agreed  to  sell  its  extension 
from  Barstow  to  the  Needles  to  the  California 
Southern,  reserving  its  road  from   Barstow  to 


Mojave.  Construction  was  begun  at  once  on 
the  California  Southern  line  from  Barstow  to 
San  Bernardino  and  in  November,  1885,  the 
road  was  completed  from  Barstow  to  San 
Diego.  In  October,  1886,  the  road  passed  un- 
der control  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa 
Fe.  In  the  spring  of  1887  the  road  was  ex- 
tended westerly  from  San  Bernardino  to  meet 
the  San  Gabriel  valley  road  which  had  been 
built  eastward  from  Los  Angeles  through  Pasa- 
dena. The  completed  line  reached  Los  Angeles 
in  May,  1887,  thus  giving  California  a  third 
transcontinental  line. 

After  many  delays  the  gap  in  the  Southern 
Pacific  coast  line  was  closed  and  the  first  trains 
from  the  north  and  the  south  passed  over  its 
entire  length  between  Los  Angeles  and  San 
Francisco  on  the  31st  of  March,  1901,  nearly 
thirty  years  after  the  first  section  of  the  road 
was  built. 

The  Oregon  &  California  and  the  Central 
Pacific  were  consolidated  in  1870.  The  two 
ends  of  the  road  were  united  at  Ashland.  (  >re.. 
in  1887.  The  entire  line  is  now  controlled  by 
the  Southern  Pacific,  and,  in  connection  with 
the  Northern  Pacific  and  the  Oregon  Railway 
&  Navigation  Road  at  Portland,  forms  a  fourth 
transcontinental  line  for  California. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE    INDIAN    QUESTION. 


IT  IS  quite  the  fashion  now  with  a  certain 
school  of  writers,  who  take  their  history  of 
California  from  "Ramona"  and  their  infor- 
mation on  the  "Indian  question"  under  the  rule 
of  the  mission  padres  from  sources  equally  fic- 
titious, to  draw  invidious  comparisons  between 
the  treatment  of  the  Indian  by  Spain  and  Mex- 
ico when  mission  rule  was  dominant  in  Cali- 
fornia and  his  treatment  by  the  United  Stales 
after  the  conquest. 

That  the  Indian  was  brutally  treated  and  un- 
mercifully slaughtered  by  the  American  miners 
and  rancheros  in  tin-  early  '50s  none  will  deny; 
that  he  had  fared  but  little  better  under  the  rule 


of  Spain  and  Mexico  is  equally  true.  The  tame 
and  submissive  Indians  of  the  sea  coast  with 
whom  the  mission  had  to  deal  were  a  very 
different  people  from  the  mountain  tribes  with 
whom  the  Americans  came  in  conflict. 

We  know  but  little  of  the  conquistas  or  gentile 
hunts  that  were  occasionally  sent  out  from  the 
mission  to  capture  subjects  for  conversion.  The 
history  of  these  was  not  recorded,  from  "The 
narrative  of  a  voyage  to  the  Pacini  and  Berings 
strait  with  the  Polar  expedition;  performed  i" 
his  majesty's  -■  1 1  i ]  1  Blossom,  under  command  of 
Capt.  F.  \V.  Beechey,  R.  X..  in  the  years 
1825-26-27-28,  we  have  the  ston  of  one  of  these 


-24 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


conquistas  or  convert  raids.  Captain  Beechey 
visited  California  in  1828.  While  in  California 
he  studied  the  missions,  or  at  least  those  he  vis- 
ited, and  after  his  return  to  England  published 
his  observations.  His  observations  have  great 
value.  He  was  a  disinterested  observer  and 
gave  a  plain,  straightforward,  truthful  account 
of  what  he  saw,  without  prejudice  or  partiality. 
His  narrative  dispels  much  of  the  romance  that 
some  modern  writers  throw  around  mission  life. 
This  conquista  set  out  from  the  Mission  San 
Jose. 

"At  a  particular  period  of  the  year  also,  when 
the  Indians  can  be  spared  from  agricultural  con- 
cerns of  the  establishment,  man}-  are  permitted 
lei  take  the  launch  of  the  mission  and  make  ex- 
cursions to  the  Indian  territory.  All  are  anx- 
ious to  go  on  such  occasions.  Some  to  visit 
friends,  some  to  procure  the  manufactures  of 
their  barbarian  countrymen  (which,  by  the  by, 
are  often  better  than  their  own)  and  some  with  a 
secret  determination  never  to  return.  (  >n  these 
occasions  the  padres  desire  them  to  induce  as 
many  of  their  unconverted  brethren  as  possible 
to  accompany  them  back  to  the  mission;  of 
course,  implying  that  this  is  to  be  done  only  by 
persuasion;  but  the  boat  being  furnished  with  a 
cannon  and  musketry  and  in  every  respect 
equipped  for  war,  it  too  often  happens  that  the 
neophytes  and  the  ^rulc  tic  razon,  who  super- 
intend the  direction  of  the  boat,  avail  them- 
selves 1  if  their  superiority  with  the  desire  of  in- 
gratiating themselves  with  their  master  and  re- 
ceiving a  reward.  There  are  besides  repeated 
acts  of  aggression,  which  it  is  necessary  to  pun- 
ish, all  of  which  furnish  proselytes.  Women  and 
children  are  generally  the  first  objects  of  cap- 
ture, as  their  husbands  and  parents  sometimes 
voluntarily  follow  them  into  captivity.  These 
misunderstandings  and  captivities  keep  up  a  per- 
petual enmity  amongst  the  tribes  whose  thirst 
for  revenge  is  insatiable." 

We  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the 
tragical  issue  of  one  of  these  holyday  excursions 
of  the  neophytes  of  the  Mission  San  Jose.  The 
launch  was  armed,  as  usual,  and  placed  under 
the  superintendence  of  an  alcalde  of  the  mission, 
who  appears  from  one  statement  (for  there  are 
several),   converted   the  party   of  pleasure   either 


into  an  attack  for  procuring  proselytes  or  of 
revenge  upon  a  particular  tribe  for  some  ag- 
gression in  which  they  were  concerned.  They 
proceeded  up  the  Rio  San  Joachin  until  they 
came  to  the  territory  of  a  particular  tribe  named 
Consemenes,  when  they  disembarked  with  the 
gun  and  encamped  for  the  night  near  the  vil- 
lage of  Los  Gentiles,  intending  to  make  an  at- 
tack upon  them  next  morning,  but  before  they 
were  prepared  the  gentiles,  who  had  been  ap- 
prised of  their  intention  and  had  collected  a 
large  body  of  their  friends,  became  the  assail- 
ants and  pressed  so  hard  upon  the  party  that, 
notwithstanding  they  dealt  death  in  every  direc- 
tion with  their  cannon  and  musketry  and  were 
inspired  with  confidence  by  the  contempt  in 
which  they  held  the  valor  and  tactics  of  their  un- 
converted countrymen,  they  were  overpowered 
by  numbers  and  obliged  to  seek  their  safety  in 
flight  and  to  leave  the  gun  in  the  woods.  Some 
regained  the  launch  and  were  saved  and  others 
found  their  way  overland  to  the  mission,  but 
thirty-four  of  the  party  never  returned  to  tell 
their  tale. 

"There  were  other  accounts  of  the  unfortu- 
nate affair,  one  of  which  accused  the  padre  of 
authorizing  the  attack.  The  padre  was  greatly 
displeased  at  the  result  of  the  excursion,  as  the 
loss  of  so  many  Indians  to  the  mission  was  of 
great  consequence  and  the  confidence  with 
which  the  victory  would  inspire  the  Indians  was 
equally  alarming. 

"He  therefore  joined  with  the  converted  In- 
dians in  a  determination  to  chastise  and  strike 
terror  into  the  victorious  tribe  and  in  concert 
with  the  governor  planned  an  expedition  against 
them.  The  mission  furnished  money,  arms,  In- 
dians and  horses  and  the  presidio  troops,  headed 
by  Alferez  Sanches,  a  veteran,  who  had  been 
frequently  engaged  with  the  Indians  and  was 
acquainted  with  that  part  of  the  country.  The 
expedition  set  out  November  10.  and  we  heard 
nothing  of  it  until  the  27th.  but  two  days  after 
the  troops  had  taken  to  the  field  some  immense 
columns  of  smoke  rising  above  the  mountains 
in  the  direction  of  the  Cosemmes  bespoke  the 
conflagration  of  the  village  of  the  persecuted 
gentiles;  and  on  the  <la\  above  mentioned  the 
veteran   Sanches  made  a  triumphant   entry  into 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


the  Mission  of  San  Jose,  escorting  forty  miser- 
able women  and  children.  The  gun  which  had 
been  lost  in  the  first  battle  was  retaken  and 
other  trophies  captured. 

"This  victory,  so  glorious  according  to  the 
ideas  of  the  conquerors,  was  achieved  with  the 
loss  of  only  one  man  on  the  part  of  the  Chris- 
tians, who  was  mortally  wounded  by  the  burst- 
ing of  his  own  gun;  but  on  the  part  of  the  enemy 
it  was  considerable,  as  Sanches  the  morning 
after  the  battle  counted  forty-one  men,  women 
and  children  dead.  It  is  remarkable  that  none 
of  the  prisoners  was  wounded  and  it  is  greatly 
to  be  feared  that  the  Christians,  who  could 
scarcely  be  prevented  from  revenging  the  death 
of  their  relatives  upon  those  who  were  brought 
to  the  mission,  glutted  their  brutal  passions  on 
all  who  fell  into  their  hands. 

"The  prisoners  they  had  captured  were  imme- 
diately enrolled  in  the  list  of  the  mission,  except 
a  nice  little  boy  whose  mother  was  shot  while 
running  away  with  him  in  her  arms,  and  he  was 
sent  to  the  presidio  and,  as  I  heard,  given  to 
the  Alferez  as  a  reward  for  his  services.  The 
poor  little  orphan  had  received  a  slight  wound  in 
his  forehead;  he  wept  bitterly  at  first  and  refused 
to  eat,  but  in  time  became  reconciled  to  his 
fate. 

"Those  who  were  taken  to  the  mission  were 
immediately  converted  and  were  daily  taught  by 
the  neophytes  to  repeat  the  Lord's  prayer  and 
certain  hymns  in  the  Spanish  language.  I  hap- 
pened to  visit  the  mission  about  this  time  and 
saw  these  unfortunate  beings  under  tuition. 
They  were  clothed  in  blankets  and  arranged  in 
a  row  before  a  blind  Indian,  who  understood 
their  dialect  and  was  assisted  by  an  alcalde  to 
keep  order.  Their  tutor  began  by  desiring  them 
to  kneel,  informing  them  that  he  was  going  to 
teach  them  the  names  of  the  persons  composing 
the  trinity  and  they  were  to  repeat  in  Spanish 
what  he  dictated.  The  neophytes  being  ar- 
ranged, the  speaker  began:  'Santisima  Trini- 
dad, Dios,  Jesu  Christo,  Espiritu  Santo,'  paus- 
ing between  each  name  to  listen  if  the  simple 
Indians,  who  had  never  before  spoken  a  word 
of  Spanish,  pronounced  it  correctlj  or  anything 
near  the  mark.  After  they  had  repeated  these 
names    satisfactorily,   their   blind    tutor,   after  a 


pause,  added  'Santos'  and  recapitulated  the 
names  of  a  great  many  saints,  which  finished  the 
morning's  lesson. 

"They  did  not  appear  to  me  to  pay  much  at- 
tention to  what  was  going  forward  and  I  ob- 
served to  the  padre  that  1  thought  their  teachers 
had  an  arduous  task,  but  he  said  they  had  never 
found  any  difficulty;  that  the  Indians  were  ac- 
customed to  change  their  own  gods  and  that 
their  conversion  was  in  a  measure  habitual  to 
them. 

"The  expenses  of  the  late  expedition  fell  heav- 
ily upon  the  mission  and  1  was  glad  to  find  the 
padre  thought  it  was  paying  very  dear  for  so 
few  converts,  as  in  all  probability  it  will  lessen 
his  desire  to  undertake  another  expedition  and 
the  poor  Indians  will  be  spared  the  horrors  of 
being  butchered  by  their  own  countrymen  or 
dragged  from  their  homes  into  captivity." 

This  conquista  and  the  results  that  followed 
were  very  similar  to  some  of  the  so-called  In- 
dian wars  that  took  place  after  the  American 
occupation.  The  Indians  were  provoked  to  hos- 
tilities by  outrage  and  injustice.  Then  the 
military  came  down  on  them  and  wiped  them 
out  of  existence. 

The  unsanitary  condition  of  the  Indian  vil- 
lages at  some  of  the  missions  was  as  fatal  as  an 
Indian  war.  The  Indian  was  naturally  filthy,  but 
in  his  native  state  he  had  the  whole  country  to 
roam  over.  If  his  village  became  too  filthy  and 
the  vermin  in  it  ton  aggressive,  he  purified  it 
by  fire — burned  up  his  wigwam.  The  adobe 
houses  that  took  the  place  of  the  brush  hovel, 
which  made  up  the  early  mission  villages,  could 
not  be  burned  to  purify  them.  No  doubt  the 
heavy  death  rate  at  the  missions  was  due  largely 
to  the  uncleanly  habits  of  the  neophytes.  The 
statistiYs  given  in  the  chapter  on  the  Franciscan 
missions  show  that  in  all  the  missionary  estab- 
lishments a  steady  decline,  a  gradual  extin 
of  the  neophyte  population,  had  been  in  prog- 
ress for  two  to  thr.e  decades  befon  the  mis- 
sions were  seculai  ized.  Had  on  been 
delayed  or  had  it  no;  taken  place  in  the 
of  a  few  decades,  at  the  rate  the  nei  phytes  were 
living  off  the  missions  would  have  become  de- 
populati  <1,  I  lie  death  rate  was  greater  than  the 
birth  rate  in  all  of  them  and  the  mortality  among 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


the  children  was  greater  even  than  among  the 
adults.  After  secularization  the  neophytes 
drifted  to  the  cities  and  towns  where  they  could 
more  readily  gratify  their  passion  for  strong 
drink.  Their  mission  training  and  their  Chris- 
tianity had  no  restraining  influence  upon  them. 
Their  vicious  habits,  which  were  about  the  only- 
thing  they  had  acquired  by  their  contact  with 
the  whites,  soon  put  an  end  to  them. 

During  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  eras  North- 
ern California  remained  practically  a  terra  in- 
cognita. Two  missions,  San  Rafael  and  San 
Francisco  Solano,  and  the  Castillo  at  Sonora, 
had  been  established  as  a  sort  of  protection  to 
the  northern  frontier.  A  few  armed  incursions 
had  been  made  into  the  country  beyond  these 
to  punish  Indian  horse  and  cattle  thieves.  Gen- 
eral A'allejo,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
troops  on  the  frontera  del  norte,  had  always 
endeavored  to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with 
the  gentiles,  but  the  padres  disliked  to  have 
these  near  the  missions  on  account  of  their  in- 
fluence on  the  neophytes.  Near  the  Mission 
San  Rafael,  in  1833,  occurred  one  of  those  In- 
dian massacres  not  uncommon  under  Spanish 
and  Mexican  rule.  A  body  of  gentiles  from  the 
rancherias  of  Pulia,  encouraged  by  Figueroa 
and  Yallejo,  came  to  the  Mission  San  Rafael 
with  a  view  to  establishing  friendly  relations. 
The  padre  put  off  the  interview  until  next  day. 
During  the  night  a  theft  was  committed,  which 
was  charged  to  the  gentiles.  Fifteen  of  them 
were  seized  and  sent  as  prisoners  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. Padre  Mercado,  fearing  that  their  coun- 
trymen might  retaliate,  sent  out  his  major  doma 
Molina  with  thirty-seven  armed  neophytes,  who 
surprised  the  gentiles  in  their  rancheria,  killed 
twenty-one,  wounded  many  more  and  captured 
twenty  men,  women  and  children.  Yallejo  was 
indignant  at  the  shameful  violation  of  his  prom- 
ises of  protection  to  the  Indians.  He  released 
tlie  prisoners  at  San  Francisco  and  the  captives 
at  tin-  mission  and  tried  to  pacify  the  wrathful 
gentiles.  Padre  Mercado  was  suspended  from 
his  ministry  for  a  short  time,  but  was  afterward 
freed    and    returned    to    San    Rafael." 

There  was  a  system  of  Indian  slavers   in  ex- 


Vol.    III. 


istence  in  California  under  the  rule  of  Spain  and 
Mexico.  Most  of  the  wealthier  Spanish  and 
Mexican  families  had  Indian  servants.  In  the 
raids  upon  the  gentiles  the  children  taken  by  the 
soldiers  were  sometimes  sold  or  disposed  of  to 
families  for  servants.  Expeditions  were  gotten 
up  upon  false  pretexts,  while  the  main  purpose 
was  to  steal  Indian  children  and  sell  them  to 
families  for  servants.  This  practice  was  carried 
on  by  the  Americans,  too,  after  the  conquest. 

For  a  time  after  the  discovery  of  gold  the  In- 
dians and  the  miners  got  along  amicably.  The 
first  miners  were  mainly  old  Californians,  used 
to  the  Indians,  but  with  the  rush  of  '49  came 
many  rough  characters  who,  by  their  injustice, 
soon  stirred  up  trouble.  Sutter  had  employed  a 
large  number  of  Indians  on  his  ranches  and  in 
various  capacities.  These  were  faithful  and  hon- 
est. Some  of  them  were  employed  at  his  mill 
in  Coloma  and  in  the  diggings.  In  the  spring 
of  '49  a  band  of  desperadoes  known  as  the 
Mountain  Hounds  murdered  eight  of  these  at 
the  mill.  Marshall,  in  trying  to  defend  them, 
came  near  being  lynched  by  the  drunken  brutes. 

The  injustice  done  the  Indians  soon  brought 
on  a  number  of  so-called  Indian  wars.  These 
were  costly  affairs  to  the  state  and  in  less  than 
two  years  had  plunged  the  young  common- 
wealth into  a  debt  of  nearly  $1,000,000.  In  a 
copy  of  the  Los  Angeles  Star  for  February  28, 
1852,  I  find  this  enumeration  of  the  wars  and 
the  estimated  cost  of  each:  The  Morehead  ex- 
pedition, $i20,oco;  General  Bean's  first  expedi- 
tion, $66,000;  General  Bean's  second  expedition, 
$50,000;  the  Mariposa  war,  $230,000;  the  El 
Dorado  war,  $300,000.  The  Morehead  war  orig- 
inated out  of  an  injustice  done  the  Yuma  In- 
dians. These  Indians,  in  the  summer  of  1849, 
had  obtained  an  old  scow  and  established  a  ferry 
across  the  Colorado  river  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Gila,  and  were  making  quite  a  paying  business 
out  of  it  by  ferrying  emigrants  across  the  river. 
A  party  of  Americans,  headed  by  a  Dr.  Lang- 
don  of  Louisiana,  and  a  desperado  named  Jack 
Glanton,  dispossessed  the  Indians  of  their  boat, 
and  having  obtained  a  liberal  supply  of  whiskey 
from  San  Diego  set  up  in  business  for  them- 
selves. Tin-  Indians,  watching  their  opportunity, 
while   the   whites   were  asleep  or  stupefied   with 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


drink,  fell  upon  and  massacred  the  whole  party, 
twelve  or  fifteen  in  all,  and  secured  some  $15,000 
or  $20,000  in  money.  On  receipt  of  the  news. 
Governor  Burnett  ordered  Major-General  Bean 
of  the  state  militia  to  march  against  the  Yumas. 
Bean  sent  his  quartermaster-general,  Joseph  C. 
Morehead.  Morehead,  on  Bean's  orders,  pro- 
vided necessaries  for  a  three  months'  campaign 
at  most  extravagant  prices,  paying  for  them  in 
drafts  on  the  state  treasury.  Morehead  started 
out  from  Los  Angeles  with  forty  men,  but  by 
the  time  he  reached  the  Colorado  river  he  had 
recruited  his  force  to  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  men.  The  liquid  supplies  taken  along  doubt- 
less stimulated  recruiting.  They  reached  the 
Colorado  in  the  summer  of  1850,  camped  there 
and  attacked  their  rations.  After  a  month's 
siege  (of  their  rations)  they  were  ordered  back 
and  disbanded.  The  only  luss  was  one  man 
wounded  (accidentally).  He  was  sent  back  to 
Los  Angeles  for  treatment.  The  doctor  who 
treated  him  charged  the  state  $500.  The  man 
who  boarded  him  put  in  a  bill  of  $120;  and  the 
patriot  who  housed  him  wanted  $45  for  house 
rent.  Bean's  first  and  second  expeditions  were 
very  similar  in  results  to  the  Morehead  cam- 
paign. The  El  Dorado  expedition  or  Rogers' 
war,  as  it  was  sometimes  called,  was  another  of 
Governor  Burnett's  fiascos.  He  ordered  Will- 
iam Rogers,  sheriff  of  El  Dorado  county,  to  call 
out  two  hundred  men  at  the  state's  expense  to 
punish  the  Indians  for  killing  some  whites  who 
had,  in  all  probability,  been  the  aggressors  and 
the  Indians  had  retaliated.  It  was  well  known 
that  there  were  men  in  that  part  of  the  country 
who  had  wantonly  killed  Indians  for  the  pleas- 
ure of  boasting  of  their  exploits. 

Nor  were  the  whites  always  the  aggressors. 
There  were  bad  Indians,  savages,  who  killed 
without  provocation  and  stole  whenever  an  op- 
portunity offered.  In  their  attempts  at  retalia- 
tion the  Indians  slaughtered  indiscriminately 
and  the  innocent  more  often  were  their  victims 
than  the  guilty.  On  the  side  of  the  whites  it 
was  a  war  of  extermination  waged  in  many  in- 
stances without  regard  to  age  or  sex;  on  the 
part  of  the  Indian  it  was  a  war  of  retaliation 
waged  with  as  little  distinction. 

The  extermination  of  the  aborigines  was  Fear- 


fully rapid.  Of  over  ten  thousand  Indians  in 
Yuba,  Placer,  Nevada  and  Sierra  counties  in 
1849  not  more  than  thirty-eight  hundred  re- 
mained in  1854.  Much  of  this  decrease  had  been 
brought  about  by  dissipation  and  disease  engen- 
dered by  contact  with  the  whites.  Reservations 
were  established  in  various  parts  of  the  state, 
where  Indians  abounded,  but  the  large  salaries 
paid  to  agents  and  the  numerous  opportunities 
for  peculation  made  these  positions  atti 
to  politicians,  who  were  both  incompetent  and 
dishonest.  The  Indians,  badly  treated  at  the 
reservations,  deserted  them  whenever  an  oppor- 
tunity offered. 

A  recital  of  the  atrocities  committed  upon 
each  other  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  state 
during  a  period  of  nearly  twenty  years  would  fill 
a  volume.  The  Indian  with  all  his  fi'endishne:  s 
was  often  outmatched  in  cruelty  by  his  pale 
faced  brother.  The  Indian  Island  massacre  was 
scarcely  ever  equaled  in  the  annals  of  Indian 
cruelties.  Indian  Island  lies  nearly  opposite 
the  city  of  Eureka  in  Humboldt  Bay.  On  this 
island,  fifty  years  ago.  was  a  large  rancheria 
of  inoffensive  Indians,  who  lived  chiefly  b\  fish- 
ing. They  had  not  been  implicated  in  any  of 
the  wars  or  raids  that  had  disturbed  that  part 
of  the  country.  They  maintained  many  of  their 
old  customs  and  had  an  annual  gathering,  at 
which  they  performed  various  rites  and  cere- 
monies, accompanied  by  dancing.  A  number  of 
the  Indians  from  the  mainland  joined  them  at 
these  times.  Near  midnight  of  Februar)  25. 
i860,  a  number  of  boats  tilled  with  white  men 
sped  silently  out  to  the  island.  The  whites 
landed  and  quietly  surrounded  the  Indians,  who 
were  resting  after  their  orgies,  and  began  tin 
slaughter  with  axes,  knives  and  clubs,  splitting 
skulls,  knocking  out  brains  and  cutting  the 
throats  of  men,  women  and  children.  Of  the 
two  hundred  Indians  on  the  island  only  four  or 
live  men  escaped  by  swimming  to  the  mainland. 
The  same  night  a  rancheria  at  the  entrance  of 
Humboldt  Bay  and  another  at  the  mouth  of  Eel 
river  were  attacked  and  ab  ml  one  hundred 
Indians  slaughtered.  The  fiends  who  commit- 
ted these  atrocitii  beloi  1  ■  1  or- 
ganization. No  rigid  investigation  was  ever 
made   to  find   out    who   they    were.      The   grand 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


jury  mildly  condemned    the   outrage   and   there 
the  matter  ended. 

The  Indians  kept  up  hostilities,  rendering 
travel  and  traffic  unsafe  on  the  borders  of  Hum- 
boldt, Klamath  and  Trinity  counties.  Governor 
Stanford  in  1863  issued  a  proclamation  for  the 
enlistment  of  six  companies  of  volunteers  from 
the  six  northwestern  counties  of  the  state. 
These  recruits  were  organized  into  what  was 
known  as  the  Mountaineer  battalion  with  Lieut. - 
Col.  Stephen  G.  Whipple  in  command.  A  num- 
ber of  Indian  tribes  united  and  a  desultory  war- 
fare began.  The  Indians  were  worsted  in  nearly 
every  engagement.  Their  power  was  broken 
and  in  February .  [865,  fragments  of  the  different 
tribes  were  gathered  into  the  Hoopa  Valley 
reservation.  The  Mountaineer  battalion  in  what 
was  known  as  the  "Two  Years'  War"  settled  the 
Indian  question  from  Shasta  to  the  sea  for  all 
time. 

The  Modoc  war  was  the  last  of  the  Indian 
disturbances  in  the  state.  The  Modocs  inhab- 
ited the  country  about  Rhett  Lake  and  Lost 
river  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  state,  bordering 
on  Oregon.  Their  history  begins  with  the  mas- 
sacre of  an  immigrant  train  of  sixty-five  per- 
sons, men,  women  and  children,  on  their  way 
from  Oregon  to  California.  This  brought  upon 
them  a  reprisal  by  the  whites  in  which  forty- 
one  out  of  forty-six  Indians  who  had  been  in- 
vited by  Benjamin  Wright  to  a  pow  wow  after 
they  had  laid  aside  their  arms  were  set  upon  by 
Wright  and  his  companions  with  revolvers  and 
all  killed  but  five.  In  1864  a  treaty  had  been 
made  with  the  Modocs  by  which  they  were  to 
reside  on  the  Klamath  reservation.  But  tiring 
of  reservation  life,  under  their  leader.  Captain 
Jack,  they  returned  to  their  old  homes  on  Lost 
river.  A  company  of  United  States  troops  and 
everal  volunteers  who  went  along  to  see  the 
fun  were  sent  to  bring  them  back  to  the  reser- 
vation. They  refused  to  go  and  a  fight  ensued 
in  which  four  of  the  volunteers  and  one  of  the 
regulars  were  killed,  and  the  troops  retreated. 
Ilir  Modocs  after  killing  several  settlers  gath- 
ered at  the  lava  beds  near  Rhett  Lake  and 
prepared  for  war. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Wheaton  with  about  four 
hundred   men   attacked   the    Indians    in   the   lava 


beds  January  17,  1873.  Captain  Jack  had  but 
fifty-one  men.  When  Wheaton  retreated  he  had 
lost  thirty-five  men  killed  and  a  number 
wounded,  but  not  an  Indian  had  been  hurt.  A 
few  days  after  the  battle  a  peace  commission 
was  proposed  at  Washington.  A.  B.  Meacham, 
Jesse  Applegate  and  Samuel  Case  were  ap- 
pointed. Elijah  Steele  of  Yreka,  who  was  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  Indians,  was  sent  for. 
He  visited  the  lava  beds  with  the  interpreter, 
J'aiivhild,  and  had  a  big  talk.  He  proposed  to 
them  to  surrender  and  they  would  be  sent  to 
Angel  Island  near  San  Francisco,  fed  and  cared 
for  and  allowed  to  select  any  reservation  they 
wished.  Steele,  on  his  return  to  camp,  reported 
that  the  Indians  accepted  the  terms,  but  Fair- 
child  said  they  had  not  and  next  day  on  his  re- 
turn Steele  found  out  his  mistake  and  barely 
escaped  with  his  life.  Interviews  continued 
without  obtaining  any  definite  results,  some  of 
the  commission  became  disgusted  and  returned 
home.  ( ieneral  Canby,  commanding  the  depart- 
ment, had  arrived  and  taken  charge  of  affairs. 
Commissioner  Case  resigned  and  Judge  Ros- 
borough  was  appointed  in  his  place  and  the  Rev. 
K.  Thomas,  a  doctor  of  divinit)  in  the  Metho- 
dist church,  was  added  to  the  commission.  A 
man  by  the  name  of  Riddle  and  his  wife  Toby, 
a  .Modoc,  acted  as  go-betweens  and  negotiations 
continued. 

A  pow  wow  was  arranged  at  the  council  tent 
at  which  all  parties  were  to  meet  unarmed,  but 
Toby  was  secretly  informed  that  it  was  the  in- 
tention of  the  Modocs  to  massacre  the  commis- 
sioners as  had  been  done  to  the  Indian  com- 
missioners twenty  years  before  by  Benjamin 
Wright  and  his  gang.  On  April  10,  while 
Meacham  and  Dyer,  the  superintendent  of  the 
Klamath  reservation,  who  had  joined  the  com- 
missioners, were  away  from  camp,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Thomas  made  an  agreement  with  a  dele- 
gation from  Captain  Jack  for  the  commission 
and  ( ieneral  Canby  to  meet  the  Indians  at  the 
council  tent.  Meacham  on  his  return  opposed 
the  arrangement,  fearing  treachery.  The  doc  or 
insisted  that  Cod  had  done  a  wonderful  work 
in  the  Modoc  camp,  but  Meacham  shocked  the 
pious  doctor  by  saying  "Cod  had  not  been  in 
the   Modoc   camp   this   winter." 


HISTORICAL    AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Two  of  the  Indian  leaders,  Boston  Charley 
and  Bogus  Charley,  came  to  headquarters  to 
accompany  the  commission.  Riddle  and  his 
wife,  Toby,  bitterly  opposed  the  commissioners' 
going,  telling  them  they  would  be  killed,  and 
Toby  going  so  far  as  to  seize  Meacham's  horse 
to  prevent  him  from  going,  telling  him,  "You  get 
kill."  Canby  and  the  doctor  insisted  upon  going, 
despite  all  protests,  the  doctor  saying,  "Let  us  go 
as  we  agreed  and  trust  in  God."  Meacham  and 
Dyer  secured  derringers  in  their  side  pockets 
before  going.  When  the  commissioners,  the 
interpreters,  Riddle  and  his  wife,  reached  the 
council  tent  they  found  Captain  Jack,  Schonchin 
John,  Black  Jim,  Shancknasty  Jim,  Ellen's 
Alan  and  Hooker  Jim  sitting  around  a  fire  at 
the  council  tent.  Concealed  behind  some 
rocks  a  short  distance  away  were  two  young 
Indians  with  a  number  of  rifles.  The  two  Char- 
leys, Bogus  and  Boston,  who  had  come  with  the 
commissioners  from  headquarters,  informed  the 
Indians  that  the  commissioners  were  not  armed. 
The  interview  began.  The  Indians  were  very 
insolent.  Suddenly,  at  a  given  signal,  the  Indians 
uttered  a  war  whoop,  and  Captain  Jack  drew 
a  revolver  from  under  his  coat  and  shot  Gen- 
eral Canby.  Boston  Charley  shot  Dr.  Thomas, 
who  fell,  rose  again,  but  was  shot  down 
while  begging  for  his  life.  The  young  Indians 
had  brought  up  the  rifles  and  a  fusillade  was 
begun  upon  the  others.  All  escaped  without  in- 
jury except  Meacham,  who,  alter  running  some 
distance,  was  felled  by  a  bullet  fired  by  Hooker 
Jim,  and  left  for  dead.  He  was  saved  from  being 
scalped  by  the  bravery  of  Toby.  He  recovered, 
however,  although  badly  disfigured.    While  this 


was  going  on,  Curly  Haired  Doctor  and  several 
other  Modocs,  with  a  white  flag,  inveigled  Lieu- 
tenants Boyle  and  Shenvood  beyond  the  lines. 
Seeing  the  Indians  w'ere  armed,  the  officers 
turned  to  flee,  when  Curly  Haired  Jack  fired  and 
broke  Lieutenant  Sherwood's  thigh.  He  died  a 
few  days  later.  The  troops  were  called  to  arms 
when  the  firing  began,  but  the  Indians  escaped 
to  the  lava  beds.  After  a  few  days'  preparation, 
Colonel  Giilem,  who  was  in  command,  began  an 
attack  on  the  Indian  stronghold.  Their  position 
was  shelled  by  mountain  howitzers.  In  the 
fighting,  which  lasted  four  days,  sixteen  soldiers 
were  killed  and  thirteen  wounded.  In  a  recon- 
noissance  under  Captain  Thomas  a  few  days 
later,  a  body  of  seventy  troops  and  fourteen  Warm 
Spring  Indians  ran  into  an  ambush  of  the  In- 
dians and  thirteen  soldiers,  including  Thomas, 
were  killed.  Gen.  Jefferson  C.  Davis  was  placed 
in  command.  The  Indians  were  forced  out  of  the 
lava  beds,  their  water  supply  having  been  cut 
off.  They  quarreled  among  themselves,  broke 
tip  into  parties,  were  chased  down  and  all  cap- 
tured. Captain  Jack  and  Schonchin  John,  the 
two  leaders,  were  shackled  together.  General 
Davis  made  preparations  to  hang  these  and  six 
or  eight  others,  but  orders  from  Washington 
stopped  him.  The  leading  Indians  were  tried 
by  court-martial.  Captain  Jack,  Schonchin 
John,  Black  Jim  and  Boston  Charley  were  hung, 
two  others  were  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for 
life.  The  other  Modocs,  men, 'women  and  chil- 
dren, were  sent  to  a  fort  in  Nebraska  and  after- 
wards transferred  to  the  Quaw  Paw  Agenc)  in 
Indian  Territory.  This  ended  the  Modoc  war 
and  virtually  put  an  end  to  the  Modoc  Indians. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

SOME    POLITICAL    HISTORY. 


THE  first  Chinese  emigrants  to  California 
arrived  in  the  brig  Eagle,  from  Hong 
Kong,  in  the  month  of  February,  [848. 
They  were  two  men  and  one  woman.  This  was 
before  the  discovery  of  gold  was  known  abroad. 
What  brought  these    waifs    from    the    Flowery 


Kingdom  to  California  does  not  appear  in  the 
record.  February  1.  1S40,  there  were  fifty-four 
Chinamen  and  one  Chinawoman  in  the  territory. 
January  1.  1S50,  seven  hundred  ami  eighty-nine 
men  and  two  women  hail  arrived.  Januar)  1. 
[851,  four  thousand  and  eighteen  men  and  seven 


::;u 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


women;  a  year  later  their  numbers  had  in- 
creased to  eight  thousand  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  men  and  eight  women;  May  7,  1852, 
eleven  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty  men 
and  seven  women  had  found  their  way  to  the 
land  of  gold.  The  Alta  California,  from  which 
I  take  these  figures,  estimated  that  between 
seven  and  ten  thousand  more  would  arrive  in 
the  state  before  January  1,  1853.  ^he  editor 
sagely  remarks:  "No  one  fears  danger  or  mis- 
fortune from  their  excessive  numbers."  There 
was  no  opposition  to  their  coming;  on  the  con- 
trary, they  were  welcomed  and.  almost  lionized. 
The  Alta  of  April  2~,  1851,  remarks;  "An 
American  barque  yesterday  brought  eighty 
worshippers  of  the  sun,  moon  and  many  stars. 
These  Celestials  make  excellent  citizens  and  we 
are  pleased  to  notice  their  daily  arrival  in  large 
numbers."  The  Alta  describes  a  Great  Chinese 
meeting  on  Portsmouth  Square,  which  took 
place  in  185 1.  It  seems  to  have  been  held  for 
the  purpose  of  welcoming  the  Chinese  to  Cali- 
fornia and  at  the  sr.me  time  doing  missionary 
work  and  distributing  religious  tracts  among 
them.  The  report  says:  "A  large  assemblage 
of  citizens  and  several  ladies  collected  on  the 
plaza  to  witness  the  ceremonies.  Ah  Hee  assem- 
bled his  division  and  Ah  Sing  marched  his  into 
Kearny  street,  where  the  two  divisions  united 
and  then  marched  to  the  square.  Many  carried 
fans.  There  were  several  peculiar  looking  Chi- 
namen among  them.  One,  a  very  tall,  old  Celes- 
tial with  an  extensive  tail,  excited  universal  at- 
tention. He  had  a  huge  pair  of  spectacles  upon 
his  nose,  the  glasses  of  which  were  about  the 
size  of  a  telescope  lens.  He  also  had  a  singu- 
la rl\  colored  fur  mantle  or  cape  upon  his  shoul- 
ders and  a  long  sort  of  rube.  We  presume  he 
must  be  a  mandarin  al  least. 

"Vice  Consul  I  .  \.  Woodworth,  His  Honor, 
Major  J.  W.  Geary,  Rev.  Albert  Williams,  Rev. 
A.  Fitch  and  Rev.  F.  D.  Hunt  were  present. 
Ah    lire  acted  as  interpreter.     The   Rev.   Hunt 

hem  some  orthodox  instruction  in  which 
they  were  informed  of  the  existence  of  a  coun- 
try where  the  China  boys  would  never  die;  this 
made  them  laugh  quite  heartily.     Tracts,  scrip- 

:  icuments,  astronomical  works,  almanacs 
and  otli.-i  useful  religious  ami  instructive  docu- 


ments printed  in  Chinese  characters  were  dis- 
tributed  among  them." 

1  give  the  report  of  another  meeting  of  "The 
Chinese  residents  of  San  Francisco,"  taken 
from  the  Alta  of  December  10,  1849.  I  quote 
it  to  show  how  the  Chinese  were  regarded  when 
they  first  came  to  California  and  how  they  were 
flattered  and  complimented  by  the  presence  of 
distinguished  citizens  at  their  meetings.  Their 
treatment  a  few  years  later,  when  they  were 
mobbed  and  beaten  in  the  streets  for  no  fault 
of  theirs  except  for  coming  to  a  Christian  coun- 
try, must  have  given  them  a  very  poor  opinion 
of  the  white  man's  consistency.  "A  public 
meeting  of  the  Chinese  residents  of  the  town 
was  held  on  the  evening  of  Monday,  November 
19,  at  the  Canton  Restaurant  on  Jackson  street. 
The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
presented  and  adopted: 

"  'Whereas,  It  becomes  necessary  for  us, 
strangers  as  we  are  in  a  strange  land,  unac- 
quainted with  the  language  and  customs  of  our 
adi  pted  country,  to  have  some  recognized  coun- 
selor and  advisor  to  whom  we  may  all  appeal 
with  confidence  for  wdiolesome  instruction,  and, 

"  'Whereas,  We  should  be  at  a  loss  as  to  what 
course  of  action  might  be  necessary  for  us  to 
pursue  therefore, 

"  'Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  four  be  ap- 
pointed to  wait  upon  Selim  E.  Woodworth,  Esq., 
and  request  him  in  behalf  of  the  Chinese  resi- 
dents of  San  Francisco  to  act  in  the  capacity  of 
arbiter  and  advisor  for  them.' 

"Mr.  Woodworth  was  waited  upon  by  Ah  Hee, 
Jon  Ling,  Ah  Ting  and  Ah  Toon  and  kindly 
consented  to  act.  The  whole  affair  passed  off 
in  the  happiest  manner.  Many  distinguished 
guests  were  present,  Hon.  J.  W.  Geary,  alcalde; 
E.  H.  Harrison,  ex-collector  of  the  port,  and 
others." 

At  the  celebration  of  the  admission  of  Cali- 
fornia into  the  Union  the  "China  Roys"  were  a 
prominent  feature.  One  report  says:  "The 
Celestials  had  a  banner  of  crimson  satin  on 
which  were  some  Chinese  characters  and  the  in- 
scription 'China  Boys.'  They  numbered  about 
fifty  and  were  arrayed  in  the  richest  stuff  and 
commanded  by  their  chief.  Ah  Sing." 

While  the  "China  Boys"  were  feted  and  flat- 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


tered  in  San  Francisco  they  were  not  so  enthu- 
siastically welcomed  by  the  miners.  The  legis- 
lature in  1850  passed  a  law  fixing  the  rate  of 
license  for  a  foreign  miner  at  $20  per  month. 
This  was  intended  to  drive  out  and  keep  out  of 
the  mines  all  foreigners,  but  the  rate  was  so 
excessively  high  that  it  practically  nullified  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  and  it  was  repealed  in 
1 85 1.  As  the  Chinese  were  only  allowed  peace- 
able possession  of  mines  that  would  not  pay 
white  man's  wages  they  did  not  make  fortunes 
in  the  diggings.  If  by  chance  the  Asiatics 
should  happen  to  strike  it  rich  in  ground  aban- 
doned by  white  men  there  was  a  class  among 
the  white  miners  who  did  not  hesitate  to  rob  the 
Chinamen  of  their  ground. 

As  a  result  of  their  persecution  in  the  mines 
the  Chinese  flocked  to  San  Francisco  and  it  was 
not  long  until  that  city  had  more  "China  Boys" 
than  it  needed  in  its  business.  The  legislature 
of  1855  enacted  a  law  that  masters,  owners  or 
consignors  of  vessels  bringing  to  California 
persons  incompetent  to  become  citizens  under 
the  laws  of  the  state  should  pay  a  fine  of  $50  for 
every  such  person  landed.  A  suit  was  brought 
to  test  the  validity  of  the  act;  it  was  declared 
unconstitutional.  In  1858  the  foreign  miner's 
tax  was  $10  per  month  and  as  most  of  the  other 
foreigners  who  had  arrived  in  California  in  the 
early  '50s  had  by  this  time  become  citizens  by 
naturalization  the  foreigners  upon  whom  the 
tax  bore  most  heavily  were  the  Chinese  who 
could  not  become  citizens.  As  a  consequence 
many  of  them  were  driven  out  of  the  mines  and 
this  again  decreased  the  revenue  of  the  mining 
counties,  a  large  part  of  which  was  made  up  of 
poll  tax  and  license. 

The  classes  most  bitterly  opposed  to  the  Chi- 
nese in  the  mines  were  the  saloon-keepers,  the 
gamblers  and  their  constituents.  While  the 
Chinaman  himself  is  a  most  inveterate  gambler 
and  not  averse  to  strong  drink  he  did  not  divest 
himself  of  his  frugal  earnings  in  the  white  man's 
saloon  or  gambling  den.  and  the  gentry  who 
kept  these  institutions  were  the  first,  like  Bill 
Nye  in  Bret  Harte's  poem,  to  raise  the  cry. 
"We  are  ruined  by  Chinese  cheap  labor." 
While  the  southern  politicians  who  were  the 
rulers   of  the  state   before  the   Civil   war  were 


opposed  to  the  Chinese  and  legislated  against 
them,  it  was  not  done  in  the  interest  of  the  white 
laborer,  for  at  one  time  they  had  made  an  at- 
tempt to  introduce  the  coolie  system,  which  was 
to  have  been  a  substitute  for  their  beloved  in- 
stitution—slavery. They  could  not  endure  the 
presence  of  an  inferior  race  not  in  bondage.  The 
most  intolerant  and  the  most  bitter  opponents 
of  the  Chinese  then  and  later  when  opposition 
had  intensified  were  certain  servile  classes  of 
Europeans  who  in  their  native  countries  had  al- 
ways been  kept  in  a  state  of  servility  to  the  aris- 
tocracy, but  when  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Amer- 
ican citizens  by  naturalization  proceeded  to 
celebrate  their  release  from  their  former  serf- 
dom by  persecuting  the  Chinese,  whom  they  re- 
garded as  their  inferiors.  The  outcry  these  peo- 
ple made  influenced  politicians,  who  pandered  to 
them  for  the  sake  of  their  votes  to  make  laws 
and  ordinances  that  were  often  burlesques  on 
legislation. 

In  1870  the  legislature  enacted  a  law  impos- 
ing a  penalty  of  not  less  than  $1,000  nor  more 
than  $5,000  or  imprisonment  upon  any  one 
bringing  to  California  any  subject  of  China  or 
Japan  without  first  presenting  evidence  of  his 
or  her  good  character  to  the  commissioner  of 
immigration.  The  supreme  court  decided  the 
law  unconstitutional.  Laws  were  passed  pro- 
hibiting the  employment  of  Chinese  on  the  pub- 
lic works;  prohibiting  them  from  owning  real 
estate  and  from  obtaining  licenses  for  certain 
kinds  of  business.  The  supervisors  of  San  Fran- 
cisco passed  an  ordinance  requiring  that  the 
hair  of  any  male  prisoner  convicted  of  an  of- 
fense should  be  cut  within  one  inch  of  his  head. 
This,  of  course,  was  aimed  at  Chinese  convicts 
and  intended  to  deprive  them  of  their  queues 
and  degrade  them  in  the  estimation  of  their  peo- 
ple. It  was  known  as  the  Pig  Tail  Ordinance; 
the  mayor  vetoed  it.  Another  piece  of  class 
legislation  by  the  San  Francisco  supervisors  im- 
posed a  license  of  $15  a  quarter  on  laundries 
using  no  horses,  while  a  laundry  using  a  one- 
horse  wagon  paid  but  $2  per  quarter.  The  Chi- 
nese at  this  time  i  [876)  did  not  use  horses  in 
their  laundry  business.  The  omrts  decided 
against  this  ordinance. 

Notwithstanding    the    law-   and    ordinances 


HISTORICAL    AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


against  them  the  Chinese  continued  to  come 
and  they  found  employment  of  some  kind  to 
keep  them  from  starving.  They  were  indus- 
trious and  economical;  there  were  no  Chinese 
tramps.  Although  they  filled  a  want  in  the 
.state,  cheap  and  reliable  labor,  at  the  beginning 
of  its  railroad  and  agricultural  development, 
they  were  not  desirable  citizens.  Their  habits 
and  morals  were  bad.  Their  quarters  in  the 
cities  reeked  with  filth  and  immorality.  They 
maintained  their  Asiatic  customs  and  despised 
the  "white  devils"  among  whom  they  lived, 
which,  by  the  way,  was  not  strange  considering 
the  mobbing  and  maltreatment  they  received 
from  the  other  aliens.  They  made  merchandise 
of  their  women  and  carried  on  a  revolting  sys- 
tem of  female  slavery. 

The  Burlingame  treaty  guaranteed  mutual 
protection  to  the  citizens  of  China  and  the 
United  States  on  each  other's  soil ;  to  freedi  im  in 
religious  opinions;  to  the  right  to  reside  in 
either  country  at  will  and  other  privileges  ac- 
corded to  civilized  nations.  Under  this  treat) 
the  Chinese  could  not  be  kept  out  of  California 
and  agitation  was  begun  for  the  modification  or 
entire  abrogation  of  the  treat). 

For  a  number  of  years  there  had  been  a  steady 
decline  in  the  price  of  labor.  Various  causes 
had  contributed  to  this.  The  productiveness  of 
the  mines  had  decreased;  railroad  communica- 
tion with  the  east  had  brought  in  a  number  of 
workmen  and  increased  competition;  the  efforts 
of  thelabor  unions  to  decrease  the  hours  of  labor 
and  still  keep  up  the  wages  at  the  old  standard 
had  resulted  in  closing  up  some  O  the  manu- 
facturing establishments,  th<  proprietors  finding 
it  impossible  to  compete  with  eastern  factories. 
All  these  and  other  causes  brought  about  a  de- 
pression in  business  and  brought  en  in  [877-78 
a  labor  agitation  that  shook  the  foundations  of 
our  social  fabric.  The  hard  times  and  decline  in 
wages  was  charged  against  the  Chinese.  No 
doubl  the  presence  of  the  Mongolians  in  Cali- 
fornia had  considerable  to  do  with  it  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  lower  grades  of  employment 
but  the  depres  ion  was  mainly  caused  from 
over-production  and  the  financial  crisis  of  1873, 
which  had  affected  tin  whole  I  baited 
Another  cause  local  to  California  was  the  wild 


mania  for  stock  gambling  that  had  prevailed  in 
(  alifornia  for  a  number  of  years.  The  bonanza 
kings  of  the  Washoe  by  getting  up  corners  in 
stocks  running  up  fraudulent  values  and  then 
unloading  on  outside  buyers  had  impoverished 
thousands  of  people  of  small  means  and  enriched 
themselves  without   any  return  to  their  dupes. 

Hard  times  always  brings  to  the  front  a  class 
of  noisy  demagogues  who  with  no  remedy  to 
prescribe  increase  the  discontent  by  vitupera- 
tive abuse  of  everybody  outside  of  their  sym- 
pathizers. The  first  of  the  famous  sand  lot  mass 
meetings  of  San  Francisco  was  held  July  23. 
1877,  on  a  vacant  lot  on  the  Market  street 
side  of  the  city  hall.  Harangues  were  made  and 
resolutions  passed  denouncing  capitalists,  de- 
claring against  subsidies  to  steamship  and  rail- 
road lines,  declaring  that  the  reduction  of  wages 
was  part  of  a  conspiracy  for  the  destruction  of 
the  republic  and  that  the  military  should  not  be 
employed  against  strikers.  An  anti-coolie  club 
was  formed  and  on  that  and  the  two  succeeding 
evenings  a  number  of  Chinese  laundries  were 
destroyed.  In  a  fight  between  the  police  (aided 
by  the  committee  of  safely)  and  the  rioters  sev- 
eral .if  the  latter  were  killed.  Threats  were 
made  to  destroy  the  railroad  property  and  burn 
the  vessels  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Com- 
pany  unless  the  Chinese  in  their  employ  were 
immediately  discharged. 

Among  the  agitators  that  this  ebullition  of  dis- 
content threw  to  the  front  was  an  Irish  dray- 
man named  Dennis  Kearney.  Fie  was  shrewd 
<  nough  to  see  that  some  notoriety  and  political 
capital  could  lie  made  by  the  organization  of  a 
Workingmen's  party. 

On  the  5th  of  October  a  permanent  organiza- 
tionof  the  Workingmen's  party  of  California  was 
effected.  Dennis  Kearney  was  chosen  president, 
J.  G.  Day,  vice-president,  and  II.  L.  Knight,  sec- 
retary. The  principles  of  the  party  were  the  con- 
densed essence  of  selfishness.  The  working 
classes  were  to  be  elevated  at  the  expense  of 
every  other.  "We  propose  to  elect  none  but  com- 
petent workingmen  and  their  friends  to  am  <>\- 
lire  whatever."  "The  rich  have  ruled  us  till  they 
have  ruined  us."  "The  republic  must  and  shall 
served,  and  only  workingmen  will  do  it." 
'This  party  will  exhaust  all  peaceable  means  of 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


.•:;:: 


attaining  its  ends,  but  it  will  not  be  denied  jus- 
tice when  it  has  the  power  to  enforce  it."  "It 
will  encourage  no  riot  or  outrage,  but  it  will 
not  volunteer  to  repress  or  put  down  or  arrest, 
or  prosecute  the  hungry  and  impatient  who 
manifest  their  hatred  of  the  Chinamen  by  a  cru- 
sade against  John  or  those  who  employ  him." 
These  and  others  as  irrelevant  and  immaterial 
were  the  principles  of  the  Workingmen's  party 
that  was  to  bring  the  millennium.  The  move- 
ment spread  rapidly,  clubs  were  formed  in  every 
ward  in  San  Francisco  and  there  were  organiza- 
tions in  all  the  cities  of  the  state.  The  original 
leaders  were  all  of  foreign  birth,  but  when  the 
movement  ''became  popular  native  born  dema- 
gogues, perceiving  in  it  an  opportunity  to  ob- 
tain office,  abandoned  the  old  parties  and  joined 
the  new. 

Kearney  now  devoted  his  whole  time  to  agi- 
tation, and  the  applause  he  received  from  his 
followers  pampered  his  inordinate  conceit.  His 
language  was  highly  incendiary.  He  advised 
every  workingman  to  own  a  musket  and  one 
hundred  rounds  of  ammunition  and  urged  the 
formation  of  military  companies.  He  posed  as 
a  reformer  and  even  hoped  for  martyrdom.  In 
one  of  his  harangues  he  said:  "If  I  don't  get 
killed  I  will  do  more  than  any  reformer  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  I  hope  I  will  be  assassi- 
nated, for  the  success  of  the  movement  depends 
on  that."  The  incendiary  rant  of  Kearney  and 
his  fellows  became  alarming.  It  was  a  tame 
meeting,  at  which  no  "thieving  millionaire, 
scoundrelly  official  or  extortionate  railroad  mag- 
nate" escaped  lynching  by  the  tongues  of  la- 
borite  reformers.  The  charitable  people  of  the 
city  had  raised  by  subscription  $20,000  to  al- 
leviate the  prevailing  distress  among  the  poor. 
It  was  not  comforting  to  a  rich  man  to  hear 
himself  doomed  to  "hemp!  hemp!  hemp!" 
simply  because  by  industry,  economy  and  enter- 
prise he  had  made  a  fortune.  It  became  evident 
that  if  Kearney  and  his  associates  were  allowed 
to  talk  of  hanging  men  and  burning  the  city 
some  of  their  dupes  would  put  in  practice  the 
teachings  of  their  leaders.  The  supervisors, 
urged  on  by  the  better  class  of  citizens,  passed 
an  ordinance  called  by  the  sand-lotters  "Gibbs' 
gag  law."    On  the  29th  of  October,  Kearney  and 


his  fellow  agitators,  with  a  mob  of  two  or  three 
thousand  followers,  held  a  meeting  on  Xob  Hill, 
where  Stanford,  Crocker,  Hopkins  and  other 
railroad  magnates  hail  built  palatial  residences. 
He  roundly  denounced  as  thieves  the  nabobs  of 
Nob  Hill  and  declared  that  they  would  soon  feel 
the  power  of  the  workingmen.  When  his  party- 
was  thoroughly  organized  they  would  march 
through  the  city  and  compel  the  thieves  to  give 
up  their  plunder;  that  he  would  lead  them  to  the 
city  hall,  clear  out  the  police,  hang  the  pros- 
ecuting attorney,  burn  every  book  that  had  a 
particle  of  law  in  it,  and  then  enact  new  laws 
for  the  workingmen.  These  and  other  utter- 
ances equally  inflammatory  caused  his  arrest 
while  addressing  a  meeting  on  the  borders  of 
the  Barbary  coast.  Trouble  was  expected,  but 
he  quietly  submitted  and  was  taken  to  jail  and  a 
few  days  later  Day,  Knight,  C.  C.  <  1'Donnell  and 
Charles  E.  Pickett  were  arrested  on  charges  of 
inciting  riot  and  taken  to  jail.  A  few  days  in 
jail  cooled  them  off  and  they  began  to  "squeal." 
They  addressed  a  letter  to  the  mayor,  saying 
their  utterances  had  been  incorrectly  reported 
l>v  the  press  and  that  if  released  they  were  will- 
ing to  submit  to  any  wise  measure  to  allay  the 
excitement.  They  were  turned  louse  after  two 
weeks'  imprisonment  and  their  release  was  cele- 
brated on  Thanksgiving  Day,  November  20.  by 
a  grand  demonstration  of  sand  lotters — seven 
thousand  of  whom  paraded  the  streets. 

It  was  not  long  before  Kearney  and  his  fel- 
lows were  back  on  the  sand  lots  hurling  nut 
threats  of  lynching,  burning  and  blowing  up. 
<  In  January  5  the  grand  jury  presented  indict- 
ments against  Kearney,  Wellock,  Knight, 
O'Donnell  and  Pickett.  They  were  all  released 
on  the  rulings  of  the  judge  of  the  criminal  court 
on  the  grounds  that  no  actual  ri.it  had  taken 
place. 

The  first  victory  <>i  the  so-called  Working- 
men's  parte  was  the  election  of  a  state  senator  in 
Alameda  count)  to  till  a  vacancj  caused  by  the 
death  of  Senator  Porter.  An  individual  by  the 
name  <>f  John  W.  Bones  was  elected.  On  ac- 
counl  of  his  being  long  and  lean  he  was  known 
as  Barebones  and  sometimes  Praise  God  Bare- 
bones.  His  only  services  in  the  senate  were  the 
perpetration   of   some   doggerel    verses    and  a 


234 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


speech  or  two  on  Kearney's  theme,  "The  Chi- 
nese Must  Go."  At  the  election  held  June  [9, 
1878,  to  choose  delegates  to  a  constitutional 
convention  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
delegates  the  Workingmen  elected  fifty-seven, 
thirty-one  of  whom  were  from  San  Francisco. 
The  convention  met  at  Sacramento,  September 
28,  1878,  and  continued  to  sit  in  all  one  hundred 
and  fifty-seven  days.  It  was  a  mixed  assem- 
blage. There  were  some  of  the  ablest  men  in 
the  state  in  it,  and  there  were  some  of  the  most 
narrow  minded  and  intolerant  bigots  there.  The 
Workingmen  flocked  by  themselves,  while  the 
non-partisans,  the  Republicans  and  Democrats, 
for  the  most  part,  acted  in  unison.  Opposition 
to  the  Chinese,  which  was  a  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  Workingmen's  creed,  was  not  con- 
fined to  them  alone;  some  of  the  non-partisans 
were  as  bitter  in  their  hatred  of  the  Mongolians 
as  the  Kearneyites.  Some  of  the  crudities  pro- 
posed for  insertion  in  the  new  constitution  were 
laughable  for  their  absurdity.  One  sand  lotter 
proposed  to  amend  the  bill  of  rights,  that  all  men 
are  by  nature  free  and  independent,  to  read,  "All 
men  who  are  capable  of  becoming  citizens  of  the 
United  States  are  by  nature  free  and  inde- 
pendent." One  non-partisan  wanted  to  incor- 
porate into  the  fundamental  law  of  the  state 
Kearney's  slogan,  "The  Chinese  Must  Go." 

After  months  of  discussion  the  convention 
evolved  a  constitution  that  the  ablest  men  in 
that  body  repudiated,  some  of  them  going  so  fat- 
as  to  take  the  stump  against  it.  But  at  the  elec- 
tion it  carried  by  a  large  majority.  Kearney 
continued  his  sand  lot  harangues.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  [879  he  made  a  trip  through  the  south- 
ern counties  of  the  state,  delivering  his  diatribes 
against  the  railroad  magnates,  the  land  mo- 
nopolists and  the  Chinese.  At  the  town  of  Santa 
Ana,  now  the  county  seat  of  ( )range  county,  in 
his  harangue  he  made  a  vituperative  attack 
upon  the  McFadden  Brothers,  who  a  year  or 
two  before  had  built  a  steamer  and  run  it  in  op- 
position  i"  (In-  regular  coast  line  steamers  until 
forced  to  sell  it  on  account  of  losses  incurred  by 
the  competition.  Kearney  made  a  number  of 
false  and  libelous  statements  in  regard  to  tin- 
transaction.  While  he  was  waiting  fur  tin-  stage 
to  San  Dieero  in  front  of  the  hotel  he  was  0 in- 


fronted  by  Rule,  an  employee  of  the  McFad- 
den's,  with  an  imperious  demand  for  the  name  of 
Kearney's  informant.  Kearney  turned  white 
with  fear  and  blubbered  out  something  about 
not  giving  away  his  friends.  Rule  struck  him 
a  blow  that  sent  him  reeling  against  the  build- 
ing. Gathering  himself  together  he  made  a  rush 
into  the  hotel,  drawing  a  pistol  as  he  ran.  Rule 
pursued  him  through  the  dining  room  and  out 
across  a  vacant  lot  and  into  a  drug  store,  where 
he  downed  him  and,  holding  him  down  with  his 
knee  on  his  breast,  demanded  the  name  of  his 
informer.  One  of  the  slandered  men  pulled 
Rule  off  the  "martyr"  and  Kearney,  with  a  face 
resembling  a  beefsteak,  took  his  departure  to 
San  Diego.  From  that  day  on  he  ceased  his 
vituperative  attacks  on  individuals.  He  had  met 
the  only  argument  that  could  convince  him  of 
the  error  of  his  ways.  He  lost  caste  with  his 
fellows.  This  braggadocio,  who  had  boasted  of 
leading  armies  to  conquer  the  enemies  of  the 
Workingmen,  with  a  pistol  in  his  hand  had 
ignominiously  fled  from  an  unarmed  man  and 
had  taken  a  humiliating  punishment  without  a 
show  of  resistance.  His  following  began  to  de- 
sert him  and  Kearney  went  if  the  Chinese  did 
not.  The  Workingmen's  party  put  up  a  state 
ticket  in  1879,  but  it  was  beaten  at  the  polls  and 
went  to  pieces.  In  1880  James  Angell  of  Mich- 
igan, John  F.  Swift  of  California,  and  William 
H.  Trescott  of  South  Carolina  were  appointed 
commissioners  to  proceed  to  China  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forming  new  treaties.  An  agreement 
was  reached  with  the  Chinese  authorities  by 
which  laborers  could  be  debarred  for  a  certain 
period  from  entering  the  United  States.  Those 
in  the  country  were  all  allowed  the  rights  that 
aliens  of  other  countries  had.  The  senate  ratified 
the  treaty  May  5th.  1881. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  governors  of  Cal- 
ifornia, Spanish.  Mexican  and  American,  with 
date  of  appointment  or  election:  Spanish: 
Caspar  de  Portola,  [767;  Felipe  Barri,  177 1 ; 
Felipe  de  Xcve,  1774:  Pedro  Fages,  1790;  Jose 
Antonio  Romeu,  171)0;  Jose  Joaquin  de  Ar- 
rillaga,  17(1-':  Diego  de  Borica,  1704:  Jose  Joa- 
quin de  Arrillaga,  1800;  Jose  Arguello,  1814; 
Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola,  iSiv  Mexican  gov- 
ernors:    Pablo  Vicente    de    Sola,    1822:    Luis 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Arguello,  1823;  Jose  Maria  Echeandia,  1825; 
Manuel  Victoria,  1831 ;  Pio  Pico,  1832;  Jose 
Maria  Echeandia,  Agustin  Zamorano,  1832; 
Jose  Figueroa,  1833;  Jose  Castro,  1835;  Nicolas 
Gutierrez,  1836;  Mariano  Chico,  1836;  Nicolas 
Gutierrez,  1836;  Juan  B.  Alvarado,  1836;  Man- 
uel Micheltorena,  1842;  Pio  Pico,  1845.  Amer- 
ican military  governors:  Commodore  Robert 
F.  Stockton,  1846;  Col.  John  C.  Fremont,  Jan- 
uary, 1847;  Gen.  Stephen  W.  Kearny,  March 
1,  1847;  Col.  Richard  B.  Mason,  May  31,  1847; 
Gen.  Bennet  Riley,  April  13,  1849.  American 
governors  elected:  Peter  H.  Burnett,  1840. 
John  McDougal,  Lieutenant-governor,  became 
governor  on  resignation  of  P.  H.  Burnett  in 
January,  1851:  John  Bigler,  1851:  John  Bigler, 


1853;  J-  Neely  Johnson,  1855;  John  B.  Weller, 
1857;  M.  S.  Latham,  1859;  John  G.  Downey, 
lieutenant-governor,  became  governor  in  1850 
by  election  of  Latham  to  United  States  senate; 
Leland  Stanford,  1S61:  Frederick  F.  Low,  1863; 
Henry  II.  Haight,  1867;  Newton  Booth,  1871; 
Romualdo  Pacheco,  lieutenant  governor,  be- 
came governor  February,  1875,  on  election  of 
Booth  to  the  United  States  senate;  William  Ir- 
win, 1875;  George  C.  Perkins,  1879;  George 
Stoneman,  1882;  Washington  Bartlett.  [886; 
Robert  W.  Waterman,  lieutenant-governor,  be- 
came governor  September  12,  1887,  upon  the 
death  of  Governor  Bartlett:  H.  H.  Markham, 
1890;  James  H.  Budd,  1894;  Henry  T.  Gage, 
1898. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

EDUCATION    AND    EDUCATIONAL    INSTITUTIONS. 


THE  Franciscans,  unlike  the  Jesuits,  were 
not  the  patrons  of  education.  They 
bent  all  their  energies  towards  pros- 
elyting. Their  object  was  to  fit  their  converts 
for  the  next  world.  An  ignorant  soul  might 
be  as  happy  in  paradise  as  the  most  learned. 
Why  educate  the  neophyte?  He  was  converted, 
baptized  and  when  granted  absolution  had  his 
passport  to  heaven.  There  were  no  public 
schools  at  the  missions.  A  few  of  the  brightest 
of  the  neophytes,  who  were  trained  to  sing  in 
the  church  choirs,  were  taught  to  read,  but  the 
great  mass  of  them,  even  those  of  the  third  gen- 
eration, born  and  reared  at  the  missions,  were 
as  ignorant  of  book  learning  as  were  their  great- 
grandfathers, who  ran  naked  among  the  oak 
trees  of  the  mesas  and  fed  on  acorns. 

Nor  was  there  much  attention  paid  to  edu- 
cation among  the  gente  de  razon  of  the  pre- 
sidios and  pueblos.  But  few  of  the  common 
people  could  read  and  write.     Their  ancestors 

had  made  their  way  in  the  world  without  1 k 

learning.  Why  should  the  child  know  more 
than  the  parent?  And  trained  to  have  great  filial 
regard  for  his  parent,  it  was  not  often  that 
the  progeny  aspired   to  rise  higher  in  the  scale 


of  intelligence  than  his  progenitor.  Of  the 
eleven  heads  of  families  who  founded  Los  An- 
geles, not  one  could  sign  his  name  to  the  title 
deed  of  his  house  lot.  Xor  were  these  an  ex- 
ceptionally ignorant  collection  of  hombres.  Out 
of  fifty  men  comprising  the  Monterey  company 
in  1785,  but  fourteen  could  write.  In  the  com- 
pany stationed  at  San  Francisco  in  [794  not  a 
soldier  among  them  could  read  or  write;  and 
forty  years  later  of  one  hundred  men  at  Son,  una 
not  one  could  write  his  name. 

The  first  communit}  wanl  the  American  pio- 
neers supplied  was  (he  school  house.  Wher- 
ever the  immigrants  from  the  New  England 
and  the  middle  states  planted  a  settlement,  there, 
at  the  same  time,  the)  planted  a  school  h 
The  first  community  want  that  the  Spanish 
pabladores  (colonists)  supplied  was  a  church. 
The  school  house  was  nol  wanted  or  if  wanted  it 
was  a  long  felt  want  that  was  rarely  or  never 
satisfied.  At  the  time  of  the  acqui 
ifornia  by  the  Americans,  sevent)  seven  years 
from  the  date  of  its  first  settlement,  there  was 
not  a  public  school  house  owned  by  any  pre- 
sidio, i'ii.  bio  1  ir  city  in  a      I    I        ■■  >ry 

The    first     public    school    in    California    was 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


opened  in  San  Jose  in  December,  1794,  seven- 
teen years  alter  the  founding  of  that  pueblo. 
The  pioneer  teacher  of  California  was  Manuel 
de  Vargas,  a  retired  sergeant  of  infantry.  The 
school  was  opened  in  the  public  granary. 
Vargas,  in  1795,  was  offered  $250  to  open  a 
school  in  San  Diego.  As  tins  was  higher  wages 
than  he  was  receiving  he  accepted  the  offer. 
Jose  Manuel  Toca,  a  gamute  or  ship  boy.  ar- 
rived on  a  Spanish  transport  in  1795  and  the 
same  year  was  employed  at  Santa  Barbara  as 
schoolmaster  at  a  yearly  salary  of  Si 25.  Thus 
the  army  and  the  navy  pioneered  education  in 
California. 

Governor  Borica,  the  founder  of  public 
schools  in  California,  resigned  in  1800  and  was 
succeeded  by  Arrillaga.  Governor  Arrillaga,  if 
not  opposed  to,  was  at  least  indifferent  to  the 
education  of  the  common  people.  He  took  life 
easy  and  the  schools  took  long  vacations;  in- 
deed, it  was  nearly  all  vacation  during  his  term. 
Governor  Sola,  the  successor  of  Arrillaga,  made 
an  effort  to  establish  public  schools,  but  the  in- 
difference of  the  people  discouraged  him.  In 
the  lower  pueblo.  Los  Angeles,  the  first  school 
was  opened  in  1817,  thirty-six  years  after  the 
founding  of  the  town.  The  first  teacher  then- 
was  Maximo  Piha.  an  invalid  soldier.  He  re- 
ceived $140  a  year  for  his  services  as  school- 
master. If  the  records  are  correct,  his  was  the 
only  school  taught  in  Los  Angeles  during  the 
Spanish  regime.  <  hie  year  of  schooling  to  forty- 
years  of  vacation,  there  was  no  educational 
cramming  in  those  days.  The  schoolmasters  of 
the  Spanish  era  were  invalid  soldiers,  possessed 
of  that  dangerous  thing,  a  "little  learning:  '  and 
it  was  very  little  indeed.  About  all  they  could 
teach  was  reading,  writing  and  the  doctrina 
Christiana.  They  were  brutal  tyrants  and  their 
school  government  a  military  despotism.  They 
did  not  spare  the  roil  or  the  child,  either.  The 
rod  was  too  mild  an  instrument  of  punishment. 
Their  implement  of  torture  was  a  cat-o'-nine- 
tails, made  of  hempen  cords  with  iron  points. 
To  fail  in  learning  the  doctrina  Christiana  was 
an  unpardonable  sin.  for  this,  for  laughing 
aloud,  playing  truant  or  other  offenses  no  more 
heinous,  the  guilty  boy  "was  stretched  face 
downward  upon   .1   bench   with   a  handkerchief 


thrust  into  his  mouth  as  a  gag  and  lashed  with  a 
dozen  or  more  blows  until  the  blood  ran  down 
his  little  lacerated  back."  If  he  could  nut  im- 
bibe the  Christian  doctrine  in  any  other  way, 
it  was  injected  into  him  with  the  points  of  the 
lash. 

Mexico  did  better  for  education  in  California 
than  Spain.  The  school  terms  were  lengthened 
and  the  vacation  shortened  proportionally.  Gov- 
ernor Echeandia,  a  man  hated  by  the  friars,  was 
an  enthusiastic  friend  of  education.  "He  be- 
lieved in  the  gratuitous  and  compulsory  educa- 
tion of  rich  and  poor,  Indians  and  g ente  de 
razoy  alike."  He  held  that  learning  was  the 
corner-stone  of  a  people's  wealth  and  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  government  to  foster  education. 
When  the  friars  heard  of  his  views  "they  called 
upon  God  to  pardon  the  unfortunate  ruler  un- 
able to  comprehend  how  vastly  superior  a  re- 
ligious education  was  to  one  merely  secular." 
Echeandia  made  a  brave  attempt  to  establish  a 
public  school  system  in  the  territory.  He  de- 
manded of  the  friars  that  they  establish  a-school 
at  each  mission  for  the  neophytes;  they  prom- 
ised,  but,  with  the  intention  of  evading,  a  show 
was  made  of  opening  schools.  Soon  it  was  re- 
ported that  the  funds  were  exhausted  and  the 
schools  had  to  close  for  want  of  means  to  sup- 
port them.  Nor  was  Echeandia  more  successful 
with  the  people.  He  issued  an  order  to  the 
commanding  officers  at  the  presidios  to  compel 
parents  to  send  their  children  to  school.  The 
school  at  Monterey  was  opened,  the  alcalde  act- 
in-  as  schoolmaster.  The  school  furniture  con- 
sisted of  one  table  and  the  school  books  were 
one  arithmetic  and  four  primers.  The  school 
funds  were  as  meager  as  the  school  furniture. 
Echeandia,  unable  to  contend  against  the  enmity 
of  the  friars,  the  indifference  of  the  parents  and 
the  lack  of  funds,  reluctantly  abandoned  his 
futile  fight  against  ignorance. 

(  hie  of  the  most  active  and  earnest  friends  of 
the  public  schools  during  the  Mexican  era  was 
the  much  abused  Governor  Mic'heltorena.  He 
made  an  earnest  effort  to  establish  a  public 
school  system  in  California.  Through  his  efforts 
schools    were   established    in    all    the   principal 


Panel   'ft'-    California    Pastoral. 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD-. 


towns  and  a  guarantee  of  $500  from  the  ter- 
ritorial funds  promised  to  each  school.  Michel- 
torena  promulgated  what  might  be  called  the 
first  school  law  of  California.  It  was  a  decree 
issued  May  1,  1844,  and  consisted  of  ten  articles, 
which  prescribed  what  should  be  taught  in  the 
schools,  school  hours,  school  age  of  the  pupils 
and  other  regulations.  Article  10  named  the 
most  holy  virgin  of  Guadalupe  as  patroness  of 
the  schools.  Her  image  was  to  be  placed  in 
each  school.  But,  like  all  his  predecessors, 
Micheltorena  failed:  the  funds  were  soon  ex- 
hausted and  the  schools  closed. 

Even  had  the  people  been  able  to  read  there 
would  have  been  nothing  for  them  to  read  but 
religious  books.  The  friars  kept  vigilant  watch 
that  no  interdicted  books  were  brought  into  the 
country.  If  any  were  found  they  were  seized 
and  publicly  burned.  Castro,  Alvarado  and  Val- 
lejo  were  at  one  time  excommunicated  for  read- 
ing Rousseau's  works,  Telemachus  and  other 
books  on  the  prohibited  list.  Alvarado  having 
declined  to  pay  Father  Duran  some  money  he 
owed  him  because  it  was  a  sin  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  an  excommunicated  person,  and 
therefore  it  would  be  a  sin  for  the  father  to  take 
money  from  him,  the  padre  annulled  the  sen- 
tence, received  the  money  and  gave  Alvarado 
permission  to  read  anything  he  wished. 

During  the  war  fur  the  conquest  of  California 
and  for  some  time  afterwards  the  schools  were 
all  closed.  The  wild  rush  to  the  gold  mines  in 
1848  carried  away  the  male  population.  No  one 
would  stay  at  home  and  teach  school  for  the 
paltry  pay  given  a  schoolmaster.  The  ayunta- 
miento  of  Los  Angeles  in  the  winter  of  1849-50 
appointed  a  committee  to  establish  a  school. 
After  a  three  months'  hunt  the  committee  re- 
ported "that  an  individual  had  just  presented 
himself  who,  although  he  did  not  speak  English, 
yet  could  he  teach  the  children  many  useful 
things;  and  besides  the  same  person  had  man- 
aged to  get  the  refusal  of  Mrs.  Pollerena's  house 
for  school  purpose."  At  the  next  meeting  of  the 
ayuntamiento  the  committee  reported  that  the 
individual  who  had  offered  to  teach  had  left  for 
the  mines  and  neither  a  school  house  nor  a 
schoolmaster  could  be  found. 

In  June,   1850,  the  ayuntamiento  entered  into 


a  contract  with  Francisco  Bustamente,  an  ex- 
soldier,  "to  teach  to  the  children  first,  second 
and  third  lessons  and  likewise  to  read  script,  to 
write  and  count  and  so  much  as  I  may  be  com- 
petent to  teach  them  orthography  and  good 
morals."  Bustamente  was  to  receive  $60  per 
month  and  $20  for  house  rent.  This  was  the 
first  school  opened  in  Los  Angeles  after  the 
conquest. 

"'I  he  first  American  school  in  San  Francisco 
and.  we  believe,  in  California,  was  a  merely  pri- 
vate enterprise.  It  was  opened  by  a  Mr.  Mars- 
ton  from  one  of  the  Atlantic  states  in  April, 
1N47.  in  a  small  shanty  which  stood  on  the  block 
I  iet  ween  Broadway  and  Pacific  streets,  west  of 
Dupont  street.  There  lie  collected  some  twenty 
or  thirty  pupils,  whom  he  continued  to  teach  for 
almost  a  whole  year,  his  patrons  paying  for  tui- 
tion."* 

In  the  fall  of  1847  a  school  house  was  built 
"ii  the  southwest  corner  of  Portsmouth  square, 
fronting  on  Clay  street.  The  money  to  build  it 
was  raised  by  subscription.  It  was  a  very  mod- 
est structure — box  shaped  with  a  door  and  two 
windows  in  the  front  and  two  windows  in  each 
end.  It  served  a  variety  of  purposes  besides  that 
of  a  school  house.  It  was  a  public  hall  for  all 
kinds  of  meetings.  Churches  held  service  m  it. 
1  he  first  public  amusements  were  given  in  it. 
At  one  time  it  was  used  for  a  court  room.  The 
first  meeting  to  form  a  state  government  was 
held  in  it.  It  was  finally  degraded  to  a  police 
office  and  a  station  house.  For  some  time  after 
it  was  built  no  school  was  kept  in  it  for  want  of 
funds. 

On  the  Jisi  of  February,  1848,  a  town  meet- 
ing was  called  for  the  election  ,,f  a  board  of 
school  trustees  and  Dr.  P.  Fourguard,  Dr.  |. 
Townsend,  C.  L.  Ross,  J.  Serrini  and  William 
H.  Davis  were  chosen.  <  )n  the  3d  of  April  fol- 
lowing these  trustees  opened  a  school  in  the 
school  house  under  the  charge  of  Thomas 
Douglas,  A.  M..  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  and 
an  experienced  teacher  of  high  reputation.  The 
board  pledged  him  a  salary  of  $1,000  per  an- 
num and  fixed  a  tariff  of  tuition  to  aid  towards 
its  payment;  and  the  town  council,  afterwards, 

\iiii.m-    of    San    Francisco. 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


to  make  up  any  deficiency,  appropriated  to  the 
payment  of  the  teacher  of  the  public  school  in 
this  place  $200  at  the  expiration  of  twelve 
months  from  the  commencement  of  the  school. 
"Soon  after  this  Mr.  Marston  discontinued  his 
private  school  and  Mr.  Douglas  collected  some 
forty  pupils."* 

The  school  flourished  for  eight  or  ten  weeks. 
Gold  had  been  discovered  and  rumors  were 
coming  thick  and  fast  of  fortunes  made  in  a  day. 
A  thousand  dollars  a  year  looked  large  to  Air. 
Douglas  when  the  contract  was  made,  but  in  the 
light  of  recent  events  it  looked  rather  small. 
A  man  in  the  diggings  might  dig  out  $1,000  in  a 
week.  So  the  schoolmaster  laid  down  the 
pedagogical  birch,  shouldered  his  pick  and  hied 
himself  away  to  the  diggings.  In  the  rush  for 
gold,  education  was  forgotten.  December  12, 
1848,  Charles  \Y.  II.  Christian  reopened  the 
school,  charging  tuition  at  the  rate  of  $10.  Evi- 
dently he  did  not  teach  longer  than  it  took  him 
to  earn  money  to  reach  the  mines.  April  23, 
[849,  the  Rev.  Albert  Williams,  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  church,  obtained  the  use  of 
the  school  house  and  opened  a  private  school,, 
charging  tuition.  He  gave  up  school  teaching 
to  attend  to  his  ministerial  duties.  In  the  fall 
of  '49  John  C.  Pelton,  a  Massachusetts  school- 
master, arrived  in  San  Francisco  and  December 
26  opened  a  school  with  three  pupils  in  the  Bap- 
tist church  on  Washington  street.  He  fitted  up 
the  church  with  writing  tables  and  benches  at 
his  own  expense,  depending  on  voluntary  con- 
tributions for  his  support.  In  the  spring  of 
1850  he  applied  to  the  city  council  for  relief  and 
for  his  services  and  that  of  his  wife  he  received 
$500  a  month  till  the  summer  of  1851.  when  he 
closed  his  school. 

Col.  T.  J.  Xevins.  in  June.  1850,  obtained  rent 
free  the  use  of  a  building  near  the  present  inter- 
section of  Mission  and  Second  streets  for  school 
purposes,  lie  employed  a  Mr.  Samuel  New- 
ton as  teacher.  The  school  was  opened  July 
13.  The  school  passed  under  the  supervision 
of  several  teachers.  The  attendance  was  small 
at  first  and  the  school  was  supported  by  con- 
tributions, but   later  the  council  voted   an  ap 


propriation.  The  school  was  closed  in  1851. 
Colonel  Nevins,  in  January,  1851,  secured  a 
fifty-vara  lot  at  Spring  Valley  on  the  Presidio 
road  and  built  principally  by  subscription  a 
large  school  building,  employed  a  teacher  and 
opened  a  free  school,  supported  by  contributions. 
The  building  was  afterwards  leased  to  the  city 
to  be  used  for  a  free  school,  the  term  ot  the 
lease  running  ninety-nine  years.  This  was  the 
first  school  building  in  which  the  city  had  an 
ownership.  Colonel  Xevins  prepared  an  ordi- 
nance for  the  establishment,  regulation  and 
support  of  free  common  schools  in  the  city. 
The  ordinance  was  adopted  by  the  city  council 
September  25,  185 1,  and  was  the  first  ordinance 
establishing  free  schools  and  providing  for  their 
maintenance  in  San  Francisco. 

A  bill  to  provide  for  a  public  school  system 
was  introduced  in  the  legislature  of  1850,  but 
the  committee  on  education  reported  that  it 
would  be  two  or  three  years  before  any  means 
would  become  available  from  the  liberal  pro- 
visions of  the  constitution;  in  the  meantime 
the  persons  who  had  children  to  educate  could 
do  it  out  of  their  own  pockets.  So  all  action 
was  postponed  and  the  people  who  had  children 
paid  for  their  tuition  or  let  them  run  without 
schooling. 

The  first  school  law  was  passed  in  1851.  It 
was  drafted  mainly  by  G.  LI.  Lingley,  John  C. 
Pelton  and  the  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion, J.  G.  Marvin.  It  was  revised  and  amended 
by  the  legislatures  of  1852  and  1853.  The  state 
school  fund  then  was  derived  from  the  sale  and 
rental  of  five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  state 
land;  the  estates  of  deceased  persons  escheated 
to  the  state;  state  poll  tax  and  a  state  tax  of 
five  cents  on  each  $100  of  assessed  property. 
Congress  in  1853  granted  to  California  the  16th 
and  36th  sections  of  the  public  lands  for  school 
purposes.  The  total  amount  of  this  grant  was 
six  million  seven  hundred  and  sixty-five  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  four  acres,  of  which 
forty-six  thousand  and  eighty  acres  were  to  be 
deducted  for  the  founding  of  a  state  university 
or  college  and  six  thousand  four  hundred  acres 
for  public  buildings. 

The  first  apportionment  of  state  funds  was 
made  in    1854.     The  amount  of  state  funds  for 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


that  year  was  $52,961.  The  county  and  mu- 
nicipal school  taxes  amounted  to  $157,702. 
These  amounts  were  supplemented  by  rate  bills 
to  the  amount  of  $42,557.  In  1856  the  state 
fund  had  increased  to  $69,961,  while  rate  bills 
had  decreased  to  $28,619.  That  year  there  were 
thirty  thousand  and  thirty-nine  children  of 
school  age  in  the  state,  of  these  only  about 
fifteen  thousand  were  enrolled  in  the  schools. 

In  the  earlier  years,  following  the  American 
conquest,  the  schools  were  confined  almost  en- 
tirely to  the  cities.  The  population  in  the  coun- 
try districts  was  too  sparse  to  maintain  a  school. 
The  first  school  house  in  Sacramento  was  built 
in  1849.  lC  was  located  on  I  street.  C.  H.  T. 
Palmer  opened  school  in  it  in  August.  It  was 
supported  by  rate  bills  and  donations.  He  gath- 
ered together  about  a  dozen  pupils.  The  school 
was  soon  discontinued.  Several  other  parties 
in  succession  tried  school  keeping  in  Sacra- 
mento, but  did  not  make  a  success  of  it.  It  was 
not  until"  1851  that  a  permanent  school  was  es- 
tablished. A  public  school  was  taught  in  Mon- 
terey in  1849  by  Rev.  Willey.  The  school  was 
kept  in  Colton  Hall.  The  first  public  school 
house  in  Los  Angeles  was  built  in  1854.  Hugh 
Overns  taught  the  first  free  school  there  in  1850. 

The  amount  paid  for  teachers'  salaries  in  1854 
was  $85,860;  in  1900  it  reached  $4,850,804.  The 
total  expenditures  for  school  purposes  in  1854 
amounted  to  $275,606;  in  1900  to  $6,195,438. 
The  first  high  school  in  the  state  was  established 
in  San  Francisco  in  1856.  In  1900  there  were 
one  hundred  and  twenty  high  schools  with  an 
attendance  of  twelve  thousand  one  hundred  and 
seventy-nine  students.  Two  million  dollars  were 
invested  in  high  school  buildings,  furniture  and 
grounds.  Five  hundred  teachers  were  employed 
in   these   schools. 

Till-:   TXIVERSITY  OF  THE   PACIFIC. 

This  institution  was  chartered  in  August, 
1 85 1,  as  the  California  W'esleyan  College,  which 
name  was  afterwards  changed  by  act  of  the  leg 
islature  to  that  it  now  bears.  The  charter  was 
obtained  under  the  general  law  of  the  state  as 
it  then  was,  and  on  the  basis  of  a  subscription 
of  $27,500  and  a  donation  of  some  ten  acres  of 
land  adjacent   to  the  village  of  Santa  Clara.     A 


school  building  was  erected  in  which  the  pre- 
paratory department  was  opened  in  May,  1852, 
under  the  charge  of  Rev.  E.  Banister  as  prin- 
cipal, aided  by  two  assistant  teachers,  and  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  first  session  had  over  sixty 
pupils.  Near  the  close  of  the  following  year 
another  edifice  was  so  far  completed  that  the 
male  pupils  were  transferred  to  it.  and  the  Fe- 
male Collegiate  Institute,  with  its  special  course 
of  study,  was  organized  and  continued  in  the 
original  building.  In  1S54  the  classes  of  the 
college  proper  were  formed  and  the  requisite 
arrangement  with  respect  to  president,  faculty, 
and  course  of  study  made.  In  1858  two  young 
men,  constituting  the  first  class,  received  the  de- 
gree of  A.  I',.,  they  being  the  first  to  receive 
that  honor  from  any  college  in  California.  In 
1865  the  board  of  trustees  purchased  the  Stock- 
ton rancho,  a  large  body  of  land  adjoining  the 
town  of  Santa  Clara.  This  was  subdivided  into 
lots  and  small  tracts  and  sold  at  a  profit.  By 
this  means  an  endowment  was  secured  and  an 
excellent  site  for  new  college  building  obtained. 

THE  COLLEGE  of  CALIFORNIA. 

The  question  of  founding  a  college  or  uni- 
versity in  California  had  been  discussed  earlv  in 
1849,  before  the  assembling  of  the  constitutional 
convention  at  San  Jose.  The  originator  of  the 
idea  was  the  Rev.  Samuel  H.  Willey,  D.  D.,  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  At  that  time  he  was 
stationed  at  Monterey.  The  first  legislature 
passed  a  bill  providing  for  the  granting  of  col- 
lege charters.  The  bill  required  that  application 
should  be  made  to  the  supreme  court,  which  was 
to  determine  whether  the  property  possessed  be 
the  proposed  college  was  worth  $20,000,  and 
whether  in  other  respects  a  charter  should  be 
granted.  A  body  of  land  for  a  college  site  had 
been  offered  by  James  Stokes  and  Kimball  II. 

Dimmick  to  be  selected  from  a  large  tract  they 
owned  on  tlie  Guadalupe  river,  near  San  Jose. 
When  application  was  char- 

ter the  supreme  court  refused  to  give  a  charter 
to  tlie  applicants  on  the  plea  that  the  land 
was  unsurveyed  and  the  ml''  not  fully  deter- 
mined. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Durant,  who  had  at  one  time 
been  a  tutor  in  Vale  College,  came  to  1  alifornia 


-Ill 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


m  1S53  to  engage  in  teaching.  At  a  meeting 
cf  the  presbytery  of  San  Francisco  and  the  Con- 
gregational Association  of  California  held  in 
Nevada  City  in  May,  1853,  which  Mr.  Durant 
attended,  it  was  decided  to  establish  an  acad- 
emy at  Oakland.  There  were  but  few  houses 
in  Oakland  then  and  the  only  communication 
with  San  Francisco  was  by  means  of  a  little 
steamer  that  crossed  the  bay  two  or  three  times 
a  day.  A  house  was  obtained  at  the  corner  of 
Broadway  and  Fifth  street  and  the  academy 
opened  with  three  pupils.  A  site  was  selected 
for  the  school,  which,  when  the  streets  were 
opened,  proved  to  be  four  blocks,  located  be- 
tween Twelfth  and  Fourteenth,  Frankkn  and 
Harrison  streets.  The  site  of  (  )akland  at  that 
time  was  covered  with  live  oaks  and  the  sand 
was  knee  deep.  Added  to  other  discourage- 
ments, titles  were  in  dispute  and  squatters  were 
seizing  upon  the  vacant  lots.  A  building  was 
begun  for  the  school,  the  money  ran  out  and 
the  property  was  in  danger  of  seizure  on  a  me- 
chanics' lien,  but  was  rescued  by  the  bravery 
and  resourcefulness  of  Dr.  Durant. 

In  1855  the  College  of  California  was  char- 
ters! and  a  search  begun  for  a  permanent  site. 
A  number  were  offered  at  various  places  in  the 
state.  The  trustees  finally  selected  the  Berkeley 
site,  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on 
Si  raw  berry  creek  near  Oakland,  opposite  the 
Golden  Gate.  The  college  school  in  Oakland 
was  nourishing.  A  new  building,  Academy 
Hall,  was  erected  in  1858.  A  college  faculty 
was  organized.  The  Rev.  Henry  Durant  and 
the  Rev.  Martin  Kellogg  were  chosen  pro- 
fessors and  the  first  college  class  was  organized 
in  June,  i860.  The  college  classes  were  taught 
in  the  buildings  of  the  college  school,  which 
were  usually  called  the  College  of  California. 
The  college  classes  were  small  and  the  endow- 
ment smaller.  The  faculty  met  with  many  dis- 
couragements. It  became  evident  that  the  in- 
stitution could  never  become  a  prominent  one 
in  the  educational  field  with  the  limited  means 
of  support  it  could  command.  In  1863  the  idea 
of  a  state  universitj  began  to  be  agitated.  A  bill 
was  passed  by  the  state  legislature  in  1866,  de- 
voting t<>  the  support  of  a  narrow  polyte,chnical 
school,  the  federal  land  grants  to  California  for 


the  support  of  agricultural  schools  and  a  college 
of  mechanics.  The  trustees  of  the  College  of 
California  proposed  in  1867  to  transfer  to  the 
state  the  college  site  at  Berkeley,  opposite  the 
Golden  Gate,  together  with  all  the  other  assets 
remaining  after  the  debts  were  paid,  on  con- 
dition that  the  state  would  build  a  University  of 
California  on  the  site  at  Berkeley,  which  should 
be  a  classical  and  technological  college. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

A  bill  for  the  establishing  of  a  state  university 
was  introduced  in  the  legislature  March  5,  1868, 
by  Hon.  John  W.  Dwindle  of  Alameda  county. 
After  some  amendments  it  was  finally  passed, 
March  21,  and  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month  a 
bill  was  passed  making  an  appropriation  for  the 
support  of  the  institution. 

The  board  of  regents  of  the  university  was 
organized  June  9,  1868,  and  the  same  day  Gen. 
George  B.  McClellan  was  elected  president  of 
the  university,  but  at  that  time  being  engaged  in 
building  Stevens  Battery  at  Xew  York  he  de- 
clined the  honor.  September  23,  1869,  the 
scholastic  exercises  of  the  university  were  be- 
gun in  the  buildings  of  the  College  of  Califor- 
nia in  (  )akland  and  the  first  university  class  was 
graduated  in  June,  1873.  The  new  buildings  of 
the  university  at  Berkeley  were  occupied  in 
September,  1873.  Prof.  John  Le  Conte  was  act- 
ing president  for  the  first  year.  Dr.  Henry 
Durant  was  chosen  to  fill  that  position  and  was 
succeeded  by  D.  C.  Oilman  in  1872.  The  corner- 
stone of  the  Agricultural  College,  called  the 
South  Hall,  was  laid  in  August.  1872,  and  that 
of  the  North  Hall  in  the  spring  of  1873. 

The  university,  as  now  constituted,  consists 
of  Colleges  of  Letters,  Social  Science,  Agricul- 
ture, Mechanics.  Mining,  Civil  Engineering, 
Chemistry  and  Commerce,  located  at  Berkeley; 
the  Lick  Astronomical  Department  at  Mount 
Hamilton:  and  the  professional  and  affiliated 
>  olleg<  s  in  San  Francisco,  namely,  the  Hastings 
College  of  Law,  the  Medical  Department,  the 
Post-Graduate  Medical  Department,  the  Col- 
lege of  Dentistry  and  Pharmacy,  the  Veterinary 
Department  and  the  Mark  Hopkins  Institute  of 
Art.  The  total  value  of  the  property  belonging 
to  the  university  at  this  time  is  about  $5,000,000 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


241 


and  the    endowment    funds    nearly  $3,000,000. 
The  total  income  in   1900  was  $475,254. 

LELAND  STANFORD  JUNIOR  UNIVERSITY. 

"When  the  intention  of  Senator  Stanford  to 
found  a  university  in  memory  of  his  lamented 
son  was  first  announced,  it  was  expected  from 
the  broad  and  comprehensive  views  which  he 
was  known  to  entertain  upon  the  subject,  that 
his  plans,  when  formed,  would  result  in  no  ordi- 
nary college  endowment  or  educational  scheme, 
but  when  these  plans  were  laid  before  the  people 
their  magnitude  was  so  far  beyond  the  most  ex- 
travagant of  public  anticipation  that  all  were  as- 
tonished at  the  magnificence  of  their  aggregate, 
the  wide  scope  of  their  detail  and  the  absolute 
grandeur  of  their  munificence.  The  brief  his- 
tory of  California  as  an  American  state  com- 
prises much  that  is  noble  and  great,  but  nothing 
in  that  history  will  compare  in  grandeur  with 
this  act  of  one  of  her  leading  citizens.  The 
records  of  history  may  be  searched  in  vain  for 
a  parallel  to  this  gift  of  Senator  Stanford  to  the 
state  of  his  adoption.  *  *  ■  *  By  this  act 
Senator  Stanford  will  not  only  immortalize  the 
memory  of  his  son,  but  will  erect  for  himself  a 
monument  more  enduring  than  brass  or  marble, 
for  it  will  be  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  succeed- 
ing generations  for  all  time  to  come."" 

Senator  Stanford,  to  protect  the  endowments 
he  proposed  to  make,  prepared  a  bill,  which  was 
passed  by  the  legislature,  approved  by  the  gov- 
ernor and  became  a  law  March  9,  1885.  It  is 
entitled  ''An  act  to  advance  learning,  the  arts 
and  sciences  and  to  promote  the  public  welfare, 
by  providing  for  the  conveyance,  holding  and 
protection  of  property,  and  the  creation  of  trusts 
for  the  founding,  endowment,  erection  and 
maintenance  within  this  state  of  universities, 
colleges,  schools,  seminaries  of  learning,  me- 
chanical institutes,  museums  and  galleries  of 
art." 

Section  2  specifies  how  a  grant  for  the  above 
purposes  may  be  made:  "Any  person  desiring 
in  his  lifetime  to  promote  the  public  welfare  by 
founding,  endowing  and  having  maintained 
within    this   state   a   university,   college,   school. 


Monograph  of  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University. 


seminary  of  learning,  mechanical  institute,  mu- 
seum or  gallery  of  art  or  any  or  all  thereof,  may, 
to  that  end,  and  for  such  purpose,  by  grant  in 
writing,  convey  to  a  trustee,  or  any  number  of 
trustees  named  in  such  grant  (and  their  suc- 
cessors), any  property,  real  or  personal,  belong- 
ing to  such  person,  and  situated  or  being  within 
this  state;  provided,  that  if  any  such  person  be 
married  and  the  property  be  community  prop- 
erty, then  both  husband  and  wife  must  join  in 
such  grant."  The  act  contains  twelve  sections. 
After  the  passage  of  the  act  twenty-four  trus- 
tees were  appointed.  Among  them  were  judges 
of  the  supreme  and  superior  courts,  a  United 
States  senator  and  business  men  in  various 
lines. 

Among  the  lands  deeded  to  the  universit)  b) 
Senator  Stanford  and  his  wife  were  the  Palo 
Alto  estate,  containing  seventy-two  hundred 
acres.  This  ranch  had  been  devoted  principally 
to  the  breeding  and  rearing  of  thoroughbred 
horses.  On  this  the  college  buildings  were  to 
be  erected.  The  site  selected  was  near  the  town 
of  Palo  Alto,  which  is  thirty-four  miles  south 
from  San  Francisco  on  the  railroad  to  San  Jose, 
in  Santa  Clara  county. 

Another  property  donated  was  the  Vina 
rancho,  situated  at  the  junction  of  Deer  creek 
with  the  Sacramento  river  in  Tehama  county. 
It  consisted  of  fifty-five  thousand  acres,  of 
which  thirty-six  thousand  were  planted  to 
and  orchard  and  the  remainder  used  for  grain 
growing  and  pasture. 

The  third  rancho  given  to  the  support  of  the 
university  was  the  Gridley  ranch,  containing 
about  twenty-one  thousand  acres.  This  was  sit- 
uated in  Butte  county  and  included  within  its 
limits  some  of  the  richest  wheat  growing  lands 
in  the  state.  At  the  time  it  was  d 
sessed  value  was  Si. 000,000.  The  total  amount 
of  land  conveyed  to  the  university  by  .'■ 
trust  was  eighty-three  thousand  two  hundred 
acre-.. 

The  name  selected  [or  the  institution  was  Le- 
land Stanford  Junior  University.     The  corner- 
stone of  the  university  was  laid  May   1  | 
1,\  Senatoi  ai   I  I  Stanford.    The  site 

of  the  college  buildings  is  aboul  one  mile  west 
from  Palo  Alto.     In  his  address  to  the  trustees 


242 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


November  14.  [885,  Senator  Stanford  said:  "We 
do  not  expect  to  establish  a  university  and  fill 
it  with  students  at  once.  It  must  be  the  growth 
of  time  and  experience.  Our  idea  is  that  in  the 
first  instance  we  shall  require  the  establishment 
of  colleges  for  both  sexes;  then  of  primary 
schools,  as  they  may  be  needed;  and  out  of  all 
these  will  grow  the  great  central  institution  for 
more  advanced  study."  The  growth  of  the  uni- 
versity has  been  rapid.  In  a  very  few  years  after 
its  founding  it  took  rank  with  the  best  institu- 
tions of  learning  in  the  United  States. 

NORMAL  SCHOOLS. 

The  legislature  of  1862  passed  a  bill  author- 
izing the  establishment  of  a  state  normal  school 
for  the  training  of  teachers  at  San  Francisco  or 
at  such  other  place  as  the  legislature  may  here- 
after direct.  The  school  was  established  and 
conducted  for  several  years  at  San  Francisco, 
but  was  eventually  moved  to  San  Jose,  where  a 
site  had  been  donated.  A  building  was  erected 
and  the  school  became  a  flourishing  institution. 
The  first  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  the 
present  handsome  and  commodious  building 
erected  on  a  new  site.  The  first  normal  school 
established  in  the  state  was  a  private  one,  con- 
ducted by  George  W.  Minns.     It  was  started  in 


San  Francisco  in  1857,  but  was  discontinued 
after  the  organization  of  the  state  school  in  1863, 
Minns  becoming  principal.  A  normal  school 
was  established  b\  the  legislature  at  Los  An- 
geles in  1881.  It  was  at  first  a  branch  of  the 
state  school  at  San  Jose  and  was  under  control 
of  the  same  board  of  trustees  and  the  same  prin- 
cipal. Later  it  was  made  an  independent  insti- 
tution with  a  board  and  principal  of  its  own. 

Normal  schools  have  been  established  at 
Chico  (1889),  San  Diego  (1897)  and  San  Fran- 
cisco (1899).  The  total  number  of  teachers  em- 
ployed in  the  five  state  normal  schools  in  1900 
was  one  hundred  and  one,  of  whom  thirty-seven 
were  men  and  sixty-four  women.  The  whole 
number  of  students  in  these  at  that  time  was 
two  thousand  ami  thirty-nine,  of  whom  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty-six  were  men  and  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine  women. 

The  total  receipts  for  the  support  of  these 
schools  from  all  sources  were  for  the  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1900,  $251,217;  the  total  expendi- 
tures tor  the  same  time  were  $206,001 ;  the  value 
of  the  normal  school  property  of  the  state  is 
about  $700,000.  The  educational  system  and 
facilities  of  California,  university,  college,  nor- 
mal school  and  public  school,  rank  with  the  best 
in  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

CITIES    OF    CALIFORNIA— THEIR    ORIGIN    AND    GROWTH. 


ftLTHOUGH  Spain  and  Mexico  possessed 
California  fur  seventy-seven  years  after 
the  date  nf  the  first  settlement  made  in 
it,  they  founded  but  few  towns  and  but  one  of 
those  founded  had  attained  the  dignity  of  a  city 
at  the  time  of  the  American  conquest.  In  a 
previous  chapter  I  have  given  sketches  of  the 
founding  of  the  four  presidios  and  three  pueblos 
under  Spanish  rule.  Twenty  missions  were  es- 
tablished under  the  rule  of  Spain  and  one  under 
the  Mexican  Republic.  While  the  country  in- 
creased in  population  under  the  rule  of  Mex- 
ico, the  only  new  settlement  that  was  formed 
was  the  mission  at  Solano. 


Pueblos  grew  up  at  the  presidios  and  some  of 
the  mission  settlements  developed  into  towns. 
The  principal  towns  that  have  grown  up  around 
the  mission  sites  are  San  Juan  Capistrano,  San 
Gabriel,  San  Buenaventura,  San  Miguel.  San 
Luis  Obispo,  Santa  Clara  and  San  Rafael. 

The  creation  of  towns  began  after  the  Ameri- 
cans got  possession  of  the  country.  Before  the 
treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico  had  been  made,  and  while  the  war  wa- 
in progress,  two  enterprising  Americans.  Robert 
Semple  and  '1".  O.  Larkin,  had  created  on  paper 
an  extensive  city  on  the  Straits  of  Carquinez. 
The   city   of  Francisca  "comprises  five  miles." 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


so  the  proprietors  of  the  embryo  metropolis  an- 
nounced in  the  Califoniian  of  April  20,  1847, 
and  in  subsequent  numbers.  According  to  the 
theory  of  its  promoters,  Francisca  had  the 
choice  of  sites  and  must  become  the  metropolis 
of  the  coast.  "In  front  of  the  city,"  says  their 
advertisement,  "is  a  commodious  Bay,  large 
enough  for  two  hundred  ships  to  ride  at  anchor 
safe  from  any  wind.  The  country  around  the 
city  is  the  best  agricultural  portion  of  California 
on  both  sides  of  the  Bay;  the  straits  being  only 
one  mile  wide,  an  easy  crossing  may  always  be 
made.  The  entire  trade  of  the  great  Sacra- 
mento and  San  Joaquin  Valleys  (a  fertile  coun- 
try of  great  width  and  nearly  seven  hundred 
miles  long  from  North  to  South)  must  of  neces- 
sity pass  through  the  narrow  channel  of  Car- 
quinez  and  the  Bay,  and  the  country  is  so  situ- 
ated that  ever)  person  who  passes  from  one  side 
of  the  Hay  to  the  other  will  find  the  nearest  and 
best  way  by  Francisca." 

In  addition  to  its  natural  advantages  the  pro- 
prietors offered  other  attractions  and  induce- 
ments to  settlers.  The}'  advertised  that  they 
would  give  "seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  net  pro- 
ceeds of  the  ferries  and  wharves  for  a  school 
fund  and  the  embellishment  of  the  city";  "they 
have  also  laid  out  several  entire  squares  for 
school  purposes  and  several  others  for  public 
walks"  (parks).  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  the  su- 
perior attractions  and  natural  advantages  of 
Francisca,  people  would  migrate  to  and  locate 
at  the  wind-swept  settlement  on  the  Cove  of 
Yerba  Buena.  And  the  town  of  the  "good 
herb"  took  to  itself  the  name  of  San  Francisco 
and  perforce  compelled  the  Franciscans  to  be- 
come Benicians.  Then  came  the  discovery  of 
gold  and  the  consequent  rush  to  the  mines,  and 
although  Francisca,  or  Benicia.  was  on  the 
route,  or  one  of  the  routes,  somehow  San 
Francisco  managed  to  get  all  the  profit  out  of 
tile  trade  and  travel  to  the  mines. 

The  rush  to  the  land  of  gold  expanded  the 
little  settlement  formed  by  Richardson  and  Leese 
on  the  Cove  of  ^  erba  Buena  into  a  great  city 
that  in  time  included  within  its  limits  the  mis- 
sion and  the  presidio.  The  consolidation  oi' the 
city  and  county  governments  gave  a  simpler 
form  of  municipal  rule  and  gave  the  city  room 


to  expand  without  growing  outside  of  its  mu- 
nicipal jurisdiction.  The  decennial  Federal  cen- 
sus from  1850  to  the  close  of  the  century  indi- 
cates the  remarkable  growth  of  San  Francisco. 
Its  population  in  1850  was  21,000;  in  i860,  56,- 
802;  in  1870,  140,473;  in  1880,  234,000;  in 
1890,  298,997;   in  1900,  342,742. 

LOS  ANGELES. 

The  only  settlement  under  Mexican  domina- 
tion that  attained  the  dignity  of  a  ciudad,  or  city, 
was  Los  Angeles.  Although  proclaimed  a  city 
by  the  Mexican  Congress,  more  than  ten  years 
before  the  Americans  took  possession  of  the 
country,  except  in  official  documents,  it  was 
usually  spoken  of  as  el  pueblo — the  town.  Its 
population  at  the  time  of  its  conquest  by  the 
Americans  numbered  about  sixteen  hundred. 
The  first  legislature  gave  it  a  city  charter,  al- 
though fifteen  years  before  it  had  been  raised  to 
the  dignity  of  a  city  ;  the  lawmakers  for  some 
reason  cut  down  its  area  from  four  square 
leagues  to  four  square  miles.  This  did  not  affect 
its  right  to  its  pueblo  lands.  After  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  land  commission,  in  1851.  it  laid  claim 
to  sixteen  square  leagues,  but  failed  to  substanti- 
ate its  claim.  Its  pueblo  area  of  four  square 
leagues  (Spanish)  was  confirmed  to  it  by  the 
commission.  Within  the  past  seven  years,  by 
annexation,  its  area  has  been  increased  from  the 
original  four  square  leagues,  or  about  twenty- 
seven  miles,  to  thirty-seven  square  miles.  Its  in- 
crease in  population  .hiring  the  past  twenty  years 
has  been  the  greatest  of  any  of  the  large  cities  of 
the  state.  In  1880  it  had  11,183  inhabitants;  in 
1890,  50,353;  in  [900,  102.420.  Its  growth 
since  1900  has  exceeded  that  of  any  similar  pe- 
riod in  its  history.  Its  estimated  population 
January,  1903,  is  125,000. 

OAKLAND. 

Oakland,  the  third  city  in  population  among 
the  cities  of  California,  is  the  youngest  of  the 
large  cities.  It  is  purel)  American  by  birth. 
Its  site  during  Spanish  and  Mexican  rule  was 
uninhabited  and  was  covered  with  oak  trees  and 
chaparral.  The  territory  which  I  lakland 
was  part  of  a  live  league  grant  made  to  f.uis 
.Maria  Peralta,  a  Spanish  soldier,  who  came  to 


244 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  presidio  of  San  Francisco  in  1790.  August 
16,  1820,  Governor  Sola  granted  him  the  Rancho 
San  Antonio.  His  military  service  had  extended 
over  a  period  oi  forty  years.  In  1842  he  divided 
the  grant  among  his  five  sons,  the  portion  em- 
braced in  Oakland  falling  to  the  allotment  of 
Vicente. 

The  first  permanent  settlers  and  the  fathers 
of  Oakland  were  Moore,  Carpentier  and  Adams, 
who  squatted  on  the  land  in  the  summer  of  1850. 
The  Peraltas  made  an  attempt  to  evict  them, 
but  failed.  This  trio  of  squatters  obtained  a 
lease  from  Peralta,  laid  out  a  town  and  sold  lots, 
giving  quit-claim  deeds.  They  erected  houses 
and  are  considered  the  founders  of  the  town. 
Other  squatters  followed  their  example  and  pos- 
sessed themselves  of  the  Peraltas'  land.  This 
involved  the  settlers  in  litigation,  and  it  was 
many  years  before  titles  were  perfected.  The 
Peralta  litigants  finally  w  1  in. 

May  4.  1852,  the  town  of  Oakland  was  incor- 
porated. March  25,  1854,  it  was  incorporated  as 
a  city  and  Horace  W.  Carpentier  was  elected 
the  first  mayor.  The  first  ferry  charter  was 
granted  in  1853.  Defective  titles  and  the  water- 
front war  between  the  city  authorities  and  H.  W. 
Carpentier  retarded  its  growth  for  a  number 
of  years.  In  1860  its  population  was  about 
1,500.  The  completion  of  the  overland  railroad, 
which  made  Oakland  its  western  terminus, 
greatly  accelerated  its  growth.  The  water-front 
war  was  continued;  instead  of  Carpentier,  the 
city  now  had  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany to  contend  with.  The  controversy  was 
finally  ended  in  1882.  and  the  city  won.  The 
population  of  Oakland  in  1890  was  48,682;  in 
1900,  66,960.  According  to  a  recent  census 
(November,    1902),   it  exceeds  88.000. 

SACRAMENTO. 

Sutter  built  his  fort  near  the  junction  of  the 
Sacramento  and  American  rivers  in  1830.  It 
was  then  the  most  northerly  settlement  in  Cali- 
fornia and  became  the  trading  post  for  the 
northern  frontier.  It  was  the  outpost  to  which 
the  tide  <>f  overland  immigration  flowed  before 
and  after  the  discover)  of  gold.  Sutter's  settle- 
ment was  also  known  as  New  Eielvitia.  After 
tin   discovery  of  gold  at  Coloma  it  was.  during 


1848,  the  principal  supply  depot  for  the  mines. 
Sutter  had  a  store  at  the  fort  and  did  a  thriving 
business.  Sam  LJrannan,  in  June,  1848,  estab- 
lished a  store  outside  of  the  fort,  in  a  long  adobe 
building.  His  sales  amounted  to  over  $100,000 
a  month.  His  profits  were  enormous.  Gold 
dust  was  a  drug  on  the  market  and  at  one  time 
passed  for  $8  an  ounce,  less  than  half  its  value. 
In  September,  1848,  Priest,  Lee  &  Co.  estab- 
lished a  business  house  at  the  fort  and  did  an 
immense  business.  The  fort  was  not  well  lo- 
cated for  a  commercial  center.  It  was  too  far 
away  from  the  river  by  which  all  the  freight 
from  San  Francisco  was  shipped.  The  land  at 
the  embarcadero  was  subject  to  overflow  and 
was  deemed  unsuited  for  the  site  of  a  city.  Sut- 
terville  was  laid  out  on  rising  ground  three  miles 
below.  A  survey  of  lots  was  extended  from 
the  fort  to  the  embarcadero  and  along  the  river 
bank.  This  embryo  town  at  the  embarcadero 
took  the  name  of  Sacramento  from  the  river. 
Then  began  a  rivalry  between  Sutterville  and 
Sacramento.  The  first  house  in  Sacramento, 
corner  of  Front  and  I  streets,  was  erected  in 
January,  1849.  The  proprietors  of  Sutterville, 
McDougall  &  Co.,  made  an  attempt  to  attract 
trade  and  building  to  their  town  by  giving  away 
lots,  but  Sutter  beat  them  at  that  game,  and 
Sacramento  surged  ahead.  Sam  Brannan  and 
Priest,  Lee  &  Co.  moved  their  stores  into  Sac- 
ramento. The  fort  was  deserted  and  Sutterville 
ceased  to  contend  for  supremacy.  In  four 
months  lots  had  advanced  from  $50  to  $1,000 
and  business  lots  to  $3,000.  A  regular  steam- 
boat service  on  the  river  was  inaugurated  in 
August,  1849,  anc'  sailing  vessels  that  had  come 
around  the  Horn  to  avoid  trans-shipment  worked 
their  way  up  the  river  and  landed  their  goods  at 
the  embarcadero.  The  first  number  of  the 
Placer  Times  was  issued  April  28,  1849.  The 
steamboat  rates  of  passage  between  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Sacramento  were:  Cabin,  $30:  steer- 
age, $20;  freight,  $2.50  per  one  hundred  pounds. 
By  the  winter  of  184(1  the  population  of  the  town 
had  reached  live  thousand  and  a  year  later  it 
had  doubled.  Lots  in  the  business  section  were 
held  at  $30,000  to  $50,000  each.  The  great  flood 
of  [849-50,  when  four-fifths  of  the  city  was 
under  water,   somewhat  dampened  the  enthusi- 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


asm  of  the  citizens,  but  did  not  check  the  growth 
of  the  city.  Sacramento  became  the  trading- 
center  of  the  mines.  In  1855  its  trade,  princi- 
pally with  the  mines,  amounted  to  $6,000,000. 
It  was  also  the  center  of  the  stage  lines,  a  dozen 
of  which  led  out  from  it. 

It  became  the  state  capital  in  1853,  and  al- 
though disastrous  floods  drove  the  legislators 
from  the  capital  several  times,  they  returned 
when  the  waters  subsided.  The  great  flood  of 
1861-62  inundated  the  city,  and  compelled  an 
immense  outlay  for  levees  and  for  raising  the 
grades  of  the  streets.  Sacramento  was  made  the 
terminus  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  sys- 
tem, and  its  immense  workshops  are  located 
there.  Its  growth  for  the  past  thirty  years  has 
been  slow  but  steady.  Its  population  in  1890 
was  26.386;   in  1900,  29,282. 

SAN    JOSE. 

The  early  history  of  San  Jose  has  been  given 
in  the  chapter  on  Pueblos.  After  the  American 
conquest  the  place  became  an  important  busi- 
ness center.  It  was  the  first  state  capital  and 
the  removal  of  the  capital  for  a  time  checked  its 
progress.  In  1864  it  was  connected  with  San 
Francisco  by  railroad.  The  completion  of  the 
railroad  killed  off  its  former  port,  Alviso,  which 
had  been  laid  out  as  a  city  in  1849.  Nearly  all 
the  trade  and  travel  before  the  railroad  was  built 
had  gone  by  way  of  Alviso  down  the  bay  to 
San  Francisco.  San  Jose  and  its  suburb,  Santa 
Clara,  early  became  the  educational  centers  of 
California.  The  first  American  college  founded 
in  the  state  was  located  at  Santa  Clara  and  the 
first  normal  school  building  erected  in  the  state 
was  built  at  San  Jose.  The  population  of  San 
Jose  in  1880  was  12,570;    in  1900,  21,500. 

STOCKTON. 

In  1844  the  Rancho  Campo  de  los  Franceses, 
Camp  of  the  French,  or  French  Camp,  on  which 
the  city  of  Stockton  is  located,  was  granted  to 
William  Gulnac  by  Governor  Micheltorena.  It 
contained  eleven  leagues  of  48,747  acres  of  land. 
Capt.  Charles  M.  Weber,  the  founder  of  Stock- 
ton, was  a  partner  of  Gulnac,  but  not  being  a 
Mexican  citizen,  lie  could  not  obtain  a  land 
grant.    After  Gulnac  obtained  the  grant  he  con- 


veyed a  half  interest   in   it   to   Weber.     Weber 
shortly  afterward  purchased  his  partner's  inter- 
est and  became  sole  owner  of  the  grant.     Some 
attempts  were  made  to  stock  it  with  cattle,  but 
Indian  depredations  prevented  it.    In  1847,  after 
the  country  had  come  into  the  possession  of  the 
Americans,    Weber    removed    from    San    Jose, 
which  had  been  his  place  of  residence  since  his 
arrival  in  California  in  184 1,  and  located  on  his 
ranch  at  French  Camp.     He  erected  some  huts 
for  his  vaqueros  and  fortified  his  corral  against 
Indians.     In   1848  the  site  of  the  city  was  sur- 
veyed and  platted  under  the  direction  of  Captain 
Weber  and  Maj.  R.  P.  Hammond.     The  rancho 
was  surveyed  and  sectionized  and  land  offered 
on  most  advantageous  terms  to  settlers.     Cap- 
tain Weber  was  puzzled  to  find  a  fitting  name 
for  his  infant  metropolis.    He  hesitated  between 
Tuleburgh  and   Castoria    (Spanish   for  beaver). 
Tules   were  plentiful   and  so  were   beaver,   but 
as  the  town  grew  both  would  disappear,  so  he 
finally    selected     Stockton,    after    Commodore 
Stockton,   who   promised   to   be  a  godfather  to 
the  town,   but  proved  to  be  a  very  indifferent 
stepfather;    he  'never  did  anything  for  it.     The 
discovery  of  gold  in  the  region  known  as  the 
southern   mines  brought  Stockton   into  promi- 
nence and  made  it  the  metropolis  of  the  south- 
ern mining  district.     Captain  Weber  led  the  party 
that    first    discovered   gold    on    the    Mokelumne 
river.     The  freight  and  travel  to  the  mines  on 
the  Mokelumne,  Tuolumne  and  Stanislaus  rivers 
passed    through    Stockton,   and    its   growth    was 
rapid.     In    October,    1849,    the  Alta   California 
reports  lots  in  it  selling  from  $2,500  to  $6,000 
each,  according  to  situation.    At  that  time  it  had 
a  population  of  about  one  thousand  souls  and  a 
floating  population,    that    is,    men    coming  and 
going  to  the  mines,  of  about  as  many  more.    The 
houses  were  mostly  cotton-lined  shacks.     Lum- 
ber was  $1  a  foot  and  carpenters'  wage-  $16  per 
day.     There  was  neither  mechanics  nor  mate- 
rial to  build  better  structures.     Every  man  was 
his    own   architect   and    master   builder.      Cloth 
was  scarce  and  high  and  tacks  at  .me  time  were 
worth  $5  a  package;  even  a  cloth  house  was  no 
cheap  affair,  however  flimsy  and  cheap  it  might 
appear.    I  hi  the  morning  of  December  23,  [849, 
the  business  portion  of  the  town  was  swept  out 


246 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RED  )RD. 


of  existence  by  lire.  Rebuilding  was  begun  al- 
most before  the  embers  of  the  departed  city 
were  cold  and  a  better  city  arose  from  the  ashes 
of  the  first.  Alter  the  wild  rush  of  mining  days 
was  over,  Stockton  drifted  into  a  center  of  agri- 
cultural trade  and  it  also  became  a  manufactur- 
ing city.  Its  growth  has  been  steady,  devoid  of 
booms  or  period  -..  of  inflation,  followed  by  col- 
lapse. Its  population  in  [890  was  14,424;  in 
1900,  17,506. 

SAN    DIEGO. 

In  former  chapters  I  have  described  the 
founding  of  the  presidio  and  mission  of  San 
Diego.  A  pueblo  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  houses 
grew  up  around  the  presidio.  This  is  what  is 
known  as  Old  San  Diego.  In  1850  it  was  in- 
corporated as  a  city.  March  18,  1850,  Alcalde 
Sutherland  granted  to  William  Heath  Davis  and 
five  associates  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land  a  few  miles  south  of  Old  Town,  in  con- 
sideration that  they  build  a  wharf  and  create 
a  "new  port."  The  town  of  Xew  San  Diego  was 
laid  out,  the  wharf  was  built,  several  houses 
erected,  and  government  barracks  constructed. 
A  newspaper  was  established  and  the  Panama 
steamers  anchored  at  the  wharf.  San  Diego 
was  riding  high  on  the  wave  of  prosperity.  But 
the  wave  broke  and  left  San  Diego  stranded  on 
the  shore  of  adversity.  In  1868,  A.  E.  Horton 
came  to  San  Diego.  He  bought  about  nine- 
hundred  acres  of  pueblo  lands  along  the  bay  at 
twenty-six  cents  an  acre.  He  subdivided  it,  gave 
away  lots,  built  houses  and  a  wharf  and  soon 
infused  life  into  the  sleepy  pueblo.  In  [884 
the  Southern  California  Railroad  was  completed 
into  the  city.  In  1887  San  Diego  experienced  a 
wonderful  real  estate  boom  and  its  growth  for 
several  years  was  marvelous.  Then  it  came  to 
a  standstill,  but  has  again  started  on  the  high- 
way to  prosperity.  Its  population  in  1890  was 
16,159;    in  1900,  17,700. 

FRESNO    CITY. 

Fresno  City  was  founded  by  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  in  May,  1K72.  The  road  at  that 
time  was  in  the  course  of  construction.  The 
outlook  for  a  populous  town  was  not  brilliant. 
Stretching  for  miles  away  from  the  town  site  in 
different   directions   was  an  arid-looking   plain. 


The  land  was  fertile  enough  when  well  watered; 
but  the  few  settlers  had  no  capital  to  construct 
irrigating  canals. 

In  1875  began  the  agricultural  colony  era. 
The  land  was  divided  into  twenty-acre  tracts.  A 
number  of  persons  combined  together  and  by 
their  united  capital  and  community  labor  con- 
structed, irrigating  canals  and  brought  the  land 
under  cultivation.  The  principal  product  is 
l  he  raisin  grape.  Fresno  City  became  the 
county  seat  of  Fresno  county  in  1874.  It  is  now 
the  largest  and  most  important  city  of  the 
Upper  San  Joaquin  Valley.  Its  population  in 
1890  was  10,818;    in  1900,  12,470. 

VALLEJO. 

Vallejo  was  founded  for  the  state  capital.  It 
was  one  of  several  towns  which  had  that  tem- 
porary honor  in  the  early  '50s,  when  the  state 
capitol  was  on  wheels,  or  at  least  on  the  move. 
The  original  name  of  the  place  was  Eureka. 
General  Vallejo  made  a  proposition  to  the  leg- 
islature of  1850  to  grant  the  state  one  hundred 
and  fifty-six  acres  of  land  and  to  donate  and 
pay  to  the  state  within  two  years  after  the  ac- 
ceptance of-  his  proposition  $370,000,  to  be  used 
in  the  erection  of  public  buildings.  The  legisla- 
ture accepted  his  proposition.  The  location  of 
the  state  capital  was  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the 
people  at  the  election  on  October  7,  1850,  and 
Vallejo  received  more  votes  than  the  aggre- 
gated vote  of  all  its  competitors.  Buildings 
were  begun,  but  never  completed.  The  legisla- 
ture met  there  twice,  but  on  account  of  insuffi- 
cient accommodations  sought  other  places 
where  they  were  better  cared  for.  General  Val- 
lejo's  proposition  at  his  own  request  was  can- 
celled. In  1854  Mare  Island,  in  front  of  Val- 
lejo, was  purchased  by  the  general  government 
for  a  United  States  navy  yard  and  naval  depot. 
The  government  works  gave  employment  to 
large  numbers  of  men  and  involved  the  expedi- 
ture  nf  millions  of  dollars.  The  town  began  to 
prosper  and  still  continues  to  do  so.  Its  popu- 
lation  in  1800  was  6,343;   in  1900,  7,965. 

NEVADA    CITY. 

\\>  mining  town  in  California  was  so  well  and 
so  favorably  known  in  the  early  '50s  as  Nevada 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


City.  The  first  discovery  of  gold  near  it  was 
made  in  September,  1849;  and  the  first  store 
and  cabin  erected.  Rumors  of  rich  strikes 
spread  abroad  and  in  the  spring  of  1850  the  rush 
of  gold-seekers  came.  In  1851  it  was  estimated 
that  within  a  circuit  of  seven  miles  there  was  a 
population  of  30,000.  In  1856  the  business  sec- 
tion was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  was  then  the 
third  city  in  population  in  the  state.  It  has  had 
its  periods  of  expansion  and  contraction,  but 
still  remains  an  important  mining  town.  Its 
population  in  1880  was  4.022:  in  1890,  2,524; 
in  1900,  3,250. 

GRASS   VALLEY. 

The  first  cabin  in  Grass  Valley  was  erected  in 
1849.  The  discoveries  of  gold  quartz  raised 
great  expectations.  A  quartz  mill  was  erected 
in  1850,  but  this  new  form  of  mining  not  being 
understood,  quartz  mining  was  not  a  success; 
but  with  improved  machinery  and  better  meth- 
ods, it  became  the  most  important  form  of  min- 
ing. Grass  Valley  prospered  and  surpassed  its 
rival,  Nevada  City.  Its  population  in  1900  was 
4.7I9- 

EUREKA. 

In  the  two  hundred  years  that  Spain  and  Mex- 
ico held  possession  of  California  its  northwest 
coast  remained  practically  a  terra  incognita,  but 
it  did  not  remain  so  long  after  the  discovery  of 
gold.  Gold  was  discovered  on  the  head  waters 
of  the  Trinity  river  in  1849  am'  parties  of  pros- 
pectors during  1849  alKl  l&5°  explored  the 
country  between  the  head  waters  of  the  Trinity 
and  Klamath  rivers  and  the  coast.  Rich  mines 
were  found  and  these  discoveries  led  to  the 
founding  of  a  number  of  towns  on  the  coast 
which  aspired  to  be  the  entrepots  for  the  sup- 
plies to  the  mines.  The  most  successful  of  these 
proved  to  be  Eureka,  on  Humboldt  Bay.  It 
was  the  best  located  for  commerce  and  soon 
outstripped  its  rival-.  Areata  and  Bucksport. 
Humboldt  county  was  formed  in  1854.  and  Eu- 
reka, in  1S56,  became  the  county  seat  ami  was 
incorporated  as  a  city.  It  is  the  largest  -hip- 
ping point  for  lumber  on  the  coast.  It  is  also 
the  commercial  center  of  a  rich  agricultural  and 
dairying  district.  Its  population  in  1880  was 
2,639;  in  t89°-  4'85S:  in  }9°°'  7~2>27- 


MARYSVILLE. 

The  site  on  which  Alary sville  stands  was  first 
known  as  New  .Mecklenburg  and  was  a  trading 
post  of  two  houses,  in  October,  1848,  M.  C. 
Nye  purchased  the  rancho  and  opened  a  store 
at  New  Mecklenburg.  The  place  then  became 
known  as  Nye's  rancho.  In  1841)  a  town  was 
laid  out  and  named  Vubaville.  The  name  was 
changed  to  Marysville  in  honor  of  the  wife  of 
the  proprietor  of  the  town  Covilland.  His  wife 
was  Alary  Murphy,  of  the  Donner  party.  Marys- 
ville, being  at  the  head  of  the  navigation  of  the 
north  fork  of  the  Sacramento,  became  the  en- 
trepot for  mining  supplies  to  the  miners  in  the 
rich  Yuba  mines.  Alter  the  decline  of  mining 
it  became  an  agricultural  center  for  the  upper 
portion  of  the  Sacramento.  Its  population  in 
1880  was  4,300;  in  1890,  3,991;  in  1900,  3,397. 


The  Placer  Tunes  of  May  8,  1850,  contains 
this  notice  of  Reading,  now  changed  to  Red- 
ding: "Reading  was  laid  off  early  in  1850  by 
P.  B.  Reading  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Sacra- 
mento within  forty-five  miles  of  the  Trinity 
diggings.  Reading  is  located  in  the  heart  of  a 
most  extensive  mining  district,  embracing  as  it 
does,  Cottonwood,  Clear,  Salt.  Dry,  Middle  and 
I  )Inev  creeks,  it  is  in  close  proximity  to  the  Pitt 
and  Trinity  rivers.  The  pet  steamer.  Jack 
Hayes,  leaves  tomorrow  morning  (May  9.  1850) 
for  Reading.  It  has  been  hitherto  considered 
impossible  to  navigate  the  Sacramento  to  this 
height.*'  The  town  grew  rapidly  at  first,  like 
all  mining  towns,  and  like  most  of  such  towns 
it  was  swept  out  of  existence  1>\  tire.  It  was 
devastated  by  fire  in  December.  [852,  and  again 
in  June,  1853.  It-  original  name.  Reading,  got 
mixed  with  fort  Redding  and  it  now  appear-  on 
all  railroad  maps  and  guides  as  Redding.  Its 
population  in  [890  was  1.821;  in  1000,  2.940. 


Pasadena  is  a  child  of  the  colony  era  of  the 
early   "70s.      Its   original   name   was   the    Indiana 
Colony.     In  [873  a  number  of  persons  formed  a 
company  for  the  purchasing  of  a  large  ti 
land  and  subdividing  it   among  them.     The;,    in- 


IMS 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


corporated  under  the  title  of  the  San  Gabriel 
Orange  Grove  Association  and  purchased  four 
thousand  acres  in  the  San  Pasqual  rancho,  sit- 
uated about  nine  miles  east  of  Los  Angeles  city. 
This  was  divided  on  the  basis  of  one  share  of 
stock  being  equivalent  to  fifteen  acres.  Each 
stockholder  received  in  proportion  to  his  invest- 
ment. The  colonists  turned  their  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  vineyards  and  orange  or- 
chards. In  1S75  the  name  was  changed  to  Pasa- 
dena, an  Algonquin  word  meaning  Crown  of  the 
Valley.  The  colony  had  become  quite  noted  for 
its  production  of  oranges.  In  1887  the  great 
real  estate  boom  struck  it  and  the  cross  roads 
village  suddenly  developed  into  a  city.  It  has 
become  famous  as  a  tourist  winter  resort.  Its 
population  in  1890  was  4,882;  in  1900,  9,117. 


Pomona  was  founded  by  the  Los  Angeles  Im- 
migration and  Land  Co-Operative  Association. 
This  company  bought  twenty-seven  hundred 
acres  of  the  Rancho  San  Jose,  lying  along  the 
1  isl  in  border  of  Los  Angeles  county.  The 
town  was  laid  off  in  the  center  of  the  tract.  The 
remainder  of  the  tract  was  divided  into  forty- 
acre  lots.  The  town  made  a  rapid  growth  at 
first,  but  disaster  overtook  it.  First  the  dry 
season  of  1876-77,  and  next  a  fire  that  swept 
it  almost  out  of  existence.  In  1880  its  popula- 
tion had  dwindled  to  one  hundred  and  eighty 
persons.  In  about  1881  it  began  to  revive  and 
it  has  made  a  steady  growth  ever  since.  It  is 
the  commercial  center  of  a  large  orange  grow- 
in-  district.  Its  population  in  1890  was  3,634; 
in  1900,  5,526. 

SAN  BERNARDINO. 

San  Bernardino  was  originally  a  Mormon  col- 
ony. In  [851  one  hundred  and  fifty  families 
were  sent  from  Salt  Lake  to  found  a  colony  or 
a  stake  of  Zion.  The  object  of  locating  a  colon) 
at  tin's  point  was  to  keep  open  a  line  of  commu- 
nication with  some  seaport.  San  Bernardino  was 
near  ill.-  old  Spanish  trail  which  led  .ml  through 
the  Cajon  pass.  <  loods  could  he  transported 
io  Salt  Lake  from  San  Pedro  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year,  which  could  not  be  done  to  Salt  Lake 


over  the  central  route  westward  or  eastward 
during  the  winter.  The  leaders  of  the  Mormon 
colony,  Lyman  and  Rich,  bought  the  San  Ber- 
nardino rancho  from  the  Lugos.  A  portion  of 
the  land  was  subdivided  into  small  tracts  and 
sold  to  the  settlers.  The  Mormons  devoted 
themselves  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat,  of  which 
they  raised  a  large  crop  the  first  year  and  re- 
ceived as  high  as  $5  per  bushel.  The  colony 
prospered  for  a  time,  but  in  1857  the  settlers, 
or  all  of  them  that  would  obey  the  call,  were 
called  to  Salt  Lake  by  Brigham  Young  to  take 
part  in  the  threatened  war  with  the  United 
States.  The  faithful  sold  their  lands  for  what- 
ever they  could  get  and  departed.  The  gentiles 
bought  them  and  the  character  of  the  settlement 
changed.  The  city  of  San  Bernardino  has  an 
extensive  trade  with  the  mining  districts  to  the 
east  of  it.  Its  population  in  1890  was  4,012;  in 
1900,  6,150. 

RIVERSIDE. 

Riverside  had  its  origin  in  the  colony  era.  It 
began  its  existence  as  the  Southern  California 
Colony  Association.  In  1870  an  association,  of 
which  Judge  John  W.  North  and  Dr.  James  P. 
( Ireves  were  leaders,  purchased  four  thousand 
acres  of  the  Roubidoux  rancho  and  adjoining 
lands,  aggregating  in  all  about  nine  thousand 
acres.  This  was  subdivided  into  small  tracts 
and  sold  to  settlers  at  a  low  price.  A  town  was 
iaid  off  and  named  Jurupa,  but  this  being  diffi- 
cult of  pronunciation  its  name  was  changed  to 
Riverside,  which  eventually  became  the  name  of 
the  settlement  as  well.  An  extensive  irrigrating 
system  was  constructed  and  the  cultivation  of 
citrus  fruits  became  the  leading  industry.  The 
Bahia  or  Washington  navel  orange  has  made 
Riverside  famous  in  orange  culture.  It  was 
propagated  by  budding  from  two  small  trees 
sent  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  to  a  citi- 
zen of  Riverside.  The  city  of  Riverside  in  area 
is  one  of  the  largest  cities  of  the  state.  Its 
boundaries  include  fifty-six  square  miles.  Its 
corporate  lines  take  in  most  of  the  orange 
groves  of  the  settlement.  By  this  means  mu- 
nicipal regulations  against  insect  pests  can  be 
better  enforced.  The  population  of  Riverside  in 
1890  was  4.683;  in   1900,  7,973. 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


EARLY    DAYS   AND   PRESENT   PROGRESS. 


BY  C.   H.  RODGERS. 


Awa\  hack  in  the  dim  ages,  in  an  arm  of  the 
sea,  the  tides  swelled  and  receded — breakers 
dashed  against  the  confining  mountains — • 
strange  monsters  of  the  deep  disported  over  the 
waves  or  basked  in  the  shallows. 

As  time  wore  on.  and  with  each  season's 
freshets,  streams  that  emptied  into  this  bay 
came  laden  with  the  wash  from  the  mountains. 
(  In  meeting  the  salt  waters  the  current  was 
checked  and  matter  held  in  suspension  settled 
to  the  bottom.  With  this  constant  deposit  the 
water  grew  shallower  and  shallower,  finally 
receding  entirely,  leaving  a  marsh)  waste  cov- 
ered with  coarse  vegetation. 

This,  in  turn,  was  periodically  inundated  by 
swollen  torrents  laden  with  mineral,  vegetable 
and  animal  matter — the  cream  of  the  lands 
drained. 

With  the  addition  of  these  deposits,  possibly 
aided  b)  upheaval,  the  surface  was  gradually 
raised  until  was  formed  one  of  the  richest  and 
must  productive  spots  on  earth,  the  land  we  now 
occupy,  Pajaro  valley. 

I'ajaro  valley,  at  a  remote  period,  may  have 
been  the  great  highway  for  the  drainage  waters 
of  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierras  and  the  vast 
central  valley  of  California  including  the  river 
systems  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin. 

In  a  report  written  in  [845  by  Lieut. 
Joseph  W.  Revere  of  U.  S.  Navy,  we  find  as  fol- 
lows: "The  Indians  have  a  tradition  that  at  no 
remote  period  of  lime  the  Bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco was  a  great  inland  lake  or  sea  oi  fresh 
water,  the  only  outlet  being  the  Rio  de  los 
Pajaro  (Bird  men  which  still  empties  into  the 
Ba3  of  Monterey.  General  Vallejo  informed  me 
that  a  ver)  old  Indian  had  told  him  that  he  had 
heard  his  father  say  that  his  grandfather  bad 
traveled  1>\  land  to  the  'I'm'  or  east  at 
Monterey,  from  the  north  to  the  south  side  of 


the  bay,  across  what  is  now  its  entrance,  but 
which  was  then  a  mountain,  and  that  an  earth- 
quake rent  the  mountain  asunder  and  opened 
the  present  passage  into  the  Pacific.  <  If  coin-. 
the  lcwel  of  this  huge  lake  was  much  higher  than 
the  Pacific  and  it  must  have  covered  the  whole 
of  the  valleys  leading  down  to  it.  including  the 
vast  Tulare  valley  and  plains.  All  these  valleys 
bear  evidence  of  having  once  been  the  bed  of 
a  large  body  of  water  which  has  partially  been 
drained  off.  The  former  existence  of  such  a 
wide  spreading  sheet  of  water  may  still  lie  traced 
and  its  channel  is  still  noticeable  in  examining 
the  Title  lakes,  all  of  which  communicate  at  a 
high  stage  of  water  with  the  San  Joaquin.  The 
shells  and  other  deposits  are  appropriate  b  1  fresh 
water  and  can  he  accounted  for  on  no  other 
hypothesis  than  the   Indian   tradition." 

Those  familiar  with  the  topograph)'  of  this 
coast  will  agree  that  were  an  obstruction  placed 
across  Golden  Gate,  conditions  as  described  in 
the   Indian  tradition   would   exist   to-day. 

A  familiar  instance  of  the  filling  in  process 
and  formation  of  new  land  by  streams,  and 
one  which  serves  to  illustrate  the  theory  already 
advanced,  is  shown  in  the  College  lake.  Thirty 
years  ago  the  lake  extended  one-fourth  of  a 
mile  further  northward  than  now  and  the  depth 
in  the  middle  was  about  thirty  feel.  1  hi  accoun 
of  the  leposil  brought  in  by  streams  on  the 
north  this  part  has  receded  and  the  depth  of 
the  lake  has  decreased  at   least   one-half. 

I  lie  tirst   recorded  discover)   1  1    Pajaro  valley 
by  civilized  man  was  made  on  1  Ictober  8,   170.1. 
b)    an  expedition  headed  b)    I  'on   1  laspa 
tola.    Governor   of    California,    who,    wi 
priests,  about  thirt)  fivi    soldiers  and  tin. 
dians,  were  orderei  '        ■ 

locate  Montere)   ba 

\1ie1    the    tiresomi         inn 


50 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


dred  miles  over  desert  and  parched  soil,  so 
bl}  impressed  were  these  people  with  the 
beauties  of  this  valley  that  Father  Crespi,  the 
scribe  of  the  party,  wrote  of  it:  "A  meadow 
beautiful  to  behold  because  of  the  great  variety 
of  trees  and  plants."  The  first  mention  of  the 
iidw 1  was  made  at  this  time  and  was  discov- 
ered in  our  valley. 

1 1  is  said  that  the  places  traversed  by  this 
party  were  named  by  something  suggested  by 
the  surroundings. 

Pajaro  (bird).  What  name  more  appropriate! 
Where  else  could  such  numbers  and  variety  be 
found!  The  absence  of  birds  in  their  journey. 
-him  :ed  with  the  animated  scene  spread  out 
before  them — a  beautiful  valley  tenanted  by 
myriads  of  the  feathered  tribe,  could  not  fail  to 
impress  them.  What  other  name  could  be  sug- 
gested? Greeted  by  songsters — canaries,  ori- 
oles, larks,  linnets,  blue-birds,  mocking-birds, 
robins.     From   trees   on   the   hillside   came   the 

whistle    of   the   quail,    chirp    of  jay   anil    w 1- 

pecker,  wail  of  the  dove.  From  the  willows 
along  tlie  streams  were  heard  the  caw  of  the 
ciow  and  twitter  of  blackbirds.  Humming- 
birds flitted  anion--  the  flowers.  Floating  on 
waters  of  lake,  stream  ami  slough  were  count- 
less water  fowl — geese,  ducks,  swans,  and 
wading  in  the  marshes  the  crane,  snipe,  curlew. 
Circling  overhead  were  the  eagle,  hawk  and 
buzzard.  Even  at  night  the  explorers  were  re- 
minded of  the  presence  of  birds  through  hav- 
ing their  slumbers  disturbed  by  hoot  and 
screech  of  owls. 

!  or  the  lift}-  years  succeeding  its  discovery 
very  little  is  recorded  of  I'ajaro.  although  it 
was  traversed  frequentl)  by  people  passing  from 
the    Mission    of   Santa    Cruz   to    Monterey   and 

The  first  to  appreciate  the  locality  as  a  suit- 
able place  to  establish  a  home  was  Don 
Antonio  Maria  Castro,  who  applied  in  [820  to 
ivernmenl  of  Spain  for  a  grant  of  land 
which  he  called  Vega  del  Rio  del  I'ajaro 
(meadow  of  the  river  of  the  Pajaro)  and  which 
land  extended  along  the  south  side  of  the 
I'ajaro  river  from  a  point  near  Vega  station  to 
\romas  I'.  O.,  and  contained  1.310  acres.  The 
grant  was  not  received  From  Spain,  for  in  [821, 


and  shortly  after  the  application  was  made. 
Mexico  rebelled  and  overthrew  Spanish  rule  in 
this  territory.  The  grant  was  given  by  Mexico 
in  1833. 

The  next  applicant  tor  land  was  Manuel 
Jimeno.  In  1823  he  received  the  grant  known 
as  Salsipuedes  rancho.  It  extended  from  Salsi- 
puedes  creek  and  College  lake  eastward  to  Chit- 
tenden and  from  Pajaro  river  to  the  top  of  the 
mountains  and  contained  31,200  acres. 

The  same  year  (.1823)  Don  Luis  Antonio 
Argueleo,  who  signed  himself  as  "Superior  Po- 
litical and  Military  Chieftain  of  Upper  Cali- 
fornia, located  at  Monterey,"  granted  to  Don 
Jos,  Amesti  the  Rancho  de  los  Corralitos.  This 
extended  from  College  lake  to  the  western  con- 
fines of  the  valley  and  from  Corralitos  creek 
northward  well  into  the  mountains.  It  con- 
tained four  square  leagues. 

Don  Jose  Joaquin  Castro  acquired  the  San 
Andreas  rancho  in  1833.  This  tract  contained 
8,900  acres  and  was  bounded  by  the  ocean,  the 
slough  west  of  town,  the  Corralitos  creek  from 
the  McNeely  place  to  the  bridge  on  the  Santa 
Cruz  road,  one  mile  west  of  Whiskey  Hill. 
From  this  point  the  boundary  was  a  line  run- 
ning due  west  to  the  ocean. 

Rancho  Laguna  de  las  Calabasas  was  wedged 
in  between  the  San  Andreas  and  Corralitos 
ranchos.  It  was  granted  to  Francisco  Hernan- 
dez and  contained  2.300  acres. 

In  1834  Don  Ignacio  Vallejo  acquired  the 
grant  called  Bolsa  de  San  Cayetano.  This  ex- 
tended along  the  south  side  of  I'ajaro  river  from 
near  Vega  station  to  the  ocean  and  contained 
8,866  acres. 

Rancho  Bolsa  del  I'ajaro.  on  which  Watson- 
ville  is  located,  was  -ranted  to  Don  Sebastian 
Rodriguez  in  1837.  This  rancho  extended  from 
the  ocean  to  Salsipuedes  creek  and  from  I'ajaro 
river  to  the  slough  west  of  town.  It  contained 
5.400  acres. 

One  of  the  conditions  exacted  by  the  Mex- 
ican Government  in  giving  these  grants  was 
that  fruit  tret's  should  he  planted.  The  pear 
was  the  variety  most  commonl}  planted  in  this 
section,  although  some  apples  were  planted. 
The  trees,  being  seedlings,  did  not  produce  de- 
sirable fruit. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


It  is  interesting  to  reail  the  formalities  re- 
quired in  securing  these  grants.  The  profuse 
wording  of  the  application;  the  order  setting 
aside  the  land:  the  appointment  of  an  army 
officer  and  witnesses  to  go  with  the  grantee 
for  the  purpose  of  installing  him  in  his  new  pos- 
sessions; how  the  official  took  the  owner  by 
the  hand,  led  him  around,  caused  him  to  pull 
up  weeds  and  to  throw  stones  and  then  pro- 
claim him  the  owner  of  the  premises.  The  gov- 
ernment was  \cr\  liberal  with  the  public  lands, 
as  any  applicant  was  entitled  to  eleven  square 
leagues. 

Pajaro  valley  at  this  time  was  one  great 
meadow,  covered  with  wild  oats,  clover  alfilaria 
and  other  grasses.  Mustard  grew  so  tall  that 
a  man  on  horseback  could  not  see  over  the  top 
of  it.  The  mountains  from  the  San  Jose  road 
westward  was  one  unbroken  forest,  composed 
principally  of  giant  redwoods,  with  a  sprinkling 
of  fir,  tanbark  and  other  oaks,  madrone  and 
laurel,  while  along  the  streams  and  scattered 
here  and  there  were  willow,  alder,  sycamore 
and  cottonwood  trees.  Wild  animals  were 
plentiful.  There  were  elk,  deer,  antelope,  rab- 
bits, grizzly  bear,  wolf,  coyote,  lion,  fox, 
badger,  skunk,  wildcat,  squirrels,  etc.  The  In- 
dians found  in  Fajaro  were  not  hostile  and  gave 
no  trouble. 

<  hi  each  rancho,  generally  on  an  eminence, 
was  located  the  ranch  house,  made  of  adobe 
and  covered  with  tiling.  In  this  lived  the  Don 
and  his  family,  while  near  by  were  huts  for 
the  "peons"  (servants).  The  peons  looked  after 
the  stock  and  cultivated  the  small  patches  of 
grain  and  vegetables.  There  were  no  fences 
between  the  ranchos  and  the  stock  roamed  at 
will.  (  )nce  or  twice  a  year  a  "rodeo"  was  held. 
All  the  horses  and  cattle  were  rounded  up  and 
the  young  branded.  Only  enough  land  was 
farmed  to  raise  sufficient  grain  and  vegetables 
for  ranch  use.  Plowing  was  done  with  a  forked 
limb  pulled  by  oxen.  Grain  was  cut  with  a 
sickle  and  threshed  by  running  horses  over  it. 
Flour  was  made  by  grinding  wheat  between  two 
large  flat  stones  about  four  feet  in  diameter, 
the  bottom  stone  stationary  and  the  top  one 
caused  to  revolve  around  horizontally  by  means 
of  a  [ever  pulled  b)   a  horse.     The  stones  used 


for  this  purpose  came  from  the  mountains  near 
Gilroy. 

Supplies,  such  as  clothing,  tobacco,  coffee, 
sugar,  etc..  were  procured  at  Santa  Cruz  or 
.Monterey  in  exchange  for  hides  ami  tallow. 

The  only  vehicle  used  was  called  "carreta." 
This  was  a  two-wheeled  affair.  The  wheels 
were  solid  sections  of  oak  trees,  with  wooden 
axle  on  which  a  large  box  was  mounted,  a  pole 
with  cross-bar  attached  to  the  end,  which  cross- 
bar was  fastened  with  strips  of  rawhide  to  horns 
of  two  bulls  or  oxen,  completed  the  outfit. 
This  vehicle  was  used  not  only  for  conveying 
freight,  but  it  served  as  carriage  as  well  for 
the  ladies  and  children.  In  this  they  rode  to 
"la  fiesta,"  the  barbecue  or  to  church. 

For  amusement,  aside  from  the  "rodeo,"  they 
had  frequent  gatherings  at  the  different  ranch 
houses.  The  program  generally  began  with  a 
barbecue  on  Saturday,  followed  by  music  and 
dancing  all  night  and  wound  up  with  a  bear 
and  bull  light  on  Sunday.  When  a  wedding 
occurred  the  festivities  lasted  a  week.  The 
grizzly  bears  for  the  lights  were  lassoed  by  the 
vaqueros  along  the  foothills  of  our  valley. 
Around  Corralitos,  and  particularly  em  the  land 
adjacent  to  the  Corralitos  school  house,  it  is 
said  that  the  vaqueros  never  failed  to  capture 
the  grizzly.  The  method  was  for  several 
vaqueros  to  surround  and  lasso  the  bear,  then 
bind  him  on  to  a  litter  made  of  poles  and  with 
their  riatas  drag  him  to  the  ranch  house, 
times  a  distance  of  several  miles. 

Life  on  the  rancho  was  a  lazy,  dreamy,  happy 
existence.  In  a  recent  interview  our  friend  I  'on 
Ricardo  Castro,  on  being  asked  how  time  was 
principally  occupied  by  the  rancheros,  replied 
with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders.  "Oh,  talking 
and  smoking  cigarettes."  In  a  "land  of  plenty," 
with  no  cares,  no  ambitions,  no  annoyani 
cept  an  occasional  horse  stealing  raid  bj  "los 
Indios  bronchos"  from  about  Lake  Tulare  and 
the  mountains 
could  have  been   desired? 

Such,  briefly,  were  the  conditions  existing 
when  the  venturesome  "Gringos"  began  pour- 
ing into  the  vallej .  if  calm,  peace 
and  happiness  was  soon  swepl  aside  and  the 
great,  big-hearted  Don,  unable  to  withstand  the 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


shrewd  Yankee,  was  shortly  robbed  of  his  her- 
itage and  sent  "a  wanderer  without  where  to 
lay  his  head." 

In  [851  J.  B.  Hill,  the  first  American  settler. 
leased  from  Manuel  Jimeno  1,000  acres  of  Sal- 
■  ipuedes  ranch.  The  tract  leased  extended  from 
the  Salsipuedes  creek  to  the  little  stream  run- 
ning through  the  Willoughby  farm.  With  Hill 
came  our  old  friend.  Hon.  Ed  Martin,  who  al 
that  time  was  a  mere  youth.  In  the  autumn 
of  1851,  just  iifn  years  ago,  Mr.  Martin  opened 
the  first  furrow  ever  struck  (iff  in  Pajaro  1>\ 
an  American,  and  this  with  the  first  iron  plow 
brought  to  the  valley.  This  plowing  was  done 
about  where  the  Silliman  homestead  now 
stands.  As  this  was  his  first  attempt  at  plowing, 
Mr.  Martin  assures  us  thai  the  furrow  would 
hardly  do  to  follow   in  planting  a  tree  row. 

In  the  spring  of  1852  Hill  planted  about  200 
acres  of  potatoes.  It  is  said  that  the  crop 
raised  sold  at  from  14  cent-  to  16  cents  per 
pound.  The  high  price  of  potatoes,  the  won- 
derful fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  report  that 
much  of  the  district  was  government  land. 
caused  a  rush  1  if  home-seekers.  A  large  num- 
ber of  these  early  settlers  "squatted"  on  lands 
owned  by  the  Mexicans,  and  caused  much 
10  ml i!e  before  they  were  evicted.  Judge  Wat- 
son, after  whom  our  town  was  named,  was  a 
'■squatter,"  and  had  no  title  to  the  land  which 
In  sold.  Man}-  of  those  interested  in  our  val- 
ley in  the  early  '50s  were  young,  energetic,  in- 
telligent and  well  educated.  Among-  the  list 
Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman.  Gen.  E.  D.  Baker, 
Eugene  Kelly,  \\  .  W.  Stowe,  William  F.  White, 
<  harles  Ford,  J.  1).  Carr,  1).  M.  Clough,  Cooper 
Brothers  and  G.  M.  Bockius. 

I  )uring  the  pi  itati  1  1  xcitement  n  illowing  Hill's 
success,  W.  W.  Stone  and  Charles  Ford  formed 
a  partnership  and  leased  a  large  part  of  the 
\.mesti  bottom.  Their  camp  was  located  near 
the  little  bridge  on  I  ake  farm,  now  owned  by 
Mrs.  K.  J.  Sanborn,  The  variet)  must  popular 
was  the  "I  [umboldl  Red"  potato  and  the  yield 
ran   from   200  t.i  30  1   sacks  per  acre. 

hist  house  in  Watsonville  was  built  in 
[852  li\  1. lewdly  Thrift.  It  was  a  split  lumber 
affair  and  st 1  on   the  ground  now  occupied 


by  the  Eagle  restaurant.  It  served  as  post- 
office,  general  merchandise  store,  saloon  and 
hotel. 

In  1853  the  first  orchard  planted  by  an  Amer- 
ican was  set  out  on  the  Jesse  D.  Carr  place 
(now  the  Silliman  homestead).  This  orchard 
was  about  two  acres  in  extent  anil  contained 
a  general  mixture  of  fruit  for  home  use.  Some 
nf  the  trees  are  still  bearing. 

The  same  year  (1853)  the  first  school  was 
organized.  It  was  conducted  in  the  South 
Methodist  church  and  was  located  about  where 
Gaffey's  office  now  stands.  The  teacher  was 
a  Mr.  Dunn  and  was  brought  here  by  J.  D. 
( !arr. 

It  seems  a  strange  coincidence  that  the  found- 
ing of  our  orchard  industry  and  of  our  schools 
should  occur  simultaneously,  and  that  both 
sin  mil  be  brought  about  by  the  same  man — 
Jesse  D.  Carr. 

The  second  orchard  planted  was  by  William 
F.  White,  in  1854.  During  the  next  two  or 
three  years  several  small  family  orchards  were 
planted.  The  Coopers  and  others  planted  a 
few  trees  on  their  town  lots.  Scott  planted  fruit 
trees  mi  a  portion  of  what  is  now  the  plaza. 
The   latter  were   still   standing  as  late   as    1S711. 

<  1.  M.  Bockius  was  one  of  the  early  planters, 
he  having  set  nut  fifty-two  trees  of  mixed  va- 
rieties in   1857. 

The  first  commercial  orchards  were  set  nut 
by  Isaac  Williams  and  Judge  R.  F.  Peckham  in 
1858.  Williams  planted  thirteen  acres,  prin- 
cipally apples,  on  land  now  owned  by  K.  F. 
Redman.  Peckham  planted  six  acres  on  what 
is  mm  called  the  Gaily  place.  The  Muss  peach 
orchard  and  the  Sanford  orchard  were  planted 
about  this  same  time. 

As  these  earl)  orchards  were  entirely  experi- 
mental, it  was  the  rule  to  plant  many  varieties. 
With  apples  the  popular  varieties  were  Smith 
Cider,  Rhode  Island  Greening,  Rambo,  Graven- 
stein,  Jonathan,  Newtown  Pippin  and  Bellefleur. 
The  favorite  plums  were  the  Egg  plum,  \\  ash 
ingtiin,  Jefferson  and  Green  Gage. 

In  cherries.  Governor  Wood,  Napoleon  Big- 
erreau,  Blackheart  and  Black  Tartarian. 
I  he  (  rawford  was  the  favorite  peach. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


In  apricots  the  Royal  and  Moorpark  were 
planted,  but  the  Moorpark  proved  a  failure,  as 
it  flourishes  only  in  warm  climates. 

With  pears  the  favorites  were  Winter  Wilis 
an.l  Bartlett. 

Most  of  the  trees  were  procured  from  San 
Jose  nurseries  and  were  hauled  in  wagons,  there 
being  no  other  means  of  transportation.  These 
trees  cost  at  the  nurseries  from  Si  to  $1-50  each. 

In  i860  the  total  amount  planted  to  fruit  trees 
in  our  valley  did  not  exceed  fifty  acres.  By  this 
time  it  had  been  demonstrated  that  our  soil 
and  climate  were  well  adapted  to  the  production 
of  a  great  variety  of  fruit-.  <  Kir  apples  particu- 
larly showed  the  highest  perfection.  High 
prices  stimulated  the  planting  of  quite  an  acre- 
age of  apples  during  the  next  five  years,  or  be- 
tween i860  and  1865.  People  began  to  plant 
on  a  larger  scale — some  planting  as  much  as 
twenty  acres. 

In  the  winter  of  1861-2  Jacob  Blackburn 
planted  an  apple  orchard  of  twelve  acres.  This 
was  for  many  years  the  model  orchard  of  the 
valley.  This  orchard  still  stands,  and  with 
proper  pruning,  spraying  and  cultivation  could 
he  made  to  yield  a  fair  profit  for  many  years  to 
come. 

Uncle  Jake  Blackburn  might  well  he  called 
the  father  of  the  apple  industry  in  Pajaro.  He, 
above  all  others,  through  the  experiments  which 
he  conducted,  demonstrated  the  most  profitable 
varieties  to  plant.  Being  a  man  of  keen  obser- 
vation and  rare  judgment,  thorough  in  all  that 
pertained  to  the  management  of  his  orchard 
and  enthusiastic  in  the  industry,  his  advice,  al- 
ways cheerfully  given,  was  much  sought,  and 
his  orchard  methods  widely  adopted. 

The  same  winter,  that  of  1861-2,  James 
Waters  planted  1,900  apple  trees  on  the  bottom 
land  now  owned  by  William  Birlem  and  the 
adjoining  piece  belonging  to  the  orphanage. 
After  tile  abatement  of  the  renowned  flood  of 
'62  not  one  tree  was  left.  All  were  either  cov- 
ered with  debris  or  were  washed  away.  Some 
pear  trees  which  he  planted  on  the  hillside 
near  by  still  stand. 

Louis  Martinelli,  Daniel  Tuttle,  I. urn  Smith, 
Thomas  Beck,  Mike  Gagnon,  Dunlap  and 
others   followed   with  their  plantings   within   the 


next  year  or  two.  In  1863  G.  M.  Bockius 
planted  a  pear  orchard  of  ten  acres. 

As  this  valley  was  so  isolated  on  account  of 
such  poor  shipping  facilities,  and  as  other  sec- 
tions more  favorably  situated  were  raising- 
enough  to  supply  tlie  market-,  prices  rilled  low. 
and  few  trees  were  planted  (hiring  the  period 
between    1865   and    1875. 

Io  illustrate  of  how-  little  consequence  apples 
were  considered  during  this  time:  When  I. 
M.  Rodgers  planted  an  orchard  of  four  acres 
in  1868  he  was  derided  by  some  of  his  friends 
and  neighbors  for  planting  so  much.  They 
said  that  he  would  have  more  than  enough  for 
family  use  and  that  he  could  not  sell  the  bal- 
ance. Their  prediction  proved  true  for  a  time, 
for  during  the  next  few  years  orchardists  Wer< 
glad  to  get  25  or  30  cents  per  box  for  their 
apples. 

This  was  not  the  case  with  pears  at  this  time, 
however,  for  Judge  Bockius  informs  us  that  in 
1868  Porter  Bros,  of  Chicago  came  here  and 
paid  him  $2.50  per  box  for  his  pears,  and  they 
furnished  boxes  and  did  the  packing.  The  price 
of  pears  did  not  remain  high  many  years.  At 
present  very  few  are  raised  and  there  is  only  a 
slight  demand  for  them. 

Jacob  Blackburn  and  James  Waters  planted 
the  first  nursery  in  1867.  After  the  death  of 
Mr.  Blackburn  the  business  was  carried  on  by 
Mr.  Waters,  and  has  increased  in  extent  until 
upward  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  trees  are  raised 
annually. 

In  about  1867  the  first  shipment  of  apples 
from  Pajaro  valley  was  made  h\  [saac  Williams. 
The)  were  shipped  by  way  of  Hudson's  land- 
ing to  San  Francisco.  Charles  Williams,  a 
merchant  of  Watsonville,  was  the  first  to  lun 
fruit  on  the  tree  and  handle  it  after  the  man- 
ner of  our  present  system.    This  was  in 

In  1S70  the  Space  devoted  to  fruit  trees  in 
Pajaro  valley  (lid  not  excei  d 

The  handling  of  our  fruit  was  greatly  facili- 
tated on  the  completion  of  the  railroad  into  our 
vallej  in  [870,  bul  this  did  not  stimulate  tree 
planting. 

The  first  strong,  lasting  demand  for  Pajaro 
apples  dates  back  to  the  de<  line  of  the  industry 
in  Santa  Clara  valley  and  othei   apple  produc- 


254 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ing  districts.  Through  gross  neglect  on  the 
part  of  the  growers  in  those  sections,  the  per- 
nicious, or  San  Jose,  scale  and  the  codling  ninth 
had  caused  Mich  inroads  upon  the  apple  orch- 
ards that  by  1877  a  shortage  occurred,  and  buy- 
ers began  to  search  for  apples  in  outside  ter- 
ritory. 

Marco  Rabasa  came  first,  and  was  shortly 
followed  by  L.  < '..  Sresovich.  Up  to  this  time 
we  had  no  fruit  pests.  Codling  moth  was 
brought  into  our  valley  111  old  boxes  shipped  in 
by  these  men.  San  Jose  scale  made  its  appear- 
ance in  about  1880.  and  probably  originated 
from  nursery  stock  brought  from  San  Jose. 

The  continued  decrease  in  the  output  from 
San  lose,  with  consequent  increase  in  demand 
and  prices,  greatly  stimulated  the  planting  of 
trees,  and  yearly  from  that  period  there  has 
been  a  constantly  increasing  acreage  planted. 

These  early  buyers  paid  the  orchardist  from 
$100  to  $150  per  acre  for  the  fruit  on  the  tree, 
and  in  turn  sold  it  at  from  $2.50  to  $4  per  box 
in  San  Francisco.  It  is  said  that  one  season 
in  the  late  70s  Rabasa  secured  the  fruit  on  the 
Blackburn  orchard  for  $1,800.  After  selling 
enough  to  pay  for  the  fruit  he  sold  the  balance 
to  L.  G.  Sresovich  for  $8,000. 

The  acreage  planted  to  trees  in  1880  did  not 
exceed  500  acres. 

Another  factor  which  figured  in  the  in- 
creased acreage  during  this  period  was  the 
strawberry  industry.  The  completion  of  the 
Corralitos  water  system  in  1878  afforded  water 
for  irrigation  purposes,  and  in  the  early  '80s 
large  acreages  were  planted  to  strawberries. 
\s  trees  planted  among  the  berries  grew  vig- 
orously and  required  no  special  care,  and 
as  berries  could  be  profitably  grown  until 
the  trees  attained  bearing  age,  the  thrifty  berry 
-rower  made  it  a  rule  to  plant  out  all  berry  fields 
to  apple  trees. 

J.  M.  Rodgers  in  [882  planted  the  first  prune 
orchard.  Its  size  was  four  and  one-half  acres. 
In  1887  when  the  tree-,  were  live  years  old.  the 
prunes  in  this  orchard  sold  on  the  tree  for 
$I,8oo.  This  sale  was  the  primary  cause  of  3U(  h 
a  large  acreage  being  planted  during  the  next 
In  180}  there  were  close  to  1.500 
planted   to   Petit    jinnies.      Prices  were  so 


low  by  1896  that  most  of  the  prunes  in  the  val- 
K\  proper  were  dug  up  and  replaced  by  ap- 
ples. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  industry 
when  at  its  height,  the  reports  for  1896  from 
the  different  drying  plants  in  our  valley  give  the 
total  of  2,269,800  pounds  green.  The  Pajaro 
\  alley  fruit  Exchange  handled  about  one-half 
1  if  these. 

With  the  decline  of  the  prune  the  apricot 
came  to  the  front  in  the  foothill  sections  and 
is  proving  a  profitable  crop.  Some  portions  of 
the  district  raise  a  very  large,  handsome  canning 
apricot.  The  Royal  is  the  favorite.  By  1890 
the  area  devoted  to  fruit  trees  was  about  2,500 
acres. 

While  there  was  a  steady  increase  in  the 
acreage  yearly  planted  to  apples  during  the  de- 
1  ade  sui  ceeding  :88o,  the  most  extensive  plant- 
ing in  the  history  of  the  industry  began  about 
1890. 

By  this  time  those  who  had  hesitated,  fearing 
that  the  business  would  be  overdone,  now 
gained  confidence  in  the  stability  of  the  apple 
market.  The  chief  factor,  however,  in  bring- 
ing about  this  accelerated  planting  of  trees  was 
the  establishment  of  the  sugar  factory  in  1888. 
The  farmer  soon  learned  that  he  could  raise 
trees  and  at  the  same  time  make  the  land  yield 
a  good  profit  by  raising  beets  between  the  trees. 
To  such  an  extent  was  this  plan  carried  out 
that  about  1895  tlie  sugar  factory  officials,  becom- 
ing alarmed  lest  no  beet  acreage  would  be  left, 
and  to  discourage  tree  planting,  refused  to  give 
out  contracts  for  planting  beets  in  orchards. 
slating,  it  is  said,  among  other  reasons,  that 
they  did  not  propose  to  ruin  their  own  business 
li\  encouraging  fruit  tree  planting.  This,  how- 
ever, did  not  deter  the  fanner  in  the  least,  as 
he  could  raise  other  crops — beans,  potatoes  and 
corn — between   the  trees. 

While  it  was  demonstrated  in  the  '60s  that 
the  Newtown  and  P.ellerleur  attained  their  high- 
est perfection  here,  and  while,  as  time  wore  on, 
they  continuallj  gained  in  public  favor,  and 
were  mainly  planted,  yet  there  were  those  who, 
thinking  these  two  varieties  would  be  overdone, 
planted  other  varieties,  their  preference  running 
1. .  led  apples. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Between  1885  and  1895  considerable  acreages 
were  planted  to  Missouri  Pippin,  Red  Pear- 
main,  Lawver  and  Lang-ford  Seedling.  As 
these  had  to  come  in  sharp  competition  with 
the  eastern  red  apple,  and  as  our  Newtown 
Pippins  and  Bellefleurs  were  more  in  demand 
and  commanded  higher  price-,  the  two  last 
named  varieties  have  been  almost  exclusively 
planted  since   1895. 

With  our  Newtown  Pippins  and  Bellefleurs 
we  challenge  the  world  for  size,  flavor  and  keep- 
ing quality. 

We  have  seen  the  yield  of  apples  increase 
from  about  150,000  boxes  in  1890  to  1,500,000 
boxes  in  1901.  Of  course  this  number  of  boxes 
are  not  all  sent  out  of  the  valley.  There  is  con- 
siderable waste  through  decay  and  windfalls, 
and  much  of  the  poorer  quality  is  converted 
into  the  dried  product  and  into  cider  and  vine- 
gar. 

The  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  finds 
Pajaro  valley  fruit  district  to  contain: 

Apples 790,800  trees  or.  .  .  .  12,150  acres 

Prunes 120,600  trees  or.  ..  .    1,200  acres 

\pricots 69,600  trees  or.  ..  .      995  acres 

Cherries 15.300  trees  or.  . .  .       218  acres 

Pears    7,200  trees  or.  . .  .       102  acres 

Peaches 6,700  trees  or.  . .  .        96  acres 

Trees    ....1.010,200         Acres.  .  14,761 

Add  to  this  170  acres  of  grapes  and  1,000 
acres  of  berries  and  it  will  lie  seen  that  Pajaro 
fruit  district  contains  15.031  acres  planted  to 
fruit. 

The  walnut  thrives  well  here,  and  although 
there  are  no  large  acreages  figures  show  a  total 
■  if  7,000  trees.  The  chestnut  also  thrives  in 
our  valley.  The  warmer  foothill  sections  pro- 
duce oranges,  very  choice   lemons,  and  figs. 

About  one-third  of  the  apple  acreage  is  lo- 
cated on  the   Monterey  side  of  the  valley. 

To  illustrate  the  extent  of  tree  planting  in 
the  vallej  at  present,  it  may  be  said  that,  during 
the  year  [901,  58,400  apple  trees  were  planted 
mi  the  Santa  Cruz  side  and  about  48,800  "ii 
tin-  Monterej  side,  or  a  total  of  107,200,  cov 
ering  an  area  .if  1.7X0  acres. 

It    is   not    generally   known    that    the   largesl 


orchards  in  our  valley  are  owned  b)  v.  ■ 
Women  of  intelligence',  energy  and  business 
ability,  who  can  manage  their  farms  success- 
fully, and  yet  they  have  no  voice  in  the  control 
of  our  government.  Women  who  are  paying 
thousands  in  taxes  into  our  treasury,  and  yet 
they  have  no  voice  in  selecting  those  who  con- 
trol this  money,  while  the  most  miserable 
"dago,"  illiterate,  knowing  nothing  about,  and 
caring  less,  for  our  American  institutions,  may 
dictate  the  policy  of  our  government  or  vote 
away  her  property.  Is  this  "equal  rights  and 
justice  to  all?" 

Our  apples  are  handled  principally  by  Sla- 
vonian packers,  there  being  twenty-two  of  these, 
tour  American  and  one  Chinese,  or  a  total  of 
twenty-seven  firms  engaged  in  the  business. 
The  fruit  is  mainly  bought  on  the  tree,  the 
orehardist  receiving  from  Sioo  to  $200  per  acre 
yearly  for  orchards  in  full  bearing.  As  failure 
of  the  apple  crop  is  unknown  in  our  valley,  these 
buyers  often  contract  for  orchards  for  terms 
extending  four  years  in  advance. 

This  method. of  handling  fruit,  while  bringing 
to  the  grower  and  packer  good  returns,  is  nol 
adding  to  our  reputation  abroad. 

We  have  a  few  firms  who  are  doing  good 
work  and  deserve  credit  for  the  choice  pack 
sent  .nit.  The  present  system  has  a  tendency 
to  make  the  -rower  careless  and  indifferent  in 
the  management  of  Ids  orchard,  while  most  of 
the  packers,  having  no  permanent  interest  at 
stake,  propose  to  "make  hay  while  the  sun 
shines,"  ami  consequently  push  onto  the  mar- 
ket everything  possible.  If  the  present  system 
of  handling  apples  continues  it  will,  within  a  few 
years,  bring  a  hardship  upon  our  leading  in- 
dustry, and  the  producer,  as  is  always  the  case, 
will  suffer  the   I<  iss. 

The  011I3  method  b\  winch  we  can  hope  to 
build  up  and  maintain  a  high  reputation  is  for 
the  orehardist  to  pack  bis  own  fruit;  to  handle 
through  a  fruit  exchange,  or  to  encourage  the 
distributers   of   our  ap]  iblish   packing 

houses  and  bin  apples  1>\  weighl  or  box  from 
the  grower.  In  the  event  of  either  it  would 
lie  material!}  to  the  interest  of  the  orehardist 
to  carefull)  prune  and  spray  the  trees,  thin  the 
fruit     ami    cultivate     the    s  ducing 


256 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


nothing  but  choice  apples.  The  pack,  if  left 
to  the  exchange  or  to  the  distributer,  would  be 
the  best,  as  nothing  would  be  accepted  by  either 
except  the  best.  This  method  of  handling  would 
build  up  a  higher  reputation  for  our  fruit,  in- 
crease demand,  and  our  product  would  com- 
mand higher  prices  than  ever. 

To  illustrate  what  profits  may  be  made  in 
handling  apples  under  our  present  system,  a 
few    figures  are  herewith  submitted: 


Average  number  boxes  on  one  acre  apples. 

full  bearing   1  -coo 

Allowing  for  waste  25  per  cent 250 

Number  of  boxes  of  salable  apples 7?'> 

Gross    returns    on    750   boxes   at   js   cents 

per  box    $    5' '-' 

Amount    paid   to   orchardist    for   one   acre. 

full  hearing ■  •  ■     J  75 

Expenses,     including     picking,      packing, 

boxes,  etc.,  35c  box   262 

Total  expense  to  packer S    437 

Xet    return    to   packer    for    one     acre,    full 
bearing 1  -5 


With  the  high  prices  prevailing  this  season 
the  profit  to  the  packer  would  be  close  to  $250 
on  this  one  acre.  Most  of  our  apples  are  sold 
f.  o.  b.  cars  Watsonville,  and  are  bought  by 
agents  sent  here  by  eastern  and  foreign  estab- 
lishments. As  the  output  is  growing  beyond 
the  capacity  of  our  packers,  a  splendid  oppor- 
tunity is  now  open  in  this  line  to  those  who 
have  a  reasonable  capital  to  invest. 

Though  our  crop  of  r, 500,000  seems  large, 
we  raise  only  I  per  cent  of  the  apples  grown 
in  the  United  States.  The  returns  received  by 
the  orchardist  for  his  apples  lias  materially  ad- 
vanced prices  of  land.  And  this  fact  is  made 
quite  obvious  to  the  fruit  grower  when  the  tax 
collector  favors  our  end  of  the  county  with  his 
presence.  \.side  from  a  high  valuation  placed 
on  the  land,  some  of  our  fruit  trees  are  as- 
-1  ssed  as  high  as  $1.25  a  piece. 

As  to  ins,  et  pests,  we  have  quite  a  num- 
ber. Although  they  have  caused  consider- 
able loss  to  the  orchardist.  through  neglect  on 
his  part,  our  climatic  conditions  are  such  that 
do  not   multiph   as  rapidb   as-   in  wanner 


climates.  We  have  also  many  beneficial  in- 
sects which  aid  in  holding  these  pests  in  check. 
Our  worst  pests  are  the  codling  moth,  wooly 
aphis  and  several  kinds  of  scale  insects.  Mosl 
of  the  orchardists  have  joined  in  a  crusade 
against  these  pests,  and  by  another  year  it  is 
hoped  the  worst  will  be  reduced  to  the  mini- 
mum. It  is  the  duty  of  the  orchardist  to  pro- 
duce good,  clean  fruit,  and  then  to  see  that  it 
is  put  upon  the  market  in  the  proper  shape. 

We  will  be  obliged  to  send  out  nothing  but 
the  choicest  fruit  if  we  hope  to  maintain  our 
prestige  in  the  market  of  the  world.  In  the 
near  future  we  will  be  brought  into  sharp  com- 
petition with  territory  now  developing.  Mil- 
lions of  apple  trees  are  being  planted  in  (  )re- 
gon,  Washington,  Idaho.  Montana,  the  slates 
of  the  Middle  West,  Canada,  Australia.  New 
Zealand,  South  Africa,  and  even  South  America 
will  be  a  competitor.  The  territories  named 
have  some  advantages  over  us.  the  chief  one 
being-  in  the  matter  of  transportation.  As  an 
illustration  of  difference  in  freight,  our  rates 
on  apples  to  New  York  are  about  one  and  one- 
half  times  those  of  Oregon.  The  S.  I'.  R.  R. 
Co.  makes  more  out  ,,1  our  apple  orchards  in 
one  week  than  the  orchardist  does  in  a  whole 
year.  They  charge  from  $250  to  $350  to  haul 
from  here  to  Xew  York  the  apples  raised  on  one 
acre  in  full  bearing'.  The  sale  of  apples  alone 
brings  into  this  valley  this  season  over  $1,000,- 
000,  and  while  figures  are  not  at  hand,  the  other 
fruits,  beets,  potatoes,  beans,  corn,  wheat,  oats, 
barley,  cattle  and  dairy  products  will  probably 
bring  in  a  million  more. 

While  deploring  the  existence  of  some  draw- 
backs and  the  necessity  of  mentioning  them. 
this  article  would  not  be  complete  without  giv- 
ing the  worst  along  with  the  best.  We  think 
these  matters  can  and  will  be  remedied  by  the 
movemenl  now  set  on  Foot  b)  our  Board  oi 
Trade  and  Orchardists'  Association.  The  in- 
fluence exerted  b\  these  organizations  is  al- 
ready perceptible.  There  is  an  awakening.  The 
spirit  of  progressiveness  prevails.  \  campaign 
is  inaugurated  for  the  advancement  of  all  the 
interests  of  our  community  and  against 
thing  which  retards  our  prosperity.  'I  he  ob 
structionist,  the  mossback  and  the  'kicker"  will 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


either  have  to  "line  up"  or  take  a  place  in  the 
rear. 

Withal,  we  believe  there  is  no  more  prosper- 
ous community  to  be  found.  On  every  hand 
are  evidences  of  comfort  and  prosperity.  A 
land  where  the  real  estate  boomer  is  extinct, 
where  the  mortgage  holder  is  scarce,  where 
every  man  who  will  may  have  a  bank  account. 
With  the  richest  of  soil,  bountiful  rainfall,  fail- 
ure of  crops  unknown,  irrigation  unnecessary, 
producing  to  perfection  the  greatest  variety  of 
products,  the  agriculturist's  paradise,  the  land 
of  plenty.  Such  is  Pajaro  on  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  American  occupancy  and  the  beginning 
of  the  twentieth  centurv. 


FREDERICK  A.  HIHN. 

This  California  pioneer  of  1849  was  born  at 
Holzminden,  duchy  of  Brunswick,  Germany, 
August  16,  1829,  and  was  one  of  a  family 
comprising  seven  boys  and  two  girls,  wdiose 
father  was  a  merchant.  He  was  educated  in  the 
Holzminden  high  school  and  at  the  age  of  fif- 
teen became  an  apprentice  in  the  mercantile 
house  of  A.  Hoffman  of  Schoeningen.  Three 
years  later,  on  completing  his  time,  he  embarked 
in  the  business  of  collecting  medicinal  herbs  and 
preparing  them  for  market.  Disliking  the 
German  form  of  government  and  yearning  for 
political  liberty,  he  was  preparing  to  emigrate 
to  Wisconsin  when  news  of  the  gold  discoveries 
in  California  reached  Germany,  and  he  decided 
to  join  the  great  throng  seeking  the  gold  lands. 

With  sixty  or  more  companions.  .Mr.  Hihn 
mailed  from  Bremen  in  the  brig  Reform,  April 
jo.  1849.  an<'  after  two  months  reached  the  har- 
bor of  Rio  Janeiro.  The  beauties  of  tropical 
vegetation  and  scenery  made  the  country  seem 
a  paradise,  and  the  balmy  air,  filled  with  the 
delicious  odor  of  orange  blossoms,  entranced 
them,  but  they  were  disenchanted  by  the  monot- 
onous ejaculations  and  dog-trot  of  large  gangs 
of  slaves  passing  by,  loaded  down  with  heavy 
burdens.  After  five  days  they  set  sail  again, 
t  (pposite  the  La  Plata  rive.r  they  endured  a  ter- 
rific storm,  then  they  passed  through  the  straits 
of  La  Maire  and  came  in  full  sight  of  Cape 
Horn,    a    tall    cliff    jutting   boldly    out    into    the 


ocean.  It  was  midwinter  and  the  thermometer 
low,  but  all  thronged  the  deck  to  view  the  great 
column  and  bid  adieu  to  the  Atlantic  ocean.  It 
seemed  to  them  as  if  they  were  entering  a  new 
world.  In  two  more  weeks  they  landed  at  Val- 
paraiso, from  where,  after  four  days,  they  sailed 
for  San  Francisco,  and  October  12,  1849,  en- 
tered the  Golden  Gate.  The  harbor  was  full  of 
ships,  and,  though  the  town  was  small,  every 
nationality  seemed  to  be  represented.  They 
landed  near  the  foot  of  Washington  street,  not 
far  from  Montgomery  street. 

Although  near  the  rainy  season  most  of  the 
passengers  of  the  Reform  at  once  proceeded  to 
the  mines.  Mr.  Hihn  joined,  a  party  of  six.  led 
by  Henry  Gerstecker.  After  innumerable 
troubles  they  reached  the  south  fork  of  Feather 
river  in  the  early  part  of  November.  They 
bought  a  mining  claim  and  prepared  to  locate 
for  the  winter,  but  it  commenced  to  rain,  the 
river  rose  and  washed  away  their  tools,  and  for 
a  time  they  were  forced  to  subsist  on  manzan- 
ita  berries.  After  two  weeks  it  was  decided  to 
return  to  Sacramento,  where  they  arrived  about 
December  1,  and  there  the  party  disbanded.  Mr. 
Hihn  remained  in  Sacramento  and  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  candy  with  F.  Kunitz,  who 
for  many  years  was  his  near  neighbor  in  Santa 
Cruz,  but  is  now  deceased.  For  a  few  weeks 
they  did  a  good  business,  but  about  Christmas 
the  Sacramento  and  American  rivers  overflowed 
their  banks  and  the  candy  factory  with  all  its 
contents  was  destroyed.  In  the  summer  of  1850 
Air.  Hihn  worked  in  the  mines  at  Long  Par  on 
the  American  river,  below  Auburn,  with  mod- 
erate success.  In  the  fall  he  returned  to  Sacra 
mento  and  became  one  of  the  proprietors  of  two 
hotels  on  K  street,  named  respectively  the  Uncle 
Sam  House  and  the  Mechanics  Exchange. 
Times  getting  very  dull  he  sold  out  during  the 
next  winter  and  opened  a  drug  store  in  San 
Francisco,  on  Washington  street  near  Maguire's 
1  ipera  house. 

The  great  fire  of  May,  1S51.  took  nearly  all 
of  his  world!)  g Is  and  the  balance  was  con- 
sumed in  the  June  tire  of  that  year.  Despairing 
of  ever  again  succeeding,  he  was  p 
through  the  burnt  district  on  his  way  to  take 
passage  for  his  native  land,  when  he  saw  one  of 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


his  friends  who  had  been  burned  out  shoveling 
the  burning  coals  out  of  the  way.  "What  are 
you  doing?"  was  asked.  "Building  a  new  store," 
was  the  reply.  "What!  After  you  have  been 
burned  out  twice  within  two  months?"  Said 
the  friend,  "Oh.  some  one  will  carry  on  busi- 
ness here."  "I  might  as  well  do  it  as  any  one 
else,"  thought  Mr.  Hihn,  and  -so  he  remained, 
this  incident  changing  his  mind.  New  courage 
pervaded  him  and  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Henry  Hintch  to  open  a  store  in  some  town 
south  of  San  Francisco,  where  it  was  supposed, 
though  money  was  not  so  plenty,  the  danger 
from  fire  was  less  and  life  more  agreeable.  In 
October,  185 1,  they  came  to  Santa  Cruz,  where 
they  located  at  the  junction  of  Front  street  and 
Pacific  avenue.  Soon  afterward  Mr.  Hintch 
went  back  to  the  city,  but  Mr.  Hihn  remained. 
Having  the  advantage  of  a  good  mercantile  edu- 
cation, speaking  English,  German,  French  and 
Spanish  fluently,  besides  having  some  knowl- 
edge of  other  languages,  he  soon  succeeded  in 
establishing  a  large  and  prosperous  mercantile 
business.  In  1853  he  erected  a  two-story  build- 
ing, which  was  considered  a  fine  structure  in 
that  day.  Then  came  the  trying  times  for  Santa 
Cruz.  Wheat,  potatoes  and  lumber,  the  princi- 
pal products  of  the  neighborhood,  were  almost 
worthless.  Wheat  sold  for  a  cent  a  pound,  pota- 
toes rotted  in  the  fields,  and  lumber  went  down 
from  $55  to  $12  per  thousand  feet.  Instead  of 
despairing,  this  only  spurred  Mr.  Hihn  on  to 
greater  exertions.  He  could  not  afford  to  sell 
his  goods  on  credit,  so  he  exchanged  them  for 
the  products  of  the  country,  paying  part  cash. 
The  wheat  was  ground  into  flour,  and  large 
quantities  of  the  latter,  together  with  lumber 
and  shingles,  were  shipped  to  Los  Angeles  and 
Monterey.  Many  days  more  than  $500  worth  of 
eggs  were  taken  in  and  shipped  to  San  Fran- 
cisci '.  Fresh  butter  was  put  up  in  barrels  and 
sold  in  the  fall  and  winter  in  place  of  eastern 
butter.  In  this  manner  the  hard  times  wen 
converted  into  good  times  for  the  young  mer- 
chant and  his  patrons,  and  in  1857  he  counted 
himself  worth  $30.0011,  but  his  health  had  suf 
fered  by  hard  work  and  business  worry,  and  he 
turned  his  business  over  to  his  younger  brother, 
1  tugo. 


November  23,  1853,  Mr.  Hihn  married  The- 
rese  Paggen,  a  native  of  France,  and  of  German 
parentage.  The  children  of  this  marriage  are: 
Katie  C,  formerly  the  wife  of  W.  T.  Cope; 
Louis  W.,  deceased,  who  married  Harriet  Israel: 
August  C,  who  married  Grace  Cooper;  Fred  O., 
who  married  Minnie  Chace;  Theresa,  wife  of 
George  Ready:  and  Agnes,  wife  of  C.  B. 
Younger.  The  first  residence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hihn  was  in  the  second  story  of  the  store  at  the 
junction  of  Pacific  avenue  and  Front  street. 
This  building  now  stands  on  Pacific  avenue 
north  of  the  store  of  Williamson  &  Garrett  and 
the  second  story  is  occupied  by  the  Decorative 
Art  Society.  In  1857  Mr.  Hihn  established  his 
family  home  on  Locust  street  and  in  1872  he 
built  the  mansion  on  that  street  where  he  has 
since  resided. 

Soon  after  arriving  in  Santa  Cruz  Mr.  Hihn 
directed  his  attention  to  real-estate  operations, 
his  general  method  being  to  buy  large  tracts, 
grade  and  open  streets  and  roads,  plant  shade 
and  other  tre.es,  and  generally  improve  the  land 
and  neighborhood.  Then  he  subdivided  these 
tracts  into  lots  and  parcels  and  sold  on  such 
terms  as  would  suit  the  convenience  of  buyers. 
"Homes  for  a  thousand  families"  was  the  favor- 
ite heading  of  his  real-estate  advertisements.  A 
novel  feature  was  the  following  clause  which 
he  inserted  in  his  contract  for  the  sale  of  land: 
"In  the  event  of  the  death  of  the  buyer,  all  ma- 
ture installments  having  been  promptly  paid,  the 
heirs  of  such  deceased  buyer  are  entitled  to  a 
deed  without  further  payment."  Considering 
that  but  ten  per  cent  of  the  purchase  price  was 
required  to  be  paid  at  the  time  of  buying,  this 
was  certainly  an  inviting  proposition,  of  which 
many  availed  themselves  in  order  to  secure  a 
home.  The  seller  claimed  that  the  losses  by 
death  were  well  covered  1>\  increased  sales  and 
the  enhancement  of  values  of  unsold  land.  Mr. 
Hihn's  real-estate  operations  extended  to  nearly 
all  parts  of  Santa  Cruz  county.  Capitola,  one  of 
the  most  pleasant  watering  places  on  the  coast. 
was  founded  by  him,  and  many  of  the  streets 
in  Santa  Cruz  and  adjoining  towns  owe  their 
origin  to  this  indefatigable  worker.  He  also 
owns  some  choice  corner  lots  in  San  Francisco, 
conspicuous  anion-  which  are  the  headquarters 


HISTORICAL   AXD   BIOGRAPHK    \I     RECORD. 


26J 


of  the  Evening  Post,   and  the  lot  on  the  south- 
easl  corner  of  Market  and  East. 

While  giving  close  attention  to  his  private 
affairs,  Mr.  Hihn  has  always  been  foremost  in 
advancing'  public  interests.  Among  the  works 
and  measures  of  improvements  in  which  he  was 
a  leading  spirit  are  the  construction  of  a  wagon 
road  across  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains,  con- 
necting Santa  Cruz  with  the  outside  world  by 
telegraph:  the  construction  and  operation  of  the 
railroad  from  Santa  Cruz  to  Pajaro  and  the 
opening  of  the  cliff  road  in  front  of  Santa  Cruz, 
extending  eastward  to  Capitola.  In  i860,  when 
even  San  Francisco  had  to  depend  upon  the 
Sausalito  boats  for  much  of  its  water,  when 
there  was  no  Spring  valley  and  the  Bensley 
works  were  in  their  infancy,  Mr.  Hihn  made 
water  pipes  from  redwood  logs  and  supplied 
the  people  of  Santa  Cruz  with  water  for  domes- 
tic use  and  fire  protection.  Afterward  he  en- 
larged these  works  and  built  works  in  other 
parts  of  the  county,  and  until  lately  all  the  wa- 
ter used  in  Santa  Cruz,  East  Santa  Cruz,  Capi- 
tola, Soquel  and  Valencia  was  supplied  by  him. 
He  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  Society 
of  California  Pioneers  of  Santa  Cruz  county,  of 
which  he  since  has  been  the  president.  In  1887 
he  assisted  in  organizing  the  City  Bank  and  City 
Savings  Bank  of  Santa  Cruz. 

In  public  office  Mr.  Hihn  served  as  school 
trustee  of  Santa  Cruz  when  there  was  only 
one  teacher  in  the  city,  and  under  his  manage- 
ment a  high-school  class  was  organized  and 
maintained  by  subscription.  For  six  years  he 
served  as  county  supervisor.  Times  were  dull 
then  and  money  scarce,  the  county  was  in  debt, 
and  county  warrants  sold  at  sixty  rents  on  the 
dollar.  Through  his  influence  these  warrants 
were  brought  up  to  par  value  and  the  county 
debt  was  largely  reduced  without  increasing 
taxation.  The  county  court-house  and  a  ver\ 
substantial  jail  were  erected  under  his  careful 
management.  In  1869  he  was  elected  to  the 
state  assembly,  and  during  that  term  he  per 
formed  a  prodigious  amount  of  work,  a  few  of 
the  measures  he  originated  being  the  following 
acts  of  legislature:  A  new  charier  for  the  city 
of  Santa  Cruz;  a  new  financial  system  for  the 
county   of   Santa   Cruz;   concerning   estray   ani- 


mals; appointment  of  a  commission  to  examine 
and  survey  Santa  Cruz  harbor  for  a  breakwater; 
concerning  roads  and  highways;  authorizing  a 
levy  of  district  taxes  for  building  school  houses; 
authorizing  supervisors  of  counties  to  grant 
wharf  franchises;  providing  for  fees  and  salaries 
of  state  and  township  officers;  authorizing  su- 
pervisors to  aid  in  the  construction  of  railroads 
in  their  respective  counties. 

One  of  the  most  important  measures  Mr. 
Hihn  originated  was  that  to  refund  the  state 
debt,  under  which  act  about  $4,000,000  of  state 
bonds  were  successfully  refunded  at  a  saving 
of  a  large  amount  of  interest  to  the  state.  He- 
was  largely  interested  in  the  Spring  Valley  wa- 
ter-works while  they  were  being  constructed. 
Included  among  his  interests  were  large  blocks 
of  stock  owned  in  the  San  Francisco  Gas  Com- 
pany, and  he  now  has  stock  in  the  Visitacion 
Mater  Company,  Stockton  Gas  Company  and 
Donohoe-Kelly  Banking  Company,  He  is  the 
largest  stockholder  in  the  Patent  Brick  Corn- 
pan),  which  is  one  of  the  principal  suppliers  of 
brick  for  San  Francisco  and  other  points  on 
the  bay.  Near  Aptos,  Santa  Cruz  county,  he- 
built  and  operated  a  sawmill  with  a  capacit)  of 
seventy  thousand  feet  of  lumber  per  day,  which 
supplied  the  Salinas  and  San  Benito  valleys  with 
redwood  lumber.  Telegraph  and  electric-light 
poles  up  to  sixty  feet  long  were  manufactured 
in  large  quantities.  To  bring  the  logs  to  the  mill 
and  the  lumber  to  Aptos,  a  railroad  was  built 
extending  from  ^.ptos  into  the  very  hearl  of 
the  mountains,  about  eight  miles  long,  through 
chasms  and  up  steep  grades.  The  cars  were  all 
built  at  the  mill.  Shingles,  shakes  and  fruit 
boxes  were  also  made  in  large  quantities,  and 
the  offal  of  the  timber  was  made  into  firewood 
and  shipped  to  San  Jose  and  other  points. 

M  a  crowning  act  of  his  business  career,  in 
1S00  Mr.  Hihn  organized  a  corporation  under 
the  name  of  the  F.  \.  Hihn  Company,  a  family 
union,  which  binds  together  his  children  by 
mutual  interest.  The  officers  are:  August  C. 
Hihn.  president;  F.  0.  Hihn,  treasurer:  and 
(until  lately)  L.  W.  Hihn,  director.  This  cor- 
poration lias  charge  of  all  the  large  interests 
of  Mr.  Hihn  in  Sam.!  Cru  1  ounty,  and  the 
owned  exclusive!)  1>\  him  and  his  [am- 


262 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ily.  The  corporate  seal  shows  two  clasped 
hands,  intended  to  represent  F.  A.  Hihn  and  his 
faithful  wife;  three  links  drop  from  the  wrist  of 
each  hand,  representing  the  three  daughters 
and  three  sons,  and  a  number  of  smaller  links 
connected  at  each  end  with  the  larger  links  are 
intended  to  represent  the  descendants  of  his 
children.  The  corporation  is  in  every  respect 
a  success  and  gives  great  satisfaction  to  the 
originator. 

In  1880  S.  J.  Lynch,  an  old  friend  of  Mr. 
ffihn's,  died,  leaving  large  interests  in  Los  An- 
geles and  Santa  Cruz  counties.  Mr.  Hihn  was 
chosen  executor  of  the  estate,  which  un- 
fortunately yielded  no  income,  while  a  large 
family  was  dependent  on  it  for  support.  It 
took  over  twenty  years  to  secure  results,  but 
the  property,  which  is  valued  at  over  $200,000, 
is  now  being  divided  by  Mr.  Hihn  among  the 
heirs  of  his  deceased  friend.  About  seven  years 
ago  he  also  became  the  executor  of  the  last 
will  of  Joseph  S.  Eastland,  who  during  his 
active  life  was  a  prominent  business  man  of 
San  Francisco.  For  three  years  Mr.  Hihn  man- 
aged the  extensive  affairs  of  the  estate,  consist- 
ing of  valuable  blocks  of  real  estate  in  San 
Francisco,  also  in  a  number  of  other  parts  of 
California,  and  vast  tracts  of  land  in  Tennes- 
see and  Texas.  This  estate  was  scarcely  settled 
and  the  proceeds  turned  over  to  Mrs.  Alice  L. 
Eastland,  the  widow,  when  she  also  died,  and 
Mr.  Hihn  became  executor  of  her  estate,  which 
is  yet  in  course  of  administration,  but  will  soon 
be  settled.  As  the  executor  of  the  Eastland 
estate  and  in  his  own  right,  six  years  ago  he 
became  a  director  of  the  Stockton  Gas  and  Elec- 
tric Company,  and  very  soon  thereafter  was 
made  its  manager,  for  the  past  two  years  having 
served  as  president  as  well  as  manager.  This 
company  is  engaged  in  generating  electric  cur- 
rent, manufacturing  coal  gas  and  producing 
natural  gas.  It  supplies  the  city  of  Stockton 
and  its  inhabitants  with  light,  heat  and  power, 
only  a  few  of  the  city's  manufacturing  plants 
being  run  by  steam  power.  For  this  purpose 
the  lighting  plant  of  the  company  has  been  very 
much  enlarged.  Manufactured  gas  is  now  being 
made  from  crude  oil  instead  of  coal,  and  a 
number  of  gas  wells  have  been  bored  from  two 


thousand  to  twenty-five  hundred  feet  deep.  All 
of  this  has  been  accomplished  under  the  man- 
agement of  Mr.  Hihn,  in  the  face  of  threatened 
strong  opposition,  and  while  the  people  were 
clamoring  for  a  municipal  lighting  plant;  but, 
by  careful  attention  to  all  the  details  and  by 
making  liberal  reductions  in  the  lighting  and 
power  rates,  all  of  the  threatened  opposition 
has  died  out.  and  today  the  Stockton  Gas  and 
Electric  Company  stands  without  a  rival,  reap- 
ing a  moderate  and  justly  earned  reward  for 
its  enterprise  and  fair  dealings. 

In  1896  Mr.  Hihn  organized  the  Lightner 
Mining  Company  and  on  behalf  of  Mrs.  East- 
land contracted  to  sell  to  it  the  Lightner  mine, 
located  at  Angel's  Camp,  Cal.  The  arrange- 
ment was  that  the  mine  was  to  be  paid  for  out 
of  one-half  of  the  net  proceeds  of  the  same.  In 
order  to  make  this  enterprise  a  success,  he 
became  himself  largely  interested  in  the  mine. 
A  deep  shaft  was  sunk,  a  forty-stamp  mill 
erected,  and  the  mine  now  yields  about  two 
hundred  tons  of  ore  per  day  (about  $1,000  in 
gold),  and  gives  promise  for  a  continuance  of 
such  yield  for  many  years.  In  1899  the  F.  A. 
Hihn  Company,  under  the  direct  management 
of  Mr.  Hihn.  contracted  for  a  new  sawmill  at 
Laurel,  on  the  line  of  the  narrow  gauge.  All 
of  the  old  logging  and  milling  methods  were 
abandoned  in  the  operation  of  this  mill.  In- 
stead of  using  ox-power,  the  logs  are  gathered 
in  the  woods  and  hauled  to  the  mill  by  steam 
power.  Instead  of  a  circular  saw,  a  band  saw 
cuts  the  great  redwood  logs  into  all  kinds  of 
lumber,  from  electric-light  poles,  fifty  feet  long, 
to  the  smallest  mouldings.  The  year  1902 
was  a  disastrous  one  for  the  F.  A.  Hihn  Com- 
pany, as  in  that  year  their  planing  mill  at  Salinas 
was  consumed  by  fire,  destroying  a  large 
amount  of  lumber.  A  few  months  after  this 
disaster  the  sawmill  at  Laurel  was  visited  by 
fire,  and  nearly  half  of  the  large  stock  of  lumber 
went  up  in  smoke.  The  fire  was  discovered 
soon  after  midnight  and  before  the  next  day 
dawned  Mr.  Hihn  was  on  the  ground  and  took 
charge  of  the  fight  against  the  fiery  element. 
When  the  fire  was  finally  extinguished  it  was 
found  that  two  million  feet  of  lumber  had  been 
saved.     Nothing  daunted  by  these  losses,  Mr. 


OuJU^ 


J^L, 


f?      0. 


&^y 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Hihn  planned  at  once  for  a  new  sawmill  at 
Laurel  and  a  new  planing  mill  at  Santa  Cruz 
instead  of  Salinas.  Both  mills  are  now  in  course 
of  construction. 

Mr.  Hihn  took  great  interest  in  the  labor 
colony  established  a  few  years  ago  by  the  Sal- 
vation Army  under  the  direct  management  of 
Mr.  Booth-Tucker,  the  leader  of  the  Salvation 
Army  in  the  United  States,  and  the  latter 
greatly  appreciated  Mr.  Hihn's  efforts  in  behalf 
of  the  movement.  In  the  spring  of  1902  Gov- 
ernor Gage  appointed  Mr.  Hihn  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  California  Polyteclmical  School, 
an  institution  founded  by  the  state  to  educate 
young  people  in  the  lower  walks  of  life.  There 
agriculture  in  all  its  branches  and  domestic  sci- 
ence will  be  taught.  A  favorable  location  near 
San  Luis  Obispo  has  been  selected  and  Mr. 
Hihn  is  now  engaged  in  completing  the  ar- 
rangements for  the  purchase  of  the  site,  consist- 
ing of  three  hundred  acres  of  land.  He  takes 
great  interest  in  this  enterprise  and  feels  assured 
that  its  future  will  be  of  even  greater  interest 
to  the  public  at  large  than  the  universities  of  the 
state. 

Though  now  seventy-three  years  of  age,  Mr. 
Hihn  does  not  allow  advancing  years  to  deter 
him  from  continuous  and  even  arduous  work. 
Very  recently  he  headed  a  party  to  explore  the 
Big  Basin,  a  large  timber  tract  in  the  northern 
end  of  Santa  Cruz  county,  and  selected  by  the 
state  as  a  timber  park  and  forest  reserve.  This 
new  park  is  approachable  by  climbing  the 
mountain  from  Boulder  creek  on  the  east. 
However,  Mr.  Hihn  hopes  to  reach  it  by  way  of 
the  coast  without  having  to  endure  the  moun- 
tain climb.  He  hopes  thus  to  open  a  first-class 
wagon  road  from  Santa  Cruz  along  the  shore 
of  the  ocean  for  twenty  miles,  thence  seven 
miles  up  the  Waddell  gulch  to  the  park.  In  his 
opinion  this  drive  and  a  visit  to  the  park  and 
timber  reserve  will  be  far  more  interesting  than 
the  trip  to  Yosemite  valley  or  through  the  Yel- 
lowstone   Park. 

The  personality  of  Mr.  Hihn  is  unique.  He 
is  a  man  of  marked  individuality,  keen,  aggres- 
sive, possessing  decided  convictions,  quick  to 
discern  the  points  of  a  case,  and  equally  quick  to 
grasp    favorable   opportunities.      To   a   man   of 


such  energy  and  will  power  death  alone  can  ter- 
minate his  activities,  and  even  that  will  not 
bring  his  influence  to  an  end,  for  the  work  he 
accomplished  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  his  city 
and  county  will  give  his  name  a  lasting  place  in 
the  annals  of  local  history. 


HON.  JESSE  D.  CARR. 

The  life  history  of  Air.  Carr  is  one  of  unusual 
interest.  Full  of  incidents,  stirring  and  ad- 
venturous, it  possesses  that  fascination  which 
attaches  to  all  lives  that  present  the  spectacle 
of  small  beginnings  and  large  achievements,  and 
of  success  wrested  from  adverse  circumstances. 
Through  a  career  that  covered  the  greater  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century  and  the  opening  years 
of  the  twentieth  centur>,  he  has  been  a  witness 
of  the  remarkable  development  of  the  United 
States,  has  seen  the  trans-Mississippi  desert 
transformed  into  one  of  the  most  fertile  regions 
of  the  world,  and  has  witnessed  the  remarkable 
growth  in  population  of  this  rich  western  coun- 
try. By  birth  and  descent  a  southerner  and  for 
many  years  identified  with  business  enterprises 
in  the  south,  he  has  yet  spent  so  large  a  portion 
of  his  life  in  the  west  that  he  is  a  typical  west- 
erner, a  grand  representative  of  the  forty-nin- 
ers, so  few  of  whom  remain  to  enjoy  the  com- 
forts of  the  present  day. 

In  Sumner  county,  Tenn.,  Mr.  Carr  was  born 
June  10,  1814.  After  having  spent  his  summers 
on  the  home  farm  and  the  winters  in  a  district 
school  for  some  years,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
left  home  and  began  to  work  in  a  store  at  Cairo. 
Two  years  later  he  went  to  Nashville,  where  he 
was  a  clerk  for  six  years.  With  his  earnings, 
amounting  to  about  $1,000,  he  went  to  Mem- 
phis, where  he  commenced  business  as  a  part- 
ner of  Larkin  Wood,  his  former  employer. 
About  that  time  the  Chickasaw  and  Choctaw 
Indians  were  removed  from  North  Mississippi 
and  West  Tennessee  to  Arkansas  and  the  land 
thus  vacated  was  settled  upon  by  thrifty  Amer- 
ican farmers,  thus  making  of  Memphis  an  im- 
portant business  center.  This  in  turn  gave  an 
impetus  to  the  store  with  which  Mr.  Carr  was 
connected  and  he  prospered  constantly  until  his 
partner's  loss  of  mind  caused  a  heavy  embar- 


HISTi  >RICAL    AND    BK  (GRAPHICAL    REO  >RD. 


rassment,  but  in  two  years  he  paid  off  the  debt 
of  $20,000,  and  at  the  expiration  of  six  years, 
when  he  closed  out  the  business,  was  worth 
$40,000.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  1840  he 
constructed  the  first  brick  house  ever  built  in 
Memphis. 

Going  to  Xew  Orleans  in  1843,  Mr.  Can- 
embarked  in  the  cotton  commission  business. 
but  was  unsuccessful,  and,  with  a  hope  of  re- 
trieving his  fortunes,  succeeded  in  securing  an 
appointment  as  sutler  in  the  army.  Misfortunes, 
however,  still  followed  him.  February  24,  1847. 
three  thousand  Mexican  troops,  under  General 
I'rea.  captured  the  train  with  his  goods,  valued 
at  S40.000,  and  killed  or  captured  ninety  of  the 
one  hundred  and  eighty  persons  accompanying 
the  train.  Mr.  Carr  was  summoned  before  Gen- 
eral Taylor  to  present  his  testimony  in  the  case, 
and  thus  formed  an  acquaintance  with  that 
sturdy  Mexican  conqueror  and  afterward  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  The  opinion  was 
afterward  expressed  by  General  Taylor  that  the 
capture  of  the  train  prevented  his  defeat  at 
Buena  Vista  February  22,  as  General  Urea  had 
been  ordered  to  join  the  Mexican  forces  at 
Buena  Vista, but  disobeyed  orders  to  capture  the 
train,  under  the  impression  that  it  carried  $500,- 
000  of  government  money  to  pay  off  the  sol- 
diers. Had  these  three  thousand  soldiers  been 
on  the  battlefield,  perhaps  the  history  of  Buena 
Vista  battle  might  have  been  written  dif- 
ferently. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  with  Mexico  Mr. 
Carr  remained  in  that  country  until  he  had 
recovered  his  losses  through  fortunate  invest- 
ments. Returning  to  New  Orleans  in  January, 
1840,  he  there  suffered  from  an  attack  of  cholera. 
On  his  recovery  he  went  to  Washington  and 
attended  the  inauguration  of  President  Taylor, 
with  whom  his  acquaintance  had  ripened  into 
warm  friendship.  Meantime  Congress  had 
passed  a  bill  authorizing  the  secretary  of  war  to 
furnish,  after  registration,  fire  arms  at  govern- 
ment cost  for  all  persons  going  to  California. 
Senator  \Y.  M.  Gwin  was  the  first,  and  Mr.  Carr 
the  second  man  to  register  under  this  law. 
While  Mr.  (  arr  was  in  Washington  Postmaster- 
General  Callamore  tendered  him  an  appoint- 
ment as  postal  agent  of  California,  but  two  days 


later  told  him  that  General  Taylor's  private  sec- 
ret ar\  wanted  the  office  for  an  old  schoolmate, 
Captain  Allen,  whereupon  Mr.  Carr  released 
Judge  Callamore  from  his  promise. 

Under  appointment  as  deputy  to  Col.  James 
Collier,  collector  of  the  port  of  San  Francisco, 
Mr.  Carr  arrived  in  San  Francisco  August  18, 
1849.  Collier  did  not  arrive  until  November, 
and  meantime  he  had  accepted  a  position  as 
deput}  under  the  military  collector,  Mr.  Harri- 
son. After  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Collier,  he  assisted 
in  organizing  the  office  and  remained  in  the 
custom  house  about  one  year.  After  retiring  he 
was  nominated  for  the  assembly  and  elected  by 
a  majority  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-six 
over  the  highest-competing  candidate.  Thus  he 
became  a  member  of  the  first  California  legis- 
lature. In  the  house  he  was  appointed  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  commerce  and  navi- 
gation and  second  (though  virtually  chairman) 
of  the  committee  on  ways  and  means.  He  in- 
troduced and  secured  the  passage  of  the  first 
funding  bill  for  San  Francisco,  when  warrants 
were  drawing  a  monthly  interest  of  three  per 
cent;  this  bill  provided  for  the  funding  of  the 
debt  at  ten  per  cent  per  annum.  Subsequent  to 
his  retirement  from  the  legislature  Mr.  Carr 
engaged  in  mining,  bought  and  sold  real  estate, 
and  in  1852  became  a  part  owner  of  the  Pulgas 
ranch.  The  next  year  he  moved  to  the  Pajaro 
valley,  and  while  living  there  was  elected  super- 
visor of  Santa  Cruz  county.  Another  purchase 
comprised  a  part  of  the  Salsupuedes  ranch,  on 
which  he  engaged  in  stock-raising  and  grain- 
raising. 

Since  1859  Mr.  Carr  has  made  his  home  in 
the  Salinas  valley,  where  at  one  time  he  was 
a  very  extensive  property  owner,  but  recently 
has  disposed  of  a  part  of  his  holdings.  In  ad- 
dition to  his  property  here,  he  owns  about 
twenty  thousand  acres  in  Modoc  county,  where 
he  has  large  herds  of  horses  and  cattle.  Be- 
sides his  other  enterprises,  after  the  Civil  war 
he  engaged  in  staging  and  contracting  for  the 
mail,  and  from  1866  to  1870  he  was  the  largest 
star  mail  contractor  on  the  Pacific  coast,  bis 
contracts  amounting  to  almost  $300,000  per 
annum.  For  four  years  he  carried  the  mail  be- 
tween   Oroville,   Cal.,   and   Portland,   Ore.:  and 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD 


l'i; 


he  carried  the  first  mail  between  Virginia  City, 
New,  and  Boise  City,  Idaho. 

October  27,  1836,  Mr.  Carr  married  Louise  A. 
Brewer,  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  who  died  Novem- 
ber 4,  1840,  leaving  two  sons.  The  older  of 
these,  Larkin  W.,  of  Salinas,  has  two  children, 
Louise  B.  and  Jesse  D.,  Jr.  The  second  son, 
John  S.,  a  resident  of  San  Francisco,  has  three 
children,  Sterling  D.,  Jessie  R.  and  Florida. 
The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Carr  was  sol- 
emnized May  24,  1843,  and  united  him  with 
Elizabeth  Woods,  who  died  May  17,  1864.  Two 
daughters  were  born  of  this  union,  namely: 
Jessie  D.,  the  widow  of  Henry  W.  Seale;  and 
Louise  A.,  who  died  in  infancy. 

The  oncoming  of  age  has  brought  to  Mr.  Carr 
little  diminution  of  his  labors.  Essentially  an 
active  man,  he  is  happiest  when  his  vigorous 
mind  is  grasping  new  plans  for  commercial  ad- 
vancement or  new  projects  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people.  So  long  as  his  mind  remains  virile  and 
his  body  robust,  he  allows  nothing  to  lessen  his 
interest  in  the  busy  workaday  world,  and  to 
every  whisper  of  "retirement"  he  has  turned  a 
deaf  ear.  He  established  the  Salinas  City  Bank 
and  for  many  years  served  as  its  president.  At 
this  writing  he  is  still  president  of  the  Bank 
of  Monterey,  besides  being  president  of  the 
Monterey  District  Agricultural  Association  and 
a  member  of  the  board  of  freeholders  that 
framed  the  new  charter  for  Salinas. 

All  enterprises  having  for  their  object  the 
good  of  his  city  and  county  find  in  Mr.  Carr 
an  advocate  and  friend,  ready  to  give  substantial 
aid.  Generosity  has  been  one  of  his  notable 
traits.  No  worthy  object  of  charity  ever  ap- 
pealed to  him  in  vain.  Enterprises  of  a  public 
character  have  found  him  a  donor  to  the  full 
extent  of  his  ability,  and  included  among  these 
contributions  were  $5,000  to  the  Odd  Fellows 
for  a  public  library  in  Salinas  and  $5,600  to  the 
South  Methodist  College  at  Santa  Rosa.  Many 
a  boy  and  girl  have  been  aided  b^  him  in  their 
struggles  to  secure  an  education,  and  in  a  quiet, 
unostentatious  manner  he  has  been  a  lifelong 
helper  of  the  poor  and  unfortunate. 

Though  never  a  seeker  of  office  for  himself, 
Mr.  Carr  has  always  been  ready  to  aid  his 
friends  in  their  candidacies,  and  during  his  ear- 


lier life  he  was  one  of  the  leading  Democrats  of 
California.  By  reason  of  his  acquaintance  with 
every  administration  at  Washington  from  Presi- 
dent Taylor  down,  his  support  was  sought  by 
those  who  desired  office  and  those  who  were 
interested  in  securing  the  passage  of  important 
bills.  A  successful  business  man,  a  genial  com- 
panion and  a  public-spirited  citizen,  he  is  round- 
ing out  a  long  and  useful  life,  and  is  enjoying 
the  confidence  which  his  integrity  ami  his  hon- 
orable character  merit. 


JOHN  G.  JOY. 

It  may  be  that  the  desire  to  maintain  the  tra- 
ditions and  excellencies  of  an  enviable  ancestrv 
has  influenced  the  life  and  work  of  John  G 
Joy,  the  present  postmaster  of  Salinas,  for  his 
family  were  represented  among  the  voyagers  of 
that  historic  craft,  the  Mayflower,  and  later  be- 
came identified  with  the  growth  of  New  Eng- 
land. At  any  rate,  it  is  demonstrated  that  the 
courageous  allegiance  of  his  forefathers  to  the 
cause  of  the  colonists  under  the  leadership  of 
Washington  during  the  Revolutionary  war, 
found  an  echo  in  his  heart  when  a  like  oppor- 
tunity came  his  way  in  1861,  for  no  more  loyal 
soldier  shouldered  a  musket  or  more  dearly- 
won  the  right  to  a  place  on  the  roll  call  of  the 
nation's  heroes. 

The  early  life  of  Mr.  Joy  was  spent  near  Ban- 
gor, Me.,  where  he  was  born  in  1843,  a  son  °f 
John  C.  and  Pauline  (Robinson)  Joy.  The 
father,  who  was  a  farmer  during  his  mature 
years,  died  when  his  son  was  young,  but  the 
mother  is  still  living,  and  has  reached  beyond 
the  allotted  time  to  ninety-seven  years.  John 
G.  Joy  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and 
at  an  academy,  his  school  days  terminating  with 
his  enlistment  in  the  war  when  seventeen  years 
of  age.  \^  .1  member  of  Compan)  E,  Second 
Maine  Regiment,  commanded  by  Captain  Emer- 
son, Colonel  Jameson  and  Colonel  Rob< 
participated  in  nearh  all  of  the  battles  engaged 
in  by  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  his  first  vivid 
experience  being  at  the  first  Bull  Run.  Tie  was 
in  the  Fifth  Army  Corps  battles,  through  the 
Peninsular  campaign,  at  the  front  in  the  battles 
of  second  Bull  Run,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg, 


Mi  IRICAL    AND    I'.K  x  iRAl'IIR'Al 


RD. 


and  Chancellorsville,  in  all  of  the  battles  led  by 
General  Grant,  and  at  the  Wilderness  and  Ma- 
nassas, as  well  as  in  the  battle  which  witnessed 
the  surrender  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee.  Truly  re- 
markable was  the  fact  that  through  all  the  fierce 
heat  of  war  lie  was  never  wounded  or  laid  up  in 
the  hospital  for  physical  disability. 

With  the  return  of  peace  Mr.  Joy  went  for  a 
time  to  Michigan,  and  in  1867  came  to  Califor- 
nia, locating  at  Santa  Clara,  where  he  expe- 
rienced a  long  siege  of  illness.  The  same  year 
found  him  in  Monterey  county,  where  he  rented 
a  portion  of  the  land  upon  which  Salinas  is  now 
located,  to  which  was  later  added  more,  until  he 
farmed  in  all  about  three  thousand  acres.  Dur- 
ing this  time  he  became  interested  inpolitics,and 
as  a  stanch  Republican  filled  several  local  po- 
sitions of  trust.  His  first  vote  was  cast  for  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  and  that,  too,  is  a  reminder  of  the 
grim  necessity  of  war,  for  he  was  at  the  time 
in  the  trenches  at  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg. 
Sixteen  or  eighteen  years  ago  he  was  elected 
county  auditor,  and  under  President's  Harri- 
son's administration  was  appointed  postmaster 
of  Salinas  for  four  years.  In  1898  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  same  office  by  President  McKin- 
ley,  which  position  he  still  holds  with  satisfac- 
tion to  the  community. 

In  1883,  in  Salinas,  Mr.  Joy  married  Jane  M. 
Joy,  a  native  of  Maine,  and  who  died  in  1893, 
leaving  one  son,  Paul  Kennedy,  who  is  attend- 
ing school.  Five  years  ago  Mr.  Joy  returned 
to  his  old  home  in  Maine  and  married  Johanna 
B.  Bubar,  a  native  of  Maine.  He  is  fraternally 
associated  with  the  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and 
with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
lie  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public. Mr.  Joy  has  to  an  exceptional  degree 
the  confidence  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  and  he  is 
liked  and  esteemed  by  all  who  are  fortunate 
enough  to  know  him. 


THOMPSON  L.  HOLLINGSWORTH. 

In  the  intelligent  supervision  of  his  agricul- 
tural interests  in  Monterey  county  Mr.  Hol- 
lingsworth  has  found  sufficient  to  engage  his 
time  and  attention  during  the  years  of  his  resi- 
dence   here.      During    1890   he   settled    upon    a 


[arm  near  Jolon  and  this  place  he  has  since 
made  his  home,  meantime  acquiring  the  posses- 
sion of  four  hundred  acres,  of  which  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  arc  tillable.  General  farm  pur- 
suits are  conducted  by  this  energetic  farmer, 
and  at  the  same  time,  like  most  agriculturists  of 
Lais  locality,  he  carries  on  a  stock-raising  busi- 
ness. 

Near  Waterford.  Loudoun  county,  \'a.,  Mr. 
Hollingsworth  was  born  October  16,  i860,  and 
there  he  was  reared  upon  a  farm.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  years  he  accompanied  his  brother, 
Henry  D.,  to  West  Liberty,  Iowa,  where  he 
worked  on  a  farm  during  one  summer.  From 
there  he  went  to  Kansas.  Two  months  later 
he  and  his  brother  crossed  the  country  to  Cali- 
fornia, settling  near  Stockton  early  in  1880. 
After  a  summer  spent  on  a  ranch  there  he  came 
to  Santa  Cruz  county  and  secured  employment 
in  a  lumber  camp.  Meantime,  desiring  to  com- 
plete his  education,  which  had  been  somewhat 
neglected,  he  entered  the  State  Normal  School 
at  San  Jose  in  1881,  and  by  working  during  the 
summer  months  in  a  sawmill,  he  managed  to 
defray  his  expenses  while  in  school.  In  1884 
he  was  graduated  from  the  normal  school,  after 
which  he  taught  one  term  of  school  at  Boulder 
Creek.  In  1886  he  came  to  Monterey  county 
and  settled  in  the  Jolon  valley,  where  he  entered 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  government 
land.  On  his  pre-emption  claim  he  spent  one 
year,  but  in  1887  moved  to  a  ranch  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  which  his  wife  had 
homesteaded  the  previous  year.  From  there, 
in  1890,  he  moved  to  his  present  farm,  which 
is  one  of  the  valuable  properties  of  the  valley. 
His  marriage  took  place  April  26,  1887,  and 
united  him  with  Miss  May  E.  Perkins,  of  Jolon, 
a  native  of  the  vicinity  of  Concord,  N.  H.,  and 
a  daughter  of  Jacob  Perkins,  who  settled  in 
Monterey  county  in  1885.  Born  of  this  mar- 
riage are  two  children,  E.  Claire  and  Lytle. 

In  matters  pertaining  to  religion  Mr.  Hol- 
lingsworth has  always  inclined  toward  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Society  of  Friends,  in  which  he 
has  a  birthright  membership.  Politically  he 
supports  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Repub- 
lican party.  As  a  general  rule,  he  has  avoided 
politics  and  public  office,  the  only  exception  to 


e^>W  S,^fr 


ywzsv^ 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


this  being  his  service  since  1895  as  clerk  of  the 
board  of  school  trustees,  in  which  capacity  he 
has  been  interested  in  the  development  of  the 
public-school  system  in  his  locality. 


ALFRED  BALDWIN. 

The  interest  which  attaches  to  the  biography 
of  California  pioneers  is  not  that  of  curiosity, 
but  is  a  visible  expression  of  the  gratitude  which 
all  men  feel  toward  those  forerunners  of  civili- 
zation in  the  far  west.  Not  only  as  a  pioneer 
of  the  state,  but  also  as  one  of  the  earliest  resi- 
dents of  Santa  Cruz,  Mr.  Baldwin  has  a  high 
position  among  the  people  of  the  city  and 
county  of  Santa  Cruz.  In  the  twilight  of  his 
busy  and  eventful  life,  he  can  review  the  past 
without  remorse  and  look  forward  to  the  fu- 
ture without  fear,  conscious  that  his  acts  have 
been  influenced  by  principles  of  justice  and  in- 
tegrity. 

The  life  which  this  narrative  outlines  began 
in  Renssalaer  township,  Albany  county,  N.  Y., 
March  22,  1816,  in  the  home  of  Sherman  S.  and 
Talmadge  (Sutherland)  Baldwin.  The  father, 
who  was  a  native  of  Newtown,  Conn.,  followed 
the  shoemaker's  trade  and  spent  all  of  his  active 
years  in  New  York  state,  where  he  died  in  the 
prime  of  life.  In  his  family  there  were  four 
children,  Mary,  Alfred,  Hiram  and  Julia  Ann. 
The  older  of  the  sons,  Alfred,  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade  under  his  father's  oversight.  As 
a  boy  he  read  much,  eagerly  devouring  such 
books  as  came  within  his  reach,  and  his  interest 
was  particularly  keen  in  works  of  travel.  De- 
siring to  cast  his  lot  among  people  in  a  sun- 
nier climate  than  his  home  state  could  boast, 
in  1845  ne  took  a  steamer  from  New  York  to 
New  Orleans,  and  thence  proceeded  up  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  St.  Louis,  where  he  met  an  Ohio 
party  bound  for  Oregon.  With  these  people 
he  journeyed  across  the  plains  to  Oregon.  Af- 
ter a  year  there  (during  which  time  he  helped 
to  build  the  first  house  ever  erected  in  what  is 
now  the  populous  city  of  Portland),  he  started 
southward  with  R.  C.  Kirby,  making  the  trip  on 
horseback. 

Arriving  at  Yerba  Buena  in  August,  1846,  Mr. 
Baldwin    remained   there   until    1847,    when   he 


came  to  Santa  Cruz.  Instead  of  remaining  here, 
he  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  enlisted,  for 
sixty  days,  as  a  United  States  recruiting  officer 
under  Purser  Watmaugh,  of  the  sloop-of-war 
Portsmouth,  who  acted  as  captain  of  the  com- 
pany. At  the  expiration  of  his  time  he  re-en- 
listed under  General  Fremont,  who  with  a  troop 
of  three  hundred  and  forty  men  embarked  at 
San  Francisco  for  Los  Angeles,  but  during  the 
voyage  met  a  vessel  bearing  orders  for  them  to 
stop  at  Monterey.  Landing  there  they  pro- 
ceeded southward.  Mr.  Baldwin  serving  gal- 
lantly until  the  close  of  his  term  of  enlistment, 
when  he  was  honorably  discharged.  He  then 
returned  to  Santa  Cruz,  where  he  secured  work 
at  the  shoemaker's  trade.  When  gold  was  dis- 
covered in  the  mountains,  he  abandoned  his 
trade  and  began  mining  and  prospecting  on 
Feather  river.  However,  the  work  proved  too 
trying  upon  his  by  no  means  robust  constitu- 
tion and  he  was  forced  to  abandon  the  life  of 
a  miner.  His  next  employment  was  as  super- 
intendent of  the  Larsen  ranch  (which  afterward 
became  Senator  Stanford's  Vino  ranch),  receiv- 
ing $100  per  week  for  the  management  of  the 
property. 

Again  coming  to  Santa  Cruz,  Mr.  Baldwin 
found  that  his  old  associate  and  friend,  .Mr. 
Kirby,  had  started  a  tannery  in  the  town.  He 
himself,  deciding  to  locate  here  permanentlv, 
opened  a  shoe  store  in  the  adobe  hotel  on  Mis- 
sion street  where  the  Sisters'  school  now  stands. 
After  a  time  he  bought  a  farm  that  is  now 
owned  by  L.  K.  Baldwin  (who  is  not  a  relative, 
though  bearing  the  same  family  name).  The 
property  is  on  Baldwin's  creek,  which  was 
named  in  his  honor.  After  some  five  years  he 
returned  to  mercantile  pursuits,  which  he  con- 
ducted for  a  long  period,  eventually,  however, 
discontinuing  the  sale  of  clothing,  etc.,  and  con- 
fining his  attention  to  shoemaking.  About  1895 
he  retired  from  business  cares,  to  enjoy,  in  his 
declining  years,  the  fruits  of  his  former  toil: 
surrounded  by  every  comfort  which  can  enhance 
the  pleasures  of  living,  and  ministered  to  by  a 
devoted  family  and  genial  friends.  It  has  always 
been  his  desire  to  contribute  to  the  well  being 
of  his  home  city  and  its  people,  and  any  meas- 
ure  for    the   public   good   received   his   prompt 


272 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


support.  Ann  in-  other  improvements  he  built 
a  commodious  brick  structure  adjoining  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean  I  [ouse;  also  his  residence  at  No.  44 
Walnut  street,  which  was  the  first  erected  on 
this  street.  At  the  time  of  locating  here,  the 
population  was  small  and  entirely  confined  to 
the  upper  rise  of  ground,  the  present  business 
section  of  the  city  being  entirely  unimproved 
and  unoccupied. 

During  many  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Baldwin  re- 
mained a  bachelor,  but  in  1866  he  formed  do- 
mestic ties,  being  then  united  with  Miss  Fannie 
W.  Willard,  who  was  born  in  Sterling,  Mass., 
a  daughter  of  Manassah  and  Sarah  (McDuffy) 
Willard.  also  natives  of  the  Bay  state.  The 
grandfather,  Peter  Willard,  was  a  direct  de- 
scendant of  Major  Simon  Willard.  a  man  of 
large  wealth,  who  immigrated  to  Scituate, 
Mass.,  in  1634.  The  family  of  which  she  was 
a  member  comprised  seven  children,  namely: 
George,  Joseph,  Mary  Ann,  Caroline,  Orissa, 
Amelia  and  Fannie.  After  leaving  school  she 
taught  for  a  number  of  years,  proving  a  success- 
ful and  highly  esteemed  educator.  Three  chil- 
dren were  born  of  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Baldwin, 
but  two  died  in  infancy.  The  only  survivor, 
Caroline  Willard  Baldwin,  was  graduated  from 
the  University  of  California  with  the  class  of 
1892,  and  later  attended  Cornell,  from  which 
she  graduated  as  Doctor  of  Science.  Later  she 
became  the  wife  of  Charles  T.  .Morrison,  a  lum- 
ber merchant  of  San  Francisco,  and  they  have 
a  daughter,  Frances  Elizabeth. 

As  a  1>"\  Mk  Baldwin  was  reared  to  a  belief 
in  Democratic  principles  and  to  these  he  ad- 
hered closelj  until  the  Civil  war,  when,  believ- 
ing the  Republican  part)  to  be  the  friend  of  the 
Union,  he  changed  his  platform  and  has  since 
been  a  stanch  Republican.  From  the  earliest 
days  of  Masonrj  in  California  he  has  been  con- 
ith  this  great  order,  and  has  exempli 
Red  in  his  life  its  doctrines  of  brotherly  kind- 
ness and  charity.  Another  fraternal  organiza- 
tion in  which  he  has  In  en  interested  is  the  (  >dd 
Fellows.  <  In  the  establishment  of  the  lodge  in 
Santa  Cruz  he  became  a  charter  member,  and  is 
now  past  grand  and  past  chief  patriarch.  In  his 
citizenship  he  lias  se1  a  high  type  of  excellence, 
his  example  being  well  worthy  of  emulation  by 


young  men  of  the  present  generation.  His  con- 
nection with  Santa  Cruz  has  extended  over  the 
entire  period  of  local  history  from  the  early  set- 
tlement of  the  town  to  the  present  time,  and  his 
voice,  directly  or  indirectly,  has  been  heard  on 
almost  every  question  affecting  the  administra- 
tion of  local  affairs,  while  his  unflinching  integ- 
rity has  secured  for  him  the  full  and  complete 
confidence  of  all  who  know  him. 


HARRY  ASHLAND  GREENE. 

The  sterling  personal  characteristics,  accom- 
panied by  unquestioned  financial  and  executive 
ability,  which  have  placed  Harry  Ashland  Greene 
among  the  foremost  developers  of  Monterey, 
have  been  correspondingly  exemplified  in  a 
worthy  and  enviable  ancestry,  variously  repre- 
sented among  the  history  makers  of  the  world, 
and  latterly  prominent  in  the  realms  of  com- 
merce, journalism,  art  and  letters.  He  was  born 
in  San  Francisco,  January  12,  1852,  a  son  of 
Hon.  William  Greene,  one  of  the  upbuilders  of 
New  Orleans  and  San  Francisco;  grandson  of 
the  emigrant  ancestor,  another  William,  who 
settled  near  Quebec,  Canada;  and  great-grand- 
son of  Gen.  William  Greene,  conspicuously  en- 
rolled among  the  military  commanders  of  Eng- 
land. 

Hon.  William  Greene  was  bom  near  Dublin, 
Ireland,  in  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  was  reared  on  the  paternal  homestead  near 
Quebec.  When  grown  to  manhood  he  learned 
the  lithographers'  trade  in  New  York  City,  and 
a  few  years  later  located  in  New  Orleans,  where 
he  established,  and  became  the  head  of  a  large 
lithographic  firm,  and  where  he  made  his  home 
for  many  years.  In  time  he  became  the  owner 
of  a  line  of  vessels  plying  between  New  York 
and  New  <  >rleans,  and  while  thus  engaged  in 
the  merchant  marine  business  accumulated  quite 
a  fortune.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he  built  a 
stanch  sea  faring  craft  (named  by  his  wife  the 
"William  and  Elizabeth,"  these  being  their 
Christian  names),  which  was  loaded  with  a  hun- 
dred thousand  dollar  cargo  and  sent  to  sea  un- 
der command  of  a  trusted  captain  and  his  wife, 
long  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Greene,  its  destina- 
tion being  around  the  Horn  to  San  Francisco. 


HISTORICAL    AND    P.TO< iR  \  I'l  I  li  '  \1 .    RKCORD. 


This  fortune  in  merchandise  once  upon  the  high 
seas,  Mr.  Greene  started  for  San  Francisco  on 
his  wedding  journey,  an  additional  incentive  be- 
ing the  reception  of  the  vessel  when  it  should 
reach  the  Pacific  port.  At  San  Francisco  he 
built  a  wharf  and  warehouse  for  unloading  and 
storing  his  goods,  and  patiently  awaited  the 
coming  of  the  faithful  captain  and  his  charge. 
When  many  days  overdue  a  dawning  suspicion 
of  disaster  was  justified  by  subsequent  events, 
and  as  far  as  the  future  has  left  the  mystery 
unrevealed  it  is  apparent  that  the  ship  was 
destined  for  a  watery  grave. 

Notwithstanding  this  severe  crippling  of  his 
fortunes,  Mr.  Greene  continued  to  live  in  San 
Francisco,  and  readily  recognized  the  oppor- 
tunities for  investment,  and  the  exercise  of 
sound  business  judgment,  among  the  somewhat 
chaotic  conditions  then  existing.  In  his  under- 
takings for  the  upbuilding  of  the  city  he  be- 
came associated  with  such  men  as  Lick  and 
Geary,  and,  becoming  interested  in  politics,  he 
was  made  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  alder- 
men of  the  town  and  chosen  as  their  first  presi- 
dent. Van  Ness  avenue,  Geary  and  Greene 
streets,  are  landmark  names  transferred  to  city 
thoroughfares  in  honor  of  the  unrivaled  services 
of  this  original  board  of  city  fathers.  Mr. 
Greene  became  the  owner  of  valuable  city  prop- 
erties, and  from  time  to  time  subdivided  va- 
rious tracts  of  land  into  city  additions.  An  hon- 
ored name,  extensive  holdings,  and  the  example 
of  a  well  directed,  upright  life,  was  the  heritage 
left  his  descendants  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
August  i,  1870.  He  married  Anne  Elizabeth 
Fisk,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  and  daughter  of 
Francis  Melbourne  Fisk,  a  wealthy  citizen  of 
New  Orleans,  and  the  intimate  friend  of  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  the  hero  of. the  Confederacy,  with 
whom  he  was  imprisoned  at  Fortress  Monroe, 
Va.  The  Fisk  family  came  first  from  England 
to  America,  and  were  among  the  very  earliest 
settlers  on  American  soil.  The  paternal  grand- 
father was  born  in  Rhode  Island.  Mrs.  Greene 
(Anne  Elizabeth  Colton  Fisk)  became  the 
mother  of  five  children,  three  of  whom  arc  liv 
ing.  Of  these,  Clay  Meredith  Greene,  the  play- 
wright, of  New  York,  was  the  first  white  boy 
born  in  San  Francisco.     The  next  in  order  of 


birth  is  Harry  Ashland,  while  the  youngest  liv- 
ing is  Francis  Melbourne  Greene,  a  dramatic 
and  art  critic,  who  spends  much  of  his  time  in 
Europe  as  a  lecturer  before  well-known  educa- 
tional institutions.  The  entire  family  are  of  a 
decidedly  literary  turn  of  mind,  and  have  made 
a  profound  study  of  the  exponents  of  greatness 
that  have  adorned  the  centuries. 

In  his  youth  Harry  Ashland  Greene  was  fa- 
vored with  exceptional  educational  advantages, 
his  preliminary  training  being  at  the  hands  of 
private  tutors  and  in  the  public  schools.  He 
also  attended  the  City  College  and  Santa  Clara 
College,  and  in  1866  took  a  course  of  study  at 
the  Military  Institute  at  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 
In  1870  he  went  to  Paris  to  further  increase  his 
knowledge,  but  owing  to  the  unsettled  condi- 
tion of  the  country  which  terminated  with  the 
battle  of  Sedan  and  the  ceding  of  Alsace-Lor- 
raine to  the  Germans,  he  changed  his  plans, 
and,  after  a  visit  to  England,  returned  to  Amer- 
ica. After  a  course  at  the  Pacific  Business  Col- 
lege in  San  Francisco,  he  engaged  in  mining  in 
Placer  county,  and  gained  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  business,  and  upon  returning  to  San 
Francisco  became  identified  in  a  clerical  capac- 
ity with  the  grain  and  produce  firm  of  George 
Babcock  &  Co.  After  a  few  months  he  became 
a  broker  on  the  stock  exchange,  and  operated 
on  the  board  until  1889.  With  his  brother,  Clay 
M.  Greene,  he  formed  the  stock  brokerage  firm 
of  Greene  &  Co.,  in  1874,  but  a  few  months  later 
the  brother  withdrew  to  follow  his  profession, 
and,  owing  to  illness,  Mr.  Greene  closed  out  his 
time-honored  business  in  1890,  leaving  a  record 
as  the  oldest  commission  stock  broker  at  the 
time  who  had  not  gone  under  owing  to  finan- 
cial disaster. 

In  1886  Mr.  Greene  built  his  beautiful  sum- 
mer home  in  Monterey,  to  which  he  repaired  as 
a  surcease  from  strenuous  business  activity,  the 
outcome  of  which  was  a  vital  interest  in  all  that 
pertained  to  the  upbuilding  of  this  delightful 
town.  Scarce  a  public  enterprise  instituted 
within   the   last   ten   year-    b  ("ed  by 

his  sound  judgment  and  forethought,  his  shrewd 
business    sagacity,    and    wideawake     methods, 
lie  is  one  of  the  owners  of  the  new  Mo 
tract,  fast  developing  into  one  of  the  finest  resi- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


dence  parts  of  the  city,  and  from  time  to  time 
valuable  bits  of  city  property  have  passed 
through  his  hands.  In  the  early  days  of  his 
residence  here  he  organized  the  Monterey  & 
Fresno  Railroad,  and  he  is  now  vice-president  of 
the  Monterey  &  Pacific  Grove  Street  Railroad. 
He  is  secretary,  treasurer  and  owner  of  the  elec- 
tric light  plant,  and  was  a  heavy  stockholder  in 
the  Bank  of  Monterey,  of  which  he  was  the  orig- 
inator and  the  first  cashier,  but  resigned  imme- 
diately after  his  appointment.  The  old  Capitol 
Club,  for  so  many  years  the  pride  of  Monterey, 
owes  its  organization  to  his  interest,  and  he 
served  as  secretary  of  the  same  from  its  begin- 
ning until  his  resignation  in  August  of  1901.  He 
is  also  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Monterey 
Progressive  Association,  and  at  present  man- 
ager, and  has,  owing  to  his  tact  and  general  abil- 
ity, been  chosen  to  represent  his  adopted  city 
on  many  important  occasions.  He  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Monterey  commission  at  the  Mid- 
winter Fair  in  San  Francisco,  and  was  director- 
general  of  the  California  Jubilee  held  in 
Monterey  in  1896.  As  a  native  son  of  the 
Golden  West  he  has  distinguished  himself  by 
loyalty  to  its  traditions  and  landmarks,  and  but 
for  his  vigorous  stand  for  its  preservation,  Col- 
ton  Hall,  California's  first  capitol,  had  been  long 
ago  demolished  to  make  room  for  a  public 
school.  So  keenly  did  Mr.  Greene  appreciate 
the  ignominy  offered  one  of  the  interesting 
buildings  of  the  state,  that  he  raised,  by  popu- 
lar subscription,  sufficient  money  to  purchase  a 
larger  and  more  desirable  school  site.  This  and 
kindred  evidences  of  largeness  of  purpose  and 
zeal  in  well  doing  have  won  him  the  personal 
regard  of  all  who  rejoice  in  Monterey's  many 
claims  to  consideration,  and  of  those  also  who 
appreciate  the  worth  of  unquestioned  integrity 
and  honorable  living.  The  work,  "Historic 
Monterey  and  Surroundings,"  says  of  Mr. 
1  .nine  that  he  "has  the  honor  of  being  the  most 
enterprising  and  public-spirited  citizen  in  this 
vicinity.  With  the  Monterey  &  Fresno  Railway 
project,  the  Bank  of  Monterey,  the  Pacific 
Grove  Street  Railway  Company,  the  Electric 
Light  Company,  and  other  enterprises,  he  has 
been  prominently  identified  from  their  incip- 
iency." 


ARCHIBALD  M.  GALBRAITH,  M.  D. 

In  movements  tending  toward  the  advance 
of  Monterey  county,  in  the  work  of  improving 
and  cultivating  land,  and  in  the  performance  of 
professional  duties,  Dr.  Galbraith  finds  his  time 
closely  occupied,  with  little  leisure  for  outside 
matters  that  often  press  upon  the  thought  and 
time  of  a  public-spirited  man.  In  many  ways 
he  has  proved  a  valued  citizen  of  his  county, 
contributing  to  its  growth,  fostering  its  enter- 
prises and  promoting  its  welfare.  During  the 
years  of  his  residence  in  Jolon  he  has  built  up 
a  practice  extending  from  the  ocean  on  the  west 
to  San  Ordo  on  the  east,  and  as  far  north  as 
King  City. 

At  Bowmanville,  Canada,  Dr.  Galbraith  was 
born  October  3,  1854,  and  his  boyhood  years 
were  passed  on  a  farm  in  that  vicinity.  At  sev- 
enteen years  of  age  he  entered  a  hardware  store 
as  clerk,  remaining  for  several  years.  During 
this  time  he  devoted  his  evenings  to  the  study 
of  chemistry  and  anatomy,  and  after  going  to 
Winnipeg  he  began  to  read  medicine  with  a 
brother-in-law.  Later  he  matriculated  in  Mani- 
toba University,  where  he  studied  for  three 
years.  On  coming  to  California  he  took  up 
medical  study  in  the  Cooper  Medical  College  at 
San  Francisco,  from  which  he  was  duly  grad- 
uated. His  first  experience  as  a  practicing  phy- 
sician was  gained  at  Amador,  where  he  spent 
the  winter  of  1889-90.  From  there  he  moved 
to  Pleasanton,  but  two  months  later  opened  an 
office  in  Watsonville,  where  he  remained  eight- 
een months.  Later  he  carried  on  practice  at 
Castroville  for  five  years,  and  while  there  acted 
as  surgeon  for  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company.  In  1895  he  settled  on  a  farm  near 
Jolon,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  has  not 
only  conducted  a  growing  practice,  but  also  has 
superintended  the  cultivation  of  the  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  comprising  his  ranch.  By 
his  marriage  to  Garda  Wellendorf,  which  was 
solemnized  in  1890,  he  has  two  children,  David 
R.  and  Jean  G.  While  in  Canada  he  was  made 
a  Mason  and  still  has  his  membership  in  Euclid 
Lodge  No.  363,  in  Ontario.  Since  becoming  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  he  has  voted  for  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party.    Among  the 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


people  of  his  home  county  he  has  many  friends, 
all  of  whom  respect  him  for  the  sterling  traits 
of  character  that  he  possesses. 

HON.  F.  P.  FELIZ. 

Practically  the  entire  life  of  Mr.  Feliz  has 
been  passed  within  the  borders  of  Monterey 
county.  Here  he  was  born  November  19,  1866, 
and  here  his  education  was  obtained  in  the  pub- 
lic schools.  Fortune  smiled  but  little  upon  his 
boyhood  years,  but  in  the  difficult  and  some- 
times bitter  school  of  experience  his  character 
was  formed,  his  mind  developed  and  habits  of 
self-reliance  inculcated.  When  only  eleven 
years  of  age  he  began  to  make  his  own  way  in 
the  world,  and  some  years  thereafter  he  worked 
for  his  board.  One  privilege  that  he  enjoyed 
was  that  of  attending  school  during  the  winter 
months,  and  he  neglected  no  opportunity  for 
gaining  an  education,  even  taking  special 
courses  of  study  whenever  it  was  possible. 
Among  his  early  salaried  positions  was  that  of 
agent  for  Wells-Fargo  Company  in  the  city  of 
Mexico.  About  1888  he  turned  his  attention  to 
teaching  school,  in  which  occupation  he  contin- 
ued successfully  for  some  years.  However,  it 
was  not  his  intention  to  follow  this  for  a  life 
work,  and,  with  a  view  to  entering  the  profes- 
sion of  law,  he  utilized  his  leisure  hours  in  ac- 
quiring a  knowledge  of  Blackstone.  After  some 
years  of  study,  in  1895  he  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  supreme  court  of  California,  and  in 
July  of  the  following  year  he  opened  an  office 
for  the  practice  of  his  profession,  since  which 
time  he  has  given  his  attention  to  legal  busi- 
ness in  Salinas  and  Monterey.  At  this  writing 
he  is  a  law  partner  of  Hon.  Thomas  Renison, 
one  of  the  well-known  attorneys  of  Salinas. 

Tn  1891  Mr.  Feliz  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Nellie  Steffani,  who  was  born  and  reared 
in  California,  her  father  having  been  a  pioneer 
stockman  of  the  state.  The  children  of  this 
union  are  F.  P.,  Jr..  Paul  J.,  Harriet  J.,  Nellie  D. 
and  Adel  Gertrude. 

Added  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Feliz  is  a  well- 
informed  lawyer,  possessing  the  power  of  logic 
and  keenness  of  resource  characteristic  of  the 
typical  attorney,  is  the  other  important  fact  that 


J7.-. 


he  is  interested  in  public  affairs  and  thoroughly 
posted  concerning  the  problems  to  be  solved  by 
the  government.  On  questions  of  law  he  dis- 
criminates forcibly.  On  questions  of  state  he 
is  shrewd  and  capable,  analytical  and  quick  of 
perception.  In  judgment  he  is  sound  and  in 
foresight  sagacious.  Admirably  versed  in  the 
principles  of  wise  statesmanship  and  public  pol- 
icy, he  is  fitted  to  fill  positions  of  trust  in  city 
and  state,  and  this  adaptation  to  office  was  ap- 
preciated by  his  fellow-citizens  and  recognized 
in  his  election  to  the  state  legislature  in  1898. 
After  one  term  of  excellent  service  he  was  re- 
elected to  the  same  position  and  served  in  the 
session  of  1901.  In  fraternal  relations  he  is 
connected  with  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden 
West,  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
Woodmen  of  the  World. 


RICHARD  F.  HALL. 

When  thousands  were  drawn  to  California 
during  the  year  1850,  among  the  hardy  and  ven- 
turesome Argonauts  who  crossed  the  plains  was 
Richard  F.  Hall,  a  young  man  of  thirty  years, 
and  a  native  of  the  vicinity  of  Richmond,  Ya.. 
and  the  son  of  a  large  land  and  slave  owner. 
On  reaching  the  coast  regions  he  engaged  in 
mining  with  some  success.  In  1851  he  returned 
to  Virginia  for  his  wife,  Maria  Louisa  (Stinson) 
Hall,  and  they  came  together  to  Sacramento, 
where  he  conducted  a  livery  business  until  1855. 
On  selling  out  there  he  came  to  Monterey 
county  and  bought  the  Santa  Rita  ranch", 
which,  in  1865,  he  sold  to  Mr.  Soto  for  $13,000, 
and  which  is  to-day  one  of  the  best-known 
ranches  of  the  state.  His  next  purchase  com- 
prised one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  bought  from 
Marcus  Woody,  and  situated  four  miles  south 
of  Watsonville,  same  county.  There  he  erected 
a  dwelling  ami  spent  his  remaining  years.  A 
part  of  the  tract  was  set  out  to  fruit,  mostly 
apples,  the  cultivation  of  which  he  found  a 
source  of  profit.  From  time  to  time  he  added 
to  his  original  purchase  until  he  acquired  over 
six  hundred  acres,  but  much  of  this  property 
he  rented  to  tenants,  lie  died  011  his  home 
stead  in    looi.  at   [lie  age  of  eighty-one  years. 

By  his  marriage  to    Miss  Stinson.  who 


276 


EIISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


born  in  1823.  and  died  in  1873,  Mr-  Ha'l  had 
four  children,  namely:  Sarah  Rebecca,  who  died 
in  girlhood;  James  A.,  attorney-at-law,  of  Wat- 
sonville;  Alice,  wife  of  George  W.  Sill,  who  cul- 
tivates the  Hall  homestead;  and  Adelia,  who 
married,  William  G.  Taffinder.  During  early  life 
Mr.  Hall  identified  himself  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity  and  always  bore  an  interest  in  the 
order.  In  religious  connections  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


HON.  JAMES  A.  HALL. 

As  might  be  expected  of  one  who  has  spent 
his  entire  life  in  California,  Mr.  Hall  is  a  patri- 
otic son  of  the  Golden  state  and  ardently  cham- 
pions all  measures  looking  toward  the  develop- 
ment of  the  commonwealth.  He  was  born  near 
Salinas.  Monterey  enmity,  November  9,  1857, 
and  is  a  son  of  the  late  Richard  F.  Hall.  His 
education  was  begun  in  the  schools  of  Watson- 
ville  and  completed  in  Santa  Clara  College  and 
the  University  of  California.  In  1878  he  began 
to  teach  a  district  school  near  his  home  and  for 
three  years  he  continued  in  this  occupation. 
However,  his  ambition  directed  him  toward  the 
law  and  he  took  up  its  study  under  Judge  A.  S. 
Kittridge.  When  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1888  he  passed  the  examination  before  the 
supreme  court  without  (ailing  to  correctly  an- 
swer a  single  question,  and  was  complimented 
by  the  court  for  his  proficiency.  During  the  year 
1882  he  was  elected  district  attorney,  which 
office  he  held  for  a  term,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  tin-  time  opened  an  office  for  general  practice 
in  Santa  Cruz. 

1  0  ning  back  to  Watsonville  aboul  iSSS,  Mr. 
I  Call  was  elei  ted  to  the  state  legislature  during 
thai  year,  and  soon  became  conspicuous  for  his 
in  In-half  of  the  anti-monopoly  legisla- 
tion. It  was  he  who  introduced  the  anti-trust 
bill  which  created  so  much  commenl  ai  the  time. 
Ml  of  his  work,  while  acting  as  representative, 
was  in  the  interests  of  the  people.  In  [89]  be 
opened  an  office  in  San  Francisco  with  ex- 
or  Cross,  under  the  firm  name  of  Cross  & 
Hall.  Tun  years  later  the  title  was  changed  to 
ord  fi  Kelly,  and  after  two  years 
irtliership    was    dissolved.     Mr      I  [all    eon 


tinning  alone  until  1900.  In  1900,  desiring  a 
rest  from  professional  work,  he  decided  to  make 
a  tour  of  Alaska,  and  started  on  his  voyage  in 
the  spring  of  that  year.  On  the  15th  of  July 
he  started  from  Teller,  Alaska,  on  a  proposed 
prospecting  tour  of  three  days,  and  with  two 
companions.  His  equipment  consisted  of  blan- 
kets, an  army  knapsack  with  provisions,  a  cup 
and  sheath  knife.  During  the  first  day  his  com- 
panions suggested  that  they  use  his  provisions, 
as  they  were  in  tablet  form,  and  their  sugges- 
tion was  complied  with  by  him.  The  next  even- 
ing, during  a  heavy  fog,  he  was  separated  from 
his  friends,  and  was  left,  without  compass  and 
with  only  a  small  piece  of  bacon  for  food,  and  a 
few  matches  with  which  to  kindle  fires.  Unable 
to  get  his  bearings,  he  wandered  day  after  day. 
The  hoarded  strip  of  bacon  finally  was  gone, 
and  he  then  subsisted  on  such  berries  as  he 
i  ould  find,  which  were  very  few,  and  finally  was 
reduced  to  eating  grass  ami  even  snails.  A  man 
of  less  will  power  would  have  given  up,  but 
his  determination  kept  him  on  his  feet  week 
after  week.  Soon  it  began  to  rain,  and  the 
nights  turned  very  cold,  and  his  blankets  did 
not  suffice  to  keep  him  comfortable.  At  times 
he  felt  himself  freezing  as  well  as  starving. 
Finally,  weakness  resulting  from  exposure  and 
starvation  overcame  him,  and  he  lay  down  to 
die,  having  eaten  his  last  meal  of  boiled  grass. 
For  four  days  and  nights  he  remained  on  the 
ground,  awaiting  death.  Toward  noon  of  Sep- 
tember 22  he  thought  he  heard  voices.  Too  fee- 
ble to  raise  his  head,  he  called  out,  "Help! 
Help!"  His  heart  almost  stopped  beating  with 
joy  when  he  heard  the  answer,  "Hello!'*  His 
rescuers  were  Jack  O'Brien  and  Frank  Henson, 
both  of  Nome.  They  took  him  to  their  camp, 
seven  miles  away,  and  thence  to  Teller,  where 
careful  nursing  restored  him  to  health,  though 
he  was  still  far  below  his  weight,  two  hundred 
ial  twentj  five  pounds,  at  the  time  of  starting 
on  tiie  trip.  However,  since  then  he  has  again 
become  a  strong  man  and  feels  no  ill  effects 
from  Ins  dreadful  experience.  The  Sundaj  Ex- 
aminer of  San  Francisco  gave  a  full-page  ac- 
count of  his  trials  ami  spoke  in  the  highest 
terms  of  his  heroism  and  endurance. 

I  »n  his  return  lo  California   Mr.  Hall  resumed 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


277 


practice  at  Watsonville,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. From  his  father  he  inherited  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-six  and  one-half  acres.  On  the 
incorporation  of  the  Pajaro  Fruit  and  Land 
Company,  of  which  he  was  a  stockholder,  he 
sold  this  property  to  them,  and  it  was  set  out 
in  prunes,  being  to-day  one  of  the  best  prune 
orchards  in  the  valley.  Fraternally  he  is  con- 
nected with  many  orders.  He  married  Louise 
.Marie,  daughter  of  Joseph  McCarthy,  an  early 
settler  of  San  Jose.  She  was  born  in  that  city, 
received  an  excellent  education  and  taught 
school  for  ten  vears  prior  to  her  marriage. 


CHARLES  G.  CHAMBERLAIN 

The  genial  and  popular  postmaster  of  Pa- 
cific Grove  was  born  in  Stanstead  county,  Que- 
bec, Canada,  November  n,  1845,  and  lived  on 
his  father's  farm  until  about  twenty  years  of 
age.  From  earliest  youth  he  had  instilled  into 
his  training  a  keen  appreciation  of  his  neighbor 
country,  the  United  States,  for,  the  homestead 
being  located  on  the  Vermont  line,  he  attended 
the  public  schools  and  academy  of  Derby  Cen- 
ter, Vt.  As  an  independent  wage  earner  he  was 
first  employed  by  his  uncle  as  superintendent 
of  his  ranch  in  Wisconsin,  and  while  in  the  lat- 
ter state  responded  to  the  higher  call  to  duty- 
made  by  his  adopted  country.  February  2, 
1864,  he  enlisted  in  Company  G,  Forty-ninth 
Wisconsin  Infantry,  and  served  until  the  close 
of  hostilities,  serving  for  the  greater  part  in 
Missouri  and  Arkansas.  He  was  discharged 
October  12,  1865,  and  forthwith  returned  to  his 
former  occupation  in  Wisconsin. 

Tn  the  spring  of  1866  Mr.  Chamberlain  went 
to  Montana  and  tried  his  luck  at  mining,  after 
which  he  went  to  the  Salmon  river  district  in 
Idaho,  mining  with  about  the  same  results.  He 
also  engaged  in  the  stock-raising  business,  and 
became  quite  prominent  in  the  general  affairs  of 
his  county;  in  fact,  he  was  the  first  county  clerk 
after  the  organization  of  Lemhi  county,  in  C869. 
I  l«'  was  clerk  for  Senator  George  L.  Shoup.  In 
1872  Mr.  Chamberlain  began  a  course  of  in- 
struction at  Heald's  Business  College,  San 
Francisco,  and  afterward  became  superintend- 
ent of  the  large  ranch  of  C.  S.  Abbott  in  Monte- 


rey county.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years  he 
engaged  in  independent  ranching  and  dairying 
in  the  Salinas  valley,  and  in  1884  was  elected 
tax  collector,  holding  the  office  for  two  years. 
Tn  1888  he  disposed  of  his  Salinas  valley  inter- 
ests and  removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Roseburg, 
Douglas  county,  Ore.,  where  he  bought  two 
thousand  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  and  en- 
gaged in  ranching,  dairying  and  stock-raising. 
The  four  years  thus  spent  proved  a  losing  ven- 
ture, and  Mr.  Chamberlain  returned  to  Salinas 
for  a  year,  and  in  1895  located  in  Pacific  Grove, 
where  he  engaged  in  merchandising  on  a  small 
scale.  In  1898  he  was  appointed  postmaster  by 
President  McKinley.  and  was  reappointed  in 
May,   1902. 

The  wife  of  Mr,  Chamberlain  was  formerly 
Rhoda  J.  Hodges,  a  native  of  California.  Of 
this  union  there  have  been  born  three  children, 
Florence  Aida  and  Harrison  Morton  and  a 
baby  boy.  Mr.  Chamberlain  is  fraternally  asso- 
ciated with  the  Pacific  Grove  Lodge,  F.  &  A. 
M.;  Salinas  Chapter  No.  69,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Wat- 
sonville  Commandery  No.  47,  K.  T.  He  is  also 
connected  with  the  Fairchild  Post,  G.  A.  R.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Chamberlain  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

PROF.  CHARLES  C.  HILL. 

The  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Salinas  is 
the  representative  of  an  old  Massachusetts  fain 
ily,  and  was  born  in  Dundee,  111.,  in  1S70.  His 
father.  Rev.  D.  D.  Hill,  is  one  of  the  well- 
known  Congregational  ministers  on  the  coast, 
and  was  pastor  of  the  church  of  that  denom- 
ination which  he  erected  at  Pasadena.  He  was  a 
courageous  soldier  in  the  Civil  war.  and  partic 
ipated  in  most  of  the  important  battles  as  a 
volunteer  in  the  Fifth  Wisconsin  Cavalr; 
the  two  children  born  into  his  family.  Edith  L. 
is  a  graduate  of  the-  I. eland  Stanford  fjnivi 
and,  like  her  brother,  is  engaged  in  educational 
work.    Airs.  Hill  was  formerly  Louise  Ran. 

The  education  of  Professor  1  [ill 
in  the  public  schools  of  [Hit  1  para 

tory  school  in   Beloit,  Wis.,  whither  his  father 
had   in   the   meantime   rerrn  >ved.      He  can 
I  .os   Angeles,   Cal..   in    1 SSS,   and   was   graduated 


278 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


from  the  Los  Angeles  Normal  in  1890,  and  from 
the  Stanford  University  in  1895.  Thus  equipped, 
he  taught  in  the  schools  of  Los  Angeles  and 
Southern  California  for  a  time,  and  seven  years 
ago  came  to  Salinas,  where  for  four  years  he 
was  assistant  principal  of  the  high  school.  For 
the  last  three  years  he  has  been  principal  of 
the  high  school,  an  institution  acknowledged  to 
be  one  of  the  best  in  the  state,  considering  the 
size  of  the  town.  Mr.  Hill  is  singularly  adapted 
to  his  chosen  work,  and  is  one  of  the  foremost 
educators  in  this  part  of  California.  His  the- 
ories as  to  educational  training  are  in  accord 
with  the  methods  adopted  in  the  most  advanced 
centers  of  learning,  or  are  perhaps  more  wisely 
conceived  by  the  light  of  his  own  particular  en- 
vironment and  individual  experience.  The  in- 
fluence of  a  strong  and  genial  personality  has 
been  an  important  factor  in  the  accomplishment 
of  his  success,  and  a  pronounced  sincerity  and 
sympathy,  without  which  the  efforts  of  the  cul- 
tivated master,  however  great,  were  vain. 

In  1891  Professor  Hill  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Mattie  A.  Williams,  daughter  of  Mat- 
thew Williams,  one  of  the  earliest  and  most 
prominent  farmers  and  stock-raisers  in  Monte- 
rey county. 


H.  S.  FLETCHER. 

The  Bank  of  Watsonville,  of  which  H.  S. 
Fletcher  is  cashier,  dates  its  inception  from 
1874,  when  it  was  incorporated  with  a  capital  of 
$200,000  and  the  following  officers:  Charles 
Ford,  president:  J.  N.  Besse,  cashier;  directors, 
Charles  Ford,  John  T.  Porter,  Godfrey  M. 
Bockius.  Thomas  Walker,  Charles  Moss,  C.  L. 

Thomas  and  J.  X.  Besse:  finance  committee, 
Charles  Ford,  Thomas  Walker  and  J.  T. 
Porter:  and  auditing  committee:  Charles 
Moss,  Godfrey  M.  Bockius  and  C.  L.  Thomas. 
1'ii'lcr  the  supervision  of  the  directors,  a 
handsome    brick    block    was    erected    on    Main 

treel  opposite  the  park,  and  tin-  first  floor 
•  if  this  building  was  fitted  up  for  the  bank's 
use,  with  a  safety  deposit  vault,  directors' 
rooms,  etc.  The  original  stock  was  sub- 
scribed by  resilient s  of  Santa  Cruz  and  Mon- 
terey c<  unities.    Since    [884  Godfre)    M.   Bockius 


has  held  the  office  of  president,  and  since  1888 
the  capital  has  been  $100,000.  In  1892  the  di- 
rectors were  G.  M.  Bockius,  Thomas  Snodgrass, 
(  >wen  Tuttle,  Lucius  Sanborn,  W.  G.  Hudson, 
Edmund  White  and  H.  S.  Fletcher.  Those  now 
officiating  as  directors  are  G.  M.  Bockius,  W. 
C.  Waters.  F.  A.  Kilburn.  H.  S.  Fletcher,  M.  B. 
Tuttle,  L.  F.  Sanborn  and  W.  R.  Radcliff. 

The  president  of  the  bank,  who  is  one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  honored  citizens  of  the  Pajaro 
valley,  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1818  and  re- 
ceived an  excellent  education  in  his  native  city. 
Attracted  to  California  by  the  gold  excitement, 
in  1852  he  landed  in  San  Francisco  and  from 
there  he  proceeded  to  Watsonville.  At  first  he 
engaged  in  the  meat  business,  but  other  enter- 
prises soon  consumed  his  attention,  including 
large  transfers  in  real  estate,  the  development 
of  fine  grain  and  fruit  farms,  the  erection  of  a 
residence  and  business  block,  and  the  manage- 
ment of  an  important  financial  concern.  His 
high  type  of  citizenship  led  the  people  of  this 
district  to  select  him  as  their  representative  in 
the  assembly  and  he  served  in  that  body  for  a 
term.  Other  offices  held  by  him  were  those 
of  county  judge  and  town  trustee.  The  ample 
means  he  now  possesses  have  not  come  to  him 
through  any  chance  combination  of  circum- 
stances, but  are  the  result  of  energy,  discrim- 
ination and  forceful  judgment.  By  his  marriage 
to  Miss  Harriet  Rambo  he  has  four  children: 
Edward  S.;  Mrs.  Belle  B.  Fletcher:  Godfrey 
M.,  Jr.,  a  rancher,  and  Charlotte  S. 

The  cashier  of  the  bank,  H.  S.  Fletcher,  was 
born  in  Minnesota  in  1854,  and  at  twelve  years 
of  age  moved  to  Springfield,  Mo.,  with  his 
father,  Hezekiah  Fletcher.  Having  completed 
his  education  and  looking  around  him  for  a  fa- 
vorable business  opening,  in  1877  ne  decided  to 
come  to  California,  and  accordingly  that  year 
found  him  in  Watsonville.  For  three  years  he 
was  employed  as  clerk  and  deliveryman  with 
Charles  Ford,  after  which  he  was  made  agent 
of  the  Watsonville  station.  In  1880  he  resigned 
as  agent  to  become  postmaster,  in  which  office 
he  continued  for  four  years.  On  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  office  he  became  a  bookkeeper  in 
tin-  Bank  of  Watsonville  and  in  1885  was  made 
its  cashier,  which  position  he  has  since  held,  at 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


L'S1 


the  same  time  being  a  stockholder  and  director. 
In  connection  with  his  position,  lie  acts  as  cash- 
ier of  the  Watsonville  Savings  Bank.  By  his 
marriage  to  Belle  B.  Bockius,  daughter  of  the 
president  of  the  bank,  he  has  five  children:  Har- 
riet, Henry  E.,  Priscilla,  Godfrey  B.  and  Belle. 


HOX.  JOHN  JACOB  SIMMLER. 

No  object  lesson  could  be  presented  by  the 
student  of  history  more  striking  than  the  trans- 
formation wrought  in  California  during  the  past 
half  century.  Judge  Simmler  well  remembers 
the  appearance  of  the  country  fifty  years  ago, 
when,  after  a  voyage  of  great  hardship  and  peril, 
he  arrived  in  what  is  now  one  of  the  greatest 
commonwealths  of  America.  During  the  inter- 
vening wars  he  has  made  his  home  principally 
in  San  Luis  Obispo,  where  he  is  a  leading  citizen 
and  retired  business  man. 

In  the  city  of  Mulhausen,  Alsace,  France, 
John  Jacob  Simmler  was  born  July  18,  1826. 
His  father,  George  Simmler,  in  youth  studied 
under  the  famous  educator,  Pestalozzi,  and  after- 
ward for  thirty-one  years  was  a  professor  in  the 
college  at  Mulhausen.  At  that  time  Charles 
X  was  king  of  France  and  Alsace  was  one  of 
the  most  important  departments  of  his  kingdom, 
but  afterward  the  province  became  the  property 
of  Germany.  The  city  of  Mulhausen  (or  Mul- 
house,  as  it  was  usually  called  in  France)  has  a 
history  extending  back  into  the  very  remote 
past  when  the  little  city  on  an  island  formed  by 
the  111  was  a  conspicuous  center  of  art  and  let- 
ters. Later  a  new  town  was  built  on  the  main- 
land, which,  through  its  manufactures  of  cotton 
prints  and  muslins,  acquired  prominence  as  a 
manufacturing  center.  It  was  in  this  citj  that 
John  Jacob  Simmler  grew  to  manhood  and  re- 
ceived his  education  in  grammar  and  high 
schools.  On  the  last  day  of  February,  1847,  ne 
left  home  and  shipped  for  New*  Orleans,  with 
the  intention  of  going  to  Texas.  Arriving  at 
his  destination,  he  settled  in  the  city  of  Houston, 
but  two  years  later  removed  to  Waco,  which  at 
the  time  contained  only  three  houses.  Four 
months  later  he  went  to  Colorado  county,  Tex., 
and  For  a  year  remained  near  Columbus  (now 
i  ailed    Frelsburg).      While   there   he   managed   a 


store  owned  by  his  brother.  Next  he  went  to 
San  Antonio  by  way  of  Austin,  and  remained  in 
that  old  Spanish  town  for  two  months  during 
1852. 

From  San  Antonio  Mr.  Simmler  came  to  Cali- 
fornia across  Mexico,  spending  sixty  days  on 
horseback,  with  a  party  of  six  men,  traveling 
through  a  country  infested  by  hostile  savages. 
Finally,  arriving  at  Mazatlan,  he  shipped  on 
the  Holloway,  a  sailing  vessel  bound  for  San 
Francisco.  LTnfortunately  the  ship  drifted  out 
of  its  course  and  was  lost  for  sixty  days,  during 
which  time,  by  reason  of  the  scarcity  of  food, 
a  famine  arose  and  the  sufferings  of  the  pas- 
sengers were  indescribable.  Seven  were  thrown 
overboard  who  had  died  of  starvation.  For  days 
before  he  landed  Mr.  Simmler  had  nothing  but 
beans  to  eat  and  only  one  bottle  of  water  to 
drink.  At  length  land  was  sighted  and  the  half- 
starved  men  were  put  ashore.  It  proved  to  be 
Point  San  Luis  Obispo.  All  of  the  seventy  pas- 
sengers hastened  off  to  the  mines  except  Mr. 
Simmler,  who  secured  employment  as  cook  for 
Dr.  Clements,  near  San  Luis  Obispo.  This  was 
m  August,  1852.  Soon  he  turned  his  attention 
to  the  painter's  trade,  working  for  Capt.  John 
Wilson,  an  Englishman  at  Los  Osos  rancho.  A 
year  afterward  he  began  farming  on  John  Brice's 
ranch,  but  lost  everything  in  the  venture. 

St.  Charles  hotel,  which  was  the  first  hotel 
opened  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  was  started  by  Mr. 
Simmler,  who  conducted  it  for  eighteen  months. 
On  the  formation  of  the  vigilance  committee  he 
joined  it,  continuing  in  that  work  for  six 
months,  after  which  he  and  Samuel  Pollard  car- 
ried on  a  store  for  a  year  or  more.  Under  Pres- 
ident Grant,  in  1871,  he  was  appointed  postmas- 
ter of  San  Luis  Obispo,  the  appointment  being 
renewed  by  Presidenl  Hayes  and  President 
Cleveland,  so  that  he  continued  in  the  office  for 
eighteen  years.  <  >n  resigning  the  position  he 
had  charge  of  a  butcher  shop  for  two  years,  and 
later,  on  the  organization  of  the  Bank  oi  Cayu- 
cos,  he  1>.  came  its  manager  and  cashier,  a  posi- 
tion that  he  held  for  almost  six  years.  Since 
then  he  has  been  retired. 

Owing  to  his  service  <>!  about  eighteen  years 

as  justice  ■•'  th<    1 VTi    Simmler  came  to  be 

known  as  "Judge,"  which  title  still  is  used 


282 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


his  friends.  Among  the  positions  he  has  held 
may  be  mentioned  the  following:  postmaster; 
justice  of  the  peace  and  associate  judge;  road 
master;  census  taker  during  his  last  term  as 
postmaster;  deputy  assessor  and  deputy  tax  col- 
lector; school  trustee;  town  trustee  before  the 
incorporation  of  the  city:  councilman  and  the 
first  police  judge  after  the  city  was  incorpo- 
rated. Politically  he  was  a  Democrat  on  first 
coming  to  this  country,  but  after  the  death  of 
President  Lincoln  he  transferred  his  allegiance 
to  the  Republican  party,  with  which  he  has 
since  voted.  At  one  time  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  for  twenty-five  years 
he  has  been  connected  with  Chorro  Lodge  No. 
168,  I.  O.  O.  F. 

In  1859  Mr.  Simmler  married  Mrs.  Rosa 
Butron  de  Canet,  who  was  born  in  California, 
and  whose  first  husband  was  a  Spaniard.  No 
children  were  born  of  their  union;  they  had 
nephews  and  nieces  who  were  often  in  their 
home  and  in  whose  welfare  they  took  a  warm 
interest.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  Mr. 
Simmler  was  again  married,  being  united  with 
Mrs.  Maria  Lafranchi,  of  San  Luis  Obispo. 
They  continue  to  occupy  the  residence  which 
has  been  Mr.  Simmler's  home  ever  since  he  built 
it  in  1865.  He  has  many  warm  friends  in  the 
town  and  county,  and  by  reason  of  his  long 
identification  with  the  history  of  this  locality 
feels  the  deepest  interest  in  its  progress  and 
growth. 


.!<  ISIAH  POTTER  COREY. 

An  agriculturisl   to  whom  the 'fertility  of  the 
'Id    Buena    Vista    ranch    has    brought    a    com- 
fortable living  and  partially  realized  ambitions 
is  Josi.-'h   Potter  Corey,  located  on  his  farm  of 
thirty-five    acres,  modernly  equipped,  and    ex- 
oductive.     Mr.  Corey  was  born  in 
Essex,  Vt,  August    1;,    [863,  a    son    of    Noah 
1    of  \  ermonl  and  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  California.     The  elder  Corey  came  to 
rnia  at  an  early  day.  and  Josiah  was  born 
while  his  mother  was  •  n  a  visil  to  her  people  in 
mt.      The    father   lived   for  a  time   in   So- 
noma county,  and  then  removed  to  San  Mateo 
county,  which  continued  to  be  his  home  for  four 


years.  In  1876  he  came  to  Monterey  county 
and  at  the  end  of  three  years  returned  to  Bloom- 
held,  Sonoma  county,  for  six  years,  and  then 
retired  from  active  life  to  the  farm  in  Monterey 
county  he  now  occupies. 

Josiah  Potter  Corey  lived  at  home  until  his 
marriage,  in  March,  1892,  with  Grace  Smith, 
daughter  of  A.  B.  Smith,  one  of  the  old-timers 
of  California.  He  then  bought  ten  acres  of  land 
in  the  Salinas  valley,  which  he  improved  and 
lived  upon  for  three  years,  and  then  disposed  of 
it  and  bought  his  present  ranch  of  thirty-five 
acres.  In  addition,  he  has  leased  two  hundred 
acres  of  adjoining  land,  and  raises  grain,  iruit, 
some  stock,  and  engages  in  general  farming.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  has  never  been 
identified  with  any  local  office.  Fraternally  he 
is  associated  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 
Mr.  Corey  is  liberal-minded  and  devoted  to  the 
all-around  improvement  of  his  locality.  He  has 
four  children:  Ethel,  Harold,  Isabelle  and 
Grace. 


WILLIAM  DeHART. 

The  White  &  DeHart  Co.,  which  was  incor- 
porated November  23,  1896,  is  one  of  the  lead- 
ing industries  of  Watsonville  and  the  Pajaro 
valley.  Its  inception  may  be  attributed  to  the 
enterprise  and  keen  foresight  of  William  De- 
ilart  and  Edmund  White,  who  conducted  the 
business  in  partnership  for  a  considerable  pe- 
riod. In  1899  Mr.  DeHart  bought  out  his  part- 
ner's interest,  since  which  time  he  has  been 
president  of  the  company,  and  his  son,  Joseph, 
secretary.  LTnder  their  direction  a  warehouse 
has  been  built,  40x100,  and  a  boiler  of  one 
hundred  horse  power  has  been  added.  From 
their  plant  are  turned  out  all  kinds  of  fruit 
boxes,  berry  crates  and  baskets,  and  they  also 
conduct  a  feed  mill  and  general  lumber  mill. 
The  basket  department  has  a  capacity  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  two  and  one-half  pound  baskets 
per  day,  sixteen  hundred  apple  boxes  a  day,  and 
in  proportion.  Muring  the  busy  season 
i  mployment  is  furnished  to  as  many  as  fifty 
hands,  all  of  whom,  trained  under  his  personal 
oversight,  have  become  skilled  basket  and  box 
makers.     Redwood  and   pine  lumber  are  used 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


uy:; 


in  the  factory,  obtained  almost  wholly  from  the 
forests  of  this  state.  Near  the  factory  two  cot- 
tages have  been  erected.  It  is  the  ambition  of 
both  father  and  son  to  secure  the  highest  suc- 
cess for  their  enterprise,  and  they  are  justly 
proud  of  its  large  output  and  the  general  de- 
mand for  its  products. 

When  a  child  Mr.  DeHart  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Iowa  and  grew  to  manhood  on  a 
farm.  In  1862  he  enlisted  at  Birmingham,  that 
state,  in  the  Thirtieth  Iowa  Cavalry,  but  soon 
re-enlistcd  in  the  Marines.  He  participated  in 
the  siege  of  Vicksburg  and  served  principally  on 
the  Mississippi  river.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  returned  to  Iowa  and  learned  the  black- 
smith's trade  at  Birmingham.  On  entering  into 
business  for  himself,  he  not  only  carried  on  a 
shop,  but  also  dealt  in  farming  implements.  On 
selling  out  there  he  went  to  the  then  territory 
of  Washington,  and  after  ten  months,  in  1869, 
came  to  California,  settling  at  Whiskey  Hill, 
Santa  Cruz  county.  There  he  bought  out  L.  P. 
Helm's  blacksmith  shop,  which  he  carried  on 
for  six  years.  On  selling  that,  he  bought  from 
F.  Williams  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  of 
which  he  planted  twenty-five  acres  in  apricots, 
prunes  and  peaches.  This  property  he  still 
owns,  but  lias  rented  it  to  tenants  since  turning 
his  attention  to  the  mill  and  basket  manufactur- 
ing business.  The  interest  which  Mr.  DeHart 
feels  in  matters  connected  with  war  days  led 
him,  years  ago,  to  identify  himself  with  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  for  some  time 
ne  was  active  in  its  workings.  He  has  also  been 
interested  in  the  Odd  Fellows  and  is  connected 
with  both  the  lodge  and  encampment,  in  the 
former  of  which  he  holds  rank  as  past  grand. 


IK  )N.   II.   W.  BRIGGS. 

.More  than  in  any  state  in  the  Union,  the  vig- 
orous prosperity  of  California  is  directly  trace- 
able to  the  sturdy  characters  and  untiring  per- 
severance  of  its  pioneers,  many  of  whom  risked 
their  lives  oil  the  trackless,  Indian-infested 
plains,  bringing  hither  eastern  conservatism  and 
practical  experience  to  tin  aid  of  western  chaos 
and  impetuosity.  Enrolled  among  these  noble 
and  self-sacrificing  men  is  the  name  of  lion.  II. 


W.  Briggs,  a  resident  of  Pacific  Grove,  and  for- 
merly identified  with  innumerable  enterprises 
and  developments  of  the  state. 

A  native  of  Rome,  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  Mr. 
Briggs  was  born  August  25,  1819,  a  son  of  Mi- 
chael Briggs,  and  grandson  of  Thomas  Hawley 
Briggs.  The  grandfather  was  born  in  Massa- 
chusetts, whither  had  immigrated  his  English 
Puritan  ancestors,  and  he  eventually  removed 
to  Bennington  county,  Vt.,  where  his  son,  Mi- 
chael, was  born.  Michael  Briggs  removed  from 
Vermont  to  Rome,  N.  Y.,  and  farmed  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  city  for  many  years.  Later  he 
located  in  Lake  county.  Ohio,  where  his  death 
occurred.  He  was  an  active  and  successful 
farmer  and  business  man,  and  his  career  was 
further  embellished  by  meritorious  service  in 
the  war  of  1812.  He  married  Olivia  Water- 
house,  of  Salisbury.  Conn.,  representative  of  the 
old  Hawley  family  and  the  famous  Connecticut 
colony.  Thomas  Waterhouse,  the  father  of  Mrs. 
Briggs,  was  a  prominent  physician,  as  was  also 
his  son,  Henry  Waterhouse,  professor  of  sur- 
gery at  the  Vermont  Medical  Institute,  at  Bur- 
lington, Vt.,  and  author  of  many  important 
medical  dissertations. 

Judge  II.  W.  Briggs  was  one  in  a  family  of 
six  children,  two  of  whom  are  living,  the  other 
son  being  Rev.  M.  C.  Briggs.  of  San  Francisco. 
I  te  was  reared  in  New  York  state  until  his  eigh- 
teenth year,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
public  schools.  In  183?  he  removed  to  Lake 
county,  Ohio,  whither  his  parents  had  in  the 
meantime  taken  up  their  abode,  and  after 
teaching  school  for  a  time  became  associated 
with  the  firm  of  Manning  &  Fay.  map  makers 
and  printers.  In  this  capacity  he  visited  every 
county  in  the  Mate,  and  in  [840  went  to  Giles 
county,  Tenn.,  where  he  engaged  in  educational 
work  f'ir  several  years;  principally  at  Beach 
(".rove  Seminary  and  Marshall  Academy.  After 
removing  to  Madison  county,  Tenn.,  h<  cast  his 
hi-i  vote  for  W.  H.  Harrison,  and  :i 
county  in  [840,  became  associated  with  the  Odd 
Fellows,  of  which  he  has  since  been  a  member. 
In  the  meantime  lie  had  married,  and  in  [847 
settled  with  his  wife  in  Davis  county,  Iowa, 
where  lie  purchased  land  and  started  the  town  of 
■    which  he  was  the  first  postmaster  and 


1>1 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


general  merchant.  He  became  foremost  in  po- 
litical and  other  affairs  of  the  embryo  town,  and 
exerted  an  influence  for  progress.  In  1851  he 
was  elected  commissioner  of  Davis  county,  and 
at  the  next  election,  in  1853,  was  elected  county 
judge,  a  very  important  and  responsible  office 
al  that  time.  For  four  years  he  disposed  of  the 
various  cases  requiring  adjustment  in  the 
county,  holding  court  every  day,  and  to  his  spe- 
cial credit  be  it  said,  but  one  case  upon  which 
he  had  passed  judgment  was  appealed  to  the 
higher  court. 

Tn  1859  Judge  Briggs  outfitted  and  started 
across  the  plains  with  his  family,  and,  upon  ar- 
riving in  Santa  Clara  in  October  of  the  same 
year,  purchased  land  upon  which  he  settled  and 
where  he  engaged  in  farming.  Among  other 
possessions  he  had  a  threshing  machine,  which 
during  the  first  season  cut  off  the  right  leg  of 
its  owner.  Notwithstanding-  this  drawback,  Mr. 
Briggs  continued  to  exercise  large  faith  in  the 
future  of  his  surroundings,  a  conclusion  justified 
by  subsequent  events.  The  fall  following  his 
accident  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature 
on  the  Republican  ticket,  and  directly  after  his 
term  of  service  was  appointed  registrar  of  the 
United  States  land  office  at  Visalia,  Cal.  While 
discharging  this  responsibility  he  lived  for  six 
years  a:  Yisalia.  and  in  the  meantime  had  charge 
of  a  large  mercantile  house  for  J.  M.  Brown. 
and  later  for  R.  E.  Hyde,  now  president  of  the 
Bank  of  Visalia.  Tn  1868  he  removed  to  Gilroy, 
Santa  Clara  county,  in  charge  of  the  business  of 
Air.  Brown,  whose  interests  had  been  trans- 
ferred there,  and  Gilroy  continued  to  be  his 
home  for  about  nineteen  years.  In  1871  he 
bought  out  the  interest  of  Mr.  Brown,  and  for 
years  continued  the  business  independ- 
ently, and  at  the  same  time  served  as  postmaster 
•  if  the  lown. 

While  living  in  Gilroy  Mr.  Briggs  organized 
.1  homestead  association  railed  the  San  Tusto 
Homestead  Association  of  Hollister,  which  as- 
ion  bought  of  Colonel  I  lollister  the  San 
Tusto  ranch  of  twenty-two  thousand  acres  for 
1,  and  laid  out  the  town  of  Hollister  on  a 
tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixtv  acres.  Mr. 
Briggs  built  the  Hollister  House,  the  first  hotel 
in  the  new  town,  and  in  other  ways  contributed 


to  the  upbuilding  of  the  place.  In  1876  further 
disaster  came  his  way  through  the  burning  of 
his  Gilroy  store,  a  loss  of  $12,000  being  the 
result.  He  afterward  carried  on  a  real  estate 
and  insurance  business  in  Gilroy  until  1887, 
when,  owing  to  impaired  health,  and  the  severe 
heat  which  affected  his  not  yet  healed  leg,  he 
came  to  Pacific  Grove,  and  has  since  made  this 
his  home.  He  built  one  of  the  finest  homes  in 
the  town  and  engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  in- 
surance business,  and  was  also  a  notary,  until 
February  of  1900,  and  then  availed  himself  of  a 
well  earned  opportunity  to  retire  from  active 
business.  He  still  owns  much  valuable  prop- 
erty here,  and  the  town  contains  innumerable 
reminders  of  his  active  interest  in  its  welfare, 
and  unchanging  devotion  to  its  people  and  in- 
stitutions. He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
town,  and  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  city 
trustees,  and  clerk  of  the  board  for  many  years. 
As  a  politician  of  the  most  incorruptible  kind 
he  has  served  the  interests  of  his  party  in  va- 
rious ways,  and  has  ever  been  to  the  fore  in 
county  and  state  undertakings.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  county  commission  for  many  years, 
and  was  a  delegate  to  county  and  state 
conventions.  As  a  school  trustee  he  has  faith- 
fully labored  to  elevate  the  educational  standard 
of  the  district  for  nearly  forty  years.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  is  par- 
ticularly prominent  among  the  Good  Templars, 
being  always  a  stanch  advocate  of  temperance. 
In  religion  he  is  a  Presbyterian,  but  as  there 
is  no  church  of  that  denomination  here  he  af- 
filiates with  the  Congregational  Church,  in 
which  he  is  active  as  a  teacher  of  the  Bible  class, 
and  in  general  church  work. 

The  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Briggs 
are:  Mrs.  M.  B.  Bern;  Henry  M.,  who  is  audi- 
tor of  Stanislaus  county,  Cal.;  Walter  F.,  who 
lives  at  Riverside;  and  two  who  are  deceased. 


TAMES  H.  McDOUGALL. 

That  adverse  conditions  build  up  the  strong 
and  break  down  the  weak  has  found  convincing 
expression  in  the  life  of  Air.  McDougall,  whose 
dauntless  spirit  has  surmounted  many  obstacles, 
and   drawn   helpful   lessons   from   disheartening 


(jv^TT^Vfrj^^ 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


circumstances.  His  reputation  as  one  of  the 
most  substantial  citizens  of  Salinas  rests  upon  a 
solid  foundation  of  actual  merit,  upon  honesty 
of  purpose,  and  never  failing  devotion  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  town  which  has  so  profited 
by  his  admirable  citizenship.  The  Salinas  City 
Bank,  of  which  he  is  president,  was  founded  in 
1873  by  Hon.  Jesse  D.  Carr,  who  held  the  po- 
sition of  president  for  many  years.  The  follow- 
ing president  was  A.  B.  Jackson,  who  continued 
to  advance  the  prosperity  and  uphold  the  finan- 
cial standing  of  the  bank  between  1894  and 
1900.  During  the  regime  of  Mr.  Jackson  Mr. 
McDougall  was  acting  vice-president,  and  at 
ihe  death  of  the  former  in  1900,  he  was  elected 
to  the  responsible  position  which  he  now  holds. 
The  Salinas  City  Bank  enjoys  the  distinction  of 
being  the  oldest  and  largest  bank  in  Monterey 
county,  and  its  standing  among  financial  insti- 
tutions in  the  state  is  such  as  is  warranted  by  its 
solidity  and  conservativeness. 

A  native  of  Scotland,  Mr.  McDougall  was 
born  in  Glasgow  in  1836,  and  when  six  years  of 
age  came  with  his  parents  to  America,  settling 
in  Lake  county,  111.  The  father  was  a  farmer, 
and  his  son  was  reared  to  an  appreciation  of  the 
dignity  of  an  agricultural  life,  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  Lake  county,  111.  The 
family  removed  to  California  in  1854,  and  set- 
tled in  Monterey  county  June  9  of  the  same 
year,  and  James  H.  remained  at  home  until 
twenty-two  years  of  age.  Upon  starting  out  for 
himself  he  worked  during  the  winters  in  a  saw- 
mill, and  in  the  summer  time  followed  a  thresh- 
ing machine,  this  combined  occupation  continu- 
ing from  1857  until  1868.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  he  had  by  dint  of  hard  work  and  economy 
managed  to  save  about  $900,  but  this  he  was 
unfortunate  enough  to  lend  to  a  man  that 
eventually  left  the  country  and  omitted  the  for- 
mality of  leaving  his  address.  Nothing  daunted, 
Mr.  McDougall  resumed  the  occupation  of 
again  saving  money,  which  was  invested  in  the 
supposed  remunerative  cattle  business.  The 
dry  season  turned  his  brilliant  prospects  into 
direst  failure,  and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but 
to  begin  again  at  the  bottom.  By  the  time  he 
saved  $300  he  had  arrived  at  the  wisdom  of  in- 
vesting  in    unincumbered    real-estate,    and    the 


property  selected  was  valued  at  $600.  Paying 
$300  down  he  succeeded  in  finally  selling  his 
land  for  $2,500,  and  this  gave  him  the  start  he 
so  richly  deserved.  He  then  bought  an  inter- 
est in  a  grocery  and  notion  store  in  Salinas, 
and  this  establishment  had  an  increasing  era  of 
prosperity  for  twenty  odd  years.  While  con- 
ducting this  store  he  was  postmaster  of  the  town 
for  twelve  years.  It  would  seem  that  having 
once  made  fair  inroads  into  success  Mr.  Mc- 
Dougall has  never  lost  his  grip,  but  has  steadily 
increased  not  only  his  possessions  but  his 
prestige  as  well.  He  has  been  prominent  in 
politics,  and  is  a  Republican  all  the  time.  Dur- 
ing President  Cleveland's  first  administration  he 
was  county  tax  collector,  and  was  re-elected 
during  his  second  term.  He  is  secretary  of  the 
Water  and  Light  Company,  although  he  does 
not  give  the  position  much  time,  and  has  been 
chief  of  the  fire  department  for  years.  Large 
city  and  county  properties  have  come  into  his 
possession  from  time  to  time,  and  besides  sev- 
eral farms,  he  owns  the  McDougall  block,  which 
is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  city.  His  comfort- 
able home  is  one  of  the  most  convenient  and 
artistic  in  this  part  of  the  county. 

In  1873  Mr.  McDougall  married  Elizabeth 
H.  Bardin,  of  Blanco,  Cal.,  and  a  native  of  Mis- 
sissippi. Of  this  union  there  are  two  sons,  of 
whom  J.  Edgar  is  in  the  bank,  and  Charles  B. 
is  with  the  Porter  Irving  dry-goods  house  in 
Salinas. 


WILLIAM  A.  TRAFTON. 

The  fact  that  Mr.  Trafton  has  officiated  for 
several  terms  as  president  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees indicates  his  high  standing  as  a  citizen  of 
Watsonville,  among  whose  native-born  s< 
holds  a  high  position.  The  family  of  which  he 
is  a  member  has  been  represented  in  California 
for  almost  a  half  century  and  its  members  mean- 
time have  risen  to  stations  of  influence  and  pres- 
tige in  various  Idealities.  His  father,  George  A.. 
of    Canadian    birth. 

from  his  native  land  in  1X511,  their  destination 
being  the  Pacific  coast.  During  the  journey, 
while  thej  were  on  the  plains,  the  grandfather, 
David  Trafton.  was  stricken  with  cholera  and 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


died.  His  widow  completed  the  sad  journey 
with  her  children  and  settled  in  Watsoriville, 
where  her  remaining-  years  were  passed  and 
where  her  children  grew  to  be  progressive  and 
successful  citizens. 

While  still  a  mere  boy  George  A.  Trafton 
began  to  learn  the  mercantile  business,  which 
he  soon  mastered  in  all  of  its  branches.  In  later 
years  he  formed  an  association  with  his  brothers 
as  Trafton  Bros.,  the  firm  dealing  in  hardware 
and  tinware.  By  a  change  of  partners  the  firm 
title  became  Trafton  &  Jennings.  His  interest 
in  this  business  he  subsequently  sold  and  on  the 
site  of  old  Chinatown,  about  1889.  built  a  large 
feed  mill,  where  he  began  to  handle  grains  of 
all  kinds.  Shipments  were  made  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  eastern  markets,  and  a  large  business 
was  built  up.  the  successful  organization  of 
which  may  be  attributed  to  his  cautious,  keen 
and  shrewd  financial  ability.  Through  the  ad- 
mission to  the  partnership  of  his  son,  William 
A.,  the  firm  name  became  George  A.  Trafton  & 
Son,  and  of  recent  years  the  son  has  had  the 
oversight  of  the  grain  business,  the  father  de- 
voting himself  mainly  to  his  mining  interests, 
which  are  large  and  reach  into  various  sections 
of  the  state.  Besides  the  elegant  residence  of 
Air.  Trafton  he  has  erected  three  substantial 
business  blocks  on  Main  street,  and  in  other  re- 
spects has  contributed  to  the  progress  of  his 
home  city-  In  Masonry  he  is  connected  with 
the  blue  lodge,  chapter  and  commandery,  and 
has  passed  many  of  the  chairs.  Another  organ- 
ization with  which  he  is  identified  is  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen.  By  his  marriage 
to  Melissa  Matthis  he  had  five  children,  namely: 
Mrs.  Jameson,  deceased;  William  A.;  Mrs.  P.  D. 
Evans;  Howard  V.,  who  in  1902  was  elected 
sheriff  of  Santa  Cruz  county  for  a  term  of  four 
years;  and  Mrs.  James  Tremble. 

'Idle  many  changes  made  in  Watsonville  dur- 
ing- the  past  thirty  years;  its  rise  from  an  insigni- 
ficant village  to  a  hustling  town; the  development 
of  its  commercial  interests;  the  growth  of  its  ad- 
jacent fruit-growing  industries;  the  building  up 
of  schools,  churches,  fraternal  organizations  and 
general  movements  of  a  progressive  nature,  all 
'if  these  have  betii  witnessed  by  William  A. 
["rafton.     Hi--  Loyalt)    to   his  native  city  is  un- 


questioned, and  no  one  is  better  qualified  than 
he  i'T  efficient  service  on  its  board  of  trustees, 
in  which  capacity  he  served  for  four  years,  and 
was  re-elected  for  a  second  term  of  four  years 
in  1901.  For  three  years  he  has  been  serving 
as  president  of  the  board.  The  experience 
gained  while  filling  a  clerkship  was  later  utilized 
when  he  entered  his  father's  mill  as  a  partner 
in  the  business,  and  he  now  enjoys  a  thorough 
knowledge  not  only  of  milling,  but  of  general 
business  principles  which  enable  a  man  to  suc- 
ceed in  whatever  industr)  he  may  enter.  His 
home  is  in  Watsonville,  and  his  wife,  Annie,  is 
a  daughter  of  Peter  Cox,  deceased,  one  of  the 
leading  pioneers  of  the  city.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Merceil.  In  fraternal  relations  Mr. 
Trafton  has  emulated  his  father's  example  by 
identifying  himself  with  Masonry,  and  is  now  a' 
member  of  the  blue  lodge,  chapter  and  com- 
mandery, in  which  latter  organization  he  holds 
office  as  captain-general. 


J.  M.  BARB  REE. 

During  the  years  of  his  residence  in  Montere\ 
county,  which  covered  the  period  from  1871 
until  his  death  thirty  years  later,  Mr.  Barbree 
maintained  an  intimate  relation  with  the  agri- 
cultural industry  and  was  a  contributor  to  the 
growth  and  development  of  the  county.  He  was 
born  in  Kentucky  February  17,  1837,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  schools  of  that  state, 
although  the  fact  of  limited  means  rendered  his 
schooling  less  complete  than  he  desired.  At  an 
early  age  he  began  to  be  self-supporting,  and 
from  that  time  forward  made  his  way  unaided 
in  the  world.  California  was  the  theme  of  gen- 
eral conversation  in  those  days.  He  was  a  mere 
child  when  gold  was  discovered  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  from  that  tune  he  often  dreamed  of 
the  west,  its  opportunities  and  its  possibilities. 
In  1859  he  carried  out  a  long-cherished  ambi- 
tion and  crossed  the  plains  to  California,  set- 
tling in  Alameda  county.  There  he  conducted  a 
hotel  and  livery  business. 

I  »n  coming  to  Monterey  county  Mr.  Barbree 
settled  near  Salinas,  where  lie  purchased  a  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres.  In  the  cultiva- 
tion of  this  land  he  was  engaged  for  some  years, 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD 


L'S'I 


and  there  laid  the  foundation  of  subsequent 
prosperity.  About  1888  he  removed  from  there 
to  a  farm  near  San  Lucas,  comprising  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres.  As  the  years  passed 
by,  he  added  to  his  property  until  he  became 
one  of  the  large  land  owners  of  his  neighbor- 
hood, and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  the  pos- 
sessor of  thirteen  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  By 
his  marriage  to  Jane  Kell  he  had  eight  children, 
namely:  Jennie,  deceased;  Rose,  wife  of  J.  D. 
Yeach;  William  R.,  of  Monterey  county;  Emily, 
Ann  and  Fannie,  all  three  deceased;  Belle,  wife 
of  Luke  Norton;  and  Joseph.  The  mother  of 
these  children  died  July  6,  1882,  while  the  father 
survived  her  some  years,  entering  into  eternity 
January  24,  1901.  Among  his  former  associates 
lie  is  remembered  as  a  man  of  great  energy,  tire- 
loss  perseverance,  a  determined  will  and  an  up- 
right character — a  man  indeed  whose  citizenship 
is  of  value  to  any  community  in  which  he_  may 
reside. 

The  elder  of  the  two  surviving  sons  of  Mr. 
Barbree  is  William  R.,  who  was  born  April  23, 
1869.  Educated  in  public  schools,  the  knowl- 
edge there  acquired  and  the  information  gained 
from  habits  of  close  observation  fitted  him  for 
the  intelligent  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  citi- 
zen and  a  farmer.  He  remained  with  his  father 
until  the  latter's  death  and  has  since  conducted 
independent  agricultural  operations.  At  this 
writing  he  owns  one  thousand  acres  of  land, 
which  he  devotes  to  the  raising  of  stock  and 
of  general  farm  products.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat,  supporting  with  his  ballot  the  prin- 
ciples of  that  party. 


HON.  JOSIAH  MERRITT. 
The  first  county  judge  of  Monterey  county 
was  born  in  Orange  county,  N.  Y.,  near  the 
city  of  Newburgh,  August  21,  1796,  and  was  a 
descendant  of  very  early  settlers  of  America. 
After  receiving  a  college  education  he  took  up 
the  study  of  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
engaged  in  practice  in  New  York  City.  Suc- 
cess had  already  commenced  to  reward  his  ef- 
forts when,  inspired  with  a  faith  in  the  future  of 
the  great  unknown  western  regions,  in  1845  ne 
removed  to  Illinois.    At  the  time  the  California 


gold  excitemenl  turned  the  tide  of  emigration 
still  further  westward,  he,  with  many  others, 
started  for  the  Pacific  coast  via  Texas.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1850,  he  arrived  al  Monterey,  and  the  next 
year  took  an  active  part  in  organizing  Mon- 
terey county,  of  which  he  was  at  that  time 
elected  county  judge,  serving  until  1854.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Texas  Lodge  of  Masons, 
the  oldest  in  California,  and  during  the  Civil 
war  was  a  Union  Democrat. 

Shortly  after  he  had  settled  in  Monterey, 
Judge  Merritt  married  Juana  Castro,  eldest 
daughter  of  Simeon  Castro,  judge  of  the  first 
instance  under  Mexican  rule  and  one  of  the 
most  influential  Spanish  citizens  of  Monterey. 
She  was  a  sister  of  the  general  who  led  the 
Mexican  troops  in  the  battle  with  the  Ameri- 
cans under  General  Fremont  a  few  miles  north- 
east of  Salinas.  After  retiring  from  the  judge- 
ship of  the  county,  Judge  Merritt  resumed  the 
practice  of  the  law,  in  which,  and  numerous 
local  enterprises,  he  continued  to  be  engaged 
until  his  death  in  1869.  The  children  who  sur- 
vived him  were  Joseph,  Lavinia,  Herlinda,  Jen- 
nie and  Manuel  R.  He  was  a  man  possessing 
many  admirable  traits,  and  his  influence  did 
much  toward  the  early  building  up  of  Monterey. 


CAPT.  MARCUS  HARLOE. 

For  many  generations  the  Harloe  family  has 
been  a  race  of  shipbuilders.  Captain  Harloe's 
father,  Matthew  Harloe,  was  for  years  an  Eng- 
lish revenue  officer,  but  eventually,  became  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  William  II.  Taylor,  a  Scotch  ship- 
master of  Campbelltown,  Argyleshire,  whose 
ship  was  on  one  occasion  seized  by  French  pri- 
vateers and  he  himself  put  to  torture  in  order 
that  he  might  be  forced  to  reveal  the  where- 
abouts of  the  ship's  gold.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, it  was  discovered  that  lie  was  a  Mason, 
whereupon  he  was,  immediately  released  and  re- 
stored to  his  ship. 

Of  English,  Irish  and  Scotch  ancestry,  Cap- 
tain  Harloe  was  horn  in  Ireland  March  17.  1833. 
In  1847  he  came  to    '  the  next  year 

shipped    from  >n   a   merchant 

vessel    Xew    World    hound    for    Liverpool.      In 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


1850  he  rounded  the  Horn  on  the  sailing  ship 
Wisconsin  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco, 
from  which  point  he  shipped  on  another  vessel. 
Vs  first  male,  he  became  connected  with  the 
Sacramento  river  schooner.  Eagle,  in  185 1,  and 
the  next  year  was  chosen  first  officer  on  the 
brig  Walcott.  On  attaining  his  majority,  in 
[854,  be  became  master  of  the  schooner  Louise, 
sailing  from  San  Francisco  along  the  coast,  en- 
gaged in  trading  and  freighting.  In  this  vessel 
he  owned  one-fourth  interest,  but  disposed  of 
the  same  in  1856,  and  built  the  Black  Prince, 
a  schooner,  of  which  he  was  one-half  owner  and 
continued  its   master   until   the    latter    part   of 

1859- 

Returning  east  December  20,  1859,  Captain 
Harloe  bought  the  schooner  Wild  Pigeon,  in 
Providence,  R.  I.,  and  sailed  from  New  York 
for  San  Francisco  March  23,  i860,  coming 
through  the  Straits  of  Magellan  and  spending 
1  me  hundred  and  fifty  days  in  the  voyage.  The 
cargo  carried  by  this  vessel  was  the  material  for 
the  steamer,  Salinas,  the  first  ship  built  by  the 
Pacific  Coast  Steamship  line.  Reaching  San 
Francisco,  the  cargo  was  discharged  at  the  foot 
of  Third  street.  The  Wild  Pigeon  was  then 
taken  by  the  captain  into  the  Mexican  trade. 
At  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  sold  that 
vessel  and  took  charge  of  the  tugboats,  Monitor 
and  Merrimac,  in  San  Francisco.  In  1865  he 
was  elected  harbormaster  of  San  Francisco, 
which  position  he  filled  for  two  years  and  nine 
months,  and  then  resumed  tug-boating. 

The  first  .identification  of  Captain  Harloe  with 
Santa  Barbara  county  as  a  resident  was  in  1867, 
when  he  came  here  to  settle  the  estate  of  Isaac 
I  Sparks,  his  father-in-law.  In  i860  he  shipped 
as  master  of  the  steamer  Gussie,  from  San 
Francisco  to  San  Luis  (  >bispo,  and  later  for 
three  years  commanded  the  steamship  Com- 
mander of  the  Holladay  and  Brenham  line.  His 
H  •- 1  po  itii  m  iva  -  .is  a  master  for  the  E'acific 
Coast  Steamship  Company,  commanding  the 
1  onstantine  and  Ventura.  In  [880,  under  Gov- 
1  1  "">  Perkins,  he  was  appointed  chief 
wharfinger  at  San  Francisco,  which  office  he 
filled  fni  thre<  years  Vfterward  he  commanded 
the  steamship  Santa  Marie  along  the  coast  and 
in  the   Sandwich    Islands,  since  which  time  he 


has  been  to  some  extent  retired  from  a  seafaring 
life. 

Since  1875  Captain  Harloe's  family  have  made 
their  home  on  the  Huasna  rancho,  which  com- 
prises about  nine  thousand  acres,  and  is  utilized 
for  stock-raising  and  general  farm  purposes. 
The  property  is  a  portion  of  a  land  grant  se- 
em ed  ii\  Isaac  J.  Sparks  from  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernment,  and  by  him  bequeathed  to  his  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  Harloe.  The  family  home  is  one  of 
charming  simplicity,  combined  with  elegance. 
The  large  library,  the  fine  piano,  and  the  cozy 
furnishings  indicate  that  the  family  have  a  taste 
for  literature,  music  and  the  refining  influences 
of  life.  Having  received  excellent  advantages 
in  her  girlhood,  Airs.  Harloe  has  acquired  a  cul- 
ture which,  combined  with  her  amiable  disposi- 
tion and  charm  of  manner,  renders  her  a 
valuable  acquisition  in  the  best  society.  Like 
her  husband,  she  descends  from  a  seafaring 
race,  her  mother,  Mary  Sparks,  nee  Avers,  hav- 
ing been  a  Scotch  shipmaster's  daughter.  Cap- 
tain and  Mrs.  Harloe  are  the  parents  of  five 
children  now  living,  namely:  Marcus  S.,  wdio 
is  second  officer  of  the  steamship  Oregon; 
Archie  M.,  now  in  Bakersfield,  Cal.;  William 
Ceorge,  a  druggist  in  San  Francisco;  John  D., 
a  graduate  of  St.  Mary's  College;  and  Flora, 
who  in  the  family  circle  and  among  intimate 
friends  is  best  known  as  Cushie. 

As  a  member  of  the  Republican  party  Captain 
Harloe  has  of  late  years  been  active  in  politics. 
In  1889  ne  was  elected  to  the  legislature  and 
during  his  service  of  one  term  was  a  member  of 
the  committee  on  commerce  and  navigation. 
For  many  years  he  served  as  school  trustee  and 
for  two  years  he  was  a  supervisor  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  county.  During  exciting  campaigns  he 
does  excellent  work  for  his  party  and  helps  to 
turn  the  tide  toward  victory.  One  of  his  hob- 
bies has  been  the  establishment  of  a  union  high 
51  hool,  the  students  for  which  shall  lie  the  older 
pupils  in  the  district  schools  embracing  several 
districts,  and  he  aided  greatly  in  securing  the 
passage  of  the  bill  which  rendered  this  excellent 
plan  practicable.  It  is  a  matter  of  some  pride 
with  him  that  he  holds  the  highest  license  ever 
granted  any  master  by  the  United  States,  this 
permitting   him   to   act    as    inspector    or  com- 


//    ~?/      l^Z3^-~^c^e^^^c-^f-^^ — 


ilSTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


»»:: 


mander  of  ships  in  any  ocean,  and  the  pos- 
session of  such  a  document  is  added  proof  of 
his  ability  in  the  management  of  ships.  He  fol- 
lows the  example  of  his  ancestors  not  only  in 
regard  to  his  occupation,  but  also  in  respect  to 
his  fraternal  connections,  and  is  a  stanch  Mason, 
holding  membership  in  Arroyo  Grande  Lodge 
No.  277,  F.  &  A.  M.;  San  Luis  Obispo  Chapter, 
R.  A.  M.,  and  San  Luis  Obispo  Commandery 
No.  27,  K.  T.,  at  San  Luis  Obispo. 

Since  he  landed  in  California,  June  24,  1850, 
Captain  Harloe  has  been  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  western  progress,  and  has 
constantly  maintained  a  close  connection  with 
matters  maritime  and  civic  affairs  as  well.  He 
is  one  of  that  class  of  pioneers  to  whose  energy, 
keen  judgment  and  wise  discrimination  the  Cal- 
ifornia of  to-day  is  so  greatly  indebted. 


WILLIAM  VANDERHURST. 

In  the  life  of  this  successful  banker  of  Salinas 
are  illustrated  the  results  of  perseverance  and 
energy,  coupled  with  judicious  management  and 
strict  integrity.  He  is  a  citizen  of  whom  any 
community  might  well  be  proud,  and  the  people 
of  Monterey  county,  fully  appreciating  his  abil- 
ity, accord  him  a  place  in  the  foremost  ranks  of 
representative  citizens  and  business  men.  Iden- 
tified with  the  history  of  Salinas  from  the  earli- 
est period  of  its  settlement,  he  has  witnessed  its 
gradual  growth,  the  development  of  its  com- 
mercial interests  and  the  gradual  increase  of  its 
population  by  the  removal  hither  of  men  of  en- 
terprise, intelligence  and  high  standing. 

The  early  years  of  the  life  of  Judge  Vander- 
hurst  gave  no  indication  of  a  successful  future. 
His  parents.  Michael  M.  and  Emma  (Sones) 
Yanderhurst,  natives  respectively  of  Amster- 
dam, Holland,  and  North  Carolina,  were  liv- 
ing at  Columbia,  Marion  county,  Miss.,  at  the 
time  he  was  born,  in  1833,  but  later  they  moved 
to  Camden,  where  they  resided  a  few  years,  and 
then  moved  to  Canton,  Miss.  Doubtless  the 
father,  who  was  a  man  of  great  perseverance, 
would  have  attained  success  had  his  life  been 
spared,  as  he  was  regarded  as  a  prudent  and  re- 
sourceful merchant,  but  his  death  occurred  in 
1839,  w'iilc  he  was  still  a  young  man.    The  son, 


a  boy  of  six  years,  was  thus  deprived  of  a  father's 
care  and  guidance  during  the  years  of  his  youth. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  secured  employment 
in  a  store,  but  he  was  not  satisfied  to  remain  in 
Mississippi,  and  saved  his  earnings  in  order  to 
pay  his  transportation  elsewhere.  On  the  last 
day  of  the  year  1852  he  left  his  old  home  on  the 
long  journey  to  California,  and  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  February  5,  1853.  He  went  to  the 
southern  mines  in  the  vicinity  of  Jamestown  and 
later  mined  at  Gold  Hill  on  the  middle  fork  of 
the  American  river. 

During  the  latter  part  of  1858  Judge  Vander- 
hurst  embarked  in  merchandising  at  Watson- 
ville,  where  he  remained  until  1868,  and  then 
moved  to  Salinas.  At  that  time  there  were  only 
two  houses  in  the  place,  one  of  these  being  a 
small  frame  building,  while  the  other  is  now 
utilized  as  the  dining  room  of  the  Abbott  hotel. 
Somewhat  similar  was  his  experience  in  Wat- 
sonville  and  King  City,  in  the  latter  of  which 
he  built  the  first  house  that  the  place  boasted. 
The  first  man  to  invest  largely  in  Salinas  was 
S.  W.  Conklin,  for  many  years  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  Conklin  &  Samuels.  The  next  to  in- 
vest largely  in  real  estate  and  merchandise  was 
Mr.  Yanderhurst,  who  founded  the  mercantile 
house  of  Vanderhurst,  Sanborn  &  Co.,  and 
erected  the  structure  in  which  the  firm  has  en- 
gaged in  business  for  about  thirty-four  years. 
The  history  of  this  firm  is  a  history  of 
Salinas  itself.  With  the  growth  of  the  town 
the  firm  prospered.  Some  idea  of  its  develop- 
ment may  be  gained  from  its  large  storehouses 
and  fine  stock  of  goods.  On  the  incorporation 
of  the  firm  under  the  title  of  the  Vanderhurst- 
Sanborn  Company,  Mr.  Vanderhurst  was 
chosen  president,  and  continued  in  that  capacity 
for  many  years.  Indeed,  the  high  standing  of  the 
firm,  the  reputation  which  the  house  gained  for 
reliable  dealings  and  honorable  methods  of  con- 
ducting business,  was  largely  due  to  his  capable 
supervision  and  his  integrity  of  character.  Al- 
luding to  his  success,  the  publishers  of  the  Mid- 
winter Fair  edition  of  the  Gonzales  Tribune 
state:  "Of  William  Yanderhurst,  the  head  of  the 
house,  we  may,  wc  think,  be  permitted  to  say, 
without  the  least  disparagement  to  the  capacity, 
energy  and  enterprise  of  any  ether  business  man 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


in  the  city,  that  had  Sir  Walter  Scott  known  the 
hard  struggle  and  vicissitudes  of  his  early  life, 
he  could  not  have  had  a  better  example  in  mind 
when  he  wrote :  'There  is  no  life  of  a  man,  fully 
recorded,  but  is  a  heroic  power  of  its  sort, 
rhymed  or  unrhymed;'  nor  yet  Bulwer  when  he 
wrote:  'In  the  lexicon  of  youth,  which  fate  re- 
serves for  a  bright  manhood,  there  is  no  such 
word  as  fail.'  " 

December  3,  1856,  in  Monterey  county,  oc- 
curred the  marriage  of  William  Vanderhurst  to 
Jane,  daughter  of  Joseph  Hatch,  of  Wisconsin. 
Born  of  their  union  are  the  following-named 
children:  Alice  E.,  deceased;  Estella,  formerly 
the  wife  of  Edward  Evatt,  but  now  deceased; 
William  M.,  of  Salinas;  Robert  Lee,  of  Seattle, 
Wash.;  Francis,  deceased;  George  B.,  of  San 
Francisco;  Mary  A.;  Lillian  M.;  John  C,  de- 
ceased; and  Albert  Sidney.  The  eldest  son,  Wil- 
liam M.,  is  a  graduate  of  the  Salinas  schools 
and  has  always  made  this  city  his  home.  For  a 
time  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  G.  W. 
Hatch  &  Co.,  and  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Hatch 
he  purchased  the  latter's  interest  from  the  heirs, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  sole  proprietor  of 
the  business.  In  addition  to  a  full  line  of  furni- 
ture, carpets,  wall  paper,  curtains,  etc.,  he  con- 
ducts an  undertaking  establishment.  With  his 
foreman,  he  spent  several  months  in  the  best 
undertaking  establishments  of  San  Francisco, 
where  they  gave  special  attention  to  the  art  of 
embalming.  His  store  and  warerooms  are  on 
Alain  street  in  the  Odd  Fellows'  building.  In 
1890  he  married  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Joseph 
Emery,  the  then  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  South,  of  Salinas. 

Masonry  has  always  had  a  stanch  friend  and 
admirer  in  Judge  Vanderhurst,  and  he  has 
served  as  master  of  Salinas  Lodge  No.  204, 
1 '.  &  A.  M.;  is  also  a  member  of  Salinas  Chap- 
ter  No.  59,  R.  A.  M.;  and  Watsonville  Com- 
mandcry  No.  22,  K.  T.  From  an  early  age  he 
has  been  a  believer  in  Democratic  principles. 
niv  adherence  to  tin-  party  was  doubtless 
due  to  the  locality  in  which  he  was  reared,  but 
attaining  manhood  and  removing  to  an- 
ection  of  the  country  he  saw  no  reason 
for  changing  his  views,  and  still  remains  stead- 
last  and   true   to   the   principles  of  JefTersonian 


Democracy.  Never  an  office-seeker,  and  pre- 
ferring rather  the  quiet  paths  of  private  busi- 
ness to  the  excitement  of  public  life,  he  has 
at  no  time  been  a  candidate  for  office,  and  the 
only  position  which  he  has  ever  filled  was  that 
of  mayor  of  Salinas.  However,  he  has  always 
been  interested  in  local  affairs,  and  has  had  a 
firm  faith  in  the  future  of  his  home  city.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  ardent  champions  of  the 
removal  of  the  county-seat  from  Monterey  to 
Salinas,  which  question  was  decided  by  vote  of 
the  people  in  November,  1872.  In  matters  con- 
nected with  the  removal  and  the  establishment 
of  the  new  county-seat,  his  influence  was  con- 
stantly felt  and  the  benefit  of  his  counsel  appre- 
ciated. The  Bank  of  Monterey  County  was  or- 
ganized under  his  management  in  1890.  As 
president,  he  has  since  guided  its  policy  and 
superintended  its  investments,  thereby  placing 
the  concern  upon  a  solid  financial  basis  and 
gaining  for  it  the  confidence  of  the  people  of 
the  city  and  county. 

The  title  of  "judge"  was  conferred  upon  Mr. 
Vanderhurst  many  years  ago  by  his  fellow-citi- 
zens and  has  always  clung  to  him  since.  There 
is  scarcely  a  business  man  of  Monterey  county 
who  has  not  formed  his  acquaintance,  and  every- 
where the  greatest  confidence  is  reposed  in  his 
judgment  and  advice.  From  the  period  of  his 
earliest  residence  here  he  has  identified  himself 
with  every  interest  of  the  county,  social,  busi- 
ness, financial  and  educational,  and  is  justly  re- 
garded as  one  of  her  substantial  men  of  affairs 
and  public-spirited  citizens. 


BENJAMIN  HITCHCOCK. 

Men  possessing  the  fundamental  characteris- 
tics of  which  Benjamin  Hitchcock  is  heir  have 
ever  been  regarded  as  the  bulwarks  of  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  have  lived.  With  as- 
sets partaking  rather  of  the  mental  than  the 
material,  he  has  forged  his  way  to  a  competence, 
and  to  an  honored  place  among  the  agricultur- 
ists of  the  Salinas  district.  Born  in  Compton, 
Shelby  county,  East  Canada,  August  17,  1835, 
he  is  a  son  <>i  Hiram  (  >.  and  Louise  (Osgood) 
I  [itchcock,  the  latter  of  whom  is  still  living,  and 
is  eighty-seven  years  of  age.     Hiram  O.  Hitch- 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


cock  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  went  to 
Canada  when  a  young  man.  where  he  engaged 
in  farming  np  to  the  time  of  his  death  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five  years.  He  was  a  fairly 
successful  man,  was  the  representative  of  an  old 
and  honored  family,  and  he  had  the  satisfaction 
of  clearing  a  farm  from  the  rough,  and  thereon 
establishing  a  home  containing  comfort  if  not 
luxury. 

As  the  oldest  of  the  children  born  to  his  pa- 
tents. ;t  fell  to  the  lot  of  Benjamin  Hitchcock 
to  materially  aid  in  the  clearing  of  the  Canadian 
farm,  and  to  contribute  his  share  towards  the 
general  maintenance.  Of  an  ambitious  nature, 
he  recognized  the  limitations  by  which  he  was 
surrounded,  and  this  desire  for  larger  things 
resulted  in  his  removal  to  California  in  1855. 
He  journeyed  here  by  way  of  the  isthmus,  and 
during  the  first  winter  worked  in  the  mines  of 
Nevada  county,  and  the  following  spring  went 
to  the  north  fork  of  the  American  river.  In 
Sonoma  county  he  worked  on  a  ranch  for  two 
or  three  years,  and  from  this  it  is  inferred  that 
his  mining  experiences  were  those  of  the  aver- 
age, rather  the  exceptional  being.  In  Marin 
county  he  managed  a  ranch  for  a  year  for  John 
Abbott,  after  which  he  went  to  Alama  as  fore- 
man for  C.  R.  Abbott  for  two  years.  In  the 
fall  of  1866  he  came  to  Monterey  county  and 
conducted  a  large  dairying  enterprise  for  C.  S. 
Abbott,  and  at  the  expiration  of  five  years  lived 
for  two  or  three  years  on  the  farm  of  his  father- 
in-law.  He  (hen  bought  his  present  ranch  of 
two  hundred  acres  at  $30  per  acre,  and  here  he 
has  since  conducted  general  fanning,  grain  and 
stock  raising.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Salinas 
Creamery,  and  his  enterprise  and  public  spirit- 
edness  have  found  outlets  in  various  business 
and  social  directions.  Since  casting  his  presi- 
dential vote  for  Fremont  he  has  voted  the  Re- 
publican ticket,  but  has  never  desired  or  ac- 
cepted official  recognition.  Fraternally  he  is  a 
charter  member  of  the  Salinas  Lodge  No.  210, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  having  joined  the  Masons  in  1868. 

Mrs.  Hitchcock  was  Agnes,  a  daughter  of 
John  Abbott,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  an  over- 
land California  pioneer  of  '52.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hitchcock  have  been  born  two  children,  of 
whom  Elba  Ellsworth  is  with  his  father  on  the 


ranch;  and    Dona    M.   is    the    wife    of  George 
Dougherty  of  San  Pedro,  Cal. 


HON.  CHARLES  H.  JOHNSON. 

On  the  fertile  island  of  Guernsey,  off  the  coast 
of  Normandy,  the  Johnson  family  were  living 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
There  was  born  and  reared  Charles  H.  Johnson, 
Sr.,  who  for  many  years  during  his  early  life 
was  an  officer  in  the  French  navy.  When  the 
battle  of  Waterloo  with  its  fatal  consequences 
had  given  a  death  blow  to  the  imperial  hopes  of 
Napoleon,  this  officer,  compelled  to  seek  another 
occupation,  crossed  the  ocean  to  America  and 
settled  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  where  he  married  a 
daughter  of  William  Green,  of  an  old  Irish 
family.  Their  son  and  the  father's  namesake 
was  born  in  Baltimore  in  1826,  and  received 
his  education  principally  in  Asbury  College,  but, 
owing  to  poor  health,  was  obliged  to  discon- 
tinue his  studies  before  the  completion  of  his 
collegiate  course.  Travel  being  deemed  advis- 
able, he  was  sent  to  Europe  with  an  uncle,  who 
was  agent  for  an  East  India  house. 

The  first  independent  venture  with  which  Mr. 
Johnson  was  associated  began  in  1847,  when  he 
and  John  Finlev  fitted  out  a  ship  for  the  purpose 
of  trading  along  the  west  coast  of  South  Amer- 
ica. The  Rhone  sailed  from  Baltimore  Decem- 
ber 22,  1847,  visited  the  various  ports  on  the 
west  coast  of  South  America,  and  arrived  at 
Honolulu  July  18,  1848.  While  there,  the  own- 
ers received  word  that  gold  had  been  discovered 
in  California.  At  once  their  plans  were  cha 
Instead  of  disposing  of  their  goods  in  Honolulu, 
they  purchased  a  large  addition  to  their  car-", 
and  set  sail  for  San  Francisco,  where  they  ar- 
rived August  11,  their  vessel  being  the  first 
merchantman  to  enter  the  harbor  of  the  Golden 
Gate  after  the  publication  in  California 
treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo.  The  cargo  of 
the  Rhone  brought  its  owners  $100,000,  and 
with  this  .1111. nun  as  a  capital,  the  firm  of  Fin- 
ley,  Johnson  &  ( '.  >.  was  established  being  the 
first  large  house  started  in  the  city.  Their  pros- 
perity exceeded  their  most  dazzling  hopes.  For 
a  time  everything  went  well.  Heavy  importa- 
tion-; were  being  constantly  received  from  South 


flSTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


America.  Mexico  and  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
Large  warehouses  were  built  and  crowded  with 
valuable  stock.  The  owners  were  among  the 
wealthiest  men  in  the  city,  when,  suddenly,  as 
-  seemed  assured,  everything  was  swept 
away.  Old  timers  will  recall  vividly  the  great 
fire  of  May  4,  1850,  with  its  disastrous  conse- 
quences. The  firm  of  Finley,  Johnson  &  Co. 
were  among  the  heaviest  losers,  and  to  add  to 
their  misfortunes,  no  insurance  could  be  ob- 
tained. 

However,  with  a  faith  and  courage  that  mis- 
fortune could  not  subdue,  the  owners  of  the 
business  began  once  more.  Their  credit  being 
good,  they  were  enabled  to  purchase  stock,  and 
soon  ships  were  pouring  in  their  cargoes  as  be- 
fore. Stores  were  rebuilt,  business  revived  and 
prosperity  again  seemed  assured.  Once  more 
the  demon  of  fire  swept  away  in  a  moment  the 
labor  of  months,  and  this  second  fire  was  even 
more  destructive  than  the  first,  involving  a  total 
loss  of  $500,000.  Not  permitting  themselves  to 
be  disheartened  by  this  adversity,  the  members 
of  the  company  again  put  up  buildings,  and  this 
time  they  were  declared  by  experts  to  be  fire- 
proof, but  they  met  the  fate  of  their  predeces- 
sors. May  4,  185 1,  on  the  anniversary  of  the 
first  fire,  eighteen  blocks  of  business  houses 
were  destroyed  by  fire,  involving  a  loss  of  al- 
most $12,000,000,  Finley,  Johnson  &  Co.  losing 
not  only  their  new  buildings,  but  also  $250,000 
/vorth  of  merchandise  just  received.  The  com- 
plication of  disasters  so  greatly  reduced  their  re- 
sources that  they  settled  with  their  creditors 
and  retired  from  business. 

During  the  early  '50s  Mr.  Johnson  removed 
to  Monterey,  where  he  was  for  a  time  officer 
at  the  port  and  later  deputy  collector  of  cus- 
toms  for  the  pert  of  Monterey,  haying  charge 
ofthec  -nth.    While  filling  the  latter 

position,  he  took  advantage  of  favorable  open- 
in--  for  investments  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county 
and  purchased  large  tracts  of  land.  In  1856  he 
settled  permanently  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county, 
where  In-  has  since  managed  his  real-estate  in- 
terests. Some  frame  buildings  that  he  erected 
Luis  Obispo  burned  down  in  1898,  but  he 
has  since  replaced  them  with  substantial  brick 
buildings.     His  holdings  include  large  tracts  in 


the  Chorro  valley,  where  he  has  a  section  of 
fine  land. 

In  politics  Mr.  Johnson  is  a  Democrat.  Dur- 
ing i860  and  1 86 1  he  served  in  the  state  legis- 
lature, where  he  introduced  several  bills.  His 
popularity  was  great  and  his  name  was  favor- 
ably mentioned  for  congress.  Indeed,  he  would 
without  doubt  have  been  elected  had  it  not 
been  for  the  Civil  war,  which  started  factions 
before  unknown.  For  eleven  years  he  served  as 
chairman  of  the  town  board,  and  it  was  largely 
due  to  his  efforts  that  the  city  was  incor- 
porated, under  act  of  congress,  in  1867.  In  the 
same  year  he  drafted  the  bill  to  settle  the  town 
titles  to  the  actual  occupants  and  secured  its 
passage  by  the  legislature,  thus  preventing  any 
litigation.  For  many  years,  while  serving  as 
school  trustee,  he  was  able  to  promote  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  the  city.  Through  the  sys- 
tem of  breakwater  which  he  started  at  Port 
Harford,  a  good  harbor  was  made  possible 
there,  which  in  itself  is  of  the  greatest  benefit 
to  the  county.  In  i860  he  took  up  his  home  on 
a  ranch  near  town,  where  he  erected  a  large 
adobe  residence  and  made  other  improvements. 
Since  then  he  has  made  his  home  on  this  place. 
Years  ago  he  brought  some  cuttings  of  grape 
vines  from  Los  Angeles,  which  he  set  out,  and 
now  has  the  oldest  vineyard  in  the  county. 

Added  to  his  other  abilities  Mr.  Johnson  has 
a  taste  for  literature  and  wields  a  ready  pen. 
In  1882  he  wrote  a  history  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  which  was  published  in  the  San  Luis 
Tribune.  At  different  times  he  has  contributed 
articles  to  local  papers,  and  often  assumed  the 
editorial  chair  of  the  Tribune  when  it  was  un- 
der the  administration  of  Walter  Murray,  its 
founder.  Additional  weight  is  given  to  his  writ- 
ings from  the  fact  that  he  has  been  identified 
with  the  county  for  a  longer  period  than  almost 
any  other  man  now  resident  here.  Besides  his 
fondness  for  literature,  he  has  another  "hobby," 
love  of  travel.  During  his  early  life  he  traveled 
much  and  widely,  thereby  acquiring  a  fund  of 
cosmopolitan  information  whose  value  cannot 
be  overestimated.  In  later  years  he  has  retained 
his  fondness  for  a  study  of  life  in  other  lands 
and  with  other  people.  During  1894  he  made 
a  tour  of  the  world,  at  which  time  he  visited  not 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


I'll  7 


only  the  points  seen  in  his  voyages  nearly  forty 
years  before,  but  also  traveled  through  Great 
Britain,  France,  Switzerland,  Austria,  Italy, 
Germany,  India,  China  and  Japan. 


JACOB  A.  BLACKBURN. 

The  life  which  this  narrative  sketches  began 
in  Springfield,  Ohio,  June  12,  1823,  and 
closed  in  Watsonville,  Cal.,  January  23,  1893. 
Within  these  seventy  years  is  a  record  of  much 
accomplished  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-citi- 
zens, many  improvements  introduced  of  lasting 
value  to  the  Pajaro  valley  and  substantial  inter- 
ests established  that  left  his  family  in  comfort- 
able circumstances  at  his  death.  He  was  a  son 
of  Joseph  and  Margaret  (Drew)  Blackburn,  and 
a  descendant  of  a  colonial  family,  maintaining  a 
keen  pride  in  the  fact  that  his  grandfather  bore 
a  valiant  part  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and 
endured  all  the  hardships  of  that  memorable 
winter  at  Valley  Forge.  His  father,  too,  was  a 
man  of  patriotic  spirit  and  bore  arms  in  the  sec- 
ond struggle  with  England. 

At  the  time'Jacob  A.  Blackburn  was  a  small 
child  his  father,  who  was  engaged  in  the  cattle 
and  transportation  business,  met  death  by  ac- 
cidentally drowning.  The  mother  later  became 
Mrs.  Bell  and  in  1838  moved  to  Henderson 
countv.  111.  When  her  son  was  nineteen  years 
of  age  he  secured  employment  on  a  Mississippi 
river  flatboat  and  met  with  a  degree  of  success 
that,  instead  of  satisfying  him,  made  him  am- 
bitious to  secure  larger  returns.  At  the  time 
of  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the  Pacific  coast  he 
felt  the  time  had  come  for  a  change  and  so  de- 
cided to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  great  west.  In 
the  spring  of  1849,  in  company  with  a  party  in 
charge  of  Colonel  Finley,  he  outfitted  for  Cali- 
fornia. The  expedition  consisted  of  light 
wagons,  witli  no  extra  merchandise.  Conse- 
quently they  were  able  to  make  as  much  as 
twenty-five  miles  a  day,  and  thus  reached  their 
destination  in  ninety  days.  In  many  respects 
they  were  more  fortunate  than  most  overland 
travelers,  for  they  were  unmolested  by  Indians 
and  suffered  no  greater  hardships  than  scarcity 
of  water  and  the  difficulty  of  crossing  swollen 
streams. 


On  his  arrival,  in  August  of  1849,  Mr.  Black- 
burn began  mining  on  the  Yuba  river,  but  soon 
went  to  Santa  Cruz,  where  he  landed  November 
26,  same  year.  The  town  was  of  special  interest 
to  him,  as  being  the  home  of  his  brother,  the 
late  Judge  William  Blackburn,  who  became  the 
first  alcalde  under  the  municipal  government 
and  later  held  office  as  county  judge.  Shortly 
after  his  arrival  Mr.  Blackburn  purchased  a  saw- 
mill, and  this  he  conducted  until  1852,  when  he 
embarked  in  the  general  mercantile  business  in 
Watsonville  as  a  partner  of  L.  Godchaux.  their 
store,  which  was  one  of  tiie  first  in  the  village, 
occupying  the  present  site  of  the  postoffice,  on 
the  corner  of  Peck  and  Main  streets.  The  net 
gains  of  the  first  year,  $20,000,  were  so  gratify- 
ing that  he  enlarged  the  business  and  increased 
the  stock.  At  the  same  time  he  associated  him- 
self with  his  brother  in  raising  potatoes,  which 
industry  had  been  conducted  with  remarkable 
success  in  this  locality  during  preceding  years. 
However,  in  1853  everyone  who  could  buy  or 
rent  land  determined  to  raise  potatoes  and  there 
was  an  overproduction,  so  that  the  losses  were 
heavy.  Not  only  did  Mr.  Blackburn  lose  per- 
sonally in  his  potato  ventures,  but  he  also  ex- 
perienced heavy  losses  through  selling  large 
quantities  of  goods  on  credit  to  the  potato  plant- 
ers, relying  upon  the  prospects  of  an  abundant 
crop  at  fair  prices.  Thus  the  losses  of  1853 
wiped  out  his  gratifying  gains  of  the  preceding 
year. 

Selling  out  to  his  brother  James,  in  1855,  Mr. 
Blackburn  returned  to  Santa  Cruz  and  acquired 
real  estate  in  Blackburn  gulch  by  laying  school 
warrants  on  the  land.  In  1858  he  purchased 
one-third  interest  of  one  of  the  twelve  heirs  of 
the  Roderigucz  estate  in  the  celebrated  Pajaro 
valley,  which  made  him  the  possessor  of  valuable 
land  adjoining  Watsonville,  as  well  as  one-thir- 
ty-sixth interest  in  the  town.  Here  he  settled  in 
1862  and  ever  afterward  made  his  home.  The 
previous  year  he  planted  an  orchard  which  is 
still  in  fine  bearing  condition,  witli  trees  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  inches  in  diameter.  Many- 
orchards  were  planted  in  early  days,  but  there 
being  no  railroad-  1  ir  1  'ill''  Fa<  ilities  f<  >r  h 
the  fruit  rotted  on  the  trees,  and  so  the  land 
was  gradually  turned  over  to  the  more  profitable 


1".IS 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


cultivation  of  grain.  However,  Mr.  Blackburn 
persisted  in  cultivating  his  orchards,  believing 
that  as  the  region  became  populated  and  rail- 
roads were  built  there  would  be  a  demand  for 
fruit.  Another  matter  on  which  he  insisted  was 
the  raising  of  the  finest  qualities,  and  few  ac- 
complished more  in  this  direction  than  did  he. 
The  years  passed  by  and  it  seemed  as  if  the 
world  would  not  soon  hear  of  the  Pajaro  valley 
apples,  but  by  chance  they  were  brought  before 
buyers.  When  the  apples  of  the  Santa  Clara 
valley  became  affected  by  insects  L.  G.  Soreso- 
vich  sent  from  San  Jose  to  buy  up  fruit  in  the 
Pajaro  valley  and  thus  the  fine  quality  of  the 
products  became  known. 

Forming  an  association  with  James  Waters, 
in  1867  Mr.  Blackburn  established  the  Pajaro 
A'alley  Nursery,  and  for  several  years  did  all  he 
could  to  sell  a  high  grade  of  fruit  trees,  setting 
out  apple  orchards  and  berry  gardens.  Many 
varieties  were  brought  from  the  east  to  test 
their  adaptability  to  California  climate  and  soil, 
and  some  of  these  have  since  become  standard 
grades.  In  the  introduction  of  walnut,  chestnut, 
pecan  and  sassafras  trees,  he  was  a  pioneer,  and 
the  importance  of  his  work  cannot  be  ad- 
equately estimated  by  one  not  familiar  with  the 
subject.  One  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Santa 
Barbara  county  which  he  purchased  and  on 
which  for  years  he  conducted  stock-raising  and 
general  farming  are  yet  owned  by  his  heirs. 
In  addition  he  owned  valuable  property  in  Wat- 
sonville  and  was  a  silent  partner  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  conducted  by  C.  J.  Averrett. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Blackburn  in  1854 
united  him  with  Arminda  Short,  whose  father, 
Stephen  Short,  was  a  pioneer  of  California. 
Born  of  their  marriage  were  the  following  chil- 
dren:Harry,  who  died  at  twenty-two  years,  while 
he  was  serving  as  districl  deputy  for  State  Sen- 
ator Thomas  Beck;  Mary,  who  resides  with  her 
mother;  Lula.  who  married  Charles  J.  Averrett 
and  has  three  children,  Harry,  Florence  and 
I  h  irhas,  who  died  al  three  j  ears  "f  age; 
and  Frank,  a  merchant,  who  married  Minnie 
Hudson  and  has  one  child,  Charis 

The    important     personal     interests    of     Mr. 

b  irn  did  not  prevent  him  from  interesting 

himself  in  affair-  affecting  the  prosperity  of  his 


city  and  commonwealth  and  the  welfare  of  his 
fellowmen.  His  service  of  twelve  years  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  supervisors  covered  an 
important  period  in  the  county's  history  and 
was  productive  of  good  along  various  lines.  A 
friend  of  the  public-school  system,  during  his 
service  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  the  office 
of  school  trustee  he  introduced  many  improve- 
ments, promoted  the  grade  of  scholarship,  se- 
cured the  adoption  of  modern  text  books,  and  in 
other  ways  proved  himself  a  man  of  enterprise 
as  well  as  a  believer  in  education  for  all.  Dur- 
ing the  existence  of  the  Order  of  Red  Men  he 
was  connected  with  that  organization,  and  he 
was  also  active  in  the  work  of  the  Odd  Fellows. 
While  not  identifying  himself  with  any  denom- 
ination, he  was  a  liberal  giver  to  religious  and 
charitable  movements  and  a  contributor  to  the 
erection  of  houses  of  worship  in  various  parts 
of  the  valley. 


SILAS  B.  CALL. 

San  Luis  Obispo  contains  innumerable  re- 
minders of  the  meritorious  career  of  Silas  B. 
Call,  who  for  many  years  was  one  of  the  suc- 
cessful operators,  in  its  busy  marts  of  trade,  and 
accumulated  large  worldly  recompense  through 
unremitting  industry  and  business  sagacity.  He 
was  born  in  Newport,  N.  H.,  where  he  spent 
the  early  part  of  his  life,  and  where  his  father, 
Stephen,  also  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  was 
a  very  successful  man  and  large  land  owner. 
The  elder  Call  was  well  and  favorably  known 
in  his  native  state,  where  his  four  score  years 
were  passed,  and  he  was  the  largest  taxpayer  in 
Sullivan  county.  Of  English  descent,  his  fam- 
ily was  first  represented  in  America  by  three 
brothers  who  emigrated  from  England  and  set- 
tled in  the  east,  and  his  father.  Nathan,  the 
paternal  grandfather  of  Silas  B..  removed  at  a 
ver\  early  da}  to  New  Hampshire.  Stephen 
Call  married  into  a  family  intimately  connected 
with  the  Revolutionary  w"ar.  for  the  father  of 
his  wife,  formerly  Pauline  Dunham,  fought  at 
the  battles  of  Monmouth  and  Brandywine. 
There  were  six  sons  and  two  daughters  born 
to  M,  and  Mrs.  Call,  of  whom  Silas  B.  was  the 
poungesl       One   of  the    sons,    Dial,   lives   near 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Newport,  N.  H.,  and  is  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
while  Henry  and  Nathan  live  at  Santa  Cruz, 
Cal.,  having  settled  there  in  1855.  James  was  a 
soldier  during  the  Civil  war,  but  since  1866  has 
never  been  heard  from,  and  it  is  generally  sup- 
posed that  he  is  dead.  George  is  in  Sheridan 
county,  Ore.  One  sister,  Mrs.  Hannah  Ainger, 
is  now  deceased,  while  the  other,  Mrs.  R.  Gun- 
nison, lives  in  Iowa. 

Notwithstanding  his  father's  prosperous  con- 
dition, Silas  B.  Call  was  reared  to  an  apprecia- 
tion of  the  dignity  of  labor,  and  of  the  honor 
attached  to  independence  and  business  ability. 
When  fifteen  years  of  age  he  began  to  learn  the 
harness  and  saddle  trade  with  Edward  Wheeler, 
of  Newport,  which  gentleman  was  the  author 
of  the  Newport  History.  At  the  expiration 
of  five  years  Silas  had  qualified  as  a  master  me- 
chanic, and  upon  starting  out  to  make  his  own 
way  went  to  Lowell,  Mass.,  where  he  found  em- 
ployment and  remained  one  year.  Not  being 
favorably  impressed  with  the  business  chances 
in  the  staid  and  conservative  New  England  town 
he  set  out  for  the  west,  locating  first  in  Santa 
Cruz.  Cal.,  working  one  year  for  a  Mr.  Peter- 
son. In  the  fall  of  1861  he  came  to  San  Luis 
Obispo  and  established  a  saddle  and  harness 
business,  which,  from  a  small  beginning,  grad- 
ually assumed  substantial  and  permanent  pro- 
portions. The  continuous  success  of  his  enter- 
prise gained  for  him  recognition  among  the 
commercial  factors  of  the  place,  and  the  large 
patronage  enabled  him  to  make  numerous  ad- 
vantageous investments  in  town  and  county. 
He  became  the  possessor  of  several  business 
bouses  on  Monterey  street,  and  his  activities 
extended  into  various  avenues  remote  from  his 
saddlery  business.  He  died  May  26,  1880,  at 
the  age  of  forty-two.  Had  he  lived  to  be  an 
older  man,  he  would  doubtless  have  instituted 
even  larger  successes.  As  it  was,  he  stood  very 
high  in  the  public  regard,  and  his  unquestioned 
integrity  and  liberality  was  a  matter  of  pride 
with  all  who  knew  him. 

The  many  interests  of  Mr.  Call  have  been  car- 
ried on  since  his  death  by  his  widow,  who  was 
before  her  marriage  Emeline  Lunccforde, 
daughter  of  William  Lunceforde,  a  successful 
farmer   of   Illinois.       Mr.    Lunceforde   married 


Mrs.  Mary  Trent  Holdaway,  of  East  Tennessee. 
They  resided  near  Lebanon.  St.  Clair  county, 
III,  until  1852,  when  they  with  their  four  chil- 
dren, William  T.,  Nancy  E.,  Sarah  M.  and  Cyn- 
thia M.,  started  for  the  west,  arriving  in  Cali- 
fornia in  1854,  settling  in  El  Dorado  county 
and  engaging  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He 
was  prosperous,  enterprising  and  public-spirited 
and  was  entitled  to  the  distinction  accorded 
bravery  because  of  his  participation  in  the  In- 
dian wars.  In  186 1  Mr.  Lunceforde  and  family 
came  to  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  where  the 
father  and  mother  spent  their  closing  days.  All 
of  the  children  still  survive  them;  William  T. 
and  Sarah  M.  reside  in  San  Bernardino,  Cyn- 
thia M.  in  Santa  Barbara  county,  and  Nancy  E. 
(Mrs.  Call)  in  San  Luis  Obispo.  Of  the  chil- 
dren born  to  Mr.  and  and  Mrs.  Call,  there  were 
three  sons  and  one  daughter.  Silas.  Reuben 
and  Stephen  Albert  are  living  at  home,  and 
Lena  is  the  wife  of  W.  R.  Spence,  formerly  of 
San  Francisco,  now  a  resident  of  San  Luis 
Obispo.  Ralph,  the  youngest,  died  at  the  age 
of  seven.  By  a  former  marriage  to  Cyrus 
Snell,  Mrs.  Call  had  one  daughter,  Rhoda,  who 
is  the  widow  of  Charles  H.  Reed.  Mrs.  Call 
inherits  the  estate  of  her  husband,  including  the 
large  stores  on  Monterey  street.  Since  his 
death  she  has  erected  a  fine  brick  building, 
where  was  formerly  a  frame  structure.  Another 
fine  property  owned  by  Mrs.  Call  is  that  occu- 
pied by  the  hardware  store  of  C.  H.  Reed  Com- 
pany. The  family  residence  is  one  of  the  most 
delightful  and  homelike  in  the  town,  and  Mrs. 
Call  is  a  genial  and  hospitable  acquisition  to  the 
social  life  of  the  community. 


TRUMAN  ANDREWS. 

With  the  innumerable  throng  of  eastern  men 
whom  the  discovery  .if  -did  drew  to  California 
tame  Mr.  Andrews,  a  pioneer  of  1850.  He  was 
born  in  Utica,  Oneida  county,  X.  V..  in  1822. 
and  was  a  son  of  Edwunand  Ellen  (Van  Vlaeck) 
Andrews.    When  a  bo;  I  the  common 

-ehnnls  of  Utica.  where  he  received  advantages 
perhaps  better  than  those  accordi 
of  thai   day.      1 1'    ••  as       ;  oung  man  when  the 
whole   world    .  I   1>y    the   news   that 


HISTORICAL    AND    I ',[<><  iUAPHICAL    RECORD. 


gold  had  been  found  in  California.  With  all 
the  enthusiasm  of  youth,  lie  determined  to  seek 
a  fortune  for  himself  beyond  the  mountains. 
Arriving-  in  the  state  after  a  long  and  wearisome 
journey,  he  proceeded  to  the  mines  near  Co- 
lumbia, but  did  not  find  the  life  of  a  miner  as 
alluring  and  satisfactory  as  he  had  anticipated. 
Turning  his  attention  to  other  pursuits,  in  1852 
he  went  to  Santa  Clara  county  and  took  up  five 
hundred  acres  of  raw  land  just  outside  of  the 
city  of  San  Jose.  The  excellent  pasturage  af- 
forded by  the  land  and  its  close  proximity  to  the 
city  rendered  it  especially  suited  for  dairy  pur- 
poses, and  accordingly  he  gave  himself  to  that 
occupation.  He  was  the  pioneer  dairyman  of 
San  Jose  and  was  well  known  through  all  that 
vicinity.  After  a  time,  however,  the  land  be- 
came too  valuable  to  be  retained  for  dairy  pur- 
poses, and  he  accordingly  disposed  of  it  at  a 
handsome  profit  over  the  cost  price. 

In  18S2  Mr.  Andrews  came  to  San  Luis 
Obispo  county  and  bought  one  thousand  acres 
from  Col.  W.  W.  Hollister.  In  this  way  he  be- 
came the  proprietor  of  the  now  well  known 
Sycamore  ranch,  on  which  he  established  the 
Oak  Hill  dairy.  Having  found  the  dairy  busi- 
ness profitable  in  his  former  home,  he  took  it 
up  with  the  advantage  of  his  previous  expe- 
rience, and  continued  to  conduct  the  dairy  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  his  life.  It  was  his  aim, 
as  a  dairyman,  to  produce  only  the  finest  quality 
of  butter  and  cheese.  No  inferior  article  was 
permitted  to  leave  the  ranch.  His  dealings  with 
others,  in  a  business  way,  were  always  honor- 
able and  fair.  Xo  deceit  or  trickery  ever  entered 
n  business  transaction  or  was  permitted 
by  him.  Through  all  of  Los  Osos  valley  he 
was  known  as  an  honest  and  honorable  man, 
and  hence-  his  death,  which  occurred  March  28, 
1N02.  was  mourned  as  a  public  loss.  Ii  was  the 
united  testimony  of  the  people  that  a  good  man 
had  gone  from  aim  mg  them. 

<  Ine  of  the  improvements  For  which  Mr.    \n- 

st  stanchly  stood  was  the  securing  of 

gi  Mid   roads   i<  >r  San    I  ,uis  I  ibispo  count  5 .  and 

during  his  service  of  many  years  as  overseer  he 

imself  largel)   to  bringing  about  the  re- 

1  greatly  desired  by  him.     In  his  political 

views  he  always   voted   the    Republican  ticket. 


His  marriage  in  1847  united  him  with  Miss  El- 
len Otis,  a  native  of  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.  Six 
children  were  born  of  their  union,  namely:  Otis, 
who  operates  a  farm  near  Redding,  Cal. ; 
Charles,  whose  home  is  in  Oakland,  this  state; 
George,  who  operates  a  portion  of  the  old 
homestead;  Fred  and  Bert,  who  are  also  ranch- 
ers; and  Mary  C,  wife  of  E.  H.  Crawford,  of 
San  Luis  Obispo.  Since  the  death  of  Mr.  An- 
drews his  wife  has  maintained  a  general  super- 
vision of  the  property  which  comprises  ten  hun- 
dred and  thirty  acres,  partly  in  grain,  partly  de- 
voted to  grazing  purposes,  and  the  balance 
utilized  for  the  dairv. 


JOHN  T.  KENT. 

Ever  since  settling  in  Monterey  county  Mr. 
Kent  has  made  his  home  on  a  farm  nine  miles 
from  San  Lucas,  on  the  old  Los  Angeles  stage 
route.  Through  diligent  application  he  has  ac- 
quired five  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land, 
which,  with  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres 
owned  by  his  sons,  makes  eight  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  in  one  body,  the  improvement  of 
which  is  carried  forward  under  the  keen  super- 
vision of  father  and  sons.  While  general  farm- 
ing is  conducted  to  some  extent,  the  crops 
raised  are  used  principally  for  the  feeding  of 
the  stock,  for  Mr.  Kent  believes  that  more  rev- 
enue is  to  be  derived  from  the  raising  of  cat- 
tle, horses  and  hogs  than  from  the  sale  of  the 
crops  in  the  open  markets. 

The  early  home  of  Mr.  Kent  is  far  removed 
from  the  home  of  his  later  years.  He  was  born 
in  Halifax  county.  Nova  Scotia,  August  29, 
1843,  ancl  grew  to  manhood  on  a  farm,  receiv- 
ing such  advantages  as  local  schools  afforded. 
in  [867  he  went  to  West:  Cambridge,  Mass.,  and 
\  months  worked  out,  after  which  he 
went  from  Boston  to  New  York  and  there 
boarded  the  vessel  Rising  Sun  for  California. 
After  a  tedious  voyage  he  reached  the  isthmus, 
crossing  which  he  took  passage  on  a  Pacific 
ocean  ship  and  finally  anchored  in  San  Fran- 
His  firsl  location  in  the  far  west  was  near 
San  Mateo,  where  he  spent  a  few  months  on  a 
ranch.  Later  lie  spent  two  years  as  an  employe 
in  .1   sawmill  at   Santa  Cruz,  and  then  worked  al 


PKDRO  ZABALA 


tSTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Felton  for  a  year.  On  his  return  to  Santa  Cruz 
he  secured  employment  in  the  powder  mill, 
where  he  remained  for  a  year.  From  there,  in 
May  of  1872,  he  came  to  Monterey  county  and 
settled  on  the  farm  he  now  owns.  This  he  se- 
cured by  taking  up  a  homestead  and  pre-emp- 
tion claim.  The  year  before  coming  here  he 
married  Miss  Cynthia  Phillips,  of  Summit 
county,  Ohio.  They  are  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  namely:  Hattie,  who  is  engaged  in 
teaching  school;  Henry  A.,  John  S.,  Merrill  C, 
Persis  A.,  Alfred  and  Pearl  A.  For  six  years 
Mr.  Kent  held  the  position  of  roadmaster  and 
his  service  proved  helpful  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  community  in  the  matter  of  good  roads. 
In  politics  he  supports  Democratic  principles. 


PEDRO  ZABALA. 

As  far  as  lies  in  the  power  of  any  one  indi- 
vidual, Pedro  Zabala  has  illustrated  in  his  life 
the  force  and  control  of  circumstances  which 
characterized  for  generations  the  race  from 
which  he  springs,  and  which  national  traits 
brought  under  the  fluttering  flag  of  Spain  the 
sunniest  isles  of  the  ocean,  the  richest  de- 
pendencies in  the  world,  and  the  most  illustrious 
promoters  of  artistic,  literary,  commercial  and 
maritime  supremacy.  Of  all  the  different  parts 
of  Spain  which  strove  in  friendly  rivalry  to  in- 
crease her  prestige  and  add  to  her  glory,  none 
attained  to  greater  renown  than  did  the  people 
of  Castile,  nor  does  any  name  convey  to  the 
remembering  world  more  of  romance,  grandeur, 
pride  of  birth  or  splendid  culture.  As  far  as 
descent  is  concerned  Mr.  Zabala  is  entitled  to 
special  consideration  apart  from  his  standing, 
for  he  is  the  only  remaining  Castilian  in  this 
part  of  the  state,  who  has  distinguished  him- 
self by  conspicuous  success.  _ 

Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that  any  special  and 
protecting  fortune  directed  the  way  to  the 
large  worldly  possessions  and  the  present  leis- 
ure from  active  business  life  spent  in  his 
beautiful  home  in  Salinas,  for  Mr.  Zabala  has 
hewn  imt  ol  the  hard  mck  of  adverse  cir- 
cumstances the  model  of  his  own  life 
structure.       lie   was    born   in   the    Province  of 


Biscay,  Spain,  in  1825,  and  at  an  early  age  be- 
came an  orphan  and  dependent  upon  his  own 
brain  and  ability.  He  acquired  a  public  school 
education  in  his  native  land,  and  when  twenty- 
one  years  old  departed  from  the  shores  of 
Spain  for  the  less  tried  opportunities  of  South 
America.  The  mercantile  business  in  which 
he  engaged  for  a  year  being  not  entirely  sat- 
isfying, he  followed  the  inclination  of  thou- 
sands who  had  heard  of  the  ready  fortunes 
awaiting  the  ambitious  in  the  gold  fields  of  Cal- 
ifornia, and  landed  in  Monterey  in  October  of 
1849.  His  already  mature  judgment  separated 
the  transitory  gain  of  mining  from  the  per- 
manent advantage  of  more  legitimate  business, 
and  he  therefore  embarked  upon  a  mercantile 
business  in  which  he  wras  engaged  for  eight 
years  in  Monterey.  With  the  solid  backing  of 
this  experience  he  then  located  in  Salinas  City, 
which  at  the  time  had  but  a  few  adobe  build- 
ings and  shacks,  and  was  surrounded  by  new 
and  undeveloped  country.  With  keen  discern- 
ment he  anticipated  the  future  which  is  to- 
day, and  as  proof  of  his  faith  invested  heavily 
iu  land,  principally  in  the  country,  where  huge 
ranches  could  be  purchased  at  a  nominal  price. 
This  property  has  since  increased  in  value  with 
startling  rapidity,  and  the  owner  therefore  has 
the  advantage  to  which  he  is  entitled  by  reason 
of  his  foresight  and  ability  to  purchase.  Shut 
the  very  early  days  his  chief  occupation  has 
been  that  of  stock  raising,  and  for  many  years 
his  large  herds  roamed  at  will  over  his  meadows 
and  uplands,  and  brought  in  correspondingly 
large  returns  from  a  financial  standpoint.  In 
the  meantime  the  innate  refinement,  culti- 
vated mind,  moral  courage  and  appreciation 
of  the  rights  of  those  with  whom  he  was  thrown 
in  contact,  raised  up  for  Mr.  Zabala  hosts  of 
friends,  and  to-daj  his  successes  and  personal 
qualifications  are  responsible  for  his  enviable 
standing  in  the  community.  Tactful,  genial 
and  unostentatious,  he  extends  a  1110. 1  kindl) 
hospitality,  and  is  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school. 
While  living  in  Monterey  Mr.  Zabala  married 
Anita,  daughter  of  W.  1'.  Ilartnell.  also  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Monti  rey  county.  Mr.  Ilart- 
nell was  of  English  birth,  and  in  his  native 
country  was  a    very   prosperous   merchant.     In 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


the  interests  of  a  large  mercantile  house  in 
Liverpool  he  came  to  America  in  1822,  but 
once  arriving  in  California  he  was  so  impressed 
with  the  superior  advantages  to  be  found  here 
that  he  never  returned  to  England.  He  filled 
many  important  positions  here,  was  appraiser 
of  goods  in  the  custom  house  for  several  years, 
and  was  the  first  assessor  of  Monterey  county. 
The  first  also  to  translate  the  laws  from  Span- 
ish into  English,  he  was  appointed  by  Spain 
to  gather  and  report  statistics  as  to  the  num- 
ber and  condition  of  the  missions  in  California, 
and  a  copy  of  his  reports  and  letters  was  pre- 
served in  a  book  which  is  now  one  of  the  treas- 
ured possessions  of  Mr.  Zabala.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Zabala  have  been  born  the  following  chil- 
dren: Pedro,  who  is  one  of  the  most  capable 
attorneys  of  Salinas  and  Monterey  county; 
William  and  Adelberto,  who  have  charge  of  the 
extensive  ranch  and  other  business  affairs  of 
their  father;  John  L.,  who  is  a  physician  in 
San  Francisco;  Ana,  Manuela,  Teresa  and  Vir- 
ginia. The  stanch  friend  of  education,  Mr.  Za- 
bala has  given  his  children  every  advantage 
within  his  power,  and  all  are  a  credit  to  the 
care  which  has  been  so  lavishly  bestowed  upon 
them.  Among  the  most  interesting  possessions 
of  this  early  pioneer  is  the  passport  which  was 
made  out  when  he  desired  to  come  to  this 
country,  and  which  is  dated  December.  1848, 
and  signed  by  Blanco  Encalado,  governor  of 
Valparaiso.  Like  all  passports,  it  contained  a 
full  description  of  the  traveler,  height,  color  of 
eyes  and  hair,  and  business  occupation. 
Through  some  oversight  it  was  not  taken  up  at 
the  North  American  port,  and  it  is  of  exceed- 
ing' rarity  and  value  and  probably  the  only  one 
in  the  state. 


R.  E.  JACK. 


To  the  permanent  settlement  of  the  west  the 
citizenship  of  the  east  has  made  heavy  contri- 
butions.  Prom  the  densely  populated  regions 
of  the  Atlantic  coast  settlers  have  been  drawn 
to  Hi.-  promise  and  fertility  of  the  Pacific  coast 
environments.  Mr.  Jack  came  across  the  con- 
tinent from  Maine  to  California  and  in  this  state, 
-ii  far  remote  from  his  early  home,  he  has  spent 


the  active  years  of  his  life.  He  was  born  near 
the  Kennebec  river  in  Maine  in  September, 
1841,  and  received  his  education  principally  in 
Maine  Wesleyan  Seminary  at  Kent's  Hill,  Ken- 
nebec county,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
.i860.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  went 
to  New  York  City,  where  he  secured  employ- 
ment with  the  shipping  and  commission  house 
of  William  J.  Dewey  &  Co. 

During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Jack  was  a  member 
of  the  New  York  militia  at  the  time  of  Lee's 
raid  on  the  Susquehanna.  He  was  a  volunteer 
in  the  Fifty-sixth  New  York  Infantry,  and  sixty 
days  after  he  had  enlisted  in  that  regiment  the 
negro  riot  broke  out  in  New  York  City,  which 
called  his  company  into  active  service.  Among 
the  several  important  engagements  in  which  he 
took  part  was  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  After 
retiring  from  the  army  he  came  to  California 
and  at  once  engaged  in  sheep-raising  with  Col. 
W.  W.  Hollister,  the  two  purchasing  the 
Cholame  ranch,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  San 
Luis  Obispo  county,  and  extending  over  the 
boundary  line  into  Monterey  county.  At  that 
time  the  ranch  consisted  of  twenty-eight  thou- 
sand acres,  but  its  dimensions  were  later  in- 
creased to  fifty  thousand  acres.  At  the  death  of 
Colonel  Hollister,  his  interests  were  purchased 
by  Mr.  Jack,  who  continues  to  operate  the  ranch 
as  a  sheep  and  cattle  range  and  has  become 
known  as  the  largest  wool-grower  of  Central 
California. 

In  1870  Mr.  Jack  married  Miss  Nellie  Hol- 
lister, whose  father,  Joseph  Hubbard  Hollister, 
was  one  of  the  wealthy  pioneers  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  county.  Born  of  their  union  are  two 
sons  and  two  daughters,  namely:  R.  E.,  Jr., 
who  is  a  student  in  the  California  University; 
Howard  V.,  Gertrude  M.  and  Ethel  E.  Since 
1871  the  family  home  has  been  in  San  Luis 
Obispo. 

In  connection  with  William  D.  Beebee  and 
others,  Mr.  Jack  took  an  active  part  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  County  Bank  of  San  Luis 
Obispo.  For  a  time  this  institution  had  a  pros- 
perous existence.  but  the  long-prevailing 
drought  which  affected  every  industry  of  this 
region  so  crippled  the  hank's  resources  that  it 
was    forced    to  go    into    the    receiver's   hands, 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


through  no  fault  or  mismanagement,  however, 
on  the  part  of  the  officers,  who  were  exonerated 
from  all  blame  by  those  familiar  with  the  cir- 
cumstances. Fraternally  Mr.  Jack  is  connected 
with  the  Knight  Templar  Masons.  In  politics 
he  has  been  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Republi- 
can party,  and  has  served  as  member  of  both 
the  county  and  state  central  committees.  At 
one  time  he  served  as  president  of  the  city  coun- 
cil, and  in  1892  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  national 
Republican  convention  of  Minneapolis,  which 
nominated  Benjamin  Harrison  for  president. 


HENRY  WILEY. 

The  transformation  wrought  in  California 
during-  the  past  forty  or  fifty  years  is  due  to  the 
energy  and  patient  perseverance  of  the  pioneers, 
men  who,  leaving  comfortable  homes  in  the  east, 
identified  themselves  with  the  newer  west,  and 
out  of  its  crudity  evolved  the  present-day  civ- 
ilization. Among  these  men  mention  belongs 
to  Henry  Wiley,  a  retired  farmer  and  capitalist 
of  Watsonville,  who  has  assisted  in  bringing 
the  unimproved  land  of  this  region  under  culti- 
vation to  apples  and  other  fruits,  and  whose 
success  may  be  attributed  to  his  wise  judgment 
and  business  ability. 

Mr.  Wiley  was  born  in  <  ienesee  county,  N. 
Y.,  in  1831,  and  is  a  son  of  Samuel  Wiley,  a 
farmer.  He  was  reared  on  the  home  farm  and 
made  a  success  in  agricultural  pursuits,  but,  not 
being  satisfied  with  the  location  or  climate,  he 
determined  to  seek  the  opportunities  of  the  far 
west.  During  1857  he  made  the  long  voyage  to 
California,  where  he  arrived  in  the  fall  of  that 
year.  For  four  years  he  engaged  in  farming 
on  rented  land,  after  which  he  bought  a  squat- 
ters' right  in  Monterey  county,  consisting  of 
seventy-five  acres  near  Watsonville.  After  a 
year  he  disposed  of  that  place  and  bought  from 
Mr.  Clark'  forty-seven  acres  and  from  Mr. 
Lopus  thirty  acres.  Few  improvements  had 
been  made  on  the  tract,  and  he  at  once  sel  aboul 
the  task  of  clearing  and  cultivating  the  land, 
which  he  brought  under  cultivation  to  apples. 
Later  he  bought  seven  acres  from  Judge  G.  M. 
Bockius,  and  this  he  also  sel  mil  to  apples.  His 
next  purchase  consisted  of  thirty  acres,  bought 


of  K.  F.  Redman,  and  this  he  also  planted  in 
apple  trees.  Some  of  his  apple  orchards  are 
fifteen  years  old,  while  others  were  planted 
eight  years  ago,  and  all  arc  in  a  fine  bearing- 
condition.  As  an  indication  of  the  profitable 
cultivation  of  the  land,  it  may  be  stated  that  Mr. 
Wiley  received  $5,600  from  sixty  acres,  selling 
the  apples  on  the  trees.  Among  the  various 
qualities  raised  he  considers  the  Newtown  pip- 
pin the  most  profitable,  and  a  large  number  of 
these  trees  may  be  found  in  his  orchards.  His 
home  is  in  Watsonville,  where  he  bought  the 
Owen  Tuttle  place  on  West  Third  street  and 
rebuilt  and  remodeled  the  house  into  a  hand- 
some modern  residence. 

April  2,  1855,  before  leaving  New  York 
state,  Mr.  Wiley  married  Miss  Sarah  J.  Cathers, 
sister  of  the  late  James  Cathers,  of  Santa  Cruz 
county.  They  became  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, namely:  Mary  J.,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Johnson, 
deceased;  Margaret,  Mrs.  Edgar  Lewis;  Lizzie, 
at  home;  Olive,  wife  of  C.  H.  Gray,  of  Phila- 
delphia; Grace,  at  home;  and  Henry,  who  died 
at  twenty-two  years  of  age. 


ALBERT  ROSELIP. 

From  boyhood  until  death  Mr.  Roselip  was  a 
resident  of  California,  having  come  to  this  state 
with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  A 
native  of  Berlin,  Germany,  he  received  his  pri- 
mary education  in  the  schools  of  that  city,  and 
afterward  gained  an  English  education  in  Cali- 
fornia. From  an  early  age  he  was  familiar  with 
ranching  and  on  selecting  his  life  work  he  chose 
that  with  which  he  was  best  acquainted  and  to 
which  he  also  seemed  besl  adapted.  As  a 
rancher  in  Contra  Costa  county  he  gained  an 
independent  foothold  and  later  was  similarly  en- 
gaged in  Monterey  county  for  three  years. 
During  1877  he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo 
county.  He  was  forty  years  of  age.  and  in  the 
prime  of  his  activity  and  usefulness.  For  some 
time  after  removing  t<>  this  count}  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  Steele  ranch.  In  [883  he  pur- 
chased fifty-three  acres  of  the  Steele  tra 
Edna  and  settled  on  that   pi  I  md  was 

raw. 

No  attempt  had  been  made  at  improvement, 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


and  the  task  before  him  was  one  requiring 
energy,  industry  and  patience.  Soon,  however, 
as  a  result  of  his  enterprise,  he  had  placed  the 
land  under  cultivation  and  made  the  necessary 
improvements.  He  then  leased  other  tracts 
until  he  was  cultivating  large  holdings,  having 
charge  of  almost  two  thousand  acres  altogether, 
the  larger  part  of  which  was  devoted  to  the 
raising  of  wheat.  Included  in  his  possessions 
was  a  ranch  near  Shandon,  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  while  he  also  farmed  a  large  tract  near 
Creston.  In  addition  to  his  other  interests,  he 
owned  a  threshing  outfit,  which  was  in  demand 
in  every  part  of  the  county,  doing  as  much 
threshing  as  any  machine  in  the  county.  Con- 
stantly he  endeavored  to  improve  his  home 
place,  and  by  the  development  of  a  water  sys- 
tem, the  setting  out  of  numerous  shade  trees 
and  the  building  of  a  substantial  house,  he  made 
of  it  a  valuable  property.  All  of  this  is  espe- 
cially noteworthy  when  it  is  remembered  that  he 
began  wholly  without  means,  and  worked  his 
way  forward  to  prosperity  by  his  unaided  ef- 
forts. It  is  to  such  men  as  he  that  California 
owes  the  development  of  its  material  resources, 
which  had  remained  dormant  during  the  long 
period  of  Spanish  and  Mexican  rule. 

Neither  of  the  great  political  parties  received 
Mr.  Roselip's  support,  as  he  preferred  to  be  in- 
dependent. For  some  years  he  served  as  a  trus- 
tee of  the  Edna  school.  In  1874  he  married 
Miss  Laura  L.  Rassette,  who  was  born  in  Napa 
county,  this  state,  and  is  a  woman  of  much  abil- 
ity, having,  since  her  husband's  death  in  1893, 
not  only  maintained  a  careful  supervision  of  her 
home  and  (rained  their  seven  children  to  man- 
hood and  womanhood,  but  she  has  also  super- 
intended the  home  ranch  with  judgment,  secur- 
ing from  it  a  neat  income  each  year  and  main- 
taining its  improvements  at  the  high  standard 
established  by  Mr.  Roselip. 


A.  R.  BOOTH. 

The  period  of  Mr.  Booth's  residence  in  San 

Luis  Obispo  count)    dates  from   1879.     How- 

cver,  for  almost  twenty  years  prior  to  that  time 

lie  had  been  identified  with  the  far  west  and  had 

time   traveled    much    through   the    Pacific 


coast  region,  following  various  lines  of  business 
and  also  acquiring  mining  interests.  He  came 
to  the  west  from  Michigan,  where  he  was  born 
at  Mount  Clemens  in  1835,  and  where  his  boy- 
hood years  were  passed  in  various  towns.  His 
father,  Rev.  John  Booth,  was  a  native  of  Eng- 
land and  accompanied  his  parents  to  America 
in  childhood,  early  settling  in  Michigan,  where 
he  was  a  pioneer  preacher.  In  the  family  of 
John  and  Jane  A.  (Wisdom)  Booth  there  were 
ten  children,  of  whom  A.  R.  was  next  to  the 
youngest.  When  a  boy  he  had  few  advantages 
save  such  as  his  own  industry  rendered  possible. 
From  an  early  age  he  was  self-supporting,  and 
one  of  the  first  enterprises  in  which  he  was  in- 
terested was  a  drug  store  at  Fenton,  Mich., 
where  he  remained  until  his  removal  to  the 
west. 

In  1858  Mr.  Booth  went  to  The  Dalles,  Ore., 
and  for  a  time  engaged  in  ranching,  after  which 
he  was  connected  with  different  enterprises  in 
Oregon.  Washington  and  Idaho,  even  going  as 
far  north  as  British  Columbia.  He  opened  and 
conducted  a  drug  store  at  Boise  City,  Idaho, 
and  later  was  proprietor  of  a  similar  business  at 
the  mining  camp  of  Tuscarora,  Nev.  The  year 
1879  found  him  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  Cal..  where 
he  opened  a  drug  store  and  for  ten  years  re- 
mained proprietor  of  the  same,  as  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Booth  &  Latimer.  In  1889 
he  came  to  Paso  Robles  and  opened  a  drug 
store  at  this  place,  which  he  conducted  until 
1894.  Meantime  he  had  also  sold  his  interest 
in  the  store  at  San  Luis  Obispo  to  Mr.  Lati- 
mer. The  next  enterprise  in  which  he  became 
interested  was  the  real  estate  and  insurance 
business,  the  handling  of  all  kinds  of  city  and 
country  property,  acting  as  agent  for  many  of 
the  large  ranches,  and  representing  many  of  the 
best  insurance  companies.  In  addition,  he  was 
agent  for  the  Town  Site  Company,  the  Paso 
Robles  hotel,  and  Blackburn  Bros.  At  this 
writing  he  handles  almost  all  of  the  real  estate  in 
the  city,  to  the  building  up  of  which  he  has  been 
a  constant  contributor.  Associated  with  Hon. 
1 ).  \Y.  James,  lie  lias  done  much  to  develop  the 
northern  part  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county  and 
has  been  especially  helpful  in  the  grading  of 
country  roads. 


WII.I.IAM  GRISWUI.I) 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


309 


In  the  organization  of  the  Paso  Robles  Lodge 
of  Masons  Mr.  Booth  was  one  of  the  most  ac- 
tive workers.  He  was  interested  in  forming 
the  stock  association  which  erected  the  building 
in  which  the  lodge  now  meets,  also  acted  as  the 
second  master  of  the  lodge.  He  has  risen  to 
higher  degrees  in  the  order  than  those  of  the 
blue  lodge,  being  a  member  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
Chapter  No.  27,  R.  A.  M.;  and  San  Luis  Com- 
mandery  No.  209,  K.  T.  The  Paso  Robles  Im- 
provement Club  numbered  him  among  its  or- 
ganizers, and  he  has  been  one  of  its  active 
workers.  Believing  most  thoroughly  in  Re- 
publican principles,  he  has  been  a  local  leader  of 
the  party  and  has  served  as  a  member  of  the 
county  central  committee.  His  service  in  the 
party  received  a  fitting  recognition  in  January, 
1900,  when  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Paso 
Robles,  and  this  office  he  still  holds. 

While  living  in  Nevada,  in  1878,  Mr.  Booth 
married  Mrs.  Susie  Raynor.  They  have  four 
children,  namely:  Frederick  G.,  who  is  a  med- 
ical student  in  San  Francisco;  Frank  J.,  who  is 
a  student  in  the  State  University  at  Berkeley, 
where  he  is  taking  a  course  in  mechanical  engi- 
neering; Eugene  L.,  at  home;  and  Clara  J. 


WILLIAM  GRISWOLD. 

During  his  long  connection  with  the  vicinity 
of  San  Lucas,  Monterey  county,  Judge  Gris- 
wold  has  been  associated  with  many  enterprises 
for  the  benefit  of  the  village  and  the  advance- 
ment of  the  general  welfare.  He  was  born  in 
Catskill,  N.  Y.,  November  15,  1847,  and  was 
reared  on  a  farm  in  Delaware  county,  meantime 
attending  the  district  schools  and  also  acquir- 
ing a  thorough  knowledge  of  agricultural  pur- 
suits. Not  content  to  remain  in  the  east,  at 
nineteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  California 
and  settled  in  the  Salinas  valley,  where  he  was 
employed  by  Messrs.  Abbott  and  Hitchcock  for 
five  years.  The  following  year  he  was  in  the 
employ  of  John  G.  Armstrong.  With  the  means 
he  had  thus  accumulated  he  invested  in  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  and  established 
a  postoffice,  known  as  Griswold,  on  his  ranch, 
where  he  made  his  home  from  1874  until  1887. 
Meantime  he   had  become  a  man  of  influence 


in  his  community.  His  advice  was  often  sought 
by  people  in  the  adjustment  of  difficult  claims 
or  the  purchase  of  property.  From  1878  to 
1887  he  filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  his  service  was  eminently  satisfactory  to  all 
concerned. 

On  leaving  the  ranch  Judge  Griswold  came 
to  San  Lucas  and  embarked  in  the  mercantile 
business,  building  up  a  fair  trade  among  the 
people  of  the  locality,  who  soon  came  to  appre- 
ciate his  fair  business  dealings  and  reliability  as 
a  merchant.  During  much  of  the  time  he  has 
lived  in  San  Lucas  he  has  filled  the  office  of 
postmaster,  having  served  prior  to  Cleveland's 
administration  and  also  six  years  under  Presi- 
dent McKinley.  An  ardent  Republican,  he  as- 
sisted in  organizing  the  first  Republican  club 
in  Monterey  county,  started  during  the  first  ad- 
ministration of  President  Grant,  and  from  that 
time  to  this  he  has  never  wavered  in  his  alle- 
giance to  the  party  of  his  choice.  In  1882  he 
was  initiated  into  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  at  Salinas  and  retained  his  mem- 
bership there  for  some  time,  but  is  now  con- 
nected with  the  King  City  Lodge.  In  the  Order 
of  Knights  of  Pythias  he  is  a  charter  mem- 
ber at  San  Lucas  and  the  present  district  dep- 
uty. It  is  noteworthy  that  he  held  the  office 
of  master  of  finance  fourteen  terms  and  that  of 
exchequer  for  six  years.  Six  times  he  was 
elected  to  represent  the  lodge  in  the  grand 
lodge  of  the  state,  and  at  this  writing  he  is  cap- 
tain of  the  Uniform  Rank.  His  homestead  con- 
sists of  twelve  hundred  acres  in  one  body,  with 
the  improvements  that  have  been  made  by  him 
since  the  place  came  under  his  ownership.  In 
1882  he  married  Samantha  Baldwin,  by  whom 
he  had  two  children,  one  dying  in  infancy,  and 
the  other,  Ruth,  being  with  her  father  in  the 
family  home.  Airs.  Griswold  died  September 
30,  1 90 1. 


K.  F.  REDMAN. 

The  home  of  Mr.  Redman  is  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial residences  of  Watsonville  and  presents 
an  attractive  appearance  to  the  passer-by.  with 
its  finely  kept  grounds  ornamented  with  palms, 
shrubbery  and  flowers,  and  with  its  neat  rows 


HISTORICAL    AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RKCORD. 


of  fruit  trees  and  its  gardens  of  berries.  Besides 
this  residence  he  is  the  owner  of  ranching  prop- 
erty and  valuable  fruit  orchards.  He  has  always 
been  interested  in  fruit-raising  and  takes  a  just 
pride  in  the  success  which  this  industry  has 
gained  in  the  Pajaro  valley. 

In  Nelson  county,  Ky.,  Mr.  Redman  was  born 
in  1828,  a  son  of  Richard  Redman.  When  a 
boy  he  accompanied  the  family  to  Missouri  and 
settled  on  a  farm,  where  he  grew  to  manhood. 
He  can  scarcely  recall  when  he  first  became  in- 
terested in  horticulture.  The  industry  always 
possessed  a  special  charm  for  him.  The  soil  and 
climate  in  Missouri  were  adapted  to  fruit-rais- 
ing, especially  to  peaches,  and  he  was  anxious 
to  try  his  luck  in  the  industry,  but  his  father 
preferred  to  devote  the  land  to  the  cattle  busi- 
ness. Once,  when  a  boy,  he  asked  his  father 
if  he  might  plant  some  peach  pits  and  grow 
peaches,  but  was  told  to  go  away  and  play  and 
not  tn  persist  in  such  desires,  as  the  cattle 
would  eat  up  the  trees.  However,  the  lad  had 
a  determined  will  and  persisted  until  consent 
was  given.  The  pits  were  planted  and  in  three 
years  the  trees  showed  a  gratifying  growth. 
Soon  he  had  peaches  for  the  family  and  for 
neighbors. 

Accompanying  a  party  of  westward-bound 
emigrants,  in  1847  Mr.  Redman  crossed  the 
plains  to  Oregon,  which  was  then  attracting 
many  home-seekers.  For  two  years  he  tried 
mining,  in  which  he  met  with  success,  but  when 
an  attempt  was  made  to  dam  up  the  American 
river,  he  decided  further  work  was  unwise,  and 
so  returned  to  Missouri.  Buying  a  large  tract 
of  land,  he  paid  cash  for  a  portion  and  gave  his 
note  fur  the  balance.  Soon  he  had  the  land 
under  cultivation  and  was  able  to  pay  for  the 
entire  tract.  I  fowever,  though  his  surroundings 
were  favorable  in  .Missouri,  he  never  forgot  Cal- 
ifornia,  and  in  [864  again  crossed  the  plains, 
having  disposed  of  his  Missouri  property. 

\ftrr  visiting  various  places,  Mr.  Redman 
0  the  Pajaro  valley  and  in  1865  purchased 
iln  Isaac  Williams  ranch.  Mere  he  planted  one 
of  the  rirsl  orchards  in  the  valley,  which,  under 
his  wise  supervision  and  oversight,  was  devel- 
oped  into  a  good-bearing  orchard.  This  ranch 
he  still  owns,     lie  has  set   out   one  hundred  and 


twenty  acres  in  trees,  besides  sixty  acres  west 
of  Watsonville,  of  which  fifty  acres  are  in  trees. 
In  all  of  his  work  he  had  the  assistance  and 
cheerful  co-operation  of  his  wife,  Matilda  (Fer- 
rell)  Redman,  in  whose  death,  February,  1899, 
at  seventy-seven  years  of  age,  the  family  suffered 
a  deep  bereavement.  Their  children  arc:  Mrs. 
Sarah  Tuttle;  James;  Mrs.  Mary  Oliver;  K. 
Fayette,  Jr.,  who  occupies  the  Lake  avenue 
ranch;  Lavina,  at  home;  Christy  G.,  who  has 
charge  of  the  sixty-acre  ranch;  and  Oda,  a 
teacher  in  Watsonville.  The  family  stand  high 
among  the  people  of  their  home  city,  and  Mr. 
Redman  is  a  contributor  to  measures  of  merit. 
At  no  rime  has  he  aspired  to  office,  although  he 
consented  to  occupy  the  office  of  councilman, 
and  in  this  position  was  able  to  promote  the  in- 
terests of  the  city  by  championing  enterprises  of 
unquestioned  value  to  the  city's  further  develop- 
ment. 


MANUEL  R.  MERRITT. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  resident  of  Monterey 
county  more  familiar  with  its  resources  than 
Mr.  Merritt.  who,  having  spent  his  entire  life 
within  its  boundaries,  is  well  qualified  to  judge 
concerning  its  prospects  and  advantages.  He 
was  born  in  Monterey.  June  8.  1855.  and  is  a 
son  of  the  late  Judge  Josiah  Merritt.  When  he 
was  fourteen  his  father  died,  and  he  left  school 
for  the  purpose  of  making  his  own  way  in  the 
world.  Hearing  his  brother  speak  of  printing- 
offices,  he  decided  to  seek  employment  in  one, 
and  very  soon  he  was  at  work  in  the  composing 
room  of  the  Monterey  Republican,  where  he 
thoroughly  learned  the  printer's  trade.  When 
only  eighteen  years  of  age  he  became  editor  of 
the  Monterey  Herald,  publishing  it  in  connec- 
tion with  E.  Curtis,  later  on  the  editorial  staff 
of  the  San  Francisco  Chronicle.  At  the  same 
time  he  was  connected  with  the  Castroville 
Argus.  On  selling  out  his  newspaper  interests 
in  1878,  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business 
at  Castroville.  where  he  built  up  a  very  large 
and  prosperous  mercantile  business.  During 
the  eight  years  he  was  at  the  head  of  that  store 
he  also  served  as  county  supervisor,  justice  of 
the  peace  and  postmaster.     The  store  at  Castro- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ville  was  eventually  sold  to  Whitcher  &  Co.,  in 
order  that  he  might  devote  his  attention  to  his 
Monterey  interests. 

In  1890  Mr.  Merritt  came  to  Salinas,  where 
he  now  resides.  For  eight  years  he  had  charge 
of  the  county  assessor's  office  under  W.  A.  An- 
derson. On  retiring  from  that  position,  he  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  abstract  business,  and 
is  now  known  as  an  expert  in  this  line,  his  suc- 
cess in  searching  records  and  bringing  down  ab- 
stracts being  little  short  of  remarkable.  In  ad- 
dition, he  has  been  engaged  in  the  real-estate 
and  insurance  business,  in  which  lines  he  has 
built  up  excellent  patronage.  While  living  in 
Castroville,  in  1877,  he  married  Miss  Lizzie 
Townsend,  a  native  of  Alameda  county,  Cal., 
and  daughter  of  an  architect  there.  They  have 
three  sons,  Robert,  Roy  and  Herbert. 

Scarcely  a  local  convention  of  the  Democratic 
party  has  been  held  in  years  in  which  Mr".  Mer- 
ritt has  not  been  a  leading  figure.  For  six  years 
he  acted  as  chairman  of  the  county  Democratic 
central  committee,  and  in  1896  he  acted  as  a 
presidential  elector  for  Bryan.  On  numerous 
occasions  he  has  been  chosen  to  represent  his 
party  in  state  conventions.  It  fell  to  his  lot  to 
act  as  chairman  of  one  of  the  most  noted  Demo- 
cratic conventions  ever  held  in  the  state,  this 
being  at  the  time  of  the  congressional  fight, 
when  all  of  the  prominent  lawyers  of  the  state 
and  the  leading  statesmen,  including  Stephen 
M.  White,  were  present.  Fraternally,  he  is  con- 
nected with  the  Independent  Order  of  For- 
esters, the  Druids  and  the  Native  Sons  of  the 
Golden  West,  in  all  of  which  he  is  past  presi- 
dent. 


JOSEPH  HUBBARD  HOLLISTER. 

Early  in  1802  John  Hollister  moved  from 
Connecticut  to  Ohio,  where,  in  Licking  county, 
he  made  for  himself  a  new  home  in  what  was 
then  the  midst  of  the  frontier.  There  he  mar- 
ried Philena  Hubbard,  daughter  of  a  prominent 
farmer.  They  became  the  parents  of  a  large 
family,  who  inherited  the  sterling  traits  of  the 
parents  and  became  honored  citizens  in  various 
communities.  One  of  their  sons  was  Joseph 
Hubbard,  who  was    born    in  Licking  county, 


Ohio,  March  9,  1820.  With  a  brother,  in  1853 
he  crossed  the  plains  to  California,  driving  the 
first  flock  of  sheep  ever  brought  from  the  east. 
Selling  out  at  a  profit,  he  returned  to  the  east 
in  1856.  In  the  spring  of  1858  he  again  started 
west  with  sheep,  this  time  being  in  partnership 
with  Colonel  Peters.  At  Boonville,  Mo.,  he  met 
for  the  first  time  J.  W.  Cooper,  whose  subse- 
quent history  was  closely  interwoven  with  his 
own.  Cooper,  having  formerly  worked  for 
Colonel  Peters,  was  introduced  by  him  to  .Mr. 
Hollister,  who  was  so  pleased  with  his  appear- 
ance that  he  engaged  him  to  buy  sheep  for  the 
westward  trip.  About  the  1st  of  July,  1858,  the 
train  moved  on  its  way,  along  the  old  Santa  Fe 
trail  through  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  Un- 
fortunately the  sheep  became  lame  and  progress 
was  very  slow.  Frequent  halts  were  necessary. 
November  10  they  arrived  at  Las  Vegas.  From 
there  they  proceeded  to  Sabina,  where  they 
crossed  the  Rio  Grande.  The  train  camped 
along  from  place  to  place  until  Fort  Thorn  was 
reached,  and  there  they  met  twelve  Indian  chiefs 
at  a  great  feast,  the  close  of  which  was  marked 
by  the  smoking  of  the  pipe  of  peace.  To  the 
credit  of  the  Indians  be  it  said  that  they  ad- 
hered to  the  treaty  they  thus  made  and  never 
molested  the  sheep.  However,  there  were  many 
other  hardships  and  trials,  and  in  later  years 
Mr.  Cooper  often  stated  he  could  not  have  en- 
dured the  strain  of  the  trip  had  it  not  been  for 
"that  noble,  high-minded  man,  Hubbard  Hol- 
lister, whom  1  loved  as  a  brother.  He  had  more 
sunshine  in  his  presence,  more  nobility  of  char- 
acter, more  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness,  more 
generosity  and  more  loyalty  than  one  often 
meets  in  this  world." 

One  of  the  heaviest  of  the  reverses  that  met 
the  men  was  the  loss  of  almost  sixteen  thousand 
head  of  sheep.  They  crossed  the  Colorado  river 
at  Fort  Yuma,  and  thence  proceeded  into 
Lower  California  and  from  there  into  San 
county,  arriving  at  San  Gabriel  January  5,  i860. 
Near  Los  Nietos  they  leased  a  ranch  for  a  short 
lime,  thence  moved  to  rancho  San  Dimas,  now 
occupied  by  the  town  of  Pomona.  About  this 
time  Mr.  Hollister  returned  to  Ohio  for  his 
family,  returning  with  them  January  1,  1861. 
The  flocks  were  then  moved  to  the  San   Fer 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


nando  valley  near  Cahuenga,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer following  were  moved  to  higher  lands, 
where  the)  thrived  well.  The  business  then 
began  to  be  remunerative,  bringing  the  part- 
served  returns  for  al!  the  hardships  they 
had  endured.  May  S,  1863,  the  flock,  consist- 
ing of  eleven  thousand  and  five  hundred  sheep, 
was  moved  to  Lompoc,  Mr.  Hollister  and  Mr. 
Cooper  making  Canada  Honda  their  headquar- 
ters. During  the  fall  of  1863  the  Lompoc  and 
Mission  Vieja  de  la  Purissima  ranchos  were 
purchased  for  $60,000,  Hubbard  Hollister  being 
a  partner  with  J.  \V.  Cooper,  Albert  and  Thomas 
B.  Dibblee,  and  Col.  W.  W.  Hollister.  When 
the  facts  of  the  purchase  became  known,  the 
San  Francisco  Bulletin  insisted  that  the  pur- 
chasers "were  a  set  of  blockheads,"  but.  on  the 
contrary,  the  investment  proved  a  most  fortu- 
nate one.  In  the  twelve  years  following  the 
men  purchased  about  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
live  thousand  acres  in  Santa  Barbara  county 
alone,  including  the  ranchos  Santa  Rosa,  Lom- 
poc, San  Julian,  Salsipuedes,  etc.  During  1866 
Hubbard  Hollister  purchased  the  Chorro  and 
San  Lusita  ranches  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county 
and  moved  there  with  his  family,  after  which, 
although  still  in  partnership,  he  was  more  or 
less  separated  from  the  friends  who  had  grown 
to  hold  him  in  such  high  esteem  and  by  whose 
side  he  had  labored  for  so  many  years.  On  his 
home  ranch  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  he  died 
January  5,  1873.  His  death  was  a  deep  be- 
reavement not  only  to  his  family,  but  to  his 
circle  of  intimate  friends  and  associates.  His 
long-time  friend.  J.  W.  Cooper,  says  of  him: 
"Like  all  the  Hollister  brothers,  Hubbard  was 
an  ideal  man.  If  lie  had  any  faults,  they  were 
never  apparent  It  would  take  a  large  number 
ges,  if  I  proposed  to  attempt  a  mere  enu- 
meration  <>i  the  most  conspicuous  good  acts  of 
this  noble  man's  life.  To  the  sick  he  was  the 
most  lender  and  attentive  nurse.  His  mere 
presence  in  the  room  was  most  potent,  and  a 
■all  .hi  an  invalid,  with  a  little  of  his  cheery, 
hopeful  and  sunshiny  ronversation,  did  as  much 

1  .!-  iln  doctor's  prescription.    On  that  long 

journej  across  the  plains,  if  one  of  the  party  was 
ill.  il  was  Hubbard  Hollister  who  insisted  mi 
musing   the  invalid   back   to   health.      If  a   man 


was  over-weary,  it  was  Hubbard  Hollister  who 
insisted  on  doing  an  extra  amount  of  work  in 
order  to  lighten  the  other's  task.  If  a  person 
was  in  any  trouble,  he  had  but  to  call  on  Hub- 
bard Hollister,  and  the  call  for  aid  was  never 
in  vain.  He  was  truly  one  of  God's  noblemen. 
I  was  in  intimate  relations  with  the  man  for  fif- 
teen years,  and  I  never  had  one  harsh  or  angry 
word  with  him.  The  more  I  was  with  him  the 
more  I  loved  him.  He  was  one  of  those  rare 
men  one  meets  but  occasionally  in  a  lifetime." 

June  18,  1843,  Hubbard  Hollister  married 
Ellen,  daughter  of  Joseph  Mossman,  of  Dres- 
den, Ohio.  They  became  the  parents  of  five 
children,  four  now  living,  namely:  Mrs.  Phineas 
Banning,  of  Los  Angeles;  Mrs.  R.  E.  Jack,  of 
San  Luis  Obispo;  Mrs.  Sherman  P.  Stowe,  of 
Santa  Barbara;  and  John  H.,  the  only  son. 
Mrs.    Hollister    died    on    the    Chorro    ranch    in 


ALBERT  PFISTER. 

In  the  capacity  of  cashier  of  the  Citizens 
Bank  of  Paso  Robles,  Mr.  Pfister  is  known  to 
the  majority  of  the  residents  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  and  is  everywhere  recognized  as  a  keen 
financier  and  capable  business  man.  He  is  a 
son  of  Joseph  Pfister,  a  pioneer  of  1850  in  Cal- 
ifornia and  was  born  in  Colusa  county,  this 
-tate.  in  1850.  When  a  boy  much  of  his  time 
was  spent  in  Contra  Costa  county,  and  he  at- 
tended the  public  schools  there  and  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. On  starting  out  for  himself,  he  selected 
the  occupation  of  mechanical  engineer,  which 
he  followed  about  ten  years. 

In  1887,  when  Paso  Robles  was  in  its  in- 
fancy, Mr.  Pfister  came  to  the  new  town.  Look- 
ing around  for  a  suitable  investment,  he  selected 
a  ranch  two  miles  east  of  town,  and  on  this  he 
located.  During  the  next  eleven  years  he  im- 
proved the  property  and  devoted  it  largely  to 
the  raising  of  stock.  Meantime  he  had  formed 
connections  with  other  business  interests.  In 
[893  lie  was  elected  a  director  of  the  Citizens 
Bank  of  Paso  Robles,  and  in  1899  was  chosen 
cashier  of  the  institution,  which  position  he  has 
since  filled,  devoting  his  attention  closely  to  a 
general  supervision  of  the  hank  and  to  an  over- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


SI  J 


sight  of  its  investments,  loans,  etc.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  California  Hankers'  Association. 
Ten  years  after  he  came  to  Paso  Robles  he  be- 
came identified  with  a  new  industry,  being  an 
organizer  of  the  firm  of  Pfister,  Ladd  &  Co., 
dealers  in  hardware  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments. Another  investment  which  he  has  made 
is  the  purchase  of  one-half  interest  in  a  ranch 
of  which  his  brother,  Paul  Pfister,  is  the  man- 
ager. At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the 
Paso  Robles  Improvement  Club  he  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  movement  and  has  since  been 
connected  with  the  club  and  a  member  of  its 
executive  committee. 

Few  men  in  Paso  Robles  have  acquired  a  rep- 
utation more  extended  than  that  of  Mr.  Pfister. 
His  honorable  course  in  business,  excellent 
financial  talent  and  tact  in  the  management  of 
affairs  have  won  for  him  the  confidence  of  the 
community  and  have  given  him  a  high  place  in 
the  regard  of  all  with  whom  business  or  social 
relations  bring  him  into  contact.  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  while  in  politics  he  gives  his 
support  to  the  Republican  party. 


MARK  ELBERG. 

<  )\ving  to  the  long  period  of  his  residence 
in  San  Luis  Ubispo  county  and  his  close  iden- 
tification with  its  ranching  interests,  Mr.  Elberg 
has  become  known  among  a  large  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances in  the  central  coast  regions  of  Cali- 
fornia. Like  many  other  men  who  have  helped 
to  develop  this  state,  he  is  of  foreign  birth 
and  lineage.  Schleswig-Holstein,  Germany,  is 
his  native  place,  and  August  28,  1847,  the  date 
of  his  birth.  His  education  was  such  as  the 
common  schools  of  Germany  afforded.  In 
1870,  after  the  treaty  between  Germany  and 
Denmark,  he  went  to  the  latter  country  and 
enlisted  in  the  Danish  army,  where  he  served 
for  six  months.  However,  the  life  was  not 
congenial  to  him,  and  he  decided  to  seek  an- 
other sphere  of  activity. 

During  1871  Mr.  Elberg  landed  in  Quebec, 
and  from  there  proceeded  overland  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  settled  in  San  Mateo  county 
and  secured  employment  in  a  sawmill  at  Red- 
wood  City.      The  following  year  he    took   up 


farm  pursuits,  settling  on  a  ranch  near  Salinas, 
Monterey  county,  where  he  remained  two  years. 
The  year  1874  found  him  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  of  which  he  has  since  been  a  resident. 
His  first  purchase  here  comprised  one  hun- 
dred acres  near  the  city  of  San  Luis  Obispo, 
and  a  later  venture  was  the  renting  of  the  War- 
den and  Gibson  ranch,  where  he  farmed  for 
two  years  on  a  somewhat  extensive  scale.  Go- 
ing to  the  southern  part  of  the  county  in  1876, 
he  leased  two  thousand  acres,  associated  with 
Tiyson  Brothers.  The  agricultural  operations 
which  they  started  were  the  first  attempted  in 
that  part  of  the  country  and  met  with  success 
larger  than  was  expected.  From  this  ranch, 
in  1880  they  harvested  twenty-seven  thousand 
sacks  of  wheat. 

On  dissolving  this  partnership  Mr.  Elberg 
in  1880  settled  on  a  ranch  of  four  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  in  Los  Osos  valley.  The  land  was 
raw  and  unimproved,  but  he  discerned  possi- 
bilities in  the  soil  that  had  been  overlooked  by 
others,  and  he  at  once  set  to  work  to  place 
the  tract  in  a  condition  where  profits  might 
be  expected  from  its  cultivation.  At  this 
writing  he  has  three  hundred  acres  under  the 
plow,  and  raises  excellent  crops  of  beans,  bar- 
ley, oats  and  wheat.  The  house  which  he 
erected  on  the  ranch  is  one  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial in  the  county,  and  is  furnished  with 
a  regard  for  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  the 
family.  In  addition  to  the  raising  of  various 
farm  products,  Mr.  Elberg  makes  a  specialty 
of  the  dairy  business,  having  a  herd  of  twenty- 
five  head  of  dairy  cows.  The  butter  which 
he  manufactures  commands  a  ready  sale  in 
the  markets.  In  addition  to  the  cows  on  his 
place,  he  has  other  stock,  noticeably  a  number 
of  large  horses  for  draft  work  and  several 
fine  roadsters.  The  excellent  condition  of  his 
ranch  and  the  many  valuable  improvements  he 
has  made  since  coming  hero  in  1880  speak  vol- 
umes for  his  determination,  perseverance  and 
industry.  Indeed,  it  was  only  by  the  constant 
exercise  of  these  traits  through  all  of  the  past 
twenty  or  more  years  that  he  has  been  able 
to  bring  his  homestead  into  its  present  rmpi 
condition  and  mrarke  .inches 

in  Los  Osos  valley. 


:!16 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


That  flourishing  local  enterprise,  the  San  Luis 
Co-operative  Store,  numbers  Mr.  Elberg  among 
its  directors.  Ever  since  becoming  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States  he  has  voted  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket.  His  interest  in  public  schools 
led  to  his  acceptance  of  the  office  of  school 
trustee,  in  which  capacity  he  rendered  efficient 
service  for  many  years.  He  was  also  presi- 
dent of  the  high  school  board  for  a  year.  In 
1882  he  married  Philipena  Peterson,  daughter 
of  H.  L.  Peterson,  and  a  native  of  California. 
They  are  the  parents  of  a  daughter  and  three 
sons,  namely:  Ellen  E.,  who  is  taking  a  special 
course  in  music  in  San  Francisco;  Henry,  who 
is  a  student  in  the  Mount  Tamalpais  Military 
Academy  at  San  Rafael,  Cal.;  Edward  and  Ar- 
thur. In  1900  Mr.  Elberg  took  a  merited  va- 
cation from  the  management  of  his  ranch  and, 
accompanied  by  his  daughter,  returned  to 
Europe,  where  he  enjoyed  a  visit  among  his 
old  associates  and  friends  in  Denmark  and 
Germany,  and  also  visited  Paris  and  other 
points  of  interest  on  the  continent. 


FRANK  F.  KELLOGG. 

The  history  of  the  Kellogg  family  in  Cali- 
fornia dates  from  1849,  when  Giles  P.  Kellogg 
undertook  the  long  voyage  around  the  Horn 
and  arrived  at  the  Golden  Gate  after  a  tedious 
trip  of  seven  months.  He  was  of  eastern  birth 
and  parentage,  born  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  in 
1823,  but  was  reared  principally  in  Connecticut. 
Imbued  with  the  spirit  of  enterprise  that  has 
always  characterized  the  people  of  New  Eng- 
land, early  in  life  he  determined  to  venture  his 
all  in  the  then  unknown  west.  With  a  party 
of  acquaintances,  he  bought  a  vessel,  Henry 
Lee,  which  was  fitted  out  with  provisions  and 
other  necessaries,  and  in  which  the  voyage  was 
made  to  San  Francisco.  Like  all  newcomers,  it 
was  his  ambition  to  try  his  luck  in  the  mines, 
but,  unlike  many,  he  was  successful  in  locating 
two  excellent  claims.  Later  he  turned  his  at- 
tention to  photography  and  still  later  became  in- 
1  Tested  in  the  dairy  business. 

I  »uring  the  fall  of  1867  Giles  P.  Kellogg  and 
his  brother-in-law,  Charles  Laird,  bought  seven 


thousand  acres,  forming  a  part  of  the  old  Spence 
ranch,  and  situated  at  Chualar,  Monterey 
county.  Settling  on  this  property,  he  began  to 
build  up  a  stock  and  dairy  business,  and  also 
gave  some  attention  to  placing  the  land  under 
cultivation.  In  those  days  the  country  was 
practically  uninhabited,  and  the  only  signs  of 
life  hereabouts  were  when  the  old  stage  coach 
passed  by  on  its  infrequent  trips  to  the  towns. 
To  him,  as  to  all  pioneers,  it  was  a  happy  day 
when  settlers  began  to  come  in,  lands  were 
bought,  houses  built,  and  an  era  of  prosperity 
begun  for  the  region  where  he  made  his  home. 
With  the  exception  of  the  last  months  of  his  life, 
he  remained  a  constant  resident  of  this  ranch,  de- 
voting himself  to  its  improvement  and  convert- 
ing it  into  a  source  of  profit.  His  death  oc- 
curred May  28,  1892,  when  he  was  nearly  sev- 
enty years  of  age.  In  politics  he  was  a  Repub- 
lican, keenly  alive  to  the  issues  of  the  age  and 
thoroughly  devoted  to  the  principles  for  which 
his  party  stands.  Fraternally  he  was  associated 
with  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows. 

By  the  marriage  of  Giles  P.  Kellogg  and  Ma- 
linda  Laird  three  children  were  born,  but  the 
only  survivor  is  Edwin  D.  Kellogg,  an  employe 
in  the  custom-house  at  San  Francisco.  The 
second  marriage  of  Giles  P.  Kellogg  was  solem- 
nized in  San  Francisco  August  11,  1865,  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Emelissa  Frisbie,  who 
was  born  in  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  two  children,  Frank  F.  and 
Carrie  J.  The  latter  is  the  widow  of  Frank  M. 
Dunshee  and,  with  her  two  children,  resides  at 
Santa  Barbara.  Frank  F.  Kellogg  was  born  in 
Petaluma  county,  Cal.,  August  24,  1866,  and 
was  only  one  year  old  when  the  family  settled 
on  the  ranch  at  Chualar,  Monterey  county. 
Here  he  grew  to  manhood  and  has  since  made 
his  home,  carrying  on  the  business  established 
by  his  father  and  engaging  with  fair  success  in 
stock-raising  and  general  farming.  Under  his 
supervision  are  one  thousand  acres  of  land,  a 
portion  of  which  is  in  pasturage  for  his  herds  of 
cattle  and  horses.  A  feature  of  his  pursuits  is 
the  dairy  industry,  and  at  this  writing  he  has 
aboul  sixt)  milch  cows  on  his  farm.  In  his  work- 
lie  has  brought  to  bear  modern  methods  and  has 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


zr, 


proved  himself  to  be  progressive,  energetic  and 
resourceful,  interested  in  nil  that  tends  to  im- 
prove farming-  interests  in  his  community. 

While  as  yet  Frank  F.  Kellogg  has  not  been 
active  in  politics,  he  has  strong  convictions  re- 
garding the  issues  before  cur  nation  and  gives 
iiis  support  to  the  Republican  party.  In  Ma- 
sonry he  is  a  member  of  the  blue  lodge  at  Sa- 
linas. His  marriage  took  place  June  i,  1893, 
and  united  him  with  Hannah  Anderson,  by 
whom  he  has  three  children,  Mildred  D.,  Helen 
C.  and  Frank  L.  The  family  have  many  friends 
throughout  Monterey  county,  and  are  highly 
regarded  anions;  their  acquaintances  and  associ- 
ates. 


HON.  JOHN  H.  HOLLISTER. 

During  the  greater  part  of  his  life  Mr.  Hol- 
lister  has  been  a  resident  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
county.  He  was  born  in  Newark,  Ohio,  No- 
vember 27,  1856,  and  accompanied  his  parents 
10  California  when  four  years  of  age.  His  edu- 
cation was  obtained  primarily  in  public  schools, 
after  which  he  took  the  scientific  course  in  the 
California  State  University  at  Berkeley,  and 
was  graduated  with  honors.  On  his  return 
home  he  took  up  cattle  raising  on  a  part  of  the 
Chorro  ranch.  In  1882  he  bought  seventeen 
thousand  acres  of  Las  Chimincas  rancho,  in  the 
eastern  part  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  retain- 
ing, however,  his  home  on  the  Chorro  ranch. 
As  a  partner  of  Frank  Adams,  he  conducted  a 
large  business  in  cattle-raising  on  his  large 
ranch  until  1891,  when  he  sold  the  tract.  Dur- 
ing 1887,  with  Mr.  Adams,  he  bought  the  Santa 
Rosa  ranch  in  Pima  county,  Ariz.,  and  stocked 
the  place  with  five  thousand  head  of  cattle.  By 
sinking  a  well  one  thousand  feet,  they  secured 
an  abundance  of  water  for  their  stock.  Fpr  a 
time  the  business  nourished,  but  finally  a  great 
drought  came  and  the  cattle  died  on  the  prai- 
ries. An  enterprise  that  promised  well  was  thus 
brought  to  an  unfortunate  end. 

Since  boyhood  Mr.  llollister  has  been  inter- 
ested in  dairying  and  has  made  a  specialty  of 
the  manufacture  of  butter.  In  the  buying  and 
selling  of  cattle  he  iias  also  been  a  large  opera- 
tor, and  his  judgment  concerning  stock  is  sel- 


dom al  fault.  In  iSi)fi  he  settled  on  a  portion 
of  the  Corral  de  Piedra  rancho,  consisting  of  . 
one  thousand  acres,  and  here  he  carries  on  gen- 
eral farming  and  dairying.  With  a  herd  of  one 
hundred  dairv  cows,  he  produces  a  fine  grade  of 
butter,  known  throughout  the  central  coast  as 
the  J.  H.  Hollister  creamery  butter,  for  which 
there  is  a  constant  demand  at  fair  prices.  Be- 
sides his  various  ranch  interests,  he  owns  prop- 
erty in  San  Luis  Obispo. 

From  the  time  of  attaining  his  majority,  Mr. 
Hollister  has  voted  with  the  Republicans.  When 
twenty-three  years  of  age  he  was  elected  county 
supervisor,  being  the  youngest  member  the 
board  has  ever  had.  During  his  two  years  of 
service,  the  board  refunded  the  bonded  debt  of 
the  county.  In  1882  he  was  elected  to  the  legis- 
lature from  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  and  served 
from  January,  1883,  until  January,  1885.  Sev- 
eral bills  that  were  of  great  value  marked  his 
work  as  a  legislator.  He  was  the  author  of  an 
act  to  exterminate  fruit-tree  pests  and  to  pre- 
vent disease  in  fruit  trees,  which  became  a  law. 
He  also  introduced  the  bill  to  establish  the  state 
board  of  horticulture  and  to  appropriate  money 
for  the  expenses  thereof.  To  him  belongs  the 
credit  for  the  act  to  protect  the  dairy  interests 
of  the  state  and  known  as  the  anti-oleomar- 
garine law.  He  introduced  an  act  providing  for 
the  return  to  the  government  of  the  remaining 
lands  held  by  the  railroads. 

Since  1872  Air.  llollister  has  been  a  member 
of  the  California  National  Guard,  and  has  held 
commissions  from  the  rank  of  sergeant-major  to 
that  of  major.  For  fourteen  years  he  was  a 
member  of  the  staff  of  the  First  Brigade.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  connected  with  King  David  Lodge 
No.  209,  F.  &  A.  M.:  and  San  Luis  Chapter 
No.  62,  R.  A.  M.  In  1883  he  was  knighted  in 
the  Ventura  Commandery  No.  18,  K.  T,  and 
later  became  an  organizer  of  San  Luis  Com- 
mandery No.   2J.      lie  i-   also  a   member  of  the 

Fraternal   Brotherhood    and    the    W Imen   of 

the  World.  In  1S81  he  married  Flora  M.. 
daughter  oi  Judge  I.  C.  Stocking.  Seven  chil- 
dren were  born  of  their  union,  but  one  of  these, 
Ellen,  died  in  1887.  when  live  years  of  age. 
Those  now  living  are:  John  II..  Jr.;  William 
M..   Marv  B.,  Mora  J.,   FeltOil  S.  and  Ida  G. 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


REV.  P.  HASSETT. 

The  history  of  St.  Patrick's  Roman  Catholic 
Church  of  Watsonville  dates  back  to  1864,  when 
the  parish  was  divided  and  Father  Russell 
began  to  hold  services  at  Watsonville.  Though 
the  village  was  very  small  at  that  time,  there 
were  in  the  vicinity  quite  a  number  of  Roman 
Catholic  families,  and  so  the  new  organization 
started  under  encouraging-  circumstances.  Im- 
mediately after  coming  here  he  began  to  erect  a 
house  of  worship,  but  this  was  not  completed 
until  1869,  under  the  ministry  of  Father  Ma- 
honey.  The  structure  had  a  capacity  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty,  and  was,  at  the  time  of  build- 
ing, one  of  the  most  attractive  and  substantial 
in  the  central  coast  regions. 

In  1879  Father  M.  Marrion  became  rector  of 
the  church  and  he  continued  until  1897,  when 
Father  P.  Hassett  was  chosen  for  the  position. 
The  latter  was  born  in  county  Tipperary,  Ire- 
land, in  1872,  a  son  of  Michael  Hassett.  Giving 
evidence  of  fine  talents,  it  was  decided  that  the 
best  possible  advantages  should  be  bestowed 
upon  him,  and  it  may  be  said  with  justice  that 
he  availed  himself  of  these  to  the  utmost,  prov- 
ing a  diligent  student.  In  1896,  shortly  after 
his  graduation  from  All  Hallows'  College,  he 
crossed  the  ocean  to  America,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded across  the  continent  to  California,  where 
he  was  appointed  assistant  to  Father  McNamee, 
of  Santa  Cruz.  During  his  incumbency  of  this 
position,  which  he  held  until  coming  to  Watson- 
\ille,  he  gained  a  knowledge  of  California  cus- 
toms  and  American  life,  and  thus  was  thor- 
oughly qualified  to  meet  any  emergency  that 
might  arise  in  future  work. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Watsonville, 
Father  Hassett  began  to  take  steps  looking  to- 
ward the  erection  of  a  new  church,  more  com- 
modious than  the  one  in  use.  The  sympathy  of 
his  parishioners  was  aroused,  contributions 
i"  How  in,  and  the  work  of  building  was 
taken  up.  The  beautiful  and  modern  brick 
structure  thai  was  erected  was  consecrated  to 
the  service  of  Cod  in  1902.  In  every  respect  it 
1-  worthy  of  the  prosperous  city  of  Watsonville 
and  the  faithful  labors  of  priest  and  parishioners. 
eating  capacity  is  about  six  hundred  and 


fifty.  Improvements  of  modern  description 
have  been  introduced  and  the  latest  and  most 
approved  methods  of  church  architecture  fol- 
lowed. The  credit  for  the  attractive  church  is 
given  by  the  parishioners  to  their  pastor,  Father 
Hassett,  in  whom  they  place  the  fullest  confi- 
dence, and  whose  wise  course  as  a  leader  proves 
that  the  trust  is  not  misplaced. 


IRA  VAN  GORDON. 

Very  few  of  the  men  now  living  in  California 
came  to  the  state  at  a  period  antedating  the  ar- 
rival of  Mr.  Van  Gordon,  who  merits  distinction 
as  a  pioneer  of  1846.  The  family  of  which  he  is 
a  member  came  from  Holland  in  an  early  day. 
His  grandfather,  a  native  of  New  York,  was 
seriously  wounded  during  his  service  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  The  father,  Gilbert,  who 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1779,  served  in  the 
war  of  1812.  By  his  marriage  to  Lucinda  Ives, 
daughter  of  Benajah  Ives,  also  of  Pennsylvania, 
he  had  eleven  children,  Ira  being  the  eldest  of 
these.  When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  went 
from  Tioga  county,  Pa.,  where  he  was  born 
February  12,  1820,  to  Berrien  county,  Mich., 
where  for  two  years  he  worked  at  a  salary  of 
$15  a  month.  Next,  going  to  Bond  county,  111., 
he  farmed  on  rented  land.  While  living  in  Il- 
linois, in  1841,  he  married  Miss  Rebecca  Har- 
lan, a  native  of  Indiana. 

Accompanied  by  his  family,  Mr.  Van  Gordon 
came  to  California  in  1846  and  settled  at  the 
Santa  Clara  Mission.  For  three  months  he 
served  as  a  soldier  under  John  C.  Fremont, 
after  which  he  went  to  the  San  Jose  Mission 
and  from  there  to  the  redwoods  near  Oakland. 
In  1848  his  wife  died.  Two  sons  born  of  that 
marriage  are  now  living,  Jerome  and  George. 
After  his  wife's  death  Mr.  Van  Gordon  took  his 
children  to  the  mines,  and  they  were  cared  for 
by  an  aunt  while  he  mined.  On  the  return  of 
winter  he  went  to  the  mission,  and  later  planted 
three  acres  of  onions,  which  he  sold  on  the 
ground  for  $3,000.  Going  from  there  to  Los 
Angeles  county,  he  entered  the  grape  industry, 
in  which  he  prospered.  From  1854  to  1855  he 
engaged  in  stock-raising  in  San  Diego  county. 
From  there  he  drove  two  hundred  and  sixty 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


319 


head  of  cattle  and  forty  horses  to  Tulare  county, 
where  he  took  up  government  land  and  carried 
on  a  cattle  business  for  eleven  years. 

Settling  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  in  1868, 
Mr.  Van  Gordon  bought  4,468  acres  of  the  San 
Simeon  ranch  and  established  a  dairy  of  two 
hundred  cows.  Much  of  the  land  was  given  over 
to  the  raising  of  hay,  grain,  potatoes,  cabbage 
and  fruit.  His  first  home  on  the  ranch  was  an 
adobe  house,  but  in  1870  he  erected  a  com- 
modious residence  which  he  provided  with 
every  comfort.  His  second  marriage  was  sol- 
emnized in  Tulare  county,  this  state,  and  united 
him  with  Miss  Agnes  Mary  Balaam,  who  was 
born  in  Arkansas,  of  English  ancestry.  Six 
children  were  born  of  this  union,  namely:  Gil- 
bert, Ira,  Sarah,  Ann  V.,  Sherman  and  Earl.  In 
1886  Mrs.  Van  Gordon  passed  away,  and  since 
then  he  has  made  his  home  with  his  son,  Gilbert. 
At  the  organization  of  the  Grange  he  was  one 
of  its  charter  members.  Politically  he  favored 
the  Republican  party.  No  resident  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  county  is  more  highly  honored  than  he, 
and  while  he  has  now  reached  an  age  when  he 
can  no  longer  engage  actively  in  business,  yet 
he  still  keeps  posted  concerning  public  affairs 
and  shows  the  same  interest  in  the  progress  of 
his  county  that  he  evidenced  during  the  earlier 
vears  of  his  residence  here. 


GILBERT  VAN  GORDON. 

The  interests  with  which  Mr.  Van  Gordon  is 
identified  are  of  a  varied  nature  and  indicate  his 
adaptability  to  different  enterprises  and  the  re- 
sourcefulness of  his  mind.  As  cashier  of  the 
San  Luis  Commercial  Bank  Agency  at  Cam- 
bria, he  is  closely  connected  with  the  finan- 
cial interests  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county;  while 
his  prominence  and  influence  in  the  Republican 
party  have  been  recognized  in  his  appointment 
to  the  office  of  postmaster  of  Cambria.  In  ad- 
dition, he  has  stock  and  ranching  interests. 

A  native  of  Tulare  county,  Cal.,  born  in  1861, 
Gilbert  Van  Gordon  was  six  years  of  age  when 
his  father,  Ira  Van  Gordon,  brought  the  fam- 
ily to  San  Luis  Obispo  county.  He  grew  to 
manhood  in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  was  given 
excellent   public-school    and    collegiate  advan- 


tages. Possessing  a  disposition  in  which  energy 
formed  an  important  factor,  while  still  a  youth 
he  began  to  acquire  stock  and  ranch  interests, 
and  his  ambition  to  succeed  has  always  been  a 
noticeable  feature  of  his  character.  Dairying 
has  always  formed  a  leading  industry  of  San 
Luis  Obispo  county,  and  he  chose  it  as  his  spe- 
cial line  of  activity.  On  a  part  of  the  San 
Simeon  ranch  he  engaged  in  stock-raising  and 
dairying,  and  kept  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dairy  cows,  his  specialty  being  graded  stock. 
At  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  cashiership  of 
the  bank  he  moved  into  town  in  1899,  and  the 
following  year  his  responsibilities  were  increased 
by  his  appointment  as  postmaster  of  Cambria, 
under  President  McKinley.  Another  enterprise 
in  which  he  was  interested  and  the  organization 
of  which  resulted  from  his  efforts  was  the  Home 
Creamery  Association.  He  was  its  president 
and  continued  in  the  position  until  the  cream- 
ery was  burned  down  in  1899. 

While  Mr.  Van  Gordon  cannot  be  called  a 
partisan,  yet  he  is  known  to  be  one  of  the  most 
active  local  workers  in  the  Republican  party, 
and  his  appointment  as  postmaster  was  a  just 
tribute  to  his  successful  work  in  the  party. 
Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  San  Simeon 
Lodge  No.  196,  F.  &  A.  M.;  and  Hesperian 
Lodge  No.  181,  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  in  the  latter  he 
is  past  noble  grand.  By  his  marriage  to  Miss 
M.  H.  Arbuckle,  he  has  two  children,  Horace 
J.  and  Evelyn. 


J.  ANDRESEN. 

The  secretary  of  the  Wahrlich-Cornett  Com- 
pany, of  Salinas  and  Soledad,  is  one  of  the  well- 
known  business  men  and  honored  citizens  ot 
Salinas.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  he  and  the 
president  of  the  company,  William  Wahrlich, 
came  from  the  same  city,  Vpenrade,  a  place  of 
about  six  thousand  inhabitants,  lying  north  of 
Schleswig,  in  the  Prussian  province  of  Schles- 
wig-Holstein.  Around  in  this  part  of  the  prov- 
ince the  Danish  language  was  heard  more  fre- 
quently than  the  German,  owing  to  the  close 
proximity  of  Denmark  and  the  similarity  of  the 

pations  and  interests  of  the  people  in  the 

two  adjacent  countries.     He  was  born  in   1848 


320 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


and  while  still  very  young  was  left  an  orphan, 
without  means,  and  so  at  an  age  when  most 
hoys  are  in  school  he  was  forced  to  begin  to 
earn  his  livelihood.  The  privations  and  hard- 
ships he  endured  had  a  beneficial  effect  in  de- 
veloping traits  of  self-reliance,  industry  and  per- 
severance, which  were  the  foundation  stones  for 
the  achievement  of  his  subsequent  success.  As 
a  clerk  in  a  store  in  Apenrade  he  gained  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  mercantile  business,  con- 
tinuing in  the  occupation  three  years  in  that 
town,  and  he  also  worked  for  two  years  with  a 
firm  of  ships7  commission  merchants. 

By  way  of  the  isthmus  Mr.  Andresen  came 
to  California  in  1867,  and  the  following  year 
went  from  San  Francisco  to  Placer  county, 
where  he  made  his  home  about  twenty  years, 
engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising. 
In  1893  he  removed  to  Salinas  and  bought  an 
interest  in  the  Wahrlich-Cornett  Mercantile 
Company,  of  which  he  is  now  secretary.  Some 
years  before  this  he  had  spent  a  short  time  in 
Salinas,  and  was  then  connected  with  the  gas 
and  water  company.  During  his  first  sojourn 
in  this  city  he  was  married,  in  1881,  to  Miss  M. 
C.  Hansen,  a  native  of  Denmark.  By  a  former 
marriage  with  Ingeborg  B.  Crogh,  there  was 
one  son,  Peter,  who  resides  in  Salinas. 

The  tastes  and  inclinations  of  Mr.  Andresen 
have  never  been  in  the  line  of  politics,  and, 
while  he  votes  the  Democratic  ticket,  he  has 
never  been  a  partisan  nor  active  in  the  conduct 
of  local  municipal  affairs.  Fraternally  he  is 
ted  with  the  Dania  Society  and  the  An- 
cient <  Irder  of  United  Workmen. 


SINGLETON  W.  WILSON. 

The   Bank  of  San  Luis  Obispo  dates  its  or- 
ganization back  to  a  period  when  the  county  of 
the  same  name  had  as  yet  no  bank  within  its 
1  >rganized  during   1873,  it  has  there- 
|  n    in   1  >  isti  m  1     Eor  about   thirty  years. 
During  this  period  it  has  maintained  the  confi- 
dence   of    depositors    .-111(1    the    general    public; 
this,  too.  notwithstanding  the  trying  times  when 
droughts  devastated  all  the  surrounding  country 
n    and  long-continued  strin 
in  the  money  market.     The  former  head 


of  the  institution  was  J.  P.  Andrews,  who  has 
since  become  president  of  the  Andrews  Banking 
Company  of  the  same  city.  For  some  years 
past  J.  L.  Crittenden  has  served  as  president, 
and  Singleton  \V.  Wilson  has  filled  the  office  of 
cashier. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  born  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in 
1845,  a  son  °f  Singleton  and  Mary  (Barn  Wil- 
son, natives  respectively  of  Shelbyville,  Ky., 
and  Baltimore,  Md.  The  father,  who  was  a 
promising  young  lawyer,  died  in  1847;  nacl  he 
lived,  undoubtedly  he  would  have  attained  emi- 
nence at  the  bar.  Seme  years  after  her  hus- 
band's death,  Mrs.  Wilson  was  again  married, 
becoming  the  wife  of  James  B.  Colt,  a  brother  of 
Samuel  Colt,  the  famous  inventor  of  the  revolv- 
ing pistol.  Their  marriage  took  place  in  St. 
Louis,  after  which,  in  1852,  they  removed  to 
Hartford,  Conn.,  and  in  the  latter  city  S.  W. 
Wilson  remained  until  i860,  meantime  attending 
the  public  schools.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  re- 
turned to  St.  Louis  and  secured  employment  as 
shipping  clerk  in  a  wholesale  grocery.  The  next 
year,  at  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war,  he  en- 
listed in  the  Confederate  army,  joining  the  ar- 
tillery service  under  General  Thompson.  In  the 
battle  of  Springfield  he  was  with  General  Price's 
corps.  With  his  regiment  he  was  despatched 
across  the  Mississippi  river  to  take  part  in  the 
battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  but  reached  there 
too  late  to  join  in  the  engagement.  Afterward 
he  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Corinth,  Holly 
Springs.  Black  river,  and  the  siege  of  Vicksburg. 
lasting  forty-five  days.  During  that  siege  he 
fell  into  the  hands  of  northern  troops,  by  whom 
he  was  taken  prisoner,  but  later  released  on 
parole.  He  then  went  to  the  northern  part  of 
Mississippi,  but  there  met  with  the  misfortune 
of  again  suffering  capture  by  the  enemy,  and  he 
was  then  taken  to  St.  Louis  as  a  prisoner  of 
war.  Later  he  was  transferred  to  Camp  Mor- 
ton .it  Indianapolis,  Ind..  where  he  remained 
until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Returning  to  St.  Louis.  Mr.  Wilson  soon 
went  from  there  to  New  Orleans  and  secured  a 
position  as  bookkeeper  for  Hayes,  Russell  & 
i'm.  wholesale  grocers,  with  whom  he  remained 
in  that  city  for  two  years.  Next  he  went  back- 
to  St.  Louis  and  became  bookkeeper  for  Rus- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


sell,  Hayes  &  Co.,  who  conducted  a  business  in 
St.  Louis  under  a  slightly  different  title  from 
that  in  New  Orleans.  In  1873  ne  resigned  his 
position  and  came  to  California.  At  that  time 
the  sheep  business  was  attracting  hundreds  of 
men,  who  were  inspired  by  the  successes  of  the 
sheep  princes  of  the  state.  He  was  among  the 
number  who  had  great  faith  in  the  industry. 
Accordingly  he  bought  a  large  flock  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  business  near  Fresno.  For 
a  time  all  went  well,  but  the  drought  of  1876 
and  1877  caused  an  entire  loss,  and  he  retired 
permanently  from  stock-raising.  In  January, 
1876,  he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo  and  soon 
afterward  was  appointed  deputy  county  clerk 
and  auditor.  In  1S80  he  was  elected  auditor, 
which  office  he  filled  until  1889.  In  February  of 
the  last-named  year  he  entered  the  Bank  of  San 
Luis  Obispo  as  bookkeeper,  and  in  April,  1890, 
was  promoted  to  be  cashier,  which  position  he 
has  since  filled.  His  attention  has  been  given 
so  closely  to  banking  affairs  that  he  has  had  no 
leisure  to  participate  in  politics.  However,  he 
may  always  be  relied  upon  to  cast  a  Democratic 
ticket  at  local  or  national  elections.  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  the  Foresters  and  Royal 
Arcanum. 

In  Richmond,  Mo.,  December  16,  1869,  Mr. 
Wilson  married  Miss  Lucy  E.  Allen,  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Ann  (Reeves)  Allen,  of  Missouri, 
her  father  having  been  a  prominent  citizen. 
Three  children  comprise  the  family  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wilson,  namely:  Roberta,  who  is  the  wife 
of  W.  L.  Rogers,  an  attorney  in  San  Francisco; 
Florence  B.,  at  home;  and  Norman,  Singleton, 
who  is  engaged  in  the  coffee  business  in  San 
Salvador,  Central  America. 


JAMES  CASS. 

Few  of  the  men  now  living  in  San  Luis 
Obispo  county  came  to  California  at  a  period 
earlier  than  Mr.  Cass,  who  belongs  to  the  heroic 
band  of  "forty-niners,"  and  arrived  in  San  Fran- 
cisco on  the  8th  of  July  of  that  memorable  year. 
He  was  born  in  Somerset,  England,  November 
24,  1824,  and  is  the  only  child  of  James  and  1  [ar- 
riel  Cass.  At  the  age  of  ten  years  he  shipped 
as  a  sailor,  and  in  1836  he  came  to  the  United 


States,  after  which  he  sailed  along  the  coast  of 
this  country  until  1841.  An  interval  of  a  year 
followed  during  which  he  attended  school  in 
England.  On  resuming  a  seafaring  life,  he  was 
made  mate  of  the  brig  Trio,  of  New  York. 

After  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  Mr. 
Cass  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  on  the  Orpheus, 
and  secured  employment  on  the  Olevia,  running 
on  the  Sacramento  river,  for  which  he  was  paid 
$150  per  month.  In  September,  1849,  he  went 
to  the  mines  at  Coloma,  and  thence  to  Drv 
Town,  where  he  mined  in  the  winter  and  sailed 
on  the  river  in  the  summer.  On  account  of  ill- 
ness he  was  obliged  to  discontinue  mining,  and 
so  became  a  pilot  on  the  river,  for  which  he 
received  $250  a  month.  As  soon  as  he  had  re- 
gained his  health  he  resumed  mining,  and  in  two 
weeks  took  out  $2,500.  His  next  venture  was 
the  organization  of  the  Boston  store  on  Dry 
creek,  two  and  one-half  miles  north  of  the  Q 
ranch,  in  which  business  he  was  associated  with 
Joseph  Crackborn,  Charles  Samons  and  Levi 
Shepherd.  The  store  was  opened  November  1. 
1850,  but  in  June  of  the  next  year  he  sold  his 
interest  in  the  establishment. 

The  first  purchase  of  ranch  land  made  by  Mr. 
Cass  was  in  1851,  when  he  bought  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  and  embarked  in  agriculture. 
However,  knowing  little  about  the  occupation, 
and  being  harassed  by  unlooked-for  difficulties 
(chief  among  which  were  the  floods),  he  failed 
to  make  a  success  of  the  undertaking.  He  then 
opened  a  store  at  Mule  Town,  in  which  he  soon 
took  Walden  Lords  as  a  partner.  Six  months 
later  they  sold  the  store  and  each  took  up  a 
quarter-section  of  government  land,  on  which 
they  engaged  in  raising  hogs.  This  venture, 
like  the  previous  agricultural  undertaking, 
proved  a  failure,  hi  November.  1867.  Mr.  Cass 
sold  out  and  came  to  Cayucos,  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  where  he  took  up  throe  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  government  land,  one  and 
half  miles  from  tin-  village.  Two  years  after- 
ward In-'  -"Id  Mir  -Li.  is  and  1  Mid,  and,  with  I  ap 
tain  Ingalls,  built  a  wharf,  in  which  he  still 
owns  a  half  interest  and  i-  m  tnager. 

Me  has  done  much  for  the  upbuilding  of  Cayu 
cos.  This  little  village  owes  much  to  hi-  con- 
stant interest  in  its  well-being.     X"  movement 


322 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


has  ever  been  proposed  for  its  progress  which 
lias  failed  to  secure  his  sympathy  and  active  co- 
operation, [ndeed,  he  has  always  been  in  the 
forefront  in  proposing  plans  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  the  people  and  to  aid  in  developing 
local  resources.  Notwithstanding  the  hardships 
of  existence  during  the  early  years  of  his  resi- 
dence in  California,  he  is  still  a  robust  man, 
and  his  interest  in  life  and  its  activities  is  no 
less  keen  than  when,  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
five  years,  he  entered  the  Golden  Gate  of  the 
Sunset  Land. 

As  an  instance  of  the  ingenuity  which  Mr. 
Cass  possesses  it  may  be  stated  that,  having  had 
much  experience  with  the  destructive  work  of 
the  teredo,  he  set  himself  to  the  task  of  invent- 
ing a  pile  preserver,  and  this  he  has  patented. 
The  system  has  been  adopted,  not  only  in  his 
own  wharf,  but  in  others  along  the  coast,  and 
has  proved  the  means  of  preserving  the  piles  for 
years.  In  this  way  he  has  not  only  saved  his 
company  heavy  expenses,  but  has  also  given  a 
valuable  invention  to  the  world.  Other  in- 
stances might  be  enumerated  in  proof  of  his 
genius  in  devising  needed  articles,  but  the  above 
is  sufficient  to  show  the  ingenious  bent  of  his 
nature. 

In  1854  Mr.  Cass  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
William  Stone,  of  England.  She  died  in  1858, 
leaving  four  children,  Sarah,  Charles  A.,  Emily 
and  Henry  K.  His  second  wife  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Mary  McMurry,  and  was  born  in  New 
York.  A  daughter,  Rosa  M.,  was  born  of  this 
union.  The  family  occupy  a  comfortable  home 
nol  far  from  the  store  and  wharf  owned  by  Mr. 
Cass.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Knight  Templar 
Mason  and  has  passed  through  all  the  chairs  of 
the  Odd  Fellows. 


R.  H.  WILLEY. 

This  prominent  attorne)  of  Monterey  and  Pa 

cific  drove  comes  of  an  early  dating  English  an 
cestry.  As  indicative  of  the  moral  and  intel 
lectual  standing  of  the  family,  it  is  only 
necessary  in  slate  that  the  direel  line  of  descenl 
for  four  generations  have  been  ministers  in  the 
Moravian  church,  ami  men  of  exemplary  char- 
acter ami  broad  usefulness. 


In  keeping  with  the  example  of  his  forefath- 
ers, I  )r.  J.  M.  Willey,  the  father  of  R.  H.,  left 
to  his  children  the  heritage  of  a  noble  name,  and 
the  memory  of  a  life  spent  near  the  heart  of  the 
best  that  the  world  has  to  offer  of  art  and  music, 
and  the  impressive  science  of  his  great  pro- 
fession. He  was  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  and 
was  graduated  from  the  Royal  College  of  his  na- 
tive city,  thereafter  attaining  to  enviable  dis- 
tinction as  a  physician  and  surgeon.  During 
the  devastating  famine  and  plague  ending  with 
1850,  he  served  in  the  English  service  as  a  vol- 
unteer surgeon,  and  with  the  termination  of  his 
services  in  this  capacity  came  to  America  and 
located  in  New  York  City,  where  he  became  a 
dramatic  and  art  critic.  In  a  few  years  he  lo- 
cated in  Natchez,  Miss.,  coining  to  California  in 
1864.  In  San  Francisco  he  practiced  his  pro- 
fession up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1886,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  He  was  greatly  be- 
loved by  all  who  knew  him,  and  his  devotion  to 
the  fine  and  beautiful  things  of  life  amounted 
almost  to  a  passion.  His  wife,  formerly  Maria 
Miller,  was  also  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  died  in 
San  Francisco  in  1895,  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years. 

Although  born  in  New  York  City  in  1852, 
R.  H.  Willey  was  reared  in  the  north  of  Eng- 
land by  an  uncle  and  aunt,  the  former  of  whom 
was  a  minister  in  the  Moravian  church.  The 
youth  was  educated  in  the  private  school  of  the 
church,  and  upon  returning  to  the  United  States 
in  1870,  joined  his  family  in  San  Francisco, 
whither  his  father  had  in  the  meantime  removed. 
1  laving  decided  to  devote  his  life  to  the  practice 
of  law,  he  entered  the  office  of  Hayes,  Stanley 
&  Hayes,  of  San  Francisco,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  Napa  county  in  the  spring  of  1877. 
After  two  years'  practice  he  was  admitted  to  the 
supreme  and  federal  courts,  and  in  1879  came 
to  Monterey,  then  a  town  of  a  thousand  inhab- 
itants. No  more  interested  and  helpful  spec- 
tator of  the  city's  growth  has  advanced  its  inter- 
ests or  helped  to  establish  its  professional 
prestige.  Ml  of  the  organizations  effected  here 
have  been  under  his  personal  supervision,  in- 
cluding the  incorporation  of  tin  Montere) 
Si  reel  Railway  and  the  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany, as  well  as  the  organization  of  the  bank. 


/^#fc 


/^rt?^ 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


A  like  service  lias  been  performed  for  various 
enterprises  at  Pacific  Grove,  where  Mr.  Willey 
is  known  and  appreciated  for  his  reliability,  and 
devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  his  clients.  He 
is  a  Democrat  in  national  politics,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  county  central  committee. 

In  1877  Mr.  Willey  married  in  Napa  county 
Susan  C.  Clark,  a  native  of  California.  Of  this 
union  there  are  three  children,  John,  Rena,  and 
Robert.  The  two  sons  are  now  employed  in 
t  he  civil  engineering  department  of  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Railroad. 


HORATIO  M.  WARDEN. 

In  a  very  early  period  of  American  history  a 
representative  of  the  Warden  family  emigrated 
from  England  and  settled  in  Vermont.  Gabriel 
Warden,  who  was  born  at  Burlington,  that  state, 
served  as  a  captain  in  the  war  with  England, 
and  was  a  man  of  great  patriotism  and  valor. 
Some  years  after  the  war  he  removed  to  Ohio 
and  settled  near  Granville,  Licking  county, 
where  he  and  his  wife,  Mary  (Seelyi  Warden, 
remained  until  death.  The  Seely  family  was  also 
from  Vermontj  where  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Warden 
became  a  very  wealthy  and  prominent  farmer. 
There  were  eleven  children  in  the  family  of 
Gabriel  Warden,  and  the  next  to  the  youngest 
was  Horatio  M.,  born  near  Granville,  Ohio,  in 
1828.  When  he  was  almost  twenty  years  of  age, 
in  1847,  ne  became  connected  with  a  brother, 
L.  M.,  in  the  buying  and  selling  of  cattle;  these 
he  drove  in  large  numbers  to  Chicago,  which  at 
the  time  was  a  small  village  on  the  frontier. 

In  the  spring  of  1850  the  two  brothers  started 
for  California,  across  the  plains.  As  far  as  Coun- 
cil Bluffs  they  drove  a  herd  of  cattle  and  horses, 
but  there  they  exchanged  them  for  mules,  which 
they  drove  to  Salt  Lake  City,  in  company  with 
Tom  Williams,  a  prominent  Mormon,  carrying 
the  Salt  Lake  mail.  For  three  weeks  they  re- 
mained among  the  Mormons,  who  showed  them 
every  courtesy.  With  a  train  of  pack  mules  they 
left  Salt  Lake  and  crossed  the  desert  to  P 
ville  (then  called  Hangtown),  Gal.,  where  they 
began  the  exciting  occupation  <>f  mining.  Some 
what  later  the)-  mined  on  the  American  river 
below  Michigan   Bluff,  where  they  made  some 


good  finds.  Xext  they  went  to  Sacrament.,  and 
organized  the  Sacramento  and  Marysville  stage 
line,  and  for  some  years  continued  in  business 
as  operators  of  the  same.  A  later  venture  was 
the  establishment  of  a  stage  line  between  Au- 
burn, Yankee  Jims.  Michigan  Bluff,  Illinois 
Town  and  Iowa  Hill,  in  Placer  county.  In  1856 
they  embarked  in  the  stock  business  in  Napa 
county,  where  they  continued  some  years,  hav- 
ing their  share  of  successes  and  reverses. 

During  1867  H.  V.  Warden  came  to 
Luis  Obispo  county,  where  he  now  makes  his 
home.  Settling  in  Los  Osos  valley,  he  bought 
three  thousand  acres  of  raw  land  that  formed  a 
portion  of  the  Wilson  tract  or  Los  Osos  rancho. 
At  first  he  stocked  his  place  exclusively  with 
sheep,  of  which  at  times  he  had  as  many  as  six 
thousand  head.  Later  he  bought  a  large  num- 
ber of  head  of  cattle  and  became  interested  in 
this  branch  of  the  stock  business.  Under  the 
name  of  Highland  rancho.  his  property  has  be- 
come well  known  throughout  the  county,  its 
special  claim  to  distinction  being  the  fine  qual- 
ity of  butter  that  is  shipped  from  the  ranch  to 
the  markets.  Three  dairies  form  a  conspicuous 
feature  of  the  place,  in  the  management  of  which 
the  owner  finds  his  time  closely  occupied.  An 
average  of  six  thi  msand  p.  iunds  of  butter  is  man- 
ufactured every  month,  all  being  of  the  best 
quality.  Of  the  three  thousand  acres  originally 
comprising  Highland  rancho.  a  portion  has  re 
cently  been  sold,  and  the  present  acrea 
seventeen  hundred.  Several  hundred  acres  are 
farmed,  and  hay,  barley  and  other  products  are 
raised.  However.  In  far  the  larger  port 
the  land  is  utilized  for  the  pasturage  of  the 
stock,  for  which  purpose  it  is  well  adapted.  The 
cattle  are  principally  thoroughbred  Shorthorns 
and  Durhams,  man)  of  them  registered.  Both 
draught  horses  and  roadsters  are  t.>  be  found 
on  the  ranch,  besides  a  good  grade  of  hogs. 
The  ranch  residence,  the  first  frame  house 
erected  in  Los  <  >sos  valle; 
house  in  the  entire  count}  and  is  handsomely 
furnished  and  finished  throughout  with  all  mod- 
ern improvements. 

The  management  of  his  dairy  and  ran. 

■den's  activi- 
ties.    1  I ' 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


tered  under  his  judicious  care  and  wise  over- 
sight. With  C.  II.  Phillips,  in  1872,  he  estab- 
lished the  first  bank  that  was  started  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  county.  The  business  was  con- 
ducted under  the  firm  title  of  Warden  &  Phil- 
lips, with  Mr.  Warden  as  president  and  Mr. 
Phillips  as  cashier,  and  for  many  years  a  general 
banking  business  was  conducted,  under  the  con- 
servative and  wise  supervision  of  the  principal 
owner.  In  1898  he  built  the  Warden  block  in 
San  Luis  Obispo,  which  he  still  owns,  besides 
having  other  real  estate  here.  The  growth  of 
the  city  owes  much  to  his  energy  and  exertions. 
The  duties  of  a  public-spirited  citizen  are  never 
neglected  by  him.  Especially  has  he  been  active 
in  the  building  of  schools  and  churches,  for  he 
believes  these  to  be  the  two  greatest  factors  of 
modern  civilization,  and  is  of  the  opinion  that 
too  much  cannot  be  done  to  foster  their  growth. 
Together  with  two  school  trustees,  he  gave  per- 
sonal notes  which  rendered  possible  the  building 
of  the  first  schoolhouse  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  and  for  many  years  he  occupied  the 
office  of  trustee  in  this  same  school.  Politically 
he  is  a  stanch  Republican  and  is  a-  member  of 
the  county  central  committee,  besides  an  attend- 
ant at  all  important  meetings  of  his  party.  In 
[880  lie  served  as  a  county  supervisor.  In  1886 
he  was  the  unanimous  choice  of  his  party  for 
candidate  to  the  general  assembly.  Frequently 
he  has  been  a  delegate  to  county  and  state  con- 
ventions. In  fraternal  relations  he  is  connected 
with  the  San  Luis  Obispo  lodge  of  Masons  and 
is  past  noble  grand  of  the  Odd  Fellows.  His 
1  marriage  took  place  in  1882  and  united 
him  with  Miss  Queenie  Parr,  a  native  of  Iowa 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Loraine  (Page)  Parr. 
1  hildren  were  born  of  their  union,namely: 
Queenie  M..  Horatio  M.,  Jr.,  and  Mary  Loraine. 
The  youngest  was  called  hence  March  17,  1902, 
aged  fourteen  year-,  two  months  and  ten  days. 


EDWARD  WHITE. 
[Tie    name    which    Mr.    White    bears    is    one 
which  has  been  long  and  honorably  associated 
with  thi  California.     1  lis  father,  Will- 

iam  F.  White,  a  pioneer  of  the   Pajaro  valley, 

'I    i lint)    i  .inn-rick,    Ireland,  in    1X16, 

"ii  of  Edward  and  Ellen  (( iriffin)  White. 


When  four  years  of  age  he  was  brought  to 
America  by  his  parents  and  settled  in  Chenango 
Point  (now  Binghamton),  N.  Y.,  but  later  re- 
moved to  Susquehanna  county,  Pa.,  where  the 
parents  attained  to  advanced  years  and  passed 
away.  The  mother  was  a  sister  of  Gerald  Grif- 
fin, the  poet  (born  1803,  died  1840).  Through 
successive  generations  it  has  been  noticeable 
that  many  of  the  family  have  inherited  eloquence 
of  speech,  others  have  inherited  the  power  to 
express  thoughts  in  vivid  and  rhythmic  language 
such  as  the  Irish  poet  used,  while  still  others 
have  shown  commercial  talents  of  a  high  order. 

The  education  of  William  F.  White  was  com- 
pleted in  Oxford  (N.  Y.)  Academy.  He  became 
a  commercial  traveler  for  a  New  York  firm  and 
traveled  through  the  southern  states.  On  one 
of  his  trips  he  met  Frances  J.  Russell  of  Sa- 
vannah, Ga.,  whom  he  afterward  married.  About 
the  time  of  their  marriage  the  gold  fever  broke 
out  and  he  and  his  wife  decided  to  join  the 
argonauts  for  the  far  west.  Proceeding  to  New 
York,  they  secured  passage  with  Captain  Hamil- 
ton and  in  January  of  1849  started  around  Cape 
Horn  for  San  Francisco.  On  board  were  some 
three  hundred  passengers,  among  whom  Mrs. 
White  was  the  only  woman.  They  endured  the 
hardships  of  a  voyage  of  six  months,  during 
which  water  failed  and  the  passengers  were  put 
on  a  limited  supply.  Incipient  rebellion  arose, 
but  was  promptly  suppressed,  and  in  June  the 
ship  entered  the  harbor  of  the  Golden  Gate. 
Among  the  passengers  were  many  college  stu- 
dents, wholly  unused  to  hardships  and  illy  fitted 
to  cope  with  the  difficulties  confronting  pioneers 
of  the  coast.  Some  of  these,  finding  only  a  few 
small  buildings  instead  of  a  "Golden"  city,  did 
not  leave  the  vessel,  but  applied  to  the  captain 
for  work  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  return 
journey.  As  the  crew  had  all  deserted  for  the 
mines,  the  captain  was  obliged  to  take  such 
help  as  he  could  get,  and  so  availed  himself  of 
the  ex-students  and  outfitted  his  vessel  for  the 
long  return  journey. 

It  had  not  been  Mr.  White's  intention  to  fol- 
low mining,  and  he  at  once  embarked  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits  with  D.  J.  I  Hiver  and  J.  R.  Mc- 
Glynn.  In  [852  lie  sold  his  interest  and  pur- 
.1   pari   of  the  Sul  Si    1'ue.les  rancho,  in 


HISTOKK    \L    AND    MM  )( ikAI 'J  i  l<  AL   RECORD. 


connection  with  E.  Kelley,  E.  Casserly,  J.  R. 
Vlcl  rlyiin,  VV.  W.  Stowe,  William  Davidson  and 
Mr.  Blair,  a  tract  of  thirty-two  thousand  acres 
being  bought  for  .$40,000.  Subsequently  the 
land  was  divided  and  W.  F.  White  became  owner 
of  three  thousand  shares.  On  this  estate  he 
erected  the  first  substantial  house  built  in  the 
vicinity.  As  there  were  no  sawmills  in  this 
country,  the  lumber  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  house  was  brought  from  Maine.  On  the 
land  he  had  cattle  and  conducted  a  dairy,  con- 
tinuing for  some  years,  then  retiring  to  San 
Francisco.  The  ranch  is  now  owned  by  Judge 
G,  M.   Bockius. 

To  a  man  of  Air.  White's  active  temperament 
and  patriotic  spirit  an  interest  in  local  politics 
and  national  problems  was  characteristic  and 
constant.  In  1878  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  constitutional  convention,  and  later  received 
from  Governor  Irwin  an  appointment  as  bank 
commissioner  of  the  state.  He  died  at  his  resi- 
dence in  Oakland,  CaL.  in  May,  [890,  aged  sev- 
enty-four years.  His  widow  is  still  living  and 
makes  her  home  with  her  daughters  in  San 
Francisco.  Their  children  were  named  as  fol- 
lows: Ellen  (who  died  in  infancy);  Mary,  Ed- 
ward, Stephen  M.,  Ellen,  Genevieve,  Rhoda, 
Lillie  and  Fannie. 

The  second  son,  Hon.  Stephen  Mallory 
White,  was  born  in  San  Francisco  in  1853,  and 
received  his  education  in  Santa  Clara  College, 
graduating  in  1872.  lie  studied  law  with  Hon. 
Charles  B.  Younger  of  Santa  Cruz  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  state  bar  in  1873.  after  which  he 
went  td  Los  Angeles  to  practice.  Old  lawyers, 
remembering  the  days  of  their  youth,  can  imag- 
ine his  position,  among  strangers,  without  in- 
fluence or  prestige,  yet  undertaking  the  difficult 
feat  of  gaining  a  foothold.  There  was  much  in 
his  favor,  as  he  was  an  eloquent  speaker,  a  fluent 
writer  and  a  quick  debater.  Yet  even  with  these 
talents  there  seemed  no  opening.  For  six 
months  he  struggled  along,  then  decided  it  was 
useless  to  wail  longer  and  began  to  think  of  re- 
moving elsewhere.  After  his  mind  was  fully 
made  up  to  investigate  other  towns,  a  man  in- 
vited him  to  deliver  an  address  al  the  celebration 
of  St.  Patrick's  day,  March  17.  Having  decided 
i"  leave,  he  first  declined:  but,  on  being  impor- 


tuned, consented  to  remain  and  speak.  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  able  address  to  a  very  large 
assembly  he  was  congratulated  by  hundreds  and 
was  told  by  many  that  he  had  opened  a  road  to 
tame.  This  event  changed  his  entire  future.  He 
remained,  soon  won  a  case,  and  from  that  day 
on  had  as  large  a  practice  as  he  could  handle. 
An  honorable  service  as  district  attorney  was 
followed  by  his  election  to  the  United  States 
senate,  where  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  San 
Pedro  harbor  bill  gave  him  national  promi- 
nence. The  arduous  work  of  the  office  under- 
mined his  health  and  while  still  a  young  man 
he  died  in  February  of  1899.  His  wife, 
Hortense,  nee  Lacriste,  is  the  mother  of  four 
children.  William.  Gerald,  Hortense  E.  and  Es- 
telle. 

The  eldest  son  of  William  F.  White  was  Ed- 
ward White,  born  in  San  Francisco  June  25, 
;  85  i .  and  educated  in  Santa  Clara  College.  In 
1874  he  began  for  himself  by  renting  farm  land 
and  later  bought  Calabasa  rancho  of  two  thou- 
sand acres,  where  lie  engaged  in  the  dairy  busi- 
ness and  developed  a  fruit  industry.  At  this 
writing  eight  hundred  acres  of  the  tract  are  in 
his  possession.  Much  of  the  property  is  set  out 
in  apples,  apricots,  cherries  and  various  small 
fruits,  and  there  is  also  a  dairy  of  fifty  Durham 
cows.  In  1889  he  moved  his  family  to  Watson- 
ville.  where  he  has  since  made  his  home.  His 
wife,  Annie,  is  a  daughter  of  John  Rovse,  a 
pioneer  of  Pajaro  valley,  and  they  have  six  chil- 
dren. Edward,  Jr.,  Ellen,  Stephen,  Lucille,  Ray- 
mond and  William.  Another  son  was  lost  in 
infancy.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church. 

Associated  with  William  Dehart,  under  the 
firm  (itle  of  White  ,K:  Dehart,  in  [895  Mr.  White 
established  a  large  lumber  mill,  but  this  was 
soon  developed  into  a  box  manufactory,  his 
interest  in  which  he  recently  sold.  In  Novem- 
ber of  1800  he  was  elected  county  supervisor 
and  at  ibis  writing  he  is  also  a  trustee  of  the 
Agnew  insane  asylum,  under  appointment 
Governor  Gage  [Tie  reputation  which  his 
father  established  has  been  maintained  by  him- 
self, and  in  ever)  resp<  t  hi  >ved  himself 
an   able  business  man.  a  capable  financier  and  a 

progressh  e  citi 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ANDREW  YORK. 

The  man  best  known  between  Paso  Robles 
and  the  coast  is  Andrew  York,  proprietor  of  the 
Ascension  winery,  temptingly  located  on  the 
trail  of  weary  travelers  as  they  proceed  across 
(he  mountains  to  the  ocean.  No  tourist  in  these 
parts  but  has  heard  of  the  unstinted  hospitality 
tendered  the  hungry  and  thirsty  by  this  genial 
high  mountain  host,  and  all  are  warm  in  praise 
of  both  his  commodities  and  resort.  A  Hoosier 
by  birth  and  early  training,  Mr.  York  was  born 
in  Monroe  county.  Ind.,  March  3,  1833,  his 
father,"  Pleasant  York,  having  settled  there  in 
early  manhood.  In  1852  he  removed  to  La 
Salle  county.  III,  and  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising  on  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
land.  Afterward  he  was  fortunate  enough  to 
discover  coal  on  his  possessions,  and  thereupon 
opened  up  the  coal  mine  which  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  the  Streeter  Mining  Company. 
1  lis  death,  in  1868.  removed  a  man  prominent 
in  the  affairs  of  early  and  later  Illinois,  and  who 
at  one  time  served  as  deputy  sheriff  of  his 
county.  At  first  a  Jacksonian  Democrat,  he 
was  later  as  stanch  a  Lincoln  Republican.  He- 
married  Rachel  McPheatridge,  a  native  of  Ten- 
nessee, and  who  bore  him  nine  sons  and  one 
daughter,  all  of  whom  attained  maturity,  An- 
drew being  the  fifth.  Of  the  sons.  John  Milton 
was  county  clerk  for  fourteen  years,  and  after- 
ward served  as  county  recorder. 

Equipped  with   a   common-school   education, 

Andrew  York  started  across  the  plains  March 

27,  1854,  and  on  the  way  helped  to  drive  seven 

hundred    cattle    and    fifty   head    of    mules    and 

horses.    Thus  he  and  his  brother,  E.  M.,  worked 

their  w  i\   over  the  plains,  and  this  brother  is  at 

hi  living  in  Napa  county,  Cal.,  engaged  in 

the   raising  of  prunes.     Mr.  York   engaged  in 

gold  mining  in  Nevada  county  for  a  couple  of 

and    then    went    to    St.    Helena,    Napa 

county,   where   he   mined    and    farmed    for  two 

Later  he  returned  east  to  Illinois  and 

ouri,  and  at  St.  Joseph,  in  the  latter  state, 

bought  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land, 

from  which  he  removed  to  Ottawa  county,  and 

farmed.     In  the  spring  of  [865  he  again  started 

'    luit  on  account  of  the  Indian  war 


stopped  at  Nebraska  City,  and  from  there 
freighted  between  Julcsburg  and  Fort  Kearney 
in  the  employ  of  the  government.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  a  year  he  sold  his  freighting  outfit 
and  went  to  the  Cherokee  Nation,  and  on  the 
present  site  of  Baxter  took  up  a  claim  for  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  which  he  oper- 
ated with  modest  success  for  a  few  months.  In 
Texas  lie  experimented  on  sixty  acres  of  land  in 
Fannin  county.  Later  Mr.  York  bought  two 
hundred  acres  of  land  in  Newton  county,  Mo., 
and  sold  the  same  the  year  that  he  came  to  Cal- 
ifornia in  1874.  On  the  coast,  at  the  mouth  of 
Torro  creek,  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  he  be- 
gan a  genera!  farming  enterprise  in  1877,  and  in 
1882  came  to  his  present  ranch  of  one  hundred 
and  twelve  acres,  where  he  has  since  conducted 
extensive  wine  making  enterprises.  Thirty 
acres  are  under  grapes,  although  he  is  obliged 
to  buy  grapes  in  considerable  quantities  from 
outside  growers.  In  1884  he  turned  out  thirty 
barrels,  or  fifteen  hundred  gallons;  in  1885  the 
output  was  seven  thousand  gallons;  in  1886, 
forty  thousand  gallons;  in  1901,  thirty-six  thou- 
sand gallons;  and  in  1902,  forty  thousand  gal- 
lons. On  hand  all  the  time  are  between  twenty 
and  fifty  thousand  gallons.  To  local  trade  Mr. 
York  contributes  about  twenty  thousand  gallons 
a  year.  He  has  greatly  improved  his  place,  has 
erected  the  Ascension  winery,  and  has  the  most 
advanced  ideas  for  conducting  an  enterprise  of 
such  extensive  proportions. 

After  coming  to  California  Mr.  York  married 
Louisa  Long.  Of  the  children  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  York.  James  is  engaged  in  conducting  an 
apiary  and  farm  in  this  comity:  Thomas  has  a 
ranch  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres:  Walter  is 
the  manager  and  half  owner  of  a  winery;  Eliza- 
beth is  the  wife  of  Al  Hazard:  ami  Ida  is  now 
Mrs.  Nelson,  of  Healdsburg,  Cal.  The  present 
wife  of  Mr.  York  was  formerly  Mrs.  Hnlda  Mat- 
thews, and  of  this  union  there  is  one  son,  Silas, 
who  is  interested  with  his  father  in  the  winery 
business,  and  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Lulu  Peterson. 
B)  her  former  husband,  Mrs.  York  had  two  chil- 
dren, Oda  Priest,  now  Mrs.  Edward  Gamble,  liv- 
ing near  Templeton  :  and  Justus  Priest,  a  resident 
of  Pleasant  valle\  in  Colorado.  Mr.  York  was  a 
member   of  the  state   militia   for   several  years, 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and  has  been  variously  interested  in  affairs  out- 
side of  his  winery  in  ibis  county.  He  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  political  preference,  but  has  never  been 
among  those  seeking-  political  honors. 


B.  IVERSON. 


The  possibilities  of  Salinas  have  called  forth 
the  most  creditable  ambitions  of  a  few  men 
who  were  destined  to  make  their  way  in  the 
commercial  world,  and  whose  strength  of  char- 
acter and  conservative  judgment  have  served 
as  the  fundamental  growth  of  the  common- 
wealth. This  has  been  emphatically  true  of 
J.  B.  Iverson,  whose  well  directed  energies  have 
not  only  placed  him  among  the  men  of  wealth 
of  the  town,  but  have  invested  him  with  an  en- 
viable reputation  for  business  sagacity  and  in- 
tegrity, tested  during- the  passing  of  many  years. 

A  native  son  of  Denmark,  Mr.  Iverson  was 
born  at  Apenrade,  October  3,  1835.  a  son  of 
Jesse  and  Hannah  (Rump)  Iverson,  natives  of 
the  same  Danish  province.  The  father,  who 
was  a  blacksmith  during  his  active  life,  eventu- 
ally came  to  America  and  Salinas,  where  he 
died  October  15,  1890,  the  death  of  his  wife 
having  occurred  July  13,  1881.  J.  B.  Iverson 
received  the  common-school  education  accorded 
the  youth  of  his  neighborhood,  and  at  twenty- 
two  years  of  age  he  enlisted  for  military  service 
in  the  Danish  army,  serving  for  sixteen  months. 
From  boyhood  days  he  had  familiarized  himself 
with  the  blacksmith's  trade,  which  he  subse- 
quently followed  in  his  native  land.  When 
twenty-eight  years  of  age  he  immigrated  to 
America  and  came  to  San  Francisco,  and  for 
the  following  five  years  worked  for  Henry 
Smith,  twelve  miles  from  Oakland.  He  then 
removed  to  Watsonville,  where  he  was  employed 
for  three  months,  reaching  Salinas  City  in  1868. 
At  the  time  Salinas  was  a  mere  apology  of  a 
town  and  contained  but  few  inhabitants,  its 
special  need  being  the  infusion  of  such  enter- 
prise as  was  embodied  in  the  future  calculations 
of  Mr.  Iverson.  In  partnership  with  his 
brother,  E.  P.  Iverson,  he  started  an  agricul- 
tural implement  manufacturing  shop,  located 
where  Sanborn  &  Ford  now  carry  on  their 
hardware  business.    As  the  town  increased  they 


branched  out  and  did  a  large  business,  and 
turned  out  heavy  team  and  farm  wagons,  fam- 
ily buggies,  sulkies,  plows,  harrows,  and  any 
number  of  labor  saving  devices.  In  time  they 
became  the  largest  manufacturers  of  their  kind 
in  Monterey  county,  and  their  present  business 
is  conducted  on  Gabilan  street,  to  which  they 
removed  in  1873. 

The  Water  &  Light  Company,  of  which  Mr. 
Iverson  is  president,  was  started  by  James  Ho- 
gen  and  Joseph  Enright,  and  after  a  fitful  career 
Mr.  Iverson  and  Air.  Yanderhurst  took  hold 
of  it,  and  made  it  what  it  is  today.  For  several 
years  Mr.  Iverson  has  been  president  of  the 
company;  nor  does  this  represent  the  extent 
of  his  responsibility,  for  he  is  vice-president  of 
the  Monterey  County  Bank,  of  which  he 
was  one  of  the  organizers,  and  is  also  vari- 
ously interested  in  financial  enterprises  in  the 
town  and  county.  He  is  the  possessor  of  two 
ranches  in  Monterey  county,  both  of  which  are 
well  stocked  with  horses  and  cattle.  In  fraternal 
circles  Mr.  Iverson  is  chiefly  known  as  a  promi- 
nent Odd  Fellow,  which  organization  he  joined 
in  1869.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Encampment 
and  Canton,  and  has  been  treasurer  for  the 
former  since  1879.  It  was  mainly  through  his 
efforts  that  the  Odd  Fellows"  hall  was  erected 
in  Salinas,  and  he  has  been  president  of  the  Hall 
Association  ever  since  it  was  started.  He  is  one 
of  the  most  substantial  of  the  pioneers  who  have 
encompassed  the  upbuilding  of  this  town  and 
county,  and  richly  deserves  the  success  which 
has  come  his  way,  and  the  good  will  of  his 
associates. 


E.  P.  IVERSON. 

Among  the  pioneers  whose  association  with 
California  began  at  a  period  antedating  the 
'70s,  mention  belongs  to  E.  P.  Iverson.  He 
merits  recognition  among  the  pioneers  of  Sa- 
linas, for  he  came  to  this  then  hamlet  in  1868. 
He  was  then  a  young  man.  Inning  Keen  born  in 
1844,  and  possessed  the  energy  and  cheerful  op- 
timism of  youth.  With  these  qualities,  but  with- 
out means  or  influential  friends,  he  wa 
In  fight  the  battle  of  life  with  a  sure  hop(  of 
victory.  In  1867  he  came  to  California,  and. 
after     spending     some     months      in      Alameda 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


county,  began   to  clerk   for  his  brother,  J.  B., 

in  Salinas.  Ten  years  later  the  two  formed  a 
partnership  and  in  mi  that  day  to  this  the  firm 
of  [verson  Brothers  has  been  one  of  the  most 
influential  and  progressive  in  the  city  of  Salinas. 
They  manufacture  heavy  team  and  farm  wagons, 
family  carriages,  buggies,  sulkies,  plows,  har- 
rows, etc.,  and  conduct  the  largest  business  in 
their  line  in  Monterey  county.  Both  brothers 
have  wielded  great  influence  in  local  affairs. 
J.  B.  has  been  a  director  of  the  Monterey 
County  Agricultural  Association  and  president 
of  the  Salinas  Gas,  Electric  Light  and  Water 
Company;  while  E.  P.  has  officiated  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council  and  school  trustee.  In 
politics  both  are  believers  in  Democratic  princi- 
ples, and  fraternally  they  belong  to  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

The  marriage  of  E.  P.  Iverson  and  Karen 
Lund,  a  native  of  Denmark,  was  solemnized  in 
Salinas  in  1871.  They  are  the  parents  of  five 
children:  Jesse  B.,  at  home;  Martin,  who  is 
employed  in  Soledad;  John  F.,  who  is  now  in 
San  Francisco;  Cora  L.,  wife  of  C.  Thorup,  of 
Salinas,  and  Effie  C. 


Mcdowell  reid  venable. 

The  genealogy  of  the  Venable  family  is  traced 
back  to  a  very  early  period  in  the  settlement 
of  Virginia.  Its  members  were  prominent  even 
among  the  unusually  brilliant  coterie  of  states- 
men whose  names  give  luster  to  the  annals  of 
1  In  (  lid  Dominion  in  the  colonial  period.  Sev- 
eral successive  generations  resided  at  the  home- 
stead,  which  for  miles  around  was  known  as 
State  llill  and  which  was  maintained  with  elc- 
■  m.  ,  until  the  T  vastating  days  of  the  Civil  war 
wroughl  ruin  throughoul  all  that  region.  Judge 
Venable's  great-grandfather,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  burgess,  had  two  sons,  one  of  whom. 
Richard  X.,  became  a  prominent  lawyer,  while 
the  other,  Abraham,  served  as  United  States 
senator  from  \  irginia.  Richard,  son  of  Richard 
X„  became  a  planter  in  Virginia,  and  married 
Magdaline  McCampbell,  by  whom  he  had  live 
children.  She  was  horn  in  Lexington,  Rock- 
bridge county.  Va.,  and  was  of  Scotch  Irish 
parentage. 


The  fourth  among  the  five  children  compris- 
ing the  family,  McDowell  Reid  Venable,  was 
born  in  Charlotte  county.  Va.,  in  1836.  Pri- 
marily educated  in  common  schools,  he  later 
had  the  advantage  of  attendance  at  Hampden 
Sidney  College  in  Prince  Edward  county  and 
also  took  lectures  in  law  at  the  University  of 
Virginia.  Reared  under  southern  influences, 
he  gave  his  sympathies  unreservedly  to  the  Con- 
federacy and  at  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war 
enlisted  in  the  Richmond  Howitzers  in  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  under  Gen.  Robert 
E.  Lee.  June  10,  1861,  he  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Bethel.  Among  the  later  engagements 
in  which  he  bore  a  part  were  those  around 
Richmond,  at  Mechanicsville,  Gaines  Mills,  Mal- 
vern Hill.  Cedar  Mountain,  the  second  battle 
of  .Manassas,  at  Antietam  (where  he  was 
wounded  and  reported  among  the  dead),  South 
Mountain,  Harper's  Ferry  and  Fredericksburg. 
After  the  battle  of  Antietam  he  was  promoted 
to  be  second  lieutenant,  and  later  became  first 
lieutenant  of  the  Engineers'  Corps,  in  which 
capacity  he  was  stationed  at  Shreveport, 
La.,  during  the  closing  period  of  the  war. 
Under  Gen.  Kirby  Smith  he  also  saw-  active 
service  through  Arkansas  and  Texas.  When 
the  war  closed  he  was  acting  as  captain  of  the 
Engineers'  Corps,  in  charge  of  pontoon  bridges. 

For  about  a  year  after  the  war  he  remained 
in  Texas,  and  then  returned  to  his  Virginia 
home,  resuming  the  pursuits  of  civic  life.  For 
two  years  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law.  but 
his  health  had  been  seriously  undermined  by 
the  hardships  of  army  service  and  a  change  of 
climate  was  deemed  necessary.  For  this  reason 
he  came  to  California  in  1868.  After  one  year 
in  San  Jose  he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo,  where 
he  has  since  been  a  participant  in  public  af- 
fairs and  a  promoter  of  local  industries.  From 
1872  until  1880  he  held  office  as  county  judge, 
filling  the  position  with  a  fidelity  ami  tact  that 
commanded  universal  respect.  In  1K72  he  was 
chosen  a  delegate  to  the  national  Democratic 
convention  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  which  nominated 
Horace  Greeley  for  president.  A  further  honor 
was  tendered  him  when,  in  1886,  he  was  chosen 
to  represent  this  district  in  the  state  legislature. 
His  interest    in   educational   matters  led  him  to 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


333 


accept  the  office  of  school  trustee  and  for  many 
years  he  served  as  president  of  the  board.  The 
office  of  president  of  the  San  Luis  Obispo 
Board  of  Trade  was  also  long  held  by  him. 

On  the  organization  of  the  Commercial  Bank 
of  San  Luis  Obispo,  in  1888,  Judge  Venable  be- 
came one  of  the  original  stockholders  and  direc- 
tors, and  was  chosen  to  occupy  the  responsible 
position  of  president,  Mr.  Brunner  of  San  Fran- 
cisco being  made  vice-president.  Since  then 
he  has  remained  at  the  head  of  the  institution. 
The  bank  has  a  paid-up  capital  of  $200,000  and 
is  recognized  as  one  of  the  strongest  financial 
concerns  in  Central  California.  The  reputation 
it  has  gained  for  strength  is  due  in  large  meas- 
ure to  the  conservative  spirit  shown  by  the 
president,  his  care  in  making  investments,  and 
his  integrity  of  character,  which  has  never  been 
questioned.  Indeed,  the  qualities  he  possesses 
seem  to  be  those  best  adapted  for  the  banking 
business,  and  "the  right  man  for  the  right  place" 
may  be  said  of  him  in  his  capacity  of  president. 

Though  far  removed  from  the  scenes  of  his 
youth,  Judge  Venable  has  never  forgotten  the 
associates  of  boyhood,  and  especially  has  he 
borne  in  mind  those  who  shared  with  him  the 
hardships  and  perils  of  forced  marches  and  fierce 
struggles  with  the  enemy.  It  is  an  unusual  oc- 
currence that  of  his  friends  (about  thirty  in 
number)  who  fought  in  the  Confederate  army, 
almost  every  one  came  to  California  and  more 
than  twenty  gained  for  themselves  prominence 
and  success  as  attorneys  or  jurists.  In  1872 
Judge  Venable  married  Miss  Alice  Watkins, 
daughter  of  G.  M.  Watkins,  of  Montgomery 
county,  Md.  They  are  the  parents  of  five 
daughters,  namely:  Catherine  Ralston,  Alice 
McDonald,  Edna  Louise,  Magdaline  and  Reida 
McDonald. 


WILLIAM  WAHRLICH. 

The  city  of  Salinas  is  the  abode  of  a  large 
number  of  men  who  were  thrown  upon  their 
own  resources  at  an  early  age  and  whose  nat- 
ural abilities  were  strengthened  by  contact  with 
the  world,  thus  gaining  for  them  the  esteem 
of  associates  and  financial  success.  Included  in 
this  list  is  Mr.  Wahrlich,  president  of  the  Wahr- 


Iich-Cornett  Company,  which  has  its  principal 
headquarters  in  Salinas,  but  also  operates  a 
branch  house  in  Soledad.  The  firm  have  their 
Salinas  store  in  the  McDougall  building  on 
Main  street,  and  thus  enjoy  the  advantages  of  a 
central  location,  in  the  best  part  of  the  city. 
Employment  is  furnished  In  about  fifteen  per- 
sons, whose  courtes)  to  customers,  combined 
with  the  genial  characters  and  well  known  up- 
rightness of  the  heads  of  the  firm,  have  given 
the  store  popularity  throughout  this  vicinity. 
A  large  stock  is  carried  that  embraces  all  the 
features  of  a  modern  department  store,  and  the 
proprietors,  buying  in  large  quantities,  are  able 
to  sell  at  particularly  reasonable  prices,  yet  en- 
joy a  fair  profit  as  compensation  for  their  own 
efforts. 

The  founder  of  this  large  business  was  born 
in  Schleswig,  Germany,  in  1855,  and  received 
an  excellent  education  in  German  schools.  On 
the  evening  of  the  day  that  he  was  twenty  years 
old  he  arrived  in  Salinas,  and  here  he  has  since 
made  his  home.  At  once  he  secured  employ- 
ment with  the  Vanderhurst-Sanborn  Company, 
syith  whom  he  remained  for  five  years  as  clerk, 
meantime  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
mercantile  business  in  all  of  its  details.  Fortified 
by  this  knowledge,  but  with  very  limited  means 
at  his  command,  in  18S0  he  established  a  small 
grocery  business.  His  experience  and  general 
business  talent  enabled  him  to  conduct  the  en- 
terprise successfully  from  the  first,  and  the  store 
received  a  constantly  increasing  patronage. 
Later  Mr.  Cornett  was  admitted  to  partnership 
and  in  1895  the  firm  was  incorporated  under  its 
present  title,  with  Mr.  Wahrlich  as  president 
and  J.  Andresen  secretary.  Among  the  direc- 
tors of  the  company  is  J.  P..  Iverson,  one  of  the 
most  influential  business  men  of  Salinas. 

In  1S80  Mr.  Wahrlich  married  Miss  Christine 
Krough,  a  native  of  Denmark,  and  of  their 
union  was  born  one  son,  Carl,  who  is  now  living 
in  San  Francisco.  A  man  who  gives  his  atten- 
tion so  closely  to  business  interests  as  does  Mr. 
Wahrlich  could  scarcely  he  expected  to  par- 
ticipate in  public  affair.'-,  and  it  is  not  surprising 
that  he  take-  no  pari  in  politics  However,  he 
keeps  well  posted  concerning  national  qui 
and  advocates  the  pi  :  by  the  Dem- 


33-1 


IIIST<  )RICAL    AND    UK  (GRAPHICAL    KLC<  >Kl>. 


ocratic  party.  If  he  has  had  no  time  for  pol- 
itics, still  less  has  he  had  leisure  to  participate 
in  fraternal  society  matters,  and  is  not  associ- 
ated with  any  of  these  various  organizations. 
losely  than  do  most,  he  has  confined  his 
attention  to  the  building  up  of  his  business,  and 
the  result  fully  justifies  the  time  and  thought 
lie  has  given  to  the  attainment  of  success. 


LUCIAN  SANBORN. 

Few  name-  are  more  inseparably  associated 
with  the  history  of  Monterey  and  Santa  Cruz 
counties  than  that  of  Lucian  Sanborn,  who  as 
merchant,  bank  director  and  general  promoter 
of  important  enterprises  proved  the  value  of  his 
citizenship  and  the  integrity  of  his  character. 
Perhaps  in  Salinas  he  was  best  known  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Vanderhurst,  Sanborn  &  Co., 
Incorporated,  which  has  conducted  a  large  and 
successful  business  for  the  past  thirty-five  or 
more  years;  however,  this  enterprise  did  not 
represent  the  limit  of  his  activities,  for  he  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Ford-Sanborn  Company, 
which  established  branch  stores  in  different 
parts  of  the  state  and  built  up  a  reputation  sec- 
ond to  no  firm  in  its  part  of  California. 

In  his  native  town  of  Merchantsport,  Me., 
Lucian  Sanborn  received  such  advantages  as 
the  common  schools  afforded;  these  being  but 
limited,  the  broad  knowledge  that  he  acquired 
was  the  result  of  self-culture  in  later  years  rather 
than  any  special  advantages  that  fell  to  his  lot 
in  youth.  During  the  excitement  caused  by  the 
discovery  of  sold  in  California,  in  1849,  he  was 
among  the  argonauts  who  sought  fortune  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  but,  failing  to  meet  with  the 
hoped-for  success  in  the  mines,  he  went  to  Wat- 
sonville,  and  soon  afterward  started  in  business 
with  Dr.  Ford,  forming  the  firm  of  Ford  & 
Sanborn,  general  merchants.  The  subsequent 
of  his  life  were  marked  by  great  activity 
ami  uniform  success.  Although  lie  started  out 
with  11..  means,  his  resolute  will  and  iron  deter 
mination  broughl  him  prosperitj  at  an  earlier 
in  it  comes  to  mOSl  self-made  men.  With 
a  keen  intuition,  rare  foresight  and  sound  judg 
liH'iit,  lie  was  fitted  t<i  conduct  mercantile  pur- 
suits   with    skill    and    efficiency,    and    every    firm 


with  which  he  was  identified  owed  much  to  his 
sagai  ity  and  energy.  He  became  a  heavy  stock- 
holder in  the  Monterey  County  Bank  and  served 
as  -in-  of  its  directors,  besides  which  he  had 
stock  in  other  banks.  Until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1899  at  seventy-six  years  of  age, 
lie  led  an  active  business  life,  giving  his  entire 
attention  to  the  management  of  his  commercial 
interests,  and  finding  all  the  recreation  he  de- 
sired in  the  companionship  of  his  wife  (formerly 
Caroline  Scott)  and  son  and  daughter. 

The  only  son  of  Lucian  Sanborn  is  L.  W. 
Sanborn,  secretary  of  the  Ford-Sanborn  Com- 
pany, and  a  young  man  of  marked  executive 
ability.  Born  and  educated  in  San  Francisco, 
after  he  had  completed  school  he  was  connected 
with  some  of  the  largest  firms  in  his  native  city, 
and  t  litis  acquired  a  broad  and  deep  commercial 
education  and  experience  which  has  proved  of 
the  greatest  value  to  him  since.  He  moved 
to  this  city  in  1889  and  has  since  made  his  home 
here.  Politically  he  advocates  Republican  prin- 
ciples, but  politics  appeals  less  to  him  than  busi- 
ness, and  his  time,  thought  and  attention  are 
concentrated  upon  the  varied  business  interests 
which  he  has  inherited  and  acquired. 


WILLIAM  SHIPSEY. 

In  addition  to  having  held  the  office  of  mayor 
of  San  Luis  Obispo  from  1898  to  1902,  Mr. 
Shipsey  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  author- 
ities on  law  in  the  county.  He  was  born  in 
Ireland,  and  was  reared  and  educated  for  the 
greater  part  in  and  near  the  city  of  Cork.  His 
earliest  aspirations  were  turned  toward 
telegraphy  as  a  means  of  support,  and  to  this 
i  nd  lie  perfected  himself  in  this  occupation 
while  still  in  his  native  land.  When  eighteen 
years  of  age,  in  [869,  he  came  to  the  United 
States  and  settled  in  Monterey  county,  and  aft- 
erward completed  his  education  in  St.  Mary's 
College.  San  Francisco,  graduating  in  187^  with 
the  degree  of  1'..  S.  lie  thereafter  turned  his  at- 
tention to  the  mercantile  business  in  Monterey, 
but  nol  finding  this  congenial  he  decided  to 
read  law.  and  entered  the  office  of  Judge  Greg- 
ory  in  Salinas.  I  luring  his  residence  in  Salinas, 
where  lie  remained  until  1876.  lie  served  as  dep- 


S.  W.  FOR  KM  AN 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


337 


uty  clerk  of  Monterey  county,  and  after  re- 
luming- to  San  Luis  Obispo,  he  again  entered 
the  office  of  Judge  Gregory,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  California  in  1877. 

In  1878  Mr.  Shipsey  located  in  Salinas  and 
formed  a  partnership  with  Judge  Gregory,  an 
association  amicably  and  satisfactorily  contin- 
ued until  his  removal  to  San  Francisco  in  1882. 
While  in  the  latter  city  he  was  for  a  time  part- 
ner of  Judge  William  J.  Graves  and  was  associa- 
ated  with  D.  M.  Delmas.  In  1884  he  located  in 
San  Luis  Obispo,  which  has  since  been  his  home. 
In  1890  Mr.Shipsey  married  Annie  Barrie  and  of 
this  union  there  are  five  children,  viz:  Edward, 
William,  Jr.,  Margaret,  Kathline  and  Helen. 
Mr.  Shipsey  has  one  brother,  Edward,  who  is 
a  physician  in  Ireland,  another  brother  who  is 
a  merchant  in  the  old  country,  and  a  brother, 
Thomas  Jacob,  also  a  physician,  who  died  after 
immigrating  to  the  United  States.  Mr.  Shipsey 
owes  his  position  as  head  of  municipal  affairs 
in  San  Luis  Obispo  to  his  acknowledged  ex- 
ecutive and  general  ability.  His  administration 
has  given  satisfaction  to  the  constituents  who 
placed  him  in  office,  and  his  tactful  handling  of 
important  public  responsibilities  and  complica- 
tions has  won  him  the  appreciation  and  ap- 
proval of  the  best  element  of  the  opposite  party. 


SOLOMON  W.  FOREMAN. 

For  many  years  before  his  death  Mr.  Fore- 
man owned  and  occupied  a  large  ranch  near 
the  city  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  in  Los  Osos 
valley.  He  was  born  near  New  Phila- 
delphia, Ohio,  in  1823,  and  was  a  son  of  Jacob 
ami  .Mary  Foreman,  natives  of  Pennsylvania, 
of  German  descent,  and  early  settlers  of  Ohio. 
For  years  they  made  their  home  at  New  Phila- 
delphia and  when  finally  they  passed  away  their 
bodies  were  laid  to  rest  in  the  cemetery  at 
that  town.  Solomon  W.  Foreman  was  a  self- 
made  man  and  his  education  was  so  thorough 
that  he  was  enabled  to  teach  school  with  more 
than  ordinary  success.  Having  considerable 
natural  ability  along  the  line  of  civil  engineer- 
ing, he  took  up  that  study,  and  for  some  years 
before  his  marriage  he  traveled  over  the  coun- 
try, employing  himself  in  that  occupation. 


With  the  customary  outfit  of  oxen  and  mule 
teams,  in  1859  -^lr-  Foreman  crossed  the  plains 
to  California,  being  accompanied  by  his  wife 
and  four  children.  Nothing  occurred  to  mar 
the  pleasure  of  the  trip,  which  they  thoroughly- 
enjoyed.  The  strange  surroundings,  the  con- 
stant changes,  the  camping  out  at  night  and 
eating  beside  the  camp  fire,  with  the  hearty 
appetite  which  only  the  fresh  air  of  mountains 
and  plains  can  induce — all  of  this  afterward 
formed  one  of  the  happiest  memories  of  Mr. 
Foreman's  well-stored  mind.  They  took  two 
cows  with  them,  so  there  was  no  want  of  an 
abundance  of  milk  and  butter.  On  the  Fourth 
of  July,  1859,  tnev  camped  at  Independence- 
Rock,  on  the  Sweetwater,  and  from  there  pro- 
ceeded to  Grass  valley,  in  Nevada  county, 
where  they  settled.  From  the  surveyor-gen- 
eral of  the  United  States  Mr.  Foreman  received 
contracts  for  the  survey  of  portions  of  Nevada. 
In  1864  he  went  to  San  Francisco,  where  he- 
took  a  government  contract  to  survey  Santa 
Cruz.  In  1867  he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo 
county  and  took  up  government  land.  How- 
ever, he  still  continued  his  chosen  occupation 
and  surveyed  in  various  parts  of  the  county; 
also,  in  the  capacity  of  deputy  United  Stati  - 
surveyor,  he  surveyed  portions  of  Arizona,  Ne- 
vada and  California.  To  him  belongs  the  credit 
of  originating  the  plan  for  the  Florence  canal 
in  Arizona,  the  construction  of  which  he  super- 
intended. 

About  1874  Mr.  Foreman  purchased  a 
ranch    in    Los    Osos    valley,   and   twelve   years 
later  he   established    his   permanent    home   on 
this  place,  giving  up  the   occupation   in   which 
he  had  been  so  successful  and  hoping  that   in 
the  quiet  life  of  a   farmer   he  could   regain    his 
health,   which   had   been   injured   by   overwork. 
However,   he   was   nol   a   man   contenl 
idle,  so  his  life  on   the  ranch  was  a  busy  one, 
and  he  made  a  number  of  important   imp 
ments.      In    1878  he   was  a  partner  ol    Ml 
ford    in     the    hardware     business    in    San     Luis 
Obispo.      From  the  age  of  twenty-one   lie  was 
identified  with  the  Masonic  order  and  was 
nected  with   King    David    Lodge    No.   _>,«,.    1". 
&    V   M.     Politically  lie  was  a  Republican  from 
tlie  time  he  attained  bis  majority. 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


The  marriage  of  Air.  Foreman  occurred  in 
1850  and  united  him  with  Margaret  Price,  a 
native  of  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Anna  (McGee)  Price.  During  her  hus- 
band's lifetime  she  was  his  devoted  helpmate 
and  since  his  death  she  has  wisely  and  judi- 
ciously conducted  the  home  ranch  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty-three  acres,  superintending  the  gen- 
eral work  with  acknowledged  ability.  Her  con- 
nection with  church  work  has  continued  through 
many  years.  She  was  the  first  member  of  the 
San  Luis  Obispo  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
the  first  contributor  to  the  Sunday-school,  and 
has  been  a  constant  worker  in  the  same.  Nine 
children  were  born  of  her  marriage,  namely: 
Mary,  wife  of  J.  W.  Flint;  Julia,  deceased; 
Emma,  who  is  the  widow  of  Judge  W.  H.  Ben- 
son, of  Florence,  Ariz.,  now  resides  in  Los 
Angeles;  Abbie,  wife  of  Leslie  Jacox;  Alice, 
who  married  Charles  Lemon,  of  Florence, 
Ariz.;  Kate,  wife  of  Albert  Barker,  county  treas- 
urer of  Pinal  county,  Ariz. ;  Anna,  wife  of  Frank 
Schilling,  a  resident  of  Colorado;  Harry  and 
Mabel,  who  died  when  three  years  old.  Besides 
rearing  her  children,  Mrs.  Foreman  has  also 
cared  for  a  granddaughter,  Alice  Truesdale,  who 
is  the  daughter  of  Julia  (Foreman)  Wobcken. 
Death  entered  the  home  and  removed  Mr. 
Foreman  from  the  midst  of  his  family,  August 
12,  1888,  after  a  useful  life  covering  sixty-six 
years,  eight  months  and  fourteen  days.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  his  death  was  mourned 
as  a  general  loss.  San  Luis  Obispo  county 
lost  a  typical  citizen,  one  who  had  started  in 
life  with  nothing  but  his  own  talents  and  up- 
right character,  and  who  achieved  success 
through  energy  and  perseverance.  Not  only 
was  he  successful  in  business,  but  also  in  that 
which   he  valued   more,  in  'gaining  the   respect 

ind  confidence  of  his  fellow  men.  When  he 
passed  away  the  county  was  deprived  of  a  val- 
uable promoter  of  its  prosperity.  Benevolence 
was  one  of  his  leading  traits.  No  man  was 
turned  away  unaided  when  it  was  in  his  power 
to  help  him.  His  heart  was  large,  but  his 
chanties  unostentatious  and  quietly  given. 
Undoubtedly    his    happiest    hours    were    those 

[Hiu  in  his  home,  surrounded  by  his  family, 
for  he  was  essentially  a  domestic  man,  and  cared 


little  for  public  affairs  or  official  honors.  That 
his  thoughts  often,  in  his  absence  from  home, 
dwelt  upon  his  family,  is  set  forth  in  the  fol- 
lowing poem,  which  he  composed  while  in  the 
mines  near  Nevada  City,  Cal.,  and  sent  to  his 
wife  and  two  children,  Margaret,  Mary  and 
May,  who  were  living  in  Winfield,  Ohio,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1852. 

-TO    THE    LOVED    ONES   AT    HOME,   M.    M. 
AND  M." 
Do  they  miss  me  at  home,  do  they  miss  me? 

'Twould  be  assurance  most  dear, 
To  know  at  this  moment,  some  loved  one 

Were  saying,  "I  wish  he  were  here;" 
To  feel  that  the  group  at  the  fireside 

Were  thinking  of  me  as  I  roam. 
Oh,  yes,  'twould  be  joy  beyond  measure. 

To  know  that  they  miss  me  at  home. 


When  twilight  approaches  the 

That  ever  was  sacred  to  song, 
Does  some  one  repeat  my  name  over. 

And  sigh  that  I  tarry  so  long? 
And  is  there  a  chord  in  the  music 

That's  missed  when  my  voice  is  away; 
And  a  chord  in  each  heart  that  maketh 

Regret  at  my  wearisome  stay? 

Do  they  place  me  at  the  table  a  chair, 

When  evening's  home  pleasures  are  nigh? 
When  the  lamps  are  lit  in  the  parlor. 

When  the  stars  look  down  from  the  sky, 
And  when  the  "good  nights"  are  repeated. 

When  all  are  preparing  to  sleep, 
Do  they  think  of  the  absent  and  waft  me 

A  whisper — "good  night"  o'er  the  deep? 

Do  they  miss  me  at  home  do  they  miss  me, 

At  morning,  at  noon,  or  at  night, 
Are  joys  less  eagerly  welcomed 

Are  pleasures  less  hailed  than  before, 
Because  one  is  missed  from  the  circle 

Because  I  am  with  them  no  more? 

O,  yes!  their  hearts  and  their  voices, 

Are  calling  me  back  as  I  roam; 
And  their  eyes  are  grown  weary  with  weeping. 

And  watch  but  to  welcome  me  home. 
Loved  ones, — ye  shall  not  wait  me   much  longer. 

I'll  hurry  me  back  over  seas — 
For  how  can  I  tarry  when  followed 

By  watchings  and  prayers  like  these? 

Mountains  and  deserts  now  part  us, 

Yet  wearisome  frettings  are  vain, 
The  invincible  fate  that  parted 

Will  assuredly  unite  us  again. 


HON.  GEORGE  STEELE. 

Through  a  long  period  of  residence  in  San 
Luis  (  »bispo  county,  continuing  from  the  fall 
of  1866  until  his  death,  October  21,  1901,  Judge 
Steele  acquired  a  thoroughly  knowledge  of  local 
resources  and  formed  a  wide  acquaintance 
among  the  people  of  the  central  coast  region. 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


He  was  born  in  Delhi,  Delaware  county,  N.  Y., 
May  14,  1825,  being  a  son  of  Nathaniel  and 
Damaris  (Johnson)  Steele,  natives  respectively 
of  Connecticut  and  New  York.  His  paternal 
ancestors  were  for  several  generations  identified 
with  the  early  growth  of  Connecticut,  from 
which  state  the  paternal  grandfather  removed 
to  New  York  and  made  settlement  in  Delaware 
county.  During  the  days  before  railroads  had 
revolutionized  our  modes  of  travel,  Nathaniel 
Steele  owned  and  operated  a  stage  line  running 
between  Kingston  and  Delhi,  and  he  was  also 
proprietor  of  the  finest  hotel  in  all  of  Delaware 
county,  besides  being  a  successful  farmer  and 
well-known  business  man.  Accompanied  by  his 
wife,  he  came  to  California  in  1856,  and  seven 
years  later  he  died  in  Marin  county,  when  sev- 
enty-six years  of  age.  His  wife  had  died  in 
1862.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children, 
all  but  one  of  whom  are  deceased. 

When  about  eleven  years  of  age,  in  1836, 
George  Steele  accompanied  his  parents  to 
Lorain  county,  Ohio,  where  he  afterward  at- 
tended public  schools.  His  education  was  com- 
pleted in  Oberiin  (Ohio)  College.  In  company 
with  his  cousin,  R.  E.  Steele,  in  1855  he  came 
to  California,  via  the  isthmus.  From  San  Fran- 
cisco he  proceeded  to  the  mines  and  spent  a 
year,  then  went  to  Marin  county  and  rented  a 
large  tract  of  land,  in  which  his  cousin  also  had 
an  interest.  Later  they  were  joined  by  his 
brothers  and  were  associated  in  building  up  one 
of  the  pioneer  dairy  industries  of  the  county. 
On  their  ranch  was  a  large  herd  of  milch  cows, 
and  the  cheese  and  butter  manufactured  were 
of  the  finest  quality.  In  1864  his  brothers 
moved  from  Marin  to  San  Mateo  county,  and 
he,  being  elected  county  judge  of  Marin  county, 
removed  to  San  Rafael,  the  county  seat,  where 
he  remained  until  his  removal  to  San  Luis 
Obispo  county.  On  his  arrival  here  he  bought 
a  tract  of  forty-eight  thousand  acres,  all  raw 
land,  comprising  portions  of  the  ranchos  Corral 
de  Piedra,  Pizmo  and  Bolsa  de  Ghemisal,  all  of 
which  were  old  Spanish  land  grants.  \  few 
small  adobe  buildings  formed  the  only  attempl 
at  improvement  which  had  been  made.  In  part- 
nership with  his  brothers,  I.  C.  and  E.  W.,  and  a 
O  msin.   R.   E.,    under    the    firm    title  of   Steele 


Brothers,  he  at  once  began  to  bring  the  land 
int..  fitting  condition  for  the  management  of  a 
stock  ranch.  A  large  herd  of  milch  cows  were 
driven  down  from  San  Mateo  county,  and  thus 
the  first  dairy  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  was 
established. 

Soon  the  products  of  the  ranch  began  to  be 
known  through, nil  Central  California.  Large 
shipments  of  cheese  and  butter  were  made,  bear- 
ing the  brand  of  Steele  Brothers.  Prosperity 
rewarded  the  constant  exertions  of  the  brothers, 
and  they  continued  together  harmoniously  for 
a  long  term  of  years.  At  last,  one  by  one,  they 
withdrew  from  the  business,  and  in  1880  the 
partnership  was  dissolved.  Afterward  Judge 
Steele  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock- 
raising  on  his  portion  of  the  ranch,  and  estab- 
lished an  extensive  agricultural  business.  The 
property  now  bears  little  resemblance  to  the  bar- 
ren tract  that  he  purchased  years  ago.  A  neat 
ranch  house  has  been  built;  other  buildings 
have  been  put  up  as  needed;  and  the  attractive- 
ness of  the  place  has  been  greatly  heightened 
by  the  grove  of  eucalyptus  trees  which  the  judge 
planted  near  the  house.  At  one  time  he  owned 
land  where  the  village  of  Edna  now  stands. 
When  the  railroads  were  built  through  the 
county,  he  donated  ground  for  the  depot  and 
gave  the  right  of  way  for  both  roads. 

Always  a  stanch  Republican,  Judge  Steele 
was  a  leader  of  his  party,  and  took  a  prominent 
part  in  political  campaigns.  In  1882  he  was 
elected  to  the  California  state  senate.  lie  was 
elected  for  a  second  term  in  the  fall  of  1884. 
receiving  a  majorit)  of  seven  hundred,  which 
was  the  largest  majority  received  by  any  mem 
ber  of  the  senate.  During  his  second  term  he 
introduced  a  bill  in  favor  of  the  temperance 
laws,  prohibiting  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
liquors  in  the  state.  Uiother  resolution  intro- 
duced by  him  was  in  favor  oi  woman's  suffrage. 
In  the  fall  of  1886  lie  was  elected  for  a  third 
term.  During  the  summer  of  the  same  year  he 
sat  in  an  extra  session  called  by  Governor 
Stoneman  to  pass  an  irrigation  law.  I  lis  service 
as  a  senator  r<  highest  credit  upon 

his  ability  and  faithfulness,  and  was  in  every  re- 
spect gratifying  to  his  constituents.  While  a 
member  of  that  body  he  ei .■'■  rOOlOte 


340 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD 


measures  uf  unquestioned  benefit  to  the  people, 
and  was  especially  interested  in  such  bills  as 
promised  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  people 
of  his  district.  Devotion  to  duty  was  the  key- 
note of  his  work  as  a  legislator.  At  other 
times  he  was  called  to  various  positions  of  honor 
and  trust.  In  1878-79  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  constitutional  convention  which  met  at 
Sacramento.  He  also  was  a  member  of  the  state 
central  committee  of  his  party  and  a  delegate  to 
state  conventions.  His  political  views  never 
were  allowed  to  degenerate  ipto  narrow  parti- 
sanship; he  was  a  citizen  first  and  a  politician 
afterward.  His  force  of  character  and  inde- 
fatigable energy  were  at  the  service  of  his  fellow- 
men  in  all  vital  issues  and  for  the  promotion 
of  every  worthy  movement.  With  true  public 
spirit  he  maintained  an  unceasing  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  his  county  and  state,  well  illustrating 
that  better  quality  in  men  which  delights  in  the 
upbuilding  of  commonwealths. 

In  1868  Judge  Steele  married  Delia  M.  Day, 
daughter  of  Norman  and  Julia  A.  Day.  By  a 
strange  coincidence  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Steele  were 
from  adjoining  townships  in  Ohio,  yet  they 
never  met  until  she  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo 
county  in  1867.  They  had  no  children  of  their 
own,  but  adopted  two,  one  of  whom  is  now  the 
wife  of  A.  T.  Mason,  and  the  other,  Frederick  P. 
Collins,  died  in  1902. 


WILLIAM   AUGUSTUS   SANBORN. 

Prom  the  extreme  eastern  terminus  of  the 
[  Fnited  States  to  its  remote  western  borders  rep- 
resents  the  change  of  location  made  by  W.  A. 
Sanborn,  one  of  Watsonville's  most  influential 
citizens.  Me  was  born  al  Machiasport.  Wash- 
ington county,  Me.,  July  i.  1843.  being  a  son 
of  William  and  Hannah  (Tobie)  Sanborn.  When 
he  was  three  years  of  age  his  mother  died  and 
later  he  was  placed  on  a  farm,  but  four  years 
of  that  life  caused  him  to  decide  that  any  change 
would  lie  for  the  better  and  he  welcomed  any 
hope  of  getting  away.  I  lis  father,  who  was 
quite  ill  with  asthma,  wished  to  join  two  sons  in 
(  alifornia,  and  so  purchased  a  ticket  around  the 
Horn.  The  boy,  not  having  money  enough  to 
buy   a  ticket,  shipped   as  cabin  boy  and  thus 


worked  his  passage.  After  a  voyage  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four  days  they  anchored  in 
San  Francisco  in  1857,  and  there  took  passage 
on  a  freight  vessel  for  Watsonville.  There  be- 
ing no  wharf  at  that  time,  the  vessel  anchored  in 
Monterey  bay  and  was  unloaded  by  surf-boats. 
The  passengers  as  well  as  the  freight  were  car- 
ried from  the  surf  boats  to  land  on  the  backs 
of  Indians.  Among  the  passengers  on  this  trip 
was  a  woman  who  weighed  two  hundred  pounds. 
For  a  moment  the  Indian  looked  at  her  du- 
biously; then,  faithful  to  his  duty,  he  backed  up 
in  the  water  body  deep;  she  mounted  and  was 
landed  safely  on  shore. 

On  his  arrival  in  Watsonville  William  A.  San- 
born joined  his  brothers,  Lucian  and  Newman, 
who  had  settled  here  earlier  in  the  '50s  and  were 
carrying  on  a  blacksmith's  shop.  They  were 
also  associated  with  Charles  Ford  in  the  mer- 
cantile business.  Their  father  was  much  bene- 
fited by  the  change  of  climate,  although  he  never 
regained  his  health  sufficiently  to  resume  work. 
He  died  in  1865  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years. 
For  a  short  time  William  A.  Sanborn  attended 
school  in  Santa  Cruz,  after  which  he  began  to 
work  on  a  dairy  ranch,  later  going  to  a  sawmill, 
and  then  to  the  powder  mills  of  Santa  Cruz  and 
Marin  counties.  Having  saved  enough  to  buy 
a  team,  he  embarked  in  the  teaming  business, 
but  the  experience  of  a  few  years  convinced 
him  there  was  little  to  be  made  in  the  occupa- 
tion. His  next  venture  was  renting  land  and 
raising  potatoes  and  grain.  Four  years  of  this 
work  enabled  him  to  accumulate  enough  to  buy 
eighty-seven  acres  of  the  E.  S.  Goldstein  ranch, 
one-half  mile  west  of  Watsonville,  for  which 
he  paid  $100  and  $125  per  acre,  the  price  vary- 
ing some  on  account  of  a  difference  in  the  soil. 
For  a  few  years  he  devoted  himself  to  clearing 
the  land  from  debt.  About  1882  he  began  set- 
ting out  trees,  planting  one  hundred  Bellefleurs 
and  one  hundred  of  other  varieties.  However, 
though  some  of  the  trees  grew  and  seemed  to 
flourish,  they  have  all  proved  either  unprofitable 
or  not  suited  to  the  climate;  with  the  exception 
oi  the  Bellefleur,  which  thrived  and  flourished 
under  conditions  that  brought  decay  to  other 
varieties.  Por  this  reason  he  took  out  many 
of  the  grades  and  now  has  eighteen  hundred 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


3  1 1 


and  eighteen  trees  in  fine  bearing  condition,  six 
hundred  and  forty  of  which  have  only  been 
bearing  since  1900.  During  1901  he  set  out 
four  hundred  and  eleven  trees.  In  addition,  he 
raises  pears  and  apricots,  as  well  as  the  finest 
peaches  in  the  valley. 

Experience  has  proved  to  Mr.  Sanborn  that 
the  sediment  land  along  the  river  is  the  best 
for  apples  and,  indeed,  for  all  fruit.  One  must 
see  some  of  the  fruit  raised  there  to  really  un- 
derstand and  appreciate  its  size  and  fine  qual- 
ity. The  size  of  the  Bellefleurs  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  forty-five  apples  have  often  filled  a  box 
1 2X 1 2x22,  weighing  net  forty-six  and  three- 
fourths  pounds.  The  average  price  is  $1  per 
box.  From  the  products  of  thirty  acres  of  trees 
he  received  $10,675  m  two  years  (1901-02), 
which  figures  will  convince  the  most  skeptical 
as  to  the  value  of  his  orchard.  The  crop  never 
fails.  Occasionally,  of  course,  a  tree  dies,  but 
this  happens  rarely,  the  most  of  the  trees  being 
sturdy,  healthy  and  flourishing. 

In  addition  to  fruit-raising  Mr.  Sanborn  de- 
votes considerable  attention  to  beets,  of  which 
the  average  is  twenty-eight  tons  per  acre  for 
thirteen  acres,  for  which  he  is  paid  $4.50  per 
ton.  Large  quantities  of  barley,  wheat  and 
beans  are  also  raised  on  the  farm.  At  this  writ- 
ing he  owns  fifty-four  acres,  of  all  of  which  he 
maintains  a  general  supervision,  although  leav- 
ing to  others  much  of  the  manual  work.  Since 
practically  retiring  from  active  labors,  he  has 
made -his  home  at  No.  152  East  Third  street, 
Watsonville,  where,  in  his  attractive  and  com- 
modious home,  he  enjoys  all  of  the  comforts  of 
life  and  finds  his  greatest  pleasure  in  the  society 
of  his  family.  His  wife,  Jennie,  is  a  daughter 
1  if  Daniel  Ross,  an  early  settler  of  Santa  Cruz. 
With  them  at  home  is  one  of  their  daughters, 
Carrie  C.  The  other  daughters  are  married, 
Willa  \ugusta  being  the  wife  of  E.  A.  Kumle, 
while  Anna  Ethel  married  Clarence  Walker, 
both  of  Watsonville.  Mrs.  Kumle  is  the  mother 
nf  three  children,  Alvin,  Jennie  and  Chester. 

Since  [864  Mr.  Sanborn  ha-  been  a  member  of 
•he  [ndependenl  <  irder  of  Odd  Fellows  and  he 
is  also  associated  with  the  Vncienl  Order  of 
United  Workmen.  All  through  his  busy  life 
he  has  kepi   in  touch  with  the  problems  before 


our  nation,  has  kept  himself  posted  concerning 
tariff,  free  trade,  currency,  and  the  many  other 
issues  confronted  in  various  epochs  of  our  na- 
tional history.  His  opinions  on  the  subject  of 
protection  have  led  him  to  ally  himself  with 
the  Republican  party.  Among  the  people  of 
Watsonville  he  has  a  host  of  friends,  who  have 
been  drawn  to  him  by  his  hearty  and  genial 
friendship,  his  enterprise  and  business  ability. 
He  has  a  pleasant  word  for  everyone  he  meets, 
whether  rich  or  poor,  old  or  young,  and  hence 
his  friends  are  as  numerous  as  his  acquaintances 
in  the  thriving  city  where  he  makes  his  home. 


W.  H.  SPENCER. 

Among  the  legal  practitioners  who  have  ma- 
terially increased  the  professional  prestige  of 
San  Luis  Obispo  county,  none  is  more  typically 
representative  of  western  enterprise  and  eastern 
conservatism  than  W.  II.  Spencer,  familiarly 
known  as  Judge  Spencer.  As  long  ago  a-  June 
15,  1879,  he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo  with  little 
backing  save  his  own  ability.  In  the  years  that 
have  intervened  he  has  built  up  an  enviable 
reputation  as  a  lawyer  and  citizen,  and  few  im- 
portant cases  before  the  courts  for  many  years 
past,  but  have  elicited  his  services  <>n  one  side 
or  the  other.  The  ancestral  heritage  of  the 
Spencers  is  an  enviable  one,  and  the  strong  and 
predominating  Scottish  traits  have  not  been  lost 
with  the  passing  of  years.  The  first  American 
representative  was  the  paternal  great-grand- 
father, who  left  Scotland  after  the  war  of  1745. 
and  settled  lit  is  supposed)  in  Virginia.  Two 
of  his  sons,  one  of  whom  was  the  paternal 
grandfather,  left  their  plows  to  shoulder 
muskets  on  the  battle  fields  of  the  Revolution, 
,-md  as  privates  followed  the  hosts  who  com- 
prised the  colonial  army.  The  father  of  Judge 
Spencer  was  horn  in  Bourbon  county,  Ky..  and. 

ntation  in  that 
was  a  civil  engineer  bj    occupation.     Through 
his   marriage   with     Miss     Brool  Clark 

county.  Ky.,  he  became  identified  with  a  prom- 
inent  Virginia  family  of  English  descent.  Mrs. 
r  being  a  dauj 
She    had   one    brother.     Roger,     wl 
ticipated  in   both   the   Mexican  and   Civil   wars. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


One  of  the  sons  of  Mrs.  Spencer,  Robert  Ed- 
ward, is  now  living  on  a  ranch  in  Texas. 

Judge  Spencer  was  born  in  Clark  county,  Ky., 
but  was  reared  and  partially  educated  in  Lexing- 
ton, Fayette  county,  of  the  same  state.  When 
about  sixteen  years  of  age  he  entered  Bethany 
College  in  West  Virginia,  from  which  institu- 
tion he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1870,  two 
years  later  graduating  from  the  University  of 
Kentucky.  Having  determined  to  enter  upon 
the  study  of  law,  he  entered  the  office  of  Gen. 
John  B.  Houston,  of  Lexington,  and  in  1874 
went  to  Fort  Scott,  Kans.,  and  practiced  law 
until  1879.  Not  content  with  the  prospects  of 
permanent  residence  in  the  Kansas  town,  he 
looked  around  for  more  certain  possibilities  and 
broader  fields,  both  of  which  materialized  in  the 
wake  of  his  earnest  efforts  after  coming  to  San 
Luis  Obispo. 

In  1 88 1  Judge  Spencer  was  united  in  marriage 
in  this  county  with  Maggie  Bouldin,  whose 
father,  Judge  Robert  Bouldin,  occupied  the 
lunch  111  Virginia,  and  came  to  California  in 
1874.  In  political  affiliation  Mr.  Spencer  is  a 
Democrat,  and  though  active  in  the  support  of 
his  party  has  never  sought  or  desired  official 
recognition.  Besides  his  legal  erudition  he  has 
much  to  justify  the  esteem  and  popularity  which 
is  his  in  the  community,  for  added  to  genial 
and  optimistic  personality  are  the  manners  of 
the  southern  gentleman  combined  with  the  sin- 
cerity of  the  north,  and  a  tactful  consideration 
for  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact. 


JACOB  H.  ORCUTT. 

Numbered  among  the  pioneers  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  county  is  Mr.  (  Ircutt,  whose  resilience 
here  dates  from  ( tctober,  [869.  Born  in  Chau- 
tauqua  county,  X.  Y.,  in  1835,  at  an  early  age 
he  wni  to  Rockford,  111.,  and  there  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  study  in  a  commercial  college.  For 
years  the  remote  regions  of  the  west  had  been 
the  theme  of  conversation  among  people  in 
every  walk  of  life.  Mam  had  crossed  I  he  plains 
in'  California,  ami  m  .1  a  lew  1  if  these  had  sent 
back  glowing  reports  of  success.  To  an  am- 
bitious young  man.  tins  seemed  the  opportunity 
desired,  ami  the  perils  and  hardships  of  an  over- 


land trip  were  lost  sight  of  in  the  hoped-for  suc- 
cesses which  the  future  held  out. 

In  1866  Mr.  Orcutt  fitted  out  a  freighting  out- 
fit and  started  on  his  westward  journey.  At 
first  he  worked  in  Colorado,  having  secured 
employment  as  a  freighter  between  Julesburg 
and  Cheyenne  as  far  as  Denver  and  to  George- 
town. A  more  startling  change  from  the  quiet 
existence  of  an  Illinois  home  could  scarcely  be 
imagined.  All  was  new  and  unfamiliar,  and 
there  was  much  to  daunt  the  courage  of  even  a 
brave  man.  He  remembers  well  having  wit- 
nessed the  Plum  creek  massacre  by  the  Indians, 
when  the  savages  wreaked  their  vengeance  on 
the  whites  for  injuries  perpetrated  or  imagined. 
After  freighting  for  a  year,  Mr.  Orcutt  secured 
a  contract  for  grading  work  on  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railroad,  and  for  three  years  he  continued 
in  this  work,  having  his  headquarters  in  a  camp 
near  the  scene  of  his  labors. 

Having  completed  the  contract,  Mr.  Orcutt 
came  to  California,  and  after  a  few  months  in 
Sacramento  he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo  county 
in  the  fall  of  1869.  He  inspected  the  country 
as  far  south  as  Los  Angeles,  traveling  overland 
by  stage.  His  first  location  was  at  Guadaloupe. 
where  he  rented  land  for  ten  cents  an  acre,  and 
embarked  in  the  sheep  industry  on  the  open 
range.  He  had  charge  of  the  original  Guada- 
loupe ranch  of  eleven  leagues  (48,884  acres)  and 
kept  on  the  land  about  three  thousand  head  of 
sheep.  In  1872  he  rented  twenty-one  thousand 
acres  at  Los  Alamos,  Santa  Barbara  county. 
and  driving  his  sheep  across  the  mountains,  soon 
became  extensively  engaged  in  the  breeding  and 
raising  of  stock.  The  uniform  prosperity  that 
rewarded  his  efforts  enabled  him  to  increase  his 
flock  to  eleven  thousand  sheep.  In  April.  1874, 
he  disposed  of  all  his  sheep  interests,  and  in 
June  bought  the  Major  Jackson  ranch  of  two 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  near  San  Luis  Obispo. 
The  property  had  no  improvements  other  than  a 
small  adobe  house  and  a  small  orchard.  The 
land  was  raw  and  uncultivated.  To  Mr.  Orcutt 
is  due  great  credit  for  the  transformation  that 
has  been  wrought.  Laurel  ranch  (for  by  this 
name  the  property  is  best  known)  has  claims  to 
notice   surpassed   by  no  property  in   the  state. 

The  fact  that   no  frost  ever  descends  upon   the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHIl    \[.    RECORD. 


valley  wonderfully  enhances  the  value  of  lands 
here.  In  his  orchard  he  not  only  has  various 
deciduous  fruits,  but  a  number  of  fine  navel 
orange  and  lemon  trees  as  well,  while  in  his 
garden  there  are  tomato  vines  four  years  old. 
A  number  of  shade  trees  increase  the  homelike 
effect  of  the  surroundings.  At  a  distance  may 
be  seen  the  Santa  Lucia  range  of  mountains, 
and  a  spring  which  has  its  rise  in  the  mountains 
furnishes  plenty  of  water  for  domestic  and  irri- 
gation purposes,  a  stone  reservoir  having  been 
built  by  Mr.  Orcutt.  The  stock  business  is  one 
of  his  leading  occupations.  On  his  place  there 
are  Jersey  and  Durham  cattle  of  registered 
stock  and  fine  strains,  also  standard-bred  horses 
and  over  five  hundred  head  of  Poland-China 
hogs.  To  his  original  acreage  he  has  added  un- 
til he  now  has  four  hundred  and  sixty-four 
acres. 

By  his  first  marriage  Mr.  Orcutt  has  a  daugh- 
ter, Cora,  and  by  his  second  wife,  who  was 
Rhoda  Fisher,  he  has  a  daughter,  Minnie  F., 
who  is  a  graduate  of  the  San  Luis  Obispo  high 
school.  Since  becoming  identified  with  San 
Luis  Obispo  county  he  has  assisted  in  the  de- 
velopment of  a  number  of  enterprises.  He  was 
a  stockholder  in  the  San  Luis  Obispo  Gas  As- 
sociation and  a  director  in  the  Race  Track 
Association,  which  he  assisted  in  organizing. 
Politically  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party. 
In  fraternal  relations  he  is  connected  with 
Chorro  Lodge  No.  168,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  in  which  he 
is  past  noble  grand;  he  is  also  a  member  of  the 
state  grand  lodge  and  a  charter  member  of  San 
Luis  Lodge  No.  210,  of  the  Rebekahs.  At  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  war,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany II,  One  Hundred  and  Fortieth  Illinois  In- 
Fantry,  and  was  assigned  to  the  western 
department,  his  service  being  entirely  upon  the 
frontier.  Some  years  ago  he  was  honored  with 
the  office  of  commander  of  Fred  Steele  Posl  Mo, 
70,  G.  A.  R.,  and  he  is  now  past  commander 
of  the  Central  California  Veterans'  Association. 

His  home  being  only  one  mile  south  of  the 
eiiv  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  Mr.  Orcutt  naturally 
keeps  posted  concerning  the  progress  of  the 
town  and  the  welfare  of  its  people.  Personally, 
he  is  a  man  of  fine  qualities,  possessing  the 
genial,  heart)-  and  friendly  manner  which  always 


characterizes  men  who  have  been  much  on  the 
frontier.  One  of  his  characteristics  is  his 
attachment  to  his  friends.  Beginning  life  in 
humble  circumstances,  he  is  always  in  sympathy 
with  young  men  who  are  struggling  to  make 
a  place  for  themselves,  and  more  than  one  owes 
him  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  a  kindly  act  or  as- 
sistance that  was  given  just  when  needed.  \ 
true  friend,  a  patriotic  citizen,  a  genial  com- 
panion,  Jacob  H.   Orcutt  is  respected   wherever 


1!'  IN.  GEORGE  PARDEE. 

Not  alone  through  his  labors  in  the  develop- 
ment of  land  in  the  Pajaro  valley,  but  also 
through  his  identification  with  many  movements 
looking  toward  the  progress  of  Watsonville  and 
through  his  able  service  as  a  member  of  the 
state  legislature,  is  Mr.  Pardee  entitled  to  the 
respect  of  his  fellow-citizens.  I  fe  was  born  in 
Herkimer  county,  X.  V..  November  28,  1829, 
being  a  son  of  Bela  and  Mary  (Thayer)  Pardee. 
In  his  native  county  and  in  Oneida  county,  same 
state,  he  grew  to  manhood  and  acquired  a  com- 
prehensive knowledge  of  agricultural  pursuits 
as  conducted  in  the  east.  While  he  made  gen- 
eral farming  his  principal  occupation,  he  did 
not  limit  himself  to  it.  but  conducted  an  im- 
portant dairy  business. 

From  New  York  via  the  isthmus  Mr.  Pardee 
came  to  California  in   1854  and  at  once 
in  the  lone  valley,    Amador  county,  where  he 
followed  gardening  and  fanning.     In  those  days 
the  raising  of  watermelons  was  a  very  imp 
industr)   and   he  devoted   some  attention  to  it 
there.     The  fall  of   1S56  found   him   in  t! 
jaro  valley,  where,  with   Messrs.  White,   Kidder, 
ECnowles  and  others,  he  purchased  one  thousand 

I   the   Rodriguez  ranch.     This  wa 
divided  and  Mr.  Pardee  with  George  H.  White 
received  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  on  which 
for  ten   years   the   two   men    raised    grain,  po- 
I  itoes  and  general  pr 

(  »n  selling  "lit  his  ranch  interests  Mr. 
nmission     merchant,    buyin 
shipping  to  San  Frani  is<  -     In  those   la;  -  there 
Grain    ami    p 
.here  Indians  were 


344 


riSTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


hired  to  carry  the  bags  on  their  backs  to  the 
surf.  There  the)  were  transferred  to  surf  boats, 
which  were  nearly  covered,  having  only  a  small 
opening  through  which  the  bags  were  thrown 
in.  When  the  boat  was  filled  the  opening  was 
covered  with  canvas.  By  means  of  horses  on 
shore,  connected  with  a  pulley  line  fastened  to  a 
buoy  which  was  anchored  by  the  awaiting  ves- 
sel, the  surf  boat  was  drawn  out  to  the  ship.  Of 
course  when  the  surf  was  running  high,  it  was 
impossible  to  load.  Even  under  the  most  for- 
tunate conditions,  two  days  were  required  for 
the  loading  of  a  small  vessel.  To  those  of  the 
present  generation  such  a  mode  seems  an- 
tiquated and  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  but  a 
comparatively  few  years  have  passed  since  the 
present-day  improvements  were  introduced. 
Were  it  necessary  now  to  have  recourse  to  such 
a  primitive  process,  not  an  Indian  could  be 
found  to  carry  the  bags,  for  the  red  men  have 
disappeared  from  their  once  favorite  haunts. 

After  twenty  years  in  the  commission  busi- 
ness Mr.  Pardee  entered  into  insurance  as  a 
representative  of  the  Firemen's  Fund.  He  as- 
sisted in  the  organization  of  the  Watsonville 
Gas  Company  and  for  years  acted  as  its  secre- 
tary. Shortly  after  settling  in  Watsonville  he 
erected  the  residence  at  No.  22  East  Fourth 
street,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home.  Be- 
sides his  service  as  member  of  the  legislature, 
to  which  he  was  elected  in  1867  on  the  Repub- 
lican ticket,  he  has  held  office  as  city  and  school 
trustee.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the 
local  lodge.  [.  O.  O.  F.,  in  which  he  is  past 
grand,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Or- 
der of  United  Workmen,  in  which  he  has  been 
financial  secretary.  Since  the  organization  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  he  has  been  one  of  its 
active  workers  and  a  trustee  of  the  eon 
tion. 

The  first  wife  of  VIr.   Pardee  was  Faith  Ris- 

don.  who  died  in    1S71    at   tin    age  of  thirty-four. 

Mi     second  wife,  Alice  Snow,  died  at  thirty-five 

Two  children   were  bi  irn  of  the  union : 

1  lertrude,   who  died    1  1  ars  ;  and 

I  .   who  is   assoi  iated  as  an  accountant 

with  Spreckels  >\  Co.     Hie  present  wife  of  \h 

1    bore  the  maiden  name  of   Minnie  Minerva 

and  the)   have  two  children,  '  leorge  M. 


and  Lamira  T.  The  family  stand  high  in  Wat- 
sonville and  have  many  friends  among  the  most 
cultured  people  of  the  city. 


HON.  THOMAS  RENISON. 

(  If  Air.  Renison  it  may  be  said  that  he  has  not 
only  recognized  opportunities,  but  created  them, 
and  that  while  filling  the  positions  of  trust  which 
the  confidence  of  the  people  and  his  own  ability 
have  brought  his  way,  he  has  not  only  main- 
tained former  standards,  but  has  raised  condi- 
tions within  reach  of  his  superior  ideas  of  justice 
and  municipal  purity.  For  many  years  active  in 
the  arena  of  politics,  he  has  through  the  inevita- 
ble fretful  strife  and  animosity  preserved  a  poise 
and  equilibrium  consistent  with  a  retention  of 
principle,  and  has  therefore  inspired  respect  in 
the  immediate  wake  of  antagonism.  As  one  of 
the  most  astute  lawyers  in  Monterey  county, 
and  at  present  one  of  the  firm  of  Renison  & 
Feliz,  he  has  handled  some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant legal  complications  in  Salinas  and  vicinity, 
and  has  won  an  extended  patronage  by  reason 
of  his  wide  understanding  of  law  and  adjustive 
ability.  The  present  mayor  of  Salinas,  Mr.  Ren- 
ison has  made  his  administration  a  worth)  one, 
his  election  having  occurred  in  1900,  for  a  term 
of  two  years. 

A  native  of  Ireland,  Mr.  Renison  was  born 
in  1S50,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  his  country,  graduating  from  the 
Model  school,  which  is  equivalent  to  the  Ameri- 
can high  school.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  im- 
migrated to  the  United  States,  arriving  in  San 
Francisco  in  1868.  After  investigating  the  pros- 
pects  in  San  Francisco  and  Oakland  for  a  few 
months,  he  came  to  Salinas,  and  has  since  been 
;n  increasingly  potent  factor  in  the  upbuilding 
of  the  town,  ever  returning  after  intervals  of 
residence  in  other  parts  of  the  county.  For  a 
short  time  lie  lived  in  Gonzales,  and  while  there 
embarked  upon  a  journalistic  venture,  establish 
ing  the  Gonzales  Tribune,  which  he  ran  for  two 
years,  in  connection  with  his  law  practice,  hav- 
ing been  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1881.  Subse- 
quentl)  he  sold  the  paper  and  returned  to 
Salinas,  bringing  with  him  Mrs.  Renison.  whom 
he  married  in  Gonzales,  and  who  is  a  native  of 


fot/St 


HISTORICAL    AND    BI<  (GRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


341 


Canada  and  before  her  marriage  Rebecca  Kidd. 
(  )n  the  Democratic  ticket  Mr.  Renison  was 
elected  to  the  state  legislature  in  1887,  and  re- 
elected in  1889,  and  one  of  his  chief  accomplish- 
ments in  the  interests  of  the  people  was  a  reso- 
lution addressed  to  congress  asking  that  United 
States  senators  be  elected  by  the  people.  The 
resolution  was  introduced  during  his  first  term 
of  office  and  met  with  defeat,  but  was  carried 
during  the  second  term.  In  1880  he  was  police 
judge  and  justice  of  the  peace,  and  while  study- 
ing law  was  deputy  district  attorney  under  J.  A. 
Wall.  During  all  the  campaigns  he  has  never 
failed  to  stump  the  county,  and  for  years  was 
chairman  of  the  county  central  committee.  At 
the  Fresno  convention  he  was  nominated  one 
of  the  presidential  electors  for  President  Cleve- 
land, but  resigned  the  honor  in  favor  of  Hon. 
William  Graves  of  Ran  Luis  Obispo.  Frater- 
nally Mr.  Renison  is  associated  with  Salinas 
Lodge  No.  204.  F.  &  A.  M.;  Salinas  Chapter 
Xo.  59,  R.  A.  M.;  Commandery  No.  22.  the 
Salinas  Grove  No.  101,  United  Ancient  Order 
of  Druids,  of  which  he  is  past  arch,  and  Salinas 
Lodge  No.  614.  B.  P.  O.  E. 

In  1896  Mr.  Renison  built  one  of  the  most 
pleasant  homes  of  the  city,  and  which  is  the 
scene  of  much  gracious  hospitality,  geniality 
and  good  fellowship.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Renison 
have  been  born  two  daughters:  Mabel,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Walter  Raley,  of  the  firm  of  Raley, 
Chapman  &  Co.,  wholesale  commission  mer- 
chants; and  Genevieve,  who  is  living  at  home. 


WILLIAM  L.  BEEBEE. 

Whoever  labors  to  secure  the  development  of 
his  country,  striving  to  bring  out  its  latent  re- 
sources; who  is  devoted  to  the  general  welfare 
of  the  people;  who  seeks  to  promote  the  cause 
of  justice  and  in  the  course  of  a  long  life  ad- 
vances, directly  or  indirectly,  our  commercial, 
educational  and  agricultural  growth,  he  it  is 
who  earns  a  place  as  a  public  benefactor  and  is 
entitled  to  mention  in  the  pages  of  history.  Such 
is  the  character  and  such  the  record  of  William 
I  .  Beebee,  one  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of  Cali- 
fornia and  one  to  whose  determination,  perse 


verance  and  energy  not  a  little  of  the  state's  de- 
velopment may  be  attributed. 

The  story  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Beebee  is  one  of 
interest,  and,  were  he  alive  to  narrate  it,  the 
scenes  that  he  witnessed  during  his  active  ca- 
reer in  California,  the  hardships  that  he  endured 
and  the  obstacles  that  he  surmounted,  would 
make  a  large  volume.  His  biography  dates  from 
November  21,  1829.  when  he  was  born  in  Os- 
wego,  N.  Y,  in  the  home  of  William  L.  and 
Mary  (Douglass)  Beebee,  natives  of  New  York 
state.  In  1834  the  family  removed  to  Cleveland. 
Ohio,  where  it  was  the  father's  intention  to 
engage  in  the  mercantile  business,  but  about  a 
year  after  his  arrival  he  died  of  malaria.  The 
widow,  with  her  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  re- 
turned to  her  father's  home  in  Auburn.  N.  Y. 

When  William  L.  Beebee  was  a  boy  of  four- 
teen he  was  taken  into  the  office  of  an  uncle  in 
Philadelphia,  with  whom  he  remained,  in  that 
city  and  New  York,  for  two  years.  Our  lives  are 
fashioned  strangely,  and  often  a  seemingly  un- 
important event  changes  the  entire  tenor  of  our 
existence.  It  proved  so  with  Mr.  Beebee. 
When  James  K.  Polk  became  president  of  the 
United  States  he  appointed  William  G.  More- 
house consul  to  Valparaiso,  and  that  gentleman 
gave  Mr.  Beebee  an  opportunity  to  accompany 
him.  Being  young  and  possessing  a  love  of  ad- 
venture, he  quickly  accepted.  In  November, 
1846.  he  sailed  on  the  bark  Hortensia  from 
Baltimore,  the  other  passengers  on  the  boat 
being  Consul  Morehouse,  with  his  wife  and 
child;  Henry  D.  Cook,  who  became  governor 
of  Washington  under  President  Grant,  and  two 
young  Californians.  When  the  ship  had 
reached  the  latitude  of  the  Bermudas  a  fierce 
storm  arose  and  for  six  da\s  the  vessel  was  at 
the  mercy  of  the  waves.  Each  hour  the  passen 
gers  expected  to  be  their  Iasl  on  earth.  When 
al  Iasl  the  si, inn  subsided,  the  ship  was  left 
without  masts  and  with  a  hole  in  her  bow.  A 
jury  mast  was  hastil)  rigged  up  and  the  vessel's 
head  was  turned  in  the  direction  of  the  island  of 
St.  Thomas,  in  the  West  Indies.  Finally  they 
n  ai  hed  that  island  in  safety.  Learning  tha 
British  had  a  regular  line  sailing  from  South- 
ampton i"  <  hagres,  and  from  Panama  to  Val 
the}    availed  themselves  of  this  knowl- 


348 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


edge,  and  proceeded  to  Chagres  on  a  small  pilot 
boal  thai  they  chartered.  The  trip  from  Chagres 
to  Panama  consumed  a  week,  and  was  made 
partly  on  muleback  and  partly  by  poling  up  the 
Chagres  river. 

No  vessel  was  ready  to  start  from  Panama, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  remain  at  that  un- 
healthful  point  for  ten  days,  when  they  took 
passage  on  the  regular  steamer  for  Valparaiso. 
The  latter  city  proved  to  be  one  of  great  inter- 
est to  the  traveler.  It  was  full  of  life  and  en- 
terprise, reminding  him  in  that  respect  of  his 
former  home  in  the  north,  although  in  every 
other  respect  it  was  radically  different.  Several 
opportunities  to  secure  office  work  came  to  him, 
but  nothing  that  seemed  to  offer  special  induce- 
ments, so  after  some  months  in  that  town  and 
Santiago  he  decided  to  seek  an  opening  else- 
where. One  day  there  appeared  in  the  port  of 
Valparaiso  the  United  States  storeship  South- 
ampton, among  whose  officers  was  Lieutenant 
Commander  Thornton  and  Executive  Officer 
Worden.  They  invited  Air.  Beebee  to  accom- 
pany them  to  California,  and  he  accepted  their 
invitation  gladly.  He  became  well  acquainted 
with  Air.  Worden  during  the  voyage  and  learned 
that  he  was  weary  of  a  seafaring  life.  It  would 
have  seemed  then  that  he  would  not  continue 
in  the  service  long  enough  to  achieve  an  undy- 
ing fame  as  commander  of  the  Monitor  in  the 
famous  battle  between  that  vessel  and  the  Mer- 
rimac. 

August  25,  1847,  the  ship  anchored  at  Monte 
rey,  Cal.,  where  Mr.  Beebee  found  considerable 
sickness  and  he  himself  fell  a  victim  to  what 
was  known  as  the  Monterey  fever.  Wishing  to 
go  to  San  Jose,  he  secured  the  desired  oppor- 
tunity on  board  the  Malacadel,  an  unseaworthy 
craft,  which  did  not  reach  Sausalito  until  Sep- 
tember.  He  went  ashore  at  Verba  Buena,  and 
there  met  Joseph  S.  Ruckle,  from  whom  he 
thai  his  former  Eellow-passenger,  Henry 
10k,  was  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Ruckle  at 
San  Jose.  Accepting  an  offer  of  a  clerk-hip 
in  thai  house,  he  soon  gained  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  San  Jose  and  its  surroundings.  His 
111  was  such  that  he  had  Erequenl  opportu- 
of  traveling  through  California,  in  which 
soon  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of 


the  west.  On  one  of  these  trips  he  accompanied 
a  party  of  Mexicans  on  an  elk  hunt  to  the  San 
Joaquin  river.  Frequently  he  traveled  along  the 
bay  of  San  Francisco  and  speculated  upon  the 
city  that  would  some  day  be  planted  there,  real- 
izing that  the  excellent  harbor  would  be  util- 
ized for  the  landing  of  ships  from  ail  over  the 
world.  However,  neither  he  nor  any  of  the 
old  pioneers  ever  imagined  that  this  future  city 
would  be  founded  on  the  sand  hills  by  the  bleak 
mountain  side,  in  what  would  seem  the  least  de- 
sirable position  possible.  Indeed,  those  very 
sand  hills  were  cordially  disliked  by  every  trav- 
eler, for  they  impeded  his  progress  and  ob- 
structed his  view.  Scarcely  any  one  dreamed  of 
investing  a  penny  in  such  lands.  However.  Mr. 
Beebee  did  buy  a  lot  there  for  $16.75,  which  he 
sold  in  1849  for  $1,600. 

When  gold  was  discovered,  Mr.  Beebee  was 
one  of  the  first  to  reach  the  mines,  and  he  met 
with  some  success  in  his  search  for  gold.  In 
the  fall  of  1848  he  went  to  Verba  Buena,  and  in 
the  spring  of  the  next  year  he  came  to  San  Luis 
Obispo  county  with  Samuel  A.  Pollard.  The 
two  men  opened  a  store  and,  on  the  corner  of 
Monterey  and  Chorro  streets,  put  up  what  was 
the  first  store  building  in  San  Luis  Obispo. 
Their  customers  were  principally  ranchers  from 
the  adjoining  country,  some  of  them  coming 
from  points  as  far  distant  as  forty  miles.  A 
few  year-  later  Mr.  Beebee  withdrew  from  the 
firm  and  settled  on  a  ranch  eight  miles  south  of 
San  Luis  Obispo,  where  he  met  with  success  for 
some  years.  Unfortunately,  during  the  drought 
of  1864-65.  he  lost  fifteen  hundred  head  of  cattle, 
and  this  so  changed  his  opinion  of  stock-raising 
that  he  soon  sold  the  ranch  of  twelve  hundred 
acres  to  Steele  Brothers. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Beebee 
was  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Union  and  he 
afterward  became  a  leader  in  the  Republican 
partv.  Governor  Stanford  recognized  his  prom- 
inence by  appointing  him  judge  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  county.  At  the  expiration  of  a  year  he 
v  as  regularly  elected  to  the  office,  and  re-elected 
at  the  end  of  the  term.  I  >n  selling  his  ranch  he 
had  returned  to  town,  and  in  i860,  with  John 
Harford  and  L.  Schwartz,  he  embarked  in  the 
lumber  business,  Mr.  Schwartz  doing  the  buy- 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


a-iy 


ing  of  timber,  Mr.  Harford  the  shipping,  while 
he  had  charge  of  the  selling.  The  three  men 
were  well  fitted  to  attain  success,  each  possess- 
ing qualities  that  would  promote  the  prosperity 
of  the  enterprise  in  which  they  had  embarked. 
However,  it  was  perhaps  most  largely  due  to 
Mr.  Beebee's  wise  course  as  manager  that  the 
business  became  so  large  and  profitable.  Their 
trade  aggregated  as  much  as  ten  million  feet  of 
lumber  per  year.  Indeed,  they  practically  con- 
trolled the  lumber  trade  in  this  part  of  Califor- 
nia, and  they  also  had  extensive  interests  in  the 
shipping  which  touched  at  Port  Harford.  In 
addition  to  the  headquarters  at  San  Luis  Obispo, 
they  owned  yards  at  Cayucos,  where  they  were 
interested  in  the  wharf  as  members  of  the  firm 
of  James  Cass  &  Co.  After  having  managed 
the  business  for  fifteen  years,  Mr.  Beebee  placed 
it  in  a  condition  permitting  his  gradual  retire- 
ment, although  to  the  last  he  maintained  a  close 
oversight  of  all  his  moneyed  interests.  He 
owned  interests  in  several  schooners  engaged  in 
the  coast  and  foreign  trade  and  one  of  these 
(which  was  among  the  largest  of  that  day)  bore 
his  name,  lie  aided  in  organizing  the  Bank  of 
San  Luis  Obispo,  in  which  he  was  a  stockholder, 
and  he  was  also  vice-president  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank.  Among  his  other  interests  was  the 
ownership  of  a  dairy  ranch  of  five  hundred  acres 
fifteen  miles  from  San  Luis  Obispo. 

Through  all  of  his  active  life  Mr.  Beebee  never 
lost  his  fondness  for  travel,  and  while  during 
the  pressure  of  business  activities  iie  was  not 
able  to  gratify  this  feeling,  as  soon  as  he  had  re- 
tired he  gave  himself  up  to  this  favorite  recrea- 
tion. In  1886  he  visited  Alaska.  The  next  year 
he  made  a  tour  of  Europe,  while  in  1888  he 
visited  Yellowstone  Park  and  studied  the  won- 
ders of  nature  there.  He  was  twice  married,  and 
his  second  wife,  who  was  Arietta  S.  Beswick, 
survives  him.  By  his  first  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Alida  St.  Clair,  he  had  two 
children:  William  D.  and  Addie  I'..,  who  died 
at  seven  years  of  age. 

During  the  last  three  years  of  his  life  Mr. 
Beebee  suffered  almost  constantly.  I  lis  health 
was  gradually  undermined,  and  three  times  he 
was  stricken  with  apoplexy.  The  last  stroke 
proved  fatal,  and  resulted  in  his  death  June  1. 


1899,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  years,  six  months 
and  ten  days.  The  funeral  services  were  held  in 
the  Pioneers'  Hall,  San  Francisco,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Pioneers  Society  of  California, 
with  which  he  had  lung  been  connected  as  an 
honored  and  active  member.  Thus  passed  from 
among  us  one  who,  during  his  last  years,  seemed 
like  a  connecting  link  between  the  remote  past 
and  the  prosperous  present,  one  whose  arrival 
in  California  antedated  the  famous  emigration 
of  1849,  and  whose  history  for  more  than  a  half 
century  was  intimately  associated  with  the 
growth  of  this  state.  All  along  the  Pacific  coast 
there  were  men  who  heard  of  his  death  with 
sorrow  and  who  regarded  it  as  a  personal  be- 
reavement. Especially  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county  was  the  loss  keenly  felt,  for  it  was  here 
that  his  greatest  work  was  accomplished  and  his 
most  fruitful  years  passed. 

The  only  son  of  Mr,  Beebee  is  William  D.. 
who  was  born  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  Cal.,  in 
1876.  in  the  house  that  is  still  his  home.  Prima- 
rily educated  in  local  schools,  he  was  later  sent 
to  St.  Matthew's  in  San  Mateo,  of  which  A.  L. 
Brewer  was  principal,  and  in  1896  he  was  grad- 
uated from  that  institution.  For  a  time  after 
leaving  college  he  was  connected  with  the  bank, 
and,  since  its  affairs  have  been  closed  up.  he 
has  given  his  attention  to  the  management  of 
the  property  inherited  from  his  father,  and  also 
to  the  several  vessels  he  owns,  plying  in  foreign 
waters  between  Honolulu  and  Australia.  In 
1898  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Odulia  M. 
Estudillo,  a  member  of  an  old  family  of  Califor- 
nia, to  whose  history  reference  is  made  else- 
where in  this  volume.  The)  have  three  children: 
Enide  E.,  Eulalia  F.  and  William  L. 


IK  )N.  GE<  do  ,1'   1  r.    RADCLIFF. 

The  position  held  by  Mr.  Radcliff,  that  of 
postmastei  at  Watsonville,  came  to  him  by  ap- 
pointment in  [902,  .1^  the  successor  of  B  \  '  '- 
borne.  Former  incumbents  of  the  office  were 
A.  B.  Hawkins.  George  I'..  Card,  EL  S.  Fletcher, 
('.  O.  Cummings  and  Edward  Martin,  b 
the  first   incumbent  of  thi  I      The 

building    occupii   I  "N    "" 

Main  street  in  the   Peck  block,  and  situ 


:!.-,() 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


of  1897  has  been  a  second-class  office.  In  Jan- 
uary of  1901  a  free  delivery  system  was  estab- 
lished, and  two  rural  routes  are  also  a  part  of 
the  present  modern  system.  Connected  with 
the  office  are  Mrs.  Radcliff.  assistant  post- 
master: Eva  B.  Osborne,  Frank  Brandon  and 
I  high  W.  Judd,  clerks;  Ray  Wycoff,  substitute; 
Harry  Bridgewater  and  Clark  Hockabout,  city 
carriers,  and  O.  A.  Schuchard,  substitute;  rural 
delivery,  George  W.  Post,  who  travels  twenty- 
seven  and  one-half  miles  between  11:40  a.  m. 
and  4:00  p.  m.,  so  that  the  people  in  rural  dis- 
tricts may  receive  their  mail  and  daily  papers 
promptly;  S.  B.  Atkinson,  who  travels  daily  to 
Valencia  and  Corralitos,  delivering  to  people  all 
along  that  route;  II.  Covell,  substitute  rural 
carrier;  and  C.  E.  Hoyt,  mail  carrier  to  trains. 
Under  the  oversight  and  supervision  of  the  post- 
master all  of  the  work  is  conducted  with  system 
and  dispatch.  For  the  convenience  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  in  order  that  they  may  be  correctly  in- 
formed as  to  the  mail  service,  he  has  issued  a 
printed  list  giving  time  of  receipt  and  delivery  of 
mail,  time  of  collection  in  boxes,  etc..  which  has 
been  of  benefit  to  business  men  as  well  as  the 
general  public.  There  are  six  deliveries  of  mail 
daily.  In  all  of  the  work  the  general  supervision 
of  a  master  mind  is  observable,  and  many  trib- 
utes  of  praise  have  been  bestowed  upon  the 
postmaster  for  his  prompt  and  ready  conduct 
of  affairs.  Further  decided  improvements  are 
contemplated  for  the  office. 

\  native  of  California,  Mr.  Radcliff  was  born 
in  Grass  Valley,  Nevada  county,  February  6, 
[868,  and  is  a  son  of  Philip  Radcliff.  The  lat- 
ter was  born  on  the  Isle  of  Man  and  in  early 
■  >d  came  to  the  United  States,  settling  in 
[bledo,   Ohio,   where   lie   followed  the   occupa- 

11 f  -1  mining  engineer.    In  1858  he  removed 

t.i  Michigan  and  from  there  came  to  California 

via  Panama,  accompanied  by  his  wife.  Catherine 

idson),  whom  he  married  in  Philadelphia, 

Pa,     <  hi  settling  in   Nevada  county  he  took  up 

upation   of   mining    engineer    and   con- 

tinued  al    thi    >ami    until  his  death,  which  oc- 

1  in  1S77,  al  the  age  of  fifty-two  years. 

The  education  of  G  !  idcliff  was  se- 

cured in  the  grammar  school  of  his  native  town, 
he   came    to   Watsonville  and   entered 


upon  an  apprenticeship  in  the  office  of  the  Paja- 
ronian,  of  which  his  brother,  W.  R.  Radcliff,  was 
then  and  is  yet  the  editor  and  proprietor. 
Through  the  energy  and  ability  displayed  in  the 
work  he  soon  rose  to  the  position  of  manager 
of  the  office,  and  as  such  has  continued  after 
entering  public  life.  Receiving  in  1899  the  nom- 
ination as  representative  from  this  district  to 
the  state  legislature,  as  the  candidate  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  he  was  successful  in  winning  the 
election,  and  served  for  two  and  one-half  terms, 
the  latter  one-half  term  being  on  special  session 
work  in  1901.  Prior  to  this  he  had  gained  legis- 
lative experience  by  serving  as  journal  clerk  and 
clerk  of  the  senate  committee  on  banks  and 
banking  in  the  legislature.  In  1890  he  was 
elected  city  clerk  and  assessor,  which  office  he 
filled  with  the  same  fidelity  characteristic  of  his 
entire  public  service.  In  fraternal  orders  he  has 
maintained  an  interest,  and  has  been  elected  to 
prominent  positions  in  various  organizations. 
As  president  of  the  Eagles  and  an  active  worker 
in  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  he  is  associated 
with  two  leading  organizations  of  Watsonville. 
In  March,  1887,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Na- 
tive Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  in  which  he  has 
filled  all  the  chairs  up  to  and  including  that 
of  district  deputy  grand  president  of  the  Grand 
Parlor  of  the  state,  and  also  served  two  years 
as  a  grand  trustee  of  the  order  in  the  state, 
declining  further  re-election.  He  and  his  wife, 
who  was  formerly  Florence  Huss  of  Grass  Val- 
ley, are  prominent  in  the  most  select  social 
circles  of  their  city  and  have  many  friends  both 
Inn-  and  in  their  former  home  in  Nevada  county. 


JOHN   WHICHER. 

The  county  clerk  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county 
is  of  eastern  birth  and  parentage,  but  has  spent 
his  life,  from  his  earliest  recollection,  west  of 
the  Mississippi  river.  His  father  was  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  the  now  populous  city  of 
Des  Moines.  Iowa,  and  for  some  years  was 
identified  with  its  business  interests.  In  every 
place  where  he  made  his  home  he  became 
known  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  intelligence. 
His  loyalty  to  the  government  he  proved  in 
early   life,   when   he  enlisted   for  service   during 


(P>AUw^?$i.^7  l^u^M^ 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


the  I '.lack  Hawk  war.  At  the  opening  of  the 
Civil  war  he  gave  his  sympathy  enthusiastically 
to  the  Union  and  proved  his  patriotism  by  en- 
listing in  the  Fourth  Iowa  Infantry,  afterward 
holding  a  commission  as  lieutenant.  The  last 
years  of  his  life  were  passed  in  Colorado,  and 
he  died  and  was  buried  in  Pueblo  in  1884.  His 
wife,  Rachel,  was  a  daughter  of  Dr.  James  Hol- 
inan.  .if  Richmond,  Ind.,  and  a  niece  of  Hon. 
William  Holman,  for  some  years  a  member 
of  Congress  from  Indiana.  Mrs.  Whicher  made 
her  home  with  her  son  John  (the  sole  survivor 
of  her  family  of  eight  children)  until  her  death, 
which  occurred  April  18,  1902.  Her  oldest 
son,  James  S.,  was  in  command  of  the  Sec- 
ond Indiana  Battery  during  the  Civil  war,  and 
afterward  settled  in  St.  Louis.  Mo.,  where  he 
was  killed  during  the  cyclone  a  few  years  ago. 
In  Urbana,  Ohio,  John  Whicher  was  born 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1855.  When  two  years  of 
age  he  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Des  Moines, 
Iowa,  where  he  received  his  education  primarily 
in  public  schools.  Later  he  took  a  course  of 
study  in  Keokuk  Business  College.  While 
still  a  boy  he  became  ambitious  to  make  his 
own  way  in  the  world,  and  at  fifteen  he  secured 
employment  in  a  printing  office,  where  he  re- 
mained some  years.  In  1879  he  left  home 
and  went  to  Denver,  Colo.  The  following  year 
found  him  in  Leadville.  which  had  recently 
gained  a  world-wide  fame  through  the  discov- 
ery of  its  mines.  During  the  four  years  he 
spent  in  that  mining  camp  he  gained  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  town  to  be  positive  that  he 
did  not  wish  to  settle  there  permanently.  He 
dates  his  residence  in  California  from  1886, 
when  he  arrived  in  Los  Angeles.  The  spring 
of  the  same  year  witnessed  his  arrival  in  San 
Luis  Obispo,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home. 
For  a  time  he  was  employed  in  the  office  of 
the  Tribune,  but  resigned  that  position  in 
order  to  enter  upon  his  official  duties.  In 
1894  he  was  elected  county  clerk,  and  his  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  was  so  satisfactory  to  the 
people  that  they  chose  him  to  be  his  own  suc- 
cessor in  1898.  Accuracy  and  system  are  said 
to  be  two  of  the  leading  characteristics  of  Mr. 
Whicher,  and  these  qualities  admirably  adapt 
him  for  the  successful  discharge   of  his  duties 


as  county  clerk,  a  position  that  calls  for  care- 
ful attention  to  detail  on  the  part  of  its  incum- 
bent. That  his  administration  of  the  office 
has  been  pleasing  to  the  people  his  re-election 
abundantly  proves.  The  people  of  the  county 
place  the  greatest  confidence  in  his  honorable 
character  and  executive  ability.  A  few  years 
since,  when  the  County  Bank  failed,  he  was 
chosen  to  act  as  manager  in  the  closing  up  of 
its  affairs,  and  still  serves  in  this  capacity,  hav- 
ing meantime  devoted  considerable  time  to 
this  important  work. 

In  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  December  13,  1882. 
Mr.  Whicher  married  Miss  Isabel  Hoffman, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  that  city.  In  his 
political  views  he  has  always  adhered  to  Repub- 
lican principles,  and  his  elections  to  office  have 
been  as  the  candidate  of  this  party.  The  Benevo- 
lent Protective  Order  of  Elks  number  him 
among  their  number.  He  is  also  high  in  the 
ranks  of  Masonry,  being  worshipful  master  in 
King  David  Lodge  No.  209,  F.  &  A.  M.;  past 
high  priest  in  San  Luis  Chapter  No.  62.  R.  A. 
M.;  and  past  eminent  commander  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  Commandery  No.  27,  K.  T. 


DR.  J.   M.   McCURRY. 

One  of  the  most  versatile  and  successful  of 
the  professional  men  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county 
is  Dr.  James  M.  McCurry,  who  has  a  large  den 
tal  practice  throughout  the  county,  and  a 
than  passing  reputation  as  a  sculptor  and  d<  1 
otee  of  the  fine  arts.  In  1859  he  was  burn  in  Al- 
legheny City.  Pa.,  where  he  was  educated  prima- 
rily in  the  public  schools,  and  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  youth.  His  father,  John  T.  McCurry, 
served  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war. 
and  as  a  soldier  in  the  Twenty-second  Pennsyl- 
vania  Volunteer  Infantry  participated  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Antietam,  South  Mountain  and  many 
others  of  large  and  small  importance,  hi  this 
army  service  he  was  not  alone  as  far  as  kith 
or  kin  were  concerned,  for  a  brother  foug 
his  side  in  the  same  regiment,  and  with  him 
.shared  the  terrible  vi  war.     On  the 

maternal    side  tin-  doctor  is  related  to  another 
old  Pennsylvania  family,  for  the  name  of  Cole- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


baugh  has  for  man)  years  been  familiar  to  the 
\,  r\   old  residents  of  the  stair. 

\,  an  aid  to  future  independence.  Dr.  Mc- 
Curry  learned  the  trade  of  stone  and  marble  cut- 
ting and  carving,  but  his  early  evinced  talent. 
and  also  the  generall)  unhealthy  nature  of  the 
work,  led  him  to  regard  his  attainments  in  this 
direction  rather  as  an  accomplishment  than  as 
a  practical  present  means  of  livelihood.  He 
therefore  decided  in  favor  of  dental  work,  and 
after  removing  to  what  is  now  the  state  of 
W'a-liington  he  practiced  dentistry  for  several 
years.  In  1895  he  went  to  ?an  Francisco  and  in 
1  Sun  entered  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  den- 
tal department  in  the  class  of  1900.  Meantime, 
in  1898,  he  permanently  located  in  San  Luis 
(  )bispo,  and  has  since  become  one  of  the  fore- 
most   lental  practitioners  of  the  county. 

The  marriage  of  Dr.  McCurry  and  Alice  F. 
Hammond  occurred  in  Allegheny  City  in  1881, 
and  of  this  union  there  are  three  children.  Har- 
old lames,  Nellie  A.  and  Lillian.  Dr.  McCurry 
is  politically  affiliated  with  the  Republican  party, 
although  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
American  party.  From  the  standpoint  of  office- 
holding  he  does  not  entertain  aspirations,  but  is 
nevertheless  a  conscientious  and  painstaking 
voter.  As  a  sculptor  he  has  grasped  the  essen- 
tials of  this  remarkable  and  interesting  art,  and 
has  evoked  out  of  marble  many  fine  productions. 
He  has  completed  busts  of  President  McKinley, 
Admiral  Dewey,  and  many  other  men  promi- 
nently  before  the  public,  and  now  has  a  design 
in  progress  for  the  McKinley  monument. 


CHARLES  C.  REED. 

Located  on  a  portion  of  the  great  Buena  Vista 
ranch  in  Monterey  county  is  the  twenty-two 
acre  ranch  belonging  t.>  Charles  C.  Reed,  one 
of  the  thrifty  and  successful  agriculturists  of 
this  productive  valley.  Though  his  responsibil- 
ity is  not  as  large  as  that  of  many  of  his  neigh- 
Mr.  Reed  make-  a  good  living  for  him- 
self and  little  family,  and  the  care  and  neatness 
evident  from  a  survey  of  hi-  property  denote  not 
only  enterprise  bul   progress,     lie  is  making  a 


specialty  of  beets  and  poultry,  and  engages  in 
general  farming  and  a  little  stock  raising. 

A  native  1  >f  West  Virginia,  Mr.  Reed  was  born 
August  24.  1854,  a  sou  of  William  Reed,  also  a 
native  of  the  Old  Dominion  state,  and  who  was 
.1  farmer  up  to  the  time  of  his  untimely  death  at 
the  age  of  thirty-six  years.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  Charles  C.  was  eleven  years  of  age.  and 
the  boy  remained  with  his  mother  until  her  sec- 
ond marriage,  at  which  time  he  was  fifteen  and 
inclined  to  start  out  in  the  world  for  himself. 
He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  in  the  vicinity 
of  his  home,  and  thereafter  combined  farming 
with  his  trade,  usually  working  for  the  surround- 
ing farmers.  He  came  to  California  in  1876, 
'locating  in  Sonoma  count}',  where  he  worked  as 
a  carpenter  for  about  three  years,  and  then  ran 
a  very  large  ranch  on  shares  for  two  years. 
Subsequently  he  ran  a  very  large  ranch  on 
shares  for  about  eleven  years,  and  in  181)4 
bought  his  present  home  of  twenty-two  acres. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Reed  was  formerly  Fannie 
Dillon,  a  native  of  California,  and  of  this  union 
there  have  been  born  four  children,  the  oldest 
of  whom  died  young.  Etta,  William  E.  and 
Emma  are  living  at  home.  Mr.  Reed  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  political  affiliation,  but  has  never  desired 
or  sought  political  recognition.  Mrs.  Reed  is 
a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church. 


J.  11.  MENKE. 


One  of  the  soundest  and  most  conservative 
financial  institutions  of  Monterey  county  is  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Salinas,  of  which  that 
popular  and  progressive  German-American,  J. 
II.  Menke,  is  the  president  and  propelling  force. 
In  his  effort  to  elevate  the  standard  of  his  town 
lie  has  donated  liberally  to  all  worthy  causes, 
and  has  lent  the  weight  of  his  influence  on  the 
side  of  advancement.  He  is  the  owner  of  the 
Salinas  brewery,  and  has  from  time  to  time  be- 
come the  possessor  of  various  city  and  country 
properties,  including  several  farms  in  this 
count  v.  Possessing  a  splendid  knowledge  of 
finance  and  a  shrewd,  level  business  head,  he 
has  made  the  best  of  his  opportunities  in  the 
west,  and  has,  besides,  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  all  who  know  him  wish  him  well,  and 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


355 


rejoice  in  the  strict  integrity  which  has  charac- 
terized all  of  his  dealings. 

Until  his  seventeenth  year  Air.  Menke  lived 
and  studied  at  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
town  of  Hanover,  Germany,  where  he  was  born 
in  1848.  Of  an  expansive  turn  of  mind,  he  early 
formed  a  decision  to  conduct  his  future  opera- 
tions in  the  new  world,  and  upon  arriving 
in  Xew  York  found  employment  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  ship  chandler  for  three  years  and  a 
half.  He  came  to  San  Francisco  in  1869.  and 
worked  for  three  years  in  a  grocery  store,  after 
which  he  removed  to  Santa  Cruz  and  was  vari- 
ously employed  until  he  settled  in  Salinas  in 
1874.  With  the  money  earned  through  his  own 
efforts  and  frugality  in  America  he  purchased 
a  half  interest  in  the  old  Salinas  brewery,  and 
conducted  the  same  with  his  partner,  Mr.  Lurz, 
until  the  death  of  the  latter  in  1889.  Mr.  Menke 
then  purchased  the  remaining  half  of  the  brew- 
cr\,  and  that  year  erected  a  new  place  fur  the 
conduct  of  his  business,  his  handsome  and  com- 
modious residence  being  close  at  hand.  In  1892 
he  established  the  bank  of  which  he  is  now 
president,  and  which  has  since  enjoyed  an  un- 
interrupted era  of  prosperity. 

In  1879  Mr.  Menke  married  Emma  Tholcke, 
a  native  of  Germany,  and  of  this  union  there 
are  the  following  children:  William,  who  is  in 
his  father's  bank;  Litha,  Emma,  Henry,  Mamie 
and  Carl.  Mr.  Menke  is  politically  a  Democrat, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  city  council.  Fraternally 
he  is  a  member  and  treasurer  of  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Knights  of 
Pythias. 


TIMOTHY  COWLES. 

Although  during  the  period  of  the  '50s  Cali- 
fornia attracted  many  men  of  doubtful  reputa- 
tion, it  has  been  the  glory  of  the  state  that  it 
also  attracted  thousands  of  young  men,  sturdy 
of  frame,  energetic  of  will,  upright  in  life  and 
honest  in  every  transaction.  To  this  latter  class 
belongs  Timothy  Cowles.  a  pioneer  of  1851,  and 
now  a  retired  rancher  residing  in  Watsonville. 
He  was  born  in  Peacham,  Vt.,  April  26,  1814, 
being  a  son  of  Timothy  and  Susan  (Fairchild) 
Cowles,  and  of  Danish  descent.     It  is  worthy 


of  note  that  he  is  the  fifth  in  direct  line  bearing 
the  name  of  Timothy.  He  learned  the  hatter's 
trade  under  his  father  and  some  years  later  he 
and  a  younger  brother  took  up  the  hat  business, 
which  enabled  them  to  support  themselves  and 
aid  in  maintaining  the  large  family.  However,  in 
1850,  when  a  tariff  was  placed  on  fur  and  silk, 
the  business  could  no  longer  be  conducted 
profitably,  and  was  then  discontinued. 

At  that  time  California  was  the  Eldorado  of 
many  a  dream  on  the  part  of  energetic  young 
men  in  the  east.  Mr.  Cowles  sought  his  father's 
advice  on  the  subject,  and  when  advised  to  go 
he  at  once  proceeded  to  New  York,  took  pas- 
sage on  a  vessel  fur  Nicaragua,  and  landed  at 
San  Francisco  Thanksgiving  Day,  1851,  and  the 
next  day  proceeded  to  Yuba.  That  place  wit- 
nessed his  first  efforts  as  a  miner,  but  after  five 
months  he  proceeded  to  Placerville  and  in  the 
fall  of  1852  became  a  miner  in  a  notorious  min- 
ing camp  that  was  called  Maquelumne  Hill.  The 
first  sight  he  witnessed  there  was  a  crowd  of  wo- 
men fighting  in  the  streets.  There  were  no 
churches  or  orders  there  at  the  time,  but  it 
was  his  privilege  to  assist  in  the  building  of 
the  Congregational  Church  there,  and  he  was 
elected  deacon  of  the  congregation.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  a  large  congregation  attended 
the  services  and  the  movement  proved  of  the 
greatest  benefit  to  the  morals  of  the  camp. 
A  Masonic  lodge  had  been  started  there  and 
in  1856  he  was  initiated  into  Masonry  there, 
following  the  example  of  his  father,  who  had 
been  made  a  Mason  in  1824.  While  at  the 
camp  he  officiated  both  as  junior  and  senior 
warden  of  the  lodge  and  was  recognized  as  one 
of  its  ablest  workers.  Besides  mining  he  worked 
in  sawmills  and  took  contracts  for  cutting  large 
tracts  of  timber  for  the  mills.  In  1854  he  re- 
moved to  Calavares,  where  he  combined  mining 
with  vegetable  gardening.  October  3,  1866,  he 
settled  in  Antioch,  where  he  took  up  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres,  but  this  claim  he  subse- 
quently lost. 

Going  to  San  Francisco  Mr.  Cowles  happened 

i    Rev.  Mr.  Starr,  from  whom  he  learned 

that  a  large  dairy  ranch  was  about  to  be  estab 

lished   near  San   Juan.      Mo   went    there   and   in 

July,   1868,  secured  the  position  of  man.!. 


356 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  San  Justo  dairy,  owned  by  Flint,  Bixby  & 
Co.  At  firsl  the  dairy  had  only  eighteen  cows, 
but  under  his  supervision  it  was  increased  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty  cows,  and  so  popular  were  the 
products  that  butter  bearing  the  brand  of  the 
San  Justo  dairy  was  sold  for  $1.10  a  roll.  In  the 
fall  of  1877  he  came  to  the  Pajaro  valley  and 
purchased  ninety-seven  acres,  comprising  what 
is  known  as  Ward's  ranch.  In  addition  he 
rented  pasture  land  for  his  stock,  which  included 
one -hundred  and  fifty  head  of  hogs.  For  ten 
years  he  followed  general  farming  and  stock 
raising,  meantime  also  setting  out  three  hundred 
apple  trees,  erecting  a  neat  house  and  other 
buildings,  and  finally,  in  1887,  selling  the  prop- 
erty for  almost  double  what  he  had  paid  for  it. 
He  then  bought  a  home  in  Watsonville,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  In  1848  he  married  Cyn- 
thia, daughter  of  James  and  Jeane  (McPhee) 
Shaw,  natives  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  She  died 
February  19,  1884,  leaving  three  children, 
namely:  Horace  H.,  who  resides  on  a  ranch; 
Hortense  C.  who  is  the  widow  of  A.  S.  Weston: 
and  Caroline  M.,  who  presides  over  her  father's 
home  and  ministers  to  the  comfort  and  happi- 
ness of  his  declining  years.  Although  past 
eighty-eight  years  old,  Mr.  Cowles  is  hale  and 
active,  and  spends  his  time  in  wood  carving, 
having  turned  out  some  fine  cabinets  and  doing 
considerable  work  in  this  line. 


R.  G.  FLINT. 


In  disposing  of  the  western  opportunities 
which  have  come  his  way,  R.  G.  Flint,  one  of 
the  substantial  citizens  of  San  Miguel,  has  dis- 
played characteristic  enterprise.  He  was  born 
in  London.  ( )ntario,  Canada.  February  27,  1862, 
and  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  northern 
home.  His  father.  Pirney,  one  of  the  pioneers 
to  whom  the  present  western  prosperity  is  due, 
came  from  his  native  home  in  England  when  a 
boy,  accompanied  by  his  parents.  He  was  one 
of  the  earlier  enthusiasts  to  appreciate  the  min- 
ing possibilities  on  the  coast,  and  after  crossing 
the  plains  with  ox-teams  and  wagons  in  1848, 
was  more  successful  than  the  average  in  wrest- 
ing from  the  hidden  stores  of  the  earth  a  liveli- 


hood and  even  competence.  He  located  in  Sac- 
ramento county  and  filed  on  land  which  was 
never  proved  up,  and  where  he  was  naturalized 
as  an  American  citizen.  Eventually  he  worked 
at  his  trade,  that  of  stone  mason,  but  in  later 
3  ears  removed  from  San  Francisco  to  his  old 
home  in  Canada,  where  he  raised  fruit  on  his 
farm  and  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
sex-en  years.  His  wife,  Ann  (Elson)  Flint  was 
born  in  Canada,  and  was  the  mother  of  two  sons 
and  six  daughters,  of  whom  R.  G.  was  the 
second. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  R.  G.  Flint 
located  on  the  Nacinimento  ranch,  which  was 
a  large  one.  and  represented  a  large  responsibil- 
ity. At  first  a  farm  hand,  he  rapidly  arose  in  the 
confidence  of  the  management,  and  after  serving 
as  foreman,  creditably  maintained  the  position 
of  manager.  Thus  he  remained  with  the  ranch 
for  thirteen  years,  acquiring  in  the  meantime 
a  wide  knowledge  of  ranching  affairs  in  the  west. 
In  1895  he  engaged  in  the  butcher  business  in 
San  Miguel,  and  after  a  time  was  able  to  buy 
out  the  people  who  owned  the  business,  and  con- 
duct it  himself  on  a  larger  scale.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  he  owns,  but  leases,  the  shop  and 
slaughter  yard.  For  a  time  he  engaged  in  an 
extensive  ranching  business,  owning  six  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  of  land  on  the  Nacinimento 
river,  which  has  since  been  disposed  of.  At  the 
present  time  he  is  engaged  in  loaning  money, 
and  in  looking  after  his  many  interests  in  the 
town  and  county. 

The  pleasant  and  commodious  residence 
erected  by  Mr.  Flint  is  occupied  by  his  wife  and 
child,  the  former  of  whom  is  Anna,  daughter  of 
George  Davis,  one  of  the  California  '49ers.  Mr. 
Davis  crossed  the  plains  with  ox-teams,  and  was 
fortunate  in  securing  employment  with  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company,  with  whom  he  remained  for 
several  years.  He  lived  for  a  time  in  Oregon, 
and  for  some  years  in  Santa  Cruz,  but  of  late 
years  has  made  his  home  in  San  Miguel.  (  »ne 
child,  Ethel,  has  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Flint.  Mr.  Flint  is  interested  to  some  extent 
in  quick  silver  mining.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
national  politics,  and  was  made  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  in  1886.  With  his  wife  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


■:,:, 


DENNIS  FILIPPONI. 

From  his  native  country,  Switzerland,  Mr. 
Filipponi  crossed  the  ocean  to  America  in  1869 
and  at  New  York  took  passage  on  a  ship  bound 
for  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  thence  proceeded 
to  San  Francisco,  where  he  arrived  on  the  25th 
of  March.  His  first  months  in  California  were 
spent  at  San  Jose,  after  which  he  procured  work 
in  a  sawmill  in  Sonoma  county  and  later,  for 
several  years,  was  employed  as  a  dairyman  in 
Marin  county.  During  1873  he  came  to  San 
Luis  Obispo  county  and  rented  a  dairy  at 
Morro,  which  he  conducted  for  thirteen  years. 
In  the  meantime  he  invested  his  savings  in  his 
present  ranch,  consisting  of  six  hundred  and 
sixty-three  acres,  and  forming  a  part  of  the  old 
grant  known  as  Los  Osos  rancho.  This  prop- 
erty has  been  his  home  since  August,  1889. 
On  taking  possession  of  the  ranch,  one  of  his 
first  improvements  was  the  building  of  fences 
to  inclose  the  tract.  Other  improvements  were 
made  from  time  to  time,  as  the  owner's  means 
permitted.  Being  familiar  with  the  dairy  busi- 
ness and  knowing  it  to  be  a  profitable  industry, 
under  favorable  circumstances,  he  decided  to 
turn  his  attention  to  it,  and  accordingly  put  up 
the  necessary  buildings.  From  sixty  to  seventy- 
five  cows  were  milked  and  the  dairy  averaged 
75  pounds  of  butter  per  day.  Unfortunately,  the 
dry  season  of  1898  proved  ruinous  to  the  busi- 
ness, and  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  reduce 
by  one-half  the  number  of  his  cows.  He  then 
turned  his  attention  to  general  farming,  and  to 
the  raising  of  lima  beans  and  barley.  Of  both 
cattle  and  horses  he  kept  a  good  grade,  and 
indeed  the  ranch  is  one  of  the  best  conducted  in 
the  neighborhood.  In  1901  he  added  to'  his 
estate  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  acres,  join- 
ing his  first  purchase  on  the  southeast. 

As  a  Republican  Mr.  Filipponi  takes  an  active 
part  in  local  matters  and  is  a  member  of  the 
county  central  committee  for  San  Luis  Obispo 
county.  For  six  years  he  served  as  a  director 
of  the  Los  Osos  school,  and  during  that  time 
assisted  in  organizing  the  school  library.  Frater- 
nally he  is  a  member  of  King  David  Lodge  No. 
162,  F.  &  A.  M.;  San  Luis  Obispo  Chapter 
No.  62,  R.  A.  M.;  and  San  Luis  Commandery 


No.  27.  K.  T.,  and  is  interested  in  everything 
pertaining  to  Masonry.  While  living  in  North- 
ern California  he  was  for  several  years  a  director 
in  the  Dairyman's  Union  of  San  Francisco,  and 
was  a  charter  member  of  the  same.  At  the  same 
time  he  was  a  stockholder  in  the  Bank  of  Swit- 
zerland at  San  Francisco.  Included  in  his  pos- 
sessions are  other  lands  besides  his  ranch  in 
San  Luis  Obispo  county.  Indeed,  his  present 
prosperity  proves  that  he  merits  commendation, 
for  he  came  from  his  native  land  wholly  without 
means  and  with  the  added  disadvantage  of  not 
understanding  American  customs  and  people. 
His  children,  of  whom  there  are  eight,  were 
born  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  and  are  being 
prepared,  by  careful  home  training,  for  positions 
of  usefulness  in  the  world. 


OTTO  STOESSER. 

From  the  time  of  settling  at  Watsonville,  in 
April,  1853,  until  his  death,  which  occurred  May 
18,  1902,  Mr.  Stoesser  wras  one  of  the  most 
influential  business  men  and  citizens  of  the  place. 
Emphatically  a  man  of  work,  he  was  never  idle, 
but  continued  to  be  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
and  active  men  of  the  Pajaro  valley.  No  enter- 
prise of  merit  was  projected  that  failed  to  re- 
ceive his  substantial  encouragement;  and  every 
plan  for  the  promotion  of  the  public  welfare  had 
the  benefit  of  his  keen  judgment  and  wise  co- 
operation. A  man  of  broad  and  charitable  views, 
he  aided  every  movement  for  the  advancement  of 
education,  morality  or  the  well-being  of  the 
community.  During  the  many  years  of  his  con- 
nection with  the  mercantile  interests  of  Watson- 
ville he  conducted  his  affairs  so  wisely  and  ener- 
getically that  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
the  largest  taxpayer  in  the  city.  This  good  for- 
tune did  not  come  to  him  by  luck  or  chance,  but 
was  the  result  of  legitimate  business  investment 
and  careful  management. 

A  glimpse  over  the  life-record  of  Mr.  Stoesser 
shows  that  he  was  born  in  Gaggennau,  near 
Baden-Baden,  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Baden, 
Germany,  November  iS,  [825,  and  was  a  son 
of  Dominick  Stoesser.  Seeking  a  home  in  the 
new  world,  lie  landed  in  New  York  June  25, 
1846,    and    from    there    went    to    Norfolk,    Va., 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


where  he  worked  for  one  and  one-half  years. 
From  that  time  until  1850  he  visited  a  number 
of  places  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  and 
worked  for  a  short  time  successively  in  Wil- 
mington, N.  C,  Columbia  and  Danville,  Pa. 
His  last  employer  in  the  east  was  John  Hagan, 
at  No.  308  Market  street,  Philadelphia.  Re- 
signing that  position  February  22,  1850,  he 
started  for  California,  and  on  the  27th  embarked 
on  the  Zenobia  for  San  Francisco.  The  voyage 
around  the  Horn  was  tedious,  varied  only  by  a 
few  stops,  including  four  days  at  Valparaiso. 
August  13  he  landed  in  San  Francisco,  where  he 
found  work  with  M.  L.  Wyun,  manufacturer  of 
Wynn's  golden  syrup.  While  there  he  witnessed 
the  celebration  incident  to  the  admission  of  Cal- 
ifornia into  the  Union.  Next  he  went  to  Burns' 
Diggins,  near  Agua  Fria,  where  he  had  little 
luck  at  mining.  December  25  found  him  again 
in  San  Francisco,  with  only  $4.85.  The  first 
employment  he  was  able  to  secure  was  that  of 
cabin  boy  (or  flunkey,  as  they  were  then  called) 
on  board  the  steamer  Columbia,  bound  for  Pan- 
ama, to  which  point  he  went,  returning  on  the 
same  vessel  in  March,  185 1.  Again  he  tried 
mining  on  the  Feather  river  and  later  at  Rich 
Par  mines,  but  the  work  proved  a  failure  and 
he  was  discouraged  from  all  further  attempts. 
On  his  return  to  San  Francisco  he  started  to 
work  as  a  cabin  boy,  but  seeing  a  sign  in  a  res- 
taurant window.  "Wanted,  a  dish-washer,"  he 
went  into  the  restaurant,  secured  the  work  and 
stayed  there  ten  days.  He  was  then  made  sec- 
ond pastry  baker  in  a  restaurant  on  Kearny 
street,  but  twenty-four  days  after  he  went  there 
the  restaurant  was  burned.  Soon  he  found  sim- 
ilar employment,  and  in  time  received  large 
pay.  March  2,  1853,  he  was  induced  by  Dr. 
Vandeburgh  to  go  to  Santa  Cruz  and  engage  in 
merchandising,  so  brought  a  stock  of  goods  via 
the  steamer  Major  Tompkins  and  opened  a 
store  on  Front  street,  near  the  old  Santa  Cruz 
house. 

\i  the  end  of  a  month  Mr.  Stoesser  packed  his 
goods  in  three  wagons  and  started  for  Watson- 
ville,  where  he  arrived  April  m,  1853.  On  a  lot 
adjoining  the  present  store  he  opened  up  head- 
quarters and  three  months  later  bought  out  his 
partner,    Dr.    Vandeburgh.      Later    he    built    a 


house  next  his  store,  but  this  he  moved  to  Rod- 
riguez street,  and  in  1873  built  the  present 
double  store,  two  stories  high,  which  he  con- 
ducted until  his  death.  He  was  a  stockholder  in 
the  Pajaro  Valley  Bank  and  owned  a  large  farm 
near  town,  also  valuable  city  property,  includ- 
ing his  elegant  residence  On  the  corner  of  Third 
and  Rodriguez  streets.  For  thirty  years  he  was 
treasurer  of  Watsonville.  holding  the  office  by 
successive  re-elections  until  he  finally  declined 
to  serve  longer.  He  was  never  a  candidate  for 
any  other  position,  preferring  to  devote  himself 
to  business  matters;  but,  had  he  expressed  a 
willingness  to  serve  in  any  position,  it  would 
have  been  his,  such  was  his  popularity  among 
the  people  of  the  valley.  The  only  organization 
to  which  he  belonged  was  the  Santa  Cruz 
County  Pioneers,  of  which  he  served  as  vice- 
president  for  some  years.  He  assisted  in  organ- 
izing the  first  fire  department  in  Watsonville  and 
maintained  his  interest  in  the  department 
through  all  his  life. 

Though  passed  from  the  scene  of  his  labors. 
Mr.  Stoesser  is  not  forgotten,  and  his  influence 
will  not  cease  as  long  as  there  are  public-spir- 
ited men  who  remember  with  gratitude  the  en- 
terprising efforts  of  this  pioneer.  Having  won 
his  daily  bread  by  the  most  strenuous  exertions 
in  early  days,  he  always  felt  a  keen  sympathy 
with  the  working  people,  and  was  exceedingly 
considerate  of  his  own  employes.  It  was  said 
that  a  position  with  him  always  meant  "for  life 
or  during  good  behavior."  From  boyhood  until 
death  he  bore  an  unsullied  reputation,  as  an  hon- 
est, liberal-minded  and  conscientious  man.  His 
illness  was  of  brief  duration,  lasting  only  during 
two  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which  he  passed  away 
iike  a  peaceful  dropping  into  sleep.  In  his  last 
days  he  could  look  back  over  the  past  without 
remorse,  and  forward  into  the  future  without 
fear,  with  the  profound  comfort  of  a  life  well 
spent,  ami  the  unwavering  consolation  of  having 
done  his  full  duty  on  every  occasion  where  time 
with  its  changes  has  called  him. 

In  1861  Mr.  Stoesser  married  Elizabeth  J. 
Doran,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Julia  (O'Far- 
rell)  Doran.  They  became  the  parents  of  two 
children,  Julia  M.  and  Otto  D.  The  son  was 
born  in  Watsonville  in  1868  and  married  Kath- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


36] 


erine,  daughter  of  Capt.  Thomas  Leminan,  of 
San  Francisco.  Since  the  death  of  his  father 
lie  has  had  charge  of  the  estate  and  conducts  the 
business,  giving  promise  by  his  keen  business 
acumen  and  wise  judgment  of  equaling  his 
father  in  financial  success.  The  family  are 
members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  from 
which  Mr.  Stoesser  was  conveyed  to  his  last 
resting  place  in  Valley  cemetery,  the  body  being 
followed  by  one  of  the  longest  processions 
known  in  the  history  of  Pajaro  valley. 


THOMAS  J.  FIELD. 

The  vice-president  of  the  Bank  of  Monterey 
is  one  of  the  men  of  whom  his  adopted  city  is 
justly  proud.  On  the  paternal  farm  near  New 
Frankfort.  Scott  county.  Ind.,  where  he  was  born 
June  3,  1848.  he  acquired  that  independence 
and  appreciation  of  outside  opportunities  usu- 
ally engendered  while  rising  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, working  hard  from  dawn  to  sunset,  and 
getting  an  education  which,  because  of  its  in- 
termittent nature,  becomes  a  prized  privilege 
rather  than  a  stern  duty.  His  father,  Moses, 
was  born  in  Ohio,  and  lived  in  both  Kentucky 
and  Indiana,  in  which  latter  state  he  is  still 
living  in  Bloomington,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three  years. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  Mr.  Field  left  the  home 
surroundings  and  went  to  railroading  in  Ken- 
tucky, continuing  the  same  occupation  after  re- 
moving to  California  January  2,  1875.  For  eight 
years  he  was  associated  with  the  Southern  Pa- 
cific Railroad,  his  headquarters  during  that  time 
being  in  San  Francisco.  His  services  became  of 
value  to  the  company,  and  he  was  promoted  to 
the  more  responsible  position  of  right  of  way 
agent,  his  duties  in  this  capacity  covering  a 
period  of  five  or  six  years.  He  then  became 
identified  with  the  Pacific  Improvement  Com- 
pany as  general  man,  and  in  1892  was  one  of  the 
incorporators  of  the  Bank  of  Monterey,  of  which 
he  has  since  been  vice-president  and  general 
manager.  His  business  interests  are  by  no 
means  limited  to  the  bank,  but  extend  to  vari- 
ous  important  enterprises,  among  them  being 
the  Del  Monte.  Monterey  &  Pacific  Grove 
Street  Railway  Company,  of  which  he  is  presi- 


dent and  manager.  Included  in  his  possessions 
is  considerable  valuable  real  estate  in  Monterey 
and  San  Francisco.  He  is  president  and  one 
of  the  incorporators  of  the  Oak  Creek  Land  & 
Water  Company,  of  Kern  county,  Cal.,  which 
company  owns  seven  thousand  acres  of  land. 
In  addition  he  has  large  mining  interests  in 
11  Dorado  and  Calaveras  counties,  and  man- 
ages a  large  group  of  prospects  and  mines. 

Through  his  marriage  with  Catalina  Dan- 
glada,  in  1882,  Mr.  Field  became  allied  with 
a  prominent  old  Spanish  family  of  Monterey 
county,  owning  large  ranches  in  this  part  of  the 
state  of  which  Mr.  Field  has  charge.  Mrs.  Field 
in  her  own  right  is  a  large  landed  proprietor, 
and  her  husband  has  shown  great  sagacity  in 
the  management  of  her  estate.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Field  have  been  born  two  children:  Antoinette, 
a  student  at  Notre  Dame  College;  and  Stephen 
J.,  a  student  at  St.  Mary's  College.  Mr.  Field 
is  a  Republican  in  political  affiliation,  and  he  has 
been  active  in  local  affairs,  although  he  is 
naturally  averse  to  official  recognition.  For 
eighteen  years  he  has  been  supervisor  of  the 
county,  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  present  term 
will  have  served  five  terms  in  all  (twenty  years  I. 
Once  a  member  of  the  board,  his  services  were 
so  satisfactory  that  he  was  petitioned  by  both 
parties  to  continue  in  the  office.  A  part  of  the 
time  he  has  been  chairman  of  the  board,  and 
during  his  administration  numerous  improve- 
ments were  instituted  of  more  than  passing  in- 
terest and  importance. 

Mr.  Field  is  one  of  the  mosl  prominent  men 
in  Monterey,  and  his  efforts  have  been  directed 
towards  things  lasting  and  permanently  bene- 
ficial to  the  community. 


FRANK   W.    FREEMAN. 

Not  long  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia William  D.  Freeman  determined  to  seek 
a  home  for  himself  and  famih  in  the  far  west, 
lie  was  «'f  eastern  descent  and  was  born  in 
Chautauqua  county.  X.  Y..  in  1827.  Ai  the  time 
lie  started  on  the  long  journey,  in  1S54.  he  was 
twenty-seven  years  0  impanying  him 

was  his  wife.  Mary  Freeman  (nee  Halsti 
native  of  Canada.    While  thev  were  en  route  to 


362 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  coast  and  were  passing  through  Polk  county, 
Iowa,  a  son  was  born  to  them,  whom  they 
named  Frank  W.  The  latter  was  therefore  an 
infant  when  brought  to  California  and  remem- 
bers no  other  home  than  this  state.  He  was 
one  of  twelve  children  who  attained  maturity. 
ten  of  whom  are  still  living,  all  in  California. 

In  1878  Mr.  Freeman  came  to  San  Luis 
Obispo  county,  where  he  has  since  made  his 
home.  His  first  location  was  on  Toro  creek, 
but  in  the  fall  of  1881  he  bought  his  present 
ranch  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  acres  on 
Morro  creek.  Since  that  time  he  has  devoted 
himself  to  general  farming  and  dairying  and 
has  become  the  owner  of  a  herd  of  forty  cows  of 
the  best  Jersey  breeds.  The  butter  manufac- 
tured in  his  dairy  is  shipped  to  various  points 
in  California,  and  by  its  excellent  quality  com- 
mands a  fair  price  and  meets  a  ready  sale.  The 
progressive  spirit  possessed  by  Mr.  Freeman  is 
shown  in  the  improvements  which  he  has  in- 
troduced. He  was  the  first  to  establish  a  pri- 
vate water  plant  on  Alorro  creek.  The  system 
which  he  has  developed  furnished,  by  means  of 
piping  thirty-one  hundred  feet  long,  an  abun- 
dance of  water  for  stock  and  dairy  purposes,  and 
for  running  the  cream  separator.  Another  fact 
which  shows  Mr.  Freeman's  progressive  spirit 
is  his  desire  to  own  the  best  farm  machinery. 
For  many  years  he  had  the  only  threshing  ma- 
chine in  the  northern  part  of  the  country,  and 
he  now  owns  one  of  the  finest  makes  of  steam 
threshers,  which  threshes  from  sixty-five  to 
seventy-five  thousand  sacks  of  grain  per  year. 
Cattle,  hogs  and  horses  are  to  be  seen  on  the 
ranch.  The  property  has  been  placed  under 
fence,  and  has  also  been  subdivided  into  fields 
by  means  of  cross-fencing.  In  addition  to  all  of 
his  other  enterprises,  he  is  engaged  in  the  rais- 
ing of  poultry,  his  specialty  being  White  Leg- 
horns. 1 1  ere,  as  in  other  industries,  he  uses  the 
besl  and  latest  methods,  and  is  assisted  greatly 
]>v  the  adoption  of  the  incubator  system.  At 
this  writing  he  has  about  twenty-five  hundred 
chickens,  some  of  which  are  prepared  for  the 
markets,  while  others  are  retained  in  order  to 
furnish  the  needed  supply  of  eggs  for  domestic 
use  and  for  sale. 

While   Mr.   Freeman  is  a   Republican   in  na- 


tional politics,  he  maintains  an  independent  at- 
titude in  local  matters,  voting  for  the  man  rather 
than  the  party.  For  years  he  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Excelsior  school  board.  H'e  was  a 
charter  member  of  the  San  Luis  Obispo  Indus- 
trial Union,  in  which  he  is  now  a  stockholder. 
For  the  past  twenty  years  he  has  been  connected 
with  the  Odd  Fellows.  During  his  residence  in 
Marin  county  he  was  past  noble  grand  of  his 
lodge.  Among  the  local  projects  which  owe 
much  to  his  forethought  and  generous  aid  may 
be  mentioned  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Morro. 
Indeed,  churches  and  schools  always  are  sure  of 
his  sympathy  and  influence,  for  he  believes  them 
to  be  the  bulwarks  of  our  nation  and  the 
foundation  stones  upon  which  our  country's 
greatness  is  being  built.  Besides  his  ranch  on 
Morro  creek,  he  owns  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
three  acres  near  Santa  Maria,  Santa  Barbara 
county,  upon  which  he  has  placed  various  im- 
provements, including  the  sinking  of  a  well  one 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  deep,  giving  an  endless 
supply  of  water. 

November  25,  1878,  Mr.  Freeman  married 
Miss  Elmira  Blake,  who  was  born  in  Minne- 
sota, a  daughter  of  Augustus  Blake,  and  settled 
in  Marin  county,  Cal.,  in  1873.  Four  children 
were  born  of  this  union,  namely:  Mary  E., 
Daisy  M.,  William  Franklin  and  Frederick.  His 
elder  daughter  is  a  student  in  the  California 
State  Normal  at  San  Jose,  where  she  is  prepar- 
ing for  the  teacher's  profession. 


SAMUEL   GUTHRIE. 

A  man  who  has  traveled  much  and  observed 
closely  the  habits  and  customs  of  different  na- 
tionalities naturally  acquires  the  liberal  spirit 
of  a  cosmopolitan,  and  this  is  one  of  the  leading 
characteristics  of  Mr.  Guthrie.  As  a  representa- 
tive of  the  mercantile  interests  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  county  he  has  a  circle  of  acquaintances 
that  is  not  limited  to  his  own  county,  but  ex- 
tends through  the  central  coast  region.  His 
residence  in  California  dates  from  1871,  while 
since  1873  he  has  made  his  home  in  Cambria, 
and  is  now  a  member  of  the  mercantile  house  of 
Lull,  Guthrie  &  Co. 

Scotland  is  Mr.  Guthrie's  native  country,  and 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


303 


his  birth  occurred  in  1840.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen years  he  went  to  Australia,  where  for  seven- 
teen years  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business 
in  Melbourne.  In  that  remote  and  enterpris- 
ing city  he  made  many  friends.  However, 
he  was  not  wholly  satisfied  to  make  it  his  per- 
manent home,  believing  that  the  United  States 
offered  greater  opportunities  in  many  respects 
than  his  island  home.  Accordingly  in  1871  he 
shipped  from  Melbourne  to  San  Francisco,  and 
since  that  year  has  been  a  resident  of  California, 
whose  climate  and  people  are  so  much  to  his 
liking  that  he  has  no  intention  of  ever  seeking  a 
home  elsewhere.  During  1875  he  was  employed 
by  Grant,  Lull  &  Co.,  as. a  general  bookkeeper, 
which  position  lie  filled  so  efficiently  that  two 
years  later  he  was  promoted  to  be  manager  and 
in  1883  became  a  partner  in  the  firm.  The  part- 
nership was  dissolved  in  1887,  and  during  the 
next  two  years  he  was  employed  in  a  wholesale 
dry-goods  house  in  San  Francisco,  but  returned 
to  Cambria  in  1889.  at  which  time  the  organiza- 
tion was  effected  of  the  present  firm  of  Lull, 
Guthrie  &  Co.  During  the  years  that  have  since 
intervened  Mr.  Guthrie  has  given  his  personal 
attention  to  the  management  of  the  business, 
and  the  success  which  has  rewarded  his  efforts 
proves  that  he  possesses  genuine  talent  in  mer- 
cantile, enterprises.  The  store  is  the  largest  in 
Cambria  and  has  in  stock  a  general  line  of  mer- 
chandise, valued  at  between  $15,000  and  $20,000. 
In  addition  to  the  ownership  of  the  store,  the 
linn  has  for  years  owned  large  tracts  of  land  in 
San  Luis  Obispo  county,  where  they  raise  stock 
for  the  markets. 

The  town  of  Cambria,  with  its  various  impor- 
tant interests,  its  good  schools,  its  churches,  and 
its  surrounding  country  populated  by  enterpris- 
ing ranchers  and  dairymen,  owes  much  to  the 
energy  of  Mr.  Guthrie.  The  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  a  high-class  store  is  always  an 
aid  in  the  development  of  any  village,  and  draws 
into  it  the  trade  of  farmers  for  miles  around. 
For  this  reason  he  is  entitled  to  rank  am- mil; 
public-spirited  citizens.  However,  this  is  by  no 
means  his  only  claim  to  recognition.  In  other 
ways  lie  lias  assist ed  in  the  building  up  of  the 
place.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Cambria  Fire  Company  and  has  been   its  fore- 


man ever  since  the  organization.  During  the 
quicksilver  excitement  he  was  employed  as  ac- 
countant for  the  Oceanic  Quicksilver  Mining 
Company. 

No  political  party  has  ever  received  the  al- 
legiance of  Mr.  Guthrie,  who  prefers  to  be  inde- 
pendent, and  casts  his  ballot  for  the  men  and 
measures  he  believes  to  be  best  calculated  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  people.  It  has  never 
been  his  ambition  to  occupy  positions  of  official 
responsibility,  yet  he  has  been  active  in  assist- 
ing such  of  his  friends  as  are  candidates  for 
office.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  San 
Simeon  Lodge  No.  196,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  which 
he  is  past  master  and  present  secretary.  With 
his  wife,  who  was  formerly  Miss  S.  E.  Woods, 
of  Oregon,  and  whom  he  married  in  1879,  he 
holds  a  high  place  in  the  regard  of  the  people, 
and  his  genial  manner  makes  him  a  welcomed 
guest  everywhere.  As  one  of  the  early  residents 
in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  and  a  man  whose 
energies  have  been  devoted  to  the  development 
of  the  resources  of  Cambria,  his  name  well  de- 
serves mention  in  this  work  and  perpetuation 
in  the  annals  of  the  county. 


JAMES   D.   FOWLER. 

In  these  United  States  it  is  a  matter  of  pride 
that  a  large  portion  of  the  best  and  most  promi- 
nent citizens  in  different  walks  of  life  have  risen 
to  distinction  solely  through  their  own  efforts, 
unaided  by  wealth,  influential  family,  or  circum- 
stances over  which  they  have  no  control.  \ 
notable  instance  of  the  sterling  worth  which 
overcomes  obstacles  and  creates  its  own  oppor- 
tunities is  presented  in  the  career  of  James  D. 
Fowler,  the  postmaster  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  and 
one  of  the  most  honored  men  in  the  county. 

In  Glasgow,  Howard  county.  Mo.,  where  he 
was  born  April  25.  1837.  Mr.  Fowler  passed  his 
early  years  on  the  parental  farm,  where  lie  was 
trained  in  the  practical,  useful  things  of  life,  and 
inured  to  industry  and,  thrift  '   r  fam- 

ily was  represented  in  America  al  a  period  un- 
certainly located,  and  the  first  emigrants  sup 
posedl)  settled  in  Connecticut.  The  paternal 
grandfather  served  in  the  Colonial  army  during 
the   Revolutionary  war.  and  the  father  of  Mr. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Fowler,  together  with  his  three  brothers,  served 
with  distinction  in  the  war  of  1812.  When  six- 
teen rears  of  age.  James  D..  and  his  brother 
Charles  D.,  from  whom  he  has  rarely  been 
separated,  started  across  the  plains  for  Cali- 
fornia, and  settled  in  Santa  Clara  county.  After 
herding  sheep  for  a  couple  of  years  he  returned 
to  his  old  home  in  Missouri,  and  remained  until 
1859.  During  these  three  years  Mr.  Fowler 
studied  diligently  at  the  district  schools,  and  this 
education  was  about  all  that  he  received  during 
his  immature  and  struggling  years.  Neverthe- 
less, in  his  humble  environment  of  work  and 
recreation  he  gained  much  that  the  schools  can- 
not give,  and  in  the  light  of  subsequent  study. 
and  keen  observation  of  men  and  events,  the 
earlv  educational  shortcomings  seem  to  have 
been  a  spur  to  the  attainments  of  later  years. 
Upon  re-crossing  the  plains  in  1859,  Mr.  Fowler 
settled  at  San  Jose  and  conducted  a  farm  un- 
til 1862,  and  that  year  paid  his  own  way  back 
to  Missouri,  that  he  might  assist  in  the  struggle 
between  the  north  and  south.  His  military 
career  was  a  worthy  one,  and  prosecuted  with  all 
the  force  of  youthful  enthusiasm  for  the  cause 
he  deemed  just,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Ninth 
Missouri  Cavalry  he  served  until  July  13,  1865. 
At  first  a  private,  he  was  afterwards  made  ser- 
geant, and  during  the  progress  of  the  war  par- 
ticipated in  Price's  raid  and  all  of  the  impor- 
tant battles  after  '62.  Although  strictly  to  the 
fore  in  all  danger  and  privation,  he  was  singu- 
larly exempt  from  physical  disability,  and  is 
proud  to  say  that  during  the  whole  of  his  service 
he  never  missed  a  meal  or  a  fight. 

With  the  restoration  of  peace  Mr.  Fowler  re- 
turned to  Missouri,  and  the  following  Febru- 
ary returned  to  California  and  San  Jose,  where 
he  remained  until  1860.  He  then  took  up  his 
residence  in  Monterey  county,  and  while  there 
was  appointed  a  member  of  the  committee 
formed  to  divide  Monterey  county  and  from 
which  was  created  San  Benito  county.  In  [876 
he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo  county  and  lo- 
cated on  the  splendidly  improved  ranch  which 
he  Still  1  >\\  ns  al  (  'a\  UO  IS,  aboul  twenty-one  miles 
an  Luis  I  >bispO.  Here  lie  developed  and 
improved  his  property,  and  entered  upon  Four- 
teen years  of  practical  and  scientific  agriculture 


and  horticulture,  and  now  has  one  of  the  finest 
ranches  in  the  county.  In  1804  Mr.  Fowder  came 
to  San  Luis  Obispo  to  reside,  and  during  Presi- 
dent McKinley's  administration,  beginning  with 
[898,  lu  was  appointed  postmaster  of  the  town, 
and  has  since  admirably  conducted  the  local  af- 
fairs of  Uncle  Sam. 

In  [865,  at  his  old  home  in  Missouri.  Mr. 
Fowler  married  Sarah  Frances  Pierce,  daughter 
of  J.  M.  C.  Pierce,  member  of  an  old  and  well 
known  A'irginia  family.  Of  this  union  there 
have  been  born  four  children,  three  of  whom  are 
living:  Ella,  wife  of  Farrell  C.  Xickle,  employed 
in  the  government  service  in  San  Francisco; 
Attelia.  who  is  living  at  home;  and  James  Rufus, 
who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Dental  College  in  San 
Francisc.  Although  born  an  Abolitionist.  Mr. 
Fowler  has  been  a  Republican  ever  since  his 
first  voting  experience,  but  he  has  never  been 
prominently  before  the  public  in  search  of  official 
recognition.  Since  1863  he  has  been  associated 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  has  held  all  of  the  chairs,  and  is  now  serving 
a-  commander  of  the  Fred  Steele  Post  No.  70, 
<  >.  A.  R.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pioneers  of 
Santa  Clara  County.  The  esteem  in  which  Mr. 
Fowler  is  held  among  all  classes  of  people  in 
San  Luis  Obispo,  the  admiration  which  his  meri- 
torious  career  elicits  from  all  who  appreciate 
sterling  worth  and  well  directed  effort;  his  cour- 
age as  a  soldier,  and  his  success  as  an  agricul- 
turist, are  assuredly  integral  parts  of  the  town 
to  which  he  acknowledges  allegiance.  The  ele- 
ments of  popularity  so  unconsciously  utilized 
have  won  for  him  friends  and  his  kindly  per- 
sonality, consideration  and  tact,  have  played  an 
important  part  in  his  struggle  for  ascendency. 


JOSEPH    W.   GREGG. 

F<  >r  many  years  the  name  of  Joseph  W.  Gregg 
has  been  a  familiar  one  in  the  Carmel  valley,  and 
his  ranch  of  one  thousand  acres,  located  partly 
in  the  valley  and  partly  in  the  hills,  and  in  close 
proximity  to  the  old  Carmel  Mission,  has  been 
representative  of  all  that  was  excellent  as  a 
dairying  and  ranching  center.  A  native  of  A  ir- 
ginia,  Mr.  Gregg  was  born  December  8,  [828, 
a    son    of    Aaron    Gregg,    also   born    in    the    Old 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Dominion.  Aaron  Gregg  removed  to  the  vi- 
cinity of  Newark,  Licking  county,  Ohio,  in 
1830,  and  there  bought  a  farm  of  which  fifteen 
acres  was  cleared,  and  upon  which  he  cleared 
one  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  He  was  fairly  suc- 
cessful and  lived  to  be  seventy  years  of  age.  A 
Whig,  and  afterward  a  Democrat,  he  took  little 
interest  in  political  agitations,  but  was  a  de- 
voted member  and  worker  in  the  Methodist 
Church.  He  married  Elizabeth  Fleming,  also  a 
native  of  Virginia,  and  who  lived  to  be  seventy- 
three  years  of  age.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  church,  and  the  mother  of  six  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Joseph  W.  is  third  oldest.  The 
paternal  grandfather,  Joseph  Gregg,  was  born  in 
England,  and  was  a  Quaker  in  religious  belief. 
After  emigrating  to  America  lie  became  a  Vir- 
ginia planter,  and  died  at  the  age  of  sixty. 

When  two  years  of  age  Joseph  W.  Gregg 
went  with  the  rest  of  the  family  to  Licking 
county,  Ohio,  and  there  lived  on  the  paternal 
farm  until  seventeen.  He  then  worked  in  three 
different  flouring  mills  in  (  Miio,  in  one  of  which 
he  served  an  apprenticeship,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1852  went  to  Charleston,  Coles  county,  111., 
where  he  superintended  the  building  of  a  flour- 
ing mill,  a  task  requiring  ten  months,  and  then 
built  another  mill  requiring  four  months.  March 
20,  1853,  he  started  for  California  via  the  Isth- 
mus, arriving  in  Monterey  May  4th  of  the  same 
year.  He  purchased  a  ranch  in  the  Carmel  val- 
ley which  was  heavily  timbered  and  covered 
with  brush,  for  which  he  paid  $360,  and  of 
which  he  cleared  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 
At  the  end  of  sixteen  years  he  bought  a  squat- 
ter's claim  adjoining  the  hills,  consisting  of 
about  four  hundred  acres,  and  sold  the  same  for 
$7,000.  For  a  time  he  lived  in  the  city  of 
Monterey  and  loaned  money  with  fair  success, 
and  when  ten  months  had  expired  purchased  the 
ranch  of  a  thousand  acres  which  has  since  been 
In's  home.  Four  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  this 
land  are  in  the  valley,  and  the  rest  in  the  hills. 
For  years  Mr.  Gregg  carried  on  a  large  dairy- 
ing business,  keeping  on  an  average  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  cows.  He  is  at  present  en- 
gaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising,  and 
has  one  of  the  neatest,  most  modernly  equipped 
and  most  productive  ranches  in  the  valley.     He 


estimates  the  worth  of  his  property  at  $100,000. 
In  1868  Mr.  Gregg  married  Lola  Soboranas, 
of  which  union  there  were  four  children:  Eliza- 
beth, the  wife  of  Oliver  Thomas,  of  Monterey; 
Lola  M.,  the  wife  of  William  Garner,  of  Mon- 
terey; Mary  (known  as  Dallie),  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam D.  Steadman.  interested  with  his  father-in- 
law  in  the  ranch;  and  Joseph.  Mr.  Gregg  is  a 
stanch  Republican,  and  has  been  school  trustee 
for  nearly  thirty-five  years.  He  is  honored  and 
respected  by  all  who  know  him,  and  his  success- 
ful career  is  worthy  of  emulat  on  and  admira- 
tion. 


THOMAS   GRAVES. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  man  more  em- 
phatically in  accord  with  the  true  western  spirit 
of  progress,  or  more  keenly  alive  to  the  oppor- 
tunities awaiting  the  industrious  and  intelligent 
man  of  affairs  in  Monterey  county  than  is 
Thomas  Graves,  who  has  here  built  up  a  far- 
reaching  stock  business,  and  identified  himself 
with  the  best  undertakings  in  his  district.  Out 
of  his  own  varied  experiences  he  has  evolved 
the  theory  that  any  young  man  with  ambition 
and  correct  ideas  of  life  may  attain  unto  his  goal, 
providing  his  diversions  do  not  include  gam- 
bling, drinking  and  kindred  destroyers  of  suc- 
cess and  happiness. 

A  representative  of  a  fine  old  southern  family 
which  was  among  the  first  to  settle  in  Kentucky, 
Mr.  Graves  was  born  in  Marion  county  in  1837, 
and  is  a  son  of  George  and  Levina  (M'attingly) 
Graves,  both  born  in  Kentucky.  When  ten  years 
of  age  Thomas  accompanied  his  parents  to 
Nodaway  county.  Mo.,  and  two  years  later  the 
father  crossed  the  plains  to  Sacramento,  where 
for  a  year  In-  engaged  in  the  grain  and  hay  busi- 
ness, making  as  high  as  $1,000  a  month.  So 
impressed  was  he  with  the  advantages  to  be 
found  in  the  west,  that  he  returned  for  his  fam- 
ily and  belongings,  and  started  from  Missouri 
upon  his  second  trip  across  tin-  plains.  The 
train  that  braved  the  dangers  of  the  overland 
trail  was  a  small  one.   am!   1  bul    five- 

wagons  and  a  lot  of  stock.  \t  tin-  expiration 
of  five  months  they  reached  Mann  da  comity, 
where  the)   lived   for  three  years,  and  in   [855 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


came  to  Monterey  county,  which  was  then  very 
wild  and  almost  entirely  uncultivated.  They 
found  the  resident  Spaniards  very  hospitable  and 
friendly,  but  there  was  hardly  a  dozen  white 
families  in  the  county  at  the  time.  The  elder 
Graves  was  a  man  of  shrewd  business  sagacity, 
and  from  the  first  he  held  tenaciously  to  his 
principle  of  success.  He  leased  the  land  upon 
a  portion  of  which  Salinas  now  stands,  but 
which  was  not  then  associated  with  the  thought 
of  a  town,  and  as  the  years  rolled  by  he  became 
the  possessor  of  large  ranches  and  correspond- 
inglv  large  herds  of  cattle  and  horses,  at  one 
time  owning  four  hundred  head  of  fine  standard 
horses.  The  balance  of  his  life  was  spent  in  the 
midst  of  his  large  successes,  and  he  lived  to  the 
ripe  age  of  five  and  seventy  years.  His  brother, 
J.  E.  Graves,  who  is  now  in  the  mint  in  San 
Francisco,  was  sheriff  of  Monterey  county  for 
about  sixteen  years. 

Thomas  Graves  was  educated  in  the.  public 
schools  of  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  California, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  married  Sarah  E. 
Bryant,  a  native  of  Arkansas.  His  first  inde- 
pendent farming  venture  was  conducted  on  a 
small  place  about  three  miles  west  of  where 
Salinas  now  stands,  and  which  was  known  as  the 
Johnson  farm.  Here  he  engaged  principally  in 
stock-raising  until  1875,  when,  after  disposing 
of  his  interests,  he  purchased  the  Tibadad  ranch, 
northeast  of  Salinas,  and  lived  thereon  until 
1881.  The  next  purchase  of  Mr.  Graves  was  the 
ranch  of  three  thousand  acres  nine  miles  from 
Gonzales,  which  he  still  owns,  and  which  is 
finely  stocked.  A  still  later  acquisition  is  a 
ranch  of  one  thousand  acres  near  Gonzales,  and 
he  also  owns  several  smaller  farms  in  the  county. 
I  mi  the  last  six  years  he  has  lived  in  his  pleas- 
ant home  in  Salinas,  enjoying  to  a  certain  extent 
a  respite  from  his  long  years  of  arduous  toil. 
Mr  is  ;i  Democrat  in  politics,  but,  though  often 
urged  to  run  for  office,  has  ever  declined  to  do 
M>.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows 
a!  Salinas,  but,  owing  to  ill  health,  abandoned 
his  association  with  the  organization  several 
eat  ago.  'I'"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graves  have  been 
born  five  sons  and  one  daughter:  George  YM. 
who  is  a  farmer  and  stockman  in  Montere) 
county;    John    Burton,   also  a  farmer    in    this 


county;  Frank,  who  is  in  the  dairy  business  in 
Merced  county;  J.E.,  who  is  in  business  with 
Mr.  Miller,  the  cattle  king  of  California;  and 
William  1'...  who  is  still  at  home  and  who  is  in- 
terested with  our  subject  in  stock  business;  and 
Lcvina.  who  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Hughes,  of 
Salinas. 


S.  B.  GORDON,  M.  D. 

Among  professional  men  in  Salinas  none  is 
more  in  touch  with  the  general  spirit  of  progress 
in  the  west  than  Dr.  Gordon,  widely  known  as 
a  proficient  expounder  of  the  best  principles  of 
medical  science,  and  for  whom  his  friends  pre- 
dict a  future  of  exceeding  brightness.  A  native 
son  of  the  west,  he  was  born  in  Monterey,  Cak, 
October  17,  1868,  and  is  a  son  of  S.  B.  Gordon, 
one  of  the  substantial  and  successful  pioneers  of 
California,  who  died  at  Pacific  Grove  June  5, 
1902.  The  elder  Gordon  came  to  California  in 
1852,  and  the  next  year  to  Monterey  county. 
where  he  was  a  large  stock-raiser,  and  where  he 
became  one  of  the  progressive  forces  of  his  lo- 
cality. As  a  stanch  upholder  of  Democratic 
principles  he  was  elected  to  places  of  honor  by 
his  fellow  townsmen,  serving  two  terms  as  a 
member  of  the  legislature  and  several  terms  as 
supervisor.  He  was  born  in  Georgia,  and  was  a 
large  plantation  owner,  a  portion  of  his  land, 
Gordon  Mills,  being  the  scene  of  the  battle  of 
that  name.  Senator  George  B.  Gordon,  who 
was  also  General  Gordon,  was  a  relative  of  the 
family. 

Dr.  Gordon  is  the  only  physician  in  his  fam- 
ily, and  his  education  was  acquired  in  the  public- 
schools  up  to  his  sixteenth  year.  He  then  took 
a  two  years'  literary  course  at  the  University  of 
California,  after  which  he  went  to  New  York 
and  was  graduated  from  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  of  New  York  in  1890.  For 
preliminary  practice  he  located  in  Gonzales,  and 
was  the  first  practicing  physician  of  the  town. 
About  four  years  ago  he  became  permanently 
identified  with  Salinas,  since  which  time  his 
acknowledged  professional  skill,  his  genial  per- 
sonality, and  many  fine  traits  of  character  have 
won  him  hosts  of  friends  and  the  patronage  of 
mam   of  the  most  desirable  families  in  the  town. 


'ch^t^^ 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


369 


Although  the  youngest  physician  here,  he  has 
inspired  confidence  to  an  unusual  degree,  his 
treatment  of  complicated  and  apparently  hope- 
less cases  being  accountable  to  a  large  degree 
for  his  present  standing. 

In  1892  Dr.  Gordon  married  Maggie  Cox,  a 
native  of  Watsonviile,  Cal,  and  of  this  union 
there  is  one  daughter,  Lucile  M.,  who  is  seven 
years  old.  Dr.  Gordon  is  a  Democrat  po- 
litically, and  for  six  years,  beginning  with  1893, 
served  as  public  administrator  of  Monterey 
ci  unity.  He  is  fraternally  popular  ami  widely 
known,  and  is  associated  with  the  Blue  Lodge 
of  Masons,  the  Commandery  at  Watsonviile,  the 
Chapter  at  Salinas,  and  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  besides  eight  or  nine  other 
lodges. 


TRUMAN  BROOKS. 

In  disposing  of  the  chances  that  have  come 
his  way,  Truman  Brooks,  born  in  Sutter  county, 
(  'ah.  and  at  present  manager  and  sole  proprietor 
of  the  Paso  Robles  Bottling  Company,  has 
evinced  both  discretion  and  sound  business 
judgment,  and  has  won  an  enviable  place  among 
the  upbuilders  of  his  locality.  An  ineffectual 
attempt  to  represent  the  family  in  California  in 
1849  was  made  by  the  paternal  grandfather 
Brooks,  who.  in  his  attempt  to  brave  the  dan- 
gers of  the  plains,  succumbed  to  deprivations 
and  exposure.  More  successful  was  his  son, 
J.  C.  Brooks,  a  native  fanner  of  Iowa,  near  Fort 
Madison,  who  came  across  in  1854,  settling  at 
indwell's  Bar,  among  the  placer  mines.  Here 
he  mined  a  little  and  ran  a  dairy,  afterward  re- 
moving to  Sutter  county,  later  to  Shasta  county, 
and  eventually  to  Colusa  county,  from  where  he 
removed  to  his  present  home  in  Lompoc,  where 
he  has  bought  land  and  is  engaged  in  chicken 
raising  and  the  fruit  industry.  Ilis  wife.  Miriam 
(Haskell)  Brooks,  was  born  in  Iowa,  and  i- 
the  mother  of  four  smis  and  two  daughters,  of 
whom  Truman  is  the  fourth. 

After  finishing  his  education  in  the  public 
schools,  Truman  Brooks  attended  Pierce's 
Christian  College,  at  College  City,  Colusa 
county,  and  afterward  engaged  in  ranching  and 
purchasing  mules   until    his   twenty-third   year. 


Later  on  he  rented  a  farm  four  years,  then 
turned  his  attention  to  carpentering,  and  in  time 
engaging  in  the  grocery  business  in  Fresno.  At 
Templeton  he  purchased  forty  acres  of  land, 
which  was  soon  after  .-old.  and  he  then  came  to 
Paso  Robles  and  engaged  in  the  building  busi- 
ness for  a  few  years.  With  the  savings  of  his 
industry  he  was  enabled  to  purchase  a  half  in- 
terest in  the  Paso  Robles  Bottling  Company, 
and  in  1898,  when  the  business  was  closed  out 
by  the  sheriff,  Mr.  Brooks  became  the  sole  pur- 
chaser. Although  he  did  not  have  the  money 
to  pay  for  the  other  half  interest,  his  credit  was 
such  that  a  bank  in  the  town  advanced  the 
money,  and  he  succeeded  in  paying  up  every 
cent  at  the  end  of  two  years.  He  has  succeeded 
in  building  up  a  fine  business,  which  brings  in 
large  yearly  returns  and  shows  no  diminution. 
In  addition,  he  handles  the  only  ice  business  in 
the  city,  and  is  agent  for  the  Union  Ice  Com- 
pany of  San  Francisco.  In  connection  with  his 
other  interests  he  has  a  winery,  and  his  com- 
modities are  known  all  over  this  part  of  the  state. 
He  ships  a  considerable  amount  of  the  justly 
popular  mineral  water  to  the  surrounding  towns, 
and  runs  a  team  with  his  goods  across  the  moun- 
tains to  Cambria  and  San  Simeon,  Cal.  Last 
year  he  disposed  of  seven  thousand  gallons  of 
the  mineral  water,  and  in  connection  with  it 
manufactures  all  kinds  of  soda  drinks,  the  whole 
plant  being  valued  at  $4,000. 

In  Fresno.  Cal..  .Mr.  Brooks  married  Phoebe 
Speegle,  a  native  of  Castroville,  Cal..  and  daugh- 
ter of  A.  Jackson  Speegle,  a  native  of  New 
England.  Mr.  Speegle  came  n,  San  Miguel 
when  he  was  a  boy,  having  crossed  the  plains 
with  a  party  from  the  Missouri  river,  ami  since 
then  has  cared  entirely  for  himself.  In  fact,  he 
lias  looked  out  for  himself  since  lie  was  four 
teen  years  of  age.  and  deserves  a  greal  deal  of 
credit  for  having  so  well  managed  his  chances. 
Two  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mr-. 
Brooks,  Truman,  Jr.,  and  Vivian  Loraine,  both 
of  whom  are  living  at  home.  Mr.  Brool 
Democrat  in  politics,  has  been  eit\  trustee  and 
treasurer  for  two  terms,  and  is  now  chairman  of 
the  board.  He  is  a  member  ami  treasurer  of  the 
lire  department.  Frat<  mall;  '  >  is  issociated 
with  the   Independent    Ordei    Id   Fellows, 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


370 

the  Rebekahs  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 

Workmen.  _____ 

M.  E.  GONZALES,  M.  D. 
A  justifiable  pride  of  inheritance  is  one  of  the 
chief  characteristics  of  Dr. Gonzales, of  Monterey 
county.  He  was  born  in  the  city  of  Monterey, 
Inly  26,  1848,  and  comes  of  a  distinguished 
Mexican  family  of  Castilian  extraction.  His 
parents  were  Theodore  and  Guadaloupe  V.  de 
( ronzales.  The  father  came  to  Monterey  county 
when  its  present  prosperity  was  undreamed  of. 
In  the  midst  of  the  undeveloped  conditions  he 
reared  his  family  and  established  a  reputation 
for  integrity  and  enterprise.  In  time  his  pos- 
sessions came  to  be  among  the  largest  in  the 
county.  His  ranch,  Rincon  de  la  Punta  del 
Monte,  comprised  fifteen  thousand  acres  and 
was  known  far  and  wide.  Two  of  his  sons,  M. 
E.  and  Alfred,  are  large  land  owners  of  Gon- 
zales and  influential  citizens. 

As  a  boy  M.  E.  Gonzales  was  given  the  ad- 
vantages of  study  in  Santa  Clara  College.  In 
his  youth  he  learned  the  printer's  trade.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen  he  was  given  complete  charge 
of  his  father's  ranch.  Three  years  later  he  ac- 
quired his  first  mercantile  knowledge,  at  which 
time  he  bought  out  the  business  of  Pulasky  & 
Co.,  and  for  several  years  conducted  the  same, 
meeting  with  success.  At  the  age  of  thirty 
vears  he  began  to  study  medicine  and  in  1883 
was  graduated  from  the  Cooper  Medical  Col- 
lege of  San  Francisco.  The  town  of  Gonzales 
was  so  named  by  him  in  1874  ami  was  laid  out 
by  himself  and  brother  after  having  been  sur- 
veyed by  Charles  C.  Healey.  About  the  same 
time  he  began  the  development  of  his  fine  ranch 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  town  and  containing  fifteen 
thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-five  acres  of 
land.  <  >riginally  destitute  "i"  any  improvements. 
ii  is  now  "lie  mi'  the  best  properties  in  the 
county,  with  water  canals,  ditches,  fine  resi- 
lience, substantial  barns  and  general  buildings. 
Two  thousand  and  live  hundred  acres  are  de- 
voted  t<>  dairies,  the  balance  being  for  grain  and 
beets,  which  latter  are  sold  to  the  Spreckels 
sugar    concern.       All    of    the    land    is    rented    to 

tenants,   Dr.   Gonzales   receiving  one-fourth   of 
■  rops  as  his  rental. 


In  addition  to  other  enterprises  Dr.  Gonzales 
is  president  of  the  Bank  of  Gonzales  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Gonzales  water  works.  He  was 
formerly  a  director  of  the  Race  Track  Associa- 
tion. The  science  of  medicine  appeals  to  him 
with  particular  force  and  has  often  been  of  use 
10  him  in  caring  for  some  unfortunate  whose 
condition  of  helplessness  appealed  to  his  kindly 
heart.  However,  he  has  not  engaged  in  prac- 
tice, the  management  of  his  estate  consuming 
his  time  and  thought.  Fond  of  travel,  he  has 
found  pleasure  and  recreation  in  frequent  trips 
to  Europe  and  kindred  diversions.  Although 
essentially  a  citizen  of  San  Francisco,  where  he 
spends  the  greater  part  of  his  winters,  he  never- 
theless sojourns  during  part  of  each  summer  at 
his  beautiful  ranch  near  Gonzales,  in  the  county 
to  which  he  owes  the  allegiance  of  a  native-born 
son,  and  the  prestige  of  which  he  has  materially 
augmented.  In  San  Francisco  he  married  Edia, 
daughter  of  Christopher  Wesphal,  a  capitalist  of 
San  Francisco.  Of  this  union  there  is  a  daugh- 
ter, at  present  finishing  her  education  in  France. 

A  stanch  Republican  in  politics,  Dr.  Gonzales 
has  been  a  delegate  to  numerous  conventions, 
notably  the  national  convention  held  in  Cincin- 
nati, July  11.  1876.  at  which  time  R.  1'..  I  laves 
was  nominated  for  the  presidency. 

Personally,  Dr.  Gonzales  is  a  man  of  broad 
education,  an  intelligent  traveler,  familiar  with 
the  historical,  artistic  and  general  attractions 
awaiting  the  keen  observer  of  European  customs 
and  peoples. 


MISS  BERSABE  GONZALES. 

I  he  record  of  the  Gonzales  family  in  Santa 
Cruz  is  typical  of  the  county's  growth  and  de 
velopment.  Before  any  attempt  had  been  made 
to  cultivate  the  land  or  build  up  villages,  and 
while  the  Indians  were  still  the  sole  inhabitants 
of  the  central  coast  regions,  at  such  an  early 
period  as  this  Francisco  Gonzales,  a  native  of 
Mexico  and  a  descendant  of  an  ancient  Castilian 
Family,  came  to  the  county  of  Santa  Cruz  to  act 
as  administrator  of  the  missions.  Previous  to 
this  no  white  man  had  been  engaged  in  thai 
capacit)  or  as  a  teacher  in  the  institutions.  It 
was  then  during  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


371 


-century,  and  he  continued  to  reside  in  Santa 
Cruz  until  his  death,  in  1833,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty years.  While  living'  here  he  became  the 
owner  of  the  Pascadoro  ranch,  which  he  stocked 
with  thousands  of  cattle  and  horses. 

Among  the  children  of  Francisco  and  Gracia 
(Rodriguez)  Gonzales  was  Filipe  Gonzales,  who 
was  born  in  Santa  Cruz  August  24.  1822.  His 
education  was  obtained  at  the  old  mission  of 
Santa  Cruz,  and  he  grew  to  manhood  under  the 
primeval  conditions  that  existed  in  California, 
during  the  early  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
On  the  death  of  his  father  he  succeeded  to  the 
ownership  of  large  herds  of  cattle  and  horses, 
and  for  some  time  continued  on  the  large  tract 
which  had  been  his  childhood  home.  From 
there  he  removed  to  the  Pajaro  valley  in  1852 
and  afterward  engaged  in  general  farming  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  August  21,  1892. 
Among  the  Castilian  residents  of  the  valley  he 
was  a  leader,  and  his  influence  among  Ameri- 
cans was  equally  great,  many  of  them  remem- 
bering with  gratitude  his  kindness  to  them  when 
they  came  to  the  valley,  friendless  and  without 
means.  Indeed,  he  proved  himself  a  benefactor 
to  many  a  poor  and  struggling  young  man.  am- 
bitious to  succeed,  inn  seemingly  unable  to  get 
a  foothold  in  his  new  home. 

In  1852  Filipe  Gonzales  married  Carmen, 
daughter  of  Sebastian  Rodriguez,  the  latter  a 
pioneer  of  the  '30s  in  Santa  Cruz  county,  where 
he  built  an  adobe  house  on  the  north  side  of 
what  is  now  Watsonville,  and  moved  his  family 
to  the  new  home  from  Monterey  county  in  1833. 
The  subsequent  years  of  his  life  were  passed  in 
the  vicinity  of  Watsonville.  and  he  acquired  the 
ownership  of  several  leagues  of  land  extending 
from  the  bay  to  the  creek,  in  the  Pajaro  valley. 
In  religion  he  was  a  Roman  Catholic.  1  >n  his 
death  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son-in-law,  Filipe 
( ionzales,  who  afterward  had  charge  of  the  estate 
and  devoted  it  to  grain  and  general  farm  prod- 
ucts. The  wife  of  Filipe  (ion/ales  was  born  in 
[828,  and  died  in  1 S77.  Two  children  were  born 
of  their  union,  of  whom  the  sole  survivor  is  Miss 
Bersabe.  She  continues  to  reside  al  the  old  home- 
stead, 1  iCCUpying  a  residence  thai  stands  near  the 
old  abode  which  was  for  so  long  the  home  of  her 
ancestors.     The  homestead  is  now  in  her  name 


and  under  her  direct  supervision,  although 
rented  to  tenants,  by  whom  it  is  used  for  gen- 
eral farming  purposes.  In  religious  belief  she 
is  a  devoted  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church. 


G   C.   GINGG. 

A  native  son  of  California  who  is  conducting 
a  profitable  and  up-to-date  retail  and  wholesale 
butchering  establishment  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
is  G  C.  Gingg,  who  in  his  undertaking  is  ably 
assisted  by  his  brother  and  sister  and  father. 
This  family  live  together  in  a  most  amicable 
manner,  and  constitute  a  combination  of  busi- 
ness and  social  enjoyment  rarely  witnessed. 
Born  in  California  June  25,  1873,  Mr.  Gingg  is 
the  representative  of  a  prominent  Swiss  family 
first  represented  in  America  by  Jacob  (  ringg, 
the  father  of  G.  C.  who  was  a  butcher  in  his 
native  land,  and  came  to  this  country  when  quite 
young,  settling  in  Newark,  X.  J.  About  1868 
he  sought  the  larger  possibilities  of  California. 
and  after  locating  in  San  Francisco  engaged  in 
his  former  occupation  with  considerable  success. 
branching  out  into  a  retail  and  wholesale  buy- 
ing and  shipping  trade,  lie  came  to  San  Luis 
I  >bispo  in  1892,  and  has  since  been  an  honored 
resident  of  this  thriving  town.  lie  married 
Johanna  Gerken,  anil  of  this  union  there  have 
been  born  three  children,  two  sons  and  one 
daughter. 

At  a  very  earl)  age  G  C.  Gingg  became 
familiar  with  his  father's  business,  and  while  at- 
tending the  public  schools  assisted  as  a  clerk  in 
the  store.  Eventually  the  famil)  combine. 1  their 
energies  to  make  a  success  of  a  large  who] 
and  retail  business  which  has  no  superior  in  the 
town,  and  is  undoubtedly  without  a  peer  in  the 
rounty.  The  firm  have  their  private  slaughter- 
ing house,  and  are  at  present  pushing  the  whole- 
sale department  of  their  trade.  The  elder  I  lingg 
is  a  man  of  enterprise  and  good  business  judg- 
ment, traits  shared  and  emphasized  in  his  sou 
G.  C,  who  is  virtually  the  head  and  manager  of 
the  concern.  The  father  is  fraternal 
with  the  Ancient  <  >rder  of  United  Workmen  and 
the  Fraternal  Brotherhood.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  political   affiliation.     G,   C.  Gingg  has  never 


372 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


married,  and  lives  with  the  rest  of  the  family. 
The  family  was  broken  into  by  the  death  of  the 
mother  since  coming  to  San  Luis  Obispo.  Mr. 
Gingg,  whose  name  heads  this  sketch,  is  fra- 
ternally associated  with  the  Benevolent  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  the  Fraternal  Brother- 
hood, and  he  is  identified  with  the  Native  Sons 
of  the  Golden  West.  The  Gingg  market  and 
its  attachments  command  the  confidence  of  the 
business  community  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  and 
is  regarded  as  a  necessary  adjunct  to  the  com- 
mercial supremacy. 

ALEXANDER  C.  GIBSON. 

Through  his  connection  with  various  impor- 
tant interests,  Mr.  Gibson  is  well  known  to  the 
people  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county  and  particu- 
larly to  the  residents  of  Los  Osos  valley,  where 
he  has  made  his  home  since  1871.  Of  Irish  birth 
and  parentage,  he  was  born  in  the  city  of  Bel- 
fast in  1S57,  and  was  about  eleven  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  the  United  States  with  his 
father,  Robert  J.  Gibson.  The  first  location  of 
the  family  was  in  Marin  county,  Cal.,  but  after 
three  years  there  they  removed  in  1871  to  San 
Luis  Obispo  county,  where  the  parents  re- 
mained until  their  death. 

The  estate  of  Robert  J.  Gibson  included  one 
thousand  acres  of  land,  of  which  three  hundred 
and  fifty-seven  acres  became  the  property  of 
Alexander  C.  The  latter  had  received  a  fair 
education  in  district  schools  and  from  an  early 
age  had  been  an  indispensable  assistant  to  the 
work  of  the  home  farm.  The  first  flax  raised  in 
San  Luis  Obispo  county  came  from  this  ranch. 
Next  an  attempt  was  made  to  raise  wheat,  but 
the  crop  was  destroyed  by  rust.  A  subsequent 
experiment  was  made  with  oats  and  barley,  both 
of  which  were  found  to  thrive  well,  and  have 
since  been  produced  in  large  quantities.  The 
bottom  land  is  used  for  corn,  beans,  potatoes 
and  pumpkins,  all  of  which  are  successfully 
grown. 

A  dairy  industry  was  established  on  the  ranch 
in  [876,  and  Mr.  Gibson  has  since  given  close 
attention  to  building  up  a  model  dairy.  He 
keeps  about  forty  milch  cows,  mostly  Durhams. 
and  all  of  line  strains.     At  the  head  of  his  stock 


he  has  an  imported  thoroughbred  Durham  bull. 
In  the  management  of  the  ranch  and  the  dairy- 
Mr.  Gibson  finds  his  time  fully  occupied.  It  is 
his  aim  to  be  satisfied  with  nothing  but  the 
best,  hence  he  labors  constantly  to  improve  his 
land.  The  success  that  has  rewarded  his  efforts 
proves  what  can  lie  accomplished  by  a  man  of 
industry  in  such  a  climate  and  such  a  soil  as 
San  Luis  Obispo  county  offers.  At  one  time 
it  was  supposed  that  the  soil  here  was  not  fer- 
tile, and  that  the  land  could  never  be  utilized 
except  for  stock-raising  purposes,  but  the  suc- 
cess of  such  men  as  Mr.  Gibson  in  the  raising 
of  grain  and  vegetables  proves  that  the  opinion 
fi  irmerly  held  was  erroneous. 

In  intervals,  when  the  work  of  the  farm  per- 
mits. Mr.  Gibson  writes  articles  for  the  county 
newspapers.  These  are  upon  various  subjects, 
but  mostly  humorous,  and  the  110111  de  plume  of 
Will  Lye  under  which  he  writes  is  well  known 
in  all  this  section  of  the  country.  He  is  a  direc- 
tor of  the  San  Luis  Obispo  Agricultural  Asso- 
ciation, under  whose  auspices  a  county  fair  is 
held  each  fall.  Another  matter  of  importance 
in  which  he  was  interested  and  which  he  took 
an  active  part  in  securing  was  the  extension  of 
the  coast  line  for  the  valley.  At  this  writing  he 
is  advocating  a  road  to  start  from  San  Luis 
Obispo  and  connect  with  the  McKittrick  oil 
district  and  Bakersfield,  which  will  furnish  a 
means  of  transportation  between  localities  now 
scarcely  accessible  to  one  another.  Politically 
he  is  a  Republican  and  has  rendered  his  party 
valuable  service  as  a  member  of  the  county 
central  committee  and' a  delegate  to  county  con- 
ventions. February  4.  1902,  he  married  Miss 
Flora  Brophy  of  Templeton,  daughter  of  John 
and  Clara  (Ritchie)  Brophy,  residents  of  Tem- 
pleton. 

Like  the  majority  of  men  now  living  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  county.  Mr.  Gibson  has  had  stock 
interests.  For  seven  years  he  was  engaged  in 
raising  sheep,  and  had  a  flock  of  several  thou- 
sand head  on  the  Camatti  and  Huer-Huero 
ranchos.  All  of  the  sheep  were  merinos  and  were 
raised  both  for  the  wool  and  the  mutton.  The 
Huer-Huero  was  in  years  past  one  of  the  large 
ranchos  of  California,  embracing  forty-eight 
thousand  acres  and  adjoining  the  Santa  Ysabel 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


rancho.  It  was  particularly  adapted  ior  the  pas- 
turage of  sheep  and  was  used  exclusively  for  that 
purpose.  Finally  the  land  was  divided  into 
farms  and  within  two  years  thirty-four  thousand 
acres  were  sold  to  a  desirable  class  of  settlers. 
On  the  ranch  owned  by  Mr.  Gibson  there  is 
a  copper  mine,  owned  by  the  Los  Osos  Copper 
Company,  in  which  he  is  a  stockholder  and 
director.  During  the  past  few  years  $3,000  has 
been  spent  in  placing  this  mine  upon  a  paying- 
basis,  and  good  ore  has  been  secured.  Plans 
are  now  being  made  for  the  future  development 
of  the  mine,  which  is  now  bonded  by  the  United 
States  surveyor-general.  In  common  with  most 
prospectors,  the  owners  of  this  mine  have  not 
found  the  road  to  fortune  an  easy  one.  One  of 
their  most  serious  setbacks  was  the  caving  in 
of  the  mine  during  a  season  of  protracted  rains 
that  caused  the  timber  to  give  way.  However, 
everything  looks  hopeful  at  this  writing  and 
work  will  soon  resume. 


CAPT.  THOMAS  T.  TIDBALL. 

Patriotism  is  a  prominent  characteristic  of  the 
Tidball  family.  Not  only  has  Captain  Tidball 
himself  rendered  valued  service  to  the  country, 
but  other  members  of  the  family  have  been 
equally  loyal  and  valorous.  His  maternal  grand- 
father was  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  the 
spirit  that  led  him  forth  to  do  battle  for  the  col- 
onies caused  his  four  grandsons  to  enlist  in  the 
Union  army  during  the  Civil  war.  One  of  these 
commanded  the  Fifty-ninth  New  York  Infantry 
at  numerous  engagements;  another,  Joseph  L., 
was  a  captain  in  the  regular  army  and  at  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  war  became  a  recruiting  offi- 
cer; another  brother  held  rank  as  first  lieuten- 
ant and  regimental  quartermaster  in  the  Fifty- 
ninth  New  York  Infantry. 

Near  Allegheny  City,  Pa.,  Captain  Tidball  was 
born  October  2,  1826,  being  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Eliza  K.  (Lynn)  Tidball.  When  he  was 
a  year  old  his  parents  settled  in  Holmes  county, 
Ohio,  where  they  remained  until  1838,  and  then 
settled  in  Mansfield,  same  state.  There  the  son 
learned  the  hatter"s  trade  under  his  father's  in- 
struction, and  later  he  also  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  printing  business.     In  1846  he  en- 


listed in  Company  A,  Third  Ohio  Infantry,  for 
service  in  the  Mexican  war.  With  his  regiment 
he  proceeded  to  Mexico  and  thence  still  further 
southwest.  After  fourteen  months  as  a  private 
he  was  honorably  discharged  and  returned  to 
Mansfield,  where  he  secured  work  as  a  clerk  in 
a  warehouse.  In  1849,  in  company  with  a  friend, 
he  started  for  California.  At  Independence.  Mo., 
they  joined  a  party  westward  bound,  it  being  the 
agreement  that  they  were  to  pay  $75  for  their 
passage  to  California.  However,  when  they 
reached  the  Platte  river  he  and  his  partner 
bought  a  ferry  for  $50  and  remained  behind 
after  their  companions  had  proceeded  on  the 
way.  In  a  little  more  than  a  week  they  had 
cleared  $150.  With  this  welcome  addition  to 
their  funds  they  again  started  westward,  over- 
taking their  former  companions  and  proceeding 
via  Salt  Lake,  where  they  saw  Brigham  Young. 
Thence  they  walked  to  the  present  site  of  San 
Bernardino,  where  they  arrived  weary  and  hun- 
gry. Going  on  to  Los  Angeles,  they  took  a 
boat  to  San  Francisco,  where  they  arrived  with 
$10  in  their  combined  possessions. 

A  few  days  later  Mr.  Tidbail  secured  work  as 
a  wood  chopper  at  $5  per  cord.  He  then  bought 
an  axe  and  some  provisions  on  credit  from  a 
man  he  had  never  seen  before,  and  for  six  weeks 
engaged  in  cutting  wood,  soon  making  enough 
to  repay  his  accommodating  creditor.  His  next 
venture  was  at  Placerville,  where  he  tried  his 
luck  at  mining.  From  there  he  went  further  up 
the  Feather  river,  where  he  remained  for  six 
months.  For  two  years  he  engaged  in  ranch- 
ing near  Sacramento,  and  then  fur  six  months 
lie  was  interested  in  a  store  at  Jackson,  Cal.  At 
the  expiration  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Indi- 
ana with  a  partner,  expecting  to  buy  cattle  and 
drive  them  across  the  plains.  However,  on  ac 
count  of  sickness,  the  project  was  abandoned. 
For  two  years  he  edited  a  paper  at  Albion,  hid., 
and  while  there  married  Helen  M.  Hill.  Three 
children  were  born  of  their  union.  Inn  May  and 
Minnie  died  in  girlhood.  The  only  one  now  liv- 
ing is  Nellie  11..  wife  of  John  I ».  Hall,  and 
mother  of  four  children,  John  J..  Helen  II.. 
Stella  and  Charles  S. 

During  1857  Captain  Tidball  came  to  Cali- 
fornia via  the  water  route  and  settled  in  Santa 


:;i 


HISTi  tRICAL   AND    BK  )GR  VPHICAL    REO  >RD. 


Cruz,  where  he  was  employed  on  a  paper  when 
the  Civil  war  broke  out.  Inspired  with  the  pa- 
triotic spirit  of  his  ancestors,  he  at  once  raised 
.1  company  of  eighty  men.  which  was  mustered 
into  the  I'nited  States  service  at  Sacramento, 
with  himself  as  captain.  Ordered  to  Southern 
California,  they  remained  several  weeks  near 
the  coast,  and  then  marched  to  Fort  Yuma  to 
suppress  the  Apaches,  who  were  on  one  of  their 
customary  fierce  outbreaks.  About  the  ist  of 
October  they  were  sent  to  San  Pedro,  and  on 
the  ist  of  February  were  ordered  to  Tucson, 
Ariz.,  from  which  point  they  proceeded  after  the 
Apaches.  They  were  obliged  to  be  cautious  in 
their  pursuits,  as  they  had  a  cunning  foe  to  deal 
with.  For  five  nights  they  traveled  on  foot, 
sleeping  in  the  daytime.  Xo  camp  fire.-,  were 
built,  lest  the  Indians  might  see  the  smoke. 
There  were  only  twenty-five  white  men  in  Com- 
pany K,  the  balance  of  the  one  hundred  and 
four  men  being  Indians  or  Mexicans.  <  hi  the 
morning  of  the  fifth  day  they  surprised  the  In- 
dians, killing  eighty  of  the  braves,  and  capturing 
eighteen  women  and  children,  also  sixty-six 
horses  and  some  government  property.  The 
expedition  had  been  one  of  great  hardship,  but 
the  successful  termination  caused  the  soldiers  to 
forgel  their  annoyances,  and  all  rejoiced  at  the 
fortunate  outcome.  They  had  traveled  about 
one  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  with  pack-trains 
to  carry  supplies,  and  had  crossed  one  stream 
thirty-six  times.  It  was  just  at  break  of  day 
when  the)  surprised  the  Indians,  who  were  in 
the  act  of  building  a  camp  fire.  With  the  loss 
i  f  onhj  one  man,  the  expedition  returned  to  Tuc- 
son, bringing  with  them  their  prisoners  of  war 
and  tin-  booty  taken  in  the  battle. 

From  ["ucson  Captain  Tidball  was  ordered  to 
the  Rocky  mountains,  where  lie  had  command 
of  a  post  a'  Bowie,  \ri/,.  for  sixteen  months. 
During  that  time  he  commanded  an  expedition 
t •  >  the  San  Carlos  reservation,  and  meanwhile 
killed  thirty  or  more  hostile  savages,  including 
the  chief  of  the  tribe.  Frequently  he  went  on 
scouting  expeditions,  and  more  than  once 
the  deserl  on  foot.  Mustered  out  of 
the  service  November  30,  [864,  he  then  returned 
to  Santa  Cruz,  and  in  the  fall  of  [865  was 
elected  county  clerk.      \t   the  expiration  of  his 


term  of  two  years  he  was  appointed  internal 
revenue  collector  of  the  second  district.  Re- 
signing two  years  later,  he  moved  to  Tulare 
county  and  ranched  there  for  a  year.  His  next 
location  was  on  the  Cooper  ranch  in  Salinas 
valley,  where  he  spent  three  years.  In  1870  he 
came  to  Jolon  and  opened  a  store  in  partner- 
ship with  Mr.  Dutton.  Two  years  later  he 
erected  a  building,  which  he  utilized  as  a  hotel 
and  store.  Me  also  conducted  feed  yards,  and 
has  served  as  postmaster,  while  at  this  writing 
in.  postoffice  is  in  charge  of  his  wife.  For  six- 
teen years  he  has  been  a  notary  public.  His 
political  affiliations  are  with  the  Republican 
party,  among  whose  members  in  Monterey 
count}  he  occupies  a  leading  position.  In  1853 
Ik  was  made  a  Mason  and  has  since  been  identi- 
fied with  the  fraternity,  being  now  past  master 
of  the  lodges  at  Santa  Cruz  and  Castroville. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  legislative  body  of- 
Arizona,  its  members  adopted  a  resolution  com- 
mending Captain  Tidball  for  his  services  in  the 
Apache  outbreaks,  and  the  letter  forwarded  to 
him  from  the  legislature  was  cherished  by  him 
a-  indicative  of  the  appreciation  in  which  his 
labors  were  held.  He  also  received  recognition 
in  another  manner  no  less  acceptable  than  the 
former,  this  being  in  his  promotion  to  major 
and  brevet-major  in  the  army,  which  honor  his 
faithful  and   intelligent    services  amply   merited. 


WILLIAM    T.   GILKEY. 

The  name  of  William  T.  Gilkey  is  worthy  of 

enrollment  among  the  very  early  settlers  of 
Monterey  county  who  foresaw  its  great  possi- 
bilities and  put  their  shoulder  to  the  wheel  to 
develop  the  chances  by  which  they  were  sur- 
rounded, lie  was  born  in  Wayne  county.  X.  Y.. 
April  8.  1821,  and  when  only  six  years  of  age 
was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Wayne  county, 
Mich.,  where  he  was  retired  oil  a  farm  until  his 
'■nth  year.  His  first  business  experience 
was  gained  as  a  clerk  in.  a  store  in  Illinois,  said 
store  being  located  in  a  tiny  hamlet  rejoicing 
in  the  name  of  Joliet,  now  known  as  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  prosperous  towns  in  the  state. 
From  Joliet  he  returned  to  Michigan,  and  in 
I  li  troil   engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  for  a 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


37? 


couple  of  years,  afterward  working  in  an  hotel 
for  about  four  years.  From  1847  t0  ^5°  he 
lived  in  Lansing,  Mich.,  and  during  that  time 
had  a  hand  in  the  initial  undertakings  of  that 
embryo  town.  He  built  the  first  house  on  the 
section  of  school  land  upon  which  Lansing 
eventually  arose,  and  when  the  capitol  of  t In- 
state was  removed  there  he  was  employed  by 
the  government  to  clear  the  ground  and  set  out 
trees.  At  the  expiration  of  his  government 
service  he  came  to  California  in  1850,  starting 
from  Lansing  April  18th  and  arriving  in  San 
Francisco  August  18th. 

In  Tuolumne  county,  Cal.,  Mr.  Gilkey  en- 
gaged in  mining  for  a  time,  and  from  September, 
1850,  to  April,'  1851,  lived  at  Fine  Gold  Gulch, 
Madera  county,  where  he  experienced  little  suc- 
cess. With  three  partners  he  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business  at  Savage  Hill  for  a  short 
time,  and  then  returned  overland  for  his  wife  and 
son.  in  Michigan,  the  trip  consuming  six 
months.  Upon  again  locating  in  California  he 
engaged  in  ranching  and  the  hotel  business  in 
Jamestown,  or  Mountain  Pass,  and  at  the  end 
of  a  year  began  to  team  at  Skulls  Flats,  and  also 
engaged  in  building  and  mining.  This  venture 
proved  unsuccessful,  and  in  the  fall  of  1859  ne 
settled  011  his  present  ranch  of  one  hundred 
ai  res,  which  was  pre-empted  from  the  govern- 
ment for  $1.25  an  acre,  and  is  mostly  hill 
land.  In  politics  Mr.  Gilkey  was  a  Democrat 
until  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party 
in  1855.  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  stanch 
upholder  of  the  latter's  principles  and  issues. 
He  has  served  as  horticultural  commissioner  for 
the  district  for  eight  years.  For  eighteen  years 
he  has  been  principal  correspondent  for  the  de- 
partment of  agriculture,  and  he  is  a  correspon- 
dent for  the  Orange  Judd  Farmer.  For  twenty 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Grange. 

November  2,  1844,  Mr.  Gilkey  married  Mary 
Dayton,  and  the  same  day  cast  his  presidential 
vote  for  James  K.  Polk.  Mrs.  Gilkey  is  a  native 
of  Xew  York  state,  and  was  born  July  21,  1826. 
When  eleven  years  of  age  she  removed  with  the 
rest  of  her  family  to  Detroit.  Mich.,  and  after- 
ward to  Birmingham,  same  state.  She  is  the 
mother  of  nine  children,  four  of  whom  died 
young.    Jerome  B.  lives  in  San  Jose,  Cal.;  Rosie 


D.  is  the  wife  of  T.  J.  Clapp;  Caleb  B.  is  a  car- 
penter and  rancher  of  Parkfield;  William  J.  is 
a  farmer  and  teamster  of  Watsonville;  and  Mary 
R.  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years.  Al- 
though one  of  the  oldest  residents  of  his  lo- 
cality. Mr.  Gilkey  is  a  remarkably  well  preserved 
man.  and  the  only  real  grievance  that  reminds 
him  of  the  passing  of  years  is  rheumatism  in  one 
of  his  legs.  He  is  the  living  representative  of 
seven  generations,  that  he  himself  has  seen.  He 
and  his  wife  are  full  of  life  and  spirits,  and  of 
them  it  may  be  said  that  they  have  grown  old 
gracefully,  and  have  seen  the  happy  as  well  as 
dark  side  of  life. 


FRANK  E.  CAUSE. 

Various  industries  engage  the  attention  of  the 
residents  of  Monterey  county,  but  there  are 
comparatively  few  who  follow  the  occupation  of 
bee-raising,  which  is  being  successfully  pursued 
by  Mr.  Cause  on  his  ranch,  three  and  one-half 
miles  northeast  of  Jolon.  Through  a  long  ex- 
perience in  the  bee  business  he  has  gained  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  all  its  details  and  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  authorities  of  Monterey 
comity  in  everything  bearing  upon  the  subject 
of  apiaries. 

In  Richmond.  Ind..  Mr.  Cause  was  born  Sep- 
tember 1.  1862.  At  nine  years  of  age  he  accom- 
panied hi>  parents  t<>  [owa  and  settled  on  a  farm 
near  West  Libert}-.  For  several  subsequent 
years  he  attended  the  public  schools  of  West 
Liberty,  after  which  he  carried  on  his  studies  in 
the  college  at  Iowa  City.  1  )n  leaving  school  he 
trawled  through  the  south  and  west,  with  a 
view  to  settling  in  some  favorable  location.  In 
1888  he  came  to  Montere)  county  and  pre-emp- 
ted otic  hundred  and  sixty  acres  as  a  horn 
claim.  To  this  tract  he  has  since  added  and  now 
owns  two  hundred  acres.  In  [896  he  entered 
the  bee  industry,  with  which  his  name  is  now 
closel)  associated.  Since  then  he  has  had  his 
share  of  reverses,  hut  he  has  not  allowed 
to  discourage  him.  During  the  dry  year.  [898, 
he  lost  ninety-three  out  of  one  hundn 
nil's,  which  was  certainly  a  discoui 
rience.  However,  in  spite  of  these  and  other 
drawbacks,  he  has  persistently  pushed  forward 


HISTORICAL    A.ND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


in  the  work,  and  now  has  one  hundred  and  fifty 
colonies,  these  resulting  from  seven  swarms  of 
wild  bees  secured  in  the  mountains.  Besides  his 
bee  industry,  lie  is  the  owner  of  ten  acres  in  a 
fine  orchard  of  peaches,  apples,  prunes  and  al- 
monds, the  care  of  which  requires  considerable 
time  on  his  part. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Cause  occurred  Feb- 
ruary 5,  1902,  and  united  him  with  Mattie  B. 
Starr,  of  Salinas,  a  successful  schoolteacher  and 
popular  young  lady.  In  fraternal  relations  Air. 
dause  is  connected  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  and  in  politics  is  a  supporter 
of  Republican  principles. 

WILBER  M.  GARDXER. 

The  junior  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Martin 
&  <  Gardner,  of  Santa  Cruz,  was  born  near  Elgin. 
111.,  March  22,  1861,  and  is  a  son  of  Alexander 
and  Eliza  (Bacon)  Gardner.  The  advantages  of- 
fered by  public  schools  were  supplemented  by  a 
course  of  study  in  Elgin  Academy.  When  a 
young  man  he  secured  a  clerkship  in  Hamp- 
shire, 111.,  and  remained  in  that  town  until 
forced  to  resign  his  position  on  account  of  con- 
stant trouble  with  rheumatism.  Acting  upon 
the  advice  of  his  physician,  he  determined  to 
seek  relief  in  the  genial  climate  of  California. 
1  )uring  1882  he  came  to  San  Francisco  and 
later  spent  a  short  time  in  Stockton,  where 
within  three  weeks  his  weight  had  increased 
from  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  to  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-two  pounds. 

Employment  in  the  harvest  fields  of  Butte 
county  was  followed  by  work  as  a  sewing  ma- 
chine agent,  but  while  thus  engaged  Mr.  Gard- 
ner suffered  a  relapse  and  in  the  spring  of  1883 
came  to  Santa  Cruz.  For  two  years  he  was  in 
a  serious  condition  and  practically  an  invalid. 
Had  the  climate  been  less  healthful  he  would 
have  succumbed  to  the  disease,  but  it  supple- 
mented medical  assistance  and  eventually  he  re- 
gained his  health.  Ik-  then  took  up  the  Stud) 
of  shorthand  and  became  principal  in  the  short- 
hand department  of  Chestnutwoods  Business 
1  ollege.  1  loing  to  Los  Angeles  in  [887,  h. 
found  employment  as  stenographer,  and  for  two 
years  was  with  the  San   Pedro   Lumber  Com 


pany  in  that  capacity.  <  )n  his  return  to  Santa 
Cruz  in  1880  he  opened  a  school  of  shorthand 
and  at  the  same  time  took  up  the  study  of  law. 
In  1 80. 1  the  Republicans  elected  him  justice  of 
the  peace,  which  position  he  filled  for  eight 
years.  Meantime,  in  1898,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  and  the  following  year  embarked  in  the 
practice  of  law,  which  he  has  since  conducted  at 
Santa  Cruz.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Rathbone  Sisters, 
and  in  religious  views  he  is  liberal.  September 
8,  1890,  he  married  Miss  Mamie  E.  Norriss, 
daughter  of  James  A.  Norriss,  formerly  of  Lon- 
don, England,  later  of  Monterey  county,  Cal. 
They  have  two  daughters,  Cymbeline  and  Cle- 
onice. 

NOAH  H1LDEBRAXT. 

A  transplanted  southerner  who  has  success- 
fully manipulated  his  chances  in  San  Miguel  is 
N.  Hildebrant,  owner  and  proprietor  of  a  large 
soda  water  manufactory  and  agent  for  the  Union 
Ice  Company.  He  was  born  in  Carroll  county. 
Md..  December  20.  1831),  and  is  a  son  of  Jacob 
and  Nancy  (Vance)  Hildebrant.  natives  also  of 
Maryland.  When  a  young  man  Jacob  Hilde- 
brant removed  from  Maryland  to  Virginia,  and 
at  different  times  owned  land  in  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri and  other  middle  western  states,  eventu- 
ally settling  in  Cass  county.  Mo.,  where  he  died 
at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-two  years.  Of  the 
three  sons  and  five  daughters  born  to  his  mar- 
riage all  are  living,  of  whom  N.  Hildebrant  is 
the  third. 

Owing  to  his  father's  migratory  disposition, 
the  early  life  of  Mr.  Hildebrant  was  somewhat 
unsettled,  but  he  nevertheless  managed  to  ac- 
quire  a  practical  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  the  states  in  which  the  family  lived.  Up  to 
[859  he  assisted  his  father  with  the  care  and 
management  of  the  farms,  and  during  that  year 
branched  out  into  an  independent  farming  expe- 
rience with  more  or  less  satisfactory  results.  In 
[862  lie  engaged  in  the  soda  manufacturing 
business  in  Boonville,  Mo.,  and  in  1883  located 
at  Gilroy,  Cal.,  where  he  continued  his  former 
occupation  until  transferring  his  business  inter 
ests  to  San  Miguel  in  1883.     Since  then  he  has 


fybtu;  vc.ae«4**JLv 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


been  an  interested  and  active  participator  in  the 
events  of  his  adopted  town,  and  has  acquired  a 
reputation  for  business  judgment  and  unques- 
tioned integrity.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  residence 
as  well  as  his  business  plant,  the  latter  of  which 
is  valued  at  $10,000.  and  brings  in  a  yearly  profit 
of  about  $5,000.  Mr.  Hildebrant  is  also  agent 
for  the  John  Wieland  firm  of  brewers,  as  well 
as  the  California  Bottling  Company  of  San 
Francisco.  He  ships  large  quantities  of  goods 
all  over  this  part  of  the  state,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  active  in  the  line  in  California.  As  a  Re- 
publican of  the  true  blue  order  he  has  promoted 
the  interests  of  his  friends,  but  has  himself  never 
desired  or  worked  for  public  office. 

In  Missouri  Mr.  Hildebrant  married  Martha 
Story,  a  native  of  St.  Louis,  and  daughter  of 
Joseph  Story,  a  native  of  Indiana.  An  adopted 
daughter,  Xadine,  claims  the  attention  of  Mrs. 
Hildebrant,  who  has  no  children  of  her  own. 


HON.  JOHN  K.  ALEXANDER.  LL.  D. 

The  bench  and  bar  of  Central  California  have 
many  able  representatives,  men  who  stand  high 
in  their  profession  because  of  deep  study  of  the 
best  authorities  on  law,  and  men  who  stand 
high  on  the  bench  by  reason  of  their  impartial 
judgment  and  their  freedom  from  personal 
prejudice.  Of  these  various  attorneys  and  jurists 
none  has  a  higher  rank  than  Judge  Alexander, 
of  Monterey  county.  His  record  is  that 'of  a 
.killed  lawyer  and  learned  judge,  and  during  his 
long  service  on  the  bench  he  gained  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people  to  an  extent  not  often  sur- 
passed. While  filling  the  office  of  judge  of  tin- 
superior  court,  he  devoted  his  entire  attention  to 
a  faithful  and  wise  discharge  of  his  duties,  and 
so  successful  was  he  in  this  respect  that  the 
highest  praise  was  bestowed  upon  him  b)  men 
whose  experience  and  knowledge  qualified  them 
to  rightly  estimate  his  services. 

The  early  years  of  Judge  Alexander  were 
passed  in  Brandon,  Rankin  county,  Miss.,  where 
he  was  born  in  1839.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
accompanied  his  mother,  brother  and  sister  to 
California  and  joined  his  father,  who  had  pre- 
ceded them  five  years.  The  latter  attained  the 
age  of  eighty-six  years  and  died  on  Laurel  ranch 


mar  Menlo  Park,  Cal.;  the  mother  is  still  liv- 
ing. After  coming  to  this  state  he  became  a 
pupil  in  the  Sacramento  grammar  school,  but 
in  1857  left  school  and  began  to  work  in  a  gold 
mine  in  Calaveras  county.  The  money  thus 
earned  represented  his  first  efforts  toward  an 
independent  livelihi  ><  id.  After  a  year  he  returned 
to  Sacramento  and  entered  the  high  school,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  two  years  later.  For 
one  term  he  acted  as  vice-principal  of  the 
school,  and  at  the  same  time  gained  his  primary 
knowledge  of  the  law  by  studying  in  the  office 
of  George  R.  Moore,  later  being  with  the  firm 
of  Harrison  cc  Estee.  From  boyhood  the  law 
had  been  his  ambition,  and  its  successful  prac- 
tice was  the  object  of  his  early  childish  aspira- 
tions. However,  he  was  not  blind  to  the  de- 
mands it  made  upon  a  man,  but  he  realized  seri- 
ously that  he  who  would  succeed  in  the  profes- 
sion must  bring  to  it  a  clear  mind,  indomitable 
determination  and  a  good  education.  October 
7,  1862,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  su- 
preme court  of  the  state  upon  motion  of  Morris 
Al.  Estee,  after  an  examination  in  open  court. 
The  following  year  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  former  preceptor.  Mr.  Moore,  which 
continued  until  the  latter's  death.  In  alluding 
to  this  partnership,  a  gentleman  acquainted  with 
both  has  written:  "Mr.  Moore,  who  had  watched 
with  interest  his  partner's  studious  and  pains- 
taking qualities,  had  perfect  confidence  in  his 
competence  and  threw  the  burden  of  business 
upon  him.  This  was  of  immense  service  to  him. 
He  came  to  owe  much  1-  Mr.  Moore,  whose  ad 
vice  and  prompting  greatlj  aided  and  stimulated 
his  labors  while  lie  studied  and  was  also 
advantage  to  him  at  the  bar." 

A  partnership  of  two  year>  with   Hon.  John 
W.    Armstrong,    which    had    been    formed    soon 
alter  Mr.  Moore's  death,  was  terminated  in  1870 
by  the  election  of  Judge    Alexander  to  the  office 
of  district  attorney.     (  >n  the  expiration 
term,   he  allowed   himself   the   first   vac;: 
his  active  life,  and  returned   to  the  home  of  his 
childhood,  where  he  renewed  the  associal 
the  past      (  m  his  return  he  entered  into  partner- 
ship witli  Hoi  man,  the  eminent  law- 
yer,   writer    and    compiler,    and    this     continued 
until,  by  reason  of  ill  health.  Judge   Alexander 


:S2 


III     h-UH    \L   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


was  obliged  to  seek  a  more  genial  climate.  This 
inspired  his  removal  to  Salinas  in  1874.  and 
here  he  lias  since  made  his  home,  engaging  in 
the  practice  of  law,  except  during  the  period  of 
his  judicial  service.  In  1879  he  was  induced  to 
become  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  superior 
judge,  having  been  nominated  by  the  Demo- 
cratic county  convention,  and  in  addition  thereto 
he  was  urged  to  accept  the  nomination  by  one 
hundred  of  the  best  citizens  of  the  county,  irre- 
spective of  political  ties.  His  ideal  of  a  judge 
was  the  highest.  In  his  reply  to  the  request  of 
the  one  hundred  citizens  he  said:  "To  assume 
the  judicial  ermine  and  wear  it  worthily  re- 
quires the  abandonment  of  all  party  bias  and  per- 
sonal prejudice,  a  possession  of  educational 
qualifications,  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart."  In 
this  concise  summary  he  gave  the  attributes  of 
the  ideal  jurist,  and  when  he  was  elected  it  was 
his  highest  ambition  to  reach  this  ideal.  That  he 
met  the  approbation  of  the  people  was  proved 
by  his  re-election  in  1884,  on  the  Democratic 
ticket,  although  the  county  and  state  both  were 
Republican. 

Although  quiet  and  modest,  with  unassum- 
ing manner.  Judge  Alexander  possesses  a  depth 
of  knowledge  and  a  clearness  of  judgment  that 
has  always  made  him  recognized  as  a  power  by 
his  associates.  As  a  judge  he  was  careful  and 
methodical,  yet  a  man  of  dispatch.  Few  of  his 
decisions  were  reversed,  although  many  appeals 
were  taken  to  higher  courts.  His  charge  to  the 
jury  in  the  murder  trial  of  the  People  vs.  lams, 
which  is  given  in  full  in  the  California  reports, 
is  considered  a  very  able  legal  paper  and  was 
highly  complimented  by  the  supreme  court,  in 
affirming  his  decision.  His  charge  to  the  jury  in 
the  case  of  E.  T.  Simmons  vs.  Pacific  Improve- 
ment Company,  for  $100,000  damages,  is  consid- 
ered one  of  the  ablest  statements  of  law  on  the 
subject  of  Probable  Cause  that  ever  emanated 
from  an  American  jurist,  and  is  a  masterpiece 
of  logic  and  clear,  concise  Erfglish.  After  the 
separation  of  San  Benito  from  Monterey  county, 
lie  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  committee  to 
adjudicate  the  indebtedness  of  the  counties,  a 
position  requiring  the  wisest  judgment  and 
greatest  tact.  In  July,  [888,  the  degree  of 
1 .[..  I  >.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Los  An- 


geles University.  He  is  a  member  of  the  San 
Francisco  Bar  Association.  Fraternally  he  is 
past  master  of  Salinas  Lodge  Xo.  204.  F.  & 
A.  M.,  and  past  high  priest  of  Salinas  Chapter 
No.  59,  R.  A.  M.  August  2,  1865.  he  married 
Miss  Sallie  B.  Carothers,  of  Petaluma,  and  they 
have  two  sons  and  one  daughter.  Personally 
he  is  dignified  and  somewhat  reserved,  yet  those 
who  know  him  best  find  him  a  genial  comrade 
and  entertaining  companion,  with  a  fund  of  quiet 
humor  as  well  as  a  store  of  diversified  knowl- 
edge accumulated  during  his  active  and  event- 
fur  life. 


DR.  S.  HELGESEN. 

While  ranking  among  the  foremost  of  the 
women  who  are  devoted  to  the  amelioration  of 
human  suffering  on  the  coast,  Dr.  Helgesen 
represents  also  the  cultured  and  resourceful  of 
the  daughters  of  Norway,  in  which  country  she 
was  born  June  20,  1865.  The  best  blood  handed 
down  from  the  maritime  Norsemen  flows 
through  the  veins  of  those  who  bear  the  name  of 
Helgesen,  and  their  representatives  have  been 
invariably  people  of  intellectual  attainments  and 
more  than  ordinary  talent.  Helga  Helgesen. 
the  father  of  the  doctor,  was  a  general  merchant 
in  Norway,  and  he  also  owned  several  farms, 
which  he  improved  with  profit  to  himself  and 
credit  to  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  He 
was-  a  great  temperance  worker,  and  spent  a 
great  deal  of  time  and  money  in  promoting  the 
cause  he  deemed  just.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  and  lived  to  be  eighty  years 
1  if  age.  I'lie  paternal  grandfather,  Hlawer  Kack- 
ver,  was  born  in  Norway,  and  like  his  son  was 
a  farmer  and  public  spirited  man.  Phernella 
(Johnson)  Helgesen,  the  mother  of  Dr.  Helge- 
sen. was  the  daughter  of  Berrier  Johnson,  who 
was  known  as  a  prominent  Norwegian  politi- 
cian, and  who  lived  to  be  nearly  eighty  years 
old.  She  was  the  mother  of  two  daughters  and 
two  s,  ,iis,  of  whom  the  doctor  is  second  young- 
est. 

When  two  years  of  age  Dr.  Helgesen  was 
deprived  of  the  care  of  her  mother  by  death. 
and  her  early  training  fell  into  other  hands.  As 
a  child  she  was  studious  and  industrious,  as  best 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


3s:5 


illustrated  by  the  fact  thai  at  the  age  of  four- 
Ken  she  had  graduated  from  the  public  schools, 
her  education  having  been  aided  by  the  instruc- 
tion of  a  private  tutor.  Nevertheless  she  con- 
tinued to  study  after  her  school  days  were 
ended,  and  it  has  been  her  habit  to  add  to  her 
general  information  whenever  opportunity 
offered.  In  her  native  country  she  graduated 
as  a  nurse  and  dentist,  after  which  she  studied 
for  a  couple  of  years  in  Germany,  before  engag- 
ing in  practice.  Equipped  with  diplomas  and 
various  marks  of  appreciation  from  her  father- 
land she  came  to  America  in  1887,  and  after 
studying  for  a  time  in  Xew  York  City  settled 
in  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  where  she  studied  and 
practiced  for  five  years,  graduating  from  the 
Hamlin  University  of  Minneapolis,  April  4, 
1  Si )_'.  For  the  following  two  years  she  prac- 
ticed as  a  medical  missionary  in  Hong  Kong, 
and  the  interior  of  China,  having  journeyed  to 
the  Orient  via  Norway,  and  stopped  at  various 
representative   European  cities  en  route. 

<  (wing  to  the  injurious  effects  of  the  Chinese 
climate  on  her  health.  Dr.  Helgesen  came  to 
California  in  1896,  settling  in  Templeton,  as  a 
possibly  desirable  field  for  professional  practice. 
The  wisdom  of  her  choice  has  been  repeatedly 
demonstrated,  and  while  it  is  true  that  she  has 
no  competition,  it  is  evident  that  in  any  city  or 
any  clime  this  gifted  and  large  hearted  disciple 
of  .Esculapius  would  make  herself  a  necessary 
adjunct  to  the  community.  As  evidence  of  her 
success  she  is  the  possessor  of  considerable  cits- 
property  besides  .her  own  residence.  As  an  ad- 
vocate of  the  rights  of  women  and  of  temper- 
ance, she  wields  an  influence  for  all-around 
development,  and  she  is  associated  with  the 
Fraternal  Brotherhood  as  member  and  exami- 
ner, as  well  as  with  the  Humane  Society.  Dr. 
Helgesen  has  a  large  place  in  her  heart  for  the 
dumb  members  of  creation,  and  hundreds  of  in- 
teresting wild  birds  come  to  her  home  for  the 
food  and  drink  that  she  thoughtfully  provide-. 
Among  her  most  constant  and  valued  compan- 
ions are  a  dog  of  unusual  intelligence  and  devo 
tion,  and  a  feathered  songster  of  the  eanar\ 
species  with  a  wonderful  gift  for  song.  The 
doctor  has  many  friends  and  appreciators  in  her 
adopted  town,  and  -lie  has  won  a  position  com- 


mensurate with  her  tine  and  womanly  traits,  her 
erudite  command  of  her  profession,  and  that 
breadth  of  mind  which  dictates  an  interest  in  all 
that  is  worth)    and  developing. 


JOHN  A.    Ill   Un  IM. 

The  present  home  of  Mr.  Ilersom.  in  the 
Jolon  valley.  .Monterey  county,  is  far  removed 
from  the  place  of  his  birth  and  the  scene  of  his 
boyhood  experiences.  He  was  born  in  Maine, 
near  the  city  of  Waterville.  January  7,  1837,  and 
grew  to  manhood  on  a  farm.  As  a  youth  he 
often  heard  stories  of  the  mining  discoveries  in 
California,  and  the  rumors  that  came  to  him 
from  the  distant  west  were  enticing  to  his  am- 
bitious hopes.  His  first  trip  to  California  was 
made  in  1861,  when  he  came  via  steamer  and  the 
isthmus.  Like  the  majority  of  newcomers  of 
those  days,  he  turned  his  attention  to  mining. 
A  number  of  claims  were  discovered  and  devel- 
oped by  him,  and  in  general  he  met  with  fair 
success.  Much  of  the  time  he  worked  near  Co- 
lumbia. Tuolumne  county,  Inn  he  was  also  for 
a  time  at  Aurora.  New.  being  there  when  that 
camp  was  first  settled. 

On  his  return  to  the  east  in  [865  Mr.  Hersom 
took  up  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1868  he  mar- 
ried Ellen  Moore.  1>\  whom  he  has  three  chil- 
dren, John  R.,  Lottie  H.  and  Charles  l  . 
Though  fairly  prosperous  in  Maine,  he  was  not 
satisfied.  The  charm  of  California  clung  to  him 
and  impelled  him.  finally,  to  dispose  of  his  east- 
ern property  and  bring  his  family  to  the  I 
coast.  In  1S77  he  brought  them  to  Salinas  and 
purchased  a  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  whereon  he  lived  lor  three  years.  From 
there  he  removed  to  the  Jolon  valle\  and  set 
tied  on  a  tract  of  unimproved  property,  but 
shortly  afterward  moved  to  the  place  near  Jolon 
where  he  now  lives.  With  his  sons 
owns  aboul  one  thousand  acre-,  of  which  three 
hundred  acres  have  been  el-  '  fann- 

ing pursuit-  are   conducted   by   the   father  and 
-on-,   who  also   successfully  engage  in  raising 

cattle   .1!; 

of  the   Democratic    party,  and  give  their  ballot 

to  the   men  and   measures   for  which   the  party 

.md  pushing 


:;s  i 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


agriculturists,  they  occupy  a  high  position 
among  the  people  of  the  valley,  and  arc  es- 
teemed wherever  known. 


ANGUS  M.  HARD  IE. 

Born  in  Fifeshire,  Scotland,  in  1839,  Mr. 
Hardie  was  ten  years  of  age  when  he  came  to 
America  with  his  parents,  Thomas  and  Ellen 
(McPherson)  Hardie.  Until  1856  he  remained 
near  Galena,  111.,  but  at  that  time  he  came  to 
California  via  the  Panama  route  and  proceeded 
from  San  Francisco  to  Grizzly  Flats.  Eldorado 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  mining.  At  the 
time  of  the  Frazer  river  excitement,  he  joined 
miners  in  that  locality,  but  soon  returned  to 
California.  Again  in  1859  ne  went  to  tne  Frazer 
river  region,  and  not  only  carried  on  mining, 
but  also  had  a  mercantile  store  there.  During 
the  winter  of  1860-61  he  went  with  a  party  into 
British  Columbia,  and  was  one  of  the  discov- 
erers of  the  Caribou  mines,  where  he  remained 
until  1866,  meantime  making  a  trip  to  Central 
America  and  back  to  his  native  land.  In  the 
fall  of  1866  he  went  back  to  Eldorado  county, 
I  al.,  and  resumed  work  in  the  mines. 

The  residence  of  Air.  Hardie  in  San  Luis 
Obispo  comity  dates  from  September,  1867, 
when  he  came  to  Cayucos  and  purchased  a 
squatter*s  claim  on  Cayucos  creek.  On  that 
tract  he  began  the  life  of  a  farmer  and  stock- 
raiser  and  later  acquired  dairy  interests,  which 
became  extensive  and  important.  He  made  his 
home  on  that  ranch  until  1887,  when  he  bought 
the  property  in  Cayucos  where  he  now  resides. 

\t  one  tune  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Lock- 
hart  quicksilver  mine,  also  the  Libertal  and  the 
Oceanview  on  Pine  mountain.  In  the  midst  of 
all  his  other  work  he  has  continued  his  inter- 
est in  politics  and  ha-  been  active  in  the  Repub- 
lican party.  Several  times  he  has  served  as  a 
member  of  the  county  central  committee,  and 
he  has  frequently  been  a  delegate  to  state  and 
count)  conventions.  From  1869  to  1871  he 
served  as  a  county  supervisor.  In  1874  he  was 
his  party's  candidate  for  county  treasurer.     In 

1S70  In-  was  elected  county  assessor,  and  filled 
that  position  for  two  terms,  or  seven  years.  Af- 
ter his  appointment  as  road  master  at  Cayucos, 


in  August.  1872,  he  was  instrumental  in  securing 
Letter  roads  for  the  locality,  and  thereby  proved 
of  great  benefit  to  his  town.  For  sixteen  years 
he  served  as  a  trustee  of  the  Cayucos  school  dis- 
trict. For  the  past  five  years  he  has  been  post- 
master at  Cayucos.  being  the  present  incumbent 
of  the  office. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Hardie,  in  1866,  united 
him  with  Agnes  Innis.  who  was  born  near  his 
native  locality  in  Scotland.  They  became  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  namely:  Frank  W. ; 
Maggie,  wife  of  \Y.  S.  Lewis,  of  Paso  Robles; 
Angus  K.;  Bruce,  deceased;  John  L. ;  DeRoy, 
and  Nellie  R.  In  the  establishing  of  the  oldest 
Masonic  lodge  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county, 
which  is  San  Simeon  Lodge  No.  176,  Mr.  Har- 
die bore  an  active  part,  and  he  has  since  been 
connected  with  the  same,  besides  holding  mem- 
bership in  San  Luis  Chapter  No.  52,  R.  A.  M., 
and  San  Luis  Commandery  No.  27,  K.  T.  He 
is  past  master  of  the  blue  lodge.  Both  churches 
and  schools  have  received  the  benefit  of  his  sym- 
pathy and  influence.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
promoters  of  the  San  Luis  Obispo  County  Fair 
Association  and  did  much  to  advance  the  wel- 
fare of  the  same.  The  credit  of  having  exhib- 
ited the  first  collection  of  products  from  this 
county  in  San  Diego  belongs  to  him  and  J.  F. 
Beckett,  who  took  a  fine  exhibit  there  in  1885 
and  for  two  weeks  showed  visitors  and  the  resi- 
dents of  the  city  the  high  quality  of  the  products 
of  San  Luis  Obispo  county.  During  the  mid- 
winter fair  in  San  Francisco,  he  had  charge  of 
the  exhibit  from  this  county  and  served  as 
county  commissioner.  He  is  known  as  one  of 
the  prominent  pioneers  of  his  county,  and,  while 
he  has  never  gained  wealth  for  himself,  he  has 
accumulated  a  competency  and  has  gained  that 
which  is  better,  a  high  place  in  the  regard  of 
his  fellowmen. 


RICHARD  HOLOIIAX. 

Besides  an  honored  name  and  the  example 
of  an  upright,  well  directed  life.  Richard  Holo- 
han  left  a  legacy  to  those  nearest  him  of  a  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  twelve  acres  in  the  Pajaro 
valley,  one  of  the  garden  spots  of  California. 
This    well    known   early    settler   was   born   and 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGR  AI'TT  HAL   RECORD. 


reared  in  Ireland,  and  immigrated  to  the  United 
States  in  1869,  locating  in  Watsonville.  Shortly 
after  he  purchased  the  farm  bearing  his  name 
two  and  a  half  miles  from  Watsonville,  upon 
which  he  lived  and  prospered  until  the  time  of 
his  death  in  1884.  He  married  Catherine  Lynch, 
also  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  who  died  in  Cali- 
fornia in  1884,  leaving  five  children:  James  B., 
Alice  C,  George  W.,  Oscar  J.,  and  Stewart  P. 

The  farm  upon  which  Mr.  Holohan  lived  for 
so  many  years  is  now  owned  by  his  sons,  all 
of  whom  are  capable  managers,  and  maintain 
and  even  elevate  the  standard  established  by 
their  father.  They  are  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing, and  are  obliged  to  employ  a  number  of 
men  to  aid  in  the  work  around  the  ranch. 
About  one  hundred  acres  are  set  out  in  orchard, 
principally  apple  trees,  and  twenty  acres  are  de- 
voted to  the  cultivation  of  strawberries.  The 
brothers  Holohan  produce  about  the  finest  fruit 
to  be  found  in  the  valley,  and  as  practical  hor- 
ticulturists they  have  no  superiors  in  this  part 
of  the  state. 


JOHN  HUNTER. 

As  the  owner  and  occupant  of  a  ranch  two 
miles  southeast  of  Salinas,  Monterey  county, 
Mr.  Hunter  is  a  prominent  figure  in  the  locality 
known  as  Confederate  Corners,  and  is  here  en- 
gaged  in  general  ranching  pursuits  and  in  the 
raising  of  poultry.  Much  of  his  life  has  been 
passed  in  California,  as  he  was  only  ten  year-  of 
age  when  his  father  brought  the  family  across 
the  plains  to  seek  a  new  home  amid  the  then 
crude  and  unpromising  conditions  of  the  far 
west.  He  was  born  in  Linn  county,  Iowa,  De- 
cember 1,  1S48,  and  was  one  of  six  children, 
three  of  whom,  Mary,  Libbie  and  Joseph,  re- 
main on  the  old  family  homestead,  while  William 
occupies  a  ranch  adjoining  the  home  property. 
Another  son.  George,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven  years. 

The  father  of  John  Hunter  was  George  Hun- 
ter, a  native  of  Scotland,  who  crossed  the  ocean 
to  America  at  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  for  some 
years  made  his  home  in  Iowa.  When  gold  was 
discovered  in  California  he  was  our  of  the  thou- 
sands   who   soughl   this  Eldorado  in  search  of 


gold.  During  1850  he  came  for  the  first  time 
to  the  west,  but  made  only  a  short  stay  at  the 
time.  Returning  to  Iowa,  he  resumed  the  ordi- 
nal} pursuits  of  life,  and  nothing  occurred  for 
a  few  years  to  break'  the  even  tenor  of  his  life. 
However,  his  mind  dwelt  often  on  the  west,  and 
in  1858,  having  disposed  of  his  property  in  Iowa. 
he  started  with  his  family  across  the  plains. 
On  arriving  in  California  he  settled  in  Vallejo, 
where  he  spent  the  ten  ensuing  years.  The 
year  1868  found  him  in  Monterey  county,  where 
he  settled  on  a  ranch  near  the  then  mere  hamlet 
of  Salinas.  The  balance  of  his  life  was  devoted 
to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  through  his  indus- 
try he  accumulated  a  comfortable  competence. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  in  1808  he  was  seventy- 
three  years  of  age.  During  the  early  period  of 
his  life  he  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  in  which  faith  he  was  reared  in 
his  Scotch  home.  He  did  not  take  any  part  in 
politics  and  never  desired  office  for  himself,  but 
was  always  willing  to  aid  any  of  his  friend- 
seeking  official  positions.  While  living  in  Iowa 
lie  married  Rachel  A.  Scott,  who  was  born  in 
Kentucky  and  was  a  lady  of  excellent  family 
and  fine  education,  in  whose  companionship 
and  co-operation  his  life  was  singularly  blessed. 
Her  death  occurred  when  she  was  seventy-four 
years  of  age. 

One  of  the  most  vivid  recollections  of  John 
Hunter's  childhood  is  that  of  the  Ion-'  trip  to 
California  and  the  settlement  on  the  lonel; 
ranch,  far  removed  from  congenial  associates. 
His  boyhood  was  one  of  constant  work.  His 
advantages  in  an  educational  way  were  rrn 
but  being  a  man  of  observation  and  partiality 
for  reading  he  has  overcome  the  lack  of  thor- 
ough schooling.  \-  a  boy  In-  toiled  early  and 
late,  assisting  his  father  in  the  development  of 
the  farm  and  in  the  converting  of  the  raw  land 
into  a  desirable  homestead;  and  his  present 
home  is  onl\  a  short  distance  from  the  place 
where  the  yeai 
his  marriage  to  Man  l  >d  I 
[owa,  he  has  two  daughters,  Edna  and  Beulah. 
Like  his  father,  he  ha-  never  cared  for  positions 
al  prominenci  .  hi-  tastes  being  domestic 
tiring,  but  he  has  con  '  times 

,resent  the  Democratic  party  as  a  di 


186 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


to  various  local  conventions  and  has  always  been 
interested  in  the  workings  of  his  party.  Frater- 
nally he  is  associated  with  the  local  lodge  of 
Odd  Fellows.  In  addition  to  general  ranching 
he  has  made  a  specialty  of  poultry  raising, 
which  branch  of  farming  he  finds  profitable  and 
pleasant,  gaining  from  it  a  desirable  addition  to 
his  annual  income.  As  a  farmer  he  is  ener- 
getic, capable  and  progressive,  and  is  therefore 
deserving  of  the  gratifying  degree  of  success 
which  has  rewarded  his  efforts. 


M.  HUGHES. 


The  title  of  pioneer  is  justly  merited  b)  Mr. 
Hughes,  for  he  came  to  Salinas  when  the  town 
was  but  a  few  months  old  and  has  ever  since 
been  identified  with  its  business  interests.  The 
lives  of  the  early  settlers  of  Monterey  county 
were  one  unbroken  record  of  hardships  and  pri- 
vations, but  those  who  have  survived  to  the 
present  day,  find  in  the  comforts  of  the  present, 
ample  compensation  for  the  deprivations  of  the 
past.  Among  them  none  has  taken  a  deeper 
interest  than  Mr.  Hughes  in  the  development 
of  local  resources  and  the  promotion  of  individ- 
ual prosperity.  While  working  to  secure  a  com- 
petence  for  himself,  he  has  at  the  same  time 
endeavored  to  advance  the  general  well-being, 
and  his  interest  is  that  of  a  public-spirited  and 
li  iyal  citizen. 

From  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  in  1836, 
Mr.  Hughes  accompanied  his  parents  to  Penn- 
sylvania when  lie  was  nine  years  of  age,  and 
later  he  removed  with  them  to  Beloit,  Wis.  In 
the  latter  city  his  education  was  completed  in 
the  common  schools  and  his  apprenticeship 
to  the  trade  of  harness-maker  and  saddler  was 
served.  When  read)  to  start  out  in  the  world 
for  himself,  his  aspirations  turned  westward, 
where  In-  believed  opportunities  were  greater 
than  in  his  home  neighborhood.  In  1862  he 
journeyed  by  team  over  the  plains  to  California. 
taking  six  months  for  the  trip.  Arriving  in 
Placerville,  he  remained  there  a  short  time,  but 
63  moved  to  Monterey,  which  at  that  time 
1  count)  si  at  of  Montere)  count) .  1  ipen 
ing  a  shop,  he  began  work  at  his  trade.  How- 
ever, when   Salinas   was   started   he   decided   it 


might  prove  a  better  location  for  business  pur- 
poses, and  in  1868  he  came  to  the  new  town. 
His  harness  shop  was  the  second  business 
house  built  in  Salinas  and  occupied  the  present 
site  of  the  store  of  Ford  &  Sanborn.  Of  the 
development  of  Salinas  from  its  earliest  stages 
he  has  been  an  interested  witness,  and  no  one 
takes  greater  pride  than  does  he  in  its  excellent 
public  schools,  its  substantial  business  houses, 
its  efficient  newspapers,  its  modern  improve-, 
merits,  including  water-works,  gas  and  electric 
light  plants,  and  its  comfortable  homes. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Hughes  took  place  in 
Monterey  in  1864  and  united  him  with  Mar- 
garet McDougall,  sister  of  J.  H.  McDougall, 
who  is  president  of  the  Salinas  Bank.  They  are 
tlie  parents  of  ten  children  living,  namely: 
Thomas  D.,  Annie,  James  M.,  Maggie,  Mary, 
John  A.,  Ellen.  William,  Andrew  and  Ralph. 
For  the  past  thirty-three  years  Mr.  Hughes  has 
been  associated  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
<  '<  1  <  1  Fellows,  but  has  no  other  fraternal  con- 
nections. Ever  since  becoming  a  voter  he  has 
championed  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
part)-,  and  given  his  allegiance-  to  its  measures 
ami  men.  As  a  member  of  the  city  council,  he 
favored  plans  fur  the  building  up  of  his  home 
city  and  proved  himself  a  progressive  citizen; 
while  his  service  on  the  school  board  was  char- 
acterized by  a  desire  to  advance  the  standard 
of  education  and  increase  the  advantages  which 
are  offered  to  the  boys  and  girls  of  Salinas.  In 
[902  he  was  elected  supervisor  of  district  No.  J 
Ei  ir  a  term  of  four  vears. 


.MARK   A.   HUDSI  >N. 

There  are  lew  men  in  Montere)  or  the  sur- 
rounding counties  who  have  a  more  extensive 
acquaintance  than  has  Mark  A.  Hudson,  one 
«.f  the  ven  large  land  owners  and  employers  of 
1.1"  n  in  tlie  Pajaro  valley,  and  agent  for  the 
Pacific  Steamship  Company  at  Watsonville.  A 
native  of  Jefferson  county,  Iowa.  Mr.  Hudson 
was  born  April  30,  T845,  and  is  of  English  de 
scent  and  parentage.  His  father.  Mark,  and  his 
grandparents,  John  and  Emma  Hudson,  wen 
born  in  England,  and  came  to  tin-  United  Stale- 
in    1816.     They   settled   in   Utica,   X.    Y.,   and    in 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


:;-: 


1822  removed  to  Detroit,  Mich.,  where  the 
grandfather  applied  his  trade  of  blacksmith,  and 
where  the  grandparents  died  at  the  ages  re- 
spectively of  eighty-one  and  eighty-four  years. 
.Mark  Hudson,  the  father  of  Mark  A.,  also 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith  in  his  youth, 
and  followed  the  same  before  removing  to  Iowa. 
In  the  town  of  Libertyville,  in  the  latter  state, 
he  established  a  little  shop,  and  had  every  pros- 
pect of  a  promising  and  successful  career.  While 
on  a  trip  to  New  Orleans  he  died  by  drowning 
at  Vicksburg,  in  December,  1844,  at  the  un- 
timely age  of  thirty  years.  After  his  death  his 
widow  returned  to  Iowa,  where  Mark  A.  and 
his  twin  sister  were  born  the  following  April. 
The  mother  was  formerly  Anna  E.  Baldwin, 
a  native  of  England,  and  who  came  to  the 
United  States  when  nine  years  of  age.  Mrs. 
Hudson  remained  in  Iowa  until  1849,  an£l  came 
to  California  in  1852  with  her  second  husband, 
Nehemiah  Davis,  and  five  children.  The)  sel 
tied  at  Biddle's  Bar,  Butte  county,  Cal,  and 
removed  to  Michigan  Bluffs  in  the  spring  of 
1853.  About  1858  they  came  to  Monterey 
county,  where  Mrs.  Hudson  bought  a  tract  of 
land  comprising  four  hundred  acres,  upon  which 
she  lived  until  her  death  in  Watsonville  at  the 
age  of  seventy-one  years.  She  was  a  good  busi- 
ness woman,  and  managed  to  invest  the  large 
estate  left  by  her  husband  to  good  advantage. 
She  bought  her  land  in  this  county  for  $10  an 
acre,  and  it  increased  enormously  in  value  un- 
der improvement.  Of  the  children  born  to  Mark 
Hudson  and  his  wife,  Hon.  William  George 
is  represented  in  the  following  biograph)  ; 
Victoria  is  the  widow  of  John  Burland  of  Wat- 
sonville; Jemima  is  the  wife  of  Robert  Burland 
of  this  county,  the  twin  of  Mark  A.  Hudson  is 
Ann,  the  wife  of  Al  White,  superintendent  of 
tin    water-works  at  Watsonville. 

When  seven  years  of  age  Mark  A.  Hudson 
came  to  California  with  his  mother,  and  he  re- 
mained at  home  and  attended  the  public  schools 
until  1865.  That  year  he  returned  to  the  east 
and  entered  Bryant  &  Stratton  Business  College 
in  Detroit,  Mich.,  ami  upon  graduating  al  the 
end  of  three  years  received  a  life  scholarship. 
While  in  Detroit  he  bought  soldiers'  land  w.11 
rants    in    1872.   the   land   being   located   in    Iowa 


and  Nebraska,  which,  had  Mr.  Hudson  retained 
it,  would  have  made  him  a  millionaire.  The 
climate  was  too  cold  for  his  residence  in  these 
states,  so  he  sold  Ids  land  cheap,  and  the  day 
of  his  marriage  in  Windsor,  Canada,  July  17, 
1867,  took  the  train  for  California,  where  he 
became  agent  for  the  Pacific  Steamship  Com- 
pany at  Watsonville,  his  term  of  service  com- 
mencing in  June.  1868.  and  continuing  up  to 
the  present  time.  Mr.  Hudson  is  the  oldest  man 
in  the  employ  of  the  Steamship  Company,  and 
his  lengthy  service  is  the  best  indication  of  his 
faithfulness  and  many-sided  ability.  With  his 
family  he  lives  on  the  ten  acres  owned  by  the 
Steamship  Company,  and  which  contains  the 
landing  place  for  the  steamers,  known  as  Hud- 
son's Landing.  Air.  Hudson  is  a  Republican  in 
political  affiliation,  and  fraternally  he  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  Red  Men.  and  Watsonville 
Lodge  No.  110,  F.  &  A.  M. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Hudson  was  formerly  Emma 
Firby,  a  native  of  Ann  ^.rbor,  Mich.,  and  born 
September  6,  1845.  Her  parents,  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth  (Cheesman)  Firby,  were  born  in  Eng- 
land, and  came  to  the  1  Inited  States  when  young, 
the  former  being  engaged  in  the  soap  and  furni- 
ture business  with  successful  results.  The  par- 
ents Firby  died  at  the  ages  respectively  of  sev- 
enty-three and  forty-one  years.  I'o  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hudson  have  been  born  four  children: 
Adelaide,  the  wife  of  James  D.  Trafton;  Thomas 
F.,  a  rancher  of  this  township:  Mildred  F...  wife 
of  Frank  Blackburn;  and  Wallace  Mark,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  three  years.  Mrs  Hudson  is 
a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Hud 
son  is  very  popular  with  all  classes  in  W 
ville  and  the  surrounding  county,  and  has  many 
friends  all  over  this  part  of  the  state.  He  is 
rotund  and  jolly,  and  his  happ)  optimism  creates 
an  atmosphere  in  which  it  is  pleasant  to  dwell. 


TTOX.  WILLIAM   GE(  IRGE   HUDS<  >N. 

The  reputation  created  and  sustained  by  Hon. 

William   ge  Hudson  most 

admirable   of   any    of    the    ;  1  -    and 

ranchers  of  the    Pajaro   valley,  and  his  death, 
November    [6,    1901  ty-two 

years  and  nim  fl  a  void  among  the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


conservative  element  of  the  community.  Mr. 
Hudson  appeared  upon  the  horizon  of  California 
possibilities  in  r852,  his  family  settling  for  a 
Biswell's  Bar,  and  living  between  1853 
and  1859  in  Michigan  Bluff.  Placer  county.  He 
.in  in  Michigan  in  1S38,  a  son  of  Mark 
and  Anna  E.  (Baldwin)  Hudson,  and  grandson 
of  John  and  Emma  Hudson,  the  grandparents 
being  natives  of  England,  and  immigrants  to 
the  United  States  as  early  as  1816.  The  father 
and  grandfather  were  blacksmiths,  and  the  latter 
died  from  drowning  while  on  a  visit  with  his 
wife  and  children  to  New  Orleans,  in  December, 
1844.  His  wife  was  afterward  married  to  Ne- 
hemiah  Davis,  with  whom  she  went  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1852,  and  she  subsequently  became 
the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the  Pajaro 
valley.  She  was  an  excellent  business  woman, 
and  invested  the  estate  left  by  her  husband  to 
i  xcellent  advantage,  hive  children  were  born 
to  her  through  her  first  marriage,  of  whom  Hon. 
William  George  was  the  oldest.  Victoria  is  the 
widow  of  John  Burland,  of  Watson ville;  Jemima 
is  the  wife  of  Robert  Burland,  of  this  county; 
and  Mark  A.  and  Ann  are  twins,  the  latter 
being  the  wife  of  Al  White,  superintendent  of  the 
water  works  of  Watsonville. 

From  the  time  of  his  majority  Hon.  William 
George  Hudson  made  his  home  in  the  Pajaro 
valley,  to  which  he  removed  with  his  mother  in 
and  where  he  bought  land  amounting  to 
three  hundred  acres,  which  is  now  in  the  posses- 
sion  of  his  widow.  He  was  engaged  in  dairying 
and  grain-raising  for  the  first  years  of  his  resi- 
dence here,  and  later  set  out  an  orchard  of 
twenty  acres.  In  time  great  responsibilities 
came  his  way.  induced  by  his  superior  business 
1  cutive  ability.  He  was  .1  director  in  the 
Bank  of  Watsonville,  and  of  the  Watsonville 
Savings  Bank,  and  he  was  a  director  and  vice- 
president  of  the  Rajaro  Valle)  Board  of  Trade. 
Hi  va  also  vici  president  and  a  director  of  the 
Watsonville  Creamery.  For  man)  years  he  was 
deputy  assessor  of  Pajaro  township,  but  persis- 
tently refused  to  accept  other  office  until  [894, 
when  lie  \\a>  nominated  for  the  assembly,  served 
during  the  session  of  [895,  and  was  re-elected 
iiv  a  majorit)  of  two  hundred  and  two  Republi- 
ears   later,   at    the   same   time 


Bryan  carried  the  county  by  two  hundred  and 
eighty-five  votes. 

In  1876  Mr.  Hudson  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Luella  Kittredge,  born  in  Massachusetts 
October  12,  1849,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Mar)  (Gallier)  Kittredge,  natives  respectively 
of  Massachusetts  and  Maine.  The  father  died 
at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  while  the  mother  came 
to  California  in  1867,  and  settled  in  Solano 
county,  but  at  present  is  living  with  the  widow 
(if  Mr.  Hudson.  Five  children  were  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hudson:  William  George,  an  at- 
torney  of  Watsonville;  Thomas  Swan,  manager 
of  his  mother's  ranch;  Mabel  E. ;  Robert  Henry 
and  Frederick  Cass.  Mabel,  Robert  and  Fred- 
erick are  living  at  home.  Mr.  Hudson  was  one 
of  the  conservative  and  reliable  men  adapted  to 
the  developing  conditions  of  the  west,  and  he 
left  the  impress  of  his  strength  and  ability  upon 
the  institutions  and  people  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact.  He  belonged  to  Watsonville  Lodge 
Xo.  no,  F.  &  A.  M.;  Temple  Chapter  No.  41, 
R.  A.  M.;  Watsonville  Commandery  No.  22. 
K.  T;  was  past  master  of  lodge,  past  high  priest 
of  chapter,  and  prelate  of  commandery  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
held  the  office  of  generalissimo.  In  the  memory 
of  those  who  knew  and  honored  him.  there  is 
no  fanner,  politician,  or  citizen  of  whom  his 
1  ounty  had  greater  need. 


HAZEN  HOY' 


Much  more  than  passing  mention  is  due  the 
career  of  Hazen  Hoyt,  for  many  years  one  of  the 
foremost  ranchers  and  orchardists  of  the  Pajaro 
valley,  and  substantially  identified  with  its  ma- 
terial and  moral  growth.  The  death  of  this 
honored  pioneer.  July  o.  1002.  called  forth  in- 
numerable expressions  of  regret  from  those  who 
had  come  to  regard  him  as  an  integral  part  of 
the  community,  and  hosts  of  friends  gathered  to 
pa)  a  tribute  of  respect  to  one  whose  character 
and  attainments  were  worthy  of  admiration  and 
emulation. 

Like  so  many  who  have  received  their  most 
emphatic  impetus  among  the  conditions  of  the 
law  west.  Mr.  lloyi  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and 
his  youth  was  filled  with  struggle  and  depriva 


SAMUEL  morki.a: 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


tn  hi.  His  birth  occurred  on  the  farm  in  Bolton, 
Canada,  February  10,  1831,  a  son  of  Amherst 
and  Sallie  (Chapman)  Hoyt,  natives  of  Massa- 
chusetts, the  former  born  July  12,  1789, 
and  died  November  16,  1842;  while  the  lat- 
ter was  born  August  30,  1793,  and  died 
November  16,  1851.  On  both  sides  of  the  fam- 
ily the  ancestry  is  English.  Eventually  the  par- 
ents removed  from  their  Canadian  home  to 
Fremont  county,  Iowa,  and  Hazen  remained 
under  the  paternal  rout  until  1852,  in  which  year 
he  crossed  the  plains  and  experimented  for  a 
time  with  mining  in  Placerville.  His  next  ven- 
ture was  the  purchase  of  a  farm  of  six  hundred 
acres  near  Yacaville,  Solano  county,  Cal.,  upon 
which  he  lived  until  disposing  of  his  property  in 
1881.  For  the  following  two  years  he  engaged 
with  moderate  success  in  the  real-estate  business 
in  San  Francisco,  and  in  the  spring  of  1883 
bought  his  present  home  of  seventy-five  acres 
in  the  Pajaro  valley.  Originally  devoted  exclu- 
sively to  grain,  this  ranch  was  later  planted  in 
apples,  four  thousand  trees  being  placed  on 
forty  acres  of  ground,  the  chief  varieties  being 
bell-flowers  and  Newton  pippins. 

Mrs.  Hoyt  was  formerly  Phebe  Root,  a  native 
of  La  Porte  county,  Ind.,  a. daughter  of  Josiah 
and  Nancy  (Green)  Root,  natives  of  Connecti- 
cut, and  married  in  New  York.  The  Root  fam- 
ily crossed  the  plains  about  1853  and  settled  in 
Sonoma  county,  where  the  father  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two,  and  the  mother  at  the  age 
of  fifty  years.  Mr.  and  Airs.  Hoyt  were  the 
parents  of  eight  children,  the  order  of  their  birth 
being  as  follows:  Asahel,  a  rancher  and  manu- 
facturer: Ernest,  who  is  in  the  employ  of  his 
brother  Asahel:  Esther,  who  became  the  wife  of 
C.  W.  Clough,  of  Watsonville :  Wallace,  a  ranch- 
er near  Castroville;  Chester,  who  manages  the 
home  place  and  his  own  ranch  in  this  county. 
Corell,  living  at  home:  Claude,  in  the:  news- 
paper business  in  Watsonville;  and  an  infant 
who  is  deceased.  Mr.  Hoyt  was  a  stanch  be- 
liever in  Republican  principles,  although  he 
could  in  no  sense  be  called  a  politician,  although 
he  served  for  eighl  years  as  public  adminis- 
trator. \s  aie  liis  family,  he  was  a  member  and 
active  worker  in  the  Christian  Church,  of  which 
he    was    an    elder    and    liberal    contributor,      Mr. 


Hoyt  was  a  generous  and  liberal-hearted  man, 
and  many  unostentatious  kindnesses  are  attrib- 
uted to  him.  He  was  very  successful  from  a 
material  standpoint,  and  his  personal  attributes 
were  in  accord  with  sterling  western  citizenship. 


SAMUEL  MORELAND. 

This  pioneer  of  the  Pajaro  valley  was  born  in 
county  Donegal.  Ireland,  and  was  a  son  of  Sam- 
uel and  Mary  (Patton)  Moreland.  When  twelve 
years  of  age  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  the 
United  States  and  settled  near  Saginaw,  Mich., 
where  they  spent  their  remaining  years.  At  an 
early  age  he  began  to  earn  his  own  livelihood. 
his  first  effort  in  that  direction  being  as  an  em- 
ploye in  a  saw  mill.  Tn  time  he  became  an  ex- 
pert engineer  and  secured  steady  employment 
at  fair  wages.  Having  thus  accumulated  a  neat 
little  sum,  he  decided  to  come  to  California  and 
purchase  property  in  the  state  of  whose  attrac- 
tions he  had  so  often  heard.  Crossing  the  plains 
in  1857,  he  came  to  Monterey  county  and  bought 
of  Atherton  and  Spring  one  hundred  and  eighty 
and  three-fourths  acres  in  the  beautiful  Pajaro 
valley,  three  miles  from  Watsonville.  The  fact 
that  the  land  was  unimproved  did  not  discourage 
him.  With  an  ambitious  spirit  and  cheerful  faith 
in  the  future  he  began  to  work  and  after 'years 
of  untiring  application  brought  the  land  under 
a  high  state  of  cultivation.  A  neat  set  ~<i  farm 
buildings  added  to  the  value  of  the  ranch,  while 
the  large  crops  of  grain  and  vegetables  raised 
each  year  offered  abundant  testimony  to  his 
skill  as  an  agriculturist  and  his  industiw  as  a 
man.  To  some  extent  he  also  engaged  in  cattle 
raising,  although  this  occupation  was  supple- 
mentary ti '  general  farming.  1  fad  his  lift 
spared  to  old  age,  undoubtedly  he  would  have 
become  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  rich 
and  fertile  Pajaro  valley;  but  he  died  in  1875. 
when  he  was  fort)  one  years  and  six  months  of 
age,  just  at  a  time  when  he  was  read'. 
the  fruition  of  his  high  '  '"•  the 

land  lefl  by  him  to  his  widow  has  increased  in 
value  to  such  an  extent  that  his  estate  has 

,f    ihe    most    important    for    miles 
around,   and    furnishes   constant    evidence   of  his 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


keen  foresight  and  wise  judgment  in  making  the 
investment. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Moreland,  in  1866, 
united  him  with  Margaret  S.  Loftus,  who  was 
born  in  county  Clare,  Ireland,  being  a  daughter 
of  Patrick  and  Kittie  (Flannery)  Loftus,  repre- 
sentatives of  very  prominent  families  of  the 
county.  After  her  mother's  death,  the  father 
brought  the  family  to  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  there 
his  death  occurred.  When  a  young  lady,  Miss 
Loftus  learned  of  the  beautiful  climate  of  Cali- 
fornia and  having  friends  in  Santa  Cruz  decided 
to  join  them.  Shortly  after  her  arrival  she  met 
Mr.  Moreland,  whom  she  later  married.  Three 
children  were  born  of  their  union,  but  two  died 
in  infancy  and  the  third,  Mary  Josephine,  when 
nineteen  years  of  age.  The  latter  was  a  young 
lady  of  great  promise  and  talent,  being  an  ex- 
cellent artist,  a  fluent  writer  and  possessing 
poetic  gifts.  When  sixteen  she  began  to  write 
poetry  and  some  of  her  poems  have  since  been 
published  by  her  mother,  in  a  souvenir  edition, 
for  presentation  to  friends.  Her  education  was 
gained  principally  in  Notre  Dame  College  of 
San  Jose,  and  it  was  during  her  attendance  there 
that  she  was  taken  ill  with  measles  and  soon 
passed  away. 

The  home  of  Mrs.  Moreland  is  at  No.  323 
Rodriguez  street,  Watsonville.  In  1899  she 
superintended  the  construction  of  a  handsome 
building,  costing  $27,400,  which  she  erected  as  a 
memorial  to  her  husband.  It  had  been  her  hope 
that  her  daughter  might  be  spared  to  take 
charge  of  the  school  and  promote  its  success 
for"  years  to  come,  but  this  hope  was  doomed 
to  disappointment.  The  school  is  known  as  the 
Moreland  Notre  Dame  Academy  and  offers 
special  inducements  to  parents  desiring  their 
children  to  receive  a  thorough  classical,  scien- 
tific  and  commercial  education.  Special  atten- 
tion is  given  to  moral  training,  refined  manners 
and  physical  comfort.  The  building  is  equipped 
with  the  best  heating  and  ventilating  apparatus. 
a-  well  as  other  modern  improvements.  Rates 
ery  reasonable,  thus  affording  peopl<  in 
moderate  circumstances  an  opportunity  to  edu- 
cate their  children  which  otherwise  would  be 
denied  them.  The  school  is  a  branch  of  the 
pioneer    <  ollege    of   Notre     Dame.    San    Jose. 


Without  doubt  it  will  achieve  a  success  in  the 
future  worthy  of  the  high  aims  of  its  founder. 
Under  the  supervision  of  the  Mother  Superior 
the  children  are  carefully  and  wisely  trained  for 
the  responsibilities  of  life.  In  the  building  there- 
are  accommodations  for  twenty-five  boarders, 
in  addition  to  which  many  children  from  the 
neighborhood  attend  as  day  pupils,  thus  neces- 
sitating the  employment  of  a  corps  of  proficient 
teachers,  each  of  whom  is  thoroughly  prepared 
to  teach  her  special  branch.  Surrounding  the 
stately  building  there  are  beautiful  and  well- 
kept  grounds,  whose  attractions  are  enhanced  by 
the  many  varieties  of  flowers.  All  in  all,  the 
high  training  given  and  the  attractive  appear- 
ance of  the  school  justify  the  citizens  of  Watson- 
ville in  maintaining  a  keen  pride  in  this  rising 
institution. 


F.  K.  HOUGHTON. 

Preceded  by  years  of  experience  as  a  practical 
rancher,  F.  K.  Houghton  assumed  control  of 
the  Park  Hotel,  San  Miguel,  July  14,  T9°2-  his 
new  venture  being  heralded  with  many  predic- 
tions of  success  by  those  who  were  familiar  with 
the  personal  characteristics  of  the  new  incum- 
bent. So  far  his  expectations  have  been  real- 
ized to  a  gratifying  extent,  and  his  town  and 
the  traveling  public  are  doubtless  the  gainers 
by  the  change  of  occupation.  A  native  of  this 
state,  Mr.  Houghton  was  born  March  29,  1858, 
and  was  educated  for  the  greater  part  in  San 
Francisco.  His  father.  Samuel,  a  native  of 
Virginia,  was  an  extensive  stock  raiser  in  his 
native  state,  and  after  removing  to  the  vicinity 
of  Albany.  Ore.,  in  1865,  operated  the  first  fern- 
boat  across  the  river.  Owing  to  the  trying  cli- 
mate he  came  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  extensive  stock-buying  operations,  and 
in  1874  located  in  San  Miguel,  where  he  bought 
a  large  tract  of  land,  where  he  had  on  hand  about 
ten  thousand  sheep  and  from  one  hundred  to 
two  hundred  cattle.  He  lived  to  be  seventy-six 
years  of  age.  and  died  in  1S07.  His  wife,  for- 
merly Caroline  Elizabeth  Jenks,  was  born  in 
England,  and  came  to  America  with  her  parents 
when  very  young.  Sin-  is  tin  mother  of  six 
children,  of  whom  F.  K.  is  second. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


393 


From  earliest  boyhood  F.  K.  Houghton  was 
associated  with  stuck  affairs,  and  as  he  grew  to 
maturity  became  of  great  assistance  to  his  father. 
Upon  the  paternal  ranch  a  specialty  was  made  of 
draft  horses,  and  large  numbers  were  reared 
every  year,  besides  various  kinds  of  stock.  In 
fact,  Mr.  Houghton  has  been  a  stock  man  all 
his  life,  prior  to  engaging  in  the  hotel  business. 
His  ranch  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in 
Monterey  county  is  devoted  to  hay  and  grain, 
and  is  well  improved  and  productive.  Mr. 
Houghton  is  a  Democrat  in  political  affiliation, 
but  aside  from  the  formality  of  casting  his  vote 
has  attended  strictly  to  his  stock-raising  and 
hotel  business. 

Through  his  marriage  with  Annie  Kitchen,  Mr. 
Houghton  became  -allied  with  another  family 
long  associated  with  California,  George  Kitchen, 
the  father  of  Mrs.  Houghton,  having  crossed  the 
plains  with  ox-teams  in  the  days  of  gold,  and 
located  near  Paso  Robles,  where  he  had  large 
farming  interests.  His  death  occurred  in  Gon- 
zales, Cal.  Four  children  have  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Houghton:  Pearl,  Charles,  Nellie 
and  William. 


J.  J.  HANDLEY. 

During  his  active  career  in  Santa  Cruz  county, 
J.  J.  Handley  was  known  as  a  conscientious  citi- 
zen and  practical,  enterprising  farmer.  A  native 
of  New  York  state,  he  was  born  in  1856,  and 
was  but  eight  years  of  age  when  his  parents 
brought  him  to  this  county.  He  was  reared  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  received  a  fair  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools,  after  which  he  worked 
on  several  farms  in  the  neighborhood  of  his 
father's  home.  In  1881  he  became  enrolled 
among  the  land  owners  of  the  county  through 
his  purchase  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres 
of  land,  upon  which  his  wife  now  lives,  and 
upon  which  he  lived  until  his  removal  to  San 
Francisco  in  [900.  He  did  not  long  remain  in 
the  northern  city,  for  his  death  occurred  Sep- 
tember 7.  1900.  He  was  a  .stanch  upholder  of 
Democratic  issues  and  principles,  and  held  va- 
rious local  offices,  among  them  being  that  of 
trustee  For  many  years.  His  name  was  a  well- 
known  one,  and  in  Ins  life  lie  maintained  the  im- 


pression of  success  established  by  his  father, 
John  Handley,  who  worked  in  the  first  tannery 
in  Santa  Cruz  county. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Handley  were  the  parents  of  six 
children,  viz.:  Josephine,  Sarah,  Edward,  Wil- 
liam, Margaret  and  Ellen.  Mrs.  Handley,  whose 
marriage  occurred  in  Santa  Cruz,  July  31,  1870, 
was  born  in  Ireland,  and  is  Catherine,  daughter 
of  Patrick  and  Bridget  (Diela)  Dolen.  Mrs. 
Handley  has  a  pleasant  home  on  the  farm  and 
is  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock  raising. 


N.  H.  HAIGHT,  M.  D. 

Though  a  comparatively  new  comer  to  Pa- 
cific Grove.  Dr.  Haight  has  already  made  his 
professional  ability  and  general  worth  felt  in  the 
community,  and  is  meeting  with  the  success  due 
so  conscientious  and  painstaking  an  exponent 
of  medical  science.  A  native  of  Washtenaw 
county,  Mich.,  he  was  born  December  7,  1864, 
a  son  of  Ira  C.  and  Alzora  E.  (Greene)  Haight, 
the  latter  of  whom  is  still  living  with  her  chil- 
dren at  Redlands. 

Ira  C.  Haight  was  born  in  Steuben  county, 
X".  Y.,  and  in  his  early  life  was  a  teacher  by  pro- 
fession. When  comparatively  young  he  came 
west  to  Illinois  and  Michigan,  and  in  the  border 
ruffian  times  was  identified  with  such  men  as 
Jim  Love  and  John  Brown.  He  subsequently 
turned  his  attention  to  the  mercantile  business, 
in  which  he  was  engaged  for  the  greater  part  of 
his  life,  although  he  was  an  extensive  grower  of 
oranges  in  Florida.  In  1875  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia and  bought  a  ranch  which  was  then  prai- 
rie, but  which  is  now  Brockton  Square,  one  of 
the  finest  residence  parts  of  Riverside.  For 
many  years  he  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of 
citrus  fruits,  and  in  1888  moved  to  Redlands. 
and  became  active  in  the  upbuilding  of  that 
town.  He  was  postmaster  of  Redlands  during 
Benjamin  Harrison's  administration,  and  was 
president  of  the  Haighl  Fruit  Company,  of 
which  his  son.  1..  G.,  was  manager.  He  died 
in  the  city  for  whose  interest  he  had  so  zealously 
labored  in   1807.  at   the  age  of  sixty-seven  years. 

Dr.  Haight  was  one  in  a  family  of  four  chil- 
dren, and  was  nine  years  of  age  when  the  fam- 
ilv  fortunes  were  shifted  lo  California.     He  was 


394 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  studied  med- 
icine in  Riverside  with  Drs.  Ways  and  Sherman, 
eventually  entering  the  Hahnemann  Medical 
College  of  Chicago,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  the  class  of  1890.  For  the  following 
eighteen  months  he  was  resident  physician  at 
the  college  hospital,  and  then  located  in  Red- 
lands,  in  partnership  with  Dr.  Hill  for  a  year, 
and  for  two  years  practiced  in  Oakland.  After 
removing  to  Sacramento,  an  arduous  practice  re- 
sulted in  impaired  health,  and,  in  search  of  rest 
and  recreation,  he  came  to  Pacific  Grove  in 
February  of  1898.  So  impressed  was  he  with 
the  climatic  and  general  advantages  that  he  de- 
cided to  make  this  his  permanent  home,  and  his 
subsequent  recognition  in  both  Monterey  and 
Pacific  Grove  has  more  than  justified  his  deci- 
sion. 

In  1891  Dr.  Haight  married  Sarah  Van  Siclin, 
who  was  head  nurse  in  Hahnemann  Hospital, 
Chicago,  and  whose  term  of  service  expired  on 
the  same  day.  as  the  doctor's,  which  was  also 
their  wedding  day.  A  Republican  in  politics, 
Dr.  Haight  has  never  sought  or  accepted  official 
responsibility,  evidenced  particularly  while  liv- 
ing in  Sacramento,  when  he  refused  to  honor  his 
appointment  to  the  board  of  health.  While  liv- 
ing in  Oakland  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures 
before  the  nurses  of  the  training  department  of 
Fabiola  PTospital. 


PATRICK  JORDAN. 

I  he  oldest  and  most  successful  merchant  now 
in  business  in  Castroville  is  also  one  of  the 
town's  influential  and  prominent  citizens,  and 
ars  has  been  identified  with  its  substantial 
growth.  A  Californian  by  adoption,  he  was  born 
near  Quebec,  Canada,  November  14,  1842,  upon 
the  farm  of  three  hundred  acres  owned  and  oc- 
cupied b)  his  parents.  lames  and  Catherine 
(Bulger)  Jordan.  The  father  went  to  Canada 
from  Ireland  in  1832,  married,  cleared  his  farm, 
and  prospered,  an  1  lived  to  be  eighty-two  years 
of  age.  His  wife,  who  died  at  the  age  of  forty- 
is  the  mother  of  twelve  children,  one  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  The  children  were,  Mi- 
chael, a  resident  of  San  Francisco;  Patrick; 
Margaret,  living  in   Canada:    Mary;    Moses,  a 


rancher  in  Monterey  county:  John;  Catherine, 
the  wife  of  Walter  Gray,  of  San  Francisco; 
James,  the  owner  of  the  old  homestead  in  Can- 
ada; Sarah;  Bridget;  and  Anna,  deceased  at  the 
age  of  sixteen. 

Patrick  Jordan  lived  in  Canada  until  his  re- 
moval to  California  in  1869,  during  which  year 
he  found  employment  on  a  Santa  Clara  county 
ranch,  remaining  there  for  three  years.  His 
association  with  Castroville  was  inaugurated  in 
1873,  when  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness on  a  small  scale,  but  was  soon  able  to  in- 
crease his  business  to  meet  the  growing  demand 
for  his  commodities.  He  sustained  a  severe  loss 
in  1890  through  the  burning  of  his  store,  but 
a  larger  and  more  modern  edifice  was  soon 
erected  in  its  place,  the  dimensions  thereof  being 
25x60  feet.  The  store  is  well  stocked  with  mer- 
chandise in  demand  by  a  cosmopolitan  popula- 
tion, and  a  large  share  of  the  success  of  the 
enterprise  is  directly  traceable  to  the  genial  man- 
ner, tact,  obligingness  and  progressiveness  of 
the  enterprising  owner. 

The  interests  of  Mr.  Jordan  have  been  by  no 
means  confined  to  his  mercantile  business.  He 
is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Salinas,  and  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  co-operative  creamery,  of  which  he  has 
been  treasurer  since  its  start  in  1897.  He  is 
the  possessor  of  one  hundred  acres  of  ranch 
land  adjoining  the  village  of  Castroville,  and  has 
other  property  in  the  town.  He  has  served  for 
four  years  as  county  supervisor,  and  has  ren- 
dered efficient  work-  as  a  member  of  the  school 
board.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  Jordan  and  Jane 
Whalen,  a  native  of  West  Canada,  occurred  in 
1873.     Of  this  union  there  is  one  son.  lames  P. 


JOHN  JORDAN. 

The  little  village  of  Castroville  has  two  mem- 
bers of  the  Jordan  family  who  have  contributed 
their  share  towards  building  up  its  mercantile 
and  industrial  prestige,  and  who  are  esteemed 
for  their  business  sagacity  and  devotion  to  the 
public  welfare.  Both  havi  achieved  more  than 
■  d  success,  both  are  large  property  own- 
ers and  men  of  sterling  worth  and  unquestioned 
integrity.      Patrick,   whose   biography   precedes 


HISTORICAL  AN!)    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


:;:);. 


this,  is  the  oldest  merchant  in  the  village,  and 
John,  who  is  the  owner  and  manager  of  a 
blacksmithing  and  machine  shop,  carriage  and 
agricultural  implement  business,  has  a  trade  by 
no  means  local  in  its  extent. 

A  native  of  Canada,  John  Jordan  was  born 
February  6,  1851,  a  son  of  James  and  Catherine 
(Bulger)  Jordan,  natives  of  Ireland,  and  mar- 
ried in  Canada.  Mr.  Jordan  is  the  sixth  of  the 
eleven  children  born  to  his  parents,  and  he  re- 
mained on  the  home  farm,  upon  which  his  father 
located  in  1832,  until  he  had  attained  his  ma- 
jority. He  then  served  an  apprenticeship  of 
three  years  to  a  carriage-maker,  and  having 
learned  his  trade  opened  a  carriage  shop  in  part- 
nership with  his  brother-in-law,  a  wheelwright, 
at  St.  Claire,  Canada.  Afterward  he  conducted  a 
blacksmith  shop  at  Greenville,  at  the  foot  of 
Moosehead  lake,  and  after  two  years  began  to 
spend  his  winters  in  the  lumber  camps  of  Maine 
and  his  summers  in  the  little  shop.  In  Septem- 
ber of  1878  he  came  to  Castroville  and  worked 
at  his  trade  for  about  two  years  and  a  half,  then 
spent  a  month  in  Walla  Walla,  Wash.,  later 
starting  a  repair  shop  in  San  Francisco,  where 
he  remained  for  a  year.  For  a  year  also  he  was 
a  street  car  conductor  in  San  Francisco,  and 
then  returned  to  Castroville  and  rented  the  shop 
in  which  he  is  now  doing  business.  At  the  end 
of  four  years  he  was  able  to  buy  the  shop  out- 
right, and  this  was  the  beginning  of  his  property 
possession  in  the  town.  He  now  owns  on  Main 
street  a  business  lot  200x385  feet;  a  business 
block  50x60  feet  in  dimensions;  the  house,  lot 
and  barn,  the  lot  50x150  feet,  upon  which  he 
lives;  and  two  other  business  properties  on  the 
same  street.  He  has  a  very  large  business,  and 
sells  implements,  wagons,  buggies,  coal,  wood 
and  feed  and  has  the  most  desirable  and  respon- 
sible repair  trade  anywhere  around. 

September  11,  1888,  Mr.  Jordan  married  Anna 
Cullen,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  a  former  school- 
mate. Of  this  union  there  have  been  born  six 
children:  Mary,  James,  Anna,  Dennis,  John  Jo- 
seph (who  died  November  9,  1902)  and  Mar- 
garet. The  children  arc  all  living  at  home,  and 
all  are  to  be  given  every  advantage  which  their 
father's  position  and  affluence  permits  of.  Mr. 
Jordan  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  a  mem- 


ber of  the  school  board.  He  has  the  true  west- 
ern grit  and  determination, and  there  is  no  guess- 
work in  connection  with  his  continued  success. 


W.  G  JOHNSON. 

A  resume  of  the  careers  which  are  contrib- 
uting to  the  best  interests  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
would  be  incomplete  without  due  mention  of  the 
earnest  efforts  of  W.  G  Johnson,  the  marshal  of 
the  city.  The  entire  life  of  Mr.  Johnson  has 
been  passed  this  side  of  the  Rocky  mountains, 
and  he  was  born  in  Sacramento,  Cal,  in  March 
of  1864.  When  but  two  years  of  age  his  family 
removed  to  the  northern  pait  of  the  state,  and 
in  1867  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  where 
his  father,  Jerry  J.  Johnson,  settled  on  a  ranch 
close  to  the  city,  and  engaged  in  stock-raising 
and  a  general  cattle  business.  The  elder  John- 
son was  born  in  Virginia,  and  came  to  California 
many  years  ago.  On  the  maternal  side  Mr. 
Johnson  is  connected  with  an  ancestry  intimately 
connected  with  the  wars  of  the  country,  for  his 
mother,  formerly  Rebecca  Gray,  a  native  of  Mis- 
souri, was  daughter  to  a  soldier  of  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  granddaughter  of  a  hero  of  the  war 
of  1812,  and  niece  of  a  patriot  of  the  Civil  war. 
Mrs.  Johnson  became  the  mother  of  three  sons, 
and  of  these  O.  G  lives  in  San  Jose  and  Jeff  is 
in  the  stock  business  in  Arizona. 

W.  G.  Johnson  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  and  has  gained  much  of  knowledge 
from  the  experiences  of  later  years.  He  has  fol- 
lowed farming  and  stock-raising  as  a  preferred 
occupation,  and  therein  has  been  successful.  He 
has  also  entered  actively  into  political  affairs, 
and  as  a  stanch  Democrat  has  rendered  his  party 
valued  service.  In  April  of  1900  he  was  elected 
city  marshal  by  a  large  majority,  and  in  April, 
1902,  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term.  His 
management  of  the  important  responsibility  has 
given  satisfaction. 

Mrs.  Johnson  was,  before  her  marriage,  Miss 
A  I.  Triplett,  a  native  daughter  of  California. 
She  is  the  mother  of  one  child,  Leroy.  Mr. 
Johnson  is  keenly  interested  in  all  that  pertains 
to  the  upbuilding  of  this  part  of  the  state,  and 
his  liberal  tendencies  and  sound  good  judgment 
render  his  opinion  and  council  worthy  of  con- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


sideration.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Native  Sons 
of  the  Golden  West. 


JBSSEN  &  PETERSEN. 

The  proprietors  of  the  Eclipse  livery  stable  are 
among  the  well-known  business  men  of  Wat- 
sonville.  While  they  have  not  long  been  at  the 
head  of  their  present  business,  having  purchased 
it  from  W.  H.  Kennedy  in  1901,  they  have  al- 
ready established  a  reputation  for  reliability  and 
upright  transactions.  In  their  stable  they  have 
about  thirty  horses,  and  vehicles  of  every  kind 
necessary  for  the  trade  to  which  they  cater.  The 
senior  member  of  the  firm,  Mr.  Jessen,  was  born 
in  Germany  in  1867,  and  is  a  son  of  Jess  and 
Christine  (Storm)  Jessen.  Accompanying  his  par- 
ents, he  came  to  the  United  States  in  1875,  and 
settled  in  California.  With  them  on  the  voyage 
were  the  other  children  of  the  family.  Conrad, 
Cecil,  Henry  L.  and  George.  After  completing 
his  education  he  learned  the  tailor's  trade,  which 
he  followed  for  some  years  in  Watsonville. 
From  that  occupation  he  turned  his  attention  to 
the  livery  business,  which  he  now  conducts.  He 
has  never  been  active  in  politics,  and  while  in- 
clining to  the  Democratic  party  is  nevertheless 
independent  in  his  views  and  opinions.  His  wife, 
Thorkilda,  is  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Ludwig  An- 
derson, and  was  born  in  China. 

The  junior  member  of  the  firm,  Nels  Petersen, 
was  born  in  Denmark,  October  29,  i860,  and 
is  a  son  of  Peter  O.  Petersen.  With  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family  he  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1880  and  settled  in  Wisconsin,  wdiere  his 
father  followed  the  blacksmith's  trade,  dying  at 
the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  Surviving  him  are 
six  children,  namely:  Mrs.  Hans  Jensen;  Rob- 
ert, Hans  Claus,  Nels  and  Christ.  Nels  learned 
the  cooper's  trade  and  after  coming  to  America, 
in  1880.  settled  in  Wisconsin.  A  year  later  he 
went  to  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  where  he  resided 
for  a  year.  During  1884  he  came  to  California 
and  established  his  home  in  Watsonville,  but 
soon  afterward  went  to  Corralitos,  where  he  ran 
an  engine  for  the  paper  mill  for  five  months. 
A  subsequent  journey  took  him  to  the  then  ter- 
ritory of  Washington.  <  )n  his  return  to  Cali- 
fornia lie  settled  in  Santa  Cruz  county,  where  he 


lias  since  made  his  home.  For  two  seasons  he 
worked  in  the  redwood  forests,  cutting  trees  for 
James  Linscott.  For  man}-  years  he  also  en- 
gaged in  baling  hay  during  the  season,  and  for 
a  short  time  he  conducted  farm  pursuits.  Since 
June  12,  1901,  he  has  been  connected  with  Mr. 
Jessen  in  the  livery  business,  and  has  already 
established  a  trade  that  is  assuming  gratifying 
proportions  in  return  for  the  care  and  energy 
of  the  proprietors.  In  politics  he  is  independent 
and  in  religious  faith  is  a  believer  in  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Lutheran  Church.  His  wife,  whom 
he  married  in  1891,  was  formerly  Mary  Ander- 
son, and  was  born  in  China  during  one  of  the 
voyages  of  her  father,  Capt.  Ludwig  Ander- 
son, who  was  a  well-known  sea  captain. 


MISS  ISABELLE  M.  JENKINS. 

Under  the  supervision  of  Miss  Jenkins  as 
librarian,  the  Watsonville  free  library  has  be- 
come one  of  the  attractions  of  this  progressive 
city.  When  the  movement  was  first  projected 
to  establish  a  reading  room  she  was  deeply  in- 
terested and  gave  her  enthusiastic  support  to  the 
enterprise.  The  initial  steps  were  taken  by  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.,  whose  members  were  aroused  by 
the  suggestion  of  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Tuttle  that  they 
establish  a  reading  room.  By  arduous  efforts 
they  secured  a  few  books,  gained  a  few7  sub- 
scriptions to  periodicals  and  rented  a  room. 
Soon  they  were  encouraged  by  a  gift  from  the 
Odd  Fellows  lodge  of  their  small  library.  An- 
other encouragement  was  a  tax  of  seven  cents 
on  the  $100.  Since  then  there  have  been  several 
donations,  notably  a  gift  of  $250  from  the  heirs 
of  the  Ford  estate,  and  they  now  have  thirty- 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  volumes  in  the 
library,  which  since  1896  has  been  conducted  as 
a  free  institution  for  the  public,  with  Miss  Jen- 
kins as  librarian. 

Reviewing  the  history  of  the  Jenkins  ancestry, 
we  find  that  Benjamin  Jenkins,  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, served  as  sea  captain  in  early  life  and 
traveled  to  many  ports  and  through  many  seas. 
After  coming  to  America  he  married  Clara 
Rogers  and  settled  on  a  farm.  He  lived  to  be 
eighty-four,  and  his  wife  was  only  one  year  his 
junior  at  the  lime  of  death.    Their  children  were 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


.so ; 


Marion,  Edmund  P.,  Samuel,  Benjamin,  Clara, 
Theodora  and  Henrietta.  Of  these  Edmund  P. 
Jenkins  was  born  at  Fairlee,  Vt.,  May  26,  1814, 
and  grew  to  manhood  on  a  New  Hampshire 
farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  moved  to 
Maine,  where  he  learned  engineering,  and  at 
this  occupation  he  secured  employment  in  Law- 
rence, Mass.  In  1861  he  came  via  the  isthmus 
to  San  Francisco,  thence  to  Sacramento,  and 
from  there  to  Mariposa  county,  where  he  ran  a 
stationary  engine  for  two  years.  Returning  to 
Massachusetts,  he  worked  at  his  trade.  How- 
ever, having  once  basked  in  the  delightful  coast 
climate,  he  was  never  again  satisfied  with  New 
England.  As  soon  as  practicable  he  returned 
to  California,  bringing  with  him  his  three  sons 
and  buying  a  ranch  in  Monterey  county,  after 
which  he  sent  for  the  balance  of  his  family  to 
join  him.  On  selling  his  ranch  he  retired  to 
Watsonville,  where  he  built  a  residence  and  has 
since  made  his  home.  His  wife  died  in  1884,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-two  years.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  the  following-named  children:  Edmund 
P.,  Jr.,  Samuel  (who  died  in  infancy),  Samuel 
Rogers,  Frederick  E.,  Charles  M..  Benjamin  F., 
George  B.  and  Isabelle  M.  In  politics  Mr.  Jen- 
kins is  a  stanch  Democrat.  In  religious  views 
he  is  liberal,  a  friend  to  all  movements  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  race. 

The  oldest  son  in  the  Jenkins  family,  Edmund 
P.,  Jr.,  served  as  a  member  of  the  Twelfth  Mas- 
sachusetts Regiment  during  the  Civil  war,  and 
died  at  fifty  years  of  age;  his  wife  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Mamie  Thompson.  S.  Rogers 
married  Sarah  Deo  and  has  two  children,  Fred- 
erick E.  and  Isabelle  M.  The  fourth  son  of  the 
family,  Frederick  E.,  married  Frances  Amidon 
and  has  three  children,  Eugene,  Walter  and 
Ralph.  The  fifth  son,  Charles  M.,  married  Emma 
Thompson  and  has  two  children,  Lottie  B.  and 
Jesse.  The  sixth  son,  Benjamin  F.,  died  at 
twenty-eight  years  of  age,  leaving  a  wife  and  one 
son,  Stanley.  George  B.,  the  youngest  son, 
married  Kate  Brown,  who  lives  in  Newman,  Cal. 

In  girlhood  Miss  Jenkins  showed  a  remark- 
able musical  talent  and  gave  special  attention  to 
its  development,  making  a  specialty  of  vocal 
music.  Her  singing  was  so  expressive,  clear  and 
sweet  that  a  constant  demand  was  made  on  her 


for  choir  work,  concerts  and  various  public  en- 
tertainments. As  a  result  of  overwork  and  con- 
stant use  of  the  vocal  organs,  a  throat  trouble 
developed  which  forced  her  to  give  up  what  had 
been  one  of  the  chief  pleasures  of  her  life.  She 
maintains  a  deep  interest  in  art  and  literature 
and  is  recognized  as  one  of  Watsonville's  most 
cultured  women. 


WILLIAM  W.  JAMES. 

Although  a  native  of  Lincoln  county,  Mo., 
where  he  was  born  January  24,  1849,  William 
W.  James,  the  present  postmaster  of  Monterey, 
was  little  more  than  an  infant  when  his  parents 
crossed  the  plains,  in  1850,  in  search  of  larger 
opportunities  on  the  coast.  His  father,  Dr.  F. 
W.  James,  was  a  native  of  St.  Charles  county, 
Mo.,  and  after  arriving  in  California  established 
a  practice  in  Nevada  City.  Not  entirely  satis- 
fied with  the  west,  he  returned  to  Missouri  in 
1853,  located  in  Montgomery  county,  and  prac- 
ticed medicine  until  removing  to  San  Jose, 
Cal.,  in  January,  1864.  In  1885,  when  seventy- 
eight  years  of  age,  he  withdrew  from  profes- 
sional ranks,  and  has  since  lived  a  retired  life. 
During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  post 
surgeon  at  New  Florence,  Mo. 

At  a  comparatively  early  age  William  W. 
James  learned  the  tinner's  and  plumbing  trade 
in  Watsonville,  Cal.,  serving  his  apprenticeship 
from  1872  until  1874.  He  then  came  to  Monte- 
rey and  opened  a  tin  and  plumbing  establish- 
ment, conducting  the  same  until  disposing  of  his 
business  in  the  fall  of  1891.  He  was  for  a  time 
bookkeeper  and  cashier  of  the  California  State 
Savings  Bank  in  Monterey,  assuming  the  cash- 
iership  after  the  former  cashier  had  resigned 
and  left  things  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Mr. 
James  succeeded  in  straightening  up  the  finances 
of  the  institution  in  about  a  year,  and  then  went 
into  the  real-estate  and  insurance  business, 
founding  what  is  now  the  Monterey  Investment 
Company,  of  which  he  is  secretary.  He  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  of  Monterey  June  20,  1897, 
by  President  McKinley,  and  was  reappointed 
in  January,  1902,  by  President  Roosevelt.  He 
has  valiantly  served  the  interests  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  for  many  years,  and  has  held  the  local 


:ral  and  biographical  record. 


offices  oi  deput)  assessor,  deputy  county  clerk 
and  registrar  of  voters  ever  since  he  came  here. 
He  is  fraternally  connected  with  the  Independ- 
ent (  >rder  of  Odd  Fellows,  having  joined  that 
organization  in  1872. 

Mrs.  fames  was  formerly  Alice  Cox,  a  native 
of  I  »liio.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs,  James  have  been 
born  four  children,  viz.:  Elton  K.,  who  is  de- 
ceased; William  F.,  an  attorney  of  San  Jose; 
Charles  E.,  a  resident  of  Los  Angeles;  and 
Edgar  E.,  who  is  at  home.  Mr.  James  enjoys 
to  an  exceptional  degree  the  confidence  of  his 
fellow  townsmen,  and  has  many  friends  who  re- 
joice in  his  fortunate  disposal  of  opportunities. 


PHILIP  KAETZEL. 

The  well-conducted  book  and  stationery  store 
111  San  Luis  Obispo,  owned  and  managed  by 
Philip  Kaetzel,  is  one  of  the  popular  and  inter- 
esting places  in  town,  the  two  causes  contrib- 
uting to  its  success  being  the  complete  line  of 
needed  commodities,  and  the  personality  of  the 
typical  old-time  Californian  who  dispenses  his 
wares  with  so  much  geniality  and  good-will. 

Although  not  one  of  the  earliest  settlers,  hav- 
ing arrived  in  the  state  in  1862,  few  have  more 
intelligently  observed  the  conditions  in  different 
parts  of  the  west  than  has  Mr.  Kaetzel.  He  was 
born  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  were  spent  his 
early  days,  and  where  he  attended  the  public 
schools  until  his  fourteenth  year.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  a  life  of  extreme  independence  and 
varied  accomplishments,  for  in  the  fashioning  of 
bis  career  no  particularly  favored  genius  guided 
his  way  or  helped  him  with  money  or  influ- 
ence.  lie  first  went  to  work  in  a  bucket  and 
tub  factory  and  eventually  learned  the  trade, 
after  which  he  apprenticed  as  a  stone  cutter, 
but  never  made  practical  application  of  the  lat- 
ter trade.  In  the  meantime,  while  making  buck- 
ets and  cutting  stone,  he  was  listening  intently 
to  rumors  of  the  wonderful  possibilities  of  the 
far  west,  and  mentally  planned  to  some  time 
avail  himself  of  the  improvemenl  over  his  pres 
cut  condition.  An  unlooked-for  chance  of  car- 
rying out  his  designs  came  in  1862,  when  a  boy 
friend.  Fred  Keimell,  proposed  to  come  to  Cali- 


fornia, and  Mr.  Kaetzel  decided  to  accompany 
him.  Notwithstanding  the  solicitations  of  his 
family  and  friends,  he  started  out  with  a  party 
to  cross  the  plains  in  wragons  and  with  teams, 
and  were  he  to  narrate  all  of  the  thrilling  ex- 
periences that  fell  to  his  lot,  the  covers  of  a 
large  book  would  hardly  enclose  them.  Mr. 
Kaetzel  finally  reached  Sacramento,  and  for  two 
\ears  engaged  in  hauling  freight  to  Carson  and 
Virginia  City.  In  1864  he  went  to  San  Joaquin 
county  and  purchased  a  government  claim,  upon 
w  Inch  he  lived  for  a  year,  and  then  went  to 
Cambria,  on  the  way  passing  through  where 
San  Luis  Obispo  now  stands,  but  which  was 
then  waving  fields,  and  apples  growing  on  the 
land  where  his  store  now  is  located. 

At  Cambria  Air.  Kaetzel  worked  for  a  time 
at  the  carpenter's  trade  and  then  went  into  the 
wagon  business,  and  an  interesting  fact  con- 
nected with  his  life  in  that  town  is  that  he  made 
with  his  own  hands  the  first  wagon  built  in 
Cambria.  From  i86q  until  1882  he  continued 
to  make  wagons,  and  during  the  latter-named 
year  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
county  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  At  the  expi- 
ration of  his  term  of  service  he  resumed  his 
former  occupation  where  Dorsey  &  McCabe 
are  now  doing  business,  and  in  1891  assumed 
charge  of  a  branch  of  the  Commercial  Bank, 
located  at  Cambria.  For  seven  years  he  cred- 
itably maintained  the  banking  position,  and  two 
years  ago  resigned  from  the  same  to  take  up 
the  business  in  which  he  is  now  engaged. 

In  Sacramento  Mr.  Kaetzel  married  Sarah 
jane  Scott,  whose  father  came  to  California  in 
the  same  band  of  travelers  with  her  husband, 
and  who  was  formerly  a  large  real-estate  owner 
in  Des  Moines.  Iowa.  One  son  has  been  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kaetzel.  C.  Paul,  who  is  a  pop- 
ular young  attorney  of  San  Luis  Obispo.  Fra- 
ternally Mr.  Kaetzel  is  associated  with  the  (  Idd 
Fellows,  and  ha-  been  for  the  past  thirty  years. 
and  he  is  also  a  Royal  Arch  Mason.  He  is  a 
man  who  ha-  profited  by  his  many  experiences, 
and  has  learned  to  reason  calmly  in  regard  to 
people  and  events.  His  wide  knowledge  of 
human  nature  and  his  innate  courtesy  and  desire 
to  please  have  been  invaluable  to  him  in  the 
prosecution  of  his  many  interests. 


A./?J2^^<^2^ 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


401 


M.  D.  BURNETT. 

One  of  the  best  known  of  the  pioneers  who 
have  wrested  success  from  the  stored  fertility  of 
Solano  and  San  Luis  Obispo  counties  is  M.  D. 
Burnett,  owner  of  large  city  and  country  prop- 
erties, and  formerly  engaged  in  extensive  grain 
and  stock-raising  enterprises.  A  native  of  the 
vicinity  of  Hopkinsville,  Ky.,  he  was  born  Sep- 
tember 25,  1829,  and  remained  in  his  native 
state  until  twenty-six  years  of  age.  His  father, 
Patrick  Henry  Burnett,  was  born  in  Virginia, 
and  removed  with  his  father  to  Kentucky  when 
twelve  years  old,  settling  in  Christian  county, 
where  he  farmed  and  planted,  and  where  his 
death  occurred  in  1874,  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years.  His  father,  Cornelius,  was  born,  reared 
and  married  in  Virginia,  and  died  in  Kentucky. 
Patrick  Henry  Burnett  married  Maria  Bur- 
bridge,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  daughter  of 
Elijah  Burbridge,  a  Virginian,  who  removed  to 
Kentucky,  ami  remained  there  until  death.  Nine 
children  were  born  of  this  union,  and  of  the 
second  marriage  of  Mr.  Burnett  two  children 
were  born. 

The  youth  of  Mr.  Burnett  was  uneventfully 
passed  in  Kentucky,  where  he  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  assisted  his  father  with  the  care 
of  the  farm.  In  company  with  a  man  who  was 
an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  California,  he  started 
across  the  plains  from  Kentucky  with  teams  and 
wagons.  May  9,  1856,  and  arrived  at  his  destina- 
tion August  1,  same  year.  He  settled  in  So- 
lano county,  where  he  bought  land,  securing 
title  thereto  because  of  swamps  and  overflow. 
Himself  and  brother  owned  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  which  they  divided,  and  afterward 
Mr.  Burnett  bought  the  two  hundred  and  forty- 
acres  adjoining,  both  of  which  tracts  he  still 
owns.  In  1888  he  removed  to  San  Luis  Obispo 
county  and  bought  fifty-five  acres  of  land,  one- 
half  of  which  was  planted  in  fruit,  but  afterwards 
dug  up  the  trees  because  the  investment  proved 
an  unprofitable  one.  He  is  at  present  raising 
wheat,  barley,  and  hay,  and  considerable  stock. 

October  1,  1863,  Mr.  Burnett  married  Han- 
nah Reid,  born  in  Tennessee,  and  daughter 
of  William  Reid,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and 
later  a  farmer  in  Alabama,  Tennessee  and  Ar- 


kansas. Mr.  Reid  came  to  California  in  1857, 
settling  in  Yolo  county,  where  he  bought  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  upon  which 
he  eventually  died.  Four  children  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burnett,  three  sons  and 
one  daughter,  of  whom  William  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Louisville  (Ky.)  Medical  College  and  is 
now  a  practicing  physician  at  Santa  Rosa,  Cal. ; 
Cornelius  is  the  manager  of  his  father's  ranch 
in  Solano  county,  Cal.;  Oliver  lives  in  Mon- 
tana; and  Lenora  is  at  home.  The  second  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Burnett  was  contracted  in  San 
Francisco,  July  4,  1885,  and  united  him  with 
Mrs.  Mary  Campbell.  Mr.  Burnett  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  political  preference,  and  his  political 
activity  extends  to  all  of  his  sons.  He  has  been 
a  member  of  the  county  central  committee,  and 
is  a  trustee  and  clerk  of  the  school  board. 

William  Churchman,  father  of  Mrs.  Burnett, 
was  born  near  Evansville,  Ind.,  in  1825,  and  was 
a  son  of  Henry  Churchman,  also  a  native  of 
Indiana.  When  a  young  man  William  Church- 
man moved  to  Ohio  and  while  living  there  mar- 
ried Martha  Augustine,  by  whom  he  had  eleven 
children.  In  1853  he  crossed  the  plains  to  Cal- 
ifornia with  his  wife  and  two  children  and  settled 
in  Petaluma,  where  he  was  the  first  justice  of 
peace  in  the  place.  When  the  county  seat  was 
moved  to  Santa  Rosa  he  moved  also.  He  held 
the  office  of  superior  judge  of  Sonoma  county 
for  twelve  years  while  living  in  Santa  Rosa.  He 
died  in  the  last  named  city  in  1870,  aged  forty- 
five  years;  his  wife  also  died  in  Santa  Rosa,  in 
1868. 


J.  D.  KALAR. 


A  fair  type  of  the  conscientious  and  painstak- 
ing western  man  of  affairs,  Mr.  Kalar,  of  Salinas, 
lias  made  his  own  way  in  the  world,  independent 
of  the  aid  of  friends.  He  was  born  near  West 
Virginia  in  1866,  a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Parsons)  Kalar,  the  former  for  years  a  farmer 
in  Monterey  county,  but  at  present  retired  and 
living  at  Salinas.  On  the  maternal  side  Mr. 
Kalar  comes  of  a  family  not  only  long  lived, 
but  of  prominence  in  the  early  days  of  Virginia. 
The  paternal  grandfather.  Job  Parsons,  served 
in   the  war  of   1N12,  and  lived  to  be  a  hundred 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


years  old.  A  brother  of  Mrs.  Kalar  was  a  cap- 
tain in  the  Confederate  army  during  the  Civil 
war. 

The  only  child  in  his  father's  family,  J.  D. 
Kalar  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and 
given  such  advantages  as  the  family  means  ren- 
dered possible.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he 
embarked  in  business  with  a  grocery  firm. 
During  President  Cleveland's  first  administra- 
tion, from  1885  to  March  of  1891,  he  was  assist- 
ant in  the  postoffice  at  Salinas,  and  later  entered 
Heald's  Business  College  in  San  Francisco, 
from  which  he  was  graduated.  For  the  two 
following  years  he  was  employed  in  the  Salinas 
warehouse,  and  then  became  a  deputy  in  the 
office  of  the  county  clerk,  having  been  appointed 
to  fill  a  position  resigned  by  the  former  incum- 
bent. In  1898  his  popularity  was  demonstrated 
when  he  ran  for  the  office  and  was  elected  by 
the  largest  majority  (ten  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  votes)  given  any  candidate  on  any  ticket. 

February  22,  1897,  Mr.  Kalar  married  Mar- 
guerite O.  Hern,  whose  mother  is  proprietor  of 
a  hotel.  Fraternally  Mr.  Kalar  is  associated 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  popular  in  Sa- 
linas and  has  the  respect  and  good  will  of  all 
who  know  him. 


EDWARD  W.  KIRK. 

The  raising  of  stock  has  engaged  the  attention 
of  Mr.  Kirk  since  he  came  to  Monterey  county. 
At  the  present  writing  he  occupies  and  owns  a 
ranch  of  seven  hundred  and  twelve  acres  in  the 
Jolon  valley,  of  which  tract  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres  are  tillable.  Under  his  super- 
vision, and  for  the  proper  conduct  of  his  stock- 
raising  interests,  he  has  twenty-six  hundred 
acres,  thus  securing  abundant  pasturage  for  his 
cattle  and  hogs.  It  has  been  his  experience,  as 
that  of  most  farmers  in  his  locality,  that  the 
stock  business  forms  a  desirable  source  of  rev- 
enue and  can  be  conducted  with'  more  profit 
than  can  the  raising  of  cereals  for  the  markets. 

Fifteen  miles  north  of  Montreal,  Canada,  Mr. 
Kirk  was  born,  in  1854,  and  there  the  first 
eighteen  years  of  his  life  were  uneventfully 
passed.     On  coming  to  the  States  he  spent  a 


short  time  in  Rutland,  Vt.,  where  he  secured 
employment  and  saved  a  considerable  part  of 
his  earnings.  After  four  years  he  went  to  Bos- 
ton, and  from  there  took  ship  for  California. 
Flis  arrival  in  Los  Angeles  was  in  June,  1876. 
However,  he  did  not  remain  in  this  state  at  the 
time,  but  accompanied  a  surveying  party  to 
Arizona  and  assisted  in  laying  out  the  town  of 
Flagstaff.  There  were  fifty  men  in  the  party 
and  they  spent  two  months  far  from  civilization, 
beset  by  constant  dangers,  for  the  Apaches,  who 
were  in  close  proximity  to  them,  were  a  fierce 
and  bloodthirsty  nation.  It  had  been  Mr.  Kirk's 
intention  to  engage  in  mining  in  Arizona  and 
also  to  open  up  a  ranch,  but  the  hostility  of  the 
Indians  rendered  such  a  step  inadvisable,  and 
accordingly  the  party  disbanded  in  Prescott,  and 
he  returned  to  Los  Angeles.  For  sixty  days  he 
was  employed  in  the  boring  of  an  artesian  well 
at  Pomona,  after  which  he  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  for  eighteen  months  was  employed 
near  there  as  foreman  on  a  ranch.  His  next  ven- 
ture was  the  teaming  and  drayage  business  in 
San  Francisco,  which  he  followed  for  seven 
years.  On  selling  out  there  he  came  to  Mon- 
terey county  and  pre-empted  a  quarter  section  of 
land  at  the  head  of  Jolon  valley.  During  the 
nine  years  spent  on  that  ranch  he  was  not  only 
engaged  in  raising  stock,  but  also  became  in- 
terested in  the  bee  business  and  had  a  growing 
apiary.  To  his  original  tract  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  were  added,  thus  giving  him  a  ranch 
one-half  section  in  extent.  From  there  he  came 
to  his  present  property  near  Jolon,  where  he  and 
his  family  have  a  neat  country  home.  In  1882 
he  married  Marian  Baker,  by  whom  he  has 
three  children,  Edmund,  Ruby  and  Lucille.  The 
family  are  identified  with  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  in  politics  Mr.  Kirk  is  a  believer  in 
and  supporter  of  Republican  principles. 


CAPT.  THOMAS  G.  LAMBERT. 

1  hie  of  the  many  interesting  men  of  Monterey 
is  Capt.  Thomas  G.  Lambert,  for  years  one  of 
the  potent  upbuilders  of  this  beautiful  town, 
but  erstwhile  a  seasoned  salt  with  many  years 
of  practical  experience  upon  the  deep,  and  a 
whaler  whose  unerring  aim  has  terminated  the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


40". 


watery  career  of  hundreds  of  members  of  the 
monster  finny  tribe.  Born  on  the  island  of 
Martha's  Vineyard,  in  1826,  he  comes  of  a  fam- 
ily associated  with  this  historic  piece  of  land 
since  about  1662.  Reared  among  intensely 
nautical  surroundings,  it  was  not  surprising  that 
his  gaze  was  directed  to  the  horizon  of  the  water 
rather  than  that  of  land,  and  that  when  sixteen 
years  of  age  he  embarked  upon  a  long  contem- 
plated career  amid  the  fascinations  and  dangers 
of  the  sea.  On  board  the  whaler  John  Coggs- 
vvell,  he  set  out  for  Honolulu,  via  the  Horn, 
and  arrived  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  as  a  non- 
commissioned officer.  For  two  years  he  en- 
gaged in  whaling  in  the  waters  surrounding  the 
islands,  and  in  1849  made  a  trip  in  the  same 
vessel  in  which  he  had  left  Atlantic  shores.  Ar- 
riving in  the  spring  of  1850,  he  again  set  out 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  in  the  ship  Ame- 
thyst, whaling  along  the  South  American  coast, 
and  making  the  ports  of  Peru  and  Chile.  This 
trip  lasted  forty-four  months  and  eight  days, 
and  during  that  time  the  catch  comprised  forty- 
seven  sperm  whales,  which,  when  rendered, 
yielded  two  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  barrels  of  oil,  the  market  price  of  which 
was  $126,000.  A  stalwart  man,  Mr.  Lambert 
became  an  expert  in  the  use  of  the  harpoon,  and 
won  the  favor  of  his  captain  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  good  man  recommended  him  to  the  po- 
sition of  chief  mate  for  the  ship  Enterprise,  from 
Nantucket,  Mass.  Thus  advanced,  he  boarded 
the  vessel  in  Chile  and  remained  with  her  for  the 
remainder  of  her  trip  to  the  eastern  port,  which 
they  reached  in  1854.  Mr.  Lambert  then  as- 
sumed charge  of  the  ship  John  Milton,  from 
Boston  to  San  Francisco,  heavily  laden  with 
merchandise,  and  made  the  journey  in  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  days.  After  that  he  sailed 
along  the  Pacific  coast  for  several  years,  and 
during  that  time  commanded  four  different  ves- 
sels, and  made  thirty-two  trips  up  and  down  the 
coast  on  the  steamer  Senator. 

In  1869  Captain  Lambert  abandoned  the  sea 
for  the  more  peaceful  existence  of  a  land 
dweller,  and  settled  in  Monterey  as  a  desirable 
permanent  residence.  For  a  couple  of  years  he 
was  identified  with  the  Lambert  &  Snively  Lum- 
ber Company,  and  since  then  has  conducted  a 


general  lumber  and  milling  business.  In  1886 
he  established  the  Monterey  Planing  Mill,  and 
the  following  year  formed  the  Monterey  Mill  & 
Lumber  Company,  of  which  he  became  president 
and  manager.  Aside  from  his  general  business 
he  has  entered  enthusiastically  into  every  effort 
of  note  for  the  general  improvement  of  condi- 
tions in  his  adopted  town,  and  has  been  partic- 
ularly prominent  as  a  politician.  As  a  stanch 
Republican  he  helped  to  organize  the  Republican 
party  in  San  Francisco  in  1855,  and  has  ever 
since  voted  that  ticket.  For  seventeen  years  he 
was  president  of  the  Monterey  City  Republican 
Club,  and  is  a  member  of  the  county  central 
committee,  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  numer- 
ous state  and  county  conventions.  Fraternally 
he  is  associated  with  the  Monterey  Lodge  No. 
217,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  lodge.  He  was  the  first  master  thereof,  and 
has  been  installed  eighteen  times,  twelve  times 
as  master.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Chapter 
No.  59,  R.  A.  M.,  and  of  the  Watsonville  Com- 
mandery  No.  22,  K.  T.  He  is  one  the  foremost 
promoters  of  a  movement  to  erect  a  monument 
to  John  Drake  Sloat,  and  meetings  for  the  fur- 
therance of  this  design  are  held  at  his  home. 
For  thirty-three  years  he  has  been  government 
custodian  of  the  old  custom-house,  and  by  his 
faithfulness  to  trusts  imposed,  and  his  unques- 
tioned ability  and  devotion  to  whatsoever  re- 
_sponsibility  came  his  way,  has  incurred  the  last- 
ing good  will  of  all  with  whom  he  has  been 
associated.  Mrs.  Lambert  was  formerly  Sarah 
Masters. 


JOSIAH  W.  LAM  BORN. 

Occupying  a  position  of  respect  among  the 
business  men  of  Watsonville  is  Josiah  W.  Lam- 
born,  a  native  of  Howard  county,  Ind..  born 
November  14,  1845,  to  the  union  of  Thomas 
and  Laura  (Morris)  Lamborn.  When  a  young 
man  his  father  had  learned  the  shoemaker's 
trade,  but  prior  to  1850  he  purchased  a  farm 
and  thereafter  gave  his  attention  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  In  the  cultivation  of  his  land,  caring 
for  his  family,  and  enjoying  the  occasional  rec- 
reations and  vacations  that  form  so  pleasurable 
a    part    of     existence,    his    life    was    tranquilly 


m 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


passed.  After  many  useful  years  he  passed 
from  earth  in  1870. 

Like  most  farmer  boys,  Josiah  W.  Lamborn 
alternated  work  on  the  farm  in  summers  with  at- 
tendance at  school  during  the  winter  months. 
In  1862,  fired  by  an  ambition  to  serve  his  coun- 
try, he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Forty-eighth 
Infantry,  and  went  with  his  regiment  to  the 
front,  where  he  remained  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  Among  the  many  engagements  in  which 
he  bore  a  part  was  that  in  front  of  Richmond, 
where  (as  in  other  battles)  he  had  several  nar- 
row escapes.  Bullets  penetrated  his  hat  and 
clothing,  but  not  once  was  he  wounded.  On 
his  return  home  he  served  an  apprenticeship  to 
the  carpenter's  trade  at  Lafayette,  and  when  his 
time  had  expired  traveled  as  a  journeyman 
through  Illinois.  Iowa  and  Missouri,  thence  to 
Kansas,  and  from  there  to  Leadville,  Colo., 
where  in  1878  he  began  to  take  contracts.  Dur- 
ing the  six  years  he  made  that  city  his  head- 
quarters he  had  contracts  for  many  buildings 
there  and  in  the  vicinity.  When  the  boom  at 
Leadville  had  to  some  degree  subsided,  he  left 
the  town  and  went  to  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah, 
where  he  remained  a  year.  From  there  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Butte,  Mont.,  where  he  remained  for 
seven  years,  meantime  having  charge  of  the  con- 
struction of  many  important  public  buildings 
and  private  residences.  From  there  he  returned 
to  Utah  and  spent  four  years  in  Ogden,  busily 
engaged  at  his  trade. 

Since  1893  Mr.  Lamborn  has  made  Watson- 
ville  his  home  and  has  found  this  thriving  mar- 
ket town  of  the  Pajaro  valley  a  pleasant  place  of 
residence,  not  only  from  a  climatic  standpoint, 
but  also  with  regard  to  business  possibilities. 
When  the  people  saw  the  character  of  his  work, 
they  began  to  give  him  contracts  and  since  then 
he  has  led  a  busy  life.  Among  the  residences 
he  erected  are  those  for  Warren  Porter,  John 
fohnson  and  L.  J.  Hopkins,  also  one  on  Sud- 
den street  for  himself.  A  number  of  business 
structures  owe  their  substantial  appearance  to 
the  reliability  of  his  work  as  contractor.  As  an 
evidence  of  his  energy,  it  may  be  stated  that 
during  [901  he  built  seven  houses,  remodeled 
several  others,  and  erected  a  business  block. 
employing  about  twelve  men  all  of  the  year. 


By  his  marriage  to  Airs.  Martha  J.  (Case) 
Weightman,  a  native  of  New  York  state,  Mr. 
Lamborn  has  a  daughter,  Eva,  now  a  student 
in  the  Watsonville  schools.  In  fraternal  rela- 
tions he  is  connected  with  the  Odd  Fellows  and 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  holding  his  member- 
ship in  the  latter  order  in  Montana,  where  he 
passed  all  of  the  chairs  and  became  a  member 
of  the  grand  lodge. 

MARK  L.  LANDRUM. 

Peach  Tree  valley,  twenty  miles  long  and  av- 
eraging three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  lying  be- 
tween two  low  mountains,  and  running  parallel 
with  Salinas  valley,  is  one  of  the  garden  spots 
of  Monterey  county,  and  fortunate  the  posses- 
sors of  land  therein.  Hither  came  Mark  L. 
Landrum  in  1869,  his  brother,  Joseph,  joining 
him  two  years  later,  and  their  names  are  asso 
ciated  with  all  that  is  enterprising,  both  as  re- 
gards farming  and  stock:raising  and  typical 
western  citizenship. 

A  native  of  Forsythe  county,  Ga.,  Mark  L. 
Landrum  was  born  May  17,  1847,  and  was 
reared  on  his  father's  southern  farm  until  thir- 
teen years  of  age.  James  H.  Landrum.  the 
father,  came  to  California  in  1850,  and  after 
two  years  of  mining  and  prospecting  returned 
to  Georgia,  remained  there  three  years  and  then 
returned  to  California  and  prepared  a  home  for 
his  family  in  Stanislaus  county.  He  was  joined 
by  his  wife  and  children  in  i860,  during  which 
year  he  settled  on  government  land  near  Knight 
Ferry,  and  in  1869  established  a  ferry  across  the 
San  Joaquin  near  Sycamore  Bend.  He  was 
thus  employed  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  his 
death  occurred  in  1872,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one 
years.  His  wife  was  formerly  Gatsey  Castle- 
berry,  and  she  bore  him  eleven  children,  six  of 
whom  are  living:  William  M.,  one  of  the  pioneer 
raisers  of  Angora  goats  in  Texas;  Meredith, 
deceased  in  Stockton  in  1884;  John,  deceased  in 
1856;  James,  deceased  in  Georgia  in  1855,  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  years;   Nancy  J.,  Mrs.  James 

ves.   who  died   in    1881 ;    Mary.    Mrs.    K. 

(I.  Williams,  who  died  in  1900;  Sarah,  the 
widow  of  Joshua  Henderson,  of  Stockton;  Jo- 
seph, living  with  Mark  L..  and  who  was  born 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


405 


April  21,  1844;  Mark  L.,  Noah  D.  and  Benja- 
min C. 

When  Mark  L.  Landrum  came  to  the  Peach 
Tree  valley  it  was  a  very  lonely  place,  and  the 
industries  represented  here  were  few  and  far 
between.  There  was  a  log  cabin  on  the  Peach 
Tree  ranch,  but  no  water  fit  for  drinking  pur- 
poses, and  not  until  1871  did  the  late  arrival 
succeed  in  striking  at  all  desirable  water.  Two 
miles  and  a  half  below  the  ranch  William  Lan- 
drum had  his  Angora  goat  settlement,  and  four 
miles  on  the  other  side  was  a  sheep  camp,  the 
end  of  the  valley  at  the  south  being  taken  up 
with  the  sheep  ranch  of  Jake  Luther.  These 
were  the  only  inhabitants  of  Peach  Tree  valley. 
In  1874  the  brothers  Landrum  homesteaded 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  apiece,  and 
later  purchased  the  quarter  section  upon  which 
their  home  now  stands.  They  now  own  twelve 
hundred  acres  of  land,  and  are  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  stock-raising,  horses,  cattle  and  mules 
being  raised  in  numbers.  The  fertility  of  the 
soil  may  be  judged  of  when  it  is  known  that 
twenty-one  hundred  pounds  of  wheat  to  the  acre 
is  by  no  means  an  unusual  yield.  The  location 
is  altogether  desirable,  for,  in  addition  to  the 
agricultural  possibilities  of  the  soil,  oil  has 
been  discovered  in  the  surrounding  hills  only 
one  hundred  feet  below  the  surface.  These  wells 
are  as  yet  undeveloped,  but  it  is  predicted  that 
the  new  resource  will  add  materially  to  the  value 
of  the  surrounding  property. 

January  26,  1887,  Mark  L.  Landrum  mar- 
ried, and  his  wife  died  December  22.  1899,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-nine.  She  was  a  native  of 
San  Francisco,  and  was  the  mother  of  five  chil- 
dren, viz.:  John  S.,  William  K.,  Dorothy,  Gat- 
sey  and  Mark  L.,  Jr.  Mr.  Landrum  has  been 
prominent  in  Peach  Tree  politics,  and  he  is  one 
of  the  most  enthusiastic  Populists  in  the  county. 
He  lias  been  postmaster  of  Peach  Tree  for  the 
past  twenty-five  years,  notary  public  for  sixteen 
years,  and.  beginning  with  1876,  served  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  for  six  years.  He  is  associated 
with  Lodge  No.  353.  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  King  City; 
and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  of 
which  he  is  past  master.     He  is  the  friend  and 

promoter  of  education,  and  has  been  a  scl 1 

director  for  many  years,  being  at  present  clerk 


of  the  board.  He  was  the  first  assessor  who 
had  the  influence  and  determination  to  get  suf- 
ficient money  to  build  a  schoolhouse,  and  has 
in  many  ways  stimulated  interest  in  this  most 
necessary  department  of  community  develop- 
ment. 


HON.  JULIUS  LEE. 

The  identification  of  Judge  Lee  with  the  law 
history  of  Monterey  and  Santa  Cruz  counties 
has  continued  ever  since  1859,  when  he  came  to 
the  Pacific  coast,  leaving  the  old  associations 
of  his  southern  home  and  setting  sail  upon  an 
unknown  sea  into  an  unknown  future.  He 
was  born  in  Granby,  near  Hartford.  Conn.. 
May  25,  1829,  and  in  childhood  moved  to 
Hiram,  Ohio,  with  his  parents,  Hiram  and  Julia 
(Pomeroy)  Lee.  The  desire  of  his  parents,  aided 
by  his  own  ambition,  enabled  him  to  gain  advan- 
tages not  at  all  common  in  those  days.  In 
1853  he  was  graduated  from  Allegheny  (Pa.) 
College,  after  which  he  acted  as  principal  of 
public  schools  for  two  years.  A  better  opening 
then  came  to  him  as  professor  of  Greek  and 
Latin  in  Washington  College,  in  Tennessee, 
near  Natchez,  Miss.  Resigning  the  position  a 
year  later,  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  with  Hon. 
Thomas  A.  Marshall,  of  Vicksburg.  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1857.  For  two  years  he 
continued  in  Vicksburg  and  on  coming  to  Cali- 
fornia via  the  isthmus  he  shipped  via  the  Horn 
the  valuable  library  he  had  accumulated.  Ar- 
riving in  San  Francisco  June  30.  1850.  he  soon 
afterward  came  to  Monterey,  where  he  opened 
an  office.  Shorly  afterward  a  vacancy  occurred 
in  the  office  of  district  attorney  and  he  was 
elected  to  fill  the  same,  after  which  he  was 
regularly  elected  to  the  office. 

During  1862  Judge  Lee  established  his  home 
in  Wats.  >n ville.  where  he  has  handled  some  of 
the  most  important  land  and  civil  cases  ever 
tried  in  this  and  adjoining  counties.  The  Re- 
publican partv,  of  which  he  is  a  member,  at 
one  time  tendered  him  the  office  of  superior 
fudge,  but  the  pressure  of  his  private  practice 
was  so  great  that  he  declined  the  position,  fn 
1902  he  practically  retired  from  the  profession, 
although   he   still  occasionally  acts  in  consulta- 


106 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


tion.  In  1867  he  married  Marcella,  daughter  of 
O.  D.  Elmore,  and  by  her  he  has  a  son,  Elmore 
Julius.  She  was  born  in  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  and  was 
quite  young  when  her  father  settled  in  Watson- 
ville,  where  she  was  a  school  teacher  during 
early  days. 


TOM  LEE. 


Of  all  places  in  the  United  States,  the  art  of 
the  landscape  gardener  is  best  appreciated  in 
California,  where  the  opportunities  for  the  exer- 
cise of  his  genius  and  ingenuity  are  so  manifold 
and  varied.  Men  of  this  occupation,  whose 
work  in  the  past  has  contributed  to  the  glory  of 
the  show  places  of  Europe,  find  in  the  advan- 
tages of  climate  and  soil,  of  sunshine  and  gen- 
eral environment  on  the  coast,  a  never-ending 
outlet  for  the  highest  development  of  their  de- 
lightful and  fascinating  art.  Among  those  whose 
qifts  in  this  direction  have  brought  them  their 
most  desired  expectation  is  Tom  Lee,  presiding 
head  of  the  grounds  of  the  Del  Monte  Hotel  at 
Monterey,  without  doubt  the  most  beautiful  and 
extensive  hotel  and  grounds  in  the  United 
States.  One  hundred  and  fifty  acres  are  under 
cultivation,  of  which  the  greater  part  is  under 
natural  timber,  and  admirably  adjustable  to  the 
plans  of  the  landscape  gardener.  The  drives, 
greenhouses  and  innumerable  efforts  at  orna- 
mentation are  due  to  the  skill  of  Mr.  Lee.  who 
has  had  charge  of  his  large  responsibility  since 
1894,  and  has  therefore  had  ample  time  to  get 
under  way  his  plans  for  the  future. 

P.orn  in  England.  February  26,  1857,  Mr.  Lee 
began  to  learn  his  trade  at  the  age  of  sixteen, 
.•ind  was  thus  employed  in  his  native  land  until 
1884.  Arriving  in  America,  he  spent  a  couple 
of  years  in  San  Francisco,  and  during  that  time 
had  charge  of  the  grounds  of  Timothy  Hopkins. 
For  a  short  time  in  tSSo  he  was  in  the  Bell  con- 
servatories at  Sacramento,  and  in  December, 
[886,  came  to  the  Del  Mont,:  Hotel,  first  as 
foreman,  and  in  1804  was  promoted  to  the  posi 
tion  of  general  manager  of  the  entire  grounds 
Before  coming  to  America  Mr.  Lee  married 
Elizabeth  MeArthur,  a  native  of  Scotland,  ami 
of  this  union  there  are  live  children:  Maria. 
Mice.    Alfred    William.    Frances    Isabelle,    and 


Thomas,  Jr.  Mr.  Lee  is  a  Republican  in  political 
affiliation,  and  he  has  been  a  member  of  tin 
Republican  committee  for  two  years,  and  is  now 
serving  his  second  term  as  trustee  of  the  Del 
Monte  school  district.  Fraternally  he  is  associ- 
ated with  the  Masons  and  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Foresters.  The  family  are  members  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Lee  is  a  liberal-minded 
ami  progressive  member  of  the  community,  ami 
lias  made  many  friends  since  identifying  his  for- 
tunes with  the  coast. 


T.  LEWIS. 


The  subdividing  of  the  large  ranches  that 
once  characterized  Santa  Cruz  and  Monterey 
counties  into  the  small  tracts  that  are  now  used 
for  apple  orchards  or  berry  gardens  has  made 
necessary  the  services  of  competent  surveyors, 
and  in  this  line  of  work  Mr.  Lewis  has  the  bene- 
fit of  thorough  training  and  long  experience. 
In  point  of  activity,  he  is  the  oldest  civil  engi- 
neer in  Santa  Cruz  county.  During  1888  he 
erected  a  residence  in  Watsonville  and  moved 
from  his  farm  into  the  city,  since  which  time  he 
has  given  his  time  to  professional  work.  He  is 
recognized  as  an  authority  on  maps  and  bound- 
ary lines,  and  his  opinion  is  often  sought  in  the 
settlement  of  disputed  points. 

In  Wilmington,  Del,  J.  J.  Lewis  was  horn  to 
the  union  of  Enoch  and  Lydia  (Jackson)  Lewis, 
both  Quakers.  For  some  years  his  father  was 
1  ngaged  as  a  teacher  of  mathematics  in  Phila- 
delphia and  other  cities,  after  which  he  aban- 
doned the  schoolroom  for  the  outdoor  life  of  a 
farmer.  lie  died  in  1856  and  his  wife  in  [846 
When  a  boy  J.  J.  Lewis  studied  surveying  and 
at  eighteen  was  ready  to  embark  in  the  occupa- 
tion, but  at  the  time  it  seemed  advisable  for  him 
to  take  up  the  management  of  the  home  farm. 
From  Philadelphia  he  came  to  California  in 
1S51  ami  remained  four  and  one-half  years, 
meantime  working  at  the  carpenter's  trade  in 
San  Jose.  On  his  return  to  the  east  lie  re- 
mained for  a  while  in  Philadelphia  and  then 
:  toved  to  Minnesota,  where  he  followed  sm\e\ 
ing  in  addition  to  farming.  A  later  place  of 
residence  was  in  Illinois.  During  1875  he  sold 
his  farm  and  came  to  California,  buying  a  farm 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


407 


of  thirty-four  acres  northeast  of  Watsonville. 
While  living  in  Watsonville  he  met  with  a  deep 
bereavement  in  the  loss  of  his  wife,  nee  Margaret 
Wilde,  of  Minnesota,  who  died  at  thirty-one 
years,  leaving  six  children.  The  eldest  of  the 
family  was  only  thirteen,  while  the  youngest 
never  knew  a  mother's  love.  With  such  help  as 
the  oldest  children  could  give  him,  he  took  up 
the  care  of  the  family  and  carefully  trained  them 
until  they  were  able  to  care  for  themselves.  The 
youngest,  Margaret,  died  when  five  months  old. 
The  others  are  Mrs.  Edith  Rider;  Mrs.  Alice 
Webb;  William  E.,  who  is  now  in  Alaska; 
Frank,  a  bookkeeper;  and  Charles  B.,  a  civil 
engineer. 

Among  the  innovations  made  by  Mr.  Lewis 
was  that  of  raising  watermelons  for^the  market, 
in  which  business  he  was  the  pioneer.  Since  then 
many  others  have  taken  up  the  work  and  find 
it  profitable.  Besides  farming  he  engaged  in 
gardening,  set  out  apple  orchards,  raised  water- 
melons and  also  carried  on  work  in  the  raising 
of  peas,  to  which  he  planted  five  acres.  From 
ten  acres,  he  shipped  one  year,  before  the  ist 
of  October,  two  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  prod- 
ucts, which  shows  the  possibilities  of  the  melon 
industry  in  this  soil.  In  1888  he  sold  his  farm 
and  moved  into  Watsonville,  where  he  built  and 
owns  two  houses.  For  some  years  he  served  as 
deputy  county  surveyor  and  also  filled  the  office 
of  school  trustee. 


EDWARD  E.  LITTLEFIELD. 

A  native  son  of  California  whose  efforts  have 
reflected  credit  upon  Monterey  county  is  Ed- 
ward E.  Littlefield,  partner  of  William  E.  Bent- 
ley  in  a  general  farming  and  stock-raising  enter- 
prise on  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  the  old  Buena 
Vista  ranch.  He  enjoys  the  advantage  of  being 
a  nephew  of  Hiram  Corey,  whose  influence  and 
help  have  invariably  resulted  in  good  to  his 
friends  and  associates.  Mr.  Littlefield  was  born 
at  Bloomfield,  Sonoma  county,  Cal.,  May  16, 
1866.  His  father,  Charles  Littlefield.  a  native 
of  Michigan,  came  to  California  and  located  at 
Bloomfield,  where  he  engaged  in  the  sheep  and 
livery  business,  and  where  he  married.  1  [e  is  al 
present    living   at    Eureka,    Humboldt     county, 


Cal.,  is  sixty-five  years  of  age,  and  has  charge 
of  a  successful  livery  business.  He  married 
Sarah  Corey,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  sister  of 
Hiram  Corey,  mentioned  in  another  part  of  this 
work.  Mrs.  Littlefield  died  in  1870,  leaving  four 
small  children  to  the  care  of  their  father.  Of 
these,  Emma  is  the  wife  of  G.  A.  Daugherty,  of 
Salinas ;  Warren  is  assistant  cashier  of  the  Mon- 
terey County  Bank  of  Salinas;  and  Rose  is  the 
wife  of  B.  Y.  Sargent,  an  attorney  of  Salinas 
and  superior  judge  of  Monterey  county. 

Edward  E.  Littlefield  was  the  second  in  his 
father's  family,  and  was  four  years  old  when  his 
mother  died.  It  was  her  especial  wish  that  her 
brother  Hiram  should  assume  the  bringing  up 
of  Edward  and  his  sisters,  and  the  latter  re- 
mained in  the  home  of  Mr.  Corey  until  their 
marriage.  In  his  home  they  were  tenderlv 
reared  by  their  aunt,  who  was  a  beautiful  char- 
acter, and  treated  them  as  she  would  her  own 
children.  They  had  special  private  teachers,  and 
were  given  every  advantage  possible  under  the 
circumstances.  When  fourteen  vears  old.  Ed- 
ward E.  entered  the  University  of  the  Pacific, 
remaining  there  for  two  years,  and  after  that 
worked  for  his  uncle  by  the  month,  the  farm 
comprising  eight  thousand  acres.  Upon  the 
dispi  isal  of  the  farm  to  a  company  in  1889.  which 
company  returned  five  thousand  acres,  Mr.  Lit- 
tlefield rented  a  part  of  it,  and  again  worked  for 
his  uncle  for  four  years.  He  then  rented  a  farm 
for  six  years,  and  in  1891  he  leased  the  present 
farm  in  partnership  with  his  cousin,  Mr.  Bentley. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Littlefield  is  Emma,  the 
daughter  of  Joseph  Snyder,  of  Salinas.  Of  this 
union  there  are  four  children,  Everett  Austin, 
Blanche  Corey,  Charles  Marvin  and  Emma  Mil- 
dred. Mr.  Littlefield  is  a  Republican,  and  is  at 
present  a  school  trustee.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 


B.  F.  NORRIS. 

For  the  past  nine  years  Mr.  Norris  has  been 
successfully  conducting  a  meat-market  in  King 
City,  and  he  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  one  of 
the  reliable  business  men  n\  the  town.  He  was 
born  in  Garnet,  \11dersou  county,  Kans..  in 
1  Si  hi,  and  is  a  son  of  Flias  Norris,  who  is  spend- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


in"-  the  later  years  of  an  industrious  life  with 
his  son.  The  family  came  to  California  in  1875. 
and  settled  in  Sonoma  county,  where  they  lived 
for  many  years.  B.  F.  Norris  left  his  father's 
home  in  1878,  determined  to  become  independ- 
ent financially,  and  in  quest  of  a  desirable  loca- 
tion traveled  extensively  through  different  parts 
of  the  state.  He  chanced  in  King  City  in  1885, 
where  he  took  up  the  government  land  near  San 
Ardo  which  he  still  owns.  Here  he  raises  cattle 
for  his  market  in  King  City.  His  efforts  to 
succeed  have  been  more  than  realized,  for  he  has 
a  large  trade,  and  is  highly  esteemed  by  all  who 
know  him.  Considerable  reaj-estate  has  come 
into  his  possession  from  time  to  time,  and  he 
still  owns  a  number  of  valuable  town  lots.  He 
is  fraternally  a  Knight  of  Pythias,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber and  past  chancellor  of  Lodge  No.  54  at  San 
Lucas. 

On  the  maternal  side,  the  family  with  which 
Mr.  Norris  is  connected  is  of  special  interest,  his 
mother  having  been  a  Miss  Pattie,  descendant 
of  Tames  O.  Pattie,  who,  with  his  father,  crossed 
the  plains  to  California  in  1824.  The  undertak- 
ing at  the  time  was  so  remarkable  that  E.  H. 
Flint,  in  a  book  entitled  "Personal  Narratives  of 
Tames  O.  Pattie,  of  Kentucky."  gives  a  detailed 
account  of  the  expedition  of  the  father  and  son, 
the  book,  which  was  published  in  1833,  being  of 
a  most  graphic  and  interesting  nature.  These 
early  and  venturesome  travelers  started  from  St 
Louis  in  1824,  and  crossed  the  Missouri  river 
Time  20th  of  the  same  year,  reaching  Council 
Bluffs  June  30th.  After  reaching  the  Pacific 
ocean  James  O.  made  his  way  to  Vera  Cruz, 
Mexico,  on  the  return  trip,  having  been  six 
\cars  ;n  covering  the  ground  over  which  he 
journeyed.  They  were  made  captives,  and  in 
the  enforced  absence  from  those  who  were  near 
and  dear  to  them,  the  tireless  father  and  boon 
companion  was  stricken  with  death.  John  A. 
Pattie,  the  brother  of  James  O.,  was  the  father 
of  Mrs.  \.  J.  Norris,  the  mother  of  1',.  F.  Mrs. 
Norris'  grandfather  settled  in  Kentucky  in  1781. 
taking  up  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ken- 
tucky river. 

In  January.    [894,    Mr.    Norris  married   Mary 

and    of    this    union    there    is    one    child. 

Walter  B.,  who  is  six  years  old.     In  national  pol 


itics  Mr.  Norris  is  a  Democrat,  but  usually  votes 
for  the  man  he  thinks  best  qualified  for  the  posi- 
tion at  stake.  He  is  broad-minded  and  liberal  in 
his  estimate  of  people  and  events,  and  is  one 
of  the  progressive  influences  of  his  county. 


HENRY  NELSON. 

A  representative  son  of  Sweden  who  has  par- 
tially realized  his  expectations  in  regard  to  Cal- 
ifornia is  Henry  Nelson,  the  owner  of  a  one 
hundred  and  twelve  acre  ranch  near  Paso 
Robles,  and  who  is  extensively  engaged  in 
the  cultivation  of  wheat,  and  the  raising  of 
cattle,  horses  and  hogs.  To  his  work  Mr. 
Nelson  brings  the  thoroughness  characteristic 
of  his  people,  and  the  neatness  and  thrift  evi- 
dent from  a  survey  of  his  property  suggests  a 
continuation  of  his  present  prosperity. 

Born  in  Sweden,  near  Roben,  December  25, 
1834.  Mr.  Nelson  is  a  son  of  Nels  Nelson,  a  man 
of  considerable  importance  in  his  native  land, 
and  who  was  engaged  in  the  combined  occupa- 
tions of  charcoal  burning  and  cattle  raising. 
He  lived  to  be  seventy-one  years  of  age,  and  set 
for  his  children  an  example  of  industry  and 
economy.  He  married  Maria  Henderson,  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  Henderson,  a  Swedish  farmer,  who 
died  when  his  daughter  was  a  child.  Four  sons 
and  five  daughters  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Kelson,  of  whom  Henry  is  the  youngest  but 
one. 

Owing  to  the  number  of  mouths  to  be  fed  in 
the  Nelson  family,  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  chil- 
dren to  assist  in  the  general  support,  and  it  thus 
happened  that  Henry,  like  the  rest,  had  little 
chance  of  acquiring  an  education.  He  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1868,  settling  in  Boone 
county,  Iowa,  where  he  bought  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land,  and  engaged  in  general 
Farming  and  stock  raising.  Not  entirely  satis- 
fied with  the  prospects  in  Iowa.  Mr.  Nelson 
wisely  concluded  to  come  to  the  coast,  and  it 
is  safe  to  surmise  that  he  has  never  regretted 
this  determination.  With  him  from  Sweden  Mr. 
Kelson  brought  his  wife,  who  was  formerly  Jo- 
hanna, of  Sweden,  a  daughter  of  John  Olson,  a 
n  umfacturer  of  charcoal  in  Sweden,  in  which 
countn    In's  death   occurred.     Three  daughters 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


411 


and  two  sons  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Nelson:  Tilda,  wife  of  W.  A.  Wilmer,  living  in 
San  .Miguel.  Cal. ;  Emma,  wife  of  Yietor  Ander- 
son, a  farmer  near  Paso  Robles;  Hilma,  at 
home;  Andrew  Edward,  living  in  Washington; 
and  Martin,  who  is  with  his  parents.  Mr.  Nel- 
son is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  and 
in  politics  is  a  Republican. 


ROBERT  J.  HAZARD. 

In  the  fall  of  1877  M)r.  Hazard  bought  two 
claims  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  each,  of 
government  land,  situated  on  Old  creek,  San 
Luis  Obispo  county.  At  a  later  date  he  added 
to  the  property  until  he  acquired  four  hundred 
and  eighty  acres,  the  extent  of  his  present  pos- 
sessions. Immediately  after  settling  upon  the 
farm  he  established  a  dairy,  which  he  has  since 
conducted,  finding  the  business  a  profitable  ad- 
dition to  general  farming.  In  addition,  he  has 
devoted  attention  to  the  culture  of  a  vineyard, 
in  which  he  has  planted  twenty  acres  and  from 
which  he  makes  large  shipments  of  grapes  to  the 
market.  Another  valuable  adjunct  of  his  farm 
is  the  orchard  of  apricots,  peaches  and  English 
walnuts.  The  property  lies  six  miles  from  Cay- 
ucos,  which  is  the  postofhce  address  of  the 
owner. 

A  pioneer  of  1850  in  California.  Mr.  Hazard 
was  born  in  Greenwich,  R.  I.,  in  1826,  being  a 
son  of  Thomas  T.  and  Esther  L.  (Tillinghast) 
Hazard.  His  father  was  for  years  one  the  lead- 
ing public  men  of  Rhode  Island,  where  his  entire 
life  was  passed.  His  claim  to  recognition  was 
not  based  solely  upon  his  service  in  the  war  of 
1812.  Many  other  things  contributed  to  his 
popularity.  In  the  Democratic  party  he  was  a 
power  in  his  state,  and  for  eighteen  years  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  elected 
on  the  Democratic  ticket.  The  first  Jeffersonian 
Club  ever  organized  in  Rhode  Island  was  the 
result  mi'  his  influence  and  efforts.  <  me  of  his 
brothers,  Jeffery,  was  lieutenant-governor  of 
Rhode  Island.  Tin-  Hazard  famil)  is  of  Eng 
lish  and  Scotch  descent  ami  has  been  identified 
with  Rhode  Island  from  the  firs!  .1!"  iis  history, 
the  original  emigrant-  having  come  with  Roger 
Williams,  being  driven  out  from  Plymouth  col 


ony  on  account  of  their  religion.  The  Tillinghast 
family  came  to  this  country  from  England,  and 
Mr.  Hazard's  grandfather,  Thomas  Tillinghast, 
a  native  of  England,  held  a  colonel's  commission 
during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  was  said  to 
be  the  best  recruiting  officer  in  the  colonial 
army. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  Mr.  Hazard  went  to 
Narragansett  Pier  and  from  1842  to  1850  he  re- 
mained in  New  York  City,  leaving  there  in 
January  of  the  last-named  year,  en  route  for 
California,  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  San 
Francisco.  His  first  work  was  as  a  miner  in  Tuol- 
umne county,  and  at  intervals  during  the  next 
fifteen  years  he  followed  mining.  In  1853  he 
went  to  Victoria,  Australia,  and  engaged  in  min- 
ing for  gold  there  and  in  New  South  Wales  for 
nine  months.  Next  he  visited  Peru  and  crossed 
the  Andes  to  the  Amazon  river,  but  did  not  find 
the  rich  mines  he  sought.  Returning  to  Cali- 
fornia, he  mined  in  Eldorado  and  other  counties. 
The  fall  of  1867  found  him  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  where  he  began  farm  operations  in 
Green  valley.  A  year  after  his  arrival  he  located 
a  mill  above  Cayucos  and  started  the  first  dairy 
at  this  place.  Under  the  firm  name  of  Hazard 
Brothers,  a  large  dairy  business  was  built  up, 
and  shipments  of  butter  were  made  in  barrels  via 
schooner  to  San  Francisco  and  other  markets. 
From  the  Green  valley  Mr.  Hazard  removed  to 
the  Osos  valley,  where  he  engaged  in  stock- 
raising,  and  from  the  latter  valley  he  came  in 
his  present  location  in  Old  Creek  Central  dis- 
trict. ' 

Since  coming  to  San  Puis  (  tbispo  county  it 
has  been  Mr.  Hazard's  aim  to  contribute  his 
quota  to  the  development  of  local  resources  and 
to  aid  in  the  public  welfare.  While  he  has  no 
inclination  toward  public  life  or  official  service, 
yet  he  keeps  posted  concerning  national  ques- 
tions. In  local  matters,  where  the  character  of 
the  man  is  more  important  than  his  opinions  on 
tariff,  expansion,  the  silver  standard,  etc.,  he 
votes  independently.  For  many  wars  he  was  a 
director  in  the  Central  school  district,  and  he- 
has  assisted  in  building  schools  in  five  different 
districts.      Fratemall)    he  i-  a   member  of  (   .1.11 

!  os    I  odge  No.  300^   [.  O.  <  >.   F.     In    [856  he 

married  .Miss  Eli  abi  th  Fi  ye,  .1  nativi    • 


II-. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


many.  They  have  five  children,  namely:  Mary 
L..  Mrs.  R.  Swain;  Thomas  T.;  Robert  D.,  who 
remains  on  the  homestead;  John,  who  lives  in 
Grass  valley;   and  Elizabeth  M.,  Mrs.  Kestel. 


HERBERT  NELSON. 

With  his  partner,  R.  G.  Flint,  of  San  Miguel, 
Mr.  Nelson  is  engaged  in  the  largest  meat  and 
general  cattle  business  for  miles  around.  He 
has  been  a  resident  of  Paso  Robles  since  1898, 
and  is  one  of  the  town's  most  thrifty  citizens. 
His  youth  was  spent  in  Grafton  county,  N.  H., 
where  he  was  born  March  31,  1852.  a  son  of 
Nathan  and  Mary  (Paddleford)  Nelson,  natives 
of  New  Hampshire,  the  former  born  in  1812. 
The  family  was  established  in  New  Hampshire 
by  the  paternal  great-grandfather,  Robert  Nel- 
son, who  was  born  in  Shannon,  Scotland,  and 
came  to  the  United  States  with  his  parents  when 
four  years  of  age,  settling  in  Grafton  county, 
N.  H.  The  grandfather,  Robert,  was  a  native  of 
(he  same  state,  and  both  grandfather  and  great- 
grandfather lived  to  advanced  ages,  the  latter 
attaining  to  ninety-two  years.  The  old  home- 
stead reverted  eventually  to  Nathan  Nelson, 
who  farmed  and  raised  stock  on  the  four  hun- 
dred acres,  and  died  in  the  midst  of  considerable 
success  and  prosperity.  On  the  maternal  side 
Herbert  Nelson  is  identified  with  another  old 
New  Hampshire  family,  in  fact  one  of  the  old- 
est families  in  the  state.  Philip  Paddleford,  the 
father  of  Mrs.  Nelson,  was  a  farmer  and  stock- 
raiser,  who  justly  cherished  a  pride  of  birth  re- 
sulting from  his  Puritan  ancestry.  Of  the  six 
children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nelson  all  at- 
tained maturity. 

Herbert  Nelson  was  the  third  in  a  family  con- 
sisting nf  the  two  daughters  and  four  sons,  and 
in  his  youth  had  hut  seant  educational  opportu- 
nities. Nevertheless,  later  application  has  rem- 
edied the  earlier  deficiencies  in  schooling.  At 
tin-  age  of  seventeen  he  became  an  employe  of 
the  Mclndoe  Lumber  Company,  at  Mclndoe 
Falls,  \  t  ,  and  -11  apt  was  he  at  comprehending 
the  intricacies  of  the  business  that  his  rapid 
promotion  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  During 
the  latter  part  of  the  Four  years'  service  with 
the  lumber  company  he  was  engaged  in  super- 


intending the  loading  of  the  cars,  and  he  laid 
out  additional  yards  for  the  company  at  Mount 
Tom,  Mass. 

Arriving  in  California,  Mr.  Nelson  settled  in 
San  Francisco,  and  as  a  preliminary  to  better 
tilings  drove  a  milk  wagon  for  what  is  now  the 
Guadaloupe  Dairy,  and  at  the  end  of  eighteen 
months  was  able  to  buy  a  half  interest  in  the 
grocery  and  meat  business  of  Sommers  &  Co., 
which  was  then  managed  under  the  firm  name 
of  Dickson  &  Nelson.  After  eight  or  nine  years 
in  that  business.  Mr.  Nelson  sold  out  and  re- 
moved to  Monterey  county,  where  he  bought 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  of  which 
he  still  owns  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  His 
land  has  been  greatly  improved,  equipped  with 
modern  appliances,  and  has  proved  profitable 
and  fertile.  Two  houses  have  been  erected 
thereon,  as  well  as  large  barns  and  convenient 
outhouses.  In  1893  Mr.  Nelson  came  to  San 
Miguel  and  ran  a  stage  from  there  to  Cholame, 
a  distance  of  thirty-three  miles,  continuing  the 
same  for  a  period  of  four  years.  The  year  1898 
found  him  permanently  located  in  Paso  Robles, 
where  he  has  since  engaged  in  a  retail  and 
wholesale  meat  business  with  Mr.  Flint,  he. 
however,  being  the  general  manager.  Many 
things  have  come  their  way  to  stimulate  unusu- 
ally successful  trade,  among  others  being  the  re- 
construction of  the  coast  line  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad,  when  they  furnished  meats  to 
all  the  workmen.  They  ship  to  nearly  all  the 
small  towns  in  the  vicinity,  and  have  a  slaught- 
ering house  of  their  own.  which  is  strictly. mod- 
ern. Incidentally  Mr.  Nelson  engages  in  buying 
and  selling  stock  outside  of  general  business. 
and  has  thus  added  to  his  annual  income.  The 
firm  have  the  only  butchering  business  in  the 
town,  and  are  able  to  maintain  two  shops  here. 

The  pleasant  home  purchased  by  Mr.  Nelson 
mi  Oak  street  is  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Lizzie 
Nelson,  who  was  formerly  Lizzie  Pippy,  a  native 
of  San  Francisco  and  daughter  of  Harry  Pippy. 
for  many  years  captain  on  the  high  seas.  Mr. 
Pippj  was  born  in  Nova  Scotia  and  eventually 
retired  to  San  Francisco,  where  his  death  oc- 
curred. He  was  a  warm  friend  of  Captains 
Howe  and  Williston.  Two  children  were  bom 
to   .Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nelson.  Mary  and  Alice,  both 


LSK  tRICAL    A! 


(GRAPHICAL    REC(  >UI 


nf  win  mi  are  living  with  their  parents.  Air. 
Nelson  is  a  Republican  in  political  affiliation, 
and  lias  served  the  communit)  as  citj  trustee  for 
one  term  of  four  years. 


JOSEPH  K.  OLIVER. 

Conchology,  the  study  of  shells,  for  which 
California  offers  such  exceptional  opportunities, 
has  a  most  enthusiastic  and  practical  advocate  in 
Joseph  K.  Oliver,  probably  the  most  expert  in 
his  line  in  the  west.  At  first  looked  upon  as 
little  more  than  ornamental  objects,  shells  were 
studied  without  reference  to  the  animals  of 
which  they  formed  the  framework  or  skeleton, 
but  with  the  rise  of  geology  and  the  dicovery 
that  of  all  fossils  shells  are  able  to  furnish  the 
mosl  definite  information  regarding  the  several 
strata,  and  consequently  the  history  of  bygone 
times,  the  shell  and  its  occupant  were  viewed 
from  an  entirely  different  standpoint,  and  re- 
garded as  a  composite  whole.  Reduced  thus  to 
a  science,  conchology  commands  the  attention 
of  scientific  minds  of  the  very  highest  order, 
who  determine  within  certain  bounds  whether 
a  stratum  is  the  remains  of  a  land  surface,  a 
fresh  water  deposit,  or  the  bed  of  a  sea,  as  well 
as  other  calculi  of  equal  value  in  the  realms  of 
knowledge. 

Years  of  practical  experience  as  an  educator 
and  student  preceded  the  present  important  role 
of  Mr.  Oliver  as  a  contributor  of  valuable  scien- 
tific facts,  duly  recognized  in  the  leading  jour- 
nals of  the  country.  He  was  born  in  Juniata 
county.  Pa.,  in  1863,  a  son  of  B.  F.  and  M. 
(  diver,  and  lived  in  his  native  county  until  1881. 
His  student  life  must  have  been  characterized 
by  strenuous  activity,  for  he  not  only  qualified 
as  a  teacher  along  general  lines,  but  while  yet 
in  his  teens  had  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  art  to 
make  his  services  as  an  instructor  in  ready  de- 
mand. In  Nebraska  he  taught  one  year  in  the 
I  >odge  county  public  schools,  and  for  the  follow- 
ing three  years  was  an  instructor  in  art,  penman- 
ship and  business  forms  in  the  Western  Normal 
<  College.  In  1884  he  became  associated  with  the 
art  department  of  tin-  Kansas  Normal  College 
at  Fori  Scott,  and  for  nine  years  was  head  of 
what   was  the  largest   department   of  the  kind  in 


the  central  states.  During  this  period  he  added 
to  his  knowledge  of  art  by  studying  a  couple 
of  years  in  Germany  and  Italy,  attending  also 
the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889.  In  1891  he  was 
elected  associate  principal  of  the  academical  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  the  Pacific  at  Pa- 
cific Grove,  of  which  his  brother  was  president, 
and  remained  in  that  capacity  for  three  years. 

Air.  Oliver  became  permanently  interested  in 
conchology  in  1894,  during  which  year  he  came 
to  Monterey,  and  has  since  conducted  his  in- 
vestigations from  this  city.  In  1898,  in  partner- 
ship with  his  brother,  J.  H.  Oliver,  he  estab- 
lished the  Los  Angeles  Curio  and  Shell  Novelty 
Company,  with  headquarters  on  East  Second 
street.  Los  Angeles,  where  are  carried  for  re- 
tail and  wholesale  trade  all  manner  of  shell 
goods,  moss  and  flower  books,  and  innumerable 
objects  of  interest  possible  only  in  like  surround- 
ings. The  firm  are  the  largest  dealers  in  abo- 
lone  shells  and  sea  urchins  in  the  world,  their  an- 
nual sales  amounting  to  forty-five  thousand  ur- 
chins and  fifty  tons  of  shells.  They  are  now- 
preparing  to  fill  a  contract  for  twenty-five  tons 
of  the  shells  in  six  months!  In  addition.  Air. 
*  diver  has  the  most  complete  line  of  curios. 
shells  and  Indian  relics  on  the  coast,  and  is  sur- 
prisingly conversant  with  their  respective  merits 
and  historical  and  scientific  value. 

In  1890,  in  Fort  Scott,  Kan.,  Mr.  Oliver  mar- 
ried Annie  Bishop,  a  former  pupil,  and  of  this 
union  there  is  one  son,  Alyron  Angelo,  now  ten 
years  of  age.  .Mr.  (  Hiver  has  by  no  means 
confined  his  activities  to  his  chosen  occupation, 
but  has  entered  enthusiastically  into  all  efforts 
at  general  improvement  of  the  town,  particularly 
as  regards  educational  and  intellectual  advance- 
ment. For  many  years  he  has  been  a  member 
of  the  school  board,  and  is  ex-president  thereof 
and  he  was  prominent!)  connected  with  the 
organization  of  the  Progressive  Association,  of 
which  he  is  now  president.  Fraternally  he  is 
connected  with  the  Pacific  Grove  Lodge,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  and  he  is  chief  ranger  of  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Foresters.  \s  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  Mr.  (  Hiver  has  been  set  n 
tary  of  the  local  board  and  superintendent  01 
the  Sunday  school,  which  he  has  built  up  from 
an  attendance  of  tw  eh  e  to  thai  1  if  1  >\  er  a  hun- 


Ill 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


dred.     step   b)    step,  aided  solely  by  his  own 
ability  and  resourcefulness,  he  has  risen  to  an 

enviable    position   among   the   scientists   of   the 
country  and  the  citizens  of  the  west. 


J.  A.  PATTEN. 

The  name  of  J.  A.  Patten,  one  of  the  promi- 
nent merchants  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  labor  organization  known  as  the 
Industrial  Commercial  Union.  Following  close 
upon  the  failure  of  the  Farmers'  Grange,  Mr. 
Patten,  whose  broad  socialistic  tendencies  rec- 
ognized an  opening  for  the  betterment  of  labor 
conditions,  organized  in  1896  the  above-men- 
tioned society  of  mutual  help,  which  has  stores 
in  different  parts  of"  the  state,  and  is  fast  going 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  most  sanguine 
expectations  of  its  originator.  According  to  the 
plan  thought  out  by  Mr.  Patten  anyone,  how- 
ever meagre  his  resources,  can  become  a  stock- 
holder in  the  society  by  investing  as  low  as  $10, 
and  by  so  doing  can  get  his  goods  at  as  reason- 
able a  figure  as  can  the  man  who  has  a  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  stock.  This  enables  purchasers 
to  lay  in  a  stock  of  necessities  and  general  goods 
at  the  lowest  possible  figure  consistent  with 
reasonable  profit,  and  the  success  of  the  under- 
taking, in  the  face  of  the  opposition  necessarily 
encountered  from  regular  dealers,  argues  that 
it  is  not  only  a  possibility,  but  a  permanent 
benefit. 

The  Patten  family  were  early  settiers  in  New 
^  1  >rk  state  and  Illinois,  and  in  the  latter  state 
James  Patten,  the  father  of  J.  A.,  at  one  time 
ten  acres  of  land  in  the  heart  of  Chicago. 
I  Ce  was  an  enterprising  stockman  and  farmer, 
and  served  all  through  the  Civil  war  as  a  veter- 
inary surgeon.  On  the  maternal  side  Mr.  Patten 
claims  French  descent,  his  mother,  formerly 
Miss  Coyea,  belonging  to  a  family  who  were 
great  traders  along  the  Mississippi  river.  J.  A. 
Patten  was  born  in  Cherry  Valley,  111.,  in  [859, 
and  penl  his  youth  in  Illinois.  Wisconsin  and 
Iowa,    in    which    states    he    attended    the    public 

and  picked  up  a  great  deal  of  practical 
information.  When  quite  young  he  learned  to 
l>e  a  telegrapher  in  Chicago,  and  at  the  age  of 

had  qualified   to  fight  his  own  battles. 


For  a  time  he  engaged  as  shipping  clerk  with 
the  wholesale  rubber  house  of  E.  B.  Preston 
&  Co.,  and  later  went  to  Dakota,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  grain  business.  Owing  to  some- 
what impaired  health  Mr.  Patten  resolved  to 
come  to  California  in  1888,  and  after  settling  in 
this  town  became  bookkeeper  for  Thomas  Pat- 
terson. He  was  later  deputy  treasurer  of  San 
Luis  Obispo  county,  and  afterwards  kept  books 
for  Crocker  Brothers.  Since  organizing  the  In- 
dustrial Commercial  Lnion  Mr.  Patten  has 
superintended  the  store  of  the  union  in  San  Luis 
Obispo.  This  work  takes  up  the  greater  part  of 
his  time,  and  his  common  sense  business  ideas 
are  incorporated  into  every  department  of  the 
vast  enterprise. 

In  South  Dakota  Mr.  Patten  married  Dora 
M.  Terrill,  who  was  born  in  Wisconsin,  and 
whose  father  and  brothers  served  the  Union 
cause  during  the  Civil  war,  the  former  in  the 
capacity  of  commissioned  officer.  The  uncle  of 
Mrs.  Patten,  Edwin  Terrill,  has  been  county 
treasurer  of  Waupaca  county.  Wis.,  for  over 
thirty  years.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Patten  has  been 
born  one  son,  Lloyd  H. 


WILLIAM  O'BRTFX. 

In  the  business  which  he  conducts,  that  of 
dealer  in  granite  and  marble.  Mr.  O'Brien  was 
the  pioneer  at  Watsonville,  to  which  city  he 
came  in  1895.  During  the  years  that  have  since 
elapsed  he  has  established  a  large  trade,  ex- 
tending a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles 
through  the  surrounding  country.  His  special- 
ties are  Italian  and  Vermont  marble  and  Ver- 
mont granite,  while  he  also  is  building  up  a  con- 
siderable trade  in  California  granite.  Among 
the  most  important  contracts  he  has  had  may 
be  mentioned  those  for  the  monument  of  C.  P. 
Nance  at  Salinas,  the  vaults  of  J.  Rogers, 
William  Lund  and  Peter  Cox.  besides  many 
equally  fine,  but  smaller.  Another  market  for 
his  marble  and  granite  is  in  use  for  substantial 
business  blocks.  An  example  of  this  is  to  lie 
seen  in  the  Ford  block,  with  its  front  of  marble. 
He  is  the  owner  of  considerable  property,  in- 
cluding a  beautiful  residence  on  the  corner  of 
Fourth  and  Marchant  streets,  Watsonville. 


co. 


^/Z^ 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Elmira,  N.  Y.,  is  Mr.  0*Brien's  native  town. 
and  October  II,  1869,  the  date  of  his  birth.  His 
father,  John  O'Brien,  a  native  of  Ireland,  came 
to  the  United  States  in  his  boyhood  and  settled 
in  Elmira,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  marble 
and  granite  cutting  and  polishing.  Later  he 
bought  out  the  men  who  had  employed  him, 
and  ever  since  then  has  conducted  business  in 
the  same  line,  occupying  the  same  yards  where 
lie  gained  his  primary  knowledge  of  the  busi- 
ness. It  was  under  the  supervision  of  this  capa- 
ble and  efficient  workman  that  his  son.  William, 
learned  the  business,  and  not  a  little  of  his  suc- 
cess may  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  trade  is  thorough  and  accurate.  At 
the  age  of  twenty  lie  began  to  work  as  a  jour- 
neyman and  continued  in  the  east  until  1895, 
when  he  settled  in  Watsonville.  His  life  here 
has  been  pleasant  and  prosperous,  its  only  sor- 
row having  been  the  loss  of  his  wife,  nee 
Georgia  Brown,  who  was  born  in  Penn  Yan, 
N.  Y.,  and  died  at  Watsonville  in  190 1,  when 
only  twenty-nine  years  of  age.  Her  body  was 
taken  back  to  New  York  and  interred  in  the 
cemetery  near  her  former  home.  Three  chil- 
dren survive  her,  Ethel,  Mabel  and  William. 


GEORGE  W.  LULL. 

The  name  of  Air.  Lull  is  inseparably  inter- 
woven with  the  history  of  the  village  of  Cambria, 
as  well  as  the  larger  possibilities  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  county.  He  was  of  eastern  birth,  the 
descendant  of  a  colonial  family  of  New  England, 
and  was  born  on  the  family  homestead  in  New 
Hampshire  May  28,  1830.  At  the  time  of  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  California,  he  was  just  en- 
tering manhood,  and  was  eager,  ambitious  and 
fearless.  With  a  desire  to  see  more  of  the 
world  than  was  possible  in  his  own  home  neigh- 
borhood, he  made  the  long  trip  to  the  coast,  and 
was  so  pleased  with  the  opportunities  offered  by 
the  west  that  in  1857  he  settled  in  the  state. 
Associated  with  G.  E  Grant,  of  Oakland,  he 
embarked  in  the  stock  business  at  Mission  del 
Lorros.  During  the  early  part  of  the  *6os  he 
came  to  Cambria.  Together  with  Mr.  Grant, 
he  engaged  in  the  stock  business  on  San  Sim- 
eon creek.     For  a  time  all  went  well,  but  a  dry 


season  destroyed  the  labor  of  the  preceding 
years  and  caused  a  heavy  loss  of  stock.  Not 
long  after  the  Civil  war  closed,  he  and  Mr. 
Grant  built  a  store  on  San  Simeon  creek  and 
later  put  up  a  store  in  Cambria,  which  was  the 
first  building  ever  erected  in  this  village.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  he  is  entitled  to  the  title 
of  pioneer.  The  county  itself  was  very  sparsely 
populated  at  that  time.  The  nearest  neighbor 
was  often  miles  distant.  L'nder  these  circum- 
stances he  set  himself  to  work  to  aid  in  promot- 
ing the  growth  of  Cambria  and  the  progress  of 
the  county.  In  a  short  time  he  dissolved  his 
partnership  with  Mr.  Grant,  becoming  the  sole 
owner  of  the  business. 

After  the  fire  in  Cambria,  the  firm  of  Lull, 
( itithrie  &  Co.  was  organized  and  at  a  later  date 
Mr.  Minor  was  admitted  into  the  partnership, 
without,  however,  making  any  change  in  the 
firm  name.  Scarcely  a  movement  was  projected 
tor  the  benefit  of  the  village  or  outlying  countrv 
which  failed  to  receive  the  warm  sympathy  and 
active  support  of  Mr.  Lull.  His  name  was  at 
the  head  of  every  enterprise.  His  counsel  was 
given  to  those  who  sought  the  benefit  of  his 
wide  experience.  Hi's  ability  as  a  financier  was 
used  not  only  for  his  personal  benefit,  but  also 
to  enhance  the  prosperity  of  his  home  town. 
Large  herds  of  stock  and  large  holdings  of  land 
gradually  came  into  his  possession,  as  a  result 
of  his  wise  judgment  in  investments  and  in  the 
carrying  forward  of  important  enterprises. 
While  Cambria  was  still  known  as  Santa  Rosa 
he  was  appointed  postmaster,  being  the  first  to 
i  ccupy  the  office.  He  always  took  a  warm  in- 
terest in  Masonry  and  during  his  last  years  was 
a  member  of  San  Simeon  Lodge  No.  196,  F. 
&  A.  M. 

A  useful  life  covering  nearly  sixty-nine  years 
was  brought  to  a  close  April  16.  1899.  when 
Mr.  Lull  died  in  San  Francisco.  His  bod)  was 
interred  in  Cypress  Lawn  cemetery  in  San 
Mateo  count)-,  the  funeral  being  conducted  with 
Masonic  honors,  lie  was  twice  married.  His 
first  wife  who  was  Miss  Golf,  a  native  of  Lynn, 
Mass.,  died  in  early  womanhood,  leaving  one 
daughter,  Lizzie,  now  Mrs.  Avery,  of  Lynn.  In 
1863  Mr.  Lull  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs. 
.Mary    L.    Inman,   who    survives    him,    and    has 


IISTi  IRICAL    AND    l!I<  (GRAPHIC  \l.    REO  iRD 


charge  of  the  various  interests  they  had  ac- 
quired. To  her  first  marriage  were  born  two 
daughters,  one  of  whom  is  the  wife  of  R.  A. 
Minor,  while  the  other  married  W.  X.  Water- 
man. A  grandson  of  Mr.  Lull.  George  Howe, 
was  a  member  of  the  Third  Artillery,  serving  in 
the  Philippine  Islands,  where  he  died  May  27, 
1000.  His  remains  were  brought  to  the  United 
States  and  conveyed  to  Lynn,  Mass..  for  inter- 
ment. An  adopted  grandson,  George  S.  Lull, 
has  also  seen  active  service  in  the  Philippines. 
where  he  made  an  excellent  record  as  a  member 
of  Company  K,  First  California  Regiment.  Since 
his  honorable  discharge  from  the  army  and  his 
return  to  the  United  States  he  has  taken  up  the 
study  of  law,  with  the  intention  of  making  it  his 
life  work.  He  was  a  student  of  Stanford  Uni- 
versity for  two  years  before  going  to  the  Phil- 
ippines. 

In  summing  up  the  history  of  Mr.  Lull,  it 
may  be  said  that  he  was  one  of  the  best-known 
pioneers  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county.  He  had 
reason  to  regard  this  county  with  special  affec- 
tion, for  his  ample  means  were  almost  wholly 
acquired  here.  When  he  came  to  California  he 
had  but  twenty-five  cents  with  which  to  face  the 
future  in  a  strange  country,  among  strangers. 
His  large  estate  represented  his  unaided  efforts 
after  coming  west,  and  proves  what  it  is  possible 
for  a  man  to  accomplish  here  who  possesses  en- 
durance, patience,  foresight,  energy  and  a  calm 
and   wise  judgment. 


JOHN  W.  PATTON. 

The  keen  and  far-seeing  judgment  which  led 
Mr.  Patton  to  cast  in  his  destiny  with  that  of  the 
far  west  in  the  early  ami  untried  days  of  adven- 
ture also  led  him  to  make  investments  in  prop- 
erty, large  tracts  of  which  he  purchased  in  the 
days  when  prices  of  realty  were  low.  l'\  this 
course  of  action  he  became  Miie  nf  the  extensive 
laud  owners  "i  Montere)  county,  and  at  bis 
death  ranked  mong  the  county's  successful  men. 
A  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  in  1833,  he  was 
a  small  child  when  his  parents  removed  to  Wis- 
consin, and  there  he  became  inured  to  the  hard- 
ships m{  frontier  life  while  still  a  mere  boy.      An 

he  grew  into  manhood,  the  habits  of  self  reliance 


and  ambition,  noticeable  in  bis  later  years,  began 
to  influence  him  toward  independent  thought 
and  action,  and  impelled  him,  in  1859,  to  seek 
a  home  across  the  mountains  in  the  Pacific  coast 
region.  With  a  party  of  home-seekers  he  trav- 
eled overland  to  California,  with  ox-teams,  and 
first  settled  in  San  Bernardino  county,  where 
lie  remained  until  the  spring  of  1862.  At  that 
time  he  came  to  Monterey  county  and  settled  in 
the  Salinas  valley,  buying  one  hundred  and  sixt) 
acres  of  land  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Sterling. 
Few  improvements  had  been  made  on  the  prop- 
erty, but  during  the  five  years  he  lived  there 
he  brought  a  large  part  under  cultivation, 
erected  some  buildings,  and  made  other  im- 
provements of  permanent  value. 

After  making  his  home  in  Natividad  for  many 
years,  in  1889  Mr.  Patton  came  to  Salinas. 
Here  his  last  days  were  spent  in  retirement 
from  business  cares,  excepting  such  as  were 
connected  with  the  ownership  of  large  tracts  of 
land.  His  landed  possessions  aggregated  three 
thousand  acres,  of  which  seven  hundred  were 
devoted  to  general  agricultural  purposes,  while 
the  balance  afforded  pasturage  for  his  herds  of 
stock.  Included  in  his  stock  were  a  number  of 
fine  milch  cows,  for  he  added  dairying  to  his 
other  interests.  All  of  his  success  was  achieved 
by  his  own  exertions.  Through  no  royal  road 
he  won  his  way  to  fortune.  Like  all  pioneers, 
he  suffered  numberless  hardships  and  discom- 
forts ere  he  had  surrounded  his  family  with  the 
comforts  of  existence.  His  neighbors  were  few 
in  the  old  days,  and  few"  men  passed  his  ranch 
except  those  who  were  traveling  in  the  old  stage 
coach  and  who  stopped  at  his  place  for  rest  and 
refreshment.  With  the  exception  of  these 
glimpses  of  the  outside  world,  he  was  isolated 
from  the  great  centers  of  commerce  and  prog- 
ress, but  he  kept  on  his  way  quietly  and  perse- 
veringly,  and  in  the  end  won  the  recognition  his 
efforts  deserved.  By  his  marriage  to  Cornelia 
Stewart  he  had  six  children,  three  of  whom, 
Mice.  William  and  May,  reside  in  Salinas.  Em- 
ma is  the  wife  of  John  1',.  Sterling  and  Mum 
married  Roy  Alexander.  The  fourth  child.  Jud- 
son.  died  at  thirteen  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Patton 
died  in  1  Sow.  and  her  husband  survived  her  two 
years,    passing    away     March    9,     tool.       In    the 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


419 


affections  of  their  children  and  acquaintances 
their  memory  has  a  permanent  abiding  place, 
and  their  names  will  be  cherished  as  long  as 
those  remain  who  came  within  reach  of  their 
kindly  and  genial  hospitality  and  friendly  spirit. 


R.  W.  PUTNAM. 

In  line  of  descent  from  Rufus  Putnam  of  Mas- 
sachusetts and  from  other  men  honorably  asso- 
ciated with  the  early  history  of  America,  Mr. 
Putnam  was  born  in  Troy,  N.  Y.,  in  1853.  His 
connection  with  California  dates  from  1874. 
when  he  first  came  to  the  state.  From  that  time 
to  this,  with  the  exception  of  seven  years  (1879- 
1886)  spent  in  Honolulu  engaged  in  plantation 
pursuits,  he  has  continued  a  resident  of  this 
state.  On  his  return  from  the  Pacific  islands 
he  purchased  and  settled  upon  a  ranch  at  Tem- 
pleton.  About  the  same  time  (1886)  Paso 
Robles  began  its  existence  as  a  town.  In  1887 
he  embarked  in  the  real  estate  business  with 
W.  J.  Sherman,  under  the  firm  name  of  Sherman 
&  Putnam,  and  the  two  continued  together  in 
Paso  Robles  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Sherman  in 
1891.  The  firm  title  was  then  changed  to  Put- 
nam &  Hood  and  continued  as  such  until  1896. 
During  the  period  from  1887  to  1896  Mr.  Put- 
nam was  intimately  associated  with  the  platting 
of  lots  in  the  new  town  and  with  the  improve- 
ment of  the  same  by  the  erection  of  neat  cottages 
or  commodious  residences.  As  a  real  estate 
agent  his  advice  was  daily  sought  in  matters 
connected  with  the  buying  or  selling  of  land, 
and  his  opinion  was  valued  by  reason  of  his 
thorough  acquaintance  with  every  phase  of  the 
business. 

Under  the  administration  of  President  Cleve- 
land, Mr.  Putnam  was  appointed  postmaster  at 
Paso  Robles  and  filled  the  office  for  four  years, 
retiring  after  the  election  of  President  McKin- 
ley.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of  law  and  in 
April,  1900,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  before  the 
superior  court.  Since  then  he  has  carried  on 
a  general  practice  in  all  the  courts  and  is  meet- 
ing with  the  success  which  his  talents  and  thor- 
ough mastery  of  the  profession  merit.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  private  practice  he  is  attorney  for  the 
Salinas  Valley  Merchants'  Association.    He  was 


one  of  the  organizers  and  served  as  a  director 
of  a  company  that  projected  the  plan  of  building 
a  railroad  from  Paso  Robles  to  Cayucos.  While 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Putnam  &  Hood,  he  and" 
his  partner  built  the  reservoir  for  the  city  water 
works,  graded  all  the  streets  of  Paso  Robles  and 
were  the  lessees  and  managers  of  the  street  car 
line  for  two  years. 

In  1899  tne  Paso  Robles  Improvement  Club 
was  organized  by  Mr.  Putnam,  in  connection 
with  Frank  Sparks,  A.  R.  Booth,  E.  M.  Bennett, 
Albert  Pfister,  E.  Brendlin  and  E.  C.  Watkins. 
At  the  first  election  Mr.  Putnam  was  chosen 
president  of  the  club  and  he  has  been  re-elected 
for  each  succeeding  term.  The  object  of  the  or- 
ganization is  to  improve  the  city  and  promote 
its  interests.  Every  citizen  of  the  town  appre- 
ciates the  work  already  accomplished  by  the 
club,  and  without  doubt  its  future  will  be  richly 
fruitful  of  results,  tn  the  lasting  benefit  of  local 
interests.  On  the  organization  of  the  Paso 
Robles  Board  of  Trade,  April  10,  1891,  Mr.  Put- 
nam was  chosen  its  secretary  and  continued 
active  in  the  board  during  its  existence.  In  1895 
he  was  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  frequently  he  has  served 
in  the  same  capacity  in  county  conventions.  In 
1890  he  was  his  party's  candidate  for  county 
recorder.  During  the  entire  existence  of  the 
county  central  committee  he  has  been  one  of 
its  members  and  for  three  years  served  as  its 
chairman.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the 
San  Luis  Lodge  of  Elks.  His  marriage  occurred 
in  San  Francisco  in  1872,  and  united  him  with 
Miss  Mary  L.  Davidson,  a  native  of  New  York 
state.  They  are  the  parents  of  three  children, 
namely:  Charles  G.,  who  is  an  attorney;  George 
W.  and  Ruby  F. 


ERNEST  M.  PAYNE. 

As  one  of  the  foremost  hardware  merchants 
in  San  Luis  Obispo,  and  as  supervisor  of  the 
third  district,  Mr.  Payne  is  exerting  a  progres- 
sive influence  in  the  town,  and  has  withal  an 
enviable  reputation  For  integrity  and  sobriety. 
A  native  son  of  the  county,  he  was  born  near 
Cambria  in  1870,  and  when  a  small  child  moved 
to  San  Luis  (  >bispO,  which  has  ever  since  been 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


bis  home.  His  father.  George  M.  Payne,  is  a 
native  of  Illinois,  and  was  engaged  in  the  liver) 
business  in  this  town  for  nearly  twenty-five 
years,  during  which  time  he  served  as  postmas- 
ter under  President  Cleveland's  administration. 
He  subsequently  removed  to  Oregon,  and  has 
since  been  connected  with  business  in  that  state. 
He  married  Martha  .Mills,  a  native  of  Missouri. 
and  who  died  when  her  son  Ernest  was  a  small 
child. 

When  sixteen  years  of  age  Ernest  M.  Payne 
undertook  to  become  financially  independent 
by  learning  the  plumber's  trade,  having  accom- 
plished which  he  worked  here  at  his  chosen  oc- 
cupation for  about  ten  years.  He  then  went  east 
and  attended  a  plumbing  school  in  New  York, 
graduating  therefrom  in  the  summer  of  1879. 
For  the  following  two  years  he  worked  at  his 
trade  in  New  York  City.  Two  years  ago  he 
returned  to  the  familiar  surroundings  of  San 
Luis  Obispo  and  bought  out  the  hardware  enter- 
prise of  Hewitt  &  Sutlift,  which  he  has  since 
built  up  and  added  new  stock  and  appointments. 
He  receives  a  large  patronage  from  those  who 
desire  good  goods  and  fair  treatment,  and  his 
store  is  one  of  the  busy  centers  of  activity  in 
the  town. 

A  Democrat  in  national  and  local  politics,  Mr. 
Payne  was  elected  supervisor  of  the  third  dis- 
trict at  the  last  election,  and  is  giving  general 
satisfaction  in  the  discharge  of  his  responsibil- 
ities in  that  direction.  He  is  fraternally  allied 
with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  and  has  twice 
been  president  of  the  San  Luis  Obispo  Parlor, 
Native  S..ns  of  the  Golden  West.  Mr.  Payne 
enjoys  the  respect  and  liking  of  all  who  know 
him,  and  he  is  considered  a  distinct  acquisition 
to  the  best   interests  of  San  Luis  Obispo. 


HERMAN  J.  O.  PRINZ. 

This  retired  builder  and  lumber  merchant  of 
Monterey  was  born  in  Prussia,  Germany,  No- 
vember 6,  [841,  and  had  considerable  business 
experience  before  coming  to  America.  His 
father  was  a  carpenter  and  cabinet-maker  by 
trade,  and  while  still  a  youth  the  sun  became 
familiar   with    tools   and    all   kinds    of   carpenter 


work.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  went  to  Paris, 
France,  and  worked  at  his  trade  for  a  couple  of 
years,  and  in  London  was  similarly  employed  for 
a  year  and  a  half.  In  1868  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  landing  in  New  York  harbor  in  June, 
and  thereafter  went  to  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  where 
he  found  employment  in  a  car-building  concern. 
At  the  expiration  of  six  or  seven  years  he  re- 
moved to  Cheyenne,  and  after  ten  months  came 
ti  California,  locating  in  Monterey  July  _>_>.  1874. 
Here  he  built  cars  for  the  narrow  gauge  railroad 
running  between  Monterey  and  Salinas,  and  in 
November  of  the  same  year  opened  a  small  shop 
of  his  own  where  be  turned  out  general  carpen- 
ter work.  Gradually  he  worked  up  a  large  trade 
and  had  a  number  of  important  contracts, 
among  others  being  those  for  the  erection  of  the 
first  buildings  of  Pacific  Grove. 

In  1880  Mr.  Prinz  gave  up  his  large  carpenter 
business  in  Monterey  and  bought  out  a  lumber 
company  in  the  city,  in  connection  with  the 
management  of  which  he  built  a  small  planing 
mill,  subsequently  replaced  by  a  larger  one. 
These  combined  interests  proved  a  source  of 
large  profit,  and  after  many  years  of  business 
activity  the  owner  thereof  sold  out  his  business 
July  1,  1901,  and  has  since  lived  a  retired  life. 
As  evidence  of  his  abiding  faith  in  the  future 
of  his  adopted  locality  he  has  invested  heavily 
in  town  and  county  property,  his  acquisitions 
including  a  half  interest  in  the  Metropole  Hotel, 
many  valuable  town  lots,  and  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  acres  of  land  between  Monterey  and 
Pacific  Grove,  which  will  be  sold  for  residence 
lots  and  is  therefore  of  great  value. 

A  stanch  Republican.  Mr.  Prinz  has  been  very 
active  in  years  past,  and  filled  the  position  of 
city  trustee  for  two  terms.  He  is  fraternally 
connected  with  the  Monterey  Lodge  No.  219, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  having  joined  that  organization 
twenty-six  years  ago.  Mr.  Prinz  married  in 
London,  England,  in  1867,  Lora  Martin,  a  na- 
tive of  London,  and  who  died  January  20,  1902. 
He  is  a  fair  example  of  the  successful  western 
business  man.  and  has  an  enviable  reputation  in 
the  world  of  business.  In  [898  he  took  a  pleas 
ure  trip  of  four  months,  and  visited  London. 
Berlin,  Paris,  Jerusalem  and  other  points  of  in- 
terest, both  in  Europe  and  the  H0I3  Laud. 


I 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


123 


JOHN   EDMUND  TRAFTON. 

This  extensive  land  owner  and  dairyman  of 
the  Pajaro  valley  was  born  at  Stanstead,  Can- 
ada, half  a  mile  from  the  Vermont  line,  July  18, 
1837,  and  when  three  years  of  age  was  taken 
to  Missouri  with  his  parents.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  his  life  was  overshadowed  by  the  death 
of  his  father  on  the  overland  trail  near  Fort 
Kearney,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  he  em- 
barked upon  an  independent  career  upon  a 
squatter's  right  in  this  valley,  which  has  since 
been  made  to  appreciate  the  value  of  his  services 
as  business  man,  farmer  and  citizen. 

David  Trafton,  the  father  of  John  Edmund, 
was  born  and  reared  in  Maine.  About  1827  he 
removed   to    Canada,    where   he   married    Sarah 

W lbury,  a  native  of  Vermont.     In    1840  he 

settled  in  Boone  county,  Mo.,  where  he  engaged 
in  the  mercantile  and  hotel  business  at  Roche- 
port  until  1852.  During  that  year  the  family 
joined  a  caravan  bound  for  the  western  sea 
coast,  but  when  near  Fort  Kearney  the  father 
was  taken  ill  with  cholera,  from  which  he  never 
recovered.  His  family  profited  somewhat  by 
his  government  services  during  the  Mexican 
war.  for  which  they  received  a  land  bounty. 
He  was  fifty-seven  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  was  a  Democrat  in  political  prefer- 
ence, and  was  fairly  successful  in  his  business 
life.  He  was  of  German  ancestry,  and  his 
father  was  also  a  native  of  Maine.  After  the 
disaster  of  her  husband's  death,  Mrs.  Trafton 
courageously  took  up  the  burden  of  life  with 
her  children  and  continued  her  journey  to  Sacra- 
mento. There  she  engaged  in  the  hotel  busi- 
ness for  a  short  time,  but  eventually  settled  on 
a  ranch  near  the  city,  upon  which  she  lived  until 
coming  to  the  Pajaro  valley,  where  her  death 
occurred  in  1891.  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 
She  was  a  remarkable  pioneer  mother,  and  was 
very  active  up  to  the  final  illness  which  caused 
her  death.  A  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  she  was  very  high  minded,  and  reared 
her  six  children  to  ways  of  usefulness  and 
honor.  Phoebe  A.  is  the  widow  of  C  O.  Sill- 
man,  of  Santa  Cruz,  Cal.;  Charles  D.  is  a 
rancher  in  the  Pajaro  valley;  George  A.  is  en- 
gaged in  the  feed  business  at  Watsonville;  Mary 


Emma  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Willoughby  of  Santa 
Cruz;  and  Walter  T.,  a  druggist  of  Watsonville, 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years. 

I"  l&75  Jonn  Edmund  Trafton  sold  his  squat- 
ter's claim  in  the  Pajaro  valley,  and  bought  three 
hundred  acres  of  the  land  which  he  now  owns, 
to  which  he  soon  after  added  another  three 
hundred  acres.  Besides  this,  which  is  all  in  one 
body,  he  owns  two  hundred  and  thirty  acres 
located  in  another  part  of  the  valley  for  which 
he  paid  $250  an  acre  seven  years  ago.  This 
latter  purchase  he  rents  out  for  $20  an  acre. 
At  the  present  time  he  farms  about  five  hun- 
dred acres,  and  keeps  a  dairy  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  cows,  mostly  Holsteins. 
He  has  been  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the 
valley,  but  though  an  active  and  stanch  Demo- 
crat has  never  been  willing  to  hold  any  kind 
of  office.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and 
is  a  director  of  the  Pajaro  Valley  Bank  at  Wat- 
sonville. In  addition  he  was  an  organizer,  is 
a  director  and  has  always  been  president  of  the 
Watsonville  Creamery  Company,  a  very  suc- 
cessful enterprise,  to  which  he  sells  his  milk. 
Mr.  Trafton  is  fraternally  associated  with  the 
Watsonville  Lodge  \To.  no.  F.  &  A.  M.;  Chap- 
ter Xo.  41.  R.  A.  M.;  and  Commandery  No. 
22,  K.  T.,  at  Watsonville,  which  he  joined  in 
1883. 


R(  )BERT  PORTER. 

The  splendidly  equipped  ranch  and  beautiful 
home  of  Robert  Porter  is  situated  in  the  Blanco 
district,  three  and  a  half  miles  southwest  of  Sa 
linas.  This  prominent  cattle  man  and  farmer 
was  born  in  the  Quebec  Province,  Canada,  Jan- 
uary 4,  1854.  his  father.  Thomas  Porter,  being  a 
native  of  the  same  province.  The  father  was  a 
blacksmith  by  trade,  and  lived  on  the  line  of  the 
Xew  York  ec  Canada  Railroad,  his  untimely  and 
unfortunate  death  occurring  when  he  was  only 
thirty-five  years  of  age.  lie  married  EJlen 
Woodrow,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  came  to 
Canada  when  she  was  six  years  of  age.  She 
contracted  a  second  marriage  when  her  son, 
Robert,  was  ten  yean  ol  age,  ami  died  in  On- 
tario al  the  age  of  sixt)  four  years.  She  was  a 
member    of    the    Presbyterian    Church    ami    the 


I  IST<  >KICAL    AND    IlIOCRAI'llKAI.    KI-'.Ci  tkD. 


mother  of  six  children,  of  whom  Robert  was 
third. 

Robert  Porter  was  four  years  of  age  when  his 
father  died,  and  thereafter  he  lived  with  his 
mother  until  her  second  marriage,  when  he 
was  placed  with  a  farmer  in  the  neighborhood, 
who  gave  him  clothes  and  board  in  return  for 
his  small  services.  At  a  later  period  he  was 
allowed  to  attend  the  district  school  in  the  win- 
ter time,  and  worked  hard  in  the  fields  during 
the  summer  season.  After  living  with  this 
farmer  for  six  or  seven  years  he  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  in  Canada,  and  was  thus  iden- 
tified with  a  large  lumbering  concern  for  three 
years.  In  1874  he  came  to  the  vicinity  of  where 
he  now  lives,  first  having  investigated  the  con- 
ditions in  Butte  county.  Cal.  For  a  time  he 
worked  by  the  month  in  this  valley,  and  then 
leased  two  hundred  acres  of  land  for  three  years, 
afterward  purchasing  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  acres  of  his  present  ranch.  To  this  he  added 
from  time  to  time,  and  now  has  a  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  acres  in  the  home  ranch.  P>esides 
this,  he  owns  a  thousand  acres  of  mountain 
pasture  land.  He  is  engaged  in  extensive  dairy- 
ing and  raises  principally  Durham  cattle.  He  is 
very  prominent  in  his  section,  and  has  one  of  the 
best  paying  properties  to  be  found  in  the 
locality. 

Mrs.  Porter  was  formerly  Margaret  L.,  daugh- 
ter  of  James  Bardin,  and  was  born  in  the  Salinas 
valley,  May  15,  1861.  She  has  two  hundred  and 
seventv-six  acres  of  land  left  her  by  her  father, 
some  of  which  is  bottom  land.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Porter  have  been  born  three  children, 
James  Thomas,  Eva  Blanche  and  Leslie  Robert. 
The  children  are  living  at  home. 


SHELLEY  PICKLES. 

That  Air.  Tickles  is  a  master  engineer  and 
machinisl  and  thoroughl)  reliable  man  is  evi- 
di  need  b)  the  fact  that  he  has  been  chief  engi- 
neer  of  the  Del  Monte  Hotel  ever  since  1892. 
I  luring  the  ten  years  thus  employed  he  has  dis- 
charged his  large  responsibility  with  great  credit, 
and  is  considered  one  of  the  best  in  his  line  on 
oast.  To  the  unitiated  the  enormity  of  his 
task  is  hardly  understood,  but  to  those  who  have 


traversed  the  extent  of  the  giant  hostelry,  a  faint 
perception  may  be  had  of  the  number  of  steam 
pipes  and  general  mechanical  apparatus  involved 
in  the  conduct  of  the  business  of  the  hotel.  Four 
or  five  men  are  employed  under  the  chief  en- 
gineer, yet  he  is  personally  responsible  for  the 
safety  and  well  being  of  the  hundreds  of  guests 
who  yearly  throng  to  this  ideal  coast  retreat. 

A  native  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Mr.  Pickles  was 
born  October  12,  1864.  and  when  five  years  of 
age  removed  with  his  parents  to  St.  Louis, 
where  the  father  engaged  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness. The  home  was  in  Kirkwood,  a  suburb  of 
St.  Louis,  in  the  public  schools  of  which  town 
Shelley  Pickles  received  his  preliminary  educa- 
tion. When  eighteen  years  of  age  he  entered  the 
machine  shop  of  the  Central  iron  works  at  St. 
Louis,  and  after  serving  an  apprenticeship  of 
four  years,  continued  to  follow  his  trade  in  the 
Missouri  city  until  1886.  He  then  located  in 
San  Francisco,  Cal.,  and  was  employed  in  the 
iron  works  until  1 802,  in  which  year  he  became 
associated  with  the  Del  Monte  Hotel  at  Mon- 
terey. 

Since  coming  to  Monterey  Mr.  Pickles  has 
married  Edith  Clark,  of  which  union  there  is  one 
son,  Horace,  now  four  years  old.  Air.  Pickles 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  fraternally  a 
member  of  the  Woodmen  of  America. 


DAVID  W.  POTTER. 

One  of  the  busiest  places  in  the  little  village 
of  San  Lucas  is  the  blacksmith  establishment 
of  David -W.  Potter,  who,  while  catering  to  a 
substantial  trade  extending  for  miles  around, 
has  found  time  also  to  fill  many  offices  of  trust 
and  responsibility  in  the  neighborhood.  He  is 
a  native  son  of  Monterey  county,  and  was  born 
near  Salinas,  October  16,  1857. 

Andrew  P.  Potter,  the  father  of  David  W.. 
came  to  California  in  1853,  the  journey  overland 
b\  team  consuming  the  greater  part  of  six 
months.  He  located  in  Monterey  county  .mi  the 
farm  now  occupied  by  his  son,  and  which  he 
bought  from  the  government  soon  after  his 
arrival.  At  the  present  time  he  is  hale  and 
hearty,  although  summers  and  winters  amount- 
ing to  seventy-three  have  passed  over  his  head. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD 


49!> 


1  [e  has  been  industrious  and  frugal,  and  lias 
set  a  good  example  for  those  starting  out  in 
life  without  money  or  influence. 

After  finishing  his  education  at  the  Business 
College  at  Santa  Cruz,  David  W.  Potter  applied 
himself  to  learning  the  blacksmith's  trade  at 
Salinas,  completing  his  trade  at  the  end  of  two 
years.  He  then  engaged  in  running  a  threshing 
machine  through  the  country,  and  at  the  same 
time  managed  a  blacksmith  shop  at  Blanco.  He 
also  engaged  in  farming  on  a  considerable  scale, 
and  was  fairly  successful  in  these  various 
occupations.  He  became  permanently  identified 
with  San  Lucas  in  1891,  during  which  year  he 
started  a  little  shop  and  began  to  manufacture 
wagons,  and  to  do  general  repair  work  and 
blacksmithing  for  the  surrounding  farmers  and 
citizens. 

October  16,  1899,  Mr.  Potter  wras  united  in 
marriage  with  Ellnora  Harris,  a  native  of  North 
Dakota,  and  of  this  union  there  are  two  children, 
Willis  and  Allis.  Mr.  Potter  is  independent  in 
politics,  and  believes  in  voting  for  the  best  man. 
That  he  is  appreciated  by  his  fellow  townsmen 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  has  been  repeat- 
edly called  to  office.  He  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace  from  1892  until  1900,  and  has  been  a 
notary  public  from  1897  until  the  present  time. 
For  many  years  he  has  rendered  valuable  service 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  he  was 
elected  trustee  in  1901,  and  re-elected  in  1902 
for  three  years.  He  is  one  of  the  progressive 
men  of  the  town,  and  enjoys  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  all  who  know  him. 


A.  G.  PINHO. 


The  proprietor  of  the  largest  barber  shop  in 
San  Luis  Obispo  is  a  native  of  Fayal,  one  of  the 
group  of  the  Western  Islands,  and  was  born 
November  17,  1854.  His  father,  also.  A.  ( ',. 
Pinho,  was  born  in  Oporto,  Portugal,  and  by 
occupation  was  a  navigator  and  sea-faring  man, 
eventually  becoming  captain  of  a  sailing  ves- 
sel. His  last  voyage  and  last  command  was  the 
Newsboy,  which  was  lost  in  a  storm  off  the 
coast  of  Florida.  The  sea  captain's  wife  was 
Catherine,  daughter  of  Antonio  Y.  Sylva.  who 
also  was  born  in  Portugal,  and  who  was  a  man- 


ufacturer of  straw  matting  at  Fayal,  the  enter- 
prise being  the  only  one  of  its  kind  on  the  isle. 
Signor  Sylva  was  a  successful  man  and  acquired 
considerable  wealth,  his  age  at  the  time  of  his 
death  being  seventy-eight.  (  )f  the  children  born 
to  the  captain  and  his  wife  one  is  deceased,  and 
of  the  four  remaining  A.  G.  is  the  oldest. 

In  his  island  home  Mr.  Pinho  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools,  at  the  Lyceum,  and  at  a 
private  school.  His  business  career  was  inaugu- 
rated as  a  clerk  in  a  general  store  on  the  isle  of 
Tercerira,  also  one  of  the  Western  Islands, 
and  at  the  end  of  a  year  and  a  half  he  made  a 
systematic  tour  of  the  islands,  studying  the  pen- 
pie  and  their  customs.  He  came  to  America  in 
1870.  settling  in  Boston.  Mass..  and  afterward 
removing  to  Rutland.  Vt,  where  he  lived  for 
a  couple  of  years.  Upon  returning  to  Boston 
he  followed  his  trade  of  barber  and  also  traveled 
extensively  through  the  east,  seeking  a  desirable 
permanent  location.  He  eventually  settled  in 
Fall  River,  Mass.,  where  he  opened  a  barber 
shop,  but  this  was  soon  after  disposed  of  at  a 
profit,  after  which  he  located  in  New  Bedford, 
Mass.  In  1883  he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo 
and  opened  up  the  finest  and  largest  shop  in 
the  town,  and  from  a  comparatively  insecure  be- 
ginning, and  with  naught  to  aid  him  save  the 
mastery  of  his  trade,  has  worked  up  a  patronage 
among  the  exclusive  people  of  the  town. 

Since  establishing  his  success  in  San  Luis 
Obispo  Mr.  Pinho  has  been  called  upon  to  iden- 
tify himself  in  various  ways  with  the  representa- 
tive undertakings  of  the  town,  not  the  least  of 
which  has  been  the  fire  department,  of  which  he 
has  been  treasurer  for  the  past  fifteen  years. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  exempt  firemen  of  this 
city,  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees. 
and  is  fraternally  associated  with  various  orders, 
among  others  being  the  Odd  Fellows  Encamp- 
ment, the  Elks,  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  and  the  Royal  Arcanum.  The  Por- 
tuguese societies  with  which  he  is  identified  are 
the  U  R.  E.  S.'s,  the  I.  D.  E.  S.'s  and  the  1'..  L.'s, 
which  was  a  local  organization.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

In  Boston,  Mass.,  Mr.  Pinho  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Frances  Coster,  and  of  this  union 


126 


iII-ImUHAI.    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


there  arc  two  children,  Mabel  and  Mamie.  Mr. 
Pinho  has  many  friends  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  and 
is  regarded  as  a  thoroughly  adaptive  representa- 
tive from  foreign  shores. 


W.  C.  PHILLIPS. 

Many  of  the  notable  public  and  private  build- 
ings in  different  parts  of  the  country  are  due  to 
the  constructive  and  designing  skill  of  W.  C. 
Phillips,  the  only  authorized  architect  of  San 
Luis  Obispo.  A  native  of  Niagara  county, 
N.  Y.,  he  was  born  November  15,  1856,  a  son  of 
James  C.  Phillips,  a  farmer  in  New  York  state 
all  his  life.  The  elder  Phillips  valiantly  served 
his  country  during  the  Civil  war  for  four  years, 
and.  enlisting  as  a  private,  became  first  lieuten- 
ant of  the  Ninety-fourth  Xew  York  Volunteers. 
IK-  did  not  long  survive  his  admirable  war  rec- 
ord, his  death  occurring  the  year  after  the  res- 
toration of  peace.  His  wife  was  formerly  Louise 
A.  Foster,  a  native  of  Orwell,  Yt,  and  W.  I  . 
Phillips  was  her  only  child.  Mr.  Phillips  had 
been  married  before,  and  of  that  union  there 
were  two  children. 

In  addition  to  a  common-school  education. 
Mr.  Phillips  has  always  been  a  great  reader, 
and  at  the  present  time  has  a  large  fund  of  in- 
formation gained  through  the  medium  of  books 
and  observation.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
he  went  to  a  paint  shop  and  learned  the  trade  of 
painting,  and  after  an  apprenticeship  of  eighteen 
months  spent  five  years  in  a  machine  shop.  In 
1879  he  removed  to  Omaha,  Neb.  II is  health 
having  failed  from  close  confinement  in  the 
shop,  he  spent  three  months  on  the  Pawnee 
reservation,  later  settling  there  as  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  reservation,  which  continued  to 
be  his  home  until  1805.  He  then  came  to  San 
Luis  1  >bispo  and  began  to  follow  his  trade,  and 
has  since  been  identified  with  building  interests 
in  various  parts  of  the  slate  and  county.  Nearly 
all  of  the  important  structures  throughout  the 
countr)  have  been  either  planned  or  approved 
by  him.  and  at  the  present  time  he  has  all  the 
work  thai  he  can  possibly  turn  out.  He  planned 
the  Guadaloupe  school  building,  the  Warden 
block  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  the  Beebee  block, 
the  court  house  at  Fullerton,   Neb.,  four  brick 


buildings  in  Arroyo  Grande,  besides  many  resi- 
dences in  different  parts  of  this  and  other  states. 
In  Nebraska  Mr.  Phillips  married  Lucy  E. 
Swayne,  a  native  of  New  York,  and  daughter 
of  W.  M.  Swayne,  a  native  of  England,  and  a 
builder  by  occupation.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phillips 
have  one  child,  Gladys,  who  is  living  at  home. 
Mr.  Phillips  is  a  Republican  in  political  affilia- 
tion, but  has  never  been  before  the  public  as  an 
aspirant  for  office.  He  is  one  of  the  enterprising 
citizens  of  the  town,  and  his  success  is  a  matter 
of  pride  to  his  many  friends  and  associates 


THOMAS  E.  PHILLIPS. 

The  name  of  Phillips  is  associated  with  the 
earliest  growth  of  King  City,  and  especially  with 
the  pioneer  livery  business  here  and  the  erec- 
tion of  the  first  barn  in  the  place.  It  is  also  rec- 
ognized that  the  Phillips  boys  are  worthy  suc- 
cessors of  their  capable  and  energetic  father, 
being  sober,  industrious,  and  exceedingly  pop- 
ular with  their  patrons  and  friends.  Thomas  F. 
Phillips  was  born  in  Brazil,  Clay  county,  Ind., 
in  1874.  His  father,  John  Phillips,  one  of  the 
best  known  of  the  upbuilders  of  King  City, 
was  born  in  Wales,  and  came  to  America  with 
his  parents  when  four  years  of  age.  The  family 
settled  in  ( )hio,  and  in  the  course  of  time  John 
tendered  his  services  in  the  Civil  war,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Fifth 
Ohio  Infantry,  under  Capt.  Daniel  B.  Stam- 
baugh.  He  enlisted  August  5,  1862,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  June  3,  1865,  near  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  having  served  for  nearly  three 
years.  While  living  in  the  east  he  engaged  in 
coal  mining,  after  the  war  settled  in  Clay  county, 
lnd.,  where  he  married  Sarah  Ann  McDonald, 
and  reared  a  family  of  four  children,  the  sons, 
Thomas  and  John,  now  in  King  City,  being  the 
only  survivors. 

The  Phillips  family  came  to  California  in 
1874,  and  settled  at  Marysville,  then  went  to 
Plymouth,  Amador  county,  where  the)  lived 
until  they  came  to  King  City  in  1886.  While 
living  at  Marysville  and  Plymouth,  the  elder 
Phillips  engaged  in  gold  mining  with  considera- 
ble success,  and  at  King  City  opened  the  livery 
business  of  which  his  sons  are  now  making  such 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


427 


a  success,  and  of  which  they  took  possession 
after  his  death,  June  22,  1899.  He  was  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  as  are  his  sons,  and  father 
and  sons  were  associated  with  the  Lodge  No. 
158,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  King  City.  John  Phillips 
was  entitled  to  vast  credit  for  the  success  which 
rewarded  his  effort  to  make  a  name  and  place 
for  himself  in  the  west,  and  only  the  strictest 
application  to  business  and  duty  could  havp 
spanned  the  distance  traveled  between  the  time 
when  he  arrived  in  King  City  with  $500  in  his 
pocket  and  the  time  of  his  death,  when  he  was 
the  owner  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of 
land,  several  town  lots,  and  $3,000  in  money. 
For  several  terms  he  was  a  school  trustee  of 
his  adopted  city,  and  in  other  ways  was  identified 
with  the  making  of  improvements  and  the  gen- 
eral upbuilding.  His  wife,  who  died  at  Plym- 
outh, Amador  county,  Cal.,  October  6,  1883,  was 
of  Scotch  descent,  and  was  formerly  Sarali  Ann 
McDonald. 

Since  their  father's  death,  the  Phillips  boys 
have  built  a  fine  barn  for  their  livery  business, 
and  have  a  suitable  collection  of  rigs  and  good 
horses.  Originally  the  enterprise  was  started 
to  accommodate  the  stage  route  and  travelers 
through  the  country,  and  to  a  certain  extent  a 
large  share  of  patronage  comes  from  these  di- 
rections. The  sons  have  rented  out  their  land, 
and  devote  all  of  their  time  to  the  livery. 
Thomas  Phillips  has  been  prominent  in  Repub- 
lican affairs,  has  been  constable  for  two  years, 
and  is  now  district  deputy  under  Sheriff  Keif. 
Lie  is  a  member  of  the  Foresters  of  America. 
November  5.  1901,  he  married  Marian  Hollen- 
beck,  of  King  City,  and  they  have  a  son,  Law- 
rence, born  September  20,  1902. 


JAMES  ALBERT  PELL. 

In  the  spring  of  1880  the  two  families  then 
residing  in  Pacific  Grove  were  surprised  by  the 
appearance  in  their  quiet  midst  of  a  newcomer, 
who  was  none  other  than  James  Albert  Pell, 
the  presenl  funeral  director  and  justice  of  the 
peace.  The  stranger  happened  to  be  adaptive, 
and  was  not  at  all  daunted  by  the  absence  of 
encouraging  prospects  li  was  not  long  before 
he  was  driving  the  stage  from  Pacific  Grovi    to 


Monterey,  and  later  met  the  trains  for  J.  O. 
Johnson  for  about  five  years.  Afterward  he  was 
employed  by  the  Pacific  Improvement  Company 
in  the  superintendent's  office  and  El  Carmelo 
Hotel  about  three  years.  The  meat  market  busi- 
ness engaged  his  attention  for  a  time,  and  he 
eventually  launched  out  into  the  business  of 
funeral  director  and  undertaker,  at  a  still  later 
day  adding  furniture  to  his  undertaking  stock. 
In  the  intervening  years  he  has  managed  to  se- 
cure a  comfortable  profit  from  these  combined 
activities,  and  is  now  among  the  best  known 
of  the  pioneers  of  the  town. 

A  native  of  Canada,  near  the  Vermont  line, 
Mr.  Pell  was  born  September  13,  1852,  a  son 
of  James  G.  Pell,  also  a  native  of  Canada,  and  a 
farmer  by  occupation.  Mr.  Pell  is  still  living 
in  his  native  land,  and  is  at  present  about  ninety 
years  of  age.  The  family  was  first  represented  in 
America  by  the  paternal  grandfather  of  James 
\lliert  Pell,  who  was  none  other  than  Major 
George  Pell.  The  latter  immigrated  to  the 
United  States  with  his  brother,  William,  who 
was  captain  in  the  army,  and  served  in  the  war 
of  1812;  he  lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  five 
years  old.  James  G.  Pell  married  Mary  E. 
Kemp,  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  who  died  while 
young  in  Canada,  leaving  three  children,  of 
whom  George  A.  was  the  twin  of  James  Albert, 
and  Mary  E.  is  the  wife  of  Herbert  E.  Titamore, 
a  rancher  of  Monterey  county,  who  is  men- 
tioned al  length  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

When  sixteen  years  of  age,  James  Albert  Pell 
went  to  Massachusetts  and  drove  a  stage  over 
the  Hoosac  mountains  for  a  Boston  firm  for  two 
years,  and  then  returned  to  the  home  farm, 
where  he  lived  until  removing  to  California  in 
the  spring  of  1878.  On  the  coast  he  settled  at 
Salinas,  Monterey  county,  and  worked  at  any- 
thing that  lie  could  find  to  do.  and  in  the  spring 
of  [880  came  to  Pacific  (".rove,  as  heretofore 
stated.  A  stanch  Republican,  lie  has  been  quite 
active  at  times  for  hi-  friends,  and  his  own  fit- 
ness [or  office  lias  found  an  outlet  as  justice  of 
the  peace,  a  position  maintained  for  a  term  of 
four  years,  and  to  which  he  was  again  elected 
November  4,  ioo_\  for  four  years  more.  Fra- 
ternal!) he  is  associated  with  the  Independent 
Ordei   of  <  1, id  Fellows,  the  Benevolent   Protec- 


l-> 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


live  (  Irder  of  Elks,  and  the  Foresters.  Mr.  Fell 
has  the  distinct  advantage  of  being  the  only 
undertaker  in  the  town,  and  he  also  has  the 
advantage  of  keeping  abreast  of  the  times   as 

to  the  improvements  and  innovations  in  his 
chosen  art  of  embalming  and  caring  for  the 
dead.  He  owns  a  good  horse,  and  has  every 
reason  to  congratulate  himself  upon  his  choice 
of  location  and  his  deserved  popularity  with  the 
classes  of  society  comprising  the  community  of 
Pacific  Grove.  His  family  live  in  a  pleasant  and 
cozy  home  in  the  town,  which  is  presided  over 
by  Airs.  Pell,  who  was  formerly  Adel  Affron,  a 
native  of  Xew  York  state,  and  whom  he  married 
in  1890.  Four  children  are  the  result  of  this 
union:  Grace  Affron,  Philip  Sheridan,  Charles 
Gibbons  and  James  A..  Jr. 


ALEXANDER  PATERSON. 

The  influences  which  tended  to  mold  the 
character  of  Air.  Paterson  in  his  youth  were 
such  as  clustered  around  the  city  of  Aberdeen. 
Scotland.  He  was  born  in  the  Orkney  Islands. 
Scotland,  in  1848.  He  served  an  apprenticeship 
of  five  years  to  the  carpenter's  trade.  With  a 
firm  faith  in  the  opportunities  offered  by  the 
United  States,  in  1870  he  crossed  the  ocean 
and  settled  in  Boston,  Mass..  where  he  secured 
work  as  a  builder.  In  1875  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  for  a  few  months  was  employed  on 
a  safe  deposit  building  in  San  Francisco.  His 
first  association  with  San  Luis  Obispo  county, 
where  he  now  lives,  was  in  October,  1875,  when 
he  began  to  work  in  the  quicksilver  mine  at 
Pine  mountain,  near  Cambria.  Eighteen  months 
were  spent  in  that  employment.  In  January. 
1S77.  lie  purchased  a  squatter's  claim  on  San 
Simeon  creek,  ami  at  mice  entered  Upon  the  life 
of  a  rancher,  making  a  specialty  of  stock-raising. 
The  ranch  of  eleven  hundred  acres  which  he  still 
owns  has  been  improved  under  his  constant  su- 
pervision and  painstaking  industry.  Needed 
buildings  have  been  erected,  fences  have  been 
built,  and  the  tract  has  been  transformed  from 
,1  raw  waste  of  land  to  an  improved  ranch.  The 
-landing  on  the  farm  was  erected  b)  Mi 
Paterson  and  proves  his  skill  as  a  carpenter. 

In  order  that  his  children  might  have  desira 


ble  educational  advantages,  in  1890  Mr.  Pater- 
son moved  to  Cambria,  where  he  now  makes  his 

home.  In  a  shop  which  he  built  he  carries  on 
a  general  business  as  as  undertaker  and  house 
repairer,  and  dairy  supplies,  and  he  also  does 
a  small  amount  of  building  in  the  town.  Until 
the  burning  down  of  the  Home  and  Cambria 
creameries  he  remained  a  stockholder  in  both. 
AYhile  living  in  town  and  conducting  a  business 
here,  lie  does  not  neglect  his  ranch  but  gives 
considerable  time  to  its  oversight  and  still 
keeps  a  number  of  head  of  stock  on  the  land. 

As  president  of  the  Cambria  Republican  Club, 
Air.  Paterson  is  at  the  head  of  an  organization 
that  accomplishes  much  for  the  promotion  of 
Republican  principles  in  the  locality.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  county  central  committee,  and 
in  September.  1900,  he  was  a  delegate  to  the 
congressional  convention  at  Santa  Barbara.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  master  of  San  Simeon  Lodge  No. 
196,  I".  X  A.  M.,  and  also  a  member  of  the  state 
-rand  lodge.  In  1879  he.  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Emma,  daughter  of  F.  P.  Gross,  of 
Cambria.  They  are  the  parents  of  four  children, 
namely:  Mary  I..  Emma  Jane,  Alexander  F.  and 
Ormond.  There  is  no  principle  of  which  Mr. 
Paterson  is  a  firmer  advocate  than  the  impor- 
tance of  a  high  standard  of  education.  His 
service  as  a  school  trustee  has  given  him  an 
opportunity  to  do  much  for  the  improving  of 
the  schools.  In  the  organization  of  the  Union 
high  school  at  Cambria  he  was  an  active  factor. 
It  is  his  ambition  to  give  his  children  excellent 
advantages.  His  older  daughter  is  a  graduate 
of  the  San  Jose  Normal  School  and  is  now 
teaching  school,  while  the  second  daughter,  who 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Santa  Clara  high  school,  i- 
in  her  second  year  at  the  State  University  at 
Berkeley. 


GE<  >RGE  W.  PARS'  >NS. 

Typical  of  all  that  is  best  in  western  enterprise 
is  the  career  of  George  W.  Parsons,  one  of  the 
mosl  extensive  grain  dealers  in  this  part  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  a  resident  of  Templeton  since  1899. 
There  are  probably  few  men  on  the  coast 
more  thoroughly  conversant  with  all  depart- 
ments of  the  -rain  business,  or  who  appreciate 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


k".  i 


to  a  greater  extent  the  admirable  possibilities 
in  this  direction  available  to  residents  this  side 
of  the  Rockies.  A  native  of  Coles  county,  111., 
Mr.  Parsons  was  born  December  II,  i860,  a  son 
of  William  and  Jane  J.  (Kshow)  Parsons,  na- 
tives respectively  of  Iowa  and  Ohio. 

William  Parsons  removed  to  Illinois  when  a 
young  man,  and  October  7,  1867,  started  out 
over  the  plains  in  a  train  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
wagons,  and  comprising  four  hundred  people. 
He  himself  had  three  wagons,  four  horses  and 
lour  yoke  of  cattle,  and  consumed  in  the  jour- 
ney seven  months.  This  particular  band  of  gold 
seekers  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  with  the 
Indians,  and  their  trip  was  interspersed  with  in- 
cidents interesting  or  dangerous,  as  the  case 
might  be.  Mr.  Parsons  settled  in  Clackamas 
county,  Ore.,  and  bought  one  hundred  and  sixh 
acres  of  land,  upon  which  he  lived  and  to  a  mod- 
erate extent  prospered  for  twenty-five  years. 
The  three  sons  and  two  daughters  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Parsons  were  reared  on  the  Oregon 
farm,  and  all  are  now  living,  George  W.  being 
the  second  youngest.  Thomas  J.  is  resident 
manager  of  the  Del  Monte  Milling  Company  at 
San  Francisco,  while  L.  PI.  is  a  farmer  in  the 
state  of  Washington. 

Until  his  twenty-fifth  year  Mr.  Parsons  lived 
in  Oregon  with  his  father,  and  then  engaged 
in  the  logging,  saw  mill  and  general  lumber 
business  for  about  seven  years.  Afterward  he 
had  charge  of  a  gang  of  men  on  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad,  employed  to  do  repair  work, 
and  in  1895  removed  to  San  Francisco  and 
engaged  in  the  milling  business  for  the  Del 
Monte  Milling  Company.  He  was  general  miller 
in  their  establishment  for  six  years,  and  in  1899 
came  to  Templeton,  which  has  since  been  his 
home,  and  where  he  is  still  manager  for  the  Del 
Monte  Milling  Company's  branch  affairs.  He 
buys  and  sells  enormous  quantities  of  grain  for 
the  company,  and  on  his  own  responsibility  han- 
dles all  kinds  of  fire  and  life  insurance.  During 
i'liu  lie  bought  four  thousand  eight  hundred 
tons  of  wheat,  and  during  1902  he  will  buy  about 
three  thousand  tons. 

While  in  (  ire-' mi.  Mr.  Parsons  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Nettie  Brand,  a  native  of  ( )regon, 
and   daughter  of    Matthew    Brand,   a   native   of 


Dundee,  Scotland.  Mr.  Brand  is  a  blacksmith 
by  trade  who  came  to  the  United  States  when 
a  young  man,  and  homesteaded  a  ranch  near 
Portland,  Ore.,  on  the  Columbia  river,  about 
1852.  He  subsequently  returned  to  his  native 
Scotland,  and  has  not  been  in  America  for  a 
number  of  years.  Four  interesting  children  have 
been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parsons:  George  L., 
Ora  L.,  Florence  and  Ethel.  Mr.  Parsons  owns 
a  fine  residence  in  the  town,  and  has  about 
eight  acres  under  prunes.  He  is  quite  active 
in  Democratic  polities,  and  is  fraternally  con- 
nected with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. 


W.  E.  PARKER. 

The  combined  responsibilities  of  agent  fi  ir 
the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company,  and  man- 
ager of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company 
at  Monterey  are  ably  discharged  by  Mr.  Parker, 
who  is  a  native  son  of  California,  and  was  born 
in  Dutch  Flat,  Placer  county,  January  17,  1865. 
When  eleven  years  of  age,  in  1876,  he  removed 
with  his  parents  to  a  ranch  in  the  Salinas  val- 
ley, Monterey  county,  after  which  he  completed 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  at  Castro- 
ville.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  the 
employ  of  Dr.  Parker,  a  druggist  in  the  latter 
town,  and  was  thus  employed  until  appointed 
agent  for  the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company 
in  1883,  at  the  same  time  receiving  the  appoint- 
ment of  assistant  postmaster  of  the  town.  In 
1886  he  was  sent  to  Houston,  Tex.,  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Wells-Fargo  Company,  ami  while  in 
the  southern  state  was  located  at  different  points 
for  a  year.  He  then  came  back  to  California 
and  located  at  Monterey,  as  assistant  to  the 
general  agent  of  the  express  company,  and  for 
the  past  few  years  has  held  the  position  of  gen- 
eral agent. 

In  November,  1900,  Mr.  Parker  was  made 
agent  and  manager  oi  the  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph office  at  Monterey,  and  during  all  these 
years  litis  most  creditably  acquitted  himself  in 
tin-  discharge  of  his  important  duties.  Mrs. 
Parker  was  formerly  Clara  I  >.  Wright,  who  was 
horn  in  Illinois,  and  of  this  union  there  are  three 
sons,  Ralph,  Fee   \lloi  and  Will  II.    Mr.  Parker 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


is  a  stanch  defender  of  Republican  interests,  and 
has  been  very  active  for  his  party,  for  several 
years  holding  the  office  of  city  clerk.  Frater- 
nally he  is  identified  with  the  Lodge  No.  217, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  and  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters.  He  has  been  chief  of  the  Monterey 
fire  department  since  its  organization  in  1889, 
at  the  time  of  the  incorporation  of  the  town. 
He  is  possessed  of  many  fine  personal  attributes, 
including  tact  and  geniality,  and  numbers  among 
his  friends  and  associates  many  of  the  most 
desirable  people  in  the  locality  in  which  he- 
lives. 


CHRISTIAN  PALMTAG. 

Occupying  a  prominent  position  among  the 
residents  of  Watsonville  was  Christian  Palmtag, 
who  for  many  years  and  until  his  death  prose- 
cuted business  pursuits  in  this  part  of  the  state. 
1  le  was  born  in  Baden.  Germanv.  a  son  of  Fred- 
erick and  Christiana  Palmtag,  and  received  a 
fair  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  land. 
Like  most  German  boys,  he  was  taken  out  of 
school  at  fourteen  years  of  age  in  order  to 
iearn  a  trade,  the  occupation  in  which  he  was 
apprenticed  being  that  of  a  silk  dyer.  In  1854 
he  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  United  States,  and 
for  a  time  was  employed  in  Camden,  N.  J.,  later 
going  to  Philadelphia.  During  his  residence  in 
tlie  latter  city  he  married  Fredericka  Gerber, 
w  hi  >  was  born  in  Baden  and  had  been  his  school- 
mate in  childhood  days.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  George  and  Marie  Gerber,  residents  of  that 
1  .Id  ( ierman  city. 

\fter  iu's  marriage  Mr.  Palmtag  removed  to 
(  ihio    ai  into    the    grocery    business. 

However,  the  most  diligent  efforts  only  sei  Hi'  d 
[or  him  the  barest  livelihood,  and,  discontented 
with  prospects  there,  in  iSo_>  he  soughl  the 
broader  opportunities  of  California.  After  cross 
ing  the  plains,  lie  engaged  in  mining  on  Dutch 
Flats,  Little  York  river,  being  interested  with 
his  brother  Fred.  Later  lie  began  to  farm  in  the 
Sacramento  valley,  ami  then  came  to  Watson 
ville,  where  in  [868  he  bought  the  George 
Adam-  brewery.  At  that  time  the  plant  was 
.-mall  and  the  business  not  upon  a  substantial 
basis.     Lnder  his  supervision  the  plant   was  en- 


larged to  a  capacity  of  sixteen  barrels,  and  at 
the  same  time  he  established  a  demand  for  his 
products,  his  sales  extending  to. Salinas.  Hol- 
lister  and  Santa  Cruz.  The  Pajaro  Valley  brew- 
cry,  of  which  he  continued  to  be  proprietor  until 
his  death,  was  placed  upon  a  substantial  basis 
financially  and  brought  to  him  a  gratifying  rev- 
enue. While  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  at  forty- 
eight  years,  he  died  in  1881,  his  death  occurring 
in  the  handsome  residence  which  he  had  erected 
and  which  is  now  occupied  by  his  widow.  Since 
his  death  the  brewery  has  been  conducted  by 
his  son,  William,  who  has  enlarged  the  plant 
to  a  capacity  of  thirty  barrels. 

In  the  family  of  Christian  Palmtag  there  were 
the  following  sons  and  daughters:  William,  who 
married  Fronia  Rowe  and  by  that  union  had 
five  children,  Christie  (deceased),  Elmer,  Clif- 
ford, Chester  and  Harold  (the  latter  twins); 
Fred,  who  died  at  thirty-one  years  of  age,  leav- 
ing his  wife,  Mrs.  Sadie  (Rhodhouse)  Palmtag. 
and  one  child,  Fredericka;  Kittie  (deceased); 
Lena  (deceased):  Charles,  assistant  cashier  of 
the  Pajaro  Valley  Bank,  and  who  married  Grace 
Lee,  by  whom  he  has  three  children.  Alvin  1... 
Lloyd  and  Raymond;  and  Albert,  wdio  married 
Katie  Sherer  and  has  a  daughter,  Louise.  Dur- 
ing his  earlier  life  Mr.  Palmtag  was  actively 
associated  with  the  Masons  and  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the  work  of  the  order.  While  he 
was  averse  to  filling  public  positions  and  pre- 
ferred to  devote  himself  exclusively  to  business 
matters,  he  consented  at  one  time  to  fill  the 
office  of  town  trustee.  At  all  times  he  gave  his 
influence  to  measures  he  believed  to  be  for  the 
benefit  of  the  city  and  valley  where  he  made  his 
home. 


CHARLES  HEXRY  RFED. 

The  sixth  son  of  Irvin  Reed,  born  at  Zanes- 
ville,  Ohio,  in  [810,  and  his  wife.  Mar)  Mif- 
flin Evens,  horn  near  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in 
[813,  Charles  Henry  Reed  was  born  at  Rich- 
mond, hid..  September  [2,  1S48,  and  died  at 
San  Luis  Obispo.  Cal..  June  17.  1901.  In  many 
respects  Mr.  Reed  was  the  architect  of  his  own 
fortune.  In  [862,  during  the  Civil  war.  when 
men    were    enlisting    in    the    army,    he    became 


dn^a  Jn 


[ISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


433 


imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  and  went  to 
Indianapolis  to  enlist  there  because  the  recruit- 
ing officer  in  Richmond  declined  to  take  him. 
He  met  with  no  better  success  in  Indianapolis, 
and  after  one  night  in  a  box  car  he  was  glad 
in  return  to  the  parental  farm.  He  attended  the 
public  and  private  schools  in  Richmond,  then 
went  to  Earlham  College,  in  the  vicinity,  and 
later  was  a  student  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan at  Ann  Arbor. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  Air.  Reed  began 
work  as  a  clerk  in  his  father's  hardware  and  im- 
plement store  in  Richmond.  He  soon  became 
a  partner  and  continued  in  the  business  for 
several  years.  Then  for  a  couple  of  years  he  was 
a  grain  buyer.  In  1882  he  moved  to  San  Luis 
Obispo,  Cal.,  and  established  the  vehicle,  hard- 
ware and  implement  firm  of  C.  H.  Reed  &  Co. 
The  business  was  a  success  from  the  start  and 
he  retained  the  management  of  it  until  his 
death.  The  next  year  he  opened  a  branch  store 
at  San  Miguel,  a  near-by  town,  but  before  the 
business  got  fairly  started  this  store  and  its  con- 
tents were  destroyed  by  fire.  December  5,  1884, 
he  married  Mary  Rhoda  Snell.  (  If  this  union 
there  were  two  children.  Irvin  and  Rhoda  Ra- 
mona.  Being  interested  in  agriculture,  like  his 
father  before  him.  he  bought  a  small  farm  at 
the  edge  of  town,  and  there  he  made  his  home 
until  he  died.  Although  he  continued  to  man- 
age his  business,  he  found  time  to  modernize 
the  house  that  was  built  in  1810,  to  set  out  an 
orchard  of  orange  and  lemon  trees  and  to  irri- 
gate it  with  water  from  a  fine  spring  on  his 
mountain  side.  After  leaving,  the  orchard,  the 
water  nourished  a  beautiful  flower  garden  in  the 
front  of  his  house  and  fed  a  fountain  there  be- 
fore disappearing  in  a  ravine  a  little  further  on. 
Xext  he  bought  a  large  piece  of  virgin  land  and 
when  his  plans  for  planting  it  were  completed  he 
organized  the  Nipoma  Orchard  and  Packing 
Company,  and  as  the  manager  of  this  company 
Ik  converted  a  desert  waste  into  a  veritable  gar- 
den. His  example  has  been  Followed  by  the 
mam  prosperous  fruit  growers  now  in  San  Luis 
Obispo  county. 

Before  leaving  his  native  city,  Mr.  Reed  joined 
.1  Masonic  lodge,  and  be  was  the  leading  spirit 
in   organizing  a   lodge   of   Knights  Templar  in 


the  town  of  his  adoption.  Amidst  his  many 
business  cares  he  found  lime  to  take  an  active 
interest  in  politics.  He  was  a  Republican,  and 
as  chairman  of  the  county  central  committee 
lie  was  instrumental  in  winning  and  keeping  his 
county  in  the  Republican  fold,  which  no  one 
before  him  had  been  able  to  do.  As  a  member 
of  the  city  council  of  San  Luis  Obispo  he  dis- 
charged his  duties  with,  such  fairness  to  all  that 
he  gained  the  respect  of  his  political  opponents. 
He  was  a  man  of  liberal  views  and  large  busi- 
ness capacity,  generous  to  a  fault,  and  the  honor 
which  pervaded  his  every  walk  of  life  was  ac- 
centuated by  care  and  devotion  to  his  family. 
To  know  him  was  to  admire  him  and  be  his 
friend 


WILLIAM  R.  DODGE. 

The  various  enterprises  which  at  different 
times  have  engaged  the  attention  of  Mr.  Dodge 
have  proved  less  attractive  to  him  than  the  oc- 
cupation of  a  rancher,  which  he  now  follows. 
Though  born  and  reared  in  a  city,  and  more 
familiar  with  metropolitan  customs  than  rural 
pursuits,  since  he  came  to  Monterey  county  and 
took  up  farm  work  be  has  proved  that  the  selec- 
tion of  a  calling  was  not  a  mistake.  The  raising 
of  cereals  adapted  to  his  locality  receive  due 
attention  from  him,  and  he  has  made  of  agricul- 
ture a  science,  hence  is  meeting  with  the  suc- 
cess his  intelligent  efforts  deserve. 

In  San  Francisco,  where  lie  was  born  June 
12,  1864,  Mr.  Dodge  received  such  advantages 
as  the  public  schools  afforded.  The  education 
there  obtained  was  supplemented  by  a  course 
of  study  in  Santa  Clara  College.  His  com- 
mercial education  was  gained  in  McClure's  Col- 
lege at  Oakland,  (hi  the  completion  of  his 
studies  he  secured  employment  as  a  book' 
which  he  followed  for  a  time.  With  the  means 
tints  secured  lie  opened  a  grocer)  business  in 
Oakland,  where  he  remained  for  two  years. 
However,  lie  was  not  entirel)  satisfied  with  the 
outlook  and  looked  around  him  for  a  mo 
vorable  opening.  Deciding  that  agriculture 
presented  more  .attractions  than  business  pur- 
suits, in  tSSS  he  came  to  the  Jolon  valley,  where 
he  has  since  engaged  in  general  [arming.     He 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


is  the  owner  of  six  hundred  acres  of  land,  a 
part  of  which  is  under  cultivation  and  adapted 
to  the  raising  of  products  for  which  the  soil 
is  suited.  So  closely  has  he  given  his  thought 
and  care  to  ranching  that  he  has  not  partici- 
pated in  public  affairs  to  any  extent,  aside  from 
voting  the  Republican  ticket  and  supporting 
the  candidates  of  that  party.  In  fraternal  rela- 
tions he  is  associated  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen. 


P.  K.  WAITERS,  M.  D. 

The  Watsonville  Sanatorium,  one  of  the  best 
equipped  institutions  of  the  kind  in  Santa  Cruz 
county,  represents  the  advanced  thought  and 
■splendid  professional  research  of  its  founder  and 
present  proprietor,.  Dr.  P.  K.  Watters.  The 
success  of  Dr.  Watters  is  rooted  in  an  inquiring 
mind  and  in  judgment  capable  of  forming  its 
own  conclusions,  regardless  of  established  prec- 
edents. These  admirable  characteristics  became 
apparent  at  a  very  early  age,  and  materially  in- 
fluenced the  general  education  which  preceded 
his  professional  acquirements.  He  was  born  in 
Muscatine  county,  Iowa,  in  1854.  and.  after 
graduating  at  the  academy  of  that  place,  entered 
the  medical  department  of  the  Iowa  State  Uni- 
versity, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1879. 

Tiie  first  general  practice  of  Dr.  Watters  was 
conducted  in  St.  Paul,  Neb.,  where  he  worked 
up  a  large  patronage,  and  was  accorded  the 
appreciation  due  so  earnest  and  competent  a 
practitioner.  As  time  went  on  the  limitations 
of  tiie  place  became  more  and  more  apparent, 
so,  in  search  of  broader  fields,  he  came  west  to 
on,  and  settled  in  Eugene,  Lane  county,  in 
1888.  Although  successful  during  the  five  years 
of  his  residence  in  the  northwest,  he  was  tempted 
further  .south  by  the  climatic  and  other  advan- 
and  upon  removing  to  Watsonville  began 
a  general  medical  and  surgical  practice.  Keeiih 
alive  to  the  best  interests  of  any  community  in 
which  he  lived,  he  was  nol  slow  to  realize  the 
handicap  to  doctors  and  patients  owing  to  the 
absence  of  an  institution  where  scientific  care 
could  be  obtained  and  operations  pet  foi  mi  d 
under  favorable  circumstances.  Determining  to 
provide  foi  this  ru  cessity,  he  purchased  a  build- 


ing on  Third  street,  where  was  inaugurated  a 
private  hospital,  well  supplied  with  operating 
rooms,  modern  surgical  instruments  and  trained 
attendants.  The  wisdom  of  his  departure  was 
not  slow  of  confirmation,  for  in  a  very  short  time 
the  quarters  were  entirely  inadequate,  and  by 
1897  he  built  a  new  building  at  No.  129  Third 
street.  As  may  be  supposed,  the  new  structure 
was  a  vast  improvement  upon  the  old,  and  no 
appliance  known  to  surgical  science  was  omitted, 
nor  any  detail  overlooked  to  facilitate  the  most 
antiseptic  and  careful  surgical  operations.  So 
large  was  the  patronage  accorded  this  ideal 
hospital  that  even  these  quarters  were  insuffi- 
cient to  supply  the  demand,  a  fact  met  by  Dr. 
Watters  with  a  ready  solution.  He  purchased 
an  adjoining  tract  of  land  comprising  forty  feet 
frontage,  and  the  present  building,  comprising 
twenty-two  rooms,  was  erected  in  1902.  A 
training  school  for  nurses  has  been  inaugurated 
in  connection  with  the  institution,  including  lec- 
tures from  physicians  upon  subjects  necessary 
for  the  education  of  the  nurses,  in  addition  to 
their  practical  experience  in  caring  for  the  sick. 
The  efforts  of  Dr.  Watters  are  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  management  of  the  hospital,  for 
he  has  a  large  outside  practice  of  more  than 
local  dimensions.  He  has  had  remarkable  suc- 
cess in  the  alleviation  and  cure  of  the  many  dis- 
tressing diseases  which  visit  humanity,  and  en- 
joys, to  an  exceptional  degree,  confidence  in  his 
professional  skill  and  in  his  integrity  as  a  man. 
In  keeping  with  his  efforts  to  explore  all  the  by- 
w  ays  of  medicine  and  surgery,  he  took  a  special 
course  in  the  latter  science  at  Rush  Medical 
College  in  1891,  and  in  1893  took  a  course  at 
the  San  Francisco  Polytechnic  Institute.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Tri-county  Medical  Society,  the 
California  State  Medical  Society  and  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association.  Owing  to  the  indi- 
viduality of  his  methods  he  is  regarded  rather 
as  a  leader  than  follower,  and  the  present  influ- 
ence which  he  wields  is  destined  to  increase  with 
his  own  ever  widening  knowledge.  Although  a 
prominent  member  of  various  fraternal  organ- 
izations, hi'  is  unable  to  attend  with  any  regu- 
larity, owing  to  the  many  professional  demands 
upon  his  time,  lie  is  a  member  of  the  Pajaro 
Lodge  No.  no,  F.  &  A.  M;  Watsonville  Chap- 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD 


43J 


ter,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Watsonville  Commands 
22,  K.  T. 


S.  V.  WRIGHT. 

The  San  Luis  Obispo  bar  numbers  among  its 
junior  members  several  bright  young  lawyers, 
but  none  whose  brief  professional  experience 
evidences  more  strength  than  does  that  of  S. 
V.  Wright.  Born  in  Savannah,  Andrew  county, 
Mo.,  August  29.  1874,  he  is  the  second  of  the 
three  children  born  to  Samuel  P.  and  Nancy  J. 
(Vaughan)  Wright,  natives  of  Indiana.  Samuel 
P.  Wright  was  a  farmer  in  early  life,  and  as  a 
young  man  he  carried  mail  in  Kansas,  later  en- 
gaging in  the  mercantile  business  in  Savannah, 
Aln..  in  both  of  which  places  he  was  a  pioneer. 
Hoping  to  add  to  his  opportunities,  he  crossed 
the  plains  in  a  wagon  in  i860,  and  for  two  or 
three  years  engaged  in  gold  mining,  meeting 
with  the  success  of  the  average  rather  than  that 
of  the  exceptional  miner.  He  returned  to  Mis- 
souri in  1863,  but  1877  found  him  again  in  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  lived  in  San  Luis  Obispo  a 
retired  life  until  his  death  in  1881.  at  the  age 
of  fifty-nine  years.  His  wife  was  a  native  of 
Perry  county.  Ind.,  a  daughter  of  Nicholas 
Vaughan,  a  native  of  New  York  state.  Mr. 
Vaughan  was  a  man  of  diversified  gifts,  and  de- 
voted his  active  life  to  preaching  the  gospel, 
piloting  boats  on  the  Mississippi,  and  in  man- 
aging an  hotel  in  Cannelton,  Ind.,  in  which  town 
his  death  occurred  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine 
years.  Three  children  were  born  to  Samuel  P. 
Wright,  and  of  these  Anna  L.  is  the  oldest,  while 
the  youngest.  Charles  F.,  lives  with  his  mother 
in  Santa  Clara  county,  Cal. 

Obtaining  his  rudimentary  education  in  the 
public  schools,  Mr.  Wright  graduated  from  Le- 
land  Stanford  University  in  1805.  with  the  de- 
gree of  A.  1',.  For  the  foil,  .wing  year  and  a  half 
he  remained  at  the  university  to  study  law,  after 
which  service  he  found  he  was  equipped  for  the 
exacting  and  arduous  work  of  teaching,  which 
he  followed  for  eight  months  with  developing 
results  to  his  pupils  and  himself.  In  November, 
1897,  he  entered  the  office  o  I  \  Dorn  as  dep- 
uty district  attorney,  and  was  appointed  deputy 
count}    clerk    September    1,    [898.      In  January, 


1899,  he  opened  a  law  office  in  the  San  Luis 
Obispo  Bank  building,  and  during  eight  months 
of  1901-2  engage. 1  in  educational  work  in  Los 
Alamos,  Cal.  Notwithstanding  his  educational 
work,  Mr.  Wright  has  maintained  his  law  office 
in  San  Luis  Obispo  since  1898.  He  is  fraternalh 
associated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  the  \.  0.  U.  D.  He  is  active  in 
Republican  politics,  and  is  manager  for  his 
mother's  residence  property  in  this  town.  At 
Arroyo  Grande,  Cal.,  Mr.  Wright  married  Maud 
L.  Grieb,  daughter  of  Conrad  Grieb,  a  prosper- 
ous and  successful  fanner  and  fruit  raiser  of  the 
Arroyo  Grande  valley,  who  came  from  Germany 
when  a  young  man  and  settled  on  his  farm  of 
two  hundred  acres  of  rich  bottom  and  hill  land 
in  said  valley  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county. 


E.  C.  WATKINS. 

Although  a  comparatively  young  man,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  California  in  1861,  E.  C.  Wat- 
kins  has  achieved  large  results  in  a  business  way, 
and  is  at  present  the  most  extensive  grocer  in 
Paso  Robles.  To  the  example  of  an  ambitious 
and  far-sighted  father  Mr.  Watkins  is  indebted 
for  the  early  aspirations  which  spurred  him  on 
to  make  the  best  of  his  opportunities.  The 
elder  Watkins.  Edmund  by  name,  broughl  a 
fund  of  shrewd  business  sagacity  with  him  when 
he  emigrated  from  his  native  city  of  Liverpool, 
England,  and  engaged  in  stock-raising  in  So 
noma  county.  Cal.  He  had  large  ideas  of  ln- 
favorite  occupation,  and  in  [862  bought  the 
Suey  ranch  of  eight  thousand  five  hundred  acres, 
for  which  he  paid  $16,000.  and  upon  which  he 
raised  thousand-  of  sheep  In  those  early  days 
of  wool  raising  possibilities  in  Sonoma  count) 
he  set  the  example  of  raising  the  best  kind,  and 
imported  sheep  in  liberal  numbers  from  Vus 
tralia,  the  headquarters  for  the  most  exclusive 
sheep  industry  in  the  world.  Inter. -led  with 
him  in  the  business  was  Mr.  Roberts,  of  San 
Francisco,  whose  man  ime. 

Both  men  were  much  interested  in  elevating 
the  standard   0    (  horses,  and  accom- 

plished much  b  ing  their  desii 

the  first  horse  fair  held  in  California.  Mr.  Wat- 


L3G 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


kins  imported  from  England,  for  Hood  &  Beal, 
some  fine  specimens  of  horse  flesh,  among  which 
was  "England's  Glory,"  and  in  1861  he  brought 
over  "Lady  Edgerton."  a  thoroughbred,  who 
afterward  attained  a  great  reputation  in  horse 
circles.  After  coming  to  this  country  he  made 
several  trips  back  to  England,  each  time  bring- 
ing back  something  to  improve  the  ranch,  and 
help  in  making  it  an  ideal  of  its  kind.  When 
he  disposed  of  the  ranch,  in  1872,  twelve  thou- 
sand sheep  were  grazing  on  its  fertile  meadows, 
and  he  realized  $127,000  on  the  sale.  Mr.  Wat- 
kins  is  at  present  living  in  San  Luis  Obispo, 
and  is  interested  both  in  a  dairy  and  an  apprais- 
ing business,  his  customers  in  the  latter  capacity 
being  for  the  greater  part  San  Francisco  men. 
He  married  Maria  Priest,  a  native  of  London, 
England,  and  who  bore  him  six  sons  and  four 
daughters,  of  whom  E.  C.  is  the  oldest. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  E.  C.  Watkins  engaged 
in  the  wool  grading  and  sorting  business  in  the 
woolen  mills  in  San  Francisco,  and  in  1886 
located  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  where  he  opened  a 
stationery  store,  carrying  also  a  full  line  of  Jap- 
anese goods.  At  the  end  of  a  year  this  business 
enterprise  came  to  grief  through  the  Andrews 
Hotel  fire,  and  he  lost  all  that  he  had  in  the 
world.  He  then  removed  to  Cholame,  San  Luis 
Obispo  county,  and  homesteaded  a  tract  of  land, 
of  which  he  eventually  proved  up  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres.  For  four  years  he  engaged 
in  a  general  merchandise  business  in  the  village, 
and  at  the  same  time  was  justice  of  the  peace 
and  postmaster,  and  an  influential  member  of 
the  community.  In  1897  he  located  in  Paso 
Robles  and  started  a  grocery  business  on  a 
small  scale  on  Pine  street,  and  his  unquestioned 
success  has  proved  the  wisdom  of  this  departure. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Watkins  and  Louise  Day 
occurred  in  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  Mrs.  Watkins 
being  a  native  of  Chicago.  111.,  and  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  Day,  an  engraver  who  came  to  Cal- 
ifornia in  the  early  '70s,  and  died  in  San  Fran- 
cisco al  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  Mr.  and 
Airs.  Watkins  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Ray- 
mond D.,  who  is  at  home.  Mr.  Watkins  is  ac- 
tively interested  in  promoting  the  interests  of 
the  Democratic  party  in  his  county,  and  has 
member  of  the  county  central  commit- 


tee, of  which  he  was  secretary  during  one  con- 
vention. 


H.  H.  WAITE. 

\t  the  head  of  the  largest  and  best  equipped 
planing  mill,  machine  shop  and  foundry  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  county,  and  one  of  the  largest  in 
the  state,  Mr.  Waite  has  been  a  public  factor  in 
the  development  of  the  resources  of  the  county, 
and  of  remarkable  assistance  in  the  employing 
of  labor,  and  in  stimulating  general  trade.  He 
is  personally  an  example  of  the  value  of  perse- 
verance in  the  face  of  difficulty  and  discourage- 
ment, for  trials  and  obstacles  have  come  his  way 
and  found  him  courageous  and  persistent  in 
overcoming  them.  A  native  of  Ohio,  Mr.  Waite 
was  born  November  21,  1845,  a  son  of  Ezra  and 
Experience  (Felt)  Waite,  natives  respectively  of 
New  York  state  and  Vermont.  Ezra  Waite  was 
reared  in  New  York  state,  and  during  his  active 
life  engaged  in  farming  in  Ohio,  in  which  state 
his  death  occurred  in  Huron  county  at  the  age 
of  seventy-eight  years.  To  himself  and  wife 
were  born  six  children,  only  two  now  living, 
II.  H.  being  the  youngest  of  all. 

The  head  of  the  present  large  foundry  enter- 
prise was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Ohio, 
and  served  his  mechanical  apprenticeship  in 
Nbrwalk,  Ohio.  When  thirty  years  of  age  he 
came  to  California  and  settled  at  Merced,  Cal., 
in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  thereafter  removing 
to  Oakland,  where  he  started  a  planing  mill,  and 
was  working  up  a  good  business  when  the  mill 
burned  to  the  ground,  unfortunately  not  being 
insured.  He  then  removed  to  Los  Alamos,  re- 
mained there  for  three  years,  and  later  came  to 
San  Luis  Obispo,  where  he  started  a  planing 
mill  and  machine  shop,  since  so  remarkably 
successful.  He  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  house  furnishings,  water  and  oil  tanks,  and 
commodities  in  that  line,  and  the  steam  shop 
supplies  wind  mills,  horse  powers;  engines  and 
all  manner  of  brass  and  iron  castings.  Although 
starting  in  a  small  way,  and  without  any  outside 
influence  or  help  whatever,  Mr.  Waite  has  built 
up  a  business  valued  at  $20,000.  and  which  does 
an  annual  business  of  $50,000. 

In  San  Luis  Obispo  Mr.  Waite  married  B.  L. 


, 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Ryan,  a  native  of  Vermont.  Mr.  Waite  is  fra- 
ternally connected  with  the  bine  lodge  of  Ma- 
sons, and  he  is  politically  a  Republican,  but  has 
never  entertained  aspirations  for  office.  He  is 
one  of  the  substantial  men  of  this  county,  and 
fills  a  conspicuous  place  in  its  upbuilding. 


HIRAM  JACOB  WOOD. 

During  the  long  period  of  his  identification 
with  the  building  business  in  Watsonville,  Mr. 
Wood  has  had  charge  of  the  construction  of 
many  of  the  most  notable  structures  in  the  city, 
and  thereby  has  not  only  advanced  his  own  rep- 
utation as  a  contractor,  but  has  also  promoted 
the  progress  of  the  city.  He  was  born  in  New 
York  City  January  21,  1847,  ancl  's  a  son  °f 
Abraham  Chase  and  Charlotte  A.  (Robinson) 
Wood.  His  father,  a  native  of  Orange  county, 
N.  Y.,  spent  the  years  of  early  manhood  in  New 
York  City,  where  he  was  connected  with  an  ice 
business.  In  1853  he  came  to  California  and 
prospected  in  the  mining  regions  of  the  state. 
The  year  1858  witnessed  his  arrival  in  Monterey 
county,  where  for  a  few  years  he  conducted  ag- 
ricultural pursuits.  On  selling  out  there  he 
removed  to  Watsonville  and  engaged  in  team- 
ing. Fond  of  horses,  he  gained  a  local  reputa- 
tion through  his  expertness  in  breaking  colts, 
and  his  services  were  frequently  in  requisition 
along  this  line.  His  death  occurred  in  August, 
1900,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years  and  six 
months,  and  his  wife  died  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two  years  and  six  months,  her  demise  occur- 
ring the  year  before  his  own.  They  were  the 
parents  of  two  sons,  the  elder  of  whom,  John 
\\\,  died  in  1868  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years. 
While  a  resident  of  Monterey  county  in  1861 
the  father  was  initiated  into  Masonry  and  some 
years  before,  while  still  living  in  New  York,  he 
became  identified  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  The  codes  of  both  these  organiza- 
tions he  always  lived  up  to  and  regarded  with 
loyalty. 

In  company  with  his  mother  and  brother, 
Hiram  J.  Wood  came  to  California  December 
30,  1866,  settling  in  San  Francisco,  where  he 
received  a  public-school  education.  There,  too, 
he  gained  his  early  knowledge  of  the  carpenter's 


trade.  In  1868  he  went  to  San  Juan  and  worked 
at  his  trade  there  for  four  years,  coming  to  Wat- 
sonville from  there  in  November  of  1872.  His 
first  employment  was  as  a  journeyman  for  James 
Waters,  with  whom  he  remained  for  four  years. 
He  then  began  in  the  building  business  for  him- 
self, his  first  contract  being  for  a  house  on  the 
east  side  of  the  plaza  for  Jerome  Porter,  but 
now  owned  by  S.  H.  Fletcher.  One  of  his  re- 
cent contracts  was  for  the  Moreland  Notre 
Dame  Academy,  and  to  him  is  due  the  credit 
for  its  graceful  effects  and  substantial  work. 
Many  of  the  best  residences  in  Watsonville  and 
the  Pajaro  valley  were  built  by  him.  At  times  he 
has  employed  as  many  as  twenty  men  a  day 
in  the  carrying  out  of  his  contracts,  and  now 
furnishes  steady  employment  to  several  men  in 
his  line  of  work.  Besides  building  for  others, 
he  erected  his  own  home  on  Walker  street  and 
one  for  his  father. 

By  the  marriage  of  Hiram  J.  Wood  to  Annie 
Ross,  daughter  of  Asa  Ross,  of  Santa  Rosa,  and 
a  native  of  Missouri,  five  children  were  born, 
namely:  Jesse  C,  a  plumber,  who  married  Car- 
rie B.  Judd;  Lottie  B.,  a  teacher;  Annie  May, 
wife  of  H.  L.  Towle;  Estella  H.  and  Leona 
Gertrude. 


L.  V.  WILLITS. 

Ever  since  coming  to  Watsonville,  Mr.  Willits 
has  been  interested  in  the  buying  and  selling  of 
fine  horses.  Indeed,  when  he  first  came  here, 
in  1875,  it  was  with  a  car  load  of  thoroughbreds. 
On  his  ranch  have  been  raised  some  of  the 
finest  draft  horses  in  the  central  coast  region. 
On  his  first  trip  he  brought  the  noted  stallion, 
Adolf,  of  French-Belgian  stock,  and  costing 
$1,800;  also  a  mare  of  the  same  stock.  Some- 
what later  he  purchased  the  Percheron  stallion, 
Brezoles,  in  Illinois,  at  a  cost  of  $2,500.  The 
reputation  of  these  stallions  has  not  been  lim- 
ited to  Santa  Cruz  county,  but  has  extended 
throughout  the  state.  To-day  a  descendant  of 
the  Percheron,  Van,  is  considered  one  of  the 
finest  horses  in  the  Pajaro  valley.  For  his  home 
.Mr.  Willits  bought  the  Wbodworth  propi 
Rodriguez   street,  and   as    In  for  his 

stock   he   bought   the   M.    Xealy   ranch   of  sixty 


138 


[STORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


acres.  At  first  he  devoted  his  ranch  to  pasturage 
and  the  raising  of  grain  for  feed,  but  eventually 
he  set  out  twenty-nine  acres  in  apples.  A  por- 
tion of  this  tract  he  lias  sold  and  has  purchased 
other  property,  so  that  lie  now  owns  forty-seven 
acres   in  one  body. 

Near  Richmond,  Wayne  county,  Ind.,  Mr. 
Willits  was  born  in  1831.  His  father.  William, 
moved  to  Mercer  county.  111.,  in  1834,  and  there 
the  son  passed  the  year  cf  boyhood,  meantime 
gaining  a  general  idea  of  farming.  He  can 
scarcely  remember  when  he  first  began  to  be 
interested  in  stock.  He  has  always  been  a  lover 
of  fine  horses,  and  on  attaining  maturity  began 
to  buy  and  raise  as  good  specimens  as  could  be 
obtained  with  his  limited  means.  Subsequently 
he  entered  exclusively  into  the  business  of  rais- 
ing thoroughbreds.  His  object  in  coming  to 
California  was  to  enjoy  the  beautiful  climate,  as, 
from  a  financial  point  of  view,  his  business  could 
lie  conducted  as  profitably  in  the  east,  but  he 
lias  never  regretted  the  move  and  has  no  desire 
tn  return  to  his  old  home.  Since  coming  to 
Watsonville  he  has  served  two  terms  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  town  trustees. 

While  living  in  Illinois  Mr.  Willits  married 
Livonia  A.  Davis,  who  was  born  in  Ohio  and 
grew  to  womanhood  in  Illinois.  Four  children 
were  born  of  their  union,  but  two  died  in  in- 
fancy, the  others  being  Ralph  W.,  of  Watson- 
ville. and  Charles  D.,  of  San  Francisco.  Among 
the  best  social  circles  of  \\  atsonville  Mrs.  Wil- 
lits has  a  high  position,  and  her  work  in  con- 
nection with  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  and  the  establish- 
ment of  its  free  library  is  especially  worthy  of 
praise,  being  of  a  character  beneficial  to  the 
young  people  of  the  city  and  permanently  up- 
lifting in  its  nature. 


H.  WESSEL. 


Tii  the  people  in  and  near  Templeton  the 
name  of  H.  Wessel  i>  familiar,  for  he  has  made 
tiis  home  in  this  village  since  1891  and  has  been 
intimately  connected  with  many  local  enter 
prises,  lie  was  born  in  Holstein,  Germany,  in 
[835,  and  is  a  son  of  I  Lartwig  and  Telsche  1  I'm 
gel  i  Wessel,  also  natives  of  Germany.  In  [852 
the  familv  came  to  the  United  States  and  Milled 


en  a  farm  about  twelve  miles  from  Davenport, 
Iowa.  On  that  place  the  father  conducted  gen- 
eral farm  pursuits  for  many  years  and  there  he 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years.  His  wife 
was  eighty-two  at  the  time  of  her  death.  Both 
were  strong  and  robust  and  continued  in  good 
health  until  shortly  before  death. 

The  first  occupation  of  Mr.  Wessel  after  com- 
ing to  America  was  as  clerk  in  a  store  at  Daven- 
port. He  continued  in  that  city  until  1868,  when 
he  moved  to  Belle  Plaine,  Iowa,  and  there  en- 
gaged in  selling  hardware  and  agricultural  im- 
plements. Five  years  were  spent  in  Belle  Plaine, 
after  which  he  returned  to  the  home  farm  and 
remained  there  until  his  removal  to  California 
in  1891.  While  living  in  Belle  Plaine  he  was 
proprietor  of  a  canning  factory  for  a  time  and 
also  operated  a  steam  grist  mill  for  four  years. 
<  )n  his  arrival  in  Templeton,  Cal.,  he  became 
interested  in  the  banking  business  and  bought 
stock  in  the  Bank  of  Templeton.  of  which  he 
served  as  president  for  several  years.  Among 
other  investments  he  made  here  may  be  men- 
tioned  the  buying  of  land  and  the  planting  of 
a  prune  orchard  of  thirty  acres,  now  in  bearing 
condition.  In  addition  he  owns  two  ranches 
near  Templeton,  also  the  largest  residence  in 
town.  For  some  years  he  has  bought  grain  for 
San  Francisco  firms  and  ships  to  that  city. 

In  1867  Mr.  Wessel  married  Miss  Margaret 
NTagelj  by  whom  he  has  four  children,  Paulina. 
Etta,  Frank  and  Harry.  It  has  never  been  his 
desire  to  hold  official  positions.  Several  times 
his  friends  have  nominated  him  for  some  office. 
but  almost  invariably  he  has  declined  to  serve, 
preferring  to  devote  himself  to  his  personal 
affairs,  and  having  no  taste  for  politics.  While 
living  in  Iowa  he  served  as  a  supervisor  of  Ben- 
ton county  and  he  also  consented  to  act  as 
township  clerk  of  Iowa  township  and  accepted 
the  office  of  school  director,  filling  the  latter 
position  nine  years.  Since  attaining  his  majority 
he  has  always  given  his  support  to  the  Repub- 
lican party. 

When  a  hoy  Mr.  Wessel  had  few  advantage-;, 
lie  came  to  America  with  a  fair  German  educa- 
tion, but  lacking  .almost  wholly  a  knowledge  of 
the  English  language.  Hence  his  first  few  years 
in  this  country  were  exceptionally  difficult,  but 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


as  time  passed  by  he  was  rewarded  for  his  pains- 
taking efforts,  industry  and  perseverance,  and 
at  the  time  he  left  Iowa  for  California  he  was 
in  comfortable  circumstances.  Integrity  and 
uprightness  have  been  the  foundation  stones  on 
which  his  character  has  been  built,  and  he  stands 
high  as  a  representative  German-American  citi- 
zen of  San  Luis  Obispo  county. 


CHARLES  WERNER. 

Among  the  prominent  German-Americans 
who  contributed  to  the  pioneer  development  of 
Monterey  county,  Charles  Werner  occupied  a 
conspicuous  place,  for  he  possessed  to  a  large 
degree  the  traits  of  character  upon  which  mate- 
rial success  is  founded.  If  he  failed  to  carry  to 
a  finish  some  of  his  most  cherished  desires,  he 
left  his  unfinished  work  in  hands  which  had 
developed  under  his  training.  Three  of  the  sons 
of  Mr.  Werner,  who  inherit  his  aptitude  and  per- 
severance, are  among  the  most  substantial  of 
the  residents  of  the  Pajaro  valley,  and  have, 
since  the  death  of  their  father,  April  23,  1887, 
worked  together  to  adjust  his  affairs,  and  relieve 
whatever  of  obligation  he  may  have  been  unable 
to  meet.  These  sons  maintain  a  creamery  of 
their  own,  and  operate  a  large  dairy  of  sixty 
cows. 

Charles  Werner  was  born  in  Prussia,  Ger- 
many, May  14,  1821,  and  was  reared  on  a  farm, 
subsequently  serving  an  apprenticeship  to  a 
brewer.  Equipped  with  a  common-school  edu- 
cation, a  useful  knowledge  of  farming  and 
his  trade,  he  came  to  the  United  States 
about  1852,  and  at  Kenton,  111.,  owned  and 
operated  a  small  distillery  until  May  18,  1863. 
Before  leaving  his  native  land,  September  8, 
1850,  he  married  Emelia  Workmann,  a  native 
of  Prussia,  and  who  was  born  December  26, 
1830.  Of  this  union  there  have  been  born  five 
children,  viz:  Emelia,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Charles,  who  died  at  the  age  of  six  years;  Ernest, 
Herman  and  Rudolph  C.  After  disposing  of  his 
brewing  interests  in  Illinois,  Mr.  Werner  came 
to  California  in  1863,  leaving  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren behind  until  the  following  year.  On  the 
coast  he  operated  the  distillery  in  San  Fran- 
cisco until  1869,  and  after  selling  out  came  to 


Monterey  county  and  purchased  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  acres  of  land,  now  owned  by  Ids 
widow.  He  later  purchased  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres,  and  at  a  still  later  period 
bought  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  San  Mo- 
sells  Canon.  When  he  first  came  here  he  built 
a  small  distillery  on  his  ranch,  but  only  operated 
the  same  until  about  1884-5.  Thereafter  he  de- 
voted all  of  his  time  to  his  ranches,  but  although 
he  was  an  indefatigable  worker,  was  unable  to 
pay  for  all  of  his  land.  Mr.  Werner  was  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  but  never  sought  or 
accepted  official  recognition.  His  widow  and 
sons  live  on  the  original  farm,  where  their 
model  dairy  and  extensive  general  farming 
operations  are  carried  on.  The  sons  are  un- 
married, and  are  politically  Democrats. 


RICHARD  R.  WELCH. 

An  intimate  identification  with  the  early  build- 
ing interests  of  Watsonville  was  maintained  by 
Mr.  Welch,  who  came  to  this  place  in  i860  and 
soon  afterward  erected  the  first  brick  building 
in  the  town,  a  structure  now  owned  by  O.  D. 
Stoesser.  For  more  than  forty  years  afterward 
he  followed  the  mason's  trade,  though  at  the 
same  time  he  had  other  and  varied  interests, 
many  of  them  being  of  an  important  nature. 
Finally,  in  1902,  he  retired  from  business,  and 
is  now  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  many  and  ardu- 
ous years  of  labor. 

London,  England,  is  the  native  city  of  Mr. 
Welch,  and  June  6,  1833,  tne  date  of  his  birth. 
His  parents  were  Robert  and  Catherine  (Heron) 
Welch,  the  former  of  whom  died  in  1841,  and  the 
latter  is  yet  living  in  England.  When  a  boy  he 
attended  the  London  schools.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  he  left  his  native  country  and 
crossed  the  ocean  to  America,  settling  in  Sing 
Sing,  Westchester  county.  N.  Y.,  and  there 
learned  the  mason's  trade.  During  1855  he 
removed  to  Milwaukee.  Wis.,  where  he  began 
to  take  contracts  for  masonry  and  plastering. 
Returning  to  New  York  in  1859,  ne  planned  to 
locate  in  the  east  permanently,  but  instead  was 
led  to  change  his  plans,  and  in  i860  sought  the 
opportunities  of  California.  \t  first  he  worked 
as  a  journeyman  in  East   Oakland,  which  was 


.Ill 


ST(  )RICAL    AND    BI(  (GRAPHICAL    RE 


)RD. 


then  known  as  San  Antonio.  A  later  place  of 
employment  was  San  Jose,  whence  he  came  to 
\\  atsonville. 

All  of  the  pioneer  brick  work  done  in  Watson- 
ville  was  the  handiwork  of  Air.  Welch,  and  the 
brick  used  in  this  city  was,  until  1890,  manu- 
factured entirely  in  Santa  Cruz  county.  In  addi- 
tion to  contracts  in  Watsonville,  he  was  fre- 
quently called  to  Santa  Cruz,  and  for  more  than 
forty  years  held  a  position  among  the  leading 
masons  in  the  county.  His  present  attractive 
homestead  in  Watsonville  consists  of  a  two- 
acre  tract  forming  a  part  of  the  old  Rodriguez 
estate.  This  he  has  improved  with  a  neat  resi- 
dence, fruit  trees  and  shrubbery,  and  in  this 
pleasant  home  many  of  his  happiest  hours  are 
spent.  Recently  he  sold  the  rear  end  of  the  lot 
facing  on  East  Third  street.  He  was  first  mar- 
ried in  Milwaukee  to  Bridget  .Murphy,  a  native 
of  Ireland.  After  her  death,  which  occurred 
when  she  was  twenty-three  years  of  age,  he  was 
united  with  Bridget  Tully,  also  a  native  of  Ire- 
land. They  are  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  .Mary 
Ellen,  who  married  J.  F.  Aston,  an  undertaker 
of  Watsonville. 


FREDERICK  E.  WEFERLING. 

While  he  is  scarcely  yet  in  the  prime  of  life, 
Mr.  Weferling  has  already  demonstrated  his 
ability  as  a  rancher  and  is  proving  that  he  pos- 
sesses the  qualities  necessary  to  success  in  any 
occupation  of  life.  As  his  name  indicates,  he 
is  of  German  lineage.  His  father,  William 
Weferling.  was  a  native  of  German)  and  immi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  early  manhood, 
Milling  in  Illinois.  Somewhat  later  he  removed 
10  Wisconsin  and  established  his  home  in  Black- 
hawk,  where  his  son  Frederick  was  born  Octo- 
ber i<),  1872.  Trior  to  leaving  his  native  land  he 
had  served  as  an  inspector  of  sugar-beet  facto- 
ries and  was  therefore  familiar  with  this  busi- 
ness in  all  of  its  details.  Both  in  Illinois  and 
Wisconsin  he  became  identified  with  sugar-beet 
industries,  and  it  was  for  tlu  purpose  of  engag 
ing  in  the  industry  under  more  favorable  cli- 
matic conditions  thai  he  settled  in  California 
aboul  1 S74.  His  first  location  was  in  Santa 
Cruz  county,  where  he  started  a  sugar-beet  fac- 


tory. Instead  of  reaping  the  large  success  he 
had    sanguinely    expected,   he   was   unsuccessful 

and  lost  his  all  in  the  venture.  The  experience 
was  so  discouraging  that  he  has  not  since  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  business,  but  since  1881 
has  made  his  home  on  a  ranch  in  the  Jolon  val- 
ley. Although  now  seventy-four  years  of  age, 
he  is  energetic,  capable  and  resourceful,  and  ac- 
complishes much  more  than  many  men  of  his 
age.  He  was  reared  in  the  Lutheran  faith,  and 
has  always  remained  true  to  the  religion  of 
his  forefathers. 

The  earliest  recollections  of  Frederick  E.  We- 
ferling cluster  about  California,  where  he  was 
brought  by  his  parents  in  infancy.  His  educa- 
tion was  secured  in  common  schools  and  is  of 
a  practical  nature,  qualifying  him  for  the  respon- 
sible duties  of  the  workaday  world.  In  1888  he 
married  Myrtle  Edwards,  by  whom  he  has  a  son. 
Frederick  E.,  Jr.  He  owns  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  near  Lockwood,  besides  which  he  is 
now  taking  charge  of  his  father's  farm.  Though 
not  a  partisan,  he  has  independent  and  pro- 
nounced views  on  all  questions  pertaining  to 
the  public  welfare,  and  endeavors  to  discharge 
every  duty  owed  to  his  count}-,  state  and  coun- 
try- For  three  years  he  has  acceptably  filled  the 
position  of  clerk  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and 
meantime  has  been  an  influential  factor  in  the 
workings  of  this  bod)  . 


STEPHEN  T.  FOSTER. 

The  family  represented  by  Stephen  T.  Foster 
of  Monterey  comity  was  established  in  Califor- 
nia during  the  pioneer  days  and  has  since  been 
honorably  associated  with  important  interests, 
chiefly  agricultural.  Andrew  Jackson  Foster  was 
born  in  Keokuk.  Iowa,  and  there  learned  the 
blacksmith's  trade  under  his  father.  William 
Foster.  At  eighteen  years  of  age  he  went  to 
Ohio,  where  he  followed  his  trade  for  a  short 
time.  Proceeding  to  the  far  west,  he  settled  in 
(  ,rass  Valley,  Colo.,  and  secured  employment 
in  the  mines.  After  a  short  time  in  that  locality, 
in  [857  he  came  to  California  and  settled  in 
Santa  Clara  county,  where  he  took'  up  work  at 
his  trade.  The  years  of  his  resilience  there 
were    busily    bm     uneventfully    passed.      From 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPI  IK  AI.    RECORD. 


there  he  went  to  Santa  Rosa,  then  to  Pleas- 
ant* >n,  Alameda  county,  where  he  remained  for 
four  years.  His  next  and  last  location  was  in 
Monterey  count}-,  where  he  homesteaded  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  engaged  in  the 
improvement  and  development  of  his  place. 
The  land  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Piney.  At  first 
settlers  were  few  and  neighbors  there  were  none. 
Alter  some  years,  however,  people  began  to  be 
attracted  by  the  remarkable  prospects  offered  by 
this  region  and  the  population  of  the  county 
increased  rapidly.  With  its  subsequent  increase 
in  number  of  inhabitants  and  consequent  in- 
crease in  the  price  of  land,  his  own  fortunes 
brightened,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  No- 
vember 12,  1900,  he  was  numbered  among  the 
well-to-do  ranchers  of  his  locality. 

In  Santa  Rosa,  in  1867,  occurred  the  marriage 
of  Andrew  J.  and  Mary  M.  (Cockrell)  Foster. 
Bom  of  their  union  were  the  following  children: 
Arthur  E.,  who  is  a  member  of  the  United 
States  navy  and  served  on  the  steamship  Ben- 
nington during  the  Spanish-American  war; 
Anna  and  William,  who  died  in  infancy;  Ste- 
phen T.,  of  Monterey  county;  Charles  F.,  who 
is  serving  in  the  United  States  navy;  Robert  B., 
a  rancher  in  Monterey  county;  Bessie  M.,  Stella 
and  Agnes,  all  at  home.  Of  these  children 
Stephen  T.,  who  forms  the  subject  of  this  nar- 
rative, was  born  April  24,  1876,  and  has  been 
practically  a  lifelong  resident  of  Monterey- 
county,  for  at  the  time  he  came  here  with  his 
parents  he  was  only  seven  years  of  age.  The 
ranch  upon  which  he  makes  his  home  consists 
of  eight  hundred  acres,  of  which  one  hundred 
acres  are  under  cultivation,  the  balance  being 
utilized  for  pasturage  for  the  stock.  A  specialty 
is  made  of  stock-raising,  in  which  .Mr.  Foster 
has  met  with  more  than  usual  success  and  has 
attained  a  position  among  the  successful  stock- 
men of  Monterey  county.  On  his  place  may  be 
seen  between  one  hundred  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty  head  of  cattle,  besides  which  he  also  has 
horses  and  hogs  in  considerable  numbers.  The 
property  is  under  the  direct  managemenl  of  Mr. 
Foster,  who,  although  a  young  man.  keeps  the 
land  in  a  state  of  cultivation  surpassed  by  none. 
The  location  of  the  property  is  convenient,  be- 
ing on  the  Arroyo  Seco  river,  near  the  postofnce 


of  Piney,  and  eighteen  miles  from  Soledad.  It 
is  the  aim  of  the  manager  to  keep  abreast  with 
all  modern  improvements  in  ranching,  and  hence 
we  find  him  making  constant  improvements  in 
the  buildings,  method  of  cultivation  and  system 
of  stock-raising,  all  of  which  changes  in  time 
prove  to  be  successful  and  wise.  Without  doubt 
the  future  years  contain  many  successes  for  Mr. 
Foster  in  the  line  of  activity  upon  which  he  has 
entered  and  in  which  he  has  already  met  a  grati- 
fying degree  of  prosperity. 


DAVID  F.  NEWSOM. 

As  the  proprietor  of  Xewsom's  Arroyo 
Grande  warm  springs,  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  Mr.  Newsom  became  well  known 
throughout  the  central  coast  regions  of  Califor- 
nia. The  resort  which  he  established  and  con- 
ducted for  many  years  possesses  unquestioned 
merits.  A  more  appropriate  and  charming  loca- 
tion could  not  be  found.  Within  easy  access  is 
the  ocean  beach,  with  its  surf-bathing,  clamming 
and  fishing,  and  with  one  of  the  finest  drives  in 
the  state.  The  climate  is  ideal,  spring  and  fall 
being  the  only  seasons.  While  the  climate  and 
the  surroundings  are  conducive  to  the  restoration 
of  health,  the  waters  are  also  health-giving,  and 
are  particularly  valuable  in  the  treatment  of  cer- 
tain specific  diseases.  The  analysis  of  the  water, 
given  herewith,  indicates  its  curative  properties: 

Sodium  Chloride 4. 10 

Sodium  Carbonate 1. 75 

Sodium  Sulphate 3  9- 

Potassium  Carbonate 15 

Potassium  Sulphate 2.90 

Magnesium  Carbonate 6.4] 

Magnesium  Sulphate -'.-47 

Calcium  Carbonate 8.25 

Calcium  Sulphate 85 

Ferrous  Carbonate 3.98 

Alumina  33 

Silica   2.0.; 

Organic  Matter 2; 

Temperature  of  water.  100.5  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

There  is  scarcely  anyone  now  living  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  county  who  wa  arly  as 

1853.     Mr.  Newsom  often  referred  to  hi-  firs! 
meal    in    San    Luis    I  >ber    28,    [853. 

The   restaurant    adjoi  mission    and 

was  patronized  on  that   occasion  b)    repi 
tives  of  no  less  than  itionalities.   He 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


witnessed  the  development  of  the  town  and 
county,  the  growth  of  their  interests  and  the  ex- 
pansion of  their  resources,  and  in  all  of  this 
progress  he  bore  a  share.  Of  southern  birth  and 
parentage,  he  was  born  in  Petersburg,  Va.,  Sep- 
tember 5,  1832,  a  son  of  David  R.  and  Mirah 
(Robinson)  Newsom.  His  education  was  ob- 
tained in  public  schools  and  in  Wake  Forest 
College,  but  was  abruptly  terminated  by  his 
father's  failure  in  business  when  he  was  a  youth 
of  fifteen  years.  In  March,  1849,  he  went  to 
New  York  City,  and  for  two  years  was  appren- 
ticed to  the  brass-finishing  trade.  Returning  to 
Virginia  in  1851,  he  was  employed  as  clerk  in  a 
store. 

In  1853  Mr.  Newsom  came  via  Panama  to 
California,  arriving  in  San  Francisco  October 
16,  and  coming  to  San  Luis  Obispo  five  days 
later.  The  journey  between  the  two  towns  con- 
sumed two  days.  Soon  after  arriving  here  he 
was  appointed  county  clerk  by  the  court,  and 
at  the  expiration  of  the  term  was  elected  to  the 
office,  which  he  held  for  three  and  one-half 
years,  until  June,  1857.  During  his  term  he 
opened  the  various  count}-  books  and  put  them 
in  good  shape  for  systematic  entries.  In  1857 
he  went  north  through  (  tregon  and  opened  a 
general  mercantile  store  at  Olympia,  Wash., 
where  he  was  associated  with  Messrs.  Wilson 
and  Dunlap.  The  first  general  store  in  Belling- 
ham  Bay,  Wash.,  was  opened  by  him  in  April, 
1858,  and  proved  a  most  successful  venture. 
Closing  the  store  in  December,  1858,  he  went 
to  Fort  Hope,  on  the  Fraser  river  in  British 
Columbia,  where  he  carried  on  a  store  for  six 
months.  From  there  he  started  to  return  to  San 
Francisco,  but  on  his  arrival  at  San  Juan  Island 
he  found  Captain  Pickett  with  sixty-three 
United  States  soldiers  endeavoring  to  prevent 
the  arrest  of  certain  individuals  by  the  English. 
In  the  meantime  three  English  men-of-war  were 
anchored  in  the  bay  and  the  officers  had  issued 

for  Captain  Pickett's  arrest  for  trespass- 
ing on  Her  Majesty's  domains.  However,  when 
Captain  Pickett  received  the  orders,  he  stated 
that  he  would  fighf  as  long  as  he  had  a  man 
left.     A  detachment  of  five  hundred  soldiers  was 

1  to  assist  him,  and  when  General  Scott 
arrived  he  was  allowed  to  depart  in  peace.    Dur- 


ing the  excitement  Mr.  Newsom  organized  a 
company  of  sharpshooters,  which  formed  a  part 
of  the  command  under  Captain  Pickett.  Subse- 
quently arrangements  were  made  for  the  joint 
occupation  of  the  island,  and  two  magistrates 
were  chosen  to  represent  the  different  factions. 
Mr.  Newsom  was  honored  by  being  chosen  the 
American  magistrate.  In  this  way  a  temporary 
compromise  was  effected.  The  title  to  San  Juan 
archipelago  was  decided  at  Geneva  in  favor  of 
the  United  States  sixteen  years  afterward. 

During  the  period  of  his  residence  on  the  is- 
land, Mr.  Newsom  was  in  charge  of  the  sutler's 
store,  and  also,  with  two  others,  established  the 
San  Juan  lime  works.  The  year  1861  found  him 
again  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  where  his  first 
venture  was  as  a  rancher  on  the  Virde  ranch. 
In  1862  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace, 
which  office  he  held  for  two  years,  and  at  the 
same  time  he  served  as  deputy  county  clerk. 
Coming  to  Arroyo  Grande  valley  in  1864,  he 
was  chosen  the  first  teacher  for  the  public  school 
of  this  district  and  also  acted  as  justice  of  the 
peace.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  moved  to 
a  part  of  the  Santa  Manuela  rancho,  containing 
the  Arroyo  Grande  warm  springs.  From  the 
first  he  has  been  interested  in  the  development 
of  the  springs.  To  prove  their  curative  proper- 
ties, he  brought  patients  from  county  hospitals 
and  others  in  poor  health,  and  gave  them  the 
benefit  of  systematic  treatment,  the  result  being 
so  favorable  as  to  convince  all  of  the  value  of 
the  waters.  Afterward  he  erected  fourteen  cot- 
tages for  tourists,  and  also  gave  free  camping 
privileges.  When  he  started  the  resort  and  re- 
fused to  allow  any  saloons  on  the  land,  people 
predicted  a  failure,  but  he  proved  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  conduct  a  successful  health  resort  with- 
out selling  liquors  on  the  land.  His  ranch  com- 
prises twelve  hundred  acres.  Dairying  is  one 
of  the  principal  industries.  Thirty  dairy  cows 
are  kept,  and  butter  and  cheese  are  manufac- 
tured for  the  market.  Large  quantities  of  hay 
are  sold.  The  raising  of  walnuts,  almonds  and 
deciduous  fruits,  and  an  orchard  of  olives  and 
citrus  fruits,  form  another  important  feature  of 
the  ranch.  Turkeys  and  chickens  are  raised  in 
large  quantities  for  the  markets,  and  a  flock  of 
seventy-five  Angora  goats  furnishes  a  valuable 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


44f> 


addition  to  the  profit-bringing  accessories  of  the 
ranch.  Another  enterprise  in  which  Mr.  New- 
som  was  interested  as  a  promoter  and  owner 
was  the  Newsom  tannery.  All  of  these  manifold 
interests  prove  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  abil- 
ity and  keen  judgment,  who  was  able  to  multiply 
many  fold  the  original  capital  of  $15  with  which 
he  came  to  California. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  Mr.  Newsom 
adhered  to  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party,  but  during  later  life  he  maintained  an  in- 
dependence of  views  and  ballot.  After  coming 
to  the  Arroyo  Grande  district  he  was  a  trustee 
of  the  public  schools.  He  was  also  a  stock- 
holder and  the  secretary  of  the  Arroyo  Grande 
flour  mill.  While  employed  in  the  county 
clerk's  office,  he  was  ex-officio  county  super- 
intendent of  schools  and  in  1854  established  the 
present  system  of  public  schools.  From  that 
time  until  his  death  he  was  a  friend  of  the 
schools  and  promoted  their  progress  in  every 
way  possible.  Fraternally  he  was  connected 
with  the  Masons  and  Knights  of  Pythias.  After 
the  organization  of  Labor  Exchange  No.  41, 
he  was  one  of  its  stockholders.  In  1863  he 
married  Anita,  daughter  of  F.  Z.  Branch,  and  a 
native  of  the  Arroyo  Grande  valley.  They  be- 
came the  parents  of  twelve  children,  namely: 
David,  Edward,  Alary,  Eliza,  Anna,  Alexander, 
Louisa,  Michael,  Ruth,  Belle,  William  and  Rob- 
ert. The  death  of  Mr.  Newsom  occurred  Janu- 
ary 1,  1902.  Nine  of  his  children  are  still  living 
with  their  mother,  on  the  ranch  where  they  were 
horn,  and  three  are  living  in  Bakersfield,  one 
son  and  one  daughter  being  married 


S  \MUEL  B.  LONG. 

In  his  capacity  of  hotelkeeper  at  King  City, 
Mr.  Long  has  acquired  an  enviable  reputation 
for  hospitality,  geniality,  and  correct  under- 
standing of  the  requirements  of  the  temporar) 
and  permanent  guests  who  visit  his  hostelry. 
His  association  with  this  growing  town  began 
in  [894,  at  which  time  he  purchased  the  San  Lo- 
renzo  Hotel  (now  the  Vendome),  where  he  has 
since  provided  excellent  accommodations,  in- 
cluding clean,  well-kept  rooms,  and  a  table  satis- 
fying to  the  inner  man. 


The  youth  and  early  manhood  of  Mr.  Long 
was  spent  in  Louisville,  Kv..  where  he  was  born 
in  1832,  a  son  of  Ernest  and  Mary  (Bateman  1 
Long,  natives  respectively  of  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky.  The  father  settled  at  an  early  day  in 
Kentucky,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  in  later  life  removing  to  Indiana,  where 
his  death  took  place  in  1843.  IK  was  survived 
by  his  wife,  who  died  in  California  in  1876. 
Samuel  B.  Long  left  Indiana  Alarch  7,  1852, 
and  crossed  the  plains  with  ox-teams,  by  way  of 
Sibley  Cut,  and  arrived  at  Stockton,  San  Joaquin 
county,  Cal.,  October  20,  1S52.  At  the  Kansas 
river,  Kans.,  the  little  party  fell  in  with  another 
train  of  emigrants,  and  at  Volcano  there  was  a 
party  of  twelve,  with  four  bull  teams.  Here  the 
travelers  separated  to  their  respective  destina- 
tions. Mr.  Long  repairing  to  Rich  Gulch,  where 
he  mined  for  six  months,  afterward  spending  the 
same  length  of  time  at  Stockton.  He  then 
located  in  Santa  Clara  county,  where  he  bought 
a  farm,  improved  the  same,  and  lived  upon  it  in 
comfort   for  about   five   years. 

When  Mr.  Long  first  took  up  his  residence  in 
San  Jose,  that  town  had  a  population  of  about 
four  hundred  and  seventy-five,  and  the  surround- 
ings were  of  an  exceedingly  wild  nature.  From 
1859  until  1875  he  made  this  his  headquarters, 
and  during  the  greater  part  of  the  time  he  was 
engaged  in  teaming  from  the  silver  mines  and 
Redwood,  meeting  with  many  exciting  experi- 
ences as  he  passed  through  the  unsettled  and  at 
times  dangerous  country.  Upon  selling  his 
teaming  outfit  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business 
at  Madrone,  then  at  San.  Ardo,  and  later  at  San 
Lucas,  and  was  during  this  time  enabled  to 
demonstrate  his  special  fitness  for  his  chosen 
occupation:  Thus  encouraged  he  came  to  King 
(  in.  of  which  he  has  since  been  an  honored 
citizen. 

In  1858,  at  Stockton.  Mr.  Long  married  Mar- 
garet Hitchcock,  daughter  of  Silas  Hitchcock, 
who  came  to  California  in  [846  from  Selby 
county,  Mo.  Mrs.  Long,  who  died  in  1S82.  was 
the  mother  of  seven  children:  Josephine,  who 
is  now  the  wife  of  Mr.  Nicholas,  01  Sai 
John,  who  is  a  merchant  at  New  Earth;  Mr-~. 
Eliza  Hubbs,  of  San  -t,  who  is   in 

business    with    his   father:    Nelly,   who   married 


1  Mi 


flSTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


James  Brown,  of  San  Jose,  and  two  other  chil- 
dren now  deceased.  In  national  politics  Mr. 
Long'  is  a  Democrat,  and  his  first  presidential 
vote  was  cast  for  Buchanan. 


DAVID  WEBSTER. 

This  representative  rancher  of  Monterey 
county  was  born  in  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  October 
13,  1835,  and  was  the  second  oldest  of  the  eleven 
children  born  to  David  and  Agnes  (Mewer) 
Webster,  the  latter  of  whom  died  of  cancer 
when  fifty  years  of  age.  David  Webster  was 
also  a  native  of  Ayrshire,  and  was  a  weaver 
by  trade.  In  1842  he  removed  from  his  native 
land  to  Maset  township,  Middlesex  county.  Can- 
ada, where  he  worked  at  his  trade,  but  event- 
ually bought  the  farm  upon  which  he  died  at 
the  age  of  eighty-nine  years  and  five  months. 
He  was  a  man  of  keen  mental  alertness,  and 
up  to  his  eighty-sixth  year  possessed  practically 
unimpaired  faculties.  A  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  as  was  also  his  wife,  he  was  a 
profound  student  of  the  Bible,  and  was  also  well 
posted  on  current  events. 

The  Scottish  memories  of  David  Webster  are 
very  indistinct,  for  he  was  but  seven  years  of 
age  when  the  family  moved  to  Canada.  Owing 
to  the  largeness  of  the  family  dependent  upon 
the  resources  of  the  father,  it  became  necessary 
for  him  to  assist  with  the  support  of  his  brothers 
and  sisters  as  soon  as  his  strength  permitted. 
When  twenty-five  years  of  age  he  rented  a  farm 
in  the  vicinity  of  his  home,  but  after  a  time 
bought  the  same  and  lived  thereon  until  1867. 
He  was  ambitious  to  succeed,  and  also  desired 
to  see  more  of  the  world,  and  finally  decided 
that  California  held  about  as  many  inducements 
as  an}-  place  that  he  knew  of.  Arriving  in  Mon- 
terey  county,  he  leased  one  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  land  on  the  Cooper  tract,  near  Castro- 
ville,  upon  which  he  lived  until  1893.  although 
111  1890  he  had  purchased  the  one  hundred  and 
thirty-one  acres  which  comprises  his  present 
ranch.  He  has  been  very  successful  in  his 
adopted  state,  and  like  most  who  come  from  the 
far  north,  has  naught  but  keen  appreciation  for 
the  delight ful  climate  and  infinite  resources  by 
which  he  is  surrounded. 


The  year  before  removing  from  Canada  to 
California,  Mr.  Webster  married  Elizabeth  War- 
nock,  also  a  native  of  Scotland.  Of  this  union 
there  are  three  children,  of  whom  David  is  liv- 
ing at  home;  Elizabeth  Mary  is  the  wife  of 
Adam  Thompson  of  Monterey;  and  Agnes  died 
at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years.  Mr.  Webster 
is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  has  contributed 
his  share  toward  promoting  the  local  interests 
of  his  party.  Himself  and  wife  are  devoted 
members  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church. 


C.'A.  YOUNGLOVE. 

The  foremost  horseshoer  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
spent  the  years  of  his  youth  and  early  manhood 
in  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  where  he  was  born 
March  18,  1862.  His  father,  George  Younglove, 
who  was  born  in  New  York  state  and  was  a  mill- 
wright by  trade,  came  to  California  in  1894. 
Up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1899,  at  the  aye 
of  seventy-nine  years,  he  enjoyed  the  leisure 
earned  by  years  of  patient  application  to  busi- 
ness. In  his  young  manhood  he  married  Caro- 
line Hale,  also  born  in  New  York,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  a  New  York  farmer  and  blacksmith.  Mrs. 
Younglove  died  in  Wisconsin,  leaving  three 
sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  are 
grown,  C.  A.  being  the  youngest. 

After  completing  such  education  in  the  public 
schools  as  his  leisure  permitted,  C.  A.  Young- 
love learned  the  horseshoeing  trade,  and  prac- 
ticed the  same  in  Wisconsin  for  a  few  years. 
Not  satisfied  with  the  prospects  for  permanent 
residence  and  business  in  his  native  state,  and 
having  heard  glowing  accounts  of  the  chances 
beyond  the  Rockies,  he  came  to  California  in 
1885,  and  has  since  been  devoted  to  his  trade. 
He  became  associated  with  San  Luis  Obispo 
in  1888,  and  at  the  present  time  his  shop  con- 
stitutes about  the  busiest  place  in  the  town. 
Success  has  attended  his  efforts,  and  he  is  a 
property  owner  to  the  extent  of  having  pur- 
chased his  pleasant  home,  besides  other  town 
property. 

While  living  in  Wisconsin  Mr.  Younglove 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Warren,  who 
was  born  in  New  York  state,  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
Warren,   who  practiced  medicine  in  Wisconsin 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


-!  i; 


for  the  greater  part  of  his  professional  life.  Mr. 
Younglove  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  his 
activity  in  the  interests  of  his  party  is  worthy  of 
practical  appreciation  and  support.  At  one  time 
he  was  a  candidate  for  sheriff  before  the  Repub- 
lican convention  and  lacked  only  a  few  votes  of 
receiving  the  nomination.  Fraternally  he  is 
associated  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  and  the  Foresters  of  America.  Mr. 
Younglove  is  one  of  the  enterprising  and  liberal- 
minded  men  of  the  town,  and  richly  deserves 
his  past  and  present  success. 


CHARLES  U.  MARGETTS. 

The  president  of  the  Templeton  Milling  Com- 
pany at  Templeton,  San  Luis  Obispo  county, 
has  made  his  home  in  California  ever  since  he 
crossed  the  ocean  from  England  in  October, 
1875.  He  was  born  in  Northamptonshire  in 
1848  and  was  about  twenty-seven  years  of  age 
when  he  came  via  New  York  from  his  native 
land  to  the  far  west.  His  first  location  in  Cali- 
fornia was  near  Hollister.  San  Benito  county, 
where  he  was  employed  as  a  sheep-herder  for 
nineteen  months.  Next,  in  partnership  with  his 
brother-in-law.  R.  J.  Rogers,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Rogers  &  Margetts,  he  began  in  the 
sheep  business,  buying  a  small  bunch  of  sheep, 
and  becoming  in  time  among  the  most  exten- 
sive sheep-raisers  in  Monterey  county.  The 
headquarters  of  the  firm  were  on  San  Lorenzo 
creek,  where  they  kept  their  flocks.  From  1876 
until  1882,  Mr.  Margetts  gave  his  entire  time 
to  superintending  the  business,  but  during  the 
latter  year  the  firm  was  dissolved,  and  he  went 
to  the  Corica  plains  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county, 
there  establishing  a  ranch  which  he  stills  owns. 
Here,  as  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  he  became 
a  large  sheep-raiser,  and  he  still  has  six  hundred 
head.  In  addition,  he  farms  twenty-five  hundred 
acres  of  leased  land. 

The  present  home  of  Mr.  Margetts  is  at  Nine 
Oaks,  a  -mall  farm  near  Templeton,  where  he 
established  his  home  in  1804.  The  name  of  the 
homestead  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  near  the 
house  stands  a  very  large  oak  with  nine  limbs. 
Tn  1897  Mr.  Margetts  became  a  stockholder 
in  the  building  of  the  Templeton   flour  mill,  of 


which  he  was  president  and  manager,  and  in 
December,  1899.  he  was  made  president  and 
manager  of  the  entire  plant.  The  mill  is  built 
on  the  roller  system  and  is  provided  with  all 
modern  equipments,  which  enables  it  to  turn 
out  forty  barrels  every  twelve  hours.  A  spe- 
cialty is  made  of  bakery  flour  and  one  of  the 
best-known  products  of  the  mill  is  the  Victor) 
brand,  which  has  a  ready  sale  in  the  markets. 

The  interest  which  Mr.  Margetts  maintains 
in  educational  affairs  is  constant  and  has  led 
to  his  acceptance  of  the  office  of  trustee  of  the 
Templeton  school,  in  which  position  he  has  con- 
tinued for  years.  Other  offices,  however,  he  has 
steadfastly  refused  to  accept.  His  views  are  in 
accord  with  the  Republican  party  and  he  always 
votes  that  ticket.  Since  1883  he  has  been  a 
member  of  Salinas  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.  His  first 
marriage  took  place  in  1881  and  united  him 
with  Miss  Eleanor  H.  Jennings,  who  was  born 
in  York.  England.  She  died  at  Templeton,  Cal., 
in  August,  1898,  leaving  four  children,  namely: 
Amy,  Percy,  Frances  and  Ethel.  In  1899  Mr. 
Margetts  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs.  Jo- 
sephine Matthews,  who  by  a  previous  marriage 
was  the  mother  of  a  son,  Walter  Matthews. 

Beginning  in  life  for  himself  without  any 
means,  the  present  position  of  Mr.  Margetts  is 
due  to  his  individual  efforts,  hard  work  and 
good  business  qualifications.  An  industrious 
and  intelligent  man.  lie  has  always  commanded 
the  respect  of  the  community,  and  belongs  tn 
that  class  of  progressive  workers  who  form  a 
country's  best  citizens."  By  industry  and  wise 
judgment  he  has  accumulated  a  competency  and 
is  able  to  surround  his  family  with  the  comforts 
of  life.  Justly  he  is  given  a  position  among 
the  most  honored  men  of  Templeton, 


WILLIAM    I.  McGOWAN. 

The  farm  owned  and  managed  by  William  I. 
McGowan  in  the  Pajaro  valley,  consists  of 
ninety-three  acres  purchased  rfrom  his  father. 
The  land  is  all  in  the  wonderfully  productive 
valley,  and  from  a  pat  tl)  improv  1  d  condition 
has  1h  en  transform!  ■' 

a    profitable    and    encouraging    investment,        \ 
new  house  on  modern  lines  add-  to  the  general 


1  t8 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


effectiveness  of  the  landscape,  and  a  barn  of  con- 
venient size  stores  the  aftermath  of  the  harvests. 
In  1891  Mr.  McGowan  put  out  fifteen  acres  in 
apples,  and  in  1896  put  out  thirty  acres  in  Belle- 
fleurs,  and  in  1898  added  thirty  acres  more  of 
the  latter-named  trees.  Xor  do  these  commodi- 
ties represent  the  extent  of  the  usefulness  of  the 
land,  for  between  the  trees  are  annually  raised 
large  crops  of  beets  and  potatoes.- 

A  native  of  Gloucester  county,  X.  J..  Mr.  Mc- 
Gowan was  born  January  4.  1861,  a  son  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  Jane  (Jarvis)  McGowan.  the  latter 
of  whom  died  in  California  at  the  age  of  forty- 
four  years,  leaving  six  children,  of  whom 
William  J.  is  second.  The  other  children  are  as 
follows:  James,  a  rancher  in  this  county;  Sarah, 
the  wife  of  C.  W.  Seevers,  a  merchant  of  Wat- 
sonville;  Robert  H..  a  rancher  in  Monterey 
county:  Matthew  J.,  also  a  rancher;  and  Hugh 
T.,  the  owner  of  the  old  homestead.  John  Mc- 
Gowan was  reared  on  a  small  farm  in  his  native 
country  of  Ireland,  and  after  the  death  of  his 
father  at  a  comparatively  early  age,  the  son  as- 
sumed charge  of  the  homestead  and  cared  for 
the  family.  As  a  young  man  he  came  to  Xew 
Jersey  about'  1 844,  and,  in  order  to  start  an 
independent  farming  enterprise  worked  out  as 
a  farm  hand,  and  thus  managed  to  save  some 
money.  When  able,  he  bought  a  small  farm  of 
twenty  acres  upon  which  he  lived  for  twenty 
years,  and  after  disposing  of  this  property  in 
1864,  came  to  the  Pajaro  valley  and  was  em- 
ployed by  the  farmers  located  there.  In  time 
he  rented  a  small  farm,  and  finally  bought  erne 
hundred  and  seventy-two  acres,  one  hundred 
and  forty-two  of  which  are  in  the  valley,  and 
thirty  acres  in  the  hills.  lie  engaged  in  general 
tanning  and  stock-raising,  and  kept  adding  to 
In'-  land  until  he  had  five  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  in  one  tract,  and  ninety-three  in  another 
ranch.  <  >t  this  propert)  t\w  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  have  been  divided  among  his  soib.  to 
able  co-operation  lie  attributed  much  of 
his  success  in  later  life.  Mr.  McGowan  was  not 
an  active  Democrat,  hut  had  stanch  faith  in  the 
tenets  of  his  chosen  party,  lie  was  a  member 
of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  contributed  un- 
stintingb  toward  it-  maintenance  and  charities. 
Up    to    three    month-    before    his    death,    which 


occurred  March  5,  1901,  he  was  able  to  attend 
to  his  work,  and  was  in  the  full  possession  of 
his  faculties. 

When  but  three  years  of  age  William  J.  Mc- 
Gowan came  to  the  farm  upon  which  he  now 
lives,  and  up  to  his  twenty-seventh  year  he 
worked  at  home  for  his  father.  He  then  bought 
the  ranch  which  he  now  works,  and  to  which  he 
brought  his  wife,  formerly  Sarah  M.,  daughter 
of  C.  D.  Trafton,  and  who  was  born  in  Wat- 
sonville,  Cal.  Live  children  have  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mr-.  McGowan:  Charles  Wilford, 
eleven  years  of  age  and  living  at  home;  an  in- 
fant now  deceased;  Clarence  O.,  Lester  Donald 
and  Myrtle  Estelle.  Like  his  father,  Mr.  Mc- 
Gowan is  a  Democrat,  but  he  has  never  been 
heard  of  as  an  aspirant  for  office.  With  his  wife- 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  at 
the  death  of  his  father  took  his  place  as  vestry- 
man, a  position  maintained  for  many  years  by 
the  older  man.  He  is  popular  and  well  known 
in  the  Pajaro  valley,  and  is  one  of  the  very 
successful  and  enterprising  horticulturists. 


L.  M.  McMANUS. 

San  Luis  Obispo  is  to  be  congratulated  be- 
cause of  the  presence  in  its  midst  of  a  so  thor- 
oughly enterprising  and  practical  business  man 
as  L.  M.  McManus,  proprietor  of  the  San  Luis 
Jewelry  Company,  the  largest  jewelry  establish- 
ment in  the  county,  and  one  of  the  largest  in  this 
part  of  the  state.  It  were  possible  to  visit  many 
towns  of  greater  commercial  pretensions  and 
older  claims  to  consideration,  and  yet  rarely 
find  so  complete  a  stock  of  jewelry,  diamonds 
and  other  precious  stones,  cut  glass  and  articles 
«.f  virtu,  as  is  to  be  found  in  the  show  cases  oi 
this  finely  equipped  store.  The  selections  have 
been  made  with  discretion  and  taste,  and  are 
sufficiently  varied  under  each  head  to  meet  the 
demands  of  the  most  exacting. 

\-  one  of  those  who  has  wrested  a  compe 
tence  and  standing  out  of  his  own  appreciation 
of  opportunities,  Mr.  McManus  is  entitled  to 
the  credit  SO  readily  accorded  by  all  who  are 
familiar  with  his  earlier  struggles  with  adversity. 
II.  was  born  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  in  [864,  .1 
-on   of  ('.   G.    McManus.  a  native  of  Xew    York 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


44!) 


state,  and  at  present  a  resident  of  San  Luis 
Obispo.  He  married  a  Miss  Walrath,  who  also 
was  a  native  of  New  York.  The  paternal  grand- 
father, McManus,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  When  but  thirteen  years  of  age 
L.  M.  McManus  temporarily  suspended  his  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools,  because  of  the 
necessity  for  beginning  to  think  about  his  own 
support.  He  therefore  started  in  to  learn  the 
jeweler's  trade  in  Chicago,  and  after  completing 
the  same  continued  to  work  thereat  for  some 
time  in  Chicago.  In  the  fall  of  1886  he  came  to 
Ventura.  Cal.,  and  established  a  jewelry  store, 
which,  from  a  small  beginning,  assumed  large 
proportions  as  the  business  ability  and  enterprise 
of  the  owner  became  known  and  recognized. 
However,  he  thought  to  improve  even  upon  so 
successful  a  business,  and  rightfully  conjectured 
that  San  Luis  Obispo  offered  superior  induce- 
ments for  his  location  here. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  McManus  and  Emma 
Penny,  a  native  of  Minnesota,  and  of  English 
descent,  was  solemnized  in  1885,  and  of  this 
union  there  are  three  children,  Mable,  Charles, 
and  Raymore.  Mr.  McManus  is  popular  and 
well  known  fraternally,  is  chief  patriarch  of  the 
Encampment,  and  a  member  of  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Foresters  and  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World.  He  enjoys  an  enviable  reputation  in 
San  Luis  Obispo,  and  is  possessed  of  the  ster- 
ling traits  of  character  which  insure  the  highest 
citizenship. 


CHARLES  M.  MARTIN. 

During  the  entire  period  since  1874  Mr.  Mar- 
tin has  made  his  home  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county  and  has  been  identified  with  the  ranch- 
ing interests  of  Los  Osos  valley,  where  he  owns 
a  finely  improved  farm.  Ever  since  he  came  to 
this  locality  he  has  contributed  to  its  develop- 
ment and  progress,  bearing  an  active  part  in 
matters  pertaining  to  the  public  welfare.  About 
two  years  after  his  arrival  he  assisted  in  build- 
ing the  first  school  house  in  Los  Osos  valley. 
From  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  worked 
tn  promote  local  educational  affairs,  and  as  a 
member  of  the  school  board  of  his  district  has 
rendered  efficient  service  for  twenty  years.    Be- 


fore roads  had  been  opened,  he  placed  himself 
on  record  as  a  stanch  champion  of  these  neces- 
sary improvements,  the  making  of  which  has 
been  of  such  value  to  business  men  throughout 
the  county,  and  he  also  favored  the  building  of 
the  railroads. 

Mr.  Martin  was  born  in  England  in  1841,  and 
was  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied 
an  uncle  to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Cen- 
ter county,  Pa.  From  there  he  removed  to  Albe- 
marle county,  Ya.,  in  1867  and  settled  upon  a 
tract  of  land,  from  which  he  improved  a  farm. 
Prior  to  removing  to  Virginia  he  had  been  a 
participant  in  the  Civil  war.  In  1861  he  enlisted 
in  Company  H.  Fifty-sixth  Pennsylvania  Infan- 
try, and  went  to  the  front  under  Colonel  Hoff- 
man. For  some  time  he  was  assigned  to  the 
First  Army  Corps,  but  in  1864  became  con- 
nected with  the  Fifth  Corps,  continuing,  how- 
ever, with  the  army  of  the  Potomac  as  before. 
At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service  he  again 
enlisted  in  the  same  company,  and  continued  at 
the  front  until  the  war  was  at  an  end.  Among 
the  most  famous  engagements  in  which  he  par- 
ticipated were  those  at  Gettysburg.  Antietam 
and  Appomattox  Courthouse.  He  was  mustered 
out  at  Philadelphia  in  July.  1865.  and  returned 
to  his  home  with  a  record  as  a  soldier  of  which 
lie  might  well  be  proud. 

On  coming  to  California  in  1872.  Mr.  Martin 
secured  employment  on  a  dairy  near  San  Jose, 
where  he  remained  for  eighteen  months.  In 
the  fall  of  1874  he  removed  to  Los  Osos  valley 
and  the  following  year  bought  the  farm  of 
eighty  acres  which  lie  still  owns  and  occupies. 
There  was  little  about  the  land  to  attract  an 
ordinary  observer.  No  improvements  had  hem 
made,  no  fences  built,  no  trees  planted,  and  no 
house  erected.  The  fine  shade  trees  that  add  so 
much  to  tlie  appearance  of  the  farm  were  planted 
by  Mr.  Martin  after  coming  here.  In  fact,  all 
of  the  improvements  have  been  made  under  his 
personal  supervision.  The  entire  trad  is  under 
fence.  A  wind  mill  has  been  put  up  and  wain  is 
piped  over  the  entire  place.both  for  domestic  use 
and  for  the  convenience  of  the  stock.  The  land 
is  under  the  plow,  and  much  of  it  is  in  barley 
and  wheat.  The  dairy  cows  are  of  the  finest 
strains,  and   there  are  also  a   number  of  good 


ORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


horses  on  the  farm.  So  busy  is  Mr.  Martin  with 
the  management  of  the  property  that  he  has 
little  leisure  for  participation  in  politics,  al- 
though he  is  an  active  Republican  and  never 
fails  to  cast  his  ballot  at  all  elections.  On  the 
organization  of  Fred  Steele  Post  No.  70,  G. 
A.  R.,  he  became  one  of  its  charter  members, 
and  has  since  been  interested  in  its  work. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Martin  occurred  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1867  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Rachel  Bateman.  They  are  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  all  of  whom  except  the  two  eldest 
were  born  in  California.  They  are  named  as 
follows:  Fannie,  wife  of  James  Wiley,  of  San 
Francisco;  Clara,  wife  of  C.  W.  Peterson,  of 
Salinas:  Isabel,  wife  of  Thomas  J.  Burnett,  of 
San  Francisco;  Charles  Edward,  Nellie.  Ward. 
Albright  and  Gorden. 


WILLIAM  H.  MEADOWCROFT. 

The  enterprise  in  which  Mr.  Meadowcroft  was 
formerly  interested  has  become  known  to  the 
people  of  Watsonville  through  the  energy  and 
sagacity  with  which  it  was  prosecuted.  He  is 
known  as  the  first  white  man  to  open  and  oper- 
ate a  laundry  in  this  part  of  the  state.  About 
1890  he  came  to  Watsonville  and  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Pajaro  river  started  in  the  laundry 
business.  Some  one  had  made  a  previous  effort 
in  the  same  line,  but  had  failed.  However,  he 
had  persistence  and  patience,  and  succeeded  in 
convincing  the  people  that  the  White  Star  Laun- 
dry turned  out  only  the  highest  class  of  work. 
Soon  the  business  increased  to  such  an  extent 
that  employment  was  furnished  to  about  eight 
assistants.  Not  only  did  he  erect  a  business 
house,  hut  he  also  owned  five  dwellings  and 
three  stores  which  In-  had  built.  In  1900  he 
sold  out  there  and  crossed  the  river  int..  Wat- 
sonville  proper,  buying  the  corner  of  Second 
and  Rodriguez  streets  and  building  a  house. 
IK-  also  purchased  the  building  that  stood 
where  Second  street  connects  with  Main  street, 
and  with  others  interested  had  the  street  opened 
al  a  cost  to  him  of  $600.  The  building  was  then 
1  ,,11.1  street  and  was  remod 
eled  in!,,  four  stores,  one  being  his  laundry. 
Encouraged  by  his  success,  other  laundrii 


since  been  started.  His  previous  experience  as 
foreman  of  the  American  laundry  in  Sacramento 
(which  he  held  for  seven  years)  admirably  quali- 
fied him  for  the  management  of  a  laundry  of  his 
own,  and  enabled  him  to  prosecute  his  work 
here  in  Watsonville.  Besides  his  business  prop- 
erty, he  owns  three  houses  on  Rodriguez  street 
and  two  on  the  corner  of  First  and  Menker 
streets.  In  November,  1902.  Mr.  Meadowcroft 
sold  his  laundry  and  turned  his  attention  to  the 
real-estate  business,  having  opened  an  office  at 
No.  23  Second  street.  He  has  as  an  associate 
C.  W.  Bridgewater,  who  served  for  a  long  period 
as  city  marshal  of  Watsonville. 

Mr.  Meadowcroft  is  a  native  of  California, 
born  at  San  Jose  in  1858,  and  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Mary  J.  (Tomlinson)  Meadowcroft.  His 
father  is  a  California  pioneer  of  1853  and  since 
1882  has  held  the  position  of  gardener  of  Golden 
Gate  Park  in  San  Francisco.  The  mother  served 
as  a  matron  of  the  Protestant  Orphan  Asylum  of 
San  Francisco  in  1853.  Both  have  many  friends 
in  the  Golden  Gate  city,  wdiere  for  so  many 
years  they  have  made  their  home.  William  H. 
Meadowcroft  is  connected  with  the  Native  Sons 
of  the  Golden  West,  in  which  he  has  served 
successively  as  third,  second  and  first  vice-presi- 
dent, and  is  at  present  one  of  the  trustees.  Since 
coming  to  Watsonville  he  has  allied  himself 
with  the  Order  of  Eagles  and  has  also  done  valu- 
able work  as  a  member  of  the  Pajaro  Valley 
Fire  Company.  Associated  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  he  is  master  of  arms  in  the  local  lodge, 
and  in  the  Uniform  Rank  holds  office  as  first 
lieutenant  commissary  of  Major  Wright's  staff. 
1  Ie  and  his  wife,  formerly  Lizzie  Arnold,  and  a 
native  of  Baltimore.  Md..  became  the  parents  of 
two  children.  Cornelia  R.  and  Elizabeth  C.  hut 
lost  both  of  them  by  death. 


LOUIS  MARTI XELLI. 

Xot  alone  in  Central  California,  but  also 
through  the  entire  state,  the  Pajaro  valley  is 
noted  as  one  of  the  richest  in  the  west,  and. 
indeed,  there  are  many  expert  judges  who  deem 
m  e,  have  no  superior  in  the  entire  country. 
/orth)  .,111011-  the  orchards  ot  this  valley 
is  the  one  owned  and   occupied  hv   Mr.    Martin- 


f^offi  foe. 


{fcvU> 


HISTi  >RICAL    AND    BI(  (GRAPHICAL    RE(  I  »RD. 


4.-.;; 


elli,  situated  one  mile  from  Watsonville,  which 
gives  to  the  family  all  the  advantages  of  the 
city  together  with  those  accruing  from  resi- 
dence in  the  rural  regions.  In  the  homestead 
there  are  seventy  acres,  comprising  some  of 
the  most  fertile  soil  to  be  found  in  the  valley, 
and  which,  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the 
enterprising  owner,  have  been  made  to  repay  his 
labors  an  hundredfold. 

Switzerland  is  Air.  Martinelli's  native  country, 
and  August  13,  1826,  the  date  of  his  birth.  He 
was  second  among  five  children,  the  others 
being  Martin,  Rose,  Tranquilla  and  Stephen. 
the  last  named  a  resident  of  Watsonville.  His 
parents  were  Peter  and  Catherine  Martinelli, 
the  former  a  contractor  by  occupation.  The 
schools  of  Switzerland  afforded  Mr.  Martinelli 
an  excellent  education,  subsequent  to  attend- 
ing which  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  trade 
of  a  stonemason.  In  1847  he  took  part  in  a 
civil  war  in  Switzerland.  In  1852,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six  years,  he  came  to  the  United  States 
with  a  party  of  twenty-four  young  men,  he  being 
manager  of  the  expedition.  All  of  the  men  were 
natives  of  Switzerland,  ambitious,  hopeful  and 
enthusiastic  as  to  their  future  in  the  new  world. 
At  this  writing  only  five  are  living. 

After  a  stop  of  five  days  in  New  York  Mr. 
Martinelli  started  for  California,  boarding  a 
four-master  vessel  which  sailed  around  the  Horn 
and  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco  Oc- 
tober 20,  1852.  Proceeding  at  once  to  the  mines, 
he  tried  his  luck  in  that  occupation,  but  not 
securing  the  great  finds  hoped  for,  he  aban- 
doned mining  and  turned  his  attention  to  the 
ordinary  pursuits  of  commerce.  July  of  1853 
found  him  in  Santa  Cruz  count),  where  he  was 
employed  in  laying  the  foundation  for  the  first 
house  of  worship  erected  in  Watsonville,  this 
being  the  Baptist  Church.  For  a  short  time 
lie  worked  in  the  employ  of  S.  P.  Davis  and 
W.  1\  White.  In  1861  he  bought  his  present 
farm  near  Watsonville,  and  this  land  he  ha-  since 
transformed  into  one  of  the  mosl  fertile  or- 
chards in  the  valley.  Besides  his  farm  lie  has 
.some  interests  in  Watsonville.  In  all  of  his 
labors  he  has  had  the  assistance  and  CO  opera 
tion  of  Martha  P.eekcm,  who  was  born  in  Rhode 
Island  and   who  became   his   wife   in    1SO2.     The 


tour  children  of  their  111 
Alfred   C.   and   Stella. 


re  Eugene,  Agnes. 


C.  H.  MANSFIELD. 

The  interests  owned  by  Mr.  Mansfield  are 
centered  around  Monterey  county,  where  he 
has  long  made  his  home.  Since  1892  he  has 
resided  on  a  farm  of  nine  hundred  acres,  known 
as  Lowe  Station  from  the  fact  that  in  the  early 
days  the  stages  were  accustomed  to  stop  at  this 
point.  Embraced  within  the  farm  are  nine  hun- 
dred acres,  much  of  which  is  under  cultivation 
to  the  usual  farm  products.  However,  the  own- 
ership of  this  farm  does  not  represent  the  limit 
of  his  interests  and  activities,  for  his  landed  pos- 
sessions aggregate  thirty-five  hundred  acres,  a 
large  part  of  which  is  improved.  Since  1869  he 
has  devoted  his  attention  largely  to  the  raising 
of  cattle,  hogs  and  horses,  and  at  this  writing 
owns  five  hundred  head  of  cattle,  much  of  which 
is  of  a  fine  grade. 

In  Hancock  county.  (  )hio,  Mr.  Mansfield  was 
born  December  6,  1835.  His  father,  Amos  W. 
Mansfield,  came  to  California  in  1850  via  the 
overland  route,  and  at  first  engaged  in  mining 
and  prospecting,  but  during  the  winter  of  1851- 
52  returned  to  Ohio  for  his  family.  His  second 
trip  across  the  plains  was  made  in  the  spring  of 
1852.  when  he  brought  his  family  overland  in  a 
"prairie  schooner,"  with  ox-teams.  In  Febru- 
ary of  1853  he  arrived  in  Monterey,  where  he 
secured  employment  at  teaming  and  hauling 
logs.  In  the  fall  of  1853  he  moved  to  Santa 
Cruz  county  and  turned  his  attention  to  ranch- 
ing, in  which  he  continued  until  his  death  in 
[883. 

At  twenty-one  years  of  age  ( '.  II.  Mansfield 
started  out  in  life  for  himself,  having 
viously  gained  considerable  business  experience 
through  assisting  his  father  in  a  number  of  en- 
terprises. Being  most  familiar  with  farming, 
lie  chose  it  for  his  occupation,  and  did  not  for 
a  time  give  am  atti  at  1  >ck  business. 

However,  during  [859,  when  he  removed  to 
San  Luis  Obispo  county,  hi  began  to  acquire 
cattle  interests,  and  has  since  made  a  specialty 
1  raising.  I  mring  the  drj  years  of  [863 
and    iNo|    hi     lost    five   hundred    head    of   cattle 


454 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


from  the  effects  of  the  drought,  but  with  that 
exception  he  was  uniformly  prospered.  In  the 
fall  of  1864  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company 
A,  Eighth  California  Infantry,  his  term  to  be 
for  three  years  or  until  the  expiration  of  the 
war.  Going  with  his  company  to  San  Francisco, 
he  there  expected  orders  to  be  sent  to  Mexico, 
but  instead  was  retained  in  this  state,  remaining 
in  the  camp  until  1865,  when  he  was  honorably 
discharged. 

After  a  few  years  as  a  farmer  in  the  vicinity 
of  Watsonville,  in  1869  Mr.  Mansfield  came  to 
Monterey  county  and  settled  near  Gorda,  where 
he  became  interested  in  the  stock  business  in 
the  Pacific  valley.  His  initial  experience  as  a 
stock-raiser  was  gained  with  stock  bought  from 
James  Prewitt,  to  which  herd  he  has  added  from 
time  to  time  until  he  has  acquired  many  head 
of  stock,  of  excellent  grades.  In  1872  he  mar- 
ried Mendocino  M.  Plaskett,  by  whom  he  has 
six  sons  and  four  daughters,  namely:  Edwin  E., 
Sallie,  Asa  C,  Laura  W.,  Jasper  A.,  Walter  P., 
Minnie  M.,  Sherman,  Belle  and  J.  G.  Blaine. 
The  political  affiliations  of  Mr.  Mansfield  are 
with  the  Republican  party,  of  whose  principles 
he  is  a  stanch  supporter.  In  fraternal  relations 
he  is  connected  with  the  Grand  Army  Post  at 
Salinas.  As  might  be  expected  of  a  man  so 
energetic  and  capable,  he  holds  a  high  position 
among  the  people  of  Monterey  county,  and  par- 
ticularly among  those  of  his  own  immediate 
locality. 


CHRISTOPHER  MANN. 

Though  one  of  the  most  venerable  of  the  old- 
time  settlers  of  Paja.ro  township,  Monterey 
1  ounty,  Christopher  Mann  is  the  embodiment  of 
hearty  strength,  and  goes  about  his  business 
as  orchardist  with  the  enthusiasm  we  are  wont 
to  assi  iciate  with  much  younger  years.  A  native 
oi  the  vicinity  of  Crawfordsville,  Montgomery 
county,  Ind.,  he  was  bom  May  10,  1827,  and 
spenl  his  youth  and  early  manhood  on  farms 
in  the  Hoosier  state  and  in  Missouri.  Ac- 
cording to  the  precedent  established  b)  his 
father,  another  Christopher,  he  is  destined  for 
many  mure  years  of  usefulness,  for  the  older 
1  hristopher  lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  twelve 


years  of  age,  was  twice  married,  and  reared 
twenty-two   children. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Mexican  war  Mr. 
Mann  was  performing  his  duties  on  the  paternal 
farm  in  Missouri,  and  into  his  otherwise  un- 
eventful youth  came  the  opportunity  of  serving 
his  country  with  valor  and  courage.  At  Inde- 
pendence, Mo.,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  First 
Regiment  Volunteers,  and  as  a  private  partici- 
pated in  two  battles  in  Sacramento  county,  and 
experienced  many  of  the  dangers  and  vicissi- 
tudes of  western  Indian  warfare.  For  three 
days  he  was  obliged  to  live  on  atmosphere,  ow- 
ing to  the  absence  of  food  in  the  Navajo  coun- 
try, but  this  trial  was  more  than  counteracted  by 
the  exultation  arising  from  being  the  first  man 
to  jump  the  breastworks  at  Chowah.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  in  1847  ne  was  duly  discharged 
at  New  Orleans,  and  upon  returning  to  Inde- 
pendence, Mo.,  engaged  in  farming  on  a  forty- 
acre  farm  presented  him  by  his  father.  The 
same  year  he  married  Eliza  Haun,  a  native  of 
Independence,  Mo.,  and  who  at  the  present  time 
is  seventy  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Mann,  like  her 
husband,  is  hale  and  hearty,  and  is  the  mother 
of  one  daughter,  Frances,  now  the  wife  of 
Thomas  Robinson.  She  has  also  been  a  mother 
to  Jefferson  L.  Mann,  a  nephew,  whom  she 
adopted  when  he  was  three  days  old,  and  who 
is  now  county  supervisor  of  Monterey  county, 
and  engaged  in  farming  with  his  uncle  Christo- 
pher. 

In  the  spring  of  1850  Mr.  Mann  started  over- 
land from  Missouri  with  ox-teams,  and  upon 
arriving  in  California  settled  in  Santa  Clara, 
where  lie  bought  a  house  and  lot,  and  engaged 
in  teaming  and  the  lumber  business.  He  soon 
afterward  jumped  a  claim  at  Mountain  View, 
Santa  Clara  county,  and  after  farming  and  team- 
ing for  si'\  oral  wars  s,.l,l  his  claim  and  brought 
one  hundred  and  fifty  head  of  cattle  to  Green 
Valley,  Santa  Cruz  county.  Here  he  squatted 
on  a  large  cattle  range,  and  later  bought  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  vicinity,  upon 
which  he  lived  and  prospered  until  a  dry  winter 
killed  off  many  cattle,  and  brought  about  large 
losses  in  general.  This  doleful  experience  con- 
vinced him  of  the  utter  futility  of  longer  specu- 
lating with  the  conditions  in  Santa  Cruz  county, 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECOR] 


ami  he  therefore  came  to  the  Pajaro  valley  in 
1869,  and  bought  one  hundred  acres  of  land  at 
$50  per  acre.  This  property  has  been  well  im- 
proved, and  the  second  year  of  owning  it  Mr. 
Mann  set  out  an  acre  of  trees,  and  later  put 
out  one  thousand  prune  trees.  These  were  after- 
ward dug  up,  and  he  sold  fifty  acres  of  land  to 
his  brother.  He  at  the  present  time  has  thirty- 
eight  of  his  forty  acres  under  apples,  most  of 
which  are  bearing,  and  incidentally  he  engages 
in  general  farming  and  stock-raising.  Mr.  Mann 
is  a  Democrat  in  political  affiliation,  but  has 
never  desired  or  accepted  official  recognition. 
\\  ith  his  wife  he  is  a  member  of  the  Christian 
Church. 


ABRAHAM  P.  COX. 

On  the  old  Cox  farm,  one  of  the  familiar 
landmarks  of  Santa  Cruz  county,  located  three 
miles  from  Watsonville,  Abraham  P.  Cox,  one 
of  the  most  thrifty  and  promising  of  the  present 
day  farmers  of  the  Pajaro  valley,  was  born  De- 
cember 28,  1867.  The  name  which  he  bears  and 
honors  has  been  a  familiar  one  in  the  county 
ever  since  hi1*  father,  Abraham,  settled  here  in 
1852.  The  elder  Abraham  was  born  in  New 
Jersey,  April  25,  1823,  and  is  a  son  of  Peter  and 
Mary  (Williamson)  Cox.  He  was  reared  prin- 
cipally in  the  state  of  Michigan,  from  where  he 
removed  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  to  Wisconsin, 
where  lie  lived  for  seven  years.  In  1851  he 
started  overland  for  California,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration of  three  months  of  clanger  and  depri- 
vation arrived  at  his  goal  in  San  Francisco.  For 
a  year  he  tried  his  luck  at  mining,  but  being  con- 
vinced that  many  are  called  but  few  are  chosen, 
and  that  he  was  not  likely  to  be  among  the 
latter  class,  came  to  Santa  Cruz  in  1852,  locating 
on  the  farm  now  rented  by  his  son.  In  1855  he 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Rosella  Willitts. 
who  was  born  in  New  York  state  and  who  died 
in  [898,  leaving  three  children,  of  whom  Rosella 
is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Baker,  and  Mary  is  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Soria. 

For  several  years  Abraham  Cox  has  managed 
his  father's  farm,  and  he  at  the  present  rents 
the  same,  and  conducts  there,  m  a  general  farm- 
ing    business.       lie     is    very     successful,    and     is 


among  the  progressive  and  wide-awake  develop- 
ers of  the  locality.  Through  his  marriage  with 
Elizabeth  Doyle,  two  children  have  been  born  to 
him,  Nora  R.  and  Fred  A. 


B.   FRANK    MUM  A. 

The  changing  vicissitudes  of  life  brought  Mr. 
Muma  into  intimate  acquaintance  with  various 
localities  before  he  established  his  permanent 
home  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  in  1864.  Ik- 
was  born  in  Fredericktown,  Md.,  in  1826.  but 
his  youthful  years  were  passed  principally  in 
Louisiana,  where  he  made  his  home  with  an 
uncle  until  he  started  out  for  himself  and  be- 
came identified  with  the  growing  commonwealth 
of  California.  During  the  progress  of  the  Mex- 
ican war,  in  1846,  he  enlisted  in  Company  F, 
Third  Indiana  Infantry,  and  was  ordered  with 
his  regiment  to  the  front,  serving  for  fifteen 
months. 

.  Coming  to  California  by  way  of  the  isthmus, 
Mr.  Muma  landed  in  San  Francisco  in  October, 
1 85 1.  From  that  city  he  proceeded  to  the  mines 
at  Downieville,  Sierra  county,  and  met  with 
fair  success  as  a  placer  miner  on  the  Yuba 
and  Feather  rivers,  where  he  remained  several 
years.  Meantime  he  once  visited  Los  Angeles, 
which  he  found  to  be  a  small,  straggling,  unam- 
bitious Spanish  town,  presenting  the  widest  pos- 
sible difference  from  the  present  bustling,  pros- 
perous and  growing  city.  Another  trip  took 
him  as  far  north  as  Oregon  and  Washington, 
finally  he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo  county, 
which  has  since  been  his  home.  1  le  bought  two 
hundred  and  seventy  acres,  a  part  of  the  Pidros 
Blancos  rancho.  The  land  he  stocked  with  cat- 
tle, and  for  some  years  he  confined  his  atten- 
tion to  the  raising  of  stock,  but  of  late  years 
lie  has  followed  dairying. 

In  the  building  up  of  San  Luis  Obispo  Mr. 
Muma  has  maintained  a  constant  interest  and 
has  acquired  property  holdings  there.  1  lis  identi- 
fication with  the  Independent  (  >rder  of  <  )dd  Fel- 
lows covers  many  years,  while  he  has  bi 
Mason  for  a  half  century,  being  now  conn 
with  San  Simeon  Lodge  Mo  [96  l  &  V  M.. 
and  the  chapter  in  New  <  Irleans,  La.  I  lis  mar 
riage  took  place  in   1873  a,l,i  united  him  with 


i:><; 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Miss  Manlia  Jarman,  who  was  born  in  Wiscon- 
sin, a  laughter  of  John  Jarman.  They  are  the 
parents  of  three  children,  all  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:    Susie.  Irwin  and  Annie. 


PAUL  B.  DEMARTINI. 

While  the  state  of  California  is  a  cosmopoli- 
tan region,  its  population  embracing  representa- 
tive- of  almost  every  country  of  the  world,  there 
are  comparatively  few  Italians  to  be  found  in 
its  towns  or  upon  its  ranches.  The  late  Paul  B. 
Demartini  was  a  member  of  an  ancient  and  hon- 
orable family  of  the  province  of  Genoa  and  was 
himself  a  native  of  that  part  of  Italy,  born  Feb- 
ruary _'.  1850.  When  he  was  seven  years  of  age 
his  father.  Jerome,  brought  the  family  to  New 
York  City,  but  six  years  later  returned  to  Italy, 
where  he  died.  By  occupation  he  was  a  candy 
manufacturer  and  this  industry  his  son  studied 
under  his  supervision,  serving  a  regular  appren- 
ticeship. At  eighteen  years  of  age  he  started 
out  for  himself,  and  two  years  later  came  to  San 
Francisco,  where  he  secured  employment  as 
clerk. 

April  1,  1871,  in  New  York  City,  occurred  the 
marriage  of  Paul  B.  Demartini  and  Miss  Maria 
Lerttora.  who  was  born  in  Genoa,  Italy.  When 
eleven  years  old  she  came  to  the  United  States 
with  her  father,  John,  settling  in  New  York.  It 
was  lur  father's  intention  to  work  in  the  mines, 
where  he  Imped  to  sain  a  fortune,  and  hence  he 
1  ami  to  California  in  1856,  but  before  a  realiza- 
tion of  his  dreams  had  become  possible  he  died 
of  yellow  fever,  leaving  two  children,  John  and 
.Maria.  Mis  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Mfadelina  Rezzaco,  subsequently  married 
again  and  died  at  forty-five  years  of  age.  After 
the  death  of  their  father  the  Lerttora  children  rc- 
turned  to  New  York,  and  there  Mr.  Demartini 
and  Miss  Lerttora  were  united  in  marriage,  their 
wedding  trip  being  a  tour  across  the  continent 
i"  San  Francisco  They  reached  their  destina- 
tion almost  penniless,  for  the  trip  had  been  an 
le  for  the  young  husband.  With  the 
buoyancy  of  youth  and  of  the  Italian  tempera- 
ment, however,  their  stringent  circumstances  did 
nol  cause  them  any  anxiety,  but  with  faith  in 
me.  they  decided  to  go  to  the  theater  and 


enjoy  themselves,  then  start  out  with  a  will  and 
determination  to  succeed.  As  the  days  went 
by,  the  two,  working  side  by  side  and  harmoni- 
ously, accumulated  a  snug  competence,  and  at 
the  same  time  gained  and  retained  the  confi- 
dence of  associates. 

In  company  with  M.  J.  Fontana,  the  Demar- 
tini family  arrived  in  Watsonville  July  27,  1878. 
The  first  venture  in  which  Mr.  Demartini  was 
interested  was  the  starting  of  a  grocery  where 
the  Foresters'  building  now  stands.  From  the 
first  his  energy  and  wise  judgment  in  buying  his 
stock  were  realized  in  an  increasing  trade,  and 
soon  he  was  justified  in  enlarging  the  business 
into  a  general  store.  In  1884  he  disposed  of  the 
business  and  bought  from  Mr.  Pierson  a  ranch 
in  Monterey  county,  just  across  the  Pajaro  river. 
This  he  planted  to  apples,  which  now  form  a 
fine  orchard.  In  1888  he  bought  two  lots  on 
Maple  street,  one  of  the  best  residence  avenues 
in  the  town,  and  here  he  built  a  commodious 
house,  besides  acquiring  other  property  of  value. 
In  all  of  his  labors  he  had  the  cheerful  co-opera- 
tion  of  his  wife  and  not  a  little  of  his  success  was 
due  to  her  counsel  and  business  ability.  In  the 
home  at  Watsonville  which  he  had  erected  and 
which  is  still  occupied  by  the  family,  his  earthly 
life  came  to  an  end  May  19,  1897.  Though  he 
was  still  in  middle  life  at  the  time  of  his  demise, 
he  had  attained  a  success  not  always  achieved 
by  men  many  years  his  senior.  For  twenty  years 
he  was  actively  associated  with  the  lodge  of  Odd 
Fellows,  in  which  he  served  as  past  grand.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  held  office  as  chief  of  the 
Watsonville  fire  department.  Of  his  six  children 
George  and  Paul  died  when  young.  Joseph  has 
been  employed  since  1895  as  bookkeeper  for  the 
Loma  Prieta  Lumber  Company  at  Opel.  The 
daughters,  Lottie.  Adeline  and  Amelia  Fstella, 
r<  side  with  their  mother. 


MRS.  E.  DAVIS. 

That  the  monopoly  or  even  the  greater  part 
of  the  credif  for  the  pioneer  development  of 
1  alifornia  is  due  the  male  part  of  the  population 
has  never  been  conceded  by  even  the  most  prej- 
udiced. That  women  were  the  abiding  inspira- 
tion  of  those   uprooted   from   their  original   sur- 


&C    </(Jayt^J' 


[IST<  )RICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    REC(  >RD. 


459 


foundings,  and  practically  cast  adrift  amid  new 
and  untried  conditions,  is  a  glory  which  must 
forever  overshadow  anything  that  man  may  have 
accomplished.  Among  these  noble  and  self- 
sacrificing  women  the  name  of  Mrs.  E.  Davis 
is  entitled  to  more  than  passing  mention,  and 
now,  in  the  evening  of  her  life,  her  friends  and 
all  who  are  familiar  with  her  career,  insist  that 
she  is  entitled  to  unstinted  praise  and  all  possi- 
ble honor. 

A  native  of  Mississippi,  Mrs.  Davis  was  born 
February  25,  1830,  and  is  a  daughter  of  a  hat 
manufacturer  by  the  name  of  Sumner,  who  even- 
tually removed  from  his  native  state  of  Ken- 
tucky to  Mississippi,  where  he  married  and  be- 
came a  planter  on  a  large  scale.  In  Crawford 
county,  Ark.,  he  engaged  in  the  same  occupa- 
tion, and,  being  an  ambitious  man,  and  full  of 
confidence  in  the  west,  he  resolved  to  cross  the 
plains  with  his  family,  an  undertaking  of  magni- 
tude in  those  days,  and  as  yet  unheard  of  to  any 
extent.  In  fact,  the  family  are  supposed  to  be 
the  first  to  thus  reach  Oregon  by  way  of  the 
overland  trail  with  oxen  and  horses,  and  their 
courage  is  something  which  inspired  the  admira- 
tion of  people  who  in  no  wise  appreciate  the  ex- 
tent of  the  dangers  involved.  Six  months  was 
the  time  required  to  make  this  memorable  trip, 
and  during  its  progress  one  man  was  acci- 
dentally killed,  and  was  buried  at  Independence 
Rock. 

After  a  winter  in  Oregon  City,  the  travelers  re- 
moved to  Sacramento  county,  Cal.,  and  the  same 
year,  1843,  Miss  Sumner  married  George  Davis, 
the  bride  being  at  the  time  just  past  thirteen 
years  old.  Mr.  Davis  was  a  native  of  New  York 
City,  and  crossed  the  plains  as  a  trapper  in  1841, 
locating  in  Montana,  where  he  engaged  in  an 
extensive  trade  with  the  Indians,  dealing  prin- 
cipally in  buffalo  hides  and  deer  skins.  This 
wedding  bears  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
marriage  between  white  people  ever  consum- 
mated in  the  state  of  California.  Mr.  Davis 
bought  property  in  Oregon  Citj  and  there  ran 
a  bakery,  which  trade  lie  had  learned  in  the 
east,  and  the  young  couple  continued  t<>  live- 
there  for  three  years.  In  1849  they  settled  in 
Sacramento  for  a  short  time,  and  then  removed 
near  Stockton,  Cal.,  where  they  owned  a  ranch, 


in  connection  with  which  was  maintained  an 
inn,  feed  and  horse  stables,  a  combination  which 
proved  very  successful.  The  town  was  located 
half  way  between  Stockton  and  Sacramento,  and 
became  the  halting  place  for  the  hundreds  of 
miners  who  infested  those  parts,  and  who  inva- 
riably put  up  at  the  shelter  provided  by  these 
far-sighted  dispensers  of  public  hospitality. 

In  1854  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis  removed  to  a 
farm  four  miles  from  the  city  of  Santa  Cruz,  in 
Santa  Cruz  county,  and  eight  years  later,  in 
1862,  located  on  a  ranch  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Miguel.  This 
ranch  was  utilized  for  an  extensive  stock  and 
sheep  raising  enterprise,  which,  owing  to  the 
dry  seasons  of  1865-6,  proved  a  most  disastrous 
failure.  They  then  removed  even  closer  to  San 
Miguel  and  homesteaded  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  subsequently  proved  up  on  the  same,  ami 
made  that  their  home  for  twenty-eight  years. 
Here  Mr.  Davis  died  in  1891,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-five years.  Mrs.  Davis  still  owns  eighty 
acres  of  the  San  Miguel  ranch,  which  is  devoted 
for  the  most  part  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat. 
Of  the  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis, 
David  is  living  at  home;  Eliza,  the  wife  of  X. 
Azbell,  lives  in  the  Indian  valley;  Joseph  lives 
on  his  mother's  farm;  Buchanan  is  a  farmer  in 
this  count?-;  May  is  now  the  wife  of  R.  B.  Still; 
Annie  is  the  wife  of  R.  G.  Flint,  of  San  Miguel; 
Charles  lives  in  San  Miguel;  and  Elecay  is  liv- 
ing at  home. 


GEORGE  L.  DAVIS. 

Prominent  among  the  ranchers  to  whom  the 
Salinas  district  has  offered  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities is  George  L.  Davis,  the  owner  of  a 
fine  ranch  of  three  hundred  acres  two  and 
a  half  miles  southwest  of  Salinas.  He  comes  of 
a  family  established  in  this  country  by  the  pater- 
nal grandfather.  Thaddeus,  win.  was  bom  in  Ire- 
land and  was  a  governmenl  contractor  and  mill 
man  in  both  his  native  and  adopted  countries. 
After  locating  in  Canada  he  became  an  officer 
in  the  government  military  service,  and  his 
promising  and  useful  life  was  cut  short  in  middle 
age. 

Thaddeus  Davis,  the  father  of  George  L.,  was 


!hll 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


born  in  New  York  state  in  1S11.  and  went  to 
Canada  when  a  young  man.  In  1850  he  started 
across  the  plains  and  worked  in  the  mines  for 
about  three  years,  achieving  fair  results.  He 
then  located  on  a  ranch  in  Santa  Clara  county 
and  engaged  in  the  stock  business  for  a  short 
time,  after  which  he  bought  a  small  place  at 
what  is  n.»w  Riverside  (then  called  Hilltown), 
where  his  death  occurred  in  1.887.  He  was  ,i 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  quite  active  therein.  He  married  Nancy 
Ann  Hagar.  a  native  of  Canada,  and  of  English 
parentage,  and  who  died  at  the  home  of  her 
son.  George  L.,  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
nine  vears.  her  birth  having  occurred  in  182 1. 
Her  grandfather  lived  to  be  one  hundred  years 
old,  and  her  grandmother  died  in  California  at 
the  age  of  eighty-six.  Mrs.  Davis,  who  was  an 
active  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  was  the 
mother  of  six  children,  three  of  whom  died 
young,  George  L.  being  the  oldest  of  those 
living.  A.  Augusta  is  a  widow  living  in  San 
Mateo  county,  Cal,  and  H.  L.  is  a  prominent 
rancher  of  the  Salinas  district,  and  mentioned 
at  length  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

George  L.  Davis  was  born  on  Lake  Erie, 
Ontario,  Canada.  April  16,  1838,  and  was  four- 
teen years  of  age  when  he  came  to  California. 
His  first  position  here  was  as  a  clerk,  in  a  store 
for  a  year,  after  which  he  ran  a  ferry  across  the 
river  from  Hilltown  for  several  years.  When 
twenty  years  of  age  he  engaged  in  the  dairy 
business  with  his  brother,  H.  L.,  and  about  1868 
bought  a  part  of  the  Chimesal  ranch  of  five 
hundred  acres,  where  he  carried  on  extensive 
dairy  enterprises.  In  1880  he  purchased  his 
present  ranch  of  three  hundred  acres,  advan- 
tageously  located  in  the  Salinas  valley,  and  at 
tin-  present  time  fitted  with  all  modern  machin- 
ery and  lain  >r  saving  devices.  He  has  since 
devoted  his  ranch  to  general  farming  and  stock 
raising,  and  lias  settled  down  to  be  a  notable 
and  enterprising  acquisition  to  the  substantial 
and  reliable  community  of  Salinas. 

In  July.  1901,  Mr.  Davis  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Ernestine  Titus,  (laughter  of  Benja- 
min Titus.  They  have  one  child,  George 
Thomas,  born  June  2,  [902.  Mr.  Davis  is  a 
Republican  in  national  politics,  hut  in  local  af- 


fairs votes  always  for  the  best  man.  He  was 
postmaster  of  Hilltown  for  several  years,  and 
was  postmaster  of  Salinas  before  there  was  any 
recognized  town  of  that  name.  He  has  been 
quite  active  in  a  political  way  for  his  friends,  but 
has  never  desired  official  recognition  for  him- 
self. Since  1876  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Odd  Fellows. 


A.  MONTEITH. 

That  the  successful  hotel  man  is  born  and  not 
made  is  demonstrated  in  the  career  of  A.  Mon- 
teith,  owner  and  proprietor  of  the  Alexander 
Hotel  in  Paso  Robles.  and  one  of  the  hustling 
business  men  of  the  place.  Born  in  Scotland, 
a  I  arch  7,  1857,  he  is  a  son  of  a  Scot  of  Perth- 
shire, who  died  when  his  son  was  six  years  of 
age,  and  to  whom  and  his  wife  were  born  three 
other  sons,  John,  James  and  Robert.  Educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  land,  Mr. 
Monteith  came  to  America  in  1863,  accompanied 
by  an  aunt  who  lived  in  New  York.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  he  went  to  the  state  of  Ne- 
vada, and  for  a  time  worked  on  a  Nevada  ranch. 
In  1879  ne  came  to  California  and  settled  in 
Nevada  county,  where  he  engaged  in  teaming 
and  freighting  from  Nevada  City  to  near-by 
towns.  His  freighting  outfit  was  disposed  of 
in  1890  in  favor  of  a  stage  line  running  from 
Nevada  City  to  Graniteville.  a  distance  of  thirty- 
two  miles,  and  during  the  nine  years  as  owner 
of  this  line  he  had  many  unique  experiences 
while  transporting  the  mails  for  Uncle  Sam. 
Upon  coming  to  Paso  Robles,  his  brother  Rob- 
ert  and  himself  bought  the  Alexander  Hotel, 
which  property  consists  of  seventy-five  feel 
frontage  and  is  two  stories  in  height.  The  hotel 
has  been  great  1\  improved  and  modernized 
under  the  present  management,  and  is  a  paying 
and  popular  investment. 

In  Marysville,  Cal..  Mr.  Monteith  married 
Emily  Amberg,  a  native  of  Nevada  county.  Cal.. 
and  of  this  union  there  have  been  born  three 
children,  Eva,  Minerva  and  Emily.  Mr.  Mon- 
teith is  interested  in  many  public  enterprises  in 
the  city,  and  is  especially  enthusiastic  in  his 
effort  to  improve  the  water  system  of  the  town. 
\    stanch    Republican,   he  has  been   prominent 


HISTORICAL   AND    BTOGBAFTHCAF    RECORD. 


461 


in  promoting  the  interests  of  his  party,  and  in 
April,  1902,  was  appointed  to  fill  an  unexpired 
term  as  trustee.  Fraternally  he  is  associated 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  socially  he  is  connected  with  the  best  people 
in  the  city. 


FRANCIS  DOUD. 

An  Irish-American  embodying  the  wit  of  his 
own,  with  the  enterprise  and  determination  of 
his  adopted  country;  a  hero  of  the  Indian  and 
Mexican  wars,  and  the  oldest  soldier  on  the 
coast  who  served  from  '39  to  4.7;  a  rugged  pio- 
neer of  '49;  a  business  man  whose  wise  invest- 
ments and  capacity  for  industry  have  resulted  in 
his  possession  of  many  ranches,  stocked  with  the 
best  cattle  in  the  west;  and  an  upbuilder  and 
stockholder  of  many  of  the  most  important  en- 
terprises in  Monterey,  such  is  the  record  of 
Francis  Doud. 

A  native  of  Ireland,  Mr.  Doud  was  born  Jan- 
uary 20,  1820,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1838,  when  eighteen  years  of  age.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Second 
United  States  Infantry,  and  saw  service  in  Flor- 
ida for  two  years,  under  General  Riley,  during 
the  Indian  campaign.  He  was  subsequently 
promoted  to  sergeant  of  Company  A,  and  sta- 
tioned at  Fort  Niagara,  N.  Y.,  until  1846, 
during  which  year  he  accompanied  his  regiment 
to  Mexico  under  Generals  Scott  and  Taylor, 
and  operated  on  the  Vera  Cruz  and  Monterey 
lines  as  sergeant  and  color  sergeant.  In  Mexico 
he  was  wounded  three  times,  and  at  Cerro 
Gordo,  where  he  distinguished  himself  for 
bravery  which  won  him  a  medal  made  from 
Mexican  guns,  he  was  discharged  for  disability 
in  1848,  and  stationed  at  Porota,  Mexico,  until 
convalescent.  The  following  year  he  married, 
in  New  York  City,  Miss  Kenna,  who  died  in 
Monterey  in  1896,  just  after  celebrating  her 
golden  wedding.  Directly  after  his  marriage, 
Mr.  Doud  and  his  wife  boarded  a  ship,  Orpheus, 
under  command  of  Captain  Filmore,  and  bound 
for  San  Francisco,  which  city  they  reached  July 
6,  1849.  The  winter  of  '50  was  spent  with  indif- 
ferent success  in  the  mines  of  Mariposa  county, 
and    thereafter   Mr.    Doud   came   to    Monterey, 


where  he  met  his  former  commander.  General 
Riley,  the  then  military  governor  of  California. 
He  at  once  became  associated  with  the  commis- 
sary department  as  civilian,  acting  in  the  capac- 
ity of  orderly  to  Generals  Riley  and  Halleck,  the 
latter  secretary  of  state,  and  was  thus  employed 
until  1851. 

At  the  end  of  his  military  service  Mr.  Doud 
became  interested  in  stock-raising  and  the 
butchering  business,  and  soon  owned  large 
ranches  all  over  Monterey  county.  He  still  con- 
tinues to  handle  cattle,  and  owns  several  ranches 
in  the  county.  On  an  eminence  overlooking  the 
bay  Mr.  Doud  built,  in  the  latter  '60s,  one  of  the 
most  desirable  homes  in  the  city,  the  view  being 
unexcelled.  Here  he  has  since  lived.  He  is  one 
of  the  organizers  and  a  director  in  the  Bank  of 
Monterey,  and  the  Monterey  County  Bank  at 
Salinas,  and  he  owns  a  large  interest  in  the  Mon- 
terey Electric  Light  Plant.  He  is  treasurer  of 
the  Monterey  Progressive  Association,  and  a 
director  in  the  Sloat  Monument  Association. 
The  addition  known  as  the  Doud  tract,  where 
beautiful  homes  are  in  process  of  construction, 
was  laid  out  by  Mr.  Doud.  and  much  valuable 
property  has  passed  into  his  hands  and  is  now 
owned  by  him.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  California  Pioneers,  and  Pioneers  of  the  Mex- 
ican War,  and  for  twenty-five  years  he  has  been 
government  custodian  of  the  Monterey  Military 
Reservation.  A  stanch  Republican  in  national 
politics,  he  has  never  had  time  or  inclination  for 
political  office,  but  has  nevertheless  served  on 
the  school  board  for  over  thirty  years. 


W.  H.  EVANS. 

Whether  as  a  rancher  or  as  manager  of  a  large 
livery  enterprise  in  Templeton,  W.  H.  Evans 
has  evinced  business  ability,  and  has  earned  the 
success  which  has  crowned  his  western  efforts. 
He  is  one  of  the  sons  of  *  >hio  who  Fr 
their  lot  with  this  section  of  California,  of  whose 
exceptional  possibilities  he  is  a  keen  appreciator. 
Born  near  Granville.  Licking  count)  . 
February  _'<>.  [864,  he  is  a  son  of  Nathan  and 
Adelia  (Case)  Evans,  and  grandson  of  John 
Evans,  the  latter  of  whom  was  born  in  Vermont, 
ami  died  in   Ohio  at  the  age    of    eighty-eighl 


iti-i 


HISTl  )RICAL    AND    hl<  >GRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


\ears.  and  at  the  lime  had  scarcely  halt  a  dozen 
white  hairs  in  his  head.  The  maternal  grand- 
father. Filo  Case,  was  also  born  in  Vermont. 
and  removed  to  (  >hio  at  a  very  early  day,  when 
a  young  man.  He  died  in  the  Buckeye  state  at 
the  age  of  seventy-seven  years.  There  were  but 
two  children  born  to  Nathan  Evans  and  his  wife. 
one  daughter  and  one  son,  the  former  of  whom. 
Clara,  is  now  Airs.  Fred  Wells,  her  husband 
being  a  railroad  man  near  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

After  leaving  the  paternal  homestead  in  Ohio. 
W.  II.  Evans  worked  on  the  surrounding  farms 
by  the  month,  and  for  fifteen  years  was  em- 
ployed by  different  land  owners  throughout 
Ohio.  During  that  time  he  managed  to  save  up 
$500.  with  which  he  started  for  California,  in- 
tent upon  making  the  land  of  the  rising  sun  his 
future  home.  As  a  preliminary  in  his  new  loca- 
tion he  lived  on  a  farm  for  a  time,  and  then 
engaged  in  the  dairy  business  with  considerable 
success.  In  the  fall  of  [901  he  purchased  the 
livery  business  with  which  his  name  has  since 
been  associated,  and  in  connection  with  which  he 
still  raises  wheat  and  barley  on  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres  of  rented  land. 

In  San  Luis  Obispo,  Cal.  Air.  Evans  married 
Jennie  Gibson,  a  native  of  California,  and  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  Gibson,  who  was  born  in  Ireland, 
and  came  to  the  United  States  when  a  young 
man,  settling  in  California,  where  the  remainder 
of  his  life  was  spent.  One  child  has  been  born  to 
.Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans,  Raymond,  who  is  five  years 
of  age.  Mr.  Evans  is  a  Democrat  in  political 
affiliation,  and  is  fraternally  associated  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  is  one 
of  the  honored  and  popular  citizens  of  Temple- 
ton,  and  represents  it-  enterprising  business  ele- 
ment. 


E.    V  EATON. 


Xo  more  satisfactory  illustration  of  the  self- 
made  and  substantial  business  man  exists  in  the 
county  than  E.  A.  Eaton,  a  resident  of  Salinas, 
.uid  manager  of  the  Ford  &  Sanborn  mercantile 
concern.  The  success  .if  \lr.  Eaton  is  founded 
upon  an  untiring  capacity  lor  work,  a  genius  for 
detail,  an  unswerving  integrity,  and  the  kind  of 
authority  which  not   only  secures   the  best  and 


greatest  amount  of  labor  from  employes,  but  in- 
spires as  well  a  profound  respect  for  his  ability 
and  personal  worth. 

A  native  son  of  California,  Mr.  Eaton  was 
born  in  San  Francisco  in  i860,  a  son  of  Alex- 
ander and  Martha  (LockwoodJ  Eaton,  the  for- 
mer of  whom  was  a  blacksmith  in  San  Francisco, 
and  the  latter  came  to  California  when  a  child, 
in  1849.  The  preliminary  education  of  Mr. 
Eaton  was  acquired  in  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town,  but  at  the  very  early  age  of  twelve- 
he  faced  the  problem  of  self-support,  and  his 
schooling  was  temporarily  abandoned  for  a 
clerkship,  with  the  drug  firm  of  Painter  &  Cal- 
vert  During  the  three  years  that  he  remained 
with  the  firm  he  gained  a  fair  knowledge  of  the 
business,  and  thus  equipped  he  removed  to  Hol- 
lister  and  engaged  in  the  drug  business  on  his 
own  account.  Upon  disposing  of  his  drug  inter- 
ests he  went  into  business  with  Mr.  McMahon, 
and  for  four  years  was  a  valuable  assistant  in  the 
management  of  the  mercantile  enterprise.  Sub- 
sequently he  began  with  the  firm  of  which  he 
is  now  the  manager,  and  from  the  position  of 
bookkeeper  at  King  City  was  elevated  to  the 
general  management  of  the  local  interests  there. 
For  nine  years  he  was  identified  with  King  City, 
after  which  he  was  transferred  to  Salinas  as  as- 
sistant general  manager  to  Air.  Yanderhurst, 
and  two  years  later,  in  1898.  assumed  his  present 
responsible  position  as  general  manager  of  the 
whole  business. 

The  Ford  &  Sanborn  mercantile  concern,  with 
headquarters  at  Salinas,  is  one  of  the  largest 
mercantile  establishments  in  California,  and  is 
the  outgrowth  of  Yanderhurst,  Sanborn  &  Co., 
with  which  Air.  Vanderhurst  was  connected  for 
over  thirty  years.  Nearly  everything  in  the  mer- 
cantile line  is  carried  in  stock,  and  the  company 
own  tine  brick  buildings  in  Salinas,  and  have 
many  different  stores  in  different  parts  of  the 
state,  'fhe  organization  is  most  perfect  ami 
complete,  the  different  departments  being  under 
different  heads,  the  implement,  grain,  dry-goods. 
grocery,  and  wagon  and  carriage  departments 
being  conducted  1>\  men  qualified  accordingly. 

In  San  Francisco,  in  1882,  Air.  Eaton  married 
Fannie  Fauntin.  who  was  born  in  Oakland,  Cal., 
her  family  being  among  the  earl)   settlers  of  the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


state.  Of  this  union  there  are  two  children, 
Edna  and  Alma.  Although  a  firm  believer  in 
Republican  institutions,  Mr.  Eaton  has  never  run 
but  for  one  ofhee,  that  of  supervisor,  in  which 
he  was  defeated.  He  is  prominent  fraternally, 
and  is  affiliated  with  the  Masons,  Elks  and  the 
Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West. 


HIRAM  COREY. 

No  name  in  Monterey  county  is  more  endur- 
ingly  associated  with  its  substantial  development 
than  that  of  Hiram  Corey,  owner  of  Las  Palmas 
ranch,  three  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Salinas, 
and  one  of  the  large  land  owners  and  prosper- 
ous citizens  of  this  section.  This  honored  citi- 
zen was  born  in  Stanbridge,  Canada,  March  7, 
1 83 1,  and  is  fourth  among  the  nine  children 
born  to  Reuben  and  Melinda  (Reynolds)  Corey, 
natives  of  New  York  and  Vermont  respectively. 

Capt.  Reuben  Corey  was  reared  en  the  pa- 
ternal farm  in  Xew  York  state,  and  when  a 
young  man  removed  to  Canada,  where  he  won 
the  rank  of  captain  in  her  majesty's  service. 
About  1856  he  removed  to  Bloomfield,  Sonoma 
county,  Cal.,  purchasing  a  ranch  of  three  hun- 
dred acres,  upon  which  he  retired  about  1865, 
and  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-five 
years.  He  was  active  in  the  Republican  party, 
and  equally  so  in  the  Methodist  Church,  and, 
considering  his  time  and  opportunities,  was  a 
successful  man.  His  wife,  who  lived  to  be  sev- 
enty-six years  of  age,  was  the  mother  of  ten 
children,  namely.  Pauline,  the  wife  of  Nelson 
Bentley,  and  whose  son,  William,  is  mentioned 
in  another  part  of  this  work;  Noah,  a  rancher 
in  this  county;  Hiram;  Malinda,  the  wife  of  R. 
Reynolds,  living  on  the  old  Canadian  home- 
stead; Cynthia,  the  wife  of  Joseph  Stocking; 
Reuben,  a  rancher  in  San  Jose;  Addie,  wife  of 
George  Case;  Minerva,  Mrs.  Jerry  Hogan; 
Sarah,  wife  of  Charles  Littlefield;  ami  Augusta, 
wife  of  William  Hall. 

While  still  living  in  Canada  Hiram  Corey 
worked  for  a  time  on  the  railroad,  and  January 
1,  1852,  accompanied  his  brother,  Noah,  to  Cal- 
ifornia by  way  of  the  isthmus,  arriving  at  Clark's 
Point  February  26.  1851.  For  a  time  the  broth- 
ers   engaged    in    contracting    for    supplies    and 


logs  for  a  saw  mill,  and  later  leased  a  ranch  and 
supplied  vegetables  to  the  state  prison.  In  De- 
cember, 1853,  tlle  brothers  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  borrowed  a  weather  beaten  schooner 
with  which  to  proceed  south  for  provisions. 
The  journey  was  enlivened  by  a  storm  which 
caused  the  men  to  abandon  the  craft,  which 
later  went  to  pieces,  and  they  owed  their  rescue 
to  a  surveying  party  which  happened  along  at 
Point  Eryes.  After  landing,  they  were  con- 
fronted by  other  dangers  from  grizzly  bears, 
and  this  circumstance  caused  them  to  return 
to  the  surveying  part)',  with  whom  they  set 
out  for  San  Francisco.  The  sea  was  still  rough, 
and  storms  along  the  coast  rendered  navigation 
almost  impossible.  In  desperation  they  were 
obliged  to  once  more  head  for  shore,  but  not 
before  the  vessel  was  dashed  to  pieces  upon  the 
rocks.  Hiram,  who  could  swim,  saved  his  own 
life  and  that  of  his  brother,  and  they  afterward 
walked  back  to  the  ranch  which  they  had  leased, 
much  the  losers  by  their  hazardous  expedition. 
Hiram  thereafter  worked  in  a  saw  mill  for 
about  six  months,  and  in  the  spring  of  1853 
the  brothers  went  to  Marin  county  and  leased 
a  ranch  of  four  hundred  acres,  upon  which  was 
operated  the  first  dairy  with  American  cows 
successfully  conducted  in  this  part  of  the  state. 
In  1862  this  property  was  disposed  of  and  Hiram 
proceeded  alone  to  Aurora,  near  Virginia  City, 
where  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Red.  White 
and  Blue  mines  for  five  months,  and  through 
his  wise  foresight  the  company  then  abandoned 
the  mines  as  not  worthy  of  development.  He 
then  went  to  the  Owens  River  quartz  mines  and 
located  several  claims  for  a  New  York  com- 
pany, and,  being  a  warm  friend  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  company,  he  was  sent  to  Los 
Angeles  to  make  up  the  trains  for  transporting 
the  machinery  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
to  the  mines.  The  wagons  and  machinery  had 
been  shipped  to  San  Pedro  from  San  Francisco, 
ami  Mr.  Corey  purchased  the  cattle  and  made 
up  the  train.  The  Indians  were  extremely 
troublesome,  and  Mr.  Corey  assumed  the  re- 
sponsibilit)  of  driving  one  team  himself,  encoun- 
tering many  obstacle  on  the  way. 
The  lumber  for  the  mines  had  to  he  rafted 
fifty  miles,  and   a  mad   had  to  be  made  to  the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


mines  over  which  to  convey  the  lumber.  All 
this  was  superintended  by  Mr.  Corey,  who  was 
familiar  with  the  territory,  having  been  in  the 
locality  during  1862,  when  he  camped  with  the 
cavalry  at  Big  Pine,  and  had  a  battle  with  the 
Indians  before  they  could  locate  the  mines. 
He  staid  with  the  regulars  for  six  or  eight 
weeks  at  that  time,  and  his  perseverance  re- 
sulted in  later  valuable  services  to  the  company, 
who  relied  upon  his  judgment  and  discretion. 

Leaving  the  mines  in  Nevada,  Mr.  Corey 
spent  about  two  years  on  a  leased  ranch  at 
Point  Eryes,  seventy-five  miles  from  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  in  October,  1872,  leased  the  Buena 
Vista  ranch  of  seventy-seven  hundred  and  twen- 
t\  -five  acres,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  in  the 
Salinas  valley.  He  then  bought  four  hundred 
and  fifty  dairy  cattle  from  Nevada,  and  when 
his  five  years'  lease  expired  renewed  the  same 
for  seven  years,  adding  to  his  original  stock 
five  hundred  cows.  In  1883  the  ranch  passed 
into  his  absolute  possession,  and  remained  his 
property  until  its  disposal  by  Mr.  Corey,  in 
1889,  to  the  Buena  Vista  Land  Company,  who 
afterward  forced  him  to  take  back  two  thousand 
acres  of  the  property.  Subsequently  he  bought 
back  his  present  ranch  of  sixteen  hundred 
acres,  which  has  been  named  Las  Palmas,  and 
is  not  only  the  finest  ranch  in  the  county,  but 
one  of  the  best  in  the  state.  Mr.  Corey  is 
engaged  principally  in  stock  raising,  and  upon 
his  fertile  meadow-s  have  grazed  some  of  the 
finest  cattle  and  horses  in  California,  their  owner 
being  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  authorities  on 
the  subject  for  many  miles  around. 

In  1856  Mr.  Corey  married  Rosana  Frost,  a 
native  of  Essex,  Yt.  and  who  was  a  beautiful 
character  and  an  ideal  helpmate.  Mrs.  Corey 
had  no  children  of  her  own,  but  lavished  all 
the  love  of  her  heart  on  three  of  the  children 
of  her  husband's  sister,  who  were  left  orphans 
at  an  early  age.  She  died  March  9,  1900,  a  firm 
believer  and  worker  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Corey  was  with 
Mrs.  F.lfreda  (Ead)  Johnson,  and  was  solemn- 
I  '.la\ -j.j.  [901,  Mrs.  Corey  being  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Nattress)  Ead,  natives  of 
England.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ead  brought  their 
daughter    to    America   and    California    in    1849, 


settling  in  this  county,  where  they  are  still  liv- 
ing and  are  nearly  seventy  years  of  age.  Mrs. 
Corey  was  born  in  Jo  Daviess  county,  111.,  and 
married  Thomas  J.  Johnson,  by  whom  she  had 
one  daughter,  Pearl,  her  second  marriage  re- 
sulting in  another  daughter,  Augusta  Eleanor. 
Mr.  Corey  is  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Republi- 
can party,  although  he  has  never  labored  for 
the  interests  of  other  than  his  friends.  He  was 
one  of  the  organizers  and  a  director  of  the 
Monterey  County  Bank,  at  Salinas,  and  has  had 
much  to  do  with  other  enterprises  in  the  town 
and  county  of  equal  importance  to  its  growth. 
Although  approaching  the  quiet  evening  of  life, 
he  is  still  well  and  hearty,  a  successful,  typically 
western,  and  honored  resident  of  this  well  fav- 
ored coast  country. 


JOSE  VICENTE  ESTUDILLO. 

During  his  long  and  active  career,  Jose  Vi- 
cente Estudillo  exerted  a  lasting  influence  upon 
the  general  affairs  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county. 
where  for  thirty-one  years  he  engaged  in  stock- 
raising  on  a  scale  compatible  with  large  returns 
and  the  general  advantages  of  his  surroundings. 
The  family  owned  San  Joaquin  ranch,  one  of 
the  finest  in  the  country,  and  this  was  the  spe- 
cial pride  of  Mr.  Estudillo.  who  spent  his  days 
in  its  improvement,  and  gave  to  it  his  best 
thought  and  untiring  care.  His  death  in  1803 
removed  one  of  the  substantial  men  of  the  com- 
munity, and  one  whom,  in  many  respects,  it 
was  difficult  to  find  a  substitute. 

In  his  young  manhood  Mr.  Estudillo  found  a 
helpmate  and  sincere  sympathizer  in  Eulalia  D. 
Zamorano,  whom  he  married  in  San  Diego 
county,  and  who  was  born  in  that  county.  Mrs. 
Estudillo,  who  still  lives  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  has 
an  interesting  ancestry,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
Agustin  Vicente  Zamorano,  a  native  of  Florida. 
The  father  eventually  chose  Mexico  as  his  per- 
manent home,  and  the  woes  of  that  once  hapless 
country  were  very  deeply  imbedded  in  his  patri- 
otic heart,  lie  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Sixth 
Regiment,  and  at  the  time  of  the  independence 
V  Mexico,  in  t8lO,  he  was  active  in  defense  of 
the  rights  of  his  adopted  country.  He  was  am- 
bitious  of  high  political  honors,  and  aspired  to 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


461; 


be  governor,  but  bis  premature  death  in  1842, 
while  still  young  in  years,  terminated  what 
promised  to  be  a  brilliant  and  resourceful  ca- 
reer. His  aspiration  for  a  seat  among  the 
mighty  and  influential  was  in  a  sense  inherited 
from  ancestors  who  had  mingled  with  the  kings 
of  Spain,  and  participated  in  the  glory  which 
brilliant  deeds  and  extended  empire  shed  upon 
the  once  world-envied  throne.  The  paternal 
grandfather.  Gonzalo  Zamorano,  a  native  of 
Spain,  was  treasurer  to  Charles  III.,  king  of 
Spain,  and  his  official  capacity  extended  also  to 
the  reign  of  Ferdinand  VII. 

Mrs.  Estudillo  has  one  brother  and  one  sister 
living  in  California,  and  she  herself  has  spent 
her  entire  life  amid  the  multitudinous  attrac- 
tions of  the  state.  She  became  the  mother  of 
twelve  children,  namely:  Joaquin  J.,  Agustin 
Y.,  Jose  V.,  Eulalie  D.,  Josefa  R.,  Chonita  M., 
Elena  R.,  Enrique  R.,  Jose  G.,  Odulia  M.,  Da- 
linda  F.  (who  died  at  the  age  of  six  years),  and 
Anais  M. 


JUDGE  MARTIN  EGAN. 

In  the  city  of  Plattsburg,  N.  Y.,  where  his 
father  had  settled  in  183 1,  Judge  Egan  was  born 
in  1844.  The  family  of  which  he  is  a  member 
has  always  displayed  the  utmost  loyalty  to  our 
country  and  has  been  stanchly  Republican  ever 
since  that  party  was  organized.  Indeed,  his 
father  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  party  in 
his  neighborhood  and  did  considerable  pioneer 
work  in  bringing  its  principles  before  the  peo- 
ple for  consideration  and  thoughtful  study. 
Naturally,  he  is  also  a  believer  in  the  Repub- 
lican platform  and  upholds  its  principles  by  his 
ballot.  A  military  spirit  is  another  characteristic 
of  the  family,  and  he  had  two  brothers  who  sig- 
nificantly displayed  the  possession  of  this  family 
trait.  One  of  them  was  a  graduate  of  West 
Point,  and  rose  to  tie  rank  of  major  in  the  reg- 
ular army.  Another  brother,  Michael,  was  also 
a  Union  soldier  during  the  war,  and  now  resides 
in  Philadelphia. 

On  completing  his  education  in  Plattsburg 
Academy.  Martin  Egan  began  to  make  his  own 
way  in  the  world.  Following  in  the  footsteps  of 
his  father,  who  was  a  merchant,  he  became  inter- 


ested  in  merchandising  at  Plattsburg,  and  re- 
mained in  that  city  until  1878,  the  date  of  his 
arrival  in  California.  Ever  since  then  he  has 
made  his  home  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  where  for 
years  he  had  charge  of  the  water  works,  mean- 
time laying  all  the  mains,  pipes,  etc.  Since  1891 
he  has  held  office  as  justice  of  the  peace,  which 
position  he  fills  with  the  utmost  fidelity.  The 
filling  of  this  office  has  made  him  perhaps  more 
deeply  interested  in  moral  reform  than  he  would 
have  been  otherwise.  He  believes  that  boys 
should  be  carefully  trained  when  young,  and 
should  be  taught  to  leave  whisky  alone  and 
shun  other  evils  which  drag  into  hopeless  ruin 
so  many  of  the  brightest  youths  of  the  land. 

While  living  in  Plattsburg,  N.  Y.,  Judge  Egan 
there  married  Miss  Mary  A.  South,  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  New  York  state.  Her  father, 
Lieut.  Joseph  South,  enlisted  in  the  Ninety-sixth 
New  York  Infantry  at  the  opening  of  the  Civil 
war  and  was  killed  in  1863  while  in  active  serv- 
ice. Judge  and  Mrs.  Egan  have  six  children, 
namely:  John,  Mary,  Emmett,  Henry,  Louisa 
and  Margaret. 


JOSEPH  EDGAR. 

Practically  all  of  the  competence  which  Mr. 
Edgar  has  gained  and  the  position  he  has 
reached  is  the  result  of  his  unaided  efforts,  for 
when  he  and  his  parents  arrived  in  California, 
December  4,  1865,  they  were  not  only  without 
means,  but  lacked  a  knowledge  of  American 
customs  and  people.  They  came  direct  from 
their  native  country  of  Ireland  and  settled  near 
Tomales,  Marin  county,  where  the  parents,  John 
and  Eliza  Edgar,  with  the  assistance  of  then- 
only  son,  set  about  the  task  of  improving  a  farm 
from  a  tract  of  raw  land.  Four  years  later  the 
father  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo  county  and 
bought  a  farm  near  Cambria,  where  he  carried 
on  agricultural  pursuits  with  a  fair  deg 
success.  On  that  place  his  death  occurred  June 
28,  1884,  when  he  was  sixty-nine  years  0 
and  his  wife  died  in  Vugust,  1NS0.  aged  1  ■■ 
two.  Their  only  living  son  is  Joseph  Edgar, 
who  at  the  time  of  crossing  the  ocean  was 
cell  years  of  age.  In  1869  he  came  to  San  Luis 
Obispo  county  with  his  father,  whom  he  after- 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


ward  assisted  in  dairying  for  a  number  of  years. 
Before  the  death  of  his  mother,  Mr.  Edgar 
rented  the  old  homestead  and  gave  his  attention 
closely  to  the  cultivation  of  the  four  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  forming  the  property.  In  1888  he 
removed  to  Los  Osos  valley,  where  he  has  since 
made  his  home  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Nelson.  His 
property  interests  are  constantly  increasing  in 
importance  and  without  doubt,  unless  accident 
prevents,  he  will  in  time  be  numbered  among 
the  most  successful  ranchers  in  all  of  the  county. 
Since  he  came  here  he  has  seen  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  county  and  its  gradual  settlement  by 
a  desirable  class  of  people,  all  of  which  is  as 
gratifying  to  him  as  to  other  public-spirited  men. 
Included  in  his  possessions  is  a  small  place  just 
outside  of  the  city  of  San  Luis  Obispo.  At  the 
organization  of  the  Commercial  Bank  of  San 
I. nib  <  >bispo  he  was  one  of  those  who  bore  a 
part  in  its  establishment,  and  since  1898  he  has 
been  a  member  of  its  board  of  directors.  Polit- 
ically he  gives  his  support  to  the  Democratic- 
party.  On  one  occasion  he  served  as  clerk  of 
the  election  board.  He  is  especially  interested 
in  educational  work  and  for  the  past  ten  years 
has  been  clerk  of  the  Laguna  school  district. 


JOHN  F.  FIEDLER. 

No  better  proof  were  required  of  the  popular- 
ity of  John  F.  Fiedler  than  the  fact  that  he  is 
now  serving  his  fourteenth  year  as  recorder  of 
San  Luis  Obispo  county.  He  was  first  elected 
on  the  Republican  ticket  in  1888,  has  been  re- 
elected for  five  consecutive  terms,  and  has  come 
to  be  regarded  as  a  permanent  acquisition  to 
the  important  political  trusts  of  the  county. 

Hern  in  Columbia,  Tuolumne  county,  Cal,  in 
1853,  Mr.  Fiedler  spent  his  youth  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools.  His  father,  F.  Fiedler,  was  engaged  in 
commercial  enterprises  all  his  life,  and  his  integ- 
rity and  ability  resulted  in  numerous  large  busi- 
ness responsibilities.  In  the  latter  part  of  1868 
he  removed  his  family  from  San  Francisco  to 
New  Almaden,  Santa  Clara  county,  where  he 
became  superintendent  of  the  quicksilver  works 
and  where  he  remained  until  returning  to  San 
Francisco    in    1873.      lie    married   Eugenia    Si- 


monds,  who  is  now  living  in  Marin  county,  Cal., 
and  who  became  the  mother  of  the  following 
children:  John  F.;  Frederick,  who  is  in  busi- 
ness in  Marin  county;  James  R. ;  Mrs.  Laura 
Bohlman,  Caroline  L.,  Ida  and  Emma.  Carrie 
died  when  three  years  of  age. 

While  his  father  was  superintendent  of  the 
quicksilver  works  in  New  Almaden,  John  F. 
Fiedler  made  himself  useful  as  a  clerk  in  a  store, 
and  when  the  family  fortunes  were  again  located 
in  San  Francisco  he  Worked  in  a  carriage  estab- 
lishment for  three  years.  In  Darwin,  Inyo 
county,  he  also  engaged  as  a  clerk  in  a  mercan- 
tile store,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  1881  removed 
to  Lake  county,  and  engaged  in  business  for  a 
couple  of  years.  Thus  fortified  with  plenty  of 
practical  experience  in  the  mercantile  line,  he- 
started  out  in  a  little  business  of  his  own  in  Ar- 
royo Grande,  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  and  suc- 
ceeded fairly  well  as  a  dispenser  of  high-grade 
groceries.  His  election  as  county  recorder  in 
1888  put  an  end  to  his  mercantile  aspirations  for 
some  years  at  least,  and  the  responsible  duties  of 
his  office  have  since  demanded  his  exclusive  and 
undivided  attention. 

Through  his  marriage,  in  1882,  with  Almira 
Parrish,  a  native  of  this  county,  Mr.  Fiedler 
secured  a  true  helpmate  and  sympathizer  in  his 
struggle  to  secure  a  name  and  place  for  himself 
among  the  enterprising  sons  of  the  west.  Two 
sons  have  been  born  of  this  union,  Ferdinand 
F.  and  Eugene  S.  Mr.  Fiedler  is  associated  with 
the  Foresters  of  America,  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World,  and  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden 
West 


J.  M.  FELTS. 


That  adverse  conditions  build  up  the  strong 
and  break  down  the  weak  is  a  truism  empha- 
sized in  the  life  of  J.  M.  Felts,  at  present  en- 
gaged in  the  real-estate  and  insurance  business 
in  San  Luis  Obispo,  and  formerly  an  educator. 
A  native  of  Alabama,  Mr.  Felts  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1842,  a  son  of  a  planter  living  in  the 
south,  but  of  whose  life  or  character  he  recalls 
very  little.  The  father  was  ambitious  of  larger 
chances  than  confronted  him  the  other  side  of 
the  Rockies,  so  started  with  his  family  for  Cali- 


HISTORICAL    .VXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


4(59 


fornia.  but  on  the  Missouri  river,  aboard  the 
steamer  Saloody,  met  with  an  accident  due  to 
explosion  of  the  boat,  which  caused  the  deaths 
of  himself  and  wife  a  few  months  later,  in  Lex- 
ington, Mo. 

Left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  eight  years,  J. 
M.  Felts  was  at  the  mercy  of  his  own  resources, 
and  without  a  home  of  any  kind.  From  his  par- 
ents he  had  imbibed  an  appreciation  of  the  west, 
and  so  continued  his  journey  over  the  plains, 
having  secured  the  position  of  cattle  driver  with 
a  salary  of  $10  a  month.  That  he  was  unusu- 
ally thrift}'  and  enterprising  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  had 
saved  up  $600,  his  sole  thought  in  economizing 
being  the  prospect  of  securing  a  good  education. 
Up  to  the  age  of  fourteen  he  had  been  to  school 
but  three  months,  and  he  afterward  went  to  the 
public  schools  and  Hesperian  College  in  Yolo 
county,  and  the  San  Francisco  Business  Col- 
lege, and  subsequently  taught  school  in  Yolo 
and  Coluso  counties.  After  removing  to  San 
Luis  Obispo  county  in  1879,  he  taught  school, 
was  county  superintendent  of  schools  for  eight 
years,  and  served  as  assessor  for  eight  years. 
For  three  years  he  was  principal  of  schools  of 
San  Luis  Obispo,  and  in  1902  engaged  in  the 
real  estate  and  insurance  business. 

In  San  Luis  Obispo  county  Mr.  Felts  married 
Jennie  C.  Blunt,  daughter  of  Levi  Blunt,  a  Mis- 
souri farmer  who  came  to  California  in  the  early 
days,  settled  'at  Cambria,  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  and  died  at  an  advanced  age.  Five 
children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Felts, 
viz.:  Irene,  the  wife  of  H.  H.  Carpenter;  Lola, 
a  resident  of  Seattle,  Wash.;  Charles  and  Wirt, 
both  at  home;  and  Hattie,  deceased.  Mr.  Felts 
is  a  Democrat  in  political  affiliation,  and  has 
been  active  in  local  political  undertakings. 


FRITZ  VORBECK. 

In  conducting  his  fanning  enterprises  in  Mon 
terey  county  Mr.  Yorbeck  has  encountered  the 
average  number  of  drawbacks,  and  it  is  to  his 
credit  that  he  has  profited  by  bis  failures  and 
built  thereon  a  solid  foundation  for  the  future. 
lie  rents  a  farm  of  four  hundred  acres  near 
Chualar,  and  is  engaged  in  general  farming  and 


stock-raising.  Mr.  Yorbeck  is  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial German-American  farmers  of  the  county, 
and  was  born  in  Mellenburg,  Germany,  in  1823, 
a  son  of  John  and  Catherine  Vorbeck,  natives  of 
Germany  and  farmers  by  occupation.  When 
grown  to  manhood,  he  decided  to  spend  his  fu- 
ture in  America,  and  undertook  the  journey 
hither  by  way  of  steamer  to  New  York,  and 
thence  by  steamer  around  Cape  Horn  to  San 
Francisco. 

The  long  trip  was  completed  March  26,  1854, 
at  which  time  Mr.  Yorbeck  was  just  twenty-nine 
years  of  age.  For  a  time  he  worked  as  a  dav 
laborer  in  San  Francisco,  and  then  went  to  Ala- 
meda county  and  worked  on  a  farm  for  two 
years.  As  an  independent  effort  he  started  in 
to  farming  near  Haywards,  and  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  his  property  did  not  yield  sufficient  re- 
turns for  labor  invested,  remained  for  nearly 
twelve  years.  Hoping  to  better  his  prospects 
and  get  on  his  feet  again,  he  worked  out  on  a 
farm  for  four  years,  and  came  to  Chualar  in 
1873.  This  has  been  his  home  ever  since,  and 
he  is  an  industrious  and  respected  member  of 
the  community.  In  national  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  votes  for  the  man  best  fitted  for 
the  official  office. 


Y.  P.  VILLEGAS. 

The  manifold  advantages  which  await  the  in- 
dustrious and  enterprising  in  the  central  coast 
regions  are  fully  understood  and  appreciated  by 
Mr.  Yillegas,  who,  as  agent  for  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company,  has  been  an  inter- 
ested spectator  of  the  growth  of  Soledad  and 
vicinity  since  1876.  In  the  meantime  he  lias 
branched  out  into  an  exhaustive  study  of  cli- 
matic and  other  conditions  here  prevailing,  and 
as  a  historian  has  gained  considerable  promi 
nence,  bis  diary  containing  1  fine  and  graphic 
description  of  the  Salinas  valley,  and  a  pene- 
trating and  conclusive  anal.  LUses  of 
rainfall,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Spain,  as 
well  as  in  other  portion  of  th<  gl  £><  His  as- 
sertions  are  backed  up  by  proof  gained  through 
years  of  practical  experience,  out  of  wh 
has  drawn  certain  deductions  for  the  improve 
ment    of  the  valley,  anion-    others   the   well-re- 


1:70 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD 


ceived  and  sensible  idea  of  setting  shade  trees, 
a  few  miles  apart,  and  extending  across  the 
valley  in  rows. 

The  family  of  which  Mr.  Villegas  is  a  member 
were  among  the  very  early  pioneers  of  Mon- 
terey county.  He  was  born  in  Mexico  in  1840, 
and  his  parents,  Francisco  and  Antonia  O.  De 
Villegas,  came  to  Monterey  city  in  1848.  The 
father  was  a  rancher  and  stock-raiser,  and  in 
carrying  on  his  extensive  enterprises  was  a  great 
factor  in  the  development  of  this  part  of  Cali- 
fornia, owning  at  one  time  four  thousand  acres 
of  land.  His  son  was  educated  at  Santa  Clara, 
and  during  his  early  life  had  the  typical  frontier 
experiences,  at  times  engaging  as  cowboy, 
rancher  and  miner.  At  the  time  that  he  became 
agent  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany, Soledad  was  then  the  terminus  of  the  rail- 
road, and  continued  as  such  until  1886.  The 
original  intention  of  Mr.  Villegas  was  to  devote 
his  life  to  the  study  of  law,  and  he  therefore 
began  with  Judge  Breen,  and  was  under  that 
eminent  jurist's  instruction  for  a  year  and  a  half. 
In  1868  he  took  up  telegraphy,  a  line  of  occupa- 
tion more  in  accord  with  his  natural  inclinations, 
and  therefore  more  congenial.  He  has  been 
identified  with  the  development  of  Soledad,  and 
has  exerted  the  weight  of  his  influence  in  favor 
of  the  highest  possible  educational  advantages 
for  the  town.  Like  his  father  before  him.  he  is 
a  stanch  Republican.  He  was  elected  justice  of 
the  peace  in  San  Juan  township  in  1876,  and  has 
been  notary  public  for  twelve  years. 

In  1 861,  at  San  Juan.  Mr.  Villegas  married 
Guadaloupe  Salgado,  and  of  this  union  there  are 
children.  Of  these,  three  are  telegraph 
operators,  and  the  oldest  son  is  postmaster  of 
Soledad.  The  family  are  devoted  members  of 
the  Catholic  Church  at  Soledad. 


CH  \RI.KS  UNDERWOOD. 

The  name  of  Charles  Underwood  is  familiar 
to  most  of  the  residents  of  Monterey  county 
and  carries  with  it  an  impression  of  influence, 
large  undertakings  and  unquestioned  integrity. 
An  extensive  rancher  and  large  city  and  country 
property  owner,  he  is  indebted  chiefly  to  his 
own   skillful  handling  of  fickle  fortune,  and  his 


successful  manipulation  of  the  latent  forces  by 
which  he  was  surrounded.  A  native  of  Scho- 
harie, N.  Y.,  he  was  born  May  10,  1828,  and 
was  reared  on  the  paternal  farm  until  fifteen 
years  of  age.  His  youthful  spirit  rebelled  at 
the  limitations  of  an  agricultural  life  and  he  put 
to  sea  in  a  merchant  vessel,  entering  with  zest 
into  the  life  upon  the  deep.  During  his  nine 
years  before  the  mast  he  spent  three  years  upon 
a  war  frigate,  and  eventually  gave  up  his  sea- 
faring life  in  the  east.  Not  content  with  condi- 
tions there,  he  came  to  California  by  rail  and 
water,  and  at  Redwood  City  became  interested 
in  milling,  continuing  the  same  about  nine  years. 

After  leaving  the  milling  business  at  Red- 
wood, Mr.  Underwood  bought  a  one-third  inter- 
est in  the  Los  Tularcitos  rancho  of  twenty-eight 
thousand  acres  and  for  several  years  engaged 
in  the  sheep  business.  In  1868  he  contested  a 
claim  for  the  old  Spanish  grant  commonly 
known  as  Corral  de  Tierra.  which  finally  re- 
sulted, after  eleven  years  of  litigation,  in  judg- 
ment for  Mr.  Underwood.  In  1876  he  went  to 
San  Francisco  and  engaged  in  the  piano  busi- 
ness and  for  three  years  sold  pianos  and  organs 
at  wholesale,  after  which  he  came  to  Monterey, 
and  later  assumed  charge  of  his  large  farming 
interests.  He  also  overhauled  and  rebuilt  the 
Central  Hotel,  now  managed  by  his  son.  While 
assuming  control  of  the  hotel,  he  also  con- 
ducted his  ranch,  but  eventually  leased  the  hotel 
and  gave  his  entire  attention  to  ranching.  At 
I  lie  present  time  he  is  devoted  exclusively  to  his 
ranch,  wdiere  he  is  breeding  Hereford  cattle,  and 
engaging  in  general  farming.  That  his  main- 
lines of  activity  have  resulted  in  gain  is  evi- 
denced by  his  property  holdings,  which  include 
two  store  buildings  in  Monterey,  several  other 
business  and  residence  properties,  besides  his 
improved  ranch. 

In  1856  Mr.  Underwood  married  Catherine 
Armstrong,  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  who  came 
to  the  United  States  with  her  parents  when  quite 
young.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Underwood  have  been 
born  five  children,  two  of  whom  are  living. 
namely:  Margaret,  wife  of  A.  W.  Brown,  of 
San  Francisco;  and  Alexander  R.,  lessee  and 
manager  of  the  Central  Hotel.  Mr  Underwood 
1-  a    Republican  in  political  affiliations,  but   ha- 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


never  been  before  the  public  as  a  politician  or 
office-holder.  He  is  one  of  the  broad-minded 
and  liberal  upbuilders  of  this  community,  and 
enjoys  the  confidence  and  respect  due  his  per- 
sonal attributes  of  character. 


ALEXANDER  R.  UNDERWOOD. 

The  present  manager  and  lessee  of  Central 
Hotel  at  Monterey,  Mr.  Underwood  was  born 
in  California  and  is  a  son  of  Charles  and  Cath- 
erine (Armstrong)  Underwood,  natives  respec- 
tively of  Schoharie,  N.  Y.,  and  Ireland.  He  was 
educated  in  the  Garden  City  Commercial  Col- 
lege at  San  Jose,  at  the  San  Jose  Institute  and 
the  Lincoln  grammar  school  in  San  Francisco. 
February  15,  1892,  he  accepted  a  position  with 
the  state  hospital,  and  remained  with  this  insti- 
tution, founded  by  Dr.  Hatch,  until  his  resigna- 
tion in  March  of  1900.  The  same  year  he  be- 
came manager  of  Central  Hotel,  owned  by  his 
lather,  and  has  since  conducted  this  place  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  He  is  variously 
identified  with  fraternal  and  social  organizations, 
and  is  a  charter  member  of  Salinas  Lodge  No. 
614,  B.  P.  O.  E. :  a  member  of  Liberty  Lodge 
No.  299.  F.  &  A.  M..  at  Santa  Clara;  Lodge 
No.  643.  I.  O.  F. ;  also  is  connected  with  the 
Union  League  Club  of  San  Francisco  and  the 
Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Republican.  Mrs.  Underwood  was  formerly 
Tulia  E.  Carter  and  is  a  native  of  San  Jose. 


MICHAEL  TYNAN. 
Under  the  able  supervision  of  Mr.  Tynan  the 
Monterey  county  farm  has  been  conducted  since 
1891,  and  during  that  long  period  he  has  placed 
the  work  on  a  systematic  basis,  intelligently 
guiding  and  directing  the  whole.  The  sixty-five 
acres  comprising  the  farm  receive  careful  at- 
tention, so  that  each  acre  is  made  to  produce 
the  greatest  possible  results  in  response  to  the 
care  and  cultivation  bestowed  upon  it.  The  in- 
mates of  the  farm  are  treated  with  kindly  con- 
sideration, yet  with  firmness,  and  each,  as  Far 
as  possible,  is  expected  to  assist  in  certain  du- 
ties, thus  giving  them  a  personal  interest  in  the 
place  which  is  their  only  home  and  causing  them 


to  take  a  pride  in  its  improvements  and  neat  ap- 
pearance. 

The  superintendent  of  the  farm,  Mr.  Tynan, 
was  born  near  Buffalo,  at  Black  Rock,  N.  Y., 
November  27,  1827.  While  he  was  a  mere  child 
the  family  moved  to  Detroit,  Mich.,  where  his 
father  died.  Later  the  widowed  mother,  accom- 
panied by  the  two  children,  moved  to  Toronto. 
Canada,  but  soon  returned  to  Detroit,  in  which 
city  Michael  began  clerking  in  a  grocery  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  years.  Four  years  later  he 
began  to  follow  the  lakes  and  also  worked  011 
the  St.  Clair  river,  rising  from  a  humble  position 
to  the  rank  of  captain  uf  the  steamer  Red 
Jacket,  in  which  capacity  he  continued  for  three 
years.  During  the  exciting  days  of  1850  he 
crossed  the  plains  to  California,  with  horse- 
teams,  being  captain  of  a  party  of  nine  men. 
During  the  trip  from  Fort  Leavenworth  to 
Hangtown  (now  Placerville)  he  experienced  con- 
siderable trouble  with  the  Indians,  but  managed 
to  escape  direct  attack  from  them.  On  his  ar- 
rival in  California  he  started  a  store  at  Diamond 
Springs,  where  he  remained  two  years  as  a 
grocer.  He  was  interested  in  a  general  store  at 
Ladies  Valley,  on  the  McCosmies  river,  at  the 
same  time.  His  next  venture  was  the  building 
of  the  Golden  Exchange  Hotel,  which  he  con- 
ducted until  1854.  He  then  rented  his  hotel 
and  began  mining,  which  occupation  he  fol- 
lowed many  years,  meantime  becoming  the 
owner  of  a  valuable  mine.  A  later  business  ven- 
ture was  the  conducting  of  a  livery  business  at 
Lancha  Plana.  Amador  county.  During  his 
early  days  in  California,  while  the  honest  peo- 
ple in  the  state  were  endeavoring  to  maintain 
themselves  in  safety  against  the  Indians  and 
white  desperadoes,  he  hail  many  thrilling  expe- 
riences, and  more  than  once  narrowly  escaped 
with  his  life.  At  one  time  he  joined  a  companv 
in  Eldorado  county,  organized  to  drive  the  In- 
dians away,  and  succeeded  in  accomplishing  that 
object,  so  that  no  further  trouble  was  had  with 
the  savages. 

1  1111111-  to  Salinas  in  1870.  Mr.  Tynan  con- 
ducted the  Salinas  hotel  a  short  time,  and  then 
erected  what  is  now  known  as  the  Commercial 
hotel,  which  lie  still  owns.  This  latter  lie  main- 
tained until  accepting    his   appointment    I 


m 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Monterey  county  farm  in  1891.  His  marriage, 
in  1852,  united  him  with  Miss  Angeline  Foster, 
a  native  of  Illinois,  who  died  in  1882.  Their 
children  arc  Alon/.o,  John,  Clarence  and  Ger- 
trude. While  Mr.  Tynan  is  not  a  partisan,  but 
on  the  other  hand  believes  in  supporting-  the 
best  man  for  office,  yet  he  is  a  believer  in  Dem- 
ocratic principles,  and  at  national  elections  sup- 
ports his  ticket  uniformly.  Some  thirty-two 
years  ago  he  was  made  a  Mason  and  ever  since 
he  has  retained  his  connection  with  the  blue 
lodge. 


(  IWEN  S.  TUTTLE. 

The  varied  interests  which  have  been  under 
the  supervision  of  Mr.  Tuttle  have  given  him  a 
position  of  prominence  among  the  business  men 
of  Watsonville  and  the  stock-raisers  of  the  Pa- 
jaro  valley.  He  was  born  in  Keokuk  county, 
Iowa,  May  6,  1850,  being  a  son  of  Daniel  and 
Mary  E.  (Pardoe)  Tuttle.  His  grandfather. 
Hiram  Tuttle.  a  native  of  Washington  county, 
Pa.,  removed  to  Richland  county,  Ohio,  in  1821, 
and  in  1838  established  his  home  still  further 
toward  the  west,  going  to  a  farm  in  Iowa.  Dan- 
iel Tuttle  was  reared  to  agricultural  activities 
and  in  1852  accompanied  a  party  to  California, 
settling  in  Shasta  county,  where  he  conducted 
a  tavern.  However,  agriculture  was  his  chosen 
occupation,  and  in  the  fall  of  1852  he  came  to 
Santa  Cruz  county  in  search  of  a  favorable 
opening  for  farming.  With  others  he  took  a 
squatter's  claim  on  the  Amesta  ranch,  and  this 
place  he  stocked  with  cattle,  the  land  affording 
fine  grazing  in  those  days.  For  a  time  he  had 
control  of  five  hundred  acres,  which  afforded 
linn  abundant  pasturage  for  his  herds.  There 
being  no  saw  mill  near,  he  could  not  secure 
lumber  with  which  to  build  a  house,  so  put  up 
a  rude  hut  of  split  lumber.  In  addition  t..  rac- 
ing stock  he  engaged  in  general  fanning  and 
also  sel  "tit  a  peach  orchard. 

For  a  few  years  all  went  well,  but  finally  the 
squatters  were  dispersed  by  law  and  their  claims 
were  taken  from  them,  lie  made  a  test  case  oi 
his  property,  but  was  oblige.]  to  submit,  losing 
all  of  his  improvements.  Forced  to  start  anew, 
lie  bougrht  a  ranch  of  ninety  acres,  for  which  he 


paid  $33.33  an  acre.  In  those  days  that  was 
considered  a  very  high  price,  but  since  then 
some  of  the  same  property  has  been  sold  for 
from  $100  to  $1,000  an  acre.  About  1864  he 
built  a  house  near  the  river,  but  this  he  later 
moved  to  First  street,  nearly  one-half  mile  away. 
When  he  first  settled  in  the  Pajaro  valley,  he 
and  Reuben  Pardoe,  with  the  assistance  of  a 
negro,  engaged  in  freighting  from  here  to 
Stockton,  using  for  that  purpose  three  eight- 
mule  teams.  Considerable  freighting  was  also 
done  to  the  coast.  Mr.  Tuttle  was  one  of  the 
first  to  own  and  operate  a  threshing  machine  in 
the  valley.  These  were  of  the  old  style,  with 
five  sweeps  and  three  teams  on  each. 

During  the  drought  of  1864  Mr.  Tuttle  had 
his  large  herd  of  cattle  at  Lonetree,  in  San 
Benito  county,  but  could  not  find  sufficient  pas- 
turage for  them  there,  and  so  sold  all  at  $6  a 
head  (including  the  calves).  The  following  year 
such  of  the  herd  as  had  escaped  the  drought 
were  gathered  together  by  a  Cherokee,  Joe 
.Mateo,  who  put  his  brand  on  them  and  sold 
them  for  $40  per  head.  In  those  days  there  \\  ere 
no  railroads,  hence  cattle  could  not  be  shipped 
out  of  the  country  in  times  of  drought.  During 
the  early  part  of  i860  Mr.  Tuttle  planted  a 
twenty-acre  tract  in  apples,  but  these  proved  to 
be  of  common  stock  and  unmarketable,  so  the 
trees  were  later  dug  up.  Besides  his  other  en- 
terprises, he  engaged  extensively  in  raising  p  1 
tatoes  and  grain.  In  company  with  S.  Yoacham, 
he  opened  a  meat  market  in  Watsonville,  in 
which  he  was  afterward  succeeded  by  his  son. 
Owen  S.  Though  averse  to  public  office,  he 
consented  to  serve  as  town  trustee  and  road 
commissioner,  and  acted  as  a  delegate  to  the 
state  convention  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
the  new  constitution.  At  the  time  of  his  death. 
M.i\  31,  [894,  lie  was  seventy  years  of  age.  His 
wife,  who  was  born  in  1826.  died  in  1896.  Their 
children  were  named  as  follows:  Dr.  Hiram  P.. 
deceased;  Owen  S. :  Mary  E..  who  married  .1 
S.  Menasco;  Emma,  deceased:  Frank  G.  and 
Reuben  S. 

Since  his  earliest  recollections  Owen  S.  Tuttle 
has  been  associated  with  Santa  Cruz  county. 
\iMnii  [880  he  succeeded  his  father  in  the  mar- 
1  el  md  two  years  later  bought  out  S.  Yoacham. 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


475 


continuing  to  carry  on  the  business  until  1896, 
when  he  leased  the  market  to  his  son.  George 
A.,  and  brother,  R.  S.  Since  then  he  has  given 
his  attention  mainly  to  farming  and  dealing  in 
stock.  He  owns  the  old  homestead  of  sixty 
acres  adjoining  the  city  limits.  Fraternally  he 
is  connected  with  the  Foresters,  Workmen, 
lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Rebekahs.  His 
interest  in  educational  matters  has  been  shown 
by  his  service  as  school  trustee.  For  four  years 
he  also  held  the  office  of  city  trustee. 

February  7.  1872.  Mr.  Tuttlc  married  Edna 
Andrews,  who  was  born  in  Stephenson  county, 
111.,  February  10,  1857.  and  died  August  10, 
1877.  Her  father,  George  Andrews,  was  a  Cali- 
fornia pioneer  from  New  York  state.  At  her 
death  she  left  two  sons:  George  A.,  who  mar- 
ried Benella  Wilcox,  and  is  now  in  charge  of 
the  market  at  Watsonville;  and  D.  Roy,  who 
married  Maude  Skinner  and  died  in  1895.  The 
second  marriage  of  Owen  S.  Tuttle  united  him 
with  Sarah,  daughter  of  K.  F.  Redman,  who 
is  represented  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The 
children  born  of  their  union  arc  \llyer  R.,  Edna 
May  and  Ruth  Clair. 


HEM  AN  TOMPKINS. 

The  farm  of  Heman  Tompkins,  in  Peach  Tree. 
Monterey  county,  consists  of  four  thousand  and 
five  hundred  acres  of  desirable  land,  devoted  for 
the  greater  part  to  stock-raising,  although  gen- 
eral farming  is  engaged  in  to  some  extent.  As 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach  may  be  seen  stock  of 
various  kinds  grazing  in  the  fertile  and  pro- 
ductive meadows,  and  everywhere  are  to  be 
found  innumerable  evidences  of  the  neatness, 
thrift  and  successful  management  of  the  pros- 
perous owner. 

In  his  occupation  Mr.  Tompkins  "is  but  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  his  parents  and  the  train- 
ing of  his  youth,  for  his  boyhood  and  early 
manhood  were  spent  in  doing  his  share  of  work- 
on  the  paternal  farm  in  the  slate  of  New  York, 
where  he  was  born  September  to.  1833.  'When 
arrived  at  twenty-one  years  of  age.  he  started  out 
to  make  an  independent  livelihood,  and  selected 
California  as  possessing  the  best  possible 
chances.    Arriving,  after  a  water  journey  by  way 


of  Panama,  he  went  to  the  mines  in  Eldorado 
county,  where  he  experienced  the  successes  and 
failures  incident  to  that  vocation.  Then  he  went 
to  British  Columbia  and  stayed  there  five  years. 
Returning  to  Eldorado  county,  he  remained 
there  until  1S70.  For  the  following  two  years 
he  lived  on  a  farm  in  Wild  Horse  Canon,  and 
then  pre-empted  three  hundred  and  twentv 
acres  of  his  present  farm,  to  which  was  later 
added  enough  land  to  make  the  forty-five  hun- 
dred acres  now  comprising  the  farm.  The  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Tompkins  and  Mary  Nattrass  oc- 
curred in  1871,  and  Mrs.  Tompkins  has  been  of 
great  assistance  to  her  husband  in  his  life  work. 


PETER  STORM. 

One  of  the  valuable  farms  of  the  Pajaro  valley 
is  that  owned  and  managed  by  Peter  Storm, 
who  has  found  his  greatest  success  in  develop- 
ing this  fertile  part  of  Monterey  county.  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1854,  Mr.  Storm  was  born  in  Schles- 
wig-Holstein.  then  a  province  of  Denmark,  but 
now  in  Germany,  and  came  to  America  with  his 
father,  J.  P.  Storm,  in  1867.  The  elder  Storm 
was  also  born  in  Schleswig.  and  was  a  farmer 
and  wheelwright  in  his  native  land.  Tn  June, 
1867,  he  came  to  the  Pajaro  valley  and  rented 
land  for  a  year.  Afterward  he  bought  three 
hundred  acres  of  land,  which  he  improved  from 
the  wild,  and  lived  thereon  for  the  rest  of  his 
farming  days.  While  on  a  visit  to  Denmark- 
he  died  in  his  seventieth  year,  and  was  buried 
in  the  land  where  had  lived  so  many  of  his 
ancestors.  He  was  very  successful  after  coming 
to  California,  for,  in  addition  to  his  original 
farm,  he  bought  two  others  in  the  valley,  one 
of  which  contained  two  hundred  acres  and  the 
other  one  hundred  acres.  These  were  sold  be- 
fore his  death,  and  the  gain  therefrom  helped 
to  swell  the  fortune  which  resulted  from  his 
wise  investments  and  conservative  management. 

Peter  Storm  was  thirteen  years  of  age  when 
his  father  settled  in  the  valley,  and  he  worked 
on  the  home  farm  and  attended  a  private  school 
-lit  six  months.  He  then  rented  land  from 
his  father  and  pendent  farm- 

ing and  stock-  raising  enterprise,  and  in  connec- 
tion therewith  worked  on  a  threshing  machine 


\;r, 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


for  three  summers.  For  three  years  lie  rented 
a  farm  in  the  Salinas  valley,  but  this  venture 
proved  disastrous  owing  to  drought,  and  Mr. 
Storm  lost  about  all  that  he  had.  For  the  fol- 
lowing fifteen  years  he  rented  the  old  McCoskey 
ranch  of  five  hundred  acres,  ami  while  tints 
employed  was  successful  beyond  his  expecta- 
tions. In  [89]  Ik-  became  a  land  owner  in  the 
valley,  purchasing  his  present  ranch  of  two  hun- 
dred ami  ten  acres,  one  hundred  ami  ten  of 
which  are  in  the  valley,  while  the  rest  is  hill 
land  for  pasture  and  fanning.  In  1800  he  put 
cut  thirty  acres  in  apples,  and  at  the  present 
time  the  trees  are  just  beginning  to  bear. 

In  1883  Mr.  Storm  paid  a  visit  of  seven 
months  to  his  old  home  in  Schleswig,  and  after 
1  lis  return  married  Hannah  Christina  Fisher, 
also  born  in  Schleswig.  Of  this  union  there 
have  been  born  nine  children,  three  of  win  mi 
died  when  young.  Of  the  living  children.  Andy 
Peter  is  attending  the  business  college  at  Santa 
Cruz;  Anna,  Maria,  Jessie,  Minnie  and  Emma 
are  attending  school  and  living  at  home.  Mr. 
Storm  follows  his  father's  example  as  far  as 
politics  is  concerned,  hut  although  a  stanch 
upholder  of  Democratic  principles  has  never 
mingled  with  local  official  affairs.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  is  a  con- 
sistent ami  enterprising  citizen.  Fraternally  he 
belongs  to  Watsonville  Lodge  Xo.  110,  F.  iv 
A.  M.:  Temple  Chapter  Xo.  41,  R.  A.  M.;  and 
Watsonville  Commandery  Xo.  22,  K.  T. 


K  IWA  11.  TUTTLE. 

(  )ne  "I  I  lie  most  enterprising  and  successful  of 
the  far-sighted  men  whd  have  taken  advantage 
of  the  berry  ami  apple  possibilities  of  the  Pajaro 
valley  is  towa  IT.  Tuttle,  manager  of  an  eight) 
acre  ranch  aboul  one  mile  from  Watsonville. 
Mr.  Tuttle  is  one  of  the  enthusiastic  residents 
of  this  valley,  and  his  efforts  here  have 
been  praiseworthy.  While  his  name  is  associ- 
ated with  the  growth  "i  hi-  locality,  he  is  entitled 
lo  more  than  passing  mention  because  nt  his 
association  with  the  organization  of  the  Pajaro 
Board  of  Trade,  in  May,  rooo.  The  pur- 
die  board  is  to  unite  all  organizations 


valley,  ami  is  calculated  to  improve  general  con- 
ditions, and  elevate  the  already  exceptional 
standards.  The  helpful  associations  of  the  board 
haw  been  realized  by  many  of  the  fruit  growers, 
and  the  already  large  membership  is  constantly 
increasing  as  its  merits  become  known.  For 
their  meetings  and  exhibits  the  association 
has  been  tendered  the  club  rooms  and  privileges 
of  the  Pajaro  Valley  Wheelmen,  who,  for  the 
consideration  ..f  $200,  have  given  up  all  right 
thereto.  At  the  exhibits  are  to  lie  found  the 
choicest  samples  of  field,  orchard  and  factory 
production,  and  an  interest  is  thus  maintained 
in  all  that  is  excellent  and  the  best  in  its  line. 
Members  and  would-be  members  have  the  privi- 
lege of  meeting  the  officers  of  the  board  of 
directors  at  their  regular  meetings  the  first Tues- 
day each  month,  and  every  reasonable  induce- 
ment is  held  out  to  all  wdio  desire  the  benefits  of 
the  association. 

A  native  son  of  Iowa,  Air.  Tuttle  was  born  in 
Van  Ruren  county,  February  23,  1868,  a  son  of 
1  >wen  and  Mary  F.  (Burns)  Tuttle,  natives  re- 
spectively of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania.  The  Tut- 
tle family  has  been  well  known  in  Massachusetts 
for  many  years.  A  relative  of  Iowa  H.  evinced 
his  interest  in  the  cause  of  education  by  present- 
ing to  Harvard  College  the  ground  upon  which 
the  institution  was  built.  Owen  Tuttle  became 
associated  with  Iowa  when  twelve  years  of  age, 
having  removed  to  the  state  with  his  parents. 
In  1851  lie  made  a  trip  to  California  across  the 
plains  with  ox-teams,  and  was  so  well  pleased 
with  the  prospects  that  he  brought  his  family 
and  located  in  Santa  Cruz  county,  this  being  his 
home  until  his  death  in  July,  1899.  ^e  was  :l 
prominent  Republican,  and  was  school  trustee 
for  sixteen  years.  <  >f  the  nine  children  born  to 
himself  and  wife,  the  following  are  living: 
Hiram  l>.:  Morris  I'..:  Emory  O.;  Anna  Bell, 
now  Mrs.  Radcliff;  Nan  I-:.,  the  widow  ,,f  R.  L. 
Craig,  and  now  president  of  the  K.  I..  Craig 
Wholesale  Grocer)  Company,  of  Cos  Angeles; 
Delia,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Schloss,  of  San  Francisco; 
and  Victor  II. 

Iowa  II.  Tuttle  wa-  reared  to  farming,  and 
educated  in  the  public  schools.  In  June.  [890, 
la     married    I  .ilhe   d'xrrel,   a    native    of    (  >akland. 


HISTORIl    \L    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


three  children,  Urania,  Lois  and  lone.  Like  his 
father,  Mr.  Tuttle  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and 
he  is  fraternally  connected  with  the  Masons  and 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  was 
president  of  the  Watsonville  McKinley  Club 
during-  the  last  two  elections,  and  has  rendered 
valuable  service  to  the  party  which  he  repre- 
sents. Air.  Tuttle  has  a  pleasant  rural  home 
about  a  mile  from  Watsonville,  and  with  his  fam- 
ily he  is  noted  for  his  hospitality  and  social 
prominence. 


A.  TOGNAZZINI. 

Tlie  qualities  which  bring  success  to  a  man, 
when  in  a  strange  country  and  among  a  people 
whose  language  is  unfamiliar,  are  certainly  of 
no  ordinary  kind.  The  path  to  fortune  is  not 
strewn  with  flowers,  even  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances;  and  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Tog- 
nazzini  there  were  many  obstacles  to  overcome 
which  do  not  impede  the  progress  of  most  young 
men.  Hence  the  high  degree  of  success  he  has 
achieved  merits  especial  consideration  and 
proves  him  to  lie  the  possessor  of  unusual  abil- 
ity. Born  of  Swiss  parents,  in  the  city  of  Ticino, 
Switzerland,  May  27,  1846,  he  had  no  advan- 
tages in  boyhood,  except  that  under  his  father's 
oversight  he  was  able  to  gain  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  dairy  business,  which  afterward 
proved  most  helpful.  lie  was  the  youngest  of 
five  children  and  was  given  a  common-school 
education. 

\itcr  a  journey  of  seventy-five  days  from 
Switzerland,  Mr.  Tognazzini  arrived  in  San 
Francisco.  His  reason  for  seeking  a  home  in 
the  far  west  was  the  favorable  report  he  had 
heard  concerning  its  opportunities  in  the  dairy 
industry.  Going  to  Marin  count}-,  lie  secured 
employment  at  $15  a.  month,  which  amount  was 
soon  doubled.  In  the  fall  of  [866  he  rented  a 
tract  of  land  and  one  hundred  cows  from  his 
former  employer,  and  with  this  start  In-  em 
barked  in  the  dairy  business  for  himself.  From 
the  first  he  was  successful.  In  [868  he  rented 
fourteen  hundred  acres  of  land  and  bought  one 
hundred  and  fifty  cows,  investing  in  the  stock 
the  pn  iceeds  ol  the  work  of  the  two  pre\  ions 
\  ears.      I',  ,]■  sj\   \  ears  he  c.  .111  inued  Oil  thi 


place,  meantime  accumulating  considerable 
means.  In  1872  he  purchased  a  ranch  near  Cay- 
ucos,  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  and  there  he 
made  his  home  for  some  years.  Before  moving 
to  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  he  gave  the  charge 
of  the  Cayucos  ranch  to  a  nephew,  who  man- 
aged the  dairy  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  cows. 
For  five  years  after  he  came  to  this  county  he 
rented  two  thousand  acres,  paying  seven1 
cents  an  acre.  On  every  hand  the  prediction 
was  made  that  the  venture  would  prove  a  fail- 
ure, but  such  gloomy  prognostications  did  not 
daunt  the  one  principally  concerned.  Indeed, 
they  served  as  spurs  to  inspire  him  with  a 
greater  determination  to  succeed,  and  he  was 
able  to  prove  the  wisdom  of  his  judgment  in  a 
very  short  time. 

In  18S1  Mr.  Tognazzini  bought  thirty  two 
hundred  acres  near  Santa  Barbara,  and  stocked 
the  place  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  milch  cows. 
With  a  partner,  in  1884,  he  purchased  seven 
thousand  acres  in  Santa  Barbara  county,  which 
was  divided  into  dairies.  <  )n  his  ranch  one  and 
one-half  miles  northeast  of  Cayucos  he  built  a 
comfortable  house,  the  homelike  appearance  of 
which  was  enhanced  by  the  presence  of  trees 
and  shrubs  in  considerable  numbers.  His  pos- 
sessions  in  the  vicinity  of  Cayucos  aggregate 
almost  two  thousand  acres,  a  portion  of  which 
has  been  utilized  for  dairy  purposes,  while  the 
balance  is  planted  to  general  farm  products  or 
used  for  the  pasturage  of  horses  and  other  stocl 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Tognazzini  took  place  in 
San  Francisco  in  [867  and  united  him  with 
Madeline  Reghetti,  a  native  of  Switzerland. 
Five  children  were  horn  of  their  union,  three  of 
whom  are  living,  namely:  Virgil  X.;  Valerio, 
an  engineer,  who  received  his  diploma  in  Zurich, 
Switzerland:  and  Clelia,  wife  of  Romilio 
cio,  who  is  connected  with  the  Commercial 
Bant  of  San  Luis  (  Ibispo  county.  The  children 
h  1  n  exi  'IK  in  advantagi  s.  not  onlj  in  this 
country,  hut  also  in  I 

In  the  Masonic  order  Mr.  Togna 
tained     hi    thirtj     to  >nd  degree.     Politii  .1 

oted  with   the    R 
became  an    American   citizen.      While   he   was   in 
his   old   home   in    Europe,   in    [892,  he  was   hon- 
ored  b\    his    fellow -citizens,  who   elected   hint   to 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


478 

the  legislature.  In  1897  he  made  a  second  trip 
to  Switzerland,  in  company  with  H.  Brunner,  of 
San  Francisco.  Cal..  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing the  Swiss-American  Bank  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, which  they  succeeded  in  doing,  and  the 
bank  is  in  a  flourishing  condition,  having  been 
managed  by  several  of  the  best  financiers  of  San 
Francisco.  He  is  an  officer  in  this  bank.  Henry 
Brunner,  who  is  one  of  its  head  men,  was  also 
connected  with  him  in  the  organization  of  the 
Commercial  Bank  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  with 
which  he  has  since  been  associated  as  a  stock- 
holder. For  the  past  few  years  he  has  been  at 
the  head  of  the  Pacific  Land  Company,  one  of 
the  most  important  enterprises  of  the  central 
coast  region. 

It  will  be  readily  recognized  that  Mr.  Tog- 
uazzini  has  attained  a  success  greater  than  is 
reached  by  many  men,  even  though  they  are 
persistent,  industrious  and  persevering.  This  is 
doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  he  has  the  qualities 
just  named, and  has  besides  a  well-balanced  mind 
and  sound  judgment.  His  foresight  is  remark- 
able, hence  his  mistakes  in  investment's  have 
been  few.  Ranching  would  seem  to  demand 
qualities  very  different  from  those  necessary  in 
the  banking  business,  yet  he  has  been  able  to 
follow  both  lines  of  work  successfully,  and  is 
no  less  proud  of  his  success  in  dairying  than  of 
his  acknowledged  fitness  for  affairs  of  finance. 


PETER  TOGNAZZINI. 

Left  fatherless  when  he  was  only  five  years  of 
age.  Mr.  Tognazzini  was  deprived  of  advantages 
that  he  would  have  otherwise  enjoyed.  How- 
ever, in  spite  of  hardships  and  obstacles,  in 
spite  of  having  to  start  for  himself  in  a  strange 
country  without  friends,  he  has  gained  a  suc- 
cess that  reflects  credit  upon  his  sterling  Swiss 
characteristics.  Since  1869  he  has  lived  in  Cali- 
fornia, having  during  that  year  emigrated  from 
Switzerland,  where  he  was  born  in  TS52.  The 
voyage  was  made  via  Boston  and  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  arrived 
March  20.  1869.  At  first  he  worked  in  the  em- 
ploy of  dairymen  in  Marin  and  Sonoma  counties, 
and  thus  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  business,  as 
carried  on  in  the  west. 


During  1873  Mr.  Tognazzini  came  to  San 
Luis  Obispo  county,  where  he  has  since  made 
his  home.  Renting  land  on  Little  Cayucos 
creek,  he  stocked  it  with  a  herd  of  dairy  cows, 
and  from  that  small  beginning  he  has  built  up  a 
large  dairy  business.  As  soon  as  he  had  the 
necessary  means,  he  purchased  land.  In  1880 
he  bought  two  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  to 
which  he  later  added  two  hundred  acres.  At 
this  writing  he  owns  six  hundred  and  fifteen 
acres  of  fine  land  near  Guadaloupe.  of  which  in 
jgoi  he  had  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  al- 
falfa for  his  dairy  cows.  He  was  the  first  in  all 
the  vicinity  to  attempt  the  raising  of  alfalfa, 
and  his  success  proved  that  his  judgment  was 
not  amiss  in  believing  it  would  be  a  profitable 
crop. 

Since  becoming  a  property  owner  Mr.  Tog- 
nazzini has  given  close  attention  to  the  improve- 
ment of  his  land.  He  has  planted  trees,  includ- 
ing a  number  of  fine  palms.  In  1800  he  erected 
a  residence  which  is  unrivaled  among  the  homes 
on  the  Little  Cayucos.  His  dairy  house  is  pro- 
vided with  the  modern  improvements.  Between 
one  and  two  hundred  cows  of  the  Holstein  breed 
form  the  dairy,  and  the  butter  produced  is  of 
such  a  fine  quality  that  it  has  several  times  been 
awarded  premiums  at  county  fairs.  No  one  is 
more  familiar  with  the  dairy  business  than  Mr. 
Tognazzini.  and  his  thorough  acquaintance  with 
the  industry  is  proving  financially  profitable  to 
him.  The  dairymen  throughout  his  county  rec- 
ognize in  him  one  of  the  leading  representatives 
of  their  occupation,  and  his  influence  is  every- 
where acknowledged.  He  is  a  director  of  the 
Dairymen's  Union  of  San  Francisco.  As  presi- 
dent and  a  director  of  the  Guadaloupe  Creamery 
Company  at  Guadaloupe  and  president  of  the 
Union  Creamery  at  Morro.  he  is  closely  asso- 
ciated with  two  growing  industries  that  are 
proving  helpful  to  their  localities.  These  inter- 
ests, while  important  and  far-reaching,  do  not 
represent  the  limit  of  Mr.  Tognazzini's  influ- 
ence. In  addition  he  is  a  director  of  the  San 
Luis  Commercial  Bank,  the  San  Luis  Obispo 
Savings  Bank  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  and  the 
Swiss-American  Bank  of  San  Francisco. 

Since   coming  to   America  and  entering  into 
citizenship  in  our  country  Mr.  Tognazzini  has 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


479 


been  actively  associated  with  local  Republican 
affairs.  As  a  member  of  the  county  central 
committee  and  as  executive  member  from  the 
Cayucos  district,  he  has  done  much  to  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  his  party  here,  and  he  also 
represented  his  district  as  a  delegate  to  the  state 
convention  which  nominated  Hon.  H.  H.  Mark- 
ham  for  governor  of  California.  For  several 
years  he  has  been  a  school  trustee..  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  San  Simeon  Lodge  No. 
196,  F.  &  A.  M.;  San  Luis  Obispo  Chapter  No. 
62,  R.  A.  M.;  and  San  Luis  Obispo  Command- 
ery  No.  27,  K.  T.  In  the  lodge  he  is  a  past 
master  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  the  state 
grand  lodge.  At  the  time  the  proposition  was 
made  to  build  a  railroad  from  Templeton  to 
Cayucos  he  was  deeply  interested  in  the  project, 
took  a  personal  interest  in  the  scheme  and  con- 
tributed toward  the  fund  for  the  making  of  the 
survey.  In  1881  he  married  Miss  Mary  Gaxi- 
ola,  by  whom  he  has  five  children,  Irene,  Ro- 
meo, Juliet,  Mabel  and  Benjamin. 


HERBERT  E.  T1TAMORE. 

A  typical  Canadian  who  has  found  the  change 
from  his  somewhat  bleak  land  to  Monterey 
county  both  a  delightful  and  profitable  one  is 
Herbert  E.  Titamore,  engaged  in  raising  grain 
on  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  the  old 
Buena  Vista  ranch.  Mr.  Titamore,  who  brings 
to  his  California  tasks  that  enthuiasm  so  charac- 
teristic of  the  northern  reared,  was  born  in  Que- 
bec Province,  Canada,  August  2,  1854.  His 
father,  Abraham,  spent  his  life  on  the  frontier 
of  Canada,  his  farm  being  located  at  the  spot 
where  the  Fenians  made  their  memorable  raid 
during  1866-8.  The  father  was  a  man  of  im- 
portance in  his  community,  and  for  more  than 
fifty  years  was  postmaster  at  St.  Armand  Cen- 
ter, where  he  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
six.  His  wife,  formerly  Elizabeth  Toof,  was  a 
native  of  Canada,  and  her  forefathers  were 
Pennsylvania  Dutchmen. 

When  twenty  years  of  age  Herbert  E.  Tita- 
more married  and  left  the  home  of  his  youth, 
living  for  a  year  on  a  rented  farm.  In  the  fall  of 
1867  he  came  to  Monterey  county  and  worked 
for     that     venerable     pioneer,     Hiram     Corey, 


who  owned  the  ranch  upon  which  Mr.  Tita- 
more now  lives.  At  the  expiration  of  three 
years  he  bought  an  interest  in  a  ferry  boat  at 
what  is  now  Riverside,  and  during  the  following 
five  or  six  years  manipulated  the  ferry  during 
the  summer  time  and  engaged  in  teaming  dur- 
ing the  winter  season.  He  then  purchased  five 
or  six  hundred  acres  of  land  among  the  moun- 
tains en  the  stock  range,  and  for  seven  years 
raised  cattle  and  horses  in  large  numbers.  Af- 
ter a  trip  east  to  his  old  home  he  leased  about 
four  bundled  acres  of  the  old  Corey  ranch,  lived 
thereon  for  six  years,  and  in  1901  bought 
seventy-eight  acres  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  the 
same  constituting  a  part  of  the  old  Buena  Vista 
ranch.  He  also  purchased  the  three-quarters 
of  an  acre  upon  which  he  lives,  and  besides 
rents  one  hundred  and  ten  acres,  making  in  all 
one  hundred  and  eighty  acres.  This  land  is 
mostly  under  grain,  principally  barley  and  oats. 
At  present  he  has  thirty-six  head  of  cattle  and 
fifteen  horses.  He  is  very  successful,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  practical  and  enterprising  farmers 
in  the  neighborhood. 

November  11,  [875,  Mr.  Titamore  married 
Mary  E.  Pell,  a  native  of  Canada.  Four  chil- 
dren have  been  born  of  this  union,  namely, 
Minard;  Nettie,  living  at  home;  Frank,  attend- 
ing a  mechanical  school  in  San  Francisco;  and 
Carl,  at  home.  Mr.  Titamore  is  a  Republican, 
and  though  not  an  office-seeker  himself  is  often 
active  in  the  interests  of  his  friends.  The  family 
are  members  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  which  Mr.  Titamore  is  treasurer. 


FRED  THERWACHTER. 

The  fertility  of  the  Pajaro  valley  has  enabled 
many  a  newcomer  to  California  to  realize  his 
expectations  in  regard  to  life  on  the  coast. 
Among  the  people  thus  favored  may  be  men- 
tioned Fred  Therwachter,  a  pioneer  of  1854, 
and  the  owner  and  occupant  of  one  hundred  and 
thirteen  acres  of  rich  bottom  land  near  Watson- 
ville,  advantageously  located  on  the  bank  of  the 
river.  That  this  land  is  all  that  is  claimed  for 
it  is  best  illustrated  by  the  guaranteed  statement 
that  in  iyoi  fifty  acres  yielded  ten  hundred  and 
forty  tons  of  sugar  beets.     General  farming  is 


ISO 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


carried  on  with  equal  success  on  this  model 
farm,  potatoes  being  raised  in  large  quantities, 
as  well  as  a  fair  amount  of  fruit. 

From  his  native  land  of  Germany,  where  he 
was  born  May  5.  [833,  Mr.  Therwachter  brought 
the  characteristic  thrift  and  enterprise  of  his 
countrymen.  He  inherits  a  liking  for  farming 
from  his  parents,  John  and  Mary  (Hanke)  Ther- 
wachter, the  former  of  whom  died  in  1852. 
They  were  the  parents  also  of  Margaret,  Cath- 
erine and  Caroline,  as  well  as  another  son,  all 
of  whom  are  living  in  America,  and  are  making 
their  homes  in  either  St.  Louis  or  Xew  York. 
After  arriving  in  America  in  1850.  Mr.  Ther- 
wachter investigated  the  farming  and  other  con- 
ditions in  Xew  York  state,  and  during  his  four 
vears'  residence  there  mastered  the  trade  of  cab- 
inet-making, which  he  failed  to  follow,  owing 
to  the  effect  of  necessary  confinement  upon  his 
impaired  health.  He  came  to  California  via 
Central  America  in  1854,  and  for  a  year  lived  at 
Soquel,  and  for  five  years  engaged  in  mining 
at  Robinson's  Ferry.  Arriving  in  Watsonville 
in  1858.  he  lived  for  two  years  in  the  town,  and 
in  i860  purchased  the  farm  upon  which  he  has 
since  lived.  In  the  meantime  he  has  grown  in 
the  esteem  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  so  that  his 
success  includes  that  without  which  no  truly 
worthy  man  is  satisfied,  the  confidence  and  hon- 
orable appreciation  of  those  by  whom  he  is 
surrounded. 

October  13,  1862,  Mr.  Therwachter  married 
Catherine  Swenney,  a  native  of  Cork,  Ireland, 
and  of  this  union  there  have  been  born  three 
children,  Carrie,  Ella  and  Louise,  trie  latter  of 
whom  is  a  school  teacher  in  Santa  Cruz  county. 
In  politics  Mr.  Therwachter  is  a  Republican. 


JOHN   11.  THOMPSON. 

There  are  few  of  the  ranchers  in  Edna  district, 
SaI]  Luis  <  »bispo  county,  whose  experiences  in 
California  have  covered  a  longer  period  of 
vears  or  have  been  more  diversified  in  nature 
than  those  of  Mr.  Thompson,  who  is  a  pioneer 
0f  [854.  lie  was  bom  in  Chautauqua  county, 
\.  Y.,  in  1834,  being  a  son  of  John  Thompson, 
who  removed  from  Maine  to  New  York  in  early 


manhood  and  improved  a  large  farm  there.  I  In 
the  home  farm  near  Ellington  J.  H.  Thompson 
passed  the  years  of  youth,  meantime  gaining 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  agriculture  and  also 
availing  himself  of  advantages  offered  by  the 
district  schools. 

At  the  close  of  his  long  journey  from  New 
York  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, Mr.  Thompson  went  into  the  lumber 
camps  of  Butte  county,  Cak,  and  later  engaged 
in  mining  on  the  Yuba  and  Feather  rivers. 
Some  years  after  his  arrival  in  California  he 
accompanied  a  party  of  men  to  the  island  of 
Cocos,  southwest  of  Panama,  where  he  spent 
fourteen  months  in  a  fruitless  search  for  the 
hidden  treasure  to  whose  finding  so  many  had 
given  years  of  toil  in  vain.  On  his  return  to 
California  he  was  for  two  years  engaged  in  the 
machine  business  at  San  Jose.  During  1867 
he  went  by  stage  from  that  city  to  Ventura 
county  and  settled  at  New  Jerusalem,  now 
known  as  El  Rio.  There  he  bought  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  raw  land,  which  he  improved  and 
placed  under  cultivation  to  various  products. 
In  1869  he  accepted  a  position  as  superintend- 
ent of  the  old  Patterson  ranch,  comprising  five 
thousand  acres,  and  there  he  remained  for  eight 
years.  During  the  last  seven  years  he  rented 
the  property  in  partnership  with  H.  L.  Bush. 

Making  another  removal,  Mr.  Thompson 
went  to  Los  Angeles  county  and  bough)  our 
thousand  acres  of  land  where  the  village  of  Gar- 
dena  now  stands.  In  this  enterprise  he  had 
II.  L.  Bush  as  a  partner.  They  continued  to 
cultivate  the  land  for  some  years,  hut  sold  out 
during  the  boom,  receiving  a  fair  price.  I  lis 
residence  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  dates  from 
1XN7,  when  he  bought  the  Palace  Yirde  ranch 
of  eight  hundred  acres  and  there  began  the  life 
of  a  dairyman  and  farmer.  About  the  sami 
time  he  purchased  a  part  of  the  Steele  ranch, 
which  had  originally  been  attached  to  an  old 
Spanish  land  grant.  Shortly  after  coining  to 
this  county  he  planted  some  walnut  seeds,  and 
toda)  this  orchard  of  thirty  acres  is  pointed  out 
to  -Hangers  as  not  only  the  first  orchard  of  the 
kind  planted  in  the  county,  but  also  as  one  ol 
the  finest  and  most  productive.  Indeed,  com 
petent  judges  have  declared  it  to  be  one  of  the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


finest  producing  orchards  in  the  state  of  Cali- 
fornia. In  1889  Mr.  Thompson  bought  the 
ranch  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  the  Edna 
district  where  he  has  since  made  his  home,  ami 
about  the  same  time  he  also  purchased  one 
hundred  and  forty-seven  acres  now  planted  in 
fruits.  Various  departments  of  agriculture  en- 
gage his  attention.  He  has  not  limited  himself 
to  one  industry,  wisely  believing  that  success 
is  enhanced  by  a  variety  of  crops.  A  number 
mi"  standard-bred  horses  and  cattle  may  be  seen 
mi  his  ranch,  and  stock-raising  is  an  important 
adjunct  of  his  work.  Two  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  the  farm  are  planted  in  beans,  and 
these  and  his  walnuts  are  the  special  pride  of 
the  owner,  while  he  is  also  justly  proud  of  the 
fact  that  his  land  produces  one  hundred  sacks 
of  barley  per  acre. 

In  1867  Mr.  Thompson  married  Celia  I.  Alex- 
ander, horn  in  Nevada  county,  Cal.,  daughter 
of  Thomas  ami  Sarah  Alexander,  natives  of 
Ohio,  and  a  sister  of  William  Alexander,  of 
Los  Angeles.  Five  children  were  born  of  their 
union,  Abbie,  Henry,  Jeannette,  Frankie  (de- 
ceased) and  Fred.  During  the  Spanish-Ameri- 
can war  the  son  Henry  enlisted  in  the  service 
and  was  sent  out  to  the  Philippines  with  the 
Fourteenth  Infantry.  Later,  while  still  at  Ma- 
nila, he  was  one  of  twelve  who  volunteered  to 
make  the  noted  "bloody"  run,  so  called  because 
of  those  who  made  it  six  were  killed,  he  being 
one  of  the  six.  He  was  a  brave  young  man 
and  won  a  hero's  reward,  the  gratitude  of  his 
country  and  a  place  in  the  muster-roll  of  its 
brave  soldiers. 

At  no  time  in  his  life  has  Mr.  Thompson  con- 
sented to  hold  office,  yet  he  has  been  active  in 
local  matters  and  has  assisted  in  gaining  local 
Republican  victories.  Fraternally  he  is  con- 
nected with  the  Masons.  Among  the  local 
movements  in  which  he  was  most  deeply  inter- 
ested was  the  building  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  through  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  and 
he  aided  in  its  construction  from  Santa  Mar- 
garita to  Guadaloupe  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  county.  Other  projects  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people  have  received  his  sympathy  and 
support,  and  no  worthy  movement  has  been 
deprived  of  his  encouragement  and  influence. 


CHARLES  A.  TELLEEN. 

Xo  man  has  done  m.  ire  for  the  upbuilding  of 
Templeton  and  its  general  improvement  than 
Air.  Telleen,  who  came  here  from  Iowa  in  the 
Fall  of  1887  and  has  since  proved  a  valuable  addi- 
tion to  the  citizenship  of  the  locality.  A  native 
of  Halland,  Sweden,  born  in  1844.  ]le  was  a 
small  child  when  his  parents  came  to  America 
and  settled  in  Rock  Island,  111.  The  schools  of 
that  city  furnished  him  with  the  advantages  of 
an  English  education,  which  has  sina  been 
broadened  and  extended  by  habits  of  close  ob- 
servation and  study.  On  leaving  Rock  Island, 
in  186).  he  went  to  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  business,  which  he  con- 
tinued in  the  same  city  for  eighteen  years. 

Coming  to  California  in  1887,  Mr.  Telleen 
identified  himself  with  the  newly  established 
town  of  Templeton.  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county. 
As  a  representative  of  the  West  Coast  Land 
Company,  he  began  to  buy  and  sell  real  estate 
in  and  near  Templeton,  and  his  advice  proved 
of  the  greatest  assistance  to  newcomers  unfa- 
miliar with  the  soil,  opportunities  and  values. 
He  continued  with  the  same  firm  until  1900, 
but  in  the  meantime  he  also  did  considerable 
buying  and  selling  for  himself,  and  is  now  an 
extensive  dealer  in  real  estate.  Besides,  he  has 
the  agency  for  eleven  fire  insurance  companies, 
whose  combined  capital  foots  up  into  the  mil- 
lions. 

In  1872  Mr.  Telleen  married  Christina  |bse- 
phine  Johnson,  a  native  of  Sweden.  Their 
only  son.  Andrew  !•"..,  is  being  educated  in  the 
well-known  Swedish  Lutheran  institution  of 
learning  at  Rock  Island.  111.  Interested  in  all 
that  pertains  to  the  progress  of  our  nation,  Mr. 
Telleen  is  a  believer  in  Republican  principles 
and  works  for  the  success  of  the  party.  For 
some  years  he  has  rendered  efficient  service  as 
a  member  of  the  county  central  committee,  with 
which  he  is  still  connected.  \t  the  time  of  the 
organization  of  the  t'itizens  Bank  of  1'aso  Ro- 
bles  he  was  one  of  the  |i'n,.  [lasers  of  the  charter 
stock,  which  altogether  capitalized  the  hank  at 
$100,000,  and  he  has  since  been  a  director  of 
this  flourishing  institution,  for  years  he  has 
officiated  as  treasurer  and   a  trustee  of  the   I.u- 


■±62 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


theran  Church,  and  his  wife  is  also  a  member 
of  the  same  denomination. 


CHRISTIAN  S.  SWENSON. 

One  of  the  pioneer  fruit  men  of  what  is  now 
Prunedale,  in  the  San  Miguel  Canon,  Monterey 
county,  Mr.  Swenson  was  born  in  Norway,  Sep- 
tember 9,  1826,  and  inherits  the  thrift,  industry 
and  integrity  characteristic  of  his  Norse  fore- 
fathers. The  active  career  of  Mr.  Swenson  be- 
gan when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  when 
his  countrymen's  love  of  the  sea  prevailed  over 
land  attractions,  and  he  set  out  upon  a  life  on 
the  deep.  He  saw  much  of  the  ports  and  storms 
of  the  German  ocean,  and  visited  England, 
France  and  Spain,  and  in  1850  went  to  Australia. 
From  Sydney  he  shipped  in  the  bark  Henry 
Herbeck,  of  New  York,  bound  for  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  upon  arriving  at  his  destination,  Aug- 
ust 2,  1851,  went  at  once  to  the  placer  mines 
at  Gold  Hill,  in  Placer  county,  where  he  was 
fairly  successful.  In  March,  1856,  he  landed  at 
Michigan  Bluff,  which  continued  to  be  his  home 
for  twelve  years,  and  where  he  accomplished 
much  for  science,  if  not  towards  the  lining  of 
his  own  pocket.  He  became  much  interested  in 
nitro-glycerine  after  the  big  explosion  in  San 
Francisco  in  1866,  read  up  on  it,  fortified  him- 
self with  a  knowledge  of  chemistry,  and  then 
concluded  to  introduce  it  into  his  mine.  The 
first  pound  of  the  explosive  made  in  California 
was  made  by  Prof.  James  Howden  and  Mr. 
Swenson,  March  12,  1867,  and  when  the  latter 
and  two  other  men  owned  their  claim  at  Michi- 
gan Bluff,  Mr.  Swenson  took  the  chemical  there 
and  used  it  in  their  mines.  He  introduced  it 
in  many  of  the  surrounding  mines  also,  and  laid 
before  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
the  plan  of  using  it  in  the  building  of  their 
road,  especially  in  making  tunnels.  He  fear- 
lessly carried  the  dread  and  powerful  article 
around  with  him  before  the  boats,  railroads  or 
teamsters  could  be  persuaded  to  haul  it,  and  was 
very  successful  in  promoting  its  proper  utility 
in  connection  with  many  lines  of  enterprise  in 
the  west. 

In  1868  Mr.  Swenson  disposed  of  his  share 
of  the  mining  claim  to  his  partners  for  $7,000, 


and  then  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  in 
San  Francisco,  built  houses,  surveyed,  and  was 
fairly  successful  for  several  years.  However, 
because  of  too  heavy  investments,  he  lost  almost 
everything.  After  the  debris  was  cleared  away, 
he  rented  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Prunedale  for 
the  purpose  of  raising  bees,  but  as  an  apiarist 
he  had  to  thank  the  northern  climate  for  his 
unsuccessful  attempt.  In  1885  he  bought  fifty- 
two  acres  of  land  upon  which  he  now  lives,  and 
worked  three  days  to  build  the  road  up  to  where 
the  house  now  stands.  He  cleared  up  his  land 
and  began  to  plant  orchard  and  still  continued 
to  keep  bees,  but  at  the  present  time  has  only 
about  an  hundred  stands.  The  greater  part  of 
his  place  is  devoted  to  fruit,  the  main  crop  be- 
ing apples,  although  a  few  almonds  and  prunes 
have  found  their  way  into  his  orchards. 

A  Republican  in  politics,  Mr.  Swenson  has 
held  some  offices  of  a  local  nature,  including 
that  of  justice  of  the  peace,  during  his  life  in 
the  mines.  He  was  made  a  Mason  in  Michigan 
Bluff,  and  is  at  present  identified  with  Lodge 
No.  204,  at  Salinas,  having  formerly  been  a 
member  of  .Michigan  City  Lodge  No.  47.  Mr. 
Swenson  fills  a  unique  and  altogether  desirable 
place  in  the  hearts  and  esteem  of  his  fellow 
townsmen,  and  is  familiarly  known  as  "Uncle 
Swenson."  In  his  youth  he  had  few  educational 
advantages,  for  a  sailor  before  the  mast  had 
about  all  he  could  do  without  poring  over 
books.  Later  he  devoted  his  spare  time  to  read- 
ing and  study,  and  is  now  a  well-informed  man, 
in  touch  with  all  matters  of  interest  to  humanity 
in  general. 


WILLIAM  SULLIVAN. 

An  Irish-American  who  is  cultivating  a  faun 
in  the  Pajaro  valley  with  both  credit  and  profit 
is  William  Sullivan,  who  was  born  in  Ireland  in 
1842,  a  son  of  Bert  Sullivan,  also  a  native  of 
Ireland  and  a  farmer  by  occupation.  In  his  na- 
tive land  William  Sullivan  was  reared  to  farming 
and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools.  Not 
content  with  the  prospects  by  which  he  was  sur- 
rounded, he  came  to  America  when  a  young 
man,  and  almost  immediately  crossed  the  con- 
tinent   to    California.      Arriving   in    Watsonville 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


485 


in  1873,  he  worked  on  the  narrow  gauge  rail- 
road for  F.  A.  Heenn,  and  was  later  identified 
with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
for  twenty-three  years.  During  that  time  he 
made  rapid  strides  in  the  line  of  promotion,  and 
eventually,  as  foreman,  superintended  the  build- 
ing of  the  broad  gauge  railroad  between  Wat- 
sonville  and  Santa  Cruz.  Upon  leaving  the  em- 
ploy of  the  railroad  Mr.  Sullivan,  in  1878,  pur- 
chased a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
acres  five  miles  southwest  of  Watsonville  and 
on  Monterey  Bay,  where  he  is  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming  and  stock-raising,  but  devotes  the 
greater  part  of  his  farm  to  oats. 

In  1882  Mr.  Sullivan  married  Maggie  Lain, 
a  native  also  of  Ireland,  and  the  mother  of  five 
children,  of  whom  four  are  living,  Ellen,  the 
youngest,  being  deceased.  The  surviving  chil- 
dren, Bert,  James,  Mamie  and  Willie,  are  with 
their  parents.  The  family  are  members  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 


JAMES  I.   KING. 

To  such  an  extent  has  Mr.  King  made  a  spe- 
cialty of  one  industry  that  he  is  to-day  known 
as  the  largest  onion  raiser  in  the  entire  Pajaro 
valley.  He  was  born  in  Tazewell  county,  Va., 
January  5,  1857,  being  a  son  of  Harvey  King, 
a  native  of  the  same  locality.  During  1870 
the  family  came  to  California  and  settled  near 
Newhope,  San  Joaquin  county,  where  the  father 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death, 
in  1878,  at  the  age  of  forty-eight  years.  Being 
only  a  lad  when  the  family  came  west,  James 
I.  King  has  spent  the  larger  part  of  his  life 
in  California  and  is  thoroughly  in  touch  with 
the  industries  and  development  of  the  coast 
region.  While  still  young  he  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  agriculture  on  the  home  farm  and  con- 
tinued in  general  farming  until  his  removal  to 
Watsonville  in  1889.  Buying  a  lot  on  Ford 
street,  he  built  a  house,  and  has  since  made  his 
home  here. 

At  the  same  time  Mr.  King  bought  a  ranch 
of  twenty  acres  known  as  the  J.  J.  Stratton 
ranch,  lying  west  of  the  city,  along  the  Beach 
road.  The  soil  being  very  rich  has  responded 
quickly  to  his  skillful  cultivation.     In   1891   he 


set  out  eight  acres  in  Bellefleur  apples,  but 
his  specialty  has  been  onions,  of  which  he  raises 
twenty-nine  varieties,  the  principal  one  being 
the  Silver  Skins,  a  peculiarly  choice  and  de- 
sirable quality.  For  eight  years  or  more  he 
has  raised  onions  for  C.  C.  Morse  &  Co.  His 
own  land  proving  inadequate  to  the  demand, 
he  has  rented  many  acres,  and  in  1901  raised 
three  hundred  and  fifty-one  sacks  of  onions 
per  acre,  twenty-five  acres  averaging  four  hun- 
dred sacks  per  acre.  Already  the  J.  I.  King 
onion  fields  are  known  far  and  wide.  Photo- 
graphs of  his  fields  have  appeared  in  many  lead- 
ing magazines,  and  periodicals  have  called  at- 
tention to  his  success  along  the  line  of  his 
specialty.  By  experience  he  has  found  that 
the  land  will  only  bear  successfully,  to  the  same 
crop,  for  four  years,  and  therefore  every  fifth 
year  he  plants  to  other  products.  The  prepar- 
ing of  the  land  is  done  by  himself,  but  much 
of  the  manual  labor  is  given  over  to  Japanese 
employes,  of  whom  he  has  a  number. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  King  united  him  with 
Kate  Smith,  daughter  of  Col.  Robert  Smith, 
and  a  native  of  Tazewell  county,  \"a.  Frater- 
nally Mr.  King  is  connected  with  the  Masons 
and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  01  tli> 
Eastern  Star.  In  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  he  is  actively  associated  with  the 
lodge,  encampment,  canton  and  Rebekahs,  in 
which  last  named  Mrs.  King  is  also  an  active 
worker.  In  politics  he  supports  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  At  this  writing  he  is  serving  as 
city  trustee  or  councilman  of  Watsonville,  in 
which  office  he  has  endeavored  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  his  fellow-citizens  and  support  hum-. 
ures  for  the  benefit  of  the  city. 


FATHER  PETER  STOTERS. 

To  a  greater  extent  than  is  given  to  many, 
the  childhood  dream  of  Father  Meters  has  been 
realized,  and  as  a  si  mi  of  the  church  he  has  been 
enabled  to  exert  a  wide  influence  for  good,  and 
to  broaden  the  lives  and  intensif)  the  happi- 
ness of  the  thousands  with  whom  he  has 
in  contact.  An  all-pervading  peace  and  helpful- 
ness radiates  from  the  church  at  Salinas  of  which 
he  has  been  pastor  since  1893,  and  by  the  mem- 


186 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


bers  of  which  he  is  respected  and  beloved  as 
only  a  truly  good  and  gifted  man  may  hope  to 
be.  Irrespective  of  creed  or  class,  he  enjoys 
also  the  friendship  and  good  will  of  the  entire 
community,  and  his  work  here  is  acknowledged 
to  be  broad  and  uplifting.  The  parish  of  Sa- 
linas was  founded  in  1878,  and  the  residence  at 
about  the  same  time,  and  the  former  was  dedi- 
cated in  1883  by  Bishop  Francis  Mora.  The 
church  has  about  eight  hundred  members  and 
worship  is  conducted  in  a  brick  structure,  while 
the  residence  is  comfortable  and  commodious, 
and  the  grounds  laid  out  with  care  and  attract- 
ive to  the  eye. 

A  native  of  the  vicinity  of  Cologne.  Germany, 
Father  Stoters  was  born  in  the  heart  of  the 
wine  district,  and  was  educated  in  his  native 
land  until  his  nineteenth  year.  In  1867  he  im- 
migrated to  America,  settling  in  St.  Louis,  but 
soon  went  to  California,  continuing  his  educa- 
tional training.  After  his  ordination  he  was 
assistant  priest  at  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Yibiana, 
and  later  in  the  same  capacity  at  the  church  in 
San  Luis  Obispo.  He  then  was  sent  as  rector 
of  the  Church  of  St.  Boniface  at  Anaheim;  and 
after  the  death  of  Father  Sorrentini  he  was  made 
rector  of  tlie  Church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at 
Salinas. 


JOSEPH  C.  STOCKING. 

The  distinction  of  being  the  oldest  male  resi- 
dent of  Morro,  San  Luis  <  Ibispo  county,  belongs 
to  Mr.  Stocking,  who  came  to  this  point  in  1S71 
from  Sonoma  county.  He  is  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, born  January  6,  1826,  but  was  reared 
in  Xew  York  and  Illinois.  From  1837  to  1850 
he  engaged  in  farming  pursuits  in  Boone 
count).  111.  During  the  latter  year,  inspired  by 
tin-  reports  of  the  discover)  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia, he  determined  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the 
west.  The  voyage  was  made  via  Panama  and 
he  landed  in  San  Francisco  June  3,  1850.  After 
a  few  months  at  Marvsvillc.  lie  began  mining  in 
Nevada  county  and  later  was  similarly  occupied 
in  Placer  county.  In  [857  he  settled  in  Bloom- 
field,  Sonoma  county,  where  he  carried  on  a 
blacksmith's  shop,  following  the  trade  in  that 
until    his   removal    to    San    Luis   Obispo 


county.  On  his  arrival  in  Morro  he  found  only- 
one  family  in  the  town,  nor  was  the  surrounding 
country  more  than  sparsely  settled.  With  a  firm 
faith  in  future  conditions,  he  began  to  work  at 
his  trade  of  blacksmith  and  wheelwright,  build- 
ing a  shop  on  the  ground  where  he  has  since 
engaged  in  business.  With  his  earnings  some 
\  ears  later  he  bought  a  ranch  near  Morro,  since 
which  time  he  has  not  only  followed  his  trade, 
but  also  given  some  attention  to  farming  and 
dairying,  and  is  therefore  a  very  busy  man. 
For  several  years  he  has  been  a  director  in  the 
Industrial  Union  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  in  which 
he  is  also  a  stockholder. 

During  the  more  than  thirty  years  of  his  resi- 
dence in  Morro  Mr.  Stocking  has  striven  to  ad- 
vance the  town's  progress  and  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  its  people.  It  is  a  fact  recognized  by  all 
the  citizens  that  he  may  be  relied  upon  to  do  his 
part  in  forwarding  any  worthy  movement.  His 
political  views  are  independent.  He  is  now 
serving  his  third  term  as  justice  of  the  peace,  to 
which  office  he  was  elected  on  an  independent 
ticket.  He  is  the  only  justice  between  Cambria 
and  San  Luis  (  Ibispo,  and  in  the  conduct  of  his 
official  work  has  displayed  impartiality,  tact  and 
an  excellent  knowledge  of  the  law.  For  several 
years  he  served  as  a  trustee  of  the  Morro  school 
district.  No  local  movements  appeal  to  him  in 
vain,  when  once  he  is  convinced  of  their  value, 
and  he  is  particularly  interested  in  the  building 
of  school  houses  and  churches.  Through  his 
instrumentality  the  organization  of  the  Mono 
Presbyterian  Sunday-school  was  effected  in 
1  So  1  (  Chosen  as  its  first  superintendent,  he  has 
filled  the  office  ever  since  and  has  been  deeply 
interested  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  school.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  San  Luis  (  Ibispo  county 
Sunday-school  convention,  which  holds  annual 
meetings.  A  charter  member  of  the  .Mono 
Presbyterian  Church,  he  was  one  of  the  most 
active  in  working  for  a  house  of  worship  and 
served  as  a  member  of  the  building  committee, 
also  the  incorporation  committee.  Since  the 
organization  of  the  church  he  has  been  one  of 
its   elders. 

In  Sonoma  county,  in  1857.  occurred  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Stocking  to  Miss  C.  E.  Corey. 
They   became  the  parents  of  seven  children,  six 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


of  whom  are  living,  George  having  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty-seven.  The  others  are:  Frank 
M.;  Charles  C;  Anna  T...  wile  of  J.  M.  McKen- 
non;  Flora,  wife  of  J.  If.  Hollister;  Minnie  M. 
and  Ernest,  who  are  at  home. 


JAMES  M.   R(  1DGERS. 

From  the  time  of  his  settlement  in  Santa  Cruz 
county  in  1867  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
July  7.  jqoi,  Mr.  Rodgers  was  associated  with 
tlie  development  and  progress  of  the  Pajaro  val- 
ley. Shortly  after  his  arrival  he  bought  a  farm 
of  eighty  acres  and  the  subsequent  years  of  his 
life  were  busily  passed  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
land  .and  the  bringing  of  the  place  under  a  high 
state  of  improvement.  In  the  affectionate  re- 
gard of  old  associates  he  held  a  high  place  and 
his  memory  is  still  fresh  and  green.  The  work 
which  he  accomplished  in  the  improving  of  his 
land  and  the  upbuilding  of  the  valley's  resources 
entitle  him  to  mention  in  the  annals  of  the  lo- 
cality with  which  he  was  so  long  ami  intimately 
identified. 

The  family  of  which  Mr.  Rodgers  was  a  mem- 
ber has  been  identified  with  American  history 
ever  since  the  colonial  period,  the  first  immi- 
grant having  come  from  England.  A  few  years 
after  the  close  of  the  Revolution  Joseph  Rod- 
gers, who  served  in  that  conflict,  removed  from 
Virginia  to  Tennessee,  and  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  latter  state  occurred  the  birth  of  William 
Rodgers,  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812  and  the 
son  of  the  Revolutionary  hero.  On  taking  up 
the  occupation  of  a  planter  he  soon  gained 
prominence  and  acquired  the  ownership  of  a 
large  estate.  In  February  of  1853,  accompanied 
by  his  brothers.  Wiley,  George,  William  D.  and 
Samuel  A.,  the  subject  of  this  article  started  For 
the  far  west,  llis  previous  life  has  been  un- 
eventfully passed  near  KLnoxville,  Tenn.,  where 
he  was  born  August  12.  1817.  After  landing 
from  a  boat  in  St.  I. •mis  he  started  across  thi 
country  to  [ndepi  ndi  nee,  Mo.,  \\  here  he  oul 
fitted  for  the  plains.  The  expedition  of  which 
he  was  a  member  consisted  of  an  ox-team,  four 
horses  and  seven  men.  They  proceeded  up  the 
Platte  river  and  across  the  Rock)  mountains, 
thence    to    the     llumboldl     desert    and    I. arson's 


^ll  adow  .  From  thi  re  via  I  tol  Springs  to  the 
Sierra  Nevada  mountains,  thence  to  the  Sacra- 
mento river  and  down  to  Red  Bluff,  where  thi  . 
enjoyed  the  sport  of  hunting  and  killed  seven 
bears.  During  their  trip  they  had  paid  $160  for 
two  barrels  of  flour,  which  they  bought  in  Utah 
at  the  only  point  that  provisions  could  be  pur- 
chased along  the  entire  route. 

The  arrival  of  the  expedition  in  Red  Bl 
curred  September  4.  1852.  Mr.  Rodgers  re- 
mained in  California  until  1X55,  when  he 
returned  to  his  Tennessee  home  via  Central 
America,  being  a  passenger  on  the  first  train 
that  crossed  the  isthmus.  Landing  at  Baltimore 
he  took  the  train  to  Atlanta,  Ga.  Vmong  his 
fellow  passengers  was  Jefferson  Davis,  with 
whom  he  traveled  during  part  of  his  journey  and 
whose  friendship  he  ever  afterward  cherished. 
When  the  war  came  on  his  possessions  were 
despoiled  and  his  home  laid  waste.  Wishing  to 
escape  from  the  scene  of  devastation  and  car- 
nage, he  secured  from  General  Thomas  a  per 
mit  for  himself  and  family,  and  thus  was  en- 
abled to  proceed  to  New  York,  where  he  took 
a  si  up  for  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  thence  up  the 
Pacific  ocean,  arriving  in  San  Francisco  in  June 
of  1864.  For  a  time  he  engaged  in  the  lumber 
business  a:  Los  Gatos,  from  which  town  he 
came  to  Santa  Cruz  county  and  settled  on  Lake 
avenue.  His  first  presidential  vote  was  cast  for 
William  Henry  Harrison  and  later  he  sustained 
the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party  in  na 
tional  affairs,  but  in  local  matters  he  was  inde- 
pendent, voting  for  the  best  man.  irrespective 
1  if  political  affiliations. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Rodgers  was  Formerly  Mai 
vina  Galbraith,  who  was  born  in  Ten 
February  11.  iSjS.  and  was  a  daughter  of  John 
<  lalbraith.  The  family  of  which  she  was  a  mem- 
ber originated  in  Scotland.  Her  grandfather 
Galbraith  was  a  participant  in  the  Revoluti 
war,  serving  under  General  .Marion,  and  six 
uncles 

marriage  to  Mr.  Rodgers  nine  children  were 
born,  namel)  e  O.,  M.  D.;   1 

Luther.    I  hai  I  '•        ie   and 

Alice.      I  in,  Arthur,  an  attorney,  is 

now    deceased  and  is  survived  by  one  child.  Mil- 
ducated  as  a 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD 


physician  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  is  now- 
living  in  San  Francisco ;  he  married  a  San  Fran- 
cisco lady,  and  their  only  son,  Walter,  is  an  at- 
torney. Mary  is  the  wife  of  H.  H.  Coles,  of 
Santa  Cruz  county,  and  they  have  five  children, 
Florence,  Herbert,  Lillie,  Ethel  and  Gertrude. 
Luther  is  cashier  of  the  Monterey  County  Bank. 
Lizzie  married  F.  H.  Nohrden  and  has  three 
children,  Elmer,  Chester  and  Olive.  Maggie  is 
the  wife  of  H.  L.  Shideler,  of  Watsonville.  Alice, 
the  wife  of  J  S  Brown,  resides  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. Charles  H.  Rodgers  was,  like  his  brothers 
and  sisters,  a  native  of  Tennessee.  By  his  mar- 
riage to  Josephine  Jacobsen,  a  native  of  Flor- 
ence, Neb.,  he  has  four  children:  Carroll  J.,  H. 
Alarion,  Florence,  and  an  infant  daughter.  The 
family  occupy  a  beautiful  residence  on  Lake 
avenue,  in  the  suburbs  of  Watsonville. 


J.  D.  ESTY. 


The  agricultural  resources  of  Santa  Cruz 
county  have  brought  a  competence  to  Mr.  Esty, 
who  owns  a  finely  cultivated  ranch  of  thirty-four 
acres  near  Soquel.  He  was  born  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, July  28,  1849,  and  is  a  son  of  J.  B.  and 
Sarah  (Kitchen)  Esty,  the  former  of  whom  was 
a  lawyer  and  farmer,  and  died  in  1883.  Of  the 
children  born  to  these  parents  seven  are  living, 
and  besides  J.  D.  there  are  George,  Manda, 
Sherman,  Harriet,  Eliza  and  Alwilda. 

Until  his  eighteenth  year  Mr.  Esty  lived  on 
the  home  farm,  but  his  growing  ambitions  were 
not  content  with  the  limitations  by  which  he 
was  surrounded.  For  three  years  he  tried  his 
luck  in  the  city  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  there- 
alter  spent  some  time  in  Maine,  in  which  state 
he  followed  the  trades  of  carpenter  and  black- 
smith. In  1880  he  came  to  California  and  lo- 
cated  on  his  present  farm,  one  mile  east  of  So- 
quel, where  he  has  since  engaged  in  general 
farming  and  stock-raising.  .Mr.  Esty  is  a  large 
and  commanding  man.  well  posted  on  current 
events.  A  stanch  supporter  of  the  Republican 
part}-,  he  is  one  of  the  best  known  politicians  in 
his  neighborhood,  and,  in  addition  to  filling  a 
term  of  six  years  as  supervisor,  has  held  various 
other   offices   within   the  gift   of  his   fellow-citi- 


zens.    Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

In  September,  1875,  Mr.  Esty  was  married  to 
Cora  L.  Lurano,  who  was  born  in  Maine  in 
1857,  and  of  their  marriage  there  are  two  chil- 
dren, Lee  B.  and  Seward. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  ELY. 

Something  of  the  steadfast  determination  of 
the  Revolutionary  heroes  appears  in  this  pioneer 
of  Santa  Cruz,  and  his  career  is  not  unlike  what 
might  be  predicted  of  one  whose  grandfather 
was  a  soldier  at  Bunker  Hill.  James  Ely,  the 
father  of  William  Henry,  and  a  son  of  that  John 
Ely  who  served  on  the  above  historic  field,  com- 
bined the  occupations  of  farmer,  miller  and 
butcher,  and,  with  his  wife,  Fannie  (nee  Hunt), 
dwelt  at  Rome,  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  where 
their  son,  William  Henry,  was  born  September 
21,  1828.  The  mother  died  when  her  boy  was 
seven  years  of  age,  and  subsequently  the  father 
married  Rebecca  Knox,  by  whom  he  had  two 
sons.  In  1842  he  removed  to  Kendall  county, 
111.,  but  soon  afterward  had  the  misfortune  to 
contract  a  cold  while  hunting  deer  (then  plenti- 
ful in  the  Prairie  state).  Erysipelas  resulted, 
causing  his  death  when  his  son  was  a  lad  of 
fourteen. 

An  uncle  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y,  took  charge  of  the 
orphan  boy,  who  took  up  the  trade  of  a  machin- 
ist. On  completing  the  same,  he  returned  to 
Illinois,  where  for  three  years  he  worked  in  a 
woolen  factory  at  Joliet.  From  the  small  salary 
of  $30  a  month  his  wages  were  gradually  raised 
to  just  twice  that  amount,  and  people  spoke  of 
him  as  a  promising  young  man.  Although  al- 
ways contented,  whatever  his  lot,  the  active  dis- 
position and  native  mother  wit  which  later  en- 
abled him  to  accumulate  a  fortune  prompted 
him  to  seek  the  new  country  of  California,  and 
its  golden  fields,  rumors  of  which  had  at  that 
time  reached  him.  With  a  companion  of  his 
own  age,  he  started  west  March  2J,  1849.  On 
this  journey  through  a  country  of  hard  travel. 
they  found  further  trials  from  the  danger  of 
attacks  from  Indians  and  thievish  white  men, 
both  more  numerous  than  congenial.  At  last, 
after  having  buffeted  with  snow  and  rain,  heat 


HISTORICAL    AND    P.IOGRAPHTCA1.    RECORD 


and  cold,  they  took  up  winter  quarters  on  the 
upper  Missouri,  minus  money  and  minus  most 
of  the  other  comfortable  things  of  life. 

The  young  traveler's  efforts  were  favored  with 
a  measure  of  success,  as  is  usually  the  case 
when  one  is  determined  and  resolute.  Borrow- 
ing $20  from  a  friendly  well-wisher,  he  bought 
corn  in  the  country  and  sold  this  at  an  advance 
of  $10  to  emigrants  passing  through,  continu- 
ing- in  this  way  until  he  had  acquired  $75.  With 
this  money  he  bought  an  outfit  and  provisions 
of  the  simplest  sort.  May  2,  1850,  he  took  up 
the  line  of  march  once  more,  with  the  watch- 
word, "California  or  die."  Passing  over  swollen 
streams  and  tracts  of  country  from  which  the 
grass  was  so  burned  that  the  horses  could  make 
but  scant  meals,  they  reached  Fort  Kearney, 
where  they  found  a  store.  Only  things  impera- 
tively needed  were  bought,  and  for  those  a  high 
price  was  paid.  Thence  they  pushed  on  to  the 
west,  arriving  at  HJangtown  July  27,  of  the  same 
year.  They  were  weary  and  footsore  from  walk- 
ing much  of  the  way.  ragged  and  shoeless,  but 
the  strong  constitution  and  stanch  will  pre- 
vailed, and  the  persistent  spirit  of  the  young 
travelers  shone  as  undaunted  as  ever. 

Meeting-  an  acquaintance  of  the  year  before. 
Mr.  Ely  accepted  an  invitation  to  take  dinner 
with  this  friend,  and  then  shouldered  his  blanket 
ami  ride,  and  walked  to  Georgetown,  where  he 
secured  work  with  Squire  Lee  at  $200  a  month. 
As  soon  as  he  had  earned  money  with  which  to 
buy  necessary  provisions,  etc.,  he  started  for  the 
north  fork  of  the  Yuba,  where  gold  was  said  to 
be  plentiful.  Instead  of  arriving  at  the  desired 
destination,  he  became  lost  in  the  mountains 
and  wandered  for  forty-eight  hours  without 
food,  sleeping  on  the  rocks  around  which  moun- 
tain lions  and  Indians  roamed.  Finally  he 
reached  a  town  and  after  a  time  arrived  at  the 
gold  fields,  but  when  he  was  successful  in  strik- 
ing- gold  at  Downieville,  the  coming  of  a  freshet 
washed  away  all  of  his  gold  and  possessions.  In 
ulier  of  1851  he  left  Downieville  with 
$2,550  and  crossed  the  Goodrich  mountains 
(where  the  snow  was  four  feet  deep):  he  even- 
tually reached  Marysville  and  from  there  went 
to  the  Green  valley  in  Sonoma  county.  From 
there  he  went  to  Tulare  county,  participating  in 


the  Indian  war.  and  remaining  nine  years.  From 
there  he  came  to  Santa  Cruz.  His  next  venture 
was  raising  potatoes,  but  after  having  fifteen 
thousand  bushels  ready  for  the  market  the  price 
dropped  and  they  could  not  be  sold  at  any 
amount.  Yet  the  same  strong  spirit  which  has 
done  so  much  to  build  up  the  city  of  Santa  Cruz, 
and  which  now  enables  him.  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-four, to  keep  hale  and  hearty  and  conduct 
larg-e  interests,  was  then  his.  He  began  cattle- 
raising,  on  the  shares,  with  Capt.  John  R. 
Cooper,  of  Monterey,  and  thus  succeeded  in  get- 
ting a  start.  In  a  few  years  he  found  he  had 
acquired  enough  money  to  permit  him  to  in- 
dulge in  a  trip  to  the  east.  The  voyage  was 
made  to  New  York,  where  he  took  the  overland 
route  to  Cleveland.  Ohio.  There.  February  6 
1857.  he  married  Mary  Catherine,  daughter  of 
Moses  and  Mary  Ann  Arner.  and  a  native  of 
Cuyahoga  county,  Ohio.  Their  wedding  trip 
was  a  journey  to  the  far  west,  where  they  still 
abide,  the  bride  of  that  day  becoming  the  truly 
noble  woman,  the  loving  wife  and  mother,  and 
the  center  of  a  large  circle  of  enduring  friends. 

After  engaging  in  the  rattle  business  until 
1869,  Mr.  Ely  settled  in  Santa  Cruz  and  em- 
barked in  merchandising.  In  1883  he  built  a 
house  and  a  mill  adjoining,  on  Front  street. 
where  he  conducted  business  until  October  14. 
1 901.  He  is  the  sole  owner  of  the  Fast  Santa 
Cruz  Street  Railway,  which  he  built  from  Fast 
Santa  Cruz  to  Upper  Plaza.  In  1875  he  erected 
a  three-story  block  where  the  courthouse  now 
stands.  Later  he  sold  the  lot  for  $1 5.000  and 
moved  the  building  to  Front  street,  where  it 
now  stands.  Sunnyside  ranch,  which  he  also 
owns  and  has  improved,  comprises  ninety  acres 
on  Mission  street.  Tn  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 
Though  he  has  served  the  city  as  councilman,  he 
has  never  sought  or  desired  office,  preferring-  to 
devote  himself  to  business  pursuits.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the  lodge  and 
encampment  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  in  religious 
views  is  liberal. 

Mention   musl    be   made   of  the   children,  all 

honored   members    of   society,   whom    Mr.   and 

Mrs.  Ely  have  reared:   One  of  the  family,  lames 

Wesley  died  in  boyhood,  but  the  others  were 

to  maturity.    The  oldest  son.  Frank  Wil- 


■mo 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Ham,  who  is  a  merchmt  of  San  Francisco,  mar- 
ried Emma  Smith,  and  has  two  daughters, 
Mabel  and  Vivian.  Viola  A.  is  the  wife  of  Tru- 
man Thayer,  by  whom  she  has  three  sons, 
Homer  W.,  <  'scar  and  Truvin  W.  Mendora  I  . 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Wright,  lias  three  children.  Howard 
V,  Beulah  B.  and  Minnie  .B.  Lula  (  ).,  Mrs.  B. 
J.  Lloyd,  deceased,  was  the  mother  of  six  chil- 
dren. I  Hive  K.,  Myrtle  B.,  Arthur  W.,  Pearl  M., 
Lewis  C.  and  Leslie  L.  George  Henry  married 
Sadie  Ross  and  has  four  children.  Ruby  K..  Fay, 
William  R.  and  George  F.  Pearl  May  is  the 
wife  of  Edmund  Dias  and  has  four  children. 
Edmund  J.,  Edith,  Ethel  and  Pearl  A.  All  of 
the  children  haw  gone  into  homes  of  their  own 
excepting  Nellie  May.  who  remains  with  her 
parents  and  affectionately  ministers  to  their 
comfort  in  the  twilight  of  their  life. 


OZRO   M.  ELLIS. 

That  merchants  form  the  backbone  of  the 
community  is  in  no  wise  disproved  by  the  enter- 
prising career  of  <  >zro  M.  Ellis,  whose  general 
store  in  Soquel  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  land- 
marks of  the  town,  and  which  has  been  supply- 
ing the  residents  of  the  village  and  county  with 
necessary  commodities  with  uninterrupted  dili- 
gence ever  since   1887. 

Mr.  Ellis  is  one  of  the  foremost  among  the 
sons  of  Maine  who  found  their  greatest  field  of 
usefulness  in  this  county,  and  he  was  born  May 
29,  1838.  His  father,  Isaac  F.  Ellis,  was  a 
farmer  during-  his  active  life,  and  through  his 
marriage  with  Susan  S.  Powers,  also  a  native  of 
Maine,  reared  to  years  of  usefulness  and  matur- 
ity several  children,  of  whom  the  followii 
living:  Eva  K.  Lottie  P.,  Lucj  E.,  Edwin  W., 
(  >sceola,  Eunice  and  <  izn  1  M. 

<  In  the  little  home  farm  in  Maine  1  )zro  M. 
Ellis  lived  until  his  twenty-eighth  year,  after 
which  he  engaged  in  the  merchandise  business 
in  Fori  I  airfield,  Me.,  for  sixteen  years.  1  le 
came  to  California  in  1882  and  located  on  a 
ranch  of  sixty  acres  near  Soquel,  where  he 
fanned  and  raised  stocl  with  fair  suc<  ess  until 
1887.  Por  the  firsl  years  of  his  association  with 
intilc  affairs  in  Sbqucl  he  carried  a  com 
plete  hue  of  hardware,  bul   in   [895  devoted  his 


stock  entirely  to  general  merchandise,  under  the 
firm  name  of  O.  M.  Ellis  Company. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Ellis  and  E.  A.  Barnes 
occurred  in  1869,  and  the  two  children  of  the 
family  are  Leslie  L.  and  Bessie,  the  former  of 
whom  is  with  his  father  in  the  store,  while  the 
latter  is  the  wife  of  Clarence  E.  Mason.  Mr. 
Ellis  is  a  Republican  and  an  (  >dd  Fellow,  and 
he  is  deservedly  popular  and  widely  known  in 
the  county.  Possessing  shrewd  business  sense 
and  a  pronounced  desire  to  please  his  many  cus- 
tomers, he  is  also  discerning  in  the  selection  of 
his  stock,  and  manages  to  fill  the  all  around 
wants  of  his  patrons. 


JOSEPH  D.  ENRIGHT. 

(  me  of  the  foremost  dairymen  of  Santa  Cruz 
county,  and  also  one  of  the  best  known  citizens 
in  his  neighborhood,  Mr.  Enright  has  a  ranch 
of  one  thousand  acres  eight  miles  west  of  Santa 
Cruz,  upon  which  is  conducted  a  dairy  un- 
equalled for  neatness  and  thrift.  From  55,000 
to  65,000  pounds  of  cheese  tire  manufactured 
yearly,  and  a  general  farming  industry  main- 
tained that  yields  its  enterprising  owner  a  hand- 
some additional  income.  A  prominent  Republi- 
can, Mr.  Enright  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the 
political  undertakings  of  his  locality,  and  has 
served  as  supervisor  from  [894  to  [898.  lie  is 
a  member  of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  Santa 
Cruz  band  for  the  past  twenty  years. 

\  native  son  of  California,  the  boyhood  days 
of  Mr.  Enright  were  spent  on  his  father's  farm 
in  Santa  Clara  county,  where  he  was  bom  De- 
cember 7.  [867,  and  where  he  received 
'iminarx  education  in  the  public  schools.  James 
Enright,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  emigrated 
from  his  native  city  of  Cork  to  the  United 
States,  anil  in  [846  crossed  the  plains,  settling 
in  Santa  Clara  count}-,  lie  was  a  prosperous 
farmer  in  the  country  of  his  adoption,  and  lived 
on  his  well-improved  property  until  his  death 
111  [894.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a 
communicant  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
To  himself  and  wife,  Margarel  (Duncan)  En- 
right, were-  born  eleven  children,  of  whom  tin 
foil, .wing  are  living:     Mary    V,   Mrs.   Rob  1    01 


HISTORICAL    A\n    BIOGRAPHICAL    RF.CORF). 


191 


Frances,  Mrs.  Murphy;  Margaret,  Mrs.  Mc- 
Comb;  Ellen,  a  sister  of  the  order  of  St.  Domi- 
nic; James  E.;  Joseph  D.;  John  P..;  and  Mary  L. 
Mr.  Enright  received  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  Santa  Clara  ( '<  illege,  and  be- 
came an  excellent  fanner  under  his  father's  able 
instruction.  He  became  identified  with  Santa 
Cruz  county  in  [892,  and  his  present  success 
would  indicate  that  he  had  found  a  satisfactory 
permanent  place  of  residence.  His  wife.  Anna 
(  Inkeep)  Enright,  is  a  native  of  Santa  Cruz,  and 
was  born  in  1868.  Two  children  have  been  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Enright,  James  and  Merle. 


WILLIAM  WALLACE  CLARK. 

The  appointment  as  chief  of  police  of  Santa 
Cruz,  which  was  tendered  Mr.  Clark  May  5. 
1902,  on  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  Mathew 
Rawley,  did  not  bring  him  into  work  that  was 
unfamiliar  to  him,  as  he  had  served  a  previous 
term  of  two  years  in  the  office,  having  been  ap- 
pointed May  15,  1886,  to  succeed  Joseph  W. 
Scott.  His  experience  as  deputy  sheriff,  which 
position  he  held  in  addition  to  that  of  deput) 
assessor,  also  proved  helpful  to  him  in  bringing 
him  into  acquaintance  with  the  duties  of  the 
more  important  office.  His  belief  in  Republi- 
can principles  has  never  narrowed  into  partisan- 
ship, and  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  no  politi- 
cal motive  is  ever  allowed  to  enter. 

In  Bureau  county.  111..  .Mr.  Clark  was  born 
February  17,  1858,  being  a  son  of  William  Wal- 
lace and  Harriet  M.  (Drew)  (lark.  His  father, 
who  was  born  in  Danville,  Caledonia  county, 
\'t.,  in  1825,  was  a  se>n  of  James  Clark  by  his 
union  with  Mrs.  Lucretia  (Foss)  Howard.  In 
his  native  town,  in  1*47,  W.  W.  Clark.  Sr.,  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  John  and  Eliza  (Crow)  Drew 
Her  grandfather,  John  Crow\  was  the  first  white 
man  to  settle  in  Buffalo,  X.  Y..  where  be  estab- 
lished his  home  about  [800.  Going  to  that  city 
as  a  school  teacher.  John  Drew  eventually  be- 
came principal  of  the  schools  of  that  city,  and 
there  met  Miss  (row.  a  native  of  that  city.  She 
died  at  thirty-seven  years,  ami  many  years  later 
be  passed  avva)  in  Si.  Loin's,  when  seventy  years 
old.    Their  daughter,  I  farriel  M.,  began  to  teach 


school  at  fifteen  and  continued  in  the  occupation 
until  her  marriage. 

As  early  as  1853  W.  W.  Clark.  Sr.,  came  to 
California  via  the  isthmus  and  remained  eight 
months.  Roth  on  the  outgoing  and  returning 
voyage  lie  experiem  ed  the  clangers  of  shipwreck 
and  the  suffering  incident  to  the  Panama  fever. 
<  >n  bis  return  east  be  settled  in  Bureau  county, 
111.,  where  he  helped  to  put  up  many  buildings 
and  held  various  offices.  The  success  of  bis  un- 
dertakings enabled  him  to  acquire  a  valuable 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  which  be- 
later  sold  and  moved  to  Kewanee,  and  there  for 
a  year  engaged  in  shipping  cattle  and  hogs.  His 
next  location  was  in  Grinnell,  Iowa,  near  which 
city  he  bought  three  hundred  ami  thirty-three 
acres  of  wild  kind,  the  bringing  .if  which  to  a 
high  state  of  cultivation  required  his  close  a 
tention  for  many  years.  (  )n  the  farm  he  erected 
a  residence  that  cost  S2,ooo.  Other  substantial 
buildings  were  also  erected.  All  through  his 
work  he  made  his  motto,  "The  besl  crop  and 
the  best  cattle."  The  farm  was  so  highly  cult; 
vateil  that  its  appearance  and  financial  returns 
charmed  Horace  (  ireeley  to  such  an  extent  when 
or,  bis  western  tour  that  he  returned  to  the  east 
and   gave     mt    the    famous   advice,   'Ho  west." 

In  spite  of  bis  successes  in  Iowa  Mr.  Clark 
never  forgot  the  few-  months  he  had  spent  in 
California,  and  in  the  spring  of  1874  be  again 
came  to  the  coast,  when  he  and  his  famih  vis 
ited  friends  and  made  a  tour  of  inspectiot 
all  the  places  be  visited  none  impressed  him  so 
favorably  as  did  Santa  Cruz,  and  accordingly 
he  settled  here,      ^bout  th 

was   that   of  building  bridges   at    $3.50  a  day, 
after    which    lie    began    contracting    for 
building.      Next    be   turned   his   atti 
dairy  business,  at  first  renting  a  ranch  and  after 
two  years  purchasing  the  property.     1... 
spent  a  year  on  the   More  ranch,  and  tin 
sinned  contracting  and  also  did  some  building 
for  himself.     His  last  years  were  spent  in  retire- 
ment   and   be   died    in    [898.      I  U     was   a    man    of 
charitable    disposition,    an    earnest    Christian,    a 
believer  in  tin    b<  anal   facilities  ai 

hools.     In  bis  family 
there  .,,,  lildren:     Adelaide  S.. 

Who  died  at  live  and  one  ball'  years;  James,  who 


m 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


lives  at  Stockton.  Cal.;  William  W.,  Jr.,  of  Santa 
Cruz:  Mary  C.  deceased;  John  F.,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  drug  business  at  Stockton;  Gene- 
vieve, deceased:  Charles  P..  a  jeweler,  who  mar- 
ried Harriet  E.  Bennett:  Minnie  C.  deceased: 
Warren  S„  of  Tulare;  and  Carlton  B.,  deceased. 
Besides  rearing  their  large  family  of  children 
and  fitting  them  for  positions  of  honor,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Clark  adopted  several  orphans  for  whom 
they  cared  until  old  enough  to  fight  life's  battles 
alone.  One  of  these,  Elbert  W..  is  a  leading 
physician  of  Grinnell,  Iowa,  and  has  officiated 
as  mayor  of  that  city,  and  also  as  a  trustee  of 
Towa  College. 

William  W.  Clark.  Jr..  as  a  boy  was  interested 
in  farm  work  and  he  proved  a  capable  assistant 
to  his  father,  both  in  Iowa  and  California.  After 
coming  to  Santa  Cruz  he  was  engaged  in  the 
transfer  and  express  business,  continuing  the 
ame  until  he  was  appointed  chief  of  police  and 
later  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  and  deputy 
or.  He  has  not  married,  but  makes  his 
home  with  his  mother,  whose  declining  years 
his  thoughtful  attention  renders  pleasant  and 
happy.  In  religious  views  he  is  of  the  Congre- 
gational faith  and  contributes  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  that  organization  in  Santa  Cruz. 


GEORGE   BUTLER. 

To  George  Butler  belongs  the  unique  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  most  extensive  cucumber 
grower  and  shipper  in  the  state  of  California. 
On  his  well  developed  ranch,  just  west  of  Santa 
Cruz,  this  succulent  vegetable  grows  in  its 
I  luxuriance,  and  the  greenhouses,  meas- 
uring 800x600  feet,  and  covered  with  seven 
thousand  feet  of  glass,  send  forth  shoot*  which 
in  time  yield  a  weekly  average  of  from  one  hun- 
dred to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dozen.  The  San 
1  rancisco  market  is  not  only  supplied  to  a  large 
extent,  but  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia. 
Chicago,  Salt  Lake  City  and  Portland,  receive 
large  consignments  during  the  entire  year.  In 
addition.  Mr.  Butler  is  devoted  to  floriculture, 
and  his  grounds  and  hot  beds  contain  the  rarest 
examples  of  flowers  to  be  found  in  any  country. 
He  is  a  past  master  on  the  subject  of  these  two 


industries,  as  well  as  a  successful  and  scientific 
general  agriculturist. 

A  native  of  Sussex.  England.  Mr.  Butler  was 
born  January  19.  1850,  a  son  of  Abraham  and 
Lucy  (Almond)  Butler,  the  latter  of  whom  was 
a  descendant  of  the  Archbishop  of  York,  who 
figured  so  prominently  in  English  history  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Abraham 
Butler  was  also  a  native  of  Sussex,  and  in 
his  younger  and  middle  life  was  extensively  en- 
gaged in  fruit  raising.  At  present  he  is  retired 
from  active  business  life,  and,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-eight  years,  is  enjoying  the  competence 
acquired  by  his  industry.  All  the  children  born 
to  Abraham  and  Lucy  Butler  are  living,  George 
being  the  only  one  in  America.  Their  names 
are  Lucy,  William  A..  Thomas,  George  and 
Clara. 

Previous  to  coming  to  America  in  1890,  Mr. 
Butler  acquired  a  common  school  education  in 
Sussex,  supplemented  by  a  business  education 
covering  one  year.  He  was  married  in  1876  to 
Eliza  Smith,  who  was  born  in  London,  England, 
and  who  is  the  mother  of  one  child.  George  P. 
Mr.  Butler  landed  in  Canada  from  Europe,  and 
after  a  short  sojourn  in  Halifax,  came  direct  to 
California,  locating  in  the  Sacramento  valley. 
Here  he  farmed  and  raised  fruit  with  consider- 
able success  for  ten  years,  locating  on  his  pres- 
ent place  near  Santa  Cruz  in  1900.  He  is  very 
industrious,  has  a  thorough  understanding  of 
his  chosen  occupations,  and  is  possessed  of  per- 
sonal attributes  which  win  friends  and  increase 
trade 


JAMES   A.   BROWN. 

James  A.  Brown,  a  retired  and  honored  citi- 
zen of  Boulder  Creek,  Santa  Cruz  county,  was 
born  in  the  state  of  Rhode  Island,  March  16, 
1828,  a  son  of  Zoeth  Brown,  who.  in  his  young 
manhood,  married  a  Miss  Aldrich.  To  the  par- 
nits  were  born  four  children:  Wilbur  K. ; 
Rhoda,  now  Mrs.  Smith:  Zoeth;  and  James  A. 
Zoeth  Brown  was  a  drayman  in  Providence, 
R.  1..  and  did  so  large  a  business  thai  he  was 
obliged  to  employ  fifteen  men 

Equipped  with  a  common  school  education 
and  some  practical  business  experience,  James 


i/Xu^ce^    yf~&sCJLwt 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


A.  Brown  came  to  California  in  i S 5  r .  by  way  of 
Central  America,  landing  in  San  Francisco, 
where  lie  engaged  in  the  draying  business  until 
1894.  In  the  latter  year  he  came  to  Boulder 
Creek,  where  he  has  since  lived  retired,  and 
where  he  owns  a  comfortable  home  and  a  small 
orchard,  lie  has  also  invested  money  in  other 
town  ami  county  property,  and  is  one  of  the 
well-to-do  men  of  the  community. 

In  Rhode  Island,  in  1841),  Air.  Brown  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Frances  F.  Stone,  a  na- 
tive of  Massachusetts.  They  became  the  parents 
of  nine  children:  Charles,  deceased;  Mary'; 
Emma;  Julia;  Sarah;  Henry;  Albert,  deceased; 
Frank,  and  Lillian.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  but  has  never  allied  himself  with 
office  seekers.  Fraternally  he  is  associated  with 
the  Masons.  He  is  much  respected  by  all  who 
know  him,  and  has  man)-  friends  in  his  adopted 
town. 


JAMES  WATERS. 

Throughout  the  entire  Pajaro  valley  no  name 
is  more  familiar  to  the  people  than  that  of  Mr. 
Waters,  who  as  an  early  settler  of  Watson- 
ville  ami  as  a  pioneer  in  the  apple  and  straw- 
berry industry  has  established  a  reputation  both 
enviable  and  merited.  He  is  a  descendant  of  a 
colonial  family  of  Maryland,  his  great-great- 
grandfather receiving  from  Lord  Baltimore 
a  grant  of  land  that  is  still  in  the  possession  of 
the  family.  His  father,  Joseph  Waters,  was  born 
on  this  old  homestead,  and  from  there  moved  to 
Baltimore,  where  he  followed  the  carpenter's 
trade.  The  wife  and  mother,  who  was  Elizabeth 
lane  Ayres,  descended  from  Scotch  forefathers, 
and  died  in  young  womanhood,  leaving  a  sou, 
James,  ami  a  daughter  who  died  at  seven  years 
of  age. 

In  Somerset  county,  Md.,  James  Waters  was 
born  October  t8,  i-SjS.  and  as  a  boy  attended 
the  public  schools  of  Baltimore.  I  luring  vaca 
tion  months  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
under  his  father.  In  June.  1849,  iu'  embarked 
on  the  brig,  Osprey,  for  California  via  Cape 
I  loin,  and  after  a  long  and  tedious  voyage  ar- 


,ed 


Francisco  I  ebi  uai  j    1 .  1850.     The 
nent  he  secured  netted  him  Si  an 


hour.  After  a  year  iu  the  city,  during  the  spring 
of  1851  he  went  to  the  mines  on  the  south  fork 
of  the  American  river,  and  later  followed  mining 
in  other  parts  of  the  state  with  fair  success. 
However,  he  soon  tired  of  the  uncertainty  and 
hardships  of  a  miner's  life  and  returned  to  his 
trade  in  San  Francisco."  His  first  misfortune 
came  to  him  with  the  failure,  in  1855,  of  the 
banking  house  of  Page,  Bacon  &  Co.,  where 
all  of  his  savings  were  deposited.  This  left 
him  nothing  but  a  claim  on  the  bank,  which  he 
sold  for  $500  and  then  came  to  Santa  Cruz. 
For  a  time  he  had  charge  of  Major  Hensley's 
saw  mills,  located  on  the  present  site  of  the 
powder  mills.  In  1857,  in  connection  with 
Thomas  Beck,  he  began  contracting  and  build- 
ing- in  Santa  Cruz.  A  contract  to  rebuild  the 
Catholic  church  and  parsonage  brought  him  to 
the  Pajaro  valley  in  1859,  and  at  once  he  was 
favorably  impressed  with  the  surroundings  and 
prospects  afforded  settlers  in  this  fair  spot. 

Close  investigation  deepened  the  first  favor- 
able impressions,  and  in  1S60  Mr.  Waters 
bought  his  present  homestead  in  Watsonville 
and  embarked  in  the  nursery  business,  which 
he  has  since  successfully  conducted.  For  a  time 
he  continued  as  a  contractor  and  builder, 
working  as  such  in  Watsonville  and  also 
throughout  Monterey  county,  but  finally  the 
demands  of  the  nursery  business  grew  so 
that  he  found  it  profitable  to  devote  to  it  his 
entire  attention.  In  i860  he  bought  forty  acres 
and  set  out  over  two  thousand  apple 
These  were  doing  wall  when  in  1862  an  - 
flow  of  the  river  washed  them  away.  11  it 
one  tree  being  left  in  the  large  orchard.  The 
failure  of  this  enterprise  discouraged  him  and 
he  -old  the  place.  However,  he  still  cherished 
a  belief  in  apples  as  a  profitable  industry  for 
the  valley,  and  after  a  time  he  determined  to 
make  another  effort.  In  [867,  in  company  with 
J.  A.  Blackburn,  he  sel  out  five  acres  to  nursen 
stock,  the  two  continuing  together  until  1873, 
when  Mr.  Waters  purchased  hi-  partner's  inter- 
est.     Some    lime   Iat<  r    lie    bo 

acres  from  Captain  Sudden  and  moved  the  nur- 
series to  that  tract,  on  the  corner  of  Sudden  and 
Fourth  streets,  \\  atsom  [lie      \  shoi  I  tim 
ward    he    purchased     !ift\     acres    adjoining    the 


19G 


LISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Sudden  tract,  which  he  put  out  to  strawberries. 
After  about  eight  years  he  planted  the  fifty  acres 
to  orchard  and  it  is  now  under  cultivation  to 
apples.  Finding  twenty-seven  acres  not  suffi- 
cient for  his  nursery  demands,  lie  purchased 
fifty-two  acres  near  the  Pajaro  depot,  Monterey 
county,  and  moved  his  plant  there.  Sinct  then 
he  has  purchased  enough  more  land  to  irn  reas< 
the  whole  to  eighty  acres.  The  enterprise  is 
known  as  the  Pajaro  valley  nurseries.  The  pres- 
ent popular  variety  of  strawberry,  now  so 
universally  grown,  was  originated  by  Mr. 
Waters  and  named  "Linda"  in  honor  of  his 
wife.  From  his  nursery  have  come  nearly  all 
the  trees  in  this  ami  adjoining  counties.  It  has 
been  his  ambition  to  propagate  only  the  finest 
grades  of  fruit,  and  as  a  result  of  his  caution 
in  this  respect  there  are  today  thousands  of 
acres  of  fine  bearing  trees  which  make  Pajaro 
valley  fruits  command  the  highest  prices  in  the 
market.  Ik-sides  shipments  to  San  Diego  and 
other  California  points,  fruit  trees  are  shipped 
1\  .Mr.  Waters  to  <  Iregon  and  even  to  Australia. 
About  1875  he  sent  east  and  purchased  a  few 
-1  raw  berries  of  the  Cinderella  variety,  the  total 
planted  covering  about  five  acres.  He  shipped 
the  first  strawberries  from  Watsonvilie  to  San 
Francisco.  Finding  the  venture  a  success  he 
began  to  sell  plants  and  since  then  has  sup- 
plied many  hundred  acres  of  various  kinds  of 
strawberries.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  six 
hundred  acres  in  the  valley  at  this  writing.  Be- 
sides the  fruit  shipped  from  the  valley  many 
tons  are  dried  here  every  year  by  Thomas  Beck, 
the  successful  evaporator. 

An  idea  of  the  vast  importance  of  the  apple 
industry,  whose  inception  may  be  attributed 
to  Mr.  Waters,  may  be  gained  from  the  state- 
ment that  there  are  now  in  the  Tajaro  valley 
875,600  apple  trees.  (,]'  which  29,000  are  in  M'on- 

lint)    and  585,1 in  Santa  Cruz  county. 

In  the  Pajaro  valley  there  are  [,068,600  fruit 
trees,  with  a  total  acreage  of  [5,600.  The  total 
number  of  boxes  of  apples  grown  in  1901  was 
[,500,000,  from  which  deducting  375,000  For 
waste  there  is  left  lor  actual  sale  and  use 
[,125,000  boxes.  In  1  lu  orchard  of  J.  V  Black- 
burn seventj  one  boxes  of  apples  were  grown 
on    a    single    Baldwin    tree.      On    one    hundred 


Bellefleur  trees  in  M.  I!.  Tuttle's  orchard  there 
..  1  n  grown  fifty  boxes  to  the  tree.  The  av<  rage 
number  of  boxes  of  apples  grown  on  the  trees 
throughout  the  entire  valley  was  eight  boxes  to 
the  tree  <  >f  Newtown  pippins  the  average  weight 
per  box  was  fifty-one  to  fifty-six  pounds,  and 
of  Bellefleurs,  forty-two  to  forty-six.  The  size 
of  boxes  used  was  93-4x14x22;  and  the  cost  of 
picking,  hauling,  grading  and  packing,  twenty 
cents  per  box.  The  Newtown  pippins,  which  are 
the  best  winter  apple  grown,  command  from 
Si  to  $1.30  per  box,  while  the  Bellefleurs,  which 
are  unsurpassed  for  fall  and  early  winter  use, 
command  from  ninety  cents  to  a  dollar  a  box. 
the  boxes  being  twenty-two  inches  long,  eleven 
and  one-half  inches  wide  and  ten  and  one-half 
inches  deep,  and  many  shipments  have  been 
made  by  Mr.  Waters  where  forty-five  apples 
filled  the  entire  box.  One  special  advantage 
of  the  apple  crop  is  that  it  never  fails,  but  each 
\car  a  large  output  of  the  finest  grade  is 
shipped,  both  throughout  the  states  and  even 
to  Europe.  In  1901  1.000  carloads  were  sent  to 
foreign  and  eastern  points,  four  hundred,  of 
these  going  to  Europe.  During  that  same  year 
1.413.1)07  barrels  of  apples  were  shipped  to  Eu- 
rope from  the  United  States  and  five  per  cent 
of  these  came  from  the  Tajaro  valley.  Apples 
and  other  fruits  are  also  dried  in  large  quanti- 
ties and  shipped  to  the  east  and  abroad. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the 
apple  industry  represents  the  limit  of  the  activ- 
ities of  the  people  of  the  Pajaro  valley  or  the 
limit  of  the  proper  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Dur- 
ing lool  there  were  raised  twenty  thousand 
sacks  (forty  carloads)  of  beans,  the  price  of 
which  was  from  $1.60  to  S3  per  hundred  pounds; 
over  50,000  sacks  of  onions,  sold  at  one  dollar 
.!  sack;  70.000  sacks  of  potatoes,  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres  being  planted  in  these; 
[50,000  sacks  of  oats,  the  price  of  which  was 
from  eighty-five  cents  to  a  dollar  per  sack; 
90,000  tons  mi  sugar  beets,  price  $4.50  per  ton, 
representing  a  value  of  8400,000:  I, too  acres  in 
berries,  seventj  per  cent  of  which  were  straw- 
berries, the  shipments  being  four  hundred  car- 
loads, value  $200,000;  1. -'00  acres  in  prunes,  of 
which  six  hundred  tons  (dried)  or  lort\  carloads 
were  shipped  to  the  markets:  1.000  acres  in  apri- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


vr, 


cots,  shipments  being  450  tons;  and  five  hun- 
dred acres  in  miscellaneous  fruits  not  embraced 
in  the  foregoing  list.  From  this  it  may  be  easily 
understood  that  the  fruit  growers  of  the  Pajaro 
valley  are  among  the  most  prosperous  in  the 
slate.  All  who  are  familiar  with  the  markets 
know  that  the  products  shipped  from  this  sec- 
tion command  the  highest  market  price,  and  the 
simple  mention  of  the  name  "Pajaro  valley"  at 
once  brings  offers  from  would-be  purchasers. 
When  it  is  realized  that  the  credit  for  these  re- 
sults is  largely  due  to  the  foresight  and  wise 
judgment  of  Mr.  Waters,  the  reader  will  under- 
stand that  the  highest  praise  is  due  him,  as  well 
as  tlie  esteem  of  the  people  who  have  so  greatly 
profited  by  his  pioneer  experiments. 

September  0,  1861,  Mr.  Waters  married  Ma- 
linda  J.  Short,  daughter  of  Stephen  Short,  who 
is  represented  on  another  page  of  this  work. 
They  became  the  parents  of  three  children: 
kola,  Mrs.  James  Walker,  who  died  at  twenty- 
five  years;  Adella,  at  home;  and  Willie,  who  died 
a'  twelve  years  of  age.  The  family  are  identified 
with  the  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  Mr.  Waters 
officiates  as  a  vestryman.  Fraternally  he  is  con- 
nected with  various  Masonic  bodies,  and  holds 
office  as  past  master  of  the  lodge,  past  high 
priest  of  the  chapter  and  past  eminent  com- 
mander of  the  commandery.  His  manifold 
private  interests  have  not  caused  him  to  neglect 
his  duties  as  a  citizen.  Always  he  aids  in  bene- 
ficial movements  in  behalf  of  his  adopted  city. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  trustees  of  Watsonville 
and  for  one  term  acted  as  county  supervisor. 
In  [888  he  was  honored  by  election  as  president 
of  the  Pajaro  Valley  Horticultural  Association, 
in  which  office  he  rendered  wise  service  many 
years.  En  the  incorporation  of  the  Bank  of 
Watsonville  he  bore  an  active  part,  as  also  in  the 
Pajaro  Valley  Bank,  of  which  he  is  now  a  stock- 
holder ami  director. 


JOSEPH     BOSTON. 


Wli 


Mr.  Boston  came  to  California  few 
Americans  had  as  yet  been  attracted  to  its 
shores,  and  the  population  consisted  principally 
of  Spaniards  and  Indians.  V  the  ship.  Koine. 
on     which     he     had     sailed     from     New     York, 


anchored  in  the  harbor  of  this  western  coast, 
the  sighl  thai  greeted  his  r_\es  must  have  been 
strange  and  lonely  indeed  to  one  so  recently 
come  from  the  chief  city  of  the  new  world. 
While  he  was  horn  in  Philadelphia,  his  boyhood 
years  were  principally  passed  in  Xew-  York, 
where  his  father,  Joseph  Boston,  Sr.,  was  a 
druggist  and  chemist.  At  his  death  the  latter 
was  buried  in  the  cemetery  connected  with  his- 
toric Trinity  Church.  The  .son  continued 
time  in  Xew  York  City,  and  was  employed  as  a 
clerk  in  the  drug  store  of  Isaac  Loman.  1 
ever,  during  1848.  he  set  out  upon  the  voyage 
that  was  to  remove  him  permanently  and  far 
from  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood.  The  Rome 
carried  a  large  stock  of  provisions  for  the  gov- 
ernment, and  he  was  under  official  orders  to 
establish  a  supply  store  at  Monterey  for  the  sol- 
diers. In  pursuit  of  these  orders  he  opened  the 
store  and  for  two  years  conducted  the  same, 
hut  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  bought  out  his 
employer.     In   1850  he  returned   to   Xew  York 

City  and  brought  hack  a  stock  of  g Is  valued 

at  $60,000,  shipping  to  Monterey,  where  he 
opened  a  store.  The  stock  was  so  large  that  he 
felt  justified  in  opening  a  branch  store  at  Santa 
Cruz,  in  which  venture  he  had  E.  L.  Williams 
as  a  partner,  the  firm  title  being  Boston  & 
Williams. 

On  closing  out  the  mercantile  store.  Mr.  T.os- 
ton  embarked  in  the  tannery  business  at  Santa 
Cruz,  being  associated  with  the  firm   of  Kirhy, 
Jones  &  Co.,  with  offices  in  Santa  ( Yuz  and  San 
Francisco.     To  the  supervision  of  the  sales   he 
gave   his   attention   closely   and    with    such    effi- 
ciency that  a  large  trade  was  established,  tl 
tent  of  the  trade  being  increased   through   the 
superior  quality  of  leather  tanned.     Besides  1" 
coming    the    owner   of    the    old    tannery,    he   ac- 
quired  other  property,  much  of  which   is  still 
in  the  estate.     While  he  was   still  in  the  prime 
of  life,  at  fifty  years  of  age,  his  earth  life  ended 
in     [874.      The    home    where    his    closing    years 
were  passed  and  where  Mrs.  Bos  on  still  I 
is  one  of  the  most   atti  - 
beauty  being  enhanced  by  a  garden  and 
notabl)  ile    1  ,pn        mcl  pine  trees  thai  v  ■ 
out  in  1870. 

I  ],,    '.,,1.    ivl-h      liared  M  -  and 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


sorrows  through  many  years  and  to  whose 
faithful  co-operation  and  counsel  much  of  his 
success  may  be  attributed,  was  Eliza  C.  Bull,  a 
native  of  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  and  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  Bull,  descended  from  a  prominent 
colonial  family  of  New  England.  When  she  was 
a  girl  her  health  was  so  poor  that  her  family- 
physician,  Dr.  Flint,  said  it  would  he  impossible 
for  her  to  live  a  year  unless  a  sunnier  climate 
would  prove  beneficial.  Hoping  that  the  needed 
change  could  be  secured  in  California,  in  1861 
she  came  to  the  coast,  the  voyage  being  made 
on  the  ship  Uncle  Sam.  which  anchored  in  San 
Francisco  after  seven  weeks  on  the  ocean.  Her 
brother  Thomas  was  interested  in  the  banking 
business  in  San  Francisco.  Soon  after  her  ar- 
rival the  influence  of  the  delightful  climate  of 
the  Pacific  coast  began  to  be  apparent  in  her 
improved  health,  and  today  she  is  unusually 
strong  and  vigorous  for  one  of  her  years.  Pos- 
sessing mental  ability  of  a  high  order,  her  ser- 
vices have  been  in  frequent  request  as  a  writer 
and  speaker.  In  addition,  she  has  maintained  a 
deep  interest  in  public  affairs.  For  two  years 
she  served  as  a  school  trustee,  being  the  first 
lady  ever  elected  to  any  office  in  Santa  Cruz 
county,  and  her  labors  on  the  committee  were 
efficient  and  highly  appreciated.  In  religion  she 
is  identified  with  the  Episcopal  Church  and 
donated  to  this  denomination  the  ground  in 
Santa  Cruz  on  which  their  church  was  built. 
In  her  family  of  five  children  three  are  living: 
Mrs.  C.  II.  Lymberv,  Beatrice  and  Agnes. 


ALEXANDER    BEDELL. 

The  Bedell  house,  which  was  established  in 
189  |.  has  become  one  of  tin  popular  hotels  of 
Santa  Cruz,  largely  through  the  tactful  manage- 
ment, energy  and  wise  judgment  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bedell,  who  are  the  owners  and  proprie- 
tors. Mr.  Bedell  was  born  at  Bath,  Grafton 
county,  X.  II..  anil  received  a  fair  education  in 
local  schools.  The  surroundings  of  his  child- 
home  were  at  tractive.  In  the  east  tow- 
ered Vlounl  Washington  and  the  Presidential 
range  of  mountains  whose  lofty  heights  rose  up- 
ward toward  the  sky.  In  those  days  lew  people 
sought     that    locality    to    enjoy    the    charm    of 


scenery,  hut  since  then  it  has  become  a  popular 
summer  resort  for  eastern  people,  just  as  Santa 
Cruz  has  attracted  large  numbers  of  people  from 
Central  California.  The  influence  of  environ- 
ment cannot  be  overestimated,  and  so  to  this 
daw  in  a  subtle  way,  Mr.  Bedell  still  feels  the  in- 
fluence of  those  early  years  in  New  Hampshire. 
During  early  manhood  he  was  employed  in 
lumber  districts,  and  thus  gained  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  lumber  business. 

Becoming  interested  in  reports  concerning 
the  prospects  offered  by  California,  in  1858  Mr. 
Bedell  came  to  the  coast  and  located  in  Bear 
Valley.  First  he  was  employed  by  ( ieneral  Fre- 
mont, who  was  conducting  a  mine  there.  For. 
some  eight  months  he  remained  in  that  place, 
after  which  he  mined  in  other  regions,  visiting, 
at  different  times,  most  of  the  prominent  mines 
of  the  state.  In  1859  he  came  to  Santa  Cruz. 
At  that  time  the  greater  part  of  Santa  Cruz 
county  was  heavily  timbered  with  red  wood  and 
pine.  He  began  to  take  contracts  P.  cut  wood 
and  furnish  mills  with  timber.  Later  he  became 
associated  with  William  Bard  in  the  building  of 
a  lumber  mill  at  Corralitos.  A  large  trade  was 
established.  Shipments  were  made  both  north 
and  south.  About  1894  Mr.  Bedell's  health 
failed  to  such  an  extent  that  he  felt  obliged  to 
abandon  the  lumber  business,  and  he  then  re- 
built the  house  on  Mission  street.  Santa  Cruz, 
where  he  had  made  his  home  for  twenty-five 
years.  Through  the  enlargement  of  the  build- 
ing it  was  converted  into  a  boarding  house  with 
twenty-five  guest  rooms.  Having  a  wide  circle 
of  acquaintances,  Mr.  Bedell  had  no  trouble  in 
securing  guests  for  his  house,  and  the  capable 
supervision  of  his  wife  has  made  the  place  one 
of  the  most  popular  in  the  city,  binding  the 
house  insufficient  to  accommodate  tho.se  desir- 
ing rooms,  he  bought  a  cottage  of  ten  rooms, 
which  gave  him  the  increased  capacity  needed. 
All  modern  convenience-  are  1..  be  Found  here, 
including  baths,  electric  lights,  gas,  etc.  Rooms 
are  arranged  en  suite  or  single,  a-  preferred. 
The  cui>ine  is  faultless  and  the  dining  room  ser- 
vice, under  the  careful  oversight  of  Mrs.  Bedell. 
is  above  criticism.  Every  effort  is  made  to  pro- 
vide for  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  the  guest, 
and   the  lawns  are  made   attractive,  not   only  by 


JA 


/UUK<r> 


7 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    KRCORD. 


flowers  and  shrubbery,  but  also  by  tennis,  cro- 
quet, and  other  games  of  recreation 

By  the  marriage  of  Air.  Bedell  to  Miss  Sarah 
V  Merrill,  a  native  of  Warren,  N.  II.,  three 
children  were  born,  but  the  daughter,  Helen, 
died  in  childhood.  The  older  son,  Orrin,  is  a 
jeweler  in  Santa  Cruz,  and  the  younger  son, 
Roscoe,  assists  his  parents  in  the  management 
of  the  Bedell  house.  In  fraternal  relations  Mr. 
Bedell  is  connected  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows. 


JULIUS  A.  TRESCONY. 

The  extensive  enterprises  in  which  Mr.  Tres- 
cony  successfully  engages  have  been  rendered 
possible  by  his  own  keen  business  talents  as 
well  as  by  the  shrewd  foresight  and  wise  invest- 
ments of  his  father.  The  latter,  Albert  Tres- 
cony,  who  is  remembered  as  one  of  the  most 
capable  pioneers  of  Monterey  county,  was  of 
Italian  birth  and  parentage,  but  crossed  the 
ocean  to  America  in  young  manhood,  settling  in 
Memphis.  Tenn.  From  there  he  went  on  a  tour 
of  inspection  to  Mexico  and  in  1841  came  on 
horseback  to  California,  establishing  himself  at 
Monterey,  where  he  followed  the  tinsmith's 
trade.  In  addition  to  the  regular  trade,  he  did 
considerable  work  in  making  pans  for  miners 
and  would  often  take  a  load  of  these  by  ox- 
teams  to  the  mining  camps. 

The  first  purchase  made  by  Albert  Trescony 
consisted  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  where 
Salinas  now  stands.  There  he  carried  on  a 
hotel  and  stage  station.  The  year  before  the 
railroad  was  brought  to  Salinas  he  disposed  of 
that  property.  In  1862  he  bought  from  James 
Mckinley  what  was  known  as  the  San  Lucas 
grant  of  land,  comprising  eight  thousand  and 
eight  hundred  acres,  and  now  occupied  by  his 
son,  Julius  A.  Somewhat  later  he  acquired  the' 
San  Bernardo  grant,  consisting  of  four  thousand 
four  hundred  and  forty-four  acres,  and  in  1885 
lie  became  the  owner  of  the  San  Benito  grant  of 
six  thousand  acres.  Another  important  pur- 
chase that  he  made  consisted  of  twenty-three 
thousand  acres  oil  the  Cannel  river,  and  he  also 
acquired  three  hundred  acres  near  Salinas. 
Through  these  various  purchases  he  became  the 


owner  of  property  aggregating  forty-five  thou- 
sand acres  of  land,  which  fact  is  indicative  of  his 
keen  discrimination  and  foresight.  Realizing 
that  land  must  advance  in  value,  he  believed  he 
was  making  no  mistake  to  invest  heavily,  and 
subsequent  events  have  proved  the  wisdom  of 
his  judgment. 

Instead  of  holding  the  land  as  an  investment, 
Albert  Trescony  made  it  revenue-bearing  from 
the  first.  He  stocked  the  ranches  with  sheep, 
of  which  he  had  as  many  as  twenty-five  thou- 
sand head.  For  some  years  the  industry  proved 
profitable,  but  the  memorable  dry  year  proved 
as  disastrous  to  him  as  to  other  sheep-growers, 
causing  a  loss  of  twenty-five  hundred  head  of 
his  flock.  However,  it  did  not  prove  a  total 
loss,  for  he  stored  the  pelts  in  the  old  mission  at 
Soledad  and  the  following  year  sold  them  for 
$2.50  each.  That  experience  with  the  drought 
convinced  him  that  other  stock  might  be  han- 
dled more  safely  than  sheep,  so  he  began  to 
raise  cattle 'and  horses,  in  which  he  afterward 
engaged  with  gratifying  success.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  many  activities  of  his  life,  he  retained 
his  robust  health  to  a  very  advanced  age,  and 
enjoyed  the  full  possession  of  his  faculties  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1892,  at  eighty 
years  of  age.  His  wife,  who  was  Catherine  Cot- 
ton, of  California,  died  in  1866,  leaving  three 
children,  Julius  A.,  of  Monterey  county;  Mrs. 
Rose  Christal,  of  Monterey;  and  Teresa,  who 
married  R.  F.  Johnson,  also  of  Monterey. 

In  the  city  of  Monterey,  where  he  was  born 
August  jy,  1858,  Julius  A.  Trescony  received 
the  rudiments  of  his  education,  and  the  knowl- 
edge thus  acquired  was  supplemented  by  attend- 
ance at  St.  Mary's  College  in  San  Francisco. 
For  eighteen  months  alter  leaving  school  he 
acted  as  agent  for  the  railroad  al  Santa  Cruz. 
In  1871;  he  came  to  his  father's  ranch  near  San 
Lucas,  Monterey  county,  where  he  has  since 
made  his  home.  \t  first  he  managed  the  place 
for  his  father,  but  in  1SS1  he  began  for  i 
in  the  cattle,  horse  and  sheep  business.  Five 
years  later  he  disposed  of  much  of  his  stock, 
in  order  that  he  might  devote  more  attention 
to  general  farming.  Under  his  charge  there 
are  now  twenty  thousand  acres,  of  which  fifteen 
thousand  are  under  cultivation.     Twenty  tenant 


;02 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


stand  "ii  different  sections  of  the  land, 
and  the  land  is  leased  for  one-fourth  of  the  crop, 
red.at  the  station.  At  this  writing  he  has 
five  hundred  bead  of  cattle  and  a  large  number 
ol  horses,  many  of  these  being  draft  and  stand- 
ard-bred. His  discrimination  and  energy  have 
aided  him  in  making  a  success  of  the  agricultural 
business.  (  )ctober  10,  1884,  he  married  Kate  M. 
Aguirre,  by  whom  lie  has  four  children:  Albert, 
Lewis.  Julius  and  Mary  Mercedes.  The  family 
are  identified  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
In  addition  to  his  large  personal  responsibil- 
ities, Mr.  Trescony  finds  time  to  engage  in  local 
movements  and  to  discharge  every  duty  de- 
manded of  a  public-spirited  citizen.  One  of  his 
most  important  duties  is  as  a  director  of  the 
Agricultural  Association,  in  the  work  of  which 
lie  is  deeply  interested.  In  addition,  he  acts  as 
trustee  of  the  Monterey  custom-house.  During 
the  years  (893-96,  inclusive,  he  held  office  as 
.supervisor  of  Monterey  county,  and  in  many 
ways,  while  acting  in  that  capacity,  was  able  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  county. 
His  native  county  has  in  him  a  loyal  citizen  and 
one  who  favors  all  plans  for  the  advancement 
of  its  residents.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with 
the  Elks  and  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden 
West,  while  in  politics  he  adheres  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Republican  party. 


F.   A.  ANGELL. 

The  very  early  and  latter-day  mercantile  su- 
premacy of  Soquel  has  been  maintained  by  F. 
A.  Angell  and  his  brother,  Horatio  Y.,  ever 
since  they  came  here  in  1877,  and  their  steady 
ustomers  are  numbered  among  the  most  prom- 
incut  ol  of  the  town  and  surround- 
mnty.  Among  the  foremost  business  men 
of  their  district  the)  stand  high,  and  both  pos- 
sess the  substantial  traits  of  character  naturally 
01  iated  with  the  fundamental  development  of 
communities. 

In  devoting  his  energies  to  mercantile  affairs, 
F.  A.  An-ell  is  following  the  precedent  estab- 
lished by  his  father,  J.  F.,  who  in  early  life  fol- 
lowed his  trade  of  mason  in  Holyoke,  Mass.,  but 
in  later  years  devoted  himself  to  the  hotel  and 
livery  business.     The  elder  Angell  was  born  in 


Rhode  Island,  February  28.  1826,  while  his  wife. 
Levinia  E.  (Gillette)  Angell.  was  born  in  1828. 
They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children  besides 
F.  A.,  viz.:  Josephine;  Sarah;  Naomi;  Horatio; 
Cora;  and  Medara,  deceased.  J.  F.  Angell  was 
a  man  of  considerable  ambition,  and  in  1851 
came  to  California  by  way  of  Central  America. 
li  icating  in  San  Francisco.  He  later  removed  to 
Nevada,  and  lived  in  Silver  City  until  his  death 
in   1900. 

The  education  of  F.  A.  Angell  was  acquired 
in  Silver  City,  New.  where  he  lived  until  twenty- 
seven  years  of  age.  A  later  place  of  residence 
was  Iiawthorne,  Nev.,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
merchandise  business  for  five  years,  and  became 
prominent  in  the  general  affairs  of  the  town. 
As  before  stated,  he  came  to  this  city  in  1877 
and  is  at  present  one  of  the  most  successful 
merchants  in  the  county. 

In  1876  Mr.  Angell  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mamie  Gibbons,  who  died  in  1895,  and 
who  was  the  mother  of  three  children,  of  whom 
Thurman  F.  is  deceased,  the  others  being  Clar- 
ence G.  and  Joseph  F.  The  second  Mrs.  Angell 
was  formerly  Maggie  Gibbons,  a  sister  of  the 
first  wife.  Mr.  Angell  is  a  Democrat  in  political 
affiliation,  and  fraternally  is  an  Independent 
Odd  Fellow  and  Mason.  Resides  the  store  to 
which  he  has  for  so  many  years  devoted  his 
best  energies,  the  firm  have  a  store  at  Capitola, 
where  a  full  line  of  general  merchandise,  includ- 
ing drugs,  dry  goods,  crockery,  hardware,  gro- 
ceries, grain,  and  paints  and  oils,  are  available, 
the  whole  constituting  a  stock  valued  at 
$10,000. 


CHARLES 


ANDERS*  IN,    M.    D. 


(  if  the  four  physicians  who  are  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  medicine  in  Santa  Cruz  at  the 
time  of  Dr.  Anderson's  arrival  here  in  1867. 
none  now  remains,  so  that  to  him  belongs  the 
distinction  of  being,  in  point  of  years  of  profes- 
sional labor,  the  oldest  physician  in  the  city. 
Equally  true  is  the  fact  that  he  has  been  assidu- 
ous in  his  devotion  to  his  patients,  careful  in 
diagnosis  and  accurate  in  the  application  of 
remedial  agencies.  For  some  ten  years  he  was 
associated  in  pratice  with   Dr.   Peabody,  since 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


which  he  has  been  alone.  During  the  early 
days  his  practice  extended  all  through  the 
country,  and  many  hardships  attended  him  in 
his  effi  irts  t<  i  reach  those  in  need  of  his  care.  The 
beautiful  pleasure  drives  of  the  present  day  were 
undreamed  of,  and  narrow  paths,  inaccessible 
for  buggies,  restricted  him  to  the  use  of  a  horse 
and  saddlebags,  while  many  times  he  was  even 
forced  to  leave  his  faithful  horse  and  traverse- 
on  foot  the  rocky  and  brushy  pathways  lying 
between  him  and  his  destination.  Many  physi- 
cians would  refuse  to  make  the  sacrifice,  but  his 
kindness  of  heart  impelled  him  to  answer  every 
appeal  for  help,  without  any  consideration  of 
stormy  nights,  impassable  roads  and  little  hope 
of  any  financial  return  for  his  services. 

Xear  Salem,  Roanoke  county,  Va.,  Dr.  An- 
derson was  born  September  22,  1827,  his  par- 
ents being  Joseph  and  Christian  (Brits)  Ander 
son,  Virginians,  who  in  1837  settled  in  Morgan 
county,  hid.,  on  a  farm  between  Franklin  and 
Martinsville.  It  was  in  those  then  pioneer  sur- 
roundings that  the  boy  gained  his  education  and 
faced  the  problem  of  selecting  a  life-calling. 
With  inclinations  toward  the  medical  profession, 
he  entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine  with 
Drs.  Mears  and  Bullard,  and  later  continued 
his  studies  in  Central  Indiana  Medical  College 
(medical  department  of  Asbury  University), 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1852.  Meantime,  to  relieve  his  father  of  a  por- 
tion of  the  expense  connected  with  his  education 
he  had  taught  school.  Immediately  after  grad- 
uating he  went  to  St.  Anthony's  Falls  (now 
Minneapolis),  Minn.,  where  he  entered  upon 
professional  practice  in  the  then  frontier  town. 
Shortly  afterward  he  suggested  to  the  commit- 
tee who  were  to  select  an  appropriate  name  for 
the  town,  the  present  title,  Minneapolis,  "cit\ 
by  the  sky-tinted  waters." 

Ten  years  were  spent  in  successful  practice  in 
Minneapolis,  but  a  desire  to  settle  further  west 
led  Dr.  Anderson  to  remove  to  Carson  City, 
Xcv.  After  four  years,  in  1867,  he  came  to  1  ali 
fornia,  desirous  of  settling  in  a  warmer  climate, 
and  a  tour  of  the  -tate.  investigating  a  number 
of  prospective  locations,  led  him  to  decide  in 
favor  of  Santa  Cruz.  In  settling  here  he  was 
accompanied   by  his  wife,   Mrs.    Maria   (Howe) 


Anderson,  whom  he  had  married  in  Beloit,  Wis.. 
October  31,  1854,  and  who  has  shared  with  him 
the  esteem  and  confidence  of  acquaintance-.. 
Four  children  were  born  of  their  marriage: 
Seddie;  Carrie.  Alls.  Elmer  S.  Daniels;  Maria, 
who  died  in  childhood;  and  Charles,  a  student 
of  the  University  of  California  and  a  graduate 
of  the  Cooper  Medical  College  (class  of  [895), 
and  at  present  physician  at  the  State  Institute 
for  the  Insane  at  Agnew.  .Mrs.  Anderson  is 
identified  with  the  Congregational  Church. 
while  the  doctor  C  liberal  in  his  religious  views. 
Politically  he  is  a  supporter  of  Republican  prin- 
ciples. His  interest  in  movements  affecting  the 
public  welfare  led  him  to  accept  the  office  of 
school  trustee,  which  he  filled  for  seven  year-. 
During  his  residence  in  Nevada  he  was  surgeon- 
general  upon  the  military  staff  of  Governor 
Blaisdell.  and  since  coming  to  Santa  Cruz  he  has 
been  president  of  the  city  board  of  health  and 
United  States  examining  physician  for  pensions. 
Notwithstanding  the  many  demands  made 
upon  his  time  by  his  professional  calls  and  his 
local  positions,  Dr.  Anderson  has  found  leisure 
to  keep  abreast  with  all  the  developments  in 
materia  medica,  and  has  frequently  contributed 
articles  for  the  professional  and  general  press. 
Much  of  his  work  is  preserved  in  library  form, 
suitable  for  reference.  Habits  of  careful  read- 
ing, close  observation  and  frequent  writing  have 
made  him  a  well-rounded  man  in  every  depart- 
ment of  human  thought,  with  ta- 
inclining  him  toward  the  study  of  his  favorite 
branches,  geology,  botany  and  zoology.  In  his 
well-equipped  library  the  visitor  notices  a  cabi- 
net of  specimens  which  shows  many  unique  and 
rare  examples  along  \parl  from  his 

profession    and   from   his   interest    in   these  spe- 
cialties,   he    is    possessed    of    other    attr 
worthy   of   admiral  ion,   and   in   all   respects   has 
justly  won  the  high  position  he  now  occupies. 


J  \c.  >B  PRIMER  LEESE. 

The  ancestry  of  the  I    1       Famil] 

Germany,    whei ne   Jacob    Leese   came   to 

America    with    General    Lafayette    and    shortly 

afterward   received   severe   injuries  in   the   battle 
0f  Brand]  v  in<       ;  fe  was  carried  from  ;! 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


I.  S.dam  Primer,  a  resident  of  Philadelphia. 
After  recovering  from  his  wounds  he  married 
Joanna  Primer,  a  daughter  of  his  rescuer,  and 
in  1800  settled  at  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio,  where  he 
kept  a  hotel.  His  son.  Jacob,  was  one  among 
six  children  and  was  born  August  19,  1809.  In 
[825  his  parents  moved  to  Cincinnati  and  there 
he  joined  them  two  years  later,  on  the  expira- 
tion of  his  service  as  a  merchant's  apprentice. 
In  the  fall  of  1829  he  started  for  Baton  Rouge 
to  take  charge  of  a  business  there,  but  while  en 
route  to  his  destination,  stopping  at  Memphis, 
he  strolled  through  the  city  and  accidentally 
picked  up  a  newspaper  in  a  hotel.  There  he 
noticed  an  account  of  a  hunting  and  trading  ex- 
pedition being  fitted  out  for  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains by  Capt.  John  Rogers  and  Calvin  Coffee. 
A  desire  for  adventure  and  the  hope  of  gaining 
a  fortune  led  him  to  join  the  expedition.  About 
February  1  he  left  Memphis  for  Fort  Smith, 
the  headquarters  of  the  expedition,  and  on  his 
arrival  there  presented  himself  to  Captain 
Rogers.  The  company  was  organized  April  1, 
1830,  and  consisted  of  forty-two  men,  under 
command  of  Capt.  Robert  Bean. 

After  traveling  across  the  great  plains  for 
three  months  the  party  struck  the  cross-timbers 
of  Texas,  where  they  took  a  northerly  course 
across  the  plains.  About  the  latter  part  of 
August  they  reached  the  Arkansas  river,  along 
which  they  traveled  to  Pike's  Peak.  There  they 
spent  a  few  days  and  then  entered  the  moun- 
tains. In  November  they  established  the  camp 
1  .ne  hundred  miles  above  Pike's  Peak,  but  on 
the  _7th  of  that  month  the  Indians  massacred 
two  of  their  men,  destroyed  their  winter  quar- 
ters and  escaped  with  their  provisions.  They 
then  retreated  to  New  Mexico.  A  few  days 
after  reai  hing  New  Mexico  Mr.  Leese  entered 
the  store  of  Mr.  St.  Varan,  of  San  Fernando, 
with  whom  he  made  an  agreement  satisfactory 
to  each,  (  ictober  27,  [833,  he  left  New  Mexico 
with  a  Spanish  trading  party  and  arrived  at  Los 
Angeles  December  -'4.  having  there  the  good 
te  to  meet  Isaac  Williams,  an  old  associate 
of  the  hunting  expedition.  June  1  he  visited 
Monterey,  at  that  time  the  capital  of  California. 
and  here  he  formed  some  warm  acquaintance- 
others  meeting  General  Figueroa, 


who  gave  him  a  general  passport  as  well  as 
letters  to  all  the  padres  of  the  missions.  It  was 
his  intention  to  contract  with  the  padres  for  all 
the  mules  they  had  to  sell,  it  being-  his  ambi- 
tion to  obtain  control  of  the  mule  trade  between 
California  and  Xew  Mexico.  With  the  padres 
of  San  Miguel  and  San  Luis  Obispo  he  made 
arrangements  to  get  one  hundred  mules  even- 
year  at  $14  each,  $7  to  be  paid  down  and  the 
balance  on  his  return.  In  this  way  he  reached 
Los  Angeles  in  September  with  four  hundred 
and  fifty  mules  and  horses.  In  October  he 
started  with  nine  men  for  the  Mohave  river, 
intending  to  join  the  returning  Mexican  party, 
but  found  on  his  arrival  that  they  had  passed  a 
few  days  before.  Proceeding  on  his  way,  he  met 
with  disaster  in  a  short  time  by  reason  of  an 
attack  from  Indians,  who  stampeded  their  mules 
so  that  they  could  collect  only  twenty-seven 
head.  About  the  same  time  he  learned  that  the 
New  Mexicans,  camped  but  a  few  hundred  yards 
above,  had  been  attacked  and  five  of  their  num- 
ber massacred. 

Thankful  to  escape  with  his  life,  Mr.  Leese 
returned  to  California.  Until  the  spring  of  1836 
he  engaged  in  commercial  business  in  Los  An- 
geles. From  there  he  went  to  Monterey  ami 
formed  a  connection  with  Capt.  W.  S.  Hinckley 
and  Nathan  Spear  for  the  purpose  of  establish- 
ing a  business  on  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.  On 
his  return  to  Los  Angeles,  he  closed  out  his 
business  and  left  for  the  north,  arriving  at  Santa 
Barbara  at  the  same  time  with  a  schooner  which 
had  on  board  a  new  governor.  Gen.  Mariano 
Chico.  The  two  traveled  to  the  capital  to- 
gether, and  there  the  governor  gave  Mr.  Leese 
a  letter  to  the  authorities  of  San  Francisco,  em- 
powering them  to  give  him  a  grant  of  one  hun- 
dred yards  of  land  anywhere  on  the  bay  of  San 
Francisco  that  he  might  wish  to  locate.  This 
letter  he  presented  to  the  alcalde,  with  the  state- 
ment that  lie  desired  to  locate  on  the  beach  of 
Yeiba  Buena  cove.  After  considerable  discus- 
sion and  a  second  visit  to  the  governor,  the 
desired  space  was  secured,  and  he  arrived  at 
Verba  Buena  July  t.  I  lis  house  was  finished 
in  time  to  celebrate  the  Fourth  of  July,  and  on 
that  day  for  the  first  time  the  stars  and  stripes 
ivaved  over  the  land  of  Verba  Buena.     It  was 


o^7  <&^r  cy 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


a  memorable  occasion.  Vessels  lying-  in  port 
supplied  bunting  for  decorations;  bands  gave 
their  sweetest  music:  among  the  sixty  guests 
was  Gen.  M.  G.  Vallejo,  who  proposed  a  toast 
to  Washington.  Dancing  and  other  amuse- 
ments followed  the  banquet,  and  as  Air.  Leese 
observed  in  his  diary.  "(  >ur  4th  ended  on  the 
evening  of  the  5th." 

April  1.  1837,  Air.  Leese  married  Rosalie 
A'allejo,  a  sister  of  the  general.  Their  eldest 
child,  Rosalie  Leese.  was  the  first  born  in 
Yerba  Buena.  He  continued  in  the  commercial 
business  until  August,  1841,  when  he  sold  out 
t<>  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  removed  to 
Sonoma.  fAvo  years  later  he  made  an  expedi- 
tion to  Oregon,  taking  with  him  eleven  hundred 
head  of  cattle.  The  trip  consumed  seventy  days, 
during  which  time  he  and  his  companions  were 
constantly  annoyed  by  Indians  lurking  in  am- 
bush. When  near  Colusi  they  were  attacked  by 
tlie  savages,  who  killed  some  of  their  cattle.  Ai 
last,  however,  they  readied  Oregon  in  safety 
and  disposed  of  the  stock  at  fair  prices.  The 
return  trip  was  made  on  one  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  vessels,  the  voyage  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  to  the  bay  of  San  Francisco 
taking  five  days.  From  there  Air.  Leese  re- 
turned to  Sonoma,  and  there  remained  until 
June  1  J.  1846,  when,  through  misrepresentation, 
he  fell  under  the  displeasure  of  Colonel  Fre- 
mont, who  caused  his  arrest.  He  was  taken  to 
Sacramento  and  placed  in  close  confinement, 
together  with  General  Vallejo  and  others,  re- 
maining there  until  August  I,  when  all  were 
liberated  by  order  of  Captain  Montgomery. 
After  his  release  Mr.  Leese  returned  to  Sonoma. 
At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  he  removed 
to  Monterey  ami  soon  afterward  made  a  voy- 
age to  China,  returning  with  one  of  the  richest 
cargoes  China  had  sent  to  our  country  up  to 
that  date.  The  change  which  took  place  during 
the  fourteen  months  of  his  absence  was  re- 
markable. When  he  left  there  were  fourteen 
vessels  in  the  harbor,  but  when  he  returned  in 
[849  lie  found  four  hundred  ships,  waxing  the 
flags  of  almost  every  country  in  the  world,  and 
appearing  "like  a  great  forest  of  .lead  trees,"  as 
Air.  I. rise  expressed  it.  Nor  was  the  change 
noticeable  only  in  the  harbor.     Land  which  had 


been  worth  only  $200  sold  readily  for  as  many 
thousand.  The  tranquil  quiet  of  Yerba  Buena 
was  gone,  having  given  place  to  noisy  bustle 
and  reckless  excitement.  Men  were  delirious 
over  the  discovery  of  gold  and  rushed  madly 
into  speculation  of  every  form.  Fortunes  were 
madly  staked  and  lost  and  won  in  an  hour. 

The  subsequent  years  of  Air.  Leese's  life 
were  quietly  passed  in  Monterey,  where  he  was 
surrounded  by  the  comforts  to  which  his  early 
toil  justified  him.  Like  the  majoril 
he  was  a  man  of  positive  character,  strong  pur- 
pose, high  resolve  and  untiring  perseverance. 
Through  all  the  toil  and  danger,  the  trials  and 
temptations  which  ever  beset  the  path  of  the 
pioneer,  he  carefully  preserved  the  "image  in 
which  he  was  created;"  and  his  mild  and  digni- 
fied manner,  cheerful  face  and  kindly  manner 
spoke  to  all  of  a  life  well,  spent  and  a  mind  at 
peace  with  all.  His  death  occurred  at  the  family 
homestead  February   1,  1892. 

For  facts  contained  in  this  article  the  writer 
acknowledges  indebtedness  to  "The'Hesperian," 
published  in  San  Francisco  in  June  of  1859. 


DAVID  LEESE. 

In  the  old  home  of  General  Vallejo,  his  uncle, 
David  Leese  was  born  at  Sonoma,  Cal.,  in  1846, 
being  a  son  of  Jacob  Primer  Leese  by  his  mar- 
riage to  Rosalie  Vallejo,  of  an  old  Spanish  fam- 
ily. In  the  preceding  biography  the  reader 
will  find  the  iife  history  of  Jacob  1'.  Leese,  who 
was  1  Hie  of  the  well-known  and  resourceful  Cali- 
fornia pioneers,  a  man  of  tact,  energy,  ambition 
and  keen  judgment,  well  fitted  for  the  task  of 
carving  a  great  state  out  of  a  then  wilderness. 

Almost  the  entire  life  of  David  Leese  lias  been 
spent  in  Monterey  county.  He  was  tin. 
of  age  when  the  family  came  here  from  Sonoma. 
jusl  aboul  the  time  gold  was  discovered  in  Cali- 
fornia. The  schools  in  which  be  studied  were 
no!  of  high  grade,  but  being  a  diligent  pupil. 
he  acquired  a  fair  education.  In  1874  lie  went 
to  Salinas,  where  he  made  bis  home  for  seven 
Returning  from  there  to  Monterey,  he 
spent  three  \ears  in  town,  and  then  settled  upon 
tin  (  ooper  ranch,  which  is  his  present  home. 
September  8,  1875,  he  married  Aliss  Delia  Mar- 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIuGRAl'l  11CAL    RECORD. 


tin,  who  was  born  in  Oakland,  Cal.  Her 
father,  William  G.  Martin,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky and  a  connection  of  the  Green  and  Boone 
families,  came  to  California  in  1851,  making  the 
journey  across  the  plains  with  ox-teams.  By 
his  marriage  to  Sarah  A.  Chapman  he  became 
i  onnected  with  an  old  Virginian  family,  founded 
in  America  during  colonial  days.  Nine  chil- 
dren were  born  to  the  marriage  of  David  Leese 
and  1  Hlia  Martin.  One  of  these  died  in  infancy, 
and  another,  Adelaide,  died  when  nineteen  years 
old.  Those  now  living  are  Herbert,  Grace, 
David  W.,  Edith  A.,  Delia  O.,  Jessie  F.  and 
Bertha. 

Under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Leese  there  are 
between  ten  and  twelve  hundred  acres,  much 
under  cultivation,  and  a  large  part  well  adapted 
to  pasturing  stock.  Fraternally  Mr.  Leese  is 
identified  with  the  Masonic  order  at  King  City. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  devoted  to  party 
principles.  For  the  past  fifteen  years  he  has  held 
the  office  of  trustee,  his  last  election  being 
without  opposition,  a  fact  that  indicates  his 
popularity  as  a  man  and  a  citizen. 


ROBERT  E.  HAMILTON. 

The  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Parsons  & 
Hamilton,  soap  and  glue  manufacturers  of 
Santa  Cruz,  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  March, 
[856,  a  son  of  fsaac  and  Martha  (McCormick) 
Hamilton,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  large 
grain  dealer  in  Ireland,  and  the  father  also  of 
William  Hamilton,  of  Santa  Cruz. 

When  Robert  E.  Hamilton  landed  in  New 
York,  in  1874,  he  had  to  his  credit  eighteen 
ol  life,  and  assets  composed  chiefly  of  en- 
thusiasm and  adaptability.  After  engaging  for 
a  year  in  the  coal  business  in  San  Francisco,  he 
came  to  Santa  Cruz  in  1876,  and  for  ten  years 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  His 
soap  manufacturing  experience  was  inaugurated 
in  1886,  when,  with  Mr.  Parsons,  he  began  to 
make  soap  of  different  kinds,  including  five  dif- 
ferent grades  of  laundrj  soap.  The  plant  covers 
five  acres  of  ground,  and  turns  out  about  ten 
>ap  .1  rm  mth.  The  glue  man- 
ufactured is  by  far  the  best  in  the  state  of  Cali- 
and  forms  an  important  item  of  revenue 
id  the  firm. 


The  pleasant  home  of  Mr.  Hamilton  is  pre- 
sided over  by  his  wife,  who  was  formerly  Eliza- 
beth F.  Parsons,  daughter  of  Henry  Parsons, 
of  Santa  Cruz.  Of  this  union  there  is  one  child, 
Henry,  who  is  living  at  home.  Mr.  Hamilton 
is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  has  held  various 
positions  of  trust  in  the  community,  including 
that  of  councilman  for  two  years.  He  is  frater- 
nally connected  with  the  Independent  Order 
Odd  Fellows,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  while  his  wife  belongs  to  the  Baptist 
Church,  lie  has  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all 
who  know  him,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
substantial  business  men  of  the  town. 


CAPT.  GILBERT  L.  ANDERSON. 

The  connection  of  Captain  Anderson  with  the 
coast  shipping  service  dates  back  to  October, 
1868,  and  has  continued  uninterruptedly  to  the 
present  time,  when  he  is  agent  of  the  Pacific- 
Coast  Steamship  Company,  with  office  at  Santa 
Cruz.  Of  Scotch  birth  and  parentage,  born  in 
1834,  in  the  land  of  the  heather,  he  grew  to 
manhood  on  the  bleak  and  icebound  shores  of 
Prince  Edward,  where  he  gained  a  livelihood  b} 
clerking.  During  1851J  he  arrived  in  California, 
landing  in  San  Francisco  and  proceeding  from 
there  to  Santa  Clara  count}',  where  he  worked 
for  a  short  time  on  a  ranch  owned  by  James 
Lick.  A  later  location  was  near  Watsonville, 
where  he  bought  a  ranch,  and,  in  order  to  pa) 
for  the  same,  worked  on  the  Taylor  ranch  near 
by.  (  In  selling  his  land  he  became  interested 
in  the  shipping  of  grain  and  produce  at  Pajaro, 
which  adjoins  Watsonville.  In  the  days  of  surf- 
boat  loading  he  became  assistant  agent  to  Ed- 
ward Sanborn  in  the  fall  of  1868.  Later  he 
acted  in  the  same  capacity  for  Captain  Debney 
and  then  for  Mr.  Post.  In  1870  he  went  to 
\pios  to  take  charge  of  the  shipping  business 
for  Mr.  Spreckels  at  thai  point.  When  ii  was 
washed  away,  in  1880,  he  came  to  Santa  Cruz, 
which  has  since  been  his  home  and  the  center 
Of  his  business  activities. 

At  the  time  Captain  Anderson  became  con 
nected  with  the  shipping  business,  the  process 
of  loading   vessels  was  unique.     As  it   was  im- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


500 


possible  for  them  to  come  to  the  shore,  they 
were  anchored  some  little  distance  out  at  sea. 
The  freight  to  be  shipped  was  carried  on  the 
backs  of  Indians  along  the  beach  and  through 
the  low  water  until  the  surfboats  were  reached, 
when  they  were  thrown  into  these  small  boats. 
(  hi  the  boat  being  loaded  it  was  pulled  by  horse 
power  to  the  ship  and  taken  thereon.  (  >ne  thou- 
sand sacks  of  grain  carried  to  the  ship  was  con- 
sidered an  excellent  record  for  one  day's  work. 
Such  a  mode  of  loading  seems  crude  and  primi- 
tive, but  it  was  the  best  available  at  that  time 
and  met  the  needs  of  the  people.  The  wharf 
at  Santa  Cruz  was  built  by  the  South  Coast 
Narrow  Gauge  Railroad,  and  is  twelve  hundred 
feet  long  and  twelve  feet  deep  at  low  tide,  with 
a  rise  of  six  feet.  The  broad  and  narrow  gauge 
tracks  run  from  the  Southern  Pacific  yards  to 
the  end  of  the  wharf,  thus  increasing  the  facili- 
ties for  shipment.  From  this  wharf  are  shipped 
all  kinds  of  products,  and  the  receipts  are  also 
large  and  important.  (  In  either  side  of  the  wharf 
may  be  seen  fishermen  following  their  calling, 
and  there  are  also  deep  water  fishermen  near 
by.  The  pier  furnishes  a  landing  place  for  the 
many  pleasure  steam  yachts  that  sail  out  from 
Santa  Cruz  or  seek  this  charming  resort  from 
other  cities.  The  shipments  from  the  wharf  ag- 
gregate  about  one  thousand  tons  per  month, 
which  indicates  the  large  amount  of  business 
transacted  in  the  Pajaro  valley  and  the  excel- 
lent crops  raised  throughout  the  count}-. 

Besides  his  home  in  Santa  Cruz,  Captain  An- 
derson owns  a  ranch  at  Aptos.  He  married 
Mary  Moreland,  a  sister  of  the  late  Samuel 
Moreland,  of  Watsonville.  They  are  the  par- 
mi,  of  four  children,  namely:  Robert,  who  is 
a  railroad  man:  Horace,  who  lives  in  San  Luis 
(  >l>ispo  county:  Albert,  who  is  freight  agent  at 
Santa  Cruz;  and  Mrs.  Josie  Gillian,  of  Santa 
Cruz. 


MRS.  MARY   E.  FAGEN. 
Some  time  before   Horace  Greeley  gave   his 

dvice,  "Go  we-1,  young  man."  there  wire 
turd)  young  men  who  were  braving  the  dan- 
;ers  of  the  mountains  and  deserts,  and  seeking 
heir  fortunes  in  the  mines  of  the  Pacific  coast 
egion.      The   discovery   of  gold   was   the  lode- 


stone  which  drew  John  B.  Perry  to  the  west  in 
1850,  but  his  ventures  in  mining  resulted  so  dis- 
astrously to  his  health  that  he  relinquished  min- 
ing and  removed  to  Santa  Cruz.  A  carpenter 
by  trade,  he  built  many  of  the  first  houses  in 
this  place,  and  also  erected  a  home  for  his  fam- 
ily, for  whom  he  sent  back  east  in  1853.  His 
wife,  Elizabeth,  nee  Green,  and  their  children, 
Mary  E.,  Charles  C.  and  Alphonso  P.,  joined 
him  in  his  new  location.  The  daughter,  who 
was  born  in  Sandwich,  Mass..  taught  a  private 
school  in  the  front  room  of  her  father's  house 
when  she  was  only  fifteen  years  of  age,  having 
about  twenty-five  pupils.  Later  she  was  en- 
gaged as  assistant  to  Mrs.  Fliza  Farnham  in 
teaching  the  first  public  school  in  this  city. 

March  4,  1859,  Miss  Mary  F.  Perry  became 
the  wife  of  Albion  P.  Jordan,  a  son  of  Capt. 
Peter  Jordan,  who  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 
Having  learned  the  engineer's  trade,  in  1849 
Mr.  Jordan  came  to  California  and  secured  em- 
ployment as  engineer  on  a  steamboat  plying 
from  Sacramento  to  San  Francisco.  While  thus 
employed  he  met  I.  E.  Davis,  who  was  likewise 
an  engineer.  By  chance  these  two  men  learned 
of  a  place  where  lime  could  be  found,  and,  test- 
ing this  in  his  engine,  Mr.  Jordan  proved  it  to 
be  of  fine  quality.  The  discovery  was  of  the 
greatest  importance,  for  hitherto  no  lime  had 
been  used  in  California,  there  being  supposed 
to  be  none  in  the  state,  while  to  ship  it  from  the 
east  was  too  expensive.  The  two  young  men 
resigned  their  positions  and  startei 
the  locality  where  the  lime  was  to  be  found. 
Their  journey  was  long  and  the  weathi 
ceedingly  cold,  but  they  were  undaunted  by 
hardships  and  obstacles.  They  built  a  kiln  at 
the  foothills  near  Redwood  Cit)  and  there  man- 
ufactured the  first  lime  made  in  the  state.  San 
Francisco  furnished  a  convenient  market  and  an 
extensive  business  was  soon  established  which 
brought  a  fortune  to  the  partners.  Removing 
to  Santa  Cruz  in  [853,  the)  engaged  in  the  same 
business  until  1S04.  when  the  failure  of  Mr. 
Jordan's  health  caused  him  to  sell  his  interest 
to  H  Cowell,  the  present  owner.  His  death  oc- 
curred November  14,  1866.  Mr.  Davis  survived 
him  many  years,  passing  away   September  -•;. 


510 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


J  n  the  family  of  Albion  P.  Jordan  there  were 
three  children,  but  the  eldest,  Mary  E.,  was 
taken  from  the  home  by  death  when  two  and 
one-half  years  of  age.  The  other  daughter.  Ma- 
rian A.,  married  Herbert  E.  Cox  and  died  at 
thirty-eight  years,  leaving  a  daughter,  Gertrude 
|.,  who  also  died,  August  12,  1902,  aged  sixteen 
years  and  ten  months.  The  only  son,  Peter  A. 
fordan,  who  is  a  wholesale  grocer  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, married  Blanche  Hartwell.  and  lias  three 
children,  Loraine,  Albion  P.  and  Marian  E. 

Mrs.  Jordan  became  the  wife  of  Pierce  B. 
Fagen,  M.  D.,  February  27,  1873,  and  their 
wedded  life  was  one  of  mutual  happiness  and 
helpfulness  until  they  were  parted  by  the  doc- 
tor's death,  in  February  of  1901.  Dr.  Fagen 
was  bom  in  New  Lisbon,  Columbiana  county, 
(  Uiio,  November  22,  1818,  and  was  given  excel- 
lent educational  advantages,  being  a  graduate  of 
Ken  1  per  College  medical  department  of  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  besides  the  recipient  of  superior  op- 
portunities elsewhere.  His  first  experience  as  a 
practitioner  was  gained  at  Fort  Des  Moines, 
Iowa,  where  he  was  the  first  physician.  He  as- 
sisted in  laying  out  and  platting  the  city  of  Des 
Moines  and  then  bought  an  eighty-acre  tract  on 
the  west  side  of  the  city,  which  he  laid  nut  in 
lots.  When  gold  was  discovered  in  California 
his  attention  was  first  attracted  to  the  resources 
of  the  west.  1  lisposing  of  his  interests  in  Iowa, 
he  crossed  the  plains  in  1850  and  engaged  in 
mining  at  Nevada  City  and  later  in  Placer 
o  unity,  where  he  was  one  of  the  most  influential 
men  of  the  day.  After  some  nineteen  years  he 
came  to  Santa  Cruz,  where  he  soon  gained  a 
high  reputation  for  professional  skill.  At  the 
same  time  he  connected  himself  with  leading 
activities  of  the  city,  invested  in  real  estate,  acted 
as  trustee  of  the  public  schools,  held  the  office 
of  coroner,  and  was  an  influential  Mason  and 
Odd  bellow.  In  addition,  he  served  as  presi- 
dent and  vice-president  of  both  banks  and  was 
,il  0  a  director  in  each.  His  first  marriage  look 
place  in  Des  Moines  in  184.)  ami  united  him 
with  Melissa  Hoxie,  who  died  in  Placer  county, 
Cal,  The  two  son-,  born  of  that  union,  Clar- 
ence E.  and  Herbert  I'.  Fagen,  are  residents  of 
Santa  Cruz  county. 

The  success  which  was  attained  both  by  .Mr. 


Jordan  and  Dr.  Fagen  was  due  not  a  little  to  the 
counsel  and  co-operation  of  the  woman  who 
proved  to  each  a  devoted  and  efficient  compan- 
ion. Her  children,  too.  owed  much  to  her  wise 
and  thoughtful  training.  Both  among  the  rich 
and  poor  she  has  many  friends.  Her  wise  char- 
ities find  an  outlet  in  the  ministrations  of  the 
Congregational  Church,  to  which  she  belongs, 
and  also  in  private  gifts,  concerning  which  noth- 
ing is  known  save  by  the  recipient.  She  was 
among  the  charter  members  of  the  church  in 
Santa  Cruz  and  has  always  been  especially  ac- 
tive in  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  of  the  congre- 
gation, as  well  as  in  either  movements  for  the 
pn  igress  of  the  work. 


JOHN  KANE. 


Since  the  time  of  establishing  his  home  in 
Santa  Cruz  county,  in  18S4,  Mr.  Kane  has  made 
his  home  upon  his  present  farm  near  Watson 
ville,  and  has  maintained  a  careful  supervision 
of  its  seventy  acres.  No  one  within  the  Pajaro 
valley  has  noted  its  progress  with  keener  pleas- 
ure than  he.  and  to  movements  for  the  general 
welfare  he  has  been  a  generous  contributor. 
Realizing  that  the  soil  and  climate  are  espe- 
cially adapted  to  apples,  lie  has  made  a  specialty 
of  that  industry,  and  now  has  six  thousand  ap- 
ple trees  on  his  place,  most  of  those  being  in 
bearing  condition. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Kane  were  John  and  Julia 
(Desmont)  Kane,  natives  of  Ireland.  In  the  oc- 
cupation of  a  fanner  the  father  devoted  his 
active  years,  and  spent  his  entire  life  in  his 
native  land  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years 
in  the  United  States.  In  his  family  there  are 
two  children,  John  and  Mrs.  Mary  Brunne,  the 
latter  a  resident  of  Gilroy,  Cal.  The  only  son 
in  the  family  was  born  in  county  Cork,  Ireland. 
in  1830.  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  crossed 
the  ocean  to  America,  spending  seven  week-, 
011  the  water.  Arriving  in  America  he  set- 
tled in  Boston.  Mass.,  where  he  worked  in  a 
paper  mill  for  four  years.  However,  he  was  not 
entirely  satisfied  with  conditions  there  and,  at- 
tracted by  reports  concerning  California,  de- 
termined to  try  his  fortune  in  the  west.  In  1857 
he  came  to  San   Francisco  via  the  isthmus,  ar- 


niSTt  >kir.\i.  A\'D  r.inr.RATinrAL  record. 


51  I 


riving  at  the  Golden  Gate  May  15,  1857.  His 
first  occupation  in  this  state  was  under  the 
United  States  government.  After  four  years  in 
that  employment  he  secured  work  with  the  San 
Francisco  <  las  Company,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained for  ten  years.  In  1884  he  came  to  Santa 
Cruz  county,  where  he  has  since  conducted  farm 
pursuits   and    fruit-raising   enterprises. 

Since  becoming  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
Mr.  Kane  has  voted  with  the  Democratic  party. 
However,  he  has  not  been  active  in  public  af- 
fairs nor  has  he  sought  office  at  any  time.  By 
his  marriage  to  Mary  llearlev,  a  native  of 
county  Cork,  Ireland,  he  has  six  living  children, 
namely:  John,  Julia,  Daniel.  Henry,  Frank  and 
Maggie.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church. 


MRS.  MARY  KERNS. 

Five  miles  from  Watsonville,  on  the  Santa 
Cruz  road,  lies  one  of  the  many  valuable  and 
fertile  farms  of  Santa  Cruz  county,  the  same 
being  the  home  property  of  Mrs.  Kerns.  Under 
her  supervision  the  work  of  fruit-growing  is 
carried  forward  with  discrimination  and  wise 
judgment,  and  the  results  are  evidenced  in  the 
gratifying  returns  from  each  year's  crops.  While 
the  land  is  rented,  yet  the  general  oversight 
which  she  has  always  maintained  has  resulted 
in  a  satisfactory  system  of  raising  and  market- 
ing the  fruit.  Sixty  acres  are  tinder  cultivation 
to  berries  and  ten  acres  tire  in  apples,  while 
the  balance  (forty  acres)  is  in  pasture  and  hay. 

Noting  facts  concerning  the  life  of  Mrs. 
Kerns,  it  may  be  stated  that  she  was  born  in 
county  Cork,  Ireland.  January  6.  1S50,  being  a 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Mary  1  i  Iriscoll)  1  )'Brien, 
the  hitter  still  a  residenl  of  the  old  home  land. 
There  are  nine  children  in  the  family  and  it  is 
worthy  of  mention  that  till  now  living  are  well- 
to-do  and  influential  members  of  their  several 
communities.  Those  besides  Mrs.  Kerns  are 
Hannah,  who  is  married  and  makes  her  home 
in  Santa  Cruz;  I  >aniel,  who  still  live-  in  Ireland; 
Mrs.  Margaret  Shannon,  -1  1  lakland,  <  lal.;  Mrs. 
\nn.i   Lvnch,   fohn,  and   Mrs.  Ellen  Lynch,  the 


At  nineteen  years  of  .age  Miss  Mary  (  I'Brien 
came  to  the  United  States  and  crossed  the  isth- 
mus to  California,  arriving  in  San  Francisco 
November  24,  [869.  After  three  years  in  that 
city,  in  1872  she  cann  to  Watsonville,  and  here. 
on  the  10th  of  June,  of  that  year,  became  the 
wife  of  Thomas  Kerns,  a  pionei  1  of  1  alifornia 
and  a  man  possessing  many  tine  traits  of  char- 
acter, t  if  [rish  birth  and  lineage,  he  was  born 
in  1832,  ti  son  of  Andrew  and  Margarel  Kerns. 
When  thirteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  tie- 
United  States  and  afterward  attended  school  in 
New  York.  During  the  excitement  caused  b) 
the  discover)  of  gold  in  California  he  decided 
to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  far  west,  and  accord 
ingly  in  1850  joined  a  party  of  emigrants  who 
took  the  long  and  perilous  journey  across  the 
plains.  Arriving  in  San  Francisco,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Virginia  City,  where  he  kept  a  hotel. 
His  next  location  was  at  Watsonville,  where 
he  settled  during  the  latter  part  of  the  '50s. 
The  frontier  environment  of  those  days  did  not 
bring  discouragement  to  his  soul,  for  he  was 
a  man  of  dauntless  resolution,  fitted  to  cope 
with  circumstances  that  would  have  dampened 
the  enthusiasm  of  a  less  courageous  man.  Farm- 
ing was  his  first  occupation  in  this  locality,  but 
later  he  became  connected  with  business  enter- 
prises, and  for  four  years  made  his  headquarter- 
in  San  Francisco.  However,  in  1873  ne  re" 
turned  to  Watsonville  and  resumed  agricultural 
pursuit.-.  In  [883  he  bought  the  farm  now  oc 
cupied  by  his  widow  and  its  one  hundred  and 
eight)  acre-  he  cultivated  with  diligence  and 
success.  Mere  ii  wa-  that  his  death  occurred 
in  1892.  Through  .all  his  long  life  he 
believer  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  1 
lie  Church,  to  which  Mrs.  Kerns  also  h 
After  coming  to  America  hi  identified  I 
with  the  Democratic  party.  In  his 
were  six  children,  namely:  Thomas,  dd 
Margaret;  William,  deceased;  Mary,  1  atherine, 
and  Anna,  ai  home.  The  famih  have  many 
friends  among  the  people  in  the  vicinity  of 
Watsonville,  ami  in  their  comfortable  home 
they  frequently  entertain  and  hospitabl 
come  the  man]  u  |iiaintances  Formed  during 
the    vear-    of    their    residence    in 


5 1 2 


HISTORICAL   AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


WILLIAM  II.  BIAS. 

No  greater  evidence  of  popularity  or  eminent 
fitness  for  important  responsibility  was  required 
of  William  H.  Bias  than  the  fact  that  he  has 
been  successively  elected  to  the  office  of  county 
treasurer  of  Santa  Cruz  since  1889.  Prior  to 
the  assumption  of  this  trust  he  had  considerable 
experience  in  the  undeveloped  west,  some  of  it 
of  a  nature  to  test  his  mettle,  especially  when 
identified  with  stage  driving  under  adverse  con- 
ditions. An  extremely  optimistic  nature  has 
lubricated  whatever  of  friction  has  appeared 
while  carving  his  career  out  of  raw  materials, 
minus  influence  or  money,  and  innate  grit  and 
determination  to  succeed  have  been  observable 
all  along  the  line.  Reared  on  the  paternal  farm 
in  Waukesha  county,  Wis.,  where  he  was  born 
May  17,  1841,  he  is  one  of  the  thirteen  children 
born  to  James  and  Jane  (Seller)  Bias.  Of  these 
children  seven  are  living,  one  of  them  being 
John  Bias,  a  prominent  groceryman  of  Santa 
Cruz. 

Tames  Bias  was  burn  in  England,  and  left  his 
home  in  Yorkshire  when  sixteen  years  of  age, 
immigrating  to  the  United  States.  His  native 
patriotism  was  transferred  to  the  country  of  his 
adoption,  and  he  served  with  distinction  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war  under  Captain  Kincade.  For 
this  service  he  was  given  land  now  comprising 
the  site  of  Chicago,  bul  owing  to  the  chills  and 
ague  which  aggravated  susceptible  citizens  of 
that  early  time  and  place  he  was  obliged  to  sell 
his  property  and  remove  to  less  afflicted  parts. 
Mis  choice  rested  upon  Waukesha  county,  Wis., 
where  lie  purchased  a  farm  and  lived  for  many 
years.  In  1879  himself  and  wife  yielded  to  the 
solicitations  of  their  son,  William  II..  and  came 
to  Santa  Cruz,  where  they  enjoyed  freedom 
from  care  and  basked  in  the  delights  of  this 
well  favored  land.  The  lather  died  in  [898,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-six,  bul  the  mother  still  lives, 
and  .11  the  age  of  eight)  nine  possesses  her  fac 
nit ies  t'  1  an  unusual  degree. 

Like  Ins  sire,  William   II.  Bias  started  out  on 

his  own  responsibilit)  when  sixteen  years  of  age, 

lie  was  fortunate  in  finding  wmk  in  a  wholesale 

grocery  store  in  New  York  City,  hut  before  he 

aii  I\  nil-It  1   wa\    was  afflicted  with  the  gold 


craze  which  knows  no  antidote  but  actual  ex- 
perience. Almost  out  of  pocket  at  the  start,  he 
arrived  at  San  Francisco  completely  destitute. 
and  was  obliged  to  work  at  anything  which  of- 
fered the  wherewithal  to  live.  Arriving  at  Santa 
Cruz  at  the  time  that  Davis  &  Jordan  had 
opened  a  large  lime  kiln,  the  first  in  this  pail 
of  the  state,  he  readily  found,  employment,  and 
learned  to  make  harrels  for  the  lime.  Two 
years  later  he  became  a  contractor  for  this 
firm,  manufacturing  barrels  on  a  large  scale  for 
five  years,  and  then  took  the  contract  for  the 
firm  of  ( ilassell  &  Poland.  Upon  disposing  of 
1I1  is  business  he  bought  out  the  interest  of  C. 
H.  Lincoln  in  the  San  Lorenzo  stables,  and  two 
years  later  bought  the  Santa  Cruz  and  Pesca- 
dero  stage  line,  which  offered  plenty  of  oppor- 
tunities for  adventure,  and  insight  into  wild 
western  ways.  During  those  days  there  were 
no  particular  roads,  and  the  stage  coach  took 
whatever  course  the  judgment  or  inclination 
of  the  driver  dictated.  Also  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  schedule  time,  although  the  start 
was  generally  effected  about  nine  in  the  morn- 
ing, and,  all  things  being  favorable,  arrived  at 
Pescadero  at  four  in  the  afternoon.  But  all  this 
was  very  uncertain,  as  was  also  the  return  trip 
the  next  day.  and  the  only  accurate  informa- 
tion to  be  had  about  this  stage  line  was  that 
the  coaches  arrived  and  departed.  They  were 
four-horse  concerns,  and  usually  carried  heavy 
loads,  for  there  were  no  railroads  to  relieve 
traffic.  Naturally  there  was  much  to  ruffle  the 
spirits  of  travelers  whose  time  was  money,  air! 
to  counteract  the  prevailing  gloom  Mr.  Bias  had 
on  tap  a  fund  of  stories  and  anecdotes  war- 
ranted to  restore  good  humor  and  stimulate  fra- 
ternity, all  of  which  made  him  immensely  pop- 
ular and  glossed  over  the  faults  and  misde- 
meanors of  the  unreliable  stage  line. 

\ftrr  five  years  of  stage  life  Mr.  Bias  em- 
barked upon  a  mercantile  business  in  Santa 
Cruz    with    J.    Ik    Moulter,    having   bought    out 

\.  R.  Meserves.  At  the  end  of  four  years  this 
business  was  disposed  of,  for  he  had  in  the 
meantime  entered  politics,  and  the  duties  of  city 
assessor  and  city  clerk,  succeeding  I.  I  V  Bailey, 

necessitated  the  whole  of  his  time.  He  Was 
elected    cit\     clerk    four   different    terms,   and    re 


HISTORICAL     WD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


113 


signed  in  1889  to  accept  the  office  of  treasurer, 
since  maintained  by  him  with  credit  and  gen- 
eral satisfaction.  He  is  a  standi  Republican, 
and  is  fraternally  identified  with  Masonic  Lodg< 
No.  38,  the  Royal  Arch  .Masons  and  the  Knights 
Templar;  the  Independent  <  )rder  <  )dd  Fel- 
lows, in  which  he  has  passed  to  the  encamp- 
ment; and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  1861  he 
joined  the  first  fire  company  organized  in  Santa 
Cruz,  and  he  was  second  lieutenant  of  the  cele- 
brated Butler  Guards  in  1864. 

January  6,  1868,  Mr.  Bias  married  Louise  P. 
Anthony,  daughter  of  Hon.  William  Anthony, 
and  who  was  born  in  Cayuga  county,  X.  Y., 
and  who  came  to  California  in  1854.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bias  have  been  born  the  following 
children:  Herbert  J.,  a  graduate  of  Berkeley, 
subsequently  principal  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Mis- 
sion School,  and  who  died  Februarj  28,  1902, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-nine;  Florence,  formerly 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Crook,  by  whom  she  had  one 
son,  Jackson  1'..,  and  now  the  wife  of  Robert 
S.  Brown,  of  San  Francisco;  Carrie  Bell,  the 
wife  of  Edward  McPherson,  of  Santa  Cruz: 
Ralph  W.,  clerk  in  the  Odd  Fellows  Rank  of 
San  Francisco;  Anna.  living  at  home;  and 
Stanley  Clayton,  a  student. 


JOHN  KENNAUGHt 

Although  at  present  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising  in  the  vicinity  of  Watsonville, 
John  Kennaugh  has  an  established  reputation 
as  a  gold  miner,  won  while  spending  twenty 
years  among  the  gold  mines  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  state.  While  harvesting  luxurious 
crops  year  after  year  in  the  Pajaro  valley,  he- 
still  owns  valuable  mining  properties,  from 
which  he  receives  noticeable  additions  to  Ins 
income. 

A  Manxman  by  birth  and  training,  Mr.  Ken 
naugh  was  reared  on   the  paternal   farm   in  the 

wig)  Kennaugh,  were  also  bom  on  the  isle  of 
Man.  and  there  -pent  their  entire  lives.  1  if 
their  children,  two  sons  arc  in  California,  one 
being  a  resident  of  Los  Migclcs.  Join,  Ken 
nauerh  lived  at  home  until  twenty  two  years  of 


age,  and  while  assisting  around  the  home  farm 
attended  the  public  schools  as  opportunity  of- 
fered. After  landing  in  Boston,  Mass.,  he 
located  in  the  northern  part  of  California  and 
engaged  in  mining,  principally  in  Yuba  county, 
in  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains.  In  [883  he 
came  to  Santa  Cruz  county  and  bought  his 
present  farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-three 
acres,  just  west  of  Watsonville.  lb 
in  general  farming  and  stock-raising,  and  is 
considered  one  of  the  enterprising  agriculturists 
of  the  county.  In  politics  he  is  independent, 
and  believes  in  voting  for  the  man  best  quali- 
fied to  serve  the  public  interests. 

October  29,  1879,  Mr.  Kennaugh  was  mar- 
ried to  Airs.  D.  (Willman)  1  low.  who  was  the 
widow  of  John  Clow,  b\  whom  she  had  two 
children,   Elizabeth   W.  and  Theodore    |. 


EDWARD   KELLY. 

Though  a  considerable  period  has  elapsed 
since  the  death  of  Mr.  Kelly,  he  is  not  forgotten 
by  those  with  whom  he  formerly  associated  and 
among  whom  the  last  years  of  his  bus)  life 
were  passed.  Of  Irish  birth  and  parentage,  lie 
grew  to  manhood  in  the  home  of  his  father. 
Edward  Kelly.  Sr.,  whom  he  accompanied  to 
the  United  States.  For  a  number  of  years  he 
made  his  home  near  Joliet,  111.,  where  his  father 
owned  a  farm.      Utrai 

concerning  the  productiveness  of  the  soil  and 
the  desirable  climate,  In  1  ame  to  1  alifornia 
about  1804  and  at  once  established  his  home  in 
Santa.  Cruz  county.  B\  occupation  he  was  a 
farmer  and  until  his  death,  in  1NN5.  [le  carried 
on  general  fanning  pursuits  together  with  the 
raising    of    fruit. 

Surviving  Mr.  Kelly  are  his  wile  and  two 
children,  Edward  and  Mary.  The  former,  who 
is  a  graduate  of  Columbia  Law  School,  is 
a  resident  of  New  York.  Mrs.  Kelly  was  born 
in  Ireland  in  [843  and  is  a  daughter  of  Dennis 
and  Mar)  (McDermitt)  McAleer.  Her  father, 
who  was  a  farmer  b)  occupation,  died  in  [872, 
and  her  mother,  now  mote  than  eighty  years 
of  age,  makes  hei  home  with  Mis.  Kelly.  I'"' 
nee   other  daughters 

in  the  family,  .    0111,  Mrs.   Donnelly,  is 


514 


HISTi  >RICAL    AND    BK  »GR  M'llh    \L    REO  >RD. 


now  a  resident  of  Watsonville.  It  was  during 
1873  that  Miss  McAleer  accompanied  her 
mother  and  sister  to  California  and  settled  on 
a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  acres, 
where  she  still  resides.  During  the  same  year 
.she  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Kelly,  and  since 
his  death  she  has  superintended  the  place  per- 
sonally. As  a  result  of  her  wise  oversight  and 
capable  industry,  the  property  has  increased  in 
value  and  is  known  as  one  of  the  most  valuable 
fruit  farms  in  the  vicinity.  A  specialty  is  made 
of  apples,  to  which  forty-five  acres  are  planted. 
Like  others  in  the  Pajaro  valley,  she  has  found 
the  Bellefleurs  and  Newtown  Pippins  to  be  the 
most  desirable  varieties,  and  hence  has  made 
these  her  specialties,  each  year  shipping  large 
quantities  of  the  finest  grades  of  these  apples 
to  the  markets,  where  a  fair  price  is  always 
paid  for  the  same. 


BENJAMIN  K.  KNIGHT, 

Now  serving  his  fourth  year  as  district  attorney 
of  Santa  Cruz  county,  is  one  of  the  youngest 
and  most  promising  of  the  men  who  have 
filled  this  position,  and  he  is  also  one  of  the 
most  erudite  of  the  native  sons  who  are  pro- 
moting the  legal  prestige  of  the  community. 
He  was  born  in  this  county  August  28,  [874, 
1  -.in  of  Dr.  1'..  Knight,  ami  grandson  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Amy  (Ballou)  Knight.  The  grand- 
parents were  horn  in  Rhode  Island,  in  which 
state  had  settled  the  immigrating  New  Eng- 
land ancestors  many  years  before,  and  the 
■  family,  no  less  representative  .if  eastern 
tradition  and  conservative  worth,  claimed 
anion--  its  members  immediate  associates  ol 
Roger  Williams.  The  grandfather  was  a  ma- 
chinist by  trade,  and  while  on  a  mining  expe- 
dition to  California  in  [850,  built  the  first  log 
house  on  the  site  of  Nevada  City.  Two  years 
later  he  returned  to  Rhode  Island,  but  in  [872 
came  with  his  wife  to  the  coast,  his  remaining 
vears  being  spent  at  the  home  of  his  son.  Dr. 
i;.  Knight.  There  his  death  occurred  in  [883, 
at  the  age  of  eighty  years,  his  wife  surviving 
him  until  1895,  at  the  good  old  age  of  ninet} 
one      Hieir  children  were:     Obadiah  M.,  Marc} 


G,    Mary    11.,   Noah   M.,   Dr.    Benjamin,   Amy, 
Lucina,  Thomas  and  Lucretia. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Knight  was  born  in  Mansfield. 
Tolland  county.  Conn.,  October  16.  1836,  and 
was  educated  at  the  Providence  Conference 
Seminary,  at  East  Greenwich,  R.  1.  Previous 
to  the  Civil  war  he  had  engaged  in  teaching, 
and  had  begun  to  study  medicine  with  Drs. 
Howard  <  >kie  and  Wilcox,  hut  with  the  demand 
for  his  services  as  a  soldier  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany I,  First  Massachusetts  Cavalry,  and  served 
twenty-one  months.  His  regiment  was  princi- 
pally engaged  in  South  Carolina,  and  after  the 
cessation  of  hostilities  he  returned  to  his  former 
honie  and  resumed  his  previous  occupations. 
The  same  year  as  his  graduation  from  the  Har- 
vard .Medical  School,  he  married,  April  S,  [869, 
Lvdia  A.  Killey,  daughter  of  James  E.  Killey, 
of  Manton,  R.  I.,  and  forthwith  started  out  on 
a  wedding  trip  to  Santa  Cruz,  Cal.  Possessed 
of  remarkable  general  ability,  Dr.  Knight  has 
not  only  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  prac- 
tice, but  has  proved  himself  a  politician  of  large 
resource  and  unquestioned  popularity.  He  ac- 
complished good  results  while  a  member  of  the 
city  school  board,  and  in  1879  was  the  unsuc- 
cessful candidate  for  the  assembly.  This  slight 
disappointment  was  more  than  counteracted  in 
1882,  when  he  was  elected  joint  senator  from 
Santa  Cruz,  San  Benito  and  Monterey  coun- 
ties, ami  he  further  served  as  senator  in  [-883, 
was  in  the  extra  session  of  March,  1884,  the 
regular  session  of  1805,  and  the  extra  session 
of  1885,  held  during  July,  August  and  Septem- 
ber. He  was  elected  president  pro  tern,  at  the 
regular  session  of  1885,  and  also  served  as 
chairman  of  the  hospital  committee,  later  being 
appointed  by  Governor  Stoneman  a-  one  of  the 
live  commissioners  who  located  the  Agnew  Asy- 
lum, lie  was  also  chairman  of  the  finance  com- 
mittee 01  the  session  of  18S5.  Dr.  Knight  is 
a  man  of  great  public  spirit,  large  heart,  and 
high  professional  standing,  lie  is  fraternally 
connected  with  the  Masons,  the  Odd  Fellows 
and  the  United  Workmen,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  To  himself 
and  wife  have  been  born  four  children,  viz: 
Edith,  the  wife  of  \\  .  E.  I  lodge  ami  the  mothi  1 
1  ii  1  .ue  si  .11.  ( !harles  I'.  I  lodge:  Ida.  the  wife  ol 


HENRY  C.  TOLLK1 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    REl  <  iRD. 


J.    I'.  Stack;  B.   K.;  and   Mary  A.,  deceased  at 

the  age  of  seven. 

After  completing  the  course  at  the  grammar 
school,  Benjamin  1\.  Knight  entered  the  law- 
office  of  Carl  E.  Lindsay,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  September  .2,  181)5.  Not  content  with 
the  grammar  school  training,  he  attended  a 
law  school  for  a  few  months,  and  finally  grad 
nated  from  the  law  department  of  the  Ann 
Arbor  College  (Michigan)  in  1895.  Returning 
to  Santa  Cruz,  he  entered  the  law  office  with 
Mr.  Lindsay,  which  association  was  most  ami- 
cably and  satisfactorily  continued  up  to  the  time 
that  .Mr.  Knight  succeeded  Air.  Lindsay  as  dis- 
trict attorney.  Mr.  Knight  is  variousl}  asso- 
ciated with  the  fraternal  and  social  organizations 
in  the  city,  is  secretary  of  the  Elks  Club,  and  a 
member  and  past  president  of  the  Native  Sons 
of  the  Golden  West.  fraternally  he  is  con- 
nected with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  For- 
esters and  the  Eagles,  and  lie  is  a  member  and 
regular  attendant  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
Mrs.  Knight,  who  was  formerly  Helen  Bliss  of 
San  lose,  is  the  mother  of  two  children.  Benja- 
min   11.   and   .Marion. 


HENRY  C.  TOLLETT. 

The  splendidly  equipped  farm  which  was  for- 
merly the  pride  of  its  owner,  Henry  C.  Tollett, 
and  which  comprises  one  hundred  and  eleven 
acres  adjoining  the  city  limits  of  Salinas  on  the 
southwest,  is  a  monument  to  the  tireless  indus- 
try and  wise  management  of  this  well  remem- 
bered ami  widely  regretted  pioneer.  To  enumer- 
ate the  many  excellencies  to  be  found  on  this 
fine  property  were  to  run  the  gamut  of  the  lat- 
est agricultural  improvements  in  machinery  and 
manner  of  harvesting,  with  the  additional  ad- 
vantages of  a  tine  rural  residence,  good  fences, 
barns,  well-kept  lawns,  and  a  beautiful  hedge 
running  along  the  road.  Mr.  Tollett,  whose 
demise  August  12,  [899,  removed  one  of  the 
sterling  and  helpful  residents  of  the  county,  was 
born  in  Arkansas  in  iS.|<i,  and  was  the  oldest 
son  in  a  family  of  eight  children,  a  sister  being 
older  than  himself.  lie  came  of  a  fainib  foi 
many  years  identified  with  the  farming  in! 
of  Arkansas,  and   he  himself   was  reared  on  his 


father's  farm,  and  received  such  education  at 
the  public  schools  as  his  small  leisure  and  nu- 
merous home  duties  permitted  of.  lie  came  to 
California  in  iXoj.  and  bought  the  farm  which 
is  now  occupied  by  his  family.  In  [879  he  mar- 
ried Maggie  R.  Archer,  who  was  born  in  Illi- 
nois, a  daughter  of  George  Archer,  who  came 
to  California  in  1858.  Of  this  union  there  are 
two  children  lain-,  Hattie  and  Lester.  For 
the  last  twelve  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Tollett  owned 
and  ran  a  threshing  machine  in  Monterey 
county,  and  while  this  was  an  addil 
of  revenue  and  a  change  from  his  regular  farm 
work,  resulted  in  his  eventual  death,  for  he  was 
killed  by  the  machine  that  he  had  for  so  long 
successfully  manipulated. 

In  early  life  Mr.  Tollett  was  a  member  of  the 
Democratic  party,  but  of  late  years  he  had  be- 
come in  accord  with  the  People's  party,  which 
he  did  much  to  uphold  and  foster.  Fraternally 
he  was  associated  with  the  <  >dd  Fellows  and  the 
1'oresters,  and  the  former  organization  took  his 
burial  in  hand,  and  invested  it  with  the  beautiful 
and  impressive  ceremony  with  which  this  band 
of  co-workers  bid  farewell  to  their  departed 
comrades.  At  the  time,  the  numerous  friends 
and  associates  who  had  known  him  in  life  and 
appreciated  his  many  manl)  and  fine  tn 
character  constituted  the  largest  following  that 
had  ever  wound  itself  through  the  streets  of  Sa- 
linas in  procession.  ||:,  :,..:  resting  place  in 
the  I  »dd  Fellows'  cemetery  is  marked  by  a  fine 
monument,  appropriate^   inscribed. 

Mrs.  Tollett,  who  is  carrying  on  the  manage- 
ment of  her  husband's  farm,  inherited  in  her 
own  right  sevent)  acres  of  land.  Adjoining  her 
farm  lives  her  brother:  her  mother  died  at  the 
age  of  eight}  \  eat  s,  and  her  Fathi  •  died 
She  is  a  good  business  woman,  and  a  typical  rep- 
resentative of  tin  enterprising  and  thrifty  wife 
of  the  prosperous  California  farmer. 


ORLANDO  J.   LINO  ILN. 

To  the  energy,  resourcefulness  and  capacity 
of  the  postmaster,  <  Irlando  J.  Lincoln,  the  city 
of  Santa  Cruz  and  its  mail  service  owe  much. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  born  in  Washington,  Lincoln 
mow   Knox)  county,  Me.,  January  20,  1847.  and 


HISTi  iRICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


was  .1  son  of  Nathaniel  Lincoln,  of  that  town, 
the  latter  being  a  second  cousin  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  enlisted  in  the 
Twenty-first  Maine  Infantry  and  accompanied 
his  regiment  to  the  front,  remaining  until  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  service.  Meantime 
he  had  received  a  promotion  to  the  rank  of 
corporal.  Luring  one  of  his  engagements  with 
the  Confederate  forces  at  l'ort  Hudson.  La.,  he 
was  wounded,  but.  notwithstanding  this,  he 
earnestly  desired  to  re-enlist.  Being  unsuccess- 
ful in  this,  as  he  was  not  accepted,  he  went  to 
Boston  and  there  entered  the  service  of  the  Met- 
ropolitan Horse  Street  Car  Company,  of  which 
in  time  he  rose  to  be  superintendent,  holding 
tlie  position  for  six  years.  About  that  time  he 
contracted  a  lung  and  bronchial  trouble  which 
compelled  him  to  resign  all  work  and  look  for 
a  friendlier  air  and  climate  in  that  far  west  which 
has  since  claimed  him  as  its  son. 

Coming  direct  to  Santa  Cruz,  in  the  year 
1879,  Mr.  Lincoln  seemed  to  find  almost  at 
once  the  balm  he  was  seeking;  and  now,  in  com- 
mon with  the  many  others  who  have  added 
111.  ire  and  happier  years  to  their  earth  existence 
amid  the  perpetual  flowers  and  fruits  of  this 
climate,  he  enjoys  not  only  vigorous  physical 
life,  but  also  those  chosen  labors  which  have 
added  so  much  to  the  progress  of  his  adopted 
city.  In  1883  he  became  deputy  county  as- 
sessor  and  superintendent  of  the  city  water- 
works, which  positions  he  filled  for  eight  years, 
and  later  he  held  the  office  of  city  clerk  for  six 
years. 

During  IS.).)  Mr.  Lincoln  succeeded  W.  T. 
Kearney  as  postmaster  of  Santa  Cruz.  With 
characteristic  energy  he  at  once  set  about  im- 
proving the  service,  with  such  success  that 
where  at  that  time  but  eight  mails  were  re- 
ceived and  discharged  in  one  day.  he  rtow  has 
till  ecu  daily  mails.  The  services  of  five  clerks 
are  employed  to  handle  the  mails  and  six  car- 
riers are  engaged  in  delivery  service,  the  office 
having  had  free  deliver}-  since  1889.  In  connec 
tion  with  the  office  there  are  two  rural  routes. 
About  [900,  when  the  enterprising  postmaster 
attempted  to  establish  a  circuit  of  twent}  three 
miles,  he  found  himself  lacing  the  problem  of 
being    responsible    for    having    four    miles    of 


mountain-grade  road  built.  This  he  at  once  as- 
sumed. The  construction  work  was  accom- 
plished with  the  aid  of  landowners.  Its  success- 
ful accomplishment  makes  it  possible  for  a  man 
to  deliver  mail  over  the  twenty-three  miles,  start- 
in-  a:  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  return- 
ing in  time  for  the  six  o'clock  evening  mail  for 
San  Francisco.  B)  this  means  the  rural  dis- 
tricts can  have  their  daily  mail  and  papers,  and 
keep  in  close  touch  with  friends  and  the  world. 
Mr.  Lincoln  chooses  competent  assistants,  ami 
with  their  aid  has  made  the  service  at  Santa 
Cruz  the  equal  of  any  in  the  state,  and  a  source 
of  satisfaction  to  the  residents  and  visitors  in 
the  Flower  City.  The  postoffice  occupies  a 
building  on  Locust  street,  owned  by  F.  A.  I  lihn. 
and  large  and  modern  in  all  its  details. 

By  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  Miss 
Sarah  llurlin,  who  was  reared  and  educated  in 
New  England,  Mr.  Lincoln  has  two  children: 
Mabel,  a  teacher  in  the  Santa  Cruz  schools:  and 
Robert,  who  is  a  student.  The  schools  of  this 
city  are  of  interest  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  has  been 
an  efficient  member  of  the  school  board  for 
fourteen  years,  laboring  for  educational  progress 
and  welfare.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity  and  \\  allace  Reynolds  Post  Xo.  32, 
G.  A.  R.,  in  which  he  has  been  commander  and 
senior  post  commander.  In  religious  belief  he 
is  a  Congregationalist. 


J.  J.  C.  LEONARD. 

The  hotels  of  which  Mr.  Leonard  is  proprie- 
tor are  among  the  best  known  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  enjoy  a  liberal  patronage  from  the 
visitors  to  Santa  Cruz.  Hotel  St.  George,  which 
is  situated  on  Pacific  avenue  and  Front  street, 
was  opened  June  1,  1807.  and  has  since  received 
the  highest  commendation  from  the  many  who 
have  been  its  guests.  The  three-story  building 
is  in  itself  unique  ami  attractive,  constructed  ot 
cherry-red  pressed  brick,  with  large  windows 
surmounted  bj  brownstone  caps,  and  with  a 
veranda  running  the  entire  length  of  tin  main 
frontage.  The  hotel  is  constructed  in  the  patio 
style,  SO  that  al!  apartments  are  light  and  airy. 
Tlie  main  halls  are  heated  b)  steam,  while  lire- 
place-  with  marble   mantels  adorn  the  suites   For 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


guests.  For  lighting  purposes,  both  gas  and 
electricity  are  used.  In  connection  with  most 
of  the  suites  are  bath  rooms  with  patent  enamel 
bathtubs.  ( )ne  of  the  features  of  the  main  office 
is  the  tesselated  floor,  which  is  both  novel  in 
design  and  elegant  in  execution,  being  laid  in 
minute  stones  of  different  colors.  The  hand- 
somely furnished  parlors  on  the  second  floor 
are  reached  by  elevator  or  by  the  marble  stair- 
way. All  of  the  furniture  for  the  hotel  was 
made  in  the  east  and  is  faultless  in  design  and 
perfect  in  its  exhibition  of  harmonious  effects. 
The  dining  room  and  kitchen  are  situated  in  the 
eastern  end  of  the  building,  and  from  their  win- 
dows a  fine  view  may  lie  had  of  Front  street, 
with  a  refreshing  vista  of  trees  and  Mowers. 
For  private  parties  smaller  dining  rooms  have 
been  furnished.  In  the  entire  management  of 
the  hotel  the  comfort  of  the  guest  is  made  the 
chief  consideration,  the  proprietor  being  aided 
along  this  line  by  a  corps  of  trained  and  accom- 
modating  employes. 

The  Sea  Beach  Hotel  became  the  property 
of  .Mr.  Leonard  in  1901  and  is  an  attractive 
building,  with  a  capacity  for  two  hundred 
guests.  It  was  purchased  in  1880  by  I).  K. 
Abell.  who  rebuilt  it  from  a  two-Story  residence 
to  its  present  dimensions.  Since  then  it  has 
been  refitted  by  Mr.  Leonard,  who  has  trans- 
formed it  into  one  of  the  most  beautiful  seaside 
hotels  on  the  coast.  Its  broad  verandas  cover 
four  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  extending  along 
three  sides  of  the  building,  and  thus  affording 
the  guests  an  unrivalled  promenade.  Its  out- 
look is  perfect,  (hie  may  look  upon  the  waters 
of  the  Monterey  bay  and  the  Santa  Cruz  cres- 
cent beach  with  its  attractive  drive.  The  beauty 
of  beach  ami  ocean  is  enhanced  by  the  nearer 
perspective  of  brightly  blooming  flowers,  and  to 
the  guest  on  the  veranda  there  floats  from  the 
garden  the  odor  of  the  rose  and  the  heliotrope. 
The  poet  has  said.  "A  thing  of  beaut)  is  a  joy 
forever."  and  certainly  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  have  once  enjoyed  a  visit  to  the  Sea  Beach 
Hotel  the  memory  of  its  attractions  will  forever 
remain  a  delight.  To  those  who  are  fond  of 
swimming  the  bathhouses  afford  convenient  fa 
cilities  for  this  form  of  recreation.  Lovers  of 
tennis  find  abundant  opportunity  for  the  enjo) 


ment  of  their  favorite  game  in  the  courts 
around  the  hotel.  Those  who  are  fond  of  danc- 
ing can  avail  themselves  of  the  spacious  dance 
hall;  and.  indeed,  there  is  no  form  of  amuse- 
ment and  recreation  whose  devotees  may  not 
enjoy  its  attractions.  The  location  of  the  hotel 
on  Beach  hill  gives  to  the  guests  the  benefit  of 
the  invigorating  sea  breeze  and  the  advantage  of 
elevation,  as  well  as  the  healthful  sunshine  of 
which  Santa  Cruz  so   justly  boasts. 

So  popular  have  these  two  hotels  !■ 
that  during  h;oj  Mr.  Leonard  was  unable  to 
accommodate  all  who  wished  or  desired  rooms 
there.  This  fact  alone  furnishes  sufficient  tes- 
timony as  to  the  high  character  of  the  hotels 
and  their  reputation  among  resorters.  In  con- 
nection with  both  buildings  there  are  stables, 
where  are  kept  on  hand  single  and  double  car- 
riages, surreys,  phaetons,  etc.,  together  with  the 
popular  tally-ho  for  parties  wishing  to  drive 
in  the  mountains  or  on  the  ocean  boulevard. 

Air.  Leonard,  to  whose  management  the  suc- 
cess of  these  hotels  may  be  attributed,  was  born 
in  Nebraska  and  in  1862  came  to  the  coast  with 
in-    lather,    who    died   in    Santa    Cruz   count}'    in 
iS-y.  after  having  improved  a  ranch  now  owned 
by   F.  A.   Hilm.     His   first   trip  to  the   west   was 
made  in  1854,  when  he  tried  his  luck  at  mining. 
Soon   he   returned   to   the   east,  and   then   made 
another   trip   to    California,   later   returning   for 
his  family.     J,  J.  ( '.  Leonard  has  been  connected 
with  the  hotel  business  for  a  considerable  p 
and,   as   before    stated,   has   been   the   less* 
Hotel  St.  George  since   [897  and  the  owner  of 
Sea  Beach  Hotel  since  [901.     lie  is  man: 
has  two  sons,  James    Pope  and  Arthur  1 
Leonard. 


LAWRENCE  L<  )RENZEN. 

In  the  management  of  the  shipping  wharf  of 
I  Ienr\    (   owell    Si    1   o  .   at    Santa    (  XUZ,    M 
renzen  brings  to  be:                           tact  and  re- 
sourcefulness which  are  prominent   traits 
character.     The  wharf  is  nine  hundred   fi 
and  eleven   feet   deep  in   the  extreme  end  at    low 
tide,  so  that  all  freight  can  easily  be  loaded  into 
ne,  vessels      V  ;  onlj  are  the  products  of 
the     large     lime,     eem.nl     and     w 1     company 


lllSTt  (RICAL  AND   l;K  (GRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


shipped  from  this  wharf,  but  from  there  also  are 
sent  to  the  metropolitan  markets  the  dairy  prod- 
ucts of  the  comity  and  the  wines  produced  bv 
the  li  >cal  trade. 

The  Lorenzen  family  is  of  German  extraction. 
Lawrence  Lorenzen.  Sr.,  came  from  Germany 
to  California  in  1S4S  and  engaged  in  mining  at 
Gold  Mill.  Placer  county.  For  a  time  he  also 
conducted  general  farming,  besides  which  he 
followed  the  trade  of  a  ship  carpenter.  Return- 
ing to  Germany  he  remained  there  some  years. 
but,  having  once  seen  California,  no  other  coun- 
try seemed  so  desirable  as  a  place  of  residence. 
Accordingly  he  came  back  to  the  Pacific  coast 
and  took  up  ship-carpentering  and  the  building 
of  schooners  at  San  Francisco.  A  later  location 
was  at  Davenport,  where  he  built  two  schoon- 
ers, the  Undaunted  and  the  R.  B.  Handy.  The 
latter  part  of  his  life  was  passed  at  Santa  Cruz, 
where  he  died  at  sixty-seven  years  of  age.  By 
his  marriage  to  Maria  Peterson,  who  died  in 
1863.  he  had  the  following-named  children: 
Lawrence,  of  Santa  Cruz;  Annie,  wife  of  W.  H. 
Bascowell;  Coby,  of  <  )akland;  Mary,  .Mrs.  James 
Peters;  George,  of  Oakland;  William,  who 
makes  his  home  in  San  Francisco;  and  Emma, 
Mrs.  H.  Eckelson. 

In  1856,  when  two  years  of  age,  Lawrence 
Lorenzen,  Jr.,  accompanied  his  mother  and  sis- 
ter to  California.  .  His  education  was  obtained 
in  the  schools  of  Gold  Hill  and  San  Francisco. 
At  an  early  age  he  began  to  learn  the  ship- 
carpenter's  trade  with  his  father,  whom  he  as- 
sisted in  the  building  of  the  two  schooners  al 
Davenport.  He  then  worked  as  yard  master  for 
the  railroad  company  at  Santa  Cruz,  remaining 
there  some  seven  years.  A  later  experience  was 
in  connection  with  railroad  work  in  Mexico, 
but  after  three  months  he  became  ill  and.  fear- 
ing an  attack  of  the  fever  so  prevalent,  he  at 
once  returned  to  the  states.  For  a  time  he 
worked  in  the  employ  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railroad  in  Canada,  after  which  he  spent  two 
years  with  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  (  om- 
pany.  From  there  he  came  to  Santa  Cruz  and 
accepted  the  position  of  wharfinger  for  Ileiuw 
Cowell  i\:  Co.,  the  duties  of  which  position  he 
has  since  discharged  with  dispatch  and  fidelity. 


with  Clara  Dabadie.  daughter  of  Jean  Baptiste 
and  Margaret  (Gonzales)  Dabadie.  and  a  na- 
tive daughter  of  Santa  Cruz.  Her  father  was 
born  and  reared  in  Bordeaux,  France,  and  there 
learned  the  trade  of  a  ship-carpenter,  also 
shipped  to  sea  and  became  master  of  a  vessel. 
After  coming  to  California  he  assisted  in  the 
building  of  some  of  the  very  first  vessels  con- 
structed on  the  Pacific  coast.  As  captain  he 
had  charge  of  the  first  vessel  that  ever  sailed 
into  the  port  of  Santa  Cruz.  In  this  city  he 
settled  and  engaged  in  building  vessels.  In 
1846  he  assisted  in  building  the  ship  known  as 
Santa  Cruz.  Three  years  later  he  helped  to 
construct  the  ship  Creole.  His  death  occurred 
in  1889,  when  he  was  seventy-four  years  of  age. 
He  had  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Juan  and 
Grace  (Rodriquez)  Gonzales,  the  former  having 
been  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  this  localitv 
and  the  owner  of  a  large  grant  of  land.  Mrs. 
Dabadie  still  makes  her  home  in  Santa  Cruz, 
where  so  much  of  her  life  has  been  passed  and 
among  whose  citizens  she  is  held  in  high  es- 
teem. In  her  family  are  the  following  children: 
Kate,  Joseph.  John.  Isabelle,  Laura,  Clara 
(Mrs.  Lorenzen  1.  Jennie  and  Gabriel.  The  chil- 
dren of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lorenzen  are  Hiram  A., 
Jennie  Beatrice  and  Mark  M.  In  fraternal  rela- 
tions Mr.  Lorenzen  is  identified  with  the  blue 
lodge,  chapter,  commandery  and  Eastern  Star. 
of  the  Masonic  order,  and  is  also  connected 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
and  the  Ancient  <  >rder  of  United  Workmen. 


MARION  T1K  )\l  \s   Ri  iWE. 

The  family  of  Rowe  has  been  represented  in 
Monterey  county  for  many  years,  or  ever  since 
William  H.  Rowe,  the  father  of  Marion  Thomas, 
squatted  on  one  of  the  old  Spanish  grants  in 
[853,  and  from  then  on  was  an  important  fac- 
tor in  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the 
county.  This  old-time  settler  was  born  at 
Plymouth,  England,  November  17,  1829,  and  as 
early  as  thirteen  years  of  age  embarked  on  a 
sailing  vessel  for  America,  working  his  passage 
as  a  deck  hand,  \fter  coming  to  San  Francisco 
in  iN,x  he  worked  in  the  mines  up  above  Sacra- 


ZEPHRIX  HEBERT 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


523 


conclusion  that  mining  was  not  his  forte,  set- 
tin  I  on  the  claim  before  mentioned,  where  he 
lived  until  1855-6.  To  better  his  prospects  he 
then  removed  to  the  upper  part  of  the  Pajaro 
valley,  where  he  was  the  very  first  settler.  He 
bought  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land. 
upon  which  he  lived,  and  to  which  he  added 
from  time  to  time  until  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
February  1,  1893.  he  owned  one  thousand  acres 
in  the  valley,  as  well  as  three  hundred  and  forty 
acres  in  the  hills.  At  the  present  time,  his  prop- 
erty, if  together,  would  be  valued  at  a  million 
dollars,  but  at  the  time  of  his  death  it  was  prob- 
ably worth  half  that  amount.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Christian  Church,  in  which  he  was  quite 
active,  and  towards  which  he  contributed  gen- 
erously.    In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat. 

The  wife  of  William  H.  Rowe  was  formerly 
Rhoda  Ann  McFarland,  a  native  of  Missouri, 
and  an  early  settler  in  California.  She  also  was 
identified  with  the  Christian  Church,  and  was 
the  mother  of  eleven  children,  of  whom  nine 
attained  maturity.  Ellen  married  J.  R.  Cassady, 
of  Watsonville;  Cynthia  Ann  became  the  wife 
of  E.  J.  Mann,  of  Santa  Cruz;  Charles  W.  and 
George  W.  1  twins)  are  ranchers  and  live  in 
Watsonville;  Marion  Thomas  is  a  resident  of 
Monterey  county;  Sophronia  (deceased)  was  the 
wife  of  William  Palmtag,  of  Watsonville;  James 
II.  is  a  rancher  of  Monterey  county;  Frank  L. 
is  a  rancher  of  this  township;  Minnie  F.  married 
R.  1'.  Quinn,  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business 
at  Watsonville,  and  is  now  deceased. 

Like  his  brothers,  Marion  Thomas  Rowe  was 
reared  on  the  home  farm,  where  he  was  born 
May  20,  1861.  After  his  marriage  he  rented 
fifty  acres  of  land  from  his  father,  and  after  the 
hitter's  death  he  received  a  deed  for  the  fifty 
acres,  and  in  addition  received  twenty-seven 
acres  adjoining  his  home.  The  greater  part  of 
his  land  in  under  apples,  principally  Bellefleurs 
and  Newtown  Pippins,  and  last  year  he  sold  the 
crop  on  the  trees  of  six  acres  for  $500.  The 
orchard  is  now  about  eight  years  old.  and  is  in 
fine  bearing  condition. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Rowe  was  born  in  Denmark. 
and  before  her  marriage  was  Katie  Monde,  a 
daughter  of  X.  1'.  Bonde,  with  whom  she  came 
to  America   when  a  child.      Four  children  have 


been  bom  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rowe,  viz:  Mai,,  I 
Rhoda,  Harris  Elliott,  Shirley  Irving  and 
William  Henry.  Although  a  Democrat  in  na- 
tional affairs,  Mr.  Rowe  C  very  liberal  as  to 
local  politics,  and  believes  in  voting  for  tin  besl 
man.  He  served  as  deputj  assessor  for  one 
term,  and  has  held  several  minor  offices  in  the 
community.  Fraternally  he  is  associated  with 
the  Red  Men.  With  his  family  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Christian  Church. 


cinan  Z.  HEBERT. 

To  an  unusual  extent  Cheri  Z.  Hebert,  owner 
and  manager  of  the  Natividad  ranch,  six  miles 
northeast  of  Salinas,  inherits  the  natural  gifts 
which  made  his  father,  Zephrin  Hebert,  one 
of  the  most  famous  of  the  California  pioneers 
of  the  early  '50s.  The  son  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  and  Santa  Clara  College,  and  his 
entire  life  has  been  spent  on  the  extensive  prop- 
erty redeemed  from  uselessness  by  his  far- 
sighted  and  large-hearted  father. 

One  of  the  most  interesting,  buoyant,  and 
commanding  personalities  upon  the  horizon  of 
the  days  of  gold  was  Zephrin  Hebert,  who 
as  did  others  with  little  save  his  dauntless 
courage  and  resourceful  intellect,  to  conquer 
and  develop  the  latent  possibilities  of  the  coast. 
'Id  himself  and  contemporaries  the  dire  n 
sities  of  pioneership  whetted  their  sensibilities 
to  the  keenest  edge,  leaving  them  no  alternative 
in  the  battle  for  existence  bul  eternal  vigilance 
and  desperate  exertion.  They  knew  little  leisure, 
and  accepted  the  conditions  and  triumphed  over 
the  obstacles  in  such  manner  that  within  lit- 
tle more  than  half  a  century  wonderful  happen- 
ings, unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
have  followed  in  the  wake  of  their  prodigious 
energy.  An  optimistic  and  humor  loving  nature 
contributed  much  to  the  success  of  Mr.  Hebert. 
who  saw  in  till  situations,  however  strenuous 
or  dire,  something  redeeming  anil  often  laugh- 
able. Adventures  crowded  into  his  life,  and  left 
their  strengthening  rather  than  weakening  in- 
fluence, so  that  adversit}   proved  his  best  friend. 

A   native  ol  dge,  St.   Martin  par- 

ish. La..  Mr.  Hebert  was  born  January  17,  1826, 
and    was    the    youngest    of    seven    brothers   and 


52  I 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


two  sisters  bom  to  parents  who  were  also 
of  Louisiana.  His  father  was  a  farmer 
and  planter,  and  his  estate  was  taken  away  from 
him  during;  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  When  fif- 
teen years  of  age  Zephrin  relinquished  his  share 
of  the  homestead  to  his  brothers  and  sisters  and 
lived  for  a  time  in  New  Orleans,  starting-  for 
California  via  Chagres  and  Panama  in  the 
vear  1S50.  He  was  the  fortunate  possessor 
of  $700,  a  sum  which  looked  large  indeed 
until  after  walking-  from  Chagres  to  Panama 
lie  found  that  a  ticket  for  San  Francisco  would 
cost  him  $500.  He  therefore  abandoned  all 
idea  of  a  steamer  passage,  and  embarked  for 
87;  on  the  brig  W.  Brown,  but  was  three 
months  at  sea,  often  on  very  short  allowances 
of  food  and  water. 

This  voyage  was  enlivened  by  many  interest- 
ing happenings,  not  the  least  of  which  being  the 
circumstance  of  the  passengers  taking  matters 
into  their  own  hands  and  placing  an  obstrep- 
erous  and  drunken  captain  in  irons.  Arriving 
in  San  Francisco,  Air.  Htebert  carefully  ob- 
served the  entile  and  ofttimes  dangerous  con- 
ditions by  which  he  was  surrounded,  and  re- 
solved  to  have  as  little  as  possible  to  do  with 
things  purely  hazardous.  Almost  immediately 
he  secured  work  in  a  butcher  shop  and  grocery 
store  at  $jco  per  month,  and  later  on  engaged 
in  an  independent  business  along  the  same  line 
on  the  corner  of  Jackson  and  Dupont  streets. 
This  proved  a  successful  venture,  and  after 
making  83,000  he  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of 
his  gold  struck  partner  and  joined  him  in  an 
(  xpedition  to  the  mines.  The  mind  of  Mr.  He- 
bert was  far  too  conservative  and  well  balanced 
to  be  long  impressed  with  the  questionable 
methods  of  mining,  and  the  fact  that  their  pack 
mule  ran  away  at  the  start,  scattering  their  pans 
and  oilier  paraphernalia  along  the  trail,  did  not 
strengthen  his  convictions  in  favor  of  mining. 
The  mines  abandoned  to  more  trustful  souls, 
Mr.  Hebert  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  oper- 
ated a  butcher's  stall,  and  subsequently  started 
a  wholesale  butcher  lmsine-s.  at  the  same  time 
dealing  extensively  in  sheep  with  a  partner  by 
the  name  of  Sedgley. 

Having   purchased    three    thousand   acres   of 
land    al    Natividad,    Monterey  county,   Cal.,   in 


1865,  Mr.  Hebert  came  to  live  on  his  property 
in  1808.  and  was  thereafter  prominently  identi- 
fied with  his  locality  up  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
June  25,  1896,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years. 
He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  aside  from 
the  formality  of  casting  his  vote  was  rarely  heard 
of  in  political  circles.  He  was  earnestly  inter- 
ested in  all  that  had  to  do  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  resources  of  Monterey  county,  and 
had  infinite  faith  in  her  possibilities  of  climate 
and  soil.  He  was  a  life  member  and  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Monterey  District  Agricul- 
tural Association,  and  was  one  of  the  founders 
and  a  stockholder  of  the  Salinas  City  Rank. 
I  [e  was  liberal  in  his  views,  but  yet  determined 
and  not  easily  changed,  and  he  was  remarkable 
for  his  strength  of  character  and  influence  over 
those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 


FRANK  MATTISON. 

The  position  of  county  assessor  has  been  held 
for  a  long  period  by  this  native  son  and  popular 
citizen  of  Santa  Cruz.  Of  English  parentage  and 
ancestry,  he  is  a  son  of  John  S.  Mattison,  who 
was  born  in  Yorkshire  in  1823  and  accompanied 
his  parents  to  the  United  States  at  sixteen  years 
of  age.  The  family  settled  in  Penn  Van.  X.  \\, 
but  he  soon  left  home  and  started  out  to  seek 
an  independent  livelihood.  Going  to  Chicago 
he  learned  the  trade  of  shoemaker.  From  that 
city  he  removed  to  Michigan  City,  Ind.,  where 
he  married  Delilah  Miles,  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
[849  he  came  to  California,  arriving  at  Santa 
Cruz  on  Christmas  day.  Like  all  newcomers  lie 
tried  his  luck  at  mining.  However,  the  results 
were  nut  encouraging-  and  thereupon  he  re- 
sumed his  trade.  Coming  to  Santa  Cruz  he 
started  to  work  as  a  shoemaker,  but  soon  found 
that  saddles  were  more  in  demand  than  shoes. 
"With  him  to  see  was  to  act.  and  he  promptly 
sel  "in  for  the  woods,  where  he  cut  down  trees 
and  constructed  the  wooden  part  of  a  saddle. 
With  no  assistance  except  that  of  a  Mexican  ex- 
perienced in  pinking  the  leather,  he  sewed  and 
completed  the  saddles,  for  which  he  was  paid 
from  875  to  Sioo  each.  His  place  of  business 
was  on   Mission  street,  where  he  rented  a  shop. 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


5'?;. 


The  proceeds  of  his  business  enterprise  were 
invested  in  a  ranch,  comprising  ninety-six  acres 
and  located  near  Soquel.  To  this  place  he 
brought  his  young  wife  on  their  marriage,  and 
there  he  continued  to  make  his  home  until  he 
died  in  1890.  His  wife  survived  him  six  years 
ami  was  sixty-seven  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
her  death.  In  their  family  were  two  sons, 
namely:  Frank,  who  was  born  in  Santa  Cruz 
February  5,  i860,  and  has  always  resided  in  this 
city  or  vicinity;  and  Ralph,  who  lives  on  the 
family  homestead,  owned  by  himself  and 
brother.  During  early  days  the  father  was  an  as- 
sociate judge  of  Santa  Cruz  county.  A  member 
of  the  Sons  of  Temperance,  he  did  much  work 
in  the  interests  of  the  prevention  of  the  sale 
of  intoxicants.  With  his  wife  he  assisted  in 
organizing  the  Congregational  Church  at  So- 
quel, and  was  contributor  to  the  erection  of  its 
house  of  worship. 

The  early  days  of  Frank  Mattison's  life  were 
passed  on  the  home  farm  and  in  work  con- 
nected with  the  same.  (  )n  coming  to  Santa 
Cruz  he  formed  a  partnership  with  A.  \Y.  Bry- 
ant and  organized  the  firm  of  Bryant  &:  Mat- 
tison,  grocers.  After  three  years  in  the  gro- 
cery business  he  was  elected  county  assessor 
to  succeed  T.  V.  Mathews,  and  has  been  re- 
elected at  the  expiration  of  each  term  until  1902, 
when  he  was  the  successful  candidate  for  mem- 
ber State  Board  of  Equalization,  fourth  district. 
This  fact  in  itself  is  abundant  proof  of  the  high 
and  satisfactory  character  of  his  services.  The 
position  which  he  holds  is  one  of  great  respon- 
sibility, but  he  has  been  equal  to  its  every  de- 
mand and  has  proved  himself  to  be  the  right 
man  in  the  right  place.  While  his  elections 
have  been  on  the  Republican  ticket,  his  friends 
are  by  no  means  limited  to  that  party,  but  in- 
clude citizens  of  various  political  ties  and  alle- 
giance. 

The  two  children  of  Mr.  Mattison  are  Lila  E. 
and  Ruth,  born  of  his  marriage  to  Carrie  A. 
Peck,  which,  was  solemnized  November!),  [883. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Mattison  was  E.  G.  Peck, 
a  native  of  Brownville,  Jefferson  county,  X.  Y.. 
burn  in  1828,  and  a  farmer  in  the  east  until 
1850,  when  he  accompanied  a  party  of  friends 
across  the  plains  to  California.     Following  the 


usual  course  of  the  pioneers  of  1850,  he  en- 
gaged in  prospecting  and  mining.  In  addition 
he  also  became  interested  in  farming.  Return- 
ing east  in  1857.  he  spent  seven  years  at  his  old 
home,  but  the  failure  of  his  health  induced  him 
to  return  to  the  Pacific  coast.  On  regaining 
his  strength  he  again  went  back  east,  but  in 
1871  for  the  third  time  came  to  California, 
this  time  with  the  intention  of  spending  his 
remaining  years  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  beauti- 
ful climate  of  the  coast.  Settling  near  Soquel, 
he  remained  there  until  death. 

The  liberality  of  thought  and  opinion  which 
is  noticeable  of  Mr.  Mattison  in  religious  mat- 
ters extends  to  other  departments  of  life,  and 
leads  him  to  extend  the  same  charity  to  others 
which  he  believes  to  be  an  inalienable  right  of 
mankind.  To  one  of  his  genial  disposition  a 
connection  with  fraternal  organizations  is  in- 
evitable. In  Masonry  he  is  connected  with  blue 
lodge,  commanderv  and  chapter,  and  ranks  as 
past  master  of  Lodge  No.  38.  The  Foresters 
have  elected  him  to  the  office  of  chief  ranger, 
while  the  Odd  Fellows  honored  him  by  election 
to  the  position  of  chief  patriarch  of  the  en- 
campment. Identified  with  the  Native  Sons  of 
the  Golden  West,  he  was  grand  president  in 
1899. 


JAMES  H.  ROWE. 

As  an  orchardist  and  rancher  James  11.  Row, 
ranks    among    the    most    enterprising   of    those 
who  are  maintaining  the  horticultural  and  agri 
cultural  prestige  of  the  Pajaro  valley.     Hi 
nounced  abilities   have   reached    out    in   several 
directions,  and  lie  lias   lightened  the  burdens  of 
his  fellow  fanners  by  patenting  a  four-ro 
cultivator,  which  is  a  decided  success  and  which. 
with   one  man  and   two   horses,  accomplisl 
much   work   as   ten    men   with   the   old-time   hoe. 
From  this  patent,   taken  out    in    1898,    Mr 
gets   a   royalty,   and   this,  added   to  the  profits 
of  hi-  large  general   harvests,  makes  him  one  of 
the  Yen  sin-e. --in]  men  of  In'-  township. 

The   entire   life   of    Mr.    Rowe   has   beer 
in  Montere)  county,  and  lie  was  born  on  the  oh! 
nship,    February     [8, 
[866.     I  [is  father,  \\  illiam  1 1.  Rowe.  w 


HIST<  IRICAL  AND   V.U  ^GRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


near  London,  England,  November  17,  1829,  and 
came  to  America  when  thirteen  years  of  age, 
working  his  way  on  the  vessel.  He  mined  for 
some  time  in  California,  and  eventually  became 
the  first  settler  of  the  Pajaro  valley, at  the  time  of 
his  death,  February  1,  1893,  owning  more  than 
a  thousand  acres  of  land.  James  IT.  Rowe  was 
reared  on  this  splendid  ranch,  and  when  sixteen 
vears  of  age  began  supporting  himself  by  work- 
ing out  by  the  month.  He  owned  a  half  inter- 
est in  a  threshing  machine  before  he  was  twenty 
vears  of  age,  and  managed  to  save  considerable 
money  from  its  use  during  the  busy  season.  He 
was  ambitious  of  getting  a  good  education,  and 
up  to  this  time  his  chances  had  been  compara- 
tivelv  limited.  He  finally  succeeded  entering 
Washington  College,  at  Irvington,  Cal,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  the  two  years'  course  in 
literature  and  business.  To  meet  his  expenses, 
his  father  contributed  a  share  of  the  money,  and 
the  rest  he  made  himself  by  doing  janitor  work. 
The  fall  after  his  graduation  he  disposed  of  his 
threshing  machine,  and  the  following  January 
became  bookkeeper  in  the  general  merchandise 
store  of  A.  Lewis,  at  Watsonville.  After  re- 
signing  this  position  he  became  foreman  for  his 
father  on  his  stock  farm  in  San  Benito  county, 
ami  after  his  marriage  spent  a  season  manag- 
ing a  threshing  machine.  In  partnership  with 
his  brother,  Frank,  he  then  started  a  meat  mar- 
ket in  Watsonville,  which  venture  proved  a 
most  disastrous  one  and  swallowed  up  consid- 
erable money.  For  the  following  six  months 
he  engaged  in  teaming,  after  which  he  assumed 
charge  of  Iowa  Turtle's  hop  yard  at  Watson- 
ville. which  yard  contains  thirty  acres  of  hop 
vines.  During  that  time  his  father  died  and  left 
him  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  acres  of  land, 
seventy-two  acres  of  which  are  in  the  valley, 
and  the  balance  table  and  hill,  hay  and  grain 
land.  Me  al  out  took  possession  of  his  prop- 
erty, and  has  since  pul  oil  about  four  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  improvements,  and  there  made 
his  home.  He  is  engaged  principally  in  sugar- 
culture  and  apple-raising,  the  former  of 
which  he  entered  into  verj  extensively  during 
1  five  years.  One  year  he  leased  three 
hundred  .acres  .and  had  four  hundred  acres  under 
beets.     He  started  in  to  raise  apples  by  setting 


nut  ten  acres  in  Bellefleurs,  Winesaps  and  New- 
town Pippins,  and  in  1898  put  out  thirty  acres 
in  Newtowns  and  Bellefleurs,  and  last  year  he 
sold  his  entire  apple  crop  on  the  trees  for  $650. 
In  connection  with  apple-raising  Mr.  Rowe 
manages  a  threshing  machine  each  season. 
With  his  brother,  George,  he  is  now  engaged 
in  the  fruit-packing  and  shipping  business  in 
Watsonville. 

The  first  wife  of  Air.  Rowe.  who  was  formerly 
Jennie  Ryason,  died  leaving  one  son,  William 
Bryan,  who  is  living  at  home.  Of  the  union 
of  Mr.  Rowe  and  Ida  Reed,  of  San  Jose,  there 
are  no  children.  Airs.  Rowe  is  a  daughter  of 
Robert  and  Anna  (Gregson)"  Reed,  the  latter 
of  whom  was  the  first  white  female  child  born 
in  the  state  of  California.  On  this  account  Gen. 
John  Sutter  offered  to  give  her  parents  the  kind 
upon  which  Sacramento  was  afterward  built  if 
they  would  name  her  after  him.  .Mrs.  Reed  is 
living  at  the  present  time  in  San  Jose,  and  is 
fifty-seven  years  of  age.  For  many  years  she 
was  a  resident  of  San  Luis  Obispo  count}. 


A M<S.  NELLIE  M.  CHOPE. 

As  an  educator  Airs.  Chope  not  only  ranks 
among  the  first  in  Monterey  county,  but  she  is 
well  known  among  the  teachers  of  the  state. 
In  the  profession  to  which- she  has  devoted  her 
life  she  is  recognized  as  an  expert.  During  the 
past  ten  years  there  is  perhaps  no  science  that 
has  made  greater  development  and  advance  than 
pedagogy,  and  it  has  been  the  aim  of  all  pro- 
gressive teachers  to  keep  pace  with  this  ad- 
vance, hence  the  life  of  an  earnest,  ambitous 
teacher  is  one  of  intense  application.  Realizing 
this  fact,  Mrs.  Chope.  in  the  capacity  of  county 
superintendent  of  schools  of  Monterey  county. 
has  endeavored  to  be  of  constant  aid  to  capa- 
ble, aspiring  teachers,  and  in  this  way  she  lias 
proved  most  helpful  in  securing  a  general  ad- 
vance in  the  schools.  The  people  of  the  count} 
are  greatly  indebted  to  her  devotion  to  the  wel- 
fare of  schools  and  teachers. 

The  primary  education  of  .Mrs.  Chope  was 
obtained  in  the  village  of  Seville,  near  (  [eve 
land,  (  >hio,  where  she  was  born  and  where  the 


<^L 


HISTORICAL  AXD  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


first  ten  years  of  her  life  were  passed.  From 
there  she  went  to  Kansas  with  her  parents,  I.  J. 
and  H.  Richard,  and  four  years  later,  in  1883, 
settled  in  Alameda  county,  Cal.,  where  she  at- 
tended high  school.  In  1887  she  was  graduated 
from  the  California  State  Normal  at  San  Jose, 
of  whose  Alumni  Association  she  was  elected 
vice-president  at  the  meeting  of  1901,  held  in 
San  Jose,  and  was  further  honored  in  1002 
by  election  to  the  office  of  president.  From  an 
early  age  she  engaged  in  teaching  school,  and 
taught  in  Alameda  and  Santa  Clara  counties 
about  four  years.  After  coming  to  Monterey 
county,  she  was  for  six  years  principal  of 
the  King  City  high  school,  resigning  the  posi- 
tion in  1808,  when  she  was  elected  superintend- 
ent of  the  schools  of  Monterey  county.  In  1803 
she  became  the  wife  of  J.  E.  Chope,  wdio  was 
born  in  Michigan  and  is  now  bookkeeper  for 
Cooper,  Elroy  &  Co.,  of  King-  City. 

Besides  filling-  her  position,  which  necessarily 
requires  much  of  her  time  and  thought,  Mrs. 
Chope  is  promoting  educational  work  in  other 
ways,  principally  through  the  giving  of  lectures 
on  pedagogy  and  kindred  topics,  and  also 
through  her  participation  in  institute  work.  Be- 
sides being  president  of  the  San  Jose  Normal 
Alumni,  she  is  vice-president  of  the  California 
State  Teacher--'  Association.  The  family  of 
which  she  is  a  member  possesses  more  than  or- 
dinal-) ability.  While  she  has  become  prominent 
educationally,  her  sister.  Mrs.  J.  IT  Sheerer,  has 
been  successfully  conducting  a  large  mercantile 
business  and  has  acquired  a  large  fortune 
through  the  exercise  of  wise  judgment  in  the 
management  of  her  interests.  Patriotism  is 
another  family  characteristic.  Mrs.  Chope's 
great-grandfather  was  a  Revolutionary  hero  and 
for  a  time  was  confined  as  a  prisoner  on  the 
British  man-of-war  Jersey.  Her  grandfather 
fought  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  her  father  was  a 
defender  of  the  Union  during  the  Civil  war,  and 
her  brother  served  in  the  Philippine  war.  I  lei- 
patriotic  spirit  is  equally  ardent,  ami  has  led  her 
to  adopt  teaching  as  the  profession  in  which 
she  can  most  surel)  advance  the  prosperity  of 
our  nation,  tor  no  one  doubts  that  the  weal  or 
woe  of  our  country  depends  upon  the  future 
citizenship  of  those  who  are  today  under  the  in- 


struction  of  our  public-school  teachers  and 
perintendents. 


MICHAEL  GAGNON. 

This  pioneer  farmer,  who  has  lived  in  Santa 
Cruz  county  since  1852,  was  born  in  Canada, 
August  16,  1822,  and  comes  of  ancestors  also 
devoted  to  tilling  the  soil.  J  lis  parents,  Francis 
and  Margaret  (Belanger)  Gagnon,  were  natives 
of  Canada,  in  which  country  they  lived  on  a 
farm  for  their  entire  lives.  One  of  their  chil- 
dren, Peter,  is  still  a  resident  of  Canada,  and  is 
the  owner  and  manager  of  the  home  farm. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  Michael  Gagnon  fol- 
lowed a  long-thought-out  determination  and 
put  to  sea  on  a  merchant' vessel,  thereafter  de- 
voting  several  years  of  his  life  to  this  method 
of  livelihood.  Beginning-  with  1844  he  sailed 
for  the  greater  part  on  the  Pacific  ocean,  and 
April  3,  1840,  left  Liverpool,  landing  in  San 
Francisco  the  following  July.  The  winter  of 
1849  was  spent  in  Oakland,  and  during  the 
spring  of  1850  he  went  to  Nevada  City  and  en- 
gaged in  mining  for  a  couple  of  years.  His 
experiences  among  the  gold  mines  could  not 
have  been  particularly  cheering,  for  in  1852  he 
came  to  Santa  Cruz  county  and  bought  his 
present  farm,  on  Lake  avenue,  near  Watsonville. 
He  has  thirty-four  acres  of  land,  part  of  which 
comprises  one  of  the  finest  orchards  in  Santa 
Cruz  county.  There  is  also  a  grove  of  fifty 
English  walnut  trees,  which  yield  large  and 
gratifying  returns  every  season. 

In  1876  Mr.  Gagnon  married  Mary  J.  Smiley, 
who  was  born  in  Indiana  and  died  in  California 
in  1871),  leaving  no  children.  \l 
a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  the  only  charter 
member  of  the  Watsonville  1  odg<  ol  Masons 
now  living.  lie  is  a  member  of  the  Pioneer 
Association,  and  is  niie  of  the  must  prominent 
men  of  his  locality.     Mi  >r  In  m  lost 

track  of  the  association  among  which  his 
youth  was  passed,  foi  d  1886, 

he  has  visited  Canada,  and  renewed  his  ac- 
quaintance with  people  and  old  familiar  land- 
marks. Fraternall)  he  belongs  to  Watsonville 
Lodge  No.  no,  F.  &  A.  M.:  Temple  Chapter 
Mo.  ii,  R.    \    M..  (of  which  he  is  a  charter  mem- 


530 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ber),    and    is    also    identified    with    Watsonville 
Commandery  Xo.  22.  K.   I . 


WILLIAM    BURTON  COOPER. 

In  the  city  of  Watsonville,  his  native  town, 
Mr.  Cooper  is  now  connected  with  the  firm  of 
Cooper  &  Malcom,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
has  held  the  office  of  city  treasurer  ever  since 
1897.  Born  here  June  30,  1861,  he  is  a  son  of 
fames  Alexander  and  Eliza  (Morrow)  Cooper. 
His  father,  who  was  a  native  of  Gettysburg,  Pa., 
born  in  1822.  was  a  son  of  Thomas  J.  and 
Margaret  (Barr)  Cooper,  the  former  a  merchant 
by  occupation.  When  a  boy  J.  A.  Cooper  be- 
came a  clerk  in  his  fathers  store  and  thus 
gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  details  of 
mercantile  affairs.  Removing  to  Louisville, 
Ky.,  he  secured  clerkships  there  and  later  in 
Madison,  Ind.,  and  other  places.  During  1852 
he  came  to  California,  where  he  hoped  to  attain 
a  success  that  seemed  impossible  in  the  east. 
Having  friends  in  Santa  Cruz  he  decided  to 
come  to  that  city,  and  was  so  pleased  with  the 
climate  that  he  looked  around  for  a  business 
opening.  After  six  months  he  and  his  brother, 
Thomas  S.,  bought  a  small  stock  of  general  mer- 
chandise and  came  to  Watsonville.  There  were 
only  a  few  houses  in  the  town  and  they  opened 
the  first  store  here.  To  the  conservative  an  at- 
tempt to  embark  in  business  at  such  a  small  in- 
significant place  might  have  seemed  hazardous. 
But  the  brothers  being  men  of  ambition  and  hav- 
ing a  boundless  faith  in  the  future  of  the  rich  Pa- 
jaro  valley,  did  nut  hesitate  a  day.  They  rented  a 
small  building  where  the  Bank  of  Watsonville 
now  stands  and  later  built  a  residence  with  a 
store  adjoining,  where  the  business  was  con- 
tinued until  the  death  of  James  A.  Cooper.  He 
was  a  successful  man  in  business  and  as  a  citizen 

-i 1    high. 

At  Xewville,  Pa.,  in  1851.  James  A.  Cooper 
married  Eliza,  daughter  of  John  S.  and  Rachel 
(Talbot)  Morrow.  She  accompanied  her  hus- 
band via  the  isthmus,  leaving  Panama  December 
6,  [851,  and  arriving  in  San  Francisco  January 
O,  [852.  Three  children  were  born  of  their 
union:  Thomas  T.,  who  died  in  boyhood; Wil 
hani  Burton,  of  Watsonville:  and  Florence,  who 


married  William  Malcom  and  has  two  children. 
Madeleine  and  William  F.  Mrs.  Cooper  makes 
her  home  in  Watsonville  and  is  interested  in  the 
estate.  In  the  schools  of  Watsonville  William 
Burton  Cooper  received  his  education.  As  a  boy 
he  was  employed  in  delivering  telegrams,  and 
continued  as  a  messenger  for  some  years.  On 
the  death  of  his  uncle,  Thomas  S.,  in  1893.be 
took  charge  of  the  estate,  and  in  1896  the  two 
estates,  under  his  management,  built  the  Cooper 
block,  where  he  and  his  partner,  Mr.  Malcom, 
are  engaged  in  the  cigar,  tobacco  and  stationery 
business.  Among  the  orgnizations  with  which 
he  is  identified  may  be  mentioned  the  Masons 
and  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 


DR.  J.  A.  CHAPPELL. 

Those  who  have  profited  by  his  skill  and 
know  (if  his  many  admirable  characteristics,  pre- 
dict for  Dr.  Chapped  a  continuance  of  the  suc- 
cess and  prestige  which  he  at  present  enjoys  as 
one  of  the  youngest  and  at  the  same  time  most 
proficient  dentists  in  Salinas.  He  was  born  in 
Santa  Clara  county,  Cal..  in  1874,  and  is  a  son 
of  Thomas  L.  Chapped,  one  of  the  best-known 
men  in  this  county.  The  elder  Chapped  was 
born  in  England,  and  in  early  life  displayed  the 
perseverance  and  common  sense  for  which  his 
countrymen  are  so  well  known.  In  his  island 
home  he  heard  rumors  of  the  quick  and  ready 
fortunes  to  be  had  with  little  effort  in  the  far 
west,  ami  immigrated  to  California  in  1850.  At 
present  he  has  a  fine  farm  at  Buena  Vista,  Mon- 
terey county,  where  for  many  years  he  has  con- 
ducted large  stock-raising  enterprises,  and  has 
also  engaged  in  mining  on  a  pretentious  scale. 
He  is  a  prominent  Mason,  and  a  believer  in  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party.  His  wife, 
Emma  (Manley)  Chapped,  is  also  a  native  of 
I'  ngland. 

The  education  of  Dr.  Chapped  was  acquired 
in  the  public  schools  and  high  school  of  Santa 
Clara  county,  supplemented  by  a  course  at  Pa- 
cific University  and  the  California  State  Uni- 
versity. In  [897  lie  was  graduated  from  the 
Ohio  Dental  College,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  after 
which  he  practiced  for  a  short  time  in  the  '  >hio 
city,  and   for  one  year  in   Philadelphia  and  Chi- 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


531 


cago.  \  wisely  thought-out  plan  resulted  in 
his  return  to  the  west  and  his  location  in  Sali- 
nas, where,  at  his  fine  office  on  Main  street,  he 
is  rapidly  buildirfg  up  a  large  and  appreciative 
practice.  In  political  affiliation  he  is  a  Republi- 
can, and  is  fraternally  associated  with  the 
Knights  i  if  Pythias.  He  is  one  of  the  popular 
young  professional  men  of  the  town,  and  has 
a  large  circle  of  friends. 


GEI  )RGE  D.  CLARK. 

One  of  the  busiest  and  most  enterprising  men 
in  Monterey  is  George  D.  Clark,  owner  and 
proprietor  of  a  thriving  blacksmith  shop,  and 
purveyor  to  a  large  share  of  the  resident  and 
transient  population.  He  was  born  in  Michi- 
gan, March  II,  1847,  and  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  California.  Many  interesting  happen- 
ings are  connected  with  his  family,  especially 
his  father.  Abraham,  and  his  grandfather,  John. 
The  grandfather  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and 
spent  his  life  in  Xew  Jersey  and  Buffalo,  X.  V. 
He  built  the  first  boat  used  on  the  old  Buffalo 
and  Erie  canal,  and  in  this  task  was  ably  assisted 
by  his  son,  Abraham.  About  that  time  Abra- 
ham was  a  member  of  the  home  band,  and  these 
musicians  were  aboard  the  canal  boat  which  in 
[826  had  General  Lafayette  as  distinguished 
guest.  They  escorted  the  general  on  his  trip 
through  the  country,  and  many  were  the  stories 
which  they  afterwards  told  of  their  association 
with  the  noted  man. 

Abraham  Clark  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
from  his  father,  and  married  in  Buffalo,  after 
which  he  removed  to  Michigan  about  1835 
and  cleared  a  farm  among'  the  timber  on  the 
Huron  river.  Cor  the  lodging  of  himself  and 
little  family  he  built  a  log  house,  and  cultivated 
eighty  acres,  upon  which  he  lived  until  1852. 
During  that  year  he  crossed  the  plains  and 
worked  in  the  mines  of  Sacramento  county,  but, 

finding  that  his  expectations  fell  far  short  of 
realization,  removed  to  Alameda  count)  and 
rented  a  ranch  until  1S55.  lie  then  returned 
io  Michigan,  leaving  his  two  sons  in  charge  of 
the  ranch  in  California,  and  brought  his  wile 
and    eight   children    back    with    him    via    Central 


America,  the  fare  being  $150  for  adults.  The 
expenses  of  travel  were  met  with  the  money  re- 
ceived from  the  sale  of  the  Michigan  farm,  and 
so  heavy  were  they  that  when  Mr.  (lark  reached 
Alameda  county  he  had  just  $20  remaining. 
Cor  the  following  three  years  he  experienced  all 
manner  of  hardships.  There  was  no  sale  for  his 
potatoes,  and  during  the  last  year  people  would 
no;  even  pay  the  freight  on  them,  so  they  were 
left  to  rot  in  the  pile.  After  this  doleful  experi- 
ence Mr.  Clark  took  up  a  claim  in  Mem 
county,  but  on  account  of  dangers  from  Indians 
in  Round  valley  he  let  that  claim  go,  and  went 
in  the  mountains  of  Alameda  county.  I  ■ 
eral  years  he  engaged  in  general  farming  and 
the  cattle  business.  In  1S69  he  sold  out  and 
came  to  the  Pajaro  valley  and  rented  the  ranch 
upon  which  his  death  occurred  in  1868,  lie 
married  Leah  Courter.  who  was  born  in  Xew 
Jersey,  and  came  of  Dutch  descent.  Her  death 
occurred  in  Watsonville  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-one  years.  Three  of  the  sons  of  Abra- 
ham Clark  served  in  the  Civil  war.  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  of  the  ten  children  comprising  his 
family,  nine  are  living,  all  in  California.  The 
oldest  of  the  number  is  the  only  one  deceased, 
and  he  was  killed  by  accident.  <  >f  those  now 
living,  the  oldest  brother  is  seventy-three  and 
the  oldest  sister  sixty-eight,  while  the  you 
is  fifty  years  of  age. 

George  D.  (lark  was  eight  years  of  age  when 
he  accompanied  his  father  to  California,  and  he 
remained  at  home  until  about  eighteen,  lie  was 
anxious  to  enlist  in  the  (  ivil  war  at  the  3 
sixteen,  but  those  in  authorit)  refused  to  accept 
him,  so  he  waited  until  1865  and  enlisted  in  the 
First  California  Cavalry,  serving  in  Arizona 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  and  being  principally 
engaged  on  escort  duty,  and  in  hunting  rob 
bets.  After  the  war  he  remained  at  home  until 
twentj  oiu  years  old,  when  he  removed  with  the 
ol  the  family  to  Watsonville.  and  there  at- 
tended a  private  school  for  two  years,  his  op- 
portunities in  the  past  having  been  quite  limited, 
for  tin  1  nticeship  to  a 

blacksmith     in     Oakland,     ami.     after    returning 
a  farm   in  the   Pajaro  valley  with 
his  brothers,      for  several   \cars  he  was  a  jour- 
neyman   blacksmith    all    over    the    state,    and    in 


:,:;•.' 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


[886  located   in   Monterey  and  rented  a  shop, 
which  he  eventually  purchased. 

At  Monterey,  Mr.  Clark  married  Lavinia 
Merritt,  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Juanita  (Castro) 
Merritt,  the  former  of  whom  was  the  first  judge 
of  Monterey  county.  Of  this  union  there  is  one 
daughter,  Juanita,  who  is  now  thirteen  years  of 
age.  Mr.  Clark  has  been  prominent  in  general 
town  affairs  since  he  settled  in  Monterey,  and  as 
a  Republican  has  held  the  office  of  trustee  for 
four  years.  He  is  fraternally  associated  with 
Pajaro  Lodge  Xo.  90,  I.  O.  O.  F.;  Monterey 
Lodge  No.  180,  K.  of  P.,  of  which  latter  he  is  a 
charter  member.  He  is  also  identified  with  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 


WILLIAM  A.  C<  H  >K. 

This  well  known  liveryman  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  was  born  in  Tioga  county,  Pa.,  and 
when  seven  years  of  age  removed  with  his 
family  to  Steuben  count),  X.  Y.  There  he  at- 
tended the  public  schools,  and  under  the 
influence  of  an  admirable  home  training 
developed  the  traits  of  character  which  have 
since  contributed  to  his  success.  Believing 
that  his  largest  opportunities  lay  beyond  the 
Rocky  mountains  he  started  out  from  Illinois  in 
1 85*).  and  crossed  the  plains  by  team  and  wagon, 
the  journey  consuming  the  greater  part  of  three 
and  a  half  months.  In  the  party  were  his  wife, 
his  three  brothers,  a  brother-in-law  and  a 
nephew.  Arriving  in  Napa  county  he  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising  for  about  five  years, 
but  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  had  concluded 
that  the  east  was,  after  all.  a  good  place  to  live 
in.  He  therefore  returned  to  his  old  Pennsyl- 
vania home  by  way  of  the  Nicaragua  route  in 
the  fall  of  1864,  and  again  resumed  farming 
under  the  old  conditions.  In  [869  he  dispi  >sed  1  >i 
his  interests  and  removed  to  northern  Missouri, 
and  at  the  expiration  of  three  years  was  again 
r,  X'ew  York  following  his  old  time  occupation 
of  farming. 

In  1874  .Mr.  Cook  determined  to  again  try 
his  fortune  in  California,  and.  undertaking  the 
journey  by  rail,  settled  in  San  Puis  <  tbispo  coun- 
ty, and  fanned  for  a  leu  years.  For  a  time  also 
he  ran  a  stage  from  San  Puis  <  )bispo  to  Camb- 


ria, and  first  became  interested  in  the  livery 
business  in  Templeton,  where  he  succeeded  in 
working  up  a  good  trade  long  before  his  five 
years'  residence  in  that  tow'n  had  expired. 
About  three  years  ago  he  came  to  San  Luis 
1  Ibispo  and  purchased  the  livery  which  has 
since  netted  him  such  satisfactory  returns,  and 
to  tin-  upbuilding  of  which  he  has  devoted  his 
best  energies  and  business  ability.  He  has  a 
most  complete  and  modern  equipment,  and  his 
horses  and  equipages  rank  with  larger  establish- 
ments of  the  kind  in  the  more  crowded  centers 
i  if  activity. 

In  1855  Mr.  Cook  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Lucinda  Butler,  who  was  born  in  New 
York.  (  If  this  union  there  were  five  children, 
of  whom  only  two  are  living.  The  daughter 
Adalaide  Florence  married  Frank  Cox,  a  black- 
smith of  this  place,  and  J.  A.  Cook  married  Nora 
Cox  and  makes  his  home  with  his  parents.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Cook  took  a  child  to  raise  when  four 
months  old,  named  Emma  Ellis  Bott,  who  is 
now  the  wife  of  W.  F.  Cook  of  San  Luis  Obispo. 
Formerly  Mr.  Cook  arhered  to  the  principles 
and  issues  of  the  Republican  party,  but  when 
the  party  failed  to  nominate  James  G.  Blaine 
for  the  presidency,  he  thought  it  no  longer  the 
appreciator  of  true  greatness,  and  has  since 
allied  himself  with  the  Peoples  party.  Frater- 
nally  he  is  a  Mason,  and  is  prominent  among  the 
members  of  that  order.  He  is  a  man  who  has 
risen  solely  by  his  own  efforts  and  as  such  en- 
lists the  approval  and  confidence  of  his  fellow 
townsmen.  He  is  thoroughly  reliable  and  pro- 
gressive, and  a  future  of  much  more  emphatic 
success  is  predicted  for  him. 


J.  D.  COCHRAX. 

The  little  town  of  Gonzales,  with  its 
various  lines  of  activity,  has  drawn  within 
its  hospitable  and  ambitious  limits  many  men 
whose  business  capacity  and  generally  fine 
traits  of  citizenship  would  be  a  credit  to  any 
communit)  in  the  country.  Foremost  among 
these  is  J.  D.  Cochran,  farm  and  real  estate 
owner,  meal  markel  merchant,  and  general  pro- 
moter of  the  city's  most  substantial  interests. 
A   native  of   Marshall  county.   111.,  In-  was  born 


HISTi  >Kh    \I.  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  REO  iRD 


■■ 


in  1839,  a  son  of  Jacob  Cochran,  who  was  born 
in  Ohio,  and  later  removed  to  Illinois.  Under 
his  father's  precept  and  example  he  learned  to 
be  a  practical  and  thrifty  farmer,  and  acquired 
a  fair  education  at  the  public  schools.  Even- 
tually he  conducted  a  farm  on  independent  lines 
for  a  couple  of  years,  in  the  meantime  form- 
in-  plans  which  should  be  realized  far  from  the 
state  of  his  birth.  An  opportunity  presented  it- 
self in  1864,  when,  in  company  with  his  friend, 
A.  Wideman,  he  came  to  California  via  Panama, 
arriving  in  San  Francisco  in  February  of  the 
same  year.  The  friends  repaired  to  Santa  Cruz 
county  in  search  of  employment,  and  for  a  year 
courageously  undertook  whatever  came  their 
way,  their  principal  means  of  livelihood  result- 
ing from  burning  charcoal  in  the  redwoods.  Mr. 
Cochran  then  went  to  San  Jose  and  worked  in 
the  harvest  field  during  the  summer,  and  in  the 
fall  joined  Mr.  Wideman  at  Watsonville,  and 
from  then  on  their  association  was  never  severed 
until  death  claimed  Mr.  Wideman.  Together 
the  comrades  were  employed  b)  Thomas  Hild- 
reth,  with  whom  they  remained  for  four  years, 
after  which  they  formed  a  partnership  in  farming 
and  stock-raising,  and  for  five  years  conducted 
their  affairs  amicably  and  satisfactorily.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  the  profits  were  divided  evenly, 
and  they  found  that  they  had  reason  t"  congratu- 
late themselves  upon  their  consistent  and  wise 
management.  Mr.  Cochran  in  1876  opened  the 
butcher-shop  which  has  since  been  a  source  of 
profit  to  him,  and  which  has  resulted  in  his  po- 
sition as  one  of  the  foremost  business  men  of 
the  place,  in  supplying  a  large  and  apprecia- 
tive trade  he  uses  a  great  many  cattle,  the  great- 
er part  of  which  is  supplied  from  his  large  and 
valuble  ranch  in  San  Benito  county.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat,  but  has  never  been  an  office 
seeker.  Fraternally  he  i-  associated  with  Gon- 
zales Lodge  X".  372,  [.O.O.  I  ..  "i  which  he  is 
treasurer,  and  one  of  the  mosl  prominenl  mem- 
bers. With  his  family  lie  attends  the  Baptist 
Church. 

In  Gonzales,  in  1875,  Mr.  Cochran  married 
Lena,  daughter  of  I',.  S.  Starr,  who  was  horn  in 
Indiana,  and  came  to  California  with  her  par- 
ents in  the  earl)  '60s.  Her  father  died  aboul 
inn.    years  ago,  Inn  her  mother  >till  lives.     Mr. 


Cochran  has  a  delightful  home  in  Gorizal< 

he  and  his  wife  have  one  son.  John  ])..  Jr.,  who 

is  now  with  a  railroad  surveying  party. 


DAVID  M.  CL(  )UGH. 

The  worth)  career  of  David  M.  Clough  in 
Pajaro  township,  Vlontere)  county,  was  prolific 
of  public-spirited  undertaking-,  and  resulted  in 
the  accumulation  of  large  landed  estates,  and 
the  establishment  of  an  honored  name.  This 
well-known  pioneer  was  born  in  Xew  Hamp- 
shire, January  22,  [824,  and  died  in  Montere) 
county.  May  29,  [890.  His  youth  was  char- 
acterized by  the  usual  limitations  which  fell  t.> 
the  farmer  youth  of  his  time  and  place,  and  his 
education  was  acquired  in  the  district  schools 
of  his  native  state. 

In   1850.  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years,  Mr. 
Clough  came  to  California  and  settled  in  Tuol- 
umne county,  where,  for  a  period  of  two  years, 
he  experienced  the  vicissitudes  and  succi 
tlie  average  miner.     Hie  then  renewed  his 
ciation  with  the  occupation  of  his  younger  days, 
and  after  settling  on  leased  land  in  the  vicinity 
of   Watsonville,    was   able   in    time   to   buy   this 
same  land,  which   consisted  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  acres.     A   portion  of  this  was   after 
ward    disposed    of,    and    in    time    sevent; 
were  added  from  an  adjoining  farm,  which  com- 
poses tlie  present  home  ranch.    .Mr.  Clough  was 
led    with    many   advances    in    the    line    oi 
fruit  raising  and  general  fanning  in  the  valley, 
and  among  other  thing-  was  the  first  t>>  - 
strawberries,  apples,  pears,  peachi  - 
He  experimented  year  after  year,  until  his  un- 
derstanding oi  horticulture  was  in  accord  with 
the  mosl   advanced  methods  known  at  the  time. 
In  the  old  days  he  kept  a  restaurant  on  the  old 
countrj    road,  and   this  was  a  popular  meeting 
place  for  all  who  chanced  to  pa--  b)  .      ' 
liberal  enough   to  give   the   right   of  way   for  the 
nigh  his  kind,  and  in  even 
waj    fostered   the   growth   of   the   valley.     The 
house  now   oci  upii  d  b)   his  family   was  built  by 
him  at  an  e>  pei  o,  and  constitutes  one 

Lnl  and  modern  rural  resich  11 
the  neighborhood.     Besides  the  home  ranch  of 
sevent)  acres,  which  is  all  under  fruit,  there  are 


53  I 


HIST*  iRICAL  AND  BIOGR  VI'IIK  AL  REC<  >RD. 


two  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  in  the  hills 
one  mile  from  the  town,  devoted  entirely  to  gen- 
eral farming  and  stock-raising.  The  fruit  land 
is  valued  at  $500  an  acre. 

May  20,  i860,  Mr.  Clough  married  Johanna 
Leary,  who  was  born  in  county  Cork.  Ireland, 
March  17,  1836,  and  came  to  America  in  1857. 
Mrs.  Clough  lived  in  Boston,  Mass..  for  a  couple 
of  years,  and  in  1  >ctober,  1859,  came  to  Monte- 
rev  county,  Cal,  which  has  since  been  her 
home.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clough  have  been 
born  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  viz.:  Anna 
who  is  living  at  home;  Ella,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; John  A.,  who  is  managing  the  home 
ranch  for  his  mother:  Julia,  who  is  living  with 
her  mother;  Johanna,  formerly  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Barker,  of  San  Jose,  and  who  died  at  the  age  of 
thirty-three  years;  David  E.,  who  is  with  the 
Del  Monte  flouring  mills  at  San  Francisco; 
Louise,  who  is  living  at  home;  and  Edwin  P., 
who  is  assisting  with  the  management  of  the 
home  ranch. 


E.  M.  CARR. 


No  name  in  the  vicinity  of  Templeton  car- 
ries with  it  greater  weight  or  more  sincere  evi- 
dences of  appreciation  and  even  affection  than 
does  that  of  Judge  E.  M.  Carr,  generally  re- 
garded as  the  paternal  head  of  the  community, 
lie  was  born  in  Rensselaer  county,  N.  Y., 
March  11.  1835,  and  was  reared  to  the  arduous 
life  of  farming,  his  early  educational  opportuni- 
ties being  on  a  par  with  other  youths  of  his 
neighborhood.  His  father,  Peleg  S.,  was  also 
a  native  of  New  York,  born  in  1794,  and  reared 
to  farming.  In  Wisconsin,  to  which  he  removed 
in  [839,  he  bought  lour  hundred  and  eight) 
acn  of  land,  which  was  improved,  and  consti- 
tuted a  Mire  means  of  livelihood  up  to  the  time 
.if  his  death  iii  [846,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years. 
The  paternal  grandfather,  Edward,  was  born  in 
Rhode  Island,  and  when  a  young  man  removed 
to  New  York,  settling  in  Rensselaer  county,  of 
which  he  was  a  pioneer,  and  where  he  died  at 
the  age  of  ninet)  two  years.  Like  his  ancestors 
for  many  years  back,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
I'riends  Church,  and  was  a  preacher  in  the 
same,   his   father  also   filling  a  similar  position. 


Deborah  (Goodrich)  Carr.  the  mother  of  E.  M.. 
was  born  in  Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Uriah  Goodrich,  who  removed  from  Mas- 
sachusetts to  western  Xew  York  in  his  old  age 
and  died  there  at  the  home  of  his  son.  <  )f  the 
six  sons  and  four  daughters  trained  to  years  of 
usefulness  in  the  home  of  Peleg  S.  Carr  and  his 
wife,  Ezra  S.j  who  died  in  Pasadena,  Cal..  in 
1894,  was  a  practicing  physician,  at  one  time  a 
professor  in  the  Slate  University  of  California, 
and  between  1876  and  1880  superintendent  of 
public  instruction.  His  wife,  Jennie  C.  Carr, 
is  a  well-known  woman  on  the  Coast,  and  is  an 
enthusiastic  promoter  of  woman's  rights.  Nel- 
son Carr,  a  pioneer  of  Sonoma  county,  whither 
he  removed  in  1854,  is  at  the  present  time  eighty 
years  of  age.  John  S.  Carr  died  of  cholera  in 
Wisconsin  in  1850,  and  two  of  his  brothers,  S. 
C.  and  J.  C,  are  still  residents  of  the  Badger 
state;  both  are  successful,  and  the  former  is  at 
present  lecturer  of  the  Grange,  of  which  he  was 
formerly  master. 

A  somewhat  hard  struggle  for  existence  char- 
acterized the  early  life  of  E.  M.  Carr;  at  least, 
it  became  imperative  for  him  to  start  out  on  his 
own  responsibility  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  Subse- 
quently he  engaged  in  teaching  school  in  Ala- 
meda county,  and  at  the  same  time  looked  after 
the  estate  left  his  mother  at  the  time  of  his 
father's  death.  In  1855  he  married,  in  Wiscon- 
sin, S.  L.  Babcock,  a  native  of  New  York  state, 
of  which  union  there  was  one  child.  Sarah  L., 
now  the  wife  of  L.  A.  Creasey,  a  carpenter  and 
builder  of  Ventura,  Cal.  In  [858  Judge  Carr 
married  Maria  Dunbar,  also  a  native  of  Xew 
York,  and  the  mother  of  two  children.  Maurice 
C.  and  Dollie  E.  aged,  respective!)  thirty  and 
eleven  years. 

After  completing  teaching  in  Alameda  county 
Judge  Carr  came  to  the  vicinity  of  Templeton 
and  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land,  which  he  improved  ami  lived  upon,  but 
which  was  afterward  disposed  of  at  a  profit. 
fhe  judge  has  improved  five  farms  in  this  land 
of  sunshine  and  large  possibility,  and  has  there- 
lore  contributed  his  share  towards  the  develop- 
ment   .if   ils   natural    resources.      At    the   present 

1111011    whirh    is   the   family   residence,   and    which 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


is  devoted  to  fruit  and  grain.  Republican  poli- 
tics have  had  a  stanch  supporter  in  Judge  Carr, 
who  lias  been  justice  of  the  peace  for  eight 
years,  and  is  now  aspiring  to  the  office  of  public 
administrator,  in  all  probability  a  foregone  con- 
clusion. An  accident,  in  May,  1902,  caused  by 
a  runaway  horse,  caused  him  much  suffering, 
and  left  a  scar  upon  his  head  and  lace  to  remind 
him  of  the  fact  that  he  was  mercifully  spared 
for  further  usefulness,  and  further  comfort  to 
his  hosts  of  friends.  The  princely  proportions 
of  Judge  Carr  are  familiar  to  all  the  residents 
1  if  the  county,  and  his  erectness  and  substan- 
tiality are  typical  of  the  character  and  attain- 
ments winch  have  so  well  blended  with  the  pro- 
gressive surroundings  of  his  life. 


MICHAEL  QUIRK. 

Now  a  resident  of  Watsonville,  where  he  owns 
a  comfortable  home  and  other  improved  prop- 
erty, Mr.  Quirk  was  born  in  count)  Tipperary, 
Ireland,  in  1S33,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary 
I  Kearney)  Quirk,  natives  of  Ireland.  After  hav- 
ing attended  private  schools  for  some  years,  he 
started  out  for  himself  at  the  age  of  sixteen  and 
crossed  the  ocean  to  New  Orleans,  whence  he 
proceeded  to  Cincinnati.  Ohio.  For  six  months 
he  served  as  an  apprentice  carpenter,  but,  not 
liking  the  occupation,  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
and  from  there  to  Weston,  Mo.,  where  lie  was 
emplo'yed  in  the  warehouse  of  Burns  Brothers. 
Two  years  later  he  joined  the  merchant  train 
of  Halliday  and  Warner  for  Salt  Lake  City,  with 
the  privilege  of  returning  or  going  on  west. 
However,  be  was  determined  to  seek  a  home 
in  California,  and  pursued  his  way  onward 
under  the  leadership  of  George  Lord  to  San 
Bernardino,  from  which  point  he  proceeded  to 
l.os  Angeles.  On  bis  arrival,  in  July.  1856,  be 
secured  employmenl  a-  teamster  and  stage 
driver  between  that  city  and  San    Pedro. 

Being  of  a  very  economical  disposition,  and 
receiving  good  wages  for  his  work  as  teamster. 
Mr.  Quirk  soon  saved  up  a  considerable 
amount,  and  after  three  years  decided  lie  would 
buy  fanning  property.  Investigating  different 
locations  with  a  view  to  a  purchase,  he  came  to 
the  Paiaro  valley   and  was  so  Fascinated  by  the 


climate,  soil  and  prospects  that  he  bought  one 
hundred  acres  of  the  Coreletus  ranch.  At  once 
he  began  to  construct  the  necessary  buildings. 
Grain  was  bis  principal  product  and  he  aver- 
aged forty  bags  of  wheat  to  the  acre.  During 
1863  he  set  out  eighty  trees,  some  of  which  are 
still  in  good  bearing  condition.  About  the 
same  time  he  bought  two  hundred  and  fifty-six 
acres  near  tin-  coast  and  put  up  the  necessary 
buildings  on  the  land,  after  which  he  rented  his 
first  ranch  ami  moved  to  the  second  farm.  Here 
he  entered  into  grain  and  cattle  raisin-.  Such 
was  the  energy  with  which  be  prosecuted  his 
work  that  no  man  raised  larger  crops  of  wheat. 
oats,  barley  and  beets,  and  in  the  line  of  cattle- 
raising  be  also  met  with  encouraging  success. 
Cattle  of  high  grades  were  raised  on  his  ranch 
and  sold  for  fair  prices,  notably  the  roan  Dur- 
bams,  which  he  found  best  for  general  use;  and 
the  Alderneys  and  Jerseys,  which  experienci 
has  proved  to  be  best  for  butter.  After  long 
and  successful  work  as  a  rancher,  in  1 S.  19  hi 
retired,  having  previously  built  a  neat  residence 
in  Watsonville.  where  be  also  owns  three  Other 
hi  mses. 

A    few    years    after    coming   to    America.    Mr. 
Quirk  decided   to   expend   his   savings  in   a  visit 
to  his   old  home   in    Ireland,   and   started   on   tin 
voyage.     However,  by  misrepresentation  he  had 
been    induced    to    ship    on     a    vessel     bound    for 
-■.nil:   America,      landing  tin    deceit   too 
return,  he  accompanied  the  vessel  in  its  voyagi 
and  visited  all  the  principal  ports  from   Panama 
to  Valparaiso,  the  trip  occupying  from  (  ii 
[855,  to  June,   [856.     Immediately    1 
turn  be  started  across  the  continent    0 
and    hence    the    hoped  tor    trip    was    indctiniteh 
postponed.     In  religious  views  be  is  connected 
with   the    Roman   Catholic   I  hurch.      I  lis  wife, 
Catherine,  daughter  of  James  Larkin,  was  bom 
in    Ireland,  and   became   the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren, but    both   of  these  died   in   infancy.      This 
loss   left    tin  m    lonely,   s,  ,   t]1Cy   decided   to  take 
other  children   into  their  home,  and  have  since 
taken     several    from    the    Catholic    Orphanage, 
whom  the)    rean  d  and  trained  for  useful 
iio,is  in  the  world.      I  lie  la 
leave  them   was  Joseph    Warrac,   who   is  proud 
to  call   them  "father"  and   "mother,"  .and   who 


[CAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


gives  promise  of  becoming  one  of  the  mos 
fluential  men  of  the  Pajaro  valley. 


HENRY   F.  LOEBER. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  Henry  F.  Loeber,  then 
a  sturdy  youngster  of  twelve,  was  lustily  calling 
newspapers  cm  the  streets  of  San  Francisco: 
\\  hile  rattling  small  change  in  his  pockets  and 
hobnobbing  with  the  wealth  and  poverty  of  the 
town,  he  seems  to  have  collected  a  few  ideas 
worthy  of  incorporation  into  successful  careers. 
The  fact  thai  he  is  at  present  the  owner  of  six 
hundred  and  fort)  acres  of  land  in  the  Jolon 
valley,  and  is  also  one  of  the  most  prominent 
and  influential  members  of  his  community, 
would  indicate  that  there  was  something  doing 
in  the  brain  of  the  dispenser  of  news. 

A  native  of  Yolo  county,  Cal.,  Mr.  Loeber 
was  born  March  8,  1865.  His  father,  Herman 
Loeber,  who  was  horn  in  Russia,  and  there 
reared  and  educated,  immigrated  to  the  United 
States  about  [845,  and  after  living  for  a  time  in 
Missouri,  went  to  Mexico  in  the  United  States 
army,  serving  during  the  war.  In  return  for  his 
services  he  took  up  a  soldier's  chum  after  his 
return  to  Missouri,  and  in  1850  came  overland 
to   California,    where   for  several   years   he   en- 

vrith  fair  success  in  mining.  He  managed 
to  save  enough  money  to  start  a  stock  business 
on  the  Yolo  plains,  near  Davisville,  but  in  1868 
went  hack  to  mining,  which,  however,  fell  far 
short  of  his  expectations.  Thereafter  he  lived 
in  San  Francisco  and  (  lakland  until  taking  up 
his  residence  with  his  son,  Henry  F.,  in  1885. 
lie  is  a    Republican  in  politics  and  the  present 

asti  i-  of  Lockwood,  and  though  four  score 
pi  rfi  Tm-   his   dut)    to   the   satisfac- 
tion of  all  concerned.      IK-  voted  the  presidential 
ticket    for    lame-    1\.    I 'oik.      I  lis    wife,    formerl} 
Hannah   Griffin,  was  born   in   Ireland  and  died 

age  of  twenty-eight,  leaving  four  children, 
of  whom  I  lcin\    I 

After  running  the  paper  route  at  North  Bi  ai  h 
for  two  and  a  half  years,  I  lemy  F.  Loeber  went  to 
Santa   Maria  and  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade, 

■  an  apprenticeship  of  three  and  one  half 

\  ears,     lie  then   followed   his  trade  in   San    Fran 

0         fivi    months,  but  ..win-  to  the  asthma, 


with  which  he  was  afflicted,  was  obliged  to  make 
a  change  of  location.  Coming  to  the  Jolon  val- 
ley,  he  homesteaded  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land,  which  he  improved  and  still  owns, 
and  to  which  he  has  added  until  he  has  six  hun- 
dred and  fort}'  acres,  three  hundred  and  twenty 
in  each  ranch,  llis  wife  also  owns  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres.  Of  this  property,  that  of  Mr. 
Loeber  has  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  pas- 
ture, and  two  hundred  and  twenty  in  general 
farming.  The  land  belonging  to  Mrs.  Loeber  is 
devoted  to  wheat  and  barley. 

In  1889  Mr.  Loeber  married  Regina  Roth,  a 
native  of  ( iermany,  and  who  came  to  the  United 
States  when  seventeen  years  of  age.  In  1884 
she  came  to  California  and  took  up  the  home- 
stead upon  which  the  family  now  live,  and  which 
she  was  obliged  to  reside  on  in  order  to  hold. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loeber  are  the  parents  of  three 
children.  <  >leta.  Anna  and  Francis,  all  living  at 
home.  Mr.  Loeber  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
but  entertains  very  liberal  ideas  as  to  office 
seekers  and  holders.  He  is  broad-minded  and 
progressive,  and  wields  an  enviable  influence  in 
all  matters  of  importance  in  the  locality.  A 
practical  and  scientific  farmer,  he  is  an  appre- 
ciator  of  the  opportunities  by  which  he  is  sur- 
rounded, and  has  the  faculty  of  turning  them  to 
the  best  possible  account. 


ROBERT  J.  R(  >GERS. 

For  many  years  Robert  I.  Rogers  has  been 
known  as  one  of  the  foremost  sheep  raisers  bl 
Monterey  county,  and  also  as  one  of  the  most 
popular  ami  successful  farmer  citizens  of  this 
favored  part  of  the  state.  In  his  temperament 
he  embodies  the  sterling  and  adaptive  traits  of 
his  English  ancestors,  for  many  years  associ 
ated  null  Northampton,  England,  where  lie  was 
born   May   1,    [838. 

As  a  boj  Mr.  Rogers  was  destined  to  assume 
the  responsibility  of  self-support  at  a  practical!} 
early  age.  and  when  fifteen  began  clerking  in  a 
grocery.  At  the  end  of  seven  years  he  repaired 
to  Birmingham  and  soon  bought  out  his  em- 
ployer's business,  which  he  continued  alone  for 
about  eighteen  years.  I  bus  equipped  with  large 
fundamental    experience,    be    came    to      \merica 


DUNCAN  McKINNON 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


in  1876,  and  upon  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  land  now  owned  by  Arthur  Reynolds  engaged 
at  once  in  the  sheep  business.  In  1878  he  moved 
to  section  21,  across  the  road  from  where  he 
now  lives,  but  soon  bought  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  on  section  16,  which  contained  a 
particularly  fine  and  inexhaustible  spring.  In 
lime  he  moved  to  another  tract  of  government 
land,  ami  in  1890  settled  upon  his  present  ranch, 
which  comprises  eighteen  hundred  acre-,  he 
having  sold  sixteen  hundred  acres  in  1899.  For 
eighteen  years  he  engaged  in  the  sheep  business 
with  Charles  Margetts  and  is  still  constantly 
buying  and  selling  sheep.  His  long  and  suc- 
cessful association  with  this  branch  of  stock- 
raising  has  rendered  him  an  authority  in  all 
matters  pertaining  thereto. 

In  [868  Mr.  Rogers  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Elizabeth  A.  Margetts,  sister  of  his  former 
partner,  and  a  native  of  Rugby,  England.  Four 
children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Rogers,  viz.:  Evelyn,  the  wife  of  George  Grant, 
of  Spreckles;  Margaret,  at  home;  Robert  G„ 
a  school  teacher,  and  living  at  home;  ami 
Gwendolin.  Miss  Margaret  Rogers,  the  second 
daughter  in  the  family,  is  considered  the  finest 
horsewoman  in  the  west,  and  that  is  saying  a 
great  deal.  She  was  almost  raised  in  the  saddle, 
and  can  break  the  worst  kind  of  bucking 
broncho  horses  without  any  assistance.  With 
the  utmost  ease  she  drives  six  or  eight  horses 
hitched  together  in  a  manner  that  would  win 
admiration  from  the  most  experienced  stage 
driver  of  the  old  days.  In  addition  to  her 
equestrian  accomplishment  Miss  Rogers  is  men- 
tally a  very  brilliant  woman,  accomplished  in 
various  directions,  and  especially  adept  as  a  mu- 
sician. A  few  years  ago  Hearst's  San  Francisco 
Examiner  sent  a  reporter  to  interview  this  in- 
trepid rider,  with  the  result  that  he  produced 
an  article  of  absorbing  interest,  and  which  found 
its  way  into  many  eastern  papers.  Miss  Rogers 
"wns  a  small  band  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  is 
withal  an  independent,  splendid  exponent  of  typ- 
ical western  womanhood.  Mr.  Rogers  is  proud  of 
his  daughter,  ami  his  neighbors  and  friends  are 
proud  of  him.  lie  is  exceedingly  liberal  in  his 
ideas,  and  as  a  promoter  of  enterprise  and  prog- 
ress  in  his  neighborhood  has  no  superior,     lie 


is  a  member  of  the  Masons  of  King  City,  and 
has  been  treasurer  of  the  lodge  for  six  years. 


DUNCAN  McKINNON. 

Duncan  McKinnon  was  born  in  York  county, 
Canada  West,  June  15,  1836.  His  parents  were 
natives  of  Scotland,  and  had  emigrated  from 
there  in  May,  1835.  During  his  early  youth  noth- 
ing of  importance  happened  until  he  was  nine- 
years  of  age,  when  his  father  was  taken  sick,  and 
after  a  lingering  illness  of  one  year  died,  leaving 
his  mother  a  widow  with  seven  children,  Duncan 
being  the  oldest  of  three  boys  and  three  girls, 
one  girl  being  older  than  he.  From  that  time 
afterward  be  had,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  oversee 
and  manage  the  farm,  which  was  small.  He 
worked  hard,  having  little  or  no  advantages  for 
education,  what  he  did  get  being  in  the  winter 
months.  After  he  had  grown  to  be  a  man, 
from  that  time  until  1862  nothing  happened  of 
any  importance. 

In  the  latter  part  of  that  year  there  was  a 
gold  excitement  in  British  Columbia.  Mot  br- 
ing satisfied  with  the  small  place  at  home  and 
the  slow  way  of  making  money  on  it,  and  desir- 
ing to  see  more  of  the  world,  on  the  7th  of  April 
Mr.  McKinnon  started  by  rail  for  New  York 
and  there,  on  the  nth.  took  passage  on  the 
.steamer.  Northern  Light,  for  Aspinwall.  There 
were  one  thousand  persons  on  board  the  ship, 
which  arrived  at  its  destination  on  the  morning 
of  the  22i\.  He  crossed  the  isthmus  on  the 
same  day,  went  aboard  the  steamer,  Golden  Age, 
and  sailed  that  night  for  San  Francisco,  where 
he  arrived  on  the  5th  of  May.  After  remain- 
ing there  for  a  few  days,  he  took  steamer  for 
Portland,  Ore.,  and  thence  went  to  Victoria, 
A'ancouver's  Island,  reaching  there  about  the 
15th  of  May.  He  found  many  emigrants  waiting 
for  better  weather  to  start  to  the  mines.  He 
remained  on  the  island   some  days. 

At  that  time  the  only  road  that  was  properl) 
opened  to  the  mines  was  |>\  \\-.y  Westminster 
and  Lytton.  Instead  of  taking  that  road,  Mr. 
McKinnon  with  twenty-one  others  chartered  a 
schooner  to  conve)  them,  and  eight  hundred 
pounds  of  freight  to  each  person,  to  Bentic 
Arm.     From  there  the)  expected  1 


540 


HISTORICAL    AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


,,],  the  river,  a  distance  of  forty  miles,  and 
thence  on  Indian's  hacks  to  Fort  Alexander, 
a  farther  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles.  They  also  discovered  that  the  contents 
of  the  Indian  packs  would  be  all  devoured  be- 
fore the)  got  to  flu-  end  of  their  journey.  The 
schooner  sailed  from  Victoria  on  the  Est  of 
fune,  and  when  a  few  days  out  one  of  the  pas- 


sengers  was 


taken    sick'    and    in    a 


showed  signs  of  smallpox,  which  it  proved  to  be. 
Sailing  near  the  mainland,  he  was  put  ashore 
at  Fort  Rupert,  hut  too  late;  he  left  the  infec- 
tion aboard.  In  a  week  three  more  were  taken 
down,  hut  all  remained  on  board  until  the 
schooner  arrived  at  Bentic  Arm,  about  June 
15th.  From  there  they  hired  Indians  with 
canoes  to  carry  them  and  their  provisions  up 
to  the  Ballacoula  river  forty  miles.  They  had 
to  walk  most  of  the  way,  and  also  had  to  wade 
large  branches  of  the  river,  which  was  high  on 
account  of  the  snow  melting  in  the  mountains. 
Some  of  the  party  were  sick  with  smallpox  at 
the  time,  among  whom  were  the  subject  of  this 
.sketch  and  William  and  Michael  Lynn,  also  na- 
tives of  Canada,  the  latter  not  being  of  age. 
M.  Lynn  became  too  ill  to  travel  further.  The 
two  brothers  took  their  provisions  and  blankets, 
and  camped  thirty  miles  from  sea  and  ten  miles 
below  where  the  Indians  were  to  take  them. 

Mr.  McKinnon,  with  the  rest  of  the  party, 
arrived  at  the  end  <>i  the  canoe  route,  where 
they  remained  for  two  days.  The  party  then 
started  f«>r  Fort  Alexander,  on  Frazer  river, 
a.  distance  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
through  an  Indian  country,  little  known  to 
while  men.  1 ).  McKinnon  and  D.  McCollum, 
who  were  both  sick  with  smallpox,  did  not  ac- 
company the  party.     The  former  was  so  ill  that 

he   lay   in   the    w Is   a   month   before   he   could 

get*OUt   of  bed.      I 'art   of  the  time  he  could  not 

McCollum  was  not  very  sick.  In  the 
meantime  the  Lynns,  hearing  that  the  other 
party  intended  to  -,  |  oul  for  Fort  Alexander, 
hired  Indians  with  canoes  ami  started  to  over- 
take them.  While  passing  through  a  rapid  por- 
tion of  the  river,  where  a  large  tree  had  fallen 
and  which  they  passed  around  and  were 

ig  their  wa)  back  to  the  channel,  tin   pole 


struck  the  tree,  went  under  it  and  split  in  two. 
William  caught  hold  of  the  tree,  while  Michael 
and  the  two  Indians  went  under.  The  three  got 
hold  of  one-half  of  the  boat  and  worked  it 
ashore.  Michael  went  back  to  look  for  his 
hi  other,  hut  too  late;  the  water  had  swept  him 
away,  and  Michael  never  saw  him  again.  Will- 
iam had  all  their  money  on  his  person.  All 
their  provisions  were  also  lost,  and  Michael 
was  left  alone  among  Indians,  without  money 
or  food.  There  he  remained  until  by  chance 
William  Hood,  of  Santa  Rosa.  Cal.,  came  to  the 
Bantict  river  with  pack  animals,  intending  to 
make  a  road  there.  Lynn  came  up  with  his 
part)  to  where  Mr.  McKinnon  was.  and  stayed 
there  a  few  days.  When  the  train  left  again  for 
Fort  Alexander  some  time  in  August,  both 
went  with  it  until  they  reached  the  Chiccotan 
river,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from 
the  coast.  There  they  took  a  contract  for  cut- 
ting wood,  it  being  too  late  to  proceed  to  the 
mines.  They  formed  a  copartnership,  to  con- 
tinue while  they  remained  in  the  mines. 

When  they  had  completed  their  contract. 
Lynn  went  to  Bentic  Arm,  while  Mr.  McKinnon 
remained  with  Alexander  McDonald,  an  old 
Hudson  Bay  trader.  Their  intention  was  to 
trade  with  the  Indians.  McDonald  went  down 
to  the  coast  with  his  mules  to  meet  the  steamer. 
in  order  to  get  provisions  and  articles  to  trade 
with,  while  McKinnon  remained  on  the  place. 
The  steamer  not  being  in.  he  was  detained  four- 
teen days,  during  which  period  snow  fell  so  that 
1r  could  not  return  for  some  time,  and  McKin- 
non was  left  alone  for  about  three  mouths. 
with  no  white  man  nearer  than  sixty  miles.  The 
Indians  got  the  smallpox  and  died  by  the  thou- 
sands. Being  superstitious,  they  conceived  the 
white  man  to  he  an  evil  spirit,  and  acted  in  a 
strange  and  deceitful  manner,  with  murder  in 
their  faces.  One  day  they  came  and  told  him 
that  the  other  tribe  had  killed  Robert  McCloud, 
his  nearest  neighbor,  sixty  miles  distant,  which 
afterward  proved  to  he  true.  McKinnon  was  in 
danger  of  his  life  and  he  knew  it,  hut  there  was 
no  help.  The  snow  was  seven  feet  deep:  he 
could  not  walk  on  snowshoes,  and  to  attempt 
it    would  he  death,   as  the   Indians   would   follow 


E-IISTi  >RICAL    AND    BK  (GRAPHICAL    REO  iRD. 


511 


see  a  white  man  again.  One  day,  when  they 
were  the  worst,  he  happened  to  find  a  Catholic 
prayer-book  belonging  to  McDonald,  who  was 

a  Catholic.  While  looking  it  over  he  turned 
to  the  picture  of  the  Saviour  on  the  Cross.  The 
Indians  saw  it  and  commenced  to  cross  them- 
selves. At  once  he  saw  his  advantage.  They 
took  him  for  a  priest.  As  there  were  many 
dying,  there  were  many  burials,  at  which  he 
had  to  officiate,  and,  lie  confesses,  in  a  very 
awkward  manner,  being  himself  a  Protestant. 
The  French  priest,  who  went  there  with  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  had  taught  the  Indians. 
It  saved  his  life.  McDonald  returned  and  all 
was  well.  Once  after  this  he  had  a  narrow 
escape  with  his  life  from  the  Indians:  at  another 
time  he  was  chased  1>\  wolves  to  the  shore  of 
the  lake,  where,  finding  a  raft,  he  jumped  aboard 
and  pushed  it  out.  Being  tired  out,  he  spread 
his  blanket  and  went  to  sleep,  and  did  not 
awaken  until  the  sun  was  shining  the  next 
morning.  It  being  a  dangerous  place  to  live  in, 
he  hade  McDonald  good-bye  and  left  with  his 
partner,  Lynn,  for  the  Caribou  mines.  On  his 
way  thither  he  received  news  of  the  death  of 
his  mother.  The  following  year  McDonald, 
with  eleven  others,  was  killed  by  the  same  In- 
dians. 

They  arrived  at  the  mines  in  September,  1S63. 
Like  most  of  the  miners  they  had  high  expecta- 
tions and  small  returns,  or,  in  other  words,  did 
not  make  a  "big  strike."  What  they  did  make  was 
from  the  shoulder  at  hard  work.  They  re- 
mained at  the  mines  until  the  fall  of  1865,  when 
they  left  with  the  intention  of  going  home  to 
Canada.  They  arrived  at  San  Francisco  on  the 
tst  of  November  and  put  up  at  the  What  (  heer 
House.  The  next  day  they  secured  passage  on 
the  steamer  to  sail  1  in  the  [3th  of  the  same 
month.  <  In  the  morning  (if  that  day  the  What 
Cheer  safe  was  robbed  ami  they  lost  all  they 
had.  Woodward,  the  proprietor,  refused  to 
make  the  loss  good.  I  hej  appealed  to  the  law, 
and  beal  him  in  the  twelfth  district  court.  I  le 
carried    it    up   and   kept    them   oul    of   il    for  two 


1  the  city  for  two  months, 
is  taken  sick'.  I  ,ynn  and  he 
lership,  the  former  go 


the  mines.  McKinnon  remained  in  the  city 
till  May  5.  [866,  when  he  went  to  Santa  Clara, 
stopping  at  Cameron's  hotel.  After  paying  his 
bill  the  next  morning,  he  had  but  fifty  cents  left. 
At  that  time  breakfast  was  fifty  cents  and  dinner 
seventy-five  cents,  lie  could  not  get  his  dinner. 
He  made  up  his  mind  that  he  must  go  to  worl 
at  once.  After  breakfast  he  struck  out  towards 
Alviso,  came  across  an  old  farmer  mending  his 
reaper,  bade  him  good-day  and  asked  for  work. 
The  farmer  looked  at  him  and  saw  he  had  a 
gold  watch  and  ring.  His  face  and  hands  looked 
delicate  after  being  sick  all  winter.  The  farmer 
evidently  took  him  for  a  gambler  or  some 
scoundrel.  McKinnon  read  his  thoughts.  Be- 
ing the  first  time  in  his  life  that  he  had  to  work 
for  another,  it  hurt  him.  He  went  back  to  town, 
got  his  mining  suit  and  blanket,  and  started  out 
the  second  time.  He  had  traveled  a  mile  when 
a  man  hailed  him  and  asked  him  if  he  wanted 
work.  He  said  that  was  what  he  was  looking 
lor.  lie  worked  for  the  man  only  half  a  day 
when  his  work  was  done.  Then  he  engaged 
with  another  party  at  higher  wages.  Having  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  farming  and  farming 
machinery,  he  had  no  trouble  in  picking  his 
place  in  harvest.  He  ran  a  separator  for  Jonas 
Statler.  After  harvest  he  rented  Mr.  Si 
farm  on  the  Lexington  road.  He  finislh  d 
ing  on  the  26th  of  February.  1867,  and  on  the 
51I1  of  March  was  on  board  steamer,  boun  1  for 
hi-  old  home  in  Canada.  He  arrived  at  Tore  ito 
on  the  29th  of  March.  His  oldest  brother  and 
sister  were  married:  many  of  the  yo 
he  was  acquainted  with  were  gone  or  married: 
hi-  mother  was  gone,  and  the  old  home  had 
lost  its  charms  for  him.  lie  sold  his  plai 
in  May  left  for  California  with  his  youngest 
brother,  Anthony.  The)  arrived  in  Santa  Clara 
in  time  to  harvest  his  crop.  He  made  well  on 
it,  proving  that  farmers  could  make  money 
faster  and  surer  than  any  other  class  in  Califor- 
nia, and  that  if  the}  would  onl)  apply  the  same 
diligence,  f.  rethought,  and  study  as  others  do  in 
business,  they  would  be  the  wealthiest  men  in 
the  state. 

Vfter  harvest   I  >.   McKinnon  wen:  to  Monte- 
rey  county  in  search  of  land.     He  was  favorably 
,,1  w  ii  li  ii  for  farming  purposes,  returned 


HISTORICAL    AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


to  Santa  Clara,  and  with  his  brother  moved  to 
Monterey  county  on  the  18th  of  October.  1867, 
renting  land  from  J.  M.  Soto,  it  being  a  part  of 
the  Santa  Rita  rancho.  They  continued  to  farm 
that  and  a  part  of  the  Sausal  rancho  until  1874. 
In  this  year  the)  bought  eleven  hundred  acre-, 
of  the  Sausal  rancho,  paying  $60,000  for  it:  and 
afterwards  bought  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
acres  of  the  Santa  Rita  rancho.  In  March.  [876, 
he  made  one  more  trip  to  his  native  home,  re- 
turning to  California  in  June. 

January  1,  1877,  Duncan  McKinnon  married 
Miss  Alice  Maud  Hebbron.  second  daughter  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  R.  Hebbron,  of  Natividad,  Mon- 
terey county,  formerly  of  London.  England.  Mr. 
Hebbron  is  at  present  a  prominent  stockholder 
in  Monterey  county.  (<  In  the  same  day  and  at 
the  same  place  his  eldest  daughter.  Miss  1,1a 
C.  was  married  to  J.   M.   Walker,  of   Canada.) 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKinnon  became  the  parents 
of  a  son,  born  December  6.  1877,  named  Dun- 
can Florent  McKinnon;  and  one  born  May  12, 
1880,  named  William  Elmer  McKinnon;  and  a 
daughter,  born  January  1.  1885.  named  Ethel 
Alice.  In  1887  Mr.  McKinnon  was  bereaved  by 
the  death  of  his  wife,  and  one  year  later  by  the 
death  of  his  daughter. 

Duncan  McKinnon  bought  out  his  brother  in 
January,  1881.  His  home  place  is  beautifully 
located  within  two  and  a  half  miles  of  Salinas, 
the  county  seat  of  Monterey  county.  Santa 
Rita  ranch  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres 
is  farmed  by  his  oldest  son,  Duncan.  The  home 
ranch  of  eleven  hundred  acres  is  managed  by  his 
roungesl  -on.  Elmer.  They  have  the  most  im- 
1  roved  machinery  on  it.  and  are  anion--  the  first 
farmers  of  the  county. 


DAVID   Ri  iDRICK. 

A  career  worthy  of  emulation  from  many- 
standpoints  is  that  of  David  Rodrick,  one  of 
the  enthusiastic  promoters  of  the  enterprises  of 
Monterey,  at  the  same  time  engaging  for  many 
years  in  an  extensive  real  estate  business.  Me 
grew  to  manhood  in  Fairfield,  Me.,  where  ho 
mi  iii  [845,  and  his  first  business  experi 
ence  was  acquired  in   Portsmouth,  X.  II.,  where 


he  lived  for  eight  years,  subsequently  engaging 
in  the  boot  and  shoe  business  in  his  native  town 
of  Fairfield. 

In  1876  Mr.  Rodrick  came  to  San  Francisco 
and  associated  himself  with  the  wholesale  coal 
and  iron  firm  of  J.  MacDonaugh  &  Co.,  and 
afterward  went  to  the  mines  of  Tulare  and 
Placer  counties,  and  became  identified  with  the 
development  of  several  good  properties.  \ 
later  responsibility  was  in  connection  with  the 
management  of  the  barber  shops  of  the  Del 
Monte  Hotel,  where  he  remained  from  1885 
until  [887,  and  the  following  year  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  Dr.  J.  E.  P.  Heinz  in  the 
purchase  of  sixty-five  acres  of  land  lying  be- 
tween the  hotel  and  old  Monterey.  This  prop- 
erty was  platted  out  in  lots  now  known  as  the 
Oak  Grove  addition,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  desirable  residence  localities  along 
the  bay.  The  lots  were  all  disposed  of  by  sale 
in  [890,  the  venture  proving  a  most  advanta- 
geous one  for  the  promoters.  Mr.  Rodrick  for 
the  following  two  years  devoted  his  energies  to 
the  hardware  and  general  merchandise  business, 
and  in  connection  therewith  handled  real  estate. 
Upon  disposing  of  his  store  he  increased  his 
real-estate  enterprises,  and  built  many  private 
structures,  and  to-day  is  the  owner  of  some  of 
the  most  valuable  property  in  the  city.  He  also 
has  charge  of  the  Loma  Prieta  lumber  yard,  and 
is  still  interested  in  mining  near  Jacksonville, 
where  there  are  some  particularly  fine  specimens 
of  low-grade  ore.  In  1902  he  embarked  again 
in  the  hardware  business  and  now  has  a  -tore 
on  Alvardo  street. 

The  many  services  rendered  by  Mr.  Rodrick 
in  connection  with  the  substantial  upbuilding  of 
his  adopted  city  have  won  him  the  appreciation 
of  all  who  rejoice  in  her  abundant  prosperity. 
Me  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Bank  of 
Monterey,  of  the  electric  light  plant,  ami  was 
for  several  wars  a  director  for  the  street  car 
Ime.  Me  was  also  a  promoter  of  the  Monterey- 
Power  Company,  which  project  failed  owing  to 
arcity  of  water  during  the  last  five  or  six 
years.  \  Republican  in  national  politics,  he 
served  for  six  years  on  the  town  hoard  of  trus- 
tees, and  lor  five  years  of  that  time  was  chair 
man  of  the  board.     Fraternally  he  is  asso 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


with    the    Masonic    Chapter   and    Commandery, 
and  the  Ancient  <  trder  of  Odd  Fellows. 


WILLIAM  R.  COOLEY. 

One  of  the  most  enviable  careers  identified 
with  Paso  Robles  is  that  of  William  R.  Cooler, 
'who  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  courteous  and 
energetic,  but  one  of  the  most  profoundly  eru- 
dite members  of  the  San  Luis  Obispo  county 
bar,  and  who  in  less  than  ten  years  has  acquired 
a  clientage  ofttimes  not  secured  by  a  lawyer  in 
twice  that  length  of  time.  He  was  born  in  the 
Cherokee  Nation,  Indian  Territory,  November 
25,  1844,  and  from  his  father,  F.  Cooley,  inherits 
an  aptitude  for  the  legal  profession.  The  elder 
Cooley  was  a  man  of  pronounced  ability,  and 
was  a  native  son  of  Michigan,  of  whom  his 
state  might  well  be  proud.  He  had  an  extended 
practice  in  Santa  Barbara  county,  Cal,  and  was 
the  first  police  judge  appointed  after  the  organ- 
ization of  the  town  of  Santa  Barbara,  an  office 
maintained  by  him  with  credit  until  age  com- 
pelled his  retirement.  From  Michigan  he  had 
migrated  to  Kentucky  when  a  boy,  and  his  edu- 
cation was  completed  at  Frankfort  College,  in 
that  state.  The  last  years  of  his  life  were  spent 
with  his  daughter  in  Sacramento  county,  where 
his  death  occurred  in  1892.  His  wife,  Harriett 
(Ross)  Cooley,  was  born  in  North  Carolina  in 
1832  and  went  to  the  Cherokee  strip  with  her 
parents  at  an  early  day.  She  was  a  member  of 
a  Cherokee  family  and  had  six  hundred  and 
forty  acres  of  the  land  awarded  to  the  Indians 
of  that  tribe.  Nine  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Cooley,  three  sons  and  six  daughters, 
of  whom  William  R.  was  the  second  youngest. 

After  completing  his  preliminary  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  a  private  school  of  Los 
Angeles,  at  which  time  Santa  Barbara  was  an 
adobe  village,  he  entered  Yates  College,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1893.  He  at  once  com- 
menced to  practice  in  Paso  Robles,  and  has  been 
unusually  successful.  He  has  served  for  one 
term  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  for  the  same 
length  of  time  as  city  recorder,  declining  the 
nomination  for  a  second  term.  He  has  a  de- 
lightful home  on  Pine  street,  Paso  Robles,  which 
is   presided   over  by   his  wife,   formerly   Annie 


Hargan,  and  whom   he   married  in  Santa  Bar- 
bara.    Mrs.  Coole}  is  a  native  of  Spring  county, 

Ind.,  the  daughter  of  George  W.  Hargan,  a 
Kentucky  farmer  who  came  to  California  by 
way  of  the  plains  during  the  early  '60s,  and  set 
tied  in  San  Joaquin  county.  He  later  lived  in 
1  os  \ngeles  and  Santa  Barbara  counties,  even- 
tually settling  in  Ventura  county,  where  his 
death  occurred  at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years. 
Four  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Ah 
<  "<>F\  :  Emma,  who  is  a  compositor  and  type- 
setter with  the  firm  of  Sanborn,  Wale  &  Co.,  of 
San  Francisco:  Maud,  who  is  the  wife  of  Alfred 
Granger,  a  barber  of  San  Francisco;  Frank, 
who  is  a  tinner  and  plumber  by  trade;  and  Ed- 
win, who  is  a  resident  of  San  Francisco. 


HUGH  ROSS,  M.  D. 

A  professional  career  which  has  been  far- 
reaching  in  its  usefulness,  multitudinous  in  its 
experiences,  bright  with  its  distinguished  friend- 
ships in  many  lands,  and  of  more  than  passing 
mtere>t  to  all  who  have  watched  its  develop- 
ment, is  that  of  Dr.  Hugh  Ross,  a  resident  of 
Paso  Robles,  and  one  of  the  foremost  medical 
homeopathic  practitioners  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county.  A  native  of  London,  England.  Dr. 
Ross  was  born  March  3,  1845,  a  son  of  Alexan- 
der and  Mary  (Coe)  Ross,  natives  respectively 
of  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  and  England.  The  pa- 
ternal grandfather  was  born  in  Scotland,  and 
during  his  entjre  actjve  |;fe  wag  SUperintenden1 
gardener  for  the  Duke  of  Arthol.  Alexander 
Ro^s  was  receiver  for  the  London  Gas  Light 
Company,  and  in  return  for  years  of  faithful 
service  was  pensioned  by  the  company  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  wars. 
His  wife,  wdiose  father  was  born  in  Wales,  and 
became  a  farmer  in  England,  lived  to  be  over 
ninety  years  of  age. 

Up  to  his  fourteenth  year  Dr.  Ross  lived  in 
England,  and  during  that  time  attended  a  pri- 
vate school,  and  took  a  course  of  lectures  in  the 
Museum  of  Practical  Geology,  in  Germain 
Street,  London,  lie  afterward  took  lectures  in 
composition,  anatomy,  chemistry  and  geologv 
in     I  lannlton.     (  anada,     and     als,,    attended     the 

high   school  in  the  latter  named  town.     March 


54G 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


.,  t863,  lie  arrived  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  thence  pro- 
ceeded to  Springfield,  111.,  where  he  was  made 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  before  Judge 
Treat.  In  Christian  county,  111.,  Dr.  Ross 
bought  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land, 
up.  m  which  he  lived  for  a  year  or  so,  and,  hav- 
ing disposed  of  this  property,  began  to  study 
medicine  at  Hahnemann  College,  Chicago,  in 
October,  [874,  and  remained  for  a  year,  in  the 
fall  of  1875  entering  the  Chicago  Homeopathic 
College,  from  which  he  received  the  degree  of 
M.  I),  in  [886.  He  also  took  a  special  course 
in  physical  diagnosis  in  the  Cook  County  Hos- 
pital, Chicago,  and  a  course  under  Dr.  Brown- 
Sequard  >m  the  nervous  system.  In  October, 
r88i,  lie  was  appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
floral  department  of  the  Illinois  State  Fair  at 
Peoria.  "The  same  year  he  removed  to  Huron. 
S.  D.,  and  homesteaded  four  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  of  land,  but  soon  became  convinced  that 
the  change  was  unfortunate,  both  as  far  as  land 
and  climate  was  concerned,  and  disposed  of  the 
place  at  the  end  of  seven  years.  In  1888  he  re- 
moved to  Tacoma,  Wash.,  and  engaged  in  prac- 
tice until  the  boom  collapsed,  and  in  1895  came 
to  California,  where  he  spent  two  years  in  look- 
ing over  the  country,  in  search  of  a  favorable  , 
permanent  locati*  >n.  Having  decided  in  favor  of 
Paso  Robles,  he  settled  down  to  a  professional 
practice,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  Spanish- 
American  war  departed,  August  20,  1898,  on  the 
troop  ship  Scandia,  for  the  Philippine  Islands. 
Arriving  in  Manila,  he  was  appointed  surgeon 
For  the  ship  by  General  Otis,  and  subsequently 
made  two  more  trips  to  Manila,  his  second  trip 
being  on  the  transport  Centennial,  and  the  third 
on  the  W'viield,  on  both  of  which  he 'served  as 
ship  surgeon.  He  was  discharged  from  the 
Scandia  December  22,  1898.  and  from  the  Wy- 
[901  W  bile  in  Manila  he  engaged 
in  an  extended  private  practice,  and  worked  in 
connection  with  the  Red  Cross  Society,  but  was 
obliged  to  pay  his  own  expenses  during  the 
whole  of  his  residence  in  the  capitol  city.  In 
addition  to  the  many  evidences  of  appreciation 
from  Manila,  he  has  certificates  of  Illinois,  Da 
kota,  Washington  and  various  other  states,  and 
also  a  certificate  for  examining  the  insane  of 
California.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Homeopathic 


State  Medical  Society,  and  of  the  Theosophical 
Society,  the  latter  founded  in  Xew  York,  with 
headquarters  at  Madras,  India.  In  the  Spanish 
Barracks  at  Manila,  in  1000,  Dr.  Ross  married 
Etta  Gabaretta,  a  native  of  Yokohama.  Japan 
They  have  one  child. 


JOSEPH  ALBRIGHT. 

A  typical  example  of  the  opportunities  af- 
forded by  the  west  is  to  be  found  in  the  life- 
record  of  Joseph  Albright,  of  Watsonville 
Though  a  native  of  Ohio  (born  near  Bucyrus  in 
1841),  his  early  recollections  arc  of  Iowa,  to 
which  state  his  parents,  John  and  Emma  (Baker) 
Albright,  removed  in  an  early  day.  From  there, 
in  1853,  the  family  journeyed  overland  to  Ore- 
gon and  settled  in  Clackamas  county.  There, 
as  previously,  the  father  followed  the  occupation 
of  manufacturing  brick.  On  his  retirement  from 
business  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Joseph, 
who  carried  forward  the  enterprise  with  praise- 
worthy ambition  and  energy.  However,  when 
the  law  of  convict  labor  was  passed,  brick  could 
no  longer  be  manufactured  profitably,  and  he 
therefore  discontinued  the  business  and  in  1866 
came  to  California,  settling  in  Soqttel,  Santa 
Cruz  county.  For  three  years  he  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  brick  in  that  village,  and 
then  nfoved  to  Y'atsonville,  where  he  estab- 
lished a  brick  yard  at  the  extreme  end  of  Sud- 
den street.  Later  he  rented  land  on  the  flats 
from  Mrs.  William  Blackburn  and  attempted  to 
establish  a  kiln,  but  found  the  combination  of 
clay  not  suitable,  and  so  gave  up  the  work. 
The  vanls  in  Watsonville  were  carried  on  until 
[894.  \\  lure  they  once  stood  may  now  he  seen 
some  of  the  neat  residences  for  which  Watson- 
ville is  noted.  The  first  house  on  the  spot  was 
erected  by  Mr.  Albright  and  utilized  as  a  home 
for  his  family.  At  a  subsequent  elate  he  built 
three  houses  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Rod- 
riguez street,  and  still  later  built  his  present  resi- 
dence on  Fourth  street,  which  is  an  attractive 
house  with  modern  improvements. 

On  discontinuing  the  brick  business  Mr.  Al- 
bright turned  his  attention  to  farming  and  fruit- 
raising.  He  bought  sixty-seven  acres  and  put 
about    forty    acres    under   cultivation    to    straw- 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


547 


berries,  and  on  which,  in  1892,  he  planted  thirty- 
five  acres  in  apple  trees.  However,  he  is  now 
best  known  through  his  success  as  a  beet-raiser. 
I  lis  own  land  being  insufficient  for  his  needs  in 
this  direction,  he  has  rented  other  property, 
during  1901  renting  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
near  Spreckels,  in  Monterey  county.  From  one 
hundred  and  thirty  acres  he  gathered  two  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  eighty-five  tons,  being 
an  average  of  twenty-one  tons  per  acre,  for 
which  he  received  $4.50  per  ton.  This  yield  is 
considered  remarkable,  but  it  proves  what  can 
be  produced  from  some  of  the  California  soil 
when  in  the  hands  of  a  man  of  energy,  sagacity 
and  prudence.  'While  giving  his  attention 
closely  to  business  matters,  Mr.  Albright  has 
not  neglected  his  duty  as  a  citizen,  but  has  al- 
ways  supported  measures  for  the  development 
of  the  county  and  the  benefit  of  the  people. 
Since  1875  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  and  during  much  of  that  time  has 
held  official  positions  in  the  congregation.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  connected  with  the  local  lodge, 
t.  O.  O.  F..  in  which  he  is  past  grand. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Albright  united  him  with 
Nancy  Jane  T.unton,  who  was  born  in  Iowa  and 
reared  in  Oregon.  Their  children  are  named 
as  follows:  William  H.,  who  for  some  years  has 
been  an  extensive  strawberry  raiser;  Lena  May, 
Mrs.  Frank  Tuttle;  Josephine,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Le- 
land;  -Myrtle,  who  married  E.  A.  Kelly;  Thomas 
Joseph,  a  blacksmith  by  trade;  and  Orrel  Etta, 
who  resides  at   home. 


F.  SANDS  AUSTIN. 

Under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Austin  as  man- 
ager is  conducted  the  business  of  the  Loma 
I'rieta  Lumber  Company  of  Watsonville,  one  of 
the  largest  concerns  of  its  kind  in  the  entire 
siaie.  The  origin  of  this  compan)  dates  back 
to  the  establishment,  by  the  firm  of  Ford  & 
Sanborn,  of  a  large  mill  in  the  southern  part  of 
Santa  Cruz  county.  At  that  time  the  mountains 
were  covered  with  a  dense  outgrowth  of  red- 
wood and  white  pine,  hence  the  location  was  es- 
pecially favorable  for  a  large  lumber  industry. 
Choosing  as  the  title  of  the  firm  the  Watson- 
ville Mill  and  Lumber  Company,  they  embarked 


in  the  business  and  soon  built  a  narrow  gauge 
railroad  from  Aptos  into  the  mountains.  The 
opening  of  other  lumber  districts  gave  them  ad- 
ditional territory  and  added  prestige  as  a  firm. 
In  November  of  1883  the  concern  was  merged 
into  the  now  well-known  Loma  I'rieta  Lumber 
Company,  which  controls  seventy-five  hundred 
acres  of  land  and  has  a  railroad  extending  from 
Loma  Prieta  four  miles  into  the  mountains. 
During  1901  the  mills  were  removed  to  Hinck- 
ley (  iulch.  where  about  two  hundred  men  are 
employed  and  about  fort)  thousand  feet  of  lum- 
ber cut  per  day.  The  company  has  lumber  yards 
and  finishing  mills  at  Santa  Cruz,  Capitola,  Wat- 
sonville, Hollister,  Gilroy,  San  .Jose,  Salinas, 
Monterey  and  Pacific  ( '.rove.  Shipments  are 
made  to  the  north,  south  and  east,  throughout 
the  state. 

The  officers  of  the  company  are  as  follows: 
President,  Timothy  Hopkins,  of  San  Francisco; 
vice-president  and  general  manager  at  San 
Francisco.  A.  E.  Bassett;  treasurer.  M.  T. 
Smith,  of  San  Francisco;  secretary.  A.  Wil- 
liams, of  Santa  Cruz;  agent,  W.  R.  Porter,  of 
Watsonville;  and  F.  Sands  Austin,  manager  of 
the  yards  at  Watsonville.  The  mills  in  this  city- 
comprise  the  planing  mills,  sash  and  door  fac- 
tory, yards,  etc.,  where  employment  is  furnished 
to  about  thirty-five  men,  and  the  work  is  con- 
ducted under  the  oversight  of  William  II.  Ames, 
superintendent.  The  plant  covers  about  six 
acres  of  ground,  and  from  it  lumber  is  shipped 
to  all  of  the  surrounding  country  towns. 

In  Tioga  county,  Pa..  F.  Sands  Austin  was 
born  August  2,  1855,  a  son  of  Benjamin  and 
Zenna  (Culver)  Austin.  His  education  was  ob- 
tained in  local  schools.  When  seventeen  years 
of  age  he  started  out  to  make  bis  own  way  in 
the  world.  His  first  experience  was  in  a  tan- 
nery, after  which  he  was  employed  in  sawmills 
and  lumber  camps  in  Pennsylvania.  M  the  age 
of  twenty-six  years  he  came  to  California  and 
settled  in  Santa  Cruz  county,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged as  teamster  with  the  Watsonville  Mill  and 
Lumber  Company.  When  it  was  absorbed  1>\ 
the  Loma  Prieta  Lumber  Company,  lie  was 
made  manager  of  the  lumber  yards  at  \\ 
ville,  and  has  since  filled  the  position 
satisfai  tii  m   of  :'••    offii  ial     of  i1-    company.     A 


■  ■ 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


man  of  sterling  qualities,  he  has  proved  a  valu- 
able addition  to  the  citizenship  of  Watsonville 
and  has  taken  his  part  in  promoting-  measures 
for  the  benefit  of  the  city.  Since  coming  here 
he  has  become  a  property  owner  and  has  re- 
centl)  erected  a  modern  residence  on  Maple 
street.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the 
:  idge  and  chapter  of  Masonry,  and  is  past 
chancellor  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  His  first 
wife  was  Laura  Foster,  who  died  at  twenty-two 
years  of  age.  Afterward  he  was  united  with  Mrs. 
Emily  (Cook)  Wannicke,  who  was  born  while 
her  father.  Captain  Conk,  was  en  route  to  Japan, 
i  Cook  was  a  seafaring  man  of  some 
prominence,  and  his  daughter's  earliest  recol- 
lections are  of  voyages  with  her  parents  on  the 
I  'antic  ocean. 


PERRY  Al.  ANDREWS. 

"Nothing  succeeds  like  success,"  is  the  motto 
which  lias  inspired  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Andrews 
in  his  operations  as  a  contractor  and  builder  at 
Watsonville.  lie  was  born  in  Fort  Wayne, 
hid.,  April  15,  1864,  and  in  boyhood  went  to 
Missouri  with  his  father.  William  Andrews,  a 
builder  by  trade.  The  latter  removed  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1882  and  settled  in  San  Diego,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  the  building  business.  His 
death,  the  result  of  an  accident,  occurred  in  that 
city  when  he  was  sixty-two  years  of  age.  Dur- 
ing his  residence  in  Missouri,  Perry  M.  An- 
drews learned  the  carpenter's  trade.  His  first 
independent  experience  at  the  trade  was  in  Da- 
kota, where  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  in 
Rapid  City.  After  three  years  he  took  up  con- 
tracting there. 

<  >n  coming  to  I  lalifornia  Mr.  Andrews  visited 
various  points  and  did  considerable  prospect- 
ing, after  which  he  chose  Watsonville  as  his 
home.  In  this  decision  he  was  influenced  both 
by  the  line  climate  and  by  the  prospects  for  a 
large  amount  of  building.  Taking  up  work  as 
a  journeyman,  he  was  s,„,,i  made  foreman  for 
S.  J.  Jennings,  ami  as  Midi  had  charge  of  the 
building  of  the  Pajaro  Valley  Bank,  the  Odd 
Fellows  Building  and  other  substantial  struc- 
tures. Later  he  formed  a  partnership  with  S.  I. 
Jennings    in    the    building   business.      They    had 


the  contract  for  the  Christian  Church,  and  when 
it  was  burned  took  charge  of  the  rebuilding.  In 
a  subsequent  association  with  Mr.  Christiansen 
he  built  many  of  the  best  residences  of  the  lo- 
cality. In  1806  he  started  out  alone  and  has 
since  had  contracts  for  many  of  the  finest  resi- 
dences erected  in  this  city  and  vicinity,  besides 
several  business  blocks,  among  which  may  be 
mentioned  the  Bockius  Block,  the  Alexander 
Building  and  the  remodeling  and  rebuilding  of 
the  Charles  Ford  Company  business  block.  lie 
built  the  modern  house  in  which  his  family  re- 
side. During  the  past  six  years  he  has  averaged 
about  nine  men  a  daw  and  has  had  as  many  as 
twenty  men  employed  steadily  during  one  year. 
It  surely  speaks  much  for  his  ability  and  reputa- 
tion as  a  builder  that,  since  coming  to  Watson- 
ville, he  has  not  been  without  work  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  but  usually  has  contracts  taken  for 
many  months  in  advance. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Andrews  united  him 
with  Miss  (  )la  Nevenhuysen,  daughter  of  Frank 
Nevenhuysen,  of  Watsonville,  and  they  have  one 
child,  Gladys  Marie.  At  one  time  Mr.  Andrews 
was  chief  of  the  local  fire  department  and  is  now 
first  assistant.  In  fraternal  relations  he  is  con- 
nected with  the  blue  lodge,  chapter  and  Eastern 
Star  of  Masonry,  the  lodge  of  (  )dd  Fellows,  of 
which  he  is  past  grand,  and  also  belongs  to  the 
Encampment  and  the  Independent  Order  01 
Foresters. 


LYMAN  BREWER. 

Since  1892  a  resident  of  Paso  Robles,  Mr. 
Brewer  has  creditably  associated  himself  with 
various  worthy  enterprises  in  his  adopted  city, 
and  has  come  to  lie  regarded  as  an  influential 
ami  progressive  citizen.  He  was  born  in  Buf- 
falo, X.  Y.,  July  31,  1859,  and  his  father,  F.  H. 
Brewer,  was  a  native  of  Norwich.  Conn.  The 
elder  Brewer  was  for  many  years  engaged  as  a 
il  mercantile  broker  and  agent  in  Buffalo, 
X.  Y..  and  is  now  living  a  retired  life  in  Mystic. 
Conn.,  and  is  about  sixty-five  years  of  age.  He 
married  Rebecca  Holmes,  a  native  <>f  Troy, 
X.  V..  and  of  this  union  there  have  been  born 
five  children  four  daughters  and  one  son.  Ly- 
man Brewer  being  the  oldest  of  the  family. 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


551 


During  his  youth  in  Connecticut  Mr.  Brewer 
attended  the  public  schools,  and  graduated  from 
the  high  school  of  Mystic,  that  state,  this  train- 
ing being  supplemented  by  four  years  at  the 
academ)  of  San  .Mateo,  Cal.  For  ten  years  he 
engaged  as  a  telegraph  operator  and  station 
agent  along  the  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad,  and  in  [892  as  assistant  cashier  of  the 
Citizens'  Bank,  with  which  institution  he  was 
connected  for  seven  years.  At  the  present  time 
he  is  engaged  with  the  Wells-Fargo  Express 
Company,  and  also  handles  fire  insurance.  For 
two  years  he  has  been  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
ever  since  his  first  voting  days  has  been  inter- 
ested in  maintaining  the  integrity  of  the  Re- 
publican part\.  For  eight  years  he  has  been  a 
member  'if  the  school  board,  and  during  three 
years  of  that  time  was  chairman  of  the  board. 
In  1896  he  was  made  president  of  the  city  board, 
continuing  in  that  capacity  for  four  years.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  popular  and  well  known,  and  is 
associated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  (  >dd 
Fellows  ami  the  Masonic  blue  lodge. 

in  San  Francisco  Mr.  Brewer  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Eva  Cross,  a  native  of  that  city, 
and  daughter  of  Thomas  J.  Cross,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Cross  has  been  engaged  in 
mining  in  California  for  many  years,  but  al  the 
present  time  is  living  on  a  ranch  near  Napa, 
this  slate.  Four  children  have  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brewer:  Irene.  Ruth,  Fred  II. 
and  Lyman. 


SAMUEL  FRANKLIN  CEIL. 

Corporative  and  criminal  law  in  California 
has  no  interpreter  more  lucid  than  Samuel 
Franklin  Geil,  of  Salinas,  who  for  nearly  thirty 
v.  ars  has  been  identified  with  the  professional 
growth  of  the  Pacific  coast.  A  splendid  type 
of  the  strong  and  gifted  in  human  endeavor, 
with  a  mind  attuned  to  justice  and  broadened  by 
association  with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men, 
he  has  been  a  magnet  around  which  have  ceil 
tered  many  of  the  most  thrilling  legal  battles  in 
tin-  arena  of  the  state.  A  remarkable  showing 
is  tlir  fact  that  out  of  ncaih  forty  cases  up  for 
murder,  six  have  resulted  in  conviction,  and  of 
the  people  .barged  with  felonies  of  less  gravity, 


he  has  secured  the  release  of  many  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty.  The  cases  of  Azbell, 
I'rewitt  and  1  lawes  were  widely  read  all  over 
the  country. 

Of  German  descent,  Mr.  (  ieil  represents  a 
family  which  located  in  Pennsylvania  nearly  two 
centuries  ago.  He  was  born  in  New  Britain. 
Bucks  county,  Pa.,  September  28,  1841,  and  re- 
ceived a  common-school  and  academic  educa- 
tion. In  fulfilment  of  an  ambitious  plan  cher- 
ished from  childhood,  in  1859  ne  went  to  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  and  entered  the  law  office  of  Her- 
rick  &  Barlow,  combining  his  studies  there  with 
the  usual  course  at  the  Ohio  State  and  Law 
College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  May  26, 
1862,  his  admittance  to  the  bar  occurring  Sep- 
tember 26  of  the  same  year.  With  the  culmina- 
tion of  hostilities  between  the  north  and  south 
in  1861,  he  served  for  a  short  time  in  the  Second 
Ohio  Cavalry,  but  on  the  nth  of  December  of 
the  same  year  his  resignation  was  accepted  by- 
General  Buell  and  he  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge. In  search  of  a  desirable  field  for  a  loca- 
tion, Mr.  Geil  selected  the  west,  and  arrived  in 
San  Francisco  via  Nicaragua  in  December  of 
1862.  From  that  city  he  proceeded  to  Mon- 
terey, where  early  in  1863  he  opened  a  law  office. 
In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  was  nominated 
on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  district  attorney, 
and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  in  a  strongly 
Republican  locality.  During  his  service  in  this 
capacity  he  laid  the  foundation  of  one  of  the 
largest  practices  ever  established  in  the  interior 
of  California,  and  handled  with  credit  cases 
which  attracted  by  their  importance  the  atten- 
tion of  the  surrounding  country. 

In  the  meantime  the  county  seat  bad  been 
removed  to  Salinas  and  hither  he  came  in  [873, 
opening  a  law  office.  The  same  year  he  was 
appointed  to  till  the  office  of  district  atto 
made  vacant  by  the  death  of  the  former  incuhl 
bent.  During  the  unexpired  tei  m  he  pro 
and  secured  the  conviction  of  the  desperate 
Miguel  Moreno,  of  the  Vasquez  band  of  robbers 
and  murderers.      \  n  -of  his  term 

be  formed  a  partnership  of  shorl  duration  witli 
lion.  1'.  K.  Woodside,  ex  clerk  of  the  supreme 
court  of  California,  and  between  1S75  and  [880 
engaged  in  an  independent  practice.    Following 


552 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


this  he  was  for  nine  years  a  partner  of  Hon. 
II.  V.  Morehouse,  a  promising  lawyer,  who  has 
since  gained  a  reputation  throughout  the  state 
as  an  orator.  Since  1890  he  has  practiced  alone 
and  his  prestige  has  increased  with  the  passing 
years,  while  his  work  has  proved  an  inspiration 
to  many  an  aspirant  for  legal  honors.  For  the 
past  twenty  years  he  has  been  attorney  for  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  and  for  five 
years  has  been  attorney  for  the  Spreckels  Sugar 
Company.  At  this  writing  the  greater  part  of 
his  time  is  given  up  to  corporation  practice.  An 
analysis  of  the  cause  of  Mr.  Geil's  success  would 
be  superfluous,  for  no  two  cases  are  in  any  way 
parallel,  save  in  the  matter  of  brain  force  and  in 
the  ability  to  grasp  the  opportunities  by  which 
one  is  surrounded.  The  supreme  gift  is  neither 
talent  nor  genius,  but  lies  along  the  path  trod  by 
Mr.  Geil  and  consists  in  being  able  to  use  to 
thi  best  of  one's  ability  the  gifts  with  which  one 
is  endowed. 

At  Monterey  in  1866.  while  serving  his  first 
term  as  district  attorney,  Mr.  Geil  married  Jo- 
sefa  Sanchez,  representative  of  the  Castro  fam- 
ily, so  prominently  identified  with  the  early 
of  California.  During  the  many  years 
ot  his  association  with  the  Masonic  order  Mr. 
Geil  has  served  for  three  years  as  high  priest 
of  Salinas  Chapter  Xo.  59,  R.  A.  M.,  and  is 
also  a  Knight  Templar  and  a  Noble  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine.  In  addition  he  is  connected  with 
the   Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 


GE<  »RGE  R.   BUTLER. 

A  visitor  to  the  gallery  of  Mr.  Butler  in  Sa- 
linas finds  much  to  interest  and  awaken  admira- 
tion.     It  needs  but  a  glance  around  the  studio 
to  convince  the  stranger  that  he  is  gazing  upon 
irk  of  an  artist,  and  such  indeed  Mr.  But- 
ler is.  having  inherited  a  love  of  art  from  many 
mil;-  generations  of  his  family.     For  years 
In    has  given  hi-  attention  to  art  in  photography, 
a  result  the  products  of  his  galler\    lose 
nothing  by  comparison  with  the  work  of  leading 
phers  throughout  the  state. 
Mr.  Ihuler  was  born  in  San  Francisco  in  1861 
and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools 
of    that    city.       His    parents,    F.    and    Anna    M. 


(Bennett)    Butler,   were   natives   respectively   of 

New  York  and  Delaware.  During  the  exciting 
days  of  1849  the  father  left  the  east  to  seek  his 
fortune  in  the  mines  of  the  coast,  but  soon  he 
commenced  work  at  the  occupation  in  which  he 
had  previously  engaged,  that  of  an  architect.  It 
is  said  that  he  was  the  first  architect  to  conn?  to 
California.  His  services  in  that  capacity  were 
in  constant  demand  and  many  of  the  fine  build- 
ings put  up  in  San  Francisco  in  early  days  were 
designed  by  him.  He  continued  in  the  business 
until  about  1880.  when  he  died. 

From  early  boyhood  George  R.  Butler  was 
interested  in  everything  pertaining  to  art,  espe- 
cially as  evinced  in  the  science  of  photography. 
His  training  in  the  occupation  was  gained  under 
the  supervision  of  some  of  the  leading  photog- 
raphers of  San  Francisco,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained for  some  time  after  he  had  acquired  a 
thorough  technical  and  practical  knowledge  of 
the  business.  About  1893  he  came  to  Salinas 
and  established  the  business  which  he  has  since 
conducted,  his  patronage  not  being  limited  to 
his  home  city,  but  extending  through  various 
parts  of  Monterey  count)'.  He  was  accompa- 
nied to  Salinas  by  his  wife,  formerly  Sadie  How- 
ard, whom  he  married  in  San  Francisco,  and 
who  was  born  and  educated  in  that  city.  While 
not  active  in  politics,  he  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
and  never  fails  to  cast  his  vote  for  the  men  and 
measures  advocated  by  this  party.  The  Wood- 
men of  the  World  and  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen  number  him  among  their 
members,  and  he  is  likewise  associated  with  the 
Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West  and  the  Benev- 
olent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 


HANS  PETER  BRASSELL. 

Noteworthy  among  the  citizens  of  California 
who  came  from  the  thrifty  little  peninsula  of 
Denmark  i-  Mr.  Brassell,  a  successful  horticul- 
turist residing  in  Watsonville.  lie  was  born  in 
[848  and  at  an  early  age  lost  his  mother  1>\ 
death.  When  a  boy  he  learned  the  blacksmith's 
trade  under  the  oversight  of  his  father,  Andrew 
Daniel  Brassell,  and  in  r86g  came  to  California, 
where  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  in  various 
places.      I  luring   187.4  he  settled   in   Watsonville 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


553 


and  purchased  from  J.  J.  Lund  a  shop  and  cor- 
ner lot  on  Alain  and  Fourth  streets,  where  he 
soon  established  a  growing  trade.  In  1877  his 
father  joined  him  in  this  city,  where  he  died  one 
year  later,  at  sixty-five  years  of  age. 

About  1882  Mr.  Brassell  extended  his  busi- 
ness interests  by  building  a  feed  mill,  which  is 
operated  by  a  steam  plant,  the  water  being  fur- 
nished by  his  own  water  works.  The  mill  was 
equipped  with  two  sets  of  rollers.  In  the  rear 
of  his  lot  on  Fourth  street  he  built  a  large 
house.  In  1892  he  rented  his  present  business 
location  For  a  blacksmith's  shop.  Business  con- 
tinued to  be  prosperous,  but  June  28,  1901,  he 
sustained  a  severe  loss  in  the  burning  of  the 
mill  and  store.  However,  undaunted  by  the 
catastrophe,  he  at  once  rebuilt.  Previous  to  this 
he  had  purchased  fifty-one  and  one-third  acres 
of  the  Salsepuedes  rancho  in  Santa  Cruz  county 
and  in  1892  he  set  out  one  thousand  apple  trees 
on  the  place,  also  one  thousand  prune  trees. 
The  following  year  he  added  to  the  size  of  the 
orchard  by  planting  one  thousand  apple  and  one 
thousand  prune  trees,  all  of  which  arc  now  in 
fine  bearing  condition.  In  addition,  he  set  out 
oranges,  lemons,  apricots  and  other  fruits.  Of 
recent  years  he  has  found  the  demand  for  Pa- 
jaro  valley  apples  and  apricots  so  great  that  he 
is  replacing  the  prunes  with  these  trees,  and  he 
is  also  adding  to  the  size  of  his  orange  grove, 
having  ascertained  by  experience  that  the  cli- 
mate suits  this  fruit.  Every  improvement  has 
been  made  that  will  in  any  way  promote  the 
value  'if  the  land  and  increase  its  productive- 
ness. Among  the  people  of  the  valley  he  is  con- 
sidered an  authority  in  matters  pertaining  to 
horticulture. 

Si  mie  years  ago  Mr.  Brassell  purchased  the 
old  Christian  Church  and  this  he  now  rents  for 
school  purposes  pending  the  erection  of  the  new 
high  seln  ml  building.  With  the  exception  of 
two  terms  as  town  trustee,  he  has  not  consented 
to  hold  office,  lie  is  connected  with  the  For- 
esters and  blue  lodge  of  Masonry  and  with  his 
family  attends  the  Presbyterian  Church.  His 
wife,  formerly  Mary  I'.uinly,  was  horn  in  that 
part  of  Denmark  which  now  belongs  to  Ger- 
many. She  is  a  lady  of  amiable  disposition, 
greal  energy  and  an  active  member  of  the  East- 


ern Star,  in  which  order  she  has  many  friends. 
Six  children  have  been  born  of  their  union,  one 
of  whom  died  in  infancy,  and  Clara  when  five 
years  of  age.  Those  living  are  Edmund  II.. 
who  is  a  bookkeeper  on  Spreckels  ranch  No.  1: 
Nellie,  Bertha  .-11111  Helen. 


CYRUS  W.  BRIDGEWATER. 

During  his  service  for  eight  terms  as  city 
marshal  of  Watsonville  Mr.  Bridgewater  has 
won  the  confidence  of  all  the  best  citizens,  and 
his  faithful  service  is  appreciated  by  them.  He 
was  born  in  Cass  county,  111..  February  id.  [843, 
am!  grew  to  boyhood  on  the  farm  of  his  par- 
ents, John  and  Belinda  (Haynes)  Bridgewater. 
When  the  newly  opened  territory  of  Kansas  was 
attracting  thousands  by  reason  of  its  intimate 
connection  with  events  culminating  in  the  Civil 
war,  the  family  identified  themselves  with  the 
anti-slavery  party  in  Lynn  county,  Kans.,  where 
they  settled  during  1857.  A  part  of  the  farm 
they  purchased  was  in  Lynn  county,  and  the 
balance  in  Bates  county,  Mo. 

The  father  died  in  1862  at  fifty  years  of  age, 
and  during  the  same  year  the  son  enlisted  for 
service  in  the  Union  army,  becoming  a  member 
of  Company  F,  Sixth  lxansa>  Cavalry.  After 
two  years  of  faithful  service  in  the  ranks  he  was 
promoted  to  be  second  corporal,  and  served  as 
such  until  the  end  of  the  struggle.  Much  of  his 
service  was  on  the  frontier,  where  he  partici- 
pated in  several  skirmishes,  but  escaped  being 
wounded  or  imprisoned.  On  his  return  from 
the  war  he  bought  a  farm  in  Bates  county.  .Mo., 
where  he  followed  farming  ami  cattle-raising, 
and  met  with  fair  success.  However,  the  cli- 
mate diil  not  prove  satisfactory  and  when  he 
learned  through  a  friend  of  the  ideal  climate  to 
he  found  in  California  lie  decided  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  his  days  upon  the  Pacific  coast. 
Selling  out  in  1875,  he  came  west  the  next  year 
ami  settled  in  the  thriving  city  of  Watsonville, 
in  the  heart  of  tin-  Pajaro  valley.  I'm'  a  few- 
years  he  engaged  in  teaming  and  jobbing,  after 
which  he  was  employed  as  engineer  in  a  mill 
mi  Main  street.  The  latter  position  he  resigned 
on  securing  an  appointment  as  night  watchman. 
\ihi      en   rig    as   watchman    for   four  years,   he 


554 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


was  elected  city  marshal  and  has  been  re-elected 
eight  consecutive  times.  This  appointment 
comes  to  him  from  the  people,  irrespective  of 
-.  he  being  independent  in  his  views  and 
not  identified  with  any  party.  In  religion,  as  in 
politics,  he  lias  not  associated  himself  with  any- 
particular  organization.  For  many  years  he  has 
been  an  officer  in  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and 
he  is  also  connected  with  the  Eagles. 

The  first  wife  of  Mr.  Bridgewater  was  Eliza- 
beth Perry,  of  Brown  county,  111.,  who  died  at 
twenty-nine  years.  Three  children  were  born 
of  their  union:  William  L.,  who  is  a  plumber 
in  Watsonville;  Ethel,  deceased:  and  James  H., 
a  business  man  of  Redwood  City.  The  present 
Mrs.  Bridgewater  was  Emma  Shankman,  daugh- 
ter of  James  Shankman,  and  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky. To  their  union  two  children  were  born, 
namely:  Edgar,  who  is  a  druggist;  and  Harry, 
who  is  employed  as  a  mail  carrier. 


FRANK  R.  BRADBURY. 

The  business  interests  of  Watsonville  have  an 
energetic  and  efficient  representative  in  Mr. 
Bradbury,  who  is  a  dealer  in  paints,  oils,  var- 
nishes,  brushes,  all  kinds  of  wall  and  decorative 
papers,  as  well  as  a  contractor  for  painting,  pa- 
pering, decorating'  and  calcimining.  In  his  store 
he  carries  samples  of  fifteen  hundred  kinds  of 
paper  manufactured  by  Alfred  Peats  &  Co.,  for 
whom  he  is  sole  agent  in  this  town.  He  is  also 
the  only  representative  here  of  the  famous  Patten 
paint.  Immediately  after  coming  to  Watson- 
ville, in  1S04,  he  started  in  business  along  his 
presenl  line.  I  lis  ability  as  a  decorator  was 
ignize  1  and  he  has  built  up  an  impor- 
tant trade  and  added  to  his  stock  until  it  is  now 
complete  and  modern.  Among  the  contract- 
tor  decorating  that  have  been  awarded  him  are 
those  for  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Judge  Lee's 
building  and  tin  I  ooper  block,  also  the  resi- 
of  J.  T.  Bates,  1  I  I  Rogers,  '  '.  Tuttle, 
Mrs.  Nugent  and  James  Rogers,  besides  many 
in  adjoining  counties.  I  lis  place  of  business  is 
on  thi'  corner  of  Bradbury  and  Waters  street-, 
while  hi-  residence  (built  by  himself  I  stands  on 
Lincoln 

Mr.  Bradbur)  was  born  in  Baltimore,  ML,  in 


1855,  and  is  a  son  of  John  T.  Bradbury,  an  in- 
fluential statesman,  who  died  while  filling  the 
office  of  consul  in  South  Africa.  The  son  was 
rean  d  in  Baltimore  and  there  learned  the  dec- 
orating- business.  For  two  years  he  studied  in 
the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  his 
native  city,  after  which  he  acted  as  assistant  with 
Dr.  Gardner  in  the  regular  army.  For  three 
years  he  was  stationed  in  Arizona,  principally  at 
Forts  Lowell  and  Thomas.  From  there  he  went 
to  San  Francisco,  and,  instead  of  completing  his 
medical  education,  he  took  up  the  decorator's 
trade.  For  a  year  he  was  employed  by  <  \.  W. 
('lark  &  Co.,  the  leading  decorators  of  the  Pa- 
cific coast  at  that  time.  Two  years  later  he  em- 
barked in  business  for  himself  and  in  1894  came 
to  Watsonville,  where  he  has  built  up  an  in- 
creasing and  profitable  trade. 

By  his  marriage  to  Martha  Keith,  of  Balti- 
more. Md.,  Mr.  Bradbury  has  two  children, 
Ethel  Terrell  and  Frank.  The  daughter  is  not 
only  one  of  the  bright  students  of  the  high 
school,  but  already  has  gained  considerable 
prominence  as  an  artist,  and  some  of  her  works 
have  received  favorable  criticism  from  experts. 
In  religious  views  Mr.  Bradbury  is  liberal.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  connected  with  the  Eagles,  \\ 1 

men  of  the  World,  American  Federation  of 
Labor,  and  the  League  of  Education 


BENJAMIN  BROOKS. 

Ever  since  the  year  1635  the  Brooks  family 
has  been  identified  with  American  history,  at 
which  time  they  settled  in  New  York.  Man)  of 
tlie  earl)  representatives  of  the  name  were  ship 
masters  and  owned  merchantmen  that  were  en- 
gaged in  trade  with  the  West  Indies.  Benjamin 
S.  Brooks  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  ship  owner 
and  was  given  excellent  advantages  in  his  youth. 
At  an  early  age  his  talents  seemed  to  point  in 
the  direction  of  the  law.  ami  he  entered  that 
profession  with  high  ambitions  and  aspirations. 
In  1840  he  joined  the  throngs  who  sought  the 
far  west.  Bowever,  it  was  not  his  intention  to 
engage  in  the  exciting  search  for  gold,  but  to 
follow  his  profession,  and  he  settled  ill  San 
Francisco,  of  which  city  he  was  long  an  hon- 
ored and  successful  attorney.     Not  only  was  he 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


connected  as  lawyer  with  nearly  all  of  the  lead- 
ing land  eases  in  San  Francisco,  but  also  with 
many  in  other  parts  of  the  state,  and  few  attor- 
neys were  as  well  informed  as  lie  regarding  all 
the  intricacies  of  claims,  titles,  etc.  Besides 
being  an  able  lawyer,  he  was  also  a  successful 
business  man,  and  in  the  management  of  his 
various  interests  accumulated  wealth..  Had  he 
sought  office,  he  could  have  secured  almost  any 
position  within  the  gift  of  his  party  (the  Repub- 
lican), but  he  was  not  a  politician  and  preferred 
to  concentrate  his  attention  upon  professional 
duties.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  San  Francisco  in  1883,  he  was  about 
sixt}  years  of  age.  Twice  married,  his  first  wife 
was  a  New  York  lady  who  descended  from  Eng- 
lish ancestry.  By  that  marriage  he  had  one  son, 
Benjamin,  while  by  a  later  marriage  he  had  a 
-on,  William,  who  is  now  manager  of  the  Land 
Department  of  the  Spring  Valley  Water  Com- 
pany of  San  Francisco. 

Benjamin  Brooks  was  born  in  New  York 
City,  October  25,  1842.  When  about  seven 
years  of  age  his  father  came  to  California,  and 
his  early  education  was  obtained  in  the  noted 
academy  of  Fairfield,  Conn,  lie  was  thirteen 
when  he  first  arrived  in  California,  and  afterward 
he  attended  the  public  schools  in  San  Francisco. 
Intending  to  enter  the  profession  of  law,  he 
studied  in  his  father's  office  and  elsewhere,  and 
was  admitted  to  practice.  Gen.  John  C.  Fre- 
mont, who  was  a  warm  personal  friend  as  well 
as  a  client  of  his  father,  offered  him  a  position 
in  connection  with  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
of  which  the  general  was  a  promoter.  Return- 
ing to  San  Francisco  in  1865,  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law,  and  later  accepted  a  position  in 
the  custom  house  there.  For  some  five  years 
afterward  he  was  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road, being  connected  with  Mr.  Stubbs  in  the 
freight  department,  this  being  the  gentler 
cently  selected  to  have  the  general  management 
of  the  freight  department  of  the  great  railroad 
combine. 

During  1885  Mr.  Brooks  came  to  San  Luis 
<  )bispo,  where  lie  now  resides.  Ever  since  com- 
ing here  he  has  been  owner  and  proprietor  of 
the  San   Luis  Obispo    Tribu  ic,    which  under  his 


ing  Republican  organs  of  Central  California. 
About  eight  years  ago  he  established  a  daily 
paper,  which  he  has  since  conducted,  and  which 
h;is  a  large  circulation  throughout  this  region. 

There  is  -re  evenl  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Brooks 
which  i-  worth)-  of  considerable  note,  and  that 
is  his  connection  with  the  first  cable-car  enter- 
prise in  the  United  States.  While  living  in  San 
Francisco,  he  was  a  member  of  a  company  that 
secured  the  first  franchise  for  a  cable  line  in  San 
Francisco  and.  indeed,  in  the  United  State-. 
That  mode  of  transportation  was  wholly  new  to 
the  people.  It  was  known  that  London  had  a 
very  crude  line  which  was  operated  for  a  short 
distance  in  that  city,  but  no  other  effort  had 
been  made  to  utilize  the  principle  which  forms 
the  basis  of  the  cable  system.  Many  of  the 
leading  financiers  of  San  Francisco  looked  with 
suspicion  upon  the  plan,  for  they  regarded  it  as 
impracticable.  Air.  Brooks  devised  the  firs) 
cable  grip  and  labored  constantly  in  perfecting 
the  system  and  interesting  people,  but  failed  to 
get  a  sufficient  amount  of  money  subscribed 
Finally  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  company  and 
afterward  the  cable  line  was  built  which  opened 
up  all  the  western  part  of  San  Francisco,  fol 
lowing  the  line-  of  travel  ho  had  mapped  out. 

In  [867  Mr.  Brooks  married  Miss  Mary  Ella 
Steele,  daughter  of  Hon.  John  I'..  Steele,  who 
was  a  member  of  congress  Erom  Xew  York, 
and  a  niece  of  Judge  George  Steele,  one  of  the 
1(  ading  men  of  San  1  an-  1  Ibispi  1  o  ■  1 1 1  r,  \  ;  alsi  1  1  if 
Gen.  Fred  Steele,  who  was  an  officer  in  the 
Civil  war. 

Xot   only    through    hi-    paper,    Inn    a1-  1 
sonally,  Mr.  Brooks  gives  his  influence  to  the 
Republican  party.     As  a  member  of  the  county 
and   -tale   central   committees   he    has    tilled   with 
ristic  tidelitx  ever)  trust  reposed  in  him. 
An  active  and  interested  Mason,  he  i-  com 
with  the  blue  lodge,  chapter  and  commandery  in 
San  Luis  Obispo,  and  is  also    1  membei 
Eastern  Mar.    1  h<    lndep<  ■  0  ol   For- 

esters; San  l.ms  <  ibispo  Lodge  \To.  322,  B.  I'. 
(  >.  I-:.;  and  San  Luis  Obispo  Council  No.  ii-'.s. 
Royal  Arcanum,  number  him  anion-  then 
members,  and   he   has   be<  11   the   incurnbi 
various  offices  in  all.    Besides  his  other  infr 
he  assisted  in  tin   organi  ation  of  the  San  Luis 


556 


HISTORICAL    AND    UIOGR API  1 1CA1 .    RECORD. 


Building  and  Loan  Association,  and  for  years 
has  served  as  its  president.  Indeed,  its  large  and 
noteworthy  success  may  be  attributed  mainly 
to  his  wise  oversight  and  judicious  supervision 
Socially  he  is  a  man  of  genial  manner  and  pos- 
sesses the  tact,  intelligence  and  good  fellowship 
that  always  attract  strong  friendships;  added 
to  which  is  a  personality  that  impresses  and 
charms  the  whole  combining  to  make  him  one 
of  the  city's  most  influential  and  popular  citi- 
zens. 


HENRY   B(  )SSE. 

With  the  sterling  traits  for  which  the  German 
nation  is  noted  the  world  over,  Mr.  Bosse  has 
worked  his  way  forward  to  an  encouraging  de- 
gree of  success:  this,  too,  although  he  came  to 
the  United  States  with  a  very  limited  knowledge 
of  the  English  language  and  without  any  means 
whatever.  He  is  a  native  of  Hanover,  Germany, 
born  December  7,  1844,  and  came  to  our  coun- 
try in  [867.  For  eighteen  months  he  was  em- 
ployed in  Muskingum  county,  (  >hio,  but  believ- 
ing that  other  portions  of  the  country  offered 
idvantages,  he  sought  a  new-  location. 
In  the  fall  of  1868  he  went  to  Xew  York,  where 
he  boarded  a  ship  bound  for  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  Arriving  there,  he  crossed  to  the  Pa- 
cific ocean,  and  then  sailed  up  the  ocean  to  San 
Francisco.  His  first  location  in  California  was 
in  Monterey  county,  where  he  secured  employ- 
ment and  remained  for  a  year,  working  on  a 
dairy  ranch. 

Since   [869  Mr.   Bosse  has  made  his  home  in 

San    Puis  (  Ibispo  county.      In   1870  he  obtained 

employment   with    Steele    Brothers,   and  during 

the   next    fourteen   years  he  remained  with   the 

nployers, meantime  saving  his  earnings  in 

order  thai  he  mighl  be  in  a  position  to  start  out 

for  himself.     He  was  said  to  be  the  best   cheese 

maker  on  the  ranch  and  was   head  man   in  this 

capacity     with     his    employers.     With     George 

as  a  partner,  in  [884  he  bought  a  one-half 

interest    in   the   I  >so   Flacka  ranch,  and   for  the 

next    six   years   he   carried   on   two  dairies   with 

one  hundred  and  liiu  cows.     At  a  later  date  he 

purchased  the  other  hall   interest   in  the   ranch 

1  1  orge  Steele,  so  that  at  this  writina 


he  owns  four  hundred  and  ninety  acres  of  val- 
uable land.  This  acreage  does  not  represent  the 
limit  of  his  holdings,  for  he  has  several  lots  in 
town.  In  1890  he  bought  twenty-two  and  one- 
half  acres  in  the  Arroyo  Grande  valley,  which 
he  set  out  in  walnuts,  apricots  and  copies,  and 
now  has  a  fine  orchard  in  excelp'it  condition. 
Numbered  among  his  other  interests  is  his  posi- 
tion as  a  director  in  the  Andrews  Banking  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  is  a  stockholder.  Ever  since 
becoming  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  he  has 
voted  with  the  Republican  party  and  stanchly 
upheld  its  principles.  Fraternally  he  is  con- 
nected with  the  Odd  Fellows  lodge  at  Arroyo 
Grande,  in  which  he  is  past  noble  grand.  In 
[889  lie  married  Miss  Katie  Grieb,  who  was 
born  in  Germany.  They  have  two  daughters, 
Nellie  and  Mav.  ' 


A.  WILLIAM   BIXBY,  M.  1). 

The  principles  of  the  eclectic  school  of  medi- 
cine have  an  able  exponent  in  Dr.  Bixby,  of 
Watsonville.  Not  alone  the  fact  of  his  long 
residence  in  his  present  locality,  but  especially 
because  of  his  acknowledged  skill  in  the  diag- 
nosis and  treatment  of  disease  in  its  varied 
forms,  he  has  gained  a  position  high  in  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people.  Nor  is  his  influence  lim- 
ited to  his  home  city  and  county.  Through  the 
publication  of  various  articles  in  medical  jour- 
nals, he  has  reached  ami  influenced  practitioners 
all  over  the  country,  and  has  been  helpful  in 
bringing  to  the  attention  of  physicians  of  other 
schools  the  value  of  that  of  which  he  is  a  dis- 
ciple. 

Porn  at  Mount  Vernon,  Knox  county,  Ohio, 
Dr.  Bixby  grew  to  manhood  in  -Missouri  and 
received  an  excellent  education  in  the  Missouri 
Slate  Normal  at  Ixirksvillc.  An  initial  experi- 
ence in  the  science  of  medicine  was  -lined  in 
tiie  Missouri  Medical  College,  where  he  was 
trained  in  the  principles  of  allopathy.  However, 
with  that  desire  for  broad  knowledge  which  has 
ever  characterized  him,  he  investigated  othei 
systems  of  medicine,  and  found  himself  espe 
ciallv   drawn   toward   the   then    new    principles   of 

become   a   student    of   the   system,  and  accord 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


ingly  entered  the  American  Medical  College  at 
St.  Louis,  where  the  partiality  he  had  felt  to- 
ward the  eclectic  school  was  deepened  and 
strengthened  by  a  constantly  increasing  famil- 
iarity with  the  success  of  its  theories,  as  ex- 
emplified in  active  practice  and  clinical  work. 
In  1877  he  received  the  degree  of  M.  D.  from 
this  well-known  institution. 

Opening  an  office  at  McPherson,  Kans.,  Dr. 
Bixby  remained  there  four  years,  meantime 
building  up  the  largest  medical  practice  in  the 
county  and  also  acquiring,  with  his  brother,  H. 
H.,  the  ownership  of  a  drug  store.  The  success 
of  his  work  as  physician  may  he  judged  from  the 
fact  that,  during  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  in 
McPherson.he  lost  only  one  case  out  of  seventy- 
five  that  he  treated.  In  1881  he  accepted  the  chair 
of  theory  and  practice  in  the  California  Medical 
College  of  San  Francisco,  and.  on  resigning  that 
position,  in  the  fall  of  1882,  came  to  Watson- 
ville,  then  a  village  with  only  one-half  of  its 
present  population.  At  once  he  began  in  gen- 
eral practice,  making  a  specialty  of  diseases  of 
women  and  children  and  chronic  troubles,  to 
which  he  has  since  devoted  much  of  his  time. 
At  first  his  practice  was  small,  but  as  lie  be- 
came known  to  the  people  of  the  Pajaro  valley 
and  as  the  population  increased,  calls  for  his 
services  and  aid  became  numerous,  and  be  is 
now  the  one  of  the  busiest  physicians  of  the 
towns  near  the  coast.  With  the  exception  of 
a  lew-  years  when  he  had  a  drug  store,  his  en- 
tire attention  has  been  given  to  practice,  and 
when  not  engaged  in  visiting  patients  or  in 
consultation  work,  he  has  worked  assiduously 
in  tile  preparation  of  articles  pertaining  to  ther- 
apeutics and  in  keeping  posted  concerning  all 
advances   made   in   materia   medica. 

A  thorough  knowledge  of  measures  calcu- 
lated to  promote  the  public  health  make-  the 
services  of  Dr.  Bixb)  very  valuable  in  his  office 
of  member  of  the  Watsonville  Board  of  Health. 
Another  important  office  which  he  nows  tills 
is  that  of  member  of  the  state  lunacy  commis- 
sion for  Watsonville.  to  which  he  was  appointed 
by  the  state  commissioners  of  lunacy.  For  five 
years  he  acted  as  surgeon  for  tin  Southern  Pa- 
cific Railroad  at  Watsonville,  and  he  is  now 
officiating-  as  medical   examiner  for  a  numbei    ol 


life  insurance  companies.  While  believing  thor- 
oughly in  eclecticism,  he  recognizes  the  valua- 
ble points  in  other  schools,  and  numbers  among 
his  friends  many  practioners  of  these  old  sys- 
tems, with  whom  he  has  often  consulted  in  dif- 
ficult cases.  Always,  however,  in  bis  own  prac- 
tice, it  is  his  aim  to  follow  eclecticism,  which 
endeavors  to  cull  from  homeopathy  and  allo- 
pathy their  most  meritorious  theories,  and  com 
bine  them  into  one  harmonious  school.  Since 
1880  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  National 
Eclectic  Association,  and  a-  few  years  ago  he 
was  honored  with  election  as  president  of  the 
California  Eclectic  Society.  At  this  writing  he 
is  medical  examiner  for  the  Watsonville  lodges 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  Knights  of  Pythias,  also 
the  Native  Sons  and  Daughters  of  the  Golden 
West,  and  in  addition  to  being  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  two  organizations  first  named  is  con- 
nected with  Pajaro  Lodge  No.  no.  F.  &  A.  M., 
Watsonville  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Watsonville 
Commandery  No.  22,  K.  T. 


LEWIS  L.  BARTHOLOMEW- 
The  long  period  of  his  residence  in  California, 
which  dates  from  1S5. 1.  enables  Mr.  Bartholo- 
mew to  l>e  denominated  a  pioneer  of' this  Mate. 
A  native  of  New  York  state,  bom  in  Erie  county 
in  1835.  lie  was  reared  in  Jackson  comity,  Mich., 
and  attended  the  district  schools  of  his  day  and 
locality.  Shortly  after  the  Mormons  opened 
up  Utah,  he  migrated  thither  in  184S.  and  be- 
gan to  engage  in  ranching  pursuits.  The  hard 
ships  of  life  on  the  frontier  fell  to  his  lot.  Tile 
task  of  improving  a  ranch  and  making  it  re- 
munerative was  exceedinglj  arduous.  Finally, 
in  [859,  deciding  that  the  surroundings  would 
be  more  favorable  further  west,  be  came  oxer- 
land  to  California,  settling  in  the  then  barren 
wilderness  of  S.m  Bernardino  county.  During 
the  same  war  be  removed  to  San  Josi 
engaged   in    farming.      From   there,    in   the   fall 


r»79,  he  1  .mi. 


and  established  himself  on  a  ranch  near  \de 
laida.  The  next  year  be  boughl  eighl  hundred 
acres,  forming  a  pari  of  tin  \lorro  }  Cayucos 
rancho,  on  Torn,  creek.  Since  [880  he  has  mad 
this  propert)    his  home  and  has  devoted  himself 


HISTORICAL    AND    \\\<  ><  iKAI'HICAL    RECORD 


to  its  improvement.  Two  fine  springs  furnish 
a  large  supply  of  water,  thus  solving  the  most 
difficult  problem  that  confronts  California  farm- 
ers. The  presence  of  these  springs  adapts  the 
ranch  excellentl)  to  dairy  purposes,  and  it  is 
principally  utilized  as  such.  The  dairy  cows  are 
of  the  1km  Jerse)  strains,  hence  the  butter  finds 
a  read\'  sale  at  all   seasons. 

On  first  becoming  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  Mr.  Bartholomew  identified  himself  with 
the  Republican  party!  but  later  his  views  under- 
went a  change  and  he  then  cast  in  his  allegiance 
with  the  Populists.  As  a  trustee  of  the  Fairview 
school  district,  his  work  has  been  acceptable, 
and  during  his  service  in  that  position  he  was 
instrumental  in  having  the  well  bored  for  the 
school.  Both  he  and  his  son  are  stockholders 
in  the  San  Luis  Industrial  Union,  which  has 
proved  one  of  the  most  profitable  local  enter- 
prises in  the  county.  While  living  in  Utah  he 
married  Miss  Clarinda  Robinson,  who  was  born 
and  reared  in  Michigan.  Five  children  were 
born  of  their  union,  one  of  whom  died  in  her 
twenty-first  year,  and  two,  Mrs.  Howard  and 
Mrs.  Curry,  are  widows.  The  oldest  child  is 
Lewis  U.  Jr.  Anion--  the  young  men  of  the 
count}'  the  son  already  takes  a  prominent  posi- 
tion, possessing  those  qualities  which  usually 
bring  their  owner  a  large  measure  of  success. 
Mail}'  of  the  progressive  movements  of  the 
county  have  enlisted  his  influence  and  energy, 
among  them  being  the  Alliance  mill  at  San 
Miguel,  in  which  he  is  a  stockholder,  and  the 
San    Luis  "Reasoner,"  in  which  he  also  has  an 


I'  >ll\  J.   in  lYSEN. 

Situated  two  miles  from  Salinas,  the  home- 
:  Mr.  Boysen  has  all  the  advantages  to 
he  derived  from  juxtaposition  with  a  thriving 
county-seat.  The  improvements  noticeable  on 
the  place  have  been  made  since  it  became  the 
propert}  of  tin  present  owner,  in  the  fall  of  [884, 
im  to  he  a  man  1  >.  entei  pi  ise  ami 
progressive  spirit.  A  portion  of  the  threi 
dred  acres  is  under  cultivation  to  the  various 
farm  produi  is  -p.  ciall)  adapted  to  tin 
while  the  balance  is  devoted  to  the  pasturage 


of  stock,  for  Mr.  Boysen,  like  many  of  the  farm- 
ers of  Monterey  county,  finds  the  stock  business 
a  profitable  adjunct  of  general  farming. 

(  »n  the  farm  in  Denmark  where  he  was  born 
in  [848,  Mr.  Boysen  passed  the  years  of  boy- 
hood, meantime  spending  the  winter  months 
in  the  school  room.  At  fourteen  years  of  age 
lie  began  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  and 
ever  since  then  he  has  been  self-supporting.  In 
the  spring  of  1867  he  came  to  America,  pro- 
ceeding directly  to  California  and  settling  in 
Watsonville.  To  pay  the  expenses  of  the  trip 
from  Denmark  he  borrowed  S200  and  the  first 
money  earned  in  his  new  location  was  applied 
toward  the  payment  of  this  debt.  As  soon  as 
his  indebtedness  had  been  cancelled,  he  began 
to  save  his  earnings,  hoping  to  become  a  land 
owner  ill  the  near  future.  For  five  years  he 
worked  in  the  employ  of  others  and  then  began 
ranching  for  himself.  In  the  fall  of  1873  he 
married  Gretha  1'eterson.  whose  co-operation 
has  assisted  him  in  all  of  his  efforts.  Four 
children  were  born  of  their  union,  but  two  died 
in  infancy.  The  two  now  living  are  J.  J  and 
Andrew. 

During  1884  Mr.  Boysen  purchased  the  ranch 
where  he  now  resides,  and  two  years  later  he 
moved  to  the  place,  since  which  time  he  has 
devoted  himself  closely  to  its  cultivation,  giv- 
ing his  attention  to  cultivating  its  acres  and 
caring  for  his  stock.  Though  loyal  to  his 
adopted  country  and  fond  of  the  state  where 
he  lives,  he  is  not  a  partisan  politician,  nor  has 
he  mingled  in  public  affairs  at  any  time,  his 
interest  being  merely  that  of  the  puhlic-spirited 
citizen  wdio  favors  plans  for  the  general  welfare 
and  prosperity. 

W.  C.  BENNETT. 

The  largest  and  most  perfectly  appointed 
drug  establishment  in  Paso  Robles  is  the  prop- 
ert) of  W.  C.  Bennett,  who  has  a  thorough  mas- 
ter} of  his  chosen  occupation,  and  is  b 
a  citizen  of  many  attainments  and  varied  inter- 
ests. Ik-  was  born  in  \  anl'.urcu  count}',  Mich.. 
Iul\  7.  18(4.  his  father.  George  Ik.  being  a  na- 
tive of  Devonshire,  England.  He  came  to 
America  in   1855.  at   the  time  being  seventeen 


El 

** 

ty 

HST-i"  fWZsL£y 


[ISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


561 


years  of  age,  and  settled  in  Hillsdale  county, 
Mich.,  where  he  engaged  as  a  millwright.  For 
thirty  years  he  lived  at  Allegan.  Grand  Rapids 
and  Kalamazoo,  that  state,  and  in  [887  set- 
tled in  Paso  Robles,  (ah.  where  he  is  at  pres- 
ent assisting  his  sun  in  his  drug  business.  Mis 
wife,  Jane  (I '.rain)  Bennett,  was  born  in  Bir- 
mingham, England,  her  father.  Richard,  being 
also  a  native  of  England,  lie  was  a  brick  ma- 
sun  and  contractor,  and  built  many  of  the  tall 
chimneys  throughout  England.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1864,  and  died  in  Michigan, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years.  Seven  children 
were  born  to  George  H.  Bennett  and  his  wife, 
four  sons  and  three  daughters,  of  whom  \Y.  C. 
is  the  fourth. 

After  completing  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  W.  C.  Bennett  graduated  from  the  Alle- 
gan (Mich.)  College  in  1880.  and  was  afterward 
apprenticed  to  a  pharmacist,  in  time  perfecting 
his  trade  knowledge  at  an  eastern  college.  For 
five  or  six  years  he  engaged  in  clerking  in  drug- 
stores, and  in  June  of  1885  came  to  California, 
sealing  in  Tulare  county,  becoming  clerk  and 
manager  of  a  store  at  Traver.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  three  years,  or  in  1883,  he  came  to  Paso 
Robles  and  started  a  drug  business  of  his  own. 
the  new  enterprise  being  inaugurated  under 
auspicious  circumstances.  January  I,  1889.  He 
has  been  very  successful,  ami  besides  his  skill 
as  a  druggist  has  many  things  in  his  favor, 
among  others  being  a  genial  anil  optimistic 
disposition,  plenty  of  tact,  and  a  pronounced  de- 
sire to  please.  His  store  is  up  to  date  in  fur- 
nishings and  general  supplies,  and  is  one  of  the 
busiest  places  in  the  growing  town. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Bennett  and  Dove  Mc- 
Cubbin  occurred  in  Fresno  county.  Mrs.  Ben- 
nett being  a  native  of  Hancock  county.  Ilk,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  I',.  McCubbin,  at  present 
living  a  retired  life  in  Illinois.  Two  children 
were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett,  of  whom 
Clifford,  the  oldest,  is  eleven  years  old,  while 
Lorina  died  at  the  age  of  three  months.  Mr. 
Bennett  has  many  interests  aside  from  his  regu- 
lar business,  and  as  a  relaxation  from  business 
cares  may  go  to  his  farm  of  eighty  acres,  or 
his  Farm  of  three  hundred  and  sixt\  acres,  where 
are   raised   grain   ami   fruit,      lie   is    interested   in 


the  Citizens  Bank  of  Paso  Robles,  of  which 
he  is  vice-president,  and  he  owns  business  ami 
residence  property  aside  from  that  in  which  his 
store  is  located.  His  residence,  located  on  the 
corner  of  Spring  and  Seventeenth  street,  is  a 
pleasant  and  commodious  one,  and  his  home 
is  the  center  of  extended  hospitality  and  good 
fellowship. 


WILLIAM  CASEY. 

In  agriculture,  which  Mr.  Cascv  is  making 
his  occupation  in  life,  he  is  meeting  with  a  fair 
degree  of  success  and  at  the  same  time  is  pro- 
moting the  general  development  of  Monterey 
count)-  through  his  energetic  application  and 
intelligent  efforts.  Since  he  came  to  his  pres- 
ent ranch  near  San  Lucas  he  has  worked  inde- 
fatigable and  with  gratifying  results,  and  at 
this  writing  cultivates  about  twelve  hundred 
acres  of  land,  most  of  which  is  utilized  in  the 
raising  of  grain.  A  feature  of  his  farm  is  the 
raising  of  stock',  his  specialty  being  cattle  and 
horses  of  good  grades.  Thirteen  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  are  used  for  grazing  pur- 
poses, thus  affording  ample  pasturage  for  his 
herds. 

The  fact  that  Mr.  Casey  is  a  member  of  the 
Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West  indicates  that 
he  is  a  native  Californian.  He  was  born  in  Cas- 
Lroville,  Monterey  county,  March  2,  1863.  and 
af  six  years  of  age  accompanied  his  father,  [ere 
miah  Casey,  to  Long  Valley,  where  he  grew  to 
manhood  and  received  common-school  advan- 
tages. <  (n  selecting  an  occupation  he  chose 
that  of  agriculture  and  has  since  devoted  his 
attention  to  the  same.  In  [890  he  removed  from 
Long  Valley  to  San  Ardo,  Monterey  county, 
and  for  three  years  made  his  home  on  a  ranch 
there,  after  which  he  settled  <>n  the  propert) 
where  he  now  resides.  In  [890  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Katie  Hoalton,  by  whom 
Ik    has   four  children,  Ada,   Mary,  William  and 

Henry.  The  famil}  are  connected  with  the  Ro 
man  Catholic  Church  of  San  Ardo,  and  con- 
tribute to  its  maintenance,  a-  well  as  to  chari- 
ties under  its  control  and  supervision.  The 
success  which  Mr.  Case\  lias  al reach  attained 
is  a  hopeful  indication  ol   future  prospects,  For 


.<;-.' 


[ISTORICAL    AXD    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


he  i-  -nil  a  young  man.  with  life  and  its 
tunitics  before  him,  and  there  is  little 
that  his  energy,  perseverance  and  sagac 
brine  him  a  fair  measure  of  success. 


I.  Q.   BUFFINGT*  >N. 


The 


life  of  Mr.  Buffington  has  been 
passed  in  California,  and  since  [870  his  home 
has  been  in  San  Luis  (  )bispo  county.  His 
father,  Abram  C.  Buffington,  a  pioneer  of  [849, 
now  living  in  Los  Angeles,  has  been  identified 
with  the  progress  of  the  state  during  the  past 
half  century  and  has  witnessed  its  remarkable 
development  from  a  rough  mining  region  to 
(>ne  of  the  Eoremosl  states  of  the  Union.  While 
the  family  were  making  their  home  in  Nevada 
county,  Cab.  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born 
in  [850,  and  he  was  reared  in  that  and  .Marin 
counties,  receiving  his  education  in  district 
schools.  In  early  manhood  he  bought  land 
from  James  Cass  on  Little  Cayucos  creek  and 
established  a  dairy.  At  a  later  date  he  added 
to  bis  property  until  his  possessions  finally  ag- 
gregated four  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  the 
larger  part  of  which  was  used  for  the  pasturage 
of  his  stock.  In  his  herd  he  bad  sixty  milch 
cows  and  forty  head  of  young  animals.  The 
stock  was  of  the  best  Jersey  strains. 

To  the  acquisitions  of  land  he  had  previousl) 
made.  Mr.  Buffington  added  in  [890  by  the  pur- 
chase of  the  Knuckalls  farm  of  two  hundred  and 
six  acres,  lying  on  Old  creek,  and  ad- 
joining his  other  land.  This  gave  him  a  total 
acreage  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty-six.  Since 
[890  he  lias  resided  on  the  Knuckalls  place. 
where  he  has  built  a  good  bouse,  substantial 
buildings  and  barn.  \n  orchard  of  bear- 
in-  trees  adds  to  the  value  of  the  property  and 
contributes  to  the  transformation  of  the  place 
into  one  of  the  ideal  countr)  homes  of  San  Luis 
Obispo  county.  At  this  writing  he  farms  one 
hundred  acres  and  has  a  dairy  of  fort)   1  0 

When   the   life   of    Mr.    Buffington   is   viewed 

from   the   standpoint   of  a  citizen,  we  find  him 

1  man  desirous  of  discharging  every  duty 

es  his  community.     While  he  is  a  worker 


for  prominence  in  local  affairs.  By  his  contribu- 
tions of  money  he  assisted  in  building  the  tele- 
graph line  from  San  Luis  Obispo  to  Cayucos. 
I  lis  service  .as  a  trustee  of  Central  school  dis- 
trict proved  helpful  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
district  from  an  educational  standpoint.  In 
1  NX  1  he  was  one  of  the  ten  charter  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Cayucos,  in 
which  he  has  since  officiated  as  a  ruling  elder 
and  is  now  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school. 
If  there  is  anything  for  which  Mr.  Buffington 
may  be  said  to  stand  especially  as  a  citizen,  it 
is  for  good  churches  and  good  schools.  He 
believes  the  prosperity  of  our  nation  is  depend- 
ent upon  these  two  forces,  and  that  they  should 
therefore  be  guarded  and  fostered  by  all  who 
love  their  country.  Another  principle  for  which 
he  labors  and  of  which  he  is  an  earnest  cham- 
pion is  the  temperance  cause.  For  many  years 
lie  was  chaplain  of  the  lodge  of  Good  Templars 
at  Cayucos.  and  in  other  ways  he  has  promoted 
prohibition  principles.  In  1870  he  married  Miss 
Mary  Cook,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Xeil  Stewart,  of 
San  Luis  Obispo  county.  They  became  the 
parents  of  nine  children,  six  of  whom  are  living. 
namely:  Arthur  \Y..  Alexander  C.  Abram  S.. 
Marietta.  Elizabeth  J.  ami  Grace  H.  Those 
deceased  are  Mary  I-"...  William  A.  and 
lames    <  >. 


in   the   i 


.f  the 


-iii, 


M.  11.   BR<  )i  >KS. 

With  the  laudable  object  of  improving  the 
educational  opportunities  of  his  sons,  Mr. 
Brooks  has  moved  into  town,  and  is  at  present 
living  a  retired  life  in  Paso  Robles.  All  of  his 
active  life  litis  been  spent  011  a  farm,  and  he  has 
not  entirely  abandoned  the  idea  of  ending  his 
days  on  the  broad  expanse  of  his  well-improved 
farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  the 
vicinity  of  this  town.  lie  is  a  westerner  by 
birth,  having  been  born  in  Linn  county,  Ore., 
Ma)  JO,  [855,  in  which  county  be  received 
-nch  education  as  his  arduous  home  duties  per- 
mitted. I  lis  father,  Joshua  Brooks,  was  a  man 
of  considerable  ambition,  and  in  order  to  find 
the  best  possible  place  to  conduct  his  farming 
enterprises  moved  around  the  country  more 
than  do  most  men  thus  employed.     I  le  was  born 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


563 


in  Huron  county,  (  >hio,  and  from  there  removed 
to  Iowa,  later  taking  up  his  residence  in  Texas, 
which  large  and  resourceful  slate  was  his  home 
for  ten  years.  In  1850  he  crossed  the  plains 
to  Linn  county,  (  )re.,  where  he  farmed  with 
average  success,  and  in  1SS1  came  to  San  Luis 
( )bispo  county  from  Colusa  county,  and  set- 
tled near  Paso  Rubles,  where  he  died  in  1890, 
at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  He  was  a  devout 
member  of  the  Raptist  Church,  and  after  his 
removal  to  California  was  ordained  as  a  min- 
ister in  that  denomination,  and  from  that  time 
till  his  death  was  active  in  that  work.  His  wife. 
Mary  (Hackley)  Brooks,  was  born  in  Indiana, 
a  daughter  of  George  Hackley.  The  latter  was 
also  somewhat  of  a  migrator,  removing  from 
Kentucky  to  Indiana,  and  from  there  to  Ore- 
gon in  1852,  going  by  way  of  ox-teams  in  a 
train  of  emigrants. 

M.  H.  Brooks  is  the  oldest  of  four  daugh- 
ters and  three  sons  born  to  his  parents.  He 
was-  reared  to  farming  and  to  the  assumption 
of  early  responsibility.  In  i860  he  came  to 
Sutter  county,  Cal..  with  his  parents,  settling 
on  rented  land  until  1881.  He  then  came  to  the 
vicinity  of  what  is  now  Paso  Rubles,  but  which 
then  had  no  suspicion  of  a  town,  and  bought 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  and 
raised  thereon  wheat  and  grain.  His  years  of 
toil  have  resulted  in  a  goodly  share  of  worldly 
possessions,  some  of  which  consist  of  stock  in 
the  Bank  of  Paso  Robles  and  in  the  Farmers' 
Alliance,  a  business  association  in  this  city,  of 
which  lie  is  a  director.  He  is  fraternally  associ 
ated  with  the  blue  lodge  and  chapter  of  the 
Masonic  order,  and  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  (  kid  Fellows.  Politically  a  Democrat,  he  has 
chosen  rather  to  devote  his  energies  to  the  per- 
haps slow  but  sure  methods  of  farming  in  pref- 
erence to  the  uncertainties  and  annoyances  of 
political  office. 

To  the  common  sense  ami  helpful  attributes 
of  his  wife   Mr.    Brooks   correctly   attributes  a 

g 11)    share    of    his    success    in    life,    for    Mrs. 

Brooks  i<  a  woman  of  whom  her  family  and 
friends  are  indeed  proud.  She  was  one  of  the 
children  born  in  [ohn  Sawyer,  a  West  Virginia 
blacksmith,    and    in    her     youth     was    christened 


the  oil  fields  of  Volcano,  W.  Va.,  settling  near 
Paso  Robles,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1900, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Brooks  have  been  born  two  bright  and 
interesting  sons,  John  Clinton  and  Charles  El- 
bert, aged  respectivel}  twelve  and  ten  years. 
Their  parents  approve  of  a  thorough  education 
for  the  boys,  and  are  prepared  to  give  them 
ever}-  advantage  within  their  power. 


JOHN  H.  BRAY. 

An  English-American  who  has  impressed  hi, 
worth  upon  the  community  of  Long  Valley, 
Monterey  count},  is  John  11.  lira}-,  the  owner  of 
many  acres  of  land,  and  the  promoter  of  the 
general  prosperity  of  this  part  of  the  county. 
He  was  born  in  Cornwall,  England,  August  2j, 
1851,  and  when  nineteen  years  of  age  left  the 
paternal  farm  and  embarked  for  the  more  pro- 
lific chances  to  be  found  in  America.  He  lived 
for  a  time  in  New  Jersey,  and  then  tried  his 
luck  for  a  couple  of  years  in  Michigan.  The 
further  west  he  went  the  better  he  liked  it,  so 
in  1873  he  decided  to  go  wa\  to  the  coast.  For 
seven  years  he  worked  in  the  New  Idria  mines 
of  San  Benito  county.  Cal..  then  spent  a  year  on 
the  farm  where  he  now  lives.  Still  intent  upon 
making  his  fortune  in  mining,  he  went  to 
Nevada,  but  after  three  years  of  experimenting 
decided  that  after  all  the  life  agricultural  had  its 
compensations  and  particular  benefits,  so  re- 
turned' to  his  former  home  on  the  farm.  This 
was  in  1885,  and  he  has  since  been  a  part  of  tli  ■ 
progressive  farming  district  which  has  yielded 
him   more  than   expected   returns. 

The  farm  of  Mr.  Bray  consists  of  seven  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acre-  of  which  are  comprised  in  the  hom< 
erty.     The   watering  facilities  are  excellent,   and 
the  owner  is  engaged  in  general   farming,  and 
makes  a   specialt)    of  cattle,   hogs  and   chickens. 
Mr.    Bray   is   a    Republican   in   politic-,   an 
been  deputy  assessor  four  years,  and  road  com- 
missioner  for   several  years.      lie    is   fraternally 
connected  with  the   tndependen    i  »rdei 
bellows  and  is  a  charter  member  ai 
organizers  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  in    ! 
rev  county,  in  which  organization 


:,c,  i 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


representative  to  the  grand  lodge,  being  the  first 
in  fill  thai  impi  irtant  position. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Bray  was  formerly  Nellie 
Smith,  of  England,  and  who  died  in  California 
March  28,  1891,  in  her  forty-fifth  year.  Mrs. 
Bray  was  the  mother  of  four  children,  viz.:  Bes- 
sie, John,  Albert  and  Nellie  X.  Mr.  Bray  is  a 
practical  farmer  and  good  business  man,  and  his 
common  sense  idea-  on  public  questions  are  ap- 
preciated and  considered. 


WILLIAM    A.    BAKER. 

The  ambitious  nature  of  William  A.  Baker 
has  found  an  outlet  in  many  lands  and  in  many 
occupations,  and  the  fact  that  to-day  he  is  an 
agriculturist  in  the  Jolon  district,  one  of  the 
fertile  spots  of  Monterey  county,  is  but  another 
proof  of  the  universal  appreciation  of  the  solace 
and  peace  offered  by  mother  nature  to  the 
world-worn   sons  of  men. 

From  a  father  who  was  a  ship  carpenter  Mr. 
Baker  acquired  earl)  notions  of  life  on  the  rag- 
ing main,  and  when  ten  years  of  age  set  out  as 
a  cabin  boy  on  the  bark  11.  Snow.  While  still 
very  young  he  visited  lor  long  periods  Italy. 
Spain  and  other  countries  on  the  way  to  the 
Orient,  taking  on  loads  principally  at  the  ports 
of  Hon--  Long  and  Shanghai,  and  delivering 
them  in  England.  After  a  few  years  of  sea--; 
ing  he  became  an  accomplished  tar.  and  familiar 
with  all  things  of  a  nautical  nature.  He  was 
then  engaged  with  his  father  in  the  ship  build- 
ing yards  in  Maine,  and  under  the  able  instruc- 
tion of  his  sire  became  familiar  with  the  con- 
struction as  well  as  management  of  ocean  craft. 
For  the  following  years  he  was  a  carpenter 
aboard  different  vessels,  and  with  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Civil  war  left  his  ship  in  New  York 
City  and  enlisted  in  the  battalion  of  engineers, 
Compan)  K.  and  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war  as  a  carpenter  and  repair  man.  The  war 
ended,  he  settled  in  Whitestone,  X.  Y..  and  fol- 
lowed  the   carpi  literS   trade   until    [866. 

in  tin    spring  of  [866  Mr.  Baker  started  over- 
land   io    Fori    Bridge,    and    during    the    winter 
d  in  the  vicinity  and  herded  slock.     In  the 
spring  'if  1867  he  renewed  his  journey  west,  at 
n    Los    \.ngeles,  From  where 


he  went  to  Wilmington,  and  for  a  year  managed 
the  old  National  Hotel,  the  only  one  in  the 
place,  lie  then  went  to  Eureka  for  the  winter, 
and  in  the  spring  to  Stockton,  where  he  worked 
in  a  wagon  shop  for  a  couple  of  years.  From 
[881  until  [886  he  acted  in  the  capacity  of 
bridge  foreman  for  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road Company  at  Chico,  Butte  county,  Cal.,  and 
in  the  latter  part  of  1886  came  to  Monterey 
county  and  bought  eighty  acres  of  his  present 
ranch  in  the  Jolon  district.  At  the  end  of  four 
years  he  added  to  his  possession  forty  acres, 
and  in  1890  leased  the  ranch  and  went  to  Pa- 
lermo as  bridge  foreman,  remaining  until  1896. 
In  the  meantime  he  had  bought  an  addition  to 
his  ranch,  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  ad- 
joining, and  since  quitting  the  railroad  business 
has  lived  and  prospered  in  his  country  home. 
He  now  owns  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres, 
devoted  principally  to  wheat,  and  to  the  culti- 
vation of  a  small  orchard. 

July  30.  1871,  Mr.  Baker  married  Susan  J. 
Crooker,  who  was  born  near  Bath,  Me.,  April 
18.  1843,  and  who  came  to  California  with  her 
father  in  1850.  They  located  in  Marin  county, 
where  Mrs.  Baker  lived  until  her  marriage.  <  )i 
litis  union  there  has  been  born  one  daughter, 
Ida.  the  wife  of  Ira  Young.  Mr.  Baker  is  a 
Republican,  but  all  his  political  labors  are  in 
the  interest  of  friends,  as  he  himself  cares  noth- 
ing tor  office.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with 
the  Oreville  Lodge  No.  103.  F.  &  A.  M. 


\BK  \I1A.\1   COSTELLO. 

Through  his  connection  with  various  official 
positions  Mr.  (  ostello  is  well  known  to  the  peo- 
ple of  his  home  town,  Watsonville,  and  is  inter- 
ested in  movements  for  the  benefit  of  his  native 
California.  He  was  born  at  Gilroy,  Santa  1  lara 
count),  January  7.  [869,  and  was  the  only  child 
born  to  the  union  of  form  Costello  and  KniiK 
S.  Ames.  His  father,  who  deserves  recognition 
among  the  self-sacrificing  pioneers  of  the  '50s. 
was  a  native  of  Elmira,  X.  Y..  and  at  an  earh 
age  wenl  as  Far  wesl  as    Illinois.      He  became  the 

and  aLo  followed   the  carpenter's  trade.     Willi 
a    hope   of    finding   a    favorable   location    on    the 


?fa€£z^2¥.7%s. 


'^e^cfjiy 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Pacific  coast,  in  1852  he  came  with  others  over 
the  plains  with  ox-teams,  and  arrived  in  Port- 
land. <  Ire.,  after  three  months  en  route.  His 
first  wife  was  Wealth)-  A.  Farnam,  daughter  of 
Truman  Farnam,  but  she  died  in  1855,  leaving 
two  daughters.  The  elder,  Clarissa,  died  in 
childhood;  the  younger,  Ella,  is  the  wife  of 
William  T.   Eipper. 

Coming  to  California  in  1853,  John  Costello 
followed  the  carpenter's  trade  for  a  short  time  in 
San  Francisco,  and  then  was  similarly  occupied 
at  San  Jose  for  two  years.  (  hi  settling  at  Gil- 
roy,  he  rented  land  in  the  Pacheco  mountains 
and  embarked  in  the  eattle  and  sheep  business. 
For  some  years  all  went  well.  His  flocks  and 
herds  Hnurished  and  brought  good  prices  in  the 
market.  However,  the  drought  of  1863  affected 
him  injuriously,  as  it  did  all  stock-raisers  in  the 
west,  and  so  many  of  his  head  of  stock  died  that 
the  profits  of  previous  years  were  swallowed  up 
in  the  losses  of  that  unfortunate  period.  Dis- 
couraged as  to  agricultural  and  stock-raising 
prospects,  he  decided  to  resume  work  as  a  car- 
penter, and  so  settled  in  Gilroy,  where  he  found 
employment.  Soon  he  became  interested  in  the 
fruit  business  and  bought  a  small  ranch  in  the 
valley.  During  1888  he  came  to  Santa  Cruz 
county  and  ten  years  later  retired  from  active 
business.  At  that  time  he  settled  in  Watson- 
ville.  where  his  death  occurred  when  eighty- 
three  years  of  age.  A  man  of  energy  and  judg- 
ment, he  accumulated  considerable  means  after 
coming  west,  and  in  spite  of  the  many  discour- 
agements and  reverses  that  met  him  at  different 
points  in  his  career,  he  left  a  competence  at  his 
demise.  Since  then  his  widow,  who  was  for- 
merly Mrs.  Sarah  Hatch,  and  who  became  Mr. 
(  ostello's  third  wife,  has  made  her  home  with 
her  stepson,  Abraham,  in  Watsonville. 

During  his  boyhood  Abraham  Costello  be- 
came familiar  with  ranch  pursuits  and  learned 
the  best  methods  to  be  pursued  in  the  raising 
of  fruit.  Later  he  took  up  the  painter's  trade, 
but  has  not  followed  it  to  any  great  extent,  as 
his  attention  has  so  far  been  largely  given  to  his 
duties  as  deputy  constable,  constable,  deput) 
marshal  and  deputy  sheriff,  which  various  offices 
he  has  held  about  eight  years.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Eagles  and  the  Native  Sons  of  the  <  rolden 


"West   and    is   also    connect 
Union. 


with    the    Lab 


WALLACE    M.    PENCE. 

Among  the  members  of  the  legal  profession 
in  Salinas,  Wallace  M.  Pence  is  not  only  one  of 
the  most  prominent  and  successful,  but  he  is  as 
well  one  of  the  most  cultured  and  wideh  read 
men  in  Monterey  county.  A  native  of  Oquawka, 
Henderson  county.  111.,  he  was  born  March  2J . 
i860,  a  son  of  R.  T.  and  Elizabeth  (Co 
Pence,  the  latter  a  descendant  of  an  old  Quaker 
family  of  Pennsylvania.  <  hi  the  paternal  side. 
Mr.  Pence  is  of  Pennsylvania-Dutch  extraction, 
and  his  father  was  one  of  the  early  and  success- 
ful farmers  of  Henderson  county,  111.,  of  which 
he  had  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  judge. 

The  education  of  Mr.  Pence  was  acquired  in 
the  public  schools  and  the  Western  Normal 
School  at  Shenandoah.  Iowa,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1884  with  the  degrees  of  Bach- 
elor of  Arts  and  Bachelor  of  Science.  He  sub- 
sequently taught  school  in  the  same  cotleg<  Eoi 
a  year,  after  which  he  removed  to  California 
and  engaged  in  educational  work  in  Creston 
and  Cayucos,  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  and  in 
Guadaloupe,  Santa  Barbara  county.  At  the 
expiration  of  two  years  he  had  decided  upon 
the  profession  of  law  for  a  life  work,  and  to 
strengthen  the  foundation  upon  which  to  build 
his  knowledge  of  the  same,  entered  the  Univer- 
sity of  Kansas,  where  he  took  a  complete  course 
in  the  unusually  short  time  of  two  years.  Upon 
returning  to  California  he  farmed  for  two 
at  Parkfield,  and  while  there  became  interested 
in  polities,  and  served  as  county  deput)  ass 
Upon  locating  in  Salinas  in  [892  he  i\ 
mitted  to  practice  before  the  bar  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  state,  and  this  has  since  been  bis 
preferred  field  of  activity.  The  majority  of  the 
important  cases  requiring  adjustment  have  been 
brought  to  him.  and  be  has  an  extensive  and 
wealthy  clientage  throughout  this  entire  section. 
His  responsibilities  extend  t>>  the  management 
of  the  Monterey  Abstract  Company,  in  which 
he  owns  most  of  the  stock,  and  i>  the  chief  pro- 
pelling force.  A  Republican  in  politics,  he 
lends  the  weighl  of  his  influence  on  the 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


municipal  purity,  and  in  all  ways  endeavors  to 
the   standard  of  his  adopted  town.     He 
is  prominent  in  the  Baptist  Church  and  is  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday-school. 

[anuar)    4.    [893,    Mr.    fence  married   Carrie 
IV.  man,    daughter    of    an    attorney    who    died 

re   her  marriage.     To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pence 

have  been   born  two  sons,  Juarez  Beeman  and 
Harold   Titus. 


WILLIAM  CALLIHAN. 

There  are  very  few  citizens  now  living"  in  Wat- 
sonville  who  have  been  identified  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  town  for  a  longer  period  than  has 
William  Callihan.  one  of  the  honored  pioneers 
of  the  Pajaro  valley.  He  was  born  in  Harris- 
burg,  Pa.,  in  18J9.  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Rosella 
Callihan.  Educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
city,  he  was  prepared  by  thorough  schooling 
and  careful  home  training  for  such  responsibili- 
ties as  life  had  in  store  for  him.  When  in  his 
early  manhood  he  went  to  Illinois,  where  he  se- 
cured employment  in  the  smelters  at  Galena. 
However,  to  an  ambitious  mind  the  narrow  and 
restricted  opportunities  of  that  city  seemed  to 
illy  repay  the  arduous  labors  of  days  and  weeks, 
so  he  regarded  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia as  affording  the  opening  he  so  greatly 
desired.  I  hiring  1850  he  came  to  this  new 
country  and  tried  his  luck  at  mining  in  Eldorado 
county. 

It  was  during  December  of  1852  that  Mr. 
Callihan  settled  in  Watson  ville.  That  same 
year  had  proved  remarkably  profitable  for  po 
lato  raisers  and  he  at  once  decided  to  engage  m 
the  industry  for  himself.  From  J.  R.  Hill  he 
rented  some  land  on  the  hanks  of  the  Pajaro 
river  and  began  to  plant  and  cultivate  his  crop. 
\>  it  happened,  however,  almost  every  settler 
had  decided  to  raise  potatoes,  so  in  1853  the 
countrj  was  flooded  with  potatoes.  Every  one 
had  them  to  sell,  and  no  one  wanted  to  buy. 
This  overproduction  entailed  a  serious  loss 
upon  all  and  it  was  years  before  some  of  the 
ranchers  recovered  from  the  disastrous  results 
of  that  long  remembered  potato  season.  Mr. 
Callihan  nol  onl)  lost  his  work,  but  monej  be 
te     1  ould    iii  il    dispone    of    his    crop. 


During  1854  he  returned  to  the  mines,  but  at 
the  expiration  of  a  year  resumed  potato-raising. 
selling  one  hundred  and  sixty  sacks,  for  which 
he  received  three  and  one-half  cents  a  pound. 
His  crop  had  to  he  hauled  to  the  coast,  then 
taken  by  means  of  a  coast  boat  to  a  vessel 
(there  being  no  wharf),  and  thus  at  large  ex- 
pense transported  to  San  Francisco.  Besides 
potatoes  he  raised  grain  and  beans.  Somewhat 
later  he  began  to  buy  and  sell  as  a  commission 
man.  and  with  the  means  thus  gained  he  in- 
vested in  city  and  country  property.  By  slow 
and  steady  advance,  without  speculation  of  any 
kind,  he  amassed  a  competence,  and  has  suffi- 
cient to  prove  every  comfort  for  his  remaining 
years. 

Among  the  local  enterprises  which  owe  much 
to  the  presence  and  aid  of  Mr.  Callihan  may  be 
mentioned  the  Watsonville  Gas  Company,  or- 
ganized in  1 87 1,  with  the  following  officers: 
Henry  Jackson,  president;  George  Pardee,  sec- 
retary; A.  Louis,  treasurer:  and  L.  Sanborn, 
C.  Ford,  G.  Traftoii,  L.  Alyn  and  W.  Callihan, 
directors.  At  a  subsequent  election  of  officers 
Mr.  Callihan  was  chosen  president,  and  while 
holding  that  position  he  had  charge  of  the  dis- 
posing of  the  company's  stock. 


ROBERT  W.  EATON. 

To  live  in  the  midst  of  the  unequaled  fertility 
of  the  Pajaro  valley  is  to  have  a  broad  outlook, 
and  to  aspire  to  great  things.  Here,  as  else- 
where, there  are  specialties  in  horticulture  and 
agriculture,  ami  he  who.  can  so  marshal  his 
forces  as  to  excel  in  the  production  of  any  de- 
sired commodity  may  be  sure  of  an  extended 
appreciation  and  an  income  commensurate  with 
the  extent  of  his  operations.  Mr.  Eaton  has 
thirty  acres  of  land  in  his  home  ranch  half  a 
mile  from  Watsonville,  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-five acres  in  berries,  and  two  hundred  and 
twent)  acres  in  apples.  However,  it  is  as  a 
bern  grower  that  he  is  besl  known,  ami  his 
statements  on  this  particular  branch  of  horti- 
culture are  received  with  the  confidence  due  his 
extended  researches.  He  is  conversant  with  the 
growth  of  the  industry  from  the  introduction  of 
water  in  1879  up  to  the  present  time,  and  he  has 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


watched  with  increasing;  interest  the  develop- 
ment from  a  few  isolated  patches  to  an  industry 
which  is  able  to  supply  the  greater  part  of  the 
San  Francisco  market,  as  well  as  a  portion  of 
that  of  Los  Angeles  and  many  surrounding 
towns. 

A  native  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  Mr.  Eaton  was 
horn  June  2~ ,  1846,  a  son  of  John  and  Matilda 
(Kyle)  Eaton,  natives  respectively  of  Bedford, 
Pa.,  and  Ireland.  John  Eaton  was  a  silversmith 
by  occupation,  and  removed  to  Douglass  county, 
Kans..  in  1858.  where  he  located  on  a  farm, 
dying  in  1888.  Robert  W.  Eaton  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1874,  and  after  investigating  the  pros- 
pects  in  different  parts  of  the  state  located  in 
Watsonville  in  1875.  In  1870  he  married  Annie 
Van  Tries,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of  this  union 
there  were  born  six  children,  all  of  whom  are 
living:  Frank  E..  Orrin  ( >.,  Roy  T.,  Carl  W., 
Minnie  M.  and  Robert  11.  Mr.  Eaton  is  a  Re- 
publican in  national  politics,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  school  board  for  twelve  years. 
Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the  Ancient 
Order  <>i"  United  Workmen.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Christian  Church,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
substantial  and  influential  citizens  of  the  Pajaro 
valley. 

IK  >N.  M.  T.  I)<  )<  KLING. 

M.  T.  Dooling.  judge  of  the  superior  court  of 
San  Benito  county,  is  a  native  son  of  the  state, 
and  was  born  in  Nevada  county,  in  18(30.  His 
father,  Timothy  Dooling,  came  to  California  in 
1850,  via  Panama,  and  first  located  among  the 
mines  of  Xevada  county,  where  he  lived  until 
1868.  He  then  removed  to  what  was  then  Mon- 
terey but  is  now  San  Benito  count}',  and  pur- 
chased a  part  of  the  Hollister  grant  or  San  Justo 
rancho,  upon  which  he  conducted  general  farm- 
ing, and  where  he  eventually  died  in  [895,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two  years,  lie  was  a  man  of 
leading  characteristics,  and  was  well  known  in 
the  count)  by  reason  of  his  enterprise  and 
public-spiritedness. 

When  the  family  fortunes  were  shifted  to 
Monterey  county,  Judge  l>'»>liiiL:  attended  the 
public  schools,  and  in  1878  entered  the  college 
of  St.    Mary's  in   San    Francisco,   from   which  he 


was  graduated  in  1880  with  the  degree  of  A.  B. 
the  following  year  receiving  the  degree  of  A.  M. 
His  career  at  the  college  was  a  brilliant  one.  and 
after  completing  the  course  he  continued  to  re- 
main within  the  halls  of  his  alma  mater,  where 
for  two  years  lie  filled  the  chair  of  modern  and 
ancient  languages.  In  [883  lie  took  up  the 
study  of  law  in  Hollister.  in  the  office  of  I',.  B. 
McCroskey,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
supreme  court  in  1885.  and  for  the  following 
two  years  was  associated  in  practice  with  John 
L.  Hudner,  under  the  firm  name  of  Hudner  & 
Dooling.  Subsequently  lie  was  associated  with 
II.  W.  Scott,  and  in  1892  he  was  elected  district 
attorney  of  San  Benito  county,  having  been 
nominated  by  both  Republicans  and  Democrats. 
His  re-election  to  the  same  office  followed  in 
1894,  and  in  1897  he  resigned  to  assume  his 
present  responsibility  as  judge  of  the  superior 
court,  to  which  he  hail  been  elected  in  1896. 
In  1902  he  was  re-elected  without  opposition, 
both  political  parties  supporting  him. 

Ever  since  his  first  voting  days  Judge  Dool- 
ing has  been  active  in  the  undertakings  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  he  is  at  present  recog- 
nized as  one  of  its  foremost  leaders  in  the 
county,  and  an  advocate  of  its  highest  principles 
and  issues.  While  still  a  student,  in  18S4.  he 
was  elected  to  the  legislature,  ami  served  for 
one  term  of  two  sessions,  and  during  that  time 
took  an  active  part  as  a  member  of  the  commit- 
tee appointed  to  secure  a  system  of  irrig; 
Since  1888  he  has  attended  every  convention  in 
the  state,  and  has  each  time  served  on  the  com- 
mittee of  platform  and  resolutions.  In  all  other 
political  matters  he  has  been  equall)  prominent, 
and  his  political  services  have  been  invariably 
conducted  in  the  best  interests  of  the  people 
who  have  honored  him  with  their  confidence  and 
votes. 

The  marriage  of  Judge  Dooling  and  Ida 
Wagner  occurred  in  1SS7.  Mrs.  Dooling  being 
a  native  of  Illinois.  Judge  Dooling  is  p 
nently  identified  with  the  social  and  fraternal 
organizations  of  the  county,  and  is  especially  well 
known  among  the  Native  Sons  of  the  1 
West,  in  which  organization  Ik'  has  been  grand 
trustee  of  the  grand  parlor  on  three  different 
occa  tons.     Me  is  a  member  of  Fremont  Parlor 


570 


i  >RICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


No.  44.  of  Hollister,  and  is  active  in  all  divisions 
of  the  order.  He  is  also  connected  with  the 
Workmen  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  the  World. 
Dooling  is  conceded  to  be  one  of  the 
foremost  orators  of  the  state  of  California  and 
is  also  noted  for  his  lucid  exposition  of  the  law 
and  his  equitable  rulings,  and  stands  at  the  head 
of  a  profession  in  San  Benito  county  which, 
numbers  anion-  its  followers  the  brightest  wit 
and    intelligence    of    the    west. 


ALFRED   HUGHES. 

The  earl_\-  youth  of  Alfred  Hughes,  one  of 
the  prominent  farmers  near  Watsonville,  was 
characterized  by  a  hard  struggle  for  existence, 
and  by  the  assumption  of  almost  childish  re- 
sponsibility. When  but  thirteen  years  of  age  he 
left  the  home  farm  in  Jackson  county,  Mich., 
where  he  was  horn  November  15,  1825,  and  went 
b  live  on  the  farms  of  the  surrounding  farmers. 
For  nine  years  he  was  thus  employed,  after  which 
he  went  to  work  on  a  ranch.  His  parents  were 
George  W.  and  Matilda  (Dawson)  Hughes,  and 
his  grandfather  was  another  George  W.,  who 
fought  with  courage  and  distinction  in  the  war 
of   [812.    ' 

Having  determined  to  test  the  possibilities  of 
California,  Mr.  Hughes  left  St.  Joe,  Mo.,  May 
5.  [850,  and,  with  others  comprising  the  train, 
crossed  the  plains,  reaching  Placerville,  Augus! 
o.  [850.  \fter  two  years  of  mining  in  Placer- 
ville he  wini  in  the  state  of  Washington  and 
wrked  in  a  sawmill  for  a  year,  and  in  1854  re- 
turned to  Placerville  and  married  Kate  l'.unde, 
who  died  in  California  in  1804.  (  >f  this  union 
were  born  the  following  children:  John,  who 
i-  a  resident  of  Watsonville;  Mary,  Mrs.  Burton; 
I'ildie.  Mrs.  Boone ;  Catherine,  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Smith,  manager  fur  his  father-in-law ;  Josei,  Mrs. 
Hansen:  and  Tillie.  In  [856  Mr.  Hughes  came 
to  Santa  Cruz  county,  and  in  [86b  went  to  Mon- 
county,  where  he  lived  for  three  years,  lo- 
cating on  his  present  farm  in  [864.  He  is 
1  1  over  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  and 
•ni  liiiinlii  d  and  fifty  acres  111  the 
.  all.;, ,  Ih-  home  farm  contain-  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acre-,  ami  he  ha.-  yet  an 
other  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acre-       He 


i-  on,-  of  the  large  land  owner-  ami  successful 
farmers  of  the  Comity,  and  has  established  an 
enviable  reputation   for  thrift  and  enterprise. 


LEWIS   HUSHBECK. 

Lewis  Hushbeck,  one  of  the  old  and  honored 
residents  and  farmers  of  Santa  Cruz  county,  was 
horn  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  in  1825,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city. 
His  father,  Henry  Hushbeck.  was  a  shoemaker 
by  trade  in  his  native  country  of  Germany,  and 
after  emigrating  to  America  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes  in  Baltimore 
for  many  years.  The  latter  part  of  his  life  was 
devoted  to  farming,  and  his  death  occurred  in 
Maryland  in  1866.  His  wife.  Mary,  survived 
him  a  number  of  years. 

Until  his  twenty-third  year  Lewis  Hushbeck 
lived  on  his  father's  farm,  and  then  came  to 
California  in  1853,  two  years  later  settling  on 
the  present  farm  on  Lake  avenue.  He  has  fifty 
acres  under  apples,  and  conduct-  a  general 
farming  enterprise  on  a  small  scale.  In  politics 
Mr.  Hushbeck  is  independent,  and  in  his 
younger  days  was  a  Whig  and  quite  active  in 
the  political  undertakings  of  his  neighborhood. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Hushbeck,  who  was  formerly 
Eunice  Brown,  was  born  in  Xew  York,  but  is 
now  deceased.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hushbeck 
were  born  ten  children,  of  whom  the  following 
are  living:  Mary,  Andrew.  Charles,  Thomas, 
lane.  <  rllSS,   I  larcv  and  llattie. 


GEi  )RGE  F.   PALMER. 

The  finely  cultivated  farm  in  Priest  valley, 
VIonterey  county,  upon  which  Gei  rge  F.  Palmer 
lives,  and  a  portion  of  which  he  owns,  was  set- 
tled by  his  father  many  years  ago,  and  consists 
in  all  of  three  thousand  acres.  This  prosperous 
idler  of  the  -oil  was  born  in  Plumas  county,  Cal., 
February  15.  [862,  a  son  ^i  Samuel  I 'aimer,  from 
whom  he  inherits  the  thrift  and  enterprise  which 
have  hri  nighl   abi  nil   his  success. 

Samuel  I 'aimer  came  overland  from  Michigan 
to  California  in  1852,  the  trip  consuming  six 
months,  and   being  interspersed  with  danger  and 


C.  S.  AHHoTT 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


513 


deprivation.     IP-  started  out  with  ox-teams,  and 

a  newly  wedded  wife,  and  the  wedding  journey 
terminated  at  Quincy,  Plumas  county,  Cal., 
where  the  bridegroom  prospected  and  mined  for 
a  short  time.  Mr.  Palmer  then  went  to  Laporte, 
where  he  met  with  success,  and  fur  greater  se- 
curity placed  his  savings  in  a  San  Francisco 
hank.  When  the  hank  failed,  and  he  lost  all 
that  he  had  in  the  world,  it  became  necessary 
fur  him  to  again  engage  in  the  mines,  where  he 
achieved  moderate  success  until  1867.  He  then 
turned  his  attention  t<>  farming  at  Gilroy  fur  a 
year,  and  in  the  fall  of  [869  came  to  Priest  val- 
ley, where  his  sun  now  lives,  hut  which  at  that 
time  bore  all  the  earmarks  of  loneliness  and  want 
of  human  interest.  He  erected  a  little  log  cabin 
<<i  two  rooms  and  settled  down  t<  >  extremely 
pioneer  conditions,  his  only  neighbors  being  a 
Mr.  Reynolds,  Martin  Griffin,  John  Green,  and 
old  man  German.  No  one  owned  the  land,  and  it 
was  a  case  of  squat  and  take  your  chances.  Later 
on,  when  the  land  came  on  the  market,  Mr.  Pal- 
mer homesteaded  land  and  lived  thereon  until 
his  retirement  to  San  Jose  in  the  fall  of  1894. 
Through  his  marriage  with  Nancy  Fox,  who  ac- 
companied him  across  the  plains,  three  sons  were 
li  ni,  of  whom  Frank  L.  is  a  ranchman,  as  is 
also  Charles,  who  lives  on  the  old  homestead  with 
George  F.  Samuel  Palmer,  who  is  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  has  al- 
ways been  liberal  in  his  tendencies,  and  deeply 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  tlic  communities  in 
which   he  lived. 

George  F.  Palmer  was  seven  years  of  age 
when  I  lie  family  settled  in  Priest  valley,  and  his 
life  has  since  been  spent  on  the  land  acquired  by 
his  father.  lie  was  educated  at  Hollister,  and 
at  the  high-school  at  Gilroy,  and  lived  with  his 
father  on  the  ranch  until  the  retirement  of  the 
latter  in  [894.  During  that  year  George  F.  and 
Charles  leased  twenty-five  hundred  acres  of 
the  father's  property,  ami  at  the  present  time 
George  F.  owns  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres.  IK-  is  engaged  in  general  farming,  cattle 
and  hog  raising,  and  has  a  thorough  understand 
ing  of  his  chosen  occupation.  lie  is  identified 
with  the  [ndependenl  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  of 
Kinp;  City,  and  is  a  Republican  in  political  prefer- 
ence.    Mr.  Palmer  represents  tin-  broad  minded 


progressive  farmer  of  the  west,  and  enjoys  the 
confidence  and  friendship  of  many  of  his  asso- 
ciates in  the  valley. 


C.  S.  ABBl  ITT. 

The  family  represented  by  Mr.  Abbott  of 
Monterey  count)  is  descended  from  George 
Abbott,  an  Englishman,  who  settled  in  Andover, 
Mass.,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  from  whom  have  sprung  almost  all  of  lie 
Abbotts  of  Canada  and  the  United  Stairs. 
About  1700  Abiel  Abbott  and  his  four  sons 
moved  from  Connecticut  to  Lower  Canada  (now 
province  of  Quebec),  and  engaged  in  farming 
in  the  county  of  Stanstead,  just  north  of  and 
adjoining  Vermont.  Among  the  sons  was  John 
Abbott,  who  1)\  his  marriage  to  Lydia  Boying- 
hon  had  seven  sons  and  three  daughters,  all 
now  deceased  excepting  the  youngest.  C.  S., 
who  was  born  February  26,  [828.  When  he 
was  eight  years  of  age  the  death  of  his  mother 
placed  him  under  the  charge  of  an  older 
brother,  hut  when  sixteen  years  old,  being  re- 
fused the  use  of  the  horse  and  buggy  with  which 
to  drive  a  young  lady  to  an  apple  paring,  he- 
ran  away  from  home  and  went  to  1  )ekalb 
count).  Ill,  via  Lake  Champlain.  Erie  canal 
and  the  great  lakes  to  Chicago,  and  from  there 
b)  stage  to  Sycamore,  the  county-seat,  where 
he  lived  until  twenty-one  years  of  age.  mean- 
time working  for  his  hoard  much  of  the  time, 
and  having  the  privilege  of  going  to  school. 

In  company  with  a  brother,  Alvin.  and  eight 
other  young  men,  in  1850  Mr.  Abbott  started 
across  the  plains.  The)  crossed  the  Missouri 
river  where  <  Imaha  now  stands,  hut  at  that 
tune  the  now  prosperous  city  had  onl)  one 
house  and  the  only  white  inhabitant  was  a 
French  trader  named  Sarpie.  Several  small 
companies  joined  there,  not  onl)  for  pr<  : 
against  Indians,  hut  to  lighten  guard  duty. 
About  one  hundred  men  thus  handed  tog 
and  continued  in  the  same  part)  until  pa 
Fort  Laramie.  The  Platte  river  was  very  high 
ainl  cold  from  the  melting  -now.  in  the  Rock) 
mountains,  besides  being  full  of  eddies,  whirl- 
pools and  quicksands.  In  the  part)  there  were 
about     one    hundred    and     seventy-five    head     of 


.-.: ' 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


horses  belonging  to  different  men,  and  these 
horses  had  to  be  taken  across  the  river.  It  was 
to  wait  days  for  the  ferry,  so  Mr.  Ab- 
bott, having  a  horse  that  was  a  fine  swimmer, 
was  directed  to  lead  the  horses  over  the  river. 
Divesting  himself  of  clothing,  and  taking  a 
stick  four  feet  long  with  which  to  guide  the 
horse,  he  started  at  his  task,  not  even  having  a 
strap  with  which  to  hold  his  horse.  The  other 
horses  were  crowded  after  him  and  followed 
for  a  time,  but  took  fright  in  midstream  and 
made  a  rush  for  the  front  horse,  crowding  him 
and  his  rider  down  and  falling  on  top  of  them. 
When  Mr.  Abbott  came  to  the  surface  he  found 
himself  in  the  midst  of  struggling  animals. 
Springing  on  the  hack  of  the  nearest  one,  he 
jumped  from  one  to  another  until  he  had 
reached  the  one  furthest  down  stream,  and  then 
dove  and  swam  down  stream  as  long  as  he  could 
hold  his  breath.  When  he  came  to  the  surface 
the  horses  had  their  eves  on  the  southern  shore 
and  were  striking  out  for  California  in  haste, 
hut  .Mr.  Abbott  was  almost  froze'.!  ami  in  the 
greatest  danger  by  reason  of  a  turn  in  the  river 
which  would  carry  him  back  to  midstream.  All 
the  power  and  energy  he  possessed  was  brought 
into  play.  Just  as  he  was  passing  the  curve  in 
the  river  he  caught  a  branch  of  an  overhanging 
wallow  and  there  clung  until  some  soldiers,  who 
had  been  watching  him,  came  to  his  rescue, 
wrapped  him  in  a  blanket  and  placed  him  before 
a  fire  in  an  Indian  hut. 

Shortly  alter  leaving  Fort  Laramie  the  party 
began  to  divide.  Some  did  not  wish  to  travel 
-  fa  '  and  dropped  behind.  Others  wished  to 
travel  with  more  speed  and  went  on  ahead.  (  Mi 
reaching  the  Humboldt  river  the  original  com- 
pany of  ten  were-  again  alone,  ami  about  that 
tune  tluir  tn  itibles  began  in  earnest.  ( )ne  night 
nearly  all  their  Maple  provisions  were  stolen. 
I  hen  Mr.  Abbott's  brother  came  down  with  the 
In  lera.  To  facilitate  progress,  Mr.  Abbott 
took  the  wagon  to  pieces  and  made  a  cart  of  the 
hind  wheels.  In  the  morning  the  work  was 
done,  his  brother  was  put  in  the  cart  and  he 
-tatted  on  with  the  company.  I  lis  brother  re- 
covered and  was  able  to  be  about  cam])  when 
the  parte  reached  the  sink  of  the  Humboldt. 
the}   faced  a  desert  of  forty-five  miles,  the 


last  fifteen  of  which  were  drifting  sand.  They 
started  about  three  in  the  afternoon  and  just 
before  that  ate  their  last  supply  of  provisions, 
the  same  consisting  of  one  ounce  of  dried  beef 
and  two  tablespoonfuls  of  flour  made  into  gruel 
for  each.  They  also  had  six  quarters  of  dried 
apples  for  each,  putting  these  in  their  pockets 
and  eating  them  to  quench  the  thirst.  At  ten 
the  next  morning  they  were  still  ten  miles  from 
Carson  river  and  all  their  horses  but  three  had 
been  left  by  the  way.  and  two  of  these  belonged 
to  the  Abbott  brothers.  All  around  them  were 
dreary  stretches  of  sand,  covered  with  dead  and 
dying  cattle  and  horses.  Ox-teams  hitched  to 
great  prairie  schooners  were  lying  dead  in  their 
yokes,  their  owners  having  hurried  on  without 
waiting  to  unhitch  them.  The  wagons  were 
loaded  with  mining  machinery  and  clothing,  but 
nothing  was  found  in  the  way  of  food.  The 
company  of  ten  were  out  of  water,  and  it  was 
decided  that  Mr.  Redington  and  C.  S.  Abbott 
should  make  the  trip  for  water.  They  took  a 
ten-gallon  can  and  a  light  tent  pole  from  one 
of  the  abandoned  wagons,  and  waded  through 
sand  to  their  ankles.  On  the  return  trip  they 
carried  the  can  (which  weighed  a  ton)  between 
then;  on  the  pole.  They  walked  ten  miles  to 
the  river,  but  on  their  return  trip  met  the  others 
six  miles  out.  While  at  the  trading  post  the) 
had  spent  their  last  penny  for  hard-tack,  and 
this  with  the  water  was  given  out  to  the  men 
1>\  the  doctor.  At  Ragtown  (so  called  because 
it  was  made  of  the  covers  of  abandoned  wagons) 
they  traded  a  horse  for  flour  and  dried  beef. 
Other  members  of  the  company  traded  cloth- 
ing or  pistols  for  food.  From  there  they  had 
fair  luck  in  reaching  the  Mormon  station,  now 
(arson  City,  where  they  took  a  rest  of  a  few- 
days  before  starting  over  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mountains.  Alvin  Abbott  traded  for  ten  pounds 
of  hard  bread  a  watch  that  had  cost  him  $2  l 
in  the  east.  At  Mormon  station  there  was  a 
relief  post,  where  a  quart  of  meal  and  flour, 
mixed,  was  given  to  men  who  were  absolutely 
destitute.  (  )n  leaving  this  station,  the  company 
took  a  bridle  trail  that  came  out  near  George 
town  instead  of  following  the  wagon  road  via 
Placerville.  for  live  days  they  had  as  rations 
two   tablespoonfuls   of  flour  and  one   ounce   of 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


dried  beef  For  each  meal.  When  their  provi- 
sions were  gone,  at  the  end  of  the  five  days, 
they  subsisted  mostly  on  hazelnuts  and  the  buds 
of  the  wild  rose.  Even  with  the  aid  of  a  cane 
in  each  hand,  they  could  nut  make  more  than 
eight  or  ten  miles  a  day.  Meeting  a  pack  train. 
they  forced  the  men  to  weigh  them  out  one 
pound  (if  hard  bread  each,  telling  them  they 
would  take  a  whole  sack  if  they  refused.  One 
of  the  men  hail  a  lew  ounces  of  tea,  so.  when 
the}  came  to  water,  they  would  have  a  feast  of 
tea  and  bread.  Afterward  all  went  to  sleep. 
The  next  morning  they  started  out  with  high 
hopes,  expecting  to  reach  the  trading  post  by 
eight  o'clock,  but  the  whole  day  passed  and  no 
trading  post  appeared  and  there  were  no  hazel- 
nuts by  the  trail.  So  the  men  went  to  bed 
hungry  ami  disappointed.  The  next  morning 
Old  John,  the  black'  horse  that  had  swam  the 
Platte  and  other  streams  with  Air,  Abbott,  had 
the  death  sentence  passed  on  him.  There  being 
no  water,  they  decided  to  go  on  until  they  came 
to  a  creek  and  then  kill  and  cook  the  horse. 
To  give  up  this  faithful  old  animal  was  the 
hardest  trial  Mr.  Abbott  had  yet  faced,  but  he 
accepted  it  as  the  inevitable.  Fortune,  how- 
ever, favored  <  >ld  John  that  time.  As  they  fol- 
lowed the  trail,  on  a  steep  mountain  side,  to 
their  right  was  a  deep  gulch  and  beyond  this 
a  steep  sidehill.  covered  with  pine  trees.  All  at 
once  the  men  saw  a  buck,  and  as  one  of  the 
party  had  retained  his  gun  he  at  once  fired. 
The  deer  bounded  forward,  ran  a  short  distance 
and  then  fell  into  the  gulch.  The  deer  was 
packed  on  ('Id  John  and  when  they  reached 
water,  about  eleven  in  the  morning,  they 
roasted  the  venison  on  sticks,  then  boiled  the 
bones,  so  that  nothing  was  wasted.  The  next 
dav  they  reached  the  station,  where  they  had 
supper  and  breakfast.  About  noon  of  the  next 
day  they  reached  a  trading  [lost  at  the  head  of 
.Missouri  canon,  where  the  trail  started  down 
to  the  Middle  Fork  of  the  American  river  at 
Volcano  Bar. 

At  last  the  mines  were  reached.  Old  John 
was  sold  for  $25,  and  with  this  monej  a  pick, 
shovel  and  pan  were  bought,  and  then  Mr. 
Abbott  went  back  to  the  Missouri  canon  to 
prospect    for  gold,     lie  made  the  old  fashioned 


rocker  out  of  a  hollow  log.  His  brother,  still 
not  being  strong,  was  yet  able  to  do  the  cook- 
ing, although  he  could  not  work  in  the  mines. 
When  Sunday  came  the  ambitious  miner  had 
about  twenty-five  cents'  worth  of  gold  dust  and 
was  in  need  of  provisions,  but  the  trader  who 
advanced  him  $50  worth  of  provisions  on  starl- 
ing out  came  to  his  relief  again,  and  willingl) 
accommodated  him.  (  )ne  Sunday  later  he  was 
able  to  pay  his  bill,  $75,  and  had  about  six 
ounces  of  gold  dust  left.  Success  in  a  fair  de- 
gree rewarded  his  efforts  in  the  mines,  and  he 
was  fairly  well  satisfied  with  results  when  he 
returned  via  Panama  to  Beloit,  Wis.,  leaving 
California  in  November  of  1851  and  reaching 
Xew  York  on  Christmas  day.  It  is  easy  to 
guess  the  cause  of  his  return  east.  It  was  the 
same  attraction  which  took  back  to  their  old 
homes  so  many  young  Argonauts  of  the  early 
'50s.  March  i'j.  [852,  he  married  the  daughter 
of  Dr.  Lewis  Merriman,  of  Beloit.  The  wed- 
ding tour  was  a  trip  to  California.  Mr.  Abbott 
bought  sixty  oxen,  fifty  cows  and  heifers,  five 
wagons  and  ten  horses,  and  took  eighteen  men 
as  passengers,  each  of  whom  paid  him  $125,  be- 
sides doing  his  share  of  camp  and  guard  duty. 
This  trip  was  far  different  from  the  last  one, 
and  he  was  able  to  sell  flour,  beans  and  bacon 
along  the  route  where  he  had  been  almost  starv- 
ing two  years  before. 

Reaching  California,  Mr.  Abbott  settled  on 
the  Sacramento  river  two  miles  below  Wash- 
ington, but  high  waters  caused  the  loss  of  al 
most  all  of  his  cattle,  and  he  sold  out.  going 
to  Nevada  City  and  engaging  in  the  dairy  busi- 
ness. In  [858  he  moved  to  Point  Reyes,  Marin 
county,  taking  his  stock  with  him,  and  engagi  d 
in  making  butter  and  cheese  for  the  San  Fran 
cisco  market.  In  1865  he  moved  to  Monterey 
county  with  five  hundred  cows  and  bought  four 
thousand  acres  ,  if  land  where  the  sugar  fac 
tory  now  stands,  also  buying  tvvelv*  tin 
acres  where  King  Cit)  now  stands.  In  : '- 
had  a  dairy  of  fifteen  hundred  cows.  I 
was  elected  to  represent  Monterey  count)  in  the 
assembly  during  the  '70s.  When  Grant  was 
nominated  for  a  second  term  Mr.  Abbott  was 
a  delegate  from  California  to  the  National  Re- 
publican  convention    in    Philadelphia.      It 


576 


lll-ri  .UK  Al.    AND     UK  MiKAIMIK    \I.    kB  '  'RD 


lion  to  conducting  his  large  ranching  interests, 
he  built  the  Abbott  building  in  Salinas  and  was 
president  and  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Mon- 
8  Salinas  Valley  Railroad.  However, 
through  the  manipulations  of  the  dominant  rail- 
road power  of  California,  prices  on  freight  - 
were  so  affected  that  the  entire  company  was 
bankrupted,  including  Mr.  Abbott.  But  he  is 
of  a  hopeful,  optimistic  disposition,  and  has  not 
allowed  the  dampening  experience  of  the  past 
to  discourage  him.  On  the  contrary,  he  is  thor- 
oughly enjoying  the  afternoon  of  his  life  on  his 
stock  ranch  on  the  Arroyo  Seco. 

In  the  family  of  Mr.  Abbott  there  are  four 
children:  Donna  Maria,  who  was  educated  at 
Mills  College,  Oakland,  and  married  C.  G. 
(  hamberlain,  now  postmaster  of  Pacific  drove. 
but  she  is  now  deceased;  Clara,  who  was  edu- 
cated at  Mills  College  and  married  Dr.  X.  S. 
Giberson,  of  San  Francisco,  by  whom  she  has 
two  sons;  Harvey  E.  and  Francis  A.,  residing 
in  Salinas,  where  they  are  engaged  in  the  meat 
business  and  also  in  stock-raising.  Both  sons 
are  married;  Harvey  has  two  daughters,  and 
Francis  has  three  sons  and  a  (laughter. 


|(  MIX  L.  HUDNER. 

The  professional  career  of  John  L.  Hudner  has 
been  a  notable  one,  and  may  be  taken  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  standing  of  the  bar  in  San 
Benito  county.  As  counsel  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  he  has  been  connected  with  virtually  every 
case  before  the  courts  since  1883,  than  which 
no  better  evidence  were  required  of  the  confi- 
dence which  his  abilit)  has  inspired  among  all 
« lasses  of  people. 

The  accident  of  birth  alone  prevents  Mr.  Hud- 
ner from  being  a  Californian  in  every  sense  of 
the  word,  for  he  was  but  three  years  of  age 
when,  in  [858,  he  removed  from  his  native  state 
of  Massachusetts.  His  father,  James  Hudner, 
lived  in  Santa  Clara  count)  until  [868,  in  which 
year  he  became  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
San  Justo  Homestead  Association,  the  great  de 
veloping  agency  of  San  Benito  county.  1  he 
company  bought  that  portion  of  the  San  Justo 
upon   which   Hollister  has  been  .since  built. 


and  the  valley  part  of  the  ranch  was  laid  out  into 
fifty  homesteads  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
acres  each.  Upon  one  of  these  homesteads  Mr. 
Hudner  is  still  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Hollister, 
engaged  in  the  peaceful  and  remunerative  occu- 
pation of  farming.  The  education  of  John  L. 
was  acquired  in  the  public  schools  of  Santa 
Clara  and  Hollister.  and  finished  at  Santa 
Clara  College,  one  of  California's  noted  institu- 
tions of  learning,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  the  spring  of  1876.  Having  decided  to  devote 
his  life  to  the  practice  of  law;,  he  soon  entered  the 
office  of  Judge  Archer,  in  San  Jose,  and  later. 
returning  to  Hollister,  was  under  the  able  in- 
struction of  X.  C.  Briggs,  his  present  law  part- 
ner. Aftei  serving  a  term  as  under-sheriff  of 
the  county,  in  1883  he  associated  himself  with 
the  late  B.  B.  McCroskey,  the  then  district  at- 
torney of  the  count}',  and  was  made  deputy  dis- 
trict attorney  for  the  term. 

In  1885  Ik  formed  a  partnership  with  Hon. 
M.  T.  Dooling,  now  judge  of  the  superior  court, 
and  at  the  end  of  two  years  again  became  as- 
sociated with  Mr.  McCroskey,  again  elected  dis- 
trict attorney,  continuing  the  relation  until  the 
death  of  the  latter  in  1888.  Mr.  Hudner  then 
entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  Briggs,  who 
succeeded  Mr.  McCroskey,  and  in  [890  was  him- 
self elected  district  attorney,  which  position  he 
relinquished  voluntarily  at  the  expiration  of  his 
term. 

In  1896  he  was  appointed  district  attorney  to 
succeed  Judge  Dooling.  who  had  been  elected  to 
the  superior  court,  and  in  1898  was  again  elected 
to  the  office  for  the  term  ending  in  January, 
1 003,  Meantime  his  partnership  with  Mr. 
Briggs,  the  oldest,  and  recognized  as  the  ablest 
member  of  the  bar  of  the  count},  has  continued. 
constituting  a  firm  of  lawyers  whose  integrity 
and  ability  are  unquestioned,  and  whose  legal 
business  consists  ,  ,f  the  care  of  the  largest  cor- 
porate and  private  interests  in  the  county,  as  well 
as  representing  the  same  in  the  courts  in  the 
1  miiu  and  elsewhere:  their  business  being  by  no 
means  confined  to  San  Benito  county. 

Mr.  Hudner  while  less  adapted  to  the  criminal 
branch  of  the  law  than  to  the  civil,  has  achieved 
success  even  in  that,  as  the  records  of  the  courts 
show.     Though   he  might    have   had   the  office  of 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


district  attorney  again,  without  opposition;  even 
at  the  polls,  he  declined  renomination.  Mr.  Hud- 
n  t  is  a  Democrat;  and  whenever  he  has  offered 
to  take  office,  has  been  elected;  he  has  been  and 
is  a  member  of  the  county  committee  and  of  the 
state  central  committee,  and  delegate  to  ever) 
state  convention  of  his  party  since  1888.  Mr. 
Hudner,  while  not  brilliant,  at  the  bar,  is  safe. 
astute,  alert  and  resourceful;  he  knows  the  law 
and  its  devices,  and  how  to  avail  himself  of 
them;  and  few  are  the  times  he  has  failed  to 
count   for  his  clients. 


THOMAS  S.  HAWKINS. 

There  exists  no  more  typical  representative  of 
the  stalwart  founders  of  the  business  structure 
of  the  western  slope  than  Thomas  S.  Hawkins, 
president  of  the  Bank  of  Hollister;  one  of  the 
purchasers  of  the  site  and  founders  of  the  town 
of  that  name,  and  intimately  connected  with  its 
transition  from  a  nonentity  into  a  prosperous 
municipality.  Like  most  of  the  captains  of  in- 
dustry engaged  in  building  up  the  west,  Mr. 
llawkins  was  not  horn  to  the  purple  as  indicated 
by  wealth  or  influence,  but  rather  gained  his  first 
impressions  of  life  and  work  from  the  surround- 
ings on  an  average  farm  in  Marion  county,  Mo.. 
where  he  was  born  in  1830.  From  his  fourteenth 
to  his  twenty-first  year  he  lived  in  Cynthiana, 
Harrison  c<  unty,  Ky..  where  he  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  and  at  an  academy,  and  there- 
after talight  school  in  Missouri  for  a  couple  of 
years.  Mis  first  business  experience  was  ac- 
quired while  engaged  in  a  mercantile  venture 
along  the  line  of  construction  of  the  old  Atlantic 
&  Pacific  Railroad,  an  occupation  continued  for 
abi  ut  two  years,  or  long  enough  to  convince  him 
that  there  mighl  be  more  desirable  locations  and 
occupations  than  those  with  which  he  was  fa- 
miliar. 

Then,  as  now.  a  peculiar  fascination  lurked  in 
the  direction  of  the  setting  sun  for  the  dissatisfied 
and  ambitious,  and  in  [86b  Mr.  Hawkins  started 
from  Westpoint,  Mo.,  outfitted  with  OX  teams 
and  wagons  and  a  drove  of  cattle,  and  ji  ined  the 
might)  bul  disconnected  caravan  which  bad 
sleadih  moved  over  the  plains  evei  since  the  first 
da\  s  of  srold.     At  tin-  end  of  six  months  b^    .u 


rived  at  San  Jose,  and  having  dispose.! 
cattle,  bought  land  and  engaged  in  farming  at 
Gilroy,  Santa  Clara  county,  until  1866,  and  then 
removed  to  San  Felipe  valley,  San  Benito  1  then 
Monterey)  county.  In  September  of  [869  be 
had  become  entirel)  in  sympathy  with  his  new 
surroundings,  and  so  accurateh  ganged  its  prob- 
able part  in  the  future  of  the  state,  that  he  or- 
ganized the  San  Justo  Homestead  Association,  of 
which  he  became  secretary  and  general  manager. 
litis  association  purchased  of  Colonel  Hollister 
twenty-one  thousand  acres  .1"  the  San  fusto 
ranch,  a  portion  of  which  was  laid  out  and 
platted  in  town  lots,  the  sale  of  which  began  in 
the  fall  of  i8')8.  The  town  was  named  in  honor 
of  that  famous  pioneer  and  splendid  citizen  of 
California,  and  for  the  succeeding  four  years  Mr. 
Hawkins  continued  the  sale  of  lots  and  other 
lands,  or  until  the  association  had  outlived  its 
usefulness  and  ceased  to  be  a  factor  of  develop 
ment.  Thereafter  Mr.  Hawkins  bought  and  sold 
general  lands  in  the  town  and  country,  and 
looked  after  his  large  landed  interests,  owning 
several  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Monterey  and 
Santa  Clara  counties,  which  is  well  stocked  and 
finely  improved.  In  1869  he  entered  actively  into 
the  fight  to  create  San  Benito  from  Moi 
county,  a  fact  accomplished  ab  an  [870,  through 
an  act  of  the  legislature. 

The  Bank  of  Hollister,  which  Mr.  Hawkins 
aided  others  in  founding,  entered  upon  its  mer- 
itorious career  in  1874.  and  it  is  to  the  presidency 
which,  he  has  since  maintained  with  such  vast 
credit,  that  its  present  standing  among  the  solid 
financial  institutions  1  f  the  state  is  due.  This 
bank  was  the  first  in  the  town,  and  started  with 

a  paid   up  capital  of  $IOO,< since  increased  10 

a  paid  up  capital  of  S  .250,000. 

(  Ither  mien  sis  in  1  [ollistf  r  which  have 
pn  fited  by  the  sound  business  ability  of  Mr. 
I  law  kins  include  the  llolbsier  Water  Company's 
plant,  purchased  b)  him  in  1875,  and  at  the  time 
a  ven  small  affair,  lie  has  since  organized  the 
company,  which  provides  amph  for  all  cit\  pur- 
poses, the  water  coming  from  the  mountains  of 
(  .rass  valley,  and  piped  a  distance  of  fourteen 
miles.  •  At  the  First  meeting  of  the  compam  Mr. 
Hawkins  was  elected  president,  and  has  since 
filled  this  important  responsibility,     lie  is  one  of 


hist.  .'UKWi.  axd   biographical  \u-:o  >kp. 


the  organizers  of  the  Hollister  Warehouse  Com- 
pany, and  lias  been  president  from  the  start.  Al- 
though   one   of   the  organizers   of   the   city,   and 

n1  of  the  council  for  twenty-one  years,  he 
has  steadfastl)  refused  general  political  honors, 
neither  time  nor  inclination  permitting  of  their 

nre.  Extreme  independence  has  character- 
ized his  political  affiliations,  and  character  and 
attainment,  rather  than  party,  have  been  the 
criterions  governing  his  vote.  Fraternally  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Mound  Lodge  No.  [66,  Inde- 
pendent (  Irder  <  >dd  Fellows,  of  which  he  is  past 
noble  grand,  and  of  which  he  has  several  times 
been  a  delegate  to  the  state  -rand  lodge.  Educa- 
tion lias  no  more  stanch  supporter  than  Mr. 
Hawkins,  who  has  wielded  a  wide  influence  to- 
ward a  high  order  of  educational  training.  The 
erection  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
|S7A  74  was  largely  due  to  his  advocacy  of  its 
necessity,  and  he  has  ever  since  been  a  trustee 
of  the  church. 

In  [858  Mr.  Hawkins  married  Miss  I 'alien. 
who  died  in  [862,  leaving  one  child.  T.  W.  Haw- 
kins. m>w  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Hollister.  The 
second  marriage  of  Mr.  Hawkins  occurred  in 
Santa  Clara  county  in  [864  with  a  Miss  Daw 
and  of  this  union  there  were  horn  four  children, 
viz.:  C.  X..  who  is  manager  of  the  Grangers 
Union,  the  largest  store  in  Hollister;  W.  I.,  who 
is  a  merchant  in  San  Francisco,  and  manager  of 
the  Eaglesi  n-Hawkins  G  unpan)  ;  W.  E.,  wdio  is 

mnecled  with  the  bank;  and  Mrs.   Boyns, 

■    teaching  music  in   San   Francisco.     Mr. 

Hawkins  is   still,  after   his  innumerable  services 

toward    the   upbuilding  of    Hollister,   one  of   its 

supporters,     and     most     indefatigable 

workers.      N*o   one    ha-   inure   richly   earned   the 

vill  and  esteem  of  his  fellowmen,  nor  to 
am   i-  greater  honor  due  than  to  T.  S.  Hawkins. 


A.   X.    1TJDD. 


'  'in  -  f  In-  carl)   experiences  as  a  painter  Mr. 
Judd   -leaned  much  that  has  since  helped  him   in 
magomenl   of  his   business  affairs  and  the 
■    -1    i;:s   financial    policy.     Though   now 
all)    retired  and  enjo)  ing  the  fruits  of  his 
labors  in  former  years,  he  still  maintains  a  gen- 
eral   supervision    of   his    apple    orchard,    which 


ranks  anion--  the  finest  in  the  Pajaro  valley. 
In  his  home  at  Watsonville  are  all  the  comforts 
that  enhance  the  pleasure  of  existence,  added  to 
which  he  has  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  as- 
sociates. 

At  North  Lee.  Berkshire  county,  Mass..  A.  X. 
Judd  was  born  April  26,  1843,  being  a  son  of 
George  I!.  Judd  and  a  descendant  of  a  colonial 
family  of  New  England.  His  mother  died  when 
he  was  thirteen  years  old  and  his  father  sir  rtly 
afterward,  and  he  was  then  taken  into  the  home 
of  a  farmer  in  Xew  Hampshire.  Early  in  life- 
he  migrated  to  Wisconsin,  and  at  Rubicon. 
Dodge  count}-,  learned  the  trade  of  wagon-mak- 
ing and  painting.  Being  small  in  stature  he  was 
unable  to  stand  the  work  which  required  a  man's 
strength  and  muscle.  Finding  that  he  was  los- 
ing  his  health,  he  abandoned  wagon-making  and 
devoted  himself  to  painting.  About  this  time  he 
met  Mr.  Folk,  who  was  planning  a  trip  to  Cen- 
tral America  and  offered  him  a  position  as  an 
assistanl  of  the  expedition.  Accepting  the  prop- 
osition, lie  went  south  and  while  in  Honduras 
learned  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war. 

To  one  of  loyal,  patriotic  spirit,  his  country's 
need  appealed  with  greatest  force,  and  Mr.  Judd 
hastened  back  to  the  north.  August  9,  [861,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  H.  Fourteenth  Iowa  In- 
fantry, and  was  sent  to  the  front  under  Grant. 
February  15,  i<so_>,  lie  was  wounded  1>\  a  bullet 
in  the  right  side  of  the  neck,  while  fighting  at 
Donelson.  At  Shiloh  he  was  taken  prisoner,  but 
with  others  succeeded,  in  effecting  an  escape. 
Later  he  was  transferred  to  Company  A.  Sixth 
Iowa  Cavalry,  and  in  this  regiment  continued 
until  he  was  honorably  discharged  November  27, 
1865,  with  a  record  of  which  he  may  well  be 
proud. 

Going   to  Chicago    Mr.  Judd  opened   a   paint 

shop  at    No.   [52   North  Clark  street,  with  (harks 

Johnson   a.s   partner.      There  he  continued  a    few 

years.      When   die     first     excursion    was   started 

the  Continent   on   the  first   railroad  built   to 

span  the  continent,  he  took  passage  Juh  _'-\  [868, 
and  arrived  in  Sacramento  August  -  of  that  year. 
There  he  secured  work  011  the  state  capitol.  In 
ilu  fall  of  the  same  year  he  came  to  Watson- 
ville and  rented  a  building  fonnerl)  used  b\ 
1  1 1    pei-     Bn  >s.     for    a    store,    and    OCCUp)  ing    die 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


present  site  of  the  Bank  of  Watsonville.  Here 
he  embarked  in  business,  having  as  partners 
Peleg  Peckham  and  Mr.  Austin.  Two  years 
later  Mr.  Peckham  retired  from  the  firm  and  the 
following  year  Mr.  Austin  sold  his  interest  to 
Mr.  Judcl,  who  continued  alone.  In  1873  he  dis- 
continued the  painting  business  and  engaged  in 
farming  on  the  old  John  Conwa)  ranch  of  fifty- 
seven  and  one  half  acres,  west  of  the  city.  A 
few  apple  trees  constituted  the  only  improve- 
ments that  had  been  made  on  the  place.  At  once 
he  planted  more,  hut,  as  soon  as  he  found  the 
P.elletleur  the  most  prolific,  he  replaced  his 
trees  with  this  variety  and  has  continued  to  raise 
them  ever  since.  Today  the  orchard  is  one  of 
the  best  in  the  valley.  All  but  fifteen  acres  of 
river  bottom  land  are  under  hearing  fruit,  and 
the  returns  from  each  year's  crops  are  exceed- 
ingly gratifying  to  the  owner.  He  is  also  inter- 
ested in  ranch  properly  in  Fresno  county. 

One  of  the  finest  residences  in  the  valley  is 
owned  and  was  erected  by  Mr.  Judd  and  is  of 
stone,  modern  in  architecture  and  convenient  in 
appointments.  It  stands  on  the  ci  rner  of  Fourth 
and  Lincoln  streets,  in  the  James  Waters  addi- 
tion, where  five  years  ago  Mr.  Waters  had  his 
nursery.  Since  then  almost  the  entire  tract  has 
been  covered  with  modem  houses.  In  the  prog- 
ress of  the  valley  Mr.  Judd  has  borne  a  deep 
interest  and  active  part,  and  his  contribution  to 
public-spirited  projects  has  been  important,  no- 
tably his  service  as  president  of  the  Pajaro  Val- 
ley Fair  Association,  which  owed  much  to  his 
fostering  oversight,  lie  has  held  the  office  of 
deputy  assessor,  but  as  a  rule  has  declined  offi- 
cial positions.  In  the  board  of  trade  be  has 
served  as  a  member  of  the  committee  of  public 
improvement.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with 
the  lodge  and  encampment  of  (  hid  Fellows  and 
holds  rank  as  past  grand.  The  Grand  \rmv  of 
the  Republic  numbers  him  as  a  member  and  he- 
is  its  past  commander. 

July  _>  1.  [872,  Mr.  Judd  married  Caroline,  the 
only  daughter  of  William  Williamson.  She  is 
the  only  survivor  among  three  children,  her 
brother.  Robert  Samuel,  having  died  in  1899  ai 
fifty-three  years  of  age;  and  lames  Fdgar  died  in 
childhood.  Mr.  VVilliainson  was  .,  native  -1 
county  Armagh,   Ireland,  and  while  in  bis  teens 


was  apprenticed  to  a  merchant.  When  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  he  came  to  America  and  settled 
in  Boone  county.  Ill, where  he  married  Artemesia 
Sands.  In  [850  he  crossed  the  plains  to  Califor- 
nia, where  for  two  years  he  followed  placer  min- 
ing. (  )n  his  return  to  Illinois  he  dispi  sed  of  his 
effects  and,,  with  his  family,  started  west  again, 
coming  to  Watsonville,  where  for  a  year  he  en- 
gaged in  raisin-  potatoes.  A  later  enterprise  was 
with  his  brother  James  in  operating  a  grist  mill 
on  Pascadero  creek.  Next  he  conducted  a 
freighting  mercantile  establishment  at  Gilroy  for 
two  years,  after  which  he  built  a  mill  at  Green 
valley  above  Lagers, in  Williamson  gulch, having 
ts  partners  Messrs.  Hinckley,  Shelby  and  May. 
The  business,  however,  proved  a  difficult  one  to 
successfully  conduct,  as  the  supply  of  lumber  in 
those  days  was  greater  than  the  demand.  It  is 
said  that  in  1851;  he  came  to  Watsonville.  with  a 
four-ox  team  loaded  with  lumber,  and  tried  to 
sell  the  lumber  or  trade  it  for  groceries,  but  the 
most  liberal  offer  he  could  get  was  only  $7. 
Soon,  fortunately,  the  demand  increased.  The 
firm  became  Brown  &  Williamson,  then  the 
Charles  Ford  Company,  and  he  retained  an  in- 
terest in  it  until  1874,  when  he  sold  out.  He 
then  purchased  the  property  where  Matthew 
McGowen  now  lives  and  later  bought  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  acres  devoted  to  agricul 
tural  purposes,  continuing,  however,  to  make  his 
home  in  Wats  nville,  where  he  died  in  1884,  aged 
sixty-one  years,  beloved  and  remembered  b\  all 
for  his  -real  generosit)  and  inimitable  wit.  Ilis 
wife  died  within  a  few  .lays  of  hi-  own 
and  was  fifty-six  at  the  time  of  Per  death.  In 
the  famih  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judd  there  are  three 
living  children,  namely:  Carrie  Belle,  wife  of 
Jesse  Wood:  Hugh  William,  a  clerk  in  the  post- 
office;  ami  Oswald  Bissell,  at  home.  Two  chil- 
dren have  been  taken  b\  death,  Elbert  Hayes 
when  eleven  and  Ida  Ma\  when  twent)  yeai 
age. 


HENRY    T     Ri  >GG1 
Though   not   a   name  son   of  California,   Mr. 

Rogge  has  been  a   resident  of  ibis  state  ever  since 
one  year  old.  and  is  thoroughly   1:1  touch  w 
pi  ig  ressive    elen  ille    and     the 

I  'ajaro    valle) .      Hi     was    born    in    Keyespoi  '• 


580 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD 


Clinton  county,  111.,  October  24,  1874,  being  a 
William  and  Dora  (Herwig)  Rogge. 
His  father,  a  native  of  the  province  of  Hanover, 
German}-,  born  May  30,  [831,  was  a  son  of 
William  and  Elizabeth  (Curze)  Rogge.  After 
the  grandfather's  death,  his  widow  brought  the 
children  to  the  United  Slates  and  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  her  life  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.  When  four- 
teen wars  of  age  William  Rogge,  Jr.,  was  ap- 
prenticed to  the  shoemaker's  trade,  at  which  he 
served  four  years.  In  1854  he  went  to  St.  Louis 
and  secured  anployment  at  his  trade,  also  with  a 
iir>  ther  bought  and  operated  a  farm.  Removing 
in  [869  to  Keyesport,  111.,  he  continued  to  com- 
bine agriculture  with  shoemaking.  During  1S75 
he  brought  his  family  to  Watsonville,  Cal.,  and 
bought  a  small  home  here.  At  the  same  time  he 
began  to  work  as  a  journeyman  shoemaker,  and 
in  time  opened  a  simp  of  his  own.  which  he  still 
Oi  nducts.  It  speaks  well  of  him  that  he  has 
reared  and  educated  ten  children  and  at  the  same 
time  saved  a  sufficient  stun  to  provide  for  his  old 
age,  which  fact  proves  him  to  he  frugal,  econom- 
ical ami  provident.  In  addition  to  his  home  he 
owns  other  property  in  Watsonville.  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  the  lodge  and  encampment 
1  1  1,  Id  Felli  \\  -  Three  of  his  children- died  in 
infancy,  and  those  who  attained  maturity  are 
Louis  L.,  William  C,  Mem  T,  Arthur,  Mel- 
Yin.  (  ttto,  Alary.  Josephine,  Augusta  and  Dora. 
When  fifteen  years  of  age  Henry  T.  Rogge  left 
home  to  fight  life's  battles  for  himself.  For 
eighteen  months  he  worked  in  a  tannery  in 
Santa  Clara,  but  not  liking  the  occupation  he 
left  as  soon  as  another  opening  was  to  be  had 
For  a  while  he  worked  in  a  plumbing  store. 
after  which  he  became  clerk'  with  Ford  X  Co., 
tinder  whom  he  learned  the  nph  ilstery  business 
\ fie-r  serving  an  apprenticeship  of  fur  war--  and 
■  nths  In-  embarked  in  the  upholster}  busi- 

r  himself,  and  has  since  built  up  a  grow- 
ing trade  and  carries  a  large  stock.  Since  starting 
in  business  he  has  built  a  cottage.  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  the  Foresters,  Federal  Aid 
1  abees. 
F01  omi  real  1  ince  1893)  Mr.  Rogge  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Pajaro  Vralle)    I'm,    I  om 

1    \\  atsom  ill,  .  serving  as  Foreman  in  the 
early  part   of  his  connection  with  the  company, 


later  holding  the  office  of  assistant  chief,  and  in 
[902  receiving  promotion  to  the  position  of 
,  hi,  f.  which  he  now  holds.  About  [860  this  fire- 
department  was  organized  as  a  volunteer  bucket 
company.  The  next  year  a  hand  engine  was 
bought.  In  1875  the  company  was  reorganized 
as  the  Pajaro  Engine  Company.  At  that  time 
the)  owned  a  small  house  opposite  the  plaza,  and 
this  they  traded  for  the  blacksmith  shop  of  J. 
Lynch,  on  the  latter  site  erecting  their  present 
building.  With  the  erection  of  the  building  were 
formed  Pajaro  Company  No.  1  and  California 
1  lose  Company  No.  2.  A  new  engine  was  pur- 
chased at  a  cost  of  $4,000.  The  department 
raised  $1,500  1  f  this  amount,  the  balance  being 
paid  by  the  city.  The  only  salaried  officers  are 
the  chief,  who  receives  Sioo  per  year:  the  driver. 
who  is  paid  $65  a  month;  and  the  engineer,  $25 
a  year.  The  company  has  been  called  out  to  help 
in  neighboring  towns  during  fires  and  has  al- 
ways proved  itself  to  be  thoroughly  competent 
and  efficient. 


JOHN    IYEKSi  )X. 

John  fverson,  who  is  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  in  Chualar,  with  the  firm  of 
Anderson,  Beck  &  Co..  is  one  of  the  fore- 
most Danish-American  citizens  in  this  vicini- 
ty. He  was  born  in  Denmark  in  1846, 
and  received  a  common  school  education,  and 
a  good  home  training.  In  1803.  when  sev- 
,  mi,  ,n  j  ears  ,  >f  age,  he  came  to  the  United  States, 
and  direct  to  San  Francisco  by  way  of  the  cape 
of  Good  Hope,  going  thence  to  Alameda  county, 
Cal.,  where  he  began  to  work  by  the  day,  and 
also  to  farm.  Not  entirely  satisfied  with  wdiat 
he  was  accomplishing  there-,  he  came  to  Monte- 
re)  count)  in  1S70.  and  located  on  a  ranch  of 
twelve  hundred  acres,  six  miles  from  Chualar. 
He  still  owns  this  large  and  well  improved  farm, 
ami  is  devoting  it  to  grain,  farming  and  dairy 
purposes,  for  the  carrying  on  of  which  he  has 
sixty  standard  bred  cows. 

\hoiit  the  time  that  he  bought  his  farm  Mr. 
Iverson  engaged  in  business  with  Anderson. 
I'.cck  &  (  o..  who  are  doing  tin-  largest  business  in 
town,  and  who  carry  a  most  complete  line  of 
general    merchandise,    groceries,    liquors,    hard- 


WPWtfff 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL 


CO  IRD. 


are  and  agricultural  implements,  boots  and 
iocs  and  dry-goods.  The  unfailing  courtesy  of 
lis  firm  has  gained  for  them  a  large  following, 
it  only  in  the  town,  but  in  the  surrounding 
nmtry,  and  their  honest  methods  of  conducting 
ieir  large  enterprise,  and  earnest  desire  to 
ease,  ensure  them  a  continuance  of  their  pres- 
n  profit  and  popularity.  Mr.  lverson  is  con- 
noted with  the  organizations  in  the  town  main- 
ined  for  the  furtherance  of  its  best  material 
id  social  interests,  and  is  fraternally  widely 
lown,  being  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
nited  Workmen,  of  which  he  is  a  charter  mem- 
:r  in  Salinas,  and  of  the  Society  Dania,  at 
hualar.  A  Democrat  in  national  politics,  his 
-st  presidential  vote  was  cast  for  Seymour,  and 
I  was  supervisor  of  this  county  under  Cleve- 
nd's  administration,  and  during  his  term  of  of- 
v  the  count)'  poor  farm  hospital  was  erected, 
s  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  he  has  been 
•tive  in  good  works  in  Chualar,  and  materially 
ded  in  the  erection  of  the  Danish  place  here. 
In  1875  Mr.  Iversmi  married  Sena  Larson,  and 
f  this  union  there  are  six  children,  viz.:  Anna, 
Irs.  Nissan,  of  Spreckles;  Louis,  who  is  on  his 
.titer's  farm;  and  Jessie.  John,  Annie  and  Erne, 
ho  are  also  at  home. 


A.   A.  MANUEL. 

A  citizen  of  Monterey  whose  success  in 
ie  has  been  out  of  proportion  to  his  early 
[vantages,  and  who  has  builded  solely  up- 
11  determination  and  the  gift  of  application, 
A.  A.  Manuel,  one  of  the  prominent 
lerchants  of  this  city.  A  native  of  the  south 
'  France,  he  was  born  in  1854.  and  when  eleven 
:ars  of  age  began  to  travel  for  a  dry-goods 
inse  in  his  native  land.  This  necessit)  for  self- 
ipport  naturally  curtailed  for  the  time  being  a 
iuch-desired  education,  but  in  its  place  was 
Instituted  a  general  knowledge  of  nun  and 
(fairs  of  immense  value  in  the  management  ol 
ter  business  ventures.  While  representing  his 
nil  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  his  spare  lime 
as  devoted  to  linguistic  acquirements,  for 
hich  he  inherited  special  aptitude,  a  branch  of 
■search  continued  indefinitely  through  succeed 
ig    years,    so    that    at    the    present    time    Mr. 


Manuel  is  conversant  with  his  native  tongue 
and  English,  besides  Spanish,  Portuguese  and 
Italian. 

When  seventeen  years  of  age  Mr.  Manuel 
came  to  the  United  States,  and  after  locating 
in  Monterey  began  to  work  on  one  of  the 
surrounding  farms.  |n  1875  he  went  to  Lo 
Angeles  in  the  empl«.\  of  Ayers  &  Lynch,  pro- 
prietors of  the  Evening  Express,  and  in  1878 
returned  to  Monterey  ami  entered  the  mer- 
cantile business  with  H.  Escolte,  his  future 
father-in-law.  By  1887  he  had  become  inter- 
ested in  the  enterprise  to  the  extent  of  buying 
cut  his  partner  and  the  whole  business,  which 
he  has  since  conducted  independently,  and  with 
satisfactory  results.  He  carries  a  full  line  of 
general  merchandise,  and  is  constantly  meeting 
with  assurances  of  approval  from  a  large  pat- 
ronage. For  ten  years  he  was  agent  for  the 
Sperry  Flour  Company,  and  many  of  the  first 
firms  in  the  country  are  represented  among  his 
fine  assortment  of  needful  commodities.  Aside 
from  his  mercantile  interests  Mr.  Manuel  has 
taken  an  active  interest  in  the  general  affairs  of 
the  city,  has  built  a  number  of  residences  and 
buildings,  and  owns  propertj  here  and  in  Pacific 
<  rrpve.  An  ardent  Republican,  he  served  on  the 
school  board  for  nine  years,  and  was  clerk  of 
the  building  committee  of  the  board.  He  was 
town  trustee  for  a  term,  and  has  held  several 
Other  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  identified  with  the  Masonic  Vet- 
eran Association  of  Oakland;  is  treasurer  of 
Monterej  Lodge  No.  i8_>,  [.  O.  <  ».  F.;  treasurer 
of  Monterej  Lodge  No.  217,  F.  &  A.  M.;  and 
a  member  of  Salinas  Chapter  No.  59,  R.  A.  M.. 
and  Watsonville  Commandery,  No.  22,  K.  T. 
In  1884  Mr.  Manuel  married  Caroline  I 
daughter  of  lion.  ![.  Escolte,  his  former  part- 
ner. Two  daughters  have  been  born  of  this 
union,   Charlotte  and    I 


|<  >l 


M.    RYAN. 


in.     ,  f    the    venerable    and    honored    resident 
mers  of  Santa  Cruz  county  is  John  M.  Ryan, 

0  was  horn   in   Ireland   in    [824,  a  son  of  John 

1  Ann    1  Malone\  |    Ryan  -i    Ire 
d.     The  experiences  of  Mr.  Ryan  have  C  1,1 


.s| 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  lane!  of  his  adoption,  for  upon  first  start- 
ing out  in  the  world  to  fashion  his  career  he 
went  to  Australia  and  remained  there  for  twenty 
years.  While  in  the  southern  continent  he  en- 
gaged in  ill'1  mining  and  .stock  raising  business, 
and  met  with  alternate  success  and  failure. 
Hoping  to  improve  his  prospects  he  set  sail   for 

Santa  Cruz  county,  where  he  ranched  on  rented 
land.  In  [868  he  bought  his  present  farm  of 
twenty-three  acres,  where  he  has  since  engaged 
principally  in  fruit  raising,  his  principal  crop 
being  apples. 

Mrs.  Ryan  was  formerly  May  McCarthy,  a 
native  of  Ireland.  She  died  August  2,  [894, 
leaving  one  child,  John  P.  Ryan,  who  was  born 
in  San  Francisco,  September  10.  1S73.  Mr. 
Ryan  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  has  never 
Keen  heard  of  in  the  ranks  of  office  seekers.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church. 


WILLIAM    PALMTAG. 

The  ( lerman  element  in  American  life  which 
lias  done  SO  much  to  make  this  nation  worth)'  the 
friendship  and  sympathy  of  all  other  countries. 
has  nevertheless,  its  especially  worthy  Teutonic 
representatives,  whose  profound,  thorough,  anil 
painstaking  minds  have  acted  as  a  balance  wheel 
upon  their  environment,  and  stimulated  them  to 
the  most  substantial  and  lasting  activity.  Among 
the  upbuilders  of  Hollister  these  national  traits 
have  been  especially  noticeable  in  the  unusually 
successful  career  of  William  Palmtag,  president 
of  the  Farmers'  &  Merchants'  Bank,  and  so 
closely  identified  with  the  major  part  of  the  en- 
terprises of  the  county  that  he  is  an  integral  part 
of  its  present  prosperity. 

\  native  of  Baden,  Germany,  Mr.  Palmtag  re- 
mained in  bis  native  land  until  seventeen  years 
of  age.  and  then  located  in  Nevada  county.  Cab. 
which  be  reached  in  10(14.  As  a  miner  and  pros- 
pector be  experienced  the  usual  variegated  suc- 
cess and  failure,  but  the  end  of  four  years  found 
him  engaging  in  the  peaceful  occupation  of 
farming  on  land  near  Salinas,  a  fact  which  indi- 
cated his  doubts  as  to  the  practicabilit)  of  pci  ma 

nent  mining.     At  the  end  of  a  yeai    he  re ved 

lo   Watsonville  and  became  associated   with  his 


brother  in  the  brewing  business.  Two  years 
later  he  settled  in  Hollister  and  established  a 
retail  and  wholesale  wine  business  on  bis  own 
responsibility.  In  1802  a  half  interest  was  dis- 
posed of  to  Bernhard,  and  the  following  year  be 
purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  ten  miles  south 
of  Hollister,  after  which  he  spent  six  months  in 
Europe.  Upon  bis  return  he  assumed  charge  of 
his  property,  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of 
which  was  converted  into  a  vineyard,  and  the 
balance  of  several  hundred  acres  devoted  to  a 
well  stocked  farm.  From  this  splendidly 
equipped  ranch  and  wonderfully  productive 
vineyard  has  developed  the  largest  vineyard  and 
winery  in  San  Benito  county,  with  a  capacity  of 
ninety  thousand  gallons  a  year.  In  1887  was 
constructed  a  wine  cellar  from  brick  made  on 
the  premises.  It  has  a  capacity  of  one  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  gallons,  enabling  the  owner 
thereof  to  keep  his  port,  sherry,  and  muscatel 
wines  for  four  or  five  years.  In  1890  Bernhard 
sold  a  half  interest  to  Mr.  (  ('Conner,  and  has 
since  conducted  a  retail  and  wholesale  trade, 
besides  having  a  retail  depot  in  Salinas  city. 

The  unusual  business  ability  of  Mr.  Palmtag 
has  found  vent  in  many  directions  besides  the 
wine  industry,  but  perhaps  his  most  ambitious 
undertaking  has  been  the  establishment  in  [89] 
of  the  Farmers'  &  Merchants'  Bank,  with  a  capi- 
tal of  $75,000,  and.  of  which  be  has  since  been 
president.  In  1892  he  also  organized  the  Hollis- 
ter Savings  Bank  in  connection  therewith,  and  of 
this  he  is  president  and  general  manager.  As  a 
director  he  is  connected  with  several  of  the  im- 
portant enterprises  of  the  city,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  the  Hollister  Storage  Com- 
pany, the  Hollister  Creamery,  of  which  he  is 
also  president,  the  Hollister  Water  Company, 
and  is  manager  and  president  of  the  Hollister 
Light  and  Power  Company.  He  is  identified 
with  a  movement  to  secure  macadamized  streets 
for  the  town  and  quod  roads  for  the  country,  and 
is  agent  and  manager  of  the  Guin  Sabe  Rancho 
1  f  twenty-four  thousand  acres  in  San  Benito 
county. 

A   Democrat  ever  since  he  first  began  to  vote, 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


with  his  election  as  supervisor  in  1884.  of  dis- 
trict No.  3  San  Benito  county.  He  is  now  serv- 
ing his  fourth  term  of  four  years  each  as  super- 
visor, and  during  that  time  he  has  been  chairman 
of  the  hoard  for  six  years.  Many  important 
innovations  owe  their  origin  to  his  suggestion 
and  promotion,  and  the  plans  of  the  present 
court  house  were  adopted  and  laid  out  during 
his  administration.  For  the  past  five  years  he 
has  been  chairman  of  the  town  board  of  trustees 
lit  Hollister,  and  he  is  the  originator  of  the 
present  sewage  system.  For  ten  years  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  state  central  committee, 
and  of  the  county  central  committee  for  several 
years,  and  has  attended  as  a  delegate  many  state 
and  county  conventions,  as  well  as  the  national 
conventions  at  Cincinnati  and  Chicago.  For 
twenty-six  years  he  has  been  fraternally  identi- 
fied with  the  Independent  ( Irder  Odd  Fellows, 
and  for  a  time  was  treasurer  of  that  organiza- 
tion. The  influence  of  Mr.  Palmtag  has  been 
exerted  mi  the  side  of  wise  conservatism  and 
genuine  Democracy,  and  to  no  one  is  the  town 
of  Hollister  mure  indebted  for  the  support  lent 
by  public  enterprise  and  large  executive  and 
financial  ability. 


XEIL    STEWART. 

The  count)  of  San  Luis  Obispo  is  the  home 
of  Mr.  Stewart,  and  for  years  has  been  the  scene 
of  his  activities.  He  was  born  in  Scotland  in 
1837  and  emigrated  from  that  country  to  Canada 
in  1854,  where  he  remained  for  a  number  of 
years.  During  the  period  of  the  Civil  war  he 
spent  two  years  in  Wisconsin.  In  181  id  he  came 
to  California,  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  San 
Francisco,  and  at  first  secured  employment  ai 
Gilroy,  next  remaining  for  a  year  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. It  was  during  18(18  that  he  identified  him- 
self with  the  pioneers  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
county.  srtt]mo  ,„,  the  coast  near  Cambria, 
where  he  acquired  interests  in  dairying  and 
stock-raising. 

The  present  homestead  of  Mr.  Stewart  was 
acquired  by  him  in  [883,  when  he  purchased 
four  hundred  ami  sevent)  five  acres,  forming  a 
portion  of  the  old  Morro  y  Cayucos  grant. 
From   that    lime   to   the   present    he   lias   made  his 


home  on  this  ranch,  and  has  given  his  attention 
to  st.,,ck  and  dairy  farming.  His  cattle  are  of 
the  best  grades  of  Durhams  and  Jerseys,  includ- 
ing- forty  dairy  cows.  The  butter  manufac- 
tured is  of  the  finest  quality  of  the  Jersey  prod- 
uct, and  commands  the  highest  market  prices  at 
all  times.  Mr.  Stewart's  attention  is  of  course 
largely  concentrated  upon  the  management  of 
his  dairy,  but  he  lias  other  interests  which  arc- 
not  neglected.  It  has  been  his  aim  to  place  upon 
the  ranch  first-class  improvements,  such  as  will 
enhance  the  value  of  the  property  and  also  make 
it  increasingly  satisfactory  as  a  home  for  his 
family.  One  of  the  noticeable  improvements  is 
the  setting  oul  of  an  orchard.  An  abundance  of 
water  is  obtained  from  the  springs  on  the  ranch, 
and  this  he  has  utilized  in  his  dairy,  the  water 
being  piped  from  the  springs  on  the  hill,  where  it 
has  a  fall  of  over  one  hundred  feet.  Certain 
spots  on  the  ranch  give  evidence  of  the  presence 
of  oil,  but  as  yet  no  effort  has  been  made  to 
prospect  for  that  product. 

The  political  views  of  Mr.  Stewart  have  been 
in  harmony  with  the  Populist  doctrines  and  be 
aided  in  organizing  this  party  in  San  Luis 
Obispo  county.  For  more  than  fifteen  years  he 
lias  been  a  trustee  of  his  school  district  and  has 
meantime  done  all  in  his  power  to  promote  local 
educational  matters.  In  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Cayucos  he  is  a  ruling  elder.  After  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Farmers'  Alliance  in  Fairview 
district  he  was  chosen  its  president  and  filled 
the  office  with  credit  to  himself.  Me  assisted  in 
organizing  the  San  Luis  Obispo  Industrial 
Union,  in  which  his  wife  owns  some  stock. 

Prior  to  coming  to  the  Stales.  Mr.  Stewart 
was  married  in  181 1(1  to  Miss  Helen  G  ok  of  New 
Brunswick,  who  accompanied  him  to  California 
immediately  after  their  marriage,  and  has  ever 
since  been  an  invaluable  assistant  in  all  ol  his 
enterprises.  They  are  the  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  is  deceased.      Tile  oUl<  • 

James,  served  under  General  Shafter  in  Cuba 
and  under  (  icneial  Miles  in  Porto  Rico.  Later 
be  was  transferred  to  the  Philippine  Island 
is  now  at  home.  Dr.  Mary  J.  Stewart,  tin 
ond  daughter  of  the  family,  is  far  removed  from 
the  old  home,  being  stationed  in  India  as  a 
medical     missionary     under     the     Presbyterian 


-,xr, 


HISTORICAL    AND    l!K  )( IRAPIIICAE    RECORD. 


Board  of  Missions.  The  other  members  of  the 
are  named  as  follows:  Airs.  Flora  E. 
I.  iv.;  Helen  A.,  a  graduate  of  the  California 
State  Normal  at  San  Jose,  and  now  a  teacher  in 
tin  i  ayucos  school;  Amelia  1..  who  is  a  trained 
nurse  connected  with  the  California  Hospital  of 
Eos  Migeles;  Alexander  C,  John  V.  Catherine 
!•'..    [eanette  and  Charles  \Y. 


GEORGE    WILSON 


l  WE. 


This  representative  rancher  and  apple  grower 
of  Watsonville  was  born  on  his  father's  ranch  in 
the  upper  end  of  the  Pajaro  valley.  Monterey 
county,  November  \~ ,  [858,  a  son  of  William  H. 
and  Rhoda  Ann  (McFarland)  Rowe,  natives 
respectively  of  Plymouth,  England,  and  Mis- 
souri, and  the  former  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent early  pioneers  of  the  valley.  The  boyhood 
and  early  youth  of  George  Wilson  Rowe  were 
spent  on  the  paternal  ranch,  and  he  was  educated 
in  the  common  -chin ils  and  the  Worcester  Busi- 
ness College  at  San  Jose.  When  twenty-one 
fears  of  age  he  rented  the  home  place  with  his 
twin  brother.  Charles  William.  Eater  lie  re- 
moved tn  one  of  his  father's  farms  in  Santa 
Cruz  county,  containing  two  hundred  acres,  and 
located  near  the  town  of  Watsonville. 

\t  the  expiration  of  four  years  Mr.  Rowe 
went  to  the  Hernandez  valley  in  San  Benito 
county  and  engaged  in  the  stock  business,  during 
which  time  he  controlled  about  forty  thousand 
acres  well  stocked  with  cattle.  After  two  years 
he  sold  his  squatter's  claim  and  located  on  his 
father's  ranch  of  three  hundred  acres  in  the 
Pajaro  valley,  where  he  engaged  in  general 
fanning  and  stock-raising  with  considerable  sue- 
Like  his  brothers,  he  inherited  a  farm  of 
two  hundred  acres  from  his  father,  one  hundred 
anil  fifteen  of  which  are  in  tin  Pajaro  valley,  and 
the  remainder  in  the  hills.  This  farm  is  well 
improved,  and  is  one  of  the  lines!  and  most  de- 
sirable   properties    in     its    neighborhood.       Air. 

and  then  ivn,  ,ved  with  his  family  to  Watson- 
ville, thai  hi-  children  might  have  better  educa 
lioiial  opportunities.  I C  i-  the  owner  of  an 
appli  on  haul  in  the  Pajaro  valley,  Santa  Cruz 
county,  for  which  he  paid  $20,000  for  thirty-five 


acre-,  and  the  crops  therefrom  last  year  were 
worth  $5,000.  The  trees  are  ten  years  old.  and 
are  mostly  l'.elletletirs  and  Newtown  Pippins. 
Mr.  Rowe  also  leases  a  thousand  acres  in  the 
hills  of  Monterey  county,  where  he  raises  grain 
and  cattle,  three  hundred  acres  being  devoted  to 
the   former  commodity.      Ninety-five  acres  of  the 

Newtowns,  the  packing  and  shipping  of  which 
lie  personally  superintends.  Mr.  Rowe  has  had 
a  hand  in  promoting  many  important  industries 
in  his  neighborhood,  including  the  Watsonville 
Creamery,  a  paying  industry,  of  which  he  i-  a 
stockholder  and  director. 

November  2,  1882,  Mr.  Rowe  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Eva  Ryason,  a  native  of  Santa 
Cruz  county,  and  daughter  of  J.  M.  Ryason.  (  If 
this  union  there  are  three  children,  Rhoda, 
George  LeRoy,  and  Jessie,  all  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing at  home.  Mr.  Rowe  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics, and  although  he  has  never  been  prominent 
in  local  political  affairs,  has  been  on  the 
school  board  for  seven  or  eight  years.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Red  Men  and  the  Grange,  and  is 
identified  with  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden 
West.  With  his  family  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Christian  Church. 


11 1<  A!  AS  BARRETT. 

A  practical  experience  of  more  than  twenty 
years  has  placed  Thomas  Barrett  among  the 
front  ranks  of  real-estate  men  in  this  pan  of 
California,  and  especially  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
county.  To  the  prosecution  of  his  particular  oc- 
cupation Mr.  Barrett  bring-  the  steady  conserva- 
tism of  the  east,  combined  with  the  enthusiasm 
and  adaptability  of  the  west,  as  well  a-  a  general 
knowledge  of  men  ami  affairs  gained  from  long 
association  with  mining  and  other  interests.  lie 
was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  [840,  and  was  reared 
and  educated  in  Lake  count).  111.  When  nine- 
teen year-  of  age.  in  [859,  he  started  out  to 
carve  his  own  fortunes  in  California,  and  fol- 
lowed   the    uncertain     life    of     a    miner    for    three 

terwards   removed   to  Solano  county,   where  he 
lived   for  seven  years,  and   in    [870  located  in   San 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Luis  Obispo  county,   where  he  became  interest- 
ed in  sheep  raising  for  a  few  years. 

Politically  Mr.  Barrett  is  allied  with  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  but  has  never  had  time  or  inclina- 
tion for  official  recognition.  Fraternally  he  is 
associated  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  Barrett  and 
Matilda  Smith  occurred  in  1867,  Mrs.  Barrett 
being  a  native  of  Iowa.  (  >f  this  union  there  is 
one  son,  Thomas,  Jr. 


ALLAN  McLEAN. 

The  varied  experiences  which  have  given  in- 
dividuality to  the  character  of  Mr.  McLean  have 
also  stored  his  mind  with  a  fund  of  valuable  in- 
formation, which  habits  of  close  observation 
have  enabled  him  to  accumulate  during  his 
travels  around  the  world.  In  the  occupation 
that  he  has  followed  throughout  much  of  his 
active  career,  that  of  school  teaching,  he  has 
become  known  for  efficiency  and  skill,  but  of 
more  recent  years  he  has  devoted  his  attention 
to  official  duties  and  is  now  filling  the  position 
of  auditor  of  Monterey  county,  his  home  being 
in  Salinas. 

The  genealogy  of  the  McLean  family  is  traced 
hack  to  the  eleventh  century  in  Scotland,  where 
its  members  belonged  to  the  noted  clan  Mc- 
Lean. Near  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury Donald  McLean,  father  of  Allan  McLean, 
and  a  native  of  ( rlasgow,  Scotland,  crossed  the 
ocean  to  America  and  settled  in  Canada.  For  his 
wife  he  chose  Annie  McEachern,  who  was  born 
1 .11  the  island  of  Mull, the  largest  of  the  Hebrides, 
off  the  west  coast  of  Scotland.  Prince  Edward's 
Island  is  Allan  McLean's  native  place  and  1850 
the  year  of  his  birth.  His  earliest  recollections 
cluster  about  his  island  home,  where,  from  lis- 
tening to  the  tales  of  mariners  anil  watching 
the  ships  as  they  sailed  out  upon  the  deep,  he 
came  to  have  a  love  for  the  sea  that  has  never 
left  him.  Indeed,  this  fascination  proved  so 
strong  that  he  resolved  to  become  a  sailor,  and 
all  through  his  school  life  the  ambition  to  lead 
a  seafaring  life  clung  to  him.  After  graduat- 
ing from  Normal  School  in  1866,  he  taught 
school  for  two  wars,  and  then  secured  employ- 


ment as  able  seaman  on  a  United  States  ves- 
sel. It  was  then  his  intention  to  remain  a  sailor 
until  he  had  worked  up  to  be  sea  captain,  but 
after  about  three  years  he  decided  that  for 
many  reasons  the  life  of  a  landsman  was  pref- 
erable, and  so  abandoned  the  sea.  Meantime 
he  had  crossed  the  equator  four  times,  had  vis- 
ited the  East  Indies,  England,  Hindustan,  the 
Fiji  Islands,  Sandwich  Islands,  and  many  other 
countries  of  the  world. 

After  coming  to  California,  about  1871,  Mr. 
McLean  resumed  the  occupation  in  which  he 
had  first  engaged,  and  for  about  twent)  seven 
years  he  taught  school  in  this  state.  During 
eighteen  years  of  this  time  he  had  charge  of 
schools  in  Monterey  county,  for  four  years 
taught  in  Ventura  county,  and  for  three  years 
was  one  of  the  well-known  educators  of  San 
Luis  <  >bispo  county.  Among  the  last  positions 
that  he  filled  was  the  principalship  of  the  Sole- 
dad  public- school,  in  which  office  he  continued 
for  four  years.  For  two  years  he  was  a  member 
of  the  board  of  education  of  Monterey  county. 
In  1898  he  was  elected  county  auditor  with  a 
majority  of  nine  hundred  and  eighty,  and  has 
since  given  his  time  and  thought  to  the  duties 
of  the  office,  having  been  re-elected  to  the  same 
office  in  1902  with  a  majority  of  about  nine  hun- 
dred. It  has  been  his  aim  to  keep  the  records 
of  his  office  systematically  and  thoroughly,  and 
no  pains  are  spared  to  make  his  service  accepta- 
ble to  the  people.  The  ticket  on  which  he  was 
elected,  the  Republican,  represents  his  political 
views,  he  being  a  firm  champion  of  the  protec- 
tion of  home  industries,  the  continuance  of  the 
sound-money  standard  ami  the  keeping  afloat 
of  the  stars  and  stripes  wherever  they  have  once 
been  planted. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  McLean  was  solemnized 
in  1877,  in  Monterey  county,  and  united  him 
with  Miss  Olive  Flavilla  Plaskett,  who  was  horn 
and  reared  in  California  and  is  the  daughter  of 
a  stock-raiser.  They  have  six  children,  namel)  : 
Cora,  who  married  Charles  Burks,  of  Spreckels, 
and  has  one  son,  Charles  Mien  Burks,  born  at 
Spreckels;  Donald  W..  who  married  Meda 
Blomquist,  daughter  of  Andrew  Blomquist,  of 
Jamesburg,  Monterey  county;  Myrtle.  Stella. 
Nellie  and  Mary. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


R.   M.    SHACKELFi  )RD. 

A  career  which  is  worthy  of  emulation  from 
man)  standpoints  is  that  of  R.  M.  Shackelford, 
v  ho  i-  affectionate!)  called  the  "father'"  of  Paso 
Ri  bles,  and  who,  in  his  capacity  as  superinten- 
dent of  the  warehouses  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Milling  Company,  has  not  .only  given  employ- 
ment to  thousands,  but  has  occupied  the  public 
eye  a-  a  humanitarian,  and  general  promoter  of 
all  that  is  excellent.  This  much  beloved  citizen 
was  born  in  Washington  county,  near  Mackville, 
Ky..  January  17,  1830.  a  son  of  James  Shackel- 
ford, also  h>  rn  in  Kentucky.  A  planter  by  occu- 
pation and  a  stonemason  by  trade,  James 
Shackelford  contracted  for  public  buildings, 
afterwards  engaging  as  a  tobacco  planter.  He 
removed  to  Missouri  in  1842,  settling  near 
Fayette,  Howard  county,  but  after  the  war  tak- 
ing up  his  residence  in  Montgomery  county, 
where  he  bought  the  farm  upon  which  he  died. 
The  paternal  grandfather  was  also  born  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  met  death  at  the  hands  of  an  Indian, 
beside  whose  dead  body  his  own  was  found  at 
Halls  Cap.  Ky.  He  represented  the  first  gen- 
eration (if  his  family  in  America,  his  brothers. 
John,  James  and  William,  settling  respectively  in 
Virginia,  Kentucky  and  Alabama.  The  mother 
of  R.  M.  Shackelford  was  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of 
Beverly  Dickerson,  of  Montgomery  county,  Ky., 
a  planter  who  raised  corn  and  tobacco  in  large 
quantities. 

When  eight  years  of  age  R.  M.   Shackelford 

went  with  the  rest  of  the  family  to  Missouri,  and 

as  be  was  one  in  a  family  of  nine  daughters  and 

becat       necessary  for  him  to  make 

I3   start  to  support  himself.     1  lis  education 

was    acquired     under     difficulties,    for    while    in 

Ltri  he  had  little  opportunity  to  do  anything 

but    work   around    the   home    farm,    and    in    later 

he    made    up    for    lost    time    by    attending 

night  school  after  working  in  the  mines  during 

the  daytime,     lie  was  sixteen  years  of  age  when 

lie  started  to  drive  a  bull  team  across  the  plains, 

and   the  memorable  journe)    was  begun   March 

14.    [852,    and   ended    in    Sacramento,    September 

23,     [852.       lie     was     variousl)     occupied    until 

1857,   in    which    year   he   became   identified   with 

the  Marysville  milling  enterprise  owned  by  A.  I'. 


Starr  &  Co.,  with  whom  be  stayed  for  several 
years.  He  afterward  established  the  Merchants' 
Forwarding  Company,  but  sustained  severe  loss 
during  the  floods  of  1862.  He  then  started  in 
freighting  across  country  to  Virginia  City,  Xev.. 
and  while  in  the  latter  state  was  elected  to  the 
assembl)  convened  directly  after  Nevada's  in- 
auguration as  a  state. 

In  1866  Mr.  Shackelford  located  in  Los  (  iatoSj 
Santa  Clara  county.  Cab.  where  he  started  and 
maintained  a  general  merchandise  store,  and  in 
connection  therewith  operated  a  lumber  yard 
business.  In  1869  he  removed  to  Salinas,  and 
with  a  partner  bought  twenty-two  hundred  acres 
on  the  Salinas  river,  called  the  San  Lorenzo 
ranch,  which  he  disposed  of  in  1873.  During 
that  \ear  be  removed  to  Hollister,  San  Benito 
county,  and  engaged  in  milling  with  a  company 
in  which  he  was  interested,  and  which  is  now  the 
Sperry  Flour  Company.  Since  1886  he  has  been 
identified  with  Paso  Robles,  and  has  been  the 
manager  of  the  warehouses  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Milling  Company,  an  enormous  responsi- 
bility requiring  just  such  ability  as  is  credited 
to  Mr.  Shackelford  by  all  who  know  him. 
Forty-one  stations  located  all  along  the  line  of 
the  railroad  handle  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  tons  of  grain  yearly,  including 
wheat,  barley  and  beans,  and  it  is  needless  to  say 
that  several  hundred  hands  are  required  to  carry 
on  the  enterprise.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the 
genial  superintendent  takes  a  personal  interest 
in  the  young  men  wdio  come  under  his  direction, 
and  many  kindnesses  are  reported  of  him  in  con- 
nection with  those  who  appealed  to  him  for  aid. 
I  [is  early  struggles  are  never  lost  track  of  in  the 

-  which  has  crowned  his  mature  years,  and 
be  honors  all  who  are  striving  in  the  same  way 
for  influence  and  money,  and  general  advance- 
ment, lie  is  noted  for  paying  good  wages  to  all 
who  work  for  him,  and  his  employes  feel  that 
they  are  appreciated.  One  and  all  are  enthusi- 
astic in  their  praise  of  their  benefactor  ami 
friend. 

In  addition  to  bis  other  responsibilities  Mr. 
Shackelford  is  manager  of  the  Salinas  Lumber 
Company.  When  he  first  came  to  California  he 
was   a    Democrat   through  and  through,  having 

onverted  through  Horace  Greeley's  articles 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


589 


in  the  Nezv  York  Tribune.  His  first  presiden- 
tial vote  was  cast  for  John  C.  Fremont.  He  was 
a  school  trustee  in  Hollister  from  1874  until 
[886,  and  two  weeks  after  arriving  in  Paso 
Robles  was  appointed  to  a  similar  position;  thus 
he  has  served  continuously  on  the  school  board 
for  nearly  thirty  wars.  He  is  the  friend  of  edu- 
cation, and  by  his  enthusiasm  on  the  subject 
has  brought  about  many  improvements  in  the 
Idealities  in  which  he  has  lived.  Fraternally  he 
is  connected  with  the  Masons  and  the  Ancient 
I  brder  of  United  Workmen,  being  a  charter 
member  of  the  latter  organization  at  Hollister. 

Mrs.  Shackelford  was  formerly  Mary  L.  Mc- 
Questin,  a  native  of  Galena,  111.,  and  of  this 
unit  hi  there  have  been  born  four  children,  of 
whom  two  are  living:  Otto,  employed  by  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  in  Nevada  as  a  con- 
tractor and  civil  engineer;  and  Lulu,  living  at 
home.  Air.  Shackelford  is  possessed  of  splendid 
personal  attributes,  and  the  kind  of  determina- 
tion which  more  than  aught  else  has  developed 
the  latent  resources  of  the  west  and  established 
a  precedent  in  business  and  citizenship. 


ELMER   P.  ALEXANDER. 

Gifted  with  the  force  of  character,  business 
capacity,  and  unswerving  integrity  which  char- 
acterizes the  successful  men  of  the  west,  Mr. 
Alexander  has  before  him  a  future  rich  with 
promise  ami  prophetic  of  large  worldly  returns. 
One  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  he 
was  horn  in  Sacramento,  Cah,  June  15,  1871, 
and  his  father,  Judge  John  K.  Alexander,  is  one 
of  the  most  forceful  and  prominent  of  the  law- 
yers  of  Monterey  county.  Elmer  P.  removed 
with  his  family  from  Sacramento  to  Salinas 
when  in  his  third  year,  and  his  education  was 
therefore  partially  acquired  here,  his  graduation 
from  the  high  school  occurring  in  1889.  Sub- 
sequently he  entered  the  Cogswell  Polytechnic 
School  of  San  Francisco,  and  graduated  there- 
from in  [893.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age 
he  started  out  to  become  financially  independent, 
and  for  some  time  was  employed  by  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Milling  Company,  In  August  of 
[897  he  was  appointed  county  tax  collector  to 
fill  an   unexpired    term,  and   so  satisfactory   were 


his  services  that  his  election  (,,  the  position  fol- 
lowed in  189S,  and  in  1902  he  was  re-elected. 
His  administration  has  been  well  received 
throughout,  and  il  is  assured  that  should  he  de- 
vote his  life  to  political  office  he  will  never  re 
sort  to  personal  gain  at  the  expense  of  public  loss 
or  confidence.  His  office  as  tax-collector  is  the 
result  of  his  allegiance  to  Democratic  issues  and 
principles. 

The  union  of  Mr.  Alexander  and  Mabel  E. 
Chestnut  occurred  in  1896,  and  to  them  has  been 
born  one  son.  Ralston  Carroll,  who  is  four  years 
old.  Mrs.  Alexander  is  a  daughter  of  John  T. 
Chestnut,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Monterey 
county.  Mr.  Alexander  is  fraternally  associat- 
ed with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Na- 
tive Sons  of  the  Golden  West. 


WILLIAM    T.    SCOTT. 

The  proprietor  of  the  Buena  Vista  ranch  in 
the  San  Luis  valley  is  one  of  the  well-known 
residents  of  San  Luis  <  Ibispo  county,  lie  came 
to  California  in  [870  from  Missouri,  where  he 
was  born,  in  Callaway  count),  April  8,  184'). 
being  a  son  of  James  M.  and  Elizabeth  (Cris- 
well  )  Scott,  natives  of  Kentucky  and  descen- 
dants of  pioneer  families  of  that  state.  The 
boyhood  years  of  William  T.  Scott  were  marked 
by  no  notable  events.  The  usual  duties  and  en 
joyments  of  farm-reared  boys  came  into  his  ex- 
perience, with  such  educational  advantages  as 
district  schools  afforded. 

When  twenty-four  years  of  age  Mr.  Sc  t: 
sought  a  home  for  himself  in  California.  and 
for  a  time  remained  in  Guadaloupe,  Santa  Bat 
bara  county,  where  he  assisted  in  surveying  the 
Guadaloupe  ranch  and  also  platted  the  town  of 
that  name.  <  )n  the  completion  of  this  work  he 
established  himself  on  a  ranch  near  town  and 
embarked  in  the  breeding  and  raising  of  sheep. 
an  industry  that  was  then  at  its  height  through- 
out this  section  of  California.  From  the  first  he 
met  with  a  gratifying  degree  of  success.  I  lis 
tlocks  increased  rapidl)  and  he  finally  wa 
Owner,  at   one  time,  of  five  thousand   head 

four  years  he  made  his  headquarters  at  the 
Casmalia  rancho,  but  in  [883  disposed  of  his 
interests    there     and     returned   to    his    ranch    at 


590 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Guadaloupe,   where   he   resumed  general  ranch- 
ing pursuits.     From  Guadaloupe  he  came  to  the 
Buena     Vista    rancho,    Belleview    district,    San 
Luis  I  >bispo  county,  and  purchased  the  property 
kV.    II-    Taylor.      Various   natural  advan- 
and    improvements   combine  to  make  the 
rt)   valuable.     It  consists  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres,  all  under  fence,  and  with  run- 
ning water  in  every  field.     The  latter  improve- 
ment    renders    the    land     especially    adapted     to 
stock-raising,     and     we     find     that     Mr.     Scott 
handles  large  numbers   of   hogs  and  cattle.     In 
1901  he  established  a  dairy. 

Realizing  the  need  of  having  banking  facilities 
at  San  Luis  (  foispo,  Mr.  Scott  j>  ined  with  other 
prominent  citizens  in  organizing  the  Commercial 
Bank,  and  he  has  since  been  one  of  its  directors. 
In  1901  he  wa.s  interested  in  establishing  the 
San  Luis  (  )bispo  Savings  Rank,  of  which  he 
was  elected  Nice-president.  In  politics  he  is  a 
1  temocrat.  While  living  at  Guadaloupe  he  served 
as  trustee  of  the  public  schools  for  several  years, 
and  he  was  also  justice  of  the  peace  there  for 
three  years.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  county 
central  committee  of  his  party.  Among  the  con- 
ventions which  he  has  attended  as  a  delegate  was 
I  he  one  in  Sacramento  which  nominated  J.  G. 
McGuire  for  governor.  During  the  existence  of 
the  Grange  he  bore  a  prominent  part  in  its 
workings.  His  marriage  took  place  February  5, 
1S74.  and  united  him  with  Miss  Eliza  M.  Pack- 
wood,  a  native  of  California.  Her  parents  were 
natives  of  Virginia  and  Illinois,  and  were  mar- 
ried in  Sacramento.  Cab,  in  1849.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Scott  have  many  friends  throughout  the  San 
Luis  valley,  and  are  held  in  the  highest  respect 
for  their  man)  worth)  attributes  of  mind  and 
heart. 


I.    B.   SCOTT. 


(  m  coming  to  Monterey  county  in   1868  Mr. 

Scott    found  the  now  thriving  city  of  Salinas  a 

i'  unding  the  preceding  year 

had    been    due   largely   to   the   enterprise  of   A. 

and   Eugene  Sherwood.     The  tir-t  man  of 

1-  invest  his  capital  in   the  new  town  was 

S.  W.  Conklin,  for  many  years  the  senior  mem- 

■   antile  firm  of  Conklin  &  Samuels. 


The  second  investors  of  capital  were  Vander- 
hurst,  Sanborn  &  Co.,  which  house  still  exists 
under  the  firm  title  of  Yanderhurst-Sanborn 
Company,  Incorporated.  Having  only  limited 
means.  Mr.  Scott  was  not  able  at  that  time  to 
invest  in  property  or  establish  a  growing  busi- 
ness, but  he  was  nevertheless  closely  identified 
with  the  growth  of  the  town  and  has  contributed 
his  quota  to  its  development.  When  the  size  of 
the  village  justified  such  a  change,  he  strongly 
advocated  its  incorporation  as  a  city,  and  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  this  measure  pass  the  legis- 
lature March  4,  1872.  Two  years  later,  under 
act  of  re-incornoration.  the  city  was  enlarged 
to  its  present  boundaries,  and  since  then  he  and 
all  public-spirited  citizens  have  endeavored  to 
promote  its  permanent  and  stable  prosperity. 

The  early  years  of  Mr.  Scott  were  passed  on 
a  farm  in  Delaware  county,  X.  V.,  where  he  was 
born  in  1843.  After  completing  common-school 
studies  he  entered  college  and  remained  until 
his  graduation  in  1803.  The  Civil  war  was 
then  at  its  height,  and.  inspired  by  a  desire  to 
serve  the  Union,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  One 
Hundred  and  Forty-fourth  New  York  Infantry, 
in  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
The  most  closely-contested  battle  in  which  he 
participated  was  that  of  Honey  Hill,  S.  C.  Dur- 
ing most  of  its  service  his  company  remained  on 
the  outside  lines,  and  was  in  South  Carolina 
when  Lee  surrendered.  On  being  honorably 
discharged  from  the  army  he  returned  home  and 
for  three  years  taught  school,  then,  in  1868, 
crossed  the  continent  to  California,  settling  in 
Salinas,  where  he  still  makes  his  home,  hoi- 
four  years  he  was  a  clerk  in  the  postoffice  under 
J.  H.  McDougall,  and  afterward  held  the  office 
of  county  auditor  four  years,  filling  both  these 
positions  with  the  greatest  fidelity  and  intel- 
ligence. 

During  187S  Mr.  Scott  established  the  drug 
business  which  he  has  since  conducted  and  in 
which  he  has  been  prospered.  His  store  is  on 
Main  streel  and  is  one  of  the  largest  of  it-  kind 
in  Monterey  county.  Equipped  with  every  mod- 
ern convenience  known  to  the  trade,  it  com- 
pares favorably  with  similar  establishments  in 
large  cities  and  certainly  is  a  worthy  addition 
to  the  business  enterprises  of  Salinas.     His  at- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


.V.i?, 


until  n  is  given  closely  to  the  management  of 
his  business  interests,  yet  he  finds  time  to  keep 
pasted  concerning  all  the  leading  issues  of  the 
day  ami  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  local  affairs 
of  the  Republican  party,  which  he  has  always 
supported.  Like  all  old  soldiers,  he  takes  an  in- 
terest in  Grand  Army  matters  and  is  never  better 
pleased  than  when  he  meets  one  of  his  former 
comrades.  In  fraternal  relations  he  i ;  connected 
with  the  Masons. 


A.   EARDLEY 


The  genial  and  popular  superintendent  of 
the  Pacific  Improvement  Company's  inter- 
ests at  Pacific  Grove,  is  not  indebted  for 
his  success  in  life  to  an  indulgent  early 
fortune  or  the  backing  of  influential  friends. 
Rather,  his  youth  contained  more  of  dis- 
couragement than  inspiration,  and  from  the 
age  of  fourteen  necessity  forestalled  inclination 
in  fashioning  the  trend  of  his  abilities.  Born  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  while  his  family  were 
journeying  from  the  east  to  the  west  in  i860, 
he  is  a  son  of  John  R.  Eardley,  a  native  of 
England,  and  a  bookkeeper  by  occupation.  The 
elder  Eardley  lived  for  five  years  in  Carson  City, 
Nev.,  and  was  there  employed  as  bookkeeper 
in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state.  At  times 
he  filled  similar  positions  in  Gilroy.  Hollister 
and  Salinas,  and  in  188 r  went  to  Anaconda, 
Mont.,  where  he  is  still  engaged  in  expert 
bookkeeping. 

The  attendance  of  I',.  A.  Eardley  at  the  public 
schools  was  interrupted  at  his  fourteenth  year, 
in  order  that  he  might  prepare  for  self-support 
by  learning  the  printer's  trade,  with  the  Hollis- 
ter Enterprise.  For  four  years  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  J.  \Y.  Leigh  on  the  Salinas  Demo- 
crat, and  in  1881  went  to  Butte,  Mont.,  with  the 
Inter-Mountain.  The  following  year,  owing  to 
failing  health,  he  gave  up  his  trade  in  favor  of 
less  confining  work,  and  became  identified  with 
Caplice  X:  McCune,  railroad  contractors  and 
dealers  in  general  merchandise,  stationed  at 
Walkerville.  In  1887  he  came  to  Pacific  Grove 
on  account  of  the  health  of  his  family,  and  soon 
after  established  tin-  Pacific  Grove  Review,  and 
in  connection  therewith  engaged  in  real  estate. 


In  the  spring  of  i ss, ,  :,e  became  associated  with 
the  firm  whose  interests  he  so  well  manages  at 
the  present  time,  a  responsibility  appreciated 
only  by  those  to  whom  the  extent  of  the  com- 
pany's undertakings  is  fully  known.  The  com- 
pany owns  over  seven  thousand  acres  of  land, 
and  is  irrigating  and  improving  this  whole  sec- 
tion of  the  country,  bringing  their  million  bar- 
rels of  water  twenty-six  miles  from  the  Carmel 
river. 

May  20,  1888,  Mr.  Eardley  married  Janet 
Robson,  a  native  of  Salinas.  Cal.,  and  they  have 
one  daughter.  Alma.  Mr.  Eardley  is  an'  influ- 
ential factor  in  general  affairs  in  Pacific  Grove, 
and  ha>  been  one  of  the  chief  supporters  and 
promoters  of  the  town's  various  enterprise-.  \t 
the  time  of  its  incorporation  in  1889,  he  served 
a  term  as  the  first  city  clerk,  and  has  since  been 
a  member  of  the  city  board  of  trustees,  and 
active  in  the  government  of  the  town.  He  has 
been  a  notary  public  since  1891.  In  fraternal 
circles  he  is  widely  and  favorably  known,  and 
he  is  the  owner  of  Robson  hall,  which  is  used 
as  a  meeting  place  for  the  various  lodges,  lie 
is  a  member  of  Pacific  Grove  Lodge  No.  331, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  and  as  an  Odd  Fellow  is  a  Past 
Noble  Grand  and  member  of  the  state  grand 
lodge.  Although  a  Presbyterian  in  religious 
belief,  he  is  liberal  minded  in  the  extreme,  and 
in  the  absence  of  a  church  of  that  denomination, 
has  cast  his  lines  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  of  which  he  is  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees,  and  president  of  the  board:  also 
been  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school,  and 
Bible  class  leader.  He  is  one  of  the  substantial 
business  men  of  the  town  of  which  he  is  an 
honored  citizen,  and  his  mam  tine  personal 
attributes  have  made  and  retained  hosts  of 
friends. 


•  wen  run  I 

As  a  result  of  four  years  spent  in  the  placer 
mines  of  California  during  tlu-  gold  excitement 
of  the  '50s,  Mr.  Tiutle  returned  to  his 
home  convinced  that  on  the  Pacific  coast  is  to  lie 
found  the  most  ideally  perfect  climate  of  which 
the  United  States  can  boast.  When  therefore 
about  twenty  years  later  he  began  to  suffer  with 


594 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


bronchitis,  he  decided  to  change  his  location  to 
the  far  west,  and  soon  afterward  established 
himself  in  the  I 'a  jam  valley  near  Watsonville, 
where  the  remaining  years  of  his  active  life  were 
passed.  For  some  years  he  was  one  of  the  most 
extensive  hup  growers  in  the  valley,  but  a  de- 
cline in  the  prices  led  him  to  turn  his  attention 
to  the  raising  of  apples  as  a  more  profitable  in- 
dustry. However,  he  did  not  discontinue  the 
hop  industry,  but  for  some  time  also  maintained 
an  interest  in  it. 

Mr.  Tuttle  was  born  in  Richland  county.  Ohio, 
December  30,  1827,  and  in  1838  accompanied 
his  father,  Hiram  Tuttle,  to  Van  Burert  county, 
Iowa,  on  the  Des  Moines  river.  In  that  locality 
he  grew  to  manhood  on  a  farm.  In  early  life  he 
learned  the  stonecutter's  trade,  but  afterward 
returned  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  after  his 
father's  death  bought  and  lived  on  the  family 
homestead  until  his  permanent  settlement  in 
California.  During  1S50  he  accompanied  a 
party  overland  and  spent  four  years  in  the  placer 
mines  near  Placerville,  after  which  he  resided  in 
Iowa  until  1873,  the  year  of  his  second  trip  to 
the  far  west.  Coming  to  Watsonville  at  that 
time  he  bought  a  farm  of  seventy-five  acres, 
which  had  twelve  acres  in  hops.  He  enlarged 
the  acreage  in  hops  to  forty-five  acres,  and  built 
kilns  and  storage  houses,  himself  and  his  estate 
conducting  a  large  business  until  1901.  when  the 
prices  deteriorated  materially  and  rendered  the 
industry  less  profitable. 

In  189]  Mr.  Tuttle  purchased  the  old  Scott 
boarding  house  on  Main  street  opposite  the 
plaza.  The  building  he  moved  to  the  rear  of 
tlie  lot,  remodeling  it  for  a  barn.  On  the  front 
of  the  lot  he  erected  a  commodious  and  modern 
residence,  and  there  lie  was  making  his  home 
when  heart  failure  caused  his  death,  July  2, 
[899.  IK-  is  survived  by  his  widow.  Mrs.  Mary 
I  (Burns)  Tuttle.  and  sewn  children.  One 
child  died  in  infancy,  and  a  daughter,  Mrs. 
Annabel  Radcliff,  died  eight  months  after  his 
demise.  The  children  surviving  are  as  Follows: 
Hiram  1).,  an  attorne)  of  San  Jose;  Morris  II. . 
who  lives  near  Watsonville;  Emory  <  >..  who  re- 
sides in  Alameda,  (  al. :  Nannie,  Mrs.  R.  I.. 
'  raig,  of  1 .0-  Angeles ;  Adella,  wife  1  if  I  h 
Aaron  Schloss,  of  San  Francisco;  Iowa  11.,  who 


lives  on  the  home  place  near  Watsonville;  and 
Victor  II.,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  R.  L.  Craig 
&  Co.,  wholesale  grocers  of  Los  Angeles. 

Mrs.  Tuttle  was  born  and  educated  in  Iowa, 
and  is  one  of  (lie  well  known  ladies  of  Watson- 
ville. While  she  has  aided  in  many  movements 
for  the  benefit  of  the  city,  her  name  will  be  1 1  n  -t 
closely  associated  and  longest  remembered  in 
connection  with  the  Watsonville  public  library. 
During  her  work  in  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  she  became 
keenly  alive  to  the  need  of  a  reading  room  and 
library,  to  which  the  people  might  have  access; 
a  place  where  ambitions  boys  and  girls  can  se- 
cure the  reading  they  need  for  the  development 
of  the  mind;  where  weary  mothers  can  find 
books  that  soothe  and  refresh  the  mind;  and 
where  the  scholarly  can  secure  articles  bearing 
upon  the  lines  of  thought  they  are  pursuing. 

To  show  that  the  suggestion  made  by  Mrs. 
Tuttle  and  carried  out  by  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  is 
appreciated,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that 
during  1001  14, (155  books  were  issued  from  the 
library  and  3.442  persons  availed  themselves  of 
the  opportunity  of  reading  the  newspapers  and 
periodicals  kept  in  the  reading  room.  The  li- 
brary was  founded  by  women  and  has  always 
been  under  their  management.  It  was  consid- 
ered advisable  to  organize  the  institution  under 
the  legislative  act  of  1880,  authorizing  cities  of 
a  certain  class  to  levy  a  tax  of  one  mill  on  the 
dollar  for  library  purposes.  A  petition  was  cir- 
culated, signatures  of  influential  citizens  secured, 
and  presented  to  the  board  of  trustees,  who 
levied  one-half  of  the  tax  allowed  by  law. 
amounting  to  five  cents  on  the  hundred  dollars. 
Two  years  later  this  amount  was  increased  to 
seven  cents,  and  as  such  continues  to  the  pres- 
ent, thus  giving  for  the  current  expenses  of  the 
library  about  $840  a  year,  out  of  which  sum  the 
librarian's  salary,  rent,  light,  fuel  and  other  ex- 
penses musl  be  paid,  as  well  as  periodicals  sub- 
scribed for  and  new  books  bought.  Considering 
the  limited  means  in  their  hands,  the  ladies  have 
accomplished  results  that  would  seem  almost  in- 
credible to  those  not  familiar  with  their  work. 
This  is  due  to  their  constant,  untiring  efforts. 
their  appreciation  of  any  personal  donation  and 
their  presentation  of  the  institution's  needs  to 
the     public     whenever     an     opportunity     affords. 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


yx, 


The)  arc  especially  grateful  for  the  contribu- 
tion of  $250,  made  by  the  heirs  of  the  Ford  es- 
tate, and  which  amount  was  invested  in  books, 
and  for  the  gift  of  the  (  )dd  Fellows  library.  In 
all  of  this  work  Mrs.  Tuttle  has  borne  an  active 
part,  and  with  unflagging  zeal  has  fostered  the 
movement  whose  inception  is  due  to  her  prac- 
tical foresight. 


J.    P.    SARGENT. 

One  of  the  best  informed  stockmen  in  Mon- 
terey county  is  J.  P.  Sargent,  rancher,  meat 
dealer,  and  prominent  upbuilder  of  the  beauti- 
ful and  prosperous  city  of  Monterey,  where  he 
was  born  in  1861.  His  father,  Bradley  V.,  Sr.. 
came  to  Monterey  in  1851,  and  took  a  prominent 
part  in  the  affairs  of  the  town.  The  son  received 
every  educational  advantage  within  the  father's 
power  to  bestow,  and  his  training  at  the  public 
schools  was  supplemented  by  a  course  at  Santa 
Clara  College.  Soon  afterward  he  became  in- 
terested in  stock,  and  has  ever  since  made  this 
branch  of  industry  a  careful  study.  For  years  he 
has  been  a  producer  of  fancy  and  dairy  cattle, 
blooded  and  draft  horses,  and  has  a  thorough 
understanding  of  his  business  in  ail  its  branches. 

In  1804  Mr.  Sargent  established  the  Monterey 
Meat  Company,  which  does  a  general  retail  and 
wholesale  meat  business,  having  also  a  slaughter 
house  in  connection,  and  utilizing  each  month 
about  a  herd  of  beef,  mutton,  and  pork.  The 
correct  business  methods  of  this  firm,  as  well  as 
their  consideration  and  courtesy  in  dealing  with 
the  general  public,  have  won  them  the  confidence 
of  the  community,  and  a  corresponding  business 
success.  Mr.  Sargent  has  branched  out  into 
other  lines  of  activity,  and  has  been  foremost  in 
many  of  the  enterprises  which  have  materially 
advanced  the  interests  of  the  town.  In  [899  he 
was  one  1  1"  tlie  organizers  of  the  Monterey  Pro- 
gressive Association,  and  he  was  also  "lie  .if  the 
organizers  of  the  old  Capitol  Club.  He  is  a  di- 
rector in  the  Monterey  Electric  Light  Company, 
of  which  his  father  was  one  of  the  organizers, 
and  is  fraternally  associated  with  the  Masonic 
lodge. 

In  t883  Mr.  Sargenl  married  Miss  K.  E. 
Eckhardt,  of  Nebraska,  and  of  this  union  there 


are  two  suns.  Bradley  P.  and  Charles  R.,  both 
living  at  heme.  Mr.  Sargent  is  interested  in 
growing  grain  in  the  Salinas  valley,  below  King 
City,  and  also  has  mining  interests  in  different 
parts  of  the  state.  Politically  he  is  affiliated 
with  the  Democratic  party,  hut  so  liberal  are  his 
political  views  that  he  regards  rather  the  char- 
acter of  an  office  seeker  than  his  special  brand 
of  politics.  He  is  a  member  of  the  county  cen- 
tral committee,  and  has  been  a  delegate  to 
numerous  county  and  state  conventions.  The 
character  and  ability  of  Mr.  Sargent  are  worthy 
the  i-leem  and  popularity  which  he  enjoys  in  his 
adopted  city. 


J.   L.  ANDERSON. 

(  >ne  of  the  must  genial  and  promising  0f  the 
younger  generation  of  merchants  in  San  Luis 
<  tbispo  is  J.  L.  Anderson,  who  five  years  ago 
established  an  up-to-date  men's  furnishing  es- 
tablishment, and  has  since  received  a  liberal  pat- 
ronage  from  all  who  appreciated  seasonable 
goods  at  moderate  prices.  Few  in  so  short  a 
time  could  have  launched  their  business  in  suc- 
cessful grooves,  and  gained  so  settled  a  reputa- 
tion fur  fail-  dealing  and  progressive  methods. 

Of   southern   antecedents,   Mr.   Anderson   was 
born  in  Merced  county.  Cal.j  in  1863,  his  parent-. 
John    Fletcher  and    Elizabeth    (Hanna)    Andei 
son,    being'   natives   of    Tennessee.      In    early    life 
John    Anderson   removed    from   his    native   state 
to  Missouri,  and  from  there  in  1857  cros 
plains  to  California  with   wagons  ami  ox  teams. 
His   trip   was    replete    with    adventure  and   ever 
present   danger,  but    seemed  to  he  guided  by  a 
protecting  deity,   fur  the   train   of   which   he   was 
a    member   was     just     three     days     ahead    of   the 
Mount    Meadow   expedition,   all  of   whom    were 
massacred    by    the     Indians.      For   weeks    they 
wire  followed  b)    the  bloodthirsty  savages,  and 
they  lust   every  head  of  stuck   with  which  they 
started   awa)    from   home.     Mr.     Midd- 
led   in    Merced   count)    and    engaged    in    fai 
ami   stuck  raising    for    several    years,  and  about 
thirty-three  years  ago  came  to  San  Luis  ' 
county,  where  he  ha-  since  lived.     A.1  tin 
ent  time,  at  tin  •  .  he  is  living 

with  In-  son,  J.   1...  and  -nil  retains  those  alert 


■>{)C, 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


faculties  which  have  brought  him  success  and 
friends.  <  die  of  his  brothers  was  in  the  South 
American  war  which  resulted  in  the  death  of 
Maximilian,  and  he  was  taken  prisoner  and 
banished  to  Mexico. 

<  In  his  father's  farm  J.  L.  Anderson  acquired 
practical  ideas  of  life  and  work,  and  received 
his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  San  Luis  Obispo,  supplemented  by  a  busi- 
ness course  at  Heald's  College  in  San  Francisco. 
Nevertheless,  while  still  very  young,  he  became 
familiar  with  the  responsible  side  of  existence, 
and  worked  alternately  on  a  ranch  and  in  a  store 
between  the  ages  of  ten  and  seventeen.  For  a 
few  years  he  was  employed  in  a  store  in  Fresno, 
and  for  five  years  managed  the  business  of  the 
White  House  in  San  Luis  <  >bispn,  a  large  dry- 
goods  concern.  With  this  valuable  training  he 
felt  justified  in  starting  up  his  present  haber- 
dasher business,  since  which  his  predictions 
have  been  well  verified. 

In  1889  Mr.  Anderson  was  united  in  marri- 
age with  Maggie  Albaugh,  a  native  of  Iowa,  and 
of  this  union  there  are  two  children,  Oma  and 
Harold.  Although  a  Democrat  in  political  affili- 
ation. Mr.  Anderson  is  not  active  in  local  poli- 
tic-, and  has  no  liking  for  the  feverish  and  un- 
certain life  of  the  average  politician.  He  is  as- 
sociated with  the  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Native 
Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  and  is  deeply  interest- 
ed in  all  that  tends  to  aid  in  the  upbuilding  of 
his  chosen   city. 


J(  I'HN   BREEN. 

The  old  historic  town  of  San  Juan,  with  its 
quaint  street-. -and  innumerable  reminders  of  a 
long  departed  Spanish  civilization,  has  profited 
by  the  industry  and  devoted  careers  of  many  lat- 
ter day  sons,  few  of  whom  have  lived  within  the 
shadows  of  its  reminiscent  moods  longer  than 
has  John  Breen.  As  the  last  of  a  family  of  seven 
children  who  came  here  with  their  parents  in 
1 S  } S .  he  is  entitled  to  the  consideration  merited 
by  his  long  and  well  directed  life,  and  by  his  in- 
valuable services  in  connection  with  the  agricul- 
tural and  political  undertakings  of  his  locality. 

Across  the  lake  from  Detroit,  Mich.,  on  the 
1  anadian  side,  Mr.    Breen   was  born  in    [832,  a 


son  of  Patrick  Breen,  who  left  Keokuk,  Iowa,  in 
[846,  hound  for  the  golden  possibilities  beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  Accompanied  by  his  fam- 
ily and  other  aspirants  for  the  supposed  large 
fortunes  awaiting  the  stout  of  heart  and  strong 
of  endurance,  he  set  out  with  ox-teams,  and 
was  snow-bound  at  famous  Donner  Lake,  with 
the  ill  fated  party  of  that  name.  For  six  months 
he  endured  all  of  the  hardships  and  perils  afford- 
ed by  the  deplorable  and  seemingly  hopeless  sit- 
uation, but  eventually  started  forth  upon  the  lat- 
ter end  of  the  journey,  and  reached  in  safety 
the  Sacramento  valley,  in  March  of  1S47.  For 
a  time  he  lived  in  San  Jose  and  in  February  of 
1N4X  came  to  San  Juan,  where  he  purchased  a 
large  tract  of  land  adjoining  the  mission.  Here 
lie  followed  farming  and  stock-raising  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days,  and  died  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty, in  1S08.  At  one  time  he  also  owned  the 
Topa  rancho  of  twenty-four  thousand  acres, 
which  he  left  to  his  family  of  six  sons  and  one 
daughter.  lie  was  well  known  and  highly  es- 
teemed in  the  locality  in  which  he  lived,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  first  hoard  of  supervisors  of 
Monterey  county.  Few  men  in  the  early  days 
reaped  such  lavish  personal  returns  for  their 
great  and  untiring  labors,  but  he  was  fortunately 
blessed  with  children  who  appreciated  his  efforts 
in  their  behalf,  and  who  like  himself  exercised 
thrift  and  care  in  the  management  of  their  lega- 
cies. 

As  a  hoy  of  fourteen  Mr.  Breen  came  to  San 
Juan  with  his  parents,,  and  he  grew  to  manhood 
under  the  spire  of  the  old  mission.  Eventually 
lie  spent  a  couple  of  winters  in  Ilangtown,  now 
Placerville,  and  gained  his  share  of  the  hidden 
treasure  of  the  earth.  From  then  on  he  turned 
his  attention  to  his  present  ranch  at  San  Juan, 
near  which  he  owns  two  hundred  acres,  besides 
two  thousand  acres  of  the  old  paternal  ranch  in 
the  Topa  country.  He  is  engaged  in  raising 
cattle,  horses  and  hogs  and  in  general  farming, 
and  has  been  successful,  as  are  most  practical 
and  hard  working  agriculturists  and  stock-rais- 
ers. In  formulating  his  success  in  life  he  at- 
tributes much  to  the  helpful  assistance  of  his 
wife,  who  was  formerly  Leah  Smith,  and  whom 
he  married  in  [852.  Mrs.  Breen  in  a  native  ol 
Illinois,    and    came   to   California    in   historic    >> 


HISTORICAL  A\n   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


m 


She  became  the  mother  of  eight  children,  one  of 
whom  is  deceased. 

A  portion  of  the  influence  exerted  by  Mr. 
Breen  in  the  county  lias  been  from  a  political 
standpoint,  for  his  interest  in  the  Republican 
partj  lias  inspired  meritorious  service  in  its  pro- 
motion, lie  was  a  supervisor  at  large  of  Monte- 
rey county,  before  the  separation  of  San  Benito 
county,  a  fact  which  gave  him  the  chairman- 
ship of  the  board,  a  position  maintained  until 
the  county  division  in  1874.  He  was  one  of 
the  commission  appointed  by  Governor  Booth  to 
organize  the  new  county  and  put  it  on  a  work- 
ing basis,  and  soon  after  the  creation  of  San  Be- 
nito he  was  elected  supervisor  of  the  second  dis- 
trict, and  was  on  the  board  when  the  court  house 
was  built.  He  has  since  served  three  terms  as 
supervisor  of  four  years  each,  and  for  one  term 
was  chairman  of  the  board.  For  fort}'  years  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  school  trus- 
tees, and  materially  assisted  in  establishing  the 
present  school  systems  of  Monterey  and  San  Be- 
nito counties.  So  extended  a  political  service 
speaks  volumes  for  the  confidence  enjoyed  by 
Mr.  Breen,  and  for  his  practical  common  sense 
and  publicspiritedness.  To  all  who  know  him 
he  is  a  typical  representative  of  the  hale  and 
hearty  and  large  hearted  pioneer,  whose  word  is 
as  good  as  the  gold  for  which  men  in  the  early 
days  risked  their  lives,  and  ofttimes  bartered 
their  futures  and  that  of  their  families.  Of  him 
it  may  be  said  that  with  few  exceptions  the 
friendships  made  way  back  in  the  shadows  of  the 
mission  have  lived  and  thrived  in  uninterrupted 
sincerity  and  good  will,  for  he  possesses  the 
qualities  calculated  to  hold  friends  through  weal 
and  woe. 


BENJAMIN  B.  BIERER. 

The  name  of  Benjamin  1'..  Bierer  is  associated 
with  all  that  is  most  progressive  and  substan- 
tial in  western  development.  As  one  of  the 
most  enthusiastic  and  resourceful  of  the  citizens 
of  Templeton  he  has  fitted  into  a  niche  apparent!) 


is   chances 
(  )i  stanch 


111-1 


nalse  him  ai  once  the  town 

4  helpful  promoter. 

u'c  ancestry,  Mr.  Bierer  come 


of  a  family  represented  in  this  country  by  the 
paternal  grandfather,  Daniel,  who  emigrated 
from  his  native  home  in  Germany  to  Union- 
town,  Pa.,  where  be  engaged  in  the  meat  busi- 
ness for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  I  111-11 
town,  David,  the  father  of  Benjamin  I'..,  was 
born,  and  he  also  engaged  in  the  meat  business, 
having  learned  the  trade  from  his  father.  Even- 
tually he  removed  to  Rockford,  11!..  and  there 
branched  out  into  the  mercantile  business,  be- 
ing the  pioneer  in  bis  line  in  that  town.  His 
death  occurred  there  in  1880.  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
six  years,  and  Ids  farm,  now  within  the  city  lim- 
its, was  finally  sold  by  his  widow.  Mrs.  Bierer 
was  formerly  Amanda  Hitchcock,  a  native  of 
Canada,  and  daughter  of  Artemas  Hitchcock,  a 
Canadian  merchant,  who  in  1842  removed  to 
Rockford,  and  built  the  first  brick  block  of  any 
importance  in  that  town.  This  block-  is  located 
on  east  State  street,  and  stands  as  a  monument 
to  the  enterprise  of  one  of  its  must  reliable  and 
worthy  citizens.  As  a  merchant  Air.  Hitch- 
cock was  remarkably  successful,  and  left  con- 
siderable property  to  be  divided  among  his  wid- 
ow ami  children.  To  David  Bierer  and  his  wife 
four  children  were  born,  two  sons  and  two 
daughters,  of  whom  Benjamin  B.  is  the  young- 
est. Die  other  son,  E.  II.,  who  lives  with  his- 
mother  on  the  home  ranch,  was  prominent  at  the 
time  of  the  Civil  war.  when  he  formed  a  com- 
pany in  Chicago  and  became  staff  officer  under 
(  ieneral  Turner.  As  a  result  of  this  service  he 
lias  suffered  from  the  effects  of  exposure  and 
privation.  Among  his  friends  be  numbers  many 
distinguished  defenders  of  the  cause  of  the 
Union,  one  of  whom  is  (ieneral  Brooks.  Carrie 
Bierer  became  the  wife  of  A.  J.  Atwo 
Pecatonica,  111.,  an  ice  merchant,  and  a  member 
of  the  city  council. 

At  a  comparatively    early    age    Benjamin    Ik 

Rockford,  and  thereafter  went  to  Elgin,  lati 
following  his  trade  in  Springfield  and  Columbus, 
<  Ihio.  for  a  season  be  rented  a  farm  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Lawrence,  Kans.,  and  in  [887  removed 
to  California,  settling  at  Templeton.  where  his 
mother  bought  sixty-four  acres  of  land.  This 
land  \\  as  devot  md  1  ither  grains,  and 

a  en im  the  ac- 


.5!)S 


HIST(  >RICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RED  >RD. 


commodation  i  £  the  family.  Mr.  Bierer  shipped 
load  i  >f  fine  Jerse)  stock,  tin.'  best  to  be 
had,  and  the  farm  is  today  among  the  well  de- 
veloped and  paying  properties  near  Templeton. 
In  Templeton,  in  [895,  Air.  Bierer  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Cecilia  Millman,  a  native  of 
San  Francisco,  and  daughter  of  N.  G.  Millman. 
an  undertaker  of  Indiana,  who  afterward  fol- 
lowed his  business  in  San  Francisco  and  San 
Miguel,  in  which  latter  city  his  death  occurred 
in  [898.  He  was  prominent  in  fraternal  circles, 
especially  with  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows. 
Since  his  death  his  wife  has  continued  the  un- 
dertaking enterprise,  and  has  proved  herself  a 
worthy  successor  to  his  large  and  remunerative 
trade.  (  tne  child  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bierer,  Zella.  who  is  six  years  of  age.  Mr.  Bier- 
er is  a  Republican  in  political  preference,  and  at 
the  present  time  is  serving-  as  constable,  lie  is 
president  of  the  local  Board  of  Trade,  and  is 
connected  with  the  Improvement  Company.  He 
is  pi  ssessed  of  shrewd  business  ability,  of  the  re- 
quisite conservatism,  and  a  public  spiritedness 
which  invests  his  every  act  with  dignity  and 
helpfulness. 


A.  II.  FREDS"  IN. 

A.   11.    Fredson,  chairman  of  the  hoard  of  su- 
pervisors of  San    Benito  county,  and  one  of  the 
■  si   business  men  of  Tres   Pinos,  was  horn 
in  Lincolnville,  Waldo  county,  Me.,  in  1847.  and 
received  his  early  training  and  education  among 
his  native  surroundings.     His  youth  was  practi- 
cally uneventful,  and  when,  al  the  age  of  sixteen, 
vistas  of  opportunity  were  opened  b)   the  break- 
ing oul   of  the  Civil  war,  he  welcomed  ii  as  a 
1  and  turn  his  life 
acci  mnl       \-  a  member  of  *  Company  M. 
tea        Vrtillen .  he  saw   enough  of 
the  terrible  side  of  war  to  convince  him    if  the 
everlasti  pi  ace,  a  conviction  strength- 

years  after  as  [875,  when,  owing  to 
ci   ved  in  tin    Battle  of   I  'etersburg  on 
rune  [8,  1864,  he  was  obliged  to  walk  on  crutches 

:     'ears. 

Peac<  n  stored,  VI r.  Freds*  n  began  to  chafe  at 
ihe  limitations  of  his  chances  in  Far-off  Maine. 
and  the  vear  after  the  war  sel  oul  for  California 


by  way  of  Panama,  and  up  to  San  Francisco, 
eventually  locating  in  Sonoma  county,  where  he 
!  in  farming,  near  Santa  Rosa.  In  the 
fall  of  1874  he  came  to  Hollister  and  farmed  for 
a  short  time.  In  1882  he  settled  in  Tres  Pinos 
and  assumed  charge  of  the  hostelry  known  as  the 
Southern  Pacific  Hotel,  and  during  the  seven 
years  of  his  association  with  the  traveling  pub- 
lic gained  many  friends  and  received  fair  re- 
muneration for  time  and  labor  invested.  In 
[889  he  became  more  interested  in  handling  hay 
and  grain,  and  for  four  years  confined  himself 
to  dealing  in  those  two  commodities.  In  [899 
he  succeeded  in  incorporating  the  Farmers'  Hay 
Company,  of  Tres  Pinos,  of  which  he  has  since 
been  manager,  secretary  and  director.  The  en- 
terprise is  conducted  on  a  large  scale,  and  the 
shipments  made  exceed  those  of  any  other  estab- 
lishment of  the  kind  in  the  city.  The  warehouses 
are  constructed  for  a  possible  large  increase  of 
business,  and  have  a  capacity  for  handling  many 
thousands  of  tons  of  hay  and  grain.  Mr.  Fred- 
son  also  organized  the  Tres  Pur-  Warehouse 
( '1  'liipany. 

In  political  affiliation  Mr.  Fredson  is  one  of 
the  most  enthusiastic  advocates  1  E  Republicanism 
in  the  county,  and  his  services  in  the  interests  of 
his  party  have  resulted  in  great  good  to  the  com- 
munity. He  was  elected  supervisor  of  the  coun- 
ty in  1887.  serving  for  four  vear-.  and  in  [898 
was  igain  elected  for  a  like  period,  in  [900  being 
made  chairman  of  the  hoard.  For  the  third  time, 
November  4,  1002.  he  was  elected  for  another 
four-year  term  to  the  same  office.     Upon  three 

11  casii  ins  he  has  b(  en  a  delegate  to  state  con 
\cntions,  and  has  actively  entered  into  all  po- 
litical happenings  in  the  county  since  1874.  lie 
was  one  of  those  who  secured  the  building  of 
the  present  court  hi  u-e. 

In   [870,  a'  Santa   Rosa,  Mr.  Fredson  married 

\.ddie  Jose,  who  died  in  1885.  leaving  three 
children,  viz.:  Nellie,  who  is  now  Mrs.  McCune; 
Lottie,  Mrs.  Wilkes;  and  Alonzo  II. .Jr.  In  [887 
Mr.  Fredson  married  Man  Moire,  of  Sonoma 
county,  and  a  daughter  of  Dr.  P.  Moore.  Mr. 
Fredson  is  interested  in  real-estate  and  insur- 
and    several    important     properties    in   the 

Mis  upright  luisiiirss  methods,  and  manifest  re 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


gard  for  the  best  welfare  of  the  county  have  won 
for  him  an  enviable  standing  and  many  friends. 

CAPT.  CHARLES  F.  MILLER. 

The  years  that  have  passed  since  the  death  of 
Captain  Miller  have  not  dimmed  bis  memory  in 
the  affection  of  those  who  held  him  dear.  Dur- 
ing Ins  long  service  as  a  seafaring  man  he  ac- 
quired the  hearty,  genial  and  broad-souled  man- 
ner and  tastes  of  the  sailor,  and  these  qualities 
won  him  friends  wherever  he  sailed.  His  love 
for  the  sea  never  left  him,  and  although  he  was 
a  pioneer  ranchman  of  Santa  Cruz  county  and 
enjoyed  the  management  of  bis  property,  many 
of  bis  happiest  hours  were  spent  on  the  water, 
his  love  for  which  led  him  back  to  the  sea  at  in- 
tervals. 

A  native  of  Durham.  England,  Captain  Miller 
began  to  follow  the  sea  at  twelve  years  of  age, 
and  rose  from  the  most  bumble  position  to  that 
of  captain.  During  some  of  his  trips  his  vessel 
cast  anchor  in  California  ports  and  in  this  way  he 
became  familiar  with  the  delightful  climate  of  the 
Pacific  coast  region.  In  [855  In-  bought  the  San 
Andreas  ranch  and  established  bis  home  in  Santa 
Cruz,  but,  as  previously  intimated,  he  frequently 
left  bis  ranching  pursuits  ami  returned  to  a  sea- 
faring life,  following  the  same  until  shortlj  be- 
fore his  death.  In  1884  be  purchased  a  tract  ol 
land  on  the  coast  and  built  a  bath  house,  with 
about  fifty  lire-sin--  rooms.  Shortl}  afterward 
be  retired,  turning  the  business  over  to  bis  sons. 
After  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1888  at  the 
age  of  sixty-nine  years,  the  business  was  con- 
ducted by  Miller  Bros.  In  18m.  Ralph  S.  Mil- 
ler and  J.  Leibbrandt  became  proprietors  and 
have  since  built  up  a  large  business  in  their 
line. 

When  a  young  man  (  aptain  Miller  was  made  .1 

,111  upholder  of  Masonic  principles.  I  lis  mar- 
riage united  him  with  Celia,  daughter  "i  John 
Pickford,  and  a  native  of  Bristol,  England. 
Eleven  children  were  I.  irn  of  their  union,  live 
now  living,  namelj  :  Charles,  Frederick,  Mrs. 
Mmnie  Milk.  Ralph  S.  and  Mis.  Edith  Herriot. 
Mrs.  Miller  continues  to  reside  at  the  beach  in 
ill.-  house    erected    bv    her    husband      rlei    -  n, 


Ralph  S..  associated  with  J.  Leibbrandt.  con- 
ducts the  Neptune  and  Dolphin  baths.  The 
origin  of  the  surf  and  plunge  bathing  business 
dates  hack  to  (868,  when  John  Leibbrandt,  Sr., 
built  the  first  bath  house  at  Santa  Cruz  beach. 
From  the  first  his  patronage  was  encouraging. 
About  [872  he  added  hoi  baths.  The  following 
year  he  enlarged  the  house  in  order  to  meet  the 
increasing  demands.  (  )„  his  retirement  he  was 
succeeded  by  his  son.  and  in  1890  the  two  com- 
panies consolidated  their  enterprises  and  built 
the  plunge  baths.  The  plunge  now  in  use  was 
built  in  [892  and  opened  on  the  loth  of  |ulv,  that 
year,  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  In  dimen- 
sions it  is  40x80  feet,  with  a  depth  of  from  three 
ami  one-hall  to  ten  feet,  and  holding  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  gallons  of  water.  In 
connection  with  the  plunge  there  are  ninety-six 
dressing  rooms.  It  is  said  that  the  bathing  suits 
supplied  to  the  patrons  are  the  finest  to  he  found 
at  any  bathhouse  along  the  coast.  Their  facili- 
ties are  further  increased  b)  two  storage  tanks. 
one  hundred  and  fift)  feet  long  and  three  fret 
deep  which  are  heated  by  the  solar  heater  and 
tilted  with  modern  equipments  for  bathing,  the 
water  being  furnished  hot  or  cold  as  preferred. 
For  the  surf  bathing  there  are  on,'  hundred  and 
fifty  dressing  rooms  for  men  and  the  same  num- 
ber for  ladies,  with  shower  baths  attached.  As 
is  generally  known,  no  beach  excels  that  of  Santa 
Cruz  fo,-  its  bathing  facilities.  The  people  are 
especially  proud  of  the  fact  that  no  one  has  ever 
been  drowned  in  this  beach  nor  has  there  been 
ail)  serious  accident  at  any  time.  The  mosl 
competent  instructors,  both  men  and  women,  are 
in  constant  attendant  assisl    in  any 

way   desired.     The  enjoyment    of  the  guests   is 
enhanced  b)   music  and  by  a  park  in  which  may 
be  seen   fane)   birds  and  game  of  various  kinds. 
Refreshments    are    served    at    all    hours.        Ball 
grounds  offer  an  additional  source  of  recreatii  n 
and  amusement.      At   the  time  that    R.   S.    Miller 
lu  1  ame  ■  ne  ■•(  the  proprieti  >rs  In 
out   flowers  and  shrubbery,  and  tocUn  the  grounds 
are  a  scene  of  beaut)    during  the  entire 
from    Ma)    to  1  Ictober.      Steam   and  electric  cars 
which  pass  through  tin-  grounds  furnish  read) 
and     convenient     transportation      for     pa 
Ev<  r)   o  nvenii  no    is  provided  that  will  pro 


ill  If  I 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


the  comfort  of  guests,  among  other  things  being 
an  abundant  supply  of  cam-as  tents  for  those 
wishing  to  avoid  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 
Bathing  is  indulged  in  throughout  the  entire  year, 
there  being  no  seasons  when  it  is  unattractive  or 
undesirable.  <  In  the  other  hand,  each  season  has 
its  peculiar  charms  and  attractions,  and  guests 
m.i\   be  seen  lure  every  month  in  the  year. 


l.(  >UIS  M<  >RETTI. 

Louis  Moretti,  proprietor  of  the  Sea  Side 
creamery  at  Nos.  41-43  Pacific  avenue,  Santa 
Cruz,   established   his   present  business  in  tcpi, 

and  all  indications  point  to  a  continuation 
and  increase  of  his  present  success.  In 
connection  with  the  creamery  he  maintains 
a  bakery,  wher.e  the  best  quality  of  goods 
in  this  line  may  be  had  at  reasonable  rates. 
In  addition  to  his  own  creamery  he  has  an  inter- 
est in  several  others,  including  the  Yellow  Bank 
dairy,  the  Ocean  Mew  dairy,  and  the  San 
Vicente  dairy.  He  has  an  extended  knowledge 
of  his  chosen  occupation,  and  is  also  possessed 
of  good  business  judgment,  tact  and  enterprise. 
A  native  of  Cevio,  Switzerland,  Mr.  Moretti 
was  horn  April  30,  [876,  and  is  a  son  of  J. 
Moretti,  who  was  a  miner  in  his  hilly  native 
land,  and  came  to  the  United  States  about  1852. 
lie  located  in  California,  and  became  a  resident 
of  Santa  Cruz  in  [864,  where  he  bought  a  ranch 
and  made  his  home  until  [868.  That  year  he 
returned  to  the  land  of  his  birth,  where  his  death 
occurred  in  [894.  His  son,  Louis,  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1899,  and  has  so  far  had  no 
can  '  I  '  regrel  Ins  removal  to  a  country  of  Ear 
larger  possibility  than   his  own. 


MISS  E.  MAY  GRANT. 

The  influence  wielded  by  women  in  the  educa- 
tional world  finds  an  illustration  in  the  work  ac- 
complished by  Miss  Grant  in  behalf  of  the  public 

In  ols  of  Santa  Cruz.  Her  success  as  a  teacher 
is  especially  gratifying  to  the  people  of  Santa 
Cruz,  inasmuch  as  she  is  one  of  the  native 
daughters  and  has  always  considered  this  place 
her  homo.     Her  father.  John  Grant,  who  was  a 


Montreal.  Canada,  April  2y,  1837,  being  a  son  of 
John  Grant,  Sr.,  and  of  Scotch  descent.  As  a 
hoy  he  had  only  meager  advantages,  and  worked 
much  of  the  time  at  mining  and  lumbering. 
When  nineteen  years  of  age  he  left  home  and 
went  to  Michigan,  then  to  British  Columbia, 
where  he  was  employed  in  the  Caribou  mines. 

Crossing  the  country  to  California  in  1862, 
Mr.  Grant  first  engaged  in  farming  near  San 
Jose  in  the  Santa  Clara  valley.  From  there  he 
removed  to  Santa  Cruz  and  for  a  number  of 
years  each  summer  harvested  in  the  Salinas  val- 
ley. He  secured  employment  as  foreman  for  F. 
A.  Hihn,  in  which  capacity  he  assisted  in  the 
building  up  of  Capitola.  During  the  long  period 
of  his  residence  in  Santa  Cruz  he  maintained  a 
deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  city  and  in 
movements  for  the  public  good.  For  four  years 
he  served  as  street  commissioner,  meantime  do- 
ing much  for  the  benefit  of  the  streets.  After 
he  had  for  three  years  held  a  position  as  foreman 
of  the  Bituminous  Rock  Mines  he  went  to  Sali- 
nas, where  he  was  struck  by  a  falling  derrick 
May  31.    xjoi,  and  almost  instantly  killed. 

December  5,  i8(xj.  Mr.  Grant  married  Miss 
Henrietta  Jane  Cunis.  who  was  horn  in  Fayette 
county,  Iowa,  a  daughter  of  Leonard  and  Abbie 
1".  (  Bently)  Curtis.  Her  father,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  Vermont,  settled  in  Iowa  and  from  there, 
in  18(10.  crossed  the  plains  with  an  ox-team, 
arriving  in  Santa  Rosa  at  the  expiration  of  .six 
months  and  settling  finally  in  Santa  Cruz.  The 
home  for  many  years  occupied  a  lot  adjoining 
that  of  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Grant.  The  latter 
made  his  home  mi  Grant  street,  and  owned  the 
residence  that  is  still  occupied  by  his  family. 
I  lis  six  children  are  E.  May,  Lottie,  Sophia,  1.. 
Ruth,  Rose  M.,  and  J.  Edgar.  The  second 
daughter  is  the  wife  of  \V.  C.  Ezant  and  has  one 
son.  Walter  Granl  Izant.  In  politics  John  Grant 
was  a  pronounced  Republican;  in  religion  ad- 
hered to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
fraternall)  was  connected  with  the  Odd  fellows 
and  the    Wicient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

Availing  herself  .'f  the  advantages  offered  by 
home  schools,   Miss  Grant    was  graduated   from 


Business  ( 


At 


WILLIAM  HATTOX 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


go: 


took  up  educational  work,  her  first  experience 
in  that  line  being  gained  in  the  schools  of  San 
Luis  Obispo  county.  In  July,  1895,  she  was 
appointed  principal  of  the  Grant  School  in  Santa 
Cruz.  This  school  is  supposed  to  have  taken  its 
name  from  General  ( irant,  as  did  also  the  street, 
the  school  being  built  at  the  time  of  General 
Grant's  height  of  fame.  It  was  rebuilt  in  [88: 
and  in  [894  was  enlarged,  remodeled  and  mod- 
ernized. Under  the  supervision  of  Miss  Grant 
it  maintained  its  high  standing  for  excellence  of 
work  accomplished  and  ranks  as  one  of  the  best 
schools  in  the  city.  On  its  rolls  there  are  one 
hundred  or  more  pupils,  with  an  average  attend- 
ance of  ninety.  In  1902  Miss  (irant  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Branciforte  school  as  a  teacher  in 
the  sixth  grade.  As  a  teacher  she  is  justly  pop- 
ular, for  she  aims  to  keep  abreast  with  every  ad- 
vance made  in  the  science  of  pedagogy  and  is 
progressive,  efficient  and  faithful.  In  addition 
to  her  work  as  an  educator,  she  finds  time  to  take 
part  in  religious  activities  and  is  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


WILLIAM  HATTON. 

The  name  of  Hatton  has  for  many  years  been 
associated  with  the  most  extensive  dairying  in- 
terests in  Monterey  county.  The  founder  of 
the  occupation  for  which  the  Carmel  vallc\  is 
so  admirably  adapted  was  William  Hatton,  a 
man  of  great  strength  of  character,  pronounced 
executive  and  business  ability,  and  well  fitted 
for  the  large  responsibilities  which  came  his 
way.  The  death  of  this  popular  promoter  of 
the  well  being  of  the  valley,  October  23,  [894,  is 
still  recalled  with  extreme  regret  by  his  numer- 
ous friends,  patrons  and  business  associates. 

A  native  of  county  Wicklow,  Ireland,  Mr. 
Hatton  was  born  June  o,  1X4.),  the  fourth  in 
a  family  of  eight  children,  one  of  whom.  Ed- 
ward, is  also  a  resident  of  America.  Possessed 
of  a  love  lor  adventure,  the  youthful  William 
rebelled  at  the  limitations  of  the  paternal  farm, 
and  when  thirteen  yeat  -  of  age  put  ou1  to  ea 
as  an  apprentice  on  a  merchant  ship.     For  seven 

war-  lie  Kd  a  seafaring  life,  and  in   [870 

I"  California,  where  he  worked  as  an  appri 
al  daii  j  in'g  upon  the  ranch  which 


his  absorbing  interest  and  personal  property. 
In  tinu-  tlie  humble  apprentice  had  saved  suffi 
cient  means  to  buy  out  his  employer,  E.  St. 
John,  of  Salinas,  and  then  began  an  earnest 
effort  to  build  up  the  largest  and  most  perfectly 
appointed  dairy  in  Monterey  county,  and  one 
of  the  largest  in  the  state.  Much  of  his  sua  ess 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  an  innate  liking 
for  his  chosen  work,  and  realized  the  impor- 
tance of  commodities  so  generally  in  use  being 
of  a  superior  and  health-giving  quality.  That 
ci  ngenial  work  means  success  was  demon- 
strated repeatedly  in  the  course  of  his  career 
as  a  dispenser  of  dairy  products.  At  times  he 
milked  as  many  as  six  hundred  of  the  finest- 
bred  cows  in  the  state,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  owned  two  thousand  two  hundred  acres 
oi  land.  J'.esides  looking  after  his  own  large- 
interests,  for  several  years  he  had  charge  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Pacific  Improvement  Company, 
managing  with  considerable  skill  their  ranches, 
dairies  and  cattle.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Monterey  Blue  Lodge.  1".  &  A.  M..  - 
Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Watsonville  Command- 
cry.  K.  T. 

Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Hatton  the  name  of 
his  gifted  wife  has  been  associated  with  the 
dairy  known  as  the  Del  Monte  Creamery,  ad- 
vantageously located  about  five  miles  from 
Monterey  and  chosen  by  Mr.  Hatton  as  being 
the  most  desirable  in  the  Carmel  valley.  Mrs. 
Hatton  was  formerly  Kate  Harney,  a  nati 
Charleston,  S.  C,  and  a  daughter  of  M.  J.  Har- 
ney, now  deceased.  She  was  born  on  James 
Island  and  spent  her  youth  in  the  south.  The 
children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hatton  are: 
Anna  M..  Harriet  !L.  Sarah  J.,  Edward  G., 
William,  Frank  I),  and  Howard.  The  immedi- 
ate management  of  the  ranch  passed  from  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Hatton  to  those  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  John  Harney,  also  a  man  of  shrewd 
business  judgment.  Mr.  Harney,  like  his  sister, 
was  born  iii  South  Carolina,  ami  lie  lias  been 
a  resident  of  Monterey  since  1881.  In  March, 
n  00.  he  left  the  dairx  and  it  is  now  in  the  hands 
of    Andrew    Steward    and    Edward    G.    I: 

(  If  the    I  >el    Monte    1  1.  amerj    and    ranch    it 
-aid    that    at    the    present    time    tin 

•  'it    the    plans 


G(M 


[ISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


laid  down  b\  Mr.  Hatton,  for  this  branch  of 
industry  is  ever  making  strides  towards  better 
and  inure  rational  things.  Many  improvements 
have  been  instituted  by  the  prevailing-  manage- 
ment, and  no  more  complete  and  finely 
equipped  dairj  caters  to  a  large  and  apprecia- 
tive trade.  Il  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that 
the  finest  butter  in  the  stale  comes  from  the 
Hatton  creamery.  It  supplies  with  milk  and 
butter  Pacific  Grove  and  the  splendid  Hotel 
Del  -Monte,  besides  shipping  great  quantities 
of  butter  to  San  Francisco  during  the  winter 
season.  Two  thousand  two  hundred  acres  are 
watered  by  three  artesian  wells  with  a  capacity 
of  fourteen  hundred  gallons  per  minute,  which 
wells  are  used  also  for  irrigating  alfalfa  and  rye 
grass,  and  are  operated  by  a  thirty  horse-power 
-team  engine.  Large  crops  of  corn  and  pump- 
kins are  raised  for  winter  feed,  but  most  of  the 
land  is  devoted  to  grazing.  At  the  present 
time  they  have  four  thousand  acres  and  four 
hundred  cows.  The  hospitality  of  the  beautiful 
Hatton  home,  overlooking  the  valley  and  sea, 
is  proverbial,  and  Mrs.  Hatton  entertains  with 
true  southern  tact  and  delightful  manner. 


HOX.   EDWARD    MARTIN. 

The  wonderful  resources  of  California  have 
no  more  enthusiastic  advocate  than  Hon.  Ed- 
ward Martin,  whose  many-sided  abilities  have 
penetrated  various  grooves  of  western  activity, 
and  left  therein  an  impress  of  strength  and  reli- 
ability. To  the  analytical  intelligence  of  this 
earnest  student  of  affairs  the  land  this  side  of 
the  Rockies  represents  far  more  than  a  money 
■  Mecca,  and  is  more  satisfying  to  his 
finer  perception-  than  to  his  pocket.  His  au- 
thoritative knowledge  concerning  all  phases  of 
opportunity   and   life  is   besl    evi 

denced  b)  tin'  public  regard  for  hi-  writings 
upon  these  questions,  and  the  readiness  with 
which  hi-  statements  are  given  credence.  Adap- 
tive, witty,  optimistic,  occasionall)  sarcastic,  a 
t1".'  in  speaker,  and  a  ready  student  of  the  Latin 
language,  and  possessing  assimilated  general 
eyond  he  ordinary.  Mr.  Martin  has 
i  into  a  waiting  niche  in  this  wes  ern 
country  in  such  manner  as  to  command  atten 


tion  and  win  commercial,  political  and  social  ap- 
preciation. 

A  native  of  Bedfordshire,  England.  Mr.  Mar- 
tin was  born  November  2,  1833.  in  the  home  of 
John  Bunyon,  a  son  of  Dr.  John  and  Ann 
(Fields)  Martin.  As  a  l.o\  he  was  taught  the 
value  of  a  thorough  education,  and  though  im- 
paired health  interfered  with  the  continuation 
of  his  studies  when  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age, 
lie  had  already  acquired  a  solid  foundation  upon 
which  to  base  further  research.  A  sea  voyage 
being  advised  as  possibly  health  restoring,  he 
embarked  in  the  Lord  Glenalg,  and  visited  Can- 
ada. Boston  and  Havana,  eventually  experienc- 
ing a  shipwreck  in  the  Lay  of  Fuiidy.  The  sea- 
going life  seemed  to  possess  charms  for  the  erst- 
while  invalid,  and  he  continued  to  lead  a 
nautical  existence  for  several  years.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen,  while  at  Eastport,  Me.,  he  had  an 
opportunity  to  follow  the  tide  of  emigration  to 
the  west,  by  way  of  the  Horn.  The  water 
vehicle  in  which  the  trip  was  undertaken  prob- 
ably never  had  a  counterpart  in  the  time  inter- 
vening between  the  launching  of  the  Ark  ami 
the  present.  The  good  ship  Fannie,  lacking  in 
artificial  propelling  force,  was  brought  into  play. 
likewise  a  steamboat  of  the  side  wheeler  brand, 
fhe  hull  of  the  Fannie  was  sunk  in  the  water, 
the  steamer  was  floated  inside  of  it  at  low  tide, 
the  water  pumped  out,  and  the  vessel  built 
around  the  steamer.  When  completed,  this 
sample  of  mongrel  ship  architecture  was  fav- 
ored with  all  manner  of  direful  predictions,  its 
distinct  and  unblushing  affront  to  all  precon 
eeived  notions  of  the  most  experienced  salts 
calling  down  upon  its  queer  outlines  scorn  and 
contempt.  Nothing  daunted,  it  put  to  sea  with 
its  hull  loaded  with  cargo,  which  was  duly  dis- 
charged at  the  port  of  San  Francisco  after  a 
voyage  around  the  Horn  of  one  hundred  ami 
thirty-three  clays.  Nor  was  this  second  child- 
hood, this  resuscitated  vitality,  the  beginning  of 
tile  end.  for  this  companion  craft  traversed  for 
several  years  the  San  Joaquin  rivet",  and  finall) 
plowed  tlie  waters  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
where  its  aged  and  quavering  timbers  dissolved 
partnership  upon  a  destructive  reef. 

The   majority   of   the   crew   of  the   companion 
ship  proved   deserters   for  the  -old   mines,   and 


HISTORICAL  AND   BI(  (GRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


GO,") 


Air.  Martin  found  an  immediate  opportunity 
awaiting  him  in  San  Francisco.  He  chanced  to 
meet  J.  Bryant  Hill,  who  had  rented  a  thousand 
acres  of  land  in  the  Pajaro  valley  for  agricultu- 
ral purposes,  and  who  was  in  need  of  reliable 
men  to  help  him.  Accordingly  Mr.  Martin 
started,  in  November  of  1851,  across  the  Santa 
Cruz  mountains,  which  had  no  roads,  but  an 
indistinct  trail,  yet  he  managed  to  make  a  hun- 
dred miles  the  first  day  out.  Arriving  at  Santa 
Cruz  in  an  exhausted  condition,  he  nevertheless 
pushed  on  without  rest,  and  at  the  end  of  his 
journey  had  the  honor  of  plowing  the  first  fur- 
row ever  turned  to  the  sunlight  in  the  Pajaro 
valley.  He  continued  to  engage  in  farming  in 
the  valley  until  his  removal  to  Watsonville  in 
1857,  it  which  year  it  was  a  mere  hamlet,  and 
sadly  prophetic  of  dissolution.  However,  the 
vitalizing  influence  of  the  new  arrival  was  in- 
creasingly felt  as  time  passed  by,  for  he  became 
active  in  promoting  the  business  and  educa- 
tional enterprises  of  the  place,  built  three  dwell- 
ing houses  and  some  stores,  and  infused  a  little 
animation  into  things  in  general.  He  first  found 
a  position  as  clerk  and  in  1858  was  appointed 
postmaster,  continuing  in  the  office  until  1875. 
At  the  same  time  he  conducted  a  stationery 
store,  which  started  from  small  beginnings  and 
grew  with  the  demand  created  by  its  excellent 
wares  and  its  adaptiveness  to  the  popular  needs. 
For  several  years  he  was  employed  as  telegraph 
operator  in  Watsonville,  and  was  one  of  the 
promoters  for  introducing  gas  in  the  town  >>i 
Watsonville.  For  many  years  he  served  as  no- 
tary public  in  Watsonville,  and  also  was  town 
trustee  six  years.  In  1879  he  was  elected  on  the 
non-partisan  ticket  of  the  fourth  congressional 
district  to  the  convention  which  framed  the  con- 
stitution of  California.  In  1884  he  was  elected 
count)-  clerk,  county  auditor  and  county  re- 
corder under  one  head,  and  assumed  control  oi 
his  combined  responsibility  in  January  of  1SS5. 
continuing  the  same  until  January  of  [899.  I  or 
the  past  three  years  -Mr.  Martin  has  been  a 
member  of  the  law  firm  of  Martin  &  Gardner, 
he  having  been  admitted  to  the  bar  in    [898. 

In  Watsonville,  in  1801,  Mr.  Martin  married 
Emeline  Risdon,  a  native  of  the  vicinity  of 
Mo, mi     Mo-ris.    X.    Y..    and    daughter    of     |.    ( '. 


Risdon,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Santa  Cruz 
county.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  were  born 
four  children.  Edward  C.  died  while  young; 
Kittie  is  also  deceased;  1',.  J.  R..  auditor  for  the 
United  Railroads  of  San  Francisco,  married 
Lottie  Kellogg  and  has  two  children,  Deloss 
and  Clarence;  and  George  I'.,  a  jeweler  of  Wat- 
sonville, married  Kate  McGrath,  and  has  three 
children,  Mabel  and  Mary,  twins,  and  Cather- 
ine. Mr.  Martin  is  fraternally  identified  with 
the  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Ancient  <  >rder  of 
United  Workmen. 


THOMAS  CHAPPELL. 

A  rancher  of  the  Salinas  valley  and  a  man  of 
enterprise  is  Thomas  Chappell,  whose  fine  ranch 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  has  no  superior  in  equipment  and  re- 
source in  Monterey  county.  Mr.  Chappell  is  an 
Englishman  who  is  devoting  his  share  of  de- 
sirable national  traits  to  the  bettering  of  the  con- 
ditions of  the  western  part  of  his  adopted  coun- 
try, and  it  is  pleasant  to  record  that  he  is  an  en- 
thusiastic admirer  of  the  fertile  region  which  he 
now  calls  home. 

Born  in  Cornwall.  England.  October  10.   1841. 
Mr.    Chappell    was    reared    on     the    farm   of  his 
father,  William  Chappell,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  on  the  Virginia  (  >ctober   r6,    1803.     He 
reached  San  Francisco  by  way  of   Panama,  and 
after  mining  in   Mariposa   county  with  moderate 
success  for  nine  years,  removed  to  Kern  county, 
which  he  soon  after  abandoned.      In  [872  he  pur- 
chased  fort)    acres  of  land   near  San  Jo-. 
and  after  three  years  sold  the  same,  and  leasi 
ranch  near  Blanco  for  about  six  years,     lie  was 
most    successful   as   a   cattle   and   sheep   breeder. 
and  with  the  proceeds  of  his  lab  r  purchased  his 
present   ranch   in   the   Salinas  valley,   which   was 
thui  wild  and  uncultivated,      lie  cleared  the  land 
of  timber   and   brush,     and    has    since   instituted 
every  improvement  devised  b)  th    >< 
ested    in   promoting  the  agricultural   supremacy 
of   the   slope.      lie   has   his   own   pumping   plant, 
capable   of   irrigating  most    of   Lis    land,   an 
meadows  are  covered  with  h 
tie  and  hogs.    Beyond,  in  the  mountains.  In 
twelve  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  pasture  land. 


[IST<  IRICAL  AND    BI(  (GRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


In  1867  Mr.  Chappell  married  Miss  Emma 
Manley,  of  England,  returning  to  his  native  land 
for  the  ceremi  ny.  <  >f  this  union  there  have  been 
born  the  following  children:  William,  in  busi- 
ness al  Vallejo;  Frederick,  a  resident  of  Rocky 
Ford,  Colo.;  Albert,  a  dentisl  of  Salinas;  Har- 
vey, on  the  ranch  with  his  father;  George,  at- 
tending a  medical  school,  and  Mabel  and  May. 
living  at  home.  Mr.  Chappell  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  is  identified  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity  at  Castroville.  Himself  and  wife  are 
members  of  the  United   Presbyterian  Church. 


|(  iHN  WILLIAM  M(  IRGAN. 

Typical  of  the  rugged  west  of  the  middle  of 
the  last  century  was  John  William  Morgan,  for 
many  years  closely  identified  with  the  develop- 
ment of  Santa  Cruz,  the  resources  and  oppor- 
tunities of  which  he  so  well  understood  and 
manipulated.  With  his  death,  November  8, 
1896,  there  passed  beyond  our  ken  yet  another 
of  those  personalities  enveloped  in  a  haze  of 
ideality,  created  by  their  unquenchable  enthusi- 
asm and  faith,  their  almost  martyr-like  persis- 
tence in  the  face  of  danger  ami  discouragement, 
their  familiarity  with  the  vastness  of  the  plains, 
the  crudities  and  lawlessness  of  the  mining 
camps  and  their  astounding  chances  in  the  midst 
of  infinite  richness  of  minerals  and  soil.  To  have 
succeeded  rather  than  failed  in  those  moving 
times  was  the  fate  of  Mr.  Morgan,  whose 
changeful  youth  had  well  prepared  him  for 
whatever  of  vicissitude  might  come  his  way. 

A  native  of  Scioto  county,  <  Hiio,  Mr.  Morgan 
was  born  December  [3,  1829,  a  sun  of  John 
Sanders  and  Margaret  (Colier)  Morgan,  the 
former  of  whom  died  in  [837.  Margaret  Mor- 
gan married  for  her  second  husband  a  Mr.  Ber- 
gen, wiili  win  nil  -In-  removed  with  her  children 
to  Amhurstburg,  upper  (  anada,  returning  after 
a  year  to  Detroit,  Mich.  It  seems  that  John 
William  was  not  entirely  contenl  with  the  new 
arrangements  in  (lie  household,  and  lie  there- 
fore tool<  leave  of  his  home  and  returned  to  Can- 
ada, where  he  found  employment  in  a  sawmill 
until  the  spring  of  1844.  I  ie  then  returned  to 
visit  his  mother,  and  while  there  met  his  brother 
in-law,  David  Gharky,  who  persuaded  him  to  ac 


company  him  on  a  trip  to  St.  Louis.  Traveling 
in  those  days  was  a  laborious  undertaking,  and 
in  this  instance  was  accomplished  by  steamboat 
t"  Chicago,  by  Stage  coach  to  Peru,  111.,  and 
down  the  river  by  steamboat  to  their  destination. 
The  Missouri  river  was  at  that  time  very  much 
swollen  and  spread  (Hit  in  all  directions,  ami  the 
steamboat  paid  little  attention  to  its  chart,  steer- 
ing through  woods  or  over  fields  in  an  effort  to 
shorten  its  course.  The  travelers  returned  to 
Jefferson  county,  Mo.,  and  remained  until 
March,  1849,  when  Mr.  Morgan  became  afflicted 
with  the  gold  fever,  and  joined  a  party  headed 
for  the  desired  Mecca.  Four  ox-teams  were 
utilized  in  going  to  St.  Louis  for  supplies,  and 
the  full  train  for  California  was  made  up  and 
started  from  St.  Joseph,  Mo.  This  train  con- 
sisted of  twenty  wagons,  with  Dr.  Bassett  as  cap- 
tain, hut  Mr.  Morgan  and  two  others  became 
dissatisfied  with  the  rest,  and  the  three  wag  ns 
separated  from  the  train  and  proceeded  on  their 
own  trail.  Arriving  at  the  Platte  river,  they 
economized  by  discarding  one  wagon,  and  the 
two  continued  their  way,  arriving  in  California 
with  little  save  determination. 

\s  a  starter.  Mr.  Morgan  obtained  work  at 
driving  an  ox-team  for  Si  a  day.  but  he  soon 
branched  out  into  mining,  in  which  he  was  fairly 
successful.  After  working  hard  for  some  weeks 
he  accumulated  considerable  of  the  coveted  dust, 
which  he  kept  in  a  vault  in  his  cabin,  the  vault 
consisting  of  an  old  boat  which  had  long  since 
outlived  its  original  usefulness.  Upon  return- 
ing one  night  he  found  the  boat  empty,  and  from 
then  on  the  little  cabin  became  an  eyes  re.  his 
hopelessness  being  intensified  by  the  rains  which 
flooded  the  earth,  and  rendered  the  search  for 
more  dust  impracticable  and  almost  out  1  1  the 
question.  Mr.  Morgan  thereupon  went  to  Sac- 
ramento, then  called  Embarcadero,  and  later 
went  to  Negroes  Bar,  one  mile  below  Norman's 
Island,  on  the  American  river.  Here  he  man- 
aged an  hotel  for  Francis  Fowler  on  the  Auburn 
road,  near  Sacramento,  for  a  salary  of  $300  .1 
month,  but  out  of  these  expectations  lie  received 
Inn    $30    for   three   months'    work.      A    more    suc- 

mined  until  February,  1851,  when,  owing  to  im- 
paired health  from  exposure,  he  returned  to  Mis 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


GO!  i 


soun  via  the  Isthmus,  and  was  once  again  with 
the  wife  whom  he  had  left  behind,  and  whom  he 
had  married  October  17.  [848.  Airs.  Morgan 
was  formerly  Jane  C.  I'itzer,  a  native  of  St. 
Louis,  and  a  daughter  of  Duig  and  Sarah 
(Myers)  I'itzer.  the  latter  of  whom  died  when 
her  daughter  was  an  infant.  The  child  was  par- 
tially reared  by  her  mother's  parents  until  her 
father's  second  marriage,  and  she  was  trained  in 
the  household  arts  and  taught  the  value  of  faith- 
Fulness  and  duty. 

In  .Missouri  Mr.  Morgan  engaged  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  flour  and  lumber  on  the  Big  River, 
Jefferson  county,  until  the  spring  of  1854.  in 
which  year  he  again  longed  for  the  freedom  of 
the  west,  and  persuaded  his  wife  to  accompany 
him  across  the  plains.  They  arrived  at  Santa 
Cruz  in  August,  1854.  where  Mr.  Morgan's  sis- 
ter and  husband  were  living,  and  he  had  charge 
of  the  wharf  for  a  couple  of  years.  In  1863  he 
purchased  sixty  acres  of  raw  land  near  Santa 
1  ruz,  still  owned  by  his  widow,  which  he  began 
to  improve  and  upon  which  he  farmed  ami  lum- 
bered for  about  a  year.  He  then  moved  to  Bear 
valley  and  was  in  the  employ  of  Gen.  J.  C.  Fre- 
mont until  1857,  when  he  took  charge  of  the 
Hamlin  mills  on  Merced  river.  After  returning 
to  his  farm  he  bought  one  hundred  and  twenty 
additional  acres  of  land,  where  he  farmed  and 
raised  stock  very  successfully  and  accumulated! a 
large  competence.  He  was  a  very  capable  man, 
very  active  and  enthusiastic,  and  he  managed  to 
give  all  of  his  ten  children  a  more  than  ordinarily 
fine  education.  The  west  proved  to  be  just  the 
place  for  him.  and  the  west  needed  his  energy 
and  progressiveness.  The  uniqueness  of  his  per- 
sonality furnished  many  an  interesting  anecdote, 
and  he  was  foremost  on  many  occasions  when 
the  opportunity  had  been  lost  were  it  not  for 
his  foresight  and  certainty  of  success.  With  a 
man  named  John  Baxter  he  went  out  into  a  row- 
boat  and  received  from  the  .American  ship  the 
papers  which  announced  the  Mad  tidings  that 
California  had  been  admitted  to  statehood.  Dur- 
ing the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  in  a  cavalry  com- 
pany formed  at  Santa  Cruz,  hut  tin-  company 
was  never  in  active  service. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband.  Mrs.  Morgan 
stayed  on  the  farm   for  some  time,  herself  man- 


aging tin-  large  responsibility,  assisted  by  her 
daughter,  Martha.  In  time  the  strain  became 
more  than  she  could  attend  to,  and  in  1S99  she 
leased  the  property,  and  has  since  made  her  home 
in  Santa  Cruz.  The  children  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Morgan  are  as  follows:  John  Sanders,  a 
resident  of  San  Francisco,  who  married  Cornelia 
Moger,  by  whom  he  has  one  son,  Harry ;  Samuel 
David,  of  Oakland,  Cal.,  who  married  Miss  Ten- 
nessee Beal,  and  has  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Ethel 
McCabe;  George  D.,  who  married  Julia  Walker, 
and  has  six  children,  George,  John,  Harold, 
frank,  Walter  and  Donald;  Sarah,  who  is  man- 
ager of  the  Woman's  Exchange  of  Santa  Cruz ; 
Martha,  who  is  Irving  at  home:  Charles,  who 
married  Elizabeth  Trevethen,  and  has  six  chil- 
dren. Mabel.  Earl,  Lucile,  Everett,  Lottie,  and 
Madaline;  William,  who  married  Eva  Treve- 
then, and  has  two  children,  Genevieve  and  Alex- 
ander; Bertha,  who  is  the  wife  of  Alexander 
Marquess  of  San  Francisco,  and  has  one  son, 
Pierre;  and  Jeannette,  who  is  a  bookkeeper  for 
1  he  Sea  Side  store  of  Santa  Cruz. 


T  A.  W<  >RK 


One  of  the  pioneer  business  men  of  Pacific 
Grove,  and  one  of  the  most  earnest  and  sub- 
stantial of  her  upbuilders,  Mr.  Work  was  born  in 
the  Shetland  Islands  in  November  of  [869,  and 
came  to  his  present  home  when  seventeen  years 
of  age.  At  that  time  was  inaugurated  a  career 
unaided  by  influential  backing  or  the  supposed 
advantage  of  money  and  to  this  necessity  for  in- 
dependent thought  and  action  may  be  traced  a 
subsequent  meritorious  success. 

From  a  very  small  beginning  Mr.  Work  em- 
barked in  the  hay.  grain  and  w I  business,  and 

from  this  nucleus  has  branched  out  into  a  many- 
sided  enterprise,  the  principal  department  of 
which  is  the  supplying  ■  ■(  building  materials.  He 
also  has  a  complete  line  of  hardware,  paints, 
oils  and  glass,  and  has  furnished  about  ninety 
per  cent  of  th<  used  in  the  construc- 

tion of   the    town,    including    business   houses, 
churches,  schools  and  private  resiliences.       Nor 
has  the  outfitting  of  others  constituted  h 
ambition,   foi    he  has  built   and  still  own. 
cottages   than   any   other  one  citizen   in    i 


610 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Grove,  and  has  erected  the  Work  block,  on 
Lighthouse  avenue,  the  only  three-story  business 
block  in  the  town,  lie  has  also  engaged  in  the 
purchase  and  sale  of  real  estate,  and  much  valu- 
able and  desirable  property  has  passed  through 
his  hands.  The  excellence  of  his  work  has  re- 
sulted in  contracts  for  grading  all  the  principal 
streets  of  the  city.  In  one  way  and  another  he 
is  connected  with  some  of  the  largest  concerns 
in  this  part  of  the  state,  among  them  being  the 
Sperry  Flour  Company  and  the  Loma  Prieta 
Lumber  Company,  of  which  he  is  sole  agent 
south   of   Salinas. 

In  1895  ^fr-  Work  married  Maude  E.  Porter, 
a  native  of  Toulumne  county,  Cal.,  and  of  this 
union  there  are  three  children.  Mr.  Work  is  a 
Republican  in  political  affiliation,  and  in  this 
department  of  city  activity  he  has  received  main- 
assurances  of  the  confidence  entertained  for  him 
by  the  general  public.  He  has  been  city  treas- 
urer since  April  of  [898.  Fraternally  he  is  as- 
sociated with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  Ancient  (  >rder  of  United  Workmen, 
and  the  Elks  of  Salinas. 


JAMES  MORCY. 

Previous  to  locating  on  his  farm  of  sixty- 
si.  veil  acres  mar  Soquel,  Santa  Cruz  county,  in 
[878,  James  Morcy  had  familiarized  himself 
with  several  parts  of  the  great  west,  and  had 
been  variously  occupied.  He  is  one  of  the  adap- 
tive Irishmen  who  have  contributed  to  the 
well  being  of  this  country,  and  was  born  in 
ci  unty  Waterford,  Ireland,  in  1840,  and  is  sec- 
ond  oldesl  of  the  six  children  born  to  James  and 
.Mary  (Lee)  Morcy.  The  other  children  were 
named  Patrick,  Margaret,  Mary,  Michael  and 
Thomas. 

When  very  young  James  Morcy  lost  his  father 
through  death,  and  when  nine  year-  of  age  he 
came  to  America  with  his  mother  on  a  sailing 
taking  -i\  weeks  and  a  few- 
days.  He  continued  to  live  at  home  until  sev- 
years  of  age,  and  during  that  time 
worked  in  a  paper  mill,  being  in  the  end  fairly 
conversant  with  all  branches  of  the  paper  man- 
ufacturing business.  In  i860  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia   via     Central     America,    landing    in    San 


Francisco  May  13,  i860.  In  Santa  Cruz  he 
found  employment  at  his  old  trade  of  paper  mak- 
ing., after  which  he  went  to  San  Francisco  and 
tried  his  luck  at  mining.  Desiring  to  reach  fort- 
land.  <  )re.,  he  walked  all  the  way  from  San 
Francisco,  and  upon  reaching-  that  city  went  up 
the  Salmon  river  in  a  skiff  to  Washington  terri- 
tory, where  he  mined  with  average  success  for  a 
couple  of  years.  He  subsequently  spent  a  num- 
ber of  years  in  Reno,  Xev.,  and  as  before  stated, 
came  to  Santa  Cruz  in  1878.  He  is  engaged  in 
general  farming  and  stock  raising,  and  besides 
raises  a  variety  of  fruits  and  grains. 

In  1880  Mr.  Morcy  married  Delia  Donahue,  a 
native  of  Ireland,  who  has  proved  a  true  help- 
mate and  an  inspiration  to  his  success.  Mr. 
Morcy  is  independent  in  political  affiliation,  but 
has  never  interested  himself  in  trying  to  secure 
office.  He  is  a  communicant  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  and  is  credited  with  being  a  public 
spirited  and  enterprising  citizen. 


SYLVESTER  J.  MASON. 

The  term  self-made  applies  in  its  truest  sense 
to  Sylvester  J.  Mason,  who  has  traveled  a  long 
and  hard  road  to  his  present  position  among 
the  large  land  owners  of  Santa  Cruz  county,  and 
to  his  retirement  from  active  business  life  in  the 
prosperous  little  town  of  Soquel.  He  was  born 
in  a  little  log  cabin  in  Ohio,  July  3,  1820,  and 
his  parents  were  born  in  Connecticut,  his  father, 
Sylvester,  being  a- shoemaker  by  trade. 

Mr.  Mason  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  at  an 
early  age  lost  his  father  by  death,  so  that  it  he- 
came  necessary  for  him  to  shoulder  responsi- 
bility at  a  comparatively  early  age.  His  first 
business  portion  was  with  a  general  store  in 
I  IhiOj  and  while  thus  employed  he  managed  to 
acquire  a  fair  education  in  the  schools  of  Piqua 
and  Troy,  near  which  latter  town  he  was  born, 
lie  was  subsequently  bound  out  to  a  Mr.  Kink, 
in  Lynn,  Ohio,  who  was  the  proprietor  of  a 
jewelry  store,  and  after  his  release  went  to  live 
with  an  aunt  in  one  of  the  near  by  towns  of 
(  >hio.  After  learning  the  joiner's  trade  he 
worked  for  fifty  cents  a  day.  and  also  for  a  time 
cultivated  a  sixty-acre  farm.  His  various  ex- 
periences in  <  )hio  led  him  to  believe  that  greater 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


61  ! 


chances  awaited  him  on  the  coast,  and  he  there- 
fore started  over  the  plains  with  ox  teams  and 
wagons,  in  1854,  taking  several  head  of  cattle 
along  with  him.  About  i860  he  located  in  Santa 
Cruz,  where  he  purchased  a  ranch  and  lived 
thereon  until  [895.  This  land  is  at  present  rented 
"tit  1"  tenants,  and  the  owner  has  retired  frorn 
active  life.  He  is  a  Republican  in  national  pol- 
itics, but  has  never  sought  office,  preferring  to 
devote  all  of  his  time  to  his  farm.  He  is  fra- 
ternally associated  with  the  Independent  Order 
Odd  Fellows. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Mason,  Margaret  (Martin) 
Mason,  was  horn  November  10,  1822,  and  died 
in  California  November  17,  1895.  The  mar- 
riage ceremony  was  performed  November  1, 
1844.  and  of  the  union  wire  born  seven  children, 
viz.:  Agnes  L.,  horn  November  1,  1846,  and 
died  September  4,  185 1;  Charles  S..  born  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1848;  Frank  11.,  December  8,  1850: 
Louis  F.,  December  19,  1856;  Caroline,  April  14, 
1858;  Albert,  burn  November  1,  1861,  and  died 
September  1,  1868;  and  Sylvester  J.,  Jr.,  born 
February  28.  1868. 


TRIAL  S.   NICHOLS. 

The  ancestry  of  the  Nichols  family  is  traced 
back  to  Scotland  and  England,  but  years  have 
passed  since  some  of  the  name  crossed  the  At- 
lantic to  America.  Patriotism  has  been  a  family 
trait,  and  was  shown  by  one  of  the  ancestors 
through  his  loyal  service  in  the  Revolutionary 
war.  Descended  from  him  was  Samuel  Nichols, 
who  with  a  brother,  James  L.,  served  in  the  war 
of  1812  and  was  present  at  Sacket  Harbor. 
Samuel's  son,  Urial  S.,  proved  himself  to  be 
worthy  of  his  patriotic  lineage,  for  soon -after 
the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  offered  his 
services  to  aid  in  putting  down  the  rebellion, 
and  etdisted,  in  Lewis  county,  X.  V..  December 
id,  1X01,  as  a  member  of  Company  1'.,  Ninety- 
seventh  New  York  Infantry,  under  Col.  Charles 
Wheelock.  His  service  of  three  years  was  one 
of  honor  and  recognized  valor,  and  at  the  time 
of  bis  discharge  he  was  holding  the  rank  of 
sergeant. 

Lewis  county.  X.  V.,  was  the  native  place  of 
Urial  S.  Nichols  and  February  7.  1838,  the  date 


of  his  birth.  His  parents,  Samuel  and  Polly 
(Cahoon)  Nichols,  were  farmers  and  lifelong 
residents  of  that  county.  An  older  brother,  Ben- 
jamin C.  came  to  California  in  1852.  and  after 
he  had  completed  his  military  service  he  decided 
to  seek  a  home  on  the  Pacific  roast.  Accordingly, 
with  his  brother.  Merritt,  he  came  to  California 
in  [865,  and  at  first  engaged  with  his  brothers 
in  the  lumber  and  sawmill  business.  Two  years 
later  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  business  and 
removed  to  Aptos,  Santa  Cruz  comity,  where  he 
was  employed  as  a  carpenter  and  millwright. 
Returning  to  Santa  Cruz  somewhat  later,  he  es- 
tablished his  home  here  and  engaged  at  the  trade 
of  carpenter  until  1808.  when  he  was  elected 
constable  of  the  city  and  township  of  Santa  Cruz, 
a  position  that  he  has  efficiently  filled.  His 
brother,  the  pioneer  of  1S52,  died  in  IOOI,  while 
the  other  brother,  Merritt,  is  now  living-  in 
Lompoc,  Cal. 

The  marriage  of  Urial  S.  Nichols  united  him 
with  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  <  rile,  of  Santa  Cruz, 
and  two  children  were  born  "of  their  union,  Clara 
and  Lois.  In  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Nichols  is 
a  firm  believer  in  the  lofty  principles  of  Masonry. 
and  has  allied  himself  with  Lodge  No.  38,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  in  which  he  has  held  minor  offices.  I  lis 
views  upon  religious  subjects  are  liberal.  Dur- 
ing his  long  residence  in  Santa  Cruz  county  he 
has  endeavored  to  promote  its  welfare  in  every 
way  possible  and  has  given  his  influence  and 
time  to  promote  worthy  projects. 


GEORGE  M.  ORD. 

A  painter  by  trade,  and  one  of  the  well  known 
citizens  and  politicians  .if  Soquel,  Mi'.  Ord  is  a 
native  son  of  the  state,  ami  was  born  in  Butte 
county,  November  30,  (865.  The  oldest  of  the 
children  born  to  John  S.  and  Carrie 
welh  Ord,  he  had  two  sisters,  Catherine  and 
Birdie  X.,  and  being  the  only  son  in  the  family 
was  early  trained  to  bard  work  on  the  paternal 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  in  Butte 
County.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  decided 
that  his  future  prospects  lay  remote  from  the 
home  surroundings,  and  as  his  first  independent 
means  of  livelihood  found  employment  with  the 
Southern    Pacific   Railroad    Company     for   four 


r,l-.' 


HISTORICAL  AXD  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


years.  In  1888  he  returned  to  Soquel  from  San 
Francisco,  where  his  railroad  experiences  were 
centered,  and  was  forthwith  elected  constable  of 
the  town,  a  position  maintained  with  satisfac- 
tion to  all  concerned  for  twelve  years.  In  April. 
1901,  he  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace,  the 
duties  of  which  office  are  carried  on  in  connec- 
ts n  with  his  trade  as  painter.  He  has  a  shop  in 
Soquel,  and  receives  an  extended  patronage 
from  those  appreciative  of  good  work. 

In  1805  Mr.  Ord  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mrs.  (Mason)  Comstock,  the  daughter  of  S.  J. 
Mum  in,  a  prominent  resident  of  Soquel.  Mr. 
I  Ird  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  fraternally 
connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  lie  is  enterprising  and  broad  minded, 
and  is  one  of  the  younger  generation  of  business 
men  of  whom  his  adopted  town  may  well  he 
proud. 


BENJAMIN    F.    P<  >RTER. 

Strongly  outlined  against  the  history  'if  Cali- 
fornia since  the  early  '50s  is  the  career  of  Ben- 
jamin F.  Porter,  one  of  the  best  known,  wealth- 
iest, and  most  influential  residents  of  Santa  Cruz 
county.  While  his  present  business  standing  is 
partially  indicated  by  his  position  as  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Bank  of  Santa  Cruz,  this  responsi- 
bility constitutes  but  one  of  the  many  avenues 
of  activity  invaded,  by  the  unusual  business 
sagacity  and  far-sighted  acumen  of  this  large 
land  owner  and  successful  manipulator  of  west- 
ern resources.  He  was  born  in  the  state  of  Ver- 
ninnt.  April  20,  1833,  and  is  a  son  of  Dr.  Ben- 
jamin and  Sophia  (Hutton)  Porter,  natives  re- 
elj  oi  G  mnei  ticut  and  Northfield,  Vt. : 
and  grandson  of  Isaiah  and  Hannah  (Gallup) 
Porterj  the  former  a  native  of  Salem,  Mass. 
Benjamin  Porter  was  a  medical  practitioner  up 
i"  the  time  of  his  death  in  1N87.  and  he  was  the 
father  of  four  children,  viz.:  Elizabeth,  Edward, 
Edwin  and  Benjamin   F. 

Into  the  otherwise  uneventful  youth  of  Ben- 
jamin F.  Porter  came  the  opportunity  to  remove 
to  <  alifornia,  and  he  sel  out  upon  the  journey 
via  Centra]  America,  .March  17.  1853,  arriving 
in  San  Francisco  on  his  twenty-first  birthday. 
His  first  work  on  the  coast  had  to  do  with  tele- 


graph poles,  and  he  cut  the  first  poles  used  be- 
tween San  Francisco  and  San  Jose.  For  a  year 
he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  and  cut  lum- 
ber for  many  of  the  oldest  buildings  in  San 
Francisco,  and  in  1857  he  started  over  the  moun- 
tains with  ox  teams,  locating  on  Aptos  creek. 
Here  he  made  shingles  for  a  livelihood,  and 
managed  to  ship  half  a  million  of  them  to  the 
surrounding  towns.  He  also  engaged  in  field 
reaping,  and  in  1855.  in  partnership  with  his 
cousin,  George  K.,  and  C.  W.  Moore,  began  to 
operate  the  Soquel  tannery,  in  connection  with 
which  they  manufactured  boots  and  shoes  at  a 
plant  in  San  Francisco.  The  cousins  afterward 
bought  out  the  interest  of  Mr.  Moore,  and  the 
firm  became  Porter,  Slesinger  &  Co.,  continuing 
thus  for  five  years.  Mr.  Porter  stepped  out  of 
the  tannery  and  boot  and  shoe  business  in  1870, 
having  in  the  meantime  accumulated  a  com- 
petence, and  purchased  a  tract  of  fifty-six 
thousand  acres  of  land  in  Los  Angeles  county. 
Here  he  located  and  farmed,  and  after  disposing 
of  part  of  his  land  for  S455.000.  still  had  twelve 
thousand  acres  left.  This  property  is  still  in  his 
possession,  as  is  also  fifteen  thousand  acres  in 
Monterey  county,  and  seventy-five  hundred  acres 
in  other  parts  of  the  state. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  year  Mr.  Porter 
lives  on  his  ranch  in  Santa  Cruz  count}-,  between 
Soquel  and  Aptos,  although  for  the  conduct  of 
his  many  sided  affairs  he  has  offices  at  Nos.  211- 
13  Sacramento  street,  San  Francisco,  and  also 
in  Los  Angeles.  He  is  a  director  in  the  State 
Loan  and  Trust  Company,  and  has  been  vice- 
president  of  the  Bank  of  Santa  Cruz  since  Jan- 
uary 14,  1902.  In  national  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican, but  aside  from  the  formality  of 
easting  his  vote,  has  never  been  identified  with 
the  more  strenuous  political  life.  In  1867,  in 
Vermont,  he  married  Kate  Hubbard,  and  of  this 
union  there  is  one  daughter,  Mary  S..  who  is  the 
wife  of  W.  T.  Sisnon,  of  San  Francisco,  and 
who  has  three  children.  Porter,  Catherine,  and 
Barbara.  Mr.  Porter  has  the  notable  personal 
characteristics  inseparably  associated  with  pro 
nounced  and  continuous  success,  augmented  by 
the  special  attributes  of  patience  and  discernment 
so  well  understood  by  the  splendid  pioneers  of 
the  coast. 


CHARI.KS   MelWDDKX 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


GLo 


CHARLES   McFADDEN. 

A  pioneer  of  the  early  '50s  who  turned  his 
California  opportunities  to  good  account  was 
Charles  McFadden,  who  owned  a  four  hundred 
acre  ranch  in  Salinas  district,  Monterey  county, 
and  at  one  time  extensively  engaged  in  dairying 
and  stock-raising,  lie  was  born  in  the  north  of 
Ireland  in  1822.  and  died  in  Monterey  county 
.May   14,  1898. 

When  quite  a  young  boy  Mr.  McFadden  came 
to  America  with  an  uncle  and  aunt,  with  whom 
he  located  in  St.  Johns.  Xew  Brunswick,  and 
was  there  reared  and  educated.  In  time  he  made 
his  way  to  Dane  county.  Wis.,  where  he  lived 
for  three  years,  but  was  not  entirely  satisfied 
with  the  state  as  a  future  place  of  residence. 
Stirred  by  the  glowing  accounts  he  had  heard 
of  the  undeveloped  west,  he  determined  to  cross 
the  plains,  and  came  by  way  of  Council  Bluffs 
and  Salt  Lake  City.  Upon  arriving  on  the 
coast  lie  went  at  once  to  the  mines.  Being  de- 
ficient in  the  robustness  required  for  an  extended 
life  in  the  camps,  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  min- 
ing as  a  means  of  livelihood  after  a  trial  of  three 
months,  and  forthwith  went  to  San  Francisco, 
where  he  remained  lor  a  short  time.  Thinking 
to  make  a  success  of  milling  among  the  red- 
woods of  Santa  Clara  county,  he  removed  there 
and  remained  fur  five  years,  in  that  time  partial- 
ly realizing  his  expectations.  In  1850  he  bought 
about  two  hundred  acres  in  Monterey  county,  to 
which  he  added  sufficient  land  to  make  four 
hundred  acres,  and  here  he  carried  on  general 
farming,    stock-raising    and    dairying,     lie    was 

very  industrious,  a  g 1  manager,  and  had  good 

business  ability. 

Mrs.  Sophia  McFadden  was  born  in  Baden, 
Germany.  June  15,  1850,  and  was  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Margaret  (Gigling)  Fabry,  also  na- 
tives of  Baden.  Mr.  Fabry  was  a  farmer  in 
his  native  land,  and  brought  his  family  to  Amer- 
ica in  [865,  settling  in  the  Salinas  district.  After 
a  few  months  he  removed  to  the  eight)  acre 
ranch  upon  which  he  died  twenty-four  years 
later,  at  the  age  of  sixty-sevai  wars.  The  par- 
ents hmught  $5,000  with  them  to  the  United 
States,  and  invested  this  so  wisel)  that  they  left 
quite  a  large  property.     Mrs.  McFadden  was  (if 


teen  years  of  age  when  she  crossed  the  ocean, 
and  she  was  variously  employed  in  California 
previous  to  her  marriage.  She  is  the  mother  1  E 
six  children,  viz.:  Frank  A.,  who  assists  with  the 
management  of  the  home  farm  which  has  not 
yet  been  divided,  and  who  is  married  and  has 
three  children  ;  Tressa,  the  wife  of  Conrad  Storm 
of  Salinas;  Sarah.  David.  Mary  and  Charles. 
The  McFadden  ranch  is  well  improved,  and 
equipped  with  modern  buildings.  A  large  part 
of  the  ranch  consists  of  pasture  land,  and  the 
model  dairy,  maintained  in  addition  to  general 
farming  and  stock  raising,  utilizes  the  milk  from 
between  sixty  and  seventy  cows.  The  family 
are  well  known  and  have  many  friends,  and  are 
regarded  as  among  the  worthy  and  enterprising 
developers    of    the    district. 


HORACE  W.  I 'OPE. 

To  the  constant  efforts  of  the  earnest  pioneers 
of  Santa  Cruz,  those  who  enjoy  the  civilization 
and  improvements  of  the  present  da)  owe  a  debt 
of  gratitude  that  few  wholly  realize  or  under- 
stand. It  is  difficult  for  us  to  comprehend  the 
trials  confronting  those  courageous  men  who, 
in  the  early  days,  identified  themselves  with  the 
possibilities  of  a  then  undeveloped  and  unprom- 
ising region.  Were  Mr.  Tope  still  living  he 
could  tell  many  an  interesting  story  of  the  Santa 
Cruz  of  1859.  tne  year  °f  his  arrival  in  this  city. 
He  was  a  native  of  Danville,  Vt,  and  at  an  earl) 
age  went  to  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  whence  hi 
to  California  in  1859,  settling  in  Santa  Cruz. 
For  a  time  he  worked  in  the  mines  and  he  also 
filled  the  position  of  justice  of  the  peace.  Not 
Ion-  after  his  arrival  he  bought  a  small  house  on 
Mission  street.  This  he  enlarged  and  about  [867 
opened  it  as  a  boarding  house  for  summer  vis- 
itors. With  the  capable  assistance  of  his  wife 
he  continued  to  conduct  the  business  until  his 
death,  in  [884,  resulting  from  apoplexy  of  the 
brain.  At  the  time  of  his  death  be  was  lifty- 
eighl  years  of  age. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Pope  united  him  with 
Anna  McDonald,  who  was  born  in  Danville.  \'t. 
While  they  had  no  children  of  their  own,  they 
opened  their  home  and  hearts  to  several  whom 
they   carefully    reared   and    tl  ig    these 


./ 


HISTORICAL  AXD  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


being  Mrs.  T-  J-  C.  Leonard.  For  the  business 
in  which  she  is  .-.till  engaged  Mrs.  Pope  has  dis- 
played noteworthy  ability.  Her  genial  hospitality 
has  made  the  house  popular,  and  often  her  ac- 
commodations  are  taxed  to  the  utmost  for  the 
benefil  of  those  who  have  been  her  guests  in  the 
past  and  refuse  to  seek  new  quarters  on  their 
arrival  in  Santa  Cruz.  Additions  have  been 
made  from  time  to  time,  to  increase  the  capacity 
of  the  place.  Cottages  were  erected  at  different 
times  and  finally  a  commodious  two-story  build- 
ing was  erected,  so  that  they  have  facilities  now 
for  accommodating  ninety  persons  at  one  time. 
In  an  early  .lay  the  grounds  were  improved  by 
the  setting  out  of  elm  trees,  which  now  cast  a 
grateful  shade  over  the  finely-kept  lawns.  Walks 
have  been  laid  out  through  the  grounds,  and 
flowers  and  shrubbery  add  to  the  charm  of  the 
environment.  For  the  pleasure  of  those  who 
enjov  lawn  tennis,  a  court  has  been  added,  and 
there  are  other  sources  of  recreation  and  enjoy- 
ment for  the  visitor.  In  the  main  building  both 
electricity  and  gas  are  used  for  lighting  pur- 
poses. All  modern  improvements  are  to  be  found 
in  the  rooms,  so  that  the  guest  finds  here  all  the 
comforts  of  a  home.  Not  onl)  are  the  grounds 
attractive  to  the  eye,  but  there  is  also  a  delight- 
ful view  to  be  had  from  the  place  of  the  city 
and  the  bay.  Facilities  of  transportation  are  con- 
veniently provided  for  through  the  proximity  of 
the  street  cars.  Only  the  most  select  patrons  are 
received,  and  many  of  the  most  prominent  peo- 
ple of  the  state  have  been  entertained  here  by  the 
popular  lady  to  whose  energy  and  tactful  over- 
sight  the    present   success   and   conveniences  are 

due. 


HENRY    F.    PARSONS. 

The  life  of  il,i>  honored  citizen  of  Santa  Cruz 
began  in  Barton,  near  Manchester.  England, 
October  5.  182-'.  in  the  home  of  John  and  Eliza- 
heth  (Hewitt)  Parsons.  If  the  superstitious 
would  predict  a  life  of  misfortune  for  him  be- 
causi  he  was  the  thirteenth  child,  they  would 
concede   such   prognostications  more  than  court 

terbalanced    by    the   fact   that   he  had  the   g 1 

fortune  to  he  the  seventh  son.     At  an  early  age 
he  was  deprived  of  a  father's  care  and  guidance. 


and  was  but  sixteen  when  he  lost  his  mother  by 
death.  Before  this,  however,  he  had  joined  a 
brother  in  New  York,  being  but  eleven  years  old 
when  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  new  world  for 
the  first  time.  A  year  later  he  returned  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  completed  his  schooling.  On  his 
mi  ther's  death  he  came  again  to  America,  and 
became  a  bookkeeper  for  Parsons,  Canning  & 
Co..  importers,  Xew  York  City,  of  which  firm  his 
ohler  brother  was  a  member.  After  a  short 
time  he  was  transferred  to  a  branch  house  in 
Philadelphia  and  was  given  full  charge  of  the 
same,  in  which  position  he  displayed  such  wise 
judgment  and  executive  ability  as  to  win  com- 
mendation from  the  heads  of  the  firm.  One  of 
his  most  important  transactions  was  the  closing 
up  of  a  large  and  responsible  deal  with  a  Mr. 
Burnett,  of  St.  Louis,  which  work  proved  him 
the  possessor  of  abilities  above  the  average. 

As  soon  as  reports  came  east  of  the  discovery 
of  gold  in  California,  Mr.  Parsons  closed  out 
his  business  interests  and  with  a  party  started 
for  the  Golden  Gate,  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of 
youth  and  high  spirits.  Like  others  he  hoped 
to  gain  a  fortune  in  the  mines,  a  hope  that  was 
doomed  to  disappointment,  for  a  short  experi- 
ence in  the  mines  at  Webersville,  Eldorado 
county,  convinced  him  that  the  occupation  was 
injurious  to  his  health,  and  he  therefore  decided 
to  change  both  occupation  and  location.  The 
fall  of  1850  found  him  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Santa  Cruz,  with  the  subsequent  history  of  which 
he  has  been  intimately  identified.  He  had  been 
here  only  a  short  time  when,  the  people  disc*  >ver- 
ing  him  to  be  a  man  of  education  and  broad 
experience,  selected  him  to  occupy  local  positions 
of  trust  and  responsibility.  He  was  the  first 
deputy  county  clerk,  serving  under  Peter  Tracy, 
and  made  out  the  first  assessment  roll  for  the 
county,  lie  was  also  the  first  county  recorder, 
and  served  as  under-sheriff  and  collector  of 
taxes,  besides  being  deputy  county  surveyor.  In 
fact,  there  was  scarcely  a  position  within  the 
gift  of  his  fellow-citizens  to  which  he  was  not 
chosen.  He  held  the  confidence  of  all,  and  the 
trust  reposed  in  him  was  not  misplaced,  for  the 
records  show  that  every  duty  was  discharged 
with  fidelity  and  wise  judgment.  T  lis  excellent 
penmanship  made  his  books  neat  in  appearance, 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


•in 


and  to  this  clay  the  attention  of  people  is  often 
attracted  to  them. 

While  serving  the  people  in  these  and  similar 
offices  of  trust,  Mr.  Parsons  also  invested  in 
property  and  acquired  growing  interests.  He 
was  the  first  to  file  a  pre-emption  claim  in  Santa 
Cruz  county,  and  subsequently  he  purchased  a 
part  of  La  Carbonera  ranch  comprising-  six  hun- 
dred acres.  From  that  land  he  cut  and  furnished 
to  the  paper  mill  four  hundred  cords  of  wood 
yearly  for  a  considerable  period.  As  the  timber 
was  removed  from  the  land,  fruit  trees  were  set 
out,  buildings  were  erected,  cattle  were  put  in  the 
pastures  to  graze,  and  grapevines  were  planted 
which  are  still  thrifty.  He  was  the  first  man  in 
the  county  to  make  wine,  and  this  industry  he 
continued  for  a  considerable  period.  Not  only 
were  many  horses  to  be  seen  on  the  ranch,  but 
sometimes  there  were  as  many  as  one  hundred 
cows,  and  also  considerable  young  stock.  The 
property  is  still  in  his  possession,  but  since  1889 
he  has  made  his  home  in  Santa  Cruz,  where  dur- 
ing the  year  named  he  built  his  present  residence 
at  No.  387  Ocean  street.  Though  now  prac- 
tically retired  from  active  cares,  he  still  main- 
tains an  oversight  of  his  business  interests  and 
keeps  in  touch  with  the  progress  of  his  city  and 
county. 

In  1859  Mr.  Parsons  married  Emma  L.  Mar- 
wede,  who  was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany. 
August  17,  1831,  and  is  a  daughter  of  William 
and  Hedwig  (  Bettjemann)  Marwede.  Four 
children  were  burn  of  their  union,  namely: 
Elizabeth  Franziska,  who  married  Robert  E. 
Hamilton  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  has  one  son, 
Robert  Henry  Hamilton;  Emma  Louise,  who 
died  in  1875  at  the  age  of  fourteen  and  one-half 
years;  Carolina  Electa;  and  William  I'..,  who 
married  Annie  C.  Henry.  At  no  time  in  his  life 
has  .Mr.  Parsons  been  disposed  to  identify  him- 
self with  any  particular  political  party,  being 
independent  in  his  views  and  voting  for  those  he 
believes  to  be  the  best  qualified  to  represent  the 
people  in  the  offices  For  which  they  are  candi- 
dates. Reared  in  the  faith  nf  the  Church  of 
England,  since  coming  to  America  he  has  been 
connected  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  ami  has 
officiated  as  a  vestryman  and  warden.  (  hi  the 
organization    of    the    Masonic    Lodge    in    Santa 


Cruz  he  became  one  of  its  charter  members  and 
at  one  time  held  the  office  of  sccretarv.  During 
the  period  of  more  than  a  half  century  that  he 
has  resided  in  Santa  Cruz  county  he  has  won  and 
retained  the  confidence  nf  its  best  citizens  and 
lias  proved  himself  public-spirited,  progressive 
and  in  every  respect  loyal  to  the  interests  nf  his 
adopted  home. 


ELLIOTT    DAVIS     PERRY. 

Significant  nf  .Mr.  Tern's  adaptability  for  the 
public  service  is  the  fact  that  he  has  for  years 
been  numbered  among  the  popular  officials  nf 
Santa  Cruz  county.  His  election  to  the  office  nf 
county  surveyor  in  1890  followed  an  experience 
of  eighl  years  a-  deputy  county  surveyor  under 
T.  W.  Wright,  during  which  time  he  gained  the 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  work  and  the  famil- 
iarity with  all  its  details  that  has  since  enabled 
him  to  discharge  his  duties  with  promptness  and 
accuracy.  For  some  live  years  he  had  as  deputy 
C.  L.  Pioda,  since  which  time  L.  T.  Williams 
has  been  his  assistant. 

In  Richmond  township,  (  heshire  county, 
X.  H..  May  29,  1844.  Elliott  Davis  Perry  was 
born  to  the  union  of  Lysander  and  Almina 
(Sprague)  Perry.  As  a  boy  he  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  a  farm,  where 
lie  assisted  his  father  until  starting  out  for  him- 
self. \  firm  believer  in  Union  principles,  he  was 
desirous  of  enlisting  in  the  army  during  all  of 
the  Civil  war.  but  the  opportunity  did  not  come 
until  shortl)  before  the  close  of  the  rebellion. 
February  15,  [865,  he  enlisted  in  Company  C, 
One  Hundred  and  Fifty-third  Illinois  Infantry, 
and  served  until  honorably  discharged  al  Spring- 
field,  11!..  September  21,  of  same  year.  Immedi- 
ately afterward  he  entered  the  University  of 
.Michigan,  where  he  took  the  regular  course  of 
study  and  was  graduated  June  28,  [871.  Sur- 
veying was  his  chosen  ind  he  found 
employmenl  on  the  Si.  Louis  iV  Iron  Mountain 
Railroad,  later  entering  the  service  of  the  Chi- 
cago &  Pacific  Railroad.  During  1874  he  came 
to  California  and  for  a  year  devoted  himself  to 
visiting  diffen  1 

ing    climate,     soil,    resources    and    opportunities. 
1  assisted  on   the  Santa  Cruz   I'ailr 


G18 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


a  surveyor,  after  which  he  spent  'eighteen 
months  in  San  Bernardino  county.  From  there 
lie  returned  to  Santa  Cruz,  where  he  has  since 
made  his  home.  Since  coming  here  he  has  estab- 
lished  domestic  ties,  his  wife  being  Ellen,  daugh- 
ter of  James  Stevens,  who  came  from  Xew  York 
state  to  California  in  an  early  day  and  settled  in 
Santa   Cruz. 


M.  W.  QUICK. 


The  highest  praise  belongs  to  those  brave 
men  who  came  to  the  far  west  in  the  early  days 
of  the  discovery  of  gold,  and.  by  throwing  their 
influence  on  the  side  of  justice,  law  and  prog- 
ress, laid  the  foundation  upon  which  is  built 
the  stable  commonwealth  of  to-day.  Among  the 
Forty-niners  may  be  mentioned  Mr.  Quick,  who 
now,  after  a  very  busy  and  active  life,  is  spend- 
ing the  twilight  of  his  existence  on  his  neat 
little  farm  five  miles  from  Watsonville.  He  is 
a  native  of  Xew  York  state  and  was  born  in 
1827,  his  parents  being  Peter  and  Phoebe 
(Stroutt)  Quick.  At  sixteen  years  of  age  he  left 
home  and  began  an  apprenticeship  to  the  turn- 
er'- trade,  at   which  he  served  four  years. 

When  the  news  came  of  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  California,  Mr.  Quick  was  among  the  first 
who  resolved  to  brave  the  dangers  of  the  long 
voyage  and  endeavor  to  gain  a  fortune  in  the 
unknown  west.  In  a  vessel  that  sailed  around 
Cape  Horn  he  finally  landed  in  San  Francisco 
December  11,  [849.  There  a  strange  town,  with 
cosmopolitan  air  and  crude  buildings,  met  his 
eyes  Everything  was  excitement,  enthusiasm 
and  eagerness.  Like  all  newcomers,  he  wished 
to  try  his  luck  in  the  mines,  and  so  at  once 
engaged  in  that  occupation.  With  varying  luck 
he  continued  to  seek  gold  for  fourteen  years, 
being  much  of  the  time  in  and  near  Nevada 
City.  Finally,  believing  he  could  find  another 
occupation  more  congenial  and  profitable,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  ranching,  and  took  up 
a  ranch  in  Mariposa  county,  where  he  engaged 
in  raising  slock.  Although  his  experience  in 
the  business  had  been  meager,  yet  his  success 
was  encouraging,  and  he  continued  in  the  occu- 
pation until  [888,  when  he  removed  to  Santa 
Cruz   county   and   bought   a   farm   of  tweui  3    fivi 


acres  five  miles  from  Watsonville.  Although 
this  is  but  a  small  farm,  every  acre  is  made  pro- 
ductive through  the  careful  oversight  of  the 
owner,  and  his  orchard  of  sixteen  acres  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  best  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Quick's  marriage  united  him  with  Deb- 
orah Stewart,  a  native  of  Indiana,  but  now 
deceased.  Born  of  their  union  are  two  children 
now  living,  Mark  W.,  born  August  13,  1855, 
and  Morgan  W.,  born  in  1857.  The  older  son 
married  Emma  Hill,  a  native  of  California,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  six  children,  namely: 
Warren.  Hazel,  Ray,  Wesley,  Lizzie  and  Ethel. 
The  younger  son  married  Catherine  Hill  and 
lias  two  children,  Elmer  and  Irene.  In  his 
political  belief  Mr.  Quick  is  independent,  voting 
for  men  rather  than  parties,  and  always  sup- 
porting those  whom  he  deems  best  fitted  to 
represent  the  people  in  offices  of  trust.  The  es- 
teem in  which  he  is  held  is  the  result  of  his  long 
and  honorable  association  with  affairs  in  Califor- 
nia. As  a  member  of  that  illustrious  band  of 
pioneers  of  1849,  ne  's  worthy  of  remembrance 
long  after  he  shall  have  passed  from  the  scene 
of  activities,  and  his  name  will  be  perpetuated  in 
the  annals  of  his  home  county. 


STEPHEN  RIANDA. 

Comparatively  few  of  the  residents  of  Santa 
Cruz  county  claim  Switzerland  as  their  native 
land.  That  sturdy  republic  across  the  seas, 
whose  sous  are  always  so  loyally  devoted  to  its 
welfare,  has  sent  us  but  few  citizens.  Among 
them  mention  belongs  to  Stephen  Rianda,  who 
since  1882  has  owned  and  occupied  a  valuable 
farm  in  the  Pajaro  valley.  The  property  consists 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  acres  and  is  de- 
voted to  general  farm  pursuits  to  a  large  extent, 
-rain  being  one  of  the  principal  products.  Like 
all  of  the  residents  of  the  valley,  he  appreciates 
the  importance  of  the  apple  industry.  Xew  town 
Pippins  are  his  specialty,  and  he  has  thirty-five 
acres  under  cultivation  to  this  variety,  there  be- 
ing twenty-one  hundred  trees,  a  majority  of 
them  in  bearing  condition.  In  addition  he  has  a 
vineyard  of  sixteen  acres. 

In  Switzerland  Mr.  Rianda  was  born  Decem- 
ber 20,  1S40.  being  a  son  of  Perry  and  Dolorata 


A4,  X. 


O/r^ 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


G2 1 


(Banrelle)  Rianda.  The  father,  who  was  born 
in  1819,  devoted  his  active  years  to  agriculture, 
first  in  iiis  native  land,  but  after  [852  in  the 
United  States.  His  voyage  across  the  ocean  was 
made  in  company  with  Louis  Martinelli,  with 
whom  he  came  via  Cape  Horn  to  the  far  west, 
settling  in  Watsonville.  The  next  years  were 
busily  passed  in  agricultural  pursuits.  How- 
ever, his  heart  finally  grew  homesick  for  the  land 
of  his  youth,  and  in  1864  he  returned  thither, 
remaining  there  until  his  death  in  1878.  A  man 
of  integrity  and  uprightness,  he  was  held  in  high 
esteem  by  associates. 

At  the  time  Stephen  Rianda  came  to  America, 
in  1865,  he  was  a  youth  of  sixteen  years,  adven- 
turous, active,  and  with  all  the  ambition  and 
hopefulness  of  youth.  Landing  in  Xew  York. 
In-  soon  took  passage  for  California  via  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  after  a  voyage  lasting 
from  May  8  to  July  2.  he  arrived  at  the  Golden 
Gate.  From  there  he  came  to  Watsonville,  of 
which  he  had  heard  much  from  his  father  dur- 
ing the  latter's  residence  here.  At  nineteen 
years  of  age  he  rented  a  tract  of  land  and  en- 
gaged in  farming,  besides  which  he  conducted 
a  dairy  for  ten  years.  Economical  and  perse- 
vering, he  met  a  degree  of  success  that  was 
gratifying  and  richly  merited.  Since  establish 
ing  his  home  on  his  present  farm  he  has  brought 
the  place  under  excellent  cultivation,  has  made 
main-  improvements,  planted  many  apple  tree-. 
set  out  his  vineyard,  and  altogether  transformed 
the  property  into  one  of  the  valuable  farm--  of 
the  valley.  At  no  time  has  he  cared  for  political 
prominence  ami  he  takes  no  part  in  public  affairs 
aside  from  voting  the   Republican  ticket. 

The  marriage  of  Stephen  Rianda  in  1877 
united  him  with  Ellen  McKirlcy.  who  was  born 
111  Monterey  county,  Jul)  ij.  [850.  Her  father, 
James  McKinley,  was  a  native  of  Stirling,  Scot 
land,  whence  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  \merica  at 
nineteen  years  of  age,  settling  in  California.  A 
few  years  afterward  he  married  Carmen  Amesti, 
who  was  horn  in  Montere)  county,  of  Spanish 
extraction.  During  the  earlier  part  of  hi.  life 
lie  followed  the  sea,  rising  to  the  rank  of  captain 
and  commanding  a  vessel  For  some  years.  When 
advancing  age  rendered  his  calling  no  longer 
advisable,  he  turned  his  attention   to  agriculture, 


and  as  a  farmer  passed  the  last  days  of  his  Hie. 
dying  in  1875  on  the  estate  he  had  improved. 
The  family  of  Mr.  ami  .Mrs.  Rianda  consists  oi 
six  children,  namely:  Edward,  Flora,  Prudence, 
Viola,  Alice  and  Stephen,  Jr. 


HIRAM    LEE    DAVIS. 

Phis  citizen  of  Salinas  was  born  in  1S44  and 
with  his  parents  came  to  the  far  west  from 
Canada  in  1854,  being  therefore  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  this  favored  land.  He  has  always 
been  a  prosperous  and  progressive  business 
man.  As  a  cattle  raiser  and  stockman  he  has 
accumulated  a  fortune  and  is  today  one  of  the 
wealthiest  men  of  Monterey  county.  In  every 
transaction  of  life  he  is  upright  and  honesl  :  gen 
erous  and  kind  to  a  fault,  a  respected  citizen  an  1 
3  good  neighbor.  Some  of  his  time  is  devoted 
to  field  -ports,  such  as  hunting,  of  which  he  is 
passionately  fond.  As  an  expert  shot  he  cannot 
be  excelled,  and  many  a  deer,  quail  and  other 
game  has  gone  down  under  his  unerring  aim. 
At  proent  he  resides  in  Salinas  and  devotes 
aboul  one-half  of  his  time  to  managing  his 
landed  interests  and  looking  after  his  cattle  in- 
dustry, lie  owns  two  large  farms  three  miles 
west  of  Salinas.  One  of  these  farms  contains 
a  dwelling  house  that  is  excelled  1>\  very  few 
rural  residences  in  the  entire  county.  The  pump- 
ing plant  Used  for  irrigating  the  land  COSl  ah  uil 
$5,1  00  and  is  a  model  of  its  kind.  Phis  farm  com- 
prises more  than  five  hundred  acres,  and  is 
rented  for  more  than  $12,000  per  annum,  its 
acreage  being  devoted  to  dairying  and  stock 
raising. 

In   1SS7  Mr.  Davis  married  Florence  Titus,  a 
highly  esteemed  young  lady,  livelv    and  cheerful 
in    disposition,   a    good    wife   and    kind    nv 
By    this    union    there   are   three   daughters,    Ella, 
Cornelia  and   Yelma.  aged  respectivel)    fourteen, 
eleven    and    ten    years.      The    home    life    of    Mr. 
Davis  and  famil)   is  bright  and  full  of  sunshine. 
Each  member  helps  to  make  life  happ\    ail 
jovablc.     The  daughters  dearly  love  their  indul- 
gent   father   and   kind    mother.      Through   all   his 
life   Mr.   I  >avis  has  been  a  ef.se  obsen  ei 
of  travel   and   a    student   of  mankind.     I  fe  has 


•>•?•? 


'    HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


seen  man)  parts  of  the  world  and  expects  in 
the  near  future  to  travel  through  Europe  for 
health,  observation  and  pleasure. 


JAMES  REDMAN. 

As  the  traveler  passes  along  the  Beach  road 
near  Watsonville  he  notes  with  interest  an  at- 
tractive residence,  built  in  the  colonial  style  of 
architecture  and  presenting  an  appearance  at 
once  inviting  and  unique.  This  is  the  home  of 
James  Redman  and  family.  The  interior  of  the 
house  is  as  attractive  as  its  exterior.  The  ap- 
pointments of  the  eight  rooms  are  modern.  The 
finishings  are  of  eastern  oak.  birdseye  maple  and 
natural  hard  wood.  Acetyline  gas  has  proved 
to  be  a  satisfactory  mode  of  illumination.  All 
the  conveniences  for  housekeeping  are  to  be 
found,  and  the  home  is  one  that  would  be  con- 
sidered elegant  in  our  large  cities.  Surrounding 
the  residence  are  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres 
of  rich  bottom  land,  the  cultivation  of  which 
has  brought  to  the  owner  a  gratifying  revenue. 

Air.  Redman  was  born  in  Monroe  county. 
Mo.,  April  1  i.  [856,  and  is  a  son  of  K.  F.  Red- 
man, one  of  the  old  and  influential  residents  of 
Santa  Cruz  county,  and  in  whose  sketch  on  an- 
other page  the  family  history  appears.  On  com- 
ing to  California  James  Redman  was  a  child  of 
eight  years,  and  after  a  year  in  Sonoma  county 
he  accompanied  the  family  to  Watsonville. 
where  he  attended  school.  The  farm  of  which 
his  father  became  the  owner  and  on  which  the 
years  of  his  youth  were  passed  was  located  only 
one  and  one-half  miles  from  Watsonville,  hence 
was  easy  of  access  to  town.  In  1882  he  moved 
to  the  farm  wln-re  he  now  resides,  and  here  he 
has  since  engaged  in  raising  potatoes  and 
sugar  beets.  During  1902  his  crop  averaged 
fifteen  tons  .per  acre,  and  during  other  seasons 
even  larger  crops  have  been  secured.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  property  he  owns  an  orchard  of 
eighty-one  acres  in  Monterej  county,  where  he 
has  six  hundred  pear  trees.  As  a  farmer  and 
fruit-grower  he  is  keen,  energetic,  resourceful 
and  capable,  and  it  is  said  of  him  by  bis  ac- 
quaintances thai  the  county  lias  no  agriculturist 
ter]  than  he.     <  >n   his  Farm   ma) 


of  his  high  grade  stock,  this  being  one  of  his 
hobbies. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Redman  took  place  in 
Watsonville  in  1880  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Louise  Werner,  who  was  born  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. They  have  no  children  of  their  own,  but 
are  rearing  an  adopted  daughter,  Alice  Mary. 
While  Mr.  Redman  has'  never  been  a  politician 
nor  a  partisan  in  his  opinions,  yet  he  favors 
Democratic  principles  and  gives  his  support  to 
the  men  anil  measures  of  that  party.  The  suc- 
cess attained  by  him  in  his  business  ventures 
proves  him  to  be  a  man  of  capability  and  in- 
dustrious habits.  While  he  had  the  influence  of 
his  father  to  aid  him  in  starting  out.  yet  it  may 
lie  said  of  him  that,  even  without  such  influence, 
his  own  perseverance,  wise  judgment  and  shrewd 
common  sense  would  have  brought  him  pros- 
perity and  prominence.  The  position  which  he 
occupies  among  the  farmers  of  the  Pajaro  valley 
is  his  by  right  of  sterling  traits  of  head  and 
heart. 


GRANVILLE  C.   SHELBY. 

Though  many,  years  have  elapsed  since  Mr. 
Shelby  passed  from  the  scenes  of  earth  and  an- 
other generation  has  since  risen  to  promote  the 
commercial  activities  of  Santa  Cruz,  he  is  still 
remembered  by  the  pioneers  among  whom  he 
was  a  genial  co-worker  and  delightful  associate. 
He  was  born  and  reared  in  Tennessee,  a  sun  of 
Dr.  C.  11.  Shelby,  and  learned  the  cabinet- 
maker's trade  in  Nashville.  As  soon  as  the  news 
reached  him  of  the  discover-)  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia, he  left  that  city  and  came  overland  to 
the  Pacific  coast,  landing  at  Santa  Cruz  in  1849. 
This  now  popular  resi  n  was  then  a  mere  hamlet, 
inhabited  by  a  few  Americans  and  a  consider- 
able population  of  Spaniards.  Owing  to  its 
proximity  to  Monterey,  which  at  the  time  was 
the  capital  of  California,  it  enjoyed  benefits  that 
would  not  haw  accrued  to  it  in  more  isolated 
sections  of  the  state.  From  a  commercial  stand- 
point it  presented  favorable  opportunities,  and  of 
these  Mr.  Shelby  availed  himself.  Soon  after 
bis  arrival  he  entered  into  the  undertaking  busi- 
ness wiili  George  Starrier  and  the)  continued  to 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


known  as  reliable  and  honorable  business  men. 
Today  the  business  is  conducted  on  the  same 
site,  under  the  title  of  the  Wasendorf  Furniture 
and  Undertaking  Company.  In  addition  to  his 
activity  in  his  special  business  lines,  he  took  an 
interest  in  the  building  up  of  the  town  and  in 
the  days  when  carpenters  were  scarce  often 
assisted  in  the  construction  of  residences  and 
'tores.  Through  these  various  lines  of  business 
he  amassed  a  competence  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  December  29,  1869,  at  the 
age  of  forty-four  years,  he  was  numbered  among 
the  well-to-do  and  prosperous  business  men  of 
Santa  Cruz.  In  his  religious  views  he  was 
liberal,  not  identifying  himself  with  am-  denom- 
ination, but  showing  himself  to  Lie  a  believer  in 
the  highest  principles  of  religion  as  exemplified 
in  a  life  of  integrity  and  honor.  In  fraternal 
relations  he  was  connected  with  the  Independent 
Order   of  Odd   Fellows. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Shelby  united  him  with 
Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Vardamon  and  Mary 
(Maxswain)  Bennett.  She,  her  brother  Win- 
ston (also  of  Santa  Cruz)  and  Julia,  of  Los 
Angeles,  are  the  sole  survivors  of  a  large  fam- 
ily, the  others  being  Catherine.  Dennis.  Jackson, 
Mansell  and  Samantha.  Her  father,  who  was 
born  in  Alabama,  married  in  Georgia,  later  n  - 
moving  to  Tennessee,  and  there  reared  his  fam- 
ily anil  engaged  in  business  pursuits.  From 
there  he  moved  to  Arkansas  and  later,  in  April 
ot  [842,  joined  a  train  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  people  bound  tor  <  Iregon.  Alter  a  long  and 
perilous  journey,  in  October  they  arrived  at 
their  destination,  to  which  they  hail  been  guided 
only  by  wandering  Indians  and  trappers.  To  the 
union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shelb)  sewn  children 
were  born,  namely:  Lenore.  Emma,  Eva,  John. 
Flora,  Mary  and  Lizzie,  all  of  whom  are  de- 
ceased. All  of  the  children  died  before  arriving 
at  mature  years  with  the  exception  of  Mary, 
who  became  the  wife  of  John  M.  De  frees  and 
at  her  death  left  four  children,  Violet  I...  John. 
Lorain  and  Ethel  M.  Bereaved  In  the  death  of 
her  husband  and  children,  Mrs.  Shelby  has 
found  solace  in  the  presence  of  her  grandchil- 
dren, to  whose  happiness  and  welfare  she  is  af- 
fectionateh  devoted.  Her  home  is  on  Spruce 
Street,  Santa  Cruz,  am!   in  addition   1-  tins  prop 


erty  she  formerly  owned  three  houses  on  Elm 
street,  but  these  have  been  sold.  All  of  these 
residences  were  erected  under  her  supervision. 
Among  the  people  of  her  home  city  she  is  highly 
respected,  having  by  her  amiable  disposition  and 
kind  heart  won  the  confidence  and  affectionate 
regard  of  a  large  circle  of  warm  personal  friends. 


ALBION    PARIS    SWANTON. 

Identified  with  the  interest,  of  Santa  Cruz 
since  the  '(.us.  Mr.  Swanton  was  born  in  Gard- 
ner, Me.,  Tub,  14.  1826.  As  a  boy  he  did  not 
have  the  advantages  common  to  the  youth  of  the 
present  general  ion,  but  such  as  he  had  he  en- 
joyed to  their  utmost.  However,  the  knowledge 
be  possesses  is  the  result  of  reading  and  observa- 
tion rather  than  schooling.  When  fifteen  years 
of  age  he  secured  employment  with  an  uncle  who 
was  a  butcher  in  Bangor,  Me.,  and  later  em- 
barked in  business  for  himself.  With  the  means 
thus  accumulated  he  made  his  way  to  New  York 
City  and  entered  into  the  ship  chandlery  busi- 
ness, conducting  the  same  with  fair  success.  The 
most  discouraging  happening  during  his  resi- 
dence in  the  metropolis  was  a  heav}  loss  by  fire, 
but    even    this   catastrophe   did   not   daunt   him. 

In  1864  Mr.  Swanton  came  to  California  via 
the  isthmus  and  settled  in  Pescadero,  San  Mateo 
county.  From  there  he  soon  came  to  Santa 
Cruz  and  bought  the  San  Lorenzo  stables,  which 
lie  conducted  with  C.  II.  Martin.  Later  he 
opened  the  Bonner  stables,  ami  about  the  same 
time  with  his  s  m,  Fred  VV.,  buill  and  operated 
the  Swanton  bouse,  conducting  the  hotel  until  it 
burned  down.  for  thirty  years  1  r  more  he  lias 
engaged  in  the  livery  business,  and  during  ibis 
time  has  also  maintained  an  oversight  of 
inter*  -is.  <  in  the  organizatii  n  of  the  Santa 
Cruz  Electric  Light  and  Power  Companj  he  be- 
came one  .if  its  stockholders.  1  M:her  in  vements 
of  a  similar  nature  have  received  bis  support  and 

The  home  1  1    VI r.  Swanton,  on  Mission  street, 

Santa  Cruz,  is  presided  over  l>\  his  wife,  whom 
lie  married  in  Maine  in  [848  and  who  was  Miss 
Emily  J.  Parsllley.  Three  children  were  born 
of  their  union,  but  one  died  in  infancy,  and  Mrs. 
A.    I'..    Abbott   die. I   ill    Santa   I   111/.   the  onh    stir 


62  I 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


vivor  being  Fred  \\ '.  Swanton.  The  Masons  and 
Odd  Fellows  number  Air.  Swanton  among-  their 
members,  and  he  maintains  an  interest  in  their 
activities. 


HENRj.    ST(  IFFERS. 

A  progressive  German-American  who  has 
made  money  rapidly  since  coming  to  California 
is  Henry  Staffers,  who,  though  not  a  large  land 
owner  himself,  has  succeeded  in  utilizing  to  the 
best  possible  extent  the  land  of  other  people. 
I  lis  success  in  the  Pajaro  valley  is  the  best  proof 
of  the  fertility  of  this  well  favored  locality,  and 
has  undoubtedly  done  much  inwards  convincing 
others  of  its  genuine  worth  as  an  agricultural 
center. 

In  his  youth  Air.  Stutters  had  before  him  the 
example  of  success  set  by  his  father,  Henry,  who 
was  the  representative  of  a  fine  old  Teutonic 
family,  and  who  was  for  forty-three  years  in 
the  government  emplo}  on  street  work,  a  posi- 
tion both  remunerative  and  responsible.  His 
wife.  Margaret  (Miller)  Stoffers,  reared  to 
years  of  usefulness  six  children,  viz.:  John, 
Herman.  Jacob,  August,  Henry,  and  Hinry. 
Henry  Stoffers  came  to  America  when  nineteen 
i"  age.  and  soon  after  locating  in  Califor- 
nia came  to  Watsonville,  where  he  engaged  in 
ranching  with  John  Jordan.  At  the  end  of  three 
years,  or  in  181)3,  ne  leased  the  O.  <  >.  Stosser 
ranch  south  of  Watsonville,  and  has  since  made 
wonderful  progress  with  this  line  property.  His 
own  ranch  of  twenty  acres  was  purchased  Janu- 
ary 1,  [902,  and  is  located  one  mile  from  Wat- 
sonville. This  combined  responsibility  takes 
ab  in  ail  ih''  time  of   Mr.  Staffers;  who,  because 

1  -  iperior  business  and  managerial  ability,  has 
no  difficulty  in  developing  all  of  his  land,  and 
getting  all  possible  out  ••(  it.  Some  idea  of  the 
possibilities  of  the  Pajaro  valley  ma\  be  gained 
from  facts  vouched  for  by  Mr.  Stoffers.  In  [902 
he  realized  eighteen  hundred  sacks  of  onions 
from  four  acres  of  Land,  and  he  has  gathered  as 
many  as  two  hundred  sacks  of  potatoes  from 
one  acre  of  land,  and  twenty  tons  of  sugar  beets 
fri  pin  one  acre. 

In    1885   Mr.  Stoffers    married  Anna   Deben, 


Henry  and  Sophia  (Jordan)  Deben.  Of  this 
union  there  were  born  five  children,  of  whom 
Mrs.  Stoffers  is  second  oldest.  The  other  chil- 
dren tire:  Ida,  John,  Henry  and  one  deceased. 
Mr.  and  Mrs".  Stoffers  are  the  parents  of  six 
children,  viz.:  Margaret,  Carl,  Arnold.  Ida, 
I  terry  and  (  )tto.  Mr.  Stoffers  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  and  is  fraternally  connected  with  the 
Independent  Order  Odd  Fellows.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


PIO    SCARONI. 

Like  so  many  of  his  countrymen  who  have 
turned  their  attention  to  dairying  and  farming 
in  this  land  of  sunshine.  Pio  Scaroni  was  born 
among  the  sheltering  Swiss  mountains,  in  Gor- 
dola,  the  day  of  his  birth  being  July  11.  1851. 
He  inherits  his  familiarity  with  dairying,  for  his 
father,  <  •.  A.  Scaroni,  was  devoted  to  that  occu- 
pation, ami  in  addition  was  a  very  prominent 
man,  filling  the  office  of  mayor  of  Gordola  until 
old  age  compelled  his  retirement.  He  married 

Elizabeth  Codiga. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  Pio  Scaroni  left 
the  home  surroundings  in  Switzerland,  and  em- 
barked for  the  greater  possibilities  of  the  United 
States,  landing  in  New  York  December  28,  [869. 
After  a  short  time  he  came  to  the  Pacific  coast, 
locating  near  Santa  Cruz,  where  he  rented  land 
and  maintained  a  farming  and  dairying  enter- 
prise. He  became  possessor  of  his  present  ranch 
in  [883,  when  he  bought  ten  hundred  and  three 
acres,  and  has  since  successfully  managed  the 
same.  He  litis  one  of  the  finest  dairies  in  the 
country,  .and  the  extent  of  his  operations  is  best 
illustrated  by  the  fact  that  in  1901  he  shippe  I 
sixty-six  thousand  pounds  of  full  cream  cheese 
to  Stic  Francisco.  Mr.  Scaroni  is  also  engaged 
in  general  farming,  and  in  addition  takes  a  great 
interest  in  several  outside  industries,  lie  is  fra- 
ternallj  an  Odd  Fellow  and  a  Knight  of 
Pythias,  and  in  religion  is  a  communicant  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church. 

In  1N70  Mr.  Scaroni  was  united  in  marriage 
with  T\  Genoni,  who  was  bun  in  Switzerland, 
Januar)  25,  1855,  and  they  have  eight  children, 
namely:  Leo,  Mary,  Adeline,  Lilly,  Jos,. ph. 
\una.'  Harry  and  [ohn. 


tynZZLrZZ  & 


CL/l^-^^i^-?) 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


WORTHINGTON  PARS!  >NS. 

The  position  held  by  Mr.  Parsons  among  the 
prosperous  farmers  of  Monterey  county  proves 
him  to  be  a  man  of  judgment  and  industrious 
application,  and  one  who  has  worked  his  way 
forward  in  spite  of  reverses  and  hardships.  He 
was  born  near  St.  George,  Tucker  county,  W. 
Ya.,  December  29,  1852.  and  grew  to  manhood 
on  the  home  farm.  His  mother  died  when  he 
was  eight  and  six  years  later  his  lost  his  father 
by  death,  so  that  the  training  received  by  most 
children  under  careful  parental  oversight  was 
never  granted  him.  However,  he  possesses 
traits  that  have  enabled  him  to  surmount  ob- 
stacles and  gain  for  himself  an  education  not 
always  possessed  by  more  carefully-reared  men. 
One  of  his  first  ventures  in  the  business  world 
was  as  a  lumberman,  and  for  two  years  he  was 
employed  in  a  grist  mill. 

(  )n  coming  to  California  in  1875  Mr.  Parsons 
had  little  but  his  energy,  willing  hands  and  de- 
termined spirit.  Such  qualifications,  however, 
when  backed  by  a  robust  constitution,  are  by 
mi  means  to  be  despised,  and  they  have  proved 
the  nucleus  of  the  present  resources  of  the  man. 
He  came  direct  to  the  Salinas  valley  and  secured 
employment  as  assistant  on  a  ranch.  During 
the  eight  years  spent  there  he  gained  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  dairy  business,  and  also 
saved  a  neat  sum  of  money.  The  investment  of 
this  money  in  horses  and  machinery  enabled 
him  to  begin  ranching  for  himself,  and  he  has 
since  risen  to  a  position  among  the  enterpris- 
ing farmers  of  the  valley.  Of  the  twelve  hun- 
dred acres  he  now  cultivates  sevent)  acre--  are 
in  beans,  and  more  than  eleven  hundred  acre 
in  grain.  In  the  cultivation  of  the  land  Fort} 
head  of  horses  are  used.  The  latest  and  mosl 
modern  machinery  may  be  seen  on  the  place, 
as  well  as  the  other  equipments  of  a  first-class 
farm.  The  neat  appearance  of  the  property 
proves  Mr.  Parsons  to  be  a  thrifty,  industrious 
and  capable  agriculturist. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.Parsons  occurred  in  1874 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Annie  Wilmoth,  b) 
whom  he  has  three  daughters.  The  eldest,  Dor- 
i  as,  1-  the  wife  of  V\  II  Rowling,  who  repre- 
sents the   Del   Monte  Milling  Company   in  San 


Francisco;  the  second  daughter,  Alida  May,  is 
the  wife  of  Duncan  McKinnon,  Jr.  The  young- 
est daughter,  Nellie  L.,  is  with  her  parents. 


RICHARD    THOMPS<  >N. 

The  long  and  intimate  association  of  Mr, 
Thompson  with  the  history  of  Santa  Cruz  and 
the  responsible  position  which  he  hold-,  as 
agent  for  the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company  at 
this  point,  makes  him  erne  of  the  best-known 
residents  of  the  city.  All  of  the  recollections  of 
his  life,  except  those  of  his  first  eight  years,  are 
associated  with  California  and  the  Pacific  coast 
region,  and  he  is  loyal  to  the  west,  a  firm  be- 
liever in  its  progress,  a  true  friend  of  its  insti- 
tutions. The  only  son  in  a  family  of  six  chil- 
dren, he  was  born  in  Xew  York  City  September 
19,  1840,  his  parents  being  Richard  and  Sarah 
(Smith)  Thompson.  At  the  age  of  eight  years 
he  was  brought  to  California  by  his  uncle.  I  apt 
Joseph  Galloway,  starting  on  the  long  voyage 
via  Cape  Horn  January  31.  1848,  on  the  ship 
<  >t hello.  When  near  Rio  Janeiro  the  ship  was 
wrecked  and  the  passengers  were  obliged  to 
wait  one  month  before  they  could  continue  on 
their  voyage.  Finally,  however,  they  safel)  ar- 
rived in  San  Francisco,  one  year  from  the  time 
of  starting. 

Educational    advantages   were   not    numerous 
in   those  early  days,  and  Mr.  Thompson 
his  education  more  to  native  wit  and  hab 
reading  than  to  any  thorough  system  of  -. 
ing.     While  a  boy  he  was  employed  as  clerk  and 
also  tried  his  luck  at  mining,  hut  the  latter  ven- 
ture did    not   bring  an)    alluring    results.      \n 
earl}    position  was  that  of  clerk  in  the  general 
freight  office  at  Sacramento  on  the  first  railroad 
1  dilt    in   ( 'alifi  irnia,   and  b       uccessivi 
tions  he  rose  t<>  he  general  freight  agent.     Later 
he  filled   the  position  of  conductor.      Meantime, 
in    connection    with    ether    duties,    he    gained    a 
knowledge  of  the  express  business,  to  which  so 
much  of  his  life  has  been  devoted.     Going  to 
Solano  county    in    [863,   he   induced   the  citizens 
to  build  a  railroad,  and  of  this  he  becami 
urer  and  a  director.     For  tiw  years  he  also  con- 
ducted a  mercantile  business  at    Vacaville,  hut 
then    disposed    of   his    interests   an 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


messenger  for  the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Com- 
pany. After  two  years  he  accepted  a  position  as 
agent  of  the  same  company  at  Santa  Cruz. 
.:  traveled  much  and  visited  man)  sec- 
tions of  the  west,  lie  became  convinced  that  the 
climate  of  Santa  Cruz  was  unsurpassed  and  he 
therefore  believed  investments  in  local  property 
could  be  made  with  safety.  Considerable  real 
e-tate  lias  passed  through  his  hands,  much  of  it 
at  a  desirable  profit,  and  among  the  various  pur- 
chases was  that  of  a  lot  on  the  corner  of  Law- 
rence and  Mission  streets,  where  he  erected  an 
attractive  residence. 

In  Santa  Rosa  occurred  the- marriage  of  Mr. 
Thompson  to  Mary  Jane  Patton.  daughter  of 
Hugh  Patton.  a  pioneer  of  1836  in  California 
and  the  owner  of  twenty-five  hundred  acres  of 
land,  purchased  in  those  early  days  for  $25. 
Mrs.  Thompson  was  a  Californian  by  birth  and 
training,  and  was  an  honored  guest  in  the  best 
homes  of  Santa  Cruz,  where  her  life  ended  June 
18,  1901.  Surviving  her  aje  two  sons,  Ralph 
M.  and  William  E.  The  older  son  is  his  father's 
assistant,  while  the  younger  is  head  clerk  in  the 
office  of  the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company  at 
San  Francisco.  The  Association  of  California 
Pioneers  numbers  Mr.  Thompson  among  its 
members,  and  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance 
among  many  others  who.  like  himself,  came  to 
the  west  in  an  early  period.  Movements  for  the 
benefit  of  Santa  Cruz  have  received  his  co-op- 
eration and  support.  On  the  establishment  of 
the  first  bank  here  he  was  chosen  a  director  and 
continued  as  such  for  some  time.  Other  in- 
stitutions of  equal  value  had  the  benefit  of  his 
broad  experience  and  keen  discrimination.  A 
believer  in  the  lofty  principles  of  Masonry,  he 
has  connected  himself  with  various  degn 
tin  order,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  lodge  and 
chapter  in  Santa  Cruz,  as  well  as  the  comman- 
clery  at  San  J 


!.[■■.(  >NARD  J.   SMITH. 

ii  the  transported  easternei  -  who  h 
made  a  sin  cess  1  1  farming  in  Santa  (  !ruz  g  ami 
and  who  is  also  a  practical  blacksmith,  is  I.e. 
ard  J.  Smith,  horn  in  Hancock  county,  M 
May    3,     1850,    a     son    of    J.    J.    and     Lou 


1  t  iordon  1  Smith,  the  former  of  whom  was  horn 
1  Ictober  31,  1817,  and  the  latter  in  1820,  the 
birthplace  of  both  being  Hancock  county,  Me. 
The  parents  reared  to  years  of  usefulness  nine 
children,  of  whom  Leonard,  Alice  and  Cecilia 
are  the  >  ally  survivors. 

At  a  comparatively  early  age  Leonard  J.  Smith 
learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  which  he  followed 
in  connection  with  work  on  the  paternal  farm. 
Xot  until  thirty  years  of  age  did  he  leave  the 
surroundings  of  his  youth,  and  in  1S78  came  to 
California,  locating  in  Santa  Cruz  county  in 
1882.  The  first  few-  years  of  his  sojourn  on  the 
ci  ast  he  followed  the  carpenter's  trade,  but  since 
locating  on  his  present  farm  in  1882  has  de- 
voted his  energies  entirely  to  general  farming. 
and  the  chicken  industry.  He  has  been  success- 
ful, and  has  never  regretted  his  choice  of  loca- 
tion in  this  state. 

Mrs.  Smith  was  born  in  Scotland,  March  20, 
[840,  the  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  1  Mit- 
chell) Calderwood,  who  came  to  America  in 
1844,  locating  in  Orleans  county.  Vt.,  wdiere 
they  farmed  for  the  rest  of  their  lives.  Two  of 
their  sons  served  in  the  Civil  war,  one  of  whom, 
Andrew,  was  shot  from  his  horse  at  the  battle  of 
Five  Forks.  In  1864  he  married  Allen  Core  . 
who  died  in  1888.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  have 
been  born  two  children:  Walter,  who  is  a  con- 
stable at  East  Santa  Cruz,  and  Jennie,  the  wife 
of  Walter  Richards. 


MORRIS    I'..    TUTTLE. 

Mr.  Tuttle  is  one  of  those  who  have  appre- 
ciated the  possibilities  by  which  he  1-  surrounded 
in  the  Pajaro  valley  and  turned  them  to  the  best 
possible  account.  He  is  the  owner  of  three  hun- 
dred acres,  being  in  four  different  ranches,  and 
one  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  which  is  under 
fruit.  That  he  has  been  unusually  successful  is 
evidenced  by  the  beautiful  and  costly  residence 
erected  b)  him  but  recently,  and  which  has  no 
superior  in  this  beautiful  valley.  Large  in  size 
and  graceful  in  proportions,  this  reminder  of 
patrician   Colonial  days   rear-   its  classical    lines 

planted   from  the  scene  of  song  and  story  in  the 

east.       Arizona    sandstone    and    granite    compose 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RFXORD. 


C\!!> 


the  exterior  of  the  first  story,  the  second  story 
being  shingled.  Costly  Hungarian  ash,  oak, 
cedar,  birdseye  maple  and  mahogany  supply  the 
interior  finishing's,  the  floors  are  laid  in  hard 
woods,  and  the  hall  and  dining  room  are  paneled 
in  oak.  No  expense  has  hern  spared  to  make 
this  home  an  ideal  of  its  kind. 

The  youth  of  Mr.  Tuttle  was  spent  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Van  I'.uren  county,  Iowa,  where 
he  was  horn  February  [6,  1858.  In  1873  he 
came  to  California  with  his  parents,  (  )wen  and 
Alary  (Burns)  Tuttle.  and  completed  his  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  Watsonville.  In 
1880  he  married  Alary  Ingles,  a  native  of  Iowa, 
and  of  this  union  there  have  been  born  six  chil- 
dren: Lee  IT.  Owen  A"..  Warren,  Alabel  and 
Gladys  (twins),  and  Adele. 

In  1892  Air.  Tuttle  located  on  his  present 
ranch  of  thirty  acres  upon  which  he  erected  his 
beautiful  home.  He  is  a  Republican  in  political 
affiliation.  As  a  fruit  grower  he  is  unexcelled, 
and  is  one  of  the  best  authorities  on  horticulture 
and  farming  in  the  community. 


THOMAS   S.   TARLETi  >N. 

During  his  life  in  California  Thomas  S.  Tarle- 
ton  was  variously  occupied  in  different  parts  of 
the  state  previous  to  locating  on  the  farm  now 
occupied  by  his  wife,  between  Soquel  and  Santa 
Cruz.  Though  many  years  have  elapsed  since 
bis  death.  September  19,  1884,  he  is  recalled  by 
those  who  knew  him  as  a  typical  westerner  by 
adoption,  wdio  readily  grasped  and  utilized  the 
chances  by  which  he  was  surrounded.  Born  in 
New  Hampshire  in  May,  [821,  be  married,  while 
still  in  bi>  native  state,  Susan  A.  Tuttle,  born  in 
Concord,  X.  11,,  March  1,  1824.  Together  the) 
came  to  California  December  1.  [854,  and  lo- 
cated at  Morman  I -land,  where  Air.  Tarleb 
perimented  with  mining  for  a  -hurt  time.  Lati  1 
on  he  renounced  mining  as  purely  speculi 
and  engaged  in  teaming  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  -taie.  also  for  a  time  working  on  a  farm.  In 
San  Jose  he  engaged  in  carpentering  and  build 
ing,  and  after  removing  to  Oakland,  continued 
to  build  and  contract  for  three  years.  From  the 
latter  cit)  lie  removed  to  Santa  Cruz  county,  and 
located  on  the  farm  of  -i\t\  acres,  n<  >  \  opi  rated 


by  his  son,  Frank  A.,  and  occupied  by  the  rest 
of  his  family.  He  was  a  prominenl  Republi- 
can, and  took  quite  an  active  part  in  the  inter- 
ests of  his  friends,  although  he  himself  was 
averse  to  office  holding. 

Airs.  Tarleton,  still  in  possession  of  the 
faculties  which  made  her  so  necessary  a  help- 
mate to  her  husband,  is  a  daughter  of  Jesse 
Tuttle,  to  whom  is  due  the  credit  of  publishing 
the  first  paper  in  the  state  of  New  Hampshire. 
Five  children  were  born  to  Air.  ami  Airs.  Tarle- 
ton, of  whom  four  are  living:  Agnes,  born 
January  25,  1851,  the  wife  of  C.  lb  Deering; 
John  K.,  born  January  9,  1856;  Frank  A., 
born  October  10,  1857,  and  William  H.,  born 
August  16,  1859. 


EDWARD   D.  THOAIPSi  >N. 

<  ieneral  farm  pursuits  ami  apple-raising  have 
occupied  the  attention  of  Air.  Thompson  since 
he  settled  upon  his  present  place  near  Watson- 
ville. Under  his  immediate  oversight  are  one 
hundred  and  four  acres,  constituting  the  estate, 
and  of  this  seventy-five  acres  are  in  an  apple 
orchard  of  Belleflowers  and  Newtown  Pippins. 
As  might  be  expected,  the  products  of  -uch  a 
large  orchard  are  enormous,  and  the  fine  ap- 
ple- from  the  Thompson  farm  find  their  way 
into  the  markets  where  the  choicest  varieties 
only  are  received.  The  improvements  are  mod- 
ern and,  pleasing  and  bespeak  the  energy  and  in- 
telligence of  the  owner. 

In  the  county  of  Santa  Cruz,  where  he  still 
resides.  Air.  Thompson  was  born  April  1.  [862, 
being  a  -on  of  Join;  ami  Mary  A.  (Cummings) 
Thompson.  Hi-  father,  who  was  born  in  [re- 
el the  ocean  to  America  in  early  life 
and  was  married  in  Boston.  In  [855,  just  a  year 
after  coming  t<>  this  country,  he  came  we-t  to 
California  and  established  hi-  home  on  a  farm 
in  Santa  I  rttz  county,  where  hi-  -til' 
years  were  passed.  Agricultural  pursuits 
formed  his  life  occupation.  While  he  did  not 
accumulate  a  .-,,1111..  tence,  he  y<  I  met  with  a  fair 
eh  -iee  1  \iter  becoming  a  citizen  of 

the  United  States  he  voted  with  the  Democratic 
party. 


Kvard    D.   Thompson   ha- 


HISTORICAL  AXD  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ever  known  is  the  count)  where  he  still  lives. 
As  a  boy  he  studied  in  the  schools  of  Watson- 
ville,  and  on  completing  his  education  he  de- 
voted himself  to  farm  pursuits,  in  which  occu- 
pation he  continued  on  the  home  farm  until 
twenty-eight  years  of  age.  Since  then  he  has 
owned  and  operated  a  farm  near  Watsonville, 
comprising,  a-  before  stated,  one  hundred  and 
four  acres.  His  comfortable  rural  home  is  pre- 
sided over  by  his  wife,  formerly  Mary  Murphy, 
who  was  born  in  Ireland  and  whom  he  married 
in  this  county  February  3.  1896.  In  religious 
connections  both  are  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  Like  his  father.  Mr.  Thomp- 
son espouses  the  cause  of  the  Democracy  ami 
gives  his  ballot  to  the  support  of  its  men  and 
principles. 


DELUSS    D.   WILDER. 

The  ranch  owned  and  occupied  by  Air.  Wilder 
is  situated  four  miles  from  Santa  Cruz  and  is 
one  of  the  most  attractive  in  the  county  of  that 
name.  It  comprises  twenty-three  hundred  acres 
of  land,  with  two  and  one-half  miles  of  ocean 
frontage.  The  ranch  is  utilized  especially  for  the 
dairy  business  of  which  .Mr.  Wilder  is  the  head 
and  which,  in  its  prosecution,  requires  the  ser- 
vices of  fifteen  employes.  Almost  three  hun- 
dred milch  cows  are  kept  on  the  place,  and  a 
milk  wagon  furnishes  milk  for  customers  in 
Santa  Cruz.  The  balance  of  the  milk  not  thus 
-old  is  made  into  butter,  for  the  manufacture  of 
which    every    facility    and    modern    convenience 

a)  I"'  here  found.  Included  in  the  buildings 
necessan  to  the  work  are  a  separator  room, 
20x30;  a  wash  room  for  cans.  16x20;  a  churn- 
in-  room,  20x20;  ami  a  cold  storage  plant.  The 
large  amount  of  ice  needed  for  the  dairy  is  man- 
ufactured by  Mr.  Wilder,  and  he  also  has  the 
dynamos  used  for  the  lighting  of  his  house  and 
barns.  The  main  stable  for  the  cows  is  1.0x320 
feet,  ami  accommodates  one  hundred  and  three 
Idle  in  a  loft  above  the  feed 
C  kept.  The  barns,  dairy,  etc..  form  a  pleasant 
adjunct  and  accessor}  to  the  residence  which  is 
a  beautiful  dwelling,  furnished  with  all  the  con 
vi  niences  of  the  twentieth  centur) . 

I  he    gentleman    who   is  at    the   head   of   this 


large  enterprise  was  born  in  West  llartland. 
Conn.,  February  2$,  1826,  and  grew  to  man- 
hood on  a  farm.  His  earliest  recollections  are 
of  the  rigid  economy  necessary  to  make  both 
ends  meet.  When  eighteen  years  of  age  he  was 
put  out  on  a  farm  and  worked  for  $6.50  a  month, 
taking  one-half  of  his  wages  in  store  orders. 
Six  years  of  this  constant  work  enabled  him  to 
save  a  little  money,  and  he  then  started  in  a 
book  agency  business  in  <  >hi<>.  Unfortunately, 
this  venture  did  not  bring  success,  so  he  bought 
a  horse  and  saddle  and  started  for  Connecticut. 
Railroads  had  not  yet  been  built,  and  travel  on 
horseback  was  not  very  desirable  at  a  season  of 
the  year  when  the  thermometer  was  fifteen  de- 
crees below  zero.  Before  reaching  his  jour- 
nej  's  end  his  health  gave  way  under  the  hard- 
ships of  the  trip.  Fortunately  he  had  relatives 
in  New  York  who  were  kind  to  him  and  in- 
sisted upon  him  remaining  with  them  until  he 
Lad  regained  his  health.  As  soon  as  able  to 
resume  work  he  began  to  make  stone  fences, 
for  which  he  was  paid  sixteen  and  two-thirds 
cents  a  rod.  This  work  enabled  him  to  make 
about  $1  a  day. 

During  1853  Mr.  Wilder  came  to  California. 
and  after  a  tedious  trip  of  seven  months  arrived 
in  Stockton.  In  common  with  all  the  early  com- 
ers to  this  state,  it  was  his  ambition  to  enter  the 
mines,  and  we  find  him  putting  forth  efforts  to 
gain  a  livelihood  as  a  miner  in  Placer  count). 
His  success  varied;  sometimeshewas  buoyed  b) 
hopes  of  a  great  discovery,  ami  at  other  times 
was  downcast  with  disappointment.  In  the  end 
he  felt  that  he  had  not  secured  enough  to  re- 
pay him  for  the  hazardous  expedition  across  the 
plains.  In  June  of  1851;  he  settled  in  Marin 
county,  where,  with  a  capital  of  $200.  he 
started  a  chicken  ranch  and  small  dairy.  From 
the  first  he  met  with  success.  The  business  in- 
creased in  extent  and  the  profits  -lew  in  pro 
portion.  In  1871  he  came  to  Santa  Cruz  count) 
and  in  partnership  with  L.  K.  Baldwin  bought 
a  large  tract  four  miles  from  Santa  Cruz. 
Eventually  the  partnership  was  dissolved,  the 
ranch  was  divided  and  he  retained  that  portion 
lying  nearesl  to  Santa  (  ruz.  Here  he  ami  Mrs. 
Wilder  (formerl)  Miranda  Finch  of  Michigan) 
have  a  pleasant  and  attractive  home,  that   in  its 


ARTHUR  ATTKRIIx-,1- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


<;:;:; 


furnishings,  and  the  presence  of  books,  pic- 
lures,  etc.,  indicates  the  refined  tastes  of  the 
family.  In  politics  Mr.  Wilder  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican, interested  in  his  party's  success,  but 
at  no  time  an  aspirant  for  office.  Some  thirty 
years  ago  he  became  affiliated  with  the  Inde- 
pendent (  Irder  of  Odd  Fellows  and  still  retains 
his  membership  in  this  organization.  Among 
the  people  of  the  county  of  Santa  Cruz  he  has 
a  host  of  friends,  whose  confidence  he  has  won 
by  his  acumen,  tact,  intelligence  and  upright 
character.  Few  are  better  known  than  he  and 
none  stands  higher  in  the  esteem  of  the  people 
of  Santa  Cruz  county. 


ARTHUR  ATTER1DGE. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Ireland  has 
given  few  citizens  to  America  whose  knowledge 
was  broader  or  wdiose  attainments  more  solid 
than  those  evinced  by  Mr.  Atteridge,  and  had 
his  life  been  spared  to  the  usual  span  of  exist- 
ence undoubtedly  he  would  have  gained  a  large 
financial  success.  Such  may  be  presumed  from 
the  fact  that,  during  the  short  period  of  his  resi- 
dence in  Watsonville,  he  accumulated  a  valuable 
property  through  his  management  of  business 
affairs.  His  parents  were  Arthur  J.  and  Nora 
(Ryan)  Atteridge,  the  former  being  for  years 
associated  with  McCarthy  &  Downey.  M.  P. 
In  such  an  atmosphere  as  this  the  son  grew  to 
manhood,  prepared  for  life's  responsibilities,  and 
he  himself  had  the  advantage  of  a  lengthy  asso- 
ciation with  the  parliament.  Surrounded  by  the 
influences  that  develop  the  mind  and  broaden 
the  outlook,  he  acquired  a  knowledge  as  accu- 
rate as  it  was  broad,  and  embracing,  within  its 
limit-,  information  in  regard  to  his  own  coun- 
try, its  trials,  its  struggles  and  its  prospective 
triumphs. 

However,  great  a.-  was  his  regard  for  his  na- 
tive land.  Air.  Atteridge  was  induced  to  seek  a 
home  in  the  United  States,  having  heard  much 
in  favor  of  the  ideal  climate  of  California.  In 
1880  he  settled  in  Watsi  nivillc,  and  fur  a  short 
time  worked  as  a  clerk,  but  s< >< >n  embarked  in 
the  grocery  business,  having  as  a  partner  1 '. 
Sheehey,  and  the  two  conducted  a  very  su<  1  1 
nil  business,  gaining  an  increasing  trade  and  the 


confidence  of  their  customers.  Meantime, 
though  his  personal  affairs  engrossed  his  atten- 
tion. Mr.  Atteridge  found  time  1.1  show  his  lov- 
alty  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  and  his 
devotion  to  the  welfare  of  Watsonville.  Elected 
a  member  of  the  board  of  city  trustee-,,  he  was 
made  chairman  of  the  board  and  filled  the  posi- 
tion with  dignity  and  efficiency,  for  some  time 
lie  acted  as  trustee  of  the  Young  Men's  Insti- 
tute. After  coming  to  Watsonville  he  purchased 
a  residence  on  Main  street  and  here,  in  1889,  his 
earth  life  came  to  an  end,  when  he  was  thirty- 
nine  years  of  age.  He  is  survived  by  his  wife. 
Alary,  daughter  of  Timothy  Sheehey,  and  the 
following-named  children:  Robert  Fmmett,  who 
owns  and  operates  a  ranch  in  Monterey  county; 
Arthur  Joseph, a  clerk:  Genevieve  AF;  John  Tim- 
othy, a  rancher;  and  James  Feo,  who  is  a  stu- 
dent at  Santa  Clara  College.  The  sons  are  en- 
terprising and  capable  young  men,  and  have  in- 
herited from  their  parents  qualities  which  will 
undoubtedly  bring  them  success  in  the  business 
world. 


URIAH  W.  THoAIl'Si  )N. 

For  almost  half  a  century  the  familiar  figure 
of  Uriah  W.  Thompson  has  been  seen  around 
his  farm  on  the  road  between  Santa  Cruz  and 
Soquel,  and  though  he  is  now  one  of  the  oldest 
men  in  the  county  he  is  still  able  to  appreciate 
and  estimate  the  extent  of  his  harvests,  and  to 
take  an  interest  in  the  doings  of  his  fellow 
townsmen.  Surrounding  him  is  the  interest  in- 
variably associated  with  the  great  army  who 
thronged  to  the  coast  in  the  days  of  gold,  and 
with  the  noble  and  self  sacrificing  pioneers  who 
mapped  out, and  worked  to  bring  about, the  pres- 
ent prosperous  conditions.  Arriving  in  San 
Francisco  1  >ctober  10.  [849,  he  engaged  in  min- 
ing long  enough  to  convince  himself  that  he  was 
nol  likel)  to  be  among  the  chosen  few.  and 
thereafter  came  to  Santa  Cruz  county  to  work 
i,i  a  saw  mill.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he 
bough)  tin  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres 
which  has  witnessed  his  unceasing  toil,  and 
where  fortune,  supported  b}  his  wise  judgment, 
Las  seen  tit  to  crown  his  work  with  sue 

Born    in    Missouri,    om-    hundred    and    fifty 


634 


HISTORICAL  AXD  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


miles  south  of  St.  Louis,  February  27,  1830,  Mr. 
Thompson  is  a  son  of  James  Thompson,  who 
was  born  in  North  Carolina,  and  came  to  Mis- 
souri at  any  early  day  and  took  up  government 
land,  upon  which  he  lived  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  very  public- 
spirited.  His  wife,  Frances  (Strong)  Thompson, 
was  born  in  South  Carolina,  and  bore  him  ten 
children,  of  whom  but  two  are  living,  Uriah  \\  . 
and  Mary  E..  the  latter  now  Mrs.  Wilkinson  of 
Missouri.  Uriah  was  reared  on  the  home  farm 
in  Missouri  and  lived  with  his  parents  until 
coming  to  California  in  1849.  In  1856  he  mar- 
ried Charlotte  Rice  of  Illinois.  They  had  four 
children,  but  only  two  are  now  living,  Charles 
A.  and  Uriah  M.  James  II.  passed  away  in 
moi.  and  Francis  M.  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Thompson  has  been  one  of  the  central  person- 
alities in  the  development  of  his  section,  and  no 
one  has  more  surely  maintained  an  enviable 
place  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  his  friends  and 
associates. 


PETER    V.    WILKINS. 

During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Cali- 
fornia, which  covered  the  years  from  his  arrival 
in  1850  to  his  death  in  1891,  Mr.  Wilkins  wit- 
nessed the  remarkable  growth  and  development 
of  his  state  and  himself  contributed  in  a  large 
degree  to  the  prosperity  and  progress  of  his 
home  town,  Santa  Cruz.  He  was  born  in  Syra- 
.  V.,  a  son  of  David  G.  Wilkins.  and  in 
his  youth  was  given  exceptional  advantages, 
supplementing  attendance  at  local  schools  with 
a  course  of  study  in  Dartmouth  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated. 

After  his  arrival  in  California  Mr.  Wilkins 
took  up  mining  pursuits,  as  was  the  custom 
with  all  newcomers  of  the  early  '50s.  However-, 
he  found  thework  neither  healthful  nor  profitable, 
so  he  soon  drifted  back  to  San  Francisco,  where 
be  secured  employment  in  an  hotel.  Not  be- 
ing a  strong  man,  it  became  necessary  for  him 
to  find  a  more  genial  climate  than  San  Frani  is<  0 
could  boast,  and  in  this  way  he  became  a  resi 
dent  of  Santa  Cruz  in  1864.  Selecting  the  occu- 
pation with  which  he  was  most  familiar,  he  em 
barked    in   the    restaurant    business,   and   soon 


proved  that  his  selection  of  a  trade  and  a  loca- 
tion had  not  been  unwise.  The  mild  and  equit- 
able climate  restored  him  to  health  and  he  felt 
able  to  cope  with  large  business  activities,  so 
he  entered  into  the  hotel  business,  having  as  a 
partner  Mr.  Van  Dresser,  with  whom  he  con- 
ducted the  Santa  Cruz  Hotel.  In  1876  he 
erected  the  Wilkins  House,  which  at  first  was 
a  small  building,  with  accommodations  for  a 
very  limited  number  of  boarders.  Finding  the 
demand  for  rooms  greater  than  his  supply,  he 
soon  enlarged  the  house.  The  popularity  of 
the  house  was  such  that  he  entertained  from 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  persons  during  the  summer  season. 
The  business  was  profitable,  but  his  health 
proved  unequal  to  the  strain  of  managing  the 
details  and  overseeing  the  entire  place,  so  he 
retired  (  )ctober  8,  1886,  and  afterward  lived  in 
retirement.  In  1888  he  erected  a  handsome 
modern  residence  on  Oceanview  avenue  and 
in  that  home  his  death  occurred  October  28, 
1  Smi.  when  he  was  sixty-one  years  of  age.  His 
father  had  joined  him  in  Santa  Cruz  and  spent 
his  last  days  in  this  city,  where  he  died  in  1870. 
The  fact  of  being  less  strong  than  many  pre- 
vented Mr.  Wilkins  from  identifying  himself 
with  public  affairs  to  the  extent  he  desired. 
However,  he  was  a  stanch  Republican,  for  some 
terms  a  member  of  the  city  council,  and  a 
worker  for  party,  city  and  county  to  the  extent 
1  if  his  ability.  He  was  interested  in  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  officiated 
as  past  grand  of  his  lodge,  also  was  a  member 
of  the  encampment  and  Rebekahs.  When  meas- 
ures were  presented  for  the  benefit  of  the  city  he 
was  on  the  side  of  movements  of  undoubted 
value.  Xo  project  of  advantage  to  local  inter- 
ests failed  to  secure  his  co-operation  and  assist- 
ance. When  a  plan  was  projected  for  the  estab- 
lishment <«f  city  water-works  he  was  enthusiasti- 
cally in  favor  of  the  measure  and  bore  a  part  in 
the  incorporation  of  the  company  having  the 
plan  in  charge. 

In  io(i  1  Mr.  Wilkins  married  Catherine  A. 
Scollin,  a  daughter  of  James  Scollin  and  a  na- 
tive of  Ireland.  When  a  child  she  was  brought 
to  the  United  States  and  grew  t"  womanhood 
in   New    Hampshire.     Having  a  sister  in  Mon- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


i;:;:, 


terey  county,  Cal.,  she  was  induced  to  come 
west  'in  a  visit,  and  while  here  met  Mr.  Wilkins. 
No  children  were  born  of  their  marriage,  but 
the\  took  into  their  home  and  reared  from  the 
age  of  four  years  a  niece.  Agnes,  daughter  of 
Andrew  and  Ann  (Scollin)  Williamson.  This 
niece  is  now  the  wife  of  Frank  A.  DeCray  and 
they  make  their  home  with  Airs.  Wilkins,  min- 
istering to  her  comfort  and  by  their  affection- 
ate regard  making  happy  the  afternoon  of  her 
life. 


ALMON    WHITE. 

As  superintendent  of  the  Watsonville  Water 
and  Light  Company  Air.  White  occupies  a  very 
responsible  position,  yet  one  for  which  he  is 
splendidly  qualified  by  natural  gifts  and  experi- 
ence. T'ne  plant  of  the  company  is  situated  one 
and  one-half  miles  from  Watsonville  and  in- 
cludes two  reservoirs.  The  larger,  which  is  for 
irrigation  purposes,  holds  two  and  one-half  mil- 
lion gallons  of  water,  while  the  smaller,  which 
supplies  water  for  domestic  uses  for  the  city  of 
Watsonville,  has  a  capacity  of  six  hundred  thou- 
sand gallons.  The  elevation  above  "the  city  is 
ninety-six  feet,  and  the  water  is  kept  constantl) 
changing.  By  means  of  a  sixteen-inch  pipe  the 
larger  reservoir  is  connected  with  Pinto  Lake, 
which  covers  seventy-five  acres,  with  a  depth  of 
thirty  feet.  An  important  improvement  is  the 
fifty-horse  power  water  wheel,  through  which 
water  is  conveyed  from  the  springs  in  the  moun- 
tains nine  miles  away.  The  entire  work  of 
pumping  is  done  by  gravity.  Two  engines,  re- 
spectively  of  seventy-five  and  two  hundred- 
horse  power,  supply  the  power  for  lighting  Wat- 
sonville and  the  surrounding  country.  The  fuel 
is  crude  oil,  which  is  stored  in  two  underground 
tanks,  each  with  a  capacity  of  seven  thousand 
gallons. 

A  native  of  Franklin  county,  X.  Y..  Almon 
White  was  born  November  27,  1833,  being  a  son 
of  William  A.  and  Laura  (Slasson)  White,  of 
Xew  York.  Besides  himself  there  were  three 
children,  namely:  Henry,  a  resident  of  Peach 
Tree,  Monterey  county;  Edgar,  whose  home  is 
in  Minnesota;  and  Airs.  Helen  Dayton,  who 
lives  in  Nevada,  Iowa.    The  first  eighteen  years 


in  the  life  of  Almon  White  were  passed  in  New 
,>  ork  state,  whence  he  accompanied  his  parents 
to  Illinois  and  Milled  on  a  farm  in  DeKalb 
county.  During  [859  he  crossed  the  plains  to 
California,  in  company  with  his  brother,  Henry. 
Settling  in  Watsonville.  he  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed 
until  1880.  Since  the  latter  year  he  ha-  been 
superintendent  of  the  Watsonville  Water  and 
Light  Company,  which  is  owned  by  Francis 
Smith  and  W.  W.  Alontague,  of  San  Fran  isco, 
and  was  formerly  known  as  the  Corralitos 
Water  Company,  the  growth  and  prosperous 
condition  of  which  is  largely  due  to  his  industry, 
painstaking  supervision  and  intelligent  over- 
sight. 

By  the  marriage  of  Almon  White  to  Anna 
Hudson,  a  native  of  Iowa,  there  are  five  chil- 
dren now  living.  The  eldest  of  these.  William 
A.,  acts  as  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Wat- 
sonville Water  and  Light  Company.  The 
youngest  son,  Almon  Jr..  resides  with  his  par- 
ents. The  second  daughter,  Eva  L.,  is  the  wife 
of  Hugh  AI.  Anderson,  chief  engineer  of  the 
Watsonville  Water  and  Light  Company;  they 
have  two  children,  Edgar  AI.  and  Hugh  Al.  The 
third  daughter.  Helen,  is  the  wife  of  George  E. 
Morrell,  of  Los  Angeles;  and  the  youngest 
child,  Edna,  is  with  her  parents.  The  famiK  are 
identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
to  the  maintenance  of  which  Air.  White  is  a  con- 
tributor. In  politics  he  has  always  voted  the 
Republican  ticket  ever  since  casting  a  ballot  for 
Abraham  Lincoln  for  president.  Fraternally  he 
is  connected  with  the  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 


HENRY    WINKLE 

The     general     farming    enterprise     of     Henry 
Winkle   is    loca  miles    east    of   Santa 

(  uiz.  and  consists  of  two  hundred  acre-  of 
land,  equipped  with  modern  agricultural  im- 
plements and  convenient  buildings.  This  enter- 
prising farmer  came  to  America  in  1S42.  bring- 
ing with  him  the  substantial  traits  of  his  coun- 
trymen in  Germany,  in  which  country  he  was 
born   Februar)    15.   iSjj.  and  where  he  received 


636 


HISTORICAL  AXD  BIOGRAPHICAL  RKCORD. 


a  common  school  education  and  some  experi- 
ence in  business. 

Landing  in  New  (  cleans,  Mr.  Winkle  subse- 
quently went  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  lived  for 
four  years,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  that 
time  was  disturbed  by  the  rumors  of  gold  that 
came  from  ship  passengers  and  overland  travel- 
ers. He  therefore  joined  a  caravan  bound  for 
the  great  plains,  and  upon  arriving  at  his 
destination  on  the  coast,  located  at  ITacerville, 
where  for  seventeen  years  he  tempted  fate  in 
the  surrounding  mines.  He  experienced  the 
average  number  of  disappointments  and  fail- 
ures, but  he  was  successful  to  the  extent  that  he 
was  able  to  purchase  his  present  ranch  of  two 
hundred  acres  upon  his  removal  to  this  county 
in  1866.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  an  integral 
part  of  the  farming  development  in  this  part  of 
the  state,  and  has  taken  his  place  among  the 
progressive  and  successful  tillers  of  the  soil.  In 
the  meantime  he  has  stanchly  upheld  the  prin- 
ciples and  issues  of  the  Democrat  party,  and 
though  in  no  wise  an  office  seeker,  has  faithfully 
served  the  interests  of  the  county  as  a  school 
trustee  for  many  years.  He  is  a  Mason  socially, 
and  in  religion  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
Church. 

Twice  married,  the  first  wife  of  Mr.  Winkle 
was  formerly  Fredericka  Hageman,  a  native  of 
Hanover,  Germany,  who  died  in  October,  1871. 
(  )f  this  marriage  there  were  three  children, 
George  H.,  Glenhart  C.  and  Adolph  A.  The 
second  marriage  of  Mr.  Winkle  was  with  L. 
Junsen,  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  a  daughter 
1  i  Patrick  Junsen.  Of  this  union  there  is  one 
child,  Fredericka,  now  the  wife  of  Christian 
Solomonson.  She  has  two  children,  Henry  M. 
and  Anna,  and  makes  her  home  with  her  father 
1  ti  the  home  ranch. 


WILLIAM   F.  WOOD. 

A  resident  of  California  since  the  fall  of  [868, 

Mr.     W 1     came     to    this    state    from     Clark 

county,  111.,  where  he  was  bom  in  1 S 5 5 .  lie 
was  a  lad  of  thirteen  years  when  he  accompa- 
nied his  parents  to  the  west,  traveling  by  rail- 
road to  New  York  and  from  there  by  steamer 
i"    San     Francisco    via    Panama.      Their    first 


location  was  in  Sutter  county,  but  two  years 
later  they  removed  to  Tulare  count}-,  and  a  year 
afterward  settled  in  Ventura  county,  where  Mr. 

\\ 1   attended  public  school.     He  was  also  a 

student  in  Wilmington  College  in  Los  Angeles 
county.  Golden  Gate  Academy  and  the  Golden 
Gate  Commercial  College,  in  Oakland,  Cal., 
from  which  latter  he  was  graduated  in  1877. 
After  completing  his  education  he  became  fore- 
man on  his  father's  ranch  at  Springville,  Ven- 
tura county,  where  he  remained  several  years. 
In  1884  he  completed  a  course  in  the  school  of 
assaying  and  surveying  at  Van  der  Naillens 
School,  San  Francisco.  On  his  return  to  Ven- 
tura county  he  took  up  farming,  on  a  ranch 
near  <  Ixnard,  where  he  engaged  in  raising  prin- 
cipally lima  beans  and  was  quite  successful. 
The  s<  >il  was  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of  beans 
and  produced  about  a  ton  to  the  acre.  The  crop 
of  1893  was  so  unusually  large  as  to  attract 
general  attention. 

In  the  fall  of  1897  Mr.  Wood  came  to  San 
Luis  Obispo  count}-,  where  he  has  since  made 
his  home.  Previous  to  his  removal  lie  had  be- 
come the  owner  of  a  ranch  on  the  Osos,  and 
after  his  arrival  he  purchased  another  tract  in 
the  neighborhood.  In  addition  to  raising  gen- 
eral farm  products,  he  has  given  considerable 
attention  to  raising  good  stock,  and  at  the  pres- 
ent time  owns  quite  a  number  of  good  horses 
and  thoroughbred  Jersey  cows.  In  the  fall  of 
1900  he  bought  the  old  race  track  property  near 
San  Luis  Obispo,  and  here  he  now  resides,  re- 
taining, however,  his  property  on  the  Osos. 
Besides  this,  he  owns  laud  on  Morro  bay  and  a 
stock  ranch  in  the  mountains.  Emphatically  he 
is  a  progressive  man.  His  aim  is  to  advance 
the  interests  of  San  Luis  Obispo  count}-  and  to 
develop  its  material  resources.  As  an  instance 
of  his  work  in  that  direction,  it  may  be  stated 
that  his  neighborhood  owes  to  him  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Defiance  seed  wheat,  a  rust-proof 
variety  that  is  coming  into  general  use  among 
the  ranchers.  At  this  writing  he  contemplates 
the  planting  of  walnut  trees  and  the  raising  oi 
alfalfa. 

Politically  Mr.  Wood  is  a  Democrat,  lie  is 
a  member  of  the  San  Luis  Obispo  Baptist 
(  'hurch,    of    which    he   is   the    present   treasurer 


£&=..-£&»*  >6£ 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


and  a  trustee,  besides  taking  an  active  interest 
in  the  Sunday  school.  His  marriage  took  place 
in  the  city  of  Los  Angeles  in  1884  and  united 
him  with  Louisa,  daughter  of  Dr.  C.  W. 
Thacker,  a  pioneer  physician  of  Ventura  county. 
Five  children  were  horn  of  their  union,  namely: 
Forest,  (den.  Hazel,  Myrtle  and  Dale. 


JUDGE    WILLIAM    BLACKBURN. 

In  the  days  of  her  awakening  prosperity  Santa 
Cruz  had  her  commanding  personalities,  win  > 
manipulated  her  resources  with  dexterous  hand, 

and    developed    whatsoever   of   permanent    g 1 

was  suggested  by 'her  advantages  of  climate,  situ- 
ation and  soil.  (  )f  mure  than  passing  interest 
was  the  career  of  Judge  William  Blackburn,  to 
whom  the  city  and  county  owe  an  unpayable 
debt,  and  who,  as  the  first  alcalde  under  the 
new  administration  of  the  territorial  govern- 
ment, was  splendidly  in  tune  with  his  surround- 
ings and  opportunities.  A  transplanted  South- 
erner, he  was  born  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Jefferson 
count}-,  Ya.,  February  14,  1814,  and  his  death 
occurred  in  Santa  Cruz,  March  25,  1867. 

In  his  early  life  Air.  Blackburn  learned  the 
cabinet  maker's  trade,  at  which  he  became  a 
skilled  workman,  ami  at  which  he  worked  after 
removing  to  New  <  Irelans  in  1844.  For  a  time 
he  was  associated  in  business  with  R.  H.  Saw  in; 
and  afterward,  accompanied  by  J.  R.  Snyder, 
G.  M.  McDougal  and  Harry  Speele,  he  started 
for  California  by  the  overland  trail.  This  little 
band  experienced  various  hardships  while  en- 
deavoring to  reach  the  coast,  and  when  out  of 
money  and  food  they  stopped  at  Zyanti  and  re- 
plenished their  finances  by  making  shingles. 
They  arrived  in  Santa  Cruz  in  1845,  and  here 
Mr.  Blackburn  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  an  adobe  house  on  the  upper  plaza. 
As  proprietor  of  the  public  inn  it  is  said  of  Mr. 
Blackburn  that  no  white  person  was  ever  asked 
to  pay  a  cent  for  accommodations;  supper  and 
lodging    being    gratuitous,    and    the    departing 

guest    receiving   also    the    heart  \    g 1    cheer   and 

good  wishes  of  his  host.  In  1847  he  was  ap 
pointed  alcalde  bj  Governor  Mason,  and  in  this 
capacitj  attained  to  prominence  with  people  for 
miles  around.    He  served  in  Fremont's  battalion 


under  the  Bear  flag,  and  was  First  Lieutenant  of 
Company  F,  Artillery,  under  Captain  McLean, 
111  1848  he  was  seized  with  the  gold  fever,  and  in 
order  to  try  his  luck  as  a  miner  was  obliged  to 
resign  as  alcalde,  his  successor  being  William 
Anderson.  However,  he  possessed  too  conserv- 
ative and  business-like  a  mind  to  rely  much  on 
the  fickle  chances  of  mining,  and  a  year  after 
Starting  out  he  returned  to  Santa  Cruz  and 
again  took  the  prominent  place  indicated  by  his 
attainments  and  ability.  Ik  was  appointed  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  a  ver\  important  office  at  that 
time,  and  served  with  credit  until  1851.  During 
that  year  he  built  the  house  which  stands  a!  the 
west  of  the  depot,  and  with  his  brother.  Daniel, 
engaged  in  farming  on  a  large  scale.  He  boughl 
a  tract  of  bottom  land  extending  from  the  fool 
of  the  plaza  to  the  sea.  and  thereon  thi  se  hardy 
pioneers  planted  potatoes,  and  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach  there  was  one  continuous  mass  of 
little  hills.  The  potato  venture  proved  exceeding- 
ly profitable,  although  the  spirit  of  the  planters 
fluctuated  with  the  state  of  the  market,  and  were 
glad  or  sorrowful  as  there  was  little  or  large 
demand,  ddie  tubers  grew  to  enormous  size  in 
the  fertile  meadows,  a  four-pound  potato  being 
an  ordinary  proposition.  In  1854  Judge  Black- 
burn set  out  a  tine  orchard,  which  flourished  ex- 
ceedingly well  for  some  time,  but  eventually  met 
the  fate  of  orchards  in  all  lands,  although 
oi  the  trees  are  still  standing.  Others 
felled  to  make  room  for  advancing  civilization, 
for  homes  and  streets,  and  public  enterprises. 

The  first  schooner  built  in  this  part  0 
fornia  was  the  work  ,,[  Judge  Blackburn,  and 
it  was  of  fifty  tons  burden.  Named  the  Zachary 
Taylor,  this  formidable  water  vehicle  had  quite 
a  record  in  its  day.  and  had  many  succeeding 
captains  after  its  first  commander.  Captain  Vin- 
cent. As  conveyor  of  provisions  to  the  miners 
h  was  a  familiar  sighl  on  the  Sacramento  river, 
and  well  earned  its  righl  to  respectable  retire- 
ment at  a  ripe  old  age.  Another  enterpris 
ociated  nti  rprise  of  Judge  Blackburn 

was  the  first  saw  mill  built  in  Blackburn  Gulch, 
which  wheez)  disturber  of  primeval  stillness 
groaned  and  shook  the  earth  for  many  succeed- 
.  led  several  houses, 
mills  and   business  places,  and  in  innumerable 


640 


HISTORICAL  AND   IU<  ><  .RAPHICAL  RECORD. 


ways  contributed  to  the  upbuilding  of  this  part 
of  the  county.  His  death  meant  the  passing  of 
a  man  necessary  to  the  community,  of  sound 
judgment,  great  insight,  and  fine  adaptability, 
one  of  the  strong  and  harmonious  characters 
who  come  in  the  nick  of  time,  fulfil  their  mis- 
sion, and  leave  a  lot  of  work  cut  out  for  other 
people  to  do. 

Much  of  his  success  Judge  Blackburn  at- 
tributed to  the  influence  of  his  wife  and  help- 
mate, who  was  formerly  Harriet  M.,  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Betsy  (Kent)  Mead,  and  whom 
he  married  in  July,  [859.  Mrs.  Blackburn  was 
born  at  Lanesburg,  Mass.,  and  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1858  with  Dr.  Kittridge  and  wife,  the 
latter  being  her  sister.  <  hie  child  was  born  to 
Judge  and  Mrs.  Blackburn,  Frederick  Snyder, 
born  Jul)  7.  [862,  and  died  October  19.  1864. 
Since  the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Blackburn 
has  had  entire  charge  of  his  estate,  which  is  a 
large  and  responsible  one,  the  care  of  which 
necessitates  shrewd  business  judgment.  In  this 
capacity  she  has  shown  special  aptitude,  and 
has  the  while  added  to  her  former  reputation  as 
one  of  the  most  benevolent  and  kindly  disposed 
women  of  the  community.  Her  charities  are 
numerous  and  but  half  known,  and  many  an  one 
has  risen  from  discouragement  to  affluence 
through  her  practical  assistance  and  common 
sense  advice.  She  is  a  director  of  the  Ladies' 
Aid  Society,  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  all 
the  work  of  that  organization.  Mrs.  Blackburn 
has  built  a  cottage  home  on  a  rise  of  land  com- 
manding a  view  of  the  whole  property,  and  of 
the  city,  mountains  and  bay. 


EDWARD  LAURENCE  WILLIAMS. 

Since  coining  to  Santa  Cruz  county  in  1852, 
Air.  Williams  has  kept  in  touch  with  the  devel- 
opment of  (he  small  and  straggling  village  of 
Santa  Cruz  into  a  beautiful  coast  city.  His 
long  identification  with  local  matters,  his  excel- 
lent memory  and  thoughtful  study  of  the  prog 
ress  made  by  the  city  and  county,  contribute  to 
make  him  an  authority  upon  all  subjects  bearing 
on  our  history.  The  result  of  his  impressions 
of  early  days  has,  to  some  extent,  found  expres- 
sion in  the  Early  Historj  of  Santa  Cruz  County, 


published  in  1892  by  E.  S.  Harrison.  Through 
his  work  he  has  perpetuated  for  future  genera- 
tions events  connected  with  pioneer  times,  and 
has  therefore  proved  himself  a  citizen  of  the 
most    helpful    type. 

In  the  city  of  Philadelphia  Edward  L. 
Williams  was  born  July  7,  1826,  being  a  son 
of  Edward  and  Helen  (Wells)  Williams,  and 
the  youngest  of  three  children.  His  father,  who 
was  ;i  sea  captain,  died  before  the  son,  Edward 
L.,  was  born,  and  later  the  mother  took  the 
children,  Mary  E.,  Charles  W.  and  Edward  L, 
to  New  York  City,  where  at  ten  years  of  age 
the  last  named  began  to  assist  in  his  mainte- 
nance by  working  in  a  store.  From  a  clerkship 
he  worked  up  to  be  a  bookkeeper,  and  as  such 
was  engaged  with  Tracy,  Irwin  &  Co.,  in  Au- 
gust, [849,  when  he  received  a  letter  from  his 
cousin,  Joseph  Boston,  of  Monterey,  Cal.,  urg- 
ing him  to  come  west.  Acting  on  the  advice, 
In  resigned  his  position  and  sailed  for  Califor- 
nia via  the  Chagres  river  and  Isthmus  of  Pan- 
ama. He  was  a  passenger  on  the  California 
on  its  second  trip  and  cast  anchor  in  the  Mon- 
terey harbor  December  26,  1849.  At  once  he 
entered  upon  mercantile  affairs.  In  the  fall  of 
1852,  with  Edmund  Jones  and  Joseph  Boston, 
he  opened  a  branch  store  at  Santa  Cruz,  put- 
ting up  the  building  now  occupied  by  J.  Bourcq 
;,-  a  market,  on  the  west  side  of  Pacific  avenue 
(then  known  as  Willow  street).  In  1854  he  sold 
out  his  interest  and  returned  to  Monterey, 
where  he  served  as  county  clerk  and  deputy 
for  five  years.  Xext  he  went  to  Watsonville 
and  studied  law  under  Judge  R.  F.  Peckham. 
On  his  admission  to  the  bar,  April  14,  i860, 
he  began  to  practice  in  Watsonville,  but  in  1862 
returned  to  Santa  Cruz  and  acted  as  deputy  un- 
der Sheriff  Charles  Kemp.  A  later  position  was 
that  of  deputy  county  clerk  under  Albert  Brown, 
after  which  he  served  as  deputy  assessor  of  inter- 
nal revenue  ami  deputy  collector  of  internal  rev- 
enue, having  charge  of  the  counties  of  Santa 
Cruz,  San  Mateo,  Santa  Clara,  San  Benito  and 
Monterey.  Upon  the  election  of  Cleveland  to 
the  presidency  he  resigned  his  position  and  has 
since  engaged  in  the  abstract  and  title  busi- 
ness, also  as  insurance  agent,  notary  public 
and   dealer  in  real  estate. 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


One  year  after  settling  in  California  Mr. 
Williams  sent  for  his  mother,  who  still  lived  in 
New  York  City.  She  arrived  in  185 1  and  re- 
mained in  Santa  Cruz  until  her  death  in  [893, 
aged  eighty-one  years.  Being  a  lover  of  flowers, 
she  was  delighted  with  the  many  wild  flowers 
she  found  in  this  state  and  al  once  endeavored 
to  bring  them  under  cultivation.  She  was  the 
first  to  send  east  for  flower  seeds,  but  when  they 
came  was  disappointed  to  find  them  spoiled. 
However,  she  sent  a  second  request,  asking  that 
the  seeds  be  sewed  iip  in  an  oil  silk  bag  before 
shipping.  This  was  done  and  the  package  ar- 
rived in  good  condition.  From  those  few  seeds 
have  come  man)-  of  the  beautiful  flowers  that 
now  delighl  the  eye  of  every  visitor  to  Santa 
Cruz. 

Of  Lodge  No.  38,  F.  &  A.  M..  Mr.  Williams 
is  one  of  the  oldest  members  and  served  six 
years  as  secretary.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch 
Republican.  He  is  an  Episcopalian  in  religious 
connections  and  has  served  as  vestryman  for 
thirty  years,  also  holding  the  office  of  senior 
warden.  His  wife,  Narcissa,  was  born  in  Mon- 
terey, whither  her  father,  James  Watson,  came 
from  England  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits and  ranching.  Eleven  children  were  born 
t"  Mr.  ami  Mrs.  Williams,  but  six  of  these 
died  young,  and  one,  Charles  E.,  who  was  city 
treasurer,  lied  in  1899  at  forty  years  of  age. 
Those  now  living  are:  Edward  C,  Laurence 
E.,  Lewi,  G.,  and  Ellen  M.,  Mrs.  Charles  Pioda, 
of  Salinas. 


JOHN   WAGNER. 

The  paternal  home  of  the  family  into 
which  John  Wagner  was  born  was  in  Wurtem- 
berg,  Germany.  Among  the  industries  there  was 
a  tanning  establishment  which  continued  the 
even  tenor  of  its  way  for  many  years,  and  which 
was  reckoned  among  the  best  conducted  busi 
nes-.  concerns  in  the  city.  This  tannery  was 
owned  by  Lucas  Wagner,  the  father  of  John, 
ami  who  married  Alary  Roller.  Of  their  four 
children,  but  three  survive,  Jacob  ami  Christian 
being  \  1  lunger  than  John. 

The  training  accorded  the  average  middle 
class  youth  of  Germany  fell  to  the  lot  of  John 


\\  agner,  and.  being  an  inquiring  youth,  he  was 
not  -low  in  mastering  the  secrets  of  his  father's 
business.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  came  to 
America,  and  from  New  York  came  by  way  of 
Central  America  to  California.  While  crossing 
Central  America  by  stage  coach  he  became  lost 
from  the  rest  of  the  party,  but  finally  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  western  coast,  whence  he  em- 
barked for  San  Francisco.  He  there  mined  with 
average  success,  and  at  last  turned  his  attention 
to  tanning  as  more  readily  affording  a  sure 
livelihood.  After  living  for  a  time  in  Stockton, 
Cal,  he  came  to  Santa  Cruz  in  1857,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  tannery  business  in  Scott's  valley, 
this  county.  This  business  was  sold  out  in  1874, 
and  he  has  since  lived  a  retired  life,  to  which  he 
is  entitled  after  years  of  steady  application  to 
business. 

In  1865  Mr.  Wagner  married  Mary  Ander- 
son, who  died  in  1872,  leaving  three  children. 
Annie,  who  died  aged  sixteen  years  and  six 
months;  John  and  Robert.  For  a  second  wife 
Mr.  Wagner  married  Lena  Arndt,  and  of  this 
union  there  were  also  three  children  born :  Lena, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  two  years  and  four 
months;  Fred,  and  Louise.  In  politics  Mr. 
Wagner  is  independent,  and  from  1900  until 
1902  served  as  councilman.  He  is  fraternally 
connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of  *  Idd 
Fellows.  He  owns  eighteen  acres  of  land  within 
the  city  limits,  and  has  much  valuable  propert) 
besides.  He  is  among  the  most  honored  of  the 
1  ierman-  Americans  who  have  prospered  in  this 
promising  county,  and  has  many  friends  among 
hi,   business  association,. 


WILLIAM  A.  WHITE. 

The  Watsonvillc  Water  and  Light  Company, 
of  which  Mr.  White  is  assistanl  superintend- 
ent, was  established  in  1S70  1>\  l.aiidrum  & 
Rogers,  who  purchased  the  water  right  from 
the  old  Corralitos  Flouring  Mill  Companj  and 
erected  a  reservoir  with  a  capacity  of  about 
three  hundred  thousand  gallons.  The  gravity 
;  -i,  in  «  '  1  mpio}  ed,  the  water  coining  from 
1  orralitos  and  Brow  n  crei  ks.  After  two 
the    water    right    was    purchased    1>_\    Smith    & 


CA2 


HISTORICAL  AXD  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Montague,  who  operated  the  same  until  1890, 
and  then  the  Watsonville  Water  and  Light 
Compan)  was  incorporated.  On  the  establish- 
ment  of  the  light  system  in  1889,  a  dynamo  was 
purchased  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  light 
power.  It  was  some  little  time  before  the  pen- 
pie  were  educated  up  to  a  desire  for  electric 
lights,  but  when  they  realized  their  value.  Mi- 
llers came  in  abundance,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  increase  to  four  hundred  light  power,  a  sev- 
enty-five horse  power  engine  being  brought  into 
requisition.  At  this  writing  five  thousand  lights 
are  in  use  in  the  city  of  Watsonville,  in 
Pajaro  and  the  surrounding  country,  all  being 
furnished  by  this  plant.  A  recent  improvement 
was  the  erection  of  a  storage  reservoir  of  three 
million  gallons  capacity.  Protection  for  fire  pur- 
poses is  adequate  and  complete.  Water  for  do- 
mestic purposes  is  furnished  about  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  families,  besides  which  they 
provide  water  for  the  irrigation  of  two  hundred 
acres  of  berries.  The  plant  and  reservoir  are 
on  an  eminence  a  short  distance  north  of  the 
city  and  overlooking  the  entire  valley.  The 
finely  equipped  plant  is  in  itself  abundant  evi- 
dence of  the  progressive  spirit  of  the  men  who 
inaugurated  and  have  carried  forward  the  same, 
and  it  is  to  such  men  that  Watsonville  owes  its 
reputation  as  one  of  the  most  thriving  cities 
of  the  central  coast  region. 

In  the  city  where  he  now  lives  Mr.  White 
was  born  November  1.  1867.  His  father,  Almon 
White,  a  native  of  New  York  state,  went  to 
Illinois  early  in  life  and  followed  the  carpenter's 
trade,  meeting  with  a  fair  degree  of  success. 
During  1864  he  came  to  California  and  settled 
at  Santa  Cruz,  where  he  was  employed  as  a 
cooper  in  the  powder  mills  for  a  short  time. 
In  186(1  he  began  to  take  contracts  for  the  build- 
ing of  houses  in  Watsonville.  On  the  incor- 
poration of  the  Watsonville  Water  and  Light 
1  ompany  he  was  made  general  superintendent, 
which  responsibli  position  he  has  since  held. 
filling  the  same  with  fidelity  and  ability.  His 
wife.  Mrs,  \,mic  (Hudson)  White,  is  a  sister 
of  Mark  Hudson,  whose  sketch  appears  else 
where  in  this  volume.  Born  of  their  union  are 
live  children,  namely:  William  A.;  Eva  1... 
wife  of  11.  M.  Anderson,  chief  engineer  of  the 


Watsonville  Water  and  Light  Company;  Helen, 
Airs.  (1.  E.  Morrill;  J.  Edna  and  Almon  H.  In 
his  fraternal  relations  the  father  is  connected 
with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen 
and  for  some  forty-five  years  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
being  past  grand  of  his  lodge  at  this  writing 
and  also  a  member  of  the  encampment. 

In  the  schools  of  Watsonville  William  A. 
\\  kite  received  a  practical  education.  In  youth 
he  followed  various  occupations,  by  which 
means  he  received  an  excellent  business  train- 
ing. He  then  began  to  work  under  his  father 
and  has  filled  all  the  positions  up  to  the  one 
he  now  occupies.  His  long  connection  with  the 
company  and  close  study  of  its  workings  make 
Ins  services  important  to  the  company,  by  whom 
he  is  appreciated  and  recognized  as  an  intelli- 
gent ami  able  employe.  Like  his  father,  he  is 
interested  in  the  (  )dd  Fellows,  in  which  he  is 
connected  with  the  lodge,  encampment  and  can- 
ton. In  addition,  he  is  a  member  of  the  Native 
Sons  of  the  Golden  West.  His  first  marriage 
took  place  in  1890  and  united  him  with  Luella 
Yoachum.  who  died  in  1899.  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
one  years.  (  )ne  child  was  born  of  their  union, 
a  daughter.  Phyllis  G.  Airs.  Luella  White  was 
quite  prominent  and  active  in  the  Native 
Daughters  of  the  Golden  West,  of  which  order 
she  was  a  past  president.  The  present  wife  ol 
Mr.  White  was  Jeslina  M.  Schanbacher,  of  Wat- 
sonville, who  occupies  with  him  a  place  of 
esteem  and  honor  among  Watsonville's  best 
si  icial  circles. 


ill  \RI.KS    HARDIN. 

Previous  to  its  establishmenl  as  one  of  the 
most  honored  and  worthy  in  the  Salinas  valley, 
the  name  of  Bardin  was  a  familiar  one  among  the 
aristocrac)  of  the  south,  and  among  the  family 
possess!, „is  were  the  prized  cotton  plantations, 
whose  principal  wealth  was  invested  in  slaves  to 
do  their  bidding.  Although  a  blacksmith  by 
trade,  the  paternal  great-grandfather  of  Charles 
Bardin  chose  the  peaceful  occupation  of  fanning, 
and  so  successful  was  he  that  at  the  time  ol"  his 
death  he  left  a  large  plantation  and  man)  slaves. 

James  Bardin,  the  father  of  Charles,  was  born 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


<;i: 


in  North  Carolina,  January  16,  1810,  and  lived 
in  his  native  state  until  attaining  his  majority. 
Upon  starting  out  to  earn  his  own  living  he  set- 
tled in  Alabama,  later  removing  to  Tippah 
county,  Miss.,  where  he  lived  until  1855.  In  that 
year  he  came  to  California  and  purchased  a  large 
tract  of  land  along  the  Salinas  river,  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  city  of  that  name,  and  around  Blanco 
postoffice,  and  the  following  year  returned  to 
Mississippi  for  his  family,  with  whom  he  to  ik  up 
his  residence  in  Monterey  county.  Mr.  Bardin 
is  remembered  as  a  man  combining  great  physical 
endurance  with  great  will  power  and  mental  en- 
ergy, and  he  fitted  into  the  life  in  this  then  unde- 
veloped locality,  turning  its  resources  into  useful 
production.  Near  Blanco  he  bought  twelve  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  and  later  bought  one  and  a 
half  leagues  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  upon 
which  lie  lived  for  many  years.  In  time  he  dis- 
posed 'if  much  of  his  estate,  hut  left  nine  hundred 
and  ninety-one  acres  at  the  time  of  his  death  to 
lie  divided  among  his  children,  lie  married  Lu- 
cinda  Walker,  who  was  born  in  Smith  Carolina  in 
1817.  was  married  in  Tippah  county,  Miss.,  in 
April,  1842,  and  died  November  29.  187S.  She- 
was  the  mother  of  ten  children,  six  of  whom  are 
living',  all  occupying  portions  of  the  estate  accu- 
mulated by  their  father.  The  children  are:  Eliz- 
aheth.  wife  of  James  IT.  McDougall,  of  Salinas; 
Jesse,  Henry,  James,  Charles  and  Lucinda,  the 
latter  the  wife  of  Robert  Porter. 

(  In  the  ranch  where  he  now  lives,  Charles  Bar- 
din  was  born  February  1.  [859,  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  the  county.  When  nineteen 
years  of  age  he  went  to  live  with  his  brother  for 
a  couple  of  years,  and  then  occupied  the  farm 
of  "lie  hundred  and  fifty  acres  given  him  by  his 
father  Me  is  engaged  in  fanning  and  stock- 
raising,  and  is  remarkably  successful  and  enter- 
prising. In  [896  lie  and  his  brother  Henry  built 
the  Bardin  hotel  at  Salinas,  expending  1  ver  $50,- 
000  th.ere.iii.  and  Ii  ased  the  same  until  1899,  when 
they  traded  the  hotel  for  five  thousand  acres  of 
land  cm  the  Salinas  range  >>\  mountains,  all  of 
which  is  under  fence,  and  devoted  I"  si  1 
ing.  \i  presenl  two  hundred  and  fort)  a< 
included  in  his  heme  ranch,  lint  in  additii  n  he 
owns  valuable  property  in  Vlonti  re)  1  'ity.  Mr. 
Bardin    is  a   splendidl)    proportioned,   large  and 


commanding  man,  and  in  character  and  attain- 
ment he  sustains  the  reputation  built  up  by  his 
pioneer  father. 

December  1.  1880.  Mr.  Hardin  married  Rachel 
Ryder,  daughter  of  William  and  Rachel  (Carr) 
Ryder,  her  birth  occurring  in  California,  '  >ctober 
1.  [859.  The  Ryder  parents  came  to  California 
many  years  ago.  reared  their  nine  children,  and 
are  still  enjoying  life  in  the  state  of  their  ad-  p 
lion.  Four  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mis  Bardin:  Elizabeth,  Bertha,  Maggie  and 
Charles  \Y.  Mr.  Bardin  is  a  Democrat,  but  has 
never  been  inclined  to  enter  the  arena  of  p  ilitical 
agitation.  He  is  extremely  popular,  and  has 
main    friends  in  and  out  of  the  valley. 


ISAIAH    HAITI  MAX. 

Since  coming  to  Boulder  Creek  in  1800  Isaiah 
Hartman  has  been  engaged  in  the  real-estate 
and  insurance  business,  and  has  variously  served 
the  community  as  a  broad  minded  and  public 
spirited  politician.  A  stanch  upholder  of  Re- 
publican principles  and  issues,  he  was  initiated 
into  local  political  undertakings  in  1892,  when 
In  was  appointed  constable.  Four  years  later, 
in  August.  [896,  be  was  appointed  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  was  regularly  elected  to  thi 
office  in  [898.  He  has  handled  some  of  the 
most  valuable  and  desirable  town  and  countr) 
lands  since  bis  residence  here,  and  has  a 
gaged  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  lumber 
i  aisincss, 

Tlie   ver)    early    youth   of    Mr.    Hartman   was 
spent  in  Canada,  where  be  was  bom  <  Ictober  12. 
1870.     1  m  German  parentage  and  ancestry,  his 
father.  John   Hartman.  was  bom  in  the   Father- 
land, and  came  to  Canada  when  ab  >Ul   twent) 
five  years  of  age.     A  weaver  b)   occupation,  he 
worked  at   bis  trade  in  his  native  and  adopted 
countries,  and  managed  to  acquire  a  fair  com 
petence  for  himself  and  famil) .     [n  <  an 
married    Barbara    Kaufmann,   .1    11 
many,  who  bore  him   seven  children,  of  whom 
Isaiah  is  the  youngest.     Jacob  is  a  merchant  of 
Boulder  Creek:  John  is  a  resident  of  Was 
ton  territory;   D  mil  1  is  a  member  of  the  I  but 
,,,.,,,    Men  antili    '  omp  in)    of    Boulder 
Men.no  lives  in  Santa  Cruz;  George  is  a  lumber 


G4G 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


merchant  oi  Boulder  Creek;  and  Charles  lives 
in  Santa  Cruz  county. 

When  six  years  of  age  Isaiah  Hartman  came 
to  California  with  his  mother,  locating  in  Santa 
Cruz  county,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated. 
His  common  school  training  was  supplemented 
liv  a  course  at  a  business  college  in  the  city  of 
Santa  Cruz,  and  he  came  to  Boulder  Creek  in 
Sim,  as  before  stated.  His  wife  was  formerly 
Maude  Young,  a  native  of  New  York  state,  and 
daughter  of  W.  A.  Young.  Of  this  union  there 
have  been  born  two  children,  Barbara  and 
Henry.  Mr.  Hartman  is  classed  among  the  pro- 
gressive and  substantial  citizens  of  Boulder 
Creek,  and  his  political  services  and  business 
career  are  in  accord  with  the  best  interests  of  his 
adopted  town. 


BARTHOLOMEW  L.  DRISCOLL. 

Many  of  the  residents  of  the  Pajaro  valley 
have  come  here  from  other  parts  of  the  United 
States,  and  many,  too,  from  foreign  lands,  but 
among  the  native  sons  of  the  vallej  prominent 
notice  is  due  Mr.  Driscoll.  I  lis  birth  occurred 
June  20,  1874.  and  though  still  a  young  man  he 
has  obtained  an  enviable  place  in  the  business 
world,  gained  by  thorough  application  of  good 
business  principles.  The  valley  is  noted  for  the 
richness  of  its  soil  and  wonderful  productiveness, 
and  Mr.  Driscoll's  portion  is  no  exception  to  this 
rule.  Sixty-five  acres  are  devoted  to  the  raising 
if  berries  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres 
are  set  out  to  apple  trees,  two-thirds  of  which  are 
the  luscious  Newtown   Pippins. 

I  'he  father.  Jeremiah  Driscoll,  was  born  in 
county  Cork,  Ireland.  He  came  to  California  in 
'855.  engaging  in  mining  in  the  northern  part 
of  tlu  state.  However,  in  1K57.  tiring  of  the 
miner's  life,  he  decided  to  locate  in  Santa  Cruz 
11  nnty,  and  here  he  was  content  to  pass  Ids  re- 
maining years.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  in  [882, 
he  owned  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres 
of  choice  land,  which  was  formerl)  devoted  to 
raising  grain  exclusively,  but  is  now  planted  to 
r"  1  nil  and  berries.  The  mother,  formed}  a  Miss 
.  and  also  a  nam  e  of  county  ( lork,  was 
born  in  1836.  She  now  makes  her  home  on  the 
old    I  iriscol!    homestead.     <  >f    her   children    we 


make  the  following  mention:  Mary  married 
John  Murphy:  John  married  Catherine  Berry: 
lidia  is  now  Mrs.  Schmitz,  and  Jerry.  Richard. 
Daniel  and  Bartholomew  L  are  next  in  order  of 
birth. 

In  K)oo  Mr.  Driscoll  married  Emma  Clark, 
and  they  have  a  son,  Robert.  In  political  mat- 
ters Mr.  Driscoll  is  independent,  and  his  reli- 
gious interests  are  claimed  by  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church.  Aside-  from  his  many  business  af- 
fairs here  he  is  in  partnership  with  his  brother, 
R.  F.  Driscoll,  at  No.  519  Howard  street,  San 
Francisco,  in  the  manufacture  of  gas  engines. 


FATHER  THEODORE  ARENTZ,  O.  F.  M. 

An  institution  which  may  well  appeal  to  the 
pride  and  appreciation  of  the  surrounding  resi- 
dents in  the  county  is  the  Pajaro  Valley  <  >rphan 
Asylum  for  boys,  advantageously  1>  cated  upon  a 
commanding  knoll  which  permits  an  extensive 
view  of  one  of  the  garden  sections  of  California. 
At  the  present  time  two  hundred  and  fifty  home- 
less children  are  reared  in  an  atmosphere  of  kind- 
liness and  humanity,  and  are  not  only  cared  for 
physically,  but  are  developed  mentally,  spiritually 
and  intellectually.  From  the  age  of  five  to  four- 
teen years  the  children  are  permitted  the  privi- 
leges of  this  ideal  asylum,  and  when  they  step 
forth  into  the  world  of  action  and  responsibility 
are  equipped  with  some  practical  means  of  live- 
lihood, suitable  to  their  capabilities  and  inclina- 
tions. The  small  fellows  are  busily  employed  in 
the  tailor  shop,  at  the  carpenter  bench,  in  the 
laundry,  bakery  and  dairy  of  the  institution,  and 
are  imbued  with  an  appreciate  n  of  the  dignity  of 
labor  and  its  inseparable  connection  with  a  noble 
and  useful  life.  The  two  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  comprising  the  grounds  of  the  institution 
are  heated  near  the  largest  of  the  beautiful  lakes 
in  the  valley,  the  site  being  selected  b\  the 
founder  of  the  orphanage,  Rev.  A.  Roussel,  in 
[870.  One  hundred  and  thirty  acres  were  do- 
nated for  the  purpose,  fifty  acres  by  Prudenciana 
\  .  De  Amesti,  and  the  balance  1  f  the  land  by  the 
daughters  of  Mrs.  Amesti.  viz.:  Carmen  A.  Mc- 
Kinley,  Cledonia  A.  Arano,  Santa  A.  Pinto  and 
Tomaso  M.  Mendia. 

In  [874  the  charge  of  the  asylum  was  assumed 


HISTORICAL  AND   BI<  »GR  \PHICAL  RECORD. 


ca: 


by  the  Franciscan  Fathers  of  the  old  mission  of 
Santa  Barbara,  and  Fathers  Francisco  Sanchez 
and  Francisco  Cordina  and  Brother  Joseph 
O'Malley  were  sent  to  take  charge  of  the  parish 
and  orphanage.  In  1855  the  Franciscan  Fathers 
of  the  Province  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus 
of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  took  charge  of  the  Santa 
Barbara  Mission,  and  they  also  assumed  charge 
of  the  Pajaro  Valley  Orphan  Asylum  and  parish, 
Fathers  \  ictor  and  Codina  being  placed  in  con- 
trol. In  October,  1886,  Rev.  Clementine  Dey- 
mann  was  placed  in  charge  as  superior  and  pas- 
tor, continuing  in  that  capacity  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death  at  Phoenix,  Ariz..  December  4,  1896. 
Xext  in  charge  of  the  asylum  and  parish  were 
Fathers  Jacobus  Xolte,  Seraphine  Lampe  and 
Placidus  Krekeler  as  superiors  and  pastors,  and 
Rev.  Fathers  Herman  and  Jose:  as  assistants. 
The  present  superior  of  the  asylum  and  pastor 
of  the  parish  is  Very  Rev.  Theodore  Arentz,  who 
is  also  commissary  provincial  of  the  Franciscan 
Fathers  in  California  ami  Phoenix,  Ariz.  An 
idea  of  the  great  good  accomplished  by  the  Pa- 
jaro Valley  <  Irphan  Asylum  management  is 
available  in  the  statement  that,  since  the  time  of 
its  foundation,  about  three  thousand  boys  have 
found  a  haven  under  its  roof.and  have  derived  in- 
spiration from  the  upright  characters  of  its  supe- 
riors and  the  sunshine  ami  beneficence  of  its 
meadows   and  uplands. 

As  is  well  known,  the  Pajaro  Valley  (irphan 
Asylum  is  hut  one  of  the  uplifting  influences 
which  have  emanated  from  the  college  church. 
founded  as  far  hack  a-  1854.  and.  then  known  as 
St.  Mary's  Farm,  Pajaro  Valley,  Santa  Cruz 
county.  November  25.  1855.  Rev.  Father  De 
Vos,  S.  J.,  from  Santa  Clara,  blessed  the  spot 
upon  which  the  church  was  erected,  and  May  26, 
[856,  the  new  church  was  blessed  b)  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Thaddeus  Amat,  D.  I).,  bishi  p  of  Monterey.  In 
[860  the  little  edifice  was  enlarged  to  suil  the  de 
mands  of  a  growing  congregation  b)  Rev.  Fran- 
cis Mora,  then  rector  of  the  parish,  and  blessed 
by  him.  This  same  father  in  lime  became  bishop 
of  Montere)  ami  Los  Angeles.  The  church  has 
since  had  a  succession  1  1  eminenl  pastors  to  dis 
charge  it--  manifold  duties  and  increase  its  use 
fulness,  and  the  dedication  of  the  new  Pajaro 
valle)  church,  a  structure  costing  $20,000,  undei 


the  title  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary,  Sun- 
day, July  2-,  1902,  is  the  best  evidence  of  a  sub- 
stantial ami  gratifying  growth.  Although  the 
building  is  a  large  one,  it  was  entirely  inadequate 
tor  the  accommodation  of  ,1,,.  throngs  who  d< 
sind  to  participate  in  tin-  memorable  services, 
although  tw.  thousand  were  safely  housed  within 
the  walls.  Father  Arentz  is  one  of  the  1 
and  most  progressive  of  the  Franciscans  who 
have  indelibly  impressed  their  vigorous  manhoi  J 
and  religion  upon  the  history  of  California,  and 
who  have  so  conspicuousl)  elevated  the  material 
and  moral  standards  erected  above  the  -raw  of 
an  almost  forgotten  civilization. 


HENRY   HARDIN. 

Am  mg  the  representative  ranchers  and  cattle- 
men of  Monterey  county  mention  should  he  ac- 
corded Henry  Bardin.  He  was  born  in  VTissis 
sippi  December  20,  [853,  a  son  of  James  Bardin, 
one  of  the  most  widely  known  of  the  early  pio- 
neers of  the  Salinas  valley.  The  father  was  1-  »rn 
in  North  Carolina  January  10.  iNi<>,  ami  came 
'  •  Califi  rnia  in  1855,  settling  in  the  Salinas  val- 
ley, where,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  he  owned 
nine  less  than  a  thousand  acres  of  kind.  Mis 
father  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  but  he  himself 
preferred  the  more  peaceful  occupation  of  farm- 
ing, of  which  he  made  a  success.  James  Hardin 
married  Lucinda  Walker,  who  was  horn  in  South 
Carolina  in  1817.  and  who  died  November  Jo. 
'878.  Then  were  ten  children  in  the  family,  of 
whom   four  are  deceased. 

Henry  Bardin  was  two  years  of  age  when  his 
parents  removed  to  the  Salinas  valley.  lie  was 
reared  on  the  home  farm  and  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools.  In  lime  he  acquired 
his  share  of  the  paternal  property,  which 
amounted  to  two  hundred  and  forty  acn 
this  he  has  improved  and  since  made  his  home. 
In  1896  he  anil  his  brother  Charles  built  the  Bar- 
din hotel  in  Salinas,  at  a  cost  ,f  $52,000,  and 
rented  the  same  for  about  three  years.  They  then 
exchanged  it  for  five  thousand  acres  of  land  in- 
cluded in  the  Gabalan  ranch.  Monterej  county. 
which  is  all  hilly  pasture  land.  Mr.  Bat 
also  the  .mother  cattle  ranch,  of  s|\ 

thousand    acres,   "ii    the   Gabalan   creek,   and.   he- 


618 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


sides,  he  owns  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  two 
miles  northeast  of  Salinas,  which  is  good  farm 
land  and  under  cultivation.  In  addition.,  he  leases 
several  hundred  acres  for  the  raising  of  grain, 
beet-  and  kindred  commodities.  Me  is  one  of 
the  most  enterprising  men  of  the  county,  has 
shrewd  business  sagacity  and  excellent  judgment, 
and  knows  how  to  dispose  of  his  property  to  the 
best  possible  advantage.  Withal,  he  is  quiet  and 
unassuming,  and  to  look  at  him  one  would  hardly 
think  that  the  weight  of  responsibility  incurred  by 
such  extensive  operations  rested  on  his  shoulders. 
The  wife  of  Mr.  Bardin  was  formerly  Martha 
Thompson,  daughter  of  Martin  J.  Thompson, 
and  a  native  of  California,  horn  in  Sonora,  Sac- 
ramento county.  Three  children  were  horn  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bardin:  Roy.  who  died  in  March. 
[898;    Hazel  and   Ethel. 


J(  IHN  NELS<  »X   BESSE. 

The  commercial  solidity  of  King-  City  has  been 
fostered  and  maintained  largely  through  the  re- 
liable and  substantial  undertakings  of  John  Nel- 
son Besse,  the  present  postmaster  of  the  place, 
and  the  foremost  dealer  in  grain,  real  estate  ami 
insurance.  Many  lines  of  activity  have  been  util- 
ized by  Mr.  Besse  in  the  west,  and  all  have  bene- 
fited by  his  sterling  integrity  and  sound,  con- 
servative business  .acumen.  He  was  born  in 
Wayne,  Kennebec  county,  Me.,  September  5, 
[835,  and  lived  in  his  native  town  until  arriving 
at  his  twelfth  year,  when  he  removed  to  Howell, 
that  state,  there  receiving  a  high-school  education 
and  a  preliminary  knowledge  of  business  tactics. 
When  eighteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  Boston, 
Ma—.,  and  at  the  expiration  of  two  years  decided 
i<i  spi  nd  hi-  future  on  the  Pacific  slope.  By  way 
<  f  the  Horn  he  journeyed  to  California  in  1850, 
arriving  at  the  end  <<i  hi-  long  and  tedious  trip 
in  San  Francisco,  May  6th  of  the  same  year. 
For  a  year  he  tried  his  luck  at  mining,  and  then 
secured  a  pi  sitian  a-  steward  on  a  river  steamer, 
later  filling  a  similar  p  sition  -  n  a  steamer  run- 
ning between  San  Francisco  and  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  Up  m  locating  1  n  terra  firma  he  went  to 
Pescadero,  San  Mate,  county,  where  he  engaged 
in  tin  mercantile  business  for  ten  years.  I  fe  be- 
ne of  the  pn  uninenl  men  of  the  tow  n.  and 


so  successful  was  he  that  after  removing  to  Santa 
Cruz  he  interested  himself  in  the  same  line  of 
work,  adding  thereto  a  large  butchering  busi- 
ness. 

After  a  visit  to  his  parents  and  friends  in  Bos- 
ton; Mass.,  Mr.  Besse  returned  to  California,  and 
organized  the  bank  at  Watsonville,  of  which  he 
wasthe moving  spirit  and  cashier  for  eleven  years. 
He  then  became  interested  in  the  grain  business, 
and  in  r88o  opened  a  branch  office  at  King  (  it\. 
at  which  time  the  railroad  building  through  the 
town  awakened  renewed  interest  in  its  future  p  is- 
sibilities.  He  has  ever  since  made  this  the  head- 
quarters for  his  many-sided  dealings,  and  his  suc- 
cess with  grain  has  been  repeated  in  real  estate 
and  insurance.  Associated  with  him  in  business 
is  (  1.  W.  Sill,  also  an  excellent  business  man,  who 
is  making  an  increased  success  of  the  Watsonville 
enterprise. 

Mr.  Besse  was  married  while  living  at  Pes- 
cadero, San  Mateo  county,  and  has  a  pleasant 
home  in  King'  City.  Since  [857  he  has  been  asso- 
ciated with  the  Masons,  and  is  a  Knight  Templar, 
being  identified  with  Watsonville  Commandery 
Xo.  21. 


J.  W.   BARNEBERG. 

Of  all  the  self-made  men  in  the  county  who 
have  profited  b)  the  opportunities  that  the  west 
has  thrown  in  their  way,  none  is  deserving  of 
greater  credit  than  is  J.  W.  Barneberg,  member 
of  the  firm  of  I'.  H.  Reed  Co..  hardware  dealers, 
in  San  Luis  Obispo.  At  the  early  age  of  twelve 
years  Mr.  Barneberg  was  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources,  and  has  since  then  carved  his  fortunes 
out  1  f  such  material  as  came  within  the  range 
of  his  surroundings.  He  was  born  in  Henry 
count),  Iowa,  in  1S51,  and  at  the  age  of  nine 
rem  wed  with  his  parents  to  Oregon,  where  he 
lived  for  eight  years,  and  where  his  parents  died. 
leaving  him  ah  me  in  the  w<  >rld.  Nevertheless,  his 
innate  energy  and  resourcefulness  were  equal  to 
the  emergency  of  his  dependence,  and  he  worked 
on  a  farm  in  the  summer  time  and  attended 
schoi  1  in  the  winter,  also  working  for  a  time  in  a 
liverj   stable. 

hi  [868  Mr.  Barneberg  began  his  career  in  San 
Luis  Obispo,  and  after  working  on  a    farm   for 


JOI-IAN  E.  KUNITZ 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


a  time  engaged  in  various  occupations,  and  in 
1883  funned  a  partnership  with  Charles  H.  Reed, 
the  founder  of  the  largest  hardware  establish- 
ment in  the  county,  and  since  the  death  of  Mr. 
Reed  in  1901  has  successfully  carried  on  the  in- 
terests of  the  concern.  In  August,  1901,  it  was 
incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  C.  H.  Reed 
Company.  Mr.  Barneberg  is  recognized  as  a 
wide-awake  and  progressive  business  man,  pos- 
sessing those  solid  and  conservative  traits  which 
are  the  natural  heritage  of  the  man  who  has  hail 
to  formulate  his  own  career.  He  is  public-spir- 
ited and  generous,  and  may  be  depended  on  to 
assist  in  any  worthy  and  progressive  enterprise. 
In  1872  Air.  Barneberg  married  Elizabeth  An- 
derson, who  was  born  in  Missouri,  but  came  to 
California  when  a  child.  To  Air.  and  Airs. 
Barneberg  have  been  born  three  children,  John 
F.,  Chester  H.  ami  Grace  E.  In  politics  a  Dem- 
1  oat.  Air.  Barneberg  has  been  active  in  the 
county  political  campaigns,  and  for  several  years 
has  been  a  member  of  the  county  central  commit- 
tee and  the  state  central  committee,  having  been 
chairman  of  the  former.  He  is  prominent  and 
well  known  in  fraternal  circles,  especially  in  con- 
nection with  the  Odd  Fellows  and  Ancient  Order 
of  United  Workmen. 


JOHAN  ERNEST  KUXITZ. 

When  the  discovery  of  gold  attracted  thou- 
sands from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  this  new- 
Eldorado,  a  party  of  German  youths  started  on 
the  long  voyage  to  the  gold  fields.  Among 
those  who  set  sail  on  the  brig  Reform  was  J.  E. 
Kunitz,  a  native  of  Pomerania,  Prussia,  bom 
in  1827,  and  a  son  of  Johan  Augustus  and  .Maria 
Fredericka  Charlotte  (Dyer)  Kunitz.  With  a 
desire  to  acquire  knowledge  he  had.  as  a  boy, 
availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  offered  him 
and  had  completed  a  collegiate  course  in  one 
of  the  old  institution-  of  the  country.  Leaving 
school,  he  began  to  assist  his  father  in  an  apoth- 
ecary shop  ami  soon  became  skilled  in  the  occu- 
pation, h  was  not,  however,  satisfactor)  to 
him  to  dwell  upon  the  thought  of  remaining 
permanently  in  Germany,  llis  ambitions  were 
broad,  and  his  aspirations  could  no!  be  eon- 
lined  10  the  limits  of  his  link-  home  town      h 


seemed,  therefore,  as  if  (he  discovery  of  gold 
came  at  the  opportune  time  for  him,  ami  he 
eagerly  embraced  the  chance  of  making  a  For- 
tune in  the  mines  of  the  new  world. 

The  voyage  down  the  Atlantic,  around  Cape- 
Horn  and  up  the  Pacific  ocean  consumed  six 
months,  and  i;  was  a  glad  moment  when  the 
weary  passengers  sighted  the  Golden  Gate. 
Air.  Kunitz  accompanied  his  shipmate.  Fred- 
erick A.  Hihn,  to  the  mines  on  Feather  river, 
but  the  rainy  season  was  at  hand  and  disaster 
followed  their  every  effort  at  mining.  The  en- 
tire party  then  started  hack  to  San  Francisc  ». 
but  these  two  men  stopped  in  Sacramento, 
where  they  opened  a  candy  factory.  For  a  few- 
weeks  all  went  well,  but  about  Christmas  the 
river  overflowed  its  hanks  and  the  factory  with 
all  its  contents  was  washed  away.  Air.  Kunitz 
then  returned  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  cigar  and  tobacco  business.  Mis- 
fortune seemed  to  follow  his  every  effort:  his 
store  was  burned  down  and  all  was  lost. 
Friends  were  few-,  money  was  scarce,  and  for  a 
time  everything  looked  dark  to  the  young  man. 
However,  he  was  not  of  a  disposition  easily 
daunted,  and  we  find  him  taking  up  work  at  the 
drug  trade.  During  1853  he  came  to  Santa 
Cruz,  where  he  assisted  Air.  Hihn.  It  w 
ing  1857  that  he  opened  the  business  with  which 
his  name  is  most  closed  connected.  Deciding 
that  glue  and  soap  could  he  manufactu 
connection  with  the  tannery  here,  he 
01, t  lo  put  his  theories  to  a  practii 
experiment  proved  successful.  So, .11  he  estab 
li-hed  a  demand  for  his  products  and  was  able 
to  dispose  1  if  all  that  n  wa ;  pi  >ssible  ti  1  manu- 
fa<  ture.      \.s   a    busin  v\  as   shrew  d, 

k(  en    and    fi  ireeful,    ami    the    sue,-,  --    whii  : 
his  efforts  was  due  to  his  quickness  to  see  a 
favorable  opportunity  and  his  wise  judgment  in 
conducting  important  enterprises. 

In  addition  to  his  constant  oversight  of  the 
Santa  Cruz  -hie  and  soap  factory,  Mr.  Kunitz 
had  other  interests,  and  also  Found  time  for  the 
beautifying  of  his  lawn  and  the  improvement  of 
his  homesti  ad.  I  Fe  was  a  natural  artist,  and 
this  talent  was  given  full  pla\  in  tl 
of  his  grounds,  which  presented  an  appi 
that    won  thi  llis   artistic  ability 


652 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


was  also  evidenced  in  the  three  water-color 
paintings  i  [894)  of  Santa  Cruz,  which  not  only 
indicated  his  genius  in  the  reproducing  of  scen- 
ery, but  also  are  among  the  best  specimens 
1  ver  painted  of  local  landscape  effects.  Frater- 
nally he  was  connected  with  the  Odd  Fellows. 
lie  was  reared  in  the  Lutheran  faith  ami  lived 
in  accordance  with  the  doctrines  of  that  denom- 
ination, dying  in  that  faith  in  1897.  lie  is  re- 
membered as  one  of  the  most  capable  and  per- 
severing citizens  Santa  Cruz  has  ever  had.  and 
the  business  he  founded,  the  business  block  he 
erected  and  the  homestead  whose  beauty  was 
the  result  of  his  artistic  taste  all  stand  as  mon- 
uments to  his  memory. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Kunitz,  in  1864.  united 
him  with  Henriette  C.  Marwede,  who  was  born 
and  reared  in  Germany,  being  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Hedwig  (Bettjemann)  Marwede. 
the  former  an  officer  in  the  German  army.  In 
her  girlhood  she  came  to  San  Francisco  to  visit 
a  brother  and  shortly  afterward  met  Mr.  Kunitz. 
Upon  his  death  she  conducted  the  glue  and  soap 
factory  for  a  few  months  and  then  rented  the 
plant,  but  still  holds  all  the  patents  Mr.  Kunitz 
took  out  on  the  various  articles  manufactured. 
Three  children  were  born  of  their  marriage  Inn 
two  died  young,  Franz  and  Emma.  The  sur- 
viving son  is  Otto  G.,  who  was  born  in  Santa 
Cruz  and  has  evinced  decided  musical  ability 
from  earl)  childhood.  The  talent  which  in  his 
father  took  the  form  of  a  love  for  painting,  with 
him  showed  itself  in  a  fondness  for  music.  Be- 
fore his  father's  death  he  was  sent  to  Germany, 
where  he  received  exceptionally  fine  advantages 
in  one  of  the  renowned  musical  conservatories 
of  that  country.  After  his  graduation  from  the 
le  1 1  mained  in  (  Germany  in  order  to 
pursue  a  special  course  as  a  composer,  enjoying 
in  this  work  the  preceptorship  of  some  of  the 
best  of  the  living  masters. 


liar, 


|<  iSKI'll   W.   BEILBY. 


\  small  but  valuable  ranch  in 
ley  is  that   owned   and  occupied  by    Joseph   W. 

Beilby,  one  of  the  well-know  11  citizens  and  SUC- 
0  ful  orchardists  1  f  this  fertile  part  of  th< 
county.      From  a  crude  and   unprofitable  condi 


tion  the  owner  has  improved  and  developed  the 
latent  possibilities  of  his  land  until  the  finest  por- 
tion is  worth  $500  an  acre,  while  the  seventeen 
acres  on  the  hillside  is  devoted  to  pasture  for 
cattle  and  horses.  No  more  enthusiastic  or  enter- 
prising tiller  of  the  soil  has  located  in  this  neigh- 
borhood, and  through  realizing  his  expectations 
Mr.  Beilby  has  come  to  regard  his  choice  of  a 
home  as  little  short  of  providential. 

A  native  of  Jackson  county,  Iowa,  Mr.  Beilby 
was  born  .March  10.  1863.  a  sou  of  Charles  W. 
and  Elizabeth  (Woodworth)  Beilby,  natives  re- 
spectively of  Xew  York  and  Illinois,  and  both 
living  at  the  present  time.  Charles  W.  Beilby, 
destined  to  become  an  important  factor  in  the 
growth  of  Sutter  county.  Cal.,  was  born  and 
reared  on  a  farm  in  Xew  York  state,  and  while 
comparatively  young  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade,  at  which  he  worked  after  removing  to 
Iowa  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  After  his  marriage, 
solemnized  in  December,  1857,  he  started  across 
the  plains  with  other  seekers  for  largeness  of 
chance,  and  upon  arriving  in  Sutter  county  t<  ok 
up  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  to  which 
he  later  added  a  similar  amount.  He  now  owns 
twelve  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  Sutter  county, 
and  though  at  present  sixty-nine  years  of  age, 
still  maintains  a  lively  interest  in  the  manage- 
ment and  disposition  of  his  large  estate.  In 
county  affairs  he  has  been  unusually  promi- 
nent and  has  held  various  local  offices  at 
the  disposal  of  his  Democratic  constituents.  A 
member  of  the  Christian  Church,  he  has  been  a 
deacon  thereof  for  many  years,  and  has  been  an 
influence  for  right  living  and  industry,  character- 
istics of  those  wdio.  like  himself.  hav<  moved  to 
the  front  ranks  upon  the  tide  1  f  their  persever- 
ance and  intelligence.  His  wife,  who  is  sixty- 
four  years  of  age,  is  the  mother  of  eight  children. 
of  whom  Joseph  W.  is  the  second  oldest. 

The  accident  of  birth  alone  prevents  Joseph 
VV.  Beilby  front  being  a  Native  Son  of  the  ( lolden 
\\  est,  for  he  was  an  infant  in  arms  when  his  par- 
ents set  out  across  the  plains.  While  being  reared 
on  the  paternal  farm  in  Sutter  county  he  ac- 
quired a  common  school  education  in  the  district 
schools,  and  as  a  bo}  was  thrifty  and  frugal,  giv- 
ing promise  of  his  present  good  judgment  and 
business  sagacity.     His  youth  was  uneventful,  as 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


was  his  early  nianh 1,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
six  he  married  Cora  Ragsdale,  of  Sutter  county, 
who  lias  borne  him  four  children:  LeRoy, 
Claude,  Eva  and  Ida.  For  a  time  after  his  mar- 
riage Mr.  Beilby  leased  his  father's  ranch,  but 
in  1892  bought  his  present  farm  of  sixty-one 
acres.  He  is  a  broad-minded,  public-spirited  citi- 
zen, and  understands  the  practical  and  scientific 
side  of  farming.  A  Democrat  in  politics,  he  has 
never  sought  or  accepted  public  office.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  has  been  a  deacon  in  the  Christian 
Church. 


WILLIAM  H.  BENTLEY. 

The  beet  industry  in  the  vicinity  of  Agenda, 
Montere)  county,  is  being  promoted  with  vigor 
by  William  H.  Bentley  and  his  cousin,  Edward 
Littlefield,  whose  united  efforts  have  been  prolific 
of  most  gratifying  returns.  Last  year  these  en- 
thusiastic Californians  had  one  hundred  and 
thirty  acres  under  beets,  averaging  twenty-seven 
tons  to  the  acre,  ami  this  year  they  have  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  acres  under  the  same 
root.  Needless  to  saw  they  are  making  money, 
and  their  past  and  present  success  argues  much 
for  a  continuation  of  the  same  good  fortune. 
(Mr.  Littlefield  is  mentioned  in  another  part  of 
this  work.  ) 

A  native  of  Solano  county.  Cal.,  Mr.  Bentley 
was  born  in  Dixon,  June  10,  1865,  a  son  of 
Horatio  Bentley.  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and  in 
later  life  a  resident  of  Canada.  The  elder  Bent- 
lex  was  married  in  Canada  to  a  sister  of  Hiram 
Corey,  one  of  the  large  stock-raisers  of  Montere) 
county,  and  came  to  California  about  [860,  pur- 
chasing the  ranch  upon  which  his  death  occurred 
when  about  sixty-one  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Bentley 
was  born  in  Canada  and  died  on  the  homestead 
near  Dixon.  Solano  county,  Cal..  when  fifty-three 
years  of  age.  Like  her  husband,  she  was  a  stanch 
member  of  and  worker  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  was  the  mother  of  si\  children: 
Reuben,  a  ranchman  of  this  county;  Horatio, 
deceased  at  the  age  of  thirty-six  years;  Ida,  the 
wife  of  I'  V  Tyler,  of  Placer  county,  Cal.; 
Amelia,  the  wife  of  E.  II.  George  of  San  Benito 
county.  Cal.;  Rodnej  \\ '..  a  painter  of  La<\\,  Cal.; 
and  William  II. 


When  his  father  died,  William  II.  Bentley  was 
twelve  years  of  age.  and  he  thereafter  came  to 
Monterey  county  to  visit  his  uncle,  Hiram 
Corey,  and  liked  it  so  well  that  he  stayed  and 
for  about  nine  years  worked  for  his  relative  on 
the  ranch  which  he  now  leases.  Later  he  worked 
for  Dave  Spencer,  and  during  that  time  was  fore 
man  of  a  ranch  of  seven  hundred  acres.  Subse 
quently  for  three  years  he  had  charge  of  the  Tu- 
licities  ranch  of  seveateen  hundred  acres,  which 
was  devoted  to  cattle  raising,  and  then 
four  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  the  old  ; 
ranch  for  three  years.  In  [902  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  his  cousin,  Edward  Littlefield,  and 
they  lease  fifteen  hundred  acres  for  their  general 
farming,  stock  and  beet  raising  operations. 

In  189 1  Mr.  Bentley  married  Flora  Long,  a 
native  of  West  Virginia,  who  came  to  California 
when  fifteen  years  of  age.  To  Air.  and  Mrs. 
Bentley  have  been  born  two  children.  Edith 
Pauline  and  Eva  Pearl.  Air.  Bentle)  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  national  politics,  but  as  regards  local  af- 
fairs is  extremely  liberal.  Fraternally  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen,  and  with  his 
wife  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of 
which  he  is  a  trustee.  He  is  one  of  the  prominent 
and  worthy  citizens  ,  f  this  well-favored  locality. 
and  has  many  friends  among  those  who,  like  him- 
self, are  public-spirited  and  enterprising. 


MRS.   MARY   1  PE  \RS<  IN)    BURKE. 

Among  the  pioneer  women  of  Santa  Cruz 
count\  the  name  of  Mrs.  Bui  ke  desen  1  - 
tion.  She  was  born  in  Ireland,  a  daughter  -  f 
David  and  Catherine  1  Nolan)  Pearson,  tl 
mer  of  whom  died  when  his  daughter  was  quite 
young.  Accompanied  b)  her  mother,  Miss  Pear- 
son came  to  America  111  [853,  locating  in  New 
York  City,  where  she  lived  until  [864,  in  which 
year  she  came  to  Watsonville,  Cal.,  and  has  ever 
since  made  this  city  her  home. 

1  1.  tobei   28    1868,  Miss  I  v.n  si  'ii  was  un 
marriage   with   James    Burke,    who   was   horn    in 
Ireland,  and  came  to  the  United  State-  when  six 
tei  nyi  ars  of  age.     In  18  ame  a  resident 

of  San  Francisco,  and  later  for  fort)  wars  made 
his  In  im    in   Santa  <  ruz.      \s  a  m  ans  ■  f  liveli- 


.;:,  1 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


hood  here  lie  managed  his  ranch  of  eighty-one 
acre-,  devoted  principally  to  apples,  and  located 

iv liles  from  Watsonville.     Politically  he  was 

a  stanch  Democrat,  but  never  held  office,  although 
at  times  he  worked  for  the  advancement  of  his 
friends.  Air.  Burke  died  December  28,  [899,  a 
firm  believer  in  the  doctrines  1  f  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church.  Mrs.  Burke  now  makes  her  home 
on  the  ranch.  She  is  one  of  the  typical  women 
of  the  earlier  days,  and  has  made  numerous 
friends  who  appreciate  her  many  worthy  personal 
characteristics. 


AUGUST  BRENDLIN. 

As  the  principal  purveyor  of  bakery  goods  in 
Paso  Robles,  Mr.  Brendlin  has  a  place  of  busi- 
ness advantageously  located  in  the  center  of  the 
town,  connected  with  which  is  a  confectionery 
store,  and  a  parlor  for  dispensing  ices  and  light 
refreshments.  He  learned  his  trade  with  all  the 
thoroughness  characteristic  of  Swiss  bakers,  as 
for  some  time  after  removing  from  his  birthplace, 
Baden,  Germany,  he  resided  in  Switzerland.  He 
was  li  rn  August  28,  [848.  His  father,  Anton, 
also  a  native  of  Baden,  was  a  builder  and  con- 
tractor, and  followed  his  trade  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  at  the  age  of  forty-two  years.  His 
mother,  Catherine  (Godlove)  Brendlin,  was  also 
horn  in  Baden,  and  reared  three  sons  and  one 
daughter  to  years  1  f  usefulness,  August  being  the 
second  oldest  in  the  family. 

Equipped  with  a  high-school  education,  Mr. 
Brendlin  came  to  America  in  1S71,  locating  in 
Peoria,  111.,  where  he  followed  his  trade  with  con- 
siderable success  for  five  years.  After  coming 
to  California  he  lived  for  sewn  or  eight  years  in 
Sacramento,  thereafter  trying  his  luck  in  several 
different  parts  of  the  state.  1  fe  finally  decided  in 
favor  of  Paso  Robles,  partly  because  of  it-,  im- 
munity from  malarial  tendencies,  ami  from  the 
beginning  of  his  residence  here  in  iSXj  has 
watched  with  increasing  interest  the  gradual 
growth  of  the  h  wn.  from  a  few  straggling  resi 
dences  l\ave  developed  the  pn  sent  enterprise  and 
thrift,  an  added  advantage  to  Mr.  Brendlin  being 

the  fact  that  he  lias  the  onl)  busim F  its  kind 

in  the  town,     lie  is  the  possessor  of  considerable 


real  estate  in  the  town  and  country,  and  aside 
from  his  bakery  and  residence  owns  a  ranch  of 
fifty  acres,  twenty  of  which  are  in  orchard. 

In  Peoria,  Ilk.  Mr.  Brendlin  married  Frances 
Frietch,  also  a  native  of  Baden,  Germany,  and  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  Frietch,  a  weaver  in  Ger- 
many, where  he  passed  his  entire  life.  Two  sons 
and  one  daughter  have  keen  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Brendlin,  viz.:  A.  August,  Edward  and 
Emma  M.  Mr.  Brendlin  is  possessed  of  shrewd 
business  sagacity,  his  plant  and  equipments  de- 
noting enterprise  and  progressive  methods,  and 
he  has  succeeded  in  working  up  a  yearly  business 
of  considerable  extent.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  pol- 
itics, hut  aside  from  casting  his  vote  has  never 
entered  the  arena  of  politics.  Fraternally  he  is 
assi  ciated  with  the  Independent  (  Inler  of  <  kM 
Fellows,  lie  is  m  w  serving  hi-  second  term  as 
city  trustee,  having  keen  elected  without  respect 
to  politics. 


J.  K.  BURNETT. 

The  law  firm  comprising  J.  K.  and  W.  W.  Bur- 
nett is  one  of  the  well-known  and  prominent  firms 
in  San  Luis  <  tbispo,  the  members  thereof  being 
men  of  unquestioned  standing  in  the  community, 
both  as  regards  legal  acumen  and  all-around  sub- 
stantial and  desirable  citizenship.  J.  K.  Burnett. 
prominent  also  in  politics,  and  the  creator  of  a 
brilliant  record  in  the  state  assembly,  is  a  native 
-n  of  this  count)',  and  was  born  January  .24. 
[862. 

Wesley  Burnett,  father  of  the  brother  lawyers, 
was  horn  in  Sullivan  county.  Ind.,  and  is  enrolled 
anions  the  noble  hand  of  pioneers  who  braved 
the  dangers  of  the  western  plain-  and  subse- 
quent!) lent  hi-  stn  ng  character  and  developing 
force  to  various  interests  on  the  coast.  For  years 
he  llathoated  on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  in  [850 
crossed  the  plains  with  ox  and  mule  teams,  ac- 
companied b\  nine  young  men,  whom  he  brought 
to  the  state  at  his  <  >v\  n  expense.  I  le  had  saved  up 
$5,000  with  which  to  begin  life  in  the  west,  and 
located  in  Santa  Clara  o  unty,  afterward  remov- 
ing to  Cayucos,  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  where 

Geronimo  rancho.     Later  he  increased  his  hold 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHIC. \l 


655 


was  swept  away  by  the  panic  of  [893.  Of  later 
years  he  has  lived  at  Adelaide,  this  county,  where 
for  several  years  he  was  engaged  in  cattle  and 
sheep  raising.  At  this  writing  he  is  eighty-four 
year?  <  f  age.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  James 
Kennedy,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  located  in 
Canada  when  a  yi  ung  man.  and  crossed  the  plains 
to  California  in  1852.  Mr.  Kennedy  engaged  in 
mining-  on  the  Sacramento  and  Feather  rivers, 
and  died  in  the  midst  of  the  western  activities. 
I  !c-  was  honored  for  his  admirable  qualities,  traits 
inherited  by  his  daughter  Mary,  the  wife  of  Wes- 
ley Burnett.  Airs.  Burnett  became  the  mother  of 
eight  children,  six  of  whom  are  living.  J.  K.  being 
the  oldest  of  her  marriage  with  Wesley  Burnett. 
C.  R.  Cooper  is  a  son  of  Mrs.  Burnett  by  a  former 
husband. 

Mr.  Burnett  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  at  the  University  of  the  Pacific,  also  at  the 
University  of  Southern  California  at  Los  An- 
geles. In  1885  he  engaged  in  stock  and  fruit 
raising  with  indifferent  success  upon  recently 
purchased  land  amounting  to  fifteen  hundred 
acres.  With  a  firm  in  Los  Angeles  he  first 
began  the  study  of  law-,  and  afterward  studied  in 
San  Jose,  from  which  town  he  was  admitted  to 
the  har.  Although  reared  a  Republican,  he  is 
independent  in  politics,  and  has  already  been 
closely  identified  with  affairs  political.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  National  Convention  of  the  Peo- 
ple's party  held  at  St.  Louis,  and  has  been  a  dele- 
gate to  the  state  convention  on  numerous  occa- 
sions. In  [896  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
and  again  in  1898.  In  [897  he  served  on  the 
ways  and  means  committee,  and  during  the  same 
year  came  into  prominence  as  an  investigator. 
(  harges  of  bribery  were  made  by  the  Sou  Fran- 
cisco Examiner,  and  certain  members  were  in- 
criminated by  the  seizure  of  a  box  of  Western 
Union  dispatches  at  Truckee.  In  [899  he  again 
became  prominent  as  an  investigator.  This  time 
charges  of  bribery  in  connection  with  the  contest 
for  United  Slates  senator  were  preferred  by  the 
Call.  The  investigate  n  resulted  in  the  resigna- 
tion of  the  speaker  of  the  assembly.  The  same 
\ear  he  received  the  complimentary  vote  of  his 
party  for  United  States  senator  While  assem- 
blyman In'  assisted  in  the  passage  of  a  hill  pro- 
viding   for  the  establishment    of    a   polytechnic 


school  at  San  Luis  (  >bispo,  which,  however,  the 
governor  failed  n    sign. 

W.  W.   Burnett,  younger  member  of  the  lav 

firm,  was  horn  in  California  March  4.  187-',  and 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  at  the 
Universities  of  the  Pacific  and  Southern  Califor- 
nia, also  attending  Stanford  University  for  four 
years.  In  the  latter  institution  he  studied  law 
and  mining,  becoming  one  of  the  ver}  pn  mising 
young  lawyers  of  San  Puis  (  >bispo.  In  athletics 
he  also  gained  some  renown  while  attending  this 
university,  being  center  rush  and  right  tackle  in 
the  football  games,  and  was  captain  of  the  team  in 
1900.  During  the  Spanish-American  war  he  vol- 
unteered in  the  Utah  Light  Artillery,  participated 
in  thirteen  battles,  and  spent  thirteen  months  at 
the  seat  of  war.  A  Republican  in  politics,  he  has 
not  yet  been  heard  of  in  political  affairs.  Mr. 
Burnett  is  interested  in  athletics  and  social  af- 
fairs, and  has  many  friends  in  the  profession  and 
out  of  it.  He  is  a  splendid  type  of  the  western 
man  of  affairs,  is  six  feet  tall  and  weighs  not  less 
than  two  hundred  pounds. 


S.  H.  HANSON. 

A  native  son  of  Denmark  who  has  transferred 
to  his  adopted  country  many  admirable  per- 
sonal characteristics,  and  who  has  contributed 
a  share  towards  the  best  development  of  San 
Luis  Obispo,  is  S.  II.  Hanson,  a  very  old  settler 
and  prominent  plumber,  lie  was  born  in  Den- 
mark, (  >ctober  21,  1848,  a  son  of  S.  H.  and  Anna 
(Jorgingson)  Hanson,  both  of  Scotch  descent. 
The  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  Danish  army, 
and  died  when  his  son,  S.  II..  was  three  months 
old.  t  If  the  eleven  children  horn  to  1  hi-  , 
the  popular  plumber  of  San  Puis  Obispo  is  the 
j  oungest,  ami  the  only  one  living. 

Educationally,  Mr.  Hanson  was  fortunate  in 
his  youth,  for  he  attended  the  military  academy 
near  his  home,  where  the  most  rigid  discipline 
was  maintained,  and  a  thoroughly  practical  edu- 
cation given  a  the  vacation 
season  he  learned  the  plumbing  trade  under  his 
uncle,  llenn  Holm,  having  completed  which  he 
enlisted  in  the  Prussian  and  Danish  war.  and 
faithful')  served  the  interests  of  his  counti 
was   ambitious   of  larger   chances   than   seemed 


656 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


to  confront  him  in  his  native  land,  and  therefore 
embarked  for  America,  landing  in  Boston  on 
the  day  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  assassinated. 
From  that  city  he  removed  to  Michigan,  settling 
in  Grand  Rapids  in  1868.  and  came  to  California 
in  1872.  Locating  in  Lake  county,  he  engaged 
in  the  plumbing  business  with  considerable  suc- 
cess for  a  year.  In  1873  he  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  worked  for  W.  W.  Montague,  who 
sent  him  to  San  Luis  Obispo  to  work  for  Turner 
&  Potter.  From  1878  to  1887  he  engaged  in 
an  independent  plumbing  business,  and  then  was 
employed  by  the  United  States  government  to 
build  the  Point  St.  Louis  lighthouse  water- 
works. This  responsibility  was  completed  at 
the  end  of  a  year  and  a  half,  after  which  Mr. 
Hanson  settled  down  to  business  in  San  Luis 
(  Ibispo,  and  has  since  worked  up  a  very  desira- 
ble trade.  He  has  fitted  out  with  plumbing 
nearly  all  of  the  large  concerns  in  the  town  and 
county,  and  has  a  reputation  for  thoroughness 
and  up-to-date  methods  approved  by  the  most 
earnest  students  of  sanitation. 

In  Michigan  Mr.  Hanson  married  Tina  Camp- 
bell, and  of  this  union  there  is  one  daughter, 
Myrtie,  new  the  wife  of  Edward  Harlo.  In 
[890  Mr.  Hanson  contracted  a  marriage  with 
Mrs.  \nna  Elliott,  and  of  this  union  there  are 
three  sons,  Silas,  Elbon  and  Elmer.  Mr.  Han- 
son was  <>ne  of  the  pioneer  fire  brigade  of  San 
Luis  Obispo,  and  he  has  assisted  at  the  inau- 
gurate n  of  many  of  the  pioneer  enterprises  of 
the  town.  He  is  fraternally  connected  with  the 
blue  lodge  and  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  with  the 
Independent  (  Irder  of  <  >dd  Fellows,  of  which 
he  is  past  grand  and  past  chief  patriarch.  In 
politics  he  is  independent,  and  in  religion  is  a 
Lutheran. 


R.  P.  LATHROP. 

In  this  part  of  the  country  the  name  of  Lathrop 
is  by  no  means  unfamiliar,  and  carries  with  it  the 
true  western  grit  and  determination,  and  abso- 
lute disregard  for  beaten  paths  and  obstacles. 
The  Lathrop  I  lay  Company,  the  largest  of  its 
kind  in  California,  and  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
■  ars  testimonj  to  the  intrepid  industry  and 
acity  of  R.    P.  Lathrop.  traits  inher- 


ited by  this  honored  citizen  of  Hollister  from  a 
father  whose  career  has  been  in  many  ways  re- 
markable. 

One  of  the  pilgrims  who  crossed  the  plains  in 
the  memorable  golden  year  of  '49  took  his  way 
from  Waukegan,  Wis.,  with  the  full  determina- 
tion of  making  the  west  yield  him  measure  for 
measure  in  return  for  the  discomforts  and  uncer- 
tainties of  his  ox-team  jaunt.  This  traveler.  Levi 
B.  Lathrop,  the  father  of  R.  P..  settled  in  Trinity 
county,  and  at  once  began  to  exercise  his  genius 
fi  r  sizing  up  situations  and  utilizing  chances. 
As  there  were  mines  in  Trinity  county  there  was 
also  ore  to  handle,  and  to  meet  this  demand  he 
put  up  one  of  the  first  mills  for  this  purpose. 
\ft<i  several  years  of  mining  he  went  in  search 
of  pastures  new  in  Shasta  county,  where  he  per- 
fected an  irrigating  system  and  began  raising 
vegetables  on  a  large  scale.  As  he  was  the  orth- 
otic in  the  county  to  engage  in  a  similar  occupa- 
tion, and  as  vegetables  were  a  great  luxury,  it 
stands  to  reason  that  his  innovation  was  success- 
ful from  the  start,  and  that  money  rolled  into  his 
deserving  cotters.  Having  cleared  $26,000  in 
one  year,  he  naturally  concluded  that  other  coun- 
ties in  the  state  were  equally  worthy  of  his  at- 
tention, so  removed  to  San  Jose,  Santa  Clara 
county,  and  set  out  the  first  orchard  in  that 
county.  Fruit  growing  had  hitherto  not  been 
associated  with  this  part  of  the  state,  and 
prophets  of  woe  were  prolific  of  forebodings,  and 
even  hinted  at  temporary  insanity  on  the  part  of 
the  enthusiastic  orchardist.  Nevertheless  they 
were  glad  of  the  chance  presented  at  harvest  time. 
and  lost  their  prejudice  in  admiration  of  one 
whose  forethought  had  exceeded  their  own. 
There  were  one  hundred  acres  in  the  orchard, 
and  the  yield  more  than  realized  the  expectations 
of  the  owner.  Tims  Mr.  Lathrop  went  from  one 
large  enterprise  to  another,  merrily  upsetting 
precedent,  and  utterly  ignoring  dire  predictions. 
In  the  meantime  a  decided  talent  for  invention 
had  found  vent  in  numerous  directions,  and  the 
combined  thresher  and  harvester,  now  manufac- 
tured in  Stockton,  and  still  extensively  used  in 
grain  sections,  was  evolved  from  his  fertile  brain, 
as  well  as  tin'  Lathrop  haj  press,  used  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  state,  and  manufactured  in 
San  Jose.     Inventions  also  of  minor  importance 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


651 


filled  many  long-felt  wants  in  the  state,  among 
them  being  a  lamp  burner,  wagon  spring,  and 
anti-rattler  for  wagon  wheels. 

In  1875  Mr.  Lathrop  removed  to  Hollister  and 
bought  sixteen  hundred  aeres  of  land  near  the 
town,  upon  which  he  proceeded  to  raise  hay. 
There  were  no  warehouses  here  at  the  time,  so 
he  built  one  with  a  capacity  of  sixteen  hundred 
tons,  allowing  one  ton  per  acre.  This  warehouse 
was  the  first  to  he  equipped  with  railroad  car 
scales  and  track  in  the  center  for  loading.  The 
son,  R.  P.  Lathrop.  took  charge  of  the  entire 
business,  and  he  soon  built  up  a  large  trade, 
doing  a  general  hay  ami  storage  business.  In 
[895  L.  I'.-  Lathrop  removed  to  Capitola,  Santa 
Cruz  county,  and  is  still  living  there  in  compara- 
tive retirement  from  business  cares.  He  is  known 
from  ine  end  of  the  state  to  the  other,  not  only 
on  account  of  his  valuable  services  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  resources  of  the  same,  lint  because 
of  a  vivid  and  striking  personality,  which  has 
led  him  into  taking  up  the  cudgels  against  certain 
undesirable  western  tendencies.  He  is  uncom- 
promisingly opposed  to  the  use  of  liquors  and  to- 
bacco, and  in  support  of  his  beliefs  his  voice  has 
often  been  heard  from  the  platform  in  earnest 
entreaty.  He  is  also  opposed  to  secret  societies, 
a  peculiarity  which  has  brought  him  very  promi- 
nently before  the  public.  On  the  whole,  free 
from  denominational  lines,  he  is  yet  in  sympathy 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  has 
tilled  the  local  pulpits  on  special  occasions.  Of 
great  strength  of  character  and  pronounced  per- 
sonal  magnetism.  Mr.  Lathrop  has  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  the  communities  in  which  he  has 
lived,  and  few  are  more  deserving  of  the  praise 
accorded  his  individual,  well-directed  efforts.  He 
was  horn  in  New  York  state  April  30,  1815. 

R.  I'.  Lathrop  was  born  in  San  Jose  December 
(1,  1855,  and  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools,  and  in  the  business  department  of  Gates 
Institute,  one  of  the  earl)  colleges  of  the  town, 
graduating  therefrom  in  1875.  ImmediateK  fol 
lowing  he  came  to  Hollister  and  bought  his 
father's  hay  warehouse,  which  was  the  beginning 
mi'  hi-  career  as  hay  merchant.  In  time  the  in- 
crease of  business  required  additions  to  the  ware 
house,  and  to-day  he  has  a  capacity  of  thirteen 
thousand   five  hundred   tons.     IK-  managed   the 


business  independently  until  [893,  during  which 
year  a  corporation  known  as  the  Farmers'  lla\ 
Company  was  formed,  and  continued  with  the 
same  success  which  had  characterized  its  prede- 
cessor. In  the  meantime  another  warehouse  had 
started  up  in  business,  and  the  two  firms  con- 
solidated in  [899  as  the  Lathrop  Hay  Company, 
the  largest  in  the  state.  The  firm  handles  an  av- 
erage of  two  thousand  tons  per  month  the  year 
round,  and  since  May  15,  1901,  six  hundred  and 
seventy  cars,  holding  seventy-three  hundred  and 
seventy  tons,  have  been  shipped.  (  If  course  the 
yield  varied  with  the  state  of  the  weather,  and, 
whereas  in  1893  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty-two 
cars,  holding  eighteen  thousand  one  hundred  and 
seventy-two  tons  were  shipped,  in  1900.  an  un- 
usually dry  year,  only  seven  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  cars,  holding  seventy-nine  hundred  and  fifty 
tons,  were  shipped.  The  most  satisfactorv  year 
was  1896,  when  twenty-four  hundred  and  sixteen 
cars,  holding  twenty-six  thousand  five  hundred 
and  seventy-six  tons,  were  shipped:  and  the  next 
best  year  was  1894,  when  nineteen  hundred  ami 
eighty-eight  cars  and  twenty-two  thousands  tons 
were  distributed  over  the  country.  The  name  of 
Mr.  Lathrop  is  especially  known  in  regions  of  tin- 
state  where  hay  is  not  among  the  immediate 
available  commodities,  and  where  the  consumers 
patiently  await  this  necessary  article,  and  are  able 
to  profit  by  the  splendid  system  obtaining  in  the 
business  of  the  popular  and  remarkably  success 
ful  hay  merchant. 

The  enterprise  inherited  by  Air.  Lathrop.  and 
fostered  by  many  years  of  well-directed  effort,  is 
by  no  means  confined  to  the  hay  industry,  for  all 
of  the  large  enterprise-  of  the  town  and  county 
have  been  benefited  in  some  way  by  his  patronage 
or  direct  interest.  He  1-  ,1  director  and  also  a 
member  of  the  finance  committee  in  the  Bank  of 
I  [ollister,  one  of  the  mosl  successful  interior 
banking  institutions  in  central  California,  and 
vice  president  and  one  of  the  managing  board  of 
the  Grangers  Union,  a  department  store  in  Hob 
lister,  which  lias  been  ver)  successful,  doing  an 
average   annual   busim  1,000.      In   the 

I  [ollister  I  ighl  and  Power  t  '•  mpanj  he  is 
director,     is    ,,     director    and     treasurer    of    the 
Hollister   Creamery,   a    ver)    successful    enter- 
prise,   and     is    one    of    the    original    builders 


653 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


of  the  Hollister  Irrigation,  being  one  of  a 
few  who  carried  it  beyond  the  experimental 
period  and  made  it  a  success.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  hoard  of  control  and  treasurer  of 
the  San  Benito  County  Improvement  Club,  and 
is  manager  of  several  large  tracts  of  land,  con- 
sisting of  several  thousands  of  acres,  owned  by 
corporations  and  individuals  living  outside  of  the 
county.  Except  as  any  good  citizen  should,  he 
takes  no  special  interest  in  politics,  preferring  to 
devote  his  time  to  his  many  business  interests. 
So  successful  and  so  sound  has  been  the  judgment 
of  Mr.  Lathrop  upon  all  matters  of  public  mo- 
ment, and  so  practical  is  his  attitude  towards  the 
important  commonwealth  of  which  he  is  a  domi- 
nating figure,  that  he  has  won  the  esteem  and  ap- 
preciation of  all  who  appreciate  true  western  citi- 
zenship ennobled  by  high  ideals  and  regard  for 
all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact. 


R(  (BERT  ROBERTSON. 

The  position  of  superintendent  of  the  Califor- 
nia Powder  Works  at  Santa  Cruz  is  maintained 
with  great  credit  by  Robert  Robertson,  who  was 
born  in  Fredericksburg,  Ya.,  in  1861,  and  is  a 
graduate  of  the  State  University  of  Virginia,  and 
a  post-graduate  of  Harvard  University.  Pre- 
vious to  assuming  hi-  present  responsibility,  in 
May.  [900,  he  was  associated  for  four  years  with 
the  service  of  the  United  States  Geological  Sur- 
vey. Mr.  Robertson  married  Marion  Miller,  of 
Burlington,  Iowa,  and  of  this  union  there  is  one 
child,   Mildred. 

The  California  Powder  Works,  established  in 
[863  fur  tin-  manufacture  of  explosives,  acquired 
the  tract  of  land  with  ample  water  privileges 
upon  which  it  is  now  located  the  same  year,  and 
the  following  year  was  inaugurated  the  manu- 
facture of  black  powder  for  blasting,  military  ami 
sporting  purposes.  As  the  country  developed 
there  was  an  increasing  demand  for  the  powder, 
the  demand  being  greatly  augmented  by  the  in- 
troduction -I  high  explosives  into  the  country, 
and  the  establishment  of  additional  works  at 
Pinole,  Contra  Costa  county.  Cal.  Another  pe- 
i  pronounced  development  took  place  with 
the  manufacture  of  smokeless  powder  in  [897, 
to  he  used  b)  the  government  in  connection  with 


its  cannon  and  small  arms  for  both  army  and 
navy.  At  the  present  time  the  California  Powder 
Works  are  turning  out  blasting  powder,  fuse 
powder  and  sporting  powders  of  all  kinds,  as 
well  as  Hercules  dynamite,  gelatine  and  Cham- 
pion improved  powders.  As  an  adjunct  to  its 
business  the  company  each  year  loads  many  mil- 
lions of  shot-gun  cartridges  with  both  black  and 
smokeless  powder,  and  its  Eureka  Black,  Diana 
and  Native  Sons  brands  of  loaded  cartridges  are 
widely  known  and  in  great  demand.  Since  its 
establishment,  the  California  Powder  Works  has 
pursued  a  broad  and  liberal  policy  in  all  its  deal- 
ings, and  in  consequence  it  occupies  an  enviable 
place  among  the  commercially  strong  enterprises 
of  the  state.  It  was  the  first  concern  to  put 
smokeless  powder  on  the  market,  and  it  has  main- 
tained a  uniform  quality  of  excellence  as  regards 
all  of  its  commodities,  keeping  abreast  of  the  most 
advanced  and  scientific  improvements.  From 
two  hundred  and  thirty  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
men  are  employed  by  the  Santa  Cruz  branch,  and 
the  plant  covers  two  hundred  and  twenty-two 
acres  of  land,  the  total  number  of  buildings  being 
two  hundred  and  eleven. 


SAMUEL  H.  RAMBO. 

Ann  ng  the  general  merchants  of  Boulder 
Creek  the  name  of  Samuel  H.  Rambo,  of  the 
firm  of  S.  H.  Rambo.  &  Co.,  deserves  mention. 
He  was  bom  in  Pennsylvania,  October  12,  [843, 
and  lived  in  his  native  state  until  his  twelfth  year. 
His  father,  M.  Rambo,  married  a  Miss  Brother- 
ton,  and  both  were  horn  in  Pennsylvania,  the  for- 
mer in  1805.  He  died  in  Kansas  in  1890,  and  his 
wife  passed  away  in  1854. 

When  ten  years  of  age  Samuel  I  [.  Rambo  lost 
In-  mother  In  death,  and  was  deprived  1  1"  the 
care  and  solicitude  which  she  had  lavished  upon 
him.  The  following  year  he  was  taken  by  his 
father  to  (  'sage  count)',  Kans..  where  the)  located 
on  a  farm,  and  where  the  son  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools.  In  1878  he  left  his  home  sur- 
roundings in  Kansas  and  came  to  California,  and 
lived  in  Santa  Clara  county  for  four  years,  two 
years  of  thai  time  clerking  \<<v  t  eland  Roger-. 
For  the  same  length  of  time  he  engaged  in  the 
wood  and  coal  business  for  himself  in  San  Jose. 


^LAJ^O^f'  A»n  Jw 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


In  1882  he  became  identified  with  Boulder  Creek 
and  has  since  made  this  thriving  town  his  home 
and  principal  held  of  activity.  For  man) 
his  general  merchandise  store  has  been  among  the 
substantial  and  reliable  business  establishments  of 
the  town,  and  his  upright  business  methods  and 
evideni  desire  to  please  have  won  him  the  patron- 
age and  confidence  of  a  permanent  and  increasing 
trade.  To  some  extent  Mr.  Rambo  has  been  in- 
terested in  the  local  undertakings  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  among  the  offices  maintained  by 
him  with  credit  may  be  mentioned  that  of  super- 
visor, which  he  has  held  for  eight  years.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  associated  with  the  Masons  and  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

In  [867  Mr.  Rambo  married  Xettie  Stagg,  a 
native  of  Indiana,  and  daughter  of  John  Stagg, 
who  was  born  in  Kentucky.  To  an  otherwise 
creditable  career  Mr.  Rambo  has  added  a  meri- 
torious military  service.  September  1,  1862,  he 
enlisted  in  the  Eleventh  Kansas  Infantry,  serving 
until  his  discharge,  September  _>i  >.  [865,  and  his 
name  is  enrolled  among  the  members  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  With  his  wife 
Mr.  Rambo  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  

WILLIS    R.    CONGDON,  M.  D. 

To  accurately  estimate  the  influence  for  good 
exerted  upon  a  community  by  a  citizen  of  pro- 
fessional skill,  wise  judgment  and  progressive 
spirit  is  a  difficult  task:  but  even  those  who 
judge  from  a  most  superficial  point  of  view  bear 
testimony  to  the  importance  of  their  citizen- 
ship. Of  Dr.  Congdon  it  may  be  said  that  he 
has  risen  to  a  position  of  unquestioned  influence 
among  the  professional  men  and  enterprising 
citizens  of  Santa  Cruz.  His  acknowledged  skill 
in  the  diagnosis  and  treatment  of  diseasi 
given  him  an  assured  position  in  the  confidence 
of  the  people.  In  addition  to  answering  calls 
for  his  services,  lie  has  a  considerable  office 
practice,  and  for  the  accommodation  of  such 
patients  he  has  fitted  up  a  suite  of  rooms  on 
Pacific  avenue,  when-  he  has  a  complete  equip 
ment  of  medical  accessories. 

In  Bristol,  Elkhart  county,  Ind.,  April  20, 
1868,  Dr.  Congdon  was  born  to  the  union  of 
Joseph  R.  and  Carrie  E.  (Curtis)  Congdon.    His 


lather,  a  native  of  Lockport,  X.  Y.,  and  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  medical  college  at  that  [joint,  K 
a  practitioner  of  Bristol,  Ind..  where  his  life 
work  was  ended  in  1889,  when  he  was  sixt)  five 
years  of  age.  At  this  writing  Mr-.  Congdon  is 
a  resident  of  Ontario,  Cal.  The  advantages 
offered  by  public  schools  were  supplemented  in 
Dr.  Congdon's  boyhood  bj  attendance  in  the 
University  of  Notre  I  lame  1  Indiana),  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  [886.  Returning 
home  he  gained  his  first  km 

cal   science  as  a  student   under  his   father,  and 
then   entered    Rush    Medical    College,    Chicago, 
where  he  received  the  degree  of  M.  D.  in 
on  the  completion  of  the  regular  courst 
tures.      His    father    dying    about    that    time.    In- 
succeeded  him  in  practice,  but  a  year  later  re- 
turned to  Chicago,  where  he  associated  h 
with  his  cousin,  J.  L.  Congdon,  M.  D.,  under 
the  firm  title  of  Congdon  &  Congdon.     How- 
ever, the  climate  of  Chicago  proved  unsatisfac- 
tory  and   in    [896   he   determined   to   remo 
I  alifornia,   at   which   time   he   settled    in    Santa 
Cruz   and   opened  an  office.     From   the   first   he 
has  been  recognized  as  a  painstaking,  efficient 
and  judicious  physician,  and  his   services  have 
gained  a  flattering  degree  of  appreciation  in  his 
home   city.      Since    coming    here    he    has    estab- 
lished   domestic    ties,    his    wife    being    Edith    L.. 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Clara  C.  Case.     They  are  the 
parents  of  one  son,  Willis  P.,  Jr. 

A  number  of  the  fraternal  organizations  have 
I    Dr.  t'oii-don'-  services  in  the  capacitj 
of  medical  examiner,     lie  is  connected  with  the 
\!.m  1   dues.  Ancient  <  )rder  of  United  Workmen. 
Portuguese   Union,    Fo  America,  and 

the  Ancient  Order  of  United   1 'mid-.     Both  in 
political  and.  religion-  views   he  i-  inclined  to  be 
liberal  and  independent,  and  has  not  allied  him- 
self with  an)    part)    or  denominati 
member  of  the  I  lealth  of  the 

Santa   I  nizing  the  value  of  recrea- 

tion, it  has  been  his  aim  to  reserve  a  few  hours 
of  the  day  and  a  few  days  of  the  year  as  a  vaca- 
tion period,  when  he  can  find  relaxation  from 
ional  labor-.  At  such  times  he  is  wont 
to  find  much  pleasure  with  hi-  gun  in  hunting 
expedition-,  for  he  is  a  skilled  marksman,  a 
fact    that    is    attested    by    the    fine    specimen-    of 


B62 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


animals  of  all  sizes,  from  the  squirrel  to  the  wild 
cat,  and  birds  of  all  sizes,  from  the  smallest  up 
to  the  American  eagle,  that  may  be  seen,  beau- 
tifully mounted  and  decorated,  in  the  parlor  of 
his  residence. 


ABRAM  MUSCH  >. 

The  success  which  has  come  to  Air.  Muscio 
since  he  arrived  in  the  United  States  speaks  vol- 
umes for  his  sterling  traits  of  character  and  his 
determination.  To  a  greater  degree  than  most 
young  men.  he  was  hampered  in  getting  a  start  in 
the  world,  for  he  came  to  America  with  only  the 
most  meagre  knowledge  of  the  English  language, 
ami  he  was  also  obliged  for  some  time  to  send  his 
earnings  back  to  his  parents  in  Switzerland. 
However,  in  spite  of  these  and  many  other  hin- 
drances, he  has  become  one  of  the  largest  prop- 
erty-holders  and  most  extensive  dairymen  in  San 
Luis  (  )bispo  county. 

In  Someo,  Canton  Ticino,  Switzerland,  Mr. 
Muscio  was  horn  in  March.  1849,  bemg  the 
youngest  of  nine  children.  In  November,  1866, 
he  left  home  for  America,  crossing  the  ocean  to 
New  York,  and  thence  proceeding  via  Panama 
to  San  Francisco,  where  he  arrived  January  12, 
[867.  For  ten  years  he  carried  on  a  rented  dairy 
in  Marin  county  and  thence  removed  to  San  Luis 
(  (bispo  count)  in  [876,  settling  on  the  coast  four 
and  one-half  miles  north  of  Cayucos  and  renting 
a  ranch  of  twelve  hundred  and  eighty-six  acres. 
V  1  in  e  lie  stocked  the  place  with  cattle,  keeping 
a  herd  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dairy  cows. 
So  capable  and  efficient  was  he  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  property  that  his  earnings  each  year 
were  gratifying,  and  in  1884  he  purchased  the 
1  ntire  ranch.  Since  then  he  has  built  an  addition 
to  the  duelling,  erected  a  substantial  dairy  house 
with  all  modern  improvements,  planted  a  large 
orchard,  put  out  a  garden  and  trees,  and  has 
fenced  a  part  of  the  place  with  hedge.  At  this 
writing  he  has  one  hundred  and  sixty  dain  cows, 
mostly  Holsteins  and  Dnrhams.  In  1NX1  he 
b  ught  fourteen  hundred  ami  fifty  acres  in  Green 
valley,  which  lie  still  owns,  but  rents  for  dairy 
purposes.  In  partnership  with  three  others,  he 
owns  a  ranch  of  seventeen  hundred  acres  near 
Santa  Ynez,  in  Santa  Barbara  county,  which  is 


also  well  stocked  with  dairy  cows.  In  addition, 
he  owns  and  manages  a  ranch  of  six  hundred  and 
seventy-two  acres  on  Torro  creek,  which  is 
stocked  with  dairy  cows  and  which  he  superin- 
tends in  connection  with  his  home  place.  His 
large  property  holdings  prove  him  to  be  an  enter- 
prising and  thrifty  farmer.  The  larger  part  of 
his  means  has  been  accumulated  through  his  work 
in  dairying,  an  occupation  for  which  his  early 
training  ami  his  tastes  especially  adapt  him. 

The  management  of  his  dairy  interests  does 
not  represent  the  limit  of  Mr.  Muscio's  activities. 
He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  San  Luis  Commercial 
Bank,  the  Swiss-American  Bank  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  the  Dairymen's  Union  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. During  his  long  service  as  a  school  di- 
rector he  aided  in  establishing  and  building  up  an 
excellent  system  of  education  for  his  district. 
Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  San  Simeon  Lodge 
No.  190,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  San  Luis  Chapter. 
R.  A.  M.  In  San  Francisco,  in  1871.  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Assonta  Righetti. 
The\'  are  the  parents  of  six  children,  namely : 
Dante,  who  was  educated  in  Switzerland  and  is 
now  cashier  of  the  Calaveras  County  Bank;  Ro- 
milio  R..  who  is  assistant  cashier  of  the  San 
Luis  Commercial  Bank;  Sila,  who  is  a  graduate 
of  King  Conservatory  of  San  Jose,  and  is  teach- 
ing music  in  San  Luis  ( )bispo ;  Lillie,  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  State  Normal  School,  and  now  teach- 
ing school  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county;  Edina 
and  Florence,  both  of  whom  are  graduates  of  the 
San  Luis  Business  College.  Florence  is  now  in 
Mills  College  of  Alameda  county. 


CYRUS  SHORT. 

From  the  time  when,  a  youth  of  sixteen  years. 
Mr.  Short  came  to  California  with  his  parents 
he  lias  been  identified  almost  wholly  with  the 
1'ajaro  valley,  and  now  makes  his  home  in  Wat- 
sonville.  where  lie  is  a  property-owner.  Me  was 
born  in  Henderson  county.  HI.,  March  S.  [836, 
and  was  a  son  of  Stephen  ami  Nancy  (  Prunty) 
Short,  11. Hues  respectively  of  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky, llis  father  removed  from  the  Old  Do- 
minion across  the  mountains  in  early  manhood 
and  after  his  marriage  settled  upon  a  farm  in 
Henderson   county,    111.,   where  be   followed   agri- 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


cultural  pursuits.  A  later  removal  took  him  to 
'  Iquawka,  111.,  where  he  followed  the  cooper's 
trade.  In  the  spring  of  1852.  with  his  family 
and  a  party  of  friends,  he  made  the  journey  via 
ox-teams  across  the  plains  to  California,  reach- 
ing Santa  Cruz  at  the  expiration  of  six  tedious 
months.  In  settling  in  this  locality  he  followed 
the  suggestions  of  friends  who  had  preceded  him 
to  the  west. 

One  of  his  first  ventures  was  in  raising  pota- 
toes, in  which  he  met  with  seme  successes  and 
some  discouragements.  1  le  then  took  up  a  squat- 
ter's claim  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and 
for  twelve  years  made  his  home  there,  meantime 
improving  the  land,  hut  at  the  expiration  of  the 
time  he  was  forced  to  abandon  the  ranch  on  ac- 
count of  being  unable  to  secure  a  clear  title  to 
tlie  property.  Coming  to  Watsonville,  he  boughl 
ten  acres  of  J.  A.  Blackburn,  now  owned  by  Hon. 
Thomas  Beck,  and  here  he  spent  his  remaining 
years.  At  the  age  of  eighty-five  he  was  still 
sturdy  and  robust,  able  to  do  as  heavy  a  day's 
wi  >rk  as  most  men  twenty  years  younger  than 
he.  His  death  was  not  due  to  advancing  years, 
but  w;^  die  result  of  an  accidental  fall  when  get- 
ting down  hay  in  the  barn.  I  lis  wife  also  at- 
tained an  advanced  age,  being  eighty-seven  at 
the  time  of  her  death.  Longevity  has  been  in- 
herited by  their  children,  and  all  of  the  eight  are 
still  living,  namely:  Mary.  Mrs.  Thomas  Reck- 
ords ;  Elizabeth,  Mrs.  Jesse  Wycoff;  Emeline. 
Mrs.  Thomas  Beck;  Arminda,  Airs.  J.  A.  Black- 
burn: Cyrus,  1  f  Watsonville:  Newton,  of  \r 
rovo  <  irande.  Cal.  :  Malinda.  Mrs.  James  Waters, 
and  George,  of  San  Jose.  In  politics  the  father 
was  a  Democrat.  During  early  life  he  identified 
himself  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
but  later  became  a   Presbyterian. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  years  spent  in. 
the  mines.  Mr.  Short  has  made  his  home  in  Wat- 
sonville or  vicinity  ever  since  he  accompanied  his 
father  to  the  west.  Farming  has  been  his  princi- 
pal occupation,  and  at  one  time  he  owned  an 
estate  in  the  country,  but  this  be  sold  on  moving 
into  Watsonville.  Like  bis  father,  be  believes  in 
Democratic  principles,  and  ina\  always  bo  relied 
upon  to  cast  a  straight  party  vote.  For  three 
terms  be  filled  the  office  of  constable.  In  reli- 
gious views  be  is  not  connected  with  anj  denom 


ination,  but  holds  liberal  virus.  In  iSN,  1, 
married  Trancito,  daughter  of  Frank  Watson, 
and  a  native  of  Monterey  county,  of  English  an- 
cestry. The\  became  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren, namely  :  Harry,  deceased;  George,  who  is 
married  and  has  one  son,  Harry  Lester;  Louis; 
Mary,  Mrs.  Edward  Bancom,  who  has  one 
daughter,  Eva;  Thomas,  James  A.  and  Ida.  all 
three  deceased. 


A.   W.  SMITH. 

In  his  capacity  as  the  owner  and  proprietor  of 
the  only  drug  establishment  in  Templeton,  A.  W. 
Smith  is  filling  an  important  place  in  the  com- 
munity, and  is  managing  his  affairs  in  such  man- 
ner as  to  win  the  appreciation  and  gratitude  of 
tlu-  whole  community,  lie  is  one  of  the  very 
promising  and  capable  young  men  1  f  lb.-  town, 
and  all  things  point  to  a  continuation  of  his  suc- 

ess  and  a  widening  of  his  usefulness  and  respon- 
sibility. A  wortbx  representative  of  the  Hoosiei 
state,  Mr.  Smith  was  born  in  Wells  county,  lud., 
March  -'5.  1868,  a  son  of  W.  II.  Smith,  a  native 
of  Huntington,  hid.,  and  a  druggist  at  Columbia 
City  for  tin  years.  The  elder  Smith  removed  to 
Chicago.  Ilk,  in  [886,  but  after  a  year  located  in 
San  Rafael,  Cal.,  where  he  engaged  with  h 
in  the  drug  business  for  six  of  seven  years,  re- 
moving then  to  St.  Helena.  Cal..  where  he  lives 
at  the  present  time.  The  paternal  grand 
Thomas,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  eventu- 
ally became  one  of  the  very  early  pioneers  of 
Indiana,  where  he  took  Up  land  and  lived  until 
his  death.  <  In  the  maternal  side  V  W.  Smith 
is  connected  with  an  Indiana  family,  at  the  bead 
of    which    was    Dr.    Scott,    wh  Mnelia 

Griffith,    the    mother    of    Mr.    Smith.      Dr.    Scotl 
practiced     medicine     ill    Wells    County.    Ind..    for 
many  years,  and  died  there  at   tin    i 
years. 

The  older  of  the  I  rn  to  his  par- 

ents,  A.  W.   Smith  was  educated  in  the  public 

1  In    >ls,  and  tire  1  1"  even  his 

:1    days    spent    a   great    ileal   of  time   in   his 

father's  drug   store.     Eventually  he  entered  the 

Illinois  College  of  Pharmacy,  a;  Chicago,  from 

which    be    was    graduated    from    tin-    junior    and 

fall  of  the  same  year 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


he  came  to  California,  and  February  22,  1902, 
started  a  business  of  his  own  in  Templeton.  For 
a  year  and  a  half  after  coming  to  the  state  he  was 
druggist  at  the  Veterans'  Home  in  Napa  county. 
Much  of  the  success  which  has  come  his  way 
Mr.  Smith  attributes  to  the  encouragement  given 
by  his  gifted  and  popular  wife,  who  was  formerly 
Catherine  Howett,  and  whom  he  married  in  San 
Francisco.  Mrs.  Smith  was  born  in  Cass  county, 
(  Ihio,  a  daughter  1  f  W.  C.  Howett,  for  many 
years  engaged  in  the  nursery  business  on  the 
coast,  and  at  present  a  traveling  salesman  for  the 
Chattanooga  Medicine  Company,  of  Tennessee. 
Mr.  Smith  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is 
variously  identified  with  the  organizations  in 
which  the  county  abounds.  He  is  what  may  be 
called  a  hustler,  and  possesses  personal  character- 
istics which  would  make  him  a  credit  to  any  lo- 
cality in  the  country. 

RUDOLPH   B.  SPENCE. 

The  name  of  Spence  is  inseparably  associated 
with  the  very  early  histor}  of  Monterey  county, 
with  the  reclamation  of  enormous  tracts  of  land, 
political  offices  of  great  importance,  and  business 
enterprises  at  once  substantial  and  developing. 
The  founder  of  the  family  on  the  coast  was  David 
Spence,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  Rudolph  B., 
who  was  horn  in  Huntley,  Scotland,  and  who 
became  secretary  to  John  I'.,—;-  \-  Co..  hide  and 
tallow  merchants  of  Liverpool.  That  his  services 
were  highl)  appreciated  1>\  the  company  became 
apparent  in  [822,  when  he  was  sent  to  establish 
a  branch  office  in  Callao,  Peru,  and  two1  years 
later  was  ordered  to  Monterej  county.  Cal.,  as  a 
litthiL;'  field  for  business  extension.  Endowed 
with  fundamentally  strong  and  commanding 
1  rails  of  character,  his  influence  became  noticeable 
in  tine  general  undertakings  of  that  unsettled  time, 
and  his  conservative  judgment  and  business  sa- 
gacity were  appreciated  in  many  avenues  of  ac- 
tivity, lie  served  as  alcalde  under  Governor  M 
guello,  and  also  held  many  offices  of  importance 
under  the  Mexican  regime.  After  leaving  poli- 
tics he  turned  his  attention  to  the  natural  re- 
sources of  the  country,  and  took  up  two  grants  of 
land,  the  first,  called  the  Buena  Esperanza,  in  the 
Salinas  valley,  containing  twelve  thousand  acres, 


and  the  second,  the  Llano  Buenavista.  also  in  the 
Salinas  valley,  and  including  the  present  site  of 
the  factory  and  town  of  Spreckels.  About  three- 
fourths  of  the  first  grant  is  still  in  the  possession 
of  the  family.  These  interests  were  manipulated 
by  this  pioneer  with  skill,  and  with  his  death  in 
Monterey  county,  in  1875.  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven  years,  there  passed  beyond  the  ken  of  those 
who  had  known  him  one  of  the  most  prominent 
and  forceful  characters  of  his  time  and  place. 

Through  his  marriage,  in  1829,  with  Adelaide 
Estrada,  David  Spence  became  allied  with  one 
of  the  best-known  of  the  Spanish  families.  Mrs. 
Spence  was  born  in  Monterey,  and  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Mariano  and  Isabel  Estrada,  natives  of 
Monterey,  and  the  latter  a  sister  of  Governor  \r- 
guello,  and  daughter  of  Governor  Jose  Dorio 
Arguello.  Mrs.  Spence  died  in  1875.  David 
Stewart  Spence.  her  son,  was  reared  in  Monterey 
county,  and  was  educated  at  the  Honolulu  Scotch 
College.  Although  resembling  his  father  in  many 
ways,  and  having  the  additional  inspiration  of  not 
having  to  start  from  the  bottom  round  of  the 
ladder,  he  was  not  to  be  permitted  to  enjoy  the 
advantages  of  wealth  and  social  standing  to  am 
great  extent,  for  his  death  occurred  in  his  thirty- 
eighth  year.  He  married  Miss  Malarin.  now 
Mrs.  A.  A".  Fatjo,  of  Santa  Clara,  and  of  this 
union  there  were  six  children,  two  of  whom  died 
young,  Rudolph  B.  being  the  oldest  in  the  family. 
Alexander,  the  second  son.  is  a  resident  of  Santa 
Clara,  as  is  also  David,  while  Arcadia  is  the  wife 
of  L.  L.  Arguello,  mentioned  in  another  part  of 
this  work. 

Rudolph  L.  Spence  was  bom  April  27,  1857, 
in  Monterey  count).  His  education  was  acquired 
at  Santa  Clara.  College,  Santa  Clara,  Cal.  He 
married  Mary  T.  Sullivan,  a  native  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  daughter  vi  John  Sullivan,  founder 
of  the  Hibernian  Bank  of  San  Francisco,  and 
the  first  president  thereof.  Inez  Eugenia,  the 
only  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs-.  Spence,  is  liv- 
ing at  home  with  her  parents.  Mr.  Spence  is 
engaged  in  looking  after  his  large  inheritance, 
which  included  fourteen  hundred  acres  of  land, 
besides  the  seven  hundred  and  seventy  acres  com- 
prising the  old  grant  improved  by  his  grand- 
father. (  )f  this  laud,  much  is  devoted  to  the  cul- 
tivation of  olive  and  apple  trees,  the  trees  of  the 


HON.   EUHU  ANTHONY 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


CC, 


former   fruit    numbering  fifteen   hundred,   while 

those  of  the  latter  number  four  thousand.  The 
land  is  all  rented  out  to  tenants,  and  brings  in  a 
large  income  to  the  owner.  Mr.  Spence  is  very 
pn  minent  in  the  community,  his  claims  for  con- 
sideration being  vested  in  his  own  personality  and 
general  worth,  rather  than  in  what  his  forefathers 
may  haw  accomplished.  lie  is  liberal  and  pro- 
gressive, and  represents  a  high  type  of  land- 
owner and  landlord. 


HOX.  ELIHU  ANTHONY. 

To  the  distinction  of  being  the  oldest  surviv- 
ing settler  of  Santa  Cruz,  Mr.  Anthony  adds 
that  of  being  an  influential  factor  in  all  move- 
ments tending  toward  the  progress  of  his  city 
and  ci  Hint}.  When  he  came  to  Santa  Cruz 
there  were  only  five  American  families  within 
the  county  limits.  Gold  had  not  yet  been  dis- 
covered in  California,  which  was  to  prove  the 
talisman  to  draw  thousands  of  emigrants  across 
the  country.  Few  people  had  as  yet  been  at 
traded  to  the  boundless  west  and  few  also  real- 
ized its  matchless  possibilities  of  climate  and  of 
production.  Since  the  time  of  his  arrival  in 
January  of  1848.  Mr.  Anthony  has  been  asso- 
ciated with  enterprises  for  the  growth  of  the 
town  and  no  one  takes  greater  pride  than  he  in 
the  attractions  of  this  city  of  flowers  by  the  sun- 
set sea. 

In  Saratoga  county,  X.  V.,  Mr.  Anthony  was 
born  November  30,  [818,  being  a  son  of  Asa 
and  Sarah  (Udell)  Anthony.  In  childhood  lie 
accompanied  hi-  parents  to  Allegany  county, 
\.  Y..  and  from  there  went  to  Ridgeway,  Mich., 
where  he  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade.  Re 
turning  to  Allegany  county,  he  accompanied  his 
father  in  removing  to  Fort  Wayne,  Ind..  and 
there  worked  at  hi-  trade.  During  a  revival  in 
that  city  he  was  converted  and  shortly  after- 
ward, in  [84I,  \\a-  licensed  to  preach  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  denomination,  becoming  a 
circuit  rider  and  a  member  of  i lie  Northern  lii 
diana  conference.  In  1845  he  married  I 
Clark,  hut  she  died  while  still  a  young  woman, 
and   the   children    horn   of  their  union   also   died 


1846,  Mr.  Anthony  went  to  [owa  and  from  there 
started  to  cross  the  plains  to  (  Iregon.  After  a 
tedious  journey  of  six  months,  filled  with  many 
hardships  and  constant  inconvenience.  he 
reached  Fort  Hall,  and  there  meeting  a  gentle 
man  from  (  )regon  was  pi  1  suaded  to  go  to  (  ah 
fomia.  the  trail  led  him  through  Marysville 
and  along  the  Humboldt  river  to  the  Sacra 
mento  valley.  In  this  trip  he  accompanied  a 
large  expedition  composed  of  sixty-three 
wagons.  (  >u  his  arrival  in  California  he  was  50 
pleased  with  the  country  that  he  permai 
abandoned  all  thought  of  settling  in  Oregon, 
and  in  October,  1N47.  reached  San  Jose  and 
three  months  later  came  to  Santa  Cruz,  which 
lias  since  been  his  home.  Here  he  found  Mr. 
Miller  in  charge  of  a  small  blacksmith  shop, 
engaged  principally  in  making  bridles,  bits  and 
spurs,  as  there  was  little  else  to  do  in  his  line. 
The  two  men  formed  a  partnership  and  were 
plying  their  trade  when,  in  January  of  1840. 
news  came  of  the  discovery  of  gold.  Mr.  An- 
thony made  a  trip  to  the  mining  district  and 
found  men  working  there  with  sharpened  sticks. 
as  few-  had  picks  or  other  to,, i,.  Returning 
home,  he  hired  a  sailor  to  take  cl 
forge  and  he  bought  all  the  holts  and  iron  from 
old  abandoned  vessels.  With  the  material  thus 
secured  he  male  picks  of  all  sizes  and  kinds. 
these,  while  lacking  beauty,  were  substantial 
and  practicable.  (  )n  being  completed  the)  were 
taken  to  the  mines  b)  Thomas  Fulton,  where 
the)  were  readily  sold  for  three  ounces 
dust       I  he  seven  doz(  11  were  quickl)    d 

the  venture  proved  financially  profitable 
i.  .1   ill-  -In  ew  d  pn  ijector.     \\  ishing  to  o  mtinue 
tlu-  business  on  a  larger  scale  he  went  1  1 
Francisco  to  bin   iron,  but   found  none  on  sale, 

Returning  to  Santa  Cruz,  Mr.   ^nthon\ 
lished  a  small  foundr)  and  made  the  first  ploughs 
mi  1  he  state      l'i  ior  to  this  he  had  1 

pi  lints     for     the     w leil     pi'  Highs     tin  ll     in     Use. 

\l,,,ui    1851 '  li-  -i"  ned  a  ■  d>lish- 

ment  with    V    \    Hecox  and  the  followii 
he  was  appi  linted  the  firsl  pa  >l  Santa 

Cruz,  a  position  thai  he  held  for  fourteen  years. 
In  his  mercantile  interest-  hr  had  lame-  Cutler 
for  a  partner  si  >mi  •  ars,  after  which  I  )r. 
J.  T.    McClean  and  brother  acquired  in: 


668 


HISTORICAL  AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


and  eventually  he  disposed  of  his  connection 
with  the  store.  .Meantime,  in  1855.  ne  made  a 
trip  east  and  visited  his  parents,  who  the  next 
year  joined  him  at  Santa  Cruz,  remaining  here 
during'  the  balance  of  their  lives.  The  father 
was  seventy-six  at  the  time  of  his  death  and  the 
mother  was  about  seventy. 

]  luring  the  early  days  Mr.  Anthony  bought  a 
lot  on  the  corner  of  Mission  and  Water  streets 
and  built  a  small  shop.  In  1875  he  erected  the 
Anthony  block,  a  substantial  structure.  At  dif- 
ferent times  he  built  cottages,  a  few  of  which  he 
still  owns,  ami  he  also  erected  a  spacious  dwell- 
ing overlooking  the  city,  the  valley  and  the 
ocean.  In  connection  with  Frederick  A.  Hihn 
Ik  established  the  first  waterworks  in  Santa 
Cruz,  a  movement  of  inestimable  value  to  the 
progress  of  the  place.  While  serving  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  supervisors  he  was  interested 
in  the  building  of  the  first  wharf  built  at  Santa 
Cruz.  (  Ither  beneficial  movements  received  his 
encouragement  and  co-operation  while  he 
.served  as  supervisor  and  town  trustee,  also  dur- 
ing his  >ervice  in  1850-60  as  a  member  of  the 
-tate  legislature.  In  [846  he  married  Sarah  Van 
Anda,  who  was  born  in  1819  and  died  in  1898. 
Their  children  are  named  as  follows:  Louisa, 
whii  married  Wilbur  Huntington,  of  Santa  Cruz: 
Bascom,  deceased:  Almon,  of  Fresno;  Gilbert, 
deceased;  and  Frank,  who  makes  his  home  in 
Fresni  1. 

With  the  removal  of  Mr.  Anthony  from  In- 
diana his  interest  in  religious  activities  did  not 
.ease.  (  Mi  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  a  con- 
spicuous feature  of  his  mature  years.  Due  to 
efforts  was  the  1  irganization  of  the  first  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  class  in  San  Jose,  also  that  in 
Santa  Cruz,  and  the  latter  lias  been  a  source  of 
gratification  to  him  since  in  its  uninterrupted 
and  extensive  benevolences.  Besides  his  warm 
in  religion,  he  is  concerned  in  othermove- 
ments  tending  toward  the  uplifting  of  humanity. 
The  rounding  out  of  his  life  toward  its  twilight 
does  ii'  'i  bring  a  1  1  ssatii  m  1  if  acth  ities,  n<  ir  any 
lessening  of  his  interest  in  whatever  makes  for 
the  benefit  of  his  fellow  men.  His  daily  paper 
is  still  a  source  of  enjoymenl  to  him,  and  he 
lion  >ughl}  p>  isted  upon  matters  relating 
to  the   welfare  ..f  our  commonwealth  and  our 


nation.  During  the  summer  of  1902  he  visited 
Honolulu,  where  he  studied  the  customs  of  the 
people  and  the  commercial  possibilities  of  the 
group  of  islands  whose  recent  association  with 
the  United  States  brings  them  into  close  touch 
with  Americans,  and  especially  with  the  resi- 
dents of  the  Pacific  coast  region. 


GE<  )RGE   F.  SPURRIER. 

Ihr  manager  of  the  Fanners'  Alliance  Busi- 
ness Association,  of  Paso  Robles,  running  a  large 
warehouse  for  storing  general  grain  and  wheat, 
was  born  in  Ohio,  August  19,  1852,  and  is  a  son 
of  Green  and  Nancy  (  Merriam )  Spurrier,  and 
grandson  of  Richard  Spurrier,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  born  in  Virginia,  and  was  descended  from 
( ieneral  Greene,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  Green 
Spurrier  was  born  in  Virginia,  and  removed  at 
a  comparatively  early  age  to  Ohio,  where  his 
father  settled  mi  a  farm,  and  where  he  himself 
engaged  in  farming  1  n  an  independent  scale.  He 
removed  to  California  in  1875.  settling  at  Mo- 
desto, where  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-four 
years.  His  wife  was  born  in  Connecticut,  and 
was  a  daughter  of  Ephraim  Merriam,  also  a  na- 
tive of  Connecticut,  and  who  died  after  remov- 
ing to  Ohio.  Five  sons  and  three  daughters 
were  the  result  of  the  union  of  Green  Spurrier 
and  Miss  Merriam.  of  whom  six  attained  matur- 
ity. The  children  were  called  Charles,  George, 
Will,  Mary.  Lilly,  Sherman,  Hattie  and  Bert. 

At  the  age  of  two  years  George  F.  Spurrier 
was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Wisconsin,  where  he 
started  to  attend  the  public  schools,  his  education 
being  completed  ai  the  Stockton  (Cal.)  Business 
College.  His  first  attempt  to  earn  his  own  living- 
was  as  a  farm  hand,  and  in  [883  he  assumed 
charge  of  the  well-known  Isahelle  ranch  of 
twent)  thousand  acres.  He  was  there  custodian 
of  six  thousand  sheep,  and  remained  on  the  ranch 
fi  r  three  years,  until  it  passed  into  the  possession 
of  other  1  wners.  In  [886  he  began  to  survey, 
and  was  thus  engaged  for  thirteen  years.  In 
1896  he  became  manager  of  the  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance, and   f'  r  six  years  has  successfully  manipu- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


669 


say  he  has  been  the  means  of  bringing  the  busi- 
ness up  to  its  present  standard,  and  to  its  promi- 
nent place  among  the  developing  influences  of 
San  Luis  Obispo  county.  During  igoi  the  con- 
cern handled  in  their  warehouses  over  one  hun- 
dred and  five  thousand  sacks  of  grain,  the  whole 
comprising  sixty-five  hundred  tons. 

At  San  Jose,  Cal.,  in  1884,  Mr.  Spurrier  mar- 
ried Ma-LoV  •  ui-.  a  native  of  Michigan,  and 
daughter  of  James  <  Hi-,  born  in  the  east,  and  a 
resident  of  California  for  thirty  years.  Mrs. 
Spurrier  died  in  Paso  Robles  in  [896,  leaving 
four  children.  George.  Frank  McCray,  Mary  and 
Howard.  Mr.  Spurrier  married  for  his  second 
wife  Florence  Keagle,  born  in  Iowa,  and  a 
daughter  of  John  L.  Keagle,  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  who  crossed  the  plains  in  i860,  set- 
tling at  Woodbridge,  Cal.  In  political  affiliation 
Mr.  Spurrier  is  independent.  He  is  at  present 
city  engineer,  and  served  as  county  surveyor  dur- 
ing 1893  and  1894.  He  is  popular  in  the  city  of 
his  adoption,  and  is  credited  with  unquestioned 
reliability  and  sound  business  judgment. 


CHRISTIAN  HOFFMANN. 

The  development  of  Santa  Cruz  is  due  in  no 
small  degree  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Hoffmann. 
whose  energy,  judgment  and  ability  haw  been 
devoted  to  the  enlargement  of  its  resources  from 
the  earliest  period  of  his  residence  here  to  the 
present  time.  From  his  native  country  of  Ger- 
many, where  he  was  born  October  17,  1836,  he 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1848.  with. hi-  par- 
ents, and  settled  in  New  York.  His  earliest  ef- 
forts toward  independence  were  as  a  humble  em- 
ploye in  a  soap  factory  at  Hoboken.  After  a 
short  time  a  brother-in-law  induced  him  to  take- 
up  the  baker's  trade  in  his  shop,  but  his  accept- 
ance of  this  w<  ''1,  brought  with  it  no  compensa- 
tions, .1-  he  worked  night  and  da)  and  endured 
many  bard-hip-,  without  enjoying  any  financial 
returns.  Abandoning  that  work,  he  looked  about 
him  for  other  employment  and  in  this  quest  an 
swered  an  advertisement  for  a  confectioner.  To 
his  disappointment  he  learned  thai  onl)  1 
enced  help  was  desired,  it  being  the  firm's  wish  to 
open  a  branch  house  in  VIontrose,  Pa.  I  [owever, 
his  fianlc  answers,  hi-  air  of  determination  and 


bis  earnest  appeal  that  he  might  be  given  a  trial. 
w^n  the  day,  and  all  .if  the  other  applicant 
rejected   in  hi-    favor.     Going  to   Montrose,   be 
5°on  justified  hi-  employers'  selection  and  pn  ved 
himself  reliable,  judicious  and  energetic. 

While  workingin  Montrose  Mr.  Hoffmann  be- 
came acquainted  with  a  company  wl 
ni"g  ^  start  to  Calif  rnia.  Although  small  in 
stature  and  nut  fully  developed  into  manho  d,  h« 
concluded  to  accompany  them,  providing  they 
would  allow  him  to  work  his  wa\ 
tent  and  pay  the  balance  when  convenient.  His 
proposition  was  accepted,  and  he  accompanied  the 
horse-train.  Fn  m  the  spring  to  the  fall  of  [852 
he  journeyed  across  the  plains  and  finally  arrived 
in  Marysville,  Cab.  ragged,  footsore  and  penni- 
less. He  was  fortunate  in  securing  work  in  a 
restaurant  known  as  the  Bee  Hive.  During  the 
summer  seasi  11  be  experimented  in  mining  and 
was  fairly  successful,  his  success  being  due 
mainly  to  the  fact  that  be  bad  no  bad  habits  and 
saved  most  of  hi-  wages.  Later  In-  embarked  in 
the  express  business  in  Marysville.  but  after  a 
time  sold  In-  interests  there  and  removed  to  Sis- 
kiyou, where  he  engaged  in  the  produce  business 
and  teaming,  and  for  a  time  conducted  a  hotel. 
Six  years  afterward,  in  1868,  be  came  to  Santa 
Cruz,  where  he  has  since  made  bis  In. me.  !n 
company  with  Charles  Burrows,  he  established 
the  first  gas  works  m  the  town,  but  not  finding 
this  profitable,  be  engaged  in  the  real-estate  busi 
ness,  buying  tracts  -  f  land,  which  be  subdivided 
ami  laid  out  into  lots.     The  ass  e  rend  red  by 

him    in    the    development    and    growth    of    Santa 
Cruz  was  particularlj  evident  through  his  sale  of 
lots,  'ii  ca-\   terms,  n    home-seekers.     His 
ness    was   an    inducement    1..   the   less    well 
citizen-  to  build  homes  of  their  own.     At  times 
be  waited  as  long  a-  ten  years  for  hi-  payments, 
in;    ii  1  worth)  <l(l:i.  i   was  ever  treated  ungener- 
ousl)  by  him.     Through  this  one  thin-  In 
the  upbuilding  of  the  town  and  was  instrumental 
in    securing    tin    1 

otherwise  would  not  have  been  projected.  \m  >ng 
the  Streets  thai  be  opened  were  Spruce.  Xew. 
Center,  Prince,  Franklin  and  Pioneer,  from  all 
of  which 

'  'i  of  Mr.  I  lolTinaun  in 

Santa  t  ruz  was  the  running  of  the  old  race  track. 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


which  he  eventually  sold  at  a  fair  profit.  In  the 
i  rganization  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Bank  he  bore  an 
actiye  part,  becoming  a  stockholder  and  director 
in  the  same.  Later  he  was  similarly  connected 
with  the  City  Bank.  Though  now  practically  re- 
tired from  business  cares,  he  still  maintains  an 
oversight  of  his  valuable  propert)  interests,  and 
is  as  eager  as  ever  to  aid  in  measures  for  the  gen- 
eral advancement  of  his  home  town.  When  a  boy 
lie  attended  the  Lutheran  Church  with  his  par- 
ents, and  still  inclines  toward  that  faith,  though 
liberal  in  his  religii  us  views.  While  he  has  never 
aspired  to  office,  he  is  interested  in  municipal  and 
i  politics,  and  is  a  pronounced  Republican. 
Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  <  >dd  Fellows. 
The  first  wife  of  Mr.  Hoffmann  was  Annie 
Margaret  Kleiner,  who  was  born  near  Frank- 
fort, Germany,  and  who  died  at  fifty-seven  years 
i  f  age.  Seven  children  were  born  of  this  union, 
namely  :  William  C,  who  is  engaged  in  the  realty 
business  in  Santa  Cruz;  Frank  J.,  cashier  in  the 
Santa  Cruz  G  unty  Lank;  Annie,  wife  of  Charles 
J.  Bosworth,  of  San  Francisco;  Kate.  Mrs.  R. 
Prindle,  of  Santa  Cruz;  Margaret.  Mrs.  Slaw- 
son,  (it  San  Francisco;  Mary,  Mrs.  Farrell,  also 
of  San  Francisco;  and  Ernest,  a  student  in  the 
medical  college  in  Philadelphia.  The  second  wife 
of  Mr.  Hoffmann  was  Mrs.  Caroline  (Marwede) 
Bern,  the  widow  of  the  late  Charles  Hem.  and  a 
lad)  of  estimable  character,  highly  respected 
am  ng  the  people  of  the  city  which  for  many 
vcars  has  been  her  home. 


I.   A. 


\D(  (  nk. 


The    Vdcock  family  had  iis  early  representa- 
in    Virginia  and    Kentucky,  and  its  mem- 
bers were  among  the  favored  and  well-to-do  of 
the    Fat  mers   and    sti »  1<  raisers.     The)    in   after 
years  dispersed  to  different   localities  through 
out  the  country,  and   R.  J.   Adcock,  the  father 
of  J.  A.  ( i..  who  was  born  in  Virginia,  settled 
in  Mc.Donough  county,  111.     Here  bis  son  was 
bom   in    [866,  and   when   four  years   old   came 
with  his   famil)    to    Montcrej    county,  Cal.      In 
the   east   the    father   had    engaged   in   the   mer- 
i.nt    here   he   l<  icated   i  m    a 
ranch  and  conducted  the  same  until  [884,  when, 
nei  tion    therewith,     he     started    another 


mercantile  venture  which  proved  a  successful 
means  of  livelihood  up  to  the  time  of  his  death 
in  1895.  His  wife,  who  died  in  California  in 
iSSn,  was  the  mother  of  two  sons  and  four 
daughters,  of  whom  R.  J.  Jr.  is  managing  his 
lather's  former  business. 

When  eighteen  years  old  J.  A.  G.  Adcock 
went  into  business  with  bis  father,  and  was  thus 
ugaged  for  about  fifteen  years,  the  entire  man- 
agement of  the  concern  devolving  upon  him 
after  the  death  of  his  father.  Upon  his  election 
in  [897  to  the  office  of  county  recorder,  he  sold 
half  of  his  mercantile  interest  to  his  brother 
the  following  year,  and  in  1899  disposed  of  his 
business  entirely.  Upon  the  Democratic  ticket 
he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  school  trustee 
and  member  of  the  city  council,  serving  for  a 
year  in  each  office.  Fraternally  he  is  associated 
with  the  Blue  Lodge  and  Royal  Arch  Masons, 
the  Odd  Fellows  Encampment,  the  Rebekahs, 
the  Foresters  of  America,  the  Independent 
Order  of  Foresters,  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World  and  the  Ancient  Order  United  Work- 
men. 

W.  W.   BLA(  K. 

One  of  the  promoters  of  the  all  around  pros- 
perity of  Hollister  is  W.  W.  Black,  furniture 
dealer  and  funeral  director,  and  a  resident  of 
the  city  since  early  boyhood.  A  native  of  Ne- 
vada county,  Cab.  he  was  born  in  [867,  and  is 
descended  from  a  family  located  for  many  years 
in  the  south.  His  father,  J.  M.  Black,  was  born 
in  the  Blue  Grass  state,  from  which  he  eventu- 
ally removed  to  Missouri,  and  from  there  to 
California  in  1852.  For  several  years  he  lived 
in  Nevada  county,  where  he  kept  a  toll  bridge 
and  in  1871  came  to  Hollister,  then  in  Monterey 
county,  and  established  the  first  furniture  and. 
undertaking  establishment  in  the  place.  This 
enterprise  continued  to  command  bis  attention 
and  business  abilit)  until  his  retirement  in  18113, 
a  change  followed  l>\  bis  death  in  1804.  at  the 
age  of  seventy-four  years.  A  Democrat  in 
political  affiliation,  he  for  two  years  filled  the 
responsible  office  of  count)  treasurer,  and  was 
also  for  a  time  county  coroner,  and  trustee  for 
the  town   of    Hollister.     Fraternally   he  was  a 


HISTORICAL     \NI)    BIOGRAPHICAL    KPCORD. 


member  of  Mound  Lodge.  I.  O.  0.  F.,  with 
which  his  son  is  now  identified. 

While  attending  the  public  schools  of  Hol- 
lister,  W.  W.  Black  assisted  his  father  with  the 
furniture  and  undertaking  business,  and,  at  a 
comparatively  early  age,  understood  all  about 
the  numerous  details.  It  naturally  followed 
that  with  the  retirement  of  the  elder  Black  in 
t893,  his  son  assumed  control  of  his  interests, 
a  responsibility  rendered  familiar  by  reason  of 
former  experience.  As  an  embalmer  he  calls 
to  his  aid  the  latest  developments  of  science,  and 
in  his  work  is  able  to  realize  what  the  ancients 
declared  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  arts.  He 
carries  a  line  of  furniture  calculated  to  meet 
the  tastes  and  most  exacting  demands  of  the 
residents  of  Hollister  and  vicinity,  and  the 
patronage  accorded  his  well  established  busi- 
ness is  in  keeping  with  his  honest  and  fair 
treatment  of  the  business  and  social  contingent. 

While  prosecuting  his  ambitious  business 
career  Mr.  Black  has  been  instrumental  in  for- 
warding many  worthy  and  upbuilding  enter- 
prises in  the  town,  and  has  also  upheld  the 
principles  and  traditions  of  the  Democratic  party 
as  a  broad-minded  politician,  his  term  as  cor- 
oner having  given  the  greatesl  satisfaction. 
Fraternally  he  is  past  noble  grand  of  Mound 
Lodge,  I.  O.  (  >.  !•'..  and  was  a  delegate  to  the 
state  -rand  lodge,  and  is  also  a  member  of  San 
Benito  Lodge  21  r,  F.  &  A.  M. 


E.  C.  IVINS. 


The  office  of  sheriff,  always  a  responsible  one, 
is  admirably  maintained  by  E.  C.  Ivins,  one  .if 
the  must  popular  and  efficient  of  the  men  who 
have  served  in  this  capacity  in  San  1. 111-  1  ibispo 
county.  Preceded  by  his  former  experience  as 
deputy  sheriff  between  the  years  [89]  95,  he  was 
elected  sheriff  on  the  Democratic  tickel  in  [898, 
and  has  in  the  mean  time  given  an  administra- 
tion singularly  free  from  undue  criticism  fr.nn 
either  party.  \  thorough  -indent  of  human  na- 
ture in  all  its  workings,  and  possessing  tact,  pa- 
tience and  consideration,  the  present  incumbent 
of  a  huge  trust  has  found  little  difficult) 
onciling  antagonisms  and  adjusting  difficulties. 

Although  born  in  the  state  of  Washington  in 


[856,  Mr.  Ivins  came  to  California  with  his  par- 
ents when  six  months  ')ld,  and  lived  in  Marin 
county  until  his  twelfth  year.  He  attended  the 
public  school  in  Marin  county,  and  continued 
his  studies  after  removing  to  Cambria,  in  the 
northern  part  of  San  Puis  (  Ibispo  count] 
preliminary  training  was  supplemented  by  a 
course  at  the  Pacific  Business  College  in  San 
Francisco,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he 
started  out  to  formulate  hi-  business  future, 
lie  was  fairly  successful  as  a  farmer  and 
raiser  in  the  vicinity  of  Cambria,  and  owned  a 
large  and  finely  equipped  ranch  called  Sulphur 
Spring.  The  father  of  Mr.  Ivins.  C.  II.  Ivins,  is 
a  very  successful  man,  and,  is  b\  profession  a 
lawyer.    Although  pr;  many  years  in 

San  Francisco,  he  is  also  interested  in  ranching, 
and  has  two  large  ranches  near  Cambria.  He 
married  Miss  Mary  Cole,  of  Indiana,  and  two 
children  were  born  of  this  union,  one  son  and 
one  daughter. 

In  1879  Mr.  Ivins  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Esther  Blunt,  a  native  of  California,  and  three. 
soi-  were  born  to  them,  but  Charles  Henry  is 
the  only  one  now-  living.  Those  deceased  were 
Robert  and  Ernest.  Mr.  Ivins  is  identified  with 
many  of  the  social  and  other  organizations  in 
which  the  town  abounds,  and  a:  all 
is  a  welcome  guest  and  recognized  acquisition. 
He  is  especially  prominent  as  an  (  Idd  I 
and  has  passed  all  of  tl  1 A  assist  him 

with  his  work  as  sb  riff  Mr.  [vins  has  two  depu- 
ties, and  his  office  is  so  systematized  that  its 
cares  are  materially  1<  - 


I  II    \i./l\A. 

I  hi    piesent   deputy  sheriff    of    Santa 

.    Enoch     Mini,   is   a   son   of    Frank    L. 
Alzina,   who   claimed   the    honor   0 

county,     The   formi 
1   Santa  Cruz,    November   10.   1867 
comes  of  a  famil)   interestingly   associ  ted  with 
early  happenings  on  the  c 

Frank    P.    Alzina,   or    Francisco 

II  in  Spain,  and  the  kind  of 
that  We  read  about  in  novels  determined 

11  of  his  future   career.     No 
Ashed  pcrsoi  a 


.;;  i 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


raguj  came  into  his  life  as  a  hero  ami  inspira- 
tion, and  his  intimate  association  with  the  cele- 
brated sea  fighter  remained  an  interesting 
\  tip  to  the  end  of  his  life.  When  the 
United  States  sent  the  commodore  on  a  cruise 
to  the  Mediterranean  sett,  he  stopped  at  Ma- 
jorca, one  of  the  Blanco  Islands,  ami  took  on 
board  several  sailors,  among  whom  was  the 
future  sheriff  of  Santa  Cruz  county.  The  new 
recruit  proved  courageous  ami  faithful,  and  was 
at  the  front  when  his  chief  captured  Monterey 
in  1846.  Thereafter  Mr.  Alzina  settled  down  to 
i  veryday  life  in  Santa  Cruz,  and  when  the  news 
of  the  death  of  the  great  commodore  penetrated 
the  precincts  of  the  city,  he  was  the  only  one 
who  honored  his  memor)  b)  lowering  a  flag  at 
half  mast.  After  the  establishment  of  the  terri- 
torial government  Mr.  Alzina  became  clerk  for 
Mr.  Blackburn,  the  first  alcalde,  and  he  was 
elected  sheriff  of  the  county  the  year  that  Cali- 
fornia became  a  state,  serving  in  that  capacity 
for  eight  years.  He  was  thrifty  and  enterpris- 
ing, and  combined  the  most  desirable  traits  of 
the  early  Spanish  settlers.  A  good  financier,  he 
so  arranged  Ids  business  dealings  that  money 
'flowed  into  his  purse,  and  was  invested  in  land 
which  was  then  cheap,  but  which  rapidly  rose  in 
value,  hie  built  the  house  in  which  his  death 
occurred,  and  which  is  now  occupied  by  his 
widow,  formerly  Carlotia  Gonzalez,  and  her 
son,  Enoch.  Eleven  children  were  born  to 
Sheriff  Alzina  and  his  wife,  of  whom  nine  are 
living:  ITaucisca.  Abe,  Carrie,  Frank,  John, 
Pauline,  Enoch,  Albert  and  Thomas. 

Enoch  Alzina  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  at  a  comparatively 
early  age  accepted  a  clerkship  in  one  of  the 
leading  stores  of  the  town.  For  the  past  twelve 
years  he  ha-  been  deput)  sheriff,  continuing 
to  hold  his  position  under  different  administra- 
tions, regardless  of  political  leaning.  In  the 
community  he  occupies  a  prominent  place  ami 
is  esteemed  for  his  man)  desirable  trails  ,, 
character.  Like  his  father,  he  ha-  an  enormous 
amount  of  push  and  public  spirit  and  is  nil- 
doubtedl)  destined  to  till  a  large  place  in  the 
affairs  of  Santa  Cruz.  Fraternally  he  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men, the    Knights  of   Pythias,  the   Maccabees, 


the  Red  Men  of  Santa  Cruz  and  the  Pioneer 
Sons  of  California.  He  is  a  charter  member 
of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West  and  the 
Independent  (  )rder  of  Foresters  of  America  in 
Santa  Cruz,  and  is  otherwise  associated  with 
social  and  general  affairs  in  his  native  town. 


MILT<  )\  BESSE. 

Long  experience,  excellent  judgment,  and 
particular  aptitude  for  the  important  responsi- 
bility of  sheriff  of  Santa  Cruz  county  rendered 
Air.  Besse  an  eminently  fitting  acquisition  to 
the  preservers  of  law  and  order  in  the  state 
;it  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  office  in  1  X<  14. 
1  lis  associates  in  a  minor  capacity  were  deputies 
J.  I'.  McMullen  and  E.  Alzina;  deputy  H.  W. 
Trafton  of  Watsonville,  and  deputy  A.  L.  Seid- 
linger  ot  Boulder  Creek.  Mr.  Besse  was  born 
in  Pescadero,  then  in  Santa  Cruz  but  now  in 
San  Mateo  county,  November  4,  1862,  a  son  of 
Samuel  H.  Besse.  and  grandson  of  Samuel  and 
Mercy  (Dexter)  Besse. 

Samuel  Besse  and  his  wife  were  born  in 
Massachusetts,  but  removed  to  Maine,  where 
the}  owned  and  occupied  a  farm  of  considerable 
extent.  When  the  war  of  1812  broke  out 
Samuel  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  be 
cause  of  meritorious  services  then  rendered, 
drew  the  pension  which  later  reverted  to  his 
wife.  The  grandparents  came  to  California 
about  1  So;-,  where  the  grandfather  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy,  and  his  wife  died  in  the  east  in 
1  So  1.  Their  children  were  named  Kosella  I... 
Samuel  II.,  Edward  T.,  John  X.  and  Rebecca  F. 
The  sons  came  to  the  west  in  184c).  via  the 
Cape,  and  tiller  experimenting  with  mining  for 
a  time  settled  down  to  surer  methods  of  liveli- 
hood, after  returning  to  the  ea-l  to  settle  up 
their  affairs. 

Samuel  Harrison  Besse  was  born  in  Ken 
nebec  county.  Me.,  in  1S21.  and  with  his 
brothers  came  to  California  in  search  of  gold 
in  1849.  In  1850  he  returned  to  the  east,  but 
came  to  California  \  ia  the  Isthmus  in  1852.  and 
engaged  in  mining  until  1855.  In  partnership 
ivith  Bradiej  Weeks  and  John  Rader  he  then 
purchased  a  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  four- 
teen acres,   which   now  constitutes  the  farm   of 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


Charles  Bradley  at  Peseaclero.  Owing  to  im- 
paired health  he  was  obliged  to  retire  from 
business  in  1878,  and  went,  to  the  mountains  in 
search  of  the  vitality  which  entirely  failed  him 
in  1884.  at  the  age  of  sixty-one.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  force  of  character,  and  filled  many 
positions  of  trust  -during  his  lifetime.  When 
he  first  settled  at  Pescadero  he  served  as  United 
States  deputy  marshal,  and  his  home  at  that 
time  was  a  very  popular  place,  his  wife  being 
the  only  white  woman  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  extremely  kind  to  all  the  settlers.  Mrs. 
Besse  was  formed}  Martha  D.  Boynton,  and 
her  death  occurred  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven 
_\ears.  She  was  the  mother  of  four  children: 
Antoinette  A.,  the  wife  of  G.  A.  Gates;  Julia 
F.,  the  wife  of  R.  B.  Milroy;  Milton,  sheriff  of 
Santa  Cruz  county;  and  Mariam,  the  wife  of 
Marion  Woodruff.  Rosella  L.,  the  sister  of 
Samuel  H.  Besse.  married  Jonathan  C.  Pink- 
ham,  ni'  Boston,  and  they  came  to  California 
in  185 J.  Air.  Pinkham  having  previously  visited 
the  state  in  1849.  They  removed  to  Santa  Cruz 
in  [86o,  and  here  built  their  home  the  follow- 
ing year,  in  which  Mr.  Pinkham,  who  was  a 
shoemaker,  eventually  died.  His  widow  mar- 
ried Samuel  Walker,  of  Philadelphia,  a  promi- 
nent Mason,  who  also  died  in  California.  Mrs. 
Pinkham,  who  was  born  in  1819,  is  still  alert 
and  able  to  enjoy  life,  her  home  being  for  the 
present  with  her  nephew,   Milton  Besse. 

The  first  practical  experience  of  Mr.  Bess< 
was  acquired  as  a  clerk  in  a  broker's  office,  and 
afterward  while  holding  a  position  at  Redwoods. 
He  gradually  became  interested  in  contract 
building  in  Santa  Cruz,  and  by  1879  had  worked 
up  quite  a  trade,  from  then  on  becoming  iden- 
tified with  all  manner  of  building  throughout 
the  city.  He  was  thus  employed  until  his  elec- 
tion to  the  office  of  sheriff  in  [894,  hi-  previous 
duties  as  deputy  assessor,  for  four  years,  having 
been  undertaken  in  connection  with  his  build- 
ing operations.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Elks,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel 
low  -  and  lb.  I  m  ampment,  of  which  he  has 
been  representative  to  the  grand  lodge  for  the 
past  ten  years;  the  Rebekahs,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  Maccab<  es.  I  fe  is  .1  1 
of   tin-   Native   Son.   of   the   1  Golden    West,   of 


which  he  is  past  president  and  past  grand  mar- 
shal, and  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  the 
By  his  marriage  with  Mary  Prink,  of 
Santa  Cruz,  two  children  were  born:  Harry  A., 
who  died  in  1891,  at  the  age  of  eighteen:  and 
Rose,  a  student. 


HENRY  II.  CLARK,  M.  I). 

Although  ranking  high  among  the  hea 
men,  and  the  recipient  of  a  patronage  at  once 
gratifying  and  remunerative,  the  career  of  Dr. 
li.  II.  Clark  has  been  broadened  into  many  sick 
channels  of  activity,  including  that  of  mayor  of 
Santa  Cruz,  promoter  of  the  first  electric  light 
plant,  and  of  the  first  street  ear  line,  as  well  as 
many  other  enterprises  of  equally  substantial 
merit.  A  native  of  Onondaga  county,  X.  Y..  he 
was  born  February  to.  1835,  his  father's  farm 
being  located  at  Fort  Herkimer,  twelve  miles 
from  Syracuse.  The  [amily  fortunes  were 
shifted  to  Wisconsin  in  1841.  and  hen 
parents,  Aaron  and  Margaret  (Fox)  Clark, 
engaged  in  farming  for  four  years,  removing 
then  to  Chicago.  111.  Aaron  Clark  was  a  cabi- 
netmaker by  trade,  and  in  his  younger  days 
devoted  himself  to  this  occupation.  In  later 
life  he  farmed  exclusively,  and  his  d( 
curred  at  Cambridgeport  in   [893. 

At  a  comparatively  early  age  Dr.  Clarl 
Up  his  mind  that  he  hail  ambitions  which  would 
never  be  satisfied  on  a  farm,  and  after  fini 
at   the   public   schools   began   to  read   medicine 
with  Dr.  Brainard.    He  was  license, 1  to  ,. 
by  the  Northwestern  S01  ii  1  .  in  [85  |.  and  there- 
after   located    in    White    county.    111.,    win 
achieved   some  success,  and  at   tin-  -am. 
continued   to   add    to   In-    professional    knowl- 
edge.     IK    graduated    from   the  medical   depart- 
ment of  the   Univers  in  Cincinnati, 
in   the   class   of    1S71  .   and   i!  1    Chi- 

[owa    Railroad    '  ompany,   his  ten 
expiring  in    [887.     The  exigi 
war  presented  .-n  opportunity  admirably  main- 
tained by   1  >r.  Clark,  who  went  as 
the  front,  and   was   with  <  Jrant  at   the  b  itl 
Pittsburg  Landing.     His  discharge  was  effected 
V.    M..    and   he   then    returned    to 


676 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


his  practice  in  Edwards  county,  111.  In  [889  he 
located  in  Santa  Cruz,  and  in  1890  became 
associated  professional!)  with  Dr.  Fagan,  one 
of  the  very  early  and  prominent  physicians  of 
(he  town,  and  whose  history  may  be  found  in 

thoroughl)  satisfactory,  and  continued  until  the 
death  of  Dr.  Fagan  in  [899,  since  which  time 
!  >r.  ( lark  has  engaged  in  an  independent  prac- 
tice. 

The  professional  usefulness  of  Dr.  Clark  has 
been  augmented  by  his  electrical  researches,  of 
which  he  is  making  a  specialty,  and  in  the  appli- 
cation of  which  he  has  achieved  marked  suc- 
cess. Elaborate  opportunities  for  experiment 
and  treatment  are  to  be  found  in  his  well 
equipped  offices,  not  the  least  important  of  his 
many  devices  being  the  only  X-ray  machine  so 
far  imported  into  the  county.  The  success  of 
these  electrical  treatments  have  amazingly  aug- 
mented the  practice  of  the  learned  doctor,  and 
he  is  therefore  recognized  as  an  authority  on 
this  continually  unfolding  method  of  healing. 
But  recently  his  theories  have  been  demon- 
strated with  most  satisfactory  results  in  his  own 
ca^e,  for  his  recovery  from  a  very  serious  opera- 
tion is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  vivifying  and  life 
giving  properties  of  this  all  too  little  under- 
stood science.  It  is  hoped  by  his  friends  that 
many  years  will  be  spared  him  in  which  to 
continue  the  work  in  which  he  is  so  intensely 
interested,  and  which  promises  so  much  in  its 
present   and  future   possibilities. 

In  Wayne  county,  111.,  Dr.  Clark  married 
Matholda  Shannon,  niece  of  ex-Governor  Wil- 
son Shannon  of  Ohio,  of  this  union  seven 
children  were  horn,  three  of  whom  are  living: 
I  lattie  S.;  Hulbert  \\\.  an  electrician  of  Santa 
Cruz:  and  Theodore  (I.,  a  medical  student.  Dr. 
(  lark  has  been  prominent  in  Republican  poli 
tics  ior  manj  war-,  and  was  so  popular  that  he 
was  elected  mayor  of  the  town  in  [896,  serving 
For  two  years  He  was  public  administrator  and 
count)-  coroner  from  [894  until  1S08,  and  Idled 
oilu-r  offices  of  bono,    and   responsibility.     I  le 

1  on-  m|"  the  chief  promoters  and  stocl 
li<  Tier-  a-  well  as  .1  din  ctor  1  if  the  Santa  1  in 
electric  light  plant,  and  he  was  equally  promi- 


street  car  line,  later  changed  to  the  electricity 
system.  The  doctor  is  identified  with  the  State 
Medical  Association,  and  as  a  Mason  is  a  Royal 
Arch  and  Knight  Templar.  He  is  popular  and 
widely  known,  and  is  an  integral  part  of  the 
professional  and  general  prosperity  of  his 
chosen   city. 


JAMES  IT  FULLER. 

The  Boulder  Creek  Mercantile  Association, 
though  not  one  of  the  oldest  enterprises  of  the 
town,  was  inaugurated  under  favorable  auspices 
in  1897,  and  has  since  realized  the  expectations 
of  those  most  interested.  James  H.  Fuller,  the 
head  of  the  firm,  possesses  the  requisite  busi- 
ness ability  for  the  conduct  of  his  business,  and 
is  regarded  as  one  of  the  substantial  and  re- 
liable residents  of  .the  town. 

A  native  of  the  vicinity  of  Plattsburg,  Clinton 
county.  X.  Y..  Mr.  Fuller  was  born  February 
/,  1839,  and  when  eighteen  months  old  lost  his 
father  by  death.  The  elder  Fuller  was  baptized 
Aca;  and  was  a  farmer  and  carpenter  in  \Yash- 
lngtoii  county,  X.  V.,  although  he  eventually 
removed  to  Clinton  county,  where  the  rest  of  his 
life  \\a>  s|)rllt.  I  lis  wife,  Anna  (Nichols)  Fuller, 
survived  him  many  years,  and  carefully  reared 
her  family  of  children.  James  H.  Fuller  came 
to  California  in  1857,  via  Central  America,  and 
after  locating  in  San  Jose,  farmed  and  engaged 
in  contract  work  on  the  streets  of  the  town, 
in  [882  he  came  to  Boulder  Creek,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  bought  and  shipped  timber,  and  at 
the  present  time  is  interested  in  six  hundred 
acres  of  timber  land  in  Santa  Cruz  county. 
Previous  to  starling  iiis  mercantile  business  in 
[897  he  built  the  store  in  which  he  is  conducting 
his  enterprise,  and  since  occupying  the  same  has 
also  engaged  in  shipping  railroad  ties  ami  pick- 
ets, these  being  acquired  from  his  extensive 
limber   lands. 

In  political  affiliation  Mr.  Fuller  is  independ- 
ent, and  believes  in  voting  for  principle  rather 
than  part\.  I  le  i-  one  of  the  trustees  of  Boulder 
(Veek,  bui  has  otherwise  not  interested  himself 
in  office  holding.  .Mr.  Fuller  has  two  children. 
\anc\    and  Willougllby.      lie  is  a  broad  minded 


^  H4%j&lu^ 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


has  won  an  enviable  place  in  the  community  in 
which  he  lives. 


LEVI  K.  BALDWIN". 

The  record  of  the  Baldwin  family  in  America 
is  traced  hack  to  1730,  when  Ebenezer  Baldwin 
left  Devonshire,  England,  and  crossed  the  un- 
tried waters  of  the  Atlantic,  settling  in  Egre- 
niont,  Berkshire  county,  Mass.  A  descendant 
of  this  immigrant,  James  Baldwin,  served  with 
valor  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Ephraim,  a  son 
of  the  Federal  soldier,  followed  his  father's  exam- 
ple and  enlisted  for  service  inthesecond  war  with 
England,  having  the  distinction  of  being  the 
first  man  to  volunteer  from  the  Berkshire  re- 
gion. Promoted  by  degrees  to  the  rank  of  col- 
onel, he  returned  home  with  a  record  for  bravery 
of  which  he  might  well  he  proud.  The  subse- 
quent  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  the  Bay 
state,  where  he  died  at  seventy-seven  years.  I  1  i s 
wife,  Demis  (Karner)  Baldwin,  was  eighty-two 
at  the  time  of  her  death.  They  were  the  parents 
of  six  children,  of  which  Levi  K.  and  one  sister 
alone  survive. 

At  Egremont,  the  home  of  his  ancestors,  Levi 
K.  Baldwin  was  horn  August  II,  1820,  and  there 
the  years  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  were  un- 
eventfully passed.  Starting  out  for  himself,  he 
soon  won  his  way  to  an  honorable  indepen- 
dence. (  >n  establishing  domestic  ties  he  was 
united  in  marriage,  November  7,  1X42.  with 
Emeline  1 'arsons,  daughter  of  Eli  and  Clara 
(Tuller)  Parsons.  The  young  couple  started 
out  in  life  under  the  most  propitious  circum- 
stances, with  many  friends  and  well-wishers  in 
the  vicinity  of  their  birth.  For  some  time  all 
went  well,  but  adversity  finally  came  to  them,  as 
it  cullies  to  so  many  in  life's  journey.  llis 
genial,  kindly  nature  prompted  him  to  accom- 
modate mam  friends  by  endorsing  their  notes, 
and  the  hanks  always  accepted  his  endorsements 
as  the  best  security  known  to  the  community. 
Two  of  these  friends,  whose  mites  fur  $1,000 
were  endorsed  by  Air.  Baldwin,  failed  to  meet 
their  obligations  and  the  debt  fell  Upon  the  en- 
dorser. Even  the  roof  that  sheltered  himself 
and  wile  was  mortgaged  to  meet  the  necessarj 
am.  unit,   which   in  due   time  was   paid:    thus  was 


lust  the  home  where   his  ancestors  fur  nearb    a 
hundred  years  had  been  bom. 

With  only  a  little  left  of  hi-  mice  comfortable 
fortune.  Mr.  Baldwin  turned  his  face  toward  the 
west,  where  be  believed  it  would  l»c  possible  to 
retrieve  his  losses.  In  the  spring  ol  [858,  ac 
companied  l>>  hi-  wife,  he  came  via  Panama  to 
San  Francisco,  and  a  week  after  his  arrival  went 
forward  to  Marin  county,  where  he  embarked 
in  the  dair_\  business.  Land  being  cheap,  be 
soon  purchased  a  large  trail  and  boughl  a  large 
number  of  milch  cows.  In  the  management  of 
his  business  lie  was  ably  assisted  by  his  capable 
wife.  Such  was  their  -kill  in  butter-making  that 
Baldwin's  butter  soon  commanded  the  highest 
price  in  the  markets  and  its  high  quality  and 
price  caused  so  many  dairymen  to  imitate  the 
Baldwin  brand  that  Air.  Baldwin  was  obliged  to 
n  gister  his  brand  as  a  legal  trade  mark,  in  or 
der  to  protect  himself  against  counterfeiters. 
For  years  Baldwin's  butter  lias  been  sold  at  Stall 
No.  50,  Washington  market.  San   Francisco. 

When  Air.  Baldwin  went  to  California  it  was 
his  intention  to  remain  just  long  enough 
trieve  hi-  losses  and  then  return  to  hi-  old  Berk 
shire  home.  However,  as  the  years  passed  by, 
his  prosperity  was  so  gratifying  and  he  found 
the  climate  of  California  so  superior  to  that  of 
Massachusetts  that  he  determined  to  pass  the 
remainder  of  his  life  by  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 
Leaving  Marin  county  in  [872  he  came  t< 
Cruz,  where  lie  followed  the  dairv  business  with 
equal  success.  Meantime  bis  earnings  were  in- 
vested in  land  which  increased  in  value,  thus 
earning  him  compound  interest.  Hie  fortune 
lost  ill  the  east  was  not  only  won  again  in  the 
west,  but  was  increased  to  an  extent  far  beyond 
bis  original  ambition-  01  hopes  \t  this  writ- 
ing he  is  one  of  tin'  heaviest  taxpayers  in  the  en- 
tire county.  While  he  is  now  to  a  large  extent 
retired  from  business  cares,  spending  his  time 
quietl)  at  his  suburban  home  mi  B 
nue.  yel  be  does  nol  lead  an  aimless  life,  for  to 
a  man  of  his  temperament  activity  is  essential 
and  can  on]\  cease  with  death.  Mis  original 
purchase  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  acres 
and  tw  1  -  was  increased  from  year 

to  year,  and  later,  with   /.   lxarner  as  a  partner, 
he  acquired  a  ranch  of  seventeen  hundred  acres 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


and  another  of  twenty-three  acres,  having  these 
ranches  stocked  with  four  hundred  head  of  cat- 
tle. In  1890  a  division  of  interests  was  made 
by  the  partners,  Mr.  Baldwin  taking  as  his  share 
the  seventeen  hundred  acres,  which  he  still  owns 
and  which  is  stocked  with  dairy  cows,  besides 
having  valuable  timber.  The  land  is  conducted 
by  Mr.  Anderson,  who  is  an  efficient  manager. 
I  lis  next  purchase  comprised  fifty-five  acres,  of 
which  he  retains  thirty-six  at  this  writing.  In 
1873  he  erected  a  modern  commodious  resi- 
dence, which  he  has  surrounded  by  a  beautiful 
lawn  with  flowers  and  shrubbery.  One  of  the 
attractions  of  the  homestead  is  a  fine  grove  of 
eucalyptus  trees,  vCt  out  from  seed  in  1873,  and 
four  of  which  are  now  five  feet  in  thickness. 
One  of  the  trees  recently  cut  down  furnished 
fi  ur  cords  of  wood. 

After  a  happy  wedded  life  of  fifty-eight  years, 
during  which  they  had  shared  their  joys  and 
sorrows,  Mr.  Baldwin  lost  his  wife  by  death  in 
April,  1001,  when  she  was  seventy-nine  years  of 
age.  Three  children  were  born  of  their  union, 
one  of  whom,  Satella.  died  at  the  age  of  seven 
and  a  half  years.  The  two  others,  Clara  and 
Mary  Louise,  both  of  whom  have  received  ex- 
cellent educational  and  other  advantages,  are 
a*  home,  caring  affectionately  for  their  father  in 
his  declining  years. 

A-  would  be  expected,  the  fellow-citizen-  of 
Air.  Baldwin  appreciated  his  abilities  and  often 
requested  him  to  represent  them  in  positions  of 
trust  and  honor.  In  1874  he  was  elected  super- 
of  Santa  Cruz  county  and  three  years  later 
1  elected.  When  the  City  Bank  of  Santa 
Cruz  was  organized  in  1887  he  became  one  of 
its  principal  stockholders  and  later  was  honored 
with  the  presidency  of  the  institution,  remaining 
head  of  the  concern  until  January,  1900, 
when  his  desire  to  retire  from  active  business 
ibilities  caused  him  to  tender  his  resig- 
nation. While  his  life  in  California  has  been 
mainly  one  of  sneers-,  yet  he  has  had  hi-  share 
:rses,  and  ai  our  nine  experienced  a  loss 
iUgh  the  failure  of  a  man.  for  whom 
he  was  security,  to  meei  his  obligations,  thus 
ng  him  to  raise  the  entire  amount  himself. 
After  several  severe  losses  through  endorse 
es,  he  decided  to  discontinue  the  use 


of  his  name  in  this  manner,  and  always  after- 
ward refused  to  accommodate  people  in  this  way. 
However,  he  has  never  ceased  to  be  mindful  of 
those  whose  lot  in  life  has  been  sad  and  unfor- 
tunate, and  none  such  has  ever  appealed  to  him 
for  aid  in  vain.  Many  a  contribution  has  been 
quietly  and  unostentatiously  made  for  charity, 
when  none  knew  of  the  gift  save  himself  and 
the  recipient.  He  has  also  been  a  generous  con- 
tributor  to  the  cause  of  religion,  aiding  various 
churches  regardless  of  denomination,  for  he  is  a 
man  of  broad  spirit,  willing  to  aid  all  move- 
ments for  the  benefit  and  spiritual  uplifting  of 
mankind.  What  his  life  has  meant  to  Santa 
Cruz  county  and  its  people  a  stranger  could  not 
understand,  nor  do  all  of  the  residents  realize, 
yet  so  much  is  known  of  his  keen  judgment,  his 
discriminating  foresight,  his  kindly  spirit  of 
charity  and  his  generosity  as  to  bring  to  all  at 
Ieasl  a  partial  realization  of  wdiat  his  achieve- 
ments and  his  influence  have  meant  for  the 
county  where  he  resides. 


I'..  B.  PIERCE. 

The  present  city  marshal  of  Paso  Robles,  to 
which  office  he  has  been  twice  elected,  is  one 
of  the  town's  most  enterprising  and  progressive 
citizens,  and  has  established  a  reputation  for 
genuine  worth  as  a  business  man  and  politician. 
He  became  identified  with  the  city  which  has 
since  profited  by  his  endeavors  in  1887,  in  which 
year  he  was  elected  road  overseer,  and  estab- 
lished a  butcher  shop  and  farming  enterprise. 
In  1890  he  was  elected  trustee,  serving  for  two 
years,  and  in  1900  was  elected  city  marshal,  two 
\ear-,  later  being  appointed  deput)  sheriff.  [895 
witnessed  the  starting  of  the  livery  business  in 
which  he  is  now  engaged,  and  at  the  same  time 
he  became  railroad  contractor  for  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company,  attending  to  their 
work  along  the  coast  line.  He  has  constructed 
several  buildings  in  this  city,  and  the  city  hall, 
which  he  owned  ami  rented  for  nine  years, 
he  finally  sold.  The  residence  on  Oak  street 
occupied  b)  his  family  is  yet  another  of  his 
acquisitions,  as  well  as  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  farm  laud  near  the  town.  1  Ulicr  inter- 
ests  command   his   time   and  attention,   and    he 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


has  availed  himself  of  the  resources  of  the  state 
to  the  extent  of  owning  quicksilver  and  oil 
stock. 

Like  the  majority  of  the  men  who  have  made 
a  success  of  western  life,  Mr.  Pierce  received  his 
early  training  on  a  farm,  and  acquired  a  certain 
independence  and  aggressiveness  from  early 
In  >ur>  and  early  responsibility.  He  was  born 
in  Howard  county,  Mo.,  near  Fayette,  March 
31,  1851,  and  comes  from  a  family  long  repre- 
sented in  Virginia,  in  which  state  his  father, 
John  McCoy  Pierce,  was  horn,  in  Rappahan- 
nock county,  and  there  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising.  John  Pierce  came  to  California 
in  1869,  settling  in  Monterey,  now  San  Benito, 
county,  where  he  lived  retired  for  some  time, 
but  died  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  at  the  age 
of  eighty-one  years.  His  wife,  Mary  Eliza 
(Johnson)  Pierce,  was  born  in  Warren  county. 
Ky.,  on  the  <  >hio  river,  and  bore  him  two  chil- 
dren, one  son  and  one  daughter.  He  had  pre- 
viously been  married,  and  of  the  first  union 
there  were  two  sons  and  two  daughters. 

After  completing  his  education  at  Central 
College,  Missouri,  Mr.  Pierce  started  for  Cali- 
fornia with  his  father,  at  the  time  being  seven- 
teen years  of  age.  The  father  bought  land  in 
San  Benito  county,  but  in  1876  removed  to  the 
Osos  valley,  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  where 
he  bought  six  hundred  and  forty-eight  acres 
of  land  and  engaged  in  farming  and  dairying 
for  twelve  years.  This  property  was  disposed 
of  for  $24,000,  and  the  family  removed  to  near 
Paso  Robles  in  1875.  where  they  owned  six  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres.  As  heretofore  stated,  P.  1'.. 
Pierce  moved  into  the  city  in  1887,  and  has 
since  made  this  his  home. 

In  .Missouri  Mr.  Pierce  married  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Knaus,  the  latter  born  in  the  east, 
while  the  former  was  born  in  Cooper  county, 
Mo.  Mr.  Knaus  died  in  Yolo  county,  tab, 
when  about  hft\  years  of  age.  To  Mr.  and  Mi  - 
Pierce  have  been  born  three  children:  Maud, 
the  wife  of  J.  F.  Barnberg,  a  very  successful 
miner  of  Cape  Nome,  Alaska:  Mabel,  who  is 
employed  in  the  Bank  of  San  Jose;  and  J.  I-'., 
twelve  years  of  age.  and  at  present  a  pupil  of 
the  sixth  grade  of  the  school  at  Paso  Robles. 
Mr.  Pierce  is  fraternally  identified  with  the  Ma 


-on,,  the  Eastern  Star,  and  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  carried  a  $2,000 
insurance  in  the  Independent  Order  Foresters, 
and  a  like  amount  of  insurance  in  the  Western 
Masonic  Association.  lie  is  a  Democral  in 
politics,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  county 
central  committee,  as  well  as  a  delegate  1-  the 
stale  central  convention  in  rcjoo.  Mr.  Pierce  is 
wide  awake  to  the  interest  30  and  has 

many     friends,    as    well    as    a    liberal    sha 
worldly  possessions. 


PR(  IF.    DAVID    C.    CLARK. 

To  an  accurate  observer  the  condition  of  a 
city's  schools  affords  a  comprehensive  insight 
into  the  spirit  of  that  city,  whether  progressive 
or  retrogressive,  ambitious  for  advancement  or 
satisfied  with  the  achievements  of  the  past.  In 
this  respect  Santa  Cruz  has  much  reason  for 
pride,  as  there  has  been  a  steady  advance  in 
educational  facilities,  opportunities  and  methods 
To  a  large  degree  the  credit  for  this  gratifying 
condition  may  be  attributed  to  Professor  Clark, 
who  since  1884  has  been  superintendent  of 
the  cit)  schools  and  principal  of  the  high  school. 

The  history  of  the  Santa  Cruz  schools  dates 
back  to  1848.  when  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Case  estab 
lished  a  private  school  in  her  adobe  bouse  on 
Mission  Hill.  Two  years  later  a  public  school 
was  started.  Its  beginning  of  course  was  crude, 
as  was  to  be  expected  in  a  region  then  so  far 
removed  from  civilization.  However,  a  stead) 
progress  was  noted.  In  [863  there  were  two 
teachers.  K.  Dest)  and  Miss  M.  Hill.  There 
being  no  schoolhouse,  any  vacant  building  was 
utilized  that  could  be  rented  and  finally  the  old 
courthouse  was  converted  into  a  school  build- 
ing, this  serving  the  purpose  until  a  more  suit- 
able  Structure   could   be  erected.      II.    I'"..   Makin- 

as  elected  principal  in  [867  and  conl 
in  the  position  for  seven  years.  The  next  occu- 
pant was  C.  Kessler,  but  after  two  months  he 
ucceeded  by  Volne)  Rattan.  Subsequent 
occupants  were  successively  Profs.  W.  W. 
Anderson.  E.  C.  Newell,  VV.  II.  Galbraith,  Mr. 
Rily,  G.  W.  Jones  and  Mr.  Randall.  The  last 
named  was  followed  b\  Prof.  David  C.  Clark. 
who  found  seventeen  teai  n  lum 


G82 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


dred  and  fifty  pupils.     Under  his  administration 

additions  to  the  schools  have  been  erected,  com- 

i .  iin  one  to  five    rooms  each.     In  1895 

ommodious  high  school  building  was 
.erected  on  Walnut  avenue,  which  commands 
one  of  the  finest  views  on  the  coast  and  consists 
of  a  two-story  structure,  modern  in  respect  to 
heating  and  ventilation,  and  thoroughly  up  to 
date  in  every  particular.  From  the  spacious 
grounds  there  may  lie  seen  the  ocean  and  the 
beautiful  mountains,  and  a  tine  view  is  also 
to  lie  hai  1  1  >f  the  city  itself.  At  this  writing  there 
are  forty-four  teachers  in  the  city  schools  and 
more  than  sixteen  hundred  pupils.  The  largest 
graduating  class  was  in  1896,  when  forty-seven 
received  diplomas  certifying  to  the  completion 
of  the  regular  curriculum.  As  a  preference  is 
given  to  graduates,  many  of  these  are  employed 
in  the  capacity  of  teachers  ami  when  vacancies 
occur  their  names  are  considered  rather  than 
those  of  strangers. 

In  Petersburg,  .Menard  county.  111.,  Professor 
(  lark  was  born  June  2$,  1857,  a  son  of  David 
and  Martha  (Berry)  Clark.  In  1863  the  family 
removed  to  California  and  purchased  a  farm 
near  Santa  Rosa,  where  the  father  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  until  death.  On  this  home- 
stead David  C.  Clark  was  trained  to  habits  of 
industry  and  usefulness,  and  from  it  he  went 
forth  into  the  world,  prepared  to  fill  positions 
of  honor  and  trust.  After  having  graduated 
from  the  Pacific  Methodist  College  in  1876.  he 
turned  his  attention  to  mercantile  pursuits  and 
became  associated  with  D.  X.  Carithers  of 
Santa  Rosa,  in  the  dry  goods  and  clothing  busi- 
ness. Two  years  later  lie  resumed  teaching,  in 
which  he  had  engaged  prior  to  graduation.  For 
a  time  he  was  connected  with  the  high  school 

nta    Rosa,  after  which  he  accepted  a  posi- 
tion as  vice-principal  of  the  Healdsburg  school, 
he    was   elected   principal    of  the   Sonoma 
chool  ti  that  1  apai  it\   until   18S4. 

when  he  removed  to  Santa  Cruz.    Since  then  he 

ontinued    in    the    same   position    and   has 
ged  hi-  duties  with  indefatigable  energy 
and  a  patient  persistenci  tb.at  have  won  thi 

of  all  who  appreciate  the  importance  of 
mal  53  -inn.     In  addition  to 

'  er   duties,   he   is   now   president   of  the 


board  of  education,  of  which  he  has  been  a 
n:i  mber  almost  continuously  since  coming  here. 
From  time  to  time  Professor  Clark  has  real- 
ized the  need  of  a  technical  knowledge  of  the 
law  to  assist  him  in  his  varied  and  responsible 
duties.  With  him  to  believe  is  to  act,  and  hence 
we  rind'  him  .luring  the  '90s  devoting  his  leisure 
hours  and  vacations  to  the  study  of  Blackstone. 
In  1898  he  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar 
in  all  courts  of  the  state,  since  which  time  he- 
has  been  professionally  engaged  at  several 
terms  of  court.  He  was  elected  mayor  of  Santa 
Cruz  in  April  of  190.?  and  at  this  writing  is  the 
executive  head  of  this  beautiful  coast  town. 
Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows, Knights  of  Pythias  and  Benevolent  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  while  in  religious  views 
he  is  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  faith.  His 
attractive  home  opposite  the  school  is  presided 
over  by  Mrs.  Clark  and  brightened  by  the  pres- 
ence of  their  two  daughters,  Bessie  C.  and. 
Alice  Mildred.  Mrs.  Clark  was,  prior  to  her 
marriage  in  1877,  Allie  L.  Crump,  and  was  born 
in  Arkansas,  coming  from  there  to  California 
with  her  father,  Hon.  Richard  W.  Crump,  who 
afterward  was  honored  with  the  offi 
superior  judge  of   Lake   county. 


HORACE  II.  D  iWLES. 

The  fruit  growing  industry  of  the  Pajaro 
valley  has  received  a  decided  impetus  from  the 
laudable  efforts  of  Horace  H.  Cowles,  owner 
of  a  fine  farm  in  the  valley,  forty-live  acres  of 
which  are  under  apples.  This  representative 
farm  is  further  noticeable  because  of  a  two  and 
a  half  story  frame  residence  erected  b\  the 
owner  in  1896;  it  has  thirteen  rooms,  finished 
in  red  woods,  and  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
83,000. 

A  native  of  Vermont,  Mr.  Cowles  was  born  in 
Caledonia  county,  \  t..  September  30,  18411,  a 
sun  of  Timothy  Cowles,  also  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont. The  father  came  to  California  in  [852, 
b\  wa\  of  the  Minims,  locating  near  Watson- 
villc.  in  which  town  he  is  now  making  his  home, 
at  the  age  of  eight)  eight  years.  Me  married  a 
Miss  Shaw,  and  reared  to  maturity  three  chil- 
dren.     Horace  II.  Cowles  came  to  California  in 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


i;s: 


1863,  settling;  in  San  Benito  county,  but  later 
removing  to  Santa  Cruz  county,  where  in  1877 
he  bought  a  farm  upon  which  he  lived  until 
removing  to  his  present  farm  in  1883. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Cowles  was  before  her  mar- 
riage Mary  Rodgers,  and  is  the  mother  of  five 
children:  Florence,  Hubert,  Lillian.  Ethel  and 
Gertrude.  Mr.  Cowles  has  won  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  has  been  asso- 
ciated during  his  residence  in  the  county,  and 
his  friends  rejoice  at  the  success  which  has 
crowned  his  untiring  industry  and  conservative 
management.  He  is  public  spirited  and  enter- 
prising, and  may  be  counted  on  to  further  any- 
wise plan  for  the  betterment  of  the  community. 


PETER    COX. 


Among  the  pioneers  of  1852  who  came  to 
California  with  every  intention  of  making  a  for- 
tune in  the  gold  mines,  but  who  eventually 
turned  their  thoughts  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil, 
was  Peter  Cox,  whose  death,  October  23,  1901, 
removed  from  Monterey  county  one  of  its 
worthy  men.  a  citizen  of  untiring-  industry,  large 
landed  possessions  and  an  enviable  reputation. 

Although  a  native  of  Xew  York  state,  where 
he  was  born  March  9,  1825,  Mr.  Cox  was  reared 
and  educated  in  Michigan,  to  which  state  his 
parents  removed  when  he  was  a  very  small  child. 
Nothing  of  unusual  moment  occurred  to  indi- 
vidualize his  life  until  185  1,  when  he  set  out  for 
<  !alifornia.  The  voyage  was  made  via  the  Horn 
and  brought  him  many  hardships  and  perils, 
which,  to  the  superstitious,  would  have  argued 
ill  for  his  future  on  the  coast.  The  steamer  In- 
dependence, containing  the  emigrants,  was 
wrecked  off  the  coast  of  Lower  California,  and 
Mr.  Cox  lost  everything  that  he  had  in  the 
world.  Being  a  good  swimmer,  he  was  not  onl) 
able  to  save  his  own  life,  but  the  lives  of  several 
of  his  fellow  passengers  as  well. 

For  some  time  the  little  hand  of  shipwrecked 
Argonauts  remained  on  a  lonely  island,  and  sad 
would  have  been  their  fate  had  they  ii"t  been 
rescued  by  the  crew  of  a  whaling  vessel.  (  hi 
this  ship  he  completed  his  journey  to  California, 
and  "ii  arriving  in  this  state  tried  his  luck  in 
the  mines  of  Eldorado  county,  but  soon  decided 


that  he  was  not  fitted  for  the  speculations  of  a 
miner's  life.  In  1855  lle  came  to  Pajaro  town- 
ship, Monterey  county,  and  bought  a  squatter's 
right  to  one  hundred  and  ninety  acres.  To  this 
possession  was  added  by  later  purchase  enough 
land  to  make  seven  hundred  acre-,  which  has 
since  been  divided  up  into  three  ranches  and  is 
operated  by  his  widow  and  son.  About  [89] 
he  removed  from  the  farm  into  the  city  of  Wat- 
sonville,  and  thereafter  did  not  confine  his  atten- 
tion to  farming,  but  also  had  other  interests. 
Prom  the  organization  of  the  Pajaro  Valley 
Bank  he  was  one  of  its  directors  and  served  in  a 
similar  capacity  with  the  Watsonville  creamery. 
In  1850  Mr.  Cox  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Rebecca  Gathers,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  May 
-7.  1S30,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  girl- 
hood with  her  parents,  James  ami  Mar- 
garet (Moreland)  Gathers,  the  former  of 
whom  died  young,  while  the  latter  passed 
away  in  California  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  vears. 
Five  children  comprised  the  family  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cox,  namely:  Hattie,  who  married  Joseph 
Waugaman,  of  Watsonville:  Anna,  wife  of  Wil- 
liam A.  Trafton,  of  Watsonville;  Sarah,  who  re- 
sides with  her  mother  in  Watsonville;  Maggie, 
wife  .if  Dr.  S.B.  Gordon, of  Salinas:  and  Lyman, 
who  is  manager  of  the  home  ranch.  The  name 
of  Mr.  Cox  is  enrolled  among  those  of  the  sub- 
stantial pioneers  of  Monterey  county,  and  his 
successes  in  his  adopted  state  are  worthy  of 
emulation  as  well  as  a  source  of  encouragi 
to  those  who  are  now  starting  out  in  active 
life. 


THOMAS  A.    KING. 

Although    nut    a    land    owner    in    the    Pajaro 
valley,   Thomas    A.    king   represents   thi 
progressive    element    among    the    agriculturists 
of   this    fertile    region,   of   which    he    ha-    ' 
resident   since    1S03.      lle  Comes  of  old  Southern 
Stock,    and    was    horn    in    Tazewell    count 
September  28,   1859.     I  lis  parents.  Harvey  and 
Mary    (Thompson)    King,    were   also    natives    of 
\  irginia,  in  which  state  the  former  was  a  fann- 
er  during    his   young   manhood,   his    father    set- 
tling there  upon  removing  from  England.    The 
Thompson   family   were  of  Scotch  descent,  and 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


have  been  represented  in  this  country  for  many 

years.  In  1870  Harvey  King  removed  from 
Virginia  to  California,  and  eight  years  later 
died  upon  his  farm  of  six  hundred  and  Fort] 
acres  near  New  Hope,  where  he  engaged  in  ex- 
tensive grain  operations.  To  himself  and  wife 
were  horn  eight  children,  all  of  whom  are  living: 
lames,  Thomas  A..  Rebecca,  Emma.  John,  Har- 
vey, Josie  and  Virginia. 

Thomas  A.  King  was  twelve  years  of  age 
when  the  family  came  to  the  coast,  and  he  re- 
mained on  the  home  farm  until  his  removal  to 
the  vicinity  of  Watsonville  in  1893.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  he  lives  about  five  miles  from  town, 
where  he  is  engaged  in  onion  raising  on  ninety 
acres  of  land,  a  portion  of  the  tract  being  de- 
voted to  pasture.  He  has  been  very  successful, 
and  has  done  much  to  verify  the  general  impres- 
sion of  desirability  attached  to  the  Pajaro  valley. 
The  family  of  which  he  is  a  member  is  further 
represented  in  the  valley  by  James  King,  a 
brother  of  Thomas  A.,  who  is  one  of  the  most 
extensive  onion  raisers  in  the  county. 

In  1887  Mr.  King  married  Bessie  Woodward, 
a  native  of  Illinois,  and  of  this  union  there  have 
been  born  three  children,  James,  Hazel  and 
Wheeler.  Mr.  King  is  politically  in  favor  of 
the  Democratic  party,  although  he  has  never  de- 
voted much  time  to  local  political  undertakings. 
Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the  Independ- 
ent (  Irder  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Ancient  Or- 
der of  United  Workmen,  lie  is  a  very  genial, 
progressive  and  tactful  member  of  the  commu- 
nity, and  has  an  enviable  standing  from  an  agri- 
cultural  and  social    standpoint. 


FREDERICK  W.  LUCAS. 
The  present  city  clerk  and  tax  collector  of 
Santa  Cruz  is  also  a  typical  pioneer  of  the  state,. 
and  has  passed  through  many  varied  and  inter- 
esting experiences.  (  )f  stanch  old  New  England 
stock,  he  was  bom  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  July  27, 
■on  of  Joseph  and  Lydia  (Keene)  Lucas, 
the  former  of  whom  was  a  machinist  by  trade. 

\fter  completing  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Plymouth,  Mr.  Lucas  inaugurated  his 
business  career  by  starting  in  to  work  in  an 
iron  works,  but  this  plodding  occupation  paled 


into  insignificance  beside  a  consuming  desire  to 
follow  the  fickle  fortunes  of  the  sea.  He  chose 
fishing  as  the  most  desirable  of  the  water  enter- 
prises of  which  he  had  knowledge,  and  for  two 
years  set  out  on  main-  voyages  in  search  of  the 
finny  tribe.  Finally  convinced  that  he  was  not 
to  the  water  born,  he  sank  his  former  ambition 
in  the  more  absorbing  desire  to  make  a  fortune 
in  the  gold  fields,  and  his  latter-day  reefing  of 
sails,  and  the  roar  of  the  tempest,  was  mingled 
with  bright  hopes  of  an  easily  acquired  and  mon- 
umental fortune.  Therefore,  Mr.  Lucas  set  out 
on  the  sailer  Mallory,  commanded  by  Captain 
Borden,  and  undertook  the  long  and  wearisome 
voyage  around  the  Horn,  meeting  with  many 
adventures  and  thrilling  experiences.  Arriving 
in  San  Francisco  September  12.  1849,  he  found 
there  a  queer  conglomeration  of  houses,  cabins 
and  tents,  the  greater  number  of  which  were 
given  over  to  gambling,  the  solace  of  rudderless 
wanderers  in  search  of  homes  and  fortunes  re- 
mote from  their  own  firesides. 

Accompanied  by  others.  Mr.  Lucas  set  out 
from  San  Francisco  for  the  mines  of  Weber 
creek,  where  he  encountered  many  hardships. 
At  times  he  was  successful  in  his  mining  opera- 
tions, but  at  other  times  met  with  disappoint- 
ment. He  next  went  to  Benecia,  where  he  spent 
the  winter,  and  where  he  was  engaged  in  work 
for  the  government  at  a  salary  of  $150  per 
month,  including  rations.  Eventually  he  re- 
turned to  San  Francisco  somewhat  disillusion- 
ized as  far  as  mining  was  concerned,  but  after 
working  for  the  government  during  the  spring 
of  1850,  went  to  the  Mariposa  mines,  remain- 
ing until  storms  interfered  with  living  in  a  can- 
vas tent.  For  a  time  he  lived  in  Martinez  and 
Tuolumne,  in  the  latter  county  engaging  with 
fair  success  in  both  mining  and  hotel-keeping, 
Subsequently  he  purchased  a  stock  ranch  in  the 
Livermore  valley,  and  after  three  years  spent 
thereon  went  to  the  Mission  of  San  Jose,  and 
after  fanning  there  for  several  years,  for  some 
time  was  similarly  engaged  in  the  Salinas  val- 
ley. A  farm  in  the  Pajaro  valley  became  his 
home  for  a  couple  of  years,  after  which  he  came 
to  Santa  Cruz  and  engaged  in  teaming,  later 
taking  up  the  lumber  business.  As  a  lumberman 
he    represented    such,    prominent    firms    as    the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


Santa  Clara  Lumber  Company  of  San  Jose  and 
the  Pacific  Manufacturing  Company  of  Santa 
Clara,  later  being  identified  with  the  Grover 
Lumber  Company  for  a  period  of  twelve  years. 
In  April,  1878,  Mr.  Lucas  was  elected  city 
clerk  of  Santa  Cruz,  which  position  he  held  one 
term.  August  I,  1898,  he  was  appointed  to  fill 
a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  treasurer  and  collector, 
to  which  office  he  was  regularly  elected  in  1899, 
and  still  maintains  the  same.  He  has  creditably 
held  many  offices  of  importance,  among  them 
being  supervisor  of  Alameda  county.  By  his 
marriage,  July  11,  1862,  with  Mary  A.  Sylvester, 
daughter  of  Solomon  Sylvester,  three  sons  were 
born,  one  of  whom,  Willie  V.,  was  killed  on  the 
railroad  when  twenty-three  years  of  age.  George 
II.  is  a  resident  of  Santa  Cruz  and  Harry  C.  is 
a  law  student,  and  graduate  of  the  Leland  Stan- 
ford University,  class  of  1902.  Mr.  Lucas  en- 
joys to  an  unusual  degree  the  confidence  and  ap- 
preciation of  his  fellow  townsmen,  and  his  serv- 
ices in  connection  with  municipal  affairs  have 
receivetl  hearty  endorsement,  evidenced  by  his 
securing  a  bond  of  $160,000  among  his  acquaint- 
ances. 


JOHN"    WILLIAM    LINSCOTT. 

One  of  the  foremost  public  educators  of  Santa 
Cruz  count)'  for  many  years  and  the  present 
superintendent  of  schools  is  J.  W.  Linscott,  who 
was  born  in  Jefferson,  Lincoln  county,  .Me.,  May 
7,  1S4S,  the  son  of  Mellen  and  Rachel  (Weeks) 
Linscott,  the  former  a  farmer  during  his  active 
life. 

No  royal  road  to  success  was  mapped  out  for 
Professor  Linscott  by  an  indulgent  early  fortune, 
nor  did  influence  or  money  play  aught  but 
an  inconsequent  part.  Even  the  privilege  of  fol- 
lowing his  chosen  calling  unhindered  was  won 
only  after  severe  deprivation  and  close  acquaint- 
ance with  adverse  conditions.  A  rugged  per- 
sistency and  determination  to  succeed  seem  to 
have  been  inculcated  while  rising  early  and 
working  late  on  the  paternal  farm,  in  connection 
with  which  he  attended  the  district  schools  and 
Lincoln  Academy,  further  study  being  curtailed 
owing  to  ill  health.  \t  the  age  of  seventeen 
lie  entered  upon  his  career  as  an  educator,  and 
during   the    summer  time   worked   with   accus 


tomed  energy  on  the  home  farm.  This  by  no 
means  roseate  existence  was  invaded  by  a  vista 
of  possibility,  opened  before  the  expectant  gaze 
of  the  teacher  by  returned  California  tourists, 
who  glowingly  depicted  the  advantages  of  cli- 
mate, surroundings  and  opportunity  awaiting 
the  industrious  beyond  the  Rocky  mountains. 
Small  wonder  that  the  limitations  of  the  Maine 
farm  and  school  house  were  emphasized  in  com- 
parison, or  that  the  receptive  intelligence  of  the 
searcher  after  better  things  responded  thereto. 
Arriving  in  San  Francisco,  via  Panama,  April 
21,  1868,  Mr.  Linscott's  choice  of  location  was 
influenced  by  the  presence  in  Santa  Cruz  of  his 
cousin,  J.  A.  Linscott,  through  wdiose  influence 
he  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  county  su- 
perintendent of  schools,  II.  E.  Makinney,  with 
such  satisfactory  results  that  three  days  after  his 
arrival  he  was  installed  as  teacher  of  the  Rail- 
road district  school  near  Watsonville.  The  al- 
together new  and  invigorating  surroundings  in 
his  adopted  state  inspired  in  Mr.  Linscott  a  de- 
votion which  has  never  wavered  in  its  allegiance, 
but  has  strengthened  with  the  passing  of  every 
year.  He  taught  also  in  the  Roach  district,  and 
in  the  Peach  school,  and  during  the  summer 
turned  his  attention  to  the  more  healthful  work 
in  the  open  fields  of  the  country. 

In  September,  1872,  Professor  Linscott  was 
elected  principal  of  the  Watsonville  school,  and 
in  November,  1882,  was  elected  county  super- 
intendent of  schools,  and  has  been  re-elected 
successively  ever  since.  When  first  elected  su- 
perintendent there  were  forty-five  districts  and 
seventy-one  instructors,  and  the  pay  was  so 
small  that  he  maintained  his  position  as  princi- 
pal of  the  Watsonville  school  until  pressure  of 
responsibility  necessitated  his  resignation  there- 
from January  I.  1801.  At  the  present  time  the 
districts  number  fifty-six.  and  the  number  of 
teachers  employed  is  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
one.  The  administration  of  Mr.  Linscott  has 
given  the  most  gratifying  satisfaction,  and  his 
advanced  methods,  tact.  practicabilit)  and 
tion  to  hi-  work  an  on  the  whole  appreciated 
to  an  unusual  degree,  fraternally  he  is  asso 
ciated  with  the  Masons,  1  >dd  Fellows  and  Mac- 
cabees, and  is  grand  warden  of  the  Grand 
[.O.O.  P.,  of  California.     He  is  a  mem- 


liSS 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


ber  and  trustee  of  the  Congregational  Church. 
December  4,  1870,  Mr.  Linscott  married 
Emma  Scott,  a  native  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  daugh- 
ter of  Richard  J.  F.  Scott,  a  California  4yer. 
After  a  short  experience  in  the  mines,  Mr.  Scott 
located  in  Santa  Cruz,  and  later  in  Watsonville, 
in  both  of  which  towns  he  conducted  hotels.  In 
Santa  Cruz  he  managed  the  hotel  of  that  name, 
and  in  Watsonville  conducted  and  built  a  hotel 
on  the  plaza,  where  Mrs.  Tuttle's  house  now 
stands,  and  where  both  himself  and  wife  died. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Linscott  have  been  born  seven 
children,  viz.:  Harry  A.,  principal  of  the  San 
Leandro  school  of  Alameda  county;  May,  the 
wife  of  J.  R.  Williamson  of  Santa  Cruz;  William 
R.,  a  dentist  (if  Santa  Cruz;  A.  M.,  deputy 
county  superintendent  of  schools;  Richard  R., 
Herbert  C,  and  Maynard,  the  three  last  men- 
tioned still  attending  school. 


WALTER  LYNSKEY. 

One  of  the  neat  and  prosperous  appearing 
farms  on  the  road  between  Soquel  and  Santa 
Cruz  is  owned  and  operated  by  Walter  Lynskey, 
who  is  devoting  his  well  improved  forty-two 
acres  to  general  farming,  fruit  and  stock  raising. 
He  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1837.  and  is  the  son 
of  a  farmer,  Patrick  Lynskey,  who  lived  and  died 
in  his  native  land.  The  mother,  Mary  (Roach) 
Lynskey,  also  born  in  Ireland,  had  the  following 
children  besides  Walter:  Timothy,  a  farmer 
in  (  Hiio;  John,  living  in  Xew  York  state;  Mary. 
( 'ceil  and  Bridget. 

In  bis  native  land  Walter  Lynskey  received  a 
fair  common  school  education,  and  when  he  ar- 
rived in  Xew  York  harbor  in  1856  was  well 
equipped  to  avail  himself  of  the  advantages  by 
which  he  was  surrounded.  After  living  for  a 
short  time  in  Yew  York  city  he  removed  to 
Springfield,  Ohio,  where  he  farmed  until  [862, 
thereafter  removing  to  California  via  Panama, 
the  trip  being  made  in  three  weeks.  Formerly 
he  owned  and  lived  on  a  farm  of  ninet)  -ii\  e  ."  I  1 
in  Santa  Cruz  count),  but  in  1888  assumed  con 
trol  of  bis  present  property,  lie  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  the  affairs  of  bis  neighborhood, 
and  has  been  school  trustee  tor  die  past  Four 
teen  years.     With  bis  family  he  attends  the  Ro- 


man Catholic  Church,  in  which  his  wife,  wdio 
was  formerly  Irene  Salmon,  of  Ireland,  is  an 
active  worker.  Mr.  Lynskey  is  considered  one 
of  the  reliable  and  substantial  members  of  the 
community  of  Santa  Cruz  county,  and  his  many 
fine  traits  of  character  have  made  him  a  favorite 
in  his  locality. 


J(  )HN   A.   McGUIRE,  M.   D. 

The  distinction  conferred  by  more  than  ordi- 
nary success  has  been  added  to  the  professional 
ranks  of  Santa  Cruz  by  the  altogether  creditable 
career  of  Dr.  John  A.  McGuire,  a  resident  of  the 
city  since  1890,  and  the  recipient  of  a  patronage 
by  no  means  local  in  its  extent.  Born  near 
Meadville,  Crawford  county,  Pa.,  March  27, 
[841,  be  is  a  son  of  John  and  Catherine  (Gevin) 
McGuire,  the  former  a  farmer  by  occupation. 

The  occupation  of  farming,  while  beneficial 
in  its  results  as  an  inculcator  of  thrift  and 
energy,  at  no  time  appealed  to  the  youthful  as- 
pirations of  Dr.  McGuire  as  an  acceptable  field 
of  life-long  activity.  Having  decided  in  favor 
of  medicine  and  surgery,  and  having  gained  a 
fair  education  in  the  public  schools,  he  entered 
the  office  of  Dr.  W.  Lyon,  of  Salem,  Ohio,  and 
at  the  same  time  attended  lectures  preparatory 
to  entering  Sterling  College,  Columbus,  (  Ihio, 
in  [873,  from  which,  be  was  duly  graduated  in 
1881.  As  early  as  1868  he  had  begun  practice 
in  Chili.  (  >hio.  and  after  his  graduation  he  prac- 
ticed at  Salem  and  Republic,  that  state,  and 
Castleton,  X.  Dak.,  in  1887  going  to  Butte. 
VTont.  Three  years  later,  in  i8<io,  lie  came  to 
Santa  Cruz,  and  from  the  start  chanced  upon 
opportunities  which  established  a  reputation  for 
erudition  and  profound  grasp  upon  his  chosen 
calling.  In  1901  the  doctor  established  a  private 
hospital  for  the  care  and  treatment  of  his  pa- 
tients, in  which  has  been  conducted  operations 
which  have  won  him  praise  from  the  fraternity 
all  over  the  county.  In  curing  the  complicated 
disorders  of  woman.  Dr.  McGuire  has  accom- 
plished truly  remarkable  results,  and  it  is  per- 
haps to  this  specialty  that  his  abilities  are  best 
adapted,  and  more  prolifically  useful  and  far 
reaching. 

An  enthusiastic  appreciator  of  the  soil  possi- 


IIIST<  'KICAL   AXD    BIOGkAI'II  K  AL    RbYi  >RI>. 


689 


bilities  of  California,  and  finding  relaxation, 
pleasure  and  profit  in  the  pursuit  of  horticulture 
and  agriculture,  Dr.  McGuire  invested  in  eighty 
acres  of  land,  advantageousl)  and  beautifully 
located  on  Ben  Lomond  mountain,  twelve  miles 
from  Santa  Cruz.  His  yield  is  devoted  prin- 
cipally i"  apricots,  peaches,  pears  and  apples, 
although  he  has  several  acres  under  deciduous 
fruits.  The  McGuire  home  on  the  cliff  drive  is 
a  delightful  one,  and  is  presided  over  by  Mrs. 
McGuire,  who  was  formerly  Amanda,  daughter 
of  Daniel  Wyant,  and  sister  of  A.  H.  Wyant, 
of  Xew  York  city,  the  world  famous  artist.  Mrs. 
McGuire  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  is  popular  in 
the  social  life  of  Santa  Cruz.  She  is  the  mother 
of  three  sons,  all  of  whom  are  successful  profes- 
sional men,  Edward  If  any  as  a  dentist,  and 
William  Arthur  and  John  A.  as  lawyers.  Dr. 
McGuire  is  past  grand  of  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  also  associated  with 
the  Ancient  Order  United  Workmen.  He  is 
liberal,  broad  minded,  an  acquisition  to  his  pro- 
fession,  a  stanch  friend,  and  an  enterprising  and 
popular  citizen. 


CHARLES  T.  R(  >MIE. 

Although  born  at  Hamburg,  Germany,  in 
1837,  Mr.  Romie  is  an  American  by  training 
and  education,  and  is  above  all  else  a  Califor- 
nian,  by  reason  of  those  traits  of  honor,  large- 
heartedness  and  unlettered  expansion,  so  essen- 
tially the  backbone  of  the  true  western  spirit. 
His  father,  John  F.  Romie,  born  in  Berlin,  Ger- 
many, was  the  possessor  of  attainments  that 
drew  to  him  many  distinguished  friendship-. 
among  others  that  of  General  Sutter,  through 
whose  influence  be  came  to  California  about 
1841.  Locating  in  Monterey,  be  was  fur  eight 
years  foremost  in  the  commercial  life  of  the 
town,  going  thence  to  join  the  throng  of  for- 
tune seekers  among  the  splendid  mining  pos 
sibilities    ..f    Placerville.      While    in    a   measure 

successful,  his  expectations  were  all  t |uickh 

terminated,  for  among  the  mines  be  contracted 
an  illness  which  resulted  in  bis  death  in  [850, 
al  the  age  of  lii'n  years.  Mis  wile.  win.  sur 
vived  him  until  [888,  and  who  -lied  in  Monterey 
at    the   ase   of    seventy    ;ix,    was    one    ■  >i    those 


strong  and  courageous  pioneer  women  who 
deemed  no  hardship  too  severe  to  be  patiently 
undergone  for  the  sake  of  those  whom  she 
loved  and  who  were  dependent  upon  her  for 
affection  and  sympathy.  (  If  the  children  whom 
she  reared  to  be  useful  and  industrious  mem- 
bers of  society  there  are:  Ernest,  who  resides 
in  San  Francisco  and  is  manager  of  the  I  -pi 
nosa  estate;  Paul  T.,  who  is  the  youngest  son 
in  the  family,  and  who  was  burn  in  Monterey 
and  now  lives  in  Salinas;  Louise,  who  died 
soon  after  the  family  arrived  in  California; 
Mrs.  Maiw  C.  lacks,  of  Monterey;  and 
Charles  T. 

From  childhood  up  Air.  Romie  has  lived  and 
worked  in  Monterey  county,  and  he  is  known 
from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other.  His  business 
successes  have  in  no  way  interfered  with  the 
building  up  of  an  admirable  reputation,  resting 
largely  upon  a  foundation  of  humanitarian  char- 
acter, which  lavishly  spends  the  results  of  toil 
tor  tile  betterment  of  those  who  are  deserving 
and  in  need  of  help.  Many  a  now-  prosperous 
man  or  woman  in  the  county  regards  him  as 
their  benefactor  and  attributes  to  him  their 
start  in  life.  Innumerable  unselfish  kindnesses 
come  to  light  in  converse  with  his  friends  and 
associates,  but  which  an  innate  refinement  and 
delicacy  on  bis  part  would  forever  withhold 
from  the  knowledge  of  others.  Most  of  the 
property  of  Mr.  Romie  has  been  acquired 
through  his  wisely  conducted  farming  enter- 
prises, on  the  property  about  seven  miles  from 
Soledad,  which  has  been  his  home  since  1875. 
He  is  the  owner  of  1'araiso  Springs  ami  a  sur- 
rounding large  tract  of  land.  ..n  which  are  con 
ducted  enormous  grain-raisin-  enterprises,  and 
equalh  large  stock-raising  undertakings,  lie  is 
a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  fraternalh  asso 
dated  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order 
of  Elks. 


JOSEPH     M.-i  ■«  iLLUM. 

Few  of  the  prominent  farmers  near  Watson 
File  have  led  a  more  eventful  life  than  has  J<  s 

pli  Met  ollinn.  w  bo  has  stored  up  an  abundam 
I  useful  and  interesting  information  while  visit- 
lg  different    parts  of  the   world,   and   evolved 


690 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


fumi  his  diverse  experiences  both  success  and. 
honor.  He  was  born  in  New  Brunswick, 
,.  (  (ctober  24.  1830.  a  son  of  Joseph 
McCollum  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  (Douglass) 
McCollum,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Scot- 
land, and  possessed  the  hardy  and  thrifty  char- 
acteristics of  their  race.  The  elder  McCollum 
was  a  farmer  in  his  native  land,  and  after  remov- 
ing to  Canada  continued  his  former  occupation 
for  a  few  years,  thereafter  locating  in  Chester 
county,  Pa.,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1854. 
It  would  seem  that  the  occupation  of  farm- 
ing possessed  its  limitations  for  young  Joseph 
McCollum.  for  as  soon  as  he  could  arrange  to 
do  so  he  put  to  sea.  and  left  behind  him  the 
early  hours  and  long  labor  days  of  the  paternal 
farm.  For  eight  years  he  sailed  in  the  mer- 
chant marine  of  the  high  seas,  in  time  becoming 
a  seasoned  tar,  and  in  his  travels  visiting  about 
all  the  countries  touched  by  vessels  on  their 
way  around  the  world.  But  he  was  not  so  re- 
mote from  land  affairs  that  he  failed  to  hear  of 
tin-  gold  discoveries  in  California,  and  intent 
upon  having  a  share  in  making  the  earth  yield 
up  its  treasures,  he  shipped  as  a  sailor  on  a  boat 
bound  for  around  the  Horn,  in  December  of 
[849,  reaching  his  destination  in  San  Francisco 
the  following  June.  His  success  or  failure  as  a 
miner  played  but  a  small  part  in  his  western  ex- 
perii  m  es,  and  after  reaching  San  Francisco  he 
made  a  trip  to  Central  America,  and  upon  re- 
turning worked  upon  the  Sacramento  river  for 
three  years.  Still  devoted  to  a  life  upon  the 
water,  he  bought  a  small  schooner  which  he 
operated  in  tlie  San  Francisco  Bay,  but  eventu- 
all)    sold    his     craft    and     came    to    Santa    Cruz 

0  vim  \ ,  living  upon  a  farm  i<  ir  a  c<  mple  of  years. 
The  first  year  he  cleared  $2,500,  and  with  this 
money  purchased  his  present  farm  of  two  hun- 
dred   acres,  paying  $60  per  acre.     This    farm 

to  tlie  middle  of  the  Pajaro  river,  and  is 

1  iv  ol  the  finesl  properties  in  this  part  of  the 
county.  Tlie  present  house  was  erected  in  185(1. 
bul   •-'nee  then  lias  been  added  to  it.  so  that  at 

there  are  twelve  rooms,  equipped  w  ith 
1  very  convenience  possible  in  the  country   re 

'  tne  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  1  f  the 
farm  are  devoted  to  beet  culture,  and  the  profit 

oni   in    to  'I   ami  united  to  Sio,i  150.     1  lur- 


ing the  busy  season  Mr.  McCollum  is  obliged 
to  employ  twenty  hands,  and  in  addition  to 
beets  he  raises  everything  in  the  line  of  general 
farming. 

Mrs.  McCollum  was  formerly  Ellen  Hallett,  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  is  the  mother  of 
three  children.  John,  who  manages  the  ranch, 
married  Cecil  Foster,  and  has  three  children. 
Margaret,  Josephine  and  John;  Edward  is  de- 
ceased; and  Ellen  is  the  wife  of  Marks  William- 
son. The  children  were  born  in  the  present 
home  of  the  family,  which  is  admirably  located 
three  hundred  yards  from  the  road.  Mr.  Mc- 
Collum is  a  Republican  in  political  preference, 
and  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Fremont. 
lie  lias  taken  an  active  part  in  the  political  de- 
velopments of  his  county,  and  was  one  of  the 
first  trustees  of  the  city  of  Watsonville.  From 
a  religious  standpoint  he  is  in  favor  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  To  Mr.  McCol- 
lum is  also  due  the  distinction  of  a  meritorious 
military  service  during  the  Civil  war.  and  he  has 
the  commission  of  second  lieutenant  signed  by 
Governor  Law.  A  man  of  decided  character 
and  great  resourcefulness,  his  residence  in  the 
count)  of  Santa  Cruz  has  been  prolific  of  prog- 
ress and  unquestioned  success. 


J(  iSEPH    W.    PEERY. 

To  Joseph  W.  Leery  belongs  the  distinction 
of  being  one  of  the  earliest  residents  of  Boulder 
Creek,  of  which  town  he  is  now  one  of  the 
influential  citizens.  as  well  as  the  owner  of  a 
portion  of  the  land  upon  which  the  town  is 
built.  Innumerable  landmarks  in  this  mountain 
community  bespeak  the  far  sightedness  and  en- 
terprise of  this  honored  pioneer,  who  recognized 
in  the  advantages  of  soil,  climate  and  situation, 
splendid  opportunities  for  the  Fulfilling  of  large 
ambitions,  and  for  the  leading  of  peaceful,  con- 
tented and  successful  lives. 

The  descendant  of  an  old  southern  family, 
vlr.  Peer}  was  bom  in  Cabell  county,  W.  Va., 
October  2,  [830,  a  son  of  I  liram  and  Ruth  (Les- 
ley) Peery,  natives  of  Tazewell  county,  Va. 
1  liram  Peer}  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  iSij. 
and  was  the  owner  of  a  plantation  in  Kentucky, 
to  which  state  he  removed  from  West  Virginia, 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


The  family  fortunes  were  shifted  to  Missouri 
when  Joseph  W.  was  twelve  years  of  age,  and 
while  in  that  state  he  lived  on  his  father's  farm 
and  attended  the  public  schools  as  opportunity 
permitted.  His  first  trip  across  the  plains  was 
accomplished  with  ox  teams  in  1X50,  on  which 
occasion  he  spent  three  years  among  the  mines. 
but  eventually  returned  to  Missouri,  engaging 
in  farming  in  that  state  six  years.  Three  years 
were  subsequently  spent  in  fanning  in  Ne- 
braska, and  in  1862  he  again  crossed  the  plains 
ill  the  same  maimer  as  before,  but  this  trip  was 
darkened  and  rendered,  memorable  by  the  death 
(if  his  wife,  who  was  buried  near  Austin,  Nev., 
hut  thirty-seven  years  afterwards  was  removed 
to  Boulder  Creek.  For  two  years  he  engaged 
in  farming  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  and  after 
residing  for  three  years  in  Stockton,  came  t<> 
Santa  Cruz  county,  in  1807.  locating  in  Boulder 
Creek  in  [868.  At  once  he  became  interested  in 
the  remarkable  lumber  resources  of  the  county, 
and  in  that  year  bought  an  old  fashioned  water 
power  saw  mill,  and  has  since  been  extensively 
engaged  in  the  lumber  and  saw  mill  business. 
At  the  present  time  he  employs  several  men, 
and  it  is  said  that  during  the  course  of  his  lum- 
bering experiences  he  has  devastated  of  their 
natural  growth  eighteen  hundred  acres  of  land 
in  this  county.  He  is  the  owner  of  two  hun- 
dred and  sixtj  acres  of  land,  besides  a  portion  of 
that  upon  which  Boulder  Creek  has  been  built. 

'Hie  present  wife  of  Mr.  Peery  was  formerly 
Mrs.  Thomkins,  who  is  the  mother  of  the  fol- 
lowing children  by  her  former  marriage:  Willis 
E.;  Josephine;  Thomsen;  Jennie,  the  widow  of 
George  Bowen;  Walter  T.,  a  soldier  in  the  late 
Spanish-American  war;  Julia:  Alice;  and  Elmer. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peery  have  an  ad  ipted  daughter, 
Eva  X.  Mr.  Peery  was  originall)  a  Whig,  but 
afterwards  voted  for  both  Line. .In  and  Grant. 
lie  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
t  hureh,  and  during  his  life  has  contributed  lib- 
erally towards  the  supporl  of  that  denomination. 
In  his  general  character  and  make-up  he  em- 
bodies the  strength  and  excellencies  of  the  typi- 
cal California  pioneer,  and  his  reputation  and 
p.  isitii  .n  are  1..  >tli  above  repi  oa.  h 

Boulder  Creek,  advantageousl)  located  in  the 
hear  I   of  the  Santa  (  tuz  mountains,  js  in  a  valley 


at  the  junction  of  three  streams,  the  San  Lor- 
enzo river.  Bear  and  Boulder  creeks,  from  the 
latter  of  which  the  town  derives  its  name.  Boul- 
der Creek  is  about  eight  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea  level,  a  high  range  of  mountains  between 
it  and  the  coast  guarantees  protection  from  the 
raw  trade  winds  and  heavy  fogs.  About  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  people  pursue  the  even  tenor 
of  their  ways  within  the  borders  of  tins  little 
town,  and  its  fine  public  school  building  is 
patronized  by  about  two  hundred  and  eighteen 
pupils,  who  are  taught  by  four  teachers,  em- 
ployed for  ten  months  of  the  year.  Besides 
three  public  halls,  there  are  three  churches  and 
a  free  reading  room,  and  the  fraternal  societies 
are  appropriately  lodged.  Ever  since  the  Open- 
ing of  the  railroad  Boulder  Creek  has  been  one 
of  the  largest  shipping  points  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  line  in  the  county,  and  the  trade  of  the 
town  is  represented  by  four  general  merchan- 
dise stores,  one  drug  store,  besides  fruit,  candy, 
nut  and  millinery  ston  s. 


PETER    PETERSt  >\\ 

To  the  growth  of  California  numerous  coun- 
tries have  contributed,  not  the  least  among 
these  being  Norway,  which  has  given  men  of 
sturdy  integrity  and  characteristic  perseverance. 
While  Mr.  Peterson  is  a  native  of  Norway  and  a 
descendant  of  an  old  family  of  that  land,  so 
much  of  his  life  has  been  spent  in  the  United 
States  that  he  is  a  typical  American,  pushing, 
energetic  and  progressive.  Born  in  Mvndul. 
Norway,  July  3,   [825,  in  boyhood  he  learned  the 

b\  his  father  and  grandfather.  In  [840  he  left 
home  with  an  uncle,  who  was  a  seafaring  man, 
.  nd  -..iled  on  a  three  years'  cruisi  1  »nd  car- 
penter.    After  some   time  in   the   Mediterranean 

shipped  on  an  American  vessel,  Sw  anion,  for 
\ew  1  irleans.  Being  a  man  of  tine  physique, 
strong,    capable    and    willing,    he    won    tin 

employmeill   and  remained  until  the  fall  of   1844, 
when  he  shipped  on  .,  coaster  to  New  York. 
1  hie  of  the  memorable  incident  -  ■ 


692 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ing  life  occurred  when  this  vessel  was  rounding 
Cape  Hatteras.  Fur  days  a  fierce  gale  swept 
over  the  ocean  and  bore  down  on  the  little  ship. 
(  If  all  the  crew  he  was  the  only  one  who  was 
able  to  -land  at  the  wheel,  and  so  he  was 
strapped  there,  and  remained  at  his  post  for  two 
days  and  two  nights,  never  flinching,  though 
every  moment  he  faced  death.  Even  after  the 
worst  of  the  storm  subsided,  it  was  still  im- 
possible lor  the  ship  to  attempt  to  anchor,  and 
so  the  men  remained  out  at  sea  for  eighteen 
davs,  with  only  three  days'  rations  for  all  that 
time.  An  experience  of  this  nature  is  not  soon 
forgotten,  and  often  now  Air.  Peterson's 
thoughts  turn  back  to  those  days  of  peril  and 
anxiety. 

After  a  voyage  to  Liverpool  and  back  to 
Baltimore,  Mr.  Peterson  stopped  in  the  latter 
city  for  a  time.  In  (  (ctober  of  1840  he  started 
for  California  via  Magellan.  During-  the  nine 
months  of  the  trip  lie  encountered  many  storms, 
and  for  three  weeks  lay  at  anchor  in  shallow 
harbor  in  the  straits  of  Magellan,  unable  to  pro- 
ci  ed  When  finally  the  vessel  came  within  sight 
of  Monterey  bay,  the  officers  believed  it  to  be 
the  Golden  Gate,  and  came  into  port.  Being 
somewhat  wear)  of  the  ocean.  Mr.  Peterson  de- 
barked and  proceeded  to  Diamond  Spring  mine 
to  try  his  luck  as  a  miner.  The  location  prov- 
ing unsatisfactory,  he  went  to  the  north  fork  of 
the  American  river,  where  he  met  with  success, 
lie  helped  to  build  the  first  suspension  bridge 
over  the  river. and  also  contracted,  at  S12  a  day, 
to  build  Humes.  The  following  year  (1851)  he 
built  a  tunnel  and  again  attempted  mining,  but 
high  water  washed  awa\  all  he  had.  Learning 
thai  Sacramento  had  burned  down  lie  went  to 
that  place  and  found  just  one  house  left.  There 
was  of  course  much  building  to  be  done,  but  no 
lumber  with  which  to  conduct  active  operations. 
Accordingly  he  proceeded  to  San  Jose  in 
of  w  1  iris.  Travel  was  attended  by  many 
and  inconveniences,  for  lie  usuall)  went 
on  foot,  sleeping  on  the  ground  at  night,  and 
wading  or  swimming  across  streams.  During 
those  days  he  met  man)  young  men.  who  were 

1 1    as  lie  and   were   seeking  employment   at 

iccu] iii i' 'ii.  and  it   has  1  >cen  1  >i  interest   1 1  > 
him  to  111  itc  that   some  of  these  have  sim  e  bi 


come  successful  and  influential  men.  His  own 
misfortunes  after  a  lime  came  to  an  end,  and  he 
est  iblished  himself  on  a  solid  financial  basis. 

June  3,  1S55.  Mr.  Peterson  married  Annie 
Sullivan,  who  was  born  in  county  Cork,  Ireland, 
a  daughter  of  Timothy  and  Margaret  (Sullivan) 
Sullivan.  When  she  was  five  years  of  age  her 
father,  a  weaver,  brought  the  family  to  America 
and  settled  in  Xew  York,  where  she  attended 
school.  With  an  aunt,  Mrs.  Donovan,  she  came 
to  California  in  1853.  After  his  marriage  Mr. 
Peterson  purchased  land  on  the  Pen  Loman 
mountains,  and  here  embarked  in  the  cattle 
business.  In  those  days  cattlemen  were  en- 
titled to  use  all  the  land  they  fenced  in.  and  thus 
it  was  easy  to  conduct  operations  on  an  exten- 
sive scale.  Prom  the  first  he  was  prospered. 
As  the  country  became  more  thickly  populated 
he  sold  off  portions  of  his  land,  but  retained  a 
half  section,  forming  his  homestead.  The  land 
was  well  improved,  and  there  was  a  neat  house, 
surrounded  by  flowers  and  fruits  of  all  kinds. 
1  luring  the  earl)  days  he  often  saw  bear  ami 
deer  near  the  house  and  venison  was  one  of  the 
staple  meats  enjoyed  by  the  family.  Forty- 
three  happy  and  useful  years  were  passed  011  this 
homestead,  where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peterson 
watched  with  pleasure  the  improvements  each 
year  rendered  possible,  and  at  the  same  time 
they  carefully  reared  their  children  for  positions 
of  honor  in  the  world.  The  ranch  was  sold  by 
them  to  the  Holmes  Lime  Company,  the  pres- 
(  nt  owners. 

Previous  to  moving  to  Santa  Cruz  Mr.  Peter- 
son purchased  a  block  of  land  and  put  up  four 
houses.  In  one  of  these  he  now  resides,  the 
others  being  rented.  He  maintains  an  interest 
in  matters  for  the  benefit  of  his  home  town,  but 
is  not  active  in  politics,  being  independent  in  his 
dews.  In  religion  he  is  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith.  In  his  family  there  are  four  daughters  and 
two  sons,  namely:  Mary  A..  Emma,  Ada  F., 
1  'I'M.  Margaret  and  Peter,  of  whom  the  last- 
named  died  at  the  age  of  one  year  and  three 
months.  Mar)  is  tin  wife  mi  Peter  Leonard  and 
the)  have  the  foil,, wing  children:  George, 
Annie,  Mary,  John.  Joseph.  Teresa,  Catherine, 
[■'ranees  and  (  harles.  Emma  married  William 
l».   'fait    and   lias   live   children.   Joseph,    Percy, 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


fi  O.- 


Herbert, Ada  and  Annie.  George  married  Mary 
Leonard  and  has  the  following-named  children: 
Bernard,  Genevieve,  Estelle,  Emma,  Ada.  Helen 
and  Clara.  Margaret  is  the  wife  of  Robert  S. 
"fait,  and  they  have  five  children,  Mary,  Harry, 
.Margaret,  Robert  and  Josephine. 


THOMAS  J.  WEEKS. 

Very  few  of  the  citizens  of  Santa  Cruz  have 
been  identified  with  its  history  for  mi  long  a 
period  as  has  Mr.  Weeks.  Coming  to  this  then 
insignificant  village  during  1849,  when  thou- 
sands were  flocking  to  the  mines  of  California, 
he  has  since  been  a  witness  of  the  gradual 
growth  and  development  of  the  city  and  has 
himself  been  a  constant  contributor  thereto.  I  lis 
residence  on  Walnut  street  not  only  occupies  a 
choice  location,  but  is  also  one  of  the  most 
commodious  and  attractive  homes  in  the  entire 
county,  and  by  its  furnishings  reflects  the  refine- 
ment ami  culture  of  the  occupants.  Although 
his  life  has  been  one  of  great  activity,  he  is  still 
robust  ami  hearty,  and  with  physical  and  mental 
faculties  well  preserved  can  enjoy  the  twilight 
of  existence  surrounded  by  the  comforts  his 
wise  judgment  and  indefatigable  energy  have 
pn  ivitlcil. 

From  the  far-away  regions  of  New  England 
Air.  Weeks  came  to  California,  lie  was  born 
in  Wayne,  Kennebec  county,  Me.,  November 
22,  1829,  being  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah 
(Harmon)  Weeks,  fanners  and  lifelong  resi- 
dents of  Maine.  During  his  boyhood  he  was 
apprenticed  to  the  stone-cutter's  trade  and  on 
thoroughly  mastering  the  same  went  to  Boston, 
where  he  secured  employment.  The  new--  of 
discovery  of  gold  in  California  came  to  him 
when  he  was  a  youth  of  twenty,  ambitious  and 
venturesome,  and  he  at  once  resolved  to  seek 
his  fortune  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Against  his 
brother's  advice  and  the  remonstrances  of 
friends,  lie  set  sail  on  the  ship  \ew  Jersey, 
bound  around  ('ape  Horn  for  San  Francisco, 
ami  after  a  voyage  of  -i\  months  arrived  at  his 
destination.  With  others  he  hastened  to  the 
mines,  onlj    to  find,  however,  thai   the  cost  of 


profit  and.  besides,  the  work  itself  was  entirely 
uncongenial.  For  this  reason  he  left  the  mines 
and  in  November,  1849,  arrived  in  Santa  Cruz, 
where  he  and  an  associate  bought  a  cabin  from 
an  old  schooner  and  thus  secured  an  abode  on 
1  he  beach.  Looking  around  him  for  a  means 
of  livelihood,  he  decided  to  experiment  with 
potato-raising.  Renting  land  from  Judge  Wil- 
liam Blackburn,  the  first  year  he  raised  four 
hundred  sacks  of  potatoes  to  the  acre,  and  these 
he  sold  in  the  San  Francisco  markets.  Out  of 
twenty-five  acres,  for  which  he  paid  $15  rent 
per  acre,  he  and  Mr.  DeLong  made  $5,000  each. 
The  next  year  they  were  obliged  to  pay  $100 
per  acre,  but.  prices  being  high,  $5,000  each 
was  again  oleared.  Later  experiments  were  less 
successful,  and,  indeed,  on  ace.  unit  of  low  price  ;, 
some  years  his  ledger  showed  the  balance  on 
the  wrong  side.  However,  in  spite  of  these  dis- 
couragements he  kept  steadily  at  work,  and  was 
rewarded  eventually  by  securing  considerable 
property  of  his  own  and  a  position  among  the 
substantial  men  of  his  town  and  county.  In 
1890  he  erected  a  modern  residence,  on  a  rise 
of  ground  overlooking  the  city,  the  ocean  and 
the  mountains,  and  thus  affording  a  view  not  to 
be  surpassed  in  any  locality.  On  the  fiat  where 
the  Indians  were  accustomed  to  camp  years  ago 
he  has  set  out  some  twenty-five  acres  of  orchard 
and  now  each  year  receives  a  golden  tribute  in 
fruit.  Another  enterprise  in  which  he  was  once 
interested  and  which  he  conducted  extensivel) 
was  the  teaming  business. 

Like  the  majority  of  California  fort)  miters. 
.Mr.  Weeks  maintains  a  deep  interest  in  the  Pio 
1, eeis'  Association  and  is  a  member  of  the  same, 
hi  religious  tendencies  he  is  liberal,  and  con- 
cedes to  others  the  same  freedom  of  thought  he 
demands  for  himself.  I  he  Republican  part)  has 
in  him  a  stanch  supporter  and  its  principles  re 
ceive  his  consistent  support.  Mis  marriage 
united  him  with  Margaret  Morgan,  who  was 
born  in  Springfield,  Ohio,  and  came  to 
Eornia  with  her  father,  James  Morgan,  settling 
in  Santa  Cruz,  the  home  of  her  uncle.  Judge 
Blackburn.  Born  of  this  union  are  three  chil- 
dren, the  eldest   of  whom.  Albion,  is  a  large  cat 

er  and  make.  Santa  Cruz  his  home.  The 
second  son,   I  lorace.  died  at   eight 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


The  youngest  child  is  a    (laughter,    Clara,  who 
married    Frank   Stearns,  of  Oakland,  this   state. 


WARREN   R.   PORTER. 

(  toe  of  the  most  prominent  financiers  and  in- 
fluential citizens  of  Santa  Cruz  county  is  War- 
ren R.  I 'inter,  president  of  the  Pajaro  Valley 
Bank,  at  Watsonville,  and  member  of  the  board 
of  state  prison  directors.  The  appointment  of 
Mr.  Porter  to  the  latter  position  by  Governor 
Gage  in  June  of  1901  was  received  with  uni- 
versal approval  by  his  colleagues  in  the  Re- 
publican party,  as  well  as  by  the  rank  and  file 
who  compose  the  great  commonwealth.  A  na- 
tive son  of  California,  he  was  born  in  Santa 
Cruz.  March  30.  1861,  a  son  of  John  T.  Porter, 
who  was  born  in  Duxbury,  Mass.,  in  1830.  The 
hater  lived  for  nearly  forty  years  in  Monterey 
and  Santa  Cruz  counties,  Cal.,  and  lent  the  aid 
of  an  indefatigable  energy,  a  fine  intelligence, 
and  an  honorable  name  to  the  development  of 
the  potent  pioneer  resources  of  his  respective 
localities.  No  one  better  than  he  knew  the  dan- 
gers am!  hardships  of  the  piains,  and  in  his  rise 
from  an  humble  drayman  to  the  position  of  or- 
ganizer and  president  of  the  Pajaro  Valley  Rank 
he  touched  with  strange  fearlessness  the  inter- 
vening occupations,  which  in  their  range  were 
comprehensive  and  consistent  with  general  im- 
provement. He  married  Miss  Fannie  Cum- 
mings.  a  lady  of  culture  and  refinement,  who 
was  born  in  Canada,  and  who  became  the 
mother  of  two  children,  a  son  and  daughter,  the 
former  being  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mrs. 
Fannie  Cummings  Porter  proved  not  only  to  be 
a  good  mother,  but  a  worthy  partner  to  such  an 
energetic  man  as  her  husband  was.  She  is  still 
alive  and  enjoys  the  respect  and  love  of  all  wdto 
know   her. 

Alter  completing  his  studies  at  St.  Augustine 
1  ollege,  Benicia,  Cal,  Warren  R.  Porter  em- 
barked upon  a  commercial  life  as  bookkeeper  of 
the  Bank  of  Watsonville,  organized  bj  his 
father  in  l S74.  In  [884  he  tilled  a  similar  posi 
tion  with  the  Loma  Prieta  Lumber  Company, 
in  their  main  office  in  Watsonville,  and  b\  rea- 
son hi  his  enterprise  and  adaptability  rapidly 
0  1  he  head  .if  the  company's  affairs.      In 


[886  he  became  secretary  of  the  concern,  and 
upon  the  removal  of  the  company's  headquar- 
ters to  Loma  Prieta,  he  also  removed  thither,  and 
assumed  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the 
concern,  In  1899  he  returned  to  Watsonville, 
at  the  same  time  acting  as  secretary  of  the  com- 
pany until  June  of  1901,  when,  owing  to  the  de- 
mands upon  his  time  made  by  other  and  larger 
responsibilities,  he  was  obliged  to  shift  part  of 
his  duties  in  connection  with  the  lumber  corn- 
pan)  on  other  shoulders. 

In  1888  Mr.  Porter  became  one  of  the  incor- 
porators and  directors  of  the  Pajaro  Valley 
Bank,  of  which  his  father  was  president  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  in  February,  [900.  He 
then  stepped  into  the  position  made  vacant  by 
the  elder  Porter,  since  which  time  the  entire 
management  of  the  bank  has  been  under  his 
direct  control  and  observation.  By  honorable 
and  conscientious  effort  the  father  had  acquired 
large  material  returns  for  his  years  of  striving 
in  California,  among  his  possessions  being  his 
home  in  Watsonville.  located  on  forty  acres  of 
land,  an  adjoining  ranch  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty  acres,  as  well  as  six  hundred  acres  fur- 
ther ui'  the  beautiful  Pajaro  Valley.  Everybody 
acquainted  with  the  high  values  of  land  in  that 
valley  will  realize  what  these  holdings  are,  good 
land  being  worth  all  the  way  from  $300  to 
$1,000  per  acre.  Numerous  other  holdings  in 
Watsonville  and  different  parts  of  the  state  also 
passed  into  his  hands  as  time  went  on,  and  the 
question  of  managing  all  of  these  interests  after 
his  death  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  John 
T.  Porter  Company  (incorporated),  in  Septem- 
ber of  K)oi,  in  which  incorporation  the  heirs 
held  most  of  the  stock,  and  of  which  Warren  R. 
Porter  is  vice-president  and  manager.  Nor 
must  it  be  supposed  that  Mr.  Porter's  interests 
are  of  a  local  nature  only,  for  he  has  holdings  in 
every  county  comprising  the  sixth  congressional 
district.  He  is  still  director  of  the  Loma  Prieta 
Lumber  Company,  and  is  one  of  the  best  known 
financiers  in  Central  California. 

\s  a  stanch  Republican,  Mr.  Porter  has  been 
prominently  before  the  public  for  mam  years, 
and  his  appointment  to  the  prison  board  is  a 
lilting  recognition  of  services  rendered.  Tic 
was  .me  of  the  presidential  electors  in  1000.  and 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


alternate  delegate  to  the  National  Republican 
convention  at  Philadelphia  in  June  of  1901. 
Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the  local  lodge 
of  Masons,  Watsonville  Command'ery  No.  22 
K.  T.,  and  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Watson- 
ville Parlor  No.  65,  X.  S.  ( i.  \Y.,  being  past 
president  of  the  same.  August  23,  [893,  Mr. 
Porter  married  Miss  Mary  E..  daughter  of  Rev. 
(i.  A.  Paste m.  rector  of  St.  Mark's  Episcopal 
Church  at  Berkeley.  This  marriage  has  proved 
to  be  a  most  happy  one,  Mrs.  Porter  being  loved 
by  all  who  know  her.  Four  children  were  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Porter:  John  Easton,  who  is 
eight  years  old;  Warren  R..  Jr.,  who  died  at  the 
age  'if  fourteen  months;  Mary  Frances,  who  is 
four  years  old,  and  Thomas  B.,  who  is  eleven 
months  old.  Mr.  Porter  represents  that  typical 
western  financier  and  public-spirited  citizen  that 
we  are  wont  to  associate  with  the  building  up  of 
great  enterprises,  and  of  all  around  accomplish- 
ments worthy  the  stupendous  possibilities  of 
this  well  favored  part  of  the  state. 


E.  A.   SAWYER. 

The  1  >ld  Pay  State  has  given  San  Benito 
county  a  sturdy  ally  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Saw- 
yer, who  not  only  conducts  a  ranch  of  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-six  acres,  seven  miles  north  of 
Hollister.  but  is  also  to  seme  extent  interested 
in  the  dairy  business,  having  sixty  milch  cows. 
Born  in  .Massachusetts  in  October,  1831,  he  con- 
tinued to  make  his  home  with  his  parents  until 
the  year  [853,  when  he  severed  home  ties  and 
came  to  California  by  way  of  Centra]  America, 
the  trip  from  Panama  to  San  Francisco  con- 
suming twenty-two  days.  The  mines  of  north- 
ern <  'alifbniia  holding  forth  alluring  prospects, 
Mr.  Sawyer  transferred  his  interests  there,  fol- 
lowing the  miner's  life  for  three  years.  At  the 
end  of  this  time  he  decided  to  engage  in  busi- 
ness in  San  Francisco,  opening  a  wood  and  coal 
cilice  there.  Pater  he  became  interested  in 
stock-raising  near  Hill's  Ferry,  but  finally,  in 
1  So-,  came  to  San  Benito  county,  purchasing  a 
farm  devoted  to  the  raisin-  of  Imps  and 
sorghum.  After  following  the  latter  occupation 
for   three    years    he    gave   his   attention    to   his 


present    business,    that     of    raising    sheep    and 
cattle. 

E.  A.  Sawyer  is  a  son  of  Reuben  and  Betsy 
1  I  lardy  1  Sawyer,  both  of  whom  claimed  Massa- 
chusetts as  their  birthplace.  As  a  means  of 
gaining  a  livelihood  the  father  followed  the  call- 
ing of  stonemason  in  addition  to  conducting  a 
farm.  Mr.  Sawyer  married  for  his  first  wife 
Angeline  Souther,  and  to  them  was  burn  an  in- 
teresting famil)  of  six  children,  all  of  whom  are 
living,  viz  :  Charles,  Katie,  William,  Clarence. 
Eugene  and  Frank.  For  his  second  wife  he 
married  Mrs.  C.  W.  Went  worth.  In  his  politi- 
cal views  Mr.  Sawyer  is  a  stanch  believer  in  the 
principles  promulgated  by  the  Republican  party. 


R.    M.   SEBASTIAN. 

Almost  the  entire  life  of  Mr.  Sebastian  has 
been  passed  in  California,  of  which  he  is  one 
iii"  the  native  sons.  His -father,  J.  W.  Sebastian, 
upon  coming  to  this  state,  settled  111  Ventura 
countw  where  he  continued  to  follow  the  black- 
smith's trade  until  his  death.  In  his  early  man- 
1  ood  lie  had  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Riggs,  who 
was  born  in  Kentucky,  the  daughter  of  a  farmer 
who  came  to  California  during  the  exciting 
in'  1849,  afterward  returned  to  Kentucky  and 
from  that  state  enlisted  in  the  Civil  war.  In  the 
family  (if  J.  W.  Sebastian  there  were  five  yis. 
namely:  R.  M.;  J.  P.,  who  is  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  business;  C.  P..  who  resides  in 
(  ixnard;  Eugene,  and  Alfred  T.,  a  merchant. 

In  Ventura  county,  Cal.,  R.  M.  Sebastian  was 
burn  in  1S70.  The  public  schools  of  that  county 
afforded  him  fair  advantages,  and  he  supple- 
mented the  knowledge  tin-re  acquired  \>\  an  ai 
1,  ndance  at  the  bus  Vngeles  Business  College, 
from  which  lie  was  graduated  in  [893.  Pike  his 
brothers,  he  early  showed  a  desire  1.1  enter  busi 
r.ess  ami  seemed  to  possess  greater  abilitj  for 
that  line  of  work  than  fur  agricultural 
fessional  labors.  His  first  venture  was  in 
Springville,  Ventura  comity,  where  In-  opened  a 
general  store  and  conducted  business  for  three 
years.  During  that  time  In-  mel  with  an  en 
couraging  degree  of  success,  but    fmalb 

destroyed  his  stuck  of  g Is  and  terminated  the 

business  at   that  poinl      From   [897  in   [89  1  Iv 


698 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


was  proprietor  of  a  barber  shop  in  Oxnard. 
Not  caring-,  however,  to  continue  in  that  oc- 
cupation, he  sought  another  opening,  and 
went  to  Sugar  City,  <  )tero  county,  Colo.,  where 
In  opened  a  first-class  hotel  ami  cleared  $3,000 
in  nine  months.  Returning  to  California,  he 
was  inspired  by  his   substantial   success   to  con- 

leased  the  New  Cosmopolitan  Hotel  of  San 
Luis  (  tbispo,  which  he  transformed  into  a  first- 
class  house  and  acted  as  proprietor  and  man- 
ager of  the  same. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Sebastian  has  been  a  Mason 
and  has  also  connected  himself  with  the  Elks. 
Politically  he  is  a  Democrat.  In  i8cj6  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Norma  Umstead 
by  whom  he  has  a  son,  Howard.  Mrs.  Sebas- 
tian was  reared  in  Ventura  county,  where  her 
father,  1.  L.  Umstead,  has  made  his  home  for 
main-  years,  having  meantime  become  known 
as  a  skillful  mechanic  and  inventor. 


MOSES    I'..    BLISS, 

\  prominent  citizen  of  Santa  Cruz  who  has 
performed  his  share  towards  the  development 
of  the  agricultural  resources  of  this  county, 
and  who  is  now  living  a  retired  life  at  his 
pleasant  home  in  the  town,  is  Moses  B.  Bliss, 
member  of  an  old  Xew  England  family  prom- 
inently connected  with  political  and  other  af- 
fairs in  the  east.  He  was  born  in  Wilbraham, 
Mass.,  March  8.  1S1S.  ami  is  a  son  of  lion. 
Abel  and  Phebe  (Lathrop)  Bliss.  The  former 
was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1775,  while  his 
wife  was  horn  in  1777.  He  was  a  farmer  in 
earl)  life,  and  while  tilling  the  acres  of  his 
Massachusetts  farm  exerted  his  energies  in  var- 
ious worth)  directions.  He  became  interested 
in  politics,  and  was  representative  for  Boston  for 
a  number  of  years,  eventually  being  elected  to 
the  United  States  senate.  The  friend  of  educa- 
tion, he  was  foremosl  in  establishing  the 
Wilbraham  school,  of  which  he  was  secretar) 
lor  a  number  of  years.  (  If  the  three  children 
born  into  his  family,  Moses  I'..  is  second  old- 
est, while  Harriett  was  born  in  [813,  and  George 
II.  wax  horn  in  1820.  The  latter  is  a  resident 
of    \y.-ilsonvillc,   Santa    Cruz   county,    where    he 


taught  school  for  a  number  of  years,  and  also 
maintained  a  hotel. 

While  working  on  the  Massachusetts  farm 
Moses  I'..  Bliss  managed  to  acquire  a  common 
school  education,  and  to  learn  to  be  a  prac- 
tical tiller  of  the  soil.  While  still  in  his  native 
stale  he  married  Martha  Jane  Fuller,  who  was 
born  in  the  state  of  Maine,  August  20,  [825,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Abigail  1  1  lay  1  Fuller, 
also  natives  of  Maine.  Mrs.  Bliss  is  the  second 
in  age  of  three  children  born  to  her  parents, 
Mary,  now  Mrs.  Theodore  Brown,  being  the 
oldest,  while  Benjamin  F.,  a  resident  of  Maine, 
is  the  youngest.  The  four  children  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bliss  are  all  living,  namely: 
Charles  L.,  who  was  born  May  1.  1848,  and  who 
is  a  dentist  of  Santa  Cruz:  Frank  W.,  born 
March  17,  1852,  also  a  dentist  of  Santa  Cruz; 
Frederick  A.,  born  March  16.  1854,  also  a  den- 
tist living  in  San  Francisco;  and  Jennie,  born 
December  16,  1859,  married  William  T.  Jeter,  a 
banker  and  prominent  Democrat  of  Santa  Cruz. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years  Mr.  Bliss 
removed  to  within  thirty  miles  of  Chicago,  111., 
where  he  bought  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and 
twelve  acres,  upon  which  he  lived  for  thirty 
years.  He  came  to  California  in  J87O,  locating  at 
Santa  Cruz,  where  he  has  since  lived.  He  is 
one  of  the  old  time  settlers,  and  with  few  ex- 
ceptions the  oldest  man  in  the  count)-.  Mr. 
Bliss  enjoys  the  confidence  of  all  who  have 
been  associated  with  him  in  the  years  of  his 
sojourn  in  California,  and  he  has  to  show  for 
his  years  of  untiring  exertion  a  fair  competence 
ami  an   untarnished  name. 


MOSES  AVERY   MEDER. 

Four  years  before  the  greatest  tide  of  emi- 
gration drifted  westward  Mr.  Meder  came  to 
California,  with  the  development  of  which  bl- 
own life  was  subsequently  associated.  A  native 
of  the  distant  cast,  he  was  born  in  Ellsworth, 
Grafton  county.  X.   II.,   December   18,   1802.   lb 


sd  on  the  fa 
.rah  Meder. 
ottered  bv 
\s  ;,  steppi 
t..    Portsmi 


oi- 


ls.   Eli 
d  vantage 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


the  trade  of  shipbuilding,  and  at  the  same  time 
sought  in  every  way  to  improve  his  education.  It 
is  saiil  of  him  that  he  was  always  well  informed 
and  appreciated  the  value  of  keeping  posted  on 
current  events. 

In  1845  Mr.  Meder  married  Sarah  D.  Blood. 
A  year  later  he  decided  to  seek  a  home  in  Cali- 
fornia, with  the  hope  of  some  day  becoming  a 
large  cattle  owner.  Accompanied  by  his  wife 
and  child,  he  embarked  in  the  sailing  vessel, 
Brooklyn,  February  3,  1846,  and  landed  in 
San  Francisco  August  3,  1846.  His  total  capi- 
tal consisted  of  iifn  cents,  while  his  wife  had 
seventy-five  cents.  However,  they  had  some 
bedding  and  dishes  and  so  were  hetter  off  than 
some  of  their  fellow-passengers.  The  wife  was 
braver)  personified  and  predicted  success  when 
once  they  got  started.  In  looking  around  for 
work,  Mr.  Meder  met  a  Mr.  Graham,  who  was 
looking  fqr  help  to  build  his  mill  on  the  Zyante 
creek,  where  the  Big  Tree  Park  is  now  located, 
ami  where  the  foot  bridge  spans  the  water.  This 
was  the  first  saw  mill  erected  in  Santa  Cruz 
county.  Mr.  Graham,  hearing  of  the  arrival  of 
the  ship,  sought  among  the  passengers  for 
carpenters.  Mr.  Meder  promptly  accepted  his 
offer,  and,  arriving  at  his  destination,  lived  tem- 
porarily in  the  crevices  of  the  trees,  whose  size 
is  now  the  wonder  of  the  world.  Sending  for 
his  wife  and  child,  they  lived  in  their  unique 
abode  until  the  approach  of  winter  necessitated 
warmer  quarters,  when  a  house  was  built  of 
slabs.  At  the  end  of  two  years  Mr.  Graham 
built  another  mill  at  San  Lorenzo,  and  Mr. 
Meder  and  Otis  Ashley  rented  the  old  mill. 
In  the  meantime  the  gold  seekers  began  to 
arrive  and  all  commodities  leaped  in  price, 
lumber  being  no  exception  to  the  rule.  At  one 
lime  they  sold  lumber  for  $300  per  thousand 
feet,  and  at  another  time  they  sold  tift\  thousand 
feet  for  Si  50  per  thousand  feet. 

M><  nit  1850  Mr.  Metier  began  to  invest  the 
money  made  in  the  lumber  business  in  land, 
buying  small  tracts  as  they  appeared  to  be  of  111 
creasing  value.  He  built  himself  a  home  on 
the  Franceforte  creek,  and  assisted  Eli  More  to 
build  his  mill  at  that  point.  At  no  time  a 
plunger  or  speculator,  he  nevertheless  tried 
mining    for    six    months,    at    the    expiration    of 


which  time  he  decided  other  callings  offered 
greater  opportunities.  In  time  he  entered  the 
cattle  business  and  devoted  himself  also  to 
the  buying  and  selling  of  lands.  On  the  site 
of  the  noted  Wilder  ranch  he  erected  buildings, 
many  of  which  are  still  standing,  and  here  he 
made  his  home.  At  one  time  he  owned  land 
north  and  west  of  Santa  Cruz,  along  the  coast, 
and  there  his  cattle  roamed  at  will,  and  his 
dairy  turned  out  the  best  products  known  at 
that  time.  In  1874  he  sold  his  land  and  re- 
tired to  Santa  Cruz,  where  he  was  making  his 
home  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1890.  His 
first  wife  died  August  3,  1X72,  and  July  18. 
1873,  he  married  (  Hive  Ann  Sinnett,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Ann  ((  Irr)  Sinnett.  the  former 
of  whom  was  a  seafaring  man.  Mrs.  Meder 
had  a  sister  and  her  husband,  Henry  Ionian. 
who  came  to  California  with  their  child,  leav- 
ing one  other  child  behind  .them  for  her  to  take 
care  of.  Two  and  one-half  years  later  she  came 
west  bringing  the  child  with  her.  Mr.  Meder 
was  a  large-hearted  man  and  a  liberal,  but  un- 
ostentatious giver.  He  had  the  rugged  simpli- 
city and  resourcefulness  which  have  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  west,  ami  upon  which  others 
have  since  built  both  fame  and  fortune. 


WILLIAM   II.  WARDEN. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
Gabriel  Warden,  a  farmer,  lived  near  Granville, 
Licking  county,  Ohio.  He  married  there  and 
reared  a  large  family.  (  )f  his  ten  sons  and  three 
daughters,  the  eighth  in  order  of  birth.  Lew 
Moore,  was  born  on  the  home  farm  in  [825. 
In.  1844  he  went  to  Iowa  :i-  an  Indian  trader. 
At  the  time  of  the  discover)  of  gold  in  Califor- 
nia he  determined  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  fat- 
west,  and  accordingl)  started  across  tin-  plains. 
via  Fort  Laramie,  Salt  Lake  and  thence  to 
llangtown.  After  a  journey  of  sixt)  two  days 
he  reached  his  destination  July  6,  1850.  For 
several  years  he  was  associated  Willi  a  b 
11.  ML,  in  the  stage  business  in  Grass  Valley, 
north  of  Sacramento.  During  the  earl)  days  lie 
was  a  pioneer  miner  on  the  American,  Yuba 
and  Feather  rivers.  Later  he  embarked  in  the 
cattle  business  in  Napa  county,  but  soon  after- 


700 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


ward  removed  to  Mendocino  county,  where  his 
son,  William  II.,  the  subject  of  this  article,  was 
born  m   1861. 

To  fill  an  unexpired  term.  L.  M.  Warden  was 
appointed  high  sheriff  of  Mendocino  county,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  he  was  elected  to  the 
office,  and  subsequently  re-elected,  holding  the 
office  for  four  terms  altogether,  from  i860  to 
1868.  All  of  the  elections  were  as  the  Demo- 
cratic candidate.  '  hi  resigning  as  high  sheriff, 
he  came  to  San  Luis  (  )bispo  county  in  1868,  and 
settled  on  the  Atascadero  rancho,  where  he 
turned  his  attention  to  the  sheep  business.  In 
1871  he  transferred  his  sheep  to  Los  Osos  val- 
ley, where  he  bought  four  thousand  acres  of 
Los  Osos  ranch",  otherwise  known  as  Captain 
Wilson's  ranch.  In  addition  to  having  sheep,  he 
also  carried  Durham  and  other  fine  grades  of 
cattle  and  had  a  dairy  of  over  one  hundred  milch 
cows.  The  drought  of  1876  was  so  severe  that 
i'  caused  him  1"  retire  from  the  stock  business, 
and  later  he  sold  a  part  of  the  ranch. 

During  1874  and  1875  Mr.  Warden  served  as 
supervisor  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  and  in 
1878  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  California 
general  assembly,  in  which  body  he  ably  repre- 
sented his  constituents  for  one  term.  His  inter- 
est in  educational  matters  led  him  to  accept  the 
responsibilities  of  a  school  directorship,  in  which 
position  he  continued  for  many  years.  He  aided 
in  the  organization  of  the  Agricultural  Society 
of  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  in  which  he  held 
the  office  of  director.  In  Masonry,  too,  he  was 
prominent  and  active,  and  when  he  died,  in 
[893,  his  funeral  was  conducted  with  the  impres- 
sive ceremony  of  the  Knight  Templars. 

By  the  marriage  of  I..  M.  Warden  to  Helen 
Franklin,  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Portland,  (  Ire.,  four  children  were  born, 
namel)  :  Frances  E.,  wife  of  I).  J.  Haines;  Wil- 
liam H.,  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county;  <  )scar  L.. 
of  Portland,  <  Ire.;  and  May,  wife  of  W.  II. 
Fiske,  also  of  Portland.  <  >f  these  children  Wil- 
liam 11.  was  seven  years  old  when  his  parents 
brought  him  to  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  and 
ever  since  remained  a  resident  of  the 
same  locality.  His  education  was  such  as  dis- 
trict schools  afforded  and  gave  him  the  need*  d 
preparation  for  a  life  of  activity.     At  this  writing 


he  owns  1  me  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  Los  Osos 
rancho,  although  by  leasehold  he  cultivates  over 
twelve  hundred  acres  of  the  tract,  and  uses  the 
land  principally  for  the  pasturage  of  cattle.  He 
is  especially  interested  in  the  dairy  business  and 
his  dairy  is  noted  for  the  excellent  quality  of  its 
butter.  In  1899  he  bought  the  Gibson  ranch 
and  removed  to  that  place,  which  has  since  been 
his  home.  Like  his  father,  he  is  a  stanch  Dem- 
ocrat, and  like  him,  too,  he  is  an  active  worker 
i>n  the  school  board,  having  served  as  a  director 
for  ten  years.  In  1886  he  married  Miss  Lizzie 
LaTourette,  by  whom  he  has  six  children, 
namely:  Alfred  LaTourette,  Roy,  Lew  M.. 
Howard.  Emma  and  William  H.  Fraternally 
Mr.  Warden  is  connected  with  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  and  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World.  He  is  one  of  the  native  sons  of  Cali- 
fornia, who  maintain  a  warm  interest  in  the  de- 
velopment and  progress  of  the  state,  and  partic- 
ularly assist  in  the  growth  of  their  own  home 
county. 


WILLIAM  T.  ELLIOTT. 

His  loyalty  to  Republican  principles  and  to 
the  town  of  which  he  has  been  a  resident  since 
1875,  has  secured  for  Mr.  Elliott  many  evi- 
dences of  the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by 
his  fellow  townsmen,  and  which  has  been  fit- 
tingly rewarded  by  his  appointment  to  the  post- 
mastership  of  Gonzalez  by  James  A.  Gary,  post- 
master general.  He  is  now  serving  his  second 
term  and  since  his  incumbency  of  the  office  gen- 
eral satisfaction  has  been  expressed,  and  many 
improvements  have  been  made  over  previous 
management  of  the  affairs  of  Uncle  Sam.  This 
postoffice  is  known  as  a  fourth-class  affair,  and 
the  genial  presiding  genius  thereof  east  his 
first  presidential  vote  for  the  immortal  Abraham 
1  .incoln. 

A  native  of  Vermilion  county,  Ind..  Mr.  Ell- 
iott was  born  in  [837,  a  son  of  Robert  Elliott, 
who  was  also  born  and  reared  in  the  Hoosier 
state.  The  family  is  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction, 
ami  the  paternal  grandfather  removed  to  Vir- 
ginia at  a  very  early  day.  Mr.  Elliott  ac- 
quired his  education  during  the  winter  months 
at   the  little   log  school   house  of  his   neighbor- 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


C03 


hood,  and  when  the  Civil  war  broke  out  was 
living  in  Portland,  I  ml.  In  August  of  1861  he 
enlisted  in  Chanrbersburg,  that  state,  in  Captain 
Sam.  Irvin's  company,  and.  upon  the  death 
cii  their  first  commander.  General  Baker,  they 
were  thrown  upon  the  governor  of  the  state 
of  Xew  York,  win  1  attached  them  to  a  New 
York  regiment,  the  Harris  Light  Cavalry,  or 
Second  Xew  York.  The  regiment  participated 
in  man}-  of  the  important  battles  of  the  war, 
and  Mr.  Elliott  was  discharged  from  the  service 
September  i(>.  1864,  at  Hallstown,  Va.  With 
the  return  of  peace,  he  again  lived  in  Indiana, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  prosecution  of  his  trade 
of  carpenter,  and  in  1868  removed  to  Kansas, 
locating  in  Neosha  count}-,  where  he  continued 
to  live  until  his  removal  to  California  in  1871. 
At  Peach  Tree  he  engaged  in  stock  raising  for 
three  years,  and  then  removed  to  Monterey, 
where  he  took  up  his  trade  and  followed  the 
same  until  1875.  That  year  he  first  became 
identified  with  Gonzalez  and  has  since  been 
an  interested  and  helpful  spectator  of  its  con- 
tinued growth. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Elliott  and  Elizabeth 
Glover,  daughter  of  Claybon  Glover,  occurred 
in  Indiana  in  1858.  Of  this  union  there  were 
five  children:  George,  who  was  killed  while  at 
his  post  as  a  conductor  on  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad:  Margaret,  who  died  in  Indiana;  John 
S.,  who  is  a  teamster  in  Mendocino  count}-,  Cal.: 
Clara,  who  is  now  Mrs.  Abraham  Higbie  of 
Gonzalez;  and  Isabell,  who  is  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Patton,  of  Gonzalez. 


JACKSON  MANN. 

(  )ne  of  the  most  prominent  and  successful 
of  the  fruit  growers  of  the  Pajaro  valley  is 
Jackson  Mann,  whose  family  is  further  repre- 
sented in  the  valley  by  his  brother,  Christopher, 
with  whom  he  shares  an  enviable  standing,  as 
well  as  large  competence.  lie  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  Ind.,  September  10.  (825, 
and  was  reared  in  southwestern  Missouri,  wliiili 
er  his  parents  removed  when  he  was  twelve 
years  of  age.  After  four  years  in  this  part 
<>i  the  state  the  family  removed  to  Jackson 
county.   Mo.,  where  the  father  purchased  fifteen 


hundred  acres  of  land.  Christopher  Mann, 
the  father  of  Jackson,  was  born  in  North  Car- 
olina, from  which  state  he  removed  to  Indiana 
at  an  early  day.  He  was  a  farmer  and  stock 
raiser  by  occupation,  and  served  with  distinction 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  winning  the  rank  of 
lieutenant.  Twice  married,  his  first  union  re- 
sulted in  thirteen  children,  and  his  second  union 
in  nine  children,  twenty-two  in  all.  His  death 
occurred  in  Jackson  county.  Mo.,  at  the  re- 
markable age  of  one  hundred  and  twelve  years. 
Llis  father,  Jonas  Mann,  came  originally  from 
Germany. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  Jackson  Mann 
reaped  the  benefit  of  his  father's  untiring  in- 
dustry, for  he  was  presented  with  eight}  acres 
of  land  with  which  to  start  out  on  an  indepen- 
dent career.  In  1853  he  disposed  of  this  land 
at  a  profit,  and  came  overland  with  ox  teams 
to  California,  the  trip  requiring  five  months 
and  fourteen  days.  Arriving  at  San  Jose,  where 
his  brother  was  already  located,  and  purchased 
several  lots  as  an  investment,  after  which  he 
removed  to  the  mountains  ami  engaged  in  team- 
ing to  Redwood  city.  After  experimenting  with 
a  ranch  with  a  bad  title,  he  engaged  in  lime 
burning  for  a  year  or  so,  and  was  finally  burned 
out  of  the  business.  He  then  proceeded  to 
Sonoma  county  and  bought  a  ranch,  but  this 
went  the  way-  of  his  former  ranch,  the  title 
being  absolutely  void.  In  the  fall  of  i860  he 
bought  fort\-  acres  of  land  in  the  Pajaro  valley 
for  $300,  and  after  living  thereon  for  a  year, 
bought  his  present  farm  of  two  hundred  anil 
lift}-  acres.  The  country  was  new-  at  that  lime. 
and  the  present  prosperity  and  unequalled  rich- 
ness of  the  soil  were  as  yet  unthoughl  of.  1  U 
his  land,  one  hundred  acres  are  in  the  valley, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  the  hills.  Twent) 
acres  are  under  an  orchard  four  years  old,  and 
the  remainder  is  devoted  to  [arming  and  stock 
raising. 

While   living  in    Missouri.  January    14.    1847. 
Mr.   Mann  married  Rebecca   lane  Robertson,  a 
native    of      Monroe      count}.    Ky..    when 
was    horn      Xpnl    29,     [824,       When    thr.  1 
of  age   Mrs.   Mann   removed  with   her  parents 
to    Illinois,  and   when   foui  ti  age  was 

taken  to  Jackson  county,  Mo.,  where  her  mar- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


riage  occurred.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mann  have  had 
nine  children,  and  thirty-three  grandchildren. 
(  If  the  children,  Nancy  is  the  wife  of  H.  M. 
Hays;  William  E.  is  a  stuck  raiser  of  Monterey 
county;  Christopher  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five;  Ezekiel  Jackson  is  a  rancher  in  Santa  Cruz 
county;  John  W.  is  a  rancher  in  Monterey 
county;  Susan  Jane  is  the  wife  of  James  Phillips 
of  Santa  Cruz  county:  James  Henry  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Watsonville,  Cal.;  Mary  F.  is  Mrs. 
Charles  Gill  of  San  Francisco;  and  Katie  died 
at  the  age  of  five  years  and  fourteen  days. 
Mr.  .Mann  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  has 
been  a  school  trustee  for  several  years.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 


|<  MIX    DENNIS    MURPHY. 

An  extensive  orchardist  of  the  Pajaro  valley 
is  [ohn  D.  Murphy,  who  inherited  from  his 
father  two  hundred  and  eighty-two  acres  of 
land,  upon  the  greater  part  of  which  he  is 
raising  apple-.  At  first  he  set  out  fifty  acres 
under  Newtown  pippins  and  winesaps,  and  has 
since  set  out  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  under 
pippins  and  Bellefleurs,  making  two  hundred 
acres  under  orchard,  seventy  acres  of  which  are 
in  bearing  condition. 

When  he  first  came  to  this  valley  Mr.  Mur- 
phy was  four  or  five  years  of  age.  having 
been  horn  in  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  June  22,  1855. 
His  father,  John  Murphy,  was  born  in  County 
toil.,  Ireland,  where  he  lived  until  twenty 
years  of  age.  About  1849  he  came  to  America 
and  located  in  Boston,  and  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  during  1850  or  '51.  lie  worked  in  the 
coasl  cit)  until  he  hail  saved  up  $4,000,  which 
v<  ted  in  stock,  which  was  kept  across 
the  bay.  Tin-  -lock  was  transferred  to  the 
Pajaro  vallej  in  1850,  the  owner  thereof  set- 
tling on  land  across  from  Santa  Cruz  county, 
which  he  rented  and  occupied  until  [863.  He 
then  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  a 
part  of  which  constitutes  his  present  ranch,  pay- 
ing for  ii  Si. 700.  From  a  partly  improved  state 
he  increased  the  value  of  his  land  by  incessanl 
industrj  and  continual  development,  adding 
'mi  il  he  1 >w  n. 'd  six  hundred  and  eighteen 
acres  in  a  body  at  the  time  -1  hi-  death,  Febru- 


ary 14.  1892,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years. 
He  possessed  remarkable  vitality  during  his  life 
time,  and  was  able  to  superintend  his  many 
interests  up  to  within  the  last  week  of  his  life. 
IK  wa-  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  never  got 
any  nearer  political  affairs  than  casting  his  vote. 
He  was  one  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of  the  valley, 
and  with  his  son,  John  Dennis,  set  out  the  first 
orchard  in  the  district.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Catholic  Church.  His  wife,  formerly  Elizabeth 
Sheehy,  was  also  born  in  County  Cork,  Ireland, 
and  came  to  America  about  a  year  after  her 
husband,  whom  she  shortly  afterward  married. 
Mrs.  Murphy  died  February  22,  1892,  eight  days 
after  the  death  of  her  husband.  She  also  was 
a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  was 
the  mother  of  six  children,  viz.:  Margaret,  the 
widow  of  James  Penan,  and  a  resident  of  San 
Jose:  Alary,  a  sister  in  the  Crass  Valley  Convent 
and  who  entered  the  order  in  1890:  Ella,  living 
in  Watsonville:  Annie;  Julia,  deceased  in  [894; 
and  John  Dennis. 

February  5,  1896,  Mr.  Murphy  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Mary  Driscoll,  a  native  of 
Santa  Cruz  county,  Cal..  and  a  daughter  of 
Jerry  and  Hannah  Driscoll,  pioneers  of  Santa 
Cruz  county.  (  )f  this  union  there  have  been 
born  two  sons,  John  and  Eugene,  the  latter 
of  whom  is  in  the  employ  of  his  uncle,  the 
present  mayor  of  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Murphy 
is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  at  times 
been  very  active  for  his  party.  He  is  among 
the  substantial  and  thrifty  agriculturists  and 
horticulturists  of  his  neighborhood,  and  has 
not  only  a  reputation  for  raising  excellent  ap- 
ples, but  derives  a  steady  income  from  beets 
and  strawberries,  which  he  cultivates  between 
the  trees.  Mr.  Murphy  and  his  wile  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  Church. 


IK  IN.  C.  P.  LACY. 

As  a  practicing  attorney  of  Salinas  and  a 
former  member  of  the  assembly,  Mr.  Lacy  i- 
well  known  throughoul  Monterey  county,  lie 
wa-  bom  in  the  city  of  Monterey  in  1864,  ami 
1-  .1  -on  of  J.  \  .  and  Belle  (Taylor)  Lacy,  natives 
respectively  of  Canada  and  Liverpool,  England. 
In    185S    his    father   became   a   pioneer   of   Call- 


ZADOCK  KARNER 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


>.-. 


forriia  and  during  that  year  began  to  follow  the 
wheelwright's  trade  in  Monterey,  but  in  1868  re- 
moved to  Salinas,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
After  having  completed  his  education  in  the 
public  schools,  C.  F.  Lacy  took  up  the  study 
of  Stenography  at  seventeen  years  of  age  and 
sunn  became  an  expert  in  that  art.  His  pro- 
ficiency led  to  his  appointment  as  court  report- 
er, which  position  he  filled  for  ten  years  and 
meantime  devoted  himself  during  his  leisure 
hours  to  the  study  of  law,  for  which  his  long 
court  experience  gave  him  exceptional  ad- 
vantages. In  1890  he  was  elected  to  the  state 
legislature  and  served  during  the  session  of 
[891.  In  July  of  the  latter  year  he  was  admitted 
to  practice  before  the  supreme  court  of  the 
slate,  and  shortly  afterward  began  in  the  pro- 
fession to  which  the  succeeding  years  have  been 
devoted.  Until  [899  he  was  alone,  but  during 
that  year  formed  a  partnership  with  G.  H. 
Dougherty,  and  this  association  continues  to 
the  present.  The  firm  have  been  given  charge 
of  various  important  cases,  and  in  every  matter 
entrusted  to  their  oversight  have  proved  capa- 
ble and  painstaking.  Tn  politics  Mr.  Lacy  is  a 
Republican,  and  fraternally  is  connected  with 
the  Odd  Fellows,  Woodmen  of  the  World  and 
Ancient  (  Irder  of  United  Workmen.  His  mar- 
riage in  Salinas  united  him  with  Emma  Edring- 
1 1 111 .  who  was  born  in  Kentucky,  and  to  their 
union  was  burn  a  daughter,  Dora. 


ZADOCK   KARNER. 

Contemporaneous  with  the  development  of 
the  dairy  industry  on  the  Pacific  coast  were 
the  successes  "i"  the  late  Zadock  Karner,  and 
for  many  years  of  his  life  a  record  thereof 
would  throw  considerable  light  on  pioneer  dairy 
methods  and  the  gradual  growth  uf  the  indus- 
try tn  its  present  rank.  \  resident  of  Santa 
Cruz  from  1871  until  the  time  of  his  death. 
July  [3,  1804.  during  these  years  he  became 
known  as  one  of  tin-  city's  leading  and  influen- 
tial citizens,  a  contributor  in  local  projects  and 
a  believer  in  all  progressive  plans.  The  home- 
stead which  he  occupied  was  formerly  owned 
l>_\    J.   W.    Brown  and  comprised  tun  acres  ><\t 


Mission    street,    forming   a   pleasant   abode    for 
himself  and   family. 

The  far-famed  Berkshire  region  of  Massa- 
chusetts was  the  scene  familiar  tn  Mr.  Karner 
in  boyhood,  lie  was  born  at  Egremont,  that 
state.  October  10.  1811,  and  was  the  youngest 
sen  among  seven  children,  whose  ancestors  sel 
tied  iii  New  England  in  early  days.  The  public 
schools  and  academy  at  Egremont  furnished 
him  with  lair  educational  advantages,  and  nil 
leaving  school  he  took  up  mercantile  pursuits. 
Going  tn  Poughkeepsie,  X.  Y.,  in  1836,  he  en- 
gaged  in  the  grocery  business  for  two  years. 
( )n  selling  out  he  returned  to  Massachusetts 
and  learned  the  jeweler's  trade  under  C.  Kline, 
at  Sheffield,  where  he  remained  for  three  years 
a-  an  employe,  and  then  embarked  in  business 
for  himself.  His  brother  Levi  meantime  went 
t>  California  and  sent  back  favorable  reports, 
so  in  1851  he  decided  tn  join  him  in  the  far 
west.  He  came  via  the  isthmus  and  was  one 
of  the  passengers  mi  the  first  voyage  of  the 
Golden  Gate  from  Panama  to  San  Francisco. 
Proceeding  to  Gold  Run  he  joined  his  brother 
and  they  soon  became  interested  in  mining  and 
in  the  management  of  a  hotel  at  Cold  Spring. 
During  the  nine  years  of  their  residence  at 
that  place  they  devoted  six  years  tn  lmtel-keep- 
ing.  His  former  trade  of  jeweler  Zadock  also 
brought  into  use,  doing  considerable  work  as 
a  repairer  of  watches.  On  the  death  of  his 
brother  he  removed  to  Marin  county  and  em- 
barked in  the  dairy  business,  having  previously 
purchased  twelve  cows  and  a  ranch  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres.  About  this  time  his 
nephew,  Levi  EC.  Baldwin,  now  a  retired  banker 
of  Santa  Cruz,  came  from  the  east,  and  the  two 
leased  a  large  ranch  at  Point  Reyes,  which  they 
stocked  with  one  hundred  and  sixt)  cows. 

\t  the  time  of  selling  his  interest  in  Marin 
count)  Mr.  Karner  was  the  owner  of  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  at  (  >lcma  and  had  a  dairy 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  cows.  In  [868  lie 
settled  in  Monterej  county,  where,  in  connec- 
tion with  another  nephew,  he  bought  I 
eighl  hundred  acres  at  $7  an  acre.  <  If  this 
tiaet  he  later  became  the  sole  owner,  but  dis- 
posed of  a  portion  in  order  tn  free  himself  from 
debt,   thus  confining  his  attention  tn  the  bal- 


;ni, 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ance  of  the  ranch,  fifteen  hundred  acres,  on 
which  he  kept  erne  hundred  and  fifty  cows. 
Renting  this  land  to  other  parties  in  1871,  he 
removed  to  Santa  Cruz,  where  the  remainder 
of  his  life  was  quietly  passed,  with  no  intricate 
business  enterprises  to  command  his  attention 
or  exhaust  his  strength.  Though  never  desiring 
positions  of  prominence,  but  finding  his  great- 
est pleasure  in  the  development  of  his  dairy  in- 
terests and  the  enjoyment  of  domestic  life,  yet 
he  did  not  neglecl  his  duty  as  a  citizen,  and  was 
ever  found  ready  to  do  his  part  toward  promot- 
ing public-spirited  measures. 

Returning  east  in  1870,  Mr.  Karner  was  mar- 
ried at  Sheffield,  on  the  20th  of  September,  to 
Miss  Charlotte,  dan- liter  of  Frederick  A.  and 
Harriet  (Kellogg)  Brown,  and  a  descendant  of 
colonial  New  England  ancestry.  The  month 
after  their  marriage  they  started  for  California 
and  settled  in  Santa  Cruz,  where  Mrs.  Karner 
still  resides.  Frequently  they  returned  to  the 
east  in  visit  relatives,  but  at  no  time  did  they 
de-ire  to  remain  there  permanently,  for  the 
rigors  of  a  New  England  winter  were  not  allur- 
ing to  those  familiar  with  the  delights  of  Santa 
Cruz  sunshine  and  balmy  air.  In  addition  to 
the  family  residence,  Mrs.  Karner  owns  a 
ranch  of  thirteen  hundred  acres,  which  is  well 
stoeked  and  from  which  she  receives  fair  re- 
turns. Among  the  people  of  Santa  Cruz  she 
has  a  high  standing,  enjoying  the  esteem  of  all 
with  whom  she  has  become  acquainted  since 
coming'  west. 


charles  p.  McCarthy. 

\m<mg  the  many  successful  agriculturists 
of  Santa  Cruz  county  prominent  mention  should 
be  accorded  Mr,  McCarthy,  who  for  the  past 
thirty  years  has  made  his  home  on  his  pres- 
ent farm.  In  addition  to  general  farming  he 
conducts  an  orchard  of  fifteen  hundred  apple 
trees,  which  consist  almost  exclusively  of  Belle- 
fleurs  and  Newt<  >\\  n  pippins. 

\  -on  of  Patrick  and  I. eta  (.Nagle)  McCarthy. 
Charles  I'.  was  horn  in  County  Cork,  Ireland, 
\ugust  15,  [846.  Upon  reaching  the  age  ol 
twenty  one  he  sailed  for  the  I  "nited  States,  land- 
New    York   harbor  in  due  time  and  later 


proceeding  to  San  Francisco.  After  spending 
two  weeks  there  he  came  to  Watsonville  and 
for  about  seven  years  was  in  the  employ  of 
William  F.  White.  In  1874  he  purchased  his 
present  farm,  which  comprises  forty  acres  of 
productive  land,  located  three  miles  from  Wat- 
sonville and  one  mile  from  college. 

In  1 067,  prior  to  leaving  his  native  land,  Mr. 
McCarthy  was  united  in  marriage  to  Ellen  Hall- 
sv.  also  a  native  of  County  Cork,  and  a  daughter 
of  Matika  and  Mary  Kelley.  To  Mr.  McCarthy 
and  his  wife  were  born  the  following  children: 
Charles,  Louisa,  Lizzie,  William  and  Edward. 
Louisa  is  employed  .as  teacher  in  one  of  the 
public  schools  of  Watsonville,  and  Edward  is  a 
student  in  the  University  of  California,  class  of 
1904. 

Although  private  affairs  occupy  the  most  of 
Mr.  McCarthy's  time  and  attention,  still  he  is 
not  too  busy  to  take  an  interest  in  public  mat- 
ters. In  his  political  sympathies  he  is  a  staunch 
believer  in  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party,  which  he  upholds  whenever  and  wherever 
opportunity  offers.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
of  Watsonville  is  the  church  home  of  Mr.  Mc- 
Carthy and  his  family. 


J.   E.   RANKIN,   M.   D. 

The  physical  woes  of  the  community  of  Gon- 
zales arc  admirably  cared  for  by  Dr.  Rankin. 
whose  skill  in  diagnosis  and  treatment  has  won 
him  the  confidence  of  a  large  following,  not 
only  in  the  town,  but  in  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. He  is  one  of  the  most  popular  and  suc- 
cessful of  the  Irish-Americans  who  have  found 
in  Monterey  a  pleasant  home  and  profitable 
business,  for,  though  born  in  Ireland  in  1S41, 
he  came  to  America  with  his  parents,  Robert 
and  Catherine  Rankin,  the  following  year,  and  is 
therefore  essentially  a  son  of  the  United  States. 
Robert  Rankin  devoted  his  active  life  to  teach- 
ing music,  and  in  America  settled  with  his 
family  at  Evansville,  in  southern  Indiana,  where 
lie  s,  Mm  after  died.  The  necessity  for  individ- 
ual maintenance  brought  about  the  disruption  of 
the  family,  and  the  doctor  went  to  Buffalo, 
\.  Y.,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools.       Laving    decided    to    adopt    the    pro- 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


fession  of  medicine  he  then  entered  the  Buf- 
falo Medical  College,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated with  honors  with  the  class  of  1891.  For 
preliminary  practice  he  had  located  in  southern 
Michigan,  and  after  graduation  he  removed  to 
the  northern  part  of  the  state,  where  he  lived  un- 
til his  removal  to  California  in  1897.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  came  to  Gonzales,  and,  as  the  only 
physician  in  the  place,  has  received  the  patron- 
age and  appreciation  due  his  ability  and  fine 
personal  characteristics. 

While  living  in  Michigan  Dr.  Rankin  en- 
listed in  Company  M,  Fourth  Michigan  Cav- 
alry, and  served  the  Union  cause  until  his  hon- 
orable discharge  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  in  1865. 
During  the  service  he  saw  much  of  the  grew- 
some  side  of  war,  and  participated  in  the  battles 
of  Stone  River,  Missionary  Ridge,  Chicka- 
mauga,  Franklin  and  many  more  important 
battles  and  skirmishes.  In  1867  he  married 
Phoebe  L.  Lane,  and  of  this  union  there  are 
two  daughters.  In  national  politics  Dr.  Rankin 
is  a  Republican,  and  cast  his  first  presidential 
vote  for  U.  S.  Grant.  Fraternally  he  is  associat- 
ed with  the  Masons  and  the  Maccabees,  and  is 
a  member  of  the  ( Irand  Army  of  the  Republic. 


CARL  E.  LINDSAY. 

Carl  1''..  Lindsay,  attorney  at  law  of  Santa 
Cruz,  and  member  of  the  firm  of  Lindsay  & 
Netherton,  was  born  in  Bucyrus,  Crawford 
county.  (  )hio,  December  6,  1861,  a  son  of  David 
M.  and  Sue  (Wheeler)  Lindsay,  and  grandson 
.if  Moses  and   Eleanor  (McManamay)   Lindsay. 

Moses  Lindsay  combined  the  occupations  of 
blacksmithing  and  farming  in  Mifflin  township, 
Cumberland  county,  Pa.,  where  his  son.  David 
M..  was  born  December  27,  1827.  The  youth- 
ful David  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  in  the 
shop,  acquiring  in  time  a  knowledge  of  both, 
which  decided  him  in  favor  of  the  latter.  When 
twenty  years  of  age  he  left  the  paternal  guid- 
ance, and  at  Bucyrus,  Ohio,  completed  the 
blacksmith's  trade,  learning  also  that  of  carriage 
ironer.  lie  married  Sue  Wheeler,  while  still  a 
resident  of  Bucyrus.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Thomas   Wheeler  of  Ashland,  Ohio,  who  died 


in  Santa  Cruz,  Cak,  in  1897,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
six  wars.  After  his  marriage,  Mr.  Lindsa\ 
lived  in  Indiana  for  fifteen  years,  and  in  1871 
emigrated  with  his  family  to  Salem.  (  )re..  taking 
up  his  residence  in  Santa  Cruz  in  1878.  Here 
he  soon  opened  a  shop  on  Lucas  street,  later 
removing  to  different  localities,  but  at  present 
is  doing  business  in  a  shop  on  Water  street.  He 
is  an  expert  in  his  line,  and  is  a  man  of  pro- 
nounced individuality.  The  Prohibition  cause 
has  no  more  ardent  advocate,  although  Mr. 
Lindsay  has  never  entered  the  arena  of  poli- 
tics. In  religion  he  is  liberal,  and  in  general 
affairs  broad  minded  and  progressive.  Of  his 
four  children.  Carl  Elmer  is  the  oldest;  Clyde 
Allen  is  associated  with  him  in  business;  Elea- 
nor died  young;  and  Gussie  is  the  wife  of  W.  A. 
Moore  of  Watsonville. 

Educated  primarily  in  the  public  schools  of 
(  ireenfield  and  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  Carl  E.  Lind- 
say later  attended  the  Slate  Normal  at  San 
Jose,  Cak,  from  which  he  graduated.  Apply- 
ing for  and  receiving  a  certificate  of  the  first 
grade,  he  began  teaching  school  at  Darwin. 
Cak,  in  which  town  he  was  principal  of  schools 
for  seven  years,  after  which  he  taught  in  Glen- 

w 1   and   Brown's  Valley,  and  was  appointed 

principal  of  the  Brancefort  grammar  school  of 
Santa  Cruz  in  1884.  During  his  services  in  the 
latter  capacity  he  improved  his  leisure  in  taking 
up  the  study  of  law.  and  was  duly  admitted  to 
the  California  bar  in  1890.  While  still  engaged 
in  educational  work  he  was  elected  to  the  of- 
fice of  district  attorney,  and  resigned  Ins 
principalship  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  the 
duties  of  his  new  responsibility.  Fortune  fa 
VOred  him  from  the  start,  and  lie  was  enabled 
to  establish  a  reputation  for  disinterested  devo- 
tion to  the  best  interests  of  the  people.  GltS 
Bragnen,  on  trial  for  murder,  was  the  first 
ease  on  the  calendar,  and  his  just  deserts  at  the 
hands  of  the  jury  was  a  pronounced  triumph  for 
the  new  incumbent  of  the  district  an 
office,  i  "i  eighl  years  he  creditably  maintained 
the  important  position,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
that  time,  in  io;>i.  assumed  the  partnership 
since  amicably  and  profitably  sustained  with 
\\  .  I'.  Netherton.  The  tirm  have  opened  a 
branch   office   in  San    Francisco,  ami  during  a 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


portion    of   the    time    the    members    are    neces- 
sarily at  that  end  of  the  line. 

lamiary  i.  1884,  in  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Lind- 
say married  Mary  Augusta,  daughter  of  Willis 
\\  .  Joyce,  one  of  the  California  4')ers.  Mr.  Joyce 
experienced  the  failures  and  successes  meted  out 
to  the  average  fortune  hunter  of  that  time  and 
place,  and  finally  settled  down  to  the  more  delib- 
erate but  sure  method  of  livelihood  on  a  farm. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  conducted  a  successful 
dairying  enterprise,  and  after  his  retirement 
lived  in  San  Francisco  and  Salinas,  in  which 
latter  city  his  death  occurred.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lindsay  have  been  born  two  children. 
(  iladys  L.  is  sixteen  and  David  Joyce  is  thirteen 
years  of  age.  The  executive  and  social  ability 
of  Mr.  Lindsay  has  resulted  in  his  affiliation 
with  numerous  associations  in  which  Santa 
Cruz  abounds,  among  them  being  the  naval 
militia,  of  which  he  has  been  a  member  for 
seven  years,  and  is  now  commander.  He  is 
] -resident  of  the  Elks  Club  of  this  city,  and 
is  identified  with  the  Odd  Fellows,  of  which 
he  is  past  chief  patriarch  of  the  Encampment; 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  which  he  is  past 
chancellor,  and  past  grand  chancellor  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  state  in  1894-95;  and  a 
member  of  the  Maccabees,  lie  is  a  member  of 
the  Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Lindsay  is  one  of 
the  shrewd,  erudite  members  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession  who  uphold  not  only  the  prestige  of 
Santa  Cruz  county,  but  of  the  state,  and  who, 
in  his  personal  attributes,  represents  the  large- 
ness and  resourcefulness  of  the  typical  citizen 
of  the  western  slope. 


SEDGWICK  J.   LYNCH. 

Innumerable  houses  and  public  structures, 
many  wharfs,  bridges  and  railroads  in  Santa 
Cruz,  Monterey,  San  Luis  (  >l>ispo  and  Santa 
Clara  counties  bear  testimony  to  the  industry 
and    constructive    skill   of   Sedgwick   J.    Lynch, 

the  caravan  who  came  to  the  coasi   in 

the   daw   of  gold  and  tarried  here  for  thi    n 
mainder  of  his  days.     He  was  born  in  Sandy 
Lake.    Mercer   county.    Pa.,   April   25,    [822,    a 
son  of  John  and  Mary  (Fowler)  Lynch,  natives 
ivelj    of    Ireland   and   Scotland. 


At  the  age  of  fifteen  Sedgwick  J.  Lynch  ap- 
prenticed to  James  D.  Moore,  a  carpenter  of 
Mercer,  Pa.,  and  after  completing  his  trade, 
worked  as  a  journeyman  until  the  spring  of  1845. 
lie  then  went  to  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  as  foreman 
for  a  contracting  firm,  and  for  the  same  firm 
went  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  to  build  a  flouring 
mill  and  distillerw  Subsequently  he  continued 
in  the  southern  city  as  a  general  contractor 
until  the  rush  to  the  coast  in  1849,  when  he 
went  to  New  <  'rleans  and  embarked  for  Pan- 
ama. Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  steamers  he 
was  obliged  to  wait  about  four  weeks  for  ac- 
commodations,  about  six  thousand  Americans 
being  then  at  Panama,  and  all  anxious  to  put 
to  sea  as  soon  as  possible.  He  finally  embarked 
in  the  steamer  Senator,  arriving  in  San  Fran- 
cisco <  October  5.  £849;  This  same  Senator  after- 
ward ran  on  the  Sacramento  river,  and  Mr. 
Lynch  boarded  her  as  repair  man.  and  was 
thus  employed  for  some  time.  At  the  same 
time  he  carried  all  the  letters  and  packages  from 
the  postoffice  in  San  Francisco  to  Sacramento. 
receiving  from  forty  cents  to  a  dollar  per  letter 
or  package.  Later  he  left  the  mail  and  steamer 
repair  business  and  assisted  in  the  erection 
of  several  buildings  on  Montgomery  street, 
Sacramento,  for  frank  Ward,  at  $20  per  day. 
and  thence  started  for  the  mines  at  Marysville 
by  steamer.  The  rest  of  the  journey  to  the 
fork  of  the  Yuba  river  was  accomplished  with 
pack  mules,  and  when  the  mules  were  no  longer 
available  he  walked  on  snow  six  feet  deep.  Ar- 
riving at  Downieville  the  snow  began  to  fall. 
continuing  for  fourteen  days,  and  in  the  mean- 
time the  little  party  had  but  scant  shelter  and 
scarcely  any  food.  While  waiting  for  the  -now 
tc  harden  sufficiently  to  travel  over  they  nearly 
starved,  and  upon  starting  out  they  walked  over 
tight  feet  of  snow.  Mr.  Lynch  was  successful 
at  mining  for  a  time,  his  first  venture  resulting 
in  two  and  a  half  pounds  of  gold  a  day. 

In  June,  [850,  Mr.  Lynch  returned  to  San 
Francisco  for  a  year,  and  during  that  time 
built  and  contracted,  ami  became  a  member  of 
the  vigilance  committee.  Coming  to  Santa 
(ru/  in  [851,  he  started  in  business  where  Hen- 
ry Crowell  is  now  located,  but  finally  disposed 
of  his  interest   to  Jordan  &    Davis.     For  a  time 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


709 


thereafter  he  engaged  in  the  planing  mill  busi- 
ness in  Oakland,  the  mill  being  the  first  to  be 
erected  at  that  place.  During  his  sojourn  with 
a  surveying  party  headed  by  one  Von  Schmidt. 
they  surveyed  from  the  base  of  Mount  Diablo 
through  the  state  to  the  Colorado  desert,  where 
two  of  the  party  were  killed  by  the  Mohave 
Indians.  In  [854  he  went  to  Santa  Cruz  to 
build  a  wharf  for  Davis  &  Jordan,  the  firsl 
t,,  he  built  on  the  open  coast  of  California,  and 
alter  it-  completion  he  turned  his  attention  to 
the  erection  of  houses,  bridges,  mills,  wharfs  and 
stores  in  various  parts  of  several  counties,  hav- 
ing in  the  meantime  formed  a  partnership  with 
George  Gregg  of  Santa  Cruz.  They  built  a 
planing  mill  and  store  and  started  a  lumber 
business  at  Los  Angeles,  Wilmington  and 
Compton,  and  finally  dissolved  partnership  in 
1870.  After  that  Mr.  Lynch  became  the  partner 
of  J.  M.  Griffith,  of  Los  Angeles,  and  they 
turned  out  large  quantities  of  blinds,  doors, 
-ashes  and  general  mill  work',  and  were  re- 
markably successful  up  to  the  retirement  of 
Air.  Lynch  to  Santa  Cruz  in  1X70.  In  this  city 
he  built  the  beautiful  home  now  occupied  bj 
his  widow,  which  is  modern  in  construction  and 
surrounded  with  grounds  whereon  grow  flow- 
ers, trees  and  shrubs,  Hi-  years  of  self  sacri- 
fice and  untiring  indu'stry  entitled  him  to  the 
nst  which  he  enjoyed  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  May  30,  i88r.  Houses  and  lands  were 
his,  and  a  large  competence,  and  he  was  ai 
counted  one  of  those  who  profited  exceedingly 
by   the  early  chances  in   California. 

February  [6,  [858,  Mr.  Lynch  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Jane  (McKee)  Dono 
hue.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Lynch  died  when  a 
young  man,  and  his  widow  married  for  a  se<  '  >nd 
husband  Frank  Shields,  alter  whose  death 
she  came  to  California,  and  died  at  the  home 
o;  her  daughter  in  [891,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
nine.  To  -Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lynch  were  born  the 
following  children:  Mary  J.,  the  wile  of  Charles 
E.  Withee;  Elizabeth,  deceased  ai  the  age  ol 
fourteen;  Fannie,  the  wife  of  William  E.  Craig; 
Ahmra.  the  wife  of  L.  Hunt:  Alice,  the  deceased 
wife  oi  Elmer  E.  Simpson;  William  J.,  of  Santa 
Cruz;  Sedgwick  J.,  who  died  when  young;  and 
Scdewiek    I ..  another  child  of  thai   name,  also 


deceased.     Fraternally  Mr.  Lynch  was  a   VI 

lie  was  interested  in  the  first  bank  organized  in 
the  town  and  amassed  a  large  fortune. 


G.  A.  DAUGHERTY. 

The  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Daugherty 
&  Lacey,  of  Salinas,  one  of  the  largest  and  best 
known  law  firms  of  Monterey  county,  was  born 
in  Coshocton.  Ohio,  in  1861,  and  was  reared 
on  a  farm.  His  father  was  one  of  the  success- 
ful farmers  of  the  neighborhood,  whither  his 
parents  had  removed  at  a  very  early  day,  and 
when  the  country  was  wild  and  uncultivated. 
Me  is  now  living  in  retirement  in  Ohio.  Ili- 
wife  was  formerly  Elizabeth  Dickie,  a  native  oi 
Scotland.  After  coming  to  America  the  Daugh- 
erty farriil)  located  in  Pennsylvania,  and  for  six 
generation-  were  among  the  well  known  and 
enterprising  tillers  of  the  soil. 

Mr.  Daugherty  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  hi-  native  county,  and  graduated  from 
the  high  school  of  Coshocton.  Subsequenth 
he  entered  Muskingum  College,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1884,  his  tuition  being  parti) 
met  by  his  earnings  while  teaching  school  for 
two  years  before  his  graduation.  From  earliest 
boyhood  his  ideal  occupation  was  the  pi 
of  the  law.  and  California  the  objective  goal  of 
his  ended  wandering-  It  1-  not  surprising  then 
that  about  a  month  after  completing  his  college 
course  he  was  on  the  way  to  the  far  west,  and 
reached  California  in  the  Iattet  pari  ol  [884.  It 
is  sunni.-ed  that  he  was  to  be  the  chiseler  of  his 
own  future,  for  his  first  experience  at  earning 
money  was  with  a  threshing  machine,  with  which 
he  remained  for  several  months, 
gaged  in  educational  work  just  east  of  Salinas. 
and  at  the  expiration  of  two  years  entered  the 
law  office  of  II.  D.  Tuttle.  with  the  re- 
after  two  years  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  supreme  court  of  i  alifornia.  He  eventually 
paired  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Tuttle,  which  was 
ued  until  the 
removal  ol  the  latter  to  San  Jose.  His  nexl 
partner  in  practice  was  Judge  Alexander,  with 
whom  he  became  associated  immediately  upon 
the  retirement  of  the  judge  from  the  bench  of 
tin-    superior    court.       This    association    was    se\ 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


ered  at  the  end  of  five  years,  after  which  Mr. 
Daugherty  conducted  an  independent  practice 
for  three  years,  and  then  became  the  law  partner 
of  Mr.  Lacey,  with  whom  he  is  still  doing  busi- 
ness. The  firm  have  finely  appointed  offices 
and  a  large  law  library,  and  rank  as  the  second 
largest  firm  in  the  county. 

In  1889  Mr.  Daugherty  married  Emma  Lit- 
tlefield,  a  native  of  California,  and  who,  becom- 
ing an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  was  reared  and 
educated  by  an  uncle.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daugh- 
erty have  been  born  four  daughters.  Hazel, 
Lyllis,  Georgia  and  Corena.  Mr.  Daugherty  is 
a  Republican  in  national  politics,  and  is  the 
present  chairman  of  the  county  central  commit- 
tee. For  a  long  time  he  was  president  of  the 
board  of  education  of  Salinas.  He  has  no  frater- 
nal associations,  believing  that  his  family  are 
entitled  to  all  of  his  leisure  time. 


EZEKIEL   J.    MANX. 

The  apples  of  the  Tajaro  valley  are  famous 
throughout  the  United  States  and  have  even 
been  sold  in  the  markets  of  other  countries. 
Among  the  men  who  have  contributed  to  the 
success  of  the  apple  industry  in  this  favored 
region  of  the  world  is  Ezekiel  J.  Mann,  whose 
home  farm  three  miles  east  of  Watsonville,  on 
the  Bridge  road,  is  under  fruit,  the  specialties 
being  Bellefleurs  and  Newtown  Pippins.  In  ad- 
dition to  his  homestead,  which  consists  of 
thirty-one  acres,  he  owns  a  tract  of  forty  acres 
in  Santa  Cruz  count)',  on  which  is  an  orchard 
•if  apples  nine  years  old.  Besides  this  he  owns 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres  in  Monterey 
county,  of  which   farm  fifty  acres  are  in  apples. 

In  the  same  section  of  the  state  where  lie 
now  resides  Air.  Mann  was  born  October  22, 
[853,  San  Jose  being  his  native  city.  His 
father,  Jackson  Maun,  was  born  in  Illinois  in 
iS_>4.  and  there  married  Rebecca  Robinson,  also 
a  native  of  the  same  state.  In  1853  lie  and 
his  wife  crossed  the  plains  to  California  and 
settled  in  ."sau  Jose,  later  removing  to  Monterey 
•  ount}  .  where  lie  now  conducts  a  farm.  In 
his  famib  are  the  following-named  children: 
Mrs.  Nanc.)  Hayes,  William  E.,  Christophe]  (de 
ceased),    Ezekiel    J.,    John    W..    Mrs.    Susan     I 


Phillips,  James  II.,  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Gill,  and 
Ratie  (deceased  I.  <  )n  completing  the  studies  of 
the  district  schools  of  Monterey  county  Ezekiel 
J.  Mann  was  sent  to  Santa  Rosa  College,  where 
he  was  a  student  for  a  few  terms.  At  eighteen 
years  of  age  he  came  to  Watsonville  and 
for  four  years  was  here  engaged  in  the  general 
mercantile  business,  at  other  times  following 
different  occupations.  In  1X75  he  turned  his 
attention  to  farming,  which  he  has  since  fol- 
lowed. Besides  carrying  on  a  farm,  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  operated  a  threshing  machine. 
In  [894  he  purchased  the  farm  of  thirty-one 
acres  where  he  now  resides  and  which  has 
since  been  the  object  of  his  solicitude  and  care- 
ful oversight. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Mann  united  him  with 
Miss  S.  A.  Rowe,  who  was  born  in  Santa  Cruz 
county  and  is  a  daughter  of  W.  H.  Rowe.  a  na- 
tive of  England.  Coming  to  California  in  an 
early  day  Mr.  Rowe  followed  the  occupation 
of  a  miner.  Somewhat  later  he  settled  in  Santa 
Cruz  county,  of  which  he  became  an  influential 
resident  and  successful  stock  raiser.  The  chil- 
dren of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mann  are  named  as  follows: 
Crace  E.,  Fred,  Edna  and  Edith.  The  oldest 
daughter.  Mrs.  Jones  of  Monterey  count},  lias  a 
daughter,  Irma.  The  famih  are  associated  with 
the  Christian  Church,  in  the  work  of  which 
Mr.  Mann  is  interested,  at  the  same  time  con- 
tributing to  other  religious  and  charitable 
movements  as  his  means  will  permit.  While  not 
active  in  politics,  he  is  a  staunch  believer  in 
Republican  principles  and  votes  the  ticket  in 
national   and   local   elections. 


M.  R.  KEIF 


\'o  more  popular  and  thoroughly  competent 
upholder  of  peace  holds  a  similar  office  in  the 
slate  than  M.  R.  Keif,  sheriff  of  Monterey 
county.  Possessing  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
human  nature,  an  optimistic  spirit,  which  has 
kept  alive  his  faith  in  the  good  to  be  found 
in    mankind,    and   a    tactful    humanitarian    spirit 

Ik   is  respected  1>\   all,  even  by  those  who  are 
the  enemies  of  law  and  order. 

A    by  no   means   uneventful    life   preceded   the 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


711 


western  experiences  of  Mr.  Keif.  He  was  born 
at  Millbridge,  Washington  county.  Me.,  in  June, 
[858,  and  is  a  son  of  Ephraim  and  Saman- 
tha  (Leighton)  Keif.  His  father  was  superin- 
tendent of  the  repair  shops  of  the  Boston  & 
Maine  Railroad,  and  served  during  the  Civil 
war  in  a  Massachusetts  regiment.  <  )n  the  ma- 
ternal side  Mr.  Keif  is  justly  proud  of  an 
ancestry  intimately  connected  with  the  most 
important  and  stirring  events  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  America,  the  immigrating  forefather 
having  made  the  memorable  trip  across  the 
ocean  on  the  Mayflower.  In  after  years  the 
family  had  numerous  representatives  in  the 
army  of  Washington  during  the  Revolutionarj 
war,  and  during  the  Civil  war  there  were  more 
than  forty  relatives  bearing  the  name  of  Keif 
who  courageously  defended  the  cause  of  the 
Union.  As  convincing  evidence  of  the  bravery 
vi  at  least  one  Revolutionary  hero,  the  family 
retains  an  old  revolver  that  in  all  probability 
diminished  the  lines  of  the  Hessians,  and  has 
a  record  for  doing  effective  work  in  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill. 

When  comparatively  young  Air.  Keif  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Boston,  .Mass.,  where  he 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  gained 
some  knowledge  of  general  business,  A  n  iv- 
ing  nature  prompted  him  to  enter  upon  a  sea- 
faring existence,  and  for  four  years  he  shipped 
before  the  mast,  meantime  visiting  England. 
France  and  Australia.  In  1873  he  settled  in 
San  Francisco,  and  for  rive  years  was  employed 
by  the-Claj  Streel  Railway  Company.  Remov- 
ing to  the  southern  part  of  Monterey  county  in 
1878,  lie  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business 
and  in  raising  stock'.  While  there  he  sold  the 
first  goods  in  San  Lucas.  When  Mr.  Farley 
was  elected  sin  riff  of  Monterey  county,  Mr.  Keif 
became  his  assistant,  and  after  the  calamity  of 
Mr.  Farley's  assassination  he  assumed  control 
.ii  the  office  of  sheriff,  filling  out  the  unexpired 
term.  His  service  was  so  satisfactory  that  he 
was  regularly  elected  sheriff  in  [900  and  has 
since   conducted  the  affairs  of  his   responsible 


is  a  daughter  of  William  Nance,  who  came 
to  California  in  1849,  and  has  since  engaged 
successively  in  mining,  farming. and  as  proprie- 
tor of  a  hotel.  In  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Keif  there  is  a  son,  E.  M.  In  politics  Mr.  Keif 
is  a  1  >emocrat.  Fraternally  he  is  associated  with 
the  lodge  and  chapter  .if  Masons,  the  Knights 
i'i  Pythias,  the  Independent  Order  of  foresters 
and    the    Benevolent    Protective   (  )rder   of    Elks. 


N.   HUTSON. 


s  marriage  in  1  NX  1  .  at  I  ,011  all  . 
.  Mr.  Keif  became  allied  with  one 
families   of  I  'alifi  irnia.       Mrs.    Keif 


So  thoroughly  substantial  and  public  spirited 
has  been  the  career  of  Mr.  Hutson  in  San 
Miguel  that  he  is  regarded  as  the  father  of  his 
adopted  town  and  its  most  enterprising  and.  re- 
sourceful citizen.  His  birth  occurred  October 
7,  1847,  in  Franklin,  Wis.  In  his  youth  he- 
was  reared  to  farming  and  mining,  and  shoul- 
dered responsibility  at  such  an  early  age  that 
education  played  an  inconsequent  part.  His 
father.  James  Huts, ,11,  was  a  lawyer  by  pro- 
fession, but  in  later  life  devoted  his  energii  s 
to  farming  and  lead  mining  in  Wisconsin.  He 
was  well  fitted  to  take  a  leading  part  in  the 
affairs  of  his  district,  and  his  death,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-six  years,  was  deeply  regretted 
by  his  many  friends  ami  associates.  He  married 
Drucilla  Evans,  who  was  bom  in  Iowa,  ami 
who  bore  him  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  of 
whom   \.   Hutson  is  the  third. 

Alter  his  father's  death  Mr.  Hutson  stayed 
at  home  and  cared  for  his  mother,  and  when 
his  sister  married  in  1885.  she  went  to  live  in 
the  new  home.  In  May.  1871,  Mr.  Hutson  came 
to  San  Francisco  and  engaged  in  di  axing,  and 
was  afterward  employed  by  the  United  States 
government  in  the  quartermaster's  department. 
IK-  was  aKo  employed  by  the  Central  Gas 
lagln  (  on, p any.  and  during  that  time  laid  mosl 
1  a  tin'  pipes  1'  a-  tli,  companj  in  San  frar 
After  fifteen  years  111  the  emplo)  of  tile  latter 
companj  he  resigned  and  in  [886  ho'.nesteaded 
the  one  hundred  and  sixt)  acres  of  land  near 
San  Miguel  comprised  in  his  present  farm,  do 
this  he  later  added  ten  acres  more,  ami  while 
living  thereon  for  three  years  Mr.  filltSOIl  also 
carried  on  his  varied  interests  in  tin 
lie    but        'II-   and    stores   large   quantities   ol 


715 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


hay,   and    is    i  ngaged   in   a   general   real  estate 
and  insurance  business. 

In  Iowa  Mr.  Hutson  married  Emily  Whittier, 
a  native  of  [owa,  and  daughter  of  Peter  Trainer 
Whittier,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  when 
a  young  man  came  to  America,  lie  was  orig 
inally  a  butcher  in  Iowa,  but  is  at  the  present 
time  engaged  in  farming  and  stock  raising. 
Two  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hutson,  of  whom  Effie  L.  is  the  wife 
mi  J.  W.  Edridge,  a  resident  of  the  Haynes 
valley,  California:  and  Winnie  Belle,  who  is  liv- 
ing at  home.  Mr.  Hutson  has  been  very  prom- 
inent in  Democratic  political  undertakings,  and 
has  filled  many  responsible  offices  in  the  com- 
munity. He  has  been  chairman  of  the  city 
central  committee,  and  has  contributed  to  the 
well-being  of  the  school  board  as  one  of  its 
most  enthusiastic  and  resourceful  members. 
Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  is 
district  deputy  and  grand  master  of  district 
No.  op  He  is  identified  with  the  San  Miguel 
Improvement  Company,  of  which  he  is  chair- 
man of  the  executive  committee.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hutson  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  Mr.  Hutson  has  the  sterling  and 
reliable  traits  of  character  which  are  hound  to 
win  appreciation  in  any  community,  and  his 
success  and  enterprise  are  matters  of  no  ordi- 
nary pride  with  his  many  friends  and  business 
associates. 


R.  F.  J(  IHNSON. 

(  )ne  of  the  truest  appreciators  of  the  possibil- 
ities of  Monterey,  one  of  the  wisest  and  most 

servative  of  the  promoters  of  her  industrial 

and  social  prestige,  and  one  of  the  most  en 
thusiastic  of  those  native  sons  who  laud  her 
natural  advantages,  i-  R.  F.  Johnson,  the  pres- 
ent municipal  head  of  this  city,  where  he  was 
horn   in    [862. 

From  Ins  father.  W.  S.  Johnson,  the  mayor 
of  Monterey  inherits  his  traits  of  leadership, 
and  In-  executive  and  financial  abilit  y.  ["he 
elder  Johnson  was  born  in  England,  and  came 
In  Mi  mti  1  -  i  ■  ■■.  ith  the  Mew  York  regimcnl  of 
General    Stevens   in    1847,   ami    has   since   been 


a  resident  of  this  count}.  Under  tile  Mexican 
government  he  served  as  casaque,  and  was 
al>o  chief  clerk  to  the  mayor.  His  high  char- 
acter and  general  reliability  have  brought  him 
in  contact  with  responsible  internal  affairs,  and 
to  him  was  intrusted  the  responsibility  of  trans- 
ferring all  documents  from  the  Mexican  to 
the  American  authorities.  He  was  afterward 
elected  first  recorder  of  Monterey  county,  and 
later  elected  county  clerk.  When  the  county 
seat  was  changed  to  Salinas  in  1875  ne  removed 
there  and  organized  the  Salinas  City  Bank,  of 
which  he  has   since  been  cashier. 

After  completing  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Monterey,  R.  F.  Johnson  went  to 
El  Paso.  Tex.,  in  1881,  and  there  found  a  posi- 
tion as  clerk,  which  he  maintained  for  four 
\cars.  In  1 885  he  embarked  in  a  mercantile 
enterprise  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Julian 
&  Johnson,  an  arrangement  amicably  maintained 
for  about  twelve  years.  In  1892  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  the  city  of  El  I'aso  to  fill  an  unex- 
pired term,  and  was  regularly  elected  to  the 
office  at  the  following  general  election,  on  the 
Democratic  ticket.  In  1805  he  returned  to 
Monterey  and  became  interested  in  real  estate, 
and  -oen  after  effected  a  combination  of  all 
the  city  insurance  and  real-estate  business  under 
the  caption  of  the  Monterey  Investment  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  lias  since  been  president  and 
general  manager.  In  this  capacity  alone  he 
has  accomplished  splendid  results  for  the  city, 
much  valuable  property  having  passed  through 
his  hands,  while  many  outsiders  have  been  in- 
duced to  come  hither,  buy  and  build,  and  cast 
their  future  in  an  ideal  environment.  He  has 
labored  incessantly  to  locate  manufactories 
within  the  city  limits,  and  he  is  one  of  the 
promoters  of  the  canning  factory  soon  to  be 
built,  it  was  through  his  influence  that  the 
late  Hugh  Tevis,  Jr.,  bought  propertj  here,  and 
began  the  erection  of  a  spacious  mansion  on  tile 
coast  between  Montere)  ami  Pacific  Grove.  He 
is  also  interested  in  farm  and  ranch  property 
near  Salinas,   and   in   tile  Tolarcito  and   Chipino 

In  [899  Mr.  Johnson  became  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers of  the  Capitol  Club,  which  has  iis 
headquarters  in  the  adobe  building  where  Gen 


yv' 

wV 

Jzi^UX^    &  ^rt^y^ 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


715 


erals  Stokes  and  Fremont  (the  latter  then  lieu- 
tenant) had  their  headquarters,  and  where  the 
first  constitution  of  California  was  drafted.  For 
some  time  Mr.  Johnson  was  manager  of  the 
club,  of  which  he  is  now  one  of  the  board  of 
directors.  For  years  he  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  Democratic  politics,  and  he  was 
elected  mayor  of  Monterey  in  April  of  1897,  his 
administration  of  municipal  affairs  having  in  the 
meantime  met  with  favor  from  all  classes,  inde- 
pendent of  political  affiliation.  He  has  served 
on  various  important  political  committees,  in- 
cluding that  of  county  central  committeeman, 
and  he  is  credited  with  an  unusually  clean, 
intelligent  and  disinterested  political  career.  Mr. 
Johnson  has  one  of  the  pleasantest  homes  in 
Monterey,  his  wife  having  been  formerly  Miss 
Fresconi,  a  native  of  the  city,  and  by  whom  he 
has  three  children.  Mr.  Johnson  is  one  of  the 
substantial  and  honored  upholders  of  western 
progress  and  western  ideas,  and  it  is  due  to  men 
of  like  characteristics  that  the  Pacific  slope  com- 
mands the  attention  and  admiration  of  the  whole 
country. 


CHARLES  B.  YOUNGER. 

The  distinction  of  having  engaged  in  general 
law  practice  in  Santa  Cruz  for  a  longer  period 
than  any  other  practitioner  of  this  city  belongs 
to  Mr.  Younger,  whose  identification  with  the 
professional  interests  of  the  city  and  county  cov- 
ers little  less  than  a  half  century.  During  all  of 
these  years  he  has  not  only  gained  a  high  posi- 
tion among  the  attorneys  of  the  locality,  but  at 
the  same  time  has  been  identified  with  the  gen- 
eral progress  of  city  and  county,  and  has  aided 
largely  in  those  measures  that  promise  to  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

The  descendant  of  a  Maryland  family  who 
were  early  settlers  of  Maryland  and  took  part 
in  the  Revolutionary  war,  Mr.  Younger  was  born 
in  Liberty,  Clay  county,  Mo.,  December  10,  1831, 
a  son  of  Coleman  and  Eleanor  (Murray) 
Younger.  His  father,  who  was  a  native  of  St. 
Charles  county,  Mo.,  served  in  the  Missouri  leg- 
islature of  1844,  and  in  1850  came  to  California 
by  way  of  Mexico.  After  settling  in  this  stale 
he  gave  his  attention  to  agriculture,  raising  Short- 


horn cattle,  and  trading  during  the  balance  of 
his  life,  and  died  here  at  eighty-one  years  of  age. 

As  a  boy  Charles  B.  Younger  attended  private 
schools.  At  the  age  of  six  years  he  was  placed 
under  a  tutor  in  Latin,  his  father  deeming  it  es- 
sential that  a  lawyer  should  be  versed  in  that 
language.  He  had  his  first  sight  of  the  circum- 
stance of  war  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  where  the 
first  regiment  of  Missouri  volunteers  were  drill- 
ing preparatory  to  invading  New  Mexico,  Col. 
A.  W.  Doniphan,  who  had  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  the  Liberty  company,  having  been  elected  colo- 
nel of  the  regiment.  In  1848  he  entered  St. 
Joseph's  College  at  Bardstown,  Ky.,  and  in  1850 
became  a  student  in  Center  College  at  Danville, 
Ky.,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1853.  Sub- 
sequently he  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  with 
Joseph  F.  Bell,  of  Danville,  Ky.  In  1854  Mr. 
Younger  was  admitted  to  practice  as  a  lawyer 
in  the  courts  of  Kentucky.  His  commission  was 
signed  by  Judges  John  L.  Bridges  and  W.  C. 
Goodloe. 

Mr.  Younger,  in  a  local  Democratic  newspaper, 
conducted  the  campaign  of  Albert  G.  Talbott,  the 
Democratic  candidate,  against  Fountain  P.  Fox, 
the  Know-Nothing  candidate  for  representative 
in  congress  from  the  fourth  congressional  district 
i>f  Kentucky.  The  Democratic  candidate  was 
elected.  Coming  to  California,  Mr.  Younger  set- 
tled in  San  Jose,  where  his  father  was  a  resi- 
dent. Opening  an  office  in  that  city,  he  ranained 
there  until  1 87 1,  and  meantime  also  practiced  in 
Santa  Cruz,  but  the  climate  of  the  latter  city 
proved  so  satisfactory  that  he  determined  to  es- 
tablish himself  here  permanently.  Since  April  of 
1857  he  has  had  an  office  in  Santa  Cruz  and  has 
been  connected  with  some  of  the  most  important 
legal  cases  in  the  county,  besides  acting-  as  legal 
representative  of  the  railroad  companies  during 
recent  years. 

October  16,  1858,  the  first  overland  mail  via 
El  Paso  and  Los  Angeles  arrived  at  San  Jose, 
which  was  the  telegraph  station  furthest  south 
from  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Younger,  who  was  then 
editing  the  San  Jose  Tribune,  sent  to  the  Alta 
California  of  San  Francisco  the  first  telegram 
announcing  the  arrival  at  San  l<  se  of  the  over- 
land mail  stage,  and  this  tele-ram  gave  the  San 
Franciscans  an  opportunity  for  celebration  on  the 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


arrival  of  the  stage  in  that  city.  Mr.  Younger 
continued  to  be  the  correspondent  of  the  Alta 
until  the  telegraph  was  extended  south  to  Gilroy. 
In  his  practice  he  is  keen,  shrewd  and  careful,  a 
constant  and  thoughtful  student  of  the  highest 
legal  authorities  of  the  age,  and  a  believer  in  the 
principles  of  law  and  practice  as  laid  down  by 
Blackstone,  Coke  and  others.  In  his  addresses 
and  private  conversation  a  quaint  and  quiet 
humor  is  noticeable,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
is  logical  and  the  possessor  of  fine  reasoning  fac- 
ulties. He  has  one  of  the  finest  libraries  in  the 
coast  region. 

March  27,  1873,  Mr.  Younger  married  Jeannie 
H.  Waddell,  who  was  born  in  Lexington,  Mo., 
and  came  to  California  in  i860,  with  her  father, 
William  W.  Waddell,  who  was  a  large  lumber 
merchant  in  Santa  Cruz  county.  One  of  her 
brothers,  John  A.  Waddell,  is  a  professor  in  Santa 
Clara  College.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Younger  have  two 
children,  Charles  B.  and  Helen.  The  son,  after 
graduating  from  the  Santa  Cruz  high  school  and 
Leland  Stanford  University,  took  up  the  study 
of  law  with  his  father  and  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  1897,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in 
active  practice.  In  1897  he  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  the  supreme  court  of  this  state  and  in 
1901  to  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 
January  1,  1902,  his  marriage  united  him  with 
Miss  Agnes  Hihn,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
F.  A.  Hihn,  of  this  city.  Miss  Hihn  had  spent 
several  years  in  Europe  in  travel  and  study ;  she 
attended  the  law  lectures  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  the  courts  of  New  York  and  Califor- 
nia. Miss  Helen  Younger  graduated  from  Le- 
land Stanford  University,  class  of  1897.  After 
spending  two  wars  in  Kurope  in  travel  and  study, 
she  became  the  wife  of  Cleveland  K.  Chase,  a 
professor   in   Earlham    College,    Richmond,   Ind. 

At  the  time  of  the  incorporation  of  the  Pacific 
avenue  streef  railroad  Mr.  Younger  became  a 
stockholder  in  the  same,  and  also  was  a  stock- 
holder in  the  banks,  besides  taking  part  in  other 
movements  for  the  benefit  of  the  city.  lie  as- 
sisted in  the  founding  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley 
Agricultural  Association  and  for  a  number  of 
ed  ax  seen  tarj  of  the  board.  Since 
coming  to  Santa  Cruz  he  has  made  various  invest- 
n  real  estate  and  still  owns  a  considerable 


property,  portion  of  which  is  improved.  It  is 
to  such  progressive  men  as  he  that  Santa  Cruz 
owes  the  advancement  it  has  made  in  enterprises 
of  moment  and  of  permanent  value  to  the  city. 


A.  C.  GARCIA. 

A  native  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  Mr.  Gar- 
cia was  born  November  6,  1847,  and  his  entire 
life  has  been  spent  near  the  surroundings  of  his 
youth.  His  father  was  an  integral  part  of  the 
early  days  of  the  county,  Mercurial  Garcia  pos- 
sessing both  business  sagacity  and  far-sighted- 
ness. A  man  of  great  wealth,  he  practically  dis- 
ci  ivered  the  country  east  of  Santa  Margarita  val- 
ley, where  he  had  innumerable  heads  of  cattle, 
and  where  he  ran  a  general  merchandise  store. 
The  inauguration  of  the  gold  craze  filled  his  pock- 
ets with  additional  wealth,  for  he  not  only  made 
money  in  the  mines,  but  realized  large  profits 
from  furnishing  general  supplies  to  the  miners. 
He  died  of  cholera  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  leaving 
to  his  heirs  large  property  possessions,  and  a  fine 
old  Castilian  name.  On  the  maternal  side  also  Mr. 
Garcia  comes  of  distinguished  ancestry,  his  ma- 
ternal grandfather,  Jose  Ortega,  being  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  this  county,  and  at  one  time  the 
owner  of  about  all  of  Santa  Barbara  county, 
where  his  death  occurred.  His  daughter,  Mrs. 
Mercurial  Garcia,  was  the  mother  of  two  children 
besides  A.  C,  of  whom  Caroline  is  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Wormsley,  a  railroad  conductor  on  the 
Mexican  Central  Railroad,  and  a  resident  of 
Mexico  City;  while  the  other  child  is  deceased. 

When  Mercurial  Garcia  died,  his  son,  A.  C, 
was  but  six  months  old,  and  his  mother  afterward 
uiarried  her  husband's  brother.  A.  C.  was  edu- 
cated in  a  private  school  and  by  a  private  tutor, 
Walter  Murry.  who  was  the  first  English  teacher 
in  this  county. 

In  San  Luis  Obispo  Mr.  Garcia  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Romula  Horabuena.  a  native  of 
Mexico,  and  daughter  of  Ramon  Horabuena, 
IN.,  born  in  Mexico,  and  a  lawyer  and  large  cat- 
tle owner.  Mr.  Horabuena  was  very  prominent 
in  general  affairs  in  Mexico,  and  was  especially 
inten  sted  in  the  politics  of  his  country,  in  which 
he  played  a  conspicuous  part.  One  daughter 
11  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garcia,  Guada- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


loupe,  who  is  living  at  home,  and  who  is  a 
young  woman  of  unusual  accomplishments.  She 
has  had  every  advantage  within  the  gift  of  her 
generous  and  appreciative  parents,  and  lias  de- 
veloped her  talents  with  gratifying-  results.  She 
i.-  not  only  an  artist  and  musician,  but  has  shown 
decided  aptitude  as  a  writer,  and  while  visiting 
in  Mexico  contributed  regularly  to  the  Cali- 
fornia press.  Mr.  Garcia  is  fraternall}  associ 
ated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  is  in  political  affiliation  a  Republican. 
With  his  family  he  i-  a  communicant  in  the 
Catholic  Church. 


WILLIAM    E.    GREENE. 

In  the  days  when  Santa  Cruz,  which  is  now- 
one  of  the  leading  health  and  pleasure  resorts 
of  the  Pacific  Coast,  maintained  its  prestige  not 
through  any  activity  in  this  line  but  by  reason 
of  it-  prominence  as  a  large  lumber  center  and 
commercial  metropolis,  William  E.  Greene  was 
born  in  the  near-by  village  of  Soquel,  Santa 
Cruz  county,  in  1869,  being  a  son  of  William 
Henry  and  Maria  (Wheaton)  Greene.  His 
father,  who  was  born  at  Falmouth,  Mass..  June 
[8,  iSjo,  learned  the  mason's  trade  in  boyhood. 
With  a  party  of  gold-seekers  he  left  his  boy- 
i I's  home  and  took  passage  on  a  sailing  ves- 
sel, Twin  Brothers,  which  rounded  Cape  Horn 
and  sailed  into  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco, 
March  2,  1850.  in  company  with  others,  he 
went  direct  to  the  mines.    After  eighteen  months 

prospecting,  with  some  successes,  many  hard- 
ships, and  not  a  few  failures,  Ik-  decided  to  be- 
gin work-  at  his  trade.  A  search  for  employ- 
ment, however,  revealed  that  there  was  little 
activity  along-  his  line,  so  he  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  teaming.  With  horses  and  oxen  he 
hauled  lumber  and  supplies  from  the  towns  to 
the  mining  camp-,  and  also  drove  a  -lag'-.  I  L\ 
ing  friends  at  Santa  Cruz  he  was  ied  to  visit 
that  city  and  shortl)  afterward  settled  al  Soquel, 
where  he  worked  al  hi-  trade.  As  a  mason  he 
found  employment  not  only  in  his  home  village, 
but  also  in  surrounding  town-  and  even  as  far 
,-'\\a\  a-  Salinas,  Vfonterey  county.  During  the 
winter  seasons  for  f<  an  teen  yeai     he  1  an  a  pleas 


ure  yacht  at  Capitola.   Since  his  death  his  wido\ 
has  continued  to  make  Soquel   her  home. 

Up  to  the  age  of  eighteen  years  William  E. 
Greene  devoted  his  vacations  to  farming.  He 
then  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  but  not 
finding-  it  congenial  he  took  up  carpentering, 
and  later  began  as  a  contractor.  (  In  coming  to 
Watsonville  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  and 
\  as  in  the  employ  of  P.  M.  Andrews.  In  March 
of  10.01  he  began  contracting  for  himself,  and 
fitted  up  a  -hop  ,ni  Main  street.  Since  then  he 
has  been  engaged  in  the  building  of  various  col- 
lage- and  residences;  also  erected  the  Sheehy 
and  Foresters  blocks:  the  beautiful  church  home 
of  the  Romait  Catholics,  which  cost  $35,500;  and 
is  now  building  the  Watsonville  high  school, 
which  is  to  cost  $26,000.  and  on  completion  will 
undoubtedly  rank  as  the  best  building  of  its  kind 
in  this  part  of  the  state.  Another  contract  which 
he  has  is  that  for  the  Masonic  Hall,  in  Gilroy, 
to  cost  $12,000.  His  success  speaks  V0 
for  his  energy,  business  acumen  and  sagacious 
judgment. 

In  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Greene  is  connected 
with  the  Modern  Woodmen,  the  Eagles  and 
Foresters  of  America,  lie  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Minnie  L..  daughter  of  F.  M.  Carna- 
han,  and  a  native  of  the  state.  The)  have  three 
children.  Wilbur  Alton,  Mervin  Eugene  and 
Marii  in. 


IK  IN.    WILLIAM     HIGBY. 

A  notable  acquisition  to  tin-  commercial  and 
d  interests  of  Hollister  is  Hon.  William 
lligby.  member  of  the  Fifty-third  general  as- 
embh  from  the  Fifty-ninth  district,  lie  was 
born  in  Essex  county,  X.  Y..  in  [866,  a 
1 1,  hi.  \\  illiam  1  Iigb\ .  who  came  to  California 
in  the  early  '50-.  and  for  many  year-  was  a  well 
known  criminal  lawyer  in  1  lakland  lb 
prominent  in  political  affairs  in  the  state,  and 
between  i860  and     -■  ol  con- 

gress Froi 

until   1881    he  was  internal  revenue  coll, 
if,     port    of    San     Francisco,    under    President 
Hayes,  and  his  death  occurred  at  Santa   Rosa, 
S,  ,110111a  c  ami  j .  in  1885. 

Hon    Willi. mm    Higbv,  J.  .   was  born   in   \*e\\ 


18 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


York  state  while  his  father  was  member  of  con- 
gress, and  he  was  brought  to  California  when  a 
mere  child,  and  was  reared  ami  educated  in 
(  lakland.  After  finishing  the  public  schools  he 
attended  the  Methodist  College  at  Santa  Rosa. 
and  in  1885  entered  upon  a  railroad  career  as 
trainman  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company,  remaining  with  the  company  fur  eight 
years.  In  [892  he  married  Alice  Liese,  of  Ala- 
meda, making  his  home  in  that  city  until  1897. 
While  there  he  rapidly  advanced  to  the  front  in 
Republican  political  affairs,  and  among  other 
mists  served  as  a  member  of  the  state  conven- 
tion, which  nominated  delegates  to  the  national 
convention.  In  April  of  1897  he  went  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands  and  was  employed  on  a  sugar 
plantation  fur  a  year.  During  April  of  [898  he 
located  near  Hollister  and  engaged  in  ranching 
for  eighteen  months,  giving  the  greater  part  of 
his  time  and  energy  to  the  dairy  business. 

In  [899  -Mr.  Higby  located  in  Hollister  and 
turned  his  attention  to  lire  insurance,  buying 
and  selling  grain,  and  dealing  in  real  estate.  1  le 
lias  experienced  marked  success  and  evinced  a 
high  degree  of  business  ability,  his  clear  dis- 
cernment recognizing  and  taking  advantage  of 
opportunities  in  various  other  directions.  He  is 
greatly  interested  in  the  development  of  oil  in 
San  Benito  county,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
Petroleum  Development  Company.  In  his  ca- 
pacity as  a  member  of  the  Fifty-third  general 
assembl)  for  the  Fifty-ninth  district  he  has  in- 
telligently advanced  the  most  pressing  needs  .11 
his  locality,  and  as  chairman  of  the  fish  and 
game  committee  worked  unceasingly  for  the 
protection  of  young  fawn  and  other  game,  be- 
fore the  laws  were  formulated  regarding  their 
preservation.  He  has  also  served  on  the  com- 
mittees of  agriculture,  daiiw  and  dairy  products. 
Fraternally  Mr.  Higby  is  associated  with  the 
Masons.  San  Benito  Lodge  No.  211,  and  is  at 
present  passing  through  the  different  chair-,  and 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  Odd 
fellows,  and  the  Alameda  Encampment.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Higb)  are  members  of  the  Hollis- 
ter Podge  Eastern  Star.  Mr.  Higb)  is  a  poli- 
tician in  the  highest  sense  of  that  much  abused 
term,  and  bis  legislation  has  been  characterized 
b\  singular  fairness  to  himself  and  to  those  who 


have  honored  him  with  their  trust.  His  election 
to  the  legislature  in  November  of  1900  was  an 
evidence  of  the  high  personal  esteem  in  which 
he  is  held,  and  of  the  conviction  generally  cher- 
ished that  personal  ambition  would  not  out- 
weigh or  sacrifice  public  trust. 


IK  IN.   WILLIAM    GRAVES. 

No  citizen  in  San  Luis  (  Ibispo  was  more  so- 
licitous regarding  the  progress  of  his  native 
town  than  was  Hon.  William  Graves,  by  in- 
heritance and  development  one  of  the  foremost 
legal  practitioners  of  San  Puis  Obispo  county. 
Nor  is  the  family  name  unfamiliar  in  the  annals 
of  law  of  this  well  favored  part  of  the  state,  for 
Judge  William  J.  Graves,  the  father  of  the  Hon. 
William,  was  for  many  years  identified  with  the 
bench  and  bar  and  most  luminous  exposition  of 
legal  lore,  and  his  passing  by  left  a  record  of 
substantial  and  even  brilliant  credit  to  his  state 
and  profession. 

Hon.  William  Graves  received  his  first  im 
pressions  of  life  and  effort  in  the  town  which 
has  for  so  long  profited  by  his  sterling  worth. 
and  where  he  was  born  August  15.  1854.  He 
studied  in  the  public  schools  of  San  Puis 
I  mispo,  and  completed  his  education  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  the  class  of  1877.  After  being  admitted 
to  the  supreme  court  of  Virginia  he  came  to 
California,  and  during  the  same  year  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  same  court  of  this  state,  after 
which  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law  in  the 
office  of  his  father.  Judge  Graves  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. In  1881  he  removed  to  Globe,  Gila 
county.  Ariz.,  and  became  prominent  in  Demo- 
cratic affairs,  and  during  [882  and  [883  repre- 
sented that  count)'  in  the  legislature.  At  the 
death  of  the  father  in  18S4  he  returned  to  San 
Puis  (  Ibispo  and  almost  immediately  formed  the 
partnership  with  his  brother  which  was 
amicably  and  successfully  continued  until  his 
death  In  the  meantime  a  large  and  appreciative 
practice  rewarded  the  ability  and  energy  of  Mr. 
1  Iraves,  and  the  firm  received  their  share  of  the 
important  cases  before  the  courts  of  the  county. 
Especially  line  and  spacious  offices  were  fitted 
oni    for  the  use  of  clients  and  lawyers,  and  the 


HISTORICAL  AND   BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


brothers  had  one  of  the  most  complete  and  valu- 
able law  libraries  in  the  state. 

In  San  Luis  Obispo  Mr.  Graves  married 
Lillian  H.  Branch,  a  native  of  Tuolumne  county. 
To  Mr  and  Mrs.  Graves  were  born  three  chil- 
dren, Margarita,  William  J.  and  Solita  P.  Air. 
( iraves  carried  the  political  services  rendered  in 
Arizona  into  the  cam])  of  his  native  count)',  and 
Idled  many  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility. 
For  many  years  be  was  a  member  of  the  board 
of  school  trustees,  and  was  for  years  president 
of  the  board.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
cit)  council.  In  [892  he  acted  as  a  delegate  to 
the  Democratic  national  convention  at  St.  Louis, 
and  was  one  of  the  presidential  electors  on  the 
Cleveland  ticket.  In  January,  1902,  he  was  ap- 
pointed trustee  of  the  California  Polytechnic 
school  by  Governor  Gage  and  evinced  a  great 
interest  in  the  institution.  His  death,  which 
occurred  September  9,  1902,  terminated  a  career 
hi  great  promise,  the  realization  of  which  un- 
doubtedly would  have  held  unusual  political  and 
professional  opportunities  for  Mr.  Graves.  Fra- 
ternally he  was  associated  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  with  the  Sons  of  the  Golden  West. 


THOMAS   FLINT,  JR. 

The  career  of  Thomas  Flint,  Jr.,  senator  from 
San  Luis  (  tbispo,  Monterey  and  San  Benito 
counties,  has  lent  itself  to  the  development  of 
the  splendid  opportunities  of  this  well  favored 
part  of  the  state,  and  whether  as  a  legislator, 
agriculturist,  mine  owner  or  promoter  of  fra- 
ternal organizations,  his  special  qualifications  for 
leadership  haw  been  productive  of  substantial 
results,  and  accumulated  a  following  consistent 
with  his  versatility  and  sound  judgment. 

The  locality  in  which  he  now  lives  has  for  Mr. 
Flint  an  enduring  claim  upon  his  youthful  re- 
membrances and  latter  day  accomplishments  for 
he  was  burn  upon  the  ranch  of  which  he  is  now 
part  owner  and  manager,  Maj  jo,  [858.  This 
ranch  of  twelve  thousand  acres  is  a  pari  of  the 
old  San  Justo  ranc.ho,  or  Hollister  tract,  neat 
San  Juan,  and  represents  the  resull  of  the  pio- 
neer efforts  of  Thomas  Flint,  Sr.  The  latter, 
who  was  born  in  Maine,  came  to  California  in 
1851,  becoming  a  prominent  factor  in  the  early 


days,  and  is  today  one  of  the  best  known  in  the 
count)  which  he  has  done  so  much  to  improve. 
Thomas  Flint,  Jr.,  was  educated  at  the  Golden 
Gate  College,  <  (akland,  Cal.  and  at  Dartmouth 
College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the 
oi  [880,  with  the  degree  of  A.  I'...  receiving 
the  degree  of  A.  M.  in  [883.  After  completing 
his  education  he  returned  to  his  father's  ranch 
and  began  to  share  the  management  of  the  large 
tract  of  land,  and  has  since  materially  relieved 
the  elder  man  of  the  enormous  responsibility  in- 
cident to  such  ambitious  ranching  inter. 

The  political  career  of  Mr.  Flint  practical!) 
dates  from  1884,  at  which  time  he  became  the 
Republican  nominee  for  assemblyman,  but  was 
defeated,  a  fate  which  befell  him  also  in  the  fall 
of  1886  while  running  for  the  >ame  office. 
Nothing  daunted,  he  cheerfully  accepted  the 
nomination  for  the  state  senate  in  1888.  and  was 
elected,  his  re-election  following  in  1892,  [896 
and  1900,  so  that  he  is  now  serving  his  fourth 
term.  In  1895  he  was  chosen  by  his  colleagues 
president  of  the  senate,  and  has  since  presided 
over  this  dignified  body  of  law  makers.  So  thor- 
oughly worthy  has  been  the  political  life  of  Mr. 
Hint,  and  so  ably  has  he  discharged  his  numer- 
ous responsibilities  in  connection  with  the  peo- 
ple, that  he  has  made  friends  even  among  the 
opposite  party,  who  readily  accord  him  the 
homage  due  a  conscientious  and  painstaking 
public  servant.  In  the  estimation  of  his  friends 
and  colleagues,  and  indeed  .if  man)  who 
litical  affiliations  are  opposed  to  bis  own,  no 
more  lilting  candidate  could  be  present 
discharge  the  honors  of  the  gubernatorial  chair. 
Mr.  Flint  has  been  a  member  of  the  state  cen- 
tral committee  since  [886,  and  a  member  of  the 
Benito  county  central  committee  since   [880. 

\1tioi1g  the  various  responsibilities  assumed 
by  Mr.  Flint  aside  from  things  political  and 
agricultural  may  be  mentioned  his  connection 
with  the  development  of  oil  in  the  county,  in 
which  he  has  evinced  the  most  active  and  prac- 
tical interest  H<  is  the  president  and  director 
ral  companies  interested  in  the  oil  output, 
aitd  he  is  equally  energetic  in  pushing  certain 
mining  interests  in  California  and  Sonora,  Mex- 
ico, lb-  is  president  1  f  the  Sonoma  Smelting. 
Mining  X'  Development  Company,  and  is  n  direct- 


1-20 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


or  of  the  Ward  Mining  Company  of  Nevada  City, 
Cal.,  and  of  the  San  Justo  Mining  Company,  of 
Calaveras  county,  (  al.  Very  few  men  in  Califor- 
nia or  elsewhere  are  so  intimately  connected  with 
the  most  prominent  fraternal  organizations  as  is 
Mr,  Flint.  He  is  a  member  of  the  San  Juan 
]  odge  No.  46,  F.  &  A.  M..  of  which  he  is  past 
and  present  master;  past  high  priest  of  the  Hol- 
lister  Chapter  No.  68  R.  A.  M.;  grand  captain 
of  the  Grand  Chapter  Royal  Arch  Masons  of 
California:  past  grand  master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  California;  San  Francisco  Council  No. 
j  Royal  and  Select  Masons;  past  commander 
1  f  the  Watsonville  Commandery  No.  22  Knights 
Templar;  member  of  the  San  Francisco  Con- 
sistory, thirty-second  degree  Scottish  Rite-; 
member  of  the  Islam  Temple  A.  (  >.  X.  M.  S.  of 
San  Francisco;  member  of  the  Salinas  Lodge  of 
Elks;  past  patron  of  the  Clanathus  Chapter  No. 
4;.  (  ).  E.  S.;  past  grand  patron  of  the  Grand 
;  of  California  1  >.  E.  S.;  member  of  the 
Fremont  Parlor  No.  44,  Native  Sons  of  the 
( ".olden  West ;  and  past  president  and  past  grand 
and  president  of  the  Grand  Parlor  of  California 
Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West. 


JA(  1  >B    F<  iSTER. 

Two  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  fine  bottom 
land  in  the  richest  valley  in  California  is  the 
property  of  Jacob  Foster,  and  no  more  ideal  or 
profitable  means  of  livelihood  can  be  conceived 
of  than  just  such  a  life  as  this  old-time  weather- 
beaten  sailor  lives  at  his  home  one  mile  from 
the  Bay  of  Monterey,  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
Pajaro  river.  Here  he  has  raised  all  the  com- 
modities associated  with  general  farming  in  the 
we,i.  with  a  particular  leaning  towards  barley, 
potatoes,  beets  and  some  stock.  The  farm  con- 
stitutes a  plea-ant  little  community,  and  al- 
though the  days  are  tilled  with  labor,  and  little 
leisure  visits  the  toilers  in  the  fertile  fields,  the 
1  good  humor  prevails,  for  the  genial 
owner  ami  his  wife  are  typical  of  the  kindliness 
lospitality  invariably  associated  with  Ger- 
man-Americans, who  have  not  yet  obliterated 
listinguishing  characteristics  of  their 
Fatherland. 

Horn   in   Germany,   December  21.    [831,  Alt'. 


Foster  is  a  son  of  Clans  and  Margaret  (Starr) 
Foster,  whose  children  are  all  deceased  with  the 
exception  of  Jacob  and  his  sjstcr.  the  latter  of 
whi  mi  -till  resides  in  her  native  land,  and  is 
seventy-six  years  of  age. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  Jacob  left  the  old  home- 
stead and  went  to  sea  as  a  sailor,  and  until 
1870  experienced  the  dangers  ami  adventures 
inseparable  from  a  life  upon  the  high  seas.  In 
[855  he  came  to  California  for  the  first  time. 
and  after  safely  arriving  from  the  long  trip 
around  the  Horn,  which  consumed  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-three  days,  bought  a  two-mast 
schooner  with  which  he  sailed  on  the  Pacific 
coast  for  a  number  of  years.  This  craft  was  dis- 
posed of  in  1870,  and  he  bought  a  farm  in 
.Monterey  county  upon  which  he  lived  for  three 
.ears.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  pur- 
chased his  present  farm,  and  has  since  shown 
no  inclination  to  change  his  mode  of  living. 

March  31.  1867,  Mr.  Foster  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Margaret  Coopman,  who  was 
born  in  Germany,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Cecil  (Ladegesi  Coopman,  to  whom  were 
born  six  children,  four  living.  Cecil,  Henry, 
Anna  and  Margaret.  To  Mr.  and  Airs.  Foster 
were  born  four  children  all  of  whom  are  living: 
Henry,  who  married  Susan  Jonkin,  and  is  man- 
aging his  father's  ranch;  Jacob,  who  is  engaged 
in  mining  in  Alaska;  Cecil,  who  is  the  wife  of 
John  McCollum,  a  prominent  farmer  of  the 
Pajora  valley;  and  Charles,  who  is  mining  in 
Alaska. 


C.    R.    ESTABROOK. 

The  trusted  agent  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  at  Salinas,  Mr.  Estabrook, 
has  filled  a  similar  position  in  several  different 
parts  of  'In  -late,  and  his  services  have  come  to 
be  regarded  as  unalterably  satisfactory.  He  was 
born  in  New  Brunswick,  at  Sackville,  in  [856, 
his  parents  being  A.  1'..  and  Elizabeth  (Fawcett) 
Estabrook,  also  born  in  New  Brunswick,  The 
father,  who  is  a  millwright  b\  trade,  and  who 
has  led  an  industrious  and  successful  life, 
present  living  at  Pacific  Grove,  and  is  sevent) 
fi  mi'  years  of  age. 

When  six  years  old  Mr.  Estabrook  removed 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


with  his  parents  from  Sackville,  Mew  Bruns- 
wick, to  San  Jose,  Cal.,  where  he  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools,  ami  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
started  nut  to  become  financially  independent. 
After  learning  telegraph)  he  was  for  a  time  with 
the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  at  San 
Jose,  and  later  entered  the  employ  of  the  South- 
ern Pacific.  After  being  stationed  at  Xiles  for  a 
couple  of  years  he  went  to  Brentwood,  in  Costa 
Rica  county,  where  he  remained  for  seven  years, 
after  which  he  engaged  for  a  couple  of  years  in 
the  stock  business  in  Monterey  count).  Not  be- 
ing entirely  satisfied  with  the  experiment  which 
in  some  way  seemed  out  of  his  natural  groove, 
lie  again  returned  to  telegraphy,  and  was  sta- 
tioned  at  Sargent  for  five  years,  and  afterwards 
at  Santa  Margarita  for  the  same  length  of  time. 
For  the  past  four  years  he  has  been  identified 
with  the  business  and  social  life  of  Salinas,  and 
represents  the  railroad's  affairs  in  a  manner 
highly  creditable  to  himself,  and  pleasing  to 
those  who  have  to  deal  with  him.  Among  his 
oilier  responsibilities  is  the  office  of  recording 
secretary  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Forest- 
ers, of  which  he  is  a  well  known  member. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Estabrook  ami  May  Van 
Hyning  occurred  in  1878.  and  of  this  union 
there  are  three  children,  Lois  M.,  Zelda,  and 
Mildred  W.  Lois  M.  is  engaged  in  educational 
work  in  Pacific  Grove. 


WILLIAM    H.    DOOL. 

Prominent  among  the  Canadian-Americans 
who  have  made  a  success  of  mercantile  life  in 
Boulder  Creek  may  be  mentioned  William  H. 
Pool,  for  many  years  at  the  head  of  a  successful 
meat  industry,  conducted  on  modern  lines  and 
with  reasonable  profit  to  the  owner  thereof. 
Mr.  I  >ool  was  born  in  (  Intario,  and  is  one  of  the 
children  horn  to  Hiomas  and  Eliza  (McCum) 
Dool,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Canada. 

When  eighteen  years  of  age  William  II.  I  )<>ol 
left  his  Canadian  home  and  settled  in  Michigan, 
where    he    engaged    in    farming    and    such    -lln  1 

occupations   as   came   his   wa\    for   about    four 
years.      In    [880  he   located  in    Boulder  Creek, 

where     for     some     time     he     was     in     the 
ploy  of  ill,'  Southern   Pacific  Railroad  Company. 


Later  he  entered  hit"  business  "ii  his  own  ac 
count,  and  has  since  catered  to  the  largest  and 
most  exacting  trade  in  tin-  locality. 

In  [888  Mr.  Dool  married  'Kmma  L.  Paschall, 
who  was  born  in  Santa  Cruz  county,  and  who  is 
the  mother  of  two  children.  Hazel  and  Esther. 
Mr.  Dool  is  now  filling  the  important  responsi 
bility  of  mayor  of  Boulder  (reek,  which  office 
he  was  elected  to  in  February,  [902.  lie  is  a 
loyal  and  active  Republican,  and  has  at  times 
been  ver)  active  for  his  friends  and  associates. 
Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Odd  Fed- 
lows  Encampment,  the  Ancient  <  irder  of  United 
Workmen  ami  the  Foresters.  Manx  admirable 
characteristics  have  won  for  him  prominence  in 
both  private  and  public  life,  and  he  is  regarded 
with  favor  by  those  who  are  ass,  .Gated  with  him 
in  whatsoever  capacity. 


AUGUST   LI  INERT. 

To  a  greater  degree  than  in  any  portion  of 
the  United  States  landscape  gardening  has 
made  a  science  in  California,  and  among  the 
men  who  have  contributed  to  the  promotion  of 
the  industry  may  be  mentioned  August  Ehnert, 
who  was  a  florist  ami  landscape  gardener,  with 
office  at  No.  [68  Water  street,  Santa  Cruz.  Mr. 
Ehnert  was  horn  in  Bohemia,  Austria,  in  [856, 
3  son  of  John  Ehnert,  and  grew  to  manhood  in 
Ins  native  province,  receiving  such  educational 
advantages  as  fall  to  the  lol  of  the  average  youth 
of  that  region.  Much  was  told  of  the  oppor 
timities  of  the  new  world  in  the  papers  of  the 
country,  and  the  lad  naturally  took  a  keen  in- 
11  this  as  well  as  in  general  affairs. 

(  Mi  crossing  the  ocean  Mr.  Ehnert  proceeded 
direct  to  Cleveland,  (  )hio,  where  he  worked  for 
a  short  time,  and  from  there  went  to  Seattle. 
Wash.,  remaining  for  two  years  in  that  section. 
Lis  next  location  was  San  Francisco,  in  the 
vicinit)  of  which  city  he  worked  at  his  trade  for 
nearly  two  years,  ami  in  [896  ■  Santa 

Cruz,  where  he  secured  a  position  as  landscape 
gardener  and  florisl  for  the  powder  mills  and 
ds.  Later  he  was  engaged  bj  F  V 
llilm.  Recognition  of  his  work,  and  the  wide 
acquaintance  given  b)  association  with 
people  caused  him  to  decide  to  embark  in  busi- 


:■!■: 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


uess  for  himself,  and  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Theodore  Miller,  but  in  1902  purchased  his 
partner's  interest,  and  afterward  conducted  the 
business  alone.  His  shop  on  Water  street  con- 
tained a  fine  display  of  tuberoses,  begonias  and 
other  choice  varieties  of  bloom,  and  he  devoted 
the  best  of  care  to  the  nurture  of  his  chosen 
beautiful  but  silent  friends.  Mr.  Ehnert  won  a 
large  patronage  among  the  exclusive  people  of 
[11s  adopted  town,  his  graciousness  of  manner. 
lad.  knowledge  of  flowers,  and  general  adapt- 
iveness,  contributing  not  a  little  to  his  popular- 
ity and  business  success. 

In  his  young  manhood  Air.  Ehnert  married 
Annie  Newman,  who  was  a  native  of  the  same 
part  of  Bohemia,  and  was  educated  and  reared 
in  her  native  land.  Air.  Ehnert  was  fraternally 
identified  with  the  Red  Men. 


BLESSING   BROTHERS. 

The  Blessing  Brothers,  liverymen  of  Watson- 
ville,  belong  to  a  family  represented  in  California 
long  before  the  great  gold  excitement  swept  over 
the  land.  The  paternal  grandfather,  John,  came 
hither  in  the  early  '40s.  leaving  behind  in  Wis- 
consin the  family  whom  he  was  destined  never 
more  to  see.  He  spent  his  time  in  mining  in 
Placer  count}',  and  because  of  the  want  of  op- 
portunity never  communicated  with  those  to 
whom  he  was  bound  by  ties  of  kinship  and  blood. 
I  lis  death  occurred  in  [856,  and  it  is  supposed 
'ha'  his  life  in  the  wild  mining  regions  of  Cali- 
fornia in  a  measure  compensated  him  for  his 
withdrawal  from  more  civilized  conditions.  His 
si  11.  John  A.,  the  father  of  the  successful  busi- 
ness men  of  Watsonville.  was  born  in  Wisconsin, 
and  was  but  three  years  of  age  when  his  father 
left  lor  California.  At  that  early  age  lie  was 
bound  out,  and  grew  to  manhood  in  his  native 
state.  In  the  days  of  gold  in  1841)  he  joined  the 
great  throngs  that  took-  their  way  over  the  plains 
in  search  1  f  fortunes  easily  made,  his  object 
being  the  finding  of  the  father  whom  he  had 
for  seventeen  years.  In  the  memorable 
winter  of  [849  he  crossed  with  ox-teams  and 
wagons,  and  the  little  party  of  which  he  was  a 
member  was  either  behind  or  before  the  famous 
Donough  party,  all  of  whom  perished  from  want 


and  exposure.  His  first  search  was  conducted 
at  Gold  Hill,  Placer  county,  where  he  took  up 
mining  and  exhausted  every  resource  for  the 
finding  of  his  beloved  parent.  Sometimes  he 
would  hear  of  him  as  being  in  some  gulch  or  on 
some  mountain  fastness,  but  when  he  reached 
the  spot  it  was  to  learn  that  he  had  just  missed 
the  object  of  his  search  by  a  few  hours  or  days. 
Thus  his  devotion  was  doomed  to  perpetual  dis- 
appointment, for  father  and  son  never  met  on 
this  side  of  the  tireat  Divide.  Air.  Blessing  fol- 
lowed mining  with  alternate  success  and  failure 
from  1850  until  1875,  in  which  latter  year  he 
came  to  Hollister  and  bought  a  ranch  just  east 
of  the  town,  and  where  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days  in  farming  and  raising  stock.  He 
was  a  practical  agriculturist  and  knew  how  to 
best  improve  his  land,  and  he  worked  hard  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  rarely  left  his  home. 
<  )f  quiet  and  unobtrusive  tastes,  he  gloried  in 
the  peace  and  happiness  to  be  found  at  his  own 
fireside,  and  his  death,  in  1000.  removed  a  man 
of  pride  and  spirit,  largeness  of  heart,  and  con- 
sistent living.  He  married  in  Santa  Clara  with 
Airs.  Rowe,  a  widow,  by  whom  he  had  three 
children:  J.  F.  and  <  >.  C.  and  Airs.  Canrield.  of 
Exeter,  Cal. 

J.  F.  and  O.  C.  Blessing,  proprietors  of  the 
largest  livery  interests  in  Watsonville,  were  born 
in  Placer  county,  and  came  to  Hollister  in  1875. 
while  both  were  small  boys.  They  were  reared 
on  the  paternal  farm  east  of  the  town  of  Hol- 
lister, and  as  opportunity  permitted  attended  the 
public  schools.  In  1875  they  bought  out  the  liv- 
en business  of  the  Fashion  Stables,  which  they 
still  own,  and  in  1900  purchased  the  Cit)  Stables, 
both  of  which  are  managed  after  the  most  ap- 
proved plans,  and  equipped  with  all  the  requi- 
sites of  a  first-class  business.  For  some  time  they 
farmed  the  old  homestead  near  the  town,  and  so 
well  have  their  interests  developed  that  the  oil 
industry  has  come  in  for  a  large  share  of  their 
time  and  attention,  as  well  as  other  enterprises 
re] "resented  in  the  neighborhood.  They  own 
Mock  in  San  Benito  county,  especially  in  the 
Hollister  Petroleum  Company,  the  llamiltonian 
(  >il  Company,  and  the  Hollister  Crude  (  >il  Com- 
pany, and  are  accounted  enterprising  and  far- 
sighted  business  men,   of  unquestioned  integrity 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


and  devotion  to  the  all-around  well-being  of  their 

locality. 

In  [900  the  elder  of  the  brothers,  J.  F.,  mar- 
ried Hattie  C.  Miles,  who  died  August  10,  1901. 
(  Iscar  C.  Blessing  was  married  in  [896^0  Minnie 
Hayworth,  and  of  this  union  there  is  one  daugh- 
ter. Wilhelmina.  The  brothers  are  Democrats 
in  national  politics,  but  as  regards  local  matters 
are  in  favor  of  the  best  man.  regardless  of  the 
color  of  his  political  affiliation.  They  have  en- 
tered into  the  general  improvement  of  their  city, 
and  in  all  emergencies  may  be  counted  on  to 
generously  aid  a  worthy  cause. 


HON.   PKADLEY  V.  SARGENT. 

In  his  present  office  as  Judge  of  the  Superior 
court  of  Monterey  county  and  also  through  his 
long  identification  with  the  bar  of  Salinas.  .Mr. 
Sargent  ts  well  known  to  the  people  of  his  city 
and  county.  A  native  son  of  California,  he  was 
horn  in  Monterey  July  5.  [863,  and  his  early  life- 
was  spent  on  San  Carlos  rancho,  comprising 
twenty-four  thousand  acres.  The  ranch  was 
then  owned  by  his  father,  11.  V.  Sargent,  and 
is  still  in  the  family.  The  latter  was  born  in 
New  Hampshire,  and  at  the  age  of  ten  years 
started  out.  a  barefoot  boy,  with  his  home  be- 
hind him  and  the  lottery  of  life  ahead.  Walking 
to  Boston,  he  found  employment  in  a  bakery. 
During  the  days  of  1849  'le  came  to  California 
and  in  Calaveras  county  engaged  in  the  butcher 
and  stock  business.  Having  gained  a  fair  com- 
petence, in  1857  he  settled  in  Monterey  county, 
where  he  continued  to  make  his  home  until  his 
death  in  1805,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  In 
the  affairs  of  his  locality  he  was  prominent.  I  lis 
successes  were  a  matter  of  pride  to  his  family 
and  to  all  who  appreciated  his  fine  business  abil- 
ity and  devotion  to  tin-  general  g 1.     Oul  of 

his  abundance  he  gave  liberally  to  those  less 
fortunate  than  himself.  His  character  was  such 
that  he  was  universally  respected,  and  his  suc- 
cess aroused  no  envy.  A  Democrat  in  politics, 
he  was  supervisor  from  [885  to  1887,  and  was 
fraternall)  connected  with  the  (  >dd  Fellows, 
Knight  Templar  Masons  and  Pioneer  Society. 
He  was  of  Scotch-English  descent,  and 
his   brothers    was   an   army    surgeon    during   the 


Civil  war.  He  married  Julia  Flynn,  who  was 
born  in  Boston,  Mass..  the  daughter  of  Irish 
parents,  highly  educated  and  financial!)  pros 
pered.  Of  the  three  sons  and  one  daughter 
born  into  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sargent, 
James  1'.,  the  eldest,  is  engaged  in  the  wholesale 
meat  business  in  Monterey;  R.  C.  has  charge 
of  the  family  ranches;  and  Harriet  is  the  wife  of 
M.  I'.  Gregg,  auditor  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
.Milling  Company,  anil  owner  of  the  elevators 
along  the  line. 

The  education  of  Bradley  V.  Sargent  was  ac- 
quired in  the  public  schools  of  Monterey  county 
and  at  the  Santa  Clara  College,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  the  class  of  [884,  with  the 
degree  of  1'..  S.,  later  receiving  the  degree  of 
Al.  S.  During  1885  he  entered  the  law  depart- 
ment of  Yale  College,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated in  1887  with  the  degree  of  LL.  1'..  <  >n  his 
return  to  California  he  entered  the  office  of  the 
district  attornej  of  San  Francisco  and  partici- 
pated in  the  national  campaign  of  [888.  The 
following  year  he  was  selected  by  a  Republican 
board  of  supervisors  as  assistant  district  attor- 
ney of  Monterey  count)  and  in  1890  was 
elected  district  attorney,  bedding  the  office  for 
one  term,  but  refusing  renomination,  although 
he  would  have  been  elected  without  opposition. 
Since  then  he  has  continued  to  practice  law 
in  Salinas.  Among  the  important  eases  tiiat 
have  come  to  him  may  be  mentioned  the  fol- 
lowing: The  People  vs.  Moore:  the  People  vs. 
Hawse;  People  vs.  Vasquez;  and  the  Liborn  vs. 
Sorg  libel  case.  Like  his  father,  Mr.  Sargenl 
is  a  Democrat,  and  has  stumped  various  por 
lions  of  the  state  a  number  of  times.  September 
6,  ioo_>.  the  Democratic  part)  in  convention  as- 
sembled nominated  him  judge  of  the  superior 
court  and  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-seven  votes  over  Judge  Horn, 
a  popular  official  of  twelve  years'  service. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Sargent  and  Rose  Little- 
field,  adopted  daughter  of  Hiram  Carey,  occurred 
in  Salinas  in  loot.  1  if  this  union  there  are 
three  children.  Bradley  \ '..  Jr..  Stanle)  and 
Richard.  Mr.  Sargent  is  -rand  vice  chancellor 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  is  connected  with 
the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  P.Iks.  Native 
Sons  of  the  I  iolden  \\  est,  I  :  iciet) . 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


Foresters  of  America,  Canadian  Order  of  For- 
esters, Druids,  Fraternal  Brotherhood,  Eagles, 
Bar  Association,  and  Conselho  Salinas  No.  39, 
(J.  p.  E.  C.  To  an  exceptional  degree  he  has 
the  confidence  and  appreciation  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen,  and  he  is  personally  popular  by  rea- 
son of  his  ability,  tact  and  genial  disposition. 


SAMUEL   DONATI. 

Not  a  few  of  the  Swiss  settlers  of  the  United 
Mates  have  found  their  way  into  California  and 
are  numbered  among  the  persevering  and  in- 
dustrious citizens  of  our  state.  In  this  list  may 
be  included  the  name  of  Samuel  Donati,  who 
was  born  in  Switzerland  in  1853  and  crossed  the 
ocean  to  America  in  [872,  proceeding  at  once 
to  the  Pacific  coast  and  settling  in  Sonoma 
county,  Cal.  The  first  employment  he  secured 
was  in  a  dairy.  In  [876  he  came  to  San  Luis 
(  ibispo  county,  where  he  now  resides.  Select- 
ing a  location  near  Cayucos,  he  purchased  a 
ranch  of  eight  hundred  acres  in  1877  and  at  once 
assumed  the  duties  of  a  general  farmer  and 
dairyman.  For  the  latter  business  his  previous 
experience  in  Sonoma  county  admirably  quali- 
fied him.  During  188]  he  made  a  purchase  of 
his  present  ranch,  consisting  of  twelve  hundred 
acres  King  along  the  coast  ami  in  the  vicinity 
of  Cayucos.  To  the  management  of  this  prop- 
erty he  has  since  industriously  given  his  atten- 
tion. An  excellent  grade  of  cattle  and  hogs  is 
kepi  "ii  the  farm,  while  he  keeps  one  hundred 
and  twenty  cows  for  his  dairy. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  wherever  the 
Swiss  are  found,  they  almost  invariably  make 
valuable  citizens  and  aid  materially  in  the  de- 
velopment of  material  resources,  and  Air. 
Donati  is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  His  atten- 
tion has  been  given  so  closely  to  the  improve 
menl  of  his  ranch  and  the  care  of  his  dairy  that 
In  has  little  leisure  for  participation  in  public 
Yet  he  has  not  been  negligent  of  his 
duties  as  a  citizen.  In  politics  he  votes  with  the 
Republicans.  I ror  several  years  he  has  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace.  I  lis  interest  in  educa- 
tional  matters  led  him   to  accepl   the  office   of 

1 1  trustee,  which  he  tilled  with  such  faith- 
thai  tlie  state  superintendent  of  schools. 


Hon.  T.  J.  Kirk,  said  of  him  that  he  was  "'the 
best  trustee  in  the  stair  of  California."  The 
qualities  that  have  brought  him  prosperity  in 
pi  rsonal  affairs  have  made  him  a  leader  among 
the  SwTs  settlers  of  San  Luis  <  ibispo  county, 
who  have  the  highest  regard  for  his  ability  and 
often  consult  him  in  regard  to  business  projects. 
Under  appointment  from  Governors  Markham 
and  Budd  he  served  for  some  years  as  a  notary 
public.  In  1892  he  was  chosen  manager  and 
cashier  1  if  the  I  >ank  1  if  ( 'a\  no  is,  an  agency  of  the 
San  Luis  Commercial  Bank,  and  he  continued 
in  the  same  capacity  until  1898,  when  the  hank 
was  closed  h\  order  of  the  directors. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Donati  is  a  member  of  Cayu- 
cos Lodge  No.  300.  1.  (  ).  (  >.  P..  and  San  Luis 
Encampment  No.  13.  He  has  officiated  in  his 
lodge  as  noble  grand  and  has  represented  the 
same  in  the  state  grand  lodge.  His  first  mar- 
riage was  to  Miss  Maria  P.  Bassi,  of  Cayucos. 
who  died  in  [892,  leaving  seven  children.  After- 
ward he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Celes- 
tina  Franzina,  and  they  are  the  'parents  of  three 
children. 


WILLIAM   CHANEY. 

As  local  manager  of  the  Victor  Flour  Mills, 
at  Hollister,  William  Chancy  is  identified  with 
an  important  commercial  enterprise  of  the  town, 
and  in  the  discharge  of  his  responsibility  has 
shown  marked  business  and  general  ability,  A 
native  of  Monterey  county,  Cal..  he  was  born 
in  Salinas  in  1873.  and  lived  there  until  his  eighth 
year.  His  father,  A.  V.  Chaney,  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1870,  and  to  San  Benito  county  the 
following  year,  with  the  interests  of  which  he 
lias  since  been  substantially  connected.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  lived  on  a  farm  near  Hollister  ami 
engaged  on  a  large  scale  in  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  and  during  that  time  served  as  super- 
visor  of  his  township.  In  [900  he  materially 
changed  his  occupations  and  surroundings  by 
removal  to  Tres  Pinos,  and  has  since  been  en- 
gaged in  business  in  that  enterprising  little  town. 

At  the  age  <  f  eight  years  William  Chaney  re- 
moved with  his  father  to  San  Benito  county,  and 
was   here   educated   in   the   public   schools,   and 

trained  in  all   the  duties   which  enter   int..  the  life 


HISTORICAL    AND    nmCRAPIIlCAL    RECORD. 


m 


oj  a  practical  tanner,  i  it  an  ambitious  turn  oi 
mind,  and  anxious  to  advance  the  family  for- 
tunes, he  embarked  upon  business  life  al  prac- 
tically an  early  age,  and  became  associated  with 
the  Central  Milling  Company  as  bookkeeper  and 
accountant,  and  when  that  enterprise  was  merged 
into  the  Spring  Flour  Company,  in  1892,  lie  still 
retained  his  former  position.  So  satisfactory 
were  his  services,  and  so  readily  did  he  learn 
ever)  department  of  the  work,  that  in  1898  he 
became  local  manager  of  the  mill. 

Among  the  many  outside  interests  which  en- 
gage tlii1  ability  and  public-spiritedness  of  Mr. 
Chaney  may  be  mentioned  the  fraternal  organiza- 
tions in  which  the  town  abounds,  and  among  the 
members  of  which  lie  enjoys  an  enviable  popular- 
ity. He  is  associated  with  the  local  lodge 
of  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  politically 
affiliated  with  the  Republican  party.  Mr.  Chaney 
is  one  of  the  most  enterprising  and  resourceful 
of  the  younger  business  men  of  the  town,  and 
his  friends  predict  pronounced  future  business 
success.  He  is  honorable  in  all  of  his  deal- 
ings,  and  personally  possesses  a  genial  and  tact- 
ful manner. 


LUIS  L.  ARGUELLO. 

The  name  of  Arguello  is  a  familiar  one  in 
California,  having  been  associated  with  many 
of  the  important  happenings  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  state.  The  forefathers  were  evidently 
men  of  conspicuous  attainments  and  worthy  of 
all  confidence,  for  two  of  them,  the  paternal 
grandfather,  Louis  Antonio,  and  the  paternal 
great-grandfather,  were  governors  of  the  state, 
the  former  under  Mexican,  and  the  latter  under 
Spanish  rule.  Jose,  the  father  of  Luis  I...  was 
born  in  San  Francisci  in  [828,  and  died  in  [876, 
leaving  to  his  heir-  tin-  large  estates  lie  had  in 
herited  from  his  father.  lie  married  Label  \1- 
\  iso,  a  native  of  California. 

A  native  of  Santa  Clara,  tab,  Luis  L.  Ar- 
guello was  bom  Jul)  23,  [867,  and  was 
;\\i\  educated  in  his  native  town.  IIL  youth  was 
practical!)  uneventful,  and,  owing  to  hi-  father's 
superior  financial  and  social  position,  the  neces- 
sit)  was  mil  forthci  ming  for  him  to  -tart  out  in 
the    world  and  carve  hi-   own    fortune.      Ili-  ma- 


terial well-being  was   further  augmented  by  his 

marriage  with  Arcadia  Spencer,  daughtei  ol 
David  Spencer,  the  latter  one  of  the  prominent 
and  wealth)  pioneer-  of  California.  Mr-.  \r- 
guello  own-  about  three  thousand  acres  of  land 
in  the  Salinas  valley,  which  formerly  belonged 
to  her  father,  who  was  a  sturd)  Scotchman,  pos- 
sessed of  greal  thrifl  and  financial  ability.  The 
station  called  Spencer,  on  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad,  is  situated  on  the  property  of  Mrs. 
Arguello,  and  is  named  in  honor  of  her  father. 
Two  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Arguello,  Camilla  and  Isabelle.  both  of  whom  are 
attending- the  convent  of  Notre  Dame. 


J.  I'.  BARNHARDT. 

By  no  means  the  least  interesting  or  enterpris- 
ing center  of  activity  in  Soledad  is  the  blacksmith 
establishment  of  J.  P.  Barnhardt.  lie  was  born 
at  Kibe.  Denmark,  in  1S47.  and  comes  honestly 
by  his  chosen  occupation,  tor  his  father,  Peter 
Barnhardt,  was  for  many  years  a  blacksmith  at 
Kibe,  and  one  of  the  foremost  citizen-  of  the 
place.  As  one  would  naturally  suppose,  hi-  -on. 
J.   P..   learned   the  trade   from  hi-  earlies 

h I,  and  showed  a  readiness  and  aptitude  which 

prestiged  his  successful  future,  lie  was  e. bl- 
eated at  the  public  schools,  and  this,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  substantial  home  training 
accorded  the  average  Danish  youth,  prepared 
bun  for  the  trial.-  awaiting  bis  independent  ca- 
reer. 

In  [868  Mr.  Barnhardl  emigrated  to  America, 
end,  after  spending  a  summer  in  New  York  City, 
removed  to  Texas,  where  he  followed  his  trade, 
thereafter  returning  10  New  York  1  it\.  where 
he  found  employment  with  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company.  After  serving  for  three 
years  as  blacksmith  for  the  company,  b 
io  California  in  [873,  and  for  five  months  worked 
with  fair  success  it  Salinas.  Thinking  the  field 
a  more  desirable  1  ne,  be  then  took  up  In-  resi 
deno  al  Soledad,  and  at  first  was  employed  by 
the  man  whose  place  of  business  lie  now  owns. 
d  for  a  year  before  purchasing  it, 
and  for  the  eight  years  that  the  town  formed  the 
terminus  of  the  railroad  did  an  enormous 

be  had  die  tradi    for  many  miles 


1 1  IS  1*  >RKAL    AXI)    lih  )t,R  M'HWAI.    kF.U  )RI>. 


beyond,  besides  that  which  the  town  afforded. 
To  add  to  his  responsibilities,  Mr.  Earnhardt 
leases  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  of  which  he 
i-  the  owrseer,  and  where  he  raises  barley  prin- 
cipally. He  owns  a  good  home  in  the  town,  and 
i-  also  the  possessor  of  a  large  and  convenient 
livery  barn  and  a  store  business.  Politically  he 
is  a  Democrat,  and  fraternally  is  associated  with 
the  Independent  <  )rder  of  Odd  Fellows,  being  a 
charter  member  of  the  lodge  at  Salinas.  In  1871 
he  was  married  to  Matilda  (  Heson,  and  of  this 
union  there  are  two  children  living,  Mary,  who  is 
now  Mrs.  .Miller,  of  Soledad,  and  Ray,  who  is 
living  at  home  and  attending  school.  Mr.  Earn- 
hardt and  family  are  members  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  towards  the  maintenance  of  which  he 
is  a  liberal  contributor. 


the  prominent  younger  fanners  of  the  county, 
and  has  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  stable  and 
industrious  citizen. 


TH(  >MAS  F.  ALLEN. 

(  )n  the  right  hand  side  of  the  Ocean  road,  one 
and  a  half  miles  from  Watsonville,  is  the  farm 
of  seventy-five  acres  upon  which  Thomas  F. 
Allen  is  successfully  conducting  farming  enter- 
prises, and  where  he  was  born  July  II,  1876. 
This  farm  was  for  many  years  the  special  pride 
of  T1t  mas  Allen,  his  father,  who  was  born  'in 
England,  and  came  to  the  United  States  when 
a  young  man.  Via  Central  America,  he  reached 
the  desired  destination,  San  Francisco,  and  after 
a  time  spent  in  investigating  the  general  condi- 
tions of  the  state,  located  near  Watsonville  in 
the  early  '60s,  and  there  lived  until  his  death  in 
[899  Me  was  progressive  and  successful,  and 
his  life  and  attainments  were  consistent  with  the 
best  development  of  his  adopted  state  and  coun- 
try. His  wife.  Anna  (Gilmore)  Allen,  was  born 
in  Ireland,  and  became  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren, Thomas  F.  and  Anna  J. 

Fortunately,  Thomas  F.  Allen  inherits  a  liking 
I-  r  Farming,  and  is  thus  well  adapted  to  carry- 
ing on  the  work  so  well  started  by  his  father. 
While  his  land  is  cultivated  in  a  general  way 
and  yields  an  all-around  harvest,  particular  at- 
tention is  given  to  the  raising  of  sugar  beets, 
:  onions,  winch  crops  are  especially 
adapted  to  the  soil  1  f  the  Allen  farm.  Mr.  Allen 
1-  a  Democrat  in  political  affiliation,  and  is  a 
worshipper  in  the  Catholic  Church.    He  is  one  of 


ALBERT  NELSON. 

<  »ne  of  the  younger  generation  of  attorneys 
who  are  destined  to  promote  the  professional 
prestige  of  San  Luis  Obispo  is  Albert  Nelson,  a 
native  son  of  California,  and  born  June  8,  1874. 
His  family  is  a  well-known  one  in  this  county, 
and  his  father,  W.  11.  Nelson,  is  at  present  the 
recipient  of  a  large  dental  practice  in  this  town. 
Dr.  Nelson  is  enrolled  among  those  sturdy  and 
self-sacrificing  pioneers  who  braved  the  dangers 
of  the  overland  trail  in  the  days  of  gold,  and 
subsequently  endured  with  uncomplaining  pa- 
tience the  deprivations  incident  to  camp  life  in 
the  mining  districts.  With  worn  ox-teams  he 
arrived  on  the  coast  in  1848.  settled  in  Sonoma 
county,  near  Santa  Rosa,  and  experienced  the 
ups  and  downs  of  the  average,  rather  than  the 
exceptional,  miner.  In  1870  he  settled  in  San 
Luis  Obispo,  bought  land,  and  has  since  made 
this  his  home.  He  is  a  man  of  liberal  education 
and  broad  views,  and  practiced  his  profession  at 
first  in  the  days  when  no  certificate  was  required. 
His  wife,  formerly  Elizabeth  Fowler,  was  born 
in  Missouri,  and  became  the  mother  of  six  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Albert  Nelson  is  second  oldest. 

The  education  of  Mr.  Nelson  was  acquired 
primarily  in  the  public  schools,  and  after  gradu- 
ating at  the  high  school  he  attended  the  San  Luis 
Obispo  University  school.  His  professional 
training  was  acquired  under  the  able  instruction 
of  William  Shipsey,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  this 
town,  with  whom  he  studied  for  five  years,  and 
he  was  admitted  to  the  California  bar  in  [896. 
He  is  possessed  of  particular  aptitude  for  his 
chosen  profession,  and  has  already  met  with 
gratifying  appreciation.  A  Republican  in  polit- 
ical affiliation,  he  is  ambitious  of  being  able  to 
combine  politics  and  law  as  district  attorney  of 
San  Luis  <  Obispo  county,  and  is  at  present  a  can- 
didate for  this  desirable  office.  Mr.  Xelson  is 
variously  identified  with  fraternal  and  social  or- 
ganizations in  the  town  and  county,  especi.ilh 
with  the  Masonic  Blue  Lodge,  the  Independent 
(  >rder  of  (  hid   Fellows,  and  the  Benevolent   I'm- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL  RECORD. 


tective  (  Irder  of  Elks.  He  is  engaged  in  a  gen- 
ual practice  of  law.  and  has  not  as  yet  decided 
upon  any  special  line  of  professional  work. 

EDGAR  W.  STEELE. 

Eor  man}-  years  Air.  Steele  was  one  of  the 
leading  men  of  San  Luis  (  I'bispo  county.  His 
name  was  especially  prominent  as  a  dairyman, 
which  business  he  followed  with  marked  suc- 
cess. Indeed,  he  happily  realized  his  ambition 
to  establish  and  maintain  a  model  dairy.  The 
firm  of  Steele  Brothers,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber, gained  national  prominence  during  the  Civil 
war  by  the  presentation  to  the  National  Sanitary 
Commission  of  a  mammoth  cheese  weighing 
thirty-eight  hundred  and  fifty-six  pounds.  (  >ne- 
half  of  this  cheese  was  sold  by  the  commission 
in  San  Francisco  for  $3,000,  and  the  remainder 
was  sent  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  For  its 
manufacture,  special  machinery  was  constructed 
at  considerable  expense,  the  hands  and  hoop 
alone  c«  isting  $500. 

(  )f  ea>tern  birth  and  descent,  Mr.  Steele  was 
the  son  of  Nathaniel  Steele,  a  farmer  and  at  one 
time  the  owner  of  a  stage  line.  From  Delaware 
county,  X.  Y..  he  moved  to  Lorain  county,  (  )hio, 
about  [836,  and  finally  he  and  his  wife  joined 
some  of  their  children  in  California,  llis  wife 
died  at  1  'etahima  in  [860,  ami  his  death  occurred 
the  following  year  at  Point  Reyes.  Their  eldest 
>oii,  (  )sman  X.,  while  acting  as  under  sheriff  of 
Delaware  county,  X.  Y..  was  killed  August  5, 
[845,  by  men  disguised  as  Indians,  who  were  en- 
deavoring to  resist  the  collection  of  land  rents. 
The  second  son,  lion.  J.  1'..  Steele,  member  of 
Congress  from  Ulster  county,  X.  A'.,  was  thrown 
from  his  carriage  and  killed  in  1SO7.  The  third 
son,  Major-tien.  Fred  Steele,  of  the  United 
"•talis  army,  died  in  San  Mateo  count).  Cal., 
January  12,  1868.  The  fourth  son.  I.  C,  settled 
at  Pescadero,  San  Mateo  county.  Cal.,  in  1S11J. 
and  has  since  lived  there.  The  fifth  son.  Judge 
George  Steele,  who  died  <  tetober  _•->.  [901,  is 
represented  on  another  page  of  this  volume.  The 
seventh  -  n  died  1  f  cholera  in  [854,  at  the  strait s 
of  Sanlt   Sle.   Marie. 

The  sixth  of  the  sons  was  Edgar  W.  Steele, 
who  was  born  at    Delhi.   Delaware  COUlltV,   NT.   Y.. 


March  4,  1830.  When  six  years  of  age  he  ac 
companied  his  parents  to  Ohio,  hut  seven  years 
later  returned,  to  Delhi  and  made  his  home  with 
his  sister.  Mrs.  J.  B.  Howe,  attending  the  Delhi 
Academy.  Later  he  attended  Oberlin  (Ohio) 
College,  where  he  completed  his  education.  His 
record  in  mathematics  and  Latin  was  unusually 
high  and  won  him  the  commendation  of  his 
teachers.  After  leaving  college  he  taught  school 
in  Ohio.  In  1850  he  came  to  California  and  was 
so  pleased  with  the  prospects  that  two  years  later 
he  returned  to  Ohio  and  brought  his  parents 
wist,  settling  with  them  at  Point  Rexes,  Marin 
count),  and  embarking  in  the  dairj  bu 
The  same  occupation  he  later  followed  in  Pes- 
cadero, San  Mateo  count)-,  on  a  much  larger 
scale,  being  in  partnership  with  his  cousin.  R.  E. 
Steele.  During  18(16  he  came  to  San  Luis  I  Ibisp  1 
count)  and  purchased  nearly  fifty  thousand  acres. 
embracing  part-  of  the  three  grants.  Cienega, 
Bolsa  «le  Chemisal  and  Corral  de  Piedra.  His 
two  brothers.  Isaac  C.  and  George,  were  each 
given  a  one-fourth  interest  in  the  land,  and  the 
firm  of  Steele  Brothers  was  organized.  At  once 
they  stocked  the  land  with  cattle  and  began  the 
building  of  a  large  dairy.  To  aid  in  the  business, 
Mr.  Steele  carried  on  correspondence  with  many 
of  the  best-known  dairymen  of  America  and  Eu- 
rope, and  he  imported  several  herds  of  Holsteill 
stock  from  Holland,  also  owned  man)  registered 
cows.  It  was  his  aim  to  conduct  the  business 
on  scientific  principles,  and  whenever  he  heard 
of  any  improvement  that  had  been  successfull) 
introduced  elsewhere  he  at  once  availed  himself 
of  the  opportunities  it  offered.  He  introduced 
the  first  modern  machinery  in  California  for  the 
making  of  butter  and  cheese.  The  qualit)  of  his 
products  was  unexcelled,  and  their  recognized 
value  commanded  for  them  the  highest  market 
prices.  It  will  he  seen  from  this  that  he  did  not 
fail  in  his  endeavor  to  build  up  an  ideal  dairy  on 
his  ranch  and  bring  to  perfection  an  industry  in 
which  ever)  generation  must  engage.  In  1877 
there  were  nine  dairies  in  operation  upon  the 
Steele  ranch,  with  an  average  of  three  hundred 
cows  in  each.  The  dairymen  •  f  the  present  da\ 
owe  not  a  little  to  his  wise  judgment  and  in- 
genious  devices,   and    die    -nee,--    of   die   illdllStn 

throughout    the   countn    has    been    permanent!) 


;:;n 


IIISTi  'KM    \I.     WD    UK  m.KAI'IIK'AI.    KL<  <  'I'D 


promoted  by  his  labors.  The  firm  of  Steele 
Brothers  was  dissolved  in  1880.  after  which  he 
continued  dairying  alone.  Among  the  cither  in- 
dustries in  which  he  was  interested  was  the 
Southern  Mill  &  Warehouse  Company  of  San 
Francisco,  which  he  assisted  in  organizing,  and 
which  owned  warehouses  at  points  between  Santa 
Barbara  and  San  Francisco.  He  was  also  one  of 
the  incorporator^  of  the  Santa  Ynez  Land  and 
Improvement  Company,  the  Salinas  Valley  Lum- 
ber Company,  and  was  largely  interested  in  the 
Grangers'  Business  Association  and  Sperry 
Fli  ur  Company,  in  the  two  latter  being  a  director 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  was  also  a  member 
of  the  Dairymen's  Union. 

E.  \Y.  Steele  was  a  man  who  possessed  those 
sterling  qualities  of  which  pioneers  are  made, 
namely:  firmness  of  purpose,  strength  and  cour- 
age. 1  lis  dauntless  energy  brought  into  being  an 
industry  hitherto  unknown  in  California.  Span- 
ish cows  were  then  herded  for  their  hides,  and 
butter,  cheese  and  milk  were  unknown  articles, 
even  on  the  large  grants  where  cattle  roamed  by 
thousands.  His  courage  and  faith  in  the  future 
of  the  state  incited  many  others  to  engage  in 
the  dairy  business.  His  genius  for  utilizing  the 
means  at  hand  originated  many  unique  methods. 
1  heese  presses,  and  indeed  the  whole  process, 
under  the  shade  of  a  sycamore  tree  were  not  un- 
common sights.  Few  men  employing  such  large 
numbers  have  left  more  tender  memories  in  the 
hearts  of  employes.  He  never  foreclosed  a  mort- 
gage, and  he  sold  man)  thousand  acres  during  a 
period  of  thirty  years.  While  always  insisting 
up  n  justice,  he  maintained  a  most  liberal  policy 
toward  his  employes;  this  was  appreciated  by 
them,  and  many  attest  their  loyalty  and  declare 
their  success  due  to  him.  There  are  numberless 
comfortable  In  mes  and  line  dairies  in  this  county 
owned  by  men  who  began  with  only  two  hands 
in  the  employ  of  E.  W.  Steele.  He  never  went 
pi  litics,  although  often  solicited  to  do  so. 
and  -oild  have  held  any  office  in  the  gift  <  1  the 
pei  pie  of  the  state. 

Sin  :e  the  death  of  Mr.  Steele,  which  occurred 
in  1896,  ih.  management  of  die  estate  has  fallen 
to  the  care  of  his  wife,  a  Iach    possessing  much 

1  die  wise  judgment  and  executive  ability  that 
characterized  him.      Miss   Emma   E.   Smith   was 


born  in  Lockport,  X.  Y.,  and  became  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Steele  in  Los  Angeles  in  [876.  <  'ne  son 
.1-  bi  rn  of  their  union.  Edgar  W.,  whose  birth 
occurred  August  26,  1878.  and  who  is  still  re- 
siding with  his  mother  on  the  ranch. 


PETER  C.  GALLIGAN. 

Santa  Cruz  county,  with  its  almost  exhaustless 
agricultural  and  other  resources,  has  a  twofold 
interest  for  Peter  C.  Galligan,  for  it  is  a  region 
which  not  only  yields  him  a  comfortable  liveli- 
hood at  the  present  time,  lint  was  the  place  1  f 
his  birth,  June  26,  1874.  The  first  bearer  of  the 
name  to  come  to  the  coast  was  Bartholomew  Gal- 
ligan, the  father  of  Peter  C.  who  was  born  in 
Ireland,  and  whose  ambitions  led  him  across  the 
sea  to  California,  which  he  reached  in  1855. 
Cpon  locating  in  Santa  Cruz  county  lie  settled 
upon  the  old  Galligan  farm  of  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres,  of  which  his  son  is  now  man- 
ager, and  by  reason  of  untiring  industry  and 
thrift  was  able  to  realize  the  expectations  formu- 
lated in  his  native  land.  Besides  Peter  ( ...  who 
is  the  fourth  oldest  in  the  parental  family,  there 
were  also  born  James,  Henry,  John  J..  Patrick 
F.  and  Thomas  M. 

In  his  younger  days  Peter  C.  Galligan  attended 
the  public  schools  of  San  Andres.  Santa  Cruz 
county,  and  from  his  father  learned  about  all 
that  was  then  known  of  the  science  of  farming, 
lie  is  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock- 
raising,  and  in  addition  maintains  a  paying  and 
model  daily,  comprising  sixteen  cows.  Mr.  Gal- 
ligan is  enterprising  and  ambitious,  and  is  one 
of  the  mosl  im  mising  of  the  younger  generation 
of  farmers  of  this  county.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  ( Catholic  Church. 


CHRISTOPHER  TIK  IMPS"  'V 

1  'no  of  the  representative  ranchers  of  the  Pa- 
jaro  valley  is  Christopher  Thompson,  who  was 
bom  on  the  farm  he  now  occupies,  January  28, 
181  9,  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and 
attended  St.  Ignatius  scho  -1  in  San  Francisco  one 
year,  Vlthough  he  started  to  work  away  from 
home  ai  the  age  of  fourteen,  his  success  has 
not    Keen    entirely   the   resull    of   personal   appli- 


HISTORICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


cation,  for  he  was  the  fortunate  heir  to  one  hun 
dred  and  seventy-five  acres  of  the  land  accumu- 
lated by  his  honored  and  pioneer  father.  Mr. 
Thompson  is  an  enthusiastic  fruit  grower,  and 
has  an  extensive  knowledge  of  horticulture  in 
general.  (  >ne  hundred  acres  of  his  land  is  sel 
out  in  Bellefleurs  and  Newtown  Pippins  and  fifty 
acre.-  to  strawberries  and  young  trees. 

Mr.  Thompson  is  possessed  of  much  of  the 
ambition  which  characterized  (lie  career  of  his 
well-known  father.  John  Thompson,  cne  of 
the  most  successful  of  the  early  ranchers  of  the 
county.  He  was  born  in  county  Kildare,  Ireland, 
and  was  reared  on  the  paternal  farm,  receiving 
such  education  in  the  district  schools  as  the  ardu- 
ous home  duties  permitted.  About  1853  he  emi- 
grated to  America  and  worked  for  a  couple  of 
years  in  Boston,  where  he  married,  and  in  1855 
came  to  San  Francisco,  Cal,  where  both  worked 
out  for  a  few  weeks  to  gain  a  foothold  in  their 
new-  surroundings.  In  August  of  that  year  they 
came  to  Watsonville  on  an  old  schooner,  and  Mr. 
Thompson  found  employment  as  superintendent 
of  a  ranch  on  the  coast,  where  he  was  successful 
and  managed  to  make  considerable  money.  He 
eventually  rented  land  in  the  valley  until  1805, 
in  which  year  he  bought  one  hundred  acres  of 
land  at  $20  an  acre,  partly  improved,  and  for 
several  years  lived  in  an  old  shanty  thereon.  To 
his  original  purchase  he  added  one  hundred 
acres  adjoining,  and  also  two  hundred  acres  in 
Santa  CrU2  county,  as  well  as  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  in  the  Salinas  valley,  and  two  hundred 
acres  1  f  pasture  land  in  the  near-by  hills.  A 
new  house  replaced  the  little  "Id  shanty  in  due 
time,  bin  a  devastating  fire  at  the  end  of  two 
years  necessitated  rebuilding,  which  was  accom- 
plished on  a  much  more  elaborate  and  modern 
scale.  He  lived  •  n  his  home  farm  and  prospered 
exceedingly,  and  earned  a  reputation  for  thrift 
and  integrity  worth)  bis  large  and  many-sided 
ability  ami  numerous  possessions,  lb-  was  an 
active  Democrat  from  the  time  <>f  casting  bis 
thst  vote,  although  be  never  desired  or  accepted 
ottices  of  importance.  Me  was  public-spirited 
and  large-hearted,  ami  mam  kindnesses  -1  an 
unostentatious  nature  are  attributed  to  him. 

In  July,  [855,  John  Thompson  was  united  in 
marnaec    widi    Man    Cummines,    a    native    <>f 


Queens  county,  Ireland,  and  who  came  to  the 
I  nited  States  in  [852,  when  seventeen  years  ■  1 
age.      Mrs.   Tin  mpson   lived    in     Boston    for   ■< 

couple  of  \ear..  and  is  still  living  (.11  the  old 
homestead.  She  became  the  mother  of  twelve 
children,  the  order  of  their  birth  being  as  fol- 
lows:  Julia,  the  wife  ,  E  John  Whalen,  of  Mon- 
terey count\  :  Lizzie,  who  died  at  the  age  1  1 
forty-four  years;  Peter  and  Edward,  ranchers 
of  Santa  Cruz  county;  Joseph,  also  a  resident  of 
Santa  Cruz  county;  Maggie;  Mamie:  Chris- 
topher; a  child  who  died  in  infancy;  fohn,  the 
owner  of  the  old  homestead:  Sadie,  and  Katie. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Thompson  were  members  of 
the  Catholic  Church. 

Christopher  Thompson  married  Anna  Quinn, 
of  Monterey  county,  and  a  daughter  of  Owen 
Quinn.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  have  been 
bom  three  .laughters,  Elsie,  Mabel  and  an  infant, 
deceased.  Mr.  Thompson  is  a  Democrat  in  po- 
litical preference,  but.  like  his  father,  has  no  u 
cud  aspirations.  With  his  family  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Catholic  Church. 


BENJAMIN   FRANK   PATTERS*  >\\ 

Grain,  cattle,  hogs,  horses  and  general  farming 
have  proved  a  fruitful  source  of  revenue  to   Mr. 
1'atterson.     who    owns    five    hundred     and 
acres    of    land    in    the    Jolon    valley.    Monterey 
county,  and  is  one  of  the  thrifty  and   far  -■ 
agriculturists  and  st<  ckmen  of  this  section. 

Porn   near  Ashland.  Jackson   county,  Ore.,   in 

May,    [864,    the    boy! 1   of    Mr.    Patio,-. on    was 

Spent    o,,   the  home    farm,    where  he   worked  hard 
wlule  attending  the  public  schools.and  o 
uted   his   share  towards  the  maintenance   of  the 
family.     In  the  meantime  his  brother  had  located 
on  a  ranch  in  the  Ji  Ion  valley,  and  in   I  )ei  1 
1882,  when  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  joined  him 
and  remained  on  the  ranch  for  a  couple  of  years. 
In    the    fall    of      [884    In      31  ttled    0,1    his    present 
ranch,  and   when   it    was  turned  over  to  tin 
eminent    be    pre-empted    one   hundred    anil    si\l\ 
acres,   which   was  covered  with  timber  and  brash 
and  was  exceedingly  wild  and  unpi 

(1   hill   pasture  land,  and  has 
purchased   line-  hundred   and   eight)    acn 
hundred  and  twenty  of  which  is   farm  land. 


32 


HISTORICAL    AND    P.IOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


In  iSm  Mr.  Patterson  married  Viola  M.  Sav- 
in, a  native  of  Nebraska,  and  they  have  two 
children.  Floyd  Lester  and  Charles  Franklin. 
Mr.  Patterson  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  has 
been  a  member  of  the  school  board  for  twelve 
years.  He  is  appreciated  for  his  many  fine  per- 
sonal characteristics,  and  for  the  success  which 
he  has  brought  out  of  his  life. 


THOMAS  J.  RIORDAN. 

The  fine  legal  ability  of  Mr.  Riordan  places 
him  in  the  front  professional  ranks  not  only  of 
Salinas,  but  of  the  whole  of  Monterey  county. 
As  an  exponent  of  the  unchanging  science  of 
law  he  is  noted  for  his  lucid  and  practical  expo- 
sitions, and  for  the  skill  and  justice  with  which 
he  disposes  of  the  many  important  cases  which 
come  to  him  for  defense.  A  man  of  extended 
experience  in  the  general  walks  of  life,  a  mer- 
chant and  financier  of  no  mean  order,  and  a  poli- 
tician whose  disinterested  devotion  to  the  public 
welfare  was  never  questioned,  he  is  admirably 
fitted  to  cope  with  the  intricacies  and  hydra- 
headed  divisions  of  his  -real  profession. 

During  a  youth  fashioned  on  the  average 
lines,  Mr.  Riordan  availed  himself  of  the  educa- 
tional and  other  advantages  which  came  his  way. 
He  wa.s  horn  in  San  Francisco,  November  15. 
[859,  and  when  four  years  of  age  accompanied 
his  father,  Michael  Riordan,  to  Salinas,  where 
the  latter  engaged  in  the  stock'  business  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  three  years  ago.  Thomas  J. 
studied  at  the  public  schools  of  Salinas,  a  train- 
ing supplemented  In  attendance  at  St.  Mary's 
I  ollege,  San  Francisco,  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
he  faced  the  problem  of  self-support,  and  so  em- 
phatically was  his  personal  worth  impressedupon 
those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  that  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  he  was  elected  auditor  of  Mon- 
terey ci  unty.  After  serving  for  a  term,  for  seven 
years  he  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business 
with  Thomas  B.  Johnson,  again  returning  to 
p  ilitics  in  1888,  at  which  time  he  was  elected 
lei  l  1  1  Vlonfc  rey  1  ounty.  So  satisfactory  were 
his  services,  and  so  conscientiously  did  he  pei 
form  the  duties  of  the  office,  thai  his  re-election 
d  for  lour  successive  terms,  the  last  term 


extending  over  four  years.  In  the  meantime  his 
expanding  ambitions  sought  a  wider  field  of  ac- 
tivity, and  the  substantial  trait  in  his  character 
recognized  the  fleeting  satisfaction  connected 
with  even  the  most  desirable  political  honors,  and 
he  therefore  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  law 
during  such  leisure  as  he  could  command  while 
in  the  county  clerk's  office.  After  resigning  from 
the  clerkship  he  applied  himself  to  the  practice 
of  law  in  partnership  with  Judge  John  K.  Alex- 
ander, having  been  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1897. 
For  one  year  he  served  a.s  deputy  district  attor- 
ney, and  was  associated  with  Judge  Alexander 
for  two  and  a  half  years.  Subsequently  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Hon.  S.  F.  Gile,  which 
relationship  has  since  been  amicably  continued. 
Among  the  important  cases  which  Mr.  Riordan 
has  satisfactorily  disposed  of  may  be  mentioned 
the  Charles  McFadden  estate,  the  Thomas  Ken- 
nedy estate.  Morgan  vs.  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company,  Wycoff  vs.  the  P.  V.  R.  R., 
Ford  &  Sanborn  Company  vs.  Jacks.  Farley  vs. 
Hill,  the  estate  of  Sobrenas,  and  the  People  vs. 
Coneline. 

At  Watsonville,  Cab.  in  1884,  Mr.  Riordan 
married  Madge  Sheehy,  daughter  of  John 
Sheehy,  who  at  one  time  served  as  supervisor  of 
Monterey  county,  was  a  farmer  and  merchant, 
and  is  now  a  capitalist  of  San  Jose.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Riordan  have  been  born  seven  children: 
John  H.,  who  is  at  present  a  student  at  Santa 
Clara  College;  Ailene  F. ;  Madeline  M.  :  Thomas 
J..  Jr. ;  Anita  T. ;  H.  J. :  and  Catherine  J.  Mr. 
Riordan  has  three  brothers  living  in  California, 
but  he  is  the  only  lawyer  in  the  family.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Young  Men's  Institute,  and  fraternally  con- 
nected with  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 


HENRY  M.   RIST. 

The  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  to  be  found 
on  the  well-developed  farm  of  Henry  M.  Rist,  in 
the  Peach  [Yee  valley,  are  representative  of  the 
besl  to  In-  bad  in  the  west,  and  yield  their  enter- 
prising owner  a  neat  annual  income.  Mr.  Rist 
settled  on  his  present  place  in  1871,  having  pre- 
empted   it    from    the    government,    and    be   now 


■  WHS    lo, 


hundred 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


: 


the  most  of  which  is  given  over  to  grazing  for 
his  stock. 

Mr.  Rist  is  a  native  of  the  middle  northwest, 
and  was  born  in  Nicollet  county,  Minn.,  Febru- 
ary 24,  1857.  In  1866  he  accompanied  his  ambi- 
tious father  and  the  rest  of  the  family  to  Cali- 
fornia, locating  at  Bakersfield,  where  they  lived 
until  1868.  They  then  removed  to  what  is  now 
San  Benito  county,  and  lived  until  1871,  in  which 
year  the  family  fortunes  were  shifted  to  Peach 
Tree  valley,  where  the  father  bought  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  of  land,  upon  which  he  died 
in  1888,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years. 

Through  his  marriage  with  S.  Ella  Matthis, 
Mr.  Rist  became  the  proud  father  of  seven  inter- 
esting children,  of  whom  their  parents  expect 
much.  The  children  are  :  Benjamin  F.,  William, 
Cora.  Bertie,  Leola,  Georgie  and  Frankie.  Mr. 
Rist  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  school  board  for  three  years.  He 
is  fraternally  identified  with  the  Independent 
Order  United  Workmen.  Mr.  Rist  prides  him- 
self on  his  modern  and  practical  dairy,  al- 
though he  has  never  engaged  in  this  line  of  ac- 
tivity to  any  great  extent.  He  is  one  of  the 
honored  citizens  of  the  Peach  Tree  valley,  and 
has  realized  splendidly  on  his  landed  invest- 
ments. 


CHARLES    KUHLITZ. 

The  experiences  of  Mr.  Kuhlitz  since  he  came 
to  the  United  States  have  been  many  and 
varied.  He  was  born  in  Germany  June  4,  1827, 
the  son  of  Henry  and  Lucia  (Klingenberg) 
Kuhlitz.  During  boyhood  he  became  familiar 
with  the  trades  of  cooper  and  brewer.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years  he  crossed  the  ocean 
to  Xew  York,  where  he  landed  after  a  voyage 
of  nine  weeks.  Eagerly  accepting  any  employ- 
ment, he  was  given  a  position  at  $4  a  month, 
his  work  being  the  milking  of  cows.  Soon, 
however,  he  joined  a  brother  who  was  a 
cooper,  and  with  him  secured  employment  at 
the  trade,  receiving  eighty-eight  and  one-half 
cents  per  day  for  two  and  one-hall  months.  A 
later  position  secured  for  him  an  advance  to  $30 
per  month  ami  afterward  he  received  $1.50  a 
day,  next  being  raised   to  $1.75,  thus  showing 


that  his  industry  and  faithfulness  were  recog- 
nized by  his  employers.  In  1855  he  came  via  the 
isthmus  to  California,  and  after  his  arrival  in  San 
Francisco  secured  work  at  coopering,  for 
which  he  was  paid  $5  a  day.  However,  like 
all  pioneers,  he  was  desirous  of  trying  his  luck- 
in  the  mines,  and  so  went  to  the  Cherry  creek, 
where  he  mined  for  five  months,  but  the  fail- 
ure of  his  health  through  rheumatism  contracted 
by  exposure  forced  him  to  return  to  his  old 
trade. 

For  a  time  Mr.  Kuhlitz  worked  in  On 
where  for  six  months  he  helped  to  build  a 
brewery  and  received  $100  a  month.  On  his 
return  to  California  he  bought  an  interest  in 
a  saloon,  bakery  and  confectionery  establish- 
ment, which  he  conducted  for  a  short  time. 
The  business  proved  profitable,  and  its  neat  re- 
turns enabled  him  to  make  a  visit  to  his  old 
German  home  in  1859.  On  his  return  he  spent 
a  short  time  in  the  mines,  then  proceeded  to 
San  Jose  and  from  there  came  to  Watsonville 
in  1  Sit).  Since  then  he  has  made  this  city  his 
home.  He  purchased  a  one-half  interest,  with 
John  Kuefner,  in  a  brewery  on  East  Fourth 
street.  Watsonville.  Six  months  later  he  bought 
out  his  partner  and  subsequently  enlarged  the 
capacity  of  the  plant  until  the  output  was  twelve 
barrels  a  week.  The  barley  used  in  the  brew- 
ery was  raised  by  Mr.  Kuhlitz.  and  all  the  wood 
needed  was  hauled  by  his  own  teams,  so  that 
his  expenses  were  comparatively  small.  Some 
twenty  years  ago  he  rented  the  brewery,  and 
about  1896  sold  the  property. 

The  first    ranch  purchased    by   Air.     Kuhlitz 
consisted  of  two  hundred  and  twelve  and 
half    acres,    but    this     he    soon     sold.       Another 
ranch  was  then  bought  and  soon  sold.      Indeed. 
a  number  of  tracts  were  bought  and  sold 
this   time,    and    he    still    retains    a    1 
hundred   and    forty   acres,    .1    part    of  which    he 
has  planted   10   nee-.      He  built   a  house  on  this 
ranch    and   also    owns   a    cit)    reside! 
1  1  msiderabli    1  1    property .     During 

irly   days    he    took    an    active    part    in    the 
work-  of  the  (  >dd  Fellow  s,  bul  has  11 

with    an)    oilier  fraternal    organization. 

I  »j   his  marriage  to  <  son  Bambauer 

1 1  he  had  eight    children,  one  of 


:;i 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


whom  died  in  infancy,  and  the  youngest,  Albert, 
in  boyhood.  The  others  are  as  follows:  Annie, 
wife  of  M.  E.  Noblet,  and  mother  of  one  daugh- 
ter. Hazel;  Mary,  wife  of  L.  D.  McLean; 
Charles:  William,  who  married  Lizzie  Bothwell, 
and  is  the  father  of  three  children  (William  A., 
Mildred  and  Harold):  Amelia  and  Emma. 


CHARLES  A.  PALMER. 

The  bar  of  San  Luis  Obispo  is  fortunate  in 
having  among  its  members  so  capable  a  practi- 
tioner as  Charles  A.  Palmer,  a  native  son  of  the 
state,  and  a  resident  of  the  town  since  1894. 
lie  was  born  in  Nevada  county  in  1863,  whither 
his  father,  George  M.,  had  removed  during  the 
Sold  excitement  of  '49.  The  elder  Palmer  was 
extensively  engaged  in  mining  in  different  parts 
of  the  state,  and  was  a  partner  of  Thomas  B. 
McFarland,  the  large  mine  owner.  During  the 
Mexican  war  he  served  as  quartermaster,  and  his 
family  was  further  represented  in  the  wars  of 
the  country  by  his  brother,  who  died  in  prison 
during  the  strife  between  the  north  and  south. 
For  many  years  his  paternal  ancestors  had  lived 
in  Kentucky.  On  the  maternal  side,  Charles  A. 
Palmer  is  of  German  descent,  his  mother,  for- 
merly Louisa  Van  Slyke,  coming  from  a  promi- 
nent family  of  merchants  who  settled  in  New 
y<  irk  state  at  an  early  day. 

As  the  only  son  in  his  father's  family,  Charles 
A.  Palmer  received  a  fair  common  school  educa- 
tion in  Yolo  county,  to  which  his  father  had 
removed  .hut  leaving  Nevada  county.  This 
training  was  supplemented  by  a  course  at  the  San 
Joaquin  Yallo  College,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1887.  Having  decided  to  devote 
his  life  to  the  practice  of  law,  he  entered  the  law 
department  of  Ann  Arbor  1  Mich.)  College,  and 
graduated  therefrom  in  the  spring  of  1890.  He 
subsequently  spent  one  year  on  the  paternal  farm 
in  this  state,  and  was  admitted  to  the  California 
bar  in  [892,  thereupon  engaging  in  practice  in 
I  odi,  San  Joaquin  comity.  In  1894  he  came  to 
Nan  Luis  (  >bispo,  and  lias  since  been  connected 
with  many  of  the  important  legal  complications 
in  this  pari  of  the  county,  for  a  time  serving  as 
assistant  district  attorney. 

In  this  cit)    Mr.   Palmer  was  united  in   mar- 


riage, in  1894,  with  Ida  L.  Blodgett,  a  native  of 
Ohio.  Her  father  was  brought  into  close  con- 
tact with  some  of  the  greatest  soldiers  in  latter- 
da}-  American  history,  viz.:  Generals  Alger, 
Sheridan  and  Miles.  Two  daughters  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Palmer,  Louise  and  Flor- 
ence. In  politics  a  Republican,  Mr.  Palmer  has 
been  active  in  the  undertakings  of  his  party,  and 
in  1898  ran  for  district  attorney.  Fraternally  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden 
West  and  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  He 
enjoys  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who  know 
him,  and  has  made  many  friends  during  his  so- 
journ in  San  Luis  Obispo. 


IRVIN  T.  BLOOM. 

Ever  since  he  floated  down  the  Mississippi 
river  on  a  lumber  raft,  Irvin  T.  Bloom,  a  prom- 
inent sawmill  and  lumber  man  of  Boulder  Creek, 
has  been  associated  with  this  needful  commodity 
in  one  way  or  another.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  in 
the  county  have  a  more  extensive  knowledge  of 
all  phases  of  the  business  than  has  this  honored 
citizen,  to  wdiose  untiring  efforts  so  much  of 
the  commercial  prosperity  of  his  locality  is  at- 
tributed. 

A  native  of  Clearfield  county,  Pa.,  Mr.  Bloom 
was  born  September  27,  1855,  a  son  of  David 
and  Sarah  (Hoover)  Bloom,  also  natives  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  elder  Bloom  was  a  farmer 
originally,  but  in  later  years  turned  his  attention 
to  lumbering,  and  from  him  his  son  received  his 
first  impetus  in  this  direction.  His  brother-in- 
law,  David  Hoover,  was  an  early  settler  of  Gil- 
roy,  Cal.,  where  he  engaged  in  an  extensive 
medical  practice  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
Of  the  children  born  to  the  parents  the  follow- 
ing are  living:  Mina  J.,  Arabella,  Allen  M., 
Harrison,  Samantha,  Anna,  Irvin  T.,  Mary  and 
Lucy. 

Until  his  seventeenth  year  Irvin  T.  Bloom 
lived  in  his  native  state,  and  he  then  spent  a 
year  in  Illinois,  and  a  year  and  a  half  in  Wis- 
consin.  In  1876  lie  made  the  before  mentioned 
hip  down  the  Mississippi  river  with  a  lumber 
raft,  after  which  he  spent  some  time  in  St.  Louis, 
and  in  Rochester,  Minn.  After  spending  a  winter 
in  his  old  home  in  Pennsylvania  he  went  to  Mon- 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


tana  in  1S78,  and  came  to  California  in  the  win- 
ter of  1879-80.  Locating  near  Felton  he 
chopped  timber  for  a  year,  and  took  up  his 
permanent  residence  in  Boulder  Creek  in  1880. 
Pie  has  a  large  and  paying  business,  and  has  his 
sawmill,  known  as  the  Park  mill,  in  the  Great 
Basin  seven  miles  from  the  town. 

Through  his  marriage  with  Mary  E.  Patton, 
Mr.  Bloom  has  reared  and  educated  six  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  are  living:  Sarah  II.,  Ida  E., 
Walter  P.,  Irvin  M.,  Mina  G.  and  Lucy.  Mr. 
Bloom  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  well 
known  fraternally,  being  associated  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Forest- 
ers and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 
He  is  well  known  and  popular  in  his  locality, 
and  has  made  a  success  of  the  chances  offered 
him  on  the  coast. 


general  farming  he  makes  a  specialty  of  sugar 
beet  culture,  and  his  land  produces  from 

nty  tons  of  beets  to  the  acre.    He  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  political  affiliation  and   is  a  member  of 

the  Catholic  Church.     The  Ring  farm  is  located 
three  miles  south  of  Watsonville,  on  the  Ocean 


JOSEPH  H.  RING. 

Among  the  ambitious  pioneers  who  left  mi  ire 
peaceful  surroundings  in  the  east  and  came  to 
California  in  search  of 'gold  in  1849  was  David 
King,  the  father  of  Joseph  H.  Pie  was  born  in 
Ireland  in  181 3.  and  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  when  a  young  man',  landing  on  foreign 
shores  with  little  to  aid  him  but  determination 
and  high  spirits.  His  trip  to  the  coast  was  made 
by  way  of  Central  America,  and  he  located  in 
San  Francisco,  where  he  engaged  for  fifteen 
years  in  the  dairy  business.  In  1864  he  changed 
his  location  to  Santa  Cruz  county,  where,  with 
the  earnings  from  his  northern  dairy  experi- 
ence, he  bought  the  present  homestead  of  his 
family,  consisting  of  sixty-five  acres.  Hen  he 
was  successfully  engaged  in  farming  and  dairy- 
ing up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1878.  at  the  agi 
of  sixty-five  years.  To  himself  and  wife,  for- 
merly Mary  Roache,  were  horn  five  children: 
Maggie,  the  wife  of  J.  W.  .Martin:  Mary;  Jo- 
seph 1 1. :    James  J. :    and  1  >avid. 

Under  his  father's  instruction  Joseph  Ik  Ring 
learned  to  he  a  model  farmer,  and  when  quite 
young  performed  his  share  towards  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  farm.  After  the  death  of  his  father 
he  assumed  almost  entire  control,  and  is  now 
considered  one  of  the  capable  and  far-sighted 
agriculturists     of     the     locality.      \  idi      from 


JAMES  JEFFERY. 

Among  the  residents  of  Salinas  Mr.  Jeffery 
is  remembered  as  a  man  of  energy,  perseverance 
and  a  high  standard  of  honor,  traits  which  came 
to  him  from  a  long  line  of  Scotch  forefathers. 
Himself  a  native  of  Glasgow,  he  was.  however. 
a  mere  boy  when  the  family  emigrated  from 
Scotland  to  Canada,  and  from  that  time  onward 
he  worked  early  and  late  in  order  to  assist  in 
the  maintenance  of  the  family.  During  his  en- 
tire youth  he  had  only  six  weeks  of  schooling. 
yet  such  was  his  determination  to  succeed  and 
so  great  his  fondness  for  study  that  he  became  a 
well-educated  man,  solely  through  his  unaided 
efforts. 

On  coming  to   California  in    [856  Mr.  Jeffery 
settle!  in  Tuolumne  county  and  began  the  life  of 
a  miner.     However,  he  soon  decided  that  he  had 
no  especial  talent   in   that   direction,   so  mi 
Santa  Clara  and  took  up  other  pursuits.     Upon 
o  iming  to  Salinas  he  opened  tin    first   rest: 
in  the  then  village.    Idle  venture  proved  a 
cial  success  and  was  conducted  on  a  steadily  in- 
creasing scale.     I  hiding  him  sell   -  1  well  adapted 
to  this  kind  of  business,  he   determined  to  build 
and  equip  a   hotel,   and  about    [88 
Jeffery   House,   which    stands  on   the  con 
Main   and     Uisal    streets,   in    the  business   portion 
of  the  town.     The  hotel  contains  sixty  ro  ims  and 
is    furnished    with   modern   conveniences        \s   its 
proprietor  lie  continui  'aged  in  busi- 

ness  until  he  died  in    [893.  and  the  hotel   : 
conducted  by  his  widow.    Mr-..    \.nnie   1  ■■ ' 
Jeffery,  and  hi-  son,  Edwin  Jeffery,  the  latter  of 
whom    1m     been   connected   with   the  hotel   ever 
since  it    started. 

In  addition  to  the  managi  hotel. 

identified  bin  '     with 

the  Republican  part)    mil  b  ire  in  its  local 

me  he  was  hi-  party's  nomi- 


;.n; 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


nee  for  county  sheriff  and  lost  the  office  by  only 
three  votes.  All  measures  for  the  benefit  of 
the  city  received  his  support  as  well  as  such 
contributions  of  his  time  and  means  as  were  pos- 
sible. While  living  in  Canada  he  married  Emi- 
line  Sprague,  wh'o  was  horn  there  and  died  in 
California  in  1873,  leaving  two  sons,  Edwin  and 
Eugene.  By  his  second  wife  he  had  two  sons, 
William  and  James,  Jr. 

Although  a  native  of  Canada.  Edwin  Jeffery 
has  spent  his  life  in  California  since  early  child- 
hood, and  has  few  recollections  of  any  other 
home  than  Salinas.  Like  his  father,  he  is  an  en- 
thusiastic Republican  and  bears  an  active  part  in 
the  local  management  of  the  party.  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  the  Knights  of  Honor  and 
the  Eagles.  His  attention  is  given  largely  to 
the  management  of  the  business  affairs  of  the 
hotel,  while  Airs.  Annie  Jeffery  superintends  the 
culinary  arrangements.  Under  their  able  over- 
sight the  Jeffery  House  continues  to  take  high 
rank  among  the  hotels  of  the  state.  Indeed,  trav- 
eling' men  rank  it  with  the  foremost  hotels  near 
the  central  coast,  and  assert  that  nowhere  do 
they  receive  more  courteous  attention  or  find 
better  service  than  at  the  Jeffery.  This  compli- 
ment on  the  part  of  men  amply  qualified  to 
judge  proves  that  the  proprietors  of  the  hotel 
are  able  to  cater  to  the  wants  of  the  traveling 
public  in  a  manner  most  satisfactory  to  all. 


REV.  FATHER  B.  SMYTH. 

The  parish  connected  with  the  Sacred  Heart 
Church  at  Hollister  is  the  largest  in  the  territory 
north  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  and  is  eiglity  miles 
long  by  twenty-five  wide,  bordering  on  the 
.111.1  I  l.'iin'i.pl  ]>arUhe-.  Ever  since  1889 
the  parish  has  been  under  the  supervision  of 
Rev.  Father  I1..  Smyth,  whose  progressive  ideas 
have  found  vent  in  many  improvements,  and 
whose  large-hearted  humanitarian  projects  have 
resulted  in  nameless  good  to  the  community. 
Since  taking  charge  the  seating  capacity  of  the 
church  has  been  more  than  doubled,  new  stained 
glass  windows  have  been  placed,  and  new  altars 

1   at  an  expense  of  $8, 1.    In  iKcjj  Father 

Smyth  built  the  parish  church  at  Tres  1'inos,  this 
county,    and    has    since    had    charge    of    both 


churches.  His  responsibilities  are,  however,  ma- 
terially lightened  by  the  assistance  of  Father 
Donohue,  who  was  recently  ordained  in  Los  An- 
geles. 

A  native  of  Ireland,  Father  Smyth  received 
his  education  in  his  island  home,  and  graduated 
from  the  All  Hallows  College  in  Dublin.  He 
was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  1882,  after 
which  he  came  directly  to  the  United  States  and 
California.  For  a  short  time  he  had  charge  of 
the  old  mission  church  of  Los  Angeles,  and  was 
afterwards  assistant  at  Santa  Cruz,  returning 
again  to  Los  Angeles,  where  he  remained  for 
about  three  years.  He  then  substituted  for 
Father  Bott,  during  the  absence  of  the  latter  in 
Europe,  and  in  1889,  as  heretofore  stated,  allied 
his  fortunes  with  his  present  charge. 


W.  J.  HILL. 


Of  the  newspapers  published  in  Salinas,  spe- 
cial mention  belongs  to  the  Weekly  Index,  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  it  was  the  first  paper 
established  in  the  city,  having  been  started  by 
M.  Byerly  in  1872.  Not  only  was  it  the  first  to 
be  established,  but  it  was  also  the  first  to  be 
printed  by  steam  power.  Since  1876  it  has  been 
owned  and  operated  by  W.  J.  Hill,  whose  long 
and  close  connection  with  the  paper  has  made 
Ids  name  a  household  word  throughout  Mon- 
terey county.  People  who  have  long  made  their 
home  in  the  county  state  that,  through  all  the 
years  of  Mr.  Hill's  connection  with  the  paper, 
of  which  a  daily  edition  is  also  published,  he 
has  used  its  pages  as  a  medium  to  foster  worthy 
movements  for  the  benefit  of  the  city  and  county 
and  has  ever  been  found  on  the  side  of  progress. 

So  much  of  Mr.  Hill's  life  has  been  passed  in 
the  Pacific  coast  region  that  he  is  a  typical  west- 
erner, just  the  type  of  whole-souled,  large-heart- 
ed, generous  man  one  would  expect  to  meet 
"far  from  the  madding  crowd."  There  are  many 
who  assert  that  city  life  tends  to  make  a  man 
selfish,  and  that  under  the  blue  skies  of  the 
west  he  grows  as  broad  and  large  in  heart  as 
are  the  limitless  plains  over  which  he  rides.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  men  of  Mr.  Hill's  stamp  are  popu- 
lar wherever  they  go  and  make  warm  friends  in 
every    community    where   they    reside.      During 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


737 


the  lung  period  that  lie  lived  in  Idaho  he  became 
known  all  over  the  territory,  and  he  is  still  re- 
membered with  affection  there,  though  years 
have  passed  since  he  left. 

Near  Prescott,  Canada  West,  Mr.  Hill  was 
born  in  1840,  of  Scotch  parentage.  In  the  spring 
of  1862  he  went  to  the  Caribou  gold  fields  and 
traversed  the  now  famous  Klondike  district  long 
before  anyone  dreamed  of  its  wealth  in  gold. 
Returning  to  California,  he  crossed  the  Sierras 
to  Esmeralda,  Nev.,  in  the  spring  of  1863,  thence 
went  to  Salt  Lake  City,  from  there  to  Boise 
Basin,  and  in  August  landed  at  what  is  now 
Idaho  City.  During  the  winter  he  mined  at 
Bear  Gulch,  near  the  town.  Early  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1864  he  went  to  Owyhee,  Idaho,  and  as- 
sociated himself  with  Tared  Lockwood  and 
[■"rank  Cable,  who  had  located  ranches  in  Jor- 
dan valley,  twenty-five  miles  from  Silver  City. 
Soon  afterward  he  took  part  in  a  battle  with  the 
Indians,  in  an  effort  to  secure  the  Indian  mur- 
derer of  Mr.  Jordan,  after  whom  Jordan  valley 
was  named.  A  severe  encounter  finally  left  one 
hundred  or  more  Indians  on  the  battlefield  dead, 
while  two  whites  were  killed  and  Mr.  Hill  re- 
ceived a  wound  that  forced  him  to  use  a  crutch 
for  some  time.  During  the  winter  of  1863-64  he 
and  his  partners  built  the  first  livery  stable  in 
Silver  City,  packing  in  hay  from  Jordan  valley 
on  mules  and  cayuses  and  selling  it  for  $300  a 
ton.  In  1865,  1866  and  1867  he  kept  Hill's  ferry 
on  the  Owyhee  river,  at  the  junction  of  the  old 
Chico  and  Humboldt  roads,  sixty  miles  from 
Silver  City.  While  there  he  had  many  fights 
with  Indians,  but  their  desperate  attempts 
to  kill  him  were  always  unsuccessful,  and  they 
began  to  say  that  the  "pale-face  chief"  was  a 
"bad  medicine  man"  who  was  proof  against 
their  bullets  and  arrows.  His  adventures  during 
those  days,  if  fully  recounted,  would  fill  a  vol- 
ume. It  was  about  this  time  that  people  who 
had  never  seen  him  began  to  call  him  "(  >ld 
Hill,"  under  the  supposition  that  he  was  a  gray- 
haired  man  instead  of  a  mere  youth.  This  title 
has  since  clung  to  him,  and  many  pioneers  of 
Idaho  today  love  to  recount  stories  of  "<  lid 
Hill's"  prowess  as  an  Indian  tighter,  and  they 
describe  him  "as  a  splendid  specimen  of  physical 
manhood,  six  feet  high,  straight  as  an  arrow, 


active  as  a  cat,  brave  as  a  lion,  and  generous  to 
a  fault." 

In  1867  Mr.  Hill  and  Henry  Millard  pur- 
chased the  Ozvyhee  Avalanche  from  John  and 
Joe  Wasson,  and  in  1870  the  former  purchased 
his  partner's  interest  and  became  the  sole  pro- 
prietor. In  1875  he  started  the  Daily  Avalanche. 
the  first  daily  paper  in  Idaho,  and  the  press 
upon  which  it  was  printed  was  the  first  steam 
press  in  the  territory.  Through  his  instrumental- 
ity was  secured  the  telegraph  line  from.  Winne- 
mucca  to  Silver  City,  and  he  paid  $300  a  month 
for  the  telegraphic  news  for  his  paper.  While 
in  Silver  City  he  was  elected  county  clerk,  sher- 
iff and  tax  collector,  these  positions  coming  to 
him  as  the  Republican  candidate  in  a  county 
strongly  Democratic.  In  1873  he  married  .Miss 
Belle  Peck,  Governor  Bennett  coming  from 
Boise  to  Silver  City  to  perform  the  ceremony. 
The  Idaho  Hotel  and  Masonic  Hall  were  hired 
for  the  occasion,  and  the  event  was  made  ihe 
occasion  for  a  great  celebration  in  town.  Mrs. 
Hill  was  born  in  California  and,  when  the  min- 
ing collapse  came  in  1876,  induced  her  husband 
to  settle  in  the  state  where  her  childhood  had 
been  passed.  Their  only  son,  William  C, 
was  born  in  Silver  City  and  is  now  his  father's 
assistant   in   the   newspaper   office.      Mrs.    Hill, 

who  is  a  woman  of  unusual  ability,   has    '< 

her  husband's  inseparable  companion  and  helper 
in  all  his  undertakings. 

Since  coming  to  California  Mr.  llill  has  rep- 
resented his  district  in  the  state  senate  during 
three  sessions  and  has  been  mayor  of  Salinas 
for  six  years.  He  is  now  postmaster  of  Salinas. 
Pew  men  are  more  wideh  informed  than  he. 
His  information  embraces  a  wide  rang 
knowledge,  historical  and  current,  as  well  as  a 
ready  command  of  the  French  and  Spanish  lan- 
guages. A  keen  and  forcible  writer.  abl( 
press  his  thoughts  in  terse,  concise  sentences. 
he  is  peculiar] \  fitted  for  editorial  work,  and  in 
this  line  has  met  with  many  of  his  mosl  gratify- 
ing successes.  I  te  was  honored  bj  being  chosen 
to  deliver  the  address  of  welcome  to  President 
Benjamin  Harrison  when  the  latter  visited  Mon- 
tere)  in  1891.  Mr.  Hill  is  in  his  sixty-fourth 
\ear,  active  and  alert  as  ever,  and  is 
the  hardest  workers  in  California.     Fraternally 


T3S 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL   RECORD. 


past  master  of  Salinas  Lodge,  No.  204,  F. 
&  A.  M.;  past  patron  of  Reveille  Chapter  No. 
47.  <  ).  I-"..  S. :  past  master  of  Sausal  Lodge  No. 
47,  \.  <  ».  C.  W.,  of  which  he  was  the  first  mas- 
ter; past  nia^tcr  df  the  Salinas  Grange;  a  mem- 
ber of  Salinas  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Watson- 
ville  Commandery,  K.  T. 


Ji  iSEPH    A.    THOMPSON. 

There  are  few  of  the  residents  of  the  rajaro 
valley  who  have  spent  their  entire  lives  within 
its  limits,  but  such  is  the  history  of  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, who  was  born  in  Santa  Cruz  county  Sep- 
i'  mber  24,  [861,  and  has  known  no  other  home 
than  this.  His  father,  John  Thompson,  was  a 
native  of  Ireland,  born  in  1820,  and  on  coming 
to  America  spent  a  short  time  in  the  east.  While 
living  in  Boston,  Mass.,  he  married  Mary  Cum- 
mings,  who  was  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland.  Dur- 
ing [855  he  made  the  long  journey  to  the  then 
unknown  and  distant  west,  settling  in  Monterey 
county,  Cal.,  where  he  invested  his  savings  in 
a  tract  of  unimproved  land.  Along  lines  of 
activity  similar  to  those  followed  by  other  pio- 
neers he  spent  his  remaining  years.  Though  he 
never  participated  in  public  affairs,  he  was  very 
loyal  to  the  country  of  his  adoption  and  gave 
1ms  sympathy  and  support  to  movements  for  the 
general  welfare.  On  the  farm  where  he  had 
spent  many  busy  and  useful  years  his  death 
occurred  in  [868.  Born  of  his  marriage  are 
twelve  children,  namely:  Julia,  Elizabeth  (de- 
ceased),  Peter,  Edward.  Joseph  A.,  John,  Mar- 
tfary,  Christopher,  Michael  (deceased). 
Catherine  and  Sarah. 

Hie    schools  of  Watsonville  .afforded  Joseph 

A.  Thompson  a  fair  education,  and  during  the 

vai  alio,,  months  he  assisted  in  the  cultivation  of 

ome  farm,  working  for  his  father  until  the 

I  luring    t888  he   married  Anna 

who  was  bom  in  Alameda  county,  Cal., 

in    1X1,7.     They  are  the  parents  of  five  children. 

1 1     is    the    desire    ,  if   their    parents    t,,    give    these 

children  the  best  possible  advantages,  in  order 

i'ii  pare  them  for  positions  of  usefulness  and 

in  tin    business  and  social  world.     They 

ng   reared    in    the    faith    of  the    Roman 

Catholic     Church,     of     which     Mr.     and     Mrs. 


Thompson  are  faithful  members.  The  farm 
where  the  family  reside  and  which  has  been  the 
center  of  Mr.  Thompson's  activities  ever  since 
his  marriage  consists  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  acres.  The  larger  part  of  the  prop- 
erty is  under  cultivation  to  general  farm  prod- 
ucts, although  there  are  about  thirty  acres  in 
apples,  Mr.  Thompson  finding  the  latter  indus- 
try  a  profitable  addition  to  his  annual  income. 
Though  voting  with  the  Democrats,  he  is  not  a 
politician,  and  has  never  sought  office,  prefer- 
ring to  concentrate  his  attention  upon  the  im- 
provement of  his  farm. 


CHRISTIAN    F.    STORM. 

Santa  Cruz  county  claims  many  successful 
farmers  and  stockmen,  among  whom  promi- 
nent mention  belongs  to  Mr.  Storm,  who  since 
1868  has  resided  on  his  present  farm  in  the 
Pajaro  valley,  between  Watsonville  and  Free- 
dom. His  birth  occurred  in  Denmark,  Decem- 
ber 15,  1845,  his  parents  being  Peter  and  Anna 
S.  (Skow)  Storm.  The  father  was  a  man  of 
versatile  occupations,  from  time  to  time  follow- 
ing the  calling  of  sailor,  carpenter,  wagonmaker 
and  farmer.  In  1868  he  came  to  the  United 
States,  making  his  way  to  California  and  settling 
in  Santa  Cruz  county,  where  he  resided  until 
1872.  In  the  latter  year  he  returned  to  his  na- 
tive land  and  there  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  Besides  our  subject,  the  following  chil- 
dren comprised  the  parental  family:  Cinrod, 
who  came  to  San  Francisco  in  1858  as  second 
mate  on  a  vessel,  and  died  June  11,  1859,  age(l 
seventeen  years;  E.,  Mrs.  Hanstrcn ;  Anna  M., 
deceased;  Sophia,  Mrs.  Holsteiu;  and  Lena, 
Mrs.  Hanson. 

When  nineteen  years  of  age  Christian  F. 
Storm  determined  to  see  what  the  new  world 
had  in  store  for  him,  and  landed  at  Castle  Gar- 
den after  experiencing  the  usual  incidents  of  an 
ocean  voyage.  After  spending  two  weeks  in 
New  York  he  made  his  way  to  California,  com- 
ing by  way  of  Central  America,  and  landing  in 
San  Francisco  in  1865.  Later  he  located  in 
Watsonville,  and  in  1868  purchased  his  present 
farm,  which  is  located  between  Watsonville  and 
I  rei  dom.    The  original  tract  contained  one  hun- 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


dred  and  thirty  acres,  but  he  has  added  to  this 
as  his  means  permitted  until  he  now  owns  four 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  productive  land. 
In  the  raising-  of  oats  he  has  been  especially  suc- 
cessful, inasmuch  as  in  1901  he  gathered  twenty- 
four  hundred  sacks  from  twenty  acres  of  land. 
Besides  carrying  on  general  farming  he  con- 
duct- a  dairy  of  severity-five  cows  and  sixty 
calves.  A  small  orchard  also  adds  attractive- 
ness to  the  farm,  the  products  of  which  are  used 
entirely  in  home  consumption. 

In  1872.  when  twenty-seven  years  of  age, 
Air.  Storm  married  Lena  Anderson,  like  him- 
self, a  native  of  Denmark.  They  have  three 
children,  viz.:  James,  Peter  and  Chris.  In  his 
political  opinions  Mr.  Sturm  stanchly  supports 
the  Democratic  party,  and  in  religious  matters 
is  identified  with  the  Lutheran  Church. 


JOHN  TEN  N  A  NT. 

The  life  which  this  narrative  sketches  began 
in  Wexford,  Ireland,  March  9,  1809,  and  closed 
at  Pacific  Grove,  Cal.,  August  13,  1891.  The 
first  fourteen  years  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Tennant 
were  passed  in  his  native  place,  after  which  he 
vvenl  to  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  and  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  the  trade  of  cabinet  and  piano- 
forte maker.  At  the  end  of  six  years  he  re- 
moved to  London,  England,  and  there  remained 
for  ten  years,  working  at  his  chosen  occupation, 
lie  then  returned  to  his  native  land,  where  he 
remained  until  1852.  December  29th  of  that 
year  he  sailed  from  London  for  California,  arriv- 
ing in  San  Francisco  during  August  of  the  fol- 
lowing year. 

Coming  direct  to  Santa  Clara  county.  Mr. 
Tennant  purchased  the  beautiful  place,  Eden 
Yale,  six  miles  south  of  San  Jose,  and  there 
resided  until  1S88.  when,  with  his  only  sister, 
Miss  Margaret  Tennant,  who  has  been  his  life- 
long companion,  he  removed  to  Pacific  <in>\e. 
There,  in  his  pretty  little  cottage  by  the  sea.  in 
peace  and  quietude,  he  passed  the  closing  scenes 
of  a  well-spent  life,  honest,  faithful  and  true. 
ever  willing  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  the  needy, 
lie  was  loved  wherever  he  went,  and  many  an 
eye  was  moist  with  tears  when  tin-  word  came 
of  the  death  <>i  that  good  and  noble  man. 


W.\< All  \M    SALLY. 

Conspicuous  among  the  pioneers  of  Hollis 
ter,  to  whose  energy  and  perseverance  in  the 
midst  of  obstacles  and  innumerable  hardships 
may  be  attributed  much  of  the  advance  made  by 
the  central  coast  regions,  mention  belong,  to 
the  late  Abraham  Sally,  formed)  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  and  stock-raisers  of  San  Benito 

county.     A  native  of  Kentucky,  in  his  child]  1 1 

In  accompanied  his  parents.  William  and  Eliza- 
beth Sally,  in  their  removal  to  Missouri  and 
settled  at  Warsaw,  Benton  county.  There  he 
grew  to  manhood,  receiving  a  fair  education. 
While  still  a  resident  of  that  place  he  served  as 
constable  and  sheriff.  In  that  town  he  married 
Alary  E.  Janes,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary 
Janes.  Accompanied  by  his  wife  in  18(10  he 
came  to  California  and  settled  on  the  present 
site  of  Hollister.  His  first  purchase  consisted 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  acres  of  raw.  un- 
improved land,  on  which  he  built  a  small  house. 
'I  he  task  of  cultivating  the  land  was  no  slight 
(  ne,  but  was  courageously  carried  forward  by 
him.  As  the  years  passed  1>\ .  I  [ollister  began  to 
he  settled  and  attracted  permanent  residents. 
At  first  there  were  only  two  small  stores  and 
about  twelve  houses,  but  the  population  steadily 
increased  and  for  a  time  all  was  prosperous.  He 
d  in  the  erection  of  the  first  church  built 
in  the  town,  and  took  part  in  many  other  worthy 
enterprises.  About  1S-5  he  sel  oul  some  small 
gum  trees  that  are  todaj  among  the  largest  and 
most  admired  trees  in  the  town.  In  recent  years 
a  portion  of  his  ranch  was  subdivided  and  sold, 
leaving  only  fifty-nine  acres  in  the  farm. 

As  the  acreage  of  hi-  home  farm  was  reduced 
by  subdivision  into  cit)  lots,  Mr.  Sally  boughl 
other  property  and  in  time  acquired  large  hold- 
ings. At  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1  : 
the  age  of  sevent)  three  years,  he  left  iiis  family 
an  estate  of  more  than  niie  thousand  acres. 
Much  of  this  land  was  devoted  to  general  farm- 
ing, although  tn  a  large  extent  it  was  als 
voted  i  stock,  of  which  he 

1    hundred  head  of  cattle  ami  fifty 
nstanl   and   indefatigable  ef- 
forts   he    accumulated    a    competency    and    was 

thus  enabled  to  spend  his  last  years  in  n 


illSTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


ment  from  active  cares,  renting  his  land  to 
tenants,  but  still  maintaining  a  supervision  of  the 

property.  During  his  residence  in  Missouri  he 
was  activel)  connected  with  the  Odd  Fellows 
and  Masons,  but  after  coming  to  California  his 
attention  was  so  closely  given  to  the  develop- 
ment and  improvement  of  his  farm  that  he  had 
no  leisure  for  fraternal  associations.  His  was  a 
busy,  active  and  useful  life,  the  typical  life  of  a 
brave,  fearless  and  resolute  pioneer,  and  the 
memory  of  his  irreproachable  character  and  in- 
tegrity is  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  his  family 
and  friends.  Besides  his  wife  he  left  four  daugh- 
ters, one  of  whom.  Alary  E.,  remains  on  the 
homestead  with  her  mother.  The  others  are  as 
[i  Hows:  Hattie,  Mrs.  E.  Fairchild,  of  Riverside; 
Florence,  Mrs.  Aden  Recht,  of  Stockton:  and 
Katie,  wife  of  Harry  Monroe,  also  of  Stockton. 


VICTOR  II.  WOODS. 

In  the  capacity  of  surveyor  Mr.  Woods  has 
been  intimately  connected  with  the  growth  and 
upbuilding  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county  for  the 
past  eight  years.  He  was  bom  in  Keokuk 
county,  Iowa,  in  1868,  and  came  to  California 
with  his  parents  when  five  years  of  age.  His 
father,  James  E.  Woods,  was  also  a  surveyor, 
and  was  clerk  of  Keokuk  county  for  eight  years 
after  the  Civil  war.  During  the  war  he  served 
under  General  Rosecrans,  and  was  wounded  in 
battle  in  September  of  1863.  The  family  came 
to  America  long  before  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  the  paternal  grandfather  was  an  old  settler 
in  Vermont.  <  >n  the  maternal  side  Mr.  Woods 
is  allied  with  a  prominent  Ohio  family,  his 
mother  being  before  her  marriage  a  Miss  M.  C. 
Hulderman,  whose  father  died  in  distinguished 
iny,  for  on  that  same  day  the  immortal 
Washington  breathed  his  last.  It  is  supposed 
that  some  of  the  Hulderman  family  fought  in 
the  Colonial  army,  although  there  is  no  au- 
thentic record  to  that  effect. 

The  education  of  Mr.  Woods  was  acquired  at 
tin-  public  schools  of  San  Francisco,  and  at  the 
university  of  the  Pacific,  from  which  he  was 
ited  ni  [886.  In  the  meantime  he  had 
learned  surveying  from  his  father,  and  applied 
himself  to  this  occupation  for  a  time  on  the  rail 


road  in  Arizona,  and  also  spent  a  year  in 
Fresno.  He  finally  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  as  sur- 
veyor, and  remained  in  that  capacity  for  five 
years,  and  afterwards  in  the  employ  of  the  gov- 
ernment went  to  Central  America.  About  eight 
years  ago  he  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo,  and  has 
since  made  this  his  home. 

In  the  Old  Mission  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  De- 
cember 19,  1898,  Mr.  Woods  married  Miss  A. 
C.  Spofford,  daughter  of  J.  M.  Spofford,  head  of 
one  of  the  well-known  families  of  this  county. 
The  Spoffords  claim  distinguished  lineage,  and 
distant  members  have  been  allied  with  events 
constituting  the  landmarks  of  American  history. 
Foremost  among  the  men  who  have  added  luster 
to  the  name  may  be  mentioned  Daniel  Webster, 
and  many  of  the  prominent  and  well-known 
families  of  the  south  claim  kinship  with  the 
Spofford  heroes  who  stacked  their  muskets  on 
the  battlefields  of  the  Revolution.  Mrs.  Woo. P. 
who  is  a  Daughter  of  the  Revolution,  is  well 
known  as  an  educator  throughout  this  part  of 
the  state,  and  taught  for  seven  years  in  the 
schools  of  San  Luis  Obispo.  In  1898  she  was 
elected  county  superintendent  of  schools  on  the 
Democratic  ticket,  and  the  same  year  her  hus- 
band was  elected  surveyor  on  the  Republican 
ticket.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Woods  has  been  born 
one  daughter,  Ellen  Evelyn.  Mr.  Woods  is 
identified  with  the  Independent  Order  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  with  the  Elks.  With  his  family  he  lives 
at  the  Ramona  Hotel. 


ALFRED   WIDFMAX. 

Forever  associated  with  the  inconsequent  be- 
ginning of  the  town  of  Gonzales  is  the  meritor- 
ious career  of  that  splendid  pioneer  and  loyal 
friend,  Alfred  Wideman.  The  little  station  ex- 
isting on  the  San  Vicenti  ranch  of  sixteen  thou- 
sand acres,  to  which  the  few  farmers  then  in 
touch  with  the  possibilities  of  the  fertile  region 
used  to  flock  with  their  produce,  awaited  but  the 
energizing  vitality  of  such  men  as  Mr.  Wide- 
man,  who  brought  with  them  a  sterling  integrity 
and  shrewd  business  and  common  sense.  And 
so,  into  the  embryo  hamlet  in  1874  came  the 
business   enterprise   with   which   Mr.   Wideman 


HISTORICAL   AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


was  for  so  many  years  associated,  and  which  was 
the  outgrowth  of  his  far-sighted  peering  into  the 
future  of  the  locality.  The  firm  of  Sarles  & 
Wideman  were  the  first  to  erect  a  store  and  lay 
iii  a  supply  of  things  needful  for  the  coming  pio- 
neers, and  for  the  farmers  who  would  in  the  near 
future  gather  their  fine  fruit,  grain  and  general 
product  harvests.  With  the  growing  realization 
i if  the  value  of  the  lands  along  the  Salinas  river, 
they  were  obliged  to  increase  their  original 
stock,  until  they  carried  a  full  line  of  dry  goods, 
clothing,  groceries,  provisions,  hardware  and 
agricultural  implements.  Their  honest  dealings 
and  obliging  tactics  gained  for  them  a  wide 
reputation,  and  made  a  chance  buyer  a  pur- 
chaser for  all  time.  And  into  all  the  avenues 
of  activity  which  arose  at  the  bidding  of  the 
town's  growth  Mr.  Wideman  infused  a  vital 
spark,  and  became,  besides  the  father  of  the 
village,  its  most  earnest  promoter  and  worker. 
Mr.  Wideman  was  born  in  Alsace-Lorraine, 
France,  now  Prussia,  December  i,  1838,  and 
came  to  America  with  his  parents  in  1844.  The 
family  located  in  Illinois,  and  bought  a  farm  in 
LaSalle  county,  where  the  father  died,  and 
where  the  entire  support  of  the  family  was  ac- 
complished by  the  oldest  son,  Alfred.  The 
mother  still  lives  in  LaSalle  county.  While  in 
Illinois  Mr.  Wideman  met  J.  D.  Cochran,  and 
they  were  there  associated  as  friends  for  about 
ten  years.  Eventually,  out  of  their  combined 
ambitions  was  evolved  the  project  of  removing 
to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  thither  they  traveled 
together  in  1870,  via  Panama.  For  a  couple  of 
j  car-  they  burnt  charcoal  and  hewed  trees  in  the 
red  woods  and  worked  in  the  harvest  fields  of 
Vera  Cruz  county,  and  then  came  in  Monterey 
county,  where  they  worked  for  Dunphy  & 
Hildreth,  who  then  rented  the  Gonzales  ranch 
and  was  the  largest  cattle  firm  in  the  county. 
Mr.  Wideman  stepped  into  the  remunerative 
position  of  overseer  'if  the  ranch,  anil  at  the  ex- 
piration of  four  years  went  into  partnership 
with  his  Illinois  friend  ami  confidant,  .Mr. 
Cochran.  In  connection  with  their  stock-rais- 
ing and  fanning  enterprise  he  also  engaged  in 
the  merchandise  business  in  [874,  and  continued 
in  this  combined  capacity  until  his  death,  Febru 
ary  22,  1001.     By  reason  of  his  wise  investments 


and  well  directed  energy  he  left  a  large  fortune, 
as  well  as  what  is  known  as  the  Castro  ranch,  a 
pleasant  home,  and  the  store  building  and  prop- 
erty. During  nearly  all  of  his  residence  in 
Gonzales  he  filled  the  office  of  postmaster,  and, 
as  a  stanch  upbuildcr  of  the  Democratic  party, 
served  for  man)  years  on  the  school  board  and 
the  board  of  supervisors.  With  his  partner  he 
was  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  bank  of  Gon- 
zales, of  which  he  was  president  and  his  partner 
cashier.  Fraternally  he  was  associated  with  the 
<  »dd  Fellows,  being  past  grand  of  Gabilan 
Lodge  No.  372,  Salinas  Lodge  No.  204,  I'.  &  A. 
M.,  Salinas  Chapter  No.  59,  R.  A.  M.,  and  the 
Watsonville  Commandery  No.  22,  K.  of  P. 

.May  13,  1X71,  Mr.  Wideman  married  Mary 
E.  Hoffman,  daughter  of  Christian  and  Mar- 
garet Hoffman,  the  former  of  whom  came  to 
California  in  1849,  his  family  following  him  nine- 
teen years  later.  Mr.  Hoffman  was  a  farmer, 
sheep-dealer,  and  stage  driver  in  California.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wideman  were  born  five  children: 
Frederick  H.,  who  is  the  successor  of  his  father's 
business,  and  is  one  of  the  most  promising  and 
popular  citizens  of  Gonzales;  Margaret,  who 
became  the  wife  of  M.  C.  Clark,  partner  of 
Frederick  Wideman,  and  wdio  died  a  short  time 
ago,  leaving  two  children.  Alford  and  Clarice  L.; 
Christian  II.,  who  is  also  in  the  store;  Anna, 
win  1  died  at  the  age  of  two  years  and  eight 
months;    and  Hazel,  who  is  living  ai 


FRED    W.   SWANTON. 

In  the  development  of  plans  looking  toward 
the  direct  progress  of  Santa  Cruz  and  its  posi- 
tion as  a  city  boasting  all  modern  improvements, 
in  1  citizen  has  displayed  greater  activity  than 
Mr.  Swanton.  With  many  projects  for  the 
benefit  of  the  place  his  name  is  indissoluble  as- 
sociated.  At  a  crisis  where  a  more  timid  finan- 
cier  would  hesitate,  his  enthusiasm  carries  him 
into  the  heart  of  th''  movement  and  his  shrewd 
judgment  brings  it  to  a  favorable  issue.  While 
almost  his  entire  life  has  been  passed  in  Cali- 
fornia, he  i-  not  a  native  of  this  state,  but  was 
born  in  Brooklyn,  \.  Y..  V.pril  ti,  [862,  and  at 
four  years  of  age  came  to  the  far  west  with  his 
,  joining  his   father,   Albion    Paris  Swan- 


?42 


HISTORICAL   AND   BIOGRAPHICAL    RECORD. 


ton.  During  1867  the  family  settled  in  Santa 
Cruz,  and  here  his  primary  education  was  ob- 
tained. Later  he  was  a  student  in  Heald's  Busi- 
ness College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
1 88 1.  After  a  year  as  an  employe  of  the 
Maderia  Flume  and  Trading  Company  of 
Fresno,  he  went  to  Felton  and  for  a  year  was 
with  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  Mill  and  Lumber 
Company. 

During  a  trip  east  which  Mr.  Swanton  made 
about  this  time,  he  obtained  the  state  right  for 
a  telephone  patent,  which  he  very  successfully 
introduced  along  the  entire  length  of  the  state. 
On  disposing  of  his  interest  in  1883,  he  became 
associated  with  his  father  in  the  building  of  a 
three-story  structure,  known  as  the  Swanton 
house,  and  this  they  conducted  together  until  it 
was  burned  down  in  June,  1888.  At  the  same 
time  he  acted  as  manager  of  the  Santa  Cruz 
opera  house.  The  partnership  was  dissolved  in 
1888,  his  father  continuing  to  take  charge  of 
the  Bonner  stables,  while  he  established  the 
Palace  pharmacy.  Fifteen  months  later  he  sold 
out,  and  immediately  agitated  the  project  for 
lighting  Santa  Cruz  with  incandescent  elec- 
tricity. Associated  with  Dr.  H.  H.  Clark,  in 
October,  1889,  he  put  in  a  three  hundred  light 
machine,  thereby  within  one  week  causing  the 
price  of  gas  to  drop  from  $3.50  to  $2.50  per 
thousand  feet.  Naturally  people  were  quick  to 
see  the  advantage  of  such  an  innovation,  and 
the  demand  for  such  lights  was  so  great  that  it 
was  necessary  to  add  a  machine  of  six  hundred 
and  fifty  lights.  Within  two  years  they  were 
supplying  five  thousand  incandescent  lights. 
The  success  of  the  enterprise  rendered  neces- 
sary its  re-organization,  and  the  Santa  Cruz 
Electric  Light  Company  was  established,  with 
the  following  officers:  H.  H.  Clark,  president; 
A.  P.  Swanton,  vice-president:  F.  W.  Swanton, 
m  cretary  and  manager,  as  well  as  the  largest 
stockholder;  J.  F.  Appellby  and  C.  E.  Lilly, 
directors.  In  the  fall  of  1895  the  plant  was  sold 
to  Janus  McNeil,  the  present  owner. 

With  the  energy  which  has  always  been  a 
noticeable  trait  of  his  character,  F.  W.  Swanton 
was  no  sooner  disconnected  with  the  electric 
light  company  than  he  began  the  organization 
of   oilier   public-spirited   projects.     In    1896  he 


organized  the  Big  Creek  Power  Company, 
which  has  furnished  power  to  the  city  and  for 
manufacturing  purposes.  Its  officers  were 
Henry  Willey,  president;  William  Rennie,  vice- 
president;  Fred  W.  Swanton,  secretary  and 
manager:  C.  E.  Lilly,  treasurer;  and  A.  A. 
Morey,  director.  Eighteen  miles  of  transmission 
line  were  built  by  the  company  along  the  moun- 
tains, the  entire  work  being  finished  in  sixty 
days  from  the  time  it  was  started.  For  two 
years  Mr.  Swanton  continued  as  secretary  and 
manager  of  this  company,  meantime  placing  it 
upon  a  substantial  basis.  In  1900  he  sold  his 
interest  to  J.  Q.  Packard  and  F.  W.  Billings. 

It  is  noteworthy,  as  showing  Mr.  Swanton's 
progressive  spirit,  that  the  incandescent  lights 
introduced  into  Santa  Cruz  in  1889  under  his 
direction  were  the  very  first  in  the  entire  state; 
also  that  his  was  the  first  long-distance  electric 
power  plant  in  California.  Its  capacity  of 
twenty-five  hundred  lights  has  since  been  de- 
veloped to  ten  thousand  lights.  The  plant  now 
furnishes  light  for  Watsonville  and  Capitola, 
as  well  as  Santa  Cruz.  The  disposition  of  his 
interests  in  the  power  plant  gave  Mr.  Swanton 
an  opportunity  to  gratify  his  ambition  to  visit 
the  Alaskan  gold  fields,  and  in  1900  he  made  a 
prospecting  tour  to  Nome.  After  his  return  he 
organized  the  Santa  Cruz  Oil  Company,  which 
operates  in  the  Bakersfield  oil  fields,  and  has 
Henry  Willey  as  president  and  J.  J.  C.  Leonard 
as  vice-president.  During  1901  he  began  the 
1  organization  of  a  new  electric  street  car  com- 
pany to  run  from  Santa  Cruz  to  Watsonville 
via  Capitola. 

On  Christmas  day  of  1884  Mr.  Swanton  mar- 
ried Miss  Stanley  Hall,  daughter  of  Richard 
Hall,  of  Santa  Cruz.  They  have  one  child.  Pearl 
Hall  Swanton.  The  family  own  and  occupy  a 
residence,  modern  in  every  respect,  surrounded 
by  beautiful  trees  and  drives,  and  overlooking 
tlie  city,  ocean  and  mountains.  Fraternally  Mr. 
Swanton  is  connected  with  the  Elks,  Odd  Fel- 
lows, Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
Knights  of  Pythias.  The  industries  with  which 
lie  has  been  connected  have  accomplished  much 
for  the  benefit  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  their  success- 
ful consummation  may  be  regarded  as  an  indi- 
cation of  his  ability  as  an  organizer  and  leader. 


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